Blog Out

New Blog

2009-10-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

Finally...I got myself a new blog: http://bennettloveshack.wordpress.com/

The End of Blogging?

2009-07-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

I was happily going along uploading photos to the blog this morning (I've really fallen behind, how quickly a week goes by) when suddenly a terrifying message appeared. It says my Picasa/Google photo storage is full. They are holding all my blogging ability hostage until I fork over $10 per year. I tried to delete some pictures from the Picasa albums but another message popped up and said if I delete there it will also remove the photo from my blog. Pirates! That's what these Picasa/Google people are! Pirates! So this is my last blog until I figure out a way around this villainy.
Here we are around the fire pit at my parent's log home. We had a family reunion of sorts with my dad's sister, her daughters, their parents, and some cousins from Iowa.
Me, Ruby, and my Mom.
Birthday party at Gram and Pop's. "Everyone raise your hand if it is your birthday." But really this party was only for Gram and Tristan.

Tristan got tiny legos from Gram and Pop. I spent a precious hour of my life putting together "The Krusty Crab" only to have it fall apart when Sierra moved it. ARRRAAGGGJJJHHHHH!

simple joys

2009-07-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

Amanda Soule over at SouleMama just created a post called simple joys. She lists a few things that are bringing her joy this morning with incredible pictures to match. I don't have the camera or photography skills like she does, but I have plenty of simple joys in my life. Like...
Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby. She is such a smiler these days. Of course I couldn't capture said smile with the camera, you'll just have to take my word for it.
Here she is helping me fold laundry. This particular pile is a joy because Gram came over this morning when she knew I was trying to get out the door for a bike ride. She walked in and said, "Whose diaper can I change? What girl's hair can I brush? What pile of laundry can I fold?" I was nursing Ruby and she folded part of this pile of laundry and visited with me. At the very bottom of this picture you can see my slippers, those are a joy. And my black pants that I've been waiting for months to fit into and now I can, that is a joy.

This picture was taken a few weeks ago. We've been biking like this at least three times a week. We call ourselves explorers and we are in search of a new playground every outing. We've been to nine or ten different playgrounds, ones we'd never been to before. At this morning's park, a dad started talking to me while he pushed his 18 month-old on the swing. He asked if it was hard to have three kids. "Oh, I have four." I said as I pointed to Ruby's car seat in the bike stroller. We talked for a while, him saying that evenings are really tough for him and his wife with the baby and a 7 year-old, me saying that when all four kids want something at the same time (which only happens a few times a day) things get crazy but otherwise I love, love, love having a big family. Sometimes I think the more you have on your plate, the more you are able to accomplish.
A joy to me is to walk downstairs and find these two deep in imaginative play. A neighbor gave them a big box of barbies and other toys yesterday and they are so happy.

Tristan can play with blocks for amazing lengths of time. He loves to sneak off and create his own little world, which usually involves blocks and emptying out the DVD case. He'll bring me little block creations as gifts, I have a pile of them here by my computer. That is a joy. Here he is yelling, "Don't take a picture of me!" He also has purple frosting dye on his lips because he was "helping" me put away the cake decorating kit. Yum, cake....that is another joy.

I started reading "Surprised By Joy" by C. S. Lewis a few days ago. Last night I finally had to just tell myself it is OK to start a book and not finish it if you aren't enjoying reading it. Some parts were really good, very profound, but it was heavy reading and I felt pretty dumb for not grasping 90% of it. He says his definition of joy is "that of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction...which is here a technical term and must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and from Pleasure. Joy (in my sense) has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again. Apart from that, and considered only in its quality, it might almost equally well be called a particular kind of unhappiness or grief. But then it is a kind we want".

See what I mean? I'll stick with my simple joys--which I define as things that make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Kaia is 5!!

2009-07-13T14:21:00.001-07:00

Notice it reads "Kayak" not Kaia. It could have been Cake Wreck worthy, but my Uncle Steve admitted that because he didn't know how to spell Kaia he said to the worker "Well, you could just put Kayak." So she did. Kaia didn't seem to mind, and the cake was delicious.

New bike from Gram & Pop/Mom & Dad. Sierra sure wishes it was her birthday.
The five layer birthday cake I created over the course of 3 days.
Pool party with her friends from Joy School. A very low key party, all I could muster.

Collage Fun

2009-07-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

click on collage to enlarge

What do you do in the summertime?

2009-07-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

"Oh, what do you do in the summertime?...

When all the world is green.

Do you throw your friend's dad in the pool?

To keep yourself cool

Do you run and swing?

Or jump on the trampoline?

Read lots of books with Gram?

Or eat slices of ham?

Is that what you do? So do I..."
Sing along with this song HERE

The 4th

2009-07-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

We sang The Star-Spangled Banner in sacrament meeting today and the third verse really touched me:

"Oh, thus be it ever,

When free men shall stand

Between their loved homes

And the war's desolation!

Blest with vict'ry and peace,

May the heav'n-rescued land

Praise the Pow'r that hath made

And preserved us a nation!

Then conquer we must,

When our cause it is just,

And this be our motto:

"In God is our trust!"

And the star-spangled banner

In triumph shall wave

O'er the land of the free

And the home of the brave!

We went to the Purcell's last night for a wonderful 4th of July party. They spent the day slowly grilling ribs and they were divine. Marisa toiled over the desserts (I'm so glad I didn't have to do the work, yet got to partake in their deliciousness). Eric bought fireworks in WY to entertain us all. The kids had a blast in the pool, on the trampoline, and with their friends.

God bless America.

Bread of the Month

2009-06-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

I made bread this month, several times, even experimented with my old stand-by recipe. But I never did take any pictures and nothing turned out well enough to blog about. But check this out:

http://www.cookingbread.com/classes/class_hamburger_buns.html

Someday, oh just someday, I'll have some of these prepared for summer BBQ on the back deck.

Enforced Silliness

2009-06-26T16:28:00.000-07:00

Marty vs. Melman

2009-06-24T19:14:00.000-07:00

Last week when I was packing for our camping trip I felt myself thinking "I can't, I can't, I can't". A while ago my grandparents took my kids to McDonalds and in their Happy Meals were little Melmans that talked. For months I had three Melmans saying "I can't, I can't, I can't" all over my house. I finally got rid of the toys, but sometimes the phrase sneaks back into my mind. Yet, I'm determined not to be a Melman. I want to be a Marty. Marty wants to live in the WILD and he creates "the fun side of the island". Henry David Thoreau has a essay titled Walking and Adam has a copy in his truck. I read it this weekend and felt inspired to "live in the WILD" more often. Thoreau says things like:

“How near to good is what is wild!” Life consists with wildness. The most alive is the wildest. Not yet subdued to man, its presence refreshes him. One who pressed forward incessantly and never rested from his labors, who grew fast and made infinite demands on life, would always find himself in a new country or wilderness, and surrounded by the raw material of life. He would be climbing over the prostrate stems of primitive forest-trees.

I want to be wild. I'm sure any family/friends/associates reading this would laugh out loud at the thought of Mindi Bennett considering herself "wild". But perhaps Thoreau and I share a different definition of "wild". I don't want to be the mamma at the playground with tatoos and black lace Harley Davidson tank-tops (although I have one of those--not a tatoo, a Harley tank-top). I want to "make infinite demands on life...[and be] surrounded by the raw material of life." I want to be like my MIL who says she decided she was going to do more than just maintain, more than just barely stay afloat while raising 6 kids and running a household. I want to 'homestead' some land with my family; have goats and bees and gardens and orchards. But even here in my suburban house where the neighbors hear me shout: "Are you kidding me! Glitter all over the kitchen floor?!" or "Seriously, Sierra?! You can't stand on the couch while holding Ruby!!!" I think I'm surrounded with the wildness of life. The wildness of children, time management, nourishment, and self preservation are all mine. I am living in the WILD, the fun side of the island, even.

'09 Camping Adventure #1

2009-06-22T20:14:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's Day, Adam (early)

2009-06-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

LESS STUFF MORE FUN

2009-06-13T06:43:00.000-07:00

In December Adam heard about a guy who decided to not buy anything he deemed unnecessary for an entire year. No frivolous forms of entertainment, no new clothes, etc. We decided to try it. There was a car in our old neighborhood that had a bumper sticker that read "LESS STUFF MORE FUN". That has become our family motto. Kaia had to create a "family flag" for Joy School and we put that motto on there, along with our family scripture: "Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness" (2 Nephi 9:51). That last line, "let your soul delight in fatness", is a favorite of mine. Jack Johnson has a great song (Gone) where he says:

"Look at all those fancy clothes

But these can keep us warm, just like those

What about your soul?

Is it cold?

Is it straight from the mold and ready to be sold?

Cars and phones and diamond rings, bling bling

Those are only removable things

What about your mind, does it shine?

Are there things that concern you more than your time?"

Souls that delight in fatness don't get cold. Minds and souls that shine don't waist their time on tv, movies, music, entertainment that dull them. I'm teaching a Sunday School lesson tomorrow on the courage and faith of Joseph F. Smith. The following story has made an impression on me:

Joseph F. and his company had stopped to camp one afternoon when a band “of drunken men rode into the camp … , cursing and swearing and threatening to kill any ‘Mormons’ that came within their path. … Some of the brethren when they heard them coming had cautiously gone into the brush down the creek, out of sight. Joseph F. was … gathering wood for the fire. [He walked up to the campfire to deposit his wood. One drunken ruffian with a pistol in his hand said] that it was his duty to [kill] every ‘Mormon’ he should meet. … In a loud, angry voice [he demanded from Joseph], ‘Are you a … Mormon?’ [Joseph ignored the gun aimed at him,] and looking the ruffian in the eye … boldly answered, ‘Yes siree; dyed in the wool, true blue, through and through.’

“This [surprised] the man; and … he grasped [Elder Smith’s] hand and said,

“ ‘Well, you are the … pleasantest man I ever met! Shake, young fellow, I am glad to see a man that stands up for his convictions’ ” (Smith, Life of Joseph F. Smith, p. 189). The man seemed to be the leader of the group, for when he rode off the rest followed him. President Smith said he fully expected to be shot when he admitted being a Mormon, but he did it anyway.

I plan on telling the teenagers in my class that although they do not face mobs today, they face something equally dangerous. They are battling against devils who seek to destroy their souls by dulling them, thinning them, and robbing them of intelligence through all sorts of entertainment and popular notions that hinder them from forming convictions.

This morning my Grandma's cat was meowing outside our bedroom window at 5 a.m. I loaded Ruby into a baby sling (she was wide awake also) and headed out to visit Vinny. We are taking care of him while Gram and Pop are in California (Gram had back surgery on Thursday and we are all praying fervently that it is successful). I figured I might as well let Adam sleep peacefully until his alarm went off at 6:25 (he had a long bike ride to fit in before our busy Saturday of attending two wedding receptions) so I settled in at Gram and Pop's house. I started reading scriptures, D&C 93 to be exact. The Lord says, "I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth" (v. 41). In verse 36 we learn "The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth". I pondered that for a while. We are commanded to raise our children in light and truth which is intelligence which is the glory of God. Now I just need to figure out how to nurture children with fat souls and shinning minds and convictions that are "true blue, through and through".

p.s. Check out Common Sense Media for great movie reviews and advice for parents.

p.p.s. Check out www.picnik.com for cool things to do to pictures like adding text... for FREE.

Picture Post

2009-06-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby is 1 month old.
The girls' soccer season ended recently. Kaia told me before her last game, "Mom, I don't want to do soccer again. I want to be a ballerina." Here is Kaia with her buddy, Cooper.
Sierra on the other hand, loved soccer and was the second most competitive/aggressive kid on the team (she was only outdone by the coach's son).
I almost posted a before/after shot of my new hairstyle but the "before" (after I cut my bangs myself) was so hideous that I couldn't bring myself to put it on this here blog. But this is me "after", meaning after having a wonderfully professionally done hair cut by the talented Erica Niles. She said I wasn't the worst self-haircut she has tried to fix, more of a yellow than a red (to use her words), but it took almost an hour and a half to get the desired result. I like it a lot. So does Kaia, obviously.
I wish I could have gotten to the camera faster at this moment. Tristan came in my room while I was nursing and performed a hula dance. I think he saw his sisters dancing a few weeks ago and decided to give it a try. I laughed till I cried.
Oh, Kaia. I think she may have laughed till she cried when she saw this picture.

Mother Artist

2009-06-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

I was listening to this song today in the car and it got me feeling all artsy. I started daydreaming about getting back into painting. When nap time fell apart I strapped the baby into the Hug-a-Bub and pulled out the watercolors. As expected, Sierra and Kaia were soon at my side wanting to paint too. There is a book that has been on my night stand for way too long (The Creative Family by Amanda Soule) and in the few pages I've read there was a statement about not separating your kids from the "good" art supplies. Essentially she's saying let your kids create with the expensive stuff, not the 2 for $1 water colors. Well, I just can't bring myself to do that, although it would have saved me an argument and having to get all the kid paint down from the closet. Anyway, I painted unproductively for a while then spent twice as long cleaning up the painting mess my girls made. And all this made me think of a conversation between friends last night. We were discussing the talent of one friend's husband who is amazing on the piano/organ. Another friend mentioned that she would sure like to have a talent like that. Another friend's husband piped up and said something to the effect of, "Your talent could be Motherhood." Those words really stuck with me and reminds me of the quote I have on my fridge: "She who can paint a masterpiece or write a book that will influence millions deserves the admiration and the plaudits of mankind; but she who rears successfully a family of healthy, beautiful sons and daughters, whose influence will be felt through generations to come, ... deserves the highest honor that man can give, and the choicest blessings of God." --President David O. McKay

So I'm going to share my paints (but only the dollar store variety).

