Let it snow!

Isaac sledding

The gang

Bridie on Santa's lap at our ward Christmas party.

Me, My sweet 94 year old Grandma, and my cousin Rachelle making candy together.

We have had a wonderful Christmas break! I love having the kids around. They are pretty messy though. Today Gordon took the day off, because people don't really want to go to the doctor on Christmas eve. We cleaned the house. (We tell the kids Santa won't visit a messy house.) Gordon and I went grocery shopping together. Then we all went out to play in the snow. (We're supposed to get another 6-12 in. tonight.) We discovered the first two eggs, but with the cold weather they had frozen. These chickens actually might be good for something.

Talent show

Isaac forming the letter X

For Isaac's last day of school they had a program for the parents. They sang songs and some children preformed for a talent show. Isaac's teacher sent home a form asking if your child would like to share for the talent show. I asked Isaac if he wanted to do something. He said he wanted to tell a knock- knock joke. So I signed him up to tell his joke. We are such a talented family. He delivered his joke perfectly. He is so cute.

James also wanted the family to come watch him play his violin with the orchestra at 7:00 am this morning. I told him I thought it was just for the kids at school and not for the parents. He looked very disappointed. Can you just see me getting everyone up at 6:30 this morning to go watch James play- there are limits to what I'll do. This morning James asked Gordon to take him to school. Gordon figured he might as well stay and watch. Gordon didn't realize how long it takes 7th and 8th graders to tune. He thought "I'll have plenty of time to go home, eat breakfast and make it back before they start." He come home, but when he went back to the school it was all locked up. He couldn't get in. So he just came home and got ready for work. A much more dedicated parent than I. I slept through the whole thing. I'm sure James did great.

Helping at school

Today I went and read a Christmas book for Matthew's class. I read out of a book a neighbor lady wrote that is a compilation of events of a man who played Santa for 25 years. In it there is one story about a little boy that asks Santa for a bed so he doesn't have to sleep on a pile of rags anymore. It is such a good reminder that there are so many people with needs this year. I also took hot chocolate for the class. In my family we are hot chocolate connoisseurs. We only drink Stephen's hot cocoa. I also took toppings- grated candy bar, peppermint, choc. covered mints sticks, marshmallows, whipped cream, and Sandies cookies to dip in the hot chocolate. I really enjoy being in my children's classrooms. Seeing the kids they play with at recess, the kids that are the "trouble makers", and just getting a feel for the chemistry of the class is good for me to see where my kids go for 8 hours each day.

Happy birthday James and Adaline's 1st nutcracker

Lately James has been asking me if I feel older because I will soon have a teenager. He is now 13. What a great kid he is. He is such a fun person to have around. Tonight he, Matthew, and some of his friends went and played laser tag. Then Gordon brought them back here, had pizza and cake, and have just played around. This has been a great birthday party- I just had to bake a cake. (Boys don't care if your house is clean or not). We are getting him a bird for his birthday. He has been asking for one for a while.

Adaline and I had a girls day out today. We went to eat at her favorite restaurant, and then went and watched the Nutcracker. It was so fun to hang out with Adaline. She looked so cute all dressed up. She was wearing her headband as choker. This is the first time she has watched a ballet performance. She has taken for 4 years now- so she's way overdue. After the performance they had cookies and the girls could meet the dancers. We had a great day together. I can't wait to do it next year.

Artwork

Isn't she cute? You'd never expect she's a vandal.

Her three favorite things, a writing utensil, pad of paper, and a purse. The instruments of her crime.

This is such beautiful artwork for a 13 month old, that is until you realize isn't on my sheets! Now I actually have to wash them. My mom's scriptures have art from almost all of her children. She never got mad, she would just write our name and age next to our masterpiece. Now those scriptures are priceless. I 'm sure in Bridies's long life I will find other surprises like this. I just need to remember they too are priceless.

