Merritt Memories

I think everybody knows that being a parent is not an easy job. There are days we just want to whine and complain. Sunday was that day for me. I was not feeling well and was in a bad mood. While it is true that I struggle on Sundays, it is not my kids' fault. I don't know why I blame them sometimes. I guess it is because they are my life! Easy to blame. The real fact about parenthood that I battle with is that my desires are often placed on the back burner. On Sundays it is so "in my face". An apathetic person might say, " You should have thought about that BEFORE you had children." To which I would reply, "There are just somethings you don't realize about having kids until you have them." In no way do I want this to be implied that I am sorry for having kids. No way. No how. I love my kids and would do anything for them, anything to protect them. It's just that there are those days that I wish everything would go MY way. Maybe in the f...

For me Sundays are the hardest day of the week. It is so strange. My kids will get up at 6:30 every other day of the week, but on Sunday they want to sleep in. And it is torturous trying to get them up! Once they are going the morning runs smoothly, after I have had to raise my voice about three times. Thankfully this year we have the 11:00 am block. We were late the first couple weeks, but we are doing much better now. The hardest part comes after church. My home is an absolute wreck after everyone rushing to get ready. We clean it up a bit then it's time for lunch. We clean up a mess, just to make one-one of the most annoying things! I will then cuddle up on the couch to read the ads. Relaxing for me, but the kids seem to not know what to do with all this spare time. I try to direct them in an appropriate activity, but it usually leads to some type of fighting or teasing. This is the Sabbath Day, why all the contention? Soon it is time for "the nap". We used to have a m...

Dustin and I got these today! Nothing better than homemade valentines! The weather has been great the last couple days! We decided to take advantage. We headed over to one of the neighborhood parks to play our happy, little, cabin-fevered brains out! And we had FUN!!! We squeezed through holes, went down slides, climbed on anything possible, and rode the zip-line. And there was football, lots and lots of football. We had a race and ate a snack. Today I was a fun mom.

A few days ago I was in the bathroom doing Kate's hair. Ya know, some of our best conversations have been in the bathroom with a flat iron in hand. What is it about the bathroom? Maybe the one-on-one attention? I don't know. Anyway, Kate was wondering who was funny in our house. The conversation went something like this: Kate: Mom, who's the funniest person in our family? Me: Dad. Kate: Oh. Who's the second funniest person? Me: I am. Kate: (said with all seriousness a six year-old could muster) Mom, how are you funny? Now on the outside I was laughing...hysterically. But on the inside, that's another story. How could this cute little thing not know how funny I am? I would consider myself a fun person with a pretty good personality. Does she not ever notice?.. or could it, maybe, be that I don't show it much? I started thinking about the morning. Mom yelling about someone leaving the milk out. Mom yelling about the mess left on the counter. Mom yelling about the ...

My kids can sit and watch our family videos FOR-EV-ER (said just like the kid on Sandlot)!! I didn't get it. Until today. They were watching a video from 2004. It had snipits of our life from b-days, Easter, bike riding, and so on. The one that most intrigued me was of little Kate joining our family. Her birth is the only one we have recorded. Why? I don't know. That's a pretty big thing! I was teary-eyed. I heard her little cry and lost it. That sound is irreplaceable! I'm so glad we have it captured on video. The same goes for my kids' little toddler voices. Those are things you forget! It's nice to have that small moment of time captured so your are able to relive it. I spent a little part of the night rummaging through photos too. I love to do this. This time I was looking for photos of my mom, me , and Kate. I have always been told I look like my mom. I really never believed it. Not until we did the video for my father's funeral. Then I saw it. Anyway, ...

When I became a mother at 21, I was full of energy and ready for anything. I remember adjusting to life with a baby. I was happy and excited, but very scared and not quite sure if I was ready. I changed my attitude and everything became a new adventure. Slowly (well, not really), we added to our family. Aaron came 20 months after Ryan. I had two boys! They were fun. So cute. They were little buddies. They loved each other like nothing I had ever seen before. I remember one time at church, Aaron wasn't quite big enough to reach the drinking fountain. I was huge and pregnant with Grace. I was really no help. Ryan took over. He got down on his hands and knees and motioned Aaron to get on his back. He would be his stepping stool. Aaron climbed on and steadied himself. Ryan waited patiently for his little brother, not bothered by Aaron playing in the water. "You done?" Ryan asked in his little toddler voice. I remember it. "Yup," J (Aaron) replied in his little voice...