My last post of 2008

I had something very profound :>) typed and it got erased. It always sounds much better the first time around. But I just want to say that 2008 was a great year. We had many many blessings and we learned so much from all the trials in our life. Isn't that what trials are for? We are so blessed with five wonderful and energetic and thoughtful kids. They have taught me the most. I have a great husband that really treats me like a queen. I am so thankful for Jesus Christ and the gospel. It has taught me so much and has helped me work at being better. I am grateful to know that I don't have to be perfect but that I need to always work on doing better. I am so glad Don has a better job. It does take him away often but it is really a blessing and I know that the Lord has blessed us with this opportunity. It has allowed us to buy a home and we just love it out in the "boonies". It is so quiet and peaceful. I truly feel blessed to have such an amazing family. I have the most loving and supportive and fun parents and siblings. They are my most bestest friends ever. I know 2009 will bring more fun and great times. I also know that whatever hard times will come will be worth the growth. I am so so blessed and grateful for all my blessings. I am so glad I have family near. Nothing ever takes the place of great family. I hope my kids will be as close as my siblings. So to my family....... I love you so much. I miss you a ton and wish you the best New Year ever. Thanks for all the things you have taught me and thanks for always being there when you were needed. You are truly the best family ever.

Christmas pictures and warm warm day

I guess I got a bit behind on my blog. Christmas eve was spent together as a family. We ate pizza and watched The Santa Clause. Then we read from Luke 2 and I must say the kids were EXCELLENT. We talked about the Savior and the reason we are here on earth. We went around the room and all said why we were grateful for Christ. It was beautiful and you could really feel the spirit. The lights were dim and we had the fire place going. It was very peaceful. The kids then opened up the gifts from mom and dad. IT was a very nice night.

Christmas morning we woke up to a few more gifts to open. Then we all prepared some food and took it over to our family in Springfield. It was a lot of fun too. I swear I always eat SO MUCH when I am at my sisters. We played pinoccle and the kids played with the new WII that my sisters family got from Santa. Then Don and I had to try it out. I beat him BAD in bowling. Don't tell anyone. But then he got me pretty good on the boxing. I didn't realize how much of a work out it was and we went away from it sweating and sore the next day.

Today was a very warm and beautiful day. Doesn't seem much like winter. It got up to 60 today. So we used it as a day to do a little work. Don went hunting for about 4 hrs. and didn't see a thing. Then he came home and he cute down a tree in our yard. Kids carried the wood and helped clean up an area that had a lot of brush and sticks. We played with the dog and taught her how to bring back the ball when we threw it. He is a very nice dog and I am pretty happy now that we have him. Although I keep calling it a she/her because she looks exactly like on of our dogs growing up. It was a GREAT day. Don wanted to go hunting again tonight but things just got too busy and it is getting quite dark now. I wanted to go with him but we shall see if we can do it for a date night soon.

The new addition to the family

So yesterday we went to two different places to look at dogs. The kids have really been wanting one and so has Don. ME? Well, not so much. I like dogs but they are alot of work. I am still working on getting the kids to sit still and listen. The first place wanted $95 to adopt a dog. We thought that was too much. We did take one dog outside to walk and that dog was insane. It was very hyper and jumped all over everyone. I can totally understand though that it is from being caged up all day. Poor thing. But none of the dogs really caught our eye. So we went to a different place. All the dogs there were only $10 to adopt and they paid for the neuter/spaying and all the shots. We visited with one dog we thought was cute and he jumped a bit but seemed to calm down. The kids really like him and wanted to take him home. But we wanted to think about it so we went home and thought and talked. Next day we decided to go get him. But when Don and Caleb and Zach got to the shelter he had already been adopted that morning. There was another dog that actually caught our eye more than the first but the lady said he was too jumpy and would probably jump on the kids and be too hyper. Well Don decided to see how he would do and he was great. He didn't jump or act hyper. The kids fell in love with him and so they brought him home. He is part lab but not sure what else. He really looks like he could be full but he has a white diamond shape on his neck.

