BeThAniE's BiG DaY...

This has really been a busy month for our family, especially for Bethanie! Last Sunday was her 8th birthday, so naturally she is getting baptised! Today was that day!

It was really quite an experience. We have been talking to Bethanie for at least a year about her upcoming baptism. We knew that she was fearful of going under the water. She hates getting her face wet. She was scared to death. She would not come out of the women's bathroom because she was so frightened. At some point, she was hanging onto the toilet crying because she was so scared. She is painfully shy, and even in her baptism interview, she would hardly speak. She really wanted to be baptised but she was just so afraid of the water. At some point we decided to close the doors to the font and have just her family members in there (in the font area) to watch the baptism. Eventually I got in the font as far as I could go in my dress, and she came in with me. The water was pretty hot. My legs turned red from the heated water. I cooled it off a little and sat on the edge of the font as she got used to the water. She decided that it was OK to let the guests that traveled the hour to see the baptism watch, so we opened up the font doors and everyone was really excited to see this take place. We all knew that she was being comforted by the Spirit, to get through this scary time for her. She hates attention, especially if she is afraid. The guest speakers were really special. My mom gave a wonderful talk on Baptism, and my dad spoke to her about the Holy Ghost.

I am so proud of Bethanie. She is such a good person who is sensitive to the Spirit and I know she will do well with the promptings of the Holy Ghost. I am so glad that she was able to get through something that she feared for so long!

She's Eight!

My sweet baby girl....she took ten years to get to us. She was our surprise child, the one we were told we wouldn't have. My pregnancy with her was great, but she came six weeks early. She was 6 lbs 11 oz and even though she was early, she was healthy. My sweet little girlie. I love her! Jeff's parents weren't here to help celebrate it, but they were in Kansas City with our nephew who graduated from High School today! What a special day all around. Congratulations, Zachary! My parents came though and we all sat and enjoyed eating a three layer French Vanilla cake with a surprise chocolate layer in the middle. :O) YUM! She was surprised with roller skates, which is something she has wanted for a very long time.


I loved this picture with my dad & Madison in it. It is priceless. What a sweet way to spend the day....with family.

My SwEeT BeThAniE...

What more can I say about her! This is a special month for our family, not only are there several birthdays and graduations in our family, but Bethanie turns EIGHT! That means BAPTISM! She will be baptised at the end of the month, and she is really nervous about going under water. She knows her dad will be there with her, and he will hold her, and she trusts him. Isn't that how it is with us and Heavenly Father? It is truly what it is reminding me of. Bethanie has faith that her father will keep her safe from going under the water and not coming back up. And it is the same for all of us with our Father in Heaven. We know He is there for us to pull us up from the world.

I am so proud of Bethanie, and the person she is. She is truly a great accomplishment in my life. She is a golden person who has nothing but love for others. She came into this world in a hurry, but has been laid back ever since. What a gift she is to me! I just love her! Happy Birthday, my sweet Bethie-Beth! Mama loves you!

ThE CoLLeGe PiCtUrEs...

These are from the college photographer. There was hardly any room for family to come down and take pictures, so the college had two people up front taking pictures for everyone.

I DiD iT!

Goodness what a day! Let me break it up for you:





I slept in until 7:30, (I ended up going back to bed until 9:30 later) when Jeff called a fairly local radio station to brag to them that it was my birthday. That wasn't enough, he told them I was graduating. So the DJ made a big deal about loving my name, and entered me into their drawing like everyone else. Well, he drew my name out and I won a meal for two at a Mongolian restaurant in Manhattan (an hour and a half away, LOL!) I don't know what Mongolian food is, but we will go! How fun!!! A DATE!!!






So, at 12:00,I ended up going to the Rotary luncheon for Honor students. I was SCARED TO DEATH to go to this thing by myself. It felt a little self indulgent to go just to be honored and recognized by people I didn't even know. But, it was a delish meal, and had to stand up and tell what our degree was in and what we planned to do from here. I plan to substitute teach. :O) Nothing special. But Jeff did give me a beautiful corsage that I wore (couldn't wear it to graduation though). thanks sweetie!





At 2:00, Jeff and I went to graduation rehearsal. What a MESS! We got through that and went to pick sweet Bethanie up from school. She is so sweet. Today was her 2nd grade field trip to the zoo (an hour away). She had fun. Then from there, we went home and I started to get ready for the graduation ceremony. From there, it went fast.





