May I have this dance?

As beautiful as Frankie looks, it is seeing how beautiful she feels and seeing a twinkle in her eyes that truly makes this day so special.

This free digital scrapbooking design generated with Smilebox

Dude, where's my car... (keys)

We're finally starting to have nice weather and Thomas got to go outside and play.  One of his very favorite outside toys is a Little Tikes car that he hasn't really been able to use this winter because the ground's been muddy and/or snowy.

We sent Thomas outside and a few minutes later, he came back in looking dejected.

Thomas:  "I can't find the keys to my car!"


Me:  "Well, would you like to use my pretend key?"

Thomas:  (enthusiastically) "Yes!"

Mimi:   (family friend who is staying with us)  "Did you look on the dashboard?"

Thomas:  "Yes."

Kristin:  "And they're not there?"

Thomas: (sadly)  "No."

A few minutes later...

Thomas:  (SIGH) "I lost my pretend key to my car."

Hey Adam, what's for lunch?

Adam is required to pack lunch the night before.  Tonight, he decided that he wanted to make tomorrow's lunch extra special.  So he packed his lunch, and wrote himself a special note.

"Eat all yer spageti for a supri (too hard to finish on this part so I'll write it one line below) surprise!"

The surprise?  Frigo String Cheese.  Man, I love this kid.

A long time comin'...

I know it's been FOREVER and a day since I've posted, so here's a quick one for today with more to come later this month...


Thomas:  "Mom, you bought new butt paste!
(He's referring to Bodreaux' Butt Paste - a diaper rash ointment)
Me:  Yes, I did.
Thomas:  "That's so kind of you."

-----

Last night we were having a lesson on how each member of our family is like the cars on a train.  Dad is the engine - it's his job to lead the train and pull everyone along.  The kids are the cars, and they help carry the load of the family, and the mom is like the caboose, making sure everything gets done on time by pushing forward.

Adam pipes up with the following observation:

"Yeah, and we all better do our part because if something happens to the engine, the caboose will have to find a new engine pretty fast."

-----

Last night, Frankie was kind enough to change a very nasty Thomas diaper for us.  She thought she had cleaned it all up but Rhea (aka Aunt Mimi, our friend who is staying with us) kept smelling poop.  She finally realized that there was some poo streaked on the couch and that she had somehow gotten it all over her pant leg.  As she went upstairs to change, Adam commented, "Everything gets ruined when you roll around in poop."

***

Until next time...

Merry Thanksmas

It's a big month.

Max turned two.
Frankie's about to turn 18!
Christmas is coming.
And part of me would like to skip straight through to March... except for one thing (and for that, you must read on!)


I usually love winter, but when winter brings expensive car repairs, holiday overload, birthday overload, and turning 40, let's just say part of me wants to jump several months ahead.

Nevertheless, we are blessed.  We are so very, very blessed.

We have four relatively healthy children (coughs aside).
Michael loves his work and has the most understanding boss and kindest co-workers ever.
After nearly 20 years of marriage, I am even more in love with my sweetheart.
I have AMAZING friends.
I have a new business buying precious metals (which I am excited to grow).
We have a lovely home (which you are all welcome to visit, just not all at the same time).
Our cars are running (or will be shortly).
We have a fantastic extended family who are always there when we need them most.
We are free to worship as we see fit.
We are free to express our opinions and educate ourselves and our children.


And, this cold, busy, crazy, hectic, snowy holiday season brings one important thing:  a Christmas Elf named Flummox, gifted to us by our dear sister-in-law, Michelle.  Who knew a doll could keep my kids so in line? (for more info, visit www.elfontheshelf.com)

But more than everything listed above, this is a season of peace.  No matter what your religion, the peace of this season is undeniable.  This is that time of the year when good will and selflessness reign.  Whether you celebrate this season for the same reason I do, (namely the birth of Jesus Christ), or simply because of the cheerful heart and spirit of giving that comes to your home,  the pervasive feeling is that of kindness and thoughtfulness.

Amidst the busyness, the noise, the gimmes, and the commercialism that this season has come to be associated with, I offer you these powerful words from a gentle man of God:

"If you desire to find the true spirit of Christmas and partake of the sweetness of it, let me make this suggestion to you. During the hurry of the festive occasion of this Christmas season, find time to turn your heart to God. Perhaps in the quiet hours, and in a quiet place, and on your knees—alone or with loved ones—give thanks for the good things that have come to you, and ask that His Spirit might dwell in you as you earnestly strive to serve Him and keep His commandments."

-Howard W. Hunter 

To be continued...

Does anybody know if Eskimos play football?

Ah, Thomas.

This adorable "little" child is going to be the death of me.

Most of you know that we're not exactly what you would call a "football" family.  In fact, one of the things I loved most from the get-go about Michael was that he wasn't a guys' guy.  He wasn't into staring at sports on TV for hours on end.  This was good for me, as I've always considered watching any televised sporting event, other than gymnastics and figure skating, to be a special form of torture.

We've watched the Superbowl once in the entire 19 years that we've been married.  The only football events we've really enjoyed going to are college games, and even then, I think we've been to one game in the 13+ years we've lived in Utah.

Enter Thomas.

Now I realize he's only three (and just barely at that), but here's the thing:

Thomas is an off-the-charts tall and big kid. 

Almost every person who comes across Thomas comments on the fact that we have a future football star.

