Christmas

Lily and Skyler have been waiting months and months for Christmas.  Each day after Thanksgiving the kids have insisted on watching at least one Christmas movie per day, and since it only comes once a year, I let them.  Santa even called them early on in December!  Unfortunately Ben was at work and so he wasn't able to hear the call (wink, wink). 

 

On Christmas Eve my parents and sister Becca and BIL Preston came over for dinner.  We also made Santa triple chocolate cookies because we just know that Santa loves chocolate.  We read Luke 2 and put the cookies out for Santa, and then off to bed the kiddos went.

 

And then Santa came!

 

Since Ella needed a 10:30 bottle, she was the first to discover what Santa had brought.  But don't tell Lily and Skyler this.  Shhhh.

 

Then it was Christmas morning at 4:45.  Ben and I are awake.  We are so excited for the kids.  We can't get back to sleep.  So we eventually get up and wait for their excited squeals.  But do they wake up?  No.  Finally at 6:30 Ben goes up to wake them and Lily's still passed out but Skyler's bouncing on his bed asking, "Did Santa come?"

 

Oh yes he did.

He came!

And yes, the cookies and milk were left on a blanket because Skyler insisted that Santa loves indoor picnics.  The big gifts this year were their Big Wheels (since they've been struggling on regular trikes), Lily's Barbie doll house, and Skyler's Lego's.

Let's just say that Santa had a very fun time putting these Lego sets together ahead of time.  Especially the Transformers.  *ahem*

 

An elevator.  A potty that flushes.  A light that turns on.  And a piano that plays.  What more could a little girl want?

 

Hello Kitty notebook and pen since this girl loves to write her letters.

More Barbies

Water Colors

So excited!

 

Grandmum and Pop Pop's gift.  A T-Ball set that shoots balls.  Suh-weet!

Zhu zhu pet chariot from Aunt April!

 

 

Taking a spin on her new "motorbikle" around the kitchen island.

 

(I call them motorcycles.  Ben calls them motorbikes.  Lily married the two terms and once called them motorbikles.  I have refused to call them anything else ever since.  When the kids came down on Christmas morning Skyler said, "We got motorcycles?  Wow!")

Testing out his own.

Ben opening my present to him: basalt stones for massages.  Ben was excited.  Skyler's reaction: Daddy got rocks for Christmas?

 

Then we went over to my parents house for more present-opening and Christmas dinner.  It was a fantastic Christmas.  We hope all y'all had a wonderful day, too.

Pre-Christmas Festivities

Merry Christmas from our family (minus the tiny one) to yours.  This picture was taken at the mall.  Next year, Crabtree Valley Mall, don't make people have to sign up hours in advance to stand in a "virtual line" to see Santa without telling anyone or having it posted on your website.  You destroyed the dreams of so many children this year.  But thank you, Mall Santa, for waving at my kids anyway.

 

Lily was watching The Nutcracker ballet with my family.  She really got into dancing along (a movie will be featured in a future post) and Ben got to be her partner, helping her with lifts and whatnot.  Here is Ben forcing me to do the same.  I look so thrilled, don't you think?

 

I COMMAND EVERYONE TO LOOK CLOSELY AT THIS PICTURE!  Whenever people tell me that Lily looks like me I say, "Thank you," but in my head I'm saying, "You're totally wrong and you just haven't seen my husband."  But here I give you mini-Heather.  It's a Christmas miracle!  Apparently she did get some of my genes!

 

Blurry but self-explanatory.  It's like the 4 year gap between them doesn't even exist.  And I love it about as much as I love them.

 

Nanni and Becca feeding the Chubby Cherub.  And the Chubby Cherub getting frustrated that the food wasn't coming quite fast enough.  Within the last week she's really picked up eating solids and she's a little speed eater now.  The little woman is serious about her food.

 

 

I feel like I'm either a failure of a parent or a really good one because my children have zero experience playing with electronics.  We don't have any video games at our house and they know that our computers and phone are off limits and that they aren't toys.  And it doesn't bug them because they haven't learned why they're so fascinating.

