Jeanie Pearl, Baby Girl

Snowflake High School will sadly not get to educate(hahaha) anymore students from the Gary & Sarah Brimhall children. The last, Jeanie Pearl Brimhall graduated and we are so proud of her. Jeanie is the baby baby of our family. I was in third grade and I still remember Lashelle Schneider asking me if my mom was pregnant. I said no because James was the baby, and there was no way my mom was pregnant with another baby. Well a while later, it was a Sunday afternoon and my Dad was saying the prayer for dinner. He was blessing the food etc. then he said, "And please bless mom, while she is pregnant that she won't be so sick(something like that)." So she was pregnant and we were getting a new baby. I was so excited. Then came the day when my mom went to the hospital to have the baby, then she came home without a baby. I remember being so mad at her. I mean didn't she know I was ready for that baby to come out. Well eventually Jeanie Pearl was born and we evened out the numbers to 3 boys and 3 girls. We all adored Jeanie. I remember this one thing we did with her particularly well. We had this smaller chair and we would put her in it. Then we would gather all of our jewels(dress up jewelry), money, etc and we throw it at her feet and chant and bow,"We praise, thy name, to Jeanie Pearl Brimhall." Kind of sacrilegious probably, but we just loved her so much. Jeanie is everything I wished I was more of. She is confidant, smart, independent, brave, adventurous, and so much more. I am so proud of the woman she has become. I am always so proud to call her my sister. I am especially excited because she will be attending ASU West in the fall, on scholarship mind you. ASU West just happens to be about 4 miles from where we live. No I am not going to smother her, but I am excited that she will be close by. Congrats Jeanie. We are all so proud of our sweet Jeanie Pearl, Baby Girl.

AT LAST!!!

"AT LAST" is the title of my favorite Etta James song. Well we can now say, AT LAST, Matt got into Medical School. We heard last Monday that he has been accepted to Midwestern, here in Glendale, and we couldn't be more happy. It's been such a long hard road getting here, but I knew we could do it all along. Matt has worked so incredibly hard and finally no longer will he have to say that he is pre med. We are so grateful that it happened when it did. I feel like Matt has learned so much doing his Masters that will only help him for the next four years. There were times when we were both so frustrated and discouraged, but he kept on going. He's amazing, he's amazing, he's amazing. I can't say it enough. We were willing to go anywhere for school, but lucky enough are we to get to stay here in Arizona. Oh how I love Arizona. I love it over here in Glendale too. Matt also has been put on the wait list at A.T. Still University in Mesa as well. He loves Midwestern though so it all worked out great. During the whole process I kept asking myself what does Heavenly Father want to teach us, or want us to learn in all of this. Well I can say that I have learned to trust in Heavenly Father, and know that he does hear our prayers and knows the desires of our heart. I have also learned patience, and to put my faith in him. I came to a conclusion a few months ago that even if we didn't get in to Midwestern and we ended up in the Caribbean, that everything would still be okay. He knows what is best for us. I am so grateful for the wonderful family that we have. They have helped us out so much, and I'm so happy to be getting to stay close to home. We really are so blessed. So here's to us. Oh it feels good.

So Proud

My sweet older brother Darrell graduated this past week from...Medical School. It was a great experience being able to attend his graduation and see the look on his face now that he's done(minus residency of course). I remember sitting at his white coat ceremony 4+ years ago and I remember thinking how long 4 years seemed. Now that it's here, it feels like such a short time. Darrell went to U of A, Phoenix Campus. He was apart of the first class and we are all so proud of him. Ever since I was a little girl he always said he was going to be a doctor, and now he is. I am so lucky and grateful to have him for my brother. He is so sweet to Matt and myself and he has done so much for us. Darrell has been so supportive of us and our efforts to attend medical school. At one point we even lived with them when we both lost our jobs so Matt could stay in school.

After the graduation we went and celebrated. We were probably a little too rowdy, but how often does someone graduate from Medical School. For the past eight or so months I have been switching off babysitting Darrell and Kendra's kids while she has been working and I have been so grateful for that. I really do love their kids, almost as they were my own. I caught myself a few times looking at them and wondering if they had any idea the hard work their dad, and mom had gone thru to be there that night, celebrating. It made me ache, long, excited for what the future holds for Matt and I. I only hope that in 4+ years it will be us celebrating with family.

