Happy 8th Birthday Luke!

Luke was born on April 11th 2002

at 2:59am

weighing 10 pounds 12 ounces

21 inches long

Birth story posted here .

Now my Luke Man is 

45 pounds 

and

47 inches tall.

Almost 4 feet. 

Time goes too fast.  :(

We've been having fun all day 

watching home videos of his 

birth and younger years.

 When I was pregnant with Luke, 

I would play this Celine Dion song
"A New Day Has Come" 
(which represented 
the feelings she had about her son 
and battle with infertility),
and imagine I was 
having a boy.   (we waited 

until his birth to find out) 
 It's our special song, and 
hearing it makes those 
precious memories come 
flooding back.  :)

As an aside, I thought it was funny to 

learn that when Celine's son was 

a baby, he would cry if she 

tried singing to him.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

 

Luke has always been a Mamma's

boy and I love it!

Luke was our dream baby-

slept through the night from

almost the day we brought him home. 

I would have to wake him up 

for feedings to prevent his blood 

sugar from dropping.  (and 

severe engorgement!) 

I would also have to check 

on him frequently after nap time to see 

if he was awake because 

he wouldn't make a peep after 

waking up.

I was very grateful for an easy 

baby after experiencing colic 

and a night owl with our first! 

(and to this day Lainey 

still hates sleep while 

Luke puts himself to bed)

*Luke's 1st Birthday

 Then

Now

As an 8 year old here are his favorite things:

-Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter

-Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland movie

-pasta with butter and fresh Parmesan cheese

-sweets!

-cooking/baking

-mango smoothies

-art

-creating artwork from scraps
and making gifts for people
(*a doll he made for Nana)

and recycling

-sewing/crafts

 

-limos and mansions

-wants to "count gold when I'm rich one day"

(future Pirate?)

-die cast cars

-Did I say Limos?

-decorating his room

-loves gift giving

-piano

-GOLF 

-Camping
(and now he's a cub scout!)

 

-favorite subject in school is Spanish and Art

Luke's dream vacation:  "Hollywood"

When he grows up:  "I want to be an artist"

Wants "2 kids" when he's married and plans to live

in a "fancy mansion in Hollywood"

Luke wanted a Mad Hatter Tea Party with
Queen of Hearts theme.  He will be having
an outdoor party with his cousins
later in the month. 

I found these cute used black Chester Cat mugs
on E-Bay and they look brand new.  Amazon also
has them (new).  I was lucky and found the
ceramic plates and other
decor from the discount stores
Ross, Marshalls, and Home Goods.
Queen of Hearts plates and napkins came from
Century Novelty.

We started our morning with the 

traditional crepe breakfast.  Recipe here
I had stayed up until 2am
decorating, wrapping, and cleaning
for his special day so it was very hard to wake up.
But,
Luke was not going to let me forget about
those crepes and was persistent! :D

Next it was time to open the gifts!

 Isabelle crying to open the gifts

My favorite picture of the day:
*I found this old Cheshire Cat on E-Bay and
it still had tags

Papa and Nana stopped by to wish Luke a Happy Birthday,
 and his Grandpa and Grandma T called him
and sent a gift from Utah. 

*with Papa

Traditional Birthday Bubble Bath in "the big tub."

*King for a day-
Luke milked this day for all it was worth. LOL 

Anytime he wanted something or didn't want to do
something, he would invoke the birthday card.

Easter Weekend Fun

Our Easter weekend was one where you want to bundle 

up next to the fire with a hot cup of tea 

and a good book.  

It was chilly outside!  (for a California girl that is)

We watched religious sermons on Saturday 

and Sunday,  and as usual my favorite speaker

 was Dieter Uchtdorf.
He gave a beautiful Christian message of

not judging others and becoming the Savior's

hands through love and charity.    

My favorite quotes from 

the sermon:  

As I read the scriptures, it appears that those who receive the Savior’s strongest reproach are often those who hold themselves in high esteem because of their wealth, influence, or perceived righteousness.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, our Master, we are

called to support and heal rather than condemn.

in our zeal, we sometimes confuse sin with sinner, and we condemn too quickly and with too little compassion.

