Our Dream Coming True?!

The reason we moved to Missouri was to fulfill our family's dream of living on land, growing an orchard and a garden, enjoying peace and privacy in the country, perhaps owning some animals for meat and dairy and having the room to let the kids roam free.

We've suffered through apartment life to acclimate ourselves to the area and have the chance to shop around for the perfect piece of land and to get financing in order. The plan was to live in the apartment for six months while shopping around, toward the end of November find a place and make an offer, then move in at the end of December when our lease expired.

Getting financing was tricky business. After being flatly denied, "No loan, no way!" we were deflated but not crushed. We talked with the kids about praying that we would have a miracle happen in our family. The kids took the challenge of praying very seriously. One day, we received pre-approval loan papers in the mail from a local bank Rhyetta talked to. The next day, Rhyetta called another local bank and received hopeful news regarding an even better loan. As we continued to pray for a miracle, we received one. We were pre-approved! This news was shared with the kids, and with gratitude in our hearts for this miracle, a new challenge was given to our family: to find a house that would fit our needs. With the pre-approval in our hands, we took house/land hunting more seriously. The Friday after Thanksgiving we really wanted to spend the day looking at properties and eventually found ourselves in the office of a real estate agent in Cameron, Missouri, about an hour's distance from our current dwelling but about the same distance (30 miles) from Matt's work. We had done our research and found several intriguing properties which we e-mailed to him. He was going to set up the appointments so we could look inside. Property after property he tossed aside and told us, "This one's no good." What started out as a pile of seven possible showings, was now only a short stack of three! Then it felt like he was trying to sell us a house in the city of Cameron "that was a GOOD deal" he told us. "Does it have land?" I asked. When he replied that it did not, I frankly assured him that we were not interested. I was really not liking this guy.

We sat there for an hour while he made appointments for the last three listings. (Wasn't he supposed to have done this BEFORE we got there?) Towards the end of our meeting, he told us he knew of a property we might like but was under contract. "Let me just show you anyway on the computer." Then he noticed that the contract was pending over 30 days. He noted that was strange and called on it. Oh! The contract fell through. The property was available even though it had not yet been re-listed. He asked us if we wanted to see it. Sure, why not?!

We toured a small house on 3 acres right next to a trailer park and on a busy road that was for sale for $119,000. No, it didn't feel right. We didn't like the location. As we drove further down the country road, we noticed we had been looking in this area when we first moved to Missouri and that there were other properties we had looked at online on the same road. We turned onto a gravel road and then turned onto a private driveway lined with forest, past a pond with wild ducks and we started smiling. "I like this, Matt! I love the tree-lined driveway and the privacy!" It only got better from there. The acreage! Ten acres of wooded forest, deciduous trees and evergreens, a "creek" (or ditch) full of junk which was a specific request of Kian's--that it have junk on the property!--a large backyard clearing for a place to play and garden, even trails through the woods! Matt, my brother Warren (who happened to be visiting at the time and came along with us) and I knew we liked what we were seeing!

Then we went inside the house! It was new! It had a big kitchen with a pantry and an island and red walls! In the dining room was a mural with deer, ducks, and a forest paradise! It had a laundry room! There were three large bedrooms and two bathrooms with nice clean and new carpet throughout. The rooms were painted very tastefully, a different color in each room, like sage green and beige and such.

The greatest part of all? It was in foreclosure--which meant the bank just wanted to get rid of it as soon as it could. It had previously sold for $125,000 so we could offer much lower and still have a chance! I didn't want to "fall in love" with a piece of land. I wanted to be very careful and smart about the whole house-buying process, but this house and land were so very wonderful that we could not deny it spoke to us!

We visited it once more with the kids who loved it. They loved running around outside, watching the ducks on the pond, swinging on the swing set and studying the junk in the creek/ditch. So, we made an offer. The bank countered with their offer. We countered back. And we finally agreed on $118,500! We know this is the best deal in the entire area. The land is so beautiful, we really can't believe it is at such a low price!

Now comes the waiting. We are praying all things go smoothly: the inspection and the financing and all that jazz. Oh, do you want to see pictures? Okay, here they are! The exterior of the house and garage (oh did I forget to mention there is a HUGE two-car garage) are metal which is not the most attractive exterior but it is all so new and the inside is really, really nice. Nothing a little landscaping can't fix!

Christmas Lists

Do any of your kids have funny requests on their Christmas lists? Kian's includes Lego sets and Nerf guns and some other typical boy toys as well as his own bottle of vinegar and box of baking soda! I guess so he won't have to keep asking me to mix them, he can use his own supplies! He also requested a bag of sand and rocks!?

Matt told him if he's not good, Santa will bring him coal. "Oh, wait a minute, you'd actually want coal!" Matt added. "Yes! I'll burn it and create carbon dioxide and pollute the world!" Kian replied.

Ghosts and Monks

Kian's reading books about witches and UFOs and ghosts. I didn't realize how scary they were until I looked at them AFTER he had read them. He claims they don't scare him though. Matt reviewed them and then talked to him about the Holy Ghost and how these kinds of frightening ghostly stories don't come from Heavenly Father. I made a silly comment, "When Kian was confirmed, he got the hooooooly ghost. Oooooooh!" He replied with, "The Holy Ghost is the ghost of a monk." That got us laughing.

A conversation from the day

Part of our morning devotional involves singing. We mostly sing Primary songs and activity songs for Felicity and Ella. Sometimes we sing songs in Spanish. I enjoy it. This morning we sang some Christmas songs because Abby informed me that the Primary children started practicing Christmas songs at church the day before.

So this morning we sang "Christmas Bells are Ringing..." and "Away in a Manger." Before we sang "Mary's Lullaby," I explained to the kids that these are Mary's words she's singing to her baby Jesus.

Lullaby, lullaby, my little one. Lullaby, my child so dear.
Thy precious life has just begun; Thy mother holds thee near.

My voice faltered and I had to pause and gulp back some emotion in my voice before I could continue singing.

While Joseph watches through the night, A star reflects thy light.
Lullaby, lullaby, my little one. Lullaby, my child so dear.

The beauty and tenderness of the song accompanied with the lovely melody made it too difficult to control my emotions and the tears welled up in my eyes. We finished the song (barely) and Kian asked me, "Why were you like that?" I replied, "It was a beautiful song." "Were you crying?!" he asked. "Why would you cry at that?" He then proceeded to sob dramatically in a mocking tone, "Waaah-waaah. Singing this song makes me cry!"

"Kian," I explained, "It is possible to cry for a reason other than sadness. Sometimes I cry because I'm happy or I'm filled with joy." Well, as you can imagine, this 8-year-old boy thought I was being ridiculous (having never felt this emotion, I assume).

I then described to him a possible scene in his future. "Kian, after you get married to the love of your life, you're going to have a baby. Can you imagine how you'll feel when after laboring in pain for hours, your wife gives birth to a healthy, perfect, tiny, amazing baby that you will hold with wonder and fascination and thankfulness?!!" There were lots of tears rolling down my face by this point in the lecture. I was really into it. I cry so easily.

