Oh, to be King!

I don't know which he likes better, the new dump truck, or all the attention from his big sisters!

Elk Steak

I have been trying to be a little better about following the word of wisdom....not the drinking part, but the meat part. To only eat sparingly and in times of famine and winter. So I've been trying not to base my meals around the meat. I'm not very good at it, and sometimes I wonder what The Babe thinks about my plan, because he is a meat eater. But I think we can be a lot healthier if we do it.
Anyway, for the past several weeks, my arms have been aching really bad. Some days I can barely lift them from my sides without a great aching pain. At first I attributed the pain to Zumba. I just figured I was getting a really good arm workout. But after a weekend of no Zumba I figured it couldn't be that because they had plenty of time to heal. So my next theory was I was going to have a heart attack and this was just the beginning. But, with weeks passing and nothing more than aching arms and shoulders, I decided it wasn't a heart attack....it had to be bone cancer! (Thank you Anita Stansfield!) Well, a few days ago a friend of The Babe's gave us half of an elk. So The Babe cut it all up and was so proud because he cut just the way I like it...really thin. He was trying to convince me that it was really good and that I would really like it. It had been in a cooler for 2 weeks and apparently that really makes it tender and less gamey. Elk can be really iffy you know. I have had a few very good elk and I have had a lot of really nasty elk so I was a little hesitant. Finally he convinced me to try it. Why not, if I didn't like the first bite, surely he would be happy and eat it all, Right! Well, I'm afraid he was disappointed because I actually really liked it! In fact I ate most of it, he only got 2 pieces so he cooked up another package. When he only got 2 or 3 pieces of that package, he cooked up another! That's right I ate the majority of THREE packages of elk steaks! The Babe just sat there and stared at me with his mouth hanging open. He said that is the first time in his life I have ever eaten more meat than him! It was seriously crazy, but it seriously tasted so good! And guess what? My arms don't ache at all anymore. I think I was just severely lacking protein in my diet! Crazy huh! Good thing it's winter so I can justify it! (wink wink)

My Crazy Life in a Nut Shell...

Where to start...
Well, About 2 months ago, I'm not really sure if it was 2 months, but it feels like it, my dryer quit working. So my gracious neighbor has been allowing me to haul my wet laundry over to her house and dry my laundry there. It has been a pain in the neck, and probably more so for her. But she never complains, Thanks Shawna. Well, I have been nagging The Babe to get it taken care of for weeks. I think its a simple fix, but I'm trying to be a complete hag and nag him to death. I keep hoping he will just realize that it's making my life really crazy and get the job done. (May take more nagging, I'm not sure that will ever happen, unless he reads my blog!) Anyway. On with the story. About three weeks ago, again, it could be longer, I'm just not sure. I got home from Zumba, and I had a very sweaty article of clothing that I just decided to toss in the sink and get it washed so it would be dry for morning. So I did just that, then scrambled to get dressed. I couldn't find any shirts and I knew there would be one in the laundry room so I went to get it. When I got in the laundry room I realized that I had a load of clothes in the washer, so I pulled them out and hung them up to dry (because my dryer doesn't work!) Then I went and finished the dishes and started the dish washer. My kids got out of bed so I put them all back in bed and sang them a song. Then I sat down to talk to The Babe....when I suddenly realized I left the water running in the bathroom sink!!! I ran in there, but I was exceedingly too late! Water was pouring over the sink and the countertop. The floor had at least 2 inches covering the entire floor. I pulled open the cabinet drawers, yep, 3-4 inches of water in each one except the bottom one! Under the sink was completely drenched as well. I had to throw away 1/2 of my femine things and they are NOT CHEAP! That really made me mad. It took forever to clean up and I had to use all the towels I just got folded and put away to soak up all the water. So of course I put all the towels back in the washer to get them washed. But then I went to bed. I didn't care if I had to run them again in the morning because I was extremely tired! So the next morning I went in and started the washer again, just so they wouldn't be sour. I went back in a while later and guess what, my washer was leaking water all over the floor! Yep, more water! So fun! I called my mom in tears. It's been pretty stressful. And that was my last straw. It's Christmas, how am I ever going to come up with a washer and a dryer? Anyway, things have been ok for a couple weeks. Shawna, Marie, and Mom have been so kind and gracious to help me out with my laundry! My dear Daddy-0 found me a washer from my awesome cousin Jake who is a hero to give it up, but it won't stop raining and who wants to travel with a washer in this kind of weather? Oh well. Some day it has to stop! Well, yesterday I got dressed and walked into my living room and it smelled like gas so bad. I was trying to get everyone ready for church because The Babe had to go to meet someone to pick up half of an elk. I turned off our heater and called him. He called our neighbor and he came over to check it out. The kitchen and living room smelled so bad I opened up the doors while I was trying to get everyone dressed. We decided it was best to leave so we packed up what we needed for church and headed to the neighbors to fininsh getting ready. I really wanted to go the Christmas program so we finished getting ready and I called Dad to come and take us over. I was so sure that my house was going to explode and I would have nothing to come home to, but I just kept a prayer in my heart that my house would still be standing when I got home. It turns out there was a gas can in the garage that got turned over and leaked gas all over the floor. Luckily it wasn't any worse than that! I've been truely blessed. It has been one of my craziest, most stressful Holiday Seasons Ever. But I have seen the Hand of the Lord in my life. I know He is blessing me and my family. I love my Savior Jesus Christ, and I am so grateful this time of year to celebrate His birth and His life! I hope we all remember HE is the REASON for the Season!
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Addie's Christmas Program

