Hold your children a little closer today

I usually do not find myself at a loss for words but today I find my heart heavy and soul a little worn out.  I found out this morning that a friend of mine from our old neighborhood in Kearns lost her daughter this morning.  Rachel was only 7 years old.  I remember when Rachel was born.,  She has a twin brother named Sam which is part of the reason I remember them so well.  The are not sure yet what happened to Rachel.  She had a headache, went to bed, woke up dizzy and started vomitting.  Her parents took her to the ER and she stopped breathing and then her heart stopped and they could not revive her.

This is the third death of a child I know in the last 2-3 weeks. 

The first was a little boy named Devaun who went to same school as my three younger kids.  He had a cancer and was able to live out his last few months in the comfort of his home with his family around him.  His older brother is in the same 5th grade class as my twins.  His death was sad but not unexpected.  They were able to make the most of the time he had left. 

The second happened just before Christmas.  A friend of mine from high school, Mike Bearden and his cute wife Jill were expected baby number 5 any day.  Jill felt like something was wrong and went to get checked out.  Jill's feelings were right and labor was induced.  Max was born not breathing.  They got him breathing but he died in Jill's arms two days later.  I went to the funeral and was truly touched by the thoughts that Mike and Jill shared.

And now Brett and Angela Beyer have lost their precious little girl. 

Part of me wants to question why this is happening and part of me all ready knows that I will never know but don't need to.  I know that all these families will be reunited one day.  That does not make the every day pain and loss that these families feel any easier. 
As a friend, I feel very helpless to comfort them.  I don't know what it is like to lose a child like they have.  I pray everyday that I never have to know what that is like.
What I can do is hold my children a little longer, tighter, and more often today.
I need to ignore the insanity that my children make me fell and enjoy the few precious moments we have together. 
These 3 families have taught me to stop and enjoy the moments a little more.  I need to love these little faces with every part of me possible.

so today I will be grateful for what I have.....

Yeah it has been a little while......

Crazy us as crazy does and crazy is a way of life.  We have been very busy lately and I barely have time to breathe or cook or do laundry, let alone blog.   But here is a very breif recap of our last two months.
school, school and more school.....I just started my last class and cannot believe the end is in sight!
David is working a ton, they have thankfully been very busy.
Nicole is studying hard, and a lot.  She is anxiously planning out her future with some amazing ideas.  This girl is amazing.
D.J. is enjoying junior high.  He is learning to keep up with the workload and changes that middle school brings.
Ally is still our chatterbox and social butterfly.  She loves to be a part of everything.
Jon is really lovuing Scouts and being a Webelos.  He has some great leaeders who are planning fun activities.
Ryan turned 8 and got baptized.  I have some great pictures to share a little later.

We managed to survive Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I have a ton of great photos to share once I download them off my camera. 


So today I will be grateful for the 3 spare minutes I had to blog this.... LOL!   Sometimes you just take what you can get. 

Boo! I'm gonna scare you!

SO yup, here it comes.  The Halloween post!

I was a total slacker mom this year and totally fine with it.  We did very simple costumes and no crazy hair or make up.  What a relief.

So here they are.

Cole was nerdy scientist.   But she can't fool me, she is still dang cute!

Ryan was a snow tiger (again)

Samurai Jon......for the 4 th year in a row.

Ally was a witch with green hair....I think the wig is bigger than she is.

D.J. was a hippie.

So today I will be grateful for Halloween fun and be grateful that it is now over!!!!

Not much and enjoying the status quo

So I have not blogged a lot lately because not too much is happening.  It is wonderful.  Everyone is settling in to the back to school routines, and there is something so beautifully normal about life feeling normal.

So today I will be grateful for the beauty of a normal and uneventful day.

One smart chick!

