The Pine

This is one of the few pictures where I see it and go, "Holy cow!  My child IS related to me!!!"

Also, how much older does she look now that she's missing a good portion of her baby teeth?

*sob*

Poor thing takes a half hour to eat two slices of pizza because of all the gaps in her teeth.

Oh, and I should probably say that she made the top of that pillow.

A couple of weeks ago I was doing dishes and looking out the window when a couple of deer wandered into our neighbor's yard.  I was heart broken to see this one.  I called our non-emergency police line (when you live in a small town like ours it's also the animal control line) but they wouldn't do anything.  We're hoping that the arrow will get pulled out as it's running through the trees or something.  Poor thing.

We made the kids spudnuts and they were in heaven.  

At the beginning of January, we had a really quick storm come through.  It was a Sunday afternoon and Ben had already taken all 4 of the kids to church himself when I had pink eye and laryngitis.  It was naptime so Ella and Thad were in their beds (and I in mine) and Lily and Skyler were in the bonus room playing.  The wind got so crazy that Lily and Skyler decided to look out the window and they saw everything happen.  I even heard it through my ear plugs.  I wasn't sure what I heard, but I definitely heard something.  I sat right up and Ben ran in to tell me that he had checked on the kids when they were screaming and they told him that our tall pine in our front yard had just fallen down.

Ben ran outside to try to move it out of the road while I calmed the kids down.  You can imagine that Lily and Skyler were pretty spooked from it.  (They still freak out daily when they see trees slightly waving in the breeze).  We said a prayer together thanking Heavenly Father that the tree fell in the only direction where no one was hurt.  The tree was right in between our house and our neighbors' house and it could have easily hit either one or one of our cars.  But it fell on a transformer instead and into the road.

That was a moment I hope I won't forget.  We had several neighbors come out and help us cut it up and move it out of the roads so that cars could get through.  One of our neighbors even lost his wedding ring in the process.  We were so thankful when another one of our neighbor's found it camouflaged in the grass!  Our next door neighbor is the guy who took down our two trees in our backyard and even though he was going through physical therapy for his shoulder he was the one doing most of the work.  He chopped up most of that tree trunk himself so that we could haul it into our back yard for fire wood.  Ben and I are always talking about how we are so so so thankful for where we live.  Our house was sitting empty on the market for about 9 months before we put an offer on it.  I'm so thankful it waited for us!

Ben and I have been trying to focus on emergency preparedness for the last few years and little by little we've been able to add to our supplies.  I'm so thankful we bought a cheap used chainsaw a while ago!  I love it when obedience pays off!  

Innumerable Little Moments

This is sort of a Christmas post but it's also sort of an all-year post.

I'm not much of an elf on the shelf kind of person because I'm completely freaked out by them like I am by other toys (do y'all remember the horse and the head???  Well now there's also a giant Optimus Prime).  Also, I know I would be terrible at remembering to do something with one every.single.day.  

For the last few years I've been wanting to find something spiritual and unique for an advent calendar.  This past year I finally found it.  We cut up lots of strips of paper and I labeled a lunch bag with a date from December 1st to December 25th.  At dinner each night we would write down acts of service that we saw other family members perform that day that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.  We averaged about 5 slips of paper per night.  We would put the papers in the bag and put it away until Christmas.

On Christmas night we read through every single slip and gave that to Christ as His Christmas gift.  The kids loved being praised for great things that they did and Ben and I appreciated being recognized for some of the small sacrifices we often make that are the norm.

I honestly got teary eyed as we went through them all.  I'm so happy we did this.  It will be a yearly tradition for sure.  I got half the inspiration for this from pinterest and half from a calendar I keep next to my bed.

This past March I read an article in the Ensign that opened my eyes.  I immediately felt prompted to keep a service calendar.  So every night since March, before I go to bed, I write down something good I did for someone else that day that was out of the norm (so things like making dinner or doing the kids' laundry didn't count).

