THE RICHARDSONS

The Princess Protection Program

2009-08-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

Here's my first contribution to the "family" blog. Since Kristin suggested I contribute, here you go. Remember babe, "for better or worse."

Last night during FHE we played the Disney Scene It game. We didn't really play the game, we just watched random scenes on the DVD. During one of the bits, Alex proposed the name of the Disney flick was: "The Princess Protection Program."

I thought it was pretty funny and didn't want to forget it. Alex -- you're a funny fellow. We're so glad you're in our family. It's also been nice to see you stepping up lately as the big brother: playing with the young 'uns and letting them crawl on you, etc. You're the man, my little Jedi!

Love, Dad.

Home from Alaska

2009-06-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

When me & Kristin got back from our trip to Alaska, something happened I didn't expect. I wanted to write it down so I don't forget about it. We (at least I) wasn't sure I missed the kids all that much. Some alone time for mom & dad was just what we needed. It really was a lot of fun. But when we pulled up into the driveway the kids ran out to meet us. It was kind of weird seeing them. They seemed bigger than when we left, and I almost didn't recognize them. Alex hugged me and I almost outright cried because my heart jumped to see him. I heard Halie, but what she was saying hadn't registered for a minute. She said, "Hi, Daddy," in the cutest softest, most hopeful voice I'd ever heard. That really almost got me started. It was so cute! When I picked her up (I do this with all the kids) I asked her who I loved and she said "Hay Bare." Didn't want to forget that. I remember Hannah jumped into my arms, and Josh was a little trepidatious but smiled big when I picked him up. We sure have a great family, and I love all you guys. Love, Dad.

Hannah Banana turns 5

2009-06-14T21:47:00.001-07:00

Hooray, we made it to 5! A few years ago, I could constantly be heard saying, "If I can just keep her alive til she's 5, we're gonna be ok". The reason for this being of course, that Hannah is an absolutely exhausting child! Exhausting because she is busy, busy, busy, and into everything, and needs constant entertainment. However this is also a wonderful thing, because she is so smart, so talented, so creative, so artistic, so energetic, and so beautiful, that she just blows me away!

My friends are always asking me how I have so much energy to take my kids everywhere. The truth be told, I keep us all going, going, going, because of Hannah. The rest of us are just totally benefitting from her busy personality. I'm happy to report that Hannah at 5, is the most delightful and entertaining child I have ever known. Still busy, still drama, drama, drama, still into everything, but now she is able to regulate herself, and keep it coming in moderation, so I can actually keep up. We are becoming great shopping buddies, and we have long chats about her future dreams, while painting our toenails. I love it! I've always said that boys are easier than girls, but the girls are so much fun, and I am absolutely loving mine.

My sassy birthday girl

Bruce stopped by the party for a few rounds of Hullabaloo

We made ribbon flip flops, and did some fancy pedicures

Had a super fun treasure hunt, where the kids had to do something funny, like cluck like a chicken, or blow Hannah five kisses, or hop on one foot to the next clue.

We had lots of yummy party food, and decorated cupcakes

And then we all watched the birthday girl open her fun presents.

Hannah, I love you so much! Thank you for coming into my life, for breaking me out of my shell, for challenging me everyday, for bringing so many new people into my life, for showing me the fun side of life, and for just being the AMAZING you, that you are. I find myself watching you all the time, and am in constant awe that you are my daughter. I feel so blessed to have you in my life. I just hope I can always keep up. :) I am so excited to see all the wonderful things you will bring to this world, and to all those you come in contact with. You have a very special, unique, and dynamic spirit, and are capable of such great things.

Happy Birthday my darling girl. I love you like the stars!

Let the SUMMER FUN begin

2009-06-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

School is out, and so for our first day of summer fun, we headed to This is the Place park, and we had a fabulous time!!

Bear got some help from a good lookin cowboy

Hannah was awesome at the potato sack races

As usual, Alex just needed a few sticks and a little water, and he was happy

Josh loved all the train rides

And I LOVED, spending the day with my kids. So happy to have them all home for the summer.

Hannah & Emma

2009-06-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

Last week Hannah & Emma had their dance recital. They were so cute, and sooo much better than last year. This is their second semester with Dance Crew, they love it, and we loved watching them!

BEST FRIENDS

Roadtrip IDAHO

2009-05-31T08:28:00.000-07:00

It's Friday morning of the Memorial Day weekend, Bruce has the day off, and we have no plans at 8am. By 9:30am we are on the road, with no plans except to head towards Idaho, and stop wherever, and whenever we want.

First stop: Lava Hot Springs, and they don't call them HOT for nothing.

The pools were between 104' and 112'. A little too hot for the kids to truly enjoy, but they still had fun soaking their feet, and splashing around in them.

And the popsicles were devine!

That night we found a nice hotel in Pocatello, and swam the night away.

Day 2: We loaded up the van and headed in the direction of Rexburg. We were happily driving along, when we saw a sign that said Potato Museum next exit. So, since we were in the land of the POTATO, we had to stop.

We saw the World's largest Pringle

An entire wall of Potato mashers

some old Potato farming equipment

And a fun old train with bunnies running around under it.

The next thing we came across was a sign that the traveling TITANIC exhibit was at the Museum of Idaho, so we decided to go there. It was a really cool exhibit, with photos, movies, artifacts from the sunken ship, and lots of interesting stories of the people who were on the boat. As you enter they give each person a card with the name and other info, of a person who was on the Titanic. At the end of the exhibit there is a wall that tells you wether your person lived or died. We had 4 of our 6 people die. They also had a huge piece of an "Iceberg" at the end, that the kids could feel, so they could see how cold it was. The kids were really into it, and we all had a great time. Unfortunately the museum didn't allow photos, so this is as good as it gets.

Our next stop was in Rexburg to hit Bear World.

Where we saw lots of these

And a ton of these

So many, so, that at one time our car was surrounded by bears, with one pushing on our bumper, which totally freaked out Alex.

The baby bears were ADORABLE

Especially these ones.

Then we walked through the petting zoo, and fed all of these

While Halie, chased around some of these

And then we rode on some of these, which the kids loved!

And then we found a hotel in Rexburg, & swam the night away.

The next morning we loaded up and headed to Yellowstone. We had a great time walking along all the trails, enjoying the scenery, seeing the animals, and taking in the hot springs.

Bear kept stopping at every sign, to point out the letters and tell us what they were.

This is the happy bunch waiting for Old Faithful, which is not as faithful as it used to be.

And this is them 20 minutes later, still waiting, and get soaking wet in the rain.

But when she finally blew, it was worth the wait.

After a fun day, we headed back to Rexburg, found a hotel, and swam and swam and swam. The next morning we headed over to take a walk around the Rexburg Temple. It was beautiful, and we were able to have some spiritual time with our kids. I love, that my kids love to go see the Temples.

And then we headed home, after a most EXCELLENT adventure through Idaho. We had a blast, but we were all feeling just like Bear in this picture. Totally Exhausted!

YAY VACATION!!!

Passports

2009-05-11T20:00:00.001-07:00

Bruce and I got our first ever Passports in the mail today. Hooray, we will actually be able to go on our cruise to Alaska next month. Yes, we are going away for a week, and leaving the kids at home. It's been a long time coming, and I can't wait to have 7 days of no whining kids. I will miss them, yes, but I'm sure Bruce will whine a little, just to keep them all fresh in my mind. Alaska here we come!

BFF's

2009-05-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we were priveleged to have Bruce's best friend, his wife Audrey, and their sweet baby Mariana, come to stay with us for ten days. Bruce and Jay have been friends since Bruce was 5 years old, and if there is any one person in this world that I have to be jealous of, it's Jay. Bruce and Jay talk every day, sometimes multiple times a day. They are as gay as two heterosexual males could possibly be, and so alike, it's scary!

Jay & Audrey have 6 boys, and then were blessed with this sweet little girl. Bear is not a fan of babies, and usually wants nothing to do with them, but she loved Mariana. Just couldn't get enough of her.

Hope we see you guys again soon. Love you!!!!

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-11T19:41:00.001-07:00

I think that this has been my best Mother's Day ever! Beyond the nice family dinner here at our house with all my family, the cute presents, and "I love you's" from the kids, and all that Bruce always does for me, there was just the quiet underlying PEACE, of knowing that my children are all here, and our family is complete. If I could of picked the perfect family for me, I would of picked exactly what I have now, 4 kids, 2 boys, 2 girls. And to now have that, leaves me very content, and feeling very blessed.

My loves, eating their Meatball subs on Mother's Day

For Mother's Day this year I decided that I wanted to set some goals for myself, in hopes of becoming an even better mother for my kids. So here they are:

1) Hold and love each child every day, for as long as they will let me. The younger kids this happens automatically with, but as they get older I'm noticing that they climb on me a little less, so I'm going to encourage it a little more.

2) Be better at dating each child. I realized that this past year I made more time to date friends than I did my kids one on one. We had lots of dates, but need even more. I love to spend time with each child without the others. That's when you really get to know your kids, and their individual personalities blossom, when they are the only ones around.

This a picture of me that Hannah drew for Mother's Day. She always draws me with an afro, and I think that is just BEAUTIFUL! I love it!

3) Stop yelling!! We printed out signs for family home evening, had the kids color them, and taped one on the wall in each room. They have only been up since Monday, and have already made a huge difference.

4) Try to bring the Gospel into our home even more, by making it a happy, clean, and loving place to be. We do a pretty good job of this already (as is evidenced by the million kids hanging out here everyday), but there is always room for improvement.

