Some Christmas Memories....

I'm sure that Cliff and I aren't alone in trying to take traditions from each of our families and add new ones of our own to our Christmas season celebrations. We also get the added bonus of travelling to each family every year and participating in whatever traditions are happening on the days we are together. It makes for a very full and fun season! As I've been thinking about this over the past couple of days I started thinking about things that we did when I was a kid...some are still traditions, some have changed a little, and some we've outgrown or forgotten. And I decided that I wanted to write down some of my memories - mostly for my enjoyment and to share with my kids - but if you want to read them I hope you enjoy! And as a warning I'm not sure how long this post might end up and I'm definitely not going to try to do them in chronological order or anything like that. Just going to write them as they come to me. And maybe add a few here or there as I remember them!

- One Christmas Eve we went over to Holt's house and I don't really remember what we did but I do remember listening to the radio as they "reported" sighting Rudolph and Santa's sleigh. All of us little kids were so excited as we rushed to the window to look at the sky to see if we could see a red blinking light moving across the sky.
- Mom always made tons of homemade yummy fondant chocolates and carmels. It was quite the process of making the fondant, adding the flavor, hand whipping it, rolling it, chilling it, dipping it and chilling it again. She made so many so she could sell them and use the money for Christmas presents. Of course when we were little we didn't realize that's what she was doing it for. I'm sure that we were quite the nuisances....what a lot of work with 3 little girls underfoot! As we got a little older we were able to help mom roll the centers which helped a little but she still did the majority of the work by herself. Thanks mom!
- Mom used to make rosettes every Christmas. My memory is that it was a tradition from her family and came from the Ukraine or something like that. Basically she had long metal sticks that attached to different metal shapes - I remember the butterflies very well - and she would dip the shape into a batter and then fry it in oil. When the batter was crispy it would come off the mold and then she'd start over again. I remember ice cream buckets full of these and they were yummy treats.
- When we were little mom would make up goodie plates for friends in the ward and we would go caroling and drop off the plates. It was fun and sometimes a little scary because we would visit the "old" people in our ward.
- Decorating the tree - when I was little we still had the colored lights that you unscrewed and put the reflector on and then screwed the light back in. And we had a real tree for a long time. Dad would bring it in and let it warm up in the basement before bringing it up and screwing it into the stand. After the lights came the garland and then the ornaments. We had a few "special" ornaments that we all wanted to put on the tree but eventually we just had Miffy Mouse - a little mouse in a walnut. And we would take turns every year finding the perfect spot for her. Until my Grandma Knibb made mom a porcelain angel we had a star that lit up for our tree topper and it was always the last thing to go on. We couldn't wait for dad to put it on and plug it in.
- Hanging our stockings up was always the last thing we did on Christmas Eve and always required a picture
- We got new jammies every year. We got to open them on Christmas Eve and when we were really little it was a surprise every year that that's what was in the box. As we got older we knew what to expect but the excitement was still there. They were the only presents under the tree until Christmas morning and sometimes they were matching and sometimes they weren't.
- We spent quite a few Christmas Eve's out at Grandma and Grandpa Robinson's farm with all of the cousins. Lots of food and little space. There always seemed to be someone somewhere and we had lots of fun and lots of TV trays to eat off of.
- Christmas morning dad always got up extra early and went to the feedlot to get the cows fed. We were usually up and waiting for him when he got home. I think it added to the anticipation of seeing everything under the tree and the stockings and having to wait for dad to get home.
- As long as I can remember we would all do our stockings - kids first and then mom and dad - then have a special breakfast before opening presents. Some years it was fun cereal like Captain Crunch, some years it was sweet bread and other yummies. As we've gotten older it's morphed into quite the breakfast spread that we all pitch in and help with.
- Before my Grandma Knibb died we would usually finish opening presents, get ready and then head to Taber for dinner and presents there. Grandma and Grandpa had the tree downstairs and it just killed all of us kids that we had to wait until after dinner AND dishes before we could start on the presents. Mom and her sisters did all the dishes and now me and my sisters do the dishes. After dishes were finally done and the kitchen declared clean we would go downstairs and dad would hand out all the presents. Then the grandkids took turns one at a time opening our gifts. Then on to mom and dad and her sisters, and finally grandma and grandpa. It was fun to take turns and see what everyone gave and received.
-One year mom and dad and her sisters gave grandma a family ring and hid it in an mandarin orange box. Grandma was so confused when she opened the box but loved the ring when she found it.
- Another year dad got really sick with the flu Christmas eve and by morning the rest of us were all sick to. Grandma and Grandpa Knibb packed up Christmas - turkey included - and brought it to us. I don't think we ate much of anything but we didn't miss Christmas.
- The first Christmas I was accomplished enough on the piano I played every Christmas song I could out of the Reader's Digest book while my family sang along
- Mom was a Relief Society teacher one year and put together a slide presentation that went along with one of our Christmas tapes - A Children's Christmas - it tells the story of Christmas with songs, scriptures and a great script. Every year since we have watched that presentation on Christmas Eve and we can still sing all the words to the songs.
- The goody table - always loaded with soooo many good things to eat
- Christmas advent calenders with the gross chocolates. I would always gobble mine right up - Alisha would hoard hers and it always made me so mad that she had all these chocolates left over.
- Our first Christmas in our 'new' house we spent the whole afternoon downstairs under blankets with tons of yummy treats and watched movies together. I think we probably watched 3 or 4...it was a lot of fun.
- Going to look at all the beautiful lights around the town. We didn't do it every year but I loved it when we did.
- The Rotary Carol Festival. When we got older one or more of us were usually involved in some way or another - singing with choirs, me accompanying a choir....and although we did our fair share of grumbling I was always glad that we had gone
- Colored popcorn from Piersons. Oh so yummy.
- Dad always passed out all the gifts under the tree before we started opening them. We would take turns oldest to youngest between us girls and then mom and dad would open theirs. We still do this when we're all together - grandkids, then kids, then mom and dad. And Zane has been dad's elf for the past couple of years. I think he'll have 2 helpers this year!
- We've never been allowed into the living room where the tree is until dad has gone and plugged in the lights and started Christmas music - I think it enhances the magic of the moment! When we got a little older mom and dad thought we might cheat so dad would rig a sheet across the doorway that would fall if you touched it. I never tried to peak because I liked the surprise and anticipation of everything....I don't know if Lish or Kizzy ever tried to snoop.
- I've always woke up early on Christmas Eve and I still do. I just LOVE the magic of the whole day and I'm usually awake by 5:30. When we were little we had to stay in bed until 7:00 and it just killed me to wait. The 3 of us girls used to camp out in one room or another Christmas Eve night and giggle away until late and then start again early in the morning as we waited for the clock to move!
- The last Christmas I had at home before Cliff and I got married the 3 of us girls decided to sleep upstairs together which involved dragging a mattress up the stairs -if you've been in my parent's house you'll understand how difficult this might be for 3 giggly girls as we tried to get the mattress to bend around the landing corner and up the stairs. I ended up getting smushed between the wall and the mattress and all 3 of us were laughing so hard that dad eventually had to take over and get the mattress up stairs.
- Mom reminded me of one - our Christmas dresses! When we were all little mom would make us a new dress every Christmas. I'm not sure how many years that lasted before changing into new Christmas dresses from the store...and of course they had to have crinolins! We loved to spin and have our dresses twirl out around us. We used to "dress up" in our crinolins and pretend we were ballerinas with tu-tus. I think the tradition lasted until I was a teenager...

