80th Birthday

Yesterday we had an 80th birthday party for Keith's dad.  We were pretty much out of the loop on the whole thing.  Keith's sister and his niece planned the whole thing and we couldn't get anyone to tell us what was going on.  I shouldn't complain because usually I end up doing everything so I was glad that this didn't fall on me.   I don't think Garth was really excited about the party, but he ended up really enjoying it.  I think it was good for him to see how many people care about him.

Keith got so many good qualities from his dad.  I am most grateful for the very strong work ethic that Garth instilled in Keith. 

The party was just for family.  It was all of Keith's siblings and nieces and nephews and then Garth's siblings came too.  We ate dinner and visited.  Somehow they were able to light eighty candles on the cake.  The kids were all more than happy to help him blow out the candles.

They had the grand kids sing "I am a Child of God."  Actually they are all great grand kids except for our kids.  Notice we were the only ones that didn't get told that we were supposed to dress up, that was pretty embarrassing.

It was so cute to see Hallee up there singing along with them.  Caitlyn did a good job of singing loud so all of the other kids could follow her.  I think that was definitely the highlight of the evening.

Caitlyn had fun playing the piano after.  Jonah played basketball and soccer the whole time.

Wyatt played soccer with Jonah for a while and then he went on the stage and sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" while Caitlyn played it on the piano. 

We took some pictures of the whole family so hopefully I will get copies of those later.  I'm sure it will look great with everyone in their dress clothes except for us!  It has been a long time since we have had a family picture so it will be nice to have.

Cute kids!

Wyatt loved his Indian vest that he made in pre-school.

I love having the camera on my phone.  It is nice that I always have it.  We all love spending time with my family.  The last few weeks have been rough for me.  I've just been feeling down a lot and I've had a lot of anxiety.  I knew we needed to get out last week so I picked up my phone to text Tiff to see if we could come over and she had already sent me a text to see what we were doing.  I put Wyatt and Hallee in the car and we went and spent the day at Tiff's house.  We all needed it!  Wyatt and Rockwell crack me up.  Rockwell came upstairs and said, "I'm a pirate and he is my first ship matey." 

Every day Hallee says, "I want to play Tessa."  She always says, "I play Tessa, Wyatt play Rockwell and you play Tiff."  It is so fun to see Hallee and Tessa play together.  They are always telling the other one to come here or come look at something and they both think the other one is pretty funny!

We had fun celebrating Tessa's birthday at McDonalds a few days ago.  The kids all had a blast on the play land.  Tessa is such a doll.  I can't believe she is just turning two, she acts so much older.  She always amazes me with how fearless she is.  I'm hoping she will rub off on Hallee because Hallee is scared of everything.  

Tonight we were talking about what we were grateful for and I asked Hallee what she was grateful for and she said, "Jesus, Tessa and piggy's." 

I really wish Tiff lived closer.  These boys would play together every day if they could.

The kids looked really cute for church today.  Caitlyn had to give a talk about forgiveness.  She wrote it all by herself.  I showed her how to search for scriptures and she wrote a wonderful talk about Nephi.  She talked about how Nephi is a great example because he always forgave his brothers even though they did horrible things to him.  She did a great job!

My cute boys!  If you look at these pictures you can see that Jonah and Hallee look alike, they have the same facial shape and Wyatt and Caitlyn look alike.  It is funny because Wyatt and Caitlyn have similar personalities and Jonah and Hallee have similar personalities. They all keep me on my toes!

Soccer and Scouts

Jonah just finished his indoor soccer season.  He loved it and I loved watching him.  He has made a lot of progress since the last time he played.  Last time he was playing with kids that were a few years older than him, so I think he was happy to be playing with kids his own age this time.

He always wanted me to feel his hair to see how sweaty it was after every game.

We really liked his coach.  He was a nice guy and really good with the kids.  There were a few really good players on their team.  When they worked together they were unstoppable.

Jonah did great in every game, but there were a few games where he was on fire.  He scored a lot of goals and made some amazing passes!  After one of his really good games his coach called him the man of the game.  Jonah has amazing ball handling skills.  He can dribble around people and keep really good control of the ball. I was really proud of him for passing so much.  Jonah has always done well at soccer, but he is at the age now where they should be learning to pass and not just try to take the shot every time.  He does a great job at finding the open player and getting the ball to them.  I'm working really hard to teach him that it doesn't matter how many goals you make and that the whole team contributes to the win.  Now he is looking forward to basketball starting in a few weeks.

