A Miracle...With a Bandaid-Bum

Carston had his Kindergarten check-up on Wednesday. I have seriously been dreading this since he was two. If any of you know Carston's temperament, you know why I was worried. The last time he was at the doctor, the doctor couldn't even touch him without him being hysterical. Seriously. When he had a cavity that needed to be filled, he had to be SEDATED to get it taken care of. Otherwise, he was kicking and flailing and doing anything he could to get away. So you can understand why I was so apprehensive. Not only would they be doing routine stuff like checking ears and listening to lungs etc.-which has never gone well on its own, but he would also have to strip down to his underwear and get five shots (in his poor little bum)! Anyway, I have been praying for about two weeks about this event. I was just terrified that he would be freaking out, that nurses would be holding him down, and that he would be traumatized. Because he is definitely capable of being traumatized. But I prayed about it every day, and little ideas would come to me of how I could make it go smoother. When we left the doctor's office, I almost started crying because it went so well. He did everything he needed to without hesitation or prodding. And he didn't even cry until the very last shot (and the nurse said that shot was painful because it stings). I was so proud of him, and so grateful to the Lord for helping us. I know in the eternal scheme of things, that this event wasn't important, but I also know that on that day when we were at the office, it was a very big deal for Carston. And so my prayers were answered.

Easter

Here are the kids in their snazzy new Easter outfits courtesy of Grandma Robin. We had a nice Easter, although Carston got me in an emotional state. When I picked him up from class, he told me about the picture he drew. It said "We will live again" at the top, and he drew Jesus and Grandma Gladys tied together with a rope (so she wouldn't go away). I lost it right there in the hall and started crying. He even gave her special hair, a kind of fluffy cloud that he'd never drawn before. Oh man, it is making me cry all over again.

This Easter was pretty significant for me because of her death. Sometimes it just overwhelms me. We come here, we live our life, we love people, we marry, have children, we serve and struggle together, and then in one second it is over. We're gone. And life keeps on moving as though nothing has happened. I've had to ask myself if I truly believe in our eternal nature, or if it is just something we tell ourselves to make death feel easier. But I do believe. I believe in eternity, and I am grateful for the Savior and all that he suffered so that gift could be ours.

New Additions

Our family has unexpectedly expanded.
By two.
If Carston was the one to introduce you, he'd say,
"This is my new friend-Rocket. He's a goldfish."

Rocket also has a girlfriend named Daisy. At least we'll pretend those are their actual genders. Who knows what they really are.

In explanation, we went to Cousin Drake's 1st birthday party. Everyone had the opportunity to "catch" their own fish out of a pool of water. So now we have our first pet.

And Ashlee...
For Carston's birthday I'm going to have everyone "catch" a new puppy that they can take home. Your kids are the only ones invited.

Good Dreams

Carston includes a lot of the same things in his prayers. He is always grateful for Grandma and Uncle Brett and Jace and Callie and Bron. He also always asks that he can have good dreams. Sometimes even after he has said his prayers at night, he'll yell out that he's thinking about bad things so I'll tell him to say another prayer. Avery, as usual, feels the urge to copy him and so she has started to yell out that she as well is thinking about bad things. So she'll have to say another prayer too (with a smirk on her face, thinking she's pulled one over on me). I guess Carston has felt some sympathy for her, and he now says, "bless me and Avery that we can have good dreams." I thought that was sweet of him. Last night, he expounded further: "Bless me and Avery that we can have good dreams. And if you know her, then give it to her too."

High Aspirations

Conversation on the way to preschool:

Maddie (cousin): When I get bigger, I want to, um, I want, um, I want to have 5 kids!
Carston: Well, when I grow up, I want to be a TEENager!
Avery: I want to be a princess.
Carston: Avery, you CAN'T be a princess, do you want to be a teacher?
Avery: Okay.

Conversation at the end of the day:

Carston: Mom, I guess I want to be a fireman and a teenager when I grow up.
Me: That sounds good.
Carston: Wait, what is a teenager?
Me: What do you think it is?
Carston: I think it's like someone who tells you what's good and what's not good to do.

