Family Party #8

Monday we were able to have another family party.  This was part of the invitation this time:

It is the moment you have been waiting for....another Family Party!  Family Party #8 is right around the corner!

It will be an evening of fun!

Who: You!

What: Family Party #8

When: Monday, around 2:30 pm, or whenever Dad is done with work

Where: Start at the shoes!

We will begin (or maybe end) at the book palace, where we all love to go!

Next, we will plug our noses so the smell doesn't overcome us.

Finally, since we will all be hungry, we better jump to it and eat!

As it is Thanksgiving week, we all give thanks for our wonderful family! Let's smile, take pictures, and enjoy the afternoon/evening! When we get home, we will conclude by having Family Home Evening together. What could be better? NOTHING! We love you!

So, the first one is pretty obvious....we went to the library.  We all love to go there and we had a few books due, so we went all together.

Second, we went to the Stockyards.  A had never been and had been wanting to go.  It is a classic touristy place...and boy was it crowded with Thanksgiving tourists!  I had originally made the clue more obvious, but the kids love to figure out the clues, so I made it a little harder.  What the four of them decided was it was the Christmas Tree....ha ha!  Nope, the smell wasn't pine, it was cattle.  

 We so live in the age of selfies!

 We are both squinting, but we don't get pictures together often!  I sure love this man!

 And...the cattle drive!  Definitely a must-see!

 Then, C, J, and A did the cattlepen maze.  They had a great time and it was fun to watch.

 V enjoyed watching from the observation tower.

Clue #3 was dinner at Ihop.  This took the kids the longest time to figure out.  They kept coming downstairs for hints.  When I told them to find synonyms for "jump," I thought they would figure it out for sure...but they didn't.  Even me hopping around the living room didn't clue them in for a LONG time.  It was rather humorous to CK and I.

 We have brought cards to play games while we wait.  I guess it is a tradition.  CK and I took care of the babies and they played "O, Heck!", even the forehead round.  :)

 All in all, it was a wonderful evening.  My favorite times are when my family is gathered around me.  I am so blessed to have a large family and, as crazy as we get, I wouldn't ever wish it away.  I love all six of our children!  They belong with us and they belong together.  The Lord works in mysterious ways, but He has created beauty where once there was heartache and sorrow.  I always knew I would be okay.  But, in my wildest dreams, it wasn't THIS good!  I am one blessed woman indeed.

My favorite people!!!

Love being all together!!!!!!

J's Teacher

J's teacher accepted another position. It is a great opportunity of growth for her. It will be exactly what her family needs. So I cannot be too bitter.

But, this is very hard for J.  She is an amazing teacher. I've been so grateful that J was put in her class for second grade. She really pushes the kids. I appreciate that. J has really grown to love her. And, once he grows to care about somebody, he does it with all his heart. 

The Mommy part of me also worries about him having multiple subs while they try and find another teacher.  I know that some are very good. I have been a sub, and hopefully I did an okay job. But, it isn't their class. They won't know routines and individuals.

This is a very difficult situation for us. And, I know it isn't easy for Mrs L either. We just have to chalk it up to you one of those growing experiences that life brings us.

Blast From the Summer!

As I was going through pictures, I noticed this one that is one of my favorites from our summer vacation. There is one foot print from each of the eight of us. From left to right it is in order from oldest to youngest.

I really love it, but I especially love it knowing that it's only supposed to be 22 degrees tonight.  Ahhh!  The beach!  I don't think I included it earlier on the blog, but if I did, here it is again.  I don't remember if I finished all the vacation posts before MS took over our world.

  Notice that V's print is a shoe print since she hated the sand and I didn't even try to get her to take off her shoes.  Baby C's print next to her almost looks like a shell.  I guess I didn't push his heel down hard enough to leave an impression.  :)

J has his Bobcat!

J received his Bobcat tonight.  I am proud of him. I am glad he loves scouts.  I am very grateful for the BSA and their inspired program.

C's Last Football Game

 Last Tuesday (11-4-14) was C's last football game.  He thinks that he will not play in high school, so it was likely his last tackle football game ever.  He has really enjoyed it.  I have also enjoyed it.  I love football.  I love hearing my son's name called over the loudspeaker.  It has been a good couple of years.

Last Tuesday it poured and poured and rained all day long.  I was so worried that the game would be canceled and that he would miss this last game.  It didn't have lightening and the field was turf, so we were able to still play.  It was cold and uncomfortable, but they played.

V stayed home with J babysitting her (K was here doing homework, but J was the one in charge).  We took Baby C with us.

Here they are lined up for the coin toss.  The cool thing is that one of the captains for the other team's parents are BOTH serving in the military so he is living with extended family.  While he was focused on the toss, his mom was snuck onto the field and surprised him.  He thought she wouldn't be back from Kuwait until December 6th.  So cool. 

 C carried the ball on this play.  I didn't capture that, though.

Baby C is all bundled up with daddy and we have an umbrella to protect from the rain.

 C was lined up on this play and I was hoping he would get a touchdown.  He blocked for the quarterback, who ran it in.  Still a great play.

 C is 23.  This is one of the last few plays of the game.  It was nice because we won...34-12, especially since the ONLY game they lost last year was to this team.  This year C's team had a winning record, but it was close.