We have been working on Jonah's bobcat.  He has to memorize a bunch of stuff and I had to talk to him about honesty and child safety.  Jonah can always make me laugh.  While we were talking about being honest I said, "Can you think of a time when it might be hard to be honest?"  Jonah responded, "Like 11 o'clock, you know AM."  Ha!

I had to go up front during pack meeting while Jonah gave me the pin for his bobcat.  I like that they do that because I think it helps the boys realize how much their mom's do for them, but I hate getting up in front of people!  Now we need to start working on his Wolf.

Another week bites the dust

The weeks seem to keep flying by.  Hallee and Wyatt keep me busy all day and then Caitlyn and Jonah keep us busy all evening.  Hallee has been a handful, more than usual, lately.  She exhausts me and I am always ready for her nap time!

Caitlyn is really enjoying her play rehearsals.  They keep her busy, but she likes it.  Caitlyn unloaded on me the other night and told me that she is overwhelmed with constant anxiety.  She says she feels sick a lot and always feels nervous.  Poor girl.  I just hate that she has to deal with that.  She said she would like to talk to someone and get some help.  I found out that Keith's company offers five free counseling sessions so I found a counselor that is on our insurance so Caitlyn can continue after the five free sessions.  They had a cancelation and I was able to get her in on Thursday.  I went in with Caitlyn for most of it and then they talked alone for a while.  I was really impressed with the counselor and Caitlyn really liked her.  I think it will help Caitlyn to talk about it and feel validated.  I want Caitlyn to know that if she has a problem we will help her with it.  She had a really good year where she didn't seem to be anxious all of the time, but it has come back with a vengeance lately.  I think this school year isn't helping.  She doesn't have any good friends that she enjoys playing with in her class.  I really hope that when her new teacher starts things will get better at school.  I hate to see my kids struggle.

Jonah is having a great school year.  He has a lot of good boys in his class.  I'm really happy with the friends he has chosen this year.  Last year he was drawn to all of the trouble makers, but this year he seems to be making a lot of good friends.  Jonah loves scouts and he loves playing soccer twice a week.

Today grandma and grandpa came to watch Jonah's game.  Jonah was excited to go on a grandma date after the game.  They are going to nickel cade and then to get cake.  Grandma knows how to show the kids a good time!

Jonah was frustrated that the basketball hoop was frozen this morning!  Ha!

We got our first snow.  It really isn't much, but the kids were excited.  Hallee is a crack up.  I just overheard her say, "dad, pull my finger."

They were all excited to go out and play and then come inside for hot chocolate.

Wyatt was a baseball player today.  He loves to dress up.

Last night Kristin cut my hair.  I have been hating my thick hair lately.  It takes forever to blow dry and straighten and it doesn't even look that good or stay because it is just too thick.  Kristin thinks my hair is getting thicker.  I had her thin it for the first time.  That pile of hair is just the hair she thinned out. I don't know why I haven't been doing that all along.  I love how light my hair is and it only took me 10 minutes to straighten it today.  Hallelujah.

Primary Program

Today was the primary program.  I love the primary program, especially with my kids in it.   This year was Wyatt's first year.   He was so excited.  He loves to be a big kid!

Look at that stud, he is growing up so fast.  He looked so grown up today.  He has had his part memorized for weeks.  He got up there with a huge smile and said his part.  When he was finished he jumped off the stool and looked so proud while he walked back to his seat.  He sang a lot of the songs and did really well at being quiet throughout the meeting.

Jonah memorized his part and did a great job.  He knew all of the songs and only made funny faces at other kids a few times!

Caitlyn looked so grown up today.  She said, "Mom, how old do I look?  I think I look like a young women or something."  I agree, she is growing up too fast.  Caitlyn had a really long part and memorized it and recited it perfectly.  She looked so beautiful singing the songs up there.  She is such a great girl. 

Hallee wanted her picture taken too.  She liked watching the kids up there.

We sure have some sharp looking boys!

Jonah got his own set of scriptures for his baptism.  Caitlyn and Jonah started studying the scriptures together.  They take notes on what they read and then come tell us about it.  I love it!  I think sometimes we forget just how spiritual kids are and how naturally it comes to them.

