Post

I apologize for the lack of interesting posts this week. I have been considering going to posting only weekly or bi-weekly. Posting itself doesn't take up very much time at all, but reading and commenting on blogs seems to consume me sometimes. Sorry if I haven't been as good as a commentor lately. Don't take it personal!

We actually had snow and great weather all this week! Noah was fascinated with some hail we had one morning and he thought it was so funny how it bounced on the grass. Wade spent some time outside with the boys on Saturday doing some sidewalk chalk. After Wade traced Gage, Gage decided to draw all the bones in his body. I never knew I we had so many bones in our legs!

Wade of course, drew a large foot on our front sidewalk. He then tried to get us all to learn the names of all the bones. It didn't go over well.

Some other exciting (to me) news from this week is I got a gift card to Amazon.com. Since I've been re-reading Harrry Potter I thought I would finish our movie collection and get the other 3 that I needed. I got 3 movies under $20! Then I started thinking...... I don't have all the books, I have a few in paperback, and of course I had to buy the 7th, but I have always wanted a hardback collection but haven't wanted to spend the money on it. I started shopping on on Amazon and got the whole collection - with shipping for $31.41 Most of them were used library books, but have no markings and I even got all the library stickers off! Some don't even look like they have been opened! Yippie for frugal deals!

Noah

I love the age that Noah is at. They test their limits. Learn new things. They start saying words (mama, dada, dog, up, and ball are Noah's favorite). They don't know things that they do are wrong and so they no matter what they do, they think they are cute!



This morning Gage and Noah were playing trains as I was putting away laundry in my room. I heard giggling and what sounded like singing and dancing?! I found this.

Gage's Scripture

Gage got assigned to share scripture in Primary (the kid portion of our church). I made him a little poster of the scripture with pictures and he worked really hard learning and eventually memorizing this scripture. Today, he recited it from memory without help in front of the whole primary! We were so proud of him and he was so happy. He said he wasn't scared at all and can't wait until he gets to do it again.

(Easter and Nauvoo posts are below!)

Easter

We had a great Easter this year. Gage was a little sad that after we decorated the Easter eggs that we had to eat them instead of play with them. Since we woke up today to snow on the ground we had a small hunt in our living room. Gage had a very long wait on the stairs for one minute as Noah got a head start and then he zipped around the room. Noah, well, he was cute as always, I love the age he is at.






And of course, before church we set our timer and took our family Easter picture that we do each year. I think Wade looks the best.

Nauvoo

We enjoyed a fast but fun trip to Nauvoo, Illinois this past weekend. We were able to go with our friends the Hibshmans. It was cold but nice to get away for an overnight trip. Here are some of the highlights:

Last but not least, we stopped in Williamsburg, Iowa for dinner on our way home - you have to click and enlarge this picture. It's the best picture of our whole trip - check out who is driving!

Easter

Gage has become quite the photographer. He likes to take color picture now every day, but this morning we were a little busy to post them. I love the old camera keeping him busy. After avoiding people and staying inside all week, we now are fighting yet ANOTHER ear infection, this time Gage. Our kids have been more sick this winter than any other time in their lives.

Nevertheless, we are still attempting our mini overnight trip. We are leaving in a few hours to visit Nauvoo, Illinois. It'sone of our Church historical sites and hopefully we will have some opportunities to reflect on our Savior as Easter approaches this weekend.

I love Easter. Not the bunnies, the candy or the gifts (We don't do any of these for our kids - they get real died Easter eggs Sunday morning and maybe some candy but that's it). I love spending time reflecting on the gift our Savior Jesus Christ has given us. I love the joy it brings me knowing He has risen! Words cannot describe how wonderful this makes me feel. Hope, Joy, Peace. Below is my favorite Easter hymn.

Happy Easter!

Brown

Today Gage picked brown. Not a color I would choose, but I'm not the one taking the pictures. I think he really only wanted to take pictures of his trains and his brown eyes and hair because after that he walked into the closet, shut the door and took pictures of the inside of his closet, which of course are all black since I turn the flash off, but maybe thought the camera was magic?


He told me he was done after 2o pictures and wanted to play with his play dough so he could, in his words, "make his mommy and daddy because I like you" and how can you argue with that?

Happy Brown Day!

swap

One of my best friends Heather is doing a spring swap! I am a slacker at posting this and the deadline is today, so hurry, check it out and sign up!

Click HERE

Blue

Gage found so many blue things to take pictures of this morning. (Yes - he takes all these pictures himself and no, I don't help or point things out. I usually use the time he is doing this to get ready.)



Hope everyone is enjoying their spring break. We've been sick and have't left the house since Saturday, which is fine because we don't a spring break - I guess it was about time that we joined the real world!

Happy Blue Day!

Purple

Gage woke up very excited today because it was "PURPLE DAY!" he kept telling us. I didn't know what I was starting yesterday, but it will be a good color activity to do each day this week! I thought purple would be hard for him to find - our house is lacking in the pink and purple category but he managed to find a few great items. He also remembered that he had colored a purple page in his workbook a few days ago.

Happy Purple Day!

Green

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I gave Gage my old camera and the assignment to take pictures of all the green he could see this morning. These are his findings:

For some reason he is really sad that there isn't a special purple day. His favorite colors right now are green and purple for Percy and Lady his current favorite trains. Maybe I'll have to let him do a color a day this week.

Eight and Twenty

Today.

No fancy post. I was born twenty eight years ago today. I don't feel completely grown up. Maybe the next ten years will bring that on.

Bike

We are the meanest (cheapest?!) parents in the world. Gage wanted a new bike for his birthday but he also wanted a new train. So on his birthday we told him he could choose one or the other. He found a set of three new train engines at the store and came home with that, but since we knew he would want a new bike as soon as the weather turned nice, we told him if he wanted a bike later that he would have to pay for it himself.



Today, Gage paid for his own bike. The cashier thought we were strange making him pay for it himself, but oh well. Gage is happy and we only had pay one dollar!

Round 3

5 prayers a day that Gage says for his brother Noah (morning, breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime).
4 trips to the Dr. office.
3 the number of antibiotics we are now on.
2 times a day everyone in our family has to pretend to take the crazy medicine so Noah will fall into peer pressure and take the bad tasting stuff himself.
1 little Noah and 1 mommy who would love it if all ears in our house felt better and never were red again!

My Reading Spot

February must have been my book blaw month, I started over 3 books didn’t finish any of them. Thanks to my friend Kim, who recommended the memoir Truth and Beauty, I was finally able to pull myself out of this winter reading rut and finish a book. I also decided to reread Harry Potter. I have a few other books that I will read on the side but I am pretty safe and happy that Harry, Hermione and Ron will keep me busy for a little while. Also – without further adieu, after almost a month and a half I have finally given my book blog some attention and added a few new additions. Happy Reading!

Outside!

The last two days have finally brought warmer temperatures. We were all so happy to enjoy some time outdoors this week. After staying inside all weekend so Noah could finally feel better (his ear was still bothering him) and we went to the Dr. AGAIN on Monday for it , it was nice that I could let them play outside and get muddy and run!



It just makes you happy when you have those perfect temperature days when you can roll down the windows in the car. On the way to the grocery story yesterday I had the windows down and Gage told me “Mom, I like the wind in my head!”

Using twigs for boats:

Gage playing hopscotch:

Debbi playing hopscotch (photo curtesy of Gage!)

Bubbles

One hyper boy after chuch
One bubble blower machine
One ball toy (to project the bubbles higher into the air)
Some really funny photo's

Post

Sorry for the lack on interesting posts and pictures this week. Monday I decided to clean out our filing cabinet in preparations for our move in May and it took me two days. I then realized that cleaning out and de-junking our whole house might take me longer than I realized. We've been staying inside from some normal activities this week so I can work on this stuff. It's coming along slowly. I feel like it's taking forever but it all has to be done before May 17th!

I always love reading tags and this is one of my favorite, so here is my post for today!

20 Years ago:
I was living in Bruce, Mississippi and very excited for my 8th birthday so I could be baptized as a member of my Church. I was in Mrs. Mason's 2nd grade class. I loved to play outside and never stopped talking. My best friends were Beth Burnett and Dena Mason who lived in my neighborhood. My little brother was also my best friend because he was always there to play with me.

10 Years Ago:
I was a senior at Warren High School in Warren, Arkansas. I was captain of the cheerleaders and editor of the newspaper and co-editor of the yearbook. Spring was a big deal for the journalism staff so we could hurry and get everything ready. I went on some fun school trips my senior year, Little Rock a couple times for different clubs. My best friends were Annslie Larance, Heather Chapman and Dena Thompson. Dena and I hung out all the time and doubled a lot with our boyfriends. I started college classes a week after graduation at the University of Arkansas at Monticello which was twenty minutes from my house. I loved life - who doesn't at age 18?

