HAPPY HALLOWEEN

WHOLE, and SOME!

 She thought the wait was too long.

She was so excited to get her cast off.

The minute they cut it off she was moving her arm everywhere.

She wanted to go show her daddy her fixed arm.

 

You know breaking your elbow is tough, but I think it is the best thing to have ever happened to my Madison. She has really become bold and excited to talk to anyone, even strangers. Before, she would shy behind her sister or me. (Heavenly Father seems to know what He is doing, not that I ever doubted.)

THANK YOU BONNIE!

Bonnie saved my life yesterday. I know people use that statement tritely but sincerely she was an angel. We got to spend time together which was fun. We got to visit with her husband and he is amazing. I got to meet my newest nephew.

Nate has been planning this trick-or-treating event for over a month. He asked me to take pictures of the kids in costumes and then he is going to have them printed and have the families come and pick them up at the office. (He offered me any camera I want as incentive.) I really didn't fully grasp his vision till the night before and I didn't have a clue how to deal with it on any level. The biggest problem is that I have only used natural light in photography and I still don't have a strong understanding of it. This situation required studio lighting. I didn't have the slightest clue how to deal with it. Bonnie has her own lighting. I called her Friday night. The event was Saturday afternoon and she was so sweet and came and saved my skin. She was amazing and patient and the event went longer than she planned and I am sure that was difficult. She never complained and was so kind.

Bonnie photographed over a hundred kids and a lot of them didn't want to wait in our ginormous line and so they just didn't bother.

My sweet mother-in-law watched all the her children and I am so grateful for her willingness to help up out last minute. It ended out being a long night for Bonnie, her husband and I am sure all their children.

 Loved his expression and it totally summed up the whole experience for me... and I am sure Bonnie.

 Nate had these pumpkins carved for the event. Bonnie I am sure got better pictures but they were amazing.

I wish I had pictures of all the cute little kids we photographed. Oh, my goodness this one little girl dressed like cotton candy. I have to have another baby girl just so I can make that costume. Adorable. However, because I didn't get any of the parents permission to post photos on-line.... I can't. I didn't take any pictures of my kiddo's, which would have been fun.

MY BROTHER

My brother came into town. They were here to get some dental work done, because Nate is the best dentist they know. (He is a rock star at dentistry.) I love my brother so much. He is such a great husband and father. I am blessed to be his sister. We got to stay up late talking about everything and he got me on a podcast for BYU speeches. I will be listening to them while I clean. He taught me so much. I am a baby in the digital world and there is so much I don't know. He also taught me there is so much I want to learn about my own faith. I am again motivated to be better and do more good this world.

We went on a hike while he was here. Sierra lead them up to the bowl. She showed them how to climb it and explore. James climbed into the bowl for the first time. He didn't like it. Madison so found this large rock. She wanted to keep it, so she carried for a half mile to the car. She wouldn't complain about her arms hurting but she would say her feet hurt. When she did I would say, "Then put the rock down." She would say, "My arms aren't hurting it is my feet." She wouldn't let go of it for anything. It is now a fixture outside our front door. She carried it all the way, so I had to let her keep it but it still isn't allowed in the house.

TREBUCHET

 Kay and Chuck are in charge of teaching the Webelos.

They may be the coolest scout leaders on the plant.

They are building a trebuchet with the boys.

Sierra wanted in on the action, so she was invited to join in.

Madison would rather ride in a wheelbarrow filled with leaves.

 She wanted buddy boy to join in the fun.

 Buddy boy's creeper face, adorable!

 This girl is a goof. I love it.

 

 They like to put the boy on one end of the tramp and cheer and watch to see who he will crawl to.

He typically makes it to the middle and turns back and crawls to mommy.

This time, Sierra won!



SOMEONE IS 5! WHAT?

