Going through old papers . . .

I had a glorious afternoon  - all by myself at home, going through old files and binders, working on decluttering and packing for our upcoming move (fingers crossed all goes well with the appraisal).

I came across a few things I just couldn't bring myself to throw away. One was some chicken scratch, written on the back on a wedding invitation back from 2011. It was a conversation Madi and Elle must have been having.

Here's what was written:
Madi: "When you're 8 years old you're gonna know everything about Jesus. Then you can tell everyone about it. Sometimes there's naughty boys and girls that you can teach them about the commandments."

Elle: "I think about Jesus everyday."

Madi: "Don't interrupt me when I'm talking about Jesus. ... Do you know how I learned all this?"

Madi's quiz to Elle:
"Do we pray everyday or just one day?"

Too funny! Time is flying by too fast and I hold on to little treasures like this - back form the days when life was simple.

Teacher Appreciation week 2018

These kids have had some super awesome teachers this year! We made sure to make it a great week for them - with sweet notes, treats - banana bread and cookies, and gift card flowers. 

General Conference

What an amazing General Conference this was! The Solemn Assembly was such a neat experience as we all stood and sustained our new prophet - President Nelson. This conference was particularly powerful for me as I felt so strongly that President Nelson is a prophet for our day, called of God. I was happy to receive that witness and reassurance. President Nelson was so strong and powerful as he warned of dangers in our day and reminded us of the importance of teaching our children how to recognize personal revelation. 

Spring Break 2018

The day after Calvin's birthday, we headed for Brentwood to spend the rest of our Spring Break week at Gram and Papa's! 

The kids were super excited to check out the new park that had opened up just days after we left Brentwood back in November. We were up bright and early Thursday morning and had more than an hour to play by ourselves before other people arrived.

Bebe the kindergarten monkey got to join us on this trip and is in pretty much every picture that Cal's in. 

Thursday and Friday were pretty much our only days to play since Saturday and Sunday were busy with General Conference listening. The kids had fun crafting, playing out in the boy tub, in the blow up pool, at the park, reading, and playing with all of Gram's fun toys!

Elle and Cal went to the movies with Gram one afternoon while Madi, Papa, James and I went shopping. 

We celebrated Cal's birthday with Gram and Papa. 

Got some car washing lessons from Papa. 

A trip to Gram/Papa's wouldn't be the same without haircuts - all 3 boys and a trim for Elle!

It's always a trick to find good distractions. 

Spencer flew in Friday evening to join us for the weekend! 

Everything is always better when we're with dad!!

And Gram & Papa!

James fell in love with Gram Rox and loved when she'd stop by to play. Roxy also took Madi to the church and gave her her first organ lesson. Madi did awesome and picked up on it really fast.

I just love watching my parents love on my kids and I love seeing the strong relationships they share. I walked in the door from my morning run to this site - my mom snuggled under the blanket reading stories to Cal and Elle, while Papa and James were snuggled under another blanket talking and laughing. Makes my mama heart so happy and full. 

Thanks Gram and Papa for the awesome spring break/Easter/conference visit!