 

But the fun childless aunt and uncle who adore their nieces and nephews came into town with their iPad and iPhones and the kiddos are hooked!  I thought it would take them a while to figure out how to work things, but of course I was wrong.  Gotta love Becca and Preston.

 

And speaking of which......

 

Before Preston and Becca came into town I wanted to see if Lily and Skyler could remember their names:

 

Me: "Who's coming for Christmas? Aunt....."

Lily: "Becca!"

Me: "And Uncle Pres-"

Skyler: "-ident Monson!"

 

 

Preston agrees that this is a big step up from what Skyler used to call him: Uncle Becky.  And even though I never corrected Skyler, he doesn't often call Preston "Uncle President Monson" anymore.  Instead, he is now "Uncle Presents."  I don't feel like correcting that one either.  Maybe one day Skyler will call him Uncle Preston, but I hope that day doesn't come for a while.

 

Also, Lily is sort of a huge fan of Uncle Presents.  This is what she told me the other day before we went over to my parents' house to visit them:

 

Lily: "Can I have the nail polish?  I need to paint my nails."

Me: "Why do you need to paint your nails?"

Lily: "For Uncle Preston."

 

A Gift for Jesus

Meet the kids' piggy banks.  On the right is "Sally."  On the left is "The-King-Of-The-North-Pole-With-Cookie-Monster."  That is quite the name, Skyler.  But I can see how a cross-breed of Santa and Cookie Monster would be a pig considering how many cookies he would eat.

 

Anyway.

 

It is impossible for me to keep up with my house.  You've heard the sayings before.  Cleaning up with kids is like tidying papers with a fan on, shoveling snow in a blizzard, or -- my personal favorite -- brushing your teeth while eating oreos.  We noticed that the kids didn't mind cleaning, so long as there was an incentive.  Ben and I decided to start paying the kids an allowance.

 

My life has been changed.  My house isn't 100% clean, but it's cleaner. 

 

We pay them 10 cents per day when they clean (on days when they refuse to do anything they don't get paid) and 25 cents when they do extra.  They don't know what money really is all about, but they know that they want it.  Sad, isn't it?

 

So they've been saving up their money for the last little while and have become so proud of themselves when they empty their little banks and spread out the coins all over the floor.  And we've been proud of them for all the work that they're willing to do.

 

This last Sunday we were scheduled for tithing settlement.  Ben and I agreed that it was time that the kids learned first hand what tithing was all about.  So we got the kids out of bed from their afternoon naps and explained the basics of tithing.  When I told them that they would get to give 1/10 of their money to the bishop, Lily started crying.  I knew she would struggle because she always goes above and beyond, not only trying to do her chores, but also making sure that we're happy with what she's done.  So Skyler got to be the example this time around.  When we told them that the money that we give goes into building churches and temples, etc., he said, "I want to give the bishop all of my money," and he pushed his 10 little piles of coins together toward me.  My heart just about exploded.  Ben and I were so touched by that innocent and sweet gesture, but we agreed that since Skyler is three, it would be best if he still only gave 1/10 since there was a good chance that he would be confused the next day as to why he didn't have any money left in his bank. 

 

Lily finally came around to the idea of paying tithing when we explained the importance of it.  So we gave each of the kids their own tenth of money and let them hold it in their hands on the drive to the church.  We told them that even though we would be giving it to the bishop, it is really a gift to Jesus, and that we would get to wrap it up like a present in an envelope.  They got even more excited about it.  When they handed their money to the bishop they were beaming.  even Lily's 30 cents and Skyler's 21 are contributions.

 

Just a couple of days ago, I sat down with the kids and asked them questions about Christmas.  Of course, Santa was mentioned, but so was Jesus.  When I asked Lily what Christmas was she told me that it's Jesus's birthday.  So I asked her what present she was going to give him.  She told me about how she gave him money to build a temple.  Skyler said the same thing.

