iApril

April was such an awesome month.  Everyone's mood brightens as the spring weather really takes hold, and you can count on beautiful, warm days more often then not.  Our kids were obviously excited about the upcoming summer.  They were out sunbathing in 55 degree weather!

We had Luke home with us for part of the month, which was awesome.  I can't describe in words what it's like to finally be all together in our home again.  Something deep inside each of our heart is able to sigh with contentment.  And for Luke, it's always when he feels the best.  He loves being part of our family life, and watching everything happen around him.  He especially loves scriptures, songs, and prayers at the end of the day.  

April is General Conference, which is something Danny and I look forward to with great enthusiasm.  We came across a recipe for a giant chocolate chip cookie on one of our new favorite food blogs called Pinch of Yum.  We decided it would be perfect for dessert after the Priesthood session!  So everyone came to our house after the session ended, and we partook of the Giant Cookie.  It. Was. Incredible!!

Conference weekend also marked one year from the time that Luke came home post-transplant.  What a crazy year of ups and downs its been!  We were so glad that Luke could spend Conference at home with us again!  So far, he hasn't missed a Conference weekend at home. :)

Luke is such a character!  We love seeing him feel so good, knowing that there is a lot of time in his future where he won't.  It's crazy that he's almost two!  It's hard to remember that, when he can't walk or do the other things that you'd expect from a two-year-old.  But every once in a while he'll do something to remind you that while his body doesn't know he's two, his mind sure does!

Claire and Sophie wanted curls for Easter.  Seeing these two in pink foam curlers makes me think of being a little girl, and sitting for what seemed like forever while my Mom rolled my hair in these same curlers. :)

And Sunday evenings at Great Grandma Calls are always wonderful.  With Luke home, he got to come too, and he loved it!  It is so cool to me to see three generations of Calls visiting and playing together on a Sunday evening.  I married into the coolest family! 

We love having Luke at home, and we hate that it always seems to come to an end.  We had another round of chemo to do in April to get us where we wanted to be for transplant, so back we went.  The ICS is a home away from home.  Good thing we love everyone there so much, and that we're totally their favorites. :)  But seriously, how can this sweet boy not be your favorite?!

Johnny is growing up so fast!  And his interests are becoming more and more apparent.  Johnny is a boy, through and through.  He loves playing with Legos and blocks, and he was so proud of himself when he figured out how to build a plane with his blocks!  He's his Daddy's boy. :)  I can barely stand how handsome and grown up he's looking!  I want him to be my little boy forever...a little more obedient, sure.  But I know I'm going to miss this little Johnny when he's big!

It's really hard on the older kids when Luke is in the hospital.  We have to be careful about them coming to visit when Luke's counts are low.  It's a delicate balance between keeping Luke safe from infection, but giving him (and the kids) the social and emotional benefits of time together.  So far, it seems as though we're striking the right balance.  

Grandma Call took this picture of Luke once morning when he was playing in his crib.  I had just gotten a new photo editing app on my phone, so instead of getting up in the morning like I should, I started playing with this perfectly adorable picture.  I ended up with this cute little pic, and the slogan has become Luke's motto...and hashtag.  That's right, people.  Luke has a hashtag!  #fightingcancerwithasmile 

The best part of Easter was getting Luke home just before bed on Saturday night.  The kids thought it was the best Easter present ever!  I think Luke was thrilled to be home. :)

April saw Luke in the hospital, home, back to the hospital and home again.  But Johnny was so good to come and visit and play blocks with his poor, bored little brother.  We all look forward to when these two can really develop their relationship.  I can't say enough how hard it is on our family to be separated, or how good it feels to be all together.  It's not often that we're all together in Luke's room, and we usually can't keep the kids in that little box for too long before pandemonium ensues, but those precious moments are worth all the trouble.

With all this back and forth, to and from the hospital, we're interested to see what May will bring for Luke...and for our family.  I'm sure it's bound to be full of awesome memories!

Easter Sunday

With 9:00 am church this year, Easter baskets had to wait until we got home from church.  We knew if we did them before hand, we'd not only be late for church but we'd have pretty wound-up kids!  Neither sounded desirable. :)  Turns out, the kids were fine with it.  So when we got home, after we'd done our pictures, we sent them to their rooms to get dressed and I assembled the baskets.  We don't do anything huge for Easter baskets, just some fun activities and a few little presents.  Included this year were sunglasses for the older three, pencil sets, bird house crafts, and Jelly Belly jelly beans!  Lukey got a new ball, a book, and a new Minion shirt.  The kids loved it all!

After we were done with our Easter baskets, we made our way to Grandma Candy's for Easter dinner.  It was bound to be another good time with cousins!  And it didn't disappoint.  But the best part was that this time Lukey was able to join us!  He wasn't feeling too well, having just gotten home the night before from a round of chemo, but he perked up quite a bit once he was with all the kids.

I absolutely love seeing all these kids play together.  The boys (Bowen, Eli, Johnny, and Chance) stuck together, finding things to do that involved getting their clothes as dirty as possible. :)  But they had a great time!

