Letters to Santa: Part 2

Dear Santa,
I wold like a jeep and a mote control helacopter and a wii game get my brather a super mario otr spase wii game. get Carlye a doll get Victoria a tent and a dress.

(Nathanael)

Letters to Santa

Dear Santa,
I would like some things for Christmas. First, I would like a sister. Second of all I would like a doll/Barbie from the Nutcracker. I would also like a blue and brown sweater, make shure it’s light blue! I also want Mallory to get a pair of pajamas that match the other girls.

Your Friend,
Carlye

PS - Please get emmaline some presents, to. Just because she’s a dog doesn’t mean she doesn’t need a present.

Viva Las Vegas

Yesterday I flew into Vegas to spend time with my little sister and her family. It has been so much fun! I am getting my baby fix - I mean, what is cuter than a 3 week old baby girl? Even her cry isn't annoying yet! Heidi and Andy went on a short date last night, and the kids and I cooked dinner. Everyone helped with everything, and it was delicious! Today we celebrated Lukers birthday. I miss my family soooo much, but I LOVE being here!






Top 10 things I learned yesterday about flying:

1) When you're a mom, alone time is alone time - even an airport waiting room can feel like a vacation.
2) Flying alone is much simpler and less traumatic than flying with children under the age of 3.
3) It is super awesome to have both of the seats next to you empty - you can kind of lay down and chill out.
4) Airplane bathrooms are not fun to use
5) People are nicer when you have small children with you than when you don't
6) People are also nicer to you when they think you are older than when they think you are younger (ie - mean when they think you are 23, much nicer when you find out you are 33)
7) Las Vegas airport is not some place I would voluntarily bring my children without a blindfold
8) When you check your bags they actually give you a baggage claim ticket - these are important
9) Walk out the wrong door of the Las Vegas airport and many, many, many limo drivers will begin offering you rides to random different locations throughout Vegas
10) A two hour difference can really make a difference (haha -get it!)

Thanksgiving 2010

Thankfulness

Thanksgiving Day 2007:

I have heard it said that Thanksgiving is the time when everyone longs to be at home, even when you are already there. Amazingly, I know exactly what this phrase means. I love Thanksgiving. I love being with family. I love to bake the bread and make the potatoes and eat the stuffing! I love to sit and cuddle with my children, nap with my husband, and help my mom-in-law set up her Christmas tree. I like to do the silly tradition of going around the table and saying what you are thankful for. I like to eat pumpkin pie and watch football (yes, I do). It is always such a wonderful, peaceful, happy day.

I pray that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Full of family and joy and thankfulness.

For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sleep

Today, I am thankful for sleep. Lots and lots of sleep.

Teachers and Indians

Today I am thankful for my children's teachers. We have been so blessed with such incredible men and women in our children's lives - which is a rarity in todays world! I started baking this morning and made Haystacks, Pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin ginger cookies and lemon poppyseed muffins. Then Carlye and I made Omi's pumpkin chiffon cake. Afterwards, we made up little baskets and plates of goodies for people. Hopefully they will know how Thankful we are for them!

I am also thankful for little Indians and Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feasts!

Carl's Hunting Trip: Day 1

I thought that it might be fun to post some videos from Carl's most recent hunting trip. He was in New Mexico hunting for mule deer. Enjoy!

I am thankful for the Nutcracker

All of us at Queen Bee's in our beautiful hats:



I am so sorry that I didn't post yesterday - I fell asleep! Today, I am thankful for family, Christmas traditions, classical music, ballet's and mother-daughter time. Every year Carl's mom takes all of her daughters and grand-daughters to Queen Bee's and then to the Nutcracker. It is a wonderful family tradition, and the girls (and me!) look forward to it every year. I was amazed this year at how awful children can act while in public - and how little their parents care!!!! We were so proud of our girls, who sat nicely, whispered respectfully when they had to talk, and were just so amazingly well behaved! Lunch was scrumptious, and the ballet was BEAUTIFUL! I haven't seen a pas de deux danced that well in such a long time. It was exquisite. And - as always - it made me ache for ballet and dancing. I miss it so much! Too bad there isn't much of a demand for 33 year old ballerinas! haha!


