A quick Summary of Summer

Life has been crazy busy for me for the past 6 months and so I will try and update my blog little by little. This will be a quick summary of Summer 2019 and then off to bed as it is 11:11 pm and I work tomorrow evening. Since coming back from Disneyland in April, I have been working a lot - Mostly at Claresholm Mental health hospital but also at Rockyview. Working about full time for May and June (thank goodness Chris was done school the middle of April and was around to watch the kids). Then 17 shifts in July, 16 in August and 15 in September. Elva had her kindergarten graduation the end of June. The kids did a week of swimming lessons in July. Camellia and her kids joined us during that time for Mom's birthday and for swimming lessons. Caeleb and Elva are great swimmers and Mary is learning and Selman seems to like the water. I could not go swimming as much this summer due to work and also due to the fact that Selman will not just sleep in his car seat and sleep by the side of the pool while I take the others swimming (like last year). We love Champion pool though! We also were not able to get to Library club as much as last year due to my work but we went as often as wel could and the kids enjoyed it! I worked on my birthday but Chris and the kids drove me to work at 5:00 in the morning and then they went to kids day at the stampede grounds and picked me up after work for supper at the Chinook Mall food court and then I went clothes shopping with Selman while Chris took the kids to see Toy story 4. My friend Lindsey came for a visit the middle of July and then Eric and Rachel came for a few days the week before we went out to Victoria. We spent July 29th to August 6th in Victoria. We did not rush around doing things but we simply hung out with family, had some games nights and went to the beach a few times and it was wonderful!. Chris dropped me off in Calgary on the way back and I worked 3 days in a row at the Rockyview. I missed my family during that time but enjoyed some catch up time at the Gainor's house after work, working on renewing my CARNA licence for the year. Chicken killing day was on August 15th and the kids did great helping with that. about 44 chickens were done. The Nelsons came for that. We got a couple of camping days in the end of August. We were the only ones camping in the Champion campground the first night and then one other on the second night. We went swimming in the Champion pool on its last day August 28th and then the town had an activity including a pizza supper, big bumper balls (I tried it and it was so much fun) and a bouncy castle at the school on the 29th. School started on September 3 (Caeleb in grade 4 and Elva in grade 1 and Mary in Nana preschool) and Chris got a temporary teaching job at the Arrowood Hutterite Colony a few weeks into September. It is not his first choice of a teaching job but we feel sooo blessed that he has a job (takes a lot of stress off of me to provide) and he is doing a fantastic job! I love the Fall time and I am hoping work slows down a little more for me ( I would prefer 12 shifts a month) and that I can focus more on my role as a wife and mother at home. The work/home balance has been a struggle for me all throughout my married life but we are coping well. Life is good! I feel happy and content this evening. But, it is 11:45 pm now and a busy day tomorrow once again so I best be getting to bed. Goodnight.

Summer Swimming

We had our first family swimming day of the season. Last year we made the most out of our family pass to the Champion pool. We were there 3-4 days every week over the summer.

It is funny that a few years ago, we couldn't take Caeleb to a splash park, let alone a swimming pool, without causing him a panic attack. Our first attempt at enrolling him in swimming lessons when were were living in Calgary ended in failure, without his even getting wet. However, since we started doing lessons and family swims in Champion he has become quite comfortable in the water. Now he will jump off the diving board without any hesitation.

Elva and Mary both take straight to the water. Elva is eager to follow Caeleb's example, but still needs a little extra help. Mary loves to splash around the shallow end, doing her own thing.

For Selman, this is a new experience. Last year, he just watched from his chair on the side of the pool. This year he is in the pool with everyone else. While he was reluctant to get in the water at first, once he was in and free to splash how he wanted, it became clear that he liked it. More tears were made getting out than getting in.

We are looking forward to another summer filled with sunny-wet days.

