Seven?!

I can't believe that my little Brennon is seven.  I can't say today, because it really is tomorrow.  Except that his birthday is not March 1, either.

So I guess that I'll just say that he is 1 3/4.

 The joys of a Leap Day baby!

 This is the first year that Brennon understands that he doesn't have a "birthday" each year.  He came down holding Shelby's brand new calendar that she got for Christmas.  With confusion, he asked when his birthday was again?!  After hearing that it was February 29, he held up the calendar, and while shaking it to make his point, said, "This calendar is wrong.  It doesn't have a February 29!"  We have told him many times, this is just the first year he understands.  I told him he had his dad to thank for it.

 Then, when he thought about it so more, he said it was pretty cool that he was only 1 3/4 this year.  I didn't realize he would think it was cool.  So, again, I told him that he had his dad to thank for the fun birthday.  For now, we are celebrating it on the last day of February (because that is when it actually is) and the day after February 28 (again, because that's when it is).  Because, in this house, when you don't have an actual birthday, you are going to get compensated handsomely!

Happy Seventh Birthday, B-Boy!

Or 1 3/4!

Whichever you choose!

Drama

Tyson came in fake-crying after playing with his friends out back.  We asked him what was wrong, but he continued to just sit there and whine, so we sent him up to his room.  "Feel free to come out when we are done with your crying."  A little while later, he was headed outside to play, no more tears on his cute face.  "Don't worry, guys!  I was only fake crying." 

Not an option

I love to nap with my kids!

 I wish I had a picture like this with Shelby.  I just don't.

I recently started a new medicine that makes me incredibly tired.  I have been on it before, but had the side effect pass after two weeks.  I am now nearing one month and still feel as if I have had no sleep the entire month.  This means Tyson has a few hours each day to play on the iPad in my room while I nap.  It's not an option, it is a need.

Yesterday, Tyson approached me with an offer I couldn't refuse.  "Mom, if I took a nap with you today, would you hold my hand?"

(Huffy breath) "Hhhhhhhhhh, I guess!"  Twist.My.Arm!

Extra

After returning home last night, Brennon was pretty excited.  He had pulled his loose tooth all by himself.  I was shocked!!  It took us forever to convince him to let us pull his first one out, and even after, he was still a bit nervous with the whole thing.  He is our cautious child.  I hadn't heard about it for very long, so I didn't even realize it was ready to really come out.  Next thing I know, he had it out by himself.

"Mom, can I get $20.00?"

" Um...No!"

"But I pulled it out all.by.myself!"

The kids has a point.  Maybe he does deserve extra!

Twinkling

It has been absolutely gorgeous here the last few days.  It becomes even more memorable when your sister in Texas tells you that their schools have been closed for two days because of ice storms.  We have had warmer weather than Texas?  Get out of town!!  I would say that I like living in Richland, but that would be a lie.  I love living in Richland.  After seven years of Wyoming weather, this is downright heaven on earth, I tell you!

While enjoying the sunshine yesterday, Tyson said he saw a twinkling on my head.  As I was bending down for him to see what it was, thinking it was some glitter from Shelby's new shirt, he screamed that he'd seen it again.  "It's like the twinkling like stars, Mom!"  He was so adamant that I decided to go see what it was.

Gray hair.

Three of them.

Reflecting the sunshine, making me twinkle like stars.

(Thick Sarcasm) Fan. tastic! 

"I am like a star shining brightly.  Shining for the whole world to see..."

60 Minutes

I gave Randy a booklet of Valentine's coupons for massages of varying times.  At the time of writing them, I wavered over the decision to give him a 60-minute coupon.  A full hour of massaging, could I really do it?  As I wrote the time, I actually dreaded the decision.  Last night, I bit the bullet.

Randy and I have always been pretty easy to please, when it comes to dates.  We have never had to make extravagant date plans.  When we lived in Houston, the poorest we have ever been, it was enough for us to play one hand of Skip-Bo and call it a date.  Over the years, we have acquired more money than our Houston days, but we still view our time spent together as dating.  Any minute I get to spend with this man brings happiness to my heart, and giddiness to my countenance.  He makes me happy.

With that said, we have been trying to get out of the house a bit more and have had a trouble finding something to do.  The last two dates, Caden has babysat downstairs, while we spend time in our room with take-out and Redbox.  Not wanting to do that again, I suggested we get a few supplies from Walmart for Randy to get a night of pampering.  He was all for it.  We got some facial stuff and headed back to our room.

