Kimi's wedding weekend...

The week of Kimi's wedding became very crazy trying to get things prepared, packed and ready to go. Wednesday I went to Utah to pick up Talitha as she was coming to take pictures. We got home to iron clothes and finish packing and was able to leave the next morning to see Kimi's new house and have dinner with his family. I was fighting a migraine during all of it but there was nothing to be done but endure! Kimi's new home is absolutely beautiful and we are so excited for her. She is so happy, so in love and so excited to begin her life with Matt! Just the way it should be!!!

Friday at noon Kimi was married to Matt, sealed for time and all eternity in the Reno Temple... it was amazing!!! After she was dressed and ready they took her and Matt and I was asked if I wanted to go to the sealing room and sit alone for a few minutes. I am so glad to have had those few moments alone. I felt such a feeling of peace, and of absolute knowledge that this is what is meant to be... I felt like every single loved one that has gone on before us was there to witness this amazing day and I couldn't stop the tears. They were happy tears to be sure... but I just couldn't help it! Kimi is so happy. She loves Matt so much and Matt loves her the same. They are truly a perfect match.

We left for home after the open house there and got home at about 2:30am Saturday. Just enough time for a cat nap and then preparing for her reception here. Thankfully we have Buffy who got so much done before we were ever even awake! The reception went really well and Sunday found Kimi and Matt on their way home and I took Talitha back to Salt Lake to fly home! The whole weekend turned out great, despite the obvious stress! We are so blessed in our lives, so many amazing friends, so many blessings, so much love in this family!!!!

Kimi was so beautiful... inside and out she was so beautiful and happy and I am so grateful that she has Matt as her husband!

Kalli was put in charge of taking making sure Kimi's dress didn't drag on the ground...she took her job very seriously!

Kimi and her brothers!

My beautiful girls... I am a very lucky mom to have these beautiful girls as my daughters!

Kassi had a flower malfunction...

Four amazing, beautiful girls who always manage to make life so much better just because they are in it!

Finally Mr and Mrs... so happy!!!

Waiting for the bride and groom to come out!

It is amazing to watch this family continue to grow! We are so grateful for the wonderful people our kids have chosen to marry and for the love that they bring to our family. Kassi said once that we don't believe in 'in-laws'...that when they marry into this family they are only brothers and sisters, sons and daughters... that is how it will be with our family because love only grows and multiplies... and this is LOVE!!!

Kara was our next door neighbor and Kimi's best friend 10 years ago and then they moved and lost touch. Thanks to Facebook, they found each other again and we love having Kara hang out with us and be able to share such amazing times with us!

The Reno Temple...so beautiful and such a wonderful place to start their lives together!

Just trying to get everyone where they should be for pictures!

Brothers.... oh brother!

Shalum and Shayne....

This is the sweet man that sealed them... he wanted a picture for his scrapbook. He has pictures of all of the couples he has married...

Roller Coaster of Emotions

I usually love roller coaster rides. But I am not sure that this roller coaster of emotions is something that I like. There are so many amazing things going on in our life and we can't help but be grateful for all of the blessings. And yet, because life is changing, rapidly at that, while there are extreme highs, the reality of all of the changes sometimes hit you between the eyes! We knew this day was coming, and we are even excited about it... but we have dreaded it also.

Kimi moved today. Life will never be the same again. It will surely be better, more wonderful, more exciting... but the reality is that our sweet baby girl who gave us such a scare in the beginning of her life and who we have worried over as she has grown up, is now really a woman who is ready, anxious and excited to start her life as a wife to a man that she is completely in love with, with a home of her own. She packed her stuff in her car last night, so excited that she surely didn't even notice the look on her dad's face... or see the sadness in her sister's eyes. Of course she didn't. Maybe she isn't even supposed to right now. She is off to her new adventure... so full of hope for all that is about to be. She babysat for a friend one last time last night. She took her little sisters and brother and they loved it... but she came in this morning to get the rest of her stuff and to say happy Father's Day to her dad and she really didn't have a clue that her dad was near tears and her sister who has been her best friend for their entire lives... the little sister she prayed so hard for, is aching because she is losing her best friend. It just won't ever be the same. They will still be close. But for now, Matt is Kimi's everything.... just as it should be! So how is it possible to have absolute joy, while feeling like your heart is walking away???? I know it is normal. Thayne and I were talking about it tonight and I told him that I could not wait to be married and have his last name.... I didn't even realize that I had my dad's last name for 18 years, and that it must have hurt him to watch me become somebody else's that day. I realize now... but only because I learned what it feels like to love a child. She will one day realize what this cost her dad... he was there when she was born, he prayed over her, for her, blessed her to be healed when they told us there was no hope and now he is smiling through his tears to give her to another man... the smile is real. He is thrilled for her, and so am I. But the tears he cried as she walked away were every bit as real. She is a grown up, starting her grown up life and we feel like shouting for joy for her... but the tears are still there.

