Blessing Harper Katherine

I got a little emotional before church in my room getting Harper ready to put on her blessing gown. In my mind's eye I saw way down the road, helping her get ready for future white-gown events. She is already so precious to me; I can't imagine how I'll feel when she is baptized and then married. The time is going so fast!

Sweet little shoes. She was blessed in the same gown Jason and all his siblings were blessed in. Bennett was also blessed in it, along with other Lambert cousins.

Want to kiss her? Me too.

Happy family after church.

Look at all those cousins!

I love this picture of Harper looking at Owen with one eye.

All Harper's Utah aunties were there for her special day!

Nikki, Kate, Brooke, Harper, Cami, Sara & Jaime.

And 3 Grandmothers in attendance too! Katherine, Linda and Deb.

Oh, how I love my parents. And oh, how they love Harper.

We had such a fun day. People sat around eating and visiting for hours and hours on end. It was wonderful. And it was the one sunny day in a string of rainy, cold ones, so we felt lucky. That must be a good sign, Harper!

Finally!

I have been wanting to paint our living room for years now. Literally years. I have had paint samples hanging up on the wall for almost a full year, and every time Jason's mom comes to visit she asks if I've picked one yet.

Well, I got fed up with myself for never making the time to just do it. So a few days before Linda and Deb were coming out for Harper's blessing, I went to Home Depot and bought paint. We tried a few samples, and ended up going with the color I had originally chosen. It is called Gull Green, and it is sooooo beautiful. I love it, love it, love it, and wish I had done it long ago.

People thought I was nuts to start such a project with a newborn, but it was just what I needed. I felt like I had actually accomplished something beyond just day-to-day survival. I love it every time I walk in the room.

Here is my friend, Chris, who heard about my project and came over wearing paint clothes and holding a paintbrush, ready to help. I couldn't have done it without her. You can see the old color here, along with one of the samples we tried.

Finished product:

The color is a little off in all the photos. Please come to my house to see what it really looks like. No really, c'mon over!

Saying goodbye to Adams...

We have made the incredibly hard decision to switch schools next year for the boys. We were given the opportunity to send them to Bear River Charter School, formerly the Cache Valley Learning Center, where I used to teach art waaaaaaayyyyyyy back in the day. They have been a private school, so we never even considered sending them there because, hello, expensive. But next year they become a charter school, and we have decided to try it out to see how it goes.

Are the boys excited? No. No, they are not. In fact, they are downright mean about it, and I don't blame them. I am nervous too! I am sad for them to leave the school we walk to and from every single day. I am sad for them to leave their friends, whose Moms I am friends with too! There are so many great things about Adams Elementary. I have friends who were afraid to send their kids to this school there because of things they have heard, but I am here to testify that Adams Elementary is an excellent school, and we have had a great experience there. Who knows? Maybe we'll be back there again someday. But off we go to explore our options.

As my mom said, there are so many choices now. When I was in grade school there was no choice. There was your neighborhood school, and that's just where you went! Now there are lots of choices, and sometimes it is hard to know which one is best for your child. I still don't know if we are doing the right thing, but here we go.

Here are some of the boys' last days at Adams:

Here is Owen's class going to the cafeteria together to prepare them for first grade. Look at all his cute friends!

Mrs. Garrido was Owen's fabulous, excellent, beautiful teacher this year.

Owen and his best little buddy, Peter Grunig. (The principal's son!) He is such a cute boy. This is them at their year-end program.

I was a little emotional picking Bennett up from school on his last day with Miss Ruby, our next door neighbor. Walking to and from school with the Mohrs will be sorely missed.