Getting on top of things

I think I just might get on top of all my Christmas projects. There were a couple projects that got dumped right from the start, the apron is not going to get made, but that's ok. I have been confined to my house the past week and a half babysitting the guys working in my basement. It has been so frustrating just sitting here with my to do list just piling up. Finally Tuesday I snapped. I called a babysitter. My sister Emily thought someone must have died for me to get a babysitter on a weekday. I got all my shopping done for my to do list (ribbon for neighbor gift, gift cards to be mailed to various people, etc). Wednesday Bridie went down for a nap and the boys went to their friends house to play. That kind of un-interrupted time is priceless!!!! I got so much done. So now I'm thankfully back in the game. My family just might have Christmas after all.

Family pictures

These are pictures I took with my camera. I can't wait to get proofs in a couple of days.

Me and Bridie

The kids

Today we went up the canyon to take family pictures. We are so lucky that Gordon's aunt and uncle are professional photographers. A lot of significant events in our lives have been captured by these fantastic photographers. We just haven't gotten around to getting family pictures since Bridie was born. (I didn't want to still look pregnant.) I love to decorate my house with pictures of the kids so it was killing me to look at our family photos and have Bridie missing. Family pictures are so much work, and dealing with the groanings from your family (Gordon the most) doesn't make it any easier. I decided I wanted to do black tops and jeans. So last night I ran out to Target and got matching turtle necks for 5 bucks each. Today the kids were so excited to wear their new clothes. That made getting everyone ready easier. On our way up I told the kids we could go out to eat after if they were good, smiled, and had a good attitude (no melt downs). It was so cold up the canyon. We'd take pictures, put our coats on, move to a new spot, take off our coats right before the next set of pictures, and repeat. I shouldn't complain, it is December after all. Bridie got fussy at the end but all the other kids were good as gold. So the kids got to go to their favorite restaurant, chuck-a- rama. They were suprisingly good at dinner too. James and Matthew were saying "Eat as much as you can, tomorrow's Fast Sunday!" Next time I'll wait until the summer. So I guess we've got another 18 months until we have to do this again.

Dog tired

Every dog deserves to be this loved.

James' first concert

James in the center

On the last song they let all the parents come up and take pictures. James said that if he looked up he got blinded by all the flashes.

Tonight we went to James' orchestra concert. He is very proud that he plays in the 8th grade orchestra even though he's in 7th grade. It was really fun to listen to live music- even if it is an 8th grade school orchestra. They preformed Christmas carols which kept the little ones entertained a little longer than usual. By the end Jacob and Bridie were very bad and had to be taken out. Other than 2 trips to the drinking fountain and 1 trip to the bathroom- I think we all enjoyed it very much. Now we can be in the Christmas spirit. Thanks Circe for the violin!

I've been a little busy lately

This is my Christmas tree. It has any ornament that is breakable. It is kept in a room where the door can be closed from inquisitive one year olds.

This is Gordon's brain child. We are putting a wood burning stove in our basement. The stone is being laid right now, the stove will be installed Monday. My mom and I picked out the stone while she was here. I have always wanted to put travertine in my house because my grandfather had a travertine mine. It just reminds me of him, a chapel he sacrificed so much to put this stone in, and his love of the gospel. I can't wait to be done with this project.

Gordon has told me that you shouldn't put anything on top of a piano because it affects the sound, but this is the onlly place for the village- sorry Gordon.

Gordon bought me a hutch this year. I was so excited to get out ALL my nativities this year. Some of these haven't been out since we moved here 5 years ago.

Jacob and the kids tree. I love this tree because it has ornaments that the kids have made in school. It is just covered with memories.

Thanksgiving weekend

Fountain Green- the kids had a blast having Terry pull them around on the sled.

Gordon is such a great dad and husband!

Maple canyon- Hiking with cousins.

James and Matthew hiking up Maple canyon.

We spent one night at my parents house in Fountain Green. The kids loved the house. We all had a fun time. It was a perfect get-away! We hiked up maple canyon. It was great and really nice to get out, that is until it started to snow. We can't wait to go back!

"I am thankful for..." By Isaac

It says "I am thankful for Jesus".

I could list all the things I am thankful for, but they all come from Jesus. So I too am thankful for Jesus. Well said Isaac.

