It's all good . . .

I Love to Read - 2017

I really love to read.  I love it.  It is my happy place - a way to learn, escape, or experience new things.  When I read, I like to mix it up and read things from many genres.  This year, I read quite a few nonfiction books, a genre that I hadn't read a ton in before.  It has been really fun, especially since listening to a nonfiction book, makes me feel like the person is telling me their story.  Right now, I am listening to a biography of Einstein, which is at times fascinating and boring, and so listening to it is perfect.  

My monthly night out, is to go to book club, and I try to never miss it.  It is my favorite, and I make such wonderful friends while I share books and my love of reading with others.  I have read a lot more e-books this year, and although I still love a paper book in my hands more than anything, it has been really convenient.  I have also listened to a ton of audio books this year.  It is so nice to listen to a book while I work, and I really love it.  In fact, I listened to 71 of the 144 books I read this year.

As always, I kept track of how many pages I read for the year - just for fun. My average book was 343 pages and my total pages for the year was 49,110.  If you want to know what I thought about each book, go to www.goodreads.com and friend me, and you can read my reviews for them all.  Remember that just because I read it, doesn't mean I loved it - you should definitely check out my reviews ;).          

*** - a book I read with Arthur

** - a book I read with Derek

* - a book I read with Lily

^ - a reread, which means I loved the book enough the first time to read it again

