Easter 2018

I’m trying to catch up on blog posts, but including photos is proving to be a challenge, as many photos of the children include one of the twins, or other foster placement (we provided respite care for a weekend in April and added two little ladies to our brood for a few days.) in the pic, so I cannot post them. So if it seems like one of my children is missing from an event that I post about because they aren’t in any of the pics, it’s most likely that three children are missing from the event, because they were with the twins in every pic. If I were on top of things I could edit creatively or create private draft posts, but for now, this is what I can do.  Make no mistake by thinking I don’t absolutely hate to  not be able to include my entire family in these posts. I do not agree with this rule, but I respect it’s necessity and understand the importance of my need to protect identities. Feels incomplete and like an inaccurate depiction of our family life though. I’ve had 3 babies on my hips at everything since January.  I hate that foster children are so invisible. Do me a favor as you read and look at pics on the blog and be aware that there are two more (sometimes more) unseen family members skipping around in there. See them and love them even though they are physically unseen. I just feel like they are such a big part of our lives right now, it is unfair to cut them out of Easter. It’s weird, but for sake of not quitting the blog, I will post around them, as long as we acknowledge there is quite a circus going on behind my state mandated censorship curtain. ;) 

We started the Easter weekend off with the Good Friday Celebration at the Bentonville Stake Center. It was a tough one for the little ones to sit through, and after 5 minutes, I took the younger 4 to the nursery and it was fine. It was nice to have a reverent tone set for the weekend.  

Jill Smallwood hosted an Easter egg hunt for the preschool aged kidlets. I used to host this sort of thing, and I’m totally thankful that Jill put together such a fun day for mom friends and kid friends to gather and play and hunt for eggs. Sloane and Soren LOVED showing A and E how to look for eggs and put them in their basket. Gig was up the instant E discovered there was stuff  inside the eggs. She sucked on a melty piece of chocolate, paper wrapper and all, until it was all over her face, hands, hair, legs, torso, etc. 








Of course we had to bring a carton of cascarones to add some Mexican culture to our celebrating. It wasSO funny to watch the confetti shoot the kids right in the eyes! They knew what was inside the eggs, but they were still startled every time by the paper sprinkle explosion to the face. So good. 

Easter fell on on General Conference Weekebd. What a treat!  The Easter bunny got smart (read: lazy, old, tired) the past few years abd no longer stuffs individual baskets. Instead, a pile of goods is just left on the table for the family to enjoy. Some sling shot unicorns, a bubble machine,  chocolate coins, a set of new ear buds, a few stuffies, and an egg dye kit.  

One tradition we like to do is have the Easter bunny fill the plastic eggs with snack mix goodies. Still pretty sugary, but instead of jelly beans that don’t even taste good, mini Oreos, Cookie Crisp cereal, teddy grahams, pretzels, mini marshmallows, etc. the kids each get a ziplock baggie and dump their loot together to create an awesome snack mix to eat during general conference. 

We also tried out a Lawrence Easter tradition this year and grabbed the spare change mason jar from the closet and filled 2 dozen eggs with loose change. Aaron made it WAY fun by adding a $10 bill to one egg, a $5 bill to another, and 5 one dollar bills to individual eggs. The kids were CRAZY excited! Before they opened their eggs, we played a barter game and offered the person who had the one golden glitter egg $5 cash to trade, and then asked another if they wanted to hand over 3 of their eggs for it, etc.  It was really fun to see which kids played it safe, which took risks, and which agonized far too long over such an impossible decision. Great memories. 






Reese’s face here is so classic. After counting her cash, she brought the rest of her savings downstairs to add it all up and get a grand total. She proudly pulled out two super old babysitting abd birthday checks and counted them up like money. I (not knowing she had been storing these) pointed out that checks expire. She had no idea! Haha! She’s been counting them up like cash for many months. Oopsie.  This inspired her big push to put everything into a bank account, which we did a couple weekends later. 

Aaron is 42

Loving Aaron is so easy. He’s one of a kind. Patient, selfless, courageous, obedient, level headed, tender hearted, funny, slow to anger, humble, wise, thoughtful, witty, and righteous.  For his birthday he had one and only one request: “to go eat lunch at that little bakery in Farmington with the tiny kid door for Soren  and the babies to walk through.  So that’s what we did! 

Way to be a real man and choose the pretty bakery with the floral walls and tea party decor! I love this man, and the whole family enjoyed the assortment of cheesecake we picked out to go. Aaron got a new grill and ordered a new mattress to replace our “roll to the center” taco of a bed. Happy Birthday, Aaron! You are a mighty fine man, husband, father, son, and friend. We love being yours! 

That evening, we had soccer games. Aaron cares fiercely about soccer-in that he cares fiercely that his children learn the game, have a good attitude, and enjoy playing. That’s it. Everyone loves a win, of course, but Aaron is not the father screaming from the sideline about a screw up. He is so kind. He encourages and teaches and motivates and demonstrates and celebrates. This coaching model makes wonderful athletes who love the game and love to play. He is empathetic about losses and then inspires and encourages abd uplifts. This is also the model for a wonderful father and husband. We are all extremely fortunate to be on his team! 

