Visit to Holden Last Friday

Last week I had a pretty strong desire to visit my grandparents in Holden so when Friday rolled around, I hauled the kiddos to Salem to pick up my mom and we made the two hour drive.  I really need to do this more often because what a treasure it is for my kids to know and remember their time spent with great grandparents.

Siena came down with something that morning. At the time, I thought it was just food poisoning so we didn't cancel travel plans; however, a few days later Qiana caught the flu too. Poor little souls.

Heirlooms

A few of the family heirlooms Grandma Wood showed me last Friday:

Julia Theresa Cunningham Coon's belongings. Grandma Wood wore the purple necklace often.

A Christmas gift to Julia Teresa Coon in 1906. 

Great Great Grandpa Egbert carried this with him when he worked away from home on the rail lines. The front cover is engraved with "Joe" in beautiful cursive.

The ruby ring Grandma Wood is modeling was an engagement ring for Grandma Egbert.

The cameo brooch was commissioned by Grandma to be made whilst she was in Italy. The center bracelet is actually a watch. The wedding rings were engraved inside but have been worn down too much to be legible. The pin on the left was what 'Grandma Nana's' baby clothes were fastened together with.

Persuasion: Thumbs Up to Goat Cheese

This salad converted me from a hard core goat cheese hater to the complete opposite after only a few bites. (Either way, if you already love it or still can't stand goat cheese, you may want to take notes.)

Greens + goat cheese + dried cherries + cilantro + pomegranate seeds + raspberry vinaigrette. 

So easy and completely addictive. I even remember the date of the first time my fork pierced into this salad: Thanksgiving 2010, thank you very much. 

Oh, and here's my Sacrament Meeting talk from last week...

Intro (Name, how long lived here, children, calling… etc.)

Quiero relatar una experiencia que se llevó a cabo aproximadamente hace 2 años. Fue durante el mes de Diciembre y mi esposo y yo estábamos buscando regalos para la familia.  Era una noche muy mojado y frío. Antes de entrar a una tienda, Juan se cayó y se lastimo mucho.  Rápidamente fuimos al hospital y descubrimos que se rompió el tobillo.  La próxima mañana el tenia cirugía y 2 días después, regresó a la casa con mucho medicamento.  Para él, fue muy duro--aparte del dolor:  no pudo trabajar por 2 semanas ( y no pudo hacer su actividad favorita--esquiar--la cosa que había esperado todo el ano.)  Fue muy dificil para mi tambien.  No quería desilusionar a los ninos, pues seguimos adelante con las traiciones navideñas lo maximum possible.  Pero con 3 hijitos, días festivos, y un esposo para cuidar--- muchos de los quehaceres regulares fueron abandonados.  Muy pronto la casa se hizo un desastre, nadie tenía ropa limpia, perdí mi paciencia con cada problema, y no nos estamos tratando bien.  Yo tenía mucho verguenza cuando una vecina nos visitó y vio nuestro cochinero. Nuestro refrigerador se descompuso la noche anterior y tenía que sacar toda la comida.  Después que se fue ella, empecé a llorar de nuevo mientras que estaba limpiando una jarra rota de mermelada en el piso de la cocina que se había caído anteriormente, repitiendo las palabras, “No puedo hacerlo más.”

Siempre voy a recordar lo que paso despues.  Recuerdo un sentimiento muy suave/sencillo, pero distinto: “Si, puedes.”  No tengo ninguna duda que Dios me dio ese impresión.  Sentí una confianza nueva que podía reparar, organizar y limpiar las cosas en mi vida.  Pues, empece.  Y poco a poco, me di cuenta de las tiernas misericordias del Padre en mi vida.  Encontre 4 cajas de plastico que compre el dia anterior por recomendación de una amiga y puse la comida adentro.  También estaba nevando todo el dia y había nieve suficiente para cubrir las cajas como refrigerador. Lo perdimos mucha comida.  Otra misericordia fue la amiga que vino a visitarnos.  Ella regreso con una olla de sopa y pan para la comida.  Senti el amor de Dios y empecé a aprender mas de Sus tiernas misericordias.

