Luke, Luke He's our Guy...

For those of you that don't know Luke, He is a low key-easy going- not make a big fuss- kind of guy. So just as in years passed when I have asked him what he has wanted to do for his birthday, he says the same thing "Just be with my family."

A few days before his birthday, he made a request to spend part of it with his sibling-which I'm happy to oblige since I love hanging out with Luke and his siblings. The four of them together are hilarious! We even has the pleasure of having their family friend, Lynn join in on the action. For this outing we headed to REI and followed that up with a delicious dinner at  The Training Table.  

(And True to Cade form, there he is...at least half of him. ;))

On Luke's Birthday, Briony and Milo and I headed to the local Bakery and bought enough doughnuts for him and his whole office to enjoy. Luke being born is a pretty big deal and we think his work buddies should kinda know. Plus they get a delicious apple fritter out of it.

Later that night we headed out to Ogden to take the kids bowling complete with pizza, breadsticks and as much sprite as their little bellies could hold. Oliver had been begging us to go bowling since Christmas (parent fail), so to say he was excited was an understatement. Bee and Milo had never been, however they picked it up pretty quick and oh my gosh how cute are they in their little bowling shoes???

 Later came the gifts. Luke isn't one to hand you a list of things he wants to be showered in (like me...), and so I knew that when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday he wouldn't say much. So in true {spoil the ones I love} form, I got him a manly Weber grill that I had been hiding at Amy's house for weeks. We couldn't wait to give him his presents. Amy gave him that baby bag full of grilling tools. Behind that tiny Luke smile was an excited ready to grill, Luke. We busted out the grill that same weekend and had a delicious BBQ all in honor of this man we love.

Mama day

Today started out so so good. Luke let me sleep in while he got the kids up and changed. Milo was the first one to run into my room. I pulled him up into bed with me and we snuggled and I held him close to me until he got curious about something else and wanted to get down. As he was running down the hallway, Oliver came out of his room, they hugged each other and then Oliver walked right into my room, hopped on my bed, gave me a great big hug and said " Happy Mother's Day". My favorite part about all of this is that he wasn't prompted by anyone, he did this all on his own and it was my favorite. Bee came running out of her room and when she heard me call out to her, she giggled and ran away even faster. Stinkin girl!

Luke quickly got to work in the kitchen making an incredible breakfast complete with cinnaburst French toast, sausage, eggs, hashbrowns and orange juice. It was delicious!! 

Then came the spoiling. The kids all bought me potting flowers! And Luke really surprised me with new Birkenstocks and bubble gum ice cream. Spoiled!! 

After church we went to Larry and Hollys to wish Holly a happy Mother's Day and give her a gift {chatbooks}. 

Later that day my whole family came over for dinner. We had hot dogs and hamburgers, played just dance, laughed a lot watching the kids dance, particularly Oliver and ate dessert that was cheesecake and fruit cookie cake. It was so good 

We have gifts to my mom and she loved it. I gave her some of my favorite books that I was able to find for her in Spanish {The Red Tent & Wonder} along with a Baskin Robins gift card. Simple but perfect for her. I also gave my sisters and mom a dish towel like I did for primary and had all the kids write a message on them. They were a hit. 

I loved being with my family tonight. And loved celebrating the important role of motherhood with moms and sisters. Being a mom has been the role of a lifetime and I am so grateful to my mom for raising me and always being there for me. I only hope I can be an amazing mom to my sweet children and have the close relationships with my children like I have always dream about. Sometimes it may not be easy being a mom, but man it is so worth it! 

Primary Mother's Day gifts

This year in primary, for Mother's Day, we came up with these dish towel gifts. The idea was to sew 'Mothers Day 2016' in the corner and have the children draw a picture or write a message to their moms. 

My amazing Mother in law helped with the sewing (and Milo). 

And then for two Sunday's, with the help of my counselors and secretary, we were able to get messages and pictures on those dish towels. 

With this little tag attached. The pictures and messages we so sweet. 

Side note- today in primary I taught the lesson right out of the handbook. I was torn on wether or not to do a Mother's Day lesson or to stick with what was in the manual. I decided to go with the outline in the manual and it turned out to be so sweet. I was stressing out all day thinking that I was going to be down two counselors, have to finish the Mother's Day gifts with the jr. Primary, conduct and teach Sharing time.  When I started my sharing time I noticed that I forgot the main part of my lesson-a match game for the jr primary. I was able to improvise and it turned out to go fairly well. For Sr. Primary, I knew it would go better since they need more scripture interaction. At one point when we were talking about Joseph Smith praying in the woods, I felt such a powerful confirmation that what I was teaching these children was true. I tried to hold it together and not cry, but this power was real and could not deny the power of the Holy Ghost testifying to me. I knew that what I was teaching was meant to be taught that day. I felt so much love for these primary children and expressed it to them. After we dismissed each class, I was cleaning up and I felt someone come up to me and give me a big tight hug. For a second I thought it was Oliver, but when I turned around, I saw that it was a sweet girl from Oliver's class. She didn't say anything, only gave me that hug and then left. It was so sweet and it was just what I needed to know that I was where I needed to be. That I am important in my calling and that maybe, just maybe I am making a difference in the lives of these children. Today at church was so sweet when I thought that it was going to be anything but. Even when we feel like we aren't built to be leaders, somehow it just happens along the way and you touch the lives of these children. 

Thirty-three

I turned 33 this year and I'm determined to make it an awesome year. Every time a birthday comes around I like to reflect on what makes me, me. A while back, I made a list of 100 things about myself {here}. It was hard to come up with a good list so coming up with 33 more things, was really tough. So after a lot of thought, here are 33 more things about me and what makes me tick.  Enjoy...

