How I LOVE OCTOBER!

What is it about October that I love so much? I think one of the reasons that I love October so much is because of this! It has been a great week as my testimony of the gospel has been buoyed up and strengthened and as I have recommitted myself to being a righteous daughter of God.
I especially loved this by President Monson: "We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that “gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” To read more of his talk go here.

Plus on top of that, the weather has been beautiful!

Hotter than Haiti Benefit Concert

I am currently in the process of planning a Till We Have Faces concert to raise money for Ruuska Village on Sept 25! It will coincide with the Hotter than Haiti fun run held earlier that day. More information about the run and Ruuska Village can be found here at Mandi's Blog.

On another note. The kids have all been in school now for about two weeks and have settled into the routine. All is going well and they are enjoying it! The Hubby is in Poland right with the National Guard. He will be there for the month. I finally was able to talk to him for a few minutes last night and all is going well. They did have a few hang up getting there. It turned out that it was easier for them to fly into Germany and then take a train to Poland vs. flying into Poland. All of this had to be changed at the very last minute and when you are talking military personnel, weapons, orders being changed, etc. it turn into quite a headache. But so far all is well!

Play Date with Kaylee

Hannah invited her cousin Kaylee over to play. They like to pretend to be princesses, doctor up sick animals, catch butterflies, do gymnastics and generally make a bit of noise. So when the house was as quiet as a mouse, I became concerned and went up to check on them.

This is what I found...

Ahhh, the magic of a book!
Awesome isn't it!

Rulon Gardner- Stop beating up my family!

Do you see these bruises. That one up there is my husband.
This one down here is my son.

Do you want to know who gave them these bruises?
Rulon Gardner did!
Yes, that wrestler with the missing toe who crashes planes into Lake Powell.
(Those were my sister's words)
By the way, he also won an Olympic Gold Medal and he can pick up
my husband like he's nothin. And my hubby is a good sized guy with lots of muscle.
I told them that the next time they go to wrestling they should
NOT volunteer to be the one Rulon demonstrates on!

Insightful Girl and Notes From Hannah

Today in church Hannah wrote this note for me:

You are prettier than a flower
You are prettier than a daisy
You are prettier than a heart
You are prettier than a heart chocolate chip cookie
I Love you so much

McKell has been blessed with wisdom beyond her years.
She is insightful.
She is beautiful and kind.
Sometimes she feels out-of-touch with other girls her age,
but I am so glad to have been blessed with such a wonderful daughter who
always wants to do what is right!
She will get it all figured out and in the end I think that she will be very thankful to be the incredible daughter of God that she is!

Hannah is Seven

Hannah's Birthday Highlights!

Hannah had a luau party for her seventh birthday.
It was so much fun!
She was so excited to have her friends over to spend this special day with her.

Laura, Kylee, Hannah, Sara
Mckenzie, Cousin Kaylee, Aleena

Lots of Awesome decorations, a super cute cake, Hula dancing and games!
Hannah I am so Proud of YOU!
This past year you have learned and grown so much.
You finished first grade and you didn't miss a night of homework.
You have the funniest sense of humor I have ever seen in a child your age.
You are our little girl in this family of teenagers and adults and I love that you can
tease right back!
You make us laugh. You make us happy.
You learned to ski this past year and you are AWESOME!
I love it when you get air on those little jumps.
And I love it when Grandpa Day tells you that you are going to get a speeding ticket for skiing so fast and you just laugh and tell him that he is going to get a "slow ticket" for going too slow!
Thanks for being such a wonderful part of our family!
Happy Birthday Hannah!

I am the weather.

McKell shared her testimony yesterday at church.
She talked about the importance of family
which is something which has really been on her mind since Dillan left.
She also said that I am the weather.
If I am happy then there is sunshine in our home.
If I am not.... well you get the picture.
I hope that most of the time I am sunshine- I think that I am.
But I am determined that there will be more sunshine, more pleasant breezes.
Or even those days where you have sunshine, light rain and beautiful rainbows.
I am sure there will be a few thunderstorms here and there.
But I want my children to remember sunshine and warmth when they think of me.
They certainly are the sunshine in my life!

Cutting the apron strings... It hurts!

