A Little Off the Top

Lego Mania!

2012-02-03T09:58:00.006-07:00

I wondered when Yaks would end his obsession with Knights and Castles. He's been into those since he was three. He's always liked "making setups", as we call them. We had a little episode with Spiderman, but now we are full-on into LEGO! Remember Zack the Lego Maniac commercial in the 80's?

We're not quite that bad here, but he sure likes his Legos and is already dreaming about the set he wants for his birthday. I say set (singular), because unfortunately, they don't come cheap. Those little plastic molds run about $20.00 for a small set!

We were in our local drug/toy store (yes, you heard that right) during the holidays, and we were looking at the Lego sets, when a guy my age couldn't help but chime in and voice his displeasure. He said, "You know when I was a kid, Lego was all about creation! They didn't give you sets and diagrams to follow. You had to create from your own imagination, and that's what made it so fun! Now they've cashed in on "sets" with Harry Potter, Star Wars...it's a TRAGEDY!" I didn't want to argue with him. He was pretty passionate about the conspiracy. After he went off in a huff over Lego, we went about our browsing.

We would never wish this on anyone, but I saw this on Pinterest and laughed.
Anyone who has stepped on one knows the pain those little bricks can cause. :)

But, I'm sure he would be pleased to see that Yaks does plenty of creating from his own imagination. His favorite parts of any set are the teeny, tiny little items: a chalice, a gun, a treasure box with six microscopic jewels that fit inside, a chain and anchor, and of course the "guys". Here is just a little sampling of some of the masterpieces he's created.

Chocolate Cake Day

2012-01-27T17:15:00.003-07:00

Did you know that today is Chocolate Cake Day? I didn't know it either, until it was pointed out to me this morning at 7am. (blink-blink) Boo came into my room with her little calender, and said, "(sigh) Mom? Today's Chocolate Cake Day....so, I guess you've gotta make a chocolate cake today." The way she said it was more of a messenger, delivering the news. As if to say, "Sorry mom, but that's what the calender says!"

Knowing her love for chocolate cake, and both Yaks and Boo's love of helping to bake, I decided we may as well go for it. I was shocked to later learn that in truth, today IS National Chocolate Cake Day! I'm glad at least to know that my kids don't make up days just to get me to bake them chocolate confections.

Every time I make chocolate cake, I think of the Bill Cosby sketch about giving his kids chocolate cake for breakfast. So funny! (Watch from 3:55)

The kids helped me frost the layers when they got home from school.

"I can't hardly wait until we get to eat it!"

"Will we get to have the leftover frosting?"

Yaks later said, "Mom, tomorrow is Kwanzo day. That's a weird word, Kwanzo. I don't even know what we do on that day!" I asked him if he meant Kwanzaa (Kwanzaa is in December...)? He brought me the little calender, and I looked and saw that tomorrow is indeed KAZOO DAY. I agree with him, though. That's a weird word, and I don't know WHAT we do on that day!

A Practical Treasure

2012-01-24T15:34:00.003-07:00

Several weeks ago I got a package in the mail from my Aunt Kathryn (my mom's sister). Inside was a short note and a box, which contained a silver wind-up wrist watch that belonged to my Grandma. It's one of those stretchy wristbands and you have to wind it up each day for it to keep the time!
I actually really like wearing watches. My old watch was burning through its battery once a month, so I've had to rely on the wall clock or my cell phone, and it's been so nice to have this one! I'm amazed at how many times a mother looks at the clock during the day, especially with kids in school. Each time I glance down to look at the time, I think of my Grandma. To me it's a practical treasure, and I absolutely love it!

We didn't grow up near our grandparents. Our relationship consisted of brief, long-distance phone calls on our birthdays or Christmas, and a day or two spent visiting them while we were on our family vacation to Utah.

I remember one afternoon I spent with Grandma as a young girl. I think my cousin Ann or Rachel were also with us. We went with her visiting a neighbor who had some fresh raspberries for her, which Grandma made into some jam. We visited a few of the neighbors around the block either dropping something by or just popping in to say hello. We picked apples in the backyard, careful to examine each one for worm holes! Later on, Grandma let us help get the "biscuits" ready for dinner. I always thought it funny that Grandma called home made rolls, "biscuits". They were the farthest thing from a dry, crumbly biscuit that I have ever eaten! I remember watching her wrinkled but strong hands work that dough! Grandma walked with purpose in her step, and a lot of love in her heart. I could tell that, and I couldn't have been more than eight-years old. We had to hustle to keep up with her!

At college I was able to spend some more time with her and Grandpa. My visits were now more sitting and talking than going and doing, but she still spent time thinking of others. Although her strong, quick step had slowed now to a tottering shuffle, I never left their house without a leftover sweet roll, a bag of apples, or something wrapped in a napkin "for when you get hungry".

Now I have this wonderful watch of hers. I get to wear it and use it every day and think of her. As I run around from place to place doing things for family and friends, I think of my Grandma and the person she was.

I hope I can walk with that same purpose to serve in my step,
and with that same love in my heart.

Snow News is Good News

2012-01-18T15:02:00.009-07:00

It's been such a dull January with nothing going on. Really, I couldn't even think of anything to post about, it's been THAT uneventful!

Today our pace changed a little, as we had a SNOW DAY!

I remember snow days growing up. The superintendent had to declare it a snow day. I always pictured him getting in his car in his bathrobe, starting his car and driving the snowy roads of the bus routes to determine if they were clear enough for the buses. In VA, my mom would usually get the news first as she would listen to the radio while doing newspapers. As soon as they announced it, she would come whisper, "Amy...there's no school today!" It was such exciting news, because it meant we didn't have to brave the cold, dark weather for seminary. I usually couldn't fall back to sleep because I was so excited! Snow days meant sleeping in, sledding, no homework, hot chocolate, and chili. Now as the mom, snow days for me now mean entertaining "bored" kids, hunting for snow gear, LOTS of puddles to mop up, empty hot chocolate cups and chili bowls to wash. :) It's good times, though. The kids love it!

They began with a two-hour delay this morning. Boo was a bit disappointed, unsure of how this would alter her school schedule. She likes a schedule, that Boo. Yaks was disappointed because none of us were really sure if they had p.m. Kindergarten on a 2-hr. delay. We didn't have to wonder too long, because an hour later they canceled school! There's a good foot of snow on the ground, and we're expected to get 4-8 more inches by the end of today!

Yaks went out to help Josh shovel. Boo and I got caught up on her reading chart (an HOUR of reading...). We baked chocolate chip cookies just because we could.

The kids went out to search for the sled, which they didn't put away last week and was now buried in the snow. Tough lesson learned - put away your stuff! Then I sent them BACK outside to retrieve the shovel they left out there, so it wouldn't get buried! (insert rubbing both temples here) :)

I don't know what's harder work. Playing in the snow...

or getting undressed afterwards!

Happy Snow Day!

Our New Year

2012-01-03T12:00:00.007-07:00

Were we the only ones who were worn out by New Years' Eve? I was ready for bed by 7pm! I'm never one to stay up until midnight, but still.

This year was pretty simple, but after our crazy year, it felt fitting. We ordered a couple pizzas, mixed up some (virgin) Strawberry Daiquiris, bought some frosted cupcakes and a cheesecake, and topped them all with party umbrellas, then watched Peter Pan on Netflix.
I think we were all in bed by 8. :)

Because one can't have too many party umbrellas

I follow a blog of a cool mother of five (I don't know her personally, but if we did, I'm sure we'd be friends), and every new year their family sits down and does this worksheet. I copied her format and we did it last night for FHE. It was a fun activity, and a good exercise to learn about how our kids view their world, their accomplishments, and that the thing MOST loved about this whole entire past year for Boo was playing in our sandbox. I'm still puzzling over that answer! Josh filled one out too, but I didn't ask permission to post his, so I won't. :)

Amy

Boo

Yaks

Diddles (with Boo as scribe, and the family's help)

We plan to keep these in a safe spot and see how we did next year!

Our 2011 Family Newsletter

2011-12-30T15:54:00.010-07:00

Our family is alive and well in Pullman, WA!

I am thankful to be alive this year! I had a terrible health scare at the end of March, when I contracted pneumonia along with a life-threatening secondary infection. I was transported to the ICU in Spokane and spent two weeks in the hospital recovering. We are thankful for so many dear family members and friends who came to our rescue during and after this ordeal, as well as many thoughts and prayers in our behalf. I'm in perfect health now (with some “battle scars” to show for it) and I'm so thankful to be home and with my family! I'm currently serving with our church’s Young Women group (12-13yr olds), and I volunteer once a month in Jane’s 1st Grade class teaching art.

Josh has been working really hard on the website re-design for the University of Idaho, which will launch in January. He’s had some great experience, and works with some really outstanding people! He met one of his goals this year and completed a ½ Ironman in Boise in the Spring; while he got into the Ironman in Kona, Hawaii, we've decided to defer this dream for another season in our lives: it's an expensive and time-consuming hobby. Another first for Josh was his ambulance ride and a day spent in the hospital with the first of three kidney stones this year! Poor Josh. It looked pretty painful. He serves with the 11-yr-old Scouts, and is an awesome dad! The jubilant rejoicing that takes place when we all hear the garage door open at the end of the day is a sight to behold. We all love him.

Jane (7) is in 1st grade and doing really well with her schoolwork. She likes school so much she wants to arrive 20 minutes early! She claims that if you’re “eighth or ninth” in line, the kids get talking too much and don’t go when the line is moving. Therefore, it is critical to be prompt, so she can stand “third or fourth” in line in 30-degree temperatures and…wait. Her favorite activity is jumping rope at recess with her friends. We’ve got all the jump rope rhymes memorized! Jane competed in a kids’ Triathlon in the Spring, that included an open water swim in 63 degree water. She finished strong, and we’re really proud of her! She competed in two more triathlons later in the summer, including one with her brother Ben. She loves doing projects and creating things. She’s made a pair of paper shoes, a paper shirt and a paper outfit for Eliza for Christmas, which was about four sizes too small. :) Jane is a great little helper, so long as the job isn’t to clean her room!

Ben (5) is in Kindergarten and having a great time in school! He loves his teacher and he’s got several nice friends. He’s learning to read and is working on writing his letters. Ben’s greatest desire is to become a Boy Scout. Josh often lets him come along to his 11-yr-old Scout meetings, and there is nothing he loves more. Ben’s learned about knots and building fires and making shelters, and has even gone on a campout. He counts those 11-yr-olds as his best friends, but it’s mostly a one-sided relationship. Josh said one meeting Ben presented one of the Scouts with a picture he’d drawn of the two of them holding hands and he’d written, “I love you,“ on the top. The Scout was gracious and said, “Thanks, Ben.” He’s our sweetest boy.

Eliza (2) is the boss of the house, and is home with mommy all day. Eliza’s sad when Dad (and Dad’s iPad) and the “kids” leave for work or school, and so excited when they all return! She got 2nd degree burns on her hands at the end of October when she touched the hot glass of our gas fireplace. After a trip to the ER and following a long week of recovery, we’re so grateful wounds heal and that burn cream exists! Eliza was also diagnosed with a speech delay (Expressive Language Disorder), so we’ve been taking steps to get her some additional help. In the meantime, we’re becoming experts on translating for her and enjoying the progress she is making with some of her words. A few of our favorites are, “Waaash!” (Sorry), “Osh” (Phone) “Hosh” (snow/snowman)“Peas” (Please), "Awsh" (wash), “Hess” (yes) "No" (No. We’ve got that one down!)

We wish you all a Happy (and healthy) New Year!

Much love,
Amy, Josh, Jane, Ben & Eliza

Geocaching

2011-12-29T13:00:00.008-07:00

Today the kids gave Geocaching a try. Have you heard of it? "Geocaching is a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using GPS-enabled devices and then share their experiences online."

There are over five million in the world! Basically, all you need is a smart phone and your walking shoes (or car), and adventure awaits! Even our small town has dozens of them!

Basically, you log into the site, let it use your current location, and your GPS gives you dozens of options, depending on what kind of Cache you are looking for.

Then you select one and follow the map to uncover your treasure! Some contain prizes that you can take/exchange, others just have a log book you can sign. Then you are to put it back exactly where you found it, so others can find it after you.

The kids and Josh found one right up the hill from our house! One Cache we tried to find wasn't there, so you sometimes get skunked, but it's the hunt that is the most fun!
Some are in small containers, like this camouflaged medicine bottle.

Others are little tupperware or pencil boxes, tucked away in bushes or trees.
This one was pretty hard-core, hidden away in a park we play at all the time! The kids were able to swap a sticker and some pins for a container of play-doh and an eraser. We were a bit disappointed in Boo, who didn't appreciate the concept of SWAPPING. She thought COLLECTING and KEEPING were much better ideas. I guess we need to do Christmas all over again. She obviously missed that "Christmas is a time for giving, not just receiving" lesson. Ugh.

We're hoping to make a Cache to share and hide it somewhere fun. It's quite the hobby, and people really get into it! I can tell you, it was lots of fun for the kids. A great way to get them outside, keep them busy, learn about maps, directions, etc!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T18:55:00.018-07:00

We had a simple Christmas this year. Hospital and medical bills, necessary repairs to our UT rental home following a bad wind storm, and our tough economy, left us going into December scratching our heads and blinking our eyes. We trimmed and simplified. Josh and I opted out of gifts for each other this year, content to be thankful we made it through this year, and are all alive and healthy! We carefully selected and purchased a few gifts for the kids. We bought things on sale or second-hand on e-bay. I planned our food in advance, and bought when the groceries were on sale.

It all worked out pretty well, but by the time Christmas Eve rolled around, I was spent emotionally. I had spent so much energy worrying about what to get, how much it cost, if the kids would be happy, if everything was "even". Presents I had delayed (due to over-thinking) ordering online weren't going to arrive on time. A red-frosted cupcake got mashed frosting-side down on our light carpet! Diddles had a stomach bug that had us changing diapers and bedding in the middle of the night. I felt discouraged, tired, and homesick for the carefree days of being a child instead of a responsible adult. I wanted everything to be perfect and spiritual and fun and happy and clean and...and...and. I seem to go through this every year - Unrealistic expectations.

But, we had some great memories this Christmas, and I've got to remember and celebrate those.

"Lille Julaften" or Little Christmas Eve

We had our little Christmas program on Christmas Eve-Eve. My family were getting together that evening, so we did it the same night so the kids (and I) could feel like we were together, even though we were apart. Josh said the Norwegians call this Lille Julaften (pronounced "lil yule often"). Traditionally Norwegians decorate their tree and homes on this night, and weave paper baskets of red and green, then fill them with nuts, fruit and candy! We dressed up in pathetic nativity costumes, which seemed to all come from my side of the closet. Yaks double-casted himself as a Wise Man and a Shepherd. Diddles was a second-year stage hand for he production. I thought Josh made a wonderfully handsome Joseph, don't you think? We read from Luke 2 and sang some carols. It was fun the Boo can read the words to the hymns and sing along with us.

Then the kids got their blankets and I read the the story of Granny Glittens and the Amazing Mittens. They liked the thought of edible mittens, but Boo wisely pointed out that you'd also have string in your mouth, and that wouldn't taste very good. Following the story and overall silliness, the kids decided NOT to sleep under the Christmas tree because the thought of Buddy the elf lurking around them while they were sleeping was a bit too much for them!