Bruce, Alex, Hannah, Joshua, & Bear.........I love you to Infinity and Beyond! Thanks for teaching me how to be a mom, and for loving me through all my crazy moments!

Happy Birthday Bear!

2009-04-05T17:52:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that my baby is 2, and that I really have no babies anymore. However I have to say that if you're going to end on any kid, Bear is the one to do it on. She is AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, FUNNY, LOVEABLE, and a complete JOY! She is a very bright light in our family, and her smile is the best ever!

Beautiful Bear

Birthday ice cream, Mmmmmmm!

Bear loves dogs, and Ruger is her favorite. One of her very first words was puppy, and she sleeps with a stuffed puppy every night.

My loves, my life.........

Bear is most definately a DADDY's GIRL!

A smile to die for, and just look at those eyes!

Bear,

I just love you! I had to start with that, because it's true, you are just soooo loveable! Everyone loves you! From the minute you were placed in my arms I knew that we would be good friends. You have been the easiest baby, and even though you are getting your girly drama going on at 2, you're still so easy going, and I love that about you. I think that of all the kids, you are the most like your father. You are laid back, funny, always hungry, a bit chubby, calm, very likeable, peaceful, and just perfect!

Your siblings are all crazy about you, and to them you can do no wrong. It is so funny to watch as they all fight amongst themselves, and don't like each other to touch them or their stuff. But all three of them think you are just so cute, even when you are in trouble, and ruining something of theirs. They let you get away with murder. We are all very smitten with you.

We spent your birthday at Grandma Babycakes house eating Hoo-Hash for breakfast, and then took you and your siblings for ice cream and to the park, so you could run around and roll down the big hills.

Your favorite things at 2:

Foods: Yogurt, oranges, cheese, smoothies, fries, mac & cheese, pears, cereal, and bread
Toys: Barbies, balls, Little People, coloring books
Animal: Dogs, dogs, and more dogs. (but you love all animals, more so than any of your siblings)
Places: Nursery, playgroup, zoo, children's museum, Walmart, Grandma's
Phrases: "A drink a water", "Where daddy go", "mama go bye bye", "Yeesh", "La you too", "my puppy, my puppy", "my paper, my paper", "tank you mommy".
Songs: "Honey Honey" (from Mama Mia), I am a child of God, Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABC song

Bear, You are my SUNSHINE! I love to see your sweet smile in the morning as you climb in my blanket. I am so happy that you are my baby, and that I get to be your mother. I love your spunky personality, and your sense of humor. You are so sweet, and I am loving watching as you learn and grow into such a fun little person. I love you tons! Happy birthday my Baby Bear!

Oh and by the way, we call you Bear, because from the time you were just a tiny baby you would moan like a Bear the whole time you ate. You were so noisy, and if you really liked what you were eating the moaning got really loud. It was very amusing for the rest of us.

Hannah's "Crazy Hair"

2009-03-22T19:55:00.001-07:00

People are always asking me how long the girls hair is when it's not braided. But because of the nature of the fro, we rarely wear our hair free around here. So here's a few shots of Hannah in all her Afro glory. Hannah calls it her "crazy" hair, I call it "Stunningly beautiful."

And for all my friends who have their own curly beauty's at home, don't worry, I got it all braided up, before it took over the house.

Pinewood Derby

2009-03-20T20:46:00.001-07:00

Tonight was Alex's first Pinewood Derby for Scouts. He and Bruce had a good time building and decorating the car together. Unfortunately, his aerodynamics were off a bit, so his car only did so-so in the races. He won about half the time, which was good enough for him. The best part for me was watching Alex, be such a great sport, as he wished every competitor "good luck", and told them he "hoped they would win", and then said "great job" afterwards. He's such a wonderful little person!

Father & Son

Alex with a goofy grin

They had expedition racing afterwards, so Bruce brought three of his cars, from when he was a Scout, for the little kids to race. Joshua was really excited that his car won 3rd place, and he got a ribbon, which he took to bed with him that night, and carried around for several days afterwards.

Josh and his ribbon

Bear getting direction from Dad.

Hannah practicing her "Car Model" pose

My kids and their cars. What a CUTE bunch!

Last minute ROADTRIP

2009-02-23T09:48:00.000-08:00

Bruce was headed down to Laverkin (yes it's a real place) for the weekend, to play with his BFF J, and at the very last minute, the rest of us decided to tag along. We had no plans because of the last minuteness, but still managed to have alot of fun. The phrase of the weekend was "YAY VACATION", which we randomly screamed throughout the weekend of "forced family fun". It goes along with "Yay yardwork", "Yay chores", and "Yay church", which can be heard coming out of any of our mouths on a daily basis at home.

I swear no matter where we go, the kids are far more excited about sleeping in a hotel than anything else we do. Bruce and I are not as excited about sleeping in the same room with the "Others", as we like to call them,(it's a LOST thing).

Bruce, being mauled by "the Others"

This is the best and only picture of me (compliments of Hannah), from the whole weekend. Guess who takes the pictures in our family?

Friday night we had dinner with Bruce's BFF J & family, after which I left Bruce there to play video games all night in his underwear, and I took the kids back to the hotel for bed.
Saturday we decided to hit a Rec center in Washington for some swimming. If the hotel is the top of the kid's fun list, swimming is definitely #2. We had a GREAT time, and swam half the day away. I even took my fat butt down the slide a few times. It was exhilarating, but not pretty (notice there are no pictures), and somewhat painful for me and anyone having to watch me. :)

I love that Josh & Bear kept holding hands when they were floating on their backs.

After swimming we had mandatory naps for everyone, and then Bruce stayed at the hotel with J, and I took the kids to the Olive Garden in St. George, to meet up with my cousin Ed, his wife Aimee, & their son Edison. We had a fun, somewhat civilized dinner, and then decided to go miniature golfing. Josh & Bear were really funny, and hit each other more than they hit their balls. Bear wouldn't even put her ball down. She carried it through the whole course and just used her club to hit other balls and the people who belonged to them. We were golfing outside in the dark, and Josh kept yelling into the lights, "can you hear me now". Someone watches too much TV.

I love how Hannah is always posing in all her pictures. Can you say SUPERMODEL, with the looks, the body, & the attitude.

Aimee, Edison, & Ed

The next day we decided to head over to Zion's, with a few stops on the way. Our first stop was at a gas station, where Bruce entertained us all with this striking pose. Yep that's his SEXY nipple, shoved up against the window. Our poor kids, scarred for life!

We made a side trip to hit an old Ghost town called Grafton. They had a really cool old cemetary that had Indians burried in it. The graves had mounded dirt, which made them look a little too fresh, but the kids thought it was neat.

And then we drove through Zion's which was beautiful , and headed on home. The battery on my camera died shortly into Zion's, but here's a few shots.

Fun, fun, weekend, with my favorite people in the whole world. Nothing like last minute "forced family fun". Good times................

Forever Richardson

2009-02-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

Today, our Forever Family grew a little larger, as Joshua was sealed to us in the Bountiful Temple. We had a really wonderful day, which began with a family prayer, and singing "I Love to see the Temple" (which is Joshua's favorite primary song), in the car, on the way to the Temple.

Happy kids going to the Temple.

Sitting in the sealing room was a really emotional experience for me. Not only was I overcome with love for all of our family and friends, and the anticipation of seeing all the kids in white, but I was very overcome with love from my Heavenly Father. There have been many times in my life when I have felt very close to my heavenly home, and being there in the Temple, surrounded by my loved ones, was one of those times.

When the kids came in dressed in their whites, I was a mess. I love these four kids so much, and I am so grateful for them, and for the joy and privelege I have of being their mom. They are each so unique, with such strong spirits, and so much fun to have around. I am so grateful for all the little miracles that have transpired to bring each of them into our family. I love you guys so much! And I love, love, love, love, being your mom!

Joshua

While we were knealing at the altar, Joshua was all smiles, and said some really cute things:

"Mom, you're like a Princess" (he was loving my veil)
"Mom, I really like my white tie"
"Mom, are you so, so, happy"? (he was unsure with all my blubbering)

After the sealing we all stood and looked into the mirror at our eternal family, and he said "We are all happy". And we were, all so happy, and it all felt very right, like it was supposed to be. As we greeted our family & friends, Josh kept his arms locked tightly around my neck, and he must of kissed me and told me he loved me a hundred times in that short time. He was also doling out the kisses to everyone else. Such a sweet boy!

We had a perfect day, and the only sad part was knowing that this would probably be our last time having a child sealed to us. We are feeling very blessed, and so happy with our family, and we feel like we may be done with kids for this earthly life. Our family feels perfect and complete, but I'm not going to say that we wouldn't be happy to add a few more, so we'll just have to see what the future holds. I still wake up most days, and think "Wow, we have four kids", how did that happen? We feel so blessed, and the fact that they are all absolutely "Perfect" for our family, is truly a miracle.

I feel a little sorry for people who don't "get" to go through the amazing experience that is adoption. It really gives you the opportunity to witness our Heavenly Father's love for all of his children, as he helps them to find their earthly homes. So many miracles, and blessings, and spiritual confirmations happen during the journey. And all the people involved are touched in very significant and Testimony building ways. You get several, very real, glimpses into our vast, Eternal Family, and the fact that we are all brother's and sisters, sent here to love and help each other, and that we are all loved equally by our Heavenly Father. How grateful I am for the blessings of the Temple, and for the forever family we are creating.

