We're Going Public!

It's hard to believe the Holidays are already upon us. We just gave our children an early Christmas present for this year. A new baby is joining our clan and turning our 5 into 6. John says, "We're almost to our half dozen" . I laugh!

All the children seemed very excited. Abby hopes it's a boy so Andersen has a buddy, then thinks we need to have two more girls and two more boys after that to even things out! Whow! We are very excited about the new addition! I think I'm about 10-11 weeks along and due mid June sometime. First Dr. appointment scheduled for the week after Thanksgiving.

Birthday Boy!!!

Andersen turned two years old today. The older kids wanted to wake him up with a birthday song, traditional of how I grew up. So we marched into his bedroom this morning at 7 AM, singing "Happy Birthday to You". He first started to cry (I would too--we sounded pretty horrible!) But the tears quickly turned to excitement as he jumped up and down in the crib with sqeels and smiles.

We marched downstairs to open presents. He kept saying, "present I want football" over and over again. (Funny that he'd mention it. How many footballs do we have lying around our house?) It was fun to watch him open each one. The first two were bags of clothes, which he desperately needs. With absolutely zero emotion, he quickly tossed them aside and waited for the next gift. The football came--a little one, just perfect for his small hands. Then a tractor that made lots of noise and a tee ball set with a tee, bat, and lots of balls. He opened the last few presents one handed, never taking a hand off that football. And as I tucked him in bed tonight, he wanted to sleep with the football. Pretty cute.

Tonight we had birthday cake. And I thought; "why didn't I make a football cake instead of a baseball cake"? But he seemed excited nonetheless. I caught him a few times during the afternoon climbing up on the counter and laying fingerprints in the frosting. Just couldn't resist! And a few red liccorice pieces were missing tonight too. Wonder where those went. . .

#1 Prized Possession

Notice the hand, never leaving his football.

Before swinging, he would yell "ready, set, touchdown". Just a little confused. We'll try to fix that one later.

Notice the little finger that just took a swipe out of that frosting.

Andersen has been such a joy since day one. He is ALWAYS smiling--always! A few weeks ago while up at the cabin with some friends, we heard one of the men saying to him, "Andersen, Let me guess . . . are you still smiling? Yep--still smiling." And when he smiles, his eyes light up and smile too. I love being his mom. He keeps me smiling and laughing more than I would have without him. We're glad he's part of the clan.

Small Town Halloween Experience

A few months ago John asked our two oldest boys if they were interested in deer hunting with him, their grandpa, and a few uncles and cousins. "Yes-dah--of course!" was their answer. Then came the dilemma; it fell on Halloween weekend, which meant that most likely, the boys wouldn't go trick-or-treating and enjoy the normal Halloween traditions in our neighborhood. Both boys thought about it for over a day, then agreed that they'd go hunting if the other would go as well.

So last weekend John left town Thursday evening with our two oldest. Their hunting area was close to St. David, where John grew up. So they stayed the night at Johns' parents home and hunted all Friday and all Saturday. I enjoyed a neighborhood trunk-or-treat party with the three youngest Friday night, then drove down to St. David Saturday afternoon and met up with the boys. The small community has a traditional school-sponsored trunk-or-treat on the football field every Halloween night. So we packed our costumes and planned to attend.

But by the time we got there (about a 3 hour drive), unpacked and finished up dinner, we realized that we were running out of time and it might not be worth the hustle to take the kids to the football field. And, the hunters were just getting home--hungry and tired from a full day. Really last minute, my sister and I decided to throw our own Halloween party at the house instead of hauling all the kids (9 in all) to the football field.

At first, the kids weren't too thrilled. Especially Abby, who had been dreaming about all the candy she would get at the trunk-or-treat. But we promised it would be just as fun celebrating it at home. All the kids got in their costumes, and we sent them outside while we schemed up our "fun and exciting" Halloween party. Here's what ended up happening:

First, the kids all trick-or-treated to all 4 doors of the house; the master bedroom door, garage door, front door, and back door. And a different face met them at each door, ready to load their buckets up with candy. Then we hung small chocolate bars on strings from the ceiling, one for each child, and had a contest to see who could eat it first without using their hands. Then we had a pumpkin toss, of course. After that, we all loaded in the car and drove a few miles and watched a deer get skinned. Totally spooky! Lots of candy was earned for each game, the kids seemed to be satisfied, and we were glad NOT to drag them all down to the football field.

