Family weekend~

We had such a fun filled family weekend that was full of get togethers on my side and Rick's. Ryder just adores all his cousins and loves to play with them. It was fun to see everyone and I wanted to capture a few of my thoughts:

~ My parents stayed with us which I love. My dad loves to put on Chaps cologne and you can smell it throughout the house. Rick and I were talking about it this morning and the thought came to me of how much I will miss that smell when he is no longer around. It reminds me of my dad and I hope I can smell it for years to come.

~ Family is important, not only for the love but also for the bond that you share. I am very blessed to have a close family. I know I have said this before, I love my siblings & the fact that we always have each others backs and look out for each other. My relationship with my brothers and sister is priceless. 

~ Family is not always going to see eye to eye but it is important to always respect and love each other. 

~ My mom is silly and crazy but I love her and I don't know what I would do without her.

~ My heart still breaks for Ryder.  I know how I love having siblings and I will always yearn for Ryder to have that relationship. I am thankful he has cousins & friends that he adores. 

~ I am lucky and blessed to have Rick has a husband--he is an amazing man. Ryder wants to be like his daddy! 

~ In laws, The Lyman's are a good bunch. I love that I have a mother in law that I get a long with & we enjoy when she stays here. I have always been humbled by the relationship that Rick has with his siblings.

~ Laughter~ Ryder and I have laughed so hard at the silly stuff grandparents do.

I will never take for granted what I have because I will miss it when it is gone. 

Oh Baby!

Rick and I had always wanted to have at least three kids. Who are we kidding--we were both older when we got married. We had Ryder right away, and thought we could get three children no problem. I mean seriously, we are young at heart :)  Getting pregnant with Ryder was such a breeze and the pregnancy was so smooth that I absolutely loved being pregnant. I was able to work full time & on top of that still go to the gym everyday. Never in a million years would I have ever thought that I would not be able to have another child. I can't begin to tell you how much my heart aches for a baby- I yearn for one more. I look back and I think what if I would have done some things differently. I see others having babies & I think, "why can't I". What makes my heart ache the most is when Ryder says his prayers. Ever since he learned to pray he has always prayed for a baby. He went for asking for a baby and then to asking for a baby brother & now he says, "I will take a baby sister even though I would rather have a baby brother." He badly wants to be a big brother and I know he would make a great big brother. I am also sad for Rick. If anyone could catch a glimpse at what a great dad he is to Ryder you would know how lucky a child is to have him for a dad. Rick and I both have strong and great relationships with our siblings and I want Ryder to experience that.
Rick and I have explored so many avenues and I try to remain hopeful. I was talking to my brother the other day & he said, "have you ever thought it was not in the cards but that it is a test of faith?" I took a few days to really think about that. I do know that this is something that I need to go through and to learn from.
In the meantime I will continue to have faith and to hope. It does make me very thankful that we were able to have Ryder.

End of Summer


Whew.... it has been a bit since I have written a post. My intention at the beginning of the year was to do better with my blog but I have failed. 

I am sad to see summer come to an end. We have had such a busy fun filled summer that I am not sure where June and July went. I tried to plan a lot of different fun things with Ryder this summer so that he can always remember how fun summer is. I loved summer when I was younger. We used to play cops & robbers late into the night and then sleep out on the trampoline. I loved every minute of it. I want Ryder to experience the fun times and excitement that summer brings.

Ryder is growing and changing so fast--it is fun and bittersweet. He loves to go swimming but his favorite thing to do is to ride his bike. He loves to do tricks on his bike and scooter. I swear he got his daredevil streak from Rick :) He loves his cousins and also his friends. His day is not complete if he has not played with his friend Beckam. 

He starts school this week. We asked him what last fun thing he wanted to do to bring summer to an end and he said, " to see the movie Planes and go on a bike race" so that is what we did. Rick and I have enjoyed this summer. We are lucky enough to be able to spend time & do lots of different things with both sides of the family.  I was talking to Ryder tonight and he said " mom I don't want to go to school, I want a longer vacation"- Well said Ryder. 
Even though I am sad to see summer come to an end I am also ready for Fall, that is my favorite time of the year. I am ready to get back to a routine of Ryder's schedule, work, calling and family. I am also excited for the upcoming Holidays. I know I will miss summer and the fun times we had and memories that will last forever.

Summer is here!

I have been waiting for this day to arrive where I can say summer is here. I am ready and excited for the summer fun and nice weather. Ryder has officially graduated from pre-school--he will graduate again next year.  He is silly because when he said his prayer, he prayed that he could go to preschool even though he didn't always want to go. I wanted to kick off the summer by doing something fun and memorable. We had a cousin reunion on Rick's side in Logan on Saturday. It was nice and fun and Ryder loved every minute of it. He even got to go on his first plane ride in a small 6 seat plane. After that, we decided to go to Idaho to see my family. I can't begin to tell you how good it felt to be home. I know I have said this before but I miss Idaho and being home and seeing my family. When we were at my parents Ryder said to me " mom when I grow older I am going to live in Idaho". He never wants to leave when we are there. Words can't explain the special bond that Ryder has with his Grandad. It touches my heart watching them together. I was also able to see my great friend -- Nicole :)

Ryder is thrilled that summer is here. He loves to play with his friends all day long. I am going to try and plan fun things to do this summer. Rick and I had just realized that all our weekends are full in June. It feels so good to be in a good place in life and I am truly thankful for that. Rick just asked me today if I ever wonder where life will take us. I do wonder that, but I now know to expect the unexpected. Life has been full of love and heartache but I have learned that now matter how you plan out your life you never know where it will lead you but to just trust in the lord. I hope you all have a great summer!

