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| Just a teaser..... |
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Late with 2 posts.
So this comes one whole week late. So much happened during this week that I thought I would be best to do 2 separate post so it isn’t super long for you. It is for my records also to keep the weeks straight in my head. I’ll be doing it in a bullet format so that each person gets their highlights and I don’t forget too much.
June 5
We celebrated Memorial Day by working and then going swimming at friends. We are grateful to the families whose loved ones have given their lives for our lives and to men and women who have given their lives for our freedoms to live, believe/worship, teach our children, and work as we enjoy.
L4
Underfoot
Hurricane
L4
- Our freezer has been on the fritz. On a warm day the inside of the freezer heats up to around 10 degrees. On cooler days, it cools to about 2 degrees. Since we are going on vacation, L4 wants to make sure the freezer is working when we leave for vacation. He replaced the thermostat, and THE FREEZER IS AT -10 DEGREES!We don’t need to buy a new freezer.
- He also changed the pressure regulator on our house. Apparently the valve had failed before we move in. We didn’t know it was broken until a plumber neighbor mentioned it to us. When L checked the pressure, it pegged the needle at 120+ psi. The maximum recommended pressure for a home is 80 psi. It was changed out Tuesday, and the pressure is now around 60 psi. We hope the change will save us money in our water bill each month.
- Also L4 found grape skeltonizers on our grapes. Last summer we fought those bugs daily. They attach to the grape vine and suck the sap from it until they lay new eggs to create more bugs. The bugs grow to be the size of an adult index finger. When they are terminated they shrink to nothing. (I guess we haven’t adopted the Hindu belief of not killing any living thing.) He found a spray to kill them and saved the grapes vines and ourselves from bug-picking insanity.
- Because the water pressure has changed how we water has to change also. He spent time fixing how much water is given to what. It is quite the task. We hope we can find a good balance.
Underfoot
- This weekend Hurricane rode a play car off the slide in our house. Underfoot was being obedient and helping pick up. He bent over at the same time that Hurricane pushed the car down the slide, and it collided with Underfoot’s face. He has a little black eye and a few minor cuts on the eye and nose.
- We were invited to go to Davis-Monthan AFB to see an EC-130 airplane. Our neighbor’s husband flies this plane. We got to climb in the plane and then did a tour of the base. We went bowling and shopping at the BX. It was a lot of fun.
- We had two little boys stay the night and day with us while their Mom went to support the young women in our church at a camping event and their Dad needed to work. Underfoot loved to have someone to play with for the evening and the next day. The boys fell asleep about 10:30 pm and were up at 5:15 am. They played hard. We enjoyed having them here.
Hurricane
- Hurricane is cutting 4 molars - all at the same time.
- He loved going bowling and seeing things.
- Because of the molars, he has been tired and started to cough. The cough turned into a bark. The bark has gone away and has been replaced with a drippy faucet nose. We kept him away from our over night guests. We don’t think he is really sick, but his body doesn’t like it when teeth come in. He and Daddy stayed home from church today. He has also kept us up at night several times this week.
- I made Hurricane his own cake. The cupcake wasn't good enough for me unfortunately. So here is a lousy looking train cake.
May 28th
Hurricane
– He turned 2 years old! Yippee yay! Hurricane was born on the anniversary of the day Lance and I met.
– For his birthday, we decided to go camping as a family at Camp Zion on Mount Lemmon. Camp Zion is a camp leased by the LDS church on forest service land. To stay the night, it is $2.50 per person. The price was right, and the boys love the adventure of camping. They had a great time!
– Hurricane loves to swim. He will go back and forth between us as fast as he can get out of the other one’s arms. Unfortunately, he hates to float. SoI think we are going back to swim school.
Underfoot – Underfoot finished year one of Joy School. We had a celebration for the fact that the Moms and children triumphed in meeting for Joy School and making it through without much drama. Sickness was there but not drama! It was awesome!
– Lucas and Kirk loved to go and spend a day with my visiting teacher...more about that in a minute.