And the girls (Lily, Isabelle, Claire, and Sophie) did girly things, like sit on the porch and talk about who-knows-what. :)  

And Luke?  Luke did his best to soak up every ounce of attention and look as cute as possible in his new Easter shirt.  He knows to give the people what they want...

Jami, Jenny, and I were so excited to have dinner together at Mom's house, because it gave us the opportunity to take Mom's new dishes for a spin!  We decorated the table, and I have to say it looked absolutely stunning.  Everything we were hoping for when we bought Mom the new dishes at Christmas, and it made Mom feel so nice to have such a beautiful table setting.

The kids got paper plates at the kids table.  :)

We decided on a Cafe Rio dinner for Easter.  And it was amazingly delicious!  We made a big batch of Cafe Rio Chicken and a big batch of Cafe Rio Sweet Pork.  We had all the fixins for either burritos or salads, including coconut rice and black beans, as well as lettuce, pico, cilantro, and limes.  And of course, we made the Lime Tomatillo Ranch!  It was absolutely wonderful...and so easy to prepare for the twenty or so of us there were.  We'll be doing this again for sure!

After dinner came dessert, which was Lime Dessert and Natalia's Amazing Apple Pie.  We enjoyed some time playing and talking...just enjoying each other's company.

While the adults were enjoying some time gathered in the kitchen talking, Lily took all the little kids outside to create Fairy Gardens.  They did a wonderful job!  We love Lily.  She's so good to take the littler kids and keep them entertained.  As a parent, I know I don't have to worry when my kids are with Lily.  She's amazing!

What a wonderful Easter weekend!  We're so grateful that Jeff and Jami brought their family to spend the weekend with us.  We're so glad that Lukey was able to be home for Easter!  We are so grateful for the atoning sacrifice and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Danny and I know that everything we have, and every dream we hold on to, is made possible by that greatest of gifts.  We love Him, and continue to strive to live worthy of all He has given us.  

Happy Easter!

Easter Pictures

One of my favorite things about Easter and Christmas are the dresses and suits!  I love dressing my kids up.  This year, Sophie helped me pick the girls' dresses, and I think she did a lovely job.  I'm still enjoying the fact that my girls like dressing in matching dresses.  I always wonder which year will be the last. :)  Unfortunately, I have yet to dress the boys up in matching Easter apparel.  Maybe next year?  We're starting to feel like we always say that. :(  Luke got a new set of Easter jammies, just like last year, and Johnny got himself a dapper sports coat, khaki, and bow tie ensemble.  I've been waiting to try out the bow tie, and I love it!  Here are my beauties before we left for 9:00 am church...there was no guarantee they'd still look nice afterwards. :)

But the kids managed to keep themselves looking good all the way through church!  It was an Easter Miracle! :)  We got Luke in his new Batman jammies and got some family pictures.  I keep saying it, not because it needs to be said but just because I enjoy saying it so much...I have the most amazingly beautiful kids!

All together for Easter Sunday.  With Luke back in treatment, we recognize this as a tremendous blessing!

How grateful we are for the resurrection of our Savior.  That He broke the bands of death and made it so we can live together forever.  That simple truth means everything to us right now, and gets us through the hard times.  Dresses and bowties, egg hunts and baskets are fun.  But Easter is about the glorious news of the Risen Savior!  Happy Easter!

An Epic Easter Egg Hunt!

We decided to do our big family Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.  That way Sunday could keep the spiritual focus it should have.  With so many of us, we decided to do our hunt at Nicholls Park...or the Castle Park as it is affectionately referred to by the children.  The weather was perfect, the park was empty...it was magical!  Each family contributed a dozen eggs per child, plus some, so there were plenty of eggs!  We sent the Dads ahead of the kids to do the hiding.  So as soon as the kids arrived, we did our best to corral their excitement until Jeff gave the signal.

Then it was pandemonium!!

When I was just a kid, Jeff started something of a tradition.  The $20 Egg!  After the main hunt was through, everyone was gathered together and Jeff started telling everyone clues.  Danny and I weren't participating, so I wasn't paying much attention.  But I remembered watching Jeff place a particular egg in a particular place.  I listened to the clue and knew the place had to be where I saw Jeff place an egg.  In my defense, I thought it was another clue egg!  So I picked it up and gave it to Johnny, thinking he'd feel so special for finding the next clue egg.  Turns out, it was the $20 Egg!  Oops. :)  I kind of feel bad about that.  But Johnny felt like a million bucks!  Well, $20 may as well be a million in Johnny's book. :)

Since we had so many of the grandkids together, we had to get a picture!  Danny and I were really hoping Luke would have been discharged from the hospital in time to make it to the hunt, but it didn't happen.  Next year, right? :)  Here's 13 of 19 grandkids!

What a crazy bunch!

What an amazing night together as a family!  These times are rare when so many of us are together in one place.  We're so grateful that Jeff and Jami brought their family to join us.

It was so much fun that Johnny didn't make it five minutes in the car before he was fast asleep.  My kids play and play and play when they're with their cousins.  Literally until they drop.  I love it!

Best Epic Easter Egg Hunt ever!!!