Mandolin's Memoirs

Recent Events

2011-10-05T20:36:00.002-06:00

Each Sunday as we struggle to get all the little ones looking their best, plan our lessons, and get ourselves ready, it's always a wonder if we'll look decent enough for our Sabbath meetings. Every once in a great while, the kids look as precious as they are in our hearts. This was one of those days. My heart melted as I looked at my beautiful daughters; Bevan (2 1/2) and Halen (9). Their personalities are just as the looks on their faces; Bevan quirky, funny, cheerful, bold, and Halen, timid, shy, smart, adorable, and loving. We are so very blessed!

This was one of those very rare moments where Bevan is sitting still and pondering. She usually doesn't waste any time telling us of her thoughts and wants. How I got this picture pose, I have no idea, other than to keep pushing the button and catch an instantaneous moment. She such a pleasure to have around and a breath of fresh air, most times.

Here is a picture more indicitive of Bevan's personality. CUTE and crazy! She is mid giggle in this moment and her laughter is so infectious and fun that we were all giggling just watching her. She kept lifting her skirt up and covering her face over and over and thought she was so funny, well, lifting her skirt was funny, but not even close to as funny as watching her think she was funny.

Brigden and Bevan are as good as friends as different as they look from each other. They are constantly playing house; Brigden the baby and Bevan the mother. Brigden walks around calling her, "Mommy," and Bevan calls him, "Honey." It's really funny to watch because their role-playing fits their personalities perfectly. Bevan loves to boss him around and Brigden loves to act like a baby. They are very quirky and cute together and love each other dearly.

This last Sunday we were so blessed to have a visit from Dave's brother Brian and his wife, Kazuko. We love them dearly and are so excited to see them since they live in Japan. Our boys are always more than thrilled to see Uncle Brian visit because as soon as he enters the room, all of a sudden our family room transforms into a wrestling ring where Uncle Brian is the Professional Wrestler and the boys are the wimpy peons that he gets to throw around the ring. The funny thing about it is each time after the boys are thrown onto the couch, they laugh and jump up as quick as they were thrown down and run towards Uncle Brian throwing the biggest punches they can manage, which actually wouldn't hurt even a fly. We all sit back and watch, loving every moment of it, but for sure not as much as the boys love the wrestling match.

As our life has fallen into a routine funk, things are going much more smoothly. The kids are comfortable with their classes and working hard. One of the highlights of our week is watching the kids in their soccer games. Halen is adjusting to the much larger field, working hard, and advancing in her skills. Harris is thriving in the small field game since just last week he scored 3 goals and a great assist in only 2 and 1/2 quarters. He loves the game and is really learning quickly. I have to be honest, it warms my heart that they are loving MY SPORT!!! I don't mind if they choose something else instead, but I love that I can at least enjoy watching them play while it lasts.

The Busiest Week of the Year!

2011-08-28T14:10:00.007-06:00

August 28, 2011

This first week of school used to have such a different meaning to me. It used to mean quiet, peace, the beginning of organization and clean, excitement, and relaxation after a busy fun summer. Now it couldn't be more different. As a full time teacher and mother, this is the busiest week of my year. I dare say even busier than Christmas. I remember as a child having dreams of anticipation, nervousness, and excitement for the first day of school, but now my sleep is full of dreams of worry on how to protect my students when an uninvited intruder enters my classroom, what to do with all those nervous teenagers in a very hot un air-conditioned room with highs of 90s outside, worries of how am I going to figure out what to wear with my lovely belly bulge, or concern over my children and their feelings towards returning to school and a new family schedule. I get stressed just writing that sentence. To say the least, it was a week of chaos. The fact that after conquering the weeks amazingly long list of events, I had a tired emotional breakdown on Sunday which required my sweet husband taking over and calming me down. He's getting better and better at it as my life gets more and more crazy!

Here are the highlights of our crazy week:

I managed to remember how to teach after a few class periods. It’s amazing how a few months off the job can totally rob you of your skills and experience momentarily. It was scary starting off the first few days as I remembered how to put philosophies and routines into play. The air conditioning hasn’t worked in my classroom all week. The worst part about it is that it works in all the rooms in the new wing except for mine and the one next door to me. Frustrating. My neighboring classroom teacher is wearing a sweater to school. Huh? I’m sweating buckets and trying so hard to maintain a positive attitude as I waddle around my room with sweat pit stains, uncomfortable pregnancy clothes, and all. Supposedly they figured out why my room is so “hexed” and are working on fixing the problem, but we shall see. I’ll believe it when I feel it.

Halen enjoyed her first day of 4th grade. Her teacher was unable to be at school for the first week due to family health issues and Halen was very disappointed. She got over it as she found her friends and cute new outfits to be a benefit of returning to school. As we all say, I can’t believe she’s headed for 4th grade. She has grown so much and matured as well. She is a blessing! One of her favorite moments was making her own pencil holder with a can that she attached to her desk with Velcro. What a cool idea!!! She had a lot of fun during her first week of school and was happy to see her friends all at once again.

Harris was so excited for his new school clothes this year that he wore one of his shirts 3 of the 5 days. Since Mom is already starting her day at high school Harris chose to take advantage of the situation in wearing the shirt over and over again. We had a talk about cleanliness on Wednesday and I told him he can’t wear his favorite shirt two days in a row, so he then skipped a day on Thursday and wore it again on Friday. What can you say? He followed my rule. I had to explain further the spirit of the law, not just the letter of the law. We’ll see what he gets out of this rule next week, but the truth is sometimes I just have to be grateful he wore his clothes to school and not his pajamas. That’s just the level of our life right now. He was excited to see his friends as well and is really enjoying being older in 2nd grade. I was looking at some of his pictures from last year and shocked at his physical growth!!!

Brigden struggled this week because as a Kindergartener he wasn’t able to start school yet. He had a testing session with his teacher, but officially starts tomorrow. It was a long week waiting for his first day at home while the others marched off to the bus, but he has finally made it and is super excited to ride the bus tomorrow. I’m excited for him because he is ready for educational stimulation!!!

Bevan is a joy as always. She loves her binky, her toast, and her legos. She’s a horrible eater, but loves toast, especially with cinnamon sugar and the crust cut off (which her mother won’t do, but others will.) She’s speaking full sentences, and most are understandable to the trained ear. She’s a very bright girl and best friends with Brigden.

One of our events this week was to watch Harris in his first soccer game ever. He has been watching Halen for years and waiting somewhat patiently to play. He was unable to join his team practice in the week so his game was his first attempt to reenact what he’d been watching for years. It was one of the funnest games I’ve ever watched, including REAL soccer. First of all, Harris was told by his coach to stay in the back field and play as a defender. The amazing thing was, he did. While all the other kids hovered over the ball in bumble beehive style, Harris stood patiently in his spot and waited for the ball to come his direction. Dave and I were shocked at his obedience. After convincing him to move within his specified area and play with the ball in his position, he started to get more drive to participate in the game, no matter his position. After a while, his coach put him in the middle and front of the field and within minutes he was a scoring machine. This was the really fun part. He would manage to get the ball and seriously dribble through players and take it to the goal and score, sometimes with a really great shot too. All of us on the sidelines were amazed at his determination to score and very much enjoyed watching him. He ended each quarter with a red face and entirely sweaty head. He was running his little heart out and doing awesome! Harris ended his first game with 4 goals and knocking a kids tooth out. I wouldn’t mention the tooth except for it really wasn’t a hazardous situation. The kid chose to slide when Harris had the ball and then Harris plowed him over and the kid’s tooth came out as he hit the ground. After a bit, the kid was excited to have lost his tooth, but what a story. 4 goals and a tooth! Dave and I have always remarked on Harris’ innate athletic ability, but this was crazy! It was so fun to watch and I can’t wait for the next game!!!! He loved it!!!

Halen also enjoyed her first game of the season. Her game however was not as fun as Harris’ for anybody. It was super hot outside and it was her first time playing on the big field. It was very intimidating for the entire team and for the spectators as we roasted in the sun. Even in the shade it was hot. She worked hard and didn’t complain, but doused her head with water each break as she headed out for more torture. She’s past the point of soccer being fun because now it’s more work learning positions, game play, and skills. She’ll do great, but this was a very difficult first game of the season. She was quite the trooper in the heat.

Halen also enjoyed her birthday this last week and a birthday party to celebrate with many friends on Saturday. It was a fun in the sun get wet party and after decorating flip flops, the girls played water kickball, drip drip drench, water balloon toss and then enjoyed presents and cupcakes. It was a great success and a perfectly HOT day to celebrate with water and friends. She received many fun presents including a fish to replace her fish that had passed a few weeks ago.

Dave and I finished off the week with a High Priest Dinner Activity in our ward. We really enjoy the High Priest Group and enjoyed being with adults. We are blessed with very sweet people in our neighborhood and ward.

Today we get to celebrate my brother Kevin’s birthday and my father Chris’ 60th birthday. Amazing! 60 years. I can’t even imagine what my life will be like at that age. It seems so far away, but I know it’s just the day after tomorrow. I love my father very much and am so grateful to be able to enjoy his earthly presence. His determination to do good is examplary.

And last, but not least, near the beginning of this week we found out we are expecting a baby girl in December. I am surprised to find that while I am excited to be having another girl because we have such precious girls already, I am also sad to not be having a boy. No, that doesn’t mean we’ll be getting pregnant anytime soon in search of a boy, just that I’m sad that the era of our boys is most likely over. I would love to have many many children if I didn’t have to have the energy to rear them. We are very excited to have our 5th be a girl however. So much fun. She might even have brown curly hair and look like her mother, but that of course would be asking too much!!!!

Countdown to Christmas!

2011-06-14T14:03:00.002-06:00

Really? Already? Yep! We've begun our countdown to Christmas. Why? Well, not only to celebrate the birth of Christ, but also to celebrate the birth of our next child. We're very excited to announce our newborn's due date is no other than Christmas Eve. YAY!!! Busy and festive times ahead!

Grandpa Bell's Easter BBQ

2011-04-26T19:23:00.007-06:00

Each year some of my family members get together to have a Spring - Easter BBQ. We've had so much fun over the years at this event. This year, my Dad was awesome enough to plan it and did such a great job. For starters, just as we arrived, he gave the grandchildren a huge bag of their favorite cereal to take home and enjoy another day. He knows they aren't so lucky as to get sugar cereal very often so his gift was a huge hit.

He was great to get us going on the activity, take the grandkids on a hike through the woods near the park, and hold an egg toss competition for the kids.

Believe it or not, this egg didn't even break when it hit Niki.

Dad even taught the grandchildren how to properly toss and catch the unboiled eggs. They are so blessed to have such a wonderful caring Grandfather.

What a wonderful afternoon together.

Park Play!

2011-04-26T18:51:00.006-06:00

While Halen was playing her soccer game, Harris, Brigden, and Bevan kept themselves happy at the park right next to the field. Bevan went up the stairs and down this slide over and over about 40 times. She loved every slide ride!

Then she found the tire tred bridge and would bounce/run across it with a huge grin and giggle.

It was most fun to watch her get really irritated when other children were putting wood chips on the end of the slide. At first she tried to just yell at them and tell them not to put the wood chips on the slide by saying, "Uh Uh! NO!" When that didn't work, she decided to go down the slide and push the wood chips off with her bum.

The other children weren't very happy, but Bevan was happier. Then, as if sliding down into the pile wasn't enough, she got off the slide, turned around, and started wiping all the wood chips off herself.

One of the funniest parts of the instance was that Bevan was at least half the age of these children and she wasn't even close to afraid of them. We love her determination and independence. She is truly a blessing! We love Bevan!

Harris loves to swing on the monkey bars and is quite good at it.

He's your typical boy, climbing on everything he shouldn't be like the outside of the slide. We absolutely adore Harris' daring adventurous nature. He is a pure blessing. We love Harris!

Brigden went down the slide 3 times before I could finally get a decent picture of him. Each time he went down the slide he would be looking down and giggling and grinning so big. I kept telling him to look at me, but he enjoyed the ride so much he couldn't think of looking at me too! Finally, I gave up and went for the shot before the slide ride! What a grin! Seriously! He's such a joy and a blessing in our lives! We love and adore Brigden!

He was so excited to run like crazy on this wheel, he ran around just like a hamster in a hamster wheel. He ran so fast I couldn't get the camera to focus until he stopped.

Harris was all about getting his picture taken on the wheel as well. Anything for some attention.

What a beautiful day at the park. I just love these Spring days! Soccer, smiles, and such fun! We are truly blessed in so many ways!

It's Soccer Season again!

2011-04-26T18:42:00.004-06:00

It has been such a joy to watch Halen grow in her soccer skills and field sense. For being such a peaceful loving daughter, she really has a fighter spirit and works hard out on the field. She's even started getting frustrated if they lose and excited when they win. She is such a blessing in our lives and we love her dearly, almost as much as we love watching her play soccer. The best part is that I don't even have to work so hard out on the field to enjoy the game again. I get to enjoy it right from my comfy lawn chair.

This is Halen's second year playing with her cousin Niki. They play really well together and are great friends! Such fun!!!

Ush EEEth!

2011-04-21T20:42:00.003-06:00

All you have to do is say the word "Teeth" and immediately Bevan will be moving a chair from the farthest point of the kitchen to brush her teeth. She can seriously stand at the sink brushing her teeth for 30-40 minutes, if we'd let her. Brigden just happened to need to brush his teeth and as usual, Bevan joined in just as she does when anyone is brushing their teeth.

This blurr effect on Brigden is so awesome because of the focus on Bevan that I love this picture. Her eyes are so piercing, just like Dave's! Amazing eyes!

Brigden and Bevan are most definitely our Cheesier Children! They both share amazing contagious smiles that you just can't help but smile when you're around them.

What a glorious moment to be able to watch them enjoy just being children.

How we love those beauties and look at those teeth!

Goodbye Uncle Collin!

2011-04-21T18:32:00.007-06:00

My brother Collin has head off on a career adventure to Switzerland for at least 6 months, possibly a year or more. I'm very excited for him to be doing something so fun and adventurous at this time in his life, but very sad that he is leaving me and my family. My little family adores Collin. He is a buddy to my children and one of my best friends!

We've spent many a nights just hanging out barely saying a word, but just understanding one another just the same. It could be that he and I were created from not only the same parents, but seemingly the same mold as well. We're very much alike, with some differences, but most similarities.

I appreciate him and his efforts to maintain a relationship with me and my ridiculously busy life. He's always willing to be charitable, kind, and loving. I just hope he marries some adorable girl someday that likes me because chances are if she doesn't, Collin and I will be very sad not to be so closely aquainted.

As he was traveling and adjusting to Switzerland and the new job I was very nervous for him, like his own mother. I realized during these moments that I am not even close to ready to have my children leave me for any amount of time. I really worried about him and was finally comforted when we were able to skype-video chat for a few moments. Silly, but it really helped me to see him all in one piece and know that he was safe and sound. I love that he's taking a leap during his few "free" years, but selfishly wish he weren't going to be gone for so long.

I love my Collin!

Spring Break 2011

2011-04-18T21:38:00.004-06:00

Isn't that a beautiful view? Well, it sure is for December of January maybe, but spring break, NO WAY! Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the moisture, but seriously for me to finally have precious one-on-one school-free and job-free time with my children and watch it get ruined by snow,...frustrating!!!

It's not that we didn't enjoy being together indoors, but you can only watch so many movies and play so many video or card games with super active impatient stir-crazy boys! Halen, Bevan, and I were completely content to just hang, but those boys had to get out!!! Finally on Friday we decided to go sledding and pulled out all of our winter wear.

Yeah, it was snowing the entire time we were sledding, but we didn't care, we were out of the house. The snow was perfect for sledding after making a trip or two down to pack down a sled path. It was also perfect for eating, as Brigden usually enjoys doing.

I was surprised to find we were the only ones out and about in the snow, but maybe that's because everyone else was content to sit still in their homes, unlike Brigden and Harris.

Bevan, on the other hand, was excited to get out side just as much as the boys, but after 2 trips down the hill in the snow, she quickly changed her mind. She wanted in the car. She stripped her snow pants off faster than I could help her or take her picture.

This girl is determined and independent. They are wonderful attributes when steered in the right direction. She is very attached to the pink knit hat she's wearing. It's way too small for her head, but she pulls it on tight whenever she finds it and wears it all around the house all day long. It's quite the sight. She LOVES it!

She was very excited to spend her time inside the car playing with the windshield wipers and car accessories since we rarely let her have free reign in the car.

Oh, the joys of being warm and snow-pant free on a Wintry Spring Break day!

Regardless of the snow, it was just wonderful to spend time with my children and just be a Mom! It was so hard for me to really appreciate or understand what a blessing it is to be a stay-at-home Mother until it became unavailable to me. I love my children so much and I am able to appreciate them so much more now that they've been taken away from my close grip and watch. It's been such a journey for me to learn to pick and choose my battles with my limited time and very great list of chores and needs required of me. Amazingly, while I'd rather be a stay at home Mom, I still feel extremely grateful for all the lessons I've learned and am learning. I'm so grateful for my amazing children who have stepped up to the plate and really taken on more responsibility than I dreamed they could at their ages. I love my coworkers and employers and am very grateful for the opportunity to provide for my family with my dear sweet supportive husband. We are very very very blessed and happy, regardless of unwanted snow!

Halen's 3rd Grade Program

2011-04-18T20:02:00.007-06:00

Halen was able to perform along with her 3rd grade elementary class in a program named The Wonders of the Earth. She was very nervous because this was her first time to perform in front of such a large audience including the entire studentbody and family members. The students were asked to wear Hawaiian attire. Halen and her best friend Avery were very excited to wear matching Hawaiian outfits.

Even though she wouldn't dare show it during her performance, she was excited to be able to play a wood block instrument as they sang, "Tiny Little Creatures in the Big Rain forest." Her favorite song to sing was "North Pole South Pole." Even though Halen was very nervous to perform , she still managed to show after the performance how much fun it was for her and her friends, including Avery and Megan.

The program was held during the evening so we were all able to attend. It was a very entertaining family event.

Jeep Buddies

2011-03-31T21:07:00.001-06:00

We were fortunate enough to receive a used Jeep for our children to drive around in from my cousins Jeff & Jamie. Our children have absolutely loved having it and driving it around our neighborhood. Brigden frequently enjoys driving it, too fast, of course, and with much yelling guidance from Mom watching from the front porch. All the neighbors enjoy sharing a ride. This particular ride included Brigden's buddy; Korbin.

Bevan's First Haircut

2011-03-26T20:33:00.000-06:00

Bevan was not blessed with a full head of hair as a baby. She's only even getting her first haircut at the age of 2 because she barely has any hair now. The only hair cut she's getting is to even out the bottom. When she saw Harris and Brigden, she wanted to get her hair cut. I found it quite interesting that she wanted to have one because Harris and Brigden don't put on a very appealing show while frowning during their own hair cuts. Regardless, immediately after the last boy jumped off the chair from getting his hair cut, Bevan climbed in and was all ready for the cape and cut.

Maybe that haircut wasn't such a good idea. Her smile is sure gone, but at least her hair is even on the ends. We just have to make sure she has a bow in her hair most of the time so she clearly looks like a girl.

Boy Toy Sidewalk Sale

2011-03-15T20:41:00.004-06:00

Frequently, the children will ask me if they can sell one or some of their toys. This particular afternoon, Harris came home from school bursting through the door begging to have a boy toy sale. I told him to gather the items he wanted to sell and then I'd pass off the items that could be sold. He and Brigden gathered about 3-5 things each and after being passed off headed out to set up their sidewalk store. Brigden found some of his cars, pictures, and planes to sell. Unfortunately, his smile wasn't for sale!

Harris gathered some of his toys, including a large flexible frisbee, dominos, army guys, and cars. He even took the time to make signs for the price of each item. The frisbee he was trying to sell was donated to us from our neighbor.

I found it hilarious that one of Harris' first customers was this neighbor's son and laughed as I watched Harris try to sell this boy his old toy back. It didn't quite work, to Harris' dismay, but Harris didn't let this get him down because moments later Bevan was playing with the frisbee and Harris turned to me and seriously declared, "Mom, you need to give me some money because Bevan is buying the frisbee." I laughed so hard, but then had to explain that Bevan wasn't buying the frisbee, she was just window shoppping. Wow, what bold moves! Quite the con-artist with his neighbor and his Mom. Unsuccessful, thankfully! We'll have to keep a watch on this one.

Brigden's 5th Birthday

2011-03-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

Brigden chose a Toy Story birthday party to celebrate his 5th birthday with friends. Brigden chose to dress up as a dinosaur, Halen and I were cowgirls, and Harris was a cowboy; like Woody. Brigden invited his bestest friends and was extremely excited for this party for months before the actual event. One of my favorite memories of Brigden's excitement for his party was his constant requests to be surprised at his birthday party. I kept trying to explain the impossible nature of holding a surprise party for a boy who planned his own party, but he wouldn't hear of it. He just kept saying, "But, Mom, I can hide downstairs and then you can tell me when to come up after everyone has arrived and then they can all yell 'Surprise!' " Just one look at his super dinosaur grin and you can understand why such a giddy silly boy would dream up such a surprise party.

We were able to enjoy many Toy Story activities including, pin the star on Woody, Woody Woody Buzz (Duck Duck Goose), Buzz Lightyear Air Glider Contests, Find your Toy Story friend, and Coloring Pages. It was fun to watch some children buzz right through their coloring jobs and others really take time to do detailed work.

The party was a huge success regardless of my error in forgetting to "surprise" Brigden. He was still able to end the event with a smile enjoying his pizza and bug cupcakes. What more could a kid ask for, besides a surprise party, eh?

As a family we celebrated on his actual day with yummy cupcakes, lit candles, and even more presents.

Bet you can't figure out which of his presents was his favorite in these pictures!

Yep, the pillow pet. He loves it!!! He thought it was the most ingenous thing to fold it up into a standing pet and then change it into a pillow. Seriously? Why didn't I think of something so ridiculously simple to earn millions off of? He still sleeps with this pillow pet and smile nightly!

If giddy, silly, flightly, cheerful, ambitious, tedious, detailed, loving, and active personality is to your liking, then you should spend more time with Brigden! He can be such fun with his infectious giggles and large hugs. His energy is amazing and sometimes overwhelming. Bringing him down from Utopia to Earth is our greatest difficulty as his parents. He lives on Utopia and vacations on Earth. The truth is his trips to Earth aren't usually vacations, however, because they are filled with chore lists and activities which include requirements for a 5 year old boy who is learning responsibility.

