Two Already?!?!

It was Honey Bunch's birthday yesterday. I can't believe that 2 years have gone by so fast! She is such a joy and a blessing. Her safe arrival into this world is a miracle in itself. I love her dearly even though she is my most stubborn, independent child. (Which I didn't think was possible). I've always said that Dude is Heavenly Father's way of telling me that I don't know everything. Now, I say that Honey Bunch is His way of telling me that I still don't. She had a great day, and loved all the attention. She even kept telling me, "Happy Birthday Mommy!" It was precious. I think the highlight of her day was opening all the presents. Before opening every one she would say, "For me, my birthday!" It was a crack up. I love you, Honey Bunch, thanks for all the laughs and loves!

Back to Normal

We finally got back into a normal routine Monday. Doctor had worked 60 hours just between Friday and Monday and we finally got him back (kind of) on Monday late afternoon and Dude went back to school (and got a real life, earned himself, orange ticket!). Dude is doing great finally. We're glad to have our boys back doing what they love to do most.

The weather was 60 degrees! So, the girls spent the afternoon playing outside. It was so great to let them get outside and run around.



Unfortunately the great weather didn't last. On Tuesday when I drove Dude to school at 7:30 it was 44 degrees and sunny. When I took Princess to school at 11:30 it was 21 degrees. When I picked them up from school at 3:00, it was 7 degrees and snowing! That's our weather for you. Pretty crazy. Anyway, its great to have our lives back to normal. (Knock on wood!)

We Thank Thee Oh God For A Prophet

My cousin, Miss Five, posted this wonderful tribute to President Hinkley on her blog. It is truly touching. Please take a minute to watch if you haven't already. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvB3z2U8DEo

I am so grateful for his call to "stand a little taller," for his 9 be's, and most especially for the Nauvoo temple. We Thank Thee Oh God For A Prophet.

Ode to Mr. Rhythm

Mr. Rhythm...the name we gave you because you didn't have any! Haw! What did we know anyway? :)

Bud,

I just wanted you and everyone else who's reading this to know how much I admire and appreciate you. You are amazing. I spent the majority of my life being incredibly jealous of you. You are so gregarious and fun and talented. You have so many qualities that I wished that I had had, and I hated you for it. Now in my mature adulthood I can see how blessed I am to have you for a brother. You always seem to call whenever I need a pick-me up. I'm amazed that with all you have going on, and with all the people in your life, you think of me and my little family. You brighten my day every time I talk to you. Thanks for all the calls, especially the one last night. I am so proud to call myself your sister.

Dude Update

Well Dude is doing better than he was days 3&4, but not great. He caught a cold on top of everything and has a pretty nasty cough. My heart is broken for him. He probably won't go back to school until Monday. He was well enough to build this block tower yesterday afternoon, though. The tower is actually only half done, but I didn't get a picture of the final product (which was pretty awesome) because his baby sister decided that it looked just right for the kicking. :)
Honey Bunch wanted her picture taken too, so here's a cute one of her.

Watercolors by Princess

Princess is quite artistic. She created these masterpieces and titled them herself.

"Ahvoo Leas"

"Ahvoo Nesteree"

"Roses Ahvoo Painting"

"Harp Idaho"

Kids Say the Darndest Things

I work with the Primary children (kids 18 mos to 11 years) at church. I'm staying home with Dude today, and thought that I would really enjoy the break. Well, I am enjoying the reduced stress level, but I'm finding myself missing the kids. So, I thought I'd post some of the funny things they have said.

Teacher: Heavenly Father has given each of us talents. What are some of your talents?
Boy (age 8): I have a talent for video games. I share that talent by letting people watch me play. They really enjoy it because I'm so good.
Girl (age 9): I think everyone should develop a talent for gymnastics. Because, you never know when someone will need you to use it.
(I can't tell you how many times I've needed someone to do a back flip or walk on a balance beam for me :) )

Teacher: (Talking about symbols) I'm going to show some pictures to you, and I want you to tell me what you think when you see them.
First picture - a heart
Class: Love
Second picture - a flag
Class: Our country
Third picture - a smiley face
Boy (age 4): Wal-mart!

