Do As I'm Doing

We had a dinnertime visit from Uncle Jordan, Aunt Leah, and the cousins tonight! They were on their way home from a trip and stopped to eat with us and to chat for a bit. I was so busy talking that I didn't take any pictures. Thankfully, Sophie borrowed my phone and took these of Zariah and Maverick. Legend was there too, but he was busy playing with Topher and didn't join in the picture taking.

Thanks for being such a fun cousin, Sophie. And thanks for visiting, Jordan and Leah!

A Step On the Path

My nephew Legend was baptized yesterday and we were able to attend! 

Sophie sang a musical number and I was asked to give a talk on the Holy Ghost. Legend's grandma on his mom's side gave a talk on baptism first and had visual aids of a path with footsteps she'd prepared. When she finished her prepared remarks she whispered to me that there were a few footstep cutouts left if I wanted to use them. I incorporated them into what I had prepared and we suddenly looked like we were really well coordinated. I was so happy I could participate in Legend's special day.

On a related note, yesterday I learned that I've been saying the word persevere wrong my entire life. I spelled it on the board the way I have been saying it: perservere. Whoops.

Legend, we love you and we're so happy you chose to be baptized!

The Master Is In

On Saturday morning we hauled ourselves out of bed earlier than the boys do for seminary. We drove nearly three hours south, parked in a garage, walked a mile, sat in stadium seats for almost three hours, took some pictures, walked another mile back to the car, then drove nearly three hours back home. All of that was worth it to celebrate my brother Jordan graduating with his Master's Degree!

Congratulations, Jordan! And Congratulations, Leah! Speaking from my own experience, a Master's degree for one spouse is often earned by both spouses.

The Littles

I took a last-minute trip down to my brother's house on Friday to lend a hand while my sister-in-law recovers from surgery. I played with my niece and nephew, read books with them, made dinner, chatted with my sister-in-law, visited an awesome library to the two littles, hung out a little with my older nephew when he got home from school, got kids into pajamas, tucked my niece and older nephew into bed, then rocked the youngest to sleep. It was a full day.

I totally failed to take pictures with my older nephew, but I did take some of the younger two while we were at the library, and then one during the rock-to-sleep.

I wish I could have been there longer, but I'm glad for the time I could give.

We Love to See the Temple

With Topher continuing to improve, and a seal of approval from the ER doctor, we spent our Wednesday afternoon driving down to Washington DC for a very special event. Remember when my brother and sister-in-law adopted my niece and nephew in January? Well, yesterday they were sealed as an eternal family in the Washington DC Temple.

It was amazing.

We love you guys! Thank you for letting us be with you on your wonderful day!

New Friends

A particular highlight of our trip down to Maryland last Saturday was when my sister-in-law Leah let the younger kids each choose a doll to take home. She's been collecting used/worn/damaged American Girl dolls and restoring them. She's doing a beautiful job. Phoebe, Sophie, Emma, and Topher all love their new buddies.

Thank you, Aunt Leah!

A Day on the Bay

Peter's spring break was a four-day weekend and I feel like we packed a week's worth of activities into that time. On Friday Phoebe went with some friends from church to an indoor waterpark and had a great time. That evening Peter and Cooper saw the Super Mario Brothers Movie to celebrate the birthday of a boy from church. They loved it.

The next morning we drove to Maryland to celebrate my brother Jordan's 40th birthday. We had fun chatting and playing at their house before relocating to a park on the Chesapeake Bay for a cookout.

photo credit: Leah

photo credit: Leah

It was a chilly day, but we were so happy to spend it with family!

Blessed

Yesterday morning we made the two hour drive down to Maryland to witness our nephew Legend and niece Zariah be given a name and a blessing. In our church this is usually done when children are infants. However, since Legend and Zariah were adopted into the family in January, they were given their blessings now as bigger kids. It was a gift to hear my brother Jordan be the conduit for both of the powerful and tender blessings.

Plus, we loved getting to see family, even if it was just for sacrament meeting.