– Lucas got an invite to a friend’s party that invited the whole family. We went swimming and enjoyed the company of a neighbor.
Mama – I finished painting the closet we had rearranged. Underfoot and I painted the closest together after Joy School on Tuesday.
– I have been attending physical therapy for about a month to fix a few things. While there, the physical therapist (PT) “adjusted” my coccyx. I didn’t feel a thing until I stood up. Then I felt it. The PT said to not sit on it directly. It hurt to move. I had probably “broken” my coccyx when I was pregnant with Hurricane.
– The day after I taught Joy School. It was an easy last day because I was hurting. It felt like my tail bone had been broken. It hurt to sit, stand, and even to lay down. That night L4 took matters into his own hands and called my Dad to say I was being stubborn and what did he need to do. My Dad said I would need to humble up and ask for help. So Lance called my visiting teacher (on the sly.)
– On Friday, my boys spent the day with a wonderful visiting teacher who introduced them to the finer things in life like corn dogs. That evening I went up to the campsite and returned home with another family. The Boys spent the night on the mountain. We celebrated Hurricane’s Birthday with blue graduation cupcakes. (Mama was doing her best to manage pain, her own expectations for what a birthday should be, and to get us up on the mountain for some quality family time, golly gosh Dang It!)
L4
– L4 was the real hero by helping me in my stubbornness. As much as I hate to admit that I can’t do something, he stepped in and took charge. He let me rest and played hard with the boys.
– He drove the Scout to work one day. We figure he should drive it every once and a while to keep it running.
– Six years ago L4 picked me up for our first date. It was good to remember.
– He turned 2 years old! Yippee yay! Hurricane was born on the anniversary of the day Lance and I met.
– For his birthday, we decided to go camping as a family at Camp Zion on Mount Lemmon. Camp Zion is a camp leased by the LDS church on forest service land. To stay the night, it is $2.50 per person. The price was right, and the boys love the adventure of camping. They had a great time!
– Hurricane loves to swim. He will go back and forth between us as fast as he can get out of the other one’s arms. Unfortunately, he hates to float. SoI think we are going back to swim school.
Underfoot – Underfoot finished year one of Joy School. We had a celebration for the fact that the Moms and children triumphed in meeting for Joy School and making it through without much drama. Sickness was there but not drama! It was awesome!
– Lucas and Kirk loved to go and spend a day with my visiting teacher...more about that in a minute.
– Lucas got an invite to a friend’s party that invited the whole family. We went swimming and enjoyed the company of a neighbor.
Mama – I finished painting the closet we had rearranged. Underfoot and I painted the closest together after Joy School on Tuesday.
– The day after I taught Joy School. It was an easy last day because I was hurting. It felt like my tail bone had been broken. It hurt to sit, stand, and even to lay down. That night L4 took matters into his own hands and called my Dad to say I was being stubborn and what did he need to do. My Dad said I would need to humble up and ask for help. So Lance called my visiting teacher (on the sly.)
– On Friday, my boys spent the day with a wonderful visiting teacher who introduced them to the finer things in life like corn dogs. That evening I went up to the campsite and returned home with another family. The Boys spent the night on the mountain. We celebrated Hurricane’s Birthday with blue graduation cupcakes. (Mama was doing her best to manage pain, her own expectations for what a birthday should be, and to get us up on the mountain for some quality family time, golly gosh Dang It!)
L4
– L4 was the real hero by helping me in my stubbornness. As much as I hate to admit that I can’t do something, he stepped in and took charge. He let me rest and played hard with the boys.
– He drove the Scout to work one day. We figure he should drive it every once and a while to keep it running.
– Six years ago L4 picked me up for our first date. It was good to remember.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Expressions
The summertime heat has started. The early part of May was a bit milder than normal. It has gotten warm (low 90s.) It will only get hotter.
