Christian's First Date

I love that he is 8 and still says he is going to marry his mommy=) As he grows, I hope at the very least that he will still want to hang out with me...and that I won't embarrass him. For Valentines, his school throws a mother/son and daddy/daughter dances. So we had our special date together...with our chaperone attached at the bjourn=)

In small, controlled doses...UT is a fun thing!

In no particular order...here are some pics of our trip to Utah we made all the way back in February during "winter break". It was a lot of fun. Certainly worth it. We dubbed it our "great grandparent trip". We weren't able to see everyone. But we were able to introduce our children to some of our grandparents that had never met them...and/or hadn't seen them in a very long time. Our second purpose was to play in the snow. Christian's first 4 years of his life were spent in the snow...and he misses that..sometimes. Shane has only once before played in snow. And Joel... likely could have cared less about it all...NO, I take that back. He LOVED our grandparents and has a special liking for my Auntie Alice. Anyhow...here's a little of what we did/captured...

Mini-man soccer debut

this is actually a feat in and of itself...4-5 year olds waiting in line for a turn! Truly a novelty.

here is shane in slow-mo (he know's no other speed) and his buddies Sam (in fast-mo) and Jack (in observation mode)

Shane as goalie. blocked one goal. otherwise like a fish out of water.

Shane has been playing soccer with his buddies on Friday nights. Well, I am not sure I would really call it soccer. Its more like WWF/tag team wrestling/bee-swarming...with a few kicks. Its not really anything like what Christian was playing at 4 years old. But I think it was a good introduction to sports for Shane. He is a little less athletically inclined than Christian...but he tries-which I am glad. And perhaps with more practice/time...he will be a great athletic machine. It really is my comic relief of the week to see what goes on down on the field. Its a great time.

Why do I do this??

I wait too long to update and talk about all the various things that have changed, improved,grown...and then I get overwhelmed at all the activities, trips and everyday life I need to post. Then, I don't post anything, which makes me further behind.
Hence...coming soon:
-Shane's soccer debut
-our great-grandparent trip to UT
-Christian's Spring baseball started up
-Joel is HUGE
-weeks of illnesses, including pneumonia

Actually...now I am doubting myself thinking maybe I already covered some of this...so I will review my neglected blog...and then start working on the updates. Add it to the To-DO list!

The judicial system

I know this not an upbeat topic...but its one I want to vent and to note as a place in time. These last 6 days there was a teenage girl missing here in our area (just giving a little history for those of you that don't live here in SD).Over the course of those 6 days there has been an overwhelming support from the communities. That has been wonderful. It has rebuilt some of my faith that there is a DEFINITE majority of good people still left in this world. Unfortunately, the bad, the sick, the evil minority get such a large portion of media coverage that it can leave one thinking that perhaps that is all that exists. They ended up finding the body of the girl today. Which makes me so sad. But what makes me sadder is that THIS could have been prevented. They have the beast in custody that did this. And he is a registered offender and he was in prison from 2000-2005...his sentence shortened from a plea bargain. He should have been in 11 years...which would take us beyond this year where this could have happened. Even more...how are these people allowed out AT ALL?! I know the laws of justice and mercy must coexist. I just have a hard time understanding why this continually happens. Person violates a law of this magnitude. Person is allowed out into society. Person is sick and does it again. This time worse. They have learned the system and they get more confidence in what they can do and get away with.
At any rate, I will stop. I just wish we could change the laws that surround this problem so that no known convict could be let free to do it again. I know I will hug my kids a little tighter tonight and be thankful.

Getting back in working order...

Our computer had issues for the last week. Now fixed, thanks to my genius cousin Mark. So...technically I think we can post again. BUT... our family has been taking turns and over lapping getting sick. Its been Joel's turn for quite some time and still going strong...so for now, my baby needs attention. Stand-by

The week when nothing went quite right...

The week started not so great...Gav was on call all last weekend. Monday morning brought a continuation of the no-good week...Christian came down with a flu-bug. bad news= he puked all day Monday. good news=it was only a 24 hour bug (acutally less than that). So having Monday's puking session messed up Tuesday as well...keeping him home from school and making up things missed on Monday. As icing on Tuesday's cake, it was POURING rain here. Which makes for crazy transports to various activities. Wednesday...Shane started complaining of being cold...and he wanted to come home early from park day (NEITHER are normal). Despite my best efforts to medicate his persistant cough...it kept barking, more and more. Gav was again on call. Went to dinner...where Shane coughed so hard he gagged and puked (a FIRST for him...in fact, he didn't even know how to do it. He caught it in his hands and kept the rest in his cheeks until we helped it out=))By today (thursday) I figured out that he was cold because he had a fever with that horrid cough. Contrary to what that mom-voice in my head was saying ("its just a virus, just let it run its course.") I made a sick appt. with the pediatrician. And boy am I glad. Shane has a mild case of pneumonia. So...on Antibiotics he went. And will hopefully be feeling much better by the time we get on a plane heading to the snow. With 2 sick kids and all their activities that added up and got changed this week...I am so far behind being ready for a trip. Laundry? what's that? Oh the heaping pile of clothes that we need to take with us on our trip. Yep...pretty much...we've had one of those weeks. Where poop hit the fan...and we're still trying to dig ourselves out.

This was Monday's solution...no kid touching another...watching a movie to rest so I could do some dishes. You would think Shane was the sick one here...when it was Christian that couldn't hold anything in. Joel just wanted to be cool like his brothers=)

here we come mr. orthodontist

last night amidst all the crazy stuff we have had going on this week...christian lost his 8th tooth and the last "required" tooth to be ready for a consult by the orthodontist. his mouth is crazy overcrowded. and im sure it will cost us a fortune. i have an appt in march for that consult...entering into another phase of a maturing family. congrats to christian, though, for being brave. he has finally become more brave...less freaky about the fact that there will be blood and it might hurt very temporarily. becoming a real man=)

Confessions: I totally get it.

Say your prayers. read your scriptures. how many times have we heard we should do these things regularly? well. here's my confession. i have always been pretty good as saying my prayers. not perfect but good. and i have always been horrible at reading my scriptures. i'm not sure why. it has never been a created habit for me. i have dabbled, lasted a few days consecutively. but never habitual. until 2010. i finally asked gav to help me in the effort. he is so good at it. so i told him to leave his BOM on the laptop after he reads in the am. and what's the first thing i reach for when i get downstairs. the computer to check whatever. so i had to discipline myself to not touch the computer until i read at least a page in the BOM. it works. and i have found the secret i am sure most have known for some time. that reading doesn't give u a perfect day. it does not prevent incidents, accidents and life from happening. (like...i read this morning and i have a puking son, a needy 4 year old and a newborn all cry for help and attention and a million things i had to cancel today because we need to stay near a private bathroom). it gives me the ability to deal with what does inevitably come. not that any particular insight has, thus far. but, the spiritual blessing from doing what has been asked to do. i claim no perfection at this, either. but i can almost say its habitual...almost 6 weeks down with great consistency. i get why i need it. loud and clear.

I see what you mean.

FB.facebook. its fun. almost as much as a blog. its just different than a blog. much different. honestly, i am better at a blog, for now. i dont quite get the whole gist of fb. but its interesting. so far its okay. no freaks. its not even as open as a blog. very select few. i like it for friends. i leave the blog open for all. i like to have one thing that is more "private", if u will. i feel more connected to long lost cousins and friends scattered abroad from our adventurous lives. thank goodness for techno advances. for the fb skeptics (ahemm, Gavin)...even my 80+ year old grandma is on facebook. enough said.