The Last Of The Pearsons Is Baptized

What a weekend it was! Allie and Caroline were baptized on Saturday the 28th of March. It is bitter sweet to have my last two children make this commitment. I can't believe I no longer have little ones - just these wonderful teens, and pre-teens. But, since this should be about them and not me, I will proceed.

We were so blessed to have so many members of our family make the trip to come to the baptism. We had grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins (not to mention some awesome friends who came to share the day with us). Allie and Caroline asked Aunt Julie and Aunt Melissa to give the two talks - one on baptism and one on the Holy Ghost. Actually Caroline's first pick was Uncle Chris, but I figured we might give him more than two weeks in the family before we forced him to speak at a baptism! Thanks for the picture Chris! This is the family who attended.

Both Julie and Melissa did an excellent job in their talks, and they were personal and focused on the girls. It was great. Melissa had great visual aids (see that el ed education has many uses). One of the things she compared the Holy Ghost to was a compass. She asked the girls what a compass was used for. Allie responded, "it was what people used in the olden days to find their way around." You have got to love an 8 year old.

Since Ryan is a Priest, we thought it would be neat to have him baptize the girls. We asked them if that would be OK, letting them know Eric would do it if that is what they wanted. Allie thought it was great. Caroline thought for a second and then said she would like grandpa to do it. I even tried to talk her out of it a little, so it would not be a pain for my dad. But, she insisted. So, we called grandpa and he accepted.

Allie was baptized by Ryan

And Caroline was baptized by my dad, Alan.

It was really sweet to see Ryan baptize Allie. To see my eldest, my boy, fulfilling his priesthood was pretty cool. Of course, having my dad baptize Caroline was very special.

Here they all are together.

Eric confirmed both of them. No one was almost dropped like during the baby blessing - thank goodness they can walk up on their own now!

Then, it was on to the house for some food. Of course, nothing is complete without a Costco cake!

This is a random picture which Chris took and it made me laugh. My mother owns a DS. She carries it in her purse - and she plays with it. She also allows the grandkids to play with it. Here is Allie just after the baptism - already playing DS with Josh, my nephew, and Gracie Farmer looking on.

We then had the opportunity to load many folks up and head to Sophie's soccer game to watch her beat her opponent. Can't beat that - a baptism and a win on the soccer field all in the same day!

Yes Another Linford Wedding

This is the last one for a while... There are only 3 Linford's left, and none of them look like they will be taking the leap anytime soon.

My brother Michael and Erika are actually getting married in April - in Hawaii. Instead of sending an unvite (Seinfeldism), they decided to keep it small with just a few family members. They are getting married on the beach, and I bet it will be beautiful.

But, since most of the clan is not coming to the wedding (which might indeed be the reason they picked Hawaii), we had a little family party for them after Melissa's wedding. It was complete with a shower game (videotape Erika answering questions and then ask Michael other questions to embarrass him - very funny).

They registered at REI. We gave them the tent they wanted. I think they liked it. I asked if they camp alot - Erika tells me they are going to start. Fun.

When Erika first met Michael, it was not football season. What she did not realize, but has now experienced, is what a UT football fan Michael is. Think Fever Pitch. She has now lived it, and still loves him. There is talk of his groomsmen wearing UT orange bow ties at the wedding.

Anyway as a joke, Laurie and I gave Erika a rocking gaudy UT orange crystal longhorn. On an orange leather cord. Being the true sport she is, she donned that necklace and wore it all night.

Hook 'em horns! Congrats Michael and Erika.

Melissa and Chris Wed

The last of the Linford girls is no longer a Linford. Melissa was married last weekend to Chris Oravetz. They are happily, at least I hope, honeymooning in Utah. They have an open house there this weekend, and then they begin real life!

Of course I did not take many pictures OK so I took one.

This is what I love about a big family. My sister Megan, my brother Patrick, and all my girls laughing and having fun together. My kids love to see their aunts and uncles - all of them. Even mean Uncle Matt.

Other pics are compliments of my cousin Debbie who flew in from Florida. It was great to see her. Thanks for the pictures.

The first photo is the wedding party. Both Allie and Caroline were flower girls, and Kelsey and Sophie were Jr. Bridesmaids.

