STUNNED

Ok- Nathan and the kids DID have a little party for me last night. Complete with Soy Ice Cream. It was lovely. And then they gave my my presents......

Nikon D40X BABY!!!

More to come later, I just HAD to let you know......

My VERY Happy Birthday

Usually I think I am a year older than I really am for some reason. My darling sister Sunny was nice enough to hi-light 33 things she loves about me, which makes me feel younger. Love her! My older sister Nikki, who is a perfectionist unfortunately for me, reminded me that I am actually 34 by hi-lighting 34 she "knows and loves" about me. So sweet of them both, and they both made me laugh! I am so thankful to have such great sisters!

When I woke the kids up for school I said, "Hey! Do you know what today is??" Saroya's eyes popped and she said, "Oh YEAH! Today is the day we are doing a concert for the kindergartner's! We are singing the song about Martin Luther King Jr. and 'Go My Son, Go and climb the ladder'." And then she proceeded to sing a song I remember from my childhood. (My mom was nice enough to buy the tape, I think, after we watched a BYU performance in GR.) Weird, and exciting to me all at once.

Then I announced that it was my birthday- so they better get up quick and get dressed. We couldn't be late for the bus on my BIRTHDAY! :) I'll use anything I can!! :) They were sweet and got right to it.

Nathan had a meeting at work but then called me after a half an hour and said the meeting had been changed so he was on his way home! When he got home, I filled the bath and soaked for a LONG time! That in itself was a great birthday present.

The rest of the day was filled with lovely e-mails and calls from so many people. Even about 5 of the Young Women from the ward wished me a happy birthday. It was so touching.

Miss J wasn't feeling so hot (or actually she WAS feeling hot with a fever..) so she just wanted to cuddled and be held mostly. It was nice to have an excuse for not doing much!

I got to see the sun today and it didn't snow. If I could just ignore the foot of snow still on the ground, I might actually think spring is on the way.

Last night we went to the Blue & Gold Banquet for cub scouts. I was a little bummed about having to go their rather than out with my husband, but it turned out so GREAT! I got to see friends that were so sweet to bring gifts and birthday wishes, and the whole pack meeting sang happy birthday to me (so what if they called me "Amy"?!?) Anyway- my thoughtful visiting teacher

remembered how much I love her Asian chicken salad, and made extra so I would have some to take home. Every time I see it in the refrigerator I get excited! YUMMY!!

And she also made homemade egg rolls for everyone (Hey- I'm giving you props for helping too Leanne! THANK YOU!)

Anyway- by the end of a long corny night, I felt like I had gone out to eat for a GREAT meal with my husband (and about 35 kids... Oh well!) thanks to the thoughtfulness of my great friends.

Now Nathan and the kids say they have a "real" birthday party planned for me tonight. We will see what that brings!!

Anyway- thanks so much to all of you that helped make my birthday one of the best!

Snowed in Sunday

Ok- enough with the weather already!! Today our high temperatures were a balmy 5 degrees with a wind chill factor of-25 to -30. They used words like "snow squalls" "blizzard conditions" "zero visibility" and "frequent whiteouts" a little more than I usually like to hear. Ever. They actually said this on the weather today... "The wind will diminish after midnight allowing wind chills to improve to 0 to -10 by daybreak." Sounds nice, huh? Well needless to say- Church was canceled. After making breakfast for the kids, I went back to lay down by Nathan (who had to brave the treacherous weather not once but TWICE today to get to and from work.).

I woke up (oops!) to Ethan asking what "preheat" means. I said, "just wait a minute." and tried to clear my eyes. Ethan said, "Why when I try to turn on the oven to 425 and push start, it goes back to 100?"

"Ok, ok. What are you doing? ...And why is my camera around your neck?"

"You'll see"

As soon as I get to the kitchen, (after passing Saroya in the living room counting pennies) sure enough there is a frozen pizza on a baking sheet ready to go in the oven. Then he shoves a paper to me.

