Sam's Tests and surviving NaBloPoMo

I took Sam to get an evaluation since he has yet to learn to crawl. I am worried about his lack of development. Three weeks ago, he wasn't army crawling or sitting himself up from a laying position on the floor. Something he should be doing by now so I took him into the doctor and he gave me a referral for the State's Early Intervention program. Since that visit, Sam has improved and will now army crawl and can get himself sitting up. An improvement that we are excited about, but not enough.

It was interesting for me to watch them test him. the nurse sat on the floor with him and played. She had a big bag of fun things for him to do. Squishy balls and sticks, blocks and containers to put them in, beads tied to a string, a little mirror and a bell glued to the end of stick. He really enjoyed playing with her and I got some good ideas for toys for him. He enjoyed turning the pages while reading the book. I never thought to let him turn the pages. And he colored! I never thought to hand him a crayon and paper at his age. Sam thoroughly enjoyed himself. The nurse went out to finish her paperwork and when she came back, Sam excitedly sat at her feet and waited to see what he was going to play next. He waited for a few minutes while she went through the results of his test with me before he realized that she wasn't going to play with him anymore. He was a bit irritated.

Sam was tested for all the skills of a 12 month old. He tested 8 months for his gross motor skills as I expected. I didn't expect that he would test 10 months for his cognitive skills, 9 months for his social skills and 9 months for his language skills and fail his hearing test. The nurse said that if he had fluid in his ears that it would fail the test. Something that he will have checked out at his next appointment. She expects that his language skills have suffered because of it. If it's fluid, then we put tubes in. I pray it's as simple as that. We will be anxiously waiting to find out. Now to wait for the physical therapist to call. I am interested to watch that process too. It will be good for Sam. I am sure that he is going to be fine. He's just taking his time. Just like when he didn't want to be born and came late. Too late. Way too late........but that's another story.

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On another note, today's the last day for NaBloPoMo! A whole month of posting the most random, mundane things. Thanks for sticking it out. I am looking forward to posting when I want to post. Hallelujah! We made it through! Thanks for sticking it out with me.

I wanna play!

Jessica was playing this game last night. Do you think that mine are right? I don't. I think that they all look more like Ryan!

the morning light

I love how bright the light is the morning after a snow storm. My house is lit up with the sparkling light this morning and that makes me happy even after several hard nights without much sleep. I wish that I could say that the sparkling light was making my clean house sparkle, but I am not a liar.

Wait a second?

What? It's almost December? This Friday will be December 1st? Huh? When did this happen? Where did the month go? This Thursday kicks off the busiest weeks of the year for me. Four flute concerts, work schedules, three Christmas parties - one that I am hosting, something every night until December 12th. Just in time to get ready for Sam's first birthday and then blink and it will be Christmas. Sheesh. Something tells me that these next few weeks are going to be a blur.

Thanks for the candy Mom

I thought I was clever giving Sam the box of Nerds. It made a nice rattling sound and was keeping him busy. Little did I know it was because he was busy opening the package. I looked up to see him enthusiastically shaking the Nerds out onto his highchair and eating them as fast as he could. Mmmmm....thanks for the candy mom! At least it kept him busy long enough for me to finish a Christmas present today!! One down and three more to go.

Jake blogs

Jake's lego battle

the new big battle has arrived starwars v.s.regular legos in battle. commdercody v.s. blue leader.and starwars lego lose.

i love legos so much!! by the way they are sosososo fun!!!!!!!!!!!
yo it's from jake.

Not for cleaning anymore.

Saturdays used to be the day that everyone worked and worked to get the house clean. We had lots of chores that had to be done before we could play. There were never ending projects and Dad's lists that were longer than the rest of ours. He always worked all day long into the wee hours of the morning. Then we had a sparkly clean house with many new projects finished and the sense of accomplishment mixed with exhaustion. That's how Saturdays used to be. Fast forward to today. There was no cleaning done today. I really want it all clean, but there is just no time. This is what my Saturdays are like now.

