Not Great In '08

This past March my family realized that we have had some not so great things happen in 2008.

• Aunt T. found out that she has cancer, however she has gone through lots of treatment and is now in remission. 
  
• My Mothers Aunt M. A. fell and broke her hip.
• Aunt M. got frozen shoulder after first snow storm in Jan.
• My mother also hurt her shoulder.
• As did I.
• Aunt S. had her first cataract surgery
• Aunt P. died and was brought back (cardiac arrest)
• Aunt M. had issues with gallbladder.
• Aunt M. panicked in the MRI machine when pictures were being taken of shoulder.
• Aunt M. A. got hip fixed but now refuses to walk
• Uncle W. tripped over the dog and has a black eye
• Tansy fell off a horse and broke her arm
• Aunt S. had her second cataract surgery
• Grandma was waving at an old guy down the hall of her facility and tripped over her cane and bruised her arm, but nothing was broken.

This is what Aunt M. had to say about all of this,

"Let that be a lesson to you....

walking and flirting with old men when you are 83 years old will just land you on your face!!!

shoveling snow is for youngsters to do!

don't read too much...it ruins your eyes!

if you die...come back

keep the sludge out of your gallbladder

don't go in the MRI machine if you have claustrophobia.

if you teach your dog to lie down make sure he knows to put up traffic cones

stay off of horses especially if everyone else in the family has had some bad luck"

Since March these are some more things that have happened.

• David was getting Jacob out of his crib and dropped him on his head.  He had a cat scan done.  They were going to make him sleep through it.  However I nursed him to sleep and asked if we could try with out the sleeping medication.  We tried, he woke up, but I got up on the table, laid on top of him, held his head straight and sang a song trying to keep the tears back.
• David cut his hand really bad with scissors
• Jacob fell off the couch and busted his lip
• David had his tonsils removed
• We went to the mall, loaded the kids in the car and forgot to load up the junky stroller, and some really cute red shoes that were with the stroller. Went back to get them and they were gone!
• Emma had to face going to ALL day school.
• Emma has had run in's with kids at school.
• We had ants bite our children like crazy
• Abby wrapped a rubber band around her finger and it was on their for at least 2 1/2 hours, her finger was a deep purple color.
• Emma got a thorn in her head
• Jacob gets burned with hot water
• Emma has been getting strange headaches 
• Jacob fell off of a tall chair, on his head again
• Pa's Grandmother passed away
• We went on an unplanned road trip got stuck in a K-Mart parking lot many miles away from home for a couple of hours
• On the same road trip it felt like something was wrong with the alignment, turned out our tire was bubbled, it could have popped
• A family member is going through a very ugly divorce
• Pa's mother found out that she has to deal with health issues, including cancer.

Yes, there were some difficult times this year, even things that I wouldn't want to relive, or wish that family members would have to relive.  However, everything that is listed above, they are getting better, I am thankful for that.

I am thankful for family and friends.  I think that is the only thing that is keeping us here in AZ.  If it wasn't for Ya'll then we probably would have moved to PA when Pa graduated years ago.  I am also so grateful that I have a family with such a good sense of humor, it helps when things are not so great. Thank you for being so good to us. -Ma

I Lost Another Tooth!!!

Emma has been holding on to this tooth for weeks and weeks and weeks.  Telling us about how it hurts when she bites into things, or how she can make the tooth go sideways.  Then finally on December 22nd she wiggled it just enough and the tooth came out!

Then she remembered that the tooth fairy comes and her little mind started to think, and think and think.  So she decided that she needed to write the tooth fairy a letter.  This is how it went.

Dear Tooth Fairy,

Where do you live?

Love, Emma

The letter was put under her pillow along with the tooth, shortly there after the letter was ripped into pieces by a younger, less understanding little sister.

Emma did not know this happened because she got sick before going to bed that night and didn't care much about anything except having her puke bucket close by.

However, the Tooth Fairy knows ALL.  So she wrote a tender letter back to Emma.  This is what she wrote.

Dear Emma,

I am so proud of you!  you lost your second tooth.  You are getting so big.

Thank you for your letter.  So, you want to know where I live?  I live 

with all the other fairies, all around  you. We watch over you.

I love to see you smile and laugh with your brothers and sister.  It is so 

great that you have a good family.

I can't wait to visit you again when you are dreaming and you lose 

another tooth.

I Love You Emma!

