Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a great Thanksgiving! Each one of our kids asked if we could "just stay home" for Thanksgiving. The more I heard that question, the more I was grateful for my family. I love that our kids just wanted to be home together to enjoy the holiday! That alone is a tremendous blessing. We had extended family from my side join us. The kids were great, the food was fantastic, and the company was even better! The list of things I am grateful for seems to get longer and longer everyday. I am truly blessed in so many ways. It is so nice to have a day in the middle of this crazy season to reflect on all that we have.

I weathered the "Black Friday" crowds with my older girls and sister. I really just got a kick out of watching people fight over $4.00 toys. My girls were cute and loved the excitement. It is quite a turning point when you love to shop with your daughters. (I'm sure Tim would agree!) We had a great time together.

We went to see "Tangled" on Saturday. Loved it! Jaxson opted out. How could I even argue? I think Tim might have wished he were with Jax. I thought the movie was so cute and loved some of the music. The littles loved the movie!

We are grateful to have neighbors home safe (life always seems better when Joy is home) and leftovers in the fridge. We are even more grateful for the many people who have touched our lives in so many ways. I am also SOOOOO GRATEFUL that we have more than a month down in the count down until the Crocketts return. There is not a day that goes by that one of my kids doesn't express how much they miss them. I feel the same!

A Success!

Emmie all ready for Market Day

Mom: "Emmie, how was Market Day?'

Emmie: "It was awesome. I SOLD OUT in the first 20 minutes."

Mom: "WOW!"

Emmie: "There was one boy who didn't sell anything."

Mom: "That is sad."

Emmie: "I know, there was 5 minutes left so I gave him $100 for all of his donuts."

Mom: "That was so nice of you."

Emmie: "I know!" (sigh)

You gotta love Emmie!!!!

Arts and Crafts

 Today I helped my friend, Shannon make these cute capes for her son, Hayes', Birthday. I was gone by the time he got home to see them. Apparently, he like them.

 I came home to help Emmie make tye dye shirts for Market Day at school tomorrow. I love how excited Emmie gets! She was so cute. This ended being a family project. I hope Market Day is a success. Even if it isn't, everyone enjoyed "family tye dye" afternoon!

It was all arts and crafts here!

Emmie is 9!!!

Emmie is 9 today! All she wanted was a cell phone! We kept telling her that she wasn't going to get one. Emmie told me that "NO MATTER WHAT, SHE DID NOT WANT CLOTHES" for her birthday. Naturally, I bought her clothing!!!Emmie opened present after present of clothing. She even did so with a smile on her face. The last thing she opened was a coat. In the pocket she found......

a purple cell phone! 

Emmie is happy which makes me happy!

A little info about Em...

• She makes me laugh
• She is very easy going
• She has her "own" style
• She is a good friend
• She loves telling stories
• She won't go to bed unless Ryann is close by
• She loves to dance
• She is a great student
• I can't imagine our family without Emmie

Happy Birthday Emmie!!! You are loved!!!!!

Ruby/Elmo

Ruby loves Elmo. She has this Elmo shirt that she always wants to wear. In fact Carey has to rotate laundry pretty fast to keep Ruby's Elmo shirt ready for wear. Morgan got this shirt from a friend for her birthday.

Naturally, when I was in New York and saw a "Ruby sized" shirt like Mo's, I had to buy it. Turns out, Carey was not thrilled with the idea. She was weaning Elmo shirts from Ruby's wardrobe! To that I say,"hahahahahahahahahaha!" Love to you both!

Ryanne wanted in on the photo shoot, so she borrowed Morgy's shirt. Ruby is honestly one Ryannes favorite people. (Next to me. Of course!)

As you probably can tell......We are MISSING Ruby like crazy!

Farewell dinner!

Okay, I don't like it a bit, but I have finally accepted that the Crocketts have moved. The adult/mature side of me is happy for them to have this  adventure. As we all know, that side of me is small. The rest of me is looking forward to Joy and I going to visit and counting the days until they return!

