Nesting

With the oncoming arrival of our 8th family member, we had a lot of preparation to do!  First of all, we had to buy a new 8-passenger vehicle.  We sold our 2001 Toyota Sienna and bought our first brand-new car ever, a 2014 Honda Odyssey.  We loved our Sienna, but we went with the Odyssey this time because the 8th seat seemed more substantial than that in the Sienna, plus the Odyssey offered a built-in DVD player whereas the Sienna only offered that for their 7-seater.  With 6 kids and a huge summer road trip on the horizon we'll need some digital entertainment  =).

Next we had to get Hiram out of the crib...

...and into his big boy bed!  Someday they will have matching comforters.

Noe's room had to make room for two...

...and now is the home of the crib.  I have to repaint the artwork and can't wait to reveal their new gallery wall.

Gavin and Teague's room didn't need a change, but we pushed their beds together for when the grandparents come to visit.  The boys like it so much they might just keep it this way.

We set up the pack & play crib in our room (and it will be a lifesaver on the previously mentioned road trip).

We also got a new table with 2 benches and 2 chairs so all 8 of us can eat in the kitchen.  Our dining room is a little crowded so we save that for Sunday dinners and now we can all eat our other dinners comfortably!

Our basement is now even more of a zoo with all of our old kitchen, boys' room, and girl's room furniture!

 

Our extra furniture is special to us and we'd like to save it for if we ever move to a house with bigger bedrooms or more bedrooms.  The girl furniture is sentimental as it was mine as a little girl.  The boy furniture is sentimental as it was my parents' and grandparents' before them.  I wish we had family nearby that could take (and keep) the boy furniture and take (and borrow, ha) the girl furniture.  I'm so grateful to have a home that we can all fit in so cozily!

May Showers bring Baby Towers (of gifts!)

I felt so spoiled in April when my mom and family threw me a baby shower in Las Vegas.  I felt even more spoiled in May when Mary and my friends in Ottawa threw me another one!  Pink rubber duckies, pink cupcakes, and spring flowers always make me smile!

My sweet friends pitched in and got me an amazing group gift- a pack & play crib (and 2 boxes of diapers, a baby doll, and baby stickers)!  I also received darling individual gifts.  I always feel guilty when people spend money on me, but I am so grateful for everyone's kindness and generosity.  I even had friends that weren't able to make it to the shower still give me gifts.  I really am a lucky lady!

Mary, Itzel, and Grace.

Jackie and Marsha.

Kala (pregnant with a girl), Josiane, and Jenn (also pregnant with a girl).

 

Danielle, Catherine, and Anngela.

Sheri (pregnant with a boy) and Rhonda.

*My friend Maggie is also pregnant with twin boys.  I love that we'll have a bumper crop of babies soon!

When Jackie packed up her van to drive me home, she brought the flowers too.  I just adore flowers!

Mary Ellen couldn't make it to the shower, but she brought over this darling and delicious cake!

Itzel gave darling gifts to baby girl AND she pampered me with a pedicure.  I'm so excited to have cute toes and soft feet in the hospital!

Baby girl already has a collection of her own baby dolls.

And I just can't wait to play dress-up with my new baby doll!

Are We Not All Mothers?

Every Mother's Day I am so full of gratitude for being a mother and so full of guilt for not being a perfect one.  I am so grateful for my own dear mother and for all of the women who have mothered me throughout my life.  My heart breaks for all of the women who want to have their own children, but haven't had the opportunity to do so yet.  This year for Mother's Day each of my school children made me sweet gifts.  Kaleb made me a card of his hand prints stretched out saying "I love you THIS much."  Noé made me a darling flower sculpture.  Gavin made me a lovely art project with an acrostic poem.  Teague made me a stepping stone for our garden.  At church all of the women were given a booklet "Are We Not All Mothers?" by Sheri Dew, who does not have any children of her own.  It is a beautiful little read and I will share some of my favorite quotes.

"Motherhood is the essence of who we are as women."

"Our (Heavenly) Father has entrusted us, His daughters, with His children, and He has asked us not only to LOVE them but to help LEAD them safely past the dangers of this world back home."

