Abby's Concert

Abby was involved in a super awesome concert this past weekend. She sang with a full orchestra in front of over 5000 people in the Mesa Arts Center with the East Valley Mormon Choral Organization. The theme of the concert was Messiah in America. Absolutely phenomenal music. I also have a bunch of friends and extended family that were involved in it.

My in laws went with John to the first concert while I stayed home with the kids. During the second song, my in laws noticed that Abby started looking a little shaky and pale. Within a few minutes, they watched her "in slow motion" drop to the floor in front of her and disappear for about a minute. Then she slowly came back up and looked as white as a ghost and didn't sing for a while. After the song was over, a few women helped her cool off and get something to eat. They kept asking her if she wanted to just stay behind for the rest of the concert and not sing. She told them that her dad was watching her, and she wanted to sing so he could see her.

I attended the second concert and Abby seemed fine but was standing on the very edge of the row (which isn't usually where she stands) and out of view from my seat, so I couldn't even see her. She said there were two ladies standing just behind the curtains that kept whispering, "don't lock your knees. . .don't lock your knees" as she was singing. They were ready to catch her if it happened again.

Poor girl! Probably the hot lights, nerves, locking her knees, and not a great lunch all contributed to her feeling dizzy and fainting. She was pretty embarrassed about the whole thing and made her dad and I promise not to tell her brothers about it, as they might tease her. So-keep the secret and don't tell the brothers!

I was proud of Abby in how she handled things. She didn't get dramatic or make a big deal about it and wanted to finish strong, even in her weak condition.

Happy Valentine's Day

This past week I've been doing the 12 Days till Valentines for John. Each day, he has gotten a small gift with a short poem that starts out like, "On the 10th day till Valentine's Day, your true love give to you. . . ". Kind of cheesy, but he has seemed to enjoy it. And I have enjoyed thinking and planning and being secretive about it. I let Abby in on it, and she LOVES wrapping small gifts and hiding them in dad's car. Very exciting for a 7-year-old.

So today, being the 5th day till Valentine's, my plan was to give him 5 flowers. I have NEVER given John flowers, and I don't think he's ever received them from anyone else. So I thought he might enjoy finding a vase of 5 big Gerber daisies on his desk at work. Really, who wouldn't enjoy flowers, right?

WRONG!

This afternoon John called CRACKING UP that someone had just delivered flowers to his office. Not just flowers, but pink flowers with a big purple ribbon on it. His boy secretary and boy boss were teasing him that he'd lost his manhood. I laughed myself to tears listening to all the razzing he was getting at work.

Tonight when John returned home, he walked in the door with the vase of flowers and pretended that he had bought them for me--of course I went along with it and told him what a thoughtful guy he was.

He's a good sport, but he felt a little silly receiving pink flowers. I'm trying to laugh at myself instead of feeling dumb about it. I feel like I need to come up with five masculine items to redeem myself before the night is over.

Note to self: John is a man. He doesn't like getting flowers. Flowers are for girls.

Twins

Nothing is better to a 5 year old than to have another 5-year old cousin show up to play on a Saturday afternoon wearing the exact same shirt and blue jeans.

I wish I could have caught the excited squeels and laughter on tape when these two girls met each other at the door. Pretty cute!

The Game Quilt

John and I have a super wonderful friend who lives in Lake Havasu City, AZ. We don't see her much, but we keep in contact with email and letters. She is a very talented quilter and has sent our family quilts over the years for special occasions. My children can't remember a time ever meeting her in person, but they talk about her like they know her well because of the quilts she

has made for them.

This past weekend we got a package in the mail from her. A quilt. Not just any ordinary quilt, but a GAME quilt. It includes checkers, tic-tac-toe, double rings, and two other games. It is such a beautiful quilt, I've been tempted to hang it on the wall for display instead of spread it out on the floor for play.

I've heard more " this is awesome", "wanna play on the game quilt?", "I love this quilt", and other happy comments from my children this past weekend than I can count.

