Busy

May....it's the reason the lazy, relaxing days of summer are so appealing. Truly, aside from December, May has to be one of the busiest months of the year. Even though the above picture suggests otherwise, May has kept me going from one thing to the next. It's been a good month though....I even got a couple of park days in with Ammon on those two days that we actually had good weather.

Emily and Matt were involved in a pentathlon this year so I went and spent the whole day watching them. Matt deleted my pictures of me and him so...too bad...his loss.

Riley was involved in a after school program where he learn how to program a robot. He was only one of four 4th graders who were chosen to participate. He and his partner got to compete at Lagoon and they did great. Props to my good husband for being a chaperon for the whole day and riding that school bus there and back....that's real love for ya.

Megan played soccer this season and it was great because she was our only game on Saturdays. She was pretty excited to play at first but after getting hit in the face with the ball, I don't think she thought it was really that great after all.


And of course I can't leave out this excitement! The walls are going up and it's looking so beautiful!
Jacob had a 3rd grade program that he was oh so thrilled to participate in. He did a great job and we're proud of the great kid that he is.


I wish I knew why my pictures are being posted out of order. Any ideas? I haven't done anything different than I normally do....hmmmm
Riley also had Weeblos Woods this month. More props to the husband for camping overnight even though it was a little rainy.



A little worm action does any little boy good. Ammon was fascinated with them and Jacob had fun tying them in knots.



Rob was just about to get ready for work when Ammon said "Dad, will you play blocks with me please?" Rob went upstairs and played blocks even though it made him late for his appointment. Now that is the sign of a true man. I appreciate him so much and all that he does for our family.

Spectator

I've never been a spectator at a marathon. If I'm at a marathon....I'm running it. Since my friend Jen was running and I've been obsessed about not being able to run, I went along for support. Of course I had to help her carbo load with these other awesome marathon ladies. The whole time I was thinking about how I wouldn't be able to use the "I'm running a marathon tomorrow" excuse for eating a huge piece of cheese cake.
Jen and Jodi at the finish line. I'm so proud of these two ladies for keeping up it up and doing what needs to be done to finish.... as Jen says "embrace the suck".
I was pretty surprised at how emotional I got as a began to watch runners race down the canyon. It wasn't so much that I wasn't running. I've embraced the boot as part of my life now (but only for 1 more week...yes I'm counting). It was more that I knew what it took for each of those runners to be there. I knew the sacrifice, the hard training, the good runs, the bad, the excitement, the self doubt, the pain, as mile after mile is run. I was so proud of them and did everything I could to cheer them on. It may be awhile before I get back to that point....but I'll get there!

One Year Older and Wiser Too...

O.k. so one year older is definitely correct....one year wiser? Well, that's up for debate.... especially since I am currently still in a boot with a broken foot because of my great wisdom. Oh well...live and learn right? I always make a big deal about my birthday. I really don't know why other than I really like to annoy people. When it really when it comes down to it, it really isn't that big of a deal (but don't tell my family that!) In fact, this year I really wanted to forget it all together...but the sweet people in my life wouldn't let me so this is how I celebrated the day.
My sweet parents came up for the day. My Dad spent the morning planting flowers in my back yard. Thanks to him maybe my back yard will be somewhat presentable this summer.
They also brought me these awesome tulips from their yard. They were so cheery!
Rob took me to dinner that night. We were the only two people in the restaurant which could have been super romantic, but seemed a little creepy. We had a beautiful view of the mountains and the hot husband was a nice addition too!
This was the best chocolate cake ever. I love my birthday because calories just don't count.
Of course I never would have made it to another birthday without this guy. He helps me to stay sane. He's my calm in the storm.

My parents took me to lunch and it was fun getting caught up with them....lunch was delicious too!
After dinner, I came home to this yummy white chocolate raspberry cheesecake made by Rob. He knows it's my favorite.

And of course it wouldn't be a celebration without these people who are the reason for everything I do.

Emily treated me right with a tomato plant

Riley gave me a card with a left over cadbury egg from Easter.

