The Wedding....

Modern technology is amazing! I love how we can be driving across the Salt Flats and I have access to pictures that came from a cell phone and play on the Internet miles away from civilization! So just as a reminder, these were pictures taken from the cell phone... real pictures coming soon!!! :)

Today has to be the most amazing day EVER!!! I think that no matter how much you dream about something, hope for it even... until you have gone through it you just can't understand how truly amazing it can be! This is one of those days that is engraved in your heart and mind forever! There is absolutely nothing more peaceful and beautiful than being inside a temple. And the Manti Temple especially has a tender spot in my heart. But today, my family grew in the most wonderful way... I was privileged to welcome another beautiful daughter into our family and I couldn't be happier about it! How could I not absolutely adore the woman that loves my son the way I have always hoped he would be loved. She was beaming.... so was he! Their love is exactly what I would want it to be and I look forward to watching them grow together and create a family.

There is nothing in the world more sacred and wonderful than a temple marriage. It is so simple and so powerful and so incredibly beautiful to hear the words spoken that promises them eternities of joy as a family as they strive to keep the promises and covenants they made in the temple. The room was beautiful, one of the rooms at the top of a spiral staircase in a temple that was built in the late 1800's! They were beaming! You could feel their love for each other and we were surrounded by the love of family and friends that went out of their way to be with us this special day. I feel so blessed... my heart feels like it will burst with joy! They have the foundation they need to be able to travel this life together and grow stronger as they go through the ups and downs of being a family... what greater gift could I wish for my children! Today is the beginning of the rest of forever... and they will discover like we have, that while we believed we loved each other as much as we could at this moment, the love will only grow stronger as the go through the in's and out's of everyday living!

I love you son, and welcome to the family Tiffany... we are so blessed because of you!

Wedding Today!

We are driving to Manti as I type! I am so excited for Garrett today. I can't believe we are here. It seems like only yesterday they put him in my arms and started me on the greatest journey of my life... motherhood! My little boy is grown up, a man now. Ready and excited to begin the journey that will make him a husband, and a father. I love seeing the love they share, how happy they are, how they compliment each other. I have loved watching him grow from a boy to a man. It is so easy to think back to the day I married Thayne. There wasn't a hint of doubt in my mind. I could think of nothing but being his wife, sharing our lives together and starting our family. Not once in 22 years of marriage have I doubted that marrying Thayne was the right thing to do... and I pray that Garrett and Tiffany will always remember how right it feels today. That will get them through the ups and downs of living in this crazy world. All those years ago, 22 years ago in June Thayne and I knelt across the alter in the Manti Temple being sealed together as an eternal family. Garrett was there with us, a newborn baby and when they brought him in, he looked all around the room like he could see something that we couldn't see, and then he looked at us and smiled. It was one of the most memorable days of my entire life. And now, it has come full cirlce... this time he will be the one kneeling across from the one he has chosen to love forever, and they will begin an incredible journey making an eternal family of their own!

Making Slush!

I am busy making lots of slush for Garrett and Tiffany's wedding reception Saturday! I can't they are getting married in TWO days. TWO DAYS! WOW!!! This is so exciting. I need to get the slush done and the schedule made for the video store and packed and some laundry done. I am behind schedule because I had a migraine for the last 3 days but a trip to the chiropractor, a massage and adjustment seem to have been the thing I needed.... why did I wait so long!

Now I am off to mix the slush... should be yummy!

Ingredients:
1 can (46 ounces) pineapple juice
8 cups water
1 can (12 ounces) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 can (12 ounces) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
4 cups sugar
2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries
2 packages of Cherry Kool-aid (unsweetened)

Mix all ingredients and freeze for 12 hours... mixing every two hours

My Bummy....

