"God may not be there when you want him but he is always on time."- Terrell Owens

While waiting at the doctor's office one morning, I texted Elijah the above advice I found on a maternity magazine about  third trimester moms. He responded "Don't you already do that?" Of course it was said in jest, but just in case he really meant that, here are JUST a few of the things I've been busy with lately:

Gillian started Young Women two weeks ago. She is loving it. Her friends wrote a bunch of sweet little compliments on the board when she first got there. She felt so special.  She and I have had so many talks about what it means to grow up, what qualities she could develop better, what talents she is blessed with, and how she can achieve her potential.  I love these little tete-a-tete with her.  She really makes me happy, and I'm so excited we are homeschooling this year; I know our bond will be even stronger.  How blessed I feel to have her in my life!

The kids have allowed me to nap on occasion when we are home, especially on Mondays, after I have tired them out at the running club, and supplied them plenty of material to read from our weekly pilgrimage to the library.  They are also great helpers around the house, and I really appreciate that.

We've played with friends and have had numerous picnics, movie nights, and BBQ parties with a variety of families.  I've enjoyed seeing my children, especially James, have a love for babies.  This girl of mine inside me will be surrounded with such love when she enters this world that she won't feel the difference between heaven and earth.  Love my little heaven on earth that is my family!

 

As soon as the temple opened, I took Gillian to do baptisms for the dead.  It was her first time, and she really thought the experience was very peaceful and meaningful.  What made it even more special was the fact that Elijah was in the temple officiating the baptisms.  Seeing father and daughter dressed in white as pure as can be was truly a sweet memory for me, especially seeing Gillian give my own ancestors a chance of hearing the gospel.  I find myself touched by Gillian's growth in the gospel and love for Heavenly Father, and my faith has been strengthened as I see her grow in faith and have a desire for righteousness.  And I'm glad our temple nearby opened; in 15 days since it opened I've attended it three times already, in so much that I've given one of the presidency a scare seeing me with my huge belly.  He joked that he didn't want an emergency in his hands, but what better place to give birth than in the temple!!

 

We also celebrated Elijah's birthday last week.  Goodness, I get more stressed thinking of his birthday celebration than of all of my kids' parties altogether.  I made him a special breakfast, opened gifts, took him out to eat, attended the temple with him, and made a hummingbird cake that I hadn't made in probably a decade, but he loved for as much as it was delicious as it was a surprise.  I think he enjoyed his special day. At least I hope so; his style is so different from mine.

We have also attended the pool mostly everyday these past weeks, the weather being hot for a hot pregnant mama!   The great thing that has happened lately is the fact that Jefferson has taught Charlton to swim in the deep end without a life vest!  Hallelujah for older siblings! The kids also invited a lot of their friends to our usual pool, and we have been invited by other friends to their pools.  All in all, friends and pool is a great combination!

Charlton has been  working a bit more lately, with Elijah giving him special responsibilities that he takes very seriously. (Adorable!)  He's been watering the lawn, while his brothers water the garden full of natural grown cantaloupes.

Unfortunately, he gets tired very easily ;)  

And speaking of our garden cantaloupes, they sure are tasty!

We also met friends at the Contra Loma Lagoon last week, where the kids had so much fun for hours at a time, and I got stung by a bee!  Ironic isn't it, having had bees in my own backyard for four years and never having being stung, and then go somewhere and get stung.  This time it caused an allergic reaction with lots of numbness and swelling,and I didn't sleep well for nights at a time.  Oh well, I'm feeling better now and all I remember is the great time with my friends.

 

 Besides reading, working, and swimming, the kids have enjoyed this summer's last gorgeous days and nights by playing board games, rollerblading, skateboarding, playing basketball and baseball with dad, competing in soccer, and enjoying the parks with friends and siblings.

These past few nights have been cool enough for us to use our outdoor fire pit, roast marshmallows and make delicious s'mores.  Of course the kids were in heaven, and I had the epiphany of getting a movie projector soon.  Sweet memories!

 

This past Monday was our last running club meet.  The kids have had a great time running, playing, and making friends.  I really loved seeing myriads of minivans all parked one after another every Monday morning.  What a great tradition, and what loving mothers to bring their kiddos every Monday morning.  Gillian and Charlton each ran 22 miles in total, and Jefferson and James each ran 35 miles in total.  I was very proud of them all!  I just walked :)

I hope this post was a strong enough rebuttal to Elijah's assumption of my life being just naps and movies.  And speaking of movies or shows, I can't really remember the evening when I actually watched something from the beginning to the end.  To tell the truth, besides reading at times (three books per month is a shameful thing to admit for a smart lady like myself, but what can you do), my favorite past time that requires only a few minutes of my very exhausted brain per night has been crossword puzzles. And that's about it.  But enjoyed I have this life of mine, with family and friends all abound!

And that my friends is the confession of a tired, but happy prego mother of four!

Summer School, here we come!

I gave the kids the week-end off, and told them we would start summer school on Monday. I had prepared the schedule and showed it to them. They were excited that Wednesday was a day off from school and a day with friends. Saturday proved to be disappointing to them, since it remained the same with weekly chores to be performed and maybe a movie. They weren't very keen on the other days either, but I knew that with time they would come to love all the fun stuff I had planned for them. I wasn't a bit discouraged. On the contrary, I was looking forward to showing my kids a good time.

So, last night I was all excited to get my materials ready and prepare to teach my children the next day. Unfortunately, before I went to bed I started reading a really fun book, and this morning when Elijah left for work, I got up and read some of it in bed, thinking I had time to finish it before the children woke up. Well, I was almost done with the book when I heard the children stir in the living room. Unwillingly, I got up and greeted my darlings. I burst out laughing when I was faced with the most awesome scene: all of my children, including Charlton, had blankets on them and each were reading on their own on the couch and recliners. I honestly couldn't stop laughing. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

We did get to do a lot of school, and my kids truly enjoyed it. Gillian didn't like her 50 spelling words she had to work on, and Jefferson kind of complained about doing harder math than his grade level, but all of them loved memorizing poetry and reading history books. However, the highlight of the day wasn't school or the books we read. It was the Running Club. Jefferson and James kept going till they finished running their 5 miles; Gillian stopped running for a while and played with friends at the playground. I encouraged her later on to finish her 5 mile today, so they could all get their prize at the same time. I encouraged her mostly because I knew she would be upset when her brothers would tell their father about finishing their run. She lives to make her father happy. And so she kept going till she was done ! She was the last one on the track, but she achieved her goal.


As for Charlton, I was happy to have him with me, but he had a different mind. He walked two laps (half a mile) trying to catch up with his siblings who kept passing him continuously. The brothers were so intent in being among the first to finish the 5 mile goal, that they just said 'hello' to him and kept going. Gillian, as the sweetest sister ever, stopped and walked with him, and toward the end she would even carry the big chunky boy on her back. Thankfully my friend Hillary, who was being an awesome example to her children by running alongside them, offered to put Charlton on her stroller and push him along. He loved that. I tried to get him out several times so Hillary didn't have to push a 30 pound baby around, but he rejected my offer with many protestations. Hillary assured me she was okay. That's how Charlton "ran" his miles.

When we had Family Home Evening later tonight, the children shared the poems they learned and stories they read, but most of all they were proud to show their running cards to their father. Elijah suggested that next time I run alongside my children, and of course my kiddos were very excited at the prospect of beating their mom on the race track. As if that is something hard to do! But I'm not one to be discouraged easily. I'll try to give my boys a run for their money, at least for the first mile.