(Salmos 145:9)

Elder David A Bednar del Quorum de los 12 Apóstoles dio un discurso de eso hace diez años de las entrañables misericordias del Padre.  El nos enseno que en los tiempos difíciles, tenemos acceso al ayuda que viene de Su misericordia.  Refiriéndose al versículo 18 de Juan 14, el Salvador dijo que Él vendría a ellos.  Elder Bednar dijo:

Yo sugeriría que una de las maneras por las que el Salvador viene a cada uno de nosotros es por medio de Sus abundantes y entrañables misericordias. Por ejemplo, al hacer frente, ustedes y yo, a los desafíos y a las pruebas de la vida, el don de la fe y el sentido apropiado de confianza personal que sobrepasa nuestra propia capacidad son dos ejemplos de las entrañables misericordias del Señor. El arrepentimiento, el perdón de los pecados y la conciencia tranquila son ejemplos de las entrañables misericordias del Señor; y la constancia y la fortaleza que nos permiten seguir adelante con alegría a través de las desventajas físicas y las dificultades espirituales son ejemplos de las entrañables misericordias del Señor.

En mi experiencia es Navidad, fue el don del sentido apropiado de confianza personal que sobrepasó mi propia capacidad.  fue un sentimiento sencillo, pero me ayudo bastante en el momento dificil.  El promete:

(Juan 14:18)

Elder Bednar enseno que:

...las entrañables misericordias del Señor no ocurren al azar ni por pura casualidad. La fidelidad, la obediencia y la humildad traen las entrañables misericordias del Señor a nuestra vida, y muchas veces es el horario del Señor lo que nos permite reconocer y atesorar esas importantes bendiciones.

...son nuestro corazón, nuestras aspiraciones y nuestra obediencia lo que definitivamente determina si somos contados entre los escogidos de Dios.

Elder Bednar dijo muchas veces durante su discurso que no ocurren al azar ni por pura casualidad.

(DyC 46:15)  emphasis on “condiciones de los hombres”

Muchas veces, yo pienso que la única forma de enseñarnos sus entrañables misericordias es durante tiempos bien difíciles o duros cuando reconocemos nuestras debilidades.

El saga del tobillo de Juan sigue…  El recién tuvo cirugía para quitarle la placa y los tornillos.  Además, estos ultimos 4 semanas fueron demasiado llenos de reuniones, celebraciones, quehaceres, citas, etc. etc.  Yo sentí tanto estrés porque tengo una niña recién nacida, una familia que tenía que cuidar, y mis responsabilidades regulares.  Desafortunadamente me había comprometido de muchísimas cosas y me di cuenta que no iba poder cumplir con todas ellas.  Todo esto fue mi culpa. Pero fue el tiempo perfecto para que el Señor me enseñe de sus entrañables misericordias.  Yo arreglo flores para las modas y tenía un evento grande el mismo dia que estaba responsable por un programa grande en la escuela de mis hijas.  Cuando programe estos eventos, no me di cuenta que iban a llevarse a cabo el mismo dia hasta que no pude cambiar la fecha del programa y la novia no pudo encontrar otra florista.  Pero, ella decidió (sin saber de mi predicamento) cambiar la fecha de su boda.  También, con la boda de mi cuñada esta semana pasada, teníamos tantos responsabilidades con la fiesta, las flores, la comida y decoración que no dormimos mucho.  Pero podia haber sido peor.  Por la primera vez, mi bebé durmió casi toda la noche, los ninos no tenían escuela y una amiga tierna me ayudo mucho con mis responsabilidades en mi llamamiento y nos hizo comida el día que Juan tuvo su cirugía.  Tengo un testimonio que el Padre trabaja mucho por medio de las personas en nuestras vidas.  Como dijo Elder Bednar:

Vuelvo a repetir: las entrañables misericordias del Señor no ocurren al azar ni por pura casualidad. La fidelidad y la obediencia nos permiten recibir esos importantes dones y, con frecuencia, el horario del Señor nos ayuda a reconocerlos.

Yo se que hay ayuda disponible y escogemos si podemos recibirla por medio de nuestra corazón, las metas y obediencia.  Nuestros ojos se van a abrir a los dones que Padre tiene para nosotros.

Para terminar, quiero referir a una parte muy poderosa del discurso de Élder Bednar que dice:

No debemos subestimar ni pasar por alto el poder de las entrañables misericordias del Señor. La sencillez, la dulzura y la constancia de las entrañables misericordias del Señor serán de mucho provecho para fortalecernos y protegernos en los tiempos difíciles en los que actualmente vivimos y en los que aún viviremos. Cuando las palabras no pueden proporcionar el solaz que necesitamos ni expresar el gozo que sentimos, cuando es simplemente inútil intentar explicar lo inexplicable, cuando la lógica y la razón no pueden brindar el entendimiento adecuado en cuanto a las injusticias e irregularidades de la vida, cuando la experiencia y la evaluación terrenales son insuficientes para producir el resultado deseado, y cuando parezca que quizás nos encontramos totalmente solos, en verdad somos bendecidos por las entrañables misericordias del Señor que nos fortalecen hasta tener el poder de liberarnos

(1 Nefi 1:20).

