Party #2- Bachelorette Party!!!

After a couple hours of relaxing together as sisters and visiting, the cousins met up at the house and we all loaded up and headed to dinner. We of course had to bring a veil for Brenn to wear. She rocked it with aviators. We ate a yummy dinner at Carrabba's and of course more socializing...

then home for some games. First we broke off into teams and played a "wedding mad lib" which was hilarious. Remember mad libs, forgot how fun those were. Anyways it was really fun. Then it was time to open presents. Only a couple of pictures here, can't let Kaulin see, it would spoil the surprises :) :) After seeing all the fun stuff Brenn got it was time for cake. We had gotten her a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. It tasted great but was nothing like the cute picture online that we ordered it to look like. Instead it sort of looked like a little girls birthday cake. Sorry Brenn Shea :(
The rest of the night we just laughed and pretty much had a blast. We had asked Kaulin some interview questions about Brenn and after everyone had left besides Brenn and her sisters we sat and read them. He is pretty romantic. He really loves Brenn a lot. This was my favorite part of the day and I am positive that it was hers as well. It is so special for us as her sisters to hear Kaulin talk about the way he feels about her. I know he is the man Brenn is supposed to be with forever. We stayed up way too late and enjoyed talking about Brenn and Kaulin and the life ahead of them. They are awesome. We are all so happy for them.

The best is yet to come... CONGRATULATIONS Brenny!!!

Angel

The other day Emma and I were playing peek-a-boo in my bathroom mirror. She was dressed in a very sweet white outfit and after we stopped playing she sat there and just stared at herself in the mirror. She kept touching her reflection and smiling at herself and then at me. Then I had a moment. I felt warmth spread across my chest and tears starting to fall. She looked like an angel. All in white so beautiful, so innocent. Her skin so soft, her big blue eyes and little dimpled fingers. Her perfect little nose and long eyelashes. I thought about her baby sweetness, her unawareness of the struggles and unclean things of the world. I thought about her closeness to the spirit, wondered about her rememberance of heaven and her Father, wondered if she could remember moments with her big brothers. She is so precious. It amazes me how much babies watch our examples and learn to follow. A few weeks ago we all knelt down one night to say prayer, I went to start and Deke said, "MeKell look." I looked over and there was our baby. Sitting on her bum with her tiny arms perfectly folded, waiting. It was amazing, Deke and I bawled. When did she learn to fold her arms? We never took her hands and showed her how. She had been watching. In a moment it went from watching to imitating. She knew it was time for prayer. We were so touched. About a week later she shocked us once again. Every night since Hunter was two after prayer we do a "family sandwich." Everyone stacks their hands on top of each others and then we say 1,2,3, family! and then put our hands in the air. It is a tradition. When Emma was tiny I used to take her hand and place it on top of the pile even as a newborn. Sometimes she would sit and just watch us do it and smile. This night however we piled up our hands and before we could start she toddled over and all by herself put her little hand on the top of the pile. Again the tears came. Why are Deke and I so tender about our children. They can bring happy tears so easily. She put her hand on top and then we started 1,2,3, family!, she put her hands up in the air and smiled. She knew. Now every night right after prayer she hurries over to put her hand in with her family. It is amazing. How did He know. How did he know how much I needed her...we needed her. She is perfect. Can't I keep her this way forever? Does she know how special she is, who she is? That she is a daughter of Father in Heaven. Of her great worth and what she brings to this family and to those around her? I think of the quote: "If you have eyes to see what Heaven sees in you." I see her little life flying forward ahead of me. I see a little girl, her baptism, a beautiful young women, a bride. I see a very special person with so much to offer the world around her. Hunter brought me the camera and I hurried to take a few pictures of her to capture this moment. In the quiet of my bathroom, the spirit so strong even she is quietly watching herself in the mirror hardly moving around, sitting there staring at herself as if she is having a moment and forgets that I am even there. What is happening right now. I dont' totally understand. But I soak it in, grateful to be able to share in it with her.

Then all of a sudden she straightens up her little neck, becoming aware again that I am watching her and a sweet little grin spreads across her face. Quiet moment over. Back to the growing.

Five times.

I am so richly blessed. I can't describe the gratitude that I felt yesterday all day long. My head just kept going over it trying to take it all in. I am a mother. I have become a mother five times now. I have been blessed with five children. Three boys and two little girls.

On 7/29/03 I became a mother for the first time to a strong, vibrant little boy. Extremely bright, witty, funny, yet still sensitive. Someone who connects to everyone he meets, quite the mr. personality and very responsible. Kind.

Then on 2/2/05 and again a minute later on 2/2/05 to twin sons, absolutely perfect in every way. So perfect that they only needed to stay for a moment. I could only share an ultrasound picture of them since the pictures of them after they were born are so precious to Deke and I that they are sacred to us. They are identical though and boy you could tell. They look just like Hunter. Even seeing the ultrasound picture it still amazes me that Deke and I have twins. I look forward everyday to getting to know them.

