Just a few boyish details to share....
1. Jace and Cooper went to the firestation for preschool on Thursday. They loved it and talked about it for days. Cooper then asked me, "what do firefighters do?" I laughed and laughed. Apparantly when you are three and go to the fire station and see guys pretty much living in a big house with a kitchen, TVs, a family room, and a work out room, they are not sure what their job is.
2. Nascar Truck Races! What do you get when you take seven children (Aiden brought an extra)to the truck races? Six little boys who STARE as they search the track for their beloved truck #18 with m & m's plastered on the hood and side. They loved it. Where else can you take 7 children, and they literally sit for two hours straight? Even Brooke practically sat for the entire time too. My sister gave us free tickets. They loved them Aunt Cory- thank you!
3. Mitch's co-worker's husband died earlier last week, and we had the viewing this afternoon for him. This was quite the ordeal. It involved packing lunches for the kids in the car and eating them while we journeyed across town to Palm after church. Cooper slept while the other boys ate string cheese, apples (from Gilcrease that Mitch picked early Saturday morning), and pb&j. We get to the cemetary and despite eating lunch in the car, with just a little tie adjusting, they look pretty sharp. I wake Cooper up and while holding him on my hip and retucking Jace's shirt, Cooper proceeds to go to the bathroom while he is sitting on me. This, of course, happens literally when we are moments into going into a funeral home. Luckily I had bottles of water for the boys to drink so I proceed to undress myself and wring out my clothing with the bottles of water in the parking lot (in between two suburbans- I am TALENTED!). Michelle Pjeifer in One Fine Day I was not, but pretty close. Cooper had a change of clothing in the car (khaki shorts mind you-yes!), and I was wearing black, so it worked out just fine. Until I got in to the funeral home to give a girl friend of mine from elementary school (a mututal friend of the deceased) and her mom a hug so I had to explain why I was all wet. What more can they expect from a mom of six children? It makes for a funny memory- thanks, Scoops!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Colorful Bishop Baseball
Baseball- America's Pastime. Now it appears to be the Bishop's pastime as well. We have had practices three nights a week and on Saturdays too. And since our kids are too young to take themselves, it is a family affair.
Aiden is playing catcher for his team. I know NOTHING about baseball. The boys ask me to pitch for them, and they nearly walk everytime. I am not exaggerating. Aiden is so excited when he can actually hit one that I pitch to him, that he cheers me on. That's LOVE. I watch the other parents who throw balls to their sons and think, huh? How is it that I have ZERO athletic ability? I am green with envy.
Gage appears to be a natural. His coach has asked me a couple of times if this is his first time playing. I say, "Yes. He has never picked up a mitt before two weeks ago." I try to play catch with him and he totally can catch my balls- now that's good. He is really enjoying it, and he has blisters to prove it. (These actually came from the monkey bars at school more than the baseball playing; however, the baseball playing does contribute to them as well.) Gage's blood runs red, white, and blue.
Even Grey is getting in on the fun. He tries to pitch to Aiden as well, but his aim is like dead on hitting the batter. This can be problematic, so Aiden has opted to take me over Grey. Grey just needs to get a new target to look at, and I think he may have a better go of it. Also I need him to lift some weights because his arm strength is so weak that he has a hard time handling the bat. But again, I know nothing about the game so maybe the bat that we have for him is actually too heavy. In any event, we will continue to practice, and hopefully no one will get purple from balls or bats hitting them.
Jace loves to wear the glove and his baseball cap. He stands around in the outfield and spins around thinking about actually catching the ball. If it comes out there (if mom actually pitches an OK ball), he is Johnny on the ball. Too cute. He can only throw a few feet, so most of the time, while in my flip flops, I am running after the baseballs. Jace loves it, though, and he is soooooo yellow!
Cooper wears a pink glove. I am not kidding. Grandma bought a pink glove for Brooke at a garage sale, and Cooper says it is his. We do not argue. Brooke could care less. Cooper's Uncle Derek teases him. He secretly wishes he could have a pink glove too.
Brooke chases balls. I do not want to say that she is a dog, but truly her behavior is dog like. If I miss a ball when we are playing catch, or if the boys actually hit a ball, she literally runs it down. She is quite the ball retriever. Golden and all!
Well our baseball fun is full of color! I am no longer blue about signing the boys up for baseball. I am delighted that I finally did it. Not sure if I can keep up with this practice schedule, but I have plenty of help from other players on the team. For this I say THANK YOU! Hopefully I will post actual pictures from Saturday's games- covered in brown and green from the field and the diamond. It is likely since Mitch will be there. He is definitely the photographer in the group. Until then we can all dream in color about the succcesses of the BISHOP BASEBALL!
