Seth at Two Weeks

And... a few outtakes... :-)

Seth and 5 days old song

Seth and Lee: One day old hospital picture

I dedicate this little song/video to Seth. I love it!

Seth at 5 days old 12/15/09: "I'm sittin' here I'm five days old... One day I'll be a year, then I'll be two, then three, then four, but as for now... I'm five days old, I'm five days old and no days more ".

Seth Steven Andelin is here!

Seth was born on December 10, 2009, his grandfather Steven's birthday (Lee's father). Thus he will be named Seth Steven Andelin! :-)

He weighed in at 6 lbs. 5 oz. and 19 inches long.

Welcome Seth! We are happy to have you here!

Eden turned 3!!

Just in time for this little one's arrival (2 weeks to go and counting)!

From Eli's perspective...

And some pictures from October...






(Eli's friend in the fireman hat)

(Luke and Eden in "Make Believe Mode")

Quote of the Month:

I love this quote that I came across the other day...


"Don’t freak out about the little stuff. And let’s face it—it’s pretty much all little stuff when you think about the magnitude of childhood. Teenagers stay up late doing stupid things, kids play in the mud as soon as the rain stops, lipstick gets smudged all over the wall, milk gets spilled all over the table, eggshells will always land in the batter. This is life, so don’t let it throw you.
A huge part of motherhood is just adjusting our standards to embrace the reality of childhood." ~Hannah Keeley [emphasis added]

Since I'm feeling better now

I thought I'd celebrate by posting a few pictures. A sort of recap from the last several months from when I got sick. Wow, it's been five/six months! Half of this year I've spent sick, yuck!

Eden's haircut (first "real" one):

Luke's first day in Kindergarten:

Summer vacation with lots of cousins (I wish I took more pictures of our vacation, but I wasn't quite myself yet and just didn't do well in that area. Hopefully the memories will last despite my neglect):

Me with pregnant tummy, my sisters (minus one) and neice, Christie:
Eli turns 7!




David turns 10! (He didn't want cake...still I probably would've done more for him had I not been SO sick at the time. He asked me if next year he could have a better birthday - sad! I took the picture from the couch where I was lying):

Happy Birthday to our friend Linda:
Summer in Phoenix means lots of H2O:

Piano recital:

Bubbles and Buttons:

Scouts:


Birthdays for me and Lee:

Enter at Your Own Risk!

I have wanted to warn my family and friends when they come to visit Arizona and have neglected to do so in time!... So sorry Dad(x3)!

Phoenix has devised a great way to tax the people, and especially visitors, and believe me it really works. They have been making bucks off of it!!!

There are speeding cameras everywhere! Some in parked vans that move around (that's what got me), some in permanent places along roads and freeways. If you are going 11 miles per hour or more over the speed limit you will get three great pictures of you and your car sent to you in the mail that show you, your license and the speed attached to a moving violation and a bill (you can also opt for traffic school if you live here, which evidently is the same cost or more than the bill itself).

When I finally remembered to tell some family visitors to be careful when driving around here, they said, "oh, we were wondering why everyone goes the speed limit here! We had decided that maybe everyone in the country just doesn't drive like Utahns!" :-)

When you get to know your route, and learn to use your speed control, you can get pretty good at avoiding the traps, but as a visitor watch for the signs. And if you see a lot of people putting on breaks and slowing down ahead of you, my advice is to not look at them like they are crazy and speed past them, but instead slow down and crawl along with them until the cameras are past (for the moment that is--the freeways have them every few miles in some places).

Many people are fighting them saying that they are unconstitutional, so we'll see if they stick around much longer. But, for the moment, the state loves them because the increase of money they have gotten. The radio said that some legislation is trying to okay more of them and to make them more hidden (camouflaging them to look like bushes or dumpsters at street corners) and to lower the speed penalized not to exceed five miles per hour over the speed limit instead of ten. Maybe it was a joke, I don't know. Many say that there is no way it could ever happen!

But anyway, for the time being, consider yourself forewarned! :-$

Freedom!?!

Are three of my four children really at school for 6 hours of the day five days a week?

It feels like I've been handed a huge gift! In my excitement, I forgot reality for a second, and exclaimed to Eden, "Eden, it's just you and me for the next few years!" And then reality set in and the bubble burst and I had to change my comment to "oops, it's just you and me for the next few MONTHS!" :-] (dangit)....oh, well, I will smile at the fact that I at least have a few months!

I volunteered today with Luke's class and when I was standing in front of the children lining them up in two lines to go to recess, I heard a girl whisper to another girl, "Ask her if she has a baby in there, or if it's just a lot of food." So then I got to hear the question from the friend, "Do you have a baby in there or is it just a lot of food?" I chuckled at their obvious attempts to be so polite about it.

Now truthfully, the answer is both! But I wasn't going to go there with them, so I said, "there is a baby in there." Then there were giggles and little squeals of excitement with whispers, "There's REALLY a baby in there!" It was cute to watch. The little girls started following with questions about names for the baby, etc. (I swear, only from girls would you get that kind of reaction! The boys were busy clobbering eachother with their lunch boxes, they couldn't have cared less!) Sadly, there was a little dampening of glee with a sort of disappointed "oh" when I told them that it was a boy.

Personally, I like my little boy that's coming! But, poor Eden will ask with yearning, "but, is it a girl now?" and later, "but, is it a girl NOW?" Sorry to say girl, but this boy will always be a boy.

It's Official!!

My suspicions were verified! This sweet little one is a...





BOY!! :-) (We are specializing!) ;-)

It's been a while...

Since I've posted, so I thought I ought to think of something to say...

so here goes...

These days I am:

*counting down the days for school to end - hoping then I can sleep in a bit
*thinking my family and friends are the best in the world and I am so blessed to have them!
*grateful to Lee and his extra special attention and care these days

*and honestly, I might as well just say it,...just trying not to throw up every second of every single day (two ultrasounds have confirmed the news)
My sister describes it as really bad motion sickness. Like you're on a really long, hot, horrible car ride that never ends and you can't even stop at gas stations to stretch a bit. I'd say that's pretty close to how awful it feels!
*trying to get used to the idea that there will be another Andelin before this year is through! --even if that little Andelin is currently only the size of a pinto bean.
*thinking that cats are not a fun thing to get just as morning sickness kicks in!
(they are cute and fun for everyone,...I just can't look at them, touch them, or even think of them without feeling my stomach lurch to my throat...so enough typing about them)
*I am on two kinds of medication this time to keep my food down, and I am off to the pharmacy to get the refills. I am past due on my dose and can certainly tell!

David was asked at church in front of the WHOLE primary where his mom was and was she sick. I told him not to tell anyone. I guess he figured that saying, "Yeah, and she will be for like the next FOUR months!!" wasn't saying anything! --So it's out--off to the pharmacy!

Mesa, AZ is too hot for a wedding...even in March!

I wish I was one of those people that just soaked up warmth and couldn't get enough of the sun...but I'm just not, and I still can't understand the wanting a wedding in AZ. Don't get me wrong, though. I'm really glad that my nephew's fiance/wife wanted it here though because all of the family came to us (i.e. no traveling involved). I loved it! We love Emily for Ryan and are so happy for them! And it was so fun seeing how many people we could squeeze in our house at once! I think we got up to eighteen total, actually sleeping here!... So fun! Some pictures: Poor Grandma thought that she was finding a quiet place in the shade to sit and park for a while, until suddenly....she's a bridesmaid! :-)

Two more to the family: "What can you do? When you're crazy....you're crazy!"

above quote from an old animal loving lady who was listening to my woes about how I don't know why I'm taking on more animals! Note: I'm not particularly "animal loving"..I thought!


Introducing: Bubbles and Buttons (identical Ragdoll sisters)
Soon to join the family later this week.





For more info, visit: http://www.abundantlyblessedcattery.com/

I am not allergic to cats! I am not allergic to cats! I am not....

I am in denial. Maybe if I tell myself this many times over and over again it will become true! :-@

It is only a little bit as allergies go...I hope! Plus, I heard that you can become immune to your own cat/s if you're around them enough (crossing my fingers). Besides, I'm allergic to dogs too, and I still have a "huge-amongo" one. I figure if worse comes to worse, I'll just be a daily taker of claritin or something... (honestly, I'm just praying really HARD that this will all work out)!

Speaking of my huge-amongo dog!

How could I have known that the day after we prayed hard for guidance, worked out our budget so that we could squeeze in a couple of cats and then put down a down payment for the little kittens, our dog would become almost deathly ill and have to go in for emergency surgery because of a congenital dental problem that involved teeth extraction, infected jaw bone removal, bone grafting, and bone-growth stem cells from one of the two veterinarian dental surgeons in AZ who also does surgery on lions and tigers and bears! Not cheap! Just putting our huge dog under the anesthesia broke the bank, let alone the rest. Needless to say...I was in tears!...and not just for the dog's sake!

Is The Flu Shot Really Worth the Trouble?

I am so sick! I have been completely laid out for days, since Friday! We have all been hit hard, except for Lee who hasn't been home enough to contact the illness (yet). Every centimeter of me just hurts! My kids and I have been laying around pretty much comatose all weekend. I hate feeling this way. Plus, I have serious cabin fever!

Lee worked a whole day, a whole night, and then another whole day without any sleep. The poor guy. Last night, when he was finally done with the deadline, I came and got him. I didn't want him driving home with so much sleep deprivation. He said he didn't have much real food either, just junk. So after giving him a square meal and putting him to bed last night about 9pm, he is still there (1:30pm). He told me that he was still planning on going in to work this morning, but I think that plan is shot by now. He may have wanted me to wake him up, but I'm not about to. The poor man needs sleep sometime, despite what the pressures of his job think. Maybe he'll get there by this evening....I just hope that his body, being run down, doesn't pick up this horrid virus!

The doctor says that this virus is NOT the one they gave shots for this year. But that it has been sweeping through all of the schools and is very contagious. The same thing goes for the flu virus that my kids got last month. They tested it and verified that no, it was not the same strains as the shot....

So I have come to a very important conclusion!... I am officially relinquishing all guilt that I DIDN'T get any of them flu shots this year! ;-) What a waste of time, money and hassle that would've been!

The Efforts Continue...

I actually did eventually get to that drawer, even if it was after midnight, and I now have a still totally broken, but organized drawer! I tried to "heal" Eden's heart and be a good example by showing her what I had done the next morning. Once I did, I wondered if it was such a good idea after all. Watch her eyes! I knew exactly what SHE was thinking! Stuff like this....toddler heaven! (and dental floss is a personal mess making favorite of hers) ;-)



But see, that was relatively easy because most of it didn't have a lot of sentimental attachment. The other stuff is harder. Take this for instance: Last week, I was going through a pile of stuff by my bed trying to keep my heart out of it. Using only my head and dumping whatever was taking up space. When I got to this heart, I had to stop and evaluate. It's two Valentine's Day old. Luke made it and it's actually an envelope to put all of your valentine's in it. It had been laying around my house for a long time last year until I finally put it away with my children's artwork. Then it laid around again this year after Luke brought it out so that he could make me valentine's and put them all in there for me... But now it's trashed, torn and it's big. So what do organizers say in this case, take a picture of it! So that's what I did... evidence above (and notice the shout out to Sink Reflections?...not staged). In fact, I took SEVERAL pictures close-ups, different lighting, etc....I even took a video of the thing! And when all was said and done, I picked it up, put it over the trash, took one long last look at it while storing my memories of Luke's pride and love in it,.... and then stuffed it right back in the drawer! After all of that! It ended up meaning more to me after all of that! With all of my thoughts directed to Luke and his beautiful, sweet soul!....sigh....so I'm thinking it's pretty much hopeless for me and my "blue" color-code personality!

Guilty...and THANK YOU for all of the great lunch ideas!

The Arizona Republic has as a headline in one of its sections: "Clutter and Calories: Experts link a messy home to overeating" Just reading that both made my heart sink and was an "ah-hah" moment all at the same time. Who would've thought that the two greatest trials of my LIFE would be "linked" together? All I can say is, "Yes. I am guilty."

My question is, so what then? The article says, "If your cupboards hold random foods instead of the makings of a nutritious meal, and if you can't find the right utensils, clean dishes or even a clear spot to set them, clutter trumps your good intentions." Which is why you go for something easy which is not as healthy. Okay, I definitely understand that one ...so moving on, then the article says, "simple room-by-room changes can help you turn a house that's making you fat into one that allows you to make good choices easily, supporting the life you envision for yourself." Okay, I'm envisioning..... so what now....then it goes through a list of all of the same organization tips and diet tips everyone already knows.

The article seems to be saying, "well, duh, organize your house and then everything will be wonderful including your weight." As if the cause is the lack of organization. I can see that they both could be related to each other, but I question, "is clutter really the cause, or could the two both be symptoms of the same cause?" Is "Whatever it is" causing both of those things to be present in my daily life? For instance, could it be lack of energy? lack of focus? lack of know how? lack of emotional health? lack of mental health? Or hey, maybe it could even be lack of physical health....maybe they are just negative feed backs of each other and tend to propel one and then the other until you're in a hamster wheel and can't get out! Or, heavenforbid, dare I say it?... laziness!