Christmas Service

I visit teach an inactive sister, and so far I've been her doorstep friend. We chat briefly on her porch. I bring her a treat or a talk I enjoyed or an invitation for an activity. This time I went to visit and I was invited inside! It made me so happy. I got to meet her husband and sit and have a real visit, and she seemed genuinely happy to have me visit. A Christmas Miracle indeed. Boo and I chose a few treats and gifts for our across-the-street neighbor, Janet. She lives with her husband and their cat. They don't have any family, so we stopped by for a visit. She's a talker, so we chatted for a while, and she mentioned that she didn't put up a tree this year, but she loves doing her dishes and looking across the street at our tree. Boo makes sure we always keep the tree lights on and the blinds pulled up for Janet. :)

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve the kids made Krumkake, which are Pizelles shaped into cones. We were going to make Lefse bread, but we ran out of steam!

This year we did Cheese Fondue for our meal. We dipped it in bread, veggies, apples and had Martinelli's. We set out the plate of cookies, milk and carrots and tucked the excited kids into bed. Josh and I got to Skype into his family's Christmas Eve program and watch the talent portion of singing, skits and musical numbers. Always entertaining, and we got to watch it in our PJ's in bed!

Our Unexpected Christmas Guest

That evening I checked Facebook and discovered that our good friend Gapi was alone for Christmas! His wife and daughter had gone to Seattle to visit some friends, since they will be leaving for their home in Namibia in a few months. We couldn't have that, so Josh called and invited him over for our Christmas morning.
Gapi had never seen how Americans do Christmas morning with gift opening and Santa and stockings and such. In Namibia they don't exchange gifts, but have a big meal with all of the family, so I can understand why he felt pretty lonely without them on Christmas. I wish I had a gift for him, or at least an extra stocking for him! He was snapping photos on his iphone, and smiling and laughing at our nutty kids all morning. We made a big breakfast of cinnamon rolls and omelets, and he helped Josh and Yaks assemble the e-bay Playmobile lot, minus the instructions. It took a good hour!

Our special Christmas Guest, and our pathetically mis-matched pajamas.

The Joys of Christmas

Yaks got his wished-for Lego Kingdoms, and Josh helped him put it all together.

My cousin Sarah sent a little tote bag for each of the kids, with special gifts inside for each child. It was so thoughtful, and still makes me emotional. She didn't draw our name, and hasn't seen our kids in years, but she picked the perfect something for each one!

Boo got a loom and this wonderful apron, which cousin Sarah made for her. Who knew both our gifts would combine into a THEME!? "Now we can bake stuff, Mom!" She did help me pull the rolls out of the oven, and I've promised to let her bake a cake this week.

Little Diddles only has eyes for stuffed animals, particularly ones she can climb on, so we found this large Sheep dog for her. It sheds just like a real dog! :/
Our sweet friends and neighbors, the Campbells also gave some special presents to our kids. They were each so thoughtful and kind. Diddles got the softest little puppy dog (which she sleeps with) and a bead necklace ("Beez!"), just like the one she likes to play with when she goes over there to visit! We're blessed with wonderful friends and family.

A Christmas Dinner

We had church for an hour in the morning. They had a beautiful program with lots of musical numbers. The primary kids sang "Joy to the World," and it was the best! The rest of the day we were able to enjoy our Christmas day relaxing, listening to music and watching a movie. We had salmon, rolls, vegetables and a berry pie and ice cream for dessert. A simple dinner, which didn't have me cooking in the kitchen all day! Josh was able to grab a long winter's nap, while the kids helped me fold the napkins all fancy and set the table!

Merry Christmas to all!

Decking Our Halls

2011-12-22T09:57:00.008-07:00

I was baking up a storm yesterday for gifts for Josh's awesome co-workers. The kids were left to their own devices, and they deemed it "Getting Ready For Christmas Day!"

They went down to the Christmas boxes, and pulled out ribbons and bows and went to town draping and adorning everything in sight! By evening, they were satisfied with how things looked.

Now our inside looks as festive as our outside! My sister-in-law sent this to us as a bit of a gag gift, but the kids love it. Thanks, Angie! I put it in our backyard. Boo's says it stands guard and makes sure no dogs poop in our yard. When is is deflated Diddles says, "Howsh" (Snowman), "Shhhhh" and puts her finger to her lips. He's sleeping. Too cute.

Boo made this ornament early in December.

The materials are a paper towel tube and glued-on paper towels, construction paper and decorated with marker. I strategically placed it at the back of the tree. :)

My kids' Kindergarten teacher knows what's up. She knows we crazy parents want a cute, hand-made ornaments, made with popsicle sticks and puzzle pieces, with our kids' baby-teethed face smiling in it.

These are the ornaments that we treasure forever.

Granny Glittens and Her Amazing Mittens!

2011-12-16T13:36:00.006-07:00

I got an amazing gift today! But, in order for it to make sense, I have to tell you a story about my mom. Her parents were both educators, and books played an important part of their lives. I remember fondly getting a new flannel nightgown made by Grandma, and a new book, picked by Grandpa each Christmas! Wonderful classics like The Velveteen Rabbit, Heidi, Anne of Green Gables, Tom Sawyer, etc. I remember when we would open the box from Grandma and Grandpa, my mom would put her nose in the box and SMELL the smell of her home - apples and home-baked bread, and Grandpa's cologne. I'm sure my cousins can well-remember that smell. I know I do. This Christmas, my mom wanted to start a new tradition with the grandkids, and even though we are far away, we plan to participate long-distance. The Friday before Christmas, we gather at Grandmas, have dinner and a dress-up Nativity, followed by a story and a sleepover under the Christmas tree. My mom sent a box of three blankets, one for each child, and an envelope which contained a special story she wanted to share.

It's an old story; one I well-remember hearing as a young child, and one my Grandparents read to her. It's out of print now, so the story was photocopied, but I knew the story the moment I read the title, "Granny Glittens and Her Amazing Mittens". It's a story of an old woman who knitted wool mittens for boys and girls. One year the store ran out of colored yarn for her mittens, and all they had was white. Granny didn't know what to do. She couldn't give children WHITE mittens! So, she discovered in her pantry Red Peppermints, Green Wintergreen, Brown Chocolate, Black Licorice, and Yellow Lemondrops. She cooked five pots of each ingredient and then dipped the white yarn into the pan and watched as it changed into the exact colors she needed! Then to her surprise, she discovered that the yarn was edible! She knitted the mittens, and the children were delighted that they could use and eat their mittens! The story ends with, "Can you believe it?" :)

The copy my mom sent us was, as she said, "cobbled together". She was missing the first page, so asked her sister to e-mail her the text. Then she had photocopied the rest and stapled it together. You can see the original got scribbled upon. Then I got thinking, I wonder if I could find a copy of that story somewhere for my mom. I searched around Amazon and found a seller who had the story in a book called, "The Golden Christmas Book". There were several editions and publishers, so I contacted the seller to be sure that the one I was looking at (which was $10.00) contained the story I was after.

I called her up, and she was in the middle of painting her bathroom, but she was the sweetest woman! Her name was Gloria. I told her what I was looking for, and that I was in search of this Christmas story to give to my mom. She promised to call me back after she had finished up with the paint and could check the book herself.

I got a phone message from her that the book which was posted didn't have it, but that she had an older, unlisted edition that DID have the story, but the book was in "bad shape," and the only tear in the book was to the very story I was looking for. It was published in 1947 by Simon and Schuster and was a copy from the Navel Avenue Library in Bremerton. She described the book, "The spine is taped with green cloth tape; the edges are all worn to the cardboard cover boards. There are a few scribbles to it and it is smudged a bit and of course the one page with your story has the tear to the bottoms page (the story is still all there)." This actually made me more hopeful that I might be able to get a better price for it. Often these out-of-print books become collectors editions because they are so rare, and they can charge hundreds of dollars, even though they are in pretty rough condition.

So, I e-mailed her back and said that I would still be interested in the book and if she could tell me the price, I'd consider purchasing it. She called me this morning and we talked for a few minutes, and she said she would sell it to me for $2.00, since it was in such rough shape! I was delighted, and thanked her so much and told her how much my mom would love getting a copy of this book. Then I asked if she could send it directly to my mom, and I'd pay her. Then she said, "You know, I'll just GIVE it to your mom, free of charge. It's such a sweet story, and I thank you for introducing me to it!" Then she said, "The books we sell are from our mother's extensive collection, and I try to find loving homes for her books...I can tell this is a perfect place for this one. I'll wrap it up nice and send it to your mom and be sure it gets there before Christmas!" Thank you, Gloria!

Can you believe it?

The Scripture Elf

2011-12-15T22:30:00.011-07:00

Last year at a post-Christmas sale, this little elf stowed away in my cart. Something about his impish face, wispy hair and long, bendable appendages won me over. I paid for him (of course), and let him make himself at home in the Christmas box until the next year. The kids pulled him out, along with all of the other Christmas decorations after Thanksgiving and said, "What's this?" I wasn't even sure what to tell them, because I wasn't just yet sure myself what purpose he would serve!

I'd heard of The Elf on the Shelf a few years ago from a neighbor, who brought one to a Favorite Things party that was thrown during the holidays. The gist is that Santa sends the elf to live at your house during the month of December. He spies on the kids during the day then flies home to the North Pole at night, reports to Santa and then flies back and hides himself in a different spot each morning. So, when I saw this little elf, I thought he would be so much fun! But, like I mentioned in my last post, I was having an inner-struggle to introduce something so secular to our kids, and shift the focus away from what I feel is the most important thing. So, I thought. If this is going to happen, he will have to serve a dual purpose.

Miraculously, I stumbled upon a wonderful link on Sugardoodle, where someone had 24 days of scriptures about Christ's life and his attributes. Each day has a scripture with several verses from the Bible, detailing an even in Christ's life and then lists the attribute that Christ displayed. BINGO. I know it sounds silly, but I really felt inspired. It's just the thing I was looking and praying for.

So, on December 1st, a knock at the door and there was the elf, sitting on the step with a letter in his lap. It's rather lengthy, but it basically introduces him to the family, states his purpose and gives a few directions.

"Both Santa and your elf know that the real reason for Christmas isn’t about presents or Santa, but to remember our Savior, Jesus Christ and celebrate His birth. Jesus Christ is our greatest gift. We want everyone to try this month to be like Jesus and do what He would do. To help you remember, each morning your elf will be holding a special paper with a scripture attached. Your job is to read that scripture together as a family. Each scripture is about Jesus. Use these scriptures as your family scripture study!"

Their first assignment was to name him. "Buddy", but we usually just call him "The elf".

So far, it's been wonderful! The kids wake up excited. They run downstairs, find the elf, wait until everyone has seen it, then they pull off the scripture tag tucked in his sleeve and read off the scripture reference.

I sometimes pull a picture from the gospel art kit, and we read before everyone heads off for the day. The kids have a little fun, and they are on their BEST behavior knowing they are being watched, and we get to spend a little time each morning remembering Christ, our Savior. Win/Win!

By far the most fun has been thinking of where to hide him each night.

This night has been my favorite. I wanted to put him in some sort of sleigh. I took the bin of Trio blocks up to bed and dumped it out and started piecing bricks together. Josh said, "What are you doing?" I told him my plan and he said, "Oh, move over," and this is what resulted.

And awesomely detailed sled, complete with a sign that says, "Go," and the couch cushions to slide down. The kids went BANANAS!
Sometimes he's a little more mellow.
Sometimes he's naughty.

Sometimes he's thoughtful.
Sometimes he's adventurous.
He's...a-hem.
He's friendly with the other holiday friends.
And never turns down a plate of cookies!

He loves the snow!
Here's tomorrow's hiding place! :)

The Christmas Spirit

2011-12-14T11:20:00.006-07:00

Tonight for Young Womens, we are sharing Family Christmas Traditions. Christmas brings to my mind so many fond memories of being together with my family, and being a child. We always lived far away from our extended family. I've always been so impressed at how my parents were able to create the beauty and joy of Christmas within our own immediate family.

My dad made several varieties of candy, which we delivered to our neighbors while caroling from house to house. Our little advent calendar, "A Beary Merry Christmas", which hung at the bottom of the stairs. We jockeyed to be the first one to move the bear to the next velcro-strip each morning, and were that much closer to Christmas. Christmas Eve, setting up Luminarias to line the driveway, dressing in our Nativity costumes, Dad reading Luke 2, and singing the hymns and songs of Christmas around the piano. Sipping hot chocolate from the chipped "Santa mugs" and being so excited for Santa to come that I couldn't sleep Christmas Eve night! Christmas morning seeing the piles of carefully chosen presents, bought from the great sacrifices of Mom and Dad,

equally distributed, as turns were taken so our pile of Christmas presents could last as long as possible, and be enjoyed by all. The sounds of Mannheim Steamroller and the smell of orange peels and baking cinnamon rolls! Christmas was magical and beautiful, and filled with love and a focus on our Savior.

Since I've become a mother, I worried about the increasing commercialism of Christmas, and that there would be too much focus for my kids on Santa and presents, and not enough focus on the spirit of Christmas, Christ and the miracle of His birth. We've tried our best to simplify during the holidays; creating new traditions, and maintaining others. Most importantly to turn the kids' focus to acts of service and remembering the real reason for the season.

My Grandma told me a story about my Dad that I'll never forget. He was 10 or 11, and came home one day from school crying. His friends had told him that there was no Santa Claus. Grandma was surprised and asked, "Craig, don't you know by now that Pop and I are Santa Claus?" Grandma said her boy looked up at him with tears in his eyes and said, "But you told me there was a Santa Claus." It broke her heart. Her little boy had so much faith in her, that whatever she told him was true, and he believed it with no doubt.

A couple years ago I read a book called A Tree Grows in Brooklyn when a grown woman is asking her mother (Mary) for advice on raising a daughter. Among other pearls of wisdom she gave, she said,

""And the child must believe in the Lord God and Jesus, His Only Son." She crossed herself. Oh, and you must not forget the Kris Kringle. The child must believe in him until she reaches the age of six..."
"I know there is no Santa Claus."
"Yes, you must teach the child that these things are so."
"Why? When I myself do not believe?"
"Because," explained Mary Rommely simply, "the child must have a valuable thing called imagination. The child must have a secret world in which things live which never were. It is necessary that she believe. She must start out by believing in things not of this world. Then when the world becomes too ugly for living in, the child can reach back and live in her imagination.""

But, pairing these two stories together had me concerned that if I encouraged and allowed my children to believe in Santa Claus or Tooth Fairies and such, and they were discovered to be false, then when I taught them of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, they would be lumped into the same category, and their existence would be doubted as well. Up until this point, we have had almost no focus on Santa at Christmas time. My kids have had no desire to sit upon his lap and no interest in him other than a special gift from him on Christmas day! But, that hasn't felt quite right either. Santa is fun and magical and I love that he symbolizes love, and selfless giving. Certainly as with everything, there could be moderation in all things and a happy balance of both.

After much thought and even some prayer, my friend Heidi posted an article called "The Truth About Santa," where a mother answers her daughter's question, "Are you Santa?" I nodded and smiled when I read it.

"Santa is bigger than any person, and his work has gone on longer than any of us have lived. What he does is simple, but it is powerful. He teaches children how to have belief in something they can’t see or touch."

Here was a good balance of magic and fun, but also faith and love.

And so entered our Scripture Elf.

Family Photo Failures

2011-11-28T14:16:00.007-07:00

It's that time of year again! The time you start thinking about Christmas presents and Christmas cards, and how much we've grown in the past year.

It's family photo time.

