Developmental Age

It's 2 am, but i just had to take a min to share what happened today.

I took the kids to the Dr.  Alex and Liza had well child checks.   As I left the Dr handed me papers about each child.  (no big surprise, been getting those since week 1 right?) 

So at the top It says:  Elizabeth Wall

Physical Development:

-is energetic and spirited

-is usually awkward

-strives to be physically fit

-is fascinated with how the body works

-enjoys bathroom humor

Emotional Development

-Goes back and forth between being a dependent child and independent pre-teen

-becoming more and more self-conscious

Social Development

-wants approval for being "good"

-becoming preoccupied with opposite sex

-relates to peer group intensely and abides by group decisions

-confides in "best friend" constantly

-can be fickle

Alexander Wall

Physical Development

-favors competitive games

-has better hand eye coordination

Emotional Development

-getting better at putting negative feelings into words

-blames others for his own mistakes

Social Development

-has a best friend of the same sex

-seeks approval of peers as well as adults

-takes it upon himself to enforce rules

-tattles on other children who are misbehaving

-tends to be quite critical

Mental Development

-wants to be first, best, perfect and correct in everything

-is greatly concerned with right and wrong

Now both of them had other things listed, but I was struck by how many of their personality traits at this time are Developmental!   I guess I studied Child Development, but I payed such close attention to the under 5 yr olds that I forgot that the trend continues.  I guess I am somewhat relieved to discover that they are just acting like typical kids.  That maybe, just maybe Liza wont make farting noises in her armpit on a date when she is 17, and that someday Alex will be able to apologize to his wife when he is wrong, and openly admit that he has made a mistake.   Sometimes I get caught up in trying to figure out how to teach them to become the best people that they can be, and i forget that sometimes they are just acting like every other kid their age.    So there you go.   I just thought it was interesting.  And also a good way to journal their personalities at this time since I only pulled out the features listed that applied to each of them. 

Christmas 2008

We had the pleasure have having my dad with us again this Christmas.  It's fun to have a Grandparent around to help keep things fresh.  We had him wrapping and wrapping many a night, and shopping and babysitting.  Poor Grandpa, but I think he had fun anyway.

This year we all got stripy pj's.  I thought they looked fun... but not as Christmasy as I usually do.  I think next year we'll go back to Christmasy.
The kids always love to have matching clothes.  It is a very fun tradition.  That and the Christmas Dresses, I love to match them up.  BTW, no pictures of the Christmas outfits yet because Tori some how lost her little cardigan that matches the dresses, so I didn't want to take pictures with out it.  As soon as I find it, I'll take pictures.

Everyone got everything they wanted AND more for Christmas.  They must have been very good this year.  
Here is Alex getting his Bakagon holder.  His Christmas this year was all about Bakagon and Spy gear.  Thank you to Grandmas and Grandpas and Aunties and Cousins.  All the kids Loved all their gifts!!!
Liza was THRILLED with her Christmas!  She got a new IPOD!  She is so thrilled to have one that plays games and movies.  She is already, (3 days after Christmas) grounded from her Ipod, for playing games in bed instead of listening to "sleepy music".  *stinker*  She also got a lot of earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and clothes.  She was extremely excited with her High school Musical Dolls, I must admit, they are very cool.
As you can see, Tori was quite happy with her Puppy.  It grows and knows your name.  Her puppy's name is Snowflake.  She got a TON of craft stuff.  Tori loves to paint, and glue and color.  She has been crafting up a storm, but I am sure she will do more when the big kids go back to school, and she no longer has Liza here to dream up "games" to play.  She also got the Bye Bye Chou Chou, which she loves too.
Katie was TRILLED with her Dora house.  She has played with it almost non stop since Christmas.   As she goes to bed at night she reassures herself that she will be able to play with the Dora house in the morning when she wakes up.    Her catch phrase this Christmas was "Anoder Present!!! FOR MEEEEEE???"  She was SO incredibly cute.   What on earth do you do when you don't have a little wee one like that to keep things fresh?  Oh we just loved watching her!  She got a TON of Dora stuff, and princess stuff.  She also got Tinker-bell stuff, a cute Tink Doll and a water baby.
As you can see in this last Photo, we have Cyrus (Jeri's Dog) here with us for Christmas again this year.  And Chinook wanted to get in on the festivities but was scooted out of the room by Brent.  As you can see by the look on his face, he is getting scolded by Brent who is sitting camera right.  :-) LOL, poor dog.

I was absolutely spoiled  I shouldn't receive gifts for like 3 years!!  I got everything for my camera that I have been drooling over.  I am excited to learn about these new toys and get good with them.  Opening up some new doors.  Then come spring, I'll be back out side.  It was a great Christmas.  

We feasted, and were so excited to sit down and eat that we didn't even take a picture!  Brent made a full batch of Frog Eye Salad and the kids don't like it.  I think that it's pretty good, as does my dad, but Brent LOVES the stuff.  So he ate frog eye salad for DAYS trying to finish it up before it went bad.  He is almost done.  Too funny.  (he was sick yesterday... maybe that is why, maybe it wasn't a bug at all)

We spent the day hanging around and trying to catch up with lost sleep from the night before.  I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas.  Thank you to all who sent gifts and Christmas cards. We feel so loved and blessed!

"Behold Your Little Ones"

When I was in college, we were assigned to read a book called "Behold Your Little Ones".  I thoroughly  enjoyed it, and have many times had the desire to read it again.  I thought of this book again this past sunday as I listened to the Christmas Program in Sacrament meeting.  It seems that this was the message that I was supposed to receive this past few weeks.  It began a few weeks ago when I was in primary to help Tori with something she was doing,  and I found Alex sitting on Bro. M's lap.  Not in trouble, no, curled up lovingly, being swayed back and forth.  My first thought was "what in the world is he holding and rocking a 7 yr old boy for?!?!"  then as I watched (unseen by Alex), I see a tender moment that made me so sad that I don't 'behold' him enough.  I am so eager to have my kids grow to a point that they don't need me, that I forget that they are just little.  The next thing that has gotten me thinking is, my family has been quickly getting closer and closer to another sweet brother in  our ward.  Bro.B.   Bro. B is an older gentle man, who truly 'beholds the little ones'.  As I have watched him the past few sundays delight in sitting with other peoples children, I learned a lot about being grateful for what I have.  This past sunday, he was sitting with out any little ones, and he looked almost lonesome.  I suggested Tori go over to color with him.  Oh how his face lit up as she timidly joined him on his row.  Here is another person beholding one of my children.  A piece of me feels guilty, but mostly I feel a resolve.  I was listening to the parenting program that I love to listen to when I randomly selected the track where he talks about cherishing your children.  He recalls that he knew that he was not cherished as a child.  I know that I don't cherish my children like I should, again, some guilt, but mostly resolve.  As I sat and listened to all the Christmas songs, the words to "Mary Did You Know" kept coming to my mind, I thought about the fact that Mary knew that her son was the Savior, and how, if I  knew that about one of my children would that change how I treated them?  Sadly, the answer is yes.  It shouldn't be though.  Every child should be raised with that kind of love and respect.  Then last night Brent was on call in L&D, and he sadly had to deliver a 20 weeker.  :-(  When he told me about it, I cried... how horrible, 2 days before Christmas too!  And somehow, I had four healthy pregnancies that ended in 4 healthy babies.  Those 4 babies remain healthy and happy.  Why do I forget to cherish that?  And so, right at the top of the new years resolutions list is "Behold My Little Ones."  I am going to try so hard, to enjoy them, and to remember how blessed I am to have been given the privilege to raise these children of God.  They are each as important to Him as Christ is, as they are His Children too.  Each of them has their own individual potential and my job is to lovingly help them to reach that potential.  

