Laurin's birthday

Happy birthday Laurin! Today we celebrated the birth of this amazing young woman. I know I may not have any memories of the first 17 years of her life (well the first 16 years and 8 months), but the glimpses I see of her future make me excited to be a part of her life. What an incredibly beautiful and talented young lady! I feel so lucky to be able to consider her as a daughter. She has such a kind heart. She is methodical and thorough in all she does (in that aspect she reminds me a lot of myself!). She never does anything half-way. She puts her heart and soul into school, family, and her testimony. I know she may get frustrated at times because of the responsibilities placed upon her as the oldest child, but I also know the other kids look to her as an example in many aspects of her life. I know she is not perfect, but she is perfect for us despite all her imperfections. We love you Laurin! For her birthday celebrations, we invited family over to the house for a steak and fries lunch (and of course I insisted on having some vegetables and green beans too). Laurin loves a good steak...and when coupled with french fries, I think she thinks that is the celestial food. After lunch, she opened her gifts then we had cheesecake (she's not a big cake fan) for dessert.

 

 

That evening was the priesthood session of the LDS General Conference. (General Conference is a semi-annual broadcast wherein the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints {LDS} receive counsel and guidance from the prophet, apostles and other church leaders. The worthy male members of the church receive the priesthood {God's power given to man on earth} at age 12 and receive individual counsel during a special session of Conference.) Since Jeff was attending that session, I've decided to make a tradition to go out with the girls. (Dallin and Daniel stayed home to watch a movie.) The girls and I decided that dinner was out of the question because we'd already eaten a large lunch, so what else was there to do but go shopping! The girls and I hit a few craft stores then headed to University Mall where Laurin found a dress and sunglasses she bought with her birthday money (Thanks Aunt Nichole and Grandpa and Grandma Shumway for the extra spending cash). As we laughed and chatted, I marveled at how far we've come in just 6 months. Last October, during the previous General Conference weekend, I took the girls out for dinner. I was only engaged to Jeff at that time and the conversation was a bit choppy and a little awkward. Tonight felt so fluid and normal - just like any other mother-daughter night out. I can't describe how grateful I am to feel loved by all these amazing kids! I treasure these moments with the girls (and the other moments I have with the boys). I don't know how or why I got to be so lucky, but I'm glad I am. Thanks girls for the wonderful night!