Stella in February

a chilly day at soccer

soccer practice

windblown at football

cheering our favorite soccer players

on dad's birthday enjoying the swing

with her pal Fischer, and sitting up on her own!

My valentine

valentine's day 2013

today.

Beckham does not appreciate the peanut component of Monster Munch. He will consume his entire portion of popcorn and leave me a little pile of peanuts.

Seneca believes the best thing about candy corn is using them to stick in her teeth to make fangs. She has a very spooky voice when she threatens to eat me.

I am not sure who invented candy corn, but he and I have very different palates. G.R.O.S.S.

I visited another preschool this week as I was contemplating throwing Bex in the mix and trying to work out what would be best for the two littles. I am not an educator by profession. Not even close, so I'm not sure where my expectations come from, but I am not easily satisfied. I would have never guessed that one of the biggest stressors in my life this year would be related to my children's education. It has kept me awake at night far more than any other issue. While it stresses me out sometimes, I am completely grateful that I do not have bigger things to worry about in my life right now. I know I'm blessed. I really do.

It's a little chilly outside in the mornings these days and my children insist on getting out there as soon as possible. I insist on shoes. They like to pretend I don't. Today I told Seneca and Beckham that they were welcome to play outside if they kept shoes on their feet. As they tried to sneak out the door, I added that if I saw them without something on their feet, the princess skirts would go up high and be gone today. That stopped them both in their tracks. Yes, they were both wearing princess skirts and shoes have not been an issue today.

A month after first beginning potty training, I can say that I don't even think about it anymore. He runs in there when he needs to do his thing and despite my best efforts in trying to get him to sit down, he stands on his little tippy-toes, reaches over the edge of the toilet and gets it in there. That's what dad and Cooper do, after all. There is no more potty laundry, no wet beds, and no more diapers... yipee!!

Cooper has been interested in the basketball court lately and is not satisfied when I say I can see him from the window. He wants his audience giving him full attention, outside next to the court.

I've been working on Halloween costumes this week and I will admit that I am one lucky woman that my children do not have high expectations. The admiration for all of you who make your own every year and have them looking fabulous has grown 100 fold. I must admit that I just don't care that much! What will be, will be and I am completely ok with it.

We have been out of butter all week. Butter! Of all things.

I've decided that running up and down the park lawn passing a soccer ball back and forth with Coop, trying to defend his goals and then helping little bodies across the monkey bars over and over and over constitutes a very admirable workout. I was sweaty! They were sweaty and we all slept well.

Dent has been super busy at work lately. He came home early enough to carve pumpkins with us last night but I'm afraid we'll pay for it for a while as we'll probably all be asleep before he arrives tonight. Late nights are a bummer, but I'll take them over unemployment any day.

christmas 2009

Having three children who show genuine emotion without holding back makes Christmas morning pretty fun. Having all their dreams come true is pure magic.

A few highlights:

* All Cooper wanted for Christmas was a bouncy ball with a handle on top (his words). Santa delivered and he was one happy kid. He also received a soccer net and has had his dad playing goalie while he gets around him.

note: my living room previously held a trampoline that has been relocated temporarily to the loft. it now holds a rowdy game of soccer. is this what living rooms were intended for??

* Seneca received a shopping cart and a scooter. Beckham got a new car to ride in and an enormous tonka dump truck. As is par for this house, they use each other's gifts as their own and scheme together to make the most of each item.

* We all got to talk to uncle Ben on Christmas day, singing him our latest songs and telling him about our Christmas. He is having an amazing experience serving the Lord in Portland. It was wonderful to hear that while he's growing and learning, he's still our Boogs.

* Denten made gnocchi and pasta sauce and the smell alone in my house was to die for, let alone the food. He makes magic in the kitchen, I love when he has the chance to cook.

* Santa was good to Dent and I too. It's a satisfying feeling to know that there isn't much that is wanted or needed, makes me feel very fortunate to be where I am right now.