The boys

Right after this picture was taken, Joshua grabbed my face and said "Mom, I just love you, and you're my mom". He is so stinkin cute!

Dancing Bear

Hannah

Temple doors

"We are a Happy Family"

Hannah, catching some AIR

Forever Family

Blowing kisses

We are so grateful to all of our family & friends who were with us on this special day. Thanks for being there for us and for all the love and support. We love you all!!!

GIRLS in CURLS

2009-01-30T10:59:00.000-08:00

Hannah has been asking for curly hair for quite some time, so I finally got brave enough to do it. I love the way it looks on them.

Pretty girls!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, this girl!

And, how could you not LOVE this one????

It's a done deal!

2009-01-23T14:25:00.000-08:00

Today was Joshua's big day in court. It's been a long crazy year, but every minute of it has been worth the end result. We are crazy in love with Joshua, and he is a perfect fit for our family.

All dressed up for the big day.

Joshua with my mom (aka Grandma Babycakes)

Judge McCully is AWESOME!! She was with us through the whole foster care journey, and finalized for us today. She is very sweet and soft spoken, but if she is not happy with you, trust me, you will hear about it. Her bailiff gave Joshua a sticker, that he promptly put on his stomach, and then pulled it off and stuck it to his forehead.

She put Joshua up on her lap and let him scribble on his own adoption decree. So cool!
And then she let him slam the gavel on her desk, to officially close his case.

Joshua with his Mom & Dad, holding the Dolphin he got from the Judge.

The new, & very much improved Richardson family

A few weeks ago I told Joshua that I loved him and that I was so happy he was my son. He responded with, "I'm not your son, I'm your moon". How cute is that?

When I say "I love you Joshua", he will reply with "I love you too hotdog" or "I love you to ketchup", or "I love you to hamburger" etc.

The other day Joshua asked me if I was happy. I said yes, and he said "You are happy, I make you happy". Joshua you have made all of us very, very happy!!!

Happy adoption day Joshua! We love you soo much, French fries!!!!

Things that make me SMILE

2009-01-11T18:42:00.000-08:00

Princess, pizza, peaches, pudding, pretzel, popcorn, pears, pink punch, picnic, parties, for Pre-school.

Emma, Hannah & Allie

Just for the record, we do own a "Knight in shining armor" costume, that Joshua could of worn. But, Joshua wanted to be a "Princess" like everyone else, and he has been wanting to get into this Hannah Montana costume, ever since Hanna Banana, got it for Christmas.
Playing with Balloons
A "BIG" sister who gives her siblings piggyback rides all morning so I can get the laundry done.

And the cutest three year old in the whole world, singing his ABC's.

What a "REAL MAN" does with his Saturday mornings

2009-01-03T15:11:00.000-08:00

Bruce, with his Bear, & the hair basket.......

and, I LOVE him for it!!!!!!

Oops, I did it again!!

2009-01-03T14:42:00.000-08:00

And the award for "The Clumsiest Kid of 2008" goes to........., drumroll please........., Alex Richardson!! For managing to break an arm 3 times in 5 months, and every time have it cooincide with a major event.

The first break happened the day after his eighth birthday and on the day of his first Scout camp. The Second break happened the night before we left for our family vacation to the Grand Canyon, and a week before his Baptism. And #3 happened on New Year's Eve, shortly before he was scheduled to go to bed, thus allowing for him to stay up to ring in the New Year, with his dad, in the ER.

Luckily, (if there is luck involved) he actually reboke the original break from Scout camp. All the way through both bones again. How did he accomplish such an amazing feat???? In his own words, "I was just walking, and then it broke",(Try taking a kid to the ER with that explanation). I made Bruce do it. I wasn't about to spend the night in the slammer with all the New Year's eve drunks. :)

Apparently there was some tripping over ones own feet, and falling involved (we're all a bit shaky on the real story). But the good news is that after you break 3 bones on 3 seperate occasions, you get a "FREE" Iron Man toy, from the ER docs. Ya, that makes it all worth it!

You have no manner of Luck Alex, but we love you anyway. Alex's goal for 2009, "to not break anything"! I'll drink to that!

Happy Freakin New Year!!!!!!!!

We wish you a Mer (oops, no, wait, watch out, I'm gonna puke!!)

2008-12-27T12:09:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas celebrations started off great, with a fun filled night at Grandma & Grandpa Babycakes with the whole Hughes clan. We ate, we played, we opened lots of presents, and the kids were all happy and very excited. Joshua was especially excited, and asked no less than 100 times, if it was time to open presents yet. He was very happy to get his CARS racetrack from Jake, and he carefully guarded it all night long.

Bear, lovin on her new baby

Alex in Star Wars heaven

Hannah Montana

A very Happy Bear

Bruce making love to the camera.

And a little holiday nose picking, just for fun! (and unfortunately the gross doesn't end here)

After the fun party at Grandma's, we headed home, got everyone all tucked snug in their beds, and layed out the Santa gifts. Keep in mind that no one had showed even the slightest hint of any illness up until this point.

Santa gifts

Let me start this paragraph by stating that when 5 of the 6 people in your house have the badooks, 2 bathrooms are just not enough!! It all began at 3am when Alex sauntered into our room moaning and saying he didn't feel too well. Within 10 minutes he was in the bathroom barfing his guts out. 2 hours later, Joshua was crying because he had puked all over his new Diego pillow, and his PJ's. Shortly after that, I went in to get Bear up, and let's just say, it hit me as soon as I opened the door. Bear had puked all over her crib, and leaned over the side to puke into and all over the toy box at the side of her crib. She then continued to sleep and roll around in it, so as to get the maximum amount of it into her hair. It was FABULOUS!!!!

So instead of tearing into Santa gifts, we spent the morning bathing kids, and pulling chunks out of bedding, before it hit the washer. We didn't even start to open presents until 10am, and by then Bruce had started having tummy troubles (which have had him homesteading the Jon for 3 days). I know, I know, we have no secrets here. At least Bruce doesn't. :) But none the less, we managed to fake our way through present opening, even though Joshua was continuing to puke every 5-10 minutes, and looked near death all morning. The poor kid could barely keep his head up, and continued to be sick the whole day.

Bear was very happy to get her own Basketball. She is obsessed with Bruce's and will hold it, and talk to it for hours.

Bruce & Alex were excited to see their RC helicopters. Too bad they were not as easy to fly as the box said they would be. But cool anyway.

Hannah got lots of games this year, Connect four, Disney Yahtzee, & High School musical dance, to name a few.

Joshua looking GREEN, but putting on a happy face for the camera.

Love this picture of Bear, feeding her baby.

New Scooters for Alex & Hannah

The CHAOS of present opening

Happy, albeit sick kids, posing with their Christmas loot.

The really great part of my Christmas story is that I was hosting lunch for Bruce's family that day. We warned them that there had been some puking (but we were'nt as elaborate in the details as we probably should of been) but they chose to take their chances and come anyway (a choice that Bruce's dad is regretting today, as he has taken to his deathbed, thanks to us), sorry Sam. I was really glad they all came and we (meaning everyone other than Bruce & Joshua, who were getting worse by the minute) had a good visit, ate some good food, and opened some fun presents.

Bruce with his "Hot glow of electric sex" lamp

Bruce, Karen, Jeni, & Sam

Within an hour of the family leaving, I was in the bathroom puking my guts out, as Bear cheered me on, by saying, "oooh momma, yucky, bye bye, ooooohhhh". Later that night Hannah was complaining of a hurt tummy, but she was able to hold it together, unlike the rest of us. What we really wanted to be doing all day was lying around moaning in our blankets. And that is exactly what we did for the rest of the day.

Merry Freakin Christmas!!!

Luckily we kept ourselves quarrantined all day Friday, and the kids played hard like it was Christmas morning. The Badooks went, as quickly as it came, except for Bruce. But he was well enough to accompany me to see BodyWorlds on Friday night, which was way gross, but really cool, all at the same time. And today we had lunch with the whole Gines family at Chuck-a-Rama, and I'm happy to report that everyone has kept it down thus far. :)

Things that made this Christmas Season memorable, other than the puking of course:

The Fairly Odd Parents Christmas (the kids love this cartoon, and we have watched the Christmas episode, laughing the whole time, at least 50 times, per their request).

Changing all the Christmas carols to somehow include the word "Hotdog" in them somewhere. Not sure who started this (probably Hannah), but Joshua has kept it going. We wish you a Merry hotdog, etc, etc.

Watching Bear scream at Santa, & listening to Joshua tell us all month how Santa is "really scary".

Watching the kids excitedly open all the Christmas cards from our family & friends.

Discussing Boobies with Hannah everday, and trying to explain to her that they don't really come from the Northpole.

Spending time with Family & Friends.

FHE's focusing on the Savior

Latest Christmas FUN!

2008-12-16T11:06:00.000-08:00

Thursday, Bruce and I headed out with my mom and Brent for dinner and to see the Mo-tab's Christmas concert. The concert was magical, and we had great weather for strolling through the lights afterwards.

Friday, my friend Lauri and I braved the cold, and headed to the Zoo Lights! Bruce had a meeting and couldn't go, and I was so happy to have Lauri and her girls along to help keep track of the kids. In the daylight I'm good with four kids, but in the dark it's a whole nother thing to keep track of them. But I'm happy to report that no one was lost, or misplaced, and we all had a great time. And the Zoo lights were totally worth the 45 minutes it took me to get everyone pottied, booted, coated, mittened, hatted, and snacked so that we could go. :)

Saturday we got our first "real" (meaning the snow actually stuck around for more than a few hours) snow storm. And all I can say is, happiness is having a kid who is old enough to shovel the snow, and young enough to still enjoy doing it.