Christmas Concerts, lights and fun!

Liza has had a few concerts this year. She had a Chorus concert, that I didn't get any video of, but I did get video of the Band Concerts. Liza really enjoys playing the flute, she fights me to practice, but I think that is just her trying to be independent. (there will be none of that!) :-)

Unfortunately there were No Christmas songs played by Lizas group. :-( So sad that we can't even play a tune that may be religious. Her Chorus group sang a few songs from other countries and one even in another language! But no Christmas. :-(

Either way... the performances were nice, and she did a great job!



Sorry they are such little blips, I didn't bring back up card or memory, so I was worried about how much I was using. :-)



Liza and her Church pals (activity girls) went to an assisted living home and sang a few songs. It is always touching to see the faces of those who are patients there. One lady was trying to sing along. So sweet. They were delighted to have the girls there. I am glad that the church provides my children with service opportunities, an essential part of life.

Grandpa got here on Tuesday night... well wednesday morning at 2 am.  Yup, snow in Chicago had him delayed for about 4 hours.  What fun!     Anyway we've had a blast playing with Grandpa.  Going shopping, riding the merry go round at the mall.  Now this next week, the little girls have to share grandpa.  The big kids are excited about spending some time with him.

We also went to see the lights again!  The kids love to unbuckle their seat belts and climb all over the car and look at this outstanding light display!  
Alex really loves the puzzle that they do every year.  They hide letters out in the lights, and you're supposed to find them, write them down, then unscramble them and enter your answer in a drawing.

This is by far Alex's favorite part.

Katie REALLY enjoyed the lights this year!  She kept calling out everything she saw.  She loved that some of the figures waved at her.  (she got to sit on the drivers lap, so that was exciting too)   I really love this display.  Wouldn't miss it!  Even if my printer was out of ink and we had to pay full price.  :-)  

The plans are brewing for next week, all the stuff we want to do with Grandpa! 

Dancing elves

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Therapy (warning, winey post)

Over the years I have developed several forms of Therapy.  

There is my favorite, and my "drug of choice"  Retail Therapy: At this time of year, this is not much of an option...  who goes out and buys themselves stuff  10 days before Christmas?  As for my go to substitute for buying for myself, this is not the best time of year to be spending money on "household items" either.

I would say that my second favorite form of Therapy would be Gal Time:  At this time of year.... not plentiful.  With all the hustle and bustle of the season, folks going out of town, folks coming into town, there is not a whole lot of gal time to be had.  

When budget restricted and alone, I tend to turn to Chocolate as my third option:  Oh, this time of year offers a spread of treats beyond belief, and also the excuse that "the diet begins in January."  However, my Chocolate/ treats don't seem to be helping much.... and so the search continues,

So here I am reading blogs and writing a blog.... seeking therapy through my glowing box.  Hoping to be sucked away from life's troubles, and into a world of bliss.  (I'll tell you if I find bliss in the glowing box, but I am not hopeful)

If none of that works, I will be forced to try another twilight fix.  Either another viewing of the movie, or hours sucked into the book.  With the busy season at hand, I doubt that I will take the time to read the book again, so call me if you want to join me at the show.  :-)

I used to run to the gym every time I needed a lift... maybe I should do that again... right now, I feel like my kids are tired of the gym and to ask them to go any day that I am not working, makes me feel like I am pushing my luck.  I know however that when we move, we are ALL going to miss this gym, in all it's beauty, and I will regret not spending more time there.  I also feel like my water classes are getting boring.. I need to jazz things up a bit, but when I do, these poor students look like a bunch of Birds going all the wrong way. :-)

When all my ideas seem to fail,  I end up a blubbering mess at 2 am.  Which is not Brents favorite time of day.  I think that sometimes I spend the day seeking seeking seeking something.... and when nothing works, and I give up finding something at 2 am, thats what happens.

What am I seeking therapy for?  What is it that I am running from?  Oh, worries, and fears mostly.  The whole moving thing... I've adjusted rather well, and quickly I think, to the idea that we will likely land somewhere small, when I will need to find  a new way to fly.  But for years and years, seriously.. like 8 years!  I have been looking forward to the days when we would be done being the peon, and begin making money, and working 'normal' work hours.    We found out LONG ago that our pay in the army would be significantly less then a civilian Dr. and we've dealt with that lost dream.  But I never imagined that the hours wouldn't get better.  Every time life turns over, and we begin a new chapter of this medical tour, I get told that things are going to get better, and every time, it gets worse.   All through residency I've been told that the hours get better the longer you're there.  That by his 4th year, it should be better... not so.... not yet.  So I was looking to after graduation, when we would be working with for the army, as I hear stories of Dr's for the Army wrapping up the work day at 3 pm.  I was sure that we would be a "normal" family soon.  That my husband would come home after a 8-9 hour work day and help out, that I could count on him for dinner, and FHE.  That my kids would know more of who he is, and would feel more connected to him.  

Upon some research of the places that the army is looking to send us, we have found that at a lot of them Brent would be the ONLY ANESTHESIOLOGIST !!!  Oh yes, the only... in a hospital where they deliver babies.  Oh yes, that means call...  oh, no not every so often... every single day?!?!?!  What the heck??!?!   We haven't found someone to confirm our fears, but how else do they run a hospital with only one Anesthesiologist?  Why oh why can't we have a 'normal' go of things... just for a while?  not forever, but just for a while.

And so I seek on...  seeking strength to do ANOTHER 4 years on my own.  Another 4 years with an exhausted husband and absent father.  I thought it was over.. that is the hard part.  I thought it was a light at the end of my tunnel.  Once AGAIN, it's not the end of the tunnel, it's another frigging on coming train!