He looked at me with a look like I was crazy and then went on to joke, "This is what I'll say when that happens: 'O God, I curse thee for dirty diapers!!' Ha ha ha."

Sigh.

Need to censor?

As the father of home schooled children, we knew that Kian would become a good reader when he was ready. He loves reading science books (and created his own schematic drawing from reading an Usborne Internet Lined Book on Electricity), Magic School Bus books, as well as some classics. He gets excited to place books on hold at the library on his own. One book that Kian has been reading is The Wind in the Willows.

Tonight as we are driving home from the Robertson's, Kian and his sisters are making up nonsense words. Rhyetta asked me where and why are they saying those things. Then she heard Kian say something that caught her immediate attention. She turned to me and asked, "Did he say what I think he said?" I replied, " I don't think so." As I continued to drive home, Rhyetta and I sat thinking to ourselves and processing what we thought we heard Kian say. I casually asked Kian, "What did you say to Abby?" Now, before I continue to retell what my eight year old son said to my 5 year old daughter I want to reassure you Rhyetta and I do not use inappropriate language in our house or elsewhere.

OK, you may be asking yourself what did Kian say!? "Oh, Abby, stop being an ass," was his reply. I then was curious where he had heard this, and continuing to be casual about it asked him where he heard this. "The Wind in the Willows."

Rhyetta and I started laughing heartily after this. Rhyetta calmly remarked, "Looks like we are going to have to watch more carefully what he reads." She then said, "After all, it is in the bible." I then commented while laughing, "Are you going to write about this or am I?"

Oh my! The truly funny thing about this is that he said it in context. He was asked if he knew what it meant and he said, "no."

As we arrived home, Rhyetta and I noticed that Abby had the book The Wind and the Willows opened across her sleeping chest. I took the book off her before carrying her inside, it was opened up to the page 38 where Mole says that to Toad. After reading what was on this page, it made more sense to me of the conversation the kids were having before our beautiful comment from Kian.

My, my; first telling another kid that she was "going to hell," and now this. We are sure in for fun times ahead.

Funny Ella

Our Ella-Bella turned 4 last month! While I don't have any cute ones of her on her birthday, here are some recent photos showing her true character!



Here she is pretending to be an alien!



She got caught with her hands in the whipped cream!



This is some seriously bad hair from the back...



And the bad hair from the front. Good morning!




And here she is, our cute Ella!

Halloween 2009

Thank you for making our costumes, Grandma!!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

We read in the scriptures that "out of the mouth of babes" will we be taught gospel truths. Recently, we have had moments where our sweet Ella has given Rhyetta and I important insight into our lives. Kian and Abby also contribute to our daily dose of "You Can't handle the Truth."

• We have unfortunately lost our focus with our good eating habits. Ella hasn't skipped a beat to make mention, "Daddy, you have a big belly." Always nice to hear, eh?
  
• Today, we had some friends from the ward visiting us. I am sitting in our recliner talking while Ella proceeds to climb up on my lap. Again, without skipping a beat she says, "Daddy you stink." After our friends left, Rhyetta came and smelled what Ella was talking about. Rhyetta mentioned, "Daddy doesn't smell," but Ella exclaimed, "Yes, he does smell."
• Today, during sacrament meeting the primary presented their program. Kian, Abby, and Ella did awesome jobs saying their parts. During the songs, you would hear Abby sing her heart out. This was especially true during the song "Together Forever." During this song, you could tell Abby believed what she was singing about and wanted to tell the whole world about it. So sweet to see her talent shine!

There's an old saying, "The Truth Hurts," but truths are also the sweetest words ever to fall on the ears of man, even if we don't want to hear it.

A good night's sleep

I was the first one up Saturday morning and to my surprise, Ella was asleep on the couch. When she awoke, she said to me, "Mommy, I came to the couch and went to sleep." When I asked her why, she replied, "I was just not comf-table in my bed. I didn't have enough comf."

Nighttime Discoveries

On the eve of Ella's fourth birthday, Rhyetta and I discovered our cute little princesses fast asleep on Abby's bed.

Before Rhyetta and I went to bed, we blew up "Happy Birthday" balloons for Ella and put them on her bed and on the floor. We went to bed and late at night (around 1:30 am), Abby woke up to go potty. After she was done she went back to bed. About 30 minutes later, I hear Abby and Ella talking in their room. Mind you they are still on the top bunk of the bed. I get out of bed again to investigate. I get Ella out of bed to help you to go potty, and she notices balloons all over the room. In her Ella excitement voice, she asks several times "Daddy did you and mommy do this for me?," and with me trying to keep her quiet I answer yes. With Ella smiling her big Ella smile while on the potty, I sing "Happy Birthday" to my new four year old. After a couple more times of getting out of bed to calm our girls down, have them stop playing with balloons in their bed, and to finally go back to sleep I get to head back to sleep.

Since today is Sunday, we had to still get ready for church, but that doesn't stop Ella from having a special birthday breakfast. She had pancakes with PB, and four PB M&M's on each pancake. Do you think she enjoyed her special breakfast? Felicity was the upset that she didn't get M&M's and even more so when she tried to take one off of Ella's pancake and being told no. Gracious Ella took an M&M off her pancake and handed it to Felicity. What a good big sister!

That has been just the beginning of Ella's fourth birthday. How time flies!

I'm going to the library...

I've wanted to work at the library for years. I love the library. It is my favorite place to go to get a break from home life. It is quiet (aaaahhhh). It is orderly (lovely). It is full of books (cool!). It is free (hello!)! Kansas City, Missouri has the coolest library system that I have ever come across--it is 30 branches all connected, so they almost always have the book I'm looking for! You simply request it and you get it. The libraries have drive-through windows so you don't have to get the kids out of the car to pick up a book or movie on hold. How cool is that?! When we first moved here and I had fallen deeply in love with my local library, I asked if I could volunteer and they said no. They don't do that anymore. Pretty much you have to get hired. So, I applied. And interviewed. And I got the job! It pays little. It is pretty much going to be shelving books and pulling books. But for two nights a week and every other Saturday I get to be in the library!!!

Alexander the Good!

You know your kids are really learning when they take what they've been learning and incorporate it into their play. So tonight when Abby and Ella were in the bath with their barbies and Abby's barbie was "Alexander the Good" in her castle of diamonds and wubies (rubies), I had to chuckle.

And can I brag for a moment? That Abby is smart on math! She's been begging for math lately and is mastering addition. Ask her what is 4+3+7 and she'll answer correctly in about 3 seconds. She's loving it.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Ella is reading. No joke. This 3-year-old can read Bob books. Probably not a surprise for some of you with smartypants kids, but in this house when our first child didn't read till he was 7!, it is surprising to me.

Felicity is learning too. How to hit, how to push, how to bite, how to yell. Sigh. It's 'cause we've laughed at her for so long, but now she can really do damage. She starts crying before I put the brush to her hair because she's learned that's what Ella and Abby do!

Great kids.