"Mom- will you out this on e-bay?"

To translate in-case you can't read it, it says,

"Gumball Machine for Sale.

-it is for $35.00.

-it comes with 81 (used to be 101) pennies and two dimes

-and comes with 105 gumballs

-how you re-fill the machine... You unscrew the bolt on the top of it and then pour the gumballs in.

-to get the pennies out. You unscrew the bolt and then the bottom will fall apart

-hardly been used

and apparently they understand the power of pictures when selling things, so they took these pictures.

I love the special touch of the penny already in place just waiting for you to come, turn it and get a prize!

I said, "Why are you guys selling Saroya's gumball machine?"

"Well, we decided that we are going to sell it and use the money to buy a bigger one. You are in charge of editing."

Yes- That is exactly what we need. A BIGGER gumball machine. So I think of the pro's and con's to this situation. I tell the kids that we won't be selling it today because it is Sunday and we don't buy or sell things on Sunday. I have until Monday to decide what to do. Ethan walks away saying quietly, "This is going to be such a GREAT experience!" Humm....

Ok- so gumball machines are selling for about $5.00 dollars on e-bay. ("Yeah, but OURS comes with 81 pennies and 2 dimes!) It would not sell for $34.00, I am quite sure. But they have worked hard on developing their plan of action. Looking for how they can make it attractive to the buyer, taking pictures that make it look like you NEED this, plus there are numerous opportunities for teaching about economics. The down sides are that I don't even know how to sell things on e-bay, would they be so sad that no one even looks at their item?, if by some freak accident they DO sell this, are they going to want to sell everything in their possession? So I need some QUICK advice. How far do I take this??

Now the day is ending with Saroya running to the bathroom with a bowl by her face and Jaleigh running after her, "Saroya? Are you gonna choke?? (her word for puke) Come on Saroya, CHOKE! It's ok..." Then she walks away after Saroya gets to the bathroom, "Oh man- I do NOT want to see her choke..." What a sister.

Valentines Cards & Snow Days

When my sisters and I were kids, we would each get a card in the mail from our Aunt Ruth (my grandpa's sister) on every holiday. Now thinking back, that was quite an accomplishment. I can't even seem to get out 1 birthday card a year for my family members! But without fail, every holiday we would get a card. St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Valentines Day, Halloween, etc. And then on our birthday, we would get a card with some money inside. She was so thoughtful.

My parents now carry on that tradition with my kids. When we first had Ethan Nathan couldn't understand. "A St. Patrick's Day card?? I didn't even know they made those!" But now he gets excited to tell the kids when they have gotten a card in the mail. Each child gets their own card and they usually have a sheet of stickers in it. Oh how the kids love it! In fact, those cards usually get VERY worn quickly! Here is what Jaleigh's valentines day card apparently said...

Saroya and Jaleigh decided that they absolutely needed to write a thank you card to my mom and dad, for sending them Valentines Day cards this year. They both went to work writing them, drawing pictures in them, and putting stickers on them. As soon as Nathan had the driveway cleared enough so they wouldn't get lost on the way to the mailbox (Can you see how high the snowbank is next to them?) they went outside to mail them.

With 3 snow days off of school in the past 3 weeks, we have had a little cabin fever around here. The previous two snow days were canceled due to snow and wind chill. You can't go out and play in -25 degree weather. On Thursday though, school was canceled due to a foot of snow dumped on us. By afternoon most places were dug out and we were ready to get outside.

We went outside for a while...

and of course Saroya & Ethan had to have a wrestling match for a while... (I love this picture even though I am quite sure they will kill me for it when they are teenagers. Whenever they are "play wrestling" they always get right in each others faces and use "fightin' words" before throwing each other around. I happened to catch this "fightin' words moment and it cracks me up!) Then we hit the sledding hill. Why is it that kids always end up going down the hill backwards? :) I thought this was a cute picture of Jaleigh & the little boy I babysit going down the hill together. They barely went anywhere at all because the snow was so deep and they are so light. (even together!)Saroya and Ethan went right for the snowboards..

