Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Ahhh, peace at last!
The kids wanted to play hide and seek tonight. That is an outside game at our house. I heard them talking about it, and I was just about ready to put a stop to it when they started arguing about who would hide and who would seek. Adia insisted that it was her turn to hide because "Ladies First" but Ethan said it was his turn to hide because his eyes are browner (much browner in fact since hers are blue - Not sure why that matters, but it seemed like a legitimate reason to both of them.) Finally Adia said "Well I'm just going t o go down stairs and wait for you to find me!" Ethan said he was just going to hide UPstairs and wait for HER to find HIM. Both hid. Adia is totally stubborn, so I knew she would win out. Ethan has a VERY short attention span so I didn't think he would wait it out for long. Ethan fell asleep in the bathtub while hiding, and Adia just hid and waited, so for about 20 minutes the house was peaceful and quiet. I vote we play that game more often!
Monday, February 15, 2010
It's a holiday, ya know?
Adia asked Ethan why he wasn't going to school today and he said it was a holiday. She asked if it was Valentines day again. He answered, "No, it's the dead president's birthday."
"Oh yeah, I remember now, it's the guy with the curly hair, and the guy that kind of looks like dad but with a hairy face (I'm thinking Lincoln?) but I didn't know they were dead"
"Yeah", Ethan answered. "They got shot in the head. That's what happens after you're done being president."
Yikes, who wants to be president now? (And who teaches History at Ethan's school?)
So happy Dead President's Birthday everyone, I hope you celebrate in an explosive way.
"Oh yeah, I remember now, it's the guy with the curly hair, and the guy that kind of looks like dad but with a hairy face (I'm thinking Lincoln?) but I didn't know they were dead"
"Yeah", Ethan answered. "They got shot in the head. That's what happens after you're done being president."
Yikes, who wants to be president now? (And who teaches History at Ethan's school?)
So happy Dead President's Birthday everyone, I hope you celebrate in an explosive way.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Valentines day is for lovers.
Friday we were driving in Logan and saw a man holding up a sign that said "will work for food" Ethan read it out loud to us, and we wondered why he had that sign. We figured that he was hungry, and the kids wondered why no one else had given him food. I answered that sometimes people don't have any extra to give, and sometimes people just don't want to take the time to help. Appalled, Adia said, "well don't they know it's almost Valentine's Day?" I asked what that had to do with anything, and she answered that it's the day when we love people. And Jesus said love everyone. (They sang the primary song to prove it) I was really touched that they took a holiday that is mostly about chocolate and flowers and brought out a side of it that is truly beautiful. They teach me so much every day, I am so lucky to have them. So we went and bought some food to give to the guy... but by the time we got back he wasn't there anymore. The kids were devastated. They were so worried about him, where was he, is he still hungry, how are we going to find him? They were nearly in tears worrying about the "hungry guy" so I told them that someone else had come and given him food, so he went home. That worked, and I pray it's true... Hey, you can't get a perfect ending every time. But I did learn a good lesson, about the true meaning of love. Aren't I lucky to have such great kids?
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Reality Check
Today Ethan asked me when General Conference was. I told him that it wasn't for a few months. He said that he was sad because he loved conference. I thought wow, what a great thing, I must be doing something right in this motherhood thing. I mean really, what eight year old loves conference? So I asked him what he loved about it. He answered, "I love that we get to build a tent in the family room and eat junk all day and stay in our pajamas." Oops, reality check! He is just a normal little boy after all, and I am just a less than average mom after all, Whew, life is right once again...
Ethan's baptism
**Just a side note. My last post I mentioned that something exciting was happening. I meant exciting for my family, I don't know if too many other people will be excited. I just want to mention that so that no one is dissappointed when I finally make our announcement. I only mentioned it to let you all know why my blogging has be non existant for a while, and probably will be for a while longer. And also, sorry for calling it news when it really isn't. Please don't turn me in!:)
Ethan got baptised on January 30th. Here is a story of Miracles...
Ethan has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Among other things it makes it hard for him to remember things. He has very little short term memory at all, but if it does make it into his memory, he often has a hard time getting it to come out of his mouth. This has been a giant stress for Troy and I as his baptism has gotten closer. A year before we started having a baptism portion at the end of our family home evening lessons. We would talk about all of the things that he would need to know in order to pass the interview he would have with the bishop before being aloud to be baptised. We went over and over it every. single. week. without fail. (Really, if you doubt, ask Adia to tell you the Joseph Smith story, she knows the entire thing word for word:) After all of that practice Ethan knew the answers. The problem was getting it out. If we were in a quiet place with no distractions and I kept reminding him to focus he could tell me all about what he knew and his testimony, but I knew that it might not be that way for the interview, so I was still really nervous. Well, the day finally came and Troy and Ethan went to the interview while I stayed home to pray and throw up. When they got to the church Troy mentioned our fears to the bishop. The bishop surprised him by saying "I totally understand, I have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome too." Now if that isn't a miracle I don't know what is. Really, in a church that is famous for it's members not drinking alcohol, how many Bishops do you think have FAS? Not many, I'm sure. So for those of you who gave us a hard time for moving all the way up here on a "whim" and told us that we were making the wrong choice or even that we were "being led away by the DEVIL!" (Yes Levi, I'm talking about you) take that! The bishop just asked Troy to step out for a minute, and after the interview was over he said that they had a nice talk, and he knew that Ethan had a testimony, that he knew the church was true, and that he loved Jesus. Good enough!
