Pies and Parks!

I ate a lot of pie this past week! First, I found a GF pie crust mix at the grocery store for $1.75, so I bought it not knowing if it would be any good. It was a gamble, but for two bucks it was worth a risk. I was very pleasantly surprised! I made a peach pie with a crumble topping for the Pie Party on Pi-Day (3.14). It turned out super yummy! I was grateful I showed up late, so most people had already eaten a bunch of pie and didn't need any more. There was one other GF pie there, a strawberry pie. I also attended my first GF Cooking Club. There are several women in our ward and nearby community who are gluten free, so we're starting a once per month club. The hostess provides the food, recipe, guidance, and we all bake together. Hugh was a super trooper, and played around while I mixed the empanada crust together by hand. I was grateful Julie Ramirez was there, she helped me with Hugh and later with Jay when he came for a few minutes after school. We learned how to make empanadas and chicken pot pie! It was really yummy! I loved hearing all the opinions on different flours and what works and doesn't work. I am hopeful I can become a better baker and chef over the next year learning from these ladies. Jay joined for the eating portion of the event, but he really just wanted to play. Madelynn had new puppies, and Jay was very intrigued, but less than gently. I was terrified he was going to hurt one of them, but luckily he didn't!  

We were supposed to get a GIANT snowstorm last week, Thursday and Friday, but it never really hit us. Littleton (down by Grandma and Grandpa) got about 16 inches, and we got maybe two. They cancelled school in advance on Thursday, and we had NO snow - a small dusting on grass. Thursday night it started to snow some more, and what you see below is the amount we got. Jay did have school Friday, so we enjoyed walking to school in the snow. 

Because of the forecasted snow, Matthew stayed home from work an extra couple days. Jay was beyond excited to have Daddy join him for lunch or at least come down and eat lunch. One day Matthew pulled his chair into the family room so he could talk with us while he ate, Jay proceeded to grab a chair and sat across from him. It was very cute! 

Friday evening we had our festive game night, featuring all games of luck! I was very lucky in our first game, 3's, and then very unlucky all the rest of the games. We played Qwixx, Farkle, and SkipBo. Matthew isn't a huge fan of luck games, so we don't play very often. It was a fun treat and we had a great time spending the evening together! 

Sunday evening I got to attend the worldwide Relief Society Devotional. They broadcast the first part from Salt Lake, a recording of messages from the RS presidency and President Nelson. It was a beautiful evening. I was reminded that the relief we bring from being part of the Relief Society is the Savior, Jesus Christ. He is relief! We had the opportunity and obligation to share Him with everyone within our influence. I felt particularly impressed I need to share Christ with Jay, Hugh, and Matthew. My role as a wife and mother will have an immeasurable impact on their lives. With this in mind, I have the opportunity to share Christ with them, to serve them, to love them, and to lift them. 

I also felt I needed to improve at getting out of bed in the morning and choosing to start my day. I've been letting the boys wake me up, then I roll out of bed kind of being "forced" to start my day.  I have been doing better this week at rising before the boys and having time to pray and study the scriptures. President Nelson promised if we seek to be where the Lord wants us to be, He will help us be there every day! I'm trying to put this to the test, seeking spiritual time early in the morning. Overall, my attitude towards the boys and about life has been much better with this new found purpose and intention in the mornings. 

Good deals are my weakness, I can talk myself into needing almost anything when it's on a good deal. I found some Duplos on a great deal on Facebook Marketplace. The pick up location was kind of on the way to Costco, so it was simple to swing by and pick them up. I even picked up a free kid pool on Tuesday morning, we won't even be here for the summer but I couldn't resist! I barely fit it into the van, and was a bit nervous it would even fit. Minivan for the win! 

Got the pool! I had to slide all the seats all the way forward (except mine)

Exciting times ahead! We cleared out our basement on Saturday, sprayed for bugs, and swept up some random stuff. Cleaning out the basement has spurred me to get rid of a few things, so I made a quick run to donate this week. With our basement empty, construction has officially begun! I don't have any pictures yet, but we have one wall framed - the whole length of the house. The wood dropped Tuesday, and he framed Wednesday. Jay thinks all the sounds in the basement are trains, cars, or someone knocking on our door. For now, we're trying to keep the basement a secret so he doesn't request to join Wayne down there every day. 