# - an audio book  

1. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ by Joseph Smith Jr. (Translator) (531)
2. Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (295)# ^
3. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street (The Vanderbeekers #1) by Karina Yan Glaser (297)
4. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B. Hinckley (Teachings of Presidents of the Church) by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (351)#
5. Girl Waits with Gun (Kopp Sisters #1) by Amy Stewart (408)
6. The Beekeeper's Apprentice (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #1) by Laurie R. King (341)#
7. The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer (328)#
8. A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story by Linda Sue Park (128)#
9. The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1) by Mary E. Pearson (492)
10. The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta von Trapp (320)
11. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (207)#
12. The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer (272)#
13. The Bootlegger (Isaac Bell #7) by Clive Cussler (403)#
14. Arabella by Georgette Heyer (320)#
15. Deliberate Motherhood: 12 Key Powers of Peace, Purpose, Order & Joy by The Power of Moms, Amy Makechnie (256)
16. The Romanov Ransom (Fargo Adventure #9) by Clive Cussler (384)#
17. Rekindled by Tamera Alexander (334)
18. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling (48)#
19. The Outcasts (Brotherband Chronicles #1) by John Flanagan (434)#
20. Defying Hitler by Sebastian Haffner (309)#
21. Heir to Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson (53)
22. And Only to Deceive (Lady Emily #1) by Tasha Alexander (321)#^
23. Beartown by Fredrik Backman (418)
24. The Gangster (Isaac Bell #9) by Clive Cussler (387)#
25. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory (408)# 
26. The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly (675)
27. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (312)#
28. Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book by Jennifer Donnelly (352)
29. The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events #2) by Lemony Snicket (192)#
30. Children of the Storm (Amelia Peabody #15)by Elizabeth Peters (334)#
31. A Lion and a Lamb by Rand H. Packer (180)
32. The Grey King (The Dark Is Rising #4) by Susan Cooper (165)#
33. My Fair Gentleman by Nancy Campbell Allen (256)
34. The Shack by William Paul Young (272)
35. The Golden One (Amelia Peabody #14) by Elizabeth Peters (512)#
36. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (292)#
37. The Lady of the Lakes: The True Love Story of Sir Walter Scott by Josi S. Kilpack (336)
38. Lady Lollipop by Dick King-Smith (128)***^
39. Smile by Raina Telgemeier (224)
40. Greenwitch (The Dark Is Rising #3) by Susan Cooper (192)#
41. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and The Endurance by Jennifer Armstrong (144)
42. One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson (456)#
43. Sixty Acres and a Bride by Regina Jennings (368)
44. A Worthy Pursuit by Karen Witemeyer (341)#
45. The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (215)
46. In This Grave Hour (Maisie Dobbs #13) by Jacqueline Winspear (352)#
47. The Dark Is Rising (The Dark Is Rising #2) by Susan Cooper (224)#
48. The Emperor's Ostrich by Julie Berry (224)
49. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Harry Potter #3) by J.K. Rowling (435)**^
50. The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: 14 Amazing Authors Tell the Tales by Chris Van Allsburg (221)
51. He Shall Thunder in the Sky (Amelia Peabody #12) by Elizabeth Peters (512)#
52. The Falcon at the Portal (Amelia Peabody #11) by Elizabeth Peters (464)#
53. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō (224)
54. The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill by Julie Klassen (445)
55. Villete by Charlotte Brontë (478)
56. Thrawn by Timothy Zahn  (327)#
57. The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1) by Lemony Snicket (176)#
58. A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley (288)#
59. The Adventuress (Lady Emily #10) by Tasha Alexander (304)
60. Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive #2) by Brandon Sanderson (1087)#
61. Summerlost by Ally Condie (272)
62. Anne of Avonlea (Anne of Green Gables #2) by L.M. Montgomery (276)*^
63. Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas (404)
64. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (334)#^
65. The Cutthroat (Isaac Bell #10) by Clive Cussler (393)#
66. Lady Maybe by Julie Klassen (389)
67. Tom Clancy's Point of Contact (Jack Ryan Universe #23) by Mike Maden (485)
68. Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg (231)
69. The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin (416)#
70. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen (342)#
71. The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen (273)#
72. If I Stay by Gayle Forman (201)#
73. By Honor Bound: Two Navy SEALs, the Medal of Honor, and a Story of Extraordinary Courage by Tom Norris, Mike Thornton, Dick Couch (288)#
74. Saving Grace (Hearthfire Romance #1) by Michele Paige Holmes (380)
75. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy(Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1) by Douglas Adams (216)#
76. Refine (House of Oak #4) by Nichole Van (375)
77. The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson (1007)#
78. Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner (337)
79. Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh (130)
80. Popular: How a Geek in Pearls Discovered the Secret to Confidence by Maya Van Wagenen (272)
81. Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde (127)
82. The Lady of the Rivers (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels #1) by Philippa Gregory (502)
83. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi (278)#
84. Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris (291)#
85. Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus Luttrell, Patrick Robinson (390)#
86. Grit by Angela Duckworth (352)#
87. Clandestine (House of Oak #3) by Nichole Van (327)
88. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (307)
89. The Spellman Files (The Spellmans #1) by Lisa Lutz (353)
90. The Ape Who Guards the Balance (Amelia Peabody #10) by Elizabeth Peters (464)#
91. The Battle of Hackham Heath (Ranger’s Apprentice: The Early Years #2) by John Flanagan (346)
92. No Other Will Do (Ladies of Harper’s Station #1) by Karen Witemeyer (364)#
93. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (288)
94. A Conspiracy of Kings (The Queen's Thief #4) by Megan Whalen Turner (316)#
95. Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd (Flavia de Luce #8) by Alan Bradley (331)
96. The Sheriffs of Savage Wells by Sarah M. Eden (336)
97. The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner (387)#
98. The Queen of Attolia (The Queen's Thief #2) by Megan Whalen Turner (362)#
99. These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly (488)
100. Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff (384)#
101. The Looking Glass Wars (The Looking Glass Wars #1) by Frank Beddor (364)
102. The Kingdom (Fargo Adventure #3) by Clive Cussler (392)#
103. The Black Prism (Lightbringer #1) by Brent Weeks (629)#
104. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (386)
105. The Thief (The Queen's Thief #1) by Megan Whalen Turner (280)#
106. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown (416)#
107. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester (242)
108. The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure by William Goldman (414)#^
109. Fridays with the Wizards (Castle Glower #4) by Jessica Day George (240)#
110. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two (Harry Potter, #8) by John Tiffany (Adaptation), Jack Thorne, J.K. Rowling (343)
111. The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride by Daniel James Brown (352)#
112. Divine (House of Oak #2) by Nichole Van (346)
113. The Magnolia Story by Chip Gaines, Joanna Gaines (208)#
114. Journey to Munich (Maisie Dobbs #12) by Jacqueline Winspear (287)
115. The Royal Ranger (Ranger's Apprentice #12) by John Flanagan (464)
116. Trojan Odyssey (Dirk Pitt #17) by Clive Cussler (463)#
117. Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan by Bill O'Reilly (323)#
118. Dancing on Broken Glass by Ka Hancock (394)
119. Odessa Sea (Dirk Pitt #24) by Clive Cussler, Dirk Cussler (484)#
120. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (192)
121. Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby (324)
122. Nancy and Plum by Betty MacDonald (240)
123. Blueberry Muffin Murder (Hannah Swensen #3) by Joanne Fluke (310)
124. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson (497)#
125. The Tournament at Gorlan (Ranger’s Apprentice: The Early Years #1) by John Flanagan (364)#
126. Over Sea, Under Stone (The Dark Is Rising #1) by Susan Cooper (196)#
127. Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo (272)
128. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets(Harry Potter #2) by J.K. Rowling (341)**^
129. I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls #1) by Ally Carter (284)
130. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (192)
131. True Faith and Allegiance (Jack Ryan Universe #22) by Mark Greaney (736)#
132. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys (393)
133. Venetia by Georgette Heyer (375)#
134. Killing Reagan: The Violent Assault That Changed a Presidency by Bill O'Reilly (290)#
135. Autumn Street by Lois Lowry (224)
136. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (509)#^
137. Waiting for the Magic by Patricia MacLachlan (143)
138. Pirate (Fargo Adventure #8) by Clive Cussler (387)#
139. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library (Mr. Lemoncello's Library #1) by Chris Grabenstein (304)
140. Flight of the Sparrow: A Novel of Early America by Amy Belding Brown (368)
141. Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly (324)# 
142. Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, and Energetic by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka (496)
143. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter #1) by J.K. Rowling (320)**^
144. Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables #1) by L.M. Montgomery (309)*

