Birthday Surprise

I did it! I successfully navigated my way around the sun again!! Now I am a whole year older! EEEEKKK!!

Jim told me when I called him on his birthday that the human body regenerates itself every 7 years and that this year was my year. He said that when I woke up on my birthday, I would be a new person. Well, I woke up in the wee hours with a terrible headache. Do you suppose that is what happens when all of your cells are new??

I took a nap after church to help ease the headache and shortly after I woke up, the phone rang and it was Hilary, Emily, Patrick, Isaac, puppy Eve and Esther singing me the most awesome Happy Birthday song!! It was such a treat!! Everyone should wake up to that!!

Yesterday when I got home from work, a surprise was waiting for me in the garage. The plant in this picture had been delivered. Thank you so much Mom and Dad Ekstrom!! What a fun surprise! It was sure thoughtful of you to think of me!!

Scott and Luke have sure taken good care of me today. They cooked me a steak dinner last night and had flowers on the tables. (I LOVE flowers!!!) They planned an awesome breakfast in bed, (which had to be deferred because today was Fast Sunday,) and Scott made my favorite pork chop and creamy mashed potatoes dinner. He even did the dishes!! What a guy!!

So now begins another trip around the sun. I am sure it is going to be an awesome year full of adventure and joy!!

Hilary at her best

When Hilary and Levi were here, she took a picture of herself with my phone and put it as the wallpaper. Every time I have looked at my phone since that day, this is what I see. The evil green eyes of death! I actually love this picture!! Hilary is so beautiful even when she is trying to look really scary!

I feel so grateful to be a mother. To have nurtured these little ones from the time that they were totally dependent on me, through the years when they tried to pull away from me and find themselves and now to the days when they are fledgling members of society; out in the world beginning to make their way. I am so proud of them and my love for them has grown a thousand fold. When I held their little bodies close and breathed in their wonderful baby smell, I thought my heart would burst with love for them. Little did I know that instead of bursting, it would expand and the capacity to love would grow along with it.

So, each time I flip open my phone, I chuckle and I give silent thanks for Hilary and each of her siblings!!

Uniqueness lost

As you know, we lived in Alaska for 16 years. Not only did we find a home in Alaska, but Alaska found a home in us. I think that the hardest part about moving is letting go of the Alaska in our souls. As we slowly made our way out of Alaska just 3 months ago, we felt the invisible, yet tangible threads tying us to Alaska stretch and eventually fray and break. Some easily and some through much heart tugging and effort.

I finally severed a strong thread that I have been clinging to. Having my Alaska plates on my car has been my link to the place I identify with and love. "I'm from Alaska! I am different and special. I have lived in the 'Great Land' and survived to tell about it. I might live in Washington, but I am Alaskan." Well, my friends, there is nothing special about me anymore. I am just like every other shiny little suv driver around here. I live in Washington.

I am sure that we will grow to love Washington just as we grew to love Alaska. Our 5 year committment to Alaska stretched into 16, who knows what will happen from here!

Handsome Luke

Here is Luke looking pretty handsome!

Luke

Luke gave a talk in Sacrament meeting last week. He did such an awesome job. He did it all on his own and I was very proud of him. He said it was o.k. for me to share it with all of you.

"Hello, for those of you who don't know me, I'm Luke Ekstrom, and I have been asked to give a talk on D&C 58 verses 26 & 27, on what it means to be engaged in a good cause. In D&C 58: 26 -27 it says,

"For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things, for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;"

This means that we need not only need to do good things, we need to not be lazy or as it says slothful and we should do it without being asked and of our own free will. If you look in D&C 107 verses 99-100 it says,

"Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence.

He that is slothful shall not be counted worthy to stand, and he that learns not his duty and shows himself not approved shall not be counted worthy to stand. Even so, Amen."

So once a gain, don't be lazy. In Proverbs 15:19 it says, "the way of a slothful man is as a hedge of thorns." All of these scriptures point to one thing, we need to take the initiative and do stuff without being asked, and we need to do all we can to do good, because you will get many blessings from doing good.

In a way this is like that story where the guy needs a farmhand and he interviews a few guys for the job, all the kids tell about they they should get it, and one guy says, "I can sleep during a storm" and the farmer picks him in the end. One night as the farmer wakes up in the middle of the night, and there is a big storm going on, and he goes out to put away everything and put the animals in their pens and he finds that all of that stuff had already been done; and finally just then he realized what the boy meant when he said he could sleep during a storm. St that boy wasn't lazy and he didn't wait till the farmer told him to do all those things. He did it himself.

So, if everytime your parents want you to do something like homework or mowing the lawn or dishes, and they have to ask you a bunch of times to do it, think how they would feel if they came home and found out you had done all those things of your won free will. So we should strive to do everything we can to not be lazy and do all the things that we know are good.

Amen

I don't know where Luke said it, but he said that he was really lazy and that I have to ask him 20 times before he does what I ask him. It was pretty hilarious! I let him know that that was kind of an exaggeration because I usually only have to ask him 5 to 10 times. :p)

Luke is really growing up!!

SuperIsaac

This is the picture that started all of the video madness. I took the camera to the park when Luke and I took the kids to play and was just taking random pictures of them. One picture was a picture and the next one was this. Isaac was pretty cute! He was doing some really scarry stunts and wanted me to take his picture. Here he is doing the "Look Grandma, NO HANDS!!" trick!

Camera woes

It has been awhile since I posted. I have taken some pictures to post on here and when I downloaded them to the computer, they came out all black. I think that I broke the camera. As you can see from the video clip below, I do not have many camera skills. I took a bunch of pictures and when I downloaded them, they were videos. I had no idea. I have several quick clips of the grandkids and then it pans down to the ground while I look at the picture to see if it took it or not. You see, our camera barks at you when you take a picture and when I took those pictures, it didn't bark and so I didn't know if it took it or not. I had not idea that I was filming. It is pretty humiliating!!

I wanted to get a picture of Levi with his do rag and Hilary's red hair and if you look quickly, you can see them.

Hilary and Levi