Great Day!!!

Today was a great day! The youth were going to the temple and they asked if we would drive so we took Bree and Shelly with us. Being in the temple is awesome and seeing my kids in the temple is even better! Thayne stayed home with the little kids and kept working on preparing the house for it's new paint job!!! It is fun to go anywhere with the kids. Tallin got to go with us, and Willie, Kinzee, Kassi and Kailee. We had such a great time. There is nothing better than driving with really good loud music and everyone singing at the top of their lungs! It's fun to laugh with my kids... it's fun to talk to them and just be together! We loved our time in the temple... and we loved our time just hanging out, shopping, laughing, driving, singing... I am a very lucky mom!!!

Girls, Girls, Girls....This is the funny part... we stopped to get gas and this very cute guy (or so the girls insisted!!! haha silly girls!) pulls up next to us. He was in fatigues and the girls spent a little time flirting... KAILEE!!!! After we finished getting gas and treats, they mention that he has gone into Burger King and well.... being the good mom that I am I sent them in to get some french fries! And crowns!!! I'm sure he quite enjoyed the attention but poor girls... sometimes you win love, and sometimes you have to drive away from it!!!! BWHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Ready for lunch!!! Kailee wanted to know if I was really going to take the picture in Applebees... and I told her of course, we will take a picture almost anywhere!

Waiting to cross the street... Cute girls... Kassi, Bree, Kinzee and Kailee

I want flowers at my house!!!

The beauty!!! I wanted to stay right here all day and enjoy the beauty of it all.

After being in the temple everyone is ready for lunch....

I love being on temple square! We don't even dare put flowers out yet here and yet, in the middle of the city is absolute beauty!!!

Brothers!!! So glad to have Tallin home with us!

I love to see the temple!!! It always takes my breath away to see the temple.

Awwwwwwwww.... sisters!!!

Ready to get in the elevator... they are always a little worried about getting in after the time they were stuck inside for far too long!!!

Kassi, Kailee, Kinzee, Shelly and Bree...

Gabe's first sleep over...

Garrett asked if I wanted to keep Gabe overnight while he and Tiffany went on a little get away. Like he had to ask!!! :) So Thursday and Friday we had Gabe all to ourselves and had the best time playing with him and spoiling him and just enjoying him completely!!! I had a flash of the future happen seeing him and Nate playing together and I couldn't help but smile at the vision I saw in my mind! He was happy and spent a lot of time laughing at us all...especially grandpa! And he slept through the night! I think the best thing I could have done was give Tiffany my pump so that way she has a supply for when we keep Gabe! And I have to say that little Gabe loves his grandma! If I do say so myself! I love how he just cuddles in my arms when he is tired and looks at me like he knows I will protect him and love him and keep him safe! He had a great time, we had a great time and it sounds like Garrett and Tiffany had a great time! When they got home we rode out to see where their new house is! They should be in the house within the next couple of weeks... it's brand new and so nice for them and I am excited for them! I think we will steal him as often as possible!!!

Big grins for grandma and aunt Kailee... he loves my bed! Trying to get to me and my cell phone!

Nate loves it when we babysit Gabe and tells us all Gabe is his baby!!!

Even Jace got in on the babysitting action... this is them playing peak-a-boo!!!

Funny how life changes....

Where did the time go?

I drove to town alone this morning and couldn't help but wonder

where the years went...

How is it possible that they flew by so quickly.

Life is what happens when you are busy living, right?

And yet I really wonder how so many years have flown by so fast.

I blinked.

But I didn't miss it!

I have enjoyed it!

I have cried over it!

I have learned so much from it!

I have laughed!

At 18 I became a wife to the man of my dreams...

He was my fairty tale

And we started our family with our eyes wide open!

Looking forward to all that being parents would bring

Excited to watch them grow up

We always believed that we are raising adults... not children

We want our kids to grow and become everything that they can be...

And then some!

And that is exactly what they are doing.

I have enjoyed every step along the way.

Every step... there has never been a favorite age because

they are all our favorite ages!

But being parents to adults is interesting, amazing, even sometimes exhausting!

And now we have one beautiful daughter in law...

And because of her we have our sweet Gabe!

And another beautiful daughter in law will join our family in less than 2 months!

