Mother's Day 2022

The family did lots of sweet things for me for Mother's Day. Clara made me a lovely blue fabric trivet in her Arts Fusion class at school. 

Daddy and the boys brought me breakfast in bed with thoughtful cards. I forgot to take a before picture, but here's the after of oatmeal, toast, and mango and pineapple slices. Yum! Michael took the boys to the Arboretum later while I had a nice conversation with my parents on the phone. We tried watching a video of Grandpa and Grandma Clayton for a bit, but the older boys were being pills.

This cute boy's presence in our home makes being a mother extra sweet. His legs have gotten so much chunkier now that he is eating solids.

Being a mom humbles me, exhausts me, exhilarates me, inspires me, and teaches me so many things. I am learning (not often successfully, but sometimes) how to persuade in Christlike ways without control. I am learning the importance of listening and being patient. I am learning the power of love in how it can inspire the best in a person. I personally have felt that love from both my Father in Heaven and from loved ones in my own life, particularly from my parents and from Michael. When I've struggled to love one of my children when he/she is acting especially unlovable, I have prayed sincerely to be filled with love and have mercifully received it, greater than my own capacity. I am making lists of moments when each of my children are particularly lovable so that I can look back on those moments as evidence of their true nature when they're being a stinker.

Even though I wish I could influence lots of people at one time, I do recognize the power of a mother in influencing her children and the impact that can have through generations. Being a mother also helps me see that God sees the big picture and that I can be happier if I do, too. 

Spew or Swallow: A poem

 I wrote this poem recently inspired by Revelation 3:16 and thought I'd include it here in all its glory, haha:

Spew or Swallow?

Tasteless and tepid

Timid and tame

These are flavors

I never want to be named.

Bright and bold

Fiery and strong

Are flavors to savor

I want to show I belong.

Oh to be swallowed up

My strong will and all

And not be spewed out 'cuz

I had no taste at all.

That's my hope, that I can truly be "all in" in the gospel, even when I'm tempted to just wade in the water because it's more work to swim upstream against the world's currents. But I have faith we can all do it with the Savior's help.

Easter and fun with Uncle David

We had a lovely Easter weekend. Bethany and Keith and their family came to visit, and we drove up to DC to pick up David after taking the kids to the National Zoo. 

Nobody at church could tell these three were siblings. 😜

Clayton looked so spiffy in his Easter duds.

David misses his own kids while he's away, so we were the lucky recipients of his extra attention and help. He even mowed the lawn for Michael. 

This year I told the kids that they weren't getting Easter eggs (because last year a couple of the kids had been turds about not getting enough eggs), this year they hunted for their traditional chocolate bunnies and something different--a butterfly kit. We got a cup of five caterpillars. Hopefully they'll turn into butterflies--they're currently chrysalides. Honestly they gross me out (I even had a dream about them last night--that a tarantula was in the net eating them), but hopefully the end result will be worth it. 

Hunting.

Benjy was disappointed in the overall lack of candy. That face. 😘

Dying eggs.

Cousin Frederick (age 3) was so cute with Clayton!

Easter eve devotional after we enjoyed our traditional meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, resurrection rolls, and carrot cake. (We had Easter dinner on Saturday evening because everyone had to leave after lunch on Sunday.) The weather was so lovely and it was a beautiful day spent as a family.

Then we were extra blessed because Char came into town to visit David briefly, and we met up with them halfway in a cute town called Front Royal. We ate some delicious Asian (they had a variety of cuisines) food at a restaurant there and then got ice cream. It felt like old times in Provo when we were newlyweds.

They are just the best.

 Char is one of my heroes! She is getting ready for their trip to Madagascar this summer for three years. I hope we can go visit them.

Gatlinburg adventure

We had a fun family adventure down to Gatlinburg, TN this past month. Here are a few highlights:

The older boys and Daddy rode a mountain coaster through the trees at a place called "Goats on the Roof." 

While Daddy was waiting in line for tickets, we mined for gems. It was amazing how such large gems were found amidst sand and tiny pebbles. ;-)

I am deeply grateful for sweet moments like this between siblings. Too rare, but still precious. 

We enjoyed an evening at the Island at Pigeon Forge, and it was a win that our whole family went up in the large ferris wheel. Each gondola was enclosed and fit eight people. The view from the top!

We also splurged and paid for the boys do to these fun trampolines. They were pretty expert jumpers and flippers from all their practice on our own tramp. 

Robbie could go forward and then backward right in a row. 

Benjy couldn't go super high but he sure enjoyed being included.

