Mitchell Family Blog

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-18T20:31:00.000-08:00

My family and I went down to Trolley Square yesterday. Merritt and I met there almost nine years ago. Collin said, "So Dad. This is where you came when you only had $5 left in your pocket?" Merritt used his last $5 to get into a dance there...and the rest is history. Collin wanted us to show him exactly where Merritt and I were standing when we met. Then Collin stood there. He looked up at us and smiled.

We still don't have much more than $5 in our pocket. But we have three and a half kids. They are my treasure. My favorite movie of all time is Family Man. It's a modern-day version of the classic It's a Wonderful Life. I watch them both every Christmas. It's a ritual. And, every time I cry. I'm just so grateful to have a husband and a family. Nothing else matters. My sister took this photo of us. Love, and a merry Christmas to all!

Welcome Baby Madeline

2011-11-18T12:39:00.000-08:00

My brother and his wife, Abi, had their baby girl yesterday afternoon. She is beautiful, and I love her already.

Grandma's Halloween Party

2011-10-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

This was a fun start to the season! Thanks grandma...and aunt Amy (because I know she helped a lot too). We went to the pumpkin patch, carved mini pumpkins, ate yummy food, and played fun games. This year we had Collin as Harry Potter, Aunt Amy as Hermione, Luke as a knight, Owen as a dragon, Henry as a tiger, Nolan as a monkey, and Jill as a clown. Happy Halloween!

My Brother and Abi Are Having a Baby Girl...

2011-08-27T22:02:00.001-07:00

Abi, me, and my sister Amy at the baby shower.

The view from the back porch during brunch.

Loved the pink straws in the old-fashioned milk bottles.

Best french toast I've ever eaten in my life (from Kneaders).

Loved this embroidered alphabet.

The candy shop...no money required. Loved the doll house.

The blanket Amy made for Abi from vintage baby fabrics.

So cute.

Abi's best friend Page, who is also having a baby girl.

Abi with her cute mom.

My brother and his wife are having the first girl baby in the family. We are all so excited. (After five boys it's about time!) The irony is that Ryan HATED being the only boy in our family growing up. And he wanted a boy baby so badly. But I guess the stars are stacked against him. We all know he'll love her though. He'll be a great dad. Baby is due to arrive end of November.

Today was Abi's baby shower. It was the most elegant baby shower I've ever been to. Abi has a friend that should be a professional party planner. I've attached some photos. I totally love Abi. She is so fun and nice. She is perfect for my brother. And, it's great to have another sister in the family. We all enjoyed a night out together, just mom and sisters. I'm so happy for her and Ryan.

My sister Amy made Abi a REALLY cute blanket out of vintage baby sheets. Check it out. I gave her a bath tub, bunny towel, and soap. Not nearly as cool, but practical at least. My mom and Jill missed it because they're in California. These pictures are for you Mom!

Oregon Coast Vacation

2011-08-26T22:47:00.000-07:00

We had a great 10 day vacation in Florence, Oregon. It was so nice to see old friends and family. My boys loved the endless water adventures, including ocean, lakes, and waterfalls. I loved the hiking and peace of the forests. Definitely worth the sixteen hour drive! We send a special thank you to family--Ann, Deena--and my friend Amber who let us stay with them and provided meals for us. It made our vacation. Love to all!

William Tyndale

2011-08-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I read a biography about William Tyndale called "Fire in the Bones: William Tyndale--Martyr, Father of the English Bible" by S. Michael Wilcox. It was very interesting and really opened my eyes to the history of Bible translation and how much people (like William Tyndale) sacrificed to get the Bible into the hands of common people. It caused me to treasure the Holy Bible even more than I already did.

While on a recent vacation to Oregon, I borrowed a Bible of a dear friend. I noticed that inside the front cover was a letter from his mother. The Bible had been given to him when he was fourteen years old. His mother, who had since passed away, had left him some precious words of wisdom, her favorite scriptures, and her testimony that the Bible contained the words of Christ. It brought tears to my eyes. What kind of letter would I write to my sons? What kind of legacy would I leave them?

Scripture to me is evidence of the love of God for His children. I read scripture regularly (almost daily) and more than anything else this practice has strengthened my faith in God. And it's not just because of the words on the page. It's simply the act of reading them that helps me connect to God and receive answers to questions and prayers. When you really need it, God can speak to you through those pages.

I read the scriptures to my children every morning at breakfast because I want them to remember who they are--children of a loving Father in Heaven--and act accordingly. I hope they learn to treasure scripture as I do. And I am proud to belong to a church that encourages daily scripture study. When I happened upon this YouTube video about William Tyndale it was stirring. I wanted to share it with my friends and family. Love to all.

P.S. I noticed that my blog cuts off the right hand side of the video. If you prefer, link to the same video here to see the full picture.

May Day, May Day

2011-05-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

Luke learned how to ride his bike without training wheels. He is loving his new found sense of freedom and speed. But he likes to escape and not tell me where he is going. I'm having flashbacks of when he was two. Once I was at the library checking out books when a woman brought Luke to me and said she found him outside in the middle of the street. For all I knew, he was still right behind me in line. Now the neighbors are calling me and saying that Luke is at their house and they just wanted to make sure I knew where he was. What is a mother to do? I used to have to put him on a child leash (aka "monkey backpack"), but he's a little too old for that now.

Anywho, Collin is playing on a soccer team for the first time. I've never really been that in to sports, but I am now! I LOVE going to Collin's soccer games. I am glued to that ball the entire 45 minutes, cheering and shouting. It's so fun! And Collin is pretty good too. He usually scores 1 or 2 goals each game. And he doesn't care if he wins or loses, he just wants to score and have fun. He's a great kid...a little Rudy, small in stature with a big heart and crazy determination. He runs his little heart out when he's on that field.

I've also been enjoying some quieter times with Owen. His big brothers go off to school and preschool and we go out and pick dandelions, splash in rain puddles, play baseball, and watch the beautiful birds that come to our feeder. Last week at breakfast one morning, Owen noticed the trees had finally grown some new leaves. He excitedly said, "Look, Mom! Green leaves on trees! That's science, Mom." I can't tell you how proud I was at that moment of my little two-year-old son. This picture is Owen AFTER breakfast, stained with blueberries, and sword-fighting in the kitchen.

Oh, and my other favorite thing right now is that Owen learned to recognize his name. Everywhere we go, when he sees a letter "O" he gets so excited. He says, "Mom! Letter O! O is for O-O-Owen! That's me!" He's really excited about learning letters. He knows about 8 of them so far. And he pretends to read all the time. He loves checking the mail with me. I let him open all of the junk mail and he pretends to read it. We look at the pictures and try to figure out what the letter is about. It's his own important job to do, checking the mail and reading it to me.

Speaking of important jobs, Collin has been really interested in learning how to do chores around the house. Not because I'm paying him, but because he's noticed that I do all the work around here! He doesn't think that's fair, so he decided to help me so that I don't have to do it all. Well, tonight he unloaded the dishwasher all by himself. He climbed into all the upper cupboards and did his best to figure out where things go. It was amazing.

Night before last, he swept the kitchen floor for the first time. He and I were cleaning together, listening to music. I said, "Collin, cleaning is so much more fun when I have someone else to do it with. Thank you." And tonight when Collin went to bed he said, "Mom, when I'm eight, I'll be old enough to do the laundry too. That will REALLY help you." He must see me doing laundry a lot. We'll see how long this cleaning spree lasts, but I'm loving it for now!

My parents bought me a digital piano for my 35th birthday. I cried. I've wanted a piano for as long as I can remember. I've been playing all the old songs I used to practice. And it has headphones, so I can play after the kids go to bed. It's so great! Last Monday, I played the piano while my husband and children sang a song (Love at Home) for family home evening. It sounds silly maybe, but I've always wanted to do that. It was a big moment for me. Now I can't wait to teach my sons how to play. I've already taught Collin how to play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Luke asks me to play Fur Elise over and over. I think it's his favorite.

Last weekend, Merritt took the boys on their first camp-out of the season. Collin caught this huge ugly carp, which they weren't allowed to throw back in the water. So Collin did what any little boy would do...he dissected it. He came home and told me all about how he had cut out the heart and the lungs (gills?) and the eyeball and then the stomach, etc. etc. He put sand in it, then put it in water to see what would happen to the different parts. Again, I'm so proud of my little scientist children.

Merritt is camping again this weekend, backpacking actually. This time with the Scouts. He gets so excited to be in the mountains. I love watching him prepare his equipment and pour over his maps and pack his backpack. He's so content and so confident that he'll be able to show all these Scouts how it's done. I love it. I love him and miss him.

Anyways, I better get back to studying. I was crazy enough to go back to school this summer (at Weber State University). I'm taking two early childhood education classes, trying to get certified to teach (eventually). Like I need more education! I went to college for nine years already. And I'll take a pay cut if I switch jobs. But, I'm loving my classes. I've always wanted to teach. My dream is to be a science teacher that services grades K-3 (like a P.E. teacher or a music teacher). The problem is that job doesn't exist! So, I'm not sure what I'll end up doing. But as always, I'm just taking things a step at a time. That's what I've always done...and my life has worked out pretty well so far. Love you all!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T21:49:00.001-07:00

Date Night

2011-04-09T22:10:00.000-07:00

My mom bought us tickets to a play for my birthday. We saw A Tale of Two Cities at Hale Center Theater. The play was great, and it was SO good to be with my husband after passing his two big exams (Series 7 and Series 63). I am very proud of him.

Happy Birthday Owen!

2011-03-01T17:50:00.000-08:00

My sweet Owen turned two years old today, and Merritt turned 32 yesterday. So we've been having birthday cake and fun times at our house. Grandma and a few of Owen's cousins came over this morning for a birthday party. Age two means Owen is a BIG boy now, and not my baby anymore. It's crazy how fast the time has gone. We celebrated Owen's birthday with a BIG dinosaur party.

We painted tissue boxes to make dinosaur feet. We hunted for eggs filled with baby dinosaurs. We made dinosaurs with play dough. Then we had a dinosaur dig using the new sand and water table that Owen got for his birthday. And somewhere in the middle we had lunch, a dinosaur cake and ice-cream.

My mom commented that we played with all the messiest things: paint, sand, and play dough. So true. But it was worth it. The kids had a great time. And so did I. Happy birthday Owen! You have brought me so much joy these past two years. The thought of you growing up brings tears to my eyes. I know you can't be my baby forever, but what will I do when you're too big to sit on my lap?

I love the way you talk right now, trying to say so many new words. Your smile captivates me. You're smart and ambitious. You try to do everything, and keep trying until you get it. And you always do kind things for your brothers, even though you're small. I know you're exceptional. And it's my privilege to be your mother. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love you and I always will!

Snow Fort

2011-02-27T20:32:00.000-08:00

We have had more snow this week than we've had all winter. Merritt built this amazing snow fort with the boys last Sunday. He even attached our slide to it (from our play structure). The boys enjoyed sliding down, then they all went inside the fort and drank hot chocolate. Later in the week dad fixed up a picnic which they ate inside the fort. The boys were so happy and loved their dad for it. Merritt is a really good dad. Happy birthday tomorrow, Merritt!

My Valentines

2011-02-14T22:08:00.000-08:00

I had a really great weekend. I didn't get to go out with my husband. (Luke came down with a serious fever and flu Friday night and is still sick. Poor thing.) And although I do look forward to when Valentine's Day is once again about me going on a date with my husband, I enjoyed making this a special holiday for my kids.

Collin and I went on a mother and son date Friday night. We went roller skating. It was his first time and I couldn't believe his stamina. He fell so many times, I couldn't see how he had the energy to keep getting back up. But he did. Finally, by the end of the night, he made did make it one and a half times around the rink without falling once. All I can say is that my son is a very determined little boy. That DQ blizzard at the end of the night was very much deserved.

For some reason, I've had this strong need lately to remember more about my childhood. Especially memories of spending time with my mother. It feel bothered that I can hardly remember anything. I guess mostly because I work so hard at being a mother, and the thought of having my children remember almost none of it is depressing. I need to have a good talk with my mother. I hope she can help me remember more.

But as Collin and I were sitting in the car eating ice-cream looking up at the moon, Collin reminded me that this was the second date we had been on. I couldn't remember that we had ever done this before. So I asked him what we had done on our first date. He reminded me that I had taken him to the city to see the Nutcracker ballet. That was over a year ago, and I had totally forgotten about it. But he hadn't...And that was so meaningful to me. He had remembered. Oh how I hope that my children remember me as a mom that did things with them. I hope they remember how much I love them.

Anyways, we had a nice time making homemade Valentines together and with a little encouragement Collin thought of something nice to say about each person in his class at school. His teacher emailed me tonight and commented that several students came up to show her the nice thing that Collin had said about them. And Collin was much more excited to give these personalized valentines away. So excited in fact that he had a really hard time falling asleep on Sunday night. It turns out it was worth a little extra effort on my part to make this happen.

