Mother of the Year

It's amazing that my award hasn't arrived yet. I keep checking the mail and when the UPS truck drives by our house I keep waiting for him to stop and bring me my trophy. Maybe the Mother of the Year committee has secret video cameras and they caught a glimpse of this:

These are Brandon's shoes. He has been asking me for several weeks if we could go get him new shoes. I, absentmindedly, would answer, "When school's out", or "Don't you have basketball shoes you can wear?", or "You're fine" and my favorite, "It's not polite to keep asking for the same thing." Wow. Talk about taking advantage of teaching opportunities. I kept thinking that I needed to take a few moments and compose my acceptance speech.

So yesterday Brandon came home from piano lessons and said, "Mami, do you think that maybe we could go to Walmart or Target to get some new shoes?" And I said firmly but lovingly, "OK, Brandon, show me your shoes." And he then shows me all the holes in his shoes! I couldn't believe it!! He said, "I showed my shoes to Heather (his piano teacher) and Jacob (another piano student)." What's wrong with me?! He hadn't been asking for designer shoes from expensive stores. He's happy with Walmart or Target. Needless to say, we went to Target and bought him a pair of shoes.

Brandon is such a sweet boy. He's the boy who on his own has read almost the entire Old Testament and actually understands and asks questions about what he is reading. As the oldest, he plays the role of peacemaker very well. He is always mindful of the needs of his younger brothers and he helps them accordingly. He is always teaching Dan and I something about love and humility. Couldn't I have at least taken the time to look at the condition of his shoes?!!?

Maybe my Neglectful Mother of the Year award is coming.....wait, I think I hear the UPS truck......

Baseball Blake

Here's Blake's baseball picture. He is on the Blue Jays and has enjoyed playing this year. The coaches are pretty good about rotating the boys so he has been able to play a little of everything. He's been able to pitch a few times so that has been fun for him. And when he's not on the actual pitcher's mound pitching he is literally in left field practicing his pitching and light saber skills and his "Rocky" moves. (Joshua humming the theme from Rocky is another post....)

What happens when you allow your children to watch Gymnastics?

They start thinking that it is perfectly safe and OK to flip on the couch. You get a 5 year old who thinks it is safe to jump and flip and land on a pillow. Now that I've informed them that it's not OK to do those things they are wondering when we'll be able to get a trampoline so that they can safely attempt those feats.
I'm smiling on the inside because those are the exact things my sisters attempted to do when we watched gymnastics during the Olympics. The difference is that we had a trampoline. Their friends would come over and they would play "Olympics." Ericka does a mean Svetlana Boginskaya! So thanks to my sisters for creating fun memories for me!

Whose shawl is this?

While we were in Utah The Washburns (distant cousins of the Hulls) came over to visit. Last year Bill and Melanie, who live in Kansas, were involved in the organization of a family reunion for the descendants of Joseph and Emma Smith and the Washburns stayed in their home. Sister Washburn is a direct descendant. She brought with her this shawl that belonged to Lucy Mack Smith. It was pretty amazing to hold the shawl and take the picture. There is a new Emma Smith movie and the actress who plays Lucy is wearing this shawl. Just thought I'd share this neat piece of history!

Dale Ernest Hull

We were out of town for a while so that we could attend the funeral services of Dan's father. I've said it once and I'll say it again, I married into the most amazing family. My father-in-law is an incredible man. He and my mother-in-law, Ann, raised an incredible family of 10 children. Here is his obituary.

Dale Ernest Hull died of heart failure on May 23, 2008 in Provo Utah. He was born March 22nd 1938 to Ester Pauline and Milford Charles Hull in Eugene,
Oregon. He was raised in Oregon and Southern California, graduating from San Bernardino High School. He joined the United States Army, serving in the 82nd Airborne Division from 1958 to 1960. While serving in the army, he joined the LDS Church and met his future wife. He served a mission for the Church in Virginia and North Carolina. He married Eleanor Ann Bartholomew on September 1, 1962 in the Manti Utah LDS Temple and attended and graduated from Brigham Young University in 1966. His career in computer data processing started in the
infancy of the industry, spanned nearly forty years and included directing large
initiatives for some of America’s biggest companies. He was always found
working on leading-edge technology and exploring its application potential. He
had a keen intellect and a life-long love of learning and was constantly seeking
to improve and further educate himself on a very diverse set of interests.
Throughout their married life, Dale and Ann enjoyed serving in their church
and in the community, making many lasting friendships in the places they lived:
North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Illinois, Texas and Utah. They worked
together tirelessly to raise ten children and do all that they could to provide
valuable experiences for their family.
His children publicly express their deep gratitude for their father’s example of Christ-like living. He loved and respected his wife. He taught the importance of work, service, sacrifice and of putting one’s trust and faith in our Father in Heaven. He will be deeply missed. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, his wife and his family were the most important things in his life.
He is survived by his wife Ann and all ten of their children: Bill (Melanie) Hull of Olathe, Kansas, Steve (Paige) Hull of Reston, Virginia, David (Maralyn) Hull of Riverton, Utah, Deron (Katrina) Hull of Charlotte, North Carolina, Jared (Coleen) Hull, Sterling, Virginia, Dan (Gabriela) Hull of Yucaipa, California, Joe (Amanda) Hull of Fort Worth, Texas, Lin (Jay) Johnson of Lebanon, Oregon, Sam Hull of Huntington Beach, California, and Becky Hull of Orem, Utah. They Have 32 grandchildren. He is also survived by his two brothers: Don (Faye) Hull of Iron Station, North Carolina and Darrell (Millie) Hull of Camino Island, Washington.
The family extends heart felt gratitude to the doctors and nurses who attended to him during the final hours of his mortal life.

Words cannot express the loss we feel but we are so grateful to know that families are eternal and we will be with him again.