 

I'm so grateful that we have tithing settlement just before Christmas.  I never realized how deeply tied they are until I tried explaining it to my kids.  Ben and I have had countless experiences where we knew we were being blessed because we paid our tithing.  I have always sort of thought of tithing as a physical payment for spiritual insurance.  I am grateful for what we have -- that the Lord lets us keep the 90 and makes up for and blesses us for giving the 10.



Scrumptiously Babylicious

Oh Ella.  You have got to stop being so cute.  Goodness gracious.

 

Have I mentioned that I think Ella might be our chubbiest baby yet?

 

10 points to Ella!

 

And -10 points to me and Ben who will probably melt by your cuteness every time you ask for something that you want.

 

 

 

 

 

Ella is 4 months old now so we went ahead and started feeding her rice cereal.

 

The first obstacle to overcome was squishing her legs into the Bumbo.  It doesn't look like it in this picture, but believe me, it may require oil, butter, or vaseline in the near future.  Those legs are fat.  And this mama is happy.

 

She acted the way she should with her first few bites of cereal.  She wondered what the heck we were doing to her while she tried to shove the spoon away and replace it with her fist/thumb.

 

Yes.  Despite all of our attempts to finally have a baby who takes a pacifier, Ella is now leaning more toward her thumb.  She'll pop her bink right out and stick her fist in her mouth. 

 

Lame.

 

 

But she's still our little angel baby.

 

This picture gives a great glimpse of what her hair looks like.  She's a brunette, yet she's a blonde.  Her roots are definitely lighter than her tips all over her head, but her crown is practically platinum while the front is just a light brown.  Maybe we could just call it ombre?  Still crossing my fingers that it doesn't turn into zebra print.  But her hair is long and thick enough that I can put bows straight in it now.  Yay!

 

 

 

Some quotes from Lily and Skyler:

 

 

*interrupting me and Ben kissing*

Lily: "Awww!  It's a happily ever after!"

 

 

 

*While trying to explain animal sacrifices in the scriptures*

Me: "So way back then, they would build an alter and make a fire and stick animals on it as a sacrifice to the Lord.  They would sacrifice things like sheep or cows..."

Skyler: "... or fireworks..."

Writing

Number one:  I sure hope I don't look as fat in real life as I look in this picture.  Gag.

Number two: Yes.  I got to meet Ally Condie again.  It reminded me of how much I like her in real life.

 

 

Last night I went to my local independent book store to enjoy a night out with some writing/reading girlfriends and to meet Ally Condie.  If you're unfamiliar with her Matched trilogy, I'd recommend it -- that is if you think a dystopian novel written by a poet sounds fascinating.  I have enjoyed reading her books, even if they're not my number one favorites.  I guess sometimes I just need that poetic fix.

 

 

 

I haven't talked about this since my one and only blog post when I revealed that in my spare time I enjoy writing.  I guess the reason why I don't talk about it much is because it is SLOW moving.  But I can say that it is always in my head.  I am constantly figuring out plot strategies while I'm fighting the part of me that asks, "Am I crazy for doing this?" 

 

But I haven't accomplished nothing.  I almost completely finished a book last year.  I wrote over 50,000 words which equals about 200 book pages.  I loved the story.  I loved the characters.  I loved everything about it.  But it was generic and badly written.  But it was so much fun and taught me that this is a very therapeutic way for me to stretch my brain while relaxing at the same time.  I knew that there was no potential in that story.  I think one day down the road I may go back to it, fix it up, and make it look pretty, but not today. 

 

One night in January of 2011, I was having a hard time falling asleep.  An idea popped in my head -- a really unique idea that I had never heard of before.  I immediately thought that if I could figure out how to write better, a book with this idea could have a lot of potential.  I grabbed a pen and notebook from my bedside table, tip-toed to the bathroom, turned on the light, and wrote out the basics of my story for over an hour.  I created an entirely new futuristic world.  But it is most definitely a sci-fi story, and as with any sci-fi story it has required a lot of research.  After hours and hours and hours of research, trying to make everything work and be legitimate, Ben finally just told me to write it up anyway, that not everything has to be proven possible.  So that's what I have been doing.  And my ideas are flowing more rapidly now that I don't have to stay stuck in a rut of "this idea isn't possible." 

