One Last Christmas Post

Since I shared my traditional "Christmas Eve and I'm finally headed to bed" picture from last year I thought I'd share this year's too. It'd seem weird not to.



I also wanted to share a few shots of Christmas morning. I had wanted show how my giddy little LV looked in his Darth Vader get-up. Pretty cool. Darth baby was cute too. lol

Ho Ho Ho or Something.

Santa managed to make it here. What took me until 3 am to wrap was unwrapped in a matter of minutes. We smiled. We sang. We had a merry Christmas.

I haven't downloaded any pictures yet, but can't wait to. We have had a wonderful day. You should see LV in his Darth Vader get-up. Priceless. Lots of things contributed to the day, making it memorable. Here's a list of just a few of the highlights of my Christmas Day...

Church. How awesome to have Christmas fall on Sunday. We went to Vern's parents church to see Kori sing in the choir. They sang a version of the First Noel that used Pachelbel's Canon as the music. Two of my favorites wrapped up in one. Beautiful.

Gifts & kiddos. LV was beside himself with Joy. We managed to surprise Brandon. He was happy. Kirsten reacted so well to her more grown-up gifts this year. She got no toys, but was happy. Whew. Vern was good to me. He really listened. A nice thing.

Family. I spoke with my dad, thought about my sister & nephews, hoped my mom was having a good day and enjoyed some time with my in-laws. I married into a wonderful family. Today was one of those days I truly appreciated that fact.

Food. Breakfast out as a family yesterday. Mmmm... Today we had turkey. And mashed potatoes. And popcorn balls. 'Nuff said.

I had a great nap with Elijah after dinner. Perfection.

It was a truly wonderful Christmas.

If anyone else finds this, I hope yours was too.

Warm Wishes

The kids are bouncing off the walls. Tonight is Vern's family's Christmas party. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. For all intents & purposes it's here. Christmas is upon us.
I promise to take the time to upload some pictures from the next couple of days. At some point. (It's just that it takes so looooong to upload directly from the camera. Maybe Santa will bring me a new card reader.)

This is what the tree looked like before I headed to bed on Christmas Eve last year. (Note there was nowhere to hang the laden stockings in that house either.)

For anyone else who still pops in, may you have a very merry Christmas. I didn't get to doing cards this year. My apologies. I hope that those whom I love know it & know we're wishing them the warmest, sweetest Christmas ever.

Three Days?!

I am in disbelief that there are only a few short days until Christmas. This month has flown by.

Today was a fabulous day though.

I finished up the stocking stuffers while out today with Lauren, so we're officially finished with the shopping & ready to wrap. I think the kiddos will be happy with what we were able to do. For a no-bonus year it seems crazy that we could almost fulfill their wish lists. Of course, they did a good job of not asking for everything under the sun. Love my sensible kiddos.

Vern brought me home some See's Milk Chocolate blue & silver foil balls.
Mmmmmm... They were so good and he's sweetheart to bring me home a treat.
I enjoyed them (and even shared a few) while playing WoW with Julie & Kyle. Fun!

Time for bed. Wrapping is on tap for tomorrow.
I can't put anything under the tree yet though. Little Vern can't handle actually seeing that there are gifts for him without begging to open 'em every 5 seconds. I made the mistake of putting some from Grandma under the tree & had to put them back away after seeing how it tortured my child. Silly little boy.

"I bring you good tidings of great joy..."

Christmas Questions

Yay! I was tagged by Kristi to answer these fun Christmas questions on my blog.

Hot Chocolate or Egg Nog? Hot chocolate!

Does Santa wrap the presents or just set them under the tree? Everything gets wrapped unless it's a pain (like a ball or a bike.)

Colored or white lights on the tree/house? White for the last few years. Kirsten keeps asking me to bring some color back. I prefer white on the tree & solid colors if we were to do color somewhere else. We shall see.

Do you hang mistletoe? No.

When do you decorate? By the first week of December.

What is your favorite holiday dish? Hmmmmm... I love a good cheese ball at Christmas. I love gingerbread too. With my hot chocolate. :)

Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Another hmmmmmm... I have lots of great memories of yummy food & fun. I loved being the first to wake up & I'd turn on the Christmas lights and enjoy the quiet. I still do. I used to go with my mom to pick out a tree by Dominion & the two of us would haul it home. I usually got to decorate it (I don't think anyone else was all that interested.)

How and when did you learn the truth about Santa? I honestly have no clue. Must not have had much impact on me.

Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve? Yes. Just one each. Same as when I was growing up.

What kind of cookies do you set out for Santa on Christmas Eve? lol Do you know my husband? This is not exactly a priority. I'm glad to have decorations up. ;)

Snow! Love it or hate it? Love it. Love to play in it. Love how pretty it is before people step all over it & ruin it.