Allie caught the bouquet. Well, she sort of stole it out of Sophie's hands, but she is convinced she caught it. She is so proud of it and wants to take it to school for show and tell. She is with her cousin Shelby.

The bride was beautiful, the groom was handsome and everyone had fun. It was a crazy hectic day, as most weddings are, but they are very happy. Congrats Melissa and Chris!

The Ultimate Gift

Sophie has an amazing teacher this year. You know the kind that inspires by not only what they do but by the way they live. She is great!

She was given this book, The Ultimate Gift, and it really touched her. She went to the administration and asked if she could integrate the lessons from the book into her class and create a big project for the kids.

The premise of the book is a young kid is poised to inherit billions of dollars, but he has to prove he can handle it by doing a series of things for other people. These are there to teach him about different gifts, like the gift of hard work, the gift of laughter, the gift of money etc.

There are a total of 12 gifts in the book, and the kids had to do one project for each gift. Now, in the spirit of fairness, I have been known to grumble about this project. We ALL know my love of the school project. Each of these had about a 1 week timeline to accomplish the task. Some were big, some were small. I think the gift of hard work was the hardest - they had two weeks but they had to do 6 hours of work. This could not be for family. It had to be hard, sweaty work. Our problem was finding 6 hours we could do this with her. Sophie picked up trash, and finding the time was hard, but I digress. Even when I was grumbling I knew this was a worthwhile task, not just busy work.

They have finished up all their tasks. Oh, and in the process raised over $8,000 to donate to a charity which builds wells in third world countries. Pretty impressive - this is a bunch of 11 and 12 year old kids.

What they have done has received some attention. They were asked to come to the Tomball Chamber of Commerce Monthly Luncheon and speak to the Chamber. Mrs. Stoyak asked 12 different students to give a one minute overview of one of the gifts they did, and what they learned. Sophie was asked to talk about the gift of laughter.

Now this was a really full room- I would say 200-300 people. They had a handheld mic. See pic below.

I know it is blurry, but the other picture I took she had her eyes closed so I went with blurry. She did an amazing job. I think speaking at Stake Conference helped - she was a pro. She even got compliments on her stunning dress from Wal-Mart compliments of Mom. I really generous like that.

Now I need to order the book. I have spoken with a few other people who were likewise touched when they read the book. There must be something there. And to all the teachers out there who go above and beyond the simple TAKS preparation, Thank You! You do make a difference not only in the lives of your students, but in the lives of their families.

I Hate Daylight Savings

I hate spring forward with the same gusto I embrace fall back. Why is this? I am a morning person and spring forward = ornery, sleepy kids which = onery mom. Allie told me this morning she did not have to get up because it was still dark outside! Kelsey missed the bus. UUGH. I don't like it being light at 8:00 PM - I want everyone (myself included) to be asleep by then. But no, someone deemed this necessary - and it is so early this year.

Enough of my rant for the moment. On to kids, work, and getting ready for Laurie to visit on Wednesday. I was telling the kids we needed to clean the house, etc for her to come. One of them, Kelsey I am sure, said "Why do we need to clean for Aunt Laurie - she is your sister." True, but she is my clean sister and I don't want her to realize we live in filth. Is that too much to ask?

Then we will drive to Melissa's wedding this weekend where we will be in for some fun Linford time! We will miss Mark who will be the only one not there. Nine Linford's in the same place... never a dull moment.

Happy Birthday Allie

Allie, like Caroline, turned 8 on Monday. It works that way with twins. Too bad their mother can only handle a little blogging at a time.

Allie is our little rambunctious one. She is part tomboy (her words), part drama queen, and all loving. She has a naughty streak, which is always followed by tears - but since she has admitted she can make herself cry, they don't work as well on me anymore.

This is her "strike a pose" look. Heaven help me.

In the first picture you can see Allie's droopy eye. Her left eye droops when she is sleepy. I noticed it right away when she was born, and all the hospital staff told me it was no big deal. When, at 11 days old, she stopped breathing in her bed and had to spend a week at Texas Children's Hospital, I was sure the droopy eye had something to do with it. Nope, just a droopy eye.

Almost losing her has made me appreciate her, and the rest of my kids, all the more. Allie loves everything. Her energy is boundless. She tried to keep up with everyone, and unlike her twin, does not like to think or be told she is too young. If there is something to do, she will try it.