Finishing Off 2017

The last week of 2017 was a pretty good week.  On Tuesday, Kevin and I went to see "The Greatest Showman," which was fantastic!  We both loved it, and I immediately bought the soundtrack, and it has been playing on repeat ever since.  The kids are loving the music as well, even though they haven't see then movie yet.  Arthur switches his favorite song from day to day - sometimes it is "Come Alive," and sometimes it is "Rewrite the Stars."

On Friday night, there was a big Stake youth activity, and since Derek had just turned twelve, he got to go.  He LOVED it.  He got involved right away, playing volleyball.

Lily, on the other hand, made herself at home playing a game in the game room, all alone.  (I need to get this girl back to being more social.)  She did eventually hang out with her friend, Geri, thank goodness.

Derek went from activity to activity, having a blast, but his favorite was singing karaoke.  He was the only boy with a big group of girls, and it was so fun.  When I came in to check it out, he was singing "Ghostbusters."  Awesome!

On Saturday night, Kevin and I threw a last minute pre-New Year's Eve party with some other couples.  It was a blast, and I laughed so hard that my face hurt.  I wish I had thought to take a picture, but we were having too much fun :).  It was so much fun getting to know everyone better, and finally meeting some of my friends' husbands.  It was the perfect way to finish off the year.

On Christmas Day, On Christmas Day

On Christmas morning, nobody wanted wake up - or rather, Kevin and I didn't want to get up ;).  Lily even slept in, and Derek knew better than to wake anyone up, and so as long as Arthur slept, we stayed in bed.  That meant that when Kevin's parents came out at 7am, they were the only ones there.  

I was quick behind them though, since I needed to get breakfast in the oven.  And soon after that, Arthur woke up, and so it was finally time for the kids to come downstairs.

We always make them wait, and then come down to find the presents and their stockings all together.  I love to capture it on video, and it is so fun.  We opened our stockings together, and we even had them for Dennis and Valerie.  Stockings are one of my favorite parts of Christmas morning.

After stockings, it was time for our Christmas caramel rolls for breakfast.  Yum!!

Then the kids got busy building the Legos they found in their stockings.  It is perfect, because it gives me time to pull myself together a bit before we get down to the business of opening presents.

The kids loved their presents.  We kept things small, and they only got four each - two from Kevin and I, and one from each of their siblings, but they were in heaven.  Derek gave Arthur some of his old Star Wars toys, and he loved them!

And Lily was ecstatic about getting the new Michael Vey book as a gift.  Just look at the joy on her face!

And Derek just loved his new Darth Vader hoody - pretty awesome!

We didn't forget Kevin's parents - we gave them a few things, and Kevin even crocheted them each a warm and fuzzy hat.

We did have a couple surprises for the family, once we were done opening presents.  Kevin's parents gave us a fabulous new tent, and we bought a basketball hoop for the family.  (Now if the weather will only get warm enough for us to put it up.)