Also on Saturday, the kids helped me melt down our old crayons in the oven. We used a mold that shaped them into hearts. These crayons are now once again fun to color with. We also played a little estimation game with boxes of candy hearts. We made a graph with the hearts to see how many of each color were in the box. It was fun to compare the graphs and see that each box was different.

Tonight for family night we talked about the qualities of a good friend and made friendship wreaths with the Valentines the kids had received. They turned out very cute and we hung them on the kids' bedroom door. They really do make you smile, the wreaths...and the kids. Love them. Love Merritt. He's a good man. I'm so glad he's my husband.

On a side not, Merritt decided to fix our toilet on Saturday. It had "randomly" flooded a few times recently and Merritt was convinced it was clogged. He ended up replacing the whole thing. And since we only have one bathroom, that means we were without a toilet for several hours. Meanwhile, we took care of business at our neighbor's house. (Collin is famous for having to take a dump at the most inopportune times.) Luke was about to start throwing up any minute, but Merritt got the toilet fixed just in time. Owen cheerfully announced: Daddy fixed it! Daddy fixed the toilet!

And in all the craziness that day, Merritt brought home a dozen pink roses. And they have brightened my days since. I hope there will soon be time for romance, and until then I will just keep loving him. Happy Valentine's Day!

Great Salt Lake

2011-01-15T18:08:00.000-08:00

I've been visiting Collin's first grade classroom once a month to teach science. In January, we were learning about water habitats and life cycles. So Collin helped me collect some rock, soil and water samples from two different places at Great Salt Lake (north vs. south arm).

We took the whole family along and drove across the causeway to Antelope Island. We saw antelope, bison, lots of birds, and since it was winter...no brine flies. So the beaches actually looked very beautiful. We threw a boomerang around for awhile. If it hadn't been so cold, we would have stayed longer. But I enjoyed the beautiful drive on a sunny day.

When it came time for science Friday, I brought the Great Salt Lake to the children. We used magnifying glasses to carefully look at the rocks and soil samples. I had caught a few brine shrimp in the water samples. The kids were excited to see them swimming around. Brine shrimp are about the size of your smallest fingernail, and they are the biggest thing that can survive in the lake due to the high salt content.

I taught them about the brine shrimp life cycle, then we got to work on our experiment. Brine shrimp eggs are half seed (as Collin pointed out to me). They can lay dormant for decades and wait to grow until the environmental conditions are just right. So we used a pipette to put hydrated brine shrimp eggs (called cysts) into a Petri dish. Then we put the dishes in different places (garage, closet, refrigerator). We also hydrated some in salt water and some in fresh water.

A couple of days later, I brought in a microscope that hooks up to my laptop. We viewed the tiny shrimp eggs up close. It was neat to see the baby shrimp hatching out of their eggs. We discovered that hatching requires light, heat and saltwater (as opposed to freshwater). It was a great experiment. By the way, shrimp eggs are available at pet stores because people feed them to their saltwater fish. So anyone can do this, you don't have to have access to the lake. Try it!

I also left behind two Winogradsky columns (recycled peanut butter jars) so the kids could grow some microbes from the lake. We put soil and water (from either the north or south arm of the lake) in the jars, and added various microbial food sources (egg shells, newspaper, fertilizer, cheese, plants from the lake, etc.). In a few months, those jars should be filled with colorful microbes. Hopefully the north arm jar will grow different microbes than the south arm jar (and show a color difference).

I told the kids how cool microbes are because they can survive in very extreme environments, places where we humans can not. And they can eat things we can't (metals, sulfur, methane). This is why microbes (and not fish) have found ways to survive in this very salty lake. Cool stuff!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

Trick or Treat

2010-10-31T22:50:00.000-07:00

Trick-or-treating was almost rained out on Saturday, but then a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky and the weather cleared just in time. Collin and Luke went out with Dad while Owen and I stayed home to pass out candy.

Sunday we had a family party with the grandparents. We fished for spiders in a witch's cauldron, dropped flying ghosts down the stairway, played a game of pumpkin bowling, and ate lots and lots of candy.

My favorite thing was hearing Owen say, "Trick or treat" and "thank you". He talks so cute. Happy Halloween! View our home movie of grandma's party at http://gallery.me.com/amymorby#100105.

Vacuums and Washing Machines and Owen

2010-10-12T00:03:00.001-07:00

I don't know what it is, but kids are fascinated with vacuums and washing machines. Today I absent mindedly left the laundry closet doors open, with the lid up to the washing machine. I later returned to find all sorts of things in the washer: a CD, shoes, a toy golf club, a belt, a toy car, slippers, and clean clothes that Owen had taken from his brothers' dresser drawers. I actually didn't get mad at all. I thought it was quite hilarious. You should have seen how funny all those things looked floating in the top of my washer.

In addition to washing all the winter clothes that have been in storage (hand-me-downs, as they are affectionately called), I actually vacuumed the whole house today...for the first time since I moved in. That was back in August, in case you forgot. I was so proud of the rare site of vacuum marks in my carpet that I took a picture of them. I thought, why can't someone knock on my door right now? I knew my house would only be clean for about five minutes.

I meant to take pictures of the entire house and blog them. But I ran out of time, so a photograph of the basement is all I have to show. I'll have to do this house blog in pieces. We call the basement the play room. This is probably because we don't own couches, but we do have a train table, a rocking horse, a basket ball hoop and a bean bag. Maybe one day I'll actually have furniture!

But I love this cute picture of Owen playing with his cash register at the little table in the play room. I try to set out different toys on the table every week. I've found rotating toys like this is helpful. They are more inclined to play with them, and I can put out a toy each day that will help them learn new skills (e.g., lacing cards, puzzles or an alphabet). Anyways, I'll try to post photos of the rest of the house soon. Not that it's that exciting. It's just that some of you have requested it. I'll do my best.

Autumn Leaves

2010-10-11T23:40:00.001-07:00

We drove up Ogden Canyon on Saturday to enjoy the autumn leaves. We ended up on the Wheeler Creek Trail. The kids loved throwing rocks in the creek while we walked. I loved the leaves.

I don't think there is anything more beautiful than a mountain full of trees all changing into brilliant colors. I think leaves are my favorite thing in nature. With a close second being the moon.

The other night we watched a sliver of a moon dangling just over the great Salt Lake where the sun had just set and turned the sky pink. It was so beautiful.

Whenever Owen sees the moon he shouts, "Mom! Mom! Moooooon!" I love it. And I love that he loves the moon. Although he also has the same reaction about school buses.

School buses are not beautiful. But they do bring our children home. And I think that's what Owen loves about them. They bring his brother back to him.

Party and Party S'more

2010-09-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

S'more cupcakes anyone? We celebrated Luke's 4th birthday with a camping party in our backyard. It was so fun. The kids fished in the wading pool lake, dug in the sandbox for plastic bugs and frogs, painted their own puzzle on jumbo craft sticks, had story time in a tent filled with balloons, played hide and seek, played Duck Duck Moose around the fire pit, then used a compass to look for clues and find a cooler filled with goodie bags.

That night Merritt, Collin and Luke built a fire in our backyard, roasted marshmallows, and slept in a tent we had set up in the backyard. And the next morning we surprised Luke with tickets to the circus. (When I asked Luke what he wanted to do for his birthday he said, "Go camping and go to the circus.") This was good, because we don't need any more toys. Although, my mom did manage to find a train table second hand. Luke has been playing trains non-stop ever since. Love this boy.

Last night I was listening to the prophet speak at the annual General Relief Society meeting, which is on TV and broadcast from SLC. Luke was playing by my side at his train table. When the prophet ended his talk, I had tears in my eyes. Luke asked me if I was crying. I said, no, these are just Holy Ghost tears. The Holy Ghost is telling me that what he is saying is true. Then Luke looked at me and said, "Mom, I know this is Heavenly Father's world."

More tears....and Luke gave me a big hug. This was the first time Luke shared his testimony with me. I'm sure it won't be the last. I'm glad it was on his birthday so I'll remember it. I know even children, and especially children, recognize truth when they hear it. They can feel God's love for them. I am grateful Heavenly Father has entrusted me with three valiant boys. It is a privilege to be their mother. Happy birthday Luke.

Luke Starts Preschool

2010-09-16T21:47:00.000-07:00

It was worth moving here just for this preschool. Luke loves teacher Sherrie, and comes home telling me all about the interesting things they are learning. He's only gone to school three times and already he is coming home adding numbers, wanting to read books to me, and telling me all about the science that is happening around us when we go for walks. Today he picked up a red leaf on the ground on our way to the park and said, "Mom! Look! Science is happening to this leaf!"

At school, he's dug for worms and examined them with a magnifying glass, he's seen a tarantula shed it's skin, and he's learned that insects have six legs and spiders have eight. He's collected colored leaves, pine cones, grapes, pears and apples from the trees and can tell me all the different parts of the tree. Teacher Sherrie is just trying to teach them typical preschool stuff, like numbers and colors and how to write their name. But because she uses science to do that, Luke comes home exploding with excitement.

It's like his mind has suddenly become aware of all the things there are to discover and all the things that he can do. He loves to think of questions to write on teacher Sherrie's question board. He loves to sing and to exercise. I love that they are outside a lot of the time. And best of all, I can tell that she genuinely loves Luke and cares so much for the children. I'm so happy and so grateful to have my dear friend and mentor teaching my child.

This is the woman that I've started writing a science book with. Maybe some day we'll actually finish it! Hope so.

By the way, Luke started reading this week. It's so fun. He gets so proud when he figures out each word. I wish I could send him to kindergarten in a year, but he's got two years to go. His birthday is in September, so he'll just be the oldest in his class. I hope there are benefits for this later. Because right now I'm wishing I could send him. People always say it's better to have boys be the older ones in their class, but I'm not so sure. Oh well, too late now.

Oh, and by the way, Collin finally did figure out how to start that fire. Sherrie had walked over to my house after preschool and we were talking in my living room. Next thing I know there is a fire in my stove downstairs and Collin is staring proudly into it. He wasn't feeling so proud when his dad came home, showed him pictures of burn victims on the Internet, then gave him a bare bottom spanking. Poor thing.

I think Merritt was just worried because when he was a little boy he started a fire too, except that it wasn't in a fireplace. It was out in a field and the fire department had to come and put it out. I bet you his dad did the same thing to him. But I didn't ask.

I remember my brother thinking it would be really cool to dip his arrows in gasoline, light them on fire, then shoot them into a dry grass field. I don't remember what happened after that, but I bet you he got in a lot of trouble. What is it with boys and fire? I have a feeling this is not the last time I'll be dealing with this. Ode to mothers of boys.

First Day of First Grade

2010-09-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

Collin's teacher seems great and the school is new and nice. He loves eating school lunch, playing at recess and earning stickers for his sticker book. He is also excited because his teacher lets the kids teach the class some times. (They have show and teach instead of show and tell.) At back to school night, his teacher said Collin has excellent handwriting and is a pleasure to have in her class. So far, so good.

Then yesterday Collin came home and said he was getting quite the reputation at school...for eating ants! Apparently, Collin told some kid he had eaten them before (which was news to me) and the kid didn't believe him. So Collin decided he would prove it by eating some more. Problem is, now the word is out and kids are asking him to eat all sorts of things from worms to grasshoppers.

That was yesterday. Tonight I came back from taking Owen for a stroller ride to find Collin and Luke trying to start a fire in the living room. (Merritt was in the backyard building a sand box.) They had loaded up our living room stove with sticks, plugged in a battery charger to an outlet, wrapped a piece of toilet paper around one of the sticks, and stuck it in the battery charger. I guess they figured it was getting hot, and might just get hot enough to start the toilet paper on fire.

Heaven help me.

Yet (call me crazy) I miss Collin when he's gone all day. My little buddy is at school from 8:30 - 4:00! I confess it has seemed a bit lonely to me. The days seem to drag. Luke asks me throughout the day when Collin is going to be home. Owen carries around a miniature toy school bus and looks out the window a lot. When I told Collin that his brothers miss him, he got a big smile on his face. It feels good to be loved.

Permanent Address

2010-08-17T22:33:00.000-07:00

I'm 34 and I finally have a permanent address. I can't tell you how good it feels. I love it here. And my family does too. I can tell good things are going to happen here.

A couple of nights after we moved in there was a brief, desert rainstorm followed by this beautiful rainbow. It arched directly above our heads and we could see the colors fade into the mountainside. It felt like a good omen.

Anyways, I took pictures of the rainbow and they show our cute house, with the large cottonwood tree in the front yard. (We can't wait to watch it change colors in the fall and jump in the leaves!)

The pictures also show the view of the mountains from our backyard. I never tire of watching the mountains turn pink as the sun sets. It's my favorite thing about the house. I think the kids' favorite thing is the sand box. They play out there until it's dark. (See Collin's sandman.)

