Kids Kwotes & Hall Marks

Hall Happeninz

2011-10-23T15:48:00.000-06:00

We are good…had a GREAT summer...but now, school is in full swing. Hubby insisted I stay OUT of it this year, forcing them to keep up and not miss assignments…withOUT my constant checking and pushing. It’s HARD, since ALL of their academic happenings are accessible to parents online! No skipping a class or getting a tardy without your parents knowing THESES days…sure glad I’m on the PARENT end now!

They’re all doing surprisingly well, though. Last year was a HUGE transition for John & Sterling, going from a poorly-run private school (which they attended for ONE year)…to this HIGH on the Utah Academic charts charter school…AND into Junior High in the SAME leap!

Taylor has been an A student, but has B’s & C’s this year, as this 6th grade works hard to prepare them for the increased responsibilities of Junior High…and is much harder.

Sam has always earned A’s, and been a peer FAVORITE…but this past week has been “playing” a little to hard, & hurt two kids! Should I worry about bullying? We’ll see. Maybe it’s only because he has two BIGGER, rough brothers and is just more aggressive than others his age? I know I was…and sometimes had mishaps where people thought I was TRYING to be mean when I was really just stronger than I realized, and a tad (HA!) clumsy. I remember how BAD I felt when I hurt someone on accident. I hope that is the case with him, and that it is NOT a developing anger problem.

Gabe IS an A student and is smarter than most students his age (…because he is CURIOUS & must KNOW things…NOW! Like yesterday when he noticed my magnifying makeup mirror shows you right side UP when close, but turns your reflection upside DOWN when you back away to a certain point! As usual, he made me google it…and we ALL got a lesson on physics.  Curiosity + Determination = READING…which inevitably equals INTELLIGENCE!) He is decidedly THE class clown of EVERY class he has ever been in! Needless to say, parent-teacher conferences invariably include discussion of enjoyment of his personality by both peers AND teachers…yet hopes of taming his TIMING of comedy to appropriate moments so as not to disrupt quiet teaching times.

Paytie is SO dad gum BIG…but cries if we mention it, saying between tears, “I d’own WUNNA git big like Johnnie! Eye’n jus a cute LITTLE girl!” Said as if she is proclaiming that Johnnie is NO LONGER describable by the word “cute”…and is afraid it will happen to HER! Funny!

Johnnie always says in an exaggeratedly-mock sweet baby voice, “Thanks, Sweetie…I love YOU, too!” Before rolling his eyes and laughing.

Can you believe he is TALLER than I am? He will pass John before long. He now weighs 145 lbs…only ## lbs until he reaches ME! (Ok, 25 on most days…but LAY OFF, wudja?! )

ME? Well…I am lately obsessed with couponing. I print them from manufacturer’s websites, from Sunday paper inserts…and even unashamedly digging in (somewhat hidden!) recycling bins at an elementary school in a RICH neighborhood…where people don’t bother to clip even the BEST ones. (But MAN, it makes me mad when they DO take one…I mean, how DARE they take their OWN coupons from me?  It’s usually just the pistachios, though, so I try to forgive.) It’s amazing that the world seems to be consistently diligent in never putting anything other than CLEAN paper and boxes in the bins.

I spend about 15 hours per week researching online, matching store sales to coupons on hand, cutting and organizing hundreds of them, and making lists and plans of attach for various stores. THEN taking HOURS to shop, coming home with everything in multiples due to most store sales requiring that you buy so many to get the sale price…which I combine with my many DUPLICATE (from bins!) coupons…for a STEAL!

I get LOTS of items for FREE. I LOVE when coupons don’t specify a SIZE…such as “$2.oo off Dayquil, 80 count or larger” versus “$2.oo off any Dayquil product.” I just shop around and ultimately find whatever product I am looking for, in TRIAL size…which the coupon allows me to get it for FREE.

Sound dishonest? I WOULD say so, if it were a secret practice. But it is widely posted and advertized by couponing sites around the world, which are certainly accessed by manufacturers who can easily see and ELIMINATE the issue by simply printing, “Excludes Trial Sizes” on their coupons…so, I figure it’s fair game.

I am able to get LOTS of freebies through “stacking” store sales, in-store coupons and manufacturer’s coupons. It is SO much work! It wouldn’t be worth it to someone with plenty of money & little time…but to ME, short on money with plenty of time…it pays.

It is my LEAST favorite time-consuming chore, second only to LAUNDRY. However, the children watch and think I must LOVE it. Whistle while you work, I guess…and no one is the wiser! We like the show “Extreme Couponing” on TLC, where women spend 40-60 hours a WEEK at it, making it possible for them to buy over $1000.oo worth of grocery and household products for $0.oo-$30.oo…CRAZY! Sometimes they come out with the store owing the CUSTOMER for overages!

But…that’s only in states that DOUBLE manufacturers coupons. Utah doesn’t…as of yet. Though I hear ONE Wal-Mart in Southern Utah does…so maybe it will catch on. THEN I’ll be capable of extremes! As it is…I am getting EVERYTHING for less than 50%, so I can’t complain! Brand names, too…instead of the generics I would buy if it weren’t for the coupons. Generics usually don’t have coupons…and WITH them, the name brands are actually cheaper!

Other recent obsessions include researching about getting my book/s published, DIRT…and using coupon-purchased items to experiment the differences between products, documenting the results with pictures, and writing about them on my blog “ ”

Aside from a natural interest (as shown by a lifetime of daily experiments…though withOUT documentation) in generic vs. name brand differences, if any…my blog will also serve as a stepping stone in “Platform Building”, which is necessary before even TRYING to land an agent… which is the ONLY hope of landing an editor which must be acquired before finding a publisher! One simply can’t GET published…if they AREN’T ALREADY. And the process to even get an AGENT to take a mere GLANCE at you is quite extensive. Once I have it going steady, I’ll have to plead to all family to log on & “follow” my blog…in order to show (or fake!) that people are actually interested IN my writings.

It’s step ONE of about TWENTY. Did you know only 10% of writers ever GET published…with most working toward it for about FIFTEEN years before obtaining a deal? And…only a very small percentage of THOSE ever actually make a living at it! So WHY do it? Because, as motivates most writers…I LOVE it.

I also love experimenting…and rock hounding. I really wanted to get up to the old Lucky Stare Mine to hunt for Malachite and Azurite this summer…but the access road is now closed until spring.

We pray you are all happy and well! Love, Ry 

Sam's Valentine

2011-06-10T18:59:00.003-06:00

Kizoa slideshow: My Valentine, Sam - Slideshow

Johnnie's Valentine

2011-06-10T18:59:00.001-06:00

Kizoa slideshow: JJ Valentine - Slideshow

Sterling's Valentine

2011-06-10T18:52:00.004-06:00

Kizoa slideshow: Sterl Valentine1 - Slideshow

Gabe's Valentine

2011-06-10T18:46:00.002-06:00

Kizoa slideshow: Gabe's Valentine - Slideshow

Paytie's Play-Dough...Uh...Pasta?

2011-02-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

This morning I showed Payton how to push play dough through a little gadget that forces the firm form through little holes, making it into many long strands.

“Look, Paytie! It looks like…” I started to say ‘little worms’, but stopped myself just in time. She is one girly child…and I didn’t want her to reject the entire play dough concept over one silly phrase! So, instead, I finished with, “uh…hair! Or, spaghetti!”

Perhaps I had unknowingly displayed some sort of expression on my face as I had contemplated comparing the fun stuff to annelids, because she scrunched up her nose as I finished, and quickly determined that what I had said must really freak me out. Thus, she carefully assured me, “Don’t worry, Mommy. It’s not skeddy…it’s PLAY dough!”

I looked a little shocked at the protective inflection in her voice, and she continued, “Can you say ‘playdough’?”