What to wear.. what to wear

Tori got dressed this morning in pj pants and this princess shirt.  I mentioned later that she had preschool today.  "you're not going to wear PJ pants to school are you?"  Oh, no, she wanted to change, so she came down in this Zebra skirt with no tights.  "You're going to be too cold on the playground with out tights Tori."  "I don't care."  "I'm not taking you to school w/o tights"  

This is what she came down in:
Tori wins.  I will take her in this.....  I think it shows her independence... and that is fine with me.

However, since I had the camera out and the light in my house was finally good, I took this one too.  Even in a zebra skirt and stripy tights, she is a beautiful subject.  :-)

Updating the walls

For 2 years now, I have proudly displayed my girlfriend Jeris' art work on my walls. She took pictures of my children and my whole family 2 years ago, and they are so beautiful, I couldn't bare to take them down. After much encouragement from she and fellow photographers, I have finally updated my walls with my own work. Well, mostly my own work.



It is fun to see them in frames.  Nothing like taking a picture of pictures.  Unfortunatly my favorite picture of all time, the one I had printed 20X30, is not my work, but the baby in it is.  My cousin Kevin took that one. I have had a good mail week, as i got my package with all the pictures, and my miche purse finally came today too!  What a fun week. 

YoYo

I somewhat expected the Army to be stupid about all this moving business,  but as always they've out done themselves.  In Brents meeting with them today they retracted their comment that we would not be sent to one of the small hospitals in some po-dunk town.  They are now almost guaranteeing that we WILL be assigned to a small hospital!  That means that all 3 of our top picks are OUT!  No Tacoma, No DC, and No San Antonio.  My worst nightmare would be being sent to El Passo, or Georgia.  (Just for the record so you can all cry with me when I get sent there!)  I can't even imagine being sent to some little tiny town and then have Brent over seas.  Anyone who knows me even a tiny bit knows that I am a "goer" I will DIE if left somewhere where there is no where to go.  Next year I will have 3 kids in school, I can't just pick up and go home while he is called up (like I wish I could).  ARG.  It is so hard for me to have faith in times like this.  I want so badly to be in control.  Another of my personality traits: Controlling.  I just wish that the army could at least give us a straight story.  You know.... I didn't expect a verdict today, or even so much as a narrow down (although i hoped for that),  but I wasn't prepared for a full sweep of all our choices (to be told "NO") and a flop in what kind of place we thought we were headed for.  The commander (or whatever he is) gave Brent a reason for no Tacoma, and did leave a little hope there... of well... if...., but we got an absolute No on DC.  Looks like we are almost defiantly leaving.  :-(  How am I going to do this deployment with out you all?... aw, now I'm going to bawl.   :-( I was so holding on to that hope.  Crap, it's so real all of a sudden.  Thanks to Jeri for my back ground music right now, as I type, playing in the back ground, (slightly softer then the sound of arguing children) "God Will Take Care Of You" Plumb.

Be not dismayed what e'er be tide
God will take care of you
Beneath His wings of love abide
God will take care of you

God will take care of you
Through every day, o'er all the way
*He will care for you*
God will take care of you

Through days of toil when heart doth fail
God will take care of you
When dangers fierce your path assail
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com
God will take care of you

God will take care of you
Through every day, o'er all the way
He will care for you
God will take care of you

God will take care of you
Through every day, o'er all the way
He will care for you
God will take care of you

:-(

Waiting

So most of our Med school pals are getting jobs now.... or have them already, they're packing their homes, and getting ready to begin their lives in the real world.  We, on the other hand will remain in limbo till the army sees fit to tell us what we are to do.  Don't get me wrong, I have yet to regret our decision to go with the military for Med School, but it is a little unnerving to not know.  Brent does however have a meeting with the Army on Friday, some friends of ours had their choices narrowed to 2 spots after they had this meeting last year.  So here's to hoping that we too will be able to research only a few options and have a feel for where we will be.   If they're not sending us out west, I want to know now, so that I can deal with it now, and get excited about somewhere else.  Wish us luck, and keep us in your prayers.  I know that we will land where the Lord wants us, it would just be nice if he wanted the same place as I do.  :-)  I miss being able to visit family on long weekends.  I'll keep you posted if we hear anything on Friday.  (crossing fingers)

So..... Where'd I go?

My Niece Amber.... isn't she a doll?!?!

Well, we lost our cable for 8 days.   8 days, before this, i would have thought, "aw, that's nothing", now I think "8 DAYS!!!!!  WHY ON EARTH!?!?!"  Our cable not only runs the TV, but the internet and the phone!!  My life lines.  The only thing that pulled me through was a wonderful couple of visitors.  During our 8 day famine my Sister in Law Andrea (aka Drea) (Brents baby sis) and her baby Amber came to visit for a week.  We had a lovely time despite the fact that a crazy 24 hour stomach bug ran through our whole family.  Amber went down first... poor soul, never had the pukes before, then suffered a wicked diaper rash ;-(.  Then Drea followed shortly after, falling ill on the night of the Twilight release, and missing the show :-(  Boo again.  Tori and Alex were the next day.... then Katie, then Liza.  Come Sunday (when i was supposed to speak in church) i got up early to go over my talk, one last time, sat at the computer and fought off the nausea for about 20 minutes, then lost it.  Needless to say, I didn't deliver my talk.  Brent teased that he wanted to sit in the congregation  and watch me try not to toss my cookies.  Brent managed to hide from it for a week, but it caught up with him on Thanksgiving day.  Poor guy... almost chucked his frog eye salad.  

Enough puke talk though, cuz we did have a good time, Drea and I.  We talked and talked and talked.  We got to have some nice remembering moments, laughing at the Jr. Highschool girl I first met.  Talking about mom, and all the things we love and miss about her.  Laughing as we remembered the way she said things, esp the boys names when they were being scolded.  :-)  HEHE.  We also listened to Twilight book on tape, which was fun too.  Drea had not read them yet, so it was fun to take her on her virgin tour to meet Edward.  MMMM.  Although she missed the midnight showing, she was feeling up to going the next day... so we went.  (which worked out great for me, cuz then I got to see it again!!  Hooray!)  

