Gabe' Birthday

I'm going back  to post the things I missed because of being so busy.



***a little Justin Bieber Fan....its that age I guess!

Gabe has been to Scout camp for the last week. I am actually cheating cuz I took this shot before he left but wanted to use it today for my post. I love this guy more than I feel I can express, mostly because I am not a good writer.
I feel my boy is so brave, venturing off to Scout camp with a ward he barely knows and doesn't have a single friend to hang with. He called us the first night he got there with a migraine, of which I have now writing this out...can't sleep, anyways he was in tears because it hurts and he wants to come home....not fitting in and misses his family. We calm him down and wait for what tomorrow will bring, maybe another phone call wanting to come home and sure enough we get the call after church. He's ready to come home so we give him permission to do so with one of the leaders. Gabe then says "no, I will give it more time" "I can't quit that easy...he thinks to himself" gotta love his tenacity. I do have to say it breaks my heart to hear him having such a tough time and how he is a victim to his circumstances. I know he is capable I know he can do it but HE doesn't. How do I teach him is worth and value? I can tell him til I am blue in the face but the fact is he has to believe it himself. It hurts. I can see so much potential in this Child of God. I only hope and pray that he will see his potential soon so he can live life confidently and enjoy every moment as he ventures of to the dreaded junior high experience. Sometimes I think what did I do wrong to make him believe this but maybe its not me and he was just born this way. I'm at a loss I'm just not sure how I can teach him to believe in himself and have confidence. I love my kids more than anything and the momma bear inside of me wants to take away any pains they experience but I can't he gets to have his experiences to grow.

Asleep in my arms

Its on record that Beckam fell asleep in my arms tonight. When he was an infant he would sleep all the time in my arms and then he grew up and went mobile...no snuggling for me unless I wake him up early and steal the snuggles.

Last Day of School

We made it to the last day. It was tough but we got there. We even did homework the last month. Everyone graduated and has moved on to the next grade. Went to Gabe's 6th Grade Graduation and all Greg could think about was the scene on Incredible's

Helen: I can't believe you don't want to go to your own son's graduation.
Bob: It's not a graduation. He is moving from the 4th grade to the 5th grade.
Helen: It's a ceremony!
Bob: It's psychotic! They keep creating new ways to celebrate mediocrity.

So they made it thru the year and will be moving up to the next grade.

This is Elly and Braden's 2nd grade teacher Mr. Felt he is AWESOME and teaches with music and now she wants a guitar. One of her favorite songs they sing at singing time is Animal by Neon Trees. The bass guitarist in the band his daughter is in the class. She loves it.


Bryn and some of her friends. I let her take my camera to school the last day.

6th Grade Celebration

We prayed for SUN and it came (if you don't know its been raining sooooooooo much its like we live in Seattle)
Its Gabe's last year in Elementary school. He's moving on to bigger and better school's...Mountain Ridge Junior High here I come. I had to volunteer to do something on their 6th Grade Day of FUN!!! So I said I would do a Crazy Photo Booth. It was a hit. The night before Gabe asked if he could stay home from school. WHAT! No way. He didn't care much for it but I made him go since I was doing this last ditch effort to be one of the room mom helper's before its not needed in junior high.
Here are some of Gabe's photo booth out takes.


Here are the 6th grade teachers

And now its time to get hosed down by the fire department

Hi

This month has gone by so fast...it happens to me every May and then Gabe's Birthday creeps right up on me. Just signing to say I will get caught up with some posts about whats going on.

Dance Recital

Elly was so excited for this day to come....she wanted to show off her dancing skills to everyone I even had to text her old teacher Miss Ralstein to come... sadly, she couldn't make it.
She was still able to show off those skills to Grannie Annie, Nanna and Grandpa, Scott, Jamie, Bryn, Braden, Boden, Beckam and Me...she is so good at dancing, we loved watching her and Kate too. They both rocked it.

Pre-School Graduation

Isaac and Talin were so crazy today. Completely GOOFY. It was so fun to watch them just be "little boys" in their pre-school graduation paerformance.

