I had some very eloquent thoughts several hours ago when I wasn't super tired and there was a buzz in the house. Now that it's quiet and my eyelids are drooping, all of my lovely thoughts are gone. But I still wanted to record some special things about my day.
Most mornings at the Taylor house there is yelling and arguing and urging. No matter how much time there is to get ready, it seems we are always rushing out the door at the last minute. This morning, though, when I got up a little earlier than usual, Mierae had put on a CD of Primary music. It was wonderful that she chose to listen to Church songs, but greater still was that she actually sang along to some of them! It set the tone for our morning so well. I didn't hear any fighting or yelling. The girls got ready with time to spare and leisurely went out the door to the bus stop. I was so grateful to Mierae for her choice. It made a great start to our day.
Mierae was also very helpful later on today. Henrik woke up from his nap feeling sick. His fever got a little worse as time went on. I finally gave him some Tylenol just before we needed to leave to pick up the girls at the bus. He was crying and choked the medicine down, swallowing lots of air. I rocked him to sleep, but as I was putting him down, he vomited. I called the neighbor and asked them to walk the girls home from the bus as I tried to tend to Henrik. When the girls came in, Mierae took Oliver for me and held and played with him. She was very sweet and tender toward Henrik, concerned that he wasn't feeling well. When I checked Mierae's backpack and asked her about homework, she promised me she would do it after dinner, without any griping or complaint. I was so relieved that she held true to her word: after dinner, she retrieved her homework sheet, sat on the couch with her clipboard and pencil, and worked diligently until she was done. She wasn't feeling well tonight either, so I was proud of her for doing what she said she'd do, despite how she felt. Tonight Mierae said something else that stopped me in my tracks. She was invited to go to a birthday party this Saturday for a girl in the ward. Eric mentioned something about the party and Mierae announced that she didn't want to go. At first I thought it was just her being shy about being with new people she doesn't know. But then she said, "I don't want to get her a present because I know you don't have a lot of money." Oh, my heart just melted at that. Such a sweet sentiment. I'm glad she is understanding a little bit about money. Now I just need to teach her how to be generous and giving, even when you don't have a lot.
Oliver went to bed during dinner, and Henrik followed shortly after. So it was just Eric and me with the girls at the dinner table for a while. It was so fun to sit and just talk with them. We talked about upcoming activities, about schoolwork, and about family members. I love being able to converse with them. I realized today how grown-up my kids are becoming. At every new stage, I think it's the best yet.
I'm excited to take Mierae shopping sometime this week. We get tons of hand-me-down clothes for the girls, which we love; but Mierae (and Jolie, but Mierae especially) has her own taste in clothes, and she doesn't own much of what she loves. I'm excited to have an outing with her, just the two of us. I don't think we've ever done it before!
I'm just so happy to have my four kids. I think life is better with more kids. I love that they have each other--they can play together, work together, and learn from each other. Seeing them interact and having our whole family together makes me appreciate the big family I grew up in, and it makes me think about having more kids!
Eric and I sat down to go over our finances tonight. We're going to be okay. We won't have a ton of money to save or to spend on lots of extras we might want. But we'll be fine. A few weeks ago when we were talking about money, Eric felt like I was complaining about how the amount he's making and it hurt his feelings. I felt really bad about it. I was glad he told me how he felt, though, and I'm trying to be more careful about how I phrase things and choose my words more carefully. Eric works so hard for our family. He works hard at work, and he works hard at home. He does the dishes almost every night; he makes sure he plays with the kids and gives Henrik his "rough play" time; he takes his turn with Oliver when he's fussy; and he makes sure to kiss me and tell me he loves me. He falls into bed completely exhausted every night. And I stay up and blog. :) It's probably my Hendriksen genes that give me energy to stay up at night. But I'm sure the "babymoon" won't last much longer. I better go to bed!
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