Dentist, A Girls Weekend, and Trunk or Treat

The kids did great at their dentist appointment and Max had his first one. I was motivated to wean him from his pacifier (he stopped at 17 months) so I could tell the dentist that he doesn't use one anymore. And after a couple not too terrible nights, he is weaned! I was holding Max though so I don't have his picture.

Lily and I had our girls weekend while Ryan and Max were at Mama Baer's. After picking her up from school we went straight to the lake and rode our bikes around. It was pretty windy and a little cold and Lily said a few times that she didn't think she could do it, but she kept pushing and we felt really accomplished when we finished. We took a few breaks to sit on the rocks and look at the birds. Lily started pulling weeds in between the rocks so it would look nice. She said she wants to be a gardner so she's interested in keeping grounds looking good. Later she went out with some water to make mud so she could shovel. I noticed her socks when she came in that they had mud on them. I mentioned it and she said, "it's because I'm having a muddy day. I'm going to be a gardner. I could grow pumpkins or potatoes or carrots or anything." I love it and tribute our farm visits to this new love. And also her love of flowers.

Lily took this beautiful shot!

Lily loves a good selfie. 

Back to our weekend, after bikes we went and had ice cream and hot chocolate then collected leaves. We got home to get in our cozy pj's, popped some popcorn, ate cookies and watched Frozen. We then went to my bed, read "Moonfleet" and Lily got to sleep in my bed. I was fine once I was asleep, but Lily moves A LOT in bed. And a queen isn't quite big enough for the two of us. But it was fun and when we woke up we stayed in bed looking at pictures and watching videos of Ryan at Mama Baer's laughing hysterically while throwing a football and catching it with Lisa and Nick.

Lily had her primary program practice and then a birthday party for Olivia. I wasn't going to stay at the party, but I did and got to talk with a lot of other moms and grandparents and it was so nice for me. Then it was time for Westminster and trunk or treating at Sarah's ward.

Sarah, Diana, Lisa, and Nick took Max and Ryan to Sarah's co-workers house for a party then we met up to go to the church. Ryan was not interested in dressing up as Captain America and Max didn't want to dress up as a ninja until Sarah said he had to wear a jacket to go outside. "Go outside" are key words for Max and he will do anything to make that happen. He got a bucket and immediately started to collect rocks. He got some candy and then just wanted to wander around, pointing to the street lights. He's a funny boy.

Lily and Ryan got a lot of candy and then at the end hid out in the back of Sandy's van. Sarah was a gypsy and started telling people she was collecting children.

The boys had so much fun at Mama Baer's and Max was especially taken with Papa. He likes his daddy and his papa, it's pretty sweet. Apparently he would just rest his head on Papa's shoulder, which he doesn't often do, so that says a lot.

We got home late and the house was a disaster, but after doing all this decluttering I didn't even mind too much because I knew everything had a place so it wouldn't take long. On Sunday we were a little late to church (only by 3 minutes, but church and already started) and Kenna had been worried we wouldn't get our bench and saved our seats for us. I thought that was so nice and thoughtful and made my heart happy to know we were cared about and so loved. And then the Preece's sat in front of us and Collin and Colton wanted to sit by Max and Ryan so they came back and Lily said with the Cormack's. It just made me feel grateful for the whole idea that we help each other out and it feels nice to help others. Collin focused on Max and Colton and Ryan did the quiet book and then looked at a toy magazine together. Then Ryan and Colton went to sit with the Cormack's, so we all took turns with the kids. It was pretty sweet.

I taught my lesson to the Mia Maids and Laurels on charity and had prepared quotes and videos and lots of stuff. But last night late at night I was finishing up my lesson and prayed to know what questions to ask. I wrote down the answer I received and when it came time to do my lesson, we pretty much just stuck to those questions and discussing them. I thought it was so cool that when we ask the Lord for help, he will teach us what to say and even how to say it. The lesson went great, there was a wonderful spirit, and I just felt so grateful to have been guided by the Holy Ghost.

Ryan has been really grateful lately and so nice. When I get him food or remind him to do something he says, "thanks mom for getting me that or reminding me of that." He and Lily played with some of his tools and they were fighting a little over who got what then he said, "I know, let's share!"