Isaac says

"mom, why do you be a photographer just be a plain mom"

Its a Happy Place

Bryn was grounded today (for disrespecting family members yesterday) and Gabe woke up with a soar throat but miraculously got better...then, still chose not to go to school. They both had a few jobs to do for me. YES! I loved it. Its funny to say that it was a blessing to have them grounded we gotta a lot of work done. Later, I made a comment and wished they would be grounded more often. So then Greg chimed in to do some teasing. Lets say they may think more about the choices they are making if they don't want to do EXTRA jobs.
I loved this scene of them all getting along on the tramp. The photos also make me laugh because of the blurriness you know, the movement. I once took a shot like this with my "nice" camera and showed the shot to a friend and then she said, because it had some blur, "I thought you had a nice camera" I laughed and said thats what I wanted the shot to look like. She didn't really understand why I would "want" it like that but she just doesn't get it.

Mom's Day Gift

This is the poem I got from Elyse on Mother's Day. Love getting things that my kids make. She's come up with a few more since then. I didn't right them down and now I can't remember them. I'm gonna have to ask her again tomorrow.

And it says:
Dear Mother
Your love is like awesome,
Your eyes are so cute
May I tell you a pome
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Stop watching t.v. because you like me.

Love,
Elly

A Mother's Day

Its been an emotional day...a lot of thoughts going on in this head...need to clear them, and what a better way to clear the brain but to blog. As I think back this past month I look at all the fun things we've done and the challenges we have had before us. I truly am confused as to what the lord wants me to do. But what I do know is that I am blessed and have a wonderful family that loves me and I love them.

A Tire Swing

I found me a swing. LOVE!!!!

And catching Isaac in the act of peeing outside.

Flat Tire

It really does happen. When it rains it pours (double meaning). Just as we pulled into our soccer game the tire went completely flat. And it literally started to pour raining outside so we ran inside to play a game and then we'll figure out the stupid tire. After the game, that we won, we decided to get home (to get the right tools and some warm clothes) and come back to fix the tire for family home evening. And to get home it took 3 cars to get my big family of 7 home. Funny!
We thought it would be a great lesson to have the kids learn how to change the tire. Ummm, that didn't work as panned it was one of Greg's worse tire changes, we broke a tool, couldn't get the spare down and it was freezing cold.

After changing the tire we made our way to Macey's for ice cream. I finally got the chance to get a shot of Elyse skipping down the isle with dad. She loves to do this for her date.

Beckam

Well, he moves too much so I just might consider this as his one year photos.

This little guy makes everyone so happy. He brings a lot of JOY to our home.
A little bit of what Beckam likes:
He loves to play with his siblings, its tough when they go to school because he just doesn't know what to do with himself. It can be tough for me because he will not play with his toys he has to BE with someone. I do have to say I love it but sometimes I've got to get some work done. 
He likes his binki and bottle.
He sleeps now...thru the whole night and naps!
He's noisy...squeaks like an Eagle.
Doesn't sit still.
Will give momma some kisses but not very many and only if its funny.
I try to steal snuggles but it only lasts for a minute.
What its like to be almost ONE!

Just a note

Too many thoughts in my brain right now. I'm confused and easily provoked to crying. I mean its been going on about 2 years now. I'm so tired. I keep thinking what do I need to learn to get out of this. I am literally drained to the last drop. My testimony is shaken and I wonder. I broke today and completely lost it and left the house not a care as to who will take care of the kids I just left. Where did I go? To the temple. I'll tell ya I was pissed still and crying and whining. I'm at the end of my rope. The thought kept coming to me. Lose yourself in service...lose yourself in service...lose yourself in service and you'll forget about your financial struggles also give of what you have. But I feel like I don't have anything to give. Then thought came to me...food. What! I am alreading fighting to get food on the table for my own kids and to give it away. Okay! And as for service I'm not sure about this one. I struggle with it because of my family, my siblings have been served and I just watch how they suck the life out of people and I don't have life to give to those who suck it. Yea I am pretty bitter. But every tells me I am serving my family. I have young children...and there is a time and a season...my season isn't now because it all goes to my kids. But the thought keeps coming up. We will see what comes of it and I'll keep you updated.

So I come home and I find this cute note on my kitchen counter. My sweet visiting teaching companion was so worried about me. We went visiting teaching right in my moment of me loosing it. I couldn't help it, I cried. Of course they wanted to know but I hate telling people when I'm in the moment. I just need space. They could tell and gave it me.

