A Perfect Sunday Night

Not the Sunday we just had, but the week before that, we had a great Sunday night at our house.  Other than Hayden I were sick, it was still really nice.  T and B had been watching an episode of Blue's Clues in which they were putting on a puppet show.  T just thought it was hilarious and he played it over and over and over, laughing like crazy every time!  Well, it gave him the idea of putting on his own show!  Ken and I were the audience; it was so fun to watch them.  It brought back a lot of memories of when I'd dress up my brothers and sister and put on performances for my parents!  When T and B were done with their show, they came and sat with us.  Taysum said, "Mom!  This is the best!"  It really was; just one of those moments filled with love and perfect contentment!

The Sweetest Thing

...happened last night!  Hayden just LOVES the silky edges of blankets.  It's a big comfort to him and he just grabs it and rubs it over his face and ears as he falls asleep.  Last night, Taysum and Bailey were in full out meltdown mode.  They were both literally side by side laying on the floor kicking, screaming and crying!  I was nursing Hayden at the time and he popped up to see what in the world was going on.  At first, he became a little worried and cried a little bit, too.  Then he just stopped, mid-cry, and wanted to climb down, so I set him down on the floor.  He dragged his blanket with him (he just learned how to drag things with him as he crawls a couple days ago) and went over to Taysum.  He sat down next to him and then started rubbing the silky edge of his blanket on Taysum's face.  I was just in awe of this little 11 1/2 month old baby comforting his older brother.  Ken came over and picked him up and sat with Hayden in his lap.  Hayden leaned out of Ken's lap and started rubbing Bailey's face with the blanket as well to try and help her!  The kids were more surprised than anything and it was enough to distract them and they calmed down!  He has been such a calming influence in our home from the day he arrived; I'm so thankful for my sweet little peacemaker!!

Goodbye Job...Hello Purse

Well, after nearly 4 years, I have left Eleutian Technology.  I left with mixed feelings.  I was only working a little at night, but with three kids, watching kids during the day, and Ken working so late, it was just getting to be too much.  I'd work late at night and then it would take me a while to wind down, so I was up really late.  Lately my body really doesn't react well physically, to a lack of sleep and I was beginning to have some pretty serious troubles, which didn't allow me to work anyway!  I went on inactive status, and I've gotten much better, so I figured it would probably be a good idea to quit.  I love the company and I'm so thankful for the opportunities and experiences I've had!  Perhaps one day when my kids are older, I may be able to go back.  So... on my last day, I went in to do the final paperwork, etc. and Ken told me to have fun.  I said, "Can I buy myself something?"  That sounded fun to me!  He just laughed and said he had never heard of it done that way... quit your job, then go buy something!  Well, I took that as a yes. ;)  So, (before I went to do the paper work) I went to my favorite store, The Hen House, and looked for a new purse.  They had just gotten in a bunch of new purses and I was so excited!  I was looking at one purse, that I was sure would be around $50-$60 dollars, plus it wasn't typically the style I would normally buy.  I looked at the price tag anyway and it was only $28!  I couldn't believe it.  The more I thought about it, the more I was liking it!  I finally decided it was the one!  I took it to the register and the guy who rang me up was really surprised at the price, too; it wasn't even on sale or anything!  He looked at it and was talking about how great a purse it was and then he said, I should have charged you more!  It was mostly joking, but I think he kind of meant it, too!  Anyway, the longer I've had it, the more I've come to love it!  Especially the fact that I got it at such a great price!!  So, I'll miss my job, but I'll enjoy my farewell gift to myself! ;D

