I am so blessed with amazing children. I think this picture speaks volumes. Do you see how Jacob is holding Ryan's hand, and rubbing his foot? Ryan loves that. Jacob is really great with Ryan, and Deborah too. It's very sweet. Thanks Jacob!

Christmas Traditions

We decorated a gingerbread house tonight. But, as you can see in the pictures, it became a gingerbread garage ... thanks, Stephanie Myers (author of Twilight). This year we also decorated gingerbread cookies. That was fun. They tasted yummy. Enjoy the blizzard of pictures...
Johnathon's Cookie
Jessica's cookie
Jacob's cookie
Deborah's cookie

*Apparently David's cookie disappeared before I got a picture.

Santa Is Alive And Well...

A friend sent me this story and I just loved it. It's a great reminder of what Christmas and Santa is really all about ... enjoy...

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so.

It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" she snorted...." Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let's go."


"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun. Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through it's doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only nine years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping.

For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church.

I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-4 class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he just had no coat.

I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.

"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down.

Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby." The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper. A little tag fell out of the coat, but Grandma said it was okay and just tucked it in her Bible. We finished wrapping the coat and tied the package with pretty ribbon, then wrote, "To Bobby, From SantaClaus" on it.

Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever, officially one of Santa's helpers. Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk.

Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going." I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.

Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team. Grandma has long since passed on, but I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside. ....It says, $19.95

Reassurance

Tonight I spoke to my Visiting Teacher's husband who is a Neuro Surgeon. An amazing couple. I called them today. I explained about Ryan's dr's appointment yesterday and asked if he had any recommendations for a Pediatric Neurologist. He said his 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice would be Dr. Seals. He said is "superb". I'm so thankful for this. I already have an appointment for February. It seems like a long time away, but I'm sure it'll be here before we know it.

I have some new pictures that I will post tomorrow. We started decorating the house tonight. Had a little scare with Ryan and was distracted from it. So, we'll need to finish it tomorrow. Dwight and the boys brought home a beautiful tree tonight. It should be ready for lights and decorations tomorrow. It's very full. Not completely straight, but I don't think we've had a straight tree for several years now. Perhaps we'll just call it tradition. :)

18 Weeks and a Well-Child Care Check Up

Today was Ryan's 2 month well-child care check up. He weighed in at 11 pounds and 13 1/2 ounces. And, he's 24 1/2 inches tall now. He's now in the lower 25th percentile for his height and still not on the chart for his weight. He continues in an upward trend; however, his weight trend flattened out a bit. Dr Rhame isn't overly concerned yet as it could just be a small hiccup in the growth pattern. It is concerning enough however to keep an eye on it.

I was hoping to receive a little comfort today, but that's not really what happened. Instead we've been referred to a pediatric neurologist for more testing. Dr Rhame said there will probably be lots more tests before we have definitive answers. And, he called Baby Ryan a "special needs" baby. That was tough. It's still tough.

Anyway ... here's a picture of Ryan that was taken today.

You can't see just how cute his little outfit is, but on the backside it has a reindeer. :)

Countdowns and Milestones...

Can you believe it's already the 2nd of December? Only 23 more days till Christmas! So much to do and so little time! We planned to buy a Christmas tree last night ... you know the real kind that fills the room with the smell of Christmas (and that leaves needles in the carpet till next Christmas). Well we went to dinner first which took a little too long. By the time we made it to buy the Christmas tree they had just closed. It was Family Home Evening: the Indian Food & Christmas Tree Denied Edition. So tonight after tithing settlement, we'll head out for the Christmas tree.

So, Kelli, remember "K is for knitting not crocheting?" Well, I had my first crocheting experience since Merry Miss class when I was 11. I hate it! Is hate too strong of a word? Um..... no. I must be missing something because I just don't see how anyone could find crocheting enjoyable. I never could find a rhythm to it.

Why was I crocheting? Because the cute little Suede dress I had knit for Deborah called for a crocheted edge around the neck and sleeve lines. I think the dark color edge is a nice touch, but did it really need to be crocheted? What do you think?

Oh, and speaking of Deborah, you other Moms will appreciate this ... Deborah went poopy on the big girl potty! Whewhoo!!!

Tagged

Thanks Jen for the tag. Here's my 4th picture ...



4 things about this picture...
1) This is a picture of Jessica when she was 6 years old.
2) The picture was taken in 2001.
3) My kids loved Chuck E Cheese!
4) We spent WAY too much time at Chuck E Cheese after I quit working and started staying home full time.

For the rest of you, here's the scoop ... go to the 4th album on your computer, open it, choose the 4th picture and then write 4 things about it. Then tag 4 of your friends to do the same thing. (I think many of my blogging friends have already done this. So, if you blog and if you haven't done it yet, consider yourself tagged. If you don't blog, maybe it's time to start?)

