Update

Here's what we've been up to the last few days:

Four out of six of us are sick! However, after taking Anna to the ER Tuesday night to see if she had meningitis, we're happy to have the flu.

President Gordon B. Hinckely, our Prophet, died last night. I'm so happy for him to be reunited with his wife and other family and friends. I can't believe he's gone; for so long he seemed to be unaffected by his old age. He kept having birthdays but never seemed to get older. I will always be grateful to him for his example of service, compassion, optimism and dedication to the Gospel. I will also always remember and be grateful for the challenge he issued a few years ago for each of us to read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover by the end of that year. That was truly a seminal experience for me and helped me have a deeper understanding of my Savior, Jesus Christ. We love President Hinckley!

Update

I'm a little behind. I've had a busy week backing into Josh and Eliza's new car and holding Brennan's hand through the anxiety of it all especially after finding out about our $1,000 deductible. I've had better weeks!

Before that though, we had a really nice visit from John and Jamie. They're not used to snow and fortunately they managed to get here and back between storms. They came bearing gifts that were a big hit with the kids. The boys got a little helicopter and airplane with a launcher. The girls each got a package of about 12 boxes of little craft projects to do. Grandma kindly helped them dig into a couple of projects. We mostly hung around here and enjoyed their company, but on Monday Jamie and I took the 3 big kids to "Enchanted" which we all loved! We're so grateful we got to have them for the weekend!

This morning was Abigail's birthday party and of course, my camera was dead when I tried to turn it on and evidently those were the last two we had, so much to my dismay -- no photos! We did the breakfast/pajama thing from 9:00 to 10:30 this morning. It turned out really cute. Thanks for the ideas! Everyone of the guests came so we had 10 invitees, plus all our kids and Chloe. I asked Anna and Chloe to be my party helpers and that was the best thing I EVER did.

While Brennan and I were cooking and serving the food Anna and Chloe (all on their own) asked each girl to stand up and tell everyone their name and what name they wish they had. Yeah, I never in a million years would have thought to ask that question, but the girls didn't hesitate and all of them had a ready answer. Brennan and I were in the kitchen DYING laughing, quietly, of course. "My name is Danielle, and I wish I had the name Kiarra." "My name is Meg, but I wish it was Princess Power." etc. It was hilarious. There were about three of them including Abby that were perfectly happy with their own names.

Anna also got all their attention at the beginning and said, "Okay, we have one rule here...You HAVE to have FUN!" Killed me.

Also during breakfast Brennan was keeping the girls entertained by his antics offering them hot sauce for their pancakes, or handing them a piece of bread when they asked for a pancake. The girls ate it up.

After we fed them, we had them each decorate a big T-shirt with fabric paint so they'll have a new night-shirt (thanks for the idea, Bobbi!). Then Abby opened gifts and then they all decorated a cupcake to take home. We played a Valentine's variation of fruit-basket for about 10 minutes before their parents' picked them up. It was really fun, they are a really cute, sweet group of girls -- I hope they stay that way!

This is what Anna thinks of the haircut I just gave her. Good times.

So You Think He Can Dance?

So Abby got home from ballet this afternoon and changed back into her clothes. Ben saw her dance costume and insisted I put it on him. With the outfit and the music, he couldn't resist working the dance floor. Here's some footage. Sorry it's so dark, but you can still get the general idea.

and...

Isn't he lovely?

Birthday Cake

My Mom gave me this fabulous book.

It's perfect for those like me who are domestically and artistically challenged.

This was the one I did for Abby

Happy Birthday, Abby!

Abigail Jo turns 7 today! Here are a couple of my favorite photos of her in her early years:

Sisters who couldn't be more different, but adore each other.
Abby and cute little Rex.

It's crazy that Abby is already 7 and yet even crazier that Abby has only been with us for 7 short years. I can't imagine life without her. I feel truly blessed to be her Mom. She is the kind of kid I can count on. Abby loves her family, she has a motherly affection and sense of responsibility towards her siblings that amazes me. She is delightfully funny, piercingly insightful and perceptive and just plain fun to be with. Abby is such an integral part of our family and adds such unity and love. We love her so much!

