My SIX chicklets

I absolutely love this picture Jacob took of our six kids tonight. I just can't get over 

the fact that they are all together again. I'm so grateful. And so thankful for my sweet 

husband who took all of them on a hike tonight, so I could have a second to breathe.

A needed reminder today

"Thanks to Jesus Christ, no condition is hopeless. 

Thanks to Him, brighter days are ahead, both here and hereafter."

~President Russell M. Nelson

My girl

My incredible girl. This is hard. I'm heartbroken for her. I get teary every
time I think about what she is missing. Because losing the last two and a
half months of your senior year feels like a whole lot to be asked to give.

And yet.

She is choosing joy. She is choosing happiness.

Of course it has been emotional and overwhelming and she has rightfully, let herself feel
those emotions on occasion. But mostly. Mostly, she makes the decision to be happy in
spite of what she has lost. What she is losing. She laughs constantly, sings loudly and
beautifully, dances often and loves her God with a faith and trust that brings me to tears,
just to witness it. Oh, she is good. In spite of what is happening around her and to her.
I'm so honored to be her mom. I'm so blessed to call her one of my best friends and one
of the greatest examples I have ever had the privilege of watching and trying to emulate.

The senior class of 2020. So many missed milestones. So much heartache. 

So much to grieve. But good heavens, so much goodness. So much power

 and strength. So much potential to change the world and show us all what 

truly matters and what truly doesn't. And my Annie is one of them.

Oh, I love that girl of ours something fierce.

(Sunset photo by my Matt. Of course. He is one incredible photographer.)

We Wait in Hope

"And now we wait, along with the rest of the world, looking, wondering, “When will life ever return to "normal"?” and maybe, when there is time enough to think of it between all the homeschooling and meal prepping and constant hand washing, “How catastrophic will this all be?"

There is no doubt we are between a Friday and a Sunday here. Us, and the whole world.

Good Friday holds the answer to that always sneaky question, though, because today, today, God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all. And if God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32).

So what if instead of longing to skip ahead to the next story, the next season, we learn to trust God in the in between.

Today, we wait. Now, maybe more than ever, we realize that we don’t know what the future holds, but unlike the disciples, we do know the ending of the story. Jesus will have the final word.

Sometimes, our trials still us so that He can be near. Sometimes, our tears quiet us so that we can hear His voice. Sometimes, the long, dark night makes the morning all the more glorious. Always, we have this Easter promise that He who did not spare His own Son will give us what we need to endure so that we will be with Him in glory. Glory, where Jesus, whose tear stained face hung on the cross will wipe away every tear from your eyes.

Today we wait. But we wait in hope. For the empty tomb on Sunday morning, for our coming King, for the end of a world-wide pandemic, perhaps for resolution of our own personal suffering, and for an Eternal Kingdom that can never be shaken, no matter the darkness here and now.

I pray today that you feel His gaze upon you, a love so enduring that it doesn’t fade no matter what comes. I pray that He will grow you in these in between days, and that you will recognize Him by the way He calls your name. I pray that as we wait, Jesus will indeed give you all that you need, and I believe that He will."

The rest of this incredible post can be found here. It is my favorite thing I have read at this difficult, beautiful time we are all experiencing.

Worldwide fast

I am so humbled and grateful to be joining the worldwide fast tomorrow. Monthly fasting is a part of the church I belong to and love. But even after being a member my entire life, fasting still feels difficult for me almost every month. And yet, it is where I have seen the most incredible miracles of my life. It is where I have become closer to my God, than most any other time (at least when I participate with the proper attitude). And it is where my faith increases and I feel privileged to be going without food and water, as a small token of my faith.

This is a special fast. One that we have been invited to join in by the man I KNOW to be the prophet of God. I would love for everyone who would like to be a part of it, to do just that. (And if fasting isn't feasible or possible, making a sacrifice of something else or choosing to pray extra during the day tomorrow is also wonderful and good and such a beautiful contribution.)

