Christmas Morning

My mom made these fantastic pj's for all of the kids.

Merry Christmas

Then . . .



and now . . .

The Stockings Were Hung by the Chimney With Care

The first of these 35 stockings was made by my great grandmother, "Granny" for my mother and aunt when they were little girls.



As they got married and had children, Granny made stockings for their families.



After she died, my mom and aunt continued to make them.



We now have three generations of these beautiful red felt sequined masterpieces. To me, these stockings are more than holding bags for Santa's gifts. They represent my family and the times I want to always remember. Though similar, each stocking is different and unique, just like it's owner. The first time it hit me that we had a "large" family was when I saw all of our stockings hung on the stairs in our Lexington house. I remember thinking, "Are all of those stockings ours?" I imagine my mom and aunt must have thought the same thing as they looked at all of our stockings this Christmas.

We Share Everything

Ruby and Aaron share clothes, toys, a room AND eye patches. (Ruby fell off a chair and put a chip in her cornea.) Seriously, what is WRONG with us!!

A Lovely Thanksgiving

We had a lovely Thanksgiving. We hosted Adam's family and Christy for a total of of 22 people. I was able to use my China and had a great time decorating the tables. I wanted the kids to enjoy a "fancy" Thanksgiving too, so I went to DI and purchased some China to use for their table. I was so pleased with how it turned out. Everyone pitched in so the cooking wasn't overwhelming and yet extremely tasty. Our beloved company stayed late into the night. We played games (including the name game) and talked. To me, it was a perfect Thanksgiving. Among many things, I am thankful to have in-laws I love and look forward to spending time with.

Turkey Trot

On Thanksgiving morning Caleb and I ran the Utah Human Race. It is a 5k fund raiser for the local food bank and the church's Humanitarian Center. The race was started by some good friends and has grown every year. This year, they had a several thousand runners and raised over 30,000 dollars. It was a great way to start a day of feasting. Caleb did an amazing job and really pushed himself. I was so proud of him. The raise was fulfilling on a lot of levels, but the best part was being able to experience this with Caleb. I hope Isaac joins us next year.

Oh, Happy Day!

Even though Benjamin is 3 months old, I am still wearing maternity pants or "stretchy pants." Today I decided to just try a pair of jeans . . .and they fit! Good bye panel front, hello Levis!

Princess Party

I have thrown Star Wars parties, super hero parties, train parties, camping parties, bug parties, and lego parties, but never a princess party . . .until today.

Motivation.

Today I cooked and pureed 8 pumpkins. It took MUCH longer than I expected (I will never do that many again without a food processor). As the hours ticked on, I kept reminding myself of the FHE treat we would soon be nibbling. It didn't come out of the oven until 9:30pm, but it was worth it! Here is the recipe if you're interested.

Pumpkin Pie Cake

Topping:
1 C yellow cake mix
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbs margarine

Mix first 3 ingredients then cut in margerine. Should be crumbly.

Bottom Crust:
remaining cake mix
1 egg
1/2 C melted butter

Cream all together until thick. Spread on the bottom of a 9x13 pan

Middle layer:
1 large can pumpkin (29oz)
4 eggs slightly beaten
1 1/2 C sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
2 12oz cans evaporated milk

Mix together and pour over crust. Cook at 350 for 20 minutes. Take out of oven and sprinkle topping over. Bake an additional 60 minutes. Done when knife comes out clean. Best served chilled with whip cream.

( If using fresh pumpkin, measure out 29oz of pumpkin and use only 1 can of evaporated milk)

The End of a Season

This weekend was the last BYU home game and the last of Caleb's football season. (No, Caleb can't play. He has had to miss more than half the season because of his back. But he still has gone to practices and dressed for games). One the other hand, it was Aaron's first trip to Lavell Stadium.

Home Away From Home

This is a picture of our home away from home. In the last two months we have made 15 trips to Primary Children's Hospital or the adjacent Moran Eye Center, 5 trips to the local hospital, and had numerous doctor appointments. Why? . .

Caleb fractured his back, Isaac's Guttate Psoriasis came back, Aaron hurt his eye, Benjamin's birth and the newest injury . . . Ruby decided to set a trap for Caleb and whacked him in the head with a polo mallet. Caleb received 7 stitches in his forehead.

After Aaron was born, a doctor said to us, "You have 3 boys?! Your going to spend your life in the ER." I guess he was right.

Let it Snow!

