van Zwol Family

Happenings of This Week

2012-01-27T22:05:00.000-07:00

Here I am. Another week gone by. It's been a pretty busy one.

It finally snowed! And stuck around for a day! The kids loved it and of course had to play in it. It was good except for when Coralie almost ran into the street when a snow plow was coming. Not a fun mom moment. I didn't take many pictures but they would have shown what a slacker I am on checking their winter gear too since some of it was getting pretty small. I then snagged some great deals on larger size coats for a few kids the next day. Even if it doesn't snow more this year they should fit them next year too!

Erik had a birthday and turned the big 30! Before I wanted to throw a big party, but budget wouldn't allow and he is not a big party guy. THEN he was going to go snowboarding, but the weather hasn't been cooperating. NOW we'll go bowling and out to lunch tomorrow with his friend and his friend's family. On his birthday Emilia did get up and make him her own concoction for breakfast (peanut butter, oats, honey, and dried cherries all mixed in a bowl). He got favorites like fritos, peanut butter M&Ms, a puzzle, AND Emilia picked out this fabulous penguin hat. She knows him well! We all love him so much!

Following that exciting birthday we had Malcolm's yearly heart check up today. It didn't start out so great when we went to one hospital and they told us we were scheduled at another. REALLY?! Aside from that. . . Malcolm was real quiet in the car at first and then he finally said that he was scared. It didn't dawn on me until then that he is more aware of what is going on now. He was then really shy around the nurses and doctor. He did great for his first time being aware of what was going on. To top it off his heart is still holding up great! We get another year clear. Afterward we went to eat for lunch and Malcolm was so happy it was just him with us at a restaurant. (In the pictures he has a memory card game from the Dr. office and a "squishy fishy" from Aunt Gwen who also was so wonderful to watch the other kids while we were gone.)

In other news, I have been having a hard time with my kids the last couple of weeks (previous to this one). I felt like Emilia has been regressing in a few areas, everyone has been arguing/yelling, the boys physically fighting, being rude, and altogether I knew things could be better. . .a lot better. With Emilia I know the first that NACD would ask me is "what has she been eating?" I have learned so much about food the last few years, but implementing the ideas is easier said than done. I think we eat pretty well, but this past week we've cut out dairy and scaled way back on bread and guess what?!?!?! There has been no physical violence for a few days, less fighting in general, and Dash is like a whole new kid! He's happy and obedient and suddenly reading a ton on his own. Emilia's attention span has improved again and her crankiness - to a point. They are still kids! It is a huge improvement and I see ONCE AGAIN how their diet affects them. Now let's see what we can do with life changes with eating because I sure do like a happier household.

Okay enough said. Now the husband is waiting for me to show me something he has been working on. . . can't have too much time to myself. ;)

And the results are. . .

2012-01-20T20:51:00.000-07:00

My challenge this week I am finding is just beginning some changes I need to make in my life as I've learned some things. This week in "loving my neighbor" I. . .

Took care of other people's children (for free) while they were able to do other things they needed to or to have a break! I know how nice that is for myself and I am glad people trust me with their children.

I finally gave a recipe to someone I promised to do that for 2 months ago! Shame on me, but I'm glad I got it done. It felt good to follow through on what I said I'd do. Even though it took awhile.

I didn't get mad at a lady for not paying attention with her driving. I did think "pay attention" but immediately I changed my thought to "I'm glad I was paying attention and was safe."

After thinking of people in my neighborhood I wrote over 10 notes to others who deserve a kind note! I didn't sign my name but let them know I appreciated them for being kind to my children, or teaching a primary class, or making me laugh, etc.

Even though my husband is gone all day at work I was positive and supportive in his joining this barbershop choir - Utah Valley Skyline Chorus. He will be gone one night a week, for about 3 hours, but I think it will be good. He was very excited before and very happy after. I like to see him happy!

I don't get out much with four children so I felt like I didn't do much outside my home and I didn't go out of my way to do anything. I did apply my efforts to my children. I haven't put off Emilia to do what I think I need to do first. So we have played together more with her toys and she learned how to play Battleship and it is actually enjoyable to play with her! I let Dash create his own recipe, "Chocolate Covered Peanuts", and I let him make it too! I let Malcolm keep a box to create something with instead of my throwing it out (that's big for me). Coralie. . .she's easy to love and I made sure I held her and loved her and payed attention to her too.

I had someone visit me one day. She wasn't happy that she didn't know some of what was going on in my life because she wants to be able to be there for me and help if I need it. Instead of putting up a barrier and only being kind on the outside I felt that she genuinely cared. I let myself have a new friend to trust and it feels good. I feel loved.

SO. . .what have I learned?! This challenge is not over! I have a lot to work on. It is important to make sure my family is given the love and attention they need. BUT there is always time to reach out to someone else or to let someone else be part of your life. It is nice and makes life happier. Even if it is not easy. There are good people in the world if we let them be, but it is easy to quickly judge. I don't think some people are harder to love because of them. I think we make it hard for us to love other people by our thoughts and our insecurities and our perceptions of life and the world that we judge other people by.

It has been an eye opening week. A challenge in a few different ways. As I have seen my weaknesses and downfalls I also see happiness and hope if I keep trying. "Never give up! Never Surrender!"

CHALLENGE

2012-01-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

I have been given a challenge for the week. . .love my neighbors.

This means - viewing everyone as a brother or sister, holding no enmity towards anyone, harboring only good will in my heart for mankind, going out of my way on errands of personal comfort, seeking the spark of divinity in everyone, etc. By my actions this week I will more better show my Heavenly Father appreciation for all the blessings he has given me.

To often there is an abundance of negativity and judging in life. Why can't we just love one another and leave it at that? Drop the bad thoughts and feelings, stop debating and love just because.

I am blogging this that someone will make sure I'm accountable later to return and report. Not to boast in my accomplishments or feel bad for what I should have done. Hopefully this will keep me in check and start me on a better road to being more Christlike. See you at the end of the week!

(P.S. Thank you dear friend for the challenge.)

Bring On the Year!

2012-01-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

We had a good ending to our 2011 . . . Christmas was small and relaxed. The kids were happy and didn't fight so it was quite enjoyable. Emilia got a small sewing machine and doll clothes for Sadie. Dash got a thing that spits out baseballs for him to hit, charcoal w/bbq supplies (he has already bbqed since winter is weird this year), and of course he got his buffalo jerky. Malcolm got a Hungry Hungry Hippos game and a small punching bag with gloves. Coralie got a monkey that sits in a banana car and you pull it around (very cute). That's the short of it!

Now we're already into 2012!

I've been asking Erik what my New Year's resolution should be and he is never helpful. He doesn't ever have any and therefore I never have any! But after some thought of recent things I've decided my resolution this year is. . .to become more intelligent.

I have learned that knowledge is in your mind. Understanding is in your heart. Intelligence is acting upon what you know and understand. I can read and know things, but to what end?! I "learned" things in school but did I understand them enough to remember them and apply them to my life?? Sometimes I think I know something and immediately try to act on that knowledge, but if I don't understand I may do something wrong.

I have known these principles since I was young:

Search - get knowledge

Ponder - to understand it

Pray - action (to better understand and/or help to be useful in the world!)

Here are some short thoughts to put this resolution into action:

I have knowledge of how amazing the human body is --> I comprehend to a degree of how it works, I have felt very sick and have felt very healthy --> so I need to consistently eat healthier and exercise more

I know how much income we have --> I understand that I have a tight budget and I understand what we deem a NEED vs a WANT --> I need to be smart in my spending because this is a year of need

I know I am homeschooling my children --> I understand how important learning and childhood is --> I need to put more action all around into teaching them, being with them, and loving them

I read a book --> what is in it that makes it worth reading? What can I learn? --> How can I apply that to life?

I know how to sew --> why is it a good thing to know how to do? --> how can I put it into action?

ETC. ETC. ETC.

As a result of my efforts I think my time overall will be used more wisely and that life will be happier.

To whatever you choose to do this year...

Don't take life too seriously!

We're meant to be happy!

Enjoy your new year!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T11:13:00.001-07:00

Santa Claus came to visit us one night. It was quite fun. Emilia thought it was exciting! Dash wasn't too sure and kept his distance. Malcolm was goofy and was saying, "he's just a man." He asked them what they each wanted and gave them each a candy cane. And before he left he talked to them about the real meaning of Christmas - the birth of the Savior. It was very nice.

Our Christmas will be wonderful! The whole month has been!

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas too!

WHOOPS - sorry Coralie. . .She just looked at Santa from a distance. As soon as he showed a candy cane she ran to him to get it and then ran away again. She was quiet the whole time. But since then she has been saying "Santa" a lot - whenever she sees a picture in a store or in books. It's cute. I think she will be very excited in a few days!

I'm Thankful for. . . .

2011-11-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving! I think it went GREAT! I'm very thankful for all the people I love that were able to come. They also brought delicious food I was glad to taste a part of.

We adopted our friends Julie and Zane for the day since the rest of their family was out of town.

Our neighbor, who moved earlier this year, Peggy we snagged so she wouldn't be alone.

We had a crazy teenager around! Erik's sister Becca!

Erik's mom came and stayed the weekend too! It was a great visit!

Cute little Carter brought his parents along.

What a good looking Brunner Bunch!

I get all teary eyed thinking about how grateful I am for all of these people in my life. For not being a very social person people are a big part of what make life's journey better for me. I'm sad my sister Caitlin's family did not make it because of sickness. I hope all my loved ones who celebrated Thanksgiving elsewhere had a wonderful holiday!

In other on goings. . . we helped the neighbor rake leaves. It was a lot of work! But the kids had fun and did a good job helping. They also enjoyed that the neighbors invited us over for breakfast soon after. We had pumpkin pancakes with whip cream and it tasted like pumpkin pie. They loved it!

Erik got to go snowboarding with his friend Dan. He hasn't gotten to do anything like that since before we were married. I was glad he got to go! He had a great time! I feel bad that he can't go more. With a few kids though it makes it hard to afford it very often. He will hopefully go again for his birthday though.

Oh yes. . .Erik is now NOT going to China this week. Due to lack of communication he will probably not be going til February. But I probably won't say any more until he is actually gone. The flip flopping and disorganization drives me crazy. I am grateful he will be home. Although I was looking forward to not cooking hardly anything.

And the Christmas tree is up. It has a few candy canes on it and we strung some cranberries and popcorn. I have never done that before but it is cute! I haven't got the energy up to decorate more, but Christmas sure is coming fast it seems. Hope everyone enjoys this season of giving.

Erik going to China

2011-11-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

In early September Erik's work wanted him to hurry and get a passport so he could go to China for the company. He didn't know at the time when he was going. Then it was before Thanksgiving and then after and then before, after, before. Then I thought we knew for sure when, after Thanksgiving, for 2 weeks. Well I don't want to re-tell everyone his new plans so whoever reads this will know. . .he is now leaving December 2nd and coming back the 11th.

I am glad to know that these are the plans and I am glad he will be gone less than 2 weeks, but it might mess up some plans of mine depending on the times of his flights and if I am needing to drop off and pick up. We'll just have to see I guess!

As for now....consider yourself updated.

Look Up

2011-11-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

I have been reading the talks from the last conference and there is one that has been standing out to me. It is by Elder Carl B. Cook, his talk titled "It is Better to Look Up."

". . .if we. . .exercise our faith and look to God for help, we will not be overwhelmed with the burdens of life. We will not feel incapable of doing what we are called to do or need to do. We will be strengthened, and our lives will be filled with peace and joy. We will come to realize that most of what we worry about is not of eternal significance -- and if it is, the Lord will help us. But we must have the faith to look up and the courage to follow His direction.

Why is it a challenge to consistently look up in our lives? Perhaps we lack the faith that such a simple act can solve our problems. For example, when the children of Israel were bitten by the poisonous serpents, Moses was commanded to raise up a brass serpent on a pole. The brass serpent represented Christ. Those who looked up at the serpent, as admonished by the prophet, were healed. But many other failed to look up, and they perished.

. . .As we remember Him and trust in His power, we receive strength through His Atonement. It is the means whereby we can be relieved of our anxieties, our burdens, and our suffering. It is the means whereby we can be forgiven and healed from the pain of our sins. It is the means whereby we can receive the faith and strength to endure all things."

I have been studying the Women of the Old Testament. They had great trials and were not perfect, but are remembered for the great things they were capable of doing when they relied on the Lord. The world has so many voices and choices. I, for one, am tired of them! They all think they know. They drag me down and confuse my mind and bring about many negative emotions. But when I pray for answers I feel peace, comfort, and reassurance that things are more simple than we make them out to be.

I guess I am sharing this with whomever may read it because this is what I am going through right now. I am having to greatly humble myself, but I am trying to have the faith to rely on the Lord. And you know what - myself and my home and my family are already all the more happy because of it. We are not ignorant of the world. We are just choosing to step more out of it because we love being happy! Happiness is what we want and true, lasting happiness, only comes from looking up and relying on the Lord. We feel more free, with open and clear minds as well, more capable of learning what is true and important.

Don't let anything drag your eyesight down. Don't look at or listen to the people around you (because at least for me I tend to want to fit in or I care what others think). LOOK UP! I promise you will be happier when you cut out the noise of man and the world and pray in a quiet place and listen to the Spirit. I am changing for the better and I love it. It is not easy. But this is the first time I really can feel happiness amongst a trial. . .because I am relying on my Savior.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T09:14:00.000-06:00

This was the first year in 4 years we hadn't been invited to go anywhere for Halloween so we hung out around our neighborhood. It was also the first year since we've been here that the weather was pretty nice!

We had a veterinarian (excuse me, two vets). And Batman!

Black Spider Man!

Ladybug Keri went with us too for a little bit around the neighborhood.

Oh and her parents, Sarah and Pat, looking like they're having fun!

We had a fun day!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!

Now if I could only get my Cora-lion to want to get our of her costume. . .

For the LOVE of Apples!

2011-10-28T10:59:00.000-06:00

Picked some apples. (tis the season)

Made some applesauce. (don't forget the cinnamon!)

Pie filling for the freezer.

Dehydrated snacks.

The absolute must - Apple Butter!

(can't have ham without it)

Apple walnut bread.

Apple pies for the husband.

Now we picked these apples from a cute little orchard for a nice little price. I still have some left. But I had already arranged a month ago to get a box of fuji apples that arrive next week.

For the LOVE of apples! What will I do with more?!

Malcolm's Birthday

2011-10-25T13:23:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Malcolm's birthday.

Yes, four years ago I gave birth to Malcolm. Then the next day we were all ready to go home, but the Pediatrician and other medical doctors at Primary Children's decided he needed to be at Primary Children's instead. Born with a heart defect (aortic stenosis) Malcolm had catheter procedure done and a week later, on Halloween, we got to bring him home. I can't believe it has been 4 years since then! I am very grateful for these years even with rough days and even if the rough days are on his birthday!

He was pretty crazy on his birthday, with a couple of meltdowns, but we survived. He liked Skyping with Grandma and some cousins. He loved the gifts from Grandma. He loved eating his birthday popcorn from primary while watching his new Phineas and Ferb movie. He had a good time picking apples, picking out the meals, and eating dessert. He enjoyed going to bed with his new Phineas and Ferb comforter. My favorite part was that he loved being sang "happy birthday" to. He kept asking, "are you going to sing to me?" He did not tire of it.

Sweet and simple. That was his birthday and that is him. Not complicated. He is what he is and I love him to pieces. I'm very grateful for Super Mac!

