Thursday, December 31, 2009

Why do children have to die?

Please say a prayer for Leah's mom and dad. They lost her today to a horrible disease, EB. She was just a baby and doing so well after surgery yesterday! (If you want more info go to the Williams Family blog down on my side bar.)

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

It's official

We are the worst parents in the world. Tonight we made the decision to limit the amount of time the boys get on the computer by setting hour limits on the computer itself. OH. MY. GOSH. You would think we just gave away Trace's favorite pet! He was nearly hysterical and sobbed for over an hour. Then he asked us to return all his gift cards for online games since he'll never be able to play them again. And he just got all his friends playing and now he can't even send them notes to tell them he can't play anymore. (Apparently telephones don't work for communicating anymore.) Holy cow! The world is coming to an end. We are horrible! I do feel badly that he is so upset, but it really just convinces me that we are making the right decision. It has gotten to the point that they rush out of bed in the morning and go straight to the computer then get upset at us for making them get off it to eat and get dressed two hours later! They can't wait to get home from anywhere we go just so they can play on the computer. I know I have helped perpetuate the problem though. When they are on the computer = they aren't fighting = more peaceful for me. I guess a lot of changes will be happening around here!

Oh! And I'm voluntarily having Rick set time limits for myself: 7-8 am (so I can check news) and 7-10 pm (which is mostly after the kids are in bed). I expect to go through some major withdrawl but I'll bet this house stays a lot cleaner and I have more time for the kids! Hopefully the boys (Trace especially) will start to see the benefits of not staring at a screen all the time!


Snow Days

We promised the boys a trip into the mountains to go sledding over Christmas Vacation. So yesterday was the day! Everything but the kitchen sink was loaded and we finally hit the road around 9:30 in the morning. We arrived to find about a foot of snow that was apparently a few days old. It was rather icy and bumpy with lots of grass tufts and yearling trees poking through. That doesn't bother kids who've been waiting anxiously to go sledding though! So off they went bumping down the hill time after time. It felt a bit like sledding down moguls to me but it only added to the fun for them!
We spent a few hours, had some lunch and built a fire before everyone was cold and ready to head for home. Unbeknownst to us, we didn't leave a minute too soon. Back home, a rare Northwest snow was beginning to fall. And fall. By the time we reached the metro area the freeways were starting to bottleneck (within an hour they would be at a standstill with some closing completely.)

We arrived at Rick's parent's house as his mom's gathering was ending with several women now stranded. So, Rick played Suburban taxi driver and escorted a few safely home. He then ventured downtown to pick up his sister and nephew and bring them back home. What normally would have taken about an hour took him nearly three! You'd think we were native Californians the way people around here panic at the site of snow! To be fair though, it was pretty slick and if a hill was involved then there was bound to be cars piling up at the bottom.

Paige stayed with grandparents while we were gone all day and was asleep during much of the snow. Once she was fully awake though, she started to get excited about catching snow on her tongue. So we took her out for a few minutes and she loved it! Unlike the boys, she didn't have any snow gear though.

All in all it turned out to be a fun day. The irony though was that we had better sledding here at home than up in the mountains! Who knew? (Apparently the weather men didn't!) Now I'm off to find Paige some boots and send her out before it all melts...

Sunday, December 27, 2009

finally a decent family photo!

We took this on Christmas Eve and I've been "playing" with it in photo editing since yesterday. Please point out anything that looks obviously "off." I won't mind! I've just been looking at it for so long that I'm starting to see things that no one else will probably ever notice and, conversly, I'm probably missing the obvious! All in all it's not too bad though.
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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Thursday, December 17, 2009

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...


I loved this! He is playing with an ornament that was on my tree every year as a child. I used to love to turn the little boy and ring the bell too. It's fun to watch life circle around.

I couldn't get a picture to do this justice! The boys did pretty good with arranging ornaments all over but Paige stuck with one spot and preferred the tips of the branches! You could definitely tell where where she had decorated!


