Boy-Isms

N- Mom, can you draw stripes on me so I'm a tiger?

 Adam wanted to help me make the applesauce bread in a jar mix that his Cub Scout leader gave him for Christmas on Monday morning, which I told him would require that he wake up at 6:00.  He was more than happy about that, and I found him not in bed but dressed and reading next to the lit fire with a huge smile on his face that morning.  He told me woke himself up at 5:40, just in case I decided to change my mind and not wake him up.   

A conversion with Adam about being smart vs. being nice- 

M- It doesn't matter how smart you are or aren't.  What matters is how kind you are to other people.  

A- Actually, it does matter because being smart makes you live longer.

M- Oh really?  How so?

A- Well, if you're smart you'll get good grades, and then you can go to college and get a good education, which means you can have a good job, which means you'll make more money, and then you can have more money to buy the things you need, like medicine when you're sick or foods that are better for you, so you're healthier and you'll live longer.

M- You are correct.  It is important to be smart.  And to be nice.

*****

(Enjoying games in the sun)

Noah is still trying to figure out the difference between seasons and holidays.  

M- Christmas is over for another year. 

N, crying- What?!  Christmas is over??  But it didn't even snow!!

We have been having very unseasonably warm weather this January, and there hasn't been a snowflake in sight for weeks.

M- Yep, Christmas is over for the year, but it's still winter, so it could still snow soon.  

N- Oh, okay.  I just want some snow!!

*****

M, reflecting on Noah's age and the current state of our family- Buddy, how old are you going to be on your next birthday?

N holds up five fingers, then pops up one more.

M- Six!  Did you know when Leah was six she had two little brothers and a little sister?  How would you like that?

N, sipping some milk- Oh great!  

M- What?  You wouldn't like to have little brothers and sisters?

N- No, I just thought my milk was warm.  But it's not!

M- Oh, well would you like to have any little brothers or sisters?  (Not sure why I'm asking, this family is set in stone as is.  I just can't believe my baby is big enough to be a big, big, big brother, in theory.) 

N- I just like our family the way we live now.  Can't we just stay the way we are??

M- I think that sounds like a great plan.  

*****

Noah does not understand the idea behind the "disguise a character" assignments he keeps getting at school.  So far we've done a turkey that he insisted on decorating like a turkey, a gingerbread man that he disguised as THE gingerbread man, and the latest- a snowman decorated like Frosty the Snowman.  So literal, and I think it's great!  Just like his father.

Happy New Year!

Since half of us were sick for Christmas Eve, it only seemed fair that the other half of us got sick for New Year's Eve.  Thankfully it was just the miserable cold variety, so we were still able to have plenty of fun.   

First up- mermaid bowling, complete with mermaid makeup!

We timed our arrival poorly, but it was worth the two-hour wait to get two hours of bowling, two pizzas, and two pitchers of lemonade.  

 It was such a fun gift- thank you Grandma and Grandpa! 

Back at home we had an incredibly low key New Year's Eve celebration- we played a few games, ate a few tasty foods, and didn't even make it until midnight.

 We told the kids we would be celebrating a New York New Year's, and some of us didn't even make it that late.

 Emma and Noah tucked themselves in on the couch while the rest of us quietly rang in the new year.

 With butterbeer- a tradition from last year that has stuck. 

We all went right to sleep after that, except for Adam, also know as He Who Never Needs Sleep.  He informed us that he stayed up until well after midnight reading just because he could.   

On New Year's Day we invited all of the missionaries in the Des Moines area over for the afternoon/evening.  They don't go home over the holidays and it was fun to have them all here for the day.  

Minus the fact that I couldn't really talk, thanks to my cold.  It was mostly Jason's party, really, and the kids and I had to get ready to go back to school the next day anyway.  This holiday break was over much too quickly, and we are very slowly adjusting back to the school schedule once again. 

So here's to an exciting 2019!  2018 felt like a HUGE year for our family- Disney Cruise, finishing the basement, Jason's new calling, a ski trip and family Thanksgiving, and paying off any and all debts (minus the mortgage), surviving another two rounds work layoffs, plus lots of months of family visitors, healthy days at home, and so many wonderful memories made.  Honestly, we look back and aren't sure how we accomplished all that we did in 2018, and we don't fully know what 2019 will look like just yet.

But we do have we do have a few fun things on the horizon this year- a 15-year anniversary trip for me and Jason, a fun spring break, and we are anxiously anticipating Emma's baptism this summer.  It's going to be a great year!

Last Blog Standing

At dinner one night Leah lamented that it's only old people that have good stories to tell.

"I can't even remember most of what has happened in my life!" she wailed.

It's a good thing we've got this trusty blog to help jog her memory.

When I started the blog back in 2006, I didn't have any expectations for how often I would post, what I would post about, or how long I would keep it up.  I'm probably just as amazed as anyone that it has stuck around this long.

But I love the family history that I've recorded, one story, -ism, picture or memory at a time.  I love that the kids can look back and see snapshots of their younger selves.

I love stumbling upon an inspiring quote or having a meaningful experience and knowing where to put it so that it is preserved beyond my memory.

All of the kids love thumbing through any one of the blog books that we have printed out (we're finally up to date on printing!).  They are constantly off the shelf, and that makes me so happy.

So I keep blogging.

Genuine comments feel like a thing of the past.

Connecting with my real mom friends through blogs feels like a thing of the past.

Writing a blog because it's a family history- rather than a money-maker- feels like a thing of the past.

But this little piece of our family history is the best part of our past that I could share with our kids in the future.

It's not the whole picture.   There are plenty of days- good and bad- that will never make the pages of the blog, and that's okay.  Every memory that is preserved is worth the time that I've put into keeping the blog alive.

