Pretty Momma

Ah life!  So busy and so tiring and so good. I often feel that I am barely staying above water. If I stop swimming I will sink for sure. In the last few weeks we have added a few more activities to our already full schedule. But I am so blessed!

I know that Blake treats me well when the boys start picking up on the complements and start using them. Avind has regularly started calling me, "Pretty Momma" and "bamamam momma"(Bahama Momma). Just yesterday I was signing with the radio after pulling into the Target parking lot for our Saturday adventure and Collin told me, "Mommy, you look so pretty today. And you are singing so pretty, too." I love love love having my boys.  For awhile I was very disappointed that our life circumstances didn't warrant having another baby sooner. But lately I have enjoyed tremendously focusing my time on Collin and Avind.  They are so fun right now and I can really take time to enjoy them. It is a good fit for us to wait for a little while for the next baby.

So...Avind is Two!  We celebrated his birthday last month and as you can imagine, he was very excited.  Blake and I were actually out of town on his birthday, so we told him it was the next day and celebrated together then.  He loved his Thomas birthday cake. We also learned that he eats the frosting and has no interest in the actual cake part. We had just a few friends over and it was nice to keep it small and much less stressful. He got several books and his very own Mickey doll which he adores.  Just yesterday we used his birthday money from Omi and great g-ma and g-pa to get a Woody action figure. He has added Toy Story and Woody to his favorites list. I love to watch his imagination develop!

He also named his first objects this last month.  His horse that he got for Christmas he has named, "White One" and his blue race car is "Blue Race Car." So not super original but I love the monumental moment when they name something.  Avind is at a wonderfully fun age. He likes to run more and will take off running at a park and get all the way across it before I even realize he is gone.  It means lots of running for me, too. We had one last big snow storm in April and I got out of work early to the kids sledding.  I finally got Avind to sled with me and like it.  And then I locked my keys in the car...yeah, that made for a long, cold evening.  Good thing Amanda was there to save us!

Collin has started T-ball and this year he has some really great coaches that make me feel like he is actually learning something. I am a proud Mom when I see him sprinting around the bases.  He has such amazing running  form for such a little guy! I guess he always has.

And since we have so much free time, we have started a Saturday soccer league for kids 4-6. We found out a few months ago that the only soccer league here in Bozeman, The Blitz, plays all their little kid games on Sundays. I was so bummed out! After sulking for a few days, I decided we would do something about it. We made our own league which we call MoSoc, Mom Soccer, or really Mormon Soccer since everyone playing is LDS. It has made life crazy busy, but it was so empowering to do something and make a difference.  We have 20 kids playing with us each Saturday and it is a blast.

The weekend of Avind's birthday Blake and I drove down to SLC for the Utah Coalition Against Pornography Conference. It was a great experience for us to go and network and get some ideas for how to improve our website couplesagainstpornography.org. I got so fired up to continue reaching out to help couples who are in the trenches fighting for their marriages. Blake has finished his first book manuscript and we are hoping to get it up on Amazon within the next two weeks.  Ya know, we have lots of free time so we decided to start writing books, too. :) We just can't imagine not sharing what we have learned through our experiences in fighting pornography together. If we can help even one other couple it makes the pain and struggle of our experience that much more worth it.

We did have a bit of a down week when Blake got pulled into the HR office at his work. They informed him that someone from his office had approached them concerned about him because they had seen his FB page, viewed our website, and found out he was a recovering "porn addict." They said he needed to be careful in order to not jeopardize his current position.  That was serious blow for us. I was saddened that the person had missed the whole purpose of our website of fighting to destroy pornography use. Blake explained what our website was about and HR seemed to accept that, but it was certainly unsettling for us to think that shame factor is still so prevalent. How can people get help if we continue to shame them? We certainly are on a mission to change that.  

I had my own emotional roller coaster as I waited to hear if I would have a teaching job next year. I found out on Monday that they have hired me for another year. And thankgoodness I will not have to teach Physical Science anymore. I had only planned to work for 3 months when this all started, but we have felt directed to have me teach another year. My attitude towards working has changed. I can let go of the guilt now and accept the role as a working mom for now. I realize that I am still a good mom, and maybe even more so sometimes. I am grateful for my 20 year old self who chose a teaching degree! Because even though I am working full time, I will get 2 months of summer to spend with the kids.  And I am going to love it. 

I have had a few homesick for Virginia days here and there, missing the abundant flowers and green.  But I have found some things I love about Montana.  I LOVE the long, sunny days.  It is only May and yet it is light until 9:30. And we can open the doors and window without the mugginess and stickiness and the bugs.

It is shaping up to be a wonderful summer.  Four more weeks of school! Yay!!!!!