****a little update from that night. I feel BETTER. Ha!! But while I was at the temple the kids were pretty worried about me. Greg had to leave and while he was gone that was when my visiting teaching companion came over she said they were all cleaning the house to make sure that mom would be happy when she gets home. SO SWEET!!!
I can't complain my companion Marilyn had 10 children had just gotten divorced was now taking care of all of her children in a 1 bedroom home living on food storage for 2 years. I couldn't imagine. WOW!

Home Made Swings

I love this photo though its blurry. I wanted it that way to show the motion the best part is that his smile is in focus. I know I'm gonna miss these days its why I capture what I can of their youth. Its another reason why I love photography because while I have a great memory I can't remember ALL the details.

I found this cute saying and had to add my own words to it and share it on my blog for this is truly what I love...being a MOM.
I love that tomorrow morning, the sun is sure to rise, and I love that if I’m lucky, I’ll find a moment to go outside and stand in it. I love that at 9 am, I’ll hear little feet pitter patting their way to the potty and then in to make sure I haven’t sleep a solitary MOMENT longer than necessary. I love that I’ll get to make breakfast, wash dishes, hold hands, make lunches and kiss boo boos. I love that at one point or another, I’m guaranteed to want to hide in the bathroom to find one tiny moment of solitude and peace. I love that there will be chaos, all kinds of glorious madness, and that I’ll have to walk a 5 year old to the naughty chair approximately seven hundred and forty-six times...k not really that many times Isaac is a good kids but it sound funny. I love that the day will stretch, pull, trample and prod at every recess of my heart and that it is likely to test my will to the breaking point. . . because all these things are evidence that life is good and that God always giveth FAR more than he taketh.

Spring Break

Just a few things we did on our spring break.



Worker Boys.
It's what they used to call Greg, his brothers and cousins when they were young. I think Gabe is passing on the legacy. Gabe just got 3,000 feet of rope. It was like Christmas. I hope it lasts him awhile. I just love what he does with it...swings, hammocks, a hut whatever he can think up.

And

Another one of Gabe's ideas. He set out to make a catapult to launch a soccer ball across the backyard. And it didn't work...boo! He'll figure it out.

We also made it to Trafalga.

One Big Playground

My backyard typically looks like a play room. It really does. They will bring out webkins, dolls, more toys, blankets, chairs and whatever they can think up. You see, I would want it....well, clean. But I let them do it with ONE rule...PICK EVERYTHING UP AND PUT IT AWAY. And, they'll do it. So, I let them have a the backyard look like a toy room. They get pretty creative.
I mean look at the slide its propped up by a bar stool coming off of the side of the tramp. I mean how white trash can it get but the kids LOVE it and so do the neighbor's. There are times we'll have up to 15 kids over at least 2 or 3 friends per kid.

Its a Hair Thing

It all started when Gabe had me cut his hair...then he styled it with a Mohawk.
Isaac likes to have one too and then said to me "I don't need you anymore I can do my own hair" ...well, Okay!
After that was said, he had to Dad's hair.
And since, I take a photo a day why not one of the boys and the cool Mohawk or Foehawk whatever you call it.

I have to add this photo too.
Week 23 of 52 | Eye

Conference Weekend

This was much needed. For the first time I have been looking forward to here what is going to be said. I think in the past I just know its going to be conference weekend and its just something I do kind of like going to church. I just do it. I am so grateful to have been edified this weekend.

Just a few shots from the weekend.


Look I'm Optimus Prime. He comes to me while I'm watching Conference...quickly I grab my camera and take a shot.
Wow what an edifying weekend. I am so blessed and I can't wait to make some of the changes I have been inspired to do.


The moment its sunny and warm the swim suits are on and the sprinkler is under the tramp.

Oh man, I can't even express to you how much I love this photo.
Its a sister moment. I didn't have a sister.


Its April Fools Day...no, I didn't pull any pranks. I didn't even think about it.

Party night with the kids minus Gabe but adding some friends. Isn't that how it goes though?!
We set up the projector pulled out the blankets popped some popcorn and had a fun relaxing Friday night.