Tired Kids

After a busy day of cleaning out the family room and toy room, vacuuming out both vehicles and washing them and playing outside... the kids both crashed!  Emma was sitting with me waiting for the pizza to come out of the oven.  She was begging for something to eat, but with only 10 minutes left on the timer, I told her she had to wait (oops!).  She kept whining and then she went quiet.  I looked over and this is what I found. She'd fallen fast asleep sitting at the island!  I moved her to the couch and got the pizza out of the oven when Lennard got home from washing the van.  He tried to wake her up so she could eat, but she wouldn't wake up!  

Ben ate two slices of pizza and then crawled up onto Lennard's lap and within two minutes had fallen fast alseep too!

We moved both of them to their beds, thinking that they would wake up, but they didn't!  They are now both in bed... fully dressed.  Tomorrow should be interesting.  Neither of them had baths and Emma will be starving!  Crazy kids!

General Women's Meeting

This evening was a General Women's Meeting for our church.  For the first time, anyone 8 years old and up were invited to attend.  In the past it's been either a Young Women's meeting (12-18 years) or a Relief Society meeting (18+), but they have changed it now.  After sitting and listening to the speakers tonight and feeling the special spirit that was there, I am so very thankful for the change.

I was so touched to see so many mothers and daughters holding hands as they sung together in the choir. Every speaker had something to say that touched me.  I have wept as the spirit testified to me of the truthfulness of what they said.

One of the overriding themes of the night was that we are all daughters of the same Heavenly Father and that we are more alike than we are different.  We are precious to him.  We were taught to love each other and not judge or compare ourselves or others.  I loved when Sister Oscarson taught that women need friends! We need the support of one another.  Mary had support from her cousin Elizabeth.  We need to look for what we have in common - not our differences.  We need to reach out and help others.  Remember our baptismal covenants and honor our temple covenants. President Eyring taught us that Heavenly Father not only sees us for what we are, but what we can become.

My heart is full right now.  I have a greater desire to be a better person.  To be a better mom and a better wife.  I want to be a better Primary President and make sure that each one the Primary children in our ward know that they are loved.  There is nothing like hearing the words of "I am a Child of God" to help you realize how special each and every single one of us is.  Think about it.

I am a child of God.

And He has sent me here.

Has given me an earthly home

With parents kind and dear.

Lead me, guide me, walk beside me

Help me find the way.

Teach me all that I should do

To live with Him someday.

Operation Organization and a Very Special Letter

Earlier this week, I sat down and listed every single room in our house and every possible thing that be organized within that room.  It's a daunting list!  The nice thing about it is that I'm not looking at my kitchen and wondering where to start.  I have it broken down in to small, manageable parts.

For example, yesterday I worked on the master bathroom cupboard and under the sink and the medicine cabinet in the kitchen.  Pretty simple tasks, but they obviously hadn't been done in a LONG time.  I found a lot of expired meds, old lotions, etc.  I got everything sorted and a lot of things thrown out.  It felt so good!  I even threw out things that were still technically good, but that hadn't been used in forever and probably wouldn't be used.  (Melissa will be proud of me!)

Today, I started another project... organizing our budget.  Can I just say that figuring out what to throw out of our medicine cabinet was a much more pleasurable job.  What a mess!  I have tried so many different budgeting methods and nothing seems to be working.  I feel like we are in a hole and I can't see the light from where I am.  I just feel like I keep digging deeper and deeper.  I know that's really not the facts, but it sure feels like it today.  I have to get on top of things again and it might mean that things get a little tighter around here.  I just hate being the mean guy that always has to say 'no'.

In and amongst all this 'fun' of figuring out our budget.  I figured I needed to clean off our desk before I could really figure things out.  Get all the old bills out, etc.  Then I opened the cupboard and pulled out my file organizer there and went through it, getting all the unnecessary things out of it.

As I did this, I discovered a letter that my grandma wrote me.  I knew that it was there, but I need to find a special place for it so it doesn't get lost (yet another project).  As I read the first few lines, I got choked up as I thought about my angel grandma.  She was such an amazing lady.  When I was 16 I asked her to write a letter for me to open when I got married.  There are so many truths in this letter.  So many things that make me wish I could just give her a big hug and thank her for always being there for me... even when she isn't physically here.  Her letter was just what I needed today. I'm sharing it here so that I always have a copy of it no matter what happens to the paper copy!

