Favorite Day of the Week

Such a great morning to hear from our missionary!  He had a little bit better of a week and things are improving a bit with his companion.  The are still on track to have a baptism for Mayara next week and she is so excited.  She has been wanting to be baptized for 3 years and now it is finally going to happen.  So great that Luke gets to play a small role in her covenant.  Luke is loving being in Morristown and loves the ward there.  There are so many amazing members that take care of the missionaries.  Luke has never had so many member meals in an area.  It makes me feel so blessed to know that so many are watching out for him.  Here's to another great week!!

My baby is 12

I am sure I start every birthday post like this but seriously where has the time gone?  It seems like yesterday I was bringing home our caboose and now he is celebrating his 12th birthday.  Tag is such an amazing kid who never ceases to amazing me.  I love how honest and genuine he is.  He does everything to the fullest and is 100% himself.  Such an example to me.  Tag was beyond spoiled this year.  Joey had gotten a bonus for being at Teva for 20 years and used some of that bonus to get Tag a gaming computer.  Tag was so excited but what he really wanted was a Lego set of an old tv and Nintendo system.  As I was frosting his cake I teased asking what he wanted for his birthday.  He told me the Lego set and I said that I wished he had told me that.  He swore he did but he really just told Joey.  After he opened the gaming computer he tried to act gracious.  Nash had snuck down to get that Lego set that I had hidden in Luke's room.  When he brought it up Tag was so excited.  He said he had a tickle in his tummy which made him think that there was another surprise.  So cute!  I love how excited he gets and he totally knows what he wants.  Happy Birthday Tig!  We all love you so much.

Medieval Feast

Tag is our kiddo that does everything to the fullest and I love it!  He was given the role of wizard at the 6th grade Medieval Feast.  He told me this last weekend and asked if we could order a costume.  We got him a robe and a wizard's hat.  He was so excited.  He woke up this morning way before his needed time and paced the house until it was time to go.  It did not help that he was also bringing his favorite sugar cookies to share with his class for his birthday.  Such a fun day!  Hope he has the best time!

Mimi's Easter Egg Hunt

Tonight we had Mimi's egg hunt at Jenna's house.  Both Joey and Har had to work so I just took the boys.  Har ended up coming for a few minutes after work.  Nathan and Kaydan were in town and it was so fun to visit with them.  Can't believe how old everyone is getting.  So fun to visit with everyone.

Prom Pictures

Today Harlee got her prom pictures back from the photographer.  She looks BEAUTIFUL!  I know that that was not the best night for her but I am so grateful that she was able to have the prom experience.

Har's new wheels

Before the end of the year we are going to need to have a total of five cars for all of the drivers that we have.  We decided to spread out the car buying purchasing one this month and the other closer to November/December when Luke will be home and Nash will be 16.  Har loves the BMW but really wanted something a bit bigger.  Joey got it in her head that she wanted an Audi.  We found a beautiful black one for a great deal.  It has 89,000 miles on it and a clean title.  It also has black leather interior and is so clean.  We went and test drove it yesterday and picked it up today.  Har is so excited and looks so good in it.  Feel so blessed to be able to provide cars for our kiddos.  Such a blessing.  

Back to Monday's...

When I woke up this morning I was so grateful to be back to our usual Monday call from our favorite Elder.  Today's call was a little bit tough since Luke is struggling a bit with his new companion.  I am grateful for his perspective.  He knows that this is all temporary which is such a example of the growth he has experienced during his time as a missionary.  He did have few splits this week which helped to make it better.  I will just keep praying that he will be able to see the good in his companion and that they will find some commonalities.  Here's to a better week!

Har's Big Day

Today was the day that Hare was anxious to come and go!  Prom!  They had their day date making pottery.  It took longer than she had expected so she only had a little more than an hour to get ready.  Aubrey came over to help her.  She decided in the eleventh hour that she was going to wear the second dress she got.  She also bought some new red adidas to wear with the dress.  She looked amazing!  They all met at Isaac's house so I did not get pictures of them together.  Those should come in a couple of days.  They went to the capitol and took pictures.  Then they went to Red Iguana for dinner.  After dinner they went to the dance and stayed a little longer than Har was hoping.  At least she saw Nicci and a few other friends.  After the dance they went to get ice cream and then to hang out and watch a movie.  Har said that her tummy hurt and bailed shortly after the movie had started.  She thanked Charlie and in return was grateful for no hug!  Hopefully she at least had a little bit of fun.

Missionary Tuesday

Luke had a missionary leadership conference yesterday so his pday was switched to Tuesday!  It was the longest day yesterday not being able to talk to him but I was excited to chat with him today.  He is struggling a bit with his new companion.  It makes me feel so bad.  I wish that I could make time speed up but I keep reminding him that he will look back on this time and realize he learned a lot from the hard.  This week he had quite a few lessons and an amazing interview with President Durrant.  He really loves and respects him.  I am really hoping that this next week will be great for him.  

Day to hear from our missionary

This week was a tough one for Elder Childs for sure.  On Saturday morning, Elder Chappell, a missionary in Luke's mission, passed away in his sleep.  Luke had just seen him on Friday and he seemed completely fine.  He went to bed on Friday night and never woke up.  It was a complete shock to their mission.  As if that is not enough to deal with, transfers were on Friday.  The one missionary that Luke did not want to end up with is now his companion.  Luke was pretty down today when we chatted.  I will definitely be praying hard this week that he can feel comfort and that he can find common ground with his companion.  I was thinking a ton about Luke this morning and how much I wish I could just fly there and bring him home.  Hug him and comfort him through this difficult time.  As soon as I started having those thoughts, I was given the thought, that is exactly how our Heavenly Father feels.  He wishes he could come down and hug us, comfort us in our trials.  But He sees the big picture, He knows that we have to go through the hard to grow.  Growth is hard but I was so grateful to be given that perspective this morning.  Hang in there Elder C!  You have already learned so much during your time in NJ and this is just another chapter in that amazing book.  

My twin movie date

I love that Harlee is always up for hanging out with her mom!  I am so lucky.  Today we went to see a movie called Ordinary Angels.  We both wore one of my lounge sets and our ugg slippers.  We took our blankets, candy, got popcorn, diet coke, and settled into the heated luxury seats.  The movie was so good and the perfect way to spend a Saturday.  Loved the movie but loved my date even more!  I also love that she has no problem twinning with her mom.