The Wallworks

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

11 years

......and one week, that's how long I've been a mom.

All the cliche's in the world came true the minute I saw my baby girl.  The world fell away and I was left with a heart too big for my body.

She was perfect in every way.  She grew quickly and I was so proud of my big chubby baby.  I felt bad for all of my new mom friends because I knew that secretly they wished they had my baby.  Please tell me others have felt this way.  No?  Okay moving on.

She was my one and only and I hung on her every movement, smile and sound.  When she was sleeping I wanted to watch her.  When she was nursing and our eyes met I was in heaven.  Every thing she learned was genius.


She pulled down every single book on the bookshelf.  Daily.  She took apart my purse.  Daily.  She was so full of energy I spent hours at the park watching her climb, run and play.  Nothing made me happier.

On Glenn & I's 5th anniversary Emry was 6 months old.  As a surprise to me he had asked his sister Karen to watch Emry for the weekend so we could get away.

I did not want to disappoint my husband but it took every ounce of strength I had to leave my baby.  I was giddy on the drive home, holding and seeing her consumed me.

I left her again when she was 2 to go to Belgium with Glenn on business.  We had fun but I missed my sweet Emry so much he had to put me on a plane early and send me home.  I still remember seeing her at the airport with her Grandma Wallwork.  It was one of the happiest moments of my life.  Sound crazy?  Pretty much.






















Emry became a big sister when she was 2.  And again at 4 1/2.  When I was pregnant with Ethan I was so sick I could barely see straight.  Lila was still in diapers and if it was just pee I would have Emry change it.  Yup I had my 4 year old changing diapers.  She has always been helpful and such a loving big sister.

* 5 yrs old - (straight from a journal entry)  Sunday afternoon was hard, Glenn was going to take Emry & Lila on a nice Sunday walk but Emry was being difficult so her (my) punishment was having to stay home with a cranky Ethan and I.  Emry was tired, emotional etc., etc.  I was trying to get her to clean up the playroom when I just couldn't take her naughty behavior anymore.  I threw all her toys in a box and took it to the garage.  Emry started bawling and when she finally spoke my heart broke at how sweet she was.  "That's Lila's favorite doll, Lila will miss that doll!"

I threw Emry's favorite drawing book away that day but all she thought about was how sad Lila would be.

* 5yrs old - Glenn had taken Emry to the dentist and arriving home she says to me "Mom, don't change your face, just look how you are looking now, don't look different.  The dentist says I have 4 cavities".

Emry is fearless.  She did not get this trait from me.  She got my blue eyes and my thick blond hair.  She loves to read while she eats just like me.  But she is definitely Glenn's daughter.  She wants to try anything and everything.  Be it food, an adventure, a sport, a new experience.  She wants to do it all.


* 6yrs old - Broken bread is being passed at church for our sacrament.  The bread comes to us and Emry       says "That was white bread, it was bleached".

She loves Science and is curious about everything.  Emry loves reading about Anatomy, reptiles, mysteries, brainteasers, magic and everything in between.  We have a game called Mindtrap.  There are hundreds of questions aimed at picking your brain.  Emry stayed up late one night reading them all.  Her quest for knowledge is inspiring.





She lives for the Beach.  She will surf, boogie board, skim board and what she loves the most, body surf.  We are usually at the beach all day and Emry only comes out of the water to eat.   The girl plays hard.


Emry also loves food.  She adores dill pickles and makes her own dill popsicles using the juice from pickles.  She loves sushi and eats oranges 10 at a time.  I call her a fruitarian because she can down the citrus like no other and loves just fruit for breakfast, tangerines & grapefruit don't last long here.  She also loves good cheese, extra sharp cheddar, bleu cheese (eaten by the handful) and Swiss.  She is a normal child and loves her ice cream and candy too.  She is making me proud in the kitchen as she tries her hand at everything from cookies to sorbet.


Emry also works hard and is a great student.  She is very responsible and needs no reminders to finish her homework.