We will see miracles. I know that as surely as I know anything. And I feel honored to show the Lord that I have faith in Him, in His plan and in His power. Wonderful things are coming dear friends. How deeply I want to show the Lord my gratitude for His incredible goodness.

And more teacher jackpot

Speaking of incredible teachers (we were, just two posts ago), Grace's Kindergarten teacher

 is unreal. Every single day, she records a video for the kids, going through their regular 

routines, songs, drills, etc. And it isn't the same one each time, or any time, for that matter. 

A. New. One. Every single day. And then helps them start their worksheets, so they are

 clear on how to do them, having them finish themselves. And send them in so she can 

comment on them. Along with about 487 other things she chooses to do to make 

their schooling from home work amazingly. We are just so incredibly grateful!

An early morning hike

 

There are these two guys I know that are the coolest. This morning, they got up at 5 in the AM
to hike by the light of the moon. Being a full moon, it was apparently awesome. I wouldn't
know, since I was a sleeping, but I choose to believe them. Even without the pictures. But oh
my squirrels, do I love the pictures. Not as much as I do them though. Not even close. The end.

Teacher jackpot

You know your boy has some tremendous teachers when he is this excited to see them
after three weeks. Even if it is only to pick up a school packet for the next three weeks
at home. They truly are the best. And their posters and dancing with excitement for each
student that pulled up was the sweetest. Our kids have the greatest teachers. Hands down.

Hear Him

The end of a wonderful day. Watching general conference, being with my seven favorite people,
a delicious Brasilian dinner and mostly, still one more day of listening to the leaders of our church
and hearing what the Savior wants me to know right now, so I can be a better disciple.

Tonight's parade

 

 

Best thing I've done in a whole lot of days was to join my family for a social distancing
parade for my Dad. It was my younger sister's idea and I think we all needed it.
My Dad is just the sweetest. And my family is pretty great as well. Like most everyone
else, we are learning more than ever before, it really is the small things that truly matter.

Dance class and technology

There isn't a whole lot cuter than dance class over zoom. Man, we sure
are grateful for technology. And Grace's dance studio and her teachers.

Right now

I'm relaxing and reading on my bed, listening to the sound of my oldest play his guitar and sing. The seven people I love most in this world are in our home. Safe. Protected. Healthy. Loved. A day spent, joining millions of others in fasting and prayer for relief (in every possible and important way) from this global crisis, is coming to a close.

And I just feel overwhelmed.

What we are all going through isn't easy. For any of us. I can feel the depression I have been gifted in this life, stepping closer, retreating a bit and then crawling close again. I am constantly reassessing the line between being mindful and watchful, diligent in my self care, overly alert with my mental health. And breathing deeply, doing my best, loving those around me and not focusing too much on what I can't control. It is a dance that feels precarious and I want to do it well. But it isn't easy.

And then. Then, there are people dying. There is worry and fear. There is frustration and loneliness and pure grief. Some of it from a virus, all of it from being mortals in a mortal world. That sometimes shatters hearts and makes it hard to breathe. Life feels fragile and strange. And the seriousness of so much that surrounds us also makes many of us feel shallow for wanting some time alone or the chance to grocery shop without empty aisles and social distancing.

All of it is hard.

Yet oddly...my overwhelm today comes from joy. And peace. And gratitude. And a knowledge that my God is the same God as He was four weeks ago, four months ago, four years ago and four thousand years ago. He is literally our Father. He gave His Son. To me. To you. To all of us. Because of love.

Unimaginable.

None of what has happened of late has taken our Father in Heaven or our Savior by surprise. They aren't scrambling to figure it out or wondering what to do next. They know. They just know. And if I will trust Them, truly trust Them, I will also. That is why I am overwhelmed. Because I'm so undeservedly blessed. And I want nothing more than to make sure They know how grateful I am. Through my actions, my prayers and my faith.

Sometimes, overwhelm is a good thing. Like today.

