Thanksgiving Day

What a day...

This morning I got up and hurried to get ready to run in the "Race to Feed the Hungry" (5k) with my friend Kristel.  I put my right contact in, no problem. Put my left contact in and felt as if I had dumped burning acid in my eye.  I grabbed the contact out and frantically flushed my eye out and it gradually started to feel a little better, although it was definitely still stinging.  I had run out of contact solution the night before right after filling the right eye case, had dug around in a drawer and found an old bottle of sample contact solution and had used it for my left contact.  Now that I felt like my eye had been acid burned I looked at the bottle and apparently this solution wasn't just the regular old 3-in-one stuff.  You had to use a special kind of container and it said not to put it directly on the contact.  Oops.

Plan B: run in glasses which I usually avoid doing at all costs.  Also wear glasses for the next week or so till I can get an eye appointment since I cannot seem to find my box of contacts that I just opened a week and a half before. Be thankful I have glasses to wear. Also hope that I haven't done any permanent damage to my eye.

I hurried off to pick up Kristel and left Chris and the kids.  He was still undecided as to whether he was going to try to come watch me run.  Once Kristel and I got there and walked up to where it started (leaving my phone in the car of course) I realized that it was a way bigger event than I had known and there were tons of people running.  Also, we waited and waited for it to start but apparently they had a lot of last minute sign ups and so started about 20 minutes late.  At this point I was wishing I had my phone to tell Chris not to try to come as parking would be crazy and I had no idea when we would finish.   

The race finally started and we had quite a nice run, but the course ended up being about 3.6 miles instead of 3.1 like it was supposed to be.  This made our time several minutes longer than it should have been which we thought was weird. Luckily I had my GPS watch to tell us how far we had run so we didn't think we had just run super slowly. As I rounded the last corner I could see Chris and the kids waiting for me by the finish and immediately saw that Elijah was hysterical.  I waved to them as we ran by, grabbed some water and went around to find them.  Poor Elijah's hands were terribly cold and he just would not calm down.  Chris had sped over there to try to make it in time, and then had ended up standing around waiting for 25 minutes in the freezing morning air because of the races late start. I think a combination of the cold, the loud music and the crowd just put Elijah over the edge. I have never seen him so inconsolable.  Isaac also started crying because he had wanted to run with me at the end, so as Chris made a b-line for the car with the Elijah, Kristel and I ran behind with Issac and William to try to make them feel better.  Finally Chris turned around and said I'd better take Elijah to see if he would do better, but he still wouldn't calm down so I ran for the van, buckled him in, got the boys in, hurriedly explained to Isaac who looked as if he was about to dissolve in tears again that I was just going to drop Kristel off and come home, and Chris took off.  Somewhere in this whole craziness Chris mentioned that the fridge and freezer in the house had stopped working some time in the night. Awesome.

Kristel and I hurried back to the other car, I dropped her off and got home as quickly as I could.  Chris had put Elijah down for a nap, so we started going through the fridge and freezer throwing a bunch of stuff away and salvaging what we could. While he was pulling stuff out of the freezer Chris spilled red berry juice all over the only pair of work pants he likes.  I quickly rinsed them and treated them, but don't have a whole lot of hope of saving them. Luckily though, we were able so save a fair amount of food and there is a fridge and freezer in the garage. Also it is cold enough outside that we could just set some stuff out there.  My parents are in Utah having Thanksgiving with my grandma so I can only imagine that this will be a fun surprise for them to come home to.

It was now about 10:45am, I had run 3.6 miles and had only eaten 1/2 a banana so I was famished.  I quickly ate a cutie and toaste an English muffin but realized the butter I put on it had kind of an "off" flavor and I couldn't finish it.  I also realized that I probably used some of that same stick of butter in one of my pies and so I had no idea what that would do to the flavor and edibleness of whatever pie it might have been.