While reading from the illustrated New Testament tonight we read the introduction about Heavenly Father's plan. Ryan said, "Heavenly Father got resurrected too!" Which I thought was great because we don't talk about that, but it's true, or he wouldn't have a body. And when we discussed how we came to earth and have to choose to follow Jesus or Satan, Ryan said, "me, you, Lily, Max, and Daddy, we all follow Jesus." When I asked them what we could do when we sometimes make a mistake and don't follow Jesus, Lily said, "we repent. We pray to Heavenly Father and Jesus." I'm so impressed with these sweet kids and their understanding of the gospel at such a young age. I honestly feel like whatever else I'm doing, if I'm in the scriptures and teaching my kids the gospel, there's nothing better I could be doing than that. There's a lot of peace that comes from talking about the gospel with your kids because you know you are laying a strong foundation for the rest of their lives.

Jeff is home! He is sick and exhausted, but he made it safely to his parents where he will spend the night then come home tomorrow. It was a whirlwind two weeks but it went by fast and I got so much help from so many people (especially these weekend breaks) that I feel very blessed.

Mind, Body, Soul Time

Before writing about the week, here are some fun photos:

Lily does a great job drawing animals out of her book. 

Ryan loves having lots of cars to choose from...he can't get enough. 

I helped the kids make marble runs and I had to document it since I typically leave that to Jeff. 

I was having a hard day so Lily made this card for me. It made me feel very loved. 

The kids made me a card with Jeff while I was still having that hard day.  I must say I love my family so much, I feel incredibly blessed to raise these pure souls and to be married to such a wonderful man. 

Lily was challenged in her primary class to do something nice for her parents. So she made our beds and put one heart on each of our pillows. This girl loves to serve and to make others days better.  

The leaves are changing and it's so beautiful! I love these pleasant fall days so much. 

Lily loves to climb the fence. 

Ryan had fun trying out his new rocket launcher that he bought with his own money.

More farm fun:

Does a pumpkin float?

Searching for pumpkins. 

The kids have no fear when feeding very hungry goats. 

All the kids need is a huge mountain of wood chips to be happy. 

Ryan had fun on the saddle and did great going "around the world."

Lily practiced going "around the world" and did great too!

A toad, how exciting!

Tractor rides with Dartanion are always fun.  

Daylon always does a great job painting faces. 

We have started having "Mind, Body, Soul Time" after I heard about it from this Positive Parenting course I'm taking. Ten minutes, each child, twice a day. It is important to label it so the child knows this specific time is set aside for him or her.

So far Lily has wanted to do art or play with her dolls. Ryan likes to get out all of his "Cars" band-aids, lay them out, talk about them, then count them as we put them back in the bag. Today he also played with his Farmall Tractor and two construction worker figures. He named them Dong and Ding and the tractor "Tractor Wheel." Max just wanted each of us to hold rocks, sit on the ottoman, and look up at the ceiling fan. They get excited about it though and look forward to our time together. So far getting it in twice a day is tricky, but I'm praying to find that second opportunity since I know it will make even more of a difference.

Jeff left for China for two weeks on Tuesday! He is excited about being with his colleagues again and of course to see some sights in China. We will miss him, but we did a lot of things this weekend to help me prepare for a positive week. I cleaned up the back porch (which was filled with bugs and spider webs) so I don't have anxiety every time I look back there, and cleaned the house up so I have a fresh start. I even exercised, which I haven't done in a few weeks so I feel like I'm on track to do great.

Before Jeff left we did a family bike ride, which was so much fun. We rode along the creek and ended up at the elementary school playground. I haven't ridden my bike in a long time so it was nice to be back on it again.

Ryan loves sitting in the tree.

Max is always happy with a rock or ball in his hand, especially when he is sitting on the tree. 

I was saying a prayer and felt so much gratitude as I thought of all the blessings we have received from family members on the Baer and DeVore side. I feel like I can't say enough how wonderful it is to think about each member and reflect on all the good they have brought into my life. I feel so much love and have learned a lot and just couldn't thank Heavenly Father enough for His goodness to me.

