Photographed

We did a family photo shoot last Saturday. Here is the link to the blog post. The ones of the kids are darling. I should have gotten a little more sleep the night before...

Four!

Noah shows off his birthday breakfast, pumpkin muffins complete with chocolate chips and hot chocolate.

This boy turned four today! Oh, I love this boy and his deep blue eyes. I love his buttery cheeks, his mile long lashes and his delicate little features. I love his wispy thin blond hair and his long fingers. I love his smile and those hidden dimples that only come out when he smiles just so. I love his generosity, his awareness of others and his desire to please. I just love, love, love this boy. He melts me.

Last night I was upstairs sewing Harry Potter costumes for all the cousins when my mind wandered back to the night before he was born. I had to stop what I was doing to go down, crawl into bed with him and tell him the whole story. I remember nearly every detail from the night I went into labor and the early morning when he made his very speedy entry. I remember the creak of the wood floors as I paced the hall with contractions. I remember Luke waking up and insisting that I rock him, which I did while having contractions. I recall walking into the hospital through a misty middle of the night haze. I remember the low lights in the hospital room, the peaceful intimacy of just me and Nat waiting for our baby to arrive. I remember my dear Dr. Deb coming in to deliver him. I can still recall the rush of his little body leaving mine. I will never forget the moment I locked eyes with Noah. He was peaceful and content in my arms and we connected. He was here and he was mine. He latched on to nurse and the rest is history-- our history, the story of how Noah changed our family for the better.

What an absolute marvel he is!

2006- one scratched up little newborn with a crooked nose

2007- the sweetest little one year old, as enamored with his big brother as he could have possibly been

2008- a delight of a two year old-- chatty and adorable, about to be a big brother

2009- three years old and the whole world in his hands

2010- four years old and loving preschool, his family and LEGOS!

Pumpkin Patch

Isaac and I got to accompany Noah on his preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch this week. Is there anything better than a pumpkin patch in October?

sick kids

The kids all took turns with a stomach bug last weekend. (Ashley was the only adult casualty and it certainly hit her the hardest.) Luke had a stomach bug one other time in his life, right before his second birthday and the other two hadn't ever really thrown up. Ironically, the other time in his life that Luke had the pukies was here at my mom's house.

There is something pretty tender about parenting sick children. I never like to see my children suffer but I don't mind a little slower pace, more snuggles and a really good reason to watch movies all day every once in a while. It's a good chance to slow down and focus on the essentials. It also makes me appreciate the all the bouncing as it is a sign of healthy little boys.

The boys adopted a "lay where you fall" approach. This included the stairs, the couch, the floor or whatever surface could support an exhausted kid.

Hiking

I will warn you now, this post contains a lot of pictures. The thing is, there were a lot of people on this hike. There was also a lot of nature. And, for the record, this is just a fraction of the pictures I actually took.
I love these people. All of them. I love watching them together. It's beyond description. The relationships that emerge are just delightful. Here's to memories...

Pumpkins

We have acquired our Halloween pumpkins. (They were a steal, I might add, purchased from a couple of teenagers who grew them all down at their grandfather's ranch in Southern Utah and hauled them up here to sell. I still find my jaw dropping at how inexpensive life in Utah is. Grocery shopping is fun again-- milk is, in all honesty, half-price! But, I digress.)
We got a pumpkin for every family member currently residing in this house. When we lined them up and looked at the crowd Ashley and I chuckled, commenting that it was a pretty accurate reflection of the state of things around here.

Isaac was asleep when we let to get the pumpkins and he was in a state of shock/disbelief when we came home with a van full. He couldn't stop clapping and cheering, "Pumpkins... Halloween!" He now uses them as little seats every time he escapes out the front door. Then Luke decided to delight us with his most fearsome look.

The wedding

There are a lot of advantages to being in Utah right now. One of the biggest ones was being able to participate in Rachel and Aaron's wedding. I met Rachel when we moved to Wisconsin seven (yikes!) years ago. I started working with the young women and immediately fell in love with Rachel. She is the youngest of my dear friend Karen's four children and the only girl in her family. She is level headed, considerate and grounded in the gospel. She has always been a joy. I watched her blossom in the three years that we were in Young Women together. She helped me organize a trip to Nauvoo, helped teach Emma the gospel, and was a dear and true friend to the other girls. One of the things that we all loved to do as a group was to attend Rachel's dance performances. While watching in the audience, I could see from afar her glow and her zest for life. I adore Rachel.

She and Aaron have a sweet story. They met as freshmen at BYU, two Midwestern kids (he is from Minnesota) living in the dorms. They dated and fell in love and then he left on his mission. She went on adventures abroad and continued to dance. She dated others but no one quite lived up to Aaron and they were engaged a few months after his mission. (I will admit that part of the reason that I love their story is because it is similar to mine and Nat's.) When Rachel came home talking about Aaron I had a feeling that things would end up this way.

The wedding was amazing. I was able to attend the sealing and feel of that sweet, sweet spirit. I sat next to my dear friend Rochelle, who I had served with in Madison. While in there I looked at Karen, Rachel's mom and my dear friend and thought of all the advice she had given me as a new mom and all the time I had spent scrapbooking in her basement. She is, in my mind, the ultimate authority on little boys (she had three in a row, just like I do). Then I looked across at Rachel's dad, Doug, who was bishop while I was Young Women's president. I remembered the hours that I had spent talking about the young women and their needs. I thought of all the conversations we had about the sister I visit taught. I remembered his compassion and his inspired leadership. I thought of all the ward councils I sat through while serving with these wonderful people and I was filled, to the brim, with love for this work and gratitude for the friendships that are formed while working together. Being in the temple with those you love is beyond description.


I also need to note that Rachel's dress was made by her mother, without an official pattern. The dress was just stunning. I wish I had a better shot of it. It was so Rachel and so perfect.

It was also wonderful to be at the reception and see so many dear friends from our Wisconsin era. I look back on graduate school with the most tender feelings of gratitude for the people I met, the things I learned and the lasting bonds I formed with those wonderful and dear people. I was able to spend much of the weekend with Whitney, another one of my young women. I cherish these girls, truly.

My talented sister Emily and her crew did the flowers for the reception. They were, in my opinion, amazing. The palette was subtle and stunning all at once. My mom wants to see the flowers and so the following pictures are mostly for her.


Congrats Aaron and Rachel!