• Wake up with baby before 7am. Nurse baby and feed kids.
• Run early to the craft store to get the crafts that I need for Christmas presents on sale. 40% discount is definitely worth it.
• Then went oh so late to my 8:30am rehearsal.
• Back home after 10:30am.
• Take care of baby that couldn't wait to see me again and negotiate play time for Mia.
• Wash, dry and style Mom's hair. She's my babysitter on Saturday mornings. It's wonderful! She comes to ME so I can go to rehearsals.
• Send home the extra four children that had migrated to my house so I can take Mom to run errands.
• Go to Rod Works for Mom where she buys a really fun Santa. Jessica, you would love it!
• Run into Target so I can see if they have any sale toys left that we wanted. Get one rain check, a bag of carrots, a free box of brownies and chocolate icing. The samples sold me.
• Drop Mom off at home where she loads me up with Thanksgiving leftovers and homemade fudge. I am the favorite you know. :)
• Hurry home to bathe everyone and finally get a shower. It's after 1:30pm by now.
• Dry my hair and Mia's new do and get some make-up on.
• Put baby down for nap.
• Talk Mia out of playing outside in her best church dress and put on something warm. We settle on cowboy boots, a long sleeve dress, coat, Jake's gloves and a pretty bow. The bow part was crucial.
• Finally get a chance to eat some lunch but realize that something spilled in the fridge, the dishes are still on the table, the stove has dried soup on it and there are 180 million crayons all over the floor.
• Remember that I heated up soup 15 minutes ago and force myself to stop so I can eat. Hearty Hodgepodge soup with whole wheat bread and butter and a glass of Gingerale. Mmmm....comfort food.
• Negotiate more playtime.
• Find clean clothes for kids for tonight's concert.
• Realize that I need to leave to pick up Mom in just 20 minutes and I am blogging about my day while my house is not cleaning itself.

Still need to figure out my concert clothes for the flute concert tonight in just over an hour. Guess I don't have time to practice. And I haven't started my Primary lesson. Don't forget that! I think that I will go and eat another piece of homemade fudge and then go squeeze myself into my concert black and hustle out to get Mom.

The Holiday Season Has Begun

I suppose it's now officially Christmas season. It's about the time that I forgive the stores and start really looking at the Christmas hoopla that they have going on. Time to buckle down and get this Christmas gift giving underway. I am not a big black Friday shopper. Not that I wouldn't love to go out and do it, because I would, but because Ryan is always working that day. It's not possible to get kids Christmas presents when I have all three kids in tow, but I do go later in the morning and get a few presents for other members of the family. It could be fun to shopped till I dropped, but I am sure the novelty would wear off.
The Christmas gift crafting has begun and it involves lots of spray paint and glue. I should add glitter and then I will really feel like a school girl making something "special" for her family. I have found the scriptures that I want to read with the kids in the effort of bringing Faith back into the season and I found a really sweet little Nativity count down that I am going to do also. I have all that I need to craft my projects, now I need the motivation to get it done!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Baking with Mia

Every time I cook anything in the kitchen, Mia is right there by my side. She loves to cook and bake. She needs to taste everything, especially the sugar. She measures and pours in and mixes and stirs. Then she helps with the timer and washing the dishes. She's going to be quite handy to have around as she gets bigger. Tonight, we made VaLynn's Sweet Potato Pie. Mmmmm.....yum-o! It's a Thanksgiving favorite on my side of the family. That and Lemon-Pear Jello, Mom's turkey gravy, yummy fancy salads that my sister Teryn makes, turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans. Hmmm? Did I leave anything out? Oh, the pies. Debbie's pies, VaLynn's pies, Teryn's lemon meringue pie, Dad's favorite Banana Cream pie. They are all so good, we end up taking little slivers of each pie even though we are still stuffed full from all that good food. This year is the in-laws year, so we will be celebrating with Ry's family. A much smaller get together, but good nevertheless. I am looking forward to lots of good eating and family time tomorrow. Hope you are too!

Nutcracker

As I briefly mentioned Saturday, I was able to get last minute tickets to the Nutcracker for the kids and I. The local ballet company puts on the Nutcracker early every year and the tickets are cheap. They hire professional dancers for the big parts and then have all those cute kids doing the rest. They do a pretty good job and for only $6 a ticket,
it's most definitely worth it.
I was more than excited to announce that we were going. It was a first for both kids. Mia immediately hugged me declaring me the best mother ever! We had an extremely busy Saturday, so nighttime came quickly. We dressed in our best clothes and off we went to the theater. The hustle and bustle was very exciting and both kids were awed by two-story high Nutcracker in the entry way. Hands held tight, we found our way to our seats that were surprisingly good. Middle of the balcony, just a few rows back. We could see into the orchestra pit and the stage perfectly. It was so fun for me to see members of the orchestra that I knew and went to college with. The overture started and I was so happy to share with my children this experience. They both did really well. Mia was thrilled with everything and was the first one to clap after each dance. She oohed and awed over every sparkly costume. My favorite comment of hers was when the orchestra swelled and she gasped and said "Oooo.....that tickled my tummy." Her favorite part of the ballet was sighed "everyffing." She was so darling and fun to take.
Jacob did well too. It's not surprising to me. He enjoys a good performance. Even cheesy stuff not that this was cheesy. He, of course, loved the battle between the Rat King and the Nutcracker. Those of you that know Jake I am sure can imagine the constant commentary going on during that scene. Still, he was at least half-way quiet and whispered mostly. Amazing for him. The battle was wonderful for him, but his favorite part was the snow dancers that danced with the Sugar Plum Fairy. His tumbling teacher was one of them and he was soooooo excited to see her. She danced wonderfully and it really was fun to see her. Both kids were losing interest during the waltz so I told them to find the instruments in the orchestra that they could hear playing. Mia really enjoyed the the timpani and imitated to him. Jake did well finding the different instruments. After the ballet, he wanted to wait for her to tell her that she did well and he was excited to see her. We waited for about ten minutes, but there was no telling if she had already made it out or not. We decided to leave, but he plans on telling her in class next week. I thanked them for letting me take them on a date and Jake, true to his nature, said that he actually kind of liked it and hoped that we could go again next year. It was a very good experience and plan on going next year. It's a tradition now. And, I must admit, I now have the tiniest bit of Christmas excitement started because of it.

Quite the salesman

I came home to these signs on the door on Saturday morning. Turns out that Jake opened up little store to sell his handmade bookmarks. He put on his Sunday best so that he would "look good for his customers" and yelled for customers. Actually, he sold quite a few of them. The pricing was a little interesting. Some were 1 cent, others 32 cents or even free as the sign says. I support the handmade arts so of course I bought a few. I admire his inventiveness. He has opened quite a few stores now. Car wash, yard sales and lemonade stands. Remember the very successful lemonade stand?

Remember the fund raisers that the elementary schools did. I remember being so excited after the assembly they had telling us all the really cool stuff that we could earn if we sold impossible amounts of wrapping paper. Wrapping paper that I couldn't even sell to my parents. Well, Jake's' school is selling cookie dough and so far, Jake has sold 10 orders all by himself!! He is hilarious to listen to! He has quite the sales pitch. He left looooong messages to those who weren't home about all the gourmet (pronounced "gor-met") and premium flavors and how they can use a check. When they called back, his customers said that he was just too cute not to buy from. I haven't helped him with one thing. This is all his thing.

Looks like my little guy has the knack for sales like his Dad!

Eleven months

Hello blue eyes!

This past month, your personality has exploded. We think that you are pretty stinkin' cute! Some of the new little tricks you do are pointing at Dad with your fat little hand and grunting when he comes home. It's like you are saying "Hey you! I see you!" You clap and sing and babble a lot saying dada and mmmmmmama.

Dad likes to give you jobs to do. It makes us laugh. You really enjoy taking Daddy's duck calls out of the box one by one. Examining them as you go looking for the perfect duck call. When it's found, you put it in your mouth and toot it. Sometimes, it surprises even you! It's fun to see you work on your job.