As a toddler, he loved to watch CARS, and now he rarely watches it, but still loves to do CARS puzzles and draw CARS characters. He knows his numbers in preparation for Kindergarten, but also knows the number 65 because it is the number he puts on all the race cars he draws. He loves to draw speedy fast fire cars, trucks with dinosaur heads, and other strange vehicles.

In primary last year, he learned the 4th LDS Article of Faith and now he not only still knows the 4th, but has learned the other 3 before it. He's very diligent in reading his scriptures and saying his prayers and remembering to pray for others in need. He has become great friends with his sister Bevan and is frequently found sitting on the couch next to her with his arm around her as they watch TV together.

We absolutely adore Brigden and feel very blessed to have him in our lives.

Bevan's Beautiful Hairstyle

2011-03-06T19:49:00.001-07:00

Bevan loves her bows and combs. She loves to brush my hair, Halen's hair, the boys' hair, and tries to brush her own. She usually isn't very successful, but somehow manages to wet her hair with the spray bottle and then comb and mat it down into some sort of a hair style. She's always very proud of her creation and shows it off with a big smile.

Sunday Journal Writing

2011-03-05T19:30:00.002-07:00

In an effort to make our Sabbath more sacred, we've been working on writing in our journals on Sunday afternoons. I assumed it would be a lot more work than it actually was to get the children to write in their journals. They love to write, color, and draw in their journals. It's really only a battle to remember to sit them all down and do it, but once I get the journals out, they are all game.

It's so fun to watch them get into their drawings and writings. They always think very carefully about what events occurred over the last week to include in their journals. We've been doing it for a few years now and the children have loved reading back through their previous entries. Hmmmm. Sounds like me and my efforts to blog more so we can have a family journal. Harris always thinks very seriously about what he should write about and does great drawings!

Bevan doesn't do much of entries yet, but sure loves hanging out with everyone during the journal writing party!

I love how happy and loving Halen and Brigden look together. You would think they actually love each other and want to be together eternally! What a very brief piece of Heaven we are able to enjoy during Journal writing time.

Just a Hanging out at Home!

2011-02-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

One afternoon I caught the three kids sharing one chair tightly as they watched TV and I couldn't help but take a picture of the sweet, fightless, loving moment. SHOCKING!

Occassionally, we're blessed to have friends or family visitors such as my sister, Megan. The kids love her and her computer!

Not only is she a wonderful aunt to my children, but she's a great sister and friend to me. I'm so very blessed to have her in my life! She's such an example to me of peace, love, charity, ingenuity, and character.

Very regular moments with people very dear to my heart.

Chinese New Year

2011-02-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

We were able to celebrate the Chinese New Year as a family for a first time at a nearby restaurant. It was quite an adventure that I've never experienced before. The food was, of course, excellent, but the exciting part was the dragon dance midway through the evening. Two men wear a large dragon costume and maneuver their hands, backs, and entire bodies to make the movement of the dragon so lifelike. They have a drummer that accompanies them in their dragon dance and movement which is very loud. We were seated right where the dance began and the noise was quite shocking, as you can see in the faces of Dave and Bevan.

The dancing and drumming was so amazing and loud that it was all we could do to not watch the dragon dance. We all had similar looks on our faces.

As the dragon made his way around the room, Harris, Halen, Brigden, and cousin Jasen could "feed the dragon" by putting tips into his mouth. It was a bit scary, but they enjoyed the thrill of it.

It was a very enjoyable and different experience we're sure to repeat in the future.

Family Sledding

2011-02-12T21:06:00.003-07:00

It rarely happens that we go sledding as an entire family, and even if we do, that we all sled, but this time it happened! This was Bevan's first sledding trip where she could actually sled and she was apprehensious, but actually loved it! It was more of a battle to get her scary snow pants on her than it was to get her to sit on a sled. She kept trying to go on her own over and over. She wasn't scared at all after her first time down. It was really fun to watch her enjoy it so much.

Halen and Bevan went down quite a few times together. What sweet sisterly love!

Speaking of sweet, this is a look we are given by Bevan frequently. We call it the "stink eye." She frequently doesn't want to pose for a picture or do what we ask of her and in these cases she turns on the "stink eye." She's a very good girl as long as she is able to be independent and mobile.

The sledding day was so much fun for the kids. Harris, Halen, and Brigden were all smiles the entire time. Even if they didn't stay on their sleds.

You can only imagine what happened after he jumped on the sled above as Harris laughs his head off at Brigden's misfortune.

We are so grateful for such cheerful wonderful children! You just can't beat smiles like these!

A very successful day at the sledhill. What a wonderful family event.

Bevan's 2nd Birthday!

2011-02-05T21:06:00.003-07:00

Bevan enjoyed her 2nd birthday on January 29th, just a few weeks after Christmas. Christmas was not the standard pleasant present opening experience for Bevan because she was too afraid to open her presents since she didn't know what she would find underneath the wrapping paper of each present. She finally opened a present hours after everyone else had with some kind coersion to get her to open them. As a result of this fear, she almost wouldn't open her birthday presents either. We started out with letting her brothers and sisters open her presents and little by little Bevan began to get involved. Quite frequently, Bevan will give us these funny looks and we were lucky enough to capture one of them with the camera. Sometimes we'll ask her to smile and we'll get something resembling a smile.

She was very excited to receive her Leap Frog Reader, Mr. Potato Head, Elmo, and a few other toys.

One thing she was for sure excited about was the Princess figurines placed upon her cupcakes.

She had no problem enjoying the frosting off of each of them.

Bevan has changed a great deal in the last 6 months. We've enjoyed watching her grow. She's amazingly perceptive and very keen for her age. She is a pure joy to be around. She loves to jump on her sister Halen's bed, play with Barbie dolls, shake her booty whenever desired, eat, eat, eat, brush her teeth, wear her favorite princess pj's, eat, eat, and eat.

Bevan's Burglaries, Bows, Books, Best Friend Becky, and Beautiful Shoes!

2011-01-12T15:22:00.005-07:00

Frequently, I will be walking through the kitchen and find the fridge has been left open again, or so I think until getting closer to find our Food Burglar Bevan hiding in the fridge with whatever food she can find. She will sneak into the fridge whenever someone else has opened it and sit herself down on the bottom shelf and then, in a very unsafe manner, pull the fridge as close to shut as her body allows hiding herself from the world as she enjoys her food. Usually we'll catch her with a big grin on her face as if she's doing nothing wrong. The usual confident Bevan response.

Bevan has grown physically the last few months for sure, but she has grown leaps and bounds in maturity, almost surpassing her 3 year older brother; Brigden. She decided to start speaking around her 2 year old birthday and now says most words. The only question is whether or not you can understand her, but according to her, and her confidence level, you can or at least you should!

She frequently shares her love for food with us as she walks around the kitchen demanding food in her favorite pink or purple colored bowl and her sippy cup full of milk. All I can say is Harris has met his match when it comes to extreme levels of determination.

What has been fun is watching her become so independent along with her confidence. She loves loves loves to be outside. She is now putting on her own shoes and heading out the door as fast as she can when she finds it left open momentarily. Our next door neighbor is a wonderful lady and friend named Becky and given Becky's kindness and fun basket of toys, puzzles, and games in her living room, Bevan usually heads straight over to Becky's home whenever she gets out of the house. At times, when Becky isn't home, I'll sit on our front porch and watch Bevan pound on Becky's door from Becky's front porch over and over waiting for her to open the door. I'll tell Bevan over and over Becky isn't home, but Bevan is sure she is. Again, confident! Eventually, I'll just have to go and get her because she won't give up.

Some of her other favorite items are Bows, Books, and Beautiful shoes. She loves her white Sunday shoes and chooses to wear them on Sunday and every day thereafter. They're not even her size yet, one size too big, but she makes them work because she loves them so much.

It's great fun to watch Bevan find a bow or flower clip anywhere in the house because she immediately runs through the house saying, "Bow! Bow! Bow!" holding it to her head while looking for anyone who can clip that bow into her hair as if her life depended upon it. When we get her dressed in the morning she is insistent on picking out the bow to go with her outfit, which almost always doesn't match her outfit. You'd think her mother created this bow monster, but this is far from the truth. I put one bow in her hair and then it was all over. From this point on she was insistent on her bows! Bevan's other love is books! If you ever find yourself sitting down in our family room to relax, don't be surprised if within seconds Bevan has hopped onto your lap with a book in tow. She loves to be read books and usually the same ones over and over. I love spending time with her and actually find it adorable that I can't get much done when Bevan is around, unless it means I can do it with her on my lap and her book in my hands. I wondered what kind of child would pressure my appendix to such a great amount causing an appendicitis, but now that we are truly getting to know Bevan, I wonder no more. She is amazingly persistent and determined, and yet very charming and loving in her desires. Strange, she reminds me of someone I know very well as well; her father David. I guess it isn't such a coincidence that they look so much alike!

Sweet Somethings from Halen

2011-01-08T17:37:00.002-07:00

Dave, Brigden, and Harris took off this morning on an ice fishing day trip and left Halen, Bevan, and I for a girl's day of our own. After chilling at home for a while we decided to head to a particular store for stylish girl clothing. Halen has been wanting to visit this store for quite a while and was looking forward to our shopping trip. At first she mentioned she knew we were only going to look around because of our very limited budget, but upon arriving I surprised her and let her know this shopping trip was a special "girls day" occassion and she would be able to buy one reasonably priced item of her choice. She was very excited and overwhelmed.

We shopped for quite a while trying to find the right item to buy and after trying things on in the dressing room she started to look at price tags. It was in this moment that I was once again reminded she is really a young adult looking like a young girl. Upon realizing her favorite item, a beautiful sweater, cost more than we've ever spent on one item for her she started to back pedal and explain she didn't need any of the items and that she didn't have to get anything at all. I had tried to be really careful in my words concerning money, but she is so sensitive and insightful, I didn't have to say anything.

She asked if she could get her other favorite item, a jacket, instead which was half the cost of the first item and said that she didn't really need any of the other items anyway. I started to cry and told her that I wanted to buy her many beautiful things that she wanted, but wasn't able to financially. I also explained that it broke my heart we weren't able to buy nice things for her over the years, but that it wasn't because we didn't want to, but because we couldn't. She graciously took the hug and tears, grabbed her jacket, and walked out with as big a smile as possible. She is truly a blessing!

While the financial difficulties we've encountered have been very difficult, I amazingly wouldn't trade them for such wisdom in my child. Of, course, that's easier to say when they're over, eh?

Mom & Dr. Mario

2011-01-08T17:16:00.003-07:00

Yes, video games may fry your brain, but nobody ever said your brain wouldn't be happy while being fried! One of my most favorite things to do with my mother as a child, teenager, young adult, and even young mother was playing Dr. Mario on Nintendo. My mother loved loved loved this game and was amazingly good at it. Well, actually it wasn't so amazing when you considered the hours she invested in the game against her children and spouse. It was always an accomplishment for us to beat her at the game.

Over the years Dave and I haven't invested much in gaming systems until recently when we were able to get a Wii off of an entire gift card from RC Willey because of a previous purchase years ago. I wasn't very excited until I realized I might be able to somehow find an updated version of Dr. Mario for the wii. Just last month the game became available online and I nabbed it! I played it immediately just like a child and my kids grew to love the game immediately as well. It's addicting for SJ's like me and very easy to learn. As every weekend should, today included a good hour or more of frying my brain playing video games with my children.
Their goal is now to beat their own Mother, just as mine was years ago. I must say they are getting better and better and I have to work to stay ahead of them in some games.

In one of the games I was playing against Brigden and I was enjoying myself too much because before I knew it I was about to lose. I realized it too late and my only hope was to distract him. I wrongfully yelled "No" as he was making his last move to win, hoping to shock him enough to ruin his move and give me more time to win. It did shock him, but surprisingly, didn't ruin his attitude. Brigden being the cheerful champ that he is, turned to me and said, "Mom, why did you yell?" I said, "because I wanted to win." His very mature reply was, "But, Mom, it's just a game ya know."

Wow! Such wisdom, you know he had heard those very words from my own mouth before and here I was being scolded. Such is life. I just didn't think that my own parenting words would come back to haunt me so soon!

Weekend Highlights

2011-01-02T15:16:00.005-07:00

A few of our weekend highlights which brought great joy and laughter to our lives involved Brigden & Bevan. Brigden is constantly saying things that just crack us up, but rarely make it to the paper to remember days or even moments later. Today, during Sacrament Meeting, Brigden saw a picture of President Thomas S. Monson in my bag and said out loud to anyone that was listening as if he were the prophet speaking,

"I'm Thomas S. Monson.
I'm the prophet.
You need to be more righteous."

Then he continued on in his unrighteous irreverent play as if the prophet never visited verbally. He cracks us up. You just never know where his mind is until he says something and then you wonder why a 4 year old is thinking what he's thinking?

Yesterday for our New Years Day celebration the kids, Collin, Megan, and I enjoyed playing arcade games and bowling at Boondocks. Bevan was very excited to be able to play since there wasn't much she was able to do with the arcade games. After watching her brothers and sister play, she summised that in order to be effective at bowling she would have to throw the ball and then stand as a statue in a point stance to magically guide or direct the bowling ball to hit the pins. It was hilarious to watch her "point stance" after each throw as if it would make the throw even better somehow. Here is a video to enjoy of Bevan bowling.

In this video she is showing us a better late than never point stance.

Oh the joy of children when I remember to laugh!

Aspen, Colorado Day 5

2010-07-29T14:19:00.004-06:00

Brigden says to Harris, "We could live here (refering to the Condo we stayed at in Colorado)"

Harris replies, "Nuh uh, cuz it would cost a hundred bucks!"

Brigden, "yeah, and we don't have a hundred bucks, huh?"

Up all night with 2 high fevered children. Are children allowed to get sick on vacation. Play video games, war with cards, watch comcast instal cable boxes for hours, Swim in the rain.

I decide to kill time to put in Nemo, one of my favorite cartoon movies. Halen asks if I'm really going to watch it. I say, yes. She replies, "cuz the kids in my school say only babies watch Nemo." "Well, I tell her go back to school and tell the kids your mom must be a baby then because she likes Nemo. I love Nemo! I think it is so heartwarming and funny. Of course, only on a kick back vacation like this would I actually sit down and watch it.

Aspen, Colorado Day 4

2010-07-28T19:53:00.003-06:00

Brigden, "Mom, she is being immodest."

Harris, "Mom, when am I going to get an iphone?"

After watching me change Bevan's diaper, Brigden turns to Harris and nonschalantly says, "Hey, look, her private doesn't stick out like ours does." To which Harris nonschalantly replies, "Yeah, neither do other girls'."

To which we had a very brief, but blunt, discussion on the differences in the bodies of boys and girls. I remember reading the advice of many professionals to be that of 'don't avoid the topic if it is initiated by the children and their curiosity. Just be brief, honest, and give only the necessary age-appropriate information.' Well, that is just what I've tried in the past and it works quite well. They aren't embarrassed if we aren't embarassed. It seems, in my experience, they only learn embarassment from us.

Aspen Colorado Day 3

2010-07-27T09:16:00.004-06:00

The day started off with a run bright and early. I love being out in the new fresh morning air and enjoying the sunrise. It's so refreshing and motivating. This morning's run was to be a shorter one and good thing because my ipod froze right as I turned it on. I'm not a thinking runner, I prefer to have my brain fried by constant musical stimulation so I don't have to think and realize I am running, breathing hard, in pain, and uncomfortable. Unfortunately, this is just what I got to experience this morning. Thankfully, there was a trail paved a bit off of the main road which was enveloped with trees, bushes, and wildflowers. It was gorgeous! Gorgeous! Gorgeous! I saw a fox and a deer and only 3 other humans.

I asked my Aunt JoLynn once what she thought about as she walked every morning and she said , "I pray." I found that to be such a profound idea. I've tried to make that more of my practice as I find myself alone exercising. It is such a great time to talk to my Heavenly Father and think more deeply than I do in my regular prayers. This was one of those mornings where the beauty of the outdoors made it impossible to be ungrateful for such creations.

Upon returning, we continued vacationing by hanging out in the condo and playing video games until it was warm enough to go to the pool. Then we spent the midday at the pool, returned for some relaxation in the condo, and then went to a park for a little bit. The evening was spent by dining in and loving every minute of it. While there is definitely something to eating out, I am completely content to dining in on this vacation for many reasons. It saves us the looks at our 'large' family, the money, the hassle, and the questioning of what to order on the very limited menu.

Bevan's First Swim Lessons

2010-07-26T16:19:00.001-06:00

Bevan at her first swim lessons at the age of 17 months.

My dear friend Angie Wood gives swimming lessons to a few select neighbors and I've been so blessed to have had my children learn from her the last few years. My older ones have really struggled adjusting to water and overcoming their fears so when Angie asked if I wanted Bevan to do a "Mom and Tot" class, I was up for it in hopes that we could overcome any possible water fears before they became too embedded into her system and we ended up dealing with them for years to come. Little did she or I know what would come of it though.

One of the first things she learned was how to get into the pool by herself. Bevan didn't like the idea so I just had to move her legs for her and show her what she would do if she wanted to get in.

Once she was in and her feet were on the steps, she was good. The girl doesn't like being forced or told what to do. She is all about her independence.

The next thing we taught them was to put their face under the water and to breath before they did. We showed them what to do and then we did the same thing with them. It was amazing how we just did it, and they just had to get used to it. I would say, "Ready, 1, 2, 3, Breath!" and then I would put her entire head under water.

If she didn't breath the second time, she did the second, third, and fourth. They didn't stay under too long so it wasn't a big deal if they didn't breath the first time, but they really did listen and learn to breath each time thereafter because they knew when we said, "Ready, 1, 2, 3, Breath" we were serious and they were going under.

One of my favorite things about teaching Bevan the skill of going underwater and breathing beforehand was how Bevan tried, as most babies do, to get out of her water transformation by claiming incompetent.

For the first 2 days she would loudly cry as I said, "Bevan we're going to go underwater now. Ready 1, 2, 3," but then as soon as I would say "Breath" she would realize I wasn't going to give into her crying and quickly stop crying long enough to breath right before I put her down in the water. You could see the learning take place and her awareness shine through. It was very impressive for a non speaker to understand and respond so well. Babies amaze me and I think more often than not they aren't given enough credit for their intellectual ability to learn and grow mentally and behaviorally at such a young earthly age.

After we worked for a while on one of our tasks, we would take a break and play with some water toys. Bevan's favorite was this little shark that I would pretend to swim slowly towards her like Jaws and then quickly swim into her belly.

She loved the anticipation and after a few times of me swimming the shark into her belly slowly with "na na na na" vocals, she grabbed the shark out of my hands and began swimming it slowly toward her own belly with the same vocals and glimmer in her eye. She loved it.

It was really fun to listen to her do her own suspenseful vocals and then tease me as to when she would poke her belly, or if she really would. She loved being in control of the tease.

We also taught them how to do a back float. Bevan was, as expected, resistant, but compliant when she found there was no way out of it. I'd say, "Ok, Bevan now we're going to breath, go under the water, and then do a back float" all the while she'd try to talk me out of it by crying until I finished the following, "Ready, Breath" and then she'd breath, I'd put her under water, bring her back up, lift her chin and hold her neck, "Look up, look up." and then lifting her chin and holding her neck in the water as she did a back float say, "A, B, C, D, E is enough."We were taught not to count because it confuses them with the original counting in the previous lessons of going under water and breathing before hand. It was always fun to watch her comply in the back float and seem to hate it, but then come up with a huge smile. Such a huge smile that we all couldn't believe how happy she was compared to how unhappy she seemed as she "complied" in her back float.

One of my all-time favorite moments with Bevan was during swimming lessons this year. I love to recall this moment because it completely defines her personality without having to say much.

Each time we would teach them a new skill we would show them the skill beforehand. The skill I was trying to demonstrate to Bevan was blowing bubbles under water using your nose.I demonstrated the skill and she giggled immediately upon seeing the bubbles under water. She loved it so much that she decided she needed to see it again, much to my surprise. When I told her it was her turn, I said, "Ready 1, 2, 3, Breath" and then I went to put her face under water. She was stronger then I, given my ignorance, and she pushed my face into the water with her hand instead of putting her own face in.

She giggled and loved every minute of it. You can't see very well in the picture, but she is actually pushing my head into the water with her hand. She's a smart strong-willed one! Oh, she reminds me of Dave! I really can't say anymore. Get to know Bevan and you know Dave. It's really that simple.

One of the last things Bevan learned was to jump into the pool with Mommy nearby. I held her hand the first many times, but then near the end she would do it by herself. It was so fun! I can't say that enough. Such a change from the other water fears we've encountered as a family over the last 5 years. The skill we worked on was jumping into the water....

after breathing of course, ....

lifting her head up as she came to the surface of the water,

floating on her back...A, B, C, D, E is enough, and then....

kicking as she swam to the edge of the pool.

"Wow!" is all I can say. On the 3rd day she literally flipped a switch and loved the water. She fought me the first 2 days with a great determination, but somehow changed her mind on the third day and never went back. She even got to the point where she would finish her back float and jump out of my arms to swim to the edge, to which I'd quickly respond by only holding her belly up as she kicked and moved her arms to swim, and then she'd hang on the side of the pool, unable to touch the bottom, but confidently doing so all on her own. She's 17 months old! This blew me away. I had no idea she could accomplish so much!

What a huge blessing and joy to experience her water transformation at such an early age. I can only imagine what she'll learn next year. AMAZING! Thank you Angie. I wish I had learned so much of this years ago. It would have made all the difference in our summers and vacations.

Aspen Colorado, Day 2

2010-07-26T10:17:00.006-06:00

After finally getting some decent sleep, the day began early as the kids excitedly ran around the condo full of "we're on vacation" energy and ready to go to the pool. They were very dissapointed to learn that the pool wasn't open at 7 am. Shocker! In my great desire to sleep just a little more I allowed them to eat Cheerios in their room as they watched TV. I naively figured, mostly because I was still asleep when they asked, this time would be different and they wouldn't spill. WRONG! Bevan poored the entire bag of cereal on the carpet in the bedroom and then traveled with it into the kitchen. And just before this happened I was awakened to cries of "Ooooh! Yuck!" as they all ran into my room to inform me of Bevan's exploding poopy diaper. A yucky diaper is one thing, but one that leaves excess on the couch to be viewed by all is just plain disgusting!!! Then shortly after I turned the corner into the kitchen to find Bevan had somehow gotten a hold of a full bowl of oatmeal and was helping herself and the rug beneath her to generous spoonfuls.

