Christmas at Disneyland

One of our favorite things to do during the Christmas season is go to Disneyland. Its on my top 5 list of places to go to feel the magic of the season. Disneyland gets all decked out and the Small World ride completely changes just for Christmas. The kids and I went this year with my sisters and a friend and all the kids. We had 11 kids between the 4 adults, crazy!! But it was so fun. I snapped this picture of Maxwell, Ethan and Luke on the Small World ride with my phone (sorry its so grainy). Getting out the parking structure was TORTURE and Sadie cried for 45 minutes but other than that it was fantastic. I'm going to miss having passes next year at Christmas time.

List

1. I'm in popcorn heaven tonight. Oh. My. Delicious. You have got to try these recipes here and here. Popcorn is one of those things you feel like you can eat a truckload of all at once, its so light and airy. Mmmmm....

2. Sadie went to bed at 5:45pm tonight. You read that right, 5:45pm. I'm crossing my fingers she stays asleep until 6am tomorrow morning.

3. We're taking pictures on Friday. I hope we can pull them off. Getting three kids to all look at the camera at once while having a somewhat congenial look on their faces can be tricky, especially the girl; she'll be the trickiest of the bunch. The boys are excited to wear their new clothes though. I went with the black, red and white combo. I was hoping to do mustard and navy blue but that was harder to hunt down then the previously stated combo so there it is.

4. I felt so awkward at church last Sunday. It was weird to sit in Sunday school. We have a joint meeting for the third hour. I remember being envious of those that could attend those meetings but Sunday I would have rather been in Primary again. Its ok though. I'm fine. This is probably the first calling in a long time I've been so attached to. I think thats the weirdest part of this whole experience.

5. The hubs is doing a great job losing weight. I think he's lost close to 20 lbs. Way to go, hunners. I'm struggling. First of all, what the pickle was I thinking trying to lose weight during the holiday season?! I swear I must have been delirious. We're trying to change our mindsets. We are both healthy eaters. I mean healthy in the form of we can put away food like pros. So we're trying to change that. Portion control. Portion control. Portion control. That's my latest mantra. Except the other day I read that Kate Moss said "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." Excuse me, I beg to differ. I know some awesome lasagna and texas toast that probably tastes pretty darn close to how good skinny feels. Ugh. I need to be reprogrammed. Wish it were easier. I wish I were one of those people that could decide and be done with it. I have to decide over and over and over again. Its exhausting.

6. I love Pandora. Have I said that before? Its awesome. I got the "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" station and I listen to it all day long. Its beautiful. No commercials. No junk. If I don't like a song I just hit the little thumbs down button and it won't play it anymore. Pandora is a my best friend.

7. I'm reading John Adams by David McCullough. Its a Pulitzer Prize winner. It was made into a mini series on HBO. Its 768 pages. Oi. Seriously, its slow reading but this is the first book in this kind of history genre that I've actually been interested in. Usually stuff about the Civil War is too dry for me. I'm actually liking this book. It might take me a year to finish but I'll finish.

8. I'm playing my flute in our Christmas Sacrament program on the 20th. Yikes. Do you know how long its been since I played my flute? I actually took it in to be re-padded today. We'll see what the estimate comes back as. I had to rent a different flute so I have one to play on d-day. So this has reminded me of how much I liked playing with a group and I found this group, Orange County Mormon Choral Organization. I noticed they have an orchestra and they are in need of flute players. But I'd have to audition. Whoa. I don't know if I could hack that. And I'm a commitment-phobe too. Hmmm....

9. Have I told anyone that Sadie's a walker? Yah, no more crawling. She crawled FOREVER on her belly. Then around 10.5 mos. decided she could get up on her knees. Then she took her first few steps a couple weeks before her birthday and now she is full fledged. I need to take a picture of her shoes. They are kaput. I ordered some new ones from Robeez and I'm hoping they get here quick!

Sadie's current pair of shoes. Cute huh?

Sadie's soon to be new pair of shoes. Hopefully they last longer than the last pair.

10. I was reading books with the boys before bed tonight. Its usually part of our routine but the first thing to go when we are pressed for time. But on school nights its a must because its part of Ethan's homework. Everything that has to do with Ethan's education is not a burden. Its more like I feel accomplished and purposeful. I got to thinking, am I going to be as gung-ho next year when Luke adds to the bill? Or in a few years when its Sadie's turn? I want to be. I want to show them all the same committment. But it won't be new with Luke and Sadie. It will be been there, done that. Hopefully I'm wrong. Please let me be wrong.

Jog-a-thon

Ethan and Luke ran in their first school Jog-a-thon last week. I remember doing many a Jog-a-thon when I was at Killybrooke Elem. so this took me down memory lane. I didn't get to see Luke jog because I was home with Sadie while she napped but I caught up with Ethan and got some pictures. I got to see Luke when he went to his snack time and his cheeks were still rosey. Ethan ran 39 laps and Luke ran 20, or so he says...his teachers haven't sent home his lap count yet so it could be more or less. Great job, boys!

Haunted Halloween 2009

Halloween was such a great holiday for the boys. Ethan and Luke said many times "this is the best day of my life." By the end of October I was ready to see Halloween go, to be honest. It was Halloween almost every week in our house with all the different activities (Johnson Halloween party, ward halloween party, school parade and halloween party, Pretend City halloween party and then the actual day of Halloween party) we had but I know the boys really enjoyed it and hopefully they have some memories locked away. If you can't tell, Ethan was "Dark Vader" aka Darth Vader, Luke was a Storm Trooper, and Sadie strayed from the theme and was a fairy (I'm all about the hand-me-down costumes when I can).

