Counting My Many Blessings...

As many of you may know, this has been a very trying week for our family. To point out the highlights: Sunday-stitches and Tuesday-Grandpa going into septic shock and being critical for most of the week. I am grateful that I can look back at the end of this busy and emotional week, and remember some blessings:

1. Today Grandpa told me about what he remembers Tuesday morning. He woke up, walked around for a bit, and then decided he'd go get himself a treat: a Fresca and a candy bar. He got back to his room, enjoyed his treat and was checked on by his nurse. He had to excuse himself to go potty while she was in the room. Miraculously, she stayed in the room and waited for him to get done. The septic shock hit while he was in the bathroom....he had to call for the nurse to help him move. If she had not been right there when she was, who knows if the outcome would have been as favorable as it has been for us. I am so grateful for the blessing and miracle of having people who are where they need to be when needed!

2. Today we got to go to the State Tae Kwon Do Championship Tournament with Kaleb. Yesterday after school, he told me that he didn't want to go and wouldn't elaborate. After his class, he was a little more excited to go. This morning, as we were waiting for him to compete, he practiced his form for us.....apparently, he has been stressing because Jeff has been a little bit too "fault finding" with him to try to help him to do better (just trying to coach him in the best way he can think of). I am grateful that I have been blessed to be a mother and to be sensitive to my children's feelings. After some tears and a little "mommy talk booster" he was ready to try his best even if he didn't win first place. All of his practice and coaching DID pay off, he won first place in his age group for the blue belt form. YAY KALEB!! (I will post pictures later) I'm grateful for the blessing of having a husband that takes an active role in my children's lives, and even though our opinions and parenting styles differ, together we make a good team and try our hardest to raise well-rounded children.

3. Tonight, Maddie kept taking her pj's and diaper off. She finally went upstairs for some privacy. She came back down naked. Kaleb went to go find her diaper for me and found the lovely used toilet paper trail and the poop and pee by the toilet. She cleaned herself well enough that we didn't see anything until we found the "prizes." RRRRR, this little girl!!! As we constantly battle her curiosity and tantrums, I just have to remember that Heavenly Father sent her at this time because she does have such a strong spirit. She has been sent because she has the best potential to be able to withstand the evils of our time and return to her Father in heaven. I don't always remember this as I am fighting her and cleaning up after her...but I know He is very aware of this precious little girl.

4. After the poop incident, I finished cleaning up our kitchen from dinner. Garet came in and asked me if I would play "Sorry!" with him. I bit my tongue and told him I would in a minute. I actually forgot for a bit and folded some laundry. When I went back by the kitchen, I saw that he had set the board up for us to play and was sitting patiently waiting for me. I humbly sat down and played the game with him as he told me about his day at Jace's house and t-ball practice. I am so grateful for the little things our children do to teach us to be better parents!!

I am truly blessed!!

All in a Sunday afternoon...

Today, within ten minutes from actually being inside the door from Church, Maddie either tripped on her dress or slipped because of her hose....

All I heard was the "CRACK!" of her head hitting something solid. I went running to find her. I think she hit the corner post to our stairs...they have been the culprit of many injuries unfortunately. She had blood streaming down her face. I knew we needed stitches right away, but had a slight problem....Jeff is the assistant clerk in our Ward, so he was back at the church with our car and the keys to his truck. So, I had to call a friend in the Ward and ask for the Bishop's office number. She heard Maddie screaming and told me that she was getting back in her car right then to go back and get Jeff. (Thanks Christina!!)
Jeff, as is custom for him, made a comment to the Bishopric saying that I was probably over-reacting....When he saw Maddie, he still thought we might be able to get away with just putting some butterfly bandages on it. YEAH, RIGHT!! Has he not met his daughter?? We hopped in the car and headed to the emergency room.
They put a sponge on her head with some numbing medicine so the numbing shots would not hurt as much, which she promptly ripped right off. (They wound up taping it on.) After two hours at the ER, some serious screaming being tied to the "papoose board":And eight stitches, with a layer of dissolving stitches underneath because it was so deep.....we are back home.
As long as the Motrin is in her system, she's as happy as can be. She probably has a killer headache!!
Oh, and as we are walking out of the hospital, Jeff says: "Okay, so maybe she really needed stitches."

"What the Heck??"

Okay, how often does one usually see a house fire in their life?? Well, we heard sirens and looked out our windows around 9:45 this morning and this is what we saw:

There are some run-down "apartments" kiddie-corner to us and apparently they caught on fire.

We stood and watched for a while, and of course didn't think of taking pictures until there were high flames coming out of the roof....but, of course, by the time we got back to take pictures, the firefighters had gotten the fire more under control. (Dang!!)
We did get a couple of little flames on film...

When the firefighters started to pack up and leave, the building pretty much looked the same from the outside. We were really hoping it would cave in or something.

These things have been an eyesore since we moved here...especially with the type of tenants that rented them. A couple of years ago, we got to see a medical examiner go in to one of the units and later bring out a person in a body bag. The tenant had over-dosed on drugs. Fortunately for us, a developer has bought all of this land and will eventually knock everything down and build ten to fifteen houses here.

Anyway, back to my opening comment... In February, a house less than half a mile down the road from ours caught on fire and was a total loss. Should we start worrying??

The Wooden Cottage Pre-School Graduation

On Thursday, May 22nd, Garet had his pre-school graduation.

Jace & Garet before the graduation.

"Let's Face It, We're Great" was their graduation theme.

Garet's part in the program: "If you need us, we'll come on the run."

They sang a song about firemen and played the triangles after his part.