I wonder if being on vacation is more fun or more work and honestly, I think it's both. My children really aren't used to "being on vacation" and relaxing. They couldn't sit still all morning at the thought of swimming and doing something in glorious Aspen, Colorado. Yes, we built it up to be more than it probably is, but compared to our usual non-vacationing lifestyle, anywhere is a step up.

After cleaning all messes up, we finally began to prep for the pool. The kids were so excited! We ended up spending 4 hours at the pool and it was so great to watch them enjoy themselves and dare to swim instead of our usual sit on the steps of the pool and listen to Mom beg them to get their heads wet. They had fantastic swimming lessons this year again (Thanks Angie!) and they continue to drastically improve our swimming life!

When we returned, the kids asked for snacks and at first I wanted to give them something healthy, but then reminded myself we were on vacation and it would be ok for once to just give them unhealthy flavored refined carbs. So I gave them some Cheezits, turned on cartoons and watched them immediately get sucked in. Wow! The power. I should be less healthy more often. It really does have it's perks.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent with a family trip to the pool and then a drive to Aspen for some dinner. To save money, we opted to bring all of our food with us and dine in most nights, but since we needed groceries we headed to town for a rare evening dining out.

I was shocked to see what a different type of place Aspen is compared to Park City. It was very small and downscale in comparison. It's the same type of city, given the ski resorts and outdoor appeal, but there are hardly any family priced restaurants. Hardly any restaurants to begin with. We chose a BBQ joint and were seated only to find many people staring at our "large & different" family. I'm sure the fact that our family with 4 children and 2 young parents is quite a phenomenon to most of these people. Regardless of the many questioning looks, there were a few very pleasant gentlemen who befriended our children and were accepting of our differences. Having lived in Utah most of my life, I forget what it's really like outside of Utah, especially for young mormon families. I wouldn't change it for anything, but it sure makes for interesting trips to different places.

Aspen, Colorado: Day 1

2010-07-26T09:44:00.006-06:00

Sunday, July 25th

After packing from 10 - 12 last night, Dave and I awoke early to finish the process and head onto the road for a long drive to Aspen, Colorado. Dave had to come for a business trip and so we figured the kids and I would tag along. It was a great deal since it was a business trip we were able to vacation for basically FREE. What a blessing!

We were quite excited to find that our planning ahead had really benefited us as we drove off only an hour after waking up. It was one crazy busy hour, however. I'm also learning with each driving trip how to travel in a car with many kids scrunched in small spaces. We've come to realize over the last few years that we purchased a very small minivan. This wasn't a problem when we purchased it years ago, but now that the kids are growing, it's becoming a problem. There is still one seat available, but the back seat just isn't big enough for 3 carseats, even though it claims it's big enough for 3 people. Quite a difference!!! After much shifting and strategizing, Dave and I figured out the optimal seating arrangement, taking into consideration issues such as these:

1. Harris and Brigden can't sit by each other because they cannot seem to get along without teasing or being crazy for more than 1-2 minutes.

2. Everyone needs to be able to see the DVD player since we only have one working portable player and it has to strapped from each headrest of the front seats.

3. There is not sufficient storage space in the back of the van, so we need to remove a seat from the middle in order to store 2 storage totes and a cooler full of food.

As I read these issues back to myself, it sure doesn't seem like a lot to worry about, but it's amazing how much it really is when you're in the thick of it.

Well, once we figured it all out and were on the road..I realized the many errors we made in our departure: leaving totes in the front yard, milk that will go bad while we're away, overdue library books that need to be returned, and leaving our front door unlocked. I made a phone call to my saving grace and friend Angie Wood who graciously accepted my request to fix all of them and returned my attention to the beginning of our family vacation.

The drive was actually a very peaceful one. The kids watched movie after movie. We were able to answer the frequently repeated question, "When will we be there?" in terms of how many more movies they had to watch until we were there. Although I'm not a huge fan of sticking my kids in front of a tv, there is just something to be said for a dvd player on road trips. It's a major life saver! Especially when the kids just can't get out and roll around like the good old days! We've also learned in the past to only give out snacks in small portions and at designated snack times (like every 1.5 hours or so) because of the major mess they make with them as they eat. This was also very helpful.

Over the past 8 years I've become accustomed more quickly to the children and the patience necessary in working with them than Dave merely because of proximity as a mother, but I was very impressed with his patience with their constant needs, messes, and requests. More importantly because road trips with whiny kids just aren't his forte and therefore I was very impressed that he took it all in stride and managed to maintain a cheerful attitude the entire day! It ended up being as good as it could be with 4 little ones stuck in a small minivan for 8 hours during the middle of a hot July day driving in the dessert.

One of my favorite moments was when we were coming upon Spanish Fork and Harris asked,

"Mom, where are we now?"

"We are in Spanish Fork."

"Do they speak English here?"

"Yes."

"Do we?"

To which Dave and I couldn't help but laughing as we replied, "Yes" and wondered how is it that he didn't already know the answer to that question. I guess we failed to ever actually inform him in his 6 years of life that the language he speaks is English. He knows it's not Japanese and Spanish, but I guess that wasn't enough. At least now he knows it is English.

Brigden saves a tree

2010-07-24T13:48:00.013-06:00

This 24th of July we were able to enjoy the local parade with Dave's family, including Nathan (Dave's brother), Julie (Nathan's wife), Marlene (Dave's Mom), Kazuko (Brian's wife), Brian (Dave's brother), Dave, myself, and Bevan.

Brian, Kazuko, and their children live in Japan so it is a rare and special occassion for us to be able to have them visit. We absolutely love and look forward to their visits. The cousins love being together when they get the opportunity.

Brandon (B & K's son), Justin (B & K's son), Harris, Brigden, Halen, Jonah (N & J's son), Elisabeth (N & J's daughter), Jasen (N & J's son), and Rachel (B & K's daughter.)

The kids were great candy catchers, well, except for Brigden. He begged for Dave to help him the entire parade because he was so intimidated by all the floats and parade participants. At least they had fun.

At one point, Brigden needed to use the bathroom, but given there weren't any restrooms nearby Dave headed off with him to a remote place full of shrubbery. When Dave and Brigden "found a tree" Brigden was ready to explode, but paused to first think of the tree in aim. Brigden turned to Dave and said, "But Daddy, will it kill the tree if I pee on it?" .... No.... then a perfect shot and relief!

Bevan's pure enjoyment was climbing in and out of her stroller and watching others watch her.

A pure joy!

Halen's lovely cousin; Rachel, visiting from Japan.

A Tea Party for Ladies

2010-07-23T09:12:00.002-06:00

My father's wife Tammy, now Halen's grandmother, invited her oldest granddaughters to a tea party just for ladies between the ages of 5 and 18 this summer. She sent out the invitations weeks before the event and Diane (my sister in law) and I both hid them from our girls because we knew this was to be the main summer event and we would never hear the end of it for the next few weeks until the tea party arrived. We were right. The few days that preceeded the event were nonstop anticipation.

Grandma Tammy worked very hard on this event, as you can see in the picture below, by preparing tea party food, placecards, hats, flowers, etc.

Marissa, Halen, Arianna, Nikaila, & Jocelyn @ Grandma Tammy's Tea Party Table

Just the Tea Ladies: Grandma Tammy and Halen. Grandma and Grandpa Chris/Bell took them to a play before returning to the tea party table for some crumpets and tea. The grandparents reported that the girls were very well behaved and had a delightful time. My first response was, "Thank you," but then more selfishly said, "Now tell me why the under 18 age limit?"

Halen, Nikaila, and Marissa. My brother Corbin's daughters. It's rare I can get a picture with these wild and crazy girls sitting so still since and pretty since usually they are all over the place having so much fun together.

Halen was so excited for this tea party that she even dug out her little white gloves and purse. This was serious! I must say, however, the girls all look so beautiful and this will truly be a picture to treasure in years to come.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for an event to remember!

The Countdown Begins!

2010-07-20T10:55:00.008-06:00

Do you realize school starts in 5 weeks? What’s even more shocking is for me it starts in 4! As a teacher, I go back a week early to prep for the upcoming year. When I realized this a few days ago, my heart started to race. Not because I was nervous for school, I’ll get to that a few days before it starts, but because I recognized I only had that many days left to play my little heart out with my kids!

I’ve been affected quite greatly by this new change in my life; going back to work full time, and I am striving very hard to treasure every moment of my time with my children.

So, the countdown begins. This is what I should've accomplished today……

Baskets for of laundry to be folded.

Sink full of dishes to be cleaned.

Cleaning supplies to be sorted through and organized.

Odds and Ends to be put away.

Rotating of clothing for each child and their upcoming new school year clothes.

2 Very Large piles of necessary mending. I’m running out of clothes due to these growing piles.

A basket full of ironing.

But instead…praying Dave will forgive me for not having any ironed clothing; I accomplished...

Cheering Harris on as he independently jumped off the diving board for the first time ever.

Enjoyed watching Rachel (my cousin) so sweetly befriend Bevan.

Protecting Bevan from herself as she desired to lather her body in sunscreen, but shampooed her hair instead of covering her body. That adorable swimsuit is thanks to my sweet Aunt Jan who lent ito me when I left Bevan's on the counter at home and only realized this upon arrival at the pool.

And who would ever want to miss out on a giggly smily charmer like this?

On our way to the swimming pool. Can you tell they were excited?

Bevan swimming with the big kids. You would not believe her amazing adaptation to the water. She was amazing. She even went down the water slide at the pool alone. Crazy stuff! It was so much fun to swim with her. She'll jump off the side of the pool into the water all by herself. She also jumps out of my arms while in the water to swim. I, of course, have to hold her tummy up, but she kicks and moves her arms on her own. So much fun!!! Thanks to her amzing swimming lessons this summer! She hated the water the first two days and now she's going down waterslides? Crazy!

The crazy thing is in this picture she was actually trying to get around Rachel and didn't hesitate to let go of the side of the pool and keep walking into the deeper water. She'll even hold onto the side of the pool in the really deep water and I won't even have to hold onto her. She'll hang there all by herself. So fun to see a 17 month old so well adapted to the water. Such a change from my other children.

Halen showing off her back float.

What a fantastic day at the pool!

Only 25 days left of my summer countdown. Hold on tight!

Fishing Fantasies!

2010-07-18T21:57:00.002-06:00

Harris and Brigden getting ready to go fishing with their Dad early Saturday morning.

Can you tell by the bags under their eyes slightly above their huge smiles!

Dave has been a fisherman his entire life and over the last few years has dreamed of taking his own sons fishing as his dad did for him. Just recently has this dream become a reality since his boys have become more manageable due to their age.

Harris has been asking for quite a while to go fishing with Dad and has wondered when it would be his turn. When Harris and Brigden were told a week ago that they were going to be going fishing with their Dad in a few days, they couldn't have been more excited. It was all they could talk about for the week before they went.

They all got up early to go and had no problems doing so. They even woke Halen up due to their screaming with joy just outside their bedroom early that morning. She said to me, "Mom, they were so excited they just sat and cheered and jumped in the hallway. I woke up and heard them and realized what they were doing, said to myself, 'those silly boys,' and then closed my eyes and went back to sleep." She said it, "those silly boys."

I must also admit, however, what an amazing blessing it was for all the boys to go fishing. All morning long, Halen and I just smiled at each other because we were able to be in our own home so calmly, quietly, and happily without those silly boys. It was so peaceful! Halen and I both agreed the boys should go fishing as much as they want!

Upon return, Brigden and Harris excitedly announced they caught 11 fish. Brigden caught the biggest one at the age of 4 and they threw all of them back into the water. They loved it and I am so pleased! I'm also grateful Dave had fun with his new fishing buddies!

Harris' Kindergarten Field Trip

2010-07-16T23:04:00.000-06:00

Harris and I were able to attend the Dinosaur Park this year for his Kindergarten field trip. It was really fun being with just him and I found it quite interesting how much he wanted to be with just me instead of his friends. What a wonderful feeling. I'm sure I'll treasure it while it lasts.

I'm so pleased with what a wonderful boy he's becoming, most of the time. He does, however, have a ridiculously miscevious smile that just leads you to know instantly he is a true tease!

This one below is by far my favorite! What a wonderful mother/son moment. I'll never forget it! I love him dearly! It felt so great to have him so happy to have me with him.

It's amazing how well mannered and pleasant he looks here in this one below. He is so full of life and energy that to see him sit so still and positioned so calmly in a picture just almost makes me wonder if it's really him.

What a blessing to have this tornado of joy in our lives! We love him dearly!

Bold Beautiful Bevan!

2010-07-16T22:38:00.002-06:00

Bold couldn't describe Bevan better. She has really blossomed into a bold child. Brigden was such a delightful child and really took us by surprise because he didn't show us any defiance or much independence until the age of 3, but Bevan has been exactly the opposite. I don't even think she was one year old before she started informing us of her independence. Since we've already adjusted to the shock of her determination and independence, it's fun to watch others go through the same wide eyed amazement as they watch her boldly do what she wants, or at least try all the time to do so.

She is a wonderful loving child and usually content, but those frequent occurances where she wants what she wants and she doesn't get it can be quite piercing to the ears. She yells as loud as she can and we all cover our ears. We've been working on educating her on better (and quieter) manners, but in the meanwhile she's our little bold beauty!

Here she is with our sweet, submissive, and kind Halen. You can almost just see the difference in their personalities in their faces.

This is one of my favorites. Bevan is basically Dave's female clone. It's amazing how much she resembles him in his baby pictures. I love this picture because she is seriously crying and yelling at me because I won't let her have Mountain Dew. Will someone please tell her she's not even 18 months old yet. It's probably what Dave would look like if I tried to take his Mountain Dew away from him. So ironic and yet so perfect that his clone would be so angry that she couldn't have his favorite drink.

Strangely, she is an amazing helper. She loves to pick things up and is frequently found putting chairs back under the counter, wiping down furniture, or cleaning up messes. Here she is dusting the end table and not even under my direction. She wanted to do it all on her own after seeing her brothers and sister cleaning and found the rag all by herself to do so.

Just the other day I found her putting sunscreen all over herself in the front room on the carpet and was very frustrated upon finding the excess on the carpet. She immediately sensed my frustration and ran and grabbed a rag to clean up her mess. I was amazed at her initiative, not so amazed at her thoughtless mess. She was quite frustrated when I wouldn't let her clean all of it up on her own.

Regardless of her independence, she has been such a joy in our lives. I love to hold her. She loves to give kisses on the lips and kisses with noses (eskimo kisses.) She loves to be held and adored and is very genuine. She loves to eat and is found standing in front of the snack cupboard frequently throughout the day yelling (not asking) for something to snack on. She is extremely content outside sitting on her big wheel, not riding it necesarily, just sitting. She loves Sesame Street, applesauce, muffins, hot dogs, oranges, fruit leather, fruit and veggie smoothies, and sauces. She'll drink ketchup, strawberry jam, and ranch dressing if I'm not monitoring her eating during mealtime. She gets this from her father, as well. She is so fun to watch at a playground because she tries everything. She isn't afraid of any of it and has great balance and body control to be able to handle whatever she comes upon. She gets so excited about going down the slides and thoroughly enjoys them each time down.

She loves to play self initiated peek a boo, listen to us read "I'm a little teapot" to her, dance to music, and suck on one binky while holding two other binkies in her hands (just in case).

We absolutely adore her and feel so blessed to have had her join our family!

Frozen Blueberries & Granola

2010-07-15T09:24:00.000-06:00

In trying to recognize the little things that make me happy, I've realized how much happiness I enjoy while eating my favorite dish of late; frozen blueberries, homemade granola, & milk. What is so wonderful about this dish is the way just a small amount of milk poured onto the frozen granola quickly becomes frozen itself and turns what could be a normal bowl of cereal into a frozen treat! It may very well be silly and something so insignificant, but I actually crave it! I don't mind if dinner doesn't get fixed because I can have my frozen blueberries & granola. I love the granola because I know it isn't processed flour and water granola, but really nutritious ingredients. It came from my sweet Aunt Kristen. I love it so much I don't mind taking the time to make it from scratch. It's become my comfort food, breakfast, lunch, and dinner substitute and puts a huge smile on my face, throughout my heart, and in my tummy!

Personality Dilemna

2010-02-28T13:30:00.001-07:00

My family is very well educated in personality types. Growing up, we talked frequently of our personality colors and used our "codes" to explain, justify, understand, or even predict our behavior and personalities. To be brief according to these personality codes, we believe each of us has a primary motive and possibly a secondary one as well. Blues prefer intimacy, not physical, but relational. For example, they tend to be very caring, sensitive, and emotional people. Reds prefer control of their surroundings and tend to be thinkers, bold, detail oriented, and organized. Whites prefer peace and tend to be quiet, fearful, giving, and taken advantage of. Yellows prefer to have fun and tend to be carefree, energetic, flighty, and the life of the party!

I'm sure it only takes you seconds to realize I am Red, but what you may not know is that I am a very close secondary Blue. I was actually more Blue before I was married, but I married such a predomenant Blue that most of my Blue has gone into hiding. The point of this entire post is to express my frustration with my personality; Red Blue.

Do you get frustrated with who you are at times? Well, I most certainly do. I struggle with my personality all the time. Because of my deep Red personality I tend to choose to organize my surroundings, i.e. maintain control, over going out and just having fun. I have to actually make myself have fun sometimes. I know it sounds weird, but it's true. I am not normal. For example, while you are watching your favorite Jane Eyre movie, I am organizing my spice drawer (which I will post about another time because it is now the highlight of my kitchen.) Or, the real root of this post, since I am first Red, second Blue, I occassionaly spout off my mouth in a Red fashion and then seconds later with my Blue side, recognize the very possible offensive comment and tone I have just naively used. Immediately after this and for many hours to come, I feel regret, frustration, and embarrassment. I hate that I can so easily offend people with such abrasive and sharp words and actions and not even realize it until after it's already done. Hence, this post!!!

It reminds me of one of my favorite movies; "You've Got Mail!" Meg Ryan talks previously with her email buddy about how she wishes she could use more "zingers" or in other words, be more Red.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAAgpIo7LdA

The truth is I have this gift already, except mine usually comes across as just meanness. Notice how she feels after she is able to say what she thought she would always want to say in her zinger. She feels sad.

Last night, at a large gathering I attended, I felt this sadness since I fear I may have offended others and have had a hard time relaxing ever since because first and foremost I am more worried about the relationships that may suffer as well as the hurt I may have caused. Specifics aren't realy important. I just felt like venting and asking the universe, "Why do I do these things?" I try to control myself and surprisingly to others I actually do control a lot of it, but there always seems to be a little peep hole where some of my offensive personality just leaks out! I hate that part of my personality. I know there are many positives to my personality, but I sure do get frustrated with my weaknesses, as I'm sure do many others. Regardless, I'll keep trying, but please keep forgiving!

Wedding Bliss....almost 9 years later.

2010-02-04T12:46:00.001-07:00

This coming June, Dave and I will have been married for 9 years. It's been a wonderful 9 years full of great memories, well, except one, that is. The lovely experience of losing my body through the creation of 4 wonderful children. I don't regret the children, but I do loathe the weight loss associated with such creations. Well, last year when I gave birth to Bevan, I decided I had had enough of accepting my "mommy" body and was going to set a year long goal to open a new chapter in my life. My goal was to lose enough weight to regain my pre-mommy body back or in other words be able to fit into my wedding dress again by Bevan's 1 year old birthday, January 29, 2009.

I knew this was a great task because it meant I would really have to kick up my workouts a notch or two or three as well as watch my eating and sugar cravings all the while being a supportive wife and loving mother. I'll admit, it was very hard! Very hard! I had to rise very early and find a desire from deep within, but I did it! I still can't believe it! I have so many loving family members and friends that helped me along the way and I am so grateful for this change in my life. I feel wonderful!

The first time I've been able to get my wedding dress on since having my 4 beautiful children. What a moment! Dave just laughed at me as I walked around the house, saying, "I'm a princess!" "I did it!"

Halen, my 7 year old, also loved seeing my wedding dress 0n and wanted to join in on the fun with her own white dress-up dress. Here we are together, princesses on parade!

What a glorious moment! It is such a wonderful thing to have achieved a goal when so often my goals are unachieved! For example, notice the Christmas Tree still up in the end of January? Gotta love it! That, however, is just reality, but regardless, I'm going to dwell in this wedding bliss for a moment, or two, or three.......

The Real Deal!

2010-01-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

I try so hard to be the June Cleaver that I feel I should, but the truth of the matter is, more often than not, I'm the real deal as a mother. Have you ever had an off day? Well, here are a few moments in one of my off days.

This morning when Harris was throwing a fit because he didn't want to read his books for his homework, he replied to my request to read with,

"I don't like these books. They're dumb."

I would love to say at this moment that I had a calm, patient, loving, and motivational response as June Cleaver would, but my actual "the real deal" reply was;

"Well, if you don't read them then you'll be dumb!"

Wow, as my sister shared when I told her the story, "You win the 'Mother of the Year' award."

Yeah, I know I shouldn't have said it, but hey, sometimes I'm human too! He's just lucky I didn't say it with even close to as much emotion as he did!

Then after resolving that issue, I sent him out to wait for the bus for afternoon kindergarten only to realize a few minutes later that I sent him out 30 minutes early. As he entered the house after learning of my mistake, I thought to myself I'd compensate for my mistake by offer him something fun to do while he was waiting so I said, "Do you want to play video games while you're waiting?"

He looked at me and then matter of factly said, "How about lunch instead?"

Ummm? Ok, that's a good idea. Again, "Mother of the Year." Seriously, did I forget to screw my head on when I got dressed this morning. I'm so glad my 5 year old is on top of things enough to help me do my job!

So there, this is my life and it's the real deal!

Treasuring My Wedding Ring!

2010-01-12T14:46:00.001-07:00

I found my wedding ring today! I lost it almost 3 years ago when we went camping with friends in Idaho. It's the craziest story. I had put it in a bag that was meant to stay in the car during our entire camping trip. (Yes, stupid move in the first place, but if you know me, then you know that I do stupid things quite often actually!) The bag did stay in the car the entire time, but when we got home I scoured the entire bag and could not find it anywhere. I searched everywhere high and low more than 3 times. I prayed, I fasted, I prayed, over and over! I've been so frustrated the last few years and every time I would see someone's ring, I would be sad again.