Wednesday was a busy day. Lily and Ryan had a field trip and Max stayed home to nap with the babysitter. I was so worried about what to do because Lily and Ryan both had it the same day and I couldn't be in two places at once. I was so happy when Lily's teacher suggested I bring Ryan with me. He wouldn't get to ride the bus, but in the end it was perfect. Lily had a great time on the bus, but with that little extra time we had waiting for Lily to get there he was able to sit on a tractor and ride behind a go-cart type thing. They both loved getting on and off the wagon behind the tractor and Ryan was intrigued with the tractor marks in the mud, "they're so big!" Ryan's favorite part was going deep into the corn and Lily loved picking out the perfect pumpkins to take home. It was a tiring day, but fun picking vegetables and being out. And I was so happy to be there with both kids!

Ryan was in heaven with lots and lots of tractors around. 

With Dust the plane. 

Lily and Olivia

Ryan loved looking over the side and watching the tractor tracks in the mud. 

Getting lost while picking corn. 

Picking little pumpkins from the patch.

Ryan moved to the front of the wagon so he could keep an eye on the driver. 

Lily with some of her classmates. 

I drove Ryan around and it was much harder to maneuver than you'd think. 

After that I got the kids haircuts and Lily felt like she was a princess when the stylist washed her hair. Both she and Ryan chose pictures of the hairstyles they wanted and I showed them to their stylists. Max sat on my lap and wasn't too thrilled at first, but once they gave him a ball to hold he was happy. Lily really wanted bangs and is so excited about them, even though they are just a little on the side. She wanted a more full bang that sloped down, but I didn't know if we'd like having to do a hard part that wasn't her natural part. So we started with a subtle bang and maybe next time we (I mean I) will get more daring. I thought it was great how opinionated she was about her hair. Once she saw the right picture she was sure she found the perfect look. And even Ryan knew what he liked. I think this will be our strategy each time, letting them look up internet pictures and showing them to the stylists, it made it much easier.

On Thursday my friend Meredith Logan watched the kids for 2 1/2 hours while Max slept. I mowed the front and back lawn, face timed Jeff, and washed off the front patio from all the bird poop. I have been wanting to get that done for SO long! It feels so great to have a patio now that we can sit on and Lily took all the pumpkins out to decorate.

At first I just had Lily and Ryan in the picture, but Max saw what was happening and walked over and plopped himself on the steps. 

After that our friends Courtney and her two kids Olivia and Reed came to play. It is always a wonderful way to spend the morning with friends for everyone. One other thing the kids love doing is watching the garbage truck come. If they hear the truck they rush out to greet it. Each week they pick some leaves to give to Mike, the garbage man, and he brings our garbage back up the driveway for us. It's a highlight for Lily and Ryan and I bet for Mike too.

Jeff walked about 14 miles on the Great Wall of China his second day in China. He said no one really knew how long it would be, but he definitely did not have that in mind. He was so glad he had good hiking shoes and didn't get one blister. Some parts were really hard and dangerous, and it seemed like the next peak was close by, when really it wasn't. But it was beautiful and fun to be with people from his group and he's glad he went. The best part was the toboggan ride at the end. My mom had done that too and Jeff couldn't quite believe that. Jeff looked absolutely beyond exhausted when I saw him so I'm sure he slept hard.

During nap time Lily and I went through all of her clothes in her room, taking out the ones too small and deciding if each article "sparked joy." I would just ask her if the article made her really happy. She told me if she had a smiley face it did, if she had a frown face it didn't. One pair of pants were pink and too small. She held them and said, "I'm really going to miss you." I told her to say goodbye and thank you. She tried to say goodbye, but started to cry and kept saying how much she was going to miss them and she couldn't say goodbye. I told her she wasn't ready to let these go yet so she can hang on to them awhile longer. She got really affected by it, I guess that's one way to know if something brings you a lot of joy if you can't even say goodbye without crying.

After naps we headed to the park and the kids had a wonderful time. Lily rode her bike for awhile and sang her made up songs while she rode. Max walked around with a soccer ball, bouncing it every few feet, then picking it up. Ryan kicked a little soccer ball then ran after it, over and over. Ryan really wanted to go down the fireman's pole and couldn't quite reach it. I helped him get across the gap and then he slid down. He felt so proud he was doing it! He said, "I used to be scared to do this, but I'm doing it now!" or "That was really scary, but I did it!"He also kept saying how good it was that we were having a great time at the park. It was the perfect evening to be out and the kids had so much fun being creative in their play and being outdoors. These evenings make me so happy to be a mom and see how my kids are growing and developing and having fun in the world. And I loved being out to see the fall leaves changing colors and the freshly cut lawns and cool air. Max has to be holding a ball or rock when he's walking around. And he loves to explore and wander off to different places. He especially likes leaves and pulling them off their branches. When we got home he wanted to sit in the tree and throw the leaves down on me. He thought that was pretty funny.