Corbin in the 3rd Grade Wax Museum

George Lucas made a debut at Cooper Elementary this morning! I love the third grade wax museum! Corbin was a fantastic George Lucas today. He took a twinning pic with the other George Lucas. So fun to see a bunch of my favorite third graders from church and soccer and lots of former preschool students of mine. The first thing most of them wanted to tell me was when and how “they” died, haha. Adorable mini Neil Armstrong and Mia Hamm and Steve Irwin and Ruby Bridges and JK Rowling and Walt Disney. Robert E Lee was sandwiched between Dr Martin Luther King Jr, Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks. Fortunately, everyone got along. Corbin now has the George Lucas Museum at the top of his list of places to visit.

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Mother’s Day 2018

Ooh I am Mommin’ HARD these days. These  years are frontlines, in the trenches, hard core mothering. That’s what they all said to me 9 years ago when Corbin was a baby. “You’ve got 3 little ones all at home. These are the longesr and hardest days until they are teenagers.”  Ha!  I had SO much more energy then than I do now! Maybe it’s the overlap of teens/tweens AND babies? Maybe it’s that I’m nearly a decade older and still rocking the diaper bag and reading chicka chicka boom boom several times a day?  Maybe it’s that there are triplets? Or the uncertainty of the twins’ future and general heaviness that comes with fostering? I don’t know but I’m definitely tired. Weary some days, but not every day. Most just end at exhaustion. I think May is short for May-hem. 

All the things! 

I think a few things. 

1) it’s ok to be honest about exhaustion and not mean that I want things any other way. I mean, yes, of course, more energy would be glorious, but what I’m trying to say is that I know this is exactly what my life is supposed to look like. A couple friends/neighbors in different stages of life begin every conversation with me with that head tilt and a a careful “how you holding up?” And I have to laugh because I am totally aware of the business of our lives and while I don’t prefer to be this fast paced, I accept that this is where I am.   I’ve lost about 15 lbs since January and part of it is from running, I’m sure, but I really think the rest just fell off because I just. don’t. sit. during the day, any more. Not a magical food plan. Definitely not any diet or food abstainance. Just a lot of running after small people who go up and down stairs all day long. With markers and scissors and Reese’s makeup bag. Haha!  

Bless this family of mine. I love them so much. I fall short so often (more lately than ever) and they are so patient and compassionate. They meet me where I am and allow me to just love them and serve them however I can. God bless mothers everywhere who are just trying to keep up with the hard stuff. 


I got a Mother’s Day video message yesterday via Marco Polo from two sweet little girls that we fostered for only a few days. They immediately called me Mama. They fell asleep as I sang them lullabies. 72 hours in my home and they learned safety and security and Mother-love and how to pray.  I think about that weekend and immediately feel a twitch of tired just thinking out my tiny taste of life as a mother-of-nine. That was the kind of righteous weariness that the lord wants us to return to him wearing.  We are not created to bury up our talents and hide them from the world.  All that He gives us is for our good and to create good.  Like the parable of the talents, I want to mother with all that I’ve been given and work to grow and serve and give. 

I often hear, “how can God let such terrible things happen to precious, innocent children?” Mothering another mother’s children has allowed me to witness God’s great love for these most cherished babies. After losing literally everything else that they have, He still gives them a mother. I am not a perfect offering but I am everything they need, right now. I may not get to be theirs forever, but if my influence can change the trajectory of their lives even one degree, they will end up somewhere completely different than if they’d remained on their original path. The world can give children many things to set them up for success, but the power of a mother to  love and advocate for them is a gift that will last immeasurably beyond the numbered days that they are in my home. I love this special holiday to help us see the ways we all belong to each other. Happy Mother’s Day to everyone who mothers the human family in any and every way she can. Your work is important!

Aaron gave me some tulips, and I tucked them into the surging stems of a mixed birthday bouquet that Kristi A gave me last week. The flowers brought new life to each other and I love the burst of color on my kitchen table. 

Some of the children made me cards and I’m so happy for the joy it brought them to show me love and appreciation. 


Little E recently started occupational therapy, avd she made this card after a session last week.  Thank you to her therapy team for the lovely card. I know that Mothers Day is not all about me. It’s about the calling of motherhood in general, and that is a role I will champion forever.  But there’s definitely no “Foster Mother’s Day” and I was reminded of this as a coupled friends of mine picked up their foster children from school with armloads if cards and paper flowers and little gifts of appreciation, all addressed to their “real” moms.  Birth mothers of f the world absolutely deserve their cards. But I could feel both a sting for these foster mothers who are mothering SO hard right now, through very difficult circumstances, and I acknowledge their invisibility. Also, I champion them for doing exactly what mothers do, as they smiled and hugged these children and selflessly created plans to deliver the gifts to the mothers. They know that this day is bigger than cards and their impression is not invisible to the one who called them to the work. I’m inspired by these wonderful, gracious mothers.  This little card, was touching and I’m honored to receive it. 