I love family photos. Seriously, I DO! But, I HATE having them taken. It makes my palms sweat just thinking about them.

Choosing what to wear ("I like pink, Mom"), finding a day the weather cooperates, finding a location that works, and outfits to wear that coordinate and are clean, working out the time of day for the photo (not too early, not too late, not during nap time). Then the effort of actually getting a photo where everyone is standing straight, physically IN the picture, eyes open, camera focused, happy faces, etc. Working out all of those factors, it's a logistical nightmare, and everyone always ends up mad at mom in the end! No wonder people hire pricey photographers!

While Nana and Papa were here for Thanksgiving, we knew we had to take advantage of the extra hands - one to snap the pictures, one to coax the smiles. They also brought three beautiful, borrowed Norwegian sweaters for the kids to wear (Thanks Angie and Lenice!). We had them on loan for a week. The only day that managed to work for us was Thanksgiving day! Josh scouted out a location for the photo, and brought blankets and coolers for the kids to sit upon.

You probably think you are about to see perfect photos of our beautifully polished, well-behaved family, and let you choose your favorite: A, B, or C from all of the amazing shots because it's so hard to choose!

No, we're keeping it real here, folks!

Here are the REAL family photos you don't see hanging on the wall.

Diddles - praying for strength and patience to make it through this photo shoot.
Oh wait, that was me.

Stand up nice and....strrrraight! The kids' legs turned to noodles.

Aaaand, we lost Diddles.

Then I wanted one with just me and the kids. You know, one Josh could take to work and have on his desk to remember his adorable, charming family who are happily waiting for him at home? It wasn't to be. Diddles was D-U-N.

Then Boo must have channeled my 4-8 year-old self. I was an absolute grump for almost EVERY SINGLE family photo ever taken! I'll have to find some examples next time I'm home. Sorry, Mom and Dad!

Boo wanted to take a picture. That's what this was all about. Sure! You can take a picture.
But, she wanted to take the FIRST picture, which had already been taken.
This was a lose/lose situation.

Two girls in tears. Who WOULDN'T want this on their wall?

"Stop taking pictures of me, Dad!"

'
Boo and Yaks have totally fake smiles, my arms are going to fall off trying to wrestle Diddles.

After I let her go, this happened.

Um...what?

Oh! Look who has decided to be happy now. She's even saying, "Chiz" (cheese).

There was no food on site, so I'm guessing he swallowed a bug,
or maybe this is just how he feels about family photos?

Full of Thanks

2011-11-26T19:14:00.009-07:00

Our Thanksgiving was lovely. Was yours?

Nana and Papa (Stewart and Annette) arrived last Saturday to spend the week with us! It was so fun to have them here. The kids loved spending time with them, showing them around, and doing special things with them.

Their first stop after their arrival was the Utah football game. It was freezing cold and there was an impressive snowstorm, so only Boo, Josh and Stewart braved the elements.

Yaks, Diddles, Nana and I stayed home in our cozy house and caught up.

Check out the field: Before

After! Look, they even had to shovel the yard lines. :)

It was an exciting game, and as Boo reported, "our team won" in overtime!

I know Boo looks miserable here, but Josh assures me,
she didn't complain once, and had a great time!

Sunday we had a nice day at church, complete with a really wonderful lesson in Sunday School about the Postmortal Spirit World. It's a special one for several reasons, but if you look at the picture that accompanies that lesson, you'll see Josh's aunt Lisa and her children. She is sitting by Uncle Leif's grave, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2004. I'm grateful there IS a life after this one, and that that life is filled with important work. It makes the hurt of losing loved ones a bit less painful and full of hope.

There was still some snow leftover to sled in. Nana is even braver and more high-adventure than I am! She went sledding in the backyard with them. We do have a great sledding hill out there.

One of the selfish advantages we take when visitors come, is sneaking away for a date night. They are so rare for us! Thanks ever so much, Nana and Papa for watching the kids! I was able to spend a birthday gift card, and we went to dinner at a sushi place. It was my first time trying it. It wasn't my favorite, but I liked it okay. I had a California Roll and a Firehouse roll.

One of our little excursions was for Papa to get himself an early Christmas present. A remote-controlled helicopter. It was pretty exciting for everyone, particularly the male adults in the house! Even Diddles begged for "Paw...Pane! Pane!"

Our Thanksgiving Day was a cold but sunny one. We ventured out before our feast to take family pictures (shudder). I'm glad we did, as painful as they were (deserves another post), since it was windy and blustery the rest of the week! After drying the tears from the photo shoot, and changing our clothes, Annette and I got to work in the kitchen.

We were a great team, prepping lots of tasty dishes, some traditional and some new!

Boo smiling because she got to consume all the rolls she wanted!

Following dinner, we worked together to put together this puzzle.

I got to chat with my family for a bit, and smiled when they said, "Oh! We just finished our puzzle." Great that although miles apart we can still feel "connected" haha. Then I smiled again when we went out to the mailbox and found thoughtful cards from Grandma and Grandpa to the kids. Seeing my mom's handwriting makes me happy, and reading her words made the kids smile, and me tear up. I love them!

I was really reflective this Thanksgiving. I feel so blessed to have the gospel in my life, and freedoms of our country to enjoy. Grateful to be alive and healthy. Thankful I get to be a mom and a wife. I'm so thankful I now have the strength and health to wrestle a tantrum-ing two-year-old, haul two baskets of laundry up the stairs and not have to catch my breath, and cook an awesome meal for my family without having to sit down and take a nap!

If ever I felt frustrated about something ie) When the family photos were stressful or when Diddles refused to take her nap, or when the pumpkin pie I baked came out tasting SALTY (still a mystery - I don't know what happened!), I would catch myself and think, "Oh Amy, at least you are HERE for the family photos, and you can HEAR that little girl crying "Ma-maaaaa", and at least you are ABLE to bake that salty pumpkin pie and laugh about it!"

Pass the whipped cream, please!

Life is beautiful and precious, and I'm full of thanks for it.

Hooray for the Thanksgiving Feast

2011-11-21T15:16:00.006-07:00

It's that that time of year again!
Time for the Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast!
Ah, good times.

Diddles was running out of steam and ready for a nap, as things didn't even get started until 1:15pm. But, we just pumped her full of snacks and trudged onward! You can do it, Morley! Oh, and look! I managed to get her to wear an elastic in her hair w/o her pulling it out! Baby steps. Baby steps.

The day before, the kids got to make their own mini pumpkin pies, clean out the turkey, make pattern headbands and turkey fan place-settings!

Yaks' Turkey fan

My favorite part of the entire event is the little songs that they sing! I've got them memorized.

Mrs. Stone has taught for over 20 years, and she knows what works and what doesn't. I tell you, having gone to this feast for two years now, this event runs like a well-oiled machine!

She's so well-organized, things just run, and she gets to take pictures, chat with families and give kids whipped-cream shots in their mouths! It horrified me the first year, but it's good holiday fun!

The kids line up with their classmates and their siblings. Behind Yaks is his good pal Tytan. Each of them have a "little sister".

Waiting patiently with their cute pattern headbands.

Being served by the awesome moms!

Yaks sampling his pumpkin pie!

We even got to meet his good friend, Peter! I love his headband. Check out those multi-colored feathers!

Ah! It won't let me load the end of this video with the word "YEAR" sung out long and loud and off-key! Best part of the song, second only to the awkward hugs. Those are awesome! Check out Diddles on the lower left! Boo, upon seeing this video said, "Yaks! Do you see my lunch table? Do you see it? I sit riiiiiiight THERE." Thanks, Boo. :)

Hooray for Thanksgiving!

Disturbing Images

2011-11-17T10:14:00.005-07:00

My kids love snapping photos on my phone. Here are some images for your amusement:

Is it a musical note, or a monster out of Monsters Inc.?
No one knows, but it has FANTASTIC eyesight!

Poor Claire. She's the plastic mommy doll.
This day, she was held hostage atop the mast of a pirate ship.
Fortunately, she was eventually rescued. Moms have tough jobs.

One can never have too many weapons, according to Yaks.
He's practicing the Scout motto: Be Prepared.

I'm reminded I need to wipe down that wall today. :)

What?
You never dreamed of a house where you could simultaneously do art, watch TV, AND go potty at the same time?

What photo collection is complete without a shot like this?

Boo, have some CLIPS with your hair!

On a serious note, look at this picture of how nicely Diddles' hands are healing! Still pink skin, and we occasionally need a band-aid to hide the hurt from our memories ("oush, oush!"), but all-in-all, it's healed so much faster and better than I thought. I'm grateful for that!

Progress

2011-11-07T09:48:00.006-07:00

Several weeks ago we had our primary program in Sacrament meeting. The kids did a great job, and I was able to hear most of the songs in the hall, which is where Diddles and I spent almost the entire meeting! Grrrr. Thankfully, Josh was smart and snatched this bootleg video clip of Yaks delivering his line about our bodies being temples so that I could see. "I will exercise."

Diddles had a good week of healing. We should have bought stock in band-aids, as we've gone through almost three boxes since she was burned! Our house was littered with wrappers and discarded band-aids. Her fingertips are still pink, but the new skin has healed nicely and she doesn't need them covered anymore. Her palms, which were burned the worst, still have the excess skin from the blisters, so I keep them covered with bandages so they can continue healing.

Thank goodness for this burn cream, which we have been liberally applying on a regular basis! It works great and stops pain almost immediately. I think of Balm of Gilead when I use it. It's really something.

Every time Diddles walks past the fireplace, she says, "Haw" (hot) and then "Oush"(ouch), and she points to her hands and wimpers. Poor kid. I won't be forgetting it for a long time either!

The kids worked hard all day on Saturday cleaning their rooms. They had gotten out of hand - crammed with crafts and art supplies, toys, papers from projects and school, outgrown clothes mixed with ones that fit. Josh took the kids to Wal-Mart and told them he would be having periodic and random "room checks", and if they could go a whole month and pass their inspections, they would be awarded the prize they chose. It's worked like a charm so far. Spotless rooms, made beds, clothes put away. Josh says it takes 30 days to form (or break) a habit, so here's hoping!

Speaking of Josh. He's awesome.

No children were harmed in the filming of this wrestling match! At least not seriously.

The kids were showing me their rooms last night - proud that they were still clean. They had each made "door signs" and posted them on their doors. Yaks had this picture, along with another sign with his name and "phone number" (four-digits, 5413). I asked him to tell me about his picture.

"This is me...
and this is you...
and you're thinking about me,
and I'm thinking about YOU."

Halloween 2011

2011-11-03T13:46:00.007-06:00

Well, we broke free from our tradition of "Group Theme" Halloween costumes this year! I don't think people believed me when I said last year was the LAST year. We went out with a bang last year with our Toy Story theme - I'll just let that one go down in history. I ended up wearing my "Jessie" costume to the Trunk-or-Treat at church just to get a second use out of all my hard work with the hot glue :)

Josh grabbed a roll of tin foil and tore off a few sheets and called himself "Leftovers". Sorry, no picture. I'm sure you can imagine what it looked like...

Speaking of Trunk-or-Treat, we had a carnival this year! What good fun. Our young women were in charge of doing a Fishing Pond, a Cupcake Walk, and Face Painting. They also had a beanbag toss, basketball shoot, coloring booth, play-doh table, a dig-for-bones bin, and a spooky maze downstairs. The kids had a great time, which was my hope! I forgot my camera to take pictures.

Boo chose a Tinkerbell costume last year on post-Halloween clearance, and has anxiously been awaiting wearing it for Halloween. I was impressed she still wanted to be it this year! I tried to get her to wear some cute green tights and a long-sleeved pink t-shirt to complete the outfit, but she had her own ideas about her costuming. She even deemed the wings "uncomfortable" and went without them. She did let me put her hair in a high ponytail, but I noticed the green barrettes that I put in were tucked away in her backpack when she got home from school. Funny girl.

Yaks wanted to be Thor. I couldn't figure out how in the world to make his costume, so we bought one at Wal-Mart for $20 and a fake hammer for $5. Then we got word that the school didn't want them bringing any sort of weapon (even fake weapons) to school. Yaks ditched his dream of being Thor (because really, who is Thor w/o his Hammer?) and opted for a Skeleton instead. We bought a bunch of princess dresses last Spring at DI and Yaks fell in love with a little toddler sized Skeleton costume. I picked the stitches out of the "bones" and glued them onto a black sweatsuit. Perfect! I offered to do some spooky Halloween makeup and give him a "skeleton face". Yaks said, "No, I just want to have a Yaks face."

Our plan was for Diddles to be a ladybug. Her costume was a warm fuzzy tunic with a hood that looked so cute. But, she wasn't having it. We didn't even try to put her in anything but comfy clothes following her accident.

Trying to distract her from the "Oush".

Like one kid asked upon seeing her bandages, "Is she dressed like a mummy?" Yeah, I guess she is! :(

Josh took the older kids out around to trick-or-treat. They were pretty excited about it. Diddles and I stayed home and answered the door.

She really got into it after about the 8th ring and would run to me for a piece of candy and then grab the door knob and hold out the candy to the lucky kid. It was adorable. She taught Boo and Yaks how to do it when they got home.

This one was so fun. It was a classmate of Boo's. It was hard to say who was more excited. The kid or Boo!
"Is this where you live, Boo?"
"Yep, this is my house! This is my little sister."
Good Halloween fun.

A couple of teenagers came trick-or-treating while Josh was sitting by the door. He was tying up the garbage bag to take outside and said, "Hey! You guys are too old to be trick-or-treating. Take out this garbage if you want some candy." They smiled and said, "Okay!" and took out our garbage. I was happy it made it into the CAN and not onto our cars.

Happy Halloween!

Oush

2011-11-01T13:58:00.012-06:00

This past weekend I was working with Boo on a timeline of her life for a school project. Seven years. Lots of little milestones, but not too many groundbreaking events were marked and labeled across the pink tag board that represented her life. Little did I know the very next night our family would experience yet another AWFUL medical milestone for our family timeline this year.

It would read, "October 30, 2011 - Diddles got burned."

In the files of memories I have as a mother, to-date this one has been put on top as the most horrific and heart-stopping.

We had made it through another Sunday of 1-4 church meetings. It's always an accomplishment for us and the young kids! It was chilly and rainy outside, so Josh suggested we turn on the gas stove. It's one of my favorite details of our house. It's so warm and cozy, and the flames are so cheery during the gloomy winters. We had had a delicious dinner of home made spaghetti, salad and breadsticks. We had cleaned up the kitchen, and I was putting away a few things, when I heard Boo gasp and say, "Oh no!" Diddles came tearing around the kitchen island to me, shaking her hands in the air, her cry caught in her throat. Boo said, "She touched the fireplace!"

The burns were so new, it was hard to tell at first with her flailing arms where exactly the burns were. Immediately I rememberd, "Cool the burn. Cool the burn," and scooped her up and ran her hands under the cold water in the sink. The next 20 minutes were pandemonium. Boo frantically asking if Diddles was going to die. Josh shouting questions and all of us trying to assess what happened. Diddles SCREAMING in pain.

We gathered that Diddles, although aware that the fireplace flame inside meant "HOT", didn't realize that the glass also was hot, and had climbed up on the fireplace ledge to turn off the movie the kids were watching. A little trick of hers. She placed both hands on the glass to reach up to the TV, and so it went. No one saw it happen, but I assume her little 2-yr-old reflexes didn't register the pain immediately and when they did, she wasn't able to physically pull off right away. Second-degree burns on her fingertips, and the tops of her palms.

