Birthday Transformation

Happy Birthday Adrienne! Today Adrienne turned 18 years old. Look at her in the morning while she is still 17.... And look at her after the magical time of her birth...1:23 Quite the transformation huh? One of her gifts was a haircut and color, a manicure and pedicure. I dropped her off at the beauty school in Aloha and she spent over 4 hours being beautified! And for the first time in her life, she signed her own waivers!! I don't think I have shared the story of her birth, so that is soon to come. We will see just what I remember of that miraculous day 18 years after the fact!

I Have the Greatest Calling....

So for two months of bliss(oh yes, my life has been ever so blissful lately) I did not have to worry about making phone calls, preparing lessons, blocking out time during the week, or any other duties pertaining to a church calling. I am very grateful for that time off, but when the phone call came for an appointment with a member of the bishopric, I knew my time was up! I worried a bit and pondered what calling I would get. Life is so chaotic right now that I was really scared I wouldn't have the energy to give a calling. But I went to the appointment anyway and was asked about my past callings. Then I was asked if I have any experience with special needs children. No, not a lot unless you count having raised one!! I explained my personal experience with my autistic son and of course he was shocked to learn this about Jake. Most people are.

Well the Lord does work in mysterious ways. I have been asked to be an assistant to an 8 year old severely autistic boy in the ward. I will spend one to two primary hours with him each Sunday. We will stay in the primary room, or if need be, I will accompany him on walks up and down the hallways. I could not be happier. This is just what I need right now! What a coincidence! NOT! I know the Lord is very aware of my life and my feelings and I know that is the reason I have gotten this fabulous calling! I really am thrilled. So I met him yesterday. We sat in the back most of the second hour and he snuggled up to me some of the time, leaning up against me. Towards the end he started to cry, which I am told is not normal for him. So his father came and got him and they went home a little early. What a sweet spirit this dear boy is. I am grateful for the chance I will get to spend time with him and hopefully get to know his family!

After church the missionaries came over for dinner. I made Hawaiian Haystacks, with the help of my veggie cutter Richard. What would I do without him!? Not only does he not mind cutting and prepping food, but he seems to enjoy it! Awesome! So the kids were very excited for the Elders to come eat with us. Joseph sat in the window and watched for 20 minutes. When they arrived he yelled down to them, "missionaries, missionaries", just so we would all know they were here. Jake got to ask them questions about being a missionary and they will be taking him out with them very soon! This is great! Last Sunday Jake told me he had read the scriptures that morning and felt the spirit. He also told me he feels very strongly that he will serve a mission. Isn't that great? So, how do Mom's do it? How do you let go of your handsome dishwasher unloading sons knowing you will not see them for two years? I have heard many stories of the blessings that come while a family member is serving a mission, but will I be strong enough to say goodbye for two years? OK, I'll just try not to think about it!

Ohhhhh, speaking of Jake, on Friday I took him to get spacers! They are driving him crazy! On the way home I stopped in the church parking lot and turned the van over to him for a while. It was his very first time behind the wheel. He did well. He was nervous but not terrified and it was nice when I gave him the option of pulling over or doing a few more laps, he chose to keep going. I did have to remind the two lil ones to be quiet and stop giving him advice(can you imagine, advice from an 8 and 4 year old?) because he needed to concentrate! He took the permit test a few weeks ago and passed on his first try. He may be the only teenager in the history of Oregon to actually read the drivers manual cover to cover! And for the last year, when we have been in the car together he has asked very practical questions. He will be a great driver!! I am so proud of my son!

Working up to working out

So I have finally taken advantage of my gym membership at the Tektronix employee gym(weren't they generous to include the spouses?). I signed up about a year ago, but it never fit into my schedule due to the 25 minute drive there and then back again. But now it is conveniently located just a few miles down the road, so I really have no excuse anymore!