Mom

I hope that it does not seem too cliche to write a post on being a mom on Mothers day. I have been thinking a bit lately about being a mom and especially my own mother. Just the other day I was telling Rick that I really do miss going home and I miss my mom. My parents fortunately come this way often. Three of my brothers live within 50 miles of each other. I just miss home, I know that may sound silly but I do. My parents have a lilac tree in their backyard so the fragrance of Spring reminds me of home. I wish I lived closer so I could hang out with my mom and take Ryder over to the house I grew up in more often. I love my mom. I call her almost every day and I know one day I will miss it--for now it is one of my greatest treasures. I love her for being there, listening and understanding but most importantly for being my mother.

It is my hope that Ryder will have fond memories of me. I was telling Rick today that there is not a greater blessing than being a mother. There is just something so tender and loving about it.. I just love when Ryder says "mom". He is getting so big that it went from calling me momma to mommy & now mom. My heart does ache at times because Rick and I did not expect to have just one kid. I am thankful that I at least get to be a mom to Ryder.  I was also lucky to have married Rick and have a wonderful mother in law. Pam, is truly wonderful. She had stayed with us for a bit and I will be honest I miss seeing her around.  I am thankful for this Mothers Day so that I can reflect on being a mom and show appreciation to my mom and my mother-in-law. The last couple days Ryder was so excited to give me a mothers day present, he said he had it hidden in his room. This morning when he woke up he said he had something for me & he ran into his room, opened his closet door and brought me one of my own stuffed animals. It was funny but yet so tender.
I hope everyone had a Happy Mothers Day!

Spring

Can  I just say that I am thrilled Spring is here! It seemed to me that this winter was a long one. I was at the point that I was tired of it taking 45 minutes to get home in the morning when it is usually 20 minutes.  It was funny because the other day Ryder told me " mom, it sure is nice weather to go on a walk" Yep, that is my boy.
We have had so much going on lately that I woke up today thinking it was Monday. Rick woke me up at 5:00 this morning asking if I was still here and telling me I was going to be late to the gym. We then realized it was Sunday. :)  It has been such a fun start to Spring. Easter was good and Ryder of course loved it. I have always loved Easter since I was little. I love the Easter egg hunts & the fun Easter baskets. I love doing these traditions with Ryder that my parents once did with me. It was special this year because Ryder would tell Rick and I the true meaning of Easter.We have had a lot of family stay with us this past week. I treasure my relationships with my family and with Rick's family as well. We have so such fun with my nieces and nephews, whom I adore so much. We were driving home tonight from Ricks brothers house & I told Ryder that he is so blessed to have so many cousins that he adores.

My parents were in town this weekend and brought my little niece Danica.  I will admit I was sad when she left. I hope these kids--I mean all of them--know and always remember how much they are loved. Rick says a quote all the time and it is " No other success can compensate for failure in the home."  I think that is so important to remember to make sure your priority is your family.  We celebrated my dads birthday and as the grand kids helped him blow out the candles I had a passing thought, 'how blessed we are to have a family  through good or bad times and a home that is full of love and a family that has each other backs.' It is good to be part of a unit that is well loved.

I hope you all have a very Happy Spring!

February

I was looking forward to the February just for the simple fact that Valentines day is this month. I loved Valentines Day when I was a child. When I was in grade school the anticipation of getting the little valentines & the little heart candies was more than I could handle. I just loved making my Valentine cards. I think this is why I was so excited for Ryder this year. He was going to have his first Valentine School party. We picked out his Valentine cards and of course he had to get the Avenger ones. I had so much fun making out his cards with him. Well, he loved his party and all the cute Valentine cards he received. I am thrilled that he gets to experience all these fun little moments. I am also thankful that I have a valentine that I can share this special day with. I know I have said this many times but I am blessed to have Rick by my side on this fun journey.

I am glad or should I say ecstatic that February is about to come to an end. I think the snow is pretty & we need the moisture, etc., but I will be honest--I am tired of it. It has been a nightmare at times to get from the Point of the mountain to home. I am fine driving in it, I just go slow.  Other drivers make me nervous.  For some reason, I refuse to miss a day at the gym so I get up at 3:00am to beat the storm--2x last week. I am looking forward to Spring.  

February has been a good month I was able to go home to Idaho and spend some time with my sister and my life-long friend Nicole. I love going home to Idaho. 

I hope February has been as good for you as it has for me.