The Polar Express

We visited the North Pole via train last year. While there, we met Santa and Mrs. Claus and told them our Christmas wishes. When the children were done Santa talked to us about the true meaning of Christmas that comes through the birth of Jesus Christ. He talked about how the symbols, like the candy cane, we see at Christmas time can be reminders of Christ's birth. I loved how he took the spirit of fun that comes with Christmas and tied it back to the spiritual side of the holiday. Then, on the train ride back from the North Pole we heard angels singing the Christmas hymns. We had a wonderful night.

Festival of Trees 2013

Ryan and I went to Festival of Trees during the school day last year. It was far less crowded and so much more enjoyable then going on a crowded Saturday afternoon. This year we will be skipping school to go to the Festival of Trees.

 He insisted he wanted to see Santa and sit on his lap.

Football Movie Party

Last year, I was the team mom for Benjamin's football season. After the championship game we had most of the team over for popcorn and a movie. Benjamin had such a great time playing last year, he is playing again this year with most of the same teammates.

They even helped clean up the popcorn mess when the party was over!

Halloween Parade

 Are they going to start soon?

Excuse the fuzziness,

I am moving to fast to be caught on film.

Trick of Treat 2013

Halloween Activities

In 2013, Benjamin was a werewolf, Bekah was Perriwinkle (Tinkerbelle's sister), and Ryan was a minion (yellow creature in overalls) for Halloween. We spent several days dressed up in costumes enjoying some Halloween festivities.

Ryan Turns 3 (2013)

Last year, Ryan turned 3 in October. Since I'm fairly certain I have yet to post pictures, I am posting them now before he turns 4 in a few weeks and I become two birthdays behind.

Lunch Box Notes

Tomorrow is "secret note Friday." It's the one day of the week where I put special notes in the kiddos lunch boxes. Last year I wasn't able to be consistent about it, and because I know how important these notes are to my children I search for other resources online. Thanks to some creative and kind women I was able to download quite a few notes and jokes to print off. Now, I have enough notes to get me through a few months of "secret note Friday"s, and my kiddos have something to look forward to at the end of each week.

I like Leprechauns

There is a controversy about how social media affects are choices, habits, and the elaborateness with which we celebrate holidays and special occasions. Some people ascribe to it. Some people strongly dislike it. I find myself somewhere in between. I love when I can find better ways to enjoy the things I already like and solutions to problems I am already trying to solve.

Take St. Patrick's Day for instance. I'm sure you can find hundreds of things on Pinterest to do to celebrate it. I saw all kinds of posts about making every meal green to going out to eat for green items to elaborate scavenger hunts. I also saw posts about people being upset about the "leprechauns" visiting and their children being left out and criticizing those who overdo the holiday.

Personally, I actually like St. Patrick's day. I like it a whole lot more than Valentine's Day. If I had control I would skip V-day altogether, but since the schools have parties for Valentine's instead of St. Patrick's day we celebrate that to. But, I digress because I was talking about St. Patrick's Day and how I use it as an excuse to buy chocolate "gold" for my kiddos and I. Sometimes the "gold" comes in the form of Rolos spread all over the floor when the kiddos wake up. Sometimes, like this year, the "gold" came in the form of mini Reese's peanut butter cups in a Target bag when the big kids came home from school. Nothing fancy, just something they don't get all of the time as a special treat. The leprechaun isn't even a secret. The kids know it is me, but still enjoy getting a treat on the day most people just wear green.

I think one of the reasons I like St. Patrick's Day (and it's not because we are expected to wear green, because it is not my best color) is because leprechauns come with this idea of finding something good after working really hard to find it. I know not all leprechaun lore is that simple or nice, but I like that idea.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Saddling a Horse, Buckling a Child

When I was little we had horses. One of the horses liked to inflate his belly when he was saddled. After he was saddled, he would exhale and the saddle would be loose. Buckling in my 3 year old with a five point harness car seat is kind of the same experience. Ryan arches his back when he is being buckled in and I have to tell him to put his back against the seat to make sure he is buckled in correctly and everything is the right tension. I don't think he knows about our old horse but he sure acts like him when it comes time to be buckled into the car.