I got there at about 8:45 this morning and the place was empty, completely empty! Oh joy, the ENTIRE place to myself!! So I jumped on the elliptical for a while and got my heart rate into the range of a 30 year old, yes I was feeling proud since if you are not aware, I am actually 36. Feeling good I pushed a little harder and got my heart rate to that of a 20 year old.....ummmm, yeah....after picking myself up off the ground and defibrillating my heart, I hopped back on and slowed into a nice easy(HA) rhythm. I had forgotten how much I love the low impact movements of the elliptical machine. It was then that I noticed the small print below the heart rate read out. It says, "Stop exercising if you feel pain, faint, dizzy or out of breath..." Well, there you have it! Life Fitness, the health equipment company has single handedly caused the health crisis we here in the US find ourselves in. I mean...really?? Here I am huffing and puffing and trying to see past the pain that IS exercise and I read this little notice that says STOP!!! BEFORE YOU DIE!!! Ok, I am being a tad bit dramatic, but I did have a good but brief laugh, which is not easy to do when you are pretending to be 6 years younger than you really are. Next time I see my doctor I am just going to say, Sorry about the weight thing, but the pain and shortness of breath due to working out might just kill me first!!

When my time was up I did something I rarely dare to do....I did the weight circuit trying out all the machines(except the one that turns you into a human pretzel) and working on my muscular physique, yep, I have a long way to go. I always avoid those machines since I can only imagine what I look like trying to figure out how to use them, but with no one else there I had time to look at the directions and try it out and actually contort my body into the shapes necessary to lift weights like a pro.

After my invigorating workout I headed for the shower room. There is a private family shower room, but since I was the sole person utilizing the facilities, I opted for the changing room showers and the complimentary blow dryer. I turned the water on and proceeded to wet my hair down in the trickle that emerged from the shower head. I put shampoo in and then dialed the nozzle from shower to jet... which in reality changed the dribble to a drip. Now, I have a lot of hair, it is not as long as it once was, but it is still fairly thick. I began to envision myself running to the car looking like an old lady with white hair piled on my head. Thoughts of cutbacks at Tek began filling my head and I could almost see the memo going out about water consumption and how rationing it carefully would save the company in these trying economic times. Could they not have posted signs stating, "wash hair at your own risk"? Wait, maybe they felt that would be an unnecessary expense. Well what is the use of having an entire army of showers at your sole command if you are afraid to use them? I streaked to the neighboring shower stall and wah-la, a pressurized gush of hot water!! The rest of the story is fairly boring, the locker room remained empty, the blow dryer worked great, I parted my hair on the usual side, sadly the scale was recently calibrated making it appear that I had gained weight since my last visit. Or maybe it is just all the fat being replaced by lean, heavy muscle??

This was actually my second time using the Tek gym, but it most certainly will not be the last. I love the way I feel the rest of the day, it always invigorates me and inspires me into activity where I would normally just sit around blogging....like I am now....hmmmm.....

Globetrotters!!

Richard has been working really hard at Tek for the last FOREVER or so. In recognition of all the extra hours and working during the holiday shutdown and being on call pretty much 24 hours a day seven days a week, they gave him some tickets to the Harlem Globetrotters. We decided to take the older kids and when Richard told Jake about it, he was not interested because they are not in the NBA. I told him it would be worth it, so he decided to go anyway.

We rode Max into Portland, and that was fairly entertaining itself. We saw many different people from many different walks of life(a cute young man reading his bible, who scurried for the door when the ticket police came along, and the not so lucky drugged up woman who laughed spontaneously at nothing, drank from the soda someone had left on the floor near her seat and then got a ticket for not having a Max pass, oh wait, she did have one, it was an expired senior citizen pass and she was in her mid twenties I'd guess). I kinda like the melting pot that Max is, but some of the smells I could have lived without!! We got to the Rose Garden and the lines to get in were HUGE. Oh, did I mention the tickets were for the Tektronix box?? We got to go in the executive entrance with no wait at all. We found the suite and got settled in. There are several tv's in there, a small well stocked fridge, and lots of snacks-popcorn, 7 layer dip with chips, huge cookies, cheese and crackers, fruit and veggie trays. We felt very spoiled! We watched the game and of course it was a blast! It was even funner to watch Jake react to some of the cool moves the players can do with the ball. Amazing!

