Gingerbread Houses

We started off the gingerbread houses with one that Ian made at school.  I went and helped his class decorate them.  Ian did a great job, mostly all on his own.

The little boy who sat across from Ian piled all his candy along the ridge of the roof and squeezed all his icing on top of that.  It was hilarious.  :)  I thought Ian's looked amazing. :)

Making "gingerbread" houses (we cheat and use graham crackers) was always a tradition in my family growing up.  My kids really wanted to make them this year, but somehow they just aren't the same without Daddy making the icing.  So we had my parents and siblings (and their families) come over to our house and we all made gingerbread houses and Daddy kept us supplied with icing.

The first thing you need is lots of candy.  I think we had that covered. :)

Everyone worked really hard to make their house look awesome.

Everyone got into it, but it was definitely the girls (and I don't just mean the little girls) who stayed at the table the longest, getting all those finishing touches just right. :)

The finished products.  I cannot tell you how wonderful my house smelled with all those houses in them.  It was amazing!  And they looked so super cute. :)

We even came up with awards and voted on the different houses.  Each person won an award (but not everyone got a picture of it!!)  It was so much fun. :)

We loved having everyone over to our house for gingerbread houses.  It definitely helped get us in the Christmas Spirit. :)

Graduation Par-tay

My Dad has been working hard on a Master's Program the last year or so.  And all that hard work paid off, when he was able to graduate (with honors, no less) this December.  Since he didn't get to walk at his own graduation, we threw him a little surprise graduation party with the family.

Unbeknownst to him, we had all made shirts that had a word on them that described him or his accomplishment.

These are a few pictures of our different shirts.  The words we chose were: brilliant, terrific, super cool, top notch, phenomenal, the best, exemplary, ingenious, steady, and my hero.

We made a shirt for Daddy that said, "Masterful" (for getting his Master's degree :)).  We wrote a BIG note and hung it outside on the porch beside a banner that said "Congratulations".  We instructed him and Mama to put their shirts on and come inside.  We had "Pomp and Circumstance" blaring and gave him a standing ovation when he came through the door.  It may not have been the same as the cap and gown ceremony for his actual graduation, but it was lots of fun for us.

We wanted him to know how proud we were of him and all his hard work.  Sometimes those things go unnoticed, but we wanted him to know that we did notice and that we couldn't be prouder!

Congratulations! :)

Reasons #475 and #476 Why Kids are Awesome

#475

Yesterday, I was just starting to curl my hair.  I had a couple of rollers in and the rest was a mess.  I hadn't even begun to put make-up on.  Paige was watching me and after a minute said, "Oh, Mommy!  You are so beautiful, Mommy!"  Made. My. Day.  I smiled and gave her a hug and told her "Thank You" a million times over.  Then she asked, "Mommy, are you a Princess?"  I looked at her very seriously and said "Yes, Paigie.  I am."  (Because I am, you know. :)) And then she responded, "Ooooohhhhhh.  But we can't tell anybody, can we?"  And even though we really can tell other people, she's really into secrets right now.  So I told her it could just be our little secret.  I'm pretty sure if most people had seen me right then, they wouldn't have believed anyway. :)  But I'm so thankful for children who can see past the outward appearance and can look right into your heart.

#476

They're creative.

'Nuff Said. :)

(I'm pretty sure this was Ian's work.  And I'm pretty sure he's going to have to fix it when he gets home from school.  But it gave me a good laugh this morning. :))

Thanksgiving

We spent much of our Thanksgiving holiday driving from one side of the state to the other.  And while the driving and packing and unpacking and all that comes with it can be exhausting, this year I felt so much gratitude for living close enough to see both Cory's family and my family for these big holidays.

We spent Wednesday evening and Thursday with Cory's family.  I'm pretty sure the universe stood still for a minute when everyone arrived early, the food was ready early, and we even said the blessing on the food 5 minutes early.  That has never happened.  Ever.  We had a wonderful meal with food cooked to perfection.  Cory's mom's turkey was so delicious I wanted to cry.  There were so many good things to eat.  I can be thankful without good food, but I'm infinitely happier with it.  We spent a day filled with deliciousness, friendships and peace.  What a perfect holiday it was!

We left there and headed to another Thanksgiving with my family.  My Dad was amazing to help Cory with a car repair that took some time and we were so appreciative of his talents and service.  We had a delicious dinner with some of our favorite holiday foods.  Elise got to go shooting with Papa, which is something she's been wanting to do for a while.  We took some time to again go through some of my Grandma's things and placed Christmas flowers at her grave.  They looked beautiful and my mom and I decided they were the prettiest ones in the cemetery.  Which is fitting for the prettiest girl there. :)  Boy, do I miss her.

I haven't been a great photographer this fall.  But I finally broke out the camera this weekend and took some pictures at my parents' house.