Her little handprints were still visible on the glass the next day.

In a chaotic situation like that, although I knew we needed Heavenly help, the last thing possible was to gather the family together and have a prayer for Diddles. We were all frantic. The best I could do was just beg over and over, a prayer in my head, "Please help her."

Cool cloth after cool cloth were simply revealing bright red burns all over her hands. We both knew these burns were beyond our ability to treat with our first aid kit. Josh made a quick call to our home teachers, dropped off Yaks and Boo, and off we went to the hospital. The ER was the only place open on a Sunday night, so there we were again. We were ushered into an ER room (incidentally, the VERY same ER room that I was rushed into during my own health scare. Here I was, healthy and well, staring down instead of up, being the well one instead of the sick one). The nurses came with basins of cold water and towels. They brought in a rocking chair for me to sit in while holding her and Josh plunging her hands into the water. She's a strong little girl. Thirty-five pounds of solid muscle, that one. Trying to distract her from the pain, I started to sing her one of her favorite songs:

"The wheels on the bus go round and round..."
"The wipers on the bus go swish-swish-swish..."
"The driver on the bus says move on back..."
"The horn on the bus goes beep-beep-beep..."
"The babies on the bus go..."

And then I started sobbing. It all came crashing down on me, the reality of what was happening to my baby girl. Remembering the feeling of a little singe on the side of a cupcake pan last week, and how painful that felt. My little baby had just been burned all over her HANDS. I had never experienced that kind of pain before.

"Wah-wah-wah..." My little girl was the one going WAH-WAH-WAH. This song was horrible! Whose idea was it to sing this thing? I felt like I had to keep singing through my sobs. It was heartbreaking to hear me, I'm sure. I think Josh started crying too.

So often during the day Diddles gets frustrated (as two-year-olds do), and with her limited language, she can't express what she needs. Dozens of times during the day, I will say to her, "Can I help you?" This time I wanted SO badly to press her little hands in mine and somehow transfer her hurts onto my own hands. "Can I help you? Can I take that from you?"

"The mommies on the bus go Shh-shh-shh..." My choking sobs continued as I sang that song like her life depended on it. As I rocked her and sang, I realized that as much as I wanted to, I couldn't make that hurt go away. I couldn't take that pain away from her.

With all the chaos going on, I was again taught a beautiful lesson in a hospital room. I thought that of all Christ suffered for in Gethsemane and on the cross. It would have been sufficient for him to suffer through the pain we would experience as a result of our sins and mistakes. That would have been more than a sufficient sacrifice to experience that for each of us, which allows us to repent and be forgiven, wouldn't it? That's still a lot for me to even comprehend. But, the fact that Christ IN ADDITION suffered also for our PAINS adds another level to the Atonement, doesn't it? I had never thought about that before!

Like it says in Alma 7:12 "And he will take upon him death that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."

And so, because our Heavenly Father and Christ love us, Christ experienced every pain we will experience here on the earth. Yes, the spiritual pain - amazing, and humbling, and miraculous. But, He also felt the tightness in my lungs as I was literally DYING for breath in March. He felt that sinking, crushing, closing-in feeling I felt when I was being brought out of Atrial Fibrillation. He felt the searing pain of 2nd degree burns on tender baby skin. He felt the physical ache in my heart and stomach as I watched my baby shake and scream in pain. He felt those so He would know PERFECTLY how we felt, and therefore be able to SUCCOR (assist, help, aid, relief, support) us when we would indeed experience it.

And I was so grateful, as horrible as that whole experience was, and still is, to know that Someone loves us, feels for us, and can "wipe away all tears from (our) eyes..." (Revelation 21:4) because He's already done it - perfectly and completely.

Diddles is going to be okay. Her hands were dressed and bandaged, and she slept really well the first night. A good friend and nurse in our ward came over yesterday with burn cream and bandages and a stuffed animal. She gave me great instructions on how to treat her wounds, as well as comforting words that the worst is over. Thanks, Deborah! Diddles is on 4-6 hour doses of pain killers with codeine. We have gone through two boxes of band-aids and almost a bottle of burn cream. Josh lanced her "water balloon" blisters last night. She keeps biting off the loose skin and then cries in pain at the new tender exposed skin. Diddles little word for ouch is "OUSH". It was uttered about 100 times yesterday. Let's hope today it's only 50, and tomorrow 25.

I'll post about Halloween tomorrow. Needless to say it was more of an afterthought after what happened! But, answering the door last night was a great distraction for her. Sweet little girl.

The little bubs loved putting candy in people's basket and waving goodbye. One little girl looked at her bandaged hands and asked honestly,

"Is she dressed as a mummy?"

Peech

2011-10-25T13:25:00.009-06:00

When I was in school learning to be a teacher, I worked with a little first grade class as a teachers' aide for a semester. One of the little first graders was named Shaun. He was enthusiastic and funny and honest-to-a-fault. We collected some hilarious quotes from the things Shaun would say. Shaun was also in speech. He substituted the "S" sound for the "P" sound, among other things, so they'd pull him out to work with him on it. Every day at 1:00, he would raise his hand and shout out, "Mistow Peck, I'm goin' to peech class!" We found it so funny that of all the words cute little Shaun couldn't pronounce, it was SPEECH. I know it's mean, but it really was funny!

"The ryn in Spyn, sties maynly on the playn."

Well, turns out we have a little peech problem of our own at our house! Diddles hasn't been progressing as she should with speaking. She probably has 30+ words, but they are all one-syllable and pronounced in her own little way. I told you about her first and only phrase.

She never asks questions like, "What's that?" She prefers to gesture or show us what she wants instead of using her words. She's operating currently on where an 18 month old should be. It's resulted in many tears and much frustration for her, and despite our best efforts to serve as her interpreter, it's becoming increasingly difficult to communicate with her with the independent TWOs upon us (heaven help us all...).

I love when the kids capture me disciplining on film.

At her last pediatrician appointment, I expressed my concern. He assessed her for Autism and hearing problems. Nothing out of the ordinary was found. She's smart as a whip and can hear a dog barking a mile away! So, we set up an appointment to go see some professionals. There is a wonderful multi-disciplinary clinic that offers all sorts of therapy from health phsychology to speech to massage therapy. It's a wonderful facility and today we met with Betsy, a kind and grandmotherly woman, who Diddles took to immediately.

She was assessed through play with little activities using toys and pictures. It was awesome. I think they were able to get a good grasp on where she is at, and what we're struggling with, and what we can do about it.

The verdict was that she is a perfect candidate for speech therapy! There's a connection between the brain and the voice that develops differently in each of us. There's a delay in Diddles, and the fact that she's so smart explains why this has been so tough for her = tantrums & meltdowns!

So, we'll be going to "peech" for the next little while. I'm really happy there are people who study this stuff, and make it their profession. I don't profess to know everything about my child and his/her needs. Just because I'm an educator doesn't mean I know everything. I'm really glad there are people out there who can help me be the best parent I can be for my child.

Three cheers for PEECH!

Posted

2011-10-19T16:49:00.005-06:00

We grew up "in the mission field". My siblings and I were typically one of the few "Mormons" in our grade. People knew little to nothing about us, and what they did know was typically incorrect. When we lived in NY and we had early morning seminary, I woke up at 4:45am to "get ready". We had to leave the house at 5:30am for the 30-minute drive to our dark church building for seminary, which started at 6:00am. After class, our teacher had to go to work, and we were left there to kill some time in the foyer until we caught our school bus to the high school.

My brother Andy would lecture us on "keeping a low profile". I can still hear him saying it! Ha, ha. He would have us leave the building spaced out in small groups, so as not to draw questions and attention to ourselves. I wasn't to speak to him or acknowledge that he was my brother. Who would believe we got up at the crack of dawn to go to church and study the Bible, and if they did what would they say!? I guess we all were all "ashamed" to a certain extent. Our move to Virginia was a little better. Our ward congregation was large and well-established. The youth in our ward were Valedictorian, track and basketball stars, Homecoming queen and king, and often the top in their class, not to mention good, kind kids. It was a little easier to "admit" that yeah, I was a Mormon, just like so and so. Still, I've never been one to "put myself out there". I've said it before, I've never really been a "missionary" other than setting a good example.

My brothers all went off on their missions and came home changed men. They were preaching to total strangers at the baggage claim, for crying out loud! They were handing out pass along cards in the grocery store and saying things like, "Have you read the Book of Mormon?" or "Guys, let's turn off the TV and FEAST UPON THE WORD!" I was shocked, a little embarrassed...and totally impressed. My faith is important to me. It's special to me. I don't like it to be judged, questioned or mocked. I take it personally, so I'm more inclined to just keep it quietly close to myself.

Yesterday our neighbor came over to invite me to his Bible Study at his house. He's a pastor. I was friendly and nodded and smiled and took his card, which said, "ARE YOU ON THE RIGHT PATH? Does it matter?" Then he asked me, "What church do you belong to?" My chest tightened, I'm sure I blushed, as memories of growing up and words, "keep a low profile" banged around in my ears. But then I remembered the primary song, "I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know who I am. I know God's plan. I'll follow Him in faith." and I smiled and looked him straight in the eye and said, "I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!" Now it was his turn to blush. I'm sure he's watched the news. He said, "Well, in THAT case, let me give you these other two pamphlets." One was about being saved by Grace. The other was entitled, "Life's Greatest Decision". I thanked them for coming, flashed my most winning smile and wave and they were on their way.

Today I logged onto Mormon.org and checked on my pending profile. It's up. I'm "out there" for all to see. It's liberating and terrifying all at once. But, there are things that I believe, and among them is that my "Life's Greatest Decision" was to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I'm on the right path, and it does matter.

You can read all about ME and my faith on the link on my sidebar! Go and do, my friends. Go and do.

Birthday and Other Surprises

2011-10-10T17:20:00.006-06:00

My birthday fell on a busy Wednesday this year. We both had mutual that night, which we always need to juggle and decide who goes and who stays. Josh has been really busy at work. A date night just wasn't in the cards, and there are few places I'd want to go to eat anyway. Small town, remember?

Fortunately, the kids were up *EARLY*, decorating the house with streamers and balloons! It's not really a birthday without them. My instructions were to stay quiet in my bed and relax. Maybe read a Harry Potter book**, until they came up to get me. They brought me breakfast in bed, which they made themselves: 7-grain bread with LOTS of butter, a glass of orange juice, which fortunately made it up the stairs still in its glass, and a plastic bowl of the crumbs of mom's favorite cereal - Raisin Bran Crunch. Just the kind of breakfast every now 35-yr-old needs!

My gift was a boxed set of the Harry Potter movies.** You see why they had Harry Potter on the brain? They were so excited to have me open it! Yaks and I watched the dragon scene from Goblet of Fire together. It was fun! I got several thoughtful gifts from dear family members, my annual uninterrupted phone conversation with my mom, and lots of Facebook greetings, or, as Jimmy Fallon says,

"Thank you, happy birthday wishes, for no longer meaning,
'I remembered your birthday!' and instead meaning, 'I was on Facebook today!'"

So funny. So true, but I love the greetings all the same!

Later that day, Josh came home for the afternoon. He had pulled an all-nighter and was dying to rest, and I was dying to go out and do something! So, we put Diddles to bed, he rested, and I went to Yaks' classroom and volunteered for a few hours. His teacher was so excited to have some help that day, so I felt so good to be able to be there when she needed a hand. Yaks' little face, seeing me unexpectedly come in to help, was awesome too.

Later that night, we cooked up some pizzas and had my requested dessert of cheesecake from Wal-mart's bakery. I made a little raspberry sauce to go with it. It's delicious! I know?! Wal-mart cheesecake? Sounds wrong, but it tastes just right. Birthday candles and singing. A happy and healthy family? What's left to wish for?

Maybe some photos next year taken on something other than the smudged lens of the camera phone. :)

A day before my birthday, I noticed a water spot on the ceiling of the garage, on the side which sits below the kitchen. I called on Josh to investigate, and he discovered the the water line to the fridge ice maker/water had frozen and popped off the back of the fridge, watering the wood floor beneath it for several days. Disaster. We feel sick about it, but it was truly just one of those accidents that happens. We got the water turned off, alerted the owner, and then moved the fridge to dry out what we could. In the days that followed, the wet wood began to warp and buckle. The beautiful wood floor needed to be pulled up, dried out with dozens of LOUD industrial driers and de-humidifiers, and will need to be replaced and the entire floor refinished! So, in the meantime, our floor is pulled up, the fridge sits out-of-place on the other side of the kitchen, and we're all left feeling bad. :(

To end on a happy note, a few weeks ago, we were invited to a corn maze sponsored by the school. The college of Ag and Life Science students plan and plow and run this event every year to raise money for their clubs. We were practically the only ones there, as it was a sort of preview before it officially opened. Josh made it so fun and packed hot chocolate, glow-in-the-dark necklaces, flashlights and lots of warm clothes. We had a map of the maze (shaped like the head of the mascot), and the kids were so excited to follow it and decide which way (left or right) to go! "We're walking in his nostril!" The kids hadn't been to anything like this in years, so it was really a great treat for them. Diddles was very quiet and clingy the whole time, and we realized afterwards, the poor dear was probably scared out of her wits! She sleeps with the lights dimmed, doesn't ever go outside when it's dark, and who wanders around a spooky crackly corn maze when they are two?

Conference Weekend at HOME

2011-10-03T13:13:00.004-06:00

We enjoyed Conference Weekend at home the past couple days.

Did you catch that?

Conference weekend AT HOME!

I distinctly remember what I was doing six months ago during the April Conference. Following my Thoracotomy, I was working to control my pain, and feeling discouraged at the toll that my illness had taken on my body. I was stuck in bed with no release date in sight. I got winded even talking. I was so happy when I discovered that I could hear it live on The Mormon Channel App that I had on my phone. Imagine the comfort and joy I felt when the first talk I heard was this one.

This time, I enjoyed conference healthy, and HOME with my family! Isn't that a miracle!? Last night, Josh and I collapsed, exhausted into bed around 9:30pm. Who would ever think that having "church at home" would be such a production? Granted, I didn't hear every talk this weekend, but I didn't let it bother me like it has in previous years. Every time I wanted mourn the loss of the days when I used to be able to listen to conference uninterrupted, or to lose my temper at the kids' volume or behavior, I would think, "Oh, just remember where you were six months ago! This is so awesome!" Speaking of awesome, the kids were singing this song as they were working on projects before the Sunday session started.

They both learned it in Kindergarten, but we've never been sure of the real "tune," you know? I looked it up on You Tube. The difference is hilarious!

In addition to Conference, I was able to try my hand at a few things. My good friend, Marie'gave me her leftover tomatoes from their bumper crop. I LOVE bottled tomatoes and the delicious sauces and soups they make. Marie' was so generous to give me not only the tomatoes, but all of the tools necessary to bottle them!

We went from this, and this, to this! 14 delicious bottles of tomatoes!

I learned a lot from bottling tomatoes for the first time. Mainly, that I should have packed more tomatoes into each bottle, but hey...I truly believe now what they say, "You can, CAN (bottle)!"

In a few weeks, I get to teach our Beehives about pie making. I've only made a few pies in my life, so I wanted to try my hand at my Dad's tried-and-true recipe and make a French Apple Pie on Sunday. The filling was delicious, as was the crust, but the bottom was too thick - chewy and cakey. It's definitely an art - Pie making. I hope I can master it in time to teach them, otherwise, we'll need to change it to "Apple Crisp Making!"

