Briggs is Superman! :)

Our neighbor Cindi was out watering her lawn a few weeks ago and Briggs walked up to her and had the following conversation:

 

BRIGGS--"I'm Superman." (matter-a-factly & dead serious!)

 

CINDI---"Really? Cool! I love Superman!"

 

BRIGGS---"Yeah….(dejected looking)"

 

CINDI---"Did you save the world today?"

 

BRIGGS---"NO…(more dejection….)"

 

CINDI---"Why?"

 

BRIGGS---"There's nothing to save….Do you need me to save you? Do you have anything to save?"

 

There's never a dull moment with Briggs around...so cute and so funny! Poor Cindi...she's been trying to rack her brain to find something that he can save! :)

Grandma---with her hat....and without! :)

I wanted a picture of Grandma with the kids and their Raggedy Andy's AND I wanted one of them with Grandma WITHOUT her hat!  These pictures are so cute and yes---I got her permission to put them on the blog.  Briggs wouldn't come in for the photo so I told him how fun it would be to "surprise" Grandma and take her hat off just as we take the picture....well, he's such a joker that he totally went for it!  And the picture is SO cute!  (Sadie had Ellie, her best friend, over too...she's so cute! All Sadie's friends are the best!)

 

On a more personal note, I want to just say what an amazing woman of courage my mom is...she's faced  her cancer with faith, dignity, humor and lots of love for all of us.  I learn so much from her.  One of my favorite cd's, "Women of Destiny" has a song on it that is just my mom.  Here are the words:

 

SHE by Cherie Call

 

She is not the picture on the magazine, She's the woman behind you in the checkout stand

She might appear to be common but she mistifies in all the ways the wisest men and children understand

She has eyes that sparkle with her love and she has a smile that's as gentle as a dove

Not a woman in a movie or an add could ever hope to be as beautiful as she.

She is not a highly honored diplomat held responsible to lead the world to peace

But what she does is every bit as serious amidst the turmoil everywhere that will never cease, because

She has hands that wipe the tears away and she has a voice that makes everything ok

And no woman from the papers and tv could ever hope to be as indispensible as she

And it breaks my heart every time I see her wonder, if she means anything in this world that pulls her under

And she doesn't always see that heaven smiles above her...that's the reason that I try to always tell her that I love her

She may not be known for giving millions to the charities and auctions on the hills

I believe she's given more than anyone with all she's had to choose to give up sleep to rock her children every night

And give her heart to always hold their dreams so tight and the best that you or I could ever hope to be is as wonderful as she......

And the best that you or I could ever hope to be.....is as wonderful as she.....

 

 

I tried to find it to add to my playlist but couldn't...I'll work on it!  I know we all have women in our lives that this applies to, but I just felt the need to share with you the blessing that my mom is to me---Love you SO much, Mom!

 

Lydia is 2!!!

I can't believe that Lydia is 2!!!  She had a fun day with a "lunch bunch" with friends from church and then a party tonight with Grandma Sessions (we're so glad she could be here!), Caroline and family and the Devol's. Grandma has a tradition of making all the grandkids a Raggedy Andy Doll when they turn 2 and as you can see from the pictures, she was very excited!!! Thanks for your labor of love, Grandma!

 

Lydia LOVES cows!  So I made her a cow cake.  I think she was more interested in the frosting than the fact that it was a cow.  I LOVE making cute cakes...I'll have to post pictures of my cakes sometime. They're not fancy, but I remember my mom making me a butterfly cake one year and a bunny cake another year and they always made me feel special. Plus it's a great creative outlet for my otherwise crazy day! :)   

Lydia's first Ponytail!

Pretty Lydi has long enough hair for a ponytail--kind of. :) You be the judge! I think it's just adorable---and what is even better is that she sat long enough for me to do it!  Sadie took the panoramic view photos...without even knowing it. Pretty good, huh! The other single photos were taken as I followed her around the house trying to get her to stop long enough for me to take a quick picture. I finally got some, but she wouldn't smile! She's so "feisty" as Chuck calls her. I told him that I have NO idea where she got that from!

First Day of School!

Tuesday was the first day of school--the kids like their teachers and have done pretty well with the schedule. Briggs LOVES Pre-K and is having a hard time waiting until 1 pm every day to go!!! It's so cute! Here are some first day pics of them.

Amish Family

I cropped one of the pictures below so you can see the cute Amish family better! I just love it! Too bad these are taken from inside the car...the winshield and going 65 mph made it a little hard to get a really clear picture. But I'm not complaining...atleast I had my camera this time!