Well, the other day I was filling my pill container and I saw Dave's and thought I should fill his while I'm at it. I grabbed it and in the process found I needed more garlic pills. So I headed to the pill storage drawer to find another bottle of garlic pills. I opened the drawer, looked in, and right next to a sample pill box was something round. I looked closer and thought, "No!" "Could it be?" I picked it up and froze momentarily and then I screamed, realizing what I was holding in my hands! My wedding ring! My wedding ring! I screamed so loud Halen started crying covering her ears, begging me to stop. She kept saying I was scaring her, and I kept screaming, saying, "But, I found my wedding ring!" She didn't get it and I just couldn't stop screaming. I had to, of course, do major damage control a few minutes later in consoling her.

The crazy thing about it was that it was right next to a sample prenatal pill booklet that I had been given by the gynecologist. I think what had happened is the pill booklet had open ends and was in the same bag as the wedding ring. With the movement of the bag, the ring had gotten stuck between the bubbles of the pill booklet and then when I took the pills out and put them away in the storage drawer, the ring went with it. Well, there it sat for almost 3 years, until finally enough movement shook the ring out of the pill booklet. It’s a good thing I never threw away the pill booklet! What a horrible thought! Actually that is the thought I’ve been living with for the last almost 3 years. That I accidentally somehow vacuumed it up while searching for it in the truck after our trip and it was now at a landfill somewhere! So I know exactly how it would have felt to have that feeling the rest of my life!

I've been wearing it ever since beaming like a newly engaged bride to be. I just keep thinking, I'm married again! I had a boyfriend for almost three years and now I'm married again! I love to look at it and I am so happy that I have it again. What a blessing. I really needed this little pick me up blessing and what a wonderful thing to have for it, my wedding ring. Just crazy!

When I called Dave and told him, he was in shock and his reply was, "Don't ever take it off again!" I said, "Ok!"

Craziness! What a blessing! I'll take it!

Wonderful Women in my Life!

2009-10-27T09:15:00.000-06:00

I have felt such an overwhelming feeling of gratitude this last month for the women in my life. I don't even want to start to list of amazing aunts, sisters, friends, neighbors that influence me for good because I'm sure I'd somehow miss someone, but I do want to highlight the two most obvious women during this month, my grandmother June Brewer Bell and my mother Karen Harris Bell.

My grandmother, June, was an amazing women that I respect and love so dearly. She passed away just shortly ago and although her passing was a gift to her and her last tiring years, it was still painful and sad to see her physically leave us. Due to my own mother's passing I've learned how fragile life really is as well as the importance of the here and now, not tomorrow. As a result of this, I tried really hard to include my grandmother June in our life the last few years of hers. Even though it was at times difficult to find time to visit or have her over to our house, I can't express enough how much I wish I would have found even more time and am so grateful that I did find the time I did to spend with such a gem of wisdom and love.

Grandma June holding Bevan (2 months old) in March 2009

Grandma June w/ Brigden (3) in March 2009

When Grandma's health was well enough we would have her over for weekly dinner. One of these occassions fell upon Brigden's birthday. I called her only a few hours before to inform her that we would be casually celebrating his birthday while she was here, but she was under no obligation to get him a present or anything, just merely come and be with us. Well, in traditional Grandma June style she showed up with a wrapped present. The typical style of hers was not that she had a present, but the actual present. Brigden excitedly opened the present to find a ziploc bag of random treats and goodies that Grandma had accumulated from her pantry including: large colored marshmallows, crackers, chocolate bars, and pretzels. The best part about it was that they were all bunched together in this ziploc and presented in such a Grandma June style, i.e. cookies in a bucket. I wondered what Brigden would think as he saw the ziploc bag of random worn goodies, but he was so ecstatic and delighted and I was relieved for his graciousness. She was so thoughtful and always trying to make sure others were happy and felt loved by her.

Grandma June had such a love for people and the gospel. I loved my many conversations with her these last few years. She had such wisdom, peace, and such a grounded testimony of Christ. There is almost nothing better than to talk with someone who just "gets it" and doesn't fuss with the rest of life's unnecessary fluff.

When I was a little girl we would visit Grandma weekly and each trip we would take I would pass a curio containing a pair of blue porcelain ballet slippers. I'm not quite sure why she had them, but I do know that I loved looking at them. I looked at them for years and as I grew with each visit I wished more and more that they were mine. Well, one day, she somehow found out about my wishes. I don't know if I just plain asked for them, which wouldn't surprise myself and many others, or if my mother told her, but as soon as Grandma found out, she took them out and gave them to me. I've cherished them ever since and to this day am so impressed at her kindness and charity.

As a child, I didn't quite understand what a peaceful person she was because to me she was just quiet, but now as I've grown and become a mother and a spouse, I'm amazed at her peaceful demeanor and patient personality. What an example to her family and I. I love this woman and am so greatful to have known her.

One of my favorite memories of her was when she was saying goodbye to one of my siblings a day or so before she passed and she said, "Don't worry, I'll tell your mother hello for all of you!"

Which brings me to my mother......It's so hard to find the words. Today is the 3rd year anniversary of her passing. It's been an interesting journey, a difficult one, but a very growing one. I miss her dearly! I miss her wisdom, her friendship, her undying love, her knowledge, and her testimony!

I miss just talking to her. I miss having someone to lean on. I don't know that I've ever felt more alone then during these last 3 years because of her absence and my trials. When she passed, I knew it would be difficult to spend the rest of my earthly life without her, but I could never have known to what extent. I didn't realize how much I would miss her strength, especially when I am weak, which is extremely more often then people believe or realize. I miss her love and zest for life, even though she was most quoted saying, "Life sucks and then you die." She knew how to bring humor to difficult situations and laugh things off.

I miss her. I miss her. I miss her.

Mom with Halen(2) in 2004.

I love her. I love her. I love her.

Alien Robotic Transformers & Spiritual Promptings

2009-10-13T14:57:00.000-06:00

Within the last few months because of wonderful lessons and general conference talks, I've felt like I really need to not only live the gospel, but share the gospel with others. While I've always had a desire to share the gospel, I daily feel so overwhelmed in merely trying to accomplish the basic tasks like reading my scriptures, doing the dishes, attending to my children and husband, etc. Well, as I mentioned, a few weeks ago a wonderful Relief Society Lesson drew the last straw that broke the camel's back for me and my so called desire. I knew I had to make a change and actually do something with my good-for-nothing "intentions!"

I put the task of buying some Books of Mormon at the Distribution Center on my "to do" list and finally days or weeks later I did it. I had to tell myself, "it doesn't matter that I had to keep rewriting "buy Book of Mormon" on my list each time I started a new list and threw away the old one. What mattered was, I actually stopped one day, walked into the store with my children and purchased the books, no more intentions, just progress!

Ok, so now I had to do something with these Books of Mormon. Hmmm? I had already decided that I would give one to a neighbor friend of mine whom I had recently befriended and learned of his troubling life situation. In our few discussions it became apparent to me that he needed the companionship of the gospel, as if anyone out there doesn't, and I wanted to be the one to give him the knowledge to be able to gain it in his life. Well, wanting to do it and actually doing it (again that naughty word "intentions") are two different things.

As I listened to the Conference Talks I realized how grateful I am for the gospel and The Spirit in my life and how selfish I was being by not just marching over to my new friend's home and sharing with him what I treasured so greatly. It seemed so silly to me because I don't hesitate near as much to share recipes, shopping ideas, gardening tips, children (play dates), etc. so why in the world would I hesitate so greatly to share what means the most to me? Well, maybe besides or equal to the children? Because it's just plain scary and intimidating, that's why!

So over the last few weeks I spent a little bit of time here and there highlighting the sections in the Book of Mormon that I felt were appropriate for my friend as well as part of the beautifully written Ensign focusing only on Jesus Christ which came out last March. Once this was done I placed the Book and magazine on my kitchen counter because I knew it would sit there until I disposed of it, i.e. gave it to my neighbor. It sat there for a few days and then I had had it (the craving to be clutter-free finally got the best of me) and after finding myself child free for a moment, decided this was it. The time had arrived.

But then all of a sudden, thoughts and questions entered my head so quickly I couldn't even answer them;

"What if he doesn't want to hear what I have to say?"
"He lives in Utah, he's probably already heard all about us Mormons."
"What is he doesn't even believe in Jesus Christ, then what do I say?"
"Is he going to think I'm pushy and crazy?"
"I really like this guy as a neighbor and my kids really like his, what if he treats me differently after I give him these books?"
"Is he going to try and bash with me?"
"What do I even say to start the conversation?"
"How am I going to turn a random uninvited knock on his door into a spiritual experience?"
"Ahhh...I'm scared."

Finally, I told myself. This is ridiculous. I asked myself, "Do you believe this?" "Yes, with all my heart!" "Do you truly believe this book contains the truth and everyone should be so blessed as to read it sooner, if not later?" "Yes!" "How could you have gotten through life over the last recent years without the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ?" I couldn't, well I would have, but I wouldn't have managed with such faith and happiness without the gospel. "Ok, then don't worry about the details of the conversation. Say a prayer and Just Do It!"

One of my favorite movies of all times is "Transformers", the first one. I love the part where two of the main characters are trying to decide if they should get into BumbleBee, his car, after realizing that he, Bumblebee, is not just a car, but a live alien robotic transformer. They only have seconds to decide because the Evil Deceptacon Transformers are chasing them. The main character tells her to get in with him and she wants to refuse and says, "Why? Are you crazy?" He then turns to her, reaches out his hand and says, "Because 50 years from now when you look back on your life don't you want to be able to say you got in?" She then jumps in the car and the story continues excitingly.

The reason I interject my own story with a scene from the movie, "Transformers" is because at that moment in time, as I'm looking out my window to see if my neighbor is home, those words came into my head. "When I look back on my life, days, weeks, months, years from now, don't I want to be able to say; I did it. I gave my friend what mattered most to me?"

Well, that was it. I didn't have any more excuses. I said my prayer and walked out the door, book, magazine, and faith in hand and heart!

I knocked on his door and he approached with a smile. We greeted and then I asked him if he had a minute I could share something with him. He was very gratious and came out to sit on his steps with me. I explained to him that something he had said to me a few days ago as we were chatting in front of our houses had really stayed with me. So much that I had really thought about my own current trials and the benefits of the gospel for me in my trials. The conversation contnued including a brief discussion of his familiarity with the LDS faith as well as his religious beliefs. I further explained why I had brought the book and magazine to him and highlighted parts as well. I even read some of it to him right then and there and expressed my feelings, i.e. testimony in the very book and gospel. I didn't formalize anything. I just merely explained how Jesus Christ and His gospel has given me peace in my life during times of trials and I wanted him to have the same peace in his life.

He was very gratious and accepting. Whether or not he wanted to know more, I don't know. I do know however, that he was grateful for my sincerity as well as my desire to show I cared about him and his situation. He was truly touched and it felt great to be able to share with him what has touched me most in my life! The conversation ended with casualties and much gratitude from him towards my efforts to care for his well being and then I was on my way back home.

It was over. I had done it. I can now say that I did it and it wasn't even as scary as I had made it out to be. What is strange to me as well is that all of those fears are coming from a return missionary. Someone who did this for 18 months every day! Every day! But this was my neighbor, someone that I cared about and had to say see each day hereafter. It was somehow different, but just as important.

As I walked home, I wondered what he would do with the materials I had given him. If he would actually read them? But even with all my questions, I felt at peace. I knew that I had done my part and at that instant that was what mattered. Whether I was planting a seed or about to watch the work bear fruit in his life was unknown to me. I was just grateful I could now look back and say hypothetically, "I got in that alien robotic transformer car!" I gave my friend what matters to me most; my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ! And surprisingly, I can't wait to do it again.

It's a good thing I bought multiple copies of The Book of Mormon because who knows when I'll make it back to the Distribution Center again with kids in tow.

Sugar Bugs, 21, Resurrection, Nice Roads, and Manners

2009-10-13T14:17:00.000-06:00

These are the latest random stories and quotes from our little family.

A few months ago, as we were getting in the car Harris asked if he needed to put his seatbelt on and I replied;

“Yes, we are heading on the main road.”

To which Brigden replied; “No mom, it’s a nice road!”

A few nights ago when I was tucking Halen and Harris into bed, we had the following conversation:

Halen: "Mom, I love you."

Mom: "I love you too."

Halen: "I love you three!"

Harris: "I love you four!"

Halen: "I love you five!"

Harris: "I love you a hundred!"

Halen: "I love you a million!"

Harris: "Well,...(as if he's pulling out the big guns now)..

I love you 21!"

21...huh? That's more than a million? Well, aparantly he thinks so and after listening to his giggle after he said it, he was quite confident he had won the battle of love for his mother by trumping Halen's million with 21! Just don't tell anybody that this is the child of a math teacher because that math teacher didn't say anything about it, but to reply; "Thank you. I love you too!"

A month or so ago, before Bevan had teeth (she now has 2 cute little bottom teeth), Brigden was quite shocked and worried when he came upon her toothless mouth one day and immediately yelled, in shock and horror;

"Mom, Bevan doesn't have any teeth! The sugar bugs ate them!"

He was quite worried and I had to then explain that she hadn't had any teeth available yet for the sugar bugs to eat, but when she gets them, teeth that is, we'll be sure to brush them so the sugar bugs won't eat them.

Brigden has been technically potty trained since December of last year, 2008, but he has an occassional relapse from time to time because he just doesn't want to stop playing to go to the bathroom. Right now it's a matter of convincing him that even though his pants are closer in proximity than the bathroom, the toilet is a much better location. As a result of these relapses, lately we are working hard to praise him in having dry pants so whenver the occassion arrises, we congratulate him, trying to keep things positive. Something else to note is that Brigden is a serious "manners" child. He was born saying "Please, Thank You, and Your Welcome!" Yes, of course, we taught him when to say them, but we rarely have to remind him to do so, it is just ingrained in his system. He reminds me a lot of my brother Cardin who seems to know all the rules for proper manners. Anyway, because of his innate talent for proper manners, sometimes it's just awkward hearing a 3 year old be so polite and courteous. (Just remember, however, I did say sometimes!)

Yesterday, he walked out of the bathroom and after acknowledging his pants were dry and he had managed to take the time to stop playing and use the restroom, I congratulated him by saying;

"Brigden, way to keep your pants dry!"

To which he nonschalantly replied with a shrug of his shoulders; "Your Welcome"

Ummm? Did I say thank you? Nope, but in his perfectly mannered world I guess it's all the same!

A few months ago, the kids and I were on our way to celebrate my brother Kevin's birthday in Logan. During our travel there Brigden asked who we were visiting and I replied,

"Kevin, my brother who came back from his mission a year ago."

To which Brigden replied, "Oh, just like Jesus!"

Unsure of his comparison, I asked, "How is that Brigden?

He confidently replied, "Cuz Jesus came back to life too!"

I just can't decide if I should tell Kevin that apparently going on a mission doesn't mean you serve for 2 years, it means you die for 2 years and then come back to life when your time is up.

Quotes of the Day!

2009-10-06T19:40:00.001-06:00

Brigden (3) says with a tone of amazement and discovery:

"Mom, look, my mouth is sharp, it can cut right through this cuuukie!"

Said just like cookie monster on sesame street says, "cookie!"

Harris (5): "Mom, does Jesus live in the heavens?"

Mom: "Yes."

Halen (7): "He lives in the clouds."

Harris: "Yeah, and in the mountains."

Halen: "You've gone camping in the mountains before."

Harris: "Yeah, I have."

Umm? We weren't even talking about Jesus when this conversation started and somehow we
didn't even end the conversation talking about Jesus either! Interesting!

Halen: "Bevan (8 mo.), you and I are going to be best friends when you grow up."

Famous last words from a girl who will someday wonder why her little sister has to tag along with her everywhere she goes.

Harris: "Mom will Dad let me shoot his air soft gun

when I go duck hunting with him next time he goes?"

Mom: "Yes"

Harris replied very seriously: "For Real?"

Did he really expect me to say, "for pretend?"

Halen (speaking of Bevan to Harris who is holding Bevan):

"Be careful with her because I really love her."

Ummm. And he doesn't?

Mom: "Brigden you really need to do all of your 'going to the bathroom' at one time when you are getting ready for bed instead of 'going two or three times' before bed each night."

Brigden (3): "No, I don't Mom! I go two times each night."

Hmmm. Gone are the days of Sweet Brigden.

Harris: "Why is there so much water in this watermelon?"

Without a moments hesitation Halen replies: "It is what makes it so sweet."

Wow, I didn't even know that. It seems we may have a 'know it all' on our hands.

In the background in the morning, as I was going about my duties and Brigden was playing with his cars, the tv was broadcasting a BYU devotional speaker. When the speaker finished, he closed with a final "Amen" to which Brigden pokes his head up from what he was doing and nonschalantly says, "Amen" and then returns to his cars as if nothing had ever happened. He heard me giggle and looked up at me to realize his "Amen" being the cause of my giggle, and then smiled a large grin, so proud of himself and sure of his charm and appeal.

And finally, Halen and Harris just found out they will be acting out a fire drill this coming Friday at their elementary school and both are very worried about it. So worried, in fact that this was part of Halen's prayer this evening:

"Please bless that I won't be scared in the fire drill this Friday and Harris won't either, if he decides he's not too scared to go to school that day."

I know there are more, but I forget them so quickly. How fun to see their little minds work so hard and grow so much each day and give us these lovely and quirky thoughts and words!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2009-09-29T08:35:00.000-06:00

Just moments after feeling the weight of my frustration of life shining through in my children's behavior, i.e. "When Mom isn't happy, ain't nobody happy!", I realized it was once again time to flip that frown upside down! At the time I was doing Halen's hair and I thought we should sing a song. Singing always makes me happy! Always! Then seeing Brigden in the room I recognized if we sang his favorite song we could for sure get a group effort in participation. I asked them both to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" with me and explained that it would help us to turn our frowns upside down and help us to be happy. Brigden was shy and timid at first, but Halen being the typical good sport, jumped right in. As we started singing I felt so much better, but then a great surprise came; harmony. I love harmony. I think I love it so much because I am an alto and I just love hearing the harmony and melody work together and knowing I can be a part of that great combination of sounds. At this time I didn't even know that anyone had ever written a harmony part for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but aparantly it didn't matter because there was now one being sung.
When Halen was as young as 6 months old she would sing as we traveled in the car. I thought it was odd and asked my mom once if that was normal for such a young baby. She told me it was definitely possible, but most likely that Halen was a singer at heart. I found this to be very true as I've had more children and none of them have shown any of the desire to sing that she has. She loves to sing and loves to harmonize.
As I listened to her specifically pick out notes to harmonize in the song as we sang, it brought so much joy to my heart! I was smiling, I was happy and she is talented! I'm sure there are plenty of 7 year olds out there that can do what she does, but just hearing her pick out her own harmony and find the joy in doing so, and doing it right (not just thinking she's doing it right) was wonderful! It made the switch I needed in my attitude!
We sang the song another 5 times, just enjoying singing together and listening to the harmony and melody and both loved every minute of it! What fun! Happy Day!

Reality!

2009-09-29T07:25:00.001-06:00

So, unfortunately there is no humor nor wonderful moments in this post. I just need to write/vent about my current feelings. I know that times are financially tough for lots of people right now and unfortunately we are to be included in that group. Dave hasn't had a stable earning job for almost 2 years and I'm almost in shock. I remember the feeling 2 years ago as the process was beginning and the intense feeling of fear I felt as I realized what could come, or more appropriately said, not come in the coming days, weeks, and months. I'll say one thing is for sure, at that time, I didn't think "years" was to be included in that last sentence. Was I ever wrong?

My parents have spoken occassionally of their "trying poor days" throughout my youth and I've listened attentively and amazed at the lessons they learned from their experiences as well as the things they had to do to survive. Most of the time my listening consisted of thoughts that left as quick as they came and included thoughts like, "Wow!" or "Really?"

The reason I bring this up now is because those same words pass through my mind each time we are faced with another obstacle in our quest to find a stable income. We just can't seem to catch a break and each time we think we will, something will happen that will lead me to say, "Wow!" "Really?" It's almost humorous. Well, really it becomes so because if I don't laugh, I'll just end up falling to the ground in monster tears like a 2 year old who didn't get the toy he wanted, but including the fear of a 2 year old who worries about the monster under their bed when they go to sleep. Serious fear! The kind of fear that you just don't understand until you really encounter it. Where will the money come from? Where and how will we find a job? How many times do we need to try a new job until we can find one that works? Why? When? How?

It may seem we are struggling with having faith and yes at times, we most definitely are. We're learning truly what faith means? I'm amazed at how I've learned that faith is not just believing that things will happen for you, but more importantly believing that somehow, homeless or not, we will be alright eternally no matter what happens to us temporally.

I know that people say, "Money doesn't bring happiness," but I also know that it makes it easier because without money, you must fight for happiness. It is a decision every single day to be happy for it would seem, what is there to be happy for? You have no idea how that bill will be paid, what you'll say to that bill collector when they call, how your children will be taken care of in their needs, or if your neighbors will kindly withhold judgement as they look at your dirt filled baren yard for the 3rd year.

I know these are not the kinds of things that an average post will contain, but at the moment, I am in reality and this is the raw truth of my reality! I've listened to so many people talk about how hard the pioneers had it traveling across the plains to Utah and seriously as I look back over the last 4 years of my life I feel like I might as well be on those plains. I do think they struggled, but I almost want to shout at the top of the mountains to all those that are suffering and say, "Yes, This is hard. It's really hard and just like the pioneers!" I know so many people struggling with life right now with not only finances, but also health, marriage, religion, family, etc. I am amazed at what seems a heightened level of difficulty in life for so many. I'm not sure if it's just that I'm more aware now than I was 4 or so years ago, but the last few years have really seem to hit a lot of people hard.

Honestly, I'm tired. I'm worried, and I'm struggling to find that smile, but, of course, I'll keep trying, I'll read my scriptures to give me that daily boost of faith and perserverance, but I just want myself to know when I read this journal entry years from now and hopefully read having forgotten how truly difficult this trial was; This is hard! There must be a wonderful place in the heavens above that going through this makes it all worth it, but for now, this is just my reality!

Are you Quilting Kidding Me?