Yesterday was Addie Mae's Kindergarten Christmas Program. She has been looking forward to it all week. She practiced her songs and poems and she was ready! I must admit there is a great sense of pride when you get to watch your kids perform! Of course she was the cutest one there! Porter was excited to see his Aee up on stage. He loves her so much. Whenever he gets in trouble he runs to Aee to get a hug and feel better.
I recorded her performance, but I missed one or two songs because my card ran out of memory space. I was confused about the reason because I have a pretty big card and should be able to take a lot of pictures. But when I got home and downloaded my card, I found the reason. Leighna loves to "borrow" my camera and take pictures around the house. She has taken pictures of every single Christmas decoration in our house. All the Nativity sets....individual pieces, the snowflakes, the snowmen, the tin cans, everything! There is a picture of every single one! And, a picture of each of her ponies...AGAIN! It's pretty funny. No wonder why I ran out of memory space!
Anyway, Addie did a great job in her program. I wish I could get it to download so I can post it. It seems to work for everyone else, but I can't figure it out. So if anyone has any tips, don't be afraid to share! :-)

MERRY CHRISTMAS
(just in case I don't make it back to blogging before then. I plan too, but you know how it goes. I'm trying to be better though!)

My Little Ponies

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I had a great time with my family!

The day after Thanksgiving we had our Bishop Family Christmas party. It was Grandpa's 81st birthday, so what a great day to celebrate! For this party we always do white elephant gifts. It can be pretty scary...you never know what your going to end up with. Anyway Adelah and Leighna are so pleased with their gifts! Adelah got a set of play dishes. I think she has washed them 3 or 4 times already! Leighna got a whole bag full of My Little Ponies! She has been on cloud nine! She and Addie both love them! Even Porter has had a good time playing with the ponies. And by the way, I can't call them horses, they are ponies.
Tonight they took them over to show Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma looked in the bag and exclaimed, "OH! My little ponies!" To which Leighna replied, "No, they're mine." Grandma tried to explain that they are called My Little Ponies, but every time she said, "My little Ponies", Leighna would say, "No, they are mine!" Grandpa asked if he could play with a My Little Pony, and Leighna said, "No! They are my ponies." It was pretty cute! Currently the girls are having a photo shoot with the ponies. So, if you are reading my blog, and you brought the My Little Ponies or the play dishes to the family Christmas Party, Thank You! My kids love them!

Don't worry, I have an individual picture of each one of them also! :-)

Things I don't want to forget...