Funny Kian Stories

Here's another one for you. Today Kian must have been in a decluttering mode because he told me he was ready to give some of his stuff away. He bribed his sisters into helping him clean his room by offering to give them whatever they helped clean up. Abby ended up inheriting his snap kit (this is the coolest electronics toy and was very pricey). I questioned him, "Kian, do you really want to get rid of your snap kit?" He replied,"I don't want it anymore. I'm moving on to fireworks." I reminded him, "You can't mix chemicals in your room, Kian" to which he replied, "What? I only have gun powder and this fuse in my room!"

Yeah. So. Whatever phase we're entering now is going to have to be closely supervised.

The next story happened the other day while we were studying spanish. I had a spanish-english picture dictionary open and the girls and I were occupied looking up new words and learning how to say them in spanish. Kian was doing his own thing on the staircase, making a tower out of cards. The girls were throwing out common words like baby and dog and such. I didn't even think Kian was paying attention when all of a sudden he asked, "How do you say specimen?"

Update

I've been trying to think of a good story to share about what the kids are up to, but there's just not anything new around here.

We did have to take Ella for an emergency visit to the urgent care because we thought she had broken her arm while wrestling with Kian and Abby. Thankfully, it was only a ligament out of place that the doctor popped right back into place. No cast, no orthopedic visits. And we can arrange with the office for a discounted payment plan. Phew.

Matt and I got called into Nursery. Well, me really, but he's my unofficial helper till they call one. Not really excited about it, at all, but whatever. We're slowly making friends. For some reason, I miss Utah lately. I miss the abundant produce! And I miss my friends. I'm not liking living in an apartment and having such restricted playtime outside. Matt and I drove to some properties for sale yesterday and fell in love with a 32-acre lot with creek, open pasture, windmill, even a path through the woods. It's too pricey for us. Anyone want to go in on it together? There's plenty of room for two households.

The kids are growing. Kian has discovered crossword puzzles. All of them love to cut coupons with me. Kian spent half a day last week doing odd jobs around the house to earn money for something he wanted to buy at Walgreens he saw in the ad. What was it that he wanted to buy so badly? Epsom salt. No kidding. He could've had cookies. He could've picked candy. But he was so eager to earn money, walk to Walgreens and buy Epsom salt. Three pounds of it, for only $2!

Abby loves to color and read and write. She learns so differently from Kian, but so much more like me, it makes me happy. Ella is just happy, sometimes mischevious, but happy and loving. She is very excited for her upcoming birthday. She wants to invite everyone in the world and get a new lamby. Consider yourself invited!

Felicity is growing too. She is slowly making the change from baby to little kid. I'm trying to teach her spanish, well all of us are trying to learn it. When I wash her hands after a meal, I say "la mano" and she gives me her hand and repeats "la-ma-no." It is sweet.

Matt is plugging on with work. It is hard. He does not like the drive. He does not like the kids' laziness or whining attitudes. I don't think he'll want to return next year, but we'll just see what happens.

Well, that's the scoop. What's going on with you?

Kian, our scientist

The other night, Kian said something I thought was funny. Matt had asked him to do some chore of some kind and he replied, "Just a minute. I have to go to my laboratory first." I was somewhere else in the house but could hear him. I wondered to myself, "Did he just say he has to go to his laboratory? Since when does he have a laboratory?!"

Matt and I walked into his bedroom to find cardboard boxes set up at the end of his bed to create a kind of "room" with all sorts of "equipment:" plastic cups filled with water (for experiments), assorted containers for holding his makeshift chemicals (crushed up Kix, anything powdery I might let him have, torn up bits of paper, etc.) and anything else interesting he might have collected like pieces of metal or balloons or whatnot. Part of his lab is his recycling plant where he takes stuff from our garbage and creates new uses for it.

It's not something I ever played when I was a kid, but he sure has fun!

Ella's Question

Ella to Mommy: "When are you going to have a baby?! I've been waiting so long!"

Poor girl is just gonna have to wait a while.

Is there a Dr. in the house???

As many of you know, Rhyetta and I have made the difficult decision of not having health insurance for Rhyetta and the kids. Even through work, we would be paying double what we were paying in Utah. We don't like to make such decisions, ever, but they need to be made.

Well, Rhyetta and I have been exercising our faith through prayer in asking for health, strength and safety for Rhyetta and the kids alot lately because of this hard decision we made. Our Ella has really put this to the test. All of our kiddos have gotten a lot more gusto to be more daring in their activities. While swimming last week, Kian, Abby, and Ella were jumping in the pool from off the pool wall. Kian showed Abby and Ella how he could jump into the water backward. Naturally, Abby tries to do what her big brother does. She jumps into the pool, but not far enough away from the wall. You can guess what happened. She landed on her chest on the wall. Thank goodness she had her floatie on, and did not get hurt. As Rhyetta and I were talking to her about it, we hear Ella start crying. We turn our attention to her to see blood coming from her chin. We ask we what happened and she mentioned that she was trying to jump into the pool like Abby and Kian.

We quickly got her out of the pool, as to not get blood into the water. Looking at the severity of the gash, she split her chin through all layers of her skin and you could see a little hole in her chin, we quickly started to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. I mentioned that we need to take her to the doctor. Rhyetta reminded me that it would cost too much money. What a dilema. We quickly got her home and bandaged her chin with a butterfly band-aid and a regular band-aid. Rhyetta checked online what we should do and we did it already.

As you can see, she will have a nice battle wound. Through the whole ordeal, she cried very little, and exhibited great strength and trust in Rhyetta and I as we took care of her. I guess when you need a doctor, there's always Dr. Mom and Dad. Healthcare that costs very little, and gives more care and love.

Evidence of a Great Teacher

Most of us can remember a teacher that we really enjoyed because they had a meaningful impact on us in some way. Today at church, Kian gave a talk in primary about the temple. Before this, Rhyetta and I were waiting in the hall outside the primary room for the older primary kids to come from their classes. As Kian's class was lined up outside in the hall, Rhyetta formally met and introduced herself to his primary teacher. In the course of asking questions, Kian's teacher mentioned that Kian was such a good reader; better than all of the other kids in his class. She mentioned that all of the other kids had trouble reading but Kian read without problems.

Now, correct me if I am wrong, but I think this is definite evidence of Kian having a great teacher helping him learn how to read and accel at it. Thank goodness we pay top dollar for his teacher. :-)

He did an excellent job with his talk. Insomuch, the bishop, who was watching Kian give his talk, mentioned to Rhyetta and I that he, Kian, should give his talk in sacrament meeting. What an admirable thing to say.

No More Baby Steps, but Big Girl Steps

Abby has a really great teacher, better than this one in many respects, helping her learn to read. Last night, Rhyetta was reading to the kiddos and Abby wanted to read a Dick and Jane book. She was told to read it to me, and read she did. I am so proud of her reading. Leaps and bounds is what is taking place, with Ella not far behind.

Where we live, there is a pool and since we moved to Missouri we have taken the almost daily pilgrimage to the pool to cool off. Abby and Ella grab their respective "floatie" and they swim their way around the pool, and after me or Rhyetta. They love the freedom the "floatie" gives them so they don't have to stay in the kiddie pool.

