Mama & Bear

I was getting ready for church and Bear came downstairs all ready for church he then went back upstairs and came back down in a different outfit. I asked him why he changed he looked at me and smiled and said "Well, now we match!"

I about broke down in tears. This boy's heart is so dang pure! So naturally we had to take some pictures!

Oh Bear! You are so loved!!!

 

First Time to Church

 

It was the first time that we have gone to in person church since March. Daddy stayed home with the littles while I went with the bigs. For those keeping track... that's a long time! It was strange as the young men passed sacrament with rubber gloves, there was no singing and the congregation was spread out, but as I listened to the hymns I felt the spirit and I knew that were were there for a reason. I felt so much peace and love from our Heavenly Father. Don't get me wrong, when we do home church right, it is amazing, but there is something special about gathering.

 

It was also SO NICE to dress up again. E requested that we match and I will NEVER turn down an opportunity to match with my girl. I have missed my dresses and heels! It was a wonderful Sabbath. 

Duke's Birthday

 Duke's birthday was on Sunday so we celebrated in bits and pieces. Birthday Eve last night being 6!

We got him Burger King for his birthday lunch on Saturday. He was pretty excited!

E made Duke all of the Octonauts out of Perlor Beads. It was a labor of love and Duke really liked them!

Birthday treat was unicorn ice cream and rainbow sour belts. Happy Birthday sweet Bear! You are so loved!

TFSC - Week 8 - Build It Week

 

 This week we had a lot on the go getting ready for Grammy and Pa to come and for E's Baptism, so summer camp was a bit sporadic. 

 

We started out with Papa coming to help saw things. Two kids and a power saw had me nervous. Turns out they were terrified of the saw. So Papa and I did all the cutting and it was hilarious.

 

Papa is a very particular person, he likes things done right and I don't blame him but this was a bird house for the kids and I was past the point of being exact. Man, we were a gong show haha.

Another day the kids sanded.

Pa arrived and he helped us drill and assemble.

 

The kids were all about drilling. That was fun!

All assembled! Now we need to paint and hang them! Hopefully we have some birds next year! Thanks for helping Pa! We love you!

fun at the River

Once we officially canceled our Tobler Family Reunion to Kentucky I was so sad. I was really hoping that the world would have figured out how to cope with the virus a bit better by now, but alas, it is not that way. I couldn't let our Tye Dye shirts go to waste and I knew Redd would out grow his quickly, so we headed down to the river to explore and to snap some fun pictures. 

Everyone was having a great time until we spotted a snake in the water and E about died. Crying wailing acting as if she had already been bitten. She would look at the water let alone touch it. 

So Sprout grabbed my hand and off we went adventuring E crying that we were going to get bitten the entire way. Spoiler alert, we were FINE! 

Roo loved the water!

We took of his soggy diaper and I couldn't stop giggling over his little wedgie. I love those rolls so much!

It was a fun day out exploring with my people. Note to self, never ever ever ever point out a snake in the water.

Mother's Day

  

Once upon a time I was in a grocery store. I had E, Duke and Sprout with me. I was also pregnant with Redd. We were standing in the check out line when a woman looked at me and said "Haven't you had enough. Do you know how hard we have worked so that you don't have to do this? How can you waist your life like this?"

I looked at her shocked. I didn't quite know what to say. I responded with a "Yeah, they keep me on my toes." She proceeded ask me if I worked and to say other things to me which I don't quite remember but it essentially summed up to be I had betrayed my sex by being a stay at home Mom.

I have thought about that woman a lot and while it may surprise you, I look back on that conversation and smile. Little did she know that THIS is the life I prayed for. Ever since I was little ALL I have wanted to do was be a mother. 

I know that this role is not for everyone and that is okay. But for me, there was never any other goal I wanted to achieve more. Never have I ever been so loved, needed or stretched. 

I love the sticky hands, the dance parties and the snuggles. I love my chats with E, playing battles with Duke, shooting hoops with Sprout and showering Redd with kisses. 

I love the crafts, the knock-knock jokes, silly conversations and the messes. Not every moment is glamorous or happy. The hours are long and some days I end up crying in the shower but this is everything to me.

This tiny humans are my whole world. They are the reason I get up every morning (most days before I'm ready) and they bring such JOY into my life. 

 I am so grateful that I get to spend all day every day with them and that they call me Mama. 

My Mother's Day was perfect. All I wanted was to get some pictures with the kids and that is what we did. We set up the tripod and Jakob clicked the button and we ended up with some pretty cute shots!

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and loving on my babes. Jakob made some dinner and I felt so loved.

 E colored me a picture and she worked really hard on it. It was beautiful!

We took a selfie with our matching glasses. I just love this girl. It was a beautiful day. Happy mother's day to you and yours. I am so thankful for the women who helped and continue to support me.

Masks

I feel like my kids get each get 15% of me per day. This leave 20% for meals, 10% for laundry, and 10% for cleaning up the crazy. Obviously some days one child or another requires more than their allotted share and the big kids get pushed to the back burner because they are amazing. I felt like they needed some special one on time and gosh darn it, it was so worth it!

I love Duke's red/ blue and gold colors and the Chiefs logo on the front. He did a great job. 

E was so unique and I loved her use of color and texture. She did a great job!

I had way more fun with this project than I should have. I'm not going to lie I kind of love this!

We had such a great time together.

Duke's ROAR Award

It was Duke's turn for his ROAR award way to go BEAR!!!!!!

So dang proud of this rock star boy! His teachers say that he is a hard worker and listens so well. He was so dang happy as he walked up there. 

Look at that smile! 

As tradition, Duke got to pick a treat for after and he chose happy meals from McDonalds. The weather was perfect so we had a picnic. You are so loved my boy.