A Gentle Giant

 My Gavin is going to be 12 on Friday!!!

12!!!

My sweet little buddy is really growing into a gentle giant...

(so much taller than his brothers were at this age... :)

The other day I asked Gavin to do a job that I KNEW he really didn't enjoy doing, but I really needed his help right at that moment. I asked him, 

"Gavin, will you please go collect all of the garbage in the house and take it out to the cans outside? And when you're done will you please put a new liner in the trash cans?"

"Sure!"  he said. :)

I went back to getting ready for the day and was in my room putting on my make~up when he came into my bathroom to collect the trash there. 

I noticed how quickly he was getting the job done which surprised me a little since I knew he didn't really like it...so I said, "Thank you Gavin for being such a good helper for mom! I really appreciate your help and how happy you are to do it!"

Then he quickly responded, 

"Well I want to get used to this because it's how my life is going to be in a few days."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Then he responded, "Well, I'll be getting the priesthood in a few days and that's what my life will be like. Serving others and being happy to do it!"

WOW.

I didn't really know what to say so I just told him I loved him and that he was AWESOME.

And that's the 100% truth! Gavin, YOU are awesome!!!!

I LOVE YOU!!!

Forever Committed

This picture is worth a thousand words...and emotions!!! 

We've been through a lot together in the last 23 years of marriage, and if this picture is any indication of what lies ahead, we know that challenges will continue to come, but through our love and commitment to each other and an eternal marriage in the Holy House of God, WE TOGETHER with the Lord can make it through!!! Although these rings look pretty beat up, I'm so grateful to say that our relationship thrives...I grow more deeply in love with that sweet man with every passing day...

My main diamond fell off along with the prongs that were holding it on about 12 years ago, and Clint's ring saved his fingers from what could have been a very serious accident. As he was installing an air conditioning unit into the window in his office at work, the window came crashing down, but the ring caught the impact of the fall. It bent his ring so badly that he couldn't get it off his finger and so with a tool he had to bend it enough to get it off...when he showed me his ring, I was immediately grateful for the protection the ring provided...AND it taught me a spiritual lesson about the strength of a marriage. 

Because of our temple marriage and our ever growing and undying love for each other and Heavenly Father, we can weather the storms of life together as we remain ever constant, ever faithful, and ever true to the covenants we have made. They are such a protection and blessing from the force and impact from this crazy world we live in, and I'm just so very grateful that through it all we are eternally strong, eternally bound, and eternally committed.

Clint I love you so very much every single day...thank you for loving me with all that you have and all that you are, all of the time!!!

P.S. I may or may not be excited that these rings came up missing off of the dresser this morning. :)

I may or may not get my ring fixed sometime soon...and I may or may not be hoping for a special surprise someday soon either! ;) ;) Because I'm grateful for what I have...diamond or not, the real treasure holds my hand every single day! ;) ;)

Grandma Virginia :)

 Yesterday was the Sabbath day and literally my favorite day of the week!

The whole day feels different from the rest of the week and truly is a delight. 

My shoulders feel lighter, my family is all together (or at least as together as we can be with a married daughter and a missionary gone...and after meetings are done;)...

We talk , we laugh, we spend time together...and we worship together. :)

Each week we try to arrive early and usually sit around the same area and prepare for the sacrament meeting to start. The last few weeks though we have been fortunate to have Virginia and Terry Anderson sit by us. :)

They are the CUTEST older couple so happy and so in love and you can just see it written all over their faces. :)

Virginia is going blind but still shows up each week looking her best and dawning her beautifully styled hair, manicured nails, and jewelry everywhere!!!

My little Kesslyn already seems to be a fashion diva and notices "Grandma's pretty's!"

(I LOVE that Kesslyn calls Virginia Grandma.:)

Each week Kesslyn goes over to "Grandma" and touches her fingernails and admires her "pretty's."

And each week Virginia removes her bracelets and puts them on Kesslyn, then Kesslyn will climb up on her lap and snuggle her as if to say "thank you!" :)

Yesterday however, Grandma had brought 2 little bracelets to GIVE to my girls!

 The one on Kesslyn's arm in this picture is from Virginia, and she also had one for Kambriella too!!

I thought this was sooo sweet and JUST like Virginia to be so sweet and thoughtful of my little princesses. :) Every true queen realizes that training up a child in the way they should go is so very important...especially when it comes to snuggling, and loving, and wearing jewelry!!! ;)

We love you Grandma Virginia! Thank you for loving our family and radiating true beauty!

The BEST Medicine...Snuggles and Chocolate!

All of our friends and neighbors have been checking in on us to see how we are holding up after the emotional day of saying goodbye to Carew...Some have texted or called or stopped by for a hug...and some have brought CHOCOLATE!!! I do believe that chocolate and snuggles are two of the very best medicine!!!

Also...here are a couple of pictures from when Kesslyn got her ears pierced...they kind of describe some of our emotions today... Missing Carew...

 ...and grateful for those SNUGGLES and CHOCOLATE!!!

