Star Wars Party

Thanks Uncle Corey for the awesome photoshop effects!

Darth Dad, Ethan, He is your father

Okay, Updates...

Well, November brought a broken washer, and a dead car battery.... :) But the beginning of December brought some really wonderful things. I wish I could tell you all the amazing things that have happened for us in the past couple of weeks. So many kind things from so many people. I can't even say thank you without crying. And it isn't so much the things that they have done, but the hope that they have brought to our family. I have learned the value of service and how far it can stretch. I have also learned that there is so much good in the world that I need to do that I don't really have time to worry about what is going wrong, and just be happy with what life is teaching me. I guess essentially I have learned to not be so selfish. Giving is what makes people happy. Giving hope to someone who doesn't really have any reason to hope. Ohhhh. My kids just got home! One more day and they are mine for a couple of weeks. I am so excited. This is such a fun time! They are so excited. We were at the Christmas party and Santa came in and I said "Ethan, do you want to go see Santa?" He said, "but I don't know what I want yet, I can't go see him until I know what I want!" He was so worried about it. :) Ahh. so much fun!!!!! Okay, I am off and running, so I will have to post the sad news about the mini van tomorrow. (The breaks... $500.00..... sigh. sigh. deep breath. sigh.)

Is Christmas really next week!?

Wow, I can't believe how behind I am in my postings! Life, as it is for everyone else has been so much fun, but really busy. I wanted to first post some new fun pictures, and then I will tell you what has been going on with us....

Our neighbor gave us some chocolate Christmas truffles, (the round chocolates that are the size of golf balls) and Alyssa went crazy. She put a whole one in her mouth. Nummy.

One day I washed Zach's bedding and it wasn't done by bed time, so he slept on the bottom bunk in Katelyn's room. I was wrapping Christmas presents in the living room, and I heard a noise...I looked at Dan in total panic and said "kid!" He went to check on them and this is what he found.... :)

After church on Sunday, Alyssa was playing with Barbies, and fell asleep. (I can't wait until 9am church! It is hard when they fall asleep at 5pm!)

Ethan had a Star Wars Birthday party. Complete with Storm Trooper. So now he is apart of our Christmas decor... (I am not sure how long I will be able to stand it. He scares the heck out of me when I go get a drink of water in the middle of the night. It has been two weeks, and I still get startled... Stupid storm trooper.)

I couldn't pass up the antique picts at the mall. I have always wanted to do that. We only got one picture, so we scanned it so we could post it. I LOVE Zach's smile. He is such a goof.

Grandpa asking Santa to speak on Sunday... Since Grandpa ended up speaking, I am assuming that Santa said "ho, ho, NO!"

Ethan in the crowd at the First grade program. :)

The Muppet Twelve Days of Christmas (AKA Grandma Smith's Song)

(Song #2 0n the playlist down below)When Dan and I were first married, Dan thought it was really funny that when my mom would sometimes panic, (I am going to be in so much trouble for this...) her voice would go like ten octives higher and she kind of well, sounded like well... (at first we couldn't really say what she sounded like) So one day we are driving, and we hear this song, and got to the part where "Beaker" starts to sing, we started to laugh so hard, because we both at the same time said "that's it!" When my mom panics, she sounds like "Beaker". (memememe) anyway, sorry mom, but even now 8 years later, we hear this song, and just die laughing. badambumpbump.