I started the hour of massage washing his hair.  One of his favorite things when getting his hair cut is the head massage.  If he finds someone that will give him a massage, he'll continue going back to them, tipping them well.  I took my time digging my fingers into his scalp, enjoying the peaceful look on his handsome face as he laid on our bathroom counter.  I do no like wet hands, so when he asked for conditioner, too, I readily agreed.  Anything for the man of my dreams. 

Next I gave him a facial, trying my hardest to make my hands slow as I rubbed the stress of the last few weeks from his mind.  As I was working, watching my movements in the mirror, I was stuck by how much I loved doing this for him.  This is something that I can give of myself that I will never give to anyone else.  Something that is only for him.  I poured all of my love into my hands as I massaged his head, face, heels, arms, and back.  I felt peace without being the one that actually received the massage.

Within the first few months of being married, I was assigned to Visit and Teach to a sister that had been married a few weeks after us.  I remember sitting in her front room, asking her if she thought marriage was as wonderful as I thought.  Her response surprised me.  "It's ok."  'Ok'?  That's it?!  Ok?  I was reeling.  Marriage was the best thing ever, back then.  I am happy to say that after 14.5 years, it is even more perfect.  I consider myself the luckiest girl in the world.

Weather persons

This week it was Laura's turn to teach preschool. Her subject was weather. It couldn't have landed on a better week, the weather was gorgeous this week. She asked the TV stations around town and found one that would give us a tour of their weather station. I got to tag along for their field trip. 

Their first sight of themselves on the tv. We were trying to get them to understand that the green screen behind them was now a map on the tv. 

Our TV stars. 

Pointing to their favorite city in Washington State. Most of them pointed at nothing. Tyson eventually pointed to Pasco. 

The tour guide brought out a green price of cloth and had us hold it up. You will notice that only their heads are poking up, with their bodies hidden behind the map. 

Then he made them contestants on The Price Is Right. The other kids were jumping and clapping, Tyson was punching the actual contestant in the face. Nice!

The picture quality is horrible, but I'm glad to have gotten a few pics with my phone. I had forgotten I was supposed to go with them, and had to run out the door when Laura called to remind me. Good thing I had already dressed myself for the day! Here's hoping our beautiful weather continues. 

Twirling

While taking the boys to gymnastics yesterday, I gave Keilie her list of chores and expected assignments.  When I got home, I found that not only had she not done any of the things she needed, she had actually messed with her ponytail (it had been kept on the counter, drying on a towel) and broken the elastic, ruining it for Locks of Love.

"At first I was just holding it up to my head, looking in the mirror.  Then I was just feeling how soft it was.  Then I started to twirl it around super fast."  All this was said with a face of shame.  I won't lie, I was ticked.  Very ticked.  Mostly because she told me that when her friends asked why she cut it, she said I made her do it.  This stopped me in my tracks.  Keilie had been asking for months to donate her hair.  Now, because it didn't turn out exactly how she thought, it was all my fault somehow.  I sucked it up, remembering a time when my mom cut my bangs way too short.  I needed the trim, but she didn't do it how I thought it needed to be done.  I totally blamed her then, and I totally remember my anguish, now.  It was a life-changer, apparently.

But this, touching it when I had told the kids repeatedly to leave it alone, trying to convince me that all she did was hold it up and the elastic broke, and ultimately destroying the only reason she cut the hair in the first place, and I lost it.  She was sent to her room for a while while I took a time out.

Keilie has always been blessed with good coping mechanisms, which she proved to me this morning.  "Mom, I love my hair today.  It looks better today, huh?"  I have to give it to her.  She knew I was still upset.  Not angry, just upset.  However, if she isn't worried about losing the donation, then why should I?  After all, she is the one that had asked for months.  I didn't make her do it!  And you better believe that Shelby became "The Golden Child."  "Mommy, I didn't touch my ponytail after you told me not to."  Nice!

Whole new meaning

 I first saw this while sitting on our bed in Bar Nunn, three years ago.  It struck me so vividly that I have never forgotten it.  The reason, then, was because of her liver disease.  My sister, Keilie, had liver problems from birth and needed a transplant.  Like Annie from this video, she also would have died within 48 hours.  In fact, it was 12 hours before her 'deadline' that they found one, because volunteers were calling around the country asking for help.  It was a special video to watch the community come together like they did for my own parents, many years ago.

