Beautiful Brielle

This post is 4 months over due.  Gee whiz.  Time flies by so fast.  I totally feel like this just happened.  Lindsay had her baby!!!  Yay!  When she got engaged to Mike she told Tyson he could marry her daughter.  How did she know she'd have a girl first?  Crazy!  Tyson was a little tyke and on another occasion he said something like, "When I marry Lindsay's sister..."  It took me a while to figure out, but in his little mind, it made sense to him that if you have a baby girl it was called a sister.  :)  So funny.

 

At anyrate, everyone knows that Tyson & Brielle are allowed to marry ANYONE they fall in love with.  We were just having fun dreaming about future scenarios...just like we used to dream as kids.  There was a day we would dream about what life would be like when we were moms...and what do you know?  Now it's here!

 

Lindsay had her beautiful Brielle in November. 

Not only is her name gorgeous, so is her smile and darling face!

Jenny got to be Lins' post partum nurse.  So fun!  Who would have ever thought this is where we would be when we grew up?

 

Here's Jenny smiling by her adopted niece. :)

What's funny is that after I held Brielle for the first time, there was this little part of me that was satisfied--it's like I got a "baby girl fix".  I didn't expect that to happen. 

This is proof that my little family was there to meet Brielle--but Miles & Emmett's plans did NOT include pausing for a picture.  :) Story of my life.

 

Brielle's baby blessing was in January--it was a beautiful day, and she had a beautiful blessing.  And what do you know?  It's no surprise that Lindsay is a stunningly beautiful mom!  We're so happy this day is here!

 

Play Cookie Dough

At the beginning of the school year, when I felt like I had to write a check for every fundraiser that walked thru my door (before I realized there would be a fundraiser EVERY WEEK or so), I decided that if I was already going to pay $15 for cookie dough, that I might as well pay $17 and get the upgraded version:  PLAY COOKIE DOUGH.  It came in yellow tubs--just like play dough.  It came in bright colors--just like play dough.  Fortunately it tasted delicious--unlike playdough. 

 

Even if it did take 5 months before I realized it was still hanging out in my freezer, it was so much fun!  Haha! Sometimes you think you'll save something for a special day, and then that special day never comes.  One night in January I decided it had been long enough and the special day just needed to be there, so we used our play cookie dough after dinner on a whim.  The $2 upgrade was worth it, especially because now that our elementary has exhausted my "extra money" fund, I don't know when the next time we donate might be.  :)  J/K

 

The Club House

Remember the Plague of 2012?  I'm still trying to forget it.  The pink eye, strep throat, vomiting, ear infections, 104 fevers, chronic fatigue, tummy rumbling, teething, 10+ day experience certainly left its mark.  But you know--something good actually came from that moment in time.  Grandma & Grandpa Borden SURPRISED us with a CLUBHOUSE to help us cope with our cabin fever & confinement!  On one of our miserable mornings there was an unexpected ring at the doorbell.  Grandpa Borden smiled, came in, and started putting together this cardboard house for my boys.  They immediately began decorating it, called it their clubhouse, and the fun lasted for a full month.  The boys even decorated it with Christmas lights.  We were so happy, because  Grandma & Grandpa's thoughtfulness turned some difficult mornings from something we wanted to forget into something we will always remember.   

 

(If you're reading this Grandma & Grandpa B:  Thanks! And we love you!!!)

 

 

Night of Wonder

As I look through these pictures it feels to me, like it JUST happened...but the reality is that these pictures are from FOUR MONTHS ago.  Haha! 

Lucky for us, we were driving around on a weekend in December, and the local mall was having a Hot Air Balloon Festival.  We promptly bought Chick-fil-a, parked our car, and took the kids to experience the fun of being right next to the hot air balloons.  I'm so glad we did that and now we have fun memories with our kids!  The man in the Smilie Face balloon gave my boys normal balloons with the same smilie face on it.  They kept calling their balloons hot air balloons.  Spider pig was the most amazing and a top favorite, too.  I also thought the butterfly balloon was gorgeous.  Poor Emmett ended up being sick that night--which explained why he was so difficult to win over, even though the festival was amazing.  He did have some fun moments, though, before he fell asleep with a fever.

