A great example

BEFORE AFTER
After Sara donated her hair to locks of love, Rachel decided that she wanted to do that too. Thanks SARA for being a good example. Now there is going to be someone who benefits from these lovely girls who are sharing their hair.

I took Rachel in today to actually see if they thought she had enough. They measured it and she had 10 inches but it would be short. We asked Rachel is she still wanted to do that or wait a bit longer until it grew more. She was sure that she wanted it done today.

Not only did they cut her hair but they also found a tick behind her ear. NICE. REALLY NICE. So they brought me some tweezers so I could pull it out. They said they are not allowed to do so. That is about the 4th this year that I have removed. GROSS. I guess that comes with living in the mountains.

Now that her hair is dry it looks crooked. One side looks longer but it is still very very adorable. i am just so proud of her for wanting to do this. And so proud of Sara for being starting something so cool. You never know how many people you will affect by being a good example. Thank you Sara and good job Rachel for such a great thing.

Finally, he's home

I am so glad to have Don home again. He arrived yesterday morning after an all night flight with only 2 hrs. of sleep. SO when we get home he jumps in the shower and goes outside to clean the garage and plant some trees and bushes. He cleaned my car inside and out. WOW. He worked the entire day outside. I really am grateful and blessed to have a hard working husband. He does so much for our family and we are so glad to have him back here with us. The kids are super excited and can't wait to go on family outings on Saturdays again.

But now he is already back to work. But that is OK. He will be home in the evenings.

This morning I got up at 4 a.m. I am going to see if I can get in the habit of doing that. I made Don breakfast, read my scriptures, ate breakfast with Don and had together studies as well. I exercised and showered and got kids out the door all by 8 a.m. Pretty productive wouldn't you say? Let's see if I can keep it up. I am getting a bit tired and it is only 2. Mayah slept with Zach last night so she didn't come into bed with us so that really helped me get a good nights rest. YEAH. Maybe she can sleep with him every night.

Happy Birthday Lori. SO glad I am not as old as you. PHEW!!! Have a great day AT WORK. :)

It doesn't look like it

It seems like every time I ask Ethan to do anything he always says "Ok mom". But then he just sits there and doesn't do what I ask. So then I remind him and he gets a little mad and say's loudly, I AM. To which I say, "it doesn't look like it". It seems to happen alot at our place.

So yesterday I tried to make Saturday morning chores a bit more fun. We did it in teams. Mayah was on my team (so essentially I was on my own). Caleb and Rachel were a team and Ethan and Zach. They got to choose a room in the house as long as it was on the main level. They had one hour to clean it up however they wanted but we were having a contest to see who did the best cleaning. If they wanted to clean windows that would better their chance of winning. It wasn't hard to pick the winner with this contest. Ethan picked up toys but then ran outside. Rachel actually did an amazing job. She ended up cleaning alone because Caleb was NO where to be found. HMMM he must be related to my sister Lori. Every time it was time to do chores my sister always disappeared. So Rachel ended up vacuuming and cleaning up the t.v. room. It was very dirty from Friday nights movie night. But then she ran outside also before it was all done. Caleb finally came down and so I had him clean the dining room which didn't reqire much except sweeping and mopping. Zach cleaned and cleaned until his room was completely cleaned. He didn't stop until it was done. He even did windows. That alone wins in my book.

So we decided to go to McDonald's for icecream since they did a pretty good job. Since Zach won I told him he could choose a BIG icecream. I have to say the house did sparkle. So I ordered Zach an oreo blizzard and Caleb an M@M blizzard. When I ordered I just ordered a larger size for Zach. But when we went to the window they were the same size. I have to say it bugs me when they don't speak English and can't understand what I am saying. I knew they wouldn't understand me even if I tried to explain it. I didn't get anything for myself but the younger three all got icecream cones. So as we were on our way I asked if anyone wanted to give me a lick of their icecream. Ethan was so nice and said YES. So I took his icecream and had a lick or two. But then he said "OK, mom give it back now." I responded that I would but then he said "IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT." Everyone in the car was in stitches. It was pretty funny and made me realize that they really do listen to what we say.