5 Years Ago:
In 2003 we had been married for 3 years. We were living in the student married housing at the University of Utah and while the apartment drove us crazy, the friends we made there were the BEST we will ever have. I had graduated from the U the year before and was working full time as a marketing and public relations specialist at Sport Court, Inc. I put together public relation kits and got to do fun things like write promotion letters for NBA players, write and submit magazine articles (which some got published!), help organize and put together our annual convention and plan fun events. One of my favorite things we did was a grand opening to our new outdoor area and we invited the "neighborhood" one Saturday. We had radio shows and 1000+ people show up for fun and games. Wade was in school applying and interviewing for dental schools and we weren't pregnant with Gage yet. We were placed on some alternate lists for school and felt for sure we would be getting in. We went on a vacation to Vegas that year and did some fun trips camping and four wheeling.

3 Years Ago:
2005 was a difficult year for us, at least the first half. It's usually not one I love to talk about. Wade had graduated from the U of U and I was staying at home with Gage. He was getting a little better with his colic but still pretty fussy. We moved out of student housing and into a basement apartment that Wade's brother owned. Wade was trying to find a job and not having great luck. We had applied again to dental school and not heard good news. We had looked at podiatry school for the past few years and finally decided to throw in a few applications. We didn't think much of it, but in July we got the news that Wade had got in DMU and would be needing to start classes in 5 weeks. The move was a whirl wind move, but it was a fun. We have been very blessed with our plan B. WE learned that Heavenly Father really knows what He is doing he hears and answers our prayers, just sometimes in different ways then we think are possible.

1 Year Ago:
Wade was finishing up his second year of podiatry school. We had our last spring break and went on a trip to my parents in Washington state. I stayed at home with little Gage and Noah who was such a tiny good little baby! Gage wasn't potty trained. I was reading something I am sure. I was also blogging. We have been very blessed since we have been here that I have always been able to stay at home and Wade has done well in school. Hard work and faith always pays off.

So Far this year:
I have no idea where the time has gone! January was so cold we just tried to think of things to do indoors. February was cold too and I have tried to learn to not leave the house every day. Wade and Gage have had their birthdays and mine is next week. Noah is getting better from his seizure episode but is now cutting 2 molars and 2 other teeth. I try not to freak out each time he feels warm. I wonder when spring will come and when we will ever be able to go out side again!

Yesterday:
Thursday. Got up at 5:40 so I could work out with my neighbor Julie. We ran some errands early in the morning and I had the intentions to clean the bathrooms. I never got them done so they are on my list for today. I fixed my friend Anne-Marie's hair for her fancy law school dinner and then watched her two kids so they could have a fun date. We watched American Idol and I was surprised that Asia'h went home.

Today:
Tried to get Gage and Noah to sleep longer this morning since they had been up late last night but it didn't work too well. We played at home this morning and I chatted on the phone with my friend Kim about 4th year podiatry school stuff. We met at the U and her husband is attending the podiatry school in FL now. We can't wait to live by her next year for a few months! We went to ride the Easter train at the mall with some friends and had a little play date. We all took naps - me too. I still need to clean the bathrooms and start making dinner. Noah is pretty grumpy over his teeth so we'll see how it all plays out.

Tomorrow:
Wade will play basketball in the morning and then study. I like to deep clean the house on Friday or Saturday and so it looks like that will happen tomorrow.

This year:
Move - a lot, UT, NM, WA. Try to keep everyone happy although we will be away from our favorite person, Daddy (Wade) for 2 or 3 months. Blog less, read more, be a better mom.

Listening Good News Wednesday

Listening. Who thought it could be such a hard thing? I'm not just talking about my kids not listening either. Sometimes I have a hard time with it, really slowing down, paying attention and listening to what people are telling me and why they are saying what they are saying. Sometimes you need to listen to what people aren't saying. I am a talker, I talk, talk, talk. It takes a lot for me to work on listening, but I do it. I try to work on being a good listener every day.