And yesterday I spent 2 hours addressing and stamping 114 Christmas cards. It was a huge pain in the butt, but it is one our traditions, that is totally for me, and that I am not willing to let go of, as long as I can afford the postage. I love to get Christmas cards. They just make me happy!

Christmas Card picture 2008 (this is the best of about 40 pictures taken over the last 2 weeks. It was pretty much the only one where all four kids were looking ahead, with their hands down, eyes open, tongues in, and faces booger free.)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Snow = Gingerbread houses

2008-12-12T07:34:00.000-08:00

On Monday it SNOWED for the first time in FOREVER, and the kids were so excited that they watched it out the front door for almost an hour.

And then, since it was too cold to hit the Zoo lights, we dove into the Gingerbread house for FHE. The kids had so much fun, especially Josh & Halie, who put more candy in their mouths than on the house. It was pretty chaotic having four kids working on one house, but they did a great job! Note to self: Next year buy two

Every year I buy one of those pre-fab Gingerbread houses from Costco. I love them! It makes everything so easy, and fun, and there is absolutely no cooking or talent required. A perfect match for this bunch!

Christmas Festivities

2008-12-09T20:48:00.000-08:00

We have been a busy bunch! Here is what we have been doing.........

Wednesday Dec. 3, We went to the Festival of trees. We had a great time, right up until the point where I lost Bear. I have never lost a kid before, so this was a new kind of panic for me. I was there with several of my friends, and so I have to admit that I was not watching the kids as well as I should of, while I yapped with my buddies.

So here's the deal. We had been looking at a Mechanical Santa, & Joshua was really into him, so when we all carried over to the next couple rows, I looked back to see Joshua still standing at the Santa. So I send Hannah over to get him, and I wait with the stroller. Hannah grabs Josh by the shirt, he screams bloody murder, everyone looks to see why he is screaming, and I have to go over to get him to stop screaming like a maniac.

We all get calmed down and begin walking down the next aisle at a liesurely pace, and I am busy pushing the stroller, checking out the trees, and giving Joshua a dissaproving mama glare all the way down the row, which is pretty long and took us at least 5 minutes to stroll down. All of a sudden I look down and realize that there is no baby in my stroller. I had been pushing it happily along this whole time, and Bear wasn't even in it. She had escaped during the screaming incident, and I, being the GREAT mother that I am, had not even noticed. And to make matters worse, it's not like Bear is a lightweight. She weighs a good solid 30 lbs., so you would think that I would of noticed the absent weight in the stroller.

Luckily when I ran back down the aisle like a crazy woman, a nice old couple had come across Bear, and were just standing over her, while yelling, "Did anyone lose a baby, is this anyone's baby". I was so glad that they had just kept her there, and not taken her to security or somewhere that would of taken longer to find her. I am such a loser!!! And to lose Bear, who is my best behaved kid. What was I thinking? Now if it had been one of the other ones, I would of still gone back for them, but their wouldn't of been nearly the panic, and I would of taken my time. Just kidding!!! HAHA!!!

Josh, Aja, Ashton, & Hannah, at The Festival of Trees

Thursday, I took my pre-schoolers on a field trip to the Church History Museum. I totally expected them to be ready to leave 30 minutes into it, but they had a GREAT time, and were so sad to leave, 3 hours later. They loved the kids rooms, where they each found a baby to take care of. We spent an hour in just that room, singing to our babies, and feeding our babies, and bathing our babies. It was really cute!

Emma & Hannah being "Angels"

Everyone taking care of their Babies. Joshua picked up this brown baby, and said it was his "Baby Haybear". He sang all the songs he knows to his baby, while he fed her and rocked her. So cute!

Josh, Hannah, Bear, Emma, & Allie

Friday December 5th, I turned 38!!!! Special thanks to all my friends and family, who sang Happy Birthday to my answering machine all day, while I was out to lunch with my parents, the light parade with Bruce & the kids, and a late night dinner, with Liz & Cindy. It was a GREAT birthday, and I don't feel a day over 37. :)

Light Parade
Freezing Family

My very own "Spider Monkey"

What I look like at 38. Hey at least I still have all my teeth, for now.

Saturday December 6th, we started the day off with our ward Christmas Breakfast, and a picture with Santa. When I asked Hannah what she was going to ask for, she said, "Big boobies like yours, so I can rub lotion on them". (Don't you love that?)Sooooo, while I was flattered that she thinks I have big boobies, I told her it would be better if she just asked for Barbies. And, luckily, she went for it.

Alex, asked for Star Wars stuff, Big Surprise!

I'm not sure what Bruce asked for? But I bet Santa was glad when he got off his lap.
Josh was scared of Santa, and had been telling us all week that Santa was mean. We told him he would get candy if he sat on his lap, and so that's what he asked for, Candy.

And then there was the Bear, and since video speaks (or should I say screams) louder than pictures, please ENJOY!!!

We ended the day by stopping by the Genesis Christmas party, where we frollicked with friends, and the kids ran around until they were tired. So far a very Merry Christmas!!

Christmas has come to our house

2008-12-01T21:30:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Christmas! The shopping is underway, Bruce put up the lights, (even though he hates to, and is deathly afraid of heights, love ya babe), and tonight all six of us decorated the tree. The kids actually did most of it, and I was really surprised by how well they did. We have lots of fun plans and are looking forward to a great Holiday Season.

Our house

Bruce and the kids decorating the tree

Good grief, they are CUTE!!!!!!

Thankful

2008-11-29T23:24:00.000-08:00

This year I meant to be as ambitious as some of my blogging friends and write everyday about something I was thankful for, but today I am thankful to say that my life has been too busy to have the time to blog. I am thankful because of the time spent with these people who I have been busy with, family, friends, and my adorable kids.

I'm so grateful for parents who took care of all my needs as a child, and who still are there for me if I need them. We didn't have much, but we never wanted for anything, and I've always known They would do anything for me.

I am grateful for a home ward (and especially YW's leaders) that took me under their wings and taught me the Gospel. These people made a huge impact on my life and set me on a course that has stayed with me today, and has greatly impacted the person I am, and the one I want to become.

I am thankful for my Bubba. YOU are everything!!!!! My best good friend, my lover, my life!

I am grateful for the four woman who brought my children into this world. I love you all!!

I am so grateful for my sweet babies. Boogala, Sugar-butt baby, Bear, & Gump, I love you like the stars.

My lunch friends, playgroup friends, walking friends, old friends, new friends, best friends, I love you all. What would I do without you?

My three brothers, my partners in crime, the pains in my butt, the holes in my bedroom door. You guys rock! Who needs a sister when they can be stuck with you redneck hillbilly's forever?

A warm house, food to eat, sufficiant for our needs, and even a little for our wants.

A free country where ANYONE can be whatever they dream of being.

A cat who doesn't run away, even though she is the most neglected person in our family. We love you Xena!

I'm so thankful that we are all healthy.

To my extended family, you are all crazy and wierd, and I love you for it.

And so much more to be thankful for............

I am living an enchanted life, and have been very blessed. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for providing the way, the truth, and the life, that I am living. It is my hope and goal to someday be worthy of it all.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Twilight

2008-11-22T19:55:00.001-08:00

Went to see the movie and out to lunch with Cindy & Liz today. I didn't really care for the books, especially the whining Bella, and the fact that they were definitely meant for a much younger audience. In fact I started reading the fourth one the weekend it came out, and still haven't finished it. But the movie was much better, probably because it was shorter, with less whining. I could actually probably sit through it again.

Thanks for the fun date girls! And thanks Bruce for always letting me go play. You rock my world, baby! Edwards got nothing on you.

Fun on the farm

2008-11-19T19:30:00.000-08:00

Met up with some friends at Wheeler Farm today. It was a beautiful Fall day and we had a lovely time.

Josh & Bear had no fear of the ATTACK geese

Although Bear did keep her head tucked in, while in the midst of them. She got nibbled on more than once, but she just said "hey" and laughed.

Hannah & Aja kept a safe distance from the birds after both running away screaming hysterically. Apparently the hissing geese were really terrifying.

This picture just makes me smile. I love you Joshua!

This one does too. I love you Suga-butt baby!

Aja, Joshua, Bear, Hannah, Maya, & Sage. Don't you love how Sage is forcing Maya to look at the camera.

Beautiful Hannah

Baby Bear's got BACK!! and I love it!

The girls opted to feed the birds from a safe distance, atop a picnic table, while Joshua romped with the birds happily.

All the way home, we listened to Joshua singing from the backseat, "Farmer me has a chicken, eiei-ooooo. Cluck cluck there, and gobble here, & moo cows over there, eiei-oooooooo".

It was ADORABLE!!

Happy Birthday Joshua!!!

2008-11-10T12:33:00.001-08:00

Today was a very BIG day for Joshua. He finally got to celebrate his birthday. The poor kid moved in last year right after his birthday so he has had to patiently wait all year, through everyone else's parties, for his big day to come along. Every morning for almost a month, we have had this conversation.

Joshua: Mom when's it going to be my birthday
Me: It's coming I promise
Joshua: Am I going to have presents and a party?
Me: Yes Joshua, you will have a party just like everyone else.
Joshua: I AM BIG, I will have a party on my birthday.

EVERY DAY PEOPLE...........multiple times a day.

