Sweet blessings
We are now the proud parents of 5 amazing kids! I always knew this would be the magic number for me. Pregnancy for me is usually something I enjoy, call me crazy! I rarely would get sick and I found such joy in feeling each little miracle move and grow inside of me. The last month of pregnancy is never fun, but I even felt like I was getting to be a pro at delivery and, as long as I could get an epidural, it wasn't all that stressful for me. Number 5 was a little different. From the get-go I had very painful varicose veins covering my right leg. I couldn't stand in one spot for more than a few minutes without them throbbing, which made it tough as I tried to take care of my four young children. There were other issues as well, emotionally and physically that we're very hard to deal with. During my third trimester I had some complications that caused me to have to miss my grandmother's funeral. It was heart wrenching to not be able to go. During the last two months of my pregnancy it was as if time stood still. I was so miserable and uncomfortable and was feeling so overwhelmed with everything that needed to be done each day. I'm grateful that Russell took such good care of me during that time. I made the decision to be induced 6 days before my due date, the day after Christmas when my doctor gave me the thumbs up. I had never been induced before but expected it to go smoothly since this was #5. Well, I was on pitocin for 10 hours with very little progress and was stuck in a very uncomfortable bed. It was a loooong day! When the doctor finally broke my water, the baby had some distress, but thanks to a wonderful nurse, (seriously, she was my angel!) we both made it through just fine. I believe that this 16 hour experience (my longest labor ever) went well because of a priesthood blessing my husband gave me the night before. Tender mercies. There's no sweeter feeling than the first time you get to hold your baby. He was perfect in every way and worth EVERY ache, pain, and discomfort I had to experience. My precious son!
So here we are with 4 boys and one princess right in the middle! Shaylynn is the second mom and don't worry, she holds her own just fine! She often refers to herself as "the boss" and she can be so sassy but I sure love my little girl and I feel so blessed to have a daughter. It has been so sweet to watch Camden with his baby brother. He adores him!
Our crazy but wonderful life keeps us busy. Our hands are full but so are our hearts! Russell has been so great at keeping Dylan and Christian involved in sports and scouts. I spend a lot of time at home with my little ones, and some days are hard, but I sure am grateful to be able to spend my full time at home with them. There's no place I'd rather be. I made it through the last couple of months of having a very colicky baby and all I can say is thank goodness for baby Zantac!
This past weekend was a special one for our family. Christian was baptized on Saturday and Ethan was blessed on Sunday. My mom and all three of my sisters were able to come and I sure loved having them here! The baptism was a stressful one to plan since we didn't know that our son would be the only child being baptized in our stake for the stake baptism day until one week before. We had to assign and plan all of the talks, music, and refreshments on short notice. We also planned a luncheon following the baby blessing and needed to make sure pictures, clothes, and all the little details were taken care of before the weekend. Then there's always the last minute cleaning and house preparations before family arrives. We were tired to say the least. My mom and sisters stepped in, helping me make 5 dozen sugar cookies for the baptism and we picked up all of the food we needed for the blessing luncheon. So many little details. We made it to the baptism with the cookies, the kids looking nice, and Christian in his new suit all ready for his special day. The baby had been fed, we got in a last minute rehearsal of the quartet I had planned and was singing in when we arrived at the church. We set up the table to display Christian's pictures we took at the temple, and finally everything was ready and our family members and friends were taking their seats. The talks, testimonies, music, everything was beautiful and just as I had pictured it. It was wonderful to watch our son be baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! He was so happy, so pure.