We're so excited to have a house, and grateful to God for leading us here to this beautiful and friendly place. Since I couldn't live in Florence, this definitely feels like the next best thing.

We really like our ward here too. Our kids have great Primary teachers and people are very friendly. We had four neighbors bring us goodies and introduce themselves to us. The kids have made a few friends and have played at neighbor's houses.

And I already have a calling. I was invited to serve as a counselor in the Primary presidency. Of course, I was very excited to get to serve in Primary again. I've been teaching youth Sunday school (ages 12-14) and I loved that too. But you can't beat getting to teach classes with your own children in them.

When the bishopric asked me, I immediately got so excited to be able to again share my testimony of the Savior every week with the children. But I was quickly reminded my first Sunday in Primary that it's really the children who teach me.

A three year old Sunbeam was giving a talk on Jesus' miracles. She gave some examples of things the Savior had done when He was here on the earth. Then she began to testify that Jesus still heals the sick. Jesus still loves the children. Jesus still has power over the earth. Jesus is the Son of God, and He is a God of miracles. I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to me and remind me that this was true. What a blessing for me. These children will bless my life.

This picture is of me and my kids after church on Sunday. (Owen was asleep.) Anyways, thanks to all who helped us get to this point, especially my sister and her husband who let us live in their basement for the last year. And thanks to those who helped us move. Love to all.

Zion with Amber

2010-07-05T23:19:00.000-07:00

I was so happy to see my friend Amber. She came to visit us because she was traveling across the country en route to Florida where her husband's family lives. We spent a couple of days in Salt Lake City, then traveled together down to Zion National Park in Southern Utah. We camped and hiked and swam in the river. It was such a good time. It made it tough to part our separate ways again. I wish we could all still live by each other. Miss you Amber.

Sandcastle Birthday Cake

2010-06-10T08:09:00.001-07:00

Collin has been waiting to turn six pretty much since he started kindergarten last fall. So today was a big day. We had a pool party with six of his friends to celebrate. (One of them being his little brother; I often need to remind Collin that he is his best friend.) After finger painting with sunscreen, we ate this delicious sandcastle birthday cake. Next, we jumped in the pool for some games and fun in the sun.

We had family over in the evening for Collin's favorite dinner, Hawaiian haystacks. Dad gave Collin a compass, head lamp and camel pack for hiking in the mountains this summer. I gave him a tennis racket and tennis balls. He also got lots of great pool toys and a snow cone maker from the grandparents.

Thanks to all who helped make this a fun day for Collin. Happy birthday Collin! Love you buddy.

Our California Adventure

2010-05-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

Grandma took us all to California this past week. It was quite the adventure. The trip started and ended with a 10 hour drive. (Thank goodness for Scripture Scouts. It kept the kids entertained the whole way.) We spent three days in Disneyland, an afternoon at the beach, and also made a day trip to San Diego to visit Sea World.

Collin was the perfect age for Disneyland: old enough to go on most of the rides, and brave enough to try anything once--even the Tower of Terror--but still totally thrilled by the kiddie rides and meeting the Disney characters. It was fun to experience everything through his eyes.

Luke's favorite ride was the Disneyland Railroad...go figure. But the Carousel and Buzz Lightyear were close seconds. Owen seemed to really like It's a Small World, though he couldn't say as much. I'm partial to roller coasters, and have never much been into princesses. But I did meet Mary Poppins. That was a highlight for me.

Collin lost his first tooth at Disneyland. It was likely the same tooth he cut five years earlier at Sea World as a baby. He was so excited.

Luke puked at Sea World. We were pulling into the parking lot after an hour and a half drive from Anaheim to San Diego and out came his breakfast. All over himself and all over the car. When Merritt tried to enter the park with a three-year-old wearing no shirt, his little brother's shorts, and a Mickey Mouse baseball cap they turned him away. No shirt, no service. But all Merritt had to do was show them the plastic bag full of throw up clothes and they waved him in. It's a good thing Sea World sells t-shirts.

My favorite day was Sunday because after church we went to Huntington Beach. My kids were SO excited to be back at the ocean. As usual, Collin headed straight for the water to splash in the waves. And Luke passed the time building sand castles, making friends with everyone on the beach. The smell of salt, the wind in your hair, the sand beneath your feet...it reminded me of home. I called my friend Amber from the beach to tell her I missed her.

That night we rented the movie Blind Side. It was appropriate for Mother's Day I thought. It's supposed to be about football, but it's really more about mothers. How everyone needs one and what can happen if you don't have one...and the difference a good mother can make in a child's life.

That night I told my kids the story of the 2,000 young warriors whose lives had been miraculously preserved because their mothers had taught them to have faith in God and obey His commandments with exactness. It's one of the best stories in the Book of Mormon. I told my boys the most important thing a mother teaches her children is that God is real and that He loves His children. His commandments provide protection, much like armor and a shield and a sword provided protection for the young warriors. A good mother arms her children with faith and knowledge and preparation as she teaches them the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am thankful for a mother who taught me these things and taught me to cherish my children and find joy in motherhood.

Easter Baskets

2010-04-13T11:53:00.001-07:00

Owen's First Birthday

2010-03-01T22:39:00.001-08:00

A year ago today I held my baby boy in my arms for the very first time. What a feeling. It's amazing how much you love your children, isn't it?

Our family has enjoyed visiting Wheeler Farm to see the animals. We decided we would do this again for Owen's birthday and plan a farm animal birthday party. We gathered chicken eggs, sang Old MacDonald, played animal charades and read The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown.

The barnyard cake was a lot of fun to make, especially since my Mom and sister Amy were there to help me. Mom as always thought of the perfect gift for Owen, a tee-ball set.

Owen reminds me of Bam Bam from the Flinstones cartoon because he walks around all day carrying a bat. He likes to hit balls with it, but he also hits other things to discover the sounds they make. (If only I could teach him to not hit people!)

He hit the tee-ball again and again, and he could do it all by himself. It was fun for me to watch him be so content and so focused on his sport.

Owen was not shy about trying the cake at all. I couldn't keep his hands off long enough to sing Happy Birthday. He just grabbed a pig cupcake and went for it. Blowing out the candle was almost superfluous.

Happy Birthday BoBo. Love you little man.

Happy New Year

2010-01-08T21:14:00.001-08:00

I finally took the Christmas tree down and cleaned my house. It feels better than I thought it would. (I always get sad when it's time to take down the tree.) But the house looks nice. Too bad it will probably only stay this way for about five minutes! Happy new year everyone!

I started a family night blog...

2009-10-19T01:56:00.000-07:00

I started a new blog that will include all of the family night lessons and activities we do every Monday night. If you're interested, check it out: http://ldsfamilynightfun.blogspot.com.

Feels Like Home

2009-10-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

Owen is crawling! (7 months old)

Catching a snail family with a baby and all. The boys named them Leaf, Fred, Stinky, etc.

Conference weekend we made caramel apples between sessions. Delicious.

Merritt surprised me with this beautiful bouquet of flowers for our 6th wedding anniversary. He arranged it himself. Weren't they beautiful?

Merritt's family at the airport anxiously waiting for their missionary to return home.

Elder Mitchell returns, greeted by all eight of his siblings and parents! So good to all be together.

My boys having fun during our first family night in our new apartment!

Merritt and my brother Ryan finished Jill's basement, and we moved in last week. I unpacked the last box last night. There's still cleaning to do and closets to organize but it's actually starting to look and feel like home. The kids seem to be adjusting to the move just fine. I think it's shown them that things can change but your family stays the same. No matter where you go, you always have best friends when your brothers are around. In fact, Luke has started to refer to Collin as his best friend. The other day he was looking for Collin and said, "Mom, where's my best friend Collin?" So cute.

Collin seems to be really enjoying kindergarten. I've been amazed at the improvement in his handwriting and reading. He can read simple books all by himself now. I'm so excited for him. What a gift it is to be able to read!

Luke is really enjoying the home preschool I do with him and his friend, Haylie. He seems to be soaking it up. He loves to read stories, do art work, and learn science. He pretends to read and write (probably because he wants to be like his big brother). He recognizes all the letters and most numbers now. So we're working on learning the sounds each letter makes. We've talked about plant life cycles, the sun and moon, and how to make observations using our five senses. It's great fun.

Owen turned 7 months old and is crawling all over the house. He pulls himself up to a standing position on furniture too. He's quite mobile, and I'm constantly fishing stuff out of his mouth. It's definitely time to childproof the house.

Merritt and I have been given callings at our new church, which has also helped us feel like we're settling in. Merritt is serving on the ward activities committee and I've been asked to teach Sunday school to the 12-13 year old youth.

I love my new calling. I love working with the kids and I love learning from the scriptures. I have about 8-11 kids that show up every week (almost all of which are boys) so it's a relatively large class. Last Sunday was my first time teaching and I think it went pretty well.

Of course, everything would be even better if Merritt could actually find work. He's still unemployed and spends hours each day job searching and networking and emailing applications and resumes. He's been here over a month now and hasn't been invited in for a single interview. But we're trying not to get discouraged.

Merritt seems most hopeful about working as a nursing home administrator. He's looking into AIT (administer in training) programs locally and in California. As for me, I'm starting to teach at a preschool once a week with a woman who uses primarily science for her curriculum. We're also hoping to start writing a book together some time within the next couple of weeks. She's a published author and professor at Weber State University. I'm excited to have found such a great mentor with whom I have so much in common.

I really enjoyed general conference last weekend. It always sustains and uplifts and refreshes me to sit at the feet of living prophets and apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. I learn so much and enjoy feeling the Holy Spirit teach and testify and reassure me of God's love. I find myself always wishing that the whole world could hear them speak. It's such a life-changing experience every time. I feel so much love for the leaders of the church and I look to their example to guide me.

This weekend we actually had company in our new place already. Merritt's parents came up from Monticello to visit. It was so fun to see them. And it was Mark's first time meeting Owen. They were picking up Merritt's brother at the airport whom they had not seen in two years. He has been serving as a missionary in Georgia. Merritt's other brother, Adam, leaves for his mission in a couple of weeks. He's been called to serve in Chile and will be learning Spanish.

The whole family came to the airport to greet Peter as soon as he arrived at the airport. While we were waiting there were other missionaries reuniting with their families as well. It brought tears to my eyes to watch their faces. What a reunion that must be for parent and child! I couldn't help but think that it will be my turn someday to send my sons away and then receive them back again. Velinda commented to me that she sends them away boys and they come back men...and not just men but heroes deserving a hero's welcome. So true.

Luckily for me my heroes are still little, and they stay home with me and I can talk to them and hug them and kiss them whenever I want. And they make me smile every day. Actually, both Collin and Luke are turning out to be quite the characters. The night Merritt's parents were staying with us, Collin pulled a prank on Nana.

Collin had been playing all afternoon with one of those little plastic spider rings you see around Halloween. Well that night when we gathered for family prayer, we all closed our eyes and reverently bowed our heads. All except Collin that is. He quietly slipped the spider onto Nana's lap while she had her eyes closed. When the prayer ended she opened her eyes and squealed, much to Collin's delight. It was pretty hilarious. Thankfully she had a great sense of humor about it. After all, she has raised four boys.

As for Luke, he is developing quite the comic timing as well. Grandma introduced the boys to Mickey Mouse shaped chicken nuggets, which they love. And one night she asked them if anyone needed barbecue sauce. Later that evening, Luke was trying to enter an adult conversation and very seriously interrupted everyone to ask, "Does anyone need any barbecue sauce?" For some reason it struck us all as funny and we shared a good laugh. Well, ever since Luke has continued to occasionally ask whether anyone needs barbecue sauce. What makes this so entertaining is that he does it just enough to make it funny every time.

For example, we all went to the movie theater to watch the new Ice Age movie, Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Grandma and Grandpa were there. Amy and Mitch were there, as well as our entire family of course. The movie was at a slow point and I remember thinking to myself, I hope this picks up soon. And then, just when the theater was at its quietest, Luke leans over in his seat to face the row of family members and whispers, "Does anyone have any barbecue sauce?" And it became one of those moments when you're laughing in public and shouldn't be, so it makes you laugh even harder.

Life is never dull when you have three boys. It's great. It really is.

All Aboard! (Luke Turns Three)

2009-09-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

Luke requested a train party for his birthday this year. He is obsessed with trains. And has been so looking forward to having a birthday party. He couldn't wait until it was his turn to blow out some candles and turn three. (Mostly because he wants to be big like his brother Collin.)

Luke loves to build train tracks, read train books, watch Thomas on T.V., find real trains while we're driving around the city, etc. It's really quite cute to see a little boy so passionate about something.

His favorite book is The Little Engine That Could. Did you know that book was written in 1930? It's a classic. And it has recently been published with new illustrations. I highly recommend it to anyone with train-loving sons.

Anyways, I spent 3-4 hours decorating a train cake for him, which was totally worth it. The first time he saw it you should have seen the look on his face. He was astonished. He just sat and stared at it and didn't want to leave it.

