Little C's Baptism 01/08/2011

The baptism of your 8 year old child is a little bitter-sweet. Not that I would choose any other route it's just that fleeting thought,
Oh shoot, he's accountable.

I hope he's prepared.

The world can be a scary place. 

I think you probably feel that way your whole life as a parent. Worrying about whether or not you've taught them enough, hoping they know where to turn for the right answers, and praying that they seek for forgiveness and know that their Heavenly Father loves them when things may go a little off path. 

I realize he's only 8 and there will be many more teaching opportunities and wonderful memories to be had, but WOW, he's 8.

How did that happen?

My little kid.

My little kid who chose to follow the commandment of baptism. What a wonderful young man.

I couldn't be prouder.

I was up at the window, sitting amongst the little kids, trying to contain my excited one year old when Little C was baptized.

Lou was yelling out, "Hi Daddy! Hi Little C." And the baby was knocking on the window wondering what in the heck was going on.  

I loved watching the smiles on both Little C's and The Beloved's faces as they were walking toward one another to meet in the middle of the baptismal font. I think Little C swam a bit. :)

To take upon you the name of Jesus Christ is a great responsibility but nothing in this world can make you happier.

I am so excited for Little C to feel that happiness, to have the gift of the Holy Ghost, and to watch him grow in the gospel throughout his life.

Before the baptism we had a short program at our house to help personalize things a little bit.

The Grandfathers spoke and delivered some awesome messages.

My dad, Papa, spoke on baptism and The Beloved's father, Grandpa, spoke on the Holy Ghost.

Little C received some great instruction and his grandpa used a build-a-bear doll as a visual aid to help Little C understand how the Holy Ghost helps you.

We had a little extra time so the grandmas bore their testimonies as well.

I can't think of four better teachers for my son. What valiant, upstanding people to have as grandparents!

The Beloved's mom pulled a quick one on us :) and requested that The Beloved and I bare our testimonies as well.

Man, she's good :).

But, I am glad she did.

A testimony is probably something you cannot share with your child enough and it made a sweet ending to a wonderful program.

I love this picture.

I imagine heaven is something like this, well without the folding chairs and the classic plastic divider, but who knows?

Being surrounded by your loving family.

Those who supported you during this life and helped you along the way and who are there to meet you in the next life to say,

job well done.

We love you Little C.

You have taken the first step.

Job well done.

Snuggies

I am not quite sure why the only time of year I sew is around Christmas -

WHEN I AM GIVING GIFTS TO PEOPLE! 

Sorry dear people.

 I guess for those of you who aren't closely related to me you should feel lucky. No odd homemade gifts for you.

This year I decided to make Snuggies. I found an awesome sale on fleece and a "1hour" pattern to go along with it.

Right.

The problem with me is I have lovely intentions but am the WORLD'S BIGGEST PROCRASTINATOR.

Tis true.

Two days before we are supposed to exchange gifts with The Beloved's family I bust out my fabric and rip open my one hour pattern. That's when I ran into a major problem.

I discovered I couldn't read sewing language. The directions on the pattern were completely foreign - 

I was googling every other word.

When all else fails what do I do?

Well, call my dear mother of course. She lovingly came to my rescue, like always, but asked me this one simple question:

"Honey, why didn't you start working on this a month ago if you knew you didn't know how to sew?"

My response,

"I didn't know that I didn't know how to sew."

Pathetic I know.... and I think I've learned my lesson.

Plus, I now know the art of sewing a Snuggie without following directions at all.

But don't ask for one because I also remembered I hate sewing.

Here is my amazing sister-in-law modeling one of her children's BYU Snuggies:

In this picture it looks really funky -

I don't think it was like that in real life...

but it's definitely possible.

I "helped" my #2 Sister finish a Snuggie she was making for my #1 Sister, but all I really helped do was sew the arms on opposite directions.

Do you like? :)

We finally sorted things out and got everything sewn on properly.

I also made three for my Sister #3's family -

  :)

The End -

Until next year - when I forget I don't know how to sew again.

Sisters

The grand-daughters on my side of the family all got matching peasant dresses for Christmas this year. There are six girl grand children in total but we only caught these matching four on camera.

Four Sisters - I love it.

There are few things better than having a sister.

My three older sisters are all tied for 2nd in my best friend department, coming in line behind my best man - The Beloved.

Oooh Ahhh :) - (How tender, right?)

The little toddler at the bottom is making her infamous "princess face", which can be translated as, "I am beautiful, I am beautiful, I am beautiful, because I AM a Princess."

Here are our princess faces:

When we get together we "fix" each other.

Examples:

"Can you do this? Can you do that? Oh, I've really been needing that done -"

Usually, the eldest sister is the surgeon and sometimes Sister #3 -

they have a natural knack for this type of thing,

plus, I am a very qualified patient.

It's a dirty job - but somebodys got to do it.

(Sister #2, I am talking about her work on me, not the beautiful eyebrow work being accomplished below).

Here's my prego Sister #3 -

I am lovin' that we can be pregnant together!

Isn't she a doll?

Well, they're all adorable -

but I'll only call you a doll if you are pregnant the same time I am.

Hint, hint.... or maybe not.

