Kathryn December 30th, 2011

Our little family grew by one yesterday afternoon with the birth of Blake Ammon, and knowing that life will never be the same again, the past 48 hours have been a very emotional and exciting whirlwind!

Blake just a couple of hours old

For those who may be interested in the details, Blake was born at 3.16pm on December 29, weighing 3.12kg (6lb 14oz) and measuring 49cm long. In response to medical advice, I was induced almost 3 weeks early (which I wasn’t really complaining about!) and went into the hospital on Wednesday night. After 2 sets of gels, they broke my waters at about 12.45 Thursday afternoon and 2 1/2 hours later Blake was born. Knowing I have a wonderful husband, and not wanting to be away from home longer than I had to, I opted to stay just 1 night in hospital and I came home this morning just after 11am.

Blake waiting to come home from hospital

Holding your little one for the first time is of course very precious, and as Mum I was privileged to have the first, hour long, cuddle with Blake. Dallin and I have welcomed a baby into our lives before, when Josh was born, but what is totally different this time, is introducing and watching Josh welcome Blake into our family, it is truly amazing the instant love that he has for his little brother.

Josh's first cuddles with Blake before we came home

Yesterday when he came into the hospital to meet Blake, he didn’t want to hold him. He was more than happy to look, give a kiss to and talk about Blake but was generally more interested in running around the room, playing with the curtains, and his new car! But today we have had some of the first of what I’m sure will be many precious moments, my favourite of which came at bed time!

With Joshy’s bed time routine we tuck him into bed and sing him a song before we kiss him good night and leave him to sleep. Tonight I suggested that Blake lay next to him while we sing, which he quite happy to do… We sung the song and Josh lay there the whole time watching and smiling at Blake – it was beautiful! The only problem came when the song was finished and I went to pick Blake up…. Josh started crying and insisting that he wanted us to lay Blake down next to him again… he really didn’t want him to leave! We explained that Blake needed to go to his bed and so Josh came with us to put Blake down before returning to his own bed to sleep. It amazes me how at 2 years old he seems to know how precious and special a little baby is – and seems to love him so much already! I love my boys and am excited (if not slightly nervous) to watch them grow together and become friends and play mates!

We are all excited about the new adventure of becoming a family of 4 and are looking forward to the days, weeks, months and years of growth ahead!

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Kathryn November 10th, 2011

I have been thinking about gratitude for a while now…. I receive almost daily emails from people expressing what they’re grateful for that day. I have a blog that I follow who has dedicated her Sunday posts to ‘Gratitude Sunday’ and recently another blogger that I follow has dedicated the month of November to blogging something she is grateful for every day.

I have resisted committing to any regular, public expressions of gratitude such as these, although I’m not sure why. Maybe I don’t want to be a ‘copy cat’ and maybe I’m a bit afraid that after a while it will become something I do out of habit and expectation rather than a desire to express sincere gratitute. Whatever the case may be, today I have some gratitude to express.

First to a friend who may not realise how much to means to me that although she may not share my beliefs and standards, she is willing to help me keep them, even when it makes her life that little bit harder. I am thankful to have had her friendship and respect in my life since high school. She was probably more of a rock to me during high school than I ever realised at the time.

Second, for the blessings of a Father in Heaven. Once again I have been reminded that his plan for us is not our own. Initially that can be devastating and hard to swallow! I realised a little while ago that my ‘perfect plan’ was crumbling before my very eyes – and that wasn’t easy to accept even though I knew and felt that the path we were taking instead was the best one for us. I’m thankful to now be on the other side of that, to be looking back and seeing the things that have taken shape over the past month, and seeing evidence of a more perfect plan. It’s wonderful to have confirmation that you are indeed where you are meant to be (whether you like it or not!!)

Third, for my family. My husband – who is, now and forever, my rock (especially when I’m 7 months pregnant!). He is patient with me as he helps me and waits for me to see the bigger picture. I’ll quite willingly admit that more often than not he’s the one that’s right, it just takes me a little more time to see what he does.
And then there’s my oldest son, who is no longer a baby, and not really even a toddler any more…. He’s my ‘big boy’ and I love him. I am so grateful for the precious moments we share. My favourite moments have to be when, out of the blue he climbs up to me on the couch, gives me a kiss and says ‘I love you Mummy!’ – How do you describe the place a little boy holds in your heart!?
And although at the moment I probably do more complaining about the grief my youngest son gives than anything else, I’m thankful for gift that it is to be able to be a mother. Life is so precious, and I look forward to meeting this little man.

