soaking it all up

Another month has come and gone and I am once again posting my monthly goal. So, I guess I cheated this month. I honestly never got a family picture. This one will have to do for this month. I kept putting it off until BAM it was already May. That just means I will have to think of something good for this month.

This is almost like a family picture, though. It was a special day. We went up the canyon and spent the whole day together. We rode bikes on the canyon trail, we chased after bugs, and we watch Haini skip rocks on the river. This was the same spot that Haini brought the kids a couple times last year right after Elijah came home from the hospital. He would bring them here to get out and play while I stayed home and adjusted to a new baby. I can hardly believe that my baby is now walking. A year has almost gone by.
I recently read a blog in which the mother was realizing her children were no longer toddlers and were now entering into the "almost-teenager" years. It made me cry as she recalled memories that seemed like yesterday and realized the harsh realities of time and change.
I JUST WANT TO SOAK IT ALL UP.
But deep inside, I know that one day I will be there and I will feel a little sad that my chubby babies and funny talking toddlers are no longer.


STOP.


STAY STILL.


PLEASE.


THERE IS NOT ENOUGH TIME TO GET IT ALL IN.


I constantly carry this notebook around (partly because I have a crazy obsession with little cute notebooks) and I am constantly stopping and writing down things I notice, hear and see.
This is what I got written down this month.

First of all I am typing this at 4:30 in the morning without my contacts.
I can't sleep.
Mostly because I woke up to feed Elijah, change his diaper and drag Sitani out of bed for an early morning potty break.

Aprils Notes:
*When I hold Elijah in my arms and say "Soft" he will grab my hand and start rubbing it softly on my face and then on his face. He smiles big and thinks it is funny.

*Everytime Sitani walks by my big plant, he has to take a big swipe at it. It is like he a warrior fighting off the evil with his sword. The poor plant is barely surviving.

*Marley has started a new thing of wrinkling her nose and talking squishyish (if that is a word). She likes to say "You're so funny Staw-ny."

*Marley constantly tackles Sitani. Haini mentioned that he is pretty worried about Marley and her rough play. She IS pretty crazy.

*Sitani got his first real skinned knee. Gravel and all. We bandaged it up and I wanted to cry for him. Ouch.

*Marley and I have had a couple of "ritual nights" when Haini is working late and Sitani and Elijah fall asleep. She can't sleep so we make ice-cream cones and cuddle together. It is fun to spend time with her alone. We both konk out before Haini gets home.

*Once this month, Sitani came to me with a little wimper. When I asked him what was wrong he said, "Mommy, Daddy says he won't cuddle with me." I heard Haini giggling in the background. I guess that he was teasing Sitani. My lil 4 year old is still such a cuddler and I LOVE IT!!!

*Sitani came up to me and said that he got bit by a grasshopper. He is hilariously scared of bugs.

*Marley is obsessed with Dora. Seriously, come on!! She calls her "my Dora." I was trying to stay clear of all that but somehow she seemed to slip into our lives. At least we've managed to dodge the Wiggles. Hahaha (sorry to all the Wiggles Fans).

*Both Sitani and Marley like to play "church". They will use the basketball hoop as the podium and the pole is the microphone that they talk into. It is really fun to listen when they think I'm not listening. They try to speak Tongan. I hear the words "mata" and "faka" (which doesn't come out sounding very nice. I don't know what to do to explain it to them.)

*Marley tells me almost everynight when I tuck her into bed, "Mommy, you go to work tomorrow?" "Yes, I have to go to work tomorrow." Then she usually says something like this, "Okay, but I'm gonna meess syou at wurk." That breaks my heart everytime. Someday soon I will get to tell her no more work.

*Haini passed the test to enter into the Police Academy. He also passed a final with a 89%. We' haven't gotten his grades back for the semester yet but he studied so hard this semester.

*Haini has told me that he wants a mountain bike. I told him he should get a cruiser bike and he responded that no, he wants a real mountain bike.

*Sitani has been praying to "save money for a new house". He even points them out to me in the newspapers.

*Marley found a penny while walking in the park. She held on to it all the way home and put it in her piggy bank. I was so proud of her. (Is that considered stealing, though?)

*Sitani participated in his first Primary Fireside. They sang "Scripture Power" and would hold their scriptures up everytime they sang that part. It was awesome!!!

*Marley and I painted a new painting for our home. We made a tree and she added leaves. It was our Earth Day activity since the weather was so bad.

*We spent a lot of nights this month watching Planet Earth together. My kids loved it!!! I loved it!!!

*We have already had 3 barbeques and 1 get together with friends.

Another month down.
We are closer to summer!!!
The spring tree blossoms still amaze me every year.
I can't wait to come alive again.

I am so thankful for my family. I am so thankful for my home. I am so thankful for my health. I am so thankful for the gospel.