Lunchroom Treasures

Ryley ran in the door from school today very excited. She had a "surprise" to show me. She reached into her pants pocket and began unfolding a piece of napkin. She held the item in the air and looked at me with excitement. "What's that"? I asked. It's a bone! Where did you get it? I found it in my chicken sandwich at lunch time!

P.S. I think I'll be packing her lunch from now on.

Seriously?

I preface the following experience with this. The girls have a Care Bears video entitled "Journey To Joke Alot". At one point in the film a Care Bear visits the land of Joke Alot where the word "Serious" is considered taboo. Bottom line, if you are a resident of Joke Alot you know very well not to use the "S" word.


Ryley: Mom, Kadyn said the "S" word!

Mom: (laughing inside and assuming they are teasing me in reference to the Care Bears Movie I decide to play along)
Oh really! Uh-oh. Kadyn, you really shouldn't say the word "serious"!

Ryley: Oh no Mother. She said the other "S" word.

Mom: (Alright, at this point I'm half confused and half freaking out. Mainly I'm freaking out. In my pathetic attempt to grasp what is happening, but not wanting to hear what may be happening I stutter out) What? What do you mean? I don't understand?

Ryley: "You know Mom. She said,.....(in a whisper) stupid".


WOW. Didn't see that coming. At that moment two things happened. I took a deep breath, and, my heart filled with joy.
I have thought about this dialogue again and again over the past few days and now have three thoughts on the matter.


First, indeed, the word "stupid" is not a very nice word.

Second, I must clarify for Kadyn's sake that her word choice was in reference to feelings regarding nap time.

Third, and most importantly, at that moment my heart was filled with deep gratitude. How grateful I am for these innocent and tender children who enrich our lives and remind us daily to strive in, "becoming as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, and willing to submit to all things..".

Surely Not Seven?

Ryley turned seven yesterday. Steven and I keep shaking our heads in disbelief that we can actually have a seven year old child. For some reason it seems so much older than six. Combined that with the fact that next birthday she'll be baptized and you practically have a teenager on your hands. O.K., not really - but it still seems old. Too old. She's not allowed to grow up, right? She's our little Ryley!

Nevertheless, time moves on regardless. Ryley is growing up into a fantastic young lady and we thank Heavenly Father each day for her sweet smile and spirit.

For her birthday this year she chose to celebrate by doing activities we could enjoy as a family. We started the weekend with ordering her favorite take out on Friday evening. On Saturday we had a great day at the zoo. We took along a picnic from Subway and Ryley got to pick something from the gift shop. (Ten dollars says that Kadyn chooses this same activity for her birthday - it was really fun). That night Steven took Ryley and Kadyn to see Kung Fu Panda. This was a gift to both Ryley and I seeing as the youngest two were blissfully sleeping, thus giving Mom an evening to relax. Monday Steven came home from the hospital in early afternoon, and let's face it - during residency THAT is a gift in and of itself! I put the girls in the car and together we headed for the skating rink where they enjoyed their first experience on roller skates. I was very impressed with their endurance levels. We all fell quite frequently, and I thought with time it would damper their enthusiasm, but with every fall they got right back up and kept on going. It was a fun experience. Tuesday we took it easy and after playing all morning here they spent the afternoon playing with the neighbors while I made her cake of choice. Ryley LOVES animals, especially horses. I wasn't quite sure I could pull it off but she was very happy with it and that's all that mattered. It was a great weekend of celebration for a great little seven year old. Happy Birthday Ryley. We LOVE you!

Halloween Weekend Of 2008

The kids had a great halloween. Last year Thatch was still a bit young to understand the whole concept. This year the girls demonstrated how it's done and quickly he learned if you proclaim, "trick or treat", and hold out a bag you are given handfuls of candy. This may very well be his favorite holiday ever! We went the easy route this year and bought all costumes. They each chose their own and since Thatcher didn't care either way I thought I'd support Steven in his efforts to spur his sons boyish side and pick the manliest costume I could find. (Thanks Aunt Liz for Haley's Tutu)

The kids had a great time carving a pumpkin with Dad. This year each one got to design part of the face and Steven cut it out. Ryley designed the mouth, Kadyn the eyes, and Thatcher the nose. Haley was project manager.