Aiden is playing catcher for his team. I know NOTHING about baseball. The boys ask me to pitch for them, and they nearly walk everytime. I am not exaggerating. Aiden is so excited when he can actually hit one that I pitch to him, that he cheers me on. That's LOVE. I watch the other parents who throw balls to their sons and think, huh? How is it that I have ZERO athletic ability? I am green with envy.
Gage appears to be a natural. His coach has asked me a couple of times if this is his first time playing. I say, "Yes. He has never picked up a mitt before two weeks ago." I try to play catch with him and he totally can catch my balls- now that's good. He is really enjoying it, and he has blisters to prove it. (These actually came from the monkey bars at school more than the baseball playing; however, the baseball playing does contribute to them as well.) Gage's blood runs red, white, and blue.
Even Grey is getting in on the fun. He tries to pitch to Aiden as well, but his aim is like dead on hitting the batter. This can be problematic, so Aiden has opted to take me over Grey. Grey just needs to get a new target to look at, and I think he may have a better go of it. Also I need him to lift some weights because his arm strength is so weak that he has a hard time handling the bat. But again, I know nothing about the game so maybe the bat that we have for him is actually too heavy. In any event, we will continue to practice, and hopefully no one will get purple from balls or bats hitting them.
Jace loves to wear the glove and his baseball cap. He stands around in the outfield and spins around thinking about actually catching the ball. If it comes out there (if mom actually pitches an OK ball), he is Johnny on the ball. Too cute. He can only throw a few feet, so most of the time, while in my flip flops, I am running after the baseballs. Jace loves it, though, and he is soooooo yellow!
Cooper wears a pink glove. I am not kidding. Grandma bought a pink glove for Brooke at a garage sale, and Cooper says it is his. We do not argue. Brooke could care less. Cooper's Uncle Derek teases him. He secretly wishes he could have a pink glove too.
Brooke chases balls. I do not want to say that she is a dog, but truly her behavior is dog like. If I miss a ball when we are playing catch, or if the boys actually hit a ball, she literally runs it down. She is quite the ball retriever. Golden and all!
Well our baseball fun is full of color! I am no longer blue about signing the boys up for baseball. I am delighted that I finally did it. Not sure if I can keep up with this practice schedule, but I have plenty of help from other players on the team. For this I say THANK YOU! Hopefully I will post actual pictures from Saturday's games- covered in brown and green from the field and the diamond. It is likely since Mitch will be there. He is definitely the photographer in the group. Until then we can all dream in color about the succcesses of the BISHOP BASEBALL!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Bearded Green Man
I just have to share (and again with no Photo! Argh!). Today I had my seven little darlings for preschool. We were in the hallway decorating our lifesize cutouts of ourselves. I was working with the four older kids and letting Brooke, Cooper, and another 3 year old just decorate their cutouts independently however they chose to do so. They were just having a great time decorating Cooper's all together. I was working 1:1 with the others with their "frog jumpers" (B, R, E, M). While I was working with the older kiddos, the other 3 year old comes over and asks, "Can I color on Cooper?" I think to myself how funny that he is asking me this since he has not made one stroke on his as of yet. I say, "Yes as long as Cooper is OK with it." I then continue to work with the others. When we are done, I go over to the little ones and look at Cooper's face. He literally has a green crayola-ed beard and two huge circles around his eyes. I bust up laughing and ask him what happened. He quickly tells me, "Jared did it." I laugh and laugh. I guess quietly working beside me makes them green with beards!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Twenty One Years Ago...
I went to a baptism on Saturday afternoon and as I was sitting there and loving every minute of it, I thought to myself, "Hey, I was baptized in September." I continued to thoroughly enjoy the messages and the spirit that filled the room and could not help but smile the entire time. I then thought I should go home and see what day in September I was baptized.
I was baptized on 9 September 1989. I cherish a few memories about that day...
1. Now I go to baptisms and realize how rare it is for a room to be FILLED to capacity with standing room only in the back. I also know how rare it is for teenage friends along with their paretns and siblings to come. I was so blessed to have so many friends there to love me and show their support.
2. I remember a handful of my friends' little brothers and sisters singing We Will Bring the World His Truth. At the moment during my baptism, I remember being filled with such excitement and knowing deep in my heart that it was my friends who were truly sharing the gospel with me. I did not know then, but I realize now how incredibly blessed I am to have those phenomenal friends! (Incidentally, I picked We Will Bring the World His Truth as the song we were to sing this year in primary and I still get emotional each time we practice it.)