With the heat comes the ice cream truck. I remember as a child the ice cream truck would come around and how I always wanted an ice cream. I remember that the answer was always no. Now that I am the daddy, every time that the ice cream truck goes by, I hope that he does not stop. I don’t want to have to say no to my
children. Perhaps it is natural for a parent to want to say yes to a child whenever possible. I think I turned out the way I did in large part because I learned early that if I wanted something, I would have to work for it.
Hurricane frequently tells us that he wants pancakes. His facial expressions are one of God’s gifts to parents. His happy expressions melt my heart.
Mama has been working hard to keep our house in order. It is not easy, but somehow she manages. This week Hurricane pulled several keys off the key board of our computer. His curiosity is never satisfied. I’m grateful that Mama is patient with him. Both boys recognize when they need to be obedient to Mama. They are not always immediately obedient but do follow through.
Underfoot is very patient with his brother. Hurricane has a tendency to bite, hit, punch (verses hit), kick, pull hair, and fake shoot Underfoot. Underfoot is patient for hours at a time and then when we (the parents) are out of the room he will retaliate with one hit. Hurricane melts into tears. It is hard to have any empathy or sympathy for Hurricane when this happens. Underfoot knows he shouldn’t. He is 4 years old and does his best to be the best brother he can be. The irony is that if Underfoot isn’t in the room for bed Hurricane worries and asks where is his brother is. This is true brotherly love. Hurricane wants so much to be a big boy and is getting there much faster than Underfoot.
Yesterday we rebuilt a closet - closet that got tore apart to put in a food rotating system but the closet was built funky by the builder. The new arrangement is more organized than the last closet. We will have places to store crayons, markers, paper, and other junk that cluttered the room.
With the heat comes the ice cream truck. I remember as a child the ice cream truck would come around and how I always wanted an ice cream. I remember that the answer was always no. Now that I am the daddy, every time that the ice cream truck goes by, I hope that he does not stop. I don’t want to have to say no to my
children. Perhaps it is natural for a parent to want to say yes to a child whenever possible. I think I turned out the way I did in large part because I learned early that if I wanted something, I would have to work for it.
Hurricane frequently tells us that he wants pancakes. His facial expressions are one of God’s gifts to parents. His happy expressions melt my heart.
Mama has been working hard to keep our house in order. It is not easy, but somehow she manages. This week Hurricane pulled several keys off the key board of our computer. His curiosity is never satisfied. I’m grateful that Mama is patient with him. Both boys recognize when they need to be obedient to Mama. They are not always immediately obedient but do follow through.
Underfoot is very patient with his brother. Hurricane has a tendency to bite, hit, punch (verses hit), kick, pull hair, and fake shoot Underfoot. Underfoot is patient for hours at a time and then when we (the parents) are out of the room he will retaliate with one hit. Hurricane melts into tears. It is hard to have any empathy or sympathy for Hurricane when this happens. Underfoot knows he shouldn’t. He is 4 years old and does his best to be the best brother he can be. The irony is that if Underfoot isn’t in the room for bed Hurricane worries and asks where is his brother is. This is true brotherly love. Hurricane wants so much to be a big boy and is getting there much faster than Underfoot.
Yesterday we rebuilt a closet - closet that got tore apart to put in a food rotating system but the closet was built funky by the builder. The new arrangement is more organized than the last closet. We will have places to store crayons, markers, paper, and other junk that cluttered the room.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Canning
We canned a lot this week before it gets too hot. We canned 18 pints strawberry jam, 13 pints blackberry jam, 8 pints yummy syrup, and 14 quarts diced tomatoes. Unfortunately 3 quarts of the tomatoes broke in the water bath. Canning is a lot of work, but it is work we won’t have to do later in the summer.
We decided this week to leave our garden fallow until we return from vacation. We currently have tomatoes, onions, and a few garlic plants growing. We hope that the midsummer garden will be more successful. L4 picked two blackberries today. We haven’t pointed out to Hurricane that there is fruit growing on the pit fruit tree or apple tree. He likes to pick them early. We have grapes growing and hope for more.
Hurricane and Underfoot love to play the cowboys (we think it might be that we watch too many John Wayne movies).