So I keep blogging.  It's all for you, babies!

Sticky Fingers

Stories shared around the dinner table- 

Jason- When I was a little boy my mom and my sisters and I would visit my Grandma Miller's house a lot.  We loved to go there when my dad, who was a firefighter, had to stay at the station overnight.  Then me and my mom and my sisters would stay at Grandma's house and have a sleepover with her.  It was always fun.  My grandma sold Avon makeup (lots of grandmas did back then!) and she always had a bunch of makeup in one of her bedrooms on the bed.  They were orders for people that had bought makeup that she needed to deliver to them, and me and my sisters always liked to look at the different kinds of make up and lotions and stuff there was.  The chapstick was my favorite, and one day there was a Tootsie Roll flavored chapstick on the bed.  We knew that we weren't supposed to touch or play with the stuff on the bed, but I just picked it up and smelled it really quick, then I put it back down.

Then I picked it up again and smelled it again, and decided I would like to keep the chapstick.  I asked my grandma if I could keep it and she said, "No, that belongs to someone else.  You need to put it back on the bed".  But I really wanted the chapstick- it smelled like candy!  So I kept it in my hand and when it was time to leave I stuck it in my pocket and we went home.  

And I didn't get caught!  

Until the next day when my grandma called and told my mom that the chapstick was missing from the order.  My mom asked me if I had taken it and I said, "Nope!" 

And a few hours later she asked again and I said, "Nope!" 

And then she sat me down and said, "That chapstick belongs to someone else.  I know that you were playing with it and I know that Grandma can't find it.  You were just baptized and when you were baptized you promised Heavenly Father that you would be honest and keep the commandments.  It's important that you tell the truth and be honest now that you have been baptized."

And then I realized that I had been lying, and that I didn't feel good about having the chapstick anymore, so I went and got it and gave it back to my mom. 

Melanie- When I was a little girl we lived in Alabama.  There was a drugstore nearby called Boozers drugstore that sometimes my big sister and my big brother and I would ride our bikes to so we could get some penny candy.  I don't remember if my mom went with us, she was probably home with the baby (Uncle Bubba (whose name is really Jared)).  My favorite thing to get at Boozers was a Sugar Daddy, which is a huge hard caramel rip-your-teeth-out treat on a stick.  I also loved to get Tootsie Rolls, and one time I didn't have enough to buy both, so I decided to put a few Tootsie Rolls in my pocket and just pay for my Sugar Daddy.  That wasn't such a good idea because I pulled one out of my pocket and starting eating it as soon as we got back on our bikes.  

My brother knew I had only paid for the Sugar Daddy, and he said, "What are you eating?  Where did you get that?"  and right away I knew I was caught.  I didn't have any more money, so I had to go home and tell my mom that I had taken some candy without paying for it, and she marched me back to the store with some money and stood with me while I explained what I had done and gave the cashier the money.  It was so scary that I never stole anything ever again (even when I was older and realized how easy it could be to just slip something in my purse).  The yucky feeling that came with stealing was not worth it.  

When I was a little bit older we lived in Rhode Island and my mom sent me on an errand to the store, which must have been just across a street or two from our house.  I was nine years old and that was old enough to go to the store by myself with my best friend Jennifer Williams.  My mom gave me a $5 bill and told us to go straight to the grocery store to buy one block of cream cheese and then come right back home.  

Well, when we got to the grocery store we realized that a block of cream cheese only cost $1, and that we had $4 leftover.  So we decided to buy some cupcakes!  Or maybe some pudding, but I don't know how we would have eaten that without spoons.  So we'll say it was cupcakes and that they were delicious!  

And after that we realized that we still had $3 leftover!  Either I forgot about going straight home or I didn't realize my mom wanted her change, but next to the grocery store was an arcade place that had my favorite arcade game- ski ball!  And with $3 we could play quite a few rounds!

So a little while later, once we were out of money and maybe realizing that we had been gone for a bit too long, we hurried home and gave my mom the block of cream cheese and no change.  I tried to tell her that it had cost the whole $5, but the truth came out pretty quickly.  

My mom said that she had trusted me to do a job for her, and that she had been counting on me to do that job well.  I felt really bad about what we had done, and after that I tried harder to do the things that people asked me to do to the best of my ability.  

Family Field Trip

Winter break is entirely too short this year, so we decided to take a family field trip during the last week of school to check out the new LEGO exhibit at the Science Center.  And we basically had the place to ourselves!

 The LEGO exhibit was awesome, but I think everyone's favorite part was the wood station.  We all got right to work making some impressive sawdust. 

 Leah made a Christmas present for Mom and Dad, and Adam made a Christmas present for Noah. 

We spent almost two hours in this station, constructing wooden treasures. 

The kids helped me make a little nativity puzzle to add to our collection- complete with a camel!  This was definitely a job for a scroll saw, but we didn't do half bad with our hand saw, drill, and sander. 

 I think this will be a treasure in our collection for years to come!

If not for its natural beauty than for it's reminder that family time is always the best time. 

11, 9, 7, 5

We cut it close this year, but here they are!  Ages 11, 9, 7, and 5.  

   The best of friends!

 And the silliest, too. 

Things to note in this year's picture- Leah's Young Women necklace, Adam's mix of adult and baby teeth, Emma's longer than Leah's hair, and Noah's mismatched socks (I don't understand why he does that)!

Miss Emma Grace

Every family should be lucky enough to have an Emma Grace in it.  She is fearless!

And smart!  

She was chosen as the library reader of the week and had her picture in the paper!

She is so goofy!

And a hard worker.

And loves to be called our little desert jerboa.  I'm still not sure why, but it fits!

Seven-year-olds are so sweet, and Emma is the best one we know!