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.  

Sometimes your husband texts you pictures of tarantulas.

 Long story short -- we were planning to spend Monday by driving to the beach and going to an aquarium.  Plans changed and the kids were naturally bummed so we decided to stay local and go to Raleigh's science museum.  We started off the day with donuts.   

A Blue Whale skeleton.

I think the coolest part of the visit for Ben and me was watching a butterfly partially come out of its chrysalis. 

The butterfly room was amazing!  There was even a sloth in there that decided to keep hidden.

But the kids mostly cared about the dinosaurs.

Ben for some reason thinks it's hilarious every time that we're at a pet store or even just talking about tarantulas that I get the heebie jeebies.  Just looking at this picture makes me itchy all over.

So here's the story.

There was a tarantula in the butterfly room.  The kids were too short to see it and Ben was pushing the double stroller.  So I lifted Skyler and Lily up so that they could see it without actually looking at it myself.  

After we had left the museum and were on our way home I checked my phone.  Ba-bam.  On my phone was plastered the above picture from none other than my charming husband.  When I saw it I gave him a death look that I'm pretty sure made his day.

Fast forward to the next morning.  I woke up being unable to open my right eye.  PINK EYE.  I had eyedrops from our family's last episode and so I quarantined myself to my room since the kids will be back in school in less than a week.  Ben took over everything.  He took all four grocery shopping on his own which may not sound like much until you watch how they wander all over the aisle and get in people's way and touch things that they're not supposed to touch.  Then he made dinner for the couple who just had their baby whom I had signed up to feed them that day.

We thought I'd be better today.  Nope.  Fever returned and I woke up still looking like an albino.  Ben had to watch the kids by himself again while I did absolutely nothing all day in bed.  The kids were so bummed because I had promised to paint with them.  Ben decided to kill two birds with one stone and around lunch time all 5 came into my room quickly to bring me this:

Then Ben had to do take 2 of making dinner for someone else: the elders who we promised a fun New Year's Eve game night to.  He somehow managed to clean up and take care of the kids and cook and have a great night with the elders while I continued to do nothing.

As Ben and I say every day to each other, "I like you.  You're my favorite."

And he is.

And I'll take a tarantula text any day from him.

Christmases 1 & 2

We had all sorts of fun plans with my parents the week of Christmas.  We went over for a play date on Monday and in the afternoon my mom started feeling sick.  On Christmas Eve she found out she had the flu and so we stayed away.  Instead we had a pretty fun day of watching Christmas movies and cooking.  

Of course we let the kids open up their Christmas Eve presents -- jammies and slippers.  I couldn't help myself with the Batman jammies.

We put the kids in bed and for the first time ever, Ben and I decided to wait a while just to play it safe.  We couldn't find any benedryl in the house to drug them with and so we found some cold meds to give to Lily and Skyler because they were so excited, they had said for days that they wouldn't be able to sleep.  When all had been quiet for a solid hour I went up to the attic.  Then I heard this death scream from Lily.  I ran down the attic stairs and into her room to find out what was wrong.  "This medicine you gave me isn't making me sleep like it's supposed to!!!!!"  Yep.  This is my life with Lily's panic attacks.  I told her to calm down and just relax and eventually she would fall asleep.  Since she was wide awake and I didn't want to be awake for forever, I told her that I had a few "last minute presents I had to pull down from the attic."  *Wink*

(The next morning Lily told me she had no idea how she missed Santa because she was awake all night.)

Since Nanni was sick, she encouraged my dad to come over and enjoy the fun.  He told me that his favorite part of Christmas is seeing the kids come downstairs and seeing what they got from Santa.  I woke up naturally at 5:45 and at 6 I heard my dad come in through the garage.  The kids were thrilled to see him when they woke up at 6:30 and came down.

And in the words of Ben's mum, "Santa came!  Santa came!!!!" 

This year Ben and I decided to give lots and lots of books.  Our kids spend so much time reading it only made sense.  I found some great stuff at the kids' book fair at school but most of them actually came from my guilty pleasure -- Goodwill.  49 cents per book?  Don't mind if I do...

About a minute after this picture was taken I finally figured out that Thad was trying to eat a clementine like an apple.

Lily gave Ella this adorable little dress up kit and Ella was in love.  She wore it all day.

Thad was the hardest to shop for.  He doesn't have very many interests yet, but one thing he really enjoys doing is head diving into big piles of pillows and blankets.  He just loves it.  So Ben and I found this huge elephant pillow and the green triceratops (pictured at the beginning of the post) at Costco and they turned out to be the perfect presents for him!  They are quite coveted by the other kids, too.

Papa helped Ella ride Skyler's new scooter.  He also took quite a few rides on it himself.  So did Ben.  Daaaaads.

Before she found out I had a camera -- blinged out and playing with tools.

After she found out I had a camera.

We put Christmas with my parents on hold until Saturday when my mom was feeling better and no longer contagious.  Pranshu came too.  We had a great gift exchange and the kids were in heaven.  He loved getting our Humans of New York book since we share that common interest.

Pranshu brought everyone presents including a new doggy bed for Mia!

Christmas dinner was delicious as usual, but since Pranshu was with us we had turkey instead of ham or steak. I'm pretty sure that's the first time we've ever had turkey on Christmas.

We have been so blessed this year I can't even begin to count our many blessings.  So many times throughout the year I have thought to myself, My life is so wonderful.  It feels like I don't even have any trials.  And then a kid would whine about not getting a treat after dinner or everyday I'd struggle helping Lily and Skyler do homework while I make dinner with two babies around my legs, and I'd be brought back to reality... but all in all, we have so much to be thankful for -- especially the birth of our Savior.  What a wonderful thing it is to know that there is always hope and joy when we choose it.

Published

Before you get any ideas, let me just say that I haven't had time to write in a good while.  I guess that's the price you pay with 4 really young kids.

But yesterday morning a friend of mine who is a published author, pleaded for a simple sketch for her book.  She was trying to get her book published online by today and so she was in a hurry.  No one was responding and so I asked her if she still needed help.  She let me know she still needed a simple picture drawn of a swan and she basically needed it right then.  It was actually a really fun project because I hadn't been given an art assignment since college and I can't remember ever drawing birds.  I have been craving a good art project (Santa may or may not be bringing me a ginormous canvas for Christmas) and this was a nice (and quick) warm up.

I had all sorts of problems scanning it.  I had to darken the swan four times to get it to show any detail, so it looks much rougher than I would have liked but I had very limited time and I was also in the middle of stomach flu.  (To be honest, sketching was a nice distraction from being sick).  Since this is on a book maybe I should say something like copyright Sterling R. Walker???

Rachel, aka Sterling R. Walker, added the swan to the rest of the cover that her son painted.  Her book is officially available as of today!  But since this is book 3 of 3, you'll want to start with The Orphan Ship.  I have loved this story and I'm looking forward to finishing it!