Carlye and I in our beautiful hats that she picked out for us:


Running off the sugar from all of the dainties they had just eaten:


All 3 girls and their sparkly purple Nutcrackers on the way to the ballet:


Carlye and I in front of the Christmas tree (mom cut my head off in all of the pictures - and she cut off my shoes, which were so adorable and totally the best part!):


A real picture:

Petunia

Today I am thankful for our adorable new little kitten, Petunia. She is so sweet and funny! She loves people, and follows everyone around like a little puppy! Carlye named her because we were planting flowers the day that she arrived.

Welcome to the family, Petunia!

The apology

This morning Noah had to apologize to the vice principal. With many tears and a broken heart (or at least a great imitation of one) he told Mr. Harvey that he was sorry.

"Okay. Thank you, Noey." he said, "I know you won't do it again."

Noey - apparently even the Vice Principal has been taken in by my youngest sons charm and charisma.

Heaven help us all.

Today I am thankful for fresh venison (because I never have to buy meat at the store). a husband who returns safely from his hunting trips, and sleep. Lots and lots of sleep.

Oh, and did I mention that I have the most amazing husband in all of the world? Because I do!

I am NOT thankful for

Cell phones. Seriously, they are so annoying. I can't ever find mine, and then people are mad at me for not knowing where it is! (nevermind that I will get annoyed with you if you don't have yours - that's neither here nor there) I mean, I am a BUSY person, and trying to keep track of a small piece of metal that is too big to fit in my pocket, but too small to notice consistently is incredibly irritating. I miss the days when people couldn't get a hold of you if you weren't at home and the worst thing that could happened was losing your portable phone some where in the house. At least you could always find it when you lost it! You didn't have to wonder if it was in your car or at the grocery store or if someone has stolen it and now has access to all of the information in the world about all of the people that you know and love. So, I've decided to become Amish. Then, I don't have to deal with any of it. I'll let you know if Carl will go along with it. We'll probably be moving to Pennsylvania.

I am thankful for my children. And for vice principals. But not necessarily when they are together. For the first time EVER in the five years we have been at this elementary school I had to talk to the principal.

It seems that my youngest child slapped one of his friends across the face for no reason.

Now, he says that his reason is because they were singing a song about a banana going pop, and when it goes pop you are supposed to clap your hands in front of your friends face. Sadly for Noah, he chose to clap his hands on his friends face.

We are currently grounded from the Wii and have to apologize to all parties involved tomorrow morning at school.

Oh, and apparently Noah's friend didn't care that he was slapped, only the vice principal did because he saw it.

What a relief. I guess that makes it all okay.

Ummm, okay, how?

Today, I am thankful for my back. At least, what's left of it.

You see, apparently my back is old. After looking at the x-rays they told me that it's degenerative something or other, which is a fancy way of saying that they can't do anything for me unless I want to go to the chiropractor once a week ('cause apparently that's affordable in some circles!). When I asked them how old my back was they laughed at me and said they didn't really give it an age.

I, personally, thought it was a perfectly logical question.

Until it is better I can't run on concrete 'cause it's bad for my back. And I can't run on trails 'cause it's bad for my knee. And I can't not run 'cause it's bad for my belly fat.

Which leads me to my next question.

HOW ON EARTH AM I SUPPOSED TO DO IT ALL!!!!

I mean, I am not a lazy person - at least, I don't think I am. But between waking up in the mornings, cooking breakfast, fixing hair, cleaning up breakfast, driving the kids to school (oh, yeah, I have to dress myself somewhere in there), volunteering at the school, PTO meetings, working part time at the church, grocery shopping once a week, piano lessons (for me and the kids), church, trying to go on a date with my husband once a week, cooking dinner every night and cleaning it up, helping with homework, reading stories, washing and folding (if only we didn't have to do that part) the laundry, walking the dog, watering the flowers, cleaning the house, picking the kids up from school and all of the surprise doctor, dentist and vet visits - WHEN ON EARTH AM I SUPPOSED TO WORK OUT!

