For Dad

I think Dad would have loved that I have live things growing in my home and really it's no thanks to me. If any of you really know Josh, you know that he's passionate...about what? Well, for the time being, about orchids. His other passions include birding, fishing, paper, me (whoops...did I just say that!). Anyway, so here's about half our orchid collection and only one in the picture is in bloom. But look at that cilantro! I'm not sure what to do with it once it is fully grown...

Back to Dad...he was also a man of many passions. He was the ultimate gardener among other things. When he was diagnosed a few years back with cancer, being the optimist he was, I think he was at least happy that he got to quit his job and finally spend some serious time doing what he loved. Anyway, looking at my window sill this morning I thought of Dad so here are some pictures of him and his passions.

Dad in his Queen Creek garden

Dad with his sweetheart

Dad working in the Gilbert backyard

And all the boys helping...(left to right) Alden, Josh and then my brothers: Ben, Andy, Nate, Dad and Kenny (Todd, where were you?)

My window sill...Josh could tell you all the names of the orchids. I just know that my herbs are finally growing!

Didn't realize this when I married him, but as an added perk, I got all the best of my Dad in him. Love you Josh.

"I love you" and "Congratulations!"

I thought this was appropriate with Valentine's Day quickly approaching. Jonah enjoys saying, "I love you Mommy." It's just one of those automated responses that he says when he has nothing else to say. The best is when he's sitting on the toilet, doing his poo-poos (sorry for the distasteful image now in your heads) and I hear from the other room Jonah at the top of his lungs...."I LOVE YOU MOMMY." I love you too Jonah.

So this morning while eating breakfast out comes "Mommy, I love you" from Jonah. "I love you too, Jonah." Ellie followed up in her sick, croupy voice, "Do you wuv me, mommy?" "Yes, Ellie I love you." And then Ellie as excited as can be, "She wuvs me!"

And I really don't know where this came from, but a bit later Jonah said, "Congratulations!"
"Congratulations for what, Jonah?"
"Congratulations for breakfast." (like, duh mom)
"Oh...er, thanks."

Here are some pictures of us sick, quarantined in our house this week...

We borrowed a few princess movies from Grandma for Ellie while she was sick. You could pretty much find the kids in this position all week long.

This is Jonah taking a picture of Ellie and me being sick together. And yes, I am brave for posting this no make-up, hair-not-done-in-a-week picture.

Char's got it too now :(

New Year Firsts

Jonah's now in Primary.

That being said, I should mention that it took Jonah screaming about it two weeks prior to it ever even happening, Josh having to leave his nursery class of 10 or so 18-month old kids to his teacher-partner the day this event took place and....a whole lot of prayers.

To say that Jonah wasn't happy about becoming a shining Sunbeam would be the understatement of the year (and yes, I'm aware that we're not even two weeks into the new year). Josh and I thought it would be a great idea to start prepping Jonah a couple weeks before his first Sunday in Primary. Even the "prepping" sent Jonah into full blown tantrums. When the blessed event occurred, I thought for the first time ever, "They might actually ask us to leave and never come back." He screamed all through Music/Sharing Time, in and out and back in again. And then when it was time to go to his class he was fine. Loved it. Couldn't have been more thrilled with his teacher and his class, which according to him isn't part of Primary. Well, okay. Call it whatever you want if it keeps the tears away!

I guess there has to be one of these cases every time to kick off the New Year in Primary. I just never thought it would be Jonah. The best was his prayer the other night. Knowing that he was a little anxious about the change that was going to occur in his life, we had been telling him to ask Heavenly Father to help him be ready for Primary. So then a few nights ago, after the Primary Saga day, he was saying our family prayer and said, "...and bless me...(pause)...bless Ellie that she'll be ready for Primary..."

I think he has finally made his peace with Primary and can now concentrate his prayers on Ellie's behalf when next year she gets to take the plunge (poor "little fella" as Jonah would say).

Christmas 2007

I'm deciding pretty much to skip over Christmas since it's now January....wait I just had to check the calendar on the computer cause I was pretty sure it was only the 7th....so make it the 9th, and already my memory is failing me.

What I remember best was Ellie's two year old enthusiasm for Christmas this year. I think she unwrapped (or rather, tore to shreds) just about every present under the tree this year. She just kept going back for more. It's a good thing for big families, and generous grandparents or she'd have ran out of steam with no more presents to keep her going. She was a blast.

And Jonah, well he got his much anticipated transformers, three of them, and is even now a few weeks later still a very happy boy. Well...there was that one day. Jonah asked me to help him transform his jeep. After playing with it for 10 minutes and being even further from getting it right than when I had started I told him we'd just have to wait until Daddy got home from work to show us how. That didn't go over well. No tantrum, just the constant whining that, "Mommy, you need to go to work and Daddy needs to STAY HOME with me!" Not exactly one of my shining moments of motherhood. Luckily, he has since learned to transform them and is, I think, content to settle for a stay-at-home-mom.

So Christmas was fun and I'm sad it's over, yet I'm ready to be back into a routine again, even if that routine was more or less, play with the kids, clean house, play some more with the kids, watch that clean house go to ruin. Hey, we do the best we can, right?

Here are some pictures...

Jonah and Ellie in front of our "law school tree". Needless to say, (so why am I saying it?) I'm hoping for a bigger/fuller one next year. Will my chances increase if this one mysteriously makes its way into the trashcan? Hmmmm...

All the kids got to play a part in this years' nativity.


Jonah, transformer in one hand, new scooter in the other.

Ellie trying out her new bike.

Capturing the kids being really cute together after Christmas.

(I should have known not to start the post with "I'm deciding to skip over Christmas this year..." That's what happens when you try to go to bed at 10 pm and just can't fall asleep!)