Bekah turned 21!!

Just a year ago, I was lamenting being able to tell Bekah in person how much I loved her, but couldn't because she was far away on a mission.  Now, she's still far away but going to college.  Thankfully we were able to sing Happy Birthday over the phone and I was able to text her.  And in no time at all she'll be home for Christmas with the other kids and I can hug her in person.  :)

I would have had this video up sooner if it weren't for traveling and getting back into life this week, plus technical difficulties (always!).  But I just want to celebrate this cute, sweet, wonderful girl that is becoming a great woman.  So thankful that I can claim her as mine!

Happy Birthday Bekahboo!!

I love you!!

Missionary Momma Moment

Isn't technology a wonderful thing!!

We got to hear from our missionary daughter (bottom left) today over Skype.

Then one by one we added our other children so it was like we were 

all sitting in the same room together!

I love it when we're together!!

Matthew and Abby haven't moved out, they just went in the other room cause there wasn't enough space.  It made for a great family pyramid.  Everyone has Skype face.

The only one not present was our oldest Joseph, who had to work.  We managed to put him on speaker phone while he was on break, so it's all good.

Bekah is doing really well and so happy.  It seems like an eternity since she left but it's only been 4 months!!  Of course when we saw her it was like yesterday.  She's still our sweet Bekah, although now she's called Sister Whitaker.

She and her companion were at the home of a young family in the their ward.  At one point in the conversation, the family's young son, 3-4 yrs old, walks up behind Bekah and sees us all on the computer screen.  It takes him a minute, but he realizes that his grandma might be in our Skype session too.  He insisted that he talk with her until his mom escorted him into the other room.  If we weren't so limited on time with Bekah....um...Sister Whitaker, he probably would have fit right in.

I'm so grateful that Skyping on Mother's Day has become a tradition.  

Next gab fest will be December 25!

Last year of being a teenager!

I sure do love this cute Bekah-boo of ours!!

She just makes me smile whenever I talk with her.

Today, was her 19th year on the earth spreading her own brand of happy.

Next year when she enters her twenties, she'll be clear across the country

spreading the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I can only imagine the great things she'll experience between now and then!!

Happy 19th Bekah!!

I love you!!

Rebekah is 18?!!

Our Bekah-Boo is 18 today!!

It seems fitting that I'm writing this late at night, because this is about the time that Bekah came into the world. We were decorating the Christmas tree when I got contractions about every 10 ornaments.

She was ready to spread her cheer because it didn't taker her long to come.  Then she started by smiling at me in the delivery room and has been smiling ever since.

Her friends planned a surprise party for her at our house.

She definitely was surprised!

And of course, we always have a family party too.

Bekah, I'm so thankful that you came to our family.

You've been such an example of kindness, generosity, trust and faith.

I know that I can depend on you.

It's also been nice to get more time with you this year,

to hear about your day and your dreams.

It's comforting to watch as you learn to embrace and live the gospel for yourself.

Hold tightly to the iron rod and let the Spirit guide you,

 then you will continue to find happiness in this life and always!

Happy birthday sweet Bekah!!

I love you!!

Bekah's Mormon Prom "Mo-Pro" 2014

Oh how I wish we had Mormon Prom when I was a teenager!

California seems to do it up really big too.

This year it was at the Natural History Museum with hundreds of kids attending not only our prom but there were other Mormon Proms held there as well.

The numbers to me are staggering!

Bekah was asked by a sweet friend of hers in our ward (church).  

He employed the help of the other boys

to hold up signs asking her out then gave her a rose when he verbally asked her.

It was on youth night so there was quite the group of kids watching it unfold.

The best thing (to me) about her dress that she found online,

was that it didn't need to be altered to make it modest.  Phew!

She looked so beautiful!

Her date wore a Mickey Mouse tie because she likes Disney so much.

 Pinning the boutonniere is always so awkward.

I helped Bekah and her date then I tried to help one of the girls make her wrist corsage tighter when it broke and pearls went everywhere!  

I was horrified!  The kids (especially the boy) joked about it but I know they

were worried.  I had ruined a lovely gesture from him to her.  Ugh!  So I finally took it off her

and tied a knot the best I could so the rest of the pearls wouldn't come off then picked up the pearls on the ground and walked away.  Hopefully it made it through the night.

