Gardener Jane

Have I mentioned how much I love my little girl? My boys have been every bit as cute, but I didn't get to dress them in sun-dresses and bonnets.

Luke has been begging for a "trailer-bike ride" lately-- he likes riding on the "Trail-A-Bike" tandem attachment. But if it's just me and him and Jane at home, we have to use the trailer that fits both of them in it-- maybe this is the solution to our problem. And then I could attach the trailer and pull all four kids at once. Groceries too. Awesome.

"The Future is as Bright as Your Faith"

Derek is working today, and I'm trying to figure out how to best spend my Sunday afternoon at home with our kids. Jane had fallen asleep on the way home from church, so I laid down to read The Ensign and take a little nap (the boys were entertaining themselves well with Legos.) Just as I began to fall asleep, Jane woke up prematurely-- she hadn't eaten lunch. After feeding her, I decided to play the piano while the boys still played with the Legos-- they had migrated from the basement to the kitchen. I made it through 1 1/2 Primary Songs before Jane and Luke wanted to play the piano with me. I tried helping them but of course they wanted to play their own music. I went to the backyard to water our garden and let Jane come out on the back porch, but she cried for me to hold her and so I finished the job with her on my hip.

It's hard for me to accept that being the mother of young children often means ONLY getting the basics done-- feeding, cleaning, diapering, clothing, etc. Of course I know that those things are essential, but it's hard to let go of the idea that they are chores to check off my list so I can get more important things done.

Despite this mild discontent, I am grateful for my boys playing so nicely together and getting along so well. I am grateful for Jane, wandering around the house (as long as I'm within her reach) with her basket hooked on one arm with her wash cloth in the other hand-- two of her new favorite things-- and am amused by her even as she flails herself to the ground in a tantrum, her tulle skirt flying up to add to the drama.

I am grateful for a few special people who have inspired me this afternoon without even knowing it. Jenna and Nick, my awesome sister-in-law and brother, who just celebrated their third anniversary and are the sweetest, most romantic couple. My cousin(-in-law) Shari whose latest post reminded me to cherish time with my family. Stephanie Nielson, whom I don't even know, but who inspires me every time I read her blog. She is the mother of four children and is recovering from a plane crash 9 months ago in which 85% of her body was burned. (Thanks, Megan, for introducing me to her blog.)

I am especially grateful for my sweet husband who has to work today. :( I especially dislike Sundays without him, but am grateful that he misses being with us just as much. This residency has been the most challenging period of our life so far. Next week marks the end of year two, one to go. (Right about now I am so grateful he's not doing surgery. The timing just wouldn't be right for our family... the boys are really starting to need him around more.) It is hard not knowing what next year will bring. We are in the process of searching for jobs that will fulfill his commitment to the government (National Health Service Corps) in return for his scholarship. Ultimately, I have faith that Heavenly Father will lead us where He wants us to go, just as He has since we have been married and began this journey together nearly 10 years ago.

I am grateful for this trial-- we have each other, we have our health, we have our children, and above all, we understand the Gospel. We have family and we have friends, whom we are blessed to make more and more through the many changes we continue to experience. President Thomas S. Monson's most recent General Conference Talk, "Be of Good Cheer" is so inspiring and really puts the small trials of my life into perspective.

Picture to come... I just need to add more memory to our comptuer before I can upload photos... another thing on my to-do list. But now I'm going to cook dinner. :)

Jane's First Birthday...

...happened a while ago. April 5, 2009. Time seems to go faster with every child!

Pelican Fest Triathlon 2009

This past weekend has been a lot of fun. Derek, his brother Adam and I competed in a sprint distance triathlon (800 m swim, 10 mile bike, 3.1 mile run) in the neighboring town of Windsor. I'm glad Derek talked me into it so I could get one under my belt for the summer and not continue to stress out over the anticipation of it. I did 2 other tri's 3 years ago, so it's been a while. I only have room for improvement when it comes to the swim (to say the least) but got through it and actually thought to myself during the swim "at least this doesn't hurt as much as childbirth." I felt great on the bike and the run and had a great time. The weather was overcast, but at least the downpour didn't begin until we were finished.

Britt swimming

Adam biking

Derek running

(It wasn't a relay-- we each did all three events, but I just posted the best pictures of each of us.)

Thanks so much to my sis-in-law Alyson who took the photos and is the BEST cheerleader! And of course our cutest fans were there, too-- you boys make it worth it!!! And thanks to my husband and Adam, who are motivating in their overly-competitive, Weaver-sort-of way!

Conference Weekend!

I promised our Primary Children that I would take pictures to show some of our family traditions during conference! So, kids, here you go!
Ethan, Reid, & Luke started the morning out on a great note, coloring their Conference Packets and playing quietly.

A perfect weekend for snow! This is looking out our back door Saturday morning.

Jane has not learned to be quite so well behaved yet.... she took advantage of the quiet house and tried stealing from my purse!

Brother Weaver has a hard time sitting still, so he ran on the treadmill Saturday morning as he watched Conference in the basement!

I took notes in my journal and knitted a scarf for Reid while I listened.

Ready for a nap after a great Saturday spent watching conference

Hope you all enjoy listening or watching Conference tomorrow! I can't wait to hear about your family traditions!!!

P.S. Don't be fooled into believing that my boys sat this quietly for the entire 4 hours. I quit taking pictures and sent them down to the basement once they got rowdy! :)

***

This is truly one of my favorite weekends of the year-- General Conference. It is awe-inspiring to have living prophets who speak to us twice each year (the first weekends in April and October) with messages of hope and encouragement that are pertinent to the times we are living in and the challenges we are facing as a world, as a nation, as Church members, as families, and as individuals.

We were supposed to be spending this weekend in Yuma while Derek was on-call out there-- imagine our surprise when we arrived there last night after a 2 1/2 hour drive and found another doctor there already working-- there was a miscommunication between Derek and the secretary, and so he was not on the schedule to work. The kids of course were devastated that we wouldn't be staying in the "Yuma House" but their disappointment was quickly forgotten when we got out the DVD player and turned on Madagascar 2. We arrived home late last night, but chalked up our little 6 hour adventure in the car to a blessing that we can be home to watch conference without Derek having to work-- and spending today here at home was perfect-- there was no place I would have rather been.

Yuma-- Yuma, Colorado, that is

Many of you know that Derek has been "moonlighting" out in Yuma-- Yuma, Colorado. I have to clarify that because most people think of Yuma, Arizona. In fact, our good friend Bev had called her cousin, who is a dentist in Yuma, AZ, to make arrangements for Derek to meet him at church and go over for dinner, before we realized we were talking about different states.

Derek's Yuma is a speck on the eastern plains of Colorado, about 2 1/2 hours from our house. He spent a month out there last year for a required rural rotation, and has returned a few times for 48-hour stints to supplement his meager resident salary. He really enjoys the people that he works with out there. Last September, the kids and I spent one weekend with him there, and attended church at the branch there. The people truly were very warm and welcoming. We're heading there again this next weekend while Derek works, and we'll watch conference on the computer. We're lookin' forward to some good old-fashioned fun. :)

Derek's goony pose in front of the ?pig processing plant? We're just city folk, so we don't really know, but we know there are a lot of pig farmers out in that neck of the woods.

The new hospital in Yuma where D works

Takin' a Sunday evening stroll

The kids made the attic their own in the "Yuma House", as they still refer to it

"Naked Strong Man" visited...

Watchin' videos on the computer

Eatin' at the Mexican diner

Cute as ever in Yuma

And that about wraps it up. With the exception of getting slurpees at 7-11 (which was the highlight of the weekend), that's about all there is to see.