Merritt Memories

I took the older kids to church by myself today. Britten was sick with a bad cough. Dustin stayed home with him because I had to conduct Primary and do Sharing Time. During Sacrament meeting, Grace was filling out a a pamphlet all about family history. I'm not sure where she got it from. I had never seen it before. I'm pretty sure she got it from her young woman leaders.  I do know there is a big push right now to get our family history done. I have felt a pulling inside of me to get to know those in my family that came before me.  I have been studying my Grandma Taylor- I have a post to publish about her. I started close because I realized I really don't know my grandparents all that well. None of them wrote a history. My parents don't have a history. I don't have a history written. I really didn't think I needed to write one...until today.  In that pamphlet Grace filled out my information. I heard Aaron lean in and ask her, "Mom has a middle name?...

I write about this every year. It's our anniversary today.  When we married, I was barely 20 and Dustin 22. We were babies. If my son came and asked about getting married at 22, I would freak out! And, I tell my daughters all the time that they cannot get married until they are 24! So hypocritical, I know. But looking back always brings me peace and I realize how happy I am that we got married. No regrets. So I'll relax a little if my kids come to me as babies, announcing they are getting married. We all got up early this morning to get ready for our 9:00 church. About a half hour into our routine, I noticed none of my family could be found! I called out. I could hear them in the basement. Dustin rushed up and asked me to take the baby into the bedroom and dress him. I knew they were up to something, so I went. Not before I asked what they were doing, though. He glared at me. He hates it when I'm so nosy. A few minutes later, they called me in. I came into the...

I just celebrated my 38th birthday. 38!! This birthday left me feeling really old. I was told a bazillion times how old I really am not, but it' didn't help in my feeling that I'm old. For crying out loud, I have 6 kids, been married for (almost) 18 years, and next year my oldest child will graduate from high school. The real kicker was when I really thought about how fast the last ten years went and that the next 10 will probably come quicker, I realized my 5th child will be 19 1/2. Guys, I'm no spring chicken!! But, I've decided that that's okay. I think about the last ten years. When I turned 28, my fourth child was 6 months old. Little did I know that in a month, I would be pregnant with my 5th child. I was in the whirlwind of mothering 4 little ones ranging in age from 6 to infant. I was tired. I was overwhelmed. I felt defeated a lot of the time. Looking back, however, I realize that I was enjoying myself. I can hear my kids' voices in my head and...