So sweet daughter... enjoy this wonderful time in your life. You only feel the joy right now. There will be days when you will be homesick, but we know that your place is with your husband, starting on your own journey to forever! Just as it should be. We will continue to smile for the life you have found. But we will not promise that there won't be any tears simply because you are gone, that you are not just in town, or that you are gone for the weekend. You are really gone, in a beautiful new home of your own living out your dreams! We are happy for you! No, we are thrilled for you!!! It will never be the same. But it isn't supposed to stay the same, we can only grow through living! Love your husband. Honor him and keep him always as your best friend. Laugh with him. Keep dating. Confide in him, first, before anyone else. Never let another into your relationship. He should always be your first priority. The greatest thing you can ever do, for you and for him is to never bad mouth him to another person. Treat him as the man you know he should be, and he will become that great! Good men will live up to the way you treat them... and he is a very good man. Enjoy the next few days, weeks and months of being married. And then, in years to come, when you thought that you loved him as much as humanly possible, you will realize that you were only learning about love and that you really know what love is... only to learn that over and over. Your love can grow and grow. It is forever. It is not something that we discard when the going gets tough... but in fact it becomes it's best as you walk together through the trials that life will throw at you. Find gratitude in all you have... for you truly have a lot! Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect... happiness comes when you can look past the imperfection. Love you sweet girl! And above all else... don't forget to come 'home' and visit!!! And your dad says to know that we will be there to visit you!!!

Happy Father's Day...

I love to honor the 2 most important men in my life. They are both so amazing and both such a blessing to me and to my family.

To the man who loved me first... who was my cheerleader in everything I did... I can remember him being there for our basketball games, cheering us on, giving instruction, sharing the excitement of the game. His presence meant so much to me. He taught me to laugh, and to just keep going no matter what. He honored my mom, no matter what, and always taught me that a woman should be on a pedestal and he never understood why a woman would want to step off that pedestal to be like a man... he taught me that while there are differences between a man and a woman, the men were the ones that needed to work harder to be better... to measure up and be all that they should be for the women in their lives. He taught me to pray... and that prayer would carry you through anything. How many early mornings did I walk past his door to get ready for early morning seminary and see him kneeling at his bed saying his prayers. He showed me the truth in the words that a man is never so tall as when he is on his knees. He made mistakes but worked hard to move beyond them... and still does. I thank him for the man that he is, and for all that he taught me and helped me become!

And for the man who is my everything... the father of my babies. There just aren't words adequate enough to describe the love I feel for him. He is like breathing... I don't know where he ends and I begin. It is so amazing to me to be married to someone who knows me so well... who is my other half. To become one is the goal of marriage and I can honestly say that we have found that. We just like being together and if given the opportunity would spend every minute together. That is a good place to be. We have the fairy tale yet know that in order to keep the fairy tale we have to work hard at it. The effort is worth it. He is a dad that any kid would be glad to have as theirs. He adores his kids and it is very apparent that we are his everything. We are a bad team when it comes to the kids because we are both too soft even when we tell ourselves we are going to be firm! But he is the greatest example of how a father should be... he loves them... and they know it, feel it and love him back!

So today I found myself so grateful for the two dads that have blessed my life so much. And I watch Garrett as a dad and realize that he is the same kind of dad. He adores his baby, he adores being a dad and he will be able to carry on and give his children the same kind of love... the love of a dad!

Happy Father's Day... I love you guys so much!

A payday moment...

There are moments in parenting that you are certain you are the worst parent alive... you are sure you will not only embarrass or humiliate your children but that you will likely mess up their eternal progression also! Those moments often leave a parent with sleepless nights and knots of worry in their neck! But then there are moments like yesterday.... those pay offs... pay day for all of those sleepless nights... moments when you feel like your heart is surely going to burst right out of your chest because it simply isn't possible to contain that much joy! Where you memorize every second of the time to bring up when things aren't going so well... where you see everything, and remember it, like a snapshot on your heart and wonder who these incredible people are that you call your children. Yes, that was pretty much how my entire day was yesterday.

Kimi and Tallin were both going through the temple. Could there be anything more special than a brother and sister both experiencing something wonderful and able to be there together. This is something I have waited my whole adult life for... to see more of my children receive the most amazing blessings that come from the temple, and that two of them were there, for very different but both so wonderful reasons. The greatest part is that my parents came and my dad got to be with Thayne, Tallin and Matt for the instructions they receive before the endowment session, and that my mom got to share it with Kimi and me. And then to have Garrettt and Tiffany, my aunt Shirley, my cousin Lisa and Tracy, Buffy and 2 sweet amazing ladies from our ward share the day also... yep, that is enough to make it seem like we had a little bit of heaven on earth that day! Garrett and Tiffany got to be the witness couple which meant I had Tiffany on one side of me and Kimi on the other and I felt absolute joy! It was so beautiful. To see the look on their faces, to see the joy and the wonder and the excitement they felt was amazing. I look forward to many more moments like that... and seeing how wonderful it was with just 3 of my children in the temple... I cannot wait to have all of them in there one day with me! Yes....this is a payday moment. A moment when you smile and take it all in and remember that while we are just going through everyday life, living the best we can and sometimes stumbling in the muck and mire it will give us hope to keep going with the expectation of more moments like this! I know that next week, when Kimi and Matt are sealed for time and all eternity it will be another one of those moments... but for now that was enough... to see heaven in the faces of my children and know that they are just beginning to understand the wonder and joy of it all!!!

Kimi and Matt... one week until they are Mr and Mrs!!! What would we ever do without these two. They have been our dearest friends through thick and thin... the first to call when life is good or life is bad, and the first to celebrate with us, or cry with us but always WITH us as we go through it! We went over to Salt Lake the night before with Tracy and Buffy and had so much fun... it is wonderful to have friends that you can laugh yourself silly with over the craziest things!

Outside of the Bountiful Temple... and the Temple President told us that his brother is the Area Authority over where Tallin will be serving his mission! How awesome is that???

I warned him I would blog this!!!

Lisa and Aunt Shirley... so grateful they came and shared this day with us...it was so fun visiting with them at lunch after. Made me remember how much I loved being around them and how much I miss them because we see each other so rarely!

I told Shirley to freeze so I could take her picture... she did!

Matt and Tallin enjoying the sunshine after such a wonderful experience in the temple!

Filling my cup~ Reason #1

I decided sitting in church yesterday that I sometimes feel like my cup gets empty and I want to find reasons every day to smile and to find ways to keep my cup full! We all know that finding reasons to be grateful give you reasons to smile and I like to smile... I like to be happy, and to not feel empty. So I decided that I would look daily for reasons to smile and to keep my cup overflowing with reasons to be grateful.

As I thought that I looked up at Kinzee... she looked so beautiful and was singing a duet in a song that the youth choir in our ward were singing. The bishop asked all of the youth to participate and there have been many times listening to them sing that it washed away pain, or sadness or just lifted my soul... they sing beautifully!

And so today my reason to smile is the beauty of my teens singing in the choir!!!

Jace and Caitlyn.... Mr and Mrs

The wedding was beautiful and the day was perfect despite a few little things... like the weather! We worried about how the weather would be when the day started with strong winds and rain. We started praying really hard that it would clear up enough to be able to enjoy this special day. Thankfully those prayers were answered and by the end of the night it was actually warmer than it was earlier in the afternoon. It turned out to be an all around wonderful day!

Jace spoke during the reception of how Caitlyn became such a huge part of his life after his best friend had committed suicide and how she gave him a reason to live until he found that reason again on his own. She was his best friend and she has stood beside him through all of the good and all of the bad. They have created a foundation that many never achieve... they have a solid base to start this marriage and their love is one of those special things that true love stories are made of. She is a beautiful young woman and we feel so blessed to have her become an official member of our family.

Jace is a wonderful son. The kind of young man that anyone would be proud to call their son. He is a protector, a friend.... the morning of his wedding he showed up at 6am to finish digging the trench we needed to finish a new leech line because he knew it needed to be done. That is how he has always been. He gives... he serves... and he loves his family. And on his wedding day, I was so grateful to see that while he has walked through struggles, he was so happy and so content with life and he even made us laugh as he put on quite the show removing the garter!!!

Cait's parents are wonderful. They put on a beautiful wedding and I am so happy that they got this wonderful day full of memories of their daughter getting married. I look forward to them going to the temple after Caitlyn has been a member a year... but this day was wonderful and I am not sure that anything could have made it better! We had so many wonderful friends come out to support us. Thayne and I have talked about how blessed we are to have friends become family to us and bless our lives in so many ways. They say blood is thicker than water, but we can honestly say that we have the most wonderful friends that are truly our family. They support us and our children and we know that no matter what is going on in our life, they are the ones that will be there for us!

