The Gav-Man

OHHH my little Gav-Man!  I can't believe that my baby is 5.   I didn't plan on him being my baby but sometimes God has other plans for us.  I wish I had savored all the moments of this little boy when he was a baby- like I would have if I'd realized he was going to be my last little baby.  Don't worry I'm eating it all up now.  Gav - you are pure delight !  You are sass with a Capital "S"!  You love Cars and every time you see a Corvette or Mustang - you yell out "That Ones Mine!"  Especially if your Daddy is in the car - you don't want him thinking it might be his. You LOVE to talk about wrestling and wrestlers .  Your awesome Dad has taught you some one liners that you love to say.  "Float like a butterfly, Sting like a Bee."  My personal favorite -  "You can't beat me because I'm so Purdy."    - just try to imagine this funny little boy saying this whilst he runs around my legs and punches at me.    You don't much care for food - You do love a good "burned warmed"  - that's a quesadilla in Gavin talk.  You also love Pie Yogurt which means Key Lime Pie and you LOVE pizza.  Last week I took you to Kindergarten registration and the lady had a sheet of paper with letters on it.  She pointed to a G and you said ,"I know it's in my name, is it a 5?"   Ha!  Not quite my boy - we will work on it - I'm in no hurry for you to grow up.  I love you so much Son, I Always Will - thanks for being my little boyfriend.  

I made you these Minion cupcakes to take to preschool .  You were sooo excited about them.  You are sooo darling my boy!

 In preschool Mrs. Janice has a special day called Wacky Weird Day!  Wacky indeed!  You picked out your whole outfit on your own.   Those are bowties on your arms, a cape that is tied at the waist with a belt.  You have on two different shoes and your clothes are inside out and backwards. 

 I had to snap a picture of this-  this is the day that you made Zanders bed for him to surprise him.  I think you did an amazing job, beds that are against walls are super hard to make.  Thanks for being so thoughtful son.  Your brother loved it !   

We Believe.......

Dear Son, 

        The other night you called for me to come to your room.  You were crying.  This isn't unusual for you.  You often turn into the wise old soul that must live inside of you when you get in your bed.  I think you must use that quiet time to reflect on your life and your choices and things of importance.  I'm grateful that you always call for me.  That night I came in and like I always have I knelt down by your bed and said ,"Why are you crying my boy?"   "Oh Mom,  I'm just worried about when I grow up, what if I don't have a testimony any more and I don't make it to the Celestial Kingdom to live with you forever?"    I asked you if you had a testimony now -  I already knew you did but I asked anyway.  You said you did and then I  told  you to just take it one day at a time and try every day to add to that testimony of your Savior and Father in Heaven.  I told you that you could do that by praying,  reading the scriptures,  listening in church and family Home Evening.   You didn't seem to be letting up with the tears and then you said the most precious thing,  "Mom, I'm just going to follow in your footsteps and then I KNOW that I will make it to the Celestial Kingdom."     WOW!  ,  this parent thing is awfully weighty.  I promise to do my very best Son - to lead you home to your Father in Heaven but you promise me to always work on your own testimony so that if I ever  make a mistake I can follow you.

Have any of you been to temple square and to the Conference Center and seen this Bronze figurine of the First Vision?  When I went to Youth Conference a couple of years ago I saw it for the first time.  I'll never forget the feeling I had when I saw it.  I've had a testimony of my Savior and Father in Heaven and the First Vision for that matter for as long as I can remember.   It has grown over the years but that day it grew - in fact I would say that it doubled in size.  I remember the tour guide showing us this statue and then he turned it around - it was on a base that swiveled.  He ran his hand across the back of the figure over God's arm which was lovingly around his Son.  I remember gasping -  my friend Jimmy Edwards actually turned around to look at me because it was so loud.  I saw tears in Jimmy's eyes and I knew that he was thinking what I was thinking.   "We BELIEVE in God the Eternal Father and in His Son Jesus Christ."   The spirit spoke to me that day and I knew that God my Father loves his Son Jesus Christ and he loves me because I too am his child.   Son, you will learn things little by little , line upon line, precept upon precept and I know that You Will Guide others back to Our Father in Heaven one day when you serve a mission and when you Have children of your own.  I hope you never forget that I have testimony and I know that WE Belong to the TRUE church,  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.   I love you my boy -  I'll always love you!