We were having a hard time figuring out a name. At dinner we went through alot of names but nothing really stuck. After dinner I turned to Mayah and asked her what we should name the dog and she said Toby. So we all thought that was very cute. I think she had heard someone say it earlier. SO Toby it is. Don gave him a bath in the kids' tub and boy was that a huge mess. We told the kids that any messes he made they would have to clean them up. They have been wonderful about it so far. There has been two pee messes and one "other" mess. And they didn't complain at all. I just think the dog is really excited. He is supposed to be house trained. It is a good way to teach kids responsibility. I just don't really like the dog hair in the house but it is sooooooooo cold out right now that we don't want to leave him out. He is going to stay in the basement for now.

I am still not attached yet. Don't know if I ever will be. I do know though that the kids had a chance to decide on this one. Normally Don and I try to do the big decisions but we let the kids choose. We told them all the "bad" things about having a dog and all the good things too. And then we left it up to them. We let them vote. And the majority would win. Rachel and I were the only ones who didn't raise our hands. Rachel wanted a kitty. And me? I am just happy with five kids. But it is a good experience. And besides, since Rachel and I didn't raise our hands............we won't have to clean up any messes or do any of the hard work. :) And I am kidding. Here is our Toby. I have NO clue why his tongue has that dark spot on it but it kind of freaks me out because he has been hanging his tongue out quite a bit. He is cute though and he hasn't jumped on anyone and he hasn't barked either. We are working with him on simple commands and he is doing pretty good. This is our first time with a dog so it is new for us. We will see how we all do.

Just a tad excited

OK so we are going to the airport in the morning to get Don. I think we are all so excited we can hardly stand it. It has been 2 months. But I must say it did go fast and I can't believe it is already time to be together again as a family. I am so glad that our Christmas will be shared together. There is nothing else that I am looking forward to as much as having him home. They already want him to leave again at the end of January. He received an email from the boss letting him know. He emailed back and told them NO. But so far no return email. SO if you all want an extra thing to pray about could ya send some messages and vibes upstairs letting Him know it is just too soon to go again.

Another funny from Zach. As I was talking to him before bed he was talking about inviting some friends over and having pizza and playing video games. I said it all depended on how he acted and if he could be good. We have been having some issues with him bugging his sisters ALL THE TIME. So we are doing a test. He didn't want to use the pizza party as his test for being good. SO instead he had another idea.

Zach: Why don't you just take a penny away from me every time I am not being good?

Me: I don't think so.

Zach: But just think, you'd get rich.

That was FUNNY. He knows he bugs his sisters and maybe I will take him up on that one. Heck, who wouldn't want to be rich?

Ok off to bed soon. The sooner I go to bed to quicker tomorrow will come.

DARE

Today Caleb had his DARE graduation. It was truly amazing. I think ALL schools should do it. It really was well done. There were two police officers that spoke and gave awards. Then the kids received their diplomas and sang some songs. I was really impressed with the words to the songs too. I really hope this helps the kids think twice about the things they take into their bodies.

Here is when they were singing. Caleb is in the front row almost all the way to the right.

Caleb right after receiving his certificate.

Receiving his certificate.

One of the police officers.

Here is their principal. She is a wonderful principal. (Ms. Waters)

Here is Caleb's very good friend, Jerret. He ended up winning two awards for his DARE essay.

This is how it was set up when we arrived.

This is the sub that Caleb's class has been having. Their teacher had her appendix taken out. She is there on the right hand side of the sub. She still brings her pillow to school nad holds it against her stomach. She only comes in the afternoon to teach. She will have a good 2 weeks to heal now that we are almost on vacation.

There is Caleb on the right. picture is pretty fuzzy.

And here is all the 5th graders with their matching blue DARE shirts. Afterward they were going to have the kids sign each others shirts with a marker.

Our beautiful house

So someone in our ward made this awesome house for us. I have the before and after pictures. It even has a little chimney. The kids had a ton of fun decorating and EATING the candies. OK I have to admit I ate the candy too. You can't put peanut m&m's on a gingerbread house. They are too yummy. I have to say this is the messiest our dining room floor has been in a long time. There were to baggies of frosting and I just cut a tiny slit in one of the corners. But when Zach went to squeeze out some frosting the bag popped and it came out everywhere. It got all over the floor. Well after we cleaned everything up (I forgot the frosting on the floor) we got ready for bed. It takes A LONG time around here to get everyone to bed. This morning when we woke up the kids saw a big pile of frosting. Rachel stepped in it and it was dry. It was funny. So this morning I spent some time scrubbing it off the hardwood floor. It wasn't too bad. We were all sticky and gross when we were done. OH WHO CARES though. The kids had fun and it was a great FHE activity.