 

 

I have always loved hot air balloons. Part of me wants to avoid the idea of having a bucket list, because I'd rather just be immortal than mortal.  But, the honest truth is that riding in a hot air balloon is something I've got to do before I die. As a Freshman in High School I remember sitting in the bleachers at a Marching Band Invitational, and there was a hot air balloon floating by and I decided that would be a fun way to be proposed to. All the boys around me thought I was just silly and crazy. Lucky for me, my husband proposed to me in the sky, in an even more romantic fashion than I had ever dreamed of, and in a way that made our OWN story (instead of in a way that included my flirtations with every boy I ever had a crush on from my Freshman year of high school thru college.) Haha! Having my name spelt out on the desert floor in Christmas lights as we flew over it in a 4 passenger airplane was a proposal that blew my mind--and I'm so glad that I had the perfect proposal and that it WASN'T in a hot air balloon, haha!

But with that being said, I would still like to go on a hot air balloon ride someday. It's still on my list of things to do. :)

P.S. Quit shaking your head at this post, Mitch. I love you for loving me even though I tell stories with tangents.

When a Camera isn't Good Enough.

You know that moment in time, when everything is perfect and you wish you could freeze it forever?  Sometimes it's when everyone is together.   Sometimes it's when you're just one on one.  Sometimes it only lasts a couple of seconds and then the harmony of the moment is long gone.  Sometimes you wish you had a camera, but even if it was out and ready it couldn't have done the moment justice.

Like yesterday when Emmett was sitting outside of Cracker Barrel on a rocking chair playing checkers with his Grandpa T.  It was cute & classic, and everyone was happy.  It was a perfect morning.  And just 3 seconds after I saw the moment it was over.

It's like when you buy a package of candies you had when you were a kid and try to share them with everyone, but you realize you bought the sour pack instead and everyone is gagging.  "These are horrilbe, Deej!"  Thanks, Mom.  Fortunately the package of Divinity I bought turned out better.  The kids loved it.  My father in law talks about it all the time (I think Grandma Borden used to make it), and then I found out my Great Granny Gladys used to make it, too.   But as I tasted it and thought about these people who love Divinity--I thought about the memories they have that are associated with it--the people who made it.  Can a camera really capture how they feel when they remember those things?  No.  Now I have my own memory of the delectible treat--it's of Emmett with his mouth stuffed and a big grin saying, "I love this marshmallow stuff." 

It's when you're standing in line at a crowded sandwich shop trying to keep your boys from bugging everyone in line and the lady behind you says, "I had 3 boys, too.  They were just like yours--full of energy.  I remember how hard it was, but don't worry, there's a lot of hope.  All my boys grew up to be wonderful human beings (one is a Navy Seal, another is a successful businessman, and the other a Navy airforce officer).  I don't even know how it happened, but it did."  And then later she seeks you out & gives you a chocolate covered strawberry for each boy.  A camera couldn't have captured her kindness & understanding, or how she made me feel like everything in the world was perfect & exactly as it should be.

One of these moments happened today when Tyson was at his first ever practice for the Easter Pageant and we were all told to kneel down when Jesus would walk by.  We were all in normal clothes--no costumes--and the man who is the actor for Jesus didn't even have a beard yet, or anything.  As he came near us we all knelt and looked up at him.  And then I looked to the side and saw my son kneeling down, but respectfully bowing his head as Jesus walking by.  He was so humble and reverent and full of love. 

Sometimes I think I almost ruin the moments I'm trying to capture, because I'm staring at them thru a camera.  Sometimes it's okay to just experience life.  Try to remember it, and try not to regret that you couldn't catch the moment on film, because sometimes you couldn't have captured what it truly meant to you anyway.

Life is beautiful.  Just live it.

A Game Too Hard for Adults

A couple weekends ago, I hosted a Baby Shower for my sister-in-law Ashley.  It was a smashing success--I was so pleased.  During the shower we played a game: Alternative Names for Children's Book Titles.  So essentially you were given something like, "Emerald Yolky Food with accompanying Pig Product" and had to guess "Green Eggs and Ham".  A day or two after the shower my mom was reading thru the list, because we played that game before she got there.  Emmett was in the room.  Please keep in mind that he is ONLY THREE, and keep in mind that he WAS NOT around at the shower.