Faith of a Father

This will be a very quick post but I just want to record here (so I remember) how much I love my Father and how much I admire his strong faith. Even though he has his physical struggles (he just broke his back a month ago) and mind struggles, his faith remains as strong as ever. Yesterday, someone in our family was really sick. Dad, being in a back brace and unable to stand for long, gave this person a blessing while they were both sitting. It was a short but powerful blessing. And I felt the spirit so strong. And the blessing helped. It really did. Dad has a close relationship with his Savior and Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for his example and I always want to remember and follow this example of having a simple yet powerful faith. Thank you Dad! I love you so much!

Disneyland!

We had the adventure of a lifetime a few weeks ago. Chris finished his last day of student teaching on Thursday April 19th. What a crazy 3 years it has been but we have done it! I have spent the last 3 years saving little by little for a graduation trip for our family to Disneyland. Caeleb and Elva have been asking to go pretty much since Chris and I went almost 5 years ago and so they got tickets for Christmas this last year. However, we told them we were going in August.

We went down to Camellia and Doug's house on Thursday Evening and we told the kids that we were going to visit the Nelsons. On Friday morning, we woke the kids up about 6:00 and they were able to check out their little Easter bags full of good road trip treats. Then the Watters and the Nelsons loaded up into 2 vehicles and off we went. We told the kids were going to visit some other cousins.

The 12 hours drive went pretty smoothly with kids switching vehicles back and forth and talking on the walky-talkies between vehicles. We arrived in Ogden at Aunt Marilyn's and Uncle Gord's house about 8:00 pm. It was so good to visit with them and with Heather and Brooklyn too. They both have such nice houses too and we were grateful for their hospitality. Saturday morning we woke up to a yummy breakfast prepared by Aunt Marilyn and then we went to Heather's house for a Easter Egg hunt. How fun! They really made the morning wonderful!

Then we went to Temple Square in SLC with Heather, Brooklyn and Aunt Marilyn and had a special time showing the kids the Temple, Christ statue, and Conference center. It was special to spend Easter Saturday at such a Holy place. We left SLC about 3:00 pm and headed to Las Vegas where we drove by the lights of the strip and arrived at our hotel about 10:00 pm. The next morning we went to a 0900 Sacrament meeting in Las Vegas and we had a picnic by the church and a fun little "reveal" as we told the kids that our next leg of the trip would be Disneyland! They were surprised and giddy with excitement.

Traffic was a bit crazy headed down to Anaheim from Las Vegas but we made it there around 5:00 in the afternoon. After settling into the hotel, we walked the 20 minutes to Downtown Disney and you can eat restaurant on the other side of Disneyland. We did a lot of walking during our 4 days at Disneyland. Both Camellia and I bought the same cheap purple stroller to hold their Porter and our Mary. I held Selman in a front baby backpack and we also had a hiking backpack that he and Evelyn took turns in and Camellia had a sling for Evelyn. The bigger kids did great with all the walking that we did but I did carry Elva at times when her feet got tired and I did put Caeleb on my shoulders for the California Adventure Water show one night.

Doug and Chris did an amazing job with the Disney App on their phones getting us plenty of fast passes so that we could go on as many rides as possible. We were at Disneyland at 07:45 on Monday morning and we started the day with Splash Mountain for the older kids and Winnie the Pooh for the younger kids. I think Splash mountain was a bit much for the older kids as they did not want to go on it again but Camellia and I had a blast and I made a point of going on it again on Thursday evening by myself. The we all went on the Haunted house ride and then Pirates of the Caribbean. Then the kids had a blast on Thunder Mountain railroad and we made our way over to Fantasyland and Space Mountain. We saw a parade that day and it was special as Cinderella saw that Elva was wearing a Cinderella dress/PJ and she blew a kiss to her and Elva's eyes just lite up. We went on most of the rides during our time in Disneyland and California adventure. Chris and I worked great together packing so much into our 2 days at Disneyland and 2 days at California adventure (Disney on day one, than California adventure, then California adventure and then Disney). And we only lost Mary once when she wandered off into a busy crowd. But don't worry, we found her a few minutes later as we had written our cell number on the kids' arms and we got a call from someone really quick. We saw the play Frozen which Mary loved. We went on the Cars ride several times. We saw the Color show at California Adventure. The last evening was magical as we watched Fantasmic at Disneyland and we saw the fireworks. And we ended the evening with Caeleb's favourite ride - Space Mountain.