I have been so blessed to have such great memories of Christmas and every new one brings even more. I'm sure as the season continues I'll remember more and I'll try to add them. I think I'll do them in a different color so you'll know if there's new ones or not. Feel free to check if you want or not. Like I said earlier, this post was for me and my kids and their kids....

Our 4th Annual House!

For FHE last night we decorated our annual gingerbread house. I cheated a little bit this year and pulled out the glue gun and glued it together about 4 hours BEFORE we were ready to decorate it. Last year we had a little too much candy, icing that wasn't quite dry and a collapsed house. Go here to see last year before the collapse. This equalled one sad little boy. And if you'll notice...I'm not in any of these pictures! I just completed the journalling of last years pictures a couple of weeks ago and noticed that we only had ONE picture of Cliff for the whole holiday funness and celebrations. So, after raising that issue Cliff bravely volunteered to be the icing piper for our fun project! The boys had a hard time waiting for enough icing to get on the house before they started decorating but all in all I think it turned out great! Rhett LOVED eating all the candy and icing and Zane and I ate our fair share too. Zane had fun putting candy anywhere there was bare icing and Rhett put a few things on....but decided eating it was way more fun then wasting it on the house. This is the first year that we've done the house in the evening....and next year I think we'll do it Sunday afternoon! They were just vibrating by the time we got them into the tub around 8 and it was almost 9 before we got them settled into bed. Still it was lots of fun and thanks to my fabulous gluing job we were able to move it to a safe spot for display. I had a few spots in mind but decided the top of the fridge because I reasoned that Rhett wouldn't be able to get to it and pull the candy off! So enjoy the pictures and the countdown to Christmas!

Action Packed!

We had so much fun tonight! Sylvan Lake had their annual Santa Claus parade and we had fun watching it with some friends in our ward. We didn't attend last year because it was -20 plus the windchill...but this year it was the PERFECT weather!! AND one of our friends is a volunteer fire fighter here in Sylvan and offered to let Zane and Rhett ride in the one of the fire trucks at in the parade! Zane was soooo excited! Rhett bailed but Zane went and had a great time. The parade started about a block away from the fire station where we were all sitting so he got to watch all of the parade pass by and then the trucks joined in. I wish I would have taken my camera! Cliff got a shot on his phone but it's not a great one. He was seriously vibrating by the time the route was done and he met back up with us at our friend's house. It's so fun to see him experience things like this and for him to big enough to do things like this without one of us there....other adults supervising, of course, but not necessarily us. A couple of years ago I would have laughed in your face if you had told me Zane would do something like this. He's grown up so much!
After the parade - which was great by the way....good floats, lots of lights, Santa Claus and candy galore....we headed down to the lake to watch fireworks. We got there just in time to back in and sit in our nice warm van and watch the fireworks over the lake. So pretty and fun! They didn't last very long but they were fun to watch and the kids thought it was fantastic!
With fireworks done we all headed to the Tim Hortons for hot chocolate and donuts! Yum Yum Yum. Rhett didn't want anything to do with the Tim Bits or milk we got him - he just wanted a sucker. Luckily Cliff still had parade candy in his pockets and had a sucker. He sat there the whole time just licking away at it and was happy as could be! Zane's whole face was shining and I'm pretty sure this is one night he won't be forgetting for awhile!
In other happenings in our world....Rhett has discovered some of our Christmas books....one is a "Can you See What I See...the Night Before Christmas" - which is basically a bunch of Christmas pictures based on the popular story and you have to find certain things within the picture. In this book there is a little wooden puppet who appears in each picture and one of the challenges is to find him....Rhett calls him his robot and can find him on every page. There's some pages that have stuffed pandas on them and he knows where they all are as well. And he LOVES to sit there and do this book with you. As soon as he's done he's ready to do it again. We also have 2 books that we borrowed from Auntie Lishie...a find Frosty and a find Santa. These are his next favorite books and he enjoys finding things in them....they have pictures on the side of the pages of stuff to find and he was amazing me last night with how many he was finding without help. Did I mention that he was up until 11:00 last night? He fell asleep at 4:30 and we couldn't wake him up. He woke up are around 7:30 and that explains the 11:00 bedtime.
Zane had a great day at school today...he got hot lunch which was pizza and milk (I forgot that it was today and packed him a lunch - silly mom), he got to do show and tell and took his Kung Fu Panda action figure, AND he got to watch a movie and eat popcorn in the gym with the rest of the kindergartens, grade 1 and 2s. It's part of the a reward program the school has started in order to emphasize and teach the kids polite and courteous behaviors. The movie was Alvin and the Chipmunks which he hasn't seen before and he was just brimming with the excitement when he got home. He also informed me that he thinks we should name our baby Jarrin. I told him that I really like the name Brock, and he just shook his head and said he thought it should be Jarrin and would I please add it to the list. I agreed and told him we would see what the baby looks like when he gets here. I'm really hoping he's not going to remember in 10 weeks or so when this babe arrives because he's NOT going to be named Jarrin. Brock is the front runner right now and we'll see what happens!
And we are finally healthy in our house again. We all got a some sort of flu, starting with Zane Saturday night....but Cliff and I got it the worse. And got it at the same time. He came home early on Wednesday with the intentions of taking care of me and the kids and instead went straight to bed and basically stayed there or the couch or the chair for the past 2 days. But at least we're good now!

10 Things....

Yesterday I took the time to move pictures and my blog onto memory sticks again. It's something that I have been meaning to do for a while and just decided to do it. As I was moving blogs into word I came across my last 10 Things blog and realized that it's been a little over 3 months since I last did it. So....here we go!