I don't know. But I do know that there is a slower, sluggishness about me that I don't sense in other more clutter-free people. I also know that there are times when I have eaten completely healthy and there are times when I have felt organized, sometimes for extended periods of times, but I then seem to crash and can't seem to keep up with the energy that is involved to sustain such a life style....and then the guilt creeps in.

I'm trying to remember if those times coincided with each other...maybe they did. Actually, yes, I would say two of the times that I remember the most is when we lived from home and had to leave all of our furniture and "stuff" in storage units. But, that is not realistic longterm. I can't keep all of my stuff and furniture in storage units for the rest of my life (though I do know some people who do).

I don't know, maybe clutter causes so much nagging mental stress, that it causes depression and the depression keeps you from having energy to exercise and eat right.... or maybe it's only a state of mind and if I change my attitude to a "I think I can" type of attitude all would change... I don't know!

But what I do know, is that to "just get clutter free" as the article suggests, for me, at least, is a lot easier said then done!

Anyway, food for thought...

BTW, The man who prompted the article wrote a book called, "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?" ....again....ouch!...;-)

----
While I'm divulging, I might as well go all of the way and SHOW you what I'm talking about...Aaah! Okay, I stop right here to give a...

Warning: If you do NOT like me, I would strongly suggest, and even demand, that you stop reading about right....NOW! (This is stuff I'd only tell people that I could imagine as my friends, not my enemies....just too much fuel for your fire, let me tell ya, spare yourself, you just do not want to go there!).... okay, wait..... NOW!

True story: I am currently reading the book, "Sink Reflections" as per my sister's request. It was on the floor by my bed with my regular pile of clutter and David picked up out of the blue, opened it up and read out loud one line, "'As the kitchen goes, so goes the rest of the house'...[lifts eyebrows as he looks at me with earnest eyes]. That definitely is true in our house. You need to read this! I'm going to put a book mark here for you." Then he got a sticky note and stuck it there...as to not get lost.

So, since I have NO shame ;-) I will show you my kitchen right now, speaking of clutter... Freak, is it already 1:49pm! I haven't done anything worth speaking of today besides this post!...sorry, a tangent...okay, so Here are my counters...

Now the REAL divulgement (if that's even a word...nope. It's not, I just looked it up. Oh well, not changing it. I like it! and you get the point) is that LAST week my friend came over and helped me organize that counter!....AND! I'm really embarrassed to say this..I payed a lady only yesterday to clean my house. And she straightened and wiped my counters!... and since we're on the topic of healthy eating, notice tortilla chips and marshmallows (Eden is eating a cupful of marshmallows right now that she got for herself because I haven't stinkin' FED the girl!) And the next one...(notice the dehydrated leftover mac'n'cheese in the pan from...I'm not sure when..because (AAAH! I can't believe all that I'm divulging!) I didn't even make mac'n'cheese yesterday for lunch...that was Top Ramen!
Is it really as bad as all that? Yep, that's the honest to goodness truth! But still, I'm smiling, (now this is the crazy part) and my kids, though starving, seem to be happy for the most part. I think, I actually like my life! (except for those two hateful topics previously mentioned)

Lastly, when I went to take a picture of my most embarrassing bathroom vanity drawer,... since it's totally broken,... I totally dropped the whole thing after pulling it out too far! Then I just left it there thinking that this is the perfect opportunity to organize it! .... just,.. not now.... I've got to finish this too long of a post (sigh,... but what does one expect when they are "divulging" their biggest weaknesses)...



Finally, the worst part is that I'm unwittingly passing all of this emotional baggage on to my children (think: David's comment) and see below Eden's reaction to the mess. It's all very telling!

But then, aren't there some scriptures that tell us we're supposed to have weaknesses in this life? yes? [think, Ether 13:verse...whatever it is] Oh, good! That makes me feel better. I can think of it this way! I am helping my children to have the need to go to Christ to ask for HIS help to remove from them all of the baggage that I have caused them. I could think of it as bringing them closer to Christ, right?;-) Okay, I know...but seriously, all of this would be more than I could bare if I didn't KNOW that He is there for me and can help me to be the mother He wants me to be. Through Him I can make "weak things strong"... though it may take a lifetime of effort and faith and prayers. But, in the meantime, He can help me to have peace and love in my heart. In the end, isn't that what matters most in order to bring us happiness in this life and the life to come? I think so.

But in the meantime, I better, with a prayer in my heart, get off of my, what that book talked about, and get my children some lunch...love ya bye
---

Speaking of: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you all, for all of the great lunch ideas!

I have a long list of new ideas including, bagels, pepperoni, All-Bran crackers, corn dogs... hey, and I just thought, I have frozen chicken nuggets(also remembering my lack of healthy eating, [tinge of guilt], but I have to overlook the fried part right now for the sake of getting some protein in them), why didn't I EVER think of that!

Anyway, thanks everyone!

P.S. Amber! long time no talk! it's great to hear from you!

P.P.S. Nichole, to answer your question, hot lunches are $1.75 for my kids. In itself isn't a lot of money, but after I multiply it per kid and amount of days it begins to accumulate.

P.P.S. Cher I've never gotten a comment from you I don't think! How fun! Great ideas! I love you guys! I'm praying for Jason.

An Evil, Dying, Screeching Owl

Is what my loving and gracious son says that I sound like during my voice lessons..... Sheesh!
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Good thing we're going to have our FHE lesson on "Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words to Eachother" tonight! Sounds like prime time for such a lesson!..... ;-) Can you say, "guilt trip"? ;-)

"Green" Husband + Weeds + HOA =...... a Fire?

Lee is always looking for ways to be kind to nature and the earth. When it comes to the weeds that grow in the front yard we try to keep them under control the good, old-fashioned way... pulling each one out by hand. But in Spring after a rain they start to pop up faster than our hands can pull....and so we get letters from our HOA threatening to charge us. They drive by all of the houses every week (on Tuesdays at 12pm, to be exact) to make sure that there is not one green thing popping out from our rocks.

So, to combat the deluge of HOA letters, Lee came home feeling very triumphant the other day. He was carrying, "The Inferno Torch"! (made especially for weed killing, I guess) and a propane tank, assuring that THIS was the best chemical-spray-free way to deal with the weeds.

So, Saturday was THE day to try it out. I was inside the house and all of a sudden, a loud sound came from outside the front door that sounded not unlike a plane trying to land on our house!

After cautiously checking it out, I found that it was none other than the studly, green, "Inferno Man" with a huge blast of inferno at the end of his arm. My first thought was, "my goodness, the whole neighborhood's going to come out to see if a plane IS falling on them with all of this ruckus!" But, Lee was so proud of his new found toy that it only took me a half a minute of watching before I started to get the giggles and decided to go get the camera. I was really glad that I had when things began to get a little out of control for the Inferno Man.... and a little "gigglier" for me!

Here's the video: (note: The video does NOT do the noise that this thing makes justice. It was REALLY loud!... what about noise pollution?)







Before Inferno Man:



After Inferno Man:


After (close up):

Sack Lunch Woes

My boys are hard to pack lunches for, because they aren't keen on sandwiches. I have sent sandwiches in their lunches just to have them return the same way they went out (only warmer and more mushed). At one point they would only eat pb&j's and I got so tired of making them every morning that using the idea of Uncrustables, I made my own.
I made them in mass and froze them. That made lunch making quick and easy every morning. But alas, they got burned out on them and won't touch them now.

So can you help? What other reasonably priced ideas do you have besides sandwiches to feed them. Right now I am trying crackers and cheese, but who knows how long it will be before they are tired of those.

Improvement in Reading?

I was so proud of Eli and his "Improvement in Reading" certificate, yet, it was on the fridge for a couple of weeks before I noticed this funny irony! Maybe spelling needs to be the next focus...

I Love Rain...and Internet is Not Good For ADD Brains

It's raining hard tonight and I love it! It rains so seldom that it doesn't depress me, instead it comforts me.

You know the feeling that one gets when he/she walks into a room on an errand, gets sidetracked and then walks out of the room without accomplishing the first errand in the first place. That sort of feeling plagues me! In fact, it sometimes takes me several minutes or hours before I remember that I had the other errand in the first place!

I don't know if it's me and my ADD or just normal busy mom syndrome. But I feel that way A LOT....and the internet does not help matters! In fact it's worse. I can get so sidetracked in emails or blog or googling or researching and reading when I was supposed to...say, renew my library books or something! And then it never gets done, even though I was on the computer for an hour. Now I have an enormous library fee as a result!... [muttered under breath]ergh! I hate the stupid library anyway...

Explanations of Cartoon Characters

Comments from previous post...

Jenny said...
Oh, Lee is totally Simba! I had to think about it for a second, but then it totally fit. I can't see you as Belle, though. Remember how she liked to sit around and read? And how she's not very social? That's just not you.

Emily said...
Cute! I don't know who Franny is though...but you and Lee that is a good fit. :O) Thanks for being a good sport! :O)


Good point Jenny. This is my reasoning: I thought of using someone like Arthur's or Little Bear's moms or Nala, but the characters are too one sided and you barely get to know much about them other than their being mothers (or girlfriend). So I decided I was going to pick someone who is a main character so that there is more complexity in her personality. And out of the women main characters, I figured that Belle is most like me in that she is a stronger character. She can stand up to the Beast and isn't a sweet, little, pansy type, as this picture illustrates...



She has ideals and dreams, but isn't swayed by the social pressures of her small village...and definitely DOESN'T swoon at the catch of the town because she sees through the facade (I hate Hollywood and all of the movie stars people swoon at). Yes, she reads and has her head buried in a book. But, if you saw me lately, if my nose isn't in a book I'm listening to one on audio or to talk radio (NPR is my personal favorite... best of which is "Science Friday" on "Talk of the Nation"). To me it is the same strong mindedness and stubborn thinking I have. Besides, Belle IS social... with those that she wants to be...like teapots and furniture! :-)

Emily, Franny is from "Franny's Feet" click here to see an episode: Franny's Feet

Tag From My Sister: If You Had to Be a Cartoon Character...

What personality would suit you best?

Lee: Simba

Bethany: Belle

David: Arthur

Eli: Little Bear

Luke: Calliou

Eden: Franny

Kiva: Pluto

The Comment From My Friend in China

about the boys' Mandarin.

Lori said...
WOW!!! They sang it perfectly and yes, it is a VERY common song. Everyone in China knows it. So cute!! It is so cool that they are learning Mandarin. I am excited to show this, as well as their writing, to William and the kids. I will post more of what our kids are doing in school on the blog. Tell your kids their singing is "hen hao". Love ya!


So cool! I'm so glad that the boys are really learning the language instead of just thinking that they are -- Hey, I sure wouldn't know! I read it to the boys and they were happy. David told me that "hen hao" means "really good". Eli said that his teacher tells them that a lot to say "good job". I asked them, "which is it, really good or good job? They both said, "Both. Same thing!"

Christmas Tag

CHRISTMAS SURVEY

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both. Whatever I have on hand, though bags are sure easier, just more expensive.

2. Real tree or artificial? I love real for the smell, but someone gave us an artificial tree one year (7 yrs. ago) when we felt especially poor... and we 've never felt rich enough to buy a tree ever since.

3. When do you put up the tree? Whenever I can cope with it.

4. When do you take the tree down? Whenever I can cope with it.

5. Do you like eggnog? Yum...except I like to add milk so it's not so sweet and thick.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? roller skates, a sewing kit with a certificate saying that I would have sewing lessons from my Mom (she taught me how to sew and I made an outfit that I liked) and dolls (I loved baby dolls, even as an older girl)

7. Hardest person to buy for? Lee

8. Easiest person to buy for? my kids

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, a few

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? :-] Neither...bad huh!

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Doesn't exist! If it's a gift to me, it's wonderful!!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's a Wonderful Life

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Not until December...only because of lack of planning.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? um...Everything!

16. Lights on the tree? of course! ....I do like the old fashioned big bulb colored ones, it's nostalgic

17. Favorite Christmas song? All

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? either, depending on the year

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? yep'm...Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder (that was the original spelling), Blitzen....and of course, Rudolph!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? We happen to have an Angel, but no preference really.

21. Open the presents? One Christmas Eve (pajamas) that Santa (Lee) brings in person. The rest in the morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? It comes faster and faster each year.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? The retro multi-colored big bulb lights

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Don't care. But Christmas Eve we always have a huge Smorgasbord buffet, yumm!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? My kitchen is falling apart every appliance and/or dish and/or pot is broken or on it's way out...something along those lines.

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Emily Rasmussen, when she's up to it after her baby having come this week. Congratulations Emily!!!

Mandarin song...