There is so much more I am grateful for, but words fail me, so I’ll leave you with a quote I saw recently – it’s good food for thought!

– What if you woke up today, with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?

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Kathryn September 30th, 2011

So I hope these girls won’t mind me sharing their comments with you, but I had 3 people share what they thought about defining their success as a parent.
1. To define my success, I would say I want my kids to want to come home, when they are 5 or 15 or 35. I want them to love to be home and feel love and safety there.

2. I agree … Love is the key to know how successful you are in most cases

3. Love and joy in the home ♥

It seems the overwhelming response is love, and while I completely agree that love is the most important part of any relationship, and especially that between a parent and a child, there’s a part of me that thinks there’s more to it than that… I think that perhaps it’s HOW we love, and show our love to our children that’s the key.
So I want to love my children in a way that teaches them the following things, as well as many others.

- Although I love them unconditionally for who they are right at this moment, I know that they have the potential to become even more. They can and should strive to do and be anything they want to be.

- Never underestimate the value of hard work. I believe it is the means by which all great things are achieved.

- Learn from your mistakes. I was reading part of a book recently that talked about not teaching your children that mistakes are bad and devastating! Making mistakes is how we learn, grow and improve.

These are just 3 things that I think it is important for me to teach my children. There are many other things I will strive to teach my children and although there is no one of them that I would constitute my failure or success as a parent they are important to me. What is important to you will be different.

Above all, of course, I do want my children to know that I love them. I just hope that through that love I can teach them to always want to be the best that they can be. Not to the point that they are overwhelmed and think that they will never be good enough, but I want them to always want to improve, to bless not only their lives but the lives of their families and all those they associate with….

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Kathryn August 31st, 2011

Our Family...

A comment made on FB today caused me to reflect on a couple of other things I’ve read and conversations I’ve had. These things have led to this question ‘How do I define my success as a mother?’ that then led to ‘How to others define my success as a mother’ followed by how does the world define it?

Now, before we go any further I would like to add that I know my role as a mother is never complete. As Elder Lynn G. Robbins said, I can never ‘check a child off my list as done’ and I don’t plan to! I love my children and I will always be seeking to teach and guide them in appropriate ways, and to be the best mother I can be to them.

Let me share with you a couple of the comments that show a part of how others define their success. One said ‘No matter how many colours, shapes, numbers and letters I managed to teach my child before she goes to school, I will have failed if I haven’t taught her that she is loved and given her the confidence that she CAN learn new skills.’

Another made the comment ‘ Parenting is all about redundancy. In the end, we want to do ourselves out of a job.’ I personally LOVE that one! Thanks SR!

Now neither of those comments were made in response to my question, but I think that they both show in part what these women believe is important in their role as mothers and parents. Each of us have different life experiences that teach us to value things differently and that is reflected in the way we continue to live our lives. It’s reflected in the type of parents we become.

I don’t know if I can concisely explain how I can, do or will define my success as a mother. It’s something I want to give more thought to before declaring it to the universe!

What is so wonderful is that we can ask this question about any aspect of our lives. How do we define our success as a….. parent? Friend? Teacher? Student? Sunday School Teacher? Youth Leader? the list goes on!

Ultimately how others define our successes does not matter, although it’s often hard to remember that! Others will always have different priorities that will influence how they think you should be as a mother – but they are not YOUR priorities! They are theirs! And I am a strong believer that there is no one else in the world who can make better decisions about you or children than you can, as a conscious and loving parent!

Today I’m going to ask you to share some ways in which you feel you can define success in parenthood. Or how you feel your parents succeeded, or your grandparents, or the couple who lived next door to you for 20 years! Sharing these with me will help me, and hopefully others, become the best parents we can be by giving us the opportunity to consider where our priorities are and where they should be!

