Happy Easter

Yesterday was a wonderful day. It started off with the children hunting for their hidden Easter baskets. Only Camie cried when she couldn't find hers, but the others joined in and helped her find it and she ended up saying that was the best trick the Easter bunny had ever played.

The previous day we hunted for eggs at a nearby park. The eggs were hidden very well and all the kids had fun searching for the eggs. Thanks for the invite, Cindy!

Sunday morning, after finding the Easter baskets, we dyed Easter eggs. Maybe not an appropriate sabbath activity, but we hadn't gotten a chance to do it with the cruise and family in town, so we seized the opportunity. And the dyed fingers matched the Easter dresses perfectly!

And the girls had new Easter dresses and shoes. I had to get a picture, of course. Camie did not want her picture taken, and it was time to leave for church. I decided to take the pictures anyways. I do not pretend to have perfect children nor am I a prefect parent. And, this picture shows that well. A true behind-the-scene picture.

What I really liked about Sunday was I was able to teach sharing time in Primary. I only had to teach once, instead of both hours, so it was pretty relaxed. I prepared a special sharing time about the Resurrection of the Savior. I love to teach because I always learn so much and it also makes me take the time to study a subject, as was the case this time. And I especially love teaching children because they listen so well (usually, even if they don't act like they are listening) and learn so much and their responses are always so classic. Easter is a wonderful holiday and I love the celebration of the Resurrection of the Savior. I am so grateful for Jesus Christ who was willing to give his life so we can repent and return to live with our Father in Heaven. I love that we can be reunited with our perfect bodies and live again. An amazing gift the Savior gave to each of us.

The day was finished at Troy and Becky's house for dessert. Becky made homemade Angel Food Cake and it was so yummy. I am so blessed with an amazing family. I have five wonderful children and a great husband who works so hard to provide for us. I am so blessed to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I love being mother and a wife. I am grateful to the Savior for all He did for me and for the example He set for me to follow. I have been blessed!

Life on the Fun Ship

I will be splitting up the posts of the cruise so I can write more and show more pictures. I plan to make this blog into book which will work as a journal, so please bear with me as I share more details then you ever cared to know.

My dad and mom.

The trip started out, well kinda funny. On our way out of town to catch the cruise ship, we had to get gas. Evan wanted me to break some bills with a coke, but the clerk at the station wouldn't do it. Evan and I somehow miscommunicated (imagine that) and drove off without paying for our gas. After we were a few minutes down the road we had to turn around and pay for the theft of gas. I was so embarrassed to tell the clerk what I had done. I was hoping this wasn't a sign to our trip.

The reason for the trip was to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. Everyday one of us decorated her bedroom door. We had cake served to her the night of her birthday and we all sang to her in the dining room. Bonnie got her a tiara and a lit-up 60th birthday pin for her shirt. I think she enjoyed her birthday and I think we should celebrate her next birthday the same way!

I just thought this picture of my parents was so funny.

We made it to the cruise ship on time. All 15 of us. There was excitement in the air. We boarded to ship and immediately headed for the buffet. MMMMMM! At 6pm was dinner and I happily ate again. I brought Nathan with me because I am still nursing. With his food allergies, I really haven't started him on much baby food, so he nurses a lot. What this does for me is makes my appetite VERY big. Not just a little big. I can probably out-eat just about anyone. And, I think I probably out-ate everyone in my group. I still fit into all my clothes at the end, so I think it was okay.

On the ship we had fun. Everything revolved around food. We started out with breakfast, ice cream in the buffet, lunch, ice cream and plates piled with fries again in the buffet, dinner, and back to the buffet for more ice cream. We took some really great pictures of how high we could pile the plates of fries (that we devoured in 10 minutes time) and also pictures of how high we could get the ice cream in the bowl, and then devour all of that too.