We went for a Swim on Friday morning at the hotel and after leaving at 1100, we drove back to Utah and stayed at Chris' uncles house on Friday Evening (we got there at about 12:30 in the morning). We had a good visit with his cousins on Sunday morning and then we went to visit his Aunt Jan and then to Aunt Marilyn's house for pizza and a visit and bed. We got up about 6:00 Sunday morning and drove home. We were home about 9:00 in the evening.

I have been working almost ever since. Almost full time actually. 20 days in May. Maybe more in June. Most of those shifts were at Claresholm Mental Health and Addictions and a few at the Rockyview. I have been so blessed to be loving both places. Chris has been at home with the kids and trying to write his resume as well. He is being Mr. Mom while I head off most days to bring home the bacon. I am a traditional person and it isn't how I envisioned our life but I love my husband and I love my family and I will do what I can to provide for our family. And I really feel like we will grow stronger for every experience we have in our marriage if we let ourselves grown from them. Chris has supper on the table when I come home most evenings, he is up with the kids at night, he puts up with me when I have had a bad day or am overtired. He is such a great guy and I am blessed to have him in my life. I feel blessed for my family and that we live on the farm. I feel blessed to have a wonderful job to be able to provide for my family until Chris gets a teaching job. We went to his convocation last Tuesday and he looked so handsome in his cap and gown. I am so proud of him and all the hard work he has put into becoming a teacher. I know he will make an amazing teacher because he teaches me things everyday.

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Dear Chris

Dear Chris, I want to let you know how much I love you. I am grateful for all you do for our family. You are such a good Dad and take such good care of the kids! I think it is amazing that you did all that shopping on Wednesday with the 4 kids by yourself while I was at work. I could not have done that! I would have stopped half way. And you even took the time to stop by the Rockyview hospital to visit me at work. Thank you! I think it is amazing that you have graduated with 2 degrees while raising a family. I am not sure I could have done that. My heart was touched watching you help with the baby chicks the last few days. I know you are not so much an animal fan but I am grateful that you are becoming a farm boy in your own way. Thank you for making our Disney trip amazing! Thank you for forgiving me when I get upset. Right now, as you lay asleep in bed, I am feeling a little lost, confused and alone as I know that we are so different and that we are often on different pages (or maybe we are on the same page but completely interpret the page differently - who knows), but at least we are in this book of life together. Just want you to know that I love you. Love Katherine

Work Adventures

So, I am scheduled to go back to the Rockyview in March with an orientation day on the 20th and then stating on the 27th. I knew I would get anxious going back to work as I always do after Maternity leave and so I was proactive by going to the Doctors on January 8th (I did all the kids and my yearly physicals that day so it was a crazy appointment!) and I asked her for something that could help me with my anxiety as well as post partum depression. Yes, I believe I have it, and no, I don't think there is anything wrong by taking something for it. She started me on Zoloft and my goodness, I really believe it is working. I feel happier these days, and less anxious. I can feel more excitement about life instead of just going through the daily motions. Yeah for medical technology!

