santa!

While James, Eliza, Seth, and Rachel were at the church playing basketball, Caroline and I saw SANTA!!! He was roaming the neighborhood on a firetruck. We went out onto the front porch and waved to him and he boomed, "Ho! Ho! Ho!"

Now Carrie is walking around saying, "Ho! Ho! Ho!" What a fun Saturday morning!

partay

This picture brings me back. When we were dating and engaged, James took pictures of the two of us together. That way, we didn't have to bother anyone else or feel lame to have someone take our picture together. Crazy, I know. So, for our holiday party at Cooley this year I thought we could get our babysitter to take a quick picture of us before we left. Instead, James held out the camera and "click", instant picture! ;)

So...Marci, this one's for you. Sorry you can't see the dress...or the nude nylons, or my really cute shoes. Dang it. We need to take more full body shots. A little difficult when you're holding your own camera!

thankful

It's not often you'll see me post a picture of myself. So, on this rare occasion, I'd like to share my gratitude for one of the things I took for granted until it was in jeopardy: my health.

I am so thankful to feel like my life is returning to a sort of "norm" that I have not had in far too long. It was 9 months ago that I saw the rug being pulled out from under me (healthwise), and did not know what to do to stop the current of frustrations it left in its wake. Quickly my routine-life became an ideal that I longed to get back. Though the scare of the situation lasted just over a month, finding the right balance of preventative medicine and seeing those symptoms disappear took a good portion of this past year.

As I reflect today on what I am grateful for, my HEALTH--seen in this new light--is number one on my list. Without it, I didn't feel like myself. I saw myself turn inward and put so much energy towards myself, my symptoms, getting myself back. It has taken until this last month for me to be able to put that all in the past.

So...since the middle of October I have been without any meds. How grateful I am to report that on a daily basis I am symptom-free. I feel like I have finally refilled the emotional reservoir that this experience took from me. I am so grateful.

six, ten and two

I can't believe these girls are growing up so quickly! Each of them bring so much to our family. Here are just a few things that I appreciate about my sweet girls:

Eliza:

1. Her righteous example to her brother and sisters (and me!).
2. Her persistence in achieving what she puts her mind to.
   
3. Her thoughtful acts of service.

Rachel:

1. Her friendly, outgoing nature.
2. Her ability to get along with anyone.
3. Her desire to empathize and help those in need.

Caroline:

1. Her natural tendency to be grateful for everything!!
   
2. Her determination.
3. Her infectious love for others.
   

mess

Is it any wonder my house is a mess? This week I've hardly spent even a few hours at a time actually at HOME. And those precious hours were spent outside sealing our deck. The weather's been beautiful, so I needed to make every day count in getting a project like this completed. (Which, of course it is NOT.)

I hate weeks like these. It's really upsetting to run home, grab things and run back out, just to come home, eat dinner, go to bed and then do it all again the next day.

I did have some fun in-between applying deck stain/seal and running all of the town. I got to go with Rachel's class on a field trip to a local farm. It always feels good to get to know the kids that she talks about so much. I'm amazed to see how the kids choose REALLY sweet friends. Not that I wouldn't expect them to, but it amazes me how nice kids are drawn to other nice ones. What a revelation, I know! ;)

So, now I've got to run and make lunches for Carrie and me. We're heading to Fall Field Day at the school, then off to piano lessons, a birthday party and then I think we'll actually stay home tonight. Whew!

ruminate

ruminate: to turn a matter over and over in the mind.

This is my new favorite word. I like it almost as much as the word validate. Right now I'm reading a book called Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman. It's probably the most scholarly book I've picked up in the last 5 years. What I like about it (besides its use of REAL studies to document its findings) is that it has really opened my eyes to see how often I let negative thoughts spool in my head. So, I'm trying really hard to catch those defeating thoughts right when they start and put a stop to them. It's really empowering...

I have not felt so happy and light in a long time. I can't credit this all to Dr. Seligman. Having only Caroline home with me from 8am to 4pm is such a joy. My burdens feel light!

my hope for the schoolyear

School started on Monday.
You'd think after five years of doing this, I would find it easier to send them off...

When we got to school, I made sure that Eliza and Seth were off to their classrooms and then waited as they herded the kindergartners off to their wing in the school. With one last "I love you" and wave to Rachel, she entered the building. I found myself lingering at the school, talking to other parents and avoiding the inevitable. After several minutes it dawned on me that I didn't know what I was waiting for. It was time to head home with Caroline.

