Snowclives

Before my big trip to Sam's Club on this particular Saturday, I dropped S and the kids off at the neighbor's perfect sledding hill. And then I went on my way, filling my tummy with all the yummy samplage they had to offer.

When I returned, I found this (the next four pictures are from Valerie, who always seems to be there when my camera freezes, and also takes such lovely pictures, I wish I could just have her be our family photographer!):

Below, Campbell enjoys her "shower" (run-off from the roof). She enjoyed this shower almost as long as I enjoy my own, hot, quiet, just-mom-time showers, which is a long time. Well, maybe it wasn't as long as my showers, but considering that it was cold water that was soaking her clothes, it was pretty long. And she was pretty wet.

"Crowing the queen". Cadence was not happy with a baseball cap as a headpiece for the queen. Holden, who provided the hat, was.

Snow baby. Campbell was jealous of the pacifier.

Spencer and Cadence hug their snowselves, while Campbell tries to get cozy enough with the snow-Layla to take her pacifier.

Snow Mom. Sometimes I have really long, blond hair. Like on halloween, I guess. And in snowform.

Just wanted you to see the yard in this one. Everbody else's yard had a couple of inches of snow left on it. You'll notice our snow is all gathered in. Cadence wouldn't quit until she used every last bit.

Happy Winter, from the Snowclives!

Stay Gold, Ponyboy...

Found this picture the other day--

L to R: Me, Robyn (with Baby Benjamin), LuAnn (with JackJack), Katie, Amanda, Melanie, Monica. At a ward picnic near Lake Michigan, just before a torrential rain sent us to the tunnel, which then flooded, so we were forced to go all the way home in the rain. By the time we got to the car, we couldn't have been wetter if we had snorkeled our way to the parking lot.

Sigh. Some of a great big handful of very very wonderful women and friends that I depended upon, learned from, laughed with, was blessed by, grew alongside, and loved. I miss Chicago and I miss those women. Here are some more:

Sarah and Daddy Eric, Chauncey with Maxwell, Tiffany with Jackson, Katie N, Eva with Hannah ( Cam in the foreground). This is at "preschool graduation", with the other members of our co-op).

What would we do without Mimi? And Josh? And Matt and his blender?

Eryn, Rachel and her son, and I at Graduation

Me and Eryn at Graduation. I had to include this one because Eryn bent down so that I could look taller. What a pal :)
Gina, Baby Maeve, Reese, and Cliff-- What a family, eh?




Kai, Me, Eryn, with Eva and possibly Melanie (can't quite tell?) in the back.

Tony, Yanni, and Robert with the Clives. You can't see him but little Simey is back there, too. That's who I'm looking at, laughing because he was certain he should be in the picture, too.

There are many, many more. These are just a few of the ones that I have pictures of.

Nothing Gold Can Stay
by Robert Frost (1874-1963)

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Stay Gold, Ladies.

Snow Day, Child

Snow Days are the reason I never want to leave Arkansas. I've never lived anywhere where the entire community agrees that when it snows, it's best for us all if we just stay indoors. That is what I'm talking about!!!

This includes working professionals, which means that Daddy gets to stay home, too. Not only is that awesome because

1) I had a real reason to shower, dress, do my hair AND wear makeup all in one day,
or because 2) I get to bug him all day under the pretense of "can I get you a drink" or "can I massage your shoulders so that I can trick you into listening to me discuss the ironies of children's television?" or

3) I feel I have a reason to keep things under control, or even

4) I just love when he gets to quietly observe what my entire day is like, it makes me feel appreciated and justified in not having every little thing in order at the end of the day---

No, the real reason it is awesome is that the kids get to go out sledding until they are all rosy-cheeked and wored out, and I don't have to step a foot outdoors, except to take a couple of pictures.

"Do something awesome with your arms!"

"Daddy, Ah eat da 'noman!"

rosy cheekies

Apparently still eating "da 'noman":

I love you, snow days. I'm never, never going to leave you.

By the way, this wasn't the first snowday this winter. Last snowday (which was the first) was only about a quarter inch of snow and so Spencer still went to work. So I spent 25 minutes rushing like mad trying to get all four of us ready to play in the snow, including dressing Campbell twice, (layers on, layers off, layers on, enter tears...) and it was so cold and the girls were so worn out from getting bundled... We didn't even last more than 5 minutes. Today was much better.

Things that make me smile

I like my kids. They do a lot of cute things.

Cadence spends most of her Mondays telling me that tonight is her night to teach the lesson for Family Home Evening. She does get an unfair amount of lesson assignments. The girl loves to be in charge and to have a captive audience. She gets up in front of us and speaks with great authority and poise.

Tonight she (we) taught the lesson on the scriptures and our family goal to read them every day this year. I tell her in her ear some things to say and she says them and then improvises, then I bring her back to the lesson with another whisper in her ear. Tonight after she taught us about the scriptures I said it was time for Dad to read to us from our "Book of Mormon Stories" book, and she stopped me and said sternly, "No, we'll take a volunteer. Is there anybody who will volunteer to read this? Uh, Dad, YOU. You get to be the one since you're the only one sitting over there."