This day has been talked about for a year now! Bummy's birthday! He's 6. He turned 5 without his mom with him last year, and without bragging... I happen to be his favorite person in the world. I know this, because he tells everyone all of the time. But a year ago was his birthday and it happened to be one of the darkest days of our life! We had just been flown to Primary Children's with Nate and Bummy aka Hyrum also turned 5 that day. Katie stepped in and had him a party, but he told us on the phone that the only thing he wanted was to have his mom home! So we decided that we would have something special for him today. It was a crazy day with Tiffany's bridal shower and lots of running.... and Thayne managed to make him believe that we were going to have his 'party' tomorrow after church. He wanted cheese cake so I had the cheese cake made and tonight Thayne and I asked Hyrum to come with us to the grocery store. While we were gone, Katie and her kids, and Caitlyn and her sister Jenna came over and when we got home everyone yelled surprise! He got two huge Tonka trucks and a cowboy outfit and some nerf guns and cookies from Katie with the promise of making cookies with her (it's one of the kids' favorite things to do, Katie makes some seriously good cookies!) and some clothes and he has decided that since he got to hang out with mom it was the best birthday ever and it made up for last year! It's hard to believe he is 6!!! He makes us laugh constantly. For some reason he has decided that he has a big head, and cute ears! Okay... his ears ARE really cute, but he tells us sometimes that it's a good thing his head fits... he helped Thayne change oil in the car one day and told him that his head would fit under the Tahoe, but not under the car! The other day he was taking a shower in our room when Jace went into our bathroom to get some Q-Tips. Jace said he asked, "Who is in the shower?" Hyrum said, "Meeee..." Jace asked, "Who's me?" He said, "Bummyyyyyy... you know, the one with the big head... and cute ears!" Jace thought it was the funniest thing! He always makes me smile! I love it when he wears his footed pajamas and I have told him that they are my cuddle jammies, so he loves to put them on and come running to me for cuddles!

Happy Birthday my sweet mama's boy! I am so grateful that you tell me daily that even when you are 65 you will be my mama's boy! It's so nice to know that Bummy thinks I am perfect, even though we all know I am not... he believes it so it must be so! I'll enjoy it while it lasts!

And I told Jenna I would blog about her! She's Caitlyn's little sister but we claim her too... she comes for all of the family stuff! Bummy has been known to have a little tiny crush on her but it's all good, she's just too cute!

One year ago today....

Wow what a year it's been. I was just thinking as I was making cupcakes for Bummy's kindergarten class to celebrate his birthday that it was a year ago today that we almost lost Nate and rushed into the hospital....

It had been a snow day so the kids didn't have school. Katie called me and said that her kids were driving her crazy and could she come over to let them sled with my kids. I had so many emotions going on that day. I knew there was something really wrong. I was exhausted and worried and trying my best to ignore it all. Katie, Kimi and I went to lunch and I kept holding my little Nate wondering why he looked so gray and so sick. I couldn't get him to eat and I was so scared. I had a call in with the nurse and had an appointment scheduled because I told her that I didn't believe that there was nothing wrong! She told me if it got worse before tomorrow to take him to the hospital. He would start doing okay, and then not knowing that feeding him was literally killing him, he would eat a bit and start all over.