We got home at close to eleven. I had spent a good portion of the afternoon with my dad, he was having a very hard time, so I did not have time to do the grocery shopping earlier. Richard had meetings to prepare for, so I headed out to do the shopping alone. It is very quite at Winco at 11:30 on a Saturday night!! I got home shortly after midnight and went to bed.

I woke up bright and early, not because the kids woke me up, but because it was very quiet, so quiet, perhaps TOO quiet!! My dear sister Megan had offered to keep the lil ones over night so we wouldn't have to worry about picking them up so late! It was so nice not to have to worry about them! And they had a wonderful time with their cousins! It was a little odd to wake up without Joseph squirming into bed with me. I read the scriptures for a while and then I went to get them! It may sound weird, but I missed my little sweethearts! I am glad they had such a fun time with Auntie Megan and her family!

Trying Something New!

So, to go along with Richard's calling and the fact that we need to get to know people in our new ward, and that is going slowly, I decided to redefine our family in some ways. I am rather shy by nature and tend to feel anxiety when it comes to doing something new, or meeting new people-ok the thought of inviting strangers into our home is a bit terrifying to me....or was. I have always wanted to be the kind of person who can be spur of the moment, someone who can reach out to others and no worry about what they will think. I dream of having an open door to the world(so I am going to trick people into thinking that is the kind of person I am, shhhhh, don't tell)! I talked it over with Richard. Our plan...

Each Sunday I will be making a large meal. Hopefully we will get the chance to share it, but if not, into the freezer the rest will go, no harm done. Today was our first attempt and it worked out great! Richard invited his assistant mission leader and his wife to dinner and guess what....THEY CAME!! I made a huge crock pot of Chicken Tortilla Soup and they came to eat with us and we had fun talking and getting to know them, they are a fabulous couple. The old me would have worried that the house wasn't clean enough, or the dishes didn't match, or that Joseph would be too loud and crazy, and what would they think? The new me says, who cares!?! Why let those feelings stand in the way of being the person I want to be! Richard has met some families that are not very active, they have stated they don't feel like they fit in or know people well enough. So they are on our list too! I refuse to feel lonely alone. And if I am not alone, then I won't be lonely! Makes sense, right? Anyway, I really like the idea of redefining who I am and how I want people to see me and this seems like the perfect time since no one really knows me very well yet.

We will also be having the missionaries over on a regular basis and what a blessing that will be. I love missionaries. I adore the fact that they are so committed to the gospel and that they truly love serving the Lord. I know that just having them over for dinner has such a great effect on our home. I am looking forward to getting to know them and using our home to help in any way we can.

Thoughts come clearly while one walks. ~Thomas Mann

Today my sister Megan and I participated in a 5K with Jake. One of his cross country teammates planned the invitational for his Sr project. The money he raised is going to two different charities. It was a nice day for a run/walk. It rained lightly for a brief time and was nice and cool. So the run/walk was only 3.1 miles, and I was thinking that was no big deal, I must walk about that far when I go out on my own. But instead of warming up as Megan suggested and walking the first bit, we got caught up with the runners and started out running. I did not pace myself and so catching up from that took a while. Megan was so patient, she probably could have run more, and I encouraged her to go ahead if she wanted to, but she walked with me and we had fun chatting! We walked and ran small bursts and walked and walked and it seemed like far longer than 3.1 miles. But we did it, we finished and are feeling inspired to keep up our training and perhaps participate in a 10K this summer. And maybe even try to run the majority of it! Though I am not sure about running in the heat, but we shall see!! So I have been using MapMyRun.com to help me find good walking routes here in my neighborhood. The good news is I managed to put together a fairly straightforward route that is exactly 3.1 miles. That will be nice for trying to improve my time!