Unfortunately, the only time I got out a camera was while they were in the tub!!!  What is up with that??  No pics of me and my sis.  No clothed shots of my cute niece.  I don't know what came over me!  I am so sad at the missed opportunity.  It was so nice to see them, and to know my baby Amber a wee bit better.  She is such a happy baby.  She loves to play peek a boo, but she must be the one peeking.  Her Grandma would have loved to see those pudgy little hands over her eyes, sandwiching her little button nose, and to hear her say "pek buooo" SO CUTE!   I loved her blown kisses and her sweet snuggles.  She is such a lovey girl!  She would point to her nose with the utmost confidence and say "NO" (for nose).  SO CUTE.  Oh I am so glad that I got the opportunity to see her, and for just a moment know a little of what it must feel like for Grandparents who live far from their grand babies and want so desperately to see these babies grow up.  I think I will put all my money into a huge piece of land and I will build 5 lovely houses.  Then they will want to stay right?!?!  Boo, I hope my kids don't have to move away from me, I want those grand kids close. 

Sorry, little tangent.  Anyway, we had a lovely time even though we were w/o technology for a while.  Comcast (our cable carrier) however didn't have a good week because this one client kept complaining and complaining, calling multiple times a day.  Moaning about reimbursements, deadlines, phone lines and cell phone bills!  Sorry for them, they should have fixed it faster!  

Thanksgiving was shared with the Tidwells and Hansens.  We had enough food to feed the Canadian Military in it's entirety!  :-)  Two Turkeys (Lincoln had to do two incase his smoked Turkey didn't work... which it did and was delish)  a ham, best yams you ever had (thanks AmyJo), rolls, frog eye salad (brents Fave), potatoes, dressing, mango/curry carrots, green salad, and 3 deserts cranberry bread, Carmel Apple Cheesecake, and Nanimo Bars. MMMM  I was so good.  Too much food though, entirely too much.  We had a delicious dinner tonight though where I used the turkey, so well worth it.  Thank you Friends for another memorable holiday! 

29 Again!!

This past week I turned 29 for the 4th time!  I had such a great birthday!  I woke in the morning to all my children singing Happy Birthday and bringing me breakfast in bed.  They had no school, and Brent had work, but they remembered and did it all on their own.  I lapped up my HUGE bowl of "Honey Bunches Of Oats....Just Bunches", pushed the tray to the bottom of my bed and fell back asleep, till 11!!!!  Yes, my kids let me sleep in till 11:00!!!  Liza took over Katie and even had a barricade set up to stop the dog from coming up the stairs.  It was glorious.  I was sure worried about them all being home, but what a treat.  I got showered and ready and packed up the kids to take them to Bolt.  (which btw is SUCH A CUTE MOVIE!!! I highly recommend it) As we left the mall, my husband called my cell.  He was home already!!!  3:30pm!!!  Anyone who knows us even a tiny bit knows that Brent is NEVER home that early!  I nearly crashed the van!!  I couldn't believe it!   When I got home I had a shower while Brent fed the kids and got them ready to go to Co Op at Jeri's.   Not only were Jeri and Lincoln going to take my kids for Co Op,  but they also offered to keep all 4 of them for a sleep over!!  Oh my!!  What an offer.  We went to dinner at Chevys..  mmm flautas!  We had a great time talking about where we may be headed next year....  something that is really in the front of our minds right now.  We then got to walk around ALL of the mall.  I scored an awesome deal at the Tommy Hilfiger store, a beautiful $70 sweater for $29!  I love it!  Then we went to the movies.  Late movies, we saw.........  TWILIGHT!  (this was my 3rd time! he he)  It was SO GOOD, AGAIN!!  I really could just turn around and watch it over and over.  We came home and I got a back rub while we watched "Dan In Real Life".  It was a late night, but SO much fun!  Jeri DELIVERED my kids in the morning, and traded them for me.  We went to Panara where we met up with Christina, and I was treated to breakfast.  It was lovely.  We came home and I made a big pot of Mac and Cheese for the kids and she brought her kids over to have lunch and a play date with my kids, which Brent watched all of them so that we could go shopping.  We hit the mall for a couple hours (thanks Brent for being willing to watch not only ours, but Jeris too.)  I got a few Christmas Presents at Macy's my newly discovered fav. department store.  (thanks Tracey).  We ended our little trip with a Cinnabon  :-(  I complained to Jeri, that this was it.   The Birthday was all done :-(.   We came home, and Brent headed off to a wedding for a couple from work.  (I was invited but opted to not spend my sitter $ on a wedding that I didn't even know anyone.)   I took the kids to Costco for laundry soap.  And took one last plug for my birthday and bought them fast food for dinner, so that I didn't have to cook.  Dinner and Baths, and they were off to bed.  I had big plans....  me...... a movie.....  6 loads of laundry (all piled on the sofas for 2 days!).  I was quickly picking up in the kitchen and grumbling about why on earth the garbage was thrown on the deck for the dog to dig a whole in, instead of taken 10 more feet to the can, when I saw a car pull into my driveway.  I happened to be outside getting that garbage away from Chinook, and saw someone.  I had a few seconds to think through who it could be, and why?  A little worried, I locked doors and peeked out my peep hole, only to find, it was friend, not foe.  I had no idea however just how many friends!  11 of my dear friends were there at my door to surprise me with hugs, balloons, and all the makings for a party.  It was so fun.  Unfortunately these are the only pictures I took at the party, cuz I thought it was too funny that they folded all the laundry, then I got caught up in the moment and forgot to take pictures the rest of the time
These ladies made quick work of my huge pile of laundry, THANK YOU GIRLS!!!  It was amazing how quickly that many hands can get that big job done!  We ate a whole pile of snacks, that I love.  I could tell that someone who loves me, and know's me planned the menu. Hummus and chips, Hint of lime Tostetos (my favorite chip), chipotle dip (chipotle is my favorite spice), salsa, Cake with Strawberries and a brie loaf.  So yummy.  It was so fun to have all these women here.  It really made the day special.  They left me feeling so happy and loved.  I couldn't believe that so many of them would take a night out of their busy lives to come over to chat and bring their Birthday wishes.  I am so touched, and already homesick for Maryland.  I will try to enjoy while we are here.  Maybe, just maybe we'll stay, in which case we'll need a new house with in this ward's boundaries.   It was a fabulous birthday!  For those who are wondering... whadya get???  Brent and the kids gave me a GPS.  Which I am SO excited to have! My mom got me a Miche purse with 4 shells.  My Dad got me the beautiful sweater from TH and I still have some $ left.  $ from Grandma and Brents Dad and Arbra.  Jeri got me these beautiful Teddy Bear brushes  to feed my new make up fascination.  Christina got me a subscription to Rachel Rae magazine.  Jann, a movie ticket ( I wonder what I should go and see),  Tracy and Mendy a gift card to TGI Fridays, Raquel a gift card to borders, Barbara a trip to Cheesecake Factory, Kellie a knitted scarf (kellie I need tips on how to fashion your beautiful creation)  and Ellen a box of pepperidge farm cookies.  Phew, what a haul!!  I feel like such a loved and lucky woman.  Thank you to Everyone in my life for a wonderful Birthday.  For all the phone calls, emails and wonderful Birthday wishes.  It was the Bestest birthday!