Allie is very loving, but if you get on her bad side watch out. She is also very protective of Caroline - always has been. It is an interesting dynamic to watch. She loves pink, donuts, and will eat just about anything I put in front of her. Oh - and she LOVES peas. What 8 year old loves peas?

Named after her grandpa, well actually both grandpas, she is a Pearson by looks, and a Linford by personality (she can channel both grandpa Pearson and Big Al all at the same time!) She is my only child with green eyes like her daddy. She has never met a stranger, which does scare me because she is the kid who could get lured away to find a lost dog.

I look forward to watching her grow and mature and become the beautiful young woman I know she will be.

Happy Birthday Caroline

Caroline turned 8 on Monday. Hard to believe, this little girl of mine is 8.

Caroline is a fashion diva (fashion of her own making). She loves to look at what people are wearing and comment. She has a strong sense of what she likes and what she does NOT. The one things she cannot get - she calls capri pants khakis. Can't get that one through her head. Here she is when told to strike a pose.

Caroline is a very kind sweet little girl. She does not miss anything going on around her - and believe me there is lots going on. She still lives in her own world which caused me to worry about her in the past. Now I know it is just her. Since my mom took me to the doctor when I was little because she was pretty sure I was retarded (true story) I guess Caroline just takes after her weird mom.

Her favorite color is yellow. She loves Chick-Fil-A, Pei Wei, and anything sweet. If she had her way she would watch way too much TV - and she probably does. She loves to play with Allie as much as she can. She does love her littlest pet shop toys, but also spends a lot of time playing games they have made up.

She is having fun with gymnastics. Soccer is not for her, but she still thinks she wants to be a cheerleader (mom does not wish this for her, but mom does not always get to choose).

Caroline is the baby of our family, and likes to play the "I'm too little" card. She told the dentist she could not floss her teeth because she was too young. When she needs to make a sandwich she asks Allie to do it because she is not good at spreading the jelly.

We love our Caroline and can't wait to see what the next eight years bring!

Eight Years Ago Today

I walked right into the Willowbrook Methodist Hospital and had them slice me open. Oh and pull out two tiny little creatures who would forever change my life.

I am not quite sure where the time has gone. I thought I would post one of my most embarrassing pictures - and then some from that sweet time in the hospital. I know I am weird. I like the hospital. I like to have someone take my baby, or babies as the case may be, at night and not bring them back for a while. So, as I said, I am weird. (or maybe all the rest of you are the weird ones and I am normal!)

This picture was taken before we left for the hospital on March 2, 2001. Yes, that is all me. In later years I found out I was walking around with my belly so big my shirt was not covering my maternity panel in my pants. How did I find out? Becky told me. I went to drop something off at her house and she saw my big ole belly sticking out and my panel showing. Did she tell me at the time so I would not embarrass myself more? Oh no. She waited a few years to share that. Laugh at the fat pregnant woman! Nice.

They were so cute and small and snugly. They loved to be right next to each other and still to this day do spend A LOT of time right next to each other.

We had just moved to Houston from Dallas when we got pregnant. I think we were there a month and a half when I found out I was pregnant. All of our family lived in Dallas. Nice time to be on our own, right? Well, the day after the babies were born my mom, dad, Steven and Michelle drove down to Houston for the day to come and see the new little grandbabies. Here is mom holding them both. The first of many days being spent holding two little babies!

Here is grandpa, nickname Big Al, holding new baby Allie, nickname Little Al. Well we call her Big Al now which does cause some confusion when we are all gathered together.

Big brother Ryan holding the girls. Don't ask me which is which, I could not tell you. I could when they were little, now not so much. He was, and continues to be, a great big brother.

Kelsey and babies. She was SO EXCITED for the babies to get here. She talked about it everyday in kindergarten. She loved to hold them, help and serve as second mother. She was and still is a great sister.

Can you tell Sophie was excited to have sisters? She was so cute, and when they were born she seemed so big! I guess that happens to the baby when they are replaced.

Don't have any pics of Eric and twins. Why? He is too vain to let me take any pictures of him. But he was there. I promise.

So, this was a day that changed our family. We went from a respectable three kids to crazy Mormon five kids! We had someone awake at our house 24 hours a day. But I would not change it for the world. Individual posts on each twin (they have names you know, just ask Caroline) to come.

Happy Birthday my babies!