Today, after a wonderful morning of blackberry picking, we came home with the kids almost chomping at the bit to go swimming because it was sooo hot. We decided to take advantage of the last day of our free guest pass at the local YMCA (since obtaining a 14-day guest pass, we have gone to the Y for swimming since there is a splash pad and a water slide). As the ritual goes, Abby and Ella grabbed their "floatie" and off we (Kian, Abby, Ella, and myself) went to the pool to cool off. We spent several hours swimming in the pool, dipping in the hot tub, and getting back into the cool pool. About 20 minutes before we left, Abby decided to take off her "floatie" and get back in to the pool. Abby wanting to get my attention in only a way Abby can, she showed me that she was swimming. She got out of the pool to show me the "floatie" was gone, and she jumped in the pool and was swimming to me. OH, how happy I was and how happy I made her feel. Her confidence soared and was cottified by her jumping in the pool off the edge into deeper water and swimming to me or the steps. What a BIG GIRL Abby became today.

Even better yet, just as we were getting ready to get out of the pool, Abby swims over to me and the following conversation ensued:
Abby: Daddy, do you see that blonde haired boy over there?
Me: Yes. Why?
Abby: I was sitting at the hot tub with him talking. (At this point Abby is getting giggly in her Abby way)
Me: What were you talking about?
Abby: The hot tub and we were doing stuff.
Me: What stuff were you doing?
Abby: We did nothing.

I noticed Abby talking to this boy, who was probably around 10 or 11, and over heard her asking him about noises coming from the hot tub. I think it cute to see my 5 year-old girl getting giggly and giddy from talking to a boy. This is a BIG GIRL step that needs to get back to a baby step until she's 45.

Fun in the Summertime

Today, in the morning before it reached the 90's with high humidity, we went to the Robertson's to pick blackberries. It was fun, personally, to pick the berries off of the bush while popping a few in my mouth. It was fun to see Kian, Ella, and Abby picking berries while joyfully filling a Zip-Loc bag. We discovered that Abby has become our pro berry-picker. She was crawling and crouching beneath the bushes to get the black, ripe, juicy, sweet/tart berries. Rhyetta came away with purple hands from picking berries off the bush, while the kids had evidence of the delicious berries around their mouths.

After the berry picking, we sat down for a relatively cool lunch. Needless to say pictures describe how well these cousins get along with each other.

For my Mom

I have a vivid memory from my childhood. It's so vivid, I can still taste it 20-something years later!

I remember my mom serving up ice cream in bowls. That was a treat! I don't think we had ice cream very much. But when I happily took a bite of that ice cream, I didn't smile. I frowned. It tasted awful. How can ice cream taste bad, I wondered. Do you know what my mom did to that delicious ice cream? She served it with fresh bits of garlic hidden inside! Blech. It tasted wrong. I have never liked garlic--I wonder if it's because of that experience.

Whenever it seemed appropriate, I would share that story with friends to get some sympathy. Why would my mom do that to me? Yuck!

Here I am now, a mother of four youngins'. And for the first time in my adult life I don't have health insurance and neither do my kids. It's just too expensive to buy it (through Matt's work or individually). We'd rather risk it and pray for safety and learn how to keep ourselves healthy. We've made that choice. And as I wonder, what will I do if the baby needs antibiotics for something?, I remember vaguely my mother's voice explaining to me that garlic is a natural antibiotic. Bing! Lightbulb moment! What a good idea, I think. My mom used to do that with me when I was a kid. She sure was smart!

Mom to Kian: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Kian: I'd like to be an inventor or a chemist.

Mom and Dad to Kian: Do you know what a chemist does?

Kian: They get to mix chemicals together!

Mom to Kian: (A lecture on college).

***********************************
Mom to Abby: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Abby: Ummmmmmmm, I'd like to be a person that stays at home and has a dog!

Dad to Abby: Well, Abby, if you work hard and apply yourself, I think you can do it!

************************************
Ella just said she wanted to be an adult.

Experiments with Pee?!

So, the kids are in the bathroom going potty and brushing teeth before bed. I come in to use the potty and Kian tells me that water spreads faster on a piece of toilet paper than pee. I wonder to myself at how many mini-experiments this boy does every day. As Matt walks by, I tell him what our experimenter has figured out this time and he wonders why is he doing that?! Matt comments, "I know why Kian loves electronics so much. It's because he's got a loose wire somewhere in there and we have to find out how to connect it." I add my two cents, "I think it's because he's a budding scientist." Then Abby adds her two cents, "I think it's because he's a butt scientist!" Oh, how these kids make us laugh and wonder!

Recent Artwork

Matt and I found ourselves with a rare moment Sunday afternoon: 3 girls napping and Kian busy drawing! Here are the pictures he drew. I find them interesting because they are very detailed and accurate. The swimming pool is our apartment pool, complete with the proper locations of suntanning chairs and umbrellas, as well as the proper placement of drains. These are the kinds of things Kian notices. When we go for a drive in the country, Kian observes the telephone poles and traintracks and farm equipment. And can you find our Penske moving truck? The kids loved that truck.

Abby and Flowers, Part 3 or Part 4 or Part 5??

So we're visiting a church history site that is covered with fields of grass and clover. Abby is having a blast picking the little clover flowers and says to me, "I was born to pick clover!" Matt and I laughed and smiled. I told her when I was a little girl, I spent recesses gathering clover and making bracelets. I showed her how to do it. By the time we headed home, she proudly displayed a long link of them. That girl loves flowers.

By the way, we brought one of her rose bushes with us to Missouri. We had planted it in a large pot. One rose finally bloomed! It was gorgeous and aromatic, a deep dark red. We were very excited. Never mind the fact that Ella tore off half of the petals that same day for fun.

We are Missourians!

Just a quick, quick note to update you. After three days of driving, we made it safely to Platte City, MO! Our apartment is small, smaller than it said it was. But we stuffed our boxes into our closets and bought a 20 inch by 48 inch card table for our teeny, tiny kitchen and now we can call it home. Thanks to Anaise and Scott, we got unpacked so quickly and to our new awesome ward. The cousins are LOVING each other.

Another Update

It's finally official. We have a new address effective July 1, 2009. It is:

903 Bello Mondo Drive Apt. 1
Platte City, MO 64079

Yes, it is an apartment! With no washer and dryer! Boo hoo hoo. But it will give us a 6-month lease which means we can buy a house with land sooner. Hooray! And it is 25 minutes from Anaise and Scott and family which will be fun.

Here are some new pictures!




Here's Kian on his baptism day.


































Here's our Ella-Bella-Cinderella.
















Felicity was NOT happy about spilling flour all over herself but we thought it was funny!
















Our Abba-Dabba.













Ella is so funny. She has the hardest time going to sleep at night. This night she had obviously been playing dress-up before falling asleep because she had fancy shoes and sunglasses!










And here she is asleep for the night on a pile of books!















Felicity loves playing with Kian. Here she is doing electronics just like he loves to do!

