Tested

Lately I have been having a difficult time with Christian. He has always been a strong-willed little boy, but lately it seems like it has magnified times ten. He tests my patience every day and I feel like I've been failing that test daily. I have been struggling with how to discipline him and teach him to be a good little boy, without just getting flat out frustrated and upset at him. I was reading a conference talk a few days ago that I'm pretty sure was given just for me. It was the talk by Lynn G. Robbins given this past April conference titled, "What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?". It is an excellent talk for parents, especially for me. This is one of the quotes that stood out, or rather JUMPED out at me. It really is an answer to my prayers.

"A sweet and obedient child will enroll a father or mother only in Parenting 101. If you are blessed with a child who tests your patience to the nth degree, you will be enrolled in Parenting 505. Rather than wonder what you might have done wrong in the premortal life to be so deserving, you might consider the more challenging child a blessing and opportunity to become more godlike yourself. With which child will your patience, long-suffering, and other Christlike virtues most likely be tested, developed, and refined? Could it be possible that you need this child as much as this child needs you?"

That last line is my favorite. I know that Christian has been given to me to teach me how to be more like my Savior, because I certainly do not have the patience I need yet, or many other Christ-like attributes, for that matter. Sometimes I think that I should be perfect now, because I'm the mom, and moms are not supposed to mess up, right? That's a discouraging assumption, because let me tell you that I am far from perfect--I mess up all the time. But clearly, that is not the way God planned it to be. He knew we would mess up and might even need some extra help.

And so I have this little boy, that I love with all of my soul, who teaches me every day how to be just a little more patient, by giving me LOTS of practice. I am going to hang this on my mirror so that in those frustrating moments, it can hopefully come to my mind and remind me to be patient, and remind me that it's for my good, because I need Christian for my salvation just as much as he needs me for his sustenance.

A scene to remember

Tonight I sat on the couch and watched a scene that I never want to forget. A scene that was nothing spectacular, rather commonplace, but nonetheless, extraordinary. I wanted to pull out the video camera so I could replay it over and over, but I knew that the moment I did that, the scene would be over. So I sat. And watched. And smiled. And felt JOY.

I watched two little boys run and dance and march around the living room as their daddy played songs on the piano. Songs from Les Miserables and Billy Joel songs, no matter the tune, they danced. Two little boys, two brothers, a big one and a little one, in matching orange t-shirts. I watched the big one run in circles, calling out the move: "hop on one foot!", "spin!" I watched the little one follow him in circles, trying to mimic his moves. His hopping looked like skips and his spinning looked like graceful twirls. Priceless. And he followed every command of the big one. Every one. I watched the little one stop each time the music stopped, and insist that the big one do the same. He did. I watched the little one march, over and over and over, with the cutest attempt at marching. His arms, not in coordination with his legs, went high above his head with each step and his concentration was sure. Priceless. I watched the big one run and dance and march until he was so sweaty he had to take a break to sit under the cooler, despite his cool buzz cut. I watched them dance and fall over and laugh. And laugh. I heard the little one exclaim multiple times "I'm peedy!" (speedy) I heard the big one beckon for my eyes to watch his "cool move." I watched the little one take a potty break and then resume his dancing and marching and running, with shirt tucked into his underwear. And of course, I didn't fix it. I watched two brothers smile from ear to ear. I watched two little boys grow their relationship, and enjoy their childhood.

It was a moment to be taken in, remembered, and never to be erased. I am grateful for scenes like this that take place in my daily life. I am grateful that tonight Jake chose to join us in the living room rather than finish the dishes before leaving for scouts. I am grateful for the undone dishes and the mess in the kitchen that still sits there, because I got to enjoy my children for a few brief moments. I am grateful for these moments because I know that far too quickly they will be gone. and I am grateful for these moments because they bring me JOY.

And now I'm off to do those dishes, with a smile on my face... :)

Ahhh.....Summer

Popsicles, hoses, swimming pools, bare feet....

The Many Faces of Owen

July 8, 2011

Here are some of the faces of Owen that we are enjoying right now. He is such a sweet baby! Here are a couple favorites.

Summer Do's

When you sweat enough to make a mohawk each time you play outside, it is clearly time for a summer buzz! Here is the second annual Merkley summer buzz do's: (although I didn't buzz Ethan's, just a cut for him, because he doesn't sweat like Christian does, and i adore his hair.) :)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Fourth of July

Our Fourth of July was a little different this year, as we were missing the most important part of our family. Jake is the scout master and headed up to scout camp with the scouts for six days of dirt and rocks and sleeping on the ground first thing that morning. It wasn't quite the same without him, but we did find a few things to do to celebrate this free land we life in.

Watched a parade, but especially enjoyed watching Christian and Ethan's excitement over the free candy.

Relaxed, ate good food, and watched the kids play in the slip and slide at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We even did a few fireworks in the afternoon.

And there was this most adorable dog, that Ethan couldn't get enough of. He doesn't usally get this close to any animal, but this little dog had Ethan as a shadow. If we ever get a dog, this is the kind I want. :)

And to end the night, I went home and put the boys to bed and then highlighted Melissa's hair while the boys slept through the exploding fireworks right above our roof. I'm not so sure about these aerial fireworks being legal, but we sure had some amazing firework show right outside our window!