Jordan and Leah, thanks for inviting us to be part of this special day!

 

Officially Cousins

Almost two years ago my brother Jordan and his wife Leah were expecting their first baby. They had also gone through the long process of becoming foster parents. Shortly after being approved (maybe the next day?), they got a call that a brother (age five) and sister (about three months) needed a home. That brother and sister have been with them ever since. And, as of last Friday morning, they are officially part of their family. Before Friday I hadn't been able to share any information about them on the blog, but now I can!

Our little family planned to travel the two and a half hours down to Maryland to see Legend and Zariah join their family. I let Leah know that some of us had had COVID and let them make the call on if we would be there or not. She said it was fine as long as we tested the kids right before we left. The hearing was early on Friday morning, so we got a hotel for Thursday night. That meant the COVID tests would need to be on Thursday afternoon.

Unfortunately, Sophie and Peter both tested positive minutes before we were supposed to leave. Peter was upset. Sophie was devastated. Bryan already had to stay home to work, so they stayed at home with him. I double checked that it was still okay for the rest of us to come. Then I got on the road with Cooper, Phoebe, and Topher. We made it to the hotel a little after eight and finally convinced Topher to go to sleep about an hour later.  

I was determined not to be late, but traveling with other people meant that I didn't have total control over their behavior. After more stressing and pushing on my part than was pleasant, we left for the courthouse on Friday morning with thirty minutes to make a twenty minute drive. After one missed turn, we parked, paid the meter, and ran into the courthouse with minutes to spare. After going through security and wandering around we discovered we couldn't find them. Frantic, I went back to the security guards and asked where the adoptions were taking place. That's how we discovered we were in the wrong building.

The white van in this picture is ours, that's where we parked. See the big brown building on the left? That's the courthouse we went into first. See the smaller brown building on the right? That's where we should have been.

We ran. We ran so fast Topher lost a shoe and I told Cooper to just pick it up and keep going, we didn't have time to stop to put it back on. We had to run all the way around the building before we found an open door. We were now a few minutes past when the hearing was supposed to take place. I was so upset at the thought that we might miss it. We finally made our way through a second round of metal detectors and security and went up the elevator. We were ushered into the courtroom, just behind another latecomer. We sat down just in time to be told to stand for the judge.

We made it!

A few minutes later the judge announced that Legend and Zariah now share Jordan, Leah, and Maverick's last name. I know mine weren't the only teary eyes in the room.

I'm thrilled to be able to share this picture of their family of five. I'm so happy that I officially have a new niece and nephew and that my kids have two new cousins, especially since we've already considered them family for a long time.

They had a lot of people that came to the hearing to support them that morning. We're so thankful we could be among them. We love you guys!

Thankful for Family

We had the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with my brother Jordan and his family in Maryland. It was wonderful to visit with him and my sister-in-law Leah and their kids inside after only having a few outside visits with them for the past two years. The food was delicious and the company was wonderful. I finally got to snuggle my niece and little nephew and chat with my older nephew since he was a bit too grownup for snuggling. My niece thought Sophie was the bee's knees and my big kids did a great job playing with their younger cousins. Topher loved the cousins, and he really loved their toys.

It was a great day.

Three Out of Five

We just got back from a wonderful Thanksgiving at my brother's house. We spent the whole day cooking, eating, talking, and laughing. It was a great day. We were on our way home before I realized I hadn't gotten a picture of me with my two siblings that were there. We turned the car around and went back.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Spiritually Fed

This past weekend was General Conference, always one of my favorite times of the year. My brother Jordan and his wonderful wife Leah visited and watched with us, which made Saturday and Sunday even more fun. Highlights include Aunt Leah painting Phoebe's and Sophie's nails and Uncle Jordan giving an editing lesson to an attentive Phoebe while Peter and Cooper hung out nearby hoping for their own tutoring session.

The week before Conference we talked as a family about how to ask big questions and listen for answers from the Spirit. During the talks we would occasionally hear one of the kids say, "That answered my question!"

