Two Beares and their Cubs: July 2012

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Currently...

picked up this idea from my friend's blog which is so cute...check her out!

loving: These three little munchkins right here! They keep my BUSY, on my toes, and smiling! From the time we wake up until they all go to bed, we don't stop. Maecie is currently a busybody and has had baths after covering herself in Nutella, diaper cream, and lotion. But I laugh because who doesn't really want to cover themselves in Nutella?? And Clayton's stories are hilarious! And who could not smile at Miss Lucie?

reading: The Book of Mormon ... our Relief Society (women's church organization) challenged us to read the Book of Mormon in 90 days. So keeping up the pace with 3 kids, in the summer has been difficult, but the blessings coming from this challenge are innumerable! I'm 85% through. Exciting and saddening at the same time. So many awesome things have occurred during this challenge. And I know that there are so many things I would not have handled as well had I not been so in tune to the Lord's words.

watching: my favorite summer shows ... "The Closer", "Rizzoli and Isles", "So You Think You Can Dance", "Covert Affairs", all DVR'd because there is not guarantee when all the kids will be in bed and the dishes done and I can actually stay awake to watch them!

thinking about: Clayton going to school for the first time! He starts kindergarten this year. I have to take him to the doctor's, dentist's (not a good outcome! A mom and dad with bad teeth = a kid with really bad teeth!), register him, get school supplies, etc. And then I think about how by the time I take him to school, take Maecie to preschool, pick Maecie up, have lunch and nap time, and pick Clayton up, the day is over! I have to make dinner and do homework (luckily it's simple in kindergarten) and bed! Time is going to fly by even faster!!

working on: Super Saturday! It's a day of crafting and gift making for the ladies at church. I head the committee in charge of the activities we choose for the day. It's so much fun and such a great jump start to the holidays. And even though it's not until October, it's going to be here before I know it!

wishing: my babies would stop growing! Clayton starting school, Maecie potty training, and Lucie starting to roll over ... I just want to freeze time and enjoy it while they are so cute and still love their mom!

Thursday, July 26, 2012

The Greatest Man I Ever Knew

After going to school, having a career, starting a family, and creeping towards a new decade, I think I can safely say, in retrospect, there have been many turning points in my life. And by turning points, I mean little events that occurred that might not have seemed life changing at the time, but they really were. One of mine came at the age of 15ish.

It was Christmas and my large extended family was together. Often a round of karyoke or a request to "share talents" occurred before presents were opened. After one such event, my grandfather approached me concerning my love of music. He offered to pay for voice lessons, if I wanted. I have loved to sing since I was a little girl - singing in choirs and at church. When my grandparents moved to Atlanta, they gave us their piano so I could learn to play the piano. Now he was encouraging my love for music and offering voice lessons.

Looking back, this was a turning point in my life. I began taking voice lessons, continued to practice my music and continued on to study music in college. It was this encouragement that led me to decide I wanted to teach music to others. I wanted to foster their love of music and give students the same encouragement my grandfather gave me.

Thinking back even further, my grandfather, that we call Papa Ed, would sing with us when we were little. He taught me a song with a funny story attached called "Show me the way to go home." In the song, a guy sings his song, goes into a bar, and a few drinks later, comes out singing it backwards. I remember trying over and over again to sing it backwards. I can still do it to this day!

As kids, my sister, Logan, and I would stay a week with Papa and Da (my grandmother) in the summer. We would spend the days jumping on the trampoline, playing dress up, going for walks, and eating the yummy food Da would make! Papa would also let me help tend to the garden. He had cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers of all kinds. Growing things now gives me a sense of accomplishment. I think he helped to foster that.

My Papa was more than just an encouragement to my singing. He was an encouragement to live my life the way Heavenly Father planned. He was a great man to look up to and continually showed examples of service...not only to God but to everyone he met. Any time you saw him, he had some words of wisdom to share with you.

When Patrick and I were married, he was the one to perform our temple marriage ceremony. Without meaning to, he kept me from being too nervous. For one, because it was my Papa and he was talking to us like he would any other day. He expressed how proud he was of us and gave us advice on how to keep our lives centered on Christ. And two, because he had a hard time pronouncing Patrick's last name, Beare. It's pronounced just like the animal, but the 'e' often throws people off. Papa kept saying "beer"! It was such a memorable and important day, and in his own way, he was able to make it even more memorable for us!

I come from a large family. Not only is my immediate family slightly larger than the norm, but my extended family is HUGE! What started with my grandparents, came 4 children, 17 grandchildren (and now almost all with spouses) and 39 and a half great-grandchildren! The larger we grow, the harder it is for us to all meet together. So my grandmother had us begin writing "memories" for Christmas. Every year we submit a memory that can have happened at any time in our lives. And we each get a copy of the one another's memories. It is the best way to share moments with one another and to feel a little closer, even when the miles are many!