During the reading, Cadence interrupted every single sentence to insert her incorrect commentary, such as, "See, that's Nephi" (Nope, Lehi.) etc. Here are some of my favorite comments:

Spencer: "Most of the people living in Jerusalem 600 yrs before the birth of Christ were wicked. God sent prophets to tell them to repent, but they would not listen."

Cadence:"But, how did they know? God wasn't even a grown up yet!"

After reading the whole story:

Cadence: "This all happened a long time before we came to the earth!"

Spencer: "Before there were even had T.V.s,"

Cadence: "And they didn't even have homes yet!"

Spencer: "Well, they had homes, but they didn't have..."

Cadence: "Chairs!"

Spencer: "Well, they had chairs, but not couches like this. They didn't have cars but they could get around on camels, or donkeys, or..."

Cadence: "YoYos!"

That's basically how any scripture reading goes with her. Or any conversation, for that matter.

Cadence and her "Prince Gabin"

Cadence has recently learned to read! She can read sight words like bob, dot, has, at, peg, Netflix, Disney, and Tangled. Today she read milk and number. We're so proud of her and she's so excited about it. The only struggle is that she is so excited that she tends to get a little ahead of herself. This is a common problem, I know. But any suggestions on this?

Campbell's communication has increased and improved quite a bit in the last few months. Oh, please bless that it stays just the way it is now. She has the cutest way of talking. The other day she kicked her foot into a baby-seat and hurt herself while dancing. She came to my lap and said, "Mommy, ah needa goda hosspidoh!" She often says things like, "Ah takita off!" (I take it off). Her "mank you" or "bake you" always delight Spencer and I. Along with that, she's such a parrot! She spends at least 75% of waking hours copying everything she hears. Cadence used to get really frustrated and annoyed with it, but I don't even think she notices anymore.

One thing that always cracks me up is that anytime she senses the threat of bedtime or naptime coming on, she blurts out, "ahmohning Mommy!" ("Good Morning, Mommy").

She still insists on a dress every day. She also insists I do her hair, which she pretty much always pulls out, anyway. She has learned from her sister to accessorize and I have found her several times with elastic head bands meant for babies double wrapped around her wrists and ankles, along with little hair bands on her fingers for rings. Every once in a while she gets her hands on a marker while my back is turned and she applies her eveningwear makeup.

Campbell dressed up

Layla is sick, bless her chubby little heart. The last couple of nights she's woken up quite upset. The first night I awoke to her screaming and ran upstairs expecting to see blood or a serious injury, but she was just sitting there, feeling very upset. I picked her up and noted a fever and an intense heart-rate. I sat down with her handing her a bottle.

She took the bottle but instead of drinking it, launched into a story. She was describing something with great enthusiasm, even gesturing with her hands from time to time. After story time I took her downstairs to find some medicine and I handed her off to Spencer while I searched for the thermometer. She told him a story, too. As soon as I lifted her to place her back in the crib she started shaking like crazy and talking up a storm again, clutching my robe tight. So we sat back down in the rocking chair and snuggled until she relaxed and fell asleep. It was a precious moment. A little more precious than when she barfed on me today.

You know, there are a lot of moments of guilt with the third child. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels like that child is just getting ripped off. But on the other hand, those midnight moments when they need you so have never been sweeter for me than with the third, who hardly ever gets that kind of attention from me otherwise. And who appreciates it more, accepts it more.

Layla has added to her vocabulary the words "bottle" ("doe-doe") and "diaper", which sounds just like that, except it seems to always have a question mark at the end.

Oh, oh! And I feel like I can predict pretty acurately that she has inherited that funny, froggy little voice that Cadence once had. Yay!!!

I announced yesterday that the new rule of the family is that NOBODY CHANGES OR GROWS UP AT ALL ANYMORE! EXCEPT CAMPBELL CAN LOSE THE TWO-YEAR-OLD 'TUDE, BUT STAY THE SAME OTHERWISE! Everybody stopped what they were doing to look and listen to this proclamation. Then Cadence just said, "Okay." And they moved on. Good. I can smile about that thought.

Christmas 2010--belated. Don't judge.

Sighhhhhh, I love Christmas. Here are some memories from Christmas 2010:

Our ward Christmas party began with small-group carolling to some of the less-active members or to those who have a hard time getting out to church. It was so much fun!

We also got to meet Santa. When I told Cadence that she would meet Santa at the church party, she excitedly asked, "Mom, you mean I'm going to get to hang out with Santa!?!" They COULD NOT wait.

Here Cadence tells Santa all about the picture she colored just for him:

campbell and santa

layla and santa
I felt so bad! But I had to try.

The week before Christmas-week, I had spent a lot of time baking, making homemade gifts, and dipping pretzels, and thank goodness I had. Because the Flu was our only Christmas visitor. Spencer seemed to be sick for a few days, but he toughed it out pretty well. Cadence and I got it, too, but the babies never did (thank goodness). Cadence ran a fever on and off for three days and was very fatigued and had a head ache and other aches and pains going on. She was miserable.

