As I mentioned in the last post, there is something kind of indescribably incredible about letting your kids fly away, and then getting them home again.

Getting all the kids home again

When we planned Abby’s “mother’s blessing” baby shower, of course the sisters wanted to help with that celebration.

So everyone (aside from Carson who we missed so much!) came home to put that thing together.

And we sure basked in the togetherness!

(It was Grace & Claire’s spring break, and Max, Abby and Elle were lucky enough to be able to work from home for a few days.)

I know I always whine and reminsce saying there is nothing in the world like having your children all under your roof.

Nothing in the world like having a baby on your hip, a toddler wrapped around your legs.

But I’m here to tell you this: IT GETS EVEN BETTER!

My friend sent me this picture after church she had snuck in our Relief Society lesson:

And it’s a pretty good depiction of how much I wanted to hug all those kids right up…wish my extremely long arms were even longer!

There is nothing like looking over and hey! ALL your kids are sitting there discussing the world and lifting and loving each other.

…or filling up your car again:

…and going with you to watch cousin’s sporting events just like the old days. Ha!

It was so fun to get to join together with all the cousins as much as we did too…even though the cousins are dwindling down these days too! Everyone is growing up I tell you!

And you know what’s even more fun than having your own kids come back home?

Having a daughter-in-law come with them who you love so much!

And getting to see her and your son glowing with anticipation of that baby-on-the way.

(WE MISSED YOU CARSON!)

What we did when everyone was home:

We played tennis:

We played pickleball:

We had “dates” to our workout place we love:

We had to go to our traditional restaurant we love, of course:

We filled up this table over and over again:

One night for casino night:

There was one night when the girls danced their hearts out singing at the top of their lungs while we worked in the kitchen where I thought my heart just might explode.

Art Night

We painted one night, all gathered around that table:

…followed by late-night hot tubbing.

And later into-the-night just with a few of us out there.

We had one special date night with Max and Abby right before the baby shower, talking through so many things as they prepare to bring this little baby into the world:

If right now you’re thinking, “how many nights did they have???” because it seems like a thousand, we sure packed it in and did multiple things each night!

A Photoshoot

We had a little photo shoot to help get ready for this blog overhaul I have coming up:

Our photographer, Jessie Boyd, made it so easy! LOVE HER!

I couldn’t resist pulling out my own camera after she left to try to capture some of these kids who were willing:

Of course, there was a lot of snuggling up Bo Jangles:

Elle just about finagled a way to bring her back to Florida with her, but not quite!

We filled up a whole row at church again!

And had Sunday dinner bursting at the seams too…love that I had so many helpers in the kitchen!

(love that Bob, Jake and McKenna joined us.)

Sunday walk:

Friends reunited:

Still loving the home family videos we gave the kids for Christmas:

Max had to head back first…and the party started to break up.

Got the girls for one more day which included Claire getting her wisdom teeth out…and sporting this nice head wrap for ice all day:

Our friend Paul Kelly is THE BEST btw, just in case you are in the desert and are needing someone to help you with dental surgery!

And yes, that whole crowd was there to support that girl!

Ha! Dropped all those Utah girls off at the airport, praying Claire would be ok on the swelling and recovery:

Got one last bike ride with Elle:

And then they were all gone.

Leaving us filled up with the best memories and a house still filled up with baby shower flowers:)

Phew!

It was a grand few days that I’ll carry around in my heart for a long time to come!

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2 Comments

  1. I love it all!! You are such an inspiration!! I love how you just wrap your kids up in so much love. And Abby is just BEAUTIFUL!!! I love the “mother’s blessing” idea for the shower. That is brilliant! you are amazing. xoxo

  2. Tell me about that beautiful picture by your kitchen table – it looks like farm fields? I LOVE it – tell me all about it, please.

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