I joined the kids up in Utah for a quick 30 hours. Claire was moving into her new place, Abby got horribly sick right as Max was heading back to work, and I was so grateful I got to go help a little bit.
…and also get my hands on baby Ada who changes and grows up without me on the hourly.
I even caught the tail-end of Elle being there for a concert she and Grace had planned since before Claire got home:
Love those sisters!
Charity to the Rescue
Anyway, Abby got so sick with mastitis two weeks after Ada was born, poor girl! My sister Charity was so awesome to come pick up Murphy for a couple days of fun with her kids.
Is that just the very nicest?? Murphy thinks Charity is “NiNi” (my grandma name) too since we seem to look a lot alike. Ha! So I was so grateful to have a “double” to help when I couldn’t. And of course, Abby’s mom is a superwoman close-by who always gets to be around, lucky lady!
I was just so grateful it worked out that I got to be in their village to help a little bit.
Big Kids and Little Babies
My four oldest kids picked me up at the airport with baby Ada (while Murphy and Abby were sleeping) and we got everyone situated with food and love.
Oh I love to be with them!!
I got to snuggle that baby:
…and the rest of them.
It’s so fun watching Max be a dad.
Heart-melter.
NiNi Sleepover With Murphy
By the time I got there Abby was on her third round of antibiotics and steroids so she was starting to feel better. But I still got to steal away Murphy for a quick NiNi sleepover. I LOVE that she was ready to head out with us, after picking her own outfit and packing up her pink basket/bag.
We were all pretty excited about it.
We dropped off Elle at the airport which Murphy wasn’t too happy about…
Dinner with the Eyres
I got to take Murph with me to dinner at my parent’s house. Grace and Claire came too and it was such a special, impromptu night to be together.
So fun to meet my nephew’s girlfriend, to see so much family history my mom’s been working on…
(How’s that for an awesome family photo?? I think I was pretty proud of that hairdo I no-doubt came up with myself…)
…and play some games together.
So very grateful for this family of mine…including all those who weren’t there that night I wish I could have seen!
My Parent’s Quick Visit
My parents came to visit for a minute with our NiNi sleepover and I cannot NOT show both of these pictures because look at that little granddaughter of mine…
I know I’m biased, but are you kidding me with that cuteness??
It was so special to have that time together with this little lady I love so much.
Grandparenting really is the best.
Back to the Big Kids
Oh my goodness there were a lot of different directions to go that quick day! We got to help Claire move into a little house with her cousins, help Dave situate some things over the phone with some yard problems and party prep (we were hosting his brother’s 60th birthday party the next day and Dave was planning), help Lucy edit her big English paper over the phone. Each of our kids is going through some different kinds of transitions and it was just good to be with the majority of them.
Love these move-in helpers for Claire:
I brought dinner up from the desert (fresh home-made bread from my friend and our special Nichol’s pasta sauce I had brought up frozen in my backpack. Ha!),
I hated to leave, especially this one!
But so grateful for that snippet of TIME, cocooned with all those people I love.
And back home to more people I love for a giant week of Pothier togetherness with Dave’s family! Reports on that coming soon!
If you pay for their education and it seems like all their housing, cars etc. and you pay for all the travel & trips you all take very often. What are you teaching them about been responsible adults and adulting????
Or do you just presume they are going to marry wealthy and they can carry on this very unrealistic life style they lead?
My parents paid for my education and housing. I even got some money for my first car. AFTER I graduated, I was financially responsible for myself. That was very clear for everyone and I like to think of myself as a responsible adult (without having married wealthy).
It may work that way for the Pothiers, too.
I don’t see how the lifestyle is unrealistic if it’s literally the lifestyle they’re leading? Fairies and unicorns are unrealistic; having a strong financial safety net is the reality for some fortunate families!
There’s a quote that talks about “giving your kids enough so they can do something but not so much that they can do nothing” which seems fitting here. Every family has their own arrangements and expectations, and while they do take their share of parent funded trips, the kids all seem to be pretty well adjusted and take pride in working hard at their own jobs and studies.
As far as I can tell, from reading the blog and as a parent of young adults myself, Shawni’s kids seem to be doing a great job of being responsible adults. They have jobs, houses, cars and – in Max’s case – kids. I’m not sure it’s really our business how Shawni spends her money, or that she’s ever said that she pays for their housing and cars. We see maybe 5% of someone’s life on social media, especially since this is a blog by Shawni and not her kids. How can we know what ‘lifestyles’ they are living, how much they earn and how much they spend? We’ve seen that Grace has a job while at uni, surely if – as you presume – Shawni was bankrolling her like a Kardashian she wouldn’t be doing that? But again, it’s not really our business. You can’t just be happy for someone whose kids are obviously thriving and enjoying their lives?
His profile says he has a bachelors degree in computer science. I think they can afford a few kids in a college town. Utah is typically set up for college students to get married and have their first before either graduates. He graduated high school 10 years ago. I think 26 is old enough to have your first child. Abby finished school 2021. I think she finished before either baby.
Sending you love. It is evident you are serving your family in many ways and with a whole lot of love as they all head in their different directions…all while allowing them to spread their wings in their own way. It is a tricky balance as a mother and you are doing it so amazingly.
Those grand babies are SO cute! You have a lot going on thanks for sharing it with us!
Adorable cuteness with your grandbabies! If you get a chance to answer back, do you think Ada looks like Murphy’s baby pics? Also, what is the total number of grandchildren and great grandchildren that your parents have now? Such a beautiful, happy family. Thanks for sharing!
Ooh those babies are sooo sweet!!!
What a huge blessing you can be together often. Claire looks like she is settling in so well. Yeah for families❤️
Poor Abby! Mastitis is really a beast. I’m guessing she knows this because Charity is a rockstar at stuff like this but just in case…sunflower lecithin is amazing to prevent mastitis. I had a case every month for seven months after one of my babies and I was so frustrated. A midwife called to check on me and told me to start taking a few capsules every day and I have never had mastitis with a baby again. I’m a huge fan of that stuff, and it’s worth trying!! Hope she avoids it in the future regardless. (And your grandbabies are darling!)
Second vote for sunflower (or soy) lecithin. I went from having recurrent mastitis to being able to clear up any plugged duct within one feeding of feeling “off.” I know mastitis can have several different causes, but my issues seemed to have stemmed from the viscosity of my milk, and lecithin fixes that right up whenever I needed it.