Holiday Happenings '12

December has brought much joy and laughter thus far, and we haven't even made it to the presents! The kids decorated our family tree with the yearly ornaments they each receive. Steven goes through them one by one and tells the reason for each ornament and the sweet story of the year they joined our family. It really makes decorating the tree a memorable evening. We have made LOTS of yummy treats both to share and enjoy, and have experienced hours of outdoor fun thanks to the amazing weather that NC has offered us. Kadyn was able to play her violin in a musical fireside held by our church, which stemmed the opportunity for our family to join a few others in putting on an evening of music for a couple of rest homes in the area. Those experiences have definitely been our favorite of the season thus far. With Christmas fast approaching we welcome the opportunity - not only to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ - but to continue celebrating throughout the year that He lives, He loves us, and He's watching over you and me.

Dog Days of '12

Raxtus has definitely been one of thee best purchases we have ever made. He fits our family like a glove and adapts to our daily routine and mood amazingly. If it's time to play and get crazy, he's in. If it's time to snuggle and watch a movie, he's in. He is a great dog and we are lucky to have had him join us this year. We hope you enjoy the many faces of Raxtus.

 On his way to training.

Supporting me during workouts.

 Supporting the kiddos during nap time.

 Being a good friend.

 Being a good snuggler.

 Being a good sport.

 Being a great snuggler.

 Being a great sport.

 Enjoying outside.

 Enjoying inside.

 Protecting his bear.

 Snuggling his bear.

Thanksgiving Week '12

Our Thanksgiving dinner this year was a little different from most. Steven had found that Costco (at least on the East Coast) offers a full service Thanksgiving dinner delivered to your front door for an extremely reasonable price. Having spent the past 12 Thanksgivings with our usual traditions of cooking up a storm, we decided to give it a try and spend our "extra" time baking new treats and enjoying the kiddos even more. It was a fantastic weekend with delicious food, easy clean up, and wonderful memories. With 70 degree temperatures we enjoyed a ton of activities together, including Ryley and Kadyn loving an amazing day at horse camp. Each year when our Thanksgiving break comes to an end we are inevitably bummed. We have enjoyed a long weekend of wonderful family time, and with that, have been reminded of how lucky we are to have one another. It truly makes us ten times more excited for the Christmas holidays to begin, knowing that instead of enjoying a long holiday weekend, we will soon get to enjoy a few holiday weeks!

 

IHOP Memories of '96

In my post below I referred to the frequent comments and questions I receive about my age and youthful looks. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. When I was seventeen, about to graduate from high school and head for college, I went to IHOP one evening with my Mom and Dad. We were placed in a booth and a few minutes later the waitress appeared next to me holding a balloon and circus pass for kids twelve and under. I sat there not really understanding the situation. My Dad immediately jumped in, thanked her for her thoughtfulness, then gently mentioned that I was seventeen and a senior in high school. She turned red, apologized, then quickly disappeared for a bit. I remember my Dad laughing, then looked me straight in the eye and said, "Don't worry. One day you will be grateful for it."
In addition to general comments about my age (which really only happens due to the five "little ducklings" behind me) I've had some pretty funny experiences as well. The following two happened at church. With our frequent moves, we are of course new (and unknown) to each congregation of that area. I was recently asked to give the opening prayer in Sacrament. When the meeting ended I was immediately approached by a Mom. I hadn't yet had the opportunity to meet her, but I did know her cute daughter since I'd substituted their Sunday school class on a few occasions. The Mom began to laugh and recounted her story. I had walked up to give the opening prayer and she glanced toward the pulpit at me, then leaned over to her daughter and said, "How nice. In all my years I have never seen them ask one of the Young Women to offer the opening prayer in Sacrament! They must be starting this new." Her daughter (who knew me) began to laugh and said, "Mom, that's not a youth! That's my teacher!" A few years back in Memphis, a Mother and her teenaged daughter approached me in giggles. The Mom said she had been pointing me out to her daughter for weeks now. Each Sunday, she would see me gathering children, packing up the quiet bag, and corralling numerous youngsters out of the chapel. Each week she had pointed me out to her daughter and said, "Look at her, look at that nice young women. She helps her Mom out every single Sunday! That's a lot of little siblings too! What an example of a great youth" Finally, the young girl began to notice that while there was a very helpful "youth" assisting the family, there was never an actual Mom around. Where was she? They decided to ask the bishop, who nicely explained that I (the exemplary young women) was indeed the Mom.
While my many experiences have been mostly comical, they have also frequently made me think back on my Dad's comment. To be very honest, it truly doesn't matter to me. In my mind, I'm not young or old looking, I'm just Lynette. The real reason that I truly love this memory is for the way it immediately transports me back to that cold evening in 1996. Each time I receive a "youthful" comment, I'm suddenly sitting in that booth and listening to my Dad's laughter and parental advice, and with ten years since his passing, that's a pretty special gift to be left with.

Ryley Turns Eleven

Our eldest turned 11 years old last week. To be honest, it's difficult for me to believe that Steven and I can even have an eleven year old child. Apparently, it's difficult for most everyone I pass in a grocery store as well, because comments like, "You've got your hands full", are inevitably followed by, "Girl, just how old are you?", or my personal favorite, "Are you their nanny?" Luckily, I'm not the nanny. I happen to be the proud Momma of these five amazing kiddos, the first of which made her appearance after 13 hours of labor and weighed in at 8lbs. 5oz. She cried for the following three weeks! (another story for another time) Our first night in the hospital was spent with Steven attempting various rocking and bouncing methods, all of which failed miserable. After hours of numerous attempts he looked at me and said, "I just wish I knew why she is all riled up?" We stopped, smiled at one another, and immediately knew that our first little angel would be a perfect "Ryley". She is a fantastic daughter, an amazing sister, and is growing up (to quickly) into a wonderful young lady. We love her smarts (thanks Dad), her humor (thanks Mom), and her true talent of loving and accepting everyone no matter what. She knows who she is, and thus, when comments are made as she wears Capri's with her favorite pair of boots her response would be, "No biggie. I'm comfy, I'm happy, let's go play"!  Happy Birthday Ryley! We love you tons kid!

Ballard Babies CAN Dance

Dance parties are VERY common in the Ballard household. Steven usually picks songs from our generation, but Ryley and Kadyn announced to us recently that neither of them knew even ONE of the songs that the kids at school sing or listened to. We decided to compromise this past weekend and play a few of each. Here are the younger gals performing in their usual fashion.

October Happenings '12

Our Fall fun has included numerous parties at church, with friends, and on base. We made and devoured a number of yummy treats, enjoyed our first bonfire of the season with new friends, and of course, the kids made out like bandits on both occasions of the Trunk or Treat and Halloween night. Speaking of Halloween, our new neighborhood was a shocking surprise to us as it came ALIVE Wednesday evening with parents and children filling the streets to enjoy the lovely weather and Halloween fun. We've never lived in a neighborhood so excited to celebrate this sugar filled night. It was awesome.