Off To the MTC!!!

Yesterday was a good, hard day...:)

After a lifetime of preparation, Clint and I sent our oldest son, Carew James Trickett off on a 2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter~day Saints!

It is so hard to put into words all of the emotions that your heart can feel all at the very same time...

Joy, gladness, heartache, anxiety, peace, hope, sadness, pride, excitement, longing, thrill, exhaustion, and happiness just to name a few...;)

We've worked so hard to reach this goal in life, and I cannot tell you how happy I am for the shaping, molding, faith and testimony building experiences that will mold this young man into an awesome leader, husband, and father one day. After all, there is soooo much that comes to an individual who chooses to serve a mission, and that's not even mentioning all of the service, love, dedication, motivation, drive, and Christlike attributes that will be refined over the next 2 years either!!! I'm sure that the list of blessings that will come to Elder Trickett and those he will be serving in Italy will be endless...and I couldn't be more excited. :)

With all of the love of a family, we wrapped our arms around Carew and tried our best to express the love in our hearts that WE KNOW he can feel...He is already blessing our family just by CHOOSING to go...and as hard as it is to say goodbye, we are LETTING him go because the Lord needs him. 

And that's a good enough reason for me.

And for all of us!

Kesslyn I believe would protest a little if she knew how to say a few more words!!! ;) After all, Carew is one of her favorite buddies and I know she will miss him so much!!! She will be a big 4 year old the next time she sees Carew!

And "the Bros!" 

This threesome really is the BEST of FRIENDS! We have been blessed to have relationships with these boys in our home that have been positive and uplifting and full of laughter...(Yes with intermittent boughts of teasing ;) I will miss hearing Carew be the ring leader of it all! ;)

And little Kambriella...Carew's little tag~a~long! ESPECIALLY whenever Kate would be around! :) She LOVES her big brother Carew!!!

 I used to know 1 Elder Trickett...now I know 2. :)

 And he's as handsome as ever!

 Confident too...;)

And ready to make people smile and to WORK HARD!!!

 After we took some family pictures at home, we drove down to Provo and had a bite of lunch at the Pizza Pie Cafe...one of the kids favorite places to eat. :)

 I loved watching Carew help Kambriella reach the dessert pizza that she just couldn't see because she was too short! ;)

 We were also able to face time Kierra so that she could "see" him one last time and have a chance to wish him well, say "I love you" and one last goodbye...

 Then with great anticipation we all hopped in the car, offered one last family prayer, and then drove to the MTC!!!

 I was just fine until the very minute we drove on to the grounds of the MTC...
I was not prepared for the flooding of the spirit that overcame me, and the sweet spirit that exists solely upon the ground there!!! Just driving through the gate felt sacred and special...As we drove into the underground parking structure, the sides of the building had lines and lines of happy missionaries smiling and waving at everyone that entered! I was smiling and fighting back tears and the urge to begin bawling just because of the spirit that I felt... I KNEW that this was the BEST thing that Carew could have chosen to do with his life for the next 2 years...
We stopped at the drop off point and climbed out of the car.
We unloaded his bags and Carew went around the family hugging each person one by one...

 It's funny to me how boys express their love and emotion! ;) They were squeezing each other as tight as they could in a bear hug...no tears ...:)   Just excitement and pure love. :)

 Clint will deny it, but his eyes welled up, full of love and joy for his son and his choice to go and serve the Lord, AND the people of Italy!

 Then it was MY turn and I don't think I have ever hugged this boy so tight!!!

 I tried to capture the moment for as long as I could, then told him I loved him and that he was going to be an AMAZING missionary...because I KNOW he will be!

 Then as he turned and walked away, I yelled out "I LOVE YOU BUDDY!!!"
And my voice only cracked a little from the stupid lump in my throat that got in the way...;)

As we got back in the car, my throat hurt!!! I literally couldn't swallow because that lump was so big!!!

I was strong, I didn't bawl, but I couldn't stop the tears from breaking through the dam...I sat in silence and felt them drip, and then suddenly had an adrenaline let down and laid my seat back and fell asleep.

Everyone that we knew that has sent a missionary off told us that we needed to plan something fun to do as a family after we dropped him off too or else we would just go home and be sad and miss him!

 Sooo, we drove to Thanksgiving Point to the Museum of Natural Curiosity, and spent a couple of hours with the kids having fun. It definitely was the best advice we were given because we were able to enjoy being together and NOT just think about how bad we are going to miss Carew...

Anndd...another tender mercy for me was that sweet little Kesslyn had fallen asleep in the car and so I carried her in to the museum and snuggled her until she woke up. This was the best form of therapy I could think of!!! I cuddled and squeezed her little chubbiness until my aching heart felt better.

It really was a sweet tender mercy. :)

 As Kesslyn woke up we played and explored and Clint took the older kids on the ropes course at the top of the museum. We were all distracted and enjoying being together which was EXACTLY  what we all needed!