Underfoot really likes to wear his gun belt that he got for his birthday. He asks when we leave the house if he can wear his “weapon” or if he needs to leave it home. Arizona is an open carry state yet he is asked to leave the gun belt home often. He complies very happily.
Hurricane continues to grow into the the serious boy that he has always been. For instance, he watched L4 cut a loaf of bread. After L4 left for work, Hurricane got the same knife and tried to cut his own piece of bread. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t do exactly as his father did. He watches intently on how something is done and will mimic the behavior almost perfectly except without the safety parameters. He loves to play with trains - ALL DAY LONG BY HIMSELF.
We had a stake conference which is a local conference for the wards of the area last night and today. One of the speakers talked about being still like it is said in Psalms 46. He made the point from a personal observation that the mark of success in American life is how busy one is and that busyness indicates how important you are in life. He said that being busy doesn’t make one important that lessons are learned in being still. As a parent by being still, children will come to a parent and confide and problem solve with them in contrast to a parent who is too busy. This was an important lesson for us. L4 and I keep ourselves busy sometimes too busy. It is something we want to change.
We hope you are well and happy.
We decided this week to leave our garden fallow until we return from vacation. We currently have tomatoes, onions, and a few garlic plants growing. We hope that the midsummer garden will be more successful. L4 picked two blackberries today. We haven’t pointed out to Hurricane that there is fruit growing on the pit fruit tree or apple tree. He likes to pick them early. We have grapes growing and hope for more.
Hurricane and Underfoot love to play the cowboys (we think it might be that we watch too many John Wayne movies).
Underfoot really likes to wear his gun belt that he got for his birthday. He asks when we leave the house if he can wear his “weapon” or if he needs to leave it home. Arizona is an open carry state yet he is asked to leave the gun belt home often. He complies very happily.
Hurricane continues to grow into the the serious boy that he has always been. For instance, he watched L4 cut a loaf of bread. After L4 left for work, Hurricane got the same knife and tried to cut his own piece of bread. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t do exactly as his father did. He watches intently on how something is done and will mimic the behavior almost perfectly except without the safety parameters. He loves to play with trains - ALL DAY LONG BY HIMSELF.
We had a stake conference which is a local conference for the wards of the area last night and today. One of the speakers talked about being still like it is said in Psalms 46. He made the point from a personal observation that the mark of success in American life is how busy one is and that busyness indicates how important you are in life. He said that being busy doesn’t make one important that lessons are learned in being still. As a parent by being still, children will come to a parent and confide and problem solve with them in contrast to a parent who is too busy. This was an important lesson for us. L4 and I keep ourselves busy sometimes too busy. It is something we want to change.
We hope you are well and happy.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Happy Mother's Day!
Happy Mother’s Day!!
Family The freezer we bought in Pennsylvania has started showing signs of age. It runs constantly, and the food around the edges of the freezer is soft but still refrigerated. We are exploring other options. We may move the freezer (hence the food) inside the house or just replace it altogether. We spent Saturday working together as a family to clean house, organize, and declutter our living space. Mama has already made one delivery to the thrift store. We filled up the back of the car again to do another drop this week.
L4 On Saturday I took advantage of nap time (everyone else was asleep) and was able to get a new stereo installed in the Geo Prizm. A friend gave me a tape deck/CD player that he had in an old car. It took about 2 hours to get it installed and functioning. Only 1 of the 4 speakers is working, but I can fix that later.
We had a tree die in our front yard over the winter. It is the tree that blocks our front door from the street. I cut it down. It really opens up the front door area and makes our house seem not so unfriendly.
Mama It seems like Mama’s work is never complete. She continues with her role as an southern Arizona area coordinator with Bountiful Baskets. This gives her a chance to shine in a role which is outside of her normal activities (ie mommy land.) At times it causes her some stress, but I think she loves it.
Mama really likes having the Giant Car all to herself. I ride in it only on Family Outings and to church on Sundays. I think Mama likes the car more than she lets on. It is hard to believe, but we’ve had it now for just over a year and put over 30,000 miles on it.