Can you ice skate? Absolutely. I am Canadian. We froze our yard one year (remember Robin?) and they used to make rinks at the local elementary schools. Plus there were several nice rinks close by if you weren't into lumpy bumpy stuff like that.

Do you remember your favorite gift? As a child? Um, I loved getting clothes. I remember how happy I was to get a flourescent sweatshirt as a pre-teen. The year we each got a Simon game was cool too.

What's your favorite holiday dessert? Christmas isn't Christmas without a box of turtles. That's my must-have Christmas sugar.

What's your favorite holiday tradition? I loved walking with my mom & looking at lights late at night. Now it's a late night drive with Vern, but it's just as special

What type of tree? A nice artificial one. 14 years old. I'm ready to get a pre-lit one. Hopefully next year.

Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving. Not that I don't like recieving too, but nothing is cooler than my kiddos' excitement Christmas morning. I stress too much about other people liking their gifts though.

What is your favorite Christmas Carol? Just one? I love Christmas carols. I've typed out complete lyrics to two on my blog so far this year. lol Um, how about I go traditional & get to list two? Today they'd be O Holy Night & The First Noel.

Candy Canes, YUCK or YUM? Eh. Not my first choice but not yuck either. Somewhere in the middle. I mean, it is candy after all.

I hope that Carin hasn't already been tagged with this, since that's who I'll pick on. There's no guarantee that she reads this, but it's worth a try.

Bursting.

I won't even try to put into words how proud I am of my little girl tonight. Bursting at the seams and wanting to share even though there's no time to edit. (Please excuse the stage/flourescent lighting.) In any light Kirsten would have shone.

She danced...

I was in tears by the end of this dance. The good kind. I hope Kirsten will continue dancing throughout her life. If only as a hobby. She's meant to. She's just so talented & graceful. Other people's parents felt the need to tell her so.
In case you couldn't tell which ballerina belongs to me...

Oh, and she sewed her own costume in sewing class. Cool, huh?

She sang and she acted...

Her choir teacher gave her a hard solo and told her she could do it. She sure did. See that block in front of Kirsten? She stood on it & sang her little heart out. Her teacher was beaming almost as much as we were afterwards. Another something she should continue. A wonderful performance.
Kori (Vern's sister - top picture) performed her song beautifully, and Kenyon's girfriend Lottiana was amazing. (Top & second last of these pics.) I was proud of them too. All of the kids did so well - and the college auditorium they rented was full of friends, family & schoolmates. What an achievement. What a wonderful celebration of the birth of Christ. I wish I could share more pictures, but this post is monstrous as-is.
Kirsten said the hardest part was all of the costume changes. She was in several scenes of the play between songs. She was soooo tired by the end of the night.

Back home I recieved an encore performance from a little girl who didn't want to take the stage makeup off just yet.

Just a little while longer mom.

Sweet dreams baby.

A Quiet Day & Christmas Spirit.

Tonight is the Christmas program at the school. Kirsten is nervous, but she'll do wonderfully. I know it. Besides, I've seen her practice her dance & have had her sing her solo to me countless times. She's beautiful. She'll shine. I'll take pictures. No promises of perfection under the icky flourescent lighting, but if you know me you know there will be pictures. Lots & lots of pictures.

It's been a quiet day at home. Elijah is still trying to get better. Little Vern has been watching Back to the Future & I've been doing laundry. Exciting, huh? I don't have any shots of LV engrossed in his movie, but here's Elijah just being him.

And I'll share what I've been humming as I work. It's a very pretty Christmas song. :)

Samuel Tells of Baby Jesus

Said Samuel, "Within five years a night will be as day
and baby Jesus will be born in a land far far away."

Hosanna! Hosanna! Oh let us gladly sing.
How blessed that our Lord was born;
Let earth recieve her King.

Across the sea, in Bethlehem
Lord Jesus came to earth
As Samuel had prophesied,
And angels sang his birth.

Hosanna! Hosanna! Oh let us gladly sing.
How blessed that our Lord was born;
Let earth recieve her King.

Six Thumbs Up

We took the kiddos to see Goblet of Fire on Saturday and loved it. I've never seen LV stay put and stay riveted like that. (Not even for the last Star Wars, and the boy is a self-proclaimed Jedi.) It was a little more intense and less for younger kids than the previous movies (as you'd expect - it's the same with the books.)
Very good movie.
Six thumbs up.

and toss it way up...

That's his favorite part. He giggles when you say it. And daddy is his favorite person to play it with.

