Journal // May 2024

Our every day May moments 🌼

Early Morning Temple Session

A friend invited me to attend an early morning temple session with her. For our temple, they do a 5:30 AM session on the first Wednesday of the month. I am an early riser (I am usually up at 5:00 AM) but I learned this was a totally different arena of early! I had to get up at 4:00, so I could get myself ready and on the road by 4:30, so I could be at the temple by 5:00. Let’s just say I was doing a whole lot of pinching myself! But all joking aside, it was beautiful and peaceful and truly the best way to start my day.

Youth Temple Trip

Later that day, Jacob and the other youth in our ward went to the temple. It is always such a tender blessing to go with them. I am forever grateful for these young people in Jacob’s life.

Spring Cold

I got completely knocked down with a cold. It hit me by surprise and luckily no one else in the family got it. But it was five long days of fever and congestion. No fun.

Play Time

While I was down and out, I was especially grateful for how wonderful the kids are at simply PLAYING. Walking in on moments like this make my mamma heart so happy.

Bodily Fluids

This is probably a TMI moment. But here I go. Lydie is having an abnormally high amount of “leakage” lately. She has gotten off of some medications (which we are SO excited about it!) but we learned those medications were managing some side effects of some of her other medications. Uggg…it’s a thing. In the midst of my sickness fog – Lydie must have leaked on me and I didn’t even realize it until I was getting ready for bed that night. Disgusting, yes. My life, also, yes.

The Middle Ages & the Renaissance

Jacob and Sarah finished their history unit on the middle ages and the renaissance. We loved this unit!

School at the Farm

Because the weather is warmer, Ben has been coming with me to Lydia’s horse therapy and we have been doing some school while she rides. It is pretty dreamy! Perhaps a little distracting, but completely worth it.

Family Walks

We’ve had lots of family walks lately. We are enjoying the cooler weather while we can!

Research Octopus

We are pretty selective about what research Lydia is a part of – and honestly, we turn down most of what is asked of us. But we were approached about a research opportunity for Lydia and decided to participate in this one. They are looking at seizure activity and how it is affected by different sensory stimuli. We had to go in twice this month (to get things started), but then we won’t come in again for another six months, and then every year for five years. So it isn’t too much extra and hopefully they can help figure out something to help these sweet little people.

Luckily, they don’t have to glue in the electrodes like they normally do for EEGs. But Lydie does get to wear this strange cap that makes her look like she was attacked by an octopus when she takes it off!

Apple Blossoms

Our two apple trees are so beautiful this spring. We can’t wait to see how this season goes with them!

Mother’s Day

It was a day of emotions but I will always be grateful to be a mother. CLICK HERE for our day.

Spring Planting

Spring Bucket List ✔ We added a couple more bushes, some roses, and planted our flower pots. Nothing says SPRING more than spending time in the dirt!

The Chronicles of Narnia

I needed a light book. So I decided to read The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and oh goodness how I love these books. The ending is so very sweet and hardly ever gets talked about. I cried happy tears. I love it so very much.

“And as He spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

Beautiful.

Sarah’s Dress Shop

Sarah loves designing clothes for her dolls. She wanted to make a love gift for Lydie’s birthday, so she designed and made some clothes for Lydie’s baby. It was so sweet and she worked so hard.

Flat Tire

While driving to soccer practice, we began to lose tire pressure real fast! It turns out I ran over a nail. Luckily, I was close enough that I made it back home. The tire was hissing! We switched cars and somehow managed to only be ten minutes late for soccer practice. What a day!

“Classic” Signs

“So basically, it just means everyone but me,” said Sarah. A classic kid sign made by Ben.

Spring Soccer

Ben finished his first soccer season and it was so fun! Read all about it HERE.

Little Boy Sleepovers

The boys know I am a bit of a pushover when Mark is working. Jacob was having a rough night and wasn’t feeling well and asked if he could sleep with me. The next night, it was Ben. It doesn’t happen too often, but I do kind of love it sometimes.

Happy Goopy Eyes

I love her so much. Even with her goopy eyes!

Forts

Long live forts! Ben makes so many forts for Lydie and him to play in.

Orcas

We made a visit down to the Denver Nature and Science Museum and learned so much about orcas! Read all about it HERE.

Memorial Day

We had such a beautiful Memorial Day. Read all about it HERE.

Sarah and Ben Productions

Sarah and Ben put on quite the production. They had been “practicing” for weeks! I still am not entirely sure what happened in the story, but there were A LOT of light saber fights. Long live childhood!

Ben’s Math

Ben finished Level K of math! YAY YAY YAY! Math has been a thing for us the last year and so this felt so very good! This boy is going places!

Meet Kevin

Does he or does he not look like Kevin McAlister from Home Alone? I died when he came out of his shower like this.

Mud Volleyball

Jacob had a tri-ward youth church activity to play mud volleyball. It was more like “swamp volleyball” but he LOVED it!

Lydia’s Room Makeover

We’ve been working on Lydie’s room the last couple months to get it looking like our girl! Oh goodness, I cannot handle the before and afters. We love it so much – and we think our girl does, too!