Up to what?

2011-10-14T08:05:00.000-06:00

Are you wondering what we've been up to this month? Well if not, stop reading! =0)

Our gardening season is over. We harvested what was left. Got three whole little carrots this year!

Our best crop this year was our tomatoes. Aside from fresh salsa I made a lot of tomato sauce. When our temperatures were supposed to severely drop about a week ago I uprooted my garden. All of my green tomatoes I put in a basket on a kitchen counter and they are quickly turning red! It felt good to clean out the garden beds and get ready for winter. Get in the garlic and flower bulbs now!

The kids did help with the gardens, but they have had much more fun with can phones and sliding down the stairs on a gymnastics mat.

Coralie is still growing. My favorite thing these days is when she comes to me and grabs me and says, "got you." It's fun too if I'm taking awhile in the kitchen with tomatoes or dinner she'll just make herself comfortable at my feet and wait.

Oh yes, caramel apples and the leftover caramel. Tastes better when you're dressed up too. It's fun to have the costumes out. I think I might leave them out year round. I've had batman frequent my dinner table this week.

Erik's dad came to visit for a few days. It was good to see him! It was also nice because he helped Erik get his TV out of my living room and down stairs. They built that nice corner shelf for it. In the picture I was trying to show where it was in the room but the TV looks small. It is NOT small, or light, by any means.

Then we have Emilia. Her ankles have turned in for years. More recently she had been complaining about walking up and down stairs when going to her room. It was not her being lazy, but her legs hurt. Now she has nice HARD, pink, orthotics to help straighten out her ankles. When she wears her shoes I can definitely tell they straighten her ankles out. The first day we had them she played at a park for a long time and did very well! I think she already looks more coordinated, but maybe that's just me. Now she says she wants to play her favorite sport - basketball.

I've been in my favorite spot this week. . .on the floor cutting out fabric. Just making quilting squares for eventual quilt tops. Ha ha - you don't want to see a picture of that mess!

I had a nephew born recently that I am excited to see - sometime.

I now teach 9 & 10 year olds at church. No doubt it's different than 3 & 4 year olds.

Malcolm turns 4 in 10 days! CRAZY!

Okay that's about what our October has been so far! Of course there are things posted on my craft blog too!

Oh and one last thing. . . I think I have the best best friends ever. Just so ya know! I'm thankful for them.

Trip Part 2

2011-09-12T13:37:00.000-06:00

So the first weekend we stopped in Henderson, NV and the kids stayed at home with my mom while my dad took Erik and I to the Great Buns Bakery and a chocolate factory and just walked around some other places. Then on Sunday we went to church and then left. Well that wasn't very long was it?

The next weekend we were back! And this time we took the kids to the Ethel M. chocolate factory. It was nice to try a sample and the pecan brittle. . .wow. . .but it is all expensive!

Except for this mug. It was not real expensive. I had to have it. I had frozen hot chocolate in it last night.

Oh yes well the actual factory was interesting of course! Watching the machines and people. It was hard to watch some chocolates get stuck and backed up on a conveyor belt while no one was paying attention and then see them swept away into garbage. YIKES! For how expensive those are I'd go dumpster diving.

We also walked through the cactus garden outside the factory. Ah yes, the airplanes too. They are HUGE. I am sure they are regular planes, but they fly so low. Everyone was always fascinated to see them fly over.

We also went to Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort. It was neat to learn about Las Vegas beginnings because I have never known anything about it.

And here is my mother while we were at the Fort. This is what she was doing. I told her I'd post a picture!

We walked around a couple Deseret Industries and found some books (not a surprise huh?) and Dash a Halloween costume so I'm done with costumes! We stopped by the Great Buns Bakery again since the previous week we got this delicious raisin bread Erik wanted more so we cleaned out what they had left. It's a good thing we don't have that by us! We also went swimming that evening which everyone seemed to enjoy. Especially since no one else was at the pool. And then the kids watched A Christmas Carol and Erik and I went out. We walked along the Las Vegas Strip. . . and. . .the M&M store was pretty cool. It was fun to walk around and crazy how many people are out late at night there. It's a whole different world!

And that's our Nevada part of our trip! It's fun to have a new place to visit. Thank you Mom and Dad for having us over, sorry it wasn't too long. We love you and look forward to next time!

Trip Part 1

2011-09-12T10:47:00.000-06:00

Hello anyone who reads my blog! Here is your first scoop on our vacation. . .

We traveled down to Hurricane, Ut and saw Aunt Rachel, "Uncle Superman", Daken, Ashlynne, Paityn, and Kellan!! We spent the night and then went to Peach Days. All the food smelled delicious! Then the kids played at a park and then we were treated to snow cones. Well, I had a frozen hot chocolate - YUM!

THANK YOU Steele Family for letting us come! We had a great time. I'm glad the cousins all had fun together and it is always good to talk to my sister! It was sad we couldn't stay longer. Just means we have to plan another trip!

After Hurricane we went to see my parents in Hendersen, NV. On the way home we stopped there too so I'm going to put all of that in a second post.

After Henderson we traveled through the desert. We saw this fire from far far away.

It turned out to be a fire right by the town I grew up in - Tehachapi. So I took a few pictures as we were driving by and pretty much missed looking at the town at all. We didn't stop there because we were actually headed to Bakersfield.

My best friend Gaye lives in Bakersfield and that's why we went there! One day we took the kids to a jumping place with those inflatable toys. They all LOVED it of course. We went to a Bugseum which was interesting. They got to pet a cockroach and I didn't even want to look. The butterflies and ladybugs were cool though!

Erik and I went on a date to $1 theater and saw Zookeeper. We also bought some cheap movies at a Blockbuster. Then one day Erik took the kids to a park and did things with them while Gaye and I went and did our own thing. Well, that included looking at fabric, buying fabric and other sewing "essentials," walking around stores, not finding clothes, finding kitchen towels, not being able to find things you want, finding things not priced as they looked advertised for, finding we had more things in common than I thought, going out to lunch, etc. It was fun! I really enjoyed it. She also helped me with understanding patterns and sewed a shirt for Emilia's doll. It was all great. Of course I enjoyed just talking too!

So yeah it pretty much was my vacation and the whole family tagged along. Ha ha! They had fun too! The weather was warm and they played outside in a small pool, they played with the water, and water balloons. Emilia had some water dance going on.

Dash. . .yup that's him (just like his father) and Coralie was fun. She is getting so big.

Malcolm was great! Can't believe he is almost 4!

Coralie I think enjoyed all that delicious food. We all did, but that dessert was deliciously addicting.

We also went and saw Cars 2. They all seemed to enjoy it. I didn't so much. It was alright but I don't think it'd be one to own for us.

And that's that. We had a wonderful time! It was hard to leave but that's life I guess. I'm glad I have these new memories now to keep.

And yes I will post about NV. . . just still need to tend to children and get the house and life back in order! Stay tuned.

TIME

2011-09-02T10:49:00.000-06:00

Time is a funny thing. We seem to never have enough of it and. . .it flies! I've been thinking a lot about that lately.

Why am I here? What am I doing with my time? What are my priorities and where do I want them to be?

I recently sketched a heart with puzzle pieces and thought about what each piece represented. If I were missing one piece I would be incomplete. So I had to decide what I could not live without. And I tried not to make a million pieces to stress me out, but a good amount to be a little more specific than "God" and "Family".

What we focus on, we become. It is a question of allegiance. The Savior said, “No man can serve two masters, for either he will love the one and hate the other; or else he will hold to one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon” (Matt. 6:24).

It is not enough that something is “good” to take up my pieces. There are so many good things that I could be a part of. Some things are better and others still are best. I have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in Jesus Christ and strengthen my family. The best things should command priority attention in my life.

With those thoughts, now I come to, "What is it that my Heavenly Father expects me to do regarding my time? Where would He have me put my energies day to day?"

To Mary and Martha Jesus taught that many things are good, but some things were needful. We must look to Him for which parts are most needful for us, personally. With looking at the Savior as an example and how he spent his time on earth - He was always busy! He was always doing good and fulfilling His father's will for Him. There were still important things Christ made time for: praying, spending time with children, noticing the needs of one among a crowd, crying with His friends in their sorrow, forgive, serve. These were his highest priorities.

When I am finding myself too busy I need to re-humble myself to the Lord's will for me. I ask Him what needs to fall away that I may never be too busy to be his disciple.

If I can commit myself to never be too busy in some things it will make the greatest impact on my happiness. May I never find myself too busy to pray, to read the scriptures, to observe the Sabbath, to hug my children, to hold my husband's hand, to see another's needs and do something about it. May I not lack faith that will lead to despair because of iniquity. May I have faith to bring about that which only comes by faith. . . miracles, visions, dreams, healing and all the gifts of God.

What is your heart made up of? What has your time spent left behind? Are you and everyone around you better for it? I hope so.

Wishing you all. . .more happiness than you can handle!

Back to School

2011-08-23T12:34:00.000-06:00

HOORAY for everyone else who had kids going back to school today! I hear from moms who are happy their kids are going back to school and some who are sad and some who have mixed emotions. Well, I am happy that other kids are back in school! That means we can still play in the summer sun without the crowds! I am with my kids all the time and overall I do love it. I'm glad I don't have to adhere to schedules set by other people. They are kids. . they can enjoy playing and learning in the beauty and joy of outside as long as the weather lets them. There is still plenty of time in the year for indoor learning.

Thank you to our friends who went with us to the Splash Pad in Eagle Mountain. We'll be doing it again before the weather turns!

Day 7 of challenge

2011-08-14T08:30:00.000-06:00

Okay Day 7 is a day late, but I was busy yesterday!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?

The van Zwol part of me would say. . .the same place I do now - in a mirror! (Sorry, can't help it sometimes since I'm around it a bit.)

In 10 years I kind of would like to be moved somewhere else. I don't think we'll stay in this house forever. We're preparing to become Foster Parents right now so we'll have had children in and out of our home and if an opportunity presents itself to adopt any we might have more children added to our family too. Malcolm's heart valve won't hold up forever so something with that could happen by 10 years. It's scary to think of Emilia being 17! Hopefully all of my children will be mostly done whining. That's the most annoying sound. Maybe Erik will get his Master's Degree so he can make more money and we can be rich!

Honestly, I don't know. I would just like us to happy and healthy and enjoying life with wherever we're at and in whatever we're doing.

Day 6 of Challenge

2011-08-12T08:46:00.000-06:00

My favorite recipe.

I don't use recipes often. I stick to making the same basic things most of the time, I wing it, or I try new recipes and don't care for them so I don't every use them again. Let me go see if there are any recipes I use. . .

. . .I'm back. After looking through my recipes there is one that I don't make often but LOVE.

Streusel-Sour Cream Apple Pie

Ingredients:

1 egg

1 c. sour cream

1 t. vanilla extract

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 t. salt

2 T. flour

3 c. peed and diced tart apples

1 9inch, unbaked, pie crust

Topping:

1/2 c. light brown sugar

1/3 c. flour

4 T butter softened

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine egg, sour cream, vanilla in large bowl.; mix w/ a fork. Add sugar, salt and flour. Stir well.

2. Add apples to bowl. Stir well. Pour mixtures into piecrust. Bake until set, about 25 min.

3. Make the topping: combine brown sugar, and flour in bowl. Cut in butter w/ a pastry cutter until mixtures resembles coarse crumbs.

4. Sprinkle topping over hot pie. Bake until topping is browned, about 20 min longer.

Simple yet I can't "wing it" and can't take credit for its deliciousness. One of the only recipes I really use. YUMMY!

Day 5 of Challenge

2011-08-11T10:17:00.000-06:00

One of your fondest and favorite memories as a child. . .

I have a bad memory! I first can recall negatives things. Isn't that horrible?! Embarrassing moments from elementary school. Yikes! I remember being practically the only one who did yard work (aka: mow the weeds).

Okay I do remember good things! One fond/favorite memories is of riding my bike. I rarely got to ride my bike to school, but I liked riding up to Stage Stop to get a soda or candy. Cornet was the bomb cause they had 1o and 15 cent candy! (& I am not that old!) I remember visiting the 99cent store that these Chinese people owned too. I enjoyed riding around the neighborhood and with friends. Going to Meadow Brooke park. One time a group of us were trying to ride up this steep dirt hill across the street from our house and I couldn't make it up - I kept falling backward! Oh and I remember getting to big for my bike and my knees hitting the handle bars. It was so exciting to get a new Huffy! Oh the joys that I am remembering now. . .like riding with Caitlin and while we were stopped one time a bird pooped on my leg. Ha ha! Good memories!

Day 4 of Challenge

2011-08-10T08:53:00.000-06:00

A school or church teacher you have had that has effected your life in a positive way.

I have to say that I have had quite a few good school teachers and church leaders! I feel very lucky! Maybe it was growing up in a small town that made that possible - ? I will try to list the most influential and narrow it down as to not make the list too long.

School: Mr. K (6th grade), Mr. Waldram (band director 7 years), Mr. Richards (English, Humanities, World Religions), Bro. Grant (college English).

Funny I am choosing all these male teachers, but as a #1 choice I'd choose Mrs. Fisher (7th grade English). I remember always liking to read, but she helped me to like English, reading, and writing just for the pure enjoyment of it. She was an influence in being positive, being yourself, and reaching your highest potential. I also enjoyed talking to her because she'd talk to me like I was another person or friend, not a child. And that was important to me.

Church: from primary I mostly remember Bro. Banfield who I still keep in touch with. I loved all of my seminary teachers, and I had good young womens leaders and girls camp leaders!

Overall I'd have to say the Stake Young Women's president, "Sis. Galyan", would be my #1 choice. Again, I believe it was partially because she talked to me like I was another person and didn't talk down to me. I enjoyed being treated that way and becoming friends with reciprocated efforts. Had that age barrier been kept up I wouldn't have our lasting friendship and I don't know what I'd do without that now! She affected my life in my past when I needed the kind of friend she was to me and she affects my life a lot now as we can talk about anything and everything and I value her opinions and experiences.

And there you go! There are many good people if you think about it!

Day 3 of Challenge

2011-08-09T10:25:00.000-06:00

Your favorite book and why.

Well, this too is hard. I have read many books. I LOVE books (to say the least). There are different genres and eras and series' and I am drawn to historical fiction. . .but my top choices are books that will guide you in life.

#1 - The Book of Mormon. Another testament of Jesus Christ. The Bible is the basis of religion. It truly is a wonderful book. Now, on the other hand the Book of Mormon is not nearly as widely accepted, but people cannot leave it alone. Why would people spend so much time trying to disprove a religious text?! I love the Book of Mormon because if you just read it, without trying to disprove it the entire time, I guarantee you you will feel wonderful inside. I love it because it doesn't take MEN analyzing it and trying to prove what is and isn't right. It takes faith and a Holy Ghost to help you understand and believe. I'll take spiritual light over men's "knowledge" any day.

#2 - Oh, The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. He just tells about life straight forward. . .

Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.

Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't.

Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so

but, sadly, it's true

that Bang-ups

and Hang-ups

can happen to you.

_________________________________

I'm afraid that some times

you'll play lonely games too.

Games you can't win

'cause you'll play against you.

__________________________________

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, Indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

This list could go on as I have already said. . .but from the oven I must get my bread.

Day 2 of Challenge

2011-08-08T15:26:00.000-06:00

If you could invite anyone (past or present) to your BBQ, who would it be?