Underfoot Underfoot went to a birthday party this week. He had a lot of fun. Underfoot likes to paint and do ”homework.” Underfoot loves to play with guns and swords. We have frequent discussions about how we do not shoot people. Living in Arizona is like living in the wild west. Many people own guns, so we have to teach him about them constantly.
Hurricane Hurricane’s new phrases for the week are, “I do it!” and “Good Boy.” His personality continues to flourish. He is no longer always gruff around people and has actually started to smile. He wants to do everything by himself. He is quite the escape artist. He likes to drag a tricycle through the house when the front door is unlocked. He will take a ride down the road as far as he can get.
Family The freezer we bought in Pennsylvania has started showing signs of age. It runs constantly, and the food around the edges of the freezer is soft but still refrigerated. We are exploring other options. We may move the freezer (hence the food) inside the house or just replace it altogether. We spent Saturday working together as a family to clean house, organize, and declutter our living space. Mama has already made one delivery to the thrift store. We filled up the back of the car again to do another drop this week.
L4 On Saturday I took advantage of nap time (everyone else was asleep) and was able to get a new stereo installed in the Geo Prizm. A friend gave me a tape deck/CD player that he had in an old car. It took about 2 hours to get it installed and functioning. Only 1 of the 4 speakers is working, but I can fix that later.
We had a tree die in our front yard over the winter. It is the tree that blocks our front door from the street. I cut it down. It really opens up the front door area and makes our house seem not so unfriendly.
Mama It seems like Mama’s work is never complete. She continues with her role as an southern Arizona area coordinator with Bountiful Baskets. This gives her a chance to shine in a role which is outside of her normal activities (ie mommy land.) At times it causes her some stress, but I think she loves it.
Mama really likes having the Giant Car all to herself. I ride in it only on Family Outings and to church on Sundays. I think Mama likes the car more than she lets on. It is hard to believe, but we’ve had it now for just over a year and put over 30,000 miles on it.
Underfoot Underfoot went to a birthday party this week. He had a lot of fun. Underfoot likes to paint and do ”homework.” Underfoot loves to play with guns and swords. We have frequent discussions about how we do not shoot people. Living in Arizona is like living in the wild west. Many people own guns, so we have to teach him about them constantly.
Hurricane Hurricane’s new phrases for the week are, “I do it!” and “Good Boy.” His personality continues to flourish. He is no longer always gruff around people and has actually started to smile. He wants to do everything by himself. He is quite the escape artist. He likes to drag a tricycle through the house when the front door is unlocked. He will take a ride down the road as far as he can get.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Sunday night around 12:30 am (really Monday morning) and crashed. The mountain we drove over had white-out conditions so it took us a little longer to get to our resting spot for the night. We saw some great views and went forward until we returned home.
We stopped one hour from home to eat supper. That way we didn’t have to make supper when we got home, we could just collapse into bed. I think we have opted for the highlights of the week so we can report individually what we have done. In a sense our letter to you is our family journal. We don’t share the sad events of life usually because we want to remember. At times, I wonder if we should share our sad to have it written down.
Family Last night we attended a musical melodrama theater. The show was based around pirates with the tunes from popular culture. Hurricane sat and danced to the music. Underfoot was very tired and at one point fell asleep in his chair. He then slid off and hit the floor. It startled the people around us. We had a good time. Underfoot asked if after church we were going back to watch the show again.
L4 He returned to work and was given a pile of new tasks.
On Thursday L4 assembled the shelf reliance food rotation system we got.
After lunch on Friday, L4 called from work to let me know he had received a promotion at work. Nothing will change except that more will be expected of him from his employer. Good job L4!
On Friday evening, he went camping with the 11 year old Boy Scouts from church. After he returned he worked on the AC in Fred the car. He discovered that a wire had been severed and fixed the problem. With the problem fixed, Fred started to blow cold air. It was a simple fix, and L4 knew how to fix it! Even better it took brain power and time but no money.