We will have to get a better video of Saroya because she actually did VERY good this time. My camera however, decided itself when it would record and when it wouldn't. Have I mentioned that I need a new camera?? ;)

Ethan says he needs to do this all day long... :)

(Mostly) A Grandparent Post

I usually try to avoid "these kind" of posts, but I am thankful for the lessons learned so I wanted to document it. ****WARNING!! I am proud of my KIDS!!****

They have a program in Ethan's school called the Accelerated Reader Program. Certain books are given different point levels depending on difficulty. After you have read a book, you take a test about it and how many questions you get right determine how many points you actually get for reading the book. Those points are collected and when you reach different levels, (5, 10, 20, 35 points etc.) you get a certificate. Last year I think he got 25 points for the whole year. This year in the first semester he had already gotten 25 points! I was so excited for him. Then the other kids in his class started reading Harry Potter....

Harry Potter books have some of the highest point values but they are by far some of the longest books to read. Ethan has developed a bit of a competitive spirit this year so he rented Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. That is book 4 in the series, and has one of the highest point values of all Harry Potter books. I was concerned that he would get tired of reading it, or read it and not understand what he was reading, I mean a lot of things were probably covered in the first 3 books, right? Well, he read it, took the test and got 100%! He was so happy and we were floored. Then he went back and started with the first Harry Potter book. I think he started reading these books in the middle of November and right now he is more than half way through the 5th book he has read in the series. More than that though, he has become an avid reader. If he forgot his book at school, he would just get a different book at home and start reading that one just as passionately. I have even had to "ground" him from reading a few times because I have found him reading well into the night. Secretly I love that he loves it so much!

Well, on Friday they had a Honor's assembly at school and he wrote it on my calendar to make sure I was there. He was given an award for reaching the 100 Point level!! I was so happy for him! In addition to that though, the day after the semester ended, he took another test and is now in the 125 point level. There is only one person in his grade that has a higher point level and that is 150. I am just so impressed because he is self-motivated in this. It's a completely optional program, and Nathan & I haven't pushed him at all.

He also got an academic achievement award that is given to kids that have all A's or A's & B's. I am most impressed because he really is working hard to keep his grades up. Pretty much since he started taking spelling tests in 2nd grade he has been getting 100%'s. (Grandma & Grandpa give rewards to him for getting all 100%'s in spelling for a whole semester) This semester though, they started him on a "Challenge" spelling list. He has worked hard, but frankly they are works I would spell wrong. They are HARD! He was really discouraged because he would study hard and then get a B or C. Well, the last spelling test of the semester, he got a 95% (one wrong) and then this last spelling test 100%!! I don't know if he'll always remember how to spell manufacturer, enthusiastic, or specifications, but I do hope he will remember how he felt after working hard and finally having success. Yea Ethan!!

I should say also that Saroya did excellent on her report card too, getting "Achieving Goals" and "Exceeding Goals" in all of the areas except dribbling a basketball. We will have to work on that... :) She is in an accelerated reading and math group and really likes the challenge. So, Yea Saroya!!

I hope they will continue to do good in school, but even if they don't I hope they will at least always try hard. I am thankful in a way, that Nathan is still going to school. They see how hard he studies and they hear us talk about what kind of grades he strives to get. (Did I mention he got all A's last semester?? :) I wonder if that has some influence on them. Either way- I am sure proud of my family. I better get doing something to keep up!! :)

Now for a few pictures of what the kids did on the snow day they had on Wednesday. Big surprise about Ethan huh? :) It was so nice they weren't connected to something electronic!