Ruth sent me this picture a few weeks ago, and when I saw it I just started to cry. I was so sad that I didn't know Joshua as a baby. He is such an amazing little guy, and I knew he had to be an adorable baby. I was right, he is sooo CUTE!

A chubby 5 month old version of Joshua

We started off the BIG BOY birthday, by letting Joshua open his present from Bruce and I. We got him a Roller Coaster, which he loves. He spent every second that he was home today, sitting on it. In fact he cried when I told him he had to get off it to go to his own birthday party.

Joshua & his coaster

For his party we took him and some of his friends to McDonald's for breakfast. Luckily, my friend Liz came along to help me with the chaos. They had a great time, and the party was over by 10:30 am.

The whole gang

Joshua opening presents surrounded by his "a little too helpful" girl-friends.

Then we were off to The Children's Museum, for a few hours of play. This is one of Joshua's favorite places to be. We also ate lunch downtown at Sabarro's.

Birthday tea party

Fire/police man

We ended the day with a family dinner, and Joshua's favorite treat, Donuts!!

Joshua loves DONUTS!

Joshua,
Your dad and I love you so much! And we are so happy that you came to be in our family. We can't wait until the day we can all go to the Temple and you can become a part of our Forever Family. We feel so blessed to be your parents and it has been so fun to watch you learn and grow this past year. You have changed so much from the quiet, scared, sick, little boy, that could barely talk, who came to our home a year ago. Now you are loud, sassy, funny, smart, loving, and just one of the kids! One of us!

I will forever be grateful to your Birthmom, for choosing us to be your parents. Even though your coming was a definite surprise, it has been an absolute joy to have you in our home, and we are all crazy about you. In fact, looking back, I was in trouble the first time I saw you, which was when Sage (your foster mom) brought you to playgroup at Burger King. My heart was already falling for you, and the mother in me, wanted to take you home right then. The first thing you said to me, when you came to live with us, was "Are you the mom?" I said "Yes, I am the mom", and you said "okay". From that moment on, you have been my boy and I have been in love. You are my son, and I'll love you forever.

Always know Joshua, that your family loves you very much and we will always be here for you. We are excited to watch as you continue to learn and grow and become your own little person. Happy Birthday to you, my BIG 3 year old boy. Here's to a great year, and life, ahead of you. I love you too, Sweetheart!

And the best gift of all, MOMMA LOVE!

Your Favorite things at 3

Friends: Dakota, Emma, Allie
Foods: Mac & cheese, Cereal, Bananas, Joobies
Movies: Frosty the snowman, Jay Jay the Jet plane, CARS, & anything Dora the Explorer.
Toys: Hot wheels or any type of car, dressup clothes, Legos
Places: Pre-school, Nursery, Children's museum, Zoo
Color: Blue

****While I was typing this you walked into my office and said "I love you too, mom. Can you draw me a Temple?" So adorable!!!****

Obama President-elect

2008-11-04T21:55:00.000-08:00

“If there is anyone out there who doubts that America is a place where anything is possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."

~Barack Obama

Tonight I watched history in the making as Barack Obama became the 44th President elect of the United States of America. I found myself overcome with emotion, with tears running down my face, as I watched him make his acceptance speech. It was so amazing to hear them announce the arrival of the next first family, and to see an African American family take the stage. I was overcome with so much pride in our country and hope for the future. And of course I looked at my own little brown beauties, and was so excited for what this will mean for them, as well as for my sons.

I'm a little nervous as I hear the Democrats chanting "change is coming", as in general I fear change. I will be praying that it is a change for the better, and that by having this man as our President, things will improve for everyone. We definitely need a change in government, but I'm not convinced that the Democrats will move us in the right direction.

Bruce and I both voted today and each for a different President. I'm not saying who I voted for, except to say that the only thing that could of made this a more perfect night, was if Obama had been Republican, so I could of voted a straight ticket. :)

Shhh, don't anyone tell my mother who I voted for. Love you mom!

HALLOWEEN

2008-10-31T19:46:00.000-07:00

LOTS of Parties, LOTS of candy, LOTS of fun, LOTS of cute kids, but none cuter than these..........

This year Trick or Treaters got more than they bargained for when they came to our house. We let Hannah answer the door, and along with the candy, she passed out some great advice to every group that came. Here are a few of my favorites:

"Happy Halloween, I hope you find Jesus"
"Happy Halloween & Merry Christmas, I hope Santa brings you Hotdog soup"
"Happy Halloween, watch out for zombies with red shoes"
"Happy Halloween, you should go home when it rains, Your mom will be mad if you get your costume wet, and you'll get no hotdog soup"
"Happy Halloween, Cockadoodle doo" (screamed at the top of her lungs)

I LOVE that girl!

JABBA the HUT

2008-10-29T19:22:00.000-07:00

This afternoon Brent dropped by to help me carve the pumpkin. We used a saw to cut the top off, and a huge knife to carve out the face. The walls were not as thick as I thought they would be, only about 6-7 inches, but there was plenty of guts inside. We decided it kind of looked like Jabba the Hut when we were done.

Our cat Xena, decided she wanted to have snack and started chewing on the face a bit. She'll be camped out there as long as the pumpkin lasts.

Snowbird

2008-10-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

Saturday we took the kids up to ride the TRAM at Snowbird. It was the first time for Josh and Bear, and they loved it! The weather at Snowbird was perfect, around 60'. At the top of the mountain however, it was windy and a very cold 33'. After playing for a little bit the kids all bee-lined it for the heating shack, all except for Bear. She was loving the wind, and spent the whole time chasing Bruce around the summit giggling. Another pefect day!

The Tram

Cute kids!

The Famdamily

Happy BEAR

Bear & Bruce

Frozen kids

Playing in the dirt

Daddy love- Bear is definitely a Daddy's girl.

Bruce looking HOT, Kristin looking NOT! I'm pretty sure people are always wondering what he see's in me. (It's the Stellar personality people :)

Hooray for UEA

2008-10-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

I love when the kids are out of school and we can can play schedule-free for a few days. We started off UEA on Thursday, by going to the Aquarium with Lauri & girls. The little kids loved the Jellyfish and the Octopus, and they all had fun playing on the boat. None of my kids wanted to touch the Stringrays, they all thought that was too GROSS!

Bear, Hannah, & Josh UNDER THE SEA

Alex petting the STARFISH

Cool FISHTANK

HAPPY KIDS

A NOT so HAPPY kid

Friday we spent the day at the Gateway with Holly & kids, exploring the Children's museum and having lunch. Forgot my camera, so no pictures.

Saturday we had lots of plans, but when we discovered 2 boxes of LEGOS on our front porch, the plans went out the window, and the kids+Bruce, literally played LEGOS for 10 hours straight. Thanks Cindy! Over the next 18 years, everytime I step on one, I'll be cursing your name. :)

Bruce and the kids in LEGO heaven

Monday my friend Sage and three of her kids came to play all day. We had a BLAST!!!

And Tuesday was Emma's birthday so we headed up to This is the place for her party. It was freezing, but we still had fun.

Bear, Melissa, & Alli

Emma, Hannah, & Alli

Counting down the days til Thanksgiving Break.

407 lbs.

2008-10-11T23:01:00.001-07:00

No that's not how much I weigh, (pretty close, but not quite). Today was the Giant Pumpkin weigh off for the state of Utah. My pumpkin taped at 357 lbs. as of this morning, so when they weighed her and the scale read 407 lbs. I was thrilled!

The (what in the He** are we doing up so early on a Saturday) lifting crew, is made up of my hubby, my nephew, and my 3 brothers. This is the one day a year when having no sisters and three brothers, really comes in handy. They all reported that it felt HEAVY as they were carrying it to the trailer.

Loaded up and ready to go!

My little brother Brent and his 2 Giants

Me and my baby

Brent's Pumpkin weighed in at 264 lbs., which was amazing considering he got a late start in pollinating.

Someone had donated some girly stuff for a giveaway, so since I am the only female Giant Pumpkin grower in Utah this year, they had all the girls 8-12, try to guess how much my pumpkin weighed. This cute girl won with a guess of 420 lbs.

"You know you're a REDNECK, if you have a picture of yourself with a prize winning Vegetable" (I'm an official REDNECK, and proud to be one)

People are always asking me what you win for a Giant Pumpkin. Well I was lucky to win a bottle of fish guts, which is what we feed them all summer long.

It's not about the prizes people.

It's all about bragging rights, and the season long joy of watching them grow. Oh and the kids love them as well. But just an FYI, here is what the top 6 won this year.

1st- $700
2nd- $600
3rd- $500
4th- $400
5th- $300
6th- $200

and so on, down to me with the fish guts. Fish guts is kind of like winning the "major award" in the movie "The Christmas Story". No one really appreciates it except for the "major award" winner. I was thrilled to place 20th in the State and win my fish guts.

Fieldtrip

2008-10-08T08:04:00.000-07:00

Today Alex's 2nd grade class came to our house for a Giant pumpkin fieldtrip. It was so fun!! I taught them all about growing Giant pumpkins, and they came prepared with a ton of questions.

When I lifted the blanket off the pumpkin, there was a collective Wooooaaahhh, from the class. They were very impressed with the size of my pumpkin.

(See Bruce, my pumpkin is cool!)

I was surprised by how excited they were. (It's always nice to get validation for your nerdy hobby by a bunch of 8 year olds.)

We snacked on chocolate chip pumpkin cookies and juice

I remember when I was in elementary school always wanting to be the cool kid. I never was........but today I got to watch my son be the cool kid in his class, as he helped me with the fieldtrip. It was fabulous!

