Playing catch-up...
As it is titled, I am catching up with all that I haven't posted. It is chronological, but may not flow very well, sorry.
Okay, so the show is over! Yeah! (It better be...) A great learning curve, especially when the fire alarm went off 10 minutes before the show was over... But many people said our Arsenic was better than the Shakespeare company's Arsenic they had seen over the summer. It was an absolute blessing and honor to work with such creative people. Bro. Merrill the director said the secret is "to surround yourself with creative, intelligent people and let them do their job!" It was testimony to me of the power of one person and how with God's help nothing is impossible. He who created the Earth and set all elements in line. As the One who did that, surely He could help me to pull together a few elements to create this show...and He did! It was am amazing experience.
Moldy mess
A few days before the show was over, we had water worries in our house. Here's the story. We have had a strange bulge in our floor that comes and goes randomly since August. Our downstairs neighbors have had mushy walls and moldy growing floors and mushrooms to top it off. After two months of no help, we decided to try and move out since we were starting to get sick from the mold. (Ever had a sinus infection for three months straight? Yuck!) The DAY we decided to move...our landlord showed up to fix things. (Isn't that the way it always works?) Anyway, we have gone from this
to this
and now this
On Monday, a restoration company is supposed to come and rip out the flooring and it will be like that until Wednesday, when they come to lay the new flooring. We would still like to move out and not deal with all this, but well, frankly, there is nothing available in Rexburg, so we are staying put until I graduate!
Ella wrote a funny letter to the landlord the night she came with a new repair man to make sure things got fixed. I had finally helped Ella understand we had to move and then they start fixing things...how do you explain change of plans to a kid? Here's the letter Ella dictated:
Dear Lady,
I don't want you to make us stay here. We want to move, 'cause our house is really dirty. The man is here fixing stuff bu I don't want to stay here. I want to go and move. I have all my things packed, well some of my things are packed. How am I going to fit all my toys? I like our house and all we have we really need to move. I would not like to pack everything in my suitcase, cause it doesn't fit. I would like to move soon.
Also, we bought a potty seat for James a little while ago but haven't really pressed training with him. I had been putting him the seat and letting him get used to the potty, but not much more. After a bath one night, Bob took him into the bathroom and put him on his potty seat. He explained to James, "I need the pee-pee to come out here" and then James did it! So I hear all the excitement, come in and ask James to do it again. He does--twice more. It's that easy I guess. (If only, right?)
Falling flurries
And of course, on the same day as all the "move/not-move" chaos, we got the first snow we have seen this winter. Things were back to normal.
(James wasn't ready for the change)
Turning two
And speaking of changes, James turned two! And my, how life has changed :) He is very talkative, grown taller, helpful and loves to sing.
In General Conference, President Monson shared the first song he learned on the piano:
Here we go,
here we go
to a birthday party.
Ella picked up the tune and sang it a lot and then James picked it up...but he only knows the first part, so he just sings:
Here we go,
here we go,
here we go,
here we go...especially when we are in Sunday School or in public places. Our kids listened to a Prophet's voice, that's what counts, right? :)
A pancake birthday breakfast on Main Street.
James and trains go hand in hand. It it's trains, he'll wear it. He will eat, play, sleep, watch, listen for and dream of trains! He ADORES them. "Moa choo choos!"
For his birthday, we ate finger foods and had a dance party. The idea was to have him dance and sing all he wanted. It went all right, but since not many of the other party goers were joining, he didn't keep it up for long. (I was one of the lame ones, so I can't complain too much :) Michelle made a track-stopping cake. She did a terrific job.
And Jaylene supplied her house so we didn't make anyone else sick in our house. Thanks so much, all of you!
It's still hard for me to realize it has been two years! Life has changed so much for all of us since then. Ella was still in a crib, we lived in apartments, we had a different car, and I didn't have a cane. Still weird when Bob asks what I like to do...I think there is still a disconnect, but with time it is getting better. (my leg not the disconnect) SLOWLY! There's no way I could have Stage Managed a college production even a year ago, so there has been progress and we are so grateful for it. I love the days when I don't have to use my leg as an excuse and those have been plentiful lately. The snow doesn't help with slipping, falling and all the joys that come with ice, but I am so grateful to Bob for keeping our cars snow free. Ella has been joining him to clean off the cars and volunteers to do so every time it snows. She is such a joy, help and blessing to me. And James loves to wear gloves and stay inside with his Mommy and make "hot cocoa." These are the first words out of his mouth anytime he walks inside the house or someone else comes inside.
