Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
President Hinckley
Right after I typed that last blog I was told President Hinckley had passed away. I just have to say how much I loved him and loved how positive he always was. I loved how he encouraged us to be better, but he did it in a way that didn't make me feel bad and hopeless about where I was at. It was okay to improve little by little. And I remember hearing him speak at BYU and he told us all that we were spoiled kids and we needed to remember to be grateful for what we had because it took a lot of work on our parents parts to get us where we were. Anyway, I am sad he is gone, but happy he gets to rest--finally.
Deep Thoughts--"Is Anybody Listening To Me?"
I just saw this quote on Sally Meyers Taylor's blog and I really liked it.
"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal, is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey...delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas, and thrilling bursts of speed.
The trick is to THANK the Lord for letting you have the ride."
Gordon B. Hinkley
I think so often I feel like I have to stand out and be the best at some things or have my kids be the best and when we are not I feel. . . disturbed. I really liked this story that a man told in a stake conference in Oregon. He started off his talk by saying how great his oldest son was. He was super smart and graduated with all these honors and went on to college and got more honors and ended up with a fantastic job and he just went on and on about this son and all his accomplishments. I was starting to wonder what his point was with all his bragging.
But then he started to talk about his younger son. He said he didn't excel at anything really and he was really difficult because he had autism. And that son didn't really do things to make this dad proud. And he remembers carrying his son out of the mall screaming and causing a huge commotion, and it was hard for the dad. But at one point when he was struggling with the difficulty of having this son he realized that is wasn't about him. It was about the boy and helping him to be his best.
I liked this because it is so easy to get caught up in my kids and how proud they can make me, but the truth is life isn't about how they will reflect on me and how good they can make me look. It is about doing all I can to make sure they are going to make it.
"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal, is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey...delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas, and thrilling bursts of speed.
The trick is to THANK the Lord for letting you have the ride."
Gordon B. Hinkley
I think so often I feel like I have to stand out and be the best at some things or have my kids be the best and when we are not I feel. . . disturbed. I really liked this story that a man told in a stake conference in Oregon. He started off his talk by saying how great his oldest son was. He was super smart and graduated with all these honors and went on to college and got more honors and ended up with a fantastic job and he just went on and on about this son and all his accomplishments. I was starting to wonder what his point was with all his bragging.
But then he started to talk about his younger son. He said he didn't excel at anything really and he was really difficult because he had autism. And that son didn't really do things to make this dad proud. And he remembers carrying his son out of the mall screaming and causing a huge commotion, and it was hard for the dad. But at one point when he was struggling with the difficulty of having this son he realized that is wasn't about him. It was about the boy and helping him to be his best.
I liked this because it is so easy to get caught up in my kids and how proud they can make me, but the truth is life isn't about how they will reflect on me and how good they can make me look. It is about doing all I can to make sure they are going to make it.
Marital Differences
When Terry was trying to decide whether or not to marry me, he had one hang-up about me which was that I wasn't active enough. He loved to go out and bike ride and ski and do whatever was outside and recreational. I on the other hand am perfectly happy to sit at home and read a book or just visit. I am a home-body. But to defend myself a little, I really do like to do those things but for some reason I have to put up a fight before I will get out there. And I keep telling Terry that we always have a little baby that makes it hard to do these things but when they are older I will go play more.
So on Saturday this issue came up again. It was a pretty sunny day that was pretty warm and Terry wanted to go ski or sled or do something. I said go ahead, just take some kids. So he ended up taking Ellie and Abby and they just hiked around in some snow over in the Mink Creek area. They were all very easily entertained I have to say because they just played in some snow on the side of the road.
Paint
When we bought our house the family room had a Thomas Kinkade border around the top and the rest of the wall was gray. It looked great with the decorations the other owners had but it didn't do much for me personally. So back in November Terry started the project of taking down the darned wallpaper border. The walls stayed bare until I talked Terry into painting a couple of weeks ago. We ended up painting two walls some kind of berry color with a suede finish and two walls a color that turned out looking light yellow. We hadn't used the suede before but we had directions. However we aren't good at reading directions. Needless to say, it took us four coats of paint to get it right. I only helped with the last coat and that was only so that Terry would repaint a wall that had some obvious problems (and to cool his anger). But we are happy with it now. I just have to figure out how to decorate it now.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Sledding
We have a hill right across the street from our house where the kids can go sledding. Terry took them all out one day and I love this picture of Ainsley going down the little hill. The look on her face makes me feel happy. Ellie is the one behind her.
