Make a wish!

"It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't." ~Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams

That's so true, but we love them so much, it's all worth it in the end.

Tomorrow at 5:10pm, our Sam will officially turn 7 years old. When you're the child, a birthday means a few presents, cake, and being made to feel like the most special person in the world on your special day. As a parent, we feel it's our responsibility to provide those things to our children. After all, they are each a present to us from our Heavenly Father, and to whom else is the celebration of the day of their birth more important? We are so lucky, so blessed, to have such a sweet little boy in our family. Sammy is such a kindhearted, tender, affectionate and compassionate young man. His smile is so genuine, it lights up our lives, and his tears so heartfelt, we can't help but cry with him when he hurts. I'm so grateful for every birthday we get to celebrate with our sweet little Sam!

Tagged, otra vez!

1o years ago