Just thought the blog needed a dose of Elijah. :)

His Secret

I love Christmas. The meaningful aspects, the fluff & everything in between. The whys, the hows, the tastes, the sounds, the sights, the giving, the recieving. All of it.
Vern does not.
He is one who's considered a scrooge-type by many. He doesn't care much for Christmas trees, thinks the lights are a waste of electricity. He rolls his eyes when I start listening to Christmas music in November. He isn't into wrapping presents or stuffing stockings.
A self-proclaimed grinch.
But I know him well enough to just smile and let him think he's fooling the world. He may care less about Christmas fluff, but he's one of those dads you'll find at Toys R Us fighting the crowds on the last day to make sure our children have enough. I put together idea lists, but he is the gift-giver. He's good at finding cool gifts for people and I swear he enjoys that part. Immensely. That's been his thing. He may not enjoy all of it, but his heart is there for the important parts. The faith in a baby who's birth we celebrate, and the giving and sharing with those around you. It makes me smile to think I know his secret.
He is no grinch.

Fives

Five things I love about Winter...
1. Fresh-fallen snow
2. Soft sweaters
3. Playing in the white stuff (tobogganing, building snowmen, cross country skiing...)
4. Hot chocolate
5. Baking

Five things I love about December...
1. Christmas
2. Watching my children perform in the school Christmas performance. This year kirsten is dancing (the ballet performance is to Mary did you Know - I'll be needing tissues.) She also has a solo in the choir and two parts in the play. My little performer is way excited.
3. Eating out (I love this all year round, but especially in December)
4. People are generally happier.
5. Singing Christmas carols.
Five things I love about Christmas...
1. Lights. Pretty Christmas lights. Especially on my tree. At night. Alone. While listening to the Forgotton Carols.
Bliss.
2. Christmas carols. My favorite music. Really.
3. Treats ( Like gingerbread, divinity & popcorn balls. Mmmmmm...)
4. My children's smiles on Christmas morning.
5. Being around people I love.

My to-do list

I thought I'd start one for tomorrow...

~Make Vern his cake
~Whatever it takes to make Elijah feel better. Poor sick little one. He's been goopy & feverish.
~Hug my kiddos.
~Make waffles for breakfast. Eat 'em with LV. :)
~Start planning Christmas gifts. (No, I haven't shopped yet. But I'm starting to think about it.)
~Laundry *sigh* There's always lots of laundry.
~See if the library has the next book in this series. I devour books much too quickly.
~Go through Kirsten's closet (It's time to see how much she has that actually fits.)
~Blog

There are probably a billion more things, but right now all I wanna do is sleep.

Of snow and Christmas

The arrival of the pretty white stuff has me almost feeling ready. We have the front room done. Now it's just the family room & some odds and ends. Then I'll have Brandon get the tree box out of the garage. The kids get to put the tree up this year. I may rearrange a few things when all is said and done, but Brandon gets to wrap the lights & the kiddos will hang the ornaments. I'll have to save making a batch of rice crispy squares for that day. I'm thinking Friday. Should be fun.

Happy Sunday!

Sorry for the quiet around here. I haven't been able to type very well. Vern & I spent a chunk of our Thanksgiving day in the ER. Staph infection starting in my right pointer finger and moving up my arm. Lucky me. I went in for my last dose of intraveneous antibiotics yesterday, and now have no tubes in either hand. Yay! The owieness has mostly subsided, and things are getting back to normal.

Shall we play catch-up? Just some random schtuff going on around here.

Vern's great grandma Pulsipher passed away this weekend. The funeral is tomorrow. It was a good thing. She was ready and her family was prepared. I'm hoping Vern can get the time off work to be there.

We finally got the snow we've been promised lately. Kirsten & little Vern are outside enjoying it right now. Fun!

Thankskgiving dinner without mashed potatoes went fine. I did miss them, but the company more than made up for it. :)

The time spent waiting in the ER had me bored so I started reading one of Vern's books. Wizard's First Rule. I like it so far.

I finally got to try a cherry Hersheys Kiss. Mmmmmmmmm... Add those to the list of yumminess. :)

I found out that Vern has never had a twice baked potato. I plan to make him some in the near future. More yumminess.

I have no way to download pictures until I get a new card reader, so I can't share with you how cool the trees looked this morning, all covered in snow. You'll just have to believe me.

Happy Sunday!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!
We're headed to dinner in an hour or so.
I'm looking forward to time with family & yummy pie. :) I'm not too sure on Grandma's idea of baked potatoes instead of mashed, or no cooked veggies because she thinks nobody eats them. (I do. I will miss my green beans & glazed carrots.) I intend to have fun & enjoy my turkey anyway.
If anyone still makes it here besides me, happy Thanksgiving. May you enjoy good food and may you be surrounded by people that you love. :)

One of those days

This hasn't been the greatest Tuesday ever.

My computer wouldn't start this morning. It's still acting sick. It won't let me back stuff up, defrag or anything. All it has let me do today is hop online. It hangs when it starts & I haven’t been able to access any programs or files. Period. Ugh. Crossing my fingers that I don't lose anything on here. Scary stuff.

Been cleaning all day & can't say I'm done. Looks better, but not done. Sigh.

Vern took the phone to work with him. I have no idea why he does that. Having young children & no access to the outside world with exception of walking somewhere is not my idea of a good (or safe) time.