* most treasured gift of the year: quilts that Gram made for each of my children. They love them and have requested they take the place of the previous blankets on their beds. It was a surprise for me that she had spent all year quilting for everyone, what a wonderful gift!

* We have wonderful grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins that sent such thoughtful things for our family. It is so nice to see them unwrap gifts that will add to our home and that they will truly enjoy rather than more junky toys that I will secretly want to put in the garbage as soon as possible. It was a good year!



Hope yours was just as merry!

yes, dad. beckham's cars are all Porches. we're teaching him young to recognize quality.

the Man in the Red Suit.

Last weekend my littles had the grand (or torturous) opportunity to meet Santa.

Cooper is over the fear and appreciates what the Man has to offer. He was excited and a little shy when his turn came. He was careful to whisper (at a distance) what he wanted for Christmas. Good thing his mother was present as that particular request had not yet been fulfilled. it has now.



Seneca is not shy. She does not, however, understand the significance of the Big Guy. She was happy to chat with him and pose for a photo. She does not know how to answer the question, "what do you want for Christmas?" I believe it's because she really doesn't care. She's just happy to be a part of it all. If only that could last forever.



Beckham, however, could be called wary. His little lip was on the verge of quivering and his eyes were very large. Skepticism at its highest. I kept telling him that it was ok and this was fun... he thought I was crazy, but it staved off the tears long enough for a photo.





We have a Christmas elf visiting our home for the month. He leaves a little surprise in our advent calendar each day and returns each night to report to Santa what he sees around here. Each morning when he comes back, he's in a different spot in our house. Sometimes he's great motivation for being on our best behavior! I pretty much love Santa to pieces. I believe Beckham will feel the same come Dec. 25.

a christmas tree story.

When I was growing up, a Christmas Tree was serious business. My mother was most adamantly against fake trees, thus we made our way as a family to a nearby commercial lot and picked a suitable tree for our living room. Achieving the desirable height was imperative, it needed to be free of any major holes, or at least have a very good "good" side. Dad sawed off the bottom, wrestled it into its stand and then we all looked on while he tried to get it straight. Once it was up and in place, his duties were complete.

It was then that mom took over. She was (and I believe still is) in charge of the lights. When I say serious business, I mean it. I'm not sure anyone was as meticulous as my mother when it came to getting lights on the tree. They were always white, much classier than those colored ones. She started at the top and made her way around, through and down the branches making sure the lights were evenly spaced and in their perfect places. I used to wonder if it took her hours to do this as we would arrive home from school and she'd just be finishing.

Once the lights were in place, we were allowed to assist with the ornaments. We never had a themed tree. We had a fantastic collection of ornaments, each possessing a wonderful memory that we relived each year as we hung them. They were unique and beautiful we loved pulling them out of the boxes finding our favorites. In true tree-decorating fashion, mom taught us that the smaller ornaments always hung near the top of the tree and the large ones near the bottom. Those of the same color never resided next to each other and we hid her least favorite ones around the side of the tree.

Our tree always looked fabulous. White lights made our whole living room glow. It was only natural that when I had a tree of my own that white lights and unique ornaments were the direction I steered. I have the inner urge now and then to go a more contemporary route and swallowed my jealousy when Katelyn got a very cool tree, but Denten is a traditional fellow and this time of year, tradition is not so bad. I must say that even with a few years of practice under my belt, my light job is nothing near my mothers. In fact, Denten volunteered to do it this year knowing that I wanted to do it but was stressing out about getting it just right. I was happy to hand off the job to him. However, attorney-work has been all-consuming lately and after a few days of a naked tree in our living room, Cooper demanded lights. He was a lovely assistant and I got the the job done.

And then rather than evenly spacing precious decoration around green branches, I sat down. I opened boxes and handed ornaments to my three little ones. They, and they alone, adorned our tree. The top half is very sparse, the bottom heavy laden with glass balls and ornaments. It made me fight against all that is natural in my soul to go rearrange them, putting the small ones at the top, highlighting my favorites front and center and making sure they were spaced well. I took deep breaths and did my best to relinquish my Christmas Control.




