December 2010: Warning: Silliness Alert

I have been going through tons of home video footage for my sister-in-law who is creating a Christmas surprise and have been having a blast watching them.  Since Mike bought us this awesome new computer, I figured I should play around with it a little.  Here is my first attempt at using IMovie.  I am afraid it may be addicting.  Owen and I had so much fun creating this.  Hope you enjoy getting a glimpse of the silliness I am surrounded by on a daily basis.
Presenting....

THREE SILLY BOYS

December 2010: Pickles Gets a Haircut

So its the first official morning of the kids' 3-week (yes, you heard that right, 3 weeks!) Christmas vacation and I was grateful for the lack of the mad morning rush.  Apparently my brain went on a vacation as well.  After I gave up on exercising since 10 minutes of my workout became 40 due to interruptions, I made myself a bowl of granola for breakfast.   I proceeded to put the almond milk in the cupboard not even realizing I had already put the granola in the fridge.  Wwow!  This was a continuation of my brain's vacation last night when I played a game with my family and managed to add up die to get from 28 to 22.  Great addition skills. Mike loved that one.

So, back to this morning... After making a phone call to the appliance repair man since my heavily used and abused dryer sparked and blew the breaker on Saturday, I looked over to see a very giddy Tate smiling up at me.  My eyes were drawn to his smile framed by his chocolate breakfast-shake mustache and beard. He stayed looking at me for awhile but then scampered away returning to what the boys were supposed to be doing, cleaning out their school supply/junk drawer.  What a great and responsible motherly thing to ask of my children I had thought!  Well not 2 minutes after I had received Mike's text response to my grocery location mix-up who thought that was funny and to "Enjoy these days with the kids at home!"  I heard some snipping and my kids response to my inquiries to what they were doing as "cutting hair".  Once again my brain was on vacation because it took me 2 long seconds before that computed and I exploded out of my chair.

Owen, out of all three of them, yes the 8 year old, was the one that had cut his littlest brother, Tate, the giddy one's, hair.  Surprisingly this is our first encounter with sibling haircuts.  Tate has thrilled with his haircut.  Me... not so much.  Not my greatest mothering moment.  After there were some distribution of boys into corners, I quickly sent Mike a text of how I was enjoying the kids until Owen cut Tate's hair.  He responded with something that made me laugh.  Oh how I needed that.  Mike has a way of making me laugh, wording things just right, and putting things into perspective, mainly because he has a grand perspective of life, and maybe a small part of it comes from the fact that he's there at work and I'm here in the trenches:-)  "Find the fun.  Find the humor.  Things that can't be changed!!! (Don't you mean Pickles got his haircut!)"

I tend to be too serious minded as a mom and I'm working on it.  Owen told me in the car last week when I responded seriously to something he meant not to be taken seriously, "that most people joke around Mom".   I told him that he was right.  Oh how I wish I could be more silly and laugh more at the "inconveniences" that come my way at a constant pace.  I pray, literally, for a better sense of humor with my children.

"Pickles" is the nickname that Tate has given himself.  Hilarious, that kid!  He also calls Felicity "Bobo" for some reason.  Mike has started coming up with various little stories of the Adventures of Pickles and Bobo and this was just one more adventure for the lot.

Mike asked me to send him a photo of Tate's new do from my phone and I couldn't help but laugh.  Thankfully!  laugh at the gomer haircut and then at the still giddy and proud smile plastered on Tate's face.

 I decided that I had seen this haircut before.  At first I thought it was from the creepy guy on Charlie's Angels, you know, George McFly, but no that's not exactly right.

Then it came to me, its from the bad guy on The Fifth Element (who is also the same guy that plays Sirius Black, never would have guessed).  A nearly perfect resemblance!

I think we'll give Owen one to match!

November 2010: Felicity's Foto Shoot

My baby girl has been growing up so quickly, and unfortunately I have not posted very many photos of her on my blog.  Believe me, there have been plenty taken.  So I will try my best to go back over the past fews months and post some of my favorites.  Wow, that's going to be tough.

As you can see, our sweet little Felicity has quite the little personality.  It took a little warming up to get her in the playful mood for the camera.  It took a lot of effort to get these photos!  Thank you Cheryl once again.

Felicity got her teeth in so quickly that I wanted to make sure we got some cute ones of her before she looked more like an infant than a baby.  She is a doll and has a million faces.  My favorite we have never been able to capture on film because she doesn't do it too often.  She puckers up her sweet lips so much that she cuts off the air to her nose.  Its hilarious!

