An OUT OF THIS WORLD party...

I may as well own up to the fact that I don't do Birthday Parties. Bella has had one in her life and this year Harry had his first. I just really felt like he needed a celebration of him as a person, someone entirely unto himself not just his sisters shadow. I may be overthinking this. What is it about motherhood that makes us analyze and scrutinize and re-analyze and re-scrutinize our every thought and move? He wanted to go to Out of this World Pizza, a fun little spot. We took a few of his friends and he had the time of his life! It was so much fun!

Thank you I-Shuan for remembering a camera because Harry's dunce of a mother completely forgot.

First of all, how is my man four? Four I ask you? Time is such an interesting thing:the thing everyone thinks they own some of but in reality we have none. Any time given is a gift from Heavenly Father. I don't understand it at all, how the years have sped by, but alas they have and here I sit and marvel at this amazing little man of ours. Oh how I adore you my love! He is a man of many talents that we have loved to watch emerge one by blessed one.

It was such a great day! Thanks to all for making it so wonderful!

The Christmas to Easter beard with variations....

This is my husband.

He enjoys walking, biking occasionally, playing tennis, all things sports related, logical (which balances my spontaneity really well) is a hard worker, reads only periodicals, is excellent to bounce ideas off of and talk to being extremely open-minded for a mormon (not that there is anything wrong with that:), enjoys playing church B-ball only in the role of silent assasin (he rocks but never lets on about himself), and.....he is a facial hair horticulturist. A real life chia pet! Being from a BYU family, naturally, he graduated from the U. The beard exists entirely for the familial surprise factor which occured on our recent Spring Break sojourn to Utah. His fascination with facial hair is just a branch on the internal rebellion tree. He does it cause he can. He does it cause none of his 57 first cousins do. He does it because it keeps him out of the higher Priesthood callings (he told me this isn't true and to take it out!)....Did that work for Brigham Young....NOPE! He does it cause his dad never did (or can...Church/BYU employee!) for Kent's entire life. He does it because he feels like he looks 22 without facial hair. But mostly he does it cause he can. The fact that he couldn't feel me or the kids kiss his face for 2.5 months didn't deter him ( did I mention he is uncommonly determined/stubborn?), the fact that I literally heaved in my mouth when he would eat his second dinner from the sides of his beard nor the fact that he chewed the hair on the sides of his mouth as some would nervously chew their fingernails didn't stop the K-train beard growth! I mean really people look at that bush! And what is the journey toward clean shaven Priesthood holder land without a short stop in Fu-man-chu country?! This is the Tim McGraw Fu-man-chu being slightly more trimmed. He has pulled a facial hair episode like this before. A few times actually. There is no telling when or where the desire might come from or erupt, though it usually takes place in winter. It's just all of a sudden "Honey just so you know I won't be shaving for the next 4-6 months." This feels slightly akin to a small sentence being handed down for a minor traffic misdeamor. "WHAT DID I DO?!" Am I wrong to think that the Tom Selleck look might be just right for him?! YES! Yes, I am.

Ah! We arrive! For the first time since December, Harry let Kent kiss him. For the first time since December we can see him, and love him, and revel in his exceptional looks! (he told me to add in revel in his exceptional "flavor-savor".) There is no beginning there will be no end to the unique Kentchee!

Africa or Beach....

Harrison came in while I was giving Bella her spelling test and said "Mom, I know what we can do today! We can go to the beach.....or to Africa. You pick!"

Love that boy!

When I walked in to see what they were doing the other day. This is what I found. Harry in a laundry basket and Bella laying by him. All in the tiny bathroom. Where do they come up with this stuff?

A snow day....

It snows...Portland shuts down. I think this is the best case scenerio though it took some getting used too.




Bella had a couple of snow days this week. The first one was a self imposed snow day. I can honestly cross my heart that I had no idea that we had snow and 1 mile down the road there was nada. Oh well! The second day the whole school was cancelled. It has felt like a little bit of home.

We have loved playing in the snow. Snow men, snow angels, some strange game involving me being the grandma and Harry being 40 and Bella being 4 and camping wherein they gathered sticks for "fire" to protect grandma from the mean cats. I am still stratching my head over that one. I will say that a quick trip to warmth is sounding mighty fine right 'bout now.

Sibling cycles....

It's been an interesting sibling week. They love each other, they hate each other, love, hate, off, on, hourly, almost minutely. They have torn apart the livingroom, and I have subsequently put it back together no less then 15 times a day. Let it be known that all of my living room furniture combined cost around $100 (couch, tables, chairs etc) so I really don't care...EXCEPT for the one article of furniture that I actually spent money on, the green rocking chair I bought when Harry was born. The most comfortable chair ever, Best Chair Lullabye series in sage green. The memories of rocking my babies in that chair and reading endlessly and gazing out the window, I love it. However, the kids have jumped on it, kicked it, and swiveled it into an oblivion until it is essentially creaking for mercy. I promptly informed them (AGAIN) it's OK to play on all the other furniture but not that chair and that was outside behavior and "shoo for Heaven's sake"! And thus they were banished to the out-of-doors.

So imagine my surprise when 20 minutes later Bella comes in asking for a "sharp knife." (Please refer to line 2 above). I figured this was one of those down moments in the up-down sibling love cycle. I patiently explained we don't play with knives and all experiments outside of science class including those performed on little siblings are FORBIDDEN! She said "No mom, I just want to poke some holes for our new pets." which consisted of a worm, a firebug, and some insect of unknown origin. I HELPED her with the holes in the top of the jar. And then looked outside and found this...





Under our backyard tree, in the quietness of wind and with the pine trees ceaseless silent prayers reaching skyward all around them, they found a sibling equilibrium, if only for a moment. And somehow those moments can wash away all the bad ones for mommy. They had made a picnic of blueberries and strawberries. And were out there collecting "pets" and contemplating the important and eternal things.

And once again I was reminded that becoming a mother meant my heart was going to walk around outside my body forever and that the Lord was the only one who can make that alright. And that these moments are precious. And that childhood should, in some ways, last forever. And that the way to get around a bad mood is simple kindness. And the words from one of my favorite poems ran through my head:


You are the trip I did not take
You are the pearls I cannot buy
You are my blue Italian lake
You are my piece of foreign sky

-Anne Campbell


I realized yet again that children had come to our family and we set about to make them into responsible, respectful and kind adults and that in a brillant stroke of paradigm 101 they refine us way more than we ever refine them. And I watched and listened, prayed and hoped.