The ceremony was nice, it was long winded by some, and I wanted to throttle the kid I was sitting next to. But we made it through, and we got some really nice pictures. I am surprised because usually *I* am the one taking the pictures, and for good reason! My favorite ones are at the top of this post.




When we got home, we had a nice birthday/graduation celebration. Jeff provided a nice turtle frozen ice cream cake YUM) his mom got a nice graduation cake from Salina, and my mom (sweetie!!!) made me a two flavor cake. OY! That's a LOT OF CAKE. So, because we were so wise, we left the ice cream cake out to thaw for the hour we were gone for the ceremony. Well, it ended up being TWO hours, and when we got home, the top slid off the cake. LOL! But, the good news was it was still frozen and DELISH on the inside. So, no one went hungry. It was ugly but very tasty. LOL!





It was a great day, lots of family, friends, and well wishers. Thanks, dear husband of mine for making my day so special, and thanks to our parents who were here supporting this day and cheering me on! I cant tell you how special you have all made me feel! I LOVE YOU!




TThe turtle shell slid off. LOL! no before picture. DELICIOUS!!!!!

BeThAniE...

Oh what is there to say about this sweet beauty of mine! Bethanie is my God-Send. All of my children are, but Father in Heaven gave me Bethanie, because he gave me Madison and Matthew. LOL! Those two, especially together, are HE** on wheels. But Bethanie is so different. So pure, gentle and sweet. I really want to be like her when I grow up. As with all my children, I am so proud of her. Things don't come easy for this child of mine. She has to work at school, and to understand her emotions. She is so much like her mama. So tender, and she wants to please everyone. She thinks about ways to make them feel special. She never asks for anything, and she is very generous. I love her. She is my feel good kid. I had to laugh at her today because she was silly (and a little confused). Sometimes she has a hard time putting things together. She said, "Mommy, what month is the 4th of July in"? LOL! I thought she was kidding at first. But realized she wasn't. So then I told her, "Well, think about what you said". She figured it out. Whew! Then she said, "What day is it on"? ROFLOL! Silly girl. I know she cant help it, but it was one of those moments where she learned that words to have meaning, and terms like, "The Fourth Of July" means just as it says, July 4th. LOL! Silly. Recently we learned that she has a learning disability. We have known for a while that she was not connecting things as she should. Remember, she was a preemie (yep, a 6lb 11 oz preemie). She was born 6 weeks early but she was large. So on with the testing, and we learned that her working memory is fairly deficient, so with a lot of repetition, lot of extra work, we can get her where she needs to be. The bad news is that we have to go through the IEP process again. I really didn't want to have to go through that again. But I tell myself that it is a new team, different child, and THIS TEAM WONT BREAK. :O)

MaTtHeW...

My smart little man. He is hilarious. Yesterday we were driving in the van, I don't know, taking Bethanie to school or something. He suddenly pops off with this, "MWAHAHAHAHA". LOL! I said, "What is so funny"? And he was like, "Nothing, I am just practicing my maniacal laugh". Maniacal. Do 11 year old generally use this term? LOL! He is so good at breaking down words to their root, to find its meaning. It was so funny. Usually I just call it my EVIL laugh. But now it is known as the MANIACAL laugh. :O) I love him! He brings such uniqueness into our lives!

MaDiSoN....

As teeny as she is, at the tender ripe age of three was standing in the kitchen with her arms folded. She seemed a little disgruntled with things. She said to me, "Mom, when do I get seven?". LOL! Bless her heart. She is already so old and wise for her age, she just cant wait four more years to be like her sissy.

Madison has an older spirit. I cant explain what I mean other than to say that she is wise for her age and very mature. I think it might be because she has older siblings, but she is so determined, bull headed and a hoot! I sure love her. I feel so special to be the mom to my three!

OuT WiTh ThE oLd, Or NeW BeGiNniNgS?

Well, the big day is almost here, and honestly I am a bundle of nerves. I still have tomorrow to finish up finals, and prepare for Friday. Friday is going to be HECTIC to say the least. I was invited to a Rotary Club Luncheon to recognize honor students in Phi Theta Kappa. Initially I declined the invitation because I would have to go alone, and I felt it was strange for me to feel OK, going to a recognition dinner, alone to be recognized by complete strangers. :O) So, while talking about it on Facebook, and to my mom, three wonderful women in my life really GUILTED me into going. I still don't want to go, and I am dreading every single minute of it already. That is at 12:00 Noon Friday. Then at 2:00 I have to go for graduation practice, and 6:00 I have to arrive at the college to be ready for graduation at 7:00. The day is literally going to be PACKED FULL. I guess its a good thing. It will take my mind of other things, like my grandma's funeral that is going on that same day, and I will age by one year. Why does everything have to land on ONE day? Is it a test to see if we can survive it? :P

p.s. I am grateful for those in my life who have foresight to see that I probably will regret it if I didnt go....getting out of my comfort zone is really hard, and the OLDER I GET, the harder it is, and the more stubborn I am.