“Uh…playdough.” I obediently answered, as if I hadn’t already used that word fourty-five times today.

“BEH-ree GOOD, Mama!” She praised in with motherly animation, thankful she had successfully averted the almost-disgust-Mommy situation!

Boy…am I lucky to have her to watch over me. I shall never fear spaghetti again. Now, if she could only fix my hair issue!

Crazy Note: Trying to sound smarter than I am, I googled ‘What family do worms belong to?” wondering as I typed, if anyone had ever actually googled the crazy question before. There were ONE MILLION, two-hundred and fifty thousand hits. Wow. Maybe I’m not the only one who has forgotten what they learned in 4th grade science!

Daddy Discussion

2010-11-05T13:00:00.003-06:00

This morning I was avoiding getting out of bed, as I hadn’t slept until 5:00 am. But, it was now 10:00, and Paytie was bright and happily singing down close to my face:

“Good MORE’neen, Good MORE’neen, Good MORE’neen! It’s time to rise an’ SHINE! Ged outta bed, you seepy HEAD an’ face duh day so FINE!”

I decided to be the pouty baby that she sometimes pretends to be in the mornings, and put forth my best imitation of her pretend-pouty-baby face & voice. “I wun my DADDY,” I whined, sticking out my bottom lip dramatically.

She looked a little confused, and then giggled. It suddenly occurred to me, and I asked, “Do you know who my Daddy is?”

She shrugged her shoulders and took a guess, “Daddy Shan’in?”

I resisted the shudder that tried to creep up my spine, and laughed. “NOooooo! MY Daddy is Grandpa Whicker.”

“Oh!” She said with a smile, “Did he hug ewe an’ kiss ewe?”

“Yep!” I said, enjoying her sparkly little eyes.

Then, this look of bewilderment slowly came over her, and I could see those little wheels turning inside that beautiful messy morning bed-head. I was so curious…but I waited for her to form words.

“Soooooo…’yur Daddy….uh…’yur Daddy got mean? An’ you,” I could tell she was deeply conflicted, not able to quite believe the story her mind had concocted, because it conflicted so greatly with her heart, ”…an’ you…you left that house? That mean, mean house?”

Sweet baby! She just could NOT think of ANY reason on earth, why a little girl would EVER leave her Daddy. Mean-ness was the only excuse she could fathom! But, at the same time, she knew Grandpa Whicker is NOT mean at all!

“Grandpa’s not MEAN!” I laughed, “I just got married. When you grow up and get big, you will get married, and then you will move away from your Daddy, too.”

She surprised me with her answer, “Oh! I willy want to do that!”

“You DO?” I asked, shocked at her sudden change of heart regarding this whole leaving Daddy business. She nodded, with wide, excited eyes. “Well, who are you going to marry?” I queried.

She giggled as though that was the silliest question she had ever heard. “I don’t know!" She giggled. Then she got serious & decided to guess, "Grandpa Whicker?”

I shook my head, & tickled her pokey little bare tummy. Then I asked, “Do you know who Mommy married?”

“Uh…no, I don’t.” She responded, as though prompting me to answer my own question.

“I married,” I paused to reach out & pat her chest as I finished, “your Daddy.”

She suddenly burst into laughter. “I’M not your Daddy! (giggle, giggle) Silly MOMMY!”

It is humorous how confusing our language can be…especially if you punctuate or pause in the wrong place! “No, you are not my Daddy! But I married your Daddy.”

She only giggled and restated her bubbly argument, clearly thinking I was intentionally teasing her, just for kicks & giggles! “I’m NOT your Daddy!”

“You silly baby girl!” I said, wondering how on earth I was going to get her to understand. Finally, I pointed up to a wedding picture on the wall. “You know that picture where Daddy and I are eating the cake? THAT is when I got married to Daddy.” I said, entirely removing the “your” this time.

Now she only got sillier. She honestly thought I was just playing one of my teasing games, where I say something ridiculous, and she tries to convince me of the obvious truth. So she went along with my insanity, and stated her honest-to-goodness perception of the truth. “HE’s not your sisser…he’s MY sisser!!!”

So, there you have it folks. You can’t fool this one! She is way to smart to believe I am married to John, my very own sister! I am married to Daddy, her very own sister!

Bear Lake

2010-10-10T22:12:00.005-06:00

The weekend of September 24th was the BEST weekend our family has ever spent together. Undisputedly, the mostiddleyOSTest awesomESTer vacation we have ever taken! Did we go to Paris? Race up the steps of the Eiffel Tower? Take a Caribbean Cruise? Spend three days at Disney Land, Lego Land, or Sea World in absolutely ideal weather? Repel down the Grand Canyon? Nope! We drove a mere 98 miles…to Bear Lake, Utah.

That was the longest amount of time we have ever spent in the truck with all eight of us at once…and that was a lot of fun all in itself. Some of the kids completed a whole weeks worth of reading, and others just enjoyed sitting back and doing nothing but listen to music and daydreaming out the window…as did I. We don’t have a lot of sit-and-do-nothing-at-all time at our house, so it was quite relaxing…especially since Paytie slept most of the way, during which time we got to make a very-unusual music change from her ever-loved c.d. “Kids Sing” (A.K.A. Cedermont Kid’s Bible Songs…which we all now know inside & out, frontward AND backward!)

That is, until, we entered the canyon after Logan…when we all became engrossed in the scenery. We’ve always enjoyed passing rocky cliffs, and trying to spot rock-climbers. A sport I would enjoy myself, and that I can still enjoy watching, until they turn eighteen and possibly decide to try it themselves. I’m quite certain that if that ever happens, it will suddenly become my most hated sport!

The lake and sky were both SO blue, that they would not have been distinguishable if not for the small strip of mountains that separated them in the distant horizon! The kids were astounded at the lake’s crisp, clear blue water. It must be the prettiest water I’ve ever seen…I sure don’t remember seeing any that blue as we travelled through Europe when I was a teenager.

We stayed in a small cabin at the K.O.A. campground in Garden City. The center room had a futon couch, a small wooden bench, and a table with three chairs…which we had to move any time we needed to squeeze past the small counter sink, microwave & under counter fridge to get to the restroom. Quite cozy! It had a room in which the double bed barely fit, and a small cove on the other end containing one small bunk-bed set. Eight people in a cabin made for four little people…and it was absolute heaven.

They had a small grocery/necessity store on site, that shocked me with reasonable/non-tourist-inflated prices…a little recreation room with all sorts of fun tables and games, a playground, a big jumping pillow, and bike rentals. The log cabins had front porch swings, and were absolutely adorable! They also have a pool and a lot of children’s activities (coloring your own Bear Lake T-shirt, outdoor breakfast, and a swimming pool) which had ended the previous weekend as “off season” was entered.

The kids enjoyed running around camp, with free-at-last legs, while I unpacked and organized the seemingly large amount of stuff we had unloaded into that tiny place. I have this incessant desire when staying away from home, of settling in completely, putting everything away into drawers, and getting all luggage completely out of sight. I made the beds, packed away the groceries, and actually managed to make our temporary home look just like it had when we first opened the door.

Then, I was ready to play…and I couldn’t wait to get out and explore with the children. As soon as I located my three pillows for our bed, I would be OFF! Not finding them, I was suddenly a little worried. (As is quite unusual, I had allowed J.J. to pack them, very last, in the truck…with very specific instructions to ensure they did NOT touch the ground, or ANYTHING gross.) I checked the truck. They were nowhere to be found. I found J.J. to inquire about them, and he assured me he had placed them on the very back seats. I went to the truck once more…and found them now neatly lining the FLOOR BOARD, under which six of my sweet children’s disgusting SHOES had rested, kicked, and rubbed…for almost two full hours. Can you imagine me, Ryanne Whicker Hall, putting my face on those pillow cases after that? Can you imagine me letting them touch any part of my body? Uh, no. And never in a trillion years would I sleep on them without cases! John suggested putting his clean-t-shirts over them…but, incase you didn’t know it, T-shirts have holes in them!