Seriously. If you have the answer, I would really like it. I can barely even find time to read a book, watch TV or play the piano. I have all of the supplies for these wonderful projects (quilts, baby outfits, hair bows) sitting in my closet, and no time to do them. Honestly, if I have a free second I would rather blog or work on one of those than work-out on the eliptical for 30 minutes. I know it's good for me, it's important and I need to do it. But, man, it is hard to find the time!

So, mom's of the world, I'm waiting desperately for your advice and words of wisdom. And if your suggestion is that I clone myself, please know that I already looked into that. Apparently it's unethical.

And a little bit pricey.

Today......

I wrote this yesterday, but our internet was down so it wouldn't let me post it. Here is my "Thankful for" from yesterday.

Today I am thankful for my Grandma. I miss her so much. She was my closest friend and confidant as I was growing up. She loved me when I was unloveable, and cared for me when I did my best to push everyone away. There are few women as amazing as she was. During the holidays I always miss all of my family, but I miss my Grandma the most. Christmas at her house was always a spectacular affair. Yes, everything was beautiful - Grandma had an eye for beauty - but it felt beautiful as well. There was food and family and singing and love. So much love. A huge table with the entire family sitting around it. The prettiest table settings and most delilcious food. Even after I was married, Grandma and Popi would remember me at Christmas time. A giant box filled with goodies would arrive and I would spend an hour or so unwrapping things and reading notes and re-discovering lost treasures. Carl would get so irritated with me for not waiting until Christmas to open my things, but I didn’t want to. I cherished going through that box every year.
They never forgot me.

I will always remember the day that she died. I was coming home from my first Lamaze class, pregnant with our Carlye. I had convinced myself that Grandma would make it to see her first great-grandchild, so I wasn’t prepared for what Carl had to say when I walked in. (I had told him the wrong day for Lamaze, and he had scheduled to go hunting with a friend, so I let him out of Lamaze - just this once). When I arrived at the ranch I realized that Carl wasn’t at home, he was at his parents house, which was odd. I drove down there, and found him and his mom waiting for me. When they told me that Popi had called I didn’t believe them. I was angry with Carl for playing such a mean and horrible joke on me, and then I just cried. Since Grandma lived so far away, and since I was four weeks away from giving birth the doctor wouldn’t let me attend her funeral. I learned that it is hard to say good-bye to someone when you don’t attend their funeral. I would forget for months and months that she wasn’t just a phone call away, and then cry all over again because I missed her.

It’s been 10 years, but sometimes I still cry because I miss her. She had such a way about her that made me feel as though I was the most beautiful and special and wonderful girl in the world. She - along with my Popi and my parents - always believed that I could do anything. And that when I grew up I would do amazing things.
For some reason, today I miss her. I miss her perfume and her beautiful dresses. I miss going shopping for a dress and then going to the opera or the symphony with Grandma and Popi. I miss her Nutcrackers that she would let us line up under the Christmas tree. I miss eating her canned raspberries for a snack and playing the piano in the living room. I miss her loving and her scolding. I miss setting the china on the table for Sunday dinner and talking as a family as we gathered around. I miss the peacefulness of being in her home. Lying on the couch reading a book or listening to music in the basement. I remember as a little girl asking Grandma why so many people would come and stay with them, and she would tell me, “They come here to rest and get filled up. One of these days you and your husband will do the same thing.” And it always made perfect sense to me. What better place on earth was there to go and rest and to be filled up?

Today, even though my heart aches, I am so thankful to have had such an amazing Grandma to miss.

