My Sunday

I helped Skyler practice his piano solo for sacrament meeting.
I helped Jason practice his vocal solo for sacrament meeting.
I helped Skyler practice his talk for primary.
I helped Sawyer practice his scripture for primary.
On the way out the door, Skyler threw up.
Wonderful.
I got Skyler settled in pajamas in bed.
I quickly helped Shaylin practice a piano song and talk to fill in for Skyler (which she loved).
At church, Shaylin played great.
I think that Jason also sang great, but I'm not sure because during his song Sawyer threw up so I was a little distracted.
Jason took Sawyer home.
I helped Shaylin give Skyler's talk and Sawyer's scripture.
Third hour, I taught Young Womens.
Jason taught Elder's Quorum.

We need a bigger ward.

So Macey

Macey's new word this week is "so". She uses it to be even more dramatic than usual...

"Go SO bye-bye."
"SO hold me, Mommy"
"I got SO owies!"
"SO cookies!!!"

It's SO cute.

Last Week of School

This week was very exciting because it was the last week of school. Each day had a different theme - pajama day, crazy hair day, opposite day, etc. Sky and Shay got very into it. They wore feet pajamas, huge hair and socks on their heads. It made the last week bearable.





On the last day of school the kids wore white t-shirts and let everyone in the school sign them. It was fun, except when girls kept writing "kick me" on the back of Skyler's. :) Sawyer wore his shirt to preschool to be like his big brother and sister. All of the preschool kids signed their names which was funny because they can only write them with 5-inch tall letters.

When the last bell rang on the last day, Shaylin hugged all of her friends and teacher, and got a little teary. Skyler ran down the hall waving his arms in the air yelling, "I'm out of here!". Man, that kid hates school.

Technical Difficulties

Sorry I have been slacking. We have been having some computer problems here. The problem is that Jason is hogging the computer for work, Skyler is hogging it for Nintendo cheats, and Shaylin is hogging it for Hannah Montana downloads.

Don't they know that the Mac is mine? I love it the most.

Recital

This weekend, Shaylin had her dance recital. She takes lesson from a big, fancy dance studio in a town about an hour away. It is very impressive. On Friday night the competition teams had their recital, so Shaylin and I got dressed up and went together. It was incredible. Shaylin was drooling the whole time.

Afterwards, she and I got to stay in a hotel – just the two of us. We watched movies and ate ice cream in bed. So fun!

The next morning, Shay had a dress rehearsal and then Jason and the kids drove up for her recital that night. She was adorable! She gets very nervous speaking in front of people, but when she dances, she is completely at ease. She just has a ball. It’s so fun to watch her.

I have to tell you what Macey did during the show. First of all, she thought that Shaylin was dancing in every number, so she cheered for her during every song. But after each song ended, she would starting YELLING, “More! Please! More Shay Shay. More dance! Yeah Shay!!” She had everyone around us giggling. I hope that they keep laughing when they realize that we were sitting right behind the people that were recording the DVD of the recital. Hopefully, their microphones were off between songs.

Scrapaway

Last week, I went to Scrapaway for three days with my Utah friends. It was heavenly to shop, eat chocolate, talk, scrapbook and just BE with such fun friends.

I came back ready to tackle the garden, appreciate my children and do laundry with a smile.

Very therapeutic.

Four

This week Sawyer turned four! Can you believe that? It seems like just yesterday that he was born.

He was so excited about his birthday. When he woke up, he was thrilled to see that Jason and I had decorated the kitchen with signs, crepe paper and balloons. He got ready for the day while he sang; “I am the birthday boy!” to himself over and over.

For breakfast, we had pancakes made with blue food coloring and candy sprinkles (Sawyer’s favorite) then we opened presents. He loved all of his gifts, but really all he could focus on was his new bike.

He rode that bike all day long – and not just on the sidewalks. He took it on dirt trails, bumpy hills and rocky paths (not the best terrain for training wheels). But he never cried or complained when his bike frequently tipped over, he just dove off of it and rolled. Then he jumped up grinning and said, “Did you see that? I just totally crashed!” He is so brave.

Sawyer is such a fun kid. He is strong, confident and energetic. No matter what we are doing (playing, working, hanging out, whatever), he is completely excited about it. I have never seen anyone get as much out of a day as he can.

He is also an extremely softhearted little boy. He never throws fits or loses his temper. He shares quickly and loves easily. He is mature, patient and truly kind. He amazes me.

I remember when we adopted Sawyer; we received hundreds of cards and letters from sweet friends and relatives telling us how lucky he was to come to our family. They were very touching.

But my dear friend, Courtney (who has adopted children and who helped us to find Sawyer) wrote in her card to me, “It isn’t Sawyer who is the lucky one it is you. May you always be grateful for the gift that he is in your life.”

She was right. And I am SO grateful to be blessed with such a sweet, fun, Christ-like son.