This is a hard question! And inviting them is one thing, but is it guaranteed they are going to come? If they are guaranteed to come. . .
My first thoughts are inviting family! There are too many that I don't see very often. I'd take them over anyone I've never met. My next choice would be my best friends - one who lives too far away to see very often and one who is very busy these days.
And if we're talking more unrealistically, I think I'd like to talk to Rebekah from the Old Testament and Emma Smith from LDS Church History. I think both of these women would be wonderful to talk to and I think I could learn much to help me live the rest of my life better.
On a lighter note. . . How about Captain Picard? Helen Magnus? Fox Moulder?

Now I want to have a BBQ!!

Caitlin's Challenge!

2011-08-07T10:08:00.000-06:00

My sister Caitlin did a blog challenge and it was so fun to read! Now she has put up a 7 Day Blog Challenge of her own and I have decided to participate. I think I can do 7 days. . .

Day 1 - Your Favorite Holiday Traditions

With homeschooling I have learned that there are MANY holidays. I enjoy learning, teaching, and doing a craft with my kids about each holiday over and over because they are important days! They are holidays for good reasons!

Specifically my favorites are around Christmas (the most wonderful time of the year!) I enjoy reading a Christmas book or story with the kids every night of December. I love making and giving delicious treats and gifts to people. I like trying to bring in my husbands Dutch heritage into tradition more with chocolate letters, speculaas, poffertjes.

There are more traditions and they will be added to. I am always open to starting new traditions!

Growing Up Pioneers

2011-07-22T19:47:00.000-06:00

This week Coralie went into a toddler bed. She is almost 18 months and all our kids have been around this age when they left the crib. This time it has been a little more sentimental...my littlest girl is getting too big! Of course she loves it and it doing great!

This week we have been studying Pioneers in honor of Pioneer Day (July 24th). I have always appreciated pioneers after learning about them and I could not imagine going through what they did. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. . . these people were willing to die for their faith! Remembering them makes me watch myself when I want to complain about something and makes me reflect on my actions and my beliefs. Doesn't it feel like we all get a little too caught up in the world? We're worried about money, work, possessions, doctors, health, schooling, etc, etc, etc. After reading in Romans in the Bible recently I wanted to take the Apostle Paul's advice. . ."Adapt yourself no longer to the pattern of this present world, but let your minds be remade and your whole nature thus transformed. Then you will be able to discern the will of God, and to know what is good, acceptable and perfect." What are we doing here?! What is most important?? Could I survive on my faith and be happy?

Just a few hours ago there was a fire fairly close to the house and we were warned we might have to evacuate. We had to do that the first year we moved here so it wasn't a big surprise. However, this time and after talking in depth about pioneers this week I felt very calm and confident in what was important and what few possessions I would HAVE to have and what all I could really walk away from if I had to. Now I am glad I didn't have to and I am glad I am not a pioneer. BUT I would like to have the pioneer heart and faith to do the will of God and be happy!

My children are happy (for the most part) and for that I am very grateful. Hopefully as I can improve my pioneer spirit they too can learn to appreciate pioneers and their ancestors and look up to them as people they would aspire to be like. For without them we wouldn't have what we do out here! "Hoorah for Israel!"

Other Part of the Trip

2011-07-08T11:43:00.000-06:00

Okay I decided not to wait too long to tell you the rest. . .

We made it to the Harshbargers and tie dyed shirts - red and blue on a white shirt of course! The girls were more interested in it than the boys. It was fun!

All the cousins seemed to get along pretty good. The babies not so much, but everyone else had a blast being together and outside!

On Sunday we went to church. Both boys slept the whole 3 hours so they didn't get too much out of it. Nice and relaxing day. Uncle Brody reading to the boys. Brody is usually a busy guy and we don't get to see him much when we visit so it was extra special to be able to see him so much this trip!

We did have a fire that night and roast huge marshmallows. And I have pretty funny pictures of everyone eating them, but I probably shouldn't put them up. I want all my relatives to still like me!

Then it was the 4th of July with some of the most patriotic people - farmers! I made bows for all the girls and they wore them with their tie dye shirts. They were cute!

Trying to get all the 9 kids to look at the camera at the same time. . .ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Uncle Brody in the parade! Pulling lots of yummy chocolate milk that was handed out. It's so cool to have an Uncle who is a farmer. We're proud of him.

After the parade we had delicious hamburgers and then Emilia got to ride a horse! She has been wanting to ride since Aunt Jen mentioned something to her last year. Well she doesn't forget so this was her birthday present! (I was only unhappy that Erik was the one out there taking pictures and I was inside with the other kids. Oh well.) She had lots of fun!

I think this experience was a good choice for Emilia! I can't believe she is 7!

Oh yes, the boys got to ride too.

After riding it was nap time, then more food and family, then some rain, THEN fireworks! I think that's the first time my kids have ever seen fireworks up close. They all loved them.

The next morning (Emilia's birthday) we headed home. We all had a lot of fun! Tired, but worth it. I've already been able to do all the laundry! Now more summer to enjoy before another trip in September!

First Part of the Trip

2011-07-07T22:17:00.000-06:00

We went on a trip! And things have been crazy since we've been back so I am doing my best here, but I can't show you all the pictures or tell you everything. . .so here is what you get. . .

We left one night for my Aunt and Uncles. Spent the night. Next morning after breakfast headed out to Wyoming. Ate at a pizza place in Jackson Hole for lunch and walked around a couple stores. Then went off to the Grand Teton Mountains and Jenny Lake.

We took a boat ride across the lake. All the kids loved it, especially Coralie.She would squeal and laugh. Not so much when the water splashed in her face, but it was all pretty cute.

On the other side of the lake we hiked up to Hidden Falls. It is a safe and easy hike and the kids did really well. The water was really high and the waterfalls huge. Can't capture that to share - you'll have to go check them out! The spray off the falls was nice and refreshing.

Coralie also loved the waterfall. The wind? The water? The noise? She was happy! Wish I had done better with pictures that day. Oh well.

We hiked back to the boat, took a ride back (still very exciting) to the other side of the lake, went to dinner, and happened to see a Hat Store as we were driving out of Wyoming. We stopped because Emilia got to pick out her birthday present - a cowgirl hat. Very cute, very fitting for her. THEN we headed back to Idaho!

Oh! And I was there too. See - proof I was on vacation! Messing around while waiting for Erik who was in an information center.

Okay, so, we made it to Erik's mom's house that night! Spent the night and enjoyed seeing Grammy. Took over her place and left in the morning. Traveled down to Idaho Falls, to the museum, to see BODIES.

It was kind of creepy, but very fascinating too. The Body Worlds that was in Salt Lake I believe had more and they only let children over 8 years old in (if I am remembering correctly) so this was nice because it wasn't too big and the kids could go. We were all interested in it and Emilia asked a good amount of questions and seemed very interested in it. Our bodies are definitely amazing creations!

And then we went to the Teton Dam. . rather where it used to be. This was the best picture.

Once we had our fill of walking around there we headed to the Harshbarger Farm! Aunt Jen and Uncle Brody's. The other side of the Tetons to Squirrel.

And now. . .I will continue when I take more time to do so.

Learning

2011-06-27T09:28:00.000-06:00

Emilia learned to ride a bike! No training wheels! Dad took her down to the church a few times and practiced with her. All the sudden she just "got it" and is improving all the time now! It makes it even better that her friend Saileen can ride too! (for those worriers/Grandmothers, yes she does wear a helmet)

Dashiell is into climbing trees.Too bad there aren't many around here. He is learning to find things to do outside like this - which is good. Maybe not so good to be the one to find all the snakes.

Malcolm fell off his bike, head into the ground. But he got up and is fine and isn't afraid to ride. He has learned not to be afraid anything. Also, he randomly found this box at D.I. that had magnetic letters and numbers in it with matching word cards that he really wanted. I spent that whole $2 and he has been playing with it non-stop. He already reads a little bit but doesn't like me to know it and now plays with these and is learning, though he doesn't know it. I think we're even for now.

Miss Coralie thinks she can do what everyone else can. She physically can't, but mentally probably can! She randomly got on Dash's scooter. She knows how to do it and can a little bit. It is just the size of her or the size of the scooter (whichever you want to blame) that prohibits the actual fun. This girl also has amazing fine motor skills. . .using a fork (left handed definitely), and putting legos (regular small ones) together.

Happy belated Father's Day to Erik! He is a wonderful father and is always taking every opportunity to teach our children something. He has also helped me learn many things and is always encouraging me to learn more. And. . .yeah I could go on and on. . .We love him so much!!

I have recently learned to be more grateful for family and close friends. Not that I was not already grateful for them, but as I have started my new taking pictures endeavor it has only been family and a few friends who have even said anything to me. I usually need encouragement or else I won't do something. . .so it was discouraging to not have hardly anyone say anything to me about it. But, oh well. I am not going to give up. And I hope if I have ever come across not supportive to anyone that they will forgive me and I pray to be more aware of encouraging and supporting others in whatever they are doing.

Always something to learn.

New Endeavor

2011-06-21T09:25:00.000-06:00

Hello Whoever reads my blog!

Usually this blog updates everyone on my family and what we've been up to. In general I try not to make it too personal. But today it is very personal because this is very important to me and you can help me!

Many of you know that I like to do all kinds of crafts. I read and learn how to do all sorts of things in general! Partially I do this because I like to learn new things and keep myself busy. But I also have always wanted to be good at something. . . I have wanted to claim something that is really mine. I have struggled with this because I will always see someone else doing what I am doing, but better. My personality does not try to be better - it usually just gives up. Move on to something else. I have a hard time making myself do hard things.

Those who know me well know that I have loved taking pictures for many years. I finally, recently, upgraded my camera and it has been very fun and exciting! Now, living where I do, and with the photographic technology that is available, EVERYONE seems to take pictures and I have struggles finding ANYONE outside of family to let me take pictures. Oh I take plenty of pictures of my family and nature and I enjoy it. But I feel like something is missing. . . What am I looking for?

Well, another part of me cares about people. I cannot help this! I enjoy giving and serving and the majority of crafting I do always is given away. As I thought about my experiences with photography and with people I care about. . . why don't I combine photography with caring about people?! Not just anyone people, but special people!?!?

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I AM GOING TO DO!!!

I want to get accredited with Special Kids Photography of America

I am going to do it! Special kids need moments captured just like anyone else! I'm willing to learn to cater to them. I'm going to set up a website. I will be specializing in Special Needs Photography. If you would like to help me in this endeavor I would greatly appreciate it! I'm raising money now to get accredited and set everything up. Every and any donation is appreciated. All money from purchases on my craft website, Jess Creates, will go to this fund as well.

Also, if you make any donation you are more than welcome to give me information on anyone who may want these services. I will be doing free sessions for a little while as I get more practice and build up a portfolio.

I am very excited for this! I can't even tell you how much!

Thank you in advance for your help!

Memorial Day

2011-06-01T06:51:00.000-06:00

Yes, we need to barbecue even if it is cold and windy out.

Those ribs and corn were delicious.

Have to have helpers to barbecue.

And playing with Grandpa Tom makes the chill not so bad.

The kids had fun having him around.

Ah yes and the many faces of Coralie. There really are MANY.

These are just my favorites from Memorial Day.

Thank you Grandpa Tom for coming to visit us!

We had a great time with you!

Thank you to all of those who have served this country. I'm grateful and indebted to you. Hopefully I will be successful in raising children to help take care of this country that you have helped us preserve.

Tracy Aviary

2011-06-01T06:31:00.000-06:00

Erik's dad - Grandpa Tom - visited this last weekend.

On Saturday we went to the Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake.

It was not only fun to see the birds, but to watch the kids seeing the birds.

Of course at least one problem has to occur. . .like Coralie pooping on EVERYTHING she was wearing within the first 20 minutes we are there. Erik went to change her and ended up going to the store and getting her new clothes. (Yes maybe I should have packed some, but haven't had this problem with her before so didn't think about it.) At least they were both happy when they got back . . . eventually.

Emilia showing Coralie the flamingos. They are both growing so fast.

One of the best looking birds there.

Tried to capture some pictures during the show. That wasn't easy with kids and that's about the time we smelled Coralie too.

Overall it was A LOT of fun! Both the boys have asked to go back every day since we went. They are building a main entrance building with other things in it as well. We'll probably go back when that is done!

Dr Seuss Quotes

2011-05-13T21:51:00.000-06:00

This picture I took that reminded me of Horton.

"A person's a person, no matter how small."

"They say I'm old-fashioned, and live in the past,

but sometimes I think progress progresses too fast!"

"Be who you are and say what you feel,

because those who mind don't matter,

and those who matter don't mind."

The more I thought about it the more Dr. Seuss had a lot to say about most everything! I am sad a friend is going to be moving away and even Seuss had something to say about that:

"I’m glad we had the times together just to laugh and sing a song, seems like we just got started and then before you know it, the times we had together were gone."

BUT

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

Emilia Photo Shoot

2011-05-05T07:20:00.000-06:00

Here are some shots of Emilia I did inside. . .there are more on my business/craft blog.

New Life

2011-05-04T08:36:00.000-06:00

I got a new camera, as you may have heard already, and it has been fun and frustrating. Right now I'm practicing using the settings on my own and not using any automatic settings. And all these photos so far are raw images since I have not yet chosen a photo shop or even sat down for a time to learn one!

The girls in their matching Easter outfits.

Dash in his pink church shirt.

Malcolm right after going down a slide at the park.

Coralie chillin at the dinner table.

Oh and here are our newest additions. . .well there are 3 here and we are down to 2. =(

Erik started this whole rabbit thing, but I totally get wrapped up in it once babies are involved. I don't think our doe is a very good mother and all of her litters have needed our help. I don't really mind warming them up though.

I will practice and enjoy taking posing pictures, but I really would like to be able to be non-intrusive and capture moments as they happen. This has become frustrating to practice because my children cannot act natural and/or Coralie wants to be crawling all over me. And the many people I have asked won't give me the time of day.

(BEWARE: I am now going to stereotype in expressing my frustrations. I'm not trying to personally offend anyone.)

I know many people can take good pictures. Some more professional than others, but there are good cameras and digital is great that you can shoot a million pictures and easily delete the bad and then photo shop to your hearts desire. It seems like "people in Utah" are always wanting a good deal or pretty much their idea of a good deal is ripping someone off when it comes to paying for things or services. (Or it's just me and I have really bad luck.) So when I ask MANY people if I can practice taking pictures for FREE it really bothers me that they won't give me a chance. I just want to practice and I'll give you free pictures and I just want to take them while you're doing whatever you're doing. IS IT REALLY SO MUCH TO ASK?!? Yeah and maybe they take their own pictures or have a family photographer, but would it really kill ya to give me an hour?

Okay. Thanks for letting me rant. It really irritates me (to put it lightly). But I'll get over it. I'm glad I have family and nature that don't mind my taking pictures.

Where is Coralie??

2011-04-18T08:48:00.000-06:00

Where is Coralie?

Eating breakfast?

In the closet?

In the bakers rack?

In the entertainment center?

In her jellies? (that she LOVES)

Playing with dad?

She's everywhere!

I'm tired!

CHROMERCISE!

2011-04-12T08:27:00.001-06:00

Yes, yes this is my dear husband with his new finger sweatbands. And yes there even is a Chromercise website for all those cool people like him.

I am at a loss for words.

(Maybe he just wanted to make it onto my blog.)

Title exists

2011-04-11T11:36:00.001-06:00

Yes I see no one cares to read about me. Only the kids. Fine then. . .