Saroya's "Bad" Haircut

Well- I am two for three in the hair department. If you remember last month, I cut Ethan's hair "too short" and he was not going back to school until it grew back. Well-after I got home, I took Saroya to get her hair cut. She looks forward to getting it cut because we go to a kids salon and she gets to play video games or watch a movie while she gets it cut. Then after she's done they sprinkle "pixie dust" (glitter) in her hair and paint her fingernails. Who wouldn't love that, right? She was fine until that night when all the glitter and video games wore off. She cried and went on and on about how it was "too short" and she wasn't going back to school until it grew out. Sound familiar? She went a step further and made it a matter of prayer "please help my hair grow fast before church on Sunday" and wore a hooded sweatshirt to school the next day...with the hood up. I wonder how much of it came from Ethan's comment about the boy at his school that has the same haircut... Anyway- here are a few pics. What do you think?

When I tell her we think it looks great she says, "I don't care if other people like it- I don't!" I guess I should have already known that!

Now Jaleigh is begging to get her hair cut, or "broken" or "tucked in" (basically any word she can think of to tell me that she wants a haircut) but I am freaked out to do it! I think she would want it short for one day and then want it long again. She LOVES having her hair done, doing it herself, and doing other peoples hair. Does this look like a girl that wants her hair cut? (By the way- she created her own look for this shot.)

I should mention something about this scarf. My Mom made it for her last year and she LOVES it! She definitely uses it as a fashion accessory. For this look it was undies and the scarf. Other times it is with a princess dress, or because she was being an artist. She is so funny with her fashion sense. And it is always wrapped around her neck with one side going down the front and one side going down the back.

Stay tuned, she might have a new "do" if I get brave enough!

One last note on Saroya. She went to the doctor and found out she had to get shots. She wasn't very happy about it, in fact she was angry. I kept saying, "Don't look- don't look!" but she did, and as soon as they gave her one shot, she started LAUGHING! The nurse & I started laughing and they gave her another shot. She started laughing again! She thought it was funny that she didn't want shots because they don't hurt. When we got home, she went to tell Ethan that shots don't hurt. Ethan said, "Did you get to go out to eat?" (That's the only way we can get the dramatics to stop with him after shots!) She was like, "Why? It didn't even hurt. I laughed!" What a cool girl to laugh at pain!! :)

The L O N G Journey Home

After such a great trip I was ready to get home and back to my family. Unlike When Nathan was gone, Jaleigh wouldn't talk to me on the phone and Saroya suggested that I should stay 4 more days, so I really wanted to get home and connect again. (Granted- they were staying with Grandma & Grandpa so that in itself was exciting enough) It was going to be a quick flight to Denver, and then straight to Grand Rapids. Easy! I actually searched out in advance what movie would be on the flight and I was looking forward to relaxing just a tad bit more before getting back in time to take the kids to Gymnastics and Hockey.

We knew that the storm coming through the night before I left would cause travel problems, so I got up at 4:30am and left with an hour and a half to make a 40 minute drive. The roads were terrible, but with the skilled driving of my sister-in-law, we made it!

When I got to my gate I heard mumblings of all the airports runways being closed, but the lady at the gate assured me we would only be about 10 minutes late for boarding. I had lost my phone charger in Utah so my cell phone was dead. I used my DEBIT CARD to make a payphone call to let my Dad know I would very likely not make it home on time. Not only did that phone call (and one other to Nathan to get calling card info) cost me over $30.00 in calling charges, it also eventually caused fraudulent activity on my account... Great. We did board the plane when the boarding clerk said we would so I was impressed!

After 3 1/2 hours of sitting on the plane at the gate we finally pulled back to get de-iced! I was still in pretty good spirits because no one was in the seat next to me and I got to stretch out, where most of the plane was packed. Soon the captain said, "We are 3rd in line for take off". I watched one plane take off, then another, and finally we were up. The captain comes back on and says, "Uh- it looks like we are going to have to go back to the gate and re-fuel." I just started laughing. Are you kidding me? We sat there for 3 and an half hours and no one noticed that?? We went back to the gate and they had us all "de-plane" for 20 minutes Since the airport was closed, the airport was crammed with people. I had just enough time to call Nathan, give him the low-down, and get the calling card info. Plus I had a minute to grab some trail mix since I hadn't had breakfast.

