Gayle basically stepped in as grandma this weekend and took care of us all weekend. I probably have never written about how Gayle fits into our lives. When we lived at The Wilshire in Salt Lake after we first moved here, she was our neighbor. Initially we only knew her husband, Chuck, but after several months of living there, we got to know Gayle. She instantly fell in love with Porter. We would spend almost every afternoon at her house once she got home from work until dinner time. When we moved away she was heartbroken, but our relationship didn't end there. She has become part of our family and as we have more children, she loves each of them as if she were their grandma. Friday she stopped by after work and we ended up heading to her place to hang out and eat pizza. Saturday she took Jonas and Porter to see a movie at the Gateway Mall while Mason and I played at Discovery Gateway.
I loved getting to be at Discovery Gateway with just Mason. We got to do whatever he wanted to do and he just enjoys life. He squeals and smiles often and is constantly on the move. We collected balls and sent them up the shoot over and over again. We watched the live beehive and wondered where the bees where flying to. We played with the fish in the water and he tried to collect them all, but I made him share with another boy playing there. I'd sneakily throw a few fish back in so another kid could play and he'd go after them again and again. We shopped at the grocery store. He only shopped the produce section and he loved ringing up each item. Then he'd go put everything back where it belonged and start all over. We attempted playing basketball together and then he "flew" the airplane while he enjoyed his lunch. He is quite the multi-tasker. I love being with Mason. I love listening to him talk and explore this world.
I don't know if I ever recorded an experience I had with him the other night. It was way past his bedtime and he would not go to bed. He had already come up several times and I was frustrated. The level of frustration increases as it gets later and later. He came up again and usually I send him back downstairs by himself. But, this particular time I was able to stop and slow down as he stuck his little (big bear cub paw) hand out for me to take. Heavenly Father gave a moment of perspective and peace. I grabbed my little boy's hand tenderly in mine and walked downstairs with him. His little hand won't reach out for mine forever and I was so grateful that the spirit helped me stop and see him. I am so grateful to be his mother.
After a late lunch at pizza kitchen, we played at Gayle's again and then came home right as David got home from work. After dinner we sat out on the lawn together. Porter and I had done a mad lib from his kid's national geographic magazine and I was reading it to the boys. There was a lot of poop and pee language that the boys thought was hilarious. They were laughing so hard and asked me to read it again and again. The weather was perfect and I was surrounded by my little family and their giggles of pure joy. I took that moment and I bottled it up.
David had to work today, so he arranged for Ashley to come over and make breakfast for me. Porter was beyond excited. Mason and Jonas slept in until 8 am. Porter was up at 6:15, but he snuggled next to me in bed until Ash got there at 7:15. I loved watching him get so excited to do something nice for me. He reminded me a little of myself as a kid. I would get so excited just like that and I could not keep a secret about something I was so excited about.
Ashley made a delicious breakfast and hung out for a couple of hours. Porter and Jonas played really well together and Porter was complimenting Jonas on his lego building skills. He even went so far as to tell Jonas he was better and building Legos than himself. That was a huge compliment.
Generally on Sundays it is a struggle to get Porter dressed and out the door. We can have a perfectly great morning up until that point. Well, it looked like we were going to have a repeat of Sundays past, but I said, "Please don't ruin my mother's day." And, then Porter told Jonas he was going to get dressed and he did! I was so very grateful for this. The boys were all ready and we even got to leave a little early. David had been able to slip away from work to go to church, so he'd come home to help me get the boys ready only to find out they were already ready!!!
There was a talk by Jacquelyn Rawson in sacrament meeting today. She talked about the Savior and how he is the perfect example of how to be a mother. The way he nurtures, loves, gathers, teaches, etc. She made us think about the perspective our children have about the exceptions we have for them and helped us think about the expectations our Father in Heaven has for us and how we sometimes don't see the eternal perspective and that his ultimate goal is for our joy and eternal exaltation.
The discussion in RS led by Carrie Johnson was also fabulous. It was based on Elder Ucthdorf's recent talk on missionary work. She asked us to think about a recent special moment/experience that we shared with someone. She asked us what was in our hearts about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then she asked us why we come to church. She talked about how when we are passionate about something, we share it with others. We are excited to share it. We need to find out passion within the gospel of Jesus Christ and be ready to share it.
Gayle had us all over for dinner tonight. David was able to come and Ash came too. It was a great Mother's Day. Even though I get tired and sometimes moving my every expanding pregnancy body is tiring or maybe even painful, I love being with my boys. Watching them, listening to them, talking with them, playing with them, teaching them, learning from them and on and on. Motherhood is my favorite role. I'm grateful to a loving Heavenly Father that allows me to partake in raising these amazing spirits. And I am grateful for the example of so many loving mothers and women around me. My mom has always been my friend. Not in a bad way, but I have always known I can talk to her. We have laughed and cried together on many occasions. Luckily for me there have been very few fights, mostly great times and great memories.
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