Aren't the girls pretty!  

I love how their modest dresses emphasize their beauty instead of distorting it.

Okay Mom.  Enough pictures already!

Bekah is 17!

Bekah-Boo!  My sweet Bekah is 17 today!

It's amazing to watch her becoming a woman before my eyes.

I know I've watched my older kids grow up and leave home,

 but the process still amazes me.  

Bekah has had a smile on her face since the day she was born.

(I swear it wasn't a bubble)

She is so willing to be helpful and wants everyone to be happy.

I'm so grateful to have her as a daughter and a friend.

Happy Birthday Bekah!!

I love you!

The end of summer

I bet you were wondering if I was ever coming back.  These last days of summer have been busy.  Mostly just trying to enjoy what freedom from schedules we have left.  Honestly though, I am just a teensy weensy bit excited for some structure to bring everything back into balance.

Well of course, to end the summer, we had to go to Disney.  Our friend Natalie came too.

I know you've seen just about all you could see of us at the "happiest place on earth", but this picture below is a first.  We went to meet the "lost friends".  You know, the characters from movies without a princess, because "the ladies" tend to monopolize all the attention.

We not only got to see a lot of characters, we were surprised to see Tarzan in his real skin

and not some fake foam shirt with painted muscles (I don't think the girls were too disappointed).

What is Disney coming to?

Next, an afternoon at the beach was in order.

They say that this time of year, the water is actually warm.

I beg to differ.

The cold water still doesn't seem to bother the kids much.

Finally, the first day of school came on Tues.

Bekah and Matthew left before I could get a picture but the girls were all smiles.

 There are four 1st grade classes this year, so they had to shuffle the teachers.

Abby now has Mrs. Donahoe who was Esther's 5th grade social science teacher last year.

It should be a good year!

This is Abby on her first day of school . . .

 and this is Abby on what should be her second day of school.

I guess she became allergic to structure.

She passed!

We have another Whitaker on the road today!

Rebekah was nervous about taking the test because everyone was telling her that they all

had to take the test more than once.  Eve the people waiting in line with her

had taken the test already.

Unfortunately I didn't get to be with her when she passed.

I've pulled something in my back and have been laying on the couch all week.

Thankfully Joseph took the day off and went to the DMV with her.

There is no way I could have sat in one of those chairs for the 3 hours they had to wait.

We are just thrilled that she passed and did it on the first try!!

Way to go Bekah!!

#5 brace face

Lest I forget, look who got braces this week!!

She's definitely NOT loving them but I keep reminding her of the end result.

Her older siblings have beautiful smiles!

My teeth have moved so much since I was a kid, it kinda makes me wanna get them again.

But Matthew is next.

He starts in June.

I really need an orthodontist in the family!

student driver

Watch out!  Another student driver on the road!

Actually, Bekah is doing very well.

I've grabbed the door just as much with her as I have with the other kids. haha

It's funny, every time I do this, the kids complain about me yelling at them.

They say it makes them nervous.

I just laugh and say, "How do you think I feel".

I either see my life or the life of the car flashing before my eyes.

But I really do try and keep my cool, believe it or not.

That is until I lose it.

I'm grateful

Today could have been filled with tragedy,

but thankfully we had a celebration of life,

Bekah's sweet 16 birthday party.

Bekah invited several of her friends from church and school.

This is what they did from start to finish.  Their laughter was so loud sometimes we couldn't
hear each other in the other room.

Smores!!
It didn't last long because it's soooo cold outside, that is CA cold, 57 degrees.
The rain didn't help.

You can't see it, but they managed to get our 13 man tent on top of the wood beams in order to cover the outside party area. Our tarps were no where to be found. Matthew graciously did most of the trapeze work.

 Our joy in having Bekah and our other 7 wonderful kids just makes our hearts go out even more to those families that have lost loved ones in the shooting today, especially for the small ones.

I just kept thinking about those wide eyed 5-yr-olds at Abby's school that look up into my face and ask to help them find a book to check out.  The shooter took children just like them.

So I'm grateful to have experience eight 5-yr-olds in my household and

hope to experience many more in the coming years.

