Letter to San Antonio #5

Hey Love,

I miss you kissing my face. Wanna come home and kiss my face? Fine. Just stay in San Antonio for another 3 weeks or so. Just know I'm here waiting.

Love,

Your impatient wife.

PS. I have no idea if I spelled impatient right, but the spell check didn't come on so it must be right.

PPS. The picture is of my crazy pregnant butt... Not great, just focus on kissing me ok.

PPPS. I love and miss you.

Kael's First Day of Kindergarten and Letter#4

 Our school theme for the year.

The boy wants to be like his Heaton Uncles... :)

 Just love this cute boy! I cut his hair last night and he said he wanted it super short like Dad's, so that is what we did. He looks pretty handsome if you ask his Mama. 

 These 4 are all in the same kindergarten class. 

Left to right. Lexi, Kael, Amelia, and Guli.

 He likes to take care of the girls and hold their hands.

 Kael with his teacher Mrs. Kinneberg. She is shorter than me and I'm barely 5'2... I guess that makes it easier to get eye level with kindergarteners. She is seriously the cutest lady and Kael already loves her.

 The kindergarten only playground he will play in rain, snow, or shine.

 Kael at his table.

We took a quick zoo trip after school to celebrate a fun first day. All 3 kids loved the carousel. 

Dear Derek,

What a fun first day. We were all so excited today. Kael took a 2 hour nap today. He totally crashed from all the excitement. Still keeping busy. I got my visiting teaching finished today. It was a really good lesson and I'm excited. We talked about missionary work and welfare/service. I feel so blessed when I am able to help others. I think if I keep this attitude while you are gone that will help me get through this. 

I think of you all the time. I love the pictures you sent and I loved seeing you on the computer today. The kids love seeing you on the computer even more. They ask to talk to Dad on the computer still. 

I think Elara is getting a small cold. She had boogers everywhere today. Ew... Hopefully it is nothing though. Time will tell. 

Keeping it short tonight. Just know that I love and miss you. It was hard not having you here today on this big day. But, we can do hard things. I know there will be many big days that you can't come to and that you are sacrificing for us. So, thank you for your sacrifice for our family. We love you. We miss you.

Yours Forever,

Sharice

Letter to San Antonio #3

Hi Love,

Not gonna lie, last night was rough. Kids had a hard night. Kael and Eden both ended up sleeping on our bedroom floor. It was nice to be able to sleep in a little today. The kids did good this morning. Then, they had a play date at 10 am which was nice because it let me get stuff done. It has been so busy. I need busy or I think I'd be super sad. It was amazing being able to skype you with the kids finally! I mean, Kael has been asking to talk to you on the computer for like 2 weeks now, so it sure made him happy.

Can you believe Kael starts kindergarten tomorrow!?! Less than 12 hours away. I'm set and I think he is set. It should be good! I'm going to take some pictures tomorrow morning, and I will post them tomorrow night. I'm so excited for our family school theme this year! I'm really excited for this tradition! I feel like our education for our kids is so important and what better way to stress that than with scripture and religion.

Be filled with JOY!
Romans 15:13
Now the God of hope fill you with all JOY and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

I feel like this will be so great for Kael and Eden and even us this school year. How important is it to be joyful?! I talked to Kael and Eden at dinner about this. Yes, at Wendy's. It was so perfect because we were by ourselves and they were so excited to be there. I asked them what joy meant and they didn't know so I explained it to them. We talked about being happy and making other people happy. And how important it will be to have joy while at school. They seemed to pick it up and I think it is simple and good.

Eden's joy school is coming along great. We met here and all the school stuff is turning out so cute. I know she is going to learn a lot this year and she will have great friends to do it with. We are so blessed. I know I say this a lot, but I know it.