Loughmillers
We just had our good friends the Loughmillers from Oregon come and stay with us on Friday and Saturday. In Oregon these were our ice cream and cookie friends that would come over frequently and just hang out. And there was always a lot of laughing with them. We haven't seen them since we moved although we have talked on the phone. It is funny because Terry and Russell probably call each other more than Jenny and I do.
We had a fun visit which included the adults going to an Italian restaurant called Buddy's while two girls from our ward babysat all the kids. It was nice being able to visit without interruptions from the kids.
Terry's sister Cheryl was also visiting us at this time. She is the one taking the picture.
Isaac
Isaac is growing so quickly it is really kind of sad. I love when they are so scrawny to begin with, and he is already plumping out. He has been a really good baby. He loves to be snuggled with a blanket and almost always drops off to sleep as soon as I wrap him and hold him close. He is a decent sleeper at night and will usually let me get some sleep. He is starting to smile a little and has such a sweet little smile. He also smiles a lot in his sleep. Must be having some good dreams.
The kids are all doing really well with him. Ainsley is such a spazzy little girl, but she is so gentle with him and I can safely let her hold him for long amounts of time while I try and get things done (checking on her periodically of course). Actually all of the girls are really helpful and like to hold him which helps out so much. Sam loves Isaac too and puts his head down on Isaacs face to give him a little love. He is gentle for the most part.
So I am surviving with having five kids, but it really takes me a long time to get things done each day. My house is quite a bit messier than usual and holy cow, there seems to be double the laundry than we had before. A little baby sure goes through a lot of clothes and blankets each day. But having a sweet baby is worth having to do some extra laundry
Books Books Books
I have been a crazed reader lately and always wish I could get everyone to read the books I read so that I can talk about them. I have been into young adult novels and have read some really good ones. So here they are and if anyone reads them or has read them, let me know.
Slumming by Kristin Randle (she is an LDS author, but her books aren't LDS books)
Breaking Rank by Krisin Randle
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (this is an excellent book and had me crying in the end)
I love these young adult books and wonder why I didn't read better things when I was a teenager because it seems like there are so many really good, edifying books out there for teens. Anyway.
Slumming by Kristin Randle (she is an LDS author, but her books aren't LDS books)
Breaking Rank by Krisin Randle
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (this is an excellent book and had me crying in the end)
I love these young adult books and wonder why I didn't read better things when I was a teenager because it seems like there are so many really good, edifying books out there for teens. Anyway.
Christmas
Luckily for us we had no last minute shopping to do on Christmas Eve--well almost no shopping. On Monday morning we cleaned up our house and then headed up to Rexburg where we did have to stop at Mom's Kandy Kitchen for a couple of purchases. There was a long line.
After our stop we headed up to Tetonia where we were planning on sledding with Terry's brother Tom--who runs BYU-I's outdoor recreation center. The weather was snowy and the roads were awful and I kept telling Terry we should turn around. But he didn't think they were bad enough for that so we continued on. We made it without problems and we sledded with Tom and Kerry and their family for a few hours. I stayed in the lodge with Isaac. Kerry was also there along with one of her friends and their babies. I have some pictures of Sam and Ainsley and their rosy cheeks. They didn't last on the sledding hill for too long.
After sledding we sped back to Sugar (not really speeding because the roads were bad) and made it just in time for the Gee family caroling. My extended family always gets on a trailer with hay and carols on Christmas Eve every year. It is getting very crowded because we are multiplying and replenishing. Again I stayed at my mom's house with Isaac while Terry took the kids. They all had fun.
After caroling we went over to Uncle Jeralds for some soup and goodies and a little program. It was mayhem because there are so many little kids. We did the nativity story and had a Mary, Joseph, donkey, shepherds, wise men, and about 20 angels. It was pretty funny. I left my camera at Uncle Jeralds so unfortunately I didn't get any Christmas day photos.
Christmas morning started at about 4:00 AM when Ellie came in and asked which presents were hers. She had already gone and looked everything over that Santa brought. We told her to go back to bed until 6:00. But the next thing we knew Abby was up too, looking things over. We still didn't let them officially get up until 6:00.
It was a fun morning and I was so happy my kids were happy and didn't complain at all about what they got or didn't get.
We spent the day watching some videos they got (High School Musical 2--anyone else have kids who are crazed fans?--and Ratatoullie) Then we again headed up to Sugar City where we got together with my family and my Grandma and Grandpa Shirley and Uncle Lyle and his family, who were visiting from Massachusettes, and had dessert (not so appealing after a day of sweets). It is always fun to get together with my family. Suzette livened things up by making a video of everyone singing "Oklahoma" so she could send it to my mom and dad on their mission. I haven't seen the final product, but I have heard it is hilarious.
