Thoughts from the Hearth: May 2014

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

First Month

Guess who is one month old today?

Davy loves his baby sister!

Tiny tootsies

We all wonder what we did without her: our sweet Fiona.

Love, Mama Rachel

Many, MANY thanks to my sweet friend, the amazing Jen, for these beautiful photos!

Monday, May 12, 2014

Mormon Prom, Mothers' Day, and Missionary Calls

What a weekend!!!

Mormon Prom

Saturday night was Mormon Prom, and our Lliam took our sweet neighbor/friend, Ashlyn, as his date. He and his friends Duke and Brandon planned it all out, and had a great time going as a group together. I just love these awesome young men!

And I love their wonderful parents, who helped with dinner and pictures!

(All I did was make Lliam's corsage for Ashlyn and his boutonniere. Ah, well!)

Mother's Day

I think this may have been my best Mother's Day, yet! I was so spoiled!

Russell made me a beautiful breakfast of fancy French toast!

I decided that even though our Miss Fiona was not quite two weeks old, I just HAD to go to Church on Mother's Day! And it was wonderful to hear my Primary kids AND my youth sing to the moms in sacrament meeting! I bawled and grinned so much, my face hurt!

:-)

It was WONDERFUL!!!

My Missionary

I GOT TO TALK TO MY BOY!!!

Oh, it was so, so, so, so, sooo wonderful!!!

He got really emotional when he saw the little ones, and especially when he met his baby sister. It was so special and tender! It makes me so happy to know he loves his family so much!

He was amazed at how grown up and changed everyone is. He kept telling his sisters how beautiful they are, and he and his best buddy Lliam had a wonderful conversation. (I know those two really miss each other!)

The little girls were noisy and silly, but I think he enjoyed it. He's no longer used to the noise that is our family!

He did "fess up" to all the foods that he's come to like that he used to hate. And he's put on some weight, which is good since he used to be so skinny! (Funny what happens when one stops being such a picky eater! LOL!) He did say that he HAS been served road kill at least once-- and that he ATE it! Hee! (It was venison.)

We sang one of the songs from the Temple Cultural Celebration together, with Dierdre accompanying us on her ukulele. He LOVED it! It was so great to continue to share our music together! We need to record it and send it to him.

He said that he loves being on his own, shopping for himself, managing his money, and cooking for himself. He also said that being homeschooled really prepared him to be with his companions 24/7! LOL! He came out knowing what it is like to never be alone!

HA!!!

A St. Maries' sunset

It was awesome to hear how much he LOVES missionary work, and how much he truly LOVES the people of St. Maries! He talked about how humble and teachable the people in the area are. His area there in St. Maries is HUGE-- that they have an 1800 mile driving budget each month(?) or week (?), and that they ALWAYS exceed it, because their area is so huge.

The pictures he sends are beautiful! He also pointed the computer camera out his window, and WOW! It makes me think of Island Park from my childhood, except even more green, and more foliage.

He really wants our family to come and pick him up at the end of his mission-- he may even be home before Christmas in 2015! He also wants to go back to St. Maries and be mentored by some of the wonderful people he has met. (In blacksmithing and forging?!) He is just doing so well!!! He's almost a fourth of the way through his mission, and he is loving every minute.

A mother's heart

Our pretty Miss Fiona Temple

I am just overflowing with love and gratitude for all my blessings this weekend! It is a tender thing to have a new baby on Mother's Day, and to be able to connect with all my children on such a sweet level. I am so thankful for all the Lord's blessings and tender mercies He has given me.

These last 6 months or so have been VERY difficult, and so I appreciate the Lord's love and blessings from this weekend even more. I know He loves me, and loves my children and family.

I hope my readers also had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!