Holy Ghost

This week for Family Home Evening, Todd taught a lesson about the Holy Ghost and how He will let you know what way to go and if a choice is a good one. Last night I was trying to get the boys fed while hoping Todd would come home soon so I could make it to mutual on time. As I gave William his cup of milk, Roger freaked out, stating that he wanted that cup. Roger can have a change of emotions in no time. Everything was going well, we all were happy, dinner was being served, then because he saw something he wanted, Roger made it miserable for us all. I do not support bad behavior in order to get something that is wanted, plus I wasn't going to put Roger's wants over William's feelings of importance. I was not going to take the cup away from William and give it to Roger.

Roger sat there and cried for a bit, and was very frustrating. I finally told him that he could either go cry in his room, or stop his crying and remain sitting with us. He chose to stay, he did stop crying but he continued with his rotten mood.

I was slicing cheese, giving slices to the boys. This cheese happens to crumble a lot, so when I gave a slice to Roger he was not happy. He didn't want a "broken one". I tried to explain that all the slices were broken. "Waaaaaaaa" was his reply as he started rubbing the cheese into the table (and we all know that just means a bigger mess for me to clean up).

I very nicely (ya, right) asked him to stop his crying, which after some more persuasions (or I mean threats) he finally started calming down (well, actually just started not yelling so loudly). William looked at Roger then looked at his cup. He then put his own cup in front of Roger's plate, saying that he was giving Roger his cup. Instantly Roger's eyes lit up.

"William!! That was so nice," I said, then bringing in the FHE lesson I said, "What do you feel in your heart?"

"He's feeling the Holy Ghost saying 'Thank you'" responded Mikey. Mikey then took some of his cheese and gave it to Roger. "Mom, I'm sharing with Roger and the Holy Ghost is saying 'Thank you' to my heart" he said as he put his hands to his chest.

The boys all burst out in the sweetest sounds of joy as they basked in the Spirit. William kept putting his hand on his chest and saying, "Nanne hanneast hart" (something something heart). They giggled together and freely hugged and kissed each other. It was such a sweet moment as the Holy Ghost confirmed to me what special boys I have in my life.

WARM WEATHER

The last couple of days we have experienced a heat wave. We went from having freezing rain storms (the rain actually freezes when it hits the ground or other objects) to 60 degree weather, in just a few days.

Saturday we had a cool 60 degree day. The wind actually made it feel cooler, but we still made sure to be outside. My friend Ruth and her two daughters, Olivia and Ellie, were in the Cleveland area, so they stopped by. We went to a local park so the boys could play and we could talk.

While at the park, William was climbing up a curved ladder. A dad that was standing nearby saw this, and looking at William's size and that there was no parent immediately near him, decided that he had better intervene. He picked William up and put him on the ground. William was a little confused, but went right back to attempting to climb the ladder. He got half way up the ladder and the man once again tried to figure out how to help prevent an accident from happening. He finally decided on being ready to catch William should he fall back. To his surprise, William made it to the top with no problems. I already knew William could master this feat, which is why instead of rushing over to help the man, I was cracking up. When children have many siblings, and don't have a parent hoovering over them the entire time, it's amazing to see what they can do on their own ... or maybe it's because they have a bad mom.

The last couple of days the weather has been a warm 35 degrees. Without the wind, it was just as warm as the day we had 60 degree weather. Whenever the sun shines here, it feels warm no matter the temperature. So of course, we've spent many hours playing outside, even foregoing nap time so that the boys could experience outside play.

Here the boys are "taking a nap" in the sun.

We have taken many walks around the neighborhood. I sure love seeing my boys holding hands.

The boys always stop on the sewer plates. They love it because they get to see an "R" for Roger, an "W" for William, and an upside-down "W" is an "M" for Mikey. But because he's heard Mikey state, "'M' for M", William will say, "'M' a me". This of course sends our OCD boy into a fit of rage.

While walking, Roger would stop and bust this move:

He said he was doing his exercise.... I hope I don't look like that when I do my exercises.

Joey enjoys playing soccer

And so does William

I got the sidewalk chalk out. Mikey doesn't like to color with it because it makes his hands dirty. Instead he gathered sticks and made pictures using the sticks.

You're going to wear what?!

When I would hear of children getting changed into several outfits a day, I would think to myself, "Silly parents, just dress them in one outfit, and refuse to change them. It's not that difficult."

Let me say, "I am WRONG, and I am sorry for being so naive"

Roger is always changing his clothes. He will just decide that something looks better than what he is wearing. And really, this wouldn't bother me too much, but the clothes that he is changing into are his raggedy, dirty clothes. He is changing from a really adorable, studly outfit that I picked out for the occasion, into a hole-ey t-shirt that he's worn the last several days and a pair of pajama pants. The worst part of it is that I really don't notice that he's wearing these self-proclaimed outfits until we are out in public!!