"If motherhood is divine and eternal and core to the nature of every woman- and it is- no wonder, then, that Lucifer would do everything in his considerable power to demean and undermine everything about motherhood, hoping to confuse women with worldly enticements or secular philosophies that appear more satisfying or dazzling or even more enlightening."

"All around us are those who need to be loved and led, nurtured and mentored.  The spiritual rewards of mothering are available to all."

"Mothers heal the souls of men."

I am so excited to have a new little baby join our family and to have our family compete.  I am also so sad that this will be our last little baby.  My mother had me, then almost 9 years later had her second child.  My 4 siblings were then born within 5 1/2 years.  I remember her telling me that she thought she would always have a new baby and she was so sad when that time in her life ended.  After 3 years of infertility struggles I finally became pregnant with Kaleb and Noé.  They were almost 5 before I had Gavin.  Now I've had these last 4 in 7 1/2 years and I can totally relate to how my mother felt.  I feel like I have always had a baby on my hip and that I always will.  I won't though, I can't have babies every few years throughout mortality, it's physically not possible.  I am so grateful for my belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ and that my divine nature as a mother will continue throughout the eternities.

I am grateful everyday for my wonderful husband.  He is such a caring father and does so much for our family.  He inspires me daily to be a better wife and mother.  I am so grateful for my knowledge that Families ARE Forever!!

To the Temple

Kaleb and Noé have had the opportunity to see several temples from the outside, and they got to tour the inside of the Newport Beach temple on the inside during its Open House, but last weekend was their first opportunity to serve in the temple.  Leonard was able to go with them and all 3 of them had a wonderful time!  Our ward brought 12 men, 9 women, 9 young men, 11 young women, and 4 missionaries.  I wish we had a temple in Ottawa, but I'm grateful to have the Montreal temple only 2 1/2 hours away.

We believe the gospel of Jesus Christ is for EVERYONE!  That's right, we believe it is for those that are living, and for those that have already passed on.  In our temples we receive sacred ordinances for ourselves and perform vicarious ordinances for those that didn't have a chance to receive them during their earthly life.  For example, Kaleb and Noé participated in baptisms for the dead.  (No, we do not dig up dead bodies and baptize them- that is just creepy!)  We are baptized in the name of someone who is deceased.  We believe they are being taught the gospel in the spirit world (where our spirits go after our physical bodies have died, before our spirits and bodies will be resurrected after judgment day).  Each spirit can then choose to accept or reject the gospel.  If they accept it, there are certain ordinances, such as baptism that are essential for eternal salvation.  We perform those baptisms for them in case they accept it.  If they don't, there is no harm done, we always have a choice- living or dead.  And for those of us who serve in the temples, it is always a peaceful, special experience for ourselves as well.  I'm so proud of Kaleb and Noé for sacrificing their Saturday to serve in the House of the Lord.

 

 

Montreal, Quebec Temple.

Life's What You Make It

I saw this on facebook and just had to share it here too.  Okay, so I may not be able to make myself a fairy princess with a unicorn, but there are so many things I CAN DO for my life!  I have always wanted to be a wife and mother and as the days draw near for me to become a mother to six amazing, beautiful children I just feel so lucky, blessed, privileged that the dream I have always wanted is my reality.  I have other, more personal dreams too.  I would love to pursue my art and become an accomplished painter someday.  I love to dance and would love to be able to perform again. (Unfortunately, there's not a huge market of dance classes for middle-aged moms who want to dance for fun and exercise.  The only adult dance classes I know of are for professionals or couples.  I would love to dance with Leonard, but my dream of dancing is not in the ballroom genre.)  I love to travel and if we had less children Len and I could do a lot more of that.  However, I would rather have my family than the opportunity to visit every country in the world.

 

I have had a few lovely comments from people when they find out that I am pregnant with baby #6.  However, most of the comments have been disparaging:  "Wow, your life must be hectic!"  "You should get another hobby!"  "I can't even imagine what your life is like!"  My life is wonderful!  It is busy, but it is not anymore hectic than anyone else's, I've just learned to prioritize.  The important things always get done, and if other unimportant things don't get done- oh well, they're not that important!  As far as the hobby comment is concerned, I don't see mothering as a hobby, but as a calling.  It is what I am here to do.  And if they are referring to sex, have they tried it?  (Just kidding, but seriously each of our children was planned, none of them were an accident, surprise, or mistake.)  For those that can't imagine how gratifying my life is having 6 soon to be 7 of my favorite people to share it with each day, I honestly feel sorry for them.  I can't imagine what their life is like entirely self-absorbed. 