Got an email from the school and they are letting out early today. Temps are dropping and it is supposed to rain so they are afraid of freezing rain. They do close school for pretty much anything but they have to for all us mounain people.

One cold hike

Saturday seeemed like a pretty warm day. I guess compared to our 20 degree's the 40 seemed really warm so I decided to take the kids on a hike. We drove to Skyline Drive and hiked on one of the trails in that area. When we got on the trail the sun was no longer out and it was COLD. But the kids really needed to get out and they LOVED it and ran and ran. We saw a couple of older guys walking and one of them told us about a bridge that he took his grandkids too so the kids wanted to see if they could reach it. And sure enough we walked to the bridge. We didn't stay long as we needed to get back to the car before the younger ones started coomplaining. I only had to carry Mayah toward the end. Everyone else did awesome. It was really fun. I think I am going to have to take Don on this trail and do this hike together while someone watches the kids. It is probably about 8 miles long. We have already had two offers from people to watch the kids so Don and I can go on a date. I am really going to have to take these people up on this. These date nights don't come often.

After our short one mile hike we came back to the house and had hot chocolate. It was a great night.

Then on Sunday I didn't feel much like cooking. For lunch we just had left over tacos but then we didn't really have anything pulled out of the freezer for dinner. So I cut up a few veggies (carrots, celery and cucumbers). That was our appetizer. Then for our main dish we had snickerdoodle cookies. Remember, there are two eggs in them for the protein. To finish the healthy meal we had hot chocolate. As we were eating I told the kids not to eat too fast because we wanted to enjoy this healthy meal. That is when they pretty much ALL said, "THIS ISN'T HEALTHY". Well atleast they know. I have taught them well.

The amount of coats collected WAS...........

EVERYONE guessed too low. But the closest person was my nephew, Jordan. He guessed 110. The amount of coats that were collected from the kids' elementary school so far is 140. YEP. Pretty stinkin awesome.

A side note: another funny from Rachel. As I was putting her to bed tonight she said, "mom guess what?" WHAT? Jeremy is my friend. When he looks at me and when I look at him (then she got this HUGE HUGE smile on her face). That meant that they smile at each other when they look at each other. HOLY COW. SERIOUSLY. THis girl is starting to scare me. I thought five year olds were supposed to be innocent and think boys were yucky. I have no idea where she gets all this flirty stuff. Sometimes when she tells me things like that I ask her where she learns it and every time she says "FROM MY BRAIN". Oh boy, DON, here we go.

OK so one more week and Don will be home. We can hardly wait. I am so blessed to have him home before Christmas. The only thing I want for Christmas is our family to be together. OK so maybe a sewing machine would be nice too. :)

What is your best guess?

OK so today I picked up a TON of coats from the school. It was hard to find room in my car for them. I almost was brought to tears thinking how many kids were going to benefit from these coats. I was so excited when I got home. I told the kids "Just think of all the kids that are going to be warm because of this". I am so amazed at all the support I got from the school to help with this. Seriously, I never thought we would have this many coats. Plus there is still one more week of collecting. YEE HAW. I am in awe. GO HJB (name of the kids' school). Thanks for all your help and support. I know there are going to be some very happy families.

OK so what is your best guess? How many coats do you think are here? I will reveal the answer tomorrow.

Anyone want our pet snake?

So if you want our pet snake we will give him for free. Here is Ethan holding him. He is very cute. He doesn't bite. He isn't even scary. He won't cost you a thing. He doesn't eat much except a few crumbs here and there. He is the easiest pet your kids will ever have to take care of. You won't even have to find him a sitter when you go on vacation. He is so good and takes care of himself.



OK so here are the other creations we did today. We had a ton of fun making these out of play dough. Kids could do this for hours.