Buggie climbed up on the counter the other day and proudly announced, "I want to have lots of tids when I det married! I'm dinna have 5 in my tummy todether."

Tonight she informed us that she doesn't want to det married betause she wants to be our sid forever!

Last week after church, we were in the car driving home, and Addie asked, "Daddy, do you drink drugs?" He said, "No!" She said, "Yes you do cause you drink Coke and it has caffeine and Mommy says that's a drug." Then Leighna pipes up from the very back seat, "Yeeees, you do!" Dad was finally busted and not by Mom! Allies, sweet allies!

Addie's school had a book fair last week. All of her friends would come home from school and show off their new treasures. But one of our neighbor friends had the grandest of all book fair treasures....a diary. So Addie came to me and said, "Mom, I want to get a diarrhea from the book fair." I said, "what?" She said, "my friend has a diarrhea and I want to get one too."

I am still laughing over that one. And she is still calling it a diarrhea so I laugh harder! So funny!

As a first time Kindergarten mom I have learned a very valuable lesson....BOOK FAIR'S ARE RIP OFFS! And I'm a sucker. Those big blue eyes pleading for a diarrhea, how could I pass that up? So I paid a whopping ten bucks for a little note book that I could get anywhere else for a dollar or two. I was pretty discouraged about that, but next year I'll know better and I won't promise a book from the book fair, I will just promise a book that I can afford!

I have joined a group of neighbors in a sort of babysitting co-op. So 3 nights a month The Babe and I get a hot date without having to worry about a babysitter, but one night a month, I am the babysitter! So last night was my first time being the babysitter of about 15 kids! It was exciting let me tell ya! It actually wasn't too different from a usual day at my house, because I usually have half the neighborhood over here a good portion of the day anyway, it was just a few different kids. Anyway, one of the little boys came up to me in the middle of the battle, and said, "hey, do ya like my haircut?" I glanced over at him and said, "Yes, I do. It's very handsome." And then turned my attention elsewhere. About five minutes later, he came in with one of the little girls and said, "hey, do you like her haircut?" Realization suddenly struck that he did not get a haircut earlier that day, but he had just gotten a haircut! I said, "Oh, no! Did you cut her hair?" And as proud as could be, he said, "Uh Huh!"

AHHHHH!!!! I think my house is cursed for kids cutting hair. Sure enough lying on the floor in the bathroom was a handful of red hair! I was pretty embarrassed to tell their parents, but I'm sure this is only the first of many adventures in the future! :-)

P.S.

I was just reviewing my last post, and in my defense to prove that I'm not a totally lame mom, I am starting new traditions on my children's birthday's. I want to do something special for them on their special day, so I'm trying to get creative and have a fun tradition for each of them. So starting with Porter (since his is the first birthday we have come upon since my new resolution), for his new birthday tradition we are going to have dinner by candle light since it's very close to Halloween and candle lit dinners can be a little bit spooky. This year....being the first year of this tradition, the scare came as we were blowing out the candles. The Babe decided to pass the candle closer to Porter so he could blow it out and instead of grabbing the candle itself, he grabbed the candle holder and passed it, the candle tipped over right onto Porter! It was really lucky his clothes didn't catch on fire! The Babe and I were a little spooked by that, but all in all it was actually a pretty fun little tradition. The kids have begged for candle light dinners ever since! Yeah for us!

See I'm a good parent after all! :-)

Port's Second Birthday

Because I'm a lame mother who was suffering from a very bad toothache, Port didn't get a birthday cake. I had good intentions. I was even going to make it on Sunday instead, but on Sunday I realized I didn't have any oil for the cake and no ingredients for frosting and after Halloween, I didn't think he needed any more sugar. Still, he should have had a cake. Maybe I will make him one this week just to calm my conscience. Good thing he is two and didn't really know the difference. We gave him a power tool set! He loved it. He's been 'fixing' things all over the house! Grandma and Grandpa gave him a little people farm. Which he LOVES! Everytime I start picking up the pieces to put it away he gets mad at me and pulls them all back out. Uncle Nick and Aunt Sil gave him boom boom (a nerf gun) which I'm afraid someone is going to loose an eye with. Aunt Rie and Uncle Ben gave him a big ball which he loves to throw back and forth over the counter. So Thanks everyone for making his birthday a happy one!

