Happy Birthday, Keith!

 We celebrated Keith's birthday last week.  I can hardly believe we have 2 teenagers now! We made pumpkin pie for his birthday.  Guess who forgot to buy candles...

 The nice this about having a big family is we have a built in party...and we get to party ALOT!

 Jacob was insistant that it was his birthday.  He let us, and Keith, know about this every time Keith opened a present.

 On Saturday, we celebrated with Keith's grandpa who has a birthday on Halloween.  This time he got an actual birthday cake candle.  (Even if it was a "7")

Keith's cousins were there to celebrate as well.  LaMonte's brother Randy and his family just moved back from Utah.  It was so good to see them again!

Puppy Love!

 

Here they are!  All 20 puppies!  What a crazy, fun time this has been for our family!  This has been a good experience for the boys.  Jason and Keith have had to work really hard.  Keith spent hours working with them, even when he was home sick.  What a great opportunity this has been for them to learn dedication and responsibility.

Jacob has learned to be so sweet with the puppies.  He calls them his "baby puppies."

 Here's Ben with the whole crew of Scarlett's puppies.

 

 Kevin loves the puppies as well.  He is not so soft, but it goes both ways...

 David and Ben enjoying the puppies.

 The puppies have been especially fun for Sarah.  She almost always has one wrapped in a blanket, nestled on her shoulder, or cradled in her arms.  She talks to them and sings to them.  I love it!

School, Ballet, and Kevin

What a busy, wonderful season of life!  I have loved having Rebecca and Sarah home this year!  They both have been blossoming into such beautiful, talented girls!  Rebecca is completing her sixth grade year through an online public school named Connections Academy.  It has been very difficult, but she has stuck it out!  I am amazed by her ability to calmly and consistently persevere through the challenges of it.  She has a calming influence in our home that helps all of us!  Sarah is in ballet at Turning Pointe ballet studio. 

 She absolutely loves to dance!  She also loves to sing.  She will often sing what she is thinking or feeling.  She has a pretty amazing vocabulary and grasp of words and their meaning.  She is very passionate!

Kevin is growing up so quickly!  He is starting to walk now.  I lost my camera for a few weeks, so I will try to get some updated pictures of him.

More PUPPIES!

Last Wednesday Polly had a litter of goldendoodles.  Ten more!!!  For those who are counting...that is twenty puppies!  Our house is starting to smell kind of funny *grin* but we are having so much fun!  I suppose we should count it a blessing that they had their puppies together.  We will be all about puppies for a couple of months, then be free for the holidays!

 Here they are right after they were born.

Mama is tired!  She was amazing.  It is incredible to watch her natural instincts.  She knows just what to do to take care of her little ones.  They seem to know just what to do as well...immediately crawling towards her to nurse.

I took this picture yesterday...they were 5 days old.  They are beautiful puppies!  Their coats have an amazing shine!

Potty training and FHE

Yesterday I bought a potty chair for Jacob. The potty tells him a story and cheers for him as he sits on it. He loves it! He spent the afternoon sitting on his potty in the family room. It was nearly impossible to get him to the table for dinner. After dinner we asked everyone to sit on the couches for family home evening.

 

We all get quite a kick out of our Jacob!

  For the missionary skill, Sarah told us all the story of Jonah.  She did an excellent job remembering and retelling the story!

Happy Birthday, LaMonte!

Yeserday was Lamonte's birthday. The kids had a lot of fun decorating the house for him. We had mini-meatloafs and mashed potatoes for dinner. The we watched "The Ulimate Gift," a movie he really likes. We topped off the evening with birthday cake. We are all so blessed to have LaMonte as husband and father in our family. He is such a good man! He loves us all and works so hard to take care of us. Yesterday he gave a talk in church. He talked about he imporance of being a righteous father or parent. He did an outstanding job! I had lots of people, including the bishop, go on and on about his talk. Lots of people told me it was just what they needed. He had five people ask him to email him a copy. What a great man!

Growing puppies

Our puppies will be two weeks old tomorrow. They are growing so quickly. They have been a lot of fun for our family!

