Good news all around!

The first good news is that it is Easter! What could be better news that our Savior lives and lives still and we will be forgiven and live again because of Him! I need a good Southern Baptist Choir behind me. Or Mo-Tab, we enjoy them around here. I am grateful for the gospel and the Truths we have in our lives.

Good news #2: My nephew Tanner got his mission call! The first grandkid on my side to go, and the oldest in his family, so we were all hanging on the last couple weeks trying to guess where he was going. It's a little more high tech now, the Stake President e-mails everything to Salt Lake, then they e-mail back to him when it is getting mailed out so you can get a pretty good guess on what day it will show up. It came to his house on tuesday or wednesday this week and Tarilynn managed to keep herself from steaming it open until Friday when Tanner got home to open it himself. I guessed Scotland, but his mom and dad were praying for a stateside location, they apparently hold more sway because he's going to Cleveland Ohio. Tarilynn was singing "Cleveland Rocks" from the Drew Carey Show, and Tanner didn't know who Drew Carey was (you know, that guy on the Price is Right, the one without the fake tan). Hmmm, feeling old. His mission covers Kirtland, which will be really cool. Rob went to Independence Missouri and served around Adam-Ondi-Omen (How do you spell that?) and Liberty Jail and lots of other Church history sites, so it'll be cool for Tanner to be around the Kirtland Temple. We also spent time trying to remember the tune for that Erie Canal song, I guess we'll have to google it. We had stake conference this weekend and they had all the people who just came home or were leaving soon on missions come up to the front and tell where they were going. All those wonderful enthusiastic young kids! I am so proud of Tanner, how he is excited to spend two years of his life for others and for his Heavenly Father, and how glad I am that he kept himself clean to go and that he's such a good person. I'll stop blubbering now and I won't even tell about how I used to change his diapers. Well, I don't think I ever did anyway.

Other fun news is that Cindi had her baby! Little Shailey was born on August 21st. Her due date was April 7th, but that's ok, Cindi got through Sam's wedding! When one of my other nieces was born late it was said that it was because she wanted to get her hair done before she was introduced to everyone. Is that your excuse, Shailey? She has cute curly dark hair, so there you go. Congrats Cindi, Scott, Tennessee, Addi, and Parker! Can't wait to meet the sweet bundle!

Other good news? Hmmmm, we're painting the outside of our home, very excited because I've lived in the Ugly Blue House for the last four years. We're going to try a couple samples to see what looks good and then paint away! Well, I'll paint as much as my waddling allows. 21 weeks, and I'm already huge. Also, I finished the kids' crayon rolls for Easter so they could take them to our Stake Conference today. Yes, I try to bribe my way through Stake conference because two hours sitting on a church bench for the kids is pure torture. We didn't do too bad today, I had to lead Joseph out during the closing song, which is really pretty good. Seth went out earlier, but he made it past his regular time of "want to go to class now." And he didn't throw his socks or shoes, just his bow tie and it didn't go far. Ohhhh, I love Stake Conference, but my favorite meeting hands down is the adult meeting, I can hear a lot more of it. Our stake president told about how he was visiting his sister's family one weekend long ago, and when they left he counted out seven noses that should belong to his kids, they all got in the car and were cruising home when he found out he was one daughter less than he should have and one niece more than he should have. All the kids were promptly grounded until they were 40 and never allowed to get drivers licenses. His point? Don't go through life just counting noses. Remember what is really important and who in your life is really important. I know some days I get in bed and I think, "well, at least I fed my children today." It's hard to get beyond the keeping everything pristine ('cause that happens everyday--sarcasm implied), feeding everyone enough fruits and vegetables to satisfy the food pyramid, and doing all I can for my callings, plus all the other stuff that for some reason seems so important. When I can forget all that, and sit down and snuggle with the kids or play games with them or read stories to them, I feel cleaner at the end of the day, if you get my drift. And it doesn't happen as much as it should. Anyway, all around a good stake conference with good reminders of things I need to concentrate on.

Happy Easter everyone! Count those "good news" things in your life!

Updates and Announcing...

Whew! A lot has happened since I last posted, which is the reason I haven't posted for awhile. So just quick updates:

#1. This is the pattern that Felicity picked out for her dress (see & sew #B5443, it's a Butterick pattern, and we bought it at Joann's). It's the three tiered one, but we added sleeves, made it a little longer and then added some shimmery tulle for a ruffle on the bottom. Instead of a ribbon around the waist, we used the tulle and made a gathered sash. She picked out a pretty purple satin for the fabric. I liked it...but it's a lot of ironing! She'll only wear that dress for special occasions, I'm thinking.