These two girls can brighten up any day. No, I didn't add an extra child but I might as well in the summer. This is our back yard neighbor who is the sweetest in the world. She called to wish me happy birthday so I invited her over for cheesecake.

This is suppose to be my sanity saver. I got this new bike in hopes of getting back in shape. I can actually ride it with my boot on which gave me a happy thrill. I won't be giving up running though. It's just not happening.
What would I do without this woman? She is the best! She came over and we named my bike..."white Wilma". Then we got a good laugh because she had already named her bike "blue Betty." If you ever watched the Flintstones you know that Wilma and Betty were best friends and neighbors. Rob wanted to know if that made him "Fred" and Janzen "Barney?" That could work.
The highlight of the day was when James threw these chocolates at me and said "these cost me a stinkin five bucks!" That was a serious sacrifice for my favorite candy. I bet he never does that again. I told him I'd share.

How do I feel about being a Mom?

Another Mother's Day has rolled around and once again I did my best to be super ornery the whole week so that when the day finally hit, I could feel undeserving of being celebrated. But that's o.k. This post is dedicated to my thoughts on motherhood at this time in my life. It changes as my family changes.
I remember when Rob and I first got married and we were sitting at church with our little crew (7 kids under the age of 9). A cute little old lady came up to me and said "These are the best year of your life!" My first thought was "Oh please, shoot me now...please tell me these aren't the best years and that they get better!" It was a pretty challenging time for me to say the least.

And that's just it. Motherhood is just that....challenging. It isn't to say that I don't love being a Mom because I do! It is actually the best thing in the world and the only thing I would want to be doing with my time right now. But, I have to keep it real...It's hard and demanding and most times pretty thankless.

However, I find as of late my heart aching. It's a kind of panicky feeling that in just a little over two years the nest starts leaving. I know how fast time goes and I find myself taking notice of the little things that does my Mom heart good. Yes it's challenging...but these really are the best years.

So...here are a few things that I have taken notice of the past few days.

• The look on Megan's face as she shows me her new ballet costume
• Watching Riley spend two hours in quiet determination to get his programmed Robot through a maze and ready for competition.
• Coming home and seeing Emily, Jacob, and Ammon playing in the sprinklers and walking in the gutters.
• Hearing Brandon and James downstairs laughing together.
• Laying down next to Ammon at night and hearing him say over and over "love you Mom!"
• Seeing the look on James face when I walk in with an 80's side ponytail singing Boy George and then having him tell me that I am a trial in his life :)
• Watching Riley walk Ammon across the street hand in hand from church
• Having Matt volunteer to give Ammon a bath so I can rest.
• Watching Megan, Jacob, Riley, Rob and Ammon try and herd chicken's back in their coop.
• Emily telling me that we're best friends even though I hear a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
• Listening to Brandon talk to Ammon as he helps Brandon load the dishwasher.
• Being a part of "court" so we could come to the bottom of who got into Brandon's Ovaltine.
• Hearing Megan and Jacob run into the house yelling "Dad alert!" so we can eat dinner.
• The chatter that goes on at the dinner table.
• Hearing the sounds of their voices as they play outside together.
• Spending time with Matt helping with his Spanish homework.
  

It takes a little doing to get everyone together to get a picture taken and to get everyone looking and smiling.
And of course the tradition is that after every serious picture, we get to take a funny one. I like these best.
It was a great Mother's Day. My kid's really did their best to make me feel special. It may be the hardest job in the world, but it is definitely worth it....most days :)

Jimmy's List

The other day James came in and announced that he was changing his name to "Jimmy". Then he proceeded to tell me after his mission he will be called "James" and a few years after that, "Jim". Whenever he signs a card he most always puts "little Jimmy". I think it totally fits his personality.

James loves to tease. He just can't help himself. If I'm ever in another room and I hear a child scream, cry, or act annoyed I think "Is it Brandon, or James?" Whenever it is Ammon I hear, I know James is involved. He just loves to get a reaction out of that little guy...well anyone really.

