Friday, March 25, 2011

Art&Fashion

You may not know this about me...but almost every night as I lay down to do to sleep I "see" things in my mind. It's really not as creepy as it sounds, I promise. I see clothing. And not just your everyday jeans and T-shirts. I see the most beautiful, colorful, indescribable designs of perfection. Sadly I am severely lacking in the ability to translate what I see in my head to paper. And I always tell myself I'll remember in the morning and try to sketch it then. Somehow I never do remember. I love sewing and learning everything I can about it. It's hard to squeeze it in with everything else I should be doing. But whenever I do, I feel so happy. OK, I'm weird. Although you wouldn't know from looking at me I have the heart of a fashion designer. So, you can only imagine the delight I took in finding these two creating "dress designs" the other day! They were so cute concocting ideas on how they were going to sell their paper dresses and where they should hang them up for people to see. Children after my own heart!




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Friday, March 18, 2011

Uh....Ya, It's Been Awhile


Can it really be?! Christmas was my last post? Life of course continues to march forward. Ada turned one. Marley turned thirteen. We wrestled a bit, snuggled Ada a lot. I feel like I've spent an eternity in the car driving to and from various classes, sports, activities. Aislyn started going to school at Hidden Creek Elementary. Marley won the part of Hermia in her Shakespeare class' production of A Midsummer's Night Dream. Townsend gets to play Egeus(aka Hermia's father). They both think that's pretty funny. Jairus is learning to read. Ephraim is officially potty trained.YAY! Thomas had surgery for a spot of skin cancer on his nose that ended up being a much bigger than we first thought. Aislyn started Occupational Therapy. And so much more.

It's funny how my definition of "busy" has evolved over the years. It's funny how I have evolved over the years.
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Saturday, December 25, 2010

It's Christmas

 Aislyn loves her new doll house. And Jairus loves playing with the miniature furniture inside. Marley bought the cutest little wood peg people off of Etsy and painted them for Aisy. She hasn't put them down all day.
 Marley and Townsend playing some Pokemon game together. They are revelling in their unlimited DS time today. They know they won't be this lucky tomorrow.
These two were in need of a bath ten times over! Ada has mastered scavenging the floor for abandoned candy.

The kids first woke up at 5:30 this morning but I mumbled something incoherent to their pleas and promptly fell back asleep. At 6:30 I finally succumbed to all the cheerful chatter and giggles. It was a sweet morning. It's wonderful to feel the excited energy, to hear Aislyn say,"This is the best Christmas ever!" To hear all the "thank yous" and "awesomes". I remember being a kid, and how I loved the night time with the beautiful Christmas lights on the tree. I remember the smell of the tree and how everything just felt happier.I hope that each one of my kids are creating their own special memories. I hope that they feel happier. I hope that they recognize the love of their Savior and how it feels.
I feel strange today. My emotions are very close to the surface. I find myself crying randomly. I find myself missing my brother Brent so much it hurts. He is so steady and sure, so dependable and so amazingly loving. I miss knowing that he is close by, because he would always drop everything and do everything he could to help if I needed it. I love my family. I am so thankful to be a Judd and to have that love  and support. I am so thankful for my Carroll family. My mother is a saint on earth. I am amazed at all she does for others. I am thankful for my dad and I 'm thankful to know him and understand what are wonderful man he is more each passing year. I am thankful to know my Steve Done dad and have him be a part of our lives. He is so generous and kind.
The past couple of months I have been led to discover some things about my sweet Aisy J.Her unusual and unruly behavior has been increasing by an alarming amount the last few months. She has recently been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. I still have a ton of researching to do. But it is a disorder in the spectrum of autism. And it explains SO much about Aislyn. It explains every strange thing she has ever done. It's interesting to see the phases of coping with difficult news.At first I felt relieved to know that there was a reason. Then I felt fear, for her future, for her capabilities. Now I feel hope, but unbelievably overwhelmed. I don't know where to go, what to do. All the occupational therapists within 50 miles of us are booked out for 6-8 months. But the hardest thing for me is letting Thomas go through his own phases of dealing.

I don't know that I've ever had so much "stuff" to deal with at one time in my life before. But in it I can see amazing blessings, and the sweet love of my Savior. Today I was reading the conference Ensign, a talk by Henry B. Eyring, who I love SO much. He is such a sweet and tender man.The message struck me very deeply. Peace and happiness come from trusting my heavenly Father. Simple and of course makes sense. But it's a concept that doesn't distill on my soul without the help of the Holy Ghost. Just trust Him, it is all for my good, for Aislyn's good, for Thomas' good. It is, so that we might be compelled to turn to our Savior and feel his love and healing. And what I realized is that He trusts me. He trusted me with this beautiful little girl, to raise her and love her and teach her the truth. And so, I resolve yet again to never give my Father in heaven reason to loose his trust in me. I will do my best.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Point Huskies!