Y se que eso es verdadero.  En el nombre de Jesucristo, amén.

Simplify

Simplify.  It's been on my mind a lot lately, mostly because my life has been far from the simple I'm used to the last few months.

It's the everyday tasks, my ward calling in the primary and as a visiting teacher, having a BABY, Siena's 8th birthday and baptism, Anaïs's blessing, Ilse and Kamalei's wedding, being in charge of Reflections (boooooooo!,) Siena's weekly tennis lesson, and random Solstice orders. Now, that is not a particularly demanding schedule for anyone else I'm sure, but I'm just not picking up the pace like I thought I would (and knew I would have to.)  It's a good thing that I cancelled piano lessons for the 6 weeks after I had Ani, but I am actually considering canceling them altogether because I need a break.  Is it even possible (or unselfish) for a mom to get a break at this point in her kids' lives?  I want to give them more opportunities, but I feel like it would be at the cost of my patience and possibly my sanity.  I am still trying to pick up the pieces of happiness in the home that I shattered around the time of the Reflections contest and the wedding and the only hope I cling to is from the address this past conference that "It's never too early and it's never too late."  I'm desperate to reestablish the calm mother that my children once knew.  Is it possible to erase from their memories all the times I just lost it and started sobbing on my kitchen floor?  If they remember how horribly I managed things these last few months, I don't think I will forgive myself.  Mother is a title I lost and instead became Freak Show.  Now that things are winding down, I am actually grateful for the opportunity to learn that I don't have to do everything that is presented to me.  I can say NO and be okay with missing out on a few things.  I had to learn it the hard way, but honestly, I don't think I would have been able to understand it to same extent if I hadn't gone through it.

I will not be able to go forward with Solstice any time soon, perhaps never because it might be too late to pick up after the kids are all older.  I can't be a PTA Mom.  I want to be able to put the girls in soccer/gymnastics/ballet/what have you, but I also want them to have a childhood where they use their imaginations.  There's just no time in the day.

At any rate, I am cutting back and going to soak up every second of their lives.  I just can't afford not to.

Siena is Eight!

(Written on October 9)

This year is a big one for Siena. She turned eight the end of August and is coming up on her baptism this weekend. I can't believe that after over a year of more focused preparation, she's ready to make those commitments. Siena has considered those promises seriously and wants to be baptized.

I'm so proud of the girl she is and the woman she's becoming. She does and will continue to make the world a better place; I say that in all seriousness and solidarity because there is a beautiful personality and strong fire deep in her. If she channels it correctly, Siena is going to have a lot of influence for good. 

"Sisters, Sisters!"

Qiana is Six!

Oh, where to start?!  My little Qiana isn't so little but I hardly remember that she's just in kindergarten. She enhances our family so much with her sincerity, creativity and energy. The picture below is of her on her birthday this year and is probably going to stay one of my all-time favorites.

We got out and about (if only down the street at Riverwoods) after school the day Qiana was supposed to have her birthday party. Since she had a rough (and I mean ROUGH) night the night before, we had to cancel the party; however, she was so penitent and kind the next day despite losing the party that we just had to reward her by taking a break from the daily routine to make caramel apples and visit Chalk The Block.

Nobody is a fan of Anaïs like Qiana. She squeals with excitement every time I get her little sister dressed and is always begging to hold her. I think the fact that we mentioned to her from the day Ani was born that they look like twins has brought her affection up to a whole new, motherly level. It's been so great for me to be able to trust Qiana to watch over her sister while I leave the room.

She is such a cute 6 year-old!

Sunday

Quite an emphasis on keeping the sabbath day holy has been prevalent in church the last couple of months. I love it. Not because I'm doing it well but because I need the reminder to do so. Our family has gotten into the routine where we lounge about on Sunday morning until noon, rush to get ready for church, deal with the chaos at church with our callings, rush back home to prepare something for the dinner we will share with extended family, mingle and socialize while kids are making messes everywhere, and go to bed late. There is no room for feeling the Spirit, embracing the serenity of the sabbath, or doing service for anyone. No room for feasting on the scriptures, reading the Ensign, or doing family history work. It's a far cry from "Day of Rest" in my book. I would love to change up some wonderful but abused traditions, but how do I bring that up to the rest of the family? And how could I get my kids on board with appropriate Sunday activities? I think I'll mull it over.....