So…off I went…to explore the Laundromat. I wasn’t too happy about this for the moment. Regardless, I couldn’t resist smiling at the lifetime memory it was creating.

After two trips across the campground, finally carrying a palm-full of dish soap for use as detergent, the dad’bern pillowcases began washing. Sam had been quite amused when he met me half-way, laughing at the fact that I was carefully attempting to keep the handful of liquid in my hand…twisting and turning them to employ the force of gravity to keep drops on me as they would try to escape & roll down to slip to the ground. “Mom, why didn’t you just carry the whole bottle over, and then take it back?” Gee…it’s embarrassing when a 9 year old points out your stupidity! I smiled and stuttered, “Uh…...well, because, um..." I paused trying to come up with an excuse for my stupidity, wishing to save face. "Uh...because it isn’t technically ours, and I didn’t want to steal it???” I asked as a question, which made us both burst into giggles! He loves his crazy Mama…

I hurried back to use the small countertop two-burner range to heat up water, ramen noodles and canned soup, etc…as we were shocked to discover there wasn’t a dollar menu in town, and most of the town shut down and went to sleep at SEVEN p.m.! Oh, wait…there was a pizza joint open, who charges $47 for a large pizza! No, that is not a typo. So, we were thankful for few, but seemingly unnecessary varied cans of edible substances I had packed. I was feeling so smart and prepared…until I discovered that the cupboard of dishes, utensils and pans did not contain a can-opener, as promised.

It was quite an adventure, though, and took me over 15 minutes to open each can…without a can opener! That was not fun. Ever tried it? Every second of the time, I was picturing myself suddenly spurting with blood, and having the whole world asleep and closed without so much as a band-aid to be found. But, I prayed, punctured, prayed, pried…and prayed my way through it…and I came through unscathed. My prayers then turned to hoping the kids were not consuming small shards of metal in their food.

Before the kiddos went to bed, we popped popcorn, and watched part of a DVD on a 10” screen hanging up high on the far wall. Well, they watched. I listened, and gazed in that direction.

Then I hurried over to put the pillowcases into a .25 cent dryer. The door? Was locked!!! I panicked, as you can imagine. I knew I wouldn’t get to lay my head down ALL night…and the entire vacation would find me ornery and miserable! John took me back to attempt the lock with every key we had…and, as a last desperate attempt, I actually removed the screen and tried to open the window. Mind you, I am completely against illegal activity. But that night, I found that my germ-obsession over-ruled my integrity…and suddenly realized that I totally deserved the lesson that God was going to teach me, with or without my permission.

Ultimately, I wound up using John’s T-shirts, showering first thing in the morning, and then, by sheer determination, refusing to allow myself to wash all my bedding which the t-shirt-covered pillows had touched. But…I DID it!!! Though, knowing what could already be ON the bedding, made it almost seem silly to wear socks any time I walked on the foreign floor, and then carefully remove them at the bottom of the bed before getting on it…so as to not allow the floor-trodding-socks to come in contact with the bed, but placing them within reach in order to slip them back on before my feet could touch the floor once again. (I said “almost”)

The next morning, I found that most of the pans provided had rust in the bottom. Being “off-season”, the office didn’t open until noon…so I postponed cooking the big breakfast and fed everyone cereal and microwave oatmeal for breakfast. Then we readied ourselves for a day near the water!

Unexpectedly, we were given the opportunity to use two wave-runners for 2 hours that day! Wow…that was SO MUCH FUN. My two favorite things…nature, and speed. I was, well…totally STOKED! The kids loved it, and each spent at least 45 minutes out jumpin’ the waves & creating whirl-pools.  It was soon determined that there were only a couple of the kids willing to go a second time with ME. Sterling, and Gabe. Taylor, Sam, and Paytie each asked for an early drop-off…wanting to go with Daddy. Johnnie...you know...the oldest, "bravest" one??? Sucessfully evaded me the entire two hours!

I know. Normally, it would be the other way around, with the Mom being the more cautious and comforting parent. But…give me speed, and I just can’t BEAR to go slow! I hit every boat-wave I could find…at top speed, as my hair flew behind me, parallel to the water! I wonder if the kids would have been embarrassed at my whoops, hollers and yahoo’s…if anyone else in the world could have heard them. 

It was a rush. Undoubtedly the most exhilarating experience I have had in at least a decade! For the last 40 minutes, Sterling & I went at top speed all the way across the lake and back…a fine way to round out the 2 hours. We all agreed that was an incredibly fun time!

When our time was up, we pushed the machines toward the beach to park them 20 feet out, and wade to the rest of our little family. One of the kids had found a golf ball in the sand beneath the water, and a child-wide search ensued. Not just our children, but also the children of the family who was preparing to take over the wave-runners. It was fun to watch their excitement as each of them would pop up out of the knee-deep water, proudly holding up another golf-ball & yelling out the number of balls it represented before throwing it to the sibling-ball-retriever on the beach. The last number yelled for our family was “Fifty-TWO!”

The other family, with little cousins all under the age of eight, were on their number 12…so before we left, we enjoyed throwing about 20 balls back into the water, in various easy-to-find locations…for them to excitedly discover.

We had been determined to go to one of the white-sand beaches with water 2 feet deep stretching out forever to play IN the water…but after our unexpected ON-the-water experience, we were all exhausted, and voted to return to the cabin for lunch.

After eating and showering, I took the kids to the bike shop and borrowed a bicycle built for eight! It had a canopy cover, and 4 sets of pedals. While John stretched out on the futon and enjoyed a quiet nap, the rest of us spent an entire hour on and off of the towns paved bike trail, leaving it only to go down to see the evening scene of the lake. We rotated so that each of them had a turn at each set of pedals, and Gabe & Paytie sat in the two little buckled seats extended out over the front of the contraption.

Paytie enjoyed this so much, that she kept putting her hands up as if on a roller coaster, and hugging & kissing Gabie between chants of encouragement whenever we slowed…”Go Johnnie, Go Johnnie, Go Johnnie…” alternating names between each of us! It was adorable…and SHE didn’t seem to tire at all during that long ride!

The camp gave us new pans and a pancake turner, and we had a big breakfast…for dinner. Our favorite! When evening arrived, the kids & I turned chairs around to create somewhat of a circle between them & the futon in which to sit and play a new game. One person went out of the room, while the rest picked someone remaining to be “it.” Then the isolated person returned, and whoever was “it” then began a series of movements or antics, with everyone else quickly following suit. The object was to be sneaky enough to make it difficult for the isolated person to guess WHO was “it”. Which one in the circle was initiating the moves??? It was a hoot. Some of those crazy kidlets initiated repetitive facial contorts that would have HUMILIATED me if visible to any other soul on earth!  Taylor….oh, Taylor! That girl can be weirder with those facial muscles than anyone I have ever seen! We laughed our heads off…while trying not to disturb the sleeping Paytie & resting Daddy on the other side of the thin wall…which made it all the MORE funny, of course!

I couldn’t sleep that night. Too much excitement, perhaps? Oh, well…there was a lot to think about and remember about the day, so I didn’t mind. Ultimately, I got up and shut myself in the tiny closet-of-a-bathroom with a clipboard, a paper and a pencil. We didn’t take any pictures with the wave-runners, but the kids descriptions had created an exaggerated picture in my mind…and since the only time I can draw anything discernable is when I am at my most mentally-incompetent, I decided to make use of my sleeplessness.

The next morning, I awoke to my husband’s laughter as he discovered this cartoon on the table:

The next morning, I was so relieved to know that the office was to be closed all day…because that fact might mean that John would not be anxiously pressuring me at 10:00 am, when check-out was not until Noon. I was right! He chilled out a bit, and persisted only enough to get us on our way by 11:30. 

