Blessed

School has now started for both Grant and Grace.  I miss them terribly.  I miss Grant's constant talking and I miss my shadow and little helper.  I miss Grant's huts and constant messes and I miss fighting Grace over her overuse of the iphone.  I know that Amelia Jane is going to miss them, too!  She went to the stairs today and called, "RANT!!!"  And she kept going in Grace's room and would look in Grace's crib, closet and castle tent; however, to her dismay, Grace could not be found.

We have definitely been blessed the last few weeks.  We always feel blessed but there have been a few things that have really stood out.  We decided to move Grant to a different school this year.  That decision was made with a lot of fasting and prayer.  Adam and I were really worried about him since he has some major anxiety issues.  The night we went to meet his teacher, Grant told me that he wanted a boy teacher.  I explained that I didn't think there were any boy teachers but sure enough...he got Mr. Hanna!  Then to top it all off we found out that Mr. Hanna is also a member of our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  That has really put Grant's mind at ease.  It was also really cute because as soon as we found out, Grant exclaimed, "I won't have to give him a Book of Mormon at the end of the year!"  So far, Grant is enjoying school and has already made a few friends.
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As far as Grace goes...the start time for her school was changed and because of conflict with Grant's school, she was going to have to be transported in the morning.  My heart was broken.  School starts at 9 and they would have been picking her up between 7 and 7:30!  That is too long for a little one.  I was going to be able to take her myself today (the first day) but I was still dreading the rest of the week when she would be transported.  Last night, I was in tears.  I crawled in to her room and held her hand through the crib slats as I cried. (Ridiculous, right?!?!) Then, this morning when I dropped her off, the Associate Director, asked me if I would be able to bring her myself if school started at 9:15 instead.  I said I would be able to and she responded, "Okay, well the time has changed.  School starts at 9:15 now so we will let transportation know that Grace doesn't need a ride."  I was ecstatic!  I had been praying that something would work out.  I know that prayers are heard.  I know that they don't always get answered how we want them to but they do get answered.

      

We have also been enjoying adorable Alex and his big, beautiful smile.  It is a long story...Alex came to stay a day or two at the beginning of August.  A friend needed a little help.  That day or two turned in to a few weeks and last we heard we will have him until the end of October.  He and Grace have a special connection.  Grace usually won't leave his side and she loves that they share a room. Amelia is very protective as well.  The teachers at Grace's school were loving on Alex and Amelia was screaming.  She didn't want anything to happen to her baby.  Once she could kiss him, she would calm down for a minute.  It was very sweet.  Grant is a big helper and is very protective as well. You wouldn't believe the looks I get when I am out in public with all 4 alone...I also get a lot of rude comments behind my back but whatever.  Some think Amelia and Alex are twins, others just look confused.  It's pretty funny. I can't wait to add more little ones to our clan.  I have been exhausted but have loved the chaos.

Say What?

It's been how long since my last post?  I know, I am a horrible blogger.  We've just been having too much fun.  Grant and Grace celebrated their birthdays, we went out to UT, we've played hard, spent lots of days at the pool, you name it and we have probably done it.

Meet your friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man!

 Grant has spent a lot of time being Spider-Man and Batman. We might need to revisit the definition of reality with him.  Seems as how he believes he REALLY is Spider-Man.  I would have thought he would figure out he isn't Spider-Man when his face met the hardwood floor after attempting to climb the wall from a standing position on the top of the couch.  We were glad to find out that his nose was not broken.  It was crooked from all of the swelling but everything seems to be fine.  I made him a bunch of masks so he has been zipping around playing make-believe.  I love watching him play.  He lives in a wonderful world!