You really like to eat. Eat, eat, eat! You will eat as much as Jake and Mia, often more than the combined. You really must be growing or you have a hollow leg.

We have had the computer on the family room floor for the past two weeks or so and you will work hard army crawling and rolling to get to it so you can tap the keyboard and hold that blinky mouse. Ryan and I like to say that we are going to get you your own computer with a blinky mouse as a Christmas present. We know that you love it.

We have an appointment next week to check out your motor skills delay. It's worries me a lot and at the same time, it doesn't. It seems that you do what you are going to do in your own time. It will be interesting to see what they say. I am looking forward to finding out how to help you learn. Maybe you are just content to not learn. Maybe you need something to encourage you. We could always strap a blinky mouse to your head like a carrot. That might get you started.

You are still a delight and a joy. Everyone loves you very much. Your fat checks and baby smell and gap toothy grin makes me so happy. I can't believe that you are growing so fast! Eleven months already? Where has the time gone?

Love, Mama

Phew!

It's been another one of those days where there is one thing after another, after another, after another........you get the picture. It's Sam's 11 month birthday today but there is just no time to do his monthly letter today. We have tickets to the Nutcracker tonight. It's the first time that I have taken the kids and I am excited to see their reactions.

A new look!

Mia's got a new look and it's so stinkin' cute!

Random Thoughts Thursday

My Mom is my best movie buddy. Ryan is really not into movies. Well, not into any movies that aren't battles of historic nature of some sort of war or something manly like that. This is something that I didn't know when I married him. He used to take me to the movies all of the time. Feel good movies, girly movies. funny movies. Not a spec of war movies in the mix. Little did I know, he was just wooing me. Blast. Anyway, back to my mom, my best movie buddy. She's the kind of gal that I can call up at 9pm and she will meet me at the 9:15pm movie with a large popcorn in hand to share. So we headed out to the finest little dollar theater in town last night and saw Stardust . It was fabulous! I thoroughly enjoyed it! I highly recommend that you see it. I haven't read the book, so I didn't know what I was in for and I do realize that I am extremely easy to entertain since I am a bit hard up for entertainment. All that aside, seriously consider seeing this movie!

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Other news, WE HAVE NEW CARPET!! Hooorrrayyy!! It's so nice to know that we will have our basement back. It was completely out of commission after I pulled out the carpet only to find out that the plush, new, free carpet didn't fit the space. It's like the basement was dead to me. And we suffered because I never washed any laundry. I have spent the last two weeks looking high and low for the best deal on decent carpet. It's not the highest quality out there, but it will do for our needs. The carpet guy told me that our lovely multi-color shag carpet from the spare room needed to be put in a museum. Apparently it's from the 60's and it's made from acrylic. The turquoise stuff is from the early 70's. I think that it's safe to say that the carpet has lived it's life and then some.

Our lovely basement has had quite the transformation. It's gone from turquoise carpet with paneling and pretty country basket wallpaper and pink trim to finding three different kinds of paneling and adding lots and lots of primer to make the retro chic look to a neutral city with brand spankin' new carpet. I can't wait to get in there and rearrange it all!

*(Oh stress-o-matic! I just was looking for a picture of my mom and I apparently am missing my pictures from August to November!!! Ahhh!! I hope that they are findable!)