I jumped quickly in the shower and got ready as fast as I could, and then ran upstairs to finish up one of the pies.  I had saved putting the bananas, toffee and whipped cream on the banoffee pie till right before we left because I didn't want it to get soggy or the bananas to go brown.   I had to try the whipped cream 3 times because the cream had gotten warm in the fridge and wasn't whipping properly.  On the third try it turned out okay, although not as stiff as I would have liked, and I was able to finish up the pie which looked quite beautiful.

At this point we were running late to get to Chris's sisters house 25 minutes away for dinner at 1:00.  They had scheduled it for that time because Chris had to work at 3:00 so we knew we needed to hurry.  Chris got the kids and pies in the car and then took off in his own car. As I hurried to lock up and grab the last couple of things I went to grab diapers and realized that our diaper bin was empty.  I found one diaper in the diaper bag and literally felt like I was having a panic attack as I thought about the implications of running out of diapers on Thanksgiving/Black Friday when Chris had to work both days and I would have to take the kids with me to the store.  I did some deep breathing flagged down Chris as he was pulling out of the driveway, and he told me there were a few diapers in the car.  Luckily I found 4 or 5.  Phew.  We could make it.

-Speed off to Katherine's house.- 

When we got there I lifted the trunk to get the pies out and saw that during the drive two pies had jumped on top of the beautiful banoffee pie I had JUST finished making and had made a huge mess.  Chris kept me (somewhat) calm and told me we could fix it.

At this point I was ready for the day to be over.  But Chris was right...we could and did fix it.  The pie didn't look quite as beautiful as it had originally, but was still acceptable, and we cleaned everything else up.

And then...everything went right.

It was as if up until 1:15pm we had been living in a Murphy's law (anything that can go wrong, will go wrong) universe, and then all of a sudden the universe righted itself, birds started singing and flowers blooming. Okay...I guess we didn't have flowers blooming in November, but the weather was beautiful. The big kids disappeared to go play with their cousins while we finished getting dinner on. Elijah was happy.  Dinner was (of course) delicious, all the big kids were old enough to sit at their own table and need minimal supervision, so we adults were able to talk and enjoy ourselves. Elijah happily ate everything I fed him and amused us by playing peek-a-boo. And while we were in the middle of dinner Chris got a phone call from work asking if he would be okay with going on-call instead of coming in.  Ummmmm....yes?!!

After dinner Trey (9) took Elijah outside to play. He pulled Elijah around in the wagon and chased the cat with him which of course Elijah absolutely loved.  The other kids disappeared again to play, and eventually went outside as well.  I am always happy on a day in the winter where my kids will go outside and gets some fresh air. It makes for happy kids and a happy mom. 

I made more whipped cream for the rest of the pies. It turned out much better than it had at my house, and everyone was very kind about the pies, even the banoffee one which at that point was more like soup than pie, but at least tasted super yummy. HA HA! I got really lucky with a new dark chocolate pie recipe and everyone raved about it.  It had the "perfect" texture. Phew!

Visiting was done, naps were taken, dishes were washed, the food put away, and goodbyes said.  Katherine gave the kids a really cool lego advent calendar as an early Christmas present.  They are SO excited about it.

And now we are home. The kids got in a little trouble because Chris found another place where they had written on the wall.  This has been a trend lately.  But it was actually okay with me because that meant that after they scrubbed it off (thank you Katherine for the magic erasers!) they got their pajamas on and went straight to bed a little before 8.  Minimal bedtime hassle. 

Now I am sitting here writing this book of a blog post while Chris is upstairs cleaning the kitchen.  I love that man.

It's been a long day, but a good day. A day to remember for the good and the not-so-good-but-will-be-funny-someday, which is why I wanted to write it all down in detail.  I have so much to be thankful for-not just in November, or on Thanksgiving Day, but all the time.  I hope that even when I stop writing it down every day, I will still remember to look for the good, the little things that make me smile, and the tender mercies every day.  One thing doing this has taught me is that even on the worst, or craziest or even on the most ordinary days there is always something to be thankful for if I just pay attention and remember to look for it. 