One Step Beyond... and Closer to the Dream

As an update to eventful journey to Missouri, we spent a busy week getting our house ready to rent. On Thursday, a couple we received a call from came to look at the house. They loved it and were extremely interested. It just so happened that after this couple left, a Realtor we had spoken with on the phone several times came by. Well, to make a long story short we ended up listing our house for sale. The task at hand was to get a renter for the short term so we can still keep our June 29th move date. How were we going to find a renter that would agree to live in a place that may (and hopefully) sell in about a month's time. We didn't know what to do except keep the faith and do what we were already doing.

Yesterday, I called this same couple to see if they were interested in renting on a month-to-month basis rather than the year lease we discussed about. They were fine with this, and I told them I would call their references and get back with them tomorrow (which is actually today). Blessings from heaven have continued to fall on us because we were able to sign this family to a month-to-month agreement so we can show proof we have our place rented.

Our focus has now turned to finding a place to live for our family in Missouri. Thanks to Anaise and Scott for helping us with this. They have graciously and by proxy looked at homes and listings we have suggested. Thank you.

As my mom taught me so long ago, this still rings true today. When you put your trust in God, you can't fail. Rhyetta, our kids, and I continue to learn this lesson over and over again as we continue on this exciting and scary journey to our new home.

P.S.- My teaching contract finally came in the mail Friday, and so it's officially official. We are moving to Missouri. I still don't know what my assignment will be but as with everything else we have experienced... patience and it will come, and it will be for the best.

Magical Moments

There was an apostle who remarked that joy in motherhood (or in this case, parenthood) comes in moments. Last night was such a moment that Matt and I shared with Kian. Let me share with you.

Kian sometimes stays up later at night than the girls. He and I may read a book together or Matt and I will just answer some of his many questions or he'll just watch what Matt and I are doing for a while. Kian and I are currently reading a book about solar power: what it is, why it's so awesome, how it works, how to install it, etc. It's really very interesting. I'm learning more than he is because he already knows so much about circuitry, more than I do. But I think all of us are learning something.

Last night we learned about the amazing power of inductance, which is the fact that if you have a coil of wire wrapped around another coil of wire and the inner coil of wire has electricity running through it, the outer coil of wire will pick up some of that electricity and will also then run a current of electricity. We're talking AC power here (alternating current); this doesn't work well with DC because DC current doesn't change flow like AC and it's the rapid change of flow of AC power that makes this inductance work. See, don't I sound like I know what I'm talking about? I'm not even looking at the book!

All of this happens inside of a transformer which is part of an inverter which is a component that changes DC power (from your solar panel) to AC power (the kind you run in your house). Upon hearing the word transformer, Kian piped in with, "I had a transformer in my electronics stuff. It was like woom and woom." (And with the wooms he used his hands to show us about how big the transformer was). Matt started chuckling as he always does when Kian uses sound effects instead of words in his speech. He does it quite often and it cracks us up. I don't think he's ever noticed how we laugh at him when he does it because he's too involved in what he is describing, but this time I commented to him on how funny it is when he does it and I showed him his "woom, woom" thing, gesturing with my hands the way he did with his. He thought that was the funniest thing in the world (it was getting late at night) and we laughed and laughed.

From then on, it was joke after joke about making sound effects. I told him, "We're not talking about babies inside of the womb, Kian. We're talking electronics." Ha ha ha, that set him squealing with laughter. "I remember when you were in my womb, Kian!" Ha ha ha. And Matt added, "Well women with babies can be induced." (Remember, inductance). Yes, it was all so funny. We had a great time.

You might not catch the humor of it all, but we sure did. Now we have an inside joke to share about wooms and wombs and transformers. It was a magical moment of learning and laughing and we shared it together. And the voluntary hug he offered to me when it was finally time for bed was wonderful too.

BIG News

Let me set the stage...

Back in March, I was asked by the principal of the school I worked at to think about next year. I didn't feel prompted to give a definite 'Yes'. We weren't sure what we were going to do, except fast, pray, go to the temple, etc. to figure out what we were supposed to do. In the meantime, April came around and we needed to give a definite answer for whether or not we were going to return next year. This was one of the toughest questions I have ever had to answer. However, through much prayer and going to the temple, we knew the answer was 'No'. So this much we knew... we were not returning to a job I knew I would have, to uncertainty.

Rhyetta and I have been exercising our faith since then. We had started contacting every possible option for Southern Utah that we knew. Nothing manifested itself into anything promising. We then went on to a teacher job website to broaden our perspective. We looked in many different states, including Oklahoma and Missouri. I even went out to Oklahoma City to a job fair where nothing promising happened. I continued to fill out applications and apply to every job that fit our parameters. Rhyetta and I were being taught several lessonsduring this time. They just happened to be patience, prayer and fasting; patience above them all. We felt like we were doing everything we could. Sporatically a call for an interview would come, either in St. George, Ut or in Missouri. We were anxious and getting ancy.

Fast forward to last week... Wednesday, May 27. I had received a phone call a few days earlier to set a date for a phone interview for the St. Joseph School District in Missouri. I was nervous as ever, but the interview went great, and was very promising. I was told that they (the interviewers) liked what they heard and all they needed to do was to check references and I would hear back in a couple of days. Well, Friday, May 29th was the day I should have heard back. I know that they had contacted one of my references and was given a glowing reference. I couldn't understand why I hadn't heard from them yet.

To make a long story short, I heard back from St. Joseph School District Monday with a job offer. I don't know what grade I will be teaching or at what elementary school in St. Joseph, MO, but I know that I have an offer and a contract in the mail. After many weeks of prayer and fasting, we were blessed with a job offer where we wanted. Since the hard part is over, we can now focus on getting ready to move to Missouri.

We are excited beyond words, and even more grateful for the blessings we received as we put our family's lives into the hands of Heavenly Father.

Baby Boomers

At breakfast yesterday, I thought I'd give a quick history lesson. We've been studying modern world history this year and a lot of it is so horrible that I've just given a paragraph's summary of what happened rather than going into detail with these little kids! Although I do have a picture of Lenin on the timeline and the kids always like to ask if he was an evil man. They'll ask, "What's his name again?"

Anyway, last month we "studied" WW2 and so yesterday I wanted to talk about baby boomers with the kids. As they were eating their oatmeal, I mentioned how after the war, the people were SO happy that the war was over and they were finally living in peace again. The soldiers came home and lots of them got married and had babies. In fact, there were so many babies being born they called it a baby boom! They're eyes got bigger at such a funny phrase that they had never heard before and there were a few giggles. I explained it a little more, but they weren't listening! "Baby boom?!" asked Kian. "You mean like the babies went BOOM?!" Ha ha. Lots of laughs all around the table. Abby was hysterical, "So, the babies came out of the mommy's belly like boom?!" We were all laughing now. Kian asked me, "Where do babies come out?" I could see that he was trying to remember exactly but couldn't quite remember how it worked. I answered, "out of their vaginas." So then he excitedly replied, "The mothers can help in the war by shooting the babies out of their vaginas!" Then he got down on his hands and knees and demonstrated how they would shoot out of their backsides. We were in hysterics! I just let the conversation go and enjoyed the kids' laughter. When I tried to explain that our grandparents were born during the baby boom, they just couldn't hear me. Every time I mentioned "baby boom" they got distracted with funny images and hysterical laughter!