My boys have a regular Chinese class where they learn some culture, along with learning to write and speak some Mandarin. Here they are singing a little song they learned.

My beautiful friend, Lori, lives in China, qiansinchina.blogspot.com so with her help she can tell us if this sounds at all like Chinese. Lori, is this a common song sung by the children?

Translation: My boys say that it's about two tigers that are friends. "One has no ear and the other has no tail. Aren't they a silly pair?"
Oh, and they count to ten...




Eli practices writing his numbers

This Thanksgiving I Was Thankful For...

Cheaper Gasoline!

It made it possible to take a quick trip home to California, to see family for the weekend. Though we had planned on it for months, the budget for this month was just not going to allow it. Until, that is, gas practically halved its prices since the Summer. It was a great surprise and a blessing that we were able to make the trip and still stay within our regular monthly gas budget. It truly was great to go home for Thanksgiving. I just soaked it up and feel warmed and better for it. Thanks to my family for welcoming us (and the dog). We love you!

[sorry no pictures. I left the camera at home by accident].

I'm still "Weirding OUT" that I live in Phoenix!

Nevermind that it's been 3 years, it's still a bit weird to me....

An actual, bonified conversation this morning:

David walks into our room and shutters while commenting on his being cold...and then exultant he says, "Hey, it's been a LONG time since I've shivered!"

Lee: Yup, it's not very often that you get the opportunity to shiver in Phoenix!

Me: Yeah, so you better take advantage of the opportunity and shiver away!

Crazy fact: Our house was 70 stinkin' degrees!...Brrrr!

Eden Turns 2!! Princesses, Broken Arms & Thank You Video for Grandmas

The Discovery of Princesses:

I've been sort of holding out on the princess thing with her, but she went to a friend's "Princess" Birthday Party and has not been the same since! She got princess stickers there and afterward had to have them with her night and day. She wouldn't even take a bath without them! Now everything is "princess."

At the princess party: (Boys were princes/knights)




Notice David's broken arm? He had the cast on for a month, got it off last week and now is good to go!


Eden's 2!!!




She got stuff (bed, stroller, bouncer, etc.) for her doll(s) and other things from her Grandmas. This Eden highlight video is especially for them...

Halloween Pics.

Eden: Tulip Fairy
Luke: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle & Superman
Eli: Ninja & Pirate
David: Green Power Ranger

The Final Countdown!

I thought I'd change the music on my blog to something more appropriate to the feeling of the day! I hope everyone votes today!

Arizona is voting on adding the definition of marriage to the state constitution today like California. We are FOR the proposition as our leaders of our church have asked us to support it as the family is the backbone of our society and it needs to be supported.

This morning David said a morning prayer. I asked him to remember the people of the country in his prayer, that people would vote and they would choose what is best for our country and to pray for the prop. on marriage. I take it he didn't quite understand what "prop." means because when he prayed, he prayed that we would vote for the "proper marriage"....hey, that works too!

Belligerent Blogging

One of my good friends sent me this email. I love her humor and I've been after her to start a blog for some time. She had been against it for a while, but I'm excited to see that she finally gave in... albeit "belligerently." :-)

she wrote:

"Bethany, I started a blogless blog (no pictures, no family pride etc.). I don't know how well you appreciate my dark humor, but if you need to feel better about your life, go to: belligerentblogging.blogspot.com Love, Jenny"

It makes me laugh, 'cause I guess I should have known that if she was going to start to blog, she could only do it this way! But that's one of the reasons I like her so much! She's mostly talk though. She's has a lot more fun, humor, kindness, caring and love in her than belligerence! :-) (...shh! Don't tell her I told you though...it's suppose to be a secret!) ;-) I love you Jenny! Welcome to the blogging world! ~Bethany

History Has a Way of Repeating Itself

Year:1997
Place: Catalina Island, CA
What: We went on a honeymoon trip. First night there, I got sick. No way to get to the hospital (no cars). We walked to ER in middle of night. Didn't return 'til early next morning. Spent whole next day asleep recovering.



Year: 2008
Place: Coronado Island, CA
What: We went on "anniversary getaway". First night, got same illness (haven't had it in years!). Didn't have to walk to ER this time, though almost had to(found a cab). Didn't return 'til 4am. Spent whole next day in bed recovering. Bummed to miss the sailing we'd planned.

It was beautiful though!

What Kind of Green are You?

I love personality tests. My friends did this one and I was surprised how accurately it explained them. I decided to do it myself to see if it could accurately capture me. What do you think? What are you?

You Are Mint Green

Balanced and calm, you have mastered the philosophy of living well. Your friends seek you out for support, and you are able to bring stability to chaotic situations. You're very open and cheerful - and you feel like you have a lot of freedom in life. Your future may hold any number of exciting things, and you're ready for all of them!

What Color Green Are You?

Eli says

Eli said that I'm good at making people cry!

Luke got in trouble and had to "lose a privilege". I asked Luke what he thought would be a fair privilege. Eli was listening and discussed with us a bit what the privilege should be. When I told Luke what it would be, Eli said, nodding his head with a wise demeanor, "Yeah, that's a good privilege. Mom you're a good 'Lose-a-Privileger'!" I replied, "I am, huh?" "Yeah," he said, "you're good at makin' people cry." For the record, it didn't make Luke cry. I think he knew that he deserved it and so it WAS fair. But still, I get the bad rap.

I guess that's the way with Moms, we've gotta know how to make them cry.

My Domestic Side and Pig Tails

This is what I've been doing lately... Now, I still have lots of tomatoes to do. My house seems to complain at me for the neglect. But fruits and vegetables just don't wait. The mess does though...it waits, and waits, and waits for me to take charge(while it grows, and grows, and grows)...too bad!


Eden can now wear a tiny semblance of pigtails! A huge milestone for me! ;-)

Okay, yeah, sorry, I'm over due for an update.

Yes, we did get Kiva back! Thanks to the microchip we had implanted on him (yes, I know the name may sound like he's a girl, but he's a boy). In fact, I never even had to put up the flyers, since I got the call a few minutes after posting th blog. The Humane Society (though I had called them only a few minutes before with a negative answer) called just as I was walking out the door with the flyers and tape. Phew! I was grateful to have been saved the trouble. Here are some pictures from the week and a random video (mostly for the grandmas...the kids playing after dinner Monday waiting for Lee to get home...and Eden saying a few words)...

Bummer!

Today's project: put these up all over town...(sigh)!

We Survived the First Week Back to School!...and Luke's Magic Trick

We did it! David and Eli are official 4th and 1st graders respectively (Luke has another year before Kindergarten).


Directions for Luke's Amazing Magic Trick:

1. Show audience a soccer trophy with the head broken off.

2. Take the head in one hand and hold it on top of the body of said soccer player while holding base in other hand.

3. Show audience intact trophy with the help of both hands.

4. Then for the magic: Release top hand.

5. All watch as the head topples to the floor.

6. Look very surprised.

7. Exclaim, while beaming proudly, "See! It's magic!" :-)

We went to Legoland!

We had a great whole long week (well, Lee had a half week) in California, spending time with family, at the beach and...Legoland. Of course it was a highlight for the boys as they are Lego fans.




There are more pictures but haven't uploaded them yet. Hopefully later.

Exciting Changes to Our Elementary School and other Great News!

I was really excited when I read that the public elementary school that my boys go to is making some awesome improvements! When we first moved here, David went to an awesome charter school near our home that taught, among many things, Hebrew, along with Spanish, but it closed down and I was sad. He's been going to a public elementary school ever since, which has now become an "Academy". Read this... (I took the actual name out, bold added)

"Beginning with the 2008-09 school year, [blank] Elementary School will officially change to [blank] Academy and become a STEMG2 school, focusing on science, technology, engineering, mathematics and global geography".

"S.T.E.M.G.2 comes to [blank] Academy

A team of administrators, teachers and parents at [blank] Elementary School met to plan for a curricular focus of S.T.E.M.G.2 (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Global Geography) to complement the rigorous foundational program in reading, writing and basic mathematics.

[blank] Academy, which will open in 2008-09, is where students will experience not only content knowledge in these areas, but also a balance with three-dimensional, creative, real-world application.

~Science combines an acquisition of knowledge with hands-on inquiry investigations and experimentation.

~Technology balances students knowing how to use existing technology and how to apply it to advance their own learning, retrieve information and communicate.

~Engineering provides students opportunities to apply mathematical content and concepts with other curricular areas to problem solve, create and explore, with an emphasis on real-life scenarios.

~Math combines content knowledge with an understanding and application of mathematical operations and number sense.

~Global Geography balances content knowledge and enhances the scope of geographical awareness of the area in which they are studying – our state, our country and our world.

[blank] Academy students will have the opportunity to learn a foreign language – Mandarin Chinese. Staff is working to identify a sister school in China so students will have the opportunity to meet and communicate with boys and girls of another culture."


Then later:
"Great News! - [blank] Academy has an educational 'sister school' partner Qi Yi Primary School. We are very pleased to announce that at a recent national education partnership summit, we established a partnership with Qi Yi Primary School in Beijing, China.... We are very excited with this opportunity to share this mutual opportunity for cultural exchange and for our students to be able to interact with each other in S.T.E.M. experiences, Arts, and Music.

As students at Qi Yi learn English and our students learn Chinese Mandarin, we look forward to opportunities to apply our languages and enhance the ability to communicate with each other. Foreign Language—Chinese Mandarin will compliment our Special Area Program beginning with an entry novice level. It has a S.T.E.M. emphasis, (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

[blank] Academy offers students opportunities to function in teams to develop their critical thinking skills, experience exciting challenges, have their creativity, innovation and imagination reinforced and gain opportunities to work collaboratively in the expansion of their learning."



Maybe you can tell by the highlights...I'm really excited about the Mandarin. But all of it seems so awesome! I'm excited that my boys will have opportunities to learn these things!

Also,...Look at this...



Despite Lee's long hours, one great benefit for working for a firm is the perks. One of which is this annual firm get away where they "wine and dine" you for a complete weekend. This year they are flying us to Coronado!

What do you think of my new layout? ....and Whoa, Huge Dog!

I got this new layout from The Cutest Blog on the Block. What do you think?

I was reading up on facts about the breed of dog that I have, an English Mastiff, and I found this picture of an English Mastiff!



Fortunately, there was a disclaimer at the bottom stating that "results were not typical."

"Who Are You Boy?" ~A Poem from an Old Man in Russia to a Young American Missionary

A young man in our ward just returned from a mission to Russia. In a talk in Sacrament meeting, he shared this poem with us which was composed and given to him by an older man he had met and befriended. Understandably, he had a hard time getting through it, but he did and I was amazed with the poem. The Relief Society printed it the following week in their bulletin. I was so impressed! It's a great poem, truthful and to the point... (you'll probably have to click on it to get a version large enough to read it...but believe me it's worth it!)


Who Are You Boy?

Tag: A Snapshot of This Moment!

My friend tagged me on this one. "Take pictures unrehearsed, how things are at your house, right now!" (or when I read her blog, which was a week ago):

1) Laundry Room: Sadly, there is no laundry "room" at my house... just a closet


The sliding door to the closet broke the night previous...still not fixed, BTW.
















2) Favorite Place: My bed in my bedroom (or the chair next to it). It feels light and airy and comfortable to me. The bed is low to the ground (purposefully, no dust balls that way)and weirdly, right by the front door (which I didn't like at first) and attached to the family room, so it makes it so easy and comfortable to just hang out there. Not to mention when I'm there I'm right next to the kids in the family room and can see them from my bed through the double doors. So I can read or take a nap on my bed with one eye closed and the other eye on the kids. It makes it convenient...and no couch lounging anymore if I'm tired, which they hog anyway when they're watching tv.

Thankfully, when I read the blog, my house had been clean! (relatively)











A whole wall of windows, again, weird that it's right at the front door. But very light...view from one of the windows.














This is a view from the other direction this morning...not as clean this morning. Notice the front door, the window, and the couch...all from my bed!
















3. What the kids are doing now: I don't know why but Luke and Eli were running back and forth from checking out the tv and playing in their room. David was in his room quietly playing with his Star Wars Legos. Eden was following the boys around. No one was really dressed yet, except me and Eli... sorry.




















4. Favorite shoes. I've had these brown Roxy Mary Janes (inexpensive from a clearance sale)for a year and a half and wear them all of the time! They have been so versatile. As comfortable as flip flops, no socks, and I can even safely wear them to church. I'm so sad they're getting worn out. Wish I could buy another of the exact same pair!















5. Toilet: which one? Here's both. Again, I was very fortunate that the bathrooms were clean! I promise, I didn't even put those lids down!






















6. Kitchen sink: Phew! Only morning dishes!...not always the case! My timing for reading the tag was great!
















7. Fridge: Typical. Stuff all over.















8. Self-photo: Oh great! Just what I love! Well, here's me... it's a good thing I was dressed in my clothes for the day that morning! Can't say the same now. I woke up at 4:30 am and couldn't go back to sleep because I felt SO sick! I don't know what it is but I feel like a truck hit me in the night. (not sure how swimming lessons are going to go today!)