The weather has been gorgeous this week! Good weather brings out my play first mentality. We've hit the park almost every day after school and usually after naps. The sunshine has been healing for all of us! I love watching the boys grown and learn how to do new things. Hugh is becoming a master of slides and stairs. He LOVES slides! He will go up the stairs and down the slide over and over. He's definitely my child. I loves slides, too! He also gets so excited when we start walking towards the swings, so it's probably fair to say the park is one of his favorite places. We have one really tall slide at our neighborhood park that is very steep. Hugh wanted to climb up, so I let him. He got to the top, and before I could stop him, he went face first down the slide! I jumped off the ladder to try to catch him, but I was too late. He got a face and mouth full of woodchips. He cried, I cleaned him off, he took a short break on the swings, and was ready for more. He's now much better at turning around and going feet first on his tummy! Jay always has an eye on Hugh and wants to do whatever he is doing. Jay has also been mastering different climbing structures at parks, and loves the big fast slides. He especially loves any park that has a double landing and climbing to the highest landing and going down the extra big slides. Jay is also getting better at pedaling his bike! He will pedal around the patio on his own, which is HUGE progress. I am excited and hope he continues to stick with learning it! Biking would be a great way to use his energy.

Hugh getting ready to climb the tall slide. 

Jay and Hugh swinging

Hugh and Jay on the motorcycle!

Hugh and Jay on the landing!

The boys have been playing a little more together, and I love it! Here a few pictures of recent happenings. 

Cooking for the last time in the cement only basement.

Hugh's fine motor is impressive, it took Jay a long time to learn this skill! 

They both still love this train! (Jay)

Hugh

Jay and Hugh both loved playing in a small bucket of water! It entertained them for quite a while! And, Jay finally learned how to use the squirter! He could fill it and squirt it, big win!

Free cone day! We made it to Dairy Queen for our free ice cream cones, then hit up a new park to eat them. Jay and Hugh didn't eat much of theirs, so I ended up eating most of the ice cream. We had so much fun exploring the new park and enjoying the time outside. 

Jay

Jay, Hugh, Mama

Hugh trying out his cone

Here is a picture of Jay's most recent school projects, he loved the fish the most! That's what he always wanted to show me. He also saw the dentist at school and got a free toothbrush. He has carried it all around the house every day since. He continues to clean everything he can think of. All you need is a little spit and some elbow grease. Jay's your man if you need something cleaned. He has cleaned window, weights, books, the play kitchen, the floor, his own teeth, cupboards, cars, etc. 

Hugh isn't quite walking, but is getting more adventurous on foot and on knee! He loves climbing onto things. He can get down from the table just fine, but when he's standing on the play oven door he signs and says all done and squeals until you come help him get off. Jay's learning how to help him off, which is helpful and a little nerve wracking. 

A Week of (Likely) Lasts

This week felt like a week of several lasts, Jay's last swim lesson, my last presidency meeting, my last ward council. I also had some fun firsts, and some fun repeats. 

Jay wrapped up his last day of swim lessons last week. He had to sit out for not listening and touching the wrong kid. I say the wrong kid because some kids will act like nothing happened and just ignore Jay. Other kids will cry, fuss, and whine...Jay chose that kind of kid to touch, so he got in trouble. Overall, it's major improvement over last year. He didn't cry, and he mostly went to the teachers when they asked. 

I know I'll be released soon as Primary President, so I most likely had  my last presidency meeting and ward council meeting. My presidency has been a great blessing to me over the past two and a half years! They have been there for me when life has been really great and when life has been really hard. After I had Hugh, they took the reigns and led without any hiccups. In our presidency meeting they shared how they appreciated the way I was respectful of their time and allowed us to do virtual presidency meetings, and how I tried to keep them as close to an hour as possible. They also shared how I did a good job of listening to everyone's opinions and taking them into consideration before making decisions. Those were two focus areas I had throughout our service, so I was grateful to hear they felt that. I learned from them about boundaries, about how to speak up when things aren't going well or I feel like I am not being heard/seen. I have loved getting to know the children, and I know Heavenly Father has helped me remember their names. Names are hard for me, and I remember my first few weeks I was very overwhelmed. I have seen God's hand guiding me and inspiring me constantly throughout the past two and a half years. 