See, it's not just that watching football doesn't interest me; it's that watching violence doesn't interest me.  And the only thing worse than watching violence would be watching my child PARTICIPATE in it.

And yet...

He's had "man hands" since the day he was born:

He has a very high tolerance for pain.  While most kids have (what I would consider to be) a normal reaction to smacking into walls, he just looks at the wall quizzically and returns to whatever destruction he was in the process of unleashing.

And when he poses for pictures, he makes a natural "gridiron" face:

 

The other day Thomas was playing out front.  Our kids usually play in the backyard and we don't see our neighbors all that frequently as we're only in the front when it's time to mow or to back out of our driveway.

Our neighbor, Mat (who likes sports), spied Thomas and made the following observation:

"Man," he said, "That kid just needs a jersey with a five and a one on it.  The kid's a natural linebacker."

Michael responded with, "Don't tell Kristin that.  She doesn't want him to play football."

Mat replied, "Keep him out of football?  That would be a federal crime.  Just wait until the coach starts pressuring her that he needs to play and Thomas starts begging to join."

So without further ado, I would like to officially announce that we are moving to the Alaskan tundra, effective immediately.  If you want to reach us, send a carrier pigeon, a telegraph, or snail mail 'cause where we're goin' there ain't no wi-fi and there ain't no football scouts.  Oh, and if you could also send parkas, that'd be great.

Oh where, oh where has my little blog gone?

I've been a little...absent from blogging for the last couple of months.  It's been crazy busy for our family!

Here goes the summer (minus birthdays 'cause I already blogged about those).

Grandpa Coach visited for Father's Day.  This was the first Father's Day I spent with him in I can't even begin to remember how long.   He was so impressed (?) by the amount of snow left (in fact, it snowed on Father's Day) that we had to snap this picture after our Father's Day brunch at Snowbird Ski Resort:

While Grandpa was here, we also took in a Salt Lake City Real soccer game.  It was actually a ton of fun.  Adam especially loved passing the Real banner overhead.

 

Adam also really enjoyed being schooled at Chess by his Grandpa.

Frankie (very bravely) read a poem that she wrote from the perspective as a child who has been abused at a Safety Fair/BACA (Bikers Against Child Abuse) anti-abuse rally.

Adam enjoyed the bouncy slide at the aforementioned safety fair (remember, I said SAFETY fair):

That is to say, he enjoyed it right up to the moment he landed on his foot, sprained it badly, and had to be carried to the car. 

The kids had a blast chasing down candy at our local Fort Herriman Days parade.  (They throw it from floats as they pass by).  Nothing like encouraging your kids to play in traffic ;-)

Not too shabby for a little local parade!

We spent some quality time at the library, and in our backyard.                              

Note the awesome swing set in the background:  It was a birthday gift to Thomas and Adam funded by the grandparents and built with the help of friends.  Lucky boys!

And, while on a family hike, we tried (somewhat unsuccessfully) to take ONE good picture of all the kids together, looking at the camera.  Instead, we got:

Eyes closed (Thomas)

Awkward expression Adam

Silly monkey Max, Adam eyes closed, Frankie fake smile, and Thomas turned around

And, finally, "It's good enough.  Let's go.  I'm being eaten alive by mosquitoes."

And so we move on to Fall:

I've been pursing my new business (purchasing precious metals - gold, silver, platinum).  Check out  my website! PGR - Platinum and Gold Refiners  My purchasing prices are phenomenal, so if you have any scrap precious metal to sell, please drop me a line!

So here's a little taste of what we've been up to in September and October:

Adam went back to public school.  And sadly, I cannot find the photo of his first day of school anywhere!  He is so happy to be back in "regular" school.  He misses spending time at home, but, he really relishes the opportunity to make friends and have social experiences.  Since I couldn't find the first day of school picture,  here's a picture of Adam (and Thomas) from earlier this summer.

Our enormous Thomas (seriously, the kid is as tall and big as a five year-old) started preschool and had his first field trip.  This little jaunt was to our local fire station.  I thought Thomas would be enthralled by the big red trucks and the noisy siren.  (Heaven knows he's the loudest member of our family).  Not so much.  Our big, giant, (not so) brave boy cried the whole time and wouldn't release his death grip on his teacher's arm.  Of course, for the week following, all he could talk about was "I go fire station wif Miss Jenny." 

Frankie went to homecoming and had a mystery dinner.  This was not a murder-mystery dinner.  This was a dinner for which we provided an encoded menu.  The kids (excuse me, teenagers) had no idea what they were ordering for each course.  They also had no idea what kind of plate or utensils or cups they were getting.  The girls unwittingly ordered their drinks in plastic sippy cups and got their dessert first.  The boys found themselves eating mashed potatoes with giant serving spoons.  Most of them got their salad dressing with their second course, and their salads as their dessert course.  They weren't allowed to hold any items from course to course.  They all seemed to enjoy it.

 

Max (aka Sven) and his betrothed (Gwen) played a lovely duet for us.

 Thomas and Max played in the pumpkin patch. 

 And Max explored...

 

  

...while Thomas emphatically refused to abandon the tractor.  

Tomorrow, we're heading to the pumpkin patch as a family and we'll carve our pumpkins as well.
We're heading into the busiest season of the year.  We told the kids their holiday wish lists had to be full and complete before Halloween, and they are. All I can say is thank heaven for Amazon!  So nice to have presents arrive and be stored in a secure brown box!


I have a fun Thomas story to share, so watch for it soon.