Richfield Update

So far, Vivian has joined us in bed every night since our move. This helps her deal with the stress of such a big transition by giving her extra snuggle time with mom. And this (very early) morning, it has helped me to do some online window shopping for home decor, answer some Emails, and update the blog, since occasionally I can't go back to sleep after her cute little warm body crawls over me and nudges me ever closer to the floor.
The girls and I are getting a slow but steady dose of acclamation to our new life here. Things are in drawers and closets and are even organized, which makes me feel at home. The girls can visit the house to our left for Passion and Paris, (those are the little girls' names--different, yes, but their parents are surprisingly normal) straight across for Kate, Brynn, and Adri, to the right for (I forgot her name--she's Elora's age), farther right for a family with FIVE girls, and down the street for Emily. And that's only our street! There are more little girls waiting to be played with close by! Elora met one today at the Parks & Rec. twice-a-week free craft time in the park whose name is Ellie Smith! They got along great, calling each other "K" and "M", their middle initials.
The craft day has become a regular part of our summer, along with daily visits to neighborhood friends. We also enjoy the free school lunch in the park occasionally. As it was explained to me, Richfield has lots of free- and reduced- lunch school kids and an extra source of money from somewhere, so the lunch ladies take their cafeteria line to the park for summer lunch for anyone from 0-18 years. It's fun to go and see which friends showed up, and it's fun for me to not have to choose, make, serve, and clean up lunch at home.
We've only been to the pool once, but we're going again today. I love this pool! Admission is $1 for kids and you can rent a huge array of fun floaty things for .50 each! The shallow section is huge with its own little slide, and the deeper part has a bigger one. And there's a diving board, too, which Elora enjoys. One of my favorite parts about it is that all the teenage employees are kind, attentive, and respectful to both the kids and their dorky parents. It's kind of a Richfield trend I've noticed that makes me so glad we gave up living in a bigger town.
I've been feeling needy for more friend interactions to reach the point sooner where I can show up to someone's house with greasy hair, complain about my chubby tummy, and borrow a diaper. Today I was given hope by being invited to my neighbor's weight room three times a week to work out with the ladies and let the kids play in the basement. It's the perfect opportunity for girl talk and toning on a regular basis!
Church here is wonderful. The people are sincerely interested in every single person who walks through the door, and the speakers, teachers, and primary leaders all seem to take their callings seriously and are well prepared. To sum it up simply, both in the ward and neighborhood, the people are genuinely kind, good, and believing.
Daniel is doing all kinds of exciting work in the ER and the nurses are learning that he's unusually bold when it comes to procedures. There are a few things he can do on the spot in the ER that they normally have another doc come and do because most ER docs don't have the extra training Daniel has. He will start his clinic work in the middle of August, and there are patients lined up to see him (unfortunately not because his fame has spread all the way from Arkansas, but because all the family practice doctors here are booked for weeks). Daniel's having to adjust to running into patients around town more often than he did in Jonesboro and to mixing medicine with religion since it's Utah. He's working so many weekends that people at church don't know him yet, so those friendships will take a while to start.
We've all been enjoying the mild weather here--to us it seems like paradise with the fresh western air, mountain views and cooler temps, even as others complain that it's sooooo hot. We're excited for the cool and crisp of a western fall, too.
About the house--it's big and beautiful inside and out, and we love it! I was planning to hire an interior decorator to help me out so I could learn from an expert in one of my fondest areas of interest, but I'm so overflowing with my own ideas that I just want to do it myself yet again. And there's so much potential with the landscaping, too. It's a do-it-yourselfer's perfect blank canvas.
In other news, Levi turned one! He's taking a few steps now and then, but he has turned into such a goofy, giggly kid that he can hardly ever balance because he's usually laughing and bouncing. He loves to be teased and to play any kind of game with anyone. Naomi discovered that if you plug his nose he'll respond by snorting. Every time. He's a fun, happy child, and at times the only kid in the house I'm not mad at (it's embarrassing to admit, but I know other moms get me). He can cheer me up out of the darkest of moods--I'm just plain lovey-dovey about him. And so is everyone else, except for when he bites us, which he loves to do.
So far, so good for us in Richfield! We miss lots of Jonesboro people, but we enjoy it here very much.

This morning at about 4:00 I had to wake up to change Levi and give him a milky appetizer. His cries that interrupted my sleep were unwelcome at first, but once I was awake and had the bottle made I enjoyed the cute little "Eeeee, eeee" sounds he makes and how he reaches like a deprived addict for his bottle. As I delivered it, I noticed a tell-tale smell and was disappointed to realize that I would have to change him, too, but once I got him out of his crib and unsnapped, I enjoyed watching him in a complete state of bliss, all relaxed with his knees pulled in and his feet curled up the way I imagine he was in my womb. I love taking care of Levi!

While I was thus occupied, Daniel walked past me on his way to the bathroom and right after that Vivian walked up, knelt by me, and gave Levi and me a silly grin. Where did that come from? Why was she awake? My mothering style is not to worry about these questions, content with the knowledge that she'll go back to sleep soon. But it did feel funny to have two family members make their appearance at this hour as I changed a diaper. Unfortunately, after all that I was wide awake. I tried my usual method of lying in bed and counting with the rhythm of my breathing to 100--I tried it twice. Then I gave up and decided to go work on the blog. So I've been reading Email, catching up on the latest movements of my favorite political analyst, Glenn Beck, and transferring and editing photos for the blog. I don't have time to post all the photos I edited right now because I want to squeeze in a jog before everyone wakes up, but I can't resist posting just this one scrumptiously cute close-up of my favorite boy. I've said it before--when I look at pictures of women my age who are famous, glamorous, thin, divorced, self-centered, etc., I pity them because they'll never have what I have.

Smithling Quotables

You are My Sunshine


I love this dress. Even when I'm not wearing it I feel it.

Viv: Why do all mothers wear underwear?
Mom: Everyone wears underwear.
Viv: Well, not babies.
Also: "Levi's crying stinks."

On Tuesday night I started making dinner a little late, so by the time it was ready I had to go. The kids looked at me in disbelief as I explained I couldn't sit down and eat with them. When I came back after an hour and a half, Elora hugged me and said, "You came back!" as if she thought she had lost her mom forever.

A Wink for Motherhood

I started off 2008 with a fun case of goopy pink eye. One morning Naomi woke me up asking for help to put together her Wacky Wiggler. I told her I needed a minute to wash off my goopy stuck eye to get it open. She said, "Well, you can do it with one eye". And that, I thought, is what motherhood is all about. Doing it with one eye. And sporting a double chin from my 4th baby weight gain. But I'd rather look like this and be a mother (a real mother) than sacrifice my life's purpose to look perfect and be important in the world.