Mondy, Monday

I woke up this morning with a renewed sense of wanting to accomplish everything on my to do list. And then I realized that I had about ten to do lists. And settled on trying to prioritize the lists and then starting out. It's now after four, and I am finally done redoing my to do lists. So now I have a lot to get done tomorrow! I ate lunch with just Zach today (Alyssa took an early nap). Ohhh to be three again. He makes me laugh so hard. (Out of nowhere, comments like, "Mom, I don't like to go underwater in a big pool, just a little kid pool or a bathtub", or "do you know how to make bubbles in a bathtub, you go like this..." and showed me what to do with his lips.) After lunch he said, "mom, do you want to see what I can do?" He laid down on the carpet in the living room (on his back) and said "this is how you make a snow angel". And proceeded to make a "snow angel" on the carpet. I don't know where he comes up with this stuff, and then realized a small sad fact of life, that he has never even seen snow!!! Our poor deprived children. I have to say that is the hardest part about Tucson for me. I really miss seasons. Especially now that the holidays are coming. But if we lived somewhere that had seasons we wouldn't have our extended family around. I guess it is not really a choice. Anyway, just kind of a random day, but in my little world with lots of kids and being 26 1/2 weeks pregnant, to get the dishes done, a bunch of laundry, and watch Zach make "snow angels" in the carpet, it has been a pretty productive day. :)
I am getting really excited for the holidays, and starting a few new traditions in our family now that are kids are getting a little older. I just want to make things as fun and memorable as I possibly can for the kids. They won't really remember the gifts, but I want them to always remember having a lot of fun. Speaking of kids, all of them (Dan included) are in my kitchen light sabor fighting. Dan just lost, I better go save him. And it's family night! My kids love family night. I keep wondering how long it will last. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will be a long time. I know, I know it is wishful thinking. But for now, I need to go and get the craft together, and finish my lesson on graditude. Oh, and try to get Alyssa to say Daddy instead of Dan. So much to do!!!! :)

A good night sleep can do wonders

My favorite time of the day is the morning. When the kids wake up, hair a mess, jammies twisted, and they walk around with their eyes half opened. (Not very straight either) What makes our mornings so nice is that all of our kids 99% of the time will wake up happy and excited for a new day. The boys woke up a little earlier than normal for a Saturday, they were talking and laughing and getting ready to watch Star Wars. Completely equipped with blankets and pillows. Alyssa woke up next, and wanted to see the guys. (Hi guys, she always says) and then she came running into my room a little while later, Katie! Katie! So excited that Katelyn had finally gotten out of bed. No fighting, no drama, just everyone happy as could be. It illustrated to me the darkness I felt last night, to the brightness of a new day. I think we have all been there now and again in the dark, I guess the trick is to not stay there for very long. I found that once you let yourself go there, it is so hard to leave! But today, it was so much nicer to feel the bright new sun, and to feel the happiness that radiated from my kids.
So, off to do the laundry I let myself put off. (has anyone seen the commercial of the enormous ball of laundry that rolls into the backyard? that's my pile) haha. Which to me, says that we are so blessed to have clothes for our kids to wear, and I am blessed that my washer still works, for now... Dan is almost home, and then we will take our kids to see the wonders of Tucson, (most likely the park, or the zoo, or if we are really, really crazy, the mall to see if Santa really is here before Thanksgiving!) Seriously.

Bad Day....

I used to be one that would wish time away, you know I can't wait until this happens, or I can't wait until this is over.... But I have to say, after the week we have just had, I am so grateful that this week is over. The funny part about being thankful for that, is that the problem is still there! For the past few days it just seems like all we have gotten is bad news, well not bad, just discouraging. It has been pretty hard to take. Mainly because I am having trouble shaking this hopeless feeling. I did ok earlier today, but right before I went to get the kids from school, I received an email with some really discouraging news. (Job search stuff) anyway, it kind of just took the breath out of me. Funny thing though, we get in the car to get kids, and the 'Bad Day' song came on the radio right when I turned on the car. Hahaha. To say the least. Then Ethan got off the bus, and told me about something discouraging that happened at school and I felt so bad for him. So we came home, I gave everyone a snack, made sure they were all safe, went to my room locked the door and had a good cry. The hiccup kind of crying that you can't really stop. So embarrassing. I mean, what happened today was really nothing compared to the big scope of things. But for some reason, I just came apart. I have nothing to complain about, that is the sad thing. Everyone is happy, healthy, we have what we need... the list of great things that go on in our family is endless. But this one little email, a couple of sentences, and crash! What in the world?! (Ok, so I am writing this under the assumption that not too many people read my blog, and really the main reason is for my own therapy.) I love to write, and I love to go back and look on past experiences and see how far I have come, and how much stronger I am for facing challenges in life. When I have days like this I think of Dan, and how he handles things. He is a rock. I can't even believe some of the things that are thrown at him, and he should have been a line backer because he just squares his shoulders, puts his head down and plows through. Me, I lock the door and hiccup cry. What a girl. :) To give you just a glimpse of how Dan takes things... when we were living in our Meadowbrook house, Dan was of course in school and it was finals time. (Big assignment/test thing in a math class if I remember right) Katelyn was about two months old, Dan goes out to go to school, and our front yard is completely flooded. Our main water line burst. (I am still trying to overcome my grudge against the idiots who even thought of polybutylene) So, he comes inside, says something about shutting off the water, and knowing that he had so much school work to do, and the obligation of taking care of his family, he changes his clothes, and digs up our front yard. He even borrowed a saw and other tools and cut up our driveway to lay a new water line, because of course, the hookup is on the other side of the driveway, seriously whoever put the house plans together... I did not hear one word of complaint. Not one. He always says, what is complaining going to do? (Although, when the pipes burst inside the house a couple of months later and flooded the kids rooms, and damaged just about every wall we had, not to mention the carpet... well I think I saw him roll his eyes once or twice...) :)