Alex proudly leading his class back to school.

Tonight Alex said to me "Mom you did a really great job today. You're the best mom, thanks for the happy day".

Anything for you my love....................

FHE in the FALL

2008-10-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we decided to head up the canyon for FHE to see the beautiful Fall leaves, and to teach the kids about being Thankful for the world our Heavenly Father has created for us.

We had so much fun, even though it was freezing once we got there. There was snow on the ground in places, and we were a little underdressed for the weather. But the leaves were beautiful, and nature definitely delivered a spectacular show of colors.

I love to be outside and playing in the dirt. I hope that my kids gain a huge appreciation for the beauty of this world, and are thankful for the many blessings we have. Utah is such a beautiful place! I think it is Heaven on Earth. I don't know why anyone would want to live anywhere else, when THIS IS (so obviously) THE PLACE!

Can you tell we are FREEZING?

We finished off our outing with dinner at Rocky Mountain Pizza, where we were very uncivilized, made a huge mess under our table, and rumor has it, that Bear actually took a bite out of a strange kid in the play area. Gotta love that!

I love this BUNCH!

BUSY weekend

2008-10-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend, but it was very busy!!!

We started off on Friday by watching Kate Leigh while her mom went scrapbooking. Bear and Kate are only 3 weeks apart in age, they are both adopted, and both adorable, and I'm sure that one day they will be good friends.

Bear & Kate

But right now, Bear is not having any of that friendship stuff. She is going through a definite MEAN phase. She likes to pinch, scratch, & bite! Luckily Kate steered clear of her most of the time, but Joshua, he is not so smart. He is constantly falling prey to her cuteness, and gets just close enough for her to attempt to rip his eyeballs out. So far they are still intact, but he has lost a few lashes, and has gained several scratches. Heaven help the Nursery kids, as this Sunday will be Bears first day. I HATE having the mean kid!!!! Let's hope her mean phase is shorter lived than her sisters was.

Friday afternoon I went scrapbooking with some good friends of mine, and actually enjoyed myself. I love these friends, but hate to scrapbook, so I usually pay my bills, read a book, and just chat when we go. But this time I came prepared with my laptop and lots of pictures to sort through. So, I still didn't get any scrapbooking done, but I was entertained the whole time, and because of my laptop, I sorta looked like I was scrapbooking, instead of like some clueless person who just walked in off the street. Had a great time, thanks GALS!! (that one's for you Cindy:)

Saturday we actually made a real effort, (for the first time ever), to watch both sessions of conference. We usually just read the Saturday sessions afterwards. We even made the kids watch it with us, and they were pretty good. That evening Bruce went off with some friends to the Priesthood session at the Conference center, and out to dinner.

I wasn't about to be left home with my kids, alone, on a Saturday night. So I got a sitter, and went for MNO with a bunch of my friends. We had dinner at Fratelli's, followed by Ice cream, where we closed down the shop, and still didn't want to go home, so we did a midnight romp through Walmart. My friend Diana and I bought some cute trench style coats, and I told them that Bruce would take one look at it and say I should wear it with nothing on under it. Today I wore it for the first time, and Bruce said, "Wow you need to be naked under that coat". What a PERV!!! Anyway, I had a really fun time with the girls.

Sunday we watched all of Conference again with the kids, and I loved it! The talks were wonderful, and I love that through most of them, I could sit back and be able to guage how our family is doing, and know, that while we are not even near perfect, we are doing pretty good as a family to keep the Gospel working in our home.

When Thomas S. Monson was called as the current Prophet, I had to dig out my old picture, of lunch with him, when I was in High school, to show the kids. I'm not sure what will surprise people more, that I was on Seminary Council, or that they will let just anybody near a future Prophet. I have always loved Thomas S. Monson, from my first encounter lunch with him, to all the chance meetings, when I was working at LDS hospital, and he would come to visit the patients. He has always been so nice and taken the time to say hello to everyone. And he always has a smile on his face and a good joke to tell. I love him, and I am so glad that he is the Prophet during this time in my life. I'll follow him all the way to Heaven.

West High Seminary Council 1988

Hannah Banana from Savannah has GOT some talent!

2008-09-26T22:06:00.000-07:00

And it's a good thing she does have some, because the rest of us are greatly lacking in both talent and coordination. When other three year olds were still needing a push from their moms on the swing, Hannah was swinging as high as you can go on the park swings, all by herself.

Hannah taught herself how to do cartwheels when she was barely three, and now she is constantly doing them all across the backyard

This video is of her singing her favorite primary songs "I love to see the Temple", and "I am a child of God". Hannah loves primary songs and listens to them and sings them everyday. She even gets up and sings solo's during sharing time at church.

And just yesterday she decided that she could ride a bike without training wheels. She has been begging me to take off her training wheels all summer, but since Alex was 6 before he could ride without training wheels (due more to lack of interest, than lack of ability) I thought it was too soon. Plus I didn't want to have to run my fluffy butt up and down the street holding her bike up. But due to her incessant whining, I gave in and took off the training wheels. She jumped on her bike, I gave her a push, and she proceeded to amaze me by riding all the way down to the end of our street without crashing the very first time. It was classic Hannah, to be doing stuff that we never expected her to do, and to do it perfectly the very first time. Bruce and I are in awe of her abilities, and we are in a constant state of worry, because of the same thing. But she is amazing, and we are so blessed to have her in our family. Lucky us to have a beautiful & talented daughter! Good thing she didn't get any of our genes! :)

New Stuff

2008-09-26T21:11:00.001-07:00

My Giant Pumpkins are measuring in at

360 lbs.

And 215 lbs.

The three younger kids all got to ride on a pony for the first time, at This is the Place state park

Hannah

Joshua

Bear

Joshua has been potty trained for 2 months now. He was amazingly easy and only took 2 days. Gotta love that! So far I am 3 for 3 at getting them trained at 2 1/2 and in under a week.

Bear has discovered that you don't need to use utensils when eating clam chowder. And that she loves green tomatoes straight out of the garden.

Grandpa Sam & Grandma Clara came by to play on the new swingset

And I'm a Homeschooler. I know, I know, How in the He** did that happen? Well it's only pre-school and I'm doing a co-op, so I only have to have the little monsters at my house every 3rd week. My class consists of Hannah, Joshua, Emma, Allie, & of course the Bear. They are all very cute and it has been really fun for the kids so far.

Hannah & Joshua off to pre-school. How cute are they???

Snack time in the backyard

Off for a nature walk

Feeding the Ducks on the letter "D" day

A huge caterpillar we found in the backyard. You should of heard Hannah scream. It was over eight inches long and as round as a quarter. I would love to know what in the heck it's going to turn into. A seagull maybe??????

Joshua is staying forever

2008-09-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

Today we went to court for the termination hearing on Joshua's parents. The Judge was there, all the attorney's (5 of them) were there, all the Foster families were there, but all the parents were missing in action. Mom chose not to show up and relinquish as she stated she would last week, so instead the court held a short trial, went through all the evidence, (and there was plenty), and terminated her rights to all three children.

They also terminated on Spencer's father, and will terminate on Chrissy's tomorrow, as he is in jail and needs to be transported to court. Paternity was never established on Joshua, even though we all know who dad is, so they just said he is a done deal.

It was so weird to be sitting there in court for a TPR hearing and have no parents show up. I was so sad and dissapointed. All the foster moms were crying, tears of joy and tears of sadness. We were overjoyed that we get to keep these beautiful children, and sad for the things that have been done to them, and for the loss of their birthparents.

As the Judge was saying that final sentence "This court finds that it is in the best interest of the children to remain and be adopted by their foster families" I was suddenly hit with the whole eternal nature of this day, and how many things have been forever changed. I was sobbing as I realized that these parents have lost not only their children, but also their grandchildren, and so on, forever.

This adoption has been by far our most emotional and most difficult. There have been alot of emotions, and ups and downs as we have navigated the foster care system, dealt with social workers, homestudies, supervised visits, court dates, and birthparents, all while trying to bond with a two year old. But all you have to do is look into those big blue eyes to know that it was all worth it.

Welcome to the family Joshua! We are crazy in love with you, and we are so happy that you are staying forever.

Good Grief he is adorable!

I scream, you scream, we all scream, for ICE CREAM!

2008-09-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

This is how my cousin and his wife were able to survive all four of my kids being left with them while on our vacation. They loaded the kids with ice cream, and let them get messy. Thanks for the fun pictures Ed & Amie.

Weekend away

2008-09-16T11:35:00.001-07:00

This is who I was getting away from

And no they don't usually all bathe together. I was in a hurry, and they were all just so cute!

This is where I got away to.........the Bear River

This is who I went with.........Chandra, Diana, Lisa, & Jodie

This is me and my friend Diana whose cabin we stayed in.

We stayed up talking all night, ate lots of food, practiced our cornrows, ate lots of food, talked about adoption, ate lots of food, walked in the woods, ate lots of food, watched a movie, ate lots of food, slept in, ate lots of food, read books, and ate lots of food. Do you sense a theme here?????

Thanks girls for a fun time, you guys are AWESOME!

Alex's Baptism

2008-09-08T13:21:00.001-07:00

Inspite of his having two broken arms, Alex was able to be baptized on Saturday. His baptism was wonderful. Bruce did a great job at both dunking him, and confirming him. We were surrounded by family and friends, and had a fabulous party afterwards. Thanks everyone for coming, and for all the fun presents for Alex. I didn't know you got such fun stuff just for being baptized.