Like right now.

Visitors

 Social distancing stinks sometimes, but it sure makes for amusing photos. These two are the best!
And the fact that they would come to say welcome home (within an hour of our boy walking in the
door) and bring Cam some treats (from a distance of course), meant so much to him and to us.

 More darling visitors welcoming our boy home. From a distance. It was so 

kind of Rex and Nancy to come and see Campbell and talk to him for a while!

 More wonderful visitors. Honestly, you people are the best! And this sign is pure gold.

Welcome home Campbell! It feels like a BRAZILLION years since we've seen you!

And finally, zooming with my sweet Dad. I loved hearing parts of it. 

Especially the question my Dad asked Campbell exactly at the moment I captured

 this photo, "And what are your plans concerning your next companion?"

He asks with the most sincere voice and the straightest face and 

I love it so much. My Dad is the best. And he makes me so happy!

Home

Six hundred fourteen days ago, our boy left everything he knew and loved, to serve
a mission as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Today, my Savior brought him back

to us, his mission complete. My heart is completely overwhelmed with gratitude.

Beautifully sacred

Several days ago, God allowed me to have such a beautifully, sacred experience. And I can't quit thinking about it or just how deeply our Heavenly Father loves His children. And while it has taken me some time to put my thoughts into words, I felt strongly this is one of those things I do need to share. I'm not sure why, but I do know it is incredibly important.

Two weeks ago tomorrow night, I had trouble falling asleep. It was after 2am before my body finally gave in to slumber. Gratefully, I wasn't overly concerned about it, as the next day was not only Saturday, but one of the initial days where everything was cancelled due to the virus going around. I knew I could actually sleep in as long as I wanted. And I was grateful.

So imagine my surprise when I woke up just after 8am. There wasn't anything external that woke me up, instead a strong and sure feeling to check my phone, brought me out of a sound sleep. I reached for my phone, not even having a guess what I was searching for. 

The only notification I choose to have on my phone is that of text messages (to be sure Jacob and our kids can reach me if they need to). Emails, social media, calendaring, etc. I have to go into and check myself. So because there wasn't a text notification, I realized I would need to go searching. It took a couple of minutes, but as soon as I opened Instagram and saw an arrow in the top corner with a red message, I knew I had found it. Even before opening it, my heart knew this was why the Spirit had woken me up. 

And then, within seconds of clicking on the message, my heart started to pound and I began to sob. A sweet friend of mine, who I have known through blogs and Instagram for almost a decade, was writing to share with me the obituary of her sweet son. Everything felt so surreal and terrible in that moment and I audibly said out loud several times, "Heavenly Father, please no. Please, please, please no. Please don't let this be real Father. Please."

But it was. And I quickly discovered from the obituary my sweet friend had shared that her tremendous boy's funeral was in two hours. An hour away from where I lived. And all I could think was how thankful I felt to know, because if I hurried, I could make it.

I wrote back to my friend, to let her know I was sorry beyond what I could convey and that I just didn't want it to be real. That I had begun praying and that I wouldn't stop. And that I was jumping in the shower and I would be there for the celebration of her sweet boy and the tremendous life he lived on earth. I told her I wouldn't bother saying hello, as she needed every moment with her family during this time. But that I wanted her to know I was there to support her and to honor her amazing son. And was beyond touched when just a couple of minutes later, my friend replied and asked that I please, please say hello at the funeral, if at all possible. 

I sat for a few more minutes, crying that I didn't know that this amazing boy had returned to his heavenly home so many days earlier, but also overwhelmed that my Father in Heaven would allow me to know of this just exactly at a time when I would be able to be there to support my friend and her family. I saw the message she sent only thirteen minutes after she pressed send. God is so kind. Just so very kind. 

I attended the funeral and I truly don't know how to express in the written language what it did to my heart. I can only say it was one of the most beautiful, most perfect, most Spirit-filled experiences I have ever had in this life. I will hold those feelings and impressions and memories of those three hours in my heart forever. It changed me. And I never want to forget that. 