They sang a song about zoo animals. Garet was a panda bear.
Jace was a lion.Maddie loved their glasses.
Another song with instruments.
Maddie needed to "clean" Miss Cari's chair during the program.

Our little graduation walk:

The graduating class:

Miss Cari, Garet and Teacher GeAnna.

Miss Cari, Silly Jace and Teacher GeAnna.

The Boys:

YAY!!

Kindergarten here we come!!

Six Little Words No One Ever Wants To Hear

When Garet and Maddie are out playing in the backyard:

"Mom, Maddie's stuck in the garden!"

She was buried up to her armpits in the garden. Sorry, there was no time for pictures...here is what her clothes looked like:

Her crocks are buried somewhere in there....I am going to have Jeff fish them out since he missed this little adventure. RRRRRRRR!! Garet is still laughing about it...while I am leaving for a church meeting still fuming!!

Bald Is Beautiful!!

As some of you have already heard, our family got some bad news last Wednesday on Grandpa Mike's 59th birthday, his leukemia is back. He just started another round of chemo yesterday and he will be having a bone marrow transplant more than likely in July. We are really saddened by the news but are very hopeful and feel really blessed that he is starting treatment again before he has gotten really sick and that we are lucky enough to have a bone marrow "donater" already. (Thanks Aunt DeAnn!!) My boys in the spirit of helping Grandpa not to feel so alone in the baldness have already championed the cause:

We are looking forward to a summer full of seeing Grandpa and Grandma, kicking leukemia's butt for good, and enjoying the coolness of being hair-free!!

Phew and P-U!!!

We finally got our garden in today....It was quite the stinky job!! (I actually gagged a couple of times.) Jeff kept telling me to stop complaining since the fertilizer was free....We better have some award winning veggies with the smell of that stuff!! (Yes, those are "pig rubbings" on the vinyl fence in the back.)

We planted: corn, green beans, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, pumpkins, cantelopes, squash, zucchini, and watermelons(to be added as soon as I find some).

Happy Late Birthday Mike!!

I just want to wish Jeff's dad Mike a belated Happy Birthday!! I know this one hasn't turned out to be the greatest, but we'll have better ones to come!! Here are ten things we love about Mike:

1. He is the best Grandpa ever!! My kids adore him!!

2. He is always willing to help!! Last year, he helped Jeff do sprinklers when he wasn't feeling so hot himself.

3. He is the best example of living the Gospel.

4. He is the Patriarch of our family.

5. Whenever anyone needs advice, we all go to him.

6. I have always felt loved and accepted by him!

7. He gives the BEST hugs!!

8. He is a FIGHTER!!

9. He takes pride and honor in his job as a police officer...I know he will miss it greatly when he has to retire.

10. I know you are all jealous....but, he gave me the "Mini-Mike" of the family. It is so funny to watch the goofy things that Jeff does with our kids and then to find out later that he is just copying his dad!!

We love you so much, Mike!! And we are so blessed to be members of your family!!

Let Sleeping GIRLS Lie??

The Dole Pineapple Plantation

While in Hawaii, we went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. I learned a lot from this trip....mainly, I had absolutely no idea how a pineapple grew. If someone had told me that they grew on a tree or in the ground like a potato, I would have totally believed them....but, not now!!

Jeff made a new friend at the plantation.

Tanya and Jacci in front of a pineapple plant.

Yes, they grow like this!! It takes twenty months before the first pineapple is ready for harvest. After that, they get a new pineapple about every nine months. The average pineapple plant only produces three pineapples and then it is replaced with a new plant. The older the pineapple plant, usually the smaller the fruit is that it bears.

We think Grandpa was a little nervous about getting lost...I'm glad he was thinking ahead for the rest of us!!

The girls getting ready to ride the "Pineapple Express." A cute little train that took us through some fields in the plantation showing us the various stages of harvesting pineapples.

The boys....I think they look more excited for this picture than we did...Could it be that they had heard that the train ride included music??
"TOOT-TOOT!!"
A pineapple field.Bryan and Autumn cozying up on the train!! Cuties!!
A new field getting ready to plant.
At first, I was a little disappointed with the plantation...it just didn't seem as big as I thought it would be. Little did I know that we were only shown a minute part of it. When we had our helicopter ride the next day, we were able to see how massive the plantation really is. We enjoyed a great treat of pineapple ice cream there. YUMMY!!! For some reason pineapples right from Hawaii are the bomb!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to all!! I am always glad that Mother's day falls during the school year....I always get such cute "treasures" from my children. This year, they have included:

A poster-card and painted flowers on a dowel (to put in my yard) from Kaleb.
And a card and some silk roses (to last forever) from Garet.

Right now, I am supposed to be lying in bed waiting for my breakfast...Jeff is slaving away in the kitchen. I better get in position!! Hope everyone has a great day and that your family makes you feel special like mine does!!

Waikiki

Our motel was on Waikiki beach, so we spent ample time playing at our beach:

Grandpa and Grandma were always troopers heading straight for the water when we got there.
The boys played frisbee quite a few times.
Grandma heading into the water and the boys heading out to snorkel.
Us girls, chose to remain on the beach to read, sunbathe.....And check out the sites....
The boys decided to try their luck at body boarding one morning: Watching some of them run for the waves and plop down on what they thought was going to be water and hit the ground was pretty entertaining to watch. I think the consensus on body boarding was that it was a lot harder than it looked.

Amazingly, Grandma was able to get me in the water the first day....a feat in and of itself. I don't like going in water that I can't see the bottom and what is around me....so "Hooray!" for Grandma. I definitely had more fun because I overcame one of my fears from the get-go!