Love The Tooth Fairy

Emma also received  a cute fairy duck and a One Million Fairy Dollar Bill.  Very cute stuff that came from Grandma, don't know where she got them but they are loved.  Thank you Grandma. -Ma

More New Photos

More photos from the photo shoot at Goldfield in Apache Junction. Thank you for all the great feedback! I created the borders with onOne PhotoFrame 3 plug-in for Photoshop. I saved these as 24bit PNG's to preserve the transparency for the web. Shot originally RAW+Jpeg with my Nikon D300 and 17-55mm 2.8 - Pa

New Photos

We've been wanting to update our family photos. So on December 20th, after Ma found matching red shirts for the kids, we headed out to Apache Junction. It turned out to be a really fun day. We rode on the train, went out to lunch and did a little window shopping. These color photos below are the ones we're having printed on stretched canvas (11" x 14" for each of the kids, and 16" x 20" for Ma and Pa). The header image, with all the kids looking away will be printed on canvas as well but in color (24" x 36"). Soft Light Photography is my freelance business that I've been doing for several years now. I save 40% off my regular price when I order studio samples. The canvas is printed with the word "sample" and my logo. The kids did really well! - Pa

Christmas Questions and Answers

So my sister in law sent this to me via e-mail, thought it would be more fun to post here.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?  This year we are wrapping with paper bags.  It is fun bringing home our groceries in paper.
 
2. Real tree or Artificial?  Real, our fake trees keep breaking.

3. When do you put up the tree? After Thanksgiving sometime.

4. When do you take the tree down?  After Christmas sometime.

5. Do you like eggnog? Depends on my mood.

5A. Favorite drink for the holiday?  I love water... all the time. 

6. Favorite gift received as a child? The one thing that I keep remembering is the plaque that Mom made for me, ballet slippers and my name.  I thought that was great.  It was hard to pass on, I hope who ever got it likes it as much as I did.

7. Hardest person to buy for?  Pa, but now he buys his own presents.  Works better that way.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Emma

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, I love it.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?  We intend to mail them every year and many times we will take the picture and then never get them printed, or life just happens and they never get sent.  I work on getting better at that every year.
 
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?  I don't know if I ever received that bad of a gift to remember.   

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?  Hu, I guess I don't have one.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Too late.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Most definitely.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? I love stuffing.

16. Lights on the tree? Yes

17. Favorite Christmas song? Oh Holy Night, What Child is This.  So many good ones.
 
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Depends on the year.  

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? No, I don't think I ever could.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Currently nothing.  Kids want a star I keep telling them we will make one, but we just haven't.

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? One personal family one on Christmas Eve. 
 
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The crowds.

23. Favorite Ornament?  Ornaments overwhelm me.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?  Ham

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A Happy Family and peaceful day.

26. Favorite Christmas memory?  The first one with Pa and Emma, so much more fun with kids.

27. Favorite Christmas cookie? Anything with CHOCOLATE!!!

28. Are you going to make any gifts this year? Yes, if I make time to do it.  I spy bags for all of the nieces and nephews... sorry guys if I don't get it done.  I do have them cut out, just need to drag out the sewing machine.  That is the hardest part. -Ma

Yeah!

HALLELUJAH!

Neighbors took down the trampoline today!

We can now rejoice! -Ma

David's Sandwich

Mom, can I make a sandwich?

Not the kind you make, but the kind I make.

I need one of these (hotdog bun),

will you get me some yogurt?

I just need to taste the yogurt first.

Will you get me some cheese, please.

Mmmm, this is going to be good.

I just need some crackers.

Hmm, I need something else.

More yogurt.

And cheese.

It's a good David sandwich.

Oh ya, this is so good!

I love this last picture because of his eyes.  When he was just little and nursing, he would latch on and immediately his big blue eyes would roll back and you could tell that he was in heaven.

-Ma

Gingerbread House

Once a year my mom comes over and makes gingerbread houses with the grandkids.

Abby working intently on her wall.

Yummy this is tasty.

Lets keep working.

Just one more lick, this is really good.

Emma's masterpiece.

David's wall.

Aunt Tami helping David.

Willow Mae and her Dada working together.

My Brother Ben and his beautiful house.

So glad Danny could be here.  Missed you Heather.

Aunt Tami and Emma, with our gingerbread house and nativity set in the background.

The finished project.

From left to right, our house, Ben's house, and Paul's house.

I am so sad that we didn't get any pictures and Paul and kids.  Kids loved playing in the back yard.

Thank you Mom, for putting all of this together.

Thank you all for coming over, we had tons of Fun! -Ma

I Want That

Jacob is getting really good at telling us that he wants stuff.  He says, "I wa dat."  Or, "Whas dat?"

Last night Pa and I were in the bathroom and Jacob wanted Pa's electric shaver.  I tried to give him the broken one but he stomped his feet and said, "wa dat!"  as he pointed to the shaver.  Pa and I laughed as he reached up and got the shaver.

Pa said that Jacob really likes gadgets, that he is always wanting the shaver.  Jacob looks up, points and said, "an dat."  He pointed to the electric tooth brush.  -Ma

Fall Festival 2008

Emma's school had their Fall Festival.  After playing tons of fun games and getting coupons for playing they were able to go pick out a toy with however many coupons they had.