Now, seriously. This was a big problem for us, and it got solved. We got through it. So what in the world is my problem today?! I was pretty glad for once that I didn't have anyone over 6 to talk to right then, not that I could really talk through the hiccups. Interesting too, that for the past few days I have been rereading conference talks. Elder Wirthlin, "Come what may, and love it", and Elder Holland, "The Ministry of Angels" But just yesterday when I was wondering how to continue to have hope, when all I feel is discouraged, was President Uchtdorf, The Infinite Power of Hope. He said, "despair drains from us all that is vibrant and joyful and leaves behind the empty remnants of what life was meant to be..." Interesting how Apostles, teachers and so often visiting teachers and home teachers can hit the nail on the head. So today was not such a good day. Tomorrow is Saturday. I get to be with all of my kids for the whole day, and Dan only works for a few hours tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a good day. I hope. :) For any of you who have a lot of time on your hands and care a little for what I have to say, when you feel despair, cry it out. But get back up, go out and dig if you have to, but remember to always have hope. President Uchtdorf said, "Despair kills ambition, advances sickness, pollutes the soul and deadens the heart. Despair can seem like a staircase that leads only and forever downward." He says this about hope, "Hope, on the other hand, is like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances. It pierces the darkness with a brilliant dawn...." Hmmm Utter darkness, or brilliant dawn. Definately, tomorrow will be a much better day.

Some of my favorite picts...

AsI have said a million times, I feel like life is going a million miles a minute. Here are a few pictures that I had forgotten about...

The zoo needs to get a bigger Elephant. Every time we go to the zoo we always get a pict of all our kids on the elephant, but somehow I don't think our new baby will fit...

Tom Selleck as a boy... Alyssa loves her babies

The boys were having a "slumber party" and pretending to be asleep... Alyssa loves ice cream!

