May 2010: My Morning Walk/Jog: Exercising More Patience Than Muscle

the other morning as i heard "i'm tired. can i have a drink?" for the millionth time from my scooter dragging 5 year old, and as i pushed my double jogging stroller one-handed, trying to hold a pacifier in the mouth of my screaming baby while my toddler whined that i wasn't going fast enough, this little thought popped into my head... "i'm exercising more patience than muscle. is this worth it?"*

well there have graciously been those morning in which the stars align for me: when I have just my younger two who can both fit in my champion jogger (I love love love my stroller), when Felicity manages to look like this (which she rarely does while at home): Tate is happy with his Veggie Straws and I can have a great work-out listening to my new Stroll-A-Tunes busting out Smashmouth's All-Star, such a happy, "you can do it" song. **

Other mornings I realize how desperate I am to get in a good workout and try to maintain patience, when I listen to my words as I tell my 5 year old child who has given up on our walk, to hurry because a dog is coming behind him (which in truth it was) and then throwing out the "you don't want to have to live here do you?" rationale.

Back to the question, "is it worth it?". I have decided "Yes!" Despite my days of very little muscle exhiliration and the fact that some days it takes an hour or so just to be able to get out the door with sippies, snacks, water bottles, helmets, sun screen, sun glasses, blankets, etc.... I have decided that I am helping my children develop a pattern of being active. Really they love our walks/bike rides/jogs (in the beginning of course:-) ). I have stopped trying to make it something it can never consistently be, a serious workout, and have shifted my mind into realizing that I need to expect a little less from it and turn it into a fun experience with the kids. We have developed somewhat of a pattern which includes stretching and push-ups in the beginning. We all do our stretches. I love watching Tate, who is thrilled to be allowed out of the stroller for a short time, attempt a one legged quad stretch. So cute! The older two love doing push-ups, which of course is done along a rock wall they love to climb after. We have also done squats together holding hands in a circle.

Hopefully one day I will realize that my patience and my muscles have both become much stronger, as well as my children's love for being outside and active.

*note: photos were not taken on this day, although i am getting better at taking photos one-handed

**Can you tell when I transitioned from typing from one hand whilest holding Felicity to two hands (which lasted about 5 minutes)? I started using capital letters again.

May 2010: Jesse's Girl

Well it is official... Jesse is engaged!!! to a darling girl from Pennsylvania, Jani. She was actually Elizabeth's roommate awhile ago up at BYU. Liz was a successful matchmaker. Jesse drove down the weekend before last so we could meet Jani and to propose. My mom, sister Vanessa, and I helped Jesse do some planning on the proposal and it was so much fun. Of course what could be better than a beach proposal. They are such a darling couple. I can't wait to be able to get to know her better. Being constantly needed by 4 children doesn't lend itself to much in-depth conversation; so glad I'll have plenty of time to try later.

They spent the day with us at Disneyland and were pretty much bombarded with attention by my children from the get-go. Tate became Jani's little shadow. Jesse and Jani proudly wore their Disneyland "Just Engaged" buttons.

May 2010: George "Whashington"

i was going through some of owen's work that he brought home from school and i found this entry in his composition book. it has to be one of the cutest things i've ever seen. i had to scan it right away to show my mom, who is a stalwart patriot and loves george washington (or "whashington" as owen spelled it). she has the beautiful painting of george washington kneeling in prayer over her fireplace. its a tough choice, but i'd have to say that my favorite part of his drawing is his hair:-) of course owen's is the sword!

May 2010: the little things

not me:-) but it could easily be my mom in her new convertible

it has been the little things that have kept me going these past few months, especially the past few weeks.

i was laughing at myself the other day after catching myself audibly thanking Heavenly Father for the garage door closing the first time i pressed the remote button as we were racing off somewhere already late i'm sure. our garage door is ridiculously selective on when it wants to open or close. my attempts at getting it to cooperate are usually accompanied by an, "oh, come on" or "seriously!!!" as i frantically point the remote in every possible direction upwards of 15 times in rapid succession. so of course you can see why i attributed the garage's decision to acquiesce the first time, as divine intervention to save the last nerve of a very frazzled new mom of 4.
i decided that i need to keep a list of all those little things, to help me remember to be grateful for my life a little more often. i'm going to put my list in my sidebar and add more as they emerge as a new little blessing and/or essential in my life. here are the first few:

1. garage door opening on first attempt
2. a shower
3. my morning walk/jog

April 2010: Faves from Felicity's First Month

4 Kids...Wow!!! That should be all I need to say to explain why I haven't posted more photos of Felicity. So sorry. I know that I've received lots of requests, so here I am staying up later than I should so that you all can see how adorable she is and learn more about her and our new family life. :-)

I'm sure you can imagine that there are quite a few photos of her in her first month, so it was very difficult to pick just a few. Here are some of my favorites:

March 18, 2010 My sweet baby sister holding her new little niece just days before she would have to say good-bye to leave on her mission to Switzerland for our church. Such a bittersweet departure.

March 27, 2010 Here are all my adorable children ready to head out on our first walk. We have all really looked forward to our walks/bike rides. This one lasted the distance of about 2 cul-de-sacs with the boys taking a few extra spins around the circle. It was a good start:-)

April 1, 2010 Such a Johnson trait, sticking that little tongue out. So adorable. This is on my mother-in-law Gail's birthday, from whom the 'Gail' in Felicity Gail comes from.

April 4, 2010 Here she is in her first Easter dress- accessorized with tights, a beaded bracelet, an itty bitty Alice bow, and joined by Hello Kitty in her bunny costume brought by the Easter bunny.

April 8, 2010 Baby sister is absolutely adored by all of her brothers. They want to be near her ALL the time. Here is sweet Eyan being able to hold Felicity for the first time after being sick since the day she was born. (Love my 'made over' glider-thanks Wendy and Melissa for painting it.)

April 11, 2010 Sleeping in her carseat wrapped up in a blanket that Auntie Lizzie made her. Don't let this appearance of sleep fool you:-) She doesn't sleep for longer than 10 minutes outside of my arms during the day. Thank goodness she is sleeping well at night. (I love love love how my carseat cover turned out!)

She continues to change so quickly. I've already spent an hour past what I allotted to myself so I'll have to post more recent ones soon:-) Come visit me.