Bradley Family: Seriously So Blessed: June 15th & 16th Oh and My Birfday!

Derek,

Oh man oh man. It has been another couple of crazy days. I don't think that I will let a day go by while you are gone that isn't crazy. It is the only way to stay sane, you know, to be kinda crazy. It is working for me. Holy Moly Guacamole, I am so in love with our kids. They are driving me crazy, but I can't help but love them so much. They are so busy and so just thrown off, yet they are resilient and determined and are so full of love. I have no idea how to get Kael to sleep at night. The kid does not want to miss a thing in this life. As much as I have thought he has the energy to never miss anything I think it is wearing on the kid. I'm so proud of them. Last night Shell and I were able to go to the temple in Columbus Ohio. It was amazing. It was beautiful and safe. I hope we can go to as many temples as possible wherever we end up in life. It made me realize how much work there is to do in this life. I left with a greater resolve to do family history. Brian had several names that needed work done and I was able to help participate in getting their work done. It made me grateful for the people who volunteer their time at the temple as regular workers. They are so important and needed. I am just in amazement at the amount of work to be done here on earth. There are so many people living and deceased who need to hear about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I need to be more devoted to this work and I am starting now.

My birthday has been simply wonderful. I have felt the love of those around me from our family and friends. This day has truly been fabulous and it wouldn't have been without the people who love me. I am so grateful to all of the people who support me. I love you Derek with all my heart. Thank you for the beautiful flowers. Thank you for letting me come see Shelly and her family to help support me. I feel so loved. I know that my Heavenly Father has been helping me through this, and by his angels here on earth taking care of me and Kael and Eden and most importantly you. I'm so grateful we can do this. As difficult as this trial has been for us, I feel like I am a stronger person. I thought going to the Philippines when I was 16 was hard, and that if I could get through that I could get through anything. I had no idea how difficult it would be to be away from the man I love for 6 weeks. I feel like that was so simple and easy compared to this. I know I will grow from this experience and I am grateful for the growth. Thank you for giving this to me. As for another birthday passed, I feel the same, but I feel more grateful and blessed. I feel that each and every year is a blessing and I love remembering all the wonderful memories we are making together. I am so grateful for our two beautiful children. My family is everything to me. You 3 complete my life. I miss you Derek. I love you! Thank you for this beautiful, fabulous day today. I can't wait to see you! Stay safe. I'm always thinking of you.

Love you forever,

Sharice

June 15, 2011

Sharice in front of the Columbus, Ohio temple.

Classic lean back and take of photo of yourself.

Sharice and Shellianne

Columbus, Ohio Temple

I can't forget to mention that we got lost on the way home and our 1.5 hr drive took 2.5 hrs... We had fun getting stuck behind 100 semi trucks and got home after midnight. It was so worth it though!

Kael trying to fix bikes.

Kael loves riding this pink bike they got Megan at a garage sale. It is actually quite a perfect size for him.

Jeffrey and Aunt Sharice. We are buddies.

Kael fell off his bike and needed a hug from Mom. The kid is getting heavy...

Kael absolutely loves riding bikes into each other. The boys love it, but I fear we will have problems when we get back to the village.

Classic Shellianne taking a picture of Sharice when she isn't ready... Nice.

The weather was perfect for a photo op and we had all the kids dressed in fun bright colors. We got bubbles and thought that might help them, but nope it didn't. Poor Eden got bonked and bit her lip pretty bad where it bled. So, we had popsicles instead. They were a hit.

I do happen to think I got a fairly cute picture of Kael though. He is so busy and has a hard time holding still for a picture lately. He used to love to pose, but now he can't miss anything!

Eden eating her popsicle after she bit her lip.

Mom and Eden. She needed lots of love.

But she loved her popsicle.

She was too sad to smile though.

All 5 kids lined up after our futile attempt at cute photos. Reminded me and Shell of lining up outside of Grandma Sapp's house as a kids and taking photos.

Eden, Kael, Jeffrey, Ben, and Megan.

June 16, 2011

Aunt Shelly and kids at the Discovery Gardens. This place is awesome! Best part. Free. It is so beautiful and green and teaches the kids about plants. We are headed back tomorrow with packed lunches and swimsuits because they have an awesome water area.

Aunt Shell and Eden at the gardens.

Eden being cute as can be.

Another cute one of Eden.

Kael playing in some sand at the gardens.

Kael's super cute face.

All 5 kids in this super cute little house at the gardens.

There were too many pictures of Kael and Eden in this adorable little house that made it hard to pick only a few. I have a gazillion of Eden eating raisins. She was so cute in the little chairs. I really wanted Kael to poke his head out of the window, but he really doesn't pose at all and I'm lucky to get the photos I do get. This really was such a fun way to spend my birthday. The kids had fun, and that means Mom has fun! We brought home McDonals for lunch and then the kids napped. The kids slept so good. Relief. I actually got a nap. I was awakened by a knock on the door. I thought maybe Kael got up, but Shell said it was a package for me. I immediately awoke from my dream state and ran to the door. I opened the package to find these beauties.

Don't mind my face, I was reading how to keep them alive. I was really jumping up and down and hugging Shellianne. I got beautiful flowers from the love of my life and an amazing love note. What could be better than that?! Oh man. I was so happy! I didn't know if I would get to hear from Derek today or not and then to get this! He truely is the best husband a girl could ask for! I am so lucky he is mine!!! I LOVE YOU DEREK! THANK YOU!

My beautiful flowers! He knows me well. I love love love fresh flowers. The way they smell. The way they make the room a little brighter. The way the light up my life like my husband does. I feel a little closer to Derek today. I love you!

My love note. He kinda loves me. A lot!

My birthday cake. The S is because I'm super woman turns out. I thought it just standed for Sharice. I was so wrong. ;)

The boys all helped me to blow them out. We then repeated several times. It was fun and Kael is really getting good at it. It made me excited for his birthday in August!

Megan and Kael decided they needed to stick their hands in the cake... So, Shell decided she needed to stick her hand in too, and well you can see what happened. It was the best cake fight ever! Go to Shell's blog here for a detailed video of the cake fight. It was AMAZING! Everyone was coming after me as it was my birthday and I had to defend myself. I've never really been in a food fight before. I can see why people do it. It was super fun!