One of my Christmas presents was an Instant Pot.  I have heard fantastic things about them, but have been afraid and intimidated by them.  So, I quickly got over my fear and used it twice in one day - to cook chicken to go in my homemade potpies, and then to cook potatoes for mashed potatoes.  Nothing like facing your fears head on.

My mom gave us some cool new games for Christmas - Race to Eldorado, and Labyrinth.  We decided to break out Labyrinth right away, and it was awesome.

Later in the afternoon, we Facetimed with my parents, which was awesome.  I really miss getting to spend time with them.

It was a fabulous Christmas, and it was so awesome to have Kevin's parents with us.  We had never had anyone spend Christmas with us, before, and Dennis and Valerie made our Christmas extra special.  We are so blessed, but especially because we were all together and settled in our home.

Christmas Eve Celebrations with Grandma and Grandpa

We had such a nice Christmas Eve, and it was especially wonderful to have Kevin's parents in town.  It was the first time ever, that we had visitors for Christmas.  We started things off with going to church, all dressed up in our Christmas best.  I had a new red dress, the boys all had matching ties (Kevin went on quite the hunt to find one that was close enough to the ties I bought Derek and Arthur at Children's Place.), and Lily had a fancy new skirt.

I have got to say, that I really loved having Christmas Eve on a Sunday.  Unlike many religions, that have a special Christmas Eve service, our church doesn't do that - unless of course, Christmas Eve is on Sunday ;).  We had a very special Sacrament meeting prepared for Christmas Eve, that included our ward choir, and some other musical numbers.  One of those, was supposed to be a duet of Kevin and myself.  Unfortunately, this cold that I can't seem to shake stole my voice, and so at the last minute, I taught Lily my part, and so she sang with Kevin.  She did a fabulous job, and they sounded wonderful together!!  

After church, I prepared our special Christmas dinner of ham, scalloped potatoes, homemade rolls, and some special layered finger Jello in Christmas colors.

After dinner, we moved on to our Family Home Evening/Christmas Eve festivities.  One of the first things we did, was read the story of Christ's birth from the New Testament, and Arthur acted out the story using our Little People Nativity.  He thought it was pretty fun, and I loved that it kept him engaged.

Derek gave us a really nice lesson about gifts of Christmas, and we read "Christmas Day in the Morning."  Then it was time for our special activity - playing Christmas songs on the chimes.  It was awesome, and it turned out it was the first time that Valerie actually got to play the chimes, as she is usually holding the poster.

Then it was time for a little performance from Kevin and Arthur - The Twelve Days of Christmas.  As Arthur likes to say, "It was epic!"

On Christmas Eve, we also have a yearly tradition of getting to open up a present of brand new pajamas.  Derek's box was so tiny, that it really through him off, and made him think that I broke with tradition - which was perfect, because he had been talking about getting his pj's so casually, that I told him that he didn't really know if that was going to happen.  Ha ha!  They all loved their pj's, especially since they were all Star Wars.

After that, we got things settled down.  This is usually when we watch the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert from the year before, but since Kevin's parents had already seen it, we decided to watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" instead.

Then I read the kids one of my favorite Christmas book, "The Night Without Darkness," a Nephite Christmas story.  Then we sent them all off to bed.  After the kids were in bed, Kevin and I spent a while talking to his parents before we brought out the presents, but we did eventually get it done.  I even filled stockings for Kevin's parents :).

The tree looked extra magical with all the gifts surrounding it, all ready for the kids to discover it on Christmas morning.  

It was a wonderful Christmas Eve, and such a fantastic way to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Merry Christmas 2017

May you have peace and love in your heart this Christmas!  We are so grateful for our family and friends, but especially for our Savior, Jesus Christ. That He came to the earth as a babe in Bethlehem, showed us the way to live, suffered and died to atone for our sins, and was resurrected to break the bands of death.  Merry Christmas, from the Brown Family!

A Special Day for Derek

When a boy turns twelve in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he has the special opportunity to be ordained a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood.  It is a huge milestone, and something that Derek has spent his life preparing for up until now.  He was interviewed by our Bishop to make sure he was worthy, and this week, after sacrament meeting, he was ordained by his dad.

This is such a special event, that Kevin's dad, Dennis, came all the way to Pennsylvania to be a part of it.  It was wonderful to see three generations of amazing Brown men together :).