2009-09-21T10:30:00.000-06:00

A few years ago I caught a small quilting bug and bought some matching fabric and a pattern. I dug through many patterns until I finally found one I liked, not being very attracted to most quilting styles, and took my purchase home. The sad part was that I lost all motivation when I sat down and begun. I hadn't even really looked at the pattern so that wasn't what scared me, it was just that I had no desire to do it.

I have a dear friend who loves to quilt and figured maybe I was missing out on something, but soon realized that this wasn't the time and place for me to begin quilting. I just didn't have it in me. Well, after showing my pattern to some other quilting friends, I learned that there was good reason for me not to quilt that pattern, or at least to start quilting with that pattern because it was a very difficult one. After learning this I just chalked it all up to a learning experience and threw my pattern and material in a bag in a closet, very deep in the closet.

Quite some time later I found it while cleaning out the closet and mentioned it to my dear friend; Cynthia. She graciously said she would quilt it for me because I still really wanted the finish product, but was now intimidated by the difficulty of the task. Well, I just received it in the mail Friday and I knew immediately what it was when I saw her handwriting on the box. I jumped up and screamed, "Dave, it's the quilt." He cheered me on, "Open it! Open it! Let's see!" I pulled it out and was in complete shock. It was/is beautiful! I just sat and looked at it for a good 15 minutes just amazed at how so many sections were so different and this is one of the reasons it was such a difficult pattern.

I had already decorated my baby room to match these colors, but was just missing the crib baby blanket and today for the first time I got to put Bevan down for her nap with her new baby blanket/quilt. It is so beautiful and I am so grateful for a dear friend in Cynthia that she would spend so much time to do something so special for me. As I told her on the phone, "I feel so spoiled!" Isn't it just beautiful! I'm so blessed to have her as is she to have her quilting skills!

Cynthia and I have been friends ever since my days in Park City and it's been great because she and I have been able to maintain a great relationship regardless of the distance. She is just like a sister to me and I love her dearly! I'm so happy to be able to have a quilt made by her in my possession because that is what makes it so very special to me!

All this quilt talk reminded me of another very special quilt in my home. When my mother was diagnosed with Cancer my sweet sister in law; Julie wanted to make a quilt for my mom and indirectly me when my mother was no longer able to enjoy it. The colors she had me pick were ones that matched my mother's bedroom set and personality perfectly. I now have the quilt and feel so warm physically and emotionally when using it. I'm starting to understand the quilt thing.

This is a quilt my mother and I made together for my wedding. It's pretty simple, but it holds great love and memories for me and my family because of it's origin.

This is a quilt I made for Dave while we were dating. It's quite the story. I didn't think we were headed anywhere as a couple so I didn't want to spend money on him for Christmas. As a result, I opted to make him a quilt out of inexpensive fabric for a Christmas present because I just couldn't not give him anything. Little did I know that we would end up getting married and this quick-sew inexpensive quilt would become my husband's favorite "blanky" in my home. Dave and I laugh a lot over that quilt and how clueless I was at the time I made it for him. Good memories.

This is not my favorite looking blanket (not really a quilt), but it has such great meaning to me that it had to be included. When I was on my mission, my companion and I met and taught an amazing man named Mario. He was baptized after our discussions and gave us gifts to show his gratitude. I received this blanket. It always reminds me of my mission days and I just love to have it around because of that and it's great warmth. The picture on it, ummm... I could do without, but really who cares what a blanket looks like if you can baptize somebody, right?

This last blanket was given to me by my wittle sister; Megan. She was so excited to pick out my color choices and give this to me as her own instigated birthday present for me. I just love to think of her each time I see it. What a sweetheart for a sister! It's become my running blanket that I use after my runs to keep warm. It's so fun to get a "hug" from Megan after each run!

I've alive and well

2009-09-16T10:35:00.000-06:00

I had an interesting experience this morning as I began a conversation with a stranger and ended it with a friend. This gentlemen and I spent a few moments discussing our shared current struggle of unemployment in this slow economy. One of the neatest parts of the conversation was our shared love of God regardless and because of our situations. He shared how his 5 children had struggled through the summer given there were no funds for anything extracurricular. He also shared how scary it was to not know how to make ends meet, but how grateful he was that at least he had a roof over his head and food on his table. We both shared how we had individually come to the conclusion of the importance of waking up each day with a smile and faith. At the end of the conversation and after discussing of the burn of the refiner's fire during great trials like this, my heart was very warm and I was humbled at what a wonderful person and spirit this gentleman was. We both wished each other well and went out separate ways.

When I got in my car the radio automatically came on and this was the song...."I'm alive" w/ Kenny Chesney and The Dave Mathews Band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfuMecxRfFo

It was so perfectly timed and I enjoyed every minute of it as I dwelled on my gratitude for my life, my family, the fulfillment of my basic needs, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful for my membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and for the great organization that it is. And lastly, I'm so grateful for trials which humble me more and more and more and more and more....

Halen & Soccer FUN!

2009-09-16T08:28:00.000-06:00

Halen played her first soccer game this year last Saturday and not only did she have a blast, so did her mother, her uncle Corbin, and her cousin Niki. Niki are on the same team and Corbin is their coach. I asked Corbin before the game if he was having fun and he replied, "Sure." He wasn't very enthusiastic because he had been doing all the logistics of getting the team put together, practices, etc. and hadn't really had any FUN yet, but after the game his answer was completely different as he walked over to me and said, "Wow! That was fun!" to which I agreed!

Niki was amazing. She scored at least 4 goals and was such a power house when she wanted to be. It's fun to watch the kids give it their all and then be just pooped and want to sit on the side lines after only a few minutes of running. There are 4 time periods each 10 minutes long and surprisingly, it's a long 10 minutes.

Halen sat out the first session and then when it was her turn to go in she was quite nervous, as is Halen's first inclination with anything. She went out there and after 4 or 5 minutes came out due to an injury, she was kicked in the leg. After asking her how she was doing she started crying in frustration because the "girls were pushing her" and she didn't like it. I had to explain the aggressive nature of soccer and that she just needed to tough it out. She said she would try it again and the next session was amazingly different. As soon as she gets her confidence in check, she's a real determined little girl. She started working her way through the pack and finding that ball as shown here:

She surprised even me with her determination and focus on the ball. I figured she'd do all right and have fun, but I had no idea she had such focus. She not only played excellent on offense, but was one of the only girls to return with the ball and opposing players on defense. She even scored a goal and assisted another one.

It was so much fun to watch her enjoy herself and play so well. I don't know about her, but Corbin and I can't wait for the next game!

Banana Bread & Thank Thee

2009-09-16T07:34:00.000-06:00

Brigden loves his banana bread, just like his mother! The kid can eat at least 4-5 slices of banana bread in one sitting, it's just amazing. Anytime he sees or hears "banana bread" he is all over it and begging instantly for some. I absolutely LOVE banana bread and could eat it every day as well, so there's no question where he gets it from. Here he is chowing down on his 5th slice.

Over the years as our children have learned to pray, I've noticed their personality come out in their praying style. Brigden has only been praying on his own for a little while now, but he has definitely taken to his own style. Here is the prayer he gave just this morning at breakfast.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank thee for this day.

Thank thee for our food.

Thank thee for my light saber.

Thank thee for my Lightning McQueen Car.

Thank thee for Halen and Bevan and Harris and Daddy and Mommy and Halen and me and Bevan and Daddy and Mommy and Harris and Bevan and me and Halen, etc.

Thank thee for my cousins.

Thank thee for my teacher.

Thank thee for my toys.

Thank thee for my friends.

Thank thee for this day.

Thank thee for our house.

Jesus Christ, Amen.

It may seem that this prayer I've just written was a lot of "Thank Thee's" but the truth is that is all Brigden says in his prayers. It is so fun to listen to him pray because he is so positive and not to say that we shouldn't all need things and include "Please bless'" but Brigden's prayers are a great example to me of being grateful. Sadly, we even have to cut him off sometimes because his list is too long. Maybe that isn't right, but it is reality. He is such an optimistic joy to have around!

Weighed, W-e-i-g-h-ed!

2009-09-11T09:05:00.001-06:00

Halen and I have been practicing her spelling words this week in preparation for her weekly spelling test and one of the words is 'weighed.' Occassionally when she doesn't know what the word is I'll use it in a sentence to help her recognize the correct word. This was the case with 'weighed' when I said it the first time and she gave me a blank look so I said, "I weighed 100 lbs."

Now, this is so far from the truth and mostly because given my muscular body type I can't remember the last time I weighed 100. I think in elementary school I went straight from 70 lbs to 120 lbs or maybe that was jr high. I have no idea, but what Halen said next was just heaven sent;

"Oh, Mom, you don't weigh that much."

I just giggled inside because how untrue that statement was, but how adorable that she sincerely thought I couldn't weigh such a big number. Little does she know, I love the innocence of youth sometimes!

As of Late...

2009-09-10T09:06:00.000-06:00

Bevan has had a lot of first these last few days. She has sat up for the first time, crawled for the first time, and we found one new tooth and another one just peeking through the surface. Wow! Teeth, sitting, and crawling all at once. That makes for easy documentation of her monumental moments. I can't express enough how much we all love having her around. She has such a great giggle and is such a cheerful child!

In the past I have told my children one of the reasons we need to brush our teeth is to get rid of the "sugar bugs" in our mouth and on our teeth. Therefore, occassionally after they brush their teeth they open wide and ask if there are any more sugar bugs in their mouth. This morning, after Brigden was flossing, and having a difficult time doing so because the floss kept getting stuck in between his back teeth, he said, "Ughh! Those potato bugs are tough." Just yesterday when Halen opened a belated birthday present and was super shocked to find it contained many Hannah Montana items, Brigden said, "What the...!" It is something Halen says all the time and there has never been a question of whether or not another word should come next or not because the next word isn't said in our home to begin with, but it is a funny thing to hear a 3 year old say it. He's quite the drama boy!

Harris has been extremely thrilled lately to have a brand new pair of tennis shoes. He's been so concerned about his new shoes that he has instituted a few rules for himself; no running in water and dirt, check them for "stickies" whenever he comes in the house, and keep them looking as new as possible. Honestly, I'm impressed that he's even trying because I'm sure the day will quickly come as a normal boy that those new shoes no longer looking new. The one downside to his new tennis shoes is that they have shoelaces and he hasn't ever had to tie his shoes before. Well, after 2 days of asking Mom to tie his shoes each time he put them on, Harris was done with that. He is an extremely self-motivated independent child. There is nothing he can't do, at least that's what he thinks. So after failing at teaching himself how to tie his shoes, which he really believed he could figure out on his own, he asked me to help him. I figured I would have to show him quite a few different times when we put his shoes on over the next few days, but I couldn't have been more wrong. I showed him in detail once on each shoe and then had him practice once on each shoe and then that was it. He did it perfectly from then on showing me how he had done it each time. I was in shock! It always amazes me what Harris can accomplish when he puts his mind to it. Especially considering what he will not do when he does not want to do it. He has amazing mind power!

Halen wasn't feeling well yesterday because of a light fever so she, the other kids, and I enjoyed a nice quiet day at home together. At first, I was really worried they would just fight all day because they were bored and couldn't play with friends, being sick, but again, I was wrong. (There seems to be a consistency here?) They played together with their capes and dolls in the morning and then after quiet time continued to play very well together. One of the biggest shockers of the day for me was that Halen played all by herself in her room for at least 3 hours. When I would check on her, because this was not normal, she was very content and about her business playing with her dolls and her dollhouse. That dollhouse has been one of the best purchases Dave and I have ever made together for our family! Later that night when I asked her what she played she went on to tell me for at least 15 minutes about each doll, including their role; daughter, mother, father, etc. and their hair. I almost fell asleep hearing about all the different hair styles of the dolls, but delighted in how excited she was about the entire thing. She and I have started a new tradition of actually talking on her bed before she goes to bed. We usually talk after school, but she also loves it when we talk before she goes to bed. In the past I've started our conversation by asking her, "What were 5 good things about your day?" to help her focus on the positive of some really bad days. As a result, she asks me each night, "Aren't you going to ask me what was good about my day?" I just love this new tradition of ours because I find that she loves talking to me and as I look back on my days as a daughter, I, too, loved talking to my mother. I hope that if we keep this up she'll continue to talk to me and there will never grow a barrier between us when she gets older and wants to become more private. I love our little time together and the other benefit is that I am now trying to put them to bed sooner so that I can enjoy that time with each of them and then they go to sleep better, having had 'down time' to relax them and prep them for sleeping. Another benefit is that it makes for less time fighting with each other as children. What a joy to have good quality time with my family!

Sisters Forever, Hopefully Friends!

2009-09-08T20:43:00.000-06:00

Halen (7) and younger sister Bevan (7 mo)

I just love that Halen and Bevan have each other. Growing up it was sometimes hard for me to get along with my 5 year younger sister Brynn, but my relationship with her now is one of my most cherished relationships. I adore her and our understanding of one another and especially now with my mother's passing, I need her more than ever. I love that my daughters will have each other and am so excited to see their love towards one another grow in the future.

Halen already loves having Bevan around and is very helpful in taking care of her. She loves playing with Bevan and holding her. She probably holds her the most, but Harris is a close second place.

The other ironic thing is how different they look. Many people think they look alike, but in actuality they seem to look alike because of their similarities in coloring. They both have light eye color as well as skin and hair, but their distinct features are so different. Halen is a blonde version of me, Mandolin, and Bevan is pure 100% Dave. It'll be fun to see Bevan as she gets older and their differences in looks become more apparent.

Bevan at 7 Months

2009-09-08T15:40:00.000-06:00

What a pure joy Bevan has been in our life! She is now eating rice cereal, peaches, pears, beans, bananas, etc. She loves attention, as all babies, but thrives on watching. She has to always be sat up on your lap so she can see what's going on around her. She is a pretty content baby as long as there is something going on around her to watch. Just yesterday for Labor day I was able to lay her on a blanket for at least an hour and she was just happy to watch the other babies on the blanket with her or the people nearby.

This not to say she isn't a normal baby since she does her fair share of fussiness, but all in all, she is a pleasure to have around and we are so happy that she has been added to our family. She brings a smile to the faces of all whom enter the room.

She is very easily pleased. The weirdest thing about her would just have to be how ridiculously similar her looks are to those of her father. It shouldn't be a surprise, but the exactness of her facial expressions to his is just crazy! Many times she'll make looks and I'll just get a weird sensation because I'll feel as if I'm looking at Dave, but know somewhere deep inside, I'm not, I'm looking at Bevan. Then again, there are some looks that she makes that you wouldn't normally see Dave make and it's strange to see a Dave face making those looks on her face. For example; we don't usually see Dave make a yearning face for someone to pick him up, but we know when Bevan makes it, she's his daughter! (It would be a funny sight to see on Dave though, wouldn't it?)

She is easily pleased and very happy to be held. Whenever someone gives her attention she ducks her head down as if she is embarrased and then lifts her head up and reaches out wide for them to pick her up. She is loving peek a boo and water. She just sat up for the first time a few days ago and is about to crawl. She already scoots backwards, but is now rocking back and forth on her knees getting ready to take that first crawl forward.

Her eyes are probably the most piercing thing about her. Everybody comments on them and I agree, they are mesmerizing. When I look at them they seem to lock me into some kind of trance. What a beautiful blue! And her hair is still a white blonde just like Dave's when he was a baby. Halen and Harris were both blonde, but Harris was the only one to be just as white blonde as Bevan. So fun to see the differences in all of our children.

Oh how blessed we are, we love our beautiful Bevan!

Halen Turns 7!

2009-09-04T15:04:00.000-06:00

This year was the year for Halen to enjoy a friend birthday party. She chose to do a Hannah Montana Birthday party and have all her friends watch the new Hannah Montana movie together at her party. I loved the idea as well; less work and she received the movie as one of her presents. It was also fun to have a long list of friends to invite to her party because we had seating for many to watch the movie. Of course, not everyone was able to attend, but she was blessed enough to enjoy her birthday party with 12 friends. They were so much fun to watch watching the movie and during one dancing part. I video'd them all dancing and it was so cute. I just wanted to jump in and do it with them. I fear I'll be one of those moms that are just not cool because they want to be with the kids and not the "Mom."

Who would have thought that decorating her own birthday cake would have turned out to be such a great thing for both us, me less stress, and Halen all the creativity rights she wanted. She was thrilled to decorate her own cake this year! She chose to put a present on top of it with lots of sprinkles. It was such a fun thing for her to do and such a great relief because I wasn't up for decorating a cake given her planned birthday party with friends was enough work for me.

Halen was very grateful for her many presents; including a Hannah Montana doll, the Hannah Montana movie, a new jacket, microphones for the xbox, jewelry, and a new pony. This must be why she loves birthdays so much. Presents!!!

It's so great to look back on her life and feel so grateful for her presence in our home and hearts! I have loved each year of her life in mine and am so excited for many more to come. She is a blessing in our home and growing so quickly!

Halen's First Day of 2nd Grade

2009-09-03T14:45:00.000-06:00

Halen on her first day of 2nd grade. Ummmm. Are you kidding me? She is supposed to be almost 7, but seriously after I looked at this picture when I took it I wanted to cry because I can already see myself taking the picture of her on her first day of junior high or high school. I know I shouldn't say these things, but I'm going to. She is beautiful. I'm shocked at her beauty. I wish I had had such beauty as a young girl. I say this not to beg for compliments or pity, but merely to state the facts. I was so much more awkward looking and I'm already worried about the boys with this girl. I've got to keep her humble! Wish me luck!

Not only is she beautiful in my eyes, but she is a pure gem. She is such a helper and sensitive person. I am so blessed to have her as my daughter, the oldest, and my friend. I just adore her.
She was so nervous to go back to school, as always with Halen, because she wanted to make sure she would have friends and like her classmates and her teacher. This is just her nature. She struggles with fear, fear of everything! It took at least a week for her, after many discussions, to remember that this is how she feels every year and somehow it always works out after the first few days of school.

Of course, after the first day the fear was no longer present and she was back to normal, wanting to play with friends and excited for the next day. I love to hear her stories of who she played with at recess and get the goods from the after school chat we share each day. I remember doing the same thing with my mother and now hold those few moments as so precious. I always try to ask her questions that will stimulate great answers instead of yes and no so I can get the real stories from the long day away from me. She is always so great to share and we have such a special bond. I am so blessed. Even after the first day of school she came home and gave me a great big hug because she had missed me so much. It was a long first day without Halen at home and I missed her just as much.

She is making new friends as well as enjoying the same old best friends and things are working out real well for her so far this year. She, too, is loving having Harris to play with at recess and in the same hallway. They are such great friends at times. What a blessing! I loved being able to have my brothers with me at school. It was like having a little piece of home away from home with me at all times.

She is such a great student and very responsible. She sometimes struggles with doing all of her homework because the desire to play with friends after school is so great, but what child doesn't? We love our Halen!

Harris First Day of Kindergarten

2009-09-03T14:32:00.000-06:00

Wow. How quick the time flies by and how grown up out little boy has become.

Harris(5) has been so excited to get to go to Halen's school and on Halen's bus this entire last summer he could barely believe the day was here. It was really frustrating because he was able to go see his classroom the first day of school, but then because of assessment appointments he wasn't actually able to attend school until a week later. It was a very long week. He was thrilled to find out that his classroom is right across the hallway from Halen and that they get to share the same last recess of the day.

Harris has grown a lot in the last few months. I wondered if he would be ready for Kindergarten and be able to listen to his teacher, but according to reports from other mothers as well as his preschool teacher, Harris is a very responsible obedient child. I don't always get to see this side of him at home, but it makes me happy to know that he has such a side and is showing it to others, and especially his leaders, educational and religious.

I've been very impressed with how much he really does educationally know because he doesn't always seem to show an interest. It's strange how he just seems to have a knack for remembering things even though he doesn't act like he would nor does he put in the time to reep the rewards. He reminds me of his father who is just smart by birth and can get away with not doing homework because he can remember things without it.

After his first few days, I asked him to make a goal of making new friends and each day he would come home and report on his progress. One day he said, "Mom, I made a new friend and we played at recess, but I forgot to ask him his name. I'll ask him tomorrow." Then the next day he said, "Mom, I made another new friend, but forgot to ask him his name too. I'll ask him tomorrow." Aparantly, names are unimportant, but who cares when you can play together right?

We're so proud of him and his growth lately! He is really blossoming and is ready to go. He did great on his assessment. He is a sweetheart and a hard worker and will do very well at school!

Brigden's First Day of Preschool

2009-09-01T14:24:00.000-06:00

Brigden (3) has been waiting for this first day of preschool for years. He has watched his bigger brother and sister head out the door each day during the school year and begged to "go to school too." Well, the day has finally arrived. He was so excited that he picked out his shirt all by himself and made sure to wear his soccer shirt. He was also so excited to wear his very own Spiderman backpack and wanted it on in the picture. You'll also notice his sandals are on the wrong feet, just like the independent child wanted.

I am so thrilled he gets to go to school now for his sake and for mine. I am loving the extra time with him, Harris, and Halen all gone for at least a little bit during the week, but I do also miss them, just a little bit. His preschool teacher asked him to bring his name with items on each letter of his name that started with that same letter. We had so much fun making it that we wanted to take a picture of it and it now is stuck to the door of his room. He is very bright and I can tell is already going to excel in school because it is just his personality style, very maticulous and inquisitive. He is already working on writing his name and knows lots of letters all by himself. He shows me whenever he finds a "B" wherever we go.

Oh, how we love Brigden and with those dimples, how could you not. He is a jewel!

We met our goal and more!

2009-08-30T15:22:00.000-06:00

This is the story of my first 1/2 marathon which I am so grateful for in my book of life. I am also very grateful for my sweet husband who supports me and allows me to steal his mornings so I can prepare for such an event by running each day, my sweet children who give me great smiles as they ask me, "Mom did you win the race again?", and my sister Megan who sacrificed her weekend so I could leave the little rugrats and spend the day racing in Logan. Here are the little ones and I after returning home that day with the sign Kevin made me for the race.

Brigden (3), Harris (5), Mandolin, Bevan (almost 7 months,) and Halen (almost 7)

And this is the story:

My sweet adorable cousin, Tiffanie, and I have taken up running together this last summer and we both just love it, almost as much as we love being together bright and early in the mornings. After we finished running on the same Ragnar Team for the Wasatch Back in June, we realized we needed a goal to keep us going and decided the Top of Utah 1/2 Marathon was it! It was scheduled for Aug 29th in Logan and we shaped our runs around this goal. Three weeks before the 1/2 marathon we ran a 10K together to give us good practice and measurement as to where we really were in our running abilities. We were both very excited to find that although we weren't major competitors, we didn't finish last and met our timing goal. After finishing the 10K we upped our runs a major notch and ran a total of 34 miles the next week as well as the week after that which included a 10 mile run and a 12 mile run. Well, that was it. We were ready. We knew we wouldn't compete, or come close to being amazing runners, but our only goal was to finish without walking.