Then on 7/24/06 by the intricate plan of Heavenly Father and the most incredible, act of love and sacrifice of an amazing woman, I was given the opportunity to become a mother once more. There are no words adequate to describe our emotions at being given this gift or about how we feel about this woman. Entrusted to us a precious baby girl, happy and silly, confident and beautiful. Aware of who she is and never afraid to try something new.

On 3/27/10 a tiny little bundle was laid across my chest to see each other for the first time face to face. Another beautiful daughter, brought safely by His tender mercy. A snuggly, sweet, happy, peaceful countenance. Beautiful and sensitive, feminine, a little peacemaker. Tender.

Joy. I am humbled at the fact that He has trusted them to me. I love my day to day with them. They are amazing. I love watching them experience life and develop into their different personalities. I love being a mother. I have never known a depth of love before as the one I feel for each of them. I am grateful for it all. Feel joy in my "right now" and look forward to these precious moments of becoming a mother again in the future.

On the farm

Last night was Hunter's first grade performance. It was based on the farm. They had a fun farm backdrop that the teacher's made. Speaking of teacher's I love Hunter's teacher. She is so awesome and he has had such a wonderful year. She has done and excellent job of helping to support his love of reading and science. She loops up every other year and teaches second grade as well. So....guess who Hunter will also have next year. YAY! We are all excited. Each of the first grade classrooms represented a different animal. Hunter was a cow. They did a combination of speaking parts and songs. There were three to four speaking parts per classroom and Hunter had one of them. Hunter was standing on the top riser at the very end and happened to be standing by Allison which is the little girl that he has liked all year. During the performance Deke and I were cracking up because he was so serious. He was singing and following along with all of the hands motions but wouldn't crack a smile and was just staring at the music teacher. Afterwards he told us that she had told them all to keep their eyes on her. Well he definitely followed that direction to the tee.

Then on one song his class left the risers and went down on the floor with instruments. Hunter had the wood block and again was very serious as he waited for the beats to come and then hit the block with his mallet. Avery and Emma loved the music especially the instruments and Em kept bouncing up and down trying to dance to the music.

My favorite song though was called the Turkey Woogie. It was a jazzy rendition about a turkey and it had a great beat and cute moves that corresponded with the lyrics. This one finally got a smile out of him. His part was the last speaking part, he walked up to the mic and looked over at me sitting over on the right side. He was standing very rigid, I love this picture of him because if you just look at his stance you can tell how nervous he was. I could see the nerves he was having and just smiled at him. Then he looked back out to the center and said his part nice and slow just perfect on the volume. "The horse is in the stable, the hens are in the shed but the sheepdog fell fast asleep inside the farmers bed." Then he smiled. I went over to pick him up from his group and gave him a hug telling him what a good job he did. "Mom, would you take a picture of me and Allison" was the first thing he said to me. "Sure bud, go ask her" I said as he hurried off to find her. I watched as he found her up on the stage talking to two of her friends. He stood there behind her just waiting as if expecting her to realize he was behind her and just turn around. He kept looking at me unsure what to do. "Ask her" I quietly prompted him and pointed. He sat there waiting. Looked back at me again and put his hands up as if confused. "Ask her Hunter" I mouthed to him again. "Hey Allison" he said so quietly I don't know if he even heard himself and without hearing him she ran off to see another friend. Giving him a look, he looked at me and shrugged totally unsure what to do next. "Hunter if you want a picture with her you are going to have to go ask her." I whispered to him. "Okay" he said and started to walk towards her again turning back once more for my reassurance. "Hey Allison, would you take a picture with me?" he said to her mostly looking down at the floor. "Sure Hunter" she said and over they came. I took a couple quick pictures, "thanks Hunter" she said and hurried off again. Hunter was smiling. Then as if it became a trend, other friends were coming up to Hunter asking for pictures together. These are pictures with Hunter and Hailey and him and Katie.

As we headed out to the car we saw Dr. Coleman in the parking lot. "Night Dr. Coleman" Hunter said, "Goodnight" she called back. Then in his most "trying to sound like a grown up voice" he said, "Yeah, gotta get to bed early tonight, have a Scorpion report due in the morning." Deke and I looked at each other and just smiled and laughed. I feel like we have done that so much since he was born. He says the funniest things. He has always had such an outgoing spirit and such a way with connecting with people. I have always and still feel that this part of him is and will continue to be a blessing in both his life and the life of those he interacts with. Way to go Hunter!

Hunter's current "good read"

He amazes me. He is only in first grade and right now they figure he is reading at a strong fourth grade reading level. He has always had a way with vocabulary. He started talking very early and full on sentences by eighteen months. He has always used words way beyond his age and yet knows the meaning and uses them in the proper context. I can't believe how well he reads and understands the scriptures. Currently he is reading the first Harry Potter. He is loving it. We will probably let him read the second and then maybe wait on the rest since they might be a little too scary for him. I am just so proud of the fact that he can read so well. It never ceases to amaze me when we lay on my bed together and to watch my seven year old pick up a book like this and read it fluently to me. It is so neat. He is so awesome.