Flair for Fashion
Ella got these from hand-me-downs...and even Bob couldn't tell they were pants :)
While packing, we found some frogs for James.
He loved being just like Ella.
Turkey Talk
We had Thanksgiving with Michelle and David again this year. Did we mention we like them? They are always watching our children for us, helping us garden, cook, and a million other things I can't think of right now. Family is so awesome!
Of course the kids put the whole day in perspective for us when they asked to watch the "Jesus" movie. The Testaments at very end has Jesus coming down from the clouds and it is their favorite part so we often skip to the end and watch the last sequence once or twice. We have so much to be grateful and because Jesus Christ came we have Him to thank for it all. He loves us so much and has given us more than we could ever give ourselves. I am so grateful to know that He lives and loves me and has blessed me with a beautiful, spiritual, exemplary family so I can learn to be more like Him.
Oh, and with the craziness of the storms, my sister and her family were able to join us for the big day, too. It was awesome. Jaylene loves to have the comfort foods that my mom has at Thanksgiving, so it was like being home, without the traveling :)
And remember James fascination with trains? Well, he took some building blocks stacked them up in a line and put a round block on the front and pushed it along saying choo-choo! It was very impressive to us, but of course we are his happy parents :)
Cleaning Crew
Black Friday Bob decided to buy a computer and we did...at 3:30 am as the sites updated awesome deals. After sleeping for a few hours, I got up to shop IN the store, not the sissy way. Just kidding, Bob. I found everything I wanted at Kmart, where it was slow and quiet...and then went to Walmart. It was still a mad-house, but not as bad as if I had gone super early, like some crazy people I know :) I found a cheap-o vacuum and brought it home with my other goodies. The kids were so excited, Ella went and cleaned her room so she could use my new toy. James also wanted a chance, so he went and cleaned his room. Less then $10 and two hours after I woke up, both kids rooms were cleaned and vacuumed.
Can it be Black Friday everyday?:)
James keeps one arm up to balance himself while vacuuming...just like I do.
Lately, Bob and I have to be very careful what we say...and who is around when it is said. I think we need to learn a new language, kids are too smart these days. All I said was pink...and James ran to the closet and begged to use the vacuum all over again.
Okay, so the show is over! Yeah! (It better be...) A great learning curve, especially when the fire alarm went off 10 minutes before the show was over... But many people said our Arsenic was better than the Shakespeare company's Arsenic they had seen over the summer. It was an absolute blessing and honor to work with such creative people. Bro. Merrill the director said the secret is "to surround yourself with creative, intelligent people and let them do their job!" It was testimony to me of the power of one person and how with God's help nothing is impossible. He who created the Earth and set all elements in line. As the One who did that, surely He could help me to pull together a few elements to create this show...and He did! It was am amazing experience.
Moldy mess
A few days before the show was over, we had water worries in our house. Here's the story. We have had a strange bulge in our floor that comes and goes randomly since August. Our downstairs neighbors have had mushy walls and moldy growing floors and mushrooms to top it off. After two months of no help, we decided to try and move out since we were starting to get sick from the mold. (Ever had a sinus infection for three months straight? Yuck!) The DAY we decided to move...our landlord showed up to fix things. (Isn't that the way it always works?) Anyway, we have gone from this
to this
and now this
On Monday, a restoration company is supposed to come and rip out the flooring and it will be like that until Wednesday, when they come to lay the new flooring. We would still like to move out and not deal with all this, but well, frankly, there is nothing available in Rexburg, so we are staying put until I graduate!
Ella wrote a funny letter to the landlord the night she came with a new repair man to make sure things got fixed. I had finally helped Ella understand we had to move and then they start fixing things...how do you explain change of plans to a kid? Here's the letter Ella dictated:
Dear Lady,
I don't want you to make us stay here. We want to move, 'cause our house is really dirty. The man is here fixing stuff bu I don't want to stay here. I want to go and move. I have all my things packed, well some of my things are packed. How am I going to fit all my toys? I like our house and all we have we really need to move. I would not like to pack everything in my suitcase, cause it doesn't fit. I would like to move soon.
Also, we bought a potty seat for James a little while ago but haven't really pressed training with him. I had been putting him the seat and letting him get used to the potty, but not much more. After a bath one night, Bob took him into the bathroom and put him on his potty seat. He explained to James, "I need the pee-pee to come out here" and then James did it! So I hear all the excitement, come in and ask James to do it again. He does--twice more. It's that easy I guess. (If only, right?)