Today in homeschool we made play dough! Saileen and Emilia are getting pretty good at reading recipes and measuring and kneading. I pretty much only had to do the hot water and supervise. I was impressed and I am glad they had fun! They made pink and blue (pastel food coloring).

Dash mixed some blue.

Malcolm wanted green but hasn't actually touched it. I made it and he says it is great but has just been carrying it around in a bag. Silly kid.

Coralie was napping and did not do the play dough thing. However in her developments she is now not afraid to get in the jumbo ball! And she loves to randomly stand up in the middle of the room. She loves the praise and attention from it. I just like when she does it while music is going and starts dancing. She moves her hips like she is hula hooping.

Books and Smiles

2011-04-07T16:41:00.001-06:00

Since I now have my crafting blog/business I can put all my creations on there. That leaves less to put on this blog. I know most people who look at it like the pictures of the kids, but today I am going to share with you my thoughts on recent books. Frankly because I don't know who else would care to know and I want to share my thoughts. So instead of choosing to bore someone, YOU are choosing to read this. =0)

Choke by Obert Skye
This is the 2nd book in Skye's "Pillagy" as he likes to call it. The first book is Pillage. I really liked the first one and this one was enjoyable. They are very easy to read and very visual in my mind so it is like watching a movie. I would recommend these, but I did not care for his Leven Thumps series too much. Although a man should get creativity points for talking toothpicks.

The Beyonders by Brandon Mull
I haven't read this one yet, but it is in my pile! I LOVE Fablehaven and look forward to reading those to my kids. I am hoping this one doesn't disappoint. The Candy Shop Wars by Mull kind of drug on for me.

Pendragon by Steve Blake and Scott Lloyd
This is "The definitive account of the origins of Arthur" which honestly I was interested in after watching the SyFy Show Merlin and reading the Chronicles of Arthur by Andrea Hopkins. I am getting a good mix of fiction and reality and it is very interesting. Which way would you like to be remembered?

That brings me to. . .Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, Newton, Franklin, etc., etc., etc. . . .did you know they were persecuted, some excommunicated and Galileo a martyr?? We learn of science and accomplishments these men and others have made, but we rarely hear how they were treated while they were alive.

Read Character by Samuel Smiles
This books is AMAZING! I love it! I have so many notes and quotes of great things that are said. He also presents much history as to show different types of character as you ponder what kind of character you want or would hope your children to have. It is a great motivator as well. It didn't tell me how I should think, act, feel, or be. It inspired me to raise up and want to have a noble character. Anyway, highly recommend it. Do beware this was written in the 1800s. It takes brain power to read and there will be words you don't know. Persevere! It is worth it.

And last, but not least, I have just started (thanks Aunt Gwen) The Union Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini. I have loved the Elm Creek Quilt Novels. Some are better than others, but overall they are very much enjoyable and more so if you like quilting. Oh! And if you like quilting read Lisa Boyer's That Dorky Homemade Look and Stash Envy. You will get a good laugh.

Look! Now you have just read my first published novel. Ha ha ha! And I am going to write more. . .

Things That Make Me Smile (here are a few)

(Thanks Mike for posting yours and suggesting others do the same)

My kids laughing and playing with their Dad.

Rolling down a grassy hill with the kids.

The children helping each other.

Reading a book when all the kids are in bed and silent.

Remembering family and good friends.

Handwritten notes/letters.

Giving gifts that have so much meaning that words can't even reach.

Playing the piano and hearing little voices singing behind me.

Being outside, alone, in the quiet, in spring or summer, at sunrise.

Randomly dancing in the kitchen with Erik.

What makes you smile?

Goodbye March

2011-03-31T11:59:00.001-06:00

Oh no I am blogging more! Just don't get used to it. But how could I not share with everyone my happiness that the sun is out today!?!

First of all. . .here we have Emilia. She earned and saved up for her first thing to buy all by herself. Hooray she got her Pet Vet Barbie! Also, for reaching some homeschool goals, she wanted to go on a date with Dad. So she did and had a lot of fun!

This month has had some ups and downs and for almost 2 weeks kids have had fevers, but today they were feeling a little bit better and the sun is out!! We've been outside and everyone has been happy!

It is days like this that I like being with my kids. =0)

I hope everyone else is enjoying the sunshine! Now I need to be off for a picnic, that is a secret, but that they have been talking very loudly about and are now arguing about what I like to eat . . .

Growing Up

2011-03-28T10:43:00.000-06:00

You know if I keep up on my craft blog this one will get updated more often! It's easier to do both one right after the other.

My baby is not being a baby much any more. I have noticed how she doesn't fit in my arms. She likes to stand up and anything and everything. Yesterday she started spinning herself on the sit n' spin. She of course is lots of fun and I enjoy seeing her progress. It is hard when you enjoy this fun stage to think of her growing up.

I know I can't stop her from getting bigger and then she woke up this morning with this fabulous hair. Miss Spike got me to analyzing. We'll never be all grown up. We learn and grow and it never stops and even when you think your past is in the past your present and future will bring things to you that you can use your past as a guide to learn and grow. Some days or years will be hard and bad hair days are bound to happen.

We grow fast and things are changing constantly.

Bad hair is bound to happen. Mine as well try to be happy.

And yes this has underlying meaning to things that have been going on in my life. But don't ask me about it because I won't tell you. I'm doing good! Thanks!

Still here!

2011-03-22T12:10:00.000-06:00

Hello hello! Did you miss me? Probably not, but here I am anyway. . .aside from starting up my own little on-line business blog I haven't been very busy. Believe me? Well you shouldn't! The day I am not busy I will most likely be dead.

In happier thoughts. My business start is good. Homeschooling is good. Emilia currently wants to be a veterinarian and is saving up money to get a veterinary Barbie. Only $3 more to go. Did you know they have other occupational ones like Computer Engineer Barbie?! Dash is emotional and I better stop there before I rant on that. Malcolm can't seem to stay potty trained. Did I mention I have been having these terrible headaches?! I wonder why. Hmmmmm. Yeah and Coralie has been good except for the past few days she has had a fever. Nothing else except a fever and being cranky of course.

Hey the weather was nice for about a day, maybe two at the most. We got the rabbit poop cleaned, lilacs trimmed and weeds and dead leaves raked. I am READY for warmer weather. I'm getting excited for planting a garden. The kids loved being outside and Coralie was everywhere. Oh and I was looking for a wagon but they are expensive. Luckily I am cheap and found a wagon for $55!! (I am so cheap!) The wagon means more fun outside days.

Okay before I forget - in other HUGE news - Erik bought a TV from my friend who closed her photography business. Now instead of our large 42" we now have a 55". Yes a necessity! (see my eyes rolling) It is quite HUGE and pretty fun. Who can pass up that for $400????

And last, one of the only things I have pictures of is another house renovation. I have HATED the half wall that separates our small family area and kitchen. Everything seems to small and the kids were constantly putting dirty hands on it and junk got piled on top of it. SO my loving husband knocked it down for me.

Emilia wanted to help clean up so who would argue with that? Now I realize I don't have a "final" picture and things aren't final, but I have much more of an open space! And that lovely baker's rack you see in the back will now sit against that back wall and I will have space to grow things inside. Hooray!

Alright I hope that was all I wanted to say because I have to go. I have two girls with fevers and two boys pestering them.

Oh! I just got my new shades for the upstairs windows since the wood ones randomly fell! I love the mail!

Dashiell Birthday

2011-03-07T13:47:00.000-07:00

Yes we just recently celebrated Dash turning 5 years old!!!

Here he is in his spiffy new outfit and new spider shoes from Grandma. He said they are just what he wanted and they make him faster.

He also wanted a cake with a surfer on it. His first request was a surfer that looks like him, but surfers are not easy to find. And though now I think it would have been a good excuse to go to California to look for one he decided that Mickey Mouse was fine.

Grammy Yolande and Becca came and gave him the movie Mega Mind. It is quite funny!

Erik and I got him this JUMBO ball from Costco. It is the best $30 I ever spent. It is loved and it wore him out! He always has so much energy and he kept saying he was tired the whole day after he initially played with it. (you can see some of our basement getting finished too in this picture)

All the kids can play in it, but Dash is possessive of it. The only one he has invited in it is Coralie and she is scared of it.

It was a good Dash birthday! I can't believe he is 5!

Coralie's Birthday!

2011-02-10T08:23:00.006-07:00

It's hard to believe that Coralie was born a year ago! The nine months before that taking shots for my blood clot seemed so long at the time and then she was born and now she is one. Time is a crazy thing.

She was showing off yesterday that she was older too. She cleaned up the blocks she was playing with. Weird for a child to do anyway.
What is this? Emilia came up with wanting to make Coralie a giraffe for her birthday so Erik helped her. And yes Coralie does like it.
Oh and this leap frog farm you put on the fridge is a hit! (again!) Dash was given one when he was younger and all the kids have loved it. Then it broke and that made it easy for us to figure out what to get her. She is possessive of it and likes to dance to its music.

Oh what is that you're bringing me?

For me?! Give it to me!

Hooray for being one!

She was so happy all day.

Just don't even think about taking her cake away.

And just like that she is one now.

This morning she reminded me that she was older. She was using "ma ma ma" in the right context and as soon as Erik got up "da da da." Cute and happy and I'm only a little sad.

P.S. A week ago we did go to Incredible Pizza with Caleb and Dana to celebrate Caleb's and Coralie's birthday. We had a lot of fun! And then last night we had some friends Kat and Dan over for dinner and that was fun too! It's fun being able to celebrate with others. (yeah I know - "if they're so great why don't you have any pictures of them?" Well, no one's perfect right? [whoops!])

Pyroing and More!

2011-01-27T14:14:00.004-07:00

Well here are most of the wood burning projects I've been working on.

I decided to do some stain and color to the eagle.

This will go in the kids bathroom.

Then on facebook at the beginning of the month I committed to making something handmade for the first 5 people who responded to my post. So here is one for my mom. (Pine is not the nicest to burn.)

This one is for Caleb (for the facebook thing) if he wants it. If not I can make him something else. I just really like the cartoon!

And in my spare time I take care of my children! (ha ha ha)

Miss Coralie will be one in 2 weeks!

Erik did have a birthday yesterday! I did not take any pictures. =0( Unfortunately it wasn't terribly exciting. He did get apple pie at work and here we had an apple caramel pie. He picked out his own gift - boots for work. He likes the movie UP! so we got that for him too and it is on its way in the mail. Maybe the big 30 next year will get a bigger celebration!

Oh and there is Erik working on the basement flooring. It is VERY nice! If it didn't get so cold I'd put it in more of the house. It is definitely more affordable than the carpet.

And there ya go.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-13T14:32:00.003-07:00

Now that the month is almost half over. . .HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

On New Year's Eve day Erik textured the basement walls. On New Year's day we both primed the walls. The weekend after we did ceiling paint and the first coat of wall paint. It is still awaiting a second coat, but it is being worked on again so it is exciting again to have a basement! Now if we could afford to do everything else soon that'd be great, but it'll go back to waiting for awhile.

In other news. . .potty training is draining. You think they got it and then they have an accident. (Okay teaching kids in general I run into this falling backwards thing and it is hard to not just want to yell and scream and give up.) Well we had a day where I was tired of the pooping in the underwear and I told M to get his clean underwear and pants on himself and he did yell and scream and give up. No effort.

Then there is this crawling monster who started scowling with these duck like lips. She sure can be entertaining.

Oh and I have been asked by a few on my current sewing projects. Well, you see I'd love to have one but what hand me down fabric I do have I have no desire to make anything with and I don't have the funds to make the few quilts I have designed. SO I am attempting the art of pyrography (wood burning). Here is my first attempt. Need some practice. Good thing this isn't an expensive hobby because I can see it becoming addicting.

Many things happen in life and these are a few highlights to start the year off!

okay okay

2010-12-30T11:27:00.005-07:00

Fine I'll share some pictures from December. . .

I do need to add a few words. . .I forgot to mention that our family had a Secret Santa before Christmas! How could I forget?! It was so much fun and added to our Christmas excitement. We did find out who it was because they had to leave town early, but it was still lots of fun and we really appreciate all the effort. THANK YOU Secret Santa!

sigh of the slacker

2010-12-29T21:40:00.003-07:00

*sigh*

Here we are at the end of the year and have I posted about December? No. Have I put pictures on the computer to show you about Christmas? No. Do I even want to blog just to update like I usually do? Not really. And do I want a New Year's Resolution to be a better blogger? No, I don't, because I can't reach goals or complete what I say I want to anyway so why bother when I already know the outcome?

*sigh*

Malcolm's appointment at the beginning of December was GREAT! (and expensive) His heart is holding up wonderfully and we'll go back in a year. His Dr was saying if his valve keeps constricting this slow once his body growth slows we could go 2 years between appointments! Malcolm was a very good boy, by the way, and the other 3 seemed to have a blast at Aunt Caitlin's and with Aunt Megan when she visited!

The next day we had a FABULOUS family party. It was a lot of fun! Good food, lots of laughing, fun gift exchange. It was great to see everyone and I think it'd be fun to do again!

Ummm. . .no Erik work party this year and no bonus (bummer). We've had the joy of picking out a new health insurance plan through the company.

We have had good snow off and on. More off than on, but one day the 3 older ones had so much fun being outside and mostly sledding. They wore out the neighbor boys that were playing with them!

We also went to Aunt Gwen's and made gingerbread houses with her and Marianne. It was funny to see the kid's personalities in the way they made them. Emilia would get frustrated. Dash was concentrating very well. Malcolm just wanted to eat the candy and the whole thing barely lasted 24 hours. We had a great time! It made it seem more like Christmas time.

The kids have been good! They've been pretty healthy and happy pre Christmas. Now we have fighting over the new toys at some point every day. Christmas was fun though! A few gifts here and there for everyone. I got a JoAnns gift card and the Michael Jackson Experience Wii game. That game is so much FUN! I think I should host a party. . .my sisters would come if they could, but I don't know if I have any friends that live close and are brave enough to have fun and dance in front of each other. Hmmmm. It really is a lot of fun with Erik and the kids playing too.

And the gift card I'd usually be very excited for, but my wrists have been hurting pretty badly that I've backed off a lot of my quilting. I have thought about learning pyrography (woodburning) but I have this fear of trying it. You see my dear husband likes to learn new things and he is naturally good at everything. So it gets frustrating when I want to learn something new and then so does he and then he is quickly better at it. So I am not too sure about learning a new craft only to be upstaged.

Well, the new year is coming quickly. No big plans as of now. But I might tell you if we plan something or if we do something. . .maybe. . .but don't get your hopes up. I know I am a blogger slacker.

*sigh*

Emilia Update

2010-12-03T17:02:00.003-07:00

Beautiful daughter #1 told me I could not have curls in my hair because she did not like them. Well, she had never had them before. We tried to the sponge curlers she sleeps on and LOVES curls now. Uh oh though. That's a lot more work for me. This picture was one of the first attempts but we have had very loose and very few to very curly and many curls.

She has had this new liking of taking pictures too. She is always wanting to take pictures. Don't know how seriously to take it, but it could prove to be interesting. . .
Oh and did you notice our almost matching glasses?? She picked out her own I promise, but they are very similar in color and shape. She says she doesn't remember wearing glasses before so this is technically new to her. I think they do make her look older. *sigh*

And there you go fellow family and bloggers wanting to see a picture of Emilia in glasses.