I attempted to direct him to the awesome beach I had seen the day before, but after two wrong turns, I was certain he was just going to head home. (He is an adorable, but not extremely patient man.) He does have area of weakness, however…which can be quite irritating at times. But today, I manipulatively used it against him.  evil, I know! “Oh, Paytie has been looking forward to “wimming” all morning,” I said, sounding remorseful. He sighed with a knowing smile, and tried one more little road…which just so happened to lead right to that beautiful beach!

The water was so clear that it seemed as if we were looking straight down to the sand beneath it…which was rippled perfectly by the small waves it had experienced through the night. It was GORGEOUS! I think we even took a picture. The kids & I quickly rolled up our pant legs and waded out about a hundred feet…and I was as content as anyone could ever be…

You know me, I couldn’t keep from looking at, picking up, and pocketing rocks here and there. With me, it isn’t about the monetary value they might hold…but about their distinctness, their beauty, and the memory of from where they were collected.  Of course, I also love to gather some for tumbling…as I can’t understand people who love tumbling rocks, but order their “rough” (unpolished rocks) in bags from various companies.

What fun is it if someone else found them? No fun at all, I think! Paytie loves joining me in this hobby, hands me every rock she sees, and anxiously takes my collection cup from me to rinse off each find, individually, in her tiny wading hands. I would worry, except that she is SO careful, and never drops even one!

My only worry in the entire world during those moments, was that John was going to yell, “Time to load up!” But when I waded back to where he was, he very sweetly said that since I was enjoying it so much, he didn’t see any reason why we couldn’t stay for a while. So, when he got tired of it, he went for a drive and left us all there.

Except for Sterling, who immediately wanders off in his own explorations all alone, the kids played and tumbled and rough-housed far off in the water for a while. When they returned, they steadily worked to bury each other in the 3’ wide wet-sand “island” that popped up ten feet from the beach. I left my rock-hunting to join them, and hunted the surrounding area looking for Sterl. A few minutes later, I saw his little body, tiny in the distance, running toward us. “Who wants to bet Sterling has found something really cool?”

I said, and pointed to him 200 yards away, sprinting towards us along the beach. The kids didn’t hesitate. Sterling always finds the good stuff! They quickly climbed out of their sandy graves, and ran to meet him, with Paytie trailing behind until Sam noticed, turned around and retraced his steps to swing her up into his arms to finish his little race.

Sterling’s excited hands proudly displayed something like clam shells, with a shiny pearlized layer coating the underside…and the unified hunt was ON! They found many, but reveled over the few whole halves that were unbroken. In their hunt, they came across an entire ridge of natural clay under the shallow water, about 15 feet from shore… and John & Taylor, with occasional help from Sam & Gabe, began carving chunks away to carry them to their ever-growing clay collection on the beach. Sam helped me find various colors & designs of little (likely-snail?) shells, and Gabe spent some time digging in the shallow water sand with a little play shovel that someone had discarded or left during the summer.

Even Mommy had some fun in it, once it was abandoned, of course.

John had taken some pictures with his phone, but I decided it was time for me to go to the truck for the camera. Paytie & Taylor followed me ½ way, until we reached an area of perfectly dry, warm sand where they plopped down and began burying their slightly chilly bodies.

I retrieved my phone/camera, took a picture of the sandy sisters, and then headed back to the now deserted clay/shell area to take some shots of Gabe & his Daddy out in the water, skipping rocks. That was when he said the dreaded words. “It’s about time to load up, don’t you think?”

His wording was crazy…of course he knew I wouldn’t “think so”…but we had been there for several hours by then, and he had been very patient, so I didn’t state the obvious.

I hurried down the beach to get a few pictures of a small Sterling, WAY out in the water (yet still not up to his waist!), on a scavenger hunt for another yet-unfound discovery. Then to capture John & Sam, who had almost-successfully built a tunnel under the wet sand to reach each other, 7 feet apart…over where my rock collection sat soaking in the shallow water.

I weeded through them, reluctantly discarding one here & there, before gathering odds & ends left behind by happy, care-free children before heading to the truck. We drove home, happy & content, each agreeing we had had the very best weekend of our lives.

Paytie's World

2010-09-17T15:28:00.001-06:00

The other day, John asked Paytie, "Do you like Mommy?"
She replied with sweet animation, "I lub BOFE ewe guyz. It's Daddy, Mommy an' Payton!"

Our Rental Business

2010-06-09T12:50:00.001-06:00

Free picture slideshow generated with Smilebox

Sammot & Gabello

2010-05-14T15:21:00.000-06:00

On the way home the other night, it was a bit chilly outside, especially for near May! Johnnie rolled down the window for a split second, and was met with sharp words from a freezing sister in the back seat who was catching all the icy wind.

“JOHN!” Taylor spat.

“SHUT UP, Taylor!” He responded with an equally HORRIBLE attitude…BOTH of which I am ashamed to record.

“Woah!” I jumped in. “Why can’t you guys speak kindly to each other?”

“Cuz we don’t know how to ‘speak kindly’.” Ten-year-old Taylor sassed, trying to copy my tone when she said the last two words.

“Oh, I see.” I quickly replied. “Well, then…I guess I better teach you.” I said in a sing-songy voice with a grin she couldn’t see, as I prepared to wipe that silly smirk off her face with my tongue. I continued driving down the freeway and began to explain things to her in a manner generally used for toddlers…(she deserved it!). It all sounded very cheery, as though I were doing a puppet show for small children.

“You see...When you are cold, and someone rolls the window down, you could say, ‘Would you mind rolling up the window please? It is pretty cold back here.’ And then the person who rolled the window down could say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I just needed to throw out my gum. I won’t roll it down again.’” I finished, knowing full well that I had just bored them with what they ALREADY KNEW would have been the right way to do it, but had simply chosen NOT to. Gabe & Sam, sitting on the middle seats of the truck, were quiet, but I thought I heard a smothered giggle here & there.?

Taylor was not to give up her sassy attitude yet. “That’s not how kids talk these days!”

“That’s how MY children used to talk,” I chided gently.

Gabe drew in a quick, dramatic breath, sat STRAIGHT up and said in mock surprise, “You...have CHILDREN?!?!?!??!!”

Then Sam piped up, feigning anger & disgust, “You TWO-TIMING jerk!”

And, as always happens when Gabe & Sam put on their funny hats…the entire SUV erupted into laughter. They play off of each other constantly. I think I'm going to start calling them Sammot & Gabello! (I won't TELL you what I'm going to call their SISTER! 8-D Just kidding, of course!)

Paytie...The Practical Geologist!

2010-03-16T17:13:00.000-06:00

This morning I was awakened by a sweet little (barely) two-year old voice, asking the first of eight-thousand and six questions of the day.

“Wut HAP-pen, Mommy?” She asked with concern.

Narcolepsy makes mornings VERY difficult. I vaguely wondered what she was talking about, but must have fallen back to sleep before any answer could form. Sadly, I think this happened several times.

But…inquiring minds WANT to KNOW!!! I woke once more, and found myself staring RIGHT into her big, blue puppy dog eyes…as they were now hovering 4 inches above my own.

“Wut HAPpen, Mom?” She asked with a furrowed brow. It suddenly occurred to me that this was NOT the first time I had heard that question…and it struck me that she was worried about something. Oh, my goodness! I couldn’t stay awake! Maybe she had been trying to get my attention, and I had a seizure or something…and she was worried about ME??

That snapped me out of it for a moment. I then realized she was holding my new book on geology, staring at the cover, and pointing to small dark spot on the cover. I ran my finger over it, thinking it must be torn…but it wasn’t. So I decided she MUST be talking about the picture itself, and tried to focus my eyes well enough to discern what object she was talking about.