10 Things I want to Remember about.....

RHETT:
1. He loves to imitate Zane in everything but he still keeps his own independence and is starting to exert it more and more in their play
2. He thinks it's hilarious to pretend to be a cat or a dog - licking and mewing included. I sternly tell him he's not a cat or a dog and ask him what he is. He giggles as he says "I'm a Rhett...a little boy!" And then laughs and giggles like it's the funniest thing ever.
3. His love of everything Christmas! Everywhere we drive he points out decorations with the exclamation: Christmas!
4. He's learning to recognize numbers and letters...and points them out quite often
5. He made his very first pattern out of blocks today all by himself. 2 reds, a green, 2 reds, a green and 2 reds. I was watching him really close without him knowing because I was curious if he was consciously doing it or just by chance....but he was taking them out of Lego that was pushed together and actually arranging them to make that pattern. Wow. It's so fun to see them do something for the very first time
6. His love and enthusiasm for life! This kid loves to live everything to the fullest and is always up for "going" somewhere and "doing" something
7. His vocab has just exploded lately. It's so fun to listen to him try new words and the see the pride on his face when he gets it right
8. He is so excited every day when Daddy gets home. Runs to the door for a quick hug, a chatter of something and then is off again
9. As soon as Zane gets out of his classroom he almost tackles him with a hug and Zane just wraps him up and plants a kiss on his head. Seriously soooo sweet!
10. He's been going to nursery consistently now for almost 3 months....and Zane drops him off almost every Sunday. As soon as Sacrament meeting is over Zane grabs his hand, I get a quick kiss and he's off like every other big kid...he's in heaven and it's so fun to watch this new "big" kid that has entered our world. Every day he gets further and further from the baby he was.

ZANE....
1. His LOVE for school. His favorites are of course recess and gym class but he loves computer, library and everything he does. He's not very forth coming with details which drives me bonkers sometimes but he learns so many fun things that manifest themselves through life here at home
2. His incredible LOVE for his brother. Although Rhett is probably one of the biggest frustrations in his life he is also one of the most important people in his life as well. He is kind, thoughtful and inclusive to Rhett. Truly a fabulous role model for Rhett of what a big brother should be and I couldn't be prouder of him
3. His new favorite phrase "Oh, by the way...." and then continues on with a story or comment or even a question. He hasn't really quite got the logistics of how and when to use it but it's just so stinkin' cute to hear such a grown up phrase come out of his mouth
4. His creativity. He is constantly making something out of something else. Lego into complex ships or guns, guitars out of hockey sticks, ships out of cards....everything can be used for something other than it's real purpose. And he usually makes sure that he finds something for Rhett to be included in the re-purposing or building of the latest creation
5. His growing independence. It's amazing to watch the things that he can do and wants to do for himself....washing his own hair, pouring his own drinks, changing movies, plugging in the Christmas lights, winding the music box on the snow globe....lots of things that show just how grown up he's really getting
6. He LOVES to talk on the phone and if in the right mood will talk your ear off. As soon as he hears "Grandma's" ring he is demanding to talk to her. And if it's been a couple of days he's asking to call her. He seems to enjoy talking to both grandmas and aunties alike. He just rambles and pulls out odd facts and things going on in his life. He'll finish a thought and then stalls with "so..." while he gets his thoughts in order and then moves on. It's a lot of fun to listen to but can drive me nuts when I'm actually trying to talk to mom or someone and he's there demanding his own time.
7. His new appreciation for fashion. For the past 3 years he has shunned any shirt with a collar or buttons. Every Sunday was a struggle to get him dressed....he is actually ASKING to wear his church shirts or a polo shirt....and conceded to letting us gel his hair. He still prefers sweats to jeans...but who doesn't?
8. His imagination is unbelievable! The games and schemes he comes up with for him and Rhett and their friends are just awe inspiring sometimes. I hope he never loses that. In fact, the other day he asked me "mom, do you know what my imagination is?" "What is it?" I asked. "It's in my mind where things come to me and then I know what to do". "I'm glad you have such a good imagination" "Yeah, me too"
9. His music talent! yeah!!! I know I'm biased because I am his mom and his piano teacher and I really shouldn't compare him to anyone else....but out of all my beginners he is the one who is 'getting' it the best and most naturally. Hopefully we'll be able to keep nurturing it!
10. His general curiosity about things in life. He is always trying to figure something new out - time, how the weeks and months work, time in relation to other things - like Christmas, birthdays, when the baby comes in relation to everything else in his world. I just know that his mind is always going from the questions he comes up with!

CLIFF.....
1. His excitement to see his boys as soon as he gets in the door
2. The wrestling/tickling matches that occur on an almost nightly basis between him and the boys
3. His quiet leadership in our home...I really appreciate it!
4. His thought fullness towards me...especially as this baby gets bigger and bigger and I get slower and more awkward
5. His fun and teasing....always keeps me on my toes and makes me laugh. We've been married for 7.5 years and he still makes me laugh every day!
6. How HARD he works so I can stay home with the boys. I think I write this down every time but it really is true and I hope it never changes. I try to let him know how much I appreciate him and his time and effort.
7. His love for sports. He is passing it on to our boys and its fun to watch him pass on the love and knowledge that I'm sure he learned from his dad and uncles and grandpas. A great family tradition
8. Watching him play with the kids. Lately I've caught them playing hockey and soccer in the hallway, shooting jedi guns and having sword fights. All little boys could count themselves lucky to have a daddy like Cliff
9. I got a phone call last night on my home from a baby shower...Rhett was sleeping with Zane and Zane had woken up and puked all over the bed, himself and Rhett....he wanted to know how long I would be. When I got home both boys were bathed, new jammies, new bedding and back in bed sleeping. AND everything that was covered in puke was already in the washer. That right there made me fall in love with him all over again.
10. His indulgence of my love/obsession of all things Christmas and his willingness to help me create memories for our boys through traditions that we've borrowed from our families and also the ones that we have started. Point in fact: Festival of Trees with 2 hyper kids, huge crowds and fun had by all of us.
I love you hon!

ME.....
1. I'm very anxious for this pregnancy to be over but as the weeks go by I remember more and more how this has to end and how much it hurts.
2. I'm stressed about not having any snow yet. I know, I know. Am I mental? I don't LIKE snow. BUT I'm stressed that it is all going to come in February and it's going to be hard to get to the hospital or something stupid like that. Sigh. I know, I stress too much
3. I feel as huge as a whale. (Are you sensing a theme here...so far all pregnancy related...)
4. I am trying really hard to enjoy my kids every day and not get caught up in everyday life
5. I LOVE to read to the boys...one cuddled up on each side and sharing my love of a good book with them. Sometimes we only get a couple of stories in but other days we do marathon reading and get almost an hour in. love it
6. You are going to laugh at this next one but I don't care. I miss my small boobs. (Sorry kids if you're reading this!) I have forgotten what it's like to have a chest this size and I'm really not enjoying it
7. I'm stressed over a name for this kiddo. Cliff doesn't like my favorite - Quaid - and although I like others I'm just not in love with any
8. I am really looking forward to Christmas although the decorating part is the only thing that is completed!
9. I feel like I have a lot of projects planned and on the go that I want to get done before this baby gets here....and I'm not sure if they're all going to get done
10. I miss my mom and my sisters a lot...thank goodness for phones and Internet!

OUR FAMILY...
1. We are all looking forward to the arrival of baby #3
2. I feel like we are making headway in traditions and habits - good things like prayers, scriptures, FHE, Christmas fun, fall traditions....
3. Is excited to go home for Christmas
4. love to laugh together
5. love to snuggle together
6. love to bake together...well daddy supervises and enjoys the fruits of our labors
7. really likes living in Sylvan Lake
8. is blessed with some of the best friends anyone could ask for
9. is NOT perfect...but we're working on it
10. LOVE each other

Oh the Busy-ness of the day!

