Happy Birthday Mom

1991

There is approx. 1 hour left on this, the day of my mother's birth.
But I couldn't let it pass without publicly thanking this good woman...

For giving me life.

For giving me 6 siblings whom I adore.

For supporting me in every dance performance (hundreds).

For staying up all those late nights to: sew my halloween costumes/prom dresses, type my papers (on a typewriter no less), or just talk.

I recently came across this quote and instantly thought of my mother:

"Whenever...temptations became most alluring and most tempting to me, the first thought that arose in my soul was this: Remember the love of your mother. Remember how she strove for your welfare. Remember how willing she was to sacrifice her life for your good. Remember what she taught you in your childhood...This feeling toward my mother became a defense, a barrier between me and temptation."

-Joseph F. Smith

This is the kind of mother she was.

Her goodness and sacrifice safeguarded me throughout my life.

Never underestimate the power of a righteous mother!

Thanks mom...

for everything!

All my love,

Erin

First broken bone...

...and it's not David, if you can believe it.

Cute Will broke his collarbone on Friday.

(I started writing this 2 weeks ago.)

He collided with another child while running at recess and fell on it wrong.

Nate was off work (three cheers for post-call Fridays!) so it was good timing if it had to happen, I suppose.

Although it did interrupt our day-long date to Goldy's (awesome breakfast!) and then Art in the Park (Boise's yearly art festival).

(Have I mentioned that life is pretty sweet with all kids in full day school?)

(I know what you're thinking...perhaps she should use a few more (parentheses) in this post. No problem.)

Notice how his right shoulder slopes at a not-so-natural angle...ouch!

Will has proven to be one tough cookie through the whole ordeal.

(One of the notable perks of being David's little brother.)

He's complained very little.

Here he is smiling for his x-rays.

And voila...

I texted my family from the E.R. and all the women replied "Oh no!!" (with 2 exclamation points) except for Dori who replied "Oh no!!!" (with 3 exclamation points).

It is clear to see who the most concerned sister was.

My brother Wyatt's response had me giggling:

"Running is too dangerous.
He should be hanging out on the roof more.
Nobody ever got hurt doing that."

Ahhh- I love my family.

Luckily the E.R. visit didn't take too long.
We were still able to get to Sun Valley on time for the opening dinner of Nate's work conference.
We spent a relaxing weekend there.
I, of course, have no pictures of Sun Valley.
Because I'm awesome like that.
But here are some pics of our journey home.
We took the scenic route.

Overlooking the Sawtooth Mountain range.

Getting in touch with our tribal roots.
Wait, where's Nora?


Oh that's right. There she is.


Redfish Lake.
This place is gorgeous.
In this picture, Nate is trying to decide where he will dock his boat (that we don't have yet) next time we come up.

He came to the dinner table last night and asked,
"Kids- would you rather go to college or get a boat?"
The decision was unanimous.
We'll start looking at boats this evening.

These pictures are totally undoctored.
Idaho really is just that beautiful.

It's actually not that funny.

Last night while I was at the church, Nate texted me this picture:

At first I wasn't sure what is was.
Was there an animal on our roof?

So I blew it up.
And OMGosh- there is my 6 year old son sitting on top of the roof.
Our 40 foot high roof with 10/12 pitch, to be clear.
(Go right ahead and start judging our parenting skills. I don't blame you.)
I quickly texted back:
What the h?
Which probably wasn't very appropriate for the church, but hey, I was typing as fast as I was thinking.


Apparently a good-hearted neighbor had seen David climbing out the dormer window and scrambling up the roof.
He quickly called Nate and said,
"Are you home? You're going to want to come outside immediately."
Nate ran out the door, looked in the direction of the pointing neighbor, gasped, told David to "hold still" (mostly so that he could get a picture), and then went and stood below the roof, and told David to "come down very slowly," which he did, crab-walk style. Luckily no one was hurt.


When I got home I went straight to David's room.
He wasn't really in the mood to talk.
But I got a few things out of him.
Why did you go out on the roof Davey?
-Jeesh, I just like view.
Do you know how dangerous that is? You could get really hurt or even die if you were to fall.
-Mom, you only fall if you get really close to the edge.
That's not true David. The roof is really steep. All it takes is one slip and you will fall all the way down.
-Mom, you just have to keep your hands dry.
(What??)


Look David- you've worn out the bum in your new pajama pants from sliding on the shingles.
(I thought this would really upset him because he has a slight obsession with PJ pants, and this pair happened to be new.)
And then I noticed it.
Another pair of pajama pants lying on his bedroom floor that also had a thread-bare bum.


(This is where things got a little more serious.)


David, how many times have you climbed the roof?
-I don't know Mom.
Did you do it before today?
-Yes.
Have you done it more than 2 times?
-Yes.
Like a lot of times?
-Yes.
(In tears now) David, do you have any idea how sad we would be if anything happened to you?? You have to promise me that you will never do this again.
I promise Mom.
No, I need to hear you say these words: "I promise I will never climb the roof again."



He said it.
And then I loved on him, said a prayer over him and sang him a song goodnight.
Well wait- he wouldn't let me sing the song. But I did get 2 kisses.
But only after I scratched his back for awhile.



Nate laughs when recounting this story, but I'm not quite there yet.
I spent hours lying in bed last night, wondering what else David was doing, unbeknownst to us, that might be putting his life in danger on a daily basis.
I probably don't even want to know.
He must have one very busy guardian angel.
I sent a hundred prayers up to heaven, thanking God for keeping our little guy safe.
And a thousand more, pleading with Him to continue to do so.

If I'm gray in the next couple of years, you'll know why.