I'm a Mormon

2011-09-29T10:16:00.007-06:00

I'm a Mormon.

Did you know that?

Our church leaders invited our region to participate in an advertising "campaign", introducing people to mormon.org. The purpose is to share our "common commitment to Jesus Christ, to each other, and our neighbors." It's been interesting to watch the video clips of various members of the church and learn of their diverse experiences and touching testimonies.

Many of them have amazing experiences and lead fascinating lives. Cancer survivors (goodness, watch from 1:13)

artists, CEO's, parents of special-needs children, NFL football players. I recognized one sister who was in our stake in Virginia.

On Sunday our Bishop held a combined meeting and challenged us all to create a "profile" which asks, among other things, why you are a Mormon and how you live your faith. I agonized over what to write. I'm telling you, it took me two full nap times to organize my thoughts and pare down what I wanted to say! I still think I said too much. I've gotten up in testimony meeting and shared some aspect or another of my testimony, but writing it down and publishing it felt so intimidating. It was a good exercise, though! Initially I was overwhelmed with how MUCH there is to a testimony and all of the various experiences I've had that have helped me gain or strengthen it. I also struggled after reading all of the outstanding profiles to try to write something that even came close to theirs. I felt so inadequate and small following the video clips. I was really grateful for President Uchtdorf's address the night before. So wonderful!

I finally concluded that my life is not extraordinary, but I, along with many others, have a testimony. Some are simple, tiny and fragile. Some are grand, sure and strong. But, that's the purpose of the profile - however big or small they are, to share them.

My profile is under review for content and appropriateness, but then it will be put out there for all the wide world to read and view. I'm not the best missionary. I've never helped bring anyone into the church, but in this small way I feel like I'm doing something to help spread the good news of the gospel. It makes me happy, and I'm grateful for it.

Famous Phrases

2011-09-26T16:27:00.003-06:00

Diddles, our little late-talker uttered her first official "phrase" on Saturday! Josh put her in the tub first-thing in the morning (before her "movement"), and she ended up going in the tub. We've had this problem before. But, Diddles is so resourceful, she usually just picks it up and removes it herself! Ewe, I know! This time Josh noticed and then said, "Oh, don't touch it, Diddles. I'll get it." Then she said, and I quote:

"Dada get poop."

It was so exciting! :)

Not to be out-done, Boo was out on the deck singing a song rather loudly. Then she paused and said, "Mom, I think my echo is broken."

Then yesterday Boo and Yaks went on a walk with Josh. Yaks noticed his shadow and then said, "Dad, my shadow looks flat and like I'm naked! But, I really have clothes on."

That Friend

2011-09-21T11:58:00.004-06:00

Yaks: (Yaks...BEAMING) "Mom, guess what?"
Me: "What!?"
Yaks: "I had SO much fun at recess! I played wiff Rhi!"
Me: (eyes welling with tears) "Oh! You did, buddy? That's great!"
Yaks: "Yeah, I made a friend!"

This was his journal entry that day.

I received an e-mail from his teacher on Thursday. She apologized for not knowing Yaks wasn't playing at recess. I in NO way blame her. I certainly never considered it the teacher's job to help my child find friends, but she kindly asked if there were any kids in class that he knew outside of school. I mentioned a few he knew, and a couple he had mentioned to me several times after school. One of them was a girl named Rhi. They are actually new in our ward! I asked if we could send some banana bread muffins for him to be able to share with the class for snack, to which she agreed.

The next day she paired them up for recess and "made him and Rhi swing." Ha, ha. After that, they took off playing on the playground, and have continued for several days now. He enjoyed being able to pass out the treats, and he was even called on to be a helper.

Sunday we were able to meet her. She walked right over to him at the Linger Longer and said, "Hi, Yaks!" Monday, first-grade Kai invited him to play with him during recess, and Boo even came around and joined in on the fun! He's gotten braver and more outgoing as a result. I overheard him ask our carpool buddy, Naomi, "Do you want to play with me until the bell rings?"

I'm thankful for caring teachers. I'm thankful for loving mothers who "encourage" their kids to include. I'm thankful for "that one friend" that we each have, and more importantly, that we can each be to someone else.

Linger Longer: Pioneer Style

2011-09-18T18:31:00.004-06:00

Today after our 1-4 church, we had a Linger Longer. A "Linger Longer" is a social following church which always involves food and visiting. We had them all the time in our Singles' Ward. They were great fun. I can honestly say, I don't think I've had a Linger Longer since having children, and now I know why!

Our kids were grumpy and tired and HUNGRY, and when the announcement came that they would be serving the tables in order, all the parents of kids who were sitting 3/4 of the way to the BACK of the cultural hall, heaved sigh of defeat. Oh, I should mention that our ward is HUGE. They are planning to split it soon (most likely next week). Boo and Yaks each have eight kids in their primary class, and they have several classes for each age group. Diddles has 17 kids in her Jr. Nursery class. Yeah...lots of littles. :)

I lost count how many times Yaks said, "Mom, I'm hungry." I was supposed to be watching Diddles so Josh could go meet a new family, but I got distracted talking to Gapi and Lothe, and Diddles bonked her head. I felt terrible. Josh decided it best to just leave with her and go home.

Yaks and Boo said they wanted to stay, and I wanted to be sure my favorite serving bowl didn't get lost with the dishes, so we stayed. When our turn came to get into the food line, much of it was gone, and of the items that were left, they were, "Not the kinds of foods we like, Mom." Boo at a taco. Yaks ate tortilla chips. I told them just to hit the dessert line, but it was all gone! My poor, starving children! :\

I felt so bad that Josh had to deal with tired Diddles. I decided we should just walk home instead of calling him for a ride, figuring Diddles was surely sleeping, and for him to have to load her up in the car to come get us would be mean. I realized I had both the church bag, my YW bag, a cooler with an ice pack and my heavy Armatale bowl! I was traveling with LUGGAGE! I wished I had some sort of cart to haul it all in.

The weather was beautiful, though, as we struck out with our load. I felt much like the pioneers must have felt like at the beginning of their journey West. "Isn't this fun?" "We should walk home every week, Mom!" We got halfway down the block and I knew my shoes were going to give me problems. My shoes are a tiny bit big, which works fine when walking around the church building, but when you're walking across town...it poses a bit of a problem. I kept walking out them, and I knew I was going to twist an ankle. I ended up just taking them off and walking in my hose.

So, envision the three of us in church clothes, walking down the sidewalk. The shoeless mother is carrying a blue and white COOLER, and TWO large tote bags slung over each shoulder. I dodged a few glass shards, but for the most part, it was perfectly safe.

We started watching for landmarks that we knew. "Look, there's McDonalds and Dissmores! We're almost home!" "Little Caesars! Mom, can we just stop and get a pizza?"

Then, it wouldn't be a pioneer story without a miracle. Our rescue party arrived! Our friends, the Campbells pulled over on their way home, and took pity upon us. We fit nine people in their seven-passenger van! "We'll just squish!" THANK YOU, CAMPBELLS!

Asha (8) said, "Ummm, where are your shoes?"

We arrived home safe and sound. Josh had been waiting for us over at the church. Diddles was asleep in the car. Yaks ate Ramen Noodles for dinner. Boo had a cheese sandwich.

I'm calling it a day!

*Picture is James C. Christensen's The Responsible Woman

School Days

2011-09-15T14:49:00.011-06:00

School was difficult for me. Well, school work wasn't hard for me (excluding Math), but the social aspect of school (peer and teacher relationships) were difficult to navigate. I was always a well-liked kid, and always had friends, but I always remember feeling terribly nervous before the start of a school year, no matter the year. We moved around a lot, which was wonderful in SO many ways, but starting off the school year in an unfamiliar place was the worst. My Mom said she would send us off on the first day, and then spend the rest of the day just praying we'd have a good day.

I was the "new kid" in school in 1st grade, 6th grade and 10th grade, not including my 7th grade year in the big Middle School, and my Freshman year in the big High School. Oh, I remember the anxiety of walking into the lunch room the first time and having no idea where or with whom to sit. I got all my height in grade school, so I towered over the other kids - no hope for "blending in". I remember carrying around the map to our Virginia High School in my binder and having to refer to it to get to every single class for the first MONTH - terrified I would get lost in my new school. My older brother Andy was no help. He refused to acknowledge my existence in school - afraid of tarnishing his image, I guess. He's later apologized repeatedly for being so mean.

I'll never forget the year I got Miss Kathman for my 2nd grade teacher. I witnessed her screaming at her class for talking in the hallway when I was in 1st grade, and I prayed that I wouldn't get her. She wore high-heels and lots of gold jewelry, always had her hair set with Aqua Net, and she carried a Louis Vuitton handbag (funny the things you remember). Class assignments were posted the first day of school, and I remember walking up there with my mom to find out who my teacher was. Miss Kathman. I burst into terrified tears. I'm sure my mom didn't want to leave me there. Miss Kathman ended up being the nicest teacher ever, so long as you didn't talk in the halls or while she was teaching.

Check out the teeth! I told you.
I don't remember ever being teased about them, though, thank goodness.

We had this lunch lady, Mrs. Lemon (she was just as sour), who would collect the money for milk/hot lunch before school, but she would close up shop 5 minutes before the bell rang. We walked to school, and would hurry to the line with our change tied up in a lunch baggie for either hot lunch that day or milk money. She'd be especially upset at us because there were usually four family members to pay for when we were in line. We would always keep our eyes down on the ground, because if she made eye contact with you, she would growl, "You're late!" It was always a miracle if we got out of there with our lunch or milk tickets without being humiliated by Mrs. Lemon.

When I became a mother and my own kids started school, the anxiety resurfaced in a whole different way. Yaks has been coming home for weeks now, telling me that he doesn't have anyone to play with at recess. He's told me he just gets a drink, and then waits by the Kindergarten door for the bell to ring. Josh went to "observe" him at recess yesterday, and found the report to be true. He even saw Yaks walk over to his sister to try to play with her, and was PUSHED away. Heartbreaking! I can see why Boo doesn't want to play with her little Kindergarten BROTHER, but oh, to shun him!? I can't imagine how he must have felt. I was transported back to the lunch room all over again.

Yaks considers Boo his best friend. She's all he's ever had. When I was in labor with him the nurse exclaimed over their closeness in age and said, "They'll never know what life was like without the other," and that's the truth. I didn't realize though, that through this wonderful closeness, Yaks wasn't learning how to be friends with anyone else. I'm truly beginning to wonder if he even knows how to make friends!

He's never really expressed interest in inviting anyone over to play, hasn't really connected with other classmates at church or even cousins, without Boo! We tried taking him over to the playground to familiarize himself with the equipment. We've discussed classmates' names he may have learned that day. We're trying to always stay positive.

It's all I can do to stop myself from marching over to school during recess, grabbing a megaphone and saying, "Do you see this boy? This is Yaks, my dearest, sweetest boy. He needs a friend, people. He's a really great kid! So...who gets to play with him at recess today?" Cause really, all I see when I look at him is this little person:

I'm sure this issue and all the others will work themselves out. I know I need to quit projecting on my kids. But, don't you always want to spare your kids any ounce of pain that you experienced yourself? Josh and I were talking yesterday about how hard school can be in that respect. His school stories are more horrible than mine - teasing, taunting and ostracizing. We agreed that so long as you have one or two really good friends and influences at school, things are a lot easier to bear.

I'm praying Yaks finds that friend.

The Long Haul

2011-09-13T10:24:00.005-06:00

Conversation in the back seat on our way to Kamiak Butte:

Boo: "We are going to Kamiak Butte. It's not as far as New York."
Yaks: "Where is New York?"
Boo: "It's the place where Brian Williams speaks."

See Boo Swim (and Bike and Run)

2011-09-10T15:07:00.005-06:00

Boo participated in a youth triathlon today! This one was a 50 yard swim, 1.22 mile bike, and .61 mile run. Boo competed against other 7/8 yr-old girls. She was pretty nervous all morning saying, "What if I can't do it?" I've observed that most of these young kids are just worried about not knowing where to go or what to do during the transition time. I don't blame them! Coupled with the loud crowds and the unfamiliar surroundings, it's no wonder I saw no less than three crying children being comforted by their parents before the race started. Boo knew she could do it, and we made sure to remind her that this is just for fun, and that she's done one before!

Truthfully, the swim on this one was a little bit different. Josh said Boo had never swam two full lengths non-stop in the pool! In the St. George race, she had a life jacket on, and Josh right by her side. Well, she did amazing! I was so proud of her. Josh usually takes them to swim lessons, but I don't get to see them swim very often. I would have surely drowned halfway through the first length! If you listen, you'll not only hear Coach Dad, but also little brother cheering her on!

I missed her bike transition and her final lap. I had Diddles, you know, who did not understand why she couldn't take a dip in the pool. It was a HOT day today by our standards (95), and we were sad and melting! I arrived to the finish line with Yaks and Diddles just in time to see Boo cross the finish line. I had a choice between fumbling with the camera or missing the moment, and I didn't want to miss the moment!

The kids weren't chipped, so there wasn't really a way of for sure knowing who finished first. Looking around at those who had already come through, Boo looked to be in the top finishers of the girls her age. Either way, EVERYONE got an awesome ORANGE t-shirt (which will join the others in her PJ drawer), and a blue ribbon.

Pick Up Lines

2011-09-09T11:17:00.003-06:00

Yaks: "Mom, guess what? There's a girl in my class that I like."
Me: "Oh, really? That's nice. What's her name?"
Yaks: "Um, I don't really know."
Me: "Well, maybe you could say, 'Hi, my name is Yaks, what's your name?'"
Yaks: (laughs) "Mom!? I don't want to be in LOVE!"
Me: (laughing) "Oh, okay."

Birthday Weekend

2011-09-08T15:09:00.010-06:00

We had a long weekend together to celebrate Boo's birthday! Why not stretch the celebrating out over several days? Our Saturday began with "frost rolls" (cinnamon rolls) and opening presents. Boo got to talk to both sets of Grandparents on the phone or Skype. I love that technology lets us do this!

Boo requested a Tinkerbell party...again. I guess my attempts at last years' party weren't acceptable, or perhaps she just still loves Tinkerbell!

I know, it will probably be the theme next year too...

She didn't want to go out to eat, she wanted a simple dinner with a Tinkerbell cake and ice cream. The only place she really wanted to go was "to the bar" at the playground to show us her new tricks.

The only game she wanted to play was Rummicube with the family. Simple requests. We were determined to grant them all:

Following her simple dinner, it was time for cake and ice cream!
My creative juices were not flowing for this cake. I couldn't think of anything to do that wouldn't take a ton of time and materials. So, Boo and I went to the bakery and bought a cake "kit" (those plastic toys they stick on the top), then we chose a little 6" decorated cake with pink flowers (sigh) that seemed perfect for Tinkerbell to dwell upon.

Boo assembled it any old way she pleased, and even put a Tinkerbell sticker in the middle just for a finishing touch! The cake and the kit cost $12.00, and she loved it! Well worth the money, I say. I couldn't find our box of birthday candles, so we had to settle for this Easter egg candle. I think it's perfect.

This picture is awesome for many reasons:

1.) Diddles, tired of waiting for the dumb candle-lighting and the silly song to get her piece of birthday cake, grabbed a plate crawled up on the chair, and was ready to dish herself up!
2.) Boo's quick-moves, which averted a sure disaster.
3.) Yaks, who found this whole thing HILARIOUS! Stinker.