The tire swing is always a huge hit.  The kids were so sweet to take turns pushing each other on the swing.

They also loved running around the driveway.  They had fun and burned off some of the energy they'd been storing up. :)

 

They also love my parents' sweet dog, Rufus.  Even Paige decided she wasn't scared of him anymore. :)

Papa showed the kids some winter blooming flowers.

 

 Adam was fun entertainment for the kids. :)

 Cuteness.  I love these kids.

It was a lovely Thanksgiving, one we were grateful to share with our loved ones.  We kept in our thoughts Cory's dad, who we miss as much this third Thanksgiving as we ever did, my Grandma, who's absence we felt for the first time this year, and my brother, Logan, who is busy serving the Lord as one of His missionaries.  Those separations have made us keenly aware of the joy and gratitude we feel for those with whom we get to spend time and appreciate those relationships all the more.  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. :)

Hidden Gems

When you have children, sometimes things happen that surprise you.  There was the famous "fork" incident, for one.  Today I experienced another.  I went in Ian's room to gather laundry and noticed an odd smell.  I racked my brain trying to figure out what the smell reminded me of.  The close I could come to was urine, although that wasn't quite it.  Ian hasn't wet the bed in years, but he does sleepwalk sometimes and has occasionally used the bathroom in his sleep in an unusual place, thinking it was the toilet (the toy box, for starters).  And so, I wondered if something like that had happened.  That's when I noticed something on the hardwood floor.  It looked sort of like something wet, so I got some cleaner and paper towel and started cleaning.  It was right by the edge of his bed, and the more I cleaned up the worse the smell got.  I wondered if whatever it was had leaked under his bed.  So I picked up the corner of his bedskirt and saw a rotten pumpkin.  Yes.  It had rotted and the pumpkin "juice" and leaked out from under the bed onto the floor.  And it did not smell good.  A little heavy duty cleaning later, the pumpkin was removed, the floor was scrubbed and life went back to normal, and I was left just shaking my head.  So count "rotten pumpkin" on the list of things I don't expect to find under my kids' beds. :)

BEING a Mother

A blog I love really got me thinking about how I view Motherhood.  Sometimes I revel in being a Mother.  I love the things I can do to make my home and family happy.  And other times I feel bogged down by the daily demands.  Sometimes my tasks seem mundane.  There's an endless to-do list that never really gets finished.  Before one day's to-do list even gets completely checked off, another day's list has already begun.  There just don't seem to be enough hours in a day to do everything I need to do.  But maybe its not so much about doing, but about being.  Instead of thinking about all the things I need to do, I want to think about those tasks as steps toward being the kind of person and Mother want to be.   Its not just doing the tasks of Motherhood, but being a Mother.

When the tasks that keep our family running seem tiresome or overwhelming, I want to think of them as opportunities to be patient, to be creative, to be frugal, to be cheerful, to be obedient, be fun, to be prepared, to be nurturing.  I think of how different my attitude could be when thinking of who I want to be, not just what I want to do.

The reasons I want to BE! :)

It's Fall Y'all!!!

With cooler temperatures in the air, we've enjoyed some outdoor fun!  One Monday evening, we decided to have a weenie roast in the backyard.

Elise drove Paige around in the jeep while they waited for the fire to get ready.  (I'm pretty sure the jeep was one of the best purchases ever.  8 years later, its still running strong!)

 Merry Grace got a little cooking help from her Dad.

Elise loves red hot dogs.  She's a southern girl, through and through!!!

 Ian and Paige joined in on the fun, too.  (Although, as soon as I took this picture, I took Paige's cooking utensil away from her and did it myself.  I don't think what she's doing there is quite safe enough! ;))

I'm not sure this is the typical way of eating a hot dog....

 But apparently, its just as delicious! :)

And after dinner we made s'mores.  Which were pretty near perfect!

The fall weather is wonderful.  I'm pretty sure this is Cory's favorite time of year.  He loves the crisp air.  And actually, I think we all do.  Its such a nice change.  And I think we're all ready for another bonfire! :)

Its Great to be Eight!!!

Last month, Ian celebrated a BIG birthday.  Maybe the biggest one yet.  He turned EIGHT years old.  And that means a baptism!  

 We were so proud of Ian's desire to be baptized, and so grateful to so many family and friends who helped us make this a day to remember.

Ian was able to be baptized on his birthday.  He had two of his uncles speak, his sister and aunt and papa sing a special musical number, and his grammy and uncle say prayers.  Cory baptized and confirmed him and we had many, many people who helped keep the little girls' quiet during the service, who cooked and brought food for refreshments, and friends who came to share in the joy of this special day.

We love that Ian has taken this important step on the path that leads back to his Father in Heaven.

I love this message.  We don't know everything, but we know enough.  Enough to be baptized.  Enough to choose the right.  Enough to follow the Savior.  

