a southern summer saturday

A couple of weekends ago my sister was here with her babies and my father came to the house to see everyone. It was one of the most charming and perfect Saturday's I've had.  

Ma father came in with Chic-fil-a for everyone and it was a lifesaver as my sister and I are learning that cooking, serving, feeding, and cleaning up after 4 children and 4 adults is quite the commitment!

Afterward we all went to the living room where Evaleigh and Parker took turns alternating putting on ballerina shows and ninja shows.  It was one of the first times our children have ever performed for us like that and all of the sudden I just felt like such a mom beaming at Evaleighs every move.  The had the perfect flick of her wrists and her movements were just so natural.  She got up on her tip toes, in her hand me down ballet slippers from ruby, as good as I've ever seen any ballerina do!  She extended her arms and looked over her should with drama and poise. I was so proud to be seeing this for the first time and to watch my father take it all in with his laughter about it all.

Then the children got restless and antsy inside so we moved the concert out doors. We drug out the patio furniture, plugged in the sound system and it was the perfect back drop for the rest of the sunny breezy afternoon.  

Everyone just played their part perfectly, john threw discs around the yard and the children went in and out of running the find them and following him around. Evaleigh continued to dance on the porch.  Joe slept on the couch inside. Avett fed the cows.  Rebekah and I talked while dad pulled the kids in the wagon, drove them around in his car, and just simply observed the memories in the making. The kids all had Popsicles on the porch and was just as summer Saturday's should be.

I'll always cherish that day.

avett now

I don't want to jinx it but I feel like I may be on the other side with this kid. He has been so much happier lately. He comes to me so often and wraps his little arms around my neck just hugs and hugs me.  

He has always been a mama's boy but more so lately his favorite spot to be while playing is just to come find his way into my lap. He'll just plop himself right in between my legs and he'd play on the floor right there forever if I never moved.  

He is such a boy with his obsession of anything that has wheels or is shaped like a ball.  Our days aren't complete without playing trains, lots and lots of trains.

At night or naps when I put him in his crib always complete with his "melmo" and an assortment of blankets he reaches up for one more looonnngggg hug while drinking his water cup straight upon the air between his teeth, 'no-hands'.  Then we have a conversation while I peek through the door, "i wuv yew mama." "I wuv you Avett" in our deepest funniest voices. And then about 20 "night-night"s before I finally shut the door and he jabbers on for about an hour by himself.

He thinks he owns the refrigerator, I can't open it without him climbing right in and making himself at home on the stoop and then unloading all of the yogurts from the bottom shelf in to my hands.

He follows Evie around everywhere. 

His love language is most definitely touch.  He needs to be touched and touch quite a bit.  If he is sitting next to me he will grab my hand and hug it to his chest. It's the absolute best.

He is getting more and more fun by the day with newly learned words and funny faces. We love our crazy boy.

composer

I've been making good on our anniversary chat.  I've written several songs in the past few weeks and it feels so good to be creating.  I read a quote a long long time ago and it has always stuck with me. "Don't give up on something you can go a day without thinking about."  For me, that is music. 

I know music will always be a part of my life and I know that at different times of my life it will play different parts.  Teaching, performing, competing, writing, creating, singing in the living room to the sound of my husband playing Hannah. I love it all.

These days music is just coming out of me.  I sit down at my dads childhood piano and I can expel a song in about an hour, it's like they've just been waiting to get out.  I love this.

Tonight I finished a song call "tender mercy love". It's one of my favorites so far. I've always had a dream to write church music and now I'm doing something's to make it happen.  We will see what the future holds but what is coming out feels good and sounds good. 

new schedules and happy babies

Today was a perfect day. Truly.  John Murphy and I have come up with a new family schedule that I am very excited about.  I've had such a hard time keeping up with this big house and two crazy kids who love to make messes faster than I can clean them.  

So after an excellent conversation we came up with a plan that is just going to be amazing.  When John comes home from class we feed the kids lunch together and then he takes over with the kids until their nap time.  It gives me time to clean, do chores, catch up on emails and seminary stuff, write music, and study my scriptures or whatever I need to do.

I am realizing how important it is for me to have regular uninterrupted daytime time to do things that I want and need to do. I've never really asked for consistent time like this but I can tell it is going to be such a life changer for me. Today was one of our first days on our new schedule idea and I was more productive in the 4 hours I had today than I am in 2-3 days combined! It was such a breath of fresh air to turn on some music and get to work in the house while john had the kids and then when they were napping I studied a talk for seminary and got so much done. 

I crave productivity.  I grew up on to do lists and goals, something my father engrained in me, and I am so thankful for those abilities he encouraged me to make a part of my life. Being a mother with young children has changed things in the realms of productivity every day.  Progress looks different than what it used to because my progress comes in my children. It comes in the things I am teaching them, in them grasping concepts and manners and routines.  It comes when they say prayers on their own and they throw away their trash or take a dish to the sink without being asked.  Right now a lot of my daily progress is wrapped up in the incessant task of teaching and caring for my babies.

But I am learning how important and fulfilling it is for me to be able to make time and do both of the things I am talking about.  

This past week john have me a beautiful blessing as I was feeling so overwhelmed by motherhood and they way that I respond to it sometimes. I am so grateful that he talks to me about it and that we make decisions together on how to improve our home lives and personal lives.  I am grateful for his support in everything I set my heart out to do.

I've been writing a lot of music lately and it feels so good.

Anyway, today was wonderful.  Because I knew I would have a chunk of hours to do what I needed to do I let all of that go until it was time after lunch and I spent the whole morning playing with my babies instead of trying to do things here and there.  They were so much happier and so was I! 

I'm just so excited for what is to come, life is good. 

summer with the kids

I just love this time of year.  Popsicles and sticky hands, corn dogs and dinner outside, picking warm breakfast blueberries right off of the bushes first thing in the morning, and staying up until after 9 so the kids can catch fireflies in a jar.  Summer in the south is pretty magical.  I've been so exhausted lately and it has affected my mothering.  I sure hope I can get a better handle on my schedule so I can give the best I have to my kids during the day. Our days may be crazy and filled with screams and not a whole lot of listening but they are also filled with love, kisses, dancing, and always a lot of music.  They may be hard times but they are such good days and days I know I'll miss. 

conversations with husband

I love that john and I still text like dating teenagers.  There are just a couple of conversations from the last week that I want to remember. I just adore him.  

Evaleigh says

Cramera - camera

Swecret - secret

Falingo - flamingo

Busy - dizzy

Attitude- tattoo

Swallow- swaddled as in "will you swallow my baby?"

Some of these are just so cute I can't bare to correct them.  3 is just the greatest! 

Missouri

This past week we went to go visit my mother in Missouri on her mission. It was so incredible to see her and see the kinds of things that she's doing. We miss her a lot but we know that she is right where the Lord wants her to be. She soaked up every minute with the kids and we went all around Missouri to see church history sites.   The kids couldn't get enough of her and now that we are back home it's good to be here but we are excited for when we get to see her in August when my sisters baby arrives!