Just Because...

... they feel so true.

Does anyone else feel like 6 minutes is a personal best at their house?  Some days I do!

And I especially loved this one--with my marathon-running-husband...

Can I just count this as a marathon and call it good?

crazy time of year

Life has been beyond busy around these parts.  Like many of you, we've attended our share of Christmas parties.  We kicked it off with our ward Christmas party.  It's the first year that the older boys willingly sat with Santa.  Thank goodness that William did because we finally got to hear what he wanted for Christmas!  (Although it has changed a few times since then.)

Alexander was the only one not exactly thrilled to be sitting with Santa... but he actually warmed up to him after a few seconds.

The primary children performed a few of the Christmas songs they've been learning on Sundays.  James isn't in Primary yet (just a few more weeks!) but he jumped right up there with the rest of the kids... so different from William whom we have to beg to go up!

Alex thought he needed to be up and part of the action too...

William also had a class party at school.  James and Alex always love to come too.  Poor Alex was so tired from lack of naps... we'd been setting up the church building all day (more to come on that.)

Rich and I also attended a progressive dinner with the families from our ward that live in our town which was fun.  And last night we wrapped up the partying with a company Christmas dinner!  Phew!

For at least a week William insisted on wearing his Santa hat to school every day.  "My friends will think I took it from Santa!"  The first day he wore it he was wearing this red shirt.

He then told me that he needed some red pants so he could look like Santa.  Wouldn't that be a sight!

The boys and I stayed busy making Christmas goodies, crafts, and gifts.

And the most exhausting... I had a small part changing a church gym...

Into something worth seeing...

 Earlier this year I was called to be on the Stake Nativity Committee.  We collected somewhere between 300-400 nativities to put on display at the stake center.  It was a huge undertaking and many hours spent over several days setting up, taking down... not to mention the hours put in beforehand!  It turned out wonderfully... but I'm sure glad it's over for this year!

The best part was taking the boys.  They loved looking at all the different nativities... especially the ones from other countries.

The lady in charge of the children's room did a fantastic job.  There were nativities to play with, crafts (which my boys loved, and dress up boxes and a backdrop for the children to wear.  I couldn't get William to wear anything... but the other two loved it.

James wanted to be a shepherd because he got to hold a stick

I've given up on the idea of Christmas cards this year... maybe you'll get one at the beginning of the year.  Then again, maybe not.  Now I have three days to get my grocery shopping done, finish wrapping presents, send one last package, do about a million loads of laundry, and spotlessly clean my house before Christmas (and our guests!) arrive.     Can I get it all done?

Harry Potter

Over 10 years ago I started reading the Harry Potter series with/to my youngest sister.  Every Thanksgiving when I was home from BYU the two of us would go see the latest movie.

I was once in a lecture by Orson Scott Card where he told us that we should all read Harry Potter because it will withstand the test of time.  Our children and grandchildren would be reading Harry Potter--so we might as well see what it's all about.

A "Harry" costume that James pulled together today... he says he wants a real magic wand for Christmas.

Now, I have my own children who are discovering Harry Potter.  They are obsessed with the first movie.... especially James.  He's always wanting to be Harry... especially now that we told him that Harry's middle name is James.  I am always "the girl" and he picks one of his brothers (whoever is around) to be "Weasle-y".  Of course, he's always willing to let William be Harry as well.  I can't wait until they can dive into the books themselves!

Thanksgiving

 We had such a fun Thanksgiving break.  It was wonderful having William home with us!  

Wednesday we pulled out the watercolors... I don't think we've ever done them!  (Sad, I know.)  The boys had a blast making pictures.

Since we weren't celebrating Thanksgiving until Friday (Rich's brother had to work on Thursday) we headed down to Grandma's house anyway.  The cousins had a great time playing and watching shows snuggled up next to Grandpa.

We also took a dip in the hot tub.  James has been begging to go in for sometime now.  It was so cold outside (in the 20s or 30s?) but the hot tub was hot.  The boys had so much fun... it was like a giant bathtub for them.  Lisa and I eventually hopped in as well.

On Friday, our Thanksgiving Day, we had a great time playing outside and munching on veggies while waiting for the feast.  

James had fun climbing the tree.

The grandkids loved jumping on the trampoline.

And then Lisa--the great organizer of children--got the kids to help her gather up the leaves so they could jump in them.  They listened and obeyed everything she told them to do.  Maybe she should move in with us.

