Love and Learn

When my babies are finally asleep for the night I start thinking about all the ways I could have done better by them during their waking hours. I could have smiled a little more, been a little more playful, listened a little better to what was on their minds, given a little more thought to my responses, been more gentle...I guess the best I can do is acknowledge my short comings and pray that my mistakes will be made up for somehow and that I can grow as a parent...they are so sweet in their sleep it makes me ache.
Hyrum has started talking to his brother-to-be. He explains to him where we are going and what we are doing. He calls him by the name we are temporarily set on. Hyrum and his favorite cousin come up with lots of mischief these days. Those three-year-old brains are dangerous together. Tonight, while the older kids were putting on a production of Cinderella for us, the two boys were bathing themselves with toilet water (gag) I heard the squeals of laughter coming from the bathroom and knew it was bad. Hyrum is also beginning to speak his mind and have strong opinions. I'm glad for him, but from a parental standpoint it means it's time for me to figure out new ways of communicating with him.
Shailee, ever the wise older spirit in a young package, gave us her Christmas wish list a few weeks ago. It included a pea coat and a set of her own office supplies. I'm not sure what we will get when she is 30 if that's what she asks for at 5. She astounds me with her confidence and perceptiveness. I often overhear her explaining the mysteries of life to Hyrum as she gathers them from the world around her. She has become such a joy and such a wonderful companion to have around.

Christmas Trees

Friday night we stopped at a Christmas tree lot. Freezing! It helped us make a quick decision I think. We stepped into the gate with all the misshaped trees to find something with character.
Shailee kissed the tree goodnight as we headed down to bed and commented how much she loved the smell. Hyrum told me he was concerned because the tree was, "Just a baby tree and might have a dream and be worried." I guess he felt that we had taken the tree from all the other trees it had been with and it must be lonely. My tender hearted boy.

Wow!

Cole was one of the first to see my mom when she emerged groggily from anesthesia this past Tuesday. He watched her raise a triumphant fist in the air when she received the news that left us all, including her doctors, a bit baffled. The mass that had spoken such doom to us in the imaging they did last week, along with the incredibly high cancer markers in her blood, was nowhere to be found. Instead they removed a sickly uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. Today we received more astounding news as the biopsies of the surrounding organs proved clean of any malignancies. Of all people I think my mom was resigned to the will of our Father in Heaven. I know that with all her celebrating she felt a twinge of guilt at the suffering that she has been spared when she has watched so many others tremble under that same suffering. No chemo, no more surgery. She should be out of the hospital tomorrow. A lot of gratitude. My Mom is asking why her. Why were our prayers answered as they were? Maybe those answers will come. But we are all truly grateful.

Giving Thanks

Tonight my Family gathered for a home evening given by my Dad. He passed a bowl of paper around the room and asked us to tear off pieces as we each remembered the hardest thing we've had to face in our lives. After the bowl was full of shredded paper he dumped it on the floor and said "we could look at this pile and think,'these are the broken pieces of my life, I could have done so much if not for all these horrible things that had happened to me' or we can look at them in an entirely different way." He picked up the shreds and put them back in the bowl then he started throwing them into the air. " These shreds could also be confetti, and we could celebrate every hard thing we have conquered and every experience that has enriched our character and our capacity for compassion and feeling."
Then all the priesthood holders in our family gathered around my mom to give her a blessing. After over a year of seemingly random suffering the docs finally found the source it seems and she will have surgery to remove and stage the cancer and to see what needs to be done tomorrow. It's amazing how the spirit can refine us and something that could turn us bitter and small can enlarge our souls. My mom has been an amazing example of that this past year as she put her suffering aside and went to work doing all she could, as she always has, for others. I am so grateful for the legacy she has made for all of us and for her sure knowledge of the plan of salvation. She is so at peace with her life and so at peace with the thought of stepping through the door to the next.

Random Acts of Cuteness

Having fun with cousin Mathew. This boy seems to bring out the playful side in everybody. He has the biggest personality and we love being around him.

