October flew by.
Here are the pictures from our month:
Watching a bit of General Conference while doing each other's hair
More family time watching my favorite: old "I Love Lucy" episodes
Her dog's name is officially "Cooper."
Going to Robintino's with Grandma Luke for lunch and making cute faces:
Millie insisting that she needs to be tucked in with Ava:
She found some lipstick:
Visiting Fiiz after school on Friday:
Enjoying another fall football game at Rice-Eccles stadium:
A Sunday evening hike on the mountains behind our house with the girls:
Eric took a day off and he hung out with Mille and me. It was a special day!
We even got to go on a hike with him on the mountains above our house:
Enjoying the fall beauty in our yard:
Love this picture!:
More fall colors as I look at the window. I can never get enough:
Eric's 39th birthday!!!!:
Celebrating Eric and my mom's birthdays together as a Luke family:
The very naked but very necessary bathtime pics:
Andi and Abbey put a pumpkin on Chris' grave for me:
Our trip to Grandma and Grandpa Zimmerman's house in St. George:
The ride home. She finally fell asleep! She never sleeps in the car:
Sharing headphones in the backseat:
Found this quote and love it so much:
Enjoying his new biking gear since he got a new bike for his birthday:
My Andi can write her name in cursive now! She's been waiting for this for a long time :)
Playing at the park. Love those eyes!:
Abbey's Halloween piano recital. Grandma and Grandpa Zimmerman came to see her performance:
The annual Halloween parade at Farmington Elementary:
Abbey as Hermione Granger from Harry Potter (her latest obsession and reading passion!)
Ava as a skeleton queen!
Andi as Cinderella!
Ava's 2nd grade Halloween singing program.
This is now the 3rd time I've gotten to see this program and it's cute every time.
Love the teachers at our school.
I helped with Ava's class Halloween party.
Here are the treats we decorated:
Enjoying some cuddles on a Friday afternoon--my tired day!
The annual Allen/Schmitz Family Halloween Party:
It was at Aunt Bethany's this year!
Here is Uncle Isaac a.k.a. Colonel Sanders with Abbey, Andi, Millie, and other Allen cousins in their Halloween costumes. Ava was at a Utah football game with Eric and the Luke family.
Andi loves this stuff. She's definitely an Allen!
Love this family! They know how to party.
Abbey and I feeling daunted with the world's greatest laundry pile:
My dad showed up to our sacrament meeting one Sunday to see the girls in the Primary program:
The girls making pumpkin-shaped Rice Krispie treats that Ron and Joann gave them:
My dad's birthday celebration at my sister Lori's house:
Ava is very good at making many pictures and notes for people, including me.
Here are a few of her latest sweet pictures. The blue one is my favorite. I am always grateful for those sweet moments:
Halloween 2016:
Meeting up with the Luke cousins at Grandma Luke's before the trick-or-treating:
Yes, Eric made a SpongeBob costume and was, in fact, SpongeBob. !!!!
Abbey and Carter as Gryffindor buddies for Halloween--"Harry and Hermione"
Trick-or-Treating! Millie's first time:
"Canny, Mom, Canny!":
The girls are staying busy. Here are a few of the latest details of their lives:
Miss Abbey is growing a lot these days. I feel like she's turning into a pre-teen as we speak...No longer a little girl for sure. She always enjoys school and excels tremendously academically. Her teachers often tell me how "intelligent" she is. Now that she is in fifth grade, she is expected to read a certain number of books within certain genres each term. It has pushed her, especially because all she really wants to read is Harry Potter. But she's a great reader regardless and does well with each book she reads. She is in SEM at school, an extra class for students who need the extra challenge. She loves it and looks forward to it each week. This last month she did a research paper on the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Abbey still enjoys piano and as mentioned above, recently had a piano recital. She has two dear friends that she sticks close to: Anna and Allison. Unfortunately Allison moved to another school over the summer so that has been an adjustment for Abbey this year.
I call Abbey my "shining star" as she is a star for everyone to follow. I feel more and more tenderly love for this wonderful soul each day. She is a part of me!