Today they are doing a walk through for their new apartment...

And I feel their excitement and joy...

This will be their first home where so many memories will be made.

They will learn... grow... laugh and cry and find joy there!

What an exciting time!

And now our daughter has her ring!

An official proposal in front of her new home...

The house he bought for her!

In the rain no less... could it be more romantic!

We bought her dress...

Will she really understand her dad's tears because he bought her a new set of scriptures

With her new last name on it!

She has been ours...

She will become his...

But she will always be ours!

And we feel her excitement... her joy... her amazement of life seen through different eyes.

She now sees life through the eyes of someone who loves, and is loved.

Oh... she has always been loved but this love is different.

This love is that of someone who completes her...

The way she is supposed to be completed!

And they have their home.

A home where they will start their life, where they will have joy, and laughter, and sometimes tears...

But even when there are tears it will be alright

Because they have each other and it will be forever!

And just as we are watching two children start marriages of their own...

We will prepare another to leave...

To fly from the nest for an entirely different reason.

He will go and serve the Lord.

He is preparing himself to be a missionary.

He will leave my boy...

And come back a man!

A man who will have grown and be confident and sure in who he is...

And what he is to become!

It will never be the same

But it will be better!

So while I was busy living... being a wife... becoming a mom

Time was flying by...not stopping, not even slowing...

And while I am not exactly sure that I like getting older...

because I don't really feel older...

I do love watching our children become adults

and starting their lives

And finding the love that we always wanted them to find.

So we are changing.

We are growing.

We are learning new things and learning to love new people...

Because I do love these children that are becoming mine

through marriage!

I feel so blessed to be able to know them

and welcome them into our home.

Changes can be scary sometimes...

but changes can be

WONDERFUL!

So Much Fun....

Thayne and I met Ed and Talitha in Salt Lake and it was so much fun!!! Who would have thought that a friendship started on the internet around 9 years ago would turn into something so wonderful! Talitha and I always laugh when people ask us how we met... and the kids were so funny when I told them we were stopping to visit a friend that I hadn't actually met in real life. It's still a big joke that mom let them stop at some lady's house to eat her food and play with her kids. But oh how glad I am that we did!!! That visit was the start of many and it is so fun to watch our kids hang out together and become friends also. She tells me that the kids that come to visit when I go see her get into her heart... but it is the same for me. Her kids feel like they could be my kids too and that is why sharing Bri's wedding was so wonderful. So having the opportunity to have Thayne and Ed get to know each other better was amazing! I knew that they would hit it off because they have so many of the same great qualities and a whole lot in common. And it was fun to see Thayne open and laughing and having a good time! We joke that the reason they would get along so well is because they both don't like people! :) Of course they do, but usually it's a little harder for Thayne to open up... but it wasn't with Ed and Talitha! It was so nice to have nothing to do but hang out. Walking around downtown Salt Lake on a beautiful afternoon, laughing and talking was just what we needed! I hope we get to get together again soon!!!

After Talitha and Ed got on the road we were able to get to the temple and then shopping for the weddings! It started raining cats and dogs but we were hungry and The Cheesecake Factory was calling our name so we ran through the parking lot with rain pounding down. The water was only ankle deep so we were okay... wet, but the food was delicious so it was worth it. We found dresses for the little girls, a dress for me and pants for some of the boys. Yes, we are going to pull these weddings off... we will!!!

Thanks for the fun get away Talitha!!! I can't wait to do it again!

The bond that links your true family
is not one of blood,
but of respect and joy in each other's lives.
--Richard Bach

I guess I am still emotional or something but I have sure been counting my blessings lately and realizing how blessed we are to have so many wonderful people in our lives... people that are not related by blood, but are there for us like family in so many ways I could barely begin to count!

