to remember

I was in Walmart with Enoch and Thad and Zeke.
I real sharp looking Hutterite with a nice wide brimmed hat walked by.
Zeke pointed and yelled, "Indiana Jones!!" with all the excitement a 2 year old can muster upon seeing their hero. So cute.

Tonight Thad was having bad dreams. I went up and he was still sleeping but coherent enough to talk to me. I asked him what was wrong. He said he couldn't get out of the house. I asked him if he was playing Minecraft. To which he responded in the affirmative.
No more games before bed I think.

Monet has decided that the perfect dinner for Halloween is Sandwitches.

its about time

This has been a fun year for us. No one really checks blogs anymore, but I figure I need to be jotting things down so that I can remember the good things going on in my life with my family.

I won't go recap the entire year.

Levi just turned 10 the other day. That means I have been a parent for a decade! Wow, I am old. And so is he. Levi is awesome; he has a strong sense of self and is happy (mostly), he is always such a big help at home with his younger siblings. Right now Levi LOVES Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit and of course lego. Levi's creativity is developing and he loves drawing and comics and playing hide and go seek outside in the dark with his friends.

Enoch got baptized this year! It was such a great day. Enoch has really grown up a lot this year. He is as smart as a whip and can sometimes spell words better than myself. He has a love for playing outside, which is helped by having a neighbour his age right across the street. Enoch shares a love for the same books as Levi, and is often found with his nose in a book.

Monet is my girl. So glad I have a girl in this life of boys! She is thriving in kindergarten, learning to read simple words and I have heard from more than one parent about how kind she is. That just warms my heart; to hear that my kids are kind. Monet takes her role as big sister very seriously and makes up hundreds of games for Thad and Zeke to play. Her imagination has not slowed down as she has gotten older.

Thaddy-bear is really no longer Thaddy-bear. Although he does like it when I use his name and sing the good ol' Gummy Bears theme song from the cartoon. Thad is in joy school and loves it so much. He dresses himself most days, and adds interesting details like socks on his hands or a cape and no shirt. He loves to laugh and to make others laugh. Knock knock jokes are probably one of the funniest things to him in the entire world.

My baby is growing way too fast. Just yesterday I was marvelling at how tall he was as Josh was holding him. He was a nightmare as far as sleep goes, but we took his bottle away a month or two ago and he is  (finally) sleeping through the night. He doesn't say a ton of words, but a few of them are Dada (or course), mum, baba---bottle, nah-nah---night-night, shoe, no, nose and nana--banana.  His first words were tick tock for some reason. He used to repeat that all the time.

I am starting an independent dental hygiene business. It has kept me plenty busy and has been fun as I am enjoying the steep learning curve of running a business and dealing with insurance companies. I try to only work 5 days a month or so, so I feel like at least it hasn't taken over my family life. Josh might say otherwise, though. I run when I can and avoid housework whenever possible. Just read my first e-book which I thought I would never do, but loved using the in-phone dictionary.

Josh has started a scripture study class with a few couples from our ward. It has been very enlightening and enjoyable. I guess I can't make as much fun of him anymore for being so anti-social.  He is really into listening to podcasts by James Altucher, Tim Ferriss, Eric Thomas and Les Brown to name a few. Josh wants to get a six pack and thinks a lot about cross fit and navy seals and such. But I think he'll reach his goal when I do the same and stop eating sugar of any kind.

All in all our family has had a good and memorable year. We are feeling blessed and watched over.

spring!

Had the most glorious outing yesterday. Just to the park. But all 5 kids went, all 5 kids had fun, all 5 kids got dirty and wet and a slurpee. OK, Zeke didn't get one. But the weather was warm and sunny, and not windy and cold.... just lovely.

Ezekiel finally figured out how to go up and down the stairs safely and by himself. We had the stair blocked for almost 4 months, keeping him away from the stairs. So nice to not have to hop over a big chair or a big board in order to leave the main floor. It seems like once this kids learns one thing, he likes to keep going. He took his first steps last Wednesday, and already he is starting to walk on his own often. Since then he has learned how to stand up in his high chair and crawl onto the table. Oh! And don't forget that he now knows EXACTLY what to do if he finds a toilet lid up. He is finally taking a bottle and will be weaned by the end of the month. tear.

It took a long time, but Thad is now potty trained. He was more difficult than the last two to teach (no one will ever be as hard as Levi was, knock on wood), but once we figured out what motivated him, it was a breeze. With Levi it was Cars. Enoch was candy. Monet; Disney youtube videos. And turns out for Thad it is over the top praise and recognition. When the older kids do something in primary, like give a talk or prayer, after church they get to stand on the table and we all clap for them. We then all enjoy a treat, while the child on the table gets a double portion. Well, we put Thad up there once after peeing on the potty, and overnight he managed to figure out how and when to use the potty. He is so cute on the table, raising his right arm up high like a champion. Yeah, Thad!

