12 Years Ago

I love this picture.  After three years of waiting, we were finally married!  When the children see this picture they say two words:  temple and happy.  I think that just about sums it all up.  

12 years and five children and a whole lot of water under the bridge have given us more perspective and understanding.  We love the family we have created and look forward to seeing where it all leads.

A Small and Simple Thing

 

James Built a Temple

James tells me that this is a temple.  We've taken the children to visit the Los Angeles Temple twice since Michael was born. In August, just before Liffy was baptized, Lauren gave a us special tour of the temple grounds based on the tour she led for the primary back in June.  What a great experience that was for her.  I'm so grateful for inspired Primary leaders who had the older Primary children lead the younger children on the tours.  She learned so much about the temple from it, but the most important lesson she learned is that testimonies are strengthened when they are borne.  We enjoyed spending that afternoon at the temple with our family.  

Our Family (I promise we're all there)

On Steve's birthday we took a special trip to the newly re-opened Visitor's Center at the Los Angeles temple.  What a lovely place to spend an afternoon.  The Church has created a marvelous center for learning more about the Gospel and its purpose.  There were so many things to see and do, we're going to need to take a second trip!  

These early experiences with the temple clearly have an effect, since James now builds temples out of blocks.  I hope the time spent learning about the temple will carry my children through more treacherous stages of their life.

Look Out, Here He Comes!

Michael rolled from back to tummy today.  Mama's so proud!

Playing with Baby

Funny Michael

Tummy Time

A Girl Is Baptized, and A Boy Is Blessed

What a beautiful eight-year-old girl...

And a perfectly wonderful 17-day-old baby boy.

I wish we had gotten a picture of the two of them together!  We had all the family in town, so we added a baby blessing on to the baptismal program.  Liffy was pleased to share her special day with her new baby brother.  She loves him so very much.  We all do!

We were grateful that most of our siblings and spouses were in attendance.  We missed Christian and Emily, though!  We were also very happy to have Grandpa Russ and Grandma Loraine there.  The weekend was beautiful, cool for August, and we were able to enjoy the company out in the beautiful backyard.

Our Sweet Arrival

Michael Andrew

10 lb 5 oz

An absolute joy.

We already love him so very much.  Watching the older children care for him only adds to our love for them all.   It's a tub of love around here!

The Clean-Up Crew

I have two children who are terrified of lizards.  One of them tends to walk around on furniture instead of the floor, for fear of stepping on a lizard.  I'll bet you can guess who uses that excuse for jumping from table to sofa to chair!

Yesterday when we came home from Grandma Pickle's house all the kids ran out to the cement to ride their scooters.  Seconds later they came running back into the house screaming like a bunch o' crazies. "A LIZARD ON THE CEMENT!  IS IT DEAD OR ALIVE?!!! IT HAS NO TAIL!  AAAAGGHHHH! WHAT WILL WE DO?"

Fortunately, we have some heroes in the house whose initials are neither M nor D.  Because, of course, M & D are both too busy rolling their eyes at the wimps who are screaming about a lizard.  Puppy (NOT James, ask him) ran to the kitchen where he found not one, but TWO dustpans, marched into the family room, said "I CLEAD UP ISSSS" (translation: I'll clean up the lizard) whereupon Caroline, remembering that she is NOT one of the aforementioned wimps, seized one of the dustpans and they both tromped off to the cement slab with heroic zeal.  Within moments they returned triumphant, Caroline announcing "We threw the lizard into the bush!"  with Puppy echoing "Eesh!" behind her.  "Ip, Ip, Hooway!"  Scooter-riding has been saved!

Denouement:
Drama never quite being over, a few minutes later Liffy was on the couch weeping because she had lost a VERY important heart button  (intended to be a gift for Lauren, so it really was important).  Puppy, assuming she was still upset over the lizard, took her face in his hands, leaned in close and said, "I clead up, kay?  Isss don.  I clead up.  Eesh."  (translation: I cleaned up, okay?  The lizard's gone. I cleaned it up.  It's in the bush.)

It' good to have some heroes in the house.