A wonderful Man, of God

President Hinckley died tonight at 7:00 p.m..

It was like a chain reaction of calling within our family that only took minutes, Paul's Grandmother, Caren , Ruth, me, Marta, Paul, etc,etc. Paul called to tell me while I was on the phone telling Marta.
I sat the kids down to tell them, they were holding the photograph that we have of him and Abbi says, "Goodbye, see you in Heaven" and then she put the photo face down on the couch next to her. Abbi showed "President Hinckley" to her 15 month old brother and he started kissing him....

Being that only six years ago I got into the church and before then the families I grew up with did not discuss the hierarchy of the church. I could see the Bishop up there at the pulpit and that was what I knew, so President Hinckley is the only Prophet that I have known. I love and adore this man . The books that he wrote, the talks that he gave, all so amazing and awe inspiring. I loved listening to him and seeing him at conference. A man of God I know that he is. I am so glad that he is home with his wife
Till We meet Again!

I tried posting my comment on ksl but it was having issues!

My Dear Husband

Okay I just saw this on Emily's blog and thought that it would be fun.
What’s his name? Paul Aaron
How long have you been together? 8 years and 6 months
How long did you date? 2 years and three days
Our seven year wedding anniversary this year!!!
How old is he? 26
Who eats more? have no idea, Paul doesn't eat much at home but who knows at work, I don't think that he gets much of a chance to eat there either
Who said I love you first?Paul said it first, really early on in our relationship, he was so sure of how he felt and of what he wanted. He walked me home on a dark warm night and he told me before I went in, I didn't say anything, I just kept walking and went inside.
Who is taller? Paul by about 8 inches
Who is smarter? Paul is really smart with computers, cars,etc. One day I will go back to school and find out what I am "smart" in.
Who does laundry? I do, having three children and a husband that needs clothes it has to be done, and once to twice a week! And when they run out of certain clothes that they need I am skimming through the basket to find that particular piece. Recently it is panties for our middle one!
Who does the dishes? I do. Every once in a while I can get him to do them.For example, last night it was wonderful. It was a night that he was home and he chose to do them! Very, very nice...didn't have to do the dishes last night or wake up to a sinkful because I didn't do them last night! Thank yoU Paul!
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? In the bed or facing the bed? Facing the bed,he's on the right. In the bed, I'm on the right.
Who pays the bills? The money to pay the bills is provided by him. I type in the amount, click ok and configure it all in the check book.
Who mows the lawn?I love to mow the lawn, but this back yard is too much for me, going up that hill. He mowed the lawn all last year and now this year the new owners are hiring out help.
Who cooks dinner? I do with children hanging off of my legs and screaming(Paul works nights)
Who drives when you are together? Almost always Paul, he hates being the passenger. Says it makes him sick. Every once in a while I get to drive and feel special. Though he IS a better driver, I will proudly admit that!
Who is more stubborn? Paul with some things, me with others
Who kissed who first? I kissed him first, he was kinda wasn't sure about it before that point. We were in the alley way at Vae View Elementary.
Who asked out who first? He "asked me out".
Who proposed? Paul, harvest dance sophomore year
Who has more siblings? Paul does, he has 3 biological bros & 1 sister and 1 step brother and sister. I have 1 sister and three brothers. So he outnumbers me by two!
Who wears the pants in the family? Pants? We both do!
I’m tagging anybody who wants to brag about their husband/boyfriend. It’s a really fun tag!

Tissue Blowing

Kacen gets really upset when we clean off his nose with a tissue. He like any child loves independence, yesterday he found a tissue, picked it up and blew his own nose! And now I can hand him a tissue and tell him to blow his nose and he does, it is so cute my little 14 mo old blowing his nose.
Don't mind my voice, before the camera started working I gave him the tissue and asked him to blow his nose.

Resolved

At the beginning of the year, for two years now we have had a Family Home Evening on new goals for the year. And this year we were able to see how we did with last years goals and able to make some new ones.
We have six goals, one for Home and Family,Interests and Hobbies, Spiritual, Physical, Friends and School.
My goals for last year were
*Reading ten books! I ended up reading eight of them and enjoyed most of them quite thoroughly.
I read Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse and was down trodden when I was completed with the books. New book to come this year!
I read I am a Mother...this book is great, it really gives you a boost as a mother, consistently stating that it is an amazing work and that I and other one of these alike should be proud to say when asked what I do.." I am a Mother!"
I read Christlike Parenting, this is a great book. Dr.Glen Latham is a great writer and Doctor, helping many parents to face the challenge of raising children and especially evaluating the way that you reproach everything and seeing if it is Christlike. He also wrote:The Power of Positive Parenting which is one of the books that American Mothers Inc has on their reading list.
I read Crossroads, this was a great book, a conversion story took to me and hooked my mind in interest.
I read All Moms Go to Heaven by Dean Hughes. It was a good book, though not what I expected. He related stories and experiences of raising children and a short period of when he had to stay home with his kids, thinking that he would get some time to write, since he is a writer and he was amazed at how little time that he had and how much children took.
*Exercising every day for a month...maybe I did that last January?
*Be more relaxed, play more with children. I think that we did that, I spent many times and have many pictures of teaching them new things and being happy watching them learn and share with others. I may not have a great imagination or creativity like dad, but I can teach my children,enjoy what I know how to do and take care of them.
*Sit by someone new at church. I have done this at least once. The constant shift of people moving in and out of our ward made this easily possible. Though for the past few months Kacen doesn't like me to attend any classes. I am looking forward to reading the new Joseph Smith Manual.
*Learn how to knit...I did not succeed at this one. Hopefully some time soon I can accomplish a feat like this or something similar.