In Dollywood, Benjy got to ride some of the younger rides. He just informed me, "I don't like to be on the duckies. The duckies aren't fun." He was a good sport, but it was tough on this trip since I had Clayton and he couldn't do all the things he wanted to while Daddy went on bigger rides with Robbie and Henry.

I don't know how Clara felt about this trip, but she enjoyed watching K-pop groups and a K-drama while we took the boys to Dollywood for two of the days.

Check out this small man that we saw at Ripley's Believe It or Not. 

Even though we didn't have our traditional St. Patrick's day traditions at home, all the kids dressed in green. We went to the Ripley's Aquarium, where we saw different sharks, cute penguins, an octopus, and jellies, in addition to lots of fish.

Check out this giant chicken (Cornish game hen?) Benjy had to eat at Dolly Parton's Stampede!

The show was really well done and everyone (except maybe Clayton) enjoyed it. 

More Gatlinburg fun.

Clara in the eye of a needle.

Future astronaut.

We were pretty pooped with Clayton sleeping in our room and waking up a couple of times a night. Daddy also had to catch up on work at night, so he enjoyed a few minutes of rest in the play place at Dollywood when it was raining.

A favorite ride for Benjy in Dollywood was this cute Bear trail one. He was so big to go by himself!

The trip was fun and tiring. Benjy just asked me, "Why can't we go to the wooden house [the cabin]? When can we go there again?" That's a good sign that it was worth it.

Life lately

Winter is holding on but spring is pushing through.  Daffodils are so happy (wish I had some at my house--maybe I'll plant some in the fall). Here are few things happening 'round these parts of late.

Benjy caught a stomach bug, and then two weeks later we all got Covid. It took about two weeks to get energy back up. The kids bounced back pretty quickly, but I am so glad we didn't have the earlier delta variant. A wonderful man (mid-fifties age) in our ward, Jeff Huffman, passed away from Covid-pneumonia in February, which rocked our ward and definitely gives me greater empathy for so many who have lost loved ones.

Henry and I had a date at a do-your-own pottery place. Here he is painting his pencil cup before it was fired.

For Valentine's day, Michael hid these Riesens around the house, giving me ten reasons why he loves me. They made me feel so loved. Despite having Covid that week, we managed to make our heart-shaped pizza still.

Seven months old and a smile that lights up the room!

Robbie made us this thoughtful Valentine's Day card. 

I love how it rotates on the brad--so creative.

Henry made us these sweet cards as well, all on his own. These boys know how to help us feel loved.

Henry is growing more confident in his reading. Here he is starting off with required reading in the Dunford+Weiler household.

Sunday naps. It's a sweet day when they all coincide. (Not this day, unfortunately.)

Clayton was not interested in solids, at least any purees, for the first few weeks of my attempts, but he is getting much better and particularly likes them in the squeezer pouch form where he doesn't have to get dirty. But this photo above  (eating prunes) shows that he is getting better at that too. He loves eating little teeny pieces of chicken and sucking on pizza crusts. Applesauce is very tart to him, but he'll eat it with other fruits or veggies.

We took the family up to visit Nana and Bapa and watched the kids while Michael and I did a sealing session in the temple. It was a sweet time in the temple, especially because we got to be in a session with Ruth and Lee Robertson and President and Staci England Schill. The sealer spoke with us afterwards, teaching us, and we felt the Spirit.

We enjoyed a visit to the Franklin Institute--here the boys are climbing on an artery.

I am so glad my kids can meet their grandparents--I hope they remember these sweet times. 

Six months old!

 Clayton is growing into such a sweet, smiley, fun baby. I love it when he kicks his legs excitedly before being picked up or when he's getting his diaper changed. His smile lights up the room. He is pretty mild and petite, so it will be interesting to see if that pattern continues as he gets older. 

We enjoyed a beautiful hike up in Shenandoah on New Year's Eve. The downside is that it was about a mile down to see the waterfalls (I carried Clayton in the front pack and Benjy walked), but then a mile back up. Michael carried both boys back up. 

All of the boys have loved being swaddled, and so we've owned many iterations of swaddle blankets and zip-ups, etc. This one makes Clayton look like he has little chicken wings, which he enjoys sucking on.

He doesn't look like it here, but Clayton loves kicking in the big bath.

Clayton snuggles are so sweet.

So far, Clayton is not a fan of solid foods, especially purees--he purses his lips together and refuses to let any in. He does enjoy sucking on pizza crusts, though.

He also enjoys being up and looking around at all the big people, who all adore him and argue over who can hold him and make him smile or laugh next.