Wow. We got a lot done in one day today! And with very minimal fighting! Always a plus in my book.
We headed into Red Deer before 10:30, did some banking and headed to the church so I could meet up with one of my VT gals. The boys and daddy hung out in the van and watched a movie while I did a quick visit and then it was off to the mall to see Santa. We had to stand in line for about 15 minutes before we got to see him but both kids did great with the wait. Zane went right over to Santa and gave him the list he's been working on since July. This is what it looked like: Zane's Christmas List
1. Light Saber
2. Lego Indiana Jones Toy
3. Transformer - Megatron
4. Darth Vader Costume
Rhett was interested in the candy canes and we bribed him with one to sit with Zane and Santa for a picture. He was not impressed and the picture shows him sliding off Santa's lap as fast as he can! We got a couple of just Zane and Santa but the one we chose was the with the 2 of them. It was just too cute!
After lunch we headed to the Festival Of Trees and it was a lot of fun. It's a big charity event for the DTHR where they fill the pavilion in town with hundreds of decorated trees set up, decorations, items for auction and a winter carnival for the kids. It's all indoors but they have all these different booths set up with carnival games, crafts and fun stuff for the kids to do. You buy a bunch of tokens and away you go. The kids a blast, got lots of prizes, and I even got to linger at a few trees. Not as many as I would like, but I did get to oooh and awww over a few. A stop at Old Navy and one at Costco and we were finally headed home.
I have to go back into town for a choir practice tonight....and I'm already tired!

Some stuff....

Just some fun stories and things my kids have done lately that I want to remember...and of course if I want to do that I need to write it down. So if you enjoy it to - great! But there's nothing earth shattering in this blog :)

- Zane has been trying to help Rhett learn to say his words properly. He breaks them up into small parts and gets Rhett to repeat after him then put the whole word together. It's really cute. Last night they were in the tub and Zane was teaching him how to say Cannon Ball. Their game was involving cannon balls for some reason. It just makes me smile to listen to them interact. I'm very blessed that Zane is such a great big brother!

- Rhett is convinced that snow = Christmas. Surprisingly we haven't had a lot of snow yet...but every time we do get a little skiff of snow Rhett just bounces at the window saying "Christmas, Christmas!" Yesterday when we left to go get Zane from school he walked outside and went "oh, no! Christmas!" The snow was melting and his little heart was just broken! He kept saying oh no, oh no for a few minutes before something else distracted him. He is so excited for Christmas. He doesn't really get the whole Santa thing but every time he sees any decorations, trees, lights etc he's very quick to exclaim "Christmas!"

- Zane is LOVING the Magic Tree House books. Mary Pope Osborne is the author and they are about a brother and sister and a magic tree house. They go different places, solve problems, and learn things. They all seem to be 10 chapters and we've been averaging about 3 days per book! It's great that he'll sit there and listen for that long at a time and I really hope that I'm passing on my love of reading to him and Rhett.

- Zane has started "reading" to Rhett. They made a book in school that he had memorized and the 2 of them would sit and Zane would "read" it to him. There's also some fun library books that he knows the general gist of the story and will sit and "read" it to Rhett. It's fun to see him develop this new skill. I hope it becomes a love for him!

- I can't remember if I've blogged about this next one or not and I'm too lazy to go back and see. Rhett has started pretending that he is a kitty or a puppy quite frequently during the day. He does the whiny pant, the licking, the rubbing his head against your leg...the whole bit. The problem is he doesn't know when to stop. So lately I've been telling him he's not a kitty or a puppy, but a Rhett. He agrees that he is a Rhett and usually goes on his merry way. The other night he climbed up on my lap and started in on the kitty thing and we again had the conversation. He agreed that he was Rhett and then reached for my face with his 2 little hands and pulled me in for what I thought was a kiss. Nope. A big 'ole lick right across my mouth! Eww Gross! I was so surprised that I burst out laughing and couldn't stop as I tried to tell him that was gross and not to do it again. Discipline just doesn't come across very good when you're laughing.

And I forgot, I wanted to ask everyone a favor! This pregnancy is clipping along and we're having quite the time coming up with a final name list. Normally we're able to narrow it down to 2 quite easily. Right now we have 8....and I like them all...I'm just not sure that we've got the RIGHT one on the list. So, I was wondering if you would send me some ideas? We're looking for something that is one syllable like Zane and Rhett, and something that's not too common but not completely out there. His middle name is going to be Dooley for my Grandpa and for my dad - my kids know my dad as Grandpa Dooley and everyone knew my Grandpa as Dooley even though that wasn't his actual name. (And if you're family reading this I am aware that Jeff and Kathy's Tyson is Tyson Dooley...but we're using it again anyways). The other 2 boys have Johnson family names for middle names and this one is getting a Robinson middle name. So that's my favor. If you have any great names and would like to share them please feel free. Thanks!

"Tis the Season!

I am thrilled to be decorated for Christmas! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get everything out that I wanted to because I've added to my collection by quite a bit and I have one less shelf in the house this year than last. So I sacrificed one of my nativities and it's creche. It's really big and I was worried that it would fall off the top of my piano if I set it up there - no wall to lean against just in case. But I discovered a few new places this year that weren't an option last year...mostly because Rhett is a year older this time around!

The kids helped me put out the house decorations on Thursday and last night after supper we set the tree up. I mean, Cliff set the tree up. Zane got to help with the light this year and he was THRILLED beyond belief. We bought all new LED light this year so Rhett and I were in charge of taking them out of the box, untangling them, and plugging them in to make sure they worked. As soon as I got a string plugged in he would pick up the nearest light and put it right up to his eye - better to examine it I guess? At least it wasn't up his nose - that's where he's been putting everything lately - fingers, walkie talkie antennas, Lego guns (thank goodness we only have big Lego). Anyways, back to Christmas. Letting the kids help decorate the tree is always really hard for me because I am fussy and want it just so. And most of my decorations are glass. So, the deal is that mom gets to do the really really breakable glass stuff and the boys are supposed to be gentle and slow. Right. Zane did a pretty good job of placing balls on the tree while Rhett's main objective was to see how many balls he could carry at once and hand to me and then be back with the next batch. We got it done though and I'm really happy with how it turned out!

And now of course, the pictures. I promised Leslie that I would post them today so she could show everyone how Christmas crazy I am and get her own Christmas fix without having to pull her stuff out!

Rhett and Zane's Christmas crafts we did last Saturday. We painted the cardboard pieces and then they picked out the foam pieces they wanted and I glue gunned them on. Then I glued the four pieces together into a box and glued the yarn on. And there you have it. Zane was very impressed and Rhett had fun when he wanted to help.

I LOVE my magnet board and am so glad that I bought it last Christmas. I leave it up all year round and it was the perfect place for all of these little things that mom gave me last year!