Awesomeness

How awesome is it to open your cabinet and find this?

 And this note in Paige's dresser?

 And this note in the copy of Jane Eyre I was reading?

Well, the answer is "Totally Awesome!"  Elise left these notes (and several others) tucked around in different places around the house.   And guess how awesome I think she is for making me smile and giving me a huge dose of love?  You guessed it!  "Totally Awesome."

Let them eat Cake!

Only not this cake.

For Ian's baptism, I decided to make THIS vertical layer cake with THESE beautiful roses on top.  Of course, its something I've never done before, but since when has that ever stopped me. ;)  I had it planned out and most everything went pretty well.  As with any new recipe, I learned a few things along the way that will make things easier the next time, but all it all, I was quite pleased with how things went.  I had one cake iced and was working on the second one.  The first one had white icing (baptism, purity--you know) so I decided to to the next one in Carolina blue, knowing Ian would love that.  I had just finished it.  It looked lovely.  When have I ever made two pretty cakes, back to back?  Ask anyone who has every celebrated a birthday with our family and they will tell you the answer.  Never.

And what a nice, tidy little story it would be, if that were the end.   Unfortunately, I had to move the cake from one counter to the other, and that was my downfall.  Or the cake's.  Literally.

I can't even be sure exactly how it happened.  One minute I was holding the cake, the next minute it was falling to the ground.

Heroically, I was able to prevent it from falling on the floor by slamming it into the side of my cabinet. :)

And if you were only to look at it at eye level from this one side, you might think it still looked okay.  Sort of.

But really, is anyone actually going to do that?  So if you're a normal person, this is what you'd see.

I stood and stared for a few stunned minutes in silence, thinking that if maybe I just blinked a few more times, my cake would still be intact.  Alas, that was not the case.  And so I had a good laugh over the whole thing and texted the sad pictures to Cory.  :)

All I can say is, thank goodness I made two cakes, because the first one was delicious. :)

Loving Yourself

This morning, Paige asked me to make some lemonade.  I was just finishing stirring it, when she asked, "Is it ready, Mommy?"  I replied, "Yeah, buddy!"  She just grinned at me and said, "I am not a buddy.  I am Paige.  Logan Paige."  I laughed and said, "I know.  And I love Logan Paige."  Then she laughed and said, "I love Logan Paige, too.  And you love Logan Paige.  I just love myself."

When you're this adorable, even when you're being silly, its easy to see why you love yourself. :)

I hope as she grows up, she can always remember to love herself.  Not the too much kind of love.  The just right kind of love that helps you be patient, forgiving and kind to yourself.  If she'll just try to see herself the way I do, it shouldn't be any problem. :)

Posted

Elise cracks me up.  She is so much fun.  I walked down the hall one day to find these signs she had typed, printed and hung on her and Ian's door.

 Ian's Door Sign

Elise's Door Sign

That girl makes life so much fun.  I certainly got a good laugh out of these signs. :)

And so...

Life is busy.  I have a million things to blog about.  (For those of you out there who take things literally, its actually more like 7 or 8 things.)  About school starting.  About Merry Grace's disastrous entrance into Kindergarten.  And at long last, her success. :)  About Paige's birthday.  About Ian's birthday.  And Ian's baptism.  About my brother's missionary countdown.  And some funny stories.  And lots and lots of cuteness.

And so, since I have so many things to blog about, I'm going to start with something completely different.  

A few months ago, we inherited a couple of cats.  I don't even know if I blogged about it or not.  My sweet sister-in-law was kind enough to give us two of their cat's kittens. ;)  A solid black one and a solid white one.  We, frankly, have terrible luck with cats.  They all run away.  But, with so much nature around our house, Cory, especially, likes having a cat around to keep snakes away.  So "Salt" and "Pepper" (but most frequently just called "Kitty" or "Cat") became new additions to our front porch.  Its been a few months, and as typically happens with our cats, Salt ran away.  Or found a new home.  Or disappeared.  And so, we're down to a one cat family.

But this week, Pepper proved her worth.  My brother came by and I heard him yell something from the front porch.  Turns out there was a snake out there.  I'm not sure what kind.  It wasn't a black snake or a copperhead, that much I do know.  The best part, though, was that it was already dead.  Our lovely little Pepper had already taken care of it.  When we came upon the scene, Pepper was batting the snake around like  she'd just discovered her favorite toy.

Ethan made sure he was dead and disposed of him for me.  (A million thank yous for that!!!)  And Pepper has just won the "Cat of the Year" award. :)

(Unfortunately, we haven't taken many pictures of the cats & this is the best I've got.  I think she deserves something a little more fantastic after her successful snake removal, but this will have to do. :))

Out There.

I almost wrote about this before I wrote my last post.   It's something I've had on my mind lately as I've blogged.

