Sugar and Spice!

Our Miss Oakley is ONE today! 

She really is made of Sugar and Spice and everything NICE!

It is really hard already to imagine life without her! She came into our family with sweet little smiles and a fun disposition!

 She makes us laugh, and her big brother Kai... makes her laugh and loves her soo much! Everyone should be so blessed to have an older brother like that!





She is her Mommy and Daddy's girl! And we feel so blessed to have her in our family!

 You can tell by looking at her and her Daddy at the same age... that the Genes are strong with this one! ( her Mommy even said that )

She is already my sewing buddy, and the inspiration for many of my creations!

So go to sleep tonight little Miss Oakley, knowing you are truly the Sugar and Spice of our lives! 
We love you more than words can say!
Happy Birthday from Nana and Poppa

Just a little over a week ago!

Just a little over a week ago, our son Lee and his fiance Caitlin got married.
Amy and I were the lucky ones that got to drive there with her 3 little girls.
Hard...yes! Long...yes! Exhausting...yes!
Fun...yes! Lots of bonding time...yes! Worth it...YES!!!


I have to admit Amy drove more than I did, still eating is the only thing that kept us awake!

Girls were troopers but after a whole day of driving we decided to get a Motel room and rest for the night!

You can see how excited the girls were to get to do a Sleep Over in a Motel! Actually so were we!

Arriving in Salt Lake and being with family and friends, was so fun! I have missed my great nieces and nephews! I love how the cousins all connected!

Two of them, we met for the first time. Oh how I instantly loved them!

Look at those faces...aren't they the sweetest?

We all got to be together for meals!


For a special trip to the Dinosaur Museum, where the kids got to actually dig for bones,

while their parents got to reconnect!

Hard to imagine my own kids, neices and nephews grew up but now to see the next generation...was a Priceless gift!






Stuffed animals have always been near and dear to our hearts, only fitting that Amy's girls got to go home with one each!

Then because we got to Utah a few days early, we were able to have breakfast with some old friends, ones that we hadn't seen in over 35 years...what a treat!

I love, love, loved seeing all the kids and grandkids together.

What a powerhouse of women, these 5 ladies are!

Then after Lee and Caitlin got married, right before they came out of the Temple, Jeff and I came out and acted like we were the newly weds! It was too funny, people starting clicking their cameras then they stopped and I heard someone say... " who are they?" It was too funny,  

What we were really excited about was...we just had our last child get married! Can't you just see the excitement on our faces?

Ok, here is who they were really waiting for, but Jeff and I looked just as excited ...right? :)

All the kids couldn't wait to tell Uncle Lee congratulations!

When I look at these young men, I am grateful first of all ...for Bradley and the great older brother he has always been for Lee. Then as I look at the rest, and I am so thankful that Lee has such incredible friends in his life. Good friends can make all the difference!

Here is the Bride ( our new daughter in law ) and her sweet sisters and friends!

So blessed to have all our family together for such an amazing wedding!

We are glad to see our family getting bigger.

And congrats to Lee and Caitlin, your journey has just begun! We love you!

Good Night dear friends!

Miss Audrey!

All my life, I dreamed of what my future family would look like! Then as each of my children came along, that dream came true. Now as we have waited anxiously for each one of our Grandchildren...it brings on a whole new dream alive. We love them with a love we can hardly express with words. Each one of them come with such a unique spirit and personality, which adds to the fun and the chaos to our family.

I am not sure if it is the 3rd child but Audrey sure has come with a strong, fun and sometimes crazy personality. She reminds us so much of her Aunt Lauren ( also my 3rd child ) that sometimes that is what we call her when she is in trouble! :) But I always remind Amy to look at how wonderful her sister Lauren turned out...so there is hope!

Her faces just make me laugh!

She wants so bad to be just like her older sisters.

She is sooooo strong willed!

She is funny and never stops moving!

And she loves Christmas ...just like her Nana!

So Happy Happy Birthday dear Audrey Jane, I can 't believe you are three already! We are soooo glad you came into our family! 

We sure love you!

How could he be this old?

Today is Lee's 23rd birthday! How can that possibly be that old? I still remember he and Lauren sitting on the porch, proudly showing the pumpkins they picked out.



Then it seemed like before I knew it... he was getting as big and tall as his older brother Brad!


Now on his Birthday, he is with Lauren again, but this time she is with him and Caitlin, taking their engagement photos. He is our last to be getting married. Oh my goodness, the time has flown by. How we love our boy! He has grown up into an amazing and sweet young man, and I am so grateful to be his Mom. We are excited about welcoming in Caitlin into our family. Now a new chapter begins for him and for our family!


How blessed we are to see these sweet kids ...grow up, and meet such amazing people. Just to have the chance to watch our family keep growing, makes me grateful for the opportunity to be getting older myself...thought I would never say that..but I am!
Good Night dear friends!
And Happy Birthday sweet Lee, we love you more than words can say!

"I told you so Mom"

For the last week or so, I have been waking up every morning with this feeling of panic. I keep looking at my list of things I need to do before launching my business and it feels just too BIG for me to do. There are so many things that I need to do, that I really don't understand. Social Media is such a big part of it and the future and yet...I feel like I was born in the wrong era!. Still my kids seem to just know it and do it naturally.

My kids really think that I can do these Online Quilting and Sewing Classes, they believe in me.

As we talked about a Mission Statement for my business, all I could think of were the reasons that I would like to do these classes... I would like to be able to teach anyone, who would like to learn how to create. Creating is something that literally made all the difference in my life.
When I was young and my abuse was going on. The only way that I could get out of the situation or at least get my head out of the situation... was when I was creating. It took me to a whole other world...one that was happy and one that gave me hope, hope that my life in the future would be different, better and safe!
Then as I grew up, it continued to create and what even made my life better ...was to not only create, but to share what I created with Others. The feeling that you get when share with others, is just the best!  Knowing that something you created, something from you personally ...could make someone feel special, happy and  loved is truly what I think we were put on earth here to do!

So scared or not, I am going to start LynnMade Online Classes, and hope that someone, somewhere will need them, and learn how to create for themselves! And by creating something beautiful...I hope  that their lives will become even better
What do I have to lose, except Fear itself!

I have to remember all of these things so that I don't freak myself out each day. Truth is, if this is suppose to be, it will be. I need to turn it over to the Lord, and have more faith in myself, my talents and my family! When I do this, I wake up excited and ready to work!

I do hope it works...wouldn't that be neat? I don't think I will even mind...years from now when my kids say "I told you so Mom! " :)

    

I hope this quote becomes true someday of LynnMade!

Good Night dear friends!
Thanks for believing in me!