Poor thing would just zone out

Miss Grace has had aspiration pneumonia but she seems to be doing much better.  She is full of attitude, loves the ipod and iphone and will do just about anything to get to it when it is put out of her reach.  It is hilarious to watch!  She will get books, lotion, pillows, anything she can find to stand on in hopes that it will make her tall enough to get to the goods.  She eventually goes into the bathroom and drags the stool to her desired location so she can climb up and reach it.  She is extremely clever and determined!   She still doesn't say much of anything we can understand, but she signs like a pro.  We are excited to watch her learn and grow this upcoming year.

Apparently eating tennis balls helps cure pneumonia.
 Who knew, right?

Seriously, mom?  I'm not in the mood!

Miss Amelia Jane is full of energy and is into EVERYTHING! She loves to climb things and LOVES her daddy and her binki (which she call a "mum, mum").  Whenever she sees a phone she puts her hand to her ear and says, "Hi Dad!"  She also loves Grant.  If he isn't in the room she will yell, "Rant!"  She enjoys wrestling...and if you don't participate you will feel the wrath of her teeth.  It is not unusual to hear Grant tell her, "I'm not chicken!  Stop eating me!"  Amelia Jane is also starting to take steps. It is fun to see her hit different developmental milestones.

With girls in the house there is a lot of dancing going on!  Grace would dance all day if she could and Amelia likes to feel the groove, too.  However, their favorite thing to do is dance with daddy.  And I don't blame them!

Our Little Missionary

Since the beginning of the year, Grant has been begging to give his teacher a copy of the Book of Mormon.  We decided since tomorrow is the last day of school for him, we better let him.  Tonight, he sat at the kitchen table and wrote her a note.  This came from his heart.  He did ask me how to spell a few things.  It was too tender not to share.  We are proud of him for wanting to share what he believes.  He knows that it makes him happy and "makes [his] heart feel good" as he says.  And so, he wants to share it with those he cares about because he wants them to feel that same happiness and peace that he does.  Well done, buddy!  Well done!

**Translation:

Dear Mrs. Mitchell,

I believe in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter –day Saints.  In the Book of Mormon there are stories that I love to read and hear every day.  I know the Book of Mormon is true.  I’ve prayed about it.  I hope you’ll read it and pray about it, too.  I know Heavenly Father will answer you.  

Love Grant Adam Barrow. 

You can underline it, too.

Happy Father's Day

 I met Adam in 7th grade.  Decided he was the boy I was going to marry in the 8th grade.  Then stalked him for many years after that.  :-)

 Now 8 years and 3 kids later, the man of my dreams has far surpassed my expectations!  He is an excellent provider, a loving husband and father and a wonderful example to us and everyone around him.

 When Adam is home he is focused on the kids.  He doesn't have the tv on watching sports, he isn't too busy to spend time with the kids--no, he is upstairs wrestling, chasing, playing make believe and even dolls sometimes.

 Grant, Grace and Amelia Jane adore him.  And you know something, I do, too!  Happy Father's Day, Babe!  Thanks for being the best daddy (and husband) ever!  

8 months old and too cute for words!

You can argue with me but you will lose...Amelia Jane is THE cutest 8 month old around.  :-)  She just mastered the skill of pushing up to sitting from her tummy and is always jabbering.  If you listen carefully you will hear her say,  "buh-bye", "cheese", and "hi".  She doesn't love to perform on command so that was the best I could get.  She also loves to call her "bubba" (brother), "dada", "sssssss" (sister), and can say "ligh" (light), "I did it", "a dis" (what's this and/or here's this), "up", "lub" (love), "eyes", "nuh" (nose...you ask her where your nose is and she grabs it) and "duh" (duck).  It is fun to see her little personality developing and we cannot believe that she is going to be 9 months soon! Amelia is such a great baby.  She has had ear infections and a viral infection that has caused her to have a fever over 104, some vomiting, and febrile seizures.  She is still fairly happy and really calm through it all.  I guess you have to pretty relaxed when Grace is your sister.  If she can handle getting pushed over, strangled, squeezed, etc.  She can handle anything!  

"Somebody"

This version was shared by my mission president's wife, Sister Blood (this is Adam, hijacking Jaci's blog today)

SOMEBODY

'Somebody' said a mother is an unskilled laborer....
'Somebody' never gave a squirmy infant a bath.

'Somebody' said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby
'Somebody' doesn't know that once you're a mother, normal is history.

'Somebody' said a mother's job consists of wiping noses and changing diapers....
'Somebody doesn't know that a child is much more than the shell he lives in.

'Somebody' said you learn how to be a mother by instinct...
'Somebody' never took a three-year-old shopping.

'Somebody' said being a mother is boring
'Somebody' never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver's permit.

'Somebody' said teachers, psychologists and pediatricians know more about children than their
mothers
'Somebody' hasn't invested their heart in another human being.

'Somebody' said if you're a good mother, your child will turn out good...
'Somebody' thinks a child is like a bag of plaster-of-paris that comes with directions, a mold and a
guarantee.

'Somebody' said being a mother is what you do in your spare time...
'Somebody' doesn't know that when you're a mother, you're a mother ALL the time.

'Somebody' said good mothers never raise their voices
'Somebody' never came out the back door just in time to see her child wind up and hit a golfball through
the neighbor's kitchen window.

'Somebody' said you don't need an education to be a mother....
'Somebody' never helped a fourth grader with his math.

'Somebody' said you can't love the fifth child as much as you love the first
'Somebody' doesn't have five children.

'Somebody' said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books
'Somebody' never had a child stuff beans up his nose.

'Somebody' said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery....
'Somebody' never watched her baby get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten.

'Somebody' said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back
'Somebody' never organized seven giggling Brownies to sell cookies.

'Somebody' said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married
'Somebody' doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter in-law to a mother's heartstrings.

'Somebody' said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home
'Somebody' never had grandchildren.

'Somebody' said being a mother is a side dish on the plate of life
'Somebody' doesn't know what fills you up.

'Somebody' said your mother knows you love her, so you don't need to tell her
'Somebody' isn't a mother.

Note:  When 'Somebody" doesn't have it quite right, a good plan is to look for 'SOMEBODY ELSE,' the
person who really knows the truth. Mothering is a noble profession.

Odds and Ends

First of all, I have to say I am so ashamed of myself.  Nana B. came out for a visit at the beginning of April and do you know what happened to the pictures of her trip?  Nothing...because I didn't take any!  That's right, zip, zero, zilch!  What was I thinking?  We might not have pictures to document the fun, but Grant is still talking about all the fun stuff he got to do. One of his favorite things was bird watching.  He loves to carry around the bird book Nana bought him and he enjoys telling everyone about all the birds he has seen. 

In other news, a few weeks ago, we taught Grant how to mow the lawn.  He did a pretty good job and seemed to enjoy himself.

I started out showing Grant how to mow
then daddy came out and fine tuned the process.

Look at him go!

What a big helper!

 Little Miss Grace might have lost her "Princess" status at school today.  I have been worried that as she gets more comfortable with her teachers, she might start to misbehave like she does at home.    I am hoping it wont be as bad as it is at home.  Here she kicks, bites, scratches, screams, throws things (especially her food, milk, etc), pulls hair, pushes, tries to climb shelves in the pantry and hall closet, climbs on tables, you get the picture.  Last week at school she wouldn't really do what her OT asked her to do.  And today, she wasn't listening to her teacher so she got put in time out.  It broke my heart when I heard that.  Hopefully it will not happen again.

Amelia Jane is on the move.  I haven't been able to get a great video of her but here is a little video of her scooting around.  She is pulling her legs up under her and is also known to hang out in the plank position.  She doesn't like baby food.  She LOVES finger foods though and prefers to use her left hand over her right.  Daddy says we need to change that.  It is fun to watch her learn new things and it seems like she is growing up before our eyes!

