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!)