Another humorous side of this story is that he will go to bed in one pair of pajamas, and wake up in another. I'm starting to believe that in the middle of the night he gets up and hangs out for a couple of hours. This boy needs his sleep, but his sleep doesn't have to be too long. He will come and hang out in our bed in the early morning, or even just go downstairs and sit at the kitchen counter. I think those few mornings that he doesn't wake up until 8 or 9, it is because he snuck out to his friend's house and didn't get home until 5 in the morning. You never know, stranger things have happened.

Sweet Boy

William is a sweet little boy with such good manners. After sneezing or coughing, you will hear him say, "mue me Mommy" (Excuse me, Mommy). He will say this whether he coughed, you coughed, or someone in the next room.

When he is saying "no" he will say it politely. For example:

Me: William, we need to put your coat on

William, in a very stressed voice, says very quickly: No tanks!! No tanks!!!! (No Thanks)

He notices and understands when people aren't being well behaved as he says, "Not nice, Not nice". This is actually quite humorous while sitting in the movie theatre when on screen the two cartoon lions are fighting and William is yelling "Not nice, not nice".

William will tell his brothers "Not nice, not nice" when they are bothering him, but since he has been playing "Red light, Green light" with them, he has learned a new expression that he uses with them. He puts his hand out as if saying "stop" and says "Geen yight go" (Green Light, Go), yes, he's a little confused. But sometimes he'll get it a little bit right with "ded yight, go"(Red light, go).

The sweetest is at night. While tucking in the boys, one by one I will sit on each boys bed, ask him what song he would like me to sing to him, and I'll sing a song while scratching his head, face, arms, and back. Mikey usually requests the "Ice Cream Song", which is "I'm trying to be like Jesus". Roger will usually request some kind of made up song like, "The dinosaur song", or the "Iguana song", so I usually end up singing the "Temple Song" for him. And since he's been able to communicate his request, every night William requests "Dile Daw" (I am a Child of God).

Merry Christmas

This year was Grant's first Christmas!!! (Never mind the fact that last year was William's first Christmas)And it was Joey's first Christmas with us. Too bad we didn't get him anything except a haircut and a very girly sweater (out of all the boys in my home, he's the one that I can dress up like a girl without any lasting consequences)

Because of Todd's schedule and because traveling with four kids is SO MUCH FUN, we had Christmas at home this year, all by ourselves. It was really a great experience. My brother's birthday is on Christmas eve, so growing up that day was a very special day, I kept that tradition. I worked hard the days before so that I could spend the entire day with the boys. Todd worked an all nighter, so when he got home at 8 AM, I let him sleep while the boys and I had a big breakfast. We sang songs, read stories, played together and we went and visited an older lady in our ward. By time we were done (around 3 PM) we got to wake up Daddy.

That evening Jenny and her kids came over for dinner. We had meatballs in BarBQ sauce (something I'm trying out as a tradition).

We have a friend who is a pastor of a church in town. She was having a Christmas Eve service. So after dinner, we went over to her church. It was definitely different than our church, but it was nice. They had candles lit through the congregation, which the boys loved.

While we were sitting there, I was whispering to Mikey things about the service. I mentioned that we were at someone else's church. His eyes widened and he said, "Mom!!! I'm not in my church clothes!!!"

We came home and performed our own Nativity story. For the first time in my life, I got to be Mary!!!! I was so excited. I've always wanted to be Mary, but my sister Lyndee always insisted that she be Mary, and since she's better at being dramatic, I never got the chance. Then when Lyndee finally was too old to care about being Mary, my younger sisters stepped in. So, after all these years, I made my debut as Mary, another plus for being the only girl in this family.

Because he did such a great job the other night, Mikey played Joseph again.

Roger wanted to be a shepard, but after the first couple of minutes he didn't want to be anything. But upon seeing Daddy dress up and play the part as an innkeeper, Roger wanted to join in. Roger was the inn keeper who gave the option of the stable. He also played a shepard and a wise man - very talented.

William was dressed up as a wise man, but he actually didn't participate too much. He wasn't happy with the script and tried negotiating a new script titled, "Let's go to bed"

Grant replayed his role as Baby Jesus, performing it even better the second time around. We then put out a slice of apple pie for Santa, said a family prayer and went to bed (at least the kids did, we had to stay up and help Santa)

In the morning the boys came and jumped in bed with Todd and I (something they do every morning, not just Christmas morning). I ran downstairs and turned on all the Christmas lights. Then we all went into "Mommy's nice room", where we had a prayer, thanking our Heavenly Father for His Son and His Son's sacrifice.

