Just for my kiddos...

Oh my little ones.  I can't believe it has been another year (and a half).  That makes two (and a half) years since you boys came home and we have been together as a family.  The past 18 months have been full of change for us.  We moved out of our beloved little town home and got a house with some room to breathe.  We got a dog, Lala, who is crazy, but we love her.  We are expecting your new baby brother, set to arrive in the next few weeks, I can't believe it.  Dad switched fire stations, working now as a Murray City firefighter.  You are changing schools this year to Riverside Elementary, leaving the awesome Woodstock Elementary behind.  London even switched soccer clubs, leaving Murray Max and joining Utah Glory.  Change. is. hard.  But it is sometimes necessary and good for us too.  We are meeting new friends in our new neighborhood and ward.  We are growing closer as a family and learning our strengths and weaknesses.  We appreciate our family vacation times even more now that life is sooooo busy and crazy with sports, school, friends, work, etc.  And how lucky are we to get to go on fun family vacays??  Throughout the last year I have been, as always, amazed at the strength you little people have.

London, you are so dedicated to soccer and school it impresses me to no end.  You excel at every single thing you set your mind to.  I did not have that drive at your age.  You are passionate and confident, an incredibly patient older sister, a fiercely loyal friend and a natural beauty.  The older you get the more I think of you as my very best girl friend.  You really are.

Mick, you have the kindest heart of any 7 year old I have ever met.  You put up with anyone and anything with a grace that is beyond me.  You are smarter than you realize (and I try to tell you that every day).  You LOVE playing baseball with your dad and you are dang good at it.  And I LOVE that you still want to give me hugs and kisses and sing you guitar lullabies before bed every night.

Ashley, you are my tank - a rock that is also full of fun!  You are just starting to learn to read and write and pay attention in preschool and you have come a long way.  You are a natural athlete like your older brother, kicking serious butt in soccer.  Mostly, you are my little love-man, wanting to hug and kiss and compliment everybody all the time.  We all smile more because of you.

And I am dying to meet this next little guy in our crew!!!  He is the luckiest kid in the world to have the three of you to look up to.

If there were only two things that I could teach you in this life they would be: 1) believe in things you cannot see, no matter what the world around you says; and 2) never be the one dragging somebody else down, always be the one pulling somebody else up.  We better ourselves so that we can help those around us.  I want you to know your mom is a woman of faith.  I truly am, at my core, a believer.  A believer in good and evil, in God, in Christ, and in the power of hope and love.  I have a logical and analytical mind and work in a logical business, but what makes me the woman I am is my devotion to things I cannot fully explain.  In order to do that you have to have some humility and give gratitude to God, not just to ourselves.

I can't wait for our next year of fun together.  I'm so proud of you.  Love you to pieces.  Mom