It Was Bound To Happen Sometime....

Ephraim, my sweet little guy!(I promise he is wearing underwear in this photo) With this many kids running around it was inevitable and so it was Ephraim who  managed to be the first Judd kid to break a bone. And all because of a trampoline and as he tells it one GIGANTIC SUPER BOUNCE! The super bouncers shall remain nameless, although I'm sure you probably have a good guess as to who they were. It has been a fun adventure full of x-rays and Spider Man stickers. Ask Ephraim and he will tell you how cool an x-ray is, you get stickers AND you get to see your bones! The first few days were a little rough. But now my little invalid can get around with the rest of them unless of course he's in the mood to milk it for all it's worth, at which he's become quite skilled. One week down and three to go until the cast comes off!

Oh How Happy

I heard this song today while driving home. I have to admit it brought a little tear to my eye. Way back almost sixteen years ago Thomas and I had just started dating. He came over one night to pick me up, I was getting ready in the bathroom and didn't know he was there. He caught me singing this song at the top of my lungs. Kind  of embarrassing for me, but he know that the song just described how I was feeling. Sixteen years, and almost seven kids later the words couldn't be any truer! And it's got a pretty catchy tune to boot.

MINE!

Ada LOVES her some chickens! She gets giddy with excitement every time she sees them. She is also quite fearless. She has no problem chasing 'em down, picking 'em up and transporting them to wherever she sees fit. It's really the funniest thing to see. She is also very possessive. Don't even think about taking her chicken from her. "MINE!" is a new word she's picked up that seems to be pretty helpful in protecting her new found property.

It's Mother's Day! Here I am with all the beautiful people that made me a mother. Marley, Townsend, Aislyn, Jairus, Ephraim, and Ada. Seems like a lot. And yet, it doesn't. It's probably time to add another to the bunch.

I've been shown quite a bit of love the last couple of days. Yesterday we got the garden all beautiful and ready to go. Townsend and my sweet husband worked their booties off all to make me happy. This morning I woke to a lovely breakfast of cold toast with hard clumps of butter and little blobs of honey, a beautiful card and and some watered down grape juice. It was one of the best breakfasts I've ever had!

I'm such a lucky girl. I was the mom with the most flower hair pin presents in church today. Having four kids in Primary really has it's perks sometimes.

It's funny how life happens. I have six kids. Weird/Wonderful.

Art&Fashion

You may not know this about me...but almost every night as I lay down to do to sleep I "see" things in my mind. It's really not as creepy as it sounds, I promise. I see clothing. And not just your everyday jeans and T-shirts. I see the most beautiful, colorful, indescribable designs of perfection. Sadly I am severely lacking in the ability to translate what I see in my head to paper. And I always tell myself I'll remember in the morning and try to sketch it then. Somehow I never do remember. I love sewing and learning everything I can about it. It's hard to squeeze it in with everything else I should be doing. But whenever I do, I feel so happy. OK, I'm weird. Although you wouldn't know from looking at me I have the heart of a fashion designer. So, you can only imagine the delight I took in finding these two creating "dress designs" the other day! They were so cute concocting ideas on how they were going to sell their paper dresses and where they should hang them up for people to see. Children after my own heart!

Uh....Ya, It's Been Awhile

Can it really be?! Christmas was my last post? Life of course continues to march forward. Ada turned one. Marley turned thirteen. We wrestled a bit, snuggled Ada a lot. I feel like I've spent an eternity in the car driving to and from various classes, sports, activities. Aislyn started going to school at Hidden Creek Elementary. Marley won the part of Hermia in her Shakespeare class' production of A Midsummer's Night Dream. Townsend gets to play Egeus(aka Hermia's father). They both think that's pretty funny. Jairus is learning to read. Ephraim is officially potty trained.YAY! Thomas had surgery for a spot of skin cancer on his nose that ended up being a much bigger than we first thought. Aislyn started Occupational Therapy. And so much more.

It's funny how my definition of "busy" has evolved over the years. It's funny how I have evolved over the years.

It's Christmas

 Aislyn loves her new doll house. And Jairus loves playing with the miniature furniture inside. Marley bought the cutest little wood peg people off of Etsy and painted them for Aisy. She hasn't put them down all day.

 Marley and Townsend playing some Pokemon game together. They are revelling in their unlimited DS time today. They know they won't be this lucky tomorrow.

These two were in need of a bath ten times over! Ada has mastered scavenging the floor for abandoned candy.

The kids first woke up at 5:30 this morning but I mumbled something incoherent to their pleas and promptly fell back asleep. At 6:30 I finally succumbed to all the cheerful chatter and giggles. It was a sweet morning. It's wonderful to feel the excited energy, to hear Aislyn say,"This is the best Christmas ever!" To hear all the "thank yous" and "awesomes". I remember being a kid, and how I loved the night time with the beautiful Christmas lights on the tree. I remember the smell of the tree and how everything just felt happier.I hope that each one of my kids are creating their own special memories. I hope that they feel happier. I hope that they recognize the love of their Savior and how it feels.
I feel strange today. My emotions are very close to the surface. I find myself crying randomly. I find myself missing my brother Brent so much it hurts. He is so steady and sure, so dependable and so amazingly loving. I miss knowing that he is close by, because he would always drop everything and do everything he could to help if I needed it. I love my family. I am so thankful to be a Judd and to have that love  and support. I am so thankful for my Carroll family. My mother is a saint on earth. I am amazed at all she does for others. I am thankful for my dad and I 'm thankful to know him and understand what are wonderful man he is more each passing year. I am thankful to know my Steve Done dad and have him be a part of our lives. He is so generous and kind.
The past couple of months I have been led to discover some things about my sweet Aisy J.Her unusual and unruly behavior has been increasing by an alarming amount the last few months. She has recently been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. I still have a ton of researching to do. But it is a disorder in the spectrum of autism. And it explains SO much about Aislyn. It explains every strange thing she has ever done. It's interesting to see the phases of coping with difficult news.At first I felt relieved to know that there was a reason. Then I felt fear, for her future, for her capabilities. Now I feel hope, but unbelievably overwhelmed. I don't know where to go, what to do. All the occupational therapists within 50 miles of us are booked out for 6-8 months. But the hardest thing for me is letting Thomas go through his own phases of dealing.

I don't know that I've ever had so much "stuff" to deal with at one time in my life before. But in it I can see amazing blessings, and the sweet love of my Savior. Today I was reading the conference Ensign, a talk by Henry B. Eyring, who I love SO much. He is such a sweet and tender man.The message struck me very deeply. Peace and happiness come from trusting my heavenly Father. Simple and of course makes sense. But it's a concept that doesn't distill on my soul without the help of the Holy Ghost. Just trust Him, it is all for my good, for Aislyn's good, for Thomas' good. It is, so that we might be compelled to turn to our Savior and feel his love and healing. And what I realized is that He trusts me. He trusted me with this beautiful little girl, to raise her and love her and teach her the truth. And so, I resolve yet again to never give my Father in heaven reason to loose his trust in me. I will do my best.