Rosie the Riveter... Sadly, I Am Not.

Last night, at 3 in the morning, Kyle woke me up to tell me there was broken glass in the house. Talk about an easy way to get your heart pumping and adrenaline coursing through your veins in the middle of the night. My brain (granted it was only woken up about 2.5 seconds earlier) started thinking we had a break-in or something. I stealthily went down the hall, not knowing what (or who) I was going to find. As I turned the corner, into the bathroom I got a punch in the gut.  Don't worry, it was a figurative punch in the "self-esteem" gut-- not my literal, way-too-chubby gut-- but it still hurt.

Let me pause in my story for a moment, and rewind about 2 weeks or so. We had a potential buyer coming over to look at our house, and I noticed the light in the bathroom had gone out. Ryan wasn't going to be home in time, so I decided to change it myself.  This was something I had never done before ("What?!? Never changed a light bulb before? That's pathetic. Kristen is so spoiled. Blah blah blah..."  My husband takes good care of me. Okay?) The point is, I did change the light bulb that day, and I was proud of myself. At least until last night, when-- two weeks later-- the entire light fixture came crashing down in the middle of the night, and shattered into a million pieces (kind of a metaphor for my light-bulb-changing-self-esteem). In my defense, the light bulb was still perched in place working fine. I really don't know what happened. I thought I did such a good job. I've never proclaimed to be anything other than a girlie-girl, but a light bulb? Come on! Its not rocket-science. (How many Kristen's does it take to change a light bulb?)

My Mother is a "Rosie the Riveter" type. There are so many times that she has studied something, and said, "I think I can do that." I am constantly amazed at how many hard things she can do-- and do well. You would think some of that would have rubbed off on me! Not so much! What's  the opposite of Rosie the Riveter? "Lucy the Loser"? "Nancy the Needy"? "Patty the Pathetic"? Well, whatever it is, thats pretty much how I felt as I starred at my miserable failure of an attempt.

Anyway, I swept up the pieces and headed back to bed (with a new resolve to try, try, try again next time) and-- feeling extremely grateful to have a husband who is so good at so many things... especially changing light bulbs.

Another Fabulous DeGraw Family Photo Shoot!

I was really looking forward to getting a good family picture taken this weekend. Naturally, with the good weather, matching clothes, and talented photographers on hand, I thought it was the perfect opportunity, right? Right? Right?   I love family photos... but sometimes, I have to ask myself if it is really worth it...

Where is Karen? Don't worry, she is peeking over Kailani's right shoulder.

And, the winner is.....

wait for it,

wait for it,

(drum roll, please)

Honestly, I will enjoy this picture for years to come. I suppose I needed one to replace the one I have framed that looks very similar (only with a different child facing the wrong direction). I love these kids, and I love being their Mother. They bring me so much delight. Even though we didn't hit a home run on the family picture, I did manage to get some great pictures of my little sweethearts. I sure love them.

Michelle & Tyson's Wedding

I don't even know where to begin. My beautiful baby sister got married this past weekend-- I don't know why, but typing that makes me get teary. Perhaps it is because the experience of it all was so special. Maybe I'm emotional because I feel like she should still be a little girl. I am truly happy for her. She looked so happy. Her new husband is so wonderful. I am so excited to have Tyson as my new brother. He is such a neat guy, and so optimistic and grateful for everything. I can tell he adores my sister-- and I love that. I am grateful for the example he is to me and particularly to my children.

I witnessed so many tender mercies this weekend-- some of which are too personal to write down-- but the entire weekend testified of how mindful Heavenly Father is of each of us. He wants us to be happy-- even when the things that make us happy are insignificant and trivial. The weather was a major blessing (or miracle) of the day. It had rained buckets for weeks before the wedding, and has poured since, but on Saturday, we had the most beautiful sunny day-- perfect for an outdoor reception. Another huge blessing was that everyone was healthy on the day of the wedding. The stomach flu was being passed through the family for the week before, and we were all worried about who would have it on the "big day", but no one had it (or has had it since as far as I know).