I couldn't leave this plate in the store...the words were just so appropriate!
And for some reason I can't write under this picture....but I bought the BELIEVE this year and the rest is all wonderful stuff my mom has made for me. I'm so lucky to have such a talented mom!

My hutch is full of different trinkets and stuff...the JINGLE is one of the crafts I did at Super Saturday. It's hard to tell in the picture but it has wire wrapped around each letter with bells attached. And the snow globe is the definite favorite with the boys. It's also a music box and they love to take turns holding it and listening to it play Silent Night.
I thought my new sign went well with some of my nativity scenes. I LOVE my Willow Tree Nativity. I cranked the Christmas music and cried as I put it out. I do every time I put the nativity out. It just is so nice to have the physical reminder of what Christmas really is. And I try to teach the kids about it too - not sure how much sunk in this year.
And my tree! The picture really doesn't do it justice but it's hard to get a good picture with it all lit up!

Our recent happenings....

It feels like we have been running all week long...even with Cliff home an extra day on Remembrance day.

Monday I accomplished laundry and taking a really long nap with Rhett. I was just beat all day long. Zane was home from school as well because it was a PD day. So really we didn't do much.

Tuesday I spent the majority of the day working on a quilt. I put the pictures here on my quilt blog.

Wednesday Zane had school (hurray!) and Rhett and I got a lot done around the house, read some books and generally had a great day.

Yesterday my wonderful hubby brought in all the Christmas stuff minus the tree and the kids had a lot of fun helping me decorate. I had a few panic moments as they were "helping" to unpack....I have some breakables that made me nervous but we all survived and the house looks great! Zane also finally finally let me pull his loose tooth! It just popped right out and after a moment of freaking out he thought it was pretty cool! The tooth fairy brought him a loony and he was so excited to buy a "Wonka Bar" (his term for chocolate bars since reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" I didn't take a picture with him and his tooth, but I did take a picture of him this morning with his prize and his toothier grin! And we noticed in the picture that you can already see the other tooth coming in!

Today we have been busy busy. Grocery shopping took a big portion of the morning and some of the afternoon. Everywhere is just getting crazy busy with Christmas and I just don't move very quickly at the moment! And this afternoon we've just been busy getting things settled - Cliff did a bunch of little honey-do things around the house, I got the groceries all put away and after we're done supper tonight we are putting up the tree! Yeah! Then I'll be all done decorating. I've already promised Leslie a blog with pictures of my Christmas house so that may or may not happen later tonight. We'll see how frazzled I am after letting the kids "help" and how long it takes me to re-decorate the tree the way I want it. I know, I know. I have kids. But I still want my tree to look the way I want it to look. They get to help, and I just do some adjusting later. I think I'll probably save my really breakable stuff for after they're in bed!

And Whitney and Tisha have a FABULOUS link to a very worthwhile cause. I finally figured out the whole link thing so go there and click on the quilt give away for Baby Mia if you are interested!

Some Stuff

• I asked Zane yesterday why he had to wear Red to school...."Mrs. Cocks didn't tell us" is the answer I got. So, the mystery will remain
• Zane was literally bouncing out of his classroom yesterday. He was quivering with excitement as he proclaimed to me and the rest of the hallway "MOM! I have 2 loose tooths!"
• And indeed, his bottom front 2 teeth are loose. One more than the other. He is wiggling ferociously and keeps insisting that I check to see if it's ready. He's just dying to take it for show and tell on Friday...we'll see
• Cliff felt our little nudger kick last night. And it was a pretty good one - moved his hand and everything. This is always one of my very favorite firsts. Of course he only did it once and wouldn't kick again until he moved his hand
• I had a fabulous check up with Dr Mark yesterday - I DON'T HAVE DIABETES THIS TIME! and it looks like my heart is A-OK. It is beating a couple of extra beats occasionally but nothing to be overly concerned about
• And he told me that I'm actually 3 days further along than I thought. That helped make my day even though most people just think big deal
• Friday we get another peak at this babe and I'm excited for that
• I am in the mood to bake today and so far have made muffins and cookies and plans for cinnamon buns and waffles for supper. Yum Yum Yummy!

Halloween

The boys ready for trunk or treat Tuesday night...so much fun doing all the fun games and getting TONS of candy. Rhett was right into it this year. I didn't take my camera to the church because I knew I'd end up carrying the basketball and the bags for all the centers....which I did. Cliff got roped into running one of the centers so I was on my own. But the weather was gorgeous and we had lots of fun.Zane ready to go to school dressed as Sinbad.....he decided that morning that he didn't want to be a pirate or the basketball player...so I pulled a long piece of material out, wrapped it around him, pinned it in a couple of places, gave him a sword and Presto - he's Sinbad! I tried to convince him to let me do a beard and moustache but he wouldn't go for it. Oh well, he was thrilled!Ready to go trick or treating...the boys had lots of fun minus the jerky guy who wore the creepy mask and laughed when Zane was scared to death of him! The momma bear in me was ready to punch the guy. I mean, seriously, you scared my kid - do you really need to come out of your house, stand on the porch, and laugh while I try to convince him to open his eyes so he can walk down your stairs without breaking his neck? It took us a couple of houses to get Zane calmed down and after that he was done....his tummy hurt, his feet hurt, he had to pee....you get the picture. Rhett was hilarious to watch this year. He really 'got' the whole trick-or-treating thing and just vibrated the whole time we were out. So it was fun even though Zane didn't really enjoy the whole night.

And showing off their spoils...both of their buckets were this full plus a grocery bag full of chips! Wow. They can each pick a few things to keep tomorrow and the rest is going to work with Daddy!

Yesterday was our ward's super Saturday. Lots of fun and I finished both of my crafts. I was very impressed with myself and with all the super organization that went into make it such a great day for all of us. And I forgot to re-set my clocks last night. I thought about it yesterday morning....but then it kinda didn't stick in my head. Oops. The result meant that I was ready to go to choir a whole hour earlier today then I needed to be. At least Jennie was too! She called me 'cause she was supposed to be picking me up and asked if I made the same mistake. We had a good laugh at ourselves!

Tomorrow Zane is supposed to wear red to school...and we don't know why. He's just DYING to find out. Any guesses? Oh, and anyone want to guess what day my Christmas stuff is going up? The day is set and Zane and I are on the count down!

It worked!

I have been blessed with very talented friends who know how to look at a picture and make a cake look just like the picture. This is not one of my talents. However, after seeing and tasting Hannah's Tinkerbell rice krispie cake at the beginning of the month, I came up with what I thought was a great idea. See, I signed up to take a treat for Zane's Halloween party. I figured with the baby on the way and such it would probably be the easiest party for me to help out with. At the beginning of the year Mrs. Cocks told us rice krispie squares and puff wheat squared are always good snacks because they eat in their classroom and aren't as messy as cupcakes. With this in mind, and having seen Tinkerbell I decided to make pumpkins! I mentioned it to Mrs. Cocks when we had our parent/teacher interview and she immediately thought I was going to decorate 25 individual pumpkins...ha ha ha. She's a funny woman. Actually, she was quite overwhelmed with the idea for me. No, I came up with something better:

I made a double batch of rice krispie squares and put them in pie plates - the disposable ones are going to school and the metal one is ours. Then I took icing that I had leftover from our sugar cookies, spread it on and let Zane decorate them. Well...I did the eyes and noses and he did most of the mouths. His favorite part was putting the chocolate chips on them because his finger always got a little bit of icing on the end that he HAD to lick off before putting the next chocolate chip on! Quick, easy, and yummy! Once the icing has dried I'm going to cut them like pies and send them to school tomorrow!