"My Dear Mary Lou,

As you have asked me to write this letter to be opened sometime in the future, I sit trying to think of the things I'd like to tell you.  You are such a special daughter of our Father in Heaven. Take every day as it comes to you, one day at a time, and try to always think of the positive happy things God has blessed you with.  Some things we can't change in life, so we have to make the very most of what we have and not worry about them.  Since you are tall, stand straight and be as tall as you are and when you wear a smile you are so very beautiful.  Change the things that are possible for us to change.  Make the most of your talents and you can do anything you set your mind to, and do it well, because God has blessed you with a bright mind to help you.  Always keep your standards high as you are now, read good books, never watch degrading movies because they are Satan's sewer line into your home to make your mind and your thoughts and your heart impure.  Heavenly Father tells us that cleanliness is necessary because his house is a house of order.  Then when hard times come in your life, as they always do, you then can 'trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths.' Proverbs 3:5-7.  That scripture has been a great help to me in my life.  He also said, 'Peace I leave with you my peace I give unto you.  Not as the world giveth I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid.' And as one great man has said, "Put your hand in the hand of God and walk out into the darkness, and it shall be unto you better than the known way."  So when things are dark and you can't see any way out of them, just reach up and put your hand and your faith in God's hand and he will lead you out of it safely, when you have done everything you can.  When troubles come we have to diligently try to find the answers and then ask the Father if it right and if it is he will either give you a peaceful  feeling or a burning in your heart that you will know that it is.  Cherish the beautiful little things in life.  Find time to smell the flowers and all the beauties of the earth Heavenly Father has given us.  And when you are choosing a mate be sure to go with only those who can take you to the Temple to be married.  Watch how kind he is to his mother and sisters, see if he helps in the home.  Pray and ask God if he is the right one and you will not go wrong in your choice.  The sounds of Love don't just happen, they have to be made.  Love is a fragile things it has to be nourished every day.  Children are life's greatest blessing if you are kind and loving and patient and always consistent.  When they are very little if you tell them to do something in a very kind, firm way, always see that they do it and they will be a blessing to you.  Find something every day to be grateful for.  We were sent here to be tried and tested in all things so that we would grow and God could trust us in all things. So that he could say, 'Come ye blessed of my Father, enter into my rest.' Which would be the greatest of all gifts.  May this be your lot.  Your Grandpa and I love you very dearly and may our Heavenly Father's choicest blessings attend you always.  

Love Grandma Webster"

Glasses

We went back to Dr. Swift today for Benny’s recheck.  Unfortunately, his left eye has got slightly worse in the five months since we saw him last, so his recommendation was for Ben to get glasses.  I knew this day would probably come, but I really didn’t want my kids to have to deal with glasses like I’ve had to.  Thankfully, his prescription is way less than what mine was at the same age.  Dr. Swift is hopeful that we’ll be able to keep his eyes from getting any worse.  We go back next month for another recheck to see how he’s doing.

I was amazed at how quickly they had glasses ready for him.  Once we decided on what frames we liked, Michelle told us to come back in 20 minutes and she would have the lenses ready!  I took the kids over to the library and when we got back, she was just polishing them up.  Amazing.  Ben had actually done really well with them so far.  I’m hoping he stays as consistent with them in the future!

In the exam.  Dr. Swift was so good with him.  He earned ‘points’ for doing well and then got to pick a prize.  He even let Emma pick a prize for sitting so quietly during the exam. 

Here he is trying on frames… and liking what he sees!

The final product… complete with a full mouth of cookies!  What a handsome little boy!

Family Time Away

With rugby practices in full swing, we decided to take advantage of a free weekend and head to Kalispell.  Lennard took the afternoon off work and by 1:00 we were on our way.  The roads weren’t great to begin with and I was wondering if we were smart to go anyways, but once we got past Babb, the worst of it was over.  There were still bad sections, but nothing too terrible.  I’d bought a couple new movies for the kids, so they did pretty good on the drive down.

The ice built up in the wheel wells of the van so much that it was hard to turn the wheels when we parked at the hotel!  The kids were overjoyed to discover that the hotel had a pool.  We convinced them that we needed to go get some dinner first and do some shopping before we went swimming.  We went to Famous Dave’s BBQ.  It was delicious.  We then managed to get through Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target and Cabelas before the kids rebelled.  We headed back to the hotel, and they were stripped down and in their swimming suits before we could hardly blink.  They had a lot of fun in the pool.  I enjoyed the hot tub more than anything!