It's Monday

What a day this has been- and it's only 12:30! My car has been having issues so I had an appointment for Gordon to take it into the shop this morning. Gordon was running late and my car would not start. After trying to get it to start, he finally gave up, hopelessly late for work, and took his old black car. Luckily we have 3 cars right now because we just bought my dad's old car. He didn't want it sitting in his garage for another year so he sold it to us. I get to drive it today. A tender mercy is the fact that our neighbor drives a tow truck and he was able to tow it to the shop. So that all went quickly and my car was taken away by someone I trust. We haven't hear from the shop yet but, as luck would have it, the repairs are going to be really expensive because we are over our budget this month with our new wood stove going in and it is already an expensive time of year. When it rains, it pours. The bright side is that I still have a car to get around in, we have the money to cover the costs, and I'll get the car back good as new (hopefully).

It's that time of year

It's that time of year- not for turkeys or holly or mistletoe but the annual gift in the white Styrofoam box. Gordon brings it home from the office mysteriously one day this time of year. Usually I don't even know it's coming home. Then the children start to disappear into the study. The oldest ones are first. Yes, we all got our flu shots tonight. Isaac was very brave. I was worried because of his last shots. Jacob had to be held down. And Bridie was ticked that the father she adores would do something like that to her. He made it up to her. I was nervous- Gordon's never given me a shot before. His nurses have always given me my shots. He did great. I can wait for next year, however.

Picnic and Scouts

The weather here has been beautiful! The other day Jacob, Isaac and I had a picnic on the floor to celebrate. It was fun and we had a wonderful time. Tonight was Pack Meeting for scouts. Matthew earned his weeblos patch and his arrow of light. He was so proud of the arrow. Matthew will be 11 in January so we won't have any boys in cub scouts- Yea! I'm a little burned out and looking forward to the break before Isaac and Jacob start scouts. Gordon is thrilled to not have to build a pine wood derby car this year. I'll just say that there are some pretty serious racers in our ward. We have come in last a couple of times. My prayer last year before the race was just simply that James and Matthew didn't come in last! Pack meeting is a fun time to get together with neighbors and visit- I'll miss that.

Cleaning the garage

Twice a year we really clean out the garage. Once in the spring and once in the fall. Yesterday was our fall cleaning. We spent all day. The past couple of months we've been cleaning out the house and when we didn't know where to put something or it needed to go to D.I., we said, "Put it in the garage." We had a lot of junk shoved anywhere it would fit. With the weather getting colder and the snow of winter on it's way, we needed to get the garage cleaned out so we can fit the patio furniture inside. Every fall I think, we have all these bikes, scooters, balls, camping stuff, tools, summer stuff, and yard tools. How are we ever going to fit our 2 folding chaises, 1 love set, 6 chairs, 3 tables, 1 swing, and a rocker into the garage plus all that other stuff- not to mention the two cars. Somehow we always do. But it is such a relief when summer comes again and we move the stuff out of the garage. Yesterday we pulled the seats out of my van and Gordon took a full load to D.I. and a full load to the dump. It is so nice to get rid of stuff! We organized, swept, and found places for all that furniture. I don't enjoy dedicating a whole Saturday to that job, but I am sure happy with the results. And I don't have to do it for another 6 months.

Bathroomitis

Today's blog is just random bathroom experiences spurred by a small experience today. My dad coined "Bathroomitis" when there was work to be done and someone would feel an immediate need to go use the bathroom for a very long time (about the same length of time it would take for others to complete the task.) Jacob is at the stage of potty training where we know the location of every bathroom in the stores we frequent. Some are cleaner than others. Today I was in our bathroom being the cheerleader for Jacob, accompanied by Bridie, our dog Corby, and a Winnie the Pooh ride toy. The bathroom is not very large. On our way out I just thought to myself "What in the heck am I doing in a small bathroom with all these things and people." I'm sure this is not the last of my bathroom experiences- I still have Bridie in diapers.