My favorite breakfast meal was the bagel with smoke salmon and cream cheese. My favorite dinner was salmon. I tried the lamb and, well, yah, it is not anything I hope to ever try again. I had lobster for the first time and it was okay. The steak was great. I really like the cold fruit soups they had. But my all-time-favorite was the warm chocolate melting cake. I had it every night for desert and it is one I miss already. I am glad I don't have the recipe because I could not control my crave for that one.

My family doesn't really bask in the sun. I had melanoma on my back a few years ago and have also had cancer on my nose, so I really need to stay out of the sun. My family's skin is a lot like mine, so we all pretty much avoid the sun. And, we don't drink or gamble, so that was out as well. We spent a lot of our time, aside from eating, visiting. We had a great time together. I haven't spent time like that with my brothers and sisters since I lived at home. Being in the wide open ocean gave us undivided time to really visit with one another. I have some pretty great brothers and sisters who are married to some really great people. I really just enjoyed being with them.

I didn't go to a lot of the shows because I had to stay with Nathan. Plus, I didn't have the opportunity to nap like everyone else because of baby-in-tow, so I went to bed earlier then the others. I was glad I didn't leave Nathan behind, but I was limited. And for those of you who know Evan very well, he goes to bed pretty early. When Nathan wakes up he wants his momma and try hard as he can, Evan just doesn't cut it for him. Anyways, one of the nights I stayed up, I went to karaoke with the rest of my family. Evan stayed behind with Nathan (who screamed the whole time). I got up the nerve and sang God Blessed Texas to huge crowd. It is one thing to sing it to a crowd of people who you will never see again, but 12 of the people in the crowd were ones I will be spending eternity with! I got up on the stage and danced and sang my heart out! And, I had so much fun! I want to do it again. It was such a thrill! I'm sure I made an absolute fool of myself, but I sure had fun doing it.

Formal night was also fun. I loved getting dressed up. My neighbor gave me a tux that fit Nathan, so he was all decked out. I can't believe the attention Nathan caught the entire cruise. He REALLY caught attention being in the tux. And, the few days following as I was walking throughout the ship, I kept having people comment, "was that the baby wearing the tux?" It was fun.

As I write this, I want to go back! I want to get back together with family and just visit and laugh (okay, and eat). Of course the thought of leaving my children again would keep me from going anytime soon, so I'm glad I have good memories. One of my brothers was not able to go, last week was finals for him and his wife is due to have a baby in a few more weeks. Eric, regardless of how much fun we had, you were missed. We would have loved to see you karaoke and also match Charles in a mustard eating contest.

With a group as big as ours, someone was bound to be offended or mad at some time. And, Evan played his part. He didn't mean to offend, but you be the judge as to whether or not he should have said it. I really think men are from Mars and women are from Venus. Evan still doesn't see what he said was wrong. But, to my sister-in-law he said, "hey, have you been fake-baking?" She looked tan and beautiful. Her expression stated she was not at all happy with Evan's comment. But to my sister-in-law, I am sorry, we are still working on manners!

top: Dan, Michael, Rob

Dad, Bonnie, Mom, Stephenie

Dorias, and Charles

missing: Eric (maybe we should photoshop him in)

Charles (brother) and Bonnie (sister) . No, they are not a couple and were very adamant about letting everyone know. But, they were both there single (Bonnie's husband couldn't come), so we put them together.

Mark and Dorias

Rob and Beth

Dan and Tonia

Michael and Karen

The whole group

Evan with his favorite toy

fun pictures

I have so many more pictures, but this blog would never stop if I was to share even a small portion of them.

And a HUGE THANKS to my sister-in-law Becky (on Evan's side) who took all four of my children so I could go play. She is quite the woman taking my four along with her three for five full days. THANK YOU!

We're home

We returned home yesterday from the 5 day cruise to Progresso and Cozumel. We had such a fun time. We missed the kiddos a lot, but we were busy enjoying the food, service, scenery, and company on the cruise. I was excited to see them. I have a story about that for another time. I still have company in town and loads of laundry and unpacking to do, so I will save the stories for later, but I wanted to post some pictures. More will come later.

And a side note. Nathan did NOT like the sand. I wanted to get a gorgeous picture of him on the beach, but he wouldn't stop crying as long as he was touching the sand or the water!

A Mouse in the House?

I was in the middle of making supper. I was interrupted with something (probably the baby) and had to stop for about a minute. When I returned to grating the cheese, I found the block of cheese no longer on the plate with all these small bites taken. The guilty party? Spencer. The boy loves anything dairy, especially cheese. Maybe I should have gotten after him for putting his "germs" or not so clean hands on our perfectly good block of cheese (a mother's children cannot have germs, right?), but at the moment I thought it was just cute. Such small bite marks for a cute little two-year-old!

Happy 60th Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday, Mom! Today is my mom's 60th birthday. And, we are on a cruise to the western Caribbean in celebration of her birthday. There are 15 of us total, my mom, dad, and 7 of the 8 children (Eric couldn't come because of finals and a new baby in a few weeks, we miss you!) and 5 spouses. I brought little Nathan with me.

Church Pictures

I don't know why I love the pictures that my children draw that look like this. They all do it. I love how they start including details such as fingers, but they really emphasize the small details. And the pictures they draw just get better and more in proportion and the innocence slowly fades away into really great, mature drawings. I could just take these kinds of pictures and look at them for days with a smile on my face. I love the preschool drawing stage.

This is a picture Danielle brought home from church on Sunday. She explained that it is a drawing of Jesus getting baptized with a heart by her name. I asked who was baptizing Jesus, and it opened up a great opportunity to teach her that it was John the Baptist. I so appreciate all the wonderful people at church who volunteer their time to be teachers to the children. My children love their primary classes at church and learn so much.

And, I finally convinced Danielle that she needed to spell her name with the "e" at the end. Cute girl!

Parenting 101

The other day I was leaning across Nathan into the backseat of my minivan to buckle Spencer who was sitting crooked in his car seat so I could not get the buckles together (sorry for the run-on sentence, but it gets the point across of the frustration building). We had had a VERY long day on the go and I was still calm but getting impatient. I tried wiggling Spencer straight so I could buckle him and he kept squirming so I couldn't.

I look him straight in the eyes and exasperatedly said, "stop it!"

He looked right back at me and said, "no, you stop it!"

Usually at that moment I take privileges away, time out, etc. He should not talk to me that way. If he talks to me like that at age 2, what will it be like as a teenager (yes, I hear it all the time about just wait until you have teenagers)? But something hit me. This time was different. I had a reality check.

He said the exact same thing that I said to him in the exact same tone. It was an exact repeat of what I had just said.

And thus the title of this post. Parenting 101. This is what I learned from that moment: Our children mimic us. They copy us. They REALLY watch us. And, if we want to be treated with respect, we must show them HOW to treat with respect.

He did what I did.

I'm still amazed how much my children teach me about me.

The honesty of a child

A recent conversation with Taneal that happened while I was doing my hair:

Taneal: "Mom, when I grow up, I think I'm going to be real careful about how I look."

me: "Aren't you already pretty careful?"

Taneal: "Yah, but I'm going to make sure I stay careful."

I thought for a minute where she was going with this.

Me: "Do you not think I'm careful of how I look?"

Taneal: "Not, really."

Ouch! And to think I get dressed (and I must add something other then workout clothes) and put my makeup on everyday. I guess it is just one of those stages we must go through as we become true mothers. I remember thinking the same thing about my mom. Sorry mom!

Family Pictures

I finally rounded up my family (which was no small task) and had our pictures taken. I was supposed to have this done way before Christmas (to send out with the Christmas cards that never happened, the first time in 13 years!), but with Evan being gone until the end of November, that didn't work. Then with Christmas, illnesses, etc, it was put off even longer. We had them taken a few weeks ago and I got the results back. Ginger (the photographer) did a great job. I only posted a few of them, I'll wait to post the individuals as I write something up about each child. All of the pictures are great. I love Ginger's pictures. Enjoy!

