13

It's appropriate that I married into a family that started with 13, before any in laws or grandchildren. 

13 has always been my favorite and most lucky number. 7 following close behind. Which makes it appropriate that I had my 7th child in the 13th year. And she was the 13th grandchild on my side of the family. The number peeks it's head all over and I love it. 

So lucky 13!  How lucky I am to be a part of this crazY family. Isn't it beautiful to be surrounded by so many children?!!  And those kids have so many siblings who

Support and stand up for and love each other!

I like to look at the parents in these pictures and see all they created around them. They are good parents and good grandparents. I sure love these people. 

Leslie sent these to everyone through email and since I try to document life here, I wanted them posted here. 

17 years age difference from oldest to youngest.  

Karey, Richard, Nairn, Bruce, Robert, lorianne, john, Lisa, Leslie, spencer, Mark.  Parents: Lynn and Karen. 

I have 7 in 16 years. My mother in law had 11 in 17 years. Whew. Impressive. 

Scaphoid Fracture surgery

Churchball can be rough.  They are fun to watch and I laugh a lot because it's so nuts.  John finished out the game and they came up from down by 15 and won the game. Sometimes you just have to sacrifice. 

The doctor told me "so it sounds like he has a big date this weekend and he's in love with the.............."  And for johns sake I will stop there.  

I said " really?  We wondered". And he said "well he didn't say LOVE". 

Love this kid. 

Silly baby

Oh I adore her. 

Purple car. We see it everywhere. Every single day in the most random places. It's weird. 

I asked for Two inches cut off. It turned into 4+ inches. It's depressing. Love the cut. Wish it was a little longer. Flattering picture. Thank you. 

Scaphoid Fracture

John has a scaphoid fracture from an intense church ball game. 

Surgery on Wednesday to screw te two pieces back together. 

Ruby admiring the view. 

It's a bone that blood flows through and if he doesn't get it fixed, the bottom piece will die. 

And that would cause other problems. 

Sadly it's basketball season and baseball seasons comin up and this kid lives for those kinds of things. 

Leah can't reach her sticky hand. 

This kid is so ornery. Too much of the time. But sadly he takes after me. And I don't like that about me. But I love this kid like crazy. 

Beautiful 60 degree February day in shorts at the park. 

Today

Today.....ruby played my little piano. I've had that since I was her size. 

Dark overcast days are serene and awesome.  Even more awesome today was that patch of sun on the mountain. An it just stayed there for a long time. It was beautiful. 

Today....jack earned some webelos pins at scouts. One more month of cub scouts for this kid. And not too soon because Sam starts Cubs next week. By the time our boys finish Cubs, we will have 12 straight years under our belt. 

Today.....we got new windows. And they are thick and clean and beautiful. And we had another beautiful sunset. We can always tell if tere is a beautiful sunset by looking to the east out the kitchen window. 

Today....emily tucked ruby into her jacket and cuddled. 

Today....the kitchen window was removed and the open air and open space was refreshing. I wish it could stay that way. 

Today...these three men spent the day with me in my house. I was starting to go crazy near the end of the day. I was ready for my space back. 

Today.....I hung out with Leah and ruby. Just like every other day. I love them. 

Sam

SAMs treasures. He put this set up together of important things. Treasures from great grandparents, trophies, and pictures of Christ. Pretty good. I adore him. 

And j love this from Marjorie Hinckley. I've read it many times today. I'll read it many more.  My problem is there are so many places I should be at this time in my life and I'm struggling to juggle them.  Wife. Mother. Homemaker. Primary president. Ward council member. Neighbor. Friend. Volunteer. Cheerleader. Etc. etc. etc. 

And this ones along nicely with the quote above. 

I drive my kids crazy because I heck their grades daily and question them daily.  Maybe I should quit. Maybe I shouldn't.  I'm struggling in everything I do these days. Sigh. 

Gack Attack

Jack said "I don't think basketballs my thing. I think my thing is baseball". 

We'll see. I think he rocks at everything he does and I'm secretly hoping tennis is his thing. 

Jack needs something that's HIS thing.  

To go along with HIS ice blue eyes with the yellow ring and striking blonde hair. 

And his firey personality. 

And amazing smile and laugh. I love the innocence of this kid. He WANTS to do what's right. I love him. 

We LOVE the dentist.

It's easy to love the dentist when he's your bishop. The kids love going to the dentist. Me?  I hate it and it gives me anxiety. 

This is Leah's first trip to the dentist. 

And this is emily. She's prepping to

Be back in full braces. Poor girl.  The dentist is going to try to move her jaw forward. She's excited about that but sad to wear braces through high school. My heart aches for her because she's already been through two years of braces. But she wants to do it. 

And this is what ruby does

At the dentist. 

All of us do our cleanings on the same day within about a 3 -4 hour stretch. When Sam and Leah were done, they went nuts on the treasure box.  I didn't know this until we got home so I put all the treasures in a bag and Sam and Leah will be returning them. 

Emeri

I have a sweet new niece. Those are few an far between these days. Kind of sad but as johns dad told him this weekend, you just learn to enjoy the new stage you are in. 

She is over a month old now and is the cutest little thing. She was born with dark hair and frosted tips. I love her and am so happy for Ryan and laura. 

Isn't she darling?!  And her adorable red headed sisters!