Today I am thankful for....

my Popi. I am having a hard time not crying while I write this because I miss him so much. There are many, many, many times when I wish I could simply just sit with him and listen to his voice. He is one of the most amazing people in all of the world, and I am so blessed to have him as my very own personal Popi. I love you so much, and I miss you more than you know. Happy Birthday!

Yesterday we

put up all of our Christmas decorations. Yes, it's a little early, but I always have to do it when Carl isn't home because he doesn't like the clutter. Our house looks beautiful! It really helped to put me in the Christmas spirit (so did the cold front that came blowing in). I am so thankful for this time of year. I am also thankful for flowers! The kids and I have planted a beautiful winter garden with pansy's, viola's, mums, cyclamen and a Christmas cactus (in a pot on the porch so I can bring it in when it freezes!). I will take pictures soon and post them for everyone.

Today I am thankful for....

Benadryl, cough drops and tissues.

Thank you!

Today I am thankful for this amazing country that I am so blessed to live in. And I am so thankful to all of the men and women who have given of themselves, their time, their families, and sometimes even their lives, to protect the freedoms that my family and I have enjoyed as Americans. I am forever grateful.

My mom sent this to me this morning, and it really blessed Carl and I so I wanted to share it with you. Happy Veterans Day.

Do, re, mi, fa, so......

Today I am thankful for music. I have always loved music. It feels as though it is a part of me. I love to play the piano, and I still love to dance even though I don't do it for 'real' anymore. I married a man who loves music as well, and we are doing our best to pass it on to our children. I am so thankful for music.

Today, I am thankful for......

The crazy things my children do.

For example, Noah came home yesterday an upon arrival made a quick trip to the bathroom. Within moments he came running out, on the verge of hysteria. "Today was the worst day ever!" He wailed. Nervously, I asked him why. "Because," he lamented, "I wore my pants backwards all day long and didn't even notice!"

And yes, ladies and gentlemen, they were blue jeans!

I am also thankful for Ibuprofen. Yep. I am thankful for drugs. Somehow I've managed to aggravate an old back injury and I have been unable to get comfortable - night or day. And while the ibuprofen doesn't make the pain go away entirely, it does alleviate the pain. This makes me very thankful since the doctor can't see me until Thursday.

Today, I am thankful for

Christmas. Yes, I said it BEFORE Thanksgiving. I am thankful for Christmas. I think I may have inherited it from my mom! I have heard all of the arguments about how commercialized it's become and the real meaning being lost and blah, blah, blah. But here is what I have found. People's words cannot change the true meaning of Christmas. It will always and forever be a celebration of Christ's birth. It is also the one time of year that people everywhere - heathen and Christian alike - think of others. People are more kind, thoughtful and considerate. They gather together more as families, think carefully of how to make other people smile on Christmas morning, and - even if just for one small moment - emulate Christ as they put others ahead of themselves. People smile and sing familiar songs, make wassail and some will even still go Christmas caroling. It is a beautiful time of year, and instead of throwing a fit because they start putting out the Christmas decorations in October (something that I can never change anyway!), I am thankful. Thankful for the reminders of love, joy, selflessness and childlike wonder.
so..........
Happy Thanksgiving, and
Merry Christmas (in November!)

Family

I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for my immediate family, my extended family and my in-laws. All of us are so close, which is really rare in today's world. In my family I can always find a best friend, confidante and a shoulder to cry on. All of us would pick being with each other over being with someone else - and that is amazing.

And I am very thankful for all of my nieces and nephews. Here are all of my biological ones (yes, I have others!).

Marcus

Bella

Cassie and baby Chloe

Anneke

Victoria

Colton
Luke
Evie

Dutch

Our new baby Mallory (born today - 7 lbs 2 oz and 19 inches long!)

And the one that we haven't met yet.


All of you bring so much joy to my life. I love each and every one of you and I am so proud of who you all are. Thank you for the smiles that you put on my face!

I am also thankful for cell phones that send picture mail, so that when your heart is broken because you are so far away you can at least catch a glimpse of the newest member of our family.