Columbine

This coming Monday marks the 10 year mark for the Columbine shooting. I was reading about a member of the church who was shot three times. He was sitting outside on the grass with some buddies eating lunch when they heard some gun shots. They all thought it was some senior prank....that is until this young kid got shot himself. He was shot in the leg and then decided to get up and run. He was almost behind some type of shed when he got shot in the arm. The third shot landed in his neck.

I can't even imagine. I can't imagine the fear that went through those young kids' minds while all this was happening. Or how about the parents when they found out that there were shootings happening at the school that their kids attend? It almost brings me to tears as I sit here and think about it.

What made me blog about this in the first place is because I LOVED what this young man said. These are his exact words.

“If there is one thing I would like to share with others from my experience, it is that we cannot emerge from the trials we have been given unchanged. We will either let them beat us, or we will use them to become stronger,” Johnson reflected. “I was fortunate to have an outlook that helped me focus on what I needed to do to get through the hardship. . . . As a result, I was blessed to not only heal quickly, but to become a better person for it. I believe that these responses to challenges in our lives will always yield similar results. As long as we approach trials with the question, ‘What does God want me to learn from this?’ it will be easier to bear them, and we will be more likely to gain from them.”

What a great attitude to have. I love being reminded of things like this. No matter what comes our way or what trials we face we can decide to make the most of it and learn from it. Not always an easy thing but definately something we can do.

Easter 2009

The Easter bunny decided he wasn't going to bring any gifts this year. The Puhlman Easter bunny thinks Easter is getting to ge like another Christmas. So he did something different this year. This year the kids got a little bit of candy and some coupons. The coupons are good for things such as staying up 30 minutes later than normal, being in charge of the entire family home evening, choosing what they want to watch on t.v., not having to eat something that I cook if they don't want, a special game with mom, a hike with dad, extra reading time at night. They all loved their coupons.

We went to church and after we had a picnic lunch and took some Easter pictures. They kids looked so cute. They were so cooperative too. It was very fun. As we sat there on our blanket we talked about Easter and how important it is and what the meaning of why we celebrate.







Then we will dye Easter eggs and use the leftovers for egg salad sandwiches. We are also doing another new activity that we have never tried. After dinner we will explain the real meaning of Easter by doing this.....

www.cherbearsden.easterolls.html

This is a special day and I am so grateful that the sun is shining and that I am together with my kids. It is a great day even though we have an important part of our family missing. I am so thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for his atoning sacrifice. I am glad to be a part of the true gospel. It has been a huge blessing in my life. I know that He lives and I know that He loves me and that he sacrificed his life for me and for everyone so that one day we can return to live with him again. Life is all about sacrificing and doing what is right. Isn't that what Christ did? He sacrificed so much. We can repay him by keeping the commandments and enduring to the end. I love Easter and the thought of celebrating that He lives. Happy Easter everyone.

Mayah's new haircut

I took Mayah to the mall today to a place called Cartoon Cut's. They have a t.v. at each station and I thought that was such a great idea. Now that is one smart salon. Mayah enjoyed watching Dora as they cut her hair. They didn't have to cut too much and it looks really cute. The lady didn't want to cut all the hair the same length as the short curls because she said it would be way too short. So she just tried to cut it the best she could without going too short and then she said that once the cut hair grows a bit I can take her back in and they will blend it. I am happy with how it looks. You can't realy tell unless you know her hair has been cut or unless you look really close.

By the way.....after I posted about her hair I felt so much better. It really isn't that big of a deal and hair does grow back. I guess my day on Friday was just hard and that added to it. I did, at times, want to laugh because she looked lopsided.

The tears won't stop

I know this seems dumb. But today was 'just one of those tough days'. I am so glad I was able to talk to Don on the computer. It really helped me have a much better day UNTIL....THIS.....


