Of things Valentine

The kids and I made all of their Valentines this year.  Abe opted for these "love bugs" because there is a boy in his class that has seizures and has to be on a very special diet.  We hoped that he would be able to have these:

Nolan's: we worked on these together; I made some, he made some:

Isabelle made these bookmarks, which I thought was a very fitting Valentine for a book worm to give:

We did our annual tradition of writing poems about each other and sticking them all over the windows.  I thought it was cute that the kids were often up on the counter reading them:

....And then we broke with our other traditions, because Shawn invited me to go to Sun Valley with him for Valentines since the day fell on the weekend! We left on Friday around 10:30 and came home in the late afternoon on Saturday. We had such a great time! I surely do enjoy spending time with him.

As we got into our suitcases, we found a plethora of darling Valentines (from Maddie, Isabelle, Nolan and Abram) such as this:

 

It's hard to leave the crew at times, but if you get the chance, I highly recommend it!

Chubs

Just a little over a week and this kid will be 18 months old.  Unbelievable! He was born just a couple of weeks before my parents and brother left on missions, and will be two years old when they get back.  I am actually publishing this tonight so that my little brother can see what Pace is looking like on his p-day tomorrow!  

Caden discovered that Pace really likes to be photographed and poses for him and everything:)

My favorite picture:

Such sweet, angelic faces!

This, however, is the face that I picture him making as he scribbles ALL OVER walls, stair treads and window sills with markers, pens, and crayons:

He's back to looking like this when we find his surprises, though:)

We love you Eli!!!!

Crashed

It doesn't seem to matter what age my kids are; when I see them sleeping, I think they look cute and can't resist taking a picture:)

The things they say (and do) volume 9

I sure do enjoy my Abram- boy and all the time that I get to spend with him each day.  He is such a cheerful, quirky, enthusiastic and sweet little boy! Lately when I ask him if he can do something (like a job), he cheerfully says, "Of course!!" Or, "You bet!!" Or, "Is there anything else you need, mom?"

He has a bigger- than- life smile:

The other day, he was telling me about a little boy in his preschool that gets around in a wheelchair.  He told me that sometimes, at recess, the teacher lifts him out of his wheelchair and he has to scoot around on his bottom to get anywhere.  I said, "Boy.  Aren't you thankful that you have legs that work?"  He said, "Yes I am.  But I wish HE did, too:("

When the boys and I are running errands, Abe asks me to find a radio station that "doesn't have any words."  He loves classical music!  As the song plays, he tells me what is happening.  During a turbulent-sounding song recently, he said, "The ship is starting to sink!...the sailors are running around trying to take those sheet- things off!... now they started throwing the inner tubes overboard....the sea is getting calmer....Now they can see a ship coming in the distance!"  Another song comes on:  "A man is running very fast....someone is chasing him!....he can't run much longer, he is getting SO tired!...he just saw a place to hide!...it's a hole in a really big tree...he jumped inside and now he is laying there trying to be very quiet...he's so glad he got away, and now he is just resting...now he's about to fall asleep...."

He has told me many exciting stories to match the music, and the music always matches his story!:)

I try to take the boys on "field trips" from time-to time.  After I took the above picture, Abe told me that he couldn't stand with his back to those big animals anymore, because it "gave him the creeps."

He felt okay about the bird display, though:)

Nolan and Abram have begun a new "collection" for their room.  I like to use scented candles to make the house smell nice, and after the wax loses its smell, the boys whisk it off to their room:

They are pretty pleased with the way their collection is growing, and keep the candle turned on every minute so that it can manufacture for them more quickly.  I have to keep an eye on them that they don't take off with the wax before it's lost all of it's scent!

Recently when Shawn was on a trip to North Carolina, he watched me as I got ready for the day.  Suddenly he said, "Boy!  You look good!!"  I said, "wow, thanks!"  And he replied, " Well, dad isn't here to tell you how good you look, so I need to!"

Other times, he will say things like, "Mom, you would like me if I was a bat.  Because I would eat mosquitos.  You'd like me if I was a rino, too, because I could defeat lions by lifting them with my horn."

"Who cares if you don't have style?!?!!!  You can still be cool!  I don't have style and I'm cool!"  ( This was a thought he had while listening to the song "Don't worry, be happy."

"A frog jumped into Sister Hansen's throat while she was running.  So her voice was funny and we had to be really quiet in church because it was scratching her throat!"

"The world is just so HUGE!!!  And do you want to know why it's so huge?  It's so that everyone can go on a mission in a different place!"