We had fun making yummy treats for our family and the neighbors. The girls had tons of fun "booing" different houses around the neighborhood. That could very well be their favorite part of halloween this year.


Halloweens Of The Past
2004

2005

2006 - In Colorado. We were all so frozen that no one took a picture!

2007

Our church party was a lot of fun. Last year Steven and I joined the festivites and ended up winning best costumes. This year we were content to go as, "parents with a newborn, who now by the way is sleeping through the night, but the fact that we got all the kids dressed and out of the house before the party ended is a miracle"!




We spent Saturday running around the park and riding bikes. Ryley is featured here with her bike in particular because the next time you see her those training wheels will be a thing of the past. She is SO close to making that leap.


Here's Haley J. She's featured here because we are very biased and think she's a cutie.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Isn't this time of year fantastic. I love the leaves falling, the beautiful bright colors of orange, yellow and red, the 70 degree weather, and the feel of the cool breeze on your skin. I love baking fun treats, watching the sun set on long walks, and listening to the kids giggle as they run in the rain.

Alright, I realize the above sounds as though I'm submitting an add to the "singles" section of a newspaper, but seriously, it's the time of year when your reminded daily how truly beautiful this earth is and how very lucky we are to be here.

It's so fun to sit outside while the kids play for hours on end. I love watching them play kick the can with neighborhood friends or fly down the hill in front of our house on their big wheels. I'm taken back to my own childhood when my only worry was completing the sharp turn into our drive way on my smurf big wheel or making sure I headed in when the lamp post began to flicker on. I think back to those wonderful memories and pray each day that we can be tools in offering our own children similar experiences of discovery and nostalgic moments to look back on.

While parenting is not quiet as footloose and fancy free, I think the joy of these moments are as equal, as you now have the pleasure of becoming the "spectator" and watching your own children experience all the wonders of childhood. How awesome is that - I'm not sure it could get any better!

SNL and Financial Advice?

One of my friends posted the following on her blog and I thought it was hilarious! I haven't actually seen a SNL since about middle school, and maybe they have come along ways since then, however, I'm pretty sure it's not known for offering such amazing insight!

I can't find a way to mute the side music bar so you'll have to mute it prior to watching. Enjoy.

Family Farewells

The last of my help left this morning. I walked in the door after dropping my Mom at the airport and burst into tears. Steven sat me in his lap and reminded me that with each new child we just need a little more family organization. It's not that I'm not ready to juggle things on my own, I mean, we've done it for the last seven years and everything falls back into place and works well. It's that feeling you get though after returning from a relaxing vacation or starting back into your "normal" routine after Christmas break. You're excited to jump back into the swing of things but there's a sadness somehow about the previous experience being over.

The fact that my mother was an absolute angel, with her help being above and beyond anything we could have imagined (thanks Mom for coming) increased that sadness a bit beyond what my emotions were able to handle at the moment. After taking a few deep breaths however, I hopped up, fed Haley, got the kids situated next to me playing in the toy room and jumped on my Elliptical for a two mile run. Nothing like sweat and some good old fashion endorphins to put the world back in perspective again!

After playing with the kids, feeding them and tidying up a bit, I am now able to enjoy their quiet time with a short nap and a quick blog on our past few weeks. Hey, maybe I can do this!

We have had a wonderful time enjoying Haley J here in our home. We already can't imagine our family without her and continue to enjoy her little spirit each day. Ryley, Kadyn, and Thatch continue to love on her and watch over her. With Mom here we took the opportunity daily to enjoy the beautiful weather at our favorite parks and spent some quality time going to places that I'm not entirely sure I will be able to attempt in the next few months with all four kiddos. We were also lucky enough to have Mom and Dad Ballard come through to visit. We had a great time with them and were able to bless little Haley during that time. We feel grateful, even with our many distant moves, that Dad Ballard has been able to be in the blessing circle with Steven for three of our children (thanks Mom and Dad for coming). It was a special weekend and a wonderful way to complete these past few memorable weeks for our family.