Our bishop also surprised us by showing up at the baptism. He had to leave his house at 3am that morning just to make it in time. Then he got lost and went clear to the Colorado state line before turning around, jackknifing his trailer, denting his brand new truck, and eventually making it to the baptism. (We always joke that LaSal is so small if you blink you will miss it, but it's true, he said he blinked)
One of the big reasons we had Ethan's baptism in LaSal instead of where we actually live is because of my niece Kalista. She has always been special to Ethan (Even when she didn't really like him) He has always loved her. But her autism makes it hard for her to be in large groups, or in situations where things are out of her routine. We thought that if she was in LaSal with just a small group of people it would be much easier on her than if she came up here where Ethan and eight other kids from the stake all got baptised a hundred of their favorite friends there to watch. My mom worked really hard with Kalista for about 5 months taking her to the church and talking about what was going to happen, and getting her used to the building, the rooms we would be in, and even the music we would be singing. And we all prayed a lot. But still, we didn't think that she would make it all the way through the baptism. In fact, Kalista's mom, Bobbi was giving the opening prayer, and we didn't even know if she would be there that long, so we gave Levi (He conducted) the instructions to just call on someone else to pray if she wasn't there. So then everyone was nervous:) But Kalista came, and she stayed for the first part of the program. Then when we went into the other room for the actual baptism that's when I thought we would lose her, but we didn't. She went right to the room and watched the whole thing. Then she went back and stayed for the rest of the program. At the end we had Ethan's grandmas bare their testimonies to him, and my mom was telling Ethan that the secret of life was to choose the right and you would always be happy. Then she taught him how to say that in sign language. When she was teaching him how to say "happy" Kalista piped up from the back and said "Happy". And I was happy, It just made me bawl like a baby. ( Of course I had already started that about the time we started singing the opening song) But not only did Kalista stay for the entire baptism, she stayed for the luncheon afterwords, and she had a good time, and interacted with everyone, and even stole people's food, and teased. She really was happy. It was another miracle.
And Aunt Stacy, who was giving a talk, and who is usually running just a little late to everything showed up on time! Another Miracle! (just kidding Stacy, we love you)
The water was only luke-warm, and was the color of rust. (Ethan asked if it was the same water I had been baptised in, and it kind of looked like it-ewww) We believe in being baptised by immersion- the whole body goes under the water and Ethan's foot stuck up the first time, so he had to get dunked again. The poor little guy has NO fat on his whole body, and was already shivering from the cold water, so going for a second shot was not what he wanted. He was a good sport though, and the second time worked fine
All in all, it was a wonderful day. We are so proud of Ethan for making the choice to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are very grateful for everyone who helped him get to that point in his life, from being an example to him, or sharing your testimony with him or even just loving him and supporting him. We really wouldn't have had this experience without you. Thanks.
This is a picture of the towel I made Ethan to wrap up in after he got out of the water. It isn't a great picture, but it's 4AM and no one is awake to model it for me, so you get what you get.
These little guys have always had a special relationship since the day they met. Don't they look like little missionaries in their suits?
The sun was really bright, so that is the reason for the crazy faces.
The crazy kids (minus Liam and Kalista) posing for a goofy picture.
I took my camera, but then I got so busy with other things I totally forgot to use it until it was all over. This is the only picture I have of Ethan in his white clothes. He's sitting with his Grandpa Jim waiting for it all to start.
Ethan got baptised on January 30th. Here is a story of Miracles...
Ethan has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Among other things it makes it hard for him to remember things. He has very little short term memory at all, but if it does make it into his memory, he often has a hard time getting it to come out of his mouth. This has been a giant stress for Troy and I as his baptism has gotten closer. A year before we started having a baptism portion at the end of our family home evening lessons. We would talk about all of the things that he would need to know in order to pass the interview he would have with the bishop before being aloud to be baptised. We went over and over it every. single. week. without fail. (Really, if you doubt, ask Adia to tell you the Joseph Smith story, she knows the entire thing word for word:) After all of that practice Ethan knew the answers. The problem was getting it out. If we were in a quiet place with no distractions and I kept reminding him to focus he could tell me all about what he knew and his testimony, but I knew that it might not be that way for the interview, so I was still really nervous. Well, the day finally came and Troy and Ethan went to the interview while I stayed home to pray and throw up. When they got to the church Troy mentioned our fears to the bishop. The bishop surprised him by saying "I totally understand, I have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome too." Now if that isn't a miracle I don't know what is. Really, in a church that is famous for it's members not drinking alcohol, how many Bishops do you think have FAS? Not many, I'm sure. So for those of you who gave us a hard time for moving all the way up here on a "whim" and told us that we were making the wrong choice or even that we were "being led away by the DEVIL!" (Yes Levi, I'm talking about you) take that! The bishop just asked Troy to step out for a minute, and after the interview was over he said that they had a nice talk, and he knew that Ethan had a testimony, that he knew the church was true, and that he loved Jesus. Good enough!