Mayah and Rachel were playing in the basement. When I first saw Mayah's hair I about died. I couldn't even believe it. The thing that makes it strange is that I was just thinking about how I hear so many girls cutting their own hair and how grateful I was that Mayah had not done that. I allow the kids to use scissors so that they aren't curious about them and I was hoping that it would help them not want to cut their hair. Well Mayah cut her hair a little bit but then Rachel finished it off for her. I still cannot believe this. I know it may be small but I will tell you that I do NOT like red hair. I am sorry. But I relate it to getting made fun of when I was younger. I hated that people teased me for the color of my hair. So I was hoping that none of our kids would get this 'curse'. I figured that I would pass this along especially since Don's gotee grows in red and he has a brother with red hair. So the chances of NOT having a redhead were very slim.

I remember our oldest and when he was born. He came out a redhead. He really was the most adorable baby EVER. So I didn't really care. I was just hoping it would be our only redhead. Then the next was born and I was so glad he didn't have red hair. When I found out I was pregnant with our first girl I literally prayed that she would NOT have red hair. This is probably the dumbest thing you have all heard but I just didn't want our kids to be made fun of. It seems silly but it was important (at the time). Then our next boy came along and he was a redhead too. And so our last....It was a surprise. I found out it was a girl and I remember praying that if she did have red hair PLEASE PLEASE let it be curly. I LOVE curly hair. I have sister with curly brown hair and it is just gorgeous. I also have a niece (who used to have curly hair). That was until she cut it off. And you guessed it!!! It never grew back curly. Mayah is known for her red curls. SHE always ALWAYS gets comments on her hair. Well I am pretty sure the comments will still come but not for the same reason.

I have NO clue what to do with her hair now. I do not cut hair and I don't know if I should take her in and have them cut the other side to look like the cut side or what. Plus this will look pretty weird in the Easter pictures.

OH this really made me cry. I am very sad. I loved Mayah's hair and it was a part of who she was. OK so if you think I am a dork just keep it to yourself. It will soon be funny but for now just let me cry and be sad.

GIRLS. GEEZ. Do they always have to cut their hair? I don't think I have ever met a mom that has not had this happen. Who am I to think it wouldn't happen to me.

Passing it along

I am posting this for a friend I met in my old ward. This is very important to her and it hits close to home. Pass it along and post on your blog too. Let's get this out for all to understand. Thanks Melanie for the suggestion. I think it is a great idea and I think more people need to learn about the kids that have Autism.

Watch for the Red Flags of Autism

(The following red flags may indicate a child is at risk for atypical development, and is in need of an immediate evaluation.)

In clinical terms, there are a few “absolute indicators,” often referred to as “red flags,” that indicate that a child should be evaluated. For a parent, these are the “red flags” that your child should be screened to ensure that he/she is on the right developmental path. If your baby shows any of these signs, please ask your pediatrician or family practitioner for an immediate evaluation:



No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter
No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by nine months or thereafter
No babbling by 12 months
No back-and-forth gestures, such as pointing, showing, reaching, or waving by 12 months
No words by 16 months
No two-word meaningful phrases (without imitating or repeating) by 24 months
Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age
*This information has been provided by First Signs, Inc. ©2001-2005. Reprinted with permission. For more information about recognizing the early signs of developmental and behavioral disorders, please visit http://www.firstsigns.org or the Centers for Disease Control at www.cdc.gov/actearly.

cupcakes for dinner

Yesterday I told the kids I was too tired to make dinner so we were going to have cupcakes and pudding for dinner. You should have seen how fast those kids got to the table. I am pretty sure it was record time. Zach even added a YES as he ran. We got ready for prayer and I called on someone to give it and right before I closed my eyes I saw Zach dip his finger into the 'frosting' and lick it. The look on his face was hilarious and I know this is bad....really bad....but I couldn't help it. I laughed through the entire prayer. The kids were looking at me with ONE eye and they all started laughing too. I just could not help it. I tried so hard to hold it in but it wasn't happening. They had NO idea what was so funny but after the prayer everyone started upwrapping their cupcake and realized what was so funny. It really wasn't a cupcake. It was meatloaf with colored mashed potatoes on top. APRIL FOOLS I called. I was very surprised that they ate them but none of them wanted seconds. They were just interested in the pudding. IT was pretty funny. Thanks for the idea SUE.