Preparedness

Tonight Andrew came downstairs after his shower dressed in mismatched pajamas. Thomas the Tank Engine was on the bottom and GI Joe was on top. He asked me, "Is it OK if I wear it this way?" "Sure," I said. When his sisters saw him they weren't quite so OK with it. Caroline asked him, "What are you wearing?"

Andrew said, "Oh, these are my 7-2-hour-pajamas."

There you have it. Prepared at 4 years old.

Easter 2011

Happy Easter!

We love traditions. Easter Saturdays are awesome.

Bunnies bring books & brushes!

Easter Sunday with the boy.

Did you need a closeup of that?

It rained all night on Good Friday. That means the Easter Bunny had to get up early to hide eggs and it was way too soggy outside. So the Annual Easter Egg Hunt happened inside! The kids were finding eggs DAYS afterwards. They were so amazed at all the places that Bunny found. Thankfully, Sunday was beautiful. (And after 8 months of winter, we deserve a little sunshine up here!)

Now for closeups of the girls. They look different than he does for some weird reason... Honestly, they were right side up when I downloaded them. Then the devil ate my laptop and threw it back up sideways. Bummer.

She is so precious. But in real life she'll take you down.

Mom, it's really bright out here. (Michiganders are used to the dark.)

Out of patience, the princess would rather the paparazzi go away.

All grown up and beautiful. Time flies.

This year one of the kids explained to a younger sibling that the Easter Bunny comes on Friday night because we don't play outside on Sunday. I added that because he bounces in early, we can spend Easter Sunday concentrating on the Savior's resurrection. I'm so thankful for that blessing. He is such a courteous rabbit. Easter was wonderful - this year I sang a duet with Cari. I botched it, but I was singing alto so it was more like I just sang softer when I was messing up. Anyway, we had a powerful service narrated by new members or very active non-members in the ward. Hearing the prophets' testimonies of Jesus Christ always strengthens mine. I fully enjoyed the day. And we had ham. (This year the ham was not a disaster, like 2010. Oi vey!)
We hope you had a wonderful Easter too!

The 8th Birthday

N.K. Whitney Store

Our eldest celebrated her 8th birthday with a trip to Kirtland, OH and General Conference weekend with Gramma & Papa. She took the rest of us along for the ride. Unexpectedly she also spent part of the weekend at Sam's Club buying new tires for the Superburban. Life happens.

It takes a really long time to buy tires. It was hard. For the boy.

Finally at the Kirtland Temple. (We're here from Michigan. Who knew?)

We thoroughly enjoyed the sister missionaries in Kirtland and Wonder Woman is especially thankful for their testimonies. The kids so loved being with them. Jac held hands with the red head as we walked the historical paths. Super cute. Super spiritual. Super trip.

Got there just in time - one of our guides went home the next week. Whew!

I have wanted to go to Kirtland ever since Aunt Cindy took her BYU tour of Church History Sites a couple of hundred years ago. I was so jealous! My first ugly green monster experience. (What was I, 6 years old? That's ugly.) It just seemed to me that she was seeing the most important parts of this world and would know so much that I didn't know. I'm so happy to have taken our family and know we'll need to do it again when they're a little older and can remember it.

Door of the Temple with Gramma

A week or so later, the big girl and her friend were baptized on the same day. Memaw & Pepaw came from Arizona; Gramma & Papa traveled from Ohio. It was wonderful to have them all there.

Arizona, Michigan, Ohio. What a country!

Two beautiful wet heads.

Jeff was Alex's Primary teacher last year so she asked he be part of her confirmation. Kim led the music. Awesome.

Pretty terrific way to start the month. Kirtland, new tires, our first baptism. Wow. Wonderful.

10 Years Happy

March 24th (and these roses) marked ten years of an eternal marriage to my sweetheart. I love you, Scott!

As a massive anniversary surprise back at the end of February, Scott got a babysitter, took me to dinner and then down the highway toward the big city and the big auditorium where famous people sing. We were within five minutes of The Palace when he finally told me to take the tickets from the glove compartment. He took me to see George Strait, Reba McEntire & LeeAnn Womack! - listed in order of importance. Everyone knows I'm a  Reba fan having arisen early in the morning several times to be first in line for tickets to her shows. But that was college. Heck, that was Las Cruces! (Ah, Las Cruces.) Many concerts and many moons later, I have never seen George Strait. I hold his voice with such reverence (and that white hat) that I rarely even speak of how I adore him. But when Amarillo By Morning comes on the radio, I pull over and cross my heart.
Scott says I told him he could buy me tickets to that show, but I don't even remember knowing Mr. Strait was coming to the mitten. No clue. It's a good thing I lost my mind way back when because it made this night the most wonderful surprise. I screamed like a girl. And when Mr. Strait said, "You know we've recorded a lot of songs over the last 25 years, but this one is my favorite..." And then the first chord of, wait for it...Amarillo By Morning! I let out a girl-scream like nobody's business and the lady behind me touched my shoulder and said, "You don't like this song, do you?" I laughed, I cried, I felt like I was in my twenties again at this concert. I did not behave and I loved every minute of it. (Scott was bored to tears, but I was kinda OK with that.) I haven't had fun like that in so long. What a night. I'll never forget our 10th anniversary.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland - Because of Your Faith

Halloween 2010

Our children live to spend time with their daddy. They've created every tradition around him and they have the biggest smiles on their faces when he is with them. I love him. I love them. And time is the most precious commodity.

In it's perfect place on the porch. Andrew was crushed when Halloween started rotting and we had to throw him out. When you are 4 years old, everything should last forever.

The Wonder of Learning

We began school anew and afresh this week. Homeschooling is the most humbling experience I've had post-childbirth. The exercise itself can be so difficult, but the miracles I see are constant. They make the hard moments not even memorable and I am so grateful. The miracles also let me know that Heavenly Father is pleased with and blesses our efforts. They may seem silly to others, (I promise they seem silly to others) but homeschooling teaches me that what others think doesn't matter. Our children matter. That's all.

We spent the morning reading some of the books we discovered at the public library yesterday. We left with 5 bags of books and a receipt over 6 ft long. There was a line of adults waiting behind us and the librarian told them all that no one borrows as many books as we do.

A book I borrowed teaches the meaning of The Pledge of Allegiance which is something I like to review periodically. We read the book and at the end discovered that the Pledge was written in the late 1800s for a children's magazine called Youth's Companion. We gasped! Could this be the Youth's Companion magazine mentioned in The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder? Did we remember the reference correctly? Alex ran to get the book - we just finished it last week. Sure enough, Youth's Companion is the magazine sent to the Ingalls' home by church friends from an area in which they'd previously lived. We were thrilled! We knew about the magazine and we love the Pledge. Our learning just came full circle. I am so thankful to have experienced that moment with my children. See, it's silly and it brings me to tears. I am so thankful.