Things I Forgot (But Have Remembered in the Last 5 Days)

I forgot how tired and sore I'd be.
I forgot how everything leaks... Everything... from everywhere... onto everything.
I forgot that before I can even think about getting my figure back, I'll have to borrow Dolly Parton's for a while.
I forgot about the laundry... masses and masses of it from one tiny person....
I forgot how nothing gets done.
I forgot how impossible it is to have anything scheduled... even with help.
I forgot that even though I'll make time for a quick shower, I will not have the time, energy or desire to actually "get ready" for a day.

I forgot that none of that matters.
I forgot the feeling of your tiny fingers wrapped around mine.
I forgot how even when I can sleep, I won't want to because I'd rather watch you sleep.
I forgot how little it matters if there are dishes in the sink and laundry to be done when I can be holding you instead.
I forgot how every little noise, movement, and face you make would create an ache in my heart to hold on to these moments forever.
I forgot how much I would instantly, fiercely, and irreversibly love you.

A Long Awaited Announcement

Those who are closest to me know just how long awaited this announcement is. 

With love over-flowing from my heart, may I present to you:

Tennesee James Chamberlain

October 20, 2014

7 pounds 14.5 ounces

21 inches long

Helping the Homeless

I have been blessed with two little girls that have hearts full of love. I loved that Naiya wanted to do a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Utah instead of a birthday party. It was a lot of work for all of us, but it was absolutely something I wanted to support.
I did not encourage or expect Eva to choose to do something similar... but she did. Eva has always been worried about the homeless population. She frequently talks about growing up to design and build inexpensive eco-friendly houses for people. She hopes to be able to sell them for around $100. :) 
When the time came to plan what we would do for her birthday celebration this year,  she announced that she wanted to do something for the homeless shelter. She thought about doing some sort of bake sale to raise money, but what she truly wanted to do was to organize a dinner for everyone at the homeless shelter.  That would involve buying and preparing food for 150-300 people (depending on the location). Since I was a few weeks from my due date, this felt a little too overwhelming of an undertaking. Luckily, I was able to talk her into helping on a bit of a smaller scale.  We decided to contact the Road Home Shelter in Salt Lake and ask what kinds of things they needed and then do a donation drive to collect items.  We did not hand out flyers through the neighborhood this time, but did do a Facebook post and created flyers to give to Eva's classmates and soccer teammates. In the end, thanks to the many generous people in our lives, we had the back of the Kia filled to the brim with blankets, toiletries, and clothing. 
The week after Eva's birthday, we found time to deliver all of the donations to the shelter. The volunteer coordinator invited us to do a tour of the facilities. It was a very humbling experience for all of us.  The girls were pretty quiet as they took it all in and listened to what the tour guide was telling us. Although we did not meet specific families (to protect their privacy), we did hear a few stories. One thing that stood out for me was that there were 3 newborn babies (4 weeks and younger) currently at the facility with 2 more expected in the next month.  It was heartbreaking to think about someone having to bring a brand new baby "home" to a homeless shelter. 
On our way home, the girls talked about how lucky they felt to have all that we have.  They started planning other ways to help and trying to decide what next year's birthday service projects would be.  The whole day was a touching experience. 
Happy 8th birthday to our amazing Eva!

I am incredibly proud of my two sweet girls. I know that they will be amazing influences on their soon to be born baby brother. I can't wait!

Martin is Married

This weekend marked that last of the Grygar kids getting hitched. Martin finally was able to marry his sweetheart Travis in a spectacular celebration in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately I was unable to travel as I am too far into this pregnancy to fly and the drive out there would be way to long for me. Luckily the girls and Jared were still able to be a part of their special day. The girls got to be flower girls in the ceremony and had wore these dazzling dresses. 

The rainy weather didn't hamper the celebration at all and they didn't miss a beat as they successfully moved the festivities inside at the last minute. From what I hear the execution was flawless and the guest couldn't have guessed that the way it went was not quite what was planned all along. (I would expect nothing less than a perfect "plan b" from the two of them).

Although I wasn't there to celebrate, everyone was sure not to let me feel left out. Between the text updates from Jared, my mom and the girls and the actual phone call from Martin and Travis just after the ceremony, I feel like I got to share the experience. I had to tell everyone to stop worrying about me and to go enjoy the party! :)

I missed everyone and was sad to not be there in person, but I am so, so happy to welcome Travis to our family.

