The chunk is getting chunkier

For the 4th of July, we went up to Eagar, AZ where Jared's parents live (about 5 hours north), and where he spent high school (Go Elks!)

Small town+Parade+carne asada+Rodeo dancing+primos+four wheeler+rain+Gimpy the horse+swimming+ family = FUN!

Laughing with the cousins
Slip 'n slide in the rain...and jean shorts!
Jared's yummy carne asada

Grandma Wilson at the parade.
Like father like son...can you see the resemblence?
Thank goodness for the Bumbo chair
Gimpy the horse is always so patient with little boys.
A picnic on the drive up.
Jared took the boys in the big parade. They had so much fun...sunburn and all.

Who needs a toy when you have a dog to entertain?
When we got home, we all helped unload the car and clean out some of the garage. My boys LOVE to flex their muscles and I thought it was so cute how Austin showed his "Peace" sign. I asked him where he learned that? Alvin and the chipmunks!

Isaac is sucking on EVERYTHING these days...binky clip, papa's thumbs, sleeves, fists, etc.

This is his classic smile for playing, "Peek a boo!"

He also loves the rubbery goggles


I have never had to use a "supplement" with my babies...I just nurse them until they are a year old and call it good. Well, Isaac recently has decided that my milk is NOT enough for his fattiness. So, we started him up on the tasty rice cereal. He is almost 6 months old now, and very often empties me completely dry. He is NOT a fan of the food, but I am excited to be able to give him another alternative. He already has had tastes of bean juice, smoothies, and water...bring on the solids!

I dislike the messiness of baby food, but I am looking forward to pureeing my own veggies for him in my new Vitamix, as well as shoving cheerios into his hands while we run down the aisles at Wal Mart. I am still trying to decide if I should break down and get a highchair, or just a toddler booster (which I have always used) for the feeding frenzies. Any thoughts?

I always enjoy posting pictures up b/c it makes my life not seem so frazzled. Here we are always smiling, the kids are behaving and things seem to be "flowing" so smoothly. Today for example was a mess with meltdowns, fights over a water bottle, not a lot of patience on my part for entertainment, kids walking TOO slowly in the 109 heat, and my dear baby cat napping and screaming all day long. We somehow did manage to make it to Wal Mart for some produce, took the boys swimming, taught Wesley how to take a shower by himself (one less thing for me to do at nighttime!), and even made it to enrichment. So far so good...only 2 day 'til Jared gets back.

cockroaches, soccer and fudge...oh my!

A few snapshots of this last month of June:

A quick snapshot of our two younger boys in the summer heat.
Austin was very proud of his little project we made together

We are beginning to read with Wesley. One word: patience!
A typical "pose" from my boys: Austin and Wesley are cheesers and Isaac looks stressed out.

Came to see that Wesley had dragged Isaac over onto this "pillow" and covered him with toys and blankets for fun. Very thoughtful of him.

My typical "cobb salad" that I have been eating daily...
As well as my fudge bars. Not as good as Swiss Miss, but it does the job, despite the chalky taste.

Here are the many cockroaches, geckos, crickets and mysterious bugs that we catch weekly. Grosses me out! Wesley and Austin look at them daily to see if any geckos are alive and then try to save them by ripping them free.
Yes, this is one of our MANY termite tunnels that we get monthly. This was above Austin's bed.
My new "tongue crib" retainer. A giraffe print to be trendy if you will!
Summer chores: Hanging up clothing
Making beds
Feeding the dog food and water
Unloading the dishwasher
Killing the nasty cucarachas EVERY morning. Thank goodness Wesley isn't afraid like his mama.

Sleeping boys...love that belly.


Isaac loves his new toys:

The exersaucer (notice his drool falling...yummy!)
I love his chunky thighs and those toes tapping

Isaac loves his bumbo and smiling at himself in the mirror

Learning how to roll over!
Here we go!
I did it!
Jared and Uncle Ocie at Furr's Family Dining, buffets are a popular Wilson food.
Wesley and cousin Jaden at soccer camp in Sahuarita, AZ. This was Wesley's first time and he loved it! Putting on his new cleats were his favorite part. Jared was a proud papa.

Two peas in a podHe loved feeling so grown up.
Summer playdates
Popsicles
Pool towels

Austin noticed that he and grandpa Lowe had on the same shirt and shorts! Que pive:)
Happy Father's Day sweetheart! The boys loved waking you up with their handprints, wrestling in bed and running out the door to make it to church on time. We sure do miss you.

Austin often climbs into this body pillow and acts like a bug.

Going out to eat for pizza!

Forcing Austin to eat pizza (crazy, I know)
Then it was our turn to make homemade whole wheat pizza
And I am perfecting my ww bread too...

I love to see my boys wrestling!
Wesley thought he was putting on chapstick...he was not amused when he saw it was lipstick.
Family Asado (BBQ). Gotta share our meat with Wrangler too!
Issac only wants mama's hair
Super hot outside (109 degrees)

Summer days go by so slowly, but the month passed by so quickly.

The Organ

I called up to play the organ Sat night for the following day. I really love playing the piano, but I don't get to play the organ very often anymore. It used to be my church calling, but that was several years (and wards) ago. With my piano still being broken from my move (a whole other saga to tell...but, should be getting fixed after our claim processes with the movers), I have not been able to play my piano, or practice anything in months.