Holloween Parade

We went trick-or-treating in my sister's neighborhood. We made our own parade with nine of my parents twelve grandchildren. It was intense. These amazing costumes were all engineered by my amazing mother who put them together in less than two weeks.

Shailee's 5th Birthday

Pictures curtousy my sister's camera. Here are some long overdue photos of Shailee's B-day. Instead of throwing a party this year we let the babies pick a fun place to go. Shailee chose the children's museum. We got there and it was closed! Such a bummer. But we headed over to the Aquarium/Botanical Gardens instead and my sister treated us all. They have a "children's garden" with everything giant size. The bugs, the rocks, the vegtable garden, There is a pumpkin you can walk through and a bird nest you can sit in. The aquarium has sharks, sea turtles, jelly fish etc. We had a great time with Shailee's Aunt Elissa and cousin Mathew.
Shailee is five and adds so much spice to our family. She is intelligent and compassionate and funny and so full of Zest for life. She experiences everything dramatically. I love this about her, although I have to admit that sometimes she requires more energy than I have, I wouldn't change her unique qualities and I'm so grateful to have her in our home. Her life is a singing, dancing, musical experience and I can't wait to see who she becomes.

Still Here

I have been feeling uninspired to write without the use of our camera, but I thought it was about time to update this blog with recent happenings in the Blair family.

1. We are expecting child number three to join our family around the 8th of April. I'm feeling all those fun things (nausea, fatigue, emotional ups and downs) that came along with the first trimester during my pregnancies with Hyrum and Shailee, but they seem a bit stronger this time around.

2. Cole finally got a job working as an RT. Thanks to all those who said prayers in our behalf. It was a long four months but I think we've learned a lot from them so all is well.

3. We have been house-sitting for some friends of my parents, a young family that was sent to New Jersey for six months to work. It has been great but I don't think I will mind going back to the small space of an apartment and having less space to clean and take care of.

4. We went to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta this past week. Hundreds I mean like six hundred or more of hot air balloons launch into the air every morning for a week, accompanied by other festivities. We headed out one morning at 5:45am one morning to catch the mass ascension at the balloon park. We stood on the gigantic grass field while they lifted off all around us. It's pretty incredible. We also saw them all week long from our windows at home and in the car. Every year in October, anyone who wants to come visit us next year is welcome. It's fun stuff. Shailee and Hyrum had a lot of fun except for the hour it took to get through traffic and the cold weather. Once we were on the field with some hot chocolate they were happy as can be picking out their favorite balloons and asking questions about how they work. After they had enough of the launch we headed inside the balloon museum to say hello to my Mom who was volunteering for the week as well as my Grandparents.

Ok that's about all I can say without some pictures I'm boring my self, hopefully we will have a working camera again here soon, but if not I may have to do some more plain old writing.

Our week in review

Sunday- Cole made the treck back from Utah/California where he worked for his dad doing carpentry these past few weeks. Not what we expected to be doing with his Radiography degree, but it was a blessing none the less. We know Father in Heaven has something in store for us and we just have to be patient and persistant.

Monday- My Dad treated us to a Tommy Emmanuel concert at the Kimo theatre. It was incredible! You can look him up on U-tube. He plays the guitar like he has at least six hands. He plays the entire guitar, using not just the strings but the body for percussion. It was amazing.

Tuesday- I applied for a job working at a gym in the child care. It would be a huge blessing because I can take the babies with me and still have them around while I work.

Wednsday- Got a call back from the gym. Think I got the job. Also, Hyrum was "rocketshipping" off the couch and landed on the coffee table splitting his head open. We rushed him to urgent care and tonight he is as happy as can be with two staples in his head. Counting our blessings again that his injury was so minor.

Oh Deer!

My babies have a strange fear of deer stemming from this past February when we were traveling and one came through our windshield. They still believe the deer attacked us. When we discovered a male and female deer in my parents yard tonight they(the babies) were pretty nervous. But they still managed to pose with a smile. Afterward Hyrum said things like, "If that deer jump on my head I be really scared" and Shailee wisely told him, "We're safe in the house cause the doors are all locked." I wouldn't be suprised if they have nightmares tonight. In their minds these creatures are pretty ferocious. Hyrum kept questioning me about their teeth and their ability to bite us.