Morgan and Ruby

Hanna and Carey

Jaxson and Jude

Ruby and Carey

The night before they left, Ruby and Jude came trick-or-treating and then we had a "farewell dinner." Another bitter-sweet event! Joy made great food! It was a nice evening! I am touched by the love my family has for the Crocketts! Everyone cried when it was time to say goodbye. Ryanne is definitely my tender child. She loves those guys so much she cried for a couple of hours. I can't express how grateful I am that my kids have so many wonderful people that love them! 

We love and miss them to death!

Jude's Blessing

Jude's blessing was bitter sweet. It was one of the last things to be done before the Crocketts left for Australia. For, those of you who know me, I like to pretend things aren't happening until the last moment possible. I love Jude and will miss him terribly. I am sad that he doesn't know me the way Ruby did at Jude's age. I rarely get to hold Jude because every time I do, Ruby says, "Kari hold you." Which means she wants me to hold her. Which, I do with a smile because she loves me and I love her. In any event, it was a fun day. As always, grateful for good friends!

Morgan never misses an opportunity to tell me that Jude loves her more than me. Which he does! How could he not? Just look at how cute Morgan is!!

Isn't he handsome?

Ruby makes me smile!!! Just look at that cheeser!

Libby's Baptism

 

Emmie's little friend, Libby, was baptized today. Libby looked so pretty in her baptism dress. It was such a beautiful day. Casey, Libby's father, talked about Libby and her understanding of baptism. He talked about how the night before her baptism, Libby had told him that baptism was "taking the next step in our commitment to Heavenly Father." I love that! Then he told a story about a man from his mission. A man who loved and wanted to serve his country.  He had been in the military at one point, but wasn't anymore. He had written the government asking to be allowed back in the military. It was so important to him. Unfortunately, they never let him back in.  Anyway, baptism was a big step for this man. After he was baptized, Casey (then a missionary) asked him how he felt. The young man replied, "Like a soldier with a chest full of medals." Casey ended the story by saying that this man realized that where he wanted to be was different than what Heavenly Father had in store for him and that it was okay. 

I absolutely loved that story! Thank you, Casey. I needed to hear that today. I am so grateful for the Bulkleys! I love that they let us be part of this special day. I love that our lives are blessed with great friends.

Sweet 16!

Hanna is 16 today. I can't even wrap my head around that! I couldn't let today pass without publicly letting her know how amazing I think she is. Hanna is truly a blessing in our home. I had a dream about Hanna when I was pregnant with her. I knew how important she was to Heavenly Father. I knew I was so lucky to be able to be her parent. Never could I have imagined how many things Hanna would teach me. A few words come to mind when I think of Hanna

STRENGTH

GOODNESS

FUNNY

HAPPY

TENDER

LOVING

HONEST

GREAT JUDGE OF CHARACTER

FRIEND

Our kids are all so close that when they were young I literally felt like I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off. There were times (even years) that I remember feeling totally inadequate and completely overwhelmed. I remember people saying to enjoy that phase of life. I wanted to laugh right out loud. How could anyone enjoy

carrying screaming kids out of restaurants

wiping up one kids puke and the others poop

having the neighbor knock on your door holding your one year olds hand saying, "we found this outside"

years of sleepless nights

bathtubs overflowing

broken hearts

the school calling and saying, "did you know that when your sons knee is the size of a cantaloupe,  you should keep him home"

knowing you were a walking add for birth control

knowing people were so nice and helpful because they pitied you and knew that they were wondering when you would figure out where babies came from

the list could go on and on....

Looking back, I do wish I had enjoyed those times more. I wish I had worried less about how everyone looked and more about how everyone felt. Now, I mourn knowing that Hanna can drive, and that just like Jaxson, she will be gone more and more. I treasure all of our memories even more. Hanna is an amazing daughter. She is not only my daughter, she is one of my very best friends! 

Happy Birthday Hanna. I am so proud of you! You are a great person!

Halloween!

I am a slacker, I know!!! Last week seemed like a whirlwind. I am behind but decided to post this and fill in the blanks as time allows.

Emmie and her best little friend Haidyn were fairies this year. They were so cute. I love them both to death. The Turleys came over for pizza and then all the little kids went trick or treating. They hit 3 neighborhoods and felt like they were "the stuff!"

I did not take as many pictures as I would liked to have. They were all really cute and had tons of fun!