Some Disjointed Thoughts Because It's May and I Have Kids

 I got some good advice from my cousin Laura about Mothers Day.  If you expect it to be all about you, you'll usually end up miserable.  If you make it about others, it's more satisfying.  So I decided to try to make the day all about appreciating my kids and Scott, and let Scott worry about me, instead of trying to orchestrate myself a day of rest.

The thing that made my plan work is that Scott is really good at holidays, gift giving, and treating his wife like a queen.  He and the kids gave me the cutest gift basket, full of orange things for summer.  The orange gift Freestone liked the best was the Kindle cover and new Kindle.  I was the only one in the family who didn't have one, and it concerned Freestone.  My favorite was the bouquet of creamy orange tulips.  Scott told me he wasn't getting me flowers, but...he couldn't help it.  He knows how to make everything just right.  All morning, I enjoyed my gifts and my family, and doted on the kids all I could instead of trying to get some "alone" time.  After all, these kids are the reason I even get to celebrate being a mom.  They are so special and unique.  None of them ever get enough attention, but they are all so much fun.

And speaking of attention, Bruce and Marlene invited us to dinner, where we and Michelle and Jake were the only families there.  It's always fun to be together, and always kindof a letdown when someone is missing, but it was sweet to be such a small group, and to have all the attention. :)  Thanks, Bruce and Marlene!  We love you!  And Michelle prepared an AMAZING meal!

The day before Mothers Day, Scott stayed home with Tziporah so I could take the rest of the kids to the Carl Bloch exhibit at BYU.  The funny thing is that most of the paintings on display are usually on display in Denmark.  We would have seen quite a few of them when we visited the Royal Palace, but they were here in Utah!

Xanthe's reaction to the art exhibit wasn't what I had hoped for.  She asked if we could go see the Lego movie at the Kaysville Theatre.  I said, "No, we're going to an art exhibit."

Freestone asked, "What's the point of that?"  I told him, "So you can look at a piece of art and ask yourself, 'How does this art make me feel?'"

Xanthe immediately retorted, "Sad.  Because I'm not at the Lego movie."  She has had some zingers lately!  In the end, all the kids loved the art exhibit, so there.  That's what I love about being a mom.  The teaching, you could call it.  I got my patriarchal blessing when I already had four children.  As a teenager, I always felt like I wasn't worthy enough yet, or ready, and so I never got it, because remember my detour years?  And then suddenly, I had four children, and I had a question in my heart that I needed answered.  The question was about adoption, and if Scott and I should do it.  I had a burning desire to find this child who I thought was ours, and bring her home.  I wanted my patriarchal blessing to say something like, "You are hereby called to adopt a baby girl from China."

Yeah, that's not how it works.  In fact, I was disappointed in my blessing until much later, when I came to appreciate the fact that it mentioned teaching so many times.  Being a mother is being a teacher, and I love that I get the opportunity to do that.  What I am most grateful for is that I married the right guy:  the guy who has always been able to find it in himself to support all my dreams.  Thanks, Scott.  I could go on, but the kids are home from school now and Freestone needs my help practicing, and Xanthe has homework and Ari needs a costume found, and Ptolemy is doing some math workbook that he is very excited about, and Tziporah...where is she?