In the evening his cousins came over for some train games: conductor Simon says, a musical train walk, and a follow the conductor train ride through the backyard. This included the blowing of train whistles, which was everyone's favorite part.

We read The Little Engine That Could while the kids ate their cake and ice-cream, then opened presents. Afterward, the kids built train tracks and watched Thomas movies until we finally called it a night.

I feel so lucky to be Luke's mom. What a joy he is. I love him so much. It was wonderful to see him so happy on his birthday. And thanks to all the grandparents, aunts and uncles who came to celebrate with us too. You all helped make this a special day for Luke.

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

2009-09-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

Merritt is finally here! It's been so nice to have him back. That was the longest we had ever been apart. And it was a long 4 1/2 weeks. He arrived Labor Day weekend late Friday night.

Luke kept saying over and over in a very proud tone, "This is my dad." He just wanted Dad to hold him all night. And he kept telling Merritt, "You're big. You're strong." I think he was remembering how good it felt to be in Daddy's arms.

I could second that.

This is Luke stealing peaches during the peach walk (which was a game played similarly to a cake walk) at Brigham City's Peach Days Festival.

Our cousins Wesley and Riggs riding the train at Peach Days.

Our cousin Hannah's fifth birthday party. (I was jealous of her Tinkerbell cake.)

This is Owen being cute at the birthday party.

This is Collin on the water slide at Hannah's birthday party.

This is Luke discovering he is allergic to mosquito bites. Check out his swollen eye and forehead! Poor thing.

For those of you who care to read more, here is the longer version of the stories that accompany these pictures:

The first thing Merritt wanted to do was spend some time with his family. We went to Provo the next morning for a cousin birthday party (cute Hannah turned five) and a BYU football game. Merritt said it was one of the best days of his life. Not because he had missed his family so much and it was so nice to be with them again, but because BYU beat Oklahoma 14-13. It was apparently a very exciting game for him.

On Labor Day Monday we spent the day with just our little family, swimming at the pool, playing tennis and watching a movie at the theater (Ice Age III). All in all, it was a great way to spend the last weekend of the summer.

On Tuesday it was Collin's turn to bring the snack bucket to kindergarten. Being the science geek that I am I called and asked Collin's teacher if I could make solar ovens and cook s'mores for his class. She probably thought I was crazy but she agreed to let me do it. She even let me talk to the kids for a few minutes before the snack about how I made the ovens.

I told the class that the sun was made of fire (burning gases) and gives light and heat to the earth. I used the heat from the sun to cook s'mores for our snack today! Did you know there are only 14 more days left of summer! Soon the earth (the place where we live) will be further away from the sun. We won't be so close to the hot sun and the temperature will drop. Autumn and then winter will soon be on its way. The kids seemed pretty relieved by this since their school does not have air conditioning and it's about 90 degrees outside every day.

Merritt has resumed his job search and is utilizing resources at the LDS employment services to spiff up his resume and explore career options. He'll also start this week finishing my sister's basement (the apartment in which we will soon live). Meanwhile we are living with my sister and her family. They have been so gracious and we are very appreciative.

Friday night we headed up to Brigham City for Peach Days and to visit Merritt's cousin, Sarah and her family. We hit the children's parade, the free children's activities on Main Street, the carnival and the food tents for some peach cobbler. It was fun to catch up with Aaron and Sarah and see their home in Brigham City. (We had never been there before.) I hope we see a lot more of them now that we live in Utah. Both Merritt and I really enjoy their company.

Sadly, poor Luke had an allergic reaction to a mosquito bite he got at Peach Days. So the next day his entire forehead was a large lump and his right eye was swollen almost shut. He also had a swollen wrist and leg due to mosquito bites. We actually took him to the doctor because he looked so miserable, kind of like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. (His face was that ugly.) But of course it was a waste of a $20 co-pay. The doctor said he was fine and did nothing to help him. I guess we just have to wait it out.

Collin's Primary program was today at church. He belted out all the songs and did very well delivering his part in the microphone. It made me miss Primary. I was really looking forward to helping with the program in November. Our curriculum and music this year has been my favorite so far...all about how to build strong families. I kind of hope they invite me to serve in the Primary in my new ward. We'll see.

Finally, my grandpa turned 88 and we had a little birthday party for him tonight. We had a steak dinner and chocolate cake. Yum. The kids spent the evening collecting acorns from the oak trees in my Aunt Lisa's backyard. They collected hundreds of them. So I'll have to think of a fun activity we can do with them. Collin is really into counting to 100 lately, so even if we just counted them I bet he'd think that was fun.

That reminds me...I'm starting Mom's School up again with Luke this week. I've found a couple of moms to do it with so I'm excited. We'll be reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom for our first story time and introduce the concept of upper and lower case letters. I have a real coconut we will explore and talk about how to use our senses to make observations (an introductory science lesson). For art work we'll paint our own coconut tree and add alphabet letter stickers to the top. It should be fun!

First Day of Kindergarten

2009-08-31T22:08:00.000-07:00

The following conversation occurred after snapping 132 photos of Collin before he left for his first day of kindergarten this afternoon.

We were sitting on the front porch waiting for school to start when Collin asked me, "Mom, what's your favorite thing to do?" I said, "Play with you." He smiled and then said, "Oh, I would have said it was taking pictures."

I tried to explain why moms like to take a lot of pictures on the first day of kindergarten. The day you send your baby out into the world is a big day. It's hard to let go. But it's also a very happy and special day that you want to always remember.

When I picked him up, Collin said he had a great first day of school. He was smiling and excited and happy and full of things to tell me. He's such a good, happy kid. I love him and am very proud of him always.

The only disappointment of the day came on my account. I assumed schools here served lunch to the kindergarten. (They did where I just came from in Oregon.) It turns out Utah schools don't.

Silly me packed my child some lunch and gave him some milk money. When I picked him up, I asked him if the hot lunch looked better than his cold lunch. He then told me that all they served was a cookie, and no milk.

I realized then that he had been served a snack but not a lunch. His lunch was still in his backpack. My poor child was starving. I felt like the worst mother ever. But it didn't seem to put a damper on his day. Tomorrow will be even better, I guess. He gets to go to school AND eat lunch! (Sigh.)

Luke of course was wishing he could go to school too. He put on his new Thomas the Train "pack-pack" and wanted to be in the pictures too. So cute. Then the boys had a flower fight that ended with them picking flowers to put in my hair. I love boys.

Owen Is Sitting

2009-08-23T23:07:00.001-07:00

Temple Dedication

2009-08-23T21:45:00.000-07:00

Today regular Sunday meetings throughout the Salt Lake Valley were canceled so that we could all view (via satellite at our meeting houses) the dedication of the newly built Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. It lasted two hours and included talks given by general authorities of the church, a virtual tour of the temple, hymns and a dedicatory prayer. It was a very special opportunity for me.

After the meeting I took my children to see the temple grounds and watch the sunset. (It only took us 15 minutes to get there, as opposed to the 3 1/2 hours it used to take us to get to a temple!) We snapped this photo of the beautiful new temple. Interestingly, I learned today that there are now 130 temples operating throughout the world.

A couple of weeks ago, I also took my children to the temple open house. They were able to go inside and see the beautiful rooms. This is a rare opportunity as well, since after the temple dedication today only adults (issued a special temple recommend from their bishop) can enter this holy place. I hope their little brains can remember some of what they saw, and hold on to that memory until they are of age to worship there themselves.

I feel very fortunate to live so close to a temple now. I am very grateful for the blessings the temple has provided me and my family. I know our family is eternal. And since my husband and I have been apart, I have thought about how heaven truly wouldn't be heaven without him by my side. I am grateful for our eternal marriage, and grateful to have a husband who loves and serves his family. I miss you, babe. I'm sending you love from me and the kids...We hope you can come home soon.

Daybreak

2009-08-20T22:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks to an old friend of mine we found a place that made me and my boys a little less homesick. Wendi lives near a man-made lake in the middle of a housing community called Daybreak. (It's really like a mini city.) The kids were in heaven digging in the dirt, wading in up to their necks, and peeing in the water and off the dock. Just like old times. Even Owen liked the water.

Collin and Wendi's little boy Will are the same age and have become fast friends. We hang out once or twice a week now. And every time we get home Collin asks me how many more days until he sees his friend Will again. Then he continues to ask me almost every day until the anticipated day arrives, and then it starts all over again.

I'm so glad he's found a friend already...and I'm so glad that it gives me an excuse to hang out with Wendi again. We met in college, well in Europe actually, on a study abroad. She has been a close friend ever since. Even though I haven't seen her much in the last four years (that's how long I lived in Oregon), when we got together it felt like no time had passed at all. She is an amazing mother, a loyal friend and full of good ideas. She is just fun to be around. I feel lucky to count her as a friend.

Cecret Lake (Mud Pies & Wildflowers)

2009-08-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day. I connected with my old friend Haylie. (We were senior class officers together in high school and college roommates at the University of Utah.) She has four kids now, including a set of two-year-old twin boys! It was so fun to meet them all. We took the kids up Little Cottonwood Canyon to do some hiking. We followed a 3/4 mi. trail to Cecret Lake, which was a little steep for the kids but very beautiful.

There were several streams for the kids to play in along the way. Wildflowers were in bloom everywhere you looked. That was my favorite part. (See photos of the Indian Paintbrush above.) But what my boys enjoyed most was the mud, of course. As soon as we got to the lake they were instantly dirty from head to toe. Next time I'll bring some empty pie tins and let them make mud pies. Today we settled for mud cookies which we baked on the rocks.

On the way down we saw a moose grazing...in the distance, thankfully. And we got caught in a rain storm, which was a perfect way to end the adventure. I could tell Haylie is an amazing mother. For one thing, she packed one twin on her back and carried the other in her arms for more than half the distance...and at the same time comforted her girls about the rain and thunder. It really was amazing to watch. You go girl! I hope to see more of you now that I'm here!

Timpanogos Cave

2009-08-09T22:59:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Utah safe and sound last week. I finally have my computer out of the box and the Internet hooked up, which means I can blog again. Yeah! The first thing I wanted to do in Utah with my kids was take them hiking. Merritt and I both have missed hiking in the mountains. So we took the kids to Timpanogos to see the caves.

These caves are a place I had gone to several times as a child. I remember how amazing and otherworldly they seemed to me then, and I wanted to show Collin. We climbed over 1,000 vertical feet in 1.5 miles which was a real challenge for the kids. But they did great. The caves were every bit as cool as I remember them being.

The words stalagtite and stalagmite are now in Collin's vocabulary. Collin said his favorite part was seeing the "heart" of Timpanogos (see photo above), which is a stalagtite as tall as me and three feet wide that weighs 4,000 pounds. It is pretty impressive.

I think my favorite part was the panoramic views of the valley floor from the top of the mountain...and seeing this beautiful bird which I found out later is called a Stellar's Jay. (I could see myself getting into bird watching.)

Luke was a little weary of the cave, especially because he hadn't yet finished his peanut butter sandwich and didn't understand why he couldn't take it into the cave. He started to cry before the tour even began. He kept shouting, "This is scary!" I knew I had to think of something quick. I told him we were going to see where Thomas the Train lived. Sure enough he stopped crying.

Through every tunnel we expectantly looked for Thomas. Thankfully by the end he wasn't disappointed that Thomas wasn't home. He decided he liked the cave. Every new site he came upon he would shout, "Wow! This is awesome!" I was proud of myself for coming up with a small fib to save the day. And we all got another stamp in our National Parks Passports.

As fun as the day was, I will say I do miss my home in Oregon terribly. I'm still crying in fact. But I enjoy looking out my bedroom window and seeing mountains again, especially as the sun sets and turns them pink. I never grow tired of seeing that.

Last Look

2009-07-27T00:59:00.000-07:00

We took our last look at the ocean today and our last walk along the river. We are moving back to Utah this week. Merritt wants a new career. So it's back to the big city for us. I'm not sure how to say goodbye to this place. We have become a family here. We have many dear friends here. And I have never seen a more beautiful place on Earth. It helps that we have family in Utah that will greet us with open arms. But we will definitely miss this place and everybody in it. Wish us well. Love to all.

Paddle Boats and Fishing Poles

2009-06-29T09:07:00.000-07:00

Merritt has been working on a lakeside house these past few weeks, and the owner invited us to come spend some time at the lake. We took a paddle boat out to do some fishing. We saw a beaver dam, which was fun for Collin. And when the boat began to get a little crowded (and the kids a little restless), we headed back to the dock to do some more fishing.

Luke just wanted to splash in the water with his feet. He tried out lots of different spots. He went to each side of the dock and both sides of the boat. I'm not sure what he thought would be different about each spot. But he seemed to be testing them out.