After losing the baby last year, I felt like my pain and heartache became a very public thing.  And for the most part I've been so grateful for that.  I received so much love and support through a painfully difficult time, that I wouldn't have gotten in the same way, if I hadn't put myself out there.  By nature, I tend to keep my deepest emotions and feelings to myself.  So making the conscious choice to go against my natural instinct--to wrap myself in a cocoon--was more than a little scary.  Instead of wrapping myself in a cocoon of silence, I wrapped myself in a cocoon of love and support from friends and family.  And I'm so thankful I did.

But after a while, having my pain and heartache "out there" got hard.  And I had so many deep and tender emotions and feelings, even months later, that were just too difficult to share.  Some were painful, of course, but some have been sweet and beautiful.  But personal.  And so I've just blogged about superficial things, rather than the heart of the matter.  Not that the things I posted about weren't real.  All the experiences of our family are important.  But I felt like mostly I had to just graze the surface of life and not get too deep.

But just skimming the surface isn't really who I am.  While I am personal and private in a lot of ways, I'm also very sincere and thoughtful and caring.  And those things don't just happen on the surface.

I guess my point is that I felt like I had my heart opened, in a way, through my loss.  But it hurt a little bit.  Or a lot.  And for it really to heal, I had to shelter it and protect it a little bit.  Or a lot.  But I finally feel that I can open up more again.  And get to the heart of the matter.  Because that's who I am.  I think its another step in the healing process to feel that way.  Not that my heart will ever be the same again.  And not just because of the heartache, but also because of the love and friendship I felt from those around me.

I love this quote by Elder James E. Faust: "Its not so much what happens to us, but how we deal with what happens to us."  I don't just want to endure life.  I want to endure it well.  Or as President Hinckley said, "In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."  I still have a lot of work to do.  But I think I'm getting there.

Songs of the Heart

At church today, we were practicing for the primary sacrament meeting presentation.  I play the piano in primary, so I get to focus a lot on the songs the children sing.  The little Sunbeams and some of the CTR 4's were sitting down in front of the stand and Rachel, who was directing the music, commented that those little Sunbeams were singing their hearts out.  And even from where I was, I could hear them. :)  I had really been thinking a lot about the words and the meanings of the songs the children were singing and how simple, yet profound, the messages in the songs really are.

And quickly I thought about what a blessing the primary songs have been in my life, and not just as a child.  In fact, probably mostly as an adult.  As most of you know, my dear, sweet Grandmother passed away earlier this year.  There just isn't enough time or space for me write how much she meant to me.  There are a thousand, maybe a million, experiences and memories that made our relationship what it was.  And its hard to put into words, what that loss has been like.

One thing, for which I am abundantly grateful, is that I got the be with Grandma those last few days before she passed away.  Grandma was only in the hospital for 4 days before she passed away.  Even though she was 90 and had gotten more feeble, her rapid decline was very sudden.  She had been in the hospital a day or two when she had to be moved to a Critical Care unit.  She had been unresponsive--not sleeping, but also not able to "wake up" either--and the doctors said she probably wouldn't wake up again.  But that morning, I had some quiet time with just me and Grandma.  I talked to her for a while and then thought maybe she'd like to hear some music.  Grandma always loved music and I thought it might be comforting.  The best (and believe me, I use that term loosely) instrument available in that moment was my voice.  So I decided to sing some primary songs and hymns for her.  I sang a few and then chose "A Child's Prayer."  There lay my sweet Grandmother, less than a day away from leaving her earthly home.  I stood close by, smoothing her hair off her face, snuggling my face next to hers as I sang these words:

Heavenly Father, are you really there?
And do you hear and answer every child's prayer?
Some say that Heaven is far away, 
But I feel it close around me as I pray.

Heavenly Father, I remember now,
Something that Jesus told disciples long ago: 
"Suffer the children to come to me." 
Father in prayer I'm coming now to thee.

Pray, He is there. 
Speak, He is listening. 
You are his child, 
His love now surrounds you.

He hears your prayer, 
He loves the children, 
Of such is the Kingdom, 
The Kingdom of Heav'n.

A song that I had learned and loved as a child, took on a new and beautiful meaning, as I sang the words to my beloved Grandmother as she prepared to leave this earth.  A song that I liked, has now become one that I love and one that I will treasure, because of the sacred memory I have tucked away with it. 

It was only a few minutes after I'd finished singing, that my Grandma opened her eyes.  It took a little while, but eventually she regained consciousness and we were given the gift of one more precious afternoon to spend with Grandma, as she talked to us, visited with us and loved us.  And we were given the chance to tell her how much we love her and to serve her and love her.  Some would say it was coincidence or luck or chance.  Some would say it was a miracle.  All I know is that it was a gift and a blessing and one for which I am deeply and eternally grateful.


Yeah.  He's there.  And He hears.  And He answers.