Kids, Kids, Kids

Yesterday Dan left to go to work at 4am, he came home changed, went to the career fair, came home, ate and went to young men's, then stayed at the church until after 10 finishing up some clerk stuff. I feel a little spoiled because ever since he finished school because he is home a lot more. I knew he was going to be gone all day yesterday, and I was not looking forward to it. The only "complaint" I have these days about being pregnant is that I just get so tired! Anyway, so last night after bath time, the kids were playing and winding down. Once they were calm enough, we had our nightly scripture and prayer routine. As we were reading scriptures, Alyssa wandered off. I kept thinking, what is she into? But since I had a captive audience, I didn't dare leave to go look for her. We said our prayer, and right as Ethan was saying Amen, Alyssa came around the corner with a bottle of (what used to be a full bottle) hand soap. (Mind you, she has ALREADY had a bath) Her hair was soaking wet with soap. She thought it was mousse. She says "oh, pretty", and put more in her hair. Do I laugh, do I cry? Do I get mad? What do I do? It was not only in her hair, but all over the floor, the bathroom, some of the carpet, although I have to say I am so grateful for all of the tile that we have. It was like a bad math problem, how do you put three kids to bed while washing hand soap out of a toddler? (I knew if I left the other three, than it would completely undo all the work I did to calm them down enough to fall asleep) you see the dilemma. Fortunately, I had some tired kids, so they went to bed, and Alyssa enjoyed a second bath.
Tonight Dan was home, and was a sweetheart to take care of all of the kids at tub time. (It is getting so hard to breathe while bending over the tub to wash kids.) P.S. Dan is amazing, and helps out so much. Anyway, the kids were excited to have daddy home, so while we were reading scriptures tonight, Zach was sitting on Dan's lap. All of a sudden, he says watch this, and does a back flip off of Dan's lap. Complete with the jumping up with his hands in the air like a true gymnast. We were so amazed that we asked him to do it again. So here we are trying to keep the spirit in our home while watching Zach discover a new talent. Finally he sat still, and got a glazed look in his eyes, he was so tired. I said Zach, you get to sleep in tomorrow, aren't you excited? (I know I would be!!!!) Katelyn said, sleep in what?! What is he going to sleep in mom? What is so funny mom? These kids make me laugh so hard. I am still missing my camera! We need a new charger for the batteries and keep forgetting. Until of course, we want to use it. Alyssa was wearing Zach's "snugglie" jammies tonight, because her room gets cold, and all of her's were in the laundry. They were huge on her. It made her mad to walk. She is talking so much more, so tonight while we were reading we let her have a turn, and holy cow, she repeated almost every word from the whole verse. I guess I keep forgetting that she will be two in just four months. But still, I keep thinking that she is still just a baby. I can't believe how fast time is going. I think I say that every time I post, but seriously.
I feel like I need to give another shout out to Dan. We are going through such frustrating challenges right now, and I can't remember even one time that he has complained about things. I got so tired last night that I left the dishes expecting to do them this morning, and Dan came home from the church so late and after only having maybe 4 hours of sleep, he did the dishes so I wouldn't have to wake up to a mess, and then got up again to be to work by 5am. Not one word of complaint. He is such a saint. Especially after all the frustrations that have happened to us this week. It is starting to take a toll, but he just takes it all in stride. Really what else is there to do? He is such a great example to me. I just wish I wasn't so hormonal, I cry at just about everything these days. It makes it really hard to have hope. I think though I really should stop reading the news, then maybe I wouldn't cry so much. :)

Random Happenings

Last week was pretty eventful. On Sunday Katelyn had a loose tooth that was so ready to be pulled, but she would not let us touch it. Well, Dan asked if he could see it, and she started to cry thinking that he was going to pull it, and all of a sudden she shouted, "I got it!" Then she started to cry even harder. It is such a bummer that we left our camera at Cody and Eloise's, and then an even bigger bummer to find that we let the batteries die. So she lost her second tooth last week, and hopefully I will get a picture before it grows back in!
Ethan came home last week, and said that he wanted to run for 1st grade class leader. The kids who decided that they wanted to run were asked to prepare a speech and read it to the class and then the class would vote. (On election day) He tells me this on Monday night right before bed, and elections are the next day. So Tuesday morning we work on his speech, which I was a little nervous about for him because he is so shy, but who am I to hold him back and tell him he can't do something. So my little guy gets up in front of his whole class and gives his speech and I was ready to cry because I could not believe how confident he looked and how well he did! I kept thinking Never, ever underestimate your children! He gets done and runs over to me, "mom, did I do a good job?!" I could barely say yes. I was so happy he chose to get out of his comfort zone and go for it! In the end two of the cutest girls were chosen to be their leaders, but he wasn't phased a bit! I asked him when he got home from school who he voted for, and he said, with a grin, "Gabby and Delany". Good sport. :)
The week of Halloween I was able to go with Katelyn's class on her field trip to the same pumpkin patch with the weeds from he....aven knows where (It's Sunday) on the school bus no less. Pregnant people shouldn't ride school buses for over an hour. But we had fun, and it was fun to be with Katelyn and her friends and see her in her element. I can't believe how grown up she is. On Friday of that same week I was able to go and help in Ethan's class for his Halloween activities. That was a great time too. I was so impressed with the teachers and the efforts that they put into that day for the kids. I was also impressed to see my son dancing!!!!!! One of the classrooms had a fun dance for the kids to do at the end of their activity, and there he was with all the rest of them. My son. Who when he starts to do anything, will stop if he knows someone is watching him. Can you believe that I left the camera home for both events?! Although these days, I am so grateful I remember to get everyone to where they need to go! Having everyone dressed in matching clothes is also an added bonus. I am trying not to put too much pressure on myself. (I ALWAYS have the camera!!!) Oh well, hopefully I have written some good descriptions.

PUMPKIN PATCH