Momma
xoxoxo

My Dreams of Settling the Wild West

I told Jared that he absolutely had to write down some of the stories from growing up on the farm.  When he tells stories to our kids at night its not "Click, Click, Moo" - it's the real stories from the farm.  They are from his perspective as a little boy who was very creative and imaginative and clearly darling.  Our children will cherish these stories forever, as will I.  Here is just a sampling but probably my favorite one.  I love you Jared Holyoak - so grateful that are kids have such an amazing Dad! xoxo

My Zander-man

My little Zander-man often has nighttime confessions .  He tells me about things he's done that he is sad he chose to do.  Some of them make me laugh a little on the inside of course.  He is always very sad and sincere about them no matter the severity .  Tonight he came out and said that he had been asked Heavenly Father to forgive him and he didn't feel like he has.  We talked for awhile about what it feels like to be forgiven and then he went off to his room.  I went to check on him and to make sure he wasn't crying anymore - he had just gotten done saying another prayer and was crying again.  He told me that he was crying tears of joy because he knew Heavenly Father did forgiven him.   I am always amazed at how close to God my children are at such a young age and how they really get this thing called life. They understand things that I didn't understand until I was an adult.  I often wonder what might lie ahead of them and why they came into this world with such strong desires to do what is right.  I pray that their daddy and I can help direct their paths along the same road they have already clearly chosen.  I sure love them.

Fishin With Grandma

 Fishing with Grandma & Grandpa Anderson is seriously one of the funnest things according to these Holyoak kiddos.

This is the second summer we have gone and I hope to go many more. Grandpa couldn't come this year so we headed out with Grandma.

Grandma of course has to put a limit on the amount of fish each kid can catch because it can get a bit pricey.  She started off by saying everyone can catch 2 fish each.   Once she saw the looks on their faces as they caught their fish she quickly changed her mind to 3 fish each.  She even exclaimed at one point,  "  I've just got to catch one too!"  .  She invited me to join in but I had to capture everything on film.

We went to the big fish pond to look at the monsters and Jared decided that he wanted to try his hand at catching the big buggers with his bare hands.  He grabbed quite a few of them but they were slippery as snot and they all got away.  It was fun to watch for sure!!  

Thanks for the fishing trip Grandma Bonnie - we'll be back next year for more of that! 

LOVE YOU!

OH and I must add that while Grandma and I joined Felicia and some of my sisters at the Ronald McDonald house to serve dinner  that amazing hubby of mine breaded and seasoned up and fried those fish and they were AH- mazing!   No really , the best I've had!  What a guy!

Like Father ,Like Son

Like Father, Like Son!  OHH this cute boy spotted this chair in the garage and declared to his dad , "Dad, I'm gonna sand that chair up and give it a coat of paint." Ha! LOVE HIM and his handsome & handy daddy!      I haven't posted in so long that I thought I can at least post a few pictures here and there with a short little thought.  So,  here it is - picture, short little thought!  

   It really is a darling, old chair and it will look fantastic in his bedroom. 

19 Things We should Say to Our Children

{19 Things we should say to our Children}

1. I love you! There is nothing that will make me stop loving you. Nothing you could do or say or think will ever change that.

2. You are amazing! I look at you with wonder! Not just at what you can do, but who you are. There is no one like you. No one!

3. It’s all right to cry. People cry for all kinds of reasons: when they are hurt, sad, glad, or worried; when they are angry, afraid, or lonely. Big people cry too. I do.

4. You’ve made a mistake. That was wrong. People make mistakes. I do. Is it something we can fix? What can we do? It’s all over. You can start fresh. I know you are sorry. I forgive you.

5. You did the right thing. That was scary or hard. Even though it wasn’t easy, you did it. I am proud of you; you should be too.

6. I’m sorry. Forgive me. I made a mistake.

7. You can change your mind. It’s good to decide, but it is also fine to change.

8. What a great idea! You were really thinking! How did you come up with that? Tell me more. Your mind is clever!

9. That was kind. You did something helpful and thoughtful for that person. That must make you feel good inside. Thank you!

10. I have a surprise for you. It’s not your birthday. It’s for no reason at all. Just a surprise, a little one, but a surprise.

11. I can wait. We have time. You don’t have to hurry this time.

12. What would you like to do? It’s your turn to pick. You have great ideas. It’s important to follow your special interests.

13. Tell me about it. I’d like to hear more. And then what happened? I’ll listen.

14. I’m right here. I won’t leave without saying good-bye. I am watching you. I am listening to you.

15. Please and Thank You. These are important words. If I forget to use them, will you remind me?

16. I missed you. I think about you when we are not together!

17. Just try. A little bit. One taste, one step. You might like it. Let’s see. I’ll help you if you need it. I think you can do it.

18. I’ll help you. I heard you call me, here I am. How can I help you? If we both work together, we can get this done. I know you can do it by yourself, but I’m glad to help since you asked.

19. What do you wish for? Even if it’s not yet time for birthday candles and we don’t have a wishbone, it’s still fun to hear about what you wish for, hope for, and dream about

I know I haven't blogged in a long long while but this had to be posted so that I don't forget!   I love it when people talk sweetly to their children.  Talk sweetly that's what I say, it's all part of a very big investment!   

Love you!