Thank you, Mary Lou, for creating a centerpiece for FUN in our family. Your quilt is a treasure, just like you!

No More Germs. . .

It seems like our family spent the bulk of January being sick. I think I started the trend around New Years. My bout lasted about 10 days before I was feeling better. Then baby Kate got pretty sick--throw up, fevers, two ear infections, asthma, cold, coughs, etc. Finally when she started to act better, Abby and Mason too their turn. As they got better, Emma Claire and Taylor got sick with the same yucky stuff. Then, poor Kate got hit again and is finally getting over her illness.

The breathing treatment machine has been running nonstop for a month, the cool-mist humidifier has been turned on every night for over 4 weeks, rotating the kids bedrooms according to whoever needs it most, and I have had more sleepless nights, doctor appointments, more wiping noses, and cleaning up throw-up than I can count. Do I dare hope that we're out of it for a while?

I'm crossing my fingers.

Out of all the children, Kate has definitely been the sickest, and the most worrisome because she's still so young. Three years ago when Andersen was a few months old, we ended up checking him into the hospital for 5 days after an ER visit because where he was diagnosed with RSV.

We were blessed that Kate didn't get that sick. She got pretty accustom to getting breathing treatments every 3 hours.

Through all of this, I have gained more appreciation for a generally healthy body. What an amazing creation.

T-I-M-E

My family got a "gaming" computer for Christmas from a family member (an old laptop full of hundreds of games for all ages). A few of our children don't enjoy sitting for very long and staring at a screen. Other children could sit and play for hours on end without realizing it. With this new computer, we've had a few opportunities to visit with our children about what's appropriate with regard to playing games. The principle we have focused on is how we spend our time.

As always, I was impressed with John's way of teaching the children. He's so good at helping the kids "want" to do the right thing. A few rules were established: (1) always play with another sibling (never play alone), and (2) play only after other more important things have been done-- household responsibilities, school responsibilities, physical exercise, spiritual exercise (studying scriptures), some kind of service, and spending time developing a talent.

Not surprisingly, there's not much time left to play games after completing all those other responsibilities. Mission accomplished! I'm happy to say that the gaming computer hasn't been an issue.

Here are a few great quotes about the topic:

"Another way to spell 'love' is 'T-I-M-E'."

"Every day, every hour, every minute of your span of mortal years must sometime be accounted for".

"Your time in this mortal life is a proving ground. How well you meet its challenges determines how strong your character will be."

"This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God."

"You can tell a man's character by observing how he spends his time."

I'm always wishing there were a few more hours each day to finish all the to-do's, and a few more hours each night to catch up on sleep that doesn't usually happen because I'm burning the candle at both ends. Regardless of what I do each day, there are only 24 hours. I'm the one who decides how I spend it, and I'm responsible for every minute of it. I can't ask for more time, and I can't redo how I've spent past times.

One last quote:

"We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day."

So how am I spending my time each day?

Something to think about. . .

Six Children

I've had 7 months to get used to the idea of having six children. Wherever I go, I get comments. Some people think John and I are crazy, others share their admiration in our efforts of raising a large family, then there's those who think we're doing the world a disservice. At Disneyland last Fall, we got all kinds of comments and looks. (Of course, all wearing bright red shirts made us stand out a little). Some people we passed would visibly point and count the numbers.

I love John's comment to someone once. With a smile, he said "we're only half way to our dozen". (Yea right!) But it let that person know that we love being parents and are happy with our family. Regardless of what people think, we couldn't be happier.

Even if it means that we have to drive a big 12-passenger van to fit everyone. (No, we don't have a van right now, but my kids think it would be awesome to get a van and spread out a little). Even if it means that three boys "get" to share a bedroom. Even if it means that we're not saving nearly as much as we could otherwise. Even if it means that most of the time, we don't get to do "our own thing" because family responsibilities take precedence.

We couldn't be happier. Really!