Another laugh

I am so glad my kids are so funny. I have had the greatest laughs in just the last couple of weeks.Today after school Zach showed me his interim. He did great and I was so proud of him. He got 2 A's and 2 B's. He asked me what each grade was in. When I told him one of the B's was in English he said "but I am really good in English. We were kind of busy making Christmas candy but a couple of times he mentioned again that he was good in English.

Tonight for FHE we went out and delivered some treats. Caleb and Zach got to choose two people each to deliver candy to and they both chose kids in their class at school. On the way home Zach again mentioned his English grade. I told him that maybe he should talk to his teacher if he thinks the grade was wrong. Then he said, "But mom, everyone in the school can speak English". Caleb and I were laughing so hard. We couldn't stop laughing. He thought he was being graded on how well he speaks the English language. That makes total sense though. Poor kid. He thought we were laughing at him and when we got home I looked in the back seat and he had his head down. But after I explained that we just thought it was very cute he perked up pretty quickly. I explained to him exactly what kinds of things you get graded on in English.

Just a side note about another laugh. The other day Ethan and I went outside to see if we could get the trampoline put up. I figured I wouldn't be able to do it but it was something to do and Ethan really wanted to get it up so we atleast attemtped. So I got out the instructions and sat them on the car. Occasionally I would go back to them and then again try to set the thing up. It was HARD. I told Ethan that I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. Then he says, "MOM, hold on, I will go look at the directions". Another laugh out loud. As if he was going to be able to read them and then put it together. That kid is a hoot.

The things kids teach us

Tonight was the ward Christmas party. The kids were very excited to go. They were doing a dinner of turkey and ham and all the fixings. I took homemade stuffing and ofcourse it was the best. Zach doesn't like it. He was SO hoping someone was going to make stovetop. Sure enough I saw the stovetop on his plate. But then he was disappointed because whoever made it added grated carrots. TOO FUNNY. They also had some of the primary children involved in a nativity. Caleb was one of the shephards. Zach was the innkeeper and Rachel was one of the angels. They looked great and did fabulous. My camera wasn't working right and the pictures were dark. I couldn't get any good ones and I don't even think I got one of Zach. And then Santa made a quick visit at the end.

Well on the way to the church (takes us about 20 minutes or more) we were admiring all the beautiful lights on people's homes. We came to this house that was all decked out in lights and I said "WOW, I love that. I want that many lights on our house". I was very humbled by what happened next. These are his EXACT words.

ZACH: You need to be grateful for what you do have. It isn't about the lights. It is about friendships, the birth of the Savior and giving. Some people just think it is all about presents and Santa.

Do you know how happy this made me? I am getting goosebumps again as I type this. If I ever want my kids to realize anything it is exactly what Zach just said. I really try to help them realize that we do need to be grateful for what we have (I tell them this all the time). I also want them to know the real meaning of Christmas. And I never even imagined he would mention friendships. I was blown away by his words. I am such a proud mom today. And the giving is our favorite part. He is only 8 and he really touched me tonight. Sometimes we don't realize what sinks in. Most of the time I feel that the things I teach them go right through them. This just shows you that they do get it and it does sink in.

Here are a few pictures of our evening.

Didn't use the ladder I PROMISE

OK so I have wanted to hang some lights outside now that we have a front porch. Don had emailed me awhile back telling me not to get on the ladder at all. He had a dream that I fell off the ladder so he made me promise not to get on it. I kept that promise and just put lights on the front porch. Caleb was so good about helping. It looks great. There is one portion where you will see part of the lights UNLIT. Well that is because we ran out of the lights and had to use a string of blinking lights and at the time of the picture they must have been blinking. I tried so hard to get it when it was lit but it was raining out so I just took a couple of quick ones. SO anyone want to come over and climb the ladder to hang some more lights? He didn't dream you fell off the ladder. OH and if you want to come-----------bring lights............we ran out. :)

I am in the process of making homemade cinammon rolls. We didn't have all the items for the peanut brittle. Next time. I will even save you some. They are gonna be GREAT. OK Don here are the lights that we put up. I so want to do more. It would look so amazing if I went out Rachel and Mayah's window to hang some more. That wouldn't be climbing the ladder. What do ya think? Don't even say it. I already know the answer. But since I am so obedient and submmissive to everything you say I will listen. HAHAHAHA OK can't wait till you come home. SO only 16 more days. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!