As I was mixing them up I was getting a little panicky that I wouldn't have enough and my thoughts wandered to a story Emily Watts relates: Basically, when one of her kids was in kindergarten she had volunteered to bring cookies to the Christmas party and had decided to make sugar cookie drums...only she didn't have a cookie cutter so decided to make her own pattern....which ended up being a little, um, large. And THEN she PIPED on the decorating...and was devastated when the kids didn't stop to admire - just dug in. She had a great point to her story but the memory momentarily freaked me out because I thought that maybe what I had planned was going to end up being more complicated than I wanted it to be. I'm very glad that wasn't the case. And I got a chuckle out of the memory.

Tonight is our ward's trunk or treat...Rhett is having a nap so hopefully he'll be up for lots of fun and Zane has been vibrating ALL day. Hopefully I get some pics!

Time flies when you're having fun!

This week has just flown by! Lots of fun things have happened and Thursday night Cliff's family arrived (minus Jamie and Amber). I let the kids stay up and wait until Cliff got home (late night with the sale) and after the kids were settled we watched the new Indiana Jones movie. Lots of fun but we stayed up WAY too late for how early my kids get up. Oh well. After a huge breakfast we got ready for the day and hung out a bit before Grandma and Auntie Rikki took the kids to Walmart. I finished Grandma's birthday cake and was putting the buns on pans when they got back with their new treasures: Jedi guns with sound effects! They LOVE them and I think their great....Daddy has a new rule though: No triggers until after everyone is awake in the morning! Apparently he didn't get a lot of sleep this morning because that's all he could hear. For the very rare once I slept through the noise. I'm blaming it on exhaustion. But back our fun times! I made buns and beef for lunch because mom LOVES my home made buns and we added in the veggies and stuff Cliff brought home from the sale. After being way too full from all the food we let Grandma open her presents. (Her birthday was last weekend) Well, she got to watch at least! Then the cake. I made Skor cake and we put 20 candles on it. Cliff got them all lit, we started singing Happy Birthday and before we finished the song the candles were out! Rhett started blowing and Zane joined in. 3 good blows later no more flames. I was laughing to hard to finish singing! We all ate HUGE pieces of cake and then watched Iron Man. Zane quickly lost interest - I was glad because I really didn't like it all that much. Rhett fell asleep in the first 5 minutes and slept for almost 3 hours and the rest of us made it through. We finished off our time together by going to Kelsey's for supper. I was really glad that I had thought to call and make a reservation because there were 8 of us and we would have been waiting forever otherwise! We had lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa and the aunties!

Today the kids and I made sugar cookies. Other than that we've been extremely lazy. Rhett and I had a nap on the couch - his much longer than mine - and I've spent A LOT of time on the computer this afternoon.

Tonight is Stake Conference adult session - I think our plan is for Cliff to go tonight and me to stay home with the kiddlets. And then tomorrow Cliff is heading to Edmonton for Trail's sale there so it's me and kiddos alone for Stake Conference. I'm a little scared. That's a long time to keep the two of them quiet, occupied and happy by myself on hard chairs. Hopefully it goes well!

My new Favorite thing..

Is the SELF-CLEAN button on my oven. I've had the thing for a year now and have never used it. After cooking my turkey without anything over it (the first and last time I EVER do that ) my oven was disgusting. And any time I used it my whole house smelled like burnt turkey. Ugh. Anyways, after reading in my book what exactly I had to do (press 2 whole buttons and wait) I decided to go for it. W-O-W. When it was done and cooled off it took me 30 seconds to wipe out the ash stuff and voila - an oven that looks fabulous! I'm in love. Of course I called Cliff at work and thanked him profusely for buying me an oven that would do this for me - gotta give credit where credit is due. I'll never ever ever go back.

The last couple days I feel like I've been nesting - weird since I'm only 21 weeks but my house is looking great! Monday we had a family home evening on keeping our homes neat and clean and organized and talked about how Heavenly Father wants our homes to be like Temples. We talked about how inside the temples everything is neat and clean and put away, etc. Earlier in the day I really de-junked the toys and made some labels for different baskets and stuff. The rule is now at the end of the day the boys help to clean up. Anything they don't want to clean up or they leave behind for mom to do after they're in bed goes in a garbage bag and I'll give it to kids without toys. So far, so good.

Daddy and the boys did not clean up tonight....they were too busy carving a pumpkin! One of the sales guys at work brought Cliff this huge pumpkin that was already scooped out so all they had to do was carve it. I was at a baby shower and apparently Rhett was into the pumpkin thing until it got a face...then he walked around saying "scared, scared". We'll see how it goes tomorrow!

The kids have been busy busy pretending up a storm. The other day they were both running around in spider man suites, we've had pirates, ninjas, cowboys, superheroes....well you get the picture. Rhett has been carrying around 2 pez dispensers lately - they are his 'robots' and he just LOVES them right now. Zane loves transformers, spider man, and star wars. The top love depends on the day.

So here's some pics to wind up the post!

Recent Happenings....

We had originally planned on NOT doing a big dinner for Thanksgiving - we stayed here in Sylvan - and were just going to do something fun on Monday with Robison's - I'll get to that in a minute. Then my oh so lovable hubby batted his eyes at me and said "I'd really like Turkey for Thanksgiving". Now, if you've read my 100th post you might remember "cooking a turkey" as one of the things I listed as wanting to do. After multiple phone calls to both moms, some last minute shopping with the kidlets and some laughs I can proudly say that I cooked a turkey on Sunday. It was a little dry, the drippings were burnt (hazard of leaving bird cooking while attending all 3 hours of church - sigh) so the gravy was gross but otherwise a success. Made great turkey buns and soup as well! While I was washing it out I was a little grosses out - the smell and me prego was a challenge. Zane covered his eyes and said "eww gross. Dad, I can't watch!" Rhett just watched. I also made banana cream pie and we had Pratts over after supper to help us eat them. Oh, so yummy. Actually considering making more this weekend.

Monday we were fairly lazy. Robison's came over and we had a really fun backwards dinner - started with ice cream sundaes and ended with BBQ hamburgers and chips. The kids were in HEAVEN! We let them eat as much ice cream and chips as they wanted. We played games, hung out and enjoyed the time together.