Anaïs Lizet Chavez

With all the projects winding down, I was starting to feel anxious again for this baby to come. I had previously felt too nervous because I wasn't sure I was ready to handle another child. How would I get anything done? How would each Chavezloco get the attention they need? How could I be the wife I wanted to be with so many responsibilities to juggle? It was overwhelming. However, once we finished the downstairs room and set up the crib and changing table, I started to calm down with the worrying and the anxious feeling returned. I was ready. We were ready.

Well, almost.

We still hadn't decided on a name. This name was a really hard one to decide on. Nothing seemed to really pop out as "perfect" enough.

So we started with a name we liked and expounded from there : 

Ani. Perfect nickname.

Lizet. Perfect middle name.

Anaïs. Perfect first name.

The cherry on top was when we discovered that Anaïs was Siena and Qiana's names smashed together (Siana) and spelled backwards. It was perfect for our final child.

Anaïs Lizet Chavez it would be. Finally, we were ready.

Heavenly Father was very patient with us getting to that point because that night I woke up around 1:50 with contractions. They were strong enough I didn't wait too long to call Sierra to have her come watch the kids. I was very worried that it would end up being a false alarm and that I would have put Sierra and Juan out, but an even greater fear was that of not getting an epidural on time. Yep, that fear trumped the others by a long shot.

We pulled into the hospital parking lot around 3:15. They checked me and said I was 3 cm dilated. Bummer! I was 3 cm dilated at my last appointment the week before. I wanted to cry. But they told me to wait an hour and if I had progressed enough then they could admit me. Luckily, the hour flew by and I progressed to 4 cm. They admitted me, called the nurse anesthetist who came in around 5:30 to give me the epidural, started a growing and rigorous round of pitocin, broke my water and told me to start pushing around 9:15 am. Around 8 contractions later, our beautiful baby girl was born. I was so grateful we didn't have any complications. Her Apgars were 8,9 and she was perfect. Born at 9:38 am, 7 lbs 3 oz, 18"long. It was a beautiful and surreal moment, just like the other children's births had been. I felt and still feel so incredibly blessed to have them here with us, healthy and strong.

Since her birth, Anaïs has been a dream baby. She's is a great eater (painfully so; I have to mostly pump because of the damage she's left with her strong suck.) She's a normal baby in the sense that she's asleep most of the time. She's a regular little gal, keeping Pampers well in business. She's got two dimples that just light up her whole face when she gives us those unintentional smiles. Lots of hair. And pretty much Qiana's exact baby copy. She's ruling the house and everyone in the family is convinced that she absolutely should. Gosh, we love her.

. After the epidural kicked in. Crazy thing.

My rock solid support system.

Love LOVE love at first sight.

Selfie. 

Looks just like Baby Qiana did.

Day Two.

So tiny! Her first day home.

After her first bath.

With Tia Sierra 

With Grandma 

Loves her sis.

Full car now! Siena loves sitting by her so she can sing lullaby songs to her.

Ezra is surprisingly handling the transition from Baby of the family to Big brother very well.

It's The Hardest Part

Well, it's 4:30 on the morning and I've  been up for two hours with contractions. They were very regular at first (every 5 minutes) and lasted over a minute so all the textbooks say to check in to the hospital around that point. However, because of our experience with Ezra being born an entire week after I had contractions like this, I've been holding off. And true to form, they've been starting to get more irregular. It's hard to know for sure though because my heartburn is so, so debilitatingly painful right now, my focus has not been on the contractions so much as it has been on my searing lower left ribs.

So to pass the time with a good distraction, I'm blogging and just  keeping it real.

.......... 

What have we been up to lately? The Junk Room! It has taken us about three weeks to completely remodel it, but it was totally worth it. Took out carpet, spackled, sanded, and painted walls, mudded corners closed with corner tape, installed new light fixtures, patched ceiling, caulked practically everything, primed and sprayed shelving and baseboards three times, painted ceiling and walls a few times, new electrical outlets, sanded and painted door, designed, built, painted and installed sliding doors for a "closet", installed flooring, installed, patched and painted baseboards, installed curtain rod and installed a light dimmer just outside for a nightlight. It's been exhausting and rewarding. The girls moved into their room the beginning of this week and love it. Ezra is loving his own room too. It's a huge room for such a small boy!  Juan and I just barely set up the baby's room in Siena's old room. We are officially ready for Bebe!

Before :

During :

Ta Da!