My goals for this year are as follows:
Teach children the importance of exercise, do it with them.
Make a new cover for high chair
Pray more fervently
Get to pre-pregnancy weight
Reach out to others
learn more sign language
We have also resolved to help each other reach their goals. So I get to teach the girls how to give a Family Home Evening lesson. Teach Abbi her colors and her shapes, set the table, hit a baseball and put on her own shirt.Alona has a goal of being more reverent, playing with her friends more often which is difficult I am afraid of letting her walk down the road with how busy that it is and there are only two other children within her age range and one of them is usually in school or doing home work. Working with Alona on reading and writing two letter words is another goal, she also wants dance and piano lessons! And then Kacen gets to learn how to fold his arms, build blocks, kick a ball, learn more words, etc. things that come almost naturally for a one year old.

Let it Snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

So we were crazy and drove through the snow storm on Thursday night. When we left Provo around 4:00. There was not even a flurry comin down from the sky. Past the point of the Mountain, it came down hard and fast and took three hours almost to get from Provo to Roy. "Are we going to be there soon?," was said many times. We stayed the night at my Great-Grandma's house and were able to visit with my aunt and her family. We opened the window for part of the night, my grandma likes it really warm! Kacen had to have a car ride to get to sleep at 11:00 and then woke up an hour later and stayed awake wiggling and screaming until three thirty. I got in the car at 2:40 and drove him around, I went to Wal-Mart being very desperate to sleep, went there to get medicine thinking that it would do something for him. I got there and I had no way to pay, so I drove back and got a card and he was so calm at Wal-Mart, passive to say the least. He took the medicine at Wal-Mart and on the way back he fell right to sleep. I made Kacen an appointment thinking that his ear infections hadn't gone away, but nope the Doctor says that his ear infections are on the way out so who knows why he was up so late, so ornery or how much his ears were really bugging him, maybe he just REALLY doesn't like staying at someone else's house. But thank heaven the medicine worked. The kids were all so excited about Kacen's gobble and go hippo that he got from them. Abbi got a baby and Alona a part of the "my little pet shop".
We had fun at Grandma and Grandpa's too! We made Gingerbread house this year out of Graham crackers, ice cream cones and PLENTY of candy. Alona decorated most of her own and Abbi had fun putting candy on her roof. They each got an m&m container with a piece to a train on it that we got to bring home!Abbi dumped out all of her m&m's and ate the majority of them before even decorating. She was really enjoying herself. We played instruments and Kacen had a lot of fun. Abbi was a little energizer bunny. You should have seen her, it was like she is every night, but that night she had an audience! Alona had fun performing too. Then we did pizza and presents, oh how I love Papa Johns! We gave them homemade presents, framed feet and hand prints of the kids with pictures. The girls are having fun with their coloring books and Kacen's train that he got. Alona made a circle with the connecting parts of the train track.
Kacen was so darn fun opening presents at my aunts house. He was great at ripping off the paper and then would attempt to hand you the paper, but ooh..it was a trick! He wouldn't really give it to you. He would also throw some on the floor. A few pieces he would tear up and then put some pieces back on the present like he was trying to put it back on. So fun to watch. He was so afraid of the dogs, if he was so close that there was almost no way out, he would scream and cry hysterically, he really freaked out but if he was close enough to mom to get to me without the dogs, he would freak out and then come to me as fast as he could.
Abbi our little animal lover that would open her mouth and laugh as the doggies licked the inside of her mouth as a ten month old, still loves the dogs. She goes up and pats the back of them and tells them what to do. She also still loves to give them kisses, but now closes her mouth.
We went to my sisters house as our last stop and went out in the 23 degree weather to go on a hayride in the Layton Park. Alona loved to watch the lights and see all the things that they had, a mermaid, an elephant, a bear climbing a tree a choo-choo train that little Abbi couldn't see and so many other things. We had fun though we were all so cold. The kids got Five Little Monkeys jumping on the Bed from aunt Crystal and her kids. Alona wanted to stay at their house and play the game with her kids. It was our last stop, so it was too late to stay and play, it looks like such a cute game.
Kacen says"WOO-WOO! and sings to that tune. He also says cracker and Nuh-Nuh for Alona and more words, but I can't think right now.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Our Christmas tree is beautiful! We all got in the van and were ready to take our whole family to pick a Christmas tree. We pulled out of the driveway and headed North, less than ten seconds later. We were out of gas.
Paul's comment before we had left was something to the effect of the van is on empty! Yeah I told him, I've already driven at least twenty miles on empty. So what it will just make it out of the driveway, he said. And that is what it practically did.
He pulled into one of the streets passed the stop light and went to get the gas can. He came back and me and the children decided to stay home. The girls were very distraught that they didn't get to pick the tree with daddy, but were excited when he brought it home. Alona did an awesome job decorating it, she put almost all of the ornaments on all by herself and she hung the garland on the bottom of the tree. Abbi didn't quite get the concept of hanging ornaments and is very distraught that she cannot carry around the pieces of the nativity around in her little purses and buckets like her "little people" they will break. One of these days we will have to get a child friendly nativity set.Abbi was so cute, she went through the different decorations wearing them. She really liked the silver beads.
Kacen played with the ornaments and found the breakables first. Yesterday he walked to the tree and took off his Baby ornament that was given to him last year(it has a bell on it, so he really enjoys this one) and took another ornament and ran away laughing, So adorable! He is walking almost everywhere now. It is more than five steps, I promise Papa, wish you were all around him more to see. He went to nursery with me on Sunday(today!) I was asked to fill in. They have about fifteen nursery kids and two nursery people. The nursery leaders keep moving out. He really enjoyed it, though at lesson time he just wanted to push the little chairs into the teacher and singing was more of running around and crumpling up the papers that he was given. And to Abbi I seemed invisible, she crawled up on another Mother's lap and said "I want to go to your house!" Didn't bother me one bit that child! She is really good with the other children, a little withdrawn at first, she really loves to play and build, has a great imagination.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