9. Closet: Not great, shelves are messy, but I'm actually very happy that they aren't on the floor! It works for me!



















10. Dream Vacation: Oh, so many dreams! I'd probably have to say though that a top choice is often a Meditterranean Cruise..


Anyone who wants to be tagged can be! I'm too sick to write down all of the names, Sorry.

A Funny Thing Happened On Facebook!

This morning in checking my email, I saw that a friend had challenged me to a game of Scramble. So I went to Facebook to play the game, which by the way I got 17 pts. to her 107 pts.! (Yeah, I'm not so good at finding words out of random letters in a box within 3 minutes). After the game I decided to challenge her back with another game.

While I was typing, unbeknownst to me, someone had instant messaged me through Facebook's Chat. My volume was off so I didn't hear a ding or anything, nor see it because my eyes were glued to the box. I kept typing as fast as I could and pressing enter after each word. Unfortunately, without my knowing it, the open window was not the Scramble window anymore... but the window from the instant messenger! I typed a word and pressed enter. Than took my eyes off the box with all the letters to see what was on the corner of the screen. It was a message from my sister's late husband's younger sister (whom I haven't spoken with for like 5 years) contacting me! Upon closer examination, I was aghast and horrified to see that the last word that I had typed had been sent to her in response to her greeting.... and the word was....."FAG"!
AAh! So the screen looked something like this...

Kimberly: Hey Bethany
Bethany: fag
[pause]
Kimberly: What!! :-(


Bethany: Oh! I'm so sorry!
I was playing scramble!


[sigh]...Oh my goodness! So embarrassing!

On a happy note, I just noticed from my blog that the temp. is only supposed to reach 101 today. That's pretty cool for here! And only 94 tomorrow, Whoa! How great!

Visiting Utah

We went to Utah for an Andelin family reunion. It was such great weather (although I think for non-Arizonians they'd say it was hot) and beautiful and green this time of year! It was lots of driving but the kids did well and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Thanks to family and friends that housed us. We had such a great time! I loved seeing all of you! Here are some pictures of our time.

Four generations!

Lee's daughter, father and grandmother











There is a special place in my heart for all of my little nieces and nephews. I love them all! Here we are hanging out with Lee's two sisters and their children.

We also went up to Preston, Idaho to visit a good friend. Since that is the place of Napoleon Dynamite, we took some pictures at a school with the tether ball poles, in honor of his favorite sport, while there. It was so picturesque I couldn't help taking some pictures from the window while driving along the highway.












This is at my brother Bob's house celebrating my niece Talia's birthday and visiting "This is the Place Park" with my nephew Andrew and my friend and her daughters.

My sister Emily and my niece (her husband, Stewart, is in the very back in the blue and white striped shirt and their son with him) visiting our old haunt, BYU! We went shopping at the BYU Bookstore and I was surprised at how high the bill was. On our drive home I noticed that they'd inadvertently charged us 92 dollars for a square of their homemade fudge! I got it taken care of and was relieved to see that I didn't spend so much after all!

Fourth of July in AZ!

July makes me think of eating Jello, not that I like it all that much. But it's fun for the kids. For our Family Home Evening treat (the lesson was on the founding fathers), we had this last minute improvised "flag". Because I didn't have time to make the latter rainbow that I had in mind. I got the recipe for the rainbow Jello off a blog and thought it would make my kids excited...but, not all that much. They just don't realize how cool it is to have your mom make you a rainbow Jello "jiggler"!! Well, whatever... Lee was impressed for me! His was the one I cut into the heart!














If you want to spend any time outdoors in AZ, it's gotta be in a pool. This is us on the 4th enjoying the outdoors in our pool (sadly, the only outdoors we did by the way). I didn't want a pool when we first moved here because I thought I'd spend half my life worrying about my children drowning. But, the gates they have these days are so kid proof, I don't worry as much as I thought I would. And it sure pays to have a pool here in AZ. It's more on the spectrum of necessity than luxury.














Even though Eden doesn't know how to swim, she has a great love for and a very unhealthy absence of fear when it comes to water! That girl will jump in any time she's within the gate, no matter if there's anyone there to catch her or not. The whole time that I'm holding her in the water she's fighting me to let go of her! And when I do let go, just to show her that she WILL drown, as soon as I get her head up out of the water, she tells me she wants to do it again!! She about gives Lee and I a heart attack when we swim with her these days! (She's so unlike Luke who hyperventilated and clung to me like a little monkey while he dug his fingernails into my shoulders the whole time.)

P.S. You can't tell by looking how stifling hot it was (106 degrees). Only fellow Phoenicians can really appreciate what a 4th of July day is like here. This was early in the morning. It was too hot to even swim later it seemed. Our pool WATER is 93 degrees right now unheated, almost bath water! Definitely not the kind of water you have to go in inch by inch or jump in all at once to get used to it. You can just walk in without a thought. Although you do wonder if it's even refreshing. I usually conclude that it's better than nothing!

Happy Father's Day and...Happy (Birth)Day Father!

What could be more appropriate than Lee teaching David how to tie his first "real" non-clip-on tie on Father's Day! I had to get pictures of it!

















AND:

A barbecue hole-in-the-wall (6pm)
















+ hiking (8pm)

















+ ice cream and presents (10pm)
















+ Crashing (notice Lee in the back)



















= Lee's "Best Birthday EVER!"

















Happy Birthday Honey!

Eden and Kiva

That was then....
















This is now...























That was then...
















This is now...










Disclaimer: She put herself in here and the door was unlatched the whole time...promise!

Eli's Roller Coaster

I was amused at Eli's version of his "Strengthening the Family." At Family Home Evening one night last month we talked about helping eachother, helping around the house, etc. I gave them each a picture of a house and asked them to draw a picture of themselves helping the family. Knowing Eli, I know he was thinking, "Picking up my toys would be a help, but how boring is that? If I have to help pick up I might as well make it fun!" So he drew a "roller coaster track" that he could send all of the toys along, including a loop, on their way to the toy box. Sooo typical Eli!

P.S. It got wrinkled and stepped on (notice the tiny dirty footprint) while it sat around my house waiting for me to scan it...sadly, very typical for me.

Isabell's Umbrella and Bats

I won this print from a free raffle from Ilovegiveaways.blogspot.com this week...the first time I entered! It's a cool site where in order to share people's little at-home businesses, gets traffic by giving away some items each week. You enter the drawing for free if you leave a comment, check it out. It's pretty cool to see what others are doing and to get some free cool things too!

On a totally separate note, I weirded myself out this week. I'm very picky at the movies I like. I tell Lee that I have to want to be there myself because my imagination really thinks I am. My boys rented "Batman Begins," and since I'm usually not an action hero movie goer I wasn't interested and didn't plan on watching, but after a couple days decided I'd watch it after all. I surprised myself that I LOVED it!! That's weird to me! I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to everyone, but I liked that there was a lot more depth and purpose to all of the fighting and violence! It made it seem real instead of fantasy. I liked that since I like to stay grounded in the real. Now I can't wait for the sequel, "The Dark Knight."

Speaking of sequels and super heroes, does anyone know what happened to the sequel of "The Incredibles"? They sure made it seem like there was to be a sequel in the end, but maybe I'm mistaken.

"ok start blogging again! How busy can you really be!!!! :O)" ~My sister, Emily

All in good time, Miss Emily... I'm back now! :-) In my defense, to Emily and to anyone else interested, I thought I'd post a few pics of some of the activities (besides the birthdays, previous post) we've been involved in this last month. School's out and summer vacation has begun, so I'm looking forward to a bit more free time which includes getting back to blogging!

1. PTA fundraiser at Chuckee Cheese's:

2. Soccer, soccer and more soccer!

















3. District Pine Wood Derby Competition: Really busy and lots of waiting around. David's car didn't win, but it still made a good showing!








4. Zoo time! Lee's work's family party. Eli got to bring his friend, David, (in the red)...sort of compensation for no party this year. I think it was 102 F that day! (That was in April. Earlier this week we were at 108 - 110 degrees...weird though, now it's cold and snowing close by).

5. Primary Activity to Plan and Put on: Mom's and Muffins Brunch














6. End of the school year performances and parties: I'm sad I forgot my camera, Eli's Kindergarten performance was absolutely adorable! But here's one of the thank you cards we drew using the computer.










7. And then...we make full circle back to Chuckee Cheese's for the Soccer Awards party:













8. So that brings us to today. A day at Outpatient Surgery with the ENT. Eli got his adenoids removed and Luke had a laryngoscopy:











Then after taking in to account the birthdays and all of the picture unworthy things like Enrichment, Choir practice, primary, scouting, carpooling (and all of the other things that go along with taking care of four kids), I hope you'll not accuse me of making empty excuses for myself this month! ;-) Any free time was spent crashed on my bed!

A couple more pictures I liked:

Happy Birthday to Eli...and David....and Me!

This past month has been filled with lots and lots of activities including birthdays. Because we had birthday parties for the boys last year and were over booked, we kept it low key with just the family this year.

Eli turned 6! I made a lego cake for him, as all of the boys are really into legos right now, especially the Star Wars version. Here are some pics. Here's a video clip and a picture of a real version of the legos...

(those things all over the table are metallic, shiny confetti pieces...not a good idea though. Somehow, they dyed pink circles all over the table).




David turned 9 years old:




Almost TWO WHOLE Hands!!



And I turned...well, let's just say I'm older!

Lee was very good to me on my birthday this year. He reserved me a day at the spa, sent me flowers and took me out for dinner that night. The following day we had a family dinner and cake! And the day after that was Mother's Day! I felt very pampered!

Note to All of My Blogging Friends:

I've added a few more things to my daily schedule, so my time for blogging has been dropping significantly. I apologize if I haven't commented on your blog as I normally do. I wish I had more time to read and chat, I miss it. But at least for the next while, I may not be as present in the blogging world as I used to be. I'm just losing the time that I used to have to give to it. So please don't take it personally if I've seemed to suddenly drop off the face of the earth...I mean, "blogging world". I'll try to get caught up with you guys when I get the chance though and still leave posts here and there. But, unfortunately, it will be sparse moments here and there, and I may not always get a chance to comment, sorry. I do enjoy all of you and reading your posts! Thanks for your friendships! ~Bethany

Insight From a 4 Year Old

Luke came to me this morning and said, "Mom, I know how people come to be friends."
"How?" (busy putting Eden down for a nap)
"When they're kids and they keep meeting each other and are with each other a lot, then they come to be friends."
"uh huh" (absently)
"yeah. See, when people are with each other this much (stretching arms apart)then they get used to each other... And... when they get used to each other...they get to be friends!"
"uh huh" (again, absently)

Then he ran off proud of himself and his explanation. Then what he said began to sink in and I began to realize how true it is! We really can be friends with anyone and everyone if we just be together long enough to "get used to each other". We as mothers often dictate who our children's friends are by getting them together because of our own friends. But the same goes for us as adults. Anyone can be your friend if you're around them enough. I'm going to try to "get used to" more people around me so I can call more around me my "friends".

Oh No, Here Comes the Heat!

According to my new current temperature box on the side of my blog there, it is currently 97 degrees. I believe it. But, I can tell that we are getting acclimated, because I just barely turned the air conditioner on for the season the first time a few minutes ago! And this is the real sign...my thermostat is turned to 79 degrees and it feels nice and coool in our house!

Our first Summer here, I was at a friend's house and I was obviously overheating and began to fan myself with a paper. She looked at me in bewilderment and said, "Are you hot?" I said, "well, yeah, kind of." She was truly shocked and said, "well, I don't know why, our thermostat is set at 78." I think my jaw dropped and my eyes got big. She was very serious! I shouldn't be hot if the A/C was turned down that low! That's when I knew I was in trouble because our thermostat at the time was between 68 and 70! I thought to myself, "no wonder our electric bill is so high!" Then I asked around. I couldn't find a single person that kept theirs lower than 78, some up to 80! I knew then that I had some serious acclimating to do! So...The next summer it was at 72/74! And now! It's official! 79 Degrees! Can we be called true Arizonians now?

Eli's Artwork Displayed at Paradise Valley Community College

Eli's art teacher Picked his artwork to be displayed at the nearby Community College's art show about a month ago. Here are some pictures of the event at the college, along with some other pictures of his artwork scanned.



Daddy's proud of his little girl.

Luke picked me a flower. He's also an artist. He colored that butterfly that day in preschool. A beautiful job, I thought.
Beautiful sunset! Nice weather!

Obviously, I know I'm biased, but for a 5 year old Kindergartner I think his pictures are so awesome! They look to me like an adult's artwork trying to look like a kid's (if that makes sense). He brought the following pictures home yesterday and when we were looking at them, David said, "Whoa, Eli, that's even better than I could do!...I think." He was impressed with his brother and wanted to compliment him, but not quite ready to admit total defeat,...thus the "I think." Eli was actually a bit disappointed with the elephant because he "forgot the tusks!"