Being a family of eight tends to put definite limits on our entertainment budget. But Thomas found an awesome deal and way to spend time with his girls. UW has a "Daddy, Daughter" package. For $25 a person you get a T-shirt, a volleyball game ticket, 2 basketball game tickets and a gymnastics meet ticket to see the lady huskies. It's so very fun and let me tell you those lady volleyball players are tough! Here's Marley and her dad just before taking off for their date. Oh, how I love these two!
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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Townsend


The first thing I noticed about Townsend as they laid him on my chest after he was born was his bright blue eyes. He was wide awake and ready to take everything in. He was also very hungry and was ready to eat the minute he was born. I loved him instantly. When he was about two he started giving THE best hugs in the whole world. He would put his little chubby arms your neck and squeeze with all his might and love. Those hugs....well they were beyond words. When he was four he learned to read and has never been without a book since. He is bright. Townsend's middle name is Justice and it is very representative of who he is and what's important to him. I have watched him grow in mind, body, and spirit and I am proud of who he is now and what he is becoming. He's not perfect,by any stretch of the imagination. There are days when I feel I am being driven over the edge of insanity by my sweet little guy. But I love him, he is funny, he is smart, he is tender, and he is thoughtful. And it breaks my heart when others don't see what I see. He is just trying to figure out his place in the world. But really isn't that what we're all trying to do?


I thought this one was so sweet. If I'm not careful it might bring a few tears to my eyes.
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Sunday, September 26, 2010

Best Friends!


One of my very favorite things about home schooling is how much time I get to spend with my kids. Of course if you catch me on a bad day I might also say it's one of the things I don't like about home schooling. But those days are rare. I have come to believe that as far as being a mother goes it's mostly about "quantity". Don't get me wrong "quality time" is very important. But we are all busy with so many important and worthy activities that sometimes, at least for me I don't have time for quality. But, my kids are with me in almost everything I do. I am able to teach them and gain their trust just by the sheer number of hours they have to spend with me every day. I am so thankful for my relationship with each one of my kids. They are each so different, so interesting, and have so much to share with me.
They not only spend an awful lot of time with me but also with each other. Some days it seems like all I hear is bickering. But somehow along the way all this "quantity time" has had an added benefit. They really love each other. Lately I have been noticing more and more my Marley and Townsend having real and meaningful conversations. They talk about books, they talk about qualities in other people that they admire or want to avoid, they tell me how much they miss the other one when they are away. They both say that even though they fight, the other is their best friend. And as a mother there is absolutely nothing more rewarding than my children truly loving each other. It makes all the mundane, gross, and tedious jobs worth every second I spend on them. I love you Marley and Townsie. You make our home a happy place to be!
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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Family Picture Time

My hat goes off to wonderful Amberlyn who was brave/crazy enough to take on my brood. Family pictures this year was an adventure full of surprise,Thomas' funny "WHOOP"ing, and a lot of bribery. Here are a few of the previews. I'm not sure we'll ever manage to get everyone looking at the camera at the same time, let alone with a half way normal expression. But I love how each photo captures the pure essence of each one of the kids.

Yes, I made matching dresses for the girls. I don't know what overcame me. I haven't always been the matchy, matchy sort of girl but it just seemed cute to me this time around. I even attempted to make myself coordinating dress but that didn't turn out so well. But my summer sewing adventures are a whole other story.(I'm saving up for a fancy dress form.)



OK. So...Townsend was "on a roll" this day. How I love that kid and all his boyish antics. Ephraim is pretending to shoot something in this one, which is pretty his new favorite pastime. Ada is trying to escape which her new favorite pastime. Marley thinks we're all a just a little weird, which is her new favorite thing. Jairus, well he was just plain happy for a minute which is not generally his favorite thing to be. And Aislyn, I think she was dreaming of the chicken nuggets we had to promise in order to get her to agree to this whole thing.

I have not been much in the mood to blog as of late. I have to admit I have been struggling a bit with a case of the "bad attitudes". I don't know what's wrong with me, but I have been uncharacteristically negative and grumpy for awhile now. My poor family. Also I don't really get any comments anymore so I don't feel motivated to write. It's all about the comments, people! I'm talking to you brother Brent.

Life is good though. Ever changing, busy, and chaotic. But I am so thankful for it all.
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