Blessing Day

Elaina received her name and a blessing on March 31, 2010.  Her dad gave her a beautiful blessing.  Oh how I love that man and the sweet little angel he was holding. 

 We were down in Utah for Spring Break- so we decided to have her blessing while we were there.   I am such a ding dong- I wish I had gotten a picture of everyone that came.   A big THANKS to everyone that made it.  Mom & Dad Redd, Maryelle, Mormon and Alma.  Great Grandma Naegle, Mom & Dad Thompson, Ashlee & Gabe, Kaleb, Lindsey & Ethan, Mark & Jaleah, my awesome brother Micah and Bishop Bush.  Those in bold were in the blessing circle.  Bishop Bush gave an opportunity for anyone who would like to to share their testimony before the blessing.  It brought such a sweet spirit to the occassion.   The spirit is such a great feeling.

Our little lady was given the name- Elaina Karen Redd.  My cute grandma (pictured below)  and I share the same middle name Elaine- so we played with that and named her Elaina.  Her middle name-Karen is after Brigham's mother.    

This is the  dress that I made for Katry's blessing.  I love that they are wearing the same dress.

 "Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."  Elizabeth Stone

Spring Break

We headed on down to Utah for our Spring Break this year.  We decided to do some of the great things Utah offers- but we never do- because we usually  just  visit family when we go.

The first day we went ice skating and I forgot my camera.  Bummer.  It was  a little tricky picking up the ice skating skill at first.   Everyone was a bit wobbly.  But by the end, watch out Apollo Ohno- we were speed skating around the track and Seth was even performing turning jumps.  That kid is brave and will try anything.  They even had little skates Kai's size.  It was so funny when he first came out on the ice- he kept on saying- "Its slippery."

After that we headed to the Planetarium and enjoyed an IMAX 3D show of space.  It was awesome.  It is amazing some of the pictures they have of space.  It really looks like something futuristic- and its hard to believe that we live in the midst of all that there is.  Awesome!

That night Maryell and Mom Redd made us an amazing meal and we visited with the Burnetts till late at night.  It was awesome.  I love our fun fun family!

The next day we headed to the Zoo.  This time with our camera in tow.

Everyone was excited to get Chik-fil-A for lunch.  Then we headed to Cabellas and enjoyed their massive taxidermy displays and fish tanks.

We spent that night at the Thompsons and and enjoyed another delicious meal.  We played a rousing game of Yahtzee.  If I remember right- Seth won- even though Brig got yahtzee three times.

That night  Grandpa took the three older kids to Kaleb & Lindsey's water polo game.  They had a great time watching baby Ethan and being with Grandpa.

Shattered Brackets, Happy Faces

I hope you all fared better in your family pool than we did.  Ouch!  Our brackets were demolished.  Brig and Seth are the only ones left with any hope.  They have Michigan State heading to the final game.  Go Spartans!

Kiddos!

Brigham has always helped the kids make a welcome home sign for the newest baby and I.  This year- Seth headed it up and had everyone help make a welcome home sign for when we got home.   In fact the kids took care of everything this time around.  Katry came home from school early and watched Kai and Kaleb while we went to the hospital.  Seth and Brig helped when they got home- changing diapers and getting kids fed.  We are very blessed with great responsible kiddos!

"Listen earnestly to anything your children wants to tell you, no matter what.  If you don't listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little, they won't tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them, all of it has always been big stuff."

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."

I love this man,  he is an amazing father. 

There is no doubt in any of their minds that he loves and cherishes them.  He showers his time and attention on them.

Backward races and I love these faces!  The only thing better than being a mom is being a wife to Brigham!  Love it all!

Babies are a handful and a HEARTFULL!

Luck-O-the Irish

Top of the Mornin' to ya!  Hope you had a fabulous St. Paddy's Day!  These are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip to Ireland.   It is a beautiful, magical, mystical place!

Kaleb made a little Leprachaun who used his tricky magic..............

to catch a rainbow in a cup for us! 

An Irish Prayer

May God give you.......

For every storm, a rainbow,

For every tear, a smile,

For every care, a promise,

And a blessing in each trial.

For every problem life sends,

A faithful friend to share,

For every sigh, a sweet song,

And an answer for each prayer.

I can't seem to get these pictures in the right order and I am  tired of trying. :)  No good ole Irish luck for me today!!!

Were you hungry?

Cute Katry!  This is a copy of her math test.  On Problem #7b- she wrote down for her answer- 27 cookies.  Which is fine- except that the problem has absolutely nothing to do with cookies and everything to do with feet cubed.   So of course her teacher asked- "Were you hungry?".   Too funny!   Just more proof that she is always thinking about treats.  She is our sugar girl!!!! 

Helping Hands!

These beautiful ladies were my helping hands.  They showed up- driving through a snow storm- just an hour after our little lady was born.  They took over my home- making yummy meals, delicious cookies, cleaning, and playing with our little tikes so that I could get some much needed rest.  I am so grateful to have these amazing, selfless women in my life.  Thank you so much for coming to our rescue! 

I love this quote on charity.

"Real charity is not something you give away. It is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself and when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again. Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don't judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain silent. Charity is accepting someone's differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings. Having patience with someone who has let us down, or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn't handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another's weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other." (Marvin J. Ashton)

Thirty of my Young Women, and their leaders showed up on my doorstep Tuesday night.  They sang us a "Welcome Baby" song and gave us this beautiful cake-it says, "Welcome Baby Laini",  a frozen dinner they had made- manicotti, garlic bread and cookies, and a cute little blanket they had tied.  I held Laini up- Lion King style (so everyone could see)  while they sang to us and they oogled over what a cutie she is.  I love our YW- what a great bunch of girls!