 I was proud of my family for being brave and doing these hard things...It was an analogy for our life right now...we ARE brave and YES we CAN do hard things...like send our boy out on a mission...AND tackle the high ropes course! ;)

I only had ONE emotional moment in the museum when I looked down at my phone and saw that I had my very first email from Elder Trickett!!!
(I really think they have all of the missionaries do this to let their family know they are OK AND to try out their emails to make sure they have them right. THANK GOODNESS!!!
I knelt down in a corner right where I stood and read the email as fast as my eyes could read!!! I ran to share it with everyone and got happy smiles from everyone...here is what it said:

Hey family i made it to the MTC!! Everyone here is so nice. I have already seen one of my friends from school, Elder Kipping. I went to my class and my teacher is already only speaking Italian. I took my stuff to my room and there will be six elders in my room. My room is like right next to the cafeteria so that is pretty nice.  Everything is going wonderfully. There is such an amazing spirit. I love it! Thanks for the great day today and ill talk to you guys soon! don't worry my next email will be longer.

Love Anziano Trickett

 Elder Trickett, you are going to do AMAZING things!!!
Let me tell you, when I read the email my eyes welled up with tears again!!! But it was just because I felt the spirit once again sooo strong confirming to me that what Carew is doing is the right thing to do.
I am just so very happy for him and so proud of him too!
We can do hard things, and we can reach new heights together as a family that will bring us that much closer to our loving Father in Heaven.
I'm thrilled for this adventure and can't wait to watch the miracles unfold and for the blessings of missionary service to bless my sweet son and family.
I've said it before and I'll say it once again...
I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!!!!!!

Time To Give Him Back

 Wednesday, September 6, 2017

The day is finally here!!!

My little boy is all grown up and it's time for me to give him back.

Back to the God that sent him to me so lovingly...We have taught him, raised him, loved him, praised him, and prepared him...and now, he is willingly giving the next 2 years of his life to the service of the Lord, to share what he knows to be true, and what has ultimately brought him all of the happiness in what really matters to his life...

 I love you Carew! I will be so excited to hear from you each week and be able to share in such a small way the life changing and shaping experiences that you will be having...both the good and the bad...

I will miss your laugh and your smile around here...and your gentle kindness with Kesslyn and your other siblings...and they will miss you too!!!

 Thank you for being so dedicated and willing to do something that is so very hard, an yet soooooo worth it!!! Thank you for being brave and for setting a good example to your family, and for being sweet to your mama through it all...

 As Carew was set apart last night to be a  full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter~day Saints, he was told to "open his eyes" and to see the miracles around him everyday...he was blessed with good health and strength and the gift of tongues to be able to learn the Italian language...he was blessed with  an appreciation for the abundance that surrounds him and a love for strict obedience and love for the scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was also counseled to share all of his experiences with his family that is also sacrificing by letting him go...

so Carew...I mean Elder Trickett...:)

...when you share your first hand experiences, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't forget to use your very best efforts in describing the taste and smell of the authentic Italian Pizza!!!

And may God be with you and hold you in His loving arms always.

I love you Carew!

The BEE'S Game and a Last Supper

Saying goodbye can be hard to do...but just like Winnie the Pooh says...

"How Lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." :)

I love you Carew. I love you Kate.

You are both such good good people and I know that Heavenly Father has great blessings in store for you!

It was fun to spend some time together at the BEE'S game (although it would not have mattered where we were...we just needed an excuse to be together, have some fun, and be distracted enough to laugh instead of cry!  ;)  ;)

We all went to the BEE'S game with Tiffany and Colby and all of their family too...

We took our pictures with the sister missionaries who were so sweet and kind and so full of the spirit! They were there for a P. Day activity, but were still busy in the crowds with the Book of Mormon in hand! :)

The kids were all wowed by the Balloon Granny too that twisted and tied 

little bunnies and Pikachu's for them :)

...and Kesslyn spotted Bumble and seemed pretty intrigued...but would NOT let me put her down so we went ahead and took a selfie with him! HA! :)

Everyone enjoyed slushies too since we sat in the 100 degree sun for part of the time...

It was a HOT one!

Later that night The Gill family came over to wish Carew good luck...

even Flat Lindsey came to say goodbye! ;)

...and with it being Monday night, I planned a "Last Supper" for Carew with the family! I used my gold edged china and antique chargers with hurricane vases and tall taper candles. :)

I made BBQ ribs, baked  potatoes, Snickers apple salad, rolls, and green salad...I really wanted it to be a special night for Carew since we won't have him around for dinner for the next little while!

We shared our meal, lots of really good conversation, and lots of visits from people wanting to say goodbye...now it's off to more packing and preparing for the big big day...

My heart is so full of so many completely opposite ends of the spectrum emotions right now...

My friend Emily calls leaving for a mission being "emotionally bipolar" and that;s a pretty accurate description!!! I feel so happy for him and yet my heart already knows how much I am going to miss having him around...

But he'll be so good! So, so very good...

The people of Italy are going to be in for a treat...they just don't know it yet! ;)

I love you Carew!