If I can get the stickers off I think I may frame these animals. They'd go great in their "rainbow animal" room.

Eli and his Mom. He's saying "Mome" (Mommy)

I was impressed that he totally got our clothes right. That's exactly what I was wearing that day all the way down to the brown cloggy type shoes. I also liked how he drew us leaning in toward each other. His personality really came out here. He was told to illustrate on the back of the paper the sentence that they were practicing writing on the other side, "I can see mom". Even his teacher wrote, "wow". Great job Eli!

One Down, Eleven More to Go!

Lee and I calculated that we will have to help to make a total of twelve pinewood derby cars with these boys through the next 8 years straight!...and this year was our very first! David did a lot of it himself (contrary to the reputation shown in the movie "Down and Derby"). He designed it, cut it out (with the help of the den leaders) and painted it. The only part Lee helped him with was the wheels and weights. That said he did very well for himself! His first car and he almost beat out the three year running champion! He was undefeated until the very end, and even beat the champion a couple times! But the champion managed to still win in the end! Really, I was very pleased with the outcome. We were proud of him and all of the boys for their work and good sportsmanship throughout. This Saturday he will be participating in the district finals. Go David!

Watch the short clip of highlights below! :-) (Lee wanted me to mention that David's car is #7...I was thinking that you could probably figure that out pretty quickly...but, anyway, he's #7)! ;-)

Lots of Laughs!

When Luke made the brownies at preschool the teacher dedicated the day to learning about jokes. What they are, how to keep them nice, etc. She told them a bunch of jokes. We asked Luke what some of them were and these are two of them that he remembers...

Question: "What two things come between breakfast?"

Answer: "lunch and dinner!"

Question: "What is something that is blue and yellow and black all over?"

Answer: "A baby chicken!"

The older boys and I were trying very hard to figure those ones out! Needless to say, I think there was something lost in translation there! :-)

Also, I did the frozen cereal April Fool's joke thing to David this morning (from previous post). After he figured it out he got to eating his real breakfast and then Eli walked in and sat down with Luke. That's when David asked, "Mom, are you doing April Fool's jokes today?" Before I could answer, Eli pipes in (still groggy and cranky from waking up) quite seriously, "Yeah! That's why she sang us that 'It's a Good Morning Song!'" (while rolling his eyes). I had to laugh because I had sang "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" from Oklahoma while waking them up this morning. Apparently, I HAD to be joking, because in Eli's eyes, it was definitely NOT a good morning!

More seriously, several days ago, David made up this joke and I was very impressed that it actually made sense ... as far as jokes go. Which is a novel thing for us at our house. You should hear the knock-knock jokes my boys come up with. I'm sure it's pretty wide spread with small children. That's why it's a momentous thing when your child actually tells a joke that's a real joke! Maybe it's been told before, but at least for us (and for him), it was completely new. The joke is...

Question: "Why did the car get a flat tire?"

Answer: (hmmm.....in the comments section)

April Fool's Brownies!

I can't wait for David, Eli and then Lee to come home to try this trick on the boys. Luke's preschool teacher helped them make these fake brownies!

I've heard about them and thought it'd be fun, but too much work for me. I'm glad I get to see the fun without the work! They're made from dyed, wet sponges with a chocolate frosting like topping. It's not frosting I'll tell you that. I got some on my finger and when I licked it...yuck. It smells like chocolate though, so it must be made with unsweetened chocolate or something.

Even Eden got fooled! Watch the video ... I'm so mean! :-] Next installment...the boys when they get home! Happy April Fool's day! (I'm a bit hoarse on the video, sorry)



P.S. The boys thought up this April fool's day practical joke and they've talked about doing it for years to their Dad but haven't done it yet. Directions are: mix up unflavored gelatin according to directions, pour it into a glass 3/4 of the way full and chill in fridge. When gelatin is set pour a bit of water in to top of the glass and offer it to a tired, thirsty dad! I imagine that the whole thing would fall in his face. I don't know that he'd appreciate the joke being on him too much! LOL! I've heard of the same thing being done with a bowl full of cereal and milk, though 3/4 of the contents have been frozen.

Here are the boys' reactions:




Addendum: We also tricked Lee that night and it was hilarious and I got video of it too. But he had changed out of his clothes from work and thus...was only in his garments. I tried to get only his head (because I couldn't tell him, "could you please go put a shirt on before you eat that brownie" and not make him suspicious). It's so funny, but still it shows a bit too much of his garment top. And I'm not sure, but it probably isn't completely appropriate (besides the fact that he told me that I did NOT have permission to post it). Such a bummer though, because it was very cute!! :-)

Old Fashioned Television

As far as tv goes, Luke is already up with the times. We don't have a DVR. In fact, we haven't had cable or satellite since we moved to Phoenix (just one of the extras we thought we could sacrifice in the interest of saving money). It was not a sacrifice we thought we'd have to do without for long, but now it's passing the two year mark and we have yet to sign-up. We still watch videos (via library and Blockbuster's-netflix type program). I'm surprised at how little I miss it.

However, the other day, I missed Sesame Street and PBS for the kids, so I decided to buy a better antenna (the one we had wasn't strong enough to get us reception). It wasn't very expensive, and now we have a few channels that get reception, including PBS.

Since Luke was two when we moved, he has no memory of what television is like. He can NOT understand why I can't just fast forward through the guy painting and the women quilting to get to Curious George! And when he's watching Curious George, he can't understand why we can't pause it while we go pick up the boys from school.

A TiVo would make a lot more sense to the child and help me out in the process! How do you explain how tv works to a kid? I tell them that the PBS people have the DVD player at their work and they decide what goes on and when. He can't understand why we can't just tell them to pause it for us! :-)

Am I Old or What?

I said to my boys the other day (when they wouldn't....I can't remember....but I'm sure some usual thing that Moms ask over and over again before it gets done), "Why am I beginning to sound like a broken record!?" They all stopped and looked at me in bewilderment and David questioned, "A broken record??!" It dawned on me that they had NO idea what that meant. They didn't even know what a record was (besides the kind they can break in video and soccer games) let alone what it sounds like when it's broken. And they especially had no idea how that all correlated to how I sounded! It was a very weird Twilight Zone moment...which by the way is another statement that they wouldn't get (unless it was referring to the so popular vampire books that are such a hit amongst all the women I know these days).

Another sign of the time was when the boys were playing the game "Sorry" with Lee. He had mentioned that he'd liked to play the game when he was their age. David exclaimed, "Whoa, I didn't know this game was THAT old!" We just love to hear things like that...

We had a Happy Easter!

I took a big long break from blogging this last week for Spring Break. I decided that I wanted to rest fully and enjoy the holiday with my kids to the fullest. It really worked because it really served to rejuvenate my spirits quite a bit. We didn't do anything too grand or exciting, but it felt really nice just the same to have less responsibilities and more time to be with the family. My mother-in-law flew out from PA to spend Easter with us which was a lot of fun! Thanks for coming out Mom! We really enjoyed spending time with you!



One of the things we did was spend the day at the Mesa, AZ temple where we picnicked and walked around the beautiful grounds, visited the Visitor's Center, played games while waiting for the Easter Pageant to begin that night (the biggest outdoor Easter pageant in the world). It was basically a play highlighting the major events in the Savior's life. It was absolutely fabulous and inspiring! I really enjoyed the whole day! We had to reserve our seats so we took turns going off with the kids and also played games with them there at our outdoor seats as well. Sounds a bit tedious, but I thought it was a lot of fun and much more relaxing than battling crowds with four kids in tow that night.


Here are some pictures of the event. The smiley couple on the left are two of the several actors that circulated amongst the crowds before the pageant began. One thing that I really loved about this day that may sound odd to those of you who don't live in AZ was being able to walk on grass while I was there. There's tons of grass there at the temple. You may have noticed from my past pictures that people don't have grass here (very seldom anyway). It's just so hard to keep alive here. So most everyone has xeriscape yards of gravel and cactus. But not the temple. It does have some cactus, but mostly it's lush citrus and palm trees, fountains, pools, flowers and grass, grass and grass...And not scratchy grass either. It was long and soft and felt so good on my sandal/gravel hardened feet.







The pictures below are of Eden in her Easter dress and "bonnet." Since she doesn't have enough hair to do anything with, I decided I'd just cover it! We were impressed that she kept her little "whatever you call it" on all through church and through her nap as well!




We also went bowling with some friends of ours one night and had so much fun! Here's some pictures of the kids getting into their game. Funny that they had bumpers up and used that ball launcher (whatever you call it) yet were still so into it! I'm sure David would want me to say though, that he (and sometimes Eli) bowled without the "ball launcher." :-)

Kiva's 1st Birthday!

In twelve months he went from this size of a couple pounds to...

this size and 123 lbs!

We got Kiva because we had been robbed three times within months, despite security alarm warnings. Our friend who's a cop said that he recommended dogs. He especially recommended the big ones, because often they are gentle, kind, but still very intimidating. After the third break-in when our car was stolen as well, it was pretty much decided. After a lot of research, we decided on the biggest of the big,... because they also seemed the sweetest of the sweet.

Because Kiva was the runt of the litter, the breeder had planned to keep him and so had already named him when we bought him. She named him after the southwestern outdoor fireplaces that are common here which her husband builds. And though today that's what we call that type of fireplace, Kivas were originally religious sanctuaries built by the Native Americans. We kept his original name after we got him because it mirrored our feelings that he would have a calm and sanctuary like personality and help to add a feeling of serenity in our home...and really, he does. Aside from normal puppy behavior that he is beginning to grow out of, he is gentle, smart, and very sensitive to people's emotions. He brings us a feeling of safety and security in many ways.

He is very intimidating to most everyone. I had to chuckle to myself when I saw my over six-foot, big man of a neighbor try to hide behind his lawn mower when Kiva was near. Needless to say our home has not been bothered since.

For his birthday, we took him back to the breeder's house so he could see his first owners and his mother and father. I like this picture. You can see how proud the breeder is of Kiva and how she still loves him. She was his first "Mommy" owner. When we asked to buy him she hesitated and then gave in and said, "well, only if you send me pictures...'cause he's my baby." And because we have since become friends, we not only send pictures, but visit as well!

Kids About Mothers

Last Mother's day, someone emailed me the following email of 2nd graders and their answers to questions about mothers. I had fun reading it, but the cynical side of me always wonders where these come from and if they're real answers or made up or doctored by an adult...I don't know, but the thought occurred to me that I could do my own with my own children with the same questions...then I'd be sure that the answers were truly real. So following the original email, I made my own, asking the same/similar questions to my boys. They weren't as funny or creative for the most part, but still I thought it an interesting experiment.

The Original Email:
Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of ?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My Mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him? 1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms & dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic; they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Dye it. You know her hair. I'd dye it, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.


Okay let's see how my boys answered these questions... Maybe you needed actual 2nd graders because none of my boys were very perfect for the part. David was a little too old because his answers were pretty right on for the most part. Luke was too young to really understand the gist of the questions at times. Therefore his answers don't always make a lot of sense. And Eli understood the questions, but if he didn't know the answer he wasn't about to take a stab at it. You'll see from his answers that he really didn't get into the whole idea of answering such, to him, “pointless” questions.

My Boys:
Why did God make mothers?
Luke: Because they love them so much
Eli: So, they'll be taken care of

Why did God make Dads?
Luke: so they could take care of their kids

How did God make mothers?
Luke: He used water, and um, salt
Eli: How? I don't know!

What ingredients are mothers made of ?
Luke: water and salt!
Eli: I don't know!

What ingredients are fathers made of ?
Luke: Power from Jesus

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
Luke: So babies can drink milk from their moms.
Eli: Cause he chose you

What kind of little girl was your mom?
Luke: umm...Bethany! (though it sounded like “Befanee”)
Eli: a good little girl.

What kind of little boy was your dad?
Luke: a toddler... one that crawls
Was he nice? .. "yeah” Was he naughty? “No!” (oooh, little does he know!! :-))

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
Luke: To get a baby (Whoa, slow down)
Eli: I don't know
David: If he was right for her

Why did your mom marry your dad?
David: Because you liked each other
Luke: Because they love each other

Why did your dad marry your mom?
Luke: Because Heavenly Father made them

Who's the boss at your house?
David: Mom and Dad
Luke: Your dad
Eli: And our babysitters

What's the difference between moms & dads?
David: They have different body parts
Luke: The mom has long hair and the dad has short hair

What does your mom do in her spare time?
David: Do some chores, write in your journal or read your Book of Mormon or sleep
Luke. Have alone time... like color

What does your dad do in his spare time?
Luke: he just colors and colors and colors!

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
Luke: Get ready for church (hmm, no idea where he was going with that one)
David: Stop buying all this furniture and organize the house more and let us buy toys ...well, after we pay tithing on it

What would it take to make your dad perfect?
Luke: To fight in the army

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
Luke: Stop yelling to your kids and..... stop smoking (yeah... I guess I better kick that habit... just kidding, you know I don't smoke!)

