Heather the runner

Heather ran a half marathon last summer. Yes, that's a little more than 13 miles. She decided, she trained and she ran because that's the kind of girl she is. Heather is determined.

Heather Flake Kramer

Heather married Austin Kramer on the day before Thanksgiving, 2005. She is an interesting girl. She used to always say that she would never marry a guy who would wear a blue shirt to church, wasn't an AP on his mission or wasn't a 12th generation Mormon. I think what she meant to say was that she hoped to marry an adulthood convert who served a mission in Chile and loved wearing blue shirts to church!



As a side note, I actually met Austin for the first time when I walked up to congratulate him after the sealing ceremony in the temple.



As another side note, Heather once went brown. No one liked it but Joel and Austin. Heather is beautiful as a blonde, don't ya think?

Heather the fourth

Heather is the designated family pianist. For a few years there, Heather was too young to keep up with me and Joel in our piano talent. Justin also took, but wasn't much into it. Heather kept at it, flying under the radar until the time was ripe. My Mom and Dad moved to Kentucky to begin their mission. Justin was about to go on a mission, I was about to go on a mission, Joel was on a mission. It was Heather's time to shine. For a period of three years, she probably played publicly an average of 2-3 times a week! She played hymns for church meetings and baptisms, accompanied musical numbers and played piano solos for firesides, etc. Since that time, no one has played for any family event except Heather. She is the designated family pianist. That means that if anyone will be performing any musical number when Heather is present, Heather is asked to accompany them. All musical issues are discussed first and foremost with Heather.

This year Heather started teaching piano lessons. I can tell you, she has some very lucky students!

Heather Day 3

Oldest sisters are sometimes protective of their younger siblings. This has probably been more true for me with Heather than anybody else. Heather is epileptic, you see. This is something you may not know because she controls it with medicine. One thing, aside from missing her schedule medications, can really give her trouble. Missing sleep. Once when we were both single and living in Provo, Heather and I were home in Boise visiting our parents. Heather's medicine was a little off track, her sleep was off track and she was feeling it. We were at our aunt's house and Heather was "jerky". When an epileptic's body is jerky it is a warning sign of a possible seizure coming. My parents saw the warning signs and decided to head home. We were in the front row of my parent's minivan and I had my arm around Heather. She was jerking pretty significantly. My Dad pulled into a gas station to try and help. That's when Heather had a seizure in my arms. Right there in my arms! I felt so helpless. There was nothing I could do but hold her. The worst part comes after the seizure, though, when Heather realizes what has happened and is so discouraged with herself. Like it's her fault! I hate seeing her like that. Her husband can tell you that I am very mean when it comes to people keeping her up past her bedtime or not taking sufficient care of her when she is jerky.

Heather Day 2

Many of my siblings had the chance to live with each other for extended periods of time. The only sibling I officially lived anywhere near was Heather. Heather lived above me for one summer (The summer after my mission and after she graduated from highschool). We didn't do a ton together, but we had fun when we did. Heather was a good almost roommate.

The Month of Heather

Being part of a big family is almost always a good thing. Occasionally, however, one may find themself feeling a bit left out. I would be lying if I said I'd never experienced such emotions. I have many very cool siblings and never like to be left out (even if it is because I happen to live across the country from them). My sister, Heather, spent a couple of years living in Boise with my parents and my brother, Joel. They had A LOT of fun. I felt left out more than a few times. How could their lives go on without me? What was so funny all of the time? Why could they never talk when I called and they were all together. I guess this experience helps me to empathize a little when anyone else may feel the same thing. And when it came to my attention that my sweet, dear and incredibly beautiful sister felt that way, well, something had to be done. So I've pulled out all the stops and named May The Month of Heather. That's right, friends, for the next 30 days you will hear nothing about anything but my fun and cool sister. She's funny, she's exciting, you'll like it all. And if you don't, check back in June.



Fun Fact #1: Did you know that Heather is 3 years and 3 months younger than I am. We're actually four grades apart, though. Anyway, many people who have known our family generally over the years, the kind of people who knew they had a daughter of a certain age and another daughter of another age would always guess Heather to be the older. Up until about last year, Heather liked it. Now she's a lot more vocal about being the younger sister, I think. For example, one time right after I got home from my mission, while Heather was a senior in highschool a person approached Heather and asked a few questions about her mission before turning to me to ask about graduation plans, etc. We laugh about it, but the truth is Heather has a very mature spirit. She has always seemed much older and wiser than her age in years. Maybe that's why she was called as the RS President at only 28 years old!