Hard Drives, Artichoke dip and......

Today I learned that I am very thankful for hard drives (mine is going out and needs to be replaced). I am also thankful for spinach artichoke dip - it is super yummy. And I am VERY thankful that I got to go and see Megamind with my family today - even if the new fancy shmancy reusable 3D glasses are super nasty and greasy and buttery and very hard to see through and impossible to get clean.

I am also very thankful for my flower garden. It has been blooming beautifully this fall, and now I am getting ready to plant winter color. Sadly, I don't really know what that means, and so I will spend the next day or two researching it. But I do know that I want to have a beautiful garden during the winter, too.

Field Day

Today, I had to be at the school at 8:00 in the morning to help with Field Day.

I was exhausted, I didn't feel very well, and it was 29 degrees outside!

I am thankful that I woke up this morning - and that I am able to be involved at my children's school.

During the morning - while the Kinder to 2nd grade were participating - I was assigned to the water station. What this consisted of was a chair with a giant orange Gatorade cooler full of water, and several boxes of cups. It was in the shade. Did I mention that it was 29 degrees outside? Also, small kindergarteners who don't know how to read are very well aware of what a Gatorade symbol is. It will not bring them joy to discover that you are handing out ice water and not Gatorade. Also - paper cone cups go flying out of tiny, cold hands, and give the illusion that one is handing out sno cones. Even in 29 degree weather, children are not happy to discover the lack of flavored ice in their bouncy paper cup.

I am thankful that my children attend a school that cares about them with teachers who love them.

Did I mention that it was cold?

I am also thankful for my pink hoodie.

After a short lunch break I worked the shaving cream beard station for the rest of the day. This time the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders were the participants. Did ya'll know that 3rd, 4th and 5th graders can be mean? And have attitude? And treat you and their fellow students horribly? Well, they can.

I am thankful for children who are respectful of others and kind to others.

I am tired.

I am thankful for central heat and air, my home and my bed.

Today I am thankful for....

For each new morning with it's light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Add Chocolate

I heard this quote yesterday from a book I have never heard of by an author that I have never heard of, and I loved it so much that I had to share it with everyone.

"Duty can pack an adequate sack lunch, but love may decide to enclose a little love not inside......Obligation sends the children to bed on time, but love tucks the covers around their necks and passes out kisses and hugs (even to teenagers)....Duty gets offended quickly if it isn't appreciated, but love learns to laugh a lot and work for the sheer joy of it. Obligation can pour a glass of milk, but quite often, love adds a little chocolate." - Linda Anderson

Today, I am thankful that I get to add a little chocolate.

Carlye's Blog

Carlye starting blogging again. The link to her blog is on the left. Enjoy!

Today

Today I am thankful for the right to vote, cooler air, fall leaves and children who are confident enough to be who they are - regardless of what others may think.

Thankful

My cousin and my mom are going to post every day this month about something that they are thankful for. I have decided that that is such a great idea I am going to do it, too.

I am thankful for my family. My husband is my best friend in every sense of the word. We laugh together, support each other, and still go on dates once a week. We even fight together (haha!), but have thankfully learned how to do that now in a way that is constructive and not destructive. I can't think of anyone that I would rather be with. This month will be the 15th anniversary of our first date. We went and saw Toy Story the day after Thanksgiving. As cliche' as it sounds, I love him more now than I did when we first met.

I am also thankful for my children. They are amazing kids - even when they are so much like me I can't stand it! They are kind, loving and creative. They constantly think of others before themselves (of course, they are children, so there is the occasional lapse in judgement!), and are amazing examples of Christ's love. I have rarely seen other 9 year olds who loves and care for little ones the way Carlye does. Nathanael is amazing with the little ones, too, but you will never see a kid jump up faster to help you by opening the door, picking up things you've dropped, etc. Noah is cuddly and loving, and has never met anyone he didn't like. The world is his playground and everyone is his friend.

What a great way to start off the month of Thanksgiving. I am so blessed!