Happy Birthday, love mommy

Dear Madelynn,

I know it sounds cliche but I can hardly believe you are 4 years old. While some of the days are long, the years are short and tend to fly by. It is a very bittersweet thing in a mothers life. You love watching your kids learn and grow but you also realize they become more and more independent. And you little lady, came into the world an independent soul. We were so blessed 4 years ago when you joined our family!

A lot has changed in the past year for you. You have started going to preschool 2x a week. You are in Ms Kim Nance's class with Elijah. You love going to school and are learning so much. We had parent teacher conference this past week and your teacher said you had mastered all your skills. We were so proud of you. But even more proud of you when your teacher said you were a good listener, friend, and helper. It's important to us that you are a kind person. 

You have so many amazing attributes that we see shining through even at the age of 4. We are proud to be your parents. You also have some things we hope you grow out of! You have big emotions. There are days you'll cry if Elijah talks and you don't want to hear him or you get touched and completely melt down. We hope you eventually learn to deal a bit better with these things. But for now we are trying to teach you to ignore things and not to react so big. 

Madelynn, your smile lights up any room. You have the most beautiful dimples and people comment on them a lot. Sometimes you'll smile at them, other times you snarl your nose. Silly girl!

You currently love puzzles, all art projects, and flash cards. You ask to do your reading lessons every day and can spell and write your name. You really love learning! We look forward to seeing your continued learning. I often imagine what you'll be. I hope 1st and foremost you have the opportunity to be a wife and mother. Nothing in this life has brought me more joy than holding my sweet babies for the 1st time and every day after watching you all learn and grow. But while you are preparing for these special sacred roles, I want you to excel in your education. I want you to break through boundaries and go all the way to the top. You are a tenacious little lady and I hope that tenacity stays with you forever. 

I'm sure I write this every year, and every year it'll be true. Madelynn, remember you have Heavenly Parents who love you dearly. They are always there for you. They sent you here to your earthly parents and we know what a blessing it is that They have entrusted you to us. We will always be there for you. You won't always like how we do things, you'll disagree, but know we are trying our hardest. I especially love being your mommy. I like when we paint our nails together, when you beg to put on my lipstick, when you play in my shoes. 

Remember who you are! Remember to pray always. Don't fear life, enjoy it! Take chances, listen to the Spirit, and be kind. You are a light to others. Don't let that light dim and don't hide it. You have been truly blessed. I love you my dear, sweet, stubborn, tenacious, loving, crazy, little lady. You teach me so many life lessons daily and I am forever glad to be your mommy!

Loved you yesterday, love still, always have, always will.

Mommy

 According to you:
You currently want to be big kid and mom
 Your favorite colors are pink and purple
 Your favorite show is Mia and Me
Your favorite game is Flash Cards
Your favorite toy is Magnets and puzzles
Your favorite boy is Will
You are really good at dancing
Your best friend is Sadie Noelle (Her doll)
You want to vacation to with daddy and mommy
Favorite ice cream is Rainbow
Your wish is to on a star
Your hero is Rapunzel
Your favorite thing to do with your friends is to eat cake
Your favorite holiday is Easter
Your favorite person in the whole world is
Your favorite TV show is dad and mommy
Your favorite song is   I am a child of God
 If you had $1000 you would buy a unicorn and a horse

Happy Birthday Madelynn, love Mimi and Grandpa

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Happy 4^th Birthday to our Miss Madelynn!

Maddie, I need to tell you something…we love you!  When we skype with you each week, you often stick your face close to the screen, get a big smile on your face with dancing eyes and you say, “Mimi and Grandpa, I need to tell you something!”  We love to hear your stories and adventures.

Just last week you proudly told us that as a new Sunbeam you were passing off the Articles of Faith.  We were so pleased to hear you recite the first one word perfect!  Then you went on to the second one, “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adamson’s transgressions.”  You were so proud of yourself and we had to stifle a chuckle.  That is the cutest thing we have ever heard!  When you are older, you will realize how cute it is but for now, let us say that we just love how hard you are trying to learn and live the gospel.

