Mother's Day

 This is what I woke up to this morning....

Awwwww.... aren't they sweet!

 Evan loves cooking and with a little help from Glen they whipped up some awesome breakfast sandwiches... YUM!

 Look at those biscuits!

  Gabe and Oliver wrote me a "letter."  Gabe told me that it said "Happy Mother's Day, your the best mom and we love you!"

The boys all went shopping with Glen and picked out some of my "favorites"...
 I guess they like me chubby! :)

 They also picked out these pretty flowers...

 Elijah made this wreath for me at scouts on Tuesday.  He has had the hardest time all week not telling me about it.  Several times he said  "I am soooooo excited for Sunday to come!"  "I can't wait to give you your present, you are going to LOVE it!"... "Do you want me to tell you what it is?" "Do you want to open it?" etc, etc!   He was so proud of his gift and I was pretty impressed! He picked out the colors of fabric and made up the pattern... so cute!  I mentioned awhile back that I wanted a wreath to hang on the front door and Eli  was most excited that his gift  was something I needed :)
  

 Eli also painted this picture for me...   He is quite the little artist huh!

At church today the primary and nursery children sang one of our family's favorite songs " Heavenly Father loves me" It was so sweet to watch Eli, Gabe and especially little Ollie singing every word so earnestly!  It melted my heart! Oliver was SO excited to sing and when it was all done he came running back to our bench and said loudly "I singed so good!" everyone around us laughed and throughout the day several people commented on how cute it was to see him, such a little boy, singing every word!! Gabe wrote a note in his primary class to me that said "I love you because you go on walks with me."  Eli filled out a questionnaire about me and wrote... You are a great mom because "you share the gospel and help me do things".  My favorite part of the day is "when we clean up together" (I was shocked with that answer and when I asked Eli about it he said its not true but it's the only thing I could think of that we do EVERYDAY! haha) Thanks for teaching me "everything."  and I love you because" you're smart and fun."

 I love my cute boys and had such a great day focusing on how lucky I am to be their mom! I LOVE being a mom.  I told the boys today that from the time I was a little girl I couldn't wait to be a mom... and have a big family!   The Life of a mom is not glamorous and  it is not easy, there are no instruction books and it is not always fun, most days are hard and full of sacrifice.  But when I think about the big picture, of what life is all about and when I look at my kids for who they really are and what they will become- that is when I know that being their mom is the most important work in the world! I am so lucky to have five little boys who bring so much joy to life! 

 Handsome Evan not only made breakfast for me but he also made dinner!!- (with a little help from Glen!) steaks on the grill,  homemade french fries, watermelon and lemoniscious cake for dessert!  He also cleaned the house, did the dishes, and waited on me ALL day!  I love him so much!

 And this is who I cuddled all day...Baby Simon!

 There is something even more sweet about Mother's Day when you have a tiny baby in your arms... isn't he such a dream!!   


ALL these boys are a dream come true...

 Thanks to my amazing husband for helping me to feel so loved today and EVERYDAY in this world of boys I am living in! They all treat me so well thanks to his example and love!

 I feel so lucky that I have the best mom in all the world!  I have been surrounded by wonderful mother's my whole life..starting with my mom and my grandma's!  I also have my aunts, my church leaders, my mother in-law, my sisters, my sister in laws, my cousins, my friends.  All mom's need support and love from each other because being a mom is one of the hardest jobs there is!  I am so blessed to have the influence of all these great mother's who I learn from everyday! Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's in my life!