Some Things are Better in a Box

I like squares. I love right angles. I prefer definition and boundaries with the flexibility to expand and grow. I do not like to be closed off and boxed in, but there are some things I greatly prefer to have very well defined, clean cut boundaries and definitions like

• Contract terms
• Date and place of an event, and starting on time
• Paid time off
• When a paycheck arrives and how much it will be
• Cost of service or product before making a purchase
• Picture frames
• Yards, flower beds, and fences
• Shoveled sidewalks
• Quilt blocks
• Furniture arrangements
• Tables
• Bulk items
• Presents
• Responsibilities in work or church
• Rules of a game or a situation
• Items packed for moving

Maybe I box myself in. Maybe I feel safest when I have a starting line and a goal in mind. When someone says "the sky's the limit" I want to know most of the possibilities and challenges by name before I start reaching. I really do like right angles and squares. 

A Case of the Mondays

l work 7 days a week. l usually can't tell the difference between the days of the week other than having a different set of tasks to accomplish. However, I occasionally have what other people refer to as "a case of the Mondays."

The day started out fine. I did some cleaning and went to the temple with some ladies in our neighborhood. Then I picked up Ryan and came home.....

• Ryan insisted he needed more lunch, which he didn't eat, and wouldn't take a nap.
• Finally convinced him to take a nap and the school calls to tell me Bekah missed the bus.
• Wake up Ryan and go get Benjamin from the bus stop so we can go get Bekah and find out he didn't notice she had missed the bus.
• Get to the school and find out the school had tried to call me a couple of timesbefore they were able to get through through.
• Take the kids to run some errands and find out the product l intended to order was a much poorer quality than l anticipated, and I couldn't find what I needed at the next store. 
• Received an email about Benjamin's poor behavior at school today.
• The kids insisted on pushing and shoving each other in the stores to see who can make the other one cry first.
• It took me four phone calls to find someone to help get Benjamin to his pack meeting tonight, a meeting all four families are supposed to go to, because l had another meeting Come up at the same time.

l am so glad that every day isn't like this. We even managed to accomplish a few of the things we set out to do this afternoon. Hopefully, tomorrow won't be as exciting.

Conversations in the Car

Today I traveled to a baby shower about an hour away, and rather than travel by myself this time I asked a mutual friend to go with me. Visiting with her made the trip to and from the shower so much more fun. We talked about everything and anything, and didn't try to provide solutions for each other's challenges. It's been a really long time since I've had that much fun and ease talking with another woman. It was very revitalizing and enjoyable. I need more talks like today's visit.

Tracks in the Snow

I like to shovel snow. I REALLY like to shovel snow. My favorite part of winter is watching it snow......and shoveling the snow. I'm not much for playing in the snow, but I like to shovel it. I have even shoveled half the  sidewalks and driveways on my block on occasion just so I can be outside while it is snowing and do something that keeps me warm.

Each of our kiddos has a snow shovel just their size so they can help me if they feel the need to be outside when I am working. The older two mostly use the shovels to build mountains in the yard. The littlest one wants to actually help. I'm sure you can imagine how much help a 3 year old is in clearing a driveway or the sidewalk, but he sure wants to help.

Today he was "helping" and I told him several times to keep the snow off the driveway Mommy had already shoveled. He turned, looked at me, and dumped another shovel-full of snow on the driveway. When I finally told him I wanted the driveway clean and to put the snow in the yard it was like a little light went on and he said, "Clean? No snow? Okay." Then, with shovel in hand, he plodded over to the snow covered sidewalk and proceeded to scoop snow from the sidewalk into the yard from the corner of the driveway to the side fence (the length of about two houses.) Not clearing the sidewalk, but removing a little bit every few steps until he had covered part of the entire sidewalk. He left me a very steady trail of shovel tracks in the snow. I was so touched by his desire to help and his diligence in trying to follow directions. This time, clearing our long sidewalk took less effort and determination then it usually does.

I like to shovel snow and maybe my children will also like to shovel snow. For now, I am grateful for this bright spot in my day with a little boy who did his best to help given his current level of understanding.

Computer Errors & Family Newsletter

I had this awesome, thoughtful post I was going to publish yesterday. Unfortunately, BlogSpot was giving me an error message. Now, I can't remember what I was going to post about.

Here's a copy of our family newsletter for 2013 instead:

Another year has come to a close. With the busyness of December I decided to send out New Year's letters instead of Christmas letters. It has given me something to do while the kiddos are on Christmas break and enjoy their Christmas presents. 

We have a lot of interesting experiences this year and are looking forward to more in 2014.

In February we decided to redo our kitchen and repair the damage to the floor from a builder's flaw. We were able to complete the project which included stripping and refinishing cabinets, grinding down the floor to make it level, tiling the floor, ordering and installing countertops, and surviving the whole process in 10 weeks. I am loving having almost twice as much counter space for cooking and baking as well as enough storage space to keep everything organized.

At the end of the summer we signed up to have Benjamin participate in 3rd Grade tackle football. He loved being a part of a team and the camaraderie that came with being part of a team of 23 boys who practiced three days a week and had games every Saturday for three months. It was fun to see him conquer such a challenging sport with enthusiasm.

In October, we found out Michael's company was closing the Utah office and we began the search for a new job. Luckily, he found one here in Utah so we weren't blessed with the challenges of moving to find a new job. He is liking his new job with Mastery Connect more and more.

Our children have also done some great things this year.

Bekah turned 6 in April, finished half day Kindergarten, and now goes to school all day. Homework wears her out but she always has something new and exciting to share with us that she learned at school. She makes friends easily, loves dressing up and doing girly things like make up and playing house, and her favorite color is still pink. Pink everything!

Benjamin turned 8 and was baptized in May. I can't believe he is old enough to be baptized! We are proud of his decision to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his efforts to be more Christ-like. He started Cub Scouts and earned his Wolf badge in September, just 4 months after his birthday. He is constantly reading and full of energy. We can't seem to keep his active mind occupied with enough good things because he is always hungry for more.

Ryan turned 3 in October and keeps me company while the other two are at school all day. He is a good shopping buddy. He decided in the middle of football season he was big enough to use the potty and I am excited for no more diapers at our house! He knows his colors, is learning his numbers, and keeps track of where everyone is at all of the time. He is happiest when we are all together even if that means he has to share Mom and Dad with his brother and sister.

Hope all is well with you and yours!

Michael, Charlynn, Benjamin, Bekah, & Ryan

2013 Resolutions in Review

My resolutions for 2013 were

• Potty train Ryan.
• Help Bekah improve her reading skills and adjust to all day school.
• Find more positive ways for Benjamin to express his abundance of energy.

Ryan decided he was ready to be potty trained on his own terms. We tried several times during the year, but he wasn't ready until shortly before his birthday, in the middle of football season, and the same I decided to volunteer at the school for an extra hour each week. But, we did it!

Bekah likes going to school all day and even manages to eat all of her lunch in between chatting and playing with friends.

Benjamin really enjoyed football and now we have him do "bear crawls" to burn off his extra energy.

Building Patterns of Love

My Aunt Wendy posted an article titled "20 Things Our Parents Did That We Don't." The bullet points included

1. Send thank you notes.
2. Shake hands.
3. Collect things, specifically when it comes to kids.
4. Stand up straight.
5. Have dinner parties.
6. Take walks.
7. Have Family reunions.
8. READ!
9. Spring clean.
10. Volunteer.
11. Call our moms.
12. Sleep over.
13. Make a casserole.
14. Say our prayers.
15. Watch the sky.
16. Play board games.
17. Gift just because.
18. Go out for ice cream.
19. Read aloud.
20. Take a drive.

I guess I'm doing pretty good because we do all of these things. Some more than others, but I do them all with my children.

Personality Aura

Every once in a while I take these silly personality tests that my friends share on Facebook. Most of the time they are good for a laugh. Today I took one that described me pretty well, and it did make me laugh.