So I was thinking about walking and how much I enjoy it when I have the time to get out there. There is something very true about the quote I used for my blog title. When I am walking and my heart rate is elevated and I am huffing and puffing along, I am able to work out in my mind whatever issues have been bothering me. I am able to come up with plans and goals and stick with them. Walking/running is so great for our bodies, but it is also fabulous for the mind.

Psych215

I am taking Psychology 215 this term. After the stress and fast pace of Anatomy and Physiology, I am thoroughly enjoying this class! Well, I don't love that is is a 4 hour class. But it is nice to only have to worry about one day a week. Richard comes home early on Wednesdays and does his best to continue his work from here, while keeping track of Joseph and then Annalina a couple of hours later.

We are learning such fascinating stuff about the development of children and how we can help our children as they grow and I really wish this kind of class was mandatory for all parents. Anyway, yesterday we were talking about middle childhood and so the teacher asked me to bring Annalina in so everyone could observe her. Only about 4 of us in the class have kids. So at 3:30 Richard brought her to me and she drew pictures and talked about the things she likes and her friends and activities she does. It was fun. Afterward I got her a treat from the vending machine and we drove to the top of the parking structure and checked out the view. My kids are growing up. Sometimes I feel sad. Joseph is my snuggly guy and even he seems to be outgrowing the need to snuggle with me on a regular basis.

New Beginings

Richard and I spoke in Sacrament meeting a couple of weeks ago. It was actually kind of fun. In the past I have talked myself into not being nervous by telling myself that these are the people I love-my ward family, why wouldn't I want to share with them the great information I have found! Well, we know very few people so far, but I just know we will grow to love these people!

My talk was based on Elder Bednar's General Conference Talk "Nothing Shall Offend Them". A great topic that I really learned a lot from. No one can offend us, but we can choose to take offense from things others say or we can choose to let it go. Richard spoke on the importance of the one and how we need to be concerned about those who fall away due to being offended, or just weary. I have to say over the last few months since we moved I was thinking how nice a break from everything would be! It has been nice not to have to worry about a calling. My husband was extended the calling of ward mission leader. Wow, no way I will be able to take a break(not that I really wanted to). He will have Sunday's full of meetings and will be working closely with the missionaries. I am excited to support him in any way I can including going to Gospel Principles with him each Sunday. He is feeling overwhelmed, but I know he will do great! I am so proud of his willingness to serve the Lord in whatever capacity he is needed. He is an inspiration to me and I love him so much!

Life's Challenges

I have learned that life is easier to deal with when I remain optimistic. This is not always possible and there are very hard times that bring such sorrow to me. But I do not let those times and those emotions rule my life. I always try to see the bright side. As the song goes, "I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain" and that is what helps me survive emotionally. It works, for me anyway!

Friday I went with my parents to a doctor appointment. My father was given a diagnosis of dementia due to Alzheimer's. Basically the doctor said all other reasons for memory loss have been ruled out and the only way to prove Alzheimer's 100% would be a brain biopsy. So we trust what the doctor says. It has been a long couple of years of knowing there was a problem and not knowing why or how to help. It is a very sad diagnosis, but at least we know for sure what is going on and the doctor can treat him accordingly. We will not get back the part of dad that has already left us, but maybe losing more of him can be delayed. The doctor called it the long goodbye. He is here with us, but he is not the same. It is so hard to grieve the loss of someone who is still here with us. I have received so much support from friends who can relate to what we are going through. Although I must say, most of the time I am hearing about someone's grandmother or grandfather who had it. This is my father, he is only 65. He still has young grandchildren. He is still so young himself to be going through such difficulties!