We went to Fiesta Navidenia on Monday at the Provo Library or in English, Christmas party. We waited in line for an hour to see Santa! They were really good sports. Santa did a good job. Alona so noticed the difference between this Santa and the Santa that was at the mall. Like, "Mom why is his beard longer." "His boots are different." One day we will tell her about "Helpers" but for now it is fun to believe that they are Santa. "His beard grows fast", I told her.
They had ornaments to make. Paper Christmas trees that we glued buttons on. We all did our own, they are all unique and awesome. There was hot chocolate that tasted like coffee. Alona wouldn't touch the stuff. She had never tasted coffee before and she immediately tasted this and said, "Ew, yuck this is coffee, I don't want it." Abbi enjoyed it ALL! There were paper Santa Claus and snowmen that we put on sticks, colored and put cotton balls on. And now we are able to sing Santa songs and Frosty the Snowman with it. And the last part was the singing and dancing. Abbi was mezmorized and Kacen sat still! They didn't want to leave by 8:45. The Dancing was awesome, it was like Hispanic square dancing. Abbi consented to sit with Santa, I had to tell her that we could send a picture to Grandma! And that worked, though she was a little confused. She thought that Grandma would be there when we took the picture. At the mall last week when they saw Santa, Abbi wouldn't go near him.."I don't want to see him." "I don't like Santa." She seriously said those things. She had to have the elves help her get the candy cane. She wouldn't go to close to HIM. The Santa at the Library gave out a bagful of treats! WOW! They were happy all night, and they can all open their own treats, well except for Kacen:)


I managed to get some stocking stuffers at the store while shopping with my children and they didn't notice, probably will be my last time with that. Alona noticed the treats at the register and just thought that it was like the checkout candy, "can we have some." I commented, would you like to have some candy like that in your stocking? "Yes" "I will tell Santa!"
We were at the grocery store and this lady with white hair walks by our cart.
Abbi:"Thats a Grandma"
Alona: Thats not a Grandma, that's a really old MOM."
Just thought that was so darn cute, had to put it on here so that I could remember it.
And Five times a day..."When is it going to be Christmas??"

Once there was a Snowman

Friday was the big snow storm and Saturday during the hour or so that we had with Dad, Paul and the kids built a snow man. By Sunday, the song was so true, "In the sun he melted, melted, melted, small, small, small."His face was missing and his nose was drooping wearily down to the ground. The picture was taken Saturday night, he was in pretty good shape and more had fallen on him.
And then today, me and the kids spent a few minutes outside. Kacen tried eating the misplaced parts, noses aren't for eating, silly boy! Alona made her own snowman and it was so cute, I took a picture of her snowman and she got up next to it and I had to take a picture of her and her snowman, her next to her masterpiece. And then got a picture of Abbi next to a snowman, as you can see it would be a lie to say that she made this snowman on her own, though it is her snowman :) We had fun. The pictures remind me where Kacen's hat is.
My grandpa is in the hospital, I really wish that I lived closer so that I could just drop by and visit him. It worries me, you never know how long that you have with anybody. Losing my dad at eleven years old showed me that.
Semi-warm afternoons in the snow making snowmen make winter worth it, I am so glad to have my children to share it with.