Collin was really into practicing his cast. He got to be pretty good at it. Unfortunately, we only caught one catfish that we had to put back. Collin wanted to stay until we caught at least one fish that we could bring home, but he got vetoed.

A couple of weekends ago C0llin and his dad caught five fish and we ate them for dinner. I think Collin expected the fishing to be that easy again. So he was a little disappointed when we left empty handed. So I promised him we'd still have fish for dinner. (We grilled up some salmon from Safeway.)

Last weekend was not so restful. We spent Friday evening at the strawberry patch (Bush's Farms) picking fresh strawberries. We left with four buckets full and two flats of pre-picked strawberries. Which meant that all day Saturday we slaved away in the kitchen making jam. We wanted to make a year's supply since the kids eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches almost every day for lunch. It took us all day but we ended up with ELEVEN batches of jam. And it is delicious!

Here is Luke with strawberries all over his face at the patch.

Here is Collin blowing a big bubble after church on Sunday. Collin is a gum expert. He collects it. And every day after lunch he practices his bubbles. Once we went to a party where the kids got to hit a pinata. It was full of cheap gum, and Collin was the happiest boy alive. He stuffed his pockets so full his pants were almost falling off his body. His stash lasted him for months. And thus began his addiction. I can bribe Collin to do just about anything when bubble gum is involved.
Last Sunday at church I took a cute picture of the boys by a flag they made in Primary a few weeks ago. Each child colored a picture of their family on a square of material, and wrote down something they can do to strengthen their family. The inspiration for the flag came from a talk by Elder Russel M. Ballard about the family proclamation.

He said, "Today I call upon members of the Church and on committed parents, grandparents, and extended family members everywhere to hold fast to this great [family] proclamation, to make it a banner not unlike General Moroni’s “title of liberty,” and to commit ourselves to live by its precepts (Ensign, Nov. 2005)."

I think the flag is very cool. We made it at a Primary activity day. My husband actually dressed up like Captain Moroni and told the kids his story from the Book of Mormon. Then he talked to them about how they can defend and protect their homes today. Merritt was such a good sport to do this; you get roped into things like this when your wife is the Primary president. :)

Merritt was speaking at the "house of faith" where we colored our flag. The kids also visited the "house of prayer", the "house of order", and the "house of glory" (see D&C 88:119). They made family prayer boards to help them make their prayers more specific, and become more aware of their family member's needs. They played games at the house of order to help them learn how to serve their family (e.g., doing the laundry, setting the table, picking up toys). Then they spread white frosting on temple-shaped cookies to help them remember their family can be eternal because of blessings available in holy temples. It was a really fun activity.

Collin now dresses up in his play armor and pretends to be Captain Moroni. I love it. I am so grateful to the church for the resources they provide to help me strengthen my family. I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I wish every child had the privilege of being raised in a home where proclamation principles and the teachings of Jesus Christ are understood and lived. The church's quest is to strengthen families. And it has been such a joy serving in the Primary and working to strengthen my own family and the families of the children. I truly love the children and want the best for them.

Backyard Carnival: Collin Turns Five

2009-06-12T07:34:00.000-07:00

When the carnival came to town last month Collin wanted to play every game and ride every ride. Unfortunately, our pocketbook did not allow for that. But it did give me a great idea for a birthday party. Collin turned five on Tuesday and we hosted a backyard carnival for him and his friends.

We played five carnival-like games. Each game brought a chance to win several tokens. Afterword, the kids were able to spend their tokens at a make believe "store". The store had simple prizes and candies from which they got to choose a variety of things.

The boys seemed to really enjoy the games. They were all very energetic of course. We had a squirt gun shoot out, popped balloons with darts, used a bow and arrow to hunt for stuffed animals, played roller ball using the slide on our play structure, and knocked down a tower of cans with a baseball.

We were supposed to have a wading pool fish pond, and a cake walk at the end so each kid could take home an extra cupcake. The wading pool I didn't get to setting up that morning, and I forgot about the cake walk by the end. Oh well.

Oh, and we also had a guessing game in which the boys were to estimate the number of gum balls in a bottle. Duncan was excited to win the bottle, and I had an extra for the birthday boy (since gum is currently Collin's favorite thing in the whole world). Amazingly, Owen managed to sleep through the whole party. But here is a cute photo of him playing with the gumball bottle after the party.

Collin was really excited that his friends got to stay for lunch. We had a picnic with hot dogs, cheese sticks, fish crackers, watermelon and peanuts. The peanuts were actually quite a hit, especially with Luke. The kids enjoyed cracking them and finding the nuts inside.

I was happy with the way my cupcakes turned out. The cupcakes were supposed to look like a bouquet of balloons. And they were so bright and cheery and cute. It was not my idea but it was a good one. (You gotta love FamilyFun.)

Of course, the friends definitely made the party. Collin really does have a great bunch of friends right now. He loves to play with Camp, Nolan, Ruben and Duncan, as well as his brother Luke. (Although sometimes I have to remind him that his brother is his best friend.)

Collin was so excited about the gifts his friends brought him. You could tell every boy had helped to pick out their gift. Each gift matched the boy's personality perfectly. Thank you all for making this day special for Collin.

I'll mention the gifts Merritt and I gave Collin since they give insights into Collin's personality and interests right now. Collin loves collecting things. He has a sticker collection, a gum collection and a rock collection.

He also loves playing with money. He often does chores around the house to earn money. And his dramatic play almost always involves him being a store manager. He tries to sell me his used toys in his bedroom. It's really cute.

I had hoped to combine his two hobbies and give Collin a 50 States Quarters Collection Map. We could start coin collecting (and educating...see this great website). Uncle Allen would be so proud. Unfortunately, it didn't come in the mail yet.

So instead, I gave Collin the game Monopoly Jr. It was perfect because it involves buying attractions at a carnival or amusement park. You set up ticket booths and people have to pay you to ride or play if you own the attraction. Collin and I played it together yesterday. It was totally fun.

Merritt gave Collin a rock tumbler that will polish rocks and gem stones. Totally cool idea. Way to go Dad. He can't wait to try what he calls his "rock experiments". Whenever Collin is bored, he comes and asks me if I can think of any experiments he can do. He often comes up with his own ideas for experiments, but I also have to get quite creative sometimes.

For example, yesterday I suggested he test the five different squirt guns he has to see which one squirts the farthest. And what do you know, he did it. Collin is my little scientist. Dad tries to encourage Collin by telling him he's going to be a brain surgeon someday, which is why Merritt also gave Collin the game Operation.

One other thing to note. Collin won a free bike from a drawing we entered at the bike rodeo last month. Perfect timing. We were planning on getting him a new bike for his birthday anyway. It's blue and it matches his blue spider man helmet. He loves it.

That evening Collin got to choose what we had for dinner--pineapple pizza. Which means I didn't have to cook. And we rented the movie Charlotte's Web. We had just finished reading this chapter book together and had been looking forward to watching this. After some more popcorn, peanuts, cupcakes, and birthday cake ice-cream Collin was finally tuckered out. All in all, Collin said he had the best birthday ever. And I feel so proud and lucky to be his mom.

I've loved him since the day he was born.

Three Months Old

2009-06-02T18:34:00.001-07:00

Sleeping through the night...six hours that is. Yeah!

Zoo Day

2009-05-30T22:51:00.000-07:00

Ann and I took the kids (all six of them) to the zoo in Portland. The drive alone was quite an adventure since it takes 3 plus hours to get to Portland from where we live. Thankfully, Ann has a van so at least we got to drive together.

The kids had a great time. We saw bears, monkeys, zebras, elephants, tigers, turtles, bats, penguins, alligators, frogs, fish, giraffes, hippos and more. Collin said his favorite was all of them. Luke said his favorite was turtles...and the train track. He's obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine right now. Can you tell?

We enjoyed beautiful sunny weather with temperatures in the 80's. The kids took the liberty of dipping their feet in a shallow pool near the penguin exhibit. And those juice boxes Dad packed really came in handy. They were a surprise from Dad.

Merritt had gone to the store the night before after we all were in bed. He bought things Mom would never usually buy, like cookies and licorice and juice boxes, as well as made some peanut butter sandwiches. He had it all in a backpack for us ready to go that morning. What a nice Dad. We hope next time we go to the zoo, he gets to come too.

My Midwife Spins Wool...Isn't She Cool!

2009-04-29T15:44:00.000-07:00

I have loved living in a small town where you really get to know the people that cross your path in life. For example, my midwife delivered my child but she also became my friend. She's a wonderful woman and I've enjoyed many meaningful conversations with her. I recently invited her to show our home preschool how she spins wool into yarn and knits socks and sweaters. Her visit was wonderful and the kids really enjoyed it.

Gail brought wool from a sheep that had just been sheared. She even brought the children a photo of the sheep the wool had come from. She let them cart (or comb) the wool. Then she showed them how to spin it. She let them each take a turn working the foot pedals. She also brought her knitting needles and showed them a sock she was making. Notice the socks she has on her feet; they are the prettiest socks I have ever seen. And she made them!

Gail took this cute photo of Collin holding three pieces of wool, each in a different stage of the process. You can see the sheared wool that is still curly and has been dyed green. You can also see the carted wool and finally the spun wool (which is hanging around his neck). Hopefully Gail and I continue to find excuses to get together. Gail, thanks again for coming and sharing your talent with us!

Earthworms for Earth Day

2009-04-23T17:07:00.000-07:00

It isn't every day that you are awakened by an excited little boy dangling a huge worm in front of your face. That was me this morning, because Collin is now the proud owner of an Earthworm habitat. At Mom's School we've been learning about all sorts of invertebrates, and on Tuesday Angie helped the boys make a worm farm. We even painted with worms at school. We dipped the cute little guys in paint and watched them inch their way along. So fun. Since then Collin has spent hours looking at his little night crawlers.

This worm investigation was a perfect way to end the reading of Collin's first chapter book, How to Eat Fried Worms. We read a little bit every day after lunch and some more at bedtime with Dad. When we were finished, Merritt even surprised Collin with a gummy worm sandwich for lunch. You've got to love Dads. They think of stuff that Moms wouldn't.

Speaking of Merritt...he received three staples to the crown of his head on Monday night. Be sure to share your love and sympathy. Alternatively, you can help convince him to get out of the construction business. That would help too. And I guess I deserve some sympathy too, seeing that I've now had mastitis twice in the last two weeks. I pray that it stays away.

Today at school we celebrated Earth Day. Collin made this adorable garbage monster. We did a litter walk along the bike trail near our home (otherwise known as the "miracle forest"). We also made our own "landfill" and buried small pieces of plastic, paper and aluminum, as well as discarded fruit and dead leaves. We'll dig it up in a few months to see what has happened to our garbage.

Just for fun, here is a cute picture of Owen wearing his fire truck shirt that says "Mommy's Little Hero". I just took this today. He's almost eight weeks old! I swear you can literally watch him grow.

Easter Sunday

2009-04-14T18:23:00.000-07:00

Two Approaches to Coloring Eggs

2009-04-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

Luke keeps surprising me. He's so different than his brother. For example, on Friday night our family colored the traditional Easter eggs. Collin carefully colored every egg and gently placed them into the egg carton. Then he wouldn't let people eat them because they were too pretty.

Luke colored one egg...then decided to break it and peel it and eat it and smash it into the table so as to make the biggest mess possible. Strangely, he then tried to pick up the broken and half-eaten egg pieces and put them back into the carton. This is not just because he's two. Collin was nothing like this at two. Go figure.

The happy ending to this story is that we managed to keep forty-three eggs from breaking. This was enough for the Easter bunny to hide for a Sunday morning egg hunt before church. Happy Easter!

All Smiles

2009-04-06T10:17:00.001-07:00

It's official. Owen is smiling! So fun!

Another reason to hate Barney the purple dinosaur...

2009-03-29T18:03:00.001-07:00

I've been feeling surprisingly confident with this whole mother of three boys thing, until last Thursday. I was trying to get Luke down for a nap and Owen needed to nurse. I get out some meaningful "work" for Collin to do during quiet time. I feed Owen and lay down with Luke to wait until he falls asleep.

Being the exhausted new mother that I am, I accidentally put myself to sleep in the process of getting Luke down. I wake up about fifteen minutes later to find Collin crying at Luke's bedroom door with the phone in his hand...and a police officer yelling from my living room, "Hello! Is anyone home?!"

The officer begins to explain to me that multiple 911 phone calls were just sent from this address. He asks to check on each of the children and looks around my house. I try to assure the officer that everything is fine, and that I'm really not neglecting my children. (How humiliating!)

Collin is crying in the bathroom because he's afraid he's in trouble. I try to comfort him because I'm very curious how in the world he even knew how to dial 911. I apologize to the officer and promise to talk to my child about the definition of "emergency" and the purpose of the phone number 911.