We are so grateful for our sweet Derek,and his testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He will be a strong priesthood holder, I just know it.  And he can't wait to get to pass the sacrament next week, for the very first time :).

Special Christmas Visitors and Fun

This Christmas, because it was so close to Derek's 12th birthday, it meant that we got to have some very special visitors - Grandma Valerie and Grandpa Dennis.  They came for Derek's priesthood ordination, but having them for Christmas was an extra bonus.  The kids absolutely loved having them, and so did Kevin and I.

They flew in late Friday night, and the fun started first thing on Saturday.  They gave Derek some Legos for his birthday, and so he and Grandpa got busy building them right away.  Arthur even "helped."

And Grandma Valerie had fun word games on her iPad that the kids loved to play with her.

After taking it easy in the morning, we loaded up the van and headed to Washington DC for the day.  Kevin and I had bought tickets to Les Mis long before we had made any Christmas plans, and so Kevin's parents were game to play with the kids in DC while we went to our play.  It was fabulous - "Bring Him Home" and the final get me every single time.

While we were watching our play, they were having adventures with the kids.  It was a warmer day, but it was very rainy, and so they spent most of the time at museums.  Unfortunately, I guess everybody else decided to come to DC for Christmas as well, because the museums were packed.  

They managed to have a good time in spite of the crowds.  The one bummer, was when they missed getting to watch Star Wars in IMAZ by ten minutes.  Oh well.

After we picked them up, we headed to go see the Washington DC Temple lights, which they had never seen.  It wasn't our night, unfortunately, and it was pouring rain when we got there.  Buckets of rain.  And it was so crowded that we couldn't even pull in for them to see them in the car.  Oh well.  Here is a picture I took last year though - it's so pretty.

Our plans may not have worked out as well as I had hoped (mostly because of the weather), but it all came together in the end.  We had fun, got to see a few things, and spent time together.  And that what was most important :).

The Last Week of Christmas

This has been an interesting week.  I have had a cold and felt pretty rotten most of the time, but in spite of that, we have still managed to have some fun during this last week before Christmas.  It started with having the Sister Missionaries over for dinner, and then Family Home evening.  Right before we started our FHE, some friends, the Sutherland family, came over to bring us treats, and so they joined us as well.  We had a great time, and then we played a Christmas song on the chimes.  So fun!

On Monday, I took the missionaries out to get portraits of them to use for Christmas cards for their families.  Arthur was our photo buddy, and only snuck into their pictures a few times ;).

After the outdoor pictures, we came back to the house and they changed into silly clothes and took some more pictures.  Arthur got in a few of these ones as well.

And while I was already taking pictures, I had to get one of Arthur.  I was using my big flash, which he thought was really awesome.  And he is too cute not to take pictures of :).

Arthur was my errand buddy, and on Tuesday, we had a lot of errands to run.  I told him that if he was well behaved, he could earn bonus points, and if he got enough, he could get a donut at the grocery store, our very last errand.  And he was fantastic!  So, he definitely got his special donut :).

On Wednesday, I watched my friend, Amber's, boys, Samson and Porter.  Derek loved getting to play with them, and it gave Amber a chance to wrap Christmas presents at home.  And it reminded me how crazy it is to have an eighteen month boy in the house - ha ha!

In our downtime, we made time for things like watching Christmas movies together, and making special cards and treats to give to others.  The other night, we watched "Elf" all together while we made special cards to give my nephew, Nathan.  

On Friday evening, on his way to pick up his parents, Kevin dropped off the cards and treats at Nathan's apartment in Baltimore as a special surprise.  I sure hope he got them ;).  It was a great way to end our week.

Celebrating Twelve Years of Derek

Derek has been counting down to his birthday for months.  And the past few weeks, he has been waking up every morning, bursting with excitement that his birthday was only days away.  And so I was determined to make his birthday special.  I decorated his door, and we started off the morning waking him up to us serenading him with "Happy Birthday."

I made him an extra special breakfast, which really made him happy - cheesy scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, and my very special hot cocoa with marshmallows.

I also made fun birthday treats for him to take to school - hot cocoa stirrers.  He loves getting to take things to share for his birthday, and this is only the third time ever, that he has had school on his birthday, since the 21st is so close to Christmas.  While Derek was at school, Arthur helped me make his birthday cake.  He picked a cake from the Lion House cookbook, and it looked amazingly delicious, but was pretty tricky to make.