Baby Belle

Here are some pictures my Dad took of each of my kids with their new cousin Belle. Isn't she so cute?

Anna the affectionate.

Ben LOVES to hold Belle and is actually usually very soft with her, it's really cute.

I Love Brennan

Here's the thing about all good marriages...you love each other dearly and you drive each other absolutely crazy, but at the end of the day, or rather a few years into it, those things you try to change about each other that first year of marriage actually become endearing in time. One such thing about Brennan is he doesn't know there's such a thing as discretion and while I am by no means a tight-tongued Tammy, I do have a really strongly rooted-often misguided-Victorian-prudish-paranoid sense of propriety. Our two positions leave a great chasm between us and one that is often bridged by Brennan overlooking a great deal of censoring and vicarious apologies on my side and me overlooking the fact that Brennan processes information (and smells) verbally.

Today we were sitting in Church when I must admit we were assaulted with a terrible and terribly potent smell. Our brains registered the odor at precisely the same second. We looked at each other and in an urgent whisper (which was actually the volume level I would use when trying to get some one's attention across a crowded indoor swimming pool) across our four kids, Brennan said, "IS THAT BEN? GET HIM OUT OF HERE!" Before he finished I had managed to apprehend Benjamin and much to my relief cleared him of any bad smells. When I looked back at Brennan and communicated Ben's innocence I expected to see the relief on his face. Imagine my surprise when I saw his face take on a look of further annoyance as he said, "THEN WHO STINKS?" I watched in dream-like helplessness as he looked around the vicinity of chapel pews as if expecting someone to stand and own up to their indiscretion in the middle of Sacrament Meeting. I shot him a look of pleading for him to let it go, but he looked at me and said, "NO, THAT IS HORRIBLE, WHO DID THAT?!" The people in front of us were crying they were laughing so hard and when I noticed them I forgot that I was just about to explode with disbelief and horror and remembered that I actually love this about him. Brennan keeps it real and Brennan cuts right through the stink and in the end people are rarely offended by him, they only find him all the more love able because he isn't afraid to show his true crazy colors. I love Brennan.

Weekend Photos

This is Abby right before her special birthday date with my parents and my Grandma.

They took her to "Once Upon A Mattress" which she LOVED.

This girls' new doll they like to dress up.

The "doll" doesn't seem to mind. It's fun to see him with hair!

(Yes, that's our Christmas tree in the background, patiently waiting for someone to take it downstairs.)

From the Mouth of Ben

I've been meaning to record Benny's current vocabulary. He's 21 months and here are things he says:

Maaaam (mom)
Daaaad (dad)
Abba (Anna or Abby)
Deet (Nate, remember how Abby used to call Nate "baby Deet"?)
why (his favorite)
be-cuh (because)
watts (watch)
cheese
see
bye
hewoh (hello)
HI!
dink (drink)
eat (He loves to tell everyone to come and eat - "EAT, Abba! Eet, Deet, Eat, Dad!")
wubboo (love you)
NO!
MINE!
dock (dog)
wook (look)
Ni-Ni (night-night)
beep (binkie)
banka (blankie)
Tae-too (thank you, my personal favorite especially when he says, "Tae-too, Maaam.")
bees (kiss)
OW

He also often wanders around saying "Chck chck BOW BOW" (Chick-a-chick-a Bow Bow which Brennan walks around singing a lot) and "Hey Baa, Baa!" (Hey, batter batter which Nate loves to say), and "ya-ya-ya-ya POP!" (my kids say are you afraid of a lollipop? Then they put their finger in your face and move it around while saying "lolli-lolli-lolli-POP!" and then clap hoping desperately to startle you.)

Almost Every Day We Get Some of This...

Isn't it pretty? (Oh and just ignore my stupid date stamp, it's from today)

Our neighbors made this, pretty cool, huh?