The Anti-Climax

My life is just like this. I obsess for a month trying to decide which outfits are perfect for pictures. In this case, I hunted and shopped off-and-on for about a month trying to find the perfect easter outfits. Then Easter came and went with no pictures. Of course, I wouldn't hear of anyone wearing their new clothes before they were used for pictures! And it seemed like every chance we could've had to take pictures it was either raining or cold. I was starting to think there was an actual danger that the kids would grow out of their clothes before having a chance to wear them! Finally I decided that enough was enough. We were taking the pictures today rain or shine. I announced my plans to Matt and was met with moderate annoyance. The man never wants to take pictures, right? Right as I began to get ready, the hometeachers showed up...and then it started to POUR! After the hometeachers left, I resumed my preparations, all the while hearing rain outside my window. I didn't care, the rain would just have to stop. The kids screamed all through the getting ready phase. Matt was in a pretty bad mood. And then the rain stopped just long enough to take the pictures. New outfits, check. Tolerable weather, check. Darling children, check. Wind, humidity, damp air, no actual photographer-just a timer, check. And there you have it--what happens everytime we take pictures by ourselves. I get my hopes up and then get let down with the inevitable results that come FROM TAKING YOUR OWN FAMILY PICTURES!! What's wrong with me? (Besides the crazy hair and wrinkly shirt?) In my defense, I do have darling children.

Brothers

In the pre-existence the Lord was sorting out families and trying to place each of his children in the optimal circumstances for their learning and growth (atleast that's my theory). When it came time to decide on my family's situation, the Lord knew it would be a difficult choice. Each of my siblings contained gifts and talents that could be learned from by all. Each could easily be a leader or a supporter. All had so much to offer. So, he called his favorite out of the crowd (that would be me:) and asked "Daughter, where would you like to be placed in the order of this vast family?" Without hesitation I replied, "I don't care whether it's at the beginning, middle or end, Father, just put me right between Joel and Justin."

Maybe that's not exactly how it happened. All I know, is if I had been given the choice, that's exactly where I would've asked to be placed.

Sisters are invaluable. I should know, I was blessed with 6 of them. Six beautiful, talented sisters. Each one teaches me things and contributes to my life in ways that I can't count. I was also blessed with four brothers. Derek and Dillon were born at the tail end of the family and thus, were more like cute nephews for a long time. Recently, they have both grown up to be handsome, intelligent, good men. I am proud to call them my brothers and love the time I get to share with them.

Joel and Justin, though, are so much a part of me it's hard to separate them from anything in my past. I was sandwiched just 17 months younger than Joel and only 18 months older than Justin.
My childhood was filled with experiences spent with Joel and Justin. We were good kids together when we were little, got into our share of trouble as teenagers, and shared a lot as adults too.

Fun facts about my brothers:

1. Joel, Justin and I overlapped on our missions for just 1 month. Joel actually came and saw me in the mtc right before I left for Chile and right as he got home from there. Joel served in the Chile Santiago West mission. Justin in the Bolivia Cochabamba mission. I remember when I opened my mission call, I was surprised that it said Chile Santiago South. It felt like I was opening my brother's mission call! I was even more surprised to find out later that I was originally called to the Bolivia Cochabamba mission. I guess the Lord was determined that I would clean up the mess of one brother or another! Ha! They were both amazing missionaries and I managed to live in the shadow of both throughout my mission. That time was one of the highlights in my memories of my brothers. We were separated by huge distances, but we shared so much during that time.

2. Both of my brothers were very good friends with Matt during Jr. High and Highschool. There were many times in the course of our lives when Joel and/or Justin were actually way better friends with Matt than I was! Joel took Matt on his first date, taught him to drive a stick shift and other things. Justin and Matt were also very close during the post-mission times before we got married.

3. Justin lived with me off and on during our college years (against all housing codes). He lived with me for a short while in Rexburg one summer, slept on my couch many times in Provo, and then lived with me before my wedding in my apartment in Orem and then with me and Matt for a while after we were married.

4. Joel and I shared our first jobs together at I Can't Believe it's Yogurt. Justin and I worked together at Revco stocking shelves. Justin and Matt did aerating together one summer as well.