Overall Christmas was fun, but I have to admit it was not a very spiritual time for me. It just seemed there was so much going on with Isaac being born and birthdays and just trying to survive, that I didn't take much time to sit and think about the reason for the season.
One thing I do want to say is that this new neighborhood we live in is a fun place at Christmas time. Almost every house decorates with lights and it looks so festive. One night I counted about 15 buses driving through the neighborhood to look at the lights. There must be some special tour people go on to look at Christmas lights. We put up some lights, but it wasn't anything spectacular.
This Christmas I also discovered a new favorite song. It is "The Spirit of the Season" from Polar Express. I think it will become a classic. Anway. That sums up our Christmas.
After our stop we headed up to Tetonia where we were planning on sledding with Terry's brother Tom--who runs BYU-I's outdoor recreation center. The weather was snowy and the roads were awful and I kept telling Terry we should turn around. But he didn't think they were bad enough for that so we continued on. We made it without problems and we sledded with Tom and Kerry and their family for a few hours. I stayed in the lodge with Isaac. Kerry was also there along with one of her friends and their babies. I have some pictures of Sam and Ainsley and their rosy cheeks. They didn't last on the sledding hill for too long.
After sledding we sped back to Sugar (not really speeding because the roads were bad) and made it just in time for the Gee family caroling. My extended family always gets on a trailer with hay and carols on Christmas Eve every year. It is getting very crowded because we are multiplying and replenishing. Again I stayed at my mom's house with Isaac while Terry took the kids. They all had fun.
After caroling we went over to Uncle Jeralds for some soup and goodies and a little program. It was mayhem because there are so many little kids. We did the nativity story and had a Mary, Joseph, donkey, shepherds, wise men, and about 20 angels. It was pretty funny. I left my camera at Uncle Jeralds so unfortunately I didn't get any Christmas day photos.
Christmas morning started at about 4:00 AM when Ellie came in and asked which presents were hers. She had already gone and looked everything over that Santa brought. We told her to go back to bed until 6:00. But the next thing we knew Abby was up too, looking things over. We still didn't let them officially get up until 6:00.
It was a fun morning and I was so happy my kids were happy and didn't complain at all about what they got or didn't get.
We spent the day watching some videos they got (High School Musical 2--anyone else have kids who are crazed fans?--and Ratatoullie) Then we again headed up to Sugar City where we got together with my family and my Grandma and Grandpa Shirley and Uncle Lyle and his family, who were visiting from Massachusettes, and had dessert (not so appealing after a day of sweets). It is always fun to get together with my family. Suzette livened things up by making a video of everyone singing "Oklahoma" so she could send it to my mom and dad on their mission. I haven't seen the final product, but I have heard it is hilarious.
Overall Christmas was fun, but I have to admit it was not a very spiritual time for me. It just seemed there was so much going on with Isaac being born and birthdays and just trying to survive, that I didn't take much time to sit and think about the reason for the season.
One thing I do want to say is that this new neighborhood we live in is a fun place at Christmas time. Almost every house decorates with lights and it looks so festive. One night I counted about 15 buses driving through the neighborhood to look at the lights. There must be some special tour people go on to look at Christmas lights. We put up some lights, but it wasn't anything spectacular.
This Christmas I also discovered a new favorite song. It is "The Spirit of the Season" from Polar Express. I think it will become a classic. Anway. That sums up our Christmas.
Abby's Birthday
Abby's birthday was December 17th and for one reason or another she gets short-changed on her celebrating. So this year we decided she could have a little party even though we had just had Isaac barely a week before. So we invited a friend from preschool and then some friends from the ward. I will write down the activities we did and you will know that I am a little lame at doing creative things.
First we had those punch balloons (thanks to Terry who insisted on getting them) for them to play with. Then Terry had the idea to do the chicken dance with them so he found the music on the internet and they did the dance. Terry is more of a free spirit than I am.
After that we made little rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer crafts, then had a pinata, then did gifts and had cake and ice cream. Oh and we played pin the nose on the reindeer.
It was a fun little party and the girls were all crazy.
Making Lunch
One of Ellie's favorite things to do at school is to help serve school lunch and she often comes home with hair nets and gloves that she used. She likes to put them on. Well one morning we were rushing to get her out the door so she didn't miss the bus. But the next thing I knew, she was putting on her hair net and gloves. I impatiently told her to stop messing around and she impatiently said she was making her school lunch (yes, she sometimes has to make her own lunch). I was ready to be annoyed, but then the funniness of the situation struck me so I just took a picture.