3. Heidi Parry's dad said in his remarks that he could not believe that I was finally getting baptized. (Sarah's dad may have said similar comments.) I thought that was a funny thing to say at the time, but now I realize it is highly unusual for someone to come to church sponsered activities off and on for six years. I am just grateful I had friends who kept inviting me.
4. I ruined Katy's silk blouse (or was it a dress?). After I got baptized, I hugged Katy in the dressing room dripping wet. She said nothing, but simply laughed. I bet she wishes she had brought a change of clothes that day too.
5. And for Katy's benefit...I do not remember what I wore. Do you? I wonder if anyone out there took a picture. Perhaps this post will yield an answer to my question.
Well Spencer, thanks for inviting me to your baptism. I hope that all of my Septembers are filled with more just like yours. I thank all those treasured friends who were instrumental in my conversion. And 21 years later, I can't imagine my life without my Savior!
I was baptized on 9 September 1989. I cherish a few memories about that day...
1. Now I go to baptisms and realize how rare it is for a room to be FILLED to capacity with standing room only in the back. I also know how rare it is for teenage friends along with their paretns and siblings to come. I was so blessed to have so many friends there to love me and show their support.
2. I remember a handful of my friends' little brothers and sisters singing We Will Bring the World His Truth. At the moment during my baptism, I remember being filled with such excitement and knowing deep in my heart that it was my friends who were truly sharing the gospel with me. I did not know then, but I realize now how incredibly blessed I am to have those phenomenal friends! (Incidentally, I picked We Will Bring the World His Truth as the song we were to sing this year in primary and I still get emotional each time we practice it.)
3. Heidi Parry's dad said in his remarks that he could not believe that I was finally getting baptized. (Sarah's dad may have said similar comments.) I thought that was a funny thing to say at the time, but now I realize it is highly unusual for someone to come to church sponsered activities off and on for six years. I am just grateful I had friends who kept inviting me.
4. I ruined Katy's silk blouse (or was it a dress?). After I got baptized, I hugged Katy in the dressing room dripping wet. She said nothing, but simply laughed. I bet she wishes she had brought a change of clothes that day too.
5. And for Katy's benefit...I do not remember what I wore. Do you? I wonder if anyone out there took a picture. Perhaps this post will yield an answer to my question.
Well Spencer, thanks for inviting me to your baptism. I hope that all of my Septembers are filled with more just like yours. I thank all those treasured friends who were instrumental in my conversion. And 21 years later, I can't imagine my life without my Savior!
Thursday, September 09, 2010
The Giggling Gardeners
A few pics from preschool this week...
These are Jace's and Cooper's kissing hands we made this week. The kids loved making them. Cooper hated the heart and tried three times to rip it off. Apparantly he wanted a ball, not a heart. Hearts are for Brooke he says.
These are Jace's and Cooper's kissing hands we made this week. The kids loved making them. Cooper hated the heart and tried three times to rip it off. Apparantly he wanted a ball, not a heart. Hearts are for Brooke he says.
These are the cute scrapbook pages that we made:
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Tender Mercies
Funny. I never thought about tender mercies so much until Elder Bednar spoke of them a few years back when he was called as a member of the 12. Now I think of them daily and wonder to whom did I attribute those times when God’s hand was clearly guiding my path. I just want to make mention of the top 5 from the last few weeks…
5. I was really worried- I mean really worried- about my kids’ teachers this year. We had such dynamite teachers last year, and I thought that I could never recreate that year again. Funny. It seems like we may have a repeat of fantastic! It seems like Greyson’s anxieties, although not all together eliminated, may truly be smoothed over this year with his sweet, extremely kind, FUN second grade teacher. A tender mercy!
4. Gage truly wants to become less angry. He truly wants to get along with that brother of his (Jace- in all his yellowness) that gets under his skin. I have been praying and truly, his heart is changing. I do not think he even wanted it to change, but in all its mercy, it is happening.
3. We seem to be able to have all our needs met and still have some left over to despite having my tutoring students cancelling left and right for the last two weeks.
2. Baseball teams may not seem very important to some, but I truly wanted some good experiences for my boys. I really prayed that we would have some coaches who were kind and truly loved my boys. Not only can I make the practices with our busy schedule, but both the kids have friends on the teams. Mitch is helping out with Aiden’s and even though he is soooooo busy, he is making it work and Aiden loves it. Gage begins tomorrow, but our neighbor is the assistant coach and the practice is at Heckethorn park. Gage could walk to the park. (Incidentally he thinks that is a great idea, but I think, um, nope.) My boys may not be terrific ball players when it is all said and done, but I truly think much good will come out of it. Another tender mercy.