Chores on the other hand need lots of reminders.  But when she finally does decide she'd better do them or spend the weekend  in her room , she does a great job.  Bathrooms, dishes, mowing the lawn, she does it all.


Emry is so good with her brother and sister.  She has been babysitting them both for quite some time (which won't be mentioned here lest CPS pay me a visit).  Lila tends to be shy and I know that having Emry as her big sister has helped Lila to become braver.  Ethan too watches his big sister and luckily for us all she is a wonderful example.


I love that Emry gets A's and 100%'s, but what truly touches my heart and makes me proud is hearing a neighbor talk about what a true friend Emry is for sticking up for her.  Seeing her brain spin when she has an important moral decision and making the right one.  Answering 'my family' when asked what her favorite thing about the holidays are.


To have her as my daughter is the greatest.  I feel so blessed to watch her grow and learn and to become a young lady. I try daily to strengthen her so that her wings will be strong enough to take her all the places she wants to go.


I know this is belated Emry.  With all the hustle and bustle of company I didn't have the time I wanted to devote to such a special post.

So now I say Happy Birthday to my big 11 year old girl.  


I love who you are.  I love your spirit and hunger for life.  I love you.  Everything  about you.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Grateful Heart


There is a song in our Church Hymn Book called 'Count your many Blessings', I have sung it since I was a child (off key of course).  It is the song the jumps into my mind again and again when I am being ungrateful.

I learned in my Bible Study class that it is usually those with the most that complain the loudest.  It rang so true to me.  It has really helped me when I start to complain because really what I am complaining about are the abundance of blessings I have.

Like complaining every time our ice machine gets jammed and dumps ice all over our floor.

Instead of getting upset that I have to clean up ice for maybe a minute, I should focus on how lucky I am that I have a fridge at all.  Besides the faulty ice maker, it is actually a very nice fridge that does it's job well.

Thanksgiving day sure enough, jam-crunch-ice everywhere.

I did not get mad.  I took a deep breath and said a 2 second prayer of thanks for being able to have a fridge to keep my food cold.

I tell my kids all the time to be grateful and give thanks.  As soon as they start taking things for granted, they will no longer have those blessings.

I am not immune.  I feel I deserve certain things.  Why? I am not sure. 

Every time I feel a complaint coming out of my mouth I am going to try and turn it into a prayer of thanks.

I am grateful I heard these simple words.  I am even more grateful that in my heart and soul I was ready to truly hear and understand the message.

I am grateful that I can implement this powerful practice of recognizing blessings every day.

I am also really grateful to have a son who for some unknown reason wanted me to take a picture of him 'praying' a few weeks ago so I now have a perfect picture for this post.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Thanksgiving 2011

 Starting the day out right with hot chocolate and fruit.  When I asked Ethan if he wanted hot chocolate he looked at me funny and said, "Yes, but not in a sippy cup".  Don't worry Ethan, those trusty sippy cups will be back as soon as company leaves.


Wouldn't be Thanksgiving with the girls without hitting up the mall.
Aaron's daughter Kyra, my Lila and Emry, Margo's Adelys, Jeannette's Kylee.




Emry up to bat with my dad as catcher and Nathan waiting to bat.  We were at the park for hours.  Baseball led into volleyball which led into skateboarding which led into staying up talking late into the night.


Adorable honey!  I love you too.




Playing volleyball was such  fun and everyone was laughing and fighting over who got the kids on their team obviously.    I loved that I captured Glenn and Ethan together.





 Mom at my stove making gravy.  This old sturdy pot is the one I ate countless bowls of oatmeal out of growing up.
  
My turkey that I brined, buttered, seasoned and injected. Yes I bought an injector! It seems cheesy like something you would see on an infomercial, but I followed THIS recipe to a 'T'.  Of course extra drumsticks had to be grilled for all the little boys to live out their caveman fantasies.

My brother Aaron manning the grill.