I LOVE THIS KID!

Shoot! I always put my pictures in backwards!
Oh well, we'll just go back in time!

Colorado or Bust!
Dillan and Ben and the U-haul trailer off to
Parker, Colorado.

"No Dillan, I wont put the camera down!"

One last shot of all the kids and dogs (at Dillan's request) together before Dillan leaves.

***
Dillan left last night.
He will be living in Colorado for the summer to work and to write music.
He and Ben are anxious to get the band off-the-ground.
Being in two different states wasn't working very well as far as the band thing was concerned.
Sending him off was bitter-sweet.
I know that until he gives this chance his best shot he will not be happy. And the cool thing is that they are really good! I am excited for him and pray that he will make good choices.
His dad gave him a beautiful father's blessing before he left.
I think that he has great things in store as long as he can make wise decisions and work hard.
We will miss him....
very much.

Till We Have Faces at Muse Music!

June 3 @ Muse Music in Provo.
Dillan and Ben doing what they love most!
They had a few technical difficulties but they were still
amazing!

Ben at the keyboard and Dillan on Guitar.

Small crowd but they all

loved them and their fun and funky music.
So did I.
You can hear some of their music at...
www.myspace.com/tillwehavefacesofficial

Our day off..... .Today we were all home for a change. Considering our busy schedules since taking care of Gary and Orie. So today.....

I pulled about a million weeds. Well it felt like it anyway.

Father and Son (and dog) bonding time.

Memorial Day and Orie's back surgery.

This is my father-in-law, Gary.
This is Memorial Day.
He has just come back from a special remembrance ceremony at Kaysville Cemetery.
Most Memorial Days we are usually doing yard work or something fun with the family.
This year we spent it at my in-laws.
Gary suffered through multiple strokes last June. He is paralyzed on his left side. He is lucky to be alive.
***
Orie, my mother-in-law, had back surgery on Monday. She should have had the surgery last year but then Gary had his stroke and she has been caring for him since. Finally, she was left with no choice but to have the surgery. The doctor said that her back was such a mess. He has no idea how she did everything that she did while caring for Gary this past year. Most people with backs like hers can't hardly walk. She is a strong woman. The girls and I went down and spent the last few days with them. My hubby is with them tonight and I will go back tomorrow.
I am tired. But I am so glad that I could help them out. Orie was in so much pain. I feel for her and she is so worried about being such a burden. We will do the best we can to help them. I am concerned about their home. Lots of stairs. It is not a home for a stroke victim or someone recovering from major back surgery. Plus they live an hour away from us. I am looking at some one level homes closer to us. It may be the only way that my husband and I see each other this summer. We will just keep praying for them. I know that they have been very blessed already.
***
Dillan will probably be on his way to Colorado next week-end.
He is going there to work for the summer.
And to write music with Ben.
I thought that I would have one more summer with all of my family together.
I will miss him very much. His humor and sense of fun will be missed by all of us.
It is really hard to think of my children going out on their own.
I hope that I have done enough to teach him about being a valuable person who contributes and makes a difference in the lives of others.
I want my children to be givers, not takers.

What a day! The ER and graduation.

Dillan accepting his diploma.
After threatening to turn his graduation garb into a wizard outfit complete with hat, wand and a lightening bolt scar.... Or changing his name card, so that when it was his turn they would read his name as, "Frodo Baggins!", everything went smoothly.
I was nervous there for a minute.
Although, I have to say that when he left my house he was in a shirt and tie. When he took off his graduation robe he was wearing his Jimmy Hendrix costume from Halloween.
Oh well, at least he didn't wear the wig!

The dignified graduate!

Dillan and Brian Stevens,
his partner in crime through-out the years.
(Notice the blank spot where his diploma should be?
Turn in the graduation robe, then you get your real diploma.)
Congratulations Dillan!

