Let's Get Reacquainted! Part III: Ian

I've been so excited to write this post. Ian and I have been talking a lot lately about his personality and what a secret treasure he is. It's not very easy to get to know the real Ian because he is so shy sometimes. I feel blessed to be one of those people that he has let into his life. I love being able to share his accomplishments and all the wonderful things he does to add to our family.

This is Ian. He is 26 years old and getting better with age! He is the love of my life.

Lately for exercise, Ian has been playing basketball. He asked me for a basketball very subtly by adding it to my grocery list. I looked around and when I found one at a great price, I obliged. There is a court just down the road from our house and if he gets there first thing in the morning he has it all to himself. I've gone down with him a few times and have seen some real progress. He smoked me in our game of PIG the other day! One thing he has noticed about the English, is they aren't very keen on basketball at all. The other people vying for the court are usually Chinese. They all want to be like Jeremy Lin or Yao Ming. If there are English people on the court they are usually using it for something else like badminton or hockey.

When we're out and about as a family, you'll most often find Ian pushing the stroller. He has been so good to me with this. I have told my family that true love isn't buying flowers and chocolates, it's pushing a double stroller up a Sheffield hill. Ouch! He never complains (probably because he knows I'm in bad shape) and always assumes his place without compulsion. I love love love him for this.

Ian is a great cook. He loves doing it and I love that I get a break as much as 3 or 4 times a week! He has been compiling his own recipes and taking pictures of the dishes. It is very creative and it really helps out when we have no idea what to cook. Lately he tried his hand at chicken curry which I surprisingly liked. My favorite thing Ian cooks is Beef Stroganoff. I melt to think about it. The only small complaint I have is that he is so good at the presentation side and it puts me to shame. I mean, look at those neatly folded napkins and the perfectly lined veggie tray! Mine would taste as good, but it never looks as good.

In our ward Ian is the ward mission leader. This is his second time as a ward mission leader and he's been a ward missionary twice. I guess maybe he just has the missionary look to him or something. One of our first weeks here, a 14 year old girl asked him if he was a missionary. That was a first. He kindly explained that he was much too old to be a missionary, that he was married and has 2 children. The missionary work is moving forward in England more rapidly than anywhere else we've lived. We've been having baptisms at least once a month and have met people from all over the world. Ian has even been able to use his French language in teaching some French speaking African people. He confirmed two of these people in French around Christmas time and has since been labeled by an older man in our ward as "Frenchie." We're pretty sure that guy is convinced that Ian is French. It gives us reason to giggle from time to time.

Ian loves to video chat. Sometimes he's really talkative and sometimes he doesn't say much, but he always likes to be involved. We spend our Sunday evenings chatting away with our families and we love it. Ian gets to talk sports with his Dad and Brothers which is a great boost to his morale. If you've never tried video chatting we're more than happy to introduce you to it. Skype is a great place to start. Download it today and look us up! We're always on!

Mostly, the reason we live in England is because of Ian. As you know, he is working on his Master's Degree in Politics. He has completed 6 of his 8 essays. Just 2 more to go as well as a whopping dissertation and he's done. The above pictures are usually how we find Ian once he has turned in a big paper. He works and works and then when it's all over, he is good at relaxing. He even has a relaxing effect on the rest of our family (notice Holly napping close by). In his relaxation time he has been developing his art skills by painting and making some toys for the kids. I know I always breathe a sigh of relief with him because we can enjoy more time with him. I also sleep better at night because he doesn't grind his teeth as much!

Of course, the most important thing that Ian is doing is being a fantastic Father & Husband. He is one of the very few people among his peers that is married and even fewer that have children. But whenever we talk about this difference he always says he wouldn't have it any other way. We find ourselves in awe at the joy we feel just because we're a family. Our playtime is more fun, our hugs are more special, and our lives are challenged and enriched by this great blessing.

Ian is more than I disserve. He is encouraging and forgiving, kind and helpful, smart and funny. Since we've been so disconnected from family, and often our friends, I have found that Ian is a rock in our family. We can always depend on him to support us emotionally and physically and are happy to do the same for him in return.

Atley's Fear

Remember how I said Atley was afraid of Ladybugs? Well, we encountered one on the playground yesterday. It was so terrifying he wouldn't climb the stairs to reach the slide. I took a video...wanna see?

My favorite part is when he runs away saying "No, no, no, no!" I also like when he stops to say hello, asks if she is a ladybug, and upon confirmation, he runs away.

See! I told you he was afraid of ladybugs!

Let's Get Reacquainted! Part II: Holly

This is Holly. She is 2 years old.

She is a Daddy's girl! While Atley comes to me in the morning, Holly always goes to Ian. She will not go down the stairs in the morning, unless Daddy lets her ride on his back. When the door opens for Ian to come home from school she is the first person (even before me!) to jump up and run to give him a hug and kiss. I love it when Ian in disbelief says "She really likes me!" He is perplexed why this little girl is so attached and in love. But, isn't every little girl's first love their Daddy?

She is very good at pretending...too good. She refuses to use a baby doll and instead uses the most random things as her baby. The weirdest by far has been her underwear. Yes, her underwear. She will take them out of the drawer one by one and talk to them. It helps that they have princesses all over them. Here's a great example of her random toys as people. She's using a bead, baby powder, hand sanitizer, a play ketchup bottle, a dinosaur, and a rubber ducky. I'm not quite clear on the story line here, but when I asked her later she told me the hand sanitizer was the Mommy and the powder was the Daddy.

She also loves to play dress up. She'll ask me to put a ridiculous amount of bows in her hair and then tells me she is Repunzel. Then she has a blue dress and whenever she wears that dress, she is Belle. Here she is dressed up as a butterfly. Also, check out that crazy long hair! It's a recent development.

Holly loves to have her nails painted, but I'm finding that I should probably only paint her toes. She uses her fingers for undesirable purposes and I quickly find that the polish on her fingers has been sucked off her thumb, or deposited on a booger in her nose. This was our exchange the other day when I told her picking her nose (and even worse eating it!) is disgusting.

Holly is sensitive. With even a small reproach, even teasing, she breaks into tears. We've found that we have to be very careful how we talk to her. Once she took a piece of bread from the dinner table. It was her bread but Ian was teasing her about taking it. She slowly put it back with a frowny face and then started to cry. It took us at least 3 weeks of very positive reinforcement to get her to help herself again.

We love Holly and are so glad she is part of our family. It is amazing to me to see the different personalities that my children have. Their differences strengthen my testimony of divine nature. They came to us from living with their Heavenly Father. They have spirits that are so unique. I love discovering what makes them unique and feel blessed that I get to see these changes in them from day to day.

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.