Let's Get Reacquainted! Part I: Atley

I've been thinking. We moved away from Rexburg 1 year ago. We had a flash in the pan in California and Florida, and now we live in England. A lot of things have happened to change us in that time. We need to get reacquainted!

This is Atley. He is the second love of my life. He's 3 years old. These days I am his best friend. I love that. When Ian is off at school and doing homework, I love that I have a snuggle buddy. He often comes around to my side of the bed in the morning (and sometimes in the middle of the night) and says "Can I snuggle you?" How can I say no to that?!

Atley loves animals--except lady bugs. He is terrified of lady bugs. We only recently discovered this when a lady bug crawled up on my bed where Atley was sitting. He began to cry and back away until Ian put her outside. Now whenever we talk about lady bugs he reminds me "I scared the lady bug!" The English is a little broken I know, but I find it so adorable! (Note: In England, Lady bugs are called Lady birds...weird, right?)

Atley loves his school. He often asks me if he can go to school and if it's a non school day, he'll ask to go to Primary! I think the association with other children (besides Holly) has been really enlightening for him. In school and in primary he has come a long way. He used to march to the beat of his own drum and had trouble joining in regular activities. Now, he sits fairly reverently in primary and has his schedule at school down pat. I have been very pleased and impressed with this little bit of maturity that he has found.

He's getting tired of sitting in the stroller. He wants to walk everywhere, but he walks soooooo slow! To him, it's not about how long it takes to get home (sometimes it takes 45 minutes), it's about how many rocks he can stick in his pocket on the way. I try to find times to walk with him like to and from school. He has his very own landmarks to get him there and back home. We talk and play games while we walk. I love this special time with him. Holly is usually at home napping, under Daddy's supervision, so it's a unique opportunity for us.

Atley is a singer. I am amazed how quickly he learns the primary songs! I was even more amazed when he performed "Be Our Guest" in full length in our kitchen the other evening. Wow. I had to take a video to share. It's long because as I said....it is the WHOLE song!

His prayers make me giggle and melt. We've been praying with Atley every night in French for about 2 years now. He is getting very good at both french and praying. This is a typical Atley prayer:

Pere Celeste, Merci pour Mommy (pause) annnnnd Daddy (pause) and Holly! Merci pour les my friends, pour les french fries (or whatever he ate that day), pour les my school, pour mes teachers, pour Heather (said Heva), pour Amy, and Shelby. Beni moi. Au nom de Jesus Christ, Amen.

He is a bit confused at using his french articles and how they go with English words. We could also work on his french vocabulary so he doesn't use English in his prayers, but I love it! Baby Franglais! He often reminds me "Mommy, we speak french!" It's so much fun to see him grasp the language even in small ways. It also comforts me some to know that he struggles with English, too. The other day he was sick and throwing up. I explained to him what throwing up was. I thought he understood pretty well, but instead of throw up he said "Mommy, I roll it up." It was too cute to correct.

Atley is very good at making me feel better. If I'm crying he'll shake his hand and me and say "Don't cry don't cry! Here, I give you a kiss! Muah!" He is thoughtful and kind. He loves to play hide and seek.

I find that as I focus on him (and Holly) and these parts of his personality, my joy of being a mother is realized. It can be hard when I'm sad or frustrated to see what a great blessing motherhood really is. I am grateful for these little moments with Atley where I can feel the love of my Heavenly Father. I am overwhelmed with joy that a little boy could make my whole world seem brighter and happier and I know that motherhood must be a gift from him.

...and that's just our first try. Just wait until you see Holly!

St. Patrick's/Mother's Day

Well, turns out Mother's Day in England is not celebrated in May! It also just so happened that it was the day after St. Patty's Day! I have to say I was a bit let down by both holidays.

England. Very close to Ireland, right? In fact part of Ireland is included in Great Britain! So, I was expecting to see some serious green festivals and general mayhem on St. Patricks Day. Well, they didn't let me down with the general mayhem part. Turns out that celebrations include a lot of drinking and not much else. The only people festively wearing green were also the only crazy drunk people on the street. Much of the celebrations took place in bars which is a place that my children are not welcome...and for good reason.

But, do not be afraid! We celebrated the good 'ol American way! Ian's Mom sent along some shamrock fan fare and Ian put together a treasure hunt for us! We ran all around the house looking for Shamrocks a little leprechaun left behind with clues where to find his gold!

Lucky for me, this leprechaun was celebrating Mother's Day and the gold was all for me :-)

Mother's Day was great! I felt so blessed to have Atley's teachers and primary leaders help to make me little treats and gifts. I was also blessed to have a husband who saw how much I needed praise and love. He happily embraced the holiday and made dinner for all of us!

I was disappointed at how little it was mentioned in church. Our primary children sang in Sacrament meeting, but there were no talks about it. I found it strange and I missed that. Atley had been practicing what he called "The Mom Song" for a couple weeks leading up to the performance, but he didn't want to sing with the other children. I guess that was okay because I had to play the paino for it and it wouldn't have been good to start crying. He gave me a private concert at home later in the day.