Simplifying the Holidays - Family

Christmas is really on my mind lately. I don't want to think about it because it seems too early. I know that I will be burned out before the holiday comes if I start before Thanksgiving. I am one that hates that there is a row of holiday lights coming out in October and shudder when I hear the holiday music playing in the stores before Halloween. Really, it IS too early! Still, it is mid-November and since I don't have a huge part in Thanksgiving, my thoughts start to wander to getting organized for Christmas.
This year, the funds are tighter than usual. I would love to go out and buy fabulous presents for everyone and not worry about the money part. Who wouldn't? But, instead, I worry and fret about the gift giving and then compromise trying to the best that I can for the budget that I have. We have a large extended family and a small Christmas budget so the money is stretched thin. Often, Ryan and I forgo giving each other presents in favor of better gifts for the kids. I am sure there are a lot of people that do this.
Anyway, in my effort to simplify the holidays even further this year, I have been thinking of the feeling of Christmas. What does it mean to me and my family? The important parts for me are faith, family, friends and traditions. Starting with family, I wrote a list of what Christmas meant to me and then interviewed my kids. Jake said that he thought of snow, Santa, presents and giving presents and being good for presents (OK - presents are VERY important to him), playing in the snow and having hot chocolate. Mia was a little less verbal. She said Santa bringing her Baby Alive ( or Baby A-lie as she calls it), making cookies, seeing Santa at the mall, baby kittens (huh?), and gooey (double huh?).
Asking them this, I can see what is important to them and the glaring fact that faith is missing from their list. Granted, they are young and LOVE presents. This year, in effort to bring the spirit and faith back into the holiday, I am going to do a scripture countdown so that we might learn a bit more about the Savior. Reading and talking about the Savior on a daily basis will be good. So that's the first task for me. Make the countdown. I love a good advent calendar. I have got some ideas and there are tons of cute, crafty ideas on the Internet to make it cute. The cute part is mostly for me.

to be continued....

Outakes

Because they are my children, I love all their photos but I especially love the ones that their personality shines through.

Sam's seriousness.

The funny squint Sam does when you blow on his face.


Mia kept striking poses.

Attacking the photographer with leaves. Look at Mia's hair! I can hear them. Mostly, I hear Jake 'cause he is kind of loud.


My Jake who is suddenly looking so grown up to me.

Sweet looks on all of their faces. They all look a like.

Photos

Look here.

I am thrilled with them!

I am a lucky girl to be friends with her.

Thanks Jess!

Love affair

Mmmmm.............apple pudding with homemade caramel sauce.

I already have a weakness for apples and cinnamon, but add this rich, creamy, homemade caramel sauce drizzled over this warmed apple pudding and I go weak in the knees. It makes me want to hide in the closet and eat the whole pan by myself, happily gaining 900 pounds making me stuck in the closet because of my new, enlarged self. My mother-in-law made this for desert last night and then she let me take some home with me. Bless her. I ate it for breakfast on a princess plate.

I. just. couldn't. wait.

What makes us happy

"To Gnome is to love." We have always had a little giggle of gnomes in our household. Started years ago when we got a white elephant that was a good sized garden gnome. Ryan loved him and sadly, one day he was broken. We found another and he too broke. I recently found this little guy at the thrift store. He sure makes me happy.
Gnomes seem to be popping up everywhere lately. Loving the gnome pattern that Wee Wonderful is doing. And this gnome craft book from the 80's. Too funny! Also, this gnome fabric. Don't know what I would do with it, but I still really like it. A few weeks ago, I went to IKEA and bought a roll of gnome wrapping paper. When I showed it to Ryan, he chuckled and said that he wants every single gift he ever gets for the rest of his life wrapped in that paper. Guess I am going to need a few more.

Blessed with good friends.

Been playing with Jessica today. Jessica took lots and lots of pictures of the kiddos for me. It's my Christmas present. I know!

How lucky am I?

She promises that she will have some edited soon to share. I am so excited!!

You would think that I'd know better.

Isn't it hilarious that I thought last night was almost done. Hahahahaha! Just "eat dinner, put the kids to bed and watch a movie." Yeah.....right. I forgot about the homework that wasn't finished, the laundry, the baby being grumpy, the dinner dishes, vacuuming the stupid kitchen because I dropped and shattered a glass while washing the dishes, cleaning up a billion and one crayons, scrubbing down the highchair, Sammy's huge stinky diaper, Mia's bath, the urge to make apple fritters and share them with friends, Mia's family preschool page needed to be made for today, and we needed to get shredded paper from Papa for Jake's school project. Phew.