And I still can't believe I have 5 children! I look at these pictures in awe that they are all mine! They are all so wonderful and so different and special and I love them so much. And I have such a terrific husband that works so hard to provide for us. Each day he comes home from work with his wonderful, dimply grin. I don't give him enough credit for the greatness he brings into our home. It is wonderful to have him home each day and to watch him interact with each of our children who get so excited to share with him stories from their day. I am so blessed to share all this with the man I fell in love with 14 years ago.

Infant Torticollis Update

I had Nathan's follow-up appointment for the Infant Torticollis. And for those of you who are not familiar with what this is, here is a definition:

“…a condition which affects the sternocleidomastoid muscle which connects the base of the skull to the collar bone. This muscle is the main muscle that is used to move the head from side to side. In an infant with Torticollis, the muscle is shorter on the side that the head is tilted to. With treatment, the muscle will grow and stretch; but if left untreated the condition may cause a permanent limitation of the infant's neck movement. If action is not taken, the infant's head may flatten on one side and the face may become mis-formed.”

The doctor was great. I was warned by friends that if I took him to the doctor it was a for sure helmet, which I did not want (unless it really needed). Two pediatricians agreed Nathan needed to see a specialist, so I went ahead and booked the appointment. The first appointment with the Cranial Facial Plastic Surgeon was the beginning of February. The doctor told me I needed to do neck stretches at every diaper change and ALOT of tummy time. Of course Nathan did not like this at all. When I went to stretch his neck, he fought it and made it harder to bend. I thought we were going backwards, not improving at all. I kept it up, I did not want him to have to wear a helmet.

At the appointment, the first thing the doctor did was ask me my opinion of how I thought his head looked. I really truly think his head looks so much better and it really isn't that bad. Evan thinks it still looks pretty flat and lopsided. So, that is what I told the doctor. He said that Nathan has a very mild case of Infant Torticollis, that it has improved so much since last time. He felt Nathan's soft spots, had Nathan turn his head. He then said "If it was my grandson . . . " I gave him a minute to finish his sentence and of course he didn't so I prodded him "That is the opinion I am after." So, he continued that if it was his grandson, he wouldn't do anything! Whew! He then said we could do the helmet if Evan really wants to, but it isn't necessary. And, Nathan's head will continue to improve as long as I continue the neck stretches and try my best to keep him off the back of his head. I can do that.

So I think we are good. I was very pleased that we don't need a helmet. Now I just need to figure out his food allergies and wheezing and then we are good to go.

What's for dinner

I got a great idea from my sister-in-law. I was looking at her blog and saw she had another blog with multiple contributors all devoted to recipes. I am in such a rut right now when it comes to dinner ideas. I could really use some help. So, I decided to copy the idea and start a blog where up to 100 people can put their recipes on the blog for anyone to view. I sent out an email earlier inviting people to become an author to the blog. I would love to share recipes that are tried and true and yummy. So, if you haven't already and would like to be a contributor to this blog, let me know and I will add you.

The blog is called What's For Dinner. Check it out.

Alligator Park

For Spring Break I took the children to an Alligator park. You walk along pathways that gators cross and are right there in the water. It sounded pretty scary, but my friend that I went with, assured me it was safe. I felt safe, but looking back at the pictures, I wonder if I should have felt that way. It was a lot of fun and the kids absolutely loved it.

Read the sign. And we took our kids there?

Spencer (above) is checking out the momma alligator and her 11 babies as shown in the picture below.

The babies are kind of camouflaged, they have yellow stripes.

Taneal, Camie, and Spencer are standing on the sore near the mom and babies. You can barely see the mom between Taneal and Camie's elbows.

Check out that snapper!

This alligator is sliding into the water.

And Spencer doing what little boys do best.

Right before we took this picture Taneal noticed a HUGE snake by their feet in the grass. We thought it was dead at first and then it slowly slithered away into the water. I took a picture of it and asked the ranger to identify it. It was a water snake but not poisonous.

Everyone that wanted was able to pet the real baby alligator held by the ranger.