I can't tell you how hard it is not knowing what program we are suppose to do for residency. I am glad you are able to be in San Antonio at least to get more information. This has been on my mind so much. I am praying for guidance for us because the future is so unknown and only Heavenly Father can truly know what is best for us. It makes me miss you every time I think about this. Every time I weigh what I think I can handle in the future and what would be best for our family. It is hard. I want to make the best choice for our children. For us.

I miss you. A lot. I have stayed up so late just because it is so lonely in bed without you being my heat rock. I finally found my bean bag that I heat up so at least I have something right?! :)

I wish you to hurry home, but at the same time I'm going to enjoy each day still. We got this.

I love you!

Love,
The girl who can't stop thinking about you

Letter to San Antonio #2

Dear Love,

I had a crazy busy day today.So much to do in so little time. I LOVE being busy while you are gone. As much as I am constantly thinking about you, it helps to keep missing you from the forefront of my mind. It's always there though.

Today, we were up at 6:30ish. Kael and Eden both came into bed with me last night. Then, I went to feed Elara and when I came back in there was not a spot for me on our queen size bed anywhere. I about freaked out. It was hard enough sleeping without you, but it just got to be too much and I was tired, so I shipped the kids back to their beds. Eden did fine, but Kael wigged out completely and told me he was going to call Dad and tell him that I made him sleep in his bed... Go ahead buddy, go ahead...

Then, While feeding Elara at 6:30ish Eden comes in to the bedroom wanting me to turn on her show and NOT Kael and demanded I come instantly. When I said I will come after I'm done feeding Elara she threw herself on the floor and had a kicking and screaming fit. It was awesome. Needless to say we all sat down and had a talk after everyone calmed down. The day went much better after that. I got a lot of projects done for Eden's joy school. Then, around 11 I got a call saying Kael's glasses were in, so we finished getting dressed (I know it was 11 by then), and headed to pick up the glasses. He was so calm and cool and just loved it. Kael is really growing up before our eyes. We then headed to get those blasted parking stickers taken care of finally! We got back and the kids ate lunch and then took naps. I forgot to mention the tea party the kids had while I worked on projects. The mess it made, but it made them sooo happy! Even Elara was snatching up things!

I got my visiting teaching done for one sister during nap time, talked to my Mom on the phone, and started cleaning up the morning mess. After naps it was more cleaning, some outside time and then back inside to finish dishes before I left for Kael's back to school night. By 5:15 the babysitter was here and I loaded up the car pool and off we went. It was fun being with other parents. I'm just so excited and nervous for Kael. Only 1 more day and our little boy is off to real school. We got back around 6:30 after learning about buses, homework, star of the week, snacks, discipline and all things school related!

Dinner was brought over by Ashlie Brewer. So sweet! She made chicken noodle soup with those Dream Field pasta noodles. Fresh carrots, celery and yummy chicken! I don't remember the last time I had homemade noodle soup. It was awesome. Kael ate about 3 whole bowls full. Eden was a stinker and insisted on a corn dog. Elara ate off the floor... Somehow she is still finding your diet coke cans in the recycle bin... I think it's time to take that out again. I found a can somewhere in a weird spot and she somehow found it. After dinner we bathed the kids and got them laying down all the while trying to get my busy bag stuff done. I've got a ways to go with it, but I'm enjoying making it!

So, here I am writing to you. I found the coolest idea today. I've found that several people start each school year off with a family theme. I really am loving this idea! You find a topic in the scriptures and then have your family work on this theme throughout the school year and each new school year you pick a new theme. Some people kick it off with a family dinner night the night before school starts. I'm going to start searching the scriptures for a theme for our family tomorrow morning. Then, I'm going to make a fun dinner for the kids and talk about it for a mini family home evening. I think this should be great! I wish I would have remembered to talk to you about this on the phone, but it will wait I guess. I'm so excited for the adventures our family will have and that we are having. We have a great life together you and I! I miss you. I think of you all the time. Know that I love you even with super busy days.

