Where has the
time gone? I haven’t written in
ages! Here’s a quick run down of what we
have been up to:
Easter- -We had fun. We
made bread bunnies. Saturday morning, the
kids each followed their own color of yarn as it wound all over the house and
ended up at their Easter basket. After
that we feasted on boiled eggs, bread bunnies, Easter candy and
pistachios. Have you ever noticed that
pistachios are egg shaped—a nice and salty balance to all the sweet. On Sunday we had an Easter celebration
highlighting the last week of the life of Jesus Christ. Our celebration incorporated good food and
gifts.
Spring Break—I went to an amazing new shopping complex nearby three times! Once with
Brian and the kids, once with my scissors, Sarah Stoddard and Elizabeth
Teichert, and once with Brian for my brother, Rick Haws’s birthday. All of my Utah siblings were there with their
spouses except Elizabeth’s husband Daniel couldn’t make it. I had a blast each time. You would think that I’d get tired of going
there, but I didn’t—It was so wonderful to be out enjoying people I love in
such a beautiful setting.
Brian—Brian’s been working hard. He lost his summer teaching program which
sets us back lots of money, so he’s been figuring out how to make up the
difference. He’s also been working at
his mom’s house getting it ready for the new renters. We went out Friday night and had a nice
time. I love him!!!
Sally—Sally has been more cognizant of her surroundings lately,
which is a pleasant surprise. It is nice
to be able to communicate with her a bit as we care for her. She has had some good visits lately. Her sister and brother-in-law, Alice and Earl came during spring break and she loved that. This week Sally’s daughter and grand
daughter, Renee and Becky also visited as well as her son Paul with
his daughter, Abigail and her boyfriend who seems like a really nice guy. Sally loves visitors, so it was a good week
for her.
Cassandra, Emerson, and Lily—Cassandra and Emerson
celebrated their anniversary this weekend by getting a baby sitter for Lily,
and going on an over nighter. I’m so
excited that they got to do that and I can’t wait to find out how it all
went! Lily doesn’t get babysat much so
I’m sure it was quite an experience for her, too, but I’m also sure that she
survived just fine. She’s a very active
and busy little baby, and has actually taken a couple of steps lately! We love the pictures, videos, and updates
they send to us.
Jonathan—Jonathan came down for the weekend which was really
nice. He and Matt did errands during the
day on Friday and then on Friday night, he, Brian, and Matt had fun playing a
game together. Jonathan wrote a poem
that got into his college's literary journal.
He considers it a dubious honor, but we are so proud of him! He brought the journal home with him and I got
to see his poem in print. Like I told
Jon, I don’t really understand poetry, but I like the feeling of the poem he
wrote. He is a very insightful man.
Matthew—Cassandra and Emerson invited Matthew to visit them
before he leaves on his mission, so yesterday he flew to their neck of the woods. He gets to stay for a week, and
the rest of us are quite jealous. I know
he’ll have a lot of fun, and I think Lily is going to love him. The day after he gets home will be Matt’s
farewell, and then he’s off to the Mission Training Center the next
Wednesday. It’s hard to believe he’ll be
gone so soon. Where did the time
go? We are so happy and proud of him!
Miriam, Katrina, and Thomas—All three of the youngest kids
got hired to work at a local water park this summer which is pretty
exciting. I hope it will be a good
experience for them. It will definitely
keep them busy. Miriam is planning to go
to prom next week, and she has a beautiful dress for the occasion. She took the ACT last week and we are waiting
to hear her score. She really studied
hard for it! Katrina is busy getting
good grades, participating in drama, and hanging out with friends. She and her friend Veronica spent the later
half of yesterday re-watching Lord of the Rings. Thomas went on a campout yesterday and helped
the scouts aerate lawns for a fundraiser.
He is taking trumpet lessons and weight lifting with the high school football
team. He is also in the process of
running for ninth grade student body president, but doesn’t think he’ll win.
Me—I’m busy being the glue that holds it all together, and
let me tell you, the glue sure get spread thin sometimes, but I’m hanging in
there!
That's it. I'm sure I forgot a lot, but you get the idea.