Gal Time

This weekend was my much awaited gals trip up to PA.  We headed up on Friday at about 3 and would you believe that we hit traffic?!?!  Don't these people have jobs!  :-)  We were 5 women on a mission.  At the time we had Jeri, Cassandra, Christina, myself and Scarlet (oh yeah, and Simone) all in Jeri's van.  We had a great time chatting and listening to the Twilight sound track all the way up to York.  When we arrived we went to our beautiful Hotel (thanks again Scarlet), where we had 2 rooms.  We dumped our stuff and headed out for dinner and some shopping.  We ate at Chillies (mmmm, so western egg rolls),  we had such a blast chatting and laughing.  While we were at Chillies Kellie caught up with us (she had some  responsibilities that had to be taken care of before she could skip out with us, so she drove up all alone :-( ) .  After dinner we had about an hour of shop time left so we ran excitedly over to Christmas Tree Shop.  We ran about grabbing the CUTEST product for the cheapest prices ever!!  We got to be quit good pals with the manager and the night shift workers since we were by FAR the last people out of the store.  It was SO fun!!   Then we headed back to the Hotel for some more chatter and tomfoolery.  We laughed so hard that my stomach hurt the next morning.  We laughed so hard we cried... and truly is there anything more refreshing then that?

A midnight run to Wal-mart to get some hint of lime tostitos, turned into an hour long excursion for Christina and I, where I did a little Christmas shopping.  I will never forget Christina's GIANT bag of Chex mix, or Cassandras HANDY DANDY travel shampoo.  :-)  Oh, such good times!  We headed to bed at 3 am, and there was some little chatter till about 3:30!  CRAZY GIRLS

Here is the crew in the morning, just outside of the hotel.  We also had some tender moments where mommies shared their heart felt feelings.  Oh, soup for the soul.  It was everything that I needed.  We took our time getting ready in the morning and then went down and tried to figure out how we were going to get all our junk home.  :-)

Here are some of the gals trying to strategize...  the conclusion...  Kellie and Cassandra had to leave early, we would put all the overnight bags in Kellies car, then we would have more room for all our stuff!!  :-)
So this is a quick shot of car number one that we all sent home.  
Cassandra got a make over from Scarlet, and the wind was blowing just right so we had to snap some shots.  I have another one that I think I may like better, but I'll put that up later.  Doesn't she look so beautiful?!?!  You should have seen her in her pink coat later on at the outlet mall!!  :-)  We all crowded around her change room (6 of us) telling her to buy this pink coat because it looked SO great on her!   

Anyway, once we got the car thing figured out, we headed to Panara for Lunch..  Yes, I am going to tell you ever place that we ate because that was part of the excitement of it all.... eating hot peaceful meals, where the only bladder you have to worry about is your own.  :-)  After yummy lunch, we met up with Barbara who drove down for the Sat. portion of the weekend!!  We all hit the outlet mall in Lancaster for the rest of the afternoon.  When we were all together there were 7 of us, and it was a blast!!  I had to laugh at us, as we were in the Levis store, trying on clothes right by the rack.  Most of us had on layers, so we were slipping tops on and off, right there in the store...  I am sure we looked ridiculous, but it sure was fun!  There were a few drop down dragum out's over some Hats, but for the most part we all got along, and sometimes bought some matching stuff.

At around dinnertime we drove through sonic to get Cherry Limeades and then headed back down to York to finish the Christmas Tree Shop.  Yup, I said finnish...  WE needed a few more hours in there.  I think all total we spent over 3 hours in there, and I wasn't board, not for one second!!  It was this trip to the Christmas Tree Shop that made getting home really fun...  Christina and Barbara bought some furniture, but it all fit in.  (thank heavens Barbara came with an empty car)  Here is the van after all was said and done!

Happy shoppers.... Barbara, Christina, Scarlet, Jeri and Simone (who btw was an absolute ANGEL the entire time!  Thanks BABY!)  I unfortunately don't have a picture of Barbaras car, but trust me, it was looking a lot like this too.  :-)

They kicked us out of the store at 10:00, and we were all hungry so over to Longhorn we went!  Yumm, stake at 11:00 pm?!?!  Oh, but it was so fun again.  Great food, great pals, great conversation.
We headed home pooped right out and happy as can be.  We had a great time!  We arrived back in town at about 2, but we had to divide the goods, so we all didn't get back to our respective homes until 2:30!  It was such a great trip.  I needed this weekend so badly!!!  Thank you to all the husbands who took over!  And Thanks girls for a great trip.  What a ball

Just FYI

For anyone who got a glimpse of my legs in the past 2 weeks......  Yes I went to the Dr.  And She said it was "Erythema Nodosum".  She ran a bunch of blood tests, which we are still waiting for results for,  but her guess is that it is the Mirena that is causing the problem.  She told me to wait for the results from the blood tests before having it removed however because this is usually a reaction to Oral contraceptives.  There are a few places on the net where people have reported having had "EN" On the pill, and then getting it with Mirena too.  So, I think ....... (hummm)  did anyone hear that snipping sound?  :-)  Anyway, so she also ran a blood test for Thyroid, as I am on Thyroid meds and told her that I have been feeling Sluggish.  Sure enough, that test is back and she has doubled my Thyroid meds.  YIPPEEE.  I thought I was just being crazy lazy.  It is such a relief to have a place to stick my blame.  :-)  So there ya go.  

Another blog?

This was my song for today. :-) I felt like my terminex guy should have broken into song.

"You're gonna Miss this"

She was staring out the window of their SUV
Complaning, saying "I can't wait to turn 18"
She said "I'll make my own money, and I'll make my own rules"
Mamma put the car in park out there in front of the school
Then she kissed her head and said "I was just like you"

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

Before she knows it she's a brand new bride
In a one-bedroom apartment, and her daddy stops by
He tells her "It's a nice place"
She says "It'll do for now"
Starts talking about babies and buying a house
Daddy shakes his head and says "Baby, just slow down"

Cause you're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

Five years later there's a plumber workin' on the water heater
Dog's barkin', phone's ringin'
One kid's cryin', one kid's screamin'
And she keeps apologizin'
He says "They don't bother me.
I've got 2 babies of my own.
One's 36, one's 23.
Huh, it's hard to believe, but...

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this"



And the darling edible image on the cake came from ecrater.com

Are You Serious!?!?