1️⃣I love hosting parties & get togethers-really, any excuse to party, I'm in. 

2️⃣I suck at doing hair, running, sledding & remembering movies. 

3️⃣I wish I traveled more. Someday. 

4️⃣I wouldn't trade where I grew up for any other place even though it had its sketchy neighborhood moments. 

5️⃣one of my biggest fears is not having a good relationship w/my kids when they get older. 

6️⃣I collected bazooka bubble gum comics when I was little. 

7️⃣I love vacuuming. 

8️⃣My dad gave me a teddy bear when I was little & I named him Mr. Bill after him. 

9️⃣I wrote a song with my SIL & we performed it for my sisters wedding. 

🔟I hate raw peas but love them cooked

1️⃣1️⃣I was terrified of the huge abstract painting on the main floor in the old SLC library. Anyone? Anyone?

1️⃣2️⃣Guilty pleasure-Reality TV. So guilty, I won't even tell you which ones...

1️⃣3️⃣One of the first things I do when I wake up in the morning  is make my bed. It sets the tone for the whole day. 1️⃣4️⃣My biggest fan is Luke. I'm 99% sure he's the one that loves me the most in this world..followed by Milo. 

1️⃣5️⃣I don't like cake...except for rainbow chip & an occasional carrot cake. 

1️⃣6️⃣I easily get cold. I hate it. I could even be watching a movie with a snowing scene and it makes me cold. 

1️⃣7️⃣I love reading books & listening to books on audio while I do chores. 

1️⃣8️⃣I want to learn to play the guitar. I tried to self teach myself but that's another thing I suck at. 

1️⃣9️⃣I dream of having a home with a usable fireplace. 

2️⃣0️⃣The ocean & the animals in the ocean terrify me. 

2️⃣1️⃣I'm a horrible morning person. If I can help it, I prefer not to talk or be talked to for the first hour of my day. 

2️⃣2️⃣I hate the word epic, what-not, & combination words like chillax & guesstimate. I cringe inside every time I hear those words being used. 

2️⃣3️⃣I have strange music quirks. Just to name a few. I hate it when a song ends by fading out, I only can listen to country music in the Spring & I love octave changes. 

2️⃣4️⃣I have to sleep closest to the door at all times. I think it's a weird subconscious way of being able to get to my kids faster if needed. 

2️⃣5️⃣I wish I were more out doorsy. 

2️⃣6️⃣Luke & I used to have Halo video game parties with our friends before we had kids...when we were just kids ourselves. 

2️⃣7️⃣I love the smell of coffee & cigarettes. That's right. Go ahead, Judge away. 

2️⃣8️⃣On the first day of 4th grade, I was bit right in the calf by a stupid little black dog. I was more sad that he bit right through my new black stretch pants than the bite mark and scar it left. 

2️⃣9️⃣My appendix burst when I was 9 and I spent two weeks at LDS Hospital so the infection could drain. I never got stitches in my three inch incision and my sister passed out when she saw the incision get cleaned out once. 

3️⃣0️⃣Our tiny 500 sq ft apartment from 05-07 with Luke was our favorite place we lived together. 

3️⃣1️⃣I wanted to grown up to be a teacher when I was little. Now, I can't imagine doing that day in and day out. How exhausting! 

3️⃣2️⃣I am a germaphobe. Peoples germs gross me out like a lot, but I try not to be too obvious about it. 

3️⃣3️⃣Growing up, not a day went by that my parents didn't verbally express that they loved us. I will always be grateful for that and I now make sure to do the same for my Kids.

I had a Birthday

Well, another year has come and gone and I don't know what I have to show for my past year-year 32. It wasn't an awesome year, it wasn't bad either, it was just a year. I had pretty great moments like going on trips with my family and friends, but I feel like I could have done more. Was it a year wasted? I gained more weight, I didn't get a ton accomplished on my never ending home projects, but I was happy and happiness has to account for something. Right? 

So this morning I woke up thinking that I am going to strive to make year 33 better. Do more, be more, see more and maybe weigh less. 😊

First thing was first. I hadn't been on my bike this year and so we got the threesome together to go for a stroll. 23 miles later and I was spent and already felt the soreness setting in. Can anyone say vagagony!?! Ouch! 😩 But it really did feel so good to get out and ride. I felt more comfortable on the bike this time and I love being with these ladies. Kim always has the best stores and Amy is always fun to be with. 

 

Thirty-three! Yeah! 

Amy and I only had about 15 minutes to clean up and head out to have lunch with our husbands. Crown Burger was fantastic, everyone was in good spirits and this was exactly what I had in mind for my birthday lunch. 

Later that night we had dinner with the Jensens-carne asada, refried beans, guacamole dip, tortillas and sangria. It was delicious. After much discussion, we settled on watching the movie 'Faults'. It was weird, but entertaining. I realized that this was the third year in a row where we have spent my birthday night at Trent and Amy's watching a movie and it was perfect. 

My friends any family were so kind mans generous with the gifts they gave me. My friends the Maudsleys know me so well and gave me the cutest bag of goodies of my favorite things. My friend Camila gave me a fancy bar of soap (I love fancy soaps) and a magical dish cloth (perhaps a post of my favorite new things later). Luke bought me a new running watch and I can't wait to break it in. My mom came by and brought me an ice cold can of coke and gave me some spending money. My other friend, Lisa brought me the cutest little succulent plant for which I have found a new home for on my favorite shelf in my living room. Amy gave me a PMD which is something I've been wanting for months. I was so surprised. I was also sent numerous text, face book messages and comments of well wishes for my birthday. Funny how those little greeting make a big difference and make you feel so important. 

And there it is. The first day of my 33rd year. It's going to be a good one as long as I keep working at it.