Things you just shouldn't do...

2009-06-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

*Cut your own bangs. Especially if said hair cut takes place in the wee hours of the morning and is performed by a sleepy (and insane) momma with a pair of sewing scissors. The result will be a look from a husband that reads "that looks terrible, but I'm not going to say the words out loud". Always remember if you see a hair style in a movie, someone with a whole lot of training and talent created that hair cut. I was trying to go for this:

I don't look anything like Kate or Zoe. Maybe I'll post a picture of myself someday. But probably not for another 6 months. I've confined myself to wearing a headband and a lot of hair pins for a really, really long while.

"Our Name Is Our Virtue"--Jason Mraz

2009-06-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

I'm supposed to be sleeping. Adam has the "three noisies" at the pool so you would think conditions would be perfect. I was up till who knows when trying to get Ruby to fall asleep last night, so I'm definitely tired. Nap time just didn't happen for anyone today so again...I'm tired. Sweet little Ruby was sleeping soundly until a few moments ago. I tried to nurse her back to sleep, but to no avail. Maybe it is because everyone in the neighborhood decided to mow and/or weed eat their lawn tonight. Is that a chain saw I hear too? I dunno. Adam took the camera to work a few days ago and I decided I was way behind on taking pics of Ruby. I started using Photo Booth here on my Mac. Something about the camera made Ruby's stomach decide it was time to eject buckets of milk. That is what is happening in the picture above. But to prove she is a delightful little cutie see photo below:
Reddish brown hair, blue eyes, light olive skin, delightful personality--maybe I'm biased. I think she is mad about her name, though. Oh, she likes "Ruby", we all do. It is the middle name that is the problem. I want her middle name to be "Josephine" (my dear Grammy's middle name--well, her birth certificate says "Joe" because her dad wanted her to be a boy, but her mother always called her "Barbara Josephine"). Adam wants Ruby's middle name to be "Danger". He is still upset with me for not letting him use that middle name for Tristan. Pfssshhh, like I'm in any shape to raise a "Danger" for Pete's sake.

So what do you think? Should it be "Ruby Josephine", "Ruby Danger", or "Ruby No-Middle-Name"? We'll keep putting off the baby blessing (just like we did with Tristan) until this is resolved. Ruby needs your help.

Overboard

2009-05-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

In the movie Overboard Kirt Russel comes home to find Goldie Hawn completely overwhelmed by motherhood and homemaking. She is sitting in a chair, mumbling "baa baa baa" over and over. I was pretty sure that was how Adam was going to find me when he got home from work tonight. It may have been thus, if Gram hadn't called and invited my kids to play in her back yard and insisted that I go for a walk. As I walked along the path lined by giant Cottonwood trees who are shedding little bits of "cotton" right now, I was struck by the beauty of the evening. I thought about the events of the day:

A much anticipated trip to the zoo to ride the train. The girls had earned "tickets" by doing morning chores for 7 days in a row about two months ago and as a reward they wanted to ride the zoo train. It has taken me this long to make good on that deal.
I'd been putting off writing "thank you" cards because in my mind it was a monumental task. "Take a nap while the baby is sleeping and the girls watch a movie, or write, address, stamp, mail the 'thank you' cards?" I would ask myself. I find that I say this a lot. "Sleep or vacuum, mop, clean bathrooms?" or "Sleep or exercise?" or "Sleep or Spiritual nourishment?" I wish I could fit it all in, but I've got four kids who all seem to be clamoring for my attention these days. While I was trying to finish up the "thank you" cards this afternoon Sierra and Kaia were bombarding me with all sorts of requests. "Make a modest swimsuit for my Barbie!" Kaia demanded for the 100th time (my attempt to wrap ribbon around said Barbie had failed). "Read me another chapter of Fablehaven," Sierra begged. "Can we hold the baby?" they both repeated insistently. Finally I kicked them both out of my room and told them to find "a new activity" (have you heard the comedian Brian Regan use that line?). I thought they would go into the kitchen and make a big, huge mess. Which they did--involving peanut butter, chocolate chips and raisins. But they also made their own "thank you" cards and addressed them to me. This is what Sierra's looked like:

I told her I would keep it forever. And I will, just in picture/blog format. They surprise me with their thoughtfulness everyday (right after they surprise me with how much they can bicker, argue and fight). I love my kids.

BolderBoulder

2009-05-29T16:54:00.000-07:00

I heart Boulder, Colorado. I really wanted to go there while my MIL, Le Anne, was here. It kept getting put off until the day before she left I insisted that we get up there. That was Monday, the same day the BolderBoulder Marathon took place, the same day the Boulder Creek festival was happening, and the same day it decided to pour cats and dogs. Traffic was horrible, but we managed to find a parking spot and get to the festival just as the rain clouds opened up. But in typical Colorado style, the rain didn't last long and soon the sun was shinning.
There was a wild life exhibit (indoor) at the festival with moving animals to boot.
Here is the clan as the rain started to let up. Kaia is munching on a free sample from The Melting Pot, chocolate with strawberries and angel food cake. Yum. We stocked up on all the free samples, just like a Saturday in Costco.
Here is Le Anne protecting Ruby from the rain.
We were all impressed with this tent in a trailer. But this is about the point where I noticed my sandals were rubbing my feet so much that they were bleeding and I was finished with the festivities.
Here we had a nice family picnic overlooking the Flatirons. A few moments later Tristan found a big ant pile to stand in and experienced his first red ant attack. Poor little guy.

Joy School Graduation

2009-05-23T17:07:00.001-07:00

Kaia graduated from Joy School on Friday. Here is the graduating class led in march and song by Joy herself.
ErynShae, Neveah, Cooper, Kylie, Emily, and Kaia.

The graduates and their Moms (the teachers).

Don't be fooled. Under this grumpy facade she is bursting with joy.

Pictures from last week

2009-05-20T13:14:00.001-07:00

Ahhhh, nap time. Kaia is on an every-other-day nap schedule. She usually gets woken up by the little squeaker and when I return to the bedroom I find her happily holding and singing to Ruby.
Sierra and I got into a few arguments yesterday. She ended up with a double punishment (sent to her room and not being allowed to run through the sprinkler) and took this picture of herself to document her sadness.
Tristan was helping Grandma Danna in the kitchen. He does not like loud noises and the 4-horse power blender is very loud. Grandma made "alligator shakes" with fruits and vegis and Tristan loved it.
Our first family picture with four kids. Just so happened to be a beautiful sunset that night.
Ruby is one week old!
Grandma Danna has been here to give all our kids their first home bath. Ruby loved it.

Tristan wore his "Lederhosen" to church on Sunday and was a big hit.
Ruby has very flexible feet.
Grandma Shelli and Ruby (notice the pile of laundry in the background, that is only half of the baby clothes Le Anne brought down from WA for Ruby).
Sierra's Field Day at Tarver Elementary. She jumped rope 18 times and was very proud of herself. I think she's been practicing her jump rope skills every day since. Dad, Kaia, Tristan, and Grandma Danna were there cheering her on. I remember lots of ribbons on Field Day, but I guess ribbons have been cut out of the budget. No first prize winners anymore, everyone is a winner.

I Almost Wrote Something Spiritual & Intellectual

2009-05-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

During nap time I read a profound speech by Merrill J. Bateman given at BYU January 5th, 1999 (see HERE). I was on the verge of expounding on my thoughts and feelings, but nap time has abruptly ended.

For anyone who read Eric Snider from the BYU paper and who loves Ben Folds Five should see HERE (aka Lorie).

Birth Story

2009-05-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

So after this, Adam and I were off to the hospital. Contractions slowed down while riding in the car so we stopped off at McDonalds for breakfast (a rare treat for me). By the time we got to the hospital contractions were probably back to 10 minutes apart and wimpy wimpy. We walked into "the starting place" (as the sign said) and no one was there. We walked back into a nice lobby area with a tv, couches, birthing balls, bathrooms, etc. No one bothered us in there and I had everything I needed. But after about 30 minutes with no progress in contractions I told Adam we needed to leave the hospital and go for a walk. We moved the car to a long-term parking area and all the while Adam was trying to convince me that we should go to a movie. He even started looking up movie times and locations on his phone. Wolverine was playing at 12:30 p.m., but at this point it was only 10:30 a.m. I knew I wasn't going to make it that long and ignored his silly idea. Instead we walked through a historic neighborhood just north of the hospital. We held hands, we looked at the beautiful gardens and houses, he made me laugh a lot (like when I would complain about how small and weak my contractions were he'd say, "You mean it is just a baby contraction?" and then laugh at his own joke). I really have to say it is one of my favorite memories I have of Adam and I together, that 30 minute walk before our forth baby was born. We got back to the hospital, bought a whole wheat bagel from the cafe, and contractions started to pick up. It was a really busy day at St. Joseph's Labor and Delivery. Nurses and receptionists were in a flurry. Some attributed the rush to a change in the weather or cycles of the moon. At any rate they ended up having twenty two births on May 11th when normally they have less than ten. After check in my midwife found me to be dilated to a 5 and said I could stay. They moved me to the most wonderful birthing room with a giant jacuzzi, state of the art bed, and leaves imprinted into the ceiling tiles. Adam and the nurse filled up the tub and I can't ever remember being more comfortable (in between contractions, that is). I really mean it. Something about hot water and the massaging jets put me totally at ease. A few months ago I was considering hiring a doula for this birth. In the end I told Adam, "You will just have to be my doula. Your job is to put hot washcloths with drops of lemon oil on the back of my neck and to give massages." He didn't protest and even picked up a little bottle of lemon oil for me. Well, while I was in the tub he came in and dropped a dozen or so drops of lemon oil in the water. At first I thought this was a great idea, it smelled so wonderful, then my skin started to burn like it was on fire. It really hurt everywhere the oil touched my skin. I tried to ignore it and keep on enjoying my bath, but after a few minutes I knew I needed to stand up and try to soap off my skin. I kept telling myself, "You just needed some variety to your pain. This is a good distraction from your contractions which are getting stronger and stronger." Nonetheless, it was so very hard for me to get out of that tub. Adam felt really bad about the lemon oil problem. He dumped some on his arm to see if he would have the same reaction, but he never did. After about 20 minutes my skin stopped burning. Both the nurse and the midwife came in and said, "Didn't you enjoy your bath? Why did you get out so soon?" I resisted the urge to point at Adam and say, "I loved that bath but HE ruined it by pouring in oil that burned my skin off!" After the bath I was at an 8 and things moved pretty quickly from there. Transition from an 8 to a 10 was pretty rough, in fact I don't want to think about it (let me just say I'm so grateful for Hypnobirthing and all the mental & physical prep I put into this birth). Pushing was short but painful and I don't want to think about that either. But THEN, before I knew it I was holding my perfect little Ruby in my arms and saying "thank you thank you" over and over. Thank you to her, thank you to the nurses, thank you to my Heavenly Father that I didn't die, etc. My mom and siblings came to visit about 30 minutes after the birth. Adam left at about 7:30 and Ruby and I were on our own for our first night. It was a good one, I'd say. Ruby is a natural at nursing and you just can't ask for much more than that in a baby. Adam brought Kaia and Tristan with him to pick up Ruby and I while Sierra was in school. I'll never forget Kaia's wonderful reaction to her new sister. She just held her and sang to her and loved her right up. Tristan was more excited to see me, but also happy enough to meet Ruby (that morning Adam said to Tristan, "We are going to the hospital today to bring baby Ruby home." Tristan's reply was, "And mommy?") After 24 hours in the hospital, filled with interruptions and surveys, blood draws and room service, we were on our way home. Everyone seems to be adjusting so well. Tristan hasn't acted jealous at all. In fact, he has turned into an eager napper suddenly. Ruby's presence must make him sleepy. Sierra and Kaia are constantly at war about whose turn it is to hold Ruby and who has held her the longest. Adam's mom is here for two weeks to help. I can't say enough good things about her. She currently has the house rearranged and torn apart in an organizational effort. She and Adam had great success at a garage sale this morning (found a really nice dresser, a baby pack, a pack-n-play, clothes, etc) and now she's moving dressers all around the house. I'm delighted about it. Mostly because she tells me to go rest and she'll take care of everything. And she does. I'm on cloud 9 with nursing hormones, my beautiful baby, and my wonderful family.

Kaiaism

2009-05-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

Kaia: (running down the hallway, chasing her Dad, using a sing-song, teasing voice) "Dad, you smell like 'one two'."
Adam: (looking at Mindi with questioning eyebrows)
Mindi: "Kaia, what is 'one two' and what does it smell like?"
Kaia: (whispering to Mindi) "In the movie Madagascar they say 'You look like a monkey and you smell like one too."
Mindi: (laughing till she cries)

Ruby Video

2009-05-13T18:09:00.000-07:00

Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby!

2009-05-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

A video is in the works, I just couldn't not post a few pictures tonight.

Here we go!

2009-05-11T06:32:00.001-07:00

I was awakened by contractions this morning at 1:30 a.m. I tried to stay in bed as long as I could but at 2:30 I decided to get up and watch a movie. I made it about half way through "The Secret Life of Bees" (a movie I've been trying to find time to watch for a very long time) when I noticed contractions were starting to slow down. I went back to bed and was able to sleep on and off because the contractions were coming 10 to 20 minutes apart. Now it is almost 8 a.m. and the contractions still aren't as regular and as close together as I'd like them to be before making the trip to the hospital. I just spoke to the midwife and she said, "You've been having contractions for 6 hours? Are you planning to do this natural?" "Yes", I replied. "Oh, that's why you've waited so long. When do you plan on leaving for the hospital." "In the next few hours," I said. When I told her this was my fourth she didn't give me any trouble and just said to come on down when I think it is time. I'm going to have Adam get the kids dressed, Sierra's backpack ready for school, and heard them over to Gram and Pop. Then we are off. Keep us in your prayers!