My favorite things

Adaline and our kitty

Our orchard

Our garden

Some of my flowerbeds

My latest refinishing project

Last night was our wards quarterly home, family, and personal enrichment meeting. Our theme was based on Pres. Uchdorf's talk at the general relief society's meeting. Many people I spoke to thought it was on of the best talk they had every heard. My favorite point he made was that our Heavenly Father is a very creative person. When we create, we share in that trait. I love to create. I need to create, daily. Each woman was asked to bring something they enjoy creating. I thought I would just take pictures of some of the things I love to create. Above are some of those things. One woman said her greatest creations are walking around on two feet. I totally agree.

A crazy couple of weeks

We had a fun Halloween! Why let the kids have all the fun?

Gardner village with my some of my best friends.

Cornbelly's- we had a great time with cousins!

Thanksgiving Point's ice cream parlor. We ordered 4 banana splits and shared.

Their first night back. It was so good to see them! The kids made candy bar posters. Matthew's poster talked about some kids who built an airplane to go visit their Grandma and Opa so they could be happy. It breaks my heart.

How do I even start to describe what the last two weeks have been like around here? Insanity, craziness, beautiful times, joy, frustration, piles of laundry, disappointment, fun, late nights, melt downs, missing school, Thanksgiving point, Cabellas, Gardner village, Macey's, girl's night out, Halloween with cousins, football games, pizza, guests. And now I feel- lonely. It's hard having so many people you love to be around, so far away. My parents were only supposed to be gone 6 months. They have been asked by the temple president to extend another 12 months. They have 3 houses that need looking after, grandkids growing up, a grandbaby due in 6 months, their youngest daughter coming home from her mission to an empty house, and hopes, dreams and aspirations put on hold for another year. This truly is a sacrifice for them. They are an incredible example of true sacrifice for the sake of the gospel. Members say they will give up anything for the sake of the gospel, but when the "rubber meets the road" are they up to the test? I am proud to say my parents are. They will be missed, but I know they are doing the right thing. Go get 'em Mom and Dad!

Shots

sweet Isaac, wasn't so sweet for shots

Yesterday Isaac had to get a follow-up Hep A shot. I made the mistake of telling him beforehand that we were going to the doctors to get shots for Bridie and him. We drove to the doctors and he would not get out of the car. I tried reasoning with him, "They won't let you go to school without this shot", I tried bribery and anything and everything I could think of, but I knew only brute strength was going to get him out of that car. He was like an octopus, grabbing anything to hold onto. I finally pried him out of the car and dragged him into the doctors office kicking and screaming. The nurses had to help me get him into a room and hold him down for the shot. He didn't realize that all the kicking, screaming, and grabbing onto things was actually more painful than the shot. That was quite an experience! I was redeemed later that night while talking to our friends. They also have family members that go to the same doctor. Come to find out their family members had also gone to the doctor that day for shots and had had a similar experience. At that point I no longer felt sorry for Isaac or me but the sweet nurses at the doctors office. P.S. Gordon will be bringing home flu shots in the next week or so. I think we'll give Isaac's to him while he's asleep. Wish us luck.

God bless the USA

Matthew is the fuzzy person in black in the center. Sorry it's so blurry- slow shutter speed.

Matthew as a Union Soldier

Tonight Matthew had his school program. It was the most amazing elementary school program I have ever seen. Each group of children quoted, talked, and sang about the documents and speeches that have shaped our nation. I hold these things so dear to my heart. I wonder what the founding fathers would say about the state of our country right now. These are men that promised their "lives, money, and sacred honor". I doubt many politicians today know about sacred honor. They quoted the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, the Pledge of Allegiance, Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech, and another document about the westward expansion. As I sat there I asked myself why our country has become so unpatriotic. These documents were written with divine intervention. We have sold ourselves short. Soap box moment-It is interesting to note that "separation of church and state" is not in the constitution. The phrase is taken from a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote in the early 1800's to a minister telling him there would never be a state religion, not that we should become the Godless nation we have become. I have been strugging with the canidates I have to choose from next Tuesday. I consider myself a good citizen. Four years ago I was discharged from the hospital after giving birth to Jacob and had Gordon take me, on our way home, to our voting place so I could vote. I feel that strongly about it. I am doing my homework, researching each canidate, but I wish I could really know the person. Gordon recently made the comment that people should vote for a candidate on their ability to judge wisely. I believe that statement is true, but how do you really know a canidates ability to judge? I guess that's why I'm doing my homework and will try to vote for the person I feel will make decisions with wisdom and help our country become the great country God intended us to be.