First boating for Owen

Being so new to this world, Owen gets to experience lots of "firsts" quite regularly. This was his first time on Papa's boat.

Not to mention the first time Jake and I have waterskied in two years. It felt so good, and then we felt so sore. Well worth it.

And the first time Ethan remembers going on a boat.

And the first time Christian willingly went on the tube and had a fun time!

It was a great day!

Potty Trained

Four days of training

Four days of swimming lessons

One day at the park

(Three wet trees)

Lots of loads of laundry

One messy house

Two dirty bathrooms

Three new cars

One proud Mommy

One proud little boy!

I can hardly believe it, but Ethan is potty trained! It took him a few days and lots of wet underwear to get the hang of making it to the potty before he got wet, but once he got it, he got it good! He has not had an accident since Thursday morning and it's Monday! He even poops on the potty, so I think we're good to go! I just love seeing him in those cute little underwear.

TODAY

Today began at 4 a.m., when Owen unexpectedly woke up. And then decided he wasn't going back to sleep until I fed him at 4:30. and in the middle of feeding him, Ethan woke up. So I put the baby down halfway through, to go help a crying Ethan. Once I got him back to bed, I finished feeding Owen, and then put him back in bed. By now it was 5 a.m. and I could hear happy little coos coming from Owen's room and soft whisperings coming from Ethan's room. I just got back in bed and prayed really hard that everyone would fall back asleep. (Note: Jake is at scout camp all week, and so I'm flying solo.)

But it was not to be so. Ethan decided he was ready to get out of bed at 5:30, and he was not going to be convinced otherwise. So I insisted that he lay down with me in my bed and close his eyes. Amazingly, he fell back asleep until 6:30! And then we were up.

Ethan and I watched Mission to Mars (Backyardigans, his new favorite movie) until Owen woke up, and then Ethan wanted to hold him. It was so neat to see how pleased Ethan was to be holding his baby brother. He was so proud! And he was enjoying Owen without Christian trying to take him away. And so I got some cute pictures of just the two of them, which I didn't have until now.

And then Christian eventually joined us and I got another cute picture of all three boys.

We had a usual day, and then ended it with a Friday night popcorn party and I took another picture. So it appears that I started and ended the day the same way! With three very handsome little boys. I'm a very lucky mommy. :)

Pictures that make me smile...

Oh how I love these little boys.

How can you not, with a face like that, and a backwards hat?

And this baby mesmerizes me.

I surrender, my heart is melted.

Bees Batting Practice

Jake took Christian to the annual batting practice with the Bees and came home with these two priceless pictures. A classic one of a little boy, off to hit baseballs with Papa. Here is a little boy who LOVES baseball.

Lessons Learned #2

BLACK crayon does indeed come off of microfiber couches, easily. All it took was warm water and some Dawn dish soap and it wiped right off. All that worry all day long about it was unnecessary. Thank you, Ethan for allowing me to learn this valuable lesson. :)

Lessons Learned #1

I have decided to start documenting some of the lessons I am learning as a parent as I go. For my own reminder, and for anyone else's benefit as well. Maybe you can learn from my mistakes. :)

Lesson number one occurred to me about a month ago when i was feeding my children lunch. I often ask, "what do you guys want for lunch?" only to complicate the process, usually. But this day I just made sandwiches while they were busy playing with their toys, set lunch on the table and said come and eat! No complaints were made, no opinions were given, and they dutifully ate their lunch. So simple! Granted, this does not always work, but for the most part, it makes life easier when I just feed them without asking. :)

Owen's Blessing

June 5, 2011

Owen's blessing day turned out perfect.

It began a bit crazy--I was in charge of conducting and doing sharing time in primary, which is before sacrament meeting, and somewhere in there I needed to feed Owen before the blessing so he'd be happy, and Ethan ended up with a high fever and cold so he needed to stay home from church. The master plan turned out that I left Ethan and a sleeping Owen home with Jake while Christian and I went to primary. After my last sharing time, I booked it home to feed Owen and get back to church with Jake and Ethan before sacrament meeting started. We were a tiny bit late, but we made it. And poor Christian was sitting with a lady in our ward who'd luckily taken him with her since his entire family was at home trying to get back. He didn't seem upset about it though, so i guess it was okay. I felt bad!

But then the meeting began and Jake gave a beautiful blessing and the spirit was there. Owen was a perfect little angel through the blessing and the rest of sacrament meeting, sitting on his Grandmas' laps. And he looked like an angel in his little white outfit. I love baby blessings.

This is the first baby we have blessed here in Utah, so it was neat to have much more family with us, and it was the first time my mom has been at one of our baby blessings. I am grateful for family! Those who stood in the circle included Jake, his Dad, uncle Justin, my Dad, and my Grandpa Gurr, who is Owen's great grandpa. How neat to have four generations together!

This is the only family picture we got before Ethan went down for a marathon nap. You can tell he didn't feel well.

Christian is definitely an adoring big brother.

Owen Kendall Merkley got his name from my Dad, who is Brian Kendall Gurr and my grandpa, who is Kendall Oliphant Gurr. It was so neat to have all three of them together!

Owen had many admirers that day!