The Funeral

My sister asked us to take a few pictures of the funeral, and since that really means Brian, he did a great job for her. The spirit was so strong and we felt it immediately when we walked into the viewing room. It was definitely difficult to see such a small casket and small hands.We all knew Savannah wouldn't live long, but it doesn't make it any easier. The pain of her loss is still felt, especially more intensely to those who were closest to her. I could feel that she was a precious daughter to our Heavenly Father.

 I am glad we got to be there. I was overcome with emotion at times. Carissa had asked me to say the family prayer before the service and it was humbly said between sobs. We emptied several boxes of tissues. The room was full of the sweet spirit. As Brian and I drove home from Boise we talked about what a good day it was...so full of the spirit. 

My mom spoke to a multi denominational congregation and quoted President Monson who said,  "Among all the facts of mortality, none is so certain as its end. Death comes to all; it is our “universal heritage; it may claim its victim[s] in infancy or youth, [it may visit] in the period of life’s prime, or its summons may be deferred until the snows of age have gathered upon the … head; it may befall as the result of accident or disease, … or … through natural causes; but come it must.”   She went on to say how wonderful it is to know the true meaning of the Easter message, that Christ rose again and so will Savannah. She did an awesome job! 

 I love knowing that these words are more than just words to comfort those who have lost a loved on by death.  I know that they are true. There is purpose to this life. There is something on the other side of death's door and I am grateful to have the knowledge if the restored gospel to know what that "something" is... and who we are privileged to return home to. I am also grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who has sent the Holy Ghost to comfort during these times, I also felt and witnessed its power this weekend. 

One of my favorite things was the releasing of the balloons at the end. It was a quiet peaceful moment. It made me think as I watched those balloons gently float to the sky... so high until we could barely see them anymore... that it was almost as if I could imagine watching Savannah's spirit float away from earth. I'm looking forward to that sweet reunion she will have with my sister some day! I'm grateful that Savannah had the chance to be loved like a daughter here in her brief earth life. 

Savannah was burried in a beautiful cemetary with a beautiful lawn, gorgeous trees, and a pond with ducks, geese and swans. It will be a great place to visit and remember her. 

Farewell Savannah

This sweet girl has been under the loving care of my sister. She was a little ray of sunshine to the world around her, despite her many physical challenges. She passed away a few days ago and will be missed by all who cared for her and loved her.

Death has a way of bringing perspective to life, and appreciation for God and His plan. This is a poem by Hnery Van Dyke called "Gone from my sight" which comes to mind and shares my feelings of her passing:

I am standing by the seashore.

A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze

and starts for the blue ocean.

She is an object of beauty and strength,

and I stand and watch

until at last she hangs like a speck of white cloud

just where the sun and sky come down to mingle with each other.

Then someone at my side says, ‘There she goes!

Gone where? Gone from my sight – that is all.

She is just as large in mast and hull and spar

as she was when she left my side

and just as able to bear her load of living freight

to the places of destination.

Her diminished size is in me, not in her.

And just at the moment when someone at my side says,

‘There she goes! ‘ ,

there are other eyes watching her coming,

and other voices ready to take up the glad shout :

‘Here she comes!’

Whenever I hear the song of a bird...

This is what I love about Spring...

Tulips are up! We planted some lovely tulips and daffodils this year and they made me so happy! I plan to plant several more bulbs this fall!  It's amazing how something small like these early bloomers can cheer up a day that doesn't feel like Spring when you think it should!

Spring cleaning! I think I keep my house pretty clean, but Spring has a way of shedding light on some unwanted dirt! Zoey has been an eager helper, especially in the kitchen :)

Planting! We have little seedlings of basil coming up! The kids planted some in paper cups and we've enjoyed watching them grow in the windowsill. The garden has been tilled and we are anxiously awaiting the garden season!

Plum blossoms! I love these beautiful trees in our yard! The pink blossoms are so plentiful and colorful. I love seeing the trees throughout the neighborhood start to wake up and leaf-out! It's such a thrill to see winter is coming to an end, even if days are still a bit nippy outside.

