Lukey's 3rd birthday

 Luke turned 3 on May 22. When he woke up that morning he ran out, saw his decorations and yelled,"my birthday, my birthday!!" I love that he recognized his special day and that we could celebrate him. Sean was concerned that Luke didn't have his own birthday crown(both Sean and Claire received a birthday crown from school.) Sean refused to get ready for school until he helped me make a paper crown for Luke to wear. Luke requested a Mater cake. Mark stayed up until 1am working on this cake. Both Luke and Mark were pleased with the results.

 We picked up the big kids from school and spent 2 hours at the dinosaur museum. We had the whole place to ourselves.

 Here he is opening his new play-doh set from Grandma Luke. He loves it!

 Everyone is excited about his new Cars cars.

 Luke has been carrying around his new Woody doll. It's adorable.

Luke is a very loving, sweet little boy. He is always nice to share his toys and he loves affection. Lukey sits next to Kaylin in the car and will hold her hand when she cries. Twice now the two of them have fallen asleep holding hands. We are excited for Luke to begin potty training soon and to do gymnastics in the fall.

She's 6!

Our Princess turned 6 today! It is so much fun to celebrate Claire. We decorated the house with a My Little Pony theme. Mark stayed up until 2:30 the night before drawing Princess Twilight Sparkle on Claire's cake. We went bowling as a family and had fun opening presents and blowing out the candle. Claire's favorite part was having her birthday celebrated at school. Her classmates made her cards, sang to her and she got a crown to wear. She got to take fun little prizes for the kids in her class and received a gift from her teacher. Claire is a bright star in our family. She is everyone's best friend. We LOVE her!

a mother

 The Saturday before Mother's Day we headed down to our old stomping grounds in south Provo to visit Auntie Kara at the cemetery. Our children are a whole year older from the last visit we made. Mark and I sat quietly and listened as Claire explained to her younger brothers where we were going and why it was important. My goal has always been to have Luke's adoption story a part of our regular conversation so that it is normal to discuss topics such as birth mothers and death and temple sealings. Luke seems to understand a tiny bit more when I talk to him about Auntie Kara. We tell him that he grew in her tummy kind of how Kaylin grew in Mommy's tummy. He knows that his beautiful brown eyes come from her. He recognizes her picture and brings her up when we discuss his birthday because I think the words birthday and birthmom are too close! Oh well, it's a starting place. I purchased a bright colored pinwheel for each kid to leave for Auntie Kara. I was impressed by how each child knew to place it in the grass. No one argued to keep their pinwheel as they knew it was for Kara. Even though two years have passed since her passing standing in the cemetery always brings back the intensity of our loss. This year my heart was sad as I thought about how I wish I could change Luke's story for him. There are some very unpleasant parts of where he came from and I can't make it any easier for him. I believe that my job is to steer him towards his Savior so that He can help Luke find clarity and peace as he grows and discovers who he is and his Heavenly Father's plan for him.

She's just that cute~6 weeks!

Kaylin's Blessing Day May 5

This little girl is so special. Mark and I both felt loved by our Heavenly Father the day of Kaylin's blessing. We are so grateful to have the opportunity to raise another beautiful daughter. We love having a baby in our home especially one as sweet and tender as Kaylin. Kaylin's blessing dress was originally worn by my neice Hannah who is now 12. Claire also wore the same dress for her blessing day. I love how simple and understated it is. The beautiful white blanket was made for me by my sweet aunt Marsha when baby Claire was born. Aunt Marsha passed away a couple years ago and I loved using the blanket again and having a piece of her there. My sister-in-law Lacey made Kaylin's headband. Kaylin wore a simple gold locket that was purchased by my Grandmother for me for my baby blessing. My mom brought it to me that morning and Kaylin was able to wear it for her blessing. Grandma could not come to the blessing but I felt love from her. I love how meaningful each item of clothing was that she wore. I felt loved by each woman that made or gave me each piece. Kaylin is a very loved little baby.

Mark's birthdday

Mark turned 32 on May 1st. He worked from 7am to 7pm and got home in time to blow out candles and help get the kids to bed. Mark's fun update is that he is now the primary chorister in our ward! His first time was yesterday and he said he had a lot of fun. We are excited to see what he can do with this new calling.

Tulip Festival 2013

 We made it to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. Claire LOVED all the flowers. She requested to have her picture taken with as many flowers as she could. I have about a dozen pictures of her posing and smiling beautifully with all the tulips.    
      Lukey is a rock star and walked the entire way!

 Sean didn't care for the flowers but was really excited about the waterfalls. He wears his jammies on his day off from school.

 Baby's first festival. She is Beautiful!