My SwEeT MoMmY...

WOW! Things have been hopping here! A few days ago, we celebrated Mother's Day, and I was not able to get in a tribute to my sweet mommy! I have to say, I am richly blessed to have mom as my mom. When I grow up, I want to be just like her. She is so sweet, kind and loving. She never says anything against anyone else. She loves the Lord, and strives to serve him, doing anything asked of her. She suffers in pain daily, and never complains. I cant imagine how I was given such a sweet woman to model my life after! She has been through so much in her life. She has had several severe health scares, including cancer, major heart surgery, rheumatoid arthritis, and yet, she never complains. Ok, she complains about her dog, but who wouldn't??

I love my mom and I hope she knows just how dear she is time. I am so thankful for her! Happy Mother's Day, MOM! I LOVE YOU! Sis

BuSy & CrAzY...

This week is TORTURE! I hardly have time to catch my breath before moving on to the next planned item of business (and another few unplanned items). I just look forward to Friday at this time (late at night when I am peacefully asleep and it is all behind me). :O) It is so overwhelming, and there is so much I want to blog about! I will catch up on it this weekend. I have only one final to take and my classes are over (until summer when I start math). :O)

GrAnDmA DoRoThY..UpDaTeD...

is my mom's mom. She passed away this evening at 6:15 our time. I didn't know my grandma much. My mom didn't have much of a relationship with her. My mom is a good woman who has over come much sadness in her life. This is one of those things. The second to last time I saw my grandma was when my grandpa passed away. I was around 10 years old. It was a terribly hurtful situation. It created a flashbulb memory in my mind. I still remember seeing the pain my mom went through, and I hurt so much for her. Mom is second oldest of 5 children. The last time I saw my grandmother was when I was an adult. I was seeking resolutions and I was a little curious. Mom had kept in touch with grandma over the years, a phone call at Christmas or Mother's Day. Letters. But Jeff and I took the kids to Utah to visit some dear friends and other relatives. We did go with a great uncle to see her. He sort of mediated the "reunion" for us. What a sweet man for doing that! He would be grandmas brother in law (grandpa's brother). Anyway, the visit was poignant. Matthew was 4 and Bethanie was almost a year. She was almost walking, and grandma had a house full of rick-a-rack. Bethanie found a pill on the floor and ate it. While it smelled like a vitamin, we decided to take her to the hospital (in West Jordan) to make sure that was all it was, we were worried about heart meds or blood pressure pills. Thankfully Bethanie was OK, but that was the last time I saw my grandma. We talked 2 or 3 times since then and I sent her a few letters with pictures. A week or so ago, one of my aunts called to let us know she was not doing well. She was given an expiration date of 1 week to 3 months. She had tongue or throat cancer and was basically starving.

All we have are memories. Not many were pleasant. However, family is family and you don't just forget that. There are so many could have been's and should have been's. I hurt for mom, who hurts for what was taken from her. She deserved a relationship with her mom. I am so thankful that I have the relationship with my mom that I do, and I pray that I will have that with my daughters. Its just sad. It is supposed to be a happy month with Mother's Day, 3 birthdays, graduations. At least we have these things to look forward to...

UPDATE: May 7, 2010

Through this experience, we have been in contact with my aunt Teresa, and one of her daughter's (Katherine Nicole). I found this picture of Grandma on Katherine's Facebook page. Maybe broken ties can be mended, if only a little, from a distance. Maybe I will learn of my cousins (although I am old).

SuMmEr iS CoMiNg SoOn...

And it will be no surprise to see lots of kids here. It isn't unusual for us to have 8 kids here playing at a time. NOISY! This picture is of Bethanie and her dear friend Bhumy. These two are so much the same! There is nothing cuter (and often times more difficult) than 2nd grade best friends. Bhumy and Bethanie have never had "issues" like with other kids. This is a special friendship. :O)