kael

i had the following conversation with kael today.
kael: mom cullan is not your honey, only I am your honey cause I have green eyes like you. cullan and briea have blue eyes like daddy, so they are not your honeys, only me.
me: can't i have more than one honey?
kael: no just me cause I have green eyes like you!!

he is so funny. he just cracks me up. today i had briea-bugs hair in pig tails again.
kael looked at her and then looked at me and said
"mom, why does she have those hangers on her head?"

An Amazing Experience

yesterday was a truly amazing experience. we held our "filler up" fundraiser for ollie. we were at crossroads hy-vee from 11-7. i was overwhelmed. the kindness of strangers is truly amazing. i was in charge of the crossroads location. it was so cold. i think the high was 11. we had the best volunteers. even though people were cold they worked hard and stayed late. they were awesome. here is a picture of me putting some of our first donations in the bucket.

it truly was FREEZING!! here are some of the volunteers i worked with. this is Malissa. she goes to church with us. chris o. also goes to church with us. my sister in law even came out to help!
i was brought to tears multiple times by the kindness of complete strangers. people would drive through the gas station and say things like " i don't need any gas, but i saw your story on the news" and would just hand us money. we had other people that would come through, hear what we were there for and say "well i don't have much money" but they would put 9 dollars in their tank and give us the extra dollar. i have multiple stories of kindness that i will have to record another time, but it was a very emotional day. this man here was definitely a good Samaritan. he came and got gas, gave a donation, and then went inside and bought all the volunteers breakfast because he said we looked cold. he then pulled his car into the gas station and parked. he said he had some work to do on his lap top, so he would just sit and if any of us needed to warm up, we could go sit in his car for a few minutes. he was very kind. speaking of kindness. this is Libby. she was the store manager at the crossroads location. she was AMAZING!! she brought out free hot chocolate for the volunteers all day long, along with free hand warmers. she was constantly out checking on us and even brought us some lunch. this is stacy, my good friend and olivers mom. she went to each gas station yesterday and worked with the volunteers. here she is with susie!stacy & meghan
it was so stinking cold. this was only about three hours in and i am pretty sure i was numb from the waste down at this point. this is myself, amy b, and stacy
amy is on the ollies all stars committee also. she floated with stacy yesterday and helped at each location. these two ladies are so much fun. i was glad we got to work together for a while yesterday.
after it started to get dark, it became brutal outside. it was so cold. people would ask me "aren't you cold" my response was "i don't think there is a word that describes what i am right now"!
i can not stress enough though how great everyone was. it was so much fun working yesterday. despite the super cold weather, it was a blast. here is andrea filling it up!! she looks like the blue bandit robber. ;0)this is karen, olivers grandmother. she is so funny. she was cleaning windows and pumping gas. she is so much fun to have around!!
like i said, after the sun went down it was so insanely cold. but i had such great help. here are a few more of our volunteers. the boecksthe freestones & the rodabushs
yesterday was a wonderful day that far exceeded anything that any of us could have dreamed of. despite the cold, the five layers I had to peel off, and the shivering that did not stop until around 3:00 am, IT WAS COMPLETELY WORTH IT!!
i am grateful that i was able to do some service for a dear friend and her family. i am grateful that so many people gave of their time and financially. it renewed my hope in the kindness of strangers. i could not say enough good about how yesterday worked out.(garran, elders, randy @ logan)
i also have to say how awesome my husband is. one of the other gas stations was running low on volunteers so he spent the whole day 11-6 pumping gas at the Logan location. i am married to a great man and i know it was a moving day for him as well. i think both our hearts were touched by the kindness we experienced yesterday.

Filler Up For Ollie

**TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY**
Tomorrow is our first BIG fundraiser for the Palmer Family. I am so excited. I just have a really good feeling that it will go really well. We will be at all Metro Hy-Vee Gas stations in the CF/Waterloo Area. (Logan, Crossroads, College Square). We will be there from 11-6 filling tanks, washing windows, etc. We would love to see you!! Hy-Vee has announced that they will give a significant gas discount with any $30.00 purchase in the store. Please come out and support this wonderful family!!

Head Shaving Extravaganza!!

well last night we attended the Bald is Beautiful: Head Shaving Extravaganza for Oliver Palmer!
we had so much fun. there was a great turnout, and the kids had a blast playing.
our after shot does not have as many because some people left before i could get them all in. however, here is the star of the evening...Oliver did awesome shaving his head and was pretty much all smiles.
here are a few other before and after shots.Ollie's grandpa Palmer**garran **Krista did not go completely bald, but she did give a good bit to locks of love!i had so many before and after pics i just had to collage a bunch.the picture on the left is Oliver with his grandma young. then the one on the right is the fun beginning!!Stacy and her mom were so funny. Karen was super brave and went for it. off went that hair!!
after Ollie and grandma went, we pretty much just lined people up and started shaving.grandpa Palmer is all business, Ollie is rocking it, & one last kiss goodbye to all that hair.mike & randythese boys were so sweet & well who could not use a good laugh...i had some fun with his hair before we went completely bald!Oliver was so excited to shave his dad's head. it was so funny. he was just laughing and smiling as the hair fell to the floor.time to bic those heads. this is garran shaving ollie's grandpa's head. it was like a barber shop at church last night. ;0)ed finishing up Oliver's head and then having a little fun with his own.while we wish we did not have to meet under these circumstances, we had a great time and sent home 21 people with beautifully bald heads. i was so glad i was able to snap a quick picture of the boys with Oliver. they just love playing with him and his brothers and sister. we were so happy to be there to support our friends last night.
if you would like to learn more about Oliver's condition, you can go to
www.olliesallstars.blogspot.com

piggy-tails

this is the first time i have been able to give her pig tails. she was so cute, i had to post all four pictures!! i love my boys, but girls are so stinkin sweet.

tomorrow is the day

i don't know..what do you think?
will he be this cute bald??
it does not matter..he is doing it for a good reason!
pictures to come of one awesome head shaving party!!

Marjorie Pay Hinckley

i found these through a friend. I loved listening to Marjorie Hinckley. These are some great quotes. Some just make me smile!

"We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are."

"Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

"Be a Mother who is committed to loving her children into standing on higher ground than the environment surrounding them.
Mother's are endowed with a love that is unlike any other love on the face of the earth."

"Think about your particular assignment at this time in your life. It may be to get an education, it may be to rear children, it may be to be a grandparent, it may be to care for an relieve the suffering of someone you love, it may be to do a job in the most excellent way possible, it may be to support someone who has a difficult assignment of their own. Our assignments are varied and they change from time to time. Don't take them lightly. Give them your full heart and energy. Do them with enthusiasm. Do whatever you have to do this week with your whole heart and soul. To do less than this will leave you with an empty feeling."

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautiful tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt form making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my nails from helping weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheek and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived. "

"The trick is to enjoy life. Don't wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead"

"I know it is hard for you young mothers to believe that almost before you can turn around the children will be gone and you will be alone with your husband. You had better be sure you are developing the kind of love and friendship that will be delightful and enduring. Let the children learn from your attitude that he is important. Encourage him. Be kind. It is a rough world, and he, like everyone else, is fighting to survive. Be cheerful. Don't be a whiner."

"There are some years in our lives that we would not want to live again. But even these years will pass away, and the lessons learned will be a future blessing.

farewell fun!

tonight i went to a going away dinner for these two ladies...

megan and reggie
i have know megan for a few years know and reggie for almost 9 years. we have gone to church together and been in the same ward a few times. they are each heading in different directions and we are going to miss them when they leave.(malissa, eunice, reggie, stacy)
we had fun tonight. these ladies are so funny. we were laughing and crying and everything in between!stacy and i hamming it up for the camera...if i get it from her, she has a great picture that involves cake!!megan and jenelle getting ready to enjoy some cake!reggie opening her willow tree from someone at the party. this picture is so cute!
i will have to post the other pictures when i get them from stacy. we had such a good time. i hope that reggie and megan enjoy their new homes and have safe travels getting there!

meghan....your son in bleeding!

that is what was said as i sat in a meeting this morning working with some others on fundraising. all of a sudden a friends mom came in, she had been down in the gym helping with all the kids and said, "Meghan, your son is bleeding"
i jumped up and ran down there, only to find him sitting on another friend Amy's lap talking with her and Stacy. he was not crying...just sitting there holding a paper towel to his head. Amy told me that he would probably need stitches, all i could think to say was "awesome".
i have no clue why i said that, i think i was just taken a little off guard. so my friend stacy and i loaded cullan up in the van and headed to the ER. here is cullan on the hospital bed.he was so funny. he did not cry at all. on the way there, stacy said "cullan, should we say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to help with your head" cullan replied "i don't know if that will make my head better." Stacy went ahead and said the prayer, after Cullan replied "Well is my head better now?" We were both dying laughing.
anyways we got to the hospital and they put us in a room. sorry its blurry, its from my cell phone. the nurse came in and looked at it and then moved us to another room. finally the came back in and decided that they would be able to just glue it instead of stitches!! SIGH...i was super relieved about that. i did not want him to have to get stitches.
so here are a few pictures of the finished project.this is what a door and a crazy tri-cycle will get you. sorry about the messy face. he just had a muffin when i took these pictures!!
thanks Amy for taking care of him, and thanks Stacy for riding along to the ER. it was nice to have someone to laugh with!

competition

i think garran is always going to be in competition with kael, here is why.
last night i was on the couch. garran and kael both came in the living room at the same time. i said to garran, "come sit by me, i am cold, i can snuggle up next to you and keep warm". right as i say this, kael takes a running start for the couch and slides right into to where garran was going to sit before garran could do anything. garran just glared and kael and shook his fist. then kael said something that still makes me laugh.
kael: dad i snuggle with mom, keep her warm. you snuggle there with snuggie.
yep that's right. he told garran to sit on the other end of the couch and that he could snuggle with my snuggie. so he did. kael was victorious and he showed it. he would look down the couch at garran and smile or laugh. he is such a funny boy and he loves his mom!!

just pictures of my kids

bad weather = lots of pictures of my kiddos!