 

We are all different and should have different dreams.  I know that some of our dreams just can't come true now, but I believe in eternity and believe all of our good dreams will come true someday.  I hope everyone can follow theirs now and find the same happiness that I have in following mine.  To quote Walt Disney, "If you can dream it, you can do it!"  Now I must be off to go slay a dragon.

Letter to the Editor

*Our school board is having meetings this month to discuss its English programs.  I will not be able to attend those meetings, but I did send this letter and wanted to share it here.  Local friends, what do you think?

 

To Whom It May Concern,

I would just like to voice my concerns about the English programs in Ottawa.  We are a bi-national family as I am American, my husband is Canadian, and our children are dual citizens.  We have also lived in England, France, and Taiwan.  We really enjoy our Elementary School, but there have been times when we have been frustrated with the school system in Ottawa as compared to other experiences we have had in other countries.

My husband is tri-lingual (English, French, and Mandarin) and we think the French language is beautiful and would love our children to learn it.  However, we do not feel like the Immersion program is right for our family.  We want our children educated in their mother tongue (English) with French being taught as another subject, just like math, science, etc.  We have felt that by keeping our children in the English track instead of French Immersion that they are viewed as lesser than those in French immersion.  I feel they have the right to an English education and that they should be treated as equals to those in French Immersion.

The High School my husband attended in Hanna, Alberta was small and very homogenized.  The High School I went to in Las Vegas, Nevada boasted students from 53 different countries and we were proud of our diversity and unity.  I feel like Ottawa's school system is very segregated.  First, there are four different school boards- French Public, French Catholic, English Public, and English Catholic.  We are English speaking Christians, but not Catholics so we chose the English Public board.  Second, there is further segregation within the English Public board with English track, Early French Immersion, and Mid French Immersion (as Late French Immersion is not offered anymore).  I would love to see ONE public school board for all English and French speakers of all religions.  I think it would be great if half of the day were taught in English and half taught in French.  I also think it would be great if the major world religions and their values were taught to our children.  Not in a proselyting sort of way, just in an educational sort of way.  Our modern society's values have greatly declined just during my short life-time.  Our children need a sense of humanity and to do what is right for their community and world, not just what is right for themselves.

I am currently 37 weeks pregnant with baby #6, so I will not be able to attend any of the meetings about the English programs.  Even if I did, I don't know how to change this system, but I did want to voice my thoughts.  Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Reil

Our Primary Colors

Are 1, 2, 3- red, yellow, and blue.  Each one has a message for you and me.  Each is a symbol true! 

Red is for courage to do what is right.

Yellow for service from morning till night.

Blue is for truth in our thought and our deed.  We will be happy when this is our creed.

Our lovely tulips, daffodils, and hyacinth blossomed this week and their tiny existence brings me tremendous joy!  I'm not sure if we'll make it to the tulip festival this year, but I'm glad that these little beauties grace my life.

My friend Jenn stopped by this week and gave me a bouquet of a dozen of these beautiful pink-tipped carnations.  Thanks Jenn!

Flowers just make me smile!

Oy, IKEA!

I have a love-hate relationship with IKEA.  The part that loves it thinks it has practical housewares for a family budget.  The part that hates it thinks it just has over-priced junk.  Here we are about to have baby #6 though, and I really wanted to get 2 more Hemnes dressers with matching nightstands.  We have the black-brown stain for Gavin & Teague and they really give you a lot of bang for your buck (I mean they hold A LOT of clothing!).  Anyway, we decided to get the gray-brown stain for Kaleb & Hiram and the white stain for Noé & Six.  With a Saturday to-do list a mile long, we decided to check one thing off our list and go Friday night.  Oy, what a waste!