I think the lady that took our coupons felt sorry for me.  I was by myself, Jacob was asleep in my arms, plus three cotton candies.  I was asking them to count the coupons because I just ran out of hands.  The lady just took the coupons and said, they can pick what ever they want.  This is what David and Emma chose.  Or should I say, Emma chose them.  David picked out a squishy frog, then he said he didn't want that so he traded and got a squishy ball, then we went around the corner and David saw what Emma had and he just had to have it.  So we traded again.  Thank goodness he got the last pair of springy "eye" glasses.  Abby got touchable bubbles.  We didn't get any pictures.  But she did have fun with them she went outside to blow them and when she came in she asked if I could get the dirt out of the bubbles.  I think the wand fell on the ground one too many times.  -Ma

Exercize

Jacob loves to exercise with his Mama!!

Whenever I pull out the air climber he has to be the first on and the last one on.

Isn't he cute??  -Ma

Emma's Headache

Emma went to the doctor Thursday for her headache.  He said it could be one of 3 things.

1. She could be stressed.  My only thought would be that she is stressed about her math at school.

Doctor suggested that we see if there is a councilor at her school that she could talk with.

2.  Her sinuses could be blocked.  She will be having an x-ray done... probably next week.  He also gave her some trial mucinex to take for the next couple of days.

3.  I don't think I listened very well to this one but he said that if her head is still hurting then she would need to get a cat scan.  But he doesn't want to do that because of too much radiation.

I don't feel worried about her my gut is saying that the problem is probably #1.  -Ma 

Keep it Simple

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Saw this on another blog.  Jacob could not stop laughing.  

When do we lose this innocence? -Ma

Progress Report for Emma

Emma is doing so well in school.  At the beginning of the year she struggled, and she still struggles a little, but I think she is just doing great!

On a scale of Good, Average and Having Difficulty this is how she did,

Reading Good

Spelling Good 94%

Phonogram Good 97%

Math Average 87.1%

Language Having Difficulty 84%  She has a hard time knowing what words to use in sentences.  ie, she will say her instead of she.

These are graded as Outstanding, Satisfactory and Needs Improvement

Penmanship Outstanding

Homework Outstanding

Conduct Outstanding

Teachers Reply, 

Emma has done a great job bringing up her math grade.  She is having difficulty with some of the language concepts.  She is a great student!  :o)

I am so proud of Emma, she has worked so hard and continues to do so well.  We fought so much at the beginning of the year trying to get homework done, it would take hours.  But then I changed the time when I would ask her to do her homework.  Now it is right after dinner or while I am making dinner.  She gets it done in 20 minutes.  Yea Emma!  I love you! -Ma  

 

Nursing Jacob

After 15 months I was still up at least 2 times at night nursing Jacob.  Last Monday night I figured it was probably time to get this kid and myself to sleep all night.

Nights one, two, three and four... lots of crying, he was in bed with Pa and I but he didn't want to snuggle in any way.  He would body slam us, or pick up his head and hit us with it.  Then he would resort to falling asleep on top of me.  If I tried to move him next to me he would become infuriated, and he would start all over again of body slamming and head banging.  He would also cry the saddest cry ever, a cry that made me want to just let him nurse so he could be happy again.  But I had to be strong, so I was.  Pa tried to help too, but the little man only wanted his Ma.

Night five, he whimpered, and allowed  "some" snuggle time.

Night six, he stayed in his bed till 3 am.  He did not cry, he just got out of bed walked to our room, pushed the door open and came to my side of the bed and said, "Da, da, da, da."  As he is moving his hands around to state his point.

I picked him up put him in the middle of myself and Pa, and he fell fast asleep... after telling me his story.

I do however have a larger hurdle to jump, but not till I am ready... I still nurse him to sleep at night... -Ma

Because They Are Famiwy

After putting the nativity set out.  The kids love to look and touch.  I don't know what kid wouldn't because the set is from Dreamsicles and they have the cutest faces.  If they weren't breakable I would let the kids play with them.  I remember when I was little and my mom would put out the nativity set I loved to take Jesus out and just hold him, I felt closer to Jesus when I did this.  So I try not to get mad when they are touching.

Back to the story...

Abby climbed up on a little table up to the shelf with the nativity set.  I noticed her up there as I was passing by and I stated, "You can look but please don't touch."

Later I was passing by again and Abby was still on the table looking at the set.  However the set was now clustered together in a tight circle.

I said, "Abby, I asked you not to touch."

Abby said, "I not touching Mommy, I just looking."

Me, "Abby, they moved and I asked you not to touch."

Abby, "I not touching Mommy, I just looking."

Me, "Abby, if you're not touching, how did they move?"

Abby, "Because they are Famiwy.  They are together."

-Ma