“I don’t know, baby,” I said (in a very sexy morning voice, I’m sure!), “but it’s okay.”

She must have decided my answer was NOT good enough. In her mind, not knowing is simply NOT okay! Realizing I would be no help on the matter, she fell silent and I fell asleep as she opened up the book, starting at the back.

What SEEMED like one split second later (but was really 5 minutes!), she patted me on the cheek. “Know what hap-PEN, Mom?”

“I don’t know, baby,” I said, angry with myself for falling asleep again.

So..she told ME. “The hill fell down in’a road.” She said with certainty.

“It did?” I asked, playing along. She nodded, then immediately went back to her book…and she didn’t even turn off the fan or open the curtains for me first! She surely knows the consequence of such in-action by now! Perhaps she wanted me to nap so she could get some more uninterrupted study time.

I tried desperately to stay awake, by keeping one eye open (It’s easier for me to focus with only one eye…and that way, half of my brain gets to rest!) as I imagined what she meant, and marveled that she had just used the word “hill” for the very first time. That’s just not a word we say very often around here! We have mountains. (Rocky ones, even.)

She had started at the front this time, and turned the pages slowly, pausing to look more carefully now and then. The next thing I knew, the hands on my watch had magically jumped TEN minutes…and she was talking to me.

“Know what hap-PEN, Mom?” She asked, but didn’t wait for an answer this time. “The hill fell DOWN in’a road.” She proclaimed again.

Then she looked at me as though I were a child who just couldn’t comprehend such complexity, and needed a simplified & detailed explanation. (Lucky for me, she is a patient teacher who is willing to back up to start again…down on my level!)

“The fire, an’ fire, an’ FIRE…” she began, with little fingers opening & closing rapidly in a flashing motion as her hands moved up higher and higher above her morning-mussed pigtails, “an’a fire DIED,” she proclaimed as her hands came down, “an’ duh hill FELL…’an a ROAD!”

Okay…NOW I was awake. My body, and my eyelids were not happy about it…but my brain was on a mission.

It was OBVIOUS that this was not just ALL in her head. She had gleaned something from that book. That did it! Curiosity woke the cat. (She was right…sometimes, not knowing is simply not okay!)

It didn’t take but a minute to see how she had come to that conclusion. Toward the beginning of the book, there was a picture of a volcano…not just bubbling over, but EXPLODING into the air, much like orange fireworks. (Hence, the tiny flashing hands in the air!)

In the middle of the book were pictures of child-indiscernible graphs, and a long section on rock identification featuring only pictures of various rocks…nothing really interesting. (OBVIOUSLY the fire had “died”…because it was never shown again.) Toward the end, there is a very CLEAR sequence of drawings showing land rising, and falling as it evolves…with big white arrows showing directional changes. (Hills falling down…)

What do you find at the bottom of hills falling down? Valleys, I thought. But then, a few pages later I found a picture of a large incised meander in Colorado (...which is actually a river...but LOOKS like a road to me.) The hill fell down...and made a road.

She is smart beyond her year. Wait…she DID just turn 2…so I guess she is smart beyond her yearS. All two of them!

Uncle Fred's Birthday!

2010-03-14T18:39:00.001-06:00

We were SO happy to have Uncle Fred over for cake and ice-cream for his birthday! (But we were sad that Aunt Penny wasn't feeling well & couldn't come.)

Gabe called and talked Uncle Fred into bringing his self-made scrapbook with him (which is INCREDIBLE, by the way...and BLEW my MIND when I saw it the first time while borrowing some pictures for Dad's video! He is so adorable...and has neatly placed inside that book, Christmas cards & pictures sent to him from many of you over the years! He had MANY family pictures that I didn't have...and wouldn't have been able to put in the video without his careful preservation of those loved memories that he obviously cherishes!)

He was patient enough to walk Paytie through each and every picture...because she would NOT let him skip ANY of the pages! All the kids enjoyed having him tell them about the photos.

I had a few pictures in my (& Mom's) collection that he didn't have in his. So, Gabe & I made a few scrapbook pages for him for his birthday...and I snuck them and a birthday note into the back of his book without him knowing. I think he got a kick out of the brightly colored two-page layout that Gabe made, featuring pictures of all the kids with their Uncle Fred & Aunt Penny. Gabe titled the pages: "You're our Uncle...and we're KEEPING it that way!"

It was a great time! Rache was able to stop by for a while, and Chuck was here some of the time, too! Boy, I have missed my Fweddy Brudder (he's gonna punch me for calling him that!)...I'm SO glad he and Penny live closer now! She is an incredible decorator, remodeler, handy-WOman & house keeper...I'm hopin' some of THAT will stick on ME! They seem to be good companions...for each other...AND for us. :)

Happy Birthday to My Daddy!

2010-02-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Creative Chillenz!

2010-01-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

Grandma & Grandpa Whicker had our name this year. They found an adorable used doll house with TONS of hand-made furniture on ksl.com...and Sam was given a little camera that can take videos! (Sterling & John got a unicycle, Gabe an artists easel with all the art gadgets, & Paytie was given a cute little tea set. Spoiled, EVERY one of 'em!)

With the doll house and Sams video camera, they have had SO much fun being creative and coming up with movies of their own. This is their first try, and they even gave ME a speaking part! It was fun...this is just the 1st Act of "The Lost Girls." It was so much fun to listen as they came up with the WHOLE story line, plot and everything ALL by themselves! (It's amazing what kids can do with their minds when they are not being "fed" other people's thoughts/imaginations via T.V.!)

2009-11-01T01:21:00.000-06:00

Okay...most of you know I HATE Halloween, all of it's origins, and EVERYTHING it stands for. However, my husband grew up adoring all of the childrens festivities and has many fond memories that he wants to share with his children. Thus, a compromise was made! This, however, was the FIRST time I have carved a pumpkin in my entire adult life. I got into it for an hour, or so. It was fun, but artistically speaking, i KNEW it was really a waste of time.

But when John put a candle in it and turned off the lights...we were ALL quite shocked! It is the coolest evil-day decoration I've ever seen! :) I wish it showed up better in the picture. They ears actually poke out the sides...an idea my little artist Gabe gave me at the last moment. Anyway, since I am NOT very artistic, I thought I better take this one chance to pretend I have a speck of creativity down deep inside SOMEwhere!

Boogie Baby!

2009-10-22T18:04:00.000-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2009-09-23T22:42:00.000-06:00

Payton Lyn was BORN with music beating inside of her own head, we think. She has PERFECT rhythm...and has been USING it to dance her way into video's for over a year now. Thought I'd finally share one with ya! Watch to the end, where she's REALLY "gettin' jiggy with it!"

2009-07-22T23:30:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Visiting Grandpa & Grandma Whicker!

2009-07-11T11:31:00.001-06:00

A week ago last Thursday evening, we went over to visit Mom & Dad. We took "lunchables" for the kids who ate in the playhouse along with Abby.

The kids LOVE climbing the old apple tree next to the curved driveway, just as I did! I snapped a couple of pictures of them in the tree with Gma & Gpa at the base. That picture will always be priceless! Paytie was not in the mood to smile, so I played a li'l peek-a-boo around the trunk, (& snapped an ADORABLE close up of her & Gpa in the process) which made her cooperate for a few minutes.

I had found whole crates full of strawberries on sale for $7 so we munched on those as we played charades on the deck. I have wanted them to experience the kids playing that game in their animated manner for a long time...but had I known how much fun it would be to watch GRANDPA play, I would have made it happen MUCH sooner!

Paytie enjoyed wearing Grandma out by climbing UP & DOWN off of her lap throughout the evening. It was like she wanted to be right with her at all times...but there were so many other things to take in that she couldn't make up her little mind!