Mom: Locale of the Concrete Walkway's Termination?
Mom: Where the road stops?
Me: Where the Sidewalk Ends!
Mom: Fedora Wearing Feline? 
Emmett:  The Cat in the Hat!
Me: He's Right. (I totally thought it was a fluke).
Mom: Locale of the Untamed  Creatures?
Me: Remember that 'locale' in the other one stood for 'where'.
Mom: (Still thinking).
Emmett running by:  Where the Wild Things Are!
Me: He's right again!  Haha!

What a little smarty pants.  He's so funny!

Sunday Mornings

For quite a while now, I've felt that Mormons are a little insane.  :)  Isn't it crazy enough to get your kids ready for church?  Like today--for the life of us, we couldn't find Emmett's church shirt and tie, or Tyson's church pants.  And do you like the baby?  He's upset and squirming and well--just enjoy the snapshot of the chaos, okay?

Truly, it's hard enough to just get our family out the door & looking presentable, with noses wiped, and hair combed, AND CLOTHES ON.  BUT THEN, we volunteer our efforts by serving in callings, and we teach Sunday school lessons and Mitch works with the Scouts and he's gone to meetings before church, and he also schedules time during the week to teach the Young Men, and I watch the Nursery kids for 2 hours during church so that parents can listen to their Sunday school lessons while I let their kids color pictures of Jesus. And then the Relief Society hold functions and sends out Compassionate Service emails to inform us of when people need help and we volunteer to help them move, and take them meals when we can. Oh, and by the way, if you can squeeze time in between breakfast and lunch and finding clean laundry, there's choir practice, too.  And if someone is sick and needs help, you fill in for them on top of doing your own callings.

AND THIS IS THE NORM.

There is NOTHING unusual about this in the LDS world. 

Some people have a bigger load--they have MORE children and their callings have MORE committments.  

Take the Bishop's schedule for example--with absolutely no monetary compensation, he meets with individuals and couples and counsels with them, and he attends all the ward functions that he possibly can.  He goes to all the Scout campouts, all the baptisms, all the Young Women events, he has meetings of his own, he meets with all the leaders of all the auxillaries, he meets with the Stake Presidency, he gives worthiness interviews...oh, and by the way, he has a full time job and a family.

It's amazing, really.

You're asked to give.  And then you're asked to give some more.  And some days you wonder if it's even possible to get out the door and get your family to church.  And sometimes you wonder if it would be easier to stay home.  But you know what?  If we didn't live this peculiar lifestyle, I truly believe that life would be harder.  We wouldn't have the spiritual strength we need to get through the hard times, and our children wouldn't learn the importance of service at an early age, and the house really wouldn't get that much cleaner in the time we would have been at church because we would have been home messing it up.

The miracle is that the members of the church don't throw in the towel and say, "This is too much."  The true miracle is that they have testimonies of the gospel that are so strong, they come back every week, and they stay faithful.  And when they see that someone in the ward is losing their faith, they reach out to rescue them and bring them in and help them in any way they can.  They go on missions (at their own expense)--like my brother Taylor in Guatemala--he lives in a bamboo house and preaches the Word of God.  And like my cousin Deaton, who is practically dying of Malaria in Madagascar right now--all for the cause of bringing others to Christ.  And they don't throw in the towel.  My own husband, Mitch, lived in one of the scariest cities in the US for months on end trying to teach the gospel and bring others to Christ.

I guess that's the miracle of taking your boys to church on Sunday mornings, even if you think it's "insane".  There's the hope that they'll grow up to be an awesome Eagle Scout and missionary like their daddy and grandpas and uncles and cousins.  I pray someday my boys will turn into men of God who serve others no matter what, even if it's hard, at their own monetary expense, and out of love.  And I hope that someday they'll take their kids to church on the days they think it would be easier to stay home, because really life is "easier" when you choose to go.

I love it.

I love church.

And yes--I even love our crazy Sunday mornings.