My kids have no school for the rest of the week. They seem to think this means that it's party time. There will be no partying in this house until it's in a presentable state. At this rate it might take all week.

Elijah is suffering from his first diaper rash. This isn't just a minor little rash either. It's seriously owie-looking mushy skin in the folds. He's being a trooper about it. If it were my skin I'd be in tears. Thankfully he's as smiley and happy as ever.

Argh. As I was typing this our internet connection conked out. Goodness. Brandon says the little indicator light isn’t coming back on. Grrrrrrr… Good thing I can copy and paste into MS Word. I will stop typing when I’m good and ready. Ha.

My tummy is indicating that rice crispy squares do not make for a satisfactory dinner. Breakfast, yes. Dinner no. Maybe I’ll make taco soup. It’s quick, simple and yummy. Not as yummy as the hires burger I’m craving, but it’s not like I can call Vern & make any requests.

It’s a good thing that I have the yummiest little babe asleep on my lap. It’s hard to proclaim myself in a bad mood with his sweetness so close. And Brandon is helping little Vern clean up his big mess in the toy room. Hopefully Vern can figure my computer woes out and can easily fix it. Tonight. I will promptly back everything up.

So far this hasn’t been a great day. Thankfully it isn’t over yet. I wonder if I’ll even be able to post this before today ends. No light as of yet. Stink-o-rama.

Ahhhhhh... Vern came home & was able to make my computer happy. A dead cpu fan & wonky card reader were the trouble causers. His phone call with our isp tech support seemed to fix the internet connection just fine. Now if only either one of us were in a good mood.

I think some Pepsi & a good dose of Elijah's squishy hugs are in order. Mmmmmmmm...

Zzzzzzzzz...

That will be me in just a few minutes. Before I go to bed tonight I figured I'd better write something. It's been a few days. Slacking in the blog department again.

You know how I've been doing the giving thanks thing this month in honor of thanksgiving? Well, I was thinking about it today (Thanksgiving, the spirit of giving thanks, that sort of thing...)
Anyhow, I decided that being thankful means being happy with what you have.

What a wonderful thought for me to start the holiday season with. My family's needs are met. We're together & happy. We have so much to be thankful for.

There are so many things I want for Christmas. I want a new tree & decorations. I want all kinds of baking goodies and the ability to shower my loved ones with lots of gifts. I want Vern home more. I want my diamond ring. :) lol Realistically, those things are not likely to happen. I realized that not only is it okay - but I'm happy nonetheless.
Truly happy.
As-is.
A good feeling.


Goodnight. :o)

Slacker

Yep, that's what I am. Every day I think of what I'm going to post, and lately it seems like I get around to actually posting it the next day or so.

I'm trying to gather pictures of my kids for my parents and for Vern's family. Can you believe that with the hundreds of pictures I take of my kids, my dad doesn't have a picture of Elijah on his wall yet? My mom doesn't either. Nor do Vern's parents or grandparents. Nothing. We have been horrible about getting our own stuff printed. I figure now is a good time to fix that.

So I'd pulled up this picture of Elijah & liked it in color, but Brandon liked the black & white better. Now I can't decide. Color or black & white?


The color version is straight from the camera & the bw is only converted and toned.

I have smiley looking at the camera pics too, but love the shallow depth of field, light & mood here. If for noone else but me & my bare walls. ;) Now to figure out which version to get done.

I actually wrote more here - analyzing the two & talking technicalities, but erased it in favour of other people's opinions. If this were your baby & picture which version would you print?

Perfect Autumn Day

So this was the view looking east out my back door this morning. (I cropped as much as I could of the neighbor's roof.) It's a beautiful, sunny day. Sweater weather. A perfect Autumn day. We're going to borrow my in-laws rake and take care of the huge mess of leaves in the front yard this afternoon. Should be fun. There's hot chocolate and a new pan of rice crispy treats for afterwards.

Bliss.

Today I'm thankful for Nina & Vern. My in-laws.
They're truly awesome people who do so much for us and whom I find myself grateful for on a daily basis.

This Kid. (yesterday's entry)

B. That's what I call him. He's my oldest. In some ways I'm more protective of him than any of my children.
He was my first. He was my miracle baby. A rough start that we won't go into. (I don't recommend having babies in Canada. *shudder*) Truly, him making it here is a miracle.
Then he spent two weeks in traction at the hospital at 8 months old after surgery on a septic hip. What a trooper. I believe it was that surgery that did damage to his bladder. His bladder has scar tissue, nerve damage and deperately needs to be operated on to funtion normally. We were told he has to wait until he's 18. He handles it well. We're waiting patiently.

