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For Father's day, I had my friend, Tyson take pictures of my kids for Joseph - and here they are! (Sorry the layout is crappy - I suck at this!)


Fabiola

Maryn

Rylynn

Kellyn

Kaydin
Trevin

Tristan





My girls

My boys

All 8 of them

Ewan

Dads

On this day of honoring dads, I wanted to pay tribute to the important men in my life:

My Dad: My dad taught me the value of hard work. He always worked hard and he would never give me an easy answer. When I asked a question, he would always try to lead me to the answer, instead of just giving it to me. I miss him a lot - he lives in West Virginia and I haven't seen him in over 3 years, but I look forward to seeing him again and being able to watch him get to know his grandkids! I love you dad!

My Father-in-law: What can you say about a guy who has raised 14 kids! Loyal would do anything to help his kids. And he has helped us more times than I can count (like driving 6 hours to Montana to help us pack up our house last weekend, only to turn around and drive right back the next day with a van full of my kids). He has a great sense of humor, and I know where Joseph gets a lot of his laid-back qualities from. The grandkids love him -even when he can't remember all their names! We love you, Loyal!

My husband: I know I posted a while ago about how much I love my husband. And I could probably write about it every day. I wish I were more eloquent and had a more expansive vocabulary so that I could adequately express just how much I love and adore this man. But since I don't have that firm a command of the English language, I will most sound pathetic and sappy, but here goes anyway. Just being around Joseph calms me, and makes me feel more centered. I can honestly say, without hesitation, that I would not be the person I am today without Joseph. He is kind, compassionate, funny, smart (very smart), easygoing, non-judgemental, forgiving, and just all-around wonderful. I marvel everyday that I was blessed to meet and then get to marry him. As a father, he is amazing. His best parenting qualities are his patience and lack of temper. The kids all adore him (especially the girls). Joseph has the ability to read people and tell, almost immediately, what kind of a person they are. This is truly an amazing gift. He knows sooooo much about church doctrine and theology and is fascinated by it. He set a fantastic example for our kids with his enthusiasm to learn about all things spiritual. He is good at EVERYTHING. This will probably end up giving me a complex. But he is really good at so many things. Art, sports, woodworking, studying doctrine, making people feel at ease, and he can learn anything-fast. I love him - love him! As a husband, a father, a person. As everything!

Happy Father's Day!

What to do with myself?

Do you ever imagine all the things you would do with your time if you didn't have any kids around? Perhaps fantasizing about how much you would be able to get done, or how many books you would be able to read? If you are anything like me, you have imagined these very things (usually after a long day of hearing the word "MOM"! for the five billionth time). Reality check. Life with no family sucks. Joseph and the kids left on Friday. They have officially moved out. I am supposed to follow behind soon (as soon as our house sells). Most of our home is packed away and in a different state (Utah) now. And so are my husband and children. And so are the million little things my kids do that seem mildly annoying on a daily basis, but that I now find myself missing terribly. I like to fancy myself a strong, in control person who is able to handle almost anything life throws at her. I have been kidding myself. Just walking through the kids' clothing at Target brought me to tears yesterday. And they've only been gone 2 days. I can't imagine how I would handle a more permanent separation. I just feel very adrift without people to take care of and without a husband to hug me 500 times a day and tell me he loves me. He still tells me over the phone, but it isn't the same, And now all the time that I used to spend taking care of my kids, I now spend worrying about them. Ok, enough of my pity party. Just know that single life isn't all it's cracked up to be!

Post Script

The snow is now sticking

What the.....?

