Jonah's baptism

What a great day!

It's a really long story as to how it turned out this way, but suffice it to say that Jonah had his very own special baptismal service.

Jonah felt so special.  I was sharing my testimony toward the end, and he was on the front row just beaming up at me.  A couple of times his eyes filled up with tears as he felt the Holy Spirit.

I read his journal entry that night, and he said "Mom and Dad gave special talks just for me."  (We were invited up to share our testimonies right before the Bishop spoke.)

While we were waiting for him to change clothes, we handed out index cards for everyone to write a little note to him on his special day.  I need to get them all in a book so he can look at them over and over.

Jonah with his Grandpa Alston, whom he adores and idolizes.

Jonah is such a sweet boy.  He seems younger to me than his brothers and sisters did at this age, but I'm in no hurry for him to outgrow his little boy-ness.

He is kind and thoughtful, and generally undemanding.  If you let him, he will talk your ear off, but he's  patient when he needs to be.

He's got some great ideas, and the wheels in his head are always turning.  At any given moment you could ask him what he's imagining, and he would have an answer for you.  That makes it hard sometimes for him to stay focused on an assigned task!

At the end of second grade, he won the award for class clown.  He couldn't have been more proud!  He's always trying to come up with good new jokes.  One of his favorites that he claims to have made up:  What did one apple say to the other apple?  I wish we were a pear.

I sure am grateful to have Jonah in my life.  He is my little buddy, and such an important part of our family.

The Good Life

It's late at night as I type this.  It's rare for me to find a time when I can use MY computer.  And even more rare to have a few consecutive minutes that I won't have to answer any questions.

I was at my parents' house for a few days, which was great.  The kids had non-stop fun with cousins.  Swimming... movies.... Nintendo...treats every day.  They wanted to stay all summer!

Ever since we got home, though, I have had such a feeling of gratitude for home.  My home.  I love the new bathroom Jeff just finished for me.  I love the view out my back windows.  I love my fluffy white bed.  I love all of my trees.  I love knowing where everything is in my kitchen. (Or at least where it should be!)  I love that I have comfortable rooms and enough food for all of my children.  I guess I'm just feeling very blessed.

Today for family home evening I took the kids bowling.  (Jeff and Eli stayed home, sick.)  Afterward, we had pizza and cookies.  Caleb asked if he could have another cookie, and I said yes.  Simon let out a quick laugh and said "Two cookies?  I didn't see that one comin'!"  Funny kid!  We all cracked up!

Eli has been so much fun lately.  He's starting to talk quite a bit.  We can get him to repeat almost anything... except for the kids' names.  He calls them all Gecka.  At first it was just for Becca, but now it can apply to any of his siblings.  He is constantly exploring around the house.  He especially loves my make-up drawer and the girls' room.  He can usually find gum or candy in there.

Maybe Eli's love for life is rubbing off on me.  I sure hope so.  He spends almost all day, every day, happy.  He is pretty much always smiling, and is always busy, looking for a good time!

So I guess the point of this post is that I have a really great life.  Sometimes it gets so hectic that I forget to notice how good things really are.  But years from now, when I try to recall the details of these years, it is this feeling that I want to remember.

Simon's birthday

Yes, I am aware that Simon's birthday was 6 months ago.

I actually just realized that I didn't document it!  He turned 4, which means he got to have his first "friend party."

I sure love my little "Mr. Minator"

Here are a few pictures:

We borrowed the "Payne train" and took rides around the property.  It was a hit!

These are some easy boys to entertain!  They just played outside, and had a great time!

His Lightning McQueen cake

The excitement!

Cousins Grant, Clark, and Collin.  Friends Mazden, Tigger, Colton, Cade and Pace.

Everybody checking out the goods

Birthday week

I really wish I had time to give a play-by-play of this past week.   It was a doozy!

Highlights would include my car breaking down and getting towed into the dealership in my pajamas, and splattering an uncooked, homemade pizza against the back of the seat in Jeff's car.  And celebrating  birthdays for 2 kids, which somehow worked out to be 4 birthday parties in one week!

