Left the nest

The birds have left the nest. After less than two weeks they have 'flown the coop' and are off on their own. They gradually left, one at a time, and only one hung around long enough for us to catch a picture (through the screen on our window). After my quick pic, he jumped right through the railing and flew off, just like a pro. It was as though he had been flying for years. I thought it was interesting at how the nest had expanded to make room for the birds. From eggs to empty, the nest accomodated for what it had in it. Interesting..

I hope that we'll see them flying around the yard. Or maybe they'll make their home somewhere else. I just hope the neighborhood owls don't have them for dinner.

This 'leaving the nest' experience has come at a unique time in my life. I have been thinking just recently that Connor is now 9 and a half. Assuming he leaves on a mission when he is 19, I am halfway done raising him. Halfway through teaching him all that he should know. Halfway through preparing him to be on his own. Halfway done having him as my little boy. How could I be halfway done already??

Have I taught him enough? Have I made a difference? Is my nest widening to prepare him to fly on his own? Since time is something you can't take back or do over, I hope that I've made good use of my time with him so far. Now, can he do his own laundry? No. Can he cook a full meal? Probably not. But he is learning and I'll keep teaching him all that I think he should know. And hopefully he'll be ready.

I hope that the next 9 and a half years don't go by as quick as the first. I definitely want to cherish the moments more, take it all in, and enjoy every minute. I want to seek out more opportunities to teach him and try a little harder to set a good example. And I'm sure that through the second half of our time together he'll teach me more than I'll teach him. And hopefully by then, we'll both be ready.

Did you get a text?

"Hey mom. Can I play with your phone?" .....is how it all started.

It was a pleasant day at Lagoon. The kids had finally earned their season passes and we were enjoying our first Lagoon day of the year. The kids were so excited and anxious. Knowing many of their friends had also gotten passes, they were on the lookout for someone they knew. As we stood in line for the Log Flume, the kids were bored. They were tired, and hot, and bored. Connor then asks an innocent question (or so I thought),"Hey mom. Can I play with your phone?" This question had been asked many times. "Sure," I reply. Handing over my phone I had no reservations. Connor loves to play with my phone. He likes to take funny pictures, record a silly video, text his dad or change my ring tone. My phone doesn't do anything too fancy afterall. I've had it for several years. I handed him my phone with the hopes that it would bust his boredom. After a few minutes he hands it back. I put it in my back pocket and that was when it all started.

My phone vibrates (indicating I've received a text). And then it vibrates again, and again, and again. What is going on? I'm thinking to myself. I never get this many texts at a time. I pull my phone out of my pocket and it vibrates again. This is crazy....5 new texts the screen reads. As I go to read them, it vibrates again, and again. I can't even retrieve the texts because too many are coming in at once. I finally get the first text and it reads: 'nope'. The second text comes across the screen: 'who is this?', followed by more vibrations.
"Connor, what did you do to my phone?" I ask.
He shrugs his shoulders. More vibrations. Text number three:' we are on our way'. I have no idea what these people are talking about.
"Connor, did you text some people?"
"Ya," he replies.
"Who?"
"I don't know," he says. More vibrations.
"I was just texting to see who was at Lagoon."
Aaaaahhhh. Text number four: 'not me....I wish'. It was all starting to come together now. In his excitement to see friends at Lagoon, he decided to send a text (from my phone) to see who just might be at Lagoon. More vibrations. Next text: 'who r u? and why would I be at Lagoon?'. Nice. Now remember that I've had my phone for many years. During this time I have stored a lot of numbers in my phone. From room moms I've worked with, to bishopric members, young women leaders, pizza places, old neighbors, and people I just needed to maybe call once. As it turns out, this is the message that was sent TO ALL 67 NUMBERS STORED IN MY PHONE:

'Is anyone at Lagoon?'.

Innocent enough, but wow did I confuse a lot of people. I also reconnected with many people who I did not care to reconnect with. More vibrations.

"How do I fix this?" I ask Tony. We decided to send a simple text letting people know that we were sorry and that Connor had been playing with my phone. More vibrations continue and add to my embarassment. After a little reprimanding, Connor soon realized that he would not be texting anyone on my phone for a while. As the day continued on we started to look forward to the texts and laughed at all the crazy responses. It has been days since this incident and I am still receiving responses. Just for fun, here are some of the dozens and dozens (45 and counting) of texts I have recieved.....

'No I wish I was. We are at tumbling.'
'This is Kathy right?'
'We left a little after five. Have fun if u r still there!'
'What do you mean?'
'We are on our way'
'Who is this?'
'Yeah, I'm totally at Lagoon...not'
'We're chillin' at the mall with some chick-fil-a'
'No, why?'

Some lessons learned. 1)Don't underestimate the technological ability of your 9 year old. 2)Only keep numbers of people you want to talk to in your phone. 3)People take all texts you send seriously - so be careful.

Happy texting!!

Blessed

If I could sum up my Mother's day this year with one word it would be, blessed. I feel so blessed to be a mother and to have children. I also feel blessed to have a good mother and mother-in-law. And I can't help but think this year of both of my grandmothers who are on the other side. How blessed my life was to have them a part of it. What great women I have been blessed with in my life. And, more than anything, I am so grateful for the blessings of motherhood. The good and the bad, the sweet and the sour, the fun and the hard. I can't think of a more refining job than that of a mother. I am truly blessed.

1 week old

Can you believe it? Their eyes are open, they've got their feathers and they squawk when they are hungry. It's amazing what can happen in a week. So Cute!!

Hatched

The birds have hatched!! Checking on our nest today I was shocked to find the cute robin blue eggs replaced with tiny balls of flesh and fuzz. I thought for sure that we would be waiting for weeks and weeks for these babies to arrive. And, to be honest, they are the ugliest things you have ever seen. If you did not know they were birds, you would think they were aliens. In my mind I envisioned these beautiful, feathered, squawking, cute-as-can-be baby robins hatching from their shells. Was I wrong (you can obviously tell that I grew up in the city)! Their eyes aren't open yet and there are no beautiful songs being sung. I'm sure that will come. And we will wait with anxious anticipation for our 'ugly ducklings' to blossom.

We're expecting....

Quadruplets!! BIRDS that is. Yes, I said BIRDS. There is no baby in my womb, just eggs in our nest. Some cute robins have made a nest under our deck (of all places?). Tony discovered it a few weeks ago and we've been carefully watching and protecting it ever since. We don't have a due date, but we will keep you posted. Aaahhhh the beauties of spring!

Wishful Thinking

All of our kids love to say prayers at our house. We are never hurting for a volunteer to say the prayer. Of all the kids though, Cody insists on saying prayers the most. The rest of us oblige because we love to hear him pray. He always says the cutest things. He usually prays for things that he wants to happen. For example,"please bless that I can ride my bike," or,"please bless that I can play with Dad", or,"please bless that we can go outside and play". Depending on the day he will pray (or wish) for different things to happen. The other day he got quite creative on his prayer wishing. This is how the prayer went...

"Dear Heavenly Father. Please bless that I can be Gaston and be strong and punch Connor in the face."

Hmmmm. Tony and I opened our eyes and looked at each other. We shrugged our shoulders and let the prayer continue. What do you do? Connor thought it was hilarious and we all got a good laugh.

(Maybe we're watching a little too much Beauty and the Beast)