Mother's Day Fun

It is so fun to have the children get older and want to do things for you. The kids were excited to make me breakfast in bed this morning. Of course they just learned about this concept earlier in the week from no other than myself! One of my motherly duties is to teach my children, especially about service to others. So with the seed planted, it only took me mentioning breakfast and they were all over dad to get out of bed and take them downstairs! Wow it is so nice to have an extra hour of sleep. They proudly carried up their trays that they prepared for me. Each one had to take a turn to tell me everything they chosen for me. It was so sweet and nice. I enjoyed a "love bite" of the cheeseburger so John could eat the rest. They both really wanted the fruit by the foots so those were given away as well. I was allowed to eat one of the doughnuts, the other one was for Ducky. I was also allowed to eat the toast and raisins. It was the nicest breakfast I have ever had.

Happy Campers

John's tray:

cheeseburger plain, no meat; fruit by the foot; fruit loops; smoothie

Alison's tray:

unbuttered toast; raisins; 2 chocolate doughnuts; fruit by the foot

The rest of the day went well. Mark prepared dinner and let me take a nap. As I was getting the kids ready for bed I told John for what felt like the hundredth time to put his pajamas on. You see, that is a true Mother's Day! Anyway, John precede to tell me that this was "the worst Mother's Day party ever! I don't want to celebrate Mother's Day ever again! I just don't get to do anything I want to do!" To which I replied, "I am having a great Mother's Day. This day is all about me the mom. That is why it is called Mother's Day. It is not about you, you are not the mom.". To which he replied, "then when is Son's Day?". I held back a full laughter because he was serious. He was expecting a day of partying, I guess, and it was at 7:30 at night that he realized no breakfast in bed or presents for him, and mom was still going to tell him what to do. I do love my children! They never stop making me laugh.

Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day and what a wonderful day it is. I am so thankful for my own mother and all that she has taught me in my life. There are many times in the day when I stop and say to myself, "wow, I just did or said that just like my mom". I am thankful for her example to me in serving others. My mother was always doing something for someone other than herself. I think back to how we always had clean clothes, food to eat and things to play with. Our friends were always welcome in our home. I watched her give service to those who were in need, even when she had 10 children of her own and a husband who was busy with his work and church callings.

I hold a special place in my heart for the women I know that have more children than myself. I often think of my mother as I talk with them and wonder just how she did it all. I try to give of myself to all women in my life that give so much to their families and friends. I pray daily that my Heavenly Father will guide me to know when they could use some help. And then I try to follow whatever prompt I receive to go and do for them. Sometimes it is as simple as bringing over a pizza and salad for dinner. I have learned that it does not have to be homemade to be from the heart.

And so to my own mother I love you. I hope that you had wonderful friends that thought of you when your own children were too little or too much of a teenager to think about you and what you might need in your life. I thank you for your example of being a mom. You made it look so effortless! I thank you for your testimony of our Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. I thank you for saying prayers with us and encouraging us to go to church, read our scriptures and say our own prayers. I thank you for the love you so freely gave to me.

At this time I am also thankful for my mother-in-law. I am thankful for the love and care she gave to her own children, specifically Mark. I am thankful for the way she raised him to be kind, honest, dependable and hard working. For the way she "put up" with him at times. I know that he has not always told you how much he loves and appreciates you. But I want you to know that he does. A while ago while dealing with our own son, who is very much a "mini Mark", Mark said to me, "Wow, I really appreciate my mom and what she had to go through raising me". I hope you know how much we both love and appreciate you and your patience.

As for my own motherhood experiences I am always glad to be a mom. I am thankful for the beautiful children that I have. I am thankful for their personalities and ability to make me stand in awe. They have brought me such joy, laughter and love. Yes, there are times that I would like to take a "vacation" from motherhood, but I never want to quit.

My own celebrations started at 4 am this morning when Alison tapped me on the arm and said she wanted to sleep with me. I opened the sheets and pulled her close. It is always such a wonderful feeling to have someone curl up next to you and be so comfortable that they just fall asleep. I stand in awe at the trust and faith they put in me, their mother. I love to lay next to John at night and feel his body relax as I listen to his breathing slow and watch him close his eyes in complete peace and comfort. I am honored that he needs me to lay with him to help him fall asleep. I treasure these cuddle moments that I have with my children. I know that it won't be long before they don't need or want me to cuddle with them. And so for now, I lay down next to a wiggling body and accept the feet in my back as I sleep, because someday, I will miss it.

