Love Week

So many things to love this week.

Brad took the kids out to Cardinal stadium Sunday afternoon to see President Nelson and President Oaks and their wives speak.

Haven't had many pictures of Micah lately, but I think I've finally convinced him to get his hair cut this week.

I forget that I'm still recovering and overdid it the day before. Lucky for me, Tucker sent me a link so I could watch it from home.

It wasn't the same, but I loved listening to it, especially Sister Nelson's talk where she described what it's like to be married to the prophet. I can't imagine how hard that must be for her.

For Family Night, we made dozens of valentine sugar cookies and Brad took the kids to deliver them

 My mom's sugar cookie recipe is the best in the world, and I always eat way too many of them!

Speaking of my mom, she and Dad sent me a bouquet of flowers on Tuesday with a card that read, "When you look at these flowers, remember you have 3-5 more weeks."

They came on a particularly hard day for me and brought me to tears. This recovery journey is hard. I've had to abandon all of the healthy, sanity-supporting routines I had in place to sleep late, not count my steps, not clean house, not cook or clean. It sounds dumb, but this has been hard for me. I don't sit still well, and I feel like I should be back to normal and I hate the burden this places on my family and how it disrupts life around here. Those flowers came at a good time.

Eve and Hyrum had STEAM night at their school.

 Not a good picture of Eve . . . but she had fun going from station to station and seeing her friends.

 Hyrum was the big cheese on campus that day--I love that about sixth grade. He ran around with friends and assisted his teachers with their displays and sitting at the information table. This kid is growing up so fast, and while I'm excited to see where life takes him, I really hate junior high and its accompanying drama and angst. I'll live in this little sixth grade bubble as long as we can.

Micah had a trip to the headache specialist this week. He's had pretty bad migraines for a few years, and after fighting insurance and doctor approval, he finally got an appointment. I loved the staff there, and she gave him great advice (his triggers are probably lack of sleep, dehydration, and stress) and new meds. I picked up three of the meds one day, but the final one had to be ordered.

Sticker shock!

 And this was after insurance! I guess he's worth $300. But he better keep track of that stuff!

I got a surprise message this week from one of my former students--he took his oath to join the Marine Corps.

He's wanted to be a Marine forever, and he had a few roadblocks placed in his way these last few months that almost derailed that dream. I'm impressed that he worked through it all and will go to boot camp this August. I'm as proud as if he were my own kid. Way to go, Sam!

Here's a rare moment when these two brothers played together. I know sibling relationships go through phases, and I know that as they get older they will rely more and more on each other. That knowledge is one of the only things that keeps me sane while they fight and argue and wrestle and sometimes get hurt.

 FYI: Just after Hyrum threw this pass, the joyful moment ended. Good thing I snapped the photo when I did.

My valentine remembered me. I love getting flowers and cards from him, and this is our 30th Valentine's Day together and I love him more and more each year.

Usually February in AZ is beautiful mid-70s days, but it's been rainy and COLD. I can't complain too much, because I still get to wear all of my glorious boots a little longer!

Hyrum has a new obsession--Safeway's Monopoly game. He begs to go to the grocery store for more pieces and meticulously places them on the board. He psyched himself out this week when he accidentally filled the $100 gift card section with a duplicate.

 Hope he wins that million!

Eve finished her great horned owl project by making this cute diorama.

 I love when my kids do their own projects with minimal help from Mom.

And the best thing to love about this week:

Heidi had her baby on Friday!

 Little baby Kate Colwell. 6'12" and 19" of pure perfection.

This is my favorite picture from the whole week

I love that my girls are up in Idaho together.

Look at that tribe of Brubaker kids

Three boys. Three girls.

The hardest part of this hysterectomy recovery is that I can't go up and help right now. Hopefully after Spring Break I'll get up there, but right now I can't get enough pictures and FaceTime.

No pictures, but I was privileged to play at a funeral on Saturday for a lady in our ward who died unexpectedly. I had played for her to sing a few years ago and it had a deep impact on me (read that post here), so I was excited to participate in a celebration of her life. I prepared a little surprise for the postlude, and after the closing prayer, I began the first few notes, then launched into a medley of songs from "Oklahoma!" just for Lynne. I hope she was singing along wherever she is and that she knows the impact she had on the lives all around her.

Hopefully this week I can get back to a few more of my normal tasks. Baby steps.