Seriously??? At Church??? At Christmas??? Come on!!!

Our ward split about a month ago. We are meeting in a random meeting house that isn't even in our stake boundaries - it's not a great neighborhood but Idaho Falls/Ammon hardly has a "ghetto" right? Anyway Brad was called from teaching his class in the middle of it, and I at the end of singing time to talk to police out in the parking lot. Our van window was smashed and, in addition to our peace of mind and security, they also took my purse. Luckily my purse was devoid of big cash, house keys, cell phone and such - it did have all of the plastic we keep around for emergency use plus my bank card and Brad's business bank card - Brad had to skip church to run home to cancel them all before they could use them. We weren't the only hit. Another lady had her car broken into today and our Relief Society President last week and a cute little senior couple on Wednesday of last week (she wasn't as lucky as I was - she had all of her keys in her purse). Anyway, we hope your holidays are a little less of a "smash" than ours have been. !long exasperated sigh!

A Braces, "By The Way"...

If you live around, in or within flying distance to Idaho Falls, we have a GREAT orthodontist! His name is Dr. McCord, of McCord Orthodontics. We LOVE LOVE LOVE him. Plus his office is adjacent to our neighborhood so while your people are being braced you could come visit me and we could eat chocolate (not popcorn, sadly - but chocolate). I sound like an infomercial!!!

...So call McCord Orthodontics today at 208-529-8333. That's 208-529-8333. Once again that number is 208-529-8333. Call in the next 30 minutes and we will ALSO give you...

Are you kind of wondering why you waste time reading my blog? Okay, but seriously, he is a great orthodontist if you need one.

Brace Face!!!

Guess who got braces?

ME! I know - more acne than ever before in my life, glasses, and now braces! I am like the only 7th grader with 5 kids, a husband and a minivan!

In the MEAN time

Anna wanted a specific friend over this morning. She just CAN'T get over this one PARTICULAR child visiting to play. Well, he isn't home. I left a message - but his mom hasn't called. I've asked about other children, but she just wants this ONE boy. Once this girl gets an idea in her head...

Anyway, I asked someone else over while her mom goes to the store this morning so that Anna would have someone to play with while I did a MOUNTAIN of dishes and laundry. She LOVES this girl who is coming but she is NOT Nicholas - and her heart is SET on Nicholas today - so I said, "If Nicholas comes home and calls us then we will ask him to come over and play, but can (so and so) come over in the meantime?" Her response? "Okay, but NICHOLAS gets to come over in the NICE time."

Meantime/nice time - isn't it all the same?

Heather Got Run Over By December...

Just so you know - December has run RIGHT over me - mowed me under - swallowed me whole!!! Soooo... If you blog about something VITAL - I probably won't get to it - PLEASE tell me so that I don't miss a huge life-changing event.

Here is hoping for a January that will chew me up and spit me out!!!

In Gratitude... For December

I didn't get to a million "Gratitude" posts that I could/should have done, but I am glad it is December so that I can get back to my "normal" posts.

The End.

In Gratitude... For An Ancestal Legacy and For Warmth

I am a sixth generation decedent of John Jaques who was part of the Martin Handcart Company. For those who may not know, this particular handcart company notoriously began their journey, by foot, from Iowa to Utah, too late in the year 1856. John Jaques was, thankfully, a lover of literature and the written word, and hence, kept a faithful journal. I am going to quote from that briefly here.

"...But at only one period, 1856-1860, was the handcart employed for mass emigration - the most remarkable travel experiment in the history of Western America.

Nearly three thousand men, women and children, pulling their worldly possessions in hand-made, two-wheeled carts, trudged some thirteen hundred miles to the Zion of their hopes. Across prairies and mountains, rivers and deserts, creaked their fragile vehicles, motored by muscle and fueled with blood.

There were the blind and deaf, little children and infants in arms; grey veterans of Waterloo; old ladies and pregnant women.

Babies were born on the journey; marriages were performed at the camps; old and young were buried along the trail. Overpowered by the summer heat, former factory workers fainted beside their carts. Scores froze in the biting cold of Wyoming blizzards.

For some there was the joy of fulfillment... For others, deep tragedy. Caught in the claws of an unseasonable winter, they struggled through mounting drifts with little clothing less shelter, and no food, and came to a complete halt in the white desolation."

With rations as little as 4 ounces of flour per day, and having burnt most of their winter blankets and coats in a futile attempt to lighten their load to hasten their journey, they were struck by early blizzards and trudged day, after day, on bleeding feet, devoid of shoes, resting at night in tents that were often too frozen to set up, and rather were just crawled into for some buffer from the elements. The story that stuck with me as a child was of one William Whittaker who froze to death on October 30th of that year after eating the flesh from his own fingers in his hunger.