Sometimes things happen that make you just shake your head and wonder what the heck is going on in the world. Today is June 11th. It is snowing outside - right now. Big, fat, stupid snowflakes. I know this shouldn't surprise me. I live in Montana. But it still kind of sucks.
Another head shaking occurrence. The universe has revealed to me in the past little while that I am, in fact, old. First, I had my birthday and turned 22. For the 6th time. Then, as I was flipping through the stations on the radio, I happened upon a delightful ditty called "Doctor, doctor" sung by the Thompson Twins. Maybe you've heard the song? (just as an aside, the Thompson Twins were neither related, nor were they a duo). Imagine my horror when the song ended and I realized I was listening to the OLDIES station!!! How can this be? The final confirmation that I am old came in the form of my 8-year old. He brought me a movie to ask if he could watch it and I told him "Yes, of course you may watch that video in the toy room." To this, Trevin replies "But the DVD player in the toy room doesn't work" I let him know in a kind, motherly fashion that he needed to put it in the VCR (all of our machines are dual dvd/vcr combos). A confused look washed over Trevin's face as he inquired of me "What's a VCR"? ......WHAT"S A VCR? Where has the time gone? Does it ever feel like this to anyone else? I think having 8 kids by the time I was 27 may have also contributed to the overall feeling of "oldness". So many weird things happening. Snow in June, Thompson Twins on the oldies station, repeatedly turning 22. After our next election, apocalyptic visions of the end are sure to come.

That's all, folks!

They kids' school playground (note the dark sky, it's been raining nonstop for 2 weeks!)

Rylynn's last day with Mrs. Gibson (she is like a part of our family!)

They don't want Trevin to move away!

Trevin and Mr. Grady - a phenomenal 2nd grade teacher!

Yesterday was the last day of school for the kids. I tried, mostly unsuccessfully, not to cry and embarrass the kids. I always cry at the end of the school year - I get so attached to the kids' teachers and I hate goodbyes. This year was particularly hard because the kids won't be back next year, so we had to say goodbye not only to the teachers, but to principals, secretaries, lunch ladies, librarians. With 6 kids in school, I have practically lived at the school for the past 4 years, and I have gotten to know the entire staff really well. We will miss everybody from Belgrade schools! On a more upbeat note: Kaydin, Rylynn and Trevin all had straight A's (or, in Trevin and Rylynn's case, the elementary school equivalent of an A) all 4 quarters. Good job, guys! Here are some pictures I took yesterday. I realize they are just Trevin and Rylynn. Tristan's class was at the park, and I didn't make it over to the intermediate school to get pictures of Maryn and Kaydin with their teachers. Just in case my kids see this and cry favoritism, I thought I should clarify.

All you need is love, love is all you need?

I have come the the conclusion that the Beatles had no idea what they were talking about. Love is not all you need. Sometimes you need therapy - and possibly medication. Case in point: Ewan, my darling 13 month old son (whom I really do love) is making me crazy. Love him, love him, love him, but want to tie him up and throw him in a closet. He is going through a fun phase called "getting into everything" which is a cousin of the other phase he is going through - "won't hold still to get my diaper changed". Oh, and lest I forget, there is "I want to eat all the time and will be very particular about my food". His favorite activity is getting into the cat litter box, taking handfuls of it, and putting it in that cat's water, which makes a lovely kitty litter paste. Ewan is a big baby (about 25 lbs), so the thrashing and rolling he does while getting his diaper changed means that I have had to develop miraculous strength and reflexes to not get poop everywhere, multiple times a day. As for the eating thing, well, I guess I could go on all day. But, I do love him - so much it brings tears to my eyes. Hopefully he grows out of this soon, or I develop more patience. But who knows, maybe it will be worth it. Trevin was demonic from the age of 10 months to 4 years and now he is the most angelic, sweet, smart, sensitive, dare I say, delightful child in the world. Maybe Ewan will be the same. I can hope.

Hunk 'o burnin' love!

Here are some pictures of my love right before church! He is still so foxy! Even at age 33!

Five things I love about Joseph:

1. I am still as wildly attracted to him as I was when we first me. ( I know this sounds shallow, but it's true). He is still the same weight, has the same amount of hair and he could easily pass for being in his (very) early 20's!

2. He has no temper. He doesn't yell -ever. I have never heard him use a curse word. And no, it's not because I am not around when he says them - he never says them.

3. He is so funny. But not in an obvious way. He usually seems quiet and unassuming, but then he will hit you with his wry, sarcastic sense of humor and you are completely caught of guard.