The apple fritters were okay. I added cinnamon because I have a strong love affair with apples and cinnamon. I was happy that the kitchen was clean and the forced vacuuming of the dreaded blue kitchen carpet is always good even if it only stays clean for a nano-second. Who puts carpet in the kitchen anyway? Finally, the kids were in bed and actually asleep after they came out 15 billion times when I finally yelled to them to STAY. IN. THEIR. ROOMS. PUH-LLLEASE!!! All the while wondering if this day would ever end. Blasted daylight savings. I would think it's time for bed and it would only be 7pm. Argh. Another hour. Exhausted, I fell asleep before the movie.

Does anyone else think that these daylight savings day are dragging on forever?

Overlapping schedules

Today, I had tons to do and everything overlapped.

• 8:00am-8:45am :: Parents and pastries reading activity.
• 9:00am :: Doctor appointment for Sam - including a flu shot for the little man. He had the cutest little frown on his face after he got it.
• 9:30am-11:15am :: Babysit the cutest little girl in the neighborhood. well next to Mia of course.
• 11:30am-4:15pm :: Went to work. It was a lot of information.
• 4:48pm :: Get home in time to leave again for the big kids and I to get flu shots. We got the last two Flu Mists. Halle-stinking- lujah! I got the shot.
• 5:40pm-ish :: Finally get home
• 5:46pm :: Jessica calls and promptly hangs up the phone then calls back again. She blamed it on her earring. It happens.
• 6:10pm :: Blogged about my day. Gotta keep my NaBloPoMo up.
• 6:22pm :: Going to eat dinner! Ryan is making fried chicken. I LOVE when Ryan makes dinner.

I just have a some laundry that I have to do, put the kids to bed and then snuggle up with my husband to watch disk 4 of "The Unit". He totally got me into it. It's been a busy day but all was good. Hope your day was good!

It works for me.

I dug through mounds of t-shirts and jeans today looking for a nice blouse and pants praying that they would fit. Then dusted off my black heels that were buried in the back of my closet. Obviously, being a stay at home mom, it's not everyday that I use these things. Dropped the baby off at the babysitters then dropped off Mia at preschool. The feeling of freedom rushes over me. It's quiet. No Radio Disney blaring High School Musical. No demands to find a small toy that has fallen at their feet. No non-stop talking or bickering. Peace and quiet, a side benefit from the job interview I had today. The job that I got, thank you very much. She hired me on the spot saying that she usually waits until the next day to let the candidates know. She thought I was just darling, cute, perfect for the job. So, months after the Gap closing, I got myself a little part time job. I am so excited to go to work and have a break from the demands of three children. Isn't it funny that a job becomes a break for me?

NaBloPoMo '07

Thanks for all the no plush new free carpet sympathy. Today, I am a little more willing to go and clean up down there. I had my day to curl up in a little ball, rocking back and forth crazily muttering to myself about plush new free carpet. Today, clean up time. Very dirty, disintegrating, 30 year old pad. Then cutting strips of old carpet to cover the tack strips. I am excited. Maybe we could make a skating ring downstairs. See, I am thinking outside the box now.

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In other news, I am posting everyday this month for a reason. NaBloPoMo '07 is upon us. That means that I am going to have to creative because I am sure that no one wants to hear me complain about the no plush new free carpet again. Oh wait, did I just bring up the the no plush new free carpet thing again? Anywho........I'll be here, posting everyday from my makeshift computer setup here on the floor in my front room taking demands from the princess four year old, fighting fat baby for the mouse and putting time limits on my crazy you tube enthusiast seven year old. Oooooo....the excitement of it all!

Bummed

Should be rolling around on the plush new free carpet that was supposed to be installed in our basement this morning. Instead, avoiding the work of ripping out the old pad, sweeping the cement and cover the tack strip with strips of the old turquoise carpet that was ripped out. Ripped out in anticipation of plush new free carpet being installed today. That plush new free carpet had a funky cut out of it making it completely unusable. So disappointed and did all that I could to not cry while the installation guy was here. It was my fault for pulling out the carpet ahead of time. I should of waited. I was worried about it when we were doing it. But that worry I thought was because the guy wasn't going to come back and install it for the price he quoted us. We were blessed with a unexpected refund check that almost covered the price of the installation and new pad. I wish that I didn't misinterpret that feeling.