 

We split the kids up and Lennard got the privilege of ‘sleeping’ with Ben.  He discovered that Ben moves in his sleep every 20-40 seconds.  Needless to say, he didn’t get a lot of sleep!

We had a good breakfast at the hotel and then did a bunch more shopping.  The kids loved the car carts at Super 1 Foods.  We had lunch at HuHot and then were on our way home shortly afterwards.  We’d bought the movie, ‘Frozen’ for them, so they were good for the drive home!

 

Both kids had fallen asleep on the way home and then were woken up when we stopped.  They were NOT ready to be awake and we had lots of weeping and wailing!  It made for an interesting time unloading everything from the van.  We got a LOT of groceries that we’d needed for a while, so it was nice to replenish our store room.  The only thing that would have made the weekend better would have been if we’d managed to get farther south… to warmer weather!

Dr. Seuss

  

We had a bit of a busy day, so it was nice to take the kids to the library for their Dr. Seuss night.  Lennard got home from rugby practice in time to have dinner and then we headed down.  The kids got to wear their pajamas and bring a favorite stuffy.  I only got to stay for the first 20 minutes and then I left to go to my Book Club meeting.  Lennard said that the kids had a lot of fun (with minimal meltdowns).  It’s nice for him to get to do something like this with the kids since he’s been so busy lately.

The Next BIG Project

Not sure why we can’t just live our lives without a ‘project’, but we always end up having something on the go - and it always costs money…  Today we went out to the airport and staked out where our hangar is going to be built.  Yup… a HANGAR!  Yikes! 

We will be building behind the existing row of hangars, so we had to lay out the future taxi way as well.  The kids thought it was great being helpers and holding the stakes.

We finally got it all figured out and the stakes in for a 40x48 building.

Emma went to get more stakes for us and when she was taking a long time to come back I went to look for her.  This is what I found.  In her words, “Look, mom!  I’m skiing!”  She was so proud of herself and I thought she was pretty clever for coming up with this all by herself.

The closest four stakes are where our hangar will be.  I really can’t believe we’re actually doing this.  Not quite sure how much will get done with the budget we’ve set, but hopefully we can get the shell up this summer and then slowly work on getting the electrical work done, insulation, sheeting, lighting, cement poured for a floor… not much at all, right?!  Gag.  I think we can officially declare that we are CRAZY!

There is Sickness in the Air

This is pretty much what we've been doing this week... lots of snuggling up, sleeping, and watching movies. All of us, except Lennard, are sick and it's been a very LONG week of hacking, coughing, sneezing and general yuckiness.  Ben still has a lingering cough from the weekend, but it's slowly getting better.  Emma got a rotten cold and has had horrible coughing fits, especially at night.  I got the flu on Wednesday and then a cold to top it off.  I now have no voice (which I'm sure the kids are enjoying).

All the things I was supposed to do this week got cancelled or postponed.  It's been crazy.  I'm really hoping next week will show some improvement!

Baby Blessing

Ben was up most of the night again so we really weren’t sure what to do.  We changed our minds a number of times and then (at the last minute), just decided to go.  We barely managed to get there and they were singing the opening song when we walked in.  At least we got there in time to hear the blessing!  Ben was coughing quite a bit, so I took him out to the foyer and sat with him out there for the meeting.  As soon as Sacrament meeting was done, Lennard and I took Ben back to Rachel’s place.  Emma wanted to stay to go to Primary with her cousins, so my mom took her and then brought her home afterwards. 

Rachel put on a lunch for everyone that came.  The kids didn’t eat much, mostly because there were so many other kids to play with they couldn’t be bothered!  I managed to snap a few pictures of beautiful Brooke in her blessing dress.  She is such a dolly!  It is also Rachel’s birthday today, so we sang happy birthday to her when the dessert came out.

This is my favorite photo of the day.  It was snapped quickly, so I’m glad it turned out!

  

We left soon afterwards to head home.  Ben was asleep before we got out of the city, but Emma held on until almost 5:00 before she fell asleep (of course).  We made it home safely and after getting things unloaded and cleaned up a bit, Lennard had a quick rugby coaches meeting (since rugby practices start tomorrow).  We let the kids unwind a bit, and then we all headed to bed.  It’s been a long day, but I’m thankful that we were able to be there for Brooke’s blessing day.  Now we just pray that no one else gets sick because of all the germs Ben coughed out all weekend!