And, here he is.....my C!  :)  I am so proud of him.  He is a great athlete.  He is a great friend.  He is a great brother.  He is a great student.  He is a great trumpet player (He just made All-Region, 7th chair Honors out of 150 8th graders!).  He is kind.  He is helpful.  He is MY son.  :)  I am blessed.  I love him so very much.

Baby C at 9 Months

Baby C turned 9 months last week.  CRAZY how time flies.  I am simultaneously so ready for the baby stages to be over and so saddened that very, very likely this is the last time I will experience these stages as a Mom.

As far as blog posts go, I am redoubling my efforts yet again to catch up on all these missing posts.  I am trying to work backwards, so they are definitely out of order.

Baby C is such a wonderful addition to our family.  He loves to clap and that is so fun to watch/hear him clap just randomly.  His first two teeth came in last week also.  He is a mover.  He isn't "crawling" yet, but he can roll, scoot, pivot, push himself back and forward.  He appears to be doing yoga as he gets on his feet and hands in an upside down V.  He also is proficient at going from lying down to sitting.  That is fun to watch him make this transition.

Today, just as I began this post, He went from sitting to pulling up on the ottoman.  I grabbed my phone and took a quick picture.  He was only kneeling, but he definitely pulled up that far!

Well done, my precious C, well done!  I am so blessed to have him in my life.  I love him with all my heart.   A funny story...he is also a snorter and a laugh-er both.  Tonight during family prayer, he decided to do both.  It cracked us all up.  He just gave a large laugh and then a big snort!  Ha ha ha.

In other news, V is so very funny.  She had me playing a card game with her today.  We play a family favorite that came from both sides of our family ("Oh, Heck!").  She wanted to play a game with me so she put out her hand to pound and bid.  It was very funny.  Another V-ism....Baby C was crying in the car and she said, "C, do you want me to nurse you?"  Sooooooo funny.  You can tell what she experiences in her world.  She also sings all day long, frequently at the top of her lungs, "I am a Child of God and He has sent me here...."  I feel so blessed that this a truth that she already knows at such a young age.  If she isn't singing that song, she is singing "Happy Birthday" to anyone and everyone.  Luckily we have a large family and lots of friends, so there are many days that it actually is the birthday of a cousin or aunt or uncle or someone we know!

J's Baptism

 J was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Saturday, November 1, 2014.  It was such a special day.  I have a zillion bajillion posts that need to happen, but I had to make sure that this one got done first, even if it is out of order.

 For some reason, I could not change the orientation of this picture.  This is the invitation that we sent to our neighbors and friends.  We even sent it to our out-of-state family members, even though most could not be here.  We sure missed them. 

The poem that is on the invitation came from a Family Home Evening that J taught before he was baptized.  I loved it and included it on the invitation.

On Saturday, everything went very well.  J happened to be the only one in our ward with a baptism this month, so he got the day to himself.  This ended up being a blessing, since due to Halloween the night before, we could not bring A down until Saturday morning.  Because J was the only one, we were able to move the baptism until 5:00 pm.

Our whole family all together...makes this Mama's hear sing!

J got to choose who performed the baptism and confirmation.  I think he chose well.  CK baptized him and Papi O (his grandpa on his dad's side) confirmed him.  So, here they are together.

I am so grateful that XDH came and supported J in his decision.

My little guy, all dressed in white, ready to make covenants with God.

K was taking pictures and captured this touching moment of J and I hugging.  While you cannot see our faces, I feel that you can still tell the loved that we share.

J is reading his brand new scriptures from my parents and my siblings and spouses.

Baby C is always on the go.  Sometimes it is hard to keep the little squirmer still!

I love this picture, partially because I just love what it represents.  All of XDH's siblings sent baptism gifts with his parents for J.  Included in one package was a little package from J's cousin, T.  He obviously gave of his own treasures and that was so sweet.  This little figure was one of them.  So unselfish!

I am so proud of J and the young man that he is quickly becoming.  I am grateful that I have been blessed to be his Mom.  The Spirit was so strong on his baptism day.  He asked his primary president and his aunt S to give the talks and they were both absolutely outstanding.  Truths were taught and the Spirit bore witness.  He got to have his grandpas on both sides as witnesses and one of his dads baptize him.  He got to have his Grandpa on his dad's side confirm him and thereby bring in that side of the family.  What a special time.

After the baptism we all went to CiCi's to eat pizza.  What more could an 8-year-old want than  pizza buffet?  I wish I'd taken pictures.  It was my parents, XDH's parents, my sister and her kids, all our kids, XDH's great aunt and cousin.  Loved it. 

Some moments you just want to capture forever.

It is a busy day. Today is the day that J gets baptized.  My parents are here from out of town. XDH's parents are here from out of town.  CK is currently flying home with A.

We have a lot to do today. But, for the moment, it is just me and V and baby C.  I have many things I want to do to get ready for the baptism, to get ready for the Sabbath, to get ready for having the company return home. But, there are moments like these, that I just pause in awe of the blessings that God has given me.  I am cherishing holding my baby who fell asleep in my arms. And I had to take a moment to document it.

And, on another note, the number of posts in my head is probably upwards of 30 now. I really have many things I want to post. Hopefully I will get to most of them. Not only do I have 6 kids and a busy life, I am now attempting to prevent my MS from flaring up and I am trying to take it easier. As a result, blogging gets pushed down even further on the priority list.