Mother's Day and EDDs

2009-05-11T06:21:00.001-07:00

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. Lots of talks at church that made me tear up and feel very, very grateful to be a mother (and certainly feel more love and gratitude for my own mother and grandmothers). We met at my mom's house for a nice little evening party. Pictured above: my mom, me, Grandma Judy, and my aunt Debbie. Missing from the photo and party was dear, dear Gram. She's been suffering with back pain for months now, poor Gram (we really missed you!).
Here I am on my EDD (estimated due date) with no signs of labor.
I thought it would be good to show off the men in our lives, too. Pictured here: Mike (aunt Debbie's new beau), Adam, my Dad, and Grandpa Dave).
Adam made this wonderful window frame for me for Mother's Day. He tracked down the girl I know who does vinyl lettering and had the sign made up, painted the window frame, dug out any and all pictures of us in front of a Temple and made copies. He is amazing. The other morning he woke up and whispered "I love you". My heart was full and I replied, "I know you do, and it is the most wonderful feeling in the world."

Birthdays and Soccer Games

2009-05-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

We had a birthday party for my wonderful sister, Janelle, last Wednesday. Her birthday isn't until the 14th, but I hope to be busy with a brand new baby by then so we had an early party.
Here is Sierra helping Dad build our garden boxes. He was able to finish them on Saturday night with Miguel's help. Once we get them all filled with dirt and plants I'll take pictures. I'm so proud of him and so excited about the garden.

Our Saturdays are ruled by soccer games. Adam tries his best to be there, but 80% of the time it is all me loading the snacks and supplies, trying to entertain the two kids who are not playing, making the monumental effort to be there on time, etc. After chasing Tristan off the field for the 5th time (imagine pregnant mom, taking on the cell phone, chasing speedy two-year-old through the middle of the game...embarrassing) I was thinking of giving up the whole sports-for-kids idea. But then Adam was talking about some of the boys in his Young Mens group who had no athletic ability at all. He convinced me that it was much better to make the effort to see that our kids are in sports, not just so that they are athletic but so that they have something worthwhile to do on Saturdays when they are teenagers. I see the point and I will continue to support my "team".

Cinco de Mayo

2009-05-06T06:42:00.000-07:00

I was talking to a Mom of a kid in Sierra's Kindergarten class a few weeks ago about my upcoming due date. She said her son was born on May 5th and that it is a very crowded day in labor and delivery. She said something about all the celebrating sends women into labor. She even had to labor in a janitors closet in the hospital until a room opened up for her to deliver in because the hospital was so busy. "Well", I thought to myself, "I better have a Cinco de Mayo party and see if I can join the throngs of women in the hospital." So I invited over our home and visiting teaching families to ensure that visit would be taken care of before I went into labor. We had the Andersons and the Olsons (Bennetts + Andersons + Olsons = 9 children) and it was so much fun. Our friend, Miguel, who is from Mexico and is now living with us, cooked up some yummy carnitas. Joy brought Cafe Rio style chicken burritos with all the fixin's and Brandie brought a seven layer dip and chocolate cake.
   Adam setting up the pinata.
   Adam, Miguel, and Little Chef Tristan working on the carnitas.
   The shorties.

   Sierra stuffed all the candy she could into her shirt. She is a candy hog.

   Kaia's buddies: Neveah & Cooper.

So now it is May 6th and I'm still pregnant. Since this baby didn't go for having the exciting Cinco de Mayo birthday, I'm now telling her she has to wait until Sunday or Monday to arrive so that we can finish our Square Foot Garden this weekend. I'm sure she'll oblige.

Laughing with Sierra (or at her)

2009-05-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

Keeping with the Sunday morning tradition, I piled all the kids into bed with Adam this morning. I noticed when I lifted Sierra off her pillow there was a big droll spot thereon. Half way to my room she wakes up enough to say, "Who was licking my face?" I was laughing so hard it took me a few seconds before I could explain to Adam what happened.

Bread of the Month

2009-04-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

I made bread today (little pat on the back). Nothing fancy, pretty much the same recipe as HERE except I added sunflower seeds. Yum.

For a seriously wonderful and inspirational Bread of the Month blog check out Maren.

Treasure

2009-04-30T05:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the thought popped into my mind that I should hug my girls, tell them I love them and that they are my treasures. We were on our way home from the park and Kaia was snacking on "Pirate Booty". She said, "I love you too, Mom. I love you more than a pirate loves 'Pirate Booty'."

I'm a big fan of treasures. I like stories and movies about treasure hunts in the deep blue sea. I recently gave a talk at my niece's baptism on the gift of the Holy Ghost and related it to a treasure. I think part of our purpose here on earth is to recognize our eternal treasures. The following scriptures lead me to this conclusion:

Matt. 6:21
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Isa. 33:6
And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.
Luke 6:45
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
Ex. 19:5
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Matt. 13:44
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Matt. 19:21
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Luke 12:33
Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
D&C 43:34
Hearken ye to these words. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.Treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds.
D&C 84:85
Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man.
D&C 6:3
Behold, the field is white already to harvest; therefore, whoso desireth to reap, let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God.
D&C 38:30
I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.
Hel. 5:8
And now my sons, behold I have somewhat more to desire of you, which desire is, that ye may not do these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, yea, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that precious gift of eternal life, which we have reason to suppose hath been given to our fathers.
I finished studying the New Testament this morning. This scripture made a big impression on me: "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life" (Rev. 21:27).
James E. Faust said, "Even though your works may be known to only a few, they are recorded in the Lamb’s book of life, which one day will be opened to witness of your dedicated service, devotion, and deeds as “instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.” 2 [ Alma 26:3]
And that knowledge is a treasure.

.

Weekend Adventures

2009-04-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

We were given free tickets to an NBA D-league game on Friday night. Our friends, the Laws, were there too and our kids were so happy to see them.
Tristan and Amri catching up on lost time. Cute little buddies.
Every Sunday morning I bring the kids in bed with Adam in an attempt to get everyone awake and happy. As usual, my plan failed and they all fell back to sleep (except for Tristan who got kicked out of bed by Kaia because he wiggled too much).
Little bruiser. My grandparents have a rope swing in their back yard with a wooden seat. Kaia was on said swing and poor Tristan caught the seat in the eye. Adam thinks it is funny to tell people a little joke when they comment on the black eye: "What do you tell a 2 year-old with two black eyes?....Nothing you already told him twice." Not funny, soon someone is going to call SS on us.

Saturday night was ladies night at Joy's apartment's theater room. She showed Twilight and it was so much fun to watch it on the big screen. I brought my sister, Nell (she wore her "Team Edward" t-shirt) and joined 4 other friends there. Thanks again, Joy!

Tag and I'm It

2009-04-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

5 things I was doing 5 years ago (2004)
1. Birthed a baby girl (Kaia)
2. Baked a lot of bread
3. In the Young Women's and Primary Presidencies at the same time (small ward)
4. Remodeled the sunroom in our house into two of the greatest bedrooms ever (I really miss those rooms)
5. Taking walks with two kids and a Great Dane named Max

5 things on my list of things to do today (well, this is tomorrow's list b/c today is Sunday and I'm resting)
1. Put together an invite list with addresses for the baby shower Lauren and Lisa are having for me
2. Help the girls make bracelets for gifts for upcoming birthday parties
3. Practice the piano
4. Finish putting together my hospital bag and birth plan (only two weeks till my due date!)
5. Set up a time to do sealings at the temple on Friday night and find a babysitter

5 things I would I do if I had a million dollars
1. Tithing/Perpetual Education Fund
2. Buy this house we are in and fix it up
3. More food storage
4. Swiss annuity
5. Get a family car that actually fits all 6 of us

5 places I've lived
1. Thornton, CO
2. Brighton, CO
3. Provo, UT
4. Denver, CO
5. Back to Thornton, CO

5 Jobs I have had
1. I lasted two weeks at a dry cleaners
2. Construction clean- up crew
3. Marriot Center janitor
4. Nanny
5. Mom

5 things I want to be doing in 5 years
1. Enrolling my youngest child in Kindergarten
2. Developing my talents
3. Traveling
4. Genealogy
5. Getting a Masters Degree

5 people I tag
1. Liesl
2. Marisa
3. Stine
4. Darla
5. Brooke

Zoo

2009-04-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

I was at a stop light this morning and I watched a family of three struggle to catch a city bus. They missed it at the first stop, then ran across the street and waved it down at the next stop. It made me tear up to see them finally walk onto the bus. Pregnancy hormones are great.
On Wednesday we joined Sierra's Kindergarten class on a field trip to the zoo. It was Sierra's first time on a school bus. I couldn't get a straight answer out of her as to whether she liked it or not. She was hanging out with two other girls, Hanna and Avery, and all they did was whine and complain the whole time. "I'm hungry", "It's too hot", etc. I'm not sure how they survived the day, but here are a few pics to prove that they did.

Spiritual enlightenment HERE

The Vampire Got Me

2009-04-18T19:42:00.000-07:00

In 2005 my grandpa summed up a newspaper article he'd just read about a Mormon mom who wrote a book while her baby sat on her lap. The book hit the top of the charts, along with the following three sequels. I remember hearing girls say how much they loved the book, that they couldn't put it down and would neglect home and family till they were finished reading, that they were "obsessed". Knowing I am the kind of reader that gets sucked into books I decided I would wait for a time when I could get away with neglecting home and family. That time just never seemed to arrive. Then Adam rented "Twilight" two weeks ago and we watched it together. After that I decided I needed to just get it over with and read the books. I borrowed the first book from my sister and was determined to use self-control because it was Easter weekend. I finished on Monday, borrowed the rest of the series from a friend on Wednesday and finished all of them in a day each. About 2,500 pages in less than a week. My eyes are bloodshot, I'm sleep deprived, my children got away with a whole lot of TV watching, and my husband called me a "dork".

When I told my mom I was reading the Twilight series she said, "Oh there is a lot of controversy as to whether we should read those books or not." That got me thinking. I looked up interviews with Stephenie Meyer online to see if I could find out what the arguments were. Then I got sidetracked. I found a few interesting articles about the rise in Mormon women writers. Something about our religion, according to this reporter, makes these women very good at fantasy writing. I agree. There are links between my religious views and popular fantasy themes like good vs. evil, pleasure vs. pain, agency, eternal progression, the idea that we are not alone in the universe, symbolism, the power of a united family, etc. I'm all for not letting my girls read these books till they are married (instead of when they are 12), but otherwise I'm on the "support" side of the controversy. And I think my husband appreciates how romance novels affect his wife (I only was grumpy with him for one night for not being just like Edward. Then I decided that our marriage should and could be every speck as lovey and passionate).

This is a funny link from a man's point of view of "Twilight":

http://mormonhusbands.blogspot.com/2008/02/twilight-series-for-dummies-and-totally.html (actually there are a few funny "Twilight" posts on this blog).

Imagination

2009-04-14T11:21:00.001-07:00

I'm in charge of Joy School this week and the lessons are "Imagination and Creativity". We had a great time dressing up in costumes, making "crowns" for snacks, and flying kites outside. I'm sure it was comical for the neighbors to watch a pregnant lady dressed up as Cleopatra following an elephant, a bee, a princess, a fariy, Supergirl, Batman, and Laura Ingalls Wilder around the park.

Kaia's First Soccer Game

2009-04-14T10:53:00.001-07:00

On the morning of Kaia's first soccer game she threw a grand fit. She said she hated soccer and wouldn't get out there and run. I was thinking I would have to plead with the YMCA to give us our money back and take the shin guards back to Wal-Mart. But once we got there and her coach called her out on the field, it was nothing but fun. She even scored a goal (for the wrong team) which she proudly states at least once a day. All the parents on the side lines were laughing so hard throughout the game. I heard one dad say, "We don't do this for the kids, this is for our entertainment." The little pack of 4 year-olds would run after the ball, even if that meant running onto a neighboring game. It was hilarious. Then at the end there were treats and a bubble stick gift. I think she'll play soccer the rest of her life :)

Easter

2009-04-14T10:35:00.001-07:00

Our Easter festivities started last Wednesday with a playgroup Easter egg hunt. While moms were setting things up the kids were given Easter pictures to color. I watched as Sierra carefully colored within the lines, making a beautiful picture she protected and saved to give to her dad. Kaia on the other hand, put her basket on her head, grabbed a few colors and scribbled like mad, then crumpled up her paper and threw it away. What a difference in my girls!

The egg hunt began and Kaia was off in a flash. She is so sweet and was careful to share her winnings with any kids who she felt didn't get enough.

The feast of candy post-hunt.

Tristan doesn't eat things, he stuffs. Here is an entire peep stuffed in his mouth.

The Easter Bunny visited us on Saturday morning this year. There was a pair of swimming goggles, a tiny sized Book of Mormon, walnuts carefully stuffed with money, and candy for each kid. Thanks Easter Bunny! (i.e. awesome daddy)

The Easter feast was held at my parent's house and fun was had by all. Another egg hunt and a whole lot of food.