I've learned a lot since I started doing it.  I've learned that there aren't a lot of big moments in life but there are innumerable small ones.  For the most part, our lives add up from all the small moments and not so much the big ones -- even though we tend to be most focused on the big ones.  I've learned that there are so many good people everywhere who go silently unnoticed each day from good deeds.  I've learned that I haven't been nearly grateful enough for so many people and things around me.  

My kids' eyes have been opened, too.  Or at least Skyler's and Lily's have been.  Sometimes they'll do something or they'll see someone else do something and they'll still say, "That should go in a bag!" and then they realize it's not December.

I want this kind of spirit to stick around.  Many months ago when we had decided to homeschool, I received a clear impression that one of the kids' weekly classes should be a service class.  I have lots of ideas of service that my kids could do that will be great for when they're older, but I don't have a lot that are age appropriate for now.  But hopefully that inspiration will come with time.

One of my top goals for my kids is to help them recognize the beauty in everyday service and I hope that I will be a good enough example.

The Dentist

Preston is not allowed to read this post.  As my brother-in-law and future dentist, it would be best if he just skips this post.  Thanks in advance, Preston!

Skyler mesmerized with his first ever episode of Sponge Bob.  It was pajama day at school.

We did exactly what you're not supposed to do.  We waited a really long time for Lily and Skyler's first dental appointment.  There were several reasons why -- one of which being that we've never had dental insurance -- but the biggest was because we didn't think they were ready.  Lily has serious anxiety and Skyler is very emotional.  Both of them have had fears of loud noises their whole lives.  We've only recently been able to get them to work past (most of) it.  Some things like hand dryers, bathroom fans, and electric tools still scare them. 

 Since they've made so much progress I decided it was time to take them in.  I bought an amazon local deal and made an appointment.  On Monday we had an FHE all about going to the dentist.  It wasn't the spiritual kind of FHE that we usually have, but I felt like this was a good exception.  We talked about it, and watched the Berenstain Bears episode about going to the dentist, and then we got them excited about it all week.  

When we got to the office I was so relieved that it was a tiny and nice and that we were the only three there.  The kids were in heaven because there was an iPad in the waiting room and a TV (with cable -- what a treat!  Ha!) in every room.  The hygienist kept telling me how well-behaved they were.  

We all made it out of there without any cavities!  The kids told me it wasn't bad except for when they polished their teeth (which completely grosses me out too).  And while some people view going to the dentist as being spa-like, I put it on the same level as delivering a baby.  I've always really hated it.  But yesterday turned out great and I'm so relieved the kids were okay and that their teeth are healthy!

Monster Trucks, The Nutcracker, Sickness, and the Shoe Miracle!

Looking through my phone, I noticed I had some pictures/videos that I wanted to add to the blog.  So here they are very randomly.

Before Christmas, Ella and I were at the store and we had to make our way through the toy section.  I expected her to run straight for the Frozen section but instead I found her here.  She studied all of the monster trucks very carefully.  Ella is girl through and through but she has this boyish side of her that's hard to explain.  She loves bugs (especially big spiders) and tools and apparently monster trucks.  When Ben and I showed Ella this picture of the world's biggest spider, Ella was in love.

All December long, Lily's dance class practiced dancing to The Nutcracker.  Lily was first excited about it because she had helped me throw the Nutcracker themed baby shower early in the month, so she knew a little bit about it already.  On the last day of class before Christmas break, they put on a 20 minute performance for all the moms.  It was adorable!

Lily and her partner struggling with their arabesques.  :)  

And keep an eye out for those two girls in purple in front at the end of the clip.  Ha!

Dancing with candy canes.

Since November, we have been sick with very little breaks between illnesses.  Between everyone in the family we've had way too many episodes of croup, stomach flu, bad colds, sinus and ear infections, and laryngitis.  Ella just started a new cold yesterday and I am ready to wave my white flag.  This was the first time Ben and I stayed up until midnight on New Year's Eve, but I was so sick that Ben was sleeping on the couch and we celebrated in two different rooms and sent each other a kiss via text messaging.  Now that's just sad.

