Motherhood Does NOT = perfection

This has been a really great week.  The more I document about my life, the more I look into it, and see how blessed I am.  I am able to appreciate the little things in my life and it makes it easier to see them as I am living each day.  My sister visited from Texas this week and brought her new baby.  We stopped by this beautiful Victorian home just a few blocks away from my house and asked if we could look inside.  She had the guts to ask because we used to live there! I have always taken trips past this house, knowing I used to live there and I've always admired it for its historic beauty. I was only 2 years old so I didn't remember much, but for Joana, a flood of memories came back.

This was her bedroom that she shared with our other sister.  She remembered that there was a cubby in the wall that one of the owners following my parents had covered.  They used to hide in there.

I believe this was the original door. They replaced a lot of them, but tried to keep as much as they could.

Here is a great front view.  My family called it the "white house because the bricks used to be painted white! Can you believe any one would do that to a beautifully authentic brick home? Thankfully, it got blasted off and is now back to the original red brick.

And for the first time in my life, my sister showed me the house I loved in when I was first born, just down a few streets from the Victorian home. This is called the "diamond street" house and I have heard a lot about it too but even though I have always lived close I had never gone to see it.  It;s just cool to see apart of your history.

So this is my sister Joana on the left, and my only brother Michael, and me  We are a family of 7 kids, 6 girls and 1 boy. I was the 5th girl (I dashed my parents hope of having a boy), and when Michael arrived my dad proudly announced "the king is born"!

A few more cam in from out of town. Christine ( back left) came from D.C. where her and her husband live. then Joana (next to her) from Texas. Front- Michael who lives in Utah by me. Myself, and Angela, in St. George. So 5 of the 7 were together.  It was fun.

I love this photo and the story that goes with it.  We went to the thrift store sale on MLK Jr. day where everything was 1/2 off.  After we picked out clothes for Eli, and asked him for each piece of clothing if he liked it or not, I think he got the idea of how thrift shopping works.  So then when it was time for me to choose some things, Eli knew just how to do it.  He would choose a shirt and say "Do you like this one mom?" and put it in the cart.  He had a great time picking out some things for me, and some of which I secretly put back.  He is growing up so fast.

I love that he still loves to dress up in super hero costumes (all from the thrift store).  One of my favorites is this lovely Superman with the sewn in spandex speedo thing.  His little bum looks sooo cute in it!  He is still young enough to let me cuddle and love on him, but I can  tell it will be over sooner than later, so I am cherishing it while it lasts.

One thing that I have known about for ever, but never tried is sticker charts for kids. Eli and Kate both have reasons to need to earn points for good behavior.  Recently, I have just felt out of control with my kids, and feel like they are in charge more than me.  So finally, I made a chart for each of them to earn stickers for good behavior.  When they fill up their chart, they can earn their toy. 

Eli loves this show on Netflix called Beyblade.  So he is working to earn the toys that come from the show.  And Kate.  Well, she just got upset when we put her stickers on the chart, because she just wanted to play with them.  I guess she is too young.  But for Eli it is really working,  I am also limiting tv time, and that it probably the best thing I am doing to increase good behavior.

Cousins.

The kids had a sleepover last night and today I took them swimming at Surf 'n Swim, a ;large pool than can simulate the ocean.  They had a blast.

Each day as I try to follow my goal to put my family first, and think of what I need to do for them, instead of for myself, I see the blessings.  I have been trying to spend more time with them and limit tv, and because of that Eli especially has been playing on his own.  This is something that is hard for him. Just like is dad was as this age, he always wants to be with someone.  I sneaked this picture of him pretending and playing with his toys. Again, he plays with friends, but not alone.  He was talking to his toys, imagining, an allowing me to get some cleaning done.  Its good because when I spend enough time with my kids in the day, I usually have some small moments when they are content to go play off by themselves.  For me, this is a sign that they are happy, and I am doing my job.  I cam across this beautiful quote about mother hood.  It made me feel emotional because I struggle with feeling inadequate as a mother.  This gave me some hope and encouragement;

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother... Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children... Some may have to work part-or full-time; some may work at home; some may divide their lives into periods of home and family and work. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else." Elder M. Russell Ballard

Posted in: extra notions, family, motherhood