I don't want this to be grim (I know, you couldn't tell, could you?). What I really wanted to say is that - I love warm. My warm house. Dry blankets. Socks. Boots. Cars with heaters. Rice bags warmed in the microwave. Hot water heaters. Coats. Gloves. Stocking caps. Scarves. Fireplaces. Central Heat. Storm windows. Sweaters. Turtlenecks. Earmuffs... and I just can't ever be cold, and then snuggle into something warm, without saying a little prayer of gratitude for those who suffered so that, not only I could have freedoms unknown to most, but also so that I could be warm. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Jaques. Thanks for the legacy of faith. Thanks for the warm.

In Gratitude... For Dark Chocolate

Chocolate. Preferably dark. Warm. Cold. Room temperature. Truffle. Bar. Cake (my favorite). Ice cream. Mouse. Frosting. Pudding. Liquid. Solid. Cookie. Brownie. Souffle. Chips. Delicious. Any questions?

In Gratitude... For Books.

Hello Book!

What are you up to?

Keeping yourself to yourself?

Shut in between your covers,

A prisoner high on a shelf!

Come in Book!

What is your story?

Haven't you ever been read?

Do you think I would just pass by you,

And pick me a comic instead?

No way, Book!
I am your reader.

I open you up... set you free.

Listen, I have a secret.

Will you share your secret with me?

Nice poem... huh? Okay, but here is the thing. Karen Joy McCoy and I helped third graders down in Texas memorize this little poem when we were assisting at their school in 1993. I'm sure the third graders have LONG forgotten it (like before they left class that day) but it has stuck with me like a pound of chocolate on my thighs. (Ummm... chocolate...) Sorry, where was I? Oh, yes. Books.

I LOVE books. Love them. I love picking one up for the first time and speculating on what treasure lies between it's well-bound cover. I enjoy the smell when you open a book for the first time - or the first time in a long time. I relish that moment when you know that all of your housework, appointments, and plans are just going to have to wait because there is NO WAY that you can continue on with "real" life until you know the ending of this well crafted tale. I feel both satisfaction, and sorrow when I close the book at the conclusion of an appreciated journey. And, maybe the best part is, after the book has been devoured and put back to rest, there is another waiting to be discovered. Reading is just a marvelous escape - one that can't be duplicated through movies, TV or any other source. Books are a ticket to a far away land, a private emotion that stirs in you different than in another reader, a wealth of information that someone meticulously recorded just for you to discover.

These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves. From each of them goes out its own voice... and just as the touch of a button on our set will fill the room with music, so by taking down one of these volumes and opening it, one can call into range the voice of a man far distant in time and space, and hear him speaking to us, mind to mind, heart to heart. ~Gilbert Highet
So go... read something far more edifying than this. Read a great book!

In Gratitude... For Water

I love water. The sound of it washing against the sand on a shore or trickling down the side of a fountain or crashing from the top of a mountain cliff into a pool far below. The smell of it as it refreshes the long parched ground in summer and makes the world seem inhabitable again. The feel of it as it washes around my ankles on the beach or rushes over me in the morning (the only good reason to even get up). The look of it as far as the eye can see or in a small glass cup as I drink. The taste - nothing refreshes like water. I just love water. Swimming in it, drinking it, washing in it, looking at it, listening to it...

Water.

Water.

Water.

I love water. Thanks for water, Heavenly Father.

In Gratitude... For Tanner

This boy was the reason I became a mom. He was the very first child we had. He changed my life. I remember being in the delivery room with Brad at about 4:00 in the morning. We were looking out our window at the view of the valley and watching the town starting to stir - the cars on the freeway, a few lights coming on in various buildings - and I thought "this is one of the most important days of my life and all of those people out there are completely unaware of the amazing events that are taking place!" And how amazing they have truly been.

Tanner is a wonderful big brother. He loves to chose the right. I love that about him. He tries to avoid evil and danger, and encourages others to do the same. He is our ALL or NOTHING boy. From an early age - even birth. He was ready to come. He was due to come. My water had broken. He didn't want to come. The doctor had to go in and surgically remove him. With speaking - he didn't baby talk very much - he just sort of started talking like he was a 14 year old 12 month old. Walking? He didn't walk until he was almost 17 months. Indeed we had begun to wonder if something was wrong with his legs! We tried the "walk to mommy - walk to daddy!" thing FOREVER - nope. Then one night, as we were visiting with our friends, Chris and Shelley, Tanner stood up in the middle of the floor, without holding onto anything, and walked out. He didn't toddle really - just step-step-step and he was gone. He read the same way. No sounding out words for him. He went from refusing to tell us the sounds letters made to reading Dickens in one day - slight exaggeration! We love him for this. Right now his ALL thing is basket ball. He loves basket ball. He plays basket ball in the morning, afternoon and evening. He watches basket ball when it is too late to play it. He is the basket ball boy.

