Water Slides

Our boy who usually HATES getting wet LOVES these slides at the Provo Rec Center. I get quite a workout going with him up the stairs (3 flights) and then sliding down over and over for over 2 hours. Nathan doesn't like getting his face wet but he will tolerate getting it wet for these slides. They are so fun!

We went to Provo Rec after we dropped Jordan off at the MTC and it did help distract us from the fact that we were going to miss our son for 2 years.
‪#‎Slides‬ ‪#‎Autism‬

And He's Off....

Well we dropped Elder Anderson off at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah on Wednesday. We are excited for him and a little sad for us. He will receive 3 weeks of training at the MTC and then will head to Ohio.

He will so an awesome job teaching people the gospel of Jesus Christ. He told us the night before he left that if he didn't know the gospel was true there is no way he would leave us for two years. Might I add from a mom's perspective that there is no way I'd let him go for two years with only 4 phone calls allowed if I didn't know this is where God wants him to be right now. God has given us family members a measure of peace in the days since he left and so I have to "let go and let God."

#MissionaryWork #2Years

Excited and Not Sad

Sweet Noelle prayed the other night, "Bless that we will be excited for Jordan to go on his mission and not sad." Yup! He leaves next week...so that is a great prayer for right now.

#FamilyPrayer #Mission

Mama Multi-Tasker

Mamas wear many hats during the day--and that seems to incrementally grow during the summer. Today I was a gardener (I was weeding while waiting for Nathan's bus); merit badge helper (helped Jacob work on his Space Exploration Merit Badge); closet cleaner outer and packing helper (Jordan is packing for his mission); fixer extraordinaire (Nathan broke the toilet paper holder and so we had to fix it; cook, shoulder to cry on (teenage boys can be hormonal too); dish washer, taxi driver, and I'm sure there is something I'm forgetting. Kudos to all women (and men) who wear lots of hats to help raise the rising generation!

What are some of the hats you have worn today?

#WearingDifferentHats #MamaMultiTasker

Autism & Chores

Can kids with autism do chores? Yes, they can. I know that often as a parent it is easier to do it for them (since you have to stand by them the entire time), but I have found that Nathan is quite capable of doing little things around the house to help out. Things like helping me take his sheets and put them in the washer, helping unload the dishwasher, setting the table and replacing toilet paper in the bathrooms. He actually doesn't complain about it either (like my other kids)--part of that is because he isn't very verbal...but it is nice to have another pair of helping hands. I am committed to having him help more around the house this summer.

#Chores #Autism

No Second Mother

"Jacob, Noelle is gone to girls camp this week. Isn't it weird not to have her at the dinner table?"

"Yes. It is good not to have a second mother," Jacob responded. :)

He makes me laugh! Cute Jacob.

Spontaneous Canyonlands

Sometimes last minute trips are the best! As we approached Memorial Day, my husband and I realized that we didn't have any plans...so we decided to do something spontaneous! We headed down to see Canyonlands National Park as a family! It was fantastic and not very crowded or hot. What a great time! Another plus was that we were able to get Nathan to go on a few of the short hikes without any iPod to distract him. Baby steps!

#Canyonlands #Autism #GreatHikes