***

Yesterday was kind-of crazy! It began in the emergency room with Austin.
We had been there since a little before 11:00 pm. We didn't leave until 4 am.
We were almost certain that she had appendicitis.
But after 5 hours, an ultra sound and a CT scan it was determined that it was NOT appendicitis. We left not knowing what was causing the pain, maybe an ovarian cyst,
but who knows.
But at the follow up with our own wonderful Dr. Isaacson, who reviewed the results of all of her tests, we are much releaved to find out that it is most likely
Mesenteric adenitis
which is, a self-limited inflammatory process that affects the mesenteric lymph nodes in the right lower quadrant. Its clinical presentation mimics that of acute appendicitis.
Why didn't they just tell us that at the emergency room?
So, the good news. No surgery for Austin, just lots of rest and pain medication.

Hannah's new dress is...

Perfect for wearing to school.

Full of flowers.

Oh, so pretty.

Oh, so happy!

Little girls and new dresses make me smile.
***
Nathan is awesome.
Today he went over to his Tagen's house. Tagen's mother is a wonderful, single mother raising two boys and almost a third (my son is called #3). Nathan is always concerned about Susan and tries to help out when he is there.
So today he fixed their lawnmower.
Mowed their lawn.
&
Weed wacked their yard.
Awesome job, Nathan!

Why am I blogging?

Last week I watched a wonderful video called "My New Life". It is about Stephanie Neilson. A young mother who has had to face much adversity since she was left severely burned after surviving a plane crash. I knew of her story and saw her and her husband on Oprah. I was impressed then with the love and optimism that was seeing their family through this trial. But when I saw the video "My New Life" I was so touched. I went to her blog. I had never even read a blog before and just thought that blogs were for people who had too much time on there hands. As I read her blog I was immediately drawn into the life of this courageous woman. Her love of family, her creativity and joy of being a mother is very apparent. But what struck me the most was the thought that if the worst had happened and she had died in that plane crash her family, especially her children would have years of their lives with their sweet mother documented in such a way that their mothers love, humor and creativity would not be forgotten. Her blog is a journal. It is family history. Her children will have this as a legacy of love.

That is why I am blogging. Most of my children are now teenagers. Two of them will soon be leaving home. And I want them to not only to know, but to remember, that they have a mother who loves them. I would have loved to have my life with my children so well documented. I would love to remember!

(To read her blog click on "I read NieNie" on the right hand side of my page. You can also find the video there.)

Seminary graduation and 1st grade field trips.

Seminary graduation was last night.
They did a very nice job putting it all together.
I am glad that Dillan went.

***

Hannah had her first grade field trip today.
She was so excited to pack a lunch and ride the bus
all the way up to USU to see how they make
AGGIE ICE CREAM!
She chose chocolate chip fudge ripple.
She must take after her mother.
They also went to a park to play and have lunch.
She came home tired and a bit grumpy.
Nothing a good nights rest won't cure.

***

We are pretty sure that McKell has mono.
The doctor gave us antibiotics and said that they may make her break out in a rash if its mono. She broke out in a rash. It is kind- of fun to tease your 13 year- old about why they have come down with the "kissing disease."
ha, ha, ha

Heartbreak.

Before break-up.

It is 2:09 a.m. I couldn't sleep. Austin came into my room around 1:20-

sobbing about the break up, missing Danny. Austin and Danny have been dating for almost two years now. Danny is the fun, cool kind of guy that everyone likes to be around. Austin is a vibrant beauty who laughs easily. A little more than a year ago Danny was baptized and became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This made everything perfect and I think that Austin was expecting a ring, not a break up. Her sadness tonight was the realization that she was to blame too, that she hadn't been as nice and as considerate as she should have been, and that she took things for granted. When she is hurting, she doesn't talk much about it. Those few moments when she comes to me upset and needing advice are precious. Tonight it lasted about ten minutes and then it was done and she didn't want to talk about it anymore "because she still loves Danny". Period.

As I laid awake in bed wondering if I said the right things that she needed
to hear (maybe not necessarily the things that she wanted to hear),
for some reason, couldn't help thinking of the movie Pride and Prejudice. And Elizabeth's father telling her that "it is good for a woman to be crossed in love"
at least once.
Maybe that is true. If we have experienced heartbreak at least once, then true, enduring,
real love is all that more precious to us. We begin to understand what it takes to keep it.
I'm not sure what the outcome of all of this will be, but Austin has learned some things and grown and for some reason, growing isn't usually easy.