Anyways, although I am happier and much less anxious, I have been anticipating going back to work. It is an hour and a half drive from the farm to the Rockyview and I can not continue that forever. I was talking to a neighbor in February at Tuesday playgroup in Champion and she stated that another neighbor had just retired from being the director at the Claresholm Center for Mental Health and Addictions. I drove to his place and talked to him about the facility and he gave me a number to call to talk to the new director. I called him and went and got a tour of the facility the next week and then did a shadow day on February 14th to see how I might like working there. I have also been busy updating my resume and looking for jobs on line as well. Then on February 27th, I went for an interview and after doing a 5 or so page interview test, I got a casual position right then and there. What a blessing! I think I did good on my interview. I acted confident and knowledgeable. I had to do my CPR the next day at that same facility and this last week I have spent Monday to Friday (even after dealing with Caeleb and Selman throwing up all Thursday night) doing in class orientation with the Nurse Educator at the facility. It has been like Boom, Boom, Boom, one things after another and I am feeling a bit swamped by this nursing career change. I have never done Mental Health before but I am very interested in it and I feel like I have dealt a lot with Mental Health on acute medicine at the Rockyview. I am a little nervous with this learning curve (especially since learning more about Mental Health nursing these last 5 days) but I feel like Heavenly Father will help me as I try and provide for my family. Ideally, Chris will get a full time job as a teacher this Fall, but until then, we will focus on me working lots this summer while he watches the kids. Until then, I have to find someone to watch the kids while I do orientation and Chris does his student teaching. Camellia, Amy Flitton and Mom and Dad helped me this last week but it is still a daunting task trying to organize child care along with starting a new job. I can totally understand why a Mom's place is in the home to raise the kids while the Dad provides. It keeps life simple and balanced and a simple balanced life is key to feeling the spirit in the home. I have always believed that.     I pray it all works out. Sometimes, I lack faith and insight into what I should do. But I am trying my best to do what is right and I know the Lord will provide for our family. Now that I am working in Claresholm (and I love the 35 minute drive with no traffic by the way), I need to decide what I should do with Rockyview. I love my 0.42 FTE position there and I feel like we need the Dental benefits that come with it (Caeleb has some cavities that need some attention). But I don't want the commute. Maybe I will just hold onto it until the end of the Summer. It will be a busy Spring and Summer! We knew that there would be changes that needed to be made and challenges that needed to be addressed when moving to the farm but we moved with good intentions and I need to trust that as long as I do my part, the Lord will provide.

Well, I best be getting back to bed. It is 2:22 am now. It will be a low key Saturday, recovering from the stomach flu. I am feeling much better now and I hope no one else in the family gets it. I hope to get lots of Laundry done as well as clean the house for Sunday. Life really is good you know. We will figure this all out!

New House, Christmas 2018 and the Start of a New Year

Well, it is about time I update this blog. Life is so good! The first weekend in December we went down to Camellia and Dougs and went up to the mountains to get a tree. This is a tradition that I love and we have not done this since the first Christmas Chris and I were married so I was super excited to do this again. I hope to go at least every other year. We had a hot dog roast and rode the snowmobiles and I haven't had a thrill like that in a while.

We were into the brick house the beginning of second weekend in December. Chris and I started moving furniture in on the Friday and then I took a quick trip down to Cardston for our ward Temple day on Saturday. It was a scary drive as the roads were icy but I made it back in time for date night with Chris to the Brandly's for crazy rook. Out of the 30 people there I was the worst player but oh well, I have to be a good sport about it. Our neighbor Lilly watched the kids and Mom and Dad watched Selman.

We had our Smith family Christmas party the 3rd weekend in December, on Friday December 15th and the Champion ward Christmas party on December 16th and then a yummy Smith Turkey dinner at the brick house on the Sunday before Camellia and Doug and family went home. It was lovely spending time with family. I love my Smith family so much. And how wonderful to be able to live in Grandma Smith's house. Someone needs to love and take care of that place and we certainly do love this place.

Thursday December 20th was the kids last day of school before Christmas break. They had a Turkey dinner at the Champion Hall and then class party's so of course they wanted to go to school that day. We picked them up around 3:30 and headed to Calgary and then on through a blizzard at Banff and on to Golden where we stayed in a hotel that night. We got up in the morning, had breakfast, swam in the hotel pool and continued on to the Ferry's and then to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Victoria. I must say, our kids are very good travelers. But guess who was the best traveler this trip. Selman! And this was his first time. I think he only cried once and not for long! It helped to have a big stash of rice crackers to hand to him.