Uncle David has lots of bicycles there, & the kids hit the jackpot when he allowed the 5 of them to go for a ride all together! (We live on a dead end with an old closed street behind us, and there are SO many "pokies" (burrs) around that we can't keep their tires from popping constantly. Thus, it was a REAL treat for them to be able to go
all at once. Gabe rode behind JJ on the "trailer bike" and the other 3 rode individually...with Taylor happily enduring a bike with a pedal missing. (STILL don't understand how she managed that!)

After a while it began to get dark and I became a little worried that maybe they had forgotten the way back (Even WITH perfectly square-block streets & a mountain range for reference!)

JJ didn't have his phone, so Mom, Dad, Paytie & I hopped in their car & went hunting. It was just that time of night when bicycles are quite difficult to see...and I was almost beside myself, though I tried not to show it.

We rode about a mile, and then finally spoke with Aunt Jo who told us they had come home! Whew! They had gone straight to the cemetery to see Grandpa Richison’s fresh grave.

It was a lovely visit, over all! Thanks, Mom & Dad, for the great time!

Remembering Grandpa Richison

2009-06-25T06:36:00.000-06:00

Push Pause on "My Music Player" to the left, then
CLICK SPEAKER ICON Below Video To Hear Sound!

Grandpa Richison

2009-06-24T13:30:00.001-06:00

The children's Grandpa passed away very suddenly last Monday morning. He was only 67, and was very active. It was a massive heart attack. The children were DEVASTATED, as everyone has been, of course. Thankfully, the children had spent the night at his house that weekend, and they are so glad they did!

He was talking about "going up to Sourdough" to camp very soon, which the kids enjoyed several times each summer.

I know the Lord is in control, & has His timing for a reason...but it SURE is difficult to understand sometimes, isn't it?

John has been a tremendous blessing to them throughout this. John Richison had been my father-in-law for a dozen years, & is the ONLY one that stayed kind through everything. Thus, I've had a hard time, too...& likely wouldn't have been a great comfort to them on my own, if I cried every time they needed ME!

But John, having lost his own too-young Grandpa (who he lived with, and basically WAS his stay-at-home Dad) at the very same age, spent countless hours just holding & rocking whichever child was needing it at the moment. He helped them tremendously. He had to do a wedding during the actual funeral, but at the viewing, he sat across the room just to be there if they needed him. The children all stood around the casket most of the time, until one of them would quickly weave through the crowd & into his arms for a good cry & comforting words. Its a good thing they all seemed to break down at different times.

The tears have subsided for the most part...for now. When they go to stay at Grandma's house for a weekend, I'm sure the reality will hit them all over again. And when school starts, and Friday afternoons find Grandpa NOT in the parking lot waiting to pick them up. There will be hard times yet, I know.

But they are all VERY thankful to have Grandma & Grandpa Whicker close by! Gosh, Daddy is so healthy, & has almost 12 YEARS on Grandpa Richison. Fruit & veggies vs. Red meat & potatoes makes a bit of difference, I am sure.

Love To All.

Recovering

2009-06-14T20:50:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to update everyone regarding my recovery status from surgery on May 21st. All went well, so I'm told. The only complication was that during the many hours following, morphine did NOT even ATTEMPT to control my pain. I

have given birth five times, several without so much as a acetaminophen...and THIS was worse than all FIVE combined at ONCE!!! I was physically & psychologically traumatized with the pain (which actually induced two mild seizures that I am aware of), until they FINALLY took me off of the morphine & put me on a much lesser drug, which worked wonders! Strange how various people react differently to the same meds!

I also had a still-breast fed babe at home who has NEVER slept without being 1/2 on TOP of me...so John & Johnnie had quite the night as well. I can't tell you how much I appreciated all of you who helped, & brought dinners, etc. You are all SUCH a blessing! After family covered the first four nights, our VERY small church family brought dinners for 10 more days...so we were blessed with TWO FULL WEEKS of delicious meals! Thank you...from the bottom of our hearts & tummies!

I must give kudos to Mom & Dad, who at 74 & 76 STILL sacrifice their time & attention, pushing on through their OWN physical issues & pain to run to the aid of their baby girl! (And the other sibs, too...but we ALL know who is the most important.) 8-D

I honestly don't think I could have made it through one particularly devastating span of time had it not been for Lynda, without whose gentle touch & healing, encouraging words I think my body may have given UP. Thanks to all of you who were there to support me...I know so many of you took a shift, but may not be getting due credit due to delirium & memory loss. THANK you!

My husband could not have survived with our baby girl without the tremendous help of Johnnie, and some from Sterling throughout the night! Hub-Bub TOTALLY deserved the experience, as he CREATED the little monster, as adorable as she IS, by absolute INSISTENCE and supervision of the fulfillment of her every whim since birth! (I knew better...but couldn't put my foot down when HE is the BOSS!!)

Recovery seems EXTREMELY slow, & I am unbelievably anxious to get back to normal! My little family has been incredible, & I am thankful for them EVERY moment. Thank you for your highly coveted prayers! The Lord is with me, and holding my hand each step of the way. His mercy is beyond words!

Love To All!Ry

2009-06-07T19:38:00.000-06:00

Our Wedding Business http://www.wasatchevent.com/

You GUESSED It!

2009-05-14T22:20:00.001-06:00

John Joseph Turned TWELVE!!!

I can't BELIEVE it! It is so sad, so joyous, and

so enlightening to watch him changing

from a boy...into a young man.

No longer a boy, and not yet a man.

I call him my Big Ban.

*****

He is becoming one of my closest friends.

Demanding Daughter!

2009-05-03T19:59:00.000-06:00

Last night, as I sat in my chair, 16 month old Payton Lyn stood at my feet whining. Actually, she was SCREAMING. Not crying. YELLING...a recent habit she's gotten into, which always gets her exactly what she wants...from everyone but ME. (I'm the only smart one in the bunch...but I'm afraid it's a losing battle to try and UNspoil this beloved-by-all child!)

She let out an ear-piercing shrill, and I spontaneously decided to copy her. Her eyes opened wide, and then she screamed again...and paused. I immediately mimicked her. The third time I repeated her ornery plea, she tilted her little head, turned her palms upwards, and very clearly demanded, "WHAT?!?!"

She was rewarded with a hearty giggle from her Mommy. I sure hope she doesn't start copying ME...and laughing when I ask HER a question!

Colorful Children

2009-03-25T11:58:00.000-06:00

When John was almost 3 and Sterling was almost 2, Taylor was just a wee little newborn baby girl. Thus, there were only two children with sippie-cups. Johnnie was as smart as a whip, and if Sterling had any confusion as to which cup was his, Johnnie straightened them out in a flash. Even so, I had to be careful to be consistent and give them the same colored cup each day. Thankfully, one was mostly blue, and the other mostly green.

Then Sterling and Taylor were gone before Taylor was off of the bottle, and shortly thereafter, Sam was born. At the age of 5 months old, we discovered he would soon have a BABY brother or sister! (What a shock THAT was…after having to wait so long for each previous pregnancy! I was a little bit sad for my baby Sammy, who would have to give up his position in the family at such a young age. But I did not want him to feel that way…so I took steps to help him feel like a big boy BEFORE the baby entered our home. (At 12 months I hid every bottle in existence and transferred him to a sippie cup. At 13 months, I made a big deal out of giving him his own “big boy bed”…and getting him used to sleeping in it…so that when the baby came to take over the crib, he wouldn’t feel displaced.)

A short time later, Sterling and Taylor were back, permanently! So, I went from TWO to FIVE children in only 5 months time! (The home we had purchased while we had two, suddenly held five…plus two parents…in three small bedrooms!) With new carpeting, and the need for my daily shower…4 sippie-cups, some dry cereal and recorded episodes of Barney were required.

Four young children, ages 4 and under, none of whom could read everyone’s name. So…I introduced a color system, and spent quite a bit of time over the next two years, keeping the color system in place:

Johnnie = Blue
Sterling = Green
Taylor = Red
Sammy = Yellow

Seven months later, Gabe entered the world of sippie-cups…and became the owner of the color orange. (All FIVE colors were quite difficult to find, and so occasionally, Taylor had to be pink…and very rarely, Johnnie had to settle for purple.)

It was such a helpful system, that it became the norm in many areas. Blankets were their color, crayon boxes were their color, slippers, t-shirts, gloves, stuffed teddy bears, Easter baskets, and even little lawn chairs were their own color. Whenever I quoted them within a letter, I changed the font of their words to their color! I’m afraid it could easily be said that OCD played no small role in the excess of the system…especially to anyone who viewed me standing in a retail isle with a furrowed brow, concentrating on sippie-cups, empty pencil boxes, or stuffed animals as though I were taking a trigonometry exam! Wow…that’s embarrassing! But it took quite a bit of thought and concentration to always find a good deal on bulk items, such as sippie-cups…which were cheaper in packages of two, that never seemed to have the right color combinations. (Man…to think my life was SO busy…and yet I made things SO much more complicated! But really, in doing so, I diverted a large bundle of toddler arguments and squabbling.)

Eventually, I grew weary of the constant hunt for the perfect sequence of colors and decided the oldest three were old enough to do without them. But the confusion and squabbling returned. Thus entered the symbol system…which was MUCH cheaper because all it took was a sticker, or a marker and a blank label on which I could quickly draw their symbols before sticking them to the item they possessed. Soon, Sam…and later even my orange Gabe joined the symbol system, which went as follows…but in simple scribbled form, without color:

John = A Star Because he was the bright one.
Sterling = A Heart Because he had the softest, kindest heart.
Taylor = A Flower Because she was the girl.
Samuel = A Smiley Because he was ALWAYS smiling.
Gabriel = A Football Because I couldn’t think of anything else different enough!

There was a time there (and unfortunately still are occasions) when OCD took over and I found myself attempting to find stickers, etc…that were BOTH their symbol AND their color. I exhaust myself. And I cannot believe I am putting this on paper!

It’s funny…to this DAY, if you ask one of the children what their favorite color is, they will tell you their assigned color without hesitation. The littlest ones don’t even realize they had any outside influence on the matter…they just think they like that color best! Ah, the power of persuasion. Weird.

Paytie Turns ONE!

2009-02-15T17:23:00.000-07:00

Mommy's attempt at a cupcake-cake.

Paytie LOVED playing on the little Playland with her siblings! Armed whole new bottle of Lysol, a container of antibacterial wipes, and hand sanitizer...Mommy somehow managed NOT to have an anxiety attack. :D

I can't believe a whole year has passed! I would contest the matter, except that I DO know I haven't had a solid (or lonely) night of sleep in over a year...and thus, am much to tired to ARGUE! She's a doll...she's adored...and she's a SUPER ham!

2008-12-29T19:40:00.001-07:00

http://www.wasatchevent.com/

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-29T17:37:00.001-07:00

Payton Lyn...luckily had not yet discovered that

the pretty boxes COULD be unwrapped!

"Oh, sure...NOW you tell me!"

But FIRST...Sam's birthday! Johnnie surprised him with

a quilt featuring Sam's "sign" AND his color

Mom made cookie dough, and Johnnie & Taylor spent a whole day baking dozens and dozens, FILLING the house with their nummy aromas! Then mom made plates, baskets, and pretty boxes for neighbors & grandparents...and we delivered most of them in the heavily falling SNOW!

On Christmas Eve, we all got to open our new PJ's from Grandma Lynda...and later that night, we had our sibling name-gift exchange!

Boy did SAM make out! A "Jive" game that hooks to his birthday I-Pod. It's FUN for ALL! Nice choice, Sissy!

Apparently, Payton was TOO excited to sleep...so she refused to let MOMMY sleep, either! Instead, she forced Mommy out of bed...and together, they stuffed the stockings. Mommy re-arranged (& then had help DE-ranging!) the gifts underneath the tree, and finished up a few little projects. They FINALLY went to bed at 3:30 am!
Even so...bright and early Christmas morning...Payton was all pretty & happily sitting on the kitchen windowsill, waiting for her siblings to come upstairs!

Waiting is EXHAUSTING!

Gabe got a remote control HUMMER that has some REAL power!

And the highly coveted Transformer, "Auto-bot Jazz!"

Johnnie got Daddy his FAVORITE gift of the year, by far! A gift card to NFLshop.com!

In return, Dad got Johnnie a Brett Favre New York Jetts throw-back jersey...which had TOPPED Johnnie's wish list.

Sam got an awesome Magnext set...which, sadly, was quickly banned & must be sent to the Richisons non-baby-containing-house in exchange for one of his toys he received there.

Taylor Jo got an ADORABLE "Furreal Friend," whom she named, "Piggy Sue." These are the sweetest little things! They are quite the interactive pets...that don't shed or POOP! :D

Payton got LOTS of love, hugs, giggles & toys, too!

Sterling got a Nerf Dart Tag set, which he'll REALLY enjoy once we get it exhanged for a set that is NOT faulty! :(
Sterling posing with his Daddy and his new glow-in-the-dark FOOTBALL!

Aunt Rache surprised Mommy by finding a horse for Payton on Ebay that is EXACTLY like the one Mommy had as a baby! Mommy had NO memory of it...until she SAW it...then BAM! Memories slammed her!

Does it look familiar to any of Mommy's older Siblings???

One of Taylors FAVORITE gifts, was holding Payton all the way through a long Christmas nap! (Can you BELIEVE how BEAUTIFUL my little red-head is getting??)

Aunt Rebecca sent us matching aprons with our names embroidered on the front!I can't believe she MADE them...just for us! Thank you SO much! We've already used them several times...and they'll be keepsakes for EVER!

Aunt Jo & Uncle David had our name this year, & did the neatest thing, which tickled the children GREATLY! They purchased 5 duckies in our name (through Christian Children's Fund), for a family in Timor-Leste (an island NW of Austrailia) which will provide nutrition (eggs) and income (by selling new baby ducks that are born), eat harmful bugs, and provide droppings to enrich their soil! They also gave each of us a little toy duck to remind us of that family. SUCH an awesome gift! Thanks, Uncle Dave & Aunto Jo!

The next day, Sterling watched Payton for a while so Mom could actually go out to SLED & play in the snow with Sam & Gabe...later joined by John & Sis to dig a tunnel. Mom had to wear Dad's snow-pants, and after she introduced "white-washing" to Sam & Gabe, she took off running through the calf-high snow in effort to avoid their revenge, but was quickly tripped by the pants that slipped down to tie her knees together! THEN the little guys were able to show her what good "learners" they are, by returning the cold favor! Mommy hadn't felt that pure light-hearted childish joy in YEARS, and hadn't laughed that hard for a VERY long time!

Paytie's First Christmas! An enjoyable & memorable day!

It brought with it happiness, joy...

Stair-jumping EXCITEMENT...

Peaceful thoughts of gratitude...

And TEARS that the holidays are over...because the children will soon return to school...and the house will once again seem terribly sad and boring to their adoring baby sister!

Bye-Bye, folks! Happy New Year!

Sterling CRACKS up his Baby Sis!

2008-12-28T01:11:00.000-07:00

Orange Jelly Beans

2008-11-23T15:24:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, Gabe proclaimed while eating jelly beans, "Ya know, 'duh orange ones taste-ez dust like DISH water!"

We laughed...and yes, I simply had to inquire! "How do you know what dish water tastes like? Have you ever tasted any?"

"No! But I just KNOW what it TASTE-ez like!" He assured me.

"Okay, so WHAT does it taste like?" I tried to pinpoint him.