I miss my dad so much. I worked with him doing taxes for over 13 years and though I did not always like the work I was doing, I always loved seeing my dad. He has been my listening ear, my shoulder to cry on, he has freely given me advice when I needed it and has supported me through so much. He too, shared with me his concerns and thoughts, there was a special bond between us. There have been many times in the last few years when I so desperately wanted to confide in my father and have him understand and advise me. My father is a wonderful man and his life has been full of service to others. I know that he has passed his test here upon the earth and that what he is going through is more a test for us now. It is not always easy dealing with my father. He has been the head of a household full of girls and we have always looked to him. To be made to feel he can no longer be in charge has been very damaging to his self esteem. He is very defensive about his memory loss and that can make it hard to talk to him. He and my mother have a very difficult time communicating. It is hard to watch them each struggle with the other.

It is so hard to lose your parents this way. There is no way to grieve and move on, since they are still here with us, though the relationship has forever changed. And just when you think you are making progress towards a hint of the relationship you once had, something happens to destroy that progress and the pain is back, perhaps hurting more than ever.

I am grateful for my husband. He has spent many a late night with me, comforting me, drying my tears, listening to me without judging me. He helps me see things from a new perspective. He loves me and accepts me with all the family baggage that came with me! He is truly my hero and I absolutely adore him!

I am thankful for my sister Megan who is not just a sister, but a best friend. She too listens to me and she loves me. She calls me to check in. She is mindful of my needs and is always offering to help which is such a blessing. Especially since we moved and I have left the support structure of my ward, I have been even more grateful to have Megan so close and so willing to lend a hand when needed!

I am grateful for the gospel. I am so thankful for the atonement, which means so much more than forgiveness of my sins. To me it means I can pray for a change of heart. When the pain and anger gets to be too much, I can ask for help and receive a calm feeling. The atonement is the only thing that has kept me from breaking into a thousand little pieces from the pain that often times has to accompany this life.

As hard as they are, I am grateful for the trials we are given in this life. They truly do mold us into the person we need to be. I know I have changed a lot over my adult years. I hope I am becoming a better person, I feel as though some of the weaker areas of my personality are improving. And for this, I am grateful.

Reluctant Haircut

Joseph is not too fond of getting his hair cut. Most of the time Richard does it here at home. We tell him its time to get his hair cut and he says, "I'll be ready next Monday" then Monday comes along and he says, "next Saturday" etc, etc. So we cornered him, talked him into it. Before......

Fun B-Day Party for Grandpa Great!

Grandpa Great turned 95 this month. Megan and I had the pleasure of going to his Birthday party in Forest Grove! He was so happy to see all his friends and family. Joseph and Nathan had fun running around together and Joseph was even brave enough to get his picture taken with Grandpa Great! Megan pointed out to me that Grandpa Great is now 95, my father is 65 and Joseph and Nathan are 5(or will be very soon). I also realized that Jake is 15. Interesting, very interesting!!

Home Sweet Home!

We have been living here for a little over a month now and really enjoy the new house. The big window next to the front door is Adrienne's bedroom. The garage is on the back side of the house and although I do not have a photo to prove it, I actually park in the garage!! Woohoo! The second floor big window is the family room. The whole second floor is the great room with a spacious kitchen, a dining area and a large family room. It is a very comfortable space for the family. Upstairs is the master bedroom and bath, three other bedrooms, a "kids" bathroom and a laundry closet.

A Very Special Day

Today was a very special day, Annalina was baptized! She was so excited for this day and she was so very ready to join the church. She looked beautiful in her new dress. Her sister Adrienne spoke about baptism and Katrina Doxey spoke about the Holy Ghost. Aunt Megan gave the opening prayer and Jake said the closing prayer. All of the family was there and Uncle Rich drove up from Monmouth to be with us. What a guy!! I always find it amazing the depth of understanding a child of eight can truly have. She was so calm and peaceful and seemed so much older than just eight. At one point during a talk, she turned to look at me and the intensity in her eyes touched me deeply. I love my little girl so much and am so proud of her! Leila Conser, Jaeli Jaussi, Annalina, Mallory Stott, and Jasmine White