At the beginning of July, Papa passed away. He suffered from dementia and you could notice a small decline over the last few years. I loved how he always knew that I belonged to him, he just might not be able to remember my name. He became ill and his body could not keep fighting. But he was at peace and "ready to meet Jesus".

As the whole family got together to celebrate Papa's life, the grandchildren were asked to sing at his funeral. It was difficult, but we made it through two beautiful hymns. As I've previously mentioned, music has always been special to me. But since that day, every song I sing in church has a way of speaking to my heart just a little stronger. I think it's my Papa holding me a little closer to let me know that he is watching and that the choices I am making are the right ones. He was truly, the greatest man I have ever known!

My grandmother with almost all of her 39 great grands!

The Latest and Greatest

The latest breaking news in our house is ..... (drumroll) ...... Clayton is 5 years old!!!

Now for some, that might not mean much. But to Clayton, his whole life has changed. Did you know that 5 year olds can run super fast? He has been showing me almost daily!

Did you know that 5 year olds can eat more, faster? Tonight, he ate his french fries two at a time!

Did you know that 5 year olds can stay home by themselves? I don't think so either. But he sure does have a fun time trying to convince me that he can!

This is Clayton posing as a 5-year-old!

We scaled things back a bit since Clayton's last birthday. I think that 60 people for a waterslide birthday party for a 4 year old was a little much. So we said that he could have just a few friends over and we had a pirate party. And my sweet friend took pictures for me during the party so I could be a good host mom. However, my phone (the best camera I have ever had!!) decided to break the next day and I've lost my pics. Luckily, I posted one to my instagram (LOVE that thing!) and was able to email it to myself so I at least have one picture of that day!

There were foam swords, eye patches, pirate talk, cupcakes, a treasure hunt, and more food!!

I think they all had fun!

As a 5 year old, Clayton:

*Likes to ride his bicycle (still on training wheels, but man, can that bike go!)

*Like to ~~annoy~~ play with his sisters.

*Enjoys doing super cool tricks (like jumping from the couch to the cuddle bag. One day it's going to be disastrous, but he doesn't believe me!)

*LOVES to "artist" ... make crafty projects like webs and basically gluing and taping and coloring whatever he can. (his dad even bought him 3 different kinds of tape for his birthday!)

*Like to watch movies/cartoons - his faves are "Mike the Knight", "Incredibles", "Doc McStuffins", and "Phineus and Ferb"

*Always wants to work with his dad

*Still likes to cook/bake with mom

*Has a very creative imagination ... one day told me about going to the bank and getting invisible money so he could go to the store to buy and invisible phone. So now he is able to call his friends to come play whenever he wants to.

*Is extremely verbal ... his vocabulary trips me out sometimes!

*is VERY excited to start kindergarten, but knows that "they don't want me until August"! (me trying to explain to him that school doesn't start until August, even though he went for an orientation)

*Can make us all laugh

Love that boy and can't imagine my life without him! Happy Birthday, Bubba!!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

And the Award Goes To....

My family was all together this past weekend. The greatest man I know, my grandfather, better known as Papa, has passed away. There will be a whole post just on him to come. However, it brought my whole extended family together. We were missing a couple of the great-grandchildren, and one grandchild, but everyone else was there. So where do you go with 17 grandchildren (plus spouses) and 39 great-grandchildren? The only place to hold us all was the church in Florence. So that's where we assembled for our after-funeral meal. (Thanks to those who cooked...it was delish!!)

For those who know Clayton, he is quite the imaginative little guy. After eating dinner, Clayton decided to take a tour of the building. During his tour, he found the children's primary room. He then wanted to take other's on a tour as well. He was able to convince his Grammie, cousin Erin, and Dad to "take a walk".

Once they arrived to the primary room, he would stand in front of the podium and "welcome all those in attendance". And since he only took one at a time, it was usually just one person he was welcoming. Then he would give an award to the attendee. Grammie got the award for highest jumper. Cousin Erin got the shake shake award. Daddy received the award for highest jumper in the wilderness. They even received a sticker!

An "I am a Child of God" sticker!

So proud of our awardees! And love that Clayton!!

Happy 4th!

So my computer was attacked by a killer virus ... but my handsome hubby says he can fix it. Except it's been the hottest summer ever and he is an AC guy and therefore has been quite busy. It's making my computer not top priority. So I take his when I can and thus have not blogged nearly as much as I would like. But I digress ... and here is our 4th of July celebration blog!

For us, July 4th means water and hot dogs and fireworks to celebrate our freedoms. And what is more American than a homemade water slide?

Patrick sliding down...

Clayton doing twists and turns....

And landing in the big pool!

Maecie got a little intimidated by the slide and spent most of the day chilling on the couch..

Mom and Lucie hanging out next to the slide, cheering on the crazies!

And of course, this just made Patrick even more excited to have the water slide at our house again. So the count down is on! We have so much to do before we are ready, but it's coming!