The real reason I've been thinking about posting this isn't because of Gage. We work on listening (see below) but other people in your day to day life. When we were in the ER with Noah we tried to tell the nurse practitioner (not the Dr., since apparently, I thought we saw one, but Wade said we NEVER did) that Gage had an ear infection during January and he had to have two different antibiotics to get rid of it. Wade is in medical school and while he isn't a Dr. yet, either was this person we were dealing with, and Wade knows a thing or two about antibiotics and how they work, how Dr's prescribe them, and he isn't dumb. He tired to get this NP to listen to him and prescribe Noah the different antibiotic that had eventually helped Gage. This week I had to take Noah back in because his ears never got better. He was starting to get fevers again at night and this wasn't going to work for me. His regular pediatrician listened and said that yes, the infection Gage had probably is the same that Noah had and he should have had this drug first. People in everyday life all need to slow down and listen to each other. Wouldn't we all be happier if this happened?


Kids and listening is a whole other blog post. Gage and I work on this every day. I try really hard to listen to him when he has something he wants to share with me so he can learn that people listen to him, but in return he also has to learning not to interrupt when others are talking. This is a hard one for him. Every day is a battle with him listening to me. We work on it constantly. Some days are great and some days - well, that's my good news....

It's good news that people produce funny commercials like this one that help make me laugh about being a mom.




Happy Wednesday. I hope you are having a good week!

Monday Moments

I was able to sneak out of helping in our church's nursery yesterday for an hour and attended Relief Society (a women's organization and class). The lesson really inspired me to come home and do some thinking and pondering of my own. I am not perfect, far from it, and I want to become a better person. This week I am going to write down who I want to become and how I can work on becoming this person each day. Short and simple goals.

I am not sure I want to share the entire list on my blog - most of it will very personal items I need to work on. The person I want to become is spiritual, patient, kind, loving, genuine, just to name a few. One thing that I can do to achieve most things on my list is to work on is the quality of scripture study time, not the quantity. I am in the habit of reading my scriptures every day, but sometimes the quality lacks.

I thought I would also share the link to a great talk that we discussed yesterday in our lesson. I Will Strengthen Thee; I Will Help Thee, by sister Barbara Thompson. She is a social worker and also a leader in our church. I love her advice about families.


Happy Monday! (we woke up to 4 inches of snow and ice!)

Gage's Birthday

Saturday morning we had a little birthday party for Gage. We kept it small this year told Gage he could only invite a few friends. (I always worry we will offend people by not inviting everyone, but it's not like that, I promise!) His first and second year parties were huge and I quickly learned the "no more friends than double their age" rule tends to work the best for me when planning and throwing a party. It ended up that this year they were all girls - he's such a ladies man! This was also our first year to do a big kid party where the parents could drop their kids off.

We had lots of Thomas games including: driving trains on his train table, pin the number on Thomas (pin the tail on the donkey), Thomas, Thomas, Percy (duck, duck, goose), and Thomas says (Simon says).

Since the party was happening around lunch time I had asked Gage what he would want to eat with his cake. He really thought that sausage and cake would be a GREAT idea. So I decided and convinced Gage that hot dogs, grapes and cake might be a better choice.

It was such nice weather yetserday and after a nap (YES, a nap even on his birthday) we all headed outside to play in the melting snow. He had such a fun time spashing around. We finished the perfect fourth birthday with a trip to Ol'McDonalds (the one with a playplace) and the train store (Toys'R'Us) so he could pick out a new train.

Happy Birthday Gage

Monday, March 1,2004 at 9:30 pm, my little Gage Oliver was born. He was 6 pounds 15 ounces and was 20 inches long. 6 short hours earlier I had been induced because my blood pressure was high. It was a pretty easy labor, I only pushed 20 minutes. He came out screaming and everyone in the room joked about how loud he was.

Gage loves to play trains, he loves science and spelling. Sometimes grocery shopping takes a long time because we have to pause and let him spell the names of all the packages in the isles. He is a sensitive little boy who loves to cuddle.

He still takes naps (I know everyone apparently thinks I'm crazy for this) but he needs them. Plus I believe he is making up for his colicky sleep deprived first year. He still loves to carry around (the house only) and sleep with his blanket which he has named "C".

He loves to eat - when it's food he loves-his favorite is sausage! His favorite color is blue. He loves to play games on the computer, his favorite is SuperWhy.

He became a big brother in November of 2006 and he is such a great one! He loves playing and wrestling with Noah. They share a room and it's so fun to hear them talk to each other and play each night after we put them to bed. He is always kind enough to pass a few toys to Noah each night when they are supposed to be asleep!

His favorite music is country (I wonder where he gets that from) and he can sing Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney songs!

He is a joker and loves to make us laugh. He is such a mini-Wade in every way!

Happy Birthday to my big boy Gage! I can't believe he is 4!