The Truth About Big Families

When I was growing up I admired big families. I had one sister and that's all, not exactly a big family. But, I thought those big families must have it figured out. Jen and I fought constantly and it wasn't until I moved out of the house and we had our first babies within 3 days of each other that she became an indispensable friend to me. I digress, it seemed like those families got along all of the time. I pictured them surrounding a huge table sharing a meal and sharing their day and I thought it seemed pretty special. I also figured it would be hard work, so I didn't necessarily plan on a big family, just sort of admired them from afar. But, the Lord had it in mind for me to have a huge, noisy, messy family and because of that now I know the truth! The truth is:
#1 A family outing is always accompanied by noise, fighting and disagreements. We just went on the mountain to get a tree and I heard things like, "it's squishy in here, I can't breathe, this is stupid, I don't want to go." Lyndon and I snapped, "well, we are going so deal with it."
#2 Sitting around a table is not usually a warm fuzzy thing, but more like a war zone in which you a. hope you have something to eat when they finish and b. consider the meal a success with only two spills.
#3 There is never enough time to feel like you meet their needs. You notice that baby's toe nails are so long they curl, you realize your 6 year old still can't ride a bike, you see that your 11 year old is only about 1/2 inch shorter than you and you are sure the last time you checked it was at least a couple of inches and you realize that your kids are often living in squalor and you promised your kids would never live that way.
The list could go on and on sharing the "truth" about big families. But, may I end on this note...While I watched my husband grabbing each of my kids today and dipping their heads in the snow, them giggling so hard they could hardly breathe I knew that this is what it is all about. I wouldn't trade it for a quiet family with perfectly trimmed toe nails. The truth about big families is that they are awesome and I am grateful the Lord had it in store for me to have one....

Terribly Two

Micah is two and the truth is about a week ago he woke up terrible. Here are the top five reasons I have decided not to sale him on EBAY.
#5 He is an absolute midget, he is so short that his bum nearly grazes the ground while walking, this makes him travel size for my convenience.
#4 He is in no way potty trained but will pee on the potty just before he gets in the tub. This makes him so happy that he goes running through the house naked looking for the parent who wasn't with him so that he can yell, "pee" and get a high five. It's funny as heck.
#3 He loves to pretend to eat my face and yells, "yummy, yummy, yummy" while doing so. It tickles and who doesn't like being told they are yummy?
#2 He has great taste in people. He WORSHIPS my husband and becomes angry, followed by moody and then depressed when he leaves. I go through the same things when he leaves.
#1 You just never know when you will need to know if there is a chicken within a 100 mile radius and he can spot them every time. He also doesn't leave you wondering because he will yell "chicken bok, bok" over and over until you acknowledge said chicken with the same amount of enthusiasm.
So, as of today he is not being put up for bid on EBAY, but just in case I change my mind how much do you think a chicken loving, midget two year old would go for?

I Learned My Lesson...Until Next Time

I can't tell you how I looked forward to this past week. I already mentioned the 15 hours that I had planned to spend with hubby, but there was even more. I got to have lunch with my college roomies. These are some of my favorite people on the planet. We can go months without seeing each other and sort of start out where we left off. I could never tire of visiting with them. There are four of us and a total (for now) of 17 children! We share each other's joys and struggles, it was a blast. So then I headed to the hotel to meet Lyndon for our magical 15 hours. I thought I would start with a little workout. I was feeling a little yucky, but by the end I was wheezing like a first time runner after a mile...Decided to ignore it and got ready for our date. I was feeling a little crummy through the dinner, but still ignoring...Heck, I was on a date for Pete's sake. I was bursting with pride to be sitting with my cute husband who was nominated as engineer of the year for the state of Utah. He didn't win (thank goodness for him, he hates recognition), but I am well aware that he should have! After the dinner we went to a movie, I spent the whole time trying not to cough and having some guy look at me like I was personally coughing in his popcorn...after it was over I could neither talk nor breathe...Lyndon gave me some Nyquil, we slept a few hours and then hurried home because Grayson (who wasn't sick when I left him) was now running a fever of 103...
The next morning, after missing my nephew's baptism because we had to leave mid warm fuzzy talk because of one sick mommy and three sick babies I was feeling much better. Lyndon assured me he could handle the sickies and encouraged me to keep my plans to go to St. George for the weekend. Long story short-I ended up in the St Goerge ER in the middle of the night (Nicole, I am so, so, so sorry) with pneumonia. So after totally germing up my friend and her family I made it home Sunday sick with a house full of sick people. Lyndon took Gray to the ER as soon as I got home---he has a nasty case of the croupe. Kyle sounds like a seal with a cold, Gray is pretty near comatose and I feel awful. The Moral of the Story: This mom should NEVER leave the house without her children. I think I have learned my lesson...

Sigh...

Today is Sunday and the truth is I am bored. I can't believe I just said that, that never happens to me. See Lyndon is at church with 3 of my 5 sons (truth told he has the noisy ones) and I am home with 2 who are to sick to do anything more than wander, watch TV, or sit in a state of lethargy. The lethargy is rubbing off on me. Since the new me is making peace with not getting it all done instead of making productive "to do" lists for the week I am pouting about the next 72 hours that my husband won't be home...Let it be clear and out in the open that I am thrilled for hubby. He is going to Colorado to go hunting with his best friend. Let's face it that man has to make do with "fun" being things like tilling horse poop into the garden on most days, of course since he is him he gets all excited about that too...but, anywho this time he gets to do something that really does qualify as fun to men who like to hunt. The good news is at the end of the 72 hours I get to meet him in Salt Lake for about 15 hours of just him and me...sigh...Doesn't that sound fabulous? It's that time of year again when Engineer's Conference is upon us and so we go. It's funny how as the kids have increased in number the days we stay together lessens and now we are down to a measly 15 hours...Oh well, I will take whatever I can get. As for the next three days, I am not a teenager I am a grown up (with a whole head of gray hair to prove it). I am to old to marinate in chocolate and whine because the love of my life is not here, I will not listen to mushy music and watch chick flicks while the kids are in bed and get thrown off by noises in the night....I am a GROWN UP, never mind, where is that Halloween candy?