Finally, it was time for the feast.  All of the food was super delicious!

William and BenSam insisted on having "turkey on the bone."  Funny kids. 

And we had a special guest during our break.  Wags the dog, William's class "pet" got to join us on all of our adventures.  William even insisted that he bring some play food so that Wags could have a Thanksgiving feast as well.

We are so grateful for family nearby that we can celebrate with.  Now, on to Christmas prep!

It's Autumn Time

It finally feels like fall here in Oklahoma (it was 80 degrees on Wednesday... and then the temperature drastically dropped that night.)  Before it starts to feel like winter I thought I'd post a little video of a song that has been sung around here for months!  Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving celebration yesterday.  We're celebrating today... so I'll post about it soon!

Real Service

Sunday, while I was making dinner, William came in with a smile on his face and asked if I knew what he'd been doing.  I said that I didn't and with that same smile he told me, "I've just been playing."  I figured there was more to it but needed to finish chopping some veggies and he left.  Rich came home shortly after that and I heard William take him into the playroom.  I questioned Rich about it and he told me, "Just go in there.  You have to see it to believe it."  I was fearing the worst.  The playroom was already a mess--toys strewn around the room and I'm sure you couldn't see much of the floor.  I just hoped that every toy wasn't out of its bin.  It's been known to happen.  When I entered the room tears nearly came to my eyes.  I found this:

While I thought William was playing game on the Friend website he had actually been cleaning the playroom.  Every single toy was in a bin.  He tried to deny it telling me that it was James' doing.  But I knew better.  When I asked him how he had even thought of doing it he replied, "Remember?  I told you my lesson was about service."  If only we could all be so quick to act on the lessons we are taught.

We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives. Were we to step back, however, and take a good look at what we’re doing, we may find that we have immersed ourselves in the “thick of thin things.” In other words, too often we spend most of our time taking care of the things which do not really matter much at all in the grand scheme of things, neglecting those more important causes.

Many years ago I heard a poem which has stayed with me, by which I have tried to guide my life. It’s one of my favorites:

I have wept in the night
For the shortness of sight
That to somebody’s need made me blind;
But I never have yet
Felt a tinge of regret
For being a little too kind.

My brothers and sisters, we are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness—be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us.

--Thomas S. Monson 

I look forward to this holiday season.  I hope to see the needs of others more readily and to be prepared to help when needed.

Six Years Old

William had a fantastic birthday.  He was so excited to be SIX!  He keeps asking if he's taller or talks different.  I mean, he does get to use two hands to show you his age now.... that is pretty cool.
The celebrations started out on Sunday night at Grandma's house with lots of great presents

and an awesome cupcake cake.

Monday morning he started off with his breakfast of choice--chocolate chocolate chip muffins.  He brought lollipop cookies to school for a treat to share with his class again.

And after school we had a special snack of graham crackers and hot chocolate.  It was perfect for that rainy day.  (It was actually perfect... the weather was just like the day he was born.)

That evening he had his dinner of choice: spaghetti with meat sauce, green beans, and "yummy" bread.  (Why is it that so many of our celebrations revolve around food?)  After a quick Family Home Evening all about William we opened presents.

He loved Alaska moose and salmon from Grandma and Grandpa Fisher.

He was not thrilled, however, to receive clothes from mom and dad.  Oh well.  He needed them. (It's not the only thing he got from us!)

Once again he made out with too many things... his favorite though was the Kung Zhu hamsters he got.  He's obsessed.

This year William requested a Calvin and Hobbes cake.  (Calvin is six-years-old, you know).  With a little bit of team-work Rich and I made something that William was pleased with.

William is such a wonderful boy.  He is kind, thoughtful, a wonderful big brother, a big helper, a good friend, imaginitive, fun, smart, and just an all-around good boy.  I can't imagine life without him!

Birthday Interview

I am - good

I am afraid of - witches that make noises that are fake

I like - muffins

I like to eat - spaghetti

I don't like - tomatoes

I know - the church is true

I want to be -a policeman

I like to watch -Star Wars: The Clone Wars

I like to go -to Alaska

My hero is -Hulk

I cry when -I'm scared... really, really scared

Mom gets mad when -I do something bad

Mom is happy when -I do something right

What I want to be when I grow up - a police

I can't wait for -Christmas to come

Something Mom says to me -"Don't pick up the dishes or you'll break them."