Mama I worked on laundry, ironing, cleaning up from our trip, and some organizational things for Bountiful Baskets. Underfoot sat by my side as I worked. He is my faithful companion especially when Hurricane is asleep. I love that he wants to be with me. I made realization that I need to change some of things I do as a parent. What I need to change isn’t completely clear in my head yet. I am working on it daily. My biggest focus is to put my children very first with their requests and being with them. I don’t want to miss any moments.
I took a CPR and first aid class this week. I am grateful to have the refresher course. I learned a few new things like if a someone who is diabetic has high blood sugar they smell fruity. I also learned that it is important to wear a bracelet if you have a medical condition. It will help the paramedics or others know how to help if someone has a medical problem.
I surprised L4 and bought us a bed frame. While he was gone camping, I bought the bed, the family who I bought it from delivered it, cleaned out our room, and tried to put it together by myself. That didn’t work so well. So the next morning a neighbor helped me. I got it all put together with the bed made before he got home. We feel like we are grown ups now instead of college students. With second-hand items, the price is right, and we will enjoy it.
Underfoot
Family Last night we attended a musical melodrama theater. The show was based around pirates with the tunes from popular culture. Hurricane sat and danced to the music. Underfoot was very tired and at one point fell asleep in his chair. He then slid off and hit the floor. It startled the people around us. We had a good time. Underfoot asked if after church we were going back to watch the show again.
L4 He returned to work and was given a pile of new tasks.
On Thursday L4 assembled the shelf reliance food rotation system we got.
After lunch on Friday, L4 called from work to let me know he had received a promotion at work. Nothing will change except that more will be expected of him from his employer. Good job L4!
On Friday evening, he went camping with the 11 year old Boy Scouts from church. After he returned he worked on the AC in Fred the car. He discovered that a wire had been severed and fixed the problem. With the problem fixed, Fred started to blow cold air. It was a simple fix, and L4 knew how to fix it! Even better it took brain power and time but no money.
Mama I worked on laundry, ironing, cleaning up from our trip, and some organizational things for Bountiful Baskets. Underfoot sat by my side as I worked. He is my faithful companion especially when Hurricane is asleep. I love that he wants to be with me. I made realization that I need to change some of things I do as a parent. What I need to change isn’t completely clear in my head yet. I am working on it daily. My biggest focus is to put my children very first with their requests and being with them. I don’t want to miss any moments.
I took a CPR and first aid class this week. I am grateful to have the refresher course. I learned a few new things like if a someone who is diabetic has high blood sugar they smell fruity. I also learned that it is important to wear a bracelet if you have a medical condition. It will help the paramedics or others know how to help if someone has a medical problem.
I surprised L4 and bought us a bed frame. While he was gone camping, I bought the bed, the family who I bought it from delivered it, cleaned out our room, and tried to put it together by myself. That didn’t work so well. So the next morning a neighbor helped me. I got it all put together with the bed made before he got home. We feel like we are grown ups now instead of college students. With second-hand items, the price is right, and we will enjoy it.
Underfoot
- Underfoot likes to talk and tell me what is happening in the moment. He is starting to tell jokes and wants to learn to do “homework” in coloring books, reading books, and an etch-a-sketch.
- We went swimming this week at a friend’s house. He did great on his own and floated.
- Underfoot likes to wear his “sword.” The sword is the mixing tool for our Vitamix which is not allowed out of the house. He will take it on and off as he goes in and out through the day.
- Underfoot is also starting to be very helpful. He does tasks that I ask with perfect follow through! I love it! He even wants to help me in the jobs I am doing.
- Hurricane also wants to help in all the tasks around the house. He does it to the best of his almost 2 year old ability.
- Hurricane continues to be head strong. Our hope is that we can steer that will into doing good.
- Hurricane loves to talk on the phone and wants to say “hi” to anyone that calls on the phone. He will usually tell them he loves choo-choos.We have to start some where.
- He travels very well when he is fed and we sing together.
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