When I look back at the holidays and the cultural things I missed, I realize that my family was what made it really special for me, not the traditions I'm used to. I am so grateful to have these three people to share this time with. Ian and I have often wondered what our time here would be like without Atley and Holly and I'm sure I prefer it this way no matter what extra expense and work we have to endure. My children are one of my greatest blessings. I thank God every day that I have the opportunity to love them so instantly and unconditionally and to care for them and allow them to help me be a better person.

Brussels--Finally!

We went to Belgium! It has been a long anticipated trip. Ever since Ian and I have been married, we've talked about going to visit his mission together. Five years since he got home, 4 years of marriage, and 2 children later we finally made it! Here is the photo slideshow.

Some of the highlights from our trip:

Language: Brussels is such a cool place because you're never sure what language you'll need. It was my first time visiting a place where English wasn't the main language. I was pleasantly surprised at how multi lingual everyone was! You almost have to speak at least 2 languages to live there! I would say French was the most common, but I met people who spoke dutch and english also. I had a great opportunity to speak/practice my french. I definitely made mistakes and gained a little sympathy for new missionaries. But it was cool to see that even if I don't speak perfect french I can communicate and that gave me the confidence to keep learning and trying. I did find it frustrating a couple of times that when people would hear my American French accent they would sometimes switch into English. It was thoughtful. They were trying to help me feel comfortable, but I wanted to practice French. I did get to order a waffle in French though. It was a unique experience!

Food: The food was AMAZING. I could eat food like that all the time. It wasn't all traditionally Belgian, but it was all good. The kebabs and frites were so delicious especially with the special sauces they have. The waffles were heavenly! They were extra sweet (especially compared to American waffles) and they were great plain or with toppings. I find I crave them often....like right now. Holly was always asking for them except she had her own name for them. "Mommy, I want an awful!" Yes...she called them awfuls. Pretty close and quite ironic, making it endearing and funny!

Sharing the Past: While Belgium was a great place to visit regardless of Ian's ties to it, it was so nice to have him show us around a bit. He lived in Brussels for 6 months as an office missionary. After the initial confusion when we arrived he was able to show us some familiar sites and I felt like it was a great bonding experience. We saw where he used to live and work as a missionary. When we went to church we even met his old ward mission leader! It was great to see what this part of his life was like. I've always wondered and kind of dreamed what this would be like and I found that I was very satisfied.

All in all, it was a great trip. We'll look back on the pictures and always our little family adventure. After such a great trip to Belgium I'm looking forward to exploring the other part of this mission...FRANCE!

Groundhog Day

Do you celebrate Groundhog day? I never really have. Florida doesn't have seasons so six weeks of more/less winter doesn't make much of a difference. In Rexburg it was a life saver to think the winter might be over sooner rather than later, but in my heart I knew it would go on until at least May! In England however, there is hope for spring before summer! Unfortunately they don't celebrate Groundhog day. Rats! Big furry rats...or should I say groundhogs!

Well, no real reason to celebrate except that while we were on our trip to Belgium (post to come) our neighbor emailed us to tell us they found our long lost Christmas package! We were so excited to have MORE presents to open. So since we picked it up on Groundhog day, we decided that Groundhog day presents were just as good!

I received a beautiful pair of pearl studs and the kids got toys that are just perfect for church! You know the kind...the quiet kind! With me playing the piano in Sacrament Meeting every week, Ian needs all the reinforcements he can get keeping the kids quiet.

Thanks for the Groundhog Day presents Grandma! They came just in time!

Valentine's Day

We aren't very good about celebrating Valentine's Day. I like the extra affection and presents, but it's hard for me to go along with everyone else because I feel like a sheep. I also don't like feeling left out if I protest. My convictions on the matter are shaky at best.

We were so blessed to receive small packages from Grandma's and Cousins to help us celebrate the holiday. Did you know, in England it's uncommon to send flowers, gifts, cards, etc. to anyone but a romantic interest? In America our kids give Valentines to everyone in their class. My Mom always did something special for me on Valentine's Day to remind me she loves me. I like that. I think I'll stick with that tradition. It leaves less people out!

Holly was a great helper in celebrating the Holiday. We baked some treats...

She got an apron for Christmas from Grandma Sorensen and she calls it her "pretty dress." She loves to wear it in the kitchen. I can't get over how adorable it is! She's also getting to know the ingredients. When I ask her what the secret ingredient is in Pancakes she says "-------------!" You didn't think I was going to reveal the secret ingredient did you?!

I did the measuring and Holly added the ingredients.

We waited while it baked...

And decorated the living room with heart doilies and Valentine cards that Grandma sent.

I spent Valentine's Day in red with my new Valentine's socks. Atley carried around his dinosaur card from Grandma and Holly wore her hugs and kisses necklace. Atley has taken to calling the hearts "dreams." I have no idea where that came from. Oh well :)

Hope your Valentine's Day was fun! We love you all :-)