Abby Loves Flowers Part 2

She did it again. It is so sweet that I have to write it down.

She's saying her lunch-time prayer for the meal again (Ella's on breakfast and Kian is on dinner) and after showing gratitude for another day she starts in with her sweet praying voice that's coming straight from her heart. "Thank you for trees and plants." She then gasps with emotion and goes on "they make my heart beat." And finally, "Thank you for flowers and roses. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Abby loves flowers

A prayer by Abby a short time ago...

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for this day. (She then went on to say all the normal things she says in almost all of her prayers like bless us to have a good day, bless daddy to come home safely, etc). But then she paused. And she switched her voice from her normal voice to a more sweet, pleading and genuine voice. And she went on... "Heavenly Father, I'm so glad that Jesus made all the plants and flowers. I love the fruits. It's like I'm in a dream."

I just smiled and wrote it down so I wouldn't forget! This is my daughter who last summer picked roses every day to place in a vase on our table, notices each new spring flower blooming and spent her birthday money on three new roses bushes that we planted in the backyard!

Where the wind blows...

I realize that it has been a LONG time since Matt or I have written anything...it may be a long time after today just because we are busy with life.

Last night for Family O H'evening (it's F.O.H. at our house, remember?) Kian wanted to build kites. Matt had picked up some sticks at his classroom from when he made kites with his students so we were set. Matt called us all into the living room and asked who wanted to be in charge of music? Abby volunteered; she is always in charge of music! Kian had already picked the activity and Matt had already made the brownies which left prayers and lesson. Ella happily volunteered for the prayers; she would say them all herself if we let her. I happily volunteered for the lesson (I actually had something brewing in my mind).

After singing Abby's favorite Primary song (I see my mother kneeling) and Ella's prayer, I talked to the kids about kites. How do kites travel? The wind, of course! I told the kids that our family is like a kite. Right now, Heavenly Father is blowing the wind (wooooooosh) and he's going to send our family somewhere new. We are probably going to move and Mommy and Daddy are doing everything we know how to feel the wind and follow it (going to the temple, exercising faith, fasting and praying, job hunting). I think the kids got it and it was really fun to explain to the kids how we're going to go where God wants us to go.

Even though we are considered foolish for not returning to Matt's guaranteed job at N.W.A. according to worldly wisdom, we've decided to follow God's promptings instead. We're actually really happy and excited about this decision!

Como se dice…?

So I've been brushing up on my Spanish lately. It's been a lot of fun to study it again. The kids have been learning some vocabulary as well. It's very interesting to me that the one in the house who is picking it up the fastest is sweet Ellanora. She often asks me how to say a word in Spanish and then will repeat it. Yesterday she asked, "Mommy, how do you say tortilla in Spanish?"

Prince Charming

While brushing Abby's hair this morning, she asked me such a surprisingly funny question. She asked in her gentle, sweet voice, "Mommy, who would you like me to marry?" I giggled and said something like, "I don't know the specific person, but I want him to be someone good and kind, who will never hit you or yell at you but will love you and be kind to you like Daddy is to me. And someone who will take you to the temple." She smiled at this and then asked, "Is Prince Charming still alive?"

A Winter Hike

We've had sick kids all week. Not my favorite. In fact, spending a week stuck in the house without being able to play with friends (my friends either), tending sickness, going to the doctor when necessary, no dates, etc. really kills me. It's when I'm at my worst.

 

ANYWAY, I had the car on Thursday and knew we had to get out of the house for our sanity. I said to the kids, "We're going to have a wild day. Get your socks and tennis shoes on and bring your nature journal. We're going on a hike!" As you can imagine, this was met with excitement. About an hour later when we were all finally ready and climbing into the car, I asked someone to say a prayer before we drove to Hobble Creek Canyon. Ella volunteered and this is what she prayed, "Dear Heavenly Faver, bless us that we can go on a hike again…Bless us that we can climb trees and not break our heads or legs or bones…" I just thought it was so genuine and sweet.

 

It was a good time. We were all happy to get out and observe the canyon in winter. It was colder than I realized and so we came home sooner than expected. It was lunchtime so I set out some cold chicken from the refrigerator onto the kitchen table while we washed hands and used the potty. Abby then approached me and asked, "Mom, can I have a bra?" I wondered where that came from and why. Who has she been talking to? Why would she ask such a thing? I asked her, "A bra? What do you mean?" She replied, trying to form the words but not getting it right, "Can I have a bra?" We walked into the kitchen together and I realized she was pointing to the chicken on the table. Smiling, "Oh, you mean a breast from the chicken?!" Yes, that it what she meant. Phew. I mean I know she's getting older quickly, but she just turned 5!

More Humor

Abby has been saying the funniest things lately…

We walked past an elderly woman with lots of wrinkles going in to Macey's as we were coming out. Abby looked at me with wide eyes and said, "I just saw someone who was almost dead!" I just hope she didn't hear!

And as we were running errands last Saturday and drove past the post office I realized I had forgotten a package I needed to mail. I said that out loud and Abby replied with, "It's okay, Mom. Don't give up. Just don't give up! You can still make it to Macey's!" Her encouraging words surprised and entertained me.

A Wise Boy

I began a story about a wise man, Diogenes, to the kids yesterday but stopped to ask them if they knew what wise meant. Kian answered, "A man who saves his money." Abby answered, "Someone who keeps watch of his sheep." I thought those were interesting replies and explained it means very smart to which Abby replied, "Kian is wise!"

Lots of Growing Up Around Here!

Our kids have been growing by leaps and bounds lately! Not only is Felicity (age 1) walking like a maniac (no more crawling at all—and by the way, watching her walk is serious entertainment!), Ella is FINALLY using the potty 95% of the time (very happy parents here) AND Abby is almost 5, learning how to read and writing letters every moment she possibly can AND Kian has mastered reading and is reading everything he possibly can. Matt and I are amazed at how these kids have all grown so much so fast.

Kian asked to go to the library with me last night as I stocked up on books for our next month of homeschool. I consented. He then informed me, "I'm going to get electronics books and stay up all night reading!"

About a week ago after the girls were asleep and he was supposed to be asleep as well, he came out of his bedroom and asked me if he could stay up longer at night to read the Book of Mormon. I gave an enthusiastic response of course. I was happy he desired to read the scriptures on his own and he was happy he could stay up later. He's been reading about a chapter every night, even one during Sacrament meeting last Sunday, and seems to understand some of what he is reading. It certainly makes us happy to have such a motivated son.

You're going to Hell

Yes, some things Kian says truly shock us. While Kian was playing with a friend yesterday (as well as helping me dig a trench in front of our house), he said something truly shocking. This friend somehow mentioned that she didn't go to church. Kian's response was quick. "You are going to Hell," was his reply. "Kian, we don't say things like that to people," was my reply. This friend mentioned what her grandma thinks of those that go to church as being "square". The conversation turned to another topic.

Where did he get this idea??? Rhyetta and I have never said this to anyone and we certainly don't teach this to our kids. We have certainly talked to him afterward about how we don't talk to people like that.