Matthew was able to take a couple hours off on Saturday so I could attend Women's Conference. I took a couple pieces of fleece to make two blankets for donating. We finished one right away, but the other we had to wait until the guest speaker finished and we finished with lunch. I was very grateful Anna was willing to stay and help me get it all tied together. It took us about 45 minutes to do the whole thing ourselves, and it surely would have taken me a lot longer alone. The speaker was the mission president's wife, she did an amazing job talking about how we should help others along our journeys in life. Sometimes we are running with people, sometimes we're cheering them on, sometimes were running alone, but we should always be ready to act on the nudges given to us by our Heavenly Father. He will use us as an instrument in His hands to help those around us. I want to be someone Heavenly Father can nudge! 

Matthew got to take off Friday and Saturday night this weekend! We made the most of it by baking triple chocolate scones, watching the live action Little Mermaid, and playing Pandemic. We haven't baked together or played a game other than Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter for a long time. We had a great time, and I love having some 1:1 time with M. 

Sundays are extra special during busy season. M has chosen not to work and thankfully his team fully supports him being off. He works extra long hours during the week to make it possible, and our family is very blessed because of his sacrifices. This past Sunday the weather was perfect, we went for a long family walk. Walking gives us time to talk, laugh, and share about everything happening in life. There's something about walking and talking that does my soul good. M grilled a delicious chicken dinner, and we wrapped up the evening with the Blaylock family chat. We've started meeting together on zoom every month, and it's been a lot of fun to see everyone and stay better connected. 

Daylight savings time hit this week, and it's been so hard to get to bed early and to get out of bed in the morning. The mornings are dark, and I've been exhausted. Monday being cloudy and the day after daylight savings started, it made a great excuse to go to the Merrill's for a playdate. I played pickleball here, then met Katey at her church building for another round of pickleball. The kids were super troopers, and we had a great time playing! Kade and Abby did a great job letting Jay play with them, and when Jay asked them to play outside they obliged. Someday those three are going to be besties, they continue to get better at playing together and I love watching the friendship bloom. Tia's 4th grad choir concert was that evening. She did a great job, she even rocked the drums for one of the songs! She's such a great girl! All the Merrill kids wanted to ride there and back with me, so I loaded everyone in the van. It's a good thing we bought the van, we wouldn't be able to haul all the fun in our Forester! 

Today I got to make butternut squash soup for my friend Anna. She had mouth surgery, so I took her and Ethan dinner. I've never made butternut squash soup before, but I got to use the squash from my garden! I've been saving it in the basement, and I still have more. I need to continue to experiment and use it. While prepping dinner during naptime, I helped Katey (via FaceTime) learn how to make a hooded towel. I am so grateful for technology that allows us to connect with each other whenever and wherever we are!

Matthew has been reading my childhood journal this past week. He's been loving it, sharing moments with me that I've totally forgotten. This morning I shared a few with Oma, and she in turn shared a strong testimony with me. She said she has seen God's hand in my life from the very beginning. He's been there every step of the way, giving me experiences to help me learn and grow and get to the place I am now in life. Right now, life feels a little overwhelming and I often don't know what to do to help Jay with the many challenges he faces. Oma testified to me that Heavenly Father sent Jay to me, and He will continue to give me experiences and help with Jay just as he has for every previous step and phase of my life! 

I'm a glasses 100% of the time girl now. They are prisms, and I am hoping they can help me have less headaches. They should help my eyes focus without having to constantly use the muscles. My eyes don't naturally align vertically or horizontally, so by the end of the day they can be very tired. Luckily the boys have been very respectful of not touching, and I think they are helping some. 

Jay loves taking care of things, his animals, his baby, me, Hugh, you name it. Here's a sweet picture of him carrying his baby. He wanted Olivia to have a shirt on, then he wanted to carry her. He accidently got some slobber on her head, so he ran to the bathroom and you can see he's wiping it off her head. 

Hugh continues to be a light. He cut through another molar on the top, so he has two molars, 4 on the top in the middle, and three bottom center teeth. He loves getting into things, being silly, and HATES when I leave his sight. He cries when I go upstairs, use the bathroom, walk into the garage, anything...it's a little rough, but I am grateful he knows and cares for his mama. 

Occasionally they'll play together and it's a beautiful thing! This moment made my mama heart full. It only lasted about 30 seconds, but still provided hope that someday they'll play together. 