We had a great 2 weeks in Victoria. We had a yummy Turkey Christmas eve supper with the Watters family (except Kurt and Miranda - we missed them). It is so good to be around family! Christmas day was simple. The kids got a few gifts but we have been saving for Disneyland for the past few years and Santa got them Disney tickets which we plan to do to celebrate when Chris graduates. Caeleb got a Harry Potter Griffindor house and Harry Potter wand and the girls got a horse stable and some Spirit show horses to go in it. Grandma and Grandpa got the kids their traditional Christmas tree ornament made by Grandma and some clothes and treats. Nana and Papa got them skates. Chris gave me some puzzles and I gave him and his dad a Gift certificate to the keg to go out for a meal together. Elva ended up getting the flu this Christmas (like she did last Christmas) and woke up quite ill on boxing day so she stay home with Grandma instead of coming with us to Aunt Mary's house in Nanaimo for a visit. It is tradition to do this every boxing day in the Watters family. We took her to the doctors a couple of days after that and she got some antibiotics for an ear infection. Selman also got the flu this holiday and we spent several nights rocking him and trying to get him to settle.

We had a girls luncheon one day (missed Miranda for that one as well) and the boys were able to get out for supper one day. We had Kurt and Miranda come over on New Years eve and we played a game we got for Christmas called code names Disney version. We also watched the Emporers New Groove and Flight of the Navigator and Caeleb almost made it till midnight.

We were able to get to the beach a couple of times this trip and I sure love going to the beach with the kids. The smell and sound of the ocean is very therapeutic. We left on Thursday January 3rd and ended up staying at a hotel in Salmon Arm as the weather was not good and the highway was closed around Revelstoke and Chris and I both had the flu. So we had nice relaxing baths in the hotel room and we went for supper in the Restaurant there and we went to bed early. It was a nice little vacation even if we not feeling the greatest.

Chris went back to school Monday January 7th and was in Calgary for 6 weeks (came home for the weekends of course). It was a very busy and stressful time for him but he did well in his classes and even got a $1000 scholarship for doing well. We are grateful for the Wiggs for letting him stay there again even though he paid them $750 to do so. I think I did okay single Momming it for that time. I was able to stay on top of most things and I think I am getting better at not letting it show to the kids when I am stressed out. And I won't lie, it is stressful being a mom sometimes. Trying to get kids to do their chores, and get off to the bus on time and brush hair and clean up and not fight and go to bed. It is not easy but it is making me stronger! I can feel it.

I took the kids to Calgary on a Saturday the beginning of February to get the door fixed on the van and for the kids friend Sebastian's baptism. It was a special moment for his family. Elva was also able to meet up with an old friend from Copperfield school. Elva and Ellie played at Tommy K play for a while and it was so good to be able to reconnect with old friends that day!

Chris had February 18-22 off of school but he was busy writing lesson plans and going to teachers convention in Lethbridge on the Thursday and Friday of that week. We did go skating in Vulcan for family day on that Monday and Chris and I did get to go to the temple on the Thursday while Camellia watched the kids. While I was visiting Camellia, it was bitterly cold out, so we took the kids swimming in the inside pool in Waterton. It was lots of fun!

Oh, guess who finally started crawling. Thursday February 22 at the Nelson home was the day! Camellia saw him crawl first. We think he was trying to get to baby Evelyn so he could claw her face off. All it takes is something to motivate you right !! Selman really is the sweetest baby though. He hardly cries - everyone says he is so good. He loves to cuddle and be held. And since crawling, (and even before as he was doing the mystery turning baby moves to get places for the longest time) he is starting starting to get into cupboads and things. He is such a sweet little boy. He has an adorable smile!

So, for the Month of February Camellia and I did a Whole 30 food challenge where we did not eat grains, legumes, milk products or sugars and artificial sweeteners. We pretty much lived on almond and raisins, fruits, veggies and meat. We didn't even have sweets for Valentines day. I lost about 5 pounds (but have since probably gained it back) and I felt so good doing this so I think we will try again every year or more even.

It has been a Cold Winter! The longest stretch of extreme cold that we have seen in my life time I believe. In January, the main floor of the brick house was hard to heat and it would not get much past 14 degrees. But then we turned the boiler heat up and it hasn't been a problem since. Though we do need to save for new windows. As for water, it has fozen on us several times but as long as we leave a trickle of water on constantly, we have water. We are adjusting well to farm life.