"Go outside and play!" I get to say this phrase again! Hallelujah! And the kids never fight me on it, they love to do it! Sunny days, even if they are still a bit cold, just beckons the kids to be outside and ride bikes, swing, or play in the dirt. Jackson likes to plant (usually things that won't grow like popcorn seeds, dandelions, and branches) and he has hopes that the area of the yard he calls his "garden" will grow something he has planted. He takes after Brian that way....maybe we should get him a planter box for his birthday?

 Oh, and yes, as the title of my post suggests.... the birds are back and serenade us every morning about 6am, but as the sun begins to come up earlier, their song will match it. It's a wonderful reminder that the days are gettinglonger and the sun is coming up earlier! It helps get me out of bed so I can start my day (hopefully with a run, if I am lucky). Running season is upon me and training for the Epic relay. My morning runs are an important part of my day...I look forward to it and love it!

Calvin is 11 months!

A month away from turning one and he's almost walking! All my kids have walked before the big first birthday, usually by 10 months (Eli started around 9 1/2 months)!  But Calvin is taking his time getting comfortable with it. I'm not complaining, I have a neighbor who's 8 month old baby isn't even crawling yet! Crazy! I don't know why we have such determined children in our home! But they get moving really early! 

He loves to push around his cart, and he's always good for a smile! Just today he took one or two steps on his own between Brian and I. Pretty soon, he'll be taking off on his own, and then we'll enter the stage of bruises, busted lips, scraped knees and all other joys of new babies learning to walk and yet falling in the process!  I can't believe how big he's getting! 

Spring break!

 This week was my preview of what summer will be like to have all the kids home, every day, all day! At first I was a little worried at how the week would go, but I really enjoyed being with the kids. I really love being a mom. Even though there are hard days and times, I'm super blessed to be at home with them and to hang out with my kids and watch them grow and teach them (or be taught, as the case may be sometimes in the reverse)!

We made a plan the first day of fun and free things we could do each day of the break. Here's what we did:


Monday: library day

Tuesday: craft day (we made masks and painted)

Wednesday: Picnic lunch at the park and feeding the ducks

Thursday: Discovery park (one of the kids' favorites in AF)

Jackson and Zoey can now swing on their own, and they are so proud!














Friday: friend day (each got to have friends over to play)

 It was a great week! Saturday night for the priesthood session of conference the kids and I are having a movie night with popcorn. Great weekend with conference to top it all off!

April Fool's!

Even though April Fool's was the day after Easter Sunday, the kids and I still found time to pull a few pranks.

We held a team meeting in a secret location to plan our fun pranks....and the kids were so very excited about it all!

The picture above is a monster Zoey drew and left on the bathroom mirror to scare dad when he woke up in the morning to get ready for work! It was so dang scary, and she made sure she told the rest of the family that he screeeamed when he saw it!

We focused our efforts on Brian's morning routine, but this is what the kids did (with a little help from mom):

1) replaced the shampoo with mouthwash
2) monster pictures left on the bathroom mirror and in his truck to scare him
3) shoes stuffed with toys...every last pair!
4) keys hid in his truck

It was a very silly day!

Easter Sunday

The kids enjoyed a wonderful hunt this year in the outdoors! We aren't always so lucky! It was a fun morning. Jackson finished in 3 minutes, and Eli was still hunting 20 or 30 minutes later! Jackson wanted to find all Eli and Zoey's eggs for them... but we didn't let him spoil all the fun for them :) 

 Each child got an empty egg to represent the empty tomb. They were actually pretty excited about it (not disappointed that the egg didn't contain candy like the others and like I imagined they would be). They would yell- "The empty egg! I got the empty egg!"

 Zoey was brave enough to get some eggs hidden in some really tough spots!

 Eli was super excited for the egg hunt. We didn't find the last egg until after dinner that night, the Easter bunny was super sneaky this year!  

The Easter family picture:

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Brian and I took the last two weeks before Easter to teach our children about the life and mission of Jesus Christ. For one week we focused on parables the Christ taught and each day they got to pick out of a special box an item or picture that represented a parable and we would discuss it and do something fun in relation to that parable. 

Last week we taught them about the last week of Christ's life and what happened on each day leading to the resurrection. It was also a great experience. 

An Easter tradition at our house is to go kite flying with the kids on the Saturday before Easter Sunday. Symbolic of Christ's Ascension into heaven. Not every year do we get such perfect weather conditions like this year...but it was perfect! Clear blue skies, enough wind, warm sunny temperature. It was a great time and great memories!