First Testimonies

On Fast Sunday, in February, Taysum mentioned he wanted to "talk in the microphone" at Church and I told him he could.  He asked Ken, too and Ken told him that would be all right.  So, once people started standing up and bearing their testimonies, Taysum reminded me that he wanted a turn.  There were a lot of people going up, so we had to wait a bit.  While we were waiting, I asked him what he was going to say.  After he thought for a bit he said, "That Heavenly Father loves me?"  I told him that would be a great thing to say.  When he got up there, I gave him some time to see what he would say.  I could tell he was getting a little nervous and looked to me for help.  I helped him with a few things and reminded him of what he wanted to say.  He was so happy when he was done.  It really warmed my heart.  On our way back down the aisle, Bailey came running up shouting, "My turn!  My turn!"  I got her up there and all set up.  I was all ready to help her, but she jumped right in and started talking.  Hers was more of a prayer, but her heart was in it and she was sincere.  It was such a tender mother moment.  I was pleased to follow the example of my children and I took the time to bear my testimony.  I expressed how, as a mother, I could think of anything more important that I would want my children to know than that their Father in Heaven loves them.  That is something I think of often and try to remind my kids of: that their Father in Heaven loves them.  It was such a sweet experience to hear the young testimonies of my own children!`

Breakfast and Buddies

This morning, the Elementary School had a little activity called, "Breakfast and Buddies."  The students got to invite their families to their classrooms for donuts and juice.  The students got to choose a book to read to their guests and then we got to go to the book fair in the Library.  It is still so amazing to me that Taysum is reading!!  He's very good at it and he tries really hard to do well!  We let the kids each choose a book at the book fair.  It was a fun time and Taysum was so thrilled to have the whole family there!    

 

Valentine's Day

Since our anniversary is less than two weeks before Valentine's Day, heart day is usually about our whole family.  The first FHE in February, we started a "love chain."  At the end of each day, we talked about what happened that day that made us feel loved.  Then we'd write or draw it on a strip of paper and link them together to make a long chain.  The kids loved watching it grow and grow!  Some of the things that made us feel loved were:

• H- Eating "big food"
• M- Getting to talk with Aunt Lindi
• B- She mostly drew pictures of  "planets"
• D- Family bearing testimony
• T- He drew a lot of Mario characters
• D- I love Kimberly
• B- His letters and Fred (a stuffed "Despicable Me" character she got in a claw machine)
• H-When mom and dad are with me
• M- Spending time with my best friend and the love of my life
• T- Be good
• D- Smiles from my whole family
• T- Lunch
• T- Not time out
• M- When Ken gives me a long hug
• H- When Bailey plays with me
• T- Valentine's Day
• H- Chicken nuggets!

Those were just a few of our "love links!" :)  The kids just REALLY loved this activity and had a lot of fun making the chain. 

One tradition we have is making Juju Heart cookies.  They are Ken's favorite and he headed up the project this year.  The kids loved helping him and they turned out really runny yummy! ;)

 Another tradition we have is getting balloons from Grandpa!  When we were young, my Dad would always send us Valentine's Day balloons and I love that he continues the tradition!  From my mom, we always get a YUMMY Rice Krispie's heart treat and valentine!  She always puts red hot hearts on the treats and this year she put them in the shape of the kids' first initial.  They were too yummy and didn't last long enough for a picture! :)

 There were also A LOT of gorgeous flowers at our house as well!  Ken absolutely spoiled me and bought me a dozen red roses!  They were so lovely and I was so happy that they lasted quite a while!  Ken also sent me a singing Valentine.  I had sent one to the kids as well (Taysum's at school and the others at home) so we had a lovely little bouquet of carnations as well!

 We bought a book on CD for Bailey called "Jump Frog Jump."  She had borrowed it from school a couple times and really enjoyed it, so we got it for her.  We FINALLY got rechargeable batteries and a charging base for Taysum's Wii remotes!  We'll save a fortune in AAs!!  Hayden really loves silky blankets, so I bought him a soft baby blue blanket with "Thank Heaven for Little Boys" and a sail boat on it.  The boarder is silky and he just loves it!  It's fun to see him start to prefer certain things! :)

 This is just one of those cute, random pictures I had to throw in there!