After dinner the whole family was in our room sprawled out on the floor or bed watching Deal or No Deal (have I mentioned that I have never again been able to watch an episode of that show again?) and I was ready to call it a night even though it was only 7pm. I was trying to nurse Nate and he acted like he wasn't breathing... I tickled him a bit and told him to stop doing this to me. He kept getting worse until I was really scared and told Thayne I needed him. I have NEVER seen Thayne lose control like he did that night. Our little man scared us so bad! I always stay in control when Thayne is gone, but when Thayne is home I will lose it if there is blood or something. I told Thayne this was no time to flip out, that I needed him and couldn't do this if he wasn't in control too. Thayne gave him mouth to mouth, was breathing for him while Jace started giving him a Priesthood Blessing. Thayne finished the second part of the blessing and we ran out the door to go to the hospital. By then Nate was breathing on his own and had pinked up again. I had called my sister on the way and she met us there and then Buffy and Tracy showed up and Katie came in with some things that we needed. When we raced in and told the receptionist that the baby had stopped breathing they took us right back. The nurse in the ER started asking questions and then checked his oxygen level. It was 98% again and she said, "So, your first baby huh?" Yes, she said it in a way that made it perfectly clear she thought I was a new mom freaking out about nothing. I told her he was my 15th... she said, "NO, REALLY... your FIRST right?" I said, "MY 15th!" My sister then told her that her reaction was pretty normal but that this WAS my 15th baby and if I say there was something wrong she better darn well find out what it was!!! Imagine her surprise when minutes later Nate stopped breathing again, his heart stopped and Thayne went running down the hall giving him mouth to mouth and trying to get help. I can't even express my disgust at the doctor that stood doing nothing as Thayne took care of him. They hurt him so bad that night and finally Thayne lost it and told them ENOUGH... to not touch him again until the life flight team got there! That was one of the darkest nights of my life. Even now thinking about it makes me cry. Looking back, it seemed that many people didn't believe he would even make it. I remember the ambulance ride to the airport, the absolute fear in my heart over my baby boy. Wondering how we were going to deal with losing him, how were the other kids, and the fact that it was Hyrum's birthday on the 10th and that I wouldn't be there to celebrate with my mama's boy! I think of all of the people that helped, all of the prayers that went up in our behalf and the miracles that we have seen since that dreadful day. That night was so dark.... that was one of those moments when I had to step back and ask myself if I really believed what I had always said I believed. I found that I DID believe, and I knew that no matter what, I would be comforted as I walked through that trial... but that I had to walk through it to make me more than I was before. We have seen so many changes in the past year. Our family has grown in ways that I can't possibly begin to express, but I know that had we not gone through it, we would have missed out on the growth that came by allowing our will to bend to the will of our Heavenly Father's and learn that though we can't always have our way, we will find peace as we go through the hard times!

Lunch with my sister

I love to go to lunch with my sister! Life is busy, very busy for both of us and it's a treat to be able to get away and hang out with her. There are some things that you just can't talk about to anybody else, that only a sister understands. So we had lunch, got to laugh and talk and hang out for a while.... then back to real life! Hopefully we will get to do it again very soon!

Something to blog about #2

We were talking about blogging and the kids started showing off and teasing about blogging about how amazing I think they are! And since I do think they are amazing, and fun, and cute, and wonderful... I told them I would blog about them! This was Tallin's way of getting out of cleaning. He had pulled all of the chairs to the middle of the room and while he HAD the broom in his hand, he didn't do much with it and somehow managed to get out the door to work without actually cleaning anything! Smart boy that one!!! I love, love.... LOVE watching my kids interact with each other. I love to watch them love each other, and be silly with each other. I feel very honored to be the mom of all of these truly incredible children!

School and sledding?

I'm just wondering who thought sledding at school would ever be a good idea? Really? No, seriously, put 500 kids on a sled hill and think that it will be fun? My kids sled all of the time.. in fact it is 7:44pm, pitch black outside and somewhere around the freezing mark, and they are out sledding down our hill. It's a steep hill too, but they love it! Last night they were talking about how the school is going to let them sled. My gut instinct was OH NO YOU WILL NOT! But I didn't want to be a mother that over-reacts to things like that! But I had this moment of fear thinking it was not going to be a good thing for at least one of my children!

It should be no surprise when today the school nurse called and asked if I would pick up Wyatt when I picked up Hyrum from kindergarten. It would seem that while he was sledding, a friend of his jumped on his sled, on top of him, and it slammed his head into the ground of course meeting a rock that made a big long scratch along his head (it could have been sooooooooo much worse, just counting my lucky stars!). He was dizzy and nauseated and crying. I told the nurse I had a feeling last night that it wasn't such a good idea to let kids sled at school. She asked me to please tell the principal that because she has the same gut feeling that I had!

Something to blog about #1

My kids have become obsessed with my blogging and often I will hear them taking pictures and saying that "this is something mom can blog about" and it makes me laugh!

Nate was trying to help load the dishwasher, and clean the fridge. The girls kept taking pictures to blog about...

I guess the only thing to say about these pictures are to tell Nate that he is NOT helpful. I know he thinks he is. I know he likes to be in the middle of everything... but really, he is not helping!!! However the fridge was a disaster... the kids had spilled red kool-aid in the bottom and everything had been thrown in from the holiday and Kailee cleaning it so well WAS helpful, taking everything out and washing and putting it back in the ways it was supposed to be... was VERY helpful, but I don't have any pictures of her doing that!

And this is what we got when we told him he WASN'T very helpful!