One of my favorite things about Tanner is that, as he is getting older, he is our friend. We read and talk and play together. We like so many of the same things. He is really smart and observant and we gain a lot of insight when we listen to him.

Tanner, thanks for being a great son and the perfect big brother. You really are an amazing person and I love you very much!

In Gratitude... For Madsen

When Madsen was just a month or two old, he was sitting on our kitchen table in our tiny little house on 14th street in Pocatello, Idaho, in his little blue bouncy seat. I remember that he was in his snugly footy jammas and his hair was all slicked down from his recent bath. As I looked at him, I was amazed beyond words at how much I loved him - and at how Heavenly Father had created us so that even when we loved someone with all of our soul, we could still have room to love someone else in that same way.

When Madsen was about two he and Tanner started doing "thumbs up" to us. One night I asked Madsen what that meant and he said "It means I want to be like you." After that we began "thumbs up-ing" them whenever they made us want to be like them. It became a family tradition - something that we still do. I still love it.

I have always been glad for Madsen. He is a great friend to Tanner and the sisters. He is very good at drawing and the stories he makes up are very imaginative. He is fun to listen to. He likes people and you can feel it when you are around him. He is a good worker. When our neighbor, Wendell, is out in his yard, Madsen will go over to his house and work along with him until Wendell is done. Madsen doesn't have a hang up with generation gaps. If he is talking to a 2 year old, he is two. If he is talking to an 80 year old, he is 80. You just can't help but like this kid.

I am so thankful that Madsen was born into our family. I love his smile and hugs.

Hey Madsen, "thumbs up!" I love you!

In Gratitude... For America and the Veterans Who Fight for Her

There is a saying; "If it's worth having, it's worth fighting for." I am so grateful to live in this country which is SO worth having for the freedoms we enjoy which are SO worth having, and for the liberty which is ours, again SO worth having - but bought with a price. That price has been paid for me by many men and women, Patriots, most of them I will never know, but I am indebted to all each of them. Thank you, veterans, for your love, patriotism and lives which were dedicated to the cause of liberty which I benefit from every day.

...One nation, under God, indivisible...

And Bryan, I love you. Fly safe.

In Gratitude... For Camilla

This girl. How is it possible that someone SO amazing is MY very own DAUGHTER?

Okay. Truth. My WHOLE life I wanted a little sister. I didn't get one. I had five little brothers (and thank heavens - one older sister so I wasn't TOTALLY alone!). I love my brothers (see Sammy?). I wouldn't trade them (especially since they married "sisters" for me - JUST for me - right?) Anyway, Tanner was a surprise. We didn't know his gender before birth - NOT ON PURPOSE (which is why he is STILL grounded). He was such a fun baby that when I had my second, I was GLAD he was a boy. As a matter of fact, I started to understand why my mom CHOSE not to give me a little sister. I was SERIOUSLY okay with ONLY having boys... BUT, when we found out that Camilla was a girl - ALL of that longing for a little sister came back and I was CRAZY with happiness for a DAUGHTER! Bows, tights, patent leather clacky shoes, dresses, pony tails... I couldn't wait!

Turns out, this girl was SO worth waiting for. She is a great friend to me. I am so thankful that she loves me. She HAS to sit by me at church and kneel by me at prayer time. She talks to me and reads to me and sings with me. She is so responsible that Brad and I MARVEL! There are several times when her little sisters PREFER her help to mine. And FUN??? We just laugh and smile and sigh at that Miss Mills. She is creative like you wouldn't believe - she LOVES to cook and has even created a several recipes from scratch (strawberry cake, blueberry muffins...) and she is always drawing pictures for us and writing little notes about why she loves each member of this family. We just couldn't BE a family without our Camilla.

Camilla, you are one INCREDIBLY AMAZING girl. We just couldn't LOVE you MORE! Thanks for being our very first daughter. You are the BEST!

In Gratitude... For Medication

Really. It kind of sounds funny but when my children are sick, it is SO nice to have Tylenol or Advil to reduce their fever. Antibiotics - need I say more? Spinal blocks for c - sections (life savers for sure!). And who misses the restraining straps that used to be the "dental anesthesia?" Not ME! There are so many amazing things that doctors can do today - cures that even just a few years ago were unheard of! I'm so grateful for the people who study and create and test and prescribe the things that save lives every day. What an amazing era we live in.