Quincy and Reese made up a song for me, this year, called “Mom is Home”. It was awesome. Thanks, girls for sharing your creativity with me! 

Oh those little hands. You’re everywhere and into all the things and I love you so much! 

The weekend was full of mom things and it was just right. A Cub Campout, two soccer tournament games, a trip to Walmart to buy live fish for an end of year teachers-must-hate-parents-science project, a cinco de mayo party at the Wrights, purple crayon decorated furniture, a very bloody head injury, de-squash-bugging the garden, and a very very stinky dishwasher that finally gave up the ghost on Saturday. We’ve been putting off the purchase of a replacement because the old one kept coming back to life for a few more weeks at a time, but on Thursday night it died died and by Saturday the whole house reeked of sour water. Barf. dishes pile up quickly with 9 people in the house!  

The kids weeped and wailed and found a new appreciation as they each took turns hand washing. Haha! 

Happy Mother’s Day to you all! 

Cub Scout Family Campout at Roaring River

In the grand tradition of LDS wards nation wide, a campout was scheduled for Mother’s Day weekend.  I don’t know why this is a thing, but it is.  Fortunately,  Aaron is very opposite of me in many ways, and unlike me, is a super fun parent and has a deep love for scouting. Unfortunately, Aaron is unlike me and is not wired to operate on little sleep. He still has PTSD from his all-nighter last year (same weekend, of course!) when we very enthusiastically pitched his tent with the kids on their slanted site, and the tent collapsed on them, our children behaved  like children and no one slept. “Never again”, I said, when he melted down the following day after getting the exact amount of sleep that I, with a premie, was getting every night. 

Fast forward to this weekend, I was sure he’d be all Aaron about it and decide to optimistically go camp out on Friday night. To my surprise, even after I packed the car with food abd gear on Friday afternoon, it was Aaron who held firm to night staying the night. Zero complaints from me about this! Lost of complaints from the boys about this.  

The main reason is really that both boys had early soccer tournament games on Saturday morning. But Aaron and I were both happy for the excuse to take the family up and “fake camp”. We joined ward family members for all the fun stuff, and then packed up the crew and drove home to do a tick check with lights/electricity, bathe, and sleep in our own beds.  It’s the way to go until everyone is capable of going to bed unassisted. Or at least when we have less than 3 kids in  dispers. 

The kids roasted weenies and had a free for all on chips avd watermelon and s’mores. Corbin’s den did a funny skit that ended with a joke about toilet paper, so naturally all the boys died over it’s age appropriate hilariousness. The little ones loves bubbles. I fumigated my family in a cloud of deet bug spray, then burned our hot dogs and gave our family-camping-champion wilderness friends plenty of fodder for jokes and how untrained I am in the great outdoors. I do actually think I might love camping when my younger kids get a bit older.  

Anyway, it was a great memory for the family, avd one that doesn’t involve sleep deprivation, so that’s a big win!  The best part is there was something for everyone in our family to do, which is not easy for a 12 year age span. I think the kids’ favorite part was just running around with their friends. Corbin LOVES being a Cub Scout. 

Reese in the Orchestra

The Washington Junior High orchestra is really quite impressive. I believe it has been a real gift for these kids to have Mr Collett as their director. He wants excellence and the drive for perfection really pushes these young musicians to work on their craft.  Reese felt some heavy pressure this year, avd it was definitely the last year of orchestra that she can get away with participating without also investing in private lessons. She kept up though and played well. I’m proud of her for the hours she put into learning Gavotte. I remember struggling to get through that piece when I was 17! She did it, and I think a number of life lessons were taught as I stayed up late nights with her in the guest room helping her dissect the piece and master it measure by measure.  Violin has not come to her easily, but she really really wants to continue.  The tired mother in me wants her to love something that does come easily. The wise mother in me loves the heck out of her for her perseverance. 

She truly sounded great! 

Quincy Sings

Quincy has loved being part of the ward choir this past year.  She stays after church every week for choir practice and looks forward to their opportunities to perform every month or two.  

Q was ecstatic to be chosen with her peer, Beck, to help lead the primary chorus as they sang Love Is Spoken Here for Mother’s Day. She got up early on Sunday morning and got herself ready in the dress she’d laid out nights before.  She had Aaron take her to church early and did a great job co-leading the choir! She was so happy. 

Quincy also was a member of the Barker Middle School choir. They had their concert last week and she sang her heart out.  I love watching Quincy sing. 

Aaron has pics from her concert on his phone (Q’s concert was at the same time as the orchestra concert, so we split the family in half and per the kids requests, Aaron took the twins to hear Q and I took the boys abd Sloane to hear Reese), but here’s one I borrowed from the Bruin instagram post, featuring Beck busting out a rap from Hamilton (which I still haven’t heard yet... I’m way behind on that bandwagon).  She’s on the front row. 

After the concerts, I took the big girls out for a treat. They chose Red Robin.