...'cuz we are celebratingI've posted pictures of this cutie before but here she is again...
Sophie Joan! My sweet niece Kami's baby.
(that's my brother. um, I mean Sophie's grandpa that can't hide his love for this little one)
About the beginning of summer I saw a change come over my middle child.
It was during the bedtime routine and I was becoming increasingly frustrated with my youngest child. He will remain nameless.
This youngest child has manipulated his bedtime routine since...
since...
FOREVER!!
See already I'm getting worked up.
As my voice began to rise and my youngest child continued to cause distress for the both of us, my middle child was lying in his top bunk ever so quiet.
When I had had enough of the child in the lower bunk, I turned my eyes up to the child above me.
His eyes were filled were tears.
My heart was breaking.
I'd let him down.
I fear I do that way too often with this child.
I asked if he was sad because of me getting upset or if he was sad about his little brother's behavior. (silently praying it was the latter)
And then he said ever so bravely,
"Well, kinda both."
Wow! I felt so small.
And then he said,
"I just wish he would obey so that it wouldn't upset you so much."
And that is when it started.
Suddenly this boy emerged as the OLDER BROTHER
or rather his little brother's SHEPHERD.
He is ever so gentle in his reminders to help his brother listen and obey.
He guides him away from the "wolf" (aka: mom) when he sees me getting frazzled.
He offers alternatives to choices which could bring the wolf from hiding.
He sacrifices (nearly always - I mean he IS 10 after all) his own desires to that of this little brother.
It happens time and time again.
I have even taken this shepherd boy of mine aside and expressed my gratitude for his selflessness. Reminding him also that it is okay to make his OWN choice and not be influenced by the need to protect, guide or lead his little brother who we enable too much already.
But of course he responds with,
"It's okay. Really."
I've seen these brothers embrace more than ever before.
I think the little one knows he is being watched over.
And finally I saw my youngest offer his gratitude.
He asked for minimal help with this offering...
He is the star player in our home without a doubt.
If the kids want to play ~ they ask Dad.
If the kids want a favor ~ they ask Dad.
If the kids need to understand something ~ they ask Dad.
If the kids need a batch of awesome sugar cookies ~ they ask Dad.
As for me...
And another one doing some growing is this kid:
FIRST ~ a HUGE disclaimer!!
I don't know the first thing about taking pictures.
I just know I enjoy messing around with it.
And I haven't even moved my camera off AUTO yet!
I hear there is a whole new world to explore when I get the nerve.
So with that said...
One of my favorite things to do is play with my photos in a post editing program.
I don't have Photoshop so I use two simple and FREE programs.
One is Picasa and the other picnik.
I don't mess around too much.
Just some tweaking here and there.
Both of these shots were taken within minutes of each other.
One of my favorite subjects...
my kiddos!
In the first two pictures I brought in more shadows to darken up his eyes.
Cooper loves to play at Ethan's house.
When it is time for him to come home he usually steals a flower from Ethan's entryway and brings it home to me.
This time was no different.
He came through the door with not just one flower in hand, but two.
He said to me:
Mom! Mom!
(putting the bloom right smack on my nose)
You have to smell this one first.
It is just delicious!
Sigh...
just delicious indeed.
Cooper had soooo much fun playing his first year of Little League baseball.
I thought he might struggle at having patience with the other boys that don't eat, drink and sleep baseball like we do. But he was just thrilled to be playing the game in a uniform and on a field and being part of a team. It was fun to watch him play and love it as much as his dad.
Beside getting help with the initial structure for his
rendition of the famous blooper over Jeter's head by Gonzo,
Davis did this on his own.
...would cause me such mixed emotions.
What does it mean when your baby can tie his own shoes??
I never encouraged him to learn to tie his shoes.
I just always did it for him.
Because when your baby can tie his own shoes
there is nothing left for you to do.
Our ward camp leaders and myself went to LoMia on Saturday to pick out a hike for our Young Women this summer.
We felt the Spirit guide us as we walked and talked.
The Lord loves these girls.
He wants them to have testimony building experiences that will sustain them through this journey on earth and see them to the temple.
As leaders we are only a source to provide those experiences.
I'm so grateful for mountain top inspiration.
As much as I love being here, there is something I miss about home.
Family.
This is sweet Sophie...
I've never much thought much about lemon bushes other than I'd like to plant one in our yard.
I have, however, spent a great deal of time enjoying the harvest from the bush.
Thanks to dear friends who spare me the hardship of picking the fruit, I am able to benefit from the fruits of their labor ~ literally.
On a quick trip to California to share the happy occasion of our nephew getting baptized we stayed with Grandpa Brown.
He has a mammoth lemon bush.
Grandpa had picked and shared a countless number of lemons. Over and over he would harvest and share his fruit.
Until all that was left were these tricky little ones deep in the middle.
These guys are protected by strong, pointy thorns and they hurt!
I know because I fell victim to their sharp, nasty stab.
Right under the fingernail.
So my hero husband went in after those lucious little lemons.