No harm done. Right, Boo?

Sunday after church, Josh packed us up and we went to Kamiak Butte to cook some tin foil dinners and corn-on-the-cob. It would have been a lovely, cool evening, but the Yellowjackets got the same memo. They were everywhere, and were so aggressive and annoying! Boo was terrified, and spent most of the evening hiding under a blanket. I was trying to play down the insects until one landed on my finger and would not get off! (shudder) We eventually ran for the cover and ate our dinners in the car! I had nightmares about yellowjackets that night.

Monday we went to the city and ate a lovely lunch on the patio at the Olive Garden. I haven't been out to eat in forever. It was so nice! Did you friends know that my water actually broke IN the Olive Garden when I was pregnant with Boo? I'll never forget it. What a perfect mix of humiliation and excitement! I ordered the soup I had that day in commemoration! Still delicious after all these years. :)

We got caramel apples for dessert and delighted over the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory kiosk that was at the mall!

Josh, Diddles and Yaks rode the Carousel.

We hung out in the park for the rest of the afternoon. The weather was perfect! Oh, Boo can also throw and catch a Frisbee.

I can't even throw a Frisbee! Unbelievable.

We had fun at her little birthday photo shoot.
"Neck-Noodle!"

I love her hair.

and her dimple

Good times. Happy Birthday!

Happy 7th Birthday, Boo!

2011-09-03T10:33:00.007-06:00

Dear Boo,

Happy 7th Birthday! A Saturday birthday, with a long Labor Day weekend -- we couldn't have planned your birthday on a more lovely holiday. I'm so excited we get to celebrate you today!

We had our first full week of school this past week! You passed through it with flying colors, acing your spelling and math pre-tests, and even getting selected to fill in as the "monitor" at lunch. I guess wiping down the table and chairs after lunch is quite the honor! Although your teacher is a bit "strict", you seem to be thriving. You love doing your work, following directions and reporting to us which kids got in trouble today! :\

You love to create things and make them all your own. One day you spent hours working with craft foam, markers, needle and thread (you figured out sewing all on your own) and custom-crafted these "slippers" for yourself. You are constantly rearranging the pictures and wall-hangings in your room, or digging out old pictures to put into frames to display just-so.

You love to make little stapled picture books and field journals. You love games - Pass the Pigs, Candy Land, Rummicube, and puzzles. You like to compete and love to win, that's for sure, but I think you're also learning that it's fun just to play and learn something new!

You've been enjoying your swimming lessons and you look amazing gliding through the water! If only I learned to swim like you! Your favorite thing to do at recess is "tricks on the bar". You love chocolate ice cream, cookie dough, and frosting (not so much the cake, but the FROSTING is where it's at!). The other day we were decorating Diddles' birthday cake, and before I knew it, you had devoured half the frosting container! HUGE spoonfuls! When I asked you what you were thinking, you smiled, shook your head, and said very honestly, "I don't know. I just LOVE frosting!" haha. It was pretty funny. Fortunately, you also love your salads, and anything dairy - especially yoplait vanilla yogurts. Oh, and you are a champion tooth-brusher, thank goodness!

For your dinner birthday you have requested Top Ramen Noodles and hot dogs, "peas for the vegetable" and cake and ice cream. Are you sure you don't want to go out to eat? That sounds like the worst dinner ever, but it's YOUR day. So be it."

You've lost seven teeth this year, and they've been replaced with some enormous permanent teeth. People have commented on them - worried you'll need braces. I'll tell you a little secret. My teeth looked EXACTLY like that at your age! I could fit a lollipop stick between my front teeth and STILL have room to spare. But the dentist said, "Just you wait, your molars will come in and push those teeth together and you'll have a beautiful smile," and he was right. Let's hope you've got a big mouth like me! :)

You are a great big sister. Diddles always asks for you when she wakes up or when she's stalling to go to bed. She loves to do anything you are doing, and adores dancing and twirling with you.

Yaks and you continue to be comrades, and it's been wonderful to see you fill the roll of big sister with him starting school for the first time.
He has depended on you this year to pick him up after school, and you've been very responsible to wait for him and walk together to our pick-up spot.

Although you aren't "best pals" all the time, you are very close, and it's great to see that you care about each other. I hope you can always remember that school friends come and go, but your family are your friends forever.

You have been flexing your independence muscles this year, much to my dismay! We sometimes butt heads about an outfit or hairstyle, and you know just what to say to push my buttons, mostly countering back with a defiant, "Well then, I'll...".

This past week it's been bedtime. You aren't tired at 8:00, but that's bedtime, so your counter is, "Well, then I'll sleep in the hall!" But, if you are in the hall you aren't in your room, and you must be in your room, so you sleep in your doorway with your pillow and blankets and leave your perfectly wonderful, comfortable mattress empty every night. (sigh)

But, I just have to take a deep breath and ask myself how important, really, is this battle? You're going through a process that we must all go through of making decisions, figuring out your boundaries, and taking charge of yourself. That's pretty awesome.

This year you've had moments of triumph..

You've had moments of inspiration...

You've had moments of silliness...
You've had moments of great growth...

I'm so glad we get to sit back and watch every moment.We're so proud and thankful to be your parents. We wouldn't be a family without you! We love you!

Down on the Farm Party

2011-08-29T21:54:00.007-06:00

Whew! August is a busy time of year! Anniversary, end-of-summer, school starting, TWO birthdays, etc. I'm glad so far we've been able to keep thing relatively simple by way of birthday parties and gifts.

In keeping with Diddles' latest interest in animals, we decided a farm theme would be appropriate. The kids helped me make this little garland of farm animals and balloons, and that plus the cake made our decorations complete!

The cake was...well, it was a kids' barnyard cake, what can I say?

Haha. I know. The graham cracker barn left a lot to be desired, but actually quite accurately resembled many of the tumbling-down barns that we see around here in the middle of the wheat fields. We used our plastic farm animals, crushed oreos for the dirt and pretzels for the fence.

Boo felt it needed a farmer, and of all the figures we have in the house that would have looked great, she chose a knight wielding an invisible ax. No wonder all the farm animals look terrified! I would too if that were my caretaker!

She loved it, though. Nothing like a good squeal when a birthday cake is presented to make you feel good about your creation!

The most exciting event happened when we lit the two candles. Diddles became terrified of the flames and started panicking and pointing to the candles.

I'm sure she thought it was going to burn the barn and all the animals! We sang "Happy Birthday" as fast as humanly possible and then quickly extinguished them. Safety conscious at such a young age.

Her presents were chosen and wrapped in Christmas paper by the kids. If anyone knows where one can buy a HUGE roll of birthday wrapping paper (like those great double-sided double rolls they sell at Costco), let me know! We need a little variety and holiday-appropriateness.

Yaks got her a Handy Manny motorcycle, which oddly has been played with more by him than her.

So strange how that happened...

She got several picture books and a big set of farm animals with a tractor and barn.Good times hearing all of the animal sounds echoing through the house:)
Birthday photo shoots with two-year-olds are a little tricky.

It was a little breezy, and by the time the light is right, it's time for dinner and bed time. I finally got a few keepers by having her point to parts of her body:

Eyes
Nose (my favorite)
Hair
Ears
Tongue ("blubba-lubba-lubba")

Happy Birthday, Diddles!

2011-08-26T13:40:00.009-06:00

Dear Diddles,

Happy 2nd Birthday! As I was sifting through the photos of you this past year, I'm amazed at the spurt in growth you have had. You seem to have turned from a baby to a little girl in a matter of months! Slow down, you're going too fast!

Diddles only 10 months ago - not even walking yet!

Diddles last month

When I got sick and returned home after being away from you for two whole weeks, you weren't sure about me. You went to Nana for your needs, and would eye me and make a big circle to avoid me. I remember the sweet day that you came to me to rock you. I sniffed your hair and rubbed that soft chunk on the back of your knees as we hummed. It was one of the best days ever to sit and rock you back and forth. The other night you were crying about something in your crib, and when Daddy went in to help you you said, "Mah-Mah." Oh, no one knows how sweet that sound is, unless they've faced the frightening possibility of never hearing their baby say it in this life! I'm so thankful to be your mommy.

You are our sweet little treasure with chocolate brown eyes, dark wavy hair that is impossible to tame (the little birds' nest that forms in the back while you sleep defies gravity), and a sweetheart face that turns us all to mush!

Although we joke, "Whatever Loree (nickname) wants, Loree gets," it's completely true. You are one spoiled caboose!

There are very few people with whom I would share my bubble gum ice cream.

When I lecture Yaks and Boo to not give in and let you have your way all the time, they say to me soothingly, "It's okay, Mom. She's just a baby!" When they went on a week-long trip to Utah, they missed you like CRAZY, and couldn't wait to come home to see you. They've been talking about and planning your birthday party for months!

You have approximately 75 nicknames: Chowkey, Chem-way, Loree, Corey, Cocoa, Lie-Lie, Morey, Lowkey-Lie, Chorley, etc., etc. It's ridiculous, really.

You are our latest talker yet! Although you do speak, they are only one-syllable words right now. It's coming along, but progress is really slooooow. We are looking forward to some phrases and sentences this year. We've ruled out any disabilities, unless being a bit stubborn is considered a disability.;)

I've been working and working with you to give me a "please". I'd even settle for a "PEA!" It really would make my year to hear it. You seem to know how badly I want this because you just laugh at me when I repeat it to you over and over.

Your late talking has been frustrating for all parties. Frustrating for you, because you can't express your feelings, and what you really need/want. Frustrating for us because we often have to play 20-questions to figure out what you want. The result from you is a lot of tears, tantrums, banging your head on objects for attention, and even some hitting (sigh).

You have turned into a determined little spit-fire and no longer sit patiently content on the sidelines. You want to be right in the middle of the action from meal-time to play-time, and this has caused many-a-cry for help from the siblings, "Mom, we're having a problem with this baby!"

Your favorite foods are scrambled eggs, corn and peas, ice cream and any kind of pasta. You love animals of all kinds, but especially dogs, cats, pigs and sheep.

You love music with a beat. You clap your hands and dance around when it plays. You and Boo will daily dance to the Kingdom Dance from Tangled. It's so fun for us to see you toodle around with your toddle-tot body spinning around and running in place to the beat. You like trains and blocks and babies and coloring. You love taking baths and playing in water. You enjoy going on car rides (as long as it's less than an hour) and you love when people come home, especially Daddy. The sound of the garage door causes you to leap out of your seat or drop any activity and run for the stairs! Your favorite blankie has become a tan and brown paisley fleece blanket that we've had for years. It looks nothing like a girls' blanket, but you love it because it's got nice long tags that you tickle your nose with while you are falling asleep. You even let us enjoy a tag or two before we close the door.

We are all so happy to have you in our family! You are such a little blessing, and you add so much joy to our same-old, every day. I can't imagine how dull life would be minus our Diddles. We love you, sweet bubs. Happy Birthday!

Off They Go!

2011-08-24T14:57:00.008-06:00

Boo and Yaks are off to their first day of school. They were up early (6am), excited and a little anxious. I was a little sad all morning, but was determined to create a smooth morning with no frustrations and all of the "important" things done. We had breakfast and scriptures and prayers and brushed teeth. Josh gave both kids a blessing, which was as much a comfort for me to hear as it hopefully was for the kids to receive. We had time for stories and picture-taking and found ourselves just sitting around nervously watching the clock for go-time.

You can get a really genuine smile out of Boo by having her say, "noodle-neck!" Her word, not mine.

Josh took Boo in to school on his way in to work. She was worried she wouldn't know where to line up, but managed to find it, or so I'm told. I'll tell you what though, somebody had a hard morning with all of her friends disappearing, and I'm not talking only about myself!

After the initial meltdown after watching them pull out of the driveway, Diddles went down the stairs and camped out at the door leading to the garage for a good 20 minutes of crying.

Fortunately Yaks was still around to comfort and entertain her. They played trains and we filled up the tub and even went to the store for some distraction.

We had lunch and then began prepping for Yaks to be on his way.

Kinbergarten. :)

His backpack with the lunch box still attached.

I asked him what I should do while he's gone at school. He said, "I don't know. Maybe you could just watch out the window for us to come home."
We walked down the "plum path" with a ready-for-a-nap Diddles and found Boo having fun at lunch recess "on the bar" - her favorite place to play. She was pretty excited to see us.

We said another hello to our favorite teacher. Yaks was anxious to check in with her and didn't want to stray too far for fear of missing the bell and the line-up. We found Naomi, his friend from church and preschool.

It feels like we were just here last year. Oh wait...we were! Hi Kindergarten...AGAIN! Lots of proud and happy parents. It's an emotional but exciting time.

I asked what was their favorite part of the day.

Boo: "The three recesses!"
Yaks: "I didn't like recess because my teacher WASN'T there!" (We talked about how teachers need a potty break too) He later said, "When it's our turn to be helper, we get to choose what ever pointer we want to do the calender!"

Pep Rally

2011-08-23T09:06:00.006-06:00

First day of school tomorrow. Rah, rah, rah? Ugh, I need a pep rally to get excited about this year. I'm feeling just like I did last year, but times TWO. It's horrible. I always knew this day would come with my first two kids so close together. First Boo and the very next year Yaks. I hate it. I don't want my kids to leave my sight and my influence. I feel like I'm losing them forever. (deep breath) But, they both have wonderful teachers and friends in their classes. This experience will be just what they need to learn and grow. There are things at school that they will learn that I just cannot teach them at home. I just have to keep telling myself that.

We were looking at the school supply lists the other day, and I asked Yaks if he was getting excited to go to school. He sighed thoughtfully, and then said, "No, not really." When I asked him why, he said, "Well, the only thing I've ever done is my race." He was worried that he didn't have enough "experience" to go to school, and that in order to be "good" at it, he needed to be able to do a lot of things. I have a tendency when he expresses fears to then proceed to steamroll all of his fears away by doing a monologue of all of the wonderful things that school will be, how great he is going to be at it, and how much fun it is. Blah, blah, blah, blah... I talk too much.

Josh takes a much better approach. An approach I learned and implemented as a teacher, but when I became a mother, I forgot how to do it. He listened to everything he had to say. Listened and then asked questions, "What kind of things are you worried about?" "What fun things do you think you'll do at school?" "What things do you think we could do to help?" He lets Yaks do all the talking, while at the same time letting him process his fears. It's amazing to watch, and it really works. For him and for me! Turns out one of his worries was that Boo wouldn't pick him up after school and he wouldn't know where to go. So, Josh took the kids over to the school and let them walk up and back on the path that the kids walk to the pick-up spot.

The other day Yaks asked, "Mom, do you still have your wedding clothes?" I told him I did have them, hanging in my closet in a white bag. "Dats good," he said. "When I get big and get married, I'll just need some wedding clothes for me." He told Josh the other day that he's planning to get married to me in the backyard. Isn't he the sweetest?

(Self-portraits taken with phone camera. There were about 25 photos!)
Someday, someone is going to love this face almost as much as me.

One afternoon he wanted to create a model of the Island of Sodor from Thomas the Train. He really feels loved when you work on these types of construction projects with him. We worked on it all afternoon!

We combined all of our track sets and trains and made everything from the Duke and Duchess's summer house to Tidmouth Sheds, to the Search and Rescue Center, the Smelter's Yard,and the hidden track where Hiro is discovered. He's quite creative and resourceful. He felt really proud upon completing it. He's going to do great at school.