#2. Sam and Kolleen's wedding and receptions were beautiful. Everything was simple, and the colors, deep purple and teal, looked great together. The sealing in the Idaho Falls temple was wonderful, what's better than the spirit you feel at a temple sealing? Nothing like it.

#3 After the receptions were all done, we spent a day and a half at my parents house, how much fun can my kids have at Grandma and Grandpa's house with cousins everywhere? If we're judging by noise level, an awful lot.

And on to the Announcement! (Yes, I'm changing the color of this post for a reason)

Yesterday we went to get an ultrasound of Little Baby Caboose. Again, I'm amazed at all the things they can check to make sure the baby is growing properly. Heavens, I can barely see a foot or a hand most of the time. We were looking at the stomach (the tech said) when Joseph declared that he could see the baby's eye. Everything is growing well and looking good (again, the tech said, I couldn't tell anything) and she's healthy, so glad. The night before I had a dream it was a boy, but I've posted about how I've been wrong with each baby, so I shouldn't have been surprised that the kicker is a girl! I would have been happy either way, I'm excited for my two Bookend Girls. And now I'm planning: baby quilt, clothes (I want to try some of those baby legs, they're adorable), shoes, hair things, and all that ruffly stuff I've been denied for eight years! Have to admit, I'm not usually all for pink--with Felicity I stuck with green and yellow as much as our slim college budget would allow, but there are some cute pink things I've seen lately--and ruffles--but there are some tasteful ruffly things out there. Not to worry, floral prints are still way, way low on my list. But I'm excited to experiment with all the girly baby things. Not toooooo girly, but girly enough.

Farris wasn't able to come to the ultrasound because of work. This is the only one he has missed, and I have to say I was a little bummed out about it, but I understood, he'd just taken four days off work right before graduation. So we stopped at a grocery store on the way to his office and picked out two pink balloons and two blue balloons (then Joseph stuck an orange balloon in his mouth and we ended up getting that one, too. Stinker) so we could make Farris choose which one he thought it was. Of course, he pulled Joseph to the side as soon as we asked him to guess:

Farris: "Hey Joseph, will you tell me if it's a boy or a girl?"

Joseph "NO!!"

Farris: "OK, can you tell me if it's a boy?"

Joseph: "No, it's not a boy."

Amazingly enough, Farris guessed correctly on the first try. I should have had the ultrasound tech. tell the kids it was twins, just to surprise them all.

So now we're finishing up Spring Break by the "Semi-Annual Changing of the Clothes to Match the New Season" going through clothes fun. And finishing laundry. And a girls night with just Felicity (ice cream, strawberries, Tangled, and a little sewing). And catching up on the cleaning that was neglected while working on Felicty's dress and the boy's bow ties (they turned out way cute, by the way. That tutorial I linked to a couple posts ago was very easy, I might have to do it again). Maybe a park trip and a library trip? And of course staying in pjs until late in the day. I love Spring Break!

I love Monday again

I've completely forgotten about doing I love Mondays lately. I don't think I'll do one every week anymore, but I thought this last week would be a good one to I love. I love...surgical glue. And good neighbors who happen to be nurses. On Saturday night, my bro and his family came to spend the night, so of course the kids where SO VERY excited and bouncing off the walls. And the fireplace. Seth was in high gear (but then, he doesn't really have a low gear, it's more like High Gear and Very High Gear and Suddenly Stop To Sleep Gear) and crashed into our fireplace. Yes, the same place that Felicity crashed and ended up with stitches. His cut wasn't nearly as big, only about the same diameter as a B.B., but it looked deep. We weren't sure if we should take him to the ER so we decided to call Kathy in our ward to see what she would advise. She asked a couple questions and said she would be right over. She checked him out, opened a small container of surgical glue and fixed him right up. Once the Tylenol kicked in he was running around again and no concussion. He still touches the spot on his head and talks about how he "broke his head," but he's doing great. Very glad we didn't have to spend hours (and lots of money) at the ER. Thanks again Kathy! I love...family. It's been fun having my brother stay with us since he started his new job about half an hour from here and this week was spring break for his kids so they came down to figure out exactly where they want to live and look at houses. This family is so much fun! We'll love having them closer to us! Their youngest is six months younger than Felicity, her and Felicity disappeared into Felicity's room and came out mostly just for meals. Three of their boys (their oldest is an Aggie, and was busy getting close to the end of the term) were pounced on my boys as soon as the door opened. Let the wild rumpus start! Our house is always noisy, but it hit some new levels this weekend. Then when most of the kids were settled for the night (the older ones were watching Napoleon Dynamite downstairs. Hee-hee. "I like your sleeves."), Farris' bro Sam came to spend the night. Our house was full, each bed, couch, and some floor space were taken! Sam left much earlier than I was awake the next morning, but it was fun to see him for a little while. His wedding is very soon and we're looking forward to getting the whole family together to welcome Kolleen in. We haven't scared her yet, so she must love Sam a lot! I love...being able to serve in our church. This Wednesday we took the YW to see the Carl Bloch exhibit at the BYU art museum. It was wonderful to watch them as they saw the work of an art master capturing scenes from the Master. Beautiful! Then on Thursday we had our RS birthday dinner. Now that we don't have ward or RS activity committees, they just ask a few people to help out for activities, and they asked me to help for this one. The ladies I worked with are great, and we put together a simple dinner (Cafe Rio salads!), some humanitarian projects and a chance for all of us to chat. I love my family, but it is so relaxing to have a night off and a chance to catch up with friends that I don't see enough. I love...spring snows! I know, I know, shoot me now. But I loved the storm we got this last week. Seth looked out at the flakes falling and wanted outside immediately to "throw balls!" That's my boy! Joseph only lasted about ten minutes outside before he wanted some hot chocolate, but Seth was out for about half an hour. His favorite? Throwing snowballs at the window the cats were peeking out of. Gales of laughter each time the cats would flinch. Yes, they love him. I am happy that it's supposed to get into the 70's this week, though. Summer time!

Just a couple of things

Today there is no school and it's warm-ish so the kids are enjoying time outside. Joseph decided he needed his coat; he just came inside and said "It's as freezing as cold tar out there!" (Farris tells the kids "You're moving as slow as cold tar uphill in January, " I'm assuming that's where he got the idea from). Another famous one-liner.

Another thing is that I've been feeling the baby move! I'm 16 weeks along now, so it's still about a month from when we find out boy or girl. I've been thinking it's a girl but I have been wrong four out of four times before, so that means it's probably a boy. But now that I think it's a boy, does that mean it's a girl? Either-or, I don't mind. Caleb is rooting for a girl, Felicity for another boy, and Joseph thinks it's a boy (He wants to name it Super Why--PBS cartoon), Seth is still unsure of the idea that there is a baby in mommy's tummy.

My bro in law is getting married in about a month, I'm thinking of making this skirt for Felicity:

from:http://sunscholars.blogspot.com/2011/02/bustle-skirt.html?showComment=1298820957229

the original tutorial is on:http://simplesimonandco.blogspot.com/2011/02/bustle-skirt-tutorial.html

or maybe this skirt:

from:http://pinkpicketfence.typepad.com/pink_picket_fence/2009/04/her-tulle-skirt-the-new-fave.html

But I'm thinking with wide lace instead of tulle for a more grown up version? I don't know, but Felicity wants to help sew, so this could be an adventure!

Of course the boys need something, too, but I'm planning a much simpler bow tie:

from: http://alemonsqueezyhome.blogspot.com/2010/04/bow-tie-tutorial.html

And I've got until April 8th. Or a couple days before, anyway. Hmmm, I better get off the computer...

I'm taking up chanting

I LOVE two-year olds. I love TWO year olds. I LOVE TWO YEAR OLDS... Yeah, how bad can one day with a two year old be? After the last mess, I gasped "Seth! NO!" and he walked over to a wall and set himself down in time-out. Seriously. So to make me laugh a little, here's my list:

When I was exercising at the church today, he lost my keys. Not too bad of a disaster, we do have a spare key...oh, except I pushed the little lock/alarm button on the keyring on the way into the church. And we do not have another alarm button to turn it off. I know, normal two year old thing, but ARRRGGGG!

When we got home, he decided to throw frosted flakes at the cats. All down the stairs. Half a bag of those huge malt o meal bags. Yeah, that was a fun crunchy mess.

During quiet time he emptied five shelves of our book shelves downstairs. Nice big pile.

During snack time he threw carrot sticks at the cats (um, the cats aren't fond of two year olds either). I was finding carrots upstairs and downstairs.

He did try to help me clean...but it was the toilet with my duster, so I didn't appreciate it as much as I could have.

I was making cookies for Preschool tomorrow, and he spilled a number ten can of wheat on the floor. This was when he put himself in time-out. As he was sitting there he pulled off his boots and emptied them of wheat, too.

I feel like there is more, but I may have just blocked it from my mind. There was, of course, the usual: pillow fight with brothers, chasing cats, messing up Felicity's room, the normal things. This doesn't seem like too bad when I write it all down, but it happened all in one day. When I was trying to get ready for preschool and trying to clean out our guest bedroom/craft room/storage room so my brother can fit in there for a little while. Thank heavens I am pretty much over morning sickness!

Since I started this post, Farris took the kids to the Church and spent an hour looking for the keys. He found them! The little stinker got them stuck on a chair hanging in the middle of those huge racks. It didn't fall all the way through, just got stuck on an edge, so you couldn't see it unless you separated the right chairs. Inspiration in answer to a prayer!

Oh, I love that little guy, he makes me and lots of other people laugh every day, and he is the greatest snuggler. He's growing so fast and learning so much it's incredible. My cousin has adopted two year old twins, I shouldn't even complain. But I still might take up chanting as a way to relieve stress.

weekend, spring, similes with Joseph

I'm catching up. If you just want a laugh, skip to the bottom for Similes With Joseph.

This weekend was wonderful and busy. My sweet niece Rylee was baptized and she asked me to give the talk about the Holy Ghost. Recently I went to a special RS meeting where a man and his wife talked about making stain glass windows for many of the temples, and about light, and how it compares with what Heavenly Father does for us (this was an amazing meeting, I'll have to write up some of my favorite stuff some time). They shared a favorite quote from Plato something like "The shadow of God is Light" and one of my favorite quotes from CS Lewis is "The Son is like the sun, not that we can see Him, but that because of Him we can see everything" (not an exact quote, but the gist. And I have to admit I have only read the Narnia series and the Screwtape Letters, I got the quote at Institute from wiser people than me). Anyway, back to the topic, I compared the Holy Ghost to a flashlight. I was going to make a little stain glass (fake, I'm not that talented) window for Rylee, but the glue I used is apparently not to be used with glass, and it never dried. **Anyone know a good glue for non-porous materials that dries very clear?** All in all, it was a beautiful baptism and the Spirit was strong. Two of her older brothers were able to be the witnesses, and her oldest brother stood in the circle to give her the gift of the Holy Ghost. Lucky girl, she's the youngest in a family of five--and the only girl. She's the automatic Princess of the House, and the boys are so good to her. And terrific news (for us!) came this week. Rylee's dad, my older brother, accepted a job in our corner of the woods, and they'll be moving to a town near here in the next couple of months. Yahoo! Very excited! It'll be a blast to have family a lot closer to us, and they are a great family. After the baptism it was yummy lunch (thanks Tarilynn!) and lots of chatting with family. My family likes to talk and laugh while kids run around and entertain us. Then, it was a quick run to Burley for Farris' brother Sam's fiance Kolleen's bridal shower (got that?). Kolleen is going to be a lot of fun to have in the family, I hope we didn't embarrass her too much at the shower...their wedding is in about a month in Idaho Falls, very excited for them. It was nice to have some chatting time with Farris' mom and sisters and sis in laws, we don't see them enough either, although we missed Desi and her too-brand-new-to-come baby. But we have plans to make dresses or skirts or something for the girls for the wedding. Which is in a month. Which we'd better get started on soon...eep. After the shower we went to Mom and Dad's and then church in my home ward for Sunday (how comfortable is it to go back home? love it) and then the long drive home again. My brother caught a ride with us so he could start training for his new job, it will be fun to have him around us for the next while. Sorry this was so long...

But Spring! Is coming! My bulbs are shooting up, my crocus have been blooming right through snowstorms, and the kids have been playing outside occasionally the last few days. I know, I know, we'll have at least one more snowstorm, probably more, but we're getting to the end! I'm thinking planting, raking, pruning, fixing, trimming, digging, watering, and all the outside stuff to do and since it's spring I'm still excited about all that work!

And now for that special time, Similes with Joseph:
We cleaned his room, and he proclaimed "It's as clean as a pancake!"
My sis's were telling him about something that was cool (slang cool, not temp cool) and he said "That rocks like a rubber band!"
No cliche's here, it's all original.

Busy day today! Just because I'm getting ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow is: My niece's baptism--in Idaho, my almost sis in law's bridal shower--in Idaho, a friends baby shower--here, Joseph's friend's birthday party--here, and a lady in the ward's wedding--here. Sooooo, obviously not gong to make it to everything, but trying to acknowledge all these good people around me and my family. I'm throwing things together, but I still had to take a sec to check out my usual stuff on the Internet, and I have to post this from I am Momma Hear me Roar:
I have got to learn how to do freezer stencils. I can think of a dozen kids I want to make this for. Some adults, too. Here's the link:

http://iammommahearmeroar.blogspot.com/2011/03/you-roared.html

Someone named Jillian deserves big kudos for this.

And now I've got to go be responsible. Happy weekend!