Monet has loved every minute of pre-school. I can't believe she will be in kindergarten next year. She is starting to get close to knowing how to read, being able to make the sounds but not put them together. She is my biggest helper and enjoys helping me in the kitchen or folding laundry. I love seeing her imagination at work and watching her play with her friends.

It is now November and I never published this. I guess I will now. Sorry Enoch and Levi, better luck next time!

ziki

I need to write a little something about our sweet baby that is turning into a 2 year old right before our eyes! He is just 8 months, but has been crawling for nearly 2 months already and is quite good at going up the stairs. He is also good at going downstairs, but when he does this he needs someone to catch him as it is a face first free fall.  Zeke got his first two teeth right before Christmas and stood all by himself holding onto nothing just the other day. He still gets up several times a night but at least he sleeps in his own bed now instead of ours.

This little guy isn't so little. By 6 months he was in 12-18 month clothes, and just today his 18 month onesie for church barely snapped up.  I had to really force it. This same shirt Thad wore in the summer time. As in 4 months ago. My family jokes that Zeke's head is a big as mine, but it really isn't true. Not sure why they think that is so funny.

Ezekiel walks with his walker and lights up when Daddy enters the room. He also recognizes when Daddy starts up the missiles and laughs delightedly. We all sure love this little guy. It's sad that he is growing up so fast.

mustard

Instead of ketchup. Get it????

Josh is back at it in school. He is pretty pumped for this years bb season. So am I. He has been into FB debates a lot, as well as studying up on Christ and the Bridegroom symbology.

I have been canning a lot. A LOT. It's been fun. I can even make salsa with strictly my own ingredients from the garden. Enjoying Eragon Inheritance series right now.

Thad is Thad. He is so very two right now. Good thing he is so dang cute, cause otherwise he might not be as bearable. He had an eye check up recently and is our first child to not need glasses. Knock on wood, I hope that lasts! Right now he loves to play with balls, loves to throw and kick 'em. He loves to play chase and loves to laugh. He is a monkey-see monkey-do kind of guy. He really loves his older siblings and will do anything they do.

Monet has started pre-k. Loves it. Loves her classmates and loves that she gets to wear a backpack to school and take out library books. She is growing up too fast. She has been seen walking around with earbuds in her ears, and I get an uncomfortable glimpse into the future. She loves to help me out. Just the other day she helped me skin 10 lbs of tomatoes. Happily.

Enoch is in grade 2 and enjoying it. After having a home reading nazi for a teacher last year (don't get me wrong, she is a great teacher), I never even have to tell him to read his books. He just always does it. Weird to have one so devoted to homework. I'll have to have him read this when he is 12. Enoch is loving Diary of a Wimpy Kid books right now, as well as baseball, Pink Panther, and of course, Lego.

Levi finds himself in grade 3. he has told me several times that he has the nicest teacher in the whole school. He is a great helper with Zeke. I have even gotten him out of bed to hold the baby when I've needed to get some finishing touches on canning done. Levi has been into drawing lately. He traced about 3 dozen different planes and has them all memorized. Josh and him can talk planes and to me it sounds like a different language.

Zeke is growing way too fast. He just got his first shots and is already 20 lbs. He is inching forward on carpet and scooting backwards on lino. He can spin around on his tummy and change directions. He can flip over from his front to his back. He laughed once, really awesomely, on August 28th. Haven't heard that perfect full laugh since, although we get super big smiles anytime we ask for them. I have to refrain myself everyday from eating his cheeks and those dimples. He was an awesome sleeper and now he is an OK sleeper. Oh well. I'll sleep when I'm dead.

fhe

FHE. The dreaded weekly event that can end up really wonderful, or extremely sour, depending on the mood of parents and children alike.
Last week was one of those Mondays where I really didn't want to make the effort. I didn't have it in me. The kids were playing nicely outside, should I really stop them from what they are doing and drag them inside, just to sit down and have a lesson when they already had a lesson at church yesterday????

Persevere I did, and dragged them inside. Monet wanted to teach the lesson, and she chose to do it on reverence. We got a little lesson together and she did her thing. We talked about how reverence helped us to recognize the spirit. Daddy shared a bible story about how the voice of the Lord wasn't in the earthquake or in the wind, but in a still small voice. Next, we had an activity where we all made as much noise as we wanted to while listening to rock music. While that was going on, I called Josh's cell. No one heard it. No one. When I turned off the music and quieted everybody down (baby is now awake, btw), they were stunned to hear that the phone had gone off. I think they actually grasped that maybe, just maybe, that is why sacrament meeting can be boring, cause they aren't truly being reverent. It's more than just being quiet, its listening. It was good. I was happy, it wasn't so bad after all.