You amaze us with your skills in putting puzzles together and knowing all your ABCs and learning how to sound out words. We think it is wonderful that you love art and have such a great imagination!  We especially are excited that you are taking dancing lessons and loving that too.  We know you are a very special spirit sent to our family to add lots of fun and love to our lives.

We were so happy that you and your family were able to drive out to California last summer (2016).  We had so much fun together.  We celebrated the 4^th of July with a barbecue and fireworks.  But one of our favorite things to do with you is our campfire time!  We all love to roast marshmallows and make s’mores.  We were glad that your Daddy got to do that with us before he had to fly home to Tennessee.  My favorite times with you included getting to read stories and playing Candy Land Bingo.  You quickly learned how to play dominoes with me, too.  Grandpa and I were so amazed at how quickly you learn things.  You are a very smart girl!

The next 2 weeks were filled with all kinds of fun. You, Elijah, and Nolan had fun playing in the swimming pool.  I can still hear you yell, “Cannonball” as you all made big splashes. You loved to play with the water table or eat lunch on the new picnic table you helped Grandpa assemble.  You rode your cars around the yard. You drew chalk pictures on the sidewalk.  We also pretended to be detectives and we had fun with play-doh and painting. We kept busy!

For my birthday on July 11^th, we went to the beach!  That is always so much fun.

Grandpa, Mimi, Mommy, and Uncle Bryant got to take you 3 kids over to Manresa beach.  You had fun in the ocean but you really liked digging and playing in the sand and eating yummy snacks! 

Mimi’s birthday wasn’t the only birthday we celebrated.  You helped your Mommy celebrate her birthday with a Paw Patrol Party.  We played games, barbecued chicken, ate birthday cake, and gave Mommy some special cards you had made.  It was so much fun!  A couple of days later, we even celebrated Nolan’s birthday a little early and gave him a toy horse that you of course loved!

Speaking of horses, you came with us to Stout Farms for the ward barbecue.  You got to ride a horse again!  You would have ridden him all day long but we convinced you to come and play some of the other games.

Whenever you come to visit, we just love to spend time with you.  We love to go to church together!  You live so far away so when we are together, the time is very special to us. But it always goes by so fast.  Before we knew it, you had to leave to go to Boise to visit your Eaton cousins.  But we were happy that we were going to see you later in Utah as we all gathered for your new cousin, Kasette's baby blessing. 

Our whole family was able to get together. Grandpa and I especially enjoyed going to Temple Square with you.  You were so reverent as we sat and looked at the statue of Jesus.  Finally, you asked Aunt Julie when Jesus was going to talk to us.  Julie tried to explain that this was a statue and not the real Jesus.  You said you could still tell He loved you.  That was so sweet!

We had to say goodbye to you and your family again as you headed home to Paris, Tennessee. On the way home you got to stop and see Mt. Rushmore, Winter Quarters, and Nauvoo.  You had a pretty fun trip but I think you were all glad to get home.  You had been gone for a month!

Because I retired from teaching school, Grandpa and I were able to drive to Tennessee to visit you in October 2016.  We loved watching you ride bikes, jump on the trampoline, collect acorns, play at the park, and have another camp fire where we made s’mores! 

It was really fun to go to the Safari Park and feed the wild animals.  It was a little scary when the ostriches put their heads inside the car!  And we really weren’t sure about feeding that big old giraffe!

Later that week, we had fun at your Nana and Poppa’s at the family barbecue and hay ride.  We also got to go see your school and your classroom.  But then we had to say good bye again. 

But we can’t wait to see you when you come visit us this summer in California!!

Happy Birthday,

  Madelynn!