Red neck Halloween? Of course. And I'll never forget it. I doubt the kids will either!








Andersen was the world's cutest cowboy. He even got to ride on a real horse for his photo shoot.




Mason was a pirate, Taylor was a sheriff cowboy, Abby was a nurse, and Emma Claire was a cat.










Here's a picture of the kids, trying to eat the hanging chocolate.













PS- And about the hunt, John and his brother both got deer. John's was a 2X2 point. I know, that sounds pretty big. Not really. The antlers weren't more than about two inches long. So small that John was embarrassed to bring the antlers home in case anyone asked to see it. We'll get some meat from it soon. Any ideas of what to do with venison? I'm a little grossed out by the thoughts. Poor Bambi.

Time Out For Women

I attended my first Time Out For Women in Phoenix a few weekends ago with some of my favorite women. Being with these girls throughout the weekend was definitely the highlight. I seem to learn more from them just being in their presence than from all those lectures. But I did enjoy some lectures/talks as well.

Here are a few notes that got jotted down during that weekend:

• 1- "Happiness is a City in the State of Mind"

• 2- Adam and Eve were given the commandment, "Be HAPPY and find JOY therein." (I had never thought of that as a commandment from God. . . major attitude shift)

• 3- One of the presenters requested us to ask ourselves the question, "What is it like being married to ME?" This question has lead to some thoughtful insight. . . no need to go there.

• 4- In order for a plant to grow, it requires being planted in healthy soil, regular watering, and then a lot of direct sun light. And so it is with raising children: the child needs to be planted in a healthy home, be "watered" regularly, i.e. showered with love and appreciation, lots of teaching, healthy motivation and guidance. After that, we have to make sure the child is put under the direct light of the Savior. In other words, create moments and an environment where the child can feel His love and direction. We do the planting and the watering, then pray for sunshine. We do all we can as parents, and the Savior does the rest. This analogy was very insightful for me.

• 5- Find Abundance in life. Learn to be content with what we have.

Under the Knife

Family Night Fun!

Angels Among Us

Our family became acquanted with some true "angels" when we moved into our first house in Mesa 6 years ago. The Carneys were the prior owners of the home, and we got to know them through that transaction.

Since then, they have become such close friends of our family. The kids refer to them as "like grandparents". Whenever they see, or even sense a need, it is immediately filled. Every holiday we have all been spoiled with goodies, gifts, and warm cards. Every summer we enjoy numerous swimming parties in their backyard that always include yummy dinners and great visiting. Every winter we enjoy buckets of grapefruit and oranges, as much as we can handle.

Since moving about 30 minutes South a year ago, I wondered if we'd see them as much. I didn't expect the Carneys to drop off treats for the kids like they used to. But they still do. We enjoyed their visit this past Monday evening. They walked in the door with their hands full of goodie bags for the kids, Halloween home decor, a few Christmas accessories, and a HUGE bag of chocolate chips. (She knows I LOVE to bake). The kids' eyes were huge with excitement--just like Christmas!

The Carneys are some of the most Christlike people I know. They think of others, always serving and lifting others' burdens. They are complimentary towards others and towards each other. They work together well and support each other in their personal activities. They constantly show love to all around them. Whenever I am in their presence, I am inspired by their generosity and kindness. And whenever they leave, John and I always look at each other and say, "Wow, they are amazing." I hope to be more like them someday.

Giving it another try. . .

In our last house, we tried gardening a few times, all with no success. Here in our new house, there's not a lot of space around the yard that receives enough direct sunlight to plant anything. So, John and I built two 4 X 4 foot boxes and set them on some decorative rock in the backyard. With 32 square feet of space, we planted strawberries, two kinds of lettuse, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, and squash. It provided a great project for the kids to be involved in. We just hope things start growing.

Here's what we started with:

Here's how it ended up: