Happy Easter!

I love Easter, it's just such a meaningful holiday and I love that it corresponds with Spring and all the symbolism of everything coming back to life. The message of the Resurrection and the ultimate triumph over death and sin is just thrilling. What a beautiful plan!

We had such a great church service today. Our choir sang 2 songs and did so well. I was so scared that all the choir members would be out of town for spring break, but we had a great turn out. An older woman from a neighboring ward was there. She was the choir director for years when I was growing up. She was the quintessential ward choir director. Anyway, she hugged me and told me how great the choir was. It was one of those full-circle moments. The amazing thing is, while I still get really nervous, I really have so much fun up there leading these talented singers. I know most of you won't believe me, but it's kind of a rush. I was so upset when I got this calling, when will I learn that the Lord knows what he's doing?

Spring Break

My kids are out of school all week this week and it's been really nice to have them around. We opted out of traveling so we could all just enjoy some nice quality down time especially after the hustle and bustle of the wedding. I feel like my girls, especially Anna, has so little time to just play with friends. This is so frustrating and sad to me given that we have intentionally tried really hard not to over-book her and she doesn't have a huge homework load, there's just so little time after school that even one small commitment gobbles up all her free time. I guess that's just life when they get older, but I have been grateful she's had a few friends around this week and hopefully caught up on just being a kid a little bit.

I was looking forward to a nice mellow week without school schedules, lessons, homework, etc.; however, I'll be honest, I'm exhausted! It's not like we've really done a whole lot either, there's just been what feels like 14 million kids in and out of here all day long. I'm sure my pregnant state and a grumpy 3 year old (he's had a cold) have been the main causes, because I have enjoyed having the girls around more.

Anna had a friend over yesterday and the day before, she's a darling friend from school. They literally sat here on the couch and cackled for an hour about I'm not sure what. I'm so glad she has a friend to giggle with, every girl needs that, but next time I think I'd like to listen from a bit more of a distance :)

Abby had a late night with Paige last night and got to go to Paige's Karate lesson, got her very own individual pizza, watched a movie and painted a picture frame. She was in heaven.

Ben and Nate have been totally occupied with cousin time with Abe and Oliver and Ben's new little Diego jeep and action figure, a new cheap little toy motorcycle and action figure, and some new play dough. I'm so grateful they are such good little imaginary play guys.

Anna's been in charge of Chloe's dog, Tiny, this week. She's supposed to go down and let him out three times a day, walk him and feed him. It's so cute to watch my four little kiddies head off down the sidewalk in their jammies and jackets to go get Tiny and take him for a walk. I love watching older kids be responsible for the younger ones, there's nothing sweeter.

Today we're looking forward to joining up with my family and heading out to a historic farm to see some new baby animals. I'll be sure to take a nap first and then it should be good times!!!

Weekend Update

We've had fun, fun, fun! The wedding, of course, was the big highlight. It truly couldn't have been more perfect. It was so Davis and Melissa, and they thought of everything. In fact, as we were leaving our astute Abby commented, "Mom, that wasn't just like all the other weddings, that really showed their personalities." We're so happy for them. It's a great thing to see someone you love so much so happy. Another great thing was that we got to have my oldest brother, Braden, around. He and Meredith live in Nashville, TN and have 5 kids. We rarely get to see them, so we loved every minute of having Braden around. We also got to have my other brother, Christian, and Rebecca and their kids here. They had a beautiful baby girl two weeks ago who we're loving getting acquainted with.


This weekend was made even more perfect by the fact that it was General Conference weekend. (twice a year our church leaders speak via television broadcast for two 2 hour sessions on Sat. and Sunday, plus one Sat. night for all the men.) It's one of my very favorite things in the world to be able to stay home (or go to my parents') and be cozy on the couch while listening to inspired men and women inspire me. That afternoon we went to my parents' house and listened there while the kids played with their cousins. After that we went to see my sister's fabulous new house that's almost completely done. The men got ready for their meeting while my Mom wrote a course for dinner on a piece of paper and let each of the older kids pick one. There were two side dishes, drink, main dish and dessert. We then took them to the store and let them pick out what they wanted for their course. It was a wild time at the store, but actually went a little more smoothly than I had anticipated. We rushed back to my Mom's to throw together our special dinner. It consisted of steamed broccoli (Nate's pick), strawberries and fruit dip, (Lucy's), Cream Soda (Abigail), and canned chili and chips (Anna). For dessert they had Little Debbie Easter cakes (Rex). They loved planning, shopping and preparing their portion of the dinner and loved the final product. My Mom's the best at facilitating these type of kid-oriented activities. It was a fun evening.


After all that fun, the guys came home and the kids played a little bit longer. Brennan kindly took our kids home and put them to bed so I could stay and chat with my siblings and parents. We did so til about 2:00 am. I love those nights.


Sunday afternoon after conference Chris blessed his new baby, Amelia Grace. Isn't she sweet, and don't you love her name?

We then, of course, celebrated with a big feast and then tried to relax while each and every one of our kids took turns melting down, from all the fun and late nights. We got finally got home and everyone to bed. All is well. What a great weekend.

Benjamin George is 3!

3 years ago I woke up to some pretty intense contractions. Every time I walk around though, they got less consistent, so I decided to go on with my day as planned. I did straighten up the house and made sure I had my bag packed. Later that afternoon I went to help in Abby's preschool class. The teachers became aware that I was in the early stages of labor and kept trying to get me to leave. I begged them to let me stay because I'd much rather keep busy than go home and just wait. By the time school got out and we picked up Anna, I knew it was time. We went home and waited for Brennan and gathered up my bag and drove through the snow storm to my aunt's house where we left our kids (I was in tears leaving my little Nate knowing that was the last time I would see him as my baby) and then Brennan and I proceeded to the hospital.


A few hours later out came Benny. He weighed 5'15" a fact which terrified me. I kept asking the doctor and nurses why he was so small and they kept reassuring me that he was healthy and that's all that mattered.

Here is as a tiny newborn

About 9 months later, much to my relief, he fattened right up.


To this big guy

We are so grateful Ben was born. I cannot imagine life without him, his smile, his eyes, his laugh, his voice, his bossiness, or affection. This morning he crawled into my bed and cuddled up to me and said, "Mom, I wuv you." We love Benjamin George.

We were able to have a little party with some of his cousins, he loved it and this year April 6th was a beautiful spring day.

Wedding!!!

Yesterday was a momentous one. My bachelor brother got married. It was such a happy day, we're so excited for Davis and Melissa. I forgot my camera for outside the Temple, but the rain stopped just in time for the bride and groom to exit and take some beautiful pictures. They looked amazing. Melissa's dress was beautiful and she was stunning.

We celebrated that evening with a fabulous dinner at a nearby museum of fine art. We got there early for pictures and to help get set up. Melissa's mom made all the little girls' dresses, little boys' ties and sisters and sisters-in-law's skirts. Unbelievable! They all looked so adorable.

Nate and Rex, you never saw these two apart

Benny with his mouth full. (There was a table with jars of candy)

Abigail

Anna and Lucy

As we finished eating we watched their wedding video (it's not really a "video" but I don't what else to call it) which was so cute. It was so well done. My favorite photos were the ones of them when they were little kids. Melissa had these gigantic eye glasses and was the cutest thing you've ever seen. After the video, the parents and the happy couple spoke. Then a little speech by one of each of their brothers and best friends. It was all so sweet and funny. There were lots of funny moments. Davis sang with my brother Ryan.

After that, Melissa and her Dad kicked off the dancing and then Davis and Melissa really got things going:

It was such a great day. We're so excited to have another sister-in-law/aunt and wish them both all the best. We love Davis and Melissa!

Here a few other photos (I can't figure out why or how to remove the big white space, sorry!):

April Fools - Follow up

Most of you asked how Anna's prank went. Well, she was disappointed because after about 30 seconds everyone but one special needs boy in her class recognized her. She wasn't devastated though and I think was still glad she did it. She actually does a great British accent, in fact, I think that's how the whole idea came about.

We had several other little jokes throughout the day. Poor Nate and Abby jumped in their beds to get some sleep last night and found themselves most uncomfortable. Anna and Chloe had stuffed hundreds of little wooden tiles under their fitted sheets.

Nate took the cereal bags out of their original boxes and mixed them all up so when you thought you were pouring yourself a nice bowl of Rice Krispies, you ended up with Honey Bunches of Oats.

Brennan sat me down and told me we needed to tighten our budget, especially mine by like 50%. When I asked why the sudden desperation when he had just the other day told me he was having great sales, he said, "Well, I've just got a couple of expensive golf tournaments coming up that I really want to play in..." Fortunately, he couldn't keep a straight face for more than 2 seconds, but it still got my blood pressure right up there

April Foolery

Anna has been planning a particular prank for literally months now. She and her two accomplice friends got special permission from their teacher to have Anna show up to school on April 1st disguised as her friend's cousin from England. They have been laying the groundwork for this by carefully spreading the news that Anna would be going to CA with her grandparents and that while she was gone Sadie's cousin would be visiting. One of her friends asked if "Lucy" (the cousin) could sit at Anna's desk since Anna wouldn't be there. Brennan and I have tried to warn her that it might not work as they've hoped, but they are determined to pull it off. I was given strict instructions to pack a different than normal lunch in a sack rather than her usual lunch bag. She's also going to be careful not to smile because she's missing some teeth and that will be a dead give-away. Here's a picture of Lucy leaving this morning:

That's not all she's doing to celebrate this day of pranks. I found this on my bed last night:


Abby walked into this Saran wrap this morning which was taped all over her doorway.

I keep hoping this is an April Fools' joke: