The Cast

Here is a picture of Bridgete and her cast. It is definitely pink.

Spencer Levi Schramm

Today, this cute kid turned 8.

He has been dying to turn eight!

Why is that you might ask?

Well, as Spencer said,

"When you turn 8 you finally get baptized.

When you turn 8, you can be a cub scout!"

So tonight when I tucked him in after a fun filled day with a killer birthday party (thank you very much:), we planned his baptism and then he said, "Have you bought my scout uniform yet?"

He is one excited kid.

Happy Birthday Spencer.

My dream boat.

My gentle giant.

My inventor.

My builder.

My deep thinker.

My collector.

My Mama's boy.

My sweet son.

I love you so much.

Sophie

Sophie Mae

Also known as: Mooner, Ofer, Moochlax, Mumu and Sofer.

Oh how I love her.

May 8, 2009 we almost lost her. I remember riding in the ambulance with the special pediatric team to UC Davis Hospital.

To mark the anniversary, on May 8, 2010, Bridgete fell off a slide and broke her arm. I called the doctor and the doctor said to take her to the UC Davis Ped. ER.

So there I was, a year to the day at UC Davis Hospital.

So thankful to be there only for a broken arm.

So thankful for the year that had passed.

So thankful for my yummy chubby little girl.

To My Mother

Happy Mother's Day! My mom is the best. And I will give you 10 reasons why:

1. She loves me. She love my children and my husband. They can feel the love she has for them and so can I.

2. She is so thoughtful. Every present she gives and every card she sends you KNOW she went to great lengths to find it. She knows the size of all my children perfectly without seeing them often. She knows what might spark their interest and she is always right. That is a serious gift.

3. She cooks with love. She wants to feed your body and your soul. You can't help but feel more loved after finishing a meal of hers. An example would be: Italian delight cooked only in her mother's pot.

4. She is strong. Super strong - as in don't arm wrestle her. She will win. Ummm I didn't inherit that brute strength.

5. She has faith. Pure, simple, unwaivering faith.

6. She loves her Heavenly Father and I have always known that. I remember as a little girl running to her bedroom to tell her something, and I would find her praying. She wouldn't interrupt her prayer to see what I wanted, she would just keep praying.

7. She loves babies and babies love her. I have yet to see a grandchild who didn't love my mother's arms. Who wouldn't? A Grammy who is soft and always warm...it is a baby's paradise.

8. She is a night owl. I know that if I need to chat at 10:30 at night, she most definitely will be awake.

9. She is ladylike. She has the manners that a woman should have. She looks perfect before stepping out of her room and she always smells good. Oh, if she saw how I look when I take my kids to school, it would be very sad.

10. She loves her husband. Their love has been an example to me, my brothers and sisters and to many others. They have had so many trials and hardtimes in their lives, but their love never waivered. It has been a blessing to watch them together my whole life.

And those are only some of my reasons why my mom is the best. She is wonderful and I am blessed to be her daughter.

Happy Mother's Day

Birthday fun

Well, this past Saturday, I turned 36. That is right...36.

I kept telling Spencer, "Can you believe I am 36?" (all the while I am hoping his answer is what I want to hear)

He would say, "Mom, I can't believe it. you look 20 or younger!"

Bless you Spencer.

I asked him that question a dozen times just to hear his answer.

We went camping over the weekend so my birthday was celebrated camping style at Indian Grinding Rock. My sweet friend, Jenn Howard made me the most scrumptious chocolate cake and brought it over on Friday so we took it with us. Dave was soooo relieved. Saturday, after making french toast and bacon (a traditional camping breakfast) Dave gave me a card and my present in an empty Capri Sun box that was about to be tossed in the fire. The kids all found paper in the tent trailer and made me a card. It was sweet.

The night before was rough. Sophie was teething and not super happy. I had just got her to sleep when three dogs come running into our campsite with a noisy owner yelling after them. They had just pulled in to the site across from us. Needless to say, Sophie woke up startled and I wasn't happy. Dave told the guy we were trying to lay our baby down...a subtle hint to be quiet. We all eventually turned in about 10:30pm. All the while, our new neighbors were getting louder and more and more drunk.

At 12:30am, we hear yelling and punches being thrown. I do believe I heard more cussing that night more than I have in my entire life. It was scary and Dave luckily had reception and called 911. he told them what was going on and that he was a sheriff for Sacramento County. I think that helped speed things along :) The cops came and warned them to be quiet or they'd be arrested.

At 2:30am, they were back at it with the yelling and screaming. It was the same guys making trouble again. So Dave called and told them what was going on and the cops showed up shortly after. Our neighbors heard Dave on the phone and suddenly it was quiet. You could hear people running to hide. But they were so drunk they couldn't keep quiet at all. They figured out real quick where they were. They found the guy who was the biggest problem. We know that because suddenly you heard ,"Help 911...help, police brutality!" He yelled and screamed like a girl. They said he was so drunk he couldn't even walk. They also arrested his girlfriend. It was crazy. All the while, Sophie kept waking up. I think I slept 2 hours that night.

Ok, so back to my birthday. After breakfast (and noticing our neighbors were packing up and leaving), we headed over to the museum and to see the Indian grinding rock and teepee's. It was amazing! Everyone loved it. We hiked a little, then drove to town for pizza. After naps for the baby and Dave, we wanted to do some good hiking. We didn't have any takers except Bridgete (and Sophie of course). So we set out and it was great. Bridget kept up the whole time at my pace. Dave calls me billy goat Bishop when we hike:) And Bridgete was right there behind me. We hiked all the trails and it made me so happy.

Ok, I'd rather have a birthday picture of me with some makeup on, but hey, we are camping. And what is up with Dave's tough guy face?

That night was sooo quiet. No interruptions, just the sounds of nature (and sometimes Sophie).

It was quite the birthday weekend.

tired

Every night for the past week and a half, someone has stood by my bedside and woke me up...The reasons vary:

coughing attack from asthma,

a bad dream,

a headache,

a baby crying and waking up a sleepy sister,

and even the precious dog has whined to go outside (his new found love of diapers and granola bar wrappers hasn't been setting well with him.)

I asked today, "Why don't you go on Daddy's side?" The answer, "I don't know...I just go straight to your side." :)

I think if they didn't come to my side I would be sad.

Luckily Dave doesn't feel that way at all. He asks how the night went because he snoozes right through it. He considers it a talent he has.

I say...it is because he's a man :)

In the springtime

The garden has been planted.

Everyday we check for new signs of life from the seeds we planted a week ago.

Our plum and peach tree are loaded with little tiny fruits. Sadly, our apricot tree has none.

It had a traumatic winter and got blown over during a nasty storm.

We weren't sure it made it but eventually leaves started to appear.

But no blossoms....no fruit.

I LOVE apricots right off the tree.

It is my favorite fresh picked fruit.

Next year.

I can't wait for the kids to be swimming all summer long and enjoying our plums and peaches in between cannon balls. Next year they will enjoy apricots, too. I just know it!

That reminds me.....summer.....swimsuits.

I got some work to do!

Big time.

Sophie is a year and I stopped nursing two months ago, so I guess that excuse is out the door.

Darn.

Who is with me?

(If you are already swimsuit ready, don't tell me. That is just wrong!)