Two Months

 I have to jump ahead and give a little update... there is so much in between still to come but here is out sweet Simon right now...
 Two months old!

  at two months he weighs 10 pounds 4 ounces and he is 21 inches long.  He LOVES to be held and will sleep forever if we hold him during the day, even willing to skip eating if it means he is cuddled!  He nurses every 3 hours during the day and at night he usually does two longer stretches between eating. We give him a bottle of formula each night before bedtime and he does great taking a bottle or nursing!  He is getting very good at going back to sleep through the night which is so nice of him!  He loves to be in the bath, ride in the stroller and swing in the swing.  His eyes sparkle and he gets so excited when we talk to him... he has lots to tell us, I can tell by his expressions... sometimes he sighs or says "ah-goo" and he is starting to smile a lot...it is adorable!  he loves to be cuddled in the "baby bjorn"(front carrier) and it is very convenient during the day when I need two hands to get things done and he wants to be held at the same time!  Simon is a typical boy and loves to be outside.  When we go out he gets quiet and looks around and blinks his eyes in the breeze! The boys notice every little thing he does and ooooh and ahhh over every yawn, stretch, or move he makes.  I thought maybe by now they would not be as interested as they were when we first brought him home... but our Simon is hard to resist as you can see!

Tiny baby parts are scrumptious... so small and soft and perfect... such a little miracle.

Life in general has been kind of rough.  five kids has about thrown me over the edge! :) five boys means more clothes, more laundry, more messes, more mouths to feed, more dishes, more everything!  Soccer season keeps us on the go most evenings and it just feels like I can't get anything done!  we started over in January with our new ward and change is never fun! Glen lost his job the first part of April... the one that he just started in January... The one that I wrote all about -that we thought was SO meant to be- Ya that one! They had to downsize and he was the new guy. That was REALLY frustrating and sad and hard... and it is just getting harder!  Stress is pretty high around here but then I see this precious baby of ours... he has such a special spirit and HE is our tender mercy at this time!  He makes all the stress and worry go away for awhile and he helps us to remember how precious life is and how blessed we are in all the ways that matter most. He was a bit of a surprise and being pregnant with him is what got me through the rough months last year and now his little life is continuing to get us all through!  Heavenly Father knew that we needed him at this time and I am so grateful for that!  Simon is our little angel... he makes life better...

Five Brothers

We have always made BIG BROTHER shirts for the boys when we have a new baby.  They usually wear them to the hospital when they come to meet the newest baby boy.  This time we decided it would be fun to do something different since we are a specialty family... you know, all boys!  So Glen designed the logo and we had these shirts printed.  We weren't expecting Simon to come quite as early as he did so the shirts weren't done in time for them to wear them to the hospital but instead, they had fun wearing the shirts to school to announce the big news...

that they are now one of FIVE BROTHERS!

 photo shoots are never very fun... Gabe and Oliver waiting for their turn to pose (they are not very excited but they are sure handsome!)

  Brother #1- Evan

 Brother #2- Elijah

 Brother #3- Gabriel

  Brother #4- Oliver

 Brother #5 -Simon

 Oops no photo of him alone so another one of ALL of them will have to do!

And of course a "silly face" photo because well, this is how life is with five boys in one family... silly!

Welcome Home and the first few weeks..

We were taken such good care of at the hospital! Simon passed all of his tests with flying colors and was even given the cutest baby in the nursery award! (wink, wink)

My mom, Julie and my dad took such good care of our boys!  My mom called and said she would have dinner for us when we got home if we wanted.  Of course we loved that idea and we decided it would be easiest to just eat dinner together at her house and then head to our house after.  Glen came to the hospital to get us Sunday afternoon and it was so surreal to leave with a baby in the backseat!

When we arrived at my parents house they had all decorated the porch to welcome us! They boys had gifts and cards for me and it was such a relaxing evening! 

 We ate a delicious meal my mom and Julie had prepared... she and Julie had all my boys- had to play with them and feed them and care for them and they still managed to go clean my house, decorate for our arrival, make dinner... still running on very little sleep!  I love them so much and am so grateful for all they did for us!

Right after we arrived my little cousins came running up through the field to my moms house and Eli and Evan were so proud to show off their new little brother... it was so cute to see all these boys excited and making such a big fuss over a baby! 

 They all washed their hands and lined up to hold him!

Welcome Home little Simon...