From the heart

Thankfulness is all around,
it lingers in the air.
It reaches out to take my hand
and show me all who care.

Thankfulness in my child's reach,
they guide me through the day.
The lessons that they teach
show me there is another way.

Thankfulness between four square walls,
underneath a humble roof.
Keeps me warm and sheltered,
A small token of love's proof.

Thankfulness in my husband's eyes,
his touch and his care;
the power of his influence, the quiet self-sacrifice.
Bound together eternally, this life's journey to share.

Thankfulness to run, to walk, jump and skip;
In eyes that see the mediocre and the grand.
An able mind. To taste deliciousness;
the laughter dancing from each mouth like the melody of a band.

Thankfulness is all around,
it lingers in the air.
It reaches out to take my hand
and show me there's so much life there.

So I don't know where that came from. It just came up and I let it out. Its a little cheesy but its me. I love Thanksgiving and I have so much to be thankful for.

Famous Quotes...Or Should Be

An excerpt from Ethan's prayer tonight (I am so sad I was not in the room. Steve was and came out and told it to me. I'm still laughing. This is when I LOVE being a mom.):

"Please bless if a bad guy is in the house you can use the force."

October Student of the Month

Ethan got Student of the Month last week at flag deck. He was so excited! I know Ethan tries his very best at school (he's pretty competitive...wonder who he gets that from? Not me.). I got the chance to volunteer in his class a couple weeks ago and it was so fun to see what he does and meet his class. I have deep respect for his teacher and her hard work, thank you Mrs. Krabbe!

I don't usually stay for flag deck but after I dropped Luke off at preschool (they are at the same school, thankfully) I was walking out and saw a big presentation going on so I stayed to see and Ethan's name ended up being called. I was so glad I was there!

Ethan is wearing a red shirt and khaki shorts, standing to the right of the boy wearing a white shirt and khaki pants. All I had was my phone so I couldn't zoom in, sorry. Congrats, Ethan! Keep it up!

Sadie's 1st birthday!

Last Wednesday we celebrated Sadie's first birthday. She is a spectacular addition to our family. We love her little girl personality. She is growing big like her brothers further proving my theory that I will be the shortest member of our family pretty soon. She is 28 lbs. and 32.5 inches tall. She can already reach the countertops so we have to push things back that we don't want her pulling down. Steve had to add a child lock on our spice cabinet because that was her #1 destination. She LOVES her old burp cloths. If she sees one on the floor she has to pick it up and when you put her to bed you better have one for her to snuggle with. We love our Sadie Anne!

Pumpkin Patch

A couple weeks ago we headed over to Tanaka Farms pumpkin patch with my sister and her family. The boys loved riding the tractor around the farm, picking a pumpkin and going through the corn maze. It was such a hot day! We left and headed for the nearest place for some slurpees.

Sadie was not happy to be plunked down on some pumpkins but we actually managed to get a good shot of her.

Ethan, Luke and Steve went on a tractor ride around the farm. Luke shows us the gourd that will be accompanying us home. Jack-0-lantern fun!

List

1. I love reading these advice columns. Sometimes they are devastating (like the one I read a few years ago when a woman wrote in talking about how much she hated being a mom and couldn't bear the thought of being around her infant...I bawled and wanted to know where she was so I could go get the baby for myself) and sometimes they are funny or insightful. This one is good. We never know what we're in for until we're in it. No one can truly describe what having children is like to someone who hasn't had children. I think it would be fun to write columns like these...anyone hiring?

2. Sadie is finally getting off her belly and crawling. She is also standing and holding on to whatever she can. Her favorie places to stand are at my spice cabinet and our bookshelves/entertainment center. She will gladly sort through my spices for me or pull a magazine down for me. So helpful! She is becoming more and more attached to her dad. Sometimes he is the only one that can console her properly. Last Sunday he got up to say the closing prayer in Sacrament meeting and Sadie was not having it. She reached both her arms up and screamed! Luckily it was still during the last line of the closing hymn so the sound didn't reverberate throughout the enire building.

3. I LOVED Elder Holland's talk in General Conference. This may sound cliche to you but it grabbed me and held on. I really needed that kind of spiritual strength. It was a reminder of what I believe. It was a reminder of the importance of value. It was a reminder of truth. Ever since Prop. 8 I feel as though I have been surrounded by a plethora of lies. Sometimes I can't see straight because of all the deceit around me. Honestly, at times I question the purpose and value of continuing on. It just seems like such a big mountain to climb for nothing because we'll just lose in the end. But his testimony of the Book of Mormon gave me light where there was darkness. He reminded me that I DO NOT want to be one of those who in "the last days even those of the covenant, the very elect, could be deceived by the enemy of truth." (I'm not trying to say I'm one of the very elect.) My favorite part of his talk was this:

Now, I did not sail with the brother of Jared in crossing an ocean, settling in a new world. I did not hear King Benjamin speak his angelically delivered sermon. I did not proselyte with Alma and Amulek nor witness the fiery death of innocent believers. I was not among the Nephite crowd who touched the wounds of the resurrected Lord, nor did I weep with Mormon and Moroni over the destruction of an entire civilization. But my testimony of this record and the peace it brings to the human heart is as binding and unequivocal as was theirs. Like them, “[I] give [my name] unto the world, to witness unto the world that which [I] have seen.” And like them, “[I] lie not, God bearing witness of it.”

If you missed it, read it. I know these are words spoken by one of God's apostles.

4. I think I'll end on that note.