Next excitement came in the form of wearing a holter all day yesterday. Something to record my heart all day long. Oh, and the trip to emerg with Zane that lasted 8 hours. Poor kid has a virus in his digestive track which equalled tummy full of gas and PAIN! They ended up giving the poor kid morphine after trying unsuccessfully to get an IV into him. But, it finally got his pain under control and I was finally able to take him home just after midnight. We've had a couple of long nights around here! Thankfully, he's keeping things down, pain free and happy today.

I'm sure I'm going to remember things that I wanted to post about a little while later....

Thankful

I am thankful that my husband is a worthy priesthood holder who is willing to use his priesthood to bless our family.
Rhett has NEVER been a good sleeper. Everyone who knows us or who has read this blog for awhile knows that. But lately it's gotten even worse. He spends the majority of the night tossing and turning, crying out in his sleep, and waking up in full tantrums. Nothing I've tried has helped. I finally (why am I so slow sometimes?) prayed about it. And felt strongly that he needed a blessing. Cliff gave him a blessing tonight before bedtime and blessed him with peaceful sleep, to not feel that he needed to be worried about someone or something "getting" him and that he would learn to sleep through the night. I am very hopeful that this will help Rhett and in turn help me. This prego mama really needs some sleep before the next
non-sleeper Johnson arrives!

Just when you think you're home free...

You see your doctor for your checkup and find out you gained a schwack of weight last month AND you have a heart murmur that may or may not be something. So, I'm getting an EKG this week, wearing a heart monitor for 24 hours next week and have an ecocardiogram scheduled for November 18 unless my doc thinks that's too long and decides to pull strings and bump it up. The nurse at the front who was booking everything seemed to think that was a good possibility. I'm not too worried about having a murmur - did some reading. More worried that the big weight gain is going to lead to diabetes again and don't know what that plus a heart murmur equals in terms of complications. My diabetes screen is at the end of the month and hopefully we'll know more about the murmur by then to. So, until then I just sit and wait. And that's what I know. Cheers!

Appropriate

I have been playing around with different ideas for a new title for my blog because I was sure that this baby was going to be a girl and then "The Life and Times of Me and the Boys" wouldn't work very well anymore. Are you wondering what I've come up with? Here's the new and improved title: "The Life and Times of Me and the Boys" Yep. No change. Thanks to the wonderful ultrasound technology we found out that we are expecting a BLUE bundle and not PINK one like I thought. To put it mildly, we were shocked. But that only lasted for a few seconds before I was overjoyed. Three boys together are going to be so much fun! Not to mention cheaper in the wardrobe department....at least for now. 3 teenage boys in the house at once is going to be rough on the food budget. Oh well. Like I said, it's going to be lots of fun and we're really excited to welcome the new little blue one into our family. Zane thinks it's really cool that he's getting another baby brother and wanted to see the pictures from the ultrasound. Rhett will tell you where our baby is (in my tummy) but when I ask him if he wants a baby brother he says 'no'. Anyways, everything checked out GREAT at the ultrasound. He's measuring right where he should be according to my dates and the placenta and fluid are great. Heart's great and everything else is accounted for!
We've had lots of people ask us if that means we'll try one more time for a girl. Umm, no. We are done at 3. And no, I don't think I'll change my mind. We are both happy with 3 - even without a girl. I'll just have to wait for daughter-in-laws and grandbabies to do all the fun girlie stuff with. And maybe I'll get lucky and have some nieces before then!
On a different note, Monday Cliff turned 30! We had a big party for him last night. And by big I mean almost 30 adults and a handful of babies here at our house for Rock Band and lots of yummy food. We took our kids to Allred's and had a babysitter for both sets of kids. It worked really great - minus the fact that they didn't go to sleep until they were home at 11:00. Ugg. And then they were up at 7:00. It's been a long day here!
So, that's about all that's new in our world. Oh, and if you see my dad don't tell him we're having a boy. He doesn't want to know!

100th...and what I've been doing!

Wow. My 100th post. I did my 100 things about me quite awhile ago...I should be good and post the link here - but I'm super tired and don't feel like figuring it out. Sorry. I do want to do something fun for my 100th post though so I'll do a quick update and then what I had originally planned...lost track of how close I was!

So, here's what I've been doing in a nutshell:

- getting used to Zane being in school - including making lunches, homework and school assemblies

- finished reading the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer in 5 days - lots of reading not so much housework and cooking going on in those days

- trying to catch up from the 5 day hibernation

- arguing with Zane over Star Wars

- laughing at my kids funnies

- teaching piano 3 days a week

- being SOOOO tired! Don't remember it being this bad with the other 2

- trying to take it easier with this pregnancy than the other two so I can make it to 38 weeks

- counting days till my ultrasound on Friday!

- packed for an overnighter to Barnwell

- went to Barnwell Thursday night with Cliff and the boys and came home on Friday night

- enjoyed seeing all the family - especially uncle Don and aunt Kathy and their kids home visiting from Australia - the whole point to our whirlwind trip. We haven't seen them in 5 years!

- eating yummy yummy food all weekend that I didn't have to cook

- enjoying Alisha and her friend Jackie for some of the weekend.

- laughing like crazy when Zane asked Auntie to "drop out" of a star wars level so he could finish by himself. the look on her face was priceless

- forgetting that we had school fundraising to do that has to be handed in tomorrow. Yuck. I'd gladly get rid of this part of school.

- craving Skittles, Starbursts, and Winegums. Yum yum yummy

- not liking chocolate this pregnancy

- starting to get heartburn after eating....anything

- starting to outgrow things and not wanting to spend money on clothes I'm only going to wear for a couple more months

- did I mention that I am tired ALL the time?

And that's about it. At least it's all that I can remember. I'm sure there are lots of things that I have forgotten and if I remember I'll include them in another post!

Now for my 100....things that I want to do in my life!

1. learn to play the violin

2. get my nursing degree and work on maternity

3. teach my children piano

4. get back into my skinny jeans after having this baby

5. be a better friend

6. be a better wife

7. be a better mom

8. flip houses - and get to the point where I just have to supervise and not get dirty!

9. stop eating when I'm full

10. learn to enjoy exercise

11. understand my scriptures more

12. feel the spirit more in my life

13. see my sons serve honorable missions

14. see all my children get married in the temple to wonderful spouses

15. plant a garden

16. do WAY more quilting!

17. visit Hawaii

18. NOT swim with sharks - Leslie is convinced she's going to get me to do this. I'll stay on the beach thanks

19. Get a better camera and learn how to use it

20. Stay caught up on my pictures in albums

21. Have a music room in my house

22. Have all my music organized!

23. Save for a grand piano - probably not until after my kids are long gone!

24. Go back to Huntington California with Cliff and stay in the huge hotel across from the beach...

25. Get a professional massage

26. Go on a temple tour with Cliff

27. attend General Conference live once

28. go to Australia

29. sky dive - only if I'm strapped to someone a lot bigger than me who will throw us out of the plane

30. make it through a summer with the same pair of sunglasses

31. start donating blood again

32. travel to Italy

33. try golf...

