Tomorrow it's been 9 Years

Since Rachel was born. Rachel was due May 5, but was born May 13. (Yeah, I was such a happy camper when I was overdue).

Rachel was born very early on a Saturday morning, the day before Mother's Day

When Rachel was born, the cord was wrapped around her neck 3 times. She came out blue and was not breathing. Since she was my first, I had no idea what a newborn was supposed to look like. And I didn't know that it was unusual that they wisked her away to the corner of the room to work on her. Looking back, I realize how blessed we were that she came out perfectly fine.

Rachel is quite a joy to have around. She is always writing little notes and doing nice things for people. She tries hard to choose the right. She is a great helper with all of her younger siblings. Her school teachers and church teachers have only good things to say about her.

On Friday we went to the library. When we got home, she took a book to the backyard and sat under the apple tree. She read the entire book in one sitting---under the apple tree. At night, I have to make her put her book down and go to sleep, or she will read until it is very late.

Rachel also loves to cook. I have started letting her cook simple things all by herself. (Except I help her get it out of the oven). She thinks it is fun to look at cookbooks. I've always loved to look at cookbooks.

Rachel loves every creature on earth. She has kept and named spiders, butterflies, potato bugs, snails, caterpillars, and ladybugs. She loves cats, and especially dogs.

I couldn't ask for a better daughter.

The Race in the Rain

Several weeks ago, we signed up for the West Jordan Red Run. Dan and I signed up to do the 5K, and Rachel, Caleb and Anna signed up for the kids fun run.
When I woke up, I called my mom and Jenny (who was visiting my parents) to see how the weather was on their run. Jenny said she got hot and had to take off her sweatshirt during the first mile of their run. So, I decided that I shouldn't overdress for the 5K. I put on some shorts, shirt and sweatshirt. I would probably take my sweatshirt off before the start.
On the way to Jordan Landing, it started raining quite hard. I mentioned it to Dan, who said it just looked like it was raining hard since we were driving. When we got there, it was a decent rain storm. Since I had already paid money for this and the kids were excited, I decided we would stick with it.
My mom was coming to watch the kids while Dan and I ran the 5K. At about 8:45, I called her to see where she was. Well, we had a little misunderstanding about the race start time. She hopped in the car and came as fast as she could. Dan decided that if she didn't make it, he would stay behind with the kids while I ran. Right as the gun went off, my mom ran up and took the kids from Dan. So, he started about 10 seconds late.
It rained hard. There were puddles everywhere. And for most of the race, we were running on the side of the road, which was where all the water was draining to. My shoes got soggy within the first minute or two. I kept my sweatshirt on, which acted like a sponge. When we ran a certain direction, the water was pelting my face and eyes and getting in my contacts. It reminded me a region, my sophmore year of high school. I was really glad when I got to the finish because I was really cold and wet. I came in second overall in the women. I was happy enough with my time, because the conditions weren't so good. Dan finished about 11 minutes behind me. I am proud of him for trying to get back in shape.
After my soggy race, came the kids' run. Rachel and Caleb were excited. Anna wanted to run too. I was a bit unsure of letting her run, because this race was a whole mile. But she ran the teddy bear 1K last fall, and ran almost the entire way and almost beat Caleb to the finish. So I decided to let her run it too. A few hundred meters into the race, she didn't want to run it anymore. It was raining and she didn't like it. So, we walked, and I carried her some until we finished. I should have had better judgement and told her that she couldn't run it. She just wanted to be big like Rachel and Caleb. Rachel ran almost the whole way. She stopped just once the whole mile. She was the second child to finish the mile.
I wanted to go home and skip the awards ceremony. The rain was coming down even harder. Our kids insisted that I could not skip getting my award. So we stuck around. It took forever for the awards.
Guess what they served after the race? Ice cream sandwiches. Normally, this would have been delightful after a race. I still ate one, since I love ice cream. But I shivered while I ate it.
I planned on taking pictures of the kids at the race, but due to the weather, there are no pics of this one.

Some random thoughts

Today as we were coming out of the grocery store, Anna excitedly announced, "Look its snowing". Now, I am really sick of the snow. So I was happy to see that it wasn't really snowing. The wind was blowing the white blossoms off the trees.

Alex and Anna have about done me in. I hope I can keep up with them, and I try hard to. Alex decided to go on a tour of the neighborhood by himself. I was sweeping the driveway on the side of the house. Alex was playing in the fenced back yard. Most of the time, I could see him playing while I swept. For a minute, I couldn't see him. I just figured he was by the swingset where I couldn't see him. A minute later, Anna called me from the front door. After she yelled "MOM" three times, I went to see what the problem was. She said, "Look, there's Alex". He had run across the street and was running down the sidewalk on an adventure. Of course I was upset and ran after him and brought him back home. I yelled at Anna for letting him out the front door. Later I apologized, and I realized that someone bigger than her must not have shut the front door tight. Our front door is rather hard to open. The screen door (or whatever you call it since it doesn't have a screen) is simple to open. Alex had gone in the back door and out the front. In the news recently there was a story about a toddler the same age as Alex that got out the door and tragically was run over. I feel so bad for that family. I realized that it could have happened to Alex. I really do try to keep track of him.

I thought this was funny. About a week ago someone asked me if my older two children were from a different marriage. She said, "They sit so perfectly at church and your younger two are such a handful." I assured her that they all came from the same parents, and that I'm sure our younger two will mellow out someday. After all, Rachel and Caleb used to be difficult during church. Dan and I get a workout in sacrament meeting. I literally am sweating by the time the meeting is over, from trying to keep Alex under control. It doesn't help that church is at 1:00 and both Anna and Alex are extremely tired and grumpy.