This is What Awesome Looks Like

In case you were wondering, this is what awesome looks like:

My amazing brother George ran and WON the 2014 Wasatch 100.  As in not only did he run 100 miles up and over various mountain peaks in just under 20 hours... he did it faster than the hundreds of other crazies out there!
It has been an amazing day following his progress at the different check points. I seriously felt giddy watching his progression through the day. He overcame several frustrations including, tearing his calf muscle at mile 40, and not having the things he needed at the last rest stop before nightfall. Yet he never seemed fazed. As he crossed the finish line just before 1 am, he looked around at the small group of family and friends and thanked us for taking the time to stay up late to be there (as if we would have wanted to have been anywhere else at that moment). I was truly in awe watching him complete such an incredible accomplishment. I feel honored to know him and blessed to call him brother.

A New School Year

This year the girls are starting school in the neighborhood public school.  We loved that they had the opportunity to get a good foundation at Reid while I was teaching there, but we are all excited to have mom home more this year. This will be the first year that I am not hanging out in the same building as them each day. Both girls expressed some discomfort about not having me quite as close, but in all reality I am less than a mile away. It will be strange for me not to feel quite as "in the loop" with what is going on in the girls classes. Up to now I have always been friends with their teachers before sending them to school. It will be a growing experience for all of us. I am looking forward to having time to walk the girls to and from school and to volunteer in the girls classes. The girls did have a chance to meet their teachers a couple weeks before school started.
I drove them on the first day so that we could be extra early. It was packed and they quickly realize d there were a LOT more kids than they were used to. A perfect environment to make new friends, if you ask me.  They were both nervous to start, and I caught Naiya sniffing back a couple tears as her class walked into the building. Honestly I was glad to have my sunglasses on as I walked back to the car.

The day passed pretty quickly (a.k.a. I got nothing done), and soon it was time to walk up and pick up the girls. It was fun to see their faces light up as they caught sight of me at our meeting spot. Both girls had nothing but good things to say about their teachers and their classmates. It was a great start to a new school year.

Cookies for Critters

My sweet Naiya is 9 today.  9. NINE!  Where does the time go?!

The only thing she really wanted for her birthday was to go to the Humane Society. We have already been there to visit no less than 10 times this summer. She enjoys nothing more than "giving love to the animals" and would probably go there every day if it were up to her. She could spend hours petting and playing with the cats, and she knows many of them by name. She even advocates for certain cats when she sees customers in there showing an interest.
When she mentioned that all she wanted was to go to the Humane Society, I pointed out that, although we certainly could go, we had done that many times in recent months and for her birthday she had a chance to think of something really special that she would like to do or receive... and did she ever. I was thinking some kind of awesome gift or family outing to some water slides. Naiya, however, had something totally different in mind.
After some thought, she decided that she wanted to do a lemonade stand to raise money for the Humane Society... for her special birthday activity. How can anyone say no to that?! What started out as just a simple lemonade stand, became lemonade and cookies and turned into a full fledged bake sale. Naiya designed flyers and spent days handing them out around the neighborhood. I advertised the sale on Facebook for her, and we had an great response with many people saying that they wanted to come or that they wanted to help in some way.

It definitely has been a project. I dare say there was a lot more planning and effort on everyone's part than any birthday party I've ever thrown... or any other party for that matter. *It should be noted that cute Eva was right there every step of the way. Helping with flyers, organizing, setting up, helping customers. Technically is wasn't her project, but she selflessly helped without any of the attention or praise that the birthday girls received. Love that little girl!*
It was incredibly humbling to see so many people come out to support Naiya's project. Not only did people come to buy/donate from all over the valley, but we had several people bring extra baked goods to sell and had many people helping along the way. We even had a few people mail in donations from out of town! Naiya's aunt Holly and cousin Tayte stayed the entire time and even helped take everything down afterward. It was a hot and sticky day,  but seeing that little girls eyes beaming as person after person filled in for 2 1/2 straight hours was worth every minute.  (Not to mention when she actually made the delivery to the Humane Society, but I'll post about that later.)
Although we'd planned on the sale running just from 1:00 to 3:00, people started coming around 12:40 and really did not stop until a quarter after 3. In fact we had one more customer knock on the door at 3:45. After that we had another on-line pledge bringing the exact grand total to $413.00!!!

Way to go, Naiya!!

Happy birthday to my kind, generous, and creative Naiya.  If you are this amazing at 9, I can't wait to see what your future holds.