Yaks loves to help. He's always asking, "Is there anything I can do for you?" That makes me happy. He's also always saying, "I'm bored," because he knows that phrase makes my blood boil. I always suggest chores he must do when he says it. A few weeks ago we washed the car in the driveway to keep us busy. Yaks was anxious to do an especially thorough job. At the end he said, "We're car washing experts!"

Even Diddles got into the activity!

"You missed a spot there, Yaks."
We can always count on Boo to humble us.

Speaking of pep-talks and things we can do...we started a new church schedule a few weeks ago. We're now in the 1-4pm block. I've been dreading it for weeks! A brother who gave the opening prayer asked a blessing on the parents and the small children who were adjusting to the change in schedule. We needed that prayer! We did just great until we got home from church when Diddles started crying. I tried to get her to eat some lunch, but she was inconsolable. She didn't want to eat. Didn't want to be held. Didn't want her blanket, bottle, music or toys. She just kindof wandered around wailing - her head all sweaty, with her hair sticking to her her tear-stained, sweaty face. Heartbreaking.

Josh finally picked her up and rocked her until she conked out. She napped for an hour and then woke up just as grumpy. It felt like the longest day of the year!

This is how I feel inside!

We can do it! Right, Diddles?

The Trip I Didn't Take

2011-08-20T18:31:00.011-06:00

A few weeks ago the "older" kids and Josh decided to take a last-minute trip to visit the family before school starts up again. Although I wanted to go, my realistic side won over. The thoughts of the 11+ car trip with Diddles, camping out away from her bed, me having to teach the Young Women in church that Sunday, and me coming down with a bad sinus infection, all made me decide against coming along for the ride. The kids had a great time, and missed Diddles like crazy. Josh came home happy but thoroughly exhausted from being a single traveling dad all week! This was definitely a "trip", not a "vacation". :)

I love you Diddles, but I hate traveling in the car with you!

Don't feel too bad for me! I was able to organize and clean out every closet, cupboard and pantry in our house. I could freely throw away the broken toys and "treasured" scraps of paper and the ruined favorite shirt that had met it's end, but kept getting "saved" from the trash can. You know, all those things that are just EASIER to accomplish with one child instead of three. Sadly, I didn't take impressive before/after pictures of all of my work to brag about. You're welcome!

As a result, this post is second-hand. I'm sorry if it's a little boring. It was sure fun to hear about!
We were able to talk several times a day via Skype, so it felt like I was there!

They left in the morning and made it to my parents' house around dinner time. They stayed the next day and went to the county fair and school clothes shopping! The following morning they woke up early to go watch Uncle Isaac and Aunt Cara compete in a 1/2 Ironman at Bear Lake.

Josh didn't tell any of them that they were coming. They were quite surprised when Boo, Yaks and Josh just walked up and said, "Hi, Nana!"

This was the comedy relief of the race. This Fabio-look-alike was getting out of the water at the same time as Isaac.

Zooming bikes!

Powdered Sugar donuts by the lake! I love that blue water.

I thought it was sweet that Boo cheered Cara to the finish line. Cara was so great to do the same for Boo when she did her little kids' Tri.

Cara and her little training partner, Gracie in a darling sun hat! The kids had a great time playing with Grace and "helping". I hope they were actually helpful, Cara. I don't know...

Finishers!

That evening, the kids were able to hit our family reunion at my Aunt Janet's in Erda. Uncle Tim was the Pied Piper, as he always is, and James was out visiting from Virginia! Boo said how fun it was to see cousins Owen and Tate again. Little did we know, Cath would deliver her baby girl a week later!

The kids got to be "cool-guys" and take a Jeep ride.

They watched the Tour of Utah bike race.

Boo made a sign that said, "Go Bikers" I love her dimple!

You see some crazy characters at bike races.

Papa had a birthday. I miss those birthday gatherings outside around "the table".

A Glaus' Bakery chocolate mint cake! It's not a birthday without one.
I'm sure Boo had dibs on that purple frosting flower.

They all went with Angie and her kids to the water park. I don't think they'd ever been to a water park! You can see the sheer delight on their faces!

My brother, sister-in-law and nephew "I", flew in for a visit and they were all able to go to the Childrens Museum.

Little "I" making paper airplanes.

Yaks "building a structure".

It looks like everyone had a great time! Thanks to everyone who made a special effort to see them while they were visiting, and of course those who let them crash at their house!

What a great memory to end the summer! This way they can answer the question,
"What did you do this summer?" with something fun!

Eight Years

2011-08-09T09:07:00.002-06:00

Today is our eighth wedding anniversary! What a year, huh? A year of tragedy and triumph, that's for sure. Fortunately through our challenges this year, we're able to look back years from now and see ways we pulled through together, and became a stronger family as a result.

Did I ever tell you our engagement story, friends? It's a good one. I thought it might be fun to write that one down this year before the memory fades like the blond of my hair... :)

RUNNING LATE
We got engaged on Saturday, May 17th, 2003. While we were dating, we made a habit of attending the temple together on Saturdays. It was such a great, uplifting activity, and I'm so glad Josh suggested we do it. We had discussed getting married by this point, and even shopped for a ring together, but Josh wanted to leave the official proposal for another time. Following this particular Saturday session of the temple, he seemed a little distracted and rushed. He was checking his watch and had to make some phone calls. Then he said, "We need to leave now. I have made some plans and we are running a little late." We went back to my house and he dropped me off with the instructions to bring a change of comfortable clothes. About five minutes later, he pulled into my driveway in his Uncle's white BMW. Whatever we were doing, it looked like we were going to be doing it in style...

A MELTING EXPERIENCE
We arrived at the Melting Pot (a fondue restaurant). We were greeted by the friendly hostess and escorted to "our" table. I took Josh once before for his birthday, and we got this great table overlooking Main Street. Sitting at the table waiting for us were two dozen beautiful pink roses! Ah, the power of flowers...

We enjoyed a lovely and conversation-filled dinner. I love that restaurant because it's more of an experience dining. Go there sometime for cheese and chocolate fondue if nothing else. It's great to experience at least once!

Enjoy this dinner, kids! You won't be able to afford this place ever again! :)

SEAT K-18

After dinner we got back in the car and without saying a word, he started driving towards Kingsbury Hall on the U of U campus, where Josh worked during that time doing marketing for the theater.

Isn't it a beautiful building?
We got to go to dozens of amazing dance performances for free while Josh was working there. Fun memories!

"Did you forget something at your office," I asked?
"Yeah, I'll just be a second, but you can come with me." I hopped out of the car and Josh proceeded to lift the floor mat at the entrance and produce a key. We went into the Hall and instead of going down the stairs to his office, he unlocked the main stage door and said, "Come in here for a second."

We walked onto the main stage. The entire hall was dark except the floor lights in the stage and a pale blue spotlight that cast a pattern of snowflakes onto the stage floor. SNOW...FLAKES! In the middle of the stage was the theater's grand piano and bench and ONE (count 'em) one red theater seat that had been unbolted from the theater and placed on stage. Seat K-18.

I was invited to sit down in my seat and Josh said, "Since I first met you, I wanted to learn how to play the piano well enough to be able to sing for you and play at the same time. I've been practicing a little, and I'm really nervous, but I want to play a special song for you."

He nervously sat down at the piano and from memory, played a song called "True Companion" by Mark Cohn.

The lyrics are heart-felt and beautiful. A little-known fact is that Josh is quite musical. His family all burst into song spontaneously at family gatherings in four-part harmonies. Most can play an instrument. Although Josh doesn't claim to be able to play anymore, he took viola lessons as a youth! Well, the story goes that Josh had ordered the sheet music for this song months before, and had been practicing almost daily to learn and memorize the song to sing it to me. Thanks to his patient family for enduring the rehearsals!

Josh did a fantastic job performing. I was gushing with pride! You can imagine what a romantic atmosphere it was on the dark stage with your most wonderful person singing out his heart to you. It was beautiful, and I felt like the most special girl alive!

I later asked him why he didn't propose there on stage following the song. He said, "I didn't want to propose at WORK." Good point. ha, ha.

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW
The weather was rainy and a little windy, which was a bit of a concern to him. I learned later her had plans for a little picnic with candles and Martinelli's, but the weather wasn't cooperating. Josh suggested we change out of our church clothes, but in all of his planning, he forgot to pack his sneakers, so he just stayed in his suit! What a trooper!

We headed up Emigration Canyon. We had a date there a month or two before, for dinner. We hiked up to the spot and the clouds broke into a beautiful pink sunset sky, complete with (I kid you not) a RAINBOW! It couldn't have been more perfectly orchestrated.

Josh started talking about the significance of the Canyon to the Pioneer saints and how they left their homes to start a new life in the Salt Lake Valley and how much it reminded him of me, traveling from Virginia to Utah to start a new life in Utah. He said how grateful he was that I made that decision, and that we were able to meet and fall in love. And with that, he got down on the muddy ground in his suit and said, "Amy, will you be my companion?" I got down on my knees too, and gave him a hug, a kiss and a "yes". That was a happy day.

I still love my ring!

Even if we had a million dollars, I wouldn't want a different one.

We were married on August 9, 2004. Unlike the pioneers, our journey didn't end in the valley. We've had and will have many more lessons to learn, joys to experience and memories to make.

Here's to another year of being companions!

*In looking for these pictures, I finally found one I'd been searching for. For our wedding luncheon at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, I wanted a table of wedding day photos from all of the couples from both sides of the family on their temple wedding day. It took a while to acquire them all, but I put each in a fitting frame and had them there on display. I wish I would have had our photographer take a really great picture of this table, but I'm glad someone got this snapshot at least. It's a great reminder to me of forever families. It was a neat experience to look at each face, so young and full of love and hope. I think if I were to ask any of these couples, they would tell you that marriage isn't easy. It's a lot of work! But, it's also wonderful and I wouldn't trade it. I'm so thankful for mine.

Farewell Friends

2011-08-05T20:09:00.012-06:00

When we moved to our small town two years ago, it was a tough time for me. I had just given birth to Diddles a month before. In fact, the day we brought her home from the hospital, we found out that Josh had been offered the job up here. Talk about your world turning upside down! It was our first big move away from the support of our families and my group of great friends. I was sad to leave them. As many times as we moved growing up, it felt a whole lot different doing it as an adult! Change has never been really easy for me. You know that comfort zone? I'm really comfortable in it.
I remember the first Sunday we went to church. As I looked around at our new ward family, I silently prayed to Heavenly Father, "Heavenly Father...I need a friend. Please help me find a friend." Diddles started fussing, so I toted her off to the Mother's lounge, which is no more than a 3X5 closet at best. I sat down in a chair and was quickly joined by another sister and her baby boy. We introduced ourselves quietly as we nursed our babies, and found out that we were both relatively new to the ward and had roots in Utah. She had six kids and happened to have a girl just Boo's age who was also waiting a year to start school. She mentioned that a group of moms in the ward had started a little preschool group and she thought I might be able to join if I was interested.

My prayer was answered in my friend Brooke. I always call her, "my first friend". Shortly thereafter, I was warmly welcomed into our amazing preschool group. It was not only great for Boo, but for me it became a network of lovely sisters. They are such great mothers and examples and friends. What a blessing that we all had kids the same age and I was able to meet them!

Boo and Holly became fast friends. Holly's so kind and laid back about things, and that's been such a great influence on Boo. Steve and Josh worked together in the Young Men's. Brooke became my visiting teacher, and she and Dore have never missed a month, and are the absolute BEST! They exemplified how a visiting teacher shows pure love, and they will always hold a special place in my heart for how they served my family while I was sick. I'll never forget slowly walking down the stairs after returning home to see them waiting at the bottom, and we all three embraced and cried tears. Tears of disbelief, of relief and of love for eachother.

Yesterday we got together one last time to say goodbye to our good friends. Steve, Brooke and their family are moving to Utah to start their optometry practice. We will miss them so. Holly's seventh birthday was also yesterday, and although their family were packing and cleaning, they wanted to have us over one last time to celebrate. They let us make Holly a cake and bring ingredients to churn some ice cream.
The kids played outside the whole time. They discovered a frog, which entertained them for hours. We can always count on getting our animal fix when we visit: dogs, cat, chickens, sheep, horses and a pig! There is space to run and always something fun to discover.

Today Boo wanted to go over to Holly's for one last visit. When I asked her if she was going to bring some toys or an activity to do she said, "No mom, we're just going to be making plans." "Making plans?" I said. "Yeah, plans for ways for them not to have to move!" She said it in complete sincerity. I thought it was so funny. We're all so sad to see them leave this country-life dream of theirs. Sometimes doing what's "best" doesn't always make sense in the beginning, but I know it will be a wonderful experience and opportunity for them.

I'm going to try to be more like my friend, Brooke. Perhaps there is a someone out there who is praying right now, "Heavenly Father...I need a friend," and I can be the answer to her prayer like Brooke was to mine.

Dynamic Duo

2011-07-24T19:24:00.012-06:00

Yesterday the kids did a little kids Duathlon in Coeur d' Alene, ID. A duathlon is run/bike/run, so we thought this could be something easy that both the kids could enjoy and feel some success! Yaks was pretty nervous all week to participate, even though he was originally pretty excited. At one point he told me, "It's okay, Mom. I'll just stay home wiff you." When I told him I was going too, he asked if Dad could race it with him. When I told him Dads weren't allowed, Boo quickly piped up rather nonchalantly, "I'll be there with ya, Yaks. Don't even worry about it." As though she's done soooooo many of these! I stressed maybe 500 times that this was just for fun, and that we were just going to have FUN. And did I mention the FUN!?!?

We made the trip up there and the kids got checked in with their goodie bags, bib numbers, time chips, bike tags and their numbers marked on their arms.

They were able to watch the heat of 8/9-yr-olds to see how it was done. One loop running, (pick up your bike and helmet) then a mile loop biking, then run the first loop again to the finish. We had a bit of lunch, and before we knew it, it was time to line up!

The 5/6-yr-olds

It was quite a funny scene to sit there and observe. You've heard of "soccer moms"? Yeah. There were LOTS of "running dads" on the premises, who were obviously participating in the sprint Triathlon the next day, and had kids who wanted to win. You could tell these dads and kids meant business. They scored prime spots on the pack lineup, and they weren't messing around. Wait, where are our kids? Oh, they're at the back. We're just having fun, remember?

Cheerleader, coach, cameraman, etc.

They counted down from 20, and they were off! Oh mercy, I was so nervous! I felt like I was sending my babies out to run with the bulls in Pamplona!

We cheered them as they passed, and little Yaks looked positively terrified. The boy was almost in tears, and the race was just starting. It was just completely overwhelming for him. He was dead last; just kind of plodding along watching the pack get smaller and smaller in front of him. Oh, my heart was just breaking, and I wasn't sure if he was going to finish it!

Then the following chain of events happened (I'm SO grateful for our awesome lens that let me capture this scene)!
Boo notices Yaks is struggling.

At first she kindof shouts "c'mon, Yaks!" and waves him to come along. Then she slows down, lets her brother catch up and HOLDS HIS HAND to run along with him.

It was one of the most tender, sweet moments I've ever witnessed as a mom. Talk about PAY DAYS!? This is what they are talking about, friends. I started crying. The other parents watching all started commenting, "Oh! Oh, look at that little girl helping that boy! Oh, she's slowing down and holding his hand!"

After the end of the 1st leg run, the kids were all finishing at different paces, so the field appeared a little more even.

(Boo making up for some lost time)

Yaks brought up the rear, and Josh helped him onto his bike and with his helmet. They designate a volunteer to bike with the tailer.