1. Cooper is a wanderer. Yes, his parents have known this for years. It truly is a miracle that we have not lost him as of yet. While we were vacationing in Newport last week, we nearly lost him. Amazingly, my pleads for him to be found safe said 300 times in the 3.5 minutes that he was away from us, were heard. A jogger running the boardwalk of Balboa saw him and clearly knew that he was lost and also knew that he was surely too young to be wandering the island of Balboa alone. It seems that in the split second that I told young Cooper that he could not have the golf ball size gum ball for his own (and why do they make gum balls that are even too large to put in one’s mouth?) and his family turned down Agate, it was enough for him to walk behind another family and be separated from us for those dreadfully long 3.5 minutes. I thank that jogger a million times over for listening to the prompting to stay with him until he was delivered into Backyard Grandma’s arms. Oh and in the midst of me crying, another man who witnessed the events while he was waiting for the ferry also wept a tear for us too when he learned that Cooper had been found. Tender mercies for us all!
I am thankful for tender mercies. They truly fill my hours. For these, I am grateful!
5. I was really worried- I mean really worried- about my kids’ teachers this year. We had such dynamite teachers last year, and I thought that I could never recreate that year again. Funny. It seems like we may have a repeat of fantastic! It seems like Greyson’s anxieties, although not all together eliminated, may truly be smoothed over this year with his sweet, extremely kind, FUN second grade teacher. A tender mercy!
4. Gage truly wants to become less angry. He truly wants to get along with that brother of his (Jace- in all his yellowness) that gets under his skin. I have been praying and truly, his heart is changing. I do not think he even wanted it to change, but in all its mercy, it is happening.
3. We seem to be able to have all our needs met and still have some left over to despite having my tutoring students cancelling left and right for the last two weeks.
2. Baseball teams may not seem very important to some, but I truly wanted some good experiences for my boys. I really prayed that we would have some coaches who were kind and truly loved my boys. Not only can I make the practices with our busy schedule, but both the kids have friends on the teams. Mitch is helping out with Aiden’s and even though he is soooooo busy, he is making it work and Aiden loves it. Gage begins tomorrow, but our neighbor is the assistant coach and the practice is at Heckethorn park. Gage could walk to the park. (Incidentally he thinks that is a great idea, but I think, um, nope.) My boys may not be terrific ball players when it is all said and done, but I truly think much good will come out of it. Another tender mercy.
1. Cooper is a wanderer. Yes, his parents have known this for years. It truly is a miracle that we have not lost him as of yet. While we were vacationing in Newport last week, we nearly lost him. Amazingly, my pleads for him to be found safe said 300 times in the 3.5 minutes that he was away from us, were heard. A jogger running the boardwalk of Balboa saw him and clearly knew that he was lost and also knew that he was surely too young to be wandering the island of Balboa alone. It seems that in the split second that I told young Cooper that he could not have the golf ball size gum ball for his own (and why do they make gum balls that are even too large to put in one’s mouth?) and his family turned down Agate, it was enough for him to walk behind another family and be separated from us for those dreadfully long 3.5 minutes. I thank that jogger a million times over for listening to the prompting to stay with him until he was delivered into Backyard Grandma’s arms. Oh and in the midst of me crying, another man who witnessed the events while he was waiting for the ferry also wept a tear for us too when he learned that Cooper had been found. Tender mercies for us all!
I am thankful for tender mercies. They truly fill my hours. For these, I am grateful!
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
A New Leaf
I am turning over a new leaf this week. I am going to attempt to post once a week because I know this is the ONLY journaling that seems to get done. Mitch is so good to sit down at the computer and post pictures, but alas, I avoid the computer because I call it the time warp! What I think will take 15 minutes of quick email checks and drop a line or two to a friend, turns into TWO HOURS, and what did I accomplish? Regardless, I know how fun it is to read the past posts and remember the funny things in our lives so since it is September FIRST, I will try to post a little more…
Batters Up!
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
It began with a tap, tap, tap at four twenty-three a.m.
Mom: Huh?
Greyson: Mom, may I watch TV?
Mom: Um, buddy it is four a.m. You can at five.
At 4:50 the alarm clock buzzes, I slip on my sneakers and brush my teeth (Yes, I slept in my knit capris and T-shirt I slipped into after church-they are good enough to walk in.) I walk by the TV room to find Grey sitting on the loveseat with the remote in hand.
Mom: I take it you couldn’t sleep.
Grey: I am too nervous, Mom.
Mom: You may turn the TV on.
After my walk I come home to all the boys awake and their beds made. Funny that. They tell me they want cereal. I look in the fridge-NO MILK!
