The Newest Judd

No, I'm not pregnant(yet). But we do have a very cute and sweet new member in our family. Meet Hazel!

Marley has wanted a bunny for a very long time now. She even put together a lovely power point presentation on why bunnies make excellent pets. Hazel has been with us for two weeks now and Marley has been in heaven! I have to admit she is ADORABLE. Joan-Claire almost starts hyperventilating with excitement every time she sees her. She makes the cutest little crunching sounds when she eats lettuce and carrots. And when she's happy... oh my, you've never seen anything cuter than when she hops and runs like a crazy bunny all over the house.

Virginia Is For Lovers.....And The Judds!

             
I've been thinking I should do a better job of updating the blog and what better way than to announce that WE ARE MOVING TO VIRGINIA! It's certainly not the place we expected to go and yes, we still feel that Utah is our ultimate destination. But how fun to take a little detour all the way across the country! We are so excited to be in a place with broad-leaf trees(rather than pine and fir trees) and don't even get me started with all the amazing history and museums we'll be able to see. My most FAVORITE historical figures are Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. And now I get to go see where they called home!
There is a lot of stress ahead. A lot of plans to make and details to work out. But I just feel so at peace. God has been in control and He always provides and takes care of us. I'm excited to see what happens next!
We will miss so many people on this side of the country. I hope everyone will come to visit! We'll take you to Washinton  DC and the Smithsonian. Did you know it's free! I didn't. How cool is that?

My Motto

This is us. The Judds. All nine of us. This picture almost didn't happen. I had really wanted to get a new family picture ever since Joan-Claire was born. Picture day ended up being just one of those crappy days were everyone was grumpy or sad or whiny or just plain antagonistic. Frankly I just didn't have the energy to try and get everyone to pretend to be happy and smile. But, my sweet husband who loves me(but doesn't love getting his picture taken) saw my frustration and worked his magic and made it happen. Somehow everyone ended up happy and their smiles for the most part are real ones. I love looking at these pictures. I love having a small visual to represent all that we've accomplished together. All of these lives working together, to learn, to grow, to be happy, and to try and make others happy.
I never, ever in a million years would have thought that I would end up with a such a large family. To be honest I never particularly enjoyed children in my younger years. I was the oldest of six kids and felt my whole life was just one big injustice because of my big family. What did I know?! I was just a kid. Now, I am so immensely thankful for the experience, the work, the capacity to handle chaos and the capacity to love   I gained from growing up in a big family. It is such a blessing.
That is not to say that it is not hard. Oh, my! Most days I feel completely overwhelmed, not up to the task. Some days I just don't want to get out of bed. On the really bad days I just want to run away. But somewhere among all the trial and chaos of my day there is a beauty and a joy that is indescribable. We stand together on a foundation so solid that we cannot fall completely. And we built that foundation together, we continue to build it every day. Life is hard, it is for everyone, and truly it was meant to be that way. But the good news is- we can do hard things! I have adopted that as my personal motto lately. I CAN DO HARD THINGS!

Five Months With Joan-Claire

How did we ever live without Joan-Claire?

 

She is such a smiley, sweet, and social little lady. She loves to be paid attention to. How fortunate for us that there are so many people around to love on her.

 

Each baby that comes into our family seems to grow up faster than the last. She is rolling over, laughing, and of course putting everything she can get her hands on in her mouth. She sucks her fingers and it is just so darn cute!
 

I sometimes think,"What if I had stopped at six?" Of course I wouldn't know what I was missing. But truly our family would have been missing someone beautiful and a bringer of great joy. Oh, how I love our baby girl!

 

In Honor Of Grandma GG

 

My grandma Mary Dorothy Elizabeth Sutton O'Neil passed away on June 7th 2012.
We had a family memorial service for her on the top of mountain. On Chinook Pass to be precise. It was a beautiful, perfect day. Everyone there had the opportunity to share their feelings or and experience with grandma. As everyone spoke I was just so overwhelmed. Every single person told of how she made them feel special, loved, not judged, and very important to her. What an amazing accomplishment...to make that many people know that they as individuals were important to her. I hope and pray that when my life is said and done all my loved ones will know without a doubt that I loved them unconditionally and they were so very important to me. I wrote a little about her here. She always had time for me. She called me her Bronny-Winnie. She always hugged me tightly and told me,"I'm so glad to see you!" She was fun and adventurous and independent. I can't wait to see her again!
 

After the memorial we went camping. It was beautiful and fun. Here's uncle Justin and Townsend eating a most delicious tin foil dinner.

 My mom is already just as an amazing grandmother as her mother was. My kids love and adore her. She is fun, loving, and will do anything and everything she can for them. Here she is exchanging smiles with Joan-Claire.
 

 

Thomas by the river.
 

Here's aunt Melanie loving her Naomi and sleepy Joan-Claire.
 

Jairus, Ephraim, and best bud/cousin Adam.
 

Aislyn on the mountain top.

Utah Vacation 2012/We Really Want To Live Here!

Every summer for many years now, we pack everyone up in the car and drive for a million hours to the magical land of Utah. Now, I must admit I haven't always been able to see it's magic. Thomas and I lived there for a year while he was going to BYU and for one reason or another it was one of my least favorite years of my life. But now....well for one thing they have there in Utah a little something called "the sun". Yes, that beautiful, golden little piece of heaven that has not shown his face up here in Washington for what seems to be a decade, at least!

 But even better than the sun, Utah is where a good many of my most favorite people in the world live. All of Thomas' family have migrated south and now even my sister has moved on down. We're doing everything in our power to make the jump as well. But as with all things in life, it is ultimately in the Lord's hands.

 So, what did we do while on our sojourn in the land of warmth and sun?
We played so hard that we fell asleep.

 We turned twelve and received the Aaronic priesthood with all our uncles, cousins, and a grandpa.

We got blessed!

 We snuggled with sweet cousins.

 We went swimming!

We went to the Hogle Zoo with friends we love sooooo much.

 We saw cousins that we've missed.















And we even got to just sit, relax, and read a book by the river.

My Man

 How I love this man! I am thankful every day for his love, kindness, and understanding. Also, life is never dull with Thomas Judd around. He makes me laugh- he makes me happy. He supports me in all of my crazy ideas and interests. He always takes the time to talk, to make sure we're understanding each other, to make sure I'm happy. He makes me feel strong and capable of anything. He loves his children so very much and is so happy in this crazy chaotic world of children. We have built this life, this world together. It's so amazing to see what we are capable of, together. My heart is just full and ready to burst!