A few phone pics from the day:

The favorite chocolate pie

Peek-a-boo!

Pies and cheesecake.  Yum!

Isaac and Ozzie playing at the top of the stairs

Chris and uncle Roger enjoying their Thanksgiving nap

"Night Night"

Tonight I was trying to finish up the dishes and I could tell Elijah was tired.  I had changed his diaper and put his pajamas on, and he had found a pacifier (which I usually only let him have in his bed) and he kept doing things like laying down on the floor.  He finally got cranky enough that I stopped doing the dishes even though I was almost done, and picked him up and he immediately said, "night night".  Ha! It was very obvious that he was ready to go to bed.  I don't think I've ever had one of my kids tell me they wanted to go to bed before, although Isaac did used to fall asleep in his high chair.  It was kind of a stressful point in my day but I did have to laugh and appreciate that one little thing.

On a somewhat unrelated note, we finally cut Elijah's hair.  Yesterday the mullet he has been developing just got too much for me and I decided to take the clippers to it.  He is such a wiggly boy it was hard to get it all even. Chris tried to clip around his ears with scissors and it is definitely not the smoothest job since he kept trying to turn his head, but at least the mullet is gone. I really loved his longer hair and I am trying to get used to it short but I still think he's pretty darn cute. Here's a picture with his new 'do:

Eating his first oreo while I made oreo pie crust.  He devoured it and asked for more and wasn't very happy when I told him no. 

Baby Girl

One of my friends has an incredibly sweet six month old baby girl that I got to snuggle a little bit today. I love my boys and feel pretty content at this point imagining only having boys but every once in a while it's nice to get a baby girl fix. Her chubby legs in her tights and her chunky little bum with a pink tutu on it was just so cute and fun. And she loves to play on her stomach and roll around all over which my kids never really did so that was fun to watch too.

Incidentally Elijah absolutely adores this particular baby girl and constantly tries to give her loves and hugs and stares into her eyes. It is hilarious and also a little alarming at times. I have to say the kids got good taste though because little Abigail is just the sweetest!

Giggles

For my birthday a year or two ago Chris gave me one of those hand held electric back massager things and today the kids saw it and pulled it out.  They were trying to convince me to pay them "twenty five REAL cents for a massage" or one dollar for 5 massages every day, or 10 dollars for a hundred massages every day etc.

I kept trying to convince them that they were using MY massager to earn money so I should get to have massages for free.  They were pretty stubborn about needing to be paid though, (quite the little businessmen) so I finally convinced William that he should give me a massage and then I would give him a massage and then we would pay each other a quarter.

Of course after all that work to convince him, when I laid down on the floor Elijah though it was hilarious to come sit on my head or lay down on my back, so Wiliam ended up giving him more of a massage than me, which was hilarious because Elijah thought it was hilarious and was giggling and belly laughing like crazy on top of me, which made all of us laugh, except when I couldn't because he was bouncing on my head.

When I gave William his massage he could NOT stop laughing.  It was so ticklish to him everywhere that the only place I could use without him cracking up was his calves.  Of course, that didn't really stop me from trying out his stomach and his sides and his feet and his armpits :). And it was pretty hilarious that after all his negotiations he was content to have me hand him a quarter and then hand it back to me. HA!

Then of course Isaac wanted me to give him a massage and he was even worse than William.  They were all giggling like crazy and Elijah kept trying to climb on top of whoever was laying down, and my hair was a crazy mess and it was a lot of fun.  The whole thing was just silly and funny from the start to the finish.

My kids are silly and exhausting and messy and smart and helpful and helpless and crazy and cute and naughty and I love hearing them laugh.  I'm grateful I got to enjoy that funny little time with them today. 

Heart Ache

The last few days I got a much needed break from my regular life.  It was really a lot of fun to go shopping and hang out and attend Time Out for Women, and not have to cook or take care of anyone except myself.  Kristel and I laughed a lot and did a lot of silly things.  It was a wonderful break.