A Man's Job

Yesterday while I was digging this 6x6 foot trench in front of our house to fix a crack in our foundation, Kian was being a great helper. He had a shovel and was helping me dig, as well as push dirt away from the trench so I could get more out without it falling back in. As the morning was turning into afternoon, neighbors and friends of the kids started appearing. One girl that visits her grandma came over. Of course the question "What are you digging for?" was asked by this girl. Questions were answered and she started playing with Kian. She so wants to help dig, but Kian has the second shovel and I was not going to stop digging. She asked Kian several times, and Kian answered, "No. This is a man's job". Now, I did not say that, nor would I say that to him or make him feel like there were boys jobs or girls jobs. I was not raised this way, and so this came out of no where, especially since Rhyetta helped me dig for a portion of the morning.

The things Kian says sometimes just shock us.

Bad Turns Good

The Bad-
Last weekend, when we got back from St. George, our tenant informed us that there was a leak somewhere behind the north wall of her living room. The carpet was ripped up and evidence of black mold was seen. What a way to end an already crazy holiday weekend. On Wednesday night, Rhyetta and I went down and started ripping holes in the wall (This was the living room that we did so much work on to make it look nice a year or so ago. Very sad to be ripping up the wall.). While cutting holes in the wall, mold was between sheet rock and wood paneling. We eventually had to cut over 16 feet of wall. We found a crack in the wall right next to the main water line that comes into the house. We called a water damage company to give an estimate on what it would cost to remediate this problem (talk about almost $3,000. Not what we wanted to hear.).

The Good-
Even though we found a crack in the foundation of our house, it was not an active leak and so a leak in the water main was ruled out. Rhyetta called her dad and brother for advice on what we should do and if we could do it on our own. We decided to do it on our own. Warren called us earlier in the week informing us he was coming up to help us. We also called a friend that used to work with concrete to see if he could help. We decided Saturday (yesterday) was the day we would get started. Rhyetta and I started digging up the flower bed in front of the house (too bad for the tulip bulbs that got dug up) around 8:00 in the morning. I spent most of the morning digging down almost 6 feet until I got to the footing of our foundation. Our friend came by and helped digging the hole. Kian helped dig the hole. We located the entire crack in the foundation. Warren got to our house around noon and all of the digging was done. What really was a good blessing is Clarence, our friend that worked with concrete, brought over foundation tar, sheet rock, and 2x4's so we got done much more than I was even expecting. The crack was sealed and the wall replaced in one day. Warren helped fill the trench in front of our house and we were finished by dinner time.

What was initially extremely bad news, turned into huge blessings for our family. Thanks to Clarence and Warren for their help. Thanks to Rhyetta and Kian for their help. Lastly, what makes this even sweeter: my body is not sore from digging all day long.

Ups and Downs

The week before last was a really good week. I got sleep at night, I was exercising, I was reading a lot, I felt on top of all of my responsibilities. I was full of gratitude.

Last week was not so good. I had a very sick baby which means not so good sleep which means sleeping in as much as possible in the morning instead of waking early to read and pray and journal. I did not feel on top of things and I did not exercise every day. It ended in St. George Friday night with a baby who did not sleep THE ENTIRE NIGHT. Matt and I felt like zombies and I was cursing and hating everything I could think of, even God.

Why do we so easily forget the blessings and good moments of life when we are faced with the bad ones? How can I ride out those bad days and difficult moments without feeling so witchy?

I read Thomas S. Monson's general conference article from November 2008 and he addresses this very problem. These are words from a prophet speaking directly to me about my concerns.

He says time marches on… "Day by day, minute by minute, second by second we went from where we were to where we are now." And with the passage of time comes change. "This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now."

Specifically for parents he says, "If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly." This is hard for me to believe right now but it must be true.

He quotes Sarah Ban Breathnach, "Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend…when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth."

I am thankful today for this article from the prophet. I'm thankful that he spoke these words and that I can read them and be uplifted by them today. I'm thankful for real answers and insights to my real concerns and problems.

What am I thankful for? A sweet juicy orange for a mid-afternoon snack, healthy and creative children, a full night's sleep, books to read, family that loves me, a most excellent husband, quiet time to read and write, and the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Oh yeah, and the prophet!

Brave or Crazy? You decide.

On Monday, Rhyetta answered the phone. It was the first counselor of our Bishopric asking us to give talks in church on Sunday. We were given the topic of Repentance. Rhyetta and I prepared our talks all week. However, as it does so often, life happens.

It happened to be a sick Felicity, and a trip to urgent care Saturday night. One of us, Rhyetta or myself, would get to stay home with Felicity while the other gave their talk. I elected to take Kian, Abby, and Ella to church and give my talk while Rhyetta would stay home.

Sunday morning came, after a night sleeping on the couch so Felicity and Rhyetta could sleep on the bed. To say the least, not a good night's rest. My talk was all prepared and so were the kids. Kids got into the car and we were off to church. If only the rest of the morning would go so smoothly. The sacrament portion of the meeting went well. It was my turn to give the talk. I brought a huge bag of twisties (pretzel twists the kids love from Grandma) thinking that having a yummy snack would keep them calm. Imagine this... I step up to the microphone to begin my talk and Ella starts crying. They are fighting over the pretzels. Looking down at my three kiddos, I just stood there. What could I do? Go back down to calm the troops? Gratefully, help arrived in the form of a Sister sitting on the same bench. Seeing that the kids were calm, I proceeded with my talk. Towards the end of the talk, I notice Abby and Ella making their way up to the stand. Ella sits down as Abby stands right next to me. OK, this isn't so bad right? It gets better though. Ella gets up and starts leaning over the banister and Abby starts playing with her Pet Shops while I finish my talk. Thank goodness Heavenly Father loves us even when we have trouble with reverence.

The talk was given, and I sit down. Kian approaches me mentioning he has to go to the bathroom. We all leave (couldn't you see the utter chaos Abby and Ella would wreak if I left them alone in Sacrament meeting??) and head down the hallway. Kian takes care of his business and we head back into the chapel. Ella and Abby are having trouble walking down the halls and this continues into the chapel. Kian isn't helping by maintaining his position in the front of this mob of three. Abby runs into someones foot and just continues to run to our seats. The whole time walking behind them, I wanted to say, "Whoever the parents of these kids are..." You can finish the thought with your own ending.

I was called brave for 1)Giving a talk today, and 2)for bringing all of the kids with me. Brave? Nah. Crazy? Well, lets just say that I will seriously reconsider next time.

We're in for it now!

The video says it all.



Can you count how many steps she has taken in this video?

Kissing and Slapping

Have I mentioned before that Abby loves drama?

The kids and I watched an old movie, Darling Lili, starring Julie Andrews that takes place during WWI. It was rated G so I thought we could all watch it together. We had just learned about WWI and the kids were surprisingly interested in it. Well, the movie shouldn't have been rated G. There was lots of suggestive dancing and LOTS of kissing.

We had to turn the movie off to make dinner (because Ella was ransacking the kitchen) and Abby and Kian were upset because they were so interested in the movie. I laughed at that because it was a very adult-themed movie (somehow rated G!) and asked Abby why she liked the movie so much, what was her favorite part of the movie. She answered, "I liked the part where she slapped him and then she kissed him!" I laughed for a long time.