Anyhow, he was there in Toronto. Somehow he made it through my single mommyhood, those years when I was young and still working on growing up. Through the college years where we rented one room, and he slept next to me while I did homework by candlelight. Where we left for the bus stop at 5:30 every morning and got home between 6:30 & 7:00 every night. Where I pulled him in the wagon to get groceries & he'd sit on the case of pepsi on the way home. It was just the two of us. We had fun.

Then came Vern. We came to Utah. I think Brandon has enjoyed having a dad in his life. Vern and Brandon have developed a good relationship. It's been a good thing. I don't know what I would have done if I'd still been a single mom when Brandon had his grand mal seizure in third grade and we found out he had epilepsy. It was such an emotional, difficult time. He had to go off of the meds for his neurogenic bladder and start taking seizure medicine. He hasn't had a seizure since then. He weaned himself off of the meds after a couple of years because they made him out-of it and tired all of the time. (Um yeah, narcotics will do that to you.)

I believe he's grown out of epilepsy like some kids do. Still crossing my fingers that that is the case. We need to get him tested to be sure. He certainly seems to be better than ever, especially these last few years - since coming off the meds. He started growing well again, is awesome at school & in sports. You'd never know to look at him that this kid has had physical struggles. He doesn't look sickly. He's athletic and has the appetite of a teenaged boy.
He's been through a lot in his 14 years.
Emotional & physical trials. Things most kids his age can't imagine. Yet he's so strong. He's my hero in many ways. He sets an amazing example to his younger siblings by being helpful, always willing to work and be there for me. I can't imagine taking care of my babes without him. Vern works a lot of hours. Brandon ends up being the one to help care for them. Everything from making meals some days, changing diapers and just about any household chore. He's simply amazing. He has a great attitude. He's an amazing young man. My B.

I love this kid.

Grey Friday

Happy Friday! It's a grey & rainy sort of day here.

I haven't had any pepsi in awhile. I need to pour me some. A headache is brewing.

It's after 5:00. I hope Vern gets to leave work soon. His smile would do my mood wonders.

I have my "calm" music list going. I think I need to create a new "happy" one. I could use a dose of happy.

I think I'm going to make some cake-mix cookies.
Mmmmmm... There's some happy right there.

Here's a picture for today. My Elijahboo.



Today I'm thankful for Elijah's hugs, Kirsten's singing, Brandon's kindness & LV's kisses. And hopefully soon, Vern's smile. :)

2 boys, 1 camera, 5 minutes.

Voila! A post on my nothing to say day.

Cute little feet.

Love how LV plays with Elijah. Love these boys.

Nothing, really.

Some days I just don't have anything to say. This seems to be one of those. I did want to give my daily thanks though.

Thank you Vern, for being the official parent today, and dealing with our kids' school stuff.
Thank you Nina for enabling our children to go to private school. You're simply amazing.

Time well spent.

Cuddling with Elijah.
Making waffles for breakfast.
Making my bed.
Gathering family pictures to send to my mom.
Blogging.

Okay, I haven't accomplished much yet today. I'll blame it on my headache.

My days for the most part really aren't very exciting. House stuff. Kids stuff. Photography stuff. Looking at things I really am very lucky. I have time with my kids that some people only dream of. I get to structure my own days and choose for myself what I do with my time. (There are some limits there of course, especially for a person who lives in Utah and doesn't drive.) I'd like to say that I'm always organized, motivated and such, but, um no. I wish. Hopefully though, for the most part my time is well spent. I think so.

Something worth keeping tabs on.

I must say, I dislike it when Vern comes home & asks me what I did that day on a day where the house isn't spotless. As though the fact that his children are happy, clean, fed and such don't count. Of course he can tell when I have a big cleaning day, but I think that the days where I spend more time playing with the kiddos are just as important. Again, I think that time with them is time well spent. Even if it means that some household chore gets put on hold.

As for today, I have a busy one ahead to catch up after a slow start. I must say though, that I've enjoyed having Elijah nap here on my lap as I typed. Now if LV will come and kiss my headache away maybe we can get some noticable stuff done around here. Preferably before Vern comes home from work.

A couple of things I'm thankful for today...
The sunshine coming through my window.
Patience. Especially on the part of little Vern who quietly played on the floor in my room this morning as I struggled to wake up & get out of bed.
That nobody (but my own kiddos) can see me sitting here in my PJs. I love PJ days.

Giving thanks.

Sophia must have been reading my mind. She posted a challenge for people to include in their blogs things they are thankful for throughout November. I was thinking about the things I'm thankful for when I created this earlier today.

I guess since I got these things out of the way today I'll have the fun task of thinking up different things to offer my thanks for throughout the month. If I can do this challenge after sharing all of these up front you can too. From here on out though I think I'll limit myself to 1 or 2 per day. :)

At least the snacks are healthy up there.

The teacher in Kirsten's sunday school class yesterday gave them family tree handouts to color. There were two spaces at the bottom to draw their mom and dad, then there were 5 spaces up in the tree for the kiddos. As Kirsten was showing me hers & I oohed and ahhhhed over her artwork the conversation went something like this.