Josh said Yaks was biking along like it was just a leisurely ride around town. "La-la-la-la-laaaaa." The tailer volunteer said to him, "Hey, have you got super jets on that bike?"

The finishers were starting to come back from the bike loop, dump their bikes and their helmets and finish their run. You could tell the pros from the kids who had never done it before. If someone didn't help them with their bike, the first-timers would slowly walk their bike over to a rack, take off their helmet, carefully hanging it on their handlebars, while their crazy parents would yell, "RUN ABBY! RUUUUUUNNNNN!"

The final run was fun to watch. The kids would speed through the finish line to their cheering families. One kid grabbed a cup of water on the final stretch, took a sip, dumped the rest over his head, and then tossed the cup on the ground over his shoulder for good measure. It was hysterical.

Josh went to grab some pictures of the kids, so I was watching for Boo to come in, while at the same time keeping my other eye on the meandering Diddles, who had no sense of boundaries. Boo finished strong and had a fun time. She was pleased with her grape popsicle and medal. After several minutes of silence, here came Yaks bringing up the rear. Everyone knew his name by then, and they all started cheering for him. "Yay Yaks! Go, Yaks!" The cute boy was exhausted, but I've never been so proud of a last-place finisher. Just look at me (I'm there in the purple cheering my recovering lungs out, waving my arms in the air like the proudest mom on the planet, which I was)!

A nice woman offered to take our picture at the end of the event. Then she said, "Isn't this the girl who held her brother's hand during the race?" Yes, yes it is.

Last night as I was tucking each one into bed, I asked them, "What was your favorite part about today?" Yaks said, "I like my medal." I told him I was so proud of him for finishing his race. Boo said her favorite part was the race - the whole thing. I told her how proud I was of her for helping her brother; that she didn't HAVE to do it, but that it surely meant a lot to Yaks. Then I said, "Do you know who else is really happy that you did that? Jesus. I bet Jesus would have slowed down and held His little brother's hand just like that." She nodded her head and smiled. Then she asked, "Mom, did I come in first place for the second race (she meant the 2nd leg run)?" I said, "Boo, you were a WINNER."

And that's the truth.

The Battle Will be Legendary!

2011-07-21T16:36:00.007-06:00

"Mom, will you play sholdiers wiff me?"

How do I say no to the sweetest boy there is, who's the only boy all day in a house full of girls? My poor little buddy.
I had the joy of watching boys at play my whole life. They have loads of fun. I got to be sandwiched right in the middle of it. Our household toys were Transformers, G.I. Joes and Star Wars "guys". I was well-versed in Muscle Men and Entertech water guns, and all the wrestlers of WWF! I had scenes of Superman, He-Man, Battlecats and G.I Joe memorized ("fighting for freedom, wherever there's trouble, GI Joe is there!"). Forget Barbies and Cabbage Patch Kids, please pass the Snail Circus! How to Freeze a Grasshoppers in "Carbonite" aka Minty Toothpaste! Quiet Time: "Let's Slide Down the Basement Stairs in a Sleeping Bag!" Oh, it was good times, I tell you. Good times.

I have lots of memories of my younger brothers sitting on the floor next to the couch with an action figure in each hand with their chins resting on the cushion while the action scene played out right at eye level. For hours and hours they would battle. A fight to the death, or multiple deaths, depending on how many times they were "just faking it"! Their imaginations were incredible. I wish we had a video recorder back then so you could witness the awesomeness for yourselves.

Here they are in their prime: James, Tim and Andy
We had a huge blizzard that year, and they spent hours constructing this snow battle scene for their G.I. Joes.
Don't you love Andy in shorts in the middle of winter?

As I sat down with Yaks following his invitation, I figured this was what I was in for. A similar give-and-take of good vs. evil, verbal banter and sparring plastic acrobatics. I felt like I was finally invited into this world I'd only observed. Then the sad reality: Yaks doesn't know SQUAT about this kind of play! It kind of looked like this snowball fight:

Instead of a give and take, back and forth, sometimes-you-win-sometimes-I-win, it was more like, "I disarm you. I crush you. The end." Our battle was over in like 3.5 seconds! Awe, no fun!

And so, I took it upon myself to train him. Poor kid, how else is he going to learn? I only wished my brothers could be here to do it properly. "Perhaps," I thought to myself wistfully, "all that observing has prepared you for this day. I'm his only hope! I'm his Obi Wan Kenobi." And so we started at the beginning. I explained there has to be good guys and bad guys. Yaks determined that the bad guys had to have "grumpy faces".

Look at this motley crew!

The bad guys ended up being the armless, hairless cast-offs from the Playmobile collection, while the good guys were fully-armed with shiny, matching helmets and weapons. Just as well, since we all know that the good guys always win! We each took charge of setting up a fort. I got the treasure chest and the man-eating dog on my side, while he secured the force field and the alarm system (Little People's Manger, which plays "Away in a Manger" when tripped. Hilarious!)

I added a few more "extras" to our scene to make it cool: A moat with an enormous snake, trap doors, magical flying escape horses, etc.

Then I taught him how to hold one good guy and one bad guy in each hand. Add in some verbal banter. Phrases like, "Prepare to die," "You are no match for ____," "Curse you!" "NEVER!" "Aaaarrrrgh!" Then I modeled the cool sound effects of punches, kicks and roundhouses. I know friends, you should have seen me! It was all coming back to me.

By the end of our play, Yaks was slowly getting the hang of it! He wants to play with me all the time now. I'm sure the day is fast-approaching when this mom is "lame" and "embarrassing," and once again I'll be the odd girl out.

But it was not this day...

Oh no...not this day! Today, I am AWESOME.

Potter Heads

2011-07-17T21:45:00.003-06:00

Last weekend Josh brought home a Redbox movie - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. I was surprised when he popped in the DVD and sat down to watch it with me! There was a lot of explaining going on, since Josh is a "muggle" and has neither read one of the books, nor seen one of the movies all the way through.

I must admit, it would be very difficult for someone to follow along with the movies unless they've read the books, don't you think?

He's been tolerant of my Harry Potter excitement through the years, bless him. He's often pre-ordered the latest book for me by surprise, and once arranged for me to go see the movie while he was out of town. You can read my history of Harry Potter here.

Josh has always been so clever and creative and thoughtful. I have many wonderful memories of sweet notes, clever theme gifts, his memorable marriage proposal, and our first married 12-days of Christmas. For me it's not really the gift itself, but the time and thought he always puts into it that makes me feel so special. He's awesome.

Imagine my surprise (and delight) when this little owl appeared at our doorstep one evening:

He was perched atop this decorative envelope which was sealed with wax (crayon)!

Isn't it fantastic!?

Inside, was a letter on Hogwarts' letterhead, which read:

"Dear Amy of ______, Your presence is formally requested at the Hogwarts School of Magic on Friday, the fifteenth of July, in this, the year of our wizard, Lord Dumbledore. You are to report to the Train Station, stop 9 and 3/4 at 5:00pm. You will meet your escort there. The care of your muggles has been entrusted with one of our seasoned wizards, Lady Brittany of _______ Court. She will arrive prior to your departure. Beware! The evil forces of Lord Voldemort have already commenced the attack against our students. Voldemort will stop at nothing to keep you from attending Hogwarts School. While the journey to Hogwarts will be filled with merriment, dangers abound. Know that you will not have to face these dangers alone, or without armament. Hogwarts will do everything it can to support you in your quest. We are counting on you - one of our most gifted magicians - to defeat Lord Voldemort's legions. Heighten your senses so that you can collect the seven horcruxes necessary to banish Lord Voldemort and restore peace and love to our world.

A few days later, we were all downstairs for breakfast, and Josh was beating some scrambled eggs for Diddles. He suddenly remembered that he had a morning meeting to get to and needed to get ready! "Could you finish doing these eggs?" I thought nothing of it, but found this when I opened the microwave:It read: "Snakes in the walls! You narrowly escaped today, but you're going to need a magic wand if you make it to Hogwarts. Your task today is to gather a magic wand, you'll need this before visiting the Hogwarts school.

I fashioned a wand: plastic drum stick (from the toy box), masking tape-covered and shoe-polished, 10-inches. Rigid.

Thursday night I noticed something crunchy under my pillow.

Oh yes, that's an invisibility cloak!

"A faithful owl, and a magic wand: essentials for any magic practitioner. But confronting the dark arts of Lord Voldemort will require more. Potions, spells, and mystic devices. Before your departure to Hogwarts, we entrust you with this invisibility cloak. Make certain that you bring this and other essentials on your voyage."

Josh left to "go to the gym" promptly at 5pm on Friday. Lady Brittany (one of my cute Young Women I teach at church) arrived shortly thereafter (I assume on her broomstick), and said, "I'm Lady Porter, and I am here to care for your Muggles!" She's awesome! She was even wearing black and had a Griffindor scarf on!

I arrived at the train depot. We really do have a train depot in our town. Saw Josh's car and the train marked 9 3/4. It took me a minute to figure out what I was supposed to do. Then I noticed that there was something on the seat of his car: A time-turner!! After reading the note (I kid you not), he appeared...seemingly out of nowhere!

"What good luck!
This time turner is just what you need to turn back the cancerous spell of lost love that Voldemort has waged against the muggles. Use this Time Turner to warp back to a time when you had dinner with your first love."

We went out for ice cream (we weren't quite hungry for dinner) and drove to a nearby park to eat it. I was asked to grab the blanket from the trunk, when I uncovered THIS fun little game of QUIDDITCH!

"The golden snitches have started to breed!
There are six in all, you must gather all of the snitches in the circle to win this game.
Use the catapult to launch them through the goal!"

The rules were a bit different. You used this stick (a tupperware dish taped to the ice scraper) to send the snitch (gold spray-painted foam balls with feathers attached) flying through the hoop. We had fun discussing how the game is really played in the book. It was way harder than it looks! A++ for effort!

As we were playing, this friendly cat came to join us on our blanket as if she owned the place. Made herself quite at home. How kind of Professor McGonagall to come pay us a visit!

After standing in line to get into the 3-D movie theater, Josh decided he had too many pairs of glasses and it was imperative that he take a pair back to the car before the movie started. After he returned, he handed me his iPad to play a game while we waited, and I found this:

"Although it may seem that you are protected inside Hogwarts' walls, evil surrounds you. Lest you get burned or poisoned by a Norwegian Ridgeback you better have some potion on-hand. Hogsmeade has a variety of potions disguised in refreshing drink. Take this money and purchase one from one of our Alchemists. You better wear your invisibility cloak in case an ambush awaits you."

This was by far the most embarrassing step. When I refused to wear the cloak (NO ONE was dressed in Harry Potter garb. The best costume I saw was a pre-teen wearing a Griffindor beanie), he said I HAD to at least wear it over my arm. When I got to the counter, I ordered a popcorn and the college-aged counter guy reached under the counter and brought out this:

Butter Beer! (You can't see the little jug handle on the other side! Awesome!)

Then he nervously said, "Ummm, I....think....this is for you? Do you want it?" Why yes, yes I do! I heard a guy behind me say, "Dude, that's AWESOME!" Dude, it totally IS! We enjoyed our butter beer (cream soda with butterscotch syrup and whipping cream) and popcorn.

The movie was exciting and just as magical as I pictured it. It was a great way to end the series! But, I think we'll all agree that Josh's performance on this date won him some serious Griffindor POINTS! His creativity, secrecy and quick study of the Wizarding world was impressive, to say the least. Thanks to all the clever witches and wizards who assisted Josh in making this a great and memorable date. I had an awesome time!

Long live Harry Potter!

A POW's Sabbath

2011-07-03T20:21:00.009-06:00

Last week I was asked by our Gospel Essentials teacher if I could sub for her class today. I love that class - it's always got great discussion, and we always have some new members and investigators, which makes it really special. I never feel nervous to raise my hand and share an insight or an experience. I prepared all week to teach my lesson on The Sabbath Day. I learned a lot throughout the week. This morning I felt anxious but confident to teach, and was ready to go.

When I walked into class following our sacrament meeting, I and saw a brother in our ward sitting in the front, looking very prepared to teach! Now, I could have said something like, "Hey, that's funny! I was asked to teach too," and he probably would have kindly stepped aside, but I didn't. I took my canvas tote bag, which was filled with my scriptures, manual and notes, and I sat down in my seat. It's okay. The exercise of preparing so much for a lesson that I could teach a class on the subject, is something I should do more often. It was great! But, I can't help feeling bad because I was really excited to discuss this lesson! I learned a lot, and was excited to learn some more from the class.

No, I'm not going to subject you to my lesson here on the blog. Read on friends, read on! But, with this being the 4th of July weekend, and today singing the wonderful patriotic hymns, I wanted to share an experience of my favorite patriot and war veteran, my Pop.

After his B-17 was shot down over the Baltic Sea during WWII, my Grandpa was imprisoned for 23 months in a permanent air war POW camp called Stalag Luft III in Sagan, Germany, about 100 miles southeast of Berlin (now Poland). The following experience is in Pop's own words:

"After a few months in camp I learned the names of three or four Kriegies (POW's) who, because of their home towns and personal behavior, I suspected were LDS. None of them lived in my combine, but were i nearby barracks in the same compound. After getting acquainted we discussed the possibility of organizing a small LDS meeting group and began to search for others to join us. At the time we did not have LDS scriptures or a Book of Mormon, but there were a few well-used Bibles.

We talked about the possibility of having the sacrament. I remember worrying about what we would use for bread and how to bless the sacrament without error. Some had more experience or better memories than I, so we soon solved that problem to everyone's satisfaction. We used small scraps from the black German "goon" bread or pieces of very had Canadian biscuits that we would save. We dug up tree stumps within the camp for fuel to warm up our meeting room.

Since many of our small group held the Priesthood we did not have to wait for a chaplain to conduct or sanction our services. We had several Elders, Priests, and Teachers among us. All or most were favorable to giving lessons or leading discussions. Our first president, Wm. McKell of Payson, Utah, was chosen by unanimous vote, and he chose two counselors. He was able to get some Books of Mormon through mission headquarters or other contacts in Switzerland, so at first we studies from the Book of Mormon. Our LDS group grew gradually to about 26 members. We often had some interested nonmember visitors." (The Ensign published an article about this experience, written by another LDS prisoner)

Talk about keeping the Sabbath Day! Imagine what great lengths they went to to renew their baptismal covenants while prisoners. It sure makes me reevaluate the way I spend my Sabbath Day, and the importance I should place on being able to partake of the sacrament each week.

In 1995, Pop was interviewed by his ward newsletter and said the following:

"I think about all those who lost their lives...in the battles...in the concentration camps...in the Stalags...the civilians in the cities...all that tremendous, horrible number of deaths. I think about what it took to win the war, for our freedoms to survive, an how close we came to Hitler's Nazi domination of the earth. I think of the delicate balance between tyranny and a healthy democracy.

And I think about or belief in a compassionate Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, and the roles they play in all of this.

The Lord allows all of these things to happen because somehow there are important lessons we need to lean in such moving events of history.

And I think about what lies ahead and can see history repeating itself.

I for one feel awfully lucky and blessed to have survived. I often ask myself, 'Why me? Why not someone else in that 10-man crew?'* There were many others I knew, just as good men, who simply didn't make it. And then I count my blessings. Was it all worth it? You bet it was. Freedom is worth the sacrifice. And that's probably more important than anything else in this world."

*You can read a beautiful poem my Dad wrote for Pop here.