Andi is continuing to love FUN. She loves friends, parties, the weekends, recess, her family, and holidays! Third grade has pushed her academically and has required more effort on her part. She is getting more used to it even though she still complains about all the tests she has to take on Fridays. :)
She started piano in August and I have been very pleased with her continual progress with that. She is getting so she goes to the piano herself just to practice the songs she loves. She loves to memorize the songs and she likes to perform them for me. She is getting pretty good at practicing on her own as well. She also took tennis this fall and it was super fun to see her tennis skills grow. The teacher we go to is awesome and I love watching Andi interact with that teacher and her classmates. Andi is quite a social bug. She also loves random dance-offs at home and is a pro at shakin' her cute bootie!
I always call Andi "my angel" as I truly believe she has saved me from much sadness in my life. She has been my purpose and meaning. She fills my heart with bursting joy and makes me laugh each day.
Ava is also continuing to grow and progress. This past year we have been taking her to counselors and psychologists and now she goes weekly to an occupational therapist. She is also in karate and goes to that twice a week. In fact, she just earned her orange belt last month. She continues to breeze through her academics at school. She enjoys being engaged and busy. Just last week she had a playdate with a friend from school and we were excited about that. One thing I have really enjoyed watching is Ava's love and concern for Millie. I have really appreciated seeing that kindness and love that she has so naturally offered her new little sister.
Ava spent last weekend writing a book about her family that covered the history of her birth clear until now. This book was an indication to me that she is gaining more understanding, perspective, and peace as she grows. I will try to post the book later--It's a gem!
I call Ava my "sunshine" girl. Her smile and personality shines brightly just like the sun! I have learned so much from Ava and I find our journey together to be a very interesting one indeed. I feel like I'm still getting to know her special spirit and look forward to the years ahead of doing so.
Millie is growing like a weed. Her second year has been so fun now that we're all getting more sleep and enjoying her blossoming personality. She is very energetic, loves to climb, and loves her family. On school and work days, she asks for her dad and sisters all day until they finally arrive back home. She has some serious sass, is a picky eater, and loves to pray at church and with our family. Ha! She loves her cousin Bo, whom we get to tend once a week. She has a "funny face" that we always request her to make. She'll do anything for a laugh! She'll often break into song at random moments thorughout our days, including in the middle of sacrament meeting, for everyone to hear! Her favorite songs are "ee-eye-ee-eye-oh!" and "Happy birt-day to Daddy!"
I call Millie "my gift" as I have been so grateful for the light she's brought into our lives. I truly feel she was given as a gift to my heart from my Father in Heaven.
Some personal thoughts for this month:
Lately I've been thinking so very much about two profound concepts:
Compassion for others and finding peace within yourself.
As I look back on some of the last several years, I am starting to see how much these years have stretched me and required pretty much everything I could muster to continue on with hope and faith and help my family do the same. I know we have been incredibly blessed and that many have it much worse than we ever have. Nevertheless, through these experiences it seems I have a much greater understanding of the need for compassion. I just can't stop thinking about it. I know I've written about it before. But COMPASSION. It is so important! Sometimes it's easy to have all the answers when you're not in the middle of struggle--When your whole soul is being pushed and pulled and getting tired and battered and bruised. Perhaps life isn't about being perfect and that maybe it's more about learning that we are all doing our best and to be there for each other and try to help each other along the way. Christ was totally and completely right in teaching us to love one another and have compassion toward our fellow man.
I am no model citizen when it comes to this, but I feel after these last few years a rejuvenation to remember this very key element in life.
Additionally, I've been thinking an awful lot about peace and where it comes from.
I am finding myself experiencing a bit more peace at this time in my life. I attribute this to the fact that our family is molding together more, and our broken hearts and lives are feeling more settled and perhaps even healed. But it's not just that--I feel God is with me more often. I am turning to Him more and finding greater inner strength. Perhaps I'm finally beginning to grasp that we can find peace inside of us and through God. Even though there's no denying the fact that outside circumstances can surely help us or hurt us, it just might be true that looking to outside resources for peace or contentment doesn't always work so well and if it does, it doesn't always last.
I don't have all the answers, but these are some thoughts I've been feeling strongly about, and I want my kids to think about these things someday.
Until next month!