4. He is a great dad - of 8 kids. Enough said.

5. He is truly one of the kindest people I know. He never has an unkind thing to say about anyone. He will go out of his way to help people (case in point: he framed an entire 2500 sq. ft basement for some friends of ours and didn't ask for or expect them to pay him. He just wanted to be of service). He is a good friend and really cares about people.

I love you, sweetie! Thanks for the camera - I am really starting to enjoy it!

Rylynn - Aloha!

Today was Rylynn's birthday party. She turned 6 on Tuesday, but we held off on the partying until today. We had a luau. Rylynn - bless her - is still young enough to indulge my need to throw elaborate theme parties. And she even enjoys them! It is sad to know that when I am old (or dead), the only talent my kids will remember me having is being amazing with crepe paper streamers and balloons. Oh well, you work with what you are given, right? The funniest part was that the hula girl pinata kept falling. The loop to hang it on broke, and then we hung it from a plastic loop in the back, which also broke. So Kaydin, my brilliant (and somewhat macabre) son, tied they string around the poor hula girl's neck and strung her up like she was being lynched. This time it held. But the darn pinata just wouldn't break. We gave her a vicious beating and her legs finally came off. But not before Trevin wound up with a bloody nose. It was like a gang fight. Ok, it was really an accidental elbow in the face that caused the bloody nose.

The scene of the crime. Ok, I went a little crazy with the decorations. But kids freaking love this stuff!

Here, Rylynn is "surfing" in the ocean we set up (it consisted of a tarp, inflatable palm trees and flamingoes and an ironing board) All the kids got their pictures taken surfing.

This is a beach-wear relay, where the kids had to dress in all the hawaiian clothes as fast as possible and then do a quick hula!

Here is the ocean cake. I was pretty pleased with how it turned out - I even made some lovely, white-capped waves and surfboards out of fruit-striped gum!

Here is Rylynn's friend, Mackie, giving the pinata a beatdown!

Some thoughts about my beautiful (now 6 year old) daughter: She makes me smile every day and melts her dad's heart every moment he is with her. How blessed we are to have her as a part of our family. She is a sweet big sister to Kellyn and Ewan and a hilarious little sister to the older kids! We love you so much Rylynn Emma!

Old stuff

Here is a link to my other family website. It has lots of pictures and whatnot. But I will probably not be updating it anymore and will instead just use this blog.

familylobby.com/baker98

Hard to believe, I know

I have done it. I created a blogspot. I have had another family website up for quite some time, but it is hard to navigate, and even harder for people to find. So I decided, for the sake of networking, I would hop on board with the google blogs. This was not, however, without challenges. Time being one of those. How was I to find the time to transfer all pertinent and entertaining information from one blog to another. "You can do it", I said in the the little pep talk I gave myself. Another challenge? How would I overcome the fact that when it comes to computers, I am semi-retarded? There is a learning curve for everything. Just think, 10 years ago, I couldn't play basketball to save my life. And then I married Joseph - a basketball fanatic. And here I am ten years later. I still suck at basketball, but I know the rules so much better now! And then there was the issue of coming up with a name for the blog. I know this is not important to some, but it matters to me - a lot. It had to be something semi-cute, but not gag inducing. Something that alluded to my love of family, but didn't scream, in obnoxious capital letters "Look how much I love my family". Not that there is any shame in loving your family. But I am all about subtlety. Ok, that's just not true. To explain the name of the blog, however - in case you were wondering, Chinese folklore says that when a child is born, invisible red threads extend from the child's spirit and connect to all of the significant people who will be part of the child's life. As the child grows, the threads shorten, drawing closer those people who are destined to be together. Since our family has grown in somewhat unconventional ways, I like this idea. No matter how we came to be a family, we are all connected and we will find each other and end up where the Lord wants us to be.

So, enjoy my blogging efforts. I shall try to overcome my blogging challenges and sacrifice all that is necessary to make this blog the most amazing blog in all of history.