Today we had our first big snow storm. The first snow is always a treat for kids. But for me it was momentous. When I left very early this morning to take the kids to Spanish class, I didn't have to warm up my car or scrape my windows. Why? . . Because my car was parked in a garage . . . for the first time since I was 17 years old! Let it Snow!!!!

Happy Birthday Adam!!!

Today Adam turned ??! These are ten of my favorite things about Adam:
1. His testimony
2. His selflessness
3. His innate good judgment
4. He's a great dad
5. His natural way with people
6. He's a great conversationalist
7. His imagination and creativity
8. His continuous desire for self improvement
9. His sense of humor
10. He can fix ANYTHING!!

Adam walked in while I was writing this post. He was embarrassed by my list and said he could come up with ten much better things. I refused to take my list off, but I will add his.

1. I have no hobbies to detract from the family.
2. I don't have b.o.
3. I 'm tall so I can reach things for you.
4. I let you be the boss.
5. I save us ten bucks a month because I cut my own hair.
6. I have famous cookies (no-bake's. The kids call them "Dad's famous cookies.").
7. I like Mexican food.
8. I haven't committed any felonies.
9. I don't leave the toilet seat up.
10. I look good in teal.

So there you have it, TWENTY great things about Adam. Happy Birthday to my all time favorite Guy!

First Halloween

Bewitched

During the month of October, Gardner Village is decked out with "a hilarious display of plump, green-faced witches dressed to the nines in their most wacky and witchy attire: with mismatched colors, floppy hats and frumpy bloomers." It was a fun and benign way to celebrate this spooky holiday.

I don't know Jack . . .

. . . but my kids do.

Trick-or-Treat at the Zoo

The Zoo is right. I'm not sure who was more wild, the animals or the THOUSANDS of children running around. I think half of Salt Lake was there. But as you can see from the center picture, we did get to see Charles. I don't know why he didn't wear a costume.

An Eyefull

A huge thanks to everyone for all the cards, e-mails, phone calls and visits. As you can see in the picture above, Aaron's little face is healing quite well. Sadly, he still has a tear in his retina and his eyesight isn't very good; but we are optimistic everything will eventually be well. THANK YOU!!

Fall

Who says that in Utah you can't . . .

go apple picking, (even if they're crab apples)




walk across old charming bridges, (even if they're new and made of steel)




or see fall colors (can you see the burst of orange in the back, middle).




We definitely miss Boston in the fall; but all kidding aside, we had a fantastic 5 days in Park City for Fall Break. We stayed at my all time favorite condos and took it EASY. We traded our hectic, rigid schedules for no schedule at all. Board games, movies, swimming, daily strolls, and a family birthday party was about as exciting as it got. I didn't want to come home.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

My top ten favorite things about Caleb.

1. His sensitivity to others feelings
2. His genuine desire to be good
3. His ability to laugh at himself
4. His love of reading
5. His willingness to talk through problems
6. His love of the scriptures
7. His loyalty to friends and family
8. His natural goofiness
9. His bright mind
10. His desire to be like his Dad

and . . . . his nightly request for a hug goodnight. Happy Birthday to another fantastic kid.

Black Eyed Pea

On Wednesday afternoon Aaron was playing with a bungee cord and hooked it onto a tree. He pulled it back and the hook came off the tree and hit him in the eye. It was HORRIBLE. Long story short, he fractured the bone around his eye, has 7 stitches in the fleshy part of his skin underneath his eyeball, ripped his globe and has a hemorrhaged retina. There are not words to explain the trauma. I will spare you the gory details, but it was the worst thing I have gone through with one of my kids. Usually things don't get to me like that but it was really difficult to watch him in so much pain. When my dad was a resident, he would occasionally take me with him on his rounds. I remember on one occasion, I watched an eye surgery. I found it interesting but I could hardly be in the room as they examined Aaron's eye over and over. Thank goodness Adam was there. Both Aaron and Adam were amazing. (I wanted to scream my head off).

The doctors are optimistic that his vision will not be permanently affected. Which is miraculous. Fortunately, the part of the eye that was damaged is not connected to his sight. They also think the globe and retina will be able to heal without surgery, which is also a huge blessing. The swelling in his eye has gone down tremendously, and as you can see in the picture, he can now open it.

We have had an outpouring of support from friends, family and neighbors. Meals have been brought, children tended, cards and gifts sent. When it happened, the older boys were at scouts and Adam was at work. Aaron was screaming, Benjamin was screaming and I was overwhelmed. As I hurried to put an ice pack together I noticed Benjamin stopped screaming. I looked to see my neighbor in the doorway holding Benjamin in one hand and Ruby's hand in the other.