 

So no, I have not given up.  In fact, if anything, I wish I had more time to work on my writing.  But at the end of my life, I want to know that I spent quality time with my family.  I only have 24 hours in a day just like anyone else and balancing children, a husband, a calling, housework, sleep, cooking, and fun is a chore in itself.  Writing gets shoved into my hours of insomnia and evenings when Ben's not home and Ella doesn't require being held.  And when I'm feeling a little greedy every now and then, I'll let my kids watch a movie or two on the days when my ideas are really flowing and I need to sit in front of the computer to record it all. 

 

Maybe this book will be another failure.  Maybe the next one will be, too.  But for now I'm going to keep exercising my writing skills until it turns into something worth sharing.  Maybe that will be my resolution for next year: to finish this book. 



I Love to See the Temple

The other night Heather and I had the opportunity to go to the temple. 

 

We were there helping the youth.  It was amazing see how the youth were so willing serve.  Heather and I both feel like it was a blessing to be there and to step back from our busy schedules and take time to serve the Lord. 

 

One of the major focuses of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the family.  One of the purposes of the temple is to allow members of the church to be married for eternity.  Heather and I have had the blessing of being married in the temple and are grateful for the knowledge we have that our family will continue on after this life.  We have attempted to teach our kids about the blessing of being married in the temple.  They love to go to the temple and walk around the grounds and pretend to be the Angel Moroni that is on top of the temple.

 

As Heather and I were getting ready to leave to go to the temple Lily came up to us and asked us where we were going.  We explained to her that we were going to the temple.  Her response was, "You're going to get married!"  We then explained to her that we had already been married, but that we were going to go and do baptisms for the dead.  When she heard that she got all excited and wanted to come with us and was very disappointed when we explained the she had 8 more years until she could go.

 

Honestly, I feel like Heather and I have been blessed to have the church in our lives.  To know that God has a plan for us and has given us prophets, scripture, prayer, temples, and family to help us, makes me feel valued and helps me know God loves me.

 

As one of my favorite primary song states, "I love to see the temple...Where we are sealed together, As a child of God, I've learned this truth: A family is forever."

Ben's Portrait As Drawn By Lily

What Ben looks like according to our camera.

 

What Ben looks like according to Lily's interpretive artistic skill.  The lines on the bottom of his face are his beard.  The lines within his smile are his teeth.  And those lines to the left and right of his head?  No.  Those aren't arms.  They're his ear hair.  Well done Lily.  You capture your father so well.

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving I wanted to brine our turkey for the first time.  So I read a bunch of recipes that all said to put the turkey in a 5 gallon bucket in the fridge for a couple of days.  This was a problem for me for two reasons: 1 - I'm normal and I don't have room for a 5 gallon bucket in my fridge.  2 - I only use 5 gallon buckets for storing homemade laundry detergent, mopping the floor, and cleaning out the fish tank.  There was a psychological issue involved with putting a turkey in one. So one night in my sleep (which is when I get all of my best ideas -- does this happen to anyone else?), I came up with the idea of putting the turkey in a crisper.  Sure enough, I found a tutorial online that shows you how to put your turkey and brine into an oven bag in the crisper.  For my own future reference, I used this tutorial.  It was scrumptiously tasty.

 

Instead of capturing photos of our mouthwatering dishes (hey, I was hungry once they were all on the table), I took one of our kitchen after all of our cooking was done.  I guess this is what you can expect when you make everything except the pie crust from scratch.  At least Ben and I love to cook and bake.  It was a fun food preparation marathon for us.  :)

 

Oh, and if your kitchen didn't look like this after you cooked your Thanksgiving dinner, don't tell me.

 

It's my family's tradition to decorate the house for Christmas on Black Friday.  So while the kids were down for their afternoon naps, Ben and I managed to set up the tree with most of our decorations before the kids came back down.  I can remember doing this same thing when I was little.  There's something magical about Christmas trees.