I got up extra early to head out to the church yesterday to get in some practice time. But, by the time I was done cleaning the nursery toys (one of my only duties as a nursery leader), there was not a lot of time to practice. I ran through the assigned hymns as quickly as I could on the piano and headed home to help load up our boys.

The result? If you know me, I always arrive 5 minutes LATE everywhere I go. This is NOT okay when you are the organist! Jared and I sped to the church, in time for me to arrive at 9:55am. Church starts at 10:00am. I ran into the building, where there was a full SILENT congregation and the bishopric looking a bit worried. I went up the organ and told bishop, "I am here! Did you want to play? Hop on up!"

I am grateful I got there before bishop started "welcoming visitors, etc" but, this did not give me ANY time to prep for the organ settings. I have not played the organ, especially this particular organ in 2+ years. So, I had completely forgotten how to set the settings, which ones allow me to have that deep base note and how loud to go. I got through two hymns and then the meeting started.

I had the bright idea to suggest that we do patriotic songs to the chorister. A great idea, right? But, again, I had not practiced ANY of those hymns~ I was just trying to provide a bit of patriotic music for this 4th of July coming up.

First hymn...I start playing for the congregation and the settings do not sound right. I try adjusting the pedals for volume, but either the notes got TOO loud or TOO soft. I couldn't figure it out...all the while, the congregation is supposed to be following me? I have forgotten how choppy the organ sounds if you don't HOLD onto those keys. My fingers are feeling nervous as I try to "glide" them back and forth without making any major mistakes.

I am feeling distracted by my kids on the front row bouncing up and down and I am trying to stay focused on those lyrics so that I don't lose my place. I had forgotten how HIGH UP the book sits on the organ, I felt like I was reading music from off of the ceiling! It was hard for me to glance down at my fingers for the keys, look back up to the music, glance back at my feet to play a few base notes (since my settings were so soft sounding, I needed that extra base help), and then back up to the music without losing my place. There is a lot of pressure when you have a hundred people or so following along!

Sacrament hymn...smooth sailing, thank goodness. No need to play an extra verse while they finish preparing the sacrament. That can always be a bit nerve wrecking b/c if you mess up, no one is singing along to cover it up. It's just you and those pipes!

Rest hymn...The Star Spangled Banner! I had NOT practiced this song EVER. I was super nervous for it and kept praying to Heavenly Father that He would help me along. I wanted this hymn to be for Him and His church service, so I just needed that extra feeling of peace as I tried my best. The congregation stood up and we sang all three verses. I was especially nervous on, "And the rockets red blaired, the bombs bursting in air!" chorus part b/c I did not want to mess up that important part! I got the chills when I heard those beautiful lyrics and the only thing missing was a gigantic flag hanging over so we could salute it:)

Last hymn...My Country 'Tis of Thee. Again, had not practiced it at all, but it was an easy one.

Overall, an enjoyable meeting. The pioneers were discussed, patriotic music sung, and the organist was not too frazzled to head off to her toddlers in nursery for the last two hours.

Update: May 2nd, 2010. It's been almost a year since I last played! My newest calling is the ward organist. I still get sweaty feet and hands when I hop up there. Practice does make perfect, but without a piano here at home, I can't get in the playing time I need! After I made it to church 5 min early, the chorister told me, "You better go through that one again" after fudging up a few sharps and flats during pre-lude. It is scary up there!

What If

Just yesterday I watched a touching story on Oprah about a mom who accidentally left her baby girl in the car where she died from heat exhaustion. The message of the story was how mom's need to step back, take a look at the blessings in our lives and slow down so that we can avoid any major accidents, etc. That could easily happen to any of us if we are too caught up in other things. I know that Isaac is usually the last one to get out of the car when we unload, and I sure hope to never be too preoccupied to forget to unbuckle that baby!

Scary experience this morning. Isaac slept well until about 4am, but when he started to cry it out (refer to earlier post)...I just put my ear plugs in so that I could sleep. I knew that he was crying on and off, but knew that if I went in there...I would just make it worse and enable him that much more. So, I left him alone.

Austin came in shortly there after to sleep with me, so I was half-awake.

By 6am, I couldn't hear him crying anymore, so I went in and checked on him. He had almost suffocated! He had his blankie wrapped all around his head, was silently sobbing and was all sweaty. I felt TERRIBLE.

What if something had happened to him and I hadn't done anything about it? My phone network wasn't working (it is now) last night, so I couldn't have been able to call 9-1-1 or anyone for help. I just imagined myself running through the neighborhood calling out for someone to call an ambulance meanwhile little Isaac could have been unconscious.

It makes me super sick to my stomach to think about the "What if?." Especially after watching that show on Oprah last night, this hit a little too close to home. I don't feel like I take any of my family members for granted (especially my kids and Jared), I am just so grateful to still
have them.

I got down on my knees and said a special thank you prayer to God that He let us have Isaac here in our home, and that He didn't decide that it was time for him to go back. I love that little baby so much. I love all of my boys. My life is centered around each of them right now.

I am committing myself to not be on the computer as much these days. I have plenty of time to be alone after they go to bed, so why not "enjoy" them during the day.

I am so so so so grateful that nothing happened to him. An attitude adjustment once again on how much I do love my boys and how lucky I am to have them in my life...