Zumba, Mothers Day, THE FIT SHE THREW

For Mother's Day, I went and spent it with my mother. Matt had to study so up Jayden, Jolie and I went. There was a Zumba thing going on Saturday so Becky(James' wife), Jeanie, My Mom, and myself went and danced our buns off in the bright sun for a few hours. I had a lot of fun shaking my tail feather and getting a pretty NOT awesome tan line. I always want to do something special for my mom because she has been the greatest mom to me, but she is a horrible gift receiver. I still love you though Mom. I wanted to get her something nice for her house, but it's her house and if she wants something, then she'll pick it out, in her style. So Jeanie and I decided to give her a work day. Perfect Right. My parents have a train car that they've been using for storage and over the last few years it just became disorganized and messy. So we cleaned out the train car and I my mom said it was the best gift we could have given her. I miss those kind of days. I live in an apartment and it's rare that I get to get outside and really get dirty and sweaty and gross. I love that feeling though, like I've accomplished so much. It was a great day.

So Sunday comes along, and we made crepes for breakfast for my mom. Punks Jayden and Jolie didn't do anything for me. It's like they didn't know or something(can you tell I am being sarcastic). Then we get to church and my child(Jolie Kate) is horrible. Now Jolie has been such a good baby, child, toddler etc. No she isn't perfect, but I can usually get her to be well behaved. Well this particular Sunday she was not having it. She was horrible the 1st hour, annoying the second, then Satan the third. I sat in primary with her in my moms class and the little boy gets up to give his scripture and he has trouble finding it so there is a huge moment of silence. Jolie starts yelling "GO, GO, GO!" So I take her out and let her roam the halls. Too much freedom for the little chick and she just kept throwing herself on the ground, making me look like I had no idea what to do with a kid. I finally had enough and decided to just sit in the car with her. So I take her out to my parents car, and start to strap her in her seat(she was already throwing a fit when we got there). As soon as I begin to put her in, she does the annoying arch back thing, so I am basically pinning her down so I can buckle her in. Once I get her in she starts smacking her face with her hands, pulling out her hair(literally), like ripping her mouth with her hands, kicking, and then she looks at me in the eyes as she's yelling and screaming and says, "MOMMA, MOMMA, MOMMA!!!" I just sat there in shock. Never has she once acted like this. She did this for the next 5 minutes. She quickly wore herself out and fell asleep and did the whimper in her sleep until we were home. Seriously, what happened to my child? What possessed her? Let me tell you it was not the Mother's Day present I was looking for. So I figured Mother's Day is really for when you are older . That's when you can really enjoy it. When your kids are grown and they treat you so well, and they appreciate all the things you did/do for them. So I guess I will just have to wait a few years before I get to really feel special and loved on Mothers Day.
P.S. When Jayden got in the car and I told him the story of how horrible Jolie was he just kept laughing and laughing. Then I asked him to give me a kiss, and he said, "Wait Mom, Give me a kiss on the lips." It was pretty sweet so I guess I had a good day after all.

Still In LOVE

Do you ever have those days when you can't imagine being any happier? Well I experienced quite a few of those days this last weekend. Our amazing Jayden Monroe turned 4 years old on Sunday. He was due April 25th, but didn't come until May 1st. At the time I was so annoyed that he would be a May baby and that I had to wait, but he was well worth the wait. May 1st is such a special day for me. Not only is it Jayden's birthday, but it is the day I became a mother. It is the day I realized how much love a parent has for their children. It is the day that I realized how much my mom went thru in order to bring all of her kids into the world. It is the day that I really realized how strong of a woman I can be. I was amazed by my own strength and it was the most empowering experience I have ever had in my life.
Jayden has truly been such a joy. He has such a special spirit and I am so lucky to be his mom. Jayden is so kind and thoughtful. He is also very protective of me and also to others he cares about. He is not your average rambunctious boy. He is gentle and soft, quiet and loud, funny and creative, and he is a perfect combination of both of our families. I have a special place in my heart for all of my brothers, each for a different reason. Jayden reminds me so much of my youngest brother James. I remember James being such a sweet and soft hearted boy(still is). James had these dark huge eyes when he was little and Jayden has those same eyes, just blue. He is so special to me and to so many others.
Jayden has a bit of an obsessive personality I guess you could say. He has a passion for Star Wars and Superheros and that is what his birthday was all about. He finally decided on a Star Wars cake. I really wanted it to be great and had marvelous plans for it. Well he wanted to help so badly and at first I wasn't wanting him to help because I wanted it to be perfect. Well I quickly realized that it was Jayden's birthday and if helping make his cake was what he wanted, than that was all that really mattered. He is very detailed oriented like Matt and it's so fun to watch him when he gets creative. It was a great weekend. These past four years have blown by and I am so excited that I get to watch him grow.