Kirsten: "I messed up on daddy's hair."
Me: "That's okay hun, that's a great picture of him anyway. So who's who up here?"
Kirtsen: "That's Brandon, that's me, that's little Vern & this is Elijah."
Me: "So why are there bananas & apples in the other slot?"
Kirsten: "In case we get hungry being stuck up there in the tree."

lol

Slow Down Baby

My baby is growing up so fast. He learns new things every day. Sometimes I wish he'd slow down. Just a little.

This story starts with a mommy moment.

You know those times when you have to use the rest room realllllly bad, but aren't sure what to do with the baby in your arms? Where the thoughts running through your head are "What can I strap him into? Maybe I can put him *insert brilliant place here* and he won't get into anything. Would he be too cold in the bathtub?" I had one of those a month ago. (Well, I have them all of the time, but this particular one was a month ago.) Anyhow, lucky me. Little Vern was home too. So I asked my 4 year old to please watch my 6 month old and make sure he didn't go anywhere or get into anything. I left them both in the front room.

Immediately the crying ensued. Elijah didn't want me to leave his sight. 3 stairs & 1 hall was too far away. Little Vern was slacking at his job. He decided to play cars in the hall by the bathroom instead of watching his baby brother. Not a great babysitter. Go figure.

So Elijah took matters into his own hands. He managed to climb the 3 stairs to find us. I was shocked and amazed that he was able to do it without getting hurt his first try, but he sure did. He made it all of the way to the bathroom door. LV was yelling "Mom! Look, Elijah climbed the stairs!!" While reprimanding the would-be babysitter I scooped Elijah up. I hugged him & kissed him and told him what a big boy he was. And secretly wished he'd slow down just a little.

In the following days we tried to show people his new trick. He'd sort of try and sort of do it, but without being upset and really wanting to get up those stairs it was all half-hearted. But he did get lots of practice as we prodded him on trying to get him to perform his amazing new trick.

Those three stairs are now just a regular part of his routine. He makes it up them whenever he decides to. There just needs to be something he wants or somewhere he wants to go beyond them. The buttons on my camera the other day were enough of a nudge to get these shots. We'll have to teach him how to get down soon.

Sigh. Slow down Elijah. You're only a baby for such a short while.

My silly one.

Little Vern loves to have his picture taken, but it's hard to get one with a nice smile. It's not that he won't smile for the camera, it's that he does it between a billion other poses and goes a mile a minute. If he stays still at all it's only until he hears the click. Then he's trying something different. Sometimes I wish I had a quieter camera shutter. I wouldn't change the boy one bit though. Him I love as-is.

Mmmmm...

I love being lost in a good moment. The kind where you're smiling for no reason, and everything feels as though it is as it should be.

I got to sleep in this morning. Brandon watched Elijah and LV for me. Bliss.

Elijah is in his bouncer. Singing, talking, making lots of noise. He can really make that thing go.

Brandon is making me a bean & veggie burrito for lunch. Even though he hates beans. Thanks B. :)

Went rollerblading this morning since Brandon is home from school. I'm sore but think I should do it every day. Weather permitting, of course.

It's beautiful outside today. Sunny, and that perfect fall walking temperature.

LV is watching Sesame Street. With no shirt on. He is so LV. :)

My favorite chunky shoes are sitting under my desk. I love them - they make me almost 2 inches taller.

Without hesitating I gave Brandon all of our leftover trick-or-treater candy today. No temptations for me!

I'm going to call Vern just to say hi. Love his voice. Love that man.

Hope anyone who reads this has a fabulous day. I think I'm going to.

Trick or Treat!

Sunday

Sunday is my favorite day of the week.

-Vern is home
-dinner at my in-laws
-little Vern in a button-down shirt
-hymns
-afternoon naps...

Little Things

There's been so much going on around here and as a result somehow I'm slacking as a blogger. So here are some of the little things going on around here.

Elijah's first tooth came through on Sunday. It's barely through, but it's there.

Vern finally bought me a bag of candy corn. I ate it until the sick point last night & figured I'd ration it from there on out. I'm feeling a little sick from it again at the moment. Must learn restraint when it comes to yummy little candies.

Vern stayed home from work yesterday. Now our disposal and dishwasher work again. Yay!

Lisi sent us some Canadian Oreos in her latest package. Yum!

Lauren left yesterday for the middle East again. She's going on another Beit-Lehi archeological dig. Lucky girl.

Devan & Amanda liked their pictures. Yay!

Little Vern told me I'm not that old when we were playing earlier. Yay me!

Kirsten left me a cute little note & picture this morning.