I love you,
Sharice

Kael T-ball Game (July)

Kael is a super athlete! He could hit the ball the farthest and throw the ball the farthest on his team. He quickly picked up how to play and did really well. We still have a lot of work on catching the ball though. He had so much fun and I had so much fun watching him! I have learned being a Mom on the side lines is SO MUCH FUN! I can't wait to be "that Mom"! :)

Eden's Dance Recital

She did amazing. I was so impressed with how hard she focused and stayed with her dance teacher. She really really loved the applause. She would grin from ear to ear after everyone clapped. So proud of my little dancer. I am really looking forward to many more years of dance and all things girly!

Kael has glasses

Rocking the side view.

I decided it was time to take Kael to get a real eye check. The last time I went to get contacts before I had Elara they told me they love to see kids at around 12 months for their first visit. I personally think that's a little crazy. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for healthy eye care, but if there isn't something wrong then I feel when they start school it is an ok time to get checked out. Maybe I'm crazy though. 

At Kael's 4 year old check up they told me his left eye was not as good as his right eye. I just blew it off thinking well it was shapes and they are hard to see even with perfect vision. With kindergarten coming up and the insurance pays for one visit a year I figured why not. I needed to pick up some contacts anyway. Well, about 1 minute into the exam I noticed something was up. Kael did pretty good with his right eye. Then, they covered it up and did his left and I could see the letters getting bigger. Kael did great though. He held still, and did exactly what he was told. The optometrist did a full exam and everything!

It turns out Kael has about 20/40 vision in both eyes, which isn't horrible, and not quite bad enough to justify glasses, but then the optometrist said that he has astigmatism in his left eye. Oops. I guess a year ago when they said his left eye was worse it was the real deal. So, he got to pick out glasses that day. If the kid is lucky he won't have to wear the glasses after a couple years. Wearing the glasses should help strengthen his left eye and help it focus to help with the astigmatism while he is growing. I hope I understood everything correctly and I hope I shared it right. If not, just know Kael has glasses and I will faithfully get his eyes checked every year from now on. And Eden and Kael will be getting check ups in May before we move even though Eden will only be 4. Lesson learned.

The main point though. He looks so stinkin cute! A little goofy, but that totally fits his personality. He wore them all day today and didn't mess with them at all. I was shocked! They must fit pretty good and they must help him to see. I guess time will tell.

Love my little four eyes!

Daddy, Daughter Date

All dressed up for her date with her Daddy! Don't mind the ginormous bruise on her forehead from running into the car door as I was opening it. My bad Eden... My bad...

Eden was so excited to go on her special date with her Daddy. She got all dressed up and got her hair curled and everything. Dad took her to McDonalds at City Creek. She got to play on the dinosaurs and then go shopping with Dad! They went to the Disneystore and Eden was in heaven. Dad's wallet, not so much. She knew all the princesses and pointed them out to Derek and loved every second. He let her pick out one thing and she got some lip gloss. She carries it with her everywhere and LOVES to make her lips look pretty. She loves putting on make up and doing her nails, so this was just the thing for this girl. She really loved her date with Dad and can't wait to go on the next one. Dad sure knows how to make his kiddos feel special, and those kids are something special!

Daddy, Son Outing

Derek had a little bit of time off after he took step 2 and before he started his Anesthesiology rotation, so he decided in between getting his application ready and all the other school stuff he had to do he would make a date with each Kael and Eden and have their own special Dad time. 

Derek took Kael first. The boys went to Red Robin and Kael got a free meal for his birthday. He loved ordering all by himself. He wanted a pizza and a root beer. The waitress was impressed with him being able to order all by himself. Then, they got to go to a nickelcade and play tons of games! Kael had a blast and we are looking forward to more of these special times with each kid. We are definitely going to stick with this and have lots of one on one time with each kid.