Back to Life

2010-12-01T16:02:00.004-07:00

Here we are. Back in Utah. There is snow. It is December. Christmas is coming. Vacation was fun and it is good to be back, but we did have a good time. We are very thankful for our safe travels and for all of the wonderful people we know and were able to visit. It has been fun to make memories with the kids. . . and we will continue to make more. That trailer we acquired in Concord from Erik's dad actually came with a sailboat. Erik loved using that with his dad and now it is his. It will be an adventure with that. It was pretty funny driving through the snow, to Idaho with a sailboat! Oh the looks people gave us.

I keep remembering more things that I wish I could share it all! But I think I have done enough I don't want people to never read my blog again!

And there will be more to post. . .we have coming up. . . Emilia getting glasses, Malcolm's yearly heart check up, a family Christmas party, Christmas, and a bunch of art and service projects to do before then!

Enjoy the season everyone! Keep smiling!

Last BUT not least, part 6

2010-12-01T15:37:00.007-07:00

We made it! Happy Thanksgiving with the Harshbargers! Grammy Yolande, her friend Wayne, and Aunt Becca came over too. Uncle Brody makes a good farmers breakfast, but that Jen is superwoman and makes delicious meals. She was so nice to make us Thanksgiving dinner. It was all very good. And it was a lot of fun to be together. I enjoyed that our kids got to play together and that I got to interact with my nieces and nephew too.

Here's Coralie and Millie. 5 days apart, age wise.

Axel and Malcolm digging in (literally) to Aunt Becca's salsa.

Erik admiring Jen's Bosch (?) I don't know actually about this picture. I don't think I took it.

E and C.

Look at those faces! How cool is is to have an uncle who is a farmer?!

Hooray we get to ride in the tractor!

"My favorite Uncle Brody!"

Now Emilia wants to go back to the farm to learn how to ride horses. Maybe for her birthday.

That silly girl was taking self portraits with my camera.

Oh hey she lost another tooth too while we were there. And I learned from Uncle Brody that in Idaho the tooth fairy gives out gold dollars. So she got one!

We stayed on Friday and played and had dinner with the missionaries as well and Grammy Yolande came too! That Grammy was saying how her kids only saw their Grandparents every few years (because they lived in Holland) and it was okay and the kids loved when they did see them and it wasn't awkward or anything. This is true, but then later Erik said, "It was fine, but I would have loved to see them more and make more memories with them."

So we left on Saturday in between storms. We stopped for a quick break in Farmington to see my aunt and uncle and then stopped a few minutes later in Centerville to see a friend from Rexburg! We rarely go to Idaho and she rarely goes to Utah and so we happen to both leave town at the same time. It was good to be able to stop and see her and her husband and her growing kids!

And. . .okay. . .this is my last vacation post. I may do one more as a finale. I know you're thrilled.

Goodbye Idaho and Harshbargers! Hope to see you in the summer!

VACATION, part 5

2010-12-01T15:16:00.003-07:00

I know you are thinking. . . "Isn't she done YET?!"

NO. I'm NOT.

We went to Concord and saw good ole Grandpa Tom. Whom of course I got NO pictures of!

We went to Aquarium of the Bay. It is no Monterey, but pretty cool and more affordable.

Cool bubbles kids could crawl into the fish tanks.

There were a good number of things you could feel. Nice tide pool.

Yup San Francisco. That's where we were at. Funny thing too while driving to this Children's museum we were in some trees and Dash says, "There could be Ninja's in there!" Ha ha ha! That was so random and where did this ninja thing come from?! It was so funny I am still laughing about it.

Tiny Alcatraz in the back. In this designated photo spot.

So we were with Gpa Tom Monday and most of Tuesday. On Tuesday him and Erik worked on hooking up a trailer to our truck. Then that night we met up with Erik's sister Laura, Andrew and baby Gabe! (no photos) I should of at least got a picture of that baby. He sure is cute!! It would have been fun to play with him more. . . .oh it was nice to see his parents too I guess. =0)

By Tuesday night it was Goodbye California!

Hello reality. . .or should I say. . .SNOW!! Erik drove through the night and I took over in the morning. From California to Nevada to Idaho. I could never do that drive again and be perfectly happy. Although it was entertaining that Erik decided to travel in shorts so every time we stopped for gas he was dancing outside in the snow.

In the morning we were in Twin Falls and had to stop to get breakfast and some things for Thanksgiving. We had been using Erik's GPS on his phone previous in the trip and we knew there was a Fred Meyer here so we looked it up for directions. Well, while I am driving and following the directions it suddenly says "YOU HAVE ARRIVED!" I was in the middle of a residential area and Erik and I started laughing so hard. Technology is reliable only to a point. What a highlight to our trip.

So we eventually made it to Squirrel and the Harshbarger Farm after slow driving on the ice.

My FAVORITE part (part 4)

2010-12-01T14:33:00.004-07:00

After seeing the temple we went to . . . . . .THE GETTY!!!! Seriously I loved going there when I was in high school and I have been looking forward to this for a long time.

I enjoy being on the grounds and no I couldn't study any of the art with 4 children, but it was a great opportunity to introduce them to art. There is family part too where kids can play and create. Coralie wasn't too sure about that part.

The kids were really good for the few hours we were there.

Thank you Erik for taking me.

Learned about making a bronze sculpture which was amazing that anyone could master the skill. I don't think people now have patience for things like that. Saw beautiful tiny illuminated manuscripts. Being around real works of Cezanne, Degas, Rembrandt, van Gogh . . . . I just loved it!

When we left we got to go to Bakersfield! Yes I am sure most who know of the place wonder why I would put an exclamation after that. Well, I got to see my friend Gaye after 7 years! (now is when I kick myself with the picture taking. Or I could tell you it was actually on purpose so I have to go back soon and take more and better pictures.)

Outside on Sunday. Nice weather.

Emilia like playing the piano. Neil seemed pretty impressed.

Emilia also thought it was great to climb this little tree. Malcolm liked the idea too.

Oh and I realized I have no pictures of Dash here, but he enjoyed playing too and being in Gaye's class at church.

Coralie thought the best part of church was the cookie afterward.

I think this is the best picture of Coralie we have gotten! She enjoyed the Galyan's too!

Thank you Neil and Gaye for having us. Thank you for the delicious food and for letting our kids play with all of your cool old Fisher Price toys. Thank you Gaye for being my best friend aside from Erik. I know it sometimes seems odd with our age gap that we are good friends, but I appreciate your friendship very much. Hopefully less than 7 years pass before we can see each other again! I'm grateful for e-mail though.

Goodbye Bakersfield. You were the hardest place to leave. Lots of tears.

(Partially because next it was seeing Erik's family. Ha ha ha!)

VACATION, part 3

2010-12-01T14:04:00.005-07:00

Wow I am getting a lot done here with 3 sleeping kids.

Now on the 19th we headed to California! It was definitely a drive and a long one too when the highlight of the day for the kids was Dash getting to pee behind a bush. Hooray for desert and being a boy! We did make it South Pasadena and visited with my dad's parents - Grandma and Grandpa Anderson and Aunt Marilyn. We weren't there too long and it was good just to visit. It was also interesting to watch Emilia as she sat on the arm of Grandpa's chair and they drew pictures together. That girl is something else. She doesn't judge or hesitate, didn't make fun of his child like drawings or his attempt at writing his name (I could see other children doing that), listened to his same stories a few times. Amazing. There must be some special mission planned for her.

Anyway, we planned to go to my cousin's house for dinner so we ended up in Aliso Viejo (saw the Newport Beach temple along the way) and had a DELICIOUS meal. Michael and Devon live in a very nice place. The kids LOVED the big TV and the pets. Emilia was after the cat at first and they all loved the dog Duke. He was a very good dog and my kids did well with him that it makes me want to have a dog! He even liked licking Coralie which was pretty funny.

Oh and now you can see my picture slacking! Sheesh!

Then came Saturday the 21st. We went to the beach and it was rainy and windy and cold. The boys almost got blown away holding the umbrellas. Yes we did all get out of the car for about a minute or two.

Thank you Michael and Devon for having us! It was a lot of fun. We loved visiting with you. You guys are great. You will be wonderful parents. Hope to see you again when we can actually stay at the beach too!

Goodbye Beach. =0(

We did take the time and go back to Gma and Gpa's to see Uncle Kevin and Uncle Bill too!

We also drove by the Los Angeles Temple. That temple is HUGE. Of course I've been there because we got married in it, but now after living in Utah and going back it gigantic. We drove around it and looked at the couples who had gotten married.

Goodbye family and the temple.

VACATION, part 2

2010-12-01T13:33:00.003-07:00

On November 18th we made it to the Hoover Dam and walked onto it and saw the dam bridge too! The kids weren't too fond of looking down the dam but liked the bridge. They were excited to drive across it too! Ha ha! Too bad there are cement barriers on the bridge so you can't see ANYTHING while you drive across.

We crossed over the bridge to Arizona and there wasn't much there. We did HAVE to stop by this tourist town - Chloride. It was fancy with their decorative fences and yards. Some had themes like bird houses or boots and other just had stuff. There are quite a few little places around there too if you're looking to relocate to a quite place in the desert.

Oh and then there was this winner on the way out. Erik had to stop and have Emilia take a picture. Now that's nice and classy!

Emilia thought it was funny.

After that fun who would want to go on?!

Well I did and we made it to Kingman! It really wasn't a long drive from Hendersen. The kids had time to play on a train at a park which is one thing the boys especially keep remembering.

Our main reason for stopping was to visit Aunt Gayle and Uncle Michael!

They loved playing with Michael. They don't get the same interaction and play with other adult male family members and they really enjoyed it.

We stopped in at a restored "Powerhouse" which now holds a museum and town history. This was a pretty neat thing on the outside of the building.

And on our way out there was a train! There were lots of trains. This one just happened to have good picture timing.

This was still the beginning of our trip but we were already tired. After dinner I crashed on the couch while they watched a movie.

It was a lot of fun and the weather was nice. The kids loved their tickle me Elmo, a singing monster, singing dog, and singing Easter Bunny. Emilia even learned the words and choreographed her own dance to the Easter Bunny's song. We got it on video.It is hilarious!

Thank you Aunt Gayle and Uncle Michael! We loved visiting and hope to come back to see your property and the rock crusher in action!

Goodbye Kingman, AZ.

VACATION, part 1

2010-12-01T13:02:00.004-07:00

Here we go! An attempt to recap our vacation! Overall the kids were good in the car. We had moments of sanity like driving through the desert and hearing every 5 minutes "What state are we in now?" We got fed the most delicious meals everywhere though and got to see some amazing things and share time with great people. Now, enjoy the pictures now cause we slacked on them greatly as the trip went on. . .

Left the 16th in the evening and headed to Henderson, Nevada to see Grandma Jill and Grandpa Karl!

On the 17th we saw the Las Vegas temple.

Family picture on temple grounds.

Kids being reverent on temple grounds. =0)

Erik's awesome framing job of Las Vegas view from the temple.

Dashiell.

Had pizza at a park. YES- a park, outside, in November!

Coralie got to swing for the first time too and loved it.

Then we headed to Lake Mead. Found trillions of empty shells and found parts of crawdads.

Dad just had to pick up a gigantic rock and throw it in so Malcolm had to do the same!

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for having us!

It was lots of fun and a wonderful start to our trip.

Goodbye Henderson, NV.

Halloween and so on

2010-11-05T09:18:00.004-06:00

Halloween weekend started out with happy kids all dressed up. We went to the ward party. Then all Friday night Emilia and Dash were throwing up. Erik and I got hardly any sleep, but I am VERY grateful for a washer and dryer!!

Saturday came and we went to Farmington and the kids were mediocre. They didn't really want to eat anything or do too much. And then it was raining. We did actually get a block of trick or treating in and at that time it was sprinkling. AMAZING timing and the kids got into it and it was fun! But most of the time they were like this. . .

Coralie didn't get sick though which was a relief.
We did head on over to the Anderson's and partied for a little bit with them and the Taylors. It was fun! Without knowing we passed along the sickness too. Since that night they got sick, I was sick Saturday night and Sunday, Erik was sick Sunday night and Monday. I guess I am grateful it was nothing long lasting! Just a rotten way to spend Halloween weekend.

Yeah and my birthday wasn't the greatest since Erik was home sick too. Oh well!

In other news. . .uhhhhh. . . getting ready for the trip! Less than 2 weeks til we leave. Then we'll pack all 6 of us up. Well, maybe 5 of us. Malcolm might not live that long. Whoever coined "terrible twos" musn't have had their child reach the age of 3! Yeah got to go cause he's creating this ringing in my ears!

Malcolm is 3!!!

2010-10-26T09:32:00.002-06:00

Malcolm did have a birthday! No one would let me forget it! But then no one reminded me to bring my camera to all that we were doing!

He loves a stuffed bear that is getting pretty worn so we took him to Build-A-Bear to get a new bear. He immediately picked the camouflage/ "soldier" one. After showing him all the others he didn't change his mind. He didn't want any clothes for it but the bear does have a camouflage tent.

We also went to Pirate Island Pizza and Caleb and Dana came! It was fun! Huge pizza, games, balloon animals and swords, birthday Pirate song. Then on his actual birthday Caitlin, Adrian, and AJ came and he got a few gifts and we ate an ice cream pie. That pie we made using a recipe from one of Emilia's cookbooks and it was DELICIOUS and will be made again. Okay and Gma Jill and Aunt Gwen gave him money so another day we went to the store and after all the looking around he picked out a Woody Guitar - "Guitar like Dads!"

It was a very busy birthday for this three year old. Spoiled little kid! It was fun. I am very grateful for Malcolm and his happy personality. Three years and still going with his heart. His next check up is in December and we'll hope for another year free of doctors!

Does everything happen for a reason?

2010-10-25T11:11:00.003-06:00

Usually on this blog I update family and friends on what the family and I have been up to. Not often do I express a lot of personal feelings or opinions unless I get riled up about something or am looking for a fight (kidding). =0) Here goes a rare blog entry. . .

With how quickly time passes last week was an emotional and thought provoking whirlwind and I have been wondering why I had to go through it. What exactly am I supposed to take away from it? What do I do now?

Well, randomly I was asked to watch 3 boys that were foster children and then adopted by the foster parents. This was a great experience! After talking to this mother I was encouraged to look into foster parenting and what it entailed. Then randomly a couple days later a sister informed me of a friend who was pregnant and not married and didn't want to keep the baby. Immediately I volunteered to take the baby! After my health problems with #4 we have been advised to not have any more children and so it is a hard decision to make because both Erik and I are not completely comfortable yet with that idea. We have also looked into adoption so the somewhat close prospect of that being a reality was exciting. Within a week the girl instead decided to abort her baby.

At first I was immediately angry thinking “MURDERER!” But then I thought God will judge her and that's a worse repercussion than I could give. Then I was sad inside and not for me, but for that innocent life who was 4months along in a womb with a body, heartbeat, gender, a life. I was knotted up inside because I was helpless. I couldn't do more about it and the situation is just now over.

Or is it? Why did these few experiences happen? Maybe some things happen that mean nothing past the time they occur and life should move on. Then again, maybe not and something is to change. This time has reignited in me the past ideals I had of my future and wanting to help as many people as I could and having (random number) 32 children through fostering and adopting. What happened to those ideals I once had and the mission I thought my life was? Were they childish or real? Maybe real I have wandered and this has shown me that there is much more I should be doing. Where to begin. . .hmmmmm. . .