Alex and Bruce (please note the two broken arms)

Alex with mom

Alex, your dad and I are so proud of you for making the choice to be baptized and become a member of the church. You are such a good example to those around you, and I know that your Heavenly Father is also very proud of you and the fine young man you are becoming. Always stay as sweet as you are today, and you'll always be happy and surrounded by those who love you. Remember that the Gospel is the plan of happiness and if you stay close to the Lord and live the principles of the Gospel, your life will be blessed, and you will be a blessing to those around you. Congratulations on your baptism, buddy, We love you so!!!!!

The family

Kiri (Alex's birthmom) chatting with Grandpa Sam

Grandpa Gines, Grandpa babycakes, uncle Shawn

Bear, looking fine

Lauri & Maribelle with my giant pumpkin

Now that's alot of braids in one place

The Horne's and the Hall's

Marie & Alyssa

Kiri & Eva

Sam, Jeni, & Bruce

Alex & Kiri

Alex, Kristin, Kiri, Hannah, & Richie

Bruce, Kristin, Kiri, Hannah, Alex, & Richie

Alex & Richie

Me and my family (Shawn, Dad, Mom, Me, Brent, & Steve)

Alex & Joshua

2008-09-03T22:38:00.000-07:00

Alex & I spent the morning up at Primary Children's hospital getting xrays and casts. The great thing about Alex is that he is always in a good mood and fun to take anywhere and do anything with. We had some great chats about school, his friends, his upcoming baptism, his plans for the future, among other things. I love to spend time with him, even if it is at the stinky fracture clinic, where we will be frequent flyers for the next month or so.

The bad news was that when they xrayed his Left arm, they saw that he actually had broken it in two places. One of the breaks was right at the elbow so they missed it the first time. But the good news is that it was looking good enough to be casted today, along with his Right arm which got recasted into a short cast, so he can bend his arm. Hooray, he can eat, and scratch his nose, and pull his underwear out of his own butt when it gets stuck. You have no idea how useful a 2 armed child is until he loses one or both of his arms, and becomes quite helpless.

He picked Jedi colors for his casts. No dark side red this time, he went for the green and blue.

Alex and his Jedi casts

This afternoon was all about Josh. We had a pre-trial for terminating parental rights this afternoon, which was basically the shortest hearing in history. We were in the court room for all of five minutes, and the Judge basically said, did everyone get served? The attorney's said yes, and that was the end of it. So now we go to court for the TPR on the 17th, and if all goes as planned we should be able to finalize Joshua's adoption in November.

After the hearing Amanda and the three of us foster moms who have her kids were able to have a nice chat. I thanked her for calling us about Joshua, and she thanked me for taking him. she told us all that she was seriously considering just relinquishing her rights, and just hoped that she could see the kids once in a while. She said that she knows that they are all doing well, are loved, and are where they are supposed to be. It was a very emotional chat and all four of us left with tears in our eyes. I can't imagine what she is going through, but I truly do hope that she is able to get her life together and be in a better place, where she really can be a part of the kids lives someday.

After court, we had a supervised visit with Joshua and Krissie at DCFS. It went well and I was able to get lots of pictures of Amanda with her kids. You can see the love she has for them, and I hope that they always know that she does love them.

2008-09-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

Our family vacation started out in much the same way as Scout camp did. With a broken arm. Who was the person that broke the bone? I'll give you one guess......

Alex's broken Right arm from Scout camp

Alex's broken Left arm from falling down four stairs

The Doctor told us to that he would have issues with balance while his arm was broken, so to keep him off his bike and scooter, but she never said he would be too clumsy to walk down the stairs. So the night before we left on vacation, I sat home and packed, while Bruce and Alex sat in the ER getting xrays and splints. This time it was only one bone, but closer to the elbow, which means another up to the armpit cast. And just in time for his baptism next Saturday. It ought to be quite a show getting him dunked with both arms broken.

Alex sporting not one, but two broken arms. Is it a cry for attention????????

The first day of our vacation we drove to Saint George, where we met up with the rest of my family at our hotel. We didn't do much this day except baby Alex, teach him how to stab his food with chopsticks, (since he can't bend either elbow), and do alot of swimming with the other three kids.

Alex trying to figure out how to eat chicken nuggets with chopsticks

Bear loving her boat

Bruce & Joshua

Hannah Banana

Joshua flying

The Richardson's

Bear saying "CHEESE"

Saturday morning My mom and I got up really early and headed to the St. George temple to do a session. It was really fun to go with my mom as it was her first time there. We had a wonderful time.

After the Temple My mom and Brent went with us to check out some of the historic sites in St. George. We went to the Tabernacle, Brigham Young's home, the Utah Daughter's of Pioneer's museum, and wandered through the farmer's market.

Hannah in front of the Tabernacle

Brent and Bear strolling through the market

Brigham Young's Winter home

That afternoon some of us girls went to get pedicures. Hannah went along and got her toes polished. So fun! Kelly, Harlie, Ashley, Hannah, & Kristin's Feet (in case you were wondering)

Hannah and her purple toes

That evening we met up with my cousin Ed and his wife Amie at the Olive Garden for dinner and also a kid drop off. They were kind enough to consent to taking care of all four of our little monsters while we went to see Les Mes at Tuachan. Amie, Ed, & Edison, (some of our favorite relatives)

Part of the clan at Tuachan, waiting to see Les Mes, which was absolutely wonderful. I have seen it about a dozen times, and this was definitely one of my favorites, and the outdoor theatre was amazing.

Us at Tuachan

Sunday we headed off to the Grand Canyon. I have always wanted to go there, and we talk about it every time we pass the turn off in Hurricane, but we have never gone until now. On the way there we were a little nervous because it was quite rainy and was getting worse the closer we got to the canyon.

When we got there this is what we saw. Yes that is a picture of the Grand Canyon in the background. It was completely full of fog. You couldn't see anything past about 20 feet.

This is the lodge where we ate our lunch, spooky huh? Before lunch we decided to have Hannah say a prayer asking Heavenly Father to help us out with the weather a little, so we could see the canyon.

And we were blessed with a miracle. The rest of the afternoon was fabulous, although a little chilly. It was really nice because we were skipping out on church, so we pulled the kids aside and had our own little Gospel lesson, on how Heavenly Father answers prayers. The kids were so cute, and were so grateful that we were blessed with some sunshine. Hannah kept saying all day "this is just so beautiful, it's the most beautiful thing I ever saw". And it was amazing and beautiful. Definitely worth the drive.

We had a fabulous time, inspite of the broken arm. The kids had fun, the family was fun, and we actually made it through the whole trip without anyone throwing up. That has got to be a new record for us. :)

Happy 16 years!

2008-08-17T00:25:00.001-07:00

Thought I'd start off with a few blasts from the past!

Homecoming Dance 1989

Junior Prom 1990

Wedding Day August 15, 1992
You may kiss the Bride
Me and my girls
Bruce and the J's

One of our Engagement photos
Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Richardson
Bruce - pre-wedding (he actually forgot the ring :)

Bridal photos (check out those 80's bangs)

August 15th was our 16 year wedding Anniversary. I can't believe it has been so long, and we still like each other so much. We were so young and silly when we got married, and had no idea what we were doing. We were completely without goals and ambition, we had no money, we didn't even know where we were going to live when we got back from our honeymoon, and we couldn't see the future past our 11 day Honeymoon to Disneyland. But we were crazy in love then, and we are crazy in love now.

We have had a great married life so far, with very little contention, and a whole lot of love and laughter. Our only real hardship was dealing with infertility, but we dealt with it quickly, moved on to adoption, and are so glad that it was our path. How blessed we have been to add each of our little monsters to our family.

For our Anniversary we dumped the kids off at my brother's house for an overnighter, (thanks Shawn & Kelly, you guys rock!) and then headed off for dinner at OG. Then Bruce took me to the Anniversary Inn which is a hotel full of cheesy theme rooms. We have stayed there several times, and always have a great time. We stayed in the Treasure Island room, which looked like a Pirate ship and had three levels, with a giant jetted tub in the middle of the room. And yes, I'm embarrassed to admit it, but there was pirate talk involved, couldn't help ourselves. ;) ARRRR maties!

Treasure Island room at The Anniversary Inn

Today we went to see The Dark night, followed by dinner at a Steak house, followed by tickets to the play "Pirated" which was a total coincidence. We have season tickets, and it just happened to be the Pirate play this month. we are not Pirate wanna be's I promise! And just so you are aware, there was no dressing like Pirates going on at any time during the weekend.

After the play it was back to the wonderful (?) reality of having 4 very sleepy children who had to be picked up and taken home to bed. But it was a nice break from the norm, and I enjoyed every minute with Bruce. Happy day babe!

Bruce is always asking me if I think anyone is as happy as we are. I certainly hope so, because it is a great place to be. I love you baby, and everything about you, even those wierd things that I won't bring up here :). Thank you for taking such good care of me and the kids, and for being a true GIANT among men. Every woman should be as happy as you have made me. It's been a GROOVY kind of love! III

Bruce & Kristin 20 years later, a lot fatter, a lot more in love.........ahhhhhhhh

Winding down the Summer

2008-08-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

The kids start school in just over a week, so we have been cramming as much fun into the last days of summer as we can. Here's what we've been up to.

On August 6th, we went to Liberty Park and played in the canyons with our playgroup friends

Alex & Daesha

Bear

Bear & Hannah (aren't they so cute)

Hannah & friends building a dam.