Every person we meet is a VIP to our Heavenly Father. Once we understand that, we can begin to understand how we should treat our fellowmen.

It is unworthy of us as Christians to think that those who suffer deserve their suffering. Easter Sunday is a good day to remember that our Savior willingly took upon Himself the pain and sickness and suffering of us all—even those of us who appear to deserve our suffering.⁶

When we are tempted to judge, let us think of the Savior, who “loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw ALL men unto him. . . 

On this Easter Sunday, and every day, as we contemplate with reverence and awe how our Savior embraces us, comforts us, and heals us, let us commit to become His hands

He also shared this story at the introduction of the address:

"A story is told that during the bombing of a city in World War II, 
a large statue of Jesus Christ was severely damaged. 
When the townspeople found the statue among the rubble, 
they mourned because it had been a beloved symbol of their faith 
and of God’s presence in their lives.

Experts were able to repair most of the statue, 

but its hands had been damaged so severely 

that they could not be restored. 

Some suggested that they hire a sculptor to make new hands, 

but others wanted to leave it as it was—

a permanent reminder of the tragedy of war. 

Ultimately, the statue remained without hands. 

However, the people of the city added on the base of the 

statue of Jesus Christ a sign with these words: 

“You are my hands.”

After hearing the beautiful story, I wanted 

to find a picture of the Christ statue. 

I spent some time searching the internet 

and found several different statues and locations with 

a similar story including

Africa, Brazil, and even San Diego.

But,  I think I finally found the picture

matching the story from his talk here-
a church in France .

I wasn't able to find the town name or church.

I'm not sure if it's a folk tale
with all the different locations 

telling a similar story,
but it is a powerful 

message nonetheless.

statue in France

Here is the statue and story

from Africa:

"This is a statue of Jesus in a church in Soweto, South Africa. 
Since public meetings were banned during apartheid, 
many people met in churches such as this one. 
During an attack by the police,
this statue fell and the hands were detached. 
Rather than fix the statue, 
it was left as it was since "we are Christ's hands in the world." 

 After Easter service, we went to Nana and Papa's house for 

a very special surprise;  a baby chick for each of the kids! 

 

 

My brother in law Eric had been working 

on a chicken coop last month 

so we can have farm fresh

organic eggs.    

He did a great job! 

Each of the kids gleefully approached the giant box

under the heating lamp, 

and chose their very own chick:

 Luke almost age 8

cousins Annika and Sienna

 Baila almost age 6

Isabelle age 2

cousin Wyatt

 The girls gently played with 

their chicks in the doll house

After meeting the chicks,
they quickly headed out to the green pasture 

where they could run free 

before the rain descended.  

Isabelle gravitated toward the goats 

as usual but there is one 

in particular named 

"Amanda" that 

she clings to.   

After about ten minutes of Isabelle's

amorous affection, 

Amanda finds her to be more of a 

pest and goes for higher ground! LOL

It didn't stop Isabelle from trying though, and 

she continued to follow Amanda's every move!

Almost on a daily basis she says 

"Mommy, lets go to 
Nana's house and 
see Amanda." 

When I was a little girl, this was a favorite 

rock for us to climb on. 

So many memories in this yard

Time for the much anticipated

Easter Egg Hunt!

Isabelle was killing me 

with those bunny ears

I covet this vintage blue jacket Sienna 

was sporting

Baila

Lainey

Wyatt

Lindsey with her new baby Vivien

 Isabelle with Daddy

 Tamara with new baby boy Ashton

my brother Lance with daughter Marley

The "picture frame couple"  ;)

Luke lost tooth #"D" the night before. 

Nana gave each of the kids a toy prize

These two were a riot!

We ate dinner around 3pm and it 

was scrumptious.  My Mom is 

the best cook! :)

Besides the candy, 

I think most of the kids ate around 3 rolls a piece and 

nothing else.

 

Sweet little Vivien