Fishing

Last Saturday, Keith and David went fishing at the lake behind our house. It was a beautiful morning! I really enjoyed the time with my boys! I felt so grateful again to be living here. What a blessing to have an opportunity like this so close. David caught a catfish. David and I found a little cove that seems to be teaming with fish. We will have to go back, soon.

Happy Birthday, Rebecca!

We celebrated Rebecca's 11th birthday on August 29th. We started celebrating early with cinnamon rolls for breakfast. LaMonte had the day off because he had jury duty. He took her out to pick out a new bike for her birthday. For lunch, we went out to a bakery together with some of my friends. In the evening, we had a family party and went on a bike ride. Rebecca is such a joy in my life. I feel like she is an angel sent to bless our family and make me look like a good mom. She is patient, kind, and helpful. It is interesting...and even a little threatening at times...to watch your child develop talents and strengths beyond your own. Sometimes I can be a little more snippy with her than I need to be. Not sure why that is... I love my sweet, Rebecca. I am so proud of the fine young woman she is becoming! I often worry that at times I am holding her back. I don't know. Maybe it is the pure goodness in her that makes my own weaknesses feel so much bigger. Whatever the case, I love her dearly! In many ways, I want to be more like her. This year she decided to homeschool. Technically, she is doing online public school. I am grateful to have the extra time with her. When I was in high school, my mom was my best friend. She wasn't just an authority figure in my life. I loved spending time with her. I trusted her advice. I hope that I will be able to develop that type of relationship with Rebecca this year!

Special Time with Sarah

I have to admit.  Today was a little overwhelming...or maybe a lot.  Lots of great things happened, but I kind of felt like one of those guys who is walking across hot coals.  I kept thinking about the next goal, the next target, the next deadline.  By evening, I was exhausted!  However, I had promised Sarah it would be her "special time" so after family scriptures and prayer we headed out to Yogurt Story.  The tension drained as I spent time with my little girl.  I savored watching her excitement as she sampled the various yogurt flavors.  I enjoyed listening to her thoughts and questions.  "Have you ever been scared?"  "Do you know the Queen of Narnia?"  "Have you ever had a rash in your mouth?"  "Do you think it is easier to talk when you have the hiccups or when you don't?"  "I would rather hiccup than cough because then you don't get all that goo in your nose." She wrapped her little fingers around mine as we walked back to the car.  My heart swelled to overflowing as I listened to her precious little voice continue on.  Suddenly I realized--This is it! In such a simple moment, the weight of the world lifted and I felt a glimpse of eternity.  There is no honor, no accomplishment, no task, or award that could bring such a sense of inner peace and joy.  I silently sobbed with gratitude as we drove home.  Sarah could not have heard, but she must have sensed something.  She said, "You know what, Mom?  Earlier today I could tell you were tired.  Jesus told me to clean up the mess Jacob made."  (He had thrown handfuls of powdered sugar EVERYWHERE.  Sarah had cleaned it all up while I was helping one of the other kids with their piano.)  How grateful I am for a beautiful life and for the plan of God that allows us to experience the joy of heaven while we are here on earth.

Puppies!!!

Scarlett had her first litter of goldendoodles yesterday!  She had been restless all day.  At about 4:00 in the afternoon I heard her yelp and heard little squeaks.  Sure enough, she had two little puppies in her whelping box!  It was a whole family affair.  Our kids watched in amazement, excitement, and pure disgust. 

Here she is after the first two were born.  I could totally relate to how she was feeling!

Here is Jason with Scarlett near the end.  He was awesome with her!  He went back and forth from saying it was the most excited he had ever been and he felt like he needed to throw up.  She had her puppies in a whelping box made by Jason and Keith.  We are keeping her in our garage with the door open to the laundry room and a baby gate safely anchored in the doorway to keep out curious little kids.  Dewey, the dad, was also very attentive.  He kept whimpering and trying to get to her whenever she would yelp.  He was very anxious about the whole thing.  We let him watch, but didn't let him in with her...just in case.

 At dinner last night, David said, "Now I know why we are supposed to be so nice to girls.  Because they have to go through THAT when they get older!"

 Holy Cow!  I thought having 1 at a time was rough.  She had nine puppies when we went to bed last night.

Here they are this morning.  Now there are ten!