We hope you all felt very loved on Valentine's Day this year!!

Dinner with Daddy

One night when Ken was working late, we decided we'd go up to Powell and have dinner with him.  We picked him up and went to McDonald's.  It was our first time going there since their big remodel.  I was blown away!  Instead of a play place, they now have touch screen computer games!  So crazy!  The kids were in heaven, though!  Ken was so sweet in trying to divide his time between us.  He'd come talk to Hayden and I for a bit, then go watch Bailey play, then Taysum.  He kept rotating like that...  We had a good time and it was really nice to see Ken for a bit!

11 in '11

February 5, 2000 - Eternity

11 years with the love of my life!  Boy, am I a lucky girl, or what?  Ken made this anniversary so special!  I felt so loved and that was the best gift by far!  I had been feeling kind of sorry for myself, because Ken has had to spend a lot of time at work since October.  He came home one night and said, "How 'ya doin', single mom?"  I've been trying my best, but it's been pretty difficult for me.  I felt lonely and stressed and unappreciated.  Just like always, he came home that night and made everything better.  He brought me home some beautiful flowers and played a song by Gary Allan for me that we danced to.  The song was so perfect:

Life ain't always beautiful
Sometimes it's just plain hard
Life can knock you down, it can break your heart

Life ain't always beautiful
You think you're on your way
And it's just a dead end road at the end of the day

But the struggles make you stronger
And the changes make you wise
And happiness has its own way of takin' it's sweet time

[chorus]
No, life ain't always beautiful
Tears will fall sometimes
Life ain't always beautiful
But it's a beautiful ride

Life ain't always beautiful
Some days I miss your smile
I get tired of walkin' all these lonely miles

And I wish for just one minute
I could see your pretty face
Guess I can dream, but life don't work that way

But the struggles makes me stronger
And the changes make me wise
And happiness has its own way of takin' its sweet time

No, life ain't always beautiful
But I know I'll be fine
Hey, life ain't always beautiful
But its a beautiful ride
What a beautiful ride

Our anniversay fell on a Saturday this year.  We thought it would be really fun to go to the temple... together... and do some sealings.  I had contacted our grandparents and they had sent us some family names to do sealings for.  Then we were going to go out for lunch together.  Well, we got it all set up and we were all ready to go, and then I looked at my temple reccomend... expired!  So, we thought, well, we'll go anyway.  Just outside of Cowley, Taysum started complaining of a stomach ache... he had dirrhea.  Well, we kept plugging along and then we hit the most insane blizzard I've ever seen!  Visibility was 0 for me!!  Finally we got the hint that maybe we weren't supposed to go that day!  So, we turned around and headed home.  We just kind of hung out together as a family.  Then my parents watched our kids while we went out to dinner.  It was just SO great to have Ken ALL to myself for an hour or so!  We definately need to do that more often!  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life!  Thanks for loving me, sweetheart!

"Once There Was A Snowman"

Once there was a Snowman,

 Snowman, snowman

 Once there was a snowman

 Tall, tall, tall!

 In the sun he melted

 Melted, melted

 In the sun he melted

 Small, small, small...

 Mr. Snowman

January 8 - February 16, 2011

Rest in peace, dear Frosty

Prince Charming

Last month, when we went to pick up Bailey's glasses, a lady stopped me and told me she had to tell me a funny story.  (Two of her grand kids went to pre-school with Taysum last year.)  She said her grandson came to her and told her the granddaughter had kissed Taysum at school.  So, she went to her granddaughter and asked her if she had kissed Taysum at school.  The little girl lowered her head and after a moment said, "But Grandma... he looks just like Prince Charming!"

When I took Carissa to school one day, Ms. Carol (one of Taysum's pre-school teachers) told me a story about a conversation with her granddaughters.  I don't remember how she said it came up, but somehow they were talking about Taysum; the older granddaughter said, "Oh, I know him.  He's that nice boy I see at recess.  He's so nice!"