And while I had the camera out I thought I'd take a little photo of our lovely front door that somebody ruined.

Here's a closer look, the paint is totally chipped and there are major dents. Sad, very sad.

In Good Company

I love being a mom and am so grateful I get to stay home with my kids; however, I will admit there are times I find it extremely hard and overwhelming. Right now, we happen to be in a really good phase. I miss the girls when they're at school and we all look forward to the energy and excitement that follows them through our door around 3:45 each day, but I have really been enjoying the company of the two little guys pictured above.

The last few days Nate has literally played for HOURS with his play dough at the kitchen table. He likes to be near where I am, but is content to entertain himself and patiently endures Benny's comings and goings. I love watching and listening to his imagination at work. He's been so happy and helpful and fun lately.

Benjamin does a lot of coming and going. He'll sit and play play dough for a little bit, enthusiastically mimicking Nate and chatting all the while. He'll explore for a little while and then come find me to check in which means me picking him up and hugging him so he can stroke my hair for a minute. His favorite thing to do is to pose for photos saying "CHEESE" and then the minute the picture is taken he yells, "SEE" until I show him the newest photo.

One of my favorite things to do is to watch him reason things out. The other day he came to me and insisted on a drink. I gave him a cup with a little bit of water and watched as he walked over to a new toy of Nate's that has a little container for water which a car jumps into. He carefully poured the water I gave him into the right place and proceeded to play. It was so interesting to me that instead of bringing the toy to me, he just figured out his own way to get what he needed.

I feel truly blessed to be able to enjoy the company of Brennan and each of our kids. Though we have our struggles, I can honestly say I wouldn't trade my life for anything!

Birthday Party Ideas

Help! Abby's 7th birthday is coming up fast and it's her year to have a friend birthday. What are some of the parties any of you have done that were a success?

Abbyisms

This child of ours keeps us laughing. I wanted to write down a couple of her most recent sayings while I still remember. The other day I came home from shopping and showed Abby a new package of underwear I had gotten for her. She was happy with her brand new underwear. Then I showed Anna a new dress I found on clearance for her. Anna immediately showed Abby in the other room which is where I heard Abby's voice saying, "You get a dress and I get underwear!" I guess I hadn't realized the disparity there. We all burst out laughing, including Abby, which is one of the reasons I love her.

The next day she came home very upset because Anna had told her friend in our carpool the above story and Connor, another child in our carpool, overheard. Connor is one of the boys Abby has a crush on so she was very embarrassed. I tried to downplay it and told her I was sure that Connor too had underwear and would totally understand. That didn't console her and she restated how upset she was because, "Connor is one of my favorite boys!"

This morning I pulled Abby's lunch bag out to find yesterday's garbage in it. "Abby, why didn't you throw this away at school?" "I don't know what happened, but there weren't any garbages, Mom." Anna piped up and said, "Maybe Ferrin was emptying all of them." Abby asked, "Who's Ferrin?" "The janitor." I answered. "Oh yeah," she said, and then in a perfect mimic of the school secretary's voice said, "Ferrin, please contact the office."

Maybe you had to be there, but all of them cracked us up. She's getting so funny and a lot of it is now intentional. We love Abby.

My Special Visitor

I went to bed last night feeling a little bit like my kids on Christmas Eve awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus. With the excitement of Christmas, we missed our customary appointment with a special visitor and for a whole week I anxiously waited his arrival this week so we could share some of our leftover Christmas cheer. We were literally overflowing in anticipation.

Last night we excitedly busied ourselves with preparations for his arrival this morning. I expected to hear him come an hour or so before I got up. I awoke disappointed when I discovered he still had not arrived. All day long I kept peeking out the window in hopes of seeing him turn down our street. I began to worry that something had happened, that for some reason we had mistaken his planned arrival or that he came and something wasn't right so he left prematurely. I felt distracted all day long and hampered in my ability to go about my routine.