Oh how I would've loved to stay and watch their school assembly and experience with them the first day of this new adventure. I would've loved to tour the school and discover the new playground and surroundings. I would've loved to sit with each of them at lunch and make sure they had someone to talk with who cared. I would've loved to go out to recess with them and be the kind of friend they need.

Oh how hard it is to entrust your children to others. I keep a hope that this year their teachers and peers will be there for them the way that I wish I could.

we're alive

We DO still exist. Since I last blogged:

• We had my sister, Traci and her family, my dad and brother, all here for the National Spelling Bee. Way to go, Talmage!
• I got to go to Quantico (military training grounds) and visit the FBI Academy for Teagan's graduation from a Youth Leadership Camp. I've discovered first-hand just how awesome my nephews are.
  
• Mom and Dad Pete came out for the 4th of July for a week. We made some SERIOUS memories camping in Shenandoah, touring the Luray Caverns and celebrating the 4th under umbrellas for hours. Good times. We LOVED having them out to visit.
  
• Caroline had a night terror while camping that was freaky. She also held her breath and passed out once this week (this makes it her 2nd time). She's ruined our camera, scribbled with marker all over her church clothes, had a tantrum that lasted 30+ minutes while we were a mile underground (with no escape route)--basically entered the 2's a little early. She can often be found wearing Rachel's underwear over her clothes and any pair of shoes she spots...she is completely enamored with shoes.
  
• Seth and Eliza have mastered the new Indiana Jones Lego Game, with the help of Aunt Janyse. They've also been extra busy with swim team and basketball camp, along with a lot of bickering. ;) Summer just wouldn't be the same without sibling rivalry.
  
• Rachel has registered for kindergarten, made countless friends while waiting for swim practice and has shown persistence as she keeps trying to convince us to cut her hair short. We haven't folded yet...
• James and I are here, too. Just carting the kids around and making time for softball too. Of late, we've gotten a babysitter for the games so that we can find time to still have date nights.
  

flag football

Here's Seth and his friend Dillon, following their last football game of the season.
Half time with Coach Steve.
Ready for action...
Seth's the one on the far left of the playing field. Here he's on defense as cornerback, I think.
Half time tips from Dad. Though it looks like he's sad, he was just listening intently and scratching his itchy nose. Poor kid played his game after having a fever of 102 for the two previous days. Then his sinuses got all congested and he kept scratching his nose, thinking it would help him breathe better. ;)

In summary...for the first season EVER, I think we all learned a lot about flag football. Seth grew leaps and bounds and had his first touchdown ever. We saw him improve in just about every area: throwing the ball, catching, running the routes, faking (one of his favorite things), and defending. Seth's already asked James to coach him next year, since the at-home sessions turned out to be more helpful than practices... James is just as excited as Seth!

will chocolate make it all better?

This look about says it all. "I've been caught, and all I wanted was a little comfort from CHOCOLATE. Can't a girl just enjoy her chocolate without all of this guilt?"

We picked up these chocolate bars as a fundraiser for Seth's football team yesterday. Somehow Caroline knew just where they were on the counter, pushed a chair over from the table, climbed up and had them both completely unwrapped while I was on the phone. I was feeling so good about FINALLY finding a substitute for Primary Music and then walked in on Carrie and her chocolate bars.

Put us down for 1 Chocolate Almond Bar and 1 Chocolate Crispy Rice Bar, Seth. (She does have good taste.)

seeing spots

Okay. So here's the scoop. Caroline had the chicken pox a little over a month ago. This was her 2nd time with them. There were only 10 pox on her back. She's had a stomach bug (vomiting, diarrhea, fever) for the last week and is finally now eating and keeping food down.

Then on Tuesday, I started to notice the familiar spots AGAIN!!! This time they are everywhere! On the scalp, in the ear, on the neck, cheeks, legs, tummy, wrist, thigh. You name it...spots!

After a quick trip to the doctor today, he says that she is most likely experiencing a bit of a relapse. Her second case was so mild that the virus could have laid dormant and then the recent illness could have triggered the relapse.

WHAT?!? Do you buy this?

I'm starting to worry we have an immune system deficiency here...but when I asked, he said it's not a concern unless she's had major other infections that are inexplainable.

streamofconsciousness

I've decided that I want to blog again. It's been too long since I've been consistent with blogging, and each week it seems to get harder to blog since I'm so far behind. But, as I was reminded tonight (thanks Mom!) there are people out there I DO want to keep in touch with and blogging is a great way to do it! So...I'm going to officially start my weekly blog with just quick highlights from our week. I'll mostly post about things that stand out from the week. Maybe someday I'll get back to blogging more often, but at least this way I won't get so far behind that I feel like I don't know where to begin, and then put it off again...