Our bishop also surprised us by showing up at the baptism. He had to leave his house at 3am that morning just to make it in time. Then he got lost and went clear to the Colorado state line before turning around, jackknifing his trailer, denting his brand new truck, and eventually making it to the baptism. (We always joke that LaSal is so small if you blink you will miss it, but it's true, he said he blinked)
One of the big reasons we had Ethan's baptism in LaSal instead of where we actually live is because of my niece Kalista. She has always been special to Ethan (Even when she didn't really like him) He has always loved her. But her autism makes it hard for her to be in large groups, or in situations where things are out of her routine. We thought that if she was in LaSal with just a small group of people it would be much easier on her than if she came up here where Ethan and eight other kids from the stake all got baptised a hundred of their favorite friends there to watch. My mom worked really hard with Kalista for about 5 months taking her to the church and talking about what was going to happen, and getting her used to the building, the rooms we would be in, and even the music we would be singing. And we all prayed a lot. But still, we didn't think that she would make it all the way through the baptism. In fact, Kalista's mom, Bobbi was giving the opening prayer, and we didn't even know if she would be there that long, so we gave Levi (He conducted) the instructions to just call on someone else to pray if she wasn't there. So then everyone was nervous:) But Kalista came, and she stayed for the first part of the program. Then when we went into the other room for the actual baptism that's when I thought we would lose her, but we didn't. She went right to the room and watched the whole thing. Then she went back and stayed for the rest of the program. At the end we had Ethan's grandmas bare their testimonies to him, and my mom was telling Ethan that the secret of life was to choose the right and you would always be happy. Then she taught him how to say that in sign language. When she was teaching him how to say "happy" Kalista piped up from the back and said "Happy". And I was happy, It just made me bawl like a baby. ( Of course I had already started that about the time we started singing the opening song) But not only did Kalista stay for the entire baptism, she stayed for the luncheon afterwords, and she had a good time, and interacted with everyone, and even stole people's food, and teased. She really was happy. It was another miracle.
And Aunt Stacy, who was giving a talk, and who is usually running just a little late to everything showed up on time! Another Miracle! (just kidding Stacy, we love you)
The water was only luke-warm, and was the color of rust. (Ethan asked if it was the same water I had been baptised in, and it kind of looked like it-ewww) We believe in being baptised by immersion- the whole body goes under the water and Ethan's foot stuck up the first time, so he had to get dunked again. The poor little guy has NO fat on his whole body, and was already shivering from the cold water, so going for a second shot was not what he wanted. He was a good sport though, and the second time worked fine
All in all, it was a wonderful day. We are so proud of Ethan for making the choice to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are very grateful for everyone who helped him get to that point in his life, from being an example to him, or sharing your testimony with him or even just loving him and supporting him. We really wouldn't have had this experience without you. Thanks.
This is a picture of the towel I made Ethan to wrap up in after he got out of the water. It isn't a great picture, but it's 4AM and no one is awake to model it for me, so you get what you get.
These little guys have always had a special relationship since the day they met. Don't they look like little missionaries in their suits?
The sun was really bright, so that is the reason for the crazy faces.
The crazy kids (minus Liam and Kalista) posing for a goofy picture.
I took my camera, but then I got so busy with other things I totally forgot to use it until it was all over. This is the only picture I have of Ethan in his white clothes. He's sitting with his Grandpa Jim waiting for it all to start.Tuesday, February 9, 2010
(Not) News! - (That's for you Shanna:)
Something fun and exciting is happening at our house. It might take a little while, so I'm not giving details yet, but it's really good! Anyway, because of the exciting thing we are doing a little rearranging in our house, which also means some redecorating, and some serious cleaning out. It is a lot of work and takes a long time, so hang in there for a while until life settles down a bit, and I promise I will fill you in on everything... including the stuff I have been promising to fill you in on for over a week now...
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Birthdays
Friday was the big day-The Birthday. Adia turned 5 and Ethan turned 8, (though I totally don't feel old enough to have a child either of those ages.) Adia celebrated with a princess party at the beauty school. It was so much fun. She invited two friends and they got thier hair and nails done, followed by lunch and cupcakes. A special big thanks to my friend Melissa for being my second pair of hands and eyes!
At the same time the girls were glamin' it up Ethan was having a party at his school. I made the cake, but Troy went to the party and had a great time.
At the same time the girls were glamin' it up Ethan was having a party at his school. I made the cake, but Troy went to the party and had a great time.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Cake.
2 Kids
2 Birthdays
6 parties
5 cakes
24 cupcakes
646 miles1 Baptism
2 tiaras
1 giant sledding hill
327 pictures
lots of fun
countless miracles
72 hours
many blog posts to come
stay tuned...
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