Last night, we were talking about Love for Family Home Evening.  When the lesson and game ended, we put on some Mormon Messages about showing our love.  This same video came in the mix.  However, the story hits home for a different reason now.

We had only lived in Richland for just over a year before Caden was flown to Seattle.  The first picture of Annie in the hospital took our breath away, we knew those rooms.  The 'community' of our neighborhood, ward, schools, friends, home wards, and family gathered around us so much, it was astounding to feel the outpouring of love that we were being given.  People came from all walk of life to give to us.  It was a powerful feeling that I will never forget.

As the Message progresses, he talks about meeting with Dr. Healy before the transplant.  Our breaths caught in our lungs- he was the Dr. that saved our child, too.  I know him.  I have shook his hand, have thanked him from the bottom of my heart.  He has changed our lives like he has changed theirs.

When the Message ended, we all just sat in our chairs, deep in our own thoughts.  It was a powerful feeling.  The Message is the same, but due to things that have happened to our family, we see it in a whole new light.  It no longer is a story that I could empathize with because of my childhood, it now is a story that I can relate to.  It is our story.  And, happily, we both have the same outcome.

Children that we hold in our arms, not in our memories.

Locks of love x2

Keilie has been asking me forever to donate her hair. She was super excited...until the first cut had been made. She said it's too short and that she looks like a boy with long hair, but that she is proud that she gets to help other girls get hair. I think she looks adorable! I'm super happy with her decision. 

Shelby said she wanted to wait until after her baptism to donate hers again. She doesn't care what it looks like, only that she doesn't have to braid her hair anymore. Or brush it with long snarles. 

I love that my girls care about helping others. Baldness has a whole new meaning for our family. 

Foster Care Renters

Yesterday was a day of service for our family.  We started the day by cleaning the church at 8:00AM.  I sure love it when our turn rolls around.  I am always surprised when we get asked if we brought our whole crew.  Of course we always do.  It is a great way to teach our kids the importance of service, and give them an opportunity to serve the Lord with those that love them most.  At one point, Shelby said, "I will always clean the boys' bathroom if they ask me."  Now that is an amazing girl!

The rest of the day was spent helping our renters pack up their belongings and put them on their Uhaul.  I don't even know where to begin with how hard it was.  It wasn't the strenuous amount of lifting and cleaning, or even the warmth felt on the beautiful day that made sweat bead on our bodies, it was the fact that I was seeing a friend move to another state, knowing that I probably would never see her again.  She was never just our renter, she was my friend.  We would text back and forth each day, mostly just saying hi and trying to set up times to just hang out.  We crafted together, had meals together, and loved to watch her son, Blake, and Shelby interact.  If there ever was a match made in heaven, it would be those two.  They were best friends from the very beginning.  It was an emotional day.

Steph called me over a few days ago to show me the gift that Blake had gotten Shelby for Valentine's Day: homemade flowers made of crepe paper and suckers all put together in a cute vase.  I was hefting boxes from the garage to the truck, so I wasn't able to see the presentation in person, but Steph and I both "Aaww'd" as she recounted how he held them out to her as he got down on one knee.  And, being the sweetheart that she is, Shelby shared each of her first-ever flowers with her siblings.

 Jamie, Karlee, and I went over at 9:00PM to help her clean the now-empty house.  There were six women cleaning, talking, laughing, and 'ooo-ing' and 'aaww-ing' over the 3-week old little baby.  I later found out that the baby was a foster child of Stephanie's mom.  This got a conversation about fostering, the abuse that some of her kids have endured, the drugs they have been hooked to at birth, and how hard it was to see them go.  Jamie and I both said that we didn't think we would be able to do it.  And, yet, that is how I feel watching Stephanie leave me.  I know it is a good thing that is happening to them, I knew that they weren't going to be our renters forever, I knew that my time would be short with them from day one, but, I'm heartbroken to see her go.  I only got a taste of what our friendship would have been.  I miss her terribly, already.

We have new renters moving in on Friday.  I met them on Friday and instantly knew that these would not be the same type of renters.  They would be ones that we would be kind to, would wave to, but would not be inviting over often.  It made me realize what I would miss with Stephanie even more.  I realize now that if this is the reaction I have with a friend, I can't imagine what it would be like with a child.  No matter if the situation was the best in the world for that child, I would have a hard time seeing them go.  It takes a special person to be able to foster.  As of this moment, I don't think I could be that special.