 Once we got home Sunday evening,  Eli said he didn't feel very good.... at first I wondered if he was just trying to get away with skipping school the next day so that he could be home and have more time to hold Simon but no... he was sick!  He had a fever and sore throat!  Monday morning Gabe and Oliver were both sick too! They all had fevers and cold symptoms and needed me a lot for a few days! Remember that horrible headache that I mentioned in my last post?... it still hadn't gone away and I had to continue taking major pain meds in order to be able to function... the meds would cover the headache for about 2 hours at a time but I could only take them every six hours! Coming home from the hospital with a new baby is hard enough but add 3 sick kids and a pounding headache not to mention all the new mom- postpartum stuff going on!....It was a rough week!  Julie left on Tuesday and I cried off and on all that day which was just the start of my breakdown! :)  I ended up going into my doctor at the end of the week frustrated to tears because of my headache, I was a basket case because I wasn't getting any sleep either!  Thank heaven for Glen who bless his heart was working his tail off at his new job and also trying to be supportive and helpful when he was home!  I never could have survived the week without my sweet mom and patient Dad!!! they pretty much took over... brought us dinner every night and took Gabe and Oliver everyday!  I never would have survived that first week without them! These beautiful flowers added some cheer too... the pink bunch from Glen and the red were sent from his company

  My headache was diagnosed as a severe tension headache and I was told I should see a chiropracter or massage therapist for treatment,!  In the meantime though, I also had high blood pressure and was all puffy and swollen- I worried my headache had something to do with that and after googleing it I was convinced I was going to have a stroke and die!  awesome! I just didn't feel right at all and I wondered if I were going nuts! Week two continued the same- except the kids were all finally feeling better.  I did feel a little better too after a few trips to the chiropracter- it was just a nightmare to get there on time with a tiny nursing baby and the mean office staff didn't help! (but that's another story) Somewhere in there I took Simon in for an appointment to his pediatrician and he was doing well I just feel bad because I was just going through the motions but it was a blur- I was totally in survival mode! I know this sound so dramatic but really it was hard!  I was still puffy and my blood pressure continued to be high.  I hardly took any pictures of our time with Simon and couldn't totally enjoy him or my other kids!

 Then I started to have this sharp pain in my calf...(what next?)  I kept ignoring it but was worried it might be a blood clot which is common after having a baby!  I tried to let it go but it hurt and I could barely walk!  After talking to the doctor I decided reluctantly that I better get it checked out- better to be safe than sorry right?... I wondered if I was crazy or becoming a hypochondriac... I am not usually that way, was it my hormones?... I have no idea what was going on with my body!  I went to the ER and got an ultrasound on my leg and - no blood clot- just a deep tissue bruise from who knows what?  Towards the end of week two I started to feel more like myself so I pulled it together and was finally able to really love on my sweet baby boy!

One of the days that my mom took Gabe and Oliver to her house I had some time where I was feeling ok and I had been dying to take Simon to meet my grandma... so we went for a little visit! O how I love her! My grandma always has a way of cheering me up-she is calm and she laughs and smiles and always has a twinkle in her eye! She reminds me in subtle ways what really matters in life!  She oohs and aahs over my babies and talks about all their tiny parts and about what a miracle babies are!  She is wise and I get lots of good advice from her life stories!  I am so glad that I have her here and that I get to share my life with her!  She makes me a better mom, a better person... I really treasure her and love her from the bottom of my heart!

  I did manage to take a few pictures those first few weeks... nothing too exciting but here they are

 Oliver was interested in Simon from the start but mostly he just wanted to get rid of him.  He asked me to put the baby back in my tummy almost everyday those first few weeks!  When that didn't work for him one day he said" Lets give baby Simon back to his mommy."  I asked "Who is Simon's mommy?" and Oliver answered "grandma".... I said "No, I am his mommy" and then Ollie's chin started to quiver and he said  "NO! Your MY mommy!" it nearly broke my heart! His little world had been invaded!... Those first few weeks were hard on Ollie too!  His interest in Simon has turned from getting rid of him to being completely obsessed and head over hills in love with him now... and I don't blame him a bit!

Despite the rough start, life with Simon has only gotten better... We are all SO in love!

 more details to come...