Ottawa boasts IKEA's largest store in North America and anyone who has shopped at IKEA before knows it takes hours to walk through.  After touring the beautiful showroom and fun-filled market hall we finally came to the aisles of flat-packs.  With our aisle and bin numbers in hand we had 15 minutes before closing to get our needed items.  White stain nightstands, check; white stain dresser, out of stock; gray-brown nightstands, out of stock; gray-brown dresser, out of stock.  Are you frickin' kidding me?  So home we go feeling very defeated (I only have 3 weeks to completely overhaul 2 children's rooms).  Once home, I searched online.  I could order the 2 dressers and have them shipped to me for an additional $100, but alas no gray-brown nightstands.  Since we're a bi-national family and we'll be in the States this summer, I checked the US site- sure enough I can order the gray-brown nightstands there.  What to do?  Time is of the essence for the dressers, and could the nightstands get broken during our summer trek?  Last night I was told they re-stock the store every morning at 5:00 and to check online before they open at 9:00 in case any of our items became available.  Well, I did that this morning and no the gray-brown stain and white-stain did not become available, but the plain white became available for all 3 pieces.  The dresser was now also in stock in blue and the nightstands were in stock in red.  So I gave up my aesthetic color choices for necessity and we drove all the way across the city again and were finally able to get the dressers and nightstands we need.  We also were able to visit some other stores to get Hiram a big boy bed, a new kitchen table, and last Saturday we bought a new mini-van that we'll get this week.  Now we just have to assemble everything!!!

Seventeen

I turned 17 back in August of 1992 and my Aunt Connie bought me a subscription to Seventeen magazine.  I remember feeling so much older than my 16 year-old self.  I graduated from high school the following June and left home less than 3 weeks later to begin BYU's summer term.  When August rolled around again, my mom had a birthday cake delivered from the campus bakery.  My classmates were shocked that I was just turning 18 and that I had been living away from home for almost 2 months.  Yes, I was very mature indeed.

 

Today is my 17th wedding anniversary!!!  Inside, I still feel like that 17 year-old girl with her head full of dreams, but on the outside I am a middle-aged lady about to have her 6th baby.  I am so grateful this day (and everyday) for my wonderful husband Leonard.  He is such an amazing man, father, and husband.  He is my biggest cheerleader.  He believes in me and is always encouraging me to follow my dreams.  I try my best to support and encourage all of his dreams too.  I am so grateful for the life and family we have built together, it just keeps getting better and better!

 

I can't wait to update this picture with all 8 of us!

 

May Decor (temporary)

I finally got all of the Easter décor taken down and put away.  However, I did not make the stuff I wanted to for our May mantel.  I've been too busy nesting for baby's arrival that the mantel has taken a back burner.  I had visions of purple flowers in honor of Mother's Day and spring finally arriving.  I have purple and lavender rosette balls done and I bought a darker purple crepe paper, but haven't made the last rosette ball yet.  I have a purple subway art about families, but I need to do a flower paper piecing and make a silk flower arrangement- I am dreaming of fluffy hydrangeas.  Some day it will get done, but for now this is just our every day décor.  Since we haven't seen it since before Halloween, it's still a nice change.

I like the dining table wearing her red, but I'd probably have to change it to purple too to match the mantel?!

Our Little People set this month has nothing to do with purple either, but it's the wedding set in honor of our anniversary!

Housewife vs. Stay-at-Home Mom vs. Homemaker, which do you prefer?

My husband shared this article with me and I wanted to share it here.  (Click on red here).

Here are two of my favorite quotes, "Homemaking is not the same thing as housekeeping. Though it may also include certain mundane but necessary domestic tasks, homemaking, as I envision it, is less about scrubbing toilets and more about that old saying “Home is where the heart is.” Homemaking is about creating and maintaining a healthy and loving environment for everyone in the family—kids, spouses, and the homemaker herself—and fostering your family’s relationship to the wider community."

"A homemaker is a parent who prioritizes the home rather than the house, and the family as a whole, rather than merely the children."

I like her argument to bring back "Homemaker!"

Okay, after watching this video "Director of Operations" isn't bad either.

Simon Dewey Art

We have artwork of the Savior in each of our four bedrooms and in our dining room.  I love these eight paintings by Simon Dewey that I get out every Christmas and Easter too.  Today I'm taking down the Easter décor, but I want to keep these pictures up a little while longer.

His Name Shall Be Called Wonderful

For Unto Us A Child Is Born

In Favor With God

Growing In Wisdom

Light And Truth

Living Water

In Humility

He Lives

 

*I am so grateful for my testimony of Jesus Christ and for all He has done for me!