Last night Grandpa and Grandma took Port to dinner all by himself. When they got home, Porter was beaming! He came right over to me and said, "bike!" He had a motorcycle that they bought him while they were out! He was so excited about that bike! He told me a few days ago, "Mom, Iwannabike." But I thought he wanted a real bike. :-) He and Grandma Baker could have some good times on a motorcycle!

Porter is such a Mommy's boy. I love it (most of the time)! I'm so grateful to have him in my family. Before he was born I had a few Priesthood blessings and in each one of them I was told that this Spirit was so anxious to be a part of our family. I'm so glad he's here and we get to enjoy his fun personality! I love you Porter!

My Little Man

Port's birthday is coming up on Friday...

In anticipation I thought I would share some of my favorite moments with Port...

Just to share a few!

Goodbye Summer....

...until next year!

Happy Birthday Adelah

I woke up this morning and realized I haven't done Adelah's Birthday post...shame on me!

New Baby Brings Joy, New Life

I woke up this morning thinking the world was the same as it has been for the last 28 years. Chaos, apathy, struggle and heartache surely were waiting to greet me as I trudged into my kitchen to prepare for the day.

And then I saw it. The portentous blinking of my answering machine. Blink, blink, blink, it said. Would it be a creditor? A telemarketer? No, the call had come in close to midnight. Was it bad news? Did I dare listen?

I dared, and the world, so wrapped in chaos and sadness, at once became awash in beauty, peace, love and hope. It was my good friend Jon, voice shaky from the long day, pronouncing that he and his darling wife, Trina, were now the parents of a true miracle, their daughter Adelah.

As I listened, the past three years of struggle and loss it took to get this little girl here washed over me. I thought of the many prayers prayed in her behalf, the hopes hanging by threads with each crushing disappointment. As he closed his message, Jon expressed his love and baby Adelah let out a cry. And so did I.

So, Addie, I dedicate this column to you and pass on a little insight into this world in which we live, a world you've made better just by being here.

Struggle. There's no way around it. I guarantee there will be times in your life when things get hard. I guarantee there will be times when you won't feel able to meet the challenge. But I can say with a surety that you will meet it, and you will beat it! Just remember you never have to face any challenge alone. Whether it's a broken heart or soggy brussel sprouts, just give me a call and I'll be there by your side.

Boys. These strange creatures won't be on your radar screen for awhile, but when they do enter into your world view, be prepared for a bit of confusion. They're rowdy, undisciplined, dirty and wonderfully exciting all at the same time. One day, you might even want to marry one. (I recommend a younger man who will be in about six weeks and whose mom already has the wedding announcements ready to print, wink, wink).

Parents. Let me just say, you were born to the best. There was never a better pair, if you ask me. Sure, the day will come when your dad will embarrass you to the point that you never want to leave your house again. The day will come when your mom will put her foot down about a certain unacceptable behavior or piece of clothing, and you'll slam your bedroom door in the best teenage fashion. But you'll always know, deep down, how incredibly blessed you are to have them.

A few final thoughts. In the Hundred Acre Woods of life, it's best to look at things as Tigger, rather than Eeyore. Dark chocolate, though an acquired taste, can be an incredibly rewarding passion. Remember, if your mother's genes win out, there's no shame in being short. And try not to let the blond jokes get to you.

It's your world, Addie. Get out there and shine!

(written by Sarah Wilson Clark, The Mother Load, published in the Spectrum September 29, 2004)

Six years ago the sweetest, most precious little spirit was laid in my arms! It was one of the greatest moments of my life and a day I will never forget!

And shine she does! I'm so proud of you Adelah! You are such a sweet girl and always so helpful! I'm grateful to have you in my life. You have changed my world, and I'm so grateful you have! I love you so much!

You are my sunshine!