At the end of it all, I did have a chance to say hello to my friend. Someone I have known for almost a decade, but had ever met in person. I hated that this was the way we were first meeting. And I loved that God was letting this be the first time we were meeting. A time when I needed her to know, more than any other moment, that she was being prayed for, thought of and supported as constantly as I knew how. I will never forget my sweet friend's composure and grace when I gave her a hug and told her how amazing her boy is, how inspiring his mortal journey was and how deeply heartbroken I felt for her mother's heart. I won't ever forget it. And I don't want to.

God loves His children. More than we could ever imagine. I've shared before that when I grasp even the smallest part of His love for us, it takes my breath away. Every single time. And this experience I had less than two weeks ago, left me breathless. More than once.

You might think that this moment of waking up to the Spirit was for me. And it probably was--in some small way. And I am forever grateful. But what I felt when I opened that message and saw the obituary of this incredible boy who lived mortality well and still lives--loved and cherished and waiting with our God and our Savior for his family to join him--was how much our Father in Heaven loves his mother. I was absolutely breathless as the Spirit showed me a small part of that love for my friend. For who she has chosen to be, for her choice to bring children to this earth and raise them so very well, for the tears our God and our Savior have shed for the loss she is experiencing and the feelings in her mother's heart. I felt a small bit of it and felt emotional from the unimaginable grief, as well as the unimaginable love, that is individually for her, a daughter of our Eternal God and a sister to our Elder Brother who gave everything for each one of us. And Their love of her, will make all of this okay in the end. I know that as deeply as I know anything. But until then, when it feels everything but okay, They will never leave her side and have never been as close as those moments, days and weeks of her incredible boy returning to his eternal home.

I'm so grateful for the Holy Ghost. And my Savior, Jesus Christ. And my Heavenly Father. I live daily with the incredible knowledge of Their goodness and love and that each one of us are loved by Them more deeply than we can ever imagine. And that truly is what will make everything we go through glorious and beautiful in the end. And less horrific and crushing in the meantime. They are by our side. I know that as deeply as I know anything. 

Oh God is good. Always, always, always. And I can hardly believe that He is so overwhelmingly kind to me. Always, always, always.

(Sunset photo by my Matthew boy. Who is the same age as my friend's son. I just can't.)

Another day of quarantine, another sanity walk

I'm cold and wet and lovelier to be around.

Winning at life...quarantine life

Matt just came to me to let me know he had made an important life decision.

I'm going to get a baby moose.

Quarantine is going great over here, in case you are wondering.

Social distancing at its best

Jacob teaching Jacob

Teaching our kids insights from Jacob 5 in the Book of Mormon. He's the best.

Called to serve our King

So many of you kind people have asked about our missionary boy. Thank you!

He is doing amazingly well! He was able to call for just 10 minutes yesterday

with an update. His area should be on full quarantine by tomorrow. He has been

on partial quarantine for a few days and has been racing around, contacting members

and teaching investigators as often as possible. The little island/peninsula that he is

on does not have any cases of the virus right now, so that is a wonderful blessing.

 He is being real about the challenges of a full quarantine, but he is also faithful and

happy and absolutely hilarious. We haven't even spoken about the idea that he could be

coming home soon. Not because it isn't a reality, but because we feel so peaceful and calm

and are so trusting of our prophet and our God and know their love and timing is perfect.

Their watchful care of these missionaries is touching and beautiful to behold.

Our sweet boy wants to be a missionary every second he is able to. He knows that he

could be home very soon, but until that happens, he continues to give his mission his all.

Watching all of this from a distance is such a privilege. And being Elder Campbell Allen's

mother is an honor that I will thank the Lord for all of eternity, is mine.