So last week Nicole gets in the car and says, mom, I got pulled out of class today."  What?  My cutie girl got pulled out of class?  What in the world could she have done to warrant that?  Well, it turns out the middle school pulled out all the kids with a very high GPA and asked them to apply to be part of the National Junior Honors Society.  Nicole definitely qualifies for that! 
So ahe applied, went in for an interview and found out today that she was accepted!  Way to go smarty pants!  We have no idea what this really means because obviously David and I were never asked to be part of this group.  But she is very excited and we are very happy for her.  She said it is goig to look great on her college applications (*hello - she is only in grade 9 and has her whole academic future planned out).  I did not even know what I wanted to be when I grew up when I was her age - which was only yesterday - I swear!
She is all ready planning for a cholarship and plans to go to USU and become an aerospace engineer.  I don't  think I even knew what an aerospace engineer was when I was her age (no, really, that was just yesterday!)
We are excited for her and for this opportunity.

So today I will be grateful for a sweet daughter who works so hard and is finally getting some recognition for it!

The road goes ever on and on

life continues here at a crazy pace.   Last Friday my baby sister Jen had a baby!  Finally a little girl.  Audrey Renee Jennings is cute as button.   And I totally get to be the favorite Aunt.



I have only been able to see her twice because I have been sick as a dog this week.  cough, fever, headache, runny nose.......it has been an awful week.  Thank goodness for Nyquil.

Will I ever learn or Will they ever make sunscreen strong enough for a redhead?

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.............

After a day in the sun wearing this.....

I end up getting a sunburn like this.  UGH!!!!

Yes, I was wearing sunscreen and yes, I did re-apply

This will hurt in the morning.....

So today I will be grateful for sunscreen because that crazy burn would have been so much WORSE without it!

Diary of a weekend away.

Dear Diary...... just kidding. 

This weekend was awesome!  We went on a family trip to our favorite little hot spring in southern Idaho.  Maple Grove is a beautiful place for some time away from reality. 

We had a three car caravan drive up Friday night.  Our family went, my mother went, and David's parents came along as well. 

We managed to set up a tent, the trailer and get dinner on and swim for a while.  We managed to have everyone in bed by midnight though.

Saturday was beyond busy.  David and I got up before everyone and snuck in some time in the hot tubs before we woke the kids.  Perfect way to start the day.

We had a quick breakfast and headed out to Logan to a Celtic Festival. 

We had fun at the festival.  It was hard to sing because of the wind!  Wow!  The wind was painfully strong and I think we ended up with windburns and sunburns.  If you look at some of these photos, you may get a sense of how bad it was.

Good thing I wore the long skirt......

The kids snuck in some fun between shows.  We walked around the festival and they had some fun activities for the kids.  Two of my boys fought a knight, and three of my kiddos got to ride a pony.

watch out Ryan!!!!

This video is extremely quick because Jon defeated his opponent so quickly!

It took Ryan a lot longer.  The man he was fighting with was such a great sport!

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Ally, Jon, and Ryan going in circles.....

Here are some more pics from the Festival:

After the Festival we went here for a late lunch/early dinner:

Anyone who knows us well, knows exactly what David ordered.

That's right,

Tiny Spicy Chicken......

Totally worth the drive up to Logan!

We spent the rest of Saturday playing in the pool.

You can see how sunny it was.  Check out that sunburn!

Here is one more video of Ryan teaching himself to swim.  He uses the noodles, plugs his nose, dunk his head, and then kicks his feet.  It ends up looking like a turtle running under water.  He wore himself out doing this.

We packed up Sunday morning after a very hearty pancake and bacon breakfast.

We broke down the tent and found this:

Can you see what they are looking at?

Here is a close up:

Yes, that is a snake!!!!!  It was under the tent.

It probably slithered under there to get warm.

and yes, it is dead.

It was a tiny little thing.  Those are Ally and Ryan's hands next to it.

Ryan said the snake had a happy face.

Well, maybe we would have a happy face if we pass all warm and cozy?  LOL!

Ally liked it's blue eyes.

It was a fast but fun weekend.  Can't wait to do it again.