Bunny Cake: Can't Live With It, Can't Live Without

2009-04-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

This bunny cake mold represents many fond memories from my childhood. I loved helping Gram decorate the cake: mixing food coloring in with coconut, jelly bean eyes, little candy eggs here and there, etc. Eventually the cake mold ended up at my Aunt Jane's house and when her kids were grown she passed it back to me. Honestly I'm surprised this thing has survived so long. Surely by now someone would have destroyed it due to it's frustrating design flaws. It seems to be against the laws of physics to prevent cake from errupting out of this thing during the baking process and no matter how you oil and flour the pan the precious cake is going to stick miserably. One year I was in charge of a Young Men's/Young Women's combined activity. I thought it would be fun to have a cake decorating contest. I asked my friend, Brenda, to make a few bunny cakes and I'd make egg shaped cakes. I think she ended up making 7 of these beasts and I'm surprised she didn't throw them all at me during the activity for asking her to do such a miserable task. But if there is one thing I learned in cake decorating class, it is that you can hide all baking mistakes with frosting (and in this case lots of coconut helps too).
We invited Gram and Pop (or as Tristan says "Grammy and Poppy" b/c Pop calls him "Tristy") over to join us in cake eating. Everyone was happy. And so I will let the cake mold live to see another Easter and try again next year.

Bread of the Month (minus the bread)

2009-04-04T11:18:00.000-07:00

I missed out on the Bread of the Month challenge for March. I thought about it, I even went as far as to borrow "The Bread Bible" from Gram. As I looked through the complicated recipes for Focaccia, Ciabatta & something else that looked delicious with a crazy name that I can't remember, I thought "I can't do this!" Spending time in the kitchen has been a challenge for me lately. So I've decided to replace Bread of the Month with a craft. Sierra received a great pair of cargo pants from my sister Grace as hand-me-downs. Unfortunetly, the day before we got said pants, Grace fell and tore a hole in the knee. I sewed and patched the tear and Sierra wore them for a few months. Then one day she also fell and another tear appeared right below the first. I decided it was time to retire the pants, but they were too cute to just throw away. Somehow the idea popped into my mind to make purses out of the pockets. And this is how it did it:

I cut out the pockets and sewed pink felt on to be the inside lining. I saw my mother-in-law adding the edges to a quilt once and used the same idea here.

Then I used my Costco Singer's fancy stitching to make this pretty little border. I've been looking for an excuse for years to use this stitch.
This was a very forgiving project, which is great for me because I honestly can't sew a straight line. Once the bags were done I hand stitched on some ribbon for a shoulder strap.
Add a little sass and that's all you need for some great purses and some happy girls. Do you have any cargo pants in need of a new career?

10 Things I'm Grateful For Today

2009-04-02T18:29:00.001-07:00

1. A package that came in the mail yesterday from our beloved friend, Karen, in Michigan. She sent the shirts the kids are wearing in the above photo, a beautiful ruby red dress for baby #4, a hand crafted scrapbook with pictures printed from my blog of our Christmas in Washington, and more. Thank you, thank you, Karen!

2. Silence. Adam took the kids to the gym tonight and I've been able to lounge around on the bed without anyone jumping on my head or belly (there is a jumper in my belly, but she's very sweet and gentle in her movements as opposed to Tristan).

3. http://scriptures.byu.edu/ I use this website every day.

4. Sunshine. Even though it has been cold and snowy the past few days, the good old Colorado sunshine always comes through, even if just for a moment.

5. The excitement about our sprouting seeds and our SFG. We are going vertical this year, I can't wait to post pictures.

6. This house we live in (which I can't convince Adam that we should buy, but we are both happy to rent). The driving factor behind that is living next to Gram and Pop, of course.

7. I got teary eyed listening to a song today (Adam turned on the "Mama Mia" soundtrack for the kids to dance to. There is a slow song on there where the lead actress is reminiscing about her daughter going off to school and time slipping away too quickly. It reminds me of how much I need to cherish my time with each of my kids).

8. Tristan learned how to climb out of his crib last night, now making bedtimes and nap times a nightmare. I'm grateful Adam is smart enough to suggest using the safety door knob cover to keep the little guy in his room.

9. Being a "stay-at-home" mom.

10. Getting a $150 baby swing for $34 at Kohl's yesterday during one of their huge sales. Yeah, Kohl's!

Mediblogtion

2009-03-31T12:32:00.000-07:00

SouleMama just wrote a beautiful post. She said, "This blog, you see, is one of those things for me. It's a meditation of sorts. It's one of the ways in which I remind myself of the joys, the beauty and the blessings around me each and every day. Writing here helps me to remember. And it helps me to see and look for those things, people and moments which do bring me joy. Writing about them helps me hold onto those moments. And I find myself wanting and making more space and opportunity for these kinds of moments to enter our days...and my heart. You see how that works? It's a silly little ridiculous joy-addiction that feeds itself". (see HERE)
I read that paragraph and thought to myself, "How true it is, my blog is 'a meditation of sorts'. I love to capture moments and stories to hold them as treasures forever". Then I read the rest of the blog and started crying. SouleMama has four kids, I'm not far off. I just hope I can keep searching for the joy and beauty and sacred in everyday and keep recording it. There is a line in "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" which reads "Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live." I kept repeating that to myself yesterday and we used it as a basis for our family home evening lesson. We sang "Love At Home" and I think we should sing it every week until it sinks in (surely that means we'll be singing it until we are 'empty nesters'). This is what I am pondering, meditating today. Am I providing an atmosphere of love and righteousness for my children to grow up in, am I providing for their various physical and spiritual needs, am I teaching them to love and serve one another, etc.? When my basic responsibilities are broken down into pieces like that I feel it is possible, with the help of my Heavenly Father of course. Because certainly there are times when I feel that these are not my children, rather priceless spirit children of my Father and He has trusted me to care for them for a while. The first tends to be what I once called "a sad experiment" because she feels the brunt of my inadequacy, the last I fear will be spoiled beyond hope, and the middle ones will inevitably fall somewhere in the middle.

Recipe for Eternal Life

2009-03-30T05:55:00.000-07:00

"Enduring to the end is definitely not a do-it-yourself project. First, it requires the Savior’s redemptive power. We cannot return to our Heavenly Father’s presence unless we are clean, and so we must continue to repent. Ideally, we repent moment by moment, but we also attend sacrament meeting each week to partake of the sacrament and renew our baptismal covenants. Second, enduring to the end requires the Holy Ghost, who will both guide and sanctify us. Third, we must be an integral part of a community of Saints, serving and receiving service from our brothers and sisters in the gospel. With baptism we become part of the body of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 12:11–13); each of us has a role to play, each of us is important, but in order to succeed we must be unified in our Savior. Fourth, we must share the gospel with others. The promises of bringing even one soul unto the Lord are profound and eternal (see D&C 18:15). Moreover, the gospel takes deeper root in those who share it frequently. Finally, we must always maintain faith and hope in Christ to endure to the end, and among the many ways we do this are praying, fasting, and reading the scriptures. These practices will fortify us against the subtle schemes and fiery darts of the adversary".
L. Tom Perry "The Gospel of Jesus Christ"

Spaghetti, a Luau, and Examples of Faith

2009-03-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

Relatives from Denmark were on "holiday" here in Colorado and we were able to meet up with them for lunch on Friday at the Old Spaghetti Factory. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't get any pictures of them, but we will see them again soon and I'll be camera ready.

We went to Steve and Sarah Vigil's wedding on Friday night. It was a Luau theme and one of the best receptions I've ever been to (good cake + dancing = Mindi is happy).

Sierra and her friends got to practice their hula skills.

My handsome boys watching the Luau dancers.

Kaia the flower child. She swiped a few flowers from the tables as we were leaving and this is how I found her when I opened the door to get her out of the truck.

My friend, Kristi, her husband Tim, and their three children came to visit us today. They are leaving soon for a mission in Iraq among the Kurdish people. We were able to go to a meeting tonight to learn more about their mission. I am amazed at their faith and dedication. We are excited to support them through prayer while they are gone for many years to serve and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Kaia, Tristan, Sierra, Annie, Toby and Jessie enjoying a hardy meal. Please notice in the above picture of the "adult lunch" that with Kristi's help I did not burn the grilled cheese.

Yes, We Have No Bananas

2009-03-26T18:19:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a spring snowstorm today. I thought I'd be tough and brave the roads so that I could take Kaia to Joy School, hit the gym, pick Kaia up then take all three kids into Michael's (during a full blown blizzard). We only lasted long enough in Michael's to take Sierra to the potty, then Tristan threw a fantastic 2 year-old tantrum and we were forced to leave. Driving in the "white out" was slightly stressful, luckily we had "Yes, We Have No Bananas" blasting on the radio to lighten the situation. Later that day we spent 20 minutes getting snow clothes on just to spend 5 minutes in the snow. We probably got 12 inches, but heavy winds made for some delightful drifts.

Spiritual Enlightenment: "If Thou Art Faithful" by Gordon B. Hinckley

12 Hugs A Day

2009-03-24T05:51:00.000-07:00

"We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth." --Virginia Satir.

Yesterday morning I put Tristan in bed with Kaia to help me wake her up. He snuggled in next to her, they held hands, hugged, then played under the covers for a while. It was a 'lovey-dovey' moment. I saw this quote on hugs on another blog and wondered to myself if I'm giving/getting enough hugs. I've never been the type to hug a friend every time I see them. In fact, in high school I was standing with a group of friends and a girl walked up (the huggy type). She lifted her arm to give me a hug and I quick and gave her a high five. It was a comical/awkward moment and I still laugh to myself when I think about it. And so I wonder 'Is there power in hugs?'.
These sources seem to think so:
The Power In A Hug
Healing With Hugs
ABC News: The Power of A Hug
Well, my husband and children are all walking in the door. I think I'll go give them all a big hug.

Weekend Treasures

2009-03-22T20:40:00.000-07:00

The weather was perfect. Kaia and Sierra both had different birthday parties to attend on Saturday. They even brought home goodie bags from each and shared with one another (sort of). Our seeds for our square foot garden are sprouting. Flowers in our yard that someone else planted long ago are blooming. Sierra made a "memory" game from some of my old business cards (part of me wonders if I jumped into the travel business just so I could have these beautiful cards...(sigh) live and learn). Gram and Pop spoiled us rotten. I beat Adam in a Nintendo competition (we played the original Mario Bros.) even though Sierra was rooting for me to lose. Adam made delicious dinners two nights in a row. Today marks 33 weeks of pregnancy for me. Life is good.

3 Events I Should Have Documented on Film, But Didn't

2009-03-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

1. Sierra was styling her hair on Saturday morning. She came out of the bathroom with a thick, plastic comb stuck in her hair. I guess she'd been trying to get her hair curly like Kaia's, she even used the curly spray. I didn't think much of it, until I tried to remove said comb. She had wrapped and twisted her hair around it so many times it was impossible to remove. After five minutes of futile effort, I finally broke the comb. I think I can remember doing such a thing as a little girl.
2. I have drawings of all 16 Latter-Day Prophets on the wall in Tristan's room. A while back I used an oversize stencil to make a "Follow the Prophet" sign. I never liked it much so I asked my friend, Lauren, if I could borrow her "Stampin' Up Paper Piercing Tool". This involves punching hundreds of little holes around the lettering, in an attempt to add excitement and decoration. I was working on this project at the kitchen table when Adam came along and asked, "What are you doing?" in a very calm voice. I went on to explain that I was wasting even more time on this dumb sign and it wasn't looking any better. "Well, do you know that you are punching holes in the table?" he asked again, just as calm. "What!?" I say and move my paper to the side. Sure enough, there is now hundreds of tiny holes spelling out "Follow" on one end of the table. Good thing we got the table for free and it is also covered in a variety of ink and marker scribbles.
3. This morning I gave the kids their choice of cold cereal. Tristan and Sierra went with Honey Nut Cheerios and Kaia chose Chex. Next thing I know, Tristan is trying to move closer to Kaia (he is insisting on making the change from high chair to big kid table, and it obviously isn't going so well) and this is making Kaia furious. Why would it bother Kaia to have Tristan sit close to her, you may be wondering? Could it be that he is messy and would most likely get her messy? No. Could it be that she enjoys and understands the concept of personal space? Definitely not. Her response to this question was that she didn't want Tristan to sit by her because "his cereal smells bad"! I had to step out of the kitchen when I heard that (to laugh, to throw my hands up in frustration, and to re-hang the "Follow The Prophet" sign in Tristan's room). Moments later yelling had turned to screams of hysteria. I started walking back to the kitchen and met Kaia in the hall. She was so upset she wasn't breathing. Somehow during the skirmish Tristan managed to turn her bowl of cereal completely over. Milk was everywhere. Tristan was banished back to the high chair, a fate he did not take easily. But eventually everyone ate breakfast and I was able to get showered and dressed before taking Sierra to school at 11:30 (mostly because Adam arrived home right after the cereal incident).

Hugs for Candy

2009-03-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

We've got our seeds planted and we are so excited for our garden this year. Because we are just renting this house and there isn't really a garden area, we'll be using the Square Foot Gardening method.
Tristan's "Sloth" from Goonies impersonation.
We have my brother and sister over for the weekend. We've kept busy playing cards (you can tell Kaia is really into this game), going to the park, to the pool, watching movies, etc.

Here they all are starting Saturday morning off right, with cartoons. Then I shoved them all outside for hours and hours. We even had a little picnic when the following memorable moment occurred: I was handing out the last two pieces of candy, one for Tristan and one for me. Kaia ran up and said she wanted a piece. I told her if I gave her the last piece then I wouldn't have one. She said, "That's OK, Mom. This can be your candy." Then she gave me a big hug. Can't beat that, I say. So I turned over the last piece to my smart, sweet girl.

Mormons and Big Love

2009-03-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

I've enjoyed reading the following articles and blog post about the controversy behind "Big Love" and their upcoming episode about the LDS temple ceremony:
http://tvnz.co.nz/entertainment-news/big-love-makers-apologize-mormons-2535879

http://www.lifeongoldplates.com/2009/03/few-reasons-i-think-we-can-all-calm.html

http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=MmJmZDFiYmVkOTdlYjVmZmNiMzhhODEwYmYzMTRlMzg%20=%20

I really like this quote from Richard Bushman: "Mormons know you can go online, get every last word of the temple ceremony. It's all there. So it's not like it's hidden from the world. Anybody can get it. But among us, we don't talk about it that way. It means something to us. It means a lot". So no matter what "the world" does with what I feel to be sacred, I can still move forward, firm in my faith, rejoicing in the opportunity to participate in temple ordinances.