Last Friday March 3rd, I took the kids (Well, Mary stayed with Nana and Papa) to Lethbridge to get their passports as we are preparing for a family vacation in April to celebrate Chris being done school. Stay tuned for more on that at a future time. I wanted to do something with the kids and took them to see Wreck in Ralf 2 at the movie mill. It was really cute. Then on Sunday March 3rd, after Stake Conference, Elva had her Kindergarten supper. Us moms worked hard that Saturday and Sunday pulling this off. Normally, I would not do this sort of thing on a Sunday but we need to support our private Kindergarten and I felt totally fine helping with it. It was $20 for supper and then there was an auction. The kids also sang a song about Dr. Suess and they did a really good job. They each said what they wanted to be when they grew up and Elva said "A Nurse like my Mom." Awwww. What a special little girl. There are 8 kids in the Champion kindergarten class and since it is privately funded, we have to have fund raisers and meetings every month or so to plan them. It is busy but we have a great Mom President of the Kindergarten association and other great Mom members. Between fundraising and some government funding, we only pay $200 a year per kid and that isn't bad.

Well, it is 1:43 in the morning. We have been sick with the stomach flu the last day (Caeleb, Selman and I so far) and so I had a nap today and feel awake right now. I will go to bed soon but will post this and then post a little about my new adventures in the life of being a working Mom.

Bedtime Battles

Here is a little snid bit of my life as a Mom. I am awake. It is 2:30 in the morning and I can't sleep. I was literally just kicked out of bed by 2 little feet. Mary has already fallen out of bed twice tonight and so I moved to the end of the bed with Selman and where little feet can kick me. Parenting is not for the faint of heart and being a single mom can be extra hard (Chris has 4 more weeks living in Calgary going to the the University of Calgary). I have not trained my kids to be the best of sleepers. Mom fail for me. Mary wakes up most nights crying for up to an hour (she has been doing that since she was 23 months old and I weaned her - she has some good weeks but bad weeks too when she wakes up most nights), Elva and Caeleb have bad dreams and wake up at times calling for me or joining me it bed or I join them, and I have not even tried to get Selman to sleep away from me (I am dreading going back to work and being away from Selman and all the kids for that matter - but we will survive). I was painting a dresser in the girls room today so I let them sleep with me tonight and Caeleb slept on the floor by my bed just because. The kids took forever to get to sleep. Just getting them to the bedroom took about 45 minutes.  Caeleb and Elva (mostly Elva) were talking, Mary climbing all over me, Selman fussing. I often have Mary sleep on one arm and Selman on the other and then I look up to the ceiling and can't move. I sing songs and say "Shhhh!"over and over. (Pause in story as I hear a crying Selman..............he is now in my arms as I type). We put Disney piano music on every night for the kids to go to sleep with. It has become routine and I remember when we first moved into Middleton's house next door and did not have the internet, I had to call Chris and have him play the music through the phone from our Copperfield house. Oh, what we do for our kids. But as the country music says "Let them be little, because they're only that way for a while, let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle, let them be little" (I love that song), as well as the song "Your gonna miss this." And I am sure I will miss this stage someday. Don't get me wrong, I do love being a Mom! And I do chuckle at all these little experiences I have had. So for now, I will cuddle my baby Selman and let him drink, and I will soon crawl back into the foot of the bed with 3 little ones surrounding me and 1 on the floor beside me. And I will try to stay away from the wet spot on the bed from a leaky Mary diaper. I don't want to wake her up to change her and the bed sheets and I don't have the energy for that right now anyways. I am pretty good at sleeping on a little sliver of bed. Oh, change of topic before I go. Camellia put highlights in my hair today. Mom said I was getting some grays and she suggested I do that. Chris has a lot of grays and I don't see the shame in getting gray hair but whatever. Camellia says the highlights look good. And it is so good to have her and her kids come and visit for a few days. We have a blast talking! Thanks for being such a wonderful sister Camellia. Until later then.