So today was not too crazy of a day... well yeah, it kind of was, but I think I took the whole day in pretty good stride.  After teaching at the gym this morning,  and being told by more people to go to the Dr to have my legs looked at (everyone thinks I'm going to die)  :-).  I came home and quickly shoveled lunch into the girls and sent Tori off to school.  Ahh, I would have the whole day to do laundry and clean my storage room.   LOL!!!!  I decided to spend a little time with Katie before her nap, but that got interrupted by a very excited phone call from Andrea regarding her visit here next week.  We had a lovely chat that had katie up past her nap time.  When I did get her up to go to bed, she wanted to sleep in Alex's bed.  I told her that if she stayed in the bed she could.  Well she stayed on the bed, and even stayed laying down, but she didn't go to sleep.  While she was trying a guy from Terminex showed up to do a complimentary Termite inspection.  I knew he was coming, but had forgotten up until I saw him standing in my door way.  I apologized all the way down the stairs because I was taking him into the absolute worst room in my house.  This room has been on the to do list for weeks, and that is how I was planning to spend my afternoon.  Oh dear, he had to climb over stuff, and shimmy around....  Oh it was so embarrassing.  He assured me that he has seen worse, but I just felt so stupid watching him trip over our crap.  Luckily though he found no signs of termites.  :-)  But did you know that there are 2 termite colonies in every acre of land?  Yes...  Did you know that they can eat your whole house in 2 weeks!!!  (just kidding, but he pulled out all the scary termite stories)

Anyway, after he left, I went up to check on Katie.  Still awake!  Oh dear, the kids will be home in 20 minutes, So I put her in her own bed.  She fell asleep at 3:20.  Right before the kids came home!  Crazy girl.  We had a Family Home Evening tonight w/o Brent as he HAD to go to dinner at "The Rusty Scupper" for work.  Poor soul.  So we did an FHE on Why we love daddy, and we gave him a heart attack on his bed.  The kids all wrote reasons why they love him.  One of my favorites was because when he took their order at mcdonals, which was chicken nuggets, fries, and chocolate milk, he called it back to them and said "chicken nuggets and Chocolate fries for both of you then."  They thought that was pretty funny.  Mostly the mentioned all the things that he does with them, games and songs and stuff.  It was fun to see them come up with things.  After FHE is when things broke down.  At some point Liza was under Alex's bed and came out and knocked a drink over.  Alex was pretty ticked off about this, and snuck off  filled a glass with water and dumped it all over her bed. (we discovered this when Liza went to bed at 8:30, then i had to play detective to figure out why her bed was wet ALL over!)  Back to while they were still awake.  While getting Katie ready for bed, Liza was climbing the walls in my hall way upstairs... yes, I said climbing the walls,  (The girl literally climbs the walls, despite the fact that she has gotten in trouble for it, she continues to do it.  )  In the midst of her climbing she somehow kicks Alex.... we still don't know where she kicked Alex because his story changed 3 times!!!  What the heck!! ?!?   He came wailing down the stairs that she kicked him in the face, ON PURPOSE (that is his big line!)  So I go up stairs a few minutes later and he is chanting behind me, "ground her... ground her!!"  So I try to find out about the intentions of the kick, and then the story unfolds into that it was a kick in the shoulder.   Then being caught in his variance of his tale, he switches it to neck... yeah, it was the neck, right here under the chin!  LOL  Oh brother.  So Liza got in trouble for climbing the walls, and Alex was mad that I cared more about the walls then his face/shoulder/chin.  :-)  Then i go to tuck Tori in and find yet another one of my lip-glosses in her bed.  She has taken these before, and gotten in trouble, and here she was hiding yet another.  Apparently my "trouble" that they are getting into, isn't enough, cuz I am noticing as I am typing this that all this behavior (except the water)  is repeated offenses.  (HUMMM....)  Anyway, so for being humiliated in front of the Terminex guy, being told that my days are numbered, finding out that one child is a thief, another a malicious sneak, the third a disobedient monkey, and forth, and almost worst of all, is giving up her naps, I think I dealt with the day rather well.  :-)  Oh what fun

Brent's Birthday

A Tribute to a man who works his butt off for his family.  Brent is such a hard worker, and is so hard on himself.  He has accomplished so much in the time that I have known him.  When we met he was going to be a musician.  He soon decided that he wanted to have a family, he looked into the money that professional musicians make and decided that if he were to follow that path he would have to teach kids how to play.  This is not something he wanted to do, so he switched carrier paths.  After some research and prayer he settled on medicine.  We had NO idea what we were in for.  We did interview a Dr friend of his mothers, who told us, "you have to love what you are doing, you can't do this for the money, it is too hard of a road for the money."  We laughed then.... we understand now.  I do however believe that he made the right decision.  Brent finished his undergrad as a musician.  He payed for his entire undergrad with scholar ships.  Yes sir, the whole kit and caboodle.  (He is THAT good) I anxiously await the days when he has enough time to join a local orchestra, just for fun, he loves to play.  Brent plays a game with the kids a couple times a month at dinner time.  He turns on I tunes and he plays segments from classical music and the children guess what instrument they are hearing.  They are getting rather good at identifying what they are hearing.  I am sure that this will soon turn into name that composer etc...  He loves to share his love of music with the kids.   Brent not only used his music to put him through school, but while keeping up with the crazy music schedule, he managed to do all the classes he needed to do to apply for Medical School.  At one point in his undergrad he worked at a clothing store part time, and at a game store.  This man is a hard worker and always has been.  He has gotten into medical school, finished medical school, trained in the army, and has almost completed his residency.  He is a Chief Resident this year and works hard to continue to please those with whom he works.  I know that he is loved at work, because at work parties everyone has such nice things to say to me.  He has also during all of this schooling and working, fathered 4 beautiful children and has been a help to me in raising them and teaching them the gospel.  He sure wishes that he could be around more, and blames himself for a lot of things, but I think he does a great job with what he has.  Most of all though, this man has put up with me for nearly 14 years!!  I am not an easy person to live with.  I am very particular, I am vocal, I am emotional and worst of all, I am bossy.  Luckily Brent is not particular, not vocal, rarely emotional and will do what ever keeps the peace.  Poor man!  I try so hard to not be the way that I am, but he is so patient with me.  During this time he has also become quite a chess player, he built a clock out of paper, he has taken flying lessons, and is quite the pilot on the computer.  He has become a drummer (on rock band), and a wonderful guitarist (also rockband), he has complete Halo and I believe Halo 2.  He has maintained loving relationships with his Brothers, and brother in law.  He may think that my talking about his x-box accomplishments is slamming him, but really, it shows that he is not a boring guy, locked up in his room studying and working all the time. He does have fun!!