Did you know that you aren't supposed to bring toy guns to school? I'm certain that you and I both know that you shouldn't. I thought my kids knew that. I guess Caleb didn't. Caleb, being a boy, likes to play fighting/battle games at recess. Not real fighting. Just pretend. Usually they find sticks on the playground to use as their toy guns. One day, he snuck and brought his toy cap gun (that my mom bought him) to school. He didn't take it out until recess. You can probably guess how this ended. He had to sit at the principal's office for over an hour with his head down while he waited for her to get out of a meeting. He was also suspended(but given the option of in-school suspension). He remained very stoic at school. But when I tucked him in that night, he sat on my lap and cried for a long time. He felt so bad. I am thankful that the principal was not too hard on him, since he is only 6 years old and he didn't know any better. Now he knows.

It is hard being a parent. But it is so worth it. I love my children so much. They mean the world to me.

The Kitchen Remodel

We are mostly finished with the kitchen remodel. We have some finishing touches to do, like baseboards and outlets. It has been a long, hard week. We've all worked really hard.

Easter

Yesterday morning, we went down to Dan's parents house for an Easter Egg Hunt, and lunch. The kids had a lot of fun. Dan and I were exhausted and felt like we could barely move. We had stayed up past 2 am the night before, working on the kitchen remodel. (And I got woken up by kids at 6 am) I will post more about this later.

My mom, Leslie, and Becca came over later in the day to help with the kids, and kitchen painting. Then my mom took our kids to her house to paint easter eggs. We have no kitchen to cook or paint eggs in. The kids had fun with her, and it was very helpful that she took the kids while we painted more in the kitchen. I felt a little sad that I didn't get to paint eggs with the kids, since I actually enjoy it. I sent my camera with Rachel, and told her to take pictures, since I usually take pictures of the kids painting their eggs.

Today was quite a relaxing day. Since it was Fast Sunday, I did not make a special breakfast or lunch. I did not make Rachel fast. Since we only have one child that fasts, it didn't seem fair to make her wait until later to eat her candy, while the other kids ate theirs. Maybe next time this happens, I will plan better and have the Easter Bunny come at a different time. We went to my parents house for a yummy dinner, and crashed on their couches for a while.

On a serious note, I am thankful for Easter, and for Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus Christ suffered for my sins, and he was resurrected. No matter how hard I try to be good, it is not enough without the Saviour. I am so thankful for Jesus Christ.

Being Chased

The other day as I was driving home from dropping off my kids from school, I saw a runner being chased by a dog. It wasn't growling or biting him, just having a jolly time running after him. I can totally relate. I've been chased by dogs many times when I was running. I've learned to find the nearest pile of rocks to carry for self-defense.
When Leslie and I were teenagers there was a German Shepherd at a house at the end of the street. It looked like a mean dog (thought maybe it wasn't). It was ordinarily chained up. One day, she mentioned that it was not chained up. We ran really fast to get away from it.
My mom actually got bit by a dog when we were running once. She called animal control on it. Of course the owner claimed her dog would never get out, and would never bite anyone.
I remember running a race at Cottonwood Complex in high school. As I ran past a tree on the far side of the course, a cat starting chasing me. I guess my shoelace was untied, and it thought I was playing with it. After a little while, it figured out I wasn't playing and quit following me.
The next chasing event I remember was the rooster. Leslie and I were running on 106th south near Bingham. There were a few chickens near the sidewalk. As we ran past, a black rooster started going after Leslie. I'm pretty sure she screamed, and we picked up the pace.
The funniest "Chasing" has got to be my mom and the goats. I only wish I had been able to see this one. I don't remember if this was last year or the year before--you'd have to ask her. She was out for a run, and she ran past some goats. They started following her and bawling after her. She could not get them to leave her alone. As her run progressed, the goats persisted it following her and crying after her. At one point, she was along a busy road. She was afraid they were gonna get run over. So, she found something to tie them up with, and took them the rest of the way home with her. Once again, she called animal control to come get them. Those poor goats ran at least a mile---that was probably quite a workout for them. I only wish I could have videotaped it for amusement purposes.
When I was a teenager once, an old guy followed me on his bike. At first I thought he might just be out for a leisurely ride. But he turned around at the same point that I did. The thing is, a person riding a bike can usually bike a lot faster than a person running, even if they aren't pedaling too hard. Thankfully, there were still a few cars driving by. I ran home really fast.
When I was running with Erin and her sister Laura in the canyons a few years ago, they were ahead of me a little. They spotted a baby bear. (I didn't actually see it). If you know anything about nature, you know to stay far away from baby bears. There's usually a protective mom nearby. We ran back really fast.
I guess being chased is just a part of being a runner. It makes it a little more interesting at times.

AAAAAAHHHHHHH! I'm getting old!

I haven't seen any gray hairs yet. I am thankful for that. Yesterday morning I was looking in the mirror, and guess what I noticed? I have a few wrinkles!!!! So I have to say AAAAAAAAHHHHHH! I'm getting old. I still feel like I'm 21. I guess I never thought I'd get old and have wrinkles. If I ever see I gray hair, I will be getting my hair colored immediately. My mom was funny when I was a teenager. She would look in the mirror and pull out all of her gray hairs. She would try to get us to help her pull the gray ones. I never would. That's gross! Since she is in her late 50's now, she just colors her hair. I think it would be bad to pull out all of the gray ones when you get that old. Then you would be balding instead of going gray.