Well I have been wanting to purchase some actions and learn how to use them as I mentioned in my previous post of my little AV8R (that's how my grandpa had it spelled on his license plate:-) ).  I haven't had too much time, but I decided I wanted to do some tonight.  So here I am way past my bedtime playing with these darling photos of Felicity.  There are so many gorgeous actions, that I couldn't just pick one this time.  All of them are from Florabella.  So so fun!  Doesn't she just make you smile and say, "Oh she's so cute!"?

HE IS HOME!!!

After 25 days in St. Joseph's hospital, my Daddy has come home!  What joy that brings to our family.  I wanted to let everyone know so that they could share in this joy as well.  Please continue to pray for his health as he has every intention of continuing his "normal" life of dutiful work and faithful church service.  He is driven.  I am sure it will be of no surprise to you to hear that on his first day "home" he went to work.  Pray for him to be sustained and lifted, but also to be wise and patient.  Thank you to all for your continued prayers and support!

Little Pieces and Small Moments

My cousin has encouraged me to write down my thoughts during this time and I need to be better about it.  This week has been a rough one.  One of pleading, one of desperation, but one of small moments.  Moments that have gotten me through it.  Little pieces of wisdom and perspective have crept into my heart amidst the turmoil of daddy's trials and daily motherhood.

This first one has made a lasting impact on me.
I was very blessed to have been able to spend an entire day with my Daddy at the hospital this week.  I was so happy to see him.  I wrapped my arms around him and didn't want to let go.  I instinctively wanted to crawl upon his lap and just let him hold me, but of course I didn't as he is so weak.  I was happy to be there for whatever he needed.
Around midday I witnessed another oncology patient be released from the hospital.  A pink-shirted volunteer wheeled him out to the parking lot as I was leaving to get my Daddy some lunch from CPK (He can't stand the smell of the food in the hospital, nor the menu or silverware for that matter).  When I returned to the parking lot after picking up our food, I passed this same patient trying unsuccessfully to start his clunker car.  My heart sank.  I was deliberating on what to do, because I have "gotten in trouble" before  from Mike for helping men alongside the road when I was alone.  I decided to go back.  I walked up to him and asked him if he needed help.  He turned to look at me with sad eyes and spoke to me in broken English and through empty spaces of missing teeth.  "Thank you, but I am fine."  I asked him if he was hungry and he replied that he was very hungry.  I gave him some of my favorite pizza, pear and gorgonzola, yum! and some bread.  He was very grateful but insisted that he would be ok.  He told me that his car had been sitting in the parking lot for a week while he was in the hospital.  As a walked away I began to cry.  Here was this sweet man,
alone
no one there to help him after a week long stay on the oncology floor.  No one there to take him home.  He was in a parking lot with a beat up car and missing teeth (and for anyone who knows me, knows how much I value teeth!), hungry.  After a long day at the hospital, I left my Daddy to return home to my children and husband, and there still was this sweet man sitting in his car.  He once again replied, "Thank you, but I am fine."

I thought about how hard these past months have been.  How horrible and raw they still are, but I realized that despite these seemingly endless trials my family are facing, we are doing it together.  We have each other to strength one another.  We have dear friends and family who pray for us, who sit with my Daddy at the hospital for hours, who send us words of encouragement just when we need it.  I cannot forget that.  I have prayed so hard for this man I briefly met.  I pray that he will not be alone, that heavenly hands may find their way to him.

The second piece is like unto the first.
In thinking about my family, I realized how I take for granted the fact that our family is one big circle.  Meaning that there is no divisions, no breaks, no dividing grudges, no hatred.  My parents love each other, fervently.  My siblings all love each other and we enjoy being together.  Those who are married have happy marriages and have married amazing people.  What ease that brings to so many situations.  What strength that creates in situations such as this.

The last little piece came today.
I finally decided that I needed do what I've been wanting to do for days, and what my boys have been asking me to do, decorate our house for Christmas.  I have been stuck in a slump the last few days and having a hard time getting out of it.  Late last night I received some very distressing news from my mother that my father was in some serious pain due to lesions in his throat, mouth, and now on his face and was asking us to pray for him and for divine intervention.  For my Daddy to be so forthcoming about his pain and a request from us, really demonstrated to me the level of severity...
Another morning of waking up with puffy eyes.

After the boys were at school, Felicity finally took a nap, and I let Tate watch a show, I began to listen to my "Christmas Morning" playlist on my Ipod and to clean the house in preparation for decorating (our poor, neglected house.  I couldn't simply decorate on top of the mess).  I began thinking as I had these past weeks, how horrible it was that Daddy was sick during this time of the year, especially in regards to it being the cold and flu season and his white blood cell count being so low.  How I wanted him home during the holidays.  Why did it have to be now?  As I listened to my Christmas songs, a wave of gratitude washed over me.  If Daddy had to be sick at all, I guess it being now, during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, is really a blessing.  No other time of the year are we more reminded to turn our hearts and thoughts to the Savior than now.  We are surrounded by reminders of our Savior, whether intentional or unintentional, as we turn on the radio, walk through the store, drive in our neighborhood, see on the television, etc.  I know that right now I need the extra reminders.  I pray that I may soak up this added spirit and allow it to carry me through these trying days ahead.

Earnest Expectation and Expecting Miracles

It is with a broken heart, puffy eyes, and reluctant hands that I sit down to write this morning.  My main motive is to alleviate a nearly impossible task from my mother, that of contacting those wonderful people in our life who have been praying for daddy in order to update them on daddy's condition.  Nearly impossible, because as I mentioned previously it involves that horrible "C" word... cancer, and because this time the news hit even harder.

Forgive me for writing so mechanically, but at this moment I feel a bit as if air has been sucked out of life as I know it.

My daddy has been re-diagnosed with Myeloma cancer, the most serious and aggressive strain of Lymphoma.

Myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells, a type of white cell found in many tissues of the body, but primarily in the bone marrow. Plasma cells are part of the body's immune system.

Normal plasma cells make antibodies, which help fight infection. Myeloma cells cannot help the body fight infection. As the myeloma cells grow in the marrow they crowd out the normal plasma cells. They also crowd out normal white cells, red cells and platelets. (Leukemia & Lymphoma Society)

It has come as such a shock after hearing and coming to accept the first diagnosis.  This cancer will have to be treated in a more aggressive manner and will involve more unwelcome things, such as increased nausea and my daddy losing his baby soft, salt n pepper hair.

We were told "facts" or "statistics" about this cancer, but we have decided that we are not going to focus on them, rather that we have HOPE and EXPECT MIRACLES.  Hope as my father chooses to define it is, an "earnest expectation".  I love that!  My parents will be seeking a second and possibly a third opinion soon, to consult on the diagnosis and treatment that St. Joseph's Hospital has recommended.

The doctor came into the room last night and sat while giving us the news.  I heard myself saying aloud in a desperate, weak voice, "You have to be wrong".  It still does not feel real to me.  What does feel 100% real to me, and more tangible than ever, is the love that we share as a family.  The eternal bonds that exist between my parents, between my parents and their children, between my siblings, and between my siblings who are married and their spouses and their children, can be felt so strongly, more than ever.  The phrase you begin singing as a Primary child, "Families can be Together Forever", continues to reveal itself more and more as one of the greatest gifts of a loving Father in Heaven.

I have always known that my father is one of the most exemplary men, but the way in which he handled such news last night was another testimony of it.  The first thing he said after the doctor left was his concern for the doctor in having to deliver such news.  Nurses who were unaware of what just happened cheerfully came in to handle routine things such as dad's IV.  He was polite and helpful as he held the tubes for them as they changed it.  When such news needed to be told to my siblings, He wanted to call them himself.  When it proved very difficult, we offered to make the calls for him.  He said that that this is how he is used to leading his life, he does hard things all the time.  He can do hard things.

Yes he can.  He has dealt with many things others may think impossible, but because of his perspective, because of his work ethic, because of his dedication to doing things right, his faith, his love, he has brought success and hope to the tasks.

I watched my mother and father gaze at each other, no words expressed.  To witness how much they are still in love... I speak about it with the greatest reverence.

I thank you all for your continued prayers and thoughts in behalf of myself, my daddy, and our family.  I ask for your continued faith as we expect miracles and fight to beat the odds.  Miracles happen everyday, and I know we can have great faith on behalf of my father, my great father.  A man I can not imagine my life without.  As I look at this photo, Daddy reading an Italian toddler book to little Owen at one of our family beach vacations while Liz and I look on so intently, I pray for many many more of these moments.

I know my Savior has carried our burdens and has suffered the heartache, pain, anger, and hopelessness that we have felt.  For what purpose?  That we may come unto Him.  Whatever form these miracles may come in, I pray that I may rely more heavily upon my Savior and seek his comfort and a greater understanding.  I must step from believing in Him to believing Him.