Elara at 11 months

Dear Elara,

It must be hard to be the 3rd child. I don't update about you as much as I did with the other kids. I feel like time is slipping through my fingers as you grow. I feel so sleep deprived I'm not going to remember these special moments with you, but I want you to know that each day with you is so special! I won't ever forget how sweet you are, or your beautiful smile. You make our family so much better. You are standing all the time and walk along any furniture you can. If there isn't something to hold on to though you prefer to sit back down on your cute little bum and then crawl wherever you want. You have mastered crawling and made it an art! It is so fun seeing you go wherever you want. You get into EVERYTHING. I knew this day was coming, but it always is a shock when it happens. You get into every trash can in the house and dump everything you can out. Old food, papers, you name it, it is dumped. Your favorite thing to dig for in the trash cans are Dad's old diet coke cans. You try to drink the dregs. You will take any soda can, but your favorite are the diet cokes weirdly enough. You seek those out specifically. You finally got into the toilet water and even have played in Eden's old pee in her tiny potty. Needless to say it's time to get rid of that thing!

You totally made me feel special about 2 weeks ago when you finally started saying Mama. Dad heard it first and I of course wouldn't believe it until I heard it myself. You weren't feeling great if I remember and I was in the bathroom and you crawled to me saying it. It totally made the last 11 months worth how hard they have been kid! Ok ok each month was worth it, but man it melts your mama's heart to hear you say you need me! Your reflux is finally doing so much better! We doubled your medicine and it seems to have done the trick for now. You still have a bad day here and there, but nothing like before. You seem like a different child at night time now. You still get up at least once, usually twice for Mom to feed you. And you still get these weird bubbles around 10 sometimes, but really you aren't screaming in pain anymore! I have felt so helpless when you would cry and cry in pain and I had nothing I could do to make it better. I was so tired and so sad for you. Now that you sleep better you are even better in the day. When you were really in pain and not sleeping well you were still pleasant during the day, but it seems like you are happier now. You explore everything.

You take 2 naps a day. Sometimes only one like today... I have a feeling you will be like Eden and will give up naps earlier. I blame myself for not giving you a better schedule. Elara, you are a sweet sweet girl. Kael loves taking care of you. Eden loves playing dolls with her sister. Dad is smitten by you. You have us all wrapped around your fingers!

You say Dada, Mama, and Baba for baby.

You love to drink out of your straw sippy cup, and eat anything in front of you. You now have 7 teeth that show. More are coming I'm sure. I love you so much sweet baby girl! You are such a joy and we love having you brighten each and every day by being in our family!

Love you always and forever,
Mom

Kael is 5

Dear Kael,

Seriously kid, you are the coolest 5 year old I know. You have waited a long time to turn 5. Ever since Eden's birthday all we have heard was how your birthday is next. The count down was on! You were so excited to pick out a birthday cake, get presents, and have fun with your family and friends. You wanted everyone to celebrate with you. For your special day we blew up balloons and had streamers and party hats. We went to Seven Peaks and went swimming and Dad took you and Eden on water slides for the first time. It was the best morning. I love these moments where we all get to be together just us and have so much fun! We got McDonalds for lunch and we all came home and took naps. Grammy came over and spoiled you rotten with presents. Then we went outside and had lots of friends come out to help you celebrate with a pinata that you helped me make and the robot cake you requested. We also had popsicles. I think Elara liked those the best. We played outside then came in and watched Sleeping Beauty. We like that one because the Prince had to slay a dragon and you my friend are a Prince and a mighty warrior who can slay any dragon!

I'm still in shock that you really are 5! You tell everyone. It's quite funny. You are absolutely ready for kindergarten. You are excited to ride the bus and be a big kid. You love everyone Kael. Really you do. Just today we made some cookies. We went outside to play and you were riding bikes with your friend Holly. She had to go inside and you came running up to me, "Mom, mom! I want to share my cookies with Holly! I need to go grab a cookie for her." So, you did. You ran in the house, grabbed cookies and ran to Holly's house to give them to her. You are such a great friend. There are so many examples just like this. Don't lose this trait bud! You are a rockstar friend! It goes a long way to be nice to people and I'm glad this comes easily to you. I think your favorite person is Carlee Griffiths. She is in the primary and is the resident assistant for our court. She tells me all the time how sweet you are. You are a friend to everyone, adults included bud!