I was dreading the D&C Wednesday, with all of my heart I wanted the outcome to be different than it was, and I was dreading going through it. And while the purpose of the surgery was horrible, I was so grateful for the wonderful people who stepped in and took care of me, and treated us like family while we were going through a difficult moment in our lives. I went to a hospital where 5 of my kids had been delivered.... doctors and nurses who had taken care of me for 5 c-sections there... for ear tubes and tonsils removed and an appendectomy.. a place where they knew us, and cared about us. When I pre-registered for the surgery on Thursday, it didn't matter that I haven't seen some of them in years... they had tears in their eyes as they told me they were sorry that we have to go through this. And I knew they meant it! And then... the day of the surgery, the same nurses that had been there to share in the joy of the birth of my children was there to cry with me at the loss of a very wanted pregnancy. The sweet nurse that knows how bad I hate IV's and numbed my hand, and then covered the needle so I couldn't see it. Who told us they felt like we were part of their family. The nurses that kept me calm and talked to me about happy times. Who have been there to take care of my babies at birth, and during surgeries were there to comfort me that day. And then, when I felt like I was going to break down, there is Marian... she came in and held my hand and talked until I fell asleep. The first time I truly met her was when she was helping me... setting up lights because Kassi had horrible jaundice, and then, in the most compassionate act, when I was literally dying she took her to her home and watched over her while I had a life saving surgery. She has a heart of gold, and I feel honored to count her as my friend. And here again, she was right where I needed her to be... holding my hand and giving me the encouragement to get through this. I love her as if she were truly family... because as the quote says...it's not flesh and blood that makes us family, it is respect and joy we find in each other's lives. I am grateful for doctors like Dr S... who does more than just take care of 'procedures' but who treat you like they really care. It was interesting when I was talking to him how much he remembered out my previous surgeries. He doesn't practice just to practice... he has compassion for us and what we are going through. There are so many people that bless our lives that we kind of take for granted! But I am grateful for them all...for knowing that in times of heart ache, times of pain, there are people that will carry the load with you, and make the burden lighter! We are blessed to know so many wonderful people... and I am grateful for each and every one of them!

Because it's been a while...

Because it has been a while since I blogged about our sweet Gabe I decided it is time!!! Simply because I can! He is growing so much and always has the biggest smiles for us. The kids still adore him and Nate thinks that Gabe is his best buddy. Today we picked Gabe up while Tiffany worked and Nate has an old cell phone and made Thayne take a picture of Gabe so it would be on his cell phone! The exciting thing is that they may be buying a house out here and I was thinking about how amazing it will be to watch Gabe grow up close to us. Today I was so tired, had been up until after midnight with Kalli who was sick and then got up at 4am to open at Curves and desperately needed a nap. Gabe and I decided to take a nap together and I love that he just cuddles right up and naps with me and then wakes up with a huge smile on his face! He is a sweetie and we are very blessed to have him in our lives!

Gabe in the red hat... he wasn't sure about it but the rest of us thought he looked adorable! And of course anytime Gabe is around Nate has to be close to him too! WHAT is this thing on my head???? :)

Jace is always grabbing poor Gabe's lips! At least he was asleep and unaware of the torment he was going through!

Nate giving his Gabe loves....

Measuring their feet....

Just relaxin'

Catch up on Kimi...

Since I didn't get her birthday cake pictures up I might as well just do it now with the big, amazing, wonderful announcement that tonight Kimi got her temple recommend and we are now planning a wedding for this sweet girl on June 25th!!! I could shout from the rooftops... she was glowing when she came into the house tonight and said, "I PASSED!!!" as if that was even a question... what she meant was that she met with the bishop and after her interview she has her temple recommend in her hand with the stake president's blessing to go to the temple anytime!!! Matt just bought her a cute house and they are looking forward to starting their lives together. She loves his family and they love her... she is so excited! This is such a great time in her life and her dad and I are absolutely thrilled about it all! The only bad part is that she will live 4 hours from us... but Matt already promised they will visit often. He said 3 times a month! :) I am just so grateful for the amazing people that are joining our family. Tiffany, Caitlyn, and now Matt... Kassi said that in this family there is no such thing as 'in-law'... that we are all just FAMILY! And it's true... they become ours when they love our children and we are so happy for this wonderful time!!!

So Kimi.... it was amazing to celebrate this birthday with you knowing that this year would be the beginning of the most amazing time of your life! May you always be at least as happy as you are now... but then, we know that this is just the beginning and that you will find that your love will grow stronger year after year! What wonderful things to look forward to! Kimi is so good to Nate... I think that will be the hardest part of her moving because the kids are so attached to each other!

We flew away....

