18! 18! 18! 18! 18! 18!

Devynne is now 18 years old. Her birthday was yesterday and I'm still blown away that I have an adult child. I remember the day she was born vividly. I went into labor the night before I was scheduled to be induced. She was born at 4:40am and I was scheduled for the induction at 6:00am. She was born 7 days past my due date and after 13 hours of labor (starting with mild contractions) she came into the world at 9 pounds, 2 ounces and 21 inches long. She had black hair and a very round face.

After a few weeks she was very round all over with round eyes and whenever her eyes were open she looked like the pillsbury dough boy. She was a round, chubby, pink skinned bundle of joy. Now she is a tall, thin, beautiful young woman.

She is smart, funny, messy, silly, goofy one minute, serious the next, full of life, quick to share, loyal to family, kind to strangers, romantic at heart and we love her tons.

She is my first born and I love that I was blessed with her the last 18 years. I'm so grateful that she chose me to be her mom. I have learned so much from her and she has helped me to grow as a mother and I absolutely cherish her. I can't wait to see what she does with the next few years because I know she can do anything she puts her mind to.

Happy 18th Birthday Devynne! :)

Happy Thanksgiving

Today was a great day. I feel really grateful for all that we have and I feel really blessed for our family. We spent the day with all 6 of our kids and Steve's parents, his sister Jenn and his brother Mike. We love hanging out with them and we love eating lots of good food. Steve cooked a really awesome turkey (which I'm told since I don't eat turkey) and he made sweet potatoes in the crock pot (which I did eat and they were delicious) and he made mash potatoes with gravy. Grammy made stuffing and a different version of sweet potatoes and she made awesome rolls. Aunt B (Jenn) brought, not 2 pies, not 3 pies but 7 pies! It's so great to have that kind of choice. Mike brought the relish tray and Grandma Dover's "goup" dip. I provided the cranberry sauce even though I'm the only one out of this group that thinks that is a must at Thanksgiving. Anyhoo, a great day and here are some pictures of our goings on. :)

Glad to be Me

Sometimes being a mom feels like a thankless job and I sometimes feel like I'm not important to my kids. Unless they need something or want something. However, there are times that they surprise me with an act or words that really make be feel like they really do appreciate me and that feels so amazing.

The other day Dylan was waiting in the car while I ran into a store and when I got back in the car Dylan said "I'm glad you are my mom". Just out of the blue, I hadn't even done anything. I got choked up and said "I'm glad you are my son".

Today Devynne sent me a text message that said "Hey mom I just wanted to tell you I love you and I don't tell you enough how grateful I am for you. You're the best mom ever" (Again, I hadn't even done anything) Teary eyed I replied with "I love you too and I'm very grateful for you."

I'm truly grateful for all three of my kids. They tell me everyday that they love me and I them. I feel so blessed that they chose me to be their mom and I hope they know how much they mean to me. :)

It Went to Locks of Love

I did it! Saturday I had my hair all cut off. I had been wanting to do it for about 2 months and I'm so happy I did. I feel so light and free. I had been growing my hair for about 2 1/2 years and it was getting so heavy and cumbersome and I was ready for a change. My pony tail was long enough for Locks of Love so I donated it (locksoflove.org) and I hope they will be able to use most of it (some layers were a bit too short I think). So there we go. :)

Two Postings in One

(#1)
Last Wednesday Dakota's theater class put on a Halloween show. It was called "The Dracula Rock Show". Dakota, as you can tell, was Dracula and he was awesome. He did a really great job as did the other kids. We're very proud of him and he is very talented (if you ask me). :)






(#2)
Devynne, Dylan and I went to Salt Lake City with the priests and laurels (16, 17 and 18 year olds) from our ward last Thursday for a couple of days. On Thursday we went to Welfare Square, the Humanitarian Center, the Church Museum, the Visitor's Center at Temple Square and watched the movie "Legacy".

Friday we went to the Church Office Building, the Visitor Center at Temple Square, toured around Temple Square, toured Brigam Young's house, toured the Conference Center and we did baptisms at the Salt Lake City Temple. We ate dinner at the Lion House (house that was built for Brigam Young's wives and children) and then watched the Joseph Smith movie at the Joseph Smith Hotel. Saturday, we headed home.

It was a fantastic couple of days and I teared up a couple of times at almost every place we went and there were times that I flat out cried. The kids were awesome and it was so much fun to hang with them and to experience such spiritual places together. This trip really strengthened my testimony and I learned so many new things. I am so grateful for Joseph Smith and his family and for all the pioneers who experienced such incredibly hard and terrible trials to bring us the truth of Jesus Christ and His gospel. I am truly grateful to have been given the oppurtunity to go on this trip and I'll never forget it. I am so grateful and happy to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Here are just few pictures of our trip.