However, right after we got to Salt Lake I got a phone call from my dad who told me he had run into the father of my best friend from high school. Stephanie's dad told my dad that doctors had found a cancerous tumor in Stephanie's one year old son Noah's abdomen.  My heart broke for her.

Noah is Stephanie's miracle child who she shouldn't have even been able to get pregnant with in the first place.  Her pregnancy with him was terribly hard resulting in her having to be in the hospital for over a month at the end of it while leaving her husband and two older kids.  And then Noah was born and he has been her sweetheart from the beginning.  He is the first of her children to look like her, and the happiest most endearing baby.  Stephanie told me that although she (of course) definitely loves her other babies and is so grateful to have them, Noah was the baby to teach her how much joy motherhood can really bring.

All this went through my mind when my dad told me the news. And my heart broke for them.

I had a wonderful weekend, but Stephanie and Noah were in the back of my mind the whole time. Saturday night I just couldn't sleep.  I kept thinking about them and wishing I could do something, and praying for them.  I thought of my own sweet, healthy little boys and wondered why some people seem to have to go through so much. My heart broke for them.

I joined in the fast that they had today for Noah.  I believe that there is a lot of power  in people of faith joining together in fasting and prayer.  And I wanted to be a part of that power for their family. 

Noah goes in for surgery on Tuesday.  I am grateful for modern medicine and doctors who can perform life-saving operations.  I am grateful for the power of the priesthood which Noah's father holds.  I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and a loving Savior who have the power to heal our bodies and our hearts.  I know that they weep for little Noah at this time just like I do.

My heart aches for this sweet family, but I will continue to pray and hope for healing for their bodies and their hearts. I pray that they may find rest and that their burdens may be light.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
                                                                                          -Jesus Christ 
                                                                                       Matthew 11:28-30

GPS lady

I'm on vacation! Yay! Kristel and I are taking a break from life, shopping a lot, laughing a lot and attending Time Out For Women this weekend. At one point in our search for awesome stores today we got all turned around but luckily Kristel's GPS on her phone came to our rescue and led us the right way without us going too far out of our way. That GPS lady sure is smart. She knows exactly the right way to go! 

I am also super grateful for all the people back home that are making this vacation happen for me, particularly Chris and also my Mom for her help with the boys. And of course for Kristel for being the kind of friend that I can do something like this with. 

And now I must sleep so I have lots of energy for tomorrow :)

Students

Today I taught 7 of my 13 students with 5 of them all in a row because I am going out of town tomorrow morning and had to shuffle things around a bit.  Five in a row is a lot for my kids to handle and even lot for me as I start to feel brain fatigue, but today was really not bad.  Luckily I have an awesome student who trades her lessons for taking care of the kids while I am teaching other students.  I don't know what I would do without her! In the last 6 months I have almost doubled the amount of students I had and it has been largely due to this girl that I have been able to do it. 

I really do enjoy teaching and even though it can be stressful and exhausting sometimes, it is also really rewarding.  Today one of my violin students played a song entirely in tune with relatively good hand position which is something we have been working on pretty much exclusively since she started with me at the beginning of the school year. I can't even express how pleased and proud that made me!

And another one of my students who is really talented but also has a really hard time focusing and not playing sloppily had a good lesson where he concentrated on what I was asking him to do and showed a lot of improvement.


I was also able to work with one of my students on the new practicing system and I know she is the type to do what I ask her to do so I really hope she has good success with it.  She is going to be kind of my guinea pig and so I'm excited to see where that goes. 

This picture is really blurry which is super irritating, (I didn't properly explain how to use my camera before I handed it to my dad...my bad!) but I wanted to put it up anyway.  My students were all so cute and did such a good job when we had our Halloween recital in October, and I am grateful for the opportunity to teach them and to continually try to improve as a teacher.