Well, to say, the least....We did it and loved every minute of it! Here we are at the finish line just after we finished.

This next picture shows the pure exhaustion on my face that Tiff and I felt at the end of the race. It wasn't because of the length of the race, but because of our last 1 mile choices. As Tiff and I had only made a goal to finish the race without walking, we had never discussed "pushing it" at any time. When the last mile came upon us we came upon a lot of participants walking. It was really hard to see so many walking because all you really wanted to do was to walk yourself at that point, but it was then that I reminded Tiff and I of our goal: No walking! Soon after our rededication to our goal we turned the last corner and could see the finish line afar. It was a little misleading because it seemed closer than it was by the blur of people, but what Tiff and I both didn't realize was that the crowds of people were lined up before the finish line, not after, hence our confusion in assuming the finish was closer than actuality. At our excitement to end the race, Tiff turns to me and asks, "Do you want to push it?" My heart raced because I really wanted to and was so excited at the opportunity to start becoming the real athlete I want to be and remember being years ago. I told her as soon as we passed a landmark a few feet ahead so I could mentally prepare myself. The landmark came and we were off and I mean "Off!" We started sprinting. How? After running 12 miles did we start sprinting? Most likely, adrenaline and pure persistence, but wow, did we ever sprint! It seemed like the first few sprints were faster then each one thereafter, but we kept at it. We were passing people like crazy and it felt so great considering how many people had passed us along the way. My heart was racing and I could barely breath, but we just kept pushing! It felt great and horrible all at the same time! I knew we could't stop and give in until we crossed the finish line and since I was struggling I started cheering Tiff on, "Go Tiff!" I knew if she stopped I'd stop and watching her by my side sprint with all she had was keeping me going. I just kept cheering for her, "You can do it! Tiff!" I'm sure she was surprised at my nonstop cheering, but it was all I could do to keep my mind off the ridiculous pain and fatigue I was feeling. I swear that last mile was just as long mentally as the other 12 put together. Well, this is the look on my face immediately after we crossed the finish. Exhaustion! and "Are you kidding me?"

One of the best parts of our run was as we were in our dead sprints approaching the finish line we both were shocked to death, almost literally, by my sweet brother Kevin. He had come to cheer us on at the finish line and not only cheer us on, but give all other spectators a show as well. Here is the look on my face as I realize that the freakishly loud voice cheering is actually in support of Tiff and I, as well as that the person in that ridiculous outfit is my brother. Don't worry, the outfit is coming up next.

Kevin had attended an 80's party the night before and had taken the "dress up" requirements for the 80's party quite literally! He figured his outfit was perfect for the crazy fun of supporting his sister and cousin in their first 1/2 marathon, but quite a few spectators didn't quite agree. He got quite a few interesting looks as well as laughs and giggles at the amazing outfit. What was ironic to me was not the outfit, but how good his legs looked in it. This picture just does not do his legs justice. I was left jealous and wishing my legs looked so good! We told him that he truly belonged at a Ragnar Relay in this kind of an outfit, not a prim and proper small town 1/2 marathon gathering.

This entire event was such a wonderful occassion in my life. I have loved being a mother and a wife and watching my life change in support of these new roles of mine, but I have also in the mean time lost who I really am. It is a daily struggle to do all I should do as well as remember who I am while doing these things. Running has become a passion for me because it has given me back me! I love taking care of my body and enjoying the energy and physical results during the day because of my hard work and sacrifice. I don't think I've enjoyed any of my babies as much as I have Bevan and not because of her, but because of me. I am so happy with who I am and have so much energy because of my activity level that it has made all the difference in the world. I have loved being able to have a goal and accomplish it. I love this new part of me or at least this rediscovered part of me. I am a person and I am loving being so again!

I especially love spending time with Tiffanie. I love sharing and listening with her during our runs. It's such a pleasure to chat and bond as we run and to have each other to keep our minds off our gruelling runs. Running has become a great blessing in my life at a time when I really need an out from the heavy stresses. It gives me a daily escape from the weight of stress on my emotions and moods. I'm sure the extra endorphins from the physical activity are a major help as well! Anyhow, yay! for us, we did it and more!

Brigden's Big Ideas

2009-08-18T07:42:00.000-06:00

Brigden, we are learning, is a very imaginative and creative child. He loves to play by himself with his CARS and can do so for hours. He doesn't need much outer stimulation to be happy because he just creates it for himself.

Brigden (3 1/2) giving Bevan (6 mo) a ride in the jeep.

Most of the things he says and does bring a huge smile to our faces because he is so adorable. Dave has appropriately nicknamed him "Precious." He even runs in a precious/adorable way so we also like to call him "Prancy Pants." It would seem that he should be a girl with the nicknames that we've given him, but when you see the miscevious glimmer in his eye, the deep adorable dimples in his cheeks, and the constant grin on his face, there's no questioning his "Precious" personality.

Lately, one of his favorite things to do is to run up to Dave or I and dramatically say, "Mom/Dad, I have a big idea today!" To which, we are wondering what it could be, assuming it is something new and innovative, so we reply, "What?" "It's Cars!" We're not quite sure what that means or if he really knows what it means to have a big idea, but he's very proud of the fact that he thought of Cars at that moment so we go along with it. "What about cars?" "Lightning McQueen Cars, Mom/Dad!" "Wow, that's great." We will go through this conversation frequently during the week and usually right as he's going to bed.

Currently he is sleeping in the crib again because his mind just doesn't slow down enough when he goes to bed in the same room with anyone else and he ends up staying up for hours jumping on his bed or talking. Both Halen and Harris will complain of how he won't stop talking. He'd much rather play and have fun than go to sleep. Therefore, we had to move him back into the crib so he wouldn't have any choice but to focus on sleeping in a room all by himself. Each night as we put him to bed he climbs on a chair, for easier access, steps on the top of the crib railing and then jumps into the bed. Halen and Harris would have just climbed carefully into the crib, but no, Brigden has to make it FUN! This is Brigden's personality; Making everything FUN!

I am tiring of finding ways to make chores and tasks fun to get him to accomplish them. I don't completely agree with the idea, but sometimes it's just easier to conform and make his task a competitive race so he'll do it than it is to enforce with pure disciplinary parenting.

The worst part about being Brigden's parent is that he is such a charmer! Each time we try to discipline him and speak seriously, looking straight into his eyes, he just giggles and laughs. It's very difficult to get him to concentrate or care about the topic at hand. He loves to laugh, play, and have FUN!

Each time Brigden gets physically hurt he says, "I hurt my feelings." I'm not sure how he picked this one up, but we just love hearing him be so "precious" that we have yet to inform him that it's really not his feelings that are hurt, but his body.

He is going to preschool this year and is so excited to be able to go to school like his other brother and sister. He loves his backpack and carries it everywhere he can.

Although he is difficult to discipline because of his happy personality, he is a wonderful joy to have around. Everyone remarks on his happy disposition and his charming dimples. He warms the heart of everyone and anyone he meets as well as his parents. We love him dearly and are so grateful to have him in our family.

My Skilled Sweet Hubby!

2009-08-17T11:59:00.000-06:00

One of our many projects over the last home renovation has been the garage. We are almost finished with it's remodeling and one of our last projects in doing so is for Dave to build shelves for the last wall. He's already spent many hours building beautiful shelves on the other 2 shelves. The shelves he's working on currently will hold our food and food storage since we don't have a pantry in our kitchen. I am so excited to have it done because it will allow me to hold a lot more food storage than previously. In our discussions of the perfect shelving unit we've discussed the pros and cons of a rolling can system. I would love to have one, but I need to store so much more than just cans so given the very little space Dave and I decided to just do shelves. Dave knew how much I wanted a rolling can system and so in his sleepness nights he dreamed up a way for me to have both. How sweet that was of him to figure out how to make me happy, regardless of the extra work.

His plan is to have a rolling system behind the shelving unit and has figured out the perfect way to do it. He is so maticulous in his planning and building and always comes out with a beautiful finished project. Here is the beginning of the project. You can notice the slanted wood pieces that will allow the cans to roll downward.

It's funny, but when we were young and getting married I never would have imagined that my husband to be would be so incredibly handy. It amazes me the skills he has and the confidence he utilizes to accomplish so many projects. In our entire home renovation he has done everything, except properly hook up the furnace. Everything! He is amazing and so talented. I am so grateful for his skills and his abilities. What a blessing he has been to our wallet. We never could have accomplished so much without his talents and his hard work ethic. I love him dearly!

Saturday is a Special Day!

2009-08-17T10:16:00.000-06:00

Saturday is a special day.

It's the day we get ready for Sunday;

We clean the house, and we shop at the store,

So we won't have to work until Monday.

We clean our clothes, and we shine our shoes.

And we call it our get-the-work done day.

Then we trim our nails, and we shampoo our hair,

So we can be ready for Sunday!

Seriously, I sung this song countless times as a child in primary, but took a break for many years from it's teachings. This is not to say, however, that Saturday was not a work day because it has always been just that, but it's been so much of a work day that I've forgotten to make it a "work to be prepared for Sunday" day. Well, after much fun last week, I found myself supporting Dave in his desirous chore list and not knowing what to do with myself. It was then that the lyrics to this primary song came into my head. In the past I've used Monday as a day to clean the house and prepare for the week, as well as pick up from the weekend. As I went through the words of the song I realized that maybe my Monday activities should happen on Saturday so I can truly relax in a clean organized home on Sunday and not feel the itch to get stuff done while trying to truly relax and enjoy the Sabbath.

Well, I went for it. I cleaned all day Saturday, bathed the kids, and had the house clean and ready for Sunday. It made a huge difference in my attitude Sunday morning. Instead of instantly feeling stressed and overwhelmed as I walked into a messy or unkept kitchen, I felt relaxed and relieved that everything was already in it's place and no work to be done. We had a great family home evening, not rushed as happens too often, and plenty of time to get ready for church as well as just enjoy being together for the day. I even sat down to watch a little golf with Dave, which never happens, but because I felt relaxed enough with myself, I could relax with him how he relaxes. Another huge benefit was that my house was ready to accept company without me last minute stressing on prepping the house for their arrival.

It was a wonderful Sunday and I owe it all to primary. "Saturday is a Special Day!" and I've learned that it is just as important as Sunday because without it, Sunday could not be as Special for me!

A Few Favorite Things!

2009-08-14T12:09:00.000-06:00

Dave and I are always looking for better ways to simplify and streamline our life. It's just our personalities. This is why I've recently come upon another one of my favorite things, but first, you must know that one thing I hate to do most is fold socks! I mean hate! I don't really enjoy doing laundry, but I HATE finding, matching, folding, and putting away socks! I love summer just because there are fewer socks to fold.

Well, one day a light went off in my head. I know this is not a new idea, but it was for sure new to me. I realized that those laundry mesh bags can not only be used for delicate items, but also items that you don't want to separate, like.....SOCKS! So, I tried it. At first I was sure it wouldn't work because the socks wouldn't get clean enough, thinking of my sons dirty socks, as they were washed in the laundry mesh bags, but I was wrong. They did! The other great thing was the mesh bags I bought are large enough that you can fit quite a few pair of socks in them at a time. So here is where my crazy neurotic organizational side comes in. I labeled each bag with the child's name and instructed them to put their dirty socks in these bags from now on. Then when the laundry is collected, so is the bag and the socks never separate. I swear it's like a dream come true. I know some people enjoy a good book, but seriously a good organizational tactic can take me so much farther and in such a shorter amount of time than any book can.

Here are Brigden's and Harris' sock bags hanging on the edge of their hamper.

Here is Halen's sock bag labeled with her name.

I've also decided to do the same with my socks and delicate items and just love that I can now find my little running socks easily in the clean laundry basket. I'm sure you'll notice that there isn't a bag for Dave and honestly there never will be. Some things you can't change, no matter how glorious of an idea it is. I can barely get Dave to unroll his socks after he wears them, let alone require him to put them in a mesh laundry bag. This is just reality! The difference is it's a lot easier to match and fold the socks of one person than it is the socks of 6 people.

Another thing that has made my life lately is outfits. I've started putting the kids clothing into outfits after doing the laundry and then they just have to go pick an outfit each day. Amazingly, not only has it taken less time in the mornings to get ready because they already have matched outfits to choose from, but it has significantly cut down on the wash I have to do each week. I love this new outfit thing.

And the last favorite thing of mine is something that Dave and I have been looking forward to buying for months. Silly, but true....a tuna fish can drainer. Dave just about cries each time he has to drain a tuna fish can and is unable to do so completely, meaning leaving the tuna as waterless as possible. Well, I had heard of a tuna fish can drainer months ago and have searched stores over and over for one, but to no avail. Just last week I was in the store and the angels sang as I noticed......"No way... A Tuna Fish Can Drainer!" I did it. I found one. I couldn't wait to come home and tell Dave. When I showed it to him, I think I was more excited than he was, but I also had to remind myself that he is a man of very little expression and therefore his little expression was equally comparable to my great expression. Anyhow, we are now the proud owners of a Tuna Fish Can Drainer. It really does make a difference in your can draining.

10K, 34, and Counting

2009-08-10T21:22:00.000-06:00

Ever since I began really running in training for the Ragnar Relay, I've caught the bug, as runners would say. I love running and I love even more having something to train for. So my cousin Tiffanie and I decided we needed to sign up for some races to keep us going. One of these races was a 10K for South Weber City Days. The Richard Bouchard Memorial Race. The race took place this last Saturday.

Tiffanie and I had been training or at least trying to run in preparation for this race for weeks. Our goal was basically to finish, not necessarily to win or place. Well, we did just that. We didn't have to stop and walk once and we pushed ourselves pretty well the first 2 miles and then enjoyed the last 4 and some. It was my first actual individual race and I was very proud of myself for completing it. I'd always figured a 5K was as much as I would be able to do, but surprised myself by being able to do a 10K. I can't express how excited I am to have this one under my running belt and am so looking forward to the 1/2 marathon Tiff and I have signed up for in Logan (Top of Utah) in a few weeks.

The other benefit to a good running week last week was the number of miles I was able to total for the week. Last year, when I started to gain a running passion within myself, I set a goal to run as many miles as my age in one week. At the time it was 33 and I accomplished just that. It overwhelmed me because I wasn't in as good of running shape back then, but I did it nonetheless. This year I had in the back of my mind the idea of running 34 in one week, but just kept putting it off because I wasn't sure if I really wanted to make that a personal tradition or not (recognizing, of course, the idea that each birthday adds a year and therefore another mile).

Well, in preparation for the 10K, I actually accomplished this age-mile goal. I am now 34 and last week I ran 34 miles. I'm so excited that I was able to do it and just love the idea of keeping up with it again next year. I love this new hobby of mine. It makes me feel so good inside and I love having something to work towards, besides one of the greatest perks is getting to spend time with my friends and family, especially my aunt Kristen, her daughters Tiff and Tasha, Kristen's fun friends, and any other sucker I can get to run with me at the wee hours of the morning.

Mini Me!

2009-08-10T10:57:00.000-06:00

Bevan is now 6 months old and wow, as everyone knows, time does fly! She is finally getting some fat onto her body and doesn't look like such a skeleton anymore. Her blue eyes are the first thing everybody notices and also how much she looks like Dave. I pulled out a picture of Dave as a baby and it's amazing how similar they are. I don't know why I say it's amazing since she is his child, but it's just so fun to see such similarities! They have the same of almost everything. She is his "mini me."

She is now eating solid foods and loving them. She is a great eater. She is also a great sleeper and sleeps through the night and has a few long naps during the day. She goes to sleep so great at home. After I lay her down she will always roll over onto her tummy. She loves to sleep on her tummy with her binky in her mouth, which she is actually better at chewing on and playing with than sucking on, and then she'll just go to sleep when she's ready. She is a wonderful baby which makes me wonder if she'll show us her true trouble colors later in her toddler years. Probably!

Her grin is as wide as can be and I just love to see her light up like this. She is easily amused and thank goodness because her brothers and sister do some pretty interesting things that make her laugh, but make me worried. She is generally a very happy baby. This could be very indicative of her "mini me" persona taking after Dave. Dave is a generally very happy person!

Dave as a baby, sometime in his first year. Bevan makes this same look, I just don't have a picture to show it. It is so fun to see the look of him in her!

Grandma Beth Martini

2009-08-08T16:31:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday Dave's Grandma; Beth McPherson Martini passed away after a wonderfully blessed long life, the last 13 years of it without her sweetheart; Edward "Whitey" Martini. When the news first came we were initially excited because she spent the last 4-5 years of her life in pain dealing with an aging body and mind. As the immediate days passed we slowly became more and more sad as we remembered her influence in our lives. Dave was very blessed to have grandparents who loved him and welcomed him into their home.

Even though it is very common where we live, it is something we might take for granted and Dave and I are grateful that Whitey and Beth were such great parents and examples to their two boys; Ed and Robert, and other children and grandchildren. In turn, Ed, their son and Dave's father, was a wonderful father. We're so happy that they are now able to enjoy each other; Whitey, Beth, and Ed.

Our little family, but not feeling so little anymore.

Mandolin, Bevan (6 months), Dave

Halen (6), Brigden (3), and Harris (5)

What a beautiful moment! I asked the children to sit down by the flowers as we arrived at the funeral home. Then I asked Halen to put her arms around Brigden and immediately all three lifted up their arms and tried to wrap them all around each other. Ok, so maybe all the hours of preparation to get them dressed up was worth this wonderful moment!

The majority of the Ed & Marlene Family

The Ed & Marlene Martini Family: Alicia, Jan, Marlene, Brian, Dave, & Stephen. Ed passed in 2002 and Nathan was unable to attend.

Whitey & Beth's son Robert & his wife Dixie. We love her caramel popcorn and Dave has very fond memories of camping with them throughout his youth. They are of the few people that Dave will play cards with.

The Robert & Dixie Martini family

Even though funerals and passings are difficult, and especially because Dave and I have both lost a parent already, I'm growing to love them because they remind me of the promises of the hereafter! I look forward to passing someday and being with my mother and other family members. I did, however, say "someday" though because for right now I am very happy where I am!

A Lost Tooth Fairy

2009-08-06T20:55:00.000-06:00

Halen just lost one of her two front teeth and given her history with a very forgetful tooth fairy she mentioned to me right before she went to sleep, "I sure hope the tooth fairy doesn't forget me again." She also questioned, "Do you think the tooth fairy will take my tooth this time?" The last couple of teeth she has lost, only once did the tooth fairy take her tooth. The other three times the tooth was left under Halen's pillow, confusing Halen very much as to what the normal procedure should be. I just responded, "I'm not sure, I don't remember what happened when the tooth fairy visited me." Then Halen, a very content child, said, "Well, I guess there doesn't have to be a certain way to do it. "

The night came and Halen finally fell asleep hoping the tooth fairy wouldn't forget her...and then the morning came. As I returned from my run I found her asleep on the couch upstairs. She told me that she couldn't sleep downstairs so she quickly drew a picture for the tooth fairy to know that she had gone upstairs so there would be no confusion when the tooth fairy was looking for her. This is the picture she drew for the tooth fairy.

After explaining to me of her change in location, she and I searched high and low for the money the tooth fairy was suppossed to have left her. We did not find it. The tooth fairy isn't very good at leaving money in obvious locations when it visits our home. So we searched more and more until we finally found it had mysteriously fallen through the cracks on the side of the bed next to the mattress and was on the carpet. Thank heavens. She wasn't sure if the tooth fairy left her money and I wasn't sure how the tooth fairy was going to leave her money in the middle of the chaos. Oh, that poor tired tooth fairy, she really needs to get better at her job! I'm sure with many kids in the future she will, but hopefully before Halen is done losing teeth.

Her second upper tooth is about to come out so let's hope the tooth fairy can get that one without any problems. We shall see. Here is a happy toothless Halen with her tooth, money, and a nice bedhead. She is such a sweetheart and a joy in our home!

Their Jeep Dreams Come True!

2009-08-04T21:37:00.000-06:00

Dave and I have always wanted to buy our children one of those battery operated child size cars or jeeps, but have never really had the funds to be able to do so. I've also always had a little bit of an inner battle within myself because I wasn't sure if I wanted them to have one since it might be something that would spoil them. I grew up pretty unspoiled and I am always afraid that if my children have anything other than nothing, they'll be spoiled and take things for granted. Silly, maybe, but reality! Dave has never had any such feelings and if money weren't the issue, the children would have had one of these child vehicles years ago. Well, this last Saturday, the children's dreams came true. My cousin Jeff Lewandoski called me with a short fuse offer. He said he was getting rid of his jeep and it was ours if we could pick it up that very day. Hallelujiah we were in a position to be able to do so because it has been the best purchase (or gift) that we've ever had in our posession for the children. They are so happy together when they get to drive/ride it. I love that they'll go out and ride/drive in it together and just take turns driving.

It was quite a challenge to teach them how to drive it because it drives just like a real automatic transmission car. Harris took to it quickly and Halen took some time, given her cautious personality, but they both are pretty good at it now. Brigden is a professional passenger for the time being because he can't reach the pedals just yet. They are so fun to watch when they drive it from our house to our neighbors. What a blessing. Thanks Jeff & Jamie for thinking of us. We are tickled pink, or I mean tickled green!

Our New Walkway!

2009-08-04T20:35:00.000-06:00

Dave and I had a very exciting weekend last weekend. We spent all of last summer tearing down 40 or so 50-foot poplars and at the end of the summer we had Dave's brother, Nathan, use his excavator to tear out the stumps to most of these trees. Dave, in his perfect little world, also had Nathan tear out our walkway which headed straight from the side walk near the road to our front door because, as Dave says, "if you're going to do it, do it right. This walkway should go from the driveway to the front door, not straight to the other sidewalk. It's more appealing if we curve it to the driveway."

To which, I reply, "Really? Are you sure, you want to go to all this work just because a walkway should go from a driveway to the front door. Really? Another project, really?" Dave replies, "Yep!"

In our time together, I've learned that if Dave wants something done and it's really not a 10 on my list, it's not worth fighting it because he'll do all the work to get it done anyway, it just might be super annoying for me to wait for the task to be finished, but the end result is 99% of the time worth it and it makes Dave very happy! So...Nathan tore out the walkway and there we were, without a walkway, but a lot of dirt for a year. Ughh!

