Fathers and Sons

Two weeks ago, Jonathan went to his first Fathers and Sons Campout and was lucky enough to go with his dad and Grandpa. When Jon saw Wade wearing his camouflage hat, he ran to get his red fireman hat so he could be just like daddy. It was so cute!

FYI: That's the same camouflage hat that Wade has had since he was 17 years old. I thought it was the ugliest thing when we were first married because he wore it with his camouflage shirt, and believe it or not they just clashed together! But he insisted on wearing both to all the family reunions and other camping trips. It drove me crazy! But now that he wears the hat with this shirt, I think he looks great. How ironic that all along, he just needed to change the shirt! haha

Jon was pretty excited to see all kinds of wildlife.

(These are Buffalo, NOT cows...pretty cool.)

Grandpa Reed with Jonny, who's roaring at some deer. He roars at everything these days, animal or not. :)

Jon's favorite part of the trip was throwing rocks in the stream. It kept him entertained for hours. I wish I could keep him entertained that long at home! I'm so happy that the boys could have some bonding time. While they were camping, Emily and I slept over at Wade's mom's house for a fun girls night out. Yes, it's true, my mother-in-law is so cool that we were excited to hang out with her. :) We ate a delicious Mexican dinner and home-made apple pie, and then talked, laughed, ate chocolate, and painted our nails. In the morning, we enjoyed Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes. Yum! Thanks again Mom!





*Some sad news is that our digital camera is broken thanks to a sippy cup leaking all over it while they shared space in the diaper bag. So we may not have new pictures to post for a while unless I can find a steal on Craigslist or KSL.com, OR if any of you want to sell us yours. ;)

Life is Precious

I've been really emotional the last couple of days. My sister-in-law's father died suddenly, and it breaks my heart. For those of you who know him, you know that Jeff Williams is an AMAZING man. He exudes love for everyone he meets and usually greets them with a big hug and a sloppy kiss on the cheek. He's a big tease and just makes you smile. Because Summer and Nick have been best friends since middle school, long before they were married, our family has always been really close to their family.

I am so torn. It just doesn't make sense. When my mom called me yesterday morning and told me Jeff had been in a terrible accident at work and that he was being life-flighted to Las Vegas, I was shocked. She asked me to call the temple and have his name put on the prayer roll and to pray for their whole family. A few hours later, she called again and told me he didn't make it. He was gone. I wept with her for several minutes and then said goodbye. I was stunned and just couldn't believe it as I kept replaying our phone conversation over and over in my head. I couldn't stop thinking about my sweet sister-in-law and the hell she must be going through knowing she'll never see her father again...in this life. I called my own father right away just to tell him that I love him.

My 6 year-old nephew Jace wanted to know WHY Jesus doesn't resurrect "Papa Jeff" now? How can you explain something to a child when we, as adults, don't even have all the answers? I'm just grateful we have some answers that can comfort us when we've lost someone we love, thanks to our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness. We don't have to wonder anymore if we will see them again. I know that we WILL see Jeff again, that Summer WILL have her dad back, and we will all get hugs and kisses from him someday.

answers?

A few questions I wish I had the answer to...but just don't...



When am I going to be able to have another baby and when I do, will I go crazy with 3?

What's going to happen with my husband's career?

When are we going to be able to pay off this school debt?

When are we going to own our own home?

When am I going to receive the phone call from my mom that my Grandpa's gone?

Will I really be able to handle having my own preschool and can I really make a difference in the lives of my students?

How can I mend certain relationships?

When will I learn to talk less and allow others to share more?

When will I (if ever) be able to catch up on all my scrapbooking?

When will I learn to play the piano?

Where can I go where there will be no whining, throwing cheerios, playdoe mashed into my carpet, stinky hot dogs, tackling/wrestling/body-slamming siblings...and just NO NOISE AT ALL?

When will I be able to understand why my children do what they do and why it drives me crazy sometimes?

When will I be able to love me for me and stop tearing myself down?

The day we've been waiting for!

This is the day we've been waiting for!