Ryan was able to reconnect with one of his favorite mission companions, Elder Salanoa, and his wife Nancy (who was a sister in their mission too). The Salanoas are Tyson's Aunt and Uncle. It was really great to get to know them better. I can see why Ryan has spoken so highly of them over the years, because they were very easy to fall in love with. I especially enjoyed hearing them tell stories about my sweet husband, and seeing their love for him. At the end of the night, Jeremy said (talking in his New Zealand accent about Ryan), "That's what I love about this guy, he is so unassuming, but has such a big heart."

Being in the temple with my parents and ALL of my siblings for the first time was really amazing. I love the spirit of the temple. The officiator was so good. He talked about how important it is to appreciate your spouse and TELL THEM how much they mean to you. He talked of being "one" in marriage, and as one-- being partners with God.

The reception was so fun. My Mother is an amazing woman (I have already hired her to plan my children's receptions in about 15 years, because there is no way I can pull off an awesome party the way she does). As I pulled my exhausted body into bed on Saturday night, I felt like I was smiling from head to toe. I am just so happy to be in the family that I am in. I am thrilled to have the gospel in my life, and a testimony of the eternal sealing power of the priesthood and the temple. I felt like I got to experience a little taste of how joyful Heaven is as we are surrounded by friends and family that we love. The only thing that wasn't perfect about the weekend was that is went by too quickly... well, that and the parking ticket we got-- but I suppose you gotta take the bad to appreciate the good, and man was it good!

Tyson's Grandma made the cake.

My Mother made the arch.

On the left is a photo booth that was really fun. On the right is the serving area. They had chocolate fountains, slush, egg rolls, orange chicken, wantons, cream puffs. YUMMERS!

Wordless Wednesday

Mother's Day 2011

For me, the joy of Mother's Day is always a little bit tainted with feelings of inadequacy and guilt. I always feel bad that I can't be the perfect mother for my sweet little angels. I don't like feeling that way. Yesterday, I was out of bed, around 5 in the morning, feeding Creed-- and I found myself uttering a silent, but heartfelt prayer.  My heart was overflowing with gratitude for the blessing of being a Mother. I love my children so much. I truly feel like being a Mother was my entire purpose for being placed on this Earth. It gives meaning to every single thing I do.  I don't know what I will do when my children are grown and gone-- talk about a major identity crisis in the making! As I prayed, I asked Heavenly Father to help me keep those feelings of joy throughout the day. As a result, I spent the day rejoicing. I know I am far from perfect... but those thoughts didn't enter my mind  at all yesterday . Instead, I revelled in how truly blessed I am to have these fabulous little people as my babies!

I was very spoiled by my family. My children were all so excited for Mother's Day. On Saturday, the day started with breakfast in bed, and ended with chocolate covered strawberries. On Sunday, I opened gifts, and was sung to in church, and I received lots of hugs. I felt very loved. I have great children, and a fabulous husband, who spoils me more than I deserve!

I also feel very blessed to have such special women in my life. I have the best Mother. I have the best sisters and sister-in-law. I have the best Grandmothers. I learn so much from them and their examples. I am the luckiest girl, and know that my daughters are learning from their examples as well.

11 Months Old!!!

Despite me dragging my feet, my baby just keeps growing up! Lucky for him, he makes it look so cute. He is such a sweetheart. I love all the "talking" he can do. He mimicks so many of our sounds. He picks up on things so fast. I showed him the sign language for "milk".  A couple days later while he was crying, I asked him "What do you want?" He held his little hand up and showed me milk. I was so shocked. Needless to say, I got him some milk immediately! He is really fast at crawling, and follows me everywhere. He loves cuddles -- especially with his mommy!

 He took his first steps a couple weeks ago, and is starting to make some real progress!

We sure love you, Creed!

Wordless Wednesday --or-- A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words