If you could change one thing about your dad, what would it be?
Luke: Make him pumpkin pie (again, I have no idea!)

Hooray!!! I FINALLY figured out my frustrating feed problem!

I figured out what I was doing wrong. So try the feed button now and it SHOULD finally work! Phew!!! (How exasperating that was!) Let me tell you, Feed Burner Help Center is Not very user friendly! I couldn't even figure the help center out...how was I supposed to figure out how to get my feed problems fixed?! I finally gave up and after the hundredth time of going over my accounts myself in both places, I figured out the glitch!...I'm a bit annoyed, ya know...
In fact, I was plain mad! It makes me laugh typing about it now, but I was seriously getting so fed up with it all (everything I searched came up with nothing or irrelevant things)that I was starting to search keywords like, "What the freak are DTDs and how the heck am I supposed to change this!!" Needless to say, that search came up pretty empty too! ;-))

ABC Tag

I've been ABC Tagged. You better read on though, because you may have been too (see the letter T)!

A: Attached or single? Attached

B: Best friend? lots of 'em

C: Cake or pie? Cake if I have to choose, but not a big fan of either (unless its a flourless cake, or a not too sweet pecan or pumpkin pie)

D: Day? Friday...I seriously party on Fridays. The kids and I (Lee too if he's home) rent movies, no homework and staying up past bedtime (though the staying up has been happening on too many non-Fridays lately as well... I need to work on that).

E: Essential Item? My Sherpani wallet that has a string so it can hang on me and has my cell phone and keys attached! It's awesome (a thoughtful birthday present from Lee last year). I haven't lost, misplaced, dropped, gotten it stolen, etc. since. It's almost always on me, attached to my hip, literally. Especially when I run errands. It leaves my hands free to deal with the kids, etc. I should take a picture of it...



I'll let the model, model it. I'm not about to, sorry! (though I should actually say, "your welcome")



F: Favorite Color? blues and greens...and bright red orange

G: Gum or mints? both. but I get TMJ pain if I chew too much

H: Home Town? Glendale, California (LA)

I: Indulgences? naps, watching a movie, and Gelato from "Gelato Spot"

J: January or July? ...In AZ? definitely January

K: Kids? you can see them all on the side there

L: Life is incomplete without? My faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ (and family and friends)

M: Mexican or Italian food? Depends on the mood. Both. But, noodles, tomatoes and cheese are my three favorite foods, so that sort of spells out Italian. I guess you can find those things in Mexican too! (Sopa Seca)

N: Number of siblings? 7 brothers and 5 sisters ( I love having a huge family! So much love to go around!)

O: One word that describes you? hmmm...I asked Lee what I should say, he said "caring"...that's boring. I asked my sister what I should say, she said, "Dory" from "Finding Nemo"...should I be insulted? LOL... andshe says that I use a lot of energy... to do nothing!...maybe I really should be insulted...LOL! Okay, enough! If I were to choose a word, depending on my mood, it would be "outgoing" or "real" (meaning down to earth, low key).

P: Phobia? Something awful happening to my children...especially drowning or falling from great heights

Q: Quote? "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matt. 25:40

R: Reason to smile? Eden's bare bum running across the house (see 2nd video on bath post)

S: Season? Depends on where I'm living (CA: spring, UT: fall/September, AZ: winter)

T: Tag? Emily, Kiersta, Lori, Victoria, Anna, Alicia, Ruth Ann, Tracy, Jordan, Kelli, Megan, all of my family members...and "I have a good life girl" ;-)

U: Unknown fact about you? A heavy clay crock pot fell on my face a couple years ago from like a height of like 10 feet (I know that explains a lot! ;-) stitches, dislocated teeth...not pretty, but I was VERY blessed, it could've been much worse) and last weekend I think I broke my nose, at least it still feels like it! I'm in quite a bit of pain still (two black eyes...sort of. It looks like I have very dark circle under my eyes, like I haven't slept in days...not to mention the purple/red bump on the bridge of my nose)

V: Vegetable you love? I LOVE all vegetables! I am a HUGE vegetable fan, mmm! My favorite way to eat them is roasted.

W: Worst Habit? I'm going to have to go with Amy and add talking too much... or no, actually, maybe I'll say, speaking too much of my mind too brashly

X: X-ray or Ultrasound? Hello! What a question! Who's going to say X-ray?! (LOL! I had to laugh when I read over this one later...case in point for letter "W")

Y: Your favorite food? I said it earlier...noodles, tomatoes and cheeses

Z: Zodiac Sign? Taurus

Splish, Splash I Was Taking a Bath

You've got to see this one below! Though I was trying to keep it very modest... LOL! Let's just say ...Eden has a cute little bum!

Uh oh...now, this is NOT good!

I think I remember when all of my kids from Eli on down were first able to climb up on the table. That was one of the big toddler milestones that would always make me roll my eyes and say, "oh, no, here we go again!". Just the beginning of a whole new level of danger and messes that I'm never really prepared for.

So yesterday was that day for Eden. (I've even had to stop my blogging twice to rescue her from a top the table today.) Fortunately, the side benches can fit under the table in a way that a toddler has a very hard time getting them out. But the end chairs...that's another story. Maybe I'll have to do like my friend and after every meal she took all of the chairs and put them on the back patio and locked the back door! I'd have to watch it though, 'cause my very large giant-of-a-puppy would have them for lunch for sure!

My niece and her cute baby!

What do I call my niece's son? My grand-nephew? Hmmm...That'd be weird. Anyway, my niece, Christie, lives in Glendale, Arizona, about 20/25 minutes from me. She came over the other day and I got some pictures of her and her baby Xaiden. My nephew is almost 7 months old and 25 lbs. Now that's a big boy! But such a sweet and cute big boy!

School News

It's been a busy time. Over the past week, I've been responsible to help plan and hold a primary activity, Cub Scout Blue and Gold dinner, an 80's Ladies' Night (tomorrow night) and have also attended Stake Enrichment, Stake Temple Night, Stake Conference (Sat, Sun) and book club (tonight). I hope it will begin to calm down soon.

And that's my excuse, valid or not, for not getting these pictures out sooner. It's been in the back of my mind. Here they are. Basically, it's a run down of different events (mainly school) that have taken place over the past month or so.

1. David has done well in school. Along with straight A's, he received 3 awards from the principal at a ceremony in January. Though he's struggled with what the doctors say is probably ADD (not the H part), since we've started him on medication his attitude and self esteem have really sky rocketed (along with his grades...though they were never very bad). His pediatrician says that David should be the poster child for how the medications can help a child for the better. I can just tell that he enjoys living life so much more and his happier with himself. David, his teachers, his parents and doctors are all very proud of his improvement and grateful for the help in this area. Here are a few moments of the award ceremony...



2. On a lighter note: These are pictures of the boys on "Crazy Hair Day" at school. Luke wore his hair to preschool and after picking him up at noon, I had to run to the store on a quick errand. I didn't want to take him home and wash his hair just to make a quick trip when I was already close by, so I took him like that. I giggled to myself the whole time everytime I looked down at him. What a scene we must've been. And the looks I got! There were a lot of Grandmas there at the time, who did not seem to have any humor in the matter. I wished I could have been wearing a sign that said, "It was Crazy Hair Day, alright! (No, I don't usually do his hair like this)". Some people actually said something and I could explain, but otherwise, I just had to shake my head and chuckle at the dirty looks I received.

3. The boy's elementary school Whispering Wind, had a Health and Safety Fair. A helicopter landed on the field and the pilots talked about rescuing injured people and nabbing robbers. It was really fun and interesting...



4. At the same time, Eden was bored of all the standing and talking, so set off to find out what the sand at the playground had to offer.

As you can maybe tell in these pictures, she wasn't sure what to think of the sand. She certainly didn't like the sand on her and kept wiping her hands to get it off.





5. Not school related, but same time frame. Earlier in the month we got some of the sick bugs that have been going around. These are pictures of Eden feeling miserable burning up with fever. She was lying there in a stupor and then after my first picture (and flash) she kept her eyes covered to protect them from the painful light.
("No pictures, Mom, please!")

Great Home Decor

My friend makes and sells room decor: check out her stuff at Serendipitous

Did You Know?

Okay, I've been tagged with these questions about myself.

Name 5 things you were doing 10 years ago:

1. Attending BYU's nursing program full time (in the Psyche rotation...my very favorite, by the way)
2. Newlywed (we had a rough go of it at first...not the most fun of memories)
3. Living in the cutest of tiny one bedroom houses with a huge backyard (more like a beautiful country pasture/field/orchard) built in like the 1930s (loved it).
4. Depressed and trying to get through the winter (sad, I know, glad those days are long gone)
5. that's all

5 things on my to-do list today:

1. Since it's 11:30 pm, I have no more to do today (thank goodness, but...trying to stretch this out a bit)...
2. brush teeth
3. floss
4. change
5. meds...lights out :-)

5 snacks I enjoy:

1. cheese
2. fruit
3. crackers (salty)
4. ice cream (even better, gelato)
5. umm, one more? water (I do like water)

5 things I’d do if I were a billionaire: (though I hate thinking about money right now, here goes. If we were to stay where we are, doing the same job, etc...)

1. get rid of this awful mortgage
2. pay off our school loans and any other debt.buy a huge freezer for the garage (for all of those big Costco boxes I can never fit) and an air conditioner for our garage so all of our food storage wouldn't go bad in this AZ heat!
3. re-landscape our front and backyards
4. Hire a dog poop scooping service (can you believe they actually have those, they advertise just down our street...what a job to have!)

3 bad habits I have:

1. throwing my clothes (and towels) anywhere but the laundry basket (I'll try to do better tonight)
2. NOT organizing...I so hate it
3. Not putting away things that I get out of the cupboards/fridge in the kitchen (or anywhere for that matter)...Yeah, I'm sad to admit that I am as bad as my kids, maybe worse. I drive Lee crazy in that department. He'll catch me absent mindedly putting something down (out of place) and say, "Hey, what are you going to with that?" I'm usually totally out of it and have no idea what I'm doing, (probably because I'm in the process of talking his ear off) It's so bad! At least we can laugh about it.

5 jobs I’ve had:

1. a LOT of babysitting and nannying
2. BYU's Catering Services
3. Helaman Halls Cafeteria (hostess, and a specialized cleaner during off hours) and MTC dishroom
4. BYU laundry services (various jobs including ironing, pressing shirts, and on an assembly line of drying, pressing, folding and wrapping bedding for the senior MTC
5. Home Health Aid

5 things people probably don’t know about me:

1. Speaking of jobs, I worked one summer along an assembly line making hoagie sandwiches to put in the vending machines around the BYU campus (at 5 am, I might add...mayonnaise looks disgusting in bulk quantities at 5am)
2. I LOVE listening to books on tape while doing housework
3. And...hmmm...I stay up too late too often (and become delirious while writing a post...like tonight, oh wait but that's well known) ummm...
4. how 'bout...I really feel so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends and I LOVE them (Oh, I guess that's pretty well known too...guess there isn't much people don't know about me!)
5. Mr. Mom by Lonestar is my ultimate "Theme Song"
6. Even though I like to complain, I adore my children to bits and wouldn't be caught doing anything other than spending all of the time I can with them. They are my friends, my purpose, my life!
7. Though I sometimes try to hide it with humor, there is a cheesy side to me that rivals no other! (That's pretty apparent too...well, you get the picture)~Bethany

P.S. It is also very apparent that I love to use ellipses... (and parentheses)... ;-)

Are They Toddler Magnets?

A fellow blogger has asked what random things our children have flushed down our toilets (after an incident of her own). Here is my answer...

I don't know about flushed, but dropped in (or thrown in)? Too many to count. Let's see...pens, towels, watch, brush, toys, whole rolls of toilet paper (still on the roll...last week). Just the other day, Eden was swishing her toothbrush around in the water, I told her it was yucky (though she doesn't get it, it seems fine and fun to her). THEN, before I could stop her, she popped it right into her mouth! I practically screamed and told her that that was yucky too!... She was startled and so confused! (Those silly Moms who scream at things like my brushing my TEETH!)

Happy Valentine's Day Babe!

"The great and good receive their accolades. But love can surround in glory the lives of little people." Pam Brown, B. 1928
What's a blog for if you can't send a shout out to your Valentine!
Happy Valentine's Day Lee, I love you!

A couple of highlight memories on Valentine's Day through the years!

1. Dear John Exclusive: Our first Valentine's Day together in 1996, we were dating and though we'd been dating for four months, it was apparently finally getting serious enough that I found it necessary to officially tell my "missionary" (he broke rules and called me on Valentine's Day) that I was dating "someone else" (kind of depressing, nevertheless momentous).

2. "Will you marry me?": That night on our most awesome date together, was the first time we discussed marriage.

