Corry's 40th

Sadly I didn't take many pictures at Corry's 40th birthday party, I guess I was too busy, but it was really cute!  I had a black tablecloth with 40 confetti all around.  Black plates and cups.  Glassware of all sizes (my favorite being the GIANT martini glass) holding all sorts of fun things to dip in chocolate and caramel.  So cute!  I had a lot of fun searching for large glassware pieces for this!  

I made a movie of Corry that I am still trying to figure out how to post and made him a 40 years of Corry photo book.  It was a lot of work to get it all done in time, but it was such a fun project to be working on!

I think I got it to work to watch the videos:
Corry: Birth to Mission
Corry: Mission through 2007
Corry: 2007 - April 2012

We had lots of friends and family over to celebrate with us, but my favorite moment was when this showed up...

Seriously the COOLEST toilet ever!  Way to go Calvin and Angie on this creative genius!

There were lots of old jokes, thank you to Melanie, Charalece, and the winner for the night, Jeff (who called him Brother Cloward).

That all was Sunday, his actual birthday was on Tuesday.  This is what his office looked like when he went into work...

Hahaha!  Great job on that Kim! 

So that morning the kids and I all met him when he got ready all wearing our "Because it would be fun" shirts.  I tried to find the video, but I can't.  So there is this cartoon video of a man trying to explain to his coworker why running a long relay race (like 200 miles long) would be fun.  The coworker keeps responding to all the different things he is telling her with, "and you do all this, because it would be fun?"  So it has been the family joke for the last little while that everything we do is because it would be fun.  Cleaning the bathrooms, coming in and going to bed, etc.  We got talking one day that we should get shirts made that said because it would be fun and start writing on the back of them with fabric markers everything that would be fun!  So we all put our shirts on that morning and handed Corry his!  

The girls had dance the night of his birthday, so we partied with family and friends Sunday night, went to diner and to the Hale Center Monday night with Julie and Taylor, Tuesday morning had breakfast and his lasagna dinner that night together, then spent the rest of that night hanging out with Scotty and Alli.  He also got a haircut (I know big fun, right) where Julane sufficiently mocked his age!

The Nettesheims dropped this off for him:

And Mel toilet papered Corry for what he says is the first time in his life!

Toilet paper goes well with the birthday toilet, don't you think????

Happy birthday to the love of my life.  You mean the world to me!

My letter for his book sums it all up:

My Dear Corry,

What to say to you on your 40th birthday?  I love you so much!  I love it when you make me laugh, and you have always been able to make me laugh!  I knew that when you took my wig and started petting it!

I knew you were someone special to me when you watched ALL the "Sunshine Day" performances at BYU's Lip Sync contest.  I knew you wouldn't ever let me give up when you made me stay in college when I wanted to quit.  

I knew you were really special when you held Missy in your arms for the first time and all other other children too.  I knew that your heart was big and breakable when we were in the hospital with Scotty, watching him battle for his life.  

I knew you were a man of honor when you stuck by your dad at the office, taking more responsibility so that he could be a Bishop.  I knew you loved me, but rolled your eyes at me, when you were so concerned for mine and the kids' safety when I wanted to drive back east by myself.

I knew your heart was overflowing when you accepted and loved two little boys into our home, but chose to follow my promptings to let them go.  I don't think I had a clue until then how much love and devotion you have for me. 

I know everyday by random acts of love that you are more precious to me than anything.  I love you Corry - even in these declining years!

Crazy Neighbors

So we have these crazy neighbors that like to leave weird things on our porch.  Well the other day Fuzzy burned this tortilla and immediately asked if she could go leave it on the neighbors front porch!  Hahaha!  I love our neighbors and I love that leaving it on the front porch was the first thing Fuzzy thought of doing with it!

Alli Looses her First Tooth!

Alli had the craziest first loose tooth experience.

She came home from school and got an apple for a snack.  About 4 pm she bit into the apple and her tooth is loose.  First time ever!  

2 hours later we are sitting at dinner and she bites into her taco and it HURTS her tooth so much.  It is now REALLY loose.  So Corry pulled it out.  

2 hours: Tooth loose and gone!  

The next morning

The toilet overflowing - tender mercy?

One of my all time favorite general conference talks of all time has to be Elder Bednar's talk about Tender Mercies of the Lord that you can find here.  I have thought a lot about what tender mercies of the Lord are since then.  I also looked for them in the scriptures and was amazed how many times that phrase is used.  13 times in the Old Testament, twice in the New Testament, and 3 times in the Book of Mormon.  I have been amazed as I look for them in my own life, I find them.

Last night I went up to use my bathroom before I picked up Missy from her Young Women's activity to take her to dance.  As I stepped on the rug in front of the toilet it was SOPPING wet!  Me, being the slightly OCD person I am, immediately washed my feet very first.  Then when I got Missy, I found Corry at the church and told him the problem.  As I left him to deal with it while I took Missy to dance, I couldn't help but think what a tender mercy it was that it happened this week, while we are home, instead of when we were out of town.  I know it seems small, but I was so grateful for that happening when it did.  I know sometimes those bad things do happen when we are out of town.  That still doesn't mean the Lord is not watching out for us or giving us tender mercies, it usually means there is something we need to learn from it.  But even in those situations, I hope I can be like Pollyanna by playing the glad game to find those tender mercies in every situation in my life.  My mom does - she is my hero.  She is constantly finding things to thank the Lord for as her tender mercies while she battle her cancer.  

My new wall

Almost three and a half years ago we had our house painted.  For the last three and a half years, this wall has been blank.  The frames I have had for about 4 years.  My sis in law gave me the sign at the middle bottom and it has been in my family room window.  The sign on the left I made about 5 years ago, the one on the right has been on an end table for about a year.  The wall hanging that looks like metal I made last fall.  

Finally I found the "Home" sign at Hobby Lobby on Tuesday.  That inspired me to do something!  So for my weekly lunch with Mindy and Wendi, I asked if they would come over and help me decorate this wall instead of going out.  This is what we (when I say we, I mean Mindy) came up with!  I love it.  Now I just have to get my photos printed for the frames (yes, I know that the photo frame on the left is off center - I fixed it, but I am too lazy to take a new picture).  I love it!

What I have been working on for Easter

So I got a yellow sweater, but I really wanted one that had some flowers or something on it.

So I made this flower

and put it on my sweater

My whole outfit for Easter Sunday

Fuzzy made one for her dress for Easter too...

We are going to do family pictures all in yellow and grey.  So fun.  I love a good craft project! I found the flower tutorial here.

Real Dinner Conversation

You have to understand first though how emotionally charged Missy can get...

I had been talking to Scotty about his options for sports/activities a few days before.  I had told him he could play baseball, run track or take a tumbling class (he wants to take diving, but I can't find anyplace that offers it).  He thought that was a tough choice, so he said he would get back to me about it.

So this particular night at dinner, he says he has a decision and he wanted to take tumbling.  This the basic gist of the dinner conversation that followed:

Missy's reaction, "Oh My GOODNESS!!!!! Boys that know how to flip are SOOO attractive!!!!"

Scotty tells us he has always wanted to be a goalie in soccer that could flip to get the ball.

Missy, "Oh my Goodness!!!  You are going to be a soccer playing flipper boy.  SOOOO attractive to the ladies!"

Scotty, "I also think I am going to learn to play the guitar this summer."

Missy, "Oh my goodness!  That is so attractive, a soccer playing, flipper, guitar playing boy! The girls are going to love you!"

Me, "He also plays the piano."

Missy, "Oh my goodness!!!  A soccer playing, flipper boy that plays the guitar and the piano!!!!  Seriously going to attract the ladies!"

Scotty - big grin

Me, "If you are going to play the guitar and the piano, you really have to sing too."

Scotty, "Ok, I'll sing too"

Missy, "OH MY GOODNESS!!!!  That is so attractive!!!!  A soccer playing, flipper boy that can sing, play the piano and the guitar!!!!"

I was laughing so hard!