Mother's Day

As always it was a lovely mother's day.  Sometimes it snows on mother's day, but not this year.  The weather was beautiful.  Jason made me a lovely breakfast of German pancakes with buttermilk syrup, fresh raspberries, and bacon.  It is my new favorite breakfast!

Here was my Facebook post: (it was all accurate)

I got the best and most unexpected Mother’s Day present! I think the best gift is when you don’t have to be the one to do everything or always be the bad guy or the one making others do things they don’t want to do. THEN, even one level higher, is when you don’t have to rely on your husband to be the one to do all the stuff. Because that usually ends in frustration… if you know what I mean.

Miraculously these both happened yesterday. Completely unprompted Madison realized that the first 3 people who got dressed for church were all wearing blue. She then took it upon herself to convince everyone else to wear blue so we would all be matching for Mother's Day. I didn’t have to hear one sigh or see one eye roll. Madison got all that. But being a resilient 13 year old she didn’t even notice it!

Then, THEN, after church she made sure everyone stayed in their church clothes until I got home (I had a thing after) so we could take Mother’s Day pictures. I had NO such plans or expectations. She just did that! So I got matching colors and Mother’s Day pictures that no one rolled their eyes at me because I didn’t ask for it!!!! It was amazing!!!

Truly, honestly, I love being a mother. It is my hobby. It is who I am. It is how I want to spend my time. Not just to these 6. But as a beneficiary of so many women who have mothered me, I love to mother others and hope that others feel mothered by me.

Jason took pictures of us getting ready for the photo.

I did not post all of these pictures on facebook. Only like 4 or 5. But here are all of them.

Dane was the most eager and wanted to take SO MANY pictures with me, and even some just with himself.  My only flowers in bloom were the lilacs, so I tried to get some with them, but it didn't work out great, the only good ones were too close the the ground.

And Madison gave me this hanging flower basket - we put it in our picture so it looked like my garden was pretty.  2 gifts in one!

Eve did not want to take pictures anymore.

she is so sad!

The pictures Jason took of us getting ready to take the picture.  This is a classic Phil and Randy Herbert thing to do.  

My boys.

My girls.

Then I got to spend the rest of the day blogging.  I was WOEFULLY behind (like 7 months).  I really wanted to get caught up before summer.  I ALMOST made it.  But I think I did like 20 blog posts that day. 

Then I was treated to my favorite dinner: Jason's Salmon.  He makes the best salmon of anyone, including restaurants.    The kids gave me some sweet presents.  I kind of made a big deal about presents this year.  Herbert's need a lot of help learning how to give gifts.  It is a generational problem that all in-laws have to struggle with.  I am hoping to end that cycle this generation, so I am a little more bossy with gifts than I would like to be.  My love language is gift giving, but mostly only when I didn't have to ask for it (which I know is hard), but the most tangible times in my life that I have felt deeply loved or deeply seen/known is when i received a gift from someone that I didn't ask for but really wanted - most of the time I didn't even know I wanted it - like they knew me better than I knew myself, or they knew just what I needed to make my life better.  

Anyways, many of them sort of failed at Christmas and forgot to get me a present.  So I insisted they all get me a thoughtful gift.  Noah and Megan both got me necklaces that I REALLY wanted.  One says "I am worthy".  I absolutely love it.  It has deep sacred meaning for me.  I had a very holy experience in the temple a few months ago and this necklace reminds me of it.  And the other one says "Hanna" (what Jason calls me) in cursive.  I love it.  I LOVE that Jason calls me Hanna and love wearing the name around my neck.    As mentioned before Maddie got me a hanging flower pot which I LOVED but am having trouble keeping alive.  I have never had one before and I guess there is a learning curve.  And Brock wrote me a very very thoughtful letter.  It was very sweet, and I know how hard it is for him to write, so it was double sweet.  Dane has been making me very very thoughtful and sweet crafts all week, he was REALLY into Mother's Day. 

I then i got a Bookie!  I crave brookies almost every week, but never make one because it seems ridiculous to make 2 separate desserts, dirty 2 of everything - when cookies and brownies are a great dessert standing alone.  But I have a man that will do ridiculous things for me!  And that is the best!  I know it is mother's day and i stated above how much I love being a mother.  But I really love being a wife.  I love learning how to love Jason unselfishly and trying to make his life and home a peaceful loving place and I love being taken care of and provided for.  Being a wife is hard work, but he rewards make it worth it.
 

Birches

The Birches came from Georgia for a quick weekend trip.  We didn't see much of them, they came for a wedding in Fort Collins.  But they came down to HR before heading up there and we met them at the Clarks (along with the Ricks').  It was so good to see them and meet their new baby, William.   

Moving can be kind of weird for kids.  As adults we remember them being best friends, and they remember being best friends, but development comes so quickly that once you see them again you realize you actually don't know each other and it can be really awkward - but your parents are still hanging out and insist that you do as well.   While Lucia and Carmon come last summer and jumped back into our family without a problem, Harry hadn't seen anyone from Colorado in almost 6 years.  But Harry, Emerson, and Noah found friendship in a shared love of music.  I was very proud of Noah, Emerson and Harry are very very accomplished and advanced pianists and Noah has only taken for about a year - but that didn't hold him back and he jumped in and they bonded over all things music.  It was nice.  The other kids plays with the Clarks games in the basement or on the zip line in the back yard.  Dane and Eve were fearless.  

I can't believe I only took one picture!  I actually remember taking several more, but I can't find them. 

A few days later they came back to HR for an afternoon and spent a few hours at our house before heading to the reception at our chapel.  They got us an invite and we all went to the reception and ate and danced.  It was lovely.  Veronica and I didn't get hardly any time to chat, but that is ok.  She is still my closest friend.  We have probably gotten closer since she moved.  We talk all the time.  

 

Elder Stevenson (again)

In 2017 Elder Stevenson came to our stake conference.  It wasn't planned.  At the adult session on Saturday night they announced he was coming in the morning.  He was just in town visiting a family friend and said he would stop by.  You can go back to 2017 and read the post about it.  Basically the meeting was at 10 but we wanted good seats so I was going to go several hours early to save seats.   Despite their ages Megan, Noah, and Madison surprised me by wanting to wake up early and go with me.    

This time Elder Stevenson was a visiting general authority for our stake conference (officially).   However this time he hosted a youth devotional on Saturday night.    Again, we wanted good seats.  It is hard to know how early "early" is.  We shot for "we want to GUARANTEE being in the front" - I say "we" but parents weren't allowed to sit in the benches. We were busy that day with soccer games and other things so it was always a little up in the air about who was going to go early and save seats and what time they would go. We thought we would take shifts.  The devotional started at 7 and Noah showed up at 4 for the first shift.  He was the only one there for a while.  I brought Megan and Madison to "relieve" Noah so he could come home for dinner (he ended up just staying as a few other people had showed up and some were his friends).  I had forgotten that it was these three who had come early to save seats back in 2017.  Seeing them sitting there sparked my memory and warmed my heart.  They are good kids.  I love them.  During the devotional they asked "who has a copy of the For Strength of Youth" and Maddie did, she shipped it out and held it up so fast.  He had her come up to the front and hand it to him.  She was so proud.  Brock brought his Japanese Book of Mormon and asked him to sign it.  He said no.  haha.  Thats ok.  I am proud of him for asking.  He took it well. 

He walked around and had the youth answer questions.  My friends daughter was picked.  I snapped a picture for her.  

We went early on Sunday morning as well.  Dane and Eve were thrilled to see him. I love that my children love the prophets.  
 

Noah's Thespian-ism

Noah had quite a year with "lights" this year.  The lead lights guy, Gavin, and Noah's mentor quit and left Noah and Sonjia to figure out the light booth on their own.  Noah felt inadequate and untrained.  He truly stepped to the plate and owned it like the whole world depended on him figuring it out.  Most of the time I was trying to convince him that everyone recognized he was a 15 year old kid and that they didn't expect a him to know everything or to be a lighting professional, he could never believe me.  I also spent a good chunk of time trying to convince him that he too could quit.  High school is about trying new things out and no one expected or demanded that something he joined his freshman year had to be seen through all the way to the end of senior year, he, also, could never believe me.  But regardless, I am actually really proud of him.  It is hard to take full ownership of something and he truly did.  He was loyal, invested, hard working, self sacrificing, creative, and basically "all in", even when he didn't want to be.  

It is pretty fun to go and watch a performance and enter "his world" where he is in charge.

Him teaching Noah.

Noah has become "friends" with the other theater and tech kids.  I say "friends" because he doesn't hang out with them outside of theater but while he is there he enjoys their company and gets along with them.  I have been proud of how well he has balanced this part of his life.  These kids aren't a great influence and Noah quickly saw that but also quickly learned how to be in their world but not of their world.  He has held onto his testimony while learning to love and appreciate those with different beliefs and life styles.  That is a hard thing to do, but something we have been asked to do.  We all have a little to learn from Noah.

At the year end party/award show, "The Hurley's", Noah was inaugurated into the Thespian Society and also Lettered in Drama.

 Yay for Noah!!!  

Brock's Birthday

Megan's birthday got pushed back a few days and Brock's birthday got pushed up a day, so we had to have 2 birthday picture walls, so Brock's went up in the front/dinning room.  Brock got his wisdom teeth out a few days before his birthday, so it was kind of a bust.  For his dinner he WANTED steak but he couldn't chew it so I made sesame chicken.  And he was going to go to Golden Corral with his friends, but he worried he wouldn't be able to eat everything, so we postponed it.  But with the business of  the end of school we still haven't done it.  So he invited Cam and Dillon to our house for dinner and cake.  

He didn't ask for much.  Ashley got him metal chop sticks, grandma got him hair rubber bands and a volleyball, and we got him a Chinese book of Mormon.

We also went around and told Brock about a trait we admire about him/want to emulate.  Here they are:

Mads - Generosity

Cam - never give up
Dillon - competitiveness
Mom - humility
Megan- good big brother
Eve- hide and seek
Dane - play volley ball with me with the real volley ball
Dad - reliance.
Brock - athleticism