6 weeks down...

My little Mandalen is now a 6 week old!  I'm just in a surreal time of life I've decided...time is zooming by faster than it ever has.  

Before my sis-in-law headed back to school, I took advantage of her goodness yet again by making her take pictures of Mandalen.  I love how she captured some of my very favorite expressions...her yawn, her peaceful face, her sleeping smile, and even her big eye smile.  She's not officially smiling at us yet, but I love catching these little glimpses into what that will be like.  I know I'm horribly biased, and even a little prideful, but isn't she gorgeous?! :)

one of my favorite expressions she has :)

I don't feel like I have a 6 week old, mostly because I don't feel sleep deprived (please don't hate me fellow mommies of non-sleepers).  I know I am VERY spoiled.  Most nights she only wakes up once, and once she eats she always goes right back to sleep, so I don't feel like a sleep deprived maniac like I have with some of my other babies.  And she is still so good natured...her cries are always short-lived, and for now, Bryan and I can always calm her.  I appreciate that even more now that I have kids entering the phase where there isn't always something I can do to ease their pain or heartache.

My latest project has been to get our family into some kind of flow that works for us.  After 50+ not-quite-successful attempts, I think we may have finally figured out something that works for the kids to help with the chore situation.  Bryan actually came up with this, which is probably why it's actually working this time :)  I bought a big roll of those carnival tickets, and for each time they complete their morning chores, or do extra chores, they get a ticket with their name and mom or dad's intials on it.  All of the tickets go in a little chest, and at family night, we get all the tickets out, and the kids each get 25 cents per ticket.  We also give out tickets randomly for other good deeds.  So far so good.  We've been doing it for a couple weeks, and this morning's routine went much smoother than usual.  I just grow weary of nagging about the same 10 things every single morning...I think that alone aged me an extra 5 years this last month.  So the hope that they will be a little more self-disciplined, a little more self-motivated, a little more independent brings warm fuzzies to my heart!

I feel so overwhelmed with the kindness of people lately.  We are not bad off by any means, but all these kind acts from our family, friends, and neighbors have blessed us not only temporally, but also spiritually.  All of my life, I have been blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people---wonderful people that have always quietly done without pomp or fanfare.  I have a lot of wonderful examples to live up to.

This week, a box with 2 dozen quarts of freshly bottled peaches showed up on my front porch from my sweet neighbor.  I know first hand how much work and effort that involves, and knowing how rare peaches are in this area because of the weather this spring...it was very humbling, especially because  it's not like she couldn't use them, she also has 5 kids, including one boy in a wheelchair who can only eat pureed foods.  Talk about selfless.  Then yesterday, another friend who has also has 5 kids (including a set of 2 year old twin boys) came and kidnapped Aeden, Asher, and Belen for the afternoon to play.  I got to go to the grocery store with ONE CHILD!!!  I read my book for like 45 minutes straight!!!  And the best part was I even had time to make an afterschool snack...something that has gone by the wayside this year with all the craziness.  THEN she and two other sweet friends from my ward showed up with this fabulous dinner, and a huge box of quick breakfast foods like fruit, instant oatmeal, muffins, go-gurts, cereal, cheese, bagels, etc.  By the way, that is  the BEST baby gift for a new mom with school aged kids EVER!!!  Talk about overwhelming...my thank you's and expressions of gratitude didn't come close to conveying how grateful I felt.

I keep hearing "there is a time and a season" over and over again right now, but all I can say is that when this wonderful, insane season is over, I hope I can pass along some of the goodness that has been shown to me and my family.  Those little (and BIG) goodnesses have been the difference between merely surviving, and enjoying this stage with my family.