I guess you have contributed your fair share.
But, we're still going to end with the prego sisters.

Zit picking pictures just aren't as glorious I suppose :).

I love you

Sisters!

Late Christmas Posts

The Grandma - aka: Buckabu

What a babe! My mother is ageless.

 My parents are the king and queen of spoilage and put on a little fishpond extravaganza where the kids fish for presents.
Here are a few pictures of the grand kiddos:

Notice our youngest malling on random cousins throughout the photo display -

Lou being IronMan -

What fun, fun, fun grandparents!

Gingerbread House Competition -

Girls vs. Boys

The girls won - naturally :)

The boys ate :),

but also did a wonderful job!

And the Baby volunteered to be in charge of clean-up.

He Has NO Shame :)

Yep, boys are what we do best! :)

We're are so excited to meet this little fella in 5 months! 

A Few Christmas Morning Snap- Shots

Merry Christmas 2010!

Little C

Little C,
Oh the goof ball of the world - how I love you! You turned 8 last week and I just can't believe it. You wanted to have a swim party so that's exactly what we did. You love the water, outdoors, anything that keeps you movin'.
Right now your dream is to have a show like ICARLY and to have hair like Justin Bieber. :) You love to make people laugh and I must admit you are hilarious. You want muscles like Taylor Lautner and you are constantly coming up to me flexing, saying, "Mom, feel the steel" or "Mom, count my stomach muscles"... funny.
You were truly born for your role in our family. You love your little brothers so much. You get excited at all the new things they learn to do, you play with them, and you watch out for them. Thank you.
You transition to change so well. I am not quite sure how you do it. You like to joke around and entertain your family, but you also have softer side. A sensitive side that understands things way beyond an 8 year olds capacity. You're amazing.
You have decided to be baptized and we couldn't be more proud. Last week you told me how you felt the spirit while taking the sacrament and it warmed my heart. You are so good. Thank you for great example.
We couldn't love you more,
Mom and The Beloved

Not in the Handbook

"Wow, you have your hands full."

If I had a dollar or even a quarter for how many times I heard that a week, I would have to start paying taxes from the income received.

It's interesting what comments seem perfectly acceptable to people. I know I've innocently dealt out my fair share of obnoxious statements and questions. I use the word innocent because unless someone has been in your current situation, how would they know the words flowing from their lips are being received as completely annoying or  perfectly inappropriate?

So, I forgive them -

and then I have to forgive myself for being so petty.

What I really need to do is wash away the responses that pop into my brain but luckily don't project forth out of my mouth.

I think I may start carrying around beautiful homemade badges in my purse that state -I was OBSERVANT today - and hand them right on over to the gracious commenter.

Why is it okay to comment about something so personal as someones children? Pregnancy? Marriage?

(I mean, tell me the good stuff like - my children are fricken adorable and my spouse and I are the cutest couple alive :), but delete the other tacky uncomfortable stuff.)

Weird. People are weird.

Why not tell me  -

"Wow, you have really bad dandruff."

At least there's an easy cure for that.

But you would never dream of uttering those words because it's rude, and you probably can already decipher that I look at my head everyday - and it is rather obvious to me that I suffer from a dry scalp.

-Strangers in the grocery store,

I know I have my hands full. Guess what, they're going to be fuller around May 19th - can you believe it? :) -

I am going to have so many badges to make.

Yes, I am the mother of Spirited Children. 

Especially spirited toddlers. I used to have those thoughts, "Why doesn't that mother control her child?" or "All that child needs is a good spanking." 

Silly me.

Little C was a pretty mellow baby/toddler and I felt like I had things down splendidly in the mothering department and then I had #2 and #3. Trust me, my mothering didn't change a bit... these newer little humans who came into my home were born with a vigor and an intensity for life that leaves a mother exhausted and cursing the authors of most parenting books for having no idea what they are talking about.

I love my little boys.

They are zestful, opinionated, assertive, compelling, and energetic - aka:  loud, argumentative, stubborn, impatient, and busy  -

but, so am I.

They are also sweethearts. They give the best kisses and hugs and always say please and thank you. They love their family fiercely, which is more important to me than a little tantrum at a store or a meal they've refused to eat. They know how to pray and they know their Heavenly Father loves them.

What could be more perfect than that?

Here's our little toothpaste bandit...

he can't seem to keep his chubby perfect fingers out of that drawer.

One evening, I had already fed my children, The Beloved was working late, and I told the kids to play downstairs. I was in the process of eating my dinner alone. I just needed some quiet time to not think, not be the boss, and enjoy my meal. Well, Little C and Lou could not comprehend my desire to be without their company. I gave them plenty of warnings to go downstairs and give me a few moments to finish my dinner... but they would not listen.

I finally threatened them with, "If you come back upstairs again I will throw you in the shower with your clothes on."

For some reason they didn't believe me :).

Following through can be exhausting, but usually I am quite dependable.

I don't really think the shower method could be considered a form of punishment in our home.

We all laughed so hard - it felt like it was planned fun.

I needed a little fun that evening.

Sure, having spirited children can leave me feeling like -dare I say - I have my hands full.

But it also makes life sweet and supplies me with such rich precious memories -

It's worth it.