In the meantime while I figure things out WE ARE ALL READY TO ADOPT. Pass the word along. Please. Too many innocent lives out there that need a home and I have a nice warm one!

Cabbage Patch Request

2010-10-12T15:23:00.006-06:00

The holidays are coming up as is our trip in November. So we've been thinking about Christmas and what to get to spread out the spending. But what do you get a baby who gets all the hand-me-down toys from her siblings?

Well, Coralie makes this face that reminds us of a Cabbage Patch doll.

Don't you agree? Just a little?

But do you know how hard it is to find a Cabbage Patch doll!? And not just a doll, but a white (caucasian) one that has the same closed mouth face. There are many with their mouths wide open (Erik make some comment about child obesity when I pointed that out) and then a few I found with the closed smile were Hispanic or Black. Hmmmm. . . .

So to whomever reads my blog: PLEASE keep and eye out for a closed mouth, white, Cabbage Patch. I will pay for it (although I do have a reasonable limit) and I'll go for used if it can be washed up. I'll even take one without clothes and dress it. It is just my ONE idea and most likely her only gift for Christmas if I can find one.

I'll love you forever and so will she^ if you help me pull this off!

Thanks!

Love ya!

List of Happenings

2010-09-29T10:23:00.007-06:00

Yes I did do another post just before this so if you get through this list there is another post below it. And here is what we (mostly I) have been doing. . .in no real order. . .

Canning

Improving on exercising

Church meetings, activities, callings

Girls night with the sisters!

Potty training

Changing diapers

Feeding children (because they are ALWAYS hungry) Oh and I had a mother of a couple month old baby say she only nurses her 3 times a day because "I am not a dairy cow!" No you are the MOTHER whose body naturally produces what's best for the child. Anyway.

Sewing

Growing Marionberry starts from a friend

Harvesting what's left of the garden (monstrous carrots)

Caring for rabbits (with same monstrous carrots)

Catching mice

Planning for November trip!

Thinking about Christmas

Hardly any work done on the basement =0P

Cleaning

Organizing

Freecycling

Taking care of neighbor's dog

Watching another neighbor's birds

Bringing people meals who have had surgeries or a stroke

Working really hard to get off the educational conveyor belt

Laying on the grass

Cloud watching

Reading

Studying

Learning

Writing

Teaching

Drawing/Painting

Playing

Cuddling

Tickling

Laughing

I am sure there are other things!

Right now- Blogging

Still need to work on getting on the list. . .SLEEPING! That'd be a good one.

All You Need is. . .

2010-09-29T10:09:00.005-06:00

Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.

All you need is love, all you need is love,

All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be

It's easy.

All you need is love, all you need is love,

All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

All you need is love (all together now)

All you need is love (everybody)

All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

Life Happens. . .Blogs Don't

2010-09-08T11:07:00.012-06:00

Here we are again with more time behind us. . .this reminds me of my journal where I don't write and then I try to do catch up on events and do a crappy job on it and miss things and usually don't even get it quite up to date before I need to go do something else.

So we had gotten a buck Rex rabbit that was VERY soft. He was brown so Emilia affectionately named him Dirt. Well Dirt van Zwol and Snowball died a few days later from a large dog attack. Our females were left alone but one was pregnant so in the past few weeks had a hard delivery and only 2 out of her 7 survived. Oh and tanning the pelts kind of worked but we'd need to perfect the process if we're going to do it more.

The kids and I went to St George for a week. It was fun! Pictures were taken of the kids. We went to the Dinosaur Tracks with Grandma Heslop. We got to hang out with the Steeles one night. I got to catch up on some movies I haven't seen. Coralie's fangs grew in. And we did lots of other things!

The kids had lots of fun! Dash loves Daken and thinks he is "so cool." They had fun with the water and trampoline at Aunt Rachel's. "Uncle Superman" (as he would like to be called) was "cool too" said Dash.

Coralie has had a rough baby life.

Malcolm loves hanging out with Grandpa.

Dash is hilarious. He is a mini Erik and just a goofball in general.

Emilia liked excavating her dinosaur she got from the Dinotrax. (Thanks Gma!)

We take care of the neighbors dog every day. We got to spend part of Labor day with the Brunners. The basement is still being worked on. We got an air system that is wonderful! I've canned pears and pear butter and am getting apples this weekend. We're mainly up to homeschooling every day and enjoying the cooler weather!

There ya go. There is a small update.

In the future (Thanksgiving time) we'll be going on a trip and visiting family and a best friend I haven't seen in 7 years and I am SO very excited! I'm already planning it so if you want to be visited let me know and I'll put your name on the list and hopefully we can see everyone!

Projects

2010-07-26T13:06:00.004-06:00

Current Projects. . .

It is hard to get a picture of this kitchen window because it seems like there is ALWAYS light coming through it. Which is why I made new curtains that keep out more light than the previous ones. Now I have cuter fabric with a cute wrap tie/button thing.

Here is a winner for the Dorky Homemade Look! I have been using what I already have. One side is a cute valance that I had gotten from a yard sale or something awhile back and threw in with my fabric stash. The other side I had matching fabric to the valance (amazing!) and came up with these. They are strips with clothes pins and our aprons hanging from them. I needed a place for the aprons and this was the only space left in the kitchen. Now they keep out sun too. Voila!

Here we have a desk that we got from someone who was moving. It is OLD. The top flat surface is the same color, but the edging and the rest of the desk were metal and a pinkish color. It was nasty. I sandpapered it and put a coat of primer, a coat of color, and a lacquer on it. Then the chair was a hideous pink as well so I covered it too. Newer and nicer looking desk for about $15.

Here are Emilia's curtains and her wall color. Her room was embarrassingly messing so I couldn't take a picture of the whole room right now.

And the boys camouflage room.

Erik's projects in the basement include. . .a working toilet and tub! Half the walls are up too!

All the walls in the living room are up now! It is coming down to mostly painting and flooring. VERY exciting!

Okay, I think that is all for now that is done. Here is a sneak peak at another current project:

Rabbit pelts in the first pickle in the tanning process. Fleshing tonight and then it'll still be another week or more til they're done. Fun stuff!

Makes Me Smile

2010-07-26T10:50:00.003-06:00

Yes I know I haven't been on in awhile. Sorry. I may just blog again soon to show some things that I have been doing. In the mean time here are some pictures to enjoy. They at least make me smile.

This particular picture cracks me up because I have a couple other ones from past years that look EXACTLY the same. (Erik has been hard at work on the basement by the way.)

This is Emilia's watercolor art that she entered in the LDS Art Exhibit. It may just be on display at the Church History Museum next year. . .or not. . .but it was fun to do!

Dash at the Treehouse Museum in Ogden.

One of few recent pictures that Malcolm is not asleep! Boy he looks older. And advertising for dad's work already.

And the next few are of Coralie. Look for a trend. . .

. . .did you guess it? YES, she is sticking her tongue out in every picture. This is a common thing which has gotten exciting with drooling anyway. One joy of a baby. Who is now calling me so I better go kiss those cute cheeks.

Oh Girls!

2010-06-29T22:12:00.002-06:00

While I was doing my last blog the older 3 were playing with blocks and Coralie was asleep in her car seat since we had just been out. I didn't hear her making any noise, but as soon as I go out into the living room I see this:

Emilia unbuckled her and got her out and although I was not happy with that because of what could have happened this was still pretty priceless.

Emilia Emilia Emilia

2010-06-29T11:25:00.005-06:00

Well, we had a successful Princess birthday party for Emilia (whose actual birthday is July 5th and we thought we'd be gone next weekend so that's why we had it early. But now not all the family that was going to be somewhere is going to be there so maybe we'll go later and maybe not because it all depends on people who don't make plans or can't keep plans they supposedly make.)

SO this blog is about Emilia right?! I didn't really want to make a cake for her party, but I did agree to cupcakes. Not professional, but I didn't hear any complaints.

She was smiling the whole time I think!

Pretty princesses! They made crowns and necklaces and played in the pink room a little bit. (No I still do not have a picture of her room yet.)

Opening presents was exciting and she couldn't set them aside so they just piled up on her lap. This is her Princess Tiana cookbook (Thanks Gma Jill) which I am very excited for her to make things out of. She loves all of her gifts though and they keep her busy! (Hooray for me!)

Munching the cupcakes and washing them down with Sunny D (Emilia's choice).

We played put the kiss of the frog. This brought out silly, giggly girls.

Thank you Aunt Gwen and Marianne for coming and bringing balloons and popbeads and helping out with the girls and the baby and etc. etc. etc.! Glad you could come!

And no the brothers were not there, but when they came back they wanted crowns and cupcakes too.

I am glad it all turned out good! Happy early birthday my Emilia! Life hasn't been the same since you were born and we've been through a lot already in these 6 years of your life! I am nervous for what the future years will bring!

This was not party of her birthday but this boy is Nicholas. She is always drawing pictures of them together. He and Emilia get along very well and it is hilarious to hear them converse. I can wait for the liking boys stage but it is cute for them to get a long so well and he is always making her laugh.

My little girl is not so little anymore.

Never A Clever Title

2010-06-09T12:00:00.005-06:00

Ah! I will not tell you how many times I have tried to blog in the past few weeks, but something always happens. . .trouble with pictures uploading, trouble with internet not working, power shuts off in the middle of typing, other things suddenly need to be done, etc. And now kids are munching lunch so I will quickly see what I can post for those of you who like to be updated and for my slacked efforts in calling or e-mailing everyone.

Emilia is busy EVERY day. She can't seem to stop drawing. No day goes by without drawing. They can be very amusing drawings. She recently draws situations that she doesn't know how to act to or how she feels about them. . .not sure. But she got in trouble for squirting the rabbits with her squirt gun so she drew a picture of her thinking with a thought bubble that had dad pointing his finger and getting mad at her. Interesting. There have been others. I am looking into having someone teach her more about drawing during the summer. Oh and other than drawing she is obsessed with planning a princess birthday party.

Emilia is looking so old to me. Well, they all are!
Then there was Erik who one Sunday put Coralie in her chair and her dress was flipped over her head. Everyone got a good laugh and we just HAD to take a picture. Poor Coralie. And Dash HAD to be in the picture. He is determined to get what he wants these days. Not successful, but he tries hard.
Now Malcolm everyone already knows is a hilarious one. The past few months being two and acting four must have caught up with him. He has been falling asleep randomly and this last time I found him asleep in the corner behind the rocking chair. When he woke up he said, "I was getting a coloring book."
Maybe it is the warmer weather. It is getting a little warmer. We have had a few warm days. Warm enough to let the kids outside in swimsuits.

That's the end of my pictures, but yes you may have heard we're getting rooms done in the basement. Next time maybe I will post pictures of the very pink girls room and the very boy camouflage room. Until then. . .I need to get back to the chaos we call life.

P.S. I almost forgot because I don't like the thoughts of it too much, BUT Coralie at 4 months old now has rolled over and is getting teeth. TOO YOUNG. Too sad.

Bunnies

2010-05-13T10:19:00.002-06:00

Here ya go Megan. . .

this is the runt

this is the only black one

there are gray ones too!

and there are bunnies

Erik and I

2010-05-10T09:56:00.004-06:00

I had a request to blog about what Erik and I have been up to and not just the kids. . .well. . .Erik works and works and works and loves it! After work he tutors a boy in electronics, tunes pianos, mows lawns , works on the basement and does his church calling. He also has other interests that he makes time to tend to. 2 weeks ago his rabbit doe Thumper had 7 bunnies. Her first litter was unsuccessful so it is much more exciting that these ones are thriving. They are warmly under her fur she pulled off for an impressive nest compared to her last one.

Then there is me. . .I cook, clean, do laundry, feed kids, clean up after kids, change diapers, read to kids, play with kids, break up kid fights, etc. In any extra spare time I might read or sleep or yes I have gotten out my sewing machine again. I recently put together a small quilt for a nephew to be born soon. His parents are very much into music so I even quilted guitars on this which is very adventuresome and creative for me. Not quite the dorky homemade look I usual accomplish.

Even though 99% of what I do is at home it is great! I love it! Not every day maybe, but overall.
So Mother's Day was a great day! I felt very loved and the highlight was that Erik grilled a rainbow trout we got from a neighbor on a cedar plank and it was DELICIOUS.

That's Erik and I in a nutshell. We're busy in what we do, but are doing well and are enjoying our family. And though we do get very worn out we do see now and then that we wear them out too!

Time Moving On

2010-05-07T09:37:00.004-06:00

In between the bad weather days we did manage to get a few fruit trees in and the trellis fence up along the backyard. Oh yes and our cattle in the back. . .

. . .okay not our cattle, but some of you might have believed it. It could be possible. Do you believe snow in April?
Miss Emilia. . .played t-ball and did pretty good paying attention and running the bases. She seems to have been improving a lot with her communicating. She definitely is getting older. Even this past Sunday she asked how old you had to be to bear your testimony and when she found out anyone could she immediately wanted to go up. I was very proud of her going up there and doing a great job. Made me all teary eyed.

Mr. Dashiell. . . can write his own name! He thinks that's pretty cool. He also thinks being able to fit in a 5 gallon bucket is cool too. Well shrimpy also got his tonsils and adenoids out and tubes in his ears. It is so quiet at night now! For that matter it is quiet during the day too since I can't hear him breathing like I could before. He did really well at the hospital and recovering that dad got him his own bucket to sit in since it was a tragedy that dad used the only one he had to hold texture for the walls downstairs.

Then there is Malcolm. . .yikes! Mr. 2 year old with an attitude. I don't know where his personality came from but he definitely has his own. He'll be sitting in the baby chair one minute, demanding to do things by himself the next, and then I'll turn around and he'll be asleep in an obscure place.

Oh and Miss C is just hanging out. Growing and going with the flow. Only one complaint. . .she doesn't like to be outside! It's not so bad since the weather isn't terribly warm, but the days it is nice she'll cry the whole time we're out. Hopefully she'll get used to it.

She sure does put up with a lot.

And there is the update on the van Zwol family kids.

About Erik

2010-04-14T09:48:00.003-06:00

This is to give you an idea of why he likes his job. This is part of a hazmat project he is working on.

Go Freelinc!

Fun Stuff!

2010-04-05T10:04:00.006-06:00

Something new. . .crab for dinner! Crab legs themselves are expensive but the whole crab is cheaper. This was a Dungeness crab. Doesn't that yellow liver that looks like Coralie's diapers look delicious!? We just ate the meat and Emilia, Dash and myself loved it! Erik and Malcolm not so much. It was fun to try something new though!

Then of course there was Easter! Fun times! Well. . .except for maybe the snow we woke up to. Kind of hard weather to go out in to blow bubbles or fly kites that were in their Easter baskets. Oh like Dash's whole row of blue eggs? He just must like blue!

And then there is Miss C. Here she is in her dress from a friend, Jamie. Here are some of Jamie's other dresses: http://onelittledress.blogspot.com/

Oh and yes she is getting bigger. Two months old this week. =0(

She is pretty cute.

What to do with these characters?!

2010-03-19T16:08:00.002-06:00

Well, with Emilia she at least got to hang out with some girls today! She got to experience having older sisters and is obsessed with her painted toes and fingers. FUN! I can't relate to Emilia on many levels cause I don't know what goes on in that head, but especially not having older or more sisters.

Mini Erik (aka Dash) had his adenoids grow back very large and his tonsils are larger than the last time they got checked, and he has hearing problems and allergies to just about everything. SO, next month he'll get adenoids out AGAIN, tonsils out and tubes in and then lots of attention and care. Anyone wanting to help is more than welcome to come. I am not looking forward it. Poor guy.