I think our family could sleep in an extra half hour every day if our shoes were always where they're supposed to be and were easy to find.  We only have two places in our house where we keep shoes, yet it takes forever to get shoes on six people.  The reason is because we have two toddlers who love to wear random shoes and leave them all over the house.  Then Ben came up with a brilliant idea.  The shoes that have velcro or laces, can be tied together.  WHAT?!?!  It has been life-changing.  Pairs are always together!!!  I knew I married that guy for a reason!

2014 Newsletter

I would have loved to send out Christmas cards this year, but we didn't have our family pictures taken and so everything just fell through the cracks.  But in case you're interested in what life's brought us this past year, here's an update (in case you don't read our blog, which you're actually doing right now...)  

Thad:  is completely adorable.  Ben and I agree that he is our most different baby.  He actually climbs up on things like chairs and the kitchen table.  He steals fruit whenever he can reach it from the counter.  He is quite mischievous and takes on the role of "little brother" very seriously.  Ella is scared of him and doesn't like him to come too near.  If he does she'll yell, "Don't touch me, Thaddeo!" to which he usually responds by slowly poking her arm with a straight face.  We can tell he's going to bring lots of good stories to the table as he grows.

Ella:  is growing up.  She speaks very well for her age and is very good at communicating.  She is our first picky eater and it can be a challenge to get her to eat anything healthy other than fruit.  She loves anything girly or Frozen related.  She has a great sense of humor and knows exactly what to do to make people laugh.  She hates all strangers and gives plenty of people death stares at church.  She (like her older siblings) loves books and falls asleep with them in her bed every day.  Her hair continues to amaze me and I have no plans of cutting it soon.

Skyler:  is now a Kindergartener!  School has been a wonderful outlet for Skyler to channel all of his energy and curiosity.  He is very academically gifted and Ben and I are planning on moving in with him one day when he's a billionaire.  Skyler loves figuring out how things work and trying to recreate them.  He is especially fond of creating his own paper airplane designs.  Ever since he could walk and talk, he has been proud that he is a fast runner.  He also is addicted to books like his siblings.

Lily:  is in 1st grade!  This year she started dance and depending on the day she loves it or hates it.  I think when she was in the Holly Springs Christmas Parade it sealed the deal that she wants to be in dance again next year.  Lily is enjoying school and I enjoy reading all the papers she has to write.  She spends her spare time at home reading, writing books made of stapled construction paper, and drawing.  I'm biased because I'm really proud that she has always loved art.  In December she drew a fantastic nativity.  

Heather:  I am the stereotype busy mom.  I do a lot of boring errands/cooking/cleaning/dealing with toddler tantrums/etc.  Every single day is typically hard and by the time the kids are in bed Ben and I look at each other and agree to not do any more work.  One thing that I love doing is having multiple date nights at home per week.  Sometimes it's only one and sometimes it's a few, but Ben and I prefer having simple nights at home with a rented movie and a special dessert or takeout.  I'm a Primary teacher still and I also serve on the Relief Society Meetings Committee.  This year I have one New Year's resolution: make more time for sketching and painting.

Ben:  still loves working at Cisco.  He is busy but (proud wife moment) he is amazing at what he does.  He had his appendix removed at the beginning of August and it was a slow recovery.  Some strenuous activities are still hard for him.  He still serves as the Teacher's Quorum Advisor and Asst. Scoutmaster.  He spends so much time thinking about and serving his boys.  He built a fire pit in our back yard this past fall and now that we have several dutch ovens, I imagine we will be eating well this upcoming year.  Another thing that he is still great at is cooking.  Most Sundays (now that we're on the early schedule) I will take a nap in the afternoon while Ben makes a feast.  He also makes the kids lunches each day which always includes a specially shaped sandwich (my favorites were the Christmas themed ones during December).

My hopes for this year:  To ease into homeschooling successfully, to finally not have a super expensive medical year, to hope for a visit to Hong Kong to see Ben's parents, and to actually decorate the kids' rooms.