Middle Sis and Li'l Sis

Ali and Macy were being so cute snuggling on the couch together I had to take some pictures of them.

I love that they love each other!

*I have to take some more pics of Noé and Macy together, because they also adore one another.

Big Sis and Middle Sis

One day Ali got a make-over by her big sis, Noé. 

Of course, I had to take pictures of them together.

They were hamming it up and being so cute.

I love that they love each other!

Marsha in Town!

Marsha and her three youngest girls came to town!  I was lucky and got to go to Nordik Spa with her, Annick, and Jackie and spend the entire day.  These are Marsha's feet in the hammock.  I never got in a hammock, but I spent plenty of time in the saunas and hot tubs, and just took two dips in the cold pools.  We also got to eat some yummy food.

Annick hosted a lovely potluck dinner for Marsha and her family and afterwards we went and got ice cream at Chocolat Favoris!

Before Marsha left we all got to have lunch together again at Pho Truc Lien.

Please come back and visit every year Marsha!

Mother's Day

On Mother's Day my family made me a delicious strawberry-lemon-croissant casserole for breakfast (it is so good!).

My sweet mother sent me these lovely purple tulips too!

Noé got me some Knicker Bocker Glorious bath stuff from Lush.

Some more of the Mother's Day goodies I enjoyed!

We also gave Brookside Chocolates to the sisters we minister to.

The best gifts though will always be my babies!!

And my husband (who made me a Mama!).

I'm so grateful for all the wonderful mothers in my life and so grateful I get to be a mother.

Noé's First Job!

Noé got her first job working at the Mandarin buffet as a hostess.  She was given her shirt and name tag...

...then had to wear all black and her hair in a bun.  She enjoyed working there, but after we moved to our new house, it was too far to commute and she had to resign.

*Note to self: take pics of Kaleb in his Yalla Yalla and Pita Pit work shirts!

Record-breaking

Gavin joined Kaleb and Noé for his first time to serve in the temple.

  

The Ottawa and Mount Royal Stakes joined together for the youth to perform proxy baptisms.  It was the most youth the Montreal Temple had ever had at one time and they were able to serve in 1,277 ordinances!  I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father allows His children the opportunity to receive sacred ordinances and covenants after they have died, if they didn't have the opportunity while they were living.  He is no respecter of persons and wants ALL of His children to return home to Him!

Noé shared this picture with me, she said it was her favorite from the day!

22nd Anniversary!

Leonard and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary and it was significant!  We got married shortly before our 22nd birthdays, so we've now been married longer than when we were single.  I was Jennifer Pittl for 7,942 days.  On our anniversary I had been Jennifer Reil for 8,035 days!

I have lived in the USA, England, Canada, Taiwan, and India.  I am Home if I am with Leonard.  Love you Honey!!

Two-front Teeth

All of my older children had both of their front teeth out at the same time.  Not my Hiram.  He lost one baby tooth, but not the other.  In this picture his adult tooth is as long as his baby tooth.  I'm writing this post about 9 months later and his adult tooth is fully grown in and his baby tooth is still there!  We've talked to our dentist about this and she sent us to an orthodontist.  The orthodontist asked us to wiggle it intensely for the next 4 months and if it's not out by then, he'll investigate further (sometimes teeth fuse to the jawbone).  Hiram's x-rays show his adult tooth is right there waiting to come out, but that baby tooth has to get out first!

Chandler and Shelby

Elder Rudolph served his mission here in Ottawa four years ago.  He brought his cute wife back with him to visit and he wanted to introduce her to us.  I was so honored!  They're such a cute couple and I wish them all the best in their future together.  Some days I still feel like Len and I are newly weds, then I remember we have seven children.  Time flies when you're an adult, and I'm trying to cherish each minute!

It's Intuitive

Our public library has musical instruments you can check out, including violins.  I think this is amazing!  After a long wait, it was Kaleb's turn with a violin.  The second day he had it I heard him playing A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.  I was so shocked I ran upstairs to make sure I was hearing correctly.  He wasn't quite ready to perform in a recital, but he was playing a song that I could recognize after ZERO violin lessons!  I asked him if he was using piano sheet music or what?  He was playing the notes from memory.  I asked how he knew where those notes were on the violin.  His answer, "It's just intuitive."  Yeah, it's just intuitive to pick up a new instrument (a very hard one at that) and start making music on it.  Kaleb brought this musical gift from heaven with him when he was born.  I hope he will continue to learn more and develop his talent all throughout his life!

Easter Sunday

We got all dressed up in our new dresses and shirts & ties for church on Easter Sunday.

After church, we invited the Montminys over for our Easter feast.  Of course, Rita made her delicious brussel sprouts too!

The kids watched It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown...

...while the grown-ups hid the Easter eggs.

Macy woke up just in time for the hunt.

The kids scored even MORE yummy candy!

We ended the evening though with Teague's strawberry birthday cake.  It was a wonderful Easter and birthday celebration!