I'm sorry. I know that no one else, except perhaps Swen's mother, will be able to appropriately agree with me, but ISN'T HE A TOTAL HOTTIE? OUCH! He just had this picture taken for his business card, and I just keep looking at it. Just had to share.
I had the SCARIEST moment of my life yesterday. I'm not exaggerating. Lincoln has been sick for weeks. He's been throwing up on and off, he's had a cold, and he's had constant diarreah. His appetite has been gone, and I can tell he's losing weight. I've been really worried about him anyway, and yesterday he put the cherry on top of the worry heap. I got him out of the bath and cuddled him up in the towel. He was fine until I took off the towel. He opened his mouth and I was waiting for the wail to come out (you know that silence before the mighty scream). I put lotion on him and tried to convince him to calm down. I kept waiting for the scream, but the seconds ticked by and it never came. His lips, inner mouth, and face turned blue. I picked him up so he would calm down, but his face was frozen with this look of terror on it. I started getting frantic and screaming for Swen. Suddenly Lincoln went limp in my arms. His eyes were staring and he was totally limp. You can probably imagine the first thought that came into my head, which I am too chicken to type. Swen came running in response to my screams, and the moment was suspended in time. FINALLY, a weak little cry came out. He was okay. He had just passed out.
Experiences like that have a way of causing great reflection on the fragility of life. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time rocking him and reading him stories yesterday. Keeping the house clean took a lot less of my time. I've been thinking about the little moments that I pass by because I'm too anxious to plan the next task and check it off my list. Here are some of my favorite memories.
Christmas 2006. Swen and the boys got dart tag from Santa, and they had a mighty battle all 
over the house. I smiled and allowed myself to enjoy the chaos for a little while, until I put an end to it so we could get on with Christmas plans. I've wished many times since then that I could have that moment back. I'd let them play for hours.
I love Christmas. One of my favorite moments of the whole year is when the kids put on their new jammies on Christmas Eve. It's so magical.
Lincoln was so cute on his first birthday. He ate this little cake all by himself.
A new baby is the most wonderful thing in the world. Lincoln has added so much love to our family. Here are pics of him meeting 
each of us.
Here is Lincoln's first time swinging. A new baby has so many firsts, and each one is a happy moment that you remember again and again.
Our first camping trip with 4 kids. Even though it was cut short by a rainstorm and a leaking tent, we still talk about how much fun we had.
As scary as it was, I'm glad that I had a little wake-up call yesterday. I'm going to try harder to recognize the little moments that bring me joy, and allow myself to pause and enjoy them.
We've had a detour on our life plan this last week. Swen was laid off from his job last Friday (Woodside has to close down his model home). The same day as our first house payment was due. 5 days after he was called as the unemployment specialist in our ward. 2 weeks after we asked the boys in an attitude Family Home Evening what would be the hardest thing for them to bear, and their answer was daddy losing his job. Life is so ironic sometimes. We felt great peace afterward, however, especially after we were led to D&C 100 and felt that it was speaking directly to us.
He has put his license in with Coldwell Banker, however, and is excited to be a real estate agent for them. Being an agent out in the field and on his own schedule is totally different than selling out of a model home, but he's up for the challenge. We feel like this will turn out to be a blessing, because the Lord has a way of turning lemons into lemonade. :).
For our Friday Night Date, Swen and I created a playlist for our blog. We had so much fun listening and dancing to our faves. Swen got a little carried away while I was putting chickies to bed, however, that is why you will find excessive amounts of Steve Miller Band, Boston, and even Guns and Roses. He still knew every word to "Sweet Child of Mine". Gimme a break! He's clearly 5 years older than I am!
Having just read Rebecca's most recent posting, I'm more convinced than ever that she represents to me the finest woman I know. If her list of 'facts' represent the worst confessions she can possibly divulge (& I think they do), then one would certainly be hard-pressed to find much fault w/ not liking to 'get ready for bed' or 'putting away laundry' (who really does?) or not be able to keep the home spotless at every moment of the day. On the contrary, such a sordid revelation would rather lead someone to conclude that Rebecca must indeed be someone rather remarkable. With imperfections as minute as those, who needs mention strengths...they surely speak for themselves w/o saying any words.
Despite Rebecca's burning desire to keep beautiful order & cleanliness in our home (which she somehow manages to maintain amid the often familial mahem she courageously faces every day), Rebecca consistently chooses the 'better part' (as the story goes w/ Jesus, Mary & Martha) when it comes to taking time to help Isaac w/ his homework & compliment him on his work, or answer one of Joseph's many wonderful, but sometimes perplexing questions, or comfort Alyssa as she displays a teary performance worthy of an Oscar, or letting Lincoln tug at her pant leg, to which Rebecca quickly relents & scoops him up to attach himself to the favorite spot on her hip.
This, of course, all transpires while trying to make dinner one-handed & thinking about the laundry list of tasks she wanted to accomplish during the day, but has succeeded only in bringing happiness, love & harmony into our home. WOW!!! What a woman! I love Rebecca for all her patience, her devotion, her unselfishness & her desire to follow our Lord & Savior. How blessed I am to know her & to be a recipient of her sweet love & association. How grateful I am to my Heavenly Father that she is the mother of our children. Surely, any greatness they will acheive will in large part be due to their Rebecca's nurturing influence. I love her dearly & pray for an eternity together with her by my side. Love you babe. Your #1 fan, Swen.
I thought of three more facts to add to my list that I started a couple of months ago. This is how fast things get done in my life. Actually, the truth is, after working my fanny off trying to get my house clean today, I'm treating myself to a little ME-time. I don't know if I deserve it or not, but I'm going to take a little anyway! (Today I washed 7 sets of sheets, cleaned up lots of nasty poop and throw-up, washed, folded, and put away about 7 loads of laundry, cooked a nutritious meal for the fam, and kept the sink empty of dishes. If you came over right now you would have no idea that I worked so hard, but I did. I also helped the kids catch up on about 3 days of homework. Just thought you should know.) Anyway, on to the facts...
1. I SERIOUSLY DISLIKE GETTING READY FOR BED, so I only wear make-up a few times a week. When I don't have make-up on, all I have to do is brush my teeth, say my prayers and hop into bed. People who come to my house at noon on a normal day wonder, I'm sure, why I still look terrible. But most of the time, my image is not as important to me as is NOT having to spend 3 extra minutes getting ready for bed. By the time I've spent an hour making dinner, an hour cleaning up dinner, and an hour putting the chickies to bed, I'm simply too tired to wash my face. Silly.
2. My main dislike in the homemaking job description is putting away laundry. Folding it is not too big of a deal to me. My mom would die, but I usually wash about 6 loads at a time, lump it on the couch that night, and stay up late with Swen watching a show and folding laundry. I then either keep it folded in the laundry basket or set it by the kids' doors until I can bring myself to put it away. Once I get started it only takes a few minutes, but it's something that I put off if I can possibly help it.
3. I LOVE newly washed sheets, clean floors, and sparkling counter-tops. If my house is a mess, it really affects my outlook on life. I begin to get overwhelmed and discouraged, and all I want to do is escape into sleep or a book. If my house is clean, I have seemingly unlimited amounts of energy-even if I've only gotten 2 hours of sleep. With 4 kids, however, it's hard to keep the house as clean as I'd like it to be. It seems like the second I get the kitchen clean, the kids decide it's time for a snack. I vacuum the floors and someone accidentally drops and steps on a saltine. I wash the sheets and someone throws up all over them. You get the idea. I really have to force myself to stay happy in spite of the mess.
several times in the last month to get a decent family picture taken for a Christmas card. Nothing too fancy, just all of us smiling at the same time. Simple, right? Wrong. Between Isaac's love for looking abnormal in pictures, and Alyssa's dislike for posing, it's impossible. Add in Lincoln's lack of knowledge about what he's suppose to do when someone hides behind a small silver box and talks about cheese in a high pitched voice. Then there's Joseph who can really get laughing when something is actually funny, but faking it doesn't come as naturally. So here are some samples of our efforts.