I'm obsessed with the Amish!

I love going to my parents home in Kansas...it is literally out in the middle of nowhere---9 homes and a beautiful Catholic Church in their neighborhood....then they are surrounded by farms.  The wheat fields earlier this year were just like the song says, beautiful "Amber waves of grain", before it was harvested.  I don't LOVE the 15 minute drive to the nearest grocery store or the 45 minute drive to church on Sundays---especially because church starts at 9 am!  But, I DO love the Amish town of Yoder that is about 20 minutes from their home.  They ALMOST bought a home there...dang! The first time we went through we were buzzing along at 70 mph on the freeway and passed a horse and buggy....driven by a woman! You go girl!  Then we went past the school and there were probably about 10 carriages parked there.  I LOVE the "carriage and horse parking only" signs! My favorite "site" was an adorable couple driving along in their carriage and she was holding her sweet little baby....it was just precious.  Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera for ANY of those photo ops! So, I came prepared this time!!!  We were disappointed on the way to church---not a single siting! They must have been taking care of their farms.  But on the way home, just as we were about to leave Yoder and get on the freeway....we saw one!  So, my sister LaDawn...who is almost as crazy as I am....and I both SCREAMED, she slammed on the brakes and backed down the freeway onramp (it was only a few feet!) and literally chased them....inconspicuously.  :)  And I was ready with the camera!  We literally giggled, screamed and oohhhed and aaahhhed as we saw 4 different carriages!  We felt like Amish Paparazzi Stalkers! :)  These are the best photos that we got.  I really admire the determination, conviction and commitment they have to their lifestyle. There's so much peace in it and I wonder if the reason I'm so obsessed with them is that I might just be a little jealous----maybe not jealous, but in awe and admiration for living such an uncommon life in a world of followers. I think it's wonderful! (I wonder if people going to Utah for the first time do the same thing for the crazy Mormons! :) I might be in someone's scrapbook, photo album or blog! Cool!)

 

p.s. Their food is GREAT too! Dad brought home some wonderful sweet rolls on one of our visits...HUGE and yummy---not as good as the recipe that I got from LaDawn but still yummy!

Mad Hatter Party!

Mad Hatter Party!

 

We had our Sessions Family Reunion at my parents home in Kansas last weekend....it was fun, rainy and full of great memories and love.  One of the things we did was have a Birthday Party for all the kids.  This is an idea that my mom got from the Ensign---our immediate family is spread out across the country in 6 different states and there are 20 grandchildren so it's hard to keep on top of everyone's birthdays, not to mention the cost.  So we decided to have a big party for the kids so they get gifts there and then we'll do cards or e-cards on their actual birthdays.  It was SO fun! My sister Heidi was in charge and she's such a party planner....it was great!  Since Mom is bald, due to her cancer treatments, and wearing a hat or wig, Heidi decided to have a surprise MAD HATTER PARTY! We all wore fun hats (thanks Kelley, Dianna, Carolyn and Flo for letting us borrow your fun hats---if it hadn't been for you, the majority of the party would have been "hatless!" Thanks!)  Here are a few of the pictures of my family and their hats!  p.s. We had the party in my Dad's newly "almost" finished air conditioned garage---I think it's his new baby! He's so proud!)

Ahhhhh to sleep like this! :)

Lydia came home from preschool today and was so excited (and so cute with her little princess backpack!) and also TIRED! We had about 3 hours of thunderstorms last night and they woke her up...she was so scared that she got to sleep with us. But today after preschool, she was also so worn out that she fell asleep at the table!  We wondered why it was so quiet! :) Can you remember sleeping like that?  Not me!!! 

Geisler time---yahoo!

 

One of the best parts of moving to Oklahoma 9 years ago, was meeting our dear friends, the Geisler Family.  We've dubbed them and our friend Sharon, as our Oklahoma Family!  They left Stillwater a year before us but were only 4 hours away in Dallas so we still got to see them quite often.  Then, about 2 years ago, they moved back to Utah for a great job (Ryan's a vet) and we've missed them SO much!!!  It was much to our delight, that they came and spent a week with us....it just felt like old times and like we still live down the road from them! They are wonderful people who have touched our lives and we're so grateful for them. Here are some fun pictures from our week together. 

Geisler time---yahoo!

Cicada's and "Cigales"!