So, without more stream-of-consciousness, I'll just share with all y'all our week:

• Eliza started physical therapy on her feet. We're trying to overcome some flat foot issues that have impacted her walking/running. She has exercises to do each night that we have NOT been good at adding to our routine. The insoles have done wonders though, so tomorrow when we go for a follow-up, we'll at least be able to show improvement from the use of them!
• I went to my first Neurologist appointment. After a VERY thorough evaluation, including quite a variety of physical tests, he also believes that I have basilar migraines. It was a relief to have this conclusion reached by both my primary doctor and now the specialist. So, I'll be on my preventative medicine for 6 months and then I'll try to go off of it. Meanwhile, I've started getting migraines after I've done exerting cardio exercises, so I'm going to back off on those for the coming weeks.
  
• CENTERGY!! I love this class at the gym. My favorite days of the week are the ones I get to go and workout with this tai chi/pilates/yoga combo class. For Mother's Day today James and the kids gave me much needed yoga pants, socks and head bands for the gym. After only a month and a half, I feel stronger than I have in YEARS. I wish I'd taken Britta's advice and started this WAY sooner. LOVE IT!
• Eliza, James and I went to our community production of The Sound of Music. Eliza was in awe of it all. This was her first live performance (besides the Nutcracker, which she says doesn't count...not sure why??). It helped to have her 3rd grade teacher (the one that reminds me of Janyse) performing as Frau Schmidt (the maid of Captain Van Trapp, for those of you familiar). We had a great time!
• Soccer (Rachel) and Flag football (Seth) were cancelled due to rain. Hmmm...I realize how behind I am, since this is my first mention of football. Well, Seth absolutely LOVES to see how plays unfold. He printed off the playbook his coach sent us and began the season just POURING over these drawings. You guessed it...very exciting for James!! The rest of us have enjoyed playing center, quarterback and receiver out in the yard as we help him get extra practice in.
  

Okay. Now, that wasn't so hard. Why do I let things like blogging and scrapbooking become an overwhelming task? I guess it's just making the time to do it that is the barrier to overcome.

champions

Before this is really OLD news (I guess it almost is now), we've had our own version of March Madness around here. Seth and Eliza both played basketball this season. Seth finished his second year of instructional ball and Eliza finished her second year of team ball. We can't wait to have both of them with teams and games next year!

It was fun, fun, fun to watch them both improve. I've yelled my poor throat out WAY too many Saturdays in a row now. But--the games were intense enough and I was invested enough (sorry to steal the term from BYU football) to really get into it! [I'm sure that's why I didn't join in the NCAA tournament this year. I was WAY more excited to see if Eliza's team made it through her elimination rounds ;) I have decided that next year we all will have our brackets filled out EARLY. Sorry Petersons!]

Okay, so I have to take you back a few weeks to the semi-finals for Eliza. They were playing a team that they had lost to once before. The game was close the whole time and went into overtime. The emotions were intense!! The girls played their little hearts out and when they found themselves ahead at the end of the game they just bawled and bawled.

So, the team had made it into the championships and were up against a team that they had lost to TWICE!! Eliza was really nervous going into the game. It didn't help that there were twins on the other team that had played on her team last year! The girls played together as a team the best they ever had and came off victorious! As one of the youngest players on the team, it was fun to see Eliza taste a little of that success!

feeling

I will never again take for granted the feeling I have in my right foot! CIRCULATION! I woke up today and for the first time in weeks I have feeling in my right foot...

Do you know what this means??!?? I will FEEL my foot on the pedal when I drive Eliza to swimming this afternoon! These little things just amaze me...

So, that my friend, was the last body part holding out, trying with all of its might NOT to respond to the migraine medicine I took 6 days ago.

I say a grateful goodbye to the head pressure, neck pain, difficulty swallowing, nauseousness, eye strain, ringing ears, bubble-wrapped brain, equilibrium off, hand/eye coordination issues and FINALLY numbness in my right foot (and hand).

"hot lips"

My new nickname, I guess?!?

I found out from a sweet friend when she came over yesterday to drop off some yummy Valentine's Day goodies. We were chatting and she said, "I guess I should call you hot lips." WHAT? I've never been called by that name, but apparently James refers to me in Priest Quorum as such when he's teaching.

Now, some might choose to take offense if they found out from someone ELSE what name they're being called in Priest Quorum, but not I. I laugh it off, knowing that for James it's all about trying to get on the boys' level (not too hard for him ;) and reach them. I often see him revert to his teenage vernacular ("dude" comes to mind) when he's around the Young Men.