One day (on a Sunday of course) I had just had it will all of his antics. I was on the edge. Even though most days I can laugh at some of the things he does, this day, I was not particularly happy. So, I told him in my most firm Mom voice to go make me a list of ten things he was going to do to make life more peaceful in our home. He obediently went away and a few minutes later came up with this. (Jame's spelling included)

1. Don't do what people want me to do....example...if people want you to draw on their foreheads...don't do it!
2. Don't joke around...I might acidently offend them.
3. Help people
4. Don't complain
5. Have a good aditude
6. Be friendly
7. Be kind
8. Be nice
9. Serve others
10. Be a good Samaritan
11. if all else fails...I James Ryan Lindsey will move out of State.

I hung this up in our kitchen for a friendly reminder.

I looked out the window and what did I see?

A sunny day. That's what. Then I went and stuffed my face with whatever I could eat because I wanted to go for a run so bad. The beast needs to be unleashed and the horrible thing is that this Sunday is Mother's Day so I'm going to feel extra guilty for my bad Momness (yes I know that isn't a word) this week. If only I could free myself from this boot then everyone would be so much happier...

A new found compassion

Ever since I got put on crutches I've noticed some things.

1. People really do stare at you when you are riding one of these things
2. They make this beeping sound like a cement truck when you put it in reverse (which both Jen and I found hilarious.)
3. They are really hard to maneuver if you are trying to battle getting Easter candy with a million other people around.
4. They go super slow....not like you need it to go fast in a grocery store anyway.
5. There are actually buildings that don't have the automatic handicap doors (which makes it hard to open with crutches, a purse, and a toddler hanging on your legs.
6. The goodness of humanity is not dead...in fact it's well and alive. I've been amazed at the kindness of people wherever I go.
7. I've also noticed how hard it is to get my every day tasks done like laundry, dinner, getting kids to where they need to be, going up and down stairs....all things that I took for granted that I could do with ease.
8. Which brings be to the next thing I've noticed and really knew already....I'm not patient! Especially with the healing process. I've been a bit of a rebel not using my crutches when I am trying to get work done around the house and I use the last hour of my day to kick the boot off and free myself (and I haven't been sleeping in it either like they told me to....I know...I'm bad).
9. I've noticed that even though I have a temporary handicap sticker, there are no handicap parking spaces available. Try parking at Costco...not happening. They must hand those out like candy.
10. My awareness of other people who deal with handicaps has heightened my compassion and I find myself wondering how they do it each and every day.
11. The handicapped stall at the temple is posh...we're talking a huge room with a nice padded bench (I could take a nap on that thing).
12. I'm good at hopping
13. I'm good at telling people how stupid I am as I'm explaining how I fractured my foot.
14. And the #1 thing I've noticed....TRYING to make the most out of a bad situation (like laughing at myself a million times) is a lot better than moping around feeling sorry for myself. I've really tried to adjust my attitude and realize that this is just TEMPORARY.
    

Before I knew I hurt my foot I asked Jen if she wanted to go to Women's Conference. After the boot, I was more determined than ever to go. I knew I needed it and thank goodness she went with me! A true friend will carry your purse around when you can't, wheel you around the mall in a wheelchair, and carry your "all about me" purchases. What a woman!

The women at Women's conference were amazing. One girl let us cut in the very front of the ticket line, another made a whole row scoot down so we could have seats on the end, and another promised to guard my foot as a whole mob of women were trying desperately to get into the night concert (a very claustrophobic situation.)

Talk about swallowing the pride. A nice man at the information counter offered me this sweet ride and I took it because I was feeling so tired from those dang crutches. Oh, I also learned that Famous Footwear needs to be careful of all of those shoe displays (not wheelchair friendly).
And then, I got to hang out with these awesome women that I just met through Jen. We ate yogurt and talked about running and I realized how awesome it is to participate in a sport where people actually think the same (crazy things like....I know this hurts but I'll just go a few more miles to see if the pain goes away....I know, it doesn't make sense unless you live in our brains). Not too many people understand the insanity of it all....these girls do. I also learned that Yogurt Land is my new favorite treat.