The mother/son dance is one of those moments in a mother's life that will forever be on my heart. The song was perfect. He told me he couldn't look at me because he would cry... but we both had tears and that was okay! I wanted him to know what a blessing he is to me and that I am so grateful to be his mom. I told him to cherish his wife and always treat her like she is his everything. But then he has had a great example because he has watched his dad and he has that sweet spirit like his dad has, where he tries really hard to be tough, but underneath he is so kind and loving and he protects those that he loves!

Thayne and I had a special dance in honor of our anniversary. Feels So Right by Alabama! It was the song that came on during our first date when he told me he wanted to marry him. I guess I shouldn't be amazed but sometimes when I look at Thayne it takes my breath away and I am taken back to the moment I knew I wanted to spend the rest of forever with him. As we looked at our kids, the children that are the result of the love that we share, it felt like our hearts were going to explode... overflow with the love and joy that we have in our family! This day was wonderful... I am so happy to welcome sweet Caitlyn into our family officially. It just wouldn't be right if it were any other way!

Sweet Kalli excited for the wedding...
Silly girls... Kami was having a moment too... sheesh! I guess the chance of having all of them happy at the same time is a whole lot to ask for!

My girls... oh how I adore these girls! They are amazing!

And my boys... each so unique and each so amazing.... I could never have dreamed this life... but it is oh so much more than I could have ever asked for!

Shalum, Jace and Cory.... both have been such a huge part of Jace's life!

Some handsome men ready for a wedding... Shalum, Jace, Cory, Garrett and Matt!

Jace took time out to play with Gabe...

Don't eat the baby!!!

Sweet Gabe posing for Grandma...

Handsome boys... and Tallin already looking like a missionary in his new black suit!

Just killing time!

Pretty Kassi and Handsome Wyatt ready for the wedding!

Rich (Cait's dad) showing off the pillows the ring bearers will carry!

So grateful my parents were able to share the day with us. I know how much pain my dad is in and I know it was a sacrifice to be here but it meant so much!

Heather and Stetson are newlyweds themselves!

Trying to organize us... kind of like working with the monkeys in the zoo maybe??? Notice the monkey in the tree!

It was FREEZING! And Kara and Heather found a very interesting way to keep warm!

So excited... waiting for his bride!!!

This moment brought tears to my eyes. I watched his face the moment I knew he would be seeing Caitlyn coming towards him... they have gone through so much, they have experienced trials that have tested their faith and times when the pain seemed too much to handle, and yet they have always stayed the best of friends.... I saw that moment the same look on his face that I saw the day I married his dad.... like he could barely hold back the tears, and yet there was an absolute joy in the expression. It was so easy for the years to disappear and I felt the love I felt for his dad the day we got married, and now to see him watching her with that same look just makes me so happy because I know that they have a love that can carry them through the best and the worst that life has to offer and that they will lean on each other and continue to be the best of friends through it all!

My little Bummyt looking handsome...

Nate was not sure that he liked everyone staring at him and stopped to look around a couple of times. He also stopped to pose for a couple of pictures but in the end he did just what he was supposed to do and looked adorable doing it! Kami loved being a flower girl and looked so sweet.

Caitlyn and her dad... right before we all started lining up he was looking like he might cry. I told him not to think of it as losing a daughter but that he was gaining a son! He started laughing and said, "Thanks for that!"

So sweet watching them together.... I love this picture because the joy is so apparent on Jace's face!

Kailee and Kimi doing their part....

First kiss as husband and wife.... and may they have a long and happy life together!

These two are so cute together... they have a great foundation for marriage... they are friends, and they love to hang out together!

The cake tasted YUMMY!

The dance ended up being so much fun. We danced and laughed and danced some more. It was so fun watching the kids have such a blast and we all danced until we were dripping with sweat! The best was watching the big brothers dance with the little ones... This was such a precious picture of Tallin dancing with Kami. Jace and Tanner did the same thing, dancing with the little ones. The little boys told Thayne driving home that it was the best night dancing with us! It just couldn't have been more perfect!

Thayne asked Garrett why he wasn't out there dancing with his wife and he said he had Gabe. Thayne told him not to waste a second of such a wonderful experience and that Gabe would fit perfectly between them. When we danced by them Thayne told Garrett, "See, that baby fits perfectly between you two!" Gabe loved the whole experience and spent his time staring at the lights and watching everyone around him!

So much fun... we just got on the dance floor and DANCED!!! It didn't matter how well we danced, we were just dancing and having a blast!