We got to fly away last week... well, Kailee, Kassi, Kinzee and I flew away. It was a wonderful get away and a much needed distraction for all of the 'stress' we had been dealing with and I can't even put into words how it filled me. And even better... I got to take my amazing and beautiful daughters to share in a very special event... a wedding!!!! Bri and Jordan got married and it was such a privilege to get to share in that special day! I am so grateful to have been able to go and forget the world for a while, and laugh. And oh! Did we ever laugh!!! I was thinking about how blessed we are to have such amazing friends... and I was sent this text from Talitha (Bri's mom) that put it all into words how I have been feeling...

The bond that links your true family

is not one of blood,

but of respect and joy in each other's lives.

--Richard Bach

It is so amazing to have friends that welcome you in like family no matter what is going on. And the feelings are mutual! It was such a wonderful and amazing time and I will forever be grateful for them sharing their weekend with us. And that I got to make more memories with my girls. On the plane flying home the lady Kailee and I were sitting next to told us that it seems very obvious that my kids are my best friends. She was so right. I love the friendship I share with my kids and hanging out with them is absolutely wonderful! Hanging out with Talitha's family and watching our kids interact with each other was a joy to experience. And we laughed until we could barely stand up! I needed this weekend! I am always so happy to get home to the rest of the family, but I was thrilled to have the memories made from the wedding and the weekend with friends who should really be family!!! Thanks for putting up with us Talitha, you are the best!!!

This is the reason we went... Bri was absolutely stunning in her dress. It truly looked like it was made for just her and it was fun to see the love that they share! May their lives be as wonderful as it was on their wedding day!!! The love on Jordan's face for Bri was so obvious.... and you could tell she feels the same!
Her dress was amazing, and Bri IN her dress was breath taking!!!

The happy bride....

The cake!

He was nice when he fed her the cake...

Kassi and Kinzee enjoying the reception...

Dancing with the siblings... it was so sweet! Cooper adores his big sister!

Ready to go....

Spencer navigating us safely through the city.... to get me a FOUNTIN!!! :)

Silly girls... I think they had been praying that Spencer could safely navigate us through the city!!! :) At least that is what they might bug him about doing!

Hanging out watching movies... though I have to say that there was much more laughing than movie watching!

Walker showing off for the pictures! It is funny that I have several pictures of everyone on the couch watching movies over the year. It's fun to see how much the kids have all grown!

If I remember right, I was being told not to take a picture.... but I did!

The girls and I went to Applebees for dinner one night. These girls are just absolutely amazing to hang out with and we laughed and laughed and ate, and ate, and then laughed some more. Then we headed to the stores to do some shopping. Have I mentioned how much I love being their mom???!!!

Live, Laugh and Love.... for what is life without memories! Thanks for the wonderful memories this weekend!!!

Prom for Celeste....

I have neglected keeping up to date... Tanner took Celeste to her senior prom and she looked absolutely beautiful... he was pretty cute too, but this is all about Celeste! She is such a wonderful young woman and I feel so blessed to know her! Tanner said they had fun and she looked gorgeous so what more could you want for a senior prom!!!

Happy Birthday Hayden

Things got a little crazy and I didn't take the time to wish my sweet Hayden Robert a happy 10th birthday. It doesn't seem possible to think that he is 10. I remember so clearly holding him for the first time and falling completely in love with him. I had a lady tell me that he had to be my first because I looked at him like I was a first time mom holding my baby and looking like I was completely in love with him... I told her he was my first Hayden!!! He has the strongest personality and is such an incredible kid! He loves to read nonfiction books (much to the dismay of his teacher who doesn't seem to appreciate his knowledge of facts about just about everything!!!!) and thinks deeply about everything... how it all works! He is so sweet, and I am so grateful that I get to be his mom!!! We had fun celebrating his birthday and he really liked his cake and presents! He got new clothes and lots of 'cowboy' stuff.... which is really what he wants to be! Happy Birthday sweet Hayden... we love you so much!!! Hayden and Nate waiting to blow out the candles...

Nate was being silly and had Hayden laughing.....

Nate thinks he is boss and helped Hayden blow out the candles and then went to work taking out the candles....

Yum, yum, the icing is good!!!

Silly Tiffany and Kami... your tongues are black!!!!!

Tanner and Celeste came to visit too!