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Kathryn August 17th, 2011

Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow. – Anthony J. D’Angelo

Yesterday (and today) my thoughts have dwelt on 3 wonderful women. The first, I’ve known for about 5 years and in that time she has taught me a lot, and yet almost every day I continue to learn more from her and learn more about her. The second, I have known for probably around 7 or 8 years. She has in many ways become like a sister to me, she is a wonderful example to me and those around her. In watching her work in many areas of her life I have noticed that she puts her all into everything she does. The third, I have known for probably around 6 or 7 years, and our relationship is a great contrast to those I have mentioned above. In fact we rarely talk or see each other and yet I know her as a woman of immense understanding and wisdom, a woman who studies and learns all that she can.

I would describe each of these women as women of strength, humility and integrity. They are examples of love, service and sacrifice, and I believe each of them have helped shaped who I am today. The one thing that has linked them together in my mind at the moment is their passion and love of learning. They are continually seeking to increase in knowledge, wisdom and understanding. They are continually seeking to improve themselves and are not satisfied with less than their best.

I feel that far too often I accept less than my best… With too many things, I have noticed that as long as it meets a minimum standard I’m happy to move on to the next thing. I am learning through the example of these great women that I should not be satisfied merely with a ‘task complete’ I am learning that I should strive to complete and serve in all areas of my life, to the best of my ability. I remember one of these women saying one day that she did not necessarily want to be the best, but she wanted to be the best that SHE could be. So, from today I want to set my self a new standard, to be the best that I can be. It does almost seem daunting to realise that as I strive to do and be my best, that my best will continue to become better.

I have also come to know that the more I learn, the better I can become. Through learning, we can find and learn better ways, we realise a better standard. Whether the learning and knowledge that we gain is through formal education, the advice and counsel we received from others, from our own mistakes or through the Spirit it does not matter. What matters to me is that I take what I have learnt and use it to become the best I can be. I believe that the more we learn, the greater capacity we have to teach and help those around us. We raise stronger families and happier children when we have learnt through study and experience what makes us happy.

I hope that I can foster in my children a love of learning. I hope to teach them to give their all and their very best in every aspect of their life whether that be their schooling, church service, families or their construction of a toy train track! I want this for them because I believe that by learning this early in their lives they will be able to live their life to the fullest. I want my children to be able to touch the lives of others the way that these women have touched mine.

I leave you now with two more quotes….

- To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge.
Socrates

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Kathryn April 28th, 2011

Me and my boy.

So I had written a lot more than you see below and then decided to delete it all… I decided that what I had to say was really quite simple….

Life is wonderful with family and friends, and my greatest responsibility is, and always will be, as a wife and a mother.

Life doesn’t need to be complicated.

I want to share with you just a few of the things I’ve read recently that have reinforced this to me.

Fist, this inspiring talk from Elder Lynn G. Robbins, given at the recent General Conference of our church, titled What manner of Men and Women ought ye to be? Although of course many of the remarks talk about Jesus Christ, for those who may not be members of our church it is still worth reading. It taught me a lot about how I should be teaching my son, and future children, as well as reminding me what I should be.

The other things I have read recently come from a blog called ‘The Super Organiser Mum’ and just reminded me that simplifying life and focusing on what’s most important is one of the most wonderful things we can do. The blogs entries are titled Amanda and Busy.

Through all of these things I have found a new motivation and desire to readjust my life to focus on the simple and meaningful.

Changes, such as putting more time and energy into creating and maintaining relationships with friends and family that are of a real and lasting value.
Spending less time on the computer (regardless of what I may be doing) and more time helping and serving those around me.
Most importantly, spending more time with my husband and son, showing them how much I love them. Teaching and showing my son how to become the person I one day hope he will be…. I would be totally lost without them in my life, and have no doubt that without them I would not even be half of the person I am today….

No matter what your family situation may be, I promise that they are worth working and fighting for. Don’t be afraid to be the first one to say ‘I’m Sorry’ and don’t ever be afraid to tell them you love them. They are worth everything…

After reading this, my wonderful sister said ‘I think it’s time for me to check out of facebook and check in to my family’… what a great way to put it! Thanks sis!