As soon as the officer leaves, Collin confesses that he had turned on the TV and was watching Barney when a little girl explained how to dial "116". He said he was curious what would happen so he tried it. He said he called two or three times because he thought it would "be funny". But when the police officer pulled up in front of the house he began to worry he was in trouble. So he wouldn't answer the door. He started to cry. And that's when he came to get me in Luke's bedroom.

I've never cared much for Barney. His voice is dorky and his songs always get stuck in my head. And now I have one more reason to hate that infamous purple dinosaur. Ironically, the next day we were walking in our neighborhood and happened upon a garage sale. Collin found a stuffed Barney and had the audacity to ask me to buy if for him. Of course, the answer was a big N-O.

On a lighter note, Luke learned how to ride a bike! He is so excited about it. His favorite book has long been Duck on a Bike by David Shannon. Now, he can finally ride his own little tricycle around the block...all by himself!

Today in church Luke also did something really cute. We were waiting for our turn to take the sacrament bread and water. I always whisper in my kids' ears as they eat and drink, "This is special bread/water to help you remember...Jesus loves you." Well, today Luke grabbed my face with his two little hands and whispered in my ear, "Mom, Jesus bread. Jesus loves you." He did it to his dad, too. I think that is what I've heard some people refer to as...pay day. Thanks Luke. I needed that.

We Bless You

2009-03-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

Merritt gave a name and a priesthood blessing to our son last Sunday at church. It was a very special blessing. Merritt's mother, sister, uncle, cousin and friends were there with us. We are very grateful for the love and support of family. We missed those who were not there. Here are some sweet photos of Owen all dressed in white.

Surprise Visitors

2009-03-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

My mom and sister have been staying with me. But on Friday night around 11:00 PM we had an unexpected knock on our door. Jill's husband, Chris, and my other sister Amy and her husband, Mitch, had driven out to Oregon to spend the weekend with us. We were all so excited to see them. They got to meet little Owen. And we were able to go out to dinner together on Saturday night while grandma babysat the grandkids. Saturday also happened to be Amy's birthday. So we came home and enjoyed my now famous apricot cake with cooked caramel frosting. Thanks so much you guys for coming out! It meant a lot to me!

All You Need Is Love

2009-03-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

My mom and sister are in town to help me. They've been wonderful about doing the cooking and the laundry and taking care of Collin and Luke. All I've had to do is eat and nurse and lay on the couch with my sleeping infant on my chest. So I have really bonded with little Owen.

I love the stillness I feel when he looks at me. It's like he's telling me that he knows I am his mother. There truly is something special about holding a newborn child. You feel heaven near.

The name Owen means "born of nobility". We chose this name because we want him to always remember he is a child of God, having a divine nature and destiny. I feel so grateful and happy to have the family that I do. I love all my boys so much, and my husband will always be God's greatest gift to me.

The other day our family drove out to the ocean in a rain storm just to get out of the house. We sat in the car and watched the waves and just talked about how amazing it is to be parents. We love how our kids have brought us closer together and brought so much joy to us. All you need is love...love is all you need.

Miracle Number Three

2009-03-02T22:46:00.000-08:00

Owen Mark was born early Sunday morning at 3:18 AM. He weighed 8 lbs. 10 oz. and measured 21 inches long. We are all very much in love with him already. We brought him home late Monday night. Mother and baby are doing well.

A Week in the Life

2009-02-23T22:07:00.000-08:00

This week has been filled with fun and doing. With a new baby coming, my life will probably have to slow down dramatically. So I wanted to remember what may be my last week as a mother of two...

Monday:
Merritt doesn't usually get the luxury of taking days off work. When you're self-employed a day off work is a day without pay. But Merritt actually took Monday off (which was President's Day) and took the boys to play in the snow. Because we live on the coast, we have to drive about two hours to get to snow. But it was well worth the trip. Collin was on his sled up and down the hill non-stop the entire day.

Two other families came along too, the Wherity and the Larsen families. So it made it even more fun that Collin had friends to sled with. When he got home Collin said, "This was the best day ever!" Luke enjoyed it too, but he was not quite big enough to climb hills in the snow. And he seemed a little more bothered by the cold. Yet he still enjoyed putting freezing cold snow in his mouth. I guess it just looked tasty.

Tuesday:
Tuesday we had a fun day at Mom's School learning about Presidents. We read the book Duck for President and told stories about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Then we pointed out how these presidents are pictured on the coins we use. We sorted and counted coins. Then we traced the profile of the boys' faces onto black paper and glued the silhouette to a large circle. They colored the circle brown to look like a penny with their own face on it.

For science, we investigated how hot sauce from Taco Bell cleans pennies. We observed how clean our pennies became in the taco sauce. Then we tried to figure out which ingredient(s) in the sauce were actually doing the cleaning. We tried tomato paste, vinegar and salt in different combinations. We discovered that it's actually a combination of the salt and vinegar that cleans the pennies.

Finally, we read Caps for Sale and suggested the boys set up a toy store in their room and assign a price to each item they'd like to sale. Angie and I came in when they were ready and got to "shop" for toys. We paid them with real money, as long as they promised to give it back when we were done pretending. They loved it. For homework, we asked them to draw three pictures to help them retell the story Caps for Sale. We're trying to teach them that stories are a sequence of events and have a beginning, middle and an end.

After school, Collin and I were discussing what he'd like to save his money for. The thing he wants most is to go to Disneyland. We looked up on the Internet how much a ticket to Disneyland costs these days. Collin set a goal to save $59.00 (the price of a child's ticket to Disneyland). We started a chore chart and he is now earning $.20 for every chore that he does. He sorts silverware, cleans toilets, washes windows, vacuums and picks up toys (even when he didn't make the mess). He's a great helper.

This photo of my door shows off some of Collin and Luke's latest art work from Mom's School. Check out the penny with Collin's silhouette on it. So cute.

Wednesday:
Wednesday we had family night, since Monday night the boys were home too late from playing in the snow. We read a story from the Friend about a mother who needed help with her children during an airplane flight. We talked about the new baby coming and how the boys could help. The boys helped their dad assemble the crib. Mom showed them where the baby's clothes and diapers and blankets would be kept.

We talked about the needs of a baby and explained that the baby will require a lot of our attention. But we promised them that we love all our boys. Each is special and adds something unique and wonderful to our family. We expressed that our family was really blessed to have three beautiful boys that can grow up to be best friends. We ended the night playing a game of baby bottle bowling and enjoying Merritt's famous no-bake cookies. Yum!

Luke and I also saw a beautiful rainbow while we were out playing in the rain this afternoon. Check out Luke's cool Lightning McQueen umbrella he got from grandma.

Thursday:
Thursday evening I hosted a family night discussion group. This is a discussion group that I started last fall to promote the concept of family night. My friends in the church, of course, already know about family nights but there are also four other women attending who come from various religious backgrounds. When we all come together I'm amazed by the strength that I feel from these women, who are all my dear friends.

We meet once a month to discuss different topics and share ideas. We are challenged to prepare a family night lesson on a particular topic, then come together to share our experiences. For example, last month our topic was Love at Home: How to Strengthen Family Relationships. This month out topic was Anchoring Children in the Scriptures. We were each challenged to use a scripture story from the Bible to teach a family night lesson. We shared our family night experiences then had a general discussion about how to raise up children that love and understand the scriptures. I always enjoy our meetings and conversations. I have been blessed with many friends here who inspire me.

Friday:
Friday night we had a surprise birthday party for Merritt, who is turning 30 this year! A friend and I set up a drive-in movie theater. (I used to love going to those when I was a kid.) We had a movie projected onto the wall, and had large boxes decorated like cars for the families to watch the movie in. (Actually, the box car thing didn't work out but I'll just pretend that it did so I'm not disappointed. It was a good thought.)

We had popcorn and cake for singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out candles. I brought pictures of Merritt when he was a little boy and prepared a little quiz about 1979. It was fun to hear how much things cost, the politics of the day, who won a grammy for album of the year, the average household income, the price of minimum wage, etc. It's amazing how much things change in thirty years. Happy 30th birthday, Merritt!

Saturday:
Saturday we took the kids bowling for the first time. They loved it of course. Since we had just taught them the game at family night earlier in the week, they were excited to see the real thing. We went with the Sneed family and set up one lane for adults and another lane for kids (having guard rails over the gutters). It was so cute to see both Collin and Luke carrying a heavy bowling ball and getting so excited when they knocked over the pins. I'm sure it was entertaining to watch me bowl as well, seeing that I've got a bowling ball in my stomach!

Sunday:
The last Sunday of every month we have the missionaries over for dinner. The missionaries here now are my favorite so far. They are such neat young men. They always share a message with us and their presence invites the Spirit into our home. It makes Sunday feel even more like the Sabbath. Having the missionaries in my home often is hopefully great for my boys too. They see such good examples in them. This Sunday I was having contractions every ten minutes. I cooked dinner anyway. And I took a picture of me in my church dress (see photo above) because I realized I didn't have any pictures of my belly and the baby might be coming! Unfortunately, the contractions stopped when I fell asleep that night. But it can't be long now! Hopefully the next time I blog, I'll have newborn baby pictures to post!

Adventures of a Scoutmaster

2009-01-31T10:03:00.000-08:00

Merritt's first adventure as a new Scoutmaster was taking the boys on a snow trip. Equipped with snow shoes, back packs and a replica of a Klondike gold rush sled they hiked a couple of miles to their campsite and prepared snow caves to sleep in. I am very proud of Merritt for the service and leadership and friendship he provides for the boys in his troop.

I overheard Merritt say to a grateful parent, "It was so much fun it didn't feel like service." And he commented to me that he couldn't wait until the day he would be able to take his own sons on an adventure like this. I'm grateful that I have three sons who will be raised by a wonderful father who loves them and puts them first in his life.

The wives of the Scout leaders also got together for a sleepover at a small lake house in Lowell, Oregon. It was fun to have a get-away with my friends and our kids. And I think we deserve some credit too. I was realizing that the Scouts may know how to make a snow cave, but they had to take care of only six boys with five adult leaders. We had NINE kids and only three moms. And not one of the kids drowned in the lake! We're amazing. :)

Resolutions for 2009

2009-01-16T10:00:00.000-08:00

I love to make resolutions and set goals. It gets me excited. And I can always think of plenty of things I want to do and become. Some of my resolutions for 2009 include getting more sleep, learning Photoshop Elements, giving more service to others, and saving money for a piano (Merritt thought I should have a financial goal). I have also set a goal to make the Sabbath more of a delight for my family. I started by introducing the tradition of a Sabbath candle.

This idea was inspired by our advent candle we burned for the twelve days before Christmas. The candle burned for about one hour each night during which we did something together as a family. My kids enjoyed doing that so much. And they got so excited every time they could blow the candle out! I remembered that when I studied in Jerusalem we learned about the Jewish tradition of lighting two candles to welcome the Sabbath day. This was done by the woman of the house. We tried it and liked it.

We light the candle just before dinner. After dinner we have some family time. We may read some stories out of The Friend magazine or play a game. We also council together as a family. We discuss needs and plans for the upcoming week. We each share something that we learned at church that day. We have scripture study, sing a hymn, and a have family prayer. The kids then blow out the candle and it's time for bed. My hope is that this tradition will set apart the Sabbath day and make it special for my family.

Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam

2009-01-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

I want to share this cute photo of Collin with his Sunbeam teacher Bro. Kennedy. He has really loved his Primary teacher this past year, and we have been so grateful for all his effort and love. He really taught Collin a lot and always encouraged Collin to share what he learned with his family.

At the end of the year, he invited Collin and our family to his home to see his nutcracker collection. Wow! We had never seen so many nutcrackers in our lives. Collin was very impressed. I was just so grateful that another adult had given of himself, his time and his love, to my child. I hope he knows how much he blessed our lives.

Christmas Joy

2008-12-31T15:34:00.000-08:00

What a joy it is to watch your kids' faces on Christmas morning! This was the first time we've stayed in Florence for Christmas. We usually travel to Utah to visit with family. So we got to have our first real Christmas tree! That was exciting for me. I also cooked my first turkey dinner. Yum!

Christmas morning lasted well into the afternoon for us. The boys want to play with every toy as soon as they open it. So we spent the day opening presents, hanging out in our PJs, and playing with our new toys. It was wonderful! Collin got a scooter and Star Wars action figures from Santa; Luke got a spring rocking horse that clip-clops and neighs when you ride him. Very fun.

Merritt gifted Collin a deluxe marble tower building set from Discovery Toys. I think this toy was the most played with. Dad always has the best ideas. Maybe it's because he used to be a boy once. I gave Luke a red train (James from Thomas and friends) and a train track extension pack. Luke's favorite thing to do right now is build train tracks, so he was pretty excited about it.

Merritt sanded and stained a cute little table and chairs for the boys. And they each got a puzzle, book and a game to work with at the table. The table was something that I was actually excited about too. It will come in handy when we're doing our home preschool.

Grandparents also sent fun packages. Grandma and Grandpa gave the boys this really cool Hot Wheels stunt set. You set up the track so that each stunt triggers the next, kind of like a row of dominoes. The boys loved it. The other hit was a blue light saber Collin got from Nana; it lights up and makes saber sounds. We couldn't have asked for a happier Christmas!

The only thing missing was a visit from the grandparents to see all our fun things. I remember that was always fun for me as a kid. On Christmas afternoon, my mom would display everything that we got under the Christmas tree and our grandparents would come for a visit. We would show off all our new toys to them and they would ooh and aah. Wish you were here!

Christmas Morning

2008-12-26T00:05:00.000-08:00

Can you just feel the magic in the air? Here come the kids!!!

I am officially a digiscrapper!

2008-12-25T22:59:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful day as a family opening presents and playing with our new toys! I cooked my first turkey dinner tonight and it was a smashing success. And my husband cleaned up the kitchen so that I could scrapbook. Life doesn't get any better than that!

I just wanted to announce that I've gone digital. I used the money that my parents gave me for Christmas to buy Photoshop Elements and I am LOVING it! I finished my first ever digital scrapbook page today and I can't get over how fun and easy it was. I'll post it here for all to enjoy. Thanks to all who sent something special to our family and I hope you all had a merry Christmas! I'll try to post more pictures tomorrow...

'Twas the Sabbath Before Christmas

2008-12-21T14:47:00.000-08:00

Today we walked into church during the opening hymn. Spotting an available space second from the front, we marched up to take our seat. Instead, we were greeted with a pile of books and someone's briefcase saving the spot for someone else. So. . .we marched back and found a seat in the very back of the overflow seating in the cultural hall.

The Christmas music program extended beyond the normal duration of sacrament meeting by 35 minutes. Luke, of course, makes many attempts to escape the chapel. Hoping it is the final song, I arrest him on my lap and offer him a sippy cup of water. After taking a huge swig from his cup, Luke joins in the chorus of Hallelujahs with an impressive gurgle.

I must have been trying to focus on the words of the choir because I had somehow been oblivious to this first offense. But his second offense was louder and much more obnoxious. People began to turn and look and it was then that I realized my son was gurgling at the top of his lungs. His gurgling abruptly ended with an equally loud burp, and people around us (including ourselves) began to quietly shake their shoulders in an attempt to contain their laughter.

Because Luke was actually "sick" recovering from a cold, April couldn't take him to nursery and began to roam the halls while I headed to class. The boys I teach (10-11 year olds) were the worst yet. We closed class by singing Away in a Manger...off key and in a higher pitch voice than their voices naturally ascend. On my way to sharing time, a member of the bishopric pulls me aside.

I begin to realize that I am being issued a calling (in addition to the one I already have)--that of Scoutmaster. I was asked to work with the 12-14 year old Scouts. I am informed that this is the hardest group of boys they have had. They all seem to have a personality conflict with their former leaders. For this reason, many of the boys have stopped attending weekday Scout activities. I was being called to rescue this generation of video game addicts and turn them into Boy Scouts. Of course, I graciously accept.

After church is over April heads down to pick up Collin while I look for the car keys (which are lost). His class wasn't quite over yet and Collin's teacher invited her to join them during the closing prayer issued by Collin. So. . .they all folded their arms and Collin began. . ."Dear Heavenly Father, please help our teachers to be better teachers". . .and I'm sure that the rest of the prayer wasn't heard by April who was probably trying to figure out a way to sneak out of the room with no one noticing.

Anyhow. . .just another typical Sunday here in Florence. Now we're off to prepare dinner for the missionaries who are coming over tonight. And it's raining cats and dogs. But we'll be dreaming of a white Christmas, and tall, tall snowmen. We were remembering the Sunday snow we had last time we were in Utah. This picture of the boys was taken then. We send our love to all, and wish you a merry Christmas!

Lessons in Gratitude

2008-11-20T22:03:00.000-08:00

We recently kicked off what has become our Thanksgiving family tradition. Each night in November, we write down one thing that we're thankful for and put it in a blessings jar. Come turkey day, we read our "blessings" aloud and try to guess who wrote what.

When I pulled the jar out this year, it still had the papers inside from last year. I read them all. It was wonderful. My husband had actually said he was thankful for his "beautiful wife" and all she does for our boys and me. Silly as it sounds, I was very surprised that he had called me beautiful. He doesn't usually say that. It made my night.

I also loved reading Collin's responses. I've learned my biggest lessons in gratitude from him. He always remembers to thank Heavenly Father for the simple things, the things I usually take for granted. For example, before dinner tonight he thanked Heavenly Father for his hands that could feel things and his mouth that can taste. And this was a prayer over a bowl of macaroni and cheese with hot dogs...and assorted frozen vegetables.

Don't worry. This is not a typical family meal. I had a Relief Society meeting at the church tonight and they were feeding me dinner. So I figured I had the night off. But anyway, I sat there reading Collin's responses and I couldn't resist the urge to record them all before I throw them out. They're just too sweet, and I want to remember them.

So here is Collin's list. It can be a reminder to me (and to all who read this) to cherish the simple things in life. Collin said he was thankful for...peanut butter sandwiches, the moon and stars, that we got Luke from Heavenly Father, that Daddy plays football with me every night, that Mom does experiments with me, pillows and my ya-ya (his blanket), markers, rainbows, lights in our house, my toys, preschool and my teacher Ms. Kristi, plants that grow, not sending any more rain (we had played at the park that day), my friends (and all the people in the world that God made), turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie and my strong body!

I tell Collin, "All good things come from God, because He loves us." And Collin knows that...because I know it. What a blessing it is being a mother. I get to feel God's love every day. Something that I wrote down and want to remember is this...I am thankful for Collin, who is my joy, and Luke, who is my light.

These pictures were taken during family night last week. We read the New Testament story about the ten lepers healed by Jesus. Only one returned to give thanks to the Savior. We then played a game that I call "The Grateful Leper Wrap". Each player wraps themselves in toilet tissue "bandages" until he discovers a hidden candy. He then must say something he is grateful for and passes the tissue to the next player. You end up with a family of grateful lepers, and you get rid of those last few pieces of Halloween candy.

Next, we introduced the gratitude glasses and challenged our family to not complain or whine for one week. Whoever does, has to put on the glasses and say something they're thankful for. I'll let you know if it works!

The Return of the Jedi

2008-11-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

When Collin turned four I decided he was at last old enough to watch Star Wars. They were my favorite movies as a child by far. I played Star Wars with my neighborhood friends almost every day. I couldn't wait until Collin was old enough to watch them with me.

I couldn't have been more happy with his reaction. He loved Episode IV instantly. He wanted to sleep with his light "saver" that night. And when he woke up the next morning, he announced that he was going to marry Princess Leia (because she was "really neat"). It's been great to hear the sound of light sabers and space ships around here again. My son has now been opened up to a whole new world of pretend play. When daddy gets home, it's time for sword fights with Vader. I love it!

So when I asked Collin what he wanted to be for Halloween I wasn't surprised when he shouted decisively, "Luke Skywalker!" I thought it was a great idea. I would be Princess Leia, of course, and Daddy could be Darth Vader. But who should Luke be? Collin again must be credited for this brilliant idea. He suggested Yoda. How perfect. And thanks to my generous mother who provided the costumes, our family enjoyed a fabulous Halloween as an entire Star Wars family.

Trick-or-Treat

2008-11-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

With candy available everywhere (our church activity, the shops on Bay Street and neighborhood trick-or-treating), we came away with quite a hall. It's a good thing there is no shortage on sweet tooths in this family. I'm sure the candy will be gone in no time.

As a child, my favorite part about trick-or-treating was coming home and searching through my stash. I wanted to know how many of each type of candy I had come home with. I would sort it out and savor my favorites for months. This year Collin wanted to separate out all of his bubble gum (to make sure Luke didn't get it). And because bubble gum was his favorite.

We had fun dumping all of the candy out on our kitchen table at the end of the night to search for gum, while Luke tried to open every sucker and take a lick. Personally, I searched for the Baby Ruth candy bars. They're my current favorite. I think Merritt and I ate as much candy as the kids, which was a lot. Hopefully we'll survive these next few weeks of sugar overdose. May the force be with me!

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

I had hoped our pumpkins would come from our own garden this year. Sadly, they did not grow much larger than an inch or two. So these beauties came from Safeway. Better luck next year.

Collin wanted to draw a scary face on his pumpkin. I helped him carve it out when he was finished. As he posed for a picture, I asked him to make a face that looks like his pumpkin. Luke followed suit to make for a cute photo.

This was just a precursor to our annual pumpkin party with extended family. We usually get together for a family night to carve pumpkins and enjoy pumpkin pie. This year I planned a special family home evening lesson that made use of some fun family history photos I had recently scanned from Granny's old scrapbooks.

I made an ancestor graveyard using cereal-box tombstones that included the names of fourteen ancestors that had passed on, as well as their birth and death dates. I then handed out a blank pedigree to each family. Families worked together to see who could complete the pedigree the fastest. Of course, to win the race, the pedigree also had to be accurate.

Afterword, we enjoyed looking at old family photos. I had printed out photos of each of the ancestors and we matched them to the tombstone. It helped us put a face to the name. We sang "Family History-I Am Doing It". The song explains to little ones that someday we will have the chance to meet all of these people (our great-grandparents). Our family will be together forever.

We ended with prayer, the anticipated pumpkin-lighting ceremony, and the upside-down pumpkin pie. I look forward to that treat all year. Yum!

Doughnuts & Elephant Poop

2008-10-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

We spent several fun days with Merritt's four siblings in Provo. It was great to see the little cousins having such fun together. The most memorable day began with Riley in the kitchen making the most delicious homemade doughnuts. And he didn't just make doughnuts; he made five different glazes to choose from! We had maple, almond, blueberry, raspberry and chocolate. I have been craving them every day since.

Interestingly, while the adults were enjoying doughnuts indoors the mischievous cousins were outdoors discovering (of all things) the compost pile. They ingeniously determined that the mysterious stench must surely be elephant poop. Then someone apparently had the idea of throwing the elephant poop. Brilliant. A poop-tossing fight ensued. By the time they were caught, every child was covered in slime and reeked of the most revolting smell you can imagine.

We instantly began spraying them down with the garden hose. That removed the "poop" but not the smell. The entire clan of cousins then had to be thrown in the tub and scrubbed from head to toe with soap. It was definitely one of those moments when if it hadn't of been so darn hilarious you would have wanted to slap them all silly for the trouble they had caused.

Of course, being the kind parents that we are, we decided to reward their behavior by taking them all to the Kangaroo Zoo. The Kangaroo Zoo is like kid heaven. It's a huge warehouse full of jumpolines and inflatable slides. I don't think Collin and Luke have ever had so much fun! What a memorable day!

The Mitchell Multiplication Plan is already producing more fun than we could have imagined. With eight cousins under age four and three more on the way, there are sure to be many more fun memories to come! Thanks for showing us a wonderful time. We love you all!

Kangaroo Zoo

2008-10-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Amy's Wedding

2008-10-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Amy and Mitch! We we were so excited and happy we could spend this day at the temple with you. You both looked very happy and the ceremony was beautiful.

Amy, you looked gorgeous! And I loved all of your unique choices for the wedding day decor. They really gave the wedding a special feel that made it all your own. Have a wonderful honeymoon! A Mexican Riviera Cruise sounds like a great way to start your new life together. We love you! All the best!

Arches National Park

2008-10-05T23:10:00.000-07:00

When we found out Amy was engaged and we'd be returning to Utah in the fall, we decided this year's family vacation should be a camping trip at Arches National Park. It would be the perfect time of year to enjoy the beauty of the desert. I love this park, and knew my boys would love it too. What boy wouldn't love rocks to climb, endless sand and roasted marshmallows (or in Luke's case...sandy marshmallows)?

We camped in Devil's Garden and spent two and a half days exploring the park by car and foot. At the beginning of the trip, we told the kids we were going on a scavenger hunt to look for arches. Whether we were driving or hiking Collin was totally engaged in the hunt. Pretty soon Luke got the hang of it, too, and shouted "Archie, archie!" every time he saw an arch.

You know it's a memorable trip when your son comes home and draws you a picture of his family around a campfire and a tent. (So cute.) And what's more, I have a new stamp in my National Parks Passport. (Yipee!) So we figured out a way, yet again, for our family to have a vacation this year (or at least a weekend get-away), despite our limited budget. And thanks to my boys, a weekend get-away did feel like an amazing family vacation. Everything about the park was new and exciting and fun with my boys and my husband by my side.

Monticello Visit

2008-10-05T10:07:00.000-07:00

Merritt's siblings and parents surprised us by joining us last minute at Arches for a day and a night. It was great to spend some time with them. How lucky they are to live so close to such a beautiful place! After packing up camp Saturday morning, we headed further south to Monticello to see their new home and new hometown.

