Happy birthday to our missionary

Happy birthday Lukie!  I cannot believe that he is 20.  Where did the time go?  This year we did not get to chat with him on his special day but we did send him a package that did arrive on his special day.  We are seriously so proud of Luke.  He needs to be so proud of himself.  He has found himself in New Jersey.  I hope he has realized that he can do hard things.  He is such an example and such a leader.  He is so funny and people are drawn to him.  I hope he will look back on his mission and have no regrets.  He has served with his whole heart, strengthened his relationship with Heavenly Father and his Savior.  He has also strengthened his relationship with his siblings which I love to see.  He is just the best!  Cannot wait to celebrate 21 together.  Love you Elder Childs!

Just about six months left of missionary Mondays...

I cannot believe that Luke is about to hit 18 months out on his mission,  That is so crazy.  The time is just flying by.  It completely helps that he is loving his mission and is so happy.  That is the biggest blessing for a mom.  He had another great week.  He had an exchange with English missionaries and said he felt like he could teach without worry of the language.  He also had a leadership meeting in Morristown and a District Council with a special surprise guest- Elder Durrant!  He explained to us who "Mama" is.  They always go to her house on Sunday nights.  She and her husband are members who are both on the autism spectrum.  How neat that Luke can share his love for people on the spectrum each week.  Love hearing from our missionary!

A Dog and his presents

Any time the presents come out, Ike thinks that they are for him.  On his birthday he gets a dog cookie in the bag so he thinks that he will find a cookie in the gift bags every time we get them out.  After the presents are opened we have to put one of his treats in the bag so he can open it.  It is the funniest thing.  Love this picture as he gazes longingly at the presents.

Gray is 14

Happy Birthday Graby!  I seriously cannot believe that he is 14!  Where has the time gone?  This year is a family birthday so I felt bad that it was kind of a boring day.  Once Joey got home from work we went to Chom for dinner- Gray's choice.  We came home and let Gray open his presents.  He was so excited to see that he got an Occulus 3.  He could not believe it.  We finished the night with some caramel brownies and icecream.  Hope that Gray felt loved today.  We are so grateful to have him in our family.  He is always looking out for his siblings and is just a blessing to all of us.

Nash's Summer Vacay with another family

Gabriel's family is so kind to always invite Nash to tag along.  This trip, they are going to Bryce Canyon to camp for the week.  We got Nash packed with the necessary gear and snacks.  Hope he has the best time!

Following in his brother's footsteps

It did not take long for Tag to see the beauty in the ease of having a buzz for the summer.  Minus a little strip where Har forgot to put on the guard, it turned out perfectly.  He is so excited to not have to worry about doing his hair all summer.  We cannot wait to see how fast it will grow back.

Memorial Day Fun

We got up a little early today and decided to go to Top Golf.  We got there a little after 10am and we were immediately given a bay to start the fun. This Top Golf went pretty close to the normal Childs games.  Joey and Nash were the leaders and I was the worst player.  It is so fun though to go and enjoy some family time.  And we of course got some donuts to add to the fun.  After working up an appetite, we went to Goodwood for lunch.  It was so good.  I would say that Goodwood is one of our family favorites.  I love when Joey and I have a day off and we can enjoy some time together as a family.  Such a fun day. 

Memorial Day Missionary Monday

The only thing that could make this Memorial Day better was being able to hear from our missionary.  He had another great week.  It is such a blessing to know that he is happy and that he is really enjoying his mission.  He did not get transferred and will be staying in Elizabeth for this one.  He loves the area so he is happy about that.  He had a great week of missionary work.  Everything got worked out for Jodenski's baptism so Luke was relieved.  He is spending his PDay with Elder Christopherson's district and he is looking forward to hanging out with one of his buddies.  Hope that Elder C enjoys his next week!

Bring on the buzz

Nash decided that he wanted to buzz his head for the summer and thankfully Har was more than willing to help him.  So within a few minutes all of his hair was gone.  He looks so old!  Here is to a maintenance free summer!

Sunday Family Day

Today I had the opportunity, after nine years, to speak in sacrament meeting.  I felt that in order to get me through the stress of speaking, I could look forward to dinner at the pie.  So after church, we changed our clothes and went to the pie for dinner.  It was seriously so good.  After dinner we decided to go on a hike.  We were going to do Cascade Springs but it was still closed after the winter, so we drove to Silver Lake and hiked around it.  Minus a fall into the water by Tag, poor guy, we had a great time.  We came home to enjoy some cake and berries.  Pretty much the perfect day.  I love spending time as a family.  We missed Luke for sure.  Joey and I certainly have been blessed with the most amazing kids.  They for sure make us better for getting to learn from all of them.

Joey's beautiful furniture transformation

When Joey went to Poland and Har and I modified our room, we decided that we would slowly update the furniture in there.  We have gotten a new dresser and a new sofa table, but we could not find any nightstands that we liked.  The nightstands that we have are from a parade of homes and are great quality.  After searching for a bit, Joey decided to redo ours.  He stained them black and put on new knobs.  They look amazing!  I am so glad that he thought to do that and I love them.  They are perfect in our room.