Spritual Happenings

I have the honor of attending two very special events in one week. First, on Sunday Richard and I took Adrienne to get her Patriarchal Blessing. All I can say is, WOW! OK, so I can say more. I am aware that I do not know everything about my dear teenage daughter, but I think its safe to say that I know her better than anyone else here on earth. But the Lord knows her even better than I and that was very obvious to me while listening to her blessing. The Patriarch only had a couple of minutes to talk to her beforehand, and yet the things he said about her made it very apparent that the Lord was speaking through him. It was a very lengthy blessing, just when I thought he was about to end it, he would continue on. I feel so blessed to have been there and am so excited to see what the future holds for my beautiful daughter. The promises made in that blessing were amazing!!

This coming Saturday Annalina will be "bath-tized" a member of the church. She was still saying it that way on the way to her interview with the Bishop, so we finally corrected her. She still slips up occasionally! Anyway, we are looking forward to this fun and exciting experience with our darling eight year old daughter. I will be writing more about that later! If you live in the area and can come, please do, it is Saturday the second of January at 3pm at the Hillsboro Stake Center.

Playing in a Melting Winter Wonderland

Any tension from the snow ordeal last night melted away as I watched Annalina and Joseph in the snow this morning. We walked the short distance to the church and played and played and played! I am not a play in the snow kind of person, but its hard not to when the kids are having such fun!

Driving In A Winter Wonderland

This afternoon Joseph had a B-Day party to go to for a friend near the old house. Since I was going to be in Hillsboro to drop him off, I set up a play date with Annalina's friend Megan so she could come over and see our new house and they could play without pesky brother around to bother them. Sounds like a great plan, right??

On the way home is started snowing, a light wispy kind of snowfall, by the time we were home, it was heavy and sticking to everything. No problem, it wasn't supposed to last, but would turn to rain in a short while, so the weather guys all stated. So the girls played and I kept an eye on the weather, an hour and a half later we had three inches on the ground and it was still coming down heavily. We set out earlier than planned and it was a good thing we did. The roads were slick ice where the tire tracks were. I tried to keep one side of the van in the snowy side of the road and we did ok. Baseline was crawling along and the car in front of me kept sliding all over the road and this was freaking me out a bit, so we turned off the main road and took the long way by the library and out Evergreen. It went pretty smoothly.

I am a pretty confident ice and snow driver, in my early twenties I drove from Seattle to Portland alone in a huge snow storm, the three hour drive took me about 9 hours, so I am fairly comfortable driving in the snow, but I am not so comfortable driving alongside those who haven't a clue what they are doing. It only took 45 minutes to get to Hillsboro and pick up Joseph. Then the fun begins....

I decided to take Evergreen home since Baseline was so bad earlier. We made it pretty well until we got to Cornelius Pass Road, it resembled a slug, inching along ever so slowly! After waiting for light after light, and seeing people driving horribly, cutting each other off, ignoring traffic signals, etc, I decided to cut across to 205th, which would lead us directly home. The road connecting to 205th was crammed with cars as well, and as we approached the turn I needed to take the incline was just enough and the ice was just thick enough that I could not get going again. The stop and go traffic turned to just stop for me!

OK, at this point, Joseph was warmly dressed, but Annalina had no coat and was wearing her crocks. I did not have a coat either. I have no cell phone. I admit, as the mother of a scout, I should have been better prepared! But who would have expected this?? It was supposed to be raining! Anyway, there was nowhere in walking distance for us to get to in order to call for help. So I tried and tried to get the van moving, but we got nowhere. Cars just went on around us. I backed up and tried again and again, but no luck. Another car was pulled over and this one man got out and tried to push my minivan to get it going. Not gonna happen, but I was grateful at least someone was trying to help! About that time I backed up to the curb to throw in the towel and maybe cry my eyes out, when a truck pulled along beside us and got stuck as well. Several times I thought he was going to slide right into us. Then yippee, a police car pulled up with his lights flashing. What a relief!!! I was outside the car to see if I could help the truck get moving and the police officer hopped out long enough to say, "try not to plug this road up, there's a huge line of cars trying to get through!!" As if we could not see that!!! And they were off. I was on the verge of tears again, Richard was working very late and it would have taken him hours to get to us, even if I could call him, which I could not. Oh, did I mention I really needed to pee? Oh yes, just to add to the drama.

