Sweet Annalise

I had to blog this so I didn't forget.

Tonight I made a dinner that Joe and I love - it's very healthy and kind of a "raw" dish. Well, tonight I decided that the little ones would try it for the first time (usually I tweak theirs to be more kid friendly) but I was cranky and tired and didn't want to make two dinners.

They tried it.

They tried to be gracious.........Well, Annalise did. Ava immediately spit out each bite she'd take. Finally she settled on just eating of few of the veggies raw - w/o the rest of the meal.

After trying and trying to get them to eat, Annalise comes to me and whispers, "Please Mommy, can we not eat this?".

I looked at Joe - the look that says, "Okay, I give up, they don't have to eat it". I put my head down on the table - I wasn't crying or anything - although I thought about it. I was just sad they wouldn't eat this healthy meal and again - I was TIRED. Joe - being the rock star he is - jumped up and said, "who wants eggs!".

Annalise after seeing my head came and asked me what was wrong. I told her I was sad because they didn't like my dinner.

A few minutes later she whispers in my ear, "I know what will make you not be sad.... I will clean up the whole play room and surprise you!". I smiled. She cleaned. Joe made eggs. They ate them willingly. Then Annalise brings me a present to make me feel "even more happy". It's a necklace that I had given to her when I was cleaning out my jewelry last year. I was re-gifted by my 5 year old (yes, she's 5 now and my next post will be about her awesome birthday party).

Joe then leaves to do Elders Quorum visits. I start the dreaded kitchen clean up of 2 meals, plus banana bread I made earlier. I sent the kids outside so I could clean. I'm still tired.

After a few minutes I check on the girls. They are swinging together on the glider swing and no one is yelling, fighting or crying. I tell them thank you - this is a big thing in our house. Annalise tells me I'm the "best Mommy ever for not making her eat that dinner". She checks on me again, asking if I'm still sad. She says, "Mom, I'm very sorry I didn't like your healthy dinner." I smile and say it's okay.

Sometimes that little devil can be so sweet and considerate of my feelings. I just had to write it down so I'll remember the other 95% of the time! :-)

PS - are you wondering where all these fantastic photos of my family have been coming from? Trevor Dayley Photography. He's stellar. Seriously. Amazing. Like a miracle worker for my children. Go check out his blog and if you mention I'm your friend he'll knock off $50 from your session, photo shop select images AND give you all the digital negatives. He's seriously awesome. Plus, you'll get to see many more of our families photos - we're all over his blog. Yeah, I'm pretty much famous. :-) http://www.trevordayley.com/

My Beautiful Mother

Dear Mom,

Do you really know just how much I love you? I hope so! As Annalise would say, "I love you all the way to Jesus and back - and nothing is bigger than that!". We've had a lot of memories together over the past 29 years! (I'm especially fond of your laughing episode at the Chinese restaurant! What ever happened to that rag anyway!? :-)

All of these memories have taught me many lessons. I've learned patience. I've learned humor (karate-kicks :-)). I've learned loyalty to your spouse. I've learned hard work - boy you were always busy working and keeping the house in order. How the heck did you always get everything done AND have dinner ready for Dad at 5pm? I've learned kindness. I've learned unconditional love - you still love me after all :-). I've learned humility. I've learned service - you were always there helping us into the early morning hours with our school projects. I've learned to "shake things off". I've learned to be a friend. I've learned to be a wife. And most importantly, I've learned to be a mother too. And I must say, I've learned from the best. I love you Mom. Happy Mothers Day.

Love,

Alisa