Elijah fell asleep while I was typing. I can close my eyes here for a minute too. :o)

Cheeks

I love baby cheeks. Elijah's just might be the cutest ones ever.

wish me luck

Ah, Elijah is asleep & LV is happily playing. People who were waiting for CDs & pictures are no longer waiting. I have a moment for me. Yay me! How bad is it that I just want to relax & do nothing? The list of stuff is still long, even with some things checked off. The ever-looming pile of things awaiting my attention. I could just plug along, but a little breather is a nice idea. Just for a little while. I want to open my window and close my eyes. To cuddle with Elijah. And try to feel calm and not think about anything.

Oh. And I want onion rings. From Hires. Sending Vern the "stop at Hires" vibe for on his way home from work. Somehow this request has yet to be fulfilled, I've been asking for days. Maybe today I'll get lucky.

Kerplunk

Little Vern waited patiently for me to take this shot before we played.

He didn't ask why I was taking a picture of our set-up Kerplunk game.

He is, after all, a photgrapher's son.

And on a personal note...

My baby is growing up way too fast.


Look at him go! Almost 7 months old now, he's got great balance, is crawling and moving around & working on those teeth.

So much to say...

...So little time to say it.

Been busy lately. Proofing. Creating & burning digital negatives. Uploading orders. (Did you know it took me 7.5 hours to upolad & order the images from our last wedding? Crazy, huh. But done. Whew.) I loved that wedding. Loved the people involved. It's been a huge project, but a fun one. And when the prints arrive we'll be all but done. Their 1st anniversary is next month. And there will be wedding pictures! lol

Meanwhile, the project I finished today was a proof slideshow for Devan and Amanda. Vern's younger brother & his longtime girlfriend. We did this shoot for them a couple of weeks ago.
At the time it was just because they have had no pictures taken of them in the four years off & on they've been together.

Last week he proposed.

Maybe these will come in handy once they set a date. Aren't they cute together?

This is not another post about my kids...

Little Vern just came running in here saying "I didn't have a sip of your pop, mom." Yeah right. I know this game.
Reminds me of when Kirsten was his age and she came running out of my bedroom to tell me "I'm okay, nothing is on fire..." She had stuck a key into the electrical outlet. Nothing was on fire anymore (it was just a little poof of flame for a second) and other than a good shock & a good scare she was okay. A little freaked out but okay.
Think LV will believe me that my mommy x-ray eyes can see the pepsi bubbles in his tummy? lol

Good thing I had rubber gloves to get the key out of the outlet that day & I have more pepsi in the fridge today.

It's okay

Some days things just don't go the way you planned them. Some days you don't want to get out of bed. We all have moments where we want to cry or scream. It's okay. It's alright to not be okay.
Just when you're done, accept the hugs & support of those around you, and move forward. With a smile if at all possible. I figure if you can do that then everything will work out just fine.



btw... Elijah's needs were not ignored in the taking of this picture. He was hugged & consoled immediately afterwards & resumed his usual smiles & laughter. This was just too cute to not grab a quick shot of. :)

Buzz

We finally did it. After letting little Vern's hair grow all summer long we decided to cut it off. No more sunny California surfer dude hair. As much as I loved it I must say I also love this boy with a buzz cut - shows off that sweet face.

9 years

Wow. We made it.
We were married on Oct. 9, 1996. It was such a wonderful day. The only thing missing was my family, who couldn't be there on such short notice. I had hoped to have an open house in Toronto, but haven't made it back home yet.

October 8, 2005

Yesterday was beautiful. Kirsten was beautiful.

She was so happy & was excited about her baptism. I was so proud of her.

Thank you to those who came and supported her and who sent your love.

Last box

Woohoo! After living here for two months we're finally down to one box in the house that needs to be unpacked. There are things to go through in the garage, but as far as the stuff that matters most we're done. Feels so good!

Plus it was pizza night here & I have some yummy Fudge Shoppe cookies from my cute man.

A good day. :o)

Thank You

It's been a long week. Round 2 of the sickies hit us hard. A childhood friend died. It's been cold here. I've had deadlines, but have been fighting to stay awake. As always it seems, I am tired.

I may be a little weary, but I'm also very blessed. So, thank you.

Thank you Vern for turning on the furnace. And for the chocolate. And cute smiles.
Thank you whoever invented disinfecting wipes, soft tissues, painkillers & Nyquil.
Thank you Robin for sending me the newspaper article so I could grieve with & pray for some of my old friends and their families.
Thank you Janell for being such a sweetheart.
Thank you Julie & Kyle for always making me laugh.
Thank you squirrely girls for your chatter and your friendship.
Thank you itunes for inexpensive music shopping when I need a tune.
Thank you Becky & Sophia for uplifting & updated blogs to read.
Thank you to my 4 cute babes for the cuddles & grins.
Thank you Heavenly Father for my family, my home and my friends.

Yum.

Raisin Bran Crunch has been my favorite cereal for years. Until today. I fell in love with it's newer, younger sibling. Cran-Vanilla Crunch Oh my, this is good stuff. Mmmmmmmmmmm...