John Loves Mom

On Friday, May 9th, the Kindergartners had a Mother's Day Tea. All the moms were invited to come to the school and watch the children perform 3 songs. Following the songs the children lead us over to tables where we were able to sit together and have tea and cake. John and I enjoyed pink lemonade and carrot cake. Then the teachers handed out all of the wonderful gifts that the children had created for their moms. John made me a trivet which he painted a butterfly on. He also made the picture of him and I and said I was beautiful. When he got home from school he gave me another gift that he made in Kinder Day. It is a candle holder with a coupon in the card valid for his "help" when I want it. I am so lucky!

The songs the children sang were just beautiful. They sang out strong and clear and were so excited to perform for their moms. It just melted my heart to watch my own child up there singing to me. Wow! I don't think that I ever thought my little baby boy would be a Kindergartner. He is so sweet and loving. He enjoys making things for others. John loves to play with his cars, dinosaurs, race tracks and Transformers. He is really enjoying having a play mate in his sister. He loves his best friend Jake and always wants to play with him.

Earlier in the week while I was cuddling with John at night he sang the songs to me. He has such an excellent voice and memorizes things so quickly. One of the songs that they sang to the mothers was "You Are My Sunshine". When John was a baby I used to rock him and sing this song to him. However, I would sing, "you are my son John, my only son John". He informed me that I was wrong when I would sing it to him because I was singing the wrong words. Oh well. John you are still my "only son John" and "my Sunshine". I love you very much and I am so happy that I get to be your mom.

Alison Loves Mom

Alison just loves going to pre-school! She loves being able to play with friends and make art. For Mother's Day they made a book to give their moms. Alison is so proud of hers. She did a wonderful job and I smile every time I look at it. I love my Alison. You are a sweet little girl. You love to cuddle with mom, watch movies, drink chocolate milk, eat snacks (all day), and play with your friends. You really love your brother, John. You love to play with him and play with his toys when he is at school. You miss him when he is gone to school and are so excited to play with him when he gets home. You are always looking for his approval and following every thing he does. You told me the other day that for your birthday you wanted all the same toys that John got. You are a friendly person and wonderful at sharing. I am so happy that I get to be your mother. I love you so much!

Disneyland, Where Our Dreams Came True

We had so much fun at Disneyland! It was the first time for John and Alison and to see the magic in their eyes was priceless! We arrived at the hotel around 1:00 pm on Wednesday, April 23rd. We stayed in the beautiful Disney California Grand Hotel. Disney really knows how to accommodate families. There were bunk beds for the kids and a Queen bed for mom and dad. We even had two sinks! Wonderful and friendly service all the time.

John had heard about the Indiana Jones ride from a friend at school. He has no idea who Indiana Jones is, but that ride was the first thing on his agenda. When we entered the gates I wanted the traditional picture of the family in front of the train station with Mickey's face in flowers below it. John had a different agenda, and so I gave in and said we could take the picture the next day when we entered. By the way, I never did get the picture! We only have one family picture and that is with Mickey. John would pick and choose when he was in a picture mood the entire trip. Kids! Then out came Cinderella and The Fairy Godmother, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. Alison was so excited! We were right next to Cinderella and The Fairy Godmother, so we were the first in line. John refused to take a picture with them and just wanted to go ride the ride. We compromised and got their signatures and photos with Alison and tried to console Alison that we would see the other two later on.

Me being the "planner" that I am, we had to ride the train first, because that is what you do when you go to Disneyland. At every train station stop John wanted to get off to ride Indiana Jones, but once the train got rolling again he was fine and excited to see what it had to offer. Back at Main Street USA, we headed on foot straight to none other than Indiana Jones. Alison was too short to ride it so while the boys headed off we went all through Tarzan's Tree House. John loved the ride and thought is was "sooo sweeet". I also got to hear about the "cool" snake and boulder that Indiana saved them from.

Alison was just in awe the whole time, looking out for princesses and princes. We rode every single ride at Disneyland and California Adventure during our three days there. Alison went on Thunder Mountain and thought it was "stupid". So after that one she and I did other things while the boys went on all of the fast roller coasters. We had a wonderful time. We saw every parade and performance and took a lot of pictures.

One morning for breakfast we ate at the Critter Cafe. We were entertained by all of the forest critter characters while we dined. They come to your table and sign your autograph books and pose for pictures. We even joined in a "train" that went all through the restaurant lead by Brother Bear. John was so in to it that he even asked our waiter, Jose, to sign his autograph book.

Alison's highlight was dinner with the Princess at Ariel's Grotto. When we first entered there was Ariel as a human waiting to say hello and hug our little princess and take a picture. John refused to be in the photo with us or have her sign his book. He "was not hungry and just wanted to go on rides". Since we have been home Alison told me while looking at the picture, "I just love this picture of Ariel, me, you and dad. It is my favorite picture. I am glad John is not in it because that would have ruined the picture". Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle all came around to each table to spend time with the guests. I was quite impressed with how each one of them used the voice that you hear on the movies. They address the girls as princess and the boys as prince. Alison was so happy to watch them go around the restaurant and then when they finally arrived at our table all she could do was smile and stand there. We had to prompt her to answer them and talk to them. You could see in her eyes that she knew she was talking to the real Princess. I just love seeing that magic in her eyes. I will admit, I am still a little girl at heart because I look at them and think they are the real thing as well.