LOVE

The girls have been fighting more than usual this week. I have wanted to actually send them to bed early, early each night because of their screaming and fighting with one another. It has been over.the.top!! This morning, as I was helping Shelby organize all of her gifts from last week, I caught sight of her calendar. My heart melted for the sweet love my Shelby has for the sister that is not always nice. 

The BEST Valentine's Day gift this year came from my little Shelby. They may fight like cats and dogs (apparently not like this picture) but Shelby is determined to love Keilie forever. 

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Legos

I found him like this this morning singing "This is going to be so awesome!"

I love watching kids use their imagination. 

27 Gymnasts

Shelby's 8th Birthday Party

February 7, 2015

Garland's Gym

 Shelby showing everyone the rules

 Look at all of those kids!!!

 After they showed them all of the rules, they set the kids loose.  The running and manic screaming was almost overwhelming.  Good thing this was not at our home!!

 Tyler was the leader of the chaos.  He was amazing!!  He kept up with all of the kids, learned their names (I didn't even do that) and got all of the kids to feel as if they were special.  I'm not sure how many birthday parties they host each Saturday, but he had had one before, ours, and one after, but never once even looked winded or tired.  He was pretty spectacular!

  Back flip.  He was pretty nervous, but at our insistence, did it perfectly!!

 Enough space to play football indoors.  Again, good thing this was not in our home!

 We were hoping for at least half of our invites (that is the norm) and ended up only having 5 that didn't come.  Now, days after, I can say that that is such a blessing.  Then, it was somewhat of a nightmare. 

Because Shelby was the special one at this shin-dig, she alone was able to get strapped into the bungee.  I'm sad I wasn't able to watch this, but I was busy setting up the cake and ice cream in the party room.  The pictures are enough for the rest of us to see how happy she was.

 Can you see all of the green, jealous happy faces of those watching?

 After an hour of playing, we moved into the party room.  It is a good idea, but ended up being pretty hard.  Once again, I am grateful that this party was not in our home, but for this portion of the party, it would have been easier.  

The room is set up with tables for the party.  However, there is not really enough room for all of the kids that (thankfully?) showed up.  Second, the tiny room echoed.  Bad!  At one point, while trying to open gifts from 21 kids, one little boy simply started to hum.  Hearing the cool effect of the hum, one-by-one more kids started to hum.  It became quite deafening.  Multiply that by 45 minutes, in a cramped, loud room with kids saying that they were bored with watching her open that many gifts, without being able to leave the room, and you have one recipe for disaster.  

I have never watched the clock as closely or been more ecstatic to see time crawl by.

Delicious!

 I got pictures of each child with Shelby (for Shelby to look back and remember), but these are the only kids I care about.  It should be noted that Shelby glowed in each and every one of the pictures.  She was radiant in her birthday glow.

 My attempts at trying to get this many kids posed for a picture.  I look at it now and have many ideas of ways to make them all fit, but in that moment (with 15 minutes left and nothing else to do, but wait) it was the best that they would do.  These kids are not used to me, the picture lover, and would NOT listen to a word I said.  It may be their age, it may be the sheer number of kids, or it may be the echoing room, but this was it, folks.  YIKES!!

It was a very hard 1.75 hours.  However, with all that my kids have had to endure this last year, I would throw them each a party like this daily if they could feel the joy that this party produced.  It was a second-grader's dream.  Who am I to say it was beyond what should be considered crazy?

As a side note: This could have been titled 28 gymnasts.  That's right, my friends, I tried a little diddy on the bars.  When I was in second grade, I was a whiz at spinning on the bars.  I would come home with bruises on my knee pits (is that what you call the backs of your knees, like the pits of your arms?) and elbow pits (again, is that what you call the backs of your elbows, where they always tap, tap, tap to find a vein?) daily.  And, let me just say, I got a doozy of a bruise this time without even making it up on the bars.  Caden and I had a good laugh at my attempt.  I mean, come on, can't flipping around on the bars be like riding a bike?!  Apparently not!!  It was an epic fail or horrendous proportion!  I fire myself from gymnastics teacher.

Celebration Begins NOW!!!

We may be a bit crazy...

But only because we have had to keep a secret since OCTOBER!!!!  Peeps, if you know me well, you know that this has been hard for me!!  Impossible, really!!  But, we got word that it is finally OK for me to spill the beans.

Wait for it!

Wait for it!

I've waited months, why not one more...

Wait for it!

Randy WON a sale for New World Systems!!!!!  Spokane County signed the deal TODAY!!!

*Doing the freaky dance that only psychos and ex-cheerleaders know!!*