Mother's Day

May 13 - I had a wonderful Mother's Day!  This was one of those times that I wished I would have done better about writing things down sooner, because I remember thinking how great a day it was and that my kids were so sweet and made it so perfect, but now I don't remember the specifics.  I guess it is enough to just remember it was a special day.  It was simple, but it was so great and reminded me of why I love being a mom so much!  My cute kids couldn't wait to give me breakfast in bed.  The problem was we had early church so I needed to hurry, but I showered while they got breakfast ready and then ate my breakfast in bed.  They are so insistent on that!  I wasn't ready for Bronson to go to church yet, but I didn't want to miss the kids singing, so I went to Sacrament Meeting and it was great.  I wasn't feeling fabulous yet, but it was nice to see friends and get dressed up a little and I loved watching my cute kids sing to me.  Such a great highlight of the day!  Then I went home and took a little nap with Bronson for the next 2 hours and then they came home with lots of good stuff for me.  They were so excited to show me.  I loved it!

These were the flowers from my fabulous hubby.  He always picks out the best flowers for me!  

Logan, just because!  I love how sweet this boy is and how kind and what a great big brother he is to all his siblings.  He is the perfect oldest child to have in our home. 

 Logan brought me home a cupcake from primary!  It was delicious!  

                                    

Rylee made me these cards.  She made the pink one at our house that morning and the other one at Primary. She loves to make cards for people.  I love how thoughtful Rylee is and that she is my little artist. 

                                                    

My sweet little Avery couldn't wait to give me this flower.  She had the biggest smile on her face when she gave it to me and was so proud.  I loved it!  And her! She is getting to be so big and thinks she is as big as everyone else.  She is at one of my favorite stages and listening to her talk just makes me smile.  I wish I could bottle up that sweet little voice forever! 

And just because there are pictures of all the other kids with me, here is one of my sweet little Bronson.  Having another new baby in the house is a great Mother's Day gift! 

Me and my wonderful kids.  They are my everything and I am so glad they made me their mom!

Oh...pictures with 4 kids.  You get some interesting pictures.  

I love Avery's face in this one.  She is a girl of MANY expressions!

Another funny Avery picture

I love my little rugrats!

After being spoiled by all my fabulous gifts, it was time to head to Grandma's house for dinner.  We love family dinners!   

Cousins chowing down at the bar - Ethan, Logan, Avery and Rylee

The best part of the dinner was that EVERYONE was able to be there!  Even....

 

UNCLE JEFF!!!   We were able to talk to him for the first time since he left on his mission since Mother's Day is one of the 2 days he is allowed to call home.  It was so nice because he was able to Skype so we talked to him for 2 1/2 hours!  We each got plenty of turns and we hooked up the computer to the tv so everyone could see him It was so which  nice to not worry about the long distance bill.  And we got to see his cute face!  The kids were SO excited when he popped up on the TV.  They were all waving at the tv and didn't understand that he could only see them if they were standing in front of the computer.  It was a bit confusing. 

Not sure about the fake glasses.  

Talking to Uncle Jeff.

My Dad and Rylee

Jeff had to tell Darren a funny story.  It was something about how he had become a REAL "official" missionary.  It was a pretty funny experience, but I'll spare you the details... 

My kids were always right by the computer with everyone that was chatting.  They couldn't get enough of seeing their Uncle Jeff. 

Grandma's turn

Without the fake glasses

Time to say goodbye!  It was a little hard to say goodbye, but the kids were excited to know that we get to do this again on Christmas.  And, after 2 1/2 hours, we didn't have a whole lot more to say.  I think we all just liked seeing his face up on the screen. 

So, like I said, it was nothing spectacular, but it was special.  I don't always feel like I do all the things that I would like to do as a Mom, but I am so grateful that I have the opportunity and that these special kids teach me so much and love me even when I am not the best mom.  I don't know what I would do without these guys to give me hugs and kisses and tell me funny jokes and stories and just to love.  Even when it is hard, I just love being their mom! 

Saying Goodbye

Jan 10, 2011 - After Christmas, Uncle Jeff was trying to squeeze in just about every activity you can imagine before he left on his mission. That included going snowboarding and he ended up breaking his arm! There was some question as to if he could leave as planned on January 11th and the answer seemed to keep changing. The Dr seemed to think he would be able to leave without a problem, so he kept to his original plan and went to the Bountiful Temple on January 5th. That weekend, he heard that he would probably be delayed a week, and possibly two since he still needed to have an x-ray done, so we put the plans on hold. Then, on Monday afternoon (Jan 9th), only TWO days before he was scheduled to leave, he finally got a phone call that cleared him to go on the 11th as planned! I think it was a huge relief for everyone, but also caused some stress to get everything ready to go. So, we rushed down to Layton to spend the night before he left with him.

The night before he left, we had a family dinner at Famous Dave's.
The fam The other side of the table... We are too big to fit into one shot! And Aaron came with us, too. He is pretty much family! Aaron is one of Jeff's very best friends and has been for a long time. My kids call him Uncle Aaron. He has the funniest laugh ever! Grandpa helping Logan with his word search.
Avery LOVES her corn on the cob!
Jeff and Princess Rylee - I don't think Jeff ate anything! He said he was too nervous. My mom gave Rylee this tiara and she insisted on wearing it to dinner. And everywhere else until it broke! Our soon-to-be Elder

After dinner, we hurried to the Stake Center and were able to see Jeff get set apart. It was really emotional for all of us, but he was given a great blessing and was able to share his testimony with everyone there. (Our whole family was able to be there, along with Aaron, Grandma's, and Bishop and Sister Butts.) We were all in tears! I never realized how hard this was going to be, but I was so proud of my cute little brother, too. We took a few pictures after the setting apart because we were going to go home for the night. But, being the baby that I am, I couldn't leave. I had to stay and see him off the next morning. So, we took some pics with Uncle Jeff and then ended up having a sleepover at Grandma's. The kids were happy to see Jeff a little longer, and it made me feel better to be helping and be there to see him off. I was a mess! Jeff and Logan
Jeff and Rylee
Jeff and Avery - After his setting apart, some of Jeff's friends came over to say good-bye and stayed until pretty late. He has some great friends who he will really miss! We all had some good laughs!
The next morning, it was time to get packing!!! We had to figure out a way to get everything into those suitcases and make sure he didn't forget anything important. We made it a team effort!
Because of all the confusion over when Jeff was going to leave, my mom didn't ever have professional pictures done. With his broken arm and his wisdom teeth and all the delays, we never knew what was going on. So, I took a few the morning he was going to leave. They aren't professional, but a few turned out pretty good.
I said this one was my "field is white and ready to harvest" picture. Everyone made fun of me! I'm a nerd... I know!
Our handsome elder ready to hit the field!!!

Then it was time for a few (or a lot) more pictures and to say good-bye to Elder Boman since not all of us could travel to the MTC. It was hard to say good-bye but we know he is doing the right thing and in the right place! Our family with Elder Uncle JeffMy kids each have a really special relationship with their Uncle Jeff. I think that is the biggest reason it was so hard for me to see him go. They will be so big when he comes home. I am so glad they can write to him and the he is able to write to them as well. They are sure going to miss their Uncle Jeff! He is such a great Uncle!!! They will love writing him letters and they pray for him every night. They are so proud of him and we are grateful for his example!Jeff and Princess Rylee - He is so sweet with her! He will play Princesses and Dressup and totally spoils her.
Jeff and Avery - Avery doesn't really love just anyone. She takes a while to warm up to people. But, she does LOVE her Uncle Jeff. He can make her laugh more than just about anyone.
Uncle Jeff and Logan - They are good buddies and they love to talk and play sports together. Logan pretty much believes whatever Jeff says and loves all the teams that Jeff loves.
My little brother and me - He is an ELDER and a good 4 inches taller than me now! But, I was about 12 when he was born and it is so hard for me to see him go. A part of me feels like I helped raise him because I have seen him grow up so much. I don't know what I will do when my boys leave on missions...
Jeff and Darren - I am so glad that Darren served a mission and had such a good relationship with Jeff. He helped him so much over the last couple of months. He gave him lots of advice and encouragement and I know Jeff looks up to him a lot.
Jeff with Grandma and GrandpaThe brothers- Dean, Jeff, Brad and Kyle - These are some of the best uncles ever! My kids are so lucky!
Jeff with Heather and Ethan
Jeff and Logan being silly
Avery telling Uncle Jeff a story
Hugs good-bye
We had to head home to get Logan to school and Darren had to work in the afternoon, so we left and the rest of the bunch headed to the MTC. Here are all my cute brothers at the Provo Temple before dropping him off.
And here is our Elder at the MTC, officially starting his mission!!! Cute Rylee wrote this in her journal when we got home after seeing Jeff off. I thought it was just about the cutest thing ever! I copied it and sent it to him, too. It says, " Jan 13, 12 (with lots of backwards numbers...) i WANT MY UNCLe to Be A GOOD MissiONARY. i WANt HIM to Be SAfe oN HiS MissioN. I SAY PRAYERS FoR HiM."
The picture is her and him. I love the spiky hair that she makes for boys and the sideburns and the large ears...

I really had a hard time seeing Jeff go. I didn't expect to be so emotional! Jeff has been around our house so much over the last six months and is so close to my kids. He hasn't been going to school or working very much, so he would come and hang out a lot. I could call him for favors all the time and he would make the hour drive just to help us out. He is so much my "little brother" that it is so hard to see him grown up and let him go. He was only about 9 when Darren and I got married, so he has changed so much and it is so different than when my other brother left who is closer to my age. When Dean left, all my friends were also leaving and coming home and I didn't have kids yet that I worried about missing their uncle. And I was planning my wedding and pretty preoccupied. I was sad and missed him, but it was just different. I am mostly sad for my kids and for the things that Jeff will miss... like their birthdays and Logan's baptism and things like that. But, I know that he is doing the right thing and I am so grateful that he is setting that example for them. Logan talks about being a missionary all the time now. Writing letters and sending him packages has been so fun and they all say the sweetest prayers for him! We love our Uncle Elder Boman! And we are counting down the months until he comes home!