The Merry Merry Month of May (Birthday Bonanza)

Mother's Day brought me a nice gift, my Mother. My brother Jared drove her all the way from Colorado so she could come help me with all the birthdays, all the end of school programs, and all the morning sickness. Lauren's birthday was first on our list. We took her out to lunch and shopping so she could spend her birthday money. This shirt was one of her favorite purchases. On our children's 8th birthday we traditionally have a big party and invite lots of classmates and friends. This year I was too sick to manage that, so Lauren agreed to invite 2 friends to go to Chuck E. Cheese instead.

Next on the Birthday agenda was Daddy. We actually went to Salt Lake City to see his sister Catherine get married to Todd on his birthday, (which is a whole blog entry in itself), but we were able to celebrate a few days later. All he asked for was a new waffle iron.

Emma's birthday was next. Her special day included breakfast in bed,

some presents,

candy bar cake,

and lunch at Rain Forest Cafe.

McKay's Birthday was on June 4th, but we'll include him in the May celebrations none the less. He wanted pancakes for breakfast,

a remote control car from Grandma Judy,

and a trip to the Science Museum.

It was extra special to have Uncle Kurt celebrate with us. He came all the way from Utah to drive Grandma Judy home. Our favorite part of the museum was watching an I-MAX about the Hubble Satelite and visiting the butterfly gardens.

I'm grateful we were able to make so many good memories, regardless of my health. I owe a lot to a mother who worked tirelessly to keep everyone on track, and a husband who always came home from work with his sleeves rolled up ready to do everything I wasn't able to do during the day.
As we were contemplating the effects of another pregnancy, Russ and I both agreed it would be hard, but that if our family worked together, we could do hard things. That's kind of become our new motto. I'm learning that some of the sweetest blessings in life, sometimes require us to do hard things.