So today I will be grateful for family, fun, and weekend getaways! 

 And grateful that I can sleep in my own bed tonight!

One Week

We are down to one week left until school starts for my kiddos again! 
Can you hear the Hallelujah Chorus?  I can....
I love the lazier pace of summer, no homework for the kids, hanging out, staying up late, etc....
But this summer has been so very busy and I am looking forward to the forced routine of school.
Maybe I will even have time to blog a little more often.
I am excited about my kids teachers so I am pretty sure they are in for a great year.
Cole starts early morning seminary this year and D.J. starts middle school.

WHAT??????  How in the heck did I get old enough to have two kids in middle school?

You know what they say about time flying..........



Where is the pause button?  I am not ready yet.



So today I will be grateful for end of summer, cooler days, and the structure we gain from another school year.

so what else has happened?

I mentioned before that this summer has flown by.  It feels crazy fast.
So for my own sanity memory I am going to try to remmeber a few things.
Citrine performances.....almost every weekend.....
campouts - Evanston, Green River, Jordanelle, and one more coming up
Cole also went to Trek, girls's camp and she is Oakcrestright now.  I also went to girl's camp for two days. Jon went to cub scout camp, and D.J. went to scout camp at Bear Lake for a week.  Jon and Ryan did a basketball camp for a few days as well.
We went to a funeral in Green River.  David's great aunt Hazel passed away.  She was a truly amazing woman.
I had to take THE test.  The Praxis II.  The test I have to pass in order to be a teacher.  Still waiting for the results.
No sleep, doc appoints, orthodont appoints, church callings, kids home all the time....  no wonder it has gone so fast.  I hope I remember to enjoy the ride.


so today I will cheat a little and be grateful that summer is almost over.......I am not a fan o the heat...

Kissell Reunion Campout

What do you get when you combine an August weekend + 2 pop-up trailers + 8 adults + 9 kids + great food + a couple of fishing poles and a boat?

A Kissell Family Reunion Campout!

This weekend we had a campout at Jordanelle.  David's parent's, Darin and Shell, Mindy and Steven, and all their kids went too!  We had a lot of fun.  We stayed in out pop-up trailer.  I had to leave Friday night to go back to work and did not get back up to Jordanelle until Saturday afternoon.  But we had great food, fun games, sparkly crafts, and cute kids.

Here are some pics taken by me, Michelle, and Mindy.   And they are in no particular order.

Jon, Ally, Cooper, and Bridger making their hot chocolate mugs.

D.J and Ally getting crafty and covered in glitter.

All the kids made hats,  and hot chocolate mugs, and cute little bags, Thanks Michelle! 

Bridger and Mason, best buddies most of the time.

Cole and her finished hat.

Ally's hat turned out pretty cute, but not as cute as she is!

Farmer Tan!   Steven saved the day for Jon.  Ask Steven about it.

Jon, Lia, and Mason helped to set up the tent. 

Eating breakfast outside Darin and Michelle's "camping house."  Mason called our trailers camping houses.

Cooper really wanted to go fishing.

Ryan, Lia, and Ally in our camping house.

Mason inside his tent.

Grammie and Cole walking with Lia

Cooper and Jon shared a tent.  Those are two of the sleepiest smiles I have ever seen.

Yup, it's first thing in the morning and it is nature....what else should a boy do?

Mason counting to 10 while the other kids hid.  Hide and Seek is always a fun game to play.

Jon, still smiling on the last day.

Ryan...................pouting.

Bridger made a new friend on the beach.  They played fetch for a long time.

Jon "Fish" Kissell - fisherman!

Ally fishing.  She caught one.  Cole caught one too.  Way to go girls!  None of the boys caught any.

Trying to set up a tent with strong winds is always an adventure.

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Mindy, Lia, and Mason decorating their bags.

Mason and Grandpa doing what they both love to do.

Can't wait to do it again!

So today I will be grateful for family and for the fun we have when we are together.