Who We Are Together

I have been so blessed to have the example of my parents in showing me what a loving and thriving marriage looks like.  These past months have been exhausting and weighty for them both, but they continue to strengthen one another.  Last night I went over to their home and experienced a beautiful moment of true love and companionship between the two of them as my father expressed his gratitude to my mother for taking such good care of him.  Tears filled my eyes as I listened to this exchange.  How did I get so lucky?

Today I was reading an article in the magazine Ensign that is published by our Church, entitled "Learning through Life's Trials" written by Larry Richman.  It was a wonderful reminder of the purposes and benefits that come with experiencing trials.  He states, "Trials give us opportunities to show the Lord and ourselves that we will be faithful."  I was reminded of a moment in my life when I was experiencing the most difficult trial in my life up to that point.  I knew that I had to go through with something that God wanted me to do, but I wasn't happy about it.  I was rather angry.  I remember  driving in the car and talking aloud to myself (not uncommon:-) ), running through all the 'in's and 'out's of what was going on in my mind.  I stopped myself and said, "Is this going to break my faith?" "NO" I yelled.  It gave me such an amazing feeling that I knew that I was capable of overcoming this difficulty.  With Heavenly Father's help of course, but He knew it too.  I could be faithful.  I could make it.

Br. Richman concluded with this statement that I just loved, "Each of us has the strength to bear our challenges in life because of who we are, who God is, and who we are together."  Love it!  Who we are together...Father and child.  What a blessing to have that knowledge!

November 2010: My Little Av8r

Love this photo of Tate putting on a little aviator hat and goggles (yes, those are swim goggles painted black at one time).  I threw a little shower for my new darling nephew Lincoln Charles with an airplane theme in honor of my grandfather Charles who passed away this year.  Gramps was a true av8r!  Tate was trying on some of the shower decorations and having a blast flying the paper airplanes.

I am having fun with some new actions and textures I recently purchased from Florabella. So fun!  Would love to hear if any of you use actions & textures and where you get them from.  I am so new to this.  Seems addicting already.

Come Make Christmas Gifts with Me: 3 Necklaces

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I mentioned previously that I have started a Sewing & Wearable Craft Group with my friend Heather that meets once a month.  This month I am taking a break from the sewing machine and doing some hand sewing & jewelry making to create 3 fun & simple necklaces that you can make as Christmas gifts (or keep for yourself- oh, so tempting:-) ).  1 of them is the ribbon & pearls necklace that I copied from a Charlotte Russe necklace, that I have received a ton of comments from people that they wanted to learn how to make this one.  Well, you are in luck!  Join me tomorrow night, Wed. Nov 10th @ 7:30 at my house.  One condition, you have to let me know you're coming, please RSVP-email, comment, call, etc.

Visit our blog at www.learn2love2sew.blogspot.com for all the supplies you need to bring.


Would love to have you come!

October 2010: The Pillage People and the Little Lamb

 

I have been blessed with a creative mind, but for some reason I can't seem to get it to apply to parenthood.  Thankfully once a year it seems to really come in handy, Halloween.  I had so much fun creating the boys costumes this year.  They decided on vikings, and I ran with it.  I drew inspiration from lots of photos as well as those funny Capital One commercials.  I love this one where they had to come up with a new career so they started a band, "The Pillage People".



The boys have loved wearing their costumes during the week.  We decided not to go Trick Or Treating (or Chuck or Treating as Eyan calls it:-) ) this year because it fell on the Sabbath, so they took every other opportunity to wear their costumes.  Tate even wore his to the grocery store, where some lady mistook him for Bigfoot.  Bigfoot, really?  It was amazing to me how their boy energy could be heighten anymore than it is in normal day life, but putting on these costumes really amped it up.  Yaaaahhhh!

There was no way I would have had time to make Felicity's costume as well.  I knew I wanted something cuddly, so I knew this was the costume for her right when I saw it.  I added the bell and it was adorable.  Isn't she the sweetest little lamb you ever did see?!  The first time I put it on her she screamed, so I wasn't sure she would let me put it on again.  I just needed a picture.  Isn't that hilarious?  At the church Halloween party she screamed a little bit, but by the end of the night she had fallen asleep in it on my shoulder.  I could not believe it.  That just does NOT happen.  My friend Aileen told me that Felicity counted herself and fell asleep.  So cute, I love it!

Each one of them won an award in their age group for their costumes.  So fun for them.  I felt a little bad each time we walked up there to get another award.  The Johnson Family again?!  Sorry.  But really their costumes were the cutest.  Oh sorry boys, I mean craziest and scariest - those are the awards the boys won.  They are already making plans for next year:-)

Davis and Juliet came as well.  So fun to have cousins that live close by.