              Love,

Mimi, Grandpa, &
Uncle Bryant

     February 2017          

Silent Battles

I've been thinking a lot lately about the quote, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." I don't know what is harder, fighting the silent battles or fighting the ones that everyone sees. Oftentimes I feel like I'm not suppose to be sad right now. That it isn't okay to break down and cry. I even think it's ridiculous how sad I am about it all. I mean seriously, I have been blessed so much. So the fact I'm feeling so sad makes me feel like I am being ungrateful.
Today I went to my last dr's appointment for the ectopic pregnancy. I left in tears. I had already had an appointment scheduled today to see my dr when I thought it was going to just be a pregnancy appointment. So going and not discussing prenatals etc just made me sad.
But when you see me or talk to me, I'll smile. I'll say all is well. And I do half believe that. The other half just wants to cry.... a lot. So instead I've turned to eating crap which makes me even sadder when I step on the scale and spending money which makes me sick when I see the credit card statement.
So I know everyone has their issues they are dealing with. And we all need to be kind and loving and nonjudgmental. And be really careful with what we say to one another. A careless sentence can really hurt.
I'll stop babbling. I only write because it's really therapeutic to me. Not because I want anyone to feel sorry for me. 

Happy Birthday Elijah, Love mimi and grandpa

Happy 5^th Birthday, Elijah!

It’s really hard for Grandpa and me to believe that you are 5 years old now!  You have added a lot of joy to our lives over the past 5 years.  We have felt blessed this year that we have seen you 3 different times.  Soon after your 4^th birthday, your family packed up and flew out to California for Christmas.  We were very excited for you to come.

You arrived on December 23, 2015 and helped us decorate a little Christmas tree.  Christmas Eve was so fun.  You baked cookies with Aunt Julie to leave out for Santa.  You met your California cousins, Hana, Fiore, and Blume Boatman along with their dog, Buddy.  All 6 of you, kids dressed up to act out the Christmas story.  You played Joseph and did such a great job. Christmas morning you discovered that Santa had left you a Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.  You were pretty excited.  You loved all the presents you got.  But you really giggled when you gave me a funny present…a Fart Blaster!  What?

You were able to stay a week at Christmas and we had fun.  We sang Christmas carols, made a Gingerbread house, and played Pie Face. You did not want to play because you might get whip cream in the face! We went out to our friends’ house at Stout Farms and you and Maddie got to ride horses. You loved it!  We also went to Auburn to visit Grandma and Grandpa Adamson.  You helped them pick lemons from their tree.  You also got to go see Star Wars at the theater while Mimi babysat Maddie and Nolan. Uncle Bryant gave you some lessons on shooting his 22 rifle and you hit the target! You loved to take walks with Grandpa through the orchards. Before we knew it, it was New Year’s Eve.  You helped us celebrate with a fun dinner and New Year’s Eve toasts!  Then it was time for bed and you flew home to Tennessee the next day.

We loved skyping with you and your family each Sunday during the year but we were very excited when you drove out to California in July to visit us for 2 weeks.  We packed a lot of fun into that visit.  We had campfires and made s’mores.  We had a barbecue and fireworks for the 4^th of July. We went to the Ward barbecue where you got to ride horses again and play games and swim. We celebrated Mimi’s birthday, your Mommy’s birthday, and Nolan’s birthday! We went to the beach and Uncle Bryant helped you boogie board for the first time. I loved reading books to you as well as playing games, painting treasure maps, being detectives and solving mysteries.

After you went to Boise, Idaho to visit your Eaton cousins, we met up with you in Provo, Utah for your cousin Kasette’s baby blessing on July 24, 2016.  We especially enjoyed going to Temple Square with you and your family.  You really enjoyed learning about the pioneers. You have always been a boy who likes to learn about the gospel.  You loved sitting and looking at the statue of Jesus in the Visitor’s Center. Before we knew it, we were kissing and hugging you good bye again as you headed on home to Tennessee.  Along the way home, you got to visit Mt. Rushmore, Winter’s Quarters, and Nauvoo.  You loved it all.

Your Mimi retired from teaching school so Grandpa and I were able to drive to Tennessee to visit you during your school break in October. It was fun to spend a week with you.  We had a campfire and made s’mores (we really like that, don’t we?).  We gathered acorns and watched you on your trampoline.  You rode your bikes and ran around the yard like crazy! I loved going to your Karate class and watching you learn from your Sensei.

Our most fun time I think was at the Safari Park.  We fed those crazy animals!  It was kind of scary when those ostriches put their big heads in the window to try to steal more food!  Remember when the camel grabbed the bucket of food right out of Grandpa’s hands and gulped all of the food right down? We were also kind of brave and fed carrots to the giraffe.  Yuck! He licked my fingers!  Ha ha!

We loved going out to dinner so we could have some of those famous Chips and Cheese that you kids all love!  But we really had a great time at your Nana and Poppa’s house.  They had dinner for us and then Poppa gave us all a hayride through his fields.  That was super fun!  We loved seeing your school and your classroom but we hated saying goodbye again.  We live too far away from each other.

You are a wonderful boy, Elijah!  You are silly sometimes but I love your imagination.  I love that you are learning the gospel and singing Primary songs.  I’m glad that you have friends and cousins to play with.  We love your hugs and kisses.  You have brought so much happiness to Grandpa and me.

Have a very Happy 5^th Birthday! 

May the Force be with you!

                                                                                                    

 Love,

Mimi & Grandpa Adamson

Nov. 30, 2016

Happy Birthday Elijah

I am constantly in awe that I was blessed to your mom. It's hard to believe it's been 5 years since your daddy handed you to me and I was officially a mom. You have brought me more joy than I ever imagined. You've also caused more frustration than I ever thought possible from such a small person. Lately, you've been such a little stink! You have a smart mouth and love to aggravate. I'm going to be honest in these letters each year. I won't lie and pretend you're always an angel. With that being said, you do have some very sweet qualities. You still ask me to cuddle you and to hold you. You say the sweetest things. A couple months ago we had the misfortune to lose a baby in my tummy. I was so sad and you were too. You finally looked at me and said, I know why our baby had to die. Then you said because it wanted to wait and come with our other baby next time. I like hearing your logic. And when I was the saddest, you tried so hard to cheer me up. I love that about you!
You go to school everyday and you really love your teacher, Ms. Kim. She is so nice and you say pretty. You've made some really good friends too. Madelynn goes 2x a week with you. I love that you take care of her at school. On her first day she started crying at lunch so you went and said, there there, you are okay. School is fun. Ms. Kim said you always help Madelynn when she is sad. I imagine you'll always be a good big brother and protect all your younger siblings. We also bring home a little boy in your class 3 days a week who has down syndrome. You are so good with him and gentle. So while you are a stink, you are a tender little stink.
I love you so much Elijah. I couldn't imagine my world without you. You bring so much happiness to my world. You are so smart and ask a billion questions. Sometimes I don't know the answer to them but we look them up together. I've loved watching you grow and learn the past few years, I look forward to watching you learn and grow the rest of my life.
Heavenly Father knew to send you first because you are the best big brother in the world. He knew that you would forgive me for all the mommy mistakes I make. He knew you would patiently help me to navigate mother.
Always know that I am here for you. No matter what, I am your mother. I want what is best for you. I will fight silent battles with you. And I will fight the loud ones too.  I will be by your side. Your father and I take it seriously that we are to teach you all you need to know on the earth to return to your Heavenly Father. I want us to be an eternal family. You won't always like the lessons you have to learn. I hate to say it, but life is hard and has a lot of setbacks. But we are here to help you overcome all of them. We are here to push, or pull you, forward when you need it. And I know you'll do the same for us. And when you are sad, I'll dry your tears the same way you've recently dried mine.
I wish words could convey love. Because I love you so big.
Love your mommy.

According to you:
You currently want to be an army man.
Your favorite color is red and green.
Your favorite show is star wars.
Your favorite game is operation
Your favorite toy is darth vader bear.
Your favorite boy is star wars rebel.
You are really good at running
Your best friend is Elise.
You want to vacation to England.
Favorite ice cream is chocolate.
Your wish is to fly.
Your hero is superman.
Your favorite thing to do with your friends is to play pirates.
Your favorite holiday is Christmas.
Your favorite person in the whole world is mommy.
Your favorite TV show is Star Wars Clone wars.
Your favorite song is A Long time Ago (I know that my Savior loves me). 
 If you had $1000 you would be a star wars bike.