What a good example you are.

Some fun things about what you can do now that you are 5!
You can count to 100.
You know your ABC's and the sounds the letters make.
You know your shapes and colors.
We are working on tieing shoes, but Mom has been a slacker on this.
You love getting dressed by yourself. (Side story... I told you the other day if you were feeling good I'd take you to school in the morning. You had testing for kindergarten, and I didn't explain that. Well, at 6:45 am in the morning you came into my room and announced, "Mom, I am ready for school!" You had your clothes on, shoes, and even your new backpack!) You seriously are so excited for school and I love this!
You know your phone number and address.
You know how to end a sentence and about the title on a book.
You know several sight words like, the, a, are, look, book, dog, cat, car, an, am, ect.
You can read several short sentences. Here is a goat. The goat is here.
It is so cool.
You love to dance and sing. You love playing angry birds star wars!
You watched all 6 Star Wars movies with Dad and loved it!
You loved playing baseball this summer.
You love bugs and insects.
You love all animals. You love your lizard Igor.
You really love to ride your red bike. You love riding scooters!
You are a great help for me. You are always watching out for your sisters and running around doing things for me. You don't realize it now, but you really are such a good helper and take such good care of your Mom. You throw away Elara's diapers for me and put your dishes in the sink, you pick up your toys and help Eden pick up her toys. You help with so much and I am so grateful for you! You are my favorite little buddy and I love you so much! I'm so glad you are 5 and we are gonna enjoy each day you get to be 5!

I love you bud!

Love,
Mom

Letters to San Antonio #1 August 25, 2013 Sunday

Dear Derek,

I may not be a real writer, but I think it makes me feel a little closer to you to write you a letter when you are away like this for an extended time. I miss you already. You've been gone a grand total of 12 hours. I know. I'm pathetic.

Today was a good day despite you having to leave. The kids and I went to church. Not gonna lie. It was lonely without you. There is just something about having your best friend whisper inside jokes in your ear that makes church a little extra spiritual with those whisperings. Elara didn't nap for more than 40 minutes total today. The poor girl. She was a trooper. She fought the good fight. She actually didn't act terrible like I thought she would and she went to bed great. Actually all 3 kids went right to bed. I could have used a good fight getting them to bed just to keep my mind off things, but no, tonight they all decided to be tired and sleep.

You prayed that we'd be taken care of while you are gone. Guess what? We have been. We are so blessed. We have such wonderful friends and neighbors who are pooring their love already. Dinner is lined up tomorrow for us and also for Friday night. I have someone watching all 3 kids tomorrow night. I have a baby sitter for the girls for the first 3 mornings of Kael going to school so I can follow him just to give me a piece of mind. I have friends helping me with projects and countless offers to help watch the kids lined up whenever I need it. I feel so loved. So blessed. I haven't really cried in a while, but let me tell you with you leaving you know I shed a tear or two, OK a lot, but tonight I am crying so many tears of gratitude. I don't have to be here alone. I have lots and lots of help and you know what?! Tonight, I don't just think I can do this, tonight I know I can do this. These wonderful people are here for me and I'm grateful.

In other news, your baby, sweet, princess, angel girl is officially 11 months old, TODAY. I caught these beauties on camera the other day. Thought you might enjoy them.

Dad, I found your diet coke when Mom left the fridge door open... Guess what, I didn't grab a 7up, rootbeer, or anything else, I went straight for the diet coke. Dad, I am your daughter!

Oh no! Mom caught me! I hope she doesn't take it away!

Better try to drink it while I can.

Oh Dad, we woke up from our nap too early!

Dad, my tummy still hurts and I miss you.

The End.

We love and miss you. This month will be long, but good. We can do hard things. Till tomorrow my love in San Antonio!

Love Always,

Your wife