I'll admit when I first heard about this I joined in with the email forwarding chain asking people to email/write/call Time Warner and ask them to not air the episode. Adam's wise cousin, Monica, emailed me back and said she felt the Church's official statement was asking us not to get involved in such actions. I don't regret the letter I sent to Time Warner, but I do agree with Monica who said our boycotts will only get HBO the attention they want and they don't deserve our attention.

Week 31

2009-03-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

I don't have many pictures of myself on my blog. I guess that is because I'm usually the one behind the camera. I was always amazed while reading NieNie's blog (BC) with how many pictures she was in and how great she always looked. Who took all those pictures? I wondered. Well, today I handed the camera to Kaia and asked her to take my picture. Last night at the playroom in the gym a little girl kept staring at me. She was probably 3 or 4 years-old. Finally she said, "Your belly is REALLY big!" I just smiled and said, "That's because there is a baby in there." She proceeded to look at me like I was totally crazy and just making up stuff to justify my abnormality. I wondered if it was possible that she'd never seen a pregnant lady before. I guess I could have been just like her at that age because I was an only child and was about 6 or 7 before another cousin came along. Her parents probably told her that storks deliver babies to your doorstep...and they probably let her believe the Easter Bunny is real too.

Anyway, I thought there should at least be one picture of me to document this pregnancy. Also, my kids believe in the Easter Bunny, just in case you were wondering.

Snow and Burnt GC

2009-03-11T05:01:00.000-07:00

Let it snow! In typical Colorado style, we woke up to a few inches of snow and by the afternoon it was almost all melted and the sun was shinning happily. Sierra wanted to shovel snow onto the grass from the deck, but all she could find to use was a giant lid. I think she heard me say how grateful I was that it snowed so that the grass could finally have a drink.
I was making dinner last night and trying to burn a DVD at the same time, bad combo. This reminded me of when Adam and I were engaged and I said something to the effect of, "You don't even know what a great cook I am. I'm going to make you some grilled cheese right now." Then I burnt the grilled cheese. I don't think I've been able to make non-burnt grilled cheese ever since. We also had tomato soup to go with our sandwich, which Tristan picked up and poured on his head.
I read in the Ensign about a mom who spent a few minutes with each of her kids, one-on-one, right before bed each night. I decided to start this tradition in hopes of improving relations between Sierra and I. Some times I feel like the whole day goes by and all I've said to her was "Don't do that" and "Stop making that noise" and "You don't like it when Kaia does that to you so don't do it to her!", etc. So I sat down with her last night and let her talk about whatever she wanted. She said she wanted to make a list of what we were doing the next day. She loves lists and we were able to stick to this one fairly well (except for the 8:30 bedtime--that was wishful thinking on my part).

Spiritual Enlightenment HERE

Weekend Getaway: Utah

2009-03-10T12:41:00.001-07:00

My pictures posted in reverse order so I'm going to describe our trip to Utah backwards, just to mix things up a bit:
Here we are somewhere in Wyoming at a Subway on Monday afternoon. I'm not sure how Kaia gets her sandwich all over her face, coat, Sierra's coat, and my arm, but she does.
Sunday night we stayed with Ryan and Jackie Beecher in Lehi. Here is Sierra showing Ryan a thing or two about leg wrestling.
Bob and Katie Beecher fed us the most wonderful Sunday dinner. It was Issac's 6th birthday also so we got to join in on brownies and ice cream. Sierra is smiling because she just snagged the bowl with the biggest brownie, much to Issac's dismay.
Saturday was Finn Wilmore's (pictured here with parents Ellynn and Jason) baby blessing and Bennett Allen's baptism.
We also celebrated LeAnne and Wilohm's birthdays. Aunt Jack made this cake and I don't think I've ever had a better sheet cake.
Hazel reached the end of her rope, luckily Meagan was there to catch her.
Geof., Adam, and our great friend Ashlee Ross (who watched 10 Bennett/Allen kids plus three of her own while we went to the wedding lunch. Thanks again, Ashlee.)
We had some time to kill so we visited Cabella's in Alpine. The kids loved it, but Adam and I voted that Bass Pro in Denver outdoes this Cabella's.
Here is little Hazel at the Stevenson farm. We spent Saturday morning there while Adam filmed Uncle Sharm telling stories about the farm. I'd attach the footage here, but it is 76 minutes long. What a treasure.
Tristan, Bennett, Hazel, Chloe, and Kaia by the old tractor.
Uncle Sharm telling the kids all about the trees on the farm.
Kaia in front of the farmhouse.
Tristan sings some tractor tunes.
Oops, this is Bennett and Finn after the baptism/blessing.
Friday was Adam's cousin, Joel's, wedding at the Logan Temple. I'm kicking myself for not getting any pictures at the wedding lunch or the reception, because both were so so beautiful. But after the reception we drove up to the Temple and got a passer-by to take this photo for us. Our weekend was action packed (as always with the Bennetts) but we sure had a wonderful time. And like Adam's mom said, "There's nothing like a wedding/baptism/baby blessing to bring some eternal perspective."

Events not pictured, but immensely enjoyed:

Spending two nights with the Hatch's and eating two yummy breakfasts with them.

Visiting the Weber family who we haven't seen in at least 6 years.

Playing cards at Aunt Joan's beautiful new house until after midnight with the cousins and significant others.

Not having to drive in a snowstorm like the WA Bennetts did (they spent over 15 hours in the car on the way down).

Bread of the Month

2009-02-26T20:09:00.001-08:00

My good buddy, Maren, has a monthly feature on her blog which she calls "Bread of the Month". I thought it sounded like fun so I committed myself to do it, then instantly forgot. Until...I read Maren's blog yesterday in which she has a wonderfully delightful photo essay of Homemade English Muffins.
Here is my attempt:

Yesterday morning I knew Joy School kids would be arriving and I'd need a snack for them. I thought I could hit two birds with one stone and have them "help" make the Bread of the Month. I pulled out on old favorite, America's Bread Book: 300 Authentic Recipes for America's Favorite Homemade Breads, Collected on a 65,000-Mile Journey Through the Fifty United States, and found a simple enough looking "quick bread" under the section "Martha's Vineyard" (a place I intend to go one of these days). It is called "Cranberry Bread" but because I consistently refuse Sierra's request to buy the giant bag of dried cranberries every time we go to Costco, I have no cranberries. But I do have raisins so what follows is a twisted Mindi version of Martha's Vineyard Cranberry Bread:

Start with 2 cups white flour, 2 cups wheat flour, 1 cup sugar, 3 t. baking powder, 1 t. baking soda, and 2 t. salt in the food processor (if you happen to have 6 kids helping you make sure each has a turn to add an ingredient and never turn your back for a moment or their freshly-washed-yet-freshly licked fingers will instantly be in the dry goods "just for a taste". Then they will say "yuck" and make lots of faces and lots of noises). Pulse for a bit. Then because the food processor is too small (something I noticed in the nic of time) take all dry ingredients out and put in separate bowl. Then add half back with half a stick of butter. Pulse (making sure each kid has a chance to hold down the button) until butter is mixed in and ingredients resemble cornmeal (that's what Martha says). Put that batch in another bowl, add remaining ingredients and half a stick of butter and repeat. Then put them all back together again. At this point the cooking process will be way too boring for six kids and you'll be happy to see them scamper away (after you've washed their hands again).

Combine 1 1/2 c. orange juice (Martha says fresh squeezed, to which I laugh out loud while making the Costco canned OJ), grated rind of 1 large orange, 2 lightly beaten eggs and pour into the dry ingredients, stirring with a rubber spatula just long enough to dampen the mixture. Fold in 1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts) and 1 cup raisins (or if you are going with Martha's version and happen to live just 7 miles off the Massachusetts coastline where they have things like raw cranberries add one cup of those babies, chopped).
At this point it is very helpful (or perhaps a hindrance?) to have a two-year-old around who is in a state of utter and complete melt-down 87% of the time.
Batter will be surprisingly thick, like cookie dough, but not quite as yummy.
Spoon batter into the pan and bake 1 hour at 350, or until bread tests done. While bread is baking, let kids finger paint (if you are crazy! this shot was taken before things really got out of control).

And this is the finished product. The bread was done after 30 minutes according to my "I now smell the bread" test. But I really wanted to believe Martha so I left the loaves in for 50 minutes. I really paid the price. They were over baked and crumbly, leaving me grumpy for a good while about the whole situation.
But when served hot, outside, and with a cup of OJ said bread was quickly consumed (well, by kids that aren't picky eaters--which in this group happens to be mine. They went around and finished off what the others left behind, I'm so proud).

And truth be known, Martha's recipe doesn't call for any wheat flour (I threw that in because I physically can't bring myself to make straight white bread). Plus Martha would have added 2 cups of sugar and I only added one. Maybe these things added (and will continue to add) to my bread baking demise...stay tuned for next month's edition of Bread of the Month.

Spontaneous Delight

2009-02-25T19:52:00.000-08:00

I caught myself thinking this morning "I'm really happy today". It must have been a combo of a great hormone/chemical balance, the fact that a lot of laundry/housework got done before taking Sierra to school at 11, and also knowing that we were driving up to the mountains to pick up our beloved Daddy and bring him back home where he belongs. Plus a lot of happy things have been happening. I'm in charge of Joy School this week and the lessons are about "Spontaneous Delight". How could I not be happy teaching 8 kids such a topic!
Here is our Joy School on Tuesday, delighting over the static we created in our balloons.
I made this giant memory game (with the help from a book I just ordered), but it was a little too time consuming and only Cooper and I lasted long enough to finish the game.
Here is Kaia in Empire. We had an hour to kill while we waited for Dad to arrive. We went into a little malt shop and got a yummy Oreo shake to share. The table had a checkers game and we played with that for a while. Then the sweet shop owner brought over more toys and showed us a giant stack of free books. Everyone was delighted. We killed more time by walking through the quaint little mountain town. Finally Dad arrived and we visited with the cousins for a few minutes. They gave the kids a bag of gummy bears (there were only about 10 left inside). Dad brought home a lot of leftover food, including a tube of cookie dough which I gladly baked up to help us get through the evening (Adam had to leave again to go to Young Men's).
This is Sierra and Kaia hugging each other and saying it was the best day of their lives because they got to have an Oreo shake, gummy bears, and chocolate chip cookies! Obviously, I don't dish out those things very often. I realize they look pretty shaggy in these pictures. They just had a wrestling match on the "foof" chair.
And Sierra's latest trick: climbing the walls.

Weekend Getaway

2009-02-23T19:20:00.001-08:00

Here we are at my parent's "cabin" in Granby, CO. This same weekend last year we had a kid-free weekend up here with our friends the Laws and the Purcells. That weekend was wild and adventurous with late night sledding, skiing trips, Rock Band, etc. But this time my pregnancy, Liesl's leg injury, and the absence of the Purcells made things much more mellow.
We spend the afternoon on Saturday in Grand Lake, walking the boardwalk, window shopping, braving the ice on the lake (as seen in above photo), and eating at a great little pizza shop.
We celebrated Adam and Liesl's birthdays with a grand meal of London Broil, roasted peppers, baked potato topped with sauteed mushrooms and onions, bread, and this little chocolate cake I made.
We entertained ourselves with "Mexican Train Dominoes" and movies. I talked everyone into watching "City of Angels" and I regret it. I'm surprised they didn't ask me for that 114 minutes of their lives back when the show was over. "City of Angels" is the American version of the German film "Der Himmel uber Berlin" or "Wings of Desire". The latter is one of my all time favorite foreign films, so I thought the former would be worth watching. I'd forgotten that I'd seen the movie in '98 when it came out and didn't like it much then either. My biggest complaints are the ridiculously long and revealing intimate scene and the fact that we are supposed to believe that Meg Ryan falls madly in love with Nicolas Cage even though he is nothing but creepy and stalkerish during the whole movie. It does have the following line which I think is profound, "Some things are true whether you believe them or not." I like seeing angels all around people, knowing their thoughts and guiding them along, ect. But I don't agree that they are dressed in black trench coats, that they are separate from the human race, but by "falling" (which just involves a very, very slow motion drop off a building) they can join us. Anyway, this is the end of my movie review. Save yourself the trouble and just watch "Wings of Desire" if you are into subtitles and depressing yet uplifting German themes and plots.
I didn't want to post the picture because I look awful. But I reminded myself that I'm 30 weeks pregnant and most women sitting next to Liesl would pale in her beauty also.

Adam stayed up at the cabin because 4 cousins of his were joining him there for a few days of skiing/snowboarding. I came home and picked up our kids from my parents. It must be a combo of lack of sleep, missing mom and dad, and insanity because today has been a rough one. They all spent the day spontaneously bursting into tears and Tristan refused to nap. Luckily Gram and Pop really stepped in to help. Then Adam calls and says he wants to stay up in the mountains another day. "Sure, babe, it's your birthday. Have a great time." I say. Then take a few more Tylenol.

"The foundation of all happiness is thinking rightly." --Franklin

2009-02-20T05:52:00.000-08:00

Benjamin Franklin had this to say about choice:

"We stand at the crossroads, each minute, each hour, each day, making choices. We choose the thoughts we allow ourselves to think, the passions we allow ourselves to feel, and the actions we allow ourselves to perform. Each choice is made in the context of whatever value system we've selected to govern our lives. In selecting that value system, we are, in a very real way, making the most important choice we will ever make.