Isabelle while playing Reflex math: "My heart is filled with fear!  I know that sounds pathetic, but it really is!!"  Nolan as he watched over her shoulder, "You didn't even get ONE off!!!  That is really skilled!  Whoa!!!"

I vote for more singing!

 I recently read this in the preface of our hymn book:

"Music has boundless powers for moving families toward greater spirituality and devotion to the gospel....The hymns can bring families a spirit of beauty and peace and can inspire love and unity among family members....Teach your children to love the hymns.  Sing them on the Sabbath, in home evening, during scripture study, at prayer time.  Sing as you work, as you play, and as you travel together.  Sing hymns as lullabies to build faith and testimony in your young ones."

(And I might add - make sure that you are color- coordinated as you sing, because it helps the harmony of the whole endeavor!)  Hahaha - that was purely accidental:)

Wow- those are a lot of things to do with hymns and blessings that can come from singing them!

Growing up, my family sang A LOT.  We would gather around the piano at least once a week - but probably more - and learn parts and sing together for hours at a time.  Those are some of my favorite memories!  We sang all sorts of songs, but we also sang many, many hymns.  This has been such a blessing in my life because I learned a lot of doctrine this way and I know it helped my testimony to grow.  It's also a blessing to me in my life right now, because I spend most church meetings at the back of the room - or in the foyer -  holding Pace.  I can't hold a hymnal at the same time as that very wiggly boy, but because we sang so much growing up, I know just about every word and verse of every song we sing and can still participate and feel a part of the worship service.

I love the hymns!  I am so thankful that my parents instilled in me a love for the hymns!  It is time for me to kick it up a notch in my current family!

Some Kami moments:)

A few years ago, Kami's Grandma Gee started teaching her how to teach piano by having her teach Isabelle lessons while she instructed.  Last year, Kami started teaching her own students, and this year she has set aside Wednesday and Thursday afternoons for teaching piano.  She loves it!

Today I was walking by as she and Robin played a duet and it was so cute that I had to stop and take a picture:

Also, I found this texting exchange that she had with her friend Annie.  Why do things like this make me laugh so much?!!!?:)

(Three hair bands in the toilet)

Bwahahahah!  For some reason, I get a real kick out of people getting grossed out, or something.  Sweet girl, though.  I never even heard a thing about it!

The good, the bad, the daring and the darling

The Good:

It's been so much fun having Shawn home so much more! He is still gone Tuesday-Thursday evenings with his calling, but when he is home it is so much fun.  The boys get to wrestle, which is the first thing they ask him to do when he gets home every day, and we get to read books as a family once again.  Right now, we are reading "Bud, Not Buddy".

He's home to take care of things like kids that run out of gas on the way to school, and our dog that escaped and was found dead on the side of the road on a super foggy morning last week.  ( I know that should be another story.)

The Bad:

We have always had some wild turkeys around here and have enjoyed them, but this year our neighbor raised some tame ones and they are driving me nuts!  They spend all day on the side walk and the front porch.  There are about 30 of them (most of them in this picture are up on the porch) and the sidewalk has to be shoveled once a day and not because it has been snowing.  Yuck.  I step out the front door and for a minute I wonder if I've stepped into a chicken coop.

The daring:

My little boys haven't been taking visits from the Tidy Fairy very seriously lately.  After I found this note, I told the Tidy Fairy to take anything that wasn't in the right place, and she did!  Luckily, she told me that she would give things back the next week if she came and everything looked satisfactory.  I am so glad that she did this! The boys cleaned like they never had before - frankly I didn't think they were capable of how well they cleaned - and they did get their things back.  And now I know they can do more than I had thought...

Pace cutting his teeth on an old dagger that he found of Shawn's.  He can get into or climb up to anything. This is a very busy boy! He's into everything and so cute by one moment and the next moment he is throwing impressive tantrums that can last up to one hour in length when he doesn't get his way.  Last night he kept disappearing into the mud room and closing the door.  Usually he just leaves the door open. When we would check on him he invariably had something he wasn't supposed to have (how does he know what he isn't supposed to have?!) Things like open markers, phones, DAGGERS...I'm glad that he hasn't caught on that closing the door is a sure give- away that he is up to something sneaky!

The darling:

Isabelle holds "school" for Abram almost every day and teaches him some great things!  She makes up lesson plans before she starts and everything.  Below is the white board that she has in her bedroom.  She requested that I buy some fruit snacks that she can use as a bribe when Abram's attention span is getting short- she can make one pack last for weeks, just divvying out one at a time. She keeps a pack of those on the board, along with a small container filled with pretzels.  Also she has popsicle sticks with names on them so that everyone gets called on (she allows Nolan and her dolls to also participate). She makes it so fun that the boys always come back for more!