Falling flurries
And of course, on the same day as all the "move/not-move" chaos, we got the first snow we have seen this winter. Things were back to normal.
(James wasn't ready for the change)
Turning two
And speaking of changes, James turned two! And my, how life has changed :) He is very talkative, grown taller, helpful and loves to sing.
In General Conference, President Monson shared the first song he learned on the piano:
Here we go,
here we go
to a birthday party.
Ella picked up the tune and sang it a lot and then James picked it up...but he only knows the first part, so he just sings:
Here we go,
here we go,
here we go,
here we go...especially when we are in Sunday School or in public places. Our kids listened to a Prophet's voice, that's what counts, right? :)
A pancake birthday breakfast on Main Street.
James and trains go hand in hand. It it's trains, he'll wear it. He will eat, play, sleep, watch, listen for and dream of trains! He ADORES them. "Moa choo choos!"
For his birthday, we ate finger foods and had a dance party. The idea was to have him dance and sing all he wanted. It went all right, but since not many of the other party goers were joining, he didn't keep it up for long. (I was one of the lame ones, so I can't complain too much :) Michelle made a track-stopping cake. She did a terrific job.
And Jaylene supplied her house so we didn't make anyone else sick in our house. Thanks so much, all of you!
It's still hard for me to realize it has been two years! Life has changed so much for all of us since then. Ella was still in a crib, we lived in apartments, we had a different car, and I didn't have a cane. Still weird when Bob asks what I like to do...I think there is still a disconnect, but with time it is getting better. (my leg not the disconnect) SLOWLY! There's no way I could have Stage Managed a college production even a year ago, so there has been progress and we are so grateful for it. I love the days when I don't have to use my leg as an excuse and those have been plentiful lately. The snow doesn't help with slipping, falling and all the joys that come with ice, but I am so grateful to Bob for keeping our cars snow free. Ella has been joining him to clean off the cars and volunteers to do so every time it snows. She is such a joy, help and blessing to me. And James loves to wear gloves and stay inside with his Mommy and make "hot cocoa." These are the first words out of his mouth anytime he walks inside the house or someone else comes inside.
Flair for Fashion
Ella got these from hand-me-downs...and even Bob couldn't tell they were pants :)
While packing, we found some frogs for James.
He loved being just like Ella.
Turkey Talk
We had Thanksgiving with Michelle and David again this year. Did we mention we like them? They are always watching our children for us, helping us garden, cook, and a million other things I can't think of right now. Family is so awesome!
Of course the kids put the whole day in perspective for us when they asked to watch the "Jesus" movie. The Testaments at very end has Jesus coming down from the clouds and it is their favorite part so we often skip to the end and watch the last sequence once or twice. We have so much to be grateful and because Jesus Christ came we have Him to thank for it all. He loves us so much and has given us more than we could ever give ourselves. I am so grateful to know that He lives and loves me and has blessed me with a beautiful, spiritual, exemplary family so I can learn to be more like Him.
Oh, and with the craziness of the storms, my sister and her family were able to join us for the big day, too. It was awesome. Jaylene loves to have the comfort foods that my mom has at Thanksgiving, so it was like being home, without the traveling :)
And remember James fascination with trains? Well, he took some building blocks stacked them up in a line and put a round block on the front and pushed it along saying choo-choo! It was very impressive to us, but of course we are his happy parents :)
Cleaning Crew
Black Friday Bob decided to buy a computer and we did...at 3:30 am as the sites updated awesome deals. After sleeping for a few hours, I got up to shop IN the store, not the sissy way. Just kidding, Bob. I found everything I wanted at Kmart, where it was slow and quiet...and then went to Walmart. It was still a mad-house, but not as bad as if I had gone super early, like some crazy people I know :) I found a cheap-o vacuum and brought it home with my other goodies. The kids were so excited, Ella went and cleaned her room so she could use my new toy. James also wanted a chance, so he went and cleaned his room. Less then $10 and two hours after I woke up, both kids rooms were cleaned and vacuumed.
Can it be Black Friday everyday?:)
James keeps one arm up to balance himself while vacuuming...just like I do.
Lately, Bob and I have to be very careful what we say...and who is around when it is said. I think we need to learn a new language, kids are too smart these days. All I said was pink...and James ran to the closet and begged to use the vacuum all over again.
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