Happy 6th Birthday, Janie!!

I can hardly believe this sweet girlie is 6 already! 

She is so excited today she said she may scream, she is that happy. 

Birthdays are so fun. To be honest, if I had my wish, she would have been born a week earlier. BUT, her birthday is so memorable and special to me. She was such a gift. I will never forget being in the hsopital with her on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. This time of year is even more special for me, because I get to celebrate our Savior and Janie. 

 Some things about Janie:

-She loves school. She really, really loves Mr. Greve. She wants to marry him, even though I often remind him he is married with kids. 

-She is super sensitive. She is aware of other's feelings and will cry with your or laugh with you.

-She loves pink.

-Her favorite movie is still Frozen.

-She loves her jewelry and getting dressed up. She's all girl and loves it.

-She will do almost anything to make the adults around her happy.

-Because of the above, she is very obedient. (For the most part, she is a kid, after all.)

-She does have a little sibling rivalry going on with her sisters. It must be hard to be the middle child.

 Janie is truly a great kid. We feel so, so blessed to have her in our family!!

We love you, Janie!!

Happy, happy birthday!!

Our Seven-Year Old Sami

Sami has been counting down the days.

Waiting has been so, so hard.

But it's finally here.

Her birthday!!

She is seven.

She has been telling everyone about her birthday for days.

It's been a good day.

I am filled with amazement that my Sami could be this old. How did this happen?! She was two, like, yesterday it seems.

It is such an honor for me to be her mother.

 Some fun things about Sami:

-Her favorite color is purple.

-Her favorite movies are Despicable Me and Frozen. (She got Despicable Me 2 for her birthday today and was so excited!)

-Her favorite thing about school is her friends. Then her teacher. Then recess, lunch, and gym-in that order.

-She is my most social kid, by far. Her teacher even wrote "very social!!" on her report card.

-She loves to be in charge.

-She told me yesterday, "Mom. I am getting older now. You should show me how to do stuff in the kitchen." She wants to learn how to cook. So far she has master toast.

-She is very responsible. She insists on doing her homework right after school.

-She's tries really hard to be nice. (Not always with her sisters, but I guess that makes her normal.)

-She loves junk food. She will tell you that too. She knows it's not good for her but "it tastes so good."

-She loves yard sales. She reminds me that it's time for yard sales on Sat. mornings. We were both sad when they stopped for the winter.

-She is a great whistler. This came about when she lost her two front teeth. She loves losing her teeth.

She had a hard time sleeping last night, she was so excited. She got up early (5:30 am) and came in to our room at 6:00 am to let us know that it was her big day.

When Janie got up she promptly wished her happy birthday then said, she "Yeah, you do look taller now." 

It is such an honor to be her mother. Last night I was telling her about the day she was born. It seems like yesterday. So many of the emotions were still there. I told her about the pure joy I felt the first time I held her and the many times after. Her birth taught me so, so much. 

I am so thankful for Becca, for giving me the opportunity to be the mom to such an amazing little girl. And I am thankful to Heavenly Father, for letting Sami be in our lives. 

Happy 7th Birthday, Sami!!

Vala's Pumpkin Patch (Better late than never!)

I feel like time is flying and I struggling to keep up with it. 

Sami has a countdown until her birthday which is a constant reminder that Christmas is coming. I just have to take deep breaths and eat M&Ms. 

I wanted to put in a few pictures about Vala's Pumpkin Patch. It is THE thing to do here in the Fall. Sami went there on a school field trip last year and loved it so much she asked us to take her again. We said "sure," until I saw the price. But we made sure we went this year. And even though the price is about the same as a small theme park, you actually get a small theme park there! It's pretty amazing. I can see why everyone talks about it. (If you are reading this, and you come see in October, we will take you there. It's worth the money and hype.)

 Jonathan had a unexpected morning off from work, and the girls were on Fall break, so it was the perfect way to spend a Fall morning together. (Then he had to go back to work, but hey! Beggars can't be choosers, right?)

 Lucy enjoyed feeding the goats. 

 They had really cool "shows." Mostly vegetables machines that sang songs. 

As I look at these photos, I realize how nice the weather was. 

Right now, as I am typing, it is freezing. There is snow on the ground and the wind is very cold. The garage is a life saver. 

And finally, I can't blog in November without recognizing National Adoption Awareness month. I can't express how thankful I am for adoption! It is truly miraculous and wonderful. I am so thankful that I have my Sami and Lucy (and Janie too, of course)!! I often ponder on the path our family has taken. It has been unexpected but wonderful. Hard at times too, but I wouldn't change it now for anything! Yay for adoption!!

Halloween

Halloween was super fun this year. My mom and sister came from Scottsbluff to see the girls in their school parade and to go trick-or-treating with us. 

Janie was SO excited to be in the school parade this year. She was Pocahontas. 

 Grandmas are special people. 

 Sami was Little Bo Peep. She was so cute. She had been sick a few days before and she wasn't feeling all that well on Halloween but was determined to push through for Halloween.

 Mom and I volunteered to help at the parties. Mostly just as an excuse to hang out and take pictures. 

 This is Sami's teacher, Mrs. Lombardo. Sami really likes her. 

 Janie got Mr. Greve. She loved him from afar last year and is thrilled he is her teacher this year. She covers her homework in XOs. He is a really nice teacher. 

 Lucy was Snow White. It's funny that my girls love Snow White because they have never seen Snow White, the movie. I turned it on one day and they were so scared I turned it off after five minutes. 

But Lucy made an adorable Snow White, if I do say so myself. 

 This is how Sami and Janie felt about trick-or-treating. 

