It's almost Christmas!

Christmas is almost here....and I thought I should get our Halloween pictures posted! :) The kids had so much fun and way too much candy!

Connor's a Smart and Funny Kid!

Last night, we took the kids to cut and load some wood in the truck, which is not our 'family car' of choice. Three kids sit in the back row and one has to sit in the middle front seat, that happened to be Connor for this trip. He was talking his usual background noise chatter and I heard him half talk and half sing something about how we were heading north. I thought about our direction for a minute and figured out that he was right. So I took this opportunity to be an encouraging mother and said, "Wow, Connor! That's right we are heading north. How did you know that?" He just shrugged his shoulders and giggled at me....and now that I think of it Adam had a smirk on his face, too. Then he started with his talking-song again, but this time we were heading northwest in his song. In my head I'm thinking, "What? How would he know that?" Suddenly it dawned on me that our direction shows up in the corner of the truck's rear view mirror right above his head. I started laughing and tickled him saying, "You little stinker, you can see it right there!" He just laughed and laughed because he had pulled one over on me. We all couldn't stop laughing....Jeffrey included, even though he had no idea what happened. I love and cherish these moments of pure joy!!

Special FHE

Our Family Nights usually end up with me feeling exasperated and like a failure....maybe I have a hard time finding the positive in my efforts! But Monday's FHE was a success!! Adam took they boys, Tanner and Connor, over to help a friend pack up their moving van. When they got home we were a little short on time...almost time for bed. I almost bagged it, but decided to ask Tanner to give a lesson on service. He accepted. He went into his room, sat down at his desk, turned on his lamp and got a pencil and some index cards out....oh he's so cute!! It warmed my heart. I then walked away to finish making dinner.



When it came time for his part, he walked up to the piano bench to sit down and asked Connor to come up and be his helper....he really didn't do anything, but was so happy that Tanner asked him to help. Tanner got his index cards ready (I saved them) and this is what they said:

Survise (Service)

• Survis is to do something for another person


• today me, Dad and Connor helped some people move. Is this survis? (we answered: yes)


• mom making dinner. Is this survis? (we answered: yes!!)


• seeing somebody get hert and you don't do anything. Is this survis? (we answered: no)

So what is survise? (we answered: to do something for another person)

This week I want you to do some survise for another person.

What a complete lesson! Even with Emma and Jeffrey's distractions (running around, not sitting still) I felt the spirit so strong. During his lesson, Adam and I exchanged serveral looks of WOW! His delivery was just so Tanner. We loved every minute of it! After, Adam and I both chuckled that his lesson was better than any of ours! We just found another person to teach FHE lessons!

Is Emma playing soccer?

Emma cracks me up! When I asked the kids if they wanted to play soccer, only Emma and Tanner wanted to play. I was certain she would love being a part of a team, since she was so bummed every baseball game last year her brothers played in and she didn't. Everything was fine until the second practice. She told me she didn't want to play anymore. I asked her why and she said, "That boy pushed me!" I thought to myself, "Whose child is this?" If it had been me, I'm sure I would've pushed or knudged him right back, just to let him know I could take it. The next practice I couldn't get her to participate. She stood motionless on the field when her coach could actually get her on it. To get her to move, I held her hand and ran with her while Jeffrey was in my other free arm. I was trying to get her involved. But it didn't do any good, she just ended up crying. Finally, by the next practice I convinced her to play. She actually seemed excited after the coach asked the kids to pair up. A little girl blurted out, "I want to be Emma's partner!" She had a huge smile on her face as the girls were kicking the ball back and forth. Then came the scrimmage. She was running around and going after the ball, which was a HUGE improvement. Then she stopped in the middle of the field arms folded in defiance with a big scowl on her face. When she came off the field I asked her what was wrong. She said, "That girl with the blue things in her hair is faster than me!" It was same girl that wanted to be her partner! Needless to say, I don't think she is quite ready for competitve sports. I'm still not sure if she's really my daughter.

My friend asked Connor why he didn't want to play. His response was, "I get to have free time! Tanner and Emma have to play. I get to run around and play." What logic!!

I want a gold star!

We have started our own Gold Star Program with our kids. We are trying to reinforce positive behavior and help our kids think of others. How it works: Gold Stars are earned when you go above and beyond with your actions. For example, picking up your toys without being asked, helping a sibling without Mom/Dad encouraging the behavior, being the peacemaker, etc. You do not earn them for following directions or being a good listener...you get the idea. Once a child has earned 10 gold stars, they get to plan a date with Mom or Dad. It has worked well. I have seen my kids think of nice things they can do for each other. Connor will often give up toys he is playing with for Jeffrey, who is in the "grabbing" stage. Many times they will come to me and ask, "Do I get a gold star for...." It's really fun and cute to watch!

Sometimes, as a mother, I feel underappreciated. I feel like I do nice things and at times get little thanks in return....so I started giving myself gold stars. The kids looked at me funny, at first, like I couldn't participate in their reward program. But after a few times of saying, "That's a gold star for Mommy!" the older kids understood what I was doing and would thank me for helping and serving them without being asked.

Fun with Aunt Stephanie

Aunt Stephanie came over for a visit last week. She has always teased me that my blonde haired children should really be hers. They sure do look like her! She took them to the park for a walk (thanks for the alone time I had with Adam!!!). When she came back she showed me all the pictures she took of the kids. Once I started looking at them, I told her that the kids aren't supposed to play in the fountain. Then I came to this picture of Jeffrey and we had a good laugh. How did she miss the sign? It was probably because she was looking after four kids....not looking for signs!

My REAL first post

My friend Rachel is an accomplished blogger. She created and designed our pretty blog...isn't she wonderful!?! Now it is up to me to keep this rolling. Hmmmm, might be harder than you may think. But I'll do my best and that will have to be good enough!

Tanner was baptized earlier this month. It was such a special day. He was adorable in his new suit. I am so greatful to all the family and friends that came to support him and our family on this special day. I am greatful that Tanner is such a wonderful kid and good example to his younger siblings. He amazes me!

His best friend and cousin, Justin, was baptized with him....the only two which isn't the norm in our stake. They were so much fun to watch as they listened and experienced this day together. When each was confirmed a member of the church, I saw them eagerly look at each other after each "Amen" to see how the other looked--like they were going to witness some miraculous change! Too cute.

Emma was just as or more excited that her brother got baptized. She asked Tanner all day, "Did you get baptized?" Which he would patiently answer, "Yes." Then she asked Connor, "Did you get baptized?" He said, "No." She then said, "Well, you still need to be good!"

Our home teachers came over tonight and asked Tanner about his baptism. All they got out of him was it was good. No matter what they asked him all he said was it was good or he felt good. On the other hand, Connor could recite all sorts of details from that day. I was so surprised because that kid didn't sit still for more than 10 seconds! He didn't look like he was paying any attention. Sure surprised me!