grateful #8

S was 18 months old when I found out we would be having another baby. Carl and I were excited because more than anything I wanted S to have a sibling. I pictured the two quickly becoming close friends. S was a very obedient, mild tempered and happy little boy... I had no reason to expect anything other than total and complete bliss!

My pregnancy with H was fairly uneventful compared to the other two. Other than a whole lot of morning sickness which is suppose to be healthy anyway. The labor and delivery were a dream. Within seconds of H's birth the nurse exclaimed, "He has a dimple". H was also blessed with a full head of hair. I was so excited to take this baby home and share him with his equally adorable big brother.




















The next few months are a blur but I do remember that all was NOT bliss as I had expected. Sibling rivalry was rampant in the Gizmo household. Too bad I didn't have all the experience and wisdom that I have now. LOL. I'm sure it was my reaction to S's reaction that started us on a path of sibling rivalry and contention. I remember one sad day when my very articulate three year old told me he wished he never had a brother. Does this sound familiar to anyone else?

The boys are about as opposite as two people can be. It has been an interesting journey and we are all learning a little as we go along. S and H remind me of my two younger brothers who would wrestle and pounce on each other much to my amusement as well as the rest of our family. I've often marveled that my brothers have grown into fine adults and have become good friends. I suppose the two of them were probably friends all along... I just didn't see it.

Today, I'm blessed with these 3 wonderful boys. We have our ups and downs. I'm guilty of focusing on the negative but truth be told, I think these two really are good friends. Sunday is a family day here and because we don't have the distractions of neighbor friends, I find that these two good looking boys do in fact like each other. I'm so grateful that they are friends!

grateful #5, #6, and #7

I'm getting a little behind here. Obviously this gratitude list is in no particular order. Truth be told- I am grateful for some of the materialistic things in life like:A good pair of running shoes and friends to run with:)

This nifty crockpot. We are having Chicken & Rice soup tonight!A digital camera. Unfortunately this one isn't mine. The camera I own is really basic and quite cheap actually but the important thing is that I do in fact own a digital camera. I've been using it today to snap pics of things around the house that I need to sell, posting pics on ksl.com and bringing in a little cash for Christmas. Wahoo!

Questions for H

I stole this from Tori's blog. It's always fun to find out whats in your little ones head. H is 9 years old... here are his answers.

1. What is something mom always says to you? Uh, that's a hard one. Do your homework before playing with friends.

2. What makes mom happy? when I do my homework

3. What makes mom sad? going to friends without asking

4. How does your mom make you laugh? blows in my face (I did this today when he implied that I had bad breath)

5. What was your mom like as a child? I don't know.

6. How old is your mom? 34

7. How tall is your mom? I would say 6 1/2 feet.

8. What is her favorite thing to do? play on the computer and eat in front of the kids

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Go to Ogden and get Cafe Rio.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? her job (I work for an OB/Gyn so I'm not so sure its going to get me anywhere!)

11. What is your mom really good at? (we had to come back to this one)- Playing Bejeweled on the computer. (That's right I am the ultimate champion)

12. What is your mom not very good at? solving the Rubiks cube

13. What does your mom do for her job? works on the computer

14. What is your mom's favorite food? Cafe Rio (I had this today... do you see a trend?)

15. What makes you proud of your mom? Voting for John McCain (I love this kid!)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Mickey Mouse-- NO-- Mickey Mouse's wife

17. What do you and your mom do together? Uno and Monopoly

18. How are you and your mom the same? we belong to the same family

19. How are you and your mom different? My moms bigger than me... For now... because she's older.

20. How do you know your mom loves you? This is easy! She makes dinner for me every night and helps me get ready for school.

What I've learned from this: I spend to much time on the computer, I eat too often, games are important and my growing son values a good cooked meal. Also, H knows a good education is important to me ... someday it will be important to him too!

grateful #4

You may have caught on in my last post that Crew was crying in his bed, trying to get out. Tonight is a much happier tune as I keep hearing peals of laughter and tons of giggles. What a beautiful sound of which I am so grateful!

grateful #3

How thankful I am that I have this handsome guy in my life. Carl is very supportive of me. He is also very complimentary, intelligent, resourceful and hardworking. We live a very comfortable life and I give all the credit to him for the long hours he works well into the night. His work week always exceeds the normal 40 hour work week by 10 or 20 hours.

Also, he is very involved with the boys and they love him. Bedtimes and early mornings always go smoother when he is around/awake. One little boy, Crew, is going through a daddy stage (which I love) and he doesn't do too well without his daddy there. Lucky for you, you can't hear the screaming that I am not-so-effectively blocking out right now. Ah, bedtime once again!

grateful #2/ Primary teachers

I'm participating in a month of GRATITUDE which the blog South Breeze Farm has started. Our ward's Monthly newsletter contained a story from a talk given by Sister Bonnie B. Parkin where a family was going through a difficult time. They had a hard time not focusing on their challenges. Instead, they turned to a loving Heavenly Father for guidance. Almost immediately the family noticed so much to be grateful for. The mother stated, "The more we expressed our gratitude, the more there was to be grateful for."