I guess we will be sporting the industrial look in the basement for an unknown length of time. So bummed because we did not plan to replace the basement carpet for a while. The kitchen and bathrooms need tile since they are carpeted and really, we could of used that money for Christmas. Wah. I never thought I would want the turquoise carpet back.

Bright side, the plush new free carpet fits nicely into the spare bedroom downstairs. Then the spare room can forever rid it's name as the throw-up carpet room. And we have 30 yards of brand new pad so we won't have to buy that again. Yeah.......I am still bummed.

Happy Birthday Papa!

Tonight, we celebrated my Dad's 74th birthday. My Dad is the best Dad. He has always been loving, kind and gentle. When I am stressed, he can always calm me. He is willing to help with anything and never complains. He's often there to help without even having to ask. He is strong and steadfast, a hard worker, a tickle hugger, genealogy guru, Papa dancer, silly singer, "papa peeler", avid reader, warm and welcoming, bird loving, graham cracker eater, licorice hiding, faithful and genuine father. I could go on and on. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

We had a good time laughing and talking while we ate Papa's favorite dinner, ham, red potatoes, creamed peas, red jello with bananas and rolls. Good comfort food. Mmmm....just writing about it makes me want seconds. We quickly cleared out the dishes and tables and sat around to watch Dad open his presents. Mostly books sprinkled with packages of licorice and of course VaLynn's homemade carrot pudding. He will take those books and read them all at once. He never has just one book going at a time. The licorice will be hidden in his sock drawer to be his secret treat while getting ready. The carrot pudding will be eaten warm with milk poured on top. That is my Dad.


Almost the whole family was there to celebrate. We missed Aaron since he had to work, Colin because he's not big on parties and Jon and Sharmyn since they live in North Carolina. We aren't a quiet family when we are all together. Everyone laughing and having a good time. After the presents, my Dad expressed his surprise at the how big the family is getting and how grateful he is for us. He said that he usually takes each one of us aside just to whisper in our ear that he loves us but now the group is getting so big, it's hard to remember who he whispered to so he said consider this your whisper. He's the kind of Dad that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I know that he loves us.

Mom asked us to go around the room and say something that we loved about him. Everyone said something about a personal experience they had with him. We were laughing, smiling and loving being there with him. I quickly wrote down what each person said:


Kaylin - He always helped me with my art when I was younger in school.

Jason - his sincerity

Davin - Papa would always sing his songs silly. He has a very special rendition of "Home on the Range".

Jared - He radiates love.

Chantel - Papa would often give her rides to work and she enjoyed talking with him. And then she sang the "Papa peeler - such a squeeler!" song. When they lived in Wisconsin, Papa came to visit and they were driving alongside of him. When the stoplight turned green, Papa peeled out and left them in the dust. They couldn't stop laughing about it and Papa made up the song about it.

Davis - He gave him a cute little wave. Cute little guy! He's only two.

Angie - Always felt loved and welcomed into the family. Enjoyed that he made an effort to give her a hug and talk to her.

James - His sincerity and always steadfast to the gospel.

Chris - Chris enjoyed when Papa would comb his hair to help with the scalp problems he had. Chris knows it's not the most pleasant thing to say but that it just felt so good to him.

Bradey - Always open to people and accepting of who they are.

Cort - Remembers camping with him and seeing his feet sticking out the tent with the tent zipped up around them. In the morning, he asked Papa why his feet were out all night to which Papa replied that Sharmyn wouldn't let him bring them in the tent. We all laughed. Papa's feet aren't the sweetest smelling things after hiking and camping. He continued to say that his testimony always stood committed.

Teryn - I love how Papa always makes us feel loved.

Ryan - Willing to do whatever is asked of him without hesitation.

Megan - Remember sitting on the back porch with the box of baby quail. How they were soft and tiny and watching Papa prepare a home for them. How he loves them and took care of them. I will always think of him when I see quail or hear a chickadee.