If by chance, one of us is taken before we are ready, thankfully there is a plan to see one another again.

Sweet 16!

At this time, 16 years ago Bekah came to us with a smile on her face.

She's the only baby that smiled at me in the delivery room.

It's fitting since she can always be seen with a smile to this day.

Sweet certainly fits our Bekah-Boo.  I'm so thankful to be her mother!!

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Weekend happenings

Wow, what a busy weekend!

• Fri-B-day dinner at Ruby's (hickory burger instead of low cal this time), then Hotel Transylvania with the whole family
• Sat morn-Took Jacob to the temple for the second time.  This time Grandma and Grandpa W, and Aunt Tammy got to come with us.  While we were there, we saw friends from our stake who were there to support another young man going on a mission.  One of the ladies I work with in Young Women.  When she found out that Jacob was going to give a talk the next day, she promised to make him a lai as a farewell (she's Hawaiian).  So sweet!  She left it in the fridge at church so when he spoke he could wear it.
• Sat afternoon-hair appointment to cover the grey (so fitting since I just had a birthday)
• Sat night-The youth in our congregation and another congregation were in charge of the monthly dance and decided to make it a costume, Halloween dance.  They did a fabulous job decorating and organizing everything.  We even did a photo booth where there were props and I was the photographer (with someone else's camera--mine is still broken).  It was the best attended dance all year!
• Sunday-Not only did Jacob get to speak but me and Rachel spoke as well.   It wasn't a farewell, promise, although my topic was raising a missionary. Rachel spoke on resisting temptation and Jacob spoke on prayer.  I had started my talk earlier in the week, but with family, helping with the dance, the temple, and life happening, I ended up staying up til 3:30  Sunday morning getting it done.  Jacob probably wishes I didn't spend so much time on it, cause I only left him 10 minutes to talk.  I seriously need to break this habit of talking too much.  Jacob and Rachel did great on their talks!!
• Sunday afternoon--4 hour nap, yes!

What's happening lately

So, I think I mentioned before that my camera got a little "smooshed" and is in the shop being fixed.  So I really haven't been taking many pictures except with my phone.  Here is the latest:

Abby, in one day, learned how to cross the monkey bars.

 Couldn't go to the beach, but could see parts of the beautiful sunset over the school playground.

We've said hello and goodbye to this "lovely" little contraption sitting in the dining room, that tried to keep us cool during the last couple of months.  Some days you would find us standing over it.  Not pictured are the numerous standing fans in every room of the house!  Who said California was mild all year?  Thankfully, the heat has broken and we can finally enjoy some fall (California fall) weather.  Until next year contraption!

Rachel and Bekah unwittingly dressed alike one day, right down to the boots.  They had gone to school at different times and didn't discover it til half way through the day.

Aren't they cute?!

Only 17 more days til Jacob leaves us for his mission!

Mutual: Ice Blocking with the youth

I've gone skiing, tubing, sledding and ice skating but have never gone ice blocking

til now.

Yep, that's me.  You only get one picture though.  

The others are even more embarrassing than this one.

I'm just grateful Rachel didn't catch my crash on film (head over heel or should I say heels over head)

It was worth it though.

The perks of being a leader for the youth at church is that you get to do what they do and just be with them.  Plus, 3 of them are my very own.

It was so fun to watch their expressions

and wipe-outs.

The small blocks were challenging,

but we found that to be half the fun.

Good times.

open wide

We've finally, or should I say, I've finally got the kids to the dentist here in Ca.

We were doing well in NC, going every 6 months, but I put it off after the move.

So I was really nervous about what we'd see.  We already know that Abby has a mouth full of

cavities and is seeing a special dentist this week.  So today was Bekah, Matthew, and Esther's turn.

The ladies in the office were so good with the kids.

They were so impressed with Abby's comforting skills ("you're doing great Matthew!) that they

let her help.  She has now added being a dentist to her growing up list, right next to policewoman and firefighter.

I'm thrilled to say that Matthew and Esther were given a clean bill of health!

No cavities!

I can't say that for Bekah.  She had two! (sorry, no pics to tease her with this time)

I guess I need to add another child to my nagging list.

If only all the trips to the dentist could produce such good feelings.