Special Olympics

Last week, Grace participated in her first Special Olympics.  It was cute to see all of the kids so excited to be involved.  Grace and her little classmates did "events" like: red light/green light, a bean bag toss, racing across a tennis court, jumping from start to star, and throwing a ball at a target.  However, before any of the events started, there was a parade for the athletes.  It was held at a private school and the kids from the school were out in the bleachers cheering the participants on.  It was a little overwhelming for Grace at first but she eventually waved a little and blew some kisses.  It was also very overwhelming for me.  Emotionally that is.  I don't know what is wrong with me!  As soon as we pulled in to the school and I saw the sign for the Special Olympics, I started to cry.  Then, when I saw all the kids in the parade, I cried again.  And then, when they repeated the oath:

"Let me win.  But if I cannot win,

 let me be brave in the attempt."

I cried again.  All Adam can say these days is, "Oh, mama!"  He jokes that I would cry over a Walmart opening.  If it was a Target opening, he might be right.  :-)  Anyway, Grace seemed to have a good time.  She was excited that Daddy was able to break away from work for a while to watch her.  And of course, Amelia Jane was a great cheerleader.  The only sad part of the day was that Grace kept signing 'brother' and would search the crowd for him.  We debated on taking Grant out of school but decided against it.  Maybe next year.  It was cute, Grant asked if Grace won.  We said that she did and he was SO excited for her.  "Way to go Grace!  I knew you could do it!" he exclaimed as he gave her a hug.  He gets the award for being the BEST.BROTHER.EVER!

Grace lovin' on her sister

Grace and her teacher Miss Kelsey

Grace and her other teacher, Miss Toni

Yay!!!  Daddy came!

"What's going on?"

Grace's school in the parade

Throwing the ball at a target

Jumping from star to star

bean bag toss

Run girlfriend!

And she wins!!!

Easter!

 The Easter Bunny comes to our house on Saturday.  That way, the kids can focus on Christ on Easter Sunday.  It was cute this year to hear Grant talk about Easter.  He totally grasped the concept of why we do it the way we do.  He did ask why the Easter Bunny goes to some of his friends houses on Sunday.  I explained that I was able to talk to the Easter Bunny and ask him to come on Saturday.  Grant told me he liked it that way because he enjoys eating candy on Saturday's and thinking about Jesus and the resurrection on Sunday.  He is too cute!

 Last week, I ran in to the Easter Bunny and he gave me some magic jellybeans to plant.  So, Friday night after we watched HOP, Grant went out and planted the magic beans.

 He was so excited when he saw that lollipops had grown overnight!  He found some of the jellybeans in the dirt and tried burying them in a different location Saturday.  To his dismay, the jellybeans were no longer magic.

 The Easter Bunny loaded up Gran't basket and he even got K. Croc to go with his Batman set.  Grace got a 2 trains...and Amelia...she got a kiss from mommy and daddy.

 Don't you love the crazy hair and the big smile Saturday morning!  Grace loved finding eggs and could care less what was inside of them.

 Bug woke up at 4 in the morning and sneaked in to the living room and discovered his basket and toy.  Let's just say it was a long day because he did not fall back asleep when we forced him to lay in bed with us.

 Miss Amelia was all smiles as usual.  She had no idea what was going on but thought it was hilarious to see her brother and sister running around looking for eggs.  Grace has been very kind and has tried to share her jellybeans and treats with Amelia.  It's a good thing Grace is never really left alone with her sister.  :-)

This is when Grant discovered the lollipops.

 Grace was not thrilled that there were suckers growing near the flowers.

 So she took off and went to look for more eggs.

Trying to get them all to look at the camera and smile before we went to church didn't go so great...

 As you can see here

 And here

 And here

 Yup, here's another one

 C'mon Bug, you can do it...

That's as good as we are going to get!  We hope you all had a wonderful Easter!  We are so thankful for the sacrifice that Christ made for us and for the knowledge that He was resurrected and that He lives!