Edmonton

Lennard took the day off on Friday and after getting everything packed up and loaded in to the van, we headed to Edmonton.  Emma thinks that the drive to Lethbridge takes forever, so we were worried about how many meltdowns we would have.  Thankfully, the headphones were a life saver!  We put on a movie and they were hooked.  Emma had some crayons and a coloring book to play with too.  We stopped in Airdrie and wandered around the Cross Iron Mills Mall and got something to eat, although Ben wasn’t feeling good and wouldn’t eat much.

We made it to Edmonton around 4:00ish and hung out at Rachel & Cub’s place.  We set up the air mattress we’d brought so that we could be ready for bed, but discovered that it had a hole in it.  We ended up blowing up the other air mattress that we’d brought (just in case) and it ended up having a hole in it too.  It ended up being a long night, not just because of the air mattress, but Ben was coughing so bad that he was awake most of the night.  I ended up going upstairs and attempting to sleep on the couch with him.

The next morning (Saturday), we eventually got ready and headed over to the West Edmonton Mall.  Ben was tired and I didn’t want to carry him the entire time, so we rented a double stroller that looked like a fire engine.  The kids were excited just for that… and then we walked in to Galaxyland!  The first thing Emma saw was the Merry-Go-Round, so, of course, that was the first ride of the day.

The next ride… yup… airplanes!  No brainwashing in our family!  About half way through the ride, they discovered that if they pulled back on the stick the plane would go up!  They both had the time of their lives.  I wasn’t able to get very many good pictures, but it was so much fun watching their expressions.

Once they got off the planes, they went on a really basic ride that just went around and around, but they got to pick out which vehicle they rode in.  After that it was quads and motorcyles.  Ben kept yelling to us as he went around the circle, “I’m beating Emma!”  It was hilarious.

We then took them to the play place and they got to climb, slide, and jump to their hearts content.  Ben was a little overwhelmed by it all and it took him a while to warm up, but Emma was off and running.  We had a hard time keeping track of her in all the craziness!  Ben loved the ball pits and eventually started climbing and sliding too.  Lennard got in on the action and the kids thought it was great having their dad with them.

It was just about lunch time and so we wandered around the mall waiting for my parents to get there.  We finally found each other amongst all the cheerleaders (there was a huge cheerleading competition going on in the mall).  We had lunch together and then the kids wanted to show grandma and grandpa what rides they’d gone on.  They suckered us in to buying a couple more tickets and going on the airplane ride one last time.

We finally decided it was time to go and, after saying goodbye to grandma and grandpa, we headed out to the van.  I was walking with Emma and was watching a guy that was hanging out around the back of our van when I slipped on some ice and went down.  I tried to keep Emma upright, but failed.  She ended up with a couple banged knees and a muddy hand and I twisted my back badly.  Once we got her calmed down and strapped in, it didn’t take very long for both of them to crash.  They both slept all the way from the mall to Cabelas (where Lennard bought us a new air mattress), and over to Melissa’s house.  Emma woke up when we stopped there, so she came in with me to see Melissa’s home.  Ben woke up shortly afterwards and then we headed back to Rachel’s.  Everyone that was up for the blessing came over after dinner to visit and play games (Us, Melissa, Mindy, Rachel, Roger, Mom and Dad – and spouses). 

Emma and Lauren loved being able to ‘help’ get dinner ready.  It was fun seeing them get to play together.  They are the only girl cousins the same age.  Of course, it was amazing to get to meet Brooke for the first time!  She is a beautiful baby and quite the smiler. 

Another First

All weekend long Emma has been asking if it was time for her to go to the dentist yet.  When this morning finally came, she was SO excited… until she got in the chair.  All of a sudden she got nervous and wanted me to hold her hand.  Rob couldn’t even get her to open her mouth for the first little bit.  I finally started teasing her and she loosened up a bit.  This picture was when she opened her mouth and Rob was showing her what the dentist would do later.

Once she relaxed she was fine.  Rob got her teeth cleaned and even got the fluoride treatment done (although she wasn’t real sure about it).

I had a check up and cleaning done just after her, so I didn’t go with her when Dr. Michel checked her teeth, but she did fine by then.  They weren’t able to get good enough x-rays, but she has a few cavities right in the very back that we have to come back to get fillings done on.  They are going to give her laughing gas then so that they can get better x-rays at the same time as they do the fillings.

She was so excited when they gave her a new Cinderella toothbrush, chap stick, and a couple little prizes for being good.  It was definitely a good experience for her and I hope the next visit won’t ruin everything!