I walked in on Jonah reading Hallee a story the other night.  Sometimes I worry about Jonah.  He does and says some crazy things, but then I see things like this and I know he is going to be okay.  He is a great kid and he loves to help other people.  He would give anything away and he really wants everyone to be happy.

Jonah's Baptism

Jonah was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints yesterday.  He has been very excited for this day.  We have been trying to teach and prepare him for this decision.  We told him that it was his decision and he needed to be the one to make it.  We gave him a few lessons on baptism and then we had him give a lesson on baptism for Family Home Evening.  He has been praying to know if this is the right choice for him.  He told us that he felt good about it and he wanted to be baptized.  He was so funny when we met with the bishop.  Bishop Allred did a great job of explaining things to him and asking him questions.  When it was over Bishop Allred asked Jonah if he had any questions for him.  Jonah said, "so how did you get to be a bishop?"  Jonah wants to be a bishop so he was hoping for the inside scoop on how to become one.  Ha!  I told him we will see if he still wants to be one in thirty years.

I made sure that I had everything planned and ready so that the day would not be stressful.  We were all up and ready in plenty of time to get to the church on time and even had time for pictures. 

I sure love this family of mine!

We are sure proud of this boy.  He really is a great kid.

Handsome guys!

Jonah loved all of the pictures I took.  Ha! He was a good sport about them.  I warned him that I would be taking a lot of pictures that day.

Jenna made him this towel.  She made one for Caitlyn and I was secretly hoping she would make Jonah one too.  He loves it!

I love seeing Keith use his Priesthood with our kids. The baptism and confirmation were beautiful.  I stood on the stairs and watched the baptism so I could be there to wrap Jonah in his towel when he was finished.  I took a minute and just talked to him about how he felt.  While they were getting dressed I had everyone write their testimony down for Jonah.  I put it in a binder and he stayed up reading them last night. Keith talked a lot about Jonah being a good example in his blessing. 

After that we went to our ward building for the lunch.  I love these pictures of Jonah.  We had Jonah write down his testimony and displayed it so people could read it.  He did it all by himself and it was beautiful.  It says, "I'd like to bare my testimony.  I know the church is true and I'm glad I chose to be baptized so I can repent of my sins and feel the Holy Ghost.  I'm glad that my dad could baptize me. I'm glad that we have a prophet and the Book of Mormon to teach us about Jesus.  I'm also glad we have a bishop for the leader of the 8th ward.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

I'm so grateful to all of our friends and family that came out and supported Jonah on his special day.  It meant so much to him and us.  Some people couldn't stay for the lunch, but we sure appreciated them coming to the baptism. 

I hope Jonah always remembers how many people are rooting for him and love him. 

Jonah with the grandparents! 

We had a yummy lunch and I was able to relax and visit.  I am so grateful that I was able to relax and enjoy the day.  I don't want to ruin these special days by stressing the whole time.  I'm so glad that Jonah made this decision.  I love hearing my kids bare their testimonies.  They know so much and are so close to their Heavenly Father and Jesus.  I am so grateful to know that Heavenly Father is always looking out for my kids.

Halloween 2014

Keith took the day off of work on Halloween.  It was so nice to have him home and have a little break from our crazy week before our crazy weekend began.  We were able to go get everything ready at the church for Jonah's baptism lunch.  Keith and I were able to go to the gym and swim.  It was great!

We did our traditional trick-or-treating with the cousins at grandma's house.

 I love these cute boys.

Wyatt has been so excited about Halloween this year.  He loves everything about it. 

Hallee and Tessa are so cute, I almost can't handle it!  They both looked adorable.

Caitlyn and Amarie are growing up so fast!  Cailyn is having a lot of fears and anxiety again.  She was nervous all day about trick-or-treating because she was worried about dogs.  In the end she was fine and had a great time.

Jonah decided to be a baseball player instead of Gordon Hayward.  He was worried about being cold, so the baseball player worked better that night.

I didn't get to see any of the older kids trick-or-treating because they all ran from house to house and Hallee couldn't keep up. 

Hallee loved it.  Wyatt and Hallee were at really fun ages this year.

Hallee and Tessa were so cute running up to every house.  They weren't shy about taking the candy!

The kids were really excited to get home and pass out candy.  Wyatt was so excited that he was literally chasing people down the street to give them candy, he just couldn't wait until they got to our door.  Wyatt was in tears when the night was over and now Wyatt and Hallee love to play trick-or-treating.  It was another great Halloween!