March Sadness

For more than three decades, this very day has been my absolute favorite of the entire year.
And no matter how shallow or lame it makes me (especially with so many really problems and
issues out there), the truth is, I've been sad all day. I would give a whole lot to be sitting in front
of my television yelling and cheering and anticipating and just feeling so dang happy (except
when I was super ticked that certain teams won--I'm looking at you Kansas and Michigan State).
I would have been especially grateful for such a fun diversion during the coming weeks.

But such is life, such are the current times and here I am instead, wearing my
Michigan shirt (thanks for the birthday gift Jacob Ethan!) and watching some lame
animated movie my kids put on. It's fine, it's fine. I'm not bitter. I'm perfectly fine.

Nate the Great

Jacob took this darling mountain goat hiking last weekend.
They both loved it. And is it just me or does this boy of the long legs
look a little too grown up these days? I love this boy of ours so much.

(Also, I spy Denali girl. Right before she was sprayed by a skunk. Oh the joy.)

7th grade

Just because this boy had to do his 7th grade registration online, rather than in person
like the original plan, doesn't make it any less notable that he will be starting junior
high in the fall. Sweet waffles, time and its propensity to fly. Sure love this incredible
boy something crazy. He's tremendous. And I just really love being his mom.

The last time, for a long time

 

 

Being in the temple, before it closes for the unforeseeable future, was exactly what
I needed tonight. Especially with this guy. I'm so grateful for him. Life feels so strange
right now. I'm thankful I have him by my side to navigate it all. He's just the best.

A night to remember

 

Last night was one of the most surreal, most touching, most emotional evenings I've ever
experienced. Somehow, even with all the crazy right now, I just didn't imagine Annie's
final play of her senior year would be cancelled. Yet, it was. And their final rehearsal last
evening, that I had attended in order to take photos, turned into their only performance.

I could never share all that happened or all that I was feeling. So I will just say that my heart was
so incredibly sad for my girl to have her high school theatre experience end that way. Yet the
amazing way she handled it, her selflessness in such a hard moment, the way the community
came together and came running as word got out and the sweetness of the kids' director and
teacher as he cried and cried that this was happening to them, was just something else to watch.

It was incredible. And I'll always be grateful I was there to see it all unfold.

In addition, within minutes of a reply text to my sweet sister-in-law, she and her family
were at the high school last night to support Annie. It meant more than I could ever say.
.
And then Annie's cousin, who lives more than an hour away, jumped in her car and came
to the play, in order to watch Annie in the second half of the performance. I just can't even.
.
That is why I will love this photo forever. Because it is of three beautiful cousins
who are darling and good and such close friends. But it also represents the
support of family in a way that just kind of blows my mind. I'm so very grateful.

Yesterday

Matthew Davis

Happy Birthday my amazing boy! You are so very loved.

{SIXTEEN}

Chasing the sunset

More sunset chasing. Love this last picture something crazy. 

Love that boy in this last picture something fierce.

Happy Birthday Jacob Ethan!

More than four decades of mortality and he still continues to be kind and caring and
brilliant and athletic and hard working and humble and easy on the eyes and good.
So very good. He truly gets better with age and I'm thankful every single day I get to be
by his side to watch it all happen. Most especially on this great day of celebrating him.

Forty-three days ago today, Jacob Ethan Allen was born. I'm just so grateful. This world needs
him, his family needs him, and oh how I need him. And in one of the greatest compliments I
could give anyone, I have felt multiple times how proud God is to have him as His son and how
deeply He trusts his goodness, his heart and his willingness to be who he has the potential to be.

Happy Birthday my love. Thanks for being you and for letting me be yours.
You're pretty much the greatest and I am forever the luckiest.

Meet Pinkalicious and Flat Stanley

When you're trying to figure out how you can talk your youngests into not wanting 

to participate in "dress as your favorite book character day" for school, but instead,

 their incredible sister not only wants to make it happen, but wants it to be absolutely 

amazing. So instead you channel that energy into figuring out how to convince 

her not to go away to college and instead stay and raise her siblings for you.

Three I love so very much in one photo