This is the old walkway before we removed it.

It was actually really fun to watch Nathan tear up the old walkway with the excavator.

Since Friday was the only day we could pour the concrete for the new walkway or various reasons, we were delayed week after week in June and July because of rain and holidays until finally Dave was able to put up the molds for the new walkway and porch last weekend.

We have fantastic friends who helped us; Tim Hair, Ty Bindrup, Bill Bindrup, and Mark Wood (not shown).

This is the curved walkway Dave has been dreaming of. He is so maticulous about his home projects that he even designed it's aesthetic curving on his drafting program for nights and nights and nights in preparation for the actual event.

To add to the pleasure of no walkway, we didn't water our lawn all last year either because we were planning on redoing the sprinkling system and therefore redoing the weeded horrible lawn, given the fact that so many trees had been pulled up that there wasn't much of a lawn anyway. So, that gave us no lawn, no sidewalk, and pretty much no dignity!

Ok, so ignoring all the other imperfections of our home; what a great thing to have a walkway! I am so happy and so are all of our visitors who no longer have to walk through muddy dirt or our unorganized garage. We are gradually making our way up in the homeowner world! Extremely slowely, but surely!

It's been a year, a very dirty, embarrassing, and "awkward for our visitors" year. And now, it's over. We've even gone out the last few nights to enjoy the cool summer air in the evening on our new porch. Of course, there are no railings and no grass, but there is a walkway!

In Relief Society this last Sunday, I almost jumped out of my seat when they asked if anyone had a good news moment to share because finally I had "good news" to share! I'll admit my overwhelming excitement must have been slightly strange to others as I shouted, "I have a walkway!"

Cleaning Crew

2009-07-29T18:42:00.000-06:00

The last few months I've tried to include the children more in the prepping and cleaning of meals. I was slightly hesitant to do so because I feared the probable response of complaining and whining I usually encounter with new chores. I couldn't have been more wrong!

I merely mentioned the idea and Halen (6), Harris (5), and Brigden(3) all ran to through the home to find their own aprons and then drilled me relentlessly for their individual assignments. It was amazing and really heaven sent. We all prepped and cleaned up dinner and then arranged a schedule for them to have their own turns at upcoming meal times.

I'd like to say I never did hear a complaint on the matter the next few days, but that would be lying! The novelty wore off, of course, but the first night working together sure did produce some beautiful memories for me! I'll just try to focus on those instead of the more recent battles I now encounter at meal time. Hmm? The only question is, "Are those memories worth it?" Well, if not, I know the children being responsible is, so hedge on, I must!

Brigden in July

2009-07-27T18:28:00.000-06:00

Brigden was insistent on wearing this pink striped winter hat in mid July just because he wanted to and he wore the gloves as he worked in the dirt next to his daddy in the front yard. He couldn't care less what people thought of how he looked, especially his family, just that he was happy wearing it and that was all that mattered.

The other night we were driving home from a late night activity as a family and Brigden, who frequently gets excited to see the moon, cheered to us all, "Look! Look! The moon is smiling at us!" We looked and sadly couldn't see the same smile that Brigden could, but knew that with his persistent cheering, as he told us again that the moon was smiling at us, it was most likely smiling at him.

This might have been imaginative, but it is really indicative of his cheerful outlook on life. The child is gifted in being a true optimist. He wakes up with a smile on his face and unfortunately goes to bed with one as well. I say unfortunately because sometimes you just want the child to calm down and concentrate on the task at hand, but he really struggles to do so because he finds humor or happiness in everything, even his mother's stern and angry face when necessary. But, seriously, could we find anything worse to complain about than an overly happy child? What a struggle for us as parents, eh? We love Brigden and adore him even more than everyone else that meets him and his dimples! What a golden treasure he is in our family!

4 Month Old Bevan

2009-07-03T15:20:00.000-06:00

I love this dress and especially on Bevan. It is such a beautiful infant dress and actually a 0-3 month size, but petite Bevan at 4 months can still wear it.

I just love her bright blue eyes and vibrant smile.

Halen just adores having a baby sister and is such a wonderful help! When I think back on the days of my youth when I wondered what my children would look like, you can bet I never imagined this picture in my future; two beautiful blondes! I'm so grateful to have them and that they have each other!

This is for sure not a picture I imagined as I saw my future. She is my mini Dave! We are literally night and day in looks! So interesting!

Here we are again. She loves to stick out her tongue, just like Dave did. This picture reminds me of my Mom. I'm amazed at how much I look like her, but with my own look of my Dad as well. Bevan has been such a joy to have in our lives! I can't express enough how much we've enjoyed her! We've enjoyed all of them, but I'm learning with each one more and more how to really appreciate them in the moment.

Brigden Turns 3!

2009-03-08T21:51:00.000-06:00

Life with Brigden has for the most part been a pure pleasure. It hasn't been up until the last few months that he's actually shown us his strong independent nature in desiring anything other than what his parents desire. He is a pretty easily pleased child as long as Lightning McQueen or Disney CARS is involved.

I was really worried about how he would react to some of his birthday presents given he already owns most of the CARS cars so I couldn't get much more CARS things. He did receive a fold up mini machines semi truck carrier that unfolds to a mini race track for his mini machines cars. Surprise...he loved it!

We get to see grin constantly! It's such a blessing and sometimes even a curse believe it or not.
It's hard to explain, but the truth!

Brigden was very insistent on getting his Lightning McQueen Lego Car Cake. I wasn't quite sure what his idea of a Lightning McQueen Lego Car Cake was supposed to look like, but I knew what I could do with my limited abilities. So...the cake is supposed to be a large blue lego piece with lightning McQueen cake toppers all around it. Thank heavens he was easily pleased and quite proud of his Lightning McQueen Lego Car Cake!

Brigden was special enough to have his Great Grandmother June Bell visit when we were celebrating his birthday. She is such a gem to have around, such a peaceful person.

Brigden's favorite present was his Blue Lightning McQueen car which he carries around everywhere and constantly. We love our sweet miscevious Brigden and look forward to many more years to come! I wonder if he'll still love Lightning McQueen 5 years from now.

Spiderman Duo

2009-03-04T11:43:00.000-07:00

Harris as Black Spiderman and Brigden as Red Spiderman

Harris (4) and Brigden (2) love to play Spiderman. Harris has the black Spiderman costume so he plays the mean spiderman and Brigden wears Harris' old Spiderman costume as the red "nice" spiderman. They will spend hours running around the house and slinging their webs all over in their costumes. They really believe they are Spidermen! It's such a joy to watch them so happy in their make believe world.

Daddy's and Donuts

2009-03-04T11:34:00.000-07:00

David and Halen on their way to "Daddy's and Donuts."

At Halen's school they do an early morning activity where the students bring their Daddy's to school with them before school. The school provides donuts and the Daddy's and students get to eat donuts as they read books together in the hallway. Halen had been counting down the days to have her father come with her. Dave wasn't sure if he would be able to attend and when he finally committed to her to go she was as happy as could be.

Puzzles Mania!

2009-02-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

Brigden and his self-completed Mickey Mouse puzzle.

Brigden loves to do puzzles and is quite maticulous at them given his young age, but it's truly his Bell natured personality. Don't worry this same maticulousness may benefit him now, but he'll have major anxiety issues later in life. It's all a trade off.
Anyhow, he was so proud of himself, he wanted a picture to document his hard work! I'm actually just surprised he moved on from the Cars puzzle that he's been doing for months now, over and over and over. Progress!

Just Tiny!!!

2009-02-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

Bevan, 2 weeks old, lying next to a baby doll of Halen's.

I knew Bevan was tiny, born at 5lbs 14 oz and I remember all my other children being just as tiny, given they were all under 7lbs, but I also remember how quickly you can forget how tiny they really were so I decided to take a picture of her with our Baby Alive doll just to prove to myself down the road that she really was TINY!

Brigden's Best Friend

2009-02-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

Brigden's Best Friend; Angie Wood holding Brigden and Bevan

You would think that Brigden's best friend was a toddler his own age that would play with his Lightning McQueen cars with him, but you'd be wrong! His best friend is actually Angie Wood, the mother of some of his best playmates; Kaleb and Korbin Wood. Because Brigden spends so much time at her home playing with her boys, he has grown to adore her. I try not to take it personally, but how can you not when each time you tell him we're leaving the house and his first question is, "Are we going to Angie's house, Mom?" or when he sees her at a nearby park and instead of first mentioning her sons, he says, "Hey, Mom, look it's Angie!" Every time we walk by her in the hallways at church Brigden will say, "Mom, here comes Angie." She is so good to him and just eats up the attention he gives her that it's actually not a problem for me at all. I love watching him love her. It's most adorable because she isn't 'Kaleb's Mom' or 'Korbin's Mom,' she's "Angie." He's always happy to have her around and so are we!

When I was in the hospital with Bevan, Angie was such a help to me during those few days and the next week. I am so grateful for friends like her whose endless help made my difficult labor & recovery so smooth. She is not only a blessing to Brigden, but a blessing to me!

Bevan's Busy Birthday

2009-01-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

Bevan arrived at 12:41 PM on January 29th, 2009. Her Birth Day was a very eventful day, given it was 3 weeks early and most likely early due to to an early wake up call from an appendicitis as well as contractions. After sending the kids off to a friend's and rushing to the hospital, my midwife nurse practitioner Machel Knowles diagnosed me with the appendicitis as well as in labor and dilated to a 5+. The rest of the day included rushing vaginal delivery (thank heavens) of Bevan, getting a CAT scan to verify the appendicitis, and lastly receiving an appendectomy. Dr. Whipple, who performed the surgery, said in his 35 years of doing appendectomies he had never encountered a same-day labor and appendectomy situation as mine. That was comforting to hear, ...not! Anyhow, regardless of the chaos, everything went off like a breeze. There were no complications whatsoever with the birth or the surgery! It was heaven sent. If I were to have any type of chaos in a medical situation, this would be my choice, to deliver a beautiful healthy baby girl as well as a sick inflamed appendix. Crazy stuff.
One interesting side note is that I had been praying that I would be able to have my baby early so my sister would be able to be there with me, given my mom couldn't, and she, Brynn, was coming into town for the Bell Womens Conference. The only complication was that I had been praying to have the baby on Saturday or Sunday, and I actually had her on Thursday, when Brynn was on the air plane to come here. She didn't even know I was in labor until she got the call when she landed that I had already delivered and was headed for an appendectomy. Unfortunately, however, I was unable to attend the conference wholeheartedly as I had so anticipated for a whole year, believe it or not. Moral of the story, be careful what you pray for, you might actually get it, and a whole lot more that you didn't ask for.

Our new family picture at the hospital.

Harris (4), Mandolin, Dave, Halen (6), Bevan, and Brigden (2).

My wonderful Midwife Nurse Practitioner Machel Knowles.

I love, need, and completely trust her! Side note: She was one my dad's girlfriends in college and we didn't even connect the dots until after she had already delivered 2 of my children. Thank goodness they ended things years ago on good terms. Sweet lady!

Halen is so excited to have a sister and she should be, as I truly love and appreciate mine!

Brigden is all smiles holding his new baby sister. He didn't take his eyes off of her the entire time we were in the hospital room. He kept saying, "Mom, they're taking my baby sister. Where is my baby sister?"

Tammy, Dad's wife, holding Bevan. Bevan's bright blonde hair looks like she would fit better in the Parker family then in the Bells. Such is life.

My support crew. I am so blessed to have all of them. Megan, Collin, Kevin, Bevan, Brynn, Diane, Emmy, Brandon, Andrea. What a joy to have them all visit!

Dad was my major support, besides Dave and Machel, during the day. He stayed the entire day with us as we encountered the birth, CAT scan, and the appendectomy. I so appreciated having him there, more than he'll ever know. I am so blessed to have him in my life, as well as here on earth with me.

I feel so blessed to have Bevan in our life. She is such a great addition to our family and we're so grateful that her delivery, although eventful, was quite safe and uncomplicated! We can't wait to get to know her in the near future.

Happy New Years!

2009-01-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

Today was an awesome day for my family. Dave was able to spend his day off doing just as he's done for years on New Years Day, hunting. This year it was rabbits in Idaho. He'd been planning this day trip for a few weeks and was happy as can be to be able to go. He left early in the morning and returned in the afternoon having had a successful trip.

The kids and I enjoyed a fabulous day starting with breakfast with my siblings & dad at Corbin's home. It was wonderful to enjoy time together as Corbin happily hosted and prepared breakfast for all of us. How spoiled could we be? He even thanked us for giving him the opportunity to serve us, explaining his desire to be the best host (Monica from friends) possible. Then after chit chatting for a few hours we went to the Classic Roller Skating rink where the kids enjoyed bounce houses, pirates cove climbing, laser tag, arcade games, and roller skating while the adults enjoyed talking, talking, talking, ignoring their kids, talking, talking, ignoring their kids some more, and even more talking. We didn't leave until 5:30 pm and my children and I loved every minute of it.

While chatting, my aunt Allyson and I both came to the conclusion that in comparison to people like Dave whose hobbies include hunting or fishing or her sons whose hobbies are skiing or snowboarding, our hobbies are the same; people and our relationships with them. Dave dreams of spending his free days hunting and I dream of spending my entire day socializing with my family. Today both of our short term dreams came true. What a great day!

Our Christmas

2008-12-27T09:56:00.000-07:00

So Christmas redeemed itself for my family and I after my little rant on a previous post and I've happily overcome my Scrooge feelings. To explain; this year has been one of the most difficult years of my life since we've struggled financially due to the home market pretty much crashing and nobody wanting to buy a log home, Dave's job and our primary income. As we've shifted from unrewarding job to unrewarding job, continuously overcome huge amounts of fear with faith, and learned how to survive this torment, we knew Christmas was going to be about as dissapointing as everything else that involves money in our current lives, but were we ever wrong.

We started out the Christmas season as usual with a tree and decorations because we already had them and didn't have to purchase anything to put them up and meanwhile wondering how to make Christmas magical for little ones without money. We began to think creatively and had some friends donate used toys to us as well as found some decent toys at local second hand stores for minimal costs, thinking these things would just have to suffice because in all honesty, our bills would come before Christmas gifts in the financial department.

But then a few weeks before Christmas, the true spirit of Santa began in our lives. We received gift after gift from loved ones, most anonymously, of generous amounts of money to allow us the opportunity to have a splendid Christmas. We even received a few bags of presents wrapped and labeled for our children and ourselves. As a result of all the kindness of others, our Christmas was just as good, if not better, than any Christmas we've had as a little family for the last 8 years. The children had no idea that our past response to their pleas for things, "because we don't have any money" could have also affected their Christmas because it appeared as if it didn't. It was as if for a day we were able to pretend there was no struggle in our lives and we were at ease watching them open each gift with surprise and wonderment, as well as for ourselves, since we didn't know what the presents were either. It's hard for me to put into words the effect this experience has had on Dave and I. One thing we do know is the frustration we've felt in not being able to appropriately thank those generous givers that magically changed our world for just a moment, at a very special time. My cousin Braden put our feelings best, when he wrote on his own blog:

I Believe in Santa Claus
I'm 37 years old and I believe in Santa Claus. I really do. Let me tell you why--and then maybe you will also. It seems a good thing to do for a Christmas Eve post.I didn't always believe in him. In fact, while I was growing up, I didn't believe in him. My sweet mom really wanted the focus to be on Baby Jesus (and rightly so), consequently Santa just wasn't a big part of our celebrations.I was never anti-Santa, I thought he seemed harmless enough, but he just didn't figure in to my life much. Until I was married with children.A lot of you know the next part of the story. On my mission, I became quite ill. I managed to struggle along through the complete two years, but I came home severely weakened and exhausted. I fell in love, got married and we started our family. Then I relapsed and the sickness came back with a vengeance.Those years are a blur for me. For basically three years I could do nothing but lay in my bed and sleep. On good days I was able to watch a little tv. I had to drop out of school and it was impossible to work. Poor Mere was a single mother for all intents and purposes--two little boys to take care of in addition to a sick husband. It was terribly, incredibly, perpetually bleak during those years. There was not much to cheer us as we trudged through the soul-numbing bleakness that was always there.We're coming up on the anniversary of my healing, and for those interested, I'll write more about that as we get closer to that. Eventually, though, I was healed. But what I learned was that the absence of illness did not make me strong and healthy. That was a process that came slowly. I went back to school and work. But after three years, we were in a pretty deep hole--financially and emotionally.Christmas came the next year. We were grateful that I wasn't sick any more, but there were a lot of residual effects. I was way behind in school, we had no money, and Christmas was going to be fairly sparse for our kids--and now there were three of them. That was ok. We weren't miserable or anything--but it wasn't exactly terribly festive, either. Then, one night we heard a noise outside. Someone left a beautiful artificial Christmas tree on our doorstep. That was followed by decorations and some other things. That really brightened our holiday. Then, several nights before Christmas, we heard the distinct sound of bells outside. I opened the door and went to see what it was. I opened the door and Santa Claus walked in. I'm not joking. Just like that. He came in and asked if he could sit down. He had a helper then bring in several laundry baskets full of gifts, all wrapped beautifully. The new tree, by the way, is in the background. David and Spencer were in bed, but we ran and got them. Thankfully, we had film in the camera! Their eyes were like plates. Sadly, Toria was a baby and was asleep, so she missed out. There were lots of gifts for all of us--things we wanted, things we needed, and everything was in the right sizes, too.
Of course, the gifts were nice--really, really nice--but the greater gift was the way our hearts were lifted up and the love that was so clearly manifest. To this day, we aren't sure who was behind this. We racked our brains and went over every possibility. But we never found out. And they made that Christmas for us. We remember--and relive this--every year. Whoever you are, thank you so much.
And then I realized that we didn't need to know. Santa Claus was behind it. He was responsible. That was when Santa became real to me. And what is Santa? I believe that he is the embodiment of the kindness we show each other. He is the name we give to the urge to do something nice for someone else. He is the incarnation of all the good will that we feel during this time of the year.
I've never felt a conflict between my belief in Santa and my belief in the Savior. To me, Santa is the name for doing what the Savior would have us do. Ultimately, the Savior is the source of the goodwill that finds an expression in the acts we perform as Santa. Perhaps that's redudant. I don't know. But it works for me.
All I know is that Santa is real. I met him many years ago on a cold night in Wymount Terrace.
Merry Christmas, everyone.

Our hearts go out to all of those of you who have helped others or us because we know that it is because of that kindness and love that we were able to have an amazing Christmas! Thank you for your kindness, all of you! Dave and I are so excited for the future so we can find ways to help others as we've been helped. What a glorious opportunity to portray the Savior in his kindness in doing for others what has been done for us. What a glorious holiday!

Besides the many gifts given to our children from others for Christmas, we were able to give them new bedrooms in anticipation of our new arrival this coming February.

Harris and his new bedroom in his new pajamas.

Brigden and his new bedroom (shared w/ Harris) in his new CARS pajamas.

Halen and her new bedroom in her new pajams

Bah Humbug, Merry Christmas!

2008-12-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

Ahh! I want to scream. Have you ever wanted to scream? I know it's the holidays and it's a wonderful time to remember the reason for the season, make gingerbread houses, enjoy time with loved ones and family, look at the beautiful lights on houses, listen to glorious music, bake goodies for friends, and get excited to give gifts to others, but why can't all this bliss be accompanied by little children running around the house with smiles and giggles instead of whines and complaints and instant tear jerking moments of frustration due to complete exhaustion from late nights, sugar overload, and high expectations?

I've vowed to myself from day one to keep my posts as realistic as possible so I feel it only necessary then that I equal out my positive grateful posts with a real "Bah Humbug" post....hence, beware and stop here if you are feeling the joy of the season and life is blissful for you because I might just temporarily ruin it!

My mom had a plastic door knocker that she put on her door every year for Christmas that was a molding of Scrooge and when you pushed the button with the door knocker it would say, "Bah Humbug! Merry Christmas." Of course as kids we all got a kick out of it and now I have it on my door and get to watch kids enjoy it the same as we did. It is fun to have, but so truthful to my heart at the moment because I feel like shouting "Bah Humbug" to my little ungrateful awnery ones every 10 minutes.

Today is the first day they are out of school and given my 7 month pregnant tired state, I am not excited for the fact that I get to entertain them all day long as well as the next 2 weeks. I'm not really sure that threatening the placement on the Naughty List is really cutting it because in the end will I really shrink to giving my kids coal for Christmas. Oh, how scrooge is that, but sometimes I feel it might well be deserved by the actions of these awnery little ones. The worst part is knowing when they instantly go into fits after some seriously minor event takes place, that they are merely doing so because they are so tired themselves they can't even see straight, or feel straight for that matter.

Hence, I am just feeling a little bit overwhelmed by it all and felt I should share my frustrations with you all so you could know that yes, I am not perfect, as well as my children, and although I love them and this season dearly, for these 10 minutes, I am done with Christmas and want mundanity back! No fear, I'll change my mind when I get some time to myself or someone in my home does something Christlike or nice to bring back the Christmas spirit, but seriously, a little bit of reality never hurt anyone, right?

Chaos and Cars!

2008-12-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks I have spent getting ready for Christmas by decorating/painting rooms. Dave and I decided to cut back on costs for gifts so the major present we would give our children is their newly decorated bedrooms. Given the quick coming arrival of their baby sister in 8 weeks, they've known they would be shifting around their belongs to different rooms to make space for the baby, but we thought it would be fun to surprise them with finished rooms earlier than they expected. Halen will be getting her own room merely only due to circumstances of being a girl older than her next two male siblings and Brigden will be moving in with Harris in what was Halen & Harris' room. This room was meant for Halen alone, but due to basement remodeling issues, it became Harris' as well and as a result he had to sleep with large flowers on his wall for almost two years. Occassionally he would remember his girly room and ask for dinosaurs on his wall someday to which I would reassure him of high hopes for the future. Anyway, as a result of the chaos in trying to paint and prepare two bedrooms without the kids clueing into the entire surprise, I've had to work while they were at school which left just Brigden at home with me. As a direct result of having only Brigden to occupy I did what most mothers would do in desperate circumstances, gave into his every desire to keep him occupied and out of my way so I could maximize my limited alone productive time. Here is the agenda of one of his days just last week....