Thoughts on Shakespeare and Bach

Anaise said in a comment recently, "You must be doing something right!"

And I had that very thought to myself a week or two ago…

Kian had been begging me to listen to his Charles and Mary Lamb Shakespeare CD-books at night as he falls asleep. His favorite is Macbeth because of the scene with the floating dagger. "Please, please, can I listen to Shakespeare?!" he asked. I thought, "I must be doing something right!"

Then, we were in the car on a long drive listening to classical music on CD, and Ella proclaimed, "This is Bach!" I replied, "Actually, this is Beethoven, Ella." Then she asked, "Is Bach dead?" I nodded. She frowned and replied, "I love Bach." I thought again to myself, "I must be doing something right!"

The Keeper of the Children

I'm in love with the book, The Keeper of the Bees, by Gene Stratton-Porter. It's so sweet and wholesome and beautiful and lovely. I wish I could live where Jamie lives and be Jamie for a time. I want to see the ocean, smell the beach, lie in the sunshine, take care of the bees, smell the flowers, rest, learn and have peace.

Yesterday in the middle of the day I found myself folding laundry and it was actually quiet. The baby was asleep and the older three were actually outside playing. It felt warm: it was 45 degrees! I recognized the peace of the moment and reveled in it. And then I realized my life is as ideal as Jamie's. I am able to be at home with my beautiful children, raise them, feed them, teach them, nurture them. They play well together—most of the time—and they were all outside playing at that moment! It was glorious! I had an unexpected moment of quiet which I love! I was folding laundry without interruption, smelling the faint bleach smell of my whites which I love so much. I realized I have my own paradise here: my home is my winter garden, my laundry is my flowers, my children are my bees. I thanked God for the sweet blessings.

Just call me, The Keeper of the Children!

A deep thought

Abby love poetry and stories. She often expresses herself sweetly. It doesn't get much sweeter than this:

 

"Mom, do you know what I feel in my heart?

I feel like Jesus on the cross."

 

Why such a profound thought? She fell off of our ladder outside and was hanging upside-down with her legs caught in the rungs of the ladder. Just bruises, thankfully.

 

Shall We Dance?

Apparently I'm not a real ballerina…

During an empty moment last night, I made Felicity laugh by doing an unexpected ballerina-type dance move. She watched from her high chair and danced along with me, raising her chubby hands up high and swinging them around with a huge smile.

Ella was watching as well. She did not approve of my dancing. She quickly got up and showed me how to really be a ballerina. "Like dis, Mom," as she twirled on one foot, her arms above her head, "Den, you dance." So, apparently, after you twirl around once correctly, you are then free to dance however you want to. That's how real ballerinas do it.

I imitated what she did but it was not right. "No! Like dis!" And she showed me again. I smiled and tried again. "No, Mom! Like DIS!" Oh! I think I figured out what I was doing wrong. I got up high on tip-toe, twirled around on one foot quickly and stopped, looking at her for approval. "Yes," she smiled at me, "Den you dance." I was given the okay to now dance however I liked.

Phew. That was close. If my daughters ever thought I wasn't really a ballerina…I can hardly think of it!

Cousins are the Best Friends a Kid Could Have

Abby Belle is dramatic. Abby Belle is emotional. When she cries, she wails. When she laughs, she belly laughs. When she falls down, she cries like she broke her arm. When she watches a funny movie, you can hear her laughing at the other end of the house!

Yesterday I told her the news that we would be in St. George at Grandma's house at the same time that her cousins and aunt and uncle, the Robertson family, would be there! She looked at me with a blank stare. I said, "You know, cousin Julie and her family!" Oh, when I put it that way she understood why I was excited! She asked, "Julie, my best friend?" I nodded assent. She rolled her eyes up toward heaven and fell backward in silence. She was so happy she simply collapsed!!

Blessings

This January has been filled with many blessings for our family. It started, of course as a new year. Being a teacher, I had two weeks off for winter break and Rhyetta was truly concerned about me returning back to work and having to deal solely with the kids again. We decided to fast and pray on Fast Sunday that when I returned to work, she would have plenty of patience, love, and inspiration on how to proceed with homeschooling. At the same time, I decided to read from the Book of Mormon each morning while eating breakfast before heading off to work. I also decided to have personal prayer before I headed off to work. In every prayer Rhyetta and I had together, or in my personal prayers, a prayer was offered up to bless Rhyetta with a great day. It was amazing how prayers are answered. Day after day when I asked her how her day went, she would say “it was good”, or “great”. Each week has been the same. In addition to Rhyetta receiving patience, and love each day, she also has been more inspired on how to proceed with homeschooling. BLESSINGS!!!

I have also prayed that our home would be filled with the Spirit, and that peace would reign. Reflecting on the past month, it is amazing to see what a change has taken place in our home. Like walking out of a fog, desires to be more like Christ have come. Desires of wanting to go to the temple often have come. The ability to talk with more patience, love, and understanding with our kids have come. We are not perfect, but in little ways we strive to be perfect; more like Christ. In our hymnal is the song “Count Your Blessings”. Our little family (compared to some in Utah) has received many blessings. I do not know how many; too many to count. What I am is extremely grateful for every blessing, small and great, we have received this year so far. As I contemplate where I will work next year, I strive to be in-tune to listen, and have the courage to follow promptings from the Spirit. I am grateful for each blessing received and hope to be worthy to continue to receive blessings.

Time Flies

You have all heard the saying "Time Flies When You Are Having Fun". Since Kian will be turning 8 this year, Rhyetta and Kian went to a baptism preview tonight (I stayed home with sick girls). When Kian came back, he was excited about the experience. He mentioned where they change, and the clothes they will wear (he asked if he gets to keep the clothes, and we said no), the baptismal font. Rhyetta spoke on baptism. I asked Kian why do we get baptised and he said "to wash away our sins." Obviously he was listening to his mother speak. The date has been set for June 6th.

I cannot believe that Kian will be turning 8, and getting baptised. Where did the time go, and when did he grow up. The same goes for Abby, and Ella. Time certianly does fly by. Wasn't it just yesterday he was playing with Tonka (c) trucks in the backyard with Grandpa? Now he is reading, loves to listen to Shakespeare, Peter Pan, and the Spiderwick Chronicles when he goes to sleep, and does "big boy" things.

Recently we painted his room. He had to be in on the color decision. He wanted blue and yellow, but not just any shade. Rhyetta was showing him swatches of different colors and telling him "no" on most. He was getting quite upset, saying "you don't let me do anything the way I want". He compromised on the shade of yellow, but got to choose the dark blue. Since when did he have and become so vocal of what Rhyetta and I do for him? He's growing up.

I just hope he doesn't turn out like me as he continues to grow up. Hopefully time won't fly so fast, but slow down so we can enjoy the ride.

We've Arrived!!

It's about time we get a family blog to share our funny stories, videos, pics, and happenings in our family. We welcome you and hope you come back often to see what is happening in A Day In The Life of The Musser Family.