Back on the plane, de-iced again, and finally off to Denver. Once there and after a huge confusion as to where we were supposed to go to get re-booked, they found me a flight. I would now go from Denver to Moline(?!?!)to Chicago, and finally Grand Rapids by 11:30pm. Grabbed some lunch in a bag and ran to my gate. Luckily I was one of the first on the flight, because they didn't allow the last 11 people on, due to weight restrictions(?!). Yes- it was a small plane, but I was glad to be on it and going home.

I realized I was going to only have 20 minutes to make my connection in Moline so I was really anxious to make it there on time. We did make it on time, but couldn't get to our gate because another plane was there and we had to wait for 25 minutes.

We finally made it off the flight, and I went to the departure boards and all the flights posted were for 6am and later the next morning. I found one other lady and one other man that were on my same flight so we searched for an attendant to help us. The airport was empty. We went to talk to the security men, who said they were closing in 5 minutes. Wha...?!?! We found a pilot going onto the flight we just came off, "Is this plane going to Chicago tonight?" "Yes" "We are booked on this flight." "No- I am sorry. This is an empty flight just getting the flight crew and plane to Chicago." We begged. Showed him our tickets. He was stunned. I said, "I don't need a drink or snacks, I just want to get to Chicago." He agreed but told us that the flight had been delayed for 2 hours. That would have me missing my flight by an hour. So there the three of us sat in an empty airport. They kept changing and pushing back the time, and I was concerned about staying overnight in the airport in Chicago. I talked with Nathan and was really discouraged and worried. Since Jaleigh was the only one still awake, I begged her to at least say "Hi" to me... and she did. She just said "Hi". It was enough though. I loved it.

At last, we got on the plane. The same lady that loaded our luggage, took our tickets and got us on the plane, then went outside and waved to us while she de-iced the plane. It was hilarious! Finally the pilot came out, say down on the arm of a chair and said, "Ok, Chicago is saying 2 more hours before we can go there, this airport is trying to close due to bad weather, (Who?? The ONE lady that was doing everything for us wanted to close the airport?) and we had just de-iced so we only had a small window of opportunity. He finally got clearance to leave. One stop closer!!

When I got to Chicago, I went to the gate clerk and said, "I just got in and I have missed my connection to Grand Rapids" He said, "Oh- that flight leaves in 45 minutes from gate F-11." "Grand Rapids MICHIGAN??" "Yup!" I called Nathan thrilled! I felt like I was walking on air! He said he watched my flights online and every time they would push back my flight to Chicago, they pushed back my flight to Grand Rapids. It was a miracle on my behalf much to the dismay of all the other people on my flight to GR. But I WAS GOING HOME!!

We didn't get to Grand Rapids until 2:30am and by 3:00am when my luggage wasn't there- I didn't care. I ran out to the car my dad was waiting for me in and I was ecstatic. My Dad offered to let me stay at their house for the rest of the night because it was snowing, but I wanted to GET HOME! I dropped him off, and headed home.

The further I went, the worse it got. Pretty soon I was making tracks on the road and could barely see where I was going. At one point a car drove past me and I slammed on my brakes because I literally could NOT see. When the snow cleared, my car was pointing right at the ditch. I was stunned. If I wouldn't have stopped, I would have ended up in the ditch, stuck, and no way to call anyone. I have never prayed as long as I did for the 2 hour drive home that night. Every muscle in my body was tense, and I was hungry because the one meal I had was at lunch and it was now 5am. 25 hours after I woke up to come home, I made it. I laughed and cried as I drove down my street. I was couldn't believe how much I had been through, but more importantly, I was soo thankful for my Heavenly Father for staying mindful of me, helping me make it home and for keeping me safe. There truly is no place like home...

**The morning I got home I found out that the kids school had been canceled due to weather, so I could love all over them all day! And while I was unpacking- I found my phone charger. The blessings continue...