It has been a looooong time...

and I have missed this.

I came here to find a slide show I made for Ethan's third birthday... he is now 13. Where does time go? Ten years... wow. Things are so very different than they were then. For one, we have four kids instead of two. My house has been through hell and looks like it. Same with my body; I am afraid to have an analysis of my mind.

I have had blogging on my brain for a while now... like two years. I really do miss this. I like facebook and other social media for their purposes, and the little snippets of people's lives, and this is much longer and takes more time.  I also am slightly nervous to write an online journal for everyone to read... nice and public. I remember when everyone was starting to make their blogs private and I was determined to not do that...now I am super nervous to have my whole life open, for the world to see. The good, bad, the not so pretty and the downright ugly. Am I willing to be that open? I am not so sure. I know I have things to say that will help or benefit people in some way, not just a way to vent, however it is scary to showcase things for people around the whole world to see... eek.

So I am still on the fence for now.. if I even keep this up- I am not 100% committed at the moment, however I have been planning to start a blog that I write about other things, not necessarily my family and make this one private. SO if I do that, I will post it here, maybe ;).

Most anyone who would venture here to read knows what is going on in our lives, or at least a snippet of it.

Thirteen years ago, even about this time of night (7:06 pm, to be exact) Dr Lawrence presented me with my first baby. He has been the best and hard at the same time lol. SUCH an active kid who never sat still ... unless he was asleep. He always woke happy. He was so fun  to cuddle with and read to, sing him songs goodnight  I actually really miss those days. He slept like a freaking charm- most of the time. All that action required a lot of sleep- he would sleep 7 to 7 and give me naps. Even when - he was older, he would sleep 7-7 with no naps. He is a fun personality and relatively friendly to all.
One thing I don't have to deal with is a kid who does not like his parents. I am lucky, he likes to talk to me and I can tell he likes to hang out with me too. He can still talk my ear off, like I have mentioned here in the past ;). He doesn't ever tell me I am embarrassing and all in all, we usually get along. He is for the most part, an agreeable person to be around and I enjoy his company.

He is a smart kid, he catches on to most things quickly. He plays lacrosse for Herriman as well as some comp teams, one of which is nationally ranked among its age group. He plays defense and uses a d-pole and is a good player. One of his favorite things is when he makes a cross-country goal. He loves to slam that ball into the net. He is good at all positions, but excels most at his defensive spot.
I picked lacrosse because when he was 3, we signed him up for t-ball and I frequently left a baby in a stroll while I ran after Ethan - ZERO attention span for baseball, it has to be more exciting for that personality! We did a few things over the years. I had heard about lacrosse, some of my cousins had played here in Herriman and in Draper. We also have several people who play here in our neighborhood and after learning more about it, I decided it was probably the right fit. Those kids are using their whole bodies and their minds, just what he needs- all parts involved haha!
He has other sports interests and I may cave and let him try football, but I am glad he is playing this and is so into it. I am starting to understand it more too, lol.

Anyway, he is a great kid and I can honestly say I do not know what I would do without him. He is a very important part of my life.. it is something I have thought a lot about this year due to things that have happened in our home as well as with our larger family and I love him dearly and simply can not imagin a life without him in it. I am grateful for the strength, knowledge, action, and fun he brings into our home. I am grateful I have a teenager who still wants to hang out with me ;).

~Today~