First of all because Wade graduated! Wahoo! He received a Bachelor's Degree in Entrepreneurship from the University of Utah. He actually finished his classes last December and then walked in commencement this weekend. We're proud of him and excited to see where his career takes us.
The second reason this is the day we've been waiting for is because we have a new niece to adore, and she was a complete surprise for all of us! Wade's brother, Jeff, and his wife, Elizabeth, adopted a beautiful baby girl and they only had a few hours to prepare. They received a phone call that they were chosen and that the baby was already born! So off to the hospital they went to pick up their new bundle. Adoption is such a miracle and we're grateful all of our prayers were answered and that we can share in their joy with them.

A little dirt doesn't hurt

Saturday night, we went to Sugarhouse Park to BBQ with our friends, Brad and Christine. It started to sprinkle for a few minutes, and then this gorgeous rainbow appeared. Isn't it awesome? After our BBQ, we went over to the pond to feed the ducks.
Emily loved the baby ducklings and would get mad at the seagulls and geese when they stole the bread right out from under the ducklings. She would say, "Hey you bird, that's not yours! That's for the baby ducks. You give that back RIGHT NOW!" She can get fiesty, can you tell? ;)

Trying to practice my "Love and Logic" parenting skills and let Jonny learn a lesson on his own, I didn't stop him when he fell in the mud. (Anyone else a Love and Logic Mom? It's helped me so much!) What cracks me up is how mad he got when he realized how dirty he was, when most of the time, he CHOOSES to play in the dirt and mud.

I just really liked the lighting on this one.

On Sunday afternoon, we went on a walk, and Emily was silly and wanted to ride in the basket underneath.

Then Wade and I pulled out the camping chairs and started reading and relaxing. Of course the second we got up, the kids wanted to copy us and ran inside to get their own books to read.

What the....? Emily, what are you wearing? Looks like I need to put a "I got dressed by myself" sticker on this girl!

Women's Conference

More than ever, I know that...

And it feels good to have TRUTH rush through your body.

Thursday and Friday, I had the opportunity to attend Women's Conference with 18,000 other women of my faith on the BYU campus. It's empowering to be with that many women who all have the same love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I attended most of the classes with my friends, Ryanne and Mardi, and had a blast hanging out with them in between classes and on Thursday night for some tasty Mexican food.

After dinner on Thursday night, I met up with my friend, Janine, and her mom and sister to enjoy an awesome concert. There were a lot of great performers like Hillary Weeks, Eclipse, Jenny Oaks Baker, and Coach Larry Gelwix who was the inspiration behind the movie, Forever Strong. But I especially enjoyed the performance of Alex Boye'

and Dallyn Vail Bayles, both of whom have stared in Liken the Scriptures films, that we are big fans of! I think of Dallyn as an LDS Josh Groban. Just Amazing! I bought his CD when I was there, and have already listened to it half a dozen times. After the concert, I stayed the night with my friend, Janese and her family. I could just gobble up that little Baby Orden. Oh my goodness, he's cute. Thanks again Janese!

The best part of the whole conference was hearing from my favorite apostle, Elder L. Tom Perry. He exudes such enthusiasm in life, and I love hearing him speak! He encouraged us to be better neighbors and to have courage to share our testimonies. I think about this a lot because my neighborhood is so diverse. It's not like we have to convert every person we know who's not a member of our church, but we can be more like Christ, and let others KNOW our love and devotion for HIM. So that's my goal.

I'm grateful to my mother in law, Eileen, who watched Jon and Emily all day Friday and even over night on Friday, so that Wade and I could have some alone time when I returned home from the conference. And thanks to Wade for taking work off on Thursday to be with our kids and for surprising me with Olive Garden when I came home.

What a refresher these two days were. I'm definitely a nicer wife and mommy now...we'll see how long it lasts. :) I can't wait for next year!

Introducing...

Shining Stars Preschool!

I am starting my own preschool, and I couldn't be happier! Last December, I went to visit Lyndy Butler at her performing arts preschool, Talent Sprouts, and she really encouraged me to go for my dream and just do it. I love teaching! It brings me such joy, especially when I can teach my own children as well as other children I know and love. Every time it was my turn to teach joy school the last two years, I was so happy and in my element. So Wade and I started talking and planning, and we made it happen. It's been such an exciting process! Yesterday was my Open House, and I already have more than a dozen parents interested. I am keeping my class sizes small for more individualized learning and will be teaching 3 classes of 5 students each. Here are a few pics of the preschool. Fun, huh?