We ran into the living room where we found that Santa ate our pie and left toys for the boys. The boys got a "Rescue Hero" spaceship and a Fisher Price castle and boat (which he got for a great deal at a local consignment store). Mikey got some building toys, Roger got a camera, and William got some fun little toys, and Grant.... well..... he.... umm........ he got to play with some of his brother's old toys.

and he was thrilled about it!

The boys loved just playing and playing. Of course they wanted Todd and I to play with them.

They got Starburst candies in their stockings, which was a hit. William liked those better than any of the toys.

Todd's old girlfriend had promised him that she would make him a scrapbook of his mission, she didn't fulfill her promise. I guess she didn't fulfill the promise that she'd wait for him either, that just demonstrated that she just can't be depended on. Whenever Todd would suggest that I make his scrapbook, I would tell him that I never agreed to do it, and that he should send it to his old girlfriend to have her finish it. So what if she's married and has kids, she promised!!!! Well, I decided to be the bigger man (or maybe the good wife) and made it for him. It took a lot of work and time, but seeing Todd's face and his excitement, was definitely worth it.
Todd had gotten me an Ohio State sweatshirt. Ya, I was THRILLED with that gift. It was more of a gift for him, to have his wife wearing his team's sweatshirt. I think next year I'll get Todd some new decorations for the house. Sounds fair to me.

Nothing says "I'm moving on" like giving away your old wedding rings. Well, that's what my mom did. She gave each of her children an old ring of hers. The up side, I've got a beautiful new ring.

A very wonderful morning and experience, but now we're a little tired

Nativity Party

It's freezing. The temperature is around 5 degrees. But rather than let that get us down, we went to our friends house where we had our Joy School Christmas party. And even though we claim it was for "Joy School", it was just as much for us adults as it was for the children. We ate good food and had some good discussions. The kids had fun acting wild, and I was grateful it wasn't at my house.

But the highlight of the night was the kids performance of the Nativity. The Joy School manual had a child's version of the nativity that the kids have been "practicing" the last couple of weeks. A few years ago for a Relief Society enrichment I got Nativity costumes. These are awesome! and really quite easy to make and put on.

Grant played the role of Baby Jesus.

The girl playing Mary is my friend's older child, which is why she is holding him so nicely. If she were Mikey's age I'm sure Grant's head would be on the floor

William was a wise man

Roger was a wise guy, I mean wise man

Mikey was Joseph

I do have to say that I was so impressed with Mikey's performance. Mikey tends to be very shy and will not do anything unless he is instructed to do it just moments before. We ran through the play beforehand, and afterwards he needed no instruction - and he actually performed his role! Unless you know Mikey, you really do not understand how HUGE this is! It did help that he had a cute little "Mary" to help him.After their performance, they sang some Christmas songs. They were so cute and so sweet. I actually could hear Mikey singing, something that doesn't happen when we're around other people. (My baby's growing up!) Roger kept on dancing and running around, he was just too full of the Spirit to be able to sit still, and William was a little distracted by the dinosaur in his hand. But Mikey and Roger got some time for this:

a Lights broken?

The other night, while Todd was working, me and the boys were eating dinner. As we were about finished eating, the lights flickered, and the electricity went out.

"Uh-oh...Mom, you broke your lights?" one of my children said

"No, the electricity is out"

"Mom, the lights everywhere are broken!?" says another child

"No, the electricity is out, the power is gone, every one's power is out"

In Athens it seemed that the power would always go out, but wait 30 seconds it would come back on, so I waited for that to happen. After a minute or two, and with my kids starting to get nervous and scared ("I can't see, Mom, it's dark" -brilliant children, I know), I figured I better start getting some kind of light for ourselves.

Somehow our kids have gotten hold of all our flashlights (okay, we only had a couple to start with, but for some reason the boys love them and love to take them apart, and love to break them), so we have no flashlights. But, because I'm getting all food-storage-crisis-ready, I had ordered some non-battery operated flashlights and they had just arrived and were still on my counter! So, I grabbed one and got a couple of candles lit.

The boys loved the candles. Mikey, who is in a very inquisitive stage, kept on asking about what the "water" was by the flame. Because I kept on telling the boys to be careful and to not touch the candles, Mikey would ask me if candles were bad.

We finished dinner, then just stayed in our seats. I did have plans to work on Christmas gifts, but I was stuck. After cleaning up dinner, I grabbed our Children's Songbook and we sat around the counter singing Christmas songs. I was so impressed with how many songs my boys knew (thanks to Primary, not me). Even William knew some parts.

