Macy's Pigtails

I put Macy's hair in pigtails, so don't mind me if I add a whole bunch of pictures on here that I think are just adorable!

Youth Temple Trip

These fine young men went with the youth in our stake up to Montreal to perform proxy baptisms in the temple.

It was Hiram's first time and they all had a wonderful experience!

Strawberry Shortcake

After Noé got me a remake of the vintage Strawberry Shortcake dolls from 1980 for Christmas, I was on the hunt to track down one from all 6 of her eras.

The first era was made by Kenner in 1980.  I had 16 of these original dolls.

The second era was by THQ (Toy Headquarters) in 1991.  This would have been my little sisters' era, but I don't know if they had any of them.

The third era was by Bandai in 2003.  Noé had a little stuffed doll with this design.

The fourth era was by Playmates Toys in 2005.  Noé had 6 of these dolls.

The fifth era was by Hasbro in 2009.

The sixth era was by The Bridge Direct in 2017.

I hope they will sell more dolls soon, as I'd love to get some for Ali and Macy.

I also got Strawberry Shortcake's pets.  Pupcake originally belonged to Huckleberry Pie, but somewhere along the line he became Strawberry's dog.  Custard the cat has always been Strawberry's though.

I love these little dollies and they inspire me to have the dolls I've designed be manufactured.  If only I knew someone in the toy industry!

The Priesthood of God

I'm so grateful for these men in my life who hold the Priesthood of God and do their best to honor it and keep their covenants.  Hiram, Teague, and Gavin all hold the Aaronic Priesthood and are in the offices of Deacon, Teacher, and Priest.  Kaleb, and Leonard hold the Melchizedek Priesthood in the offices of Elder, and High Priest.  I'm so grateful that God's Priesthood, His power and authority, is on the earth again!

 

Mother's Day

After church on Mother's Day, we took a nice walk by the river.  We found this lovely field of dandelions and stopped to take some pictures.

I love this time of year when all the blossoms are appearing on the trees.

So beautiful!

My Babies

I am so lucky to have 7 babies!  Our journey to parenthood wasn't the easiest.  I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (except it was called disease back then).  We did fertility treatments and I got pregnant, but had a blighted ovum.  It took another 2 1/2 years of fertility treatments and I got pregnant with Kaleb and Noé.  Our prayers were answered, we had a son and daughter of our own.

When they were 3 1/2 we moved to Taiwan.  Our apartment was furnished, and after we unpacked we had an empty dresser.  I teased Leonard that we could put the baby clothes in there.  One day as I was walking down the hall, I saw in Noé's bedroom, "Ali" up on the wall next to where the "Noé" was.  I went back and looked again because it was so real.  Of course, it wasn't there on the second look, but I felt we needed to have Ali.  I also had Gavin in my mind too.  Before we blinked, I was pregnant!  We were so excited to have Gavin!

I still had Ali in my mind, but Teague and Macy were there too.  I got pregnant again and we were so happy to welcome Teague!

When we were deciding Teague's name, we also really liked the name Hiram.  I was really wanting Ali and Macy though, so I was surprised when we had another boy.  We fell in love with Hiram, and now just wished for Ali, Macy, and Sasha.

When we got pregnant again, I thought we'd have another boy, but the Ali I envisioned years before finally joined us.

Leonard thought our family was complete, but I still thought we were supposed to have more.  As soon as Leonard decided he wanted more, I got pregnant with Macy that minute!  We were so scared about her having Down syndrome, but she is our little angel and we couldn't imagine our family without her.

We still dream of Sasha though.  We've pursued all avenues of adoption (private, public, international), but none of them worked.  We decided to do fertility treatments again.  I had another blighted ovum.  We were able to harvest and fertilize 8 eggs.  We did an embryo transfer with the 3 that survived, but the pregnancy didn't work.  Miraculously, I got pregnant on my own- with identical twins!  Unfortunately, I lost them at 11 weeks.  I'm old enough to be a grandma, but I still dream of having Sasha, or twins, or even triplets.  I know this dream might not come true, but I'm still hoping for it.  And I still feel so lucky for the 7 sweet children I do have!

26th Anniversary

These teenagers celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary!

Leonard got me these gorgeous flowers.

I love the orange, purple, and green color scheme.

I gave him a card with my traditional "So Now What?" letter.  We were going to go out, but I was really sick.  Instead, we stayed home and watched Dan in Real Life.

Unbirthday Party

Before Gramma and Grampa went back home, they threw a birthday party for all of us!

They spoiled us with a yummy cake...

…and cards for each of us.  There was money inside so the kids could buy their own gift too.  We're so spoiled!

May 2023

May is a wonderful month, it's when the flowers return!

And we get to celebrate our silly moms!

The Cookie Club

Ali loves going to the primary activities at church.  The girls call themselves the Cookie Club.  One week they made these cookie mixes in a jar to give away.  Ali and her friend gave them to each other, ha ha!  One of their leaders often comes to church with giant chocolate chip cookies each Sunday.  She'll give the girls 2 cookies each, one for them to eat, and one to give to another member of the ward.  I think it's a pretty sweet club!