This is a way old picture, but it's us none the less.  For Brents Birthday this year I took him to the Go Karts.  HE HAD A BALL.  It was a very fun evening.  I wish that every day could be like that day.  He was so happy and full of life speeding around that track.  The guys at the place gave him the fastest Kart, so he was pretty cool!  We then went out to Long Horn, for some Stake and Lobster.  He loved it.  (me too!  YUM)  Then we stopped by Macaroni Grill for his absolute favorite CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH GANACHE!  :-)  I love you babe.  Happy Birthday!!  Thank you for all that you have accomplished and all that you continue to do!!!!

Tori's 5th Birthday

Although I already did a super long post about Tori, here are the pics from her birthday.  She chose "Never Land" as her theme.  We had a hard time with the cake, but settled with this little personalized eatable cake picture that I found on line.  SO easy, and So cute.  Just what she wanted.
She invited her friends over to play some games and eat some cake.  She had Katie (from school) Marlee, Salena, Maryelle, Natalia, and Elek.
Here we are playing pin the fairies on the castle.  The girls loved it almost as much as getting sprinkled with Fairy dust and flying around the room.  
Between her two best pals.  She sure loves these girls!  She is so blessed to have so many wonderful friends here.
Party goers.
One of my most favorite things about Tori is her thankful heart.  She is so animated when she opens gifts and is grateful for each and every gift.  Almost every year I catch an expression like this on above.  This is a Tinkerbell book.
This was her hearts desire this year, Grandma Tiffany stepped in with the "swimming baby".  She loves it and It really does "swim".  She was so excited.
And a webkins from Grandpa, I just had to show the love for her new puppy.  

Happy Birthday Miss Tori!

Halloween

We have quite the collection of Costumes around this house.  This year was mostly left up to the kids.  Liza chose to be a witch and purchased a hat for $2 @ 5below.  Alex wore his Darth Vader costume to the Trunk or Treat but was Scooby (from his birthday party) for School and Trick or Treating.  Tori had a repeat of last year, she was more then happy to sport her Snow White outfit for School and Trick or Treat, but she wore the Horsey costume (I think it was Alex's years ago)  for the Trunk or Treat.  Katie was Tinkerbell, and I got her costume for $3 on clearance last year, so she got lucky with a new costume.  :-)  We had such a ball Trick or Treating with the Tidwells.  We are so lucky to have such fun friends who live so close by.  The kids got to hit their Favorite houses.  One woman sits out on her driveway with a fortune telling costume on and makes guesses about the kids, she is very keen to listen for parents calling their children by name, so that she can make them think she is amazing.  She also can make a pretty good guess of what the kids are into by what they are wearing, so they think she is psychic.  Alex looks Very forward to her every year.  :-)  There is another house that they love to go to that is always decorated!!  This year she added a fog machine.. very cool.  They also love to Trick or Treat to their principle.  That's pretty cool too.
Tori's little school does a really cute (but cold) costume parade, followed by the singing of some Halloween songs.  I believe that this song is 5 little pumpkins.  :-)  This is the second year these two have matched for Halloween.  Boy are they going to miss each other when we move, you guys may just have to move with us. 
Pumpkin carving was fun this year. Brent, Liza and Alex did a big pumpkin and Tori, Katie and I did  the little one.  I didn't get any snaps of the finished product. :-(  Ooops.  It was a fun FHE though.  Chinook thought it was great to have us all on the floor with him.  Katie liked to scoop all the pulp out of the middle.  She was mad anytime I helped.

Living in Maryland

I interrupt my birthday/halloween posts to share a funny little tid bit.  These were the names of the people in Alex's math problems today.  They were hand written problems made up by his teacher:  Shawnika, Jerel, Kiara, ad Taleisha, Jaton, Elsie, Maryam.  LOL  what ever happened to Jane and Sam?  LOL  He had a hard time focusing on the problems because he was trying to say the kids names.  :-)

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY VICTORIA!

I can't believe that you are 5!  Where did the time go?  You are such a sweet girl, and you are so fun to have around.  When I was pregnant with you, we went to Niagara Falls and on the Canadian side of the falls there is a park called "Victoria Park"  Obviously after the Queen Victoria.  Seeing as how we already had an Elizabeth and we stuck with those kinds of Regal names with Alexander, the name Victoria jumped straight out at me.  I knew from that point on that you would have to be my little Tori.  I was thrilled when you grew in your curly blond hair that looked just like "big Tori's" hair when she was a little girl.  You came into this world faster then any of your siblings.  The only reason you weren't born in the car was because of a stalled labor.  It only stalled long enough to get to the hospital, then you came out as fast as you could.  It was such a fun day when you came into the world.  I will never forget that day, as long as I live.  I will never forget the drive in the car, the delivery and most of all seeing my baby girl.  I bought the cutest little purple outfit for you, it had a little hat.  You looked so lovely in it.  I can still see you, as a little baby, resting on my knees in the hospital bed, in  your little purple outfit.  When you were in the hospital, they wouldn't give me a soother for you.  They told me that they didn't have any, and i had kind of counted on the token free soother that every hospital gives out, so I didn't have anything either.  You loved to suck... oh what was I to do?  You spent a lot of time in my bed while we were in the hospital, till dad could bring us the beloved sue sue.   From that day on you were hooked.  "sue Sue" and "sue sue fire"  became some dear friends of yours.  When they "broke", so did your heart, and for weeks you slept with one in one hand and one in the other.  :-(  You were SO incredibly easy to Potty Train.... it was a delight to work with you.  As it is in most cases.

Your personality is wonderful.  You are so sweet and so kind.  You do like to be in charge of stuff, but you can be persuaded into new ideas.  You are sweet to your brother and sister (usually).  You love babies, and oh how you LOVE strollers. You currently have 3 doll strollers, and a cart, but you've had to trow out 2 that were worn to a frazzle.  Let me tell you a story about you and strollers...

One day, Liza was in the drivers seat with the controller to the TV.  I was not around, and apparently the two of you caught then tail end of "A Baby Story"  which showed (discreetly) a baby being born.  For almost a year after wards you still talk about this event.  You immediately swore off having children when you grow up.  Through various discussions with me and surprisingly, various women in our ward,  you could not be persuaded to believe that it is all worth it.  That the needles and screaming was really okay because then you have a baby to hold and love for ever.  No. You still were never having children.  One day, about 10 months after the show, you were sitting with "miss Jeri" at church, and you were talking about her new baby.  You told her that you were not going to have any babies and why you were not going to do it.  She began with the same ideas as the rest of us, but then she switched directions, see, miss Jeri knows you, and she knows your love for strollers.  She told you that, when you have a baby, you get to buy strollers for that baby.  You were intrigued...  strollers you say???  Then miss Jeri proceeded to tell you how many strollers she has and all their different purposes, doubles, joggers, ones for car seats, umbrellas... you name it.  SOLD!!!  You were no longer worried about having babies.  So long as you can have your variety of strollers, that's all that matters.  :-)  

Oh my sweet Tori, we keep asking you to stop growing, but you just wont stop.  You love your curls, and you cry if I brake down and brush them, you know that the brush ruins them.  You are so insulted when i do it, I truly feel bad for doing it, but sometimes they drive me nuts!  :-)  

You counted down for this 5th Birthday for 45 days.  You were driving me nuts asking me over and over how long till your birthday.  You would cry at everyone else's parties because they got to have their birthday first!   By mid September I printed up 2 calenders and stapled them together with a sheet of stickers.  You marked that calender EVERY night, never forgetting for 45 days!  