But life is racing onward, and I don't have the time to say much more, so I'll just post some pictures:

This is Jonah's actual birthday.  We celebrated with our Davis cousins and some cake.  Jonah got to choose the meals for the day, so we ate well!  For breakfast we had waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.  For lunch at school he packed a hot dog, oatmeal cookies to share with his class, and for dinner he requested pizza, of course!

He got just about everything on his wish list: a sweatband (for basketball), his own personal pump for keeping his ball aired up, $50 to spend at the Lego store, and a bale of straw, for building the cob fort that he is planning.

The next day was Savannah's birthday.  She chose bacon, egg and cheese bagels for breakfast, and (the usual choice) homemade mac and cheese for dinner.  We had an eclair torte instead of a cake, which was delicious, if I do say so myself.


And the friend parties:

Jonah had a sports party, full of friendly contests and a basketball cake.

Savannah had a pj party with a breakfast bar, a photo booth, and lots of balloons.  Her cake was a rainbow inside.

And now... on to the next thing.

A sweet moment with Eli. And balls.

This cute little guy is obsessed with balls.  Seriously obsessed!

Anything that is round qualifies as a ball, so he is excited  pretty much everywhere we go.  He looks around the chapel and points at the lights.  "Ball!  Ball!  Ball!"  Or the nobs on his dresser.  "Ball!"  Or the balloons in the grocery store.  "Ball!  Ball!"  You get the idea.

The other night I was putting him to bed.  I always sit in the rocking chair and sing to him for a bit.  He likes to pull the neck of my shirt open so he can press his little cheek up against the skin of my chest.  He was all snuggled up against me, settling down for the night- or so I thought.  In the middle of my song he sat straight up and put his face right up in mine.   "Ball!  Ball! Ball!"  he kept repeating, very excitedly.  I had to giggle a little to my self, and I told him "Yes, honey.  I know you love balls."  Then he was content to rest his head back on my chest while I finished the song.

I wish there was something in my life that got me that excited every time the thought crossed my mind!

Words of Wisdom from Jonah

The other day Jeff took Jonah (age 7)  and Simon (age 4) to Walmart to help him shop for the things they needed for the father and sons campout.

After several isles of "I need" and "I want" and "please Daddy," Daddy started to tune out his "helpers" so he could concentrate on what he came for.

He tuned back in when he heard Jonah giving Simon some very wise counsel.

"Simon, grown-ups stop listening when you ask too much questions."

That was the voice of experience speaking.

The alignment of the stars- FHE

Tonight was one of those nights that I visualize every week, but that usually eludes me.  We have family home evening every Monday night, but it often feels like I'm wasting my time.  Kids fight, babies disrupt the lesson, somebody hates the treat or activity, etc.  But not tonight.

Simon was conducting, and he welcomed everyone to family home evening in a loud, happy voice.

Josh picked "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" for the opening song, so all the little ones were excited.  The big kids helped toss little ones in the air every time we sang "beam," as per tradition.  There was only one minor injury, and everyone was happy with how high they "jumped."

Caleb shared a scripture that went with the theme of the evening.

Savannah gave a beautiful and well planned lesson on serving others, which everyone participated in.  Eli wasn't loud enough to be too distracting, and I really felt the spirit.

One short round of hide and seek, and then the homemade ice cream was ready.  We let everyone have as many servings as they wanted.  Even Lucy ended up with plenty!

After treat everyone gradually joined the circle for some volleyball practice.  Nobody got hurt or angry, we just had fun.  When Simon started to pout that he didn't get enough turns, Rebecca lovingly brought him back and helped him hit the ball.

When it got too dark to see, we came in for scriptures and prayers.  Jonah remembered to bless our extended family members who need extra help right now.

After tooth brushing and face washing, little ones were tucked into bed.  The "story" that Jonah requested was a non-fiction book about lost cities.  He's learning about ancient Greece right now in school, so he was really interested.

Today I was talking with a friend about how in life, the hard work and frustrations seem to outnumber  the beautiful, happy times.  But somehow, even thought they may be less numerous, those little moments of happiness far outweigh the rough times.

That one great hour tonight easily makes up for a day full of hard work, headaches, and chaos.  And as I peeked in to tell each of my children good night, my heart felt swollen with gratitude.  My life is full of goodness.

The End.