Teacher: Does anyone know what "Divine" means?
Boy (age 4) - Yummy!

Teacher: (Teaching the song "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go") What are some places that Heavenly Father wants us to go?
Girl (age 4) - Wal-mart. (o.k. so this one was Princess. She did tell the class the story of Moses that same day, so I think that makes up for it. :) )

Teacher: Heavenly Father sent us to Earth with a mission to fulfill.
Boy (age 4) - My mission on Earth is take care of all the horses and tigers in the world.

I am so glad, truly, that I get to be around such wonderful kids every week. I'm grateful that I had this break to realize how much I really do love my calling and be reminded that it is all about these precious children. Hopefully I'll continue to remember when the stress creeps back in.

Poor Guy

So days 3 & 4 are not so good. Dude did exceptionally well the first 2 days after his surgery, but now he's miserable. He woke up yesterday morning with a fever of 102, and has been battling that off and on. The poor guy just sits in his room and stares off into space. We're having a hard time getting him to drink anything, hopefully we can keep him hydrated enough. We're hoping that he'll be back to his good ol' self soon.

Little Miss Independent

Recently Honey Bunch has been taking off her shoes and socks every time we are in the car. It has become increasingly frustrating to me. When we pick up the kids from school I easily put her shoes/socks on 4 times with all the getting in and out of the car. So, yesterday when she took them off (and she said, "Daddy did it") I decided it would be a great teaching moment. I let her get out of the car without her shoes and socks. Keep in mind our temperature is about 2 degrees. I figured she'd step down, realize how cold it was, and ask for her shoes. Well, she got down, stood up on her tiptoes and walked the entire way into the house. She didn't even look at me funny. So there goes my magical teaching moment. :) On the bright side, she has almost completely potty trained herself. Her favorite phrase is "I self, no help!" We've gone 3 days with only 2 accidents. And she hasn't even turned 2 yet.

Goodbye Tonsils, Hello Ice Cream!

Dude had his tonsils/adenoids removed yesterday. I am so grateful to report that everything went superbly well. He has really been struggling to sleep lately because the tonsils have been so large, and this surgery was much needed. On Wednesday night, I got all the kids tucked in and found myself alone and scared. Tonsillectomies are a fairly routine outpatient procedure, and certainly pales in comparison to the last surgery he had, but as his mother I was still worried. I started to sob. I was feeling sorry for myself because my husband is never home and because my son needed surgery. Maybe we can blame hormones for my outpouring of emotion. Anyway, I knelt down to pray to my Father in Heaven and plead for solace. As I was explaining to him all my woes I felt prompted to read my scriptures. I pulled them out and randomly opened them. On the page that I turned to, I read this, "Thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee." (Isaiah 30:19) I am truly blessed and am unable to adequately express my gratitude for the knowledge that I have that my Heavenly Father knows me and my situation. Even though my concerns are relatively insignificant, He answers my prayers. I then had a complete sense of peace and knew that Dude would be o.k., and that I would be o.k. Phew, thanks for letting me share.
He had to be at the hospital at 6:00am to get things started so Doctor took him then, and I came about 7:30. When I got there, they had given him Versed to help him be calm. Well, he was loony! I'm kicking myself for not bringing the camera. When they started to wheel him away for the procedure, he exclaimed, "Wow! Am I in a parade?" It was hilarious. The anesthesiologist and the ENT resident are good friends of ours and they said that when he got into the O.R., he had his arms folded behind his neck like he was relaxing at the beach. When they put the monitor on his finger to check his oxygen saturation, he said, "That didn't hurt!" When he woke up after it was all over, he looked at me and said, "When are they going to take my tonsils out?" So far he is doing excellent! Grandpa sent a super Nintendo for him, and we set that up in his room. He is in heaven! He has eaten 4 bowls of ice cream, 8 popsicles, 2 tubes of yogurt, 3 pudding cups, and one cup of jello. Pretty good I think! He woke up this morning and said, "Mom, I think my throat needs a bowl of ice cream for breakfast." He is milking this thing for all its worth. He's one tough kid and I'm very proud of him. This picture was taken about 2 hours after the surgery, pretty good, huh!