Two Peas in a Pod

Best of Friends
love playing dress-up
love to giggle
love to play...anything
love movies
love each other!

"'cause wook at her, hers smilin at me!" ~Leighna

Call Me Crazy

I've decided I'm going to potty train Porter. Last week he refused to wear a diaper and went and got the girls' underwear so he could wear them. I decided that he probably needed some manly boy underwear of his own before we got started, so we went to Wal-Mart and got him some Vroom underwear. He was so proud of them he put on a pair, took them off, put on another pair, took them off, and then put on another pair. Then he walked right over to the bookcase, struck a pose, and exclaimed, "CHEE!" So how could I resist!

My dad boughts some cowboy boots for Wyatt, but we forgot to drop them off in Cedar. Port found them though and I had to laugh when he came in sportin' this outfit!
So if anyone has any great advice on potty training, I'll take it. I confess it's the worst thing about being a mother (in my mind). But something we must do. So if you have any suggestions, please leave a comment!

All Aboard

Tonight's Menu:
Yummy Potatoes. AKA Funeral Potatoes.
Banana Squash.

Porter and Leighna scarfed theirs down. They loved it! Leighna had 3 helpings, which was awesome because lately I can't find anything that my kids will eat. Addie ate the squash, but she struggled with the potatoes, but she told the Babe that if he fed her, she would eat it. So The Babe, in all his clever witty-ness, was making some pretty funny comments as the potatoes flew around Addies head on her fork.
"One small step for man....one giant leap for hash browns."
"Four score and seven years ago, these hash browns entered our freezer!"
"These are funeral potatoes, but no body's dead."
"Entering the cave of mysteries."
The kids would laugh and giggle after every comment. Even Porter, he had no idea what we were talking about, but when the girls laughed, he laughed. After several goofy comments, Leighna pipes up and says, "Hey dad, watch this." She made a big swoosh with her fork and then just before it got to her mouth she yells, "ALL ABOARD!" It was so cute. We all cracked up!
I think she may have her father's witt!

The Highlights

My family got together for our annual cabin retreat. We had such a great time together. Sarah got a new camera for her birthday, so I guess we must have used her camera a lot because most of my pictures are of us working together to cut up some firewood and restack it.
I'm not quite sure what Sarah was up to in this one... just being goofy, like usual! Ha ha!
Katie brought Sarah's B-day gift up to the cabin....It was 3 goldfish. She didn't really know what to think about that. She kept saying, "what am I supposed to do with them." Luckily she didn't have to worry about that for too long because all three fish were dead after 2 days!!!

The best part about this picture is that Kevin wasn't posing! He was just walking past me!!! It was so funny!

My mom showing us all up by working so hard.....again!

Port...doing his fair share!

I love watching my dad work!

Port.....using his resources!

Mandy with Sarah in tow....forced motivation!

This is my nephew Landon.

The firepit at the cabin is at least 2 feet deep. We enjoyed sitting around the fire so much, that by the time we left those 2 feet were completely filled with ashes.

Brett...I think he needs a girlfriend....anybody know anyone????? :-)

Our Family Picture....just so you know we are not balanced, The Babe had to hold himself up...I just want to make sure you know that!

Jon and Ruth...EWWW

Cowgirl Mom! This is actually the awesomest horse I have ever seen! It's awesome! I fall off everytime, because I over rock! But it's totally fun!

At the end of the day....Uncle Craig's Cabin is one of our favorite places! We love to go relax and have a great time spending time together! It was awesome!

THANK YOU UNCLE CRAIG AND AUNT MARYLOU! WE LOVE YOU!

Hopeless Romantic

The other night I was lying in bed next to my sweet hubby. We were watching Letters to Juliet. The song that I have had on my blog for a few weeks now, started playing at the beginning of the movie. I told The Babe how much I love this song. I told him if we could go back ten years, I would make this our wedding song. (if your volume is turned off, you may want to turn it up or you won't know what song I'm talking about!!) The Babe so tenderly leaned over to me and said, "then we will just make it "our song". I was so touched. Silly stuff like that just doesn't matter to a guy. But My Babe is such a hopeless romantic!
And I love him for it!