Bonanza

Last weekend Hunter's school had their end of the year carnival or as they call it a bonanza. It was on a Friday night and they had all sorts of games and rides both inside and outside the school. They had a 30ft rock wall, a 100 ft. slide, race cars, giant trike racing a petting zoo and some other fun rides. Inside the teachers had set up different booths with activities like face painting, golfing etc. etc. You purchased a wristband for each kid and they could do unlimited rides from 5-9pm and the parents of course were free. I couldn't believe how big the turn out was, obviously this is a big deal at the school every year. The first thing Hunter wanted to do was the rock wall. As soon as it was his turn he headed up without a problem until he hit a part that required a tricky reach and suddenly became very aware of how high up he was. Then he wasn't so sure about it. Avery who had been watching other kids go up was "chomping at the bit" to have a go at it. Deke and I were not surprised to see her grip on and start scaling it with little to no problems at all. Atta girl Ave. She looked so cute climbing up in her little hot pink capris. When she had reached a height that she was comfortable with she leaned back, pushed off the wall and started making her way down as if she had done it a million times. It was cute. We got to meet Larry, Hunter's fifth grade buddy who was really nice. He actually hung around and talked with Hunter for awhile before he headed off to meet his friends. Hunter found a couple of his buddies and then took some turns at the obstacle course and down the giant slide. Deke kept getting a kick out of the fact that every now and again a little girl from his class would walk by and wave and say "Hi Hunter." "Hunter, who's that?" he would ask, "Oh that's Lainey" I would tell him and give him the name of the little girl, suddenly realizing that it obviously only takes a couple times of classroom volunteering to get kids names down. Emma who had been patiently watching in her stroller the whole time was starting to get restless so thank goodness for the petting zoo. She loved it! She couldn't decide if she really liked the goats or if she was afraid of them. If I tried to let her stand on her own she got a scared as if she was worried they might eat her. I don't blame her these weren't even the tiny little goats like at the zoo. You know the ones with the tiny little stubs for horns that always try to eat your shirt? Then we saw a baby calf sitting down nice and calm on the ground by the fence. Once I took Em over there she sat there and pet the calf and smiled and laughed. It was really cute. Then we headed inside to play some games and get our faces painted. Avery sat down and asked for Rapunzel to which the lady laughed and promptly asked her "Butterfly or flower?" Okay seriously, how many times have you gotten your face painted and those were the only options? Yeah maybe there was an occasional rainbow or a heart but still pretty limited. I say it is time to branch out, how about some pre artistically trained face painters to bring some variety to the mix? Oh well. Flower it is for now. Hunter got his face painted by someone who was not afraid to take the challenge of painting his face like a "zombie" even though when he came over and showed me I asked him if he was a crocodile. They all had so much fun. I am really loving this school. The teacher's are awesome, the office staff are great and the family involvement and events that they have are a lot of fun.

His first report

Hunter has always loved learning. Since he was tiny he has been like a sponge constantly soaking up information and turning everything into a project or learning activity. True to his nature then it shouldn't have surprised me when he came running off the bus with a paper in hand to show me. "Mom, we get to do our first report on a desert animal, and I get to do one on a Scorpion!" he quickly continued, "We get to make a poster with facts and stuff, and then stand up and read it in front of the class!" I just smiled. Side note: I don't remember ever having to give an oral report as early as first grade? "Okay well it looks like it is due next week so you'd better get going on some research" I told him. "Yeah, I need to get some information maybe on the internet" he said as he threw his backpack into his room and headed for the computer. Love him. As with most things within about fifteen minutes he had absorbed some great facts about scorpions and was regurgitating them to me. We filled out the questions on the report page that he would be reading in front of the class. When it asked to describe what the animal looked like I suggested what he should write. "No Mom, let's put at the end of its tail it has a telson" he told me. "A telson?" "You know mom, the stinger, telson is the scientific name." "Yeah buddy I don't think anyone will know that so let's just put stinger." "Mom we have to use the scientific name because that is what it is really called." "Okay fine Hunter but then you have to put telson (stinger) so that people know what you are talking about." This led to using all scientific names for description of said scorpion. Thank goodness that his teacher knows him so well or she would probably think that I did his report for him. When I asked him if he would like a picture of a really cool scorpion climbing up a cactus or something he replied: "Actually mom I was thinking that we could do a diagram of a scorpion's body with arrows labeling the parts." Oh yeah, or that..I thought to myself. However since 1. I am NOT an artist ask anyone who has ever played Pictionary with me and 2. I definitely could not manage a cross section of a scorpion he had to settle for nice colored pictures printed of scorpions. Deke being the amazing dad he is, bought Hunter one of those scorpion under glass paperweights at Walgreens for him to pass around for all the kids to see a real scorpion after his presentation. This mornining at the breakfast table he was practicing what he was going to say. I have been thinking about him all day, wondering how it went and excited to hear about it.