 

Something we are grateful for: our new Toyota Sienna.  How. We. Love. This. Van.  It's sort of a like a fancy hotel room on wheels (sans the free chocolates).  But more importantly, we got it for an amazing deal.  We weren't expecting to find something this nice in our price range, so it was a very pleasant surprise!

Another thing to be grateful for: after we set up the Christmas tree, Ella decided not to be allergic to our camera anymore (as she has been for the last month) and allowed us to capture a tiny glimpse of what her baby giggles are like.

 

And lastly, my sister Lizzie gave birth to our newest nephew, JJ, on Thanksgiving morning.  Happy Thanksgiving to us!  What a fantastic day!

Play Time

Call me evil, but I have a rule that if I'm working in the kitchen, the kids aren't allowed to be in there with me.  Lily and Skyler seem to suddenly lose their sense of hearing when I remind them of this.  But if it's the trains that are in my kitchen, I don't mind.  At least it keeps them out from under my feet.  Ikea train sets are worth every penny (not that we had to spend many). 

 

Still trying to figure out manual focus on my camera. 

 

 

 

Lest you think my children are perfect angels when they play, I give you this.  Lily found one of Ben's ties and used it for Rapunzel's hair.  She also told Skyler that he got to play Rapunzel's mom.  Nice touch, Lily.  I want to record this for reality's sake.  And because it made me snort a little.

The Day We Almost Died. (A Dramatic But True Blog Post Title)

Tonight we were driving to Cary to check out some new furniture since I pretty much DESPISE mine.  Lily ironically asked us, "Why do we wear seat belts?"  We explained that they keep us safe in case of an accident.  I told her about the time I got hit by a school bus when I was in high school and Ben told about how he and his dad got in an accident once when there was freezing rain on the road.  So she thought that was cool and we kept driving. 

We got on our exit and turned left.  Then we came to another intersection where we had a green light, so naturally we kept driving.  Then I noticed that a CR-V in was coming toward us to my right.  I wasn't sure if they were still driving or if they were one of those cars that slams on the break at the last second to stay behind the white line.  But they were driving.  That's when I knew we were going to get hit.  And that it would be bad.

So here were my thoughts in that last half second before we got hit:

1 -  This wreck isn't our fault.  The light was green.
2 - Please hit me.  Not the kids.
3 - I could die.  Why am I not freaking out?

The CR-V hit the right front corner of our van.  Our van was totalled.  Our air bags deployed, we spun, and it was loud.  When we came to a stop Ben immediately jumped out of the van to check to see if it was on fire because it was smoking pretty badly.  At the same time I jumped in the back to check on the kids and got them unbuckled.  Ella and Skyler were unfazed.  Lily was in shock.  I opened one of the passenger doors to let the smoke from the air bags out.  A witness came up and offered to help, so he carried Lily and Skyler in his arms to the side of the road while I got Ella out.  I stuffed everything into my purse that mattered, but struggled since my hands were shaking.

Cops, paramedics, and firemen showed up almost immediately, so I called my dad to come and get us.  Some other witnesses brought us blankets and towels from their cars that we could sit on and wrap around the kids since it was getting dark and cold.  Luckily, we had made a warm bottle for Ella right before we left so I pulled it out and tried feeding her.

We did the typical Q's and A's.  When we were done with that and my dad still hadn't arrived, one of the firemen, noticing Lily's shock and that she couldn't calm down, asked us if we wanted to go sit in the fire truck.  Since I was in Mommy Mode the whole time and was acting as if everything was perfectly fine, I made it sound like that was a big deal.  So up we climbed into the warm fire truck.  It was just me, the three kids, and a fire fighter, while Ben took care of all the boring stuff.  We learned all about their equipment and talked about Disney movies. 

About 15 minutes later the fire fighter had to get out to sweep the glass out of the road.  This was the first private moment I had had with the kids since we were still in our van.  Lily asked me, "Mommy, when is Jesus going to come save us?"  I explained to her that He already had.  Since she was still shaken up, I asked her if she wanted me to say a prayer.  She nodded her head.  So while we're sitting alone in this fire truck, we all folded our arms and said a prayer of gratitude. 