Madison is five. It is hard for me to believe. Sierra turned five shortly after we moved to Colorado. It is amazing to me that the girl I considered my baby for so long is now five. I still call her my baby girl. She gets mad and tells me she isn't a baby anymore. What? I started this blog a few months before she was born, so her entire life has practically been documented here. I am grateful for her and love every ounce of her. A few things about Madison. She is always happy and it is really easy to get her to laugh. She is almost always laughing. She makes friends easily. When she has friends over she likes to be in charge of their play. She is always willing to help me with anything I need her to help me with. She is brave. She tells me this all the time. I am brave. I am more brave than my sister. She is braver than her sister in a lot of ways. She isn't afraid of anything. She is more cautious than her sister and she doesn't want to do a lot of things her sister does, but she is braver than her. Sierra will get Madison to do things she won't do like take the neighbor's cookies or go in the dark storage room to get applesauce.

Story: Sunday was the primary program. Madison snuck her little spray bottle onto the stage. She sat and sprayed it on herself and the two little boys standing next to her and the audience. I was mortified. Nate wasn't at church. I was alone. I had James. My hands were tied. I kept praying her teacher would notice and take it away but she never did. I told her she had to sit on a chair when we got home and I told her she had to go to the Primary President's house and tell her she was sorry for what she did. She didn't flinch. She said, "Okay, I will." Brave.

Her daddy said he was going to take her to lunch anywhere she wanted to go. On the way I asked her where she wanted to go. She said, "McDonalds." I tried to sway her. I kept saying, Chick-fil-A over and over again. I told her about the cool play place they had. She said, "McDonalds."  I said, "There nuggets aren't even chicken they are just crumpled paper." She said, "I like their nuggets." I said, I won't make you the fancy cake you want for your birthday just a plain dumb cake. (Bad Mom!) She said, "That is okay, I don't need a fancy cake." STINK!

We went to McDonalds! Yuck! She loved it though and that is all that counts.

I made her the fancy cake she wanted. She carried around this thimble sized plastic My Little Pony cake and begged me to make her one just like it and I am pretty sure I nailed it!

I bought her one gift this year and a mylar balloon. We have a tradition of filling the living room floor with balloons on their birthday, but I have this paranoia about James choking right now... not sure why. I thought she would be disappointed with not having more than one present to open but she wasn't. As a matter of fact she seemed more satisfied and happy. I bought her a little magnetic, wood, paper doll set from Sam's club. Her and her sister stayed up till 9:30 playing with it. Sierra said Madison was so lucky. She was so lucky.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY

Nate is off fishing with his best friend from childhood all weekend. He was super excited. They might as well be 10 years old again. They were like two kids on Christmas morning. They got up before the sun and headed off on their weekend long adventure. I am happy for Nate. I am sure he will have the best birthday ever. He hasn't had much time off since he opened the doors of his new practice. This weekend break is much needed and am grateful that Chris could make the long drive out from California to play with him.

So tonight I get to have the house to myself. I took the kids to the park and they played. Then we came home and made homemade pizza, their favorite. Then after a monumental explosion by the above child... they are all sound asleep. As I went into to check on them before I went to bed, I couldn't help but think about how beautiful they were. How lucky I am to be their mother and Nate's wife.

Nate and I met exactly ten years ago this time of year. It was a few days before his birthday that I decided I wanted to marry him. I had seen him at church and at a few church activities and he had taken me on one date and I knew from the moments we had spent together that he was good, pure, and virtuous. We live in a rough world and finding those things in a young man isn't easy. I was spending time with a different young man who was handsome, gregarious, connected, and funny but wasn't pure. We were standing together overlooking the valley and he made and off-colored joke. In my mind I said to myself, I don't want to be with men like this anymore, I want to be with Nathan. I called him and said, "Your birthday is in a few days, why don't we go hiking up to Stewart Falls and have a picnic." He said he would like that.. I wish I could remember what we talked about as we hiked. I do remember I loved spending that time with him and I wanted to spend more time with him. Here we are ten years later, I still love spending time with him. I miss him when he isn't around. I think he is brilliant and funny. He is everything I wanted in a husband and the Father of my children. I feel so blessed to be his wife.

He has been working tirelessly to give me a perfect smile. I have spent hours in his dental chair. He has removed ever ounce of amalgam from my mouth and made me promise never to allow anyone to put any amalgam in my mouth ever again. He has replaced all my fillings with in-lays and on-lays. You can't even tell he has done anything to the teeth on an x-ray, the in-lays and on-lays fit so perfectly. I tease and say, "It is the diamond he promised to buy me when we graduate from the dental school. He just decided to put in my mouth." I am certain he has spent a small fortune, but he wants my mouth to be perfect. He is a perfectionist. I am blessed to be his wife and his patient.