The four big kids did a good job overall, they love Conference and were excited. Topher is at an exceptionally busy stage, so Bryan and I traded off toddler-wrangling duties. That means neither of us had a restful or attentive General Conference experience, so I'm thankful for technology that allows me to spend the next six months reviewing the talks.

That said, there were some speakers that I loved:

Jeffrey R. Holland - The first talk answered one of my big personal questions.
Michelle Craig - She had greats suggestions for staying close to the Spirit and following revelation.
Dale G. Renlund - The stories of sacrifice and the importance of covenants really impressed me.
David A. Bednar - I loved his cheetah analogy.
Reyna I. Aburto - This was a powerful talk about mental illness, maybe the best talk of the weekend.
Bonnie H Cordon - I love the new Young Women theme!
President Russell M. Nelson - He loves the women of the church, I can feel it when he speaks. He clarified some very important and often misunderstood points about women and the Priesthood.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf - He talked about the Hobbit! Peter perked up as soon as the talk started and commented that he knew where the analogy was going and, later, that he agreed with it. Cooper cited this as his favorite talk. I loved it too.
President Russell M. Nelson - I loved his reminder to love our neighbors and care for them.
M. Russell Ballard - President Ballard's sweet stories about his wife touched my heart.
Peter M. Johnson - We are children of God and have divine potential.

Family Temple Time

A highlight of my family's visit was a trip to the Philadelphia Temple. Between my parents, my grandma, my brother Jordan, my sister-in-law Leah, Peter, and me, we performed eighty-eight ordinances for our family members. It was a sweet experience. Big thanks go to Bryan who took the four younger kids to the museum, making my time in the Temple possible.

Photo credit: Jordan

Mini Us

I got a call from my brother Jordan this morning, telling me he was on his way to the Temple and, though it was very last minute, did we want to meet him afterward for a visit? We got ourselves sorted and hopped in the van after lunch. A little over an hour later, we met up with him at one of the largest malls in the United States.

We followed the example of the pioneers and walked and walked and walked. We also, chatted, played, and ate. A highlight of the visit was a stop in the LEGO store. We just popped in to look around, but then I saw a station where we could design our own minifigs. I asked the kids if they wanted to make one of each member of our family and of Uncle Jordan and Aunt Leah. They loved the idea.

Here's Uncle Jordan and Aunt Leah:

Photo credit: Jordan

And here's our little family in LEGO form:

It was a fun adventure, thanks Jordan!

Matched

My brother Jordan and his wife Leah came to visit for the long weekend. We loved having them here. They played board games with the kids, watched movies with us, and stayed up way too late talking. It was wonderful.

Jordan and Peter unintentionally matched on their first day here.

A highlight for the kids was getting avocado face masks that Leah brought.

Thanks for visiting guys!

Charity Suffereth Long and Is Kind

With all the stress and worry and difficulty of last week, we would have been much worse off if not for some help that we received.

On Monday evening of last week I got a text from my brother that lives just a few hours away, offering to help. Then his wonderful wife sent a text saying that she didn't work the next day and that they could be at the hospital/house in three hours. At that point I had only slept for two and a half hours during the last two days, so I said yes. They drove two cars up; Leah came to the hospital and held Topher so I could sleep and Jordan came to the house to help Bryan. They were an answer to prayer.

After transporting the girls to and from dance and doing the bedtime routine so Bryan could come to the hospital, Leah drove home Tuesday night. Jordan stayed and worked remotely for the next two days. In the early hours of Wednesday morning I learned that my brother Isaac and his fantastic wife Falisha had offered to fly out from California to help. They would arrive on Thursday and Friday. That meant I just needed to get through another few days flying solo at the hospital.

Later that morning, after the sun was up, a friend from church texted and asked if she could come hold Topher so I could sleep. This was shortly after I had started pumping and was feeling a little frantic about taking care of both of us. I said yes. I did the same when four other friends made the same offer. These marvelous women came and held my baby and kept me company and made it possible for me to sleep. I don't know how I would have handled everything without these sweet ladies from church.