"Those who believe there is one God who made all things and who governs the world by his Providence will make many choices different from those who do not. Those who hold in reverence that Being who gave them life and worship Him through adoration, prayer, and thanksgiving will made many choices different from those who do not. Those who believe that mankind are all of a family and that the most acceptable service of God is doing good to man will make many choices different from those who do not. Those who believe in a future state in which all that is wrong here will be made right will make many choices different from those who do not. Those who subscribe to the morals of Jesus will make many choices different from those who do not.

"Since the foundation of all happiness is thinking rightly, and since correct action is dependent on correct opinion, we cannot be too careful in choosing the value system we allow to govern our thoughts and actions. And to know that God governs in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayers, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, is indeed, a powerful regulator of human conduct."

Lord Chesterfield said, "Common sense (which, in truth, is very uncommon) is the best sense I know of: abide by it; it will counsel you best."

Quotes taken from an address given by M. Russell Ballard at BYU during the opening of the Marriott School's Center for Economic Self-Reliance, March 11, 2004.

Pay It Forward

2009-02-19T12:48:00.000-08:00

There is a great idea floating about lately and here's the drill:

I promise to send the first 3 persons who comment in this post something hand made before the end of this year. (Thank you to whoever came up with that rule!) Yup, something fabulous from little 'ol me! Maybe cards, maybe "doodle stitching", or who knows? But definitely hand made! And received before this time next year. Oh the mystery! What will it be?

Here's the rub: If you sign up to receive a hand made gift you need to "pay it forward" on your own blog. That is, you'll make a post similar to this and then promise and hand make a gift for three other bloggers. The gift that you send to your 3 friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember it’s the spirit and the thought that count! C'mon, an-y-thing home made by you within the year! You can do this! How fun!

So o.k. comment away!

Thanks Chrystal for this fun idea! (Sorry I misspelled your name in my comment!)

V-day

2009-02-15T18:06:00.001-08:00

What a weekend! Saturday morning Adam made breakfast. I'm not sure what these pancakes are called, but it is our friend Liesl's recipe and they are wonderful! Then we got the house clean, even the kids helped because they knew Gram's friend Pauline was bringing them Valentine treats. Adam towed Sierra and Kaia in the bike trailer all the way to the gym so that Tristan and I could nap in peace. Then we all met up for swimming. For dinner we were lured in by a Papa Murphy's pizza special. Then we all watched "Mama Mia" together (heavily edited by myself).

Last week I saw a newspaper article titled "Holiday dining on a 'dime'" with a bunch of recipes to make at home instead of fighting the crowds at the restaurants. Since Adam hates nothing more than eating out on V-day weekend, I started planning the menu. Chicken Paillards with Cremini Mushroom Sauce, a side of rice and asparagus is what I ended up making. The article boasted that "this dish can be prepared in 30 minutes and costs less than $2.75 per serving." It certainly took me longer than 30 minutes, but I thought it turned out really well. We ate together by candle light and had a wonderful meal. Adam had to rush off for a Priesthood meeting, so we made and decorated cupcakes in his absence. Then--stealing a family tradition from Meagan and Cory--we watched a slide show of our pictures and videos from the past year. I told Adam not to bother with flowers and to just write me a love note. He wrote a doozy, I tear up just thinking about it. I wrote to him saying, "I hope our children are watching us and that when they start to date they say "I want to be in a relationship like my parents have".
p.s. (yes, Kaia is wearing her super woman cape and mask at dinner. She has worn it as often as possible since attending Cooper's birthday on Friday. The flowers on the table were part of Gram's bouquet that she said didn't fit in her vase. But really I know she knew how much I love to have flowers and she is so good at sharing.

Goal: Make Stuff

2009-02-13T23:18:00.000-08:00

In January I had an intense desire to make stuff. We had several projects going on at once and I did my best to be patient while the kids helped.
This was our Christmas gift to Gram. We wanted to "doodle-stitch" things that Gram loves. Kaia drew Vinny, the cat. Sierra was in charge of the cake, we all sewed on the buttons and I did the rest. The tree is my favorite. It has four branches to represent her four kids and 14 apples for all her grand and great-grandkids. Then "FAMILY" sewn with beads on the trunk. The pillow screams "homemade by unskilled craftsgirls" but it was made with love.

This is the pillowcase I had up for auction way back in August (see here) for Nie-Nie day. Thankfully my mom won the auction and is very merciful and patient because it'll probably take me at least another month to finish the other pillowcase.
This is one of 9 cards I made for card club last month. I just noticed this picture is upside-down. I spent lots of time cutting and sewing paper on my sewing machine and had a lot of fun. The background is my Valentines Day table runner I made a few years ago. Also fun.
These are the best. I didn't make them, my amazing friend Joy did, but she is my inspiration for creativity so I get to include her in this post. For Joy's son's birthday party she made each kid in attendance their very own super-hero cape (really high quality too!). My kids haven't taken them off. Kaia sleeps with cape and mask on. Thank you, thank you, Joy!

Juror # 3547

2009-02-10T05:28:00.000-08:00

Jury duty, again?! Really? Can't they only ask me once a year? I just went in three months ago! Adam hasn't been called to jury duty once in the 8 years we've lived here!

Talk About The Weather

2009-02-06T05:49:00.000-08:00

"There is a destiny which makes us brothers, None lives to self alone; All that we send into the lives of others Comes back into our own." —Edwin Markham

I'm currently reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which is a bit depressing unless you are on the verge of feeling sorry for yourself on any level. Then you read this book and think, "Wow, I have it really good."

The weather was wonderful yesterday and we were able to go to the zoo with my sister, Janelle.

As we were leaving the zoo, the local news station was doing a live weather report. Sierra was asked to join in. Here's to 20 seconds of fame:

Spiritual Enlightenment HERE

Blessings

2009-01-31T20:17:00.000-08:00

I've been reading a blog by Dr. Mark Perry, an economics professor in Detroit, and a few days ago he had an interesting post. It showed this graph of the unemployment rates in Dec. by sector. Construction is in the most trouble, rising to 15.2%. We joined those ranks this week when Adam was laid off. Don't worry about us, I'm more than confident in Adam's abilities to provide and he has a great opportunity to start his own company.

A few weeks ago I read the following quote:

"As the forces around us increase in intensity, whatever spiritual strength was once sufficient will not be enough. And whatever growth in spiritual strength we once thought was possible, greater growth will be made available to us. Both the need for spiritual strength and the opportunity to acquire it will increase at rates which we underestimate at our peril...I plead with you to do with determination the simple things that will move you forward spiritually....You have the right and the obligation to choose for yourselves. You can search the scriptures or not. You can choose to work hard enough, to ponder, and to obey His commandments so that the Holy Ghost can be your companion....Or you can choose to delay....If you will let your heart be drawn to the Savior and always remember Him, and if you will draw near to our Heavenly Father in prayer, you will have put on spiritual armor. You will be protected." Elder Henry B. Eyring

After I read that I decided to increase my efforts at nourishing myself spiritually. When news arrived that Adam was laid off, I felt as though I had spiritual armor on. I knew everything would be alright; that one door was closing and another would open to bigger and better things. It was wonderful to be able to spend so much time talking with Adam this past week about our options. I loved listening to him talk about his goals, helping him crunch numbers for the new business idea, and most of all being able to go to the Temple together and pray for further guidance. It has been a great blessing.

Speaking of blessings, Sierra gave me this little note today. Little things like this are such a

perquisite (I just used a thesaurus) to motherhood.

On Friday we were able to meet up with my sister, Janelle, at the library. Tristan ran up to these stuffed animals like they were his long, lost pals. The library has a wonderful kids section. I wish I was organized enough to get there every week.
On Wednesday night we drove with Gram and Pop to see my little brother Jay earn a scout award.
Afterwards, Grandpa Don took us all out for ice cream!

Mormon Temple Revealed

2009-01-27T09:47:00.000-08:00

Click below to see the interview between ABC and two LDS leaders:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=6616644

Sierra

2009-01-23T15:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Gram picked up Sierra from school and took her to run some errands. They picked up Gram's friend, Pauline, and took her to get her car from the repair shop. In the car, Sierra proceeded to complain about how hungry she was. Saying things like, "My mom didn't have time to feed me lunch today because she was too busy drying her hair." Gram said "that doesn't sound like your mom" but Pauline believed every word and both gave her lots of food. I couldn't believe it when Gram told me. I didn't even get to take a shower yesterday, let alone leisurely dry my hair! The true story is that we had a picnic lunch and Sierra refused to take me seriously when I said, "You better eat now or you'll be hungry at school today." Instead she played tag with some friends. Thanks for making me look like a crummy mom, Sierra (but at least if I was that mom I'd have stylish, blown dried hair--which I don't).

Communication

2009-01-20T09:37:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about the power of communication lately. Probably because I spend a lot of time saying things like, "Do you ever get what you want when you whine like that?!" and "How do you ask for something?" There are a ton of books out there designed to improve communication skills (I just looked on Amazon.com under "effective communication" and there were 42,644 results) and I've always meant to read one or two, but haven't made the time.
More importantly there are many scriptures which teach the importance of communication, such as:

1 Corinthians 15:33 "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners."

Colossians 4:6 "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." (Delbert L. Stapley said, "Salt symbolized to the Hebrews purity and fidelity, also an unbreakable league of friendship.")

Proverbs 15:1 "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger."

2 Nephi 32:3 "...feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do."

This quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley is one of my favorites: "You mothers, are you the kind to scream at your children, shout with shrill voices? Please don’t. Be quiet in your talk. Soft words. ‘A soft answer taketh away wrath’ (Prov. 15:1). It does. Bless your children with the love that you carry in your hearts. ‘All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children,’ said Isaiah (Isa. 54:13). How true it is. Be teachers to your children” (meeting, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, 5 Aug. 1998).

Elder David E. Sorensen said, "In much the same way that parents tutor their children in communication and courtesy, I believe that our Heavenly Father teaches us to pray because the very act of praying will improve us. We worship our Father in Heaven as all-knowing and all-powerful. Surely, as our Creator, He knows our cares, our worries, our joys, our struggles without our informing Him. The reason our Heavenly Father asks us to pray cannot be that we are able to tell Him something He does not already know. Rather, the reason He asks us to pray is that the process of learning to communicate effectively with Him will shape and change our lives as much as we are changed by learning to communicate as children".

So teaching a child to effectively communicate (or learning how to do so yourself) has endless spiritual, physical, and social implications. Customer service is so much more successful when the associate has good communication skills. A shy girl can open up a whole new vista of socializing if she can learn how to small talk. A mother can be empowered by her Heavenly Father with the skills she needs to lovingly communicate to her children and teach them correct principals.

O Saturday

2009-01-17T21:26:00.000-08:00

For posterity's sake, I'll log today's events:
7:22 a.m.--Mindi wakes up (let herself "sleep in" b/c of fun, semi-late fondue party with Laws & Purcells the night before)
8:00 a.m.--Mindi wakes up Adam and the kids to help them get out the door to the gym so Adam can go to a "spin" class
10:00 a.m.--Young Women's basketball game begins. Mindi has been called as "assistant coach". Our team loses 30 to 6. Mindi makes mental note to start teaching basketball to her girls immediately so they'll know what the heck is going on by the time they join a Young Women's basketball game.
12:15 p.m.--Adam has already fed the kids "lunch" (a post-work-out protein shake) so Tristan goes down for a nap and Mindi locks herself in her room to listen to her hypnobirthing CD "Rainbow Relaxation" (a daily ritual during the last four months of pregnancy with all 4 pregnancies).

1 p.m. till 4 p.m.--Kaia helps Mindi work on Gram's belated Christmas gift (don't look too close Gram, we still aren't quite done), Adam prepares a weeks worth of salads for himself and a crockpot dinner for the family!

4 p.m. to 4:30p.m.--Family bike ride to the park. Short and sweet b/c we promised kids that we would go swimming at the gym after dinner. That is our gutter hanging down in the background of this picture. It fell down while we were in WA, but we don't own the house so we don't have to care about the gutters.
5 p.m. to 6 p.m.--A quick trip to Costco and Wal-Mart to make some returns and purchase food/socks.
6 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.--Family eats crockpot dinner (some vegi soup Mindi made last week that Adam was able to make much better with a few more ingredients, just call him Remmi).
7 p.m.--Arrive at pool only to discover the sign says, "POOL CLOSED". Apparently a kid had an "accident" earlier in the day. I'm so glad it wasn't my kid.
7:10 p.m.--Pull crying kids away from gym and promise to give them ice cream sandwiches when we get home.
7:15 p.m. to 7:53 p.m.--Run Adam's truck through two different car washes four different times! The first place would stop mid-cycle so we got our money back (after taking another try) and went to the second place which required two more tries in order to produce Adam's approval. Below are the children's reaction to 4 car washes in a row:

8:00 p.m. to 9:50 p.m.--Ice cream sandwiches, bath time, bed time, kids get to stay up a little later because Mindi just has to get this post posted.

2009-01-14T07:44:00.000-08:00

5 Things I'm Grateful for Right Now

1. The Stock Show

Every year we wrangle the family together and attend the National Western Stock Show.

Usually we get tickets to the rodeo, but this year we tried to scale back on expenses and just went for general admission. We talked another family in our ward, the Olsens, into joining us for Family Home Evening at the Stock Show on Monday night. I didn't really warn them (they are greenies and have never been) that they needed to dress warm and prepare themselves to smell all manner of unpleasant smells. In spite of all that, I think we all had fun. Lots of petting zoos and agricultural displays. It is hard to get a good picture taken in a petting zoo. These baby goats were the favorite. At one point Tristan walked too close to a calf with a serious drooling problem and ended up getting slimed. I'm gagging as I'm trying to clean out his hair with a wet wipe, but also laughing because it was dang funny. Farm humor I guess.