I am thankful for...

(in no particular order)

1. Dwight
2. Jessica
3. Jacob
4. David
5. Johnathon
6. Deborah
7. Ryan
8. Medical technologies and great doctors
9. The Gospel
10. My parents and their example of good living
11. My sister and her example of childlike love and kindness
12. My nephews and the way they always make me feel like I'm the most important person in their world
13. My friends
14. My Mom's willingness to learn how to knit
15. Amber for inspiring me to learn to knit
16. The Woolie Ewe for all their patience and the great atmosphere in their shop
17. My ward family for all of their support
18. A spacious home that houses my large family without feeling cramped
19. Airplanes and the pilots that fly and land them safely
20. Dwight's job
21. Dwight's willingness to work hard
22. Dwight's intelligence
23. Books
24. The internet
25. Email
26. All my aunts and uncles
27. All my cousins
28. Water
29. Good food
30. DVR's ... how can you watch live tv?
31. Digital cameras
32. Photoshop to fix all the errors in my pictures
33. The Cub Scout and Boy Scout Programs
34. Good Den Leaders
35. Money sufficient for our needs
36. The Temple
37. My Ancestors
38. Telephones
39. Cell phones ... at least at times
40. The freedoms I enjoy in America
41. Memories of scuba expeditions ... barracuda ...
42. Dwight's patience with me
43. Disposable diapers and wipes
44. My minivan
45. Being in remission
46. Repentance and forgiveness
47. A body that heals well
48. My education
49. Obedient and fun children
50. surviving 6 pregnancies with NO stretch marks! WHEWHOO!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ryan's Biggest Smiles

Okay, I've never done a video before ... hope this works ...

14 Weeks

I was hoping to find a picture of Deborah in her car seat at 14 weeks. I think it's interesting to see the 2 little ones at the same ages. I think they are similar in size. Deborah was a little smaller. I think she was just starting to wear newborn size clothing. Ryan is wearing mostly 0-3 month size clothes. Ryan cannot hold his body or head up enough to sit in Deborah's chair. Not only can he not hold his body up enough to do it, but I think Deborah might be a little bugged by it. We've had to negotiate what has been passed on to Ryan. For example, Ryan gets the crib, but she still gets the swing. She is willing to share it, but still claims her territory. "Baby Ry in my swing."

Speaking of things that belong to Deborah... Daddy. As you may know, our whole family no longer fits in the minivan, and I'm unwilling to loose money trading it in. We typically have Ryan and Deborah's car seats in my van. So they ride with me to church. Church is during naptime, which means that we have a very tired, sometimes irrational 2 year old on our hands after church. For the past month, she has yelled and cried ALL the way home. (Thankfully, we only live about 2 miles from the church.) "MY DADDY!! ME NEED MY DADDY!! WHERE'D GO MY DADDY?" Over and over again with increasing panic and wailing. No amount of reassurance calms the child. No bribes. No threats. (And, believe me, a tired, sometimes irrational mother of 6 can make a lot of threats in 2 miles.) But, once the girl catches a little glimpse of her daddy within reach and the world ... and my Sabbath ... is again a calm place.

This past week Daddy had a brilliant idea ... Deborah rode with him to and from church. THANK HEAVENS!!! Such a simple solution = such a happy little girl = a more sane Mommy.

Speak of sanity... tonight the conversation went like this:

Me: "Did you arrange my music in a particular order when you were setting up my iPod for me?"
Dwight: "No, why?"
Me: "You sure have a knack for giving me music with meanings when I take a day trip."
Confused Dwight: "You know there's a mental illness where people assume the media is trying to send them messages."

No, I'm not mentally ill.... let me explain. A while ago, I drove north about 2 hours to meet a new friend for lunch. Dwight wanted to go with me and I declined. He made me a cd of music to listen to on my way there. "Since you've been gone I can't breath" ... "All by myself" .... etc. Last Tuesday when I ran away from home, Dwight had just lovingly put my music on my "new" iPod. (I've had it sitting unused next to my bed for several months now.) The first song ... "May God's love be with you always!"

Either way ... be it insanity or him not owning up to his doings, I really appreciated the message.

Twilight Fans

Jessica, along with many others, is a HUGE fan of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyers. These are 2 of Jessica's most recent drawings:

Feliz Dia de Los Muertos

Last Saturday we attended Muertitos Fest 2008 sponsored by Jessica's art school. We were able to purchase one of her works, a graphic done in Adobe that was made into a greeting card. It's impressive. I certainly wouldn't have been able to do it.