She

She's the most like me.
She's an artist.

She doesn't like to clean her room.
She is strong.
She is beautiful.

She frustrates me.

She dances.
She has confidence.
She likes pink.
She is a bit of a tomboy.

She can throw a temper tantrum like no other.

She is thoughtful.
She makes me smile.

I love you Kirsten. Even though I'm not too happy with the state of your room most days. I'm still not sure where you get your aversion to cleaning. Must be daddy's fault.

A few things I love.

1. Elijah
2. My bed
3. Late afternoon light
4. Cuddles
   
5. His giggles
6. My camera
7. Naps

Good for the heart

...to talk to a friend.

Just a quick entry tonight. I've been dancing for joy all night because I got an e-mail from one of my favorite people in this world. My friend Vivian that I haven't heard from in a really long time. We've both had babies and such while we lost touch. It's been years. Her & her husband Wil have such a special place in mine & Vern's hearts and we were both so glad to hear from them again. Such a happy thing to hear from old friends. :)

Now to chug some Robitussen and pass out with my babe again.

All stubbed up

So I woke up feeling sick yet again. Yay me! I'm so stubbed up and want a nap with my babe. Lucky me, my sweetie is content to bounce the day away. Most moments anyway. And the bouncer keeps him in one spot. A necessity since he's become quite the explorer.

the Right Now thing

I've been seeing this on blogs of late, and since it is late I figure it's what I'll do for my entry tonight.

Right now...

Everyone else in the house is asleep. (Ahhhhh...)
I'm taking a break from putting a big order together. I need to get back to work. Or get some sleep. I should try to work a little more at least.
I'm still smiling because we were joking around with Julie & Kyle earlier tonight. We had fun. Love that.
I'm looking longingly at my empty water glass & thinking I need to go up & refill it before I get back into photoshop.
I'm humming "I Stand all Amazed" - a favorite hymn.
I'm thinking I'm not going to be of much use in PS at this point. But I need to try anyway.
I'm wondering if I should pour me some Pepsi instead.
I'm holding Elijah who stirred and then smiled up at me. Heaven.
I'm taking this sweet bundle up with me to bed. Work will continue tomorrow when I'm fully awake. Sad thing is that everyone else will be too. Distractions abound.
I'm asking anyone who reads this (um, me...) to say a little prayer that I'll actually be able to get this work done. Preferably in the next couple of days. So I can move onto some of the other stuff I need to do. There's just so much stuff.
I'm saying goodnight & turning this computer off.
Goodnight!

This Morning

Little Vern & I had a fun conversation over breakfast.

LV: "Mom, Heavenly Father needs us to eat, huh."
Me: "Yes, sweetie. We need to take care of our bodies. Our bodies need food."
LV: "But sometimes I'm in a pizza mood."
Me: "Me too, sweetie."
LV: "But pizza is food."
Me: "Yes, it is."
LV: "We should call daddy and tell him that we need him to get us pizza for dinner."

Now I'm kinda hoping that tonight will be a pizza night.

Elijah Kent

My baby turned 6 months old on the 16th of this month. Man, time flies. We were at the state fair that day, that's why they're stroller shots. I guess this can be a state fair entry too then. :)

And because I have a bazillion Elijah related entries running around in my head I'll also share some "oh boy, is this child teething!" pics here. Consolidating the cuteness. Heh. This child drools buckets and bites anything that will fit into his mouth. He does play with his toys some, but mostly he gnaws on them. This one looks particularly tasty. :)

lol

There's actually a little bit of truth in this. Made me laugh, so I thought I'd share.

Your Personality Profile

You are dependable, popular, and observant. Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness. In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do. You are unique, creative, and expressive.You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while. And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming!

I prefer to think of myself as a little bit of a spaz and am in no way popular, but for a 3 second test it's good for a laugh. :)

Je ne vais j'amais oublier...

My flakies!
I still just can't believe that I didn't remember these. Every time Robin, or anyone else in Canada for that matter, asks what we want them to send/bring us we list off 101 yummy chocolate bars that don't exist here. I've thought of Vachon here and there but figure things like Jos Louis and Half Moons (Lune Moons! lol) would get squished in the mail. But Robin brought Vachon stuff this time. Both Jos Louis and Half Moons. And these! They're Flakies. My goodness, how did I forget about these? They were a favorite growing up, and I drooled the minute I saw the packaging. Without even tasting them I think you'll understand the yumminess involved here. I only have one left. I'll be craving these babies from now on.

The next time someone asks what I want from Canada I know I'll be begging them to bring me a flaky. I won't be forgetting about these again. Mmmmmmm...

Having fun with Robinsky...

This is my big sister...


This is what she brought us...


This is Auntie Robin in action...

I think the kids kinda like her.

Whaddaya think?

Tomorrow is my brother's birthday. Happy birthday Aaron, wherever you are!