Physicals

We are attempting football for the first time. To do so, we have to get our first round of physicals. Caden is so excited to play!! He cannot stop telling me everything that he wants to do and be. Caden and I were heading over to pick Carter up to go with us. I could tell that he was very nervous. When Caden is nervous, he laughs and chews his finger nails without even knowing it. He was in major anxiety mode! He told me that he was really nervous that he might not pass the physical and wouldn't be able to play football. Me, being the rock star mom that I am, asked him if he could jump high enough. He looked at me all wide eyed and asked how high that was. I told him that I had never played football, I didn't know. I then asked him if he could stand on his head. Still total wide eyed, he asked why he needed to do that, in complete panic mode. He told me that he couldn't but that he shouldn't have to. We got to get Carter at about this time in the conversation. Carter jumped in the car and Caden immediately asked Carter if he could stand on his head, or he wasn't going to be able to pass the physical to play football. Carter looks at me in the mirror with a little panic in him and says, with or without my hands?! I can stand on my head with my hands. I was laughing so hard inside. It was taking everything I had not to bust out laughing. Caden was asking Carter all the questions I had asked him. Carter was asking me if he had to pass all these things. I told him that I didn't know, I had never played football. Caden, totally panicked, asked if we could call dad. I called him up and put him on speaker phone. The boys were asking how long they needed to stand on their heads, with or without hands, how high they had to jump, etc. Chet went along with it, and they were dying. I took him off speaker phone and Chet said, "You are SO mean! I cannot believe you!" I love that Chet went along with it with me though. I told the dr the same things when we went in and she even played along. Oh my goodness it was cute. Caden was SOOOOO relieved that he could pass everything, and got cleared to play football! Every once and a while, you gotta have a little fun.

Dates

(Chet is gone on trek with the youth, and I think that I am being blessed with some great experiences with my kids and seeing the great example that he has set for them for his willingness to serve.)

Carter and I were in the car alone and he mentioned to me that dad would be gone all week, get back late Thursday night, and then we (Chet and I) would go out right after work on date night? I said yes. He said bummer, that sucks. I asked him if he would always take his wife out on date night every Friday night. His response was PRICELESS!!! He says, "Well, as many as I can. Sometimes we might not be able to go all the time." I asked him what would ever cause him not to take her out (because he is a money freak already, and wants to be a orthodontist and knows he'll be in tons of debt) and I was ready to blast him if he said the money (because I HATE when people tell me they don't have enough money to. We've had to be VERY creative sometimes, but we never had family to watch for us for free on Friday nights. If its a priority, you make it work!) He says, "Well, like, if we are going to the temple the next day and want to make sure that the kids get to bed early so they're good the next day, then I might not on those days. Or if I'm on a scout campout on Friday night." Words cannot express how happy that reply made me, on SOOOOOO many levels. 1 - That he just knows thats what he wants to do too. You go to the temple, and take all precautions neccesary to make sure everyone is in the best mood possible! 2 - That he fully intends to take his wife out every weekend. We tell all the boys that if they live in the same town as us, they can bring their kids over for a sleepover every Friday night (I worked with a grandpa that did that. He was up to like 6 kids at the time. They would make dinner with them, or order pizza and then make a treat together, and then watch movies and sleep in the family room in their cheap little sleeping bags that he took each grandkid to pick out for his house. Then his grown kids would come the next morning by 10 am to get them and they would all eat breakfast together. How fun is that!!! It's my total goal, I just have to live in the same town as them) 3 - That he thinks about this stuff already. I want it to be engrained into their heads!!! I love raising boys!! Next generation of husbands and dads and church leaders!

Family

While riding in the car with just Cael, we were having such great conversation. The kid is years above his age in understanding of life. Of course he is still 5, but he amazes me so many times. I looked in the mirror at him and said, "Cael. Why did I get so lucky? Why did Heavenly Father send you to me? Was it Dad that is so amazing and thats why we got you?" He looked in the mirror at me with so much love and said, "Mom. Heavenly Father sent us to Earf (the only letter combo he cannot say, "rth" at the end of a word. I love it!) with our families that we already knew in heaven. He put us with families that had enough strength for each other." I sat there with immediate tears in my eyes, amazed at this boy! Then after a short pause, he says, "That's why you're my mom and we are a family. We have strength for each other."  I love my family. I love that he knows we have a Heavenly Father, that we lived with him before, that we ARE in the families we are supposed to be - it wasn't just chance, and that we need to work together as a family. Be each others strength. I love it!!!

Dare or Sing

Chet was on the floor wrestling with the babies. Cael sat on top of him and said, "Dare or Sing?" Chet said, "What?" not understanding what Cael was doing. I spoke up and said ya know, truth or dare?! Chet tells Cael sing. He says, "um.... I dare you to sing I Am a Child Of God." Chet sings the whole song loud enough for us all to hear. Then he tells Cael, "Dare or Sing?" Cael picks dare. So Chet dares him to give mom a great big kiss. I took off running around the couches so he couldn't catch me. We stared each other down across couches and then I would run. I finally turned on him and gave him a kiss attack. He grabbed my arm and gave me a great big kiss on the forearm and then ran to Chet and said he had done it. Chet then picks dare. Cael says, "I dare you to smell my foot!" as he puts his foot in Chets face. Chet says you win!! and Cael starts laughing and celebrating winning. It was the cutest game of truth or dare, or dare or sing as the Parkers call it I have ever seen. Then Colby says, "Dad!! Dare or Sing" Chet says dare and Colby says, "I dare me to give mom a great big kiss!" at which time he takes off running and laughing around the couch looking over his shoulder at me and says, "try to kiss me!" Oh my goodness, I love these boys. Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind. But how can I not LOVE being their mom. Greatest blessing on Earth! My amazing husband and five crazies!!!