Joshua

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On the 7th, we headed up to the Dinosaur park in Ogden, to meet up with Pappy & Granny, Aunt Jeni, & the cousins.

Digging for Dinosaur bones

Eric, Joshua, & David

That evening I went to dinner with two of my good friends, Cindy & Liz. We went to Texas Roadhouse, which I have never been to, and I actually ordered and ate ribs for the first time in my life. Thanks for the night out girls, it was fun!
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On the 8th, Bruce left town for a few days with his friend J, so the kids and I decided to take a ride on the Frontrunner up to Ogden to visit the Train museum and have lunch. Grandma Babycakes, Uncle Brent, Aunt Kelly, & Harlie, made the trip with us, and boy was I glad for the help. We had a great time and the kids loved the train ride.

Brent & Alex

Alex telling Brent all about trains

Right after I got all the kids posed for this picture I turned quickly, tripped on a railroad tie, and totally biffed it on my face. Ouch! It hurt like a mother!

Joshua with Grandma Babycakes

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On the 9th, I got a sitter (thanks Harlie) and headed off to the Pumpkin patch tours with my brother Brent. I know, I know, could I be any more of a nerd????? It was very educational though, and Brent & I had a great time. Good brotherly-sisterly togetherness, bonding time!

The first two pictures are from some of the big growers patches.

And this one is my baby, weighing in at just over 200 lbs. (so far)

Later that day, we met up with Lauri and girls for dinner at McDonald's, which is always fun for the kids.
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On the 10th, I had to give a talk in sacrament meeting on Eternal Families and the Blessings of the Temple. Bruce got home just in time to help drag all the kids to church, and to sit with the little monsters, while I gave a talk. It was very amusing to watch as he struggled to keep them all civilized during church. I especially enjoyed watching as carried Joshua and Halie out like footballs, screaming under each arm. It was awesome!
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On the 11th, we met up for lunch with Holly, who is the foster mom for Joshua's half sister. She has a son who is Alex's age, so they had a great time playing while we chatted.

Joshua & Krissie

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On the 12th, we headed down to Thanksgiving Point to romp in the children's garden. It was $2 Tuesday and very crowded. But the kids had a great time inspite of the craziness, and afterward's we dropped by my friend Krissie's house to see baby Kai, who may, very well be, the cutest baby in the world! He had, even me, thinking I could do another one, but only for a second. The feeling passed as soon as the whining in the car started on the way home. Happiness is having four children, and knowing there are no more coming! haha!

Hannah & Olivia

Look at the Belly on that boy!

Me and the Bear

Hannah's stinky face

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On the 13th, I registered Alex for the second grade, and then he and I spent our afternoon in the fracture clinic at Primary children's hospital. That place is crazy! Poor broken children everywhere. It was so funny to hear all of them bragging about their "war" stories, and how bad their particular break was.

Meanwhile all the parents discussed how big the bills were going to be. And the whole time there was a moldy, smelly feet kind of stench in the air. Nothing like being in a blazing hot room, with a hundred strinky kids, who are on Doctor ordered, restricted bathing regimens, in the summer heat. An experience we get to have again in 3 weeks, lucky us!

But there was a ray of light, as Alex didn't need surgery, just a bright red cast (which he was very excited about, the dark side and all) all the way up to his armpit, which will hopefully be changed out for a shorter version in 3 weeks.

Alex with his "mechanical Jedi arm"

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On the 14th we were all exhausted and did nothing but laundry and clean all day! Too much summer fun, and not enough time spent at home, adds up to a big mess for me.

But we have had a great summer so far, and made some good memories. I may not be the Molly mormon perfect housewife and mother, but when it comes to entertaining and having fun with my kids, I give it my all. Thanks for all the fun guys, I love you, and you, and you, and you, the most!!!!!!!

Scout Camp

2008-08-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

SCOUT CAMP PART 1

This morning Alex & I headed up to his first Scout camp, with his friend Rhett, and my friend Liz. We were so excited to be going on our first ever Scouting experience to Superhero camp. Alex was in Scout nerd heaven. He loved all the nerdy songs and silly skits, he loved the dirt, he loved the train cars, he loved riding the Batmobile cars, he loved getting his beads at every activity, and he loved the obstacle course, right up until the part where he decided that he was a Superhero, and jumped and broke his arm.

Alex & Rhett

This is the jump that broke his arm

Scout Camp part 2

This is where the fun really begins! The Scouts can hardly compete with the excitement of Firemen, Paramedics, Pain, Ambulances, Xrays, Pain, ER's, Doctors, Nurses, and did I mention PAIN? I actually saw it happen, as I was taking a picture of his dismount from the rope wall, which resulted in him breaking both bones in his Right forearm. He and I both knew it was broken as soon as it happened. His arm folded over in a very unnatural, making me want to pass out cold, kind of a way.

Alex in the Ambulance

Getting some LOVE from daddy

Alex was AMAZING!!!! He never cried once the whole day. Instead of crying he decided to yell at everyone, and let them know very clearly, what he did, and did not want to do, about his broken arm. It was actually quite hysterical, and instead of crying and being upset that my boy had hurt himself, I was laughing at the crazy things he was telling people.

"Just take me home and I will fix it"
"I just hate this camp"
"This arm, the broken one, not the other one, hurts like a mother!"
"I don't want to talk to you, or you, or you." (to the Scout people)
"Could you just hurry and fix it, so I don't miss the bebe guns" (to the firemen)
"This is not fun, I am not having fun!"
"I really don't want to talk about it!!!!!!"
"I don't want your stupid monkey, my arm is broken" (Scouts again)
"mom, am I going to miss lunch?"

In the ambulance he said,
"This is the broken arm, just so you know" (to the guy putting in the IV, who had already been with us for an hour)
"Ooooh, why'd you do that, I have an injury don't you know" (as the IV was going in)
"This driver is not a very good driver. She is making the arm kill worser."

At the hospital he said,
"Dad, don't freak out" (as they were x raying his arm)
"Dad, it's just, it's been a hard day, going to camp, and getting a broken arm."
"Mom, thank you for bringing me to a hospital. I don't think we could of fixed this at home."
"Mom you're the best mom, thank you for getting me a new arm".

Alex - out cold for the Bone realignment

He was so brave and I was so proud of him. He was so kind and thankful to everyone that was helping him (well everyone except the Scouts. But hey they were annoying, and he was in a great deal of pain). The hospital staff was very impressed with the way he dealt with everything. they couldn't believe he was only eight and that he was not crying. Especially once we all saw the xray and saw how bad the break was. They had to put him out so they could move the bones back into position and we are hoping that it will work so he can avoid surgery. He is in a temporary cast until next Wednesday, when they will re-xray everything and hopefully just have to put on a permanent cast.

Needless to say we will always remember our first Scout camp together. Just not for any of the right reasons. Oh and by the way, if your son is going to Scout camp, be sure to teach him First Aid, as all the Scout people were entirely useless, and completely helpless. They just stood around and stared. Thank the heavens for firemen!

Watch the video and see if you would be crying. I know I would of been. :)

Happy Birthday Alex!

2008-08-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today Alex turned 8 years old. I can't believe I have been a mom for so long, and that I have had this sweet boy in my life that long. We began celebrating his birthday yesterday morning with a fun party at Classic. My friend Lauri and I took a bunch of his friends there for some bouncing, climbing, & scooting fun. We had pizza and ice cream, and opened lots of fun presents. Alex had a great time, and it was a fun party.

Some of the fun gifts he got were a fishing pole and tackle box, a new lightsaber (we already have 6, but apparently you can't have too many), $$$money, money, money$$$$, a ticket to go see the play "BIG" with his friend DJ, a Storm trooper costume, Yoda shirt, wooden models, Star Wars guys, & lots of candy.

Last night we also took him for his birthday dinner at the Olive Garden, where, surprisingly the kids were all marvelous and we looked like a very civilized family. There was no having to wade through food on the floor as we left or anything. It was pretty shocking, still don't know what to make of their wonderful manners.

Today Alex opened his present from Bruce and I which was a Darth Maul double lightsaber (see, can't have too many) and some Star Wars legos. He was thrilled with his double saber, and declared that I was the "BEST" mom in the whole world, which for some reason he later changed to only BEST mom in the United States. Either way, he was a happy boy. After church Alex and I made his last minute birthday cake together, which looked terrible, but tasted great! All in all a great birthday, and only a few weeks until the "real" party when we get to celebrate his baptism.

Alex,

Your dad and I are so proud of the young man you are becoming. You have always been a great kid, so fun, and so easy going, and we love that about you. You are so easy to parent, always choosing the right, and being a good example to your family and friends. When I read about what the Prophets were like when they were young children I always think of you, and what seems to be your natural instinct to help others and be good. We Have come to expect great things from you, and I know as you make good choices through life that great things will happen for you. I am so excited to see what your future holds, and to watch you learn and grow.

I'll never forget the first time I saw you. When you were placed in my arms and I became your mother. It was the most amazing experience, as the Spirit bore witness to me, that I was supposed to be your mother, and that many little miracles had happened to bring that to pass. Every moment with you has been a joy, and I love you so much! We are truly kindred spirits you and I, and I love that we totally "get" each other. I never knew that one of my very best friends ever, would be a sweet little 8 year old boy, but I am so grateful that it is so.

Thanks for making me a mommy, and for making it such a pleasure. You're one in a million kid, and I love you so! Happy Birthday, and here's to a great year!

Love,

The BEST MOM in the United States, and quite possibly the whole world. :)