 Lucy wasn't quite sure what we were doing at first, but boy, did she get into it!

 Happy Halloween 2014!!

Life

A few Saturdays ago, the weather was so beautiful. The girls wanted to go swimming in our little pool and I agreed because I knew it would probably be the last day of the year that they could do it. 

But Jonathan and I were laughing so hard when they got in because they are so big and the pool so small. They reminded me the butcher, baker, and candlestick maker in the tub (or whatever that rhyme is). They certainly weren't "swimming" but they had fun so I guess that's what counts.

Sami lost her third tooth. She actually pulled it out herself, which I thought was very brave. The tooth fairy almost forgot to come that night but remembered in the nick of time, thankfully. 

Then we had the primary sacrament program, which was very stressful. But it went well. Janie was complaining that she wasn't feeling well, and that night the flu hit hard. It lasted 8 days and she missed 6 days of school. It was so bad that I thought she may be hospitalized because she couldn't keep anything down and her tummy hurt so bad. 

Lucy had it too but it didn't seem to faze her. She kept eating. She would vomit then go back to playing. She is a tough cookie. 

While this was going on, Jonathan's mom came. I was so afraid that she would get sick too, but she didn't. She helped me and it was good to see her again. 

We are so blessed to have her as a mother, mother-in-law, and grandma. 

It's hard to see her getting older. She has some health problems and it breaks my heart. She stayed for eleven days. She is a blessing. 

On the designated "p" day in kindergarten, Janie got to dress up like a princess. She chose Belle and looked so cute. (My friend Whitney gave them these plush princess dolls for Christmas two years ago and they are still such a hit! I bought them some Frozen ones for Christmas this year. Even Lucy loves these dolls.)

And now it seems like the holiday season is upon us. 

Sami and Janie are already talking about Halloween and their upcoming birthdays. 

I am already thinking about end of the year primary stuff.

I wish there was a pause button on life. I would pause my girls where they are. They are so fun and cute. I worry about them growing up in a crazy world. But I also know that they are strong and they want to grow up. 

So let the holiday/birthday craziness begin!

Janie's Christmas Wish

Today while I was getting ready for the day, Janie came in and asked, "For Christmas this year, can I have a real, live Prince for myself?"

The answer that I told her is "No, not until after your mission." She was really good about it, just said okay, and ran off.  I was dying inside. That girl. 

Update

So much has happened lately.

We have begun the big job hunt. Jonathan finishes his fellowship this summer so it's time to interview and figure out where to settle.

I have been blessed to go to interviews with him in Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho. There is some potential in the Arizona west valley. And he has two more interviews in Nebraska coming up.

To be honest, it has been really frustrating.

All of the practices Jonathan and I have been to have had some good things about them, and also bad things. None of them feel right yet.

We will just keep praying and going forward until we feel it is right.

 

One of the blessings of interviewing in Utah is that we were able to go to the viewing of a dear friend's baby. One of my friends in the ward, and sister-in-law to my BFF, Whitney, lost her 15-month-old baby girl.

I have cried and cried, and I am even crying know as I type this. It was unexpected and is so sad.

This sweet family has been on my mind constantly. I am so thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am so thankful that families are forever.

 

As for the girls...they have been spoiled by Grandma as we have been out of town the past few weekends. I feel like they need to detox from sugar and tv. But they had a blast, and I guess that's what grandmas are for.

Sami and Janie love school. Sami comes home with so much homework, it drives me crazy. But I am thankful they are in a good school and I try not to complain too much or Sami will start complaining.

Life is good.

 



Back to School

Going back to school is hard for me. Granted, some days during the summer it felt like it couldn't come fast enough. But mostly I like having my kids around, knowing what they are doing, knowing that they are safe.

Sami was just so excited to go to first grade. After the meet the teacher night, she kept saying, "I can't believe I am in first grade!" Then she started telling Janie how she would grow up one day too. Hilarious.

I was more nervous for Sami then for Janie because Janie gets Mr. Greve, Sami's teacher from last year, and he is awesome. But I was worried that Sami wouldn't have a good teacher or that she wouldn't have a good experience. But it was needless. She LOVES first grade, even though she only gets one recess and no snacks. She is ready for the challenge.

 Janie was very nervous about starting kindergarten. She was super excited to have Mr. Greve, but she was worried about everything else. So worried she couldn't sleep the night before and she had a tummy ache before school. But she came home and said it was the best day ever! She had four recesses and snack and made tons of friends. She even got to be the line leader the first day of school.

 Once again, Lucy is sad to be left out. She was ready to run into the school too and threw a fit when I wouldn't let her. She even put her backpack on, ready to go. Poor thing, this is going to be her lot of life.

 We decided to walk to school the first day. It's only half a mile and it is easier than fight for a parking space. Sami danced and sang the whole way, she was so excited.

 I am so grateful that they are having good experiences.
Here's hoping for a great school year!

Dance Camp Recital

The girls were in a summer dance camp and had the "recital" last week.
I use the word "recital" loosely because they just danced for parents the last ten minutes of class. Jonathan was less than impressed by the dance because it just seemed like they clapped their hands a lot...and not much else. But the girls loved it and I liked that it was teaching them to follow directions in a group setting, although I would also agree that it seemed little technique was involved.

But we both agree that our girls are darling in their dance enthusiasm.

 Poor Lucy. She had to watch her sisters do all the fun things this year without her. Next year will be great for her because she will be able to go to swim, dance, and preschool. All things she believes she should be a part of now.

It's funny how I said "let's take a picture with Lucy" turned into putting their hands on Lucy's head. Oh, well. Lucy didn't mind.