This is a powerful talk. I know I've referenced it here before. Openly expressing gratitude is something I need to work on. I feel gratitude daily and try to express it in my prayers but I want to do better at telling/showing those around me that I am truly grateful.

For quite awhile I've felt so blessed that my three boys each have a wonderful Primary/Sunday teacher. Each teacher is able to touch their lives for good and the boys have been receptive. These 3 teachers go beyond the basic preparation as teachers. I am so grateful. When I attempt to teach the boys a gospel principle or scripture during FHE or at other times, I find they've already learned the principle or can recite the scripture story from memory. Their respective teachers are doing a wonderful job. Primary is suppose to be a supplement to the teachings we do in our homes but honestly I'm having a hard time keeping up:)

We are so blessed to have a unique teacher for Crew. Our Bishop feels its important enough for Carl and I to attend our classes and get spiritually fed that he has called one brother to care for Crew during that two hour period. What a blessing! Brother C does an excellent job. Crew loves him. I'm sure the task is far from easy as I know he does spend a lot of time with Crew in the hall. When the Primary kids are singing, I can hear Crew "singing"/screeching along with the best of them.

Productive Day/ grateful #1

Our family participated in the "Run 4 Amber" 5K and 1 Mile. H decided a few minutes before start time to run the 5K with his friends. It was funny because only an hour before he declared that he would only do the Mile if he could walk it and push Crew in the stroller. When I found out H was running, I took off my Garmin and gave it to S. I told him he was on his own. This was the first time I wasn't there to set the pace for him.

H was awesome! He ran his first ever 5K in 31 minutes something with absolutely no training. S did really well running in just over 26 minutes but he was really bummed because he didn't get a PR.

Carl decided to walk the mile with Crew. Whatever!

The community support was unbelievable! I was so happy and grateful that the event was well attended. Grateful to live in a community where people care. Everyone was wearing pink to support Amber in her fight against breast cancer. Amber was able to make it and seeing her and hearing her publicly give thanks was emotional. The run was lots of fun and the auction afterwards was well supported. The race and auction organizers did a nice job!

The weather couldn't have been any nicer today. After the race we came home and worked on home projects. Carl painted some exterior doorways and I climbed onto the roof and hung our Christmas lights (it's my favorite pre-holiday activity). Carl and I always fight over who gets to do it. I don't know that he really loves being up there but I don't think he likes the neighborhood seeing his wife up there alone. Tee hee.

H started basketball today! This is the first year he has wanted to play. He was pretty happy after his first practice and said it was fun. I hope his enthusiasm continues.

RUN FOR AMBER

My most recent blog posts are becoming few and far between. There are many reasons for this (life is busy). However, the truth is that when I sit down to write I feel as if our day to day happenings are somewhat insignificant. These feelings stem from watching a friend as she battles Inflammatory Breast Cancer. My heart hurts for Amber and I'm sure I am one of many who feels a sense of helplessness. Amber and Dan have been great examples to Carl and I as we've gotten to know them since moving here. Amber, mother of 5, has fought valiantly for the past 18 months. I'm excited to participate in a charity run this Saturday to show support to Amber and her family.

Carl is running the 5K with me this time and S hopes to (he's nursing a sprained ankle). One detail that I haven't ironed out yet... what to do with Crew.

I hope the turn out is significant. Whether you know Amber or not, come run to support the fight against breast cancer. If you're not in the area, you can leave a message to Amber on her blog. Hope to see you there!

One step back

Something is wrong with Crew's leg. I noticed he was favoring his right leg starting on Sunday. It seems like its getting worse not better. I didn't let him walk or crawl today. We had PT and the therapist confirmed that there is something going on. It looks like he has pain in his hip. He sent me home with some stretching assignments. We are to keep an eye on it over the next couple of days and if it hasn't resolved itself we will have to get a Dr.'s opinion.

Just lost another notch up the ladder... Two steps forward, One step back.

STOCKING UP!

Saturday was the 1st Annual A+ family wheat cleaning extravaganza! My dad is the hardest working man I know and generous to boot! This project reminded me of the story of the Little Red Hen except the rest of us did jump in and help with the wheat cleaning. First, grandpa planted and watered the wheat all summer long and harvested it. Gotta love the orange dump truck (Crew was in heaven)!

Also, grandpa spent many hours working on an old wheat cleaner in preparation for the day.

The wheat is dumped from the truck into the cleaner where the chaff is separated. Beautiful clean wheat pours into 5-gallon storage buckets.

Grandpa also provides BIG toys to keep little boys entertained!

From dump truck to storage containers--

Oh, after you fill all storage buckets one might line 55 gallon drums with garbage bags and fill those too!

Isn't this cool!
This is just a small portion of the 6000+ pounds of wheat that we put up. Thanks Grandpa!