So, there's the big news of the week.
Happy Valentine's Day? I guess it will be for me and my oh so HOT LIPS!

what were we thinking??

Oh my goodness, as February has arrived every day I get more and more nervous. Why on earth did I agree to sing with James at our Ward Valentine's activity??? WHY?

I've sung "Summer Lovin'" over and over and over, until I'm about to lose my voice. Still, I think about it and as the date of the activity approaches (feb. 15th), I physically feel ill. Any advice? It really doesn't help that I've yelled my voice out at basketball games for Eliza and Seth every weekend...my voice is really in rough shape to begin with.

Any tips on what to drink, etc., right before singing a solo/duet? Please help!

missed the bus

The other day it was about 18 degrees outside and I bundled the kids up to walk up the driveway and wait for the bus before heading off to school. I thought these two looked especially cute, and just HAD to take a few pictures. In those few short minutes, the bus arrived and being preoccupied with my quest for new blog photos, we missed the bus!

All I can say is a huge THANK YOU to the new car seat we got from Eric and Elizabeth when we went through Ohio. I was able to put Caroline into the seat with this huge marshmallow suit on and still adjust the straps to make her safe. Kudos to Evenflo (and Eric) for implementing those needed improvements on their car seats. (We were the lucky ones that got to "test" these new features!)

rare

I find myself in a RARE moment of complete peace in the house. Rachel headed off for an extended day of preschool, Caroline's down for a nap, the older kids at school. I paid all the bills, went through the stack of homework that I didn't look at over the weekend...even wrote a note to Seth's teacher volunteering to come in and read a story. The dishes are done (mostly). I've caught up on the blog commenting (mostly). I finished my book over the weekend, and that's always a let-down. I finished up on the laundry that I usually have rolling over into the next week. I've got my dinner in the crock pot...so what's a girl to do??

Do I dare just go QUILT? Oh my goodness...guilt-free quilt time. This is indeed a rare moment, so I just had to document it.

january

I LOVE JANUARY!!! Here are the top reasons why:

1. No more Christmas shopping. The stores thin out--even Walmart is somewhat manageable again.
2. I can stop feeling guilty about my late Christmas cards that turned into New Years cards. What's done is done.
   
3. Routines are resumed. School's back up and running which means less fighting at home between the three oldest.
4. The Christmas decorations are put away. Caroline can stop getting into that mischief. The house feels under control again...ornaments and nativity pieces are still found in random places throughout the house, but I am confident that they will one day stop coming out of the woodworks.
   
5. The kids have new coloring/painting/airplane making/handheld games/legos from Christmas. These keep them busy on the go and at home. A lot less of the "I'm bored" syndrome.
6. Basketball season has started for both Eliza and Seth!!! I love this time of year more than any other for the kids' activities (well...I love summer swim too, so it may be a toss up). I learn something more about how to play basketball each time I bring Eliza to practice, and it is probably their favorite activity of the year. After basketball practice on Wednesday Eliza said, "Oh, I wish practice like this could go on forever." She has a GREAT coach (private high school head coach for girls whose daughter is 10) and they are working really hard on different plays...at AGE 9! She's loving it!
7. I have new quilt fabric from James and my Mom that I LOVE, and I'm starting on those new projects. There is nothing better than fabric for Christmas.
8. Things just feel fresh. A fresh new year, new music in Primary, afternoon church again, a new bishopric in our ward. I really have discovered that I like change (mostly). It's fun to shake things up a bit.

I just love the feeling of things completed. Although many things that I do (mothering for one) will never be completely finished, I can still feel the satisfaction of knowing that some things that I put my energy into come to an end and get checked off my list!

"me!"

Christmas morning pictures, and an account of breakfast this morning...I could probably get more random, but I'll spare you.

This morning we enjoyed a family breakfast...scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs, bacon, toast and sparkling grape juice left over from last night. (We always have to fix two different kinds of eggs, since there is one child AT LEAST who refuses to eat scrambled eggs on any given morning.)

So, when the eggs were done, James went around the table taking orders and dishing out the scrambled eggs. "Who wants scrambled eggs?" Eliza answered, "Me!" Rachel, "Me". He was just about to sit down when Caroline piped up her little "Me!"

Now, she's said the word a bunch of times--usually a variation of "mama"--"meme". So it was no surprise to here the word come out, but to hear her actually use it correctly was so cute! And she got breakfast out of the deal of course! She's really growing up.