The Spread.  This picture does not even come close to capturing how wonderful everything was.  I was in charge of Appetizers (fresh veggies and dip), Rolls ( I made white and oatmeal wheat) and the Turkey.  I didn't forget anything!!  Jeannette made the Cranberry sauce, Sweet Potatoes and roasted Brussels Sprouts & Green Beans.  Mom made the Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing and Gravy.


My plate. We went old school and brought back marshmallows on the yams.  They're here to stay.  It's Thanksgiving and we're eating pie, what's a little more sugar?  It definitely brought back memories of sweet potatoes growing up.  Of course as kids we got a scoop of sweet potatoes and scraped off as many toasted marshmallows as we could..  My mom did something different with some of the stuffing and put mushrooms in it.  So good!  Notice no mash potatoes?  Don't like em.


Mom & Dad


Jeannette Mitchell Roberts, Margo Mitchell Zamora, Marie Mitchell Wallwork
Adam's girlfriend Anna, Mom, Aaron's wife Jasine


Margo's son Andrew with his girlfriend Morgan and Aaron's son Zaden.


Ethan Wallwork, Nathan Roberts, Rylan Mitchell


Cousins.  Clearly I instructed Andrew and Ezra not to smile.


If you can believe My brother Nielsen, brother Kyle and his daughter Iree, and brother Ty, wife Sheralyn and two daughters are missing from this picture.  What are we, Mormon?


My 4th baby wondering when all these people and their dogs are leaving so I have time for him again.


My brother Adam and his girlfriend Anna.


Can't have a get together this awesome and not have a talent show can we?  The girls danced, the boys danced, I danced, Lila sang, Morgan sang and Adam  & Anna each sang and played guitar.  Party Rock Anthem was played, it had to be done.




Our dirty little secret......store bought pies.  When I have limited time with my family somethings gotta give and who am I kidding, my crust could never be as good as Marie Callendar's. 


This many people at one time is crazy.  But I love them all so much I don't mind that I am forced to have little kids destroy my home.  Forced to do a million dishes.  Forced to hold fat babies and kiss their head a million times.  Forced to talk through tough situations.  Forced to eat a plethora of pie.  Forced to win (again) at Who wants to be a Millionaire (Jr. cough cough).  Forced to stay up late talking about who knows what.

No really, what did we talk about?

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Let's get this party started.....


Glenn & I plus 3 kids, Jeannette plus 3, Margo & Al plus 3 plus 1 girlfriend, Aaron & Jasine plus 3, Mom and Dad (Gma & Gpa).  22 total in my home for a Chili dinner. Let's kick off this Holiday week.

Traditional Beef Chili & White Chicken Chili with cornbread.  I was in charge of cornbread, drinks, dessert and Ceasar Salad.  When we were finishing up dinner I realized that in the excitement of my family arriving I had totally forgotten about the salad!  I am an awesome host as you can tell.



My sister Margo's kids Ezra & Adelys.  My 3.  That's Ethan's way of showing me how much he loves his dinner.  Charming boy.


Glenn gettin' crazy with the sparkling blood orange juice. 


Jeannette's daughter Kiera with Adelys' dog Cassidy.  We call Kiera the dog whisperer.


Cousins Ethan & Nathan doing their boy thing.


Cousins Emry & Adelys doing their girl thing.


My sister Jeannette and Margo's husband Al doing the  "I am so happy we're all together" thing.


Jeannette's daughter Kylee with my brother Aaron's new baby Zadyn.  He is not chubby, he is downright FAT.  There was a wait list to hold him.  We haven't had a baby in this family for almost 5 years! 


 Spiced Apple Cider Caramel cookies.  Good, but nothing I would make again.  It just seemed a fun different dessert to make and fitting for this time of year.


My family loves games.  This "Who wants to be a Millionaire" game was challenging but we all did well.  Not to brag but we're all pretty smart, it runs in the family.


It was "Who wants to be a Millionaire Junior"?  Sounds about right.

Peace out until tomorrow party people.