Our little Miss Sarah

Where's a mother supposed to start?  This sweet Sarah is all her own.  She is growing and changing all the time.  I hardly know how to keep up!

Sarah just turned 7.  she acts like she could be 17 sometimes.  I'm amazed at her decisiveness.  This girl knows what she wants and how she wants it done.

She wanted to go to school this year.  After some thought and prayer and a visit to the school, we decided to send her to first grade.  She was thrilled!

I figured if I didn't listen to her now, she would ask me about it for the rest of her life.  -and she would have too!

As time goes on it is sure fun to get to know her more.  She loves to read.  She loves to cuddle and yet it's all on her terms.

7 is the magic number in our family.  You get to go deer hunting for your first time.  Sarah has no desire to go.  this girl is not afraid of animals, camping, bathroom in the great outdoors and yet, she wants to stay home with me!

She wants to sew, to cook, decorate, tend the baby, bandage wounds, and ease misunderstandings.  She can reach her brothers in ways I often can't.  She will sidle up to them quietly and talk about their hurt and help them and sometimes, me, to see right.  she is also great at spotting someone at the park without friends and becoming one.  All these qualities taking shape have been a privilege to witness.





When the boys went to the father and sons campout, she had the idea of having a late-over with the girls left behind.

She also loves to do my hair with the options available. :)

I can't get over how beautiful she really is, inside and out.

Another thing that amazes me though, is her ability to keep up with her brothers when she wants to. She is one tough girl. 

Well, for her birthday, she declared one day that she wanted to have a "my little pony breakfast party". -good thing she comes up with good ideas. This turned out cute! She picked the menu of fruit, bacon, muffins and juice. We decorated in all things rainbow and had a good time. She has so many darling friends. How could the party not be a success?!

This girl, in all her personality and sweetness, has filled my life in amazing ways.  Her desires and heart, force me to branch out, try new things and be, or at least want to be, a better person.  I love her dearly.

I don't want to forget.

During the bull rides at the rodeo tonight, the announcer was quite concerned with some children that were standing right next to the fence. So, he announced to the parents to get their children and keep them away from the fence. Then he said, "if you have more than one child, pick the one with the most potential."

Ben turned to me, quite seriously and says, "You guys would pick me, right?"

I hugged that boy and had a good laugh. 

-I wrote this on the Eve of the rodeo and just realized that I never posted it. I must've wanted a pic with it. Oh well, good times either way. 

Happy Birthday Reddick!

Happy Birthday Reddick!  There is no end to the amount of fun and pure joy you bring. We are all wrapped around your little finger. Your smiles, your laughs, your hugs, the way you play, sit on our laps for stories and sing songs delights our lives so very much. 

You are a sucker for selfies. You love to smile, talk & laugh at yourself. 

You aren't walking on your own yet, so you love the walking toys. You will walk and hold our hands for a minute and then do what gets you around quickest, crawl. 

We loved watching you attack your cake. This is a pic of the family watching a video of you. 

You love baths!  You can't get in quick enough. You'll roll over in the water, plop down on your belly and kick and slide around all over the tub. It's awesome to watch. 

It's been a while since I've even dared take a picture because of how crazy you've been in the bath! 

We love to tickle you or keep doing anything else that you find funny. Your laugh is the best. You have been such a delightful baby. 

There couldn't ever be words that would even begin to express the love I feel for you Redd. You have been a breathing tender mercy and evidence of Heavenly Fathers love for me and our family.  I think of this often and I know it's true. You have brought the purest of love with you Reddick. I thank Heavenly Father for you all the time. I'm so grateful for you and that we were so blessed to have you come to our family. Happy First Birthday!

Conference is a fabulous tradition!

  I loved conference the things I loved were about Jesus Christ. I LoVE CONFERENCE !

-written by a contributor, by the name of Sarah. :)

Josh turns five!

Here are some highlights from Josh's birthday. It was, of course, a fun day. It was, of course, all about him...which actually lead to a fit or two.  We did eventually curb those and were able to relish in all things josh. -which are, wrestling, laughing, playing any sport or any level of rough housing. 

I love his ready smile, his contagious laugh. His love for others, especially his baby brother. It is sweet to see his character develop and his spirit shine through. We all love our Joshy!

i love how pictures can say so much about a person!

I love, love, love this kid!  We all do!

Ben turns NINE!

It's true, he did. My first baby,turned nine. I can hardly believe it. It has been such a joy to discover motherhood with him as my first ginny pig.

Saturday we threw a knights and ninjas amazing race birthday party for him. It was fun to watch the varying competitive spirit in these boys and a few that aren't pictured. We sent them on a treasure hunt and they had to complete specific tasks to get the clues. They had a good time and so did we. I was happy that Ben said it was "awesome" and "he had a blast". We did most of it outside as it was a beautiful day. So, naturally Ben got sunburned. 

That night he seemed quite tired and was saying how cold he was...we attributed it to his new sunburn and sent him in for a shower, got some aloevera on him and sent him to bed. 

Well, Sunday was his actual birthday so we woke him by singing to him, which he always loves. 

It was daylight savings and we have nine o clock church. I just thought he was tired due to a busy day Saturday and an earlier morning, so it didn't strike me as very odd that he was wrapped in a blanket on the couch waiting for his birthday breakfast. 

When the egg as and muffins were ready, he sat up to the table we blessed the food and then two tears streamed down his cheeks and he said his throat hurt too much and he couldn't eat. 

Poor kid.  I felt so bad that he felt all terrible and never said anything, he just hung out. Turns out it was strep. 

I could tell when the Motrin was doing good work for him because that's when he would get up and want to do something. So, we went for a walk up to the lake and threw rocks which is a favorite.

He had a great birthday because he's Ben and he looks on the bright side.  It was fun to celebrate with him.  I so love being his mom!

Pictures that say it all

Almost 10 months. Is everywhere. Has four teeth in and two on the way. -which is why I'm weaning him and he only plays or cries in his crib. Yet, he is such a happy, playful baby. 

I don't really need to say anything about the naked baby...it's obvious we were doing laundry for a reason. 

Being a mom rocks.