At the end we invited Monet to share her testimony. It was simple and sweet, and we could all feel the spirit. Significantly, we were all able to identify that we felt the spirit. What a wonderful evening we had, and I was so glad we took a few minutes to turn our home into a temple. FHE. Sometimes great, sometimes crazy. But that was a good one.

best ever

I had the best. birthday. ever. EVER!

As cool and collected as I am about most things, my birthday isn't one of them. I don't like birthdays. Haven't since I turned 20. I could have been 19 forever! Thankfully, I didn't get my wish and have continued to climb the ladder over the years. Of course, there are SO MANY blessings that I would have missed had I stayed 19. For example:

 and

 and of course, this:

Anyways, back to the best birthday ever. I got a garmin watch. Yes. I am happy over something so trivial and worldly. Do understand that it is something I have wanted for a long long time. Maybe 4 years or so. But the best part was that I got to spend the day with my family in Waterton. We ate at the park in town and then drove on up to Red Rock and walked around.

Oops. There was something even better. I got to ride into Waterton. On my bike (last years present), with my watch, telling me how fast and how far I have ridden. With the mountains slowly coming in closer and closer. With nothing but the wind screaming in my ear. It was heavenly and so much fun. Makes me want to bike all around Italy. But that is a dream for another birthday.

Thanks to my awesome husband for the great day. It was one to remember!

july

A few weeks ago, Erin's kids were here for basketball camp. I asked Shaylene to be in charge of the FHE lesson. She talked about fears and how prayers help. She asked everyone in the room to name something they are scared of. Most answers were pretty common: flying, spiders, etc etc. But Levi's really got all of our's attention. He said he was scared to kiss a girl! Ha!!! We got a good laugh and I had to get my plug in that of course you don't kiss girls till after your mission, so there is no need to pray for help in that area any time soon.

Thad is potty training. He is doing remarkably well for just turning two, but due to the lack of supervision on our part, he is not doing as well as I would like. I am happy that I only have 2 more to train in this area.

Zeke is so perfect. Actually, that is his nickname; Mr. Perfect. We all adore him and he is growing like a weed. Already 16 lbs.

Levi and I trained for a triathlon and just did the Stirling Tri yesterday. It was pretty fun. He did really well and really enjoyed it. I am looking forward to doing this again next year. 

Enoch lost his first tooth. Being one of the youngest and smallest in his class, he had really been looking forward to this event. He was SO happy when it happened. Thad just so happened to help with the process by pulling on something that was stuck in Enoch's mouth when he didn't want him to. Enoch was pretty upset until he realized how loose it made his tooth.

Monet and Zeke are sharing a room. At first it was Monet and Thad but that wasn't working so well. Now Thad is with the big boys, and Monet is with the baby. She is great with him. And as a bonus, now that she is sharing a room with someone, she no longer comes into our room nightly to cuddle. She sleeps through the night on her own just fine. 

We bought a trailer and have been camping lots. So much fun! So much work, too, but at least its bearable. In my mind I sort of thought that with a trailer camping would be easy. But things are never easy with 5 kids, as I was gently reminded on our first camping trip. It was so great to get away without phones and internet and nothing to do but play with the kids. We all had lots of fun both times. I did sustain a pretty sore injury falling off the playground playing tag, though. I need to be more careful next time. We've been getting into football and baseball with the older boys. They are really enjoying learning how to throw and catch. And both have a pretty good arm.

monet's eye view

Monet has a different perspective in life, and it is quite amusing at times.

For awhile she was always talking about what her Grandma would say. She would tell me stories about the world or people, and say that Grandma had told her. At first I thought she was referring to her "Stirling Grandma," the wife of our home teacher who is pretty awesome. But then I realized that she wasn't. Turns out Monet has a make believe Grandma, Grandma Flimp, who tells her all sorts of interesting "facts" about life and science and food and church. She refers to her often when telling me stories.
Then there is Alla. Not Ella, Alla. Her friend who has 29 brothers and sisters, and a house with 29 bathrooms, and has done many cool things and been to many cool places. She has lived with bears, hiked across wheat fields, stayed up really really really late at night, and taken care of many babies. Monet's friend always has experience in whatever field we are talking about, and can always share insight into any conversation through Monet.
I am amazed at how Monet can come up on the spot with stories about these two characters. It really cracks me up and I am impressed with her imagination. I have heard that kids who can make up stuff are really smart; here's hoping.