Isaac and Falisha have been a great help, first at home so Bryan could come to the hospital, then to me and Topher when Bryan was home with the other kids, and finally in taking care of all of us when we were home again but exhausted. They've both gotten sick while here, but continued to help anyway. They will go home today and we will miss them so much.

Our family has been blessed by so many people through these hard weeks, those that came and gave their time and those that prayed and checked on us from afar. These are the best Valentine's Day gifts we could have hoped for.

A Baptism and a Blessing

This weekend two very special events took place. On Saturday morning Phoebe was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Bryan performed the ordinance, the Grandmas gave the prayers (Nana Cris the opening and Nana Shari the closing), and the Grandpas gave the talks (Grandpa Marc the Baptism talk and Papa Ron the Holy Ghost talk), Uncle Jordan made cookies, Aunt Leah did Phoebe's hair so it wouldn't float up in the water, I led the music, and Peter (yes, Peter) accompanied the opening and closing songs on the piano. Grandma Bonnie even came out of travel retirement to support Phoebe. True to her name, Phoebe radiated light. It was a lovely day.

Then on Sunday morning, during Sacrament Meeting, Topher received his baby blessing. Bryan gave the blessing with Papa Ron, Grandpa Marc, Uncle Jordan, and our Bishop in the circle. Peter held the microphone. Topher was blessed with a keen mind and with righteousness, among other things. During the blessing Topher was wrapped in an afghan that was made by his Great-Great-Great Aunt Bettie. She made the afghan for Peter's baby blessing and all five children have been wrapped in it for each of their blessings. Bettie passed away this year, it was poignant to have this reminder of her.

Thank you to the family that traveled to be with us for this weekend and for those that were here in spirit. I'm so happy that Phoebe chose to be baptized, that Topher was blessed, and that Bryan was (and is) worthy and able to perform both.

I love my family.

Give Me Your Biggest Smiles

Thanks Aunt Leah and Uncle Jordan for giving us the game that made this picture possible!

The Tater Tot Warriors

Thankfully, though our power was out on Saturday, the electricity was still on at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. We had been planning this visit to the science museum for weeks, it worked out well that we needed to be out of the house anyway that day. My brother Jordan and his new bride Leah drove up from Maryland and met us for a fun day.

The kids loved this climbing net meant to teach about the connections in the brain.

Cooper, Leah, Jordan and Sophie all snagged a picture with Mr. Franklin himself.

Bryan was amused that all the kids wanted to try the Virtual Reality headsets at the museum, even though he has one they could use at home.

Look! Proof we were there!

I spent most of my time visiting and not much of it taking pictures. Jordan and Leah had to leave early to get Leah to work on-time. Thankfully we got this picture before they left. Thanks for coming to see us guys!

After that we spent some time learning about (and climbing around) the heart.

And then we studied simple machines. This was one of my favorite exhibits.

We finally made it to the main museum attraction for the day: the traveling display of the world famous Terracotta Warriors from China. Or, as Cooper called them, the tater tot warriors. This was the penultimate day of the exhibit and we were pleased that we'd gotten some of the last tickets available. At three-hundred pounds each, they were quite impressive to behold.

This is what two-thirds of a selfie looks like. Sorry Phoebe...

Did you hear about the guy who attended a private party at the Franklin Institute and decided to take one of the warriors thumbs as a souvenir? Notice that this warrior is missing a thumb? I don't know if it's the same statute, but I do wonder.

The kids tried their hands at building their own warriors.

Grandma really loved seeing the warriors. Cooper was less enthusiastic. This is the best facial expression I could get out of him. The next day he started running a fever, so this may have been germ-induced grumpiness.

The detail was amazing, especially considering they're all more than two thousand years old. The statues, not the museum patrons.

We're so happy we took the time to see the warriors, but even happier that we made time to see Uncle Jordan and Aunt Leah.