Week at a Glance...

Every day I think of all of the sweet loving moments, hilarious happenings, precious sounds, deep conversations.....now with FIVE kids I feel overwhelmed at the thought of attempting to capture even a portion of the sweetness in writing but am also overwhelmed with the NEED to record, even the smallest bit.  It is all passing by so quickly.  The kids are growing.  This precious, lovely stage of motherhood, with all of the tears, bumps and bruises, and screams of independence included, is flying.  How does a mother even attempt to bottle up the feeling of her sweet 1 year old's (Calvin) baby skin and innocent giggle and need for mama??  How does a mother even summarize the emotional roller coaster (at times also very entertaining) of her lovey, squishable, squeezable, buttermilked skin, fancy wearing 3 1/2 year old (Elyse)??  How does a mother express the special protectiveness of her 5 year old son (Grant) who rushes with over sized snow shovel in hand to shovel the steps on the way inside during a bitter snow storm just for his mama, his contentedness at home, and sweet problem solving attempts to keep the peace in the home??  How does a mother explain the awe she feels watching her almost 8(!!!) year old tender loving, mother-natured, kindhearted, ever bouncing and giggling daughter (Madeline) prepare for the special covenants she will make at her baptism in a few months??  How does a mother describe the pride she feels after having deep, thoughtful discussions with her wise-beyond her years 9 1/2 year old daughter (Hannah) about being courageous in standing for what is right, developing a personal relationship with God through personal prayer, and the joys and curiosities of maturing??  Even writing this fills me with emotional feelings, feelings of the deepest love I have for EACH of my children, equally but also uniquely and independently.  They are each beautiful, bright, full of life, and individual talents.  So often I want to stop and jot down a funny thing said or take time to sit at my computer and blog...but then I don't want to be the mother who is behind my electronics, only seeing my kids through the camera lens or that gadget.  I want to see them with my eyes, look into their eyes  as they share the highs and lows of their day.  I want to snuggle them.  I want to be present.  I hope I am giving that to them.  I try my best, but of course will always feel like I fell short in so many aspects of motherhood.  But I guess that's the nature of motherhood!  They teach me and the shape me.  It is a holy and glorious opportunity to be in the business of raising little humans!!  I hope that part of our heavenly reward will be to have a perfect memory, a perfect sense, of all of this, all of these moments that are whisking by.

And now look!  I had only meant to not overwhelm myself by starting somewhere, keeping it short and simple but given the bare minimum summary of our week...but I can't talk about them without oozing my love for them!  See what I mean?!

Now, to dry up and recap.......(also in hopes that I can share these weekly recaps with my Dad so he feels involved in their lives)....

We had an unexpected snowstorm this past week, causing school to be canceled for two days!  It was great!  I love snow days with my kids.  Either its fun to stay in pjs all day long, cozy by the fire with books and games, bake something yummy, play in the winterwonderland...or often the roads clear and we have a day to go do something fun.  This week gave us the chance to do both, one spent at home with our friends the Olsens, the other an in door gymnastics facility open play with the Davis' and Datchs'.

Madeline especially loved the gymnastics time.  This past Christmas she asked for gymnastics lessons.  She goes once a week for an hour and a half.  She says she loves everything but the balance beam is her favorite.  I love getting there a little early to pick her up to watch her conquer fears and her new found quiet, focused determination.  Its pretty cool to see all that she has learned.  Lately, she has really been practicing her cartwheels off the balance beam.

Elyse and Grant...well they crack me up.  Two peas in a pod most days.  Other days, Elyse likes to show control by running away with one of Grant's special Lego's to try and ruffle his feathers...which usually works...and the negotiations begin and everything is right with the world again.

With all of the new snow we just had to all go skiing up at Whitetail as a family.  I was so proud of each of them.  Each tried something new.  We went at night and had the place to ourselves.  We harnessed Elyse and she worked on making a pizza with her ski tips.  It was the cutest thing ever!  She loved it ("skeeding" as she calls it).  It was so cute the things she would say when she would fall, giggling "What the woozy?" and "Wut oh!"  I was able to ski with Grant for a little and he loved going on the bigger, faster lift with me.  But mainly he was obsessed with finding all of the different sized snow blower machines.  Hannah and Madeline went with Stephen on some Greens and Blues...they are turning!  Its a dream come true doing something active and challenging together...something we can all enjoy together no matter their age.  Its worth the expense! $$$ Now we are counting down our trip out to Deer Valley, Utah with Joe and Sue.

On Saturday Hannah raced in her first Pinewood Derby.  She worked so hard on her car with her school friend Abby (who unfortunately couldn't make it to the Derby because of her grandma's funeral).  Steve and Hannah worked hard to get the wheels just right, tilting wheels, polishing axles, adjusting weights, etc etc...both were really into it.  Hannah was thrilled to take 1st in some of the heats.

It's getting late.......hopefully I can make a better habit of this...