It's Good To Be MOM

In light of a recent experience, I tried to really think about Mother's Day and take in all the little things that make it good to be MOM.
Waking up to a sleeping house and getting a quiet start to the day made it good to be MOM. Hearing a chorus of "Happy Mother's Day's" and being the recipient of some lovely kisses (some more slobbery than others) made it good to be MOM. Feeding, dressing, and grooming four little ones with little protest from any of them made it good to be MOM. Snapping some family pics before heading out the door and having 3 out of 4 children cooperate made it good to be MOM. Attending church and hearing three wonderful speakers and two Primary music numbers made it good to MOM. Teaching my CTR 5's about Priesthood blessings and having the star student (my Jax) give answers that make his momma proud made it good to be MOM. Having Mac tell me that he was truly sorry that he'd only made me 2 presents instead of 6 because I've been his mom for that many years made it good to be MOM. Coming home from church to the smell of roast beef in the crock pot and knowing dinner and dessert were in dad's hands made it good to be MOM. A walk around the neighborhood, a game of checkers, two games of hide-and-seek, and 5 games of freeze tag made it good to be MOM.
I'm a lucky girl, I tell ya! It's good to be me and it's good to be MOM!

P.S. Below are the Mother's Day cards we sent out to a few special mom's in our lives.

A Week of Firsts

Jilli was invited to her first birthday party on Saturday. I couldn't help not dressing her up in a fluffy party skirt. She was so happy and content at the party. She sat in front of a toy and played with it the entire time, stopping only long enough to smile at any passerby. She's such a pleasant easy going little girl and one man said to me, "By looking at her face, I don't think that girl's had a bad day in her whole life." It's true -- who wouldn't be happy with so many people so madly in love wih you?

I ran my first race with my wonderful friend, Kristi, last Saturday. Besides the sudden urge to throw up on the last leg of the race, everything went fine and dandy. Kristi and I even finished faster than we had expected and were very proud of ourselves. We each now have in our possession neon yellow t-shirts to prove we participated. GO us!

My sweet Jilli is the first child that I know of who is growing not her top two middle teeth, but her incisors. Jilli can definitely pull off the look now, but I just hope there's middle teeth coming sometime soon. I joke with the boys that she is a vampire who "has come to suck our blood." I think it's totally funny, but I do have to wonder if it's going to have some effect on their mental well-being.

Jaxton played in his first season of soccer this Spring and today was his last game. Fortunately he scored his first goal of the season about 1 minute before the game ended, but unfortunately about 30 seconds after our video tape ran out on the camcorder. By the look on his face you would have thought he'd just won the world cup -- he was one proud little boy!

Today Mac had his first playdate with someone not from church or the neighborhood. He and his best school buddy, Carlo, have been trying to set something up for weeks and it finally went through today. Mac went over to his house and played and then Carlo's parents took them swimming and to a family bar-b-q. He had such a wonderful time -- so wonderful, in fact, that he cried the whole way home because he wanted to stay with Carlo's family. Now it's our turn to host the next playdate and I feel like the bar's been set . . .

8 months of SWEETNESS!

We have loved every bit of these last 8 months with Jilli. She seems to be the center of all of our lives. The boys continue to be in absolute love with her and Mac said again yesterday that he thinks "Jillian gets more beautiful every day." She's babbles (mostly "dada") and lunges at everything. She'll even sit on her bum and roll through the chinese splits to get on her belly (I think this is the beginnings of a wonderful dancer :) We love this litte girl!

(Pictures courtesy of "Peterson Boys' Professional Photography")

A Different Point of View

Nate gave me a new camera for my birthday, so we gave the old camera to the boys. Since then, they have taken every chance they can get to snap pictures of all kinds of things. Here are some pictures of what seems to be their favorite subjects.






Good to know that if Mac's professional carrer aspirations as a "dentist on the moon" don't work out for him, then he and his brothers have a business in professional photography.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Can't help but love stylish shades, freckled noses, baby kisses, weed wishin', hair clips, and All-star ball games!






HAPPY SPRING!

Easter Weekend

My 30th birthday came and went and ended up being a great day. I started the day with a run at the gym and then I came home to a birthday egg hunt made by Nate. He had prepared 7 eggs and in each one there was a clue (that even rhymed) telling me where to go to find that particular present. The last clue ended with me finding a note that had a message from each person in the family. Nate also stayed up late the night before making me a double decker choclate cake (yum). The rest of the day was filled with egg hunts, good friends, and phone calls and messages from many. While I'd be happy to share this great day and it's photos here, I can't -- unfortunately they were all erased from the camera's memory card. :( When I turn 30 again next year (and the next and so on) I'll be sure to post some then.




We headed to the zoo on the Friday before Easter and had a great time. But, note to self not to ever go again on Easter weekend. The parking attendant said it's the busiest day of the season and we believe him -- it took us 45 minutes to drive 5 miles.

for ME!

In a perfect blogging world, I suppose one wouldn't dedicate an entire post to themselves, but I've never claimed to be perfect and so here it goes anyway.
Today is my last day in my 20's -- tomorrow I turn the big 3 0. And yes, I know, "you're only as old as you feel," but honestly that doesn't help. I'm still not sure I like the way 30 sounds. I don't feel old and in fact it wasn't until recently that I realized I could no longer pass as a high school student -- talk about shocker! I had an extremely hard time turning 20. I never wanted to leave my teens because they were wonderful to me. I really had a lot of anxiety leading up to turning 20 because I just knew it was going to be a rotten year and come to find out, I was right. Thankfully after I turned 21, life seemed to come around again and all was well. Turning 30 isn't the same though. I'm not having anxiety toward it, I just really never imagined myself being in my 30's -- it always sounded so old. But, here I am on the brink of it and whether I like it or not, tomorrow is going to come and I am going to turn 30 years old. So, in light of turning 30 in a matter of hours, I've racked my brain with as many things as I could think of about why being in my 30's will be great (let's see if I can convince myself).
- All of my child bearing years are over and I can now work on my "body for life."
- I can run 6+ miles, which I wouldn't have dreamed of doing at 21.
- All of my children will enter school.
- I'll return to a profession that I love (other than motherhood), being an elementary teacher.
- Mac will turn 16 years old and get his driver's license (I can't decide if that is something to look forward to).
- All three of my boys should be holding the priesthood.
- I might actually be able to find some quiet time for myself.
- I shouldn't have to sweep the floor three times a day.
- The three trees we planted in our yard yesterday will be big enough to offer us some shade.
- Unlike in my 20's, I shouldn't have to move residences 10 times.
Okay, that's all I've got and I'm not sure I'm convinced yet that it's okay to be in my 30's. Even Mac said the other day that he doesn't want me to turn 30. He then followed up with, "I just like you better in your 20's." Me too, buddy, me too.

Okay, okay, I just read over what I wrote and it does sound pathetically depressing. Looking on the bright side, I really am just happy to be alive and well and to have a wonderful husband and four darling kids to share my life with. I suppose I need to remember that life is a gift and one to be enjoyed and grow from and not necessarily to just count the passing years. While the sound of 30 years is slightly frightening, the fact that I've made it happily along this far is encouraging. So here's to being a better person . . . all 30 years of me! Happy Birthday ME, hope your day is great.