During this time we got to talk more about Joseph and Mary, and more importantly, Jesus Christ. This has been my favorite Christmas season ever. My boys are understanding so much more. Sure, they talk about Santa and Frosty the Snowman, but as Mikey says, "What Christmas about?....It about Jesus."

We have had discussions about Christ's birth; in which I told them that Mary "popped" Baby Jesus out, just like I popped baby Grant out. I asked them if they remembered when I was pregnant with Grant, and Roger came over and while rubbing my back said, "Remember when you were so owwey and I 'ratch your back like this?"

Someone has been "Secret Santa"-ing us with Nativity pieces. Every night there's a new piece on our front steps with a scripture tied around it. The boys have had so much fun rejoicing in our newest addition and talking about each piece. William skipped around the house forever singing, "Mary, Mary, ...Mary, Mary"

I am so thankful that my boys are getting a little bit of an understanding of the meaning of Christmas. I know that a lot of people focus on the idea that Christmas is a time of giving, not getting. But I believe it is (or should be) more than that. It is the rejoicing in the fact that we have gotten the greatest gift that we could ever receive, a Savior, and because of that we can be forgiven of our sins! Isn't that the greatest news!!!?!!!!

Praying

We say a prayer before every meal. I've tried to get the kids involved in saying the prayer, and it always sounds like there's an echo in the room:

Me: Bless the food

Mikey or Roger: a food

Me: Thank you for our Blessings

Mikey: Welcome to a blessings

Me: In the name of Jesus Christ

Mikey, Roger and/or William: Amen!

I've tried to get them to have their own thought up prayers. I would have Mikey say the prayer, and we'd get something like this:

Mikey: Dear He'venly Father, thank you for ... (in a whispered tone) what we thank you for?

Me: the food

Mikey: No, I say it. Thank you for the food. Thank you for...um... what thank you for?

Me: our blessings

Mikey: NO, I say it. Thank you for the blessings... Thank you for...

Roger: Mommacita

Mikey: NO! Roger! I say it! ... Thank you forMommacita....

After spending many days with their cousins during Thanksgiving, my boys got a better understanding of how to say prayers and learned two valuable pieces of information:

1. Their prayers do not have to be perfect

2. We can say more than one prayer before prayer time is over

Now our prayers go something like this:

Me: Okay Mikey, you can say the prayer

Mikey: He'venly Father. Thank you for a day. Thank you for my toys. Thank you for blessings. Please bless Momma, Roger, William, 'Rant, Nathan. etc.

Roger: My Turn

Me: Okay

Roger: Dear Heavenly Father. Thank you for a food. Thank you for my donkey. Thank you Momma not die. Thank you we not smash our faces (as he slaps his face), thank you we don't kick our brother. etc.

William: Me Turn

Me: Okay

William: nnnunnuna, nnunnnuna, nnunnnuna, nnnunnnuna (this same sounding "phrase" keeps on being repeated until we hear) A....Men (as he lifts his hands in the air)

Mikey: Maaumm! 'Rant didn't close his eyes!

Me: He's a baby.

Mikey: He don't close his eyes 'cause he a baby?

I'm glad that my boys are excited to be praying, I'm glad that they are seeing that their prayers can be individualized and don't need to be perfect. But because this process takes about 15 minutes, I'm sad that I'll never have warm food ever again.

Lake Farm Lights

We went to a local Lake Farm Country Lights. It was so much fun! We had an extra ticket, so Nathan, Mikey's friend, came with us. I also had LeNae and our friend Jessica come along - they were a lot of help and it would've been much more difficult without them.

We got to ride in a horse-pulled wagon to look at some Christmas lights that they had set up. The boys were mesmerized by the lights. This ride then took us to a barn where we got to pet some horses, pigs, sheep and cows.

They also had horse rides available for the kids. Here's the horse William rode:

Actually that was one of the horses that pulled our wagon. The boys rode ponies.

Grant spent the evening catching a ride on dad

We also got to go see Santa.

Mikey told Santa what he wanted, a Mac-truck table (sorry bud, sold out).

Roger didn't mention what he wanted Santa to bring. He just said, "yes, you Santa Claus". William was very excited to sit on Santa's lap.
Grant asked for more milk

Then, if the $5 admission didn't already go far enough, they had Santa's workshop where the boys got to choose a toy to build, paint, and take home.

To be safe, Roger and William wore safety glasses while putting their toys together

Here Jessica and I are helping the boys with their painting

I think LeNae got a little too dangerously close to the paint while helping Roger. Oh well, it's her jacket.

It was a very fun evening. The boys got to see a lot, and we got to see the boys experience so much wonder and awe. It really got us in the Christmas spirit.