Mom: Sorry, guys. You get pancakes.
Boys: OK.
Jace: Are you sure you will not ruin them, Mom. (Hello? I have made pancake 100 times, and once and only once, I put eggs in the waffle batter and ate a little science experiment like breakfast. No harm done, but I will never live it down.)
Morning goes pretty well. Lunches, check. Outfits, check. Backpacks, check. Epi-pen, check. We are off!
Oops. Sorry guys, I forgot the camera. Argh! Alas- no photos for the blog. Sorry. I will improve for next week’s post.
Found our dots. Found our friends. Life is good. Jitters gone.
Return home to the three. ( Thank you to Backyard Grandma who helps me by watching them while I walk to school. Who’s idea was it again for Backyard Grandma to live in our backyard? - GENIOUS!)
Trip to Target and Costco- ouch. Refer back to comment about NO MILK. Costco was a bank breaker this go-around. Return home with hot dogs and soda.
Jace: I am glad we go to Costco. I have missed hot dogs and soda.
Cooper: I like soda. I don’t like food. (This is true. He prefers drinks to food. He is so his father’s son.)
Brooke crashed on the way home. The house was soooooo quiet. Gage really fills up the space with noise. Bubs (Jace) played Legos with Cooper for an hour. Cooper reluctantly takes a nap. Jace and I read books, play cards, and do laundry.
3:15 go back and get the boys. Yikes! There is a reason I do not pick them up in the afternoon—that school is a zoo! We found all 7! Yes, my three, and four neighbors.
Oh, the paperwork. In between the paperwork, I made cookies for family night (Ya, I should have done that during the Lego playtime/reading/nap time), and then we went to Café Rio with Grandma.
That night we played baseball in the park. Fulfilling and Grey was soooooo tired! He fell asleep before his head hit the pillow. Aiden has decided that despite being a lefty, he will throw with his right hand!
First Day of School- A HIT! We are still running towards first base, but it appears like we will survive and maybe even score a few runs.
It began with a tap, tap, tap at four twenty-three a.m.
Mom: Huh?
Greyson: Mom, may I watch TV?
Mom: Um, buddy it is four a.m. You can at five.
At 4:50 the alarm clock buzzes, I slip on my sneakers and brush my teeth (Yes, I slept in my knit capris and T-shirt I slipped into after church-they are good enough to walk in.) I walk by the TV room to find Grey sitting on the loveseat with the remote in hand.
Mom: I take it you couldn’t sleep.
Grey: I am too nervous, Mom.
Mom: You may turn the TV on.
After my walk I come home to all the boys awake and their beds made. Funny that. They tell me they want cereal. I look in the fridge-NO MILK!
Mom: Sorry, guys. You get pancakes.
Boys: OK.
Jace: Are you sure you will not ruin them, Mom. (Hello? I have made pancake 100 times, and once and only once, I put eggs in the waffle batter and ate a little science experiment like breakfast. No harm done, but I will never live it down.)
Morning goes pretty well. Lunches, check. Outfits, check. Backpacks, check. Epi-pen, check. We are off!
Oops. Sorry guys, I forgot the camera. Argh! Alas- no photos for the blog. Sorry. I will improve for next week’s post.
Found our dots. Found our friends. Life is good. Jitters gone.
Return home to the three. ( Thank you to Backyard Grandma who helps me by watching them while I walk to school. Who’s idea was it again for Backyard Grandma to live in our backyard? - GENIOUS!)
Trip to Target and Costco- ouch. Refer back to comment about NO MILK. Costco was a bank breaker this go-around. Return home with hot dogs and soda.
Jace: I am glad we go to Costco. I have missed hot dogs and soda.
Cooper: I like soda. I don’t like food. (This is true. He prefers drinks to food. He is so his father’s son.)
Brooke crashed on the way home. The house was soooooo quiet. Gage really fills up the space with noise. Bubs (Jace) played Legos with Cooper for an hour. Cooper reluctantly takes a nap. Jace and I read books, play cards, and do laundry.
3:15 go back and get the boys. Yikes! There is a reason I do not pick them up in the afternoon—that school is a zoo! We found all 7! Yes, my three, and four neighbors.
Oh, the paperwork. In between the paperwork, I made cookies for family night (Ya, I should have done that during the Lego playtime/reading/nap time), and then we went to Café Rio with Grandma.
That night we played baseball in the park. Fulfilling and Grey was soooooo tired! He fell asleep before his head hit the pillow. Aiden has decided that despite being a lefty, he will throw with his right hand!
First Day of School- A HIT! We are still running towards first base, but it appears like we will survive and maybe even score a few runs.
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