Some thoughts about motherhood...

This has probably been one of the hardest years in my mothering career.  It's been seriously difficult for me to hear about my friends/family sending their kids off on missions for our church and having mine not want to go....in some ways I feel like a failure.  I feel jealous when I see the pictures of my friends children going off to the MTC and pics of them on their missions.  Don't get me wrong I could not Love my boys anymore than I already do....I love them without end and nothing they say or do would ever change how much I love them.  I am proud of them...and want to be a part of their lives no matter what.  Though I may not always agree with the choices they make I am always their mom and their biggest cheer leader.  So, even though they don't want to live the lives I envisioned for them, I'm still here for them....I'm still their mom.  I can't wait to see what will come for them and I plan to be there cheering them on.....

One of the few pictures I have of Josh and Zack together......

 
 

Ginger Love

Just really love this ginger boy. 

Conversations

A really good song came on the radio as Joe and I drove down the street.......

Me:  Come on!!  Dance with me!!  (as I dancing in my seat )

Joe: No!

Me:  Oh, come on...have some fun!

Joe:  I am not a little kid anymore!

Me:  I'm not a little kid and I'm dancing.

Joe:  You are a mom and you have to act like a little kid because you have little kids.

Me:  I'm just acting like myself

Joe:  That's because you are a crazy mom.

It's in her blood.....

Yesterday Hannah was to give a talk in Primary.  I wrote out her talk on blank piece of white paper and left it on the piano.  I told her I wanted her to practice it while I was doing her hair up in my room.  I told her to grab a brush and meet me upstairs.....she called out "Should I bring my script?"  What can I say.....Drama runs in our family....

Flatiron Woes (like woe is me)

The good side

The burned hair

the bad side

So, I burned my hair with the new flat iron Aaron bought for Megan and me.  We've been using the old one for so long that I guess it just wasn't as hot as the new one and I just burned the heck out of the section right in the front on the left side of my face. I was mortified.....thinking now I'm going to have a Anne Hathaway hairstyle and I didn't even get to be in a movie to get that pretty doo....nor do I have a nice skinny face to support that style.  I got on the internet (what did we ever do without it) and saw that many recommended this product.....

I got some and feel that it has worked wonders with the rest of my hair but the burned part is still burned.  I used to blow dry my hair and it would be a giant fluff ball....now it's all nice and smooth.  The pictures above are just a blow dry, no flat iron and no product.  Maybe eventually the burned part will be better and I won't have to get a pixie cut.....like pretty Ginnifer Goodwin or Anne Hathaway....though I'd like to think that someday I'll be brave enough to just go for it.

A post about Bon Jovi

Josh was lucky enough to get to go see Bon Jovi in concert.  He was telling us about it at dinner one night last week and I mentioned that I got to see Bon Jovi in the 80's, back when their hair was really big and their spandex pants were really tight.....and that's when Joe yelled out, really loudly.....YOU WERE ALIVE IN THE 80'S!!!!?????

yeah.....feeling pretty old.

The Oldest Comes Home

Zack came home for a week.  It went by way too fast....like speed lightening.  I'm sad he had to go back so soon.  I really miss having him around.  He was gone so much of the time visiting with friends that I feel like I didn't get to spend much time with him.  He did go to Church with us to a friends ward for their baby's blessing.  We also did family pictures and then went out to dinner.  I just wish we had more time.....  I remember when they were all little and hoping for the day when they would grow up and not need me so much...but now I realize I was foolish to wish for those days because they came all too quickly and now I miss all the times they needed me....boo hoo....  Hopefully we will somehow fit in a trip to Utah this summer...fingers and toes crossed!

 

Josh, Lexi (one of Zack's best friends) and Zack playing around at my work.  We went to visit one night....

At Ivanna Cone

Zacharoni!

Another one from when we were at Ivanna Cone

Zack!

Zack's home for a visit and we are all so happy to see him again.  It's been too long.  I can't stop hugging him and neither can Hannah!

Joe woke up Sunday covered in hives.  Aaron and I were trying to get to the bottom of where they came from, we haven't changed detergents recently, no new meds lately, so we asked him what he ate at the birthday party he attended the night before...Wendys burgers and fries...that shouldn't of caused it.  Then we had this conversation......

Aaron:  What did you eat for breakfast? 

Joe:  (long pause)....Do you want me to tell the truth?

Aaron and Me:  (after exchanging a "look" between each other)  YES

Joe:  ice cream

Aaron:  Who gave you ice cream??

Joe:  No one....I snuck it. 

Aaron and I really had a hard time containing our laughter....at least he told the truth...maybe he had the hives because he was keeping that secret, they were gone the next day ...the hives, I mean, not the ice cream......

Au revoir!

Last school year Megan told me she really wanted to go on the school trip to France.  Each year LPS (Lincoln Public Schools) works with ISE (International Student Exchange) to take kids on trips abroad.  Megan really loves the French language and is in her 3rd year of high school French.  She wrote down each step she needed to take to go on the trip.  She worked hard, filling out all financial aide forms and applied for a scholarship.  She wrote an essay for part of the application to get a scholarship.  She saved her money and had enough for the down payment for the trip.  It was a super happy day when I received a phone call telling me that she did indeed get the scholarship for the trip....she ended up having to pay $200.00 for a $3000.00 trip!!  I just can't even say how excited I am for her to be able to have this opportunity!  She worked so hard, setting goals and achieving them.  I'm just so proud of her!!  

She will spend 5 nights with a host family in a town called Evruex.  The family has 1 daughter, who is around Megan's age.  She gets to go to school with her host "sister".  After her 5 nights there she will spend 3 nights in Paris with her group.  I absolutely can't wait to hear all about her trip!  These are going to be memories she will cherish for her whole life!

 

Getting ready to check in

I told her it was blurry but she refused to take another one

standing in line to check her bags

Group shot