I just can't say enough about our trip. It was the most magical time for our family. We really enjoyed ourselves and spending time together. On our last night there the kids said they did not want to go back to Oregon, they wanted to stay longer. We all did. I explained to them that we could not stay longer because we had spent all of our money. We did not have any more money to pay for the hotel or food. We needed to go home so dad could go back to work to earn more money so that someday we could come back.

Every day Alison asks at least three time when we are going back to Disneyland. I say not for a long time. She was telling her friend all about the fun she had at Disneyland while they waited for the movie Speed Racer to start. She then followed it up by saying, "We had to come back home so dad could go back to work and earn more money so we can go back again". The two dads just looked at each other and laughed.

For now we have the memories of our dreams coming true. We look forward to the time when we can go back and make more dreams come true!

6 years old!

We can hardly believe that John is 6 years old! He enjoys hearing about the time he spent inside mom's tummy and what he was like as a baby. He is excited to be a 1st grader next year. For his birthday this year the theme was Transformers. We had a friend party at Chuck-e-Cheese which was a lot of fun. We provided pizza, drinks and tokens and the kids had a great time. I brought brownies for dessert. I had put one of his Transformers, Optimus Prime to be exact, on the brownies as a decoration with the candles. But once he saw Optimus on there he just wanted to hold him. I don't remember if I even got a picture of the brownies with Optimus on top!

I took cupcakes, juice boxes and cheese and crackers to his class for snack on the day of his birthday. That night he got to pick where we had dinner. We had asked him on Sunday to think about where he would want to go. This is how the conversation went:

Mom= "John, where do you want to go for dinner on your birthday?"

John= "Um, is there a place called Denny's?"

M= "Yes."

J= "What kind of food do they have?"

M= "All kinds. Pancakes, eggs, hamburgers, mac n' cheese, grilled cheese. Things that you would like."

J= "Okay. I choose Denny's."

M= "Mark, where is the closest Denny's?"

Mark= "I don't know."

We figured out where the closest Denny's was, but by the night of his birthday John had changed his mind. He got Heeley's (shoes with a wheel in the heel) as one of his presents and was not about to leave the house or stop learning how to use them for dinner! There are no pictures from the day of his birthday because he refused to let me take any of him or the wonderful Transformers table decorations I had set up the night before!

We went to California on Saturday, April 19th to see Grandma and Grandpa Thompson and go to Disneyland. So on Sunday, April 20th John got to have an extended family party at Grandma's house. The two months leading up to the party and trip the kids were so excited. I get catalogs in the mail that sell themed party supplies. John cut out the Transformers page and was working on a letter to mail to Grandma Thompson to tell her that he wanted his party to look just like the one on the page. He never did get his letter off to Grandma, but he called her at least three different times with requests of what he wanted, how he wanted it to look and how we would "surprise" him the day of the party!

Grandma did an awesome job at filling every request! John has never had a pinata before and he requested an Optimus Prime one to be at his party, filled with candy and toys. Grandma found an Optimus Prime pinata! This thing was taller than John! He looked like a Mexican wrestler, but we taped an Optimus Prime party mask on him and he was perfect! After the kids all had a turn hitting him and getting candy, John went to town on him! He beat that guy to pieces! Then some of the wonderful Uncles suggested that we burn him. Grandpa was soon outside with the lighter and putting the pieces in a metal bucket. He went up in flames! The kids were so excited! John even got to be the Fire Fighter and put the flames out. This moment will forever be burned in his memory (pun intended). I just hope that he does not expect to always burn the pinata when we are done with it!

We had a wonderful time with our extended family. The kids had fun playing with their cousins. That does not happen often enough for us, so it was a welcomed time. Thank you to our Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents for presents, food and good times. We had a great time talking and laughing with all of you. Thank you for donating your weekend to us to spend time as a family. We love our family and our 6 year old, John!

Tulip Farm

One of my favorite things to do in the spring is go to the tulip farm. There are thousands of tulips in blume and it is an awesome sight! We usually go during the week when it is not crowded and free parking. However, this year, the only day that was not raining was a Saturday. So we went as a family. Never again will I go on a Saturday. Way to crowded! The kids did their usual complaining as we viewed the flowers first, then played on the kids toys. But for me, it is worth tuning out their voices as I take in the beauty.