Thursday, July 17, 2008

Family in Town

I have gained so much admiration on top of what I already felt for my sister-in-law. We've had my husbands brother's family here with nine of their ten kids, their oldest is on a mission and their youngest is not yet three. So we have six growing big boys and 2 young girls along with my three growing kids that went through 3 bags of cereal in one morning. Every meal, every outing, every day is an adventure, fun and exciting though too. It has been a fun challenge planning meals and putting them together and working out the legistics of space and all. Yet, somehow we've been fine and things have worked out, I have not yet lost my mind and I'm learning skills and tricks to feeding large groups several times a day. I've watched my K & M hand out chores to their kids and how they communicate and work with all these children. How M gets the kids to do things without even raising her voice. It seems like a big key is consistency and commitment, and lots of love.

When we were walking around the local campus as a big group, I thought it was really neat for these kids, they will always know they belong with their family and they have a group that they will always belong to. One brother had cruches and couldn't make the long walk, his older brother stayed and sat with him and later even gave him a piggy-back ride to meet up with the big 15 passenger van. Of course they have fights and sibling squabbles but their mom would just stop the car or withhold doing things until they could get along again. These parents love each one of their ten children and the children each know they are loved. They read scriptures together they pray together they work together. There are so many things I have learned to do with my children. Of course I'm writing my blog instead of implimenting all of this with my kids because I'm so tired.

It has been exhausting but fun and so much easier on us as the host instead of being the guest. I am so grateful we've had family come visit us this summer. It is so much easier on our pocket-book, on our children's sleep, on our sleep to be able to stay in our own home and have people visit, esspecially since we have still young children which are so hard to travel with. I think a key with family visiting is just loving and helping eachother, respecting one another and communicating. Wow, I'm so tired to think in and out of everyday is like this and even more crazy when not on vacation for K & M is amazing. I am so grateful for parents like them who bring these beautiful children into the world and raise them to be wonderful citizens, wonderful people and wonderful parents themselves one day.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Ups and Downs

Is it interesting how our energy levels can go up and down and our emotions. I talk to other women and I wonder if it is a woman thing. I'll go through so many emotions, I'll have a wonderful day just playing and being happy with my kids, the next day everything sets me off and I have no energy and feel crazy. So not only those cycles but the cycles women in general have every month, I get headaches and oneryness before those cycles. This one has been particularly bad, even clots so I think it might actually be an early miscarriage. I am sad about it but maybe because I never actually took the pregnancy test and it would have been really early like 4 weeks I can sort of tell myself it isn't happening. Though emotionally and physically I feel drained and sad. It usually takes me 2-3 years to get pregnant so in my mind it just isn't time yet, my babies not even two yet, that's what I tell myself.

My husband's mother just came into town this last week, you should have seen the energy I had I got the house clean top to bottom, and soon we'll have more family tonight or tomorrow, but I'm a bit drained right now so I'll take it slow and do what I can, they have ten kids, I'm sure they'll understand if everything isn't perfect. I do like having guests it gets me to clean my house and gives me energy to do it and organize beyond the daily stuff. I love having family come here, it is so much easier then traveling elsewhere with little ones. It is so nice to see family, I have great in-laws and it was so neat to marry into a family where I could have older sisters, I always wanted older sisters and I got my wish when I married.

My family was all here earlier in June, it was so fun, but short at the same time, it seems like when we got comfortable again with eachother then everyone had to go their separate ways. It's nice there is eternity with family, to know we can be together forever. I dread my children growning up sometimes, I want them to, but I love how close we are now while they are young. Yet I don't know quite how it works, but they will be my family forever if I can try to make good choices and choose the right, what better incentive could I have then to be part of Heavenly Father's family and live with Him again with my husband and children.