Something Dad says to me - "You are good."

My favorite stuffed animal is -the dragon

My favorite place to go is -Alaska!

My Mom and Dad make me laugh by - saying funny stuff and funny jokes

I know my mom loves me because -she kisses me (except I don't like that)

I know my dad loves me because -he hugs me


It was fun to conduct this interview with William and compare his answers to last year's.  It's hard to believe that William was born six years ago!  He is such a sweet, good, helpful boy.  We love him so much!

Happy Birthday William!

Benefit of living in a small town: 

 

 

your kids get to be in the paper pretty often

 way more than I ever was!

Artwork?

As primary children often do, William occasionally brings home a coloring sheet from class on Sunday.  William's usually come home in a wad or folded up.  I was cleaning up around the house Sunday evening and finally got a chance to un-wad his paper and take a look.  I just had to laugh when I saw it:

He and James are definetly not on the same page when it comes to girls.

Halloween--III

James has been singing this around our house for weeks.  I'm so glad that October is over... hopefully this song will end with the month (although I love to hear his sweet voice singing).

Halloween--II

Around these parts when Halloween falls on a Sunday everyone celebrates on Saturday--HOORAY!

Saturday afternoon we got a chance to carve our pumpkins.  William loves designing the faces and Rich and I worked together to make them a reality.

I tried to get a picture with the boys and the pumpkins... but no one really wanted to cooperate.

Bob's family was in town for the weekend (and BenSam's birthday) so we headed over to the Crane's for some celebrating.  Every Halloween we have so many parties (ward trunk-or-treat, school, and Rich's work) that we hardly take the boys to do any trick-or-treating.  We usually hit up about 4 houses on our street to be neighborly and then call it a night.  With the ward trunk-or-treat canceled and Rich with new employment we didn't have any candy (silent cheers!)  So... we took the boys around Grandma's neighborhood with their cousins (and Rich's little cousins).  They had a blast.  William soon learned that with so many people he could stand around and the people might give him double the candy.  James would stand politely holding out his bucket saying "Trick-or-Treat" over and over until they gave him some treats.

William as Obi Wan Kenobi (he was going to be a Jawa in the same costume but decided he'd really be Obi Wan). James as Luke Skywalk (this is really a Darth Vader costume but he decided he didn't want the mask and he'd carry around a green lightsaber instead of a red one).

Aunt Lisa as Snow White and Alexander as Chewbacca (he wouldn't wear his hat).

It was a fun night and I'm glad that we still have pumpkin seeds to munch on...

ps. On Halloween day (the 31st) we had our primary program at church.  William gets sooo nervous.  He can say his part perfectly at home (President Thomas S. Monson was called of God as well.  He is the current prophet of our church today). But when he gets up he mumbles through it and insists on getting help.  I'm just glad that he sat on the stand this year and sang some of the songs.

pps.  For dinner that night we had mummy dogs (pigs in blankets), eyeballs (grapes), and blood (strawberry punch).  The boys thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Halloween--I

October always brings with it loads of fun.  There are always visits to the pumpkin patch, parties, and pizza (jack-o-lantern pizza that is.)  This year was no different.

At the beginning of the month William's Kindergarten class walked over to the local pumpkin patch.  A friend in the ward watched the little boys so that I could help out.  They have a story, history and science lesson.  The kids had a ton of fun... and I enjoyed being there and meeting his new school friends.

A little over a week later I walked with James and Alexander  to the pumpkin patch with some friends from church.  Again, loads of fun... we always enjoy being with friends.  (Side note: on the way to the pumpkin patch James told me that his "best girl" was Anna, his cousin.  On the way home after seeing his friend, Julia, he said that Anna and Julia were his best girls.  Aunt Lisa is now on that list as well... because they're getting married.  William, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with "best girls")

During the last week of October the little boys and I headed to William's class to attend his "Fall Party."  James always loves to go to William's class and act like a big kid.

We also had our traditional jack-o-lantern pizza that night.

The next day James, Alex and I headed over to Julia's Second Annual Halloween Bash.

My friend, Janine, is always so creative with her parties and the kids (and adults!) always have a fantastic time.

 Finally we got the opportunity to head to the pumpkin patch with the entire family.  It's become a tradition... and we have to pick out a big pumpkin to carve.

And it's also tradition to get a picture of the boys sitting on this little bench.  Unfortunately this is the best one I got this year.

Still to come... Halloween weekend.