9:00 Put together Cars Puzzle by himself (he loves puzzles and puts this one together at least 2 times a day)
9:30 Watch the entire Cars Disney movie, using the remote to skip the commercials when they came after I taught him how to do so.
11:00 Restart the entire Cars Disney movie, until actually tiring of it half way through.
11:45 Put together Cars Puzzle again by himself.
12:15 Play Cars Computer Game with my help as I prepare lunch for he and Harris.
1:00 Nap Time with his Lightening McQueen car.

All I can say is, "Thank Heavens for CARS!" And as if to mislead you into thinking this was an irregular day it in all actuality is not far from the norm. He doesn't watch Cars 1 1/2 times each day, but sure would if I let him. He loves his CARS puzzle, his CARS cars, his CARS jacket, CARS shoes, CARS toothbrush, CARS pajamas and amazingly enough we've just happened upon all of these things as gifts and hand me downs from others so this crazy obsession of his hasn't cost us more than the price of a puzzle which I actually bought for him. Now I know that there is such a thing as addiction and he needs to be relieved of his obsession, but as far as I'm concerned I need to get these rooms done and we can work on that and potty training after Christmas and before the baby comes. All in good time.

Accepting Discomfort; Gaining Confidence!

2008-11-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

This morning as I was catching up on my emails and studying my scriptures I was affected by two similar issues; the current protests of Prop. 8 in California against the LDS Temples and members and the past issue of the last days of battle in the Book of Mormon, specificially that in Mormon 1 & 2.

I felt such sadness for those in California who have had to deal directly with the persecutions for their beliefs against homosexual marriage and the thought arose 'if the church didn't take a public stand on their position on Prop.8 then none of these protests would have had to happen.' I also then quickly realized that while the protests may not have happened, neither would have come forth the opportunity for the sifting process between the weak, mediocre, and strong believers in Christ. I believe this situation really leads us to all ponder on where we stand. Sure, we can all put on our pretty clothes and go to church every Sunday, but what do we do when our homes, families, and careers are attacked because of our beliefs? Do we shrink away in humiliation for fear of what will happen to us temporally, or do we stand strong in our beliefs and firm in our faith and the gospel of Jesus Christ knowing that it really only matters what he and our Heavenly Father think of us. As noble as it sounds to stand firm in your faith, the huge amount of pain, similar to that experienced by the Pioneers years ago, is a reality and nothing to be excited about.

In Mormon 2:25-26, I was struck by the firm foundation the Nephites appeared to have when the Lamanites ran from them in fear, but when the Lamanites actually encountered the Nephites in battle, the Lamanites found the Nephites were not as strong as they had previously appeared, but rather were weak like unto their brethern because they did not possess the strength of the Lord. Therefore, my thoughts lead me to wonder; is my appearance of strength enough in preparation for the future battles of my life? Would I stand firm in my faith even when my family was under persecution? Would I be willing to fight for my beliefs, or just profess them comfortably among my friends and family who share the same beliefs? How strong is my testimony, really?

Finally, I realized, as the kids and I read our short scripture story this morning during breakfast about Christ raising Lazerus from the Dead; days after he had passed, that while Christ may save us from our trials and our afflications, it may not happen until days after the fact. That, of course, is not what I wanted to hear, but the important thing I learned from that short story and these other thoughts is that there really is a very important reason FAITH is the first principle of the Gospel. Where do my loyalties lie when I am tried, publicly or privately? Where do I allow my thoughts, fears, and attitudes to rest during these crucial times?

I've learned a lot these last few years, and while a break from learning due to intense life changing trials is extremely enticing, without these trials I never would have been prepped for the last day, and nor could I even have had a chance at being "lifted up at the last day" if it weren't for such discomfort in my life. What a blessing the gospel of Jesus Christ is to me in peace and in peril!

Like Mother, Like Daughter! Like Father, Like Son!

2008-11-11T13:05:00.001-07:00

Before I share this story you need to know that I love being married to my husband all day long, but as soon as my bedtime hits, I absolutely hate having to sleep in a bed with him or any other person, ask my bedroom companion of many years; my sister Brynn. He loves to cuddle, touch, or even breath in my space and it drives me nuts. I am actually a huge grump when it comes to this issue because sleep is so important to me and over the years he's learned to be patient, yet persisitent. He still tries to go to sleep while touching me and I do all I can to have nothing of it for many reasons, but mostly because he is a human heater. He just radiates heat and I can't concentrate on sleeping with a heater touching my arm or leg. Anyhow, it's been a battle for many years and continues to be so. Evidently, our children have caught on...

This morning as the kids and I were chatting about their night of sleep, Halen, 6, was a bit grumpy and I asked her why. She replied after much thought (as if she wasn't sure, but she needed to search deep for a reason to excuse her behavior), "Well, last night when I was trying to go to sleep Harris kept asking me to let him sleep with me in my bed and I just kept telling him, "No" He wouldn't listen so finally I yelled, "No you can't sleep with me; I need my space!"

I had the hardest time not laughing at her comment because it was so similar to my own feelings with Dave. Hmmm? Halen is the cold hearted independent sleeper and Harris is the warm cuddly bear looking for a friend. Just like their parents. How ironic!

Our Happy Halloween!

2008-11-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

This Halloween was the first Halloween in years that I've thoroughly enjoyed because my kids thoroughly enjoyed it. In years past, Halen has been too timid to actually go and get candy at the doors of our neighbor's homes and therefore Harris wasn't too fond of the idea, thinking his sister knew something he didn't. Brigden was too young to understand the concept to begin with. This year everything changed. After the first house, Halen ran back to me on the sidewalk yelling, "Mom I did it. I said trick or treat." Just a reminder, she is 6. Not your typical 6 year old, eh?

Anyhow, Harris and Brigden followed her example and within an hour or so they were running from door to door. Brigden was not afraid at all and his only problem was that his candy bag weighed more than he did near the end of the night. He wouldn't allow me to help him by carrying his bag, but it did put him in last place at every door and he even had to skip a few doors so he could catch up, but did so with a huge smile the entire time. They loved it and I loved the parent tax (1-2 candy pieces of my choosing) at the end of the night! We had a blast being together, but were sad that their Daddy, Dave, couldn't be with them since he had to work. Such is the life of a responsible Daddy sometimes.

Halen was Sleeping Beauty, I was Malificent (Sleeping Beauty's enemy), Harris was a Pirate, and Brigden was Spiderman.

Jesus is watching you!

2008-11-05T15:17:00.001-07:00

Over the last few years, I've tried to instill in my children that whether or not I personally witness them making their own choices, whether to tell the truth, say their prayers, etc, their Heavenly Father is watching them. I've never really known if my words were sinking into their little heads or not until a few days ago I realized Harris had lied to me in telling me that he had completely cleaned up his room after quiet time, only to find one of the boxes still left out later that evening. I pulled him off to the side and reiterated the importance of telling the truth, i.e. he would not be able to be with his family in heaven if he continued to be disobedient (pretty harsh eh, but this kid needs harsh realizations to get it) and even though I didn't see him leave the box out at first, his Heavenly Father sure did so he wasn't fooling anybody.

Well, the very next day after Harris triumphantly announced he had cleaned his room completely after quiet time, I skeptically said, "Harris, are you sure?" He frustratingly responded in a tone exemplifying his surprise that I even dare question him, "Yes, Mom and Jesus saw me!" With that the conversation was over and he knew it. He was right on.

I love those moments when you realize, "Hey, I am making a difference, and how cute are my little stinks!"

Happy D-Day Mom!

2008-10-28T15:56:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, October 27th, was a big milestone for my family and I. It was my mother's passing date, of now 2 years ago. It would actually be a benefit for me to express this and the same date last year as being the only really hard days in the last 2 years of her absence, but the truth is almost every other day is a hard day as I continually strive to readjust to life without one of my very few best friends, my mom; Karen.

It's hard to explain how much she meant to me, but in barely skimming the subject surface, I would say it's mostly difficult because she knew me so deeply given she gave birth to me, reared me, shared similar genetic qualities with me, and regardless of knowing me so deeply, she loved me unconditionally and exemplified it daily in her selfless self-motivated actions to sensitively care for me. I have no doubt she does the same today in her spirit, but honestly, there is just nothing like the actual touch in comparison to the spiritual touch somedays!

My sister has written her own feelings very well concerning our current loss and therefore I find it easy and convenient to piggy back upon them until I can find the time to appropriately do my love and respect for my mother justice!

http://sorensonsaga.blogspot.com/2008/10/2-years-of-forever.html

Watch out, I'm getting religious!

2008-09-26T16:16:00.000-06:00

So this year I've tried really hard to revert back to my excellent mission study habits and daily devote time for myself to seriously study the scriptures, instead of just read them. I have found over many years that I really do love learning about Christ and His gospel, but in order for me to truly do so I have to put in the time and effort. Last spring I decided to do something about it since I hadn't been learning too much about the gospel in stinky diapers and late night feedings. I signed up to take an institute class at the local LDS Institute. The class was on the second half of Isaiah and believe it or not; I was ecstatic. I remember my mom attending such classes while I was in high school and college and how she would excitedly teach us things she would learn. As I enjoyed remembering those fond memories, I realized I should still be doing something to be learning and knew a class on Isaiah would definitely be something I could learn from.

The class is now over, but I can't believe how much I looked forward to it and loved learning all about Isaiah's writings. Unfortunately, this fall I missed the boat on signing up for another institute class, but one day stumbled upon the BYU channel that we've had for quite a while. I've always known we had it, but somehow never really registered in my crazy head that the BYU channel actually broadcasts current and old devotionals and talks. I realized that I didn't need to get in my car, find a volunteer sitter for my children, and rearrange my schedule to be religiously educated. I just needed to turn on the tv!

Since then, I've listened to some really inspiring talks that have helped me either bring or keep the spirit in my home and feel enlightened and educated during my special quiet time of the day. One of my favorites was a talk given by Sheri Dew at Education Week. She spoke on how living the gospel really includes sharing the gospel. She said we should be using all of our means to share our feelings for the gospel and actually mentioned using our blogs for a religious outlet. Ever since she said this my conscience has not let me rest.

I've decided that although different from most blogs that I see, I'm going to try to include my own spiritual insights or learnings occassionally because not only do these things truly excite me, but also because I'd love to hear those of others, and I figure why not, there's more to me than kids and cleaning house.

Given this post is already really long, I'll keep my first insight short. As I was studying the upcoming Book of Mormon chapters a few weeks ago, I read in the Book of Mormon Institute Manual something I always knew, but never really pieced together in my head before so clearly.

In 3 Nephi 2: 5-8, there is reference to 100 years passing since Mosiah, king over the people of the Nephites, and 609 years since Lehi left Jerusalem, and 9 years since the sign was given of Christ's birth or "coming." Because I've never been a great historian, I haven't previously paid much attention to dates in the scriptures, but the manual laid it out very clearly for me.

It explained that the Nephites used three systems of reckoning time: 1) the number of years since Lehi left Jerusalem used from 600 BC to 92 BC (see Mosiah 29:44-47, Alma 1:1), 2) the number of years from the beginning of the reign of the judges used for about one hundred years, from 92 BC to AD 9 (see Nephi 2:5-7), and 3) the years "to reckon their time from [the] period when the sign was given, or from the coming of Christ" (3 Nephi 2:8, in reference to his birth) which was the system used for the remainder of the Nephite record. Now I knew the BC and AD systems, but the 2nd one of the 'reign of the judges' always kind of left me puzzled and now I feel like the puzzle pieces fit so much more clearly because they overlap. It's a lot like standard time and army time, i.e. using 17 instead of 5 pm. Anyhow, there it is, something new or maybe not and the "click" in my head went off a little later than it did for the rest of you.

The good ol' days!

2008-09-24T11:52:00.000-06:00

When Halen and Harris are both off to school, it is a very sweet time in our home with just Brigden and I. Usually so I can get something done and he can be entertained and educated, I'll put Sesame Street on TV. As soon as he notices it is on, he'll grab his blanket, pillow, and binky and lay down to watch the entire thing without manipulation or being easily distracted. Just looking at him enjoy the show brings such a peace to me thinking of what it was like in the good ol days when I did the same. Sometimes, very rarely, I'll even sit down and enjoy it with him. What a sweet time we enjoy together! I think these are the moments people are referring to when they say their young parenthood years were their sweetest and to relish in them because they go fast!

6 out of 8!

2008-09-22T16:21:00.000-06:00

This last Sunday my brother Kevin spoke in his new ward after returning home from his LDS mission to Nashville Tennessee. He gave a wonderful talk and we were all very impressed. We were also very excited to have 6 out of 8 siblings back together again. It's been a while since we've been able to have so many together given missions, move aways, etc.

Megan, Mandolin, Brandon, Kevin, Collin, and Corbin (missing Brynn & Cardin)

It was wonderful to be together after the meeting as we all hung out and just enjoyed one another's company. There's just nothing like family sometimes!

It's a GIRL!!!

2008-09-18T15:30:00.000-06:00

So, the secret is finally out. I held off from telling my kids of our "expecting" status so I wouldn't have to discuss it every five minutes during each day. As a result of this when I took Halen to my OB appointment, she didn't even know I was pregnant. Therefore, when we got into the room to wait for my doctor, I told her why we were there and that we were going to get to find out what our baby was at the same time.
Being Halen, she didn't give even a third of the reaction I was hoping for and assumed she'd give since she'd been asking me for at least 3 years for a baby sister. She merely smiled and shrug her shoulders as if she were embarrassed at the news. Even though her reaction was quite a dissapointment, I was able to deal with it better than I would have 7 years ago since I've now gotten used to the minimal reaction type due to my husband's low key personality. For instance, when I got home, he said, "So?" and I said, "It's a girl." and he said, "Huh. Good." Without even breaking a smile. It's just one of those things that my "cheerleader" personality has had to learn to deal with as I find myself easily giving away overly excited reactions like screaming and jumping over my neighbors new curtains. Seriously? We are all very different, aren't we?
Anyhow, it wasn't until I returned Halen to school that she semi-excitedly told her teacher her absence was due to her visit to see her baby sister at the doctors as she sheepishly cracked a smile.
Anyhow, we are very excited we are getting a girl. We're 18 weeks along and she is due on February 20. Maybe we'll have a Valentine's baby, who knows?

Kevin's coming home!

2008-09-15T08:51:00.001-06:00

We can hardly wait! It's been a very long 2 years and while very much worth the wait, we are so excited to welcome our sweet fun loving younger brother and uncle Kevin home. He arrives this evening at the SLC airport in from the LDS Nashville Tennessee Mission. Halen and Harris have been counting down the days every day for the last few weeks and we're so excited, did I say that already? For a blast from the past, here's a pic from his farewell. A lot has changed and therefore, with as few local family members as we're experiencing lately, we can't wait to have another one back with us again!

Kevin is such a joy to have around and his smile always brings such happiness and warmth to the room, hence our excitement to have him back. While he's been gone, it's been a little strange to have a daily reminder of him as I've found quite a similarity in his baby pictures and our son Brigden. I've enjoyed seeing the same looks I see in Kevin, but it has also been painstaking to constantly be reminded of his absence, but alas...no more. He's home...almost. Yay!!!!!

Side note: If you haven't been notified yet, he'll be speaking this Sunday at my Dad's ward in Kaysville @ 9:00 am. Call me for details.

He did it!!!

2008-09-02T09:40:00.000-06:00

Given Harris' one week delay in beginning preschool, since Halen started school a week ago, he has been on edge every day wondering when his school was going to start. At first it was an adjustment for him to understand that he didn't get to go to kindergarten this year and that he would be attending preschool again. We had to rename his preschool to 4-year old preschool because then he felt better knowing he had progressed given last year was 3-year old preschool. Then each day he would sing the days of the week so he could recognize how much closer his big first day was. Finally, he awoke today, with puffy eyes after a long night of needed rest, only to realize with a large smile, "Mom, today is the day." We got his chores done, with minimal resistance (a huge plus) and assembled all his necessary items in his new backpack and off he was. He was so thrilled. I just love it when my children are happy. It makes my day so lovely!!! His smile says it all.

Will it make you strong?

2008-08-29T12:22:00.000-06:00

Each time we sit down to have a meal together as a family, I am bombarded with "I don't want that, that, or that" from Harris. He is extremely picky and it has been very difficult to get him to eat even the plainest of things, like carrots, potatoes, or even corn. Well, with time I knew I had to figure out a way to convince him to at least try these foods and after many failed attempts, we finally came up with a winner; "This will make you strong."

We found Harris' motivation. He loves sports, especially football, and if I can somehow relate his food to football or another sport, then he's miraculously game and his attitude turns 180 degrees. Just today for lunch we were having quesadillas, carrots, and oranges. He refused to eat the carrots until I explained that carrots will make your eyes really strong so you can see the football from really far away. No lie, he listened, and within seconds said, "Ok!" and ate all his carrots and then asked for more. After eating his carrots, he then pointed to his quesadilla and said, "But this won't make you strong, will it?" I replied, "Yes, the cheese inside will make your bones strong so you can kick hard and the tortilla will fill your tummy up so it won't hurt while your playing." He again then shifted gears and ate all of it. He even turned to Brigden and told him he wouldn't be strong because he hadn't finished his oranges yet.

Hmm? Is this logical or emotional? What a joke, so now each meal my mind starts turning before he even sits down asking myself, why is this meal good for Harris and how will it make him strong? I need a course in nutrition for I fear I might be running out of good sports related explanations soon. Well, at least for today, lunch is over and eaten.

Two of a Kind

2008-08-29T12:11:00.000-06:00

This week has been quite a shift of gears as Halen has been gone all day for first grade and therefore left Harris and Brigden home alone with me. They have quickly adjusted to her absence in becoming best buddies and playing really well together. This morning as they were getting ready Harris wanted to get dressed just as Brigden so he went and picked out his clothes to match Brigden as best he could. I think he did a pretty good job. They were so proud of their "matching" selves.

Halen's First Day of School & Birthday

2008-08-27T13:06:00.000-06:00

This week has already been a busy one. We were so excited to send Halen off to her first day of First Grade on Monday! She had been talking about this day all summer and thought it would never arrive. She was really bummed in the beginning of the summer because she didn’t know anyone in her upcoming class, but at the last minute, one of her best friends was moved into her class and therefore she felt a little more comfortable at the thought of going back to school. We went and visited her classroom last week and were able to find her desk and this really helped calm her jitters and let her know she was welcomed and had her own place in her new classroom. She was so excited! When the actual day came she was up and ready to go; dressed and with her chores done at least an hour before she even had to leave. She couldn’t wait.

When she returned home she was still glowing, literally. "It was a great day" she said and gave us a report on all the upcoming fun she would be having in her class with her new teacher. She didn’t go a full day on the first day, since everyone had an early out day, but went for her first full day on Tuesday. This could have been an interesting experience, but wasn’t because to break up her first long day she was able to celebrate her birthday at school with her class. Tuesday was her 6th birthday. She’s been counting down to this day for months. She was able to open her presents in the morning and then even had time to play with them before she had to head off for the bus. Then at school she got to hand out treats and receive cards from all of her classmates.

When she got home, we continued the celebration as she played with her new toys and made her cake. It began as a real disaster. So much, that as I was making it, a friend who was over just sat and laughed, with me of course, and wondered how I would ever pull it together in the end. I just reassured her a couple inches of icing can fix and cover up anything! I learned from my mother that it doesn’t matter what the cake looks like as long as you just add more icing to smooth out the rough edges. Well, Halen was worried too as she watched me, but alas, it turned out good enough. I wouldn’t say superb, but just good enough for a 6 year old who just wanted a beautiful blue Cinderella like gown on her Barbie doll.

Here she is just six years ago as we were getting ready to bless her in her blessing gown in October of 2002.

Here are a few fun specifics about our current Halen:

Her favorite foods are shredded bbq chicken w/ rice, mac-n-cheese w/ hot dogs, top ramen noodles, reeses pieces cups, and chocolate ice cream.

Her favorite toys are her barbies and polly pockets.

Her favorite television shows are Hannah Montana, Full House, Super Why, Spongebob Squarepants, and So You Think You Can Dance.

She loves to organize her dolls on her bed, color, please her parents, play with friends nonstop, dance, and sing. She will make up her own songs and music and dance the afternoon away as her friends watch on as her audience. She’s not as shy as she lets on.

She is a huge motherly sister and watches over Brigden and Harris constantly.

Even though she is always asking for a friend to play with, she loves her alone time as well and can color by herself for quite a while when she’s in the mood.

She loves unprovoked attention.

She has a red skirt that she would wear every single day with her brown boots if her mommy let her. She’s not much of a tennis shoes kind of girl, regardless of her mother's endless attempts.

She is extremely thoughtful, kindhearted, service oriented, and a pure jewel to have in our family.

We are so blessed to know her and look forward to many more years.

My Oh My Mozarella!

2008-08-13T14:32:00.000-06:00

So lately as I've been trying new recipes that won't break the budget and I thought it might be fun to try to make homemade pizza. My mom made it every Friday when I was a kid and we loved it so I figured since I love restaurant pizza so much, I could at least try the homemade stuff and see if I could do it or if it would be worth it. Well, luckily I have a breadmaker that had a recipe so I just threw the 5 ingredients in, pushed a button, and then 1.5 hours later I had fresh pizza dough and 20 minutes later after adding toppings, each to our individual desires, we had some great pizza.

Now, I won't say that it was gourmet, but it was actually really good. What surprised me is that it only cost me a few bucks a pizza, literally, I did the math because I wanted to make sure that my work would be worth the effort and savings. It was. A really large pizza only cost me like $2.50 Crazy!!! Anyway, my second greatest discovery in the process was Mozarella Cheese! As strange as it sounds, I have never just had a bite of a chunk of Mozarella cheese. Now, I've had string cheese, and cheese cubes and whatnot, but not a chunk of a soft moist block of Mozarella purchased at the store. After I shredded the cheese for the pizza, I took a bite and without realizing it I was immediately transformed to some peaceful tropical beach with the warm sun blazing on me as the rushing waves serenaded my relaxing moment chewing cheese! I know...I know, get a grip! Crazy, eh? But hey, I think I've found my latest food craze...a bite of Mozarella Cheese! Wow Baby!

A Major Catchup on Posts!

2008-08-03T18:07:00.000-06:00

So I know this is crazy, but I had the time and energy and so I went for it. I've updated my blog with 9 posts from the past two months and if you're bored enough you're welcome to read them and catch up on our little family life. Get yourself a good snack and Happy reading! Thanks for your patience on my absence!