2. Showers All By Myself:

I don't get to shower alone very often. Usually there are three hot-water-demandin'-soap-in-the-eyes-whining-gimme-that-toy-that-I-didn't-want-till-you-had-it kids in there with me. But this morning I snuck away from the argument between the girls of whose bed Tristan got to be in while they read books and shut myself into a warm bathroom. For Christmas Gram bought me some Goat Milk Soap. It is heaven and it strongly reinforces my desire to be a goat farmer and spend my free time making goat cheese and goat milk soap. I also had the chance to remove some old toe nail polish and trim my toe nails (while I can still reach them)! You may not see the joy in all this, but believe you me I had a great morning with my mother-of-three version of a spa treatment.

3. Creativity Time

I recently learned that I need time each day to be creative. Lately that has amounted to making homemade gifts, joining a card making club, baking, decorating, ect. President Uchtdorf said, "The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty....Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty..If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them....As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you."

4. "Eat To Live" by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.

On our drive home from WA Adam and I had some nice long talks. He told me he outline some New Years Resolutions around the topics of Mental, Spiritual, and Physical. Under the Physical he plans to train to ride the Leadville 100 this summer, a 100 mile mountain bike race at 10,000 feet and up. This involves losing a bit of weight and he's following Dr. Fuhrman's plan. It involves lots of fruits and vegetables and yummy bean concoctions (like homemade hummus). Needless to say, we have lots of delicious, healthful food around and I'm so happy about it.

5. LifeTime Fitness

Our Christmas gift this year was a family pass to LifeTime Fitness. It is a Wal-Mart size gym they just built close-by and I can't stop raving about it's awesomeness. The kid area is huge and really fun and the kids actually look forward to going there (and they can stay in there for up to two hours!). There is every piece of equipment imaginable, plenty to keep from getting bored in the same-old-work-out-routine. The pool (indoor and out) is super duper. Etc. etc. I'm planning on going tonight while Adam is at Young Men's so that the kids can play and I can climb the crazy-fun stair machine.

Bread of the Month

2009-01-12T12:22:00.000-08:00

I had big goals to make Dutch Oven Crusty Bread for this month's Bread of the Month. But thinking that might not happen, and being in the mood for fresh & easy bread, I made my old stand-by recipe. I made one vital mistake, though, and the bread came out of the oven looking like a deflated mushroom. But it still tastes good, especially when used to sop up Vegetable Soup (like I'm doing right now). Here is the recipe:

Mindi's Sandwich Bread
2 1/4 cups water
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups white flour
2 Tbsp. ground flax seeds
3 Tbsp. dry milk
3 Tbsp. honey
2 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. butter
4 tsp. yeast

I toss all ingredients in order into a bread machine on the "dough" setting, then shape into 2 bread loaves. You could also do it all by hand (if you are feeling hippieish like that you have to read "Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book". It tells you everything you need to know about kneading and shaping bread). The mistake I made with these loaves took place during the final rise. I used to spray one side of a sheet of plastic wrap with "Pam" then put the oil side down on top of my rising bread. Then cover the whole of it with a towel and place in a warm oven for 30 minutes or so. But then I stopped using "Pam" because I'm a wacko and just put some vegetable oil on a paper towel and smeared it on the plastic wrap (and the bread pans before putting the dough in). Well, I had put Sierra in charge of this process and there wasn't enough oil on the plastic wrap so that stuck to my dough, deflating it when I pulled the plastic off before putting dough in oven. Sigh. But I just decided to cut the "upper crust" off and pretend I was 17th century royalty (ever read "The Girl With The Pearl Earring" ?)

I'm a little girl!

2009-01-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

I'm laughing out loud as I put this post together. I can't get the ultrasound picture any bigger, so there you go. If you could see the print on the picture you'd see "I'M A LITTLE GIRL!"

We are so excited. Now to find the perfect name...

Home Again

2009-01-08T20:48:00.001-08:00

It irks me that I haven't posted in a whole week. We got home from our month long trip to WA on Sunday night. I thought the girls would be so happy to sleep in their own beds (they'd been on a cot on the floor, sleeping feet to feet) but this is how I found them on Monday morning. It was exciting to get back into our routine. I've started craft projects, volunteered to have card club at my house, set up a double date to the Temple, read the book club book (I've also committed take over book club because the last leader decided her time was up), and the list goes on (I'm awfully proud of my long to-do-lists). But all this means is that I've put a whole lot of stuff ahead of blogging, thus long-time-no-blog. So my solution is to include some of the notes I've taken for book club in this post (and perhaps future posts), sorta killing two birds with one stone--except I'm not into killing birds.

The book is "Simplify: A Guide to Caring for the Soul" by Carolyn J. Rasmus. At first I thought that the last thing I need as I try to simplify life is another book to read about simplifying. But it turns out I like it a lot. For example, living with integrity is a great way to simplify. Here's why:

Webster's 1828 definition of integrity: "wholeness; the entire, unimpaired state of anything, particularly of the mind; moral soundness, purity; honesty".

William Bennett "Why should I be a person of integrity?" responds, "Because it is healthier. Integrity--having one's psychological parts integrated, 'having it all together'... is the sort of condition in which any really rational human being would choose to be...a person in shape".

A number of years ago, the US Department of Health and Human Services reported that "the U.S. has indeed become a nation of believers in the virtue of exercise. But," the study continued, "most citizens confine their practice to nothing more strenuous than pushing a shopping cart around a supermarket on Saturday morning or shoveling down a pint of ice cream while doing laps between the kitchen and the TV set." In other words, most people (80 to 90 %) recognized the importance of exercise, but their actions were not consistent with their beliefs. They were not living with integrity." (p.30)

A New Year

2009-01-01T17:35:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday Kaia had a great time watching Aunt Brooke dip chocolates (and sneaking a lick whenever possible). After chocolates we met up with the Stinchfield clan (Brooke's in-laws) and had a party at the Stake Center. We played games, ate lots of hore'dourves, and tried our best to wear the kids out. Here is Adam the drill sargent:

We spent the day in Portland on Tuesday. We had a caravan of three cars which contained 10 children and 4 adults. We got lost looking for an Asian grocery store where Ellery needed to buy supplies for his New Year's Korean dinner. Here is a picture of Uncle Adam getting kids lined up for "follow the leader" through the store. We were quite a site.
A New Year's Eve tradition for the Bennetts is to rent a hotel room and pile the family into the pool. Don't worry, we didn't all sleep in this room. We swam and swam then ate then watched tv till midnight. We even got to see fireworks from the window. It was a lot of fun.

Today Ellery made us Korean food which included Kimchi, yummy beef and chicken (I'm too lazy to figure out the real name) and pot sticker type things (which also have a Korean name I can't remember). While we were at the Asian grocery store, Adam let all the kids pick out a drink to try. It was the most entertaining part of our Korean New Year's dinner. Soursop and White Gourd was my favorite. I wasn't brave enough to try Grass Jelly Drink, Basil Seed, Mangosteen or Coconut with chunks.

By coincidence I spent New Year's Eve reading an inspiring financial book which was a catalist for some resolutions. The book is called The Richest Man In Babylon by George S. Clason. It is a collection of pamphlets on thrift and financial success using parables set in ancient Babylon. Here is an example:
The Five Laws of Gold
1. Gold cometh gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earnings to create an estate for his future and that of his family.
2. Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks of the field.
3. Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of men wise in its handling.
4. Gold slippeth away from the man who invests it in businesses or purposes whith which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in its keep.
5. Gold flees the man who would force it to impossible earning or who followeth the alluring advice of tricksters and schemers or who trusts it to his own inexperience and romantic desires in investment.

The Day After

2008-12-26T10:40:00.000-08:00

I was excited to post about our day-after-Christmas trip to IKEA, but I've been putting it off because I didn't bring my camera that day (what fun is a blog post w/o pictures?). But in my mind a trip anywhere with 20 Bennetts/Allens/Stinchfields/Wilmores is a trip to remember in blog land. IKEA is a great place (see here if you don't know anything about it) and kid-friendly to the extreme. We ate at the cafe (again imagine 20 of us), dumped 8 out of 15 kids into the free kid care area, and strolled around for an hour of shopping/daydreaming bliss. I was this close to buying an embroidered pillow case, but Cory took a picture on his phone instead:

Isn't it beautiful. I plan to make my own--and like my Grandma says "I'll sell all I can make". In fact, I'm craving a crafting project. It probably has a lot to do with being away from home for an entire month and wanting to get back to my nest. I've decided to copy my buddy Maren and her "Food of the Month 2009" blog project. Every month in 2009 I hope to make a different kind of homemade bread and blog about it. I'm excited. I think I'll start here: Dutch Oven Crusty Bread

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

2008-12-25T22:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve dinner at Grandma Danna's and Pa's. 14 adults and 15 kids.
Pa's delicious turkey.
Little angels getting ready for the nativity performance.
Geof.'s gift from Adam. The sleeping bag rated to 80 degrees or higher.
Cole and Tristan dig through their stockings.

All worn out from Christmas morning fun.
This was one of my favorite Christmas moments. I don't think we've seen the sun for about two weeks. Yesterday it appeared for about 30 minutes. We all rushed outside and it was absolutely wonderful!
Ellynn's favorite stocking stuffer, baby Finn.
Geof. brings out Darla's birthday pie so we can all sing to her (just a few days late).

Fondue's & Fondon'ts

2008-12-22T21:37:00.001-08:00

A Fon-do = keep Jason in charge of cheese stirring. Look at those mad skills.
Fon-do = have lots of fun people at your fondue party.
Fon-don't = Wearing long sweater sleeves which drag into fondue pots.
Fon-don't = Using fingers instead of fondue poker thing.
Fon-do = Celebrating your 30th birthday with family and fondue. Happy Birthday, Darla!

Gingerbread Houses

2008-12-20T20:38:00.001-08:00

Let It Snow

2008-12-18T10:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a true blue snow day. Schools were cancelled, roads were dangerous, and the sledding was perfect. We went out to Amboy where the snow was powdery and deep. Here are a few pics:
Bennett tries to pull Tristan and Hazel in the wagon while Kaia waits her turn.
Geof. and Darla point out their sledding route.
The hill on the Allen's property in Amboy.

After a fun day in the snow, Cory's mom made us all hot chocolate. Kaia and Hazel took it nice and easy in the recliner by the fire place out in the shop.

Multnomah Falls

2008-12-15T18:51:00.000-08:00

We took a short trip out to the beautiful Multnomah Falls to visit our friends the Fairhursts. We even got to eat at the lodge there (best Eggs Benedict I've ever had!).
Adam, Kaia, Chloe, Tristan, Sierra, Ashton, Kevin & baby Olivia.
Heidi ran up to the bridge with the "older" kids.
Extreme close-up.

Tristan loves to run any time his feet hit the ground.

Kaia has set the record for whining lately. I thought I'd record it for posterity and try and get some humor out of it.

Bloggity Behind

2008-12-07T20:20:00.000-08:00

Whew. I've been trying to get this blog on for days, but Internet has been down here in the crowded house (have I mentioned that we are staying at Adam's parent's house where six children, six adults and two sister missionaries are living together in happy harmony?). After a plethora of hours on the phone with Quest, good o' Pa got the wireless wonder up and running again. So let me try and play catch up with some pictures:
Last Friday (geez a whole week ago) we went to a Nativity Display at a Stake Center. They boasted having over 600 nativities, many of which were probably priceless possessions to their owners. Needless to say it was slightly stressful taking six small children to view said nativities. But there was a children's room with soft, hands-on nativities and costumes and stories.
Cole and Sierra tried their very best to obey the many "Please Don't Touch" signs.
Kaia and Dayne were less aware of the many "Please Don't Touch" signs.
My angels.

At one point I had to pile kids into the car and get to the park as fast as possible. It was too much having them all in the house on a beautiful day. They had a great time at this park, until they started fighting. I piled them all back into the car and thought to myself "Hey, I heard Adam say that he wanted to wash the car yesterday. Kids like the car wash. I'll go there." Which would have been a great idea except Dayne would rather have all her teeth pulled out than drive through such a scary contraption and Adam had already washed the car that morning. Yep, I'll never forget the look on his face when I proudly told him that I washed the car. "Didn't you notice that it was already clean?" he asked in disbelief. So we forked out $17 on the car wash that day and the rain poured down on our very clean car the very next day.
Another Christmas activity at the church last Saturday.
Church doesn't start until 3 p.m. so we took a reverent walk in the rain to Lucia Falls.

AMSKT in WA

2008-12-05T11:05:00.001-08:00

We left on Wednesday morning for our epic vacation to Battle Ground, Washington. We make the 12 hour drive from Denver to Boise with very few problems. We got to stay with Chad, Wendy and Ethan Bernards that night. It was wonderful to see them again and the kids had a lot of fun playing together. We left Boise yesterday and had another good ride. The kids watched movies and ate a lot of snacks (wonderful treats provided by Gram) and Adam and I listened to "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown on cd.

How did parents survive road trips before DVD players?
Pa reading stories to Sierra, Kaia, Dayne and Cole on our first night here.
Tristan and Finn. Adam's youngest sister Ellynn just gave birth to baby Finn on Wednesday.

Breakfast made by uncle Adam: Mickey Mouse pancakes. The kids must have eaten 5 each.

The Closest Thing To Heaven...

2008-11-29T13:33:00.000-08:00

"The closest thing to heaven on this planet anywhere, is a quiet Christmas morning in the Colorado snow." --John Denver

All the sudden, it feels like Christmas. It could be that Gram invited us over yesterday to decorate Christmas cookies and help decorate their Christmas tree (then we watched "Elf"). Then it started to snow and when we woke up this morning there was a beautiful blanket of snow everywhere. I couldn't wait for the kids to wake up so we could get out there to play.