There were also fun things to do for the family. The boys tried their hands at making prints, decorating sugar skeletons (a traditional celebration activity), making roses, and getting their faces painted.

Jessica took a friend and she was a delight to have with us. She is one of our neighbors and is just a sweetheart. It was tough to get a picture of these girls. Jessica is currently in that stage where she doesn't like her picture being taken. (But beware, Jessica, I am stalking you and will get a photo!)

Another beautiful smile

If you haven't been following the Ryan story, you may not understand just how wonderful it is to see this beautiful big smile from Ryan. For those of you who have been following the story, you know the extraordinary joy this smile represents.

The Promised Pictures

Ryan was quite irritated by the hat. But, he made a cute pumpkin!

Deborah really wasn't sure about dressing up in a costume, but once she got a piece of candy it was all worth while!

Isn't Johnathon the smartest (and cutest) Turtle ever?

David was the Joker. I wish I had recorded his mimicking of the Joker's rants. Creepy.

Jacob was a cute Mime ... not a quite one, but a dang cute one! Loved the black hair!

Jessica was Harlequinn. (If you're like me and not into comics, Harlequinn is a side kick in Batman.) I think Jessica just enjoys the creativity of dressing up.

All this for 6 1/2 pounds of candy! Hey, I want the Laffy Taffys!

Let them govern themselves? Really?

Today started off a bit frustrating. Both of our Tuesday co-ops were cancelled due to sickness. With the unscheduled time, I thought we'd do some fun, easy school things. But 15 minutes out of my room was enough to frustrate the plans. I quickly felt very overwhelmed and questioned my "career" choice.

Long story short, I decided to "run away" for the day. (Thanks, Dwight and Jessica, for making my day off possible.) At first, I felt a lot of guilt about taking the day off. But, 20 minutes of uninterrupted time talking to a good lady helped me to put things back into perspective.

While attending Time Out for Women, one of the speakers spoke of Joseph Smith's statement of "We teach them correct principles and let them govern themselves." I knew/know it is a correct principle, but every time I hear that statement I think "but it just doesn't seem to work out so well for me." Pause ... let me acknowledge that I know I have good kids and I know that they really do a lot of good things. I recognize that in comparisons to a lot of homes I have very peaceful, extremely well-behaved kids. I don't mean to discount that in any way. Yet, we do have the spirit of contention and disobedience at times. And, lately, it seems that it is much more prevalent than it ought to be.

So... back to my thoughts ... "We teach them correct principles and let them govern themselves." How do I apply this correct principle?

As I talked about this with my friend, I realized that I always hear the "let them govern themselves" and sort of just gloss over the first, perhaps the most important part: "We teach them correct principles." Notice that Joseph didn't say: "We teach them correct principles for the first 8 years or their lives." He didn't say: "We teach them correct principles on Sundays and during Family Home Evening." Nor did he say: "We teach them correct principles on Sundays, during FHE, mutual, scripture study, and any other time it is self-serving or convenient." He said, "We teach them correct principles."

Some parenting experts recommend that we should give our kids at least 10 positive comments for each negative comment in order to ensure success. Perhaps we really out to TEACH 10 righteous principles for each unrighteous thing they encounter. (If we were to teach at that ratio, we'd be so exhausted that we'd have no choice but let them govern themselves! :))

PS Thanks Tami for reminding me of correct principles!

My Friend

This is my friend, Tami. Isn't she pretty? She's also an amazing lady! I have been so blessed to know her and her family. She has been such a blessing inn my life. She's spiritual, and funny, and intelligent, and thoughtful. She sent me a note tonight that said:"I’m grateful for a friend like you. You have been such a blessing in my life. It’s just evidence that when the Lord has something hard for you to go through, He provides a way and friends to help you through it."

This isn't the first time she has sent me a thoughtful note. She's just amazing! Oh, and the best thing about her ...

She's a knitter!

Happy Halloween!
More pictures coming soon...

Ryan Smiles!

Do you see that smile? Isn't it great!!!!

Art

Today we studied the Swiss born artist Paul Klee. Here are the boys' Klee's:

Jacob'sDavid's

Johnathon's

Family Home Evening: Halloween Style

Tonight we did the annual Halloween style family home evening. Everyone participated. Dad and Jessica carved the pumpkins. They did a great job, right?

Jessica's Jack

Dad's Jack

Of course, it takes a while to carve pumpkins and well, the rest of us got a bit silly ...

And, I have amazing, wonderful, inspired, sweet, fun, and thoughtful visiting teachers. Today they brought cupcakes. So we had yummy, yummy treats! (Thanks, Jana!)

(Be sure to click on the picture of Deborah! You don't want to miss the crumbs.)