Then there is Malcolm. What to say about Malcolm. . . he is definately a character. No apple pie recently.

Then there is Erik. I decided I shouldn't put the one of him sleeping with the baby on cause it isn't the most flattering and he might not like it, but I thought it was cute. I am glad he likes to hold Coralie as much as she likes to cuddle up.

As for me I had a bone density test that came back normal, I have no more blood clots and am off blood thinners! I am currently battling strep, but it actually is not bad - it could be worse. Maybe once all health issues are over with EVERYONE it will seem like life moves on and that it is not all about Dr.s and health problems. Ha ha. . . then again I don't want to jinx myself.

Now I better get going and make dinner for all these characters!

Birthday and a Blessing

2010-03-09T08:30:00.009-07:00

Mr. Dashiell turned 4 last Saturday! He wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. The motorcycle cake came as a request after seeing one in a Family Fun magazine. This is our off roading motocross rider version.

It was a fun time. Thank you to those who shared the day with us!

(Malcolm liked all of Dash's gifts too. . .that has been REAL fun.)

We had Miss Coralie's blessing on Sunday. It was a lot of fun with my whole family together! Erik's mom and sister also came and few very good friends. There were lots of pictures taken, but since it was at our home and a busy time when I went to my camera I had a whole 4 pictures(that weren't even the best quality either)! SO family who were taking pictures can you send me some please?! Here are mine:

My beautiful friend (whose husband should have in the picture too).

My parents with all of their grandkids.

Fun times!

Adventures in Parenting

2010-03-03T15:21:00.002-07:00

I should have guessed something was going on when all the kids were quiet. Little did I know that they were all quiet in different spots. . . Whoops! Put the pies a little too close to the edge of the counter. Malcolm is taller and more mischievous than I thought.

It was funny. He didn't get any harsh punishments. I will just think twice when putting food on the counters.

And more pictures. . .

I love hats.
And I am still loving the hair.

And next week I'll try to post after a weekend of Dash's birthday, Coralie's blessing and a whole bunch of family around! Party weekend!

More Pictures

2010-02-22T12:44:00.003-07:00

I am finding most people say Coralie as Cora-lee rather than Cora-lie/lye. I have found that in other countries it is mostly is the "lee" sound, but we like the other way better. We didn't find another way of spelling it (that we liked) to make it more clear. So her name is pronounced CORA - LIE. . .like the word "lie" or "lye". Rhymes with the name Lorelei. Just so you know. NOT "lee." Our poor children have a hard enough time with out last name!

Coralie is doing very well with her protective siblings that love to give her kisses.

I am still having a tough time getting pictures with her eyes open. My other three seemed much easier to take pictures of.

There is cutie #4, 2 weeks old tomorrow!

Coralie's Beginning

2010-02-11T10:50:00.003-07:00

As most know I was not doing well the last week with back pain and contractions and I was ready to have this baby A.S.A.P.! Well, after I was sent home from the hospital once I soon got to stop my blood thinners and then go to the hospital on Tuesday the 9th. My Dr. broke my water for me at 8:30 a.m. It was (of course) painful but luckily I went from 5 cm-10 in 45 minutes and with one push Coralie van Zwol was born at 12:37 p.m.

The first thing I noticed was the hair! Where did that hair come from?! Not just having hair, but dark hair was a new thing for our babies. Usually it is no hair or VERY light fuzz. She definately is our baby with those cheeks though! She was 19" long and our biggest baby weighing 7lbs 8 oz.

Erik did a great job again too! I don't know what I'd do without him there. Such a proud Dad! It was nice afterward too for the 3 of us to stay in the hospital. Just cuddle time for us til we needed to return to life.

Thank you Grandma Jill and Grandma Heslop for coming and helping with the kids! We all enjoy having you here!

More pictures will come! She is changing all the time and eventually we'll be able to get some pictures with her eyes open!

February Ensign

2010-02-01T12:11:00.005-07:00

No, no baby yet! But time is ticking down. So while I wait and have ceased most lengthy projects I have been able to read the February Ensign and decided to share some quotes from it that stuck out to me:

President Monson:
In search for our best selves, several questions will guide our thinking: Am I what I want to be? Am I closer to the Savior today than I was yesterday? Will I be closer yet tomorrow? Do I have the courage to change for the better?

Evelyn Jefferies:
She never judged me, never criticized. She only encouraged, helped, and loved. . . We can never know what a word or an action on our part might be a the catalyst that would bring another sister back from the depths of sorrow, despair, or trouble.

Elder M Russell Ballard:
'Be in the world.' Be involved; be informed. Try to be understanding and tolerant and to appreciate diversity. Make meaningful contributions to society through service and involvement.

'Be not of the world.' Do not follow wrong paths or bend to accommodate or accept what is not right.

Elder David A. Bednar:
Perhaps President Young was such a consummate learner precisely because he was not constrained unduly by the arbitrary boundaries so often imposed through the structures and processes of formal education.

"Enter to learn to love learning and serving; go forth to continue learning and serving."

John A. Widstoe:
It is good to be in the temple, the house of the Lord, a place of priesthood instruction, of peace, of covenants, of blessings, and of revelation. Gratitude for this privilege and an eager desire to possess the spirit of the occasion should overflow in our hearts.

Karsen H. Cranney:
So to the woman at the grocery store and to others who wonder why I would devote my heart and soul to raising children, I proudly reply, "Yes, they are all mine -- gratefully, whole-heartedly, and without hesitation!"

Updates from the Doctors!

2010-01-09T08:10:00.004-07:00

This is great that I can tell everyone on here what's going on rather than tell the story a few dozen times! Sorry if any of you feel this convenience impersonal.

1st Dr. appointment was with my pulmonologist and things look good! Her and my OB Dr. are coordinating what I will do as far as blood thinners and delivering the baby and I will know what their opinions are at my OB appt on Tuesday. Then, in the morning on March 16th I will have a CT (CAT) scan, some blood work and meet again with the pulmonologist. From those tests we will see what scarring has been done from the blood clot and where I go from that point on. I very well could be off blood thinners then!

2nd Dr. appointment was Malcolm's up at Primary Children's. I was nervous, but the Dr. gave us another clear year! He said that Malcolm is the poster child for the balloon catheter procedure they did when he was first born. He can hear that the valve is constricting again, but it will have to get a lot worse before they do anything and that will most likely take years. We also know that if it is continues to constrict and not loosen then he can have the catheter procedure again and not have his valve replaced. Hooray! He could even be a teenager by that point too!

Malcolm was very good by the way. He cried a little, but for 98% of the time he was great! I can definately see through him that we have the personalities that we do to go through trials that we are given. . .or visa versa and we are given what our personalities can deal with. . .although sometimes I wonder about myself and if I can handle everything! lol!

Our week has been successful and life is good!

Christmas and New Years is Over?!?!

2010-01-05T12:38:00.003-07:00

There is always build up to Christmas and then it is over instantly and now we're well on our way into January of another year! Christmas was good and we were all well and happy!

It was especially nice to have Erik home for 4 day weekends for Christmas and New Years! Not only so I could play his Star Trek Scrabble game with him, and not only so he could work on the basement. I really appreciate all that he does for us despite things like our rocky start to the new year with the surprise that we will have less income each month. Just when you think you're getting ahead. . . .reality laughs at you.

Aside from hardships I definately can't pass up the good. . .It was fun to go to the Manti Temple and celebrate my brother getting married to Dana! Hopefully one day we'll get to know her better. A big congratulations to my sister Rachel and her family with their new addition, Kellan. Let's see, we have also my sister Caitlin's baby coming. My mom and dad have no kids left at home and will soon celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary!!

Yes our girly will arrive in a few weeks too, but life is busy before then. I get a lung check-up and Malcolm get's his yearly heart check-up this Friday. I am nervous (as I always will be) with him. But I will let ya know how things are going after all the appointments!

Happy Belated New Year!

What has really been going on

2009-12-16T11:33:00.003-07:00

Okay I really don't just sit around polling people on baby names and giving Erik a bad time about them!

Emilia and I went and saw a dance performance of The Polar Express! It was fun! Thank you to Stacey for the tickets and saving us seats. It brought back lots of memories of dancing as a kid.

Since my eyesight hasn't been the greatest I've done less eye straining things and have actually put my sewing machine away. Seriously I have and it is very hard. I feel lost and don't know what to do. Erik on the other hand is extra busy as he works on the basement. He is working hard though it is frustrating for him to run into road blocks. Like buying things and then having them be broken once you open them.

Here is the hole for the tub drain. . .now to get the tub.

We've have electrical wiring done (aside from the bathroom).

The air ducts are getting done as he make-shifts things while he figures out what to do next.

And there you have some photos from Erik of his current workings on the basement. He is doing a great job and we really appreciate all he does for our family.

About Names

2009-12-16T10:21:00.002-07:00

I had seen that my sister-in-law took a poll on baby names on her blog and decided that would be fun to do. We had narrowed down the name field pretty good and I thought it would be interesting to see what others would think.

So after two polls of the names we liked it was very funny to me that none of the names Erik liked the most got any votes. He doesn't seem to care too much because it is not like we will pick the name that got the most votes either. It was fun though and we will most likely use one of the names in the polls. Of course she won't be named until she is born if Erik and I have to agree on a name. . .oh well! I guess if we know the gender ahead of time we can all wait to see what name suits her when she is born.

Thanks for voting!

A minute of my thoughts. . .

2009-12-06T14:57:00.003-07:00

Time quickly passes when you try to keep up things like a blog!

Thanksgiving has come and gone. Erik had gotten sick a couple days before we were to leave for St George. I was worried we wouldn't be able to go. He did start feeling better and I appreciate that despite not feeling the best he still was willing to go. I don't know when we will be back down there so it made that effort and time more special. We all had a great time! I especially loved that the kids could play with their cousins and see their Aunts and Uncles. The only downfall was not having leftovers once we were home!

I did attend a Relief Society Christmas party/activity which I thought turned out great! It was fun to co-decorate a table, eat a nice meal, and socialize with wonderful women. I was able to share a video I made too which meant a lot to me to share it. It was enjoyable to make and I was able to put a lot of myself into it so it was quite an opportunity to be able to share that with people I care about.

Speaking of people I care about. . .I am thankful for ALL of my family and the wonderful Thanksgiving we had. I also am grateful for family we didn't spend Thanksgiving with but still contribute to the joy we feel when we think of "family." I am excited for the blessings of new babies in the family coming into the world soon. And though I appreciate family I cannot surpass friends, those who live close especially. Life's journey is bumpy and I have had the opportunity to gain friendships that have strengthened and helped me along my way. I feel very blessed to live where I do and close to such wonderful people.

Now, I need to go as my last two intense years of reading, sewing, and quilting have caught up to me and I have a headache from my developed astigmatism. Hopefully new glasses are in my near future. . .I guess that's what I will get for Christmas!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas season and enjoyable rest of the year!

Gearing up for the Holidays!

2009-11-19T08:12:00.002-07:00

Well, since I posted pictures last time. . .

We had Halloween. It seems so long ago now! We went to Farmington and spent the holiday with my aunt and uncle. The weather was nice and the kids had fun and got lots of treats. It was kind of funny that Dash's favorite thing he got was a toothbrush.

Then it was my birthday. I got my own tool kit! It has been great to not have to look around for Erik's tools. Not that I need them often, but when I do it is handy to know where the ones I need are. Other than that, it was just another birthday.

Erik and I did get new church callings. He was called to be the ward mission leader and missionary and I am his missionary companion. It was not a calling I had thought of at all, but here we are! Erik has more meetings and our weekly schedule is pretty full. I am proud of how much organizing and work he is putting into it and feel bad that I can't help out more. It is a challenge, yet we must be able to do it if we were asked to!

I am finished up with my projects for awhile. I completed all of my cloth diaper inserts and Christmas gifts that I had planned to make. It is hard to put the sewing machine away, but it will be good to focus more on other things for awhile. Like the holidays and the baby coming!

The only other thing that comes to mind that we have been doing is school. Erik has been teaching Emilia skip counting and multiplication. I know she loves numbers and it is amazing what she can do with them, BUT then it is frustrating in the very lacking areas. I work with her day after day on things that she doesn't seem to "get" and Erik sits down with her two nights and then she can do basic multiplication. What's up with that?! Dash is starting to write more letters and read basic words. He is funny how excited he gets when he does something right and we tell him he did a good job. And Malcolm just goes along with everything. He is already too much to handle for his age with all his talking. They are all fun to have home for most days though. I don't look forward to harder homeschool days. I like the songs, crafts, games, and easy book reading.

Alright. . .enough jabber to bore one for the day! One more week til Thanksgiving! Hope it is an enjoyable holiday for everyone!

A couple of pictures. . .

2009-10-27T20:54:00.006-06:00

Malcolm on his birthday. . .what a handsome two year old.

He did not care about the candles. He just kept pointing at the cake saying, "Can I eat it?"

As Malcolm calls himself "Dark Fader."

Dash says, "This is Aunt Megan's house" and the piece of wood standing next to it on the bottom is Aunt Megan.

The kids helping put the fence up. We had two sawing and one that loved measuring and marking on ALL the wood

So fun to help dad!

Testing out making ravioli.

One of the aprons I have made. Probably would look better on a figure! It is a cute pattern!

Okay there are some pictures for you!

And as an update I will now be getting my certificate as a Family Herbalist! I passed my final test and am all pumped to put together my Herbal First Aid Kit together!

Catch Up without Pictures

2009-10-22T14:43:00.005-06:00

Sometimes I think life will slow down. Why do I ever think that?! I am delusional. . .

I do have pictures to put up and I know they are more exciting than words, but life hasn't slowed down to give me enough time to do that. Of course Malcolm's birthday and Halloween are coming up too so I thought I'd catch you up on some things (just in case anyone is interested) before those bigger events happen.

A few weeks ago Caitlin and I went to a Baby Expo in Sandy. It was fun! Of course it would have been more fun if I had a ton of extra money to spend, but that's okay. I still thought it was fun and I enjoyed spending that time with Caitlin and going out to lunch with her. Being away from the kids was a nice break too. Thanks Erik.

I did think I was done with my canning adventures for the year, but then I found someone with free apples! How can you pass up free apples?! Wonderful Erik took us all out after work one day to pick those apples on a tree and it was dark the majority of the time we were there. I could reach a few but most were high up and this tree was HUGE. I have never seen such a large apple tree. Erik climbed it and picked some and shook us down some to pick up off the ground. The kids were kind of helpful, Malcolm the most. We got quite a few though most of them were wormy. That was okay though because we ended up making delicious applesauce and a little bit more apple butter(couldn't resist).

Oh! Previously Caitlin brought me apples from her mother-in-law too that we used for apple crisp and apple pie and they were perfect sizes for my kids to eat for breakfast. YUMMY apples! I want an apple tree.

We are planning on getting some fruit trees next year and also planting some berries. So we are also in the process of putting up a trellis fence along the length of the back of our property to grow the berries on. It is going to look nice and it is a lot cheaper than a regular fence! Plus you get to grow food on it!

Now with some fruit in out house I thought we were just having some fruit flies around. THEN we discovered that a fly or flies got into our vacuum system and reproduced! We had a ton of teeny tiny flies around that were VERY annoying. Luckily Erik knew about bug bombs and Iset them off one day and left for a few hours and since then we have been fly free!

