She’s Singing Again

Ah, never a dull moment.  Love her crazy singing.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

This one of Ambree’s favorite songs.  She will randomly burst out this tune, even long after Christmas.  My favorite is when I can hear her start singing it when she’s using the potty!  Haha.

Wheels on the Bus

Oh this girl.  Always entertaining and bringing laughter into our home.  She’s 3.5 yrs old in this video.

Family Mealtime

 I felt such joy this evening as I took a mental snapshot into my memory of the scene around me.  We were all gathered at the dinner table.  Trevor was home in time for dinner.  Raelyn was having her usual difficulty and complaining about the meal, even one that she has enjoyed previously.  She asked me to tell her something funny about when I was little.  I told her I would tell her something after she took a bite.  With each little tidbit of childhood memories shared, she took a bite.  We all giggled and the girls kept begging for more stories or special things about them when they were a baby.

I looked around the table, realizing there wasn’t a more perfect place I wanted to be than right there with them.  Looking at these creations that Trevor and I have brought to life and have raised, gave me such joy.  It was amazing.  Story after story was told and Rae ended up eating half her meal without anymore difficulty.

During a pause in the conversation, I pointed out to the girls that this is the type of feeling and conversation Trevor and I have been wanting to share with them at each family meal.  That’s why family mealtimes are so special and can be so enjoyable.  I wanted to have them recognize this, that this is possible.  At least, it’s possible when the meal isn’t filled with complaints and tears about the food.

The next moment Rae said,”Oh!  If you would have just told me about this before, then I wouldn’t complain about dinner.”

We smiled and said,”We have, many times.”

Easter Egg Hunt with Friends

Our friend, Tia Webster, hosted an Easter egg hunt in her yard.  We all brought filled eggs to share and hide.  It was a nice and simple activity on a beautiful day, with lots of time to chat amongst the moms while kids played and snacked on candy.

Ambree, with two of her church buddies, Easton and Marcus.

My gorgeous friend Leah, with her beautiful little girl, Brynlee.

Adorable little Lucy Ryerse.

Brynlee, Emma Ryerse, Rae and Ambree, sharing and swapping candy.

Maverick being silly with his cousin and friend.

And another shot of the adorable baby Brynlee.

I just realized that I never got a picture of the hostess, Tia.  Thanks again Tia for hosting a fun day!

Brynlee’s 3rd Grade Concert

Look!  Brynlee has glasses now!  I was the same age when I started wearing glasses.  We picked up her glasses the day before her concert, just in time for her to see us in the audience.  She’s standing next to Spencer Voigtlaender, a boy from both her church and school class.

She’s a great performer, really gets into the song and sings with all that is in her.  Trevor and I think she’d be great in theater.  She really hates performing solo or getting up in front of people when she’s herself.  She’s fabulous, however, when she’s pretending to be/do something else.

This past year in Primary, has been the first time that she started raising her hand to participate or answer a question when called upon.  Let me clarify, she’s not shy.  She’s full of information to share to anyone that will listen, anytime.  For some reason, she would just close up in certain environments, like Primary.  She won’t give a talk or say a prayer in Primary yet, but I think she will  have the desire to do so by the end the year.

She will not participate in the yearly Primary Program during sacrament meeting.  She’s usually in tears and won’t leave the pew.  This past October, however, she surprised us by getting up to sing with the children and almost got up when her part was next.  We considered it a success!  No amount of talking/reasoning/negotiating that we offered would alter her mind.  She changed and tried when she wanted to.

Can you imagine our utter shock when she asked Trevor to join her on the stand during testimony meeting two months ago?!  He bore his testimony first, while she hid behind his back.  After he finished, she took her turn at the microphone, while holding onto Daddy’s hand.  She bore her testimony for the first time and my tears could not be stopped.  The part of her testimony that I remember the most was that she said,”I know that anyone who wants to, can be baptized and become a member of the church.”

We weren’t the only ones in shock over her valiant effort to bear her testimony in front of the congregation that Sunday.  Her Activity Day Leader and her Primary teacher both cried happy tears, knowing how much this meant to see Brynlee up on the stand.  They both have had to work through Brynlee’s certain shyness and unwillingness to participate in group settings.  They triumphed with her.  They excitedly approached me after the meeting to ask what had come over Brynlee to do that!  Brynlee surprised us again by bearing her testimony the following month too.

As we’ve watch her struggle these past years, our joy and pride in Brynlee is even more exquisite and deep with each and every effort or performance she is now willing to participate in.  She’s going to continue to do great things, in her own time.

Video from Brynlee’s 3rd Grade Concert

Daddy Daughter Valentine Dance

Trevor took the oldest girls on a date.  He bought each of his dates, a pretty rose displayed in a delicate swan vase.  They were thrilled.  I was having a pretty sick night (morning sickness), but I managed to get their hair done.

They had a wonderful time and came home with some prizes that Brynlee had received from winning the raffle drawing!  She got a lotion/perfume set and a restaurant gift certificate.

I was most in awe that Trevor found out about this local community dance from a patient of his.  He then took the initiative to find out where and buy the tickets for it.  Even after a long and tiring week, he still wanted to go when the night came.

Now, this is not common for him.  He’s a pretty chill guy who likes to just be at home.  He doesn’t like crowds or busy, noisy places.  He doesn’t normally go out of his way to plan activities or dates because he really is just happy to be home with his family.  It’s his favorite place.  He will go and do fun things/dates but I am the one that usually sets it up, finds out the info and plans the date.  I’m the one that most often says,“let’s go somewhere and do something fun.”  Thus, he really surprised me with this evening.  He loves his girls so much and wanted to create a great evening with them.

Talking with Daddy

Pretend cell phones make for silly conversations between little girls and their Daddies.

Baby Dinner

We planned a special dinner for the girls.  I had them stay downstairs while I set the table.  We had milk bottles to drink, baby carrots, baby applesauce in a jar, and baby sandwiches.  Hmmm.

The girls were surprised, but mostly confused.

Brynlee thought it would be fun to play with the baby bottle.

We kept asking them,”Why are we having a dinner like this, with all this baby stuff?”  They had no clue.  Finally, after a few hints, Brynlee was the first to guess!  We are expecting baby #4 in late September!  Squealing and giggling followed thereafter.  It was so fun.