Finally this afternoon as I left the house to pick up kids from school I saw that my dream had at last been realized! I felt a huge weight lifted off me and couldn't wait to come back home and get busy throwing things away. Thank you for coming, Mr. Waste Disposal Man!!!!!

Update

What is it about bathrooms that inspire music? How many people do you know that wouldn't be caught dead singing anywhere, but in the shower they can't help but wax operatic? Lately, Nate has caught the bathroom bug. The other day the girls overheard him singing an original number with lyrics going something like this: "All the good people, give me your powers!" Just today I caught him singing a little Broadway number from "Wicked". At the top of his voice he sang "...Although it's the toughest case I've yet to face, don't worry, I'm determined to succeed." It cracks me up.

Abby is dying to show her new room off and was asking me if she could invite a friend over who hadn't seen it yet. I suggested her current best friend. Abby said, "Well, she's kind of a handful, I'm hoping to invited someone over who isn't such a handful." Also, the other day we picked up the kids from my Mom's where they had gotten to decorate sugar cookies. They each had a plate full of their creations and as Abby buckled Nate's seatbelt, she apparently broke a piece of one of Nate's cookies. He scolded, "Abby! You broke the leg off my cookie!" Her motherly response was, "Nate, would you rather have a broken cookie or DIE!"

Anna has been keeping Abby and Nate and sometimes Ben busy with "School". She has had them practicing all kinds of academic things and assigns homework and everything. My favorite aspect of this school is that when any one of her pupils gets a little too wild they are sent to the "thinking chair" where they have to reflect on their bad behavior. The funniest part is that when sentenced to the "thinking chair" they go. I wish I had that power over them.

Anna has a friend over and when Ben saw her, he greeted her with his enthusiastic, "HI!." Then he said, "Watts (watch)" and ran and threw himself onto the couch. Nate's friend came earlier and Benjamin didn't feel the need to perform for him, but a pretty girl walks in and he's pulling every trick he can think of out of his hat. Crazy.

Festivities

We've had a wonderful Christmas season. Before Christmas we hustled and bustled with the girls' rooms and parties and shopping. We spent Christmas Eve with my parents at their house for a beautiful dinner. Dad read from Luke 2 and the kids opened their new pajamas and their gifts from each other. We went home and tucked the kids into bed (about 4 times, they were a little bit excited) and worked late into the night on the finishing touches of the girls' rooms and last minute wrapping, etc.

After the excitement of Christmas morning we relaxed for little bit. I took the most fabulous 2 hour nap. Davis came over and took the big kids to my parents and when I woke up Brennan, Ben and I joined them. Ryan and Macy, and Josh and Eliza, and Davis's girlfriend, Melissa were there and we had nice mellow afternoon playing games. Later that night, my Dad's Mom and his 6 siblings who live in town and their families came over. It was wonderful.

The day after Christmas we did a delightful NOTHING. The next day, Brennan and Davis took the kids sledding and had so much fun. We then went bowling with my Dad and Davis and then reconvened at Mom and Dad's for dinner and a very loud game of Bingo.

Friday night at around 10:00pm all of us (except Brennan who was here with sleeping kids) gathered at my parents' for more games and schmoozing until about 2:30am. Fun times.

Sunday we went back for dinner together marking the end of Davis' visit. We love having him.

Early evening we had a party with our kids, playing games and eating their chosen dinner of a potato bar. It's so much fun that they are getting old enough to play. We played "Old Maid", "Go Fish" and "Uno" while Benny crawled all over the table and stole our cards. They all seemed so grown up, it was really fun.

Later that evening we put the kids to bed and hosted a few of my cousins and their spouses and Josh and Eliza for a really fun New Year's Eve party. We played games and laughed hard. They are all some of my very favorite people.

Today is fairly low-key. Brennan and I have basically alternated taking naps all day. The 3 big kids each have a friend over and Benny is still in his jammies. I feel like part of the fun of the holidays and all the festivities is the contrasting fun of just staying home. We are so blessed that we have so many friends and family. We're anticipating Brennan's parents coming to stay as soon as the snow storms stop. Good times!