Wet War

My sister decided to put on this water balloon fight in my parents backyard (the site of most of our adventures this summer) It was pretty brutal but tons of fun. That's my sister in the picture above trying to command the troops. We have had some crazy fun with all eleven cousins together this summer.

Arts and crafts

We've been enjoying some time at my mom's house with cousins and wonderful Aunt Carrie. My brothers wife Carrie is so fun and thoughtful, she is always providing some type of great entertainment for the babies.

More on marriage

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Advice to my babies on marriage

Thinking about marriage tonight and how important it is for us to defend it even against our own selves. This is advice I would pass on to my babies if for some reason I'm not there down the road to give it here it is. Almost six years is not a lot of experience but I think I've learned some valuable things even if some have come the hard way. It helps to have an almost perfect husband too...

1. Give...you only get from a relationship what you give to it

2. Be Honest...This is one place hiding your real feelings is especially not helpful. You can't really hide it because it will come out, either through healthy communication or unhealthy explosion.

3. Have Charity...I don't mean having pity on your spouse. I mean loving him/her enough to care about his/her feelings even when they aren't "rational" to you or you don't fully understand. Caring how your spouse feels because more than anything you desire his/her happiness.

4. Forgive... even those of us with almost perfect spouses have to do this. Not forgiving is giving up. Forgiveness is also vital if you want your spouse to be honest.

5. Listen...I guess I would say pay attention as well because not all communication is verbal. Part of the joy of marriage is coming to know that person you share life with.

6. Share...Your time, your food, your jokes, your experiences, your burdens. It's a basic human need. That's what spouses are for. If you don't share with them you'll end up sharing somewhere else. Sad.

7. Work...Lots of hard work. You can't get lazy. Husbands need to court their wives. This means you need to keep impressing her too. Woman appreciate kindness, fatherhood, affection, and attention. Kiss her without expecting to get anything out of it for you. Compliment her genuinly, we see right through the fake stuff. Make her a priority. The more wanted a woman feels the more happy she is and thus the more happy her husband is. Wives need to attract their husbands, I don't mean staying the same size you were in high school (that's craziness), I mean beautifying your spirits and minds as well as looking descent whenever possible. I mean building yourselves up so you have something to give.

8. Have Faith...I don't think it's humanly possible to succeed in marriage. That is, It's only possible with divine intervention. Marriage has to be centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Have faith in Him and act on it. Have faith that He loves you and can show you how to be happy together. Turn to him in prayer together always.

Rainbows

Yesterday after a rainstorm my sister and I went to visit a friend who is losing her husband to cancer. She had just returned from the hospital with their two young children and she answered the door teary eyed as would be expected, but with a smile, " Did you see the rainbow? It's beautiful!" she said. " Heavenly Father is still giving me reasons to smile." and she hugged us both. I was amazed. She wasn't hiding her feelings or putting on a brave front, it was genuine, she was hopeful enough to recognize the love of God when she felt it. I had watched Shailee's face just twenty minutes earlier as she saw the same rainbow. She couldn't stop squeeling and laughing and enjoying it. I believe that our Father in Heaven allows us to mourn, he mourns with us, and he allows us to hurt, and he hurts with us, and then He asks us to open our eyes...hoping, trusting, and find the happiness he has provided, and he rejoices with us. How grateful I am for the freedom and hope that comes when I hand my life over to his will, knowing he loves me and he fully understands.

Swimming Lesson

My mom signed the babies up fo swimming lessons. Every morning at 8:30am, which sounds intense but the pool is heated. Hyrum woke up this morning and sat up and threw his binky across the room, "today is fwimming lessons!"

the sprayground

Our niece reagan and nephew collin

I love being here in ABQ with my sister Elissa.
Shailee and cousin Mekenzie
all the ritchie cousins