When Derek got home, the festivities began.  We stared things off with Derek's very favorite dinner - Bowtie Pasta with Basic Cream Sauce.  Then it was time for presents!  Derek loved everything he got, whether it was a book from my mom, or a football from Arthur.  He got two special gifts from Kevin and I, and the first was a new suit and tie, since he will be passing the sacrament starting next week.

Hi other special gift was a complete surprise, but something he has been asking for for over a year - his very own desk.  He was blown away, and just loves it!!

Then it was time for cake.  We had our friends, the Gould's, over to celebrate with us, which Derek loved.  And he really loved his cake - complete with a football on the top and in Carolina Panthers blue.  (I did have a little emergency where I realized that I didn't have a #2 candle, and so I couldn't make twelve, and then I was also out of normal candles.  Thank goodness, my friend Amber came to my rescue and loaned me some candles, since I didn't have time to get to the store.)

Eating cake and celebrating with good friends, was the perfect way to end a perfect birthday.  I am so happy with my sweet twelve year old Derek, and I am so glad he had a wonderful birthday.

Twelve Years Old!!

Twelve years ago, I got a special early Christmas delivery, a precious baby boy.  Derek was the best gift, and continues to be a special part of our family.

Derek has been a burst of energy ever since he was a baby, and he brings a special liveliness and fun into our family.  He is always quick to smile and laugh.  His excitement is contagious.

Derek is so good natured, and although he has his moments, for the most part, he really tries to go with the flow.  This was especially apparent this past year in Scouts.  When Derek turned eleven last year, he was the only 11 Year Old Scout, and he never once complained.  He still worked really hard, came every week, and he was so good about the times when his very busy leader was late or didn't come.  And in spite of everything, he still managed to earn his Scout and Tenderfoot, and almost completed his Second Class.

Derek is very smart and absolutely loves school.  He is also such a talented musician on both the piano and guitar.  I love watching his talents grow as he grows.  He is a fun and loving brother - a best friend to Lily, and a good buddy to Arthur.  He also really loves sports, and he and his dad have a weekly tradition of watching whatever big game happens to be on.  It is so fun to see them sharing something they both love.

The years have flown by, but have been full of rich memories and adventures with my sweet boy, from when he was ten months old and running so fast that he would run straight into walls, or when he was three and stole a kiss from Cinderella at Disney World. It is hard to believe that Derek is really twelve.  Kevin and I are so excited for him to enter into this new chapter of his life though, as he is ordained a Deacon and gets the priesthood.  He will also get to go to the temple to do baptisms, which he can't wait for.  He has worked hard to be worthy for this opportunity, and even earned his Faith in God award, which he worked on for four years.

I know that someday soon, this boy of mine will have grown a foot overnight, be taller than me, and look more like a man than a boy.  Part of me is so scared for this transformation, and part of me really looks forward to what his future holds.  I know that if he continues on the path he is now, he will go from being the amazing young man he is right now, to being an amazing man, and I am so grateful for this boy of mine.

We sure love our Derek!  Our family wouldn't be the same without him.  

Derek's Favorites

Food: Bowtie Pasta with Basil Cream Sauce    

Dessert: Cookie Dough Ice-cream

Color: Red, green, blue and purple

Season: winter

Movie: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

TV Show: Odd Squad

Game: Clue

Video Game:  Lego Star Wars the Force Awakens and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire 

Video Game to Watch: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Sport to Play: Tennis

Sport to Watch: Football and Baseball

Thing To Do: Read and play with Legos

Thing To Do at School: Math 

Place to Be: My friend Christian's house

Place to Visit: Idaho         

Vacation: Legoland

Toy: Legos and Stuffed Animal, Mighty (stuffed cougar from BYU)

Chapter Book: Harry Potter

Picture Book: All of my Lego Star Wars books

Singer: Keith Urban

Song: Female, by Keith Urban

Thing to Do with Mom: read Harry Potter

Thing to Do with Dad: Watch Sports, play Legend of Zelda and read The Golden Door

Thing to Do with Lily: Play pretend and watch shows

Thing to Do with Arthur: read a book and watch shows

Scripture Story: Captain Moroni defeats Zarahemna    

Wants to be when he grows up: Doctor

Most excited about for this next year: Getting the Priesthood and being ordained a Deacon

Most Looking Forward to in the Future: Going to college and getting a job