While we were doing that, Ben was talking to some fire fighters and mentioned that he was glad we had a Honda Odyssey.  A fireman told him that had we not been in an Odyssey or a Sienna, all of us would be in the hospital.  So to anyone who may be looking at buying a van, I hope that that is testimony enough for you.  We are Toyota and Honda people anyway, but the fact that we spent just a little more on our van either saved our lives or saved us a huge hospital bill.  Either way, we're thankful.

When we got home and had the kids in bed, Ben and I had an interesting conversation that started with Ben saying, "Heather, you're going to be really mad at me but..."  At that point, my ears perked right up.  He explained that Elder Eyring had said in General Conference that one of the best things you can do is to pray for trials.  So he had.  Whoops.  :)  Then I said, "Well Ben... you're going to be mad at me too."  I told him how about a month ago I had promised the Lord that if anyone did anything to me that I would forgive them right away.

Well dang.

Ben has a sprained wrist and burns from the air bags.  I have whiplash and some other pulled muscles.  The kids are fine other than the small burns that Lily and Skyler have on their necks from their seat belts.  All in all, we're fine. 

The accident brought some new thoughts into my head.  One of them was that we could have easily died.  We obviously still have work to do here.  Another was that in an experience like that, all I wanted was to have my family close.  Money and other temporal things don't matter.  When I had to pretend that everything was fine but I needed comforting, too, I found it in giving my kids comfort.  And last, I wasn't scared of death.  I didn't feel regret or even fear with the thought of dying.  That fact alone makes me feel like maybe I'm not totally messing up everything.  Maybe I'm doing something right.

I will thank Heavenly Father for the millionth time tonight that we are all safe and sound.  But Ben and I may possibly be going on a temporary "ask for trials" hiatus.  :)

A Little Bit of Life

 I've never posted pictures of the kids at my parents' house since we've lived with them.  But it's a fairly regular thing for us to go over and play for the day.  They have a whole different set of toy and games, plus there's always the chance that we'll go out to "chick-a-lay" for lunch (which is pretty much what my kids live for).

 

 Lil's Tinker Bell fairies.

 

 Blocks.  Lizzie and Becca -- remember these?

 

 This picture was not hard to capture at all.  This happens a bajillion times a day.  Lily loves to snuggle Ella, and Ella loves it too.  Although I'd be lying if I didn't mention that Ben and I have used the word, "smother" and the phrase "literally love to death" a few times.  Needless to say, we keep an eye on them, and more often than not, tell Lily to give her baby sister some space. 

 

 The beloved bunny slippers.

 

 Skyler's very in touch with his feminine side.  Instead of playing with princesses and littlest pet shop animals, later he was playing with toy lions and dinosaurs in the castle.  And he told me it was a temple.  Pretty sure that makes no sense.

 

 Have I ever mentioned that I love Ben's new job?  Yeah.  I do.  And he does, too.  He has worked from home the last 8 out of 10 workdays.  And sometimes he'll hold Ella while he's working if I'm busy doing calling stuff or cooking or whatever.  One of the reasons why we chose this job was so that we could see him more.  And that is worth more than any paycheck.

 

 Before this job, we rarely took the kids out on dates (as in one parent and one child).  But with Ben working oftentimes from home, we do it regularly.  It's a good investment for family happiness.  This was Lily and Ben yesterday before their date.  Lily told me that she wanted to look pretty for her date (AAAAAWWWW!!!!) and so I let her choose the most horrible outfit her own outfit and we put a vest on her so that she'd "be warm."  I did her hair and (as usual) as soon as I was done she ran up to Ben to show him how pretty she looked.  I'm going to miss it when these days are gone.

 

And here's Angel Baby.  She's been sleeping through the night for close to a month now. And by sleeping through the night I mean anything from 8-12 hours at a whack, and she taught herself how. She hardly cries.  She has such a strong sweet spirit.  I can't explain it, but this little girl just has sweetness glowing from her.  Mmmmm.  I'm glad we got her.