Party Party

I am so proud of myself. I pulled off a surprise party for John. And I think it was actually fun. I don't consider myself an exceptionally "fun" person, so that was an acheivement. He is turning 30 on Thursday, and he can't stand the idea of getting old. It is one of the very few things that upsets him. So I said we were taking him back to the '80s of his youth. People dressed up, we had some good food, a PacMan contest, some nice karaoke, and a game of guess the theme song (all '80s shows). Most importantly, no kids were allowed. Carston was wondering about that one so I had to explain that sometimes when parents have their kids at parties, they don't get to play because their kids need their help most of the time. I'm grateful for my mom and dad for helping me pull it off. We had it at their house and they spent the whole day either helping me make food, or running to the store for things I had forgotten. As a side note, I was rear-ended in the middle of the days preparations. I had to spend an hour waiting and talking to Officer Campbell. I felt so bad for the guy who hit me. Not only did he get a ticket for "following too close" but also for driving with expired registration. Luckily I had listened to my mom and left Macy with her while I ran to the store. When I went to get Avery and Carston, Avery was very disturbed by my shirt. The first thing she did when she saw me was to point at my shirt and say "Take dat off!" She told me five more times when we got home and then finally led me to my room in disgust to get me a new one. She also asked me if I was "widdle." Maybe it was because I was sporting the same hairstyle as I had when I was little. I'm grateful that I was never an adult in the '80s. It was a little scary to see what that would have been like!

If you say free, you know I'm in.

When my cousin dropped off Carston from preschool the other day (we carpool), she informed me it was free zoo day. So of course, I dropped all my plans, loaded up a backback, strapped the kids in the car, and headed off. After a pitstop (regardless of the fact that I had made everyone go before we left-at what age do you graduate from that ritual?) that lasted 20 minutes because I couldn't figure out how to get back on I-215 going in the right direction (I found your Disney store Breanne), we arrived. As entertaining as the animals were (the poor Zebras were in the corner with their backs to everyone) I think Carston's favorite part was looking at the map and Avery's was the fruit roll-up from Bobbi Ann. I'm sure Macy took it all in though. As soon as she can talk, she'll probably rattle off all the names of the animals she saw.

Macy is 8 Months Old

Here is my sweet little baby. Sometimes I just can't get enough of her. Especially at night after the other two kids are in bed. As much as I love that time alone (love is not a strong enough word!), sometimes I just can't stop playing with her. She is always so eager to play and smile. She makes John laugh because he says she is already trying to hide her smile. She'll try to keep it in control, but her mouth just ends up turning into this cute little "o". She is crawling like a mad woman now. You can tell she enjoys this new mode of mobility. I just got her one of those little mesh things, the things you put food into so your baby won't choke. It was so funny to watch her attack it for the banana inside. She loves to reach up and touch people's faces right now. She loves Carston and Avery and will follow them on all fours into whatever room they choose to play in. Sometimes she'll barely make it in and then they decide to go somewhere else. So off she'll trudge. I'm so grateful to have her in our home and family.

I'm masquerading as a polygamist!

I babysat my cousin's kids for half a day. My kids were overzealous to get to the library, so I decided to take all of them. I went to the library alone with 5 kids under the age of 5. People were staring at me like I was out of my mind. When I went to get my stroller out, someone random tells me it looks like a nice stroller but not quite big enough. Thank you stranger. we went over the rules before going in though, and all the kids were awesome. Here is a picture of everyone being silly. I love kids.

Chuckie Cheese

We went to Chuckie Cheese with some of the cousins. Carston played this lame game where you try to shoot your coin into an alligator mouth or something. If you do it when the lights touch at the top, then you get the bonus (you get as many tickets as people who have played since someone last got the bonus-does that even make sense?) Anyway, he got 91 tickets from that one game. I was a little bit jealous. Then when we went to redeem the tickets, some older kids gave us all of theirs. So we had over 600 tickets. Do you know the kind of prize you can get with 600 tickets? If you said a lame one, you would be correct.

The Boys

We went to a cabin where the snow was piled up higher than John. It was kind of crazy. Carston and John spent the morning playing in the snow, making tunnels and sledding. I like my boys.

Trafalga Rocks.

We went miniture golfing at Trafalga (I know you all have awesome memories) and took Grandpa with us. Sometimes, it just blows my mind how active and physically fit he is. He is 90 years old. He has completely changed my schema of 90 year olds. I use to think they'd all either be lying in their bed or sitting in a chair. But not him. He amazes me with the way he lives his life. I love having him for one of my best friends right now.

The world of "Meow" continues!

Avery must have decided that it was getting too hard to constantly change from a kitty to a princess all day, so she coerced Macy to enter her world.

Best Buddies-With Only a 90 Year Age Difference!

Macy and her Great Grandpa Dick!