Projects and Things

I am working on keeping up with my blog, so this one will be a shorter entry. Last Friday, we had a carpet lady come and give us a quote and show us samples of carpet for our basement. Having her come really started to make things feel real. We don't know exactly when construction will start, but we are starting to move everything out of the basement. Matthew doesn't have a lot of time, so on Saturday while I was at a baptism, he and Jay went to work clearing stuff out. 

Friday evening we won our last Harry Potter game! We've been working through the expansions and adding the expansions together for several months, and we won! It was a fun game and we had a great time playing together. I love playing cooperative games with Matthew. I'm not great at losing, so I love when we can both win. 

Baptisms are one of my favorite parts of my callings. I love attending them, the Spirit is always so strong and you can see the faith of the little one choosing to follow the Savior. This baptism brought extra feelings for me as he's the oldest in the family followed by three girls. He made me think of Jack, and how much I still rely on Jack for support and help with things and how much I've looked up to him (and still look up to him). This little boy is setting a good example for his sisters, and I hope he continues to! 

When Jack was living with us a couple years ago, he told me if I ever decided to get a new kitchen sink he'd help me install it. For my birthday last year, I opted out of any gifts and asked for money to do things around the house. I made my mantel, bought some fun decor, and still had some money left so I bought a kitchen sink and faucet. Jack and Lindsay came down with the whole crew to help us on Saturday. Matthew had to work, but the kids and Lindsay were awesome helpers with Jay and Hugh while Jack and I worked. Lindsay saved the day by being able to synch up some screws that Jack and I couldn't get. The sink is beautiful, deep, and I love it! The only mishap was Sunday morning I checked for leaks and water was pouring out of the disposal side. I quickly called Jack, and he told me how to tighten it up. Luckily, it was a simple fix and everything is working awesome now! I felt so loved by the Bryce's sacrificing their day to help me. Having a bigger, deeper sink will really be a blessing! I can take Hugh's tray and wash it off without spilling water everywhere - it's amazing! 

Before

After

Saturday evening I spent with Renee and Anastasia. We watched Ever After and chatted. We try to do a night out every couple months, but schedules, sick kids, weather, etc. often causes us to cancel. They are fun ladies and usually we have uplifting conversations, no negative talk, etc. 

Kylee turned 12 this past Sunday! She's officially in young women's, has her ears pierced, and is growing and maturing all the time. She still has a love for life and great energy, which I love! We all gathered at Katey's house to celebrate her birthday. We had a delicious taco salad and crockpot cake. It was a great way to end our fast! It filled my heart seeing all of our family gathered to celebrate Kylee and to be together. Having family close is a huge blessing. The only pic I snagged that night was of Jay and Kade giving hugs goodbye - so cute!

Jay and Kade giving hugs

Monday afternoon I got a call from Mike letting us know Tanner was playing volleyball up in Greeley. Matthew was able to sneak away from work a little early (and then work later at night) to go with us. Jay is getting better at staying on the bleachers, but loved this lady's purse. I was grateful for her kind attitude, and realization he was just curious and wasn't truly trying to steal anything. We enjoyed catching up with Mike and seeing Tanner play. Tanner played great, and men's volleyball just brings a fun and exciting environment. 

Today Matthew got an official offer from Germany! We've been waiting for this day for the past five months! They said we'll be going to Munich from June 1st through August 31st. It's a little slower time for the team there, but it's a very busy time for the team here so it's a blessing for us. We were originally thinking we might be leaving April 1st, which would mean we'd jump from one busy season to Germany, then back to another full busy season. We were willing to do that, although it sounded exhausting. June will be better, it will be summer and Matthew will celebrate his 30th birthday in another country! We feel truly blessed to have this opportunity for our family. When Matthew applied to the program, we saw mountains move for him to get the necessary signatures and the papers filled out in time. It was something that I could never quite forget about, which is often how the Spirit communicates with me. Heavenly Father has been in the details, and continues to be. I am so grateful for His watchful eye over us, and I know He will continue to bless us as we seek to do His will in our lives.

Jay and Hugh continue to be so fun. This first picture is of Jay helping put dishes away. His assignment is always his plates, followed by all the bottles. He does a great job, and I love seeing him learn how to do things. Hugh is a climber, he likes to get onto anything he can! The last picture is of Jay and I going through the car wash. A new car wash opened by us and they're offering free car washes, so we went. Jay was really unsure what he thought about it, but it provided us with some good entertainment when he refused to nap. 

Jay doing the bottles

Hugh looking so handsome on Sunday

Hugh climbing on the rearranged food storage

The car wash!

February, how is it already over?

Truly, January is the longest month, and then you blink and February is gone! I had a goal to write every week, but so far I've been terrible at disciplining myself to write. There have been moments this month when I have thought about writing and couldn't find much good, so I opted to clean some dishes or other random things around the house. Everyone has their hard moments, and this month has had its fair share. 

We kicked off the month with Jay and Hugh's 4 year and 1 year check up. Hugh is still measuring so small, 24th percentile for height and 17th for weight, with a 99% head. Jay's average height, and a little above in weight. Jay's 4 year old questionnaire was hard to fill out, I truthfully couldn't say he did more than a few things on the 4-5 pages of questions I answered. Our pediatrician, Dr. Joe Smith, recommended we get Jay signed up to take some neuropsychic testing. With being so far behind in all the areas, he wants to be sure we aren't missing something. Over the past few weeks, it's been a rollercoaster of emotions associated with taking this step. It's expensive, and I was worried about it being worth it. Dr. Smith pulled me aside at church and talked with me about it, after I reached out to the clinic with my concerns. I had been praying he'd be inspired and my prayers were heard by being able to have this conversation with him. He didn't waver at all on the need, encouraging us to find a way to make it happen. We're currently on the waitlist to be scheduled, and I hope we can get it done soon. I hope we will get some answers, guidance, and help in knowing how we can better help Jay be the most successful in life. Here are some pictures of the month, just because. 

These two are starting to play more together and it's so sweet (usually!)

Jay was VERY pleased when he got to lick the chocolate bowl at Aunt Katey's house.

Naptimes are interesting, but with our camera we now get some insight. Jay always falls asleep in interesting ways, but this has to be one of the best we've seen!

Jay's motto in life could be, "if I'm helping, I'm happy!'

Hugh is climbing onto everything he can, he's such a cutie!

When Daddy comes home we truly are our happiest! 

Jay--->Hugh, same age, so cute!

Again, climbing and soooo pleased! He's usually happy until he figures out he doesn't quite know how to get down.

Hugh

Hugh is pushing his truck around, loves to but isn't quite walking yet.

Big news is we've started the process to finish our basement. Jay and Hugh can't really share a room right now, so Hugh's in our closet when Matthew works at night during busy season. I'm sure the time is slowly ticking where he'll be pulling down everything within his reach, and the closet will no longer be sufficient. We have Wayne Riblett on contract to do it, and we got our official permit through the city. I drew a to-scale drawing, which was so fun! It reminded me of when Oma and Papa designed their house and we got to look at all the drawings. After Wayne came, I had to make a few adjustments based on where pipes are, etc. I am getting so excited and very grateful we have been able to save our money over the years to fund our house improvement. 

My drawing - I had to make some adjustments and didn't take the time to use my ruler to draw my measurement lines. It was a good test of my new motto I'm working on, "better done, than perfect."

I have been looking for a swing set for a while, as Jay has started to need a little more entertainment in the backyard. I finally found a good deal on Facebook Marketplace, and they guy delivered and reassembled it! It's been fun to watch Jay go down the slide in the sunshine and in the snow. He's trooper and loves being outside. I know as soon as Hugh is old enough, he'll be right out there with him. 

I got to enjoy the first swing!

Jay was very excited!

He really really really wanted Daddy to play, so luckily Daddy took a short break.

Jay was finally here for a school party and Hugh and I got to go too! The Valentine's Day party was so fun. I loved seeing Jay in the school environment, and I could tell Mrs. Tiffee and Mrs. Ashley were very aware of Jay and what he needed. I got to learn some of his friends' names, and recently Jay has been talking non-stop about Amy and Kenna. Amy is his girlfriend, but Kenna has given him a couple hugs goodbye. It's fun to see kids be so kind to Jay, I hope he reciprocates appropriately! I also had Jay's parent teacher conference. Jay's making progress, he's engaging more with classmates and he does occasionally use names. Mrs. Tiffee said she'd try to get him in her class next year so he doesn't have to re-learn procedures and can maybe get more of the educational pieces. I left this conference a little more hopeful than the first, and I may have had my expectations more aligned. 

Jay's Valentine's box

For President's Day weekend, we partied! Friday we went to "Katey's pool" which is the Longmont Rec Center. Jay could have stayed there all day. He especially loved the big slide and went down several times with me and Katey. Hugh wasn't able to nap on the way to the pool, so he was very clingy and didn't seem to enjoy the water very much. He was a trooper, as he let Jay have all the fun in the world swimming. Since swimming, Jay asks for Katey's pool almost daily. Saturday we did a cookout at the Merrill's. It snowed earlier in the day, but we all bundled up and roasted our hotdogs and s'mores. The fire feels extra good when it's so cold outside. Monday, the Bryce's came down to Brighton to play with us at the rec center park. Betty Jane and Allen traded off following Jay around the park. When I thanked Allen at the end, he said, "It was kinda fun! He moves a lot." I was grateful for a little break, a picnic with family, and the time outside. 

The Stake Primary presidency gave my presidency a gift of lunch together at Freddy's. We finally used our gift card and enjoyed a lunch out together. I've learned a lot from serving with these wonderful women. They each have great strengths, always willing to serve, and strong faith. I admire each of them, and I will miss serving with them. It was nice to eat lunch and not talk anything primary. 

Jay started swim lessons this month. Last year, he cried every lesson and refused to go to the teachers. This time around it's been different, in a mostly positive way! One of Jay's classmates is in his swim lessons, and I heard Max introduce Jay to the teacher on the first day. It was very sweet, and I was very grateful. Jay can say his own name, but if you didn't know what he was saying you wouldn't know it was Jay. Jay's been pretty willing to go to the teachers and explore the water. He's been a bit handsy with his classmates at times and has had to sit out, but he's getting better at understanding the rules and certainly loves being in the water. Every day we have swim, he can't wait to go! I usually have to wait until 10 minutes before we leave to tell him because he'll get so excited he won't be able to do anything else. 

Jay with his swim-mates

Going with the teacher on day 1, HUGE win! 

One part of February that's been a tradition the past couple years here is a Galentine's party. My friend Breeanne hosts and a bunch of women in the ward come to enjoy an evening out. This year we all brought our favorite smell in a bag. I brought chocolate chip cookie dough, popcorn and dark chocolate M&M's and in return I got a diffuser. The evening was spent opening gifts, laughing, chatting, and enjoying the freedom from daily responsibilities. I am so grateful for Matthew always supporting me getting out and spending time with friends when opportunities present themselves. 

I got to throw a baby shower for Renee Clark this past week. Anastasia and I planned it, and it came together beautifully. There were several women in the ward who helped bring a few things and Renee's mom. I loved coming up with some of the punny names and stole some names from online ideas. We played Jeopardy, emoji guessing, and baby's around the world. We had a great time, and it was fun to host at our house. I love having people in my home, and not having to go anywhere. It was a bit squishy with 18 women/girls, but we made it work! Renee and Anastasia were the women who threw me a shower before I had Hugh and I was happy to be able to return the favor. 

Wild flowers, muddy buddies, deer droppings, rabbit food, live bait, s'mores on a stick, etc.

Creek water, blueberries and mint, it looked so cool!

Me, Renee, and Anastasia

I have been feeling throughout the past month I should tell Bishop about Germany. I knew if I did, it would mean he'd work on releasing me, so I didn't want to rush into sharing the information. I continued to have feelings and thoughts and impressions about certain changes to make in my presidency or other callings, but didn't feel like I could honestly request without sharing that we'll be leaving. After ward council last week, I tried to talk to Bishop. He left quickly after the meeting, so I waited around until he eventually popped out of his office. When we started talking, he shared that sometimes the Lord answers prayers immediately. He'd just been praying in his office about releasing me and about a calling for Matthew, didn't receive a clear answer, so he got up and determined to think about it. Right then, I asked to talk with him. I know Heavenly Father is keenly aware of the needs of his members and is especially mindful of leaders in His Church. It's amazing how the Holy Ghost worked on my to prepare me to share with the Bishop and at the same time worked with the Bishop.

And, lastly, I finished the dresser and we moved it from the garage! I love how it turned out.