When I looked at his bright eyes, the Spirit whispered to my heart, "This is a good man!" I got tears in my eyes and, spurred on by my recent freedom from my missionary, I told him I wanted to marry him...he was surprised, but touched by the tears he saw, he reciprocated with a "me too!"

It makes me laugh because knowing him better now, he probably was surprised into saying something like that and had no intention of even thinking such a thing! (And one random thing...don't ask me why, but we were coloring in coloring books at my apartment's kitchen table...the things single BYU students think to do on dates...that would be a fun tag blog, "What were some of the most random social events and activities that you did on dates?").

3. Most memorable, thoughtful and to this day, favorite, Valentine's gift:

In 2002, married for five years and pregnant with Eli, Lee gave me an awesome soup ladle. It was significant because we had never had one (we had always used dry measuring cups to ladle soup). I guess Lee thought that that was enough of the "measuring cup era" and not only got me a soup ladle, but he got the best of the best one he could find. It makes me smile just thinking about it!... Thanks honey, so thoughtful. I love that he can be thoughtful, practical and loving all at the same time!

Have a very Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

"Familiar acts are beautiful through love." ~Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) from "Prometheus Unbound"

P.S. I dedicate the first few songs on my playlist to him.

Okay, a new game of tag...

Speaking of tag, my sister, who doesn't blog, asked me to start a game of tag for her. Lately she's been running out of ideas for dinner and is tired of looking through her cookbooks, so....this is what she wants:

List what you've had for dinner for the last week. No recipes, just list the names of the main entrees. I've had to think a while to try to remember (I even checked my fridge to see what leftovers were in there to help me to remember. I think I'll have to call Lee too, to figure a few out). Anyone who reads this and blogs is tagged, but specifically, let's see, Emily Ras, Anna, Kiersta, Amy, Lori and Ruth Ann. Okay, here goes....

I'm proud to say that it has been a long time since we've eaten out...which can be hard work for a mom. We simply can't afford it with so many of us. And now that my boys are growing bigger, I've noticeably had to make a lot more food than I used to (having to double and triple recipes to make enough to feed them all) (i.e. the small rice cooker does not cut it anymore, now it's the biggest size and more cups of rice than before).
Sunday: lasagna (frozen)
Monday: baked potato bar
Tuesday: chicken fajitas
Wednesday: persian food; basmati rice and koreshe bademjan (chicken, walnut and pomegranate sauce)
Thursday: boneless, skinless pork chops and a pasta dish (with capers, green onions and parmesan) I was feeling very uninspired that night.
Friday: bean and potato burritos with flour tortillas from Carolinas (a phoenix favorite)
Saturday: Ravioli Soup (though I actually used tortellini this time)
Sunday: chile verde, with the crockpot (again, with leftover Carolinas' tortillas)

note: I did want to have make-your-own california rolls and potstickers Saturday night, but the local grocery store stopped selling sushi wrappers and I didn't want them bad enough to tote all of the kids to another store for them.

Also, this is a great resource: [Month of Meals] I get an email every month with suggestions for a whole month of dinners.

Routine?....hmmmm

I've been tagged to blog about my daily routine.



I question this because honestly, anyone who knows me well knows that I'm not a routine type of person, beyond the basic skeleton of wake up in the morning, eat lunch in the afternoon, and have dinner and bed at night. I do make sure the essentials are in there (most of the time or maybe it's more truthful to say much of the time) but I like to switch it up a lot. If I don't I get depressed, bored and tired really fast. I also start to feel frustrated, hurried and guilty if something goes off my schedule, which is daily for me. And if my schedule goes well, I begin to feel like a worker at a factory along an assembly line and can't stand it. So for my own sanity each day, I look at the calendar, see if there are any appointments, etc. and I pin point the few things that must be done and then plan my day around those things and let the rest happen when they happen to happen. There are few things that I lock in with an actual time...only appointments and to and from school. This helps me to feel more relaxed so that I can focus on what's important to me that day, and so instead of doing hundreds of things right (and on time) that day, I only have a few bullet point things and the rest can be all within the realm of successful when they get done. I feel more successful and I also feel better about being able to drop things at an instant to do something else if it takes priority and I love that, especially when it comes to helping someone else.

Happy Valentine's Day?

I heard this segment on NPR yesterday and thought it worth repeating. Not that Lee isn't my best friend, because he is, and not that there is no romance in our marriage, but this take on marriage seems to capture it in a nutshell better than I ever could. (after clicking on link, click "Listen Now" for it to play, it's only a few minutes)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18751687


I also heard on NPR a study on the difference of brain waves of emotions toward eachother in couples newly fallen in love versus couples having been happily married for 25 years or more. One thing that stuck out to me was after a while the attachment part of your brain is stronger than anything else including romance etc.

Family Dinner

While I was getting the valentine link, I also found this one. With any luck Lee will listen, take note and magically begin to appear at the dinner table more often,....? Better yet, maybe Lee ought to email this link to his boss, hmmm...not a bad idea!


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18753715

.

Along that train of thought...

and in my effort to become a better mother by increasing my patience and kindness, I came across these words that have impressed me.

"E. T. Sullivan once wrote these interesting words: 'When God wants a great work done in the world or a great wrong righted, he goes about it in a very unusual way. He doesn’t stir up his earthquakes or send forth his thunderbolts. Instead, he has a helpless baby born, perhaps in a simple home and of some obscure mother. And then God puts the idea into the mother’s heart, and she puts it into the baby’s mind. And then God waits. The greatest forces in the world are not the earthquakes and the thunderbolts. The greatest forces in the world are babies.'1
And those babies, I should like to add, will become forces for good or ill, depending in large measure on how they are reared. The Lord, without equivocation, has declared, 'I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth' (D&C 93:40)....

"Do you want a spirit of love to grow in the world? Then begin within the walls of your own home. Behold your little ones, and see within them the wonders of God, from whose presence they have recently come.
President Brigham Young (1801–77) once said: 'A child loves the smiles of its mother, but hates her frowns. I tell the mothers not to allow the children to indulge in evils, but at the same time to treat them with mildness.'2
He further stated, 'Bring up your children in the love and fear of the Lord; study their dispositions and their temperaments, and deal with them accordingly, never allowing yourself to correct them in the heat of passion; teach them to love you rather than to fear you.'3
Of course, there is need for discipline with families. But discipline with severity, discipline with cruelty, inevitably leads not to correction but rather to resentment and bitterness. It cures nothing and only aggravates the problem. It is self-defeating. The Lord, in setting forth the spirit of governance in His Church, has also set forth the spirit of governance in the home in these great words of revelation:
'No power or influence can or ought to be maintained … , only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; …
'Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
'That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death'(D&C 121:41, 43–44). " Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, December 2007.

I so want to be that kind of mother. I feel sober as I review my mistakes and try again for the Nth time to be a little better, a little more kind, a little more patient. With the help of the Lord I hope to do so.

On a Completely Different Train of Thought,.. A Word of Caution!

If your dog decides to chew up, among other things, children's molding clay...he just might throw up the entire contents of his stomach, including last nights dinner on your carpet. And in the process of cleaning it up, you just might want to throw up yourself (oh... it's a good thing I'm not pregnant, my lurching stomach would not have made it through)!

When it comes to praying for patience, the dog is most likely at the top of my list. If you want to practice your skills in tolerance and patience, my advice would be to get a dog. Are any of you dog lovers out there? Can you please remind me why dogs are so wonderful...I've forgotten for the moment and could use some reminders.

My Mantra

Sunday night I was talking to my sister Anjane about the day I had had which was filled with frustrating mishap after frustrating mishap! After she was done laughing she said, "I keep telling you that you ought to write a book entitled And You Thought Your Day Was Bad?: The crazy mishap filled days of a Mom with small children" I think every Mom might be able to write a book like that. (Though my sister says that mine are worse than the norm...she even told my Mom once, "whenever I talk to Bethany I'm reminded of how calm my life really is." I don't know, maybe it's all of the kids I have or my ADD brain or a combination of both).

I have no intention of writing a book, but I thought I'd write a post about my crazy mishap filled day. It tired me out just thinking about the long list of gory details though, so I decided instead to tell you about a conversation Lee and I had that night after he got home from work (he had to work all day Sunday- not very common). We had both had a frustrating day so we took turns telling each other what made our day awful (he covered his face during my story saying, "Oh my goodness, I am sooo glad that I didn't have to deal with that!" translation: "I'm so glad I wasn't here!" and "I am so glad I had to work today!").

But the conversation turned for the better when we began to talk about something his great paternal grandfather had once said after his daughter had been wondering why everything had gone wrong for her that day, "ya know, it really doesn't matter what happens to us in life, just how we deal with it." That has really struck true with me and it has been a frequent mantra I repeat over and over to myself on days like that. I do really think it helps me to remember to not stress about the little things that go wrong because in the large scheme of things they won't matter. But what does matter is what I learn and take from those things and who I am working to become as a person. It also reminds me to feel grateful for all of the many great big things that go right and to focus on the things that are really important to me. My family has been protected through all of the craziness we've had through the years and I am so grateful for that. So, book or no book, crazy mishaps or no, I want to feel gratitude for the important things in my life that go right each day. And I am....sooo grateful!

P.S. My other favorite "mantra" came from my father (after his being solicited to give us some advice on our wedding day), "You just do the best you can" I always sigh and breathe easier whenever I think of those words. To me it says that I can only do so much and as long as I'm doing what I can, I'm doing just fine. And, I only have control over what I have control over (which often is very little), so let the rest go. Those two "mantras" are wise words coming from wise men and I am better when I try to live by them.

Out Comes the "Meanie"

Speaking of messes, Eden is getting to the age where the messes are getting worse and more damaging. I feel bad when I have to be stern with her because she is very sensitive to my disapproval and hasn't seen that side of me directed toward her until now. She looks at me so worried, questioning, and searching me for when the smile will come out and it'll all just be a joke and we can smile and laugh.... Which I wish I could but... she has to stay away from those toilets! We try to keep the doors closed but since this is her favorite area of play lately, she seizes every opportunity left open to her. So much to play with there, complete with the plungers, brushes, paper, etc. (and she's learned now to lift the lid and dump whatever she feels like in there! The most common of which are big bath towels...and then of course she has to take them out and squish the water all over the floor! Hateful! Especially if my boys haven't flushed!)

I've decided that it's a really good thing that my babies can't do much when they're first born because then all they get from me for a long while is smiles, coos, hugs and kisses. Then they're tricked into thinking that I'm actually a nice Mommy and they learn to like me... which is a good thing because they need a little of that feeling to keep our relationship intact through all of the "No-no"s of the toddler years!

(Notice at the end she comes to me for a hug so I can reassure her that I still love her).

And How Do You Clean This Up?

I really think that mothers of toddlers have the worst of the messes! I could have used a class on "If your toddler makes [fill in the blank] mess, here's the best way to go about clean up." I think my boys may have been better at mess making than some. Especially Eli and Luke who are both free-spirit types and have no qualms about getting into trouble. If it's fun, hang the consequences. Eli was the most creative at the mess making and Luke was probably the most repetitive.

Some messes were so catastrophic I'd just have to leave them there for a while, while I figured out the best way to approach the clean up process. Through the years I've learned a few things about cleaning such messes and it has become easier, though never very fun.

These are some of the most memorable and challenging of the messes I've dealt with over the years:

1. A dozen eggs cracked and smeared all over the kitchen floor (apparently the smearing was done by a dry Swiffer mop. The toddler was trying to mop it up before I saw it).
2. A half cube of softened butter smeared into the carpet, clothes and body of a toddler
3. A whole bottle of vanilla extract emptied into the 10 gallon fish tank.
4. A giant box of corn flakes poured into a big pile on the living room floor (he said that he "just wanted to make a mountain" and he did--almost as tall as him).
5. Countless dried beans from food storage thrown all over the apartment.
6. A whole big canister of unsweetened cocoa powder poured all over the kitchen..it was everywhere even in the cupboards, the wall and kitchen curtains, (the toddler must have been upset that it wasn't Nestle Quick and decided to make it fun anyway)That took a long while to clean up. We had remnants of chocolate powder for a long while afterward (not to mention our kitchen and vacuum smelled like a funky sort of chocolatey smell for months).
7. Toddler got a hold of the spray gun to the paint sprayer and began to spray the carpet and wall with the paint for the ceiling.
8. Peanut Butter (the natural kind that's really runny)poured out onto the counter,down the cupboards, on the stool and into a puddle on the floor (although variations of this one has happened a few times, this specific instance was actually Eden's doing the other day...and the trouble begins with her!).
9. Countless milk spills. We had a theory at our house that milk had a heavier pull of gravity than water because somehow it was always the milk that spilled not the water (and on the carpet too! We had a couple of apartments that had carpet in the dining areas... not fun for a Mom of milk spillers!)
10. A current one that I've only halfway cleaned up is a jar of honey that was knocked over in the cupboard and leaked out through the lid all over the shelf amongst the other items.
11. I forget what I was cooking, the child was trying "to help me cook" and poured cinnamon and curry powder into the main dish just as it was about to go on the table...and no, this wasn't middle eastern cuisine I was cooking at the time (I think it was Italian). That was an interesting tasting meal! :-)

And I could go on and on... but, now I'd like to hear a few from you other mothers of toddlers out there. Continue the list in the comments (if you don't blog you can leave a comment without signing in by checking nickname or anonymous in the "identify yourself" section).