5. Joel busted my lip atleast three time in childhood and one time (accidentally) just a year or two ago! Justin totalled my car once. I'm sure I have done equally aggravating things, but we somehow manage to forgive each other and stay the best of friends.

Since becoming adults, our lives have changed, but our love and friendship with each other has remained. We have leaned on each other in times of hardship and rejoiced in each other's victories. We give unsolicited advice like it's candy and tease each other's children for a little flavor of the old days. I could part with many things in my life, but my brothers are irreplaceable! I love you guys, thanks for giving me some of the best memories of my life!

Easter Confessions

I got home from my sister's wedding at 1am on Easter morning. I got to bed by 2. The kids were up at 7am. Maybe you don't know this about me, but I NEED 8.5 hours of sleep a night. I was very tired. Does that justify the fact that I never had an Easter egg hunt for my kids? Or that my kids' Easter clothes are still hanging, never worn, in the closet? No cute pictures. No egg hunt. What kind of Easter is this? Atleast I made cute Easter baskets with my kids. And my nice friend, Bonnie, had us over for a delicious Easter dinner. Thanks, Bonnie!

Family Update

I've had a lot of people asking me for updates lately. I was with the whole family last weekend, so I decided now would be a great time to catch up on the lives of all of my siblings and my parents.
Dad retired last fall. Since then, he has been working on his life history. He already sent us his chapter about his mission, which was very interesting. He also fills his time with temple work, babysitting his grandkids, and going to Dillon and Cassidy's athletic events. He was recently released as the branch president of their branch and now serves as a High Counselor incharge of missionary work in their Stake. Dad will be 65 this fall.

Mom is Amazing! Between mothering her 11 children, 7 children in-law and 16 grandchildren (with 3 on the way) she has managed to lose 72 lbs since last July! She has become a pro at planning weddings, the last was just last weekend. She serves as the Relief Society President of her branch and still has two kids at home! She looks incredibly young at 57.

Joel is the proud father of 6 children (ages 11 and younger). He lives in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, only a few minutes from my parents. He went to Law School at the University of Michigan, but abandoned the practice of law 3.5 years later to start a pest control company. He owns a cow, chickens, two dogs and numerous cats and lives out in the country on a beautiful piece of property surrounded by mountains. Joel is 33. (Joel also wants you to know he was the captain of his highschool football team :)

This is me. You already know me. Just didn't want to be left out. I live in Johnstown, PA. I have four sweet children and Matt is a dentist. We're very happy here. I am 32.

Justin lives in Dallas, TX. He and his wife have three sweet and spunky kids. Justin also graduated from Law school (UVA) and he is now working for Kaplan teaching a few classes and doing a myriad of other administrative and marketing duties there. Justin is 30.

Heather lives in Des Moines, IA. She has two cute boys and another baby on the way in October. Her husband, Austin, is in Podiatry School there. Heather is also the Relief Society President in her ward. Heather is 29.

Bethany lives in Socorro, NM. Her darling daughter, Grace, is the spitting image of her mother! Bethany is also expecting a baby in October. Bethany's husband, Paul, is attending grad school there. Bethany is 28.

Haley got married last weekend in the Provo temple. Haley teaches first grade at Farrer Elementary in Provo, Utah. Greg is just graduating in music from UVU. Haley is 25.

Whitney is currently serving a mission in the Argentina Mendoza Mission. She has about three months left and she'll be home! We can't wait. Whitney hopes to attend SVU in the fall. She is 23.

Ashley and her husband, Ben, live in Provo. Ashley will graduate from BYU in secondary ed this spring and her husband will graduate in December with a masters in Electrical Engineering. Ashley is pregnant and due in November. She is 21.

Derek is currently a freshman at BYU. He is so excited to go on his mission on June 2nd. He will be serving in San Fernando, CA speaking Korean. Derek is currently the Elder's Quorum President of his ward. He is 18.

Dillon is a junior at Horseshoe Bend Highschool (housed in the same building as Joel's kids' elemenary school). Dillon played basketball, cross country and track on his highschool team. Dillon is 17.

Cassidy is a freshman at Horseshoe bend High. She is deaf, but fully integrated into a normal classroom with an interpreter. She played volleyball, basketball and track this year. She is 15.

I guess it's a lot to keep track of for my Mom, but we all greatly enjoy being part of such a large family. We love each other and support one another however we can. As we become adults, we find that the differences in age are nothing anymore. We are all best friends. I'm proud to be a Flake.