Thanksgiving Day

2008-11-28T11:42:00.001-08:00

Here my girls are, all dressed up in their Thanksgiving best. Somehow I was able to get rolls and green bean casserole made, kids all dressed and out the door to aunt Kathie's on time. Even though Adam's ribs were severely hurt during the morning's Turkey Flag Football game and he spent most the day on the couch entirely useless (how could I help but be slightly grumpy about that, but I got over it and now I feel sorry that he got hurt).

My aunt Jane and her three kids: Sarah, Lindsie and Ryan. Ryan is in the Navy and it was a big surprise to have him home for Thanksgiving. They picked him up from the airport and came over to my house. It was about 1:30 and I was trying to get all the kids down for a nap. All the sudden the doorbell rings and someone is pounding on my door. I open it and there stands handsome Ryan in uniform. I gave him a big hug and said if it would have been anyone else they would have been seriously scolded for waking up all my kids. But Kaia and Tristan ended up with a nap anyway and all were fairly well behaved at the party.

They were taking group pictures and Sierra wanted to join in. This is her photo. She moved so much her subjects didn't know if they should squat down or stand straight. Pretty funny. Pictured: Greg, Scott, Ryan, Aunt Kathie, Kaia, Lindsie and Sarah.

Sierra made her Turkey hat in Kindergarten and was kind enough to make a replica so that Kaia could have one too!

Sierra's Kindergarten Thanksgiving Program

2008-11-25T18:50:00.000-08:00

Sierra the Fearless

2008-11-24T18:49:00.000-08:00

Perhaps you would not let your 6-year-old climb who knows how high to help a grandpa put a cover on his camper. I only did it because he wanted ME to get up there and Sierra became my replacement (because of my "condition"). No, really, I knew she would be fine and she isn't afraid of anything. It was quite an ordeal. Sierra and I were helpful until we needed a snack, then luckily a neighbor stopped by to help so we declared ourselves "off duty". "Why, O, Why, O Why O does your house have turquoise trim?" you are asking. The answer: because we don't own it. In fact there are more than three houses with similar trim on our street. I think there was a door-to-door salesman in the '80s who successfully walked down Dyanna Dr. and suckered a lot of suburbanites into his pukey paint. But we have perfect neighbors so we can't complain.

Mormons and Prop 8

2008-11-20T15:06:00.001-08:00

Video by Seth Adam Smith

Jury Duty and Broken Kites

2008-11-20T12:25:00.000-08:00

I was summoned for jury duty on Monday. I'd been avoiding it for years by mailing back excuses, but finally they got me. The night before a scene from "The Grinch" kept running through my mind. The one where he is in the mail room throwing jury duty letters into The Whos mailboxes just to make them miserable. Adam was able to stay home with the kids, with the hope that I'd be home before 11. It was a long process involving some very uncomfortable chairs, but I'm grateful for what I learned. I went into a courtroom with a group of 35 other jurors. The judge said the trial would probably last for 3 or 4 days and I knew I had to get out of there. One mom raised her hand and said she had a kindergartner that she had to pick up and the judge was rather unmerciful. He just told her to find some help. So I knew I couldn't use that excuse, but I was ready with the pregnancy card. I could have lied and said I was ready to puke right there in his courtroom, but I couldn't muster the courage. I just told him I was pregnant and nauseous and he pretty much told me to sit tight. It was horribly nerve racking to communicate with him (me on one end of the courtroom and him on the other, plus my wimpy voice doesn't carry) in front of all those people. Then they called up a group of 25 jurors (luckily not me) and started asking lots of questions. The judge and each lawyer got a turn to drill these people to see if they would be qualified for this particular trial. I sat and listened and wondered how I would respond to issues like illegal immigration, housing fraud, etc. But when they said a juror would have to be able to say "not guilty" if the evidence was not there to prove guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt" (even if you thought he/she was guilty as sin) I wondered if I could really do that. I'm grateful for our legal system but I'm more grateful that I don't have to be there to make those decisions day after day. At noon the judge set me free and I rushed back home to relieve Adam.

On Tuesday we were walking Sierra home from school and stopped by to visit the Bishop (who lives two doors down). He and his wife were cleaning out their garage and they gave my girls two kites they no longer needed. It was a perfect day for kite flying.

Kaia did a great job, but lost interest after a few seconds. She spend most her time on the swings pretending to be a kite.

I thought I'd capture a Sierra meltdown for posterity's sake. Somehow a vitally important piece of her kite became lost and she was beside herself.

Mom saves the day by using a stick to fix the kite. Moments later Mom is the enemy again because kite broke while Mom was flying it. Sierra grumbled that she wished Kaia's kite was broken too. Moments later it was. And that was the end of that.

My favorite blog post of all time: here

Weekend Adventures

2008-11-20T12:05:00.000-08:00

We had a fondue party with the Laws and Purcells last weekend. The Laws just got a new puppy and on the way to their house Tristan said his first sentence. He said "I'm excited to see the new puppy." Just like that. We all had a great time. I just can't get enough of the fondue cheese recipe we got from Meagan. We had it a few nights earlier with Gram and Pop (we even set our table on fire that night, but just a little). In fact, I think I'll go have some right after I finish this post (I have some stashed in the fridge...hummmmm).

On Sunday, Mom invited us over for elk chili and a party for Sierra. Last time we visited it was near Sierra's b-day and she was heart-broken that Grandma Shelli didn't have chocolate cake for her. So my sweet mother felt so bad she made a cake and reenacted the birthday. Sierra was blissfully happy.

You Too

2008-11-14T12:49:00.000-08:00

Listen to this:

Then read this:
A few weeks ago I called Jeni, the midwife who helped us birth Tristan at home. Adam said he wasn't comfortable having another home birth, so I wanted to ask her if she would let me have appointments with her and then we would just have this baby at the hospital. It took about a week for her assistant to call me back. During that time I already made plans to go to St. Joseph's hospital and use their staff of midwives. After explaining all this to her, she ended the conversation by saying "well, OK, have a nice birth". And I replied, "You too!" In my defense I was walking Sierra to school, pushing the double stroller, talking on the cell phone and it was slightly windy. I just assumed she said "have a nice day" or something. It wasn't until I hung up that I realized I had just pulled a "Brian Regan".

The Iron Rod

2008-11-09T14:24:00.000-08:00

The other night I had a dream that scared me. I was in a city that appeared to have been destroyed by war. The buildings were mostly made of cement and not one of them was intact. I was holding hands with Sierra and she was holding hands with a beautiful little girl with dark hair and a red dress. I looked up and noticed the sky was filled with dark clouds. Through the crumble of buildings I could see the ocean. Suddenly a huge bolt of lightening struck the ocean and a giant wave formed. I grabbed Sierra and the dark haired girl and ran to a tree. During the first wave I was able to hold onto both of them and the tree trunk. But as the second wave crashed upon us both girls were pulled out of my arms. I was in complete panic. I ran around screaming, "The children, the children!" But no one stopped to help me. I kept running and searching. Finally I looked down and in a deep puddle I could see Sierra holding onto a pipe with one hand and the little girl with the other. I reached into the water, pulled them out, and we ran off to safety.
I woke up thinking that was the scariest dream I've ever had. The ocean and I do not get along (she's tried to drowned me before) and movies like "The Day After Tomorrow" (with scenes of "the ocean heaving beyond it's bounds" similar to my dream) really, really freak me out. But as I continued to ponder my dream over the next few days I received precious insights. The waves crashing on us felt like a symbol for the influence of evil. I could only protect the children from its influence for so long. I was overjoyed to find Sierra holding onto a pipe (which resembled a iron rod and in LDS theology this is symbolic of the Word of God, see here) which kept her safely in place. I was so grateful that she tightly held onto the dark haired girl with the red dress (if we have a little girl we want to name her Ruby, could this be who I saw?) and I felt that symbolized her good example and influence on others. This dream was a gift to me. I used it in my Sunday School lesson and I felt the Spirit there. I think of it often as I worry about my little ones turning into teenagers facing waves of evil influence in Junior High (and certainly before then, but I'm particularly worried about that infamous Junior High). I see Sierra and Kaia in emotional meltdowns, temper tantrums, random spouts of "I don't want to say family prayer tonight" or "I don't want to go to church anymore" and I wonder if I'll be hearing the same 10 years from now but I won't be able to hold them in my arms and lovingly talk to them.
I heard some very comforting words in Church last week. Someone was talking about how the Lord will step in and fight our battles for us and for our children, if we are righteous (see 2 Chr. 32:8 and D&C 98:37). I have faith that if I do all that I am inspired to do as a mother, when the time arises I will feel the Lord helping my children and I through our battles (and if I work on it, I will feel Him with us every moment of every day).
Today during Stake Conference I was blown away by how much I needed to hear the talk by President Eyring (does anyone know how I can get a copy of that? I guess I can look on LDS.org). He talked about President Kimball speaking to a group of youth. Afterwards he asked President Eyring, "Do you think they could hear me or was I too tough?" He meant that it isn't always what we say (when trying to admonish or correct), but if others hear love in our words that matter. President Eyring says that every morning he prays to have the Spirit guide him in conversations with others. Then he tells of an experience with a friend where "the call to repentance (from President Eyring to his friend) felt loving enough to not offend." I recently offended a treasured friend by being judgmental and not seeking the Spirit to guide my words. I felt so terrible about it. I decided to dedicate my upcoming Sacrament meeting talk to the commandment to not offend nor be offended (see Perry M. Christensen's talk , Psalms 119:165, and John 16:1 ). I've learned a whole lot and President Eyring's talk was extremely helpful (although I couldn't take notes fast enough while trying to also entertain and keep 3 kids quiet during the meeting).

My Birthday

2008-11-08T08:18:00.000-08:00

A package arrived yesterday afternoon from my in-laws. Since no one was around to stop me, I opened it a day before my birthday. Inside was a wonderful apron and a much needed cookbook. Thank you!

The kids and I had a little enforced silliness time singing into wooden spoons.

Gram and Pop showed up with a brownie cake for me b/c Gram knew I wouldn't get one at the resturant (not the homemade kind, anyway). Whew, that's a lot of smoke.

Sierra takes a few licks from the candle ends.

Chicken Nuggets, my Watch, and the Milk Man

2008-11-05T13:01:00.000-08:00

I really like the dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets from Costco. Can't get enough. In fact, I had to wipe crumbs from said nuggets off my hands before sitting down to type on my new laptop (early b-day gift from beloved hubby, apparently it is the new "family" computer, but I'll always call it mine).
Anyway, what I really want to blog about is my watch. Today the infamous little gaget decided to start to s-l-o-w-l-y slow down. I thought I had 15 minutes to get Sierra to kindergarten so I finished the vacuuming. Then I glanced at a more reliable time piece and it shouted "Sierra needs to be at school right this very minute!" Arrgghhh. I threw some graham crackers in a bag for her "lunch" (before you feel too bad for her, it is "early release day" so she gets out at 1:15 and I promised if she could survive that long I'd share some dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets with her--which she is currently eating happily) and we jumped in the new Jetta TDI. Adam pre-ordered this car before we knew another baby was going to bless our family and it arrived at the dealership two months sooner than expected. We've had the car for over a week--and even though it is supposed to be the car I now drive--this is the first time I was able to drive it (Adam is a new car hog). Whooo doggie, it is n-i-c-e. We even made it to school in just the nick of time, after I realized I didn't bring along a coat for Sierra on this very cold November day. So I rushed back home to get the coat and Gram stopped to chat on her way to lunch with Jane and Kaia (it was a BIG deal to Kaia to go on this special date and exceeding helpful to me also). I told her that I'm such a ding-bat I took Sierra late to school without a coat. Gram said I could blame it all on being pregnant and she offered to take the coat for me since she was headed that way. Reason #453 why I love living next to Gram.
I was able to get the house almost entirely cleaned up today, read a bit of "Enjoy It!" the book I ordered as a b-day gift to myself which arrived today, and start some bread. I have committed myself to making homemade bread again in order to off set the costs of signing up for a milk man. Well, how could I resist? This guy rings the door bell in the middle of nap time the other day. I wasn't going to answer it because I was still in my pjs (my excuse there? I was learning how to use iMovie and iDVD and had spent the day turning home movies into DVD treasures). But Kaia woke up and started yelling to get the door so we opened it together. I don't know that I've ever met a better salesman. In a matter of minutes he had me convinced that the milk I buy at Costco is nothing better than "white chalk water". He let us try the milk, chocolate milk and the OJ then gifted us a quart of each. It was delicious and I could actually taste all the important enzimes he said were in there, but not in store bought stuff. He got my info, put a fancy Royal Crest Dairy cooler on our porch, handed me an order form with all manner of delicious dairy products I can have delivered every Monday before breakfast, and shook our hands. I took the order form to Costco with me to see how much more it'll cost to have the milk man take care of our dairy desires. If my math is correct (and it probably isn't) I'll be down $5 to $10 per month in the food budget. And I figure I can make that up by making our own sandwich bread, which is better for us anyway (I don't really know that, but if the milk man would have said it, I would have believed him).

Halloween

2008-10-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

We hosted the Halloween Joy School party today and it was a wild and crazy time. These kids were all so excited. The best part was the indoor trick-or-treat at the bedroom doors. Tristan even got in on the fun.

My parents and siblings came over for dinner (elk chili is a family tradition, but Pop is in Mexico so Mom and I attempted our own version). Then Adam and my Dad took the kids out in the neighborhood while my Mom and I got to visit. We laughed our heads off (only interrupted a few times by trick-or-treaters). I think my Mom is great.