Sunday, December 12, 2010

The Same Old Thing . . .

Every morning one of the first things Caleb says is, “what are we going to do today.” He hates when I answer, “were are just going to have a regular day.” It seems like we have been doing a lot of that lately. I am grateful that there is no drama. I am happy with our routine. In fact, I decided that I am not going to mail formal Christmas cards this year for the first time since I was a teenager. With the blog and facebook I feel like I am connected to so many people that Christmas cards every other year would be sufficient.

We are enjoying a simple Christmas season. The kids are so excited! Christmas is magical with little ones.

It has been a long couple of months with Ali. She is currently on her third round of antibiotics for a ruptured eardrum that will not heal. She doesn’t suffer quietly, and she refuses to nap. She sleeps 12-13 hours at night, but then only takes about a 45-minute nap in the day. Having a fussy baby that wont nap is driving me crazy. She can be really cute though. Most people think she is a great baby because when I am out I am holding her and she is perfectly happy when she is being held.

Imagine Ali and Andy next to each other in their baskets. I didn't get a decent picture of them together. Either one was looking or the other.


The other day Andy was suffering from what I call “post nap depression.” He was crying on the floor and Caleb was trying to cheer him up by naming all of his favorite things Caleb was saying, “Let’s find Mia. (Connie’s Dog) Where’s Ali? Do you want Grandma? Let’s have ice cream. Do you want candy?” He repeated those and similar phrases over and over. It is so fun to watch the kids together. They all love each other so much and want to take care of each other. Andy tries to echo everything that is said. He is so adorable I can hardly stand it.

Last month I overheard Caleb telling Cara that we were going to have 9 kids in our family. I corrected him and said we would have five or six. I asked them how many they wanted and they cheered six. Just to test it out I asked if they wanted 7 kids and they did. I came to the conclusion they love having siblings and want as many as they can have. It is true that my hands are full, but in a good way. Here they are playing in the $1.50 after Halloween solider costumes. Andy wears the hat around all of the time. I love it.


Cara has begun calling preschool “Art School.” She asks me, “Do I have art school today?” What do I do with all of this art?? She doesn’t get her artistic drive from me. When she isn’t at school she is at the kitchen table painting and coloring. Every once in a while she even comes up with something really quite great.


Caleb needs his two front teeth for Christmas, but he would never waste a Christmas wish on something he would get anyway. In fact he has made it clear he doesn't want any cloths. He just wants toys. Of course a puppy would be nice too. He always acts so tough after a tooth falls out, but loosing it terrifies him right up until it happens. He lost two of his first three teeth at church. The third was the best though. Right as sacrament meeting was starting Josh grabbed Caleb's arm and used it to flick Caleb who was being bad. Caleb's tooth started bleeding and he was screaming. Yes, church had started. Even though he hit it with his own hand he told everyone that his dad punched his tooth out.



For me this Christmas may be remembered as the Christmas of the Beards. I have been crocheting beards on hats for a friend. I am making good money doing it so I try to crochet every spare moment I can find and multitask as much as possible. I was looking for a hobby, but this is much better than a hobby because it pays and it is relaxing and off my feet.

The Sunday before Thanksgiving I gave a talk in sacrament meeting. The assigned topic was “The Windows of Heaven.” If you are interested you can find the talk here. I am a changed person from having given it. The talk reminded me to recognize how the Lord blesses me and my family and all faithful tithe payers. If you ever think you are not receiving blessings you just need to take a step back and recognize all that you have. I am so grateful for all of the miracles in my life.