"Personality: Blue’s are very loyal and can be the truest friend any aura could hope to find. On the inside, blues tend to be emotional and even a bit moody. However, you know that other auras depend on you, so you put on a strong front. They tend to live a quiet but enriching life. Blues are very giving of them and is hard to let go of relationships. They believe the key to living a good life is simple: Be as honest with yourselves and others as possible. They value the truth over everything else. Blue will remain loyal to those who are honest with them, even if their honesty hurts. Compared to most other auras, blues handle the truth very well. They take every event into stride. Blues are the calm spot in a sea of chaos. They think that the solution to most problems is open communication; they wish that people would be more real with each other. A Blue personality uses its five physical senses to access information. An emotionally driven personality, you need to be liked and accepted. It is one of the "needs" that can cause apprehension in your personality. You are a polite, cooperative person who seeks to create conflict-free surroundings. You possess highly developed powers of observation. Family is important to you and you sometimes find yourself in the role of being a caretaker. You are conservative, reliable and trustworthy - you are quite trusting of others although you are very wary in the beginning until you are sure of the other person. You are not impulsive- you always think before you speak and act and do everything at your own pace in your own time. You take time to process and share your feelings. You are genuine and sincere, and you take your responsibilities seriously. You have a deep need for peace and harmony in your everyday life. You appear to be confident and self-controlled, but may be hiding your vulnerable side. You are generally fairly even-tempered, unless your emotions take over - then you can become either moody and over-emotional, or cool and indifferent. You are sensitive to the needs of others. While you are friendly and sociable, you prefer the company of your own close group of friends. You are a rescuer and love to be needed. You can be rigid - you like to stick to what is familiar to you- you stubbornly do things your way even if there is a better way. Untidiness and unpredictability overwhelm you. You don't like to draw attention to yourself. While you don't like to have discord or conflict in your life, you are often the cause of conflict with others; you can be quite manipulative but in a very subtle way.
You make a loyal and faithful marriage partner and you are an honest, trustworthy and sincere friend. You are aware of others feelings and sensitive to the moods of others. You are approachable and friendly, always making people feel welcome in your life. You have a thirst for knowledge in order to gain wisdom and appear knowledgeable in whatever area interests you. You can be too cautious and worry about every little thing."

Count Your Blessings

I recently started working part time in a volunteer capacity (one of those unpaid positions that gives you more experience than you bargained for). I had no idea what I was in for when I agreed to do it. However, despite some intense growing pains it has been very good for our family and I have experienced some blessings along the way.

• My husband is more involved in helping me do the shuffle to get everything and everyone out the door to practices and games. (Bekah is in soccer and Benjamin is in football. No, I didn't plan it that way. Things came together like that in the end.)
• I have learned the value of prayer to help sooth my anxiety and give me strength to complete the tasks I need to.
• I have received courage to talk to people I would normally be terrified to talk to.
• I am learning how to stand up for myself in a confident and kind way.
• I am learning to let things people say and do not bother me in a way that will make me hold it against them. Not a simple thing when it is easier to let things fester and hold a grudge.
• The important document I need for each game, I printed enough copies for the regular season before my printer stopped working.
• People are actually helping when I least expect it.
• I still find time to take care of my house and children.

"That" Person

We all have a list of people we don't want to be like. For example, I never wanted to be "that person who yells at her kids" or "that person who doesn't spend enough time with her kids" or "that person who's kids look like they need their clothes cleaned and their hair combed." The longer I'm a mother, the more compassion and understanding I develop for "that" person.

You see, I used to have a long list of people I judged to be inadequate human beings. Now, I have an even longer list of people I sympathize with because I have walked in their shoes. I find myself now saying "that person needs a smile" or "that person needs a kind comment" or "that person needs some empathy."

Raising kids is hard work. Judging others instead of helping them makes it even harder. I am no longer afraid of being "that person" because each time it happens I learn a little bit more about being human and having compassion for someone else. I cannot say I am over being embarassed when something happens, but I am learning to be more compassionate.