I was about to go ask the car stuck in front of us if he had a cell phone when three young men passing by on foot asked me if I needed help. YES! They advised me to back up and take a right, through a neighborhood that exits onto the road I needed to be on. I wasn't sure I could get traction to make the turn, but they assured me they were there to help if I needed it. I made it but even then I remembered the downward hill we were facing to get home. I tapped the brake like crazy and was thinking how grateful I was we just had the brakes done on the van, even if it had just depleted our savings! When we got to the intersection before our house, we saw the steeple of the church and both kids were excited we were almost home. To my surprise, Richard was home when we got there. He had almost as fun an adventure as we had driving the 3 miles home from work. I could not get the car into the garage and wasn't even about to try again. He hopped in and pulled it into the garage for me.

The whole way home Annalina prayed for our safely, she prayed for me to drive well, and then she prayed for someone to help us when we were stuck. Hearing her prayers helped to calm me. I was so proud of her. I told her this when we got home and she said, "well Mom, I'm about to be baptized, I have to practice!" The kids were very brave and patient, considering they were both hungry and tired. They did not complain and the prayers were very helpful! I am grateful to be home. I did call Adrienne and tell her not to try to get home tonite, so they will spend an extra night at their dad's house. I would feel better having everyone home safe and sound, but at least I know everyone is safe. It sure is beautiful out there, but I don't think I will be going out again until its melted away!!

Just our luck....

Friday night I needed some help getting the garage sale ready. Richard has been working lots of extra hours in preparation for year end at both Tek and Fluke, and had to work from 6am to about 10pm Friday. But he carved out about an hour and a half to come help me set up. Early into that block of time, he was heading out to the garage with a box and stepped on a piece of cardboard on the second step down. His foot slipped and his ankle rolled and he fell onto a big pile of empty boxes, which may have saved him from more injury. However, he has a wicked looking swollen, bruised ankle to show for it! Sunday after church I took him to immediate care and they confirmed he has sprained his ankle. Poor guy! After hobbling around a couple of days, his buddy from work brought over his crutches and now at least he can get around without putting too much weight on it. It puts a bit of a damper on continuing efforts to finish up at the other place. On a positive note, our garage sale went well and now everything left over has been hauled to the DI trailer. The upstairs is completely empty and clean and we are well into getting the downstairs cleaned up as well. We spent a couple of hours there this morning and will go over again tomorrow morning. It seems I cannot handle more than a couple of hours there at a time. Too overwhelming!! But it won't be long now and we can focus on our new life!

Preschool Christmas Program

Last night was Joseph's preschool Christmas program. It was short and sweet and packed with people. The kids sang many songs, then were asked individually by the teacher what they wanted Santa to bring them for Christmas. When she got to Joseph, well, here is what he asked for....



Yes, he said a notebook and a pencil. And I believe few kids received laughter AND applause for their answers!! You may be wondering, are we so poor that we can't afford paper and a pencil for our sweet little boy? Not true, however Santa may be able to find a really special one for him. Annalina is always writing and drawing in her notebooks(she's got quite a stack already) and he is fascinated by this. So he made up his mind a couple weeks ago that he really wants his own notebook and pencil. I think he will be pleasantly surprised Christmas morning!!
After the program the kids got to decorate cookies, make some ornaments and visit with Santa! Annalina was really shy and did NOT want to actually sit on Santa's lap. It was funny, she was telling him what she wanted from a couple of feet away. He could not hear her, so I urged her to sit for a photo! Oh, and she would like colored pencils for Christmas. The preschool kids had their photos taken by the teacher, so I will post that photo once I have it.
Reindeer Joseph with his purple frosting covered cookie! Looking a little tired! It was a big night!