As usual, this trial has brought a renewed remembrance of our dearest blessings and what matters most.

The Screamer

Who would guess this beautiful baby spent most of his waking hours proving that his lungs have healed.

A New Tradition

Until recently, my china had been sitting in a box for for over 12 years. I honestly couldn't remember exactly what it looked like. When we moved into our current house, I finally had a place for it. I joyfully unwrapped each dish in anticipation of actually being able to use it. But after 6 months, we still hadn't touched them. The traditional events one would think of for their use, simply are not possible with the large number of family we have here. A 12 place setting just doesn't cut it.

Determined to use it, we had a special brunch for conference . . .with the china. It helped reinforce the special nature of conference and was simply delightful. I had to mentally walk through the fact that it was possible something would be broken and that it would be fine (even though the china is from Germany and no longer made or replaceable). Luckily I wasn't tested. The kids made great effort to be careful and enjoyed the affair immensely. This is definitely a new conference tradition.

Soccer Mom

I just turned 33. My birthday has caused me to reflect on my stage of life. The phrase "soccer mom" seems to apply but feels a little lacking. What do they call a soccer/football/ballet/piano/scout/Spanish lessons/art for the ages/nursing mom? Oh ya . . . nuts.

Happy Birthday Aaron!

Today is Aaron's birthday. I could not go to bed without writing about this exceptional kid. Aaron is one of those kids I could write an essay about - but I will keep it brief.

For school, his teacher sent home a short form for us to fill out. She spotlights kids for their birthdays. One of the questions was "If I could be anyone in the world, I would be . . . . Because . . . . " I asked him the question and this was our conversation?

Me: If you could be anyone in the world, who would it be?
Aaron: ummm. Jesus!
Me: That's really nice. But I really can't write that. Besides Jesus, who would you be?
Aaron: Besides Jesus and Satan?
Me: Um. Ya. Besides Jesus and Satan.
Aaron: Myself.
Me: Why?
Aaron: Because, I love myself.

And that pretty much sums it up. He has been loved by everyone around him since the moment he was born. Including complete strangers. We rarely go anywhere without some lady stopping and commenting on how beautiful his hair is. As a toddler he rarely sat with our family at church. He took turns sitting with other adult friends (usually ep). He is quick to make friends of all ages and loves his "old" friends as much as his "young" ones. And they love him. It's no wonder he has such a healthy self-esteem.

He is also smart as a whip. He taught himself to count to 100 and on and on by studying the page numbers in the hymn book during sacrament meeting. He is extremely self motivated and will work and work on school work until he feels it is good enough. He is the only kid I've had that comes to me to work on his reading. Earlier this week, I found him running on the treadmill. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was "training."

"For what?"
"We are running laps at school and I want to be the fastest."

To top it off, he is super fun and keeps us all laughing. I know I am not alone when I say he is one of my favorite kids ever.

Happy Birthday to an AWESOME kid!

Back to School

Since school started this week, our summer is officially over. We are back to hectic schedules and life spent driving kids around. This year I really did myself in with kids in three different schools. Fortunately, by midweek we were able to put together a carpool for all three. That has been a life saver. It's also been nice to have my mom here. I'm operating under the false impression that we are on top of things. I'll have a huge reality pill to swallow when she leaves.

Here are pictures of the boys on their first day of school. This a momentous year for Aaron because he started Kindergarten. Notice how sharp he looks in that uniform!

Welcome Home Benjamin!

Ruby Lou

This week has been an exciting week for Ruby. She had her first day of preschool yesterday and started ballet for the first time today. Adam said she was so excited for school that she talked non-stop the whole way there (She was imagining all the fun things she was going to do). Her excitement was no less for ballet. She has been dreaming of her first day of ballet for months. She went with her good friend Anna and I imagine the car was filled with giggles of excitement.

Baby Benjamin

We would like to announce the birth of Benjamin on August 13^th. He weighed 8lbs 15oz and was 21 inches long. We think he has red hair, but it's tough to tell at the moment.

Janae developed a pregnancy-induced liver disease that necessitated he be delivered about 3 weeks early. Despite his large size, he had some lung issues and other complications that led to him being transported to the Children's Hospital where he is now. The doctors expected him to be there for several weeks but he is doing miraculously well. He is off most of his life support equipment and this week Janae got to hold him for the first time. We hope to have him home within the next week or two. We are grateful for the blessings and everyone's prayers in his behalf. We are so thrilled to have this sweet baby join our family and anxiously await the day we can bring him home.