Seneca rearranges the display daily. Her favorites are my collection of handbags. Beckham explores the different textures of the ornaments and likes to see himself in the shiny ones. The large cluster of glass balls? That is Beckham's masterpiece. Cooper plays the part of the sheriff, making sure no one touches the tree... sometimes they listen to him and most of the time, not. He's old enough to remember favorites from last year and get excited to tell me where they came from.

The final product is all theirs. Except that they used my treasures to create it. I requested that Cooper put my New York ornaments up higher as one was shattered last year and nearly broke my heart.



It's not a traditional masterpiece, but it's Ours, created by Mine and the little white lights still make my living room glow.

It's a new month...

And time for a new focus. I'm not going to ask anyone to blog daily, but I'm pretty sure you can handle weekly. Here is your December challenge (although I shouldn't call it that because it's not hard): Once a week, post a Christmas memory. A memorable Christmas morning, receiving a much-anticipated gift, giving a gift you looked forward to giving, a Christmas trip, celebrating a favorite tradition... the parameters are wide open. If your blog is in part to record what is happening in your life and those of your family, take a few days this month and record some of your favorite holiday memories. If you don't want to publicly share them, or if you don't blog, I welcome you to participate anyway, you know, the ol' pen and paper way. It will be fun to reminisce about former December memories as we create new ones this month.

** bonus question: if you happen to have a mother-in-law, what are you giving her for Christmas??

Grateful on Thanksgiving

1. I'm grateful for Denten. He's funny and smart and hot. He's faithful to me and to his Heavenly Father. He's consistent and a wonderful father.

2. I'm grateful for Cooper. He is hilarious and tender. He is smart and kind. He is a lot like me and therefore occasionally aggravating, but I'm sure glad Heavenly Father saw fit to send him to me.

3. I'm grateful for Seneca. She is beautiful and full of life. She is clever and happy. She is emotional and enthusiastic. She both makes me crazy and melts my heart. I thank Heaven every day for the fact that she found her way to our home.

4. I'm grateful for Beckham. He is charming and lovable. He is mellow and squishy. He is developing an opinion yet still often agreeable and easy-going. He is miracle number three and appreciated no less than the first.

5. I'm grateful for my Savior and the sacrifice he made so that I can have the experiences I'm having. I'm grateful for second chances with my children and for a future that will last into eternity. I'm grateful for the covenants I have made with my husband. I'm grateful for my life.

my spooks

making spooky treats.



my pretty witch (who was simply a witch until she saw her costume. she has been a "pretty witch" ever since), king kong (who was simply a gorilla before we located a blonde barbie for him to carry around) and count dracula (who was simply dracula before he embarked on the quest to count to 100 every day).



dracula.



king kong and the pretty witch.



my pretty witch.



my cheeks.



headed home.



typical things heard around here the past few days:

dracula: spoken very quietly "mom, can I have one more of my halloween treats?"

pretty witch: "I need a little treat, mom."

king kong: "more." "yea!!!" "thank you."

seneca got the hang of what to say at each neighbor's door in order to collect her goods. she knows how to turn on the charm!

beckham knew to waddle up to the door, open his bag and say "thank you" as he inspected the goods.

I love my spooks. I love that they had virtually no expectations so this halloween was terrific!

carvin' it up.

Cooper had a very specific idea of what he wanted his pumpkin to look like. He kept describing it to me throughout the day. I told him he needed to draw a picture so his dad understood his design. They had a quick strategy session and then we headed to our carving extravaganza.

My children aren't really a fan of all the goop, especially when it's chilly outside! (don't say it. it's chilly for us!)



You know it's serious when power tools are involved. Delicious treats, great jack 'o lanterns and fun was had by all... success!

easter in our house