We also had an early Halloween party about a week ago!! The kids had lots of fun preparing for the party and were so excited for weeks in advance. We just had one other family over and it was a blast! 8 kids running around and being wild = fun! We ate barbecued worms (sliced up hot dogs in bbq sauce) with salad and jello. I know the food wasn't much but on top of that we played games and drew faces on some wooden pumpkins that Erik cut out and I painted. I think it was a success! Especially a success for Erik who doesn't socialize much and told me we should do a Christmas one too.

I had a Dr.'s appointment this week and all is well with the baby. The biggest problem is debating about vaccines with the Dr.who wants me and the whole family to get them. Do Dr.'s actually research new things that come out?

Along the health field. . .I only have my final exam to take for my Herbalist class! Woohoo! All the study guides and quizes I have gotten 100% on and just have to get 70 % on the final test. It really isn't a hard course because it all makes sense! I don't necessarily want anyone to get sick, but when they do I will be interested to try some things that I have learned. I definately feel more confident in taking care of my family's health instead of running out to a Dr.

Oh! Yesterday I was feeling good and made 3 batches of frozen ravioli and some frozen enchilada sauce. Now I am going to go for freezing pizza dough too. It will be nice to have those things but it is a lot of work. Nice to get things done while I am feeling well though!

Which reminds me too that I am going to attempt cloth diapers with this next baby. I have so much extra fabric and found some really neat "how to" sites to make some of my own supplies. I won't be putting out much money at all to attempt cloth diapering so it will be nice and an adventure of course.

And now. . .I can't think of anything else because it is time to continue our reading adventure in The Wizard of Oz. It is my first attempt at reading a chapter book to the kids and so far so good. They are almost to the Emerald City. . .

List of Events

2009-10-05T12:47:00.003-06:00

WOW it is October!

I cannot say that I have accomplished as much as my last post, but I have had some experiences I can cross off my "been there and done that list."

At the end of September I was able to go to the Relief Society General Meeting at the Conference Center in Salt Lake. It was great! We had awesome seats and I was able to meet and mingle with women that I probably normally wouldn't just make friends with. It was a wonderful experience and I am glad I took the opportunity because I don't know when I would have had it come up again. To be in the presence of a prophet and apostles and general authorities doesn't always come up either. It was a humbling, peaceful, and enlightening experience.

A few days after that I was told that my stomach ulcer probably wasn't a stomach ulcer. After going to my dentist it looked like my acid reflux was eating away at my wisdom teeth. So last Wednesday my wisdom teeth came out. I was a nervous wreck! The shots to numb your mouth were the worst part and I was out in 45 minutes. Things went well the next day, but then the following day (Friday) after Dash pushing me to the edge I yelled at him and had a clot come out and then my mouth would not stop bleeding. It was stressful and awful. The Dentist wasn't worried, but I was. It was frustrating and draining. I had a wonderful friend come over and bring me gauze since I was running out and then she stayed and read to the kids for a little while until Erik got home. I am grateful for friends! So. . .the bleeding continued through the night so I didn't get much sleep and finally after the first session of Saturday's General Conference I went to the dentist and had them stitch me up so I'd stop bleeding. They did and I haven't bled since! It still hurts, but I know I can't win them all.

We did get Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Caleb here for Sunday's Conference and it was good to see them even if it wasn't for a very long time. We look forward to seeing them at Thanksgiving too!

Oh! And I guess I can spread the word to those who are interested. . .we did get an ultrasound of the baby. Everything looks good and healthy. Emilia went and was immediately giving name suggestions when she found out it was a girl. We are all pretty excited to have another girl around in a few more months! Let's just keep praying this baby is healthy when she comes out too!

Hope life is well with everyone gearing up for the holidays!

Back to busy!

2009-09-21T14:33:00.003-06:00

For those who really know me they can tell I am feeling better since I am back to my very busy self! Aside from the normal not great feeling of being pregnant I am feeling better and am able to accomplish a lot again. Hooray! Here are some highlights of my last few weeks with feeling better:

I had a friend who liked my refrigerator pickles and wanted more so we ventured canning pickles together. I was very nervous, but it wasn't bad and trial and error you learn new things (like to STUFF the jars with cucumbers). They turned out delicious to my taste so I am the only one that eats them. I of course don't mind.

A couple weeks later I got my own water bath canner since I had to borrow one for the pickles. Someone gave us what I thought was a lot of tomatoes, but really not after I saw it condense in to 3 1/3 pint jars. It was a lot of work doing those alone and I have more admiration for those serious tomato canners (Aimee). I wasn't making anything real healthy either - just pizza sauce so it's okay I didn't get a lot. We don't need to eat pizza all through winter! Though the kids may prefer it.

I was also given some peaches and then bought apples and made peach butter and apple butter. YUMMY!

It has been fun learning to can. I can see pros and cons and, but the pros probably outweight the cons with the fun I had doing it with friends and family and the fun of sharing some of it with others. It is very rewarding.

Other than new adventures in canning I have more sewing gigs! Woohoo! I have a king size quilt that I just need to finish the backing and quilt it. Also I was contacted by the woman I made the t-shirt quilt for in the spring. She now is having me make full and half aprons. Intermixed in it all I have also been knitting and fit in making a cape for Dash. I don't think I will quilt or sew as much as I have the past couple of years for the holidays, but I do have just one quilt I really want to make before Christmas for someone.

This blog might not be a good thing. . .look at how much I talk about myself!

Erik is loving his job still which is great for him as well as the rest of us! He also has been working on model planes off and on which Dash very much enjoys watching.

All the kids are doing well with home school. I am amazed at what they retain. Of course their favorite thing to do is sing songs or an art or craft project. It is all fun as long as I try to be patient and not expect too much. I am learning quite a bit about different subjects, my children, and life in general by doing homeschool. There are still days that I think "do I really want to do this for how many more years?!?" Not an easy task by any means, but hopefully worth it in the end!

I think that wraps up highlights of what has been going on. We are busy and doing well and enjoying the simple things in life. . .like cardboard boxes. What could be more fun?!

August

2009-08-26T23:33:00.003-06:00

Since words seem to be pointless these days as they are rarely taken how they are intended I decided to keep them at a minimum and show some pictures. . .

Kids before making zucchini bread:

Kids playing with the bread dough to create their own rolls. Emilia was making faces.
Dash was making. . .snowballs? Or just a bunch of small rolls.
Malcolm was kind of eating if before it was cooked.
Finished products! YUM!

Erik's work had a picnic at the Spanish Fork Reservoir. Everyone was really nice and it was fun! Especially when Malcolm fell head first into the water off of the little inflatable boat and Erik had to run after him.

In other news without pictures. . .we got some rabbits that have been fun for the kids to have a little bit of responsibility to check the food and water and feed them carrots once in awhile. Homeschooling has started out well and it has been pretty enjoyable to make the time I spend with them more productive. I am feeling better for the most part (aside from the lack of air conditioning) and am back to being my busy self. Haven't gotten into the swing of quilting again, but learning knitting has been an adventure.

Anyway, there is the brief update!

10 Reasons NOT to Homeschool

2009-08-17T08:55:00.004-06:00

I have to post this for my own reasons of people not accepting the fact that I am homeschooling. We do have the freedom to choose in this country right?? I am not telling you that homeschooling is for everyone. You choose what you want and I'll do the same - thanks!

Why send your kids to public schools rather than homeschool. Here are ten good reasons:

10. Skill development: Government schools do a great job of teaching children to sit down and shut up while the teacher engages in crowd control and mindless administrative duties. The ability to put one's mind on hold, sit there and do nothing is a skill that will be in high demand in the competitive marketplace of the future.

9. Lack of ability: I couldn't teach my own child - I don't know how. After all, anything meaningful in life can only be taught by those properly trained and certified to do so.

8. Financial aspects: We can't financially afford to homeschool. Without the school based health clinics, how could we afford to keep our children supplied with condoms and birth control.

7. Goals 2000: I want my children to learn all the correct stuff. Given how fast history changes, I want to be sure they are up on the most recent version.

6. Scheduling benefits: Staying on the same schedule as everybody else has its benefits. That way, when we go to Disneyland, we can make sure that we spend our time waiting in lines rather than wasting it on all those rides and attractions.

5. Close friendships: I like the fact that my children are spending so much of their time with people not in their family. I would much rather my children's closest friendships be outside the family rather than within.

4. Separation of church and state: As long as we keep church and state separate, then the more time I can keep my kids under the control of the state, the less time they can possible be under the harmful influence of the church.

3. Socialization: What possible better way could there be to give your children the social skills they will need as adults than to stick them with children their own age all day. Besides, the best influence on your child is the one randomly assigned to the seat behind him or her.

2. Class size: Learning can't occur in groups of less than thirty students. There is nothing quite like being lock-stepped through material with thirty other students to really develop within a person that true love for learning.

1. Class pace: I want my child to know how to learn at the proper pace. If a child can't keep up with the class, then it serves that child right to be left behind in the dust. If the child is learning too fast, then he or she needs to learn to slow down. And besides, what gives any child the right to assume that he or she can learn things he or she wants to learn rather than what the Federal Government decides should be taught for any given grade level. Anything learned at the wrong time might just as well be left unlearned.

P.S. I am not trying to make anyone mad or offended, but I am enjoying this freedom of speech with the blog!

Update in Novel form

2009-07-30T08:04:00.004-06:00

So how do I get back into the blog writing?1 I haven't been on in awhile!

Emilia had a birthday! My big 5 year old! She now has a ballet bar and mirror in her room to go along with a book of ballet basics. She got a dress up dress, ballet skirt, littlest pet shop game, and a faeries coloring and sticker book. She LOVED everything. Especially her pink cake with pink frosting and pink candles.

After the birthday I had a Sister's Weekend!! Well, I had developed a cough previously and wasn't sure how I was going to do. I think I did well for the most part and had a lot of fun with bumper boats, arcade, movie, Red Robin, etc! I loved hanging out with my sisters and look forward to when we can do it again! The only down was that I just got wiped out and stressed not knowing what was going on with myself!

Actually on the way home I coughed and got a horrible pain in my side so Megan took me to the hospital and Erik met us there. I was told I had a pulled a muscle from my ribs and that I would get better in a month or two. I was given cough medicine with codine.

Then two days later I woke up with worse pain on the same side and I couldn't breath. It killed to try and take a deep breath. And in between all this ERIK GOT A JOB and it was only his second day of work. Long story short: Relief Society president organized things and took me to the ER and we found out I had a blood clot in my lung and my coughing was from my lung being damaged from not getting enough blood. Now I am on blood thinners the rest of my pregnancy - 2 shots a day. I was on bed rest but had an appt yesterday and now I have to get more exercise but not let my heart rate get too high.

I am grateful for ALL the people who have helped me and my family. There were lots of very nice people in the neighborhood! Also my mother-in-law came and helped which I appreciated and so did my mom who also took the kids with her for awhile. It is hard asking for help and not being able to meet the basic needs of your family, but HOORAY for help too!

Enough about me. . .ERIK got a job at FreeLinc in Orem. It is a small company that does wireless communications for law enforcement and military. He LOVES it so far. It is more along the lines of what he learned to do in school and what he enjoys doing. We are VERY grateful for the opportunity he has to work there.

Okay this will look like a novel on the blog so. .. until later. . .have a happy day!

2009-07-03T12:33:00.002-06:00

It seems like I haven't posted in longer than 2 weeks! I guess I haven't had anything terribly exciting that I wanted to blog about. . .but then I was thinking today of all these things that have been going on and as the 4th of July , Our Independence Day, is tomorrow I thought I'd share some of my thoughts. . .

I am grateful for the country and my freedom although the people in the government itself are not the greatest.

I have a friend whose mother just passed away. My friend has a one year old daughter. I could not imagine my children never knowing my mother. I am grateful for my mother and every day of life I get to live. . .even if it is hard.

Another friend of mine had a baby this week. How exciting to take care of a new child and how grateful I feel to be given the responsibility to have children. . .even though they aren't easy either.

I am grateful for friends in general; those who let me cry, those who let me listen, those who share their delicious fresh eggs or leave anonymous gifts, those who accept what I have to offer even if it is not a lot.

Of course I appreciate my family as well! Near and far it is such a wonderful feeling that I know these great people out there who would be there for me if I needed them. It is the kind of family relationships I hope to maintain with mine.

Erik not having a job for months gets to me, but then he does something every day that makes me appreciate him being around. I have been able to see him be more of a father than just the dad who provides for us. Uhhhh . . .it'd still be good for him to get a job too.

I love my family and children and am glad for these rare, few and far between, minutes to be able to post something! Hopefully I will get a few more next week to present new picture of my then five year old!!

Hope everyone is doing well and has a great holiday weekend!

SPLASHED OUT!!

2009-06-13T15:56:00.003-06:00

I have to write about this now because it was a true experience. . .the English will probably not be very good because I am tired, but wanted to share the story. . .

SO I thought I would try a craft booth at the city's carnival/fair this year. I had my friend Jamie join me and also my Great Aunt Gwen (I think that is the relation) and then her daughter Susie came too and put out some jewelry. ANYWAY, we have been getting ready for weeks and up til late last night. Then this morning at 8 we are there to set everything up. It is sprinkling every once awhile. People gradually show up.

Our booth was pretty impressive. There were none like it. Most other booths actually were commercial businesses which was fine because we had no competition, but I think more of a craft fair would be better. We actually needed business cards too because several people we gave our number out too because they wanted things custom made. Things were slowly selling and Jamie was taking the kids around - Emilia got a flower painted on her face and Dash got a balloon sword. We had hot dogs for lunch. I had a Chicago Hot Dog that had ketchup, mustard, relish, pickle, tomato, onions, peppers, and celery salt. It was good! Never heard of one before.

Okay so then it is around 2 pm and it starts sprinkling. Then it starts raining. Then I try to put up the kids port-a-crib because it has a canopy - no pole for the canopy. Kids are unhappy and holding an umbrella over them. Rains harder. Then the rain comes in between our booth canopies and a ton of our stuff gets soaked. Erik fixes it with a tarp. Wind picks up. Trying to decide to wait it out or just leave. Malcolm falls asleep at this point with all the chaos going on! Everyone goes and gets their cars. Get kids in car. Wind picks up and our canopies start flying away. We're all holding poles not sure how we're going to do this in the wind and rain. Eventually canopies and tables get put away. All the other things are soaked and tossed into cars. Altogether we made $60, booth cost $100, not to mention other costs - like the canopy. And not to mention all the things that got ruined.

And there is my first adventure doing a booth at a fair!!!! It was an adventure and I am sad it didn't turn out better. Not really mad or too sad though. It was actually kind of funny. In the middle of holding canopy legs down Jamie and I just looked at each other and started laughing. It was good and it was terrible all at the same time. Okay if I think of the fact that I lost a very nice necklace that I rarely wear it was more terrible. Sigh.

We'll see if we ever do one again. When I get pictures on the computer you can see all the stuff we made and the booth set up. I kind of wish I had pictures of the rain and stuff too since it was a sight to see!

Okay I am still wet and we are all tired so I better go. Hope you have had a drier day!

just for fun

2009-06-07T19:38:00.003-06:00

I know there is a popular mom song that circulates a ton, but I saw these and thought they were pretty funny too!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-09T21:21:00.005-06:00

Really, I couldn't be happier! Sure life is tough, but look what I have. I am grateful to all the special mother's in my life ESPECIALLY my own and I am grateful for the joys I have from being a mother. . .Happy Mother's Day!!