Today was Paige's first ever Christmas program! We talked a lot last night about whether she was going to sing for us. The verdict? NO. According to Paige she only sings when she is sitting on the floor, "not up on that stage thing." So I asked if she would at least smile and despite telling me she would you can see in the picture that didn't exactly happen. I can't believe how tiny she is next to the other girls! To be fair, I think the one in red might be 5.
We were a little late for school this morning because I really wanted to make her hair look extra cute. I think I succeeded and it really wasn't that hard to do.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Not Me Monday

I amnot laying on the couch with my Nativity on the coffee table burried under books, medicines, Christmas cards (because those would be in the mail), more medicines and a few dishes. Especially since I've been yelling at nicely asking my kids for a week now to quite putting crap their precious things on the Nativity. Nope. Not me. I also would not have Christmas lights literally hanging off the Christmas tree while I lay on said couch. And of course all the laundry is done so my kids most definitely will NOT be wearing dirty clothes to school tomorrow! I'd never allow that around here (I'd at least check for stains).

What a weekend!

Well, we had big plans for a genuine Currier and Ives day on Sunday that all went to "h" "e" double hockey sticks in a hand basket! The rain and freezing temperatures during the night left us iced in and unable to head safely into the mountains. So mid morning we loaded three very disappointed kids into the car and headed over to a family member's tree farm. Despite their disappointment over not going into the mountains for tree hunting and sledding they did seem to have a good time and we now have a beautiful tree!

Later, after Rick had to go to work, the kids and I loaded up and headed to a friends for our annual gingerbread housemaking. Unfortunately a little medical issue I'd been having was suddenly getting worse. After a call to the 24 hour nurse line I decided to go to urgent care. There, the doctor took a 5 second look and informed me I needed immediate "surgery." Something that could be done in the office and something she was very experienced at. Lets just say that several hours and lots of tears later I was finally home. It was a long evening!

However, I do have to say that God had a hand in all that transpired. Had it not been for the ice we would not have gone to the friends for gingerbread houses. That friend happened to live near the after hours clinic where this particular doctor (who had a special interest and lots of experience with this) was working. Where an exceptionally empathetic nurse was on duty. And finally it was all in close proximity to the only 24 hour pharmacy in town! Not fun, but I am very thankful for all the details that fell into place the way they did.

The "official" tree lot greeter! Don't know the kitty's name but it followed us everywhere we went the whole time we were there! The kids loved it.



Thursday, December 03, 2009

What have we been up to?????

I'm sorry if you were thinking that maybe I'd given up blogging! A lot has been going on over the last two weeks. The week before Thanksgiving I had a job interview! Since I'd applied months ago it was quite a surprise. I found out the Monday of Thanksgiving week that I had the job and started the Monday after Thanksgiving (this week). Whew! It is a strange feeling to go from not working for over 11 years to suddenly having a job! I know it is going to be a really good feeling though when I'm able to help pay off the visa card that Christmas is going on! God really is good.
We also all had dental appointments during which we discovered that Paige had a cavity. I was definitely bummed since none of my kids have had any cavities up til now. But it also worries me a little to know that she has several pre-cavity spots on her teeth. We brush them just like the boys! I've been concerned for a long time though about her teeth knowing that she probably had no prenatal care and likely very low nutrients in general both before and after birth. Apparently there is little we will be able to do to combat that! I'm pretty sure this won't be the last but I'll be darned if it's gonna be my fault!!! So today was the big day to have it filled. She did WONDERFUL! The dentist said she was better than a lot of adults he sees. I don't think she moved a muscle or flinched the entire time. It was a much quicker process than I remember too!
Waiting for the numbing cream to work she got to do a puzzle.

I just love how tiny she is in that great big chair!

Once she was numb this was the best smile she could manage!
After Thanksgiving I suddenly got a wild hair and decided to paint our powder room. As if there isn't enough to do this time of year! I just couldn't take the dark red paint and pink lights another day. Don't get me wrong, I like the dark red paint - but NOT in a tiny powder room with pink lights! The bathroom is now a very light greenish color (celery?) with white lights and a cute little outhouse border that I bought several years ago and kept waiting to use! I'm quite happy with the new look.

So that is a little of what we've been up to around here. Of course you have to add in Caden's basketball and Trace's unicycle to make a more complete picture of the chaos! If I'm not checking in often enough for you the next few weeks just let me know.