Luggage

In case you guys are not impressed with the luggage picture I thought I would throw in the fact that those are just the kid's bags! James and mine are not yet added in the mix...

One More Day;-)

Only one more day and oh, are we excited!! We are pretty much packed and ready to go. I am sure some of you are just dying to know how much luggage it takes to get a family of 8 to South America for 3 weeks. Well, it is quite a bit ,I can tell ya that! I took some pics for those of you that are interested;-). Otherwise, I guess I post again when we are on our way or after we finally get there. It depends on whether or not James lets me have a few free minutes! Pray for the kids to be...I dunno, quiet, patient, entertained, easy going...etc.throughout the trip.Pray for us also;-), you can only imagine how it will be.

Fun with our Friends...

We had such a blast with our friends today! I caught a few moments on camera and had to share them! The kids played doctor and vet...they both practice in the same office and there are no boys allowed. It was fun!!Enjoy;-)...

Only 2 Weeks!!

Saludos~

As you can see from the lovely countdown thingy over there-->
we only have a little over two weeks before we leave...yeah;-)!
We are so excited...just trying to concentrate on wrapping up school and getting things together for the trip.We found out that James will actually gets credit for this trip...praise the Lord!!! That means we are a few steps closer to the end (of seminary). He does have to do the work for two classes but I think he is actually looking forward to it;-). I believe he was a bit sad on that last day...after the finals were taken, of course!
In other news, Judah took his first steps!!! Three to be exact, we were very excited! This was James' first time to be there when one of the kids took their first steps and was a huge deal to him. I was grateful that he could see that;-). Of course he has not taken a single step since that night but I am okay with that.
I hope everyone of you moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. I did. We had a lovely baby dedication at church which really made me reflect on the years I have had with my older kids,how much I've learned (the good, the bad, and the ugly about myself and the kids;-)...don't ask , trust me you really don't want the details! And it made me think of how quickly it has all gone by , I know that with them(the older 2) I did not cherish the early years enough...I was in survival mode(you all know what I'm talking about;-). But I think that the more children we had the more I was determined to enjoy it from the beginning...oh, what joy! What a blessed turning point in my life as a mother that was and how I wish it had been sooner. All this to say...cherish your babies/kids/teenagers/young adults. Get up at night when your baby cries out...kiss their head, cheeks, hands as you rock them back to sleep and don't worry about that sleep you've lost it is something that in 10 years you won't miss but you will regret not taking advantage of those moments alone being your child's comfort. Laugh with them when they act silly, be there when they want to talk until late in the night...even if you've had a looooong day, look at the pictures, cards, and all of the other things.Wear the things they buy for you, even if they are not the most fashionable item around...it means more to them tha you know.(My mom had great experience with poorly chosen jewelry gifts and was always a very good sport about it, even if she didn't find out it was a joke until later! Remember the knife earrings , Mom? I love ya!) Cherish every moment you possibly can, when you look back or even when you lay down in bed at night you'll be happy you did. There is oh so much more that I have learned in the past 12 years and much more that I need to learn but these things have pressed heavily on my heart so I though I'd share them;-).
Another thing I'd like to share are some pictures that I taken of the kids, I'll add those in a seperate post. Hope you guys enjoy them...