Merritt's parents took us out to lunch. Then after a much needed shower, we watched general conference together and enjoyed some ice-cream. Somehow my husband managed to stay awake in the dark for the five-hour drive back to SLC that night. Ode to candy, caffeine and sunflower seeds!

Happy Birthday Luke!

2008-09-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

Luke is obsessed with the movie Cars. He asks me every day to watch "Speed". So it was pretty easy to find a way to make Luke's 2nd birthday special.

We made a race track cake donning Chick Hicks, Mr. The King, and Lightning McQueen. Then we used some old rain gutters my parents had just taken down off their house to make racing ramps. All we needed were some match-box sized toy cars.

My sister Amy kindly donated her entire Cars collection since we had left ours back home. Every kid at the party seemed to enjoy it. And it was so good to see all the Mitchell cousins! There are nine cousins now (all ages 4 and under), with two more on the way. Wow! That's impressive.

Thank you Uncle Ryan

2008-09-28T22:14:00.000-07:00

Uncle Ryan gave the greatest gift to us. He fixed up this old teeter-totter that we had played with as kids. It had sat in our backyard rusting for the last twenty years. I was surprised to find a fresh coat of blue paint and new wooden seats neatly fashioned at each end. The boys have loved playing on it, and it has been quite nostalgic for me.

My boys favorite gifts always come from Ryan. (Collin still enjoys the light saber he gave him when he was two.) And I really appreciated the time he spent with my boys when he came to visit. He played baseball with Collin and Luke for an hour. They were in heaven. By the way, Collin can hit a fast ball almost every pitch and knock it over the fence or up onto my parents roof. It's pretty amazing. Who needs tee-ball? Sign this kid up for little league baseball!

I took my grandma to the zoo

2008-09-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

I asked Collin what he wanted to do while we were at Grandma's house, and he very decisively said he wanted to go to the zoo. So the zoo was our first excursion. Both grandma and grandpa, as well as Aunt Jill and baby Henry (who is now 8 weeks old) accompanied us on our trip.

Collin loved the elephants, bears, penguins, alligators and gorillas. Luke's favorite seemed to be the giraffes, although he called every animal a cow. My poor country bumpkin had never been to the zoo before.

The highlight for me (and grandpa) was watching Collin get so excited about his camera. He carried his kid-sized digital camera the whole time. He took multiple shots of each animal; he had to get the picture just right. He would say things like the lighting was wrong and try to get a better shot. I wonder who he gets that from?

Hello Henry!

2008-09-28T21:47:00.000-07:00

We've arrived safely in Utah! We had two excuses to come visit: Jill had her first baby and Amy is getting married. Our first order of business upon coming home was meeting baby Henry. Collin loves to hold him, and Luke loves to play with the buckles in his car seat. (He's obsessed with buckles of any kind.) We're so excited that we now have a cousin! And isn't he adorable!

Airport Appreciation Day

2008-08-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

Only in a small town like Florence would there be such a thing as Airport Appreciation Day. I love it! All morning we toured small airplanes and medical helicopters belonging to the hospital and Coast Guard. The kids ate free hot dogs. And after waiting in a very long line, we even got a free ride in an airplane!

Collin was so brave. He loved it. And I got to steer us over the ocean then turn us back around toward Florence. Wow! What a trip! When we arrived home Collin said, "Mom, I want to be a pilot when I grow up." And that's why I love taking my kids to these things. They get inspired, and I get to watch their little minds awaken to all the possibilities in life.

The Circus Came to Town!

2008-08-28T15:43:00.000-07:00

A traveling circus came to town and we were all invited to watch the set up. We went with our new next-door neighbors, Brayden and Camden Linton.

We saw them bathe the elephants and trim their nails to get them ready for the show. We fed the goats and saw a zebra, hippo, ponies, camels and llamas. But the highlight was when they brought out an elephant to help set up the big red circus tent. This was almost as entertaining as the show!

Speaking of the show, Collin loved it; Luke wanted to be in it. He kept trying to run down the bleachers and hop into the ring. So Luke and I ended up outside after intermission. Such is life. But what an exciting event! The circus was gone as fast as they had come--all in one day! Pretty amazing.

Visitors: Miriam, Allan & Josie

2008-08-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

Merritt's sister came to visit with her family this last weekend. It was such a delight to have them! We took them to the Pawn trail, Hobbit's beach, Heceta Head lighthouse, Devil's churn, Newport Bay bridge, Yaqiuna lighthouse and the tide pools. We also had fun visiting with family and playing our new favorite game, Bonanza.

We packed a lot of adventure into our four short days together, but I think the best part for me was watching the cousins become friends. Josie (14 mos.) and Luke (22 mos.) played especially well together. It was adorable to watch. I just couldn't get enough of little Josie and her pigtails. Thanks for making the trip out to Oregon. We hope you had as much fun as we did!

Living with Seizures

2008-08-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

In February, Luke had 4 seizures while recovering from an illness with fever (see photo above). Last Wednesday Luke again had seizures following an illness with fever, but this time he had 20 of them.

His first seizure occurred around 10 AM Wednesday morning. By 12:30 AM that same night he had had twenty of them. A couple of times he had 3-4 seizures in a row, which is considered somewhat dangerous. The doctors finally found a drug that worked (Dilantin) and he began to improve. His seizures stopped.

Unfortunately, he soon began having a severe side effect from one of the drugs he had been given earlier (Keppra). Beginning at 5:00 AM he began to experience extreme irritability and it lasted for the next 72 hours. He had difficulty sleeping and acted like a caged and frightened animal thrashing around in his padded crib.

To make matters worse, the valiam (Diazepam) causes temporary loss of motor skills. Because Luke had been given so much of it (a shot after almost every seizure), it was three days before he could walk, talk and eat again. I missed my little Lukers. I'm glad to have him back.

He's now been put on a maintenance drug called Depakote. We're watching to see if he develops any side effects from this, and hoping this drug will prevent seizures in the future. So far so good!

My interpretation of what is happening is that Luke is experiencing "complex" febrile seizures. Febrile seizures (seizures caused by fever) are common in young children up to age 5. But having more than one seizure in response to fever is not so common, hence the term "complex".

The extensive nature of his seizure activity puts him in a high risk group for developing chronic epilepsy. But there is no way to predict the outcome. All we can do is wait and see. We thank everyone who has helped us and prayed for us. Let's hope for the best!

Swimming with a Shiner

2008-07-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to get pictures of Collin at swimming lessons all week. Luke has not really cooperated, however. The last day of swimming lessons was approaching. I decided this was my last chance. I even gave the boys haircuts the night before so they'd be nice and handsome. But alas, just minutes before it's time to leave for the last swimming lesson tragedy strikes. Luke pushes the front door open and the door knob slams right into Collin's eye. It instantly turns purple and begins to swell. My hopes for at least one great photo are out the window. Oh well. The important thing is that Collin had a great time at his lessons. He was always the last one out of the pool. And now he's got "skills". His skills include floating on his back and moving both his arms in large circles (similar to a back stroke). Very exhilarating for him. I was a very proud mother. And miraculously I did get one picture where the shiner didn't show much. (Mom's got some "skills" of her own.)

Visitors: Grandad & Elena

2008-07-04T06:43:00.000-07:00

Because we live in a small town away from all of our family, we really look forward to having company and visitors. Grandad & Elena are visiting with us this week. We took a drive up the coast yesterday. The weather was perfect and we had a fabulous day.

We visited Cape Perpetua to explore the tidepools, walk around the overlook area, and enjoy a picnic lunch. Then we stopped at Hobbit's beach on the way home. Collin, Grandad and Elena were bravely swimming in the cold ocean, while Luke and I played in the warm sand. Grandad taught the kids how to catch sand crabs. They hunted for them all afternoon, collecting 11 of them by days end.

Grandad told stories to Collin about knights and dragons as we drove down the highway. "Keep telling the story Grandad," he would say every time Grandad got distracted, had to pause, or came to The End. He couldn't get enough. His favorite part was when the knight slept inside a dragon he had slain and awoke the next morning with superhuman strength. Collin is always looking for ways to get stronger and taller. My favorite part was when the knights ate noodles to give them strength before facing the daunting dragon. It got Collin to eat his dinner of noodle soup. We love your stories Grandad!

Stawberry Fields Forever

2008-06-24T10:14:00.001-07:00

We picked strawberries at the farm last Saturday. We've been going to this farm every year since we moved to Florence. And we look forward to this day all year long. These strawberries put all grocery store berries to shame. Texture, size and taste make these the best strawberries you'll ever eat. And boy did we eat a lot of them!

We picked two buckets full ourselves, and purchased two flats more. Needless to say, I've been in the kitchen all weekend. I made SEVEN batches of strawberry jam. We danced in our living room, singing to the Beatles' "Stawberry Fields Forever". I love days like this...when you know you're making a memory.

Our strawberry fest this week will include strawberry smoothies, strawberry and spinach salad, strawberry & mango salsa, strawberry cheesecake, crescent rolls smothered in jam and, of course, peanut butter and jam sandwiches. We've also given many strawberries away. We love to share them with everyone, especially if people have never tasted a fresh-picked strawberry before. I've shared them with those I visit teach, with neighbors, and even the grumpy old man who lives across the street.

Yesterday, Collin was out riding his bike in the circle and the old man apparently told Collin to go home. Collin was in tears. I had to go and talk to him and explain that Collin is allowed to ride his bike in the circle. He was extremely rude to me. His opinion was basically that kids should stay in their own backyards where he can't see them. But after some smooth talking on my part, he finally started to be somewhat agreeable. The problem appeared to be resolved, at least temporarily.

We went back into the house and decided to take him some fresh strawberries. He was still out in his yard when we brought them over. He finally began to speak kindly to us, and we could tell the gesture softened his heart. We definitely put beans in our peacemaker jar after that one! I shed a few tears later that day because it had been so stressful to me. But alls well that ends well. At least it was a good opportunity to teach Collin that "kindness begins with me".

What is C.A.L.M?

2008-06-13T00:47:00.000-07:00

After much pleading on the part of the grandparents, I'm starting a blog for our family. My clever title includes the initials of our first names (Collin, April, Luke and Merritt). And thus we begin to leave our mark on cyberspace.

Preschool Graduation

2008-06-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

Today was Collin's last day of preschool. I attended his graduation tonight. (Merritt stayed home with Luke who was sick...and the NBA finals game just happened to be on.) I know many may think preschoolers don't need graduations, but I decided tonight that they do. It helped me realize how fast time flies. I began to imagine Collin receiving a more legitimate diploma someday, and I admit the thought caused me to get a little teary-eyed. I just want to cherish every minute between now and then.

I love my boys so much.

Collin's glowing report card indicated that his strengths were his social skills. He is courteous, a good friend, a good listener, and works well independently. Miss Kristi said she appreciates most his sense of humor. Collin is always quick to smile and laugh, or do something silly that makes others smile and laugh. Over the summer, she encouraged us to practice naming letters, cutting with scissors, and fastening snaps, buttons and zippers.

It's true. Collin is too lazy to snap, button or zip. And to make matters worse, he is afraid to flush the toilet. Our toilet flooded one day when Collin used it and he hasn't flushed a toilet since! He's also afraid of bumble bees. (This is a fear we share.)

Collin and I are now looking forward to summer. We are excited to spend our days gardening, riding bikes, catching bugs, playing baseball, swimming at the lake, and camping under the stars.

The Birthday Bug

2008-06-09T23:54:00.000-07:00

Collin's birthday party featured bugs, bugs and more bugs. Because Collin's favorite thing to do right now is catch bugs, it wasn't hard for him to choose what he wanted to do for his birthday.

While waiting for the guests to arrive, we painted with balloons to make big green caterpillars. The games began with "I have a little ant and he won't bite you...", a spider crawl relay, and a hunt for "bugs" hidden all over the living room. After an indoor ladybug picnic (it was raining), we made snail slime to play with. Oooooh! And finally, we dug into a dirt cake that was rich and DEE-licious. (Think Oreo meets cream cheese and chocolate pudding.) Hey, how did these worms get in here?

Birthday Wishes

2008-06-09T00:54:00.000-07:00

As for Collin's birthday wishes...he had three. He wanted a two-wheel bike. He wanted to go camping. And he wanted to plant a garden. Collin has been saving seeds from every fruit he eats, impatiently waiting to plant them.

Dad had the great idea of giving Collin his first sleeping bag. We added some marshmallows and promised to take him camping as soon as possible. Mom gifted some gardening tools, gloves, a watering can, and a plethora of seeds. And thanks to Dad, three raised garden beds appeared in our backyard that very morning much to Collin's surprise. We planted seeds that afternoon.

Collin's gift to himself was a two-wheel bike. It took him four years to save $23.35, but he made his first purchase and hasn't regretted it. He rides that bike every day.

But probably the best birthday present of all, was a visit from Collin's grandparents. He loves them very much and misses them already. Thanks to all for making this a fun and memorable day for Collin!