And on that note, I am going to go take some Advil for my headache. Ahhhhhh.

In Gratitude... For Ella

The month before I became pregnant with Ella I had a miscarriage. I was both very excited and very nervous when I found out that, once again, there was a baby in me. At about 9 weeks I thought we were losing her and it broke my heart - but she didn't go! When I got pregnant we were doing a rotation in Utah. Three months later we moved to Idaho Falls for another rotation. I started getting sharp pains right before we made the move - but they would quickly go away. About two months into our stay in Idaho, and three months of these weird, sudden, debilitating pains, and five months into my pregnancy, I got very, suddenly, extremely sick. Again, my biggest concern was whether or not a baby could survive what I was going through. When I got to the hospital they gave me pain medication and an X-ray and all of these things that made me nervous for our baby's safety, but Brad gave me a Priesthood Blessing and told me that our baby would be protected from the ill effects of the process. After several tests the doctors determined that I had a kidney stone which was blocking my left kidney. I was rushed into surgery on a Sunday night and woke up feeling much relieved. After a day in the hospital they sent me home where I immediately began running a very high fever. Back to the hospital I went. I was there for a week. They hired an Infectious Disease doctor to my team. They could not figure out what was wrong with me. The antibiotics they tried weren't killing the whatever it was... finally, after a LOT of prayer and another Priesthood Blessing, they put me on a new IV antibiotic. It worked. They sent me home but I had to have the IV on me and the antibiotics injected into me twice a day. After this whole fiasco we moved BACK to Philadelphia (5 days in a van) for the last three months of Brad's schooling and the last three months of my pregnancy. Indeed, little baby Ella was born just 10 days before Brad graduated. She was such a miracle. I really hadn't planned to tell her whole pre-life story - but since it has worked out that way...! We moved around a lot when Ella was a baby. We moved the two times before she was born and then three more times in her first year of life. Before she was even ONE month old she had visited the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, several Church History sites, and at 11 states. She spent a lot of time in her car seat - she even slept there for the first three weeks because we didn't have her cradle with us. Her nickname when she was tiny was "Perfect Baby" and she was. Now, you must understand, she DID turn two - and then came an AMAZING stubborn streak - not very often - but if she sets her mind - you CAN'T out-stubborn that girl.

But oh, is she ever wonderful. She has the cutest dimple under her lip. She has a giggle that you can't resist. And she has her daddy's eyes. Lucky girl.

She is the one child of ours that could be called "shy". Others can pretend for a minute or two, but with Bean (as we often call her) it is genuine. She is just quiet and sweet. We like her so much.

She started school this year and really likes it. I'm glad in a way, but I miss her. She is my snuggle bug. I am thankful that I am her mom. She makes me happy in so many ways, and she gives me a run for my money in others - which may not make me exactly happy - but it does make me stronger!

I was very sad when I miscarried - but having Ella, and knowing that I wouldn't have otherwise had her, makes me so grateful for a loving Father who knows, not only WHAT I need, but WHO I need too - and Ella Bean, I needed you.

I LOVE you, Ella!

In Gratitude... For Sunshine

I AM going to write about each of my children, but today I needed to do this one.

I am so thankful for sunshine. This morning it was cool, but still. There was frost on the grass enough that I could feel it giving way under my feet. It smelled deliciously like decaying leaves when Brad and I went out to do some "winterization" in the backyard. Several times in the 90 minutes or so when we were out, I just had to stop and turn my face to the amazing sun that was warming my hair and my back. It is such an indulgent feeling to be cool enough to have goosebumps, but then have one perfect spot of warmness soaking into me from the sky.

How amazing is a Heavenly Father that He would create something so FUNCTIONAL - and make it so BEAUTIFUL! We all know that we literally couldn't live without the sun, and as I get older and older and older and older and older... I find that it becomes more of a personal need too. I express my gratitude for the sun; for the flowers, food, grass, trees and many other things like that which it's light helps to grow, for the essential vitamins it gives to me and to my children, for the warmth it gives, for the illumination that lights the darkness...

Thanks Heavenly Father, I just LOVE that sun.

In Gratitude for... Anna

I can't believe that there was a time when we didn't have this spunky little monkey in our family. It has been said, by more than one person, that she has my personality. That scares me ("scares" is a GIGANTIC understatement). But man, do I love her.





We do "mom" school while the kids are gone to "real" school. Mom school is where she gets to take hour long baths while I talk to her, she colors while I watch her, we watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while we snuggle, and then whatever else she tells me to do (bossy? I don't think she gets THAT from me!) Right now I am tying her backpack around her waist. Now she wants to have fries - she doesn't even CARE that I am doing a nice blog about her!!!