They didn't want to leave, but when I told them we had to pack for Mama Baer's that got them moving. I had just done laundry so Ryan was trying to put all of his clothes in. And Max kept trying to close the suitcase before I was done and taking out Ryan's slippers that he had put in. Somehow we finished up in there.

Thursday night Lily came into my room at 2 a.m. and wanted to sleep in my bed. She's never really done that before, but in the morning she told me she had a scary dream about a giant. I told her I was happy she came to me and we both slept like a rock after she came in.

For mind, body, soul time Ryan wanted to use the spray bottle to spray anything and everything (I got it out so I could spray his and Lily's hair). We went out in the front yard, Lily came too, and they both sprayed the trees, leaves ("Look," said Ryan, "the tree is growing!"), the sidewalk, rocks, but they had the best time spraying the car and getting it all "shiny." And then for Lily's special time she wanted to keep on spraying.

For Max's mind, body, soul time I just follow him around because I never know what he wants to do, since he doesn't really know either. It typically involves putting up the basketball hoop on his crib and throwing balls in there. Or going outside. The other day he moved the stick blocking the back door and brought me his shoes. He knows what to do to go out.

Friday I listened to a TED talk on happiness and how research has shown that people are most happy when they don't let their mind wander and are focused and attentive on their present task. Also, people who are grateful are happier. This afternoon I dropped the kids off in Westminster and watching them play in the backyard having so much fun, with their aunt Nana watching, full of love for them, I was filled with gratitude. I was also grateful I got a break and did some shopping, ate at Panera by myself where I could just sit and think about all I'm grateful for and have some time for quiet. I read scriptures today on prophets and was full of gratitude for not only having a prophet, but knowing about him and having a testimony that he is a true prophet of God. And since I have that testimony, I have faith that if I follow his and the apostles teachings, I will be on the path to return to live with God. I face timed Jeff and talking to him made me so grateful for our paths that led us to each other. We each could have taken different roads, but we came together. I love him and am grateful for his love and for the children we share together, for our sweet family.

Before going to Westminster we went to another pumpkin patch with friends from church, but the part the kids loved best was the rope tree swing.

He's always holding a ball. 

While I was out shopping I tried something. I prayed for people who drove past me, stood in front of me at line, or people I walked by. I prayed they would feel the love of God and their hearts would be drawn out to Him and they would come closer to him. I prayed angels would surround them and support them. I drove by an accident and prayed for the people involved that they would find peace and comfort and get the help needed for their injuries. It was so incredible because as I prayed, I was instantly transformed into a person full of love, compassion, and happiness. I looked at each person differently, through God's eyes. I was blessed with love for them and my heart was softened to them. It showed me that whenever we pray for help to do good things, things we know are of God, He will bless us. And anytime it involves love, He will bless us even more because God is love and without charity we are nothing, so when we strive to attain that, He wants to help us with it.

While the kids were away on Saturday, I spent the ENTIRE day tidying and decluttering. I went through all of Lily's old clothes (which was a lot), the hall closet, Lily and Ryan's closets, other storage bins and miscellaneous places. I worked for a total of 10 hours. But if felt so wonderful to get things done and make a mess but not have to worry about cleaning it up right away. By 9pm I had the house all put back together again and I have 5 big storage bins left over from all my cleaning up. I worked hard and it felt so good to look around and see what I had accomplished. This will give me a great start for the week. My goals is to finish up my house so that I can focus on other things like spending time with the kids, eating healthy, doing service rather than spending time and wasting energy on always cleaning up or at least feeling overwhelmed that I have so much to clean up.

I tried to donate the bassinet, but Lily quickly took the basket for her friends.  

I had to document this room. Look how nice it looks! Just waiting for a child to empty out the bookshelf or ottoman or fill the table with art projects. Waiting to be lived in.