Briggs has a new hobby....collecting Cicada's!!!  A cicada (pronounced /sɪˈkeɪdə) is a bug that I became familiar with on my mission in the South of France. And they have them here too! :) I know...who knew I'd be so excited about a BUG!  They are harmless to us...they don't bite but are really big and make a loud humming noise that stops abruptly when you get close to them.  It's a little creepy if you don't know what they are and that they don't hurt!  

 

Here's the wikipedia definition that I couldn't say better myself!

 

"In France, cicadas symbolize Summer time, happiness and Provence. During the Summer months, they sing from dawn to dusk in the Pine forests of Provence.
They have the reputation of bringing luck, so many homes in Provence have a ceramic one near the entrance door and inside the house."

 

I remember sleeping with our windows open and they literally "sing" you to sleep.  It took me a few nights to get used to them but then I LOVED them!  I was pleasantly surprised to find them here when we moved to Oklahoma and it's even more fun that Briggs has taken an interest in them. He goes out searching for them under our tree in the front yard. They shed their skeleton (or whatever that's called) and so we often find those, but he was especially excited to find one where we could see the whole body before it shed it's skeleton.

 

These pictures of Briggs are so cute and now you know what a Cicada or in french, a Cigales, is!

Scout Camp

Liam had Scout Camp in June---CSI--Cub Scouts Investigate. They did archery, shooting (both of which were his favorite) water games, crafts etc.... I went with him for a day and had a fun time! Here are some pictures of him. 

More fun in Kansas with our Cousins!

This is such a cute picture of Lydia and my Dad snuggling....aaaaawwwwwwhhhhh!

Then, Sydney was being a big girl in the bathroom and Lydia followed her...all of a sudden Heidi heard Sydney saying, "No, no, Yydia" (it's so cute how she says her name!) And.....here's the mess. We're pretty sure Lydia did it all...that's my Lydi!

Charlie and Daxton (3 yrs. old--Ben & Kara's twins) found a toad and Aunt Anita was brave enough to pick it up (yuck!) and the kids had a GREAT time...except for Sydney! This picture of her says it all! :)

The last picture is of ALL the cousins (that were there...we missed the rest of LaDawn's kids!) with Grandpa and Grandma. I'll try to tell you who is who, starting at the top left:

Top row---Sadie, Trieste, Colette & Lili (Dan's), Liam (Anita holding Marley)
On Couch---Harper, Charlie (Ben's) Grandpa holding Ethan--who was VERY fascinated with Grandpa and wouldn't look at the camera! (LaDawn's) Grandma holding Brooklyn (Heidi's) Daxton (Ben's)
Floor---Gracie (Anita's), Briggs, Ella (Dan's), Sydney (Heidi's) & Lydia

Who knew Kansas could be this fun?

So, since everyone was together, we truly had a blast---amidst the tears and worries. But I think one of the things that our family does best is pull together with lots of love and comic relief. Mom appreciated that (except for the times we made her laugh so hard that her stitches hurt!) and said she wouldn't have it any other way (really...a house full of LOTS of family when you're trying to recuperate! :)

 

Anyway...here are a lot of FUN photos of our time there.  Dad got a riding lawn mower and Sadie & Liam were in HEAVEN because they got to DRIVE! AUGHHH!  The little boys had so much fun chasing after it That's Briggs, Charlie & Daxton (Ben & Kara's Twins) and then the photo with Chuck in it also has Harper, their darling little girl.  Lydia loved playing with her (and stealing her cup, and tormenting her:) and yesterday she was going through the house looking in every room saying, "Harper....Harper????" It was so cute! 

 

There's also a cute picture of all of them in the tub. Mom's tub will never be the same!

Thanks for your prayers for my Mom

As many of you know, my mom had a hysterectomy last Friday and was also diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer.  It's Stage 1, so we're very thankful for that and very prayerful and faithful that the chemotherapy will work and that she'll be with us for many more years.  I want to thank everyone for their love and prayers.  I've had calls & e-mails from Texas, Stillwater, Utah, Kansas, Nevada etc....and they were all so sweet.  You truly are strengthening us and we feel your love and prayers. 

 

We obviously went to Kansas to see Mom as soon as we heard the news----and so did the rest of the family!  We had a "mini" reunion with 16 of the 20 grandkids there (poor mom!) and every sibling but Dan was able to make it. He's in Iraq but since he's and OBGYN and this is his area of expertise they have given him a few weeks to come home! Yahoo!  So, he's actually here and will go to see Mom this week.  Mom joked around that she had to get cancer to have everyone come see her!  NOT TRUE!  But like I said before, she's doing well.  Thanks for your love!