 So Today for your birthday, Liza got up super early, and made you breakfast in bed.  (what a nice sister, see, she loves you with all her heart)  She made you an egg sandwich and brought yogurt too.  You didn't eat much, as you were far too excited that you were finally 5!  You stood up on top of your bed, reached up to the sky and just grinned from ear to ear as you waited for me to comment in awe about how much bigger you are this morning then ever before!  You were absolutely giddy, but soon got grumpy when you learned that you had to wait all the way till dad came home to open your presents!   We went to the gym so i could teach, and you and Katie wore your costumes.  They noticed when I checked you in that it was your Birthday and they did a "birthday shout" for you and everyone was extra nice to the birthday girl!  After the gym we met your bestest little girl friend at the mall... as per your request.  You played at the play place, and picked Mc Donald's for lunch.  Cheeseburger, Fries and Chocolate Milk, your standard order.  You then got the special treat of riding the carousal.  You and Natalia looked so cute on your horses, and you loved every minute.  Then you were off to" build a bear"  You wanted to spend your birthday money at "Build a Bear".  You picked horse which you later named Rosey Princess.  You dressed her in a pink skirt and a pink shirt with princesses on it.  An outfit that you would wear.  :-)  We had to race out of the mall to get home to get the kids off the bus.  Then a surprise from Daddy, he would be home by 5:30!!  Lucky you (a pal at work rescued him)!  You opened your gifts and were thrilled!  The swimming baby from Grandma Tiffany, the Webkin and $ from Grandpa.  $ from Grandpa Wall and Grandma Arbra,  $ from Great Grandma Reeder, a card from Great Grandma and Grandpa Davies, An "American Girl" doll from mom and dad (it's not really an american girl... you just call it that cuz it looks like one.  its a knock off from Target) , 2 movies from Brother and sisters "Sleeping Beauty" and "Tinker Bell", and A homemade gift from Liza, she made you this weaving thing that is like a choker.  You were both so happy.  You chose "Red Robin Hood" For Dinner, where the silly server brought you out a sunday, but they didn't gather around to sing to you.  That is why you chose that spot, you wanted the singing.  I asked someone else about it, and they said they would take care of it.  But they never came, no one sang.  They sang to two other kids, but not you.  You were sad, and eventually, just wanted to go home and play with your new toys.  You said it was a great birthday.  Tomorrow we take treats to school for your birthday, and on Saturday we are having a "Never Land" party!  Oh it will be fun!  

I love you miss Tori, you are SO SPECIAL!!  Never ever forget that!!!

TICKETS EVERYONE! TICKETS!!!

Just a friendly reminder to all my pals, get your tickets to Twilight now while their hot!!  and available for that matter  :-)  

Our theater out here has a 12:01 am showing.... I am SO going!!  I'll be in my seat WELL before that time!  So get your t-shirt's and your buttons, and bumper stickers and and and........  See you there :-)

Trunk or Treat

Tonight was the Trunk or Treat at the church.  We had a great time.  The there were a few other Tinkerbell's, it was fun.

My kids LOVE  Peter Pan, so Katie was thrilled when she saw Hook.  Thrilled and a little afraid.  :-)

"There he is mom.  Hook"

I asked "Hook" to come and stand behind me for a minute so that the girls would look at me.  This is what I got....  Look at Leah's face... she doesn't look too trusting. :-)  Too funny!
A Kiss from Tinkerbell???  Lucky Hook!  Oh, such fun times together!
Another Captain hook, this one belongs to the little Tink with Katie (above).  This is just such a cute idea for a family costume.

Tori was absolutely thrilled to see her dear pal Eli in a Peter Pan costume.  She LOVES Peter and couldn't believe that Eli could look SO Dashing!  LOL!!

Oh we had such fun, the kids collected a record amount of LOOT in record time! And were just all fat and happy all the way home.  Katie couldn't believe this concept, just walk around and people give you candy in your bucket!!???!  Then you just get to eat it up??!?!  Too fun!  They had a ball, and I loved watching them have a ball.

Again, so grateful for friends and our ward family.

Too long

It's been too long since my last blog.  I have been reading everyone else's blog, but when it came time to post my own, I have had so many blog ideas in my head that I just don't know where to begin.

This week I have been especially grateful for friends, both near and far.  I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life.  This ward here in Maryland has been so amazing.  It is unlike anything I have ever seen.  I have a few really close friends, the ones that I talk to on a daily basis, and I trade babysitting with, and stuff like that.  But then the whole rest of the ward, I consider my friends.  I feel that each of these sisters loves me and I love them.  Brent has been out of town and working a ton.  Basically I've been on my own for a while, and as always my pals have stepped up to the plate and helped me out.  Although I never took her up on it, Christina offered SEVERAL times to take my kids.  Sometimes her offer was places to ensure their safety from a crazy mommy ;-).  Jeri took my kids (all 4 of them) on wednesday... past bed time, so that I could go and give my talk at young women's.  I have been so grateful for the support of others.  

At young women's on Wednesday I was all dressed up and ready to speak at Young Women in Excellence, when my outfit became a big huge ball of static!  It started when I dropped my kids off at Jeri's.  She offered me Hairspray to try to kill it.  It didn't work.  When I got to the church to set up, Aimee saw me struggling with my skirt and (this is hilarious)  offered me her slip.  No not the slip she was wearing.... the one she had in her purse!  Who carries a slip in their purse???......  I borrowed it.  (It helped till the static got into the slip and I had the same trouble again) but the point is....  not for one minute was it weird to borrow Aimee's slip (for her, or me) and not for one minute was it weird to put it on, right there in front of Scarlet and Julie.  :-)   These women are truly my sisters.  

The women around me are constantly lifting me and loving me and I thank them all SO much.  I am so grateful this week for you!

Well, I need to go and get costumes together for the trunk or treat tomorrow!  My basement looks like a bomb went off in it.  (stay away Scarlett, you don't want to see it!)  So I better quit neglecting my responsibilities.  :-)  I've gotten good at that you know.