I am so grateful to say that these are not my boys below, but this is exactly what I'm talking about! How in the world do you even begin to clean this up?!!...and yes that is a can of latex paint!
LOL! Oh, that poor little baby! You know it must have been the older brother getting him into that mess. Though I'm sure he probably participated a bit at first thinking it fun, but look at him now! He sure looks like he's hatin' it! The poor thing is covered in paint in his diaper and all...still sucking on his pacifier no less! Oh boy! LOL, I guess I laugh because it's just way too true to life at my house!

In Loving Memory

Our beloved prophet, President Gordon Bitner Hinckley, passed away last night at the age of 97 years. He was a good and loving man. I loved him and have a testimony of his calling and office. He was truly the mouth piece for the Lord. We will all miss him!

Could Elder M. Russell Ballard talk you into it?

My ultimate dream would be for all of my friends and family to have blogs. I didn't realize how fun it was until I started one myself. My friend Emily kept offering to help me start one and I stalled for what? was it a year, Emily? Anyway, all of my concerns about it were pretty groundless and I've had so much fun! It's good therapy for me, I'd have to say. A kind of support group of friends and family. But, I do miss those of my family and friends that don't blog. So I invite all of my friends and family to please start blogging! It could be so fun to add you guys to those I talk to regularly!

But, if that's not enough, and your LDS, maybe this can help. M. Russell Ballard says that a lot of good can be done by having a blog. Spreading good, friendship and happiness etc.... This is from a commencement speech he gave at BYU-Hawaii. Click on the quote for the whole speech and particulars.

Now, to you who are graduating today and all other faithful members of the Church, as you graduate from this wonderful university, may I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet, particularly the New Media, to share the gospel and to explain in simple, clear terms the message of the Restoration. Most of you already know that if you have access to the Internet you can start a blog in minutes and begin sharing what you know to be true.

O-Zone

Check out this Romanian band (compliments of my sister, Emily): I guess it's pretty popular in Europe. I love the Romanian folk dancing! I took folk dancing at BYU and loved it! My favorite way to dance (my particular favorites were the Israeli and Irish folk dances)! If you listen carefully, Luke swears they say "Hi" to him! The song is "Dragoste din tei" by O-Zone. Sorry, I know this is a bit annoying, but you have to pause the music on the side to hear this right...it's worth it though! :-) (click the pause button 2x)






And just a taste of the many other spoof youtubes of this song out there.
Same song, goofy boy:




A LEGO version (this is a spoof of the official music video not funny if you haven't seen it):



Yoda even gets into it:




And...last but not least, an opera version (hilarious!):

Count them...

not one, not two, but THREE pearly whites! Finally! She was almost 13 months when the first began to appear. Now we just have to work on the hair! :-)

48 hrs and counting...

Hooray! Can I say that I've officially weaned this girl yet? Whew! That was hard work! The others were a much more gradual easy process and I didn't have to wean them to a bottle, it was straight to a cup. It's proof to me that each child is so different with their own likes, dislikes and personalities. The Wilkinson quints are testaments to that fact as well.

I don't mean to sound like I didn't like nursing this baby, because I did. But, I think I'm ready for my body to kick into gear and get back to normal. I think my body, more than some, thinks I'm still pregnant or something. There is a big change in me when I stop, (with my energy, metabolism, appetite...even the way I think changes). Lee said yesterday, "you've been doing so much lately, what is it? Oh, you've stopped nursing!" And that explained it all. So, here's to a new era of living for me. Ready, set, go! :-)

A Note About the Winter Weather in Arizona

We have seriously missed the snow that everyone has been getting sick of. Lee is down right jealous! But it's hard to be too sad when you have the weather we've been having here! It's no secret that the best time of year in Phoenix is in the Winter. But I think it's funny that it seriously could be reverse hemispheres for the differences! These pictures were taken Saturday. We had a picnic and the park was crowded. It seriously got a bit too hot and the children were complaining of the heat. And Summer is the time when we all head indoors for what feels like too long. I've mentioned before that you'd never dare set foot in the park in the Summer, it could seriously endanger your children's lives...not to mention burn their skin badly if they touched any park aparatus. Our ward has had mid-week activities at the park for the mom's with young kids, but in the Summer we always move it inside to the movie theater.

Our Ward's 4th of July breakfast last year was indoors. But we are having a "Groundhog's Day Ward Picnic" on Feb. 2nd!

The differences still seems so crazy to me that I have to chuckle just thinking of them!

Call Me Crazy!

But the highlight of my week and maybe month was todays grand opening of the new Super Wal-Mart! I know a lot of people don't like them. The neighbors fought it hard. After living in Utah so long it had become my mainstay "one stop shop". With all of the kids, I hate making several stops to do my shopping. We've had a Wal-Mart close and every other store you could name. (the shopping is so great here... several malls within minutes drive) but the only Super Wal-Mart was too far to go there regularly. It opened today and though I didn't have any shopping to do today, I couldn't resist doing a drive-by and taking a few snapshots to celebrate! The parking lot was packed! I guess there couldn't be that many neighbors against it.




Look at that gorgeous sky...and in January!

Eli Sleeping

As my boys grow and we get into the day to day grind, I can sometimes forget how these mischevious boys used to be when they were babies in my arms. But, it can all come back to me in moments, like when I watch them sleeping (since they aren't talking, moving or causing one problem after another).

The other night Eli fell asleep in our bed during family scripture and reading time. Before Lee carried him to bed I began to just watch him. It had been a while since I'd really been able to look at this boy sleeping (since he sleeps in the dark on the top of a bunk bed) and it all came flooding back to me. I decided that since I take pictures of our baby girl sleeping all of the time, why shouldn't I take pictures of my "baby boy" sleeping now?

I love his long thick lashes

"We Clean Better with Music...We Promise!"

This Monday Holiday was spent hanging at home. I actually took a nap while Lee did cub scouts, yard work, shopping and laundry. I did get some things done as well not to make myself look too bad, but Lee is great.

While I was indulging in a nap my boys got out lots and lots of buckets of toys and dumped them for various play, who knows what all for. I told them that before dinner they had to pick them all up. They complained at first and then told me that if they just had some music it would go so much better. I consented and after a while I snuck in there (with a camera since I knew what I'd find) to see how it was going.

I could hear the music....but, where was the cleaning!?! (now that I've added music to the blog, you'll have to pause it in order to hear the video clearly. Sorry if that bugs).

No way!

Check these BYU alumni out! I read an article about them in the BYU alumni magazine and got online to see if they blogged, sure enough! Babies, babies and more babies and she's still smiling through it all! A very adorable family! Inspiring!... and yet, I count my blessings.

Luke is Now in Preschool!

And I do mean literally. He is there right now! Today is his first day and a very exciting day for both of us. He gets to go to school and I get time at home with only one child to care for! And since she is napping...can this be bliss? It has literally been years since I haven't had at least one child awake to deal with all of the time (a couple of my boys grew out of their naps way too early, IMO). Wow! I don't even know what to do with myself. Maybe I'll actually get a shower this morning. Sounds like a good place to start. I must admit he's only gone for 2 1/2 hours, and only two days a week, but today, that feels like eternity!

Eli was very concerned for me last night that I would be too lonely and sad with only Eden at home with me. So sweet of him to think of me. I delicately explained (not to hurt his feelings), that everyone likes some alone time sometimes, and even moms like it! But only if it's for a short time. I would be sad and lonely to be without them for too long. That's a good way to explain it don't you think? Well off to spend my morning semi-alone!:-)

First day of Preschool pictures:

What a "Big Boy" he is now! He's so proud!

The Plan of Salvation?

Luke is now a Sunbeam and is so excited to be able to go to primary. This Sunday they learned about the Plan of Salvation and afterwards were supposed to draw a picture. The teacher gave them a choice, they could draw themselves in the premortal life, themselves on the earth, or themselves in heaven after death. So Luke drew....a "rabbit". :-) A purple one at that. Eli called it a bunny and Luke solemnly corrected him, "it's a rabbit." It is a pretty good rabbit though, I'll give him that, for a barely turned 4-year-old. I mean, it is distinguishable...sort of. And so happy!

The Sugar Addict Strikes Again

Last night after we put the boys to bed, I went to my room to put the baby down. After a while I heard whispers and banging around in the kitchen so I went to go see what was going on. The boys had snuck back to the kitchen to get a snack.
We hadn't given them a bedtime snack and I knew they could actually be hungry so normally, I would say, "Fine, eat that. And then go straight to bed." But this time they'd gotten out a grapefruit for each of them and sugar to put on top. And instead of cutting them in half they were digging holes into them with their spoons. I have been trying to convince them that they can eat it without sugar, 'cause they'll pour it on as well as make a big mess of sugar and sticky juice everywhere.

When I walked in the kitchen and saw them Luke confessed immediately, "Mom, we got out the sugar." When I began to reply, he cut in, "But it's okay Mom because we can just call it "grain" for short."

P.S. Grapefruit is MORE than abundant in AZ so we get scads given to us each year...native Arizonians please tell me why everyone has a grapefruit tree in their yard. I'd rather it be oranges, or tangelos, even lemons, but why grapefruit?)

So it's Saturday night...

"And I ain't got nobody. Got some money 'cause I just got paid!"...just kidding, sorry the song got in my head with that title I wrote. Actually, it's the exact opposite. I'm holding a sleeping/nursing baby (dang! I was finally making some progress with that weaning thing), I have three boys and a husband around as well, one is currently talking to me about a prickly tree... don't really know, I just say "uh huh", and "really", until the end when it sinks in and I say, "the what? what did the Baboon do?...and the snake, oh wow, sounds funny" (it was a funny story, supposedly). But back to the song... It's money that I "ain't got"...

But, on to what I wanted to write about. What did I want to write about? This is just major stream of consciousness...Oh yeah, I remember (I am so ADD..actually, I really am, ya know? really. A Psychiatrist diagnosed me, ummm...maybe a year ago, or maybe a little more) Anyway I will get some focus eventually...So, I wanted to say that...

It's Saturday night and I'm supposed to be preparing a talk for tomorrow in Sacrament Meeting (church). But instead, I've spent the last hour reading blogs. I don't leave comments as much as I maybe should...which is one reason why I hope at least someone is out there reading my blog, besides my sister Emily.:-) She is so loyal for leaving all of her little comments! As my uncles would say, "Bless her heart!" So, bless your little heart, Emily. She also listened to my thoughts on my talk for tomorrow...until my cell phone died.

So again, back to my talk tomorrow...(ya know, sometimes I even frustrate myself! But we are admonished to have a sense of humor with ourselves and so that's what I desperately try to do... just laugh at my randomness. Lee sure gets a kick out of me sometimes. We often laugh and sometimes...its just at me..oh well) Okay, so I was at church one Sunday cleaning up the primary room after church and the Bishopric member came in the room and said, "Sis. Andelin, I am glad I saw you, we would like you to give a talk on Jan. 13th. Will you be willing to do so?"
"Sure", I said "what's my topic."
"Just a minute I have it in my binder. I'll go get it". While I continued to straighten up, my mind tried to guess what the topic would be...Motherhood, maybe? no, that was the last talk I gave... the Atonement of Christ? no, that was the talk before that....hmmm...I wonder... He returns, "Okay, Sis. Andelin, the topic we would like you to speak on is [pause to look down at his paper] the 'Wages of Sin'."
"Are you serious?"... I just laughed, "Are you trying to tell me something?".....So, there it is, that's what I'm supposed to be preparing a talk on right now.

I guess I should say that he did add after, "Now, we don't want any speeches of 'Hell fire and brimstone' or anything. Nothing dark or pessimistic. Just discuss the consequences of sin." I was pretty much speachless, smiling and nodding and shaking my head in a sort of dazed, "of course, but, what in the heck am I going to say?"
And I want to say that this is one of the many reasons why I love my husband. He responded for me by saying, "Are you kidding? Bethany? She couldn't be dark or pessimistic if she tried!" Thank you, Honey, that was so kind of you to say. Now, I don't know that it's very true, but the great thing is that I know that he really believes it. He never says what he doesn't mean, for better or for worse (another thing I like about him). So it warmed my heart and made me feel grateful for the boost of confidence he gave...and continues to give. Even this morning, he told me that he "knew" I'd do a great job and that he "couldn't wait to hear it". What a sweet support he is! He did ask me a while ago though, "Are you really writing your talk or just blogging?"
"Just blogging." ;~>