The other day I walked in for another appointment and he was in his office sitting in his chair leaning forward with his jaw bone resting on his knuckles, gazing distraughtly forward. He has felt a lot of pressure from work and other places lately. I went over to him and gave him a big hug. I am glad I am the person who gets to give him a hug when he is having a really hard day. He is my favorite person. I love him. I am grateful for the last ten years and I am ready for another ten.

 

SHE IS A GOOF!

 She has a million faces and I love them all.

BROKEN ELBOW

 

Last Thursday I was laying on my bed a bit sad, sometimes life is just difficult. I was crying and praying. The thought came to me that when I felt dumpy as a young adult, I would always get in my car and drive to the Mount Timpanogus Temple. I would sit in the parking lot and weep until I couldn't anymore and talk to me Father-in-Heaven. Then when I got a bit older I was blessed with my endowments. I would go inside the temple and I would feel peace there. I went frequently and sought direction for my life. I wanted to be there again.

The next morning I packed mine and children's bags and we left for the temple. I dropped my children off at my parents house and after changing into a dress, I went straight to the temple. I was filled. I had felt a bit empty but being there filled me with peace and direction. The Holy Ghost spoke to me in a very personal way. I received answers I had been seek for ten years and direction I have wanted just as long. I am so grateful.

I wanted to make a trip to Utah to bottle fresh applesauce with my parents. My parents said if I would stay through until Monday they would bottle applesauce with me. Deal. I watched General Conference with my parents all weekend. I love conference weekend. This talk particularly touched me.

Monday morning came and I left with my sister to go and pick pears. While I was gone Madison broke her elbow falling from a four foot slide. It still dumbfounds me. I really think this poor child has been sick and hurt more than she hasn't because of the pneumonia she suffered last January. She has just been weak ever since. I took her to the doctor and because she was barely fussing I don't think they thought anything was wrong with her. It took nearly three hours just to get a splint and  sling on it. She kept whispering, "Mom it hurts so bad." I asked for some medicine but she wouldn't take it. She fell asleep on my shoulder waiting for the doctor. She begged me to sing "flower gleam and glow." She thinks her hair is magical. I sang it through three times and she was out. They came in and said she was fine and most likely she twisted it. Then they came back and said, "Nope, she broke it."

James got sick and I had to run a few errands for Nate, so we couldn't leave on Tuesday. We finally came home on Wednesday. James has been terribly sick ever since. He has had a runny nose that turned into a three day fever. When the fever broke he had a rash covering his whole body. He looked scary. After days the rash went away. Now he has a sever cough and has so much phlegm in his throat he sounds like he is drowning. I took him in when he had a fever the doctor said it was just a minor ear infection and sent him home. I haven't taken him back again.

Madison's arm has had very little affect on our lives. She is so proud of her cast. She said a hundred people asked her how she broke her arm at church. She was so proud and happy. This little incident has really helped her come out of her shell. The orthopedic surgeon paid her a compliment. She said, she sure isn't an anxious child and she has a real high tolerance of pain.

James, that is altogether another story, I want my little boy to get better. Please keep him in your prayers.

FRIENDS

 We went to the thrift store today and spent seven dollars. The girls bought books.

The boys whined, but that is typical of boys when girls are shopping.

The shared angry bird crackers.

We walked down main street and took a few picture of this little girl.

Her mother says she doesn't have many pictures of her on her wall.

To tell you the truth I don't have many posed pictures of Madison either.

I took of few of Lucy and a few of Madison.

They are both adorable.

(I swear men who are bald look older than men with hair. Babies that are bald look younger than babies with hair. James's friend is only a month and a half older than him but you could mistake him for a toddler, okay he almost is one, but James is a baby... even though he is almost a toddler too. BUT, don't worry folks this little man isn't getting hair for a really long time. You might see the beginnings of hair at two. The same goes for all my babies.)