Heading out to the car, looking a LOT tired! Merry Christmas!!

Isn't it Great? Annalina is Eight!!!

Happy Birthday to the sweetest little girl I know! Today is Annalina's eighth birthday! What a blessed eight years it has been. Annalina continues to bring such happiness into our lives and we love her so very much. Since Richard has to work very late tonight and the older kids have a temple trip this evening, we decided to celebrate and let her open her gifts last night. Richard and I spent the entire afternoon at the old house working in the garage, so Adrienne picked up the kids after school and took them home. She then made Annalina a birthday cake, a white cake with white frosting, at Annalina's request! When Richard and Igot home, I got dinner in the oven and we quickly wrapped her presents. There was nothing in the budget for birthday, so I was lucky to have thought to get prepared a while back. We had gotten her a baptism dress and she really likes it, it will be beautiful on her. I got her a gingerbread house, since she got one from the Consers last year and loved it so much, she asked for one this year too! And she got two barbies that I had ordered as a Kool Aid premium many many many years ago when Adrienne was little, but she was never into barbies. I found them while sorting through the garage and thought she would like them. And of course, she did! She named them Kathleen and Rosie. We have had a family tradition with the older kids that they get breakfast in bed on their birthdays. We did not do this with the younger kids since they were kind of young and with the bunk beds, it didn't seem like a good idea to have breakfast served way up there. This year Annalina was so excited at the thought of breakfast in bed. So I got up early and made her eggs and toast with applesauce and took it to her room. She was very happy! Happy Birthday Annalina, your family loves you more than you will ever know!!

Joseph, Just Joseph

Today in the car on the way to preschool Joseph said, quite out of the blue, "Mom, when we turn a thousand, we die" and I asked him why and his answer was "a thousand is the last number" so I explained how numbers go on forever and he seemed a little disappointed that his reasoning was not correct! He is so funny! At first I was not looking forward to taking him to preschool and back since its about a half hour round trip, but I treasure the time we have in the car together. Joseph has always had trouble with several letters and their pronunciations, especially the letter s and l. So we work on that in the car. The other day he said he wuved me and I asked him if he could say "el" and he tried so hard and just about every other sound came out of his mouth. I asked him to try la la la la. And he did and finally got it and the proceeded to say I ullll-ove you mom! He was so excited and it is absolutely adorable how he enunciates the L sound every time. So he started saying every L word he could think of, including lollipop and Leila, his cousin's name. He is doing great and still says ullll, at the beginning of every L word. Oh and he was very excited that now he could sing Jingle Bells in Spanish correctly-"Cascabeles, Cascabeles, tra la la la la"(they have been working on that for the preschool Christmas program coming up). Joseph has quite a video game addiction. He LOVES to play Spyro the Dragon and I have to be very careful, because if it was up to him he'd play 24 hours a day and while it would be nice to have him occupied for so long, I know it is not good for him. One day he was very grumpy when I told him it was time to turn it off, so he had a couple days off from playing(he has been pleasant about it ever since). Well after those couple days he came to me and said, "Mom, I will be so good today, I will be a thousand good, and I have already been 40 good, so I only have 20 more to go". You just have to love the logic of a four year old! In case you can't tell, I adore my Joseph. I adore all my kids, but the stage Joseph is in right now is so incredibly fun. I wish I keep him this age for a few years. He is still so loving and sweet and will come up and hug me and snuggle out of the blue. His mind is always thinking, I love the things he comes up with. He is nice to other kids and is very sharing with his things for the most part. Kids are such a blessing!