34. start running again

35. be a better housekeeper

36. become less selfish

37. curb my sugar addiction

38. catch up on my sleep - I can hope!

39. not care so much about what other people think

40. get out of debt

41. keep old friends and make new ones

42. be a good visiting teacher

43. be better prepared for an emergency

44. learn how to read a map...I'm hopeless!

45. take ballroom dancing classes

46. learn to rock climb

47. sing in a choir again...it's been a very very very long time

48. enlarge my shoe selection

49. shop for the same size of pants year after year after year

50. bear my testimony more - especially for my children

51. appreciate the little things in my life

52. live where winter doesn't stay for 6 months of the year - I'll even take the chinooks!

53. teach my children to be independent

54. sleep through the night again

55. teach my kids healthy habits - eating and exercise

56. find the balance between school and extra curricular with my kids

57. cook manicottie

58. cook a turkey

59. host Christmas at my house one year

60. build wonderful memories for my family

61. develop a better memory

62. Get better at recording things in case 61 doesn't pan out!

63. change myself for the better

64. grow a flower garden

65. have a raspberry patch

66. have a strawberry patch

67. own a vehicle that doesn't run on gas

68. be better at budgeting and saving

69. have a date night every week...not every month

70. keep my children safe

71. live closer to our families

72. get better at piano

73. worry less

74. laugh more

75. do a zip line tour in Hawaii or some cool place like that

76. serve a mission with Cliff

77. have lots of yummy smelling candles in my house

78. appreciate Christmas more for what the season is supposed to be

79. learn more about my kids

80. maybe try to have a dog...maybe

81. have the ultimate basement/backyard for our kids and their friends

82. learn to walk in high heels better

83. have more than jeans and t-shirts in my wardrobe

84. continue to make a menu

85. attend the temple more regularly

86. voice my opinion more

87. pass on my love of reading to my kids

88. play more with my kids

89. appreciate my hubby more

90. learn how to can fruit and maybe jam

91. be more girlie

92. forgive quicker

93. grumble less

94. find beauty in more things

95. recycle more

96. read more

97. have a toy free room

98. have an empty closet - just because

99. make me more a priority

100. ENJOY all my moments - good and bad

wow. That was harder I think than 100 things about me. Hope you enjoyed it!

Mulling over....

Recent happenings in my extended family have left me pondering relationships and forgiveness. I won't go into details because certain events have already caused a lot of pain and hurt for some and I don't wish to spread that to anyone else. Mostly I am disappointed and sad for members of my family. The one's who have been hurt and also the ones who caused the hurt. It is a situation that has existed for a very long time - too long - and is repeated in various circumstances and periods of time. It has caused me to think and compare families - ones I was born into, ones I've married into, and ones that I am privileged to spend a lot of time with. Not one of these families is perfect. They all have problems and dare I say dysfunctions. Some more than others. Yet some have a love and respect for each other that is second to none, where others are complicated and have hurtful histories. And this is where it gets complicated for me. I am a natural peace maker. I believe that it is one of my talents and gifts. I don't like confrontation. My first instinct is to soothe and try to make peace - whether I am involved directly or someone has come to me. When recent events came to light my first instinct was to make it "better" somehow. But that's not my role or my responsibility. Our Saviour came to this world and suffered and died and was resurrected so that we might be forgiven and in turn learn to forgive others. And you can't give that forgiveness until you are willing to forgive. Harboring hurt does not encourage forgiveness, and without forgiveness you can't heal. I have thought how the Saviour taught us to forgive the same injury over and over and over again - how He shows us the same loving forgiveness for our own insults and mistakes - and I have prayed a lot in my heart. I have prayed to forgive and forget and that the more injured ones will also be able to forgive and to heal.
I have also pondered the state of families in the eternities when their existence here in time has not been one of a cohesive family unit. Will it be easier to forgive when we have been reminded of the big picture? Or will our families remain in the same state they are in now? Some strong and thriving, some broken and floundering. It makes me so grateful for the powerful bonds of love I have with my siblings and my parents. And of the same bonds Cliff has with his family and that we as our own family unit share with each other's families. We never question their love for us, their concern for us or their support of us. And we hope that they feel the same from us. I pray as I watch Zane and Rhett (and soon baby #3)playing and fighting and growing together that they will always have the relationship they have today - that it will grow and mature with them so when they reach adulthood and start their own families they will know that they can count on one another for strength and support. And that they will know of our love and support for them.
Families are continually changing - wouldn't it be nice if we could guarantee it was always things that would bring us closer together and closer to our goal of an eternal family? But then guarantees don't fit in with the plan I chose so very long ago. Free agency, free choice, whatever you want to title it as was given as a gift and we choose what we do with it. We can choose to forgive or we can choose to let wounds fester. Personally, I'm choosing to forgive.

"Firsts of Kindergarten...."

We had TWO first days at kindergarten this week...Wednesday I went with Zane to meet his teacher. It was good except for when Mrs. Cocks wanted the kids to line up without their parents and Zane didn't want to leave me. I've worried about this for the past 2 days. Today all of my fears were put to rest. Cliff took Zane to school and came back with the report that all was well. And he was. He got to be the special helper all day long, play in the gym, played outside in the rain at recess and got a special treat from the office for being the special helper. They call it the Razzle Dazzle Kid and he was floating on cloud nine when I picked him up. He chose a spider man coloring book with stickers and couldn't wait to get home and get started on the stickers. I was so relieved that everything went well. I was really anxious that he would have problems with his shoes or coat or something like that. He goes to all day kindergarten so has 2 recesses and a lunch that he has to change from inside to outside shoes and get his coat on and off and zipped and all that stuff. These are skills that he CAN do, but doesn't particularly LIKE to do. And of course it's the first time that he's been gone all day in someone else's care that I don't know well, with kids I've never met and doing things that I don't know about ALL DAY LONG. Preschool didn't phase me. How much can they really do in 2 hours? But all day? It was hard to let him go and I hope I didn't pass any of my anxieties onto him. But we survived and we'll continue to do the same Monday, Wednesday and every other Friday! Rhett was so excited to see Zane when he got home. He couldn't wait for him to get his coat and shoes off and get a hug. Of course they were fighting about 2 minutes later, but for a split second they were thrilled to see each other.

Grammie S and Auntie Kizzy have come to stay with us for a whole week! They got here just before bedtime on Friday and we've been having lots of fun hanging out and playing and reading and all that good stuff. We wanted to go to the corn maze in Lacombe yesterday but it rained off and on all day and we decided it wouldn't be fun in drizzle and cold with kids in tow. Hopefully we'll find the time to go before they leave us Friday morning!

Tomorrow Zane is off to school, I have a doc appointment and we have some shopping we want to do. I also start my first full week of piano lessons as well. I'm teaching 11 students this year! That's almost triple of what I've ever taught before and I'm a little nervous about being able to do it all. But I've got them all lined up for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 4 until 6 so I think it'll work out pretty good....

And congrats to Whit and Brad! We hear that Finn is just cuter than cute!