She has beautiful eyes and a cute little smile (she has a devious smile too - also very cute). She is sassy, but she has a really soft heart especially when she sees someone who is sad. This girl loves her sisters. She is constantly calling for Camilla to come help her with something and she and Ella play EVERYTHING together. Those girls have so much fun that I sort of want them never to grow up.








She is our baby sweet. She came to our family and made us complete.








Thanks for coming Miss Ann, we missed you!

Truthfully, I'm not sure we can handle this much fun.

In Gratitude... For Brad

He is the greatest. What more can I say. I am so thankful that he loves me. He loves the Lord and he loves our family. He's a man of integrity. He is a great husband. He is my best friend. He is a fabulous father. He has always been a perfect match for me.

I could go on and on but most of you are probably blushing or barfing already (including Brad, because somehow, through all of his greatness, he still maintains an honest humility), but if I am counting my blessings, being married to him is on the top of my list.

In Gratitude... For Jesus Christ

I know, I will go for a month without blogging and now I have like four blogs in two days, but I wanted to finish writing about some of our favorite toys and NOW, one of my friends (but 'cept she won't talk to me - thanks Marie!) is doing a blog of what she is thankful for, every day in November. I really liked this idea and so I am going to copy it.

Yesterday at church we had a fabulous lesson about gratitude. It really is amazing when your focus shifts from what you need - to what you are thankful to have. So at this, the time when we celebrate thanks for our Country and our Harvest, I am going to record things I am grateful for.

I am going to start out with the most important thing...

Sacrifice is hard, but when it involves one of your children it becomes much harder! Yet, Heavenly Father didn't hesitate when he sent Jesus Christ to this earth as a tiny, part mortal, part divine infant - to grow and endure trials - and live PERFECTLY - and finally, at the end of his mortal ministry and perfect life, to SUFFER. Not for His sins, because He didn't have any, but for mine. He knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane and felt the pain I would feel... all of it, which is why, in hard times, He is the only one who truly knows how I feel. Many times He has taken my pain when it was too much for me. I love Him. I am everlastingly thankful that He made it possible for me to over come sin, through His atonement, and death, through His resurrection. He is my Savior, Redeemer, and Friend.

Stuffed Animals (Seventh [and final for now] in the Classic Toys Series)

Stuffed animals were never part of my growing up. We just didn't have them, or if we did, I never played with them enough to remember. BUT, when I had Tanner, Brad started a sweet tradition. He bought a little stuffed bear for Tanner. That Bear (the bear's name is BEAR, coincidentally) was the same length as Tanner when he came home from the hospital (and now is shorter than his forearm - who said that boy could get so big?) and is a family treasure. Every time I had a baby Brad would pick out a stuffed animal for that baby and, I have to say, it is amazing how that little stuffed animal was perfect for that child. We love those gifts from dad. Over the years the children have collected quite a zoo of animals (my in laws love to give them - and my children love to get them!) They play with them. They have games and traditions with them. Camilla loves hers so much that NONE of them can be excluded from sleeping on the bed with her - poor girl barely fits on her own bed after she gives them their space. One of our favorite traditions with the stuffed animals, is PET TREE. I have blogged about this before, but here are some pictures from a recent pet tree. LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE DANG STUFFED ANIMALS! No wonder we outgrew our other house.

Bikes (Sixth in the Classic Toys Series)

Bikes are the ultimate toy of childhood. Our kids love riding their bikes. Brad got into the spirit a few years ago and would sometimes take a couple of the kids on a ride. This year I bought a bike at a yard sale for $15. We took it into a bike shop and had them fix the brakes and do a once over on it, then Brad bought a bike seat and helmets for Anna and I and our family became mobile. We had a great time on our bikes this summer, including a ride to the zoo. It's a five mile round trip and there were times we wondered about how great of an idea it was - like when our barely 5 year old was so busy watching her cute little shoes and skirt to pay attention to staying away from the edge of the road and the swift moving traffic, but we made it!

Every year the boys do a Stunt Show for the neighbors. In the old house we would have half of the neighborhood turn out for treats and thrills. This year was our first time in this neighborhood and we have a LOT less young families with children who beg to go until their parents give in - - but even with a more conservative turn out, we had a great time. We had a few neighbors come, including our newest neighbors, Jill and Aaron, who came and stayed for quite a while playing basket ball, and Jill even took a spin on the bikes, to satisfy the kids. They also had the special treat - a boy from our OLD neighbor, who actually moved to California, came to visit the week they did the show. Jake was always part of the festivities, so having him here again was great.

Bikes are childhood at it's best.