Hall of Fame

On Oct 10th we were able to go to Alta High School and celebrate my dad as he was welcomed into the coach's hall of Fame.  Alta High School basketball was such a big part of my dad's life and our lives as we were growing up.  It was fun to go back and see all of the changes that have been made to the school and remember high school a little bit.  The kids had a fun time playing on the Alta letters on the hill.  The same ones we played on all those years ago.  Beyond that they didn't really care what was going on and were just interested for what was for dessert.  Silly kids! 

Well done Dad.  Coaching is not a job you do for the money, but seeing my dad's passion for it over the years was awesome and I know he impacted a lot of players lives. 

I am thankful for the memories and all of the good times!   

Fall Break 2019

Fall break ended up being a wonderful bonding weekend for our family.  Fall break was Oct 17-19th.  We weren't brave enough to go to far with 8 kids, but we did attempt a mini vacation around Salt Lake and it didn't turn out too bad.  We started off fall break with some relaxing play time at home.  It worked out perfectly that the leaves were just starting to fall so we were able to get out in the backyard and make some leaf houses and leaf piles.  

McKay took the day off on Friday and we headed out.  Our first stop was SeaQuest in the Layton mall.  They have an awesome deal that foster families get in free.  Yay!  The kids all loved it and thoroughly smelled like fish food at the end.  Feeding the sting rays and birds were their favorite parts.  I was excited for the fish that eat the dead skin off your hand, but it was a little crowded and the fish weren't as hungry when we were there.  I also loved seeing the kids faces light up when the birds landed on them for some food.  It was pure delight in their eyes.  

After SeaQuest we headed to our hotel.  We stayed at the grins and fins hotel in Salt Lake.  They have a mini water park for the kids in the hotel.  Our kids are half fish (they LOVE swimming) so we knew they would enjoy it.  We grabbed some pizza on our way and did what any smart parents do and fed them pizza right before they went swimming (it was fine).  The kids had a great time in the pool and McKay and I were grateful that we all survived (it made us so nervous with 8 of them and only 2 of us).  After swimming we went back to our rooms and watched cartoons and ate treats.  We were able to get two rooms close to each other.  The boys slept in one room with dad and the girls with mom.  Thankfully they all slept well. 

In the morning we made a few trips to the free breakfast in the hotel and the kids had a great time exploring our hotel rooms.  After breakfast we headed to Ensign Peak.  This is the only very short hike that we took with all 8 kids in 2019.  Our foster loves aren't used to hiking, but they were figuring it out in the end.  I love listening to the kids conversations on the hike (among all the whinning) and hearing all of their theories on life.  "Did you know this used to be a volcano?!" lol things like that.

After the hike we headed home so some of the kids could go to a birthday party.  We recovered from our trip just fine and we might consider doing it again in the future (but no camping for this mama for several more years).     

  

Foster Care update

Just a little additional info in our foster care journey.  Biggest news of this journey: we are all learning SO much this year and our patience and ability to love has grown leaps and bounds. 

As a parent there are certain life lessons that you learn while raising kids that you just know that you could have never learned any other way.  There is just nothing out there like the selfless service of a parent to teach us about the incredible love our father in heaven has for us.  I feel like I am learning so much everyday as I raise these little humans.  McKay and I also feel like foster care is teaching us these similar life lessons.  Things that we could have never learned without these experiences.  Our patience is being tested in all of the chaos of having 8 kids and we are learning to love others in a deep and meaningful way. 

We see the stress and heartache that the bio family is going through during this experience.  Having an up close view of their struggles has humbled me in a very real way.  We wish that we could take their pain away and make all of the problems disappear.  If only that was how life worked... We love their family and are grateful that we have been able to get to know them.  So far they have been nothing but kind to us and for that I am grateful.

The kids have many around them that care about them and want to help.  They have teachers, parents, therapists, and doctors who are cheering them on and helping them as they navigate these confusing times.  Even with all of this "help" there are still many struggles that we can't take away from them.  They ask questions at times and often our answer has to be "I don't know."  The uncertainty is hard.  But I know they are strong kids and I hope McKay and I can help them through things.   

Currently we are in the treading water phase of the case.  We are right in the middle and just playing the waiting game to see how everything will turn out.  The case will last for about a year and then the judge will make a decision.  I am so grateful to not be the judge!  Thankfully the kids still get to see their family and spend time with them.  They love their visit times and I am grateful they get to continue that bond with family. 

We pray daily that things go well for this case.  We know God cares about these kiddos.  I have seen his hands in it and I am sure angels are watching out for them. 

     

General Conference Oct 2019

General Conference is always a special weekend.  This General Conference felt extra special.  One reason it was special was that it was Adalyn's first time being able to come to the General Woman's conference since she recently turned 8 years old.  We went to dinner with my mom and sisters and then went and watched it at my grandma's stake center in Farmington.  I love love love the women's session and the messages were wonderful.  A few things to remember were President Nelson announcing the new temples being built (it felt unique that he announced it in the womens session) and many changes to the youth programs. 

Another great reason I loved this conference was that it was Big Sis, Mr. J and Little A's first general conference with us.  They definitely added to the "chaos" going on in the home as we tried to listen to the talks.  But it was fun to introduce them to the idea that we have a prophet of god on earth who leads the church and to introduce them to our conference traditions.  They loved the candy traditions. :)  

The biggest take away that we gained from this general conference was to prepare ourselves for the April 2020 General conference.  2020 is 200 years since the first vision.  We are to prepare ourselves for an unforgettable conference by rereading the first vision and thinking about the impact that the Book of Mormon and the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints has in our lives.  President Nelson's invitation gives me chills every time I read/watch it.  These are exciting times in the church and I am grateful to be a part of them.

    

Family Photos 2019

I was nervous to take family photos with all 10 of us, but Heavenly Father must have known that these were important to me and I really felt like he blessed us to be able to make these photos happen.  The outfits came together really well and the location was perfect.  The kids were awesome during the first family photos which really was all we needed.  I think we captured some sweet photos that I love having around my house to remind me of my many blessings that we get to have in our home these days.

This year we used my friend from college, Katie Phillips to take the pictures for us and it was so fun to catch up with her and hear how her family is doing.  We taught preschool together so I knew she could work well with kids which was a great bonus.

Here are our family photos for 2019.

The photos are all in random order, but that is what you get.  

Here are this year's stats...

McKay and Kajsa- Almost married for 10 years

Adalyn- 8 years old

Jensen- 6 years old

Declin- 5 years old

Big Sis- 4 years old

Mr. J- 3 years old

Magnolia- 3 years old

Little A- 20 months

Rockwell- 15 months old