Something about Stryder

I have so much to catch up on but really didn't want to forget anything from yesterday.  Over the weekend, Ben and I were out of town for his mom's surprise birthday party and sister's sealing (much more to come about those soon) and were headed home late Saturday night when we got the phone call saying one of our kids was puking. I really hoped it wasn't Stryder because we were coming home so late, so that we could hear him sing in Sacrament Meeting the next afternoon.  Of course, as luck would have it, Stryder was the one sick. We were all worried and sad that he wouldn't be able to sing the next day. We took him and the other kids home, gave him a Priesthood blessing, and prayed for the best. He continued to throw up several times throughout the night. Gratefully, he started feeling better and kept food down and we decided to let him sing. Now I have to give a little bit of background about this opportunity.  Two weeks ago, Stryder was asked by our Primary President if he would like to sing with a group of boys, one being her son, in Sacrament meeting. Now these boys are 14 and Stryder is 10. He felt like the most special, cool kid getting asked to join them and even though I knew we were going to be out of town that weekend, I was not letting him or me miss it. He practiced with them and was singing the song all the time and I was heart broken at the thought of him missing it. So it may not have been the best decision but I took him to church so he could sing. The boys all wore matching ties given out to a select group of boys in our stake and sang amazingly. The song was called "Men of God" and it talks about different Book of Mormon men who taught the truth and were courageous. In the song they ask "If I stand for right, obey the Lord with all my might, could I be like this man of God?" At the end they sing "I will stand for right seeking God with all my might for I can be like these men of God." It makes me tear up even now just thinking about these faithful boys singing this song and the Spirit that was so strong. Stryder sat down with tears in his eyes too and once again I was grateful for the Holy Ghost manifesting the truth of that song to him. Then our stake Young Men's President spoke about the amazing youth in our stake and the great missionary work they are and will accomplish. He said something in his talk that I knew I had to write down, he was quoting someone else but he said "This life is not a test. We were not sent here to be tested. The Lord already knew how we'd do being tested. We were sent here to learn to become like Him (our Savior)" I love this thought and really believe that it's true. I feel so incredibly blessed to have seen my son overcome the stomach bug and stand there singing about becoming a man of God. I hope I can continue to help him learn and grow and see him stand for right as he truly becomes that man of God.

A Happy Homemade Halloween

I don't even have words to describe Halloween this year.  Life has been pretty crazy and we decided that we were going to do homemade costumes this year or just use what we already have around the house.  Little did I know that spending less than $10.00 and using lots of creativity, would turn this year into something so magical.

Stryder had plans to be a pirate, but Grandma Brown pulled out fleece to make Jedi robes for the boys and girls who grew out of their old ones about a week before Halloween and Ben got a brilliant idea.  So with his creative brain and Grandma's excellent sewing skills and ideas, Stryder became Ezio Auditore from the Assassin's Creed video game.  He was the most excited I've seen him about a costume in a long time and we were more than excited to make him another costume that he will wear for years to come.

Shelby's costume this year was my idea and luckily she thought it was hilarious and totally rocked it.  She's Hipster Snow White and she had an apple before Steve Jobs.  It made me smile all day.  Her skirt and top were crazy clearance and cost about $3.00, everything else came from our drawers and closets.  This girl is beautiful and so full of sass, not sure I'm going to like that too much in about 7 years.

Soren's always had a thing for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and when I reminded him of this shirt we inherited from Uncle Trevor, he was so happy and right away wanted to be Leonardo.  His only request was a full green head with a mask.  I whipped together a quick pair of fleece pants and a beanie and mask spending less than $7.00 on the fabric. That cute guy steals my heart everytime and he was so grateful for his costume.
 

 With her "Apple" ;)

I handed over my camera to Ben so that he could snap a few pictures of me and Shelby and after she was done, he kept snapping.  This is so me telling him to "Stop taking pictures of me!".  I'm sure Ben and my kids have seen that finger way too many times.

Halloween isn't really a favorite holiday of mine other than it seems to kick off the holiday season which I love.  However, my kids live for this day.  The drawers and drawers of costumes prove my point, dressing up is what they love to do.  So I in turn love to give them more things to dress up as and then take awesome pictures of them (some of my favorite pictures of them are from Halloween).   It makes me so happy to see my little munchkins so happy so I guess that makes for one Happy Halloween!