New Baby! And Changes Changes!

So I haven't been posting lately due to finishing remodel on our house and putting it up for sale. That has taken a great deal of my time and energy and then add to the mix that I am also pregnant with our last baby and you could say that I have been overwhelmed! I am excited about the fact that the baby is a girl and at the same time incredibly nervous about the change in dynamics that will occurr. Having only boys has had it's advantages. My two teenagers decided to go live with their Dad this year and go to school out there. My Mom lives out there too and has been making sure they make it to seminary everyday. It means that she is less available for me, but I am so appreciative. I love hearing her stories about their trips in the morning and it makes me so jealous. And yet I know that it wouldn't be the same if I was taking them every morning. I'm so grateful that she is making these memories with them. I know that it will sustain and support them in the years to come and that this is going to make this year especially special for them. I miss my two older ones but I have been trying to count my blessings. So here are all the ones that I have counted as a result of this change.
1. I spend less in gas. ( I no longer have to drop or pick up anyone from school or run to lessons of any sort)
2. I have more time to focus on teaching the younger ones and meeting their needs
3. As I am now seen less, the older boys are quicker to show affection and I get their good sides instead of the constant teenager complaints :)
4. I now get more weekends which means the older boys get more church. I will also get the majority of the summer which will make for more variety in vacations.
5. They both have phones which means I can still keep in touch on a fairly frequent basis and they can always call me if they need me right away.
6. As we have had the house on the market, it has actually made it easier to keep the house clean. One less bathroom to clean on an ongoing basis and one bedroom that always stays clean makes a difference
7. dinner is more simple
8. less laundry
9. They get to be closer to their grandma and build that relationship. I also don't think my younger son would have been doing seminary if it wasn't for the situation.
10. Last but not least, I don't have to get up for seminary, lol.
Not that I wouldn't give up a number of these for the blessing of having them in my home just about everyday, but I will just have to keep counting the blessings, praying for them, and trusting in God to make up the difference when I can't be there. I think based on what I've seen, that is exactly what he's done :)

Sharing a Slice of Life: The All Nighter

The only all nighter that came to my mind is staying up late to finish a research paper that I had procrastinated on in I think 8th grade. I guess it really sticks in my mind because I probably wouldn't have had to pull an all nighter if the darn computer hadn't crashed and erased my paper and I had to stay up inputting it all over again. Back then we didn't have auto correct and I wasn't as fast at typing. Not to mention it was a Comodore 64 word type program and as a teenager all the settings were foreign to me. I remember how quiet the rest of the house was as my then 4 siblings slept in peace. I don't think my mother's sixth had come along by that time. I remember my Mom coming in to check and see how I was doing somewhere around 2 am. I don't think I went to bed till 4am. My sons have done that to me once or twice now and now I know that my Mom was probably not sleeping, but laying in bed wanting to go do it for me, so it could be done but knowing that I needed to learn a lesson on procrastination. Motherhood is definitely hard in that way. Pulling back and letting our children learn from their consequences is sometimes harder for us than it is for them, although they won't know it till they have their own children ;)