Happy Easter!

Today after church I sat in the car with all the kids all strapped in, mostly just thankful we got through church and everyone was now safely strapped into car seats, what I mean is that I was done chasing! We were waiting for Aaron to get set apart as a counselor in the Elder's Quorum Presidency, I just counted, this is the 8th presidency he's been in! Anyway, as I sat there I watched this darling little family that had just blessed their baby on Easter Sunday taking all these family pictures. They had two little girls in beautiful dresses that actually looked at the camera and smiled at the right time! They were a cute little family, so I thought, wow, why don't we take a cute family picture on Easter Sunday?

Well, it's a trade off after church what is most crucial: changing your clothes or getting something to eat....so, I knew I had to act fast, as Luke had already starting the changing clothes process on his own! We got the kids sitting down & Aaron broke out in songs to get all the smiles, so of course they all looked at him instead of me, but whatever!


That was cute, sort of everyone looking, so let's try some more!



Nope, the moment is over, we're done, time to eat!

Big Brother Bear

All of the children are absolutely darling with Luke (well, not really Ezra, but someday! :). Julia has a special relationship with Luke and he connects with her because she is so nurturing and loving with him and he feels it. Adam is adorable with Luke because he always wants to help & is so faithful in his prayers every day that "Luke will learn how to talk" & "Luke will know that we love him", etc. Adam is sincerely one of the most willing spirits I know. And even though Ezra and Luke don't get along, Ezra is so cute about bringing us Luke's processors when he takes them off. He knows just what to do!

Jack has always reminded me of a bear, from the time he was a newborn. When he was just a baby he was a chubby little cubby bear and he has remained a teddy bear (I don't think he would like that description, but it's true!). Luke is sharing a room with Jack and Jack is wonderful at living up to the big brother bear role. He will sit right next to Luke while they both look at books because he knows that Luke likes having someone right, snug by him while he's sitting. When Luke runs, he wants to run & he especially prefers if he feels like someone is playing chase with him. So, Jack will run around the backyard with Luke over and over again yelling "aahhh" like he's going to catch up with Luke as Luke laughs hysterically at this game.

I went to Jack's parent teacher conference after Jack had only been in school for a few days & his teacher just gushed about him and told me a story that made me so happy, but didn't really surprise me. She said that she was explaining to Jack that a little boy comes into their class in the afternoons with a service dog and she started to say to Jack that he might not act the way you would expect a 3rd grader to act and Jack held out his hand in a stopping gesture and said, "You don't have to explain, I have a really neat little brother named Luke that has special needs, I get it." There are many days still that this story would make me burst into tears because I still believe that Luke will progress out of several of his needs. But, I absolutely love that Jack sooo gets it.

Things with Luke have been really difficult and emotionally challenging lately, but I absolutely love that child so much and I am so thankful that I, along with Aaron and our children feel the magnitude of Luke's spirit on a daily basis.

I have been really struck lately with the lessons that the children are learning from all of this. Among those, I am so thankful that Jack is rising to the challenge of being that big brother bear!

Big Changes

There has been A LOT that has gone on in our family since my last post, forever ago!
We have moved to Denver, Highlands Ranch to be exact & we are loving it so far. It was a lot harder to leave Smithfield than I thought it would be, but we felt really good about the move. Aaron accepted the position of Manager of Distribution Services at Agrium's corp. offices in Denver. He is really excited about this new position & we are both thrilled about the change in commute time!
So, I am just learning how to use the camera on the iPhone (I'm always sooo behind everyone else with tech stuff, even my children!). So most of the pictures are blurry & I'm still trying to figure out which Instragram filters work best---it's fun to play with, but I have a lot of learning to do!

Getting the house all packed up!



Shuttle bus from our Smithfield home to the airport!

Ezra livin' it up with room service ice cream!

Julia, Jack & Adam going over basketball cards, like they always do!
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A week of watching basketball in the hotel, eating out & realizing how nice the extra space of a suburban is! But, by the end of the week we were all ready to get into our house, get back to our normal car, etc.

Of course it only took Luke a day to do what was stressing me out the most! Don't worry though, Aaron reinforced it really well!


It was hilarious to me that the second we walked into the Apple store the kids knew just what to do! It was fun to go see the temple and we're happy that we are only about 10 minutes away---or, should I say, where Jimmer is getting married!

The best of all for me was getting the fence installed and gates locked! The kids have wanted to eat outside almost every day--love this picture of them!

We feel very blessed with this move, it is a big change for us, but we love all the opportunities to grow and experience new things. Julia, Jack & Adam really like their new school and we are getting Luke's home program up and going in the next few weeks. We aren't quite settled in our home yet, but love it already!
I am so thankful for everyone that helped us with this transition---so many thanks to my mom and dad & aaron's parents, to people in our last ward & new people in our ward now that have been so welcoming, to my dear friend Heather coming the last couple of days that we were in our Smithfield home while Aaron was out of town and helping with my children and cleaning out my fridge (that's true friendship! :) All of my sisters and brother & Aaron's sisters and brothers---thank you all sooo much for all the support!

We are looking forward to making this home for a while & I'm so thankful that all the promptings and guidance we felt in selecting this home, ward, school have be reaffirmed with assurances since we've moved in.
Much more to come.....

Round Three

Adam is now officially in Kindergarten! Adam is such a joy----he is the child that runs and jumps into your arms when you walk into the door, the one that if you ask him to do something he either says, "ok mommy!" or "mom, i just want to relax", but they are both in such an adorable voice I almost don't care! He's the boy that can make a crying baby start laughing and loves to color, make things (such as the "camping beanbags" he made for everyone in the family that included rocks, grass, etc. in ziploc bags, personalized with different colors of paper inside for each person!). Adam has the best laugh---oh, I just love this 5 year old sooo much!

Round Two

Luke had his first day back at preschool today and did great. He ran right in with a smile ear to ear, jumped around the squares on the floor and then got right to work! It's so fun to see him know just what to do there.

And in other news, this little guy has found his new favorite spot to be, as in: don't put me down!

Round One

I have so much summer to still post---it's on my never ending to do list! Julia and Jack started school today, then next week Luke starts preschool again and Adam in Kindergarten. Wow, that leaves just me and Ezra for a couple of hours everyday---the options seem endless!

Here are the darling and dashing Julia & Jack:



I should mention it's near impossible to get a natural smile out of Jack, he's got an upper lip thing going on. So, then I tell them put your arm around each other and Julia squeals, "Mom, this isn't working out!"


I finally just ask Jack to not smile. Then one last shot & oh yes he brings a ball to school everyday and bounced it the whole walk home! Then he was so done with pictures!



But, that Julia is always up for one more smile!

Adam met with his teacher today for his assessment and I was giving him all this advice, "Use good manners, speak loud and clear enough", etc. and Jack pipes up and says, "And slick your hair". I think Adam has the hair slick down---cute boy!

Ezra

Who knew Macaroni & Chesse could be so fun?!