"ORANGE jelly beans, I are-eddy telled you 'dat!" He smirked at my obvious naivety.

"Okay. So WHAT do orange jelly beans taste like?" I asked, determined this would be my last attempt.

"Soap and DIRT!" He told me, with frustrated exasperation. After all, how could I be a MOMMY and not know these ever-important things?

So...any of you who are yet uneducated on the matter? Now you know. Orange jelly beans are not meant for human consumption! (But you may be able to wash your dishes with them.)

Our First Three Years

2008-11-13T12:47:00.001-07:00

Click Speaker Icon Below Green Play Button to Hear Sound

Payton Lyn WEIGHS IN...Politically!

2008-11-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

Payton Lyn said her first word tonight. It was clear, it was confident, and it brought a giggle to an otherwise anxious room.

Incredibly, she chose to speak at the very moment that the new President-Elect of the United States of America was proclaimed victorious. The news came as an enlarged picture of Barack Obama was shown. She said loudly while staring solemnly at the television screen, "Uht-OH!"

She is a fickle little thing, however. For after he gave his speech, which had apparently moved her, she waved relentlessly for several solid moments…as he smiled and waved back at her from inside the television.

Don't disappoint my baby, Mr. Obama!

Family Flag Football!

2008-11-02T18:03:00.001-07:00

I had imagined life would get EASIER as the children grew older. No such luck! Things change, for sure...but it's just a new FIELD of tough!

Although life with such a FULL house can be increasingly chaotic, the new parenting difficulties that growing children bring are thankfully equaled with an ever expanding realm of FUN!

When we married, John teased me and claimed he was, "Gaining a whole FOOTBALL team."

But with 3 year old Gabe struggling to toddle down the isle WHILE holding his suit-pants up (in the absence of the little belt his new Daddy had misplaced), as he attempted to keep up with 4 year old Sam who actually carried the pillow with the (THANKFULLY, tied-on!) rings...mentioning the possibility of ANY sort of organized activity seemed quite humorous!

However, John has managed to teach the children to catch & throw the ball efficiently (each from varying distances), one by one. Even 6 year old Gabe is impressive, as is his 8 year old sister. So when we found a Flag Football set on clearance at K-mart, DIRT cheap...we couldnt resist. It has been the BEST $9 investment ever!

There is a little city park behind the third house down from us. It was utterly useless when the children were little, for it has only one small, stationary train engine thing to climb on. But NOW...it makes the PERFECT football field, with precisely spaced trees on each side!

I don't get to be involved as often as I yearn to...but last week Grandma Lynda was with us, and she sat with the baby for a little while so I could get in on the whoopin' & hollerin'. I LOVED it, as always!

Gabe's extensive efforts generally leave him with no in-game catches to brag about, though many fumbles. This day was no different. The last pass went 15 yards, and had the potential of making the tying touchdown. As it sailed through the air, Gabe had his hopeful eye on it...but when it got closer, it DROPPED...

...Right into Gabe's outstretched arms! YEAH GABE!! The cheering could be heard 'round the neighborhood, I'm sure!

Sterling's Spiridation Explanation

2008-10-25T12:18:00.000-06:00

Gabe opened a small container of chocolate milk that he found in the fridge. He TASTED it, and promptly exclaimed, “EW, Mom! It tastes like melted plastic!”

Although he thought I needed to taste it to know what he meant, I smelled it instead. “Yep, it’s gone bad,” I verified.

“Sam!“ He yelled with animation, “I dus’ drank ROTTEN!”

Sterling stepped up & used this as a teaching moment. He authoritatively explained to his little brother that he should ALWAYS check the “spiridation.” (expiration date!)

Baby Carlos

2008-10-18T23:28:00.000-06:00

One day, at age 6, Johnnie said to me while eating breakfast, "When I grow up and have a baby, I'm going to name it Jasmine if it's a girl, and Carlos if it's a boy. But only if he's black."

After all, you never know WHAT color your baby will be...until it is BORN, right? (I tried to explain how that works...but he just couldn't grasp WHY I somehow thought the color of his babies would have ANYTHING to do with what his wife looked like!)

Gabe's "Pot"ty Mouth

2008-10-01T15:03:00.000-06:00

For any of you out there who are as innocent as I wish EVERYONE were: Some nicknames for marijuana are; weed, grass, bud, pot, green, mary jane, etc...

John took Gabe to the doctor recently, for some HUGE, swollen & fevered mosquito bites. The doctor asked, "Is he allergic to anything?"

Six-year-old Gabe quickly chimed in:

"Eye'n only 'lerjic to smoke'n grass."

The doctors eyes widened, and he stuttered, "Oh, um...really."

I'm sure the man's flash of shock would have quickly been replaced with a chuckle at the obvious mis-statement...but the red-faced Dad didn't give him time. He quickly said with an embarrassed grin, "He means smoke AND grass."

Lifting Cows?

2008-10-01T13:25:00.000-06:00

Today, while sitting at the table eating his cereal, Sam proclaimed, "When I'm done with this, I'm gonna do cow lift."

"You're going to do WHAT?" I asked, thinking my ears had gone batty. They had not.

"Cow lift!" He replied loudly, one risen eye-brow showing definite pride in his educated vocabulary knowledge.

.
"Are you saying, 'COW lift'?" I needed to clarify!

"Yep!" He stood firm on his decision.

He must have seen the look of UTTER confusion in my face, and decided that I was not up-to-par on 2nd Grade P.E. terminology...and so, he stood up to demonstrate his newly acquired skill of doing CALF lifts!

2008-09-16T23:01:00.000-06:00

Be sure to click on the speaker icon to hear sound!

MEAN Baby!

2008-09-15T21:11:00.000-06:00

August 7, 2008

Payton is 8 months old. She’s been saying, “Da-da” for a month now….though I resisted believing she really MEANT it for as long as was reasonably possible. I mean…doesn’t she know MAMA is supposed to come first?!?!?

We think she has recently begun calling me…Nǒ-Nǒ. (“O” says ǒ, as in often.) Not Mama. Nono. And I’m not even sure she MEANS it! For all I can prove, she just means, “MILK!”

Today, she was sitting right here on my lap in the afternoon when she heard the front door knob jiggle. She said SOFTLY as if asking herself (with perfect inquisitive inflection), “Da-da?”

Yep. Little snot-pot-baby-girl! I mean, come on here! I do everything for her. I feed her. I change her. I bathe her. I sleep uncomfortably on my side for her. I clean her up, swing her, rock her, talk & sing to her, steam & mash vegetables for her. All Da-Da does is get on me if I’m not doing what she WANTS fast enough! All I can say is…

I’m SO done getting bothersome boogers out of her nose...with my FINGER NAIL!

Black & White Vs. The Rainbow

2008-09-13T00:18:00.000-06:00

Recently, 10-year-old John mentioned something about, “When Dad was little.” I listened, nodding my head in total comprehension, only needing to give him one of my ears. When he was done I said, “I know, silly. I was little then, too.”

(There is ALWAYS plenty of noise, motion, and CHAOS to split me in MANY halves…so giving one FULL ear was really noteworthy! J)

I turned to lay my eyes on a distant disaster-in-motion…until I saw a sudden look of ASTONISHMENT in my son’s wide eyes. I looked back at him, and he added a slowly shaking head until I couldn’t help but totally zone in with curiosity. “WHAT?” I asked.

“Huh! Uh…I just always, like…I mean…I’ve just always pictured YOU living in the black & white…and Dad living in video games and….like…RAINBOWS!”

Yeah. How’s THAT for flattery? Don’t worry…I didn’t smack him. At least not before giving him an animated lesson in how to be charming…& to ALWAYS pretend a woman over 30 seems MUCH younger than she claims.

She's All I Ever Wanted - By JJ

2008-09-11T14:02:00.000-06:00