Ready for the homecoming

Today Gordon and James went to the football game. The rest of us went to my parents house to get it ready for their visit. We tied yellow ribbons around trees and fence posts, stocked their fridge full of the basics, hung up balloons, and each of the kids made a candy bar poster for them. It was a beautiful afternoon and we had such a good time! We are going to have a great family reunion, although we will miss David and Tina's family so much.

Happy birthday Bridie

My two girls

Bridie on her birthday present

Isaac and Bridie

My sweet birthday girl

Trying out her new present

Today is Bridies first birthday. All day I kept thinking about last year, my labor and delivery. It was especially on my mind as Gordon's sister Katie was in labor today. She gave birth to a little (I don't know if you consider 9 lbs little) baby girl. This past year has just flown by. I have enjoyed every single second of Bridie's life. She is such a joy. Today I wanted to take some pictures of her so I set up my own photo shoot. It was really just a white blanket draped over bar stools on the kitchen table. Bridie didn't want her picture taken but all the other kids did. I took a lot of pictures. Some pictures are just precious. We love Bridie. She is the celebrity in our house. I am so greatful for her.

A great day

Today was a wonderful day. Last night I went to a jam making class. I love to learn new things. It seems the older I get the more I want to learning things. I found that jam is quite easy to make. I can't wait to make my own. The kids lately have gotten out my sewing stuff and made "buddies". Buddies are felt scraps sewn together and filled with rice and sewn shut. They then draw faces on their buddies. The only problem with them is that they are small and get lost very easily. So someone is always searching for their lost "buddy". Tonight the four oldest kids and I went to two of our neighbors to pick apples. One woman lives in a log cabin surrounded by almost 3 acres of orchards. There were four deer in her backyard. It is their home. We watched them for a while, then picked some red delicious apples and went to another woman's property. I say property, because it doesn't have a house on the land but she has landscaped it beautifully. It is about 2 acres. One acre is at street level and the other acre is below and bordered by a stream. I love it down below. It is Neverland. You escape into another world down there. We picked some of her apples and just enjoyed the beauty of the surroundings. We now have a couple of bushels of apples that need to have something done to them. I love my neighbors. They are so generous with their produce. It was such a fun evening that I was able to spend with the kids. Bridget- Thank you so much for helping me so much this morning. It was so nice to have had you and Melissa stop by. I am so greatful for such great in-laws. Happy birthday to Bridie tomorrow. My sister-in-law is being induced tomorrow, so it looks like bridie will have a cousin to share her birthday with.

Spring cleaning in the Fall

My clean closet

Bags ready to go to D.I.

I have had this urge lately the de-clutter the house. The junk has just been piling up and I've had enough. I have gone through our bedroom, Jacob and Isaac's room and today I did Adaline's room. I have 5 black garbage bags full of either junk or stuff to take to D.I. I should be putting the yard to bed for the year but I just want some stuff gone. I think part of the reason may be that I am finished with my Santa shopping (don't be mad at me, I have to get it done by October or I have a panick attack. I'm not that organized- I buy Gordon's gifts the week of Christmas) and I have brought so much new stuff into the house. I have make room for it come Christmas morning. I say that cleaning out a closet and getting rid of things is like loosing 10 pounds. I feels great! My sister Emily went to Education Week and a lady said we need to get rid of half our stuff. I thought that was ridiculous, but the more I think about it, the more I see that this extra stuff just takes extra work. I don't want extra work. So I'm getting rid of broken, worn out, and unused stuff. Already my closet is a much more pleasant place.