Mia - enjoys when he gives her "horsey" rides.

Sam - Sam has Papa's eyes.

Jacob - Jacob said that he was glad that he was his grandpa and he is nice to people and that he loved him.

Landon - Awed by all that he does

Dan - Admired his ability to always show up at meal time.

VaLynn - Remember feeling very special when Dad took her camping. They drove up to the mountains, walked into the woods and camped without a tent or bring food. Dad fished for their dinner and how she felt vulnerable without the tent but safe because she was with Dad.

Brianne - She really does like the tickle hugs. And she remembers riding up to Idaho with him and he would sing the Idaho state song never quite remembering all the words. Then, while crossing back into Utah, singing the Channel 2 news theme song since they didn't know the Utah state song.

Jake K. - Welcomed to the family and enjoyed talking with him.

Lauren - All of his help with her homework assignments and genealogy.

Chelsea - While watering up on the farm, Papa and Chelsea were walking together and he named a small tree after her. She often went to see her tree.

Aaron - He texted about his loving kindness and strong testimony.

Andrew - Remembering when Papa let him drive through the fields while watering when he was only 13. He thought it was great even though he thought Papa might be a bit nervous.

Preston - Remembering trying to catch a chicken on the farm. Dan, Preston and Papa were chasing after it and Papa took three big leaps and dove and caught it. He remember thinking "Wow! Papa is so cool!".

Elyse - Remembering him going on a field trip with her when her parents were unable to attend.

Debbie - The guilt that he give her over her genealogy got her working on it.

Fayth - Just really likes his tickle hugs.

Mom- How he always takes care of her, anticipating her needs sometimes before her. That he never criticizes. He is loving, kind, trustworthy and loyal. She never worried about him. He is a wonderful friend, father and husband.

I realize that this is a long post but at the same time it doesn't feel that it does him justice. I know that my Dad loves me and each and everyone of us. We are so blessed to have him as our father, Papa, husband and example. We love him dearly and happy to be so close to him.

We love you Dad! Happy Birthday!!

Love,

Megan

Me + flute + Flautisimo = one happy mama.

Very happy to be playing again with the flute choir.

It's an indulgent for me.

Sweet lightsaber skills

Sam's been practicing his lightsaber skills for the big battle with Jake. Found these pictures on my old camera of Sam practicing back in September. It's funny to me to see little ol Sammy with the big lightsaber. He loves it though.

And then the big battle!!

Jake's starting him young. Possibly another big Star Wars fan.

Halloween

Halloween was busy, spooktacular day. There was a cute Halloween program at preschool. Mia went as a little china girl that she looked so cute in. We found this outfit for her a while back and she decided that she did not want to wear it. So the day before Halloween, we went shopping and found her a Snow White costume for 70% off. Mia said that she would wear the china girl outfit in the day and Snow White at night. Decent compromise. Mia's friend Lauren made the perfect princess Leia. Look at that pose Lauren is striking! I couldn't help but laugh. She must be getting ready for her modeling career. The program was sweet and the kids stayed for a little party afterwards.

After school, Jake, Mia and I painted pumpkins. This has to be the kids favorite thing to do. They love to paint and they kept asking for more and more pumpkins to paint. Jake painted two clone troopers from Star Wars and a skeleton. Mia loved all the colors and painted a patchwork of colors. I, of course, painted the strawberry pumpkin. It's my favorite to do.

After a quick dinner, it was time for costumes. Sammy the cutest fat lion, Mia changed to Snow White and Jake to the black Spiderman. I was surprised that he didn't want to be anything Star Wars-ish this year. He really wanted black Spiderman and I wasn't willing to buy it. Finally, after a month of him insisting that is what he really wanted, we found one for a decent price. It was strange not to make costumes this year but the kids were happy.

The weather was perfect. Not too cold and the kids enjoyed trick-or-treating. Our first year we actually trick-or-treated in our own neighborhood. It was fun! We visited grandparents afterwards to show off costumes and enjoy warm pizza. It was a very good, busy day.