My Newest Nephew

Meet Philip Kade Carlile.

They are going to call him Kade. But Philip is after my dad. That's pretty cool! He's so tiny and cute almost exactly the same size Leighna was. 7 lbs. 11 oz. 19 3/4 in. He has the longest fingernails I've ever seen on a baby!

He looks just like his big brother Wyatt, except with hair! He's cute. And Heidi is doing well!

When we got to the hospital, Mandy and Kevin greeted us. After a few how ya doin's Mandy asked who cut Porter's hair. I said I did. Then I looked a little closer and exclaimed I did NOT!!! I told the girls they needed to clean their room before we left so apparently while cleaning their room, Addie decided 'Porter's bangs looked funny' so she proceeded to fix them! She also trimmed one of her stuffed animals! I think I need to shave all of their heads, then maybe they will learn their lesson about cutting hair! What am I going to do????

If wishes were fishes

I wish my back yard were finished....I mean, weed free, vines growing so thick on the back fence that you can't see through it, flowers planted by the fence, the side fence up, a cherry tree planted, another fruit tree (I haven't decided what kind yet), and a sand box and playhouse for the children. Oh, and a rocking bench on the back porch for me! I dream about it. I stare out my windows for hours pretending that thinking about pulling the weeds will make them disappear.
I lazily lounged around the house this morning trying not to move too much because I hurt so much from Zumba last night. The kids went out in the back yard to shuck corn (it's their favorite job). So I went to the window to watch them! Much to my surprise, some kids doing community service were outside pulling my weeds! (on the other side of the fence) I've been meaning to go pull them for a week or two, but haven't done it yet. I'm so glad I waited, because now I don't have too! Yeah! I tried to keep myself concealed since I hadn't combed my hair or put a brazier on, but I stood by the screen door so I could keep an eye and ear on my kids. Addie came to the door and smiled and said, "Mom, one of those boys said hi to me." Then she batted her eyes!!!!! WHAT!!! That girl! She's going to be a handful when she gets older. I heard one of the boys whisper something and then, "she's standing by the door." Dang it, they could see me! Then I just felt stupid, but still I couldn't go out. Then I got a phone call, as I answered the guy said, "she's on the phone." It was kind of creeping me out that they were watching me. Finally I put on my brazier and pulled my hair into a pony tail and went to the door. I told them thanks for doing all my dirty work. They laughed and asked if I wanted them to leave the grape-vine! So I guess they were just trying to get my attention to ask me a question, but what kind of question is that??? Do you want us to rip out the grape-vine you've been trying to grow for 3 years?!! Silly boys. It did inspire me to go pull some more weeds out of my back yard. I am inspired, I just need the motivation to go an do! I keep telling myself it will cool off soon and then it will be easier. That's just a lie to make myself not feel bad for not doing it now!

Saying Goodbye

The summer has come to a close. I guess not weather wise, but summer vacation has come to an end. Everybody is back in school. It's really different to have to send Add to school everyday. She is loving it though. Sunday was Kate's last day with us. We are going to miss having her around. Addie was particularly upset about the whole situation. She got up Sunday morning and asked if it was Sunday. I said yes. She said, "I hate this day." I asked her why and she said, "'Cause it's the day Katie leaves us." She was right. She cried all morning while getting ready for church and Katie wasn't even there, she was at work. When Kate got back from work, she packed up her things and we helped her load up her car. Then Addie became hysterical again! She cried and cried and clung to Katie and wouldn't let her go. Kate cried, I cried, and Addie was beside herself. Addie told Kate she hated her principal because he was making her leave us. We kept trying to tell her Kate would be back for the weekends and we would still see her, but it was no comfort to her.

Kate was trying desperately to make Addie feel better and comfort her. Finally she said, "Addie you are my best friend." Then Leighna in all her glory said, "Oh, shut up and go!" I guess she was done with all the blubbering. No sentiment, that child!

Thanks for staying with us Kate! We loved having you!

I'll take care of those sticky fingers!