Christmas Eve came and we thought we'd seen the worst of her symptoms, but instead she got worse.

That evening, just as we were setting up for our "Shepherds' Dinner" (dress up like shepherds and wisemen and eat hummus, couscous, pita bread, etc.) old Murphy put his law to work. (Dang you, Murphy!)

It was a peaceful, serene moment, something that never happens at our house. I was playing on the floor with Cam and Layla and looked up to see Cadence shivering on the couch, her eyes a little glazed. I got up on the couch and held her on my lap, trying to warm her. Spencer was building a cozy little fire in our fireplace. Just then, Cadence started to spew! All over me! Remember that I hadn't been feeling well myself, so I was doing my best not to chain-react. I yelled at Spencer to quickly find something forher to barf into, and up he jumped. As he ran to the kitchen, and Cadence continued to decorate me with her unhappy stomach contents, I miraculously noticed that Layla had climbed up onto the fireplace and was inches away from the fire. "LAYLA STOP!!" I yelled (looking back, I think I was literally paralyzed with puke), which gave her pause enough to buy Spencer enough time to run back and get her before she climbed into the fire. Meanwhile, "Old Faithful" was faithfully outdoing herself, and so Spencer ran back to the kitchen, Layla under arm, and grabbed a pie tin. Somewhere in all the chaos Spencer noticed that the house was filling up with smoke and that he had forgotten to open the vent (is it called a "flue"?) in the chimney. Well, we're new to this home-owner thing and have no implements for our fire, like a poker stick. So as he checks back in the kitchen to see that Layla is still safely distracted, he runs to grab his work gloves, comes back, singes the hair off his arms and burns his thumb but is able to open the "flue", and manages to get a few pictures of Cadence and I, sitting shocked and disturbed on the couch.

It took a few minutes to get myself to move. It was gross.

Here's the Shepherd's dinner, a few minutes later than scheduled, due to barf and shower.

Layla got to dress as an angel for the Shepherd's dinner, and she found great joy in this. The rest of the costumes didn't make it to dinner, for fear that they would be barfed on.

That night Cadence received a priesthood blessing from her daddy and Bishop Chandler. By Christmas morning, she was herself again! I kept trying to tell her to "pace yourself" and to rest frequently so that she wouldn't hit a wall (which I had done repeatedly the last few days), but she never did listen, and she never did hit any walls. Thank goodness for the priesthood.

This Christmas was the most fun yet for Spencer and I. As the kids get older and are able to share excitement over it all, it becomes such a hay day for us!

Here, Cadence sits on her "sick bed" and wonders what lies beneath the sheets that Santa borrowed to cover the goods. Campbell gets her first glimpse of Santa's offerings:

.

We await the big reveal

And this is what's waiting for us:

There were several gifts that halted the present-opening process. Some of the gifts that they just had to play with first were the 4-wheelers, the legos, dressups, lace-up cards (from Mammaw and Gramps), Rapunzel book with music player (from Grandma and Grandpa O), and the zhu-zhu pets

Layla loved her Bullseye (Toy Story) rocking horse,

and had mixed feelings about her Rex (also from Toy Story), which she got from Mammaw. The Rex toy is about 60% of her height and when you squeeze it it makes a strange duck-like roar, which Layla is perfectly able to mimic. It frightens and fascinates her all at once. She is so interested in it, yet it makes her scramble for something safe to cling to whenever she hears it's "roar". She talks to it like it's a person, which is not normal for her to do with toys. She touches it's nose and even tries to hug it, but then recoils in fear. She's slowly getting over her trust issues, but meanwhile Spencer and I are entertained and yet nervous at how similar the relationship is to one of abusive boyfriend/needy girlfriend. Spencer and Layla have a moment with Rex:




Layla also couldn't move beyond this card from Mammaw that was inside one of her gifts.

It's like the Fairy Godmother came: All dressed and ready for their new ride.

We had a great day. We played and played and played! That evening we had planned to have several families over for dinner, but had to postpone until Sunday because of the illness we'd had. So Spencer and I thought, what is the most exciting dinner to Cadence and Campbell? BREAKFAST! So Breakfast for dinner it was. Including bacon, which I almost never allow into my home (it's like little sticks of heart-attack, the way I see it. Seems a little pointless to pay to bring that home).

The next day we had our belated Christmas dinner with some of our great friends here in AR: The Brooksbys, Dragoviches, Flemings, Gibbs, Halls, Johansens, and the Shephards. 16 adults, 23 kids, an 18-lb turkey (not cooked by me, thank you, Dragoviches), chicken ala king, tons of yummy potatoes, rolls, stuffing, fruit, veggies, and desserts, among other things, and a whole lotta holiday fun! We had so much fun. And I always love a good reason to clean the whole house. Seriously.

We missed our families this year, but we sure enjoyed hearing from them via phone and thinking of them and the fun times we had with them earlier in the year. Admittedly, it's hard to be so far from family at this time of year. We love our parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins all very much, but we did enjoy being with our little family that is growing and changing so much.

I hope every Christmas is this magical....

And here's one more picture: