Our Boy

Ahh, I have a minute to myself. It seems like those don't come very often lately. So, I just want to write down a couple of things about Ryan that I don't want to forget.

Last week was his first Sunday in nursery. Nate was ready to dance a jig in the hallway at church. Since I've been playing the piano in Primary, it has been Nate's job to contain him at church these last few difficult months before Ryan was old enough to go to nursery. Whew, he made it with his testimony still intact. :) Wait, how did my baby grow up enough to go to nursery? Where did the last 18 months go?

Ryan has a thing for phones and shoes. He loves to talk on the phone and gets so upset if we hand him the broken phone. He wants the real thing that lights up and makes noises. Although, when he just can't get his little fingers on the real one, he will eventually settle for a remote, a little book, a block, or anything else that he can squish between his ear and shoulder and then chatter away. He also frequently raids the front closet for shoes. He's pretty good at walking around in them even if they are WAY too big. It's okay, though, because he also likes cars and trains and balls.

He is a little chatterbox, and he is starting to say words that I can actually recognize. His most clear phrase is, "Oh, man!"

Hannah can usually be found reading on her bed, and she is usually in such a hurry to get to her latest book that she always leaves things undone. So, I stand at the bottom of the stairs and call up, "HANNAH." And now Ryan frequently stands at the bottom of the stairs and calls out, "Hannah!"

If I offer him something he doesn't want, he can't just shake his head no. He has to grab the item, throw it, and then shake his head at me.

When I dry my hair, Ryan comes and lays down at my feet on the rug in the bathroom. I don't know why, but he does it everyday.

He is big on routines. He knows each step I take when I am getting ready in the morning, and he is usually handing me my clothes or my hairbrush or whatever just as I am about to reach for it. Last night I was going to just say prayers and then put him to bed before we read scriptures so we wouldn't have to worry about him trying steal our scriptures or turning the pages on us, but he wouldn't have it. I set him on the ground and he ran and grabbed the scriptures and tried to get up on my bed. Well, there's not much I could do about that except just let him join us. After scriptures and prayers he ran into his room and reached up for me to put him in his crib.

He is so much fun. We all love having him in our home. He is so happy and loving. It is such a joy watching him learn and seeing his little personality come out.

Happy Birthday, Hannah!!

For Hannah's 9th birthday party (yes, she turns 9 tomorrow), she decided she wanted a tea party. So, here is her cake. I hope you can tell it's a hat. It's always such a stress to make the cake, but I love the tradition of making a fun cake for my kids' birthdays.

Here is our little crew waiting for the party guests to arrive. We had snow that morning, but Hannah was so relieved that the roads were clear enough for the cousins to still come. When everybody got here I forgot to get any pictures of the kids eating at the table with the china in all of their dress-ups.

More of the cute partygoers waiting for their cake.

I think Hannah liked her gifts. She is such a sweetheart. We are so grateful to have her in our family. We love you, Hannah. Happy birthday!

My surprising news

So, I started a new job this week. I wasn't looking for a job. I'm quite surprised by it myself, but I'm excited about it, too. I'm working for a professor that teaches online classes at several online colleges like the University of Phoenix. He teaches at 13 different colleges, so he needs help entering grades and other data entry stuff. I do check a few assignments, which is scary to me. So, it's just working from home a few hours early every morning, although he's been training me this week so it has taken more time. The kids have been so wonderful this week. The girls helped babysit Ryan this morning since I didn't finish before Nate left for work. They were great helpers. What am I going to do when they track back in on Thursday?! I'll miss them, that's what. Anyway, while everyone else has had great baby news this year, my surprising news is of a little different nature. :)

More snow pictures

We finally got a snowman! The girls have been so excited that the snow actually stayed around a few days. I can't say Ryan ever really enjoyed being out there, but he grew a little accustomed to it.

Evening Entertainment

Snow Weekend!

When snow was forecasted for this weekend, I have to admit that I didn't really believe it would happen. However, I was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong. And it came on a Saturday when Nate didn't have to worry about working at all. Nice!

Poor Ryan, we don't have gloves for him. He was happy outside for a few minutes, but he didn't want to keep the gloves on that we gave him. When he got his fingers in the snow, it didn't take him long to start crying. Then he did a face plant pretty soon after that. But he wasn't happy to be inside while everyone else was outside, either.

Nikki and Hannah had fun outside even though we still haven't acquired anything that will serve as a suitable sled. We tried a trash bag this year -- didn't work.

Notice the plastic grocery bags on Hannah's feet? That's what we used to do when we were growing up. It seems silly to have snowboots for kids when you live in NC and may or may not get snow at all in a given year. Somehow, wearing grocery bags on our feet just seemed a little different now that we are city dwellers. I really felt like a redneck.

We also made snowcream, but I didn't get a picture of that. It was really good, though. Even Nate was impressed I could do that. FYI -- food coloring doesn't really work too well in snow cream because the coloring freezes before it can spread evenly throughout the cream.

Church was cancelled today because of the snow. We had our own little primary sharing and singing time. It was a lot of fun, and Nate really enjoyed not having to contain Ryan for 3 hours of church.

We got this art book from the library the other day, and with all of the extra time we've had we have tried a few projects out. Here is one that everyone ended up having a lot of fun with. You start by filling a blank page with dots. Then you connect pairs of dots to make different kinds of lines in all directions, some curvy, some straight, make some triangles, squares, circles, whatever. Then you try to find a funny creature somewhere in all the shapes you have made. Erase all the extra lines and then add in whatever details you want. This is my camel ice skating while flying a kite, although Nate says it doesn't look anything like a camel.

Here is Nate's. It's sideways -- I forgot to rotate it before I uploaded it, but he says it's a fire-breathing dragon with wings and a bat flying behind it. What a boy picture. :)

Nikki's girl reading a book. I thought she did a great job.

And Hannah's frog prince. I have no idea how she found a frog out of her lines. I never would have seen it.

It was a lot of fun doing it together.

The Robe

I went to book club last night, and we talked about this book. It was a really good book. I definitely recommend it. It's not a quick, easy read. It's a historical fiction novel about the Roman soldier who crucified Jesus Christ and then won His robe that they gambled for. It's the story of how his life changed because of that. It also develops the story of his slave, Demetrius, who is a really cool character. Lots of applicable life lessons. It also visits the people who were affected by Jesus' miracles, such as the woman with an issue of blood, the family that was holding the wedding when He changed the water to wine, a woman who learned she had a singing talent after Jesus visited with her, a boy who had a lame leg healed. It was interesting to read about what it was like for those early Christians in the immediate times following the Crucifixion. What an incredibly tough time it would have been to live through. Anyway, very good read.

Sunday Will Come

I was up in the attic the other day trying to decide if there was anything up there that I really cared enough about to take with us when we move. I was going through a box of mementos with the thought that I was only going to keep it if I thought my children might be interested in it when I died. I came across a letter from my mom and one from my dad that they each had written to me. It's amazing that they have been gone for almost 14 years and yet the emotions can still come so quickly to the surface. My emotions aren't quite the same as they were when I was 16, though. I do feel sorrow for what my children are missing out on without my parents in their lives, and yet I feel so much hope and joy for the life that is to come. I feel an incredible amount of gratitude that I have such loving parents who were great examples to me. They were just good people, and I feel so blessed to be a part of their family. And I feel more gratitude than I can express for my Savior who overcame death and hell for us. I recently heard a talk by Elder Wirthlin from a few years ago that is just beautiful. Here is an excerpt if you don't feel like clicking the link to read all of it, but it is definitely worth the time to read through it.

The Resurrection is at the core of our beliefs as Christians. Without it, our faith is meaningless. The Apostle Paul said, "If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and [our] faith is also vain."5

In all the history of the world there have been many great and wise souls, many of whom claimed special knowledge of God. But when the Savior rose from the tomb, He did something no one had ever done. He did something no one else could do. He broke the bonds of death, not only for Himself but for all who have ever lived—the just and the unjust.6

When Christ rose from the grave, becoming the firstfruits of the Resurrection, He made that gift available to all. And with that sublime act, He softened the devastating, consuming sorrow that gnaws at the souls of those who have lost precious loved ones.

I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross.

On that terrible Friday the earth shook and grew dark. Frightful storms lashed at the earth.

Those evil men who sought His life rejoiced. Now that Jesus was no more, surely those who followed Him would disperse. On that day they stood triumphant.

On that day the veil of the temple was rent in twain.

Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were both overcome with grief and despair. The superb man they had loved and honored hung lifeless upon the cross.

On that Friday the Apostles were devastated. Jesus, their Savior—the man who had walked on water and raised the dead—was Himself at the mercy of wicked men. They watched helplessly as He was overcome by His enemies.

On that Friday the Savior of mankind was humiliated and bruised, abused and reviled.

It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow that gnawed at the souls of those who loved and honored the Son of God.

I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world's history, that Friday was the darkest.

But the doom of that day did not endure.

The despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind.

And in an instant the eyes that had been filled with ever-flowing tears dried. The lips that had whispered prayers of distress and grief now filled the air with wondrous praise, for Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, stood before them as the firstfruits of the Resurrection, the proof that death is merely the beginning of a new and wondrous existence.

Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.

No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come. (Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, Sunday Will Come, Ensign, Nov. 2006)

Granola Bars

Posting the recipe for the yogurt made me think about my granola bars. I really like these, too. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com and tweaked it a little bit.

3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup Rice Krispies
1 cup wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 c. sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 c. honey
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips (or dried apples and cinnamon, or raisins, or whatever you want)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9x13 dish.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips. Then stir in the chips.
3. Firmly press mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown (I have a wimpy oven and have to bake it for 24 minutes to keep them from being too crumbly). Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into bars. Let bars cool completley in pan before removing.

Yogurt

So one of my favorite snacks has become yogurt mixed with granola.  This really isn't hard to do. It just has to sit for several hours, and it's always hard for me to remember to put it in the fridge later. It's pretty forgiving though. The other night I was supposed to put it in the fridge at 7 and didn't remember until 10, and it was just fine. I only like Yoplait yogurt -- no generic stuff, but I think this is really yummy. The original recipe that I saw was for double this amount, and she suggested getting one of those styrofoam coolers to put the jars in. Then you fill all the extra room in the cooler with a heavy blanket. We don't need that much. I make half of that and just use a small cooler that I think is for picnic lunches, and I stuff extra dish towels around it to fill up the empty space in the cooler. Anyway, this is the recipe that I use:

In a medium saucepan, combine 3 cups milk with 1/4 cup powdered milk (3 c. water, 3/4 c. + 1 T. dry milk). Whisk til smooth. Heat to 200 degrees or until milk starts to bubble on the sides and crawl up the pan. Remove from heat and pour into a glass bowl. Allow to cool until warm to the touch (100 degrees, and it takes a while). Add 1/2 cup yogurt starter (you can either use some from your last batch, or if you forgot to save some, use Dannon plain). Mix until smooth, then fill 2 pint jars.

Immediately place in thick blanket and cover. Allow to sit 9 hours before refrigerating.

For vanilla yogurt, add 1/4 cup sugar  and 1 Tablespoon vanilla to the heating milk. For fruit yogurt, place a few tbsp. of your favorite jam at the bottom of the jars before filling.