The next morning as we were getting ready for church, a thought hit me like a ton of bricks. I completely forgot to stand at the top of the steps of the baptismal font to hand Christian his towel after he was baptized. The tears came and wouldn't stop. How come no one reminded me? No wait, why didn't I think about it?? I had missed an opportunity to embrace my son and look into his eyes immediately after one of the most important ordinances of his life. I could never forgive myself. I was a terrible mom. At least that's how I felt in that moment. As I've thought about it the last few days, I realize that I was simply paying too much attention to a lot of the little details that didn't matter much, when instead I should have focused more on the tender moments with my son. I made a promise to myself that I would never let those moments slip away from me again. I will be more present with my children and I will love and support them always. As I watched my sweet baby receive a baby blessing from his father, my heart was filled with so much love I thought it would burst. I LOVE my husband and children. My family is my happiness! There are so many trivial things in life that distract us from what's most important. When it comes down to it, it's all about love. Learning to love ourselves when we make mistakes and recognizing that we can change and become better each day. Letting the important people in our lives know how much they are loved and finding ways to uplift and help those around us. And most importantly loving our Savior completely and putting Him first in our lives. He will help our hearts heal and will fill our hearts with greater joy than we could possibly imagine.
So here we are with 4 boys and one princess right in the middle! Shaylynn is the second mom and don't worry, she holds her own just fine! She often refers to herself as "the boss" and she can be so sassy but I sure love my little girl and I feel so blessed to have a daughter. It has been so sweet to watch Camden with his baby brother. He adores him!
Our crazy but wonderful life keeps us busy. Our hands are full but so are our hearts! Russell has been so great at keeping Dylan and Christian involved in sports and scouts. I spend a lot of time at home with my little ones, and some days are hard, but I sure am grateful to be able to spend my full time at home with them. There's no place I'd rather be. I made it through the last couple of months of having a very colicky baby and all I can say is thank goodness for baby Zantac!
This past weekend was a special one for our family. Christian was baptized on Saturday and Ethan was blessed on Sunday. My mom and all three of my sisters were able to come and I sure loved having them here! The baptism was a stressful one to plan since we didn't know that our son would be the only child being baptized in our stake for the stake baptism day until one week before. We had to assign and plan all of the talks, music, and refreshments on short notice. We also planned a luncheon following the baby blessing and needed to make sure pictures, clothes, and all the little details were taken care of before the weekend. Then there's always the last minute cleaning and house preparations before family arrives. We were tired to say the least. My mom and sisters stepped in, helping me make 5 dozen sugar cookies for the baptism and we picked up all of the food we needed for the blessing luncheon. So many little details. We made it to the baptism with the cookies, the kids looking nice, and Christian in his new suit all ready for his special day. The baby had been fed, we got in a last minute rehearsal of the quartet I had planned and was singing in when we arrived at the church. We set up the table to display Christian's pictures we took at the temple, and finally everything was ready and our family members and friends were taking their seats. The talks, testimonies, music, everything was beautiful and just as I had pictured it. It was wonderful to watch our son be baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! He was so happy, so pure.
The next morning as we were getting ready for church, a thought hit me like a ton of bricks. I completely forgot to stand at the top of the steps of the baptismal font to hand Christian his towel after he was baptized. The tears came and wouldn't stop. How come no one reminded me? No wait, why didn't I think about it?? I had missed an opportunity to embrace my son and look into his eyes immediately after one of the most important ordinances of his life. I could never forgive myself. I was a terrible mom. At least that's how I felt in that moment. As I've thought about it the last few days, I realize that I was simply paying too much attention to a lot of the little details that didn't matter much, when instead I should have focused more on the tender moments with my son. I made a promise to myself that I would never let those moments slip away from me again. I will be more present with my children and I will love and support them always. As I watched my sweet baby receive a baby blessing from his father, my heart was filled with so much love I thought it would burst. I LOVE my husband and children. My family is my happiness! There are so many trivial things in life that distract us from what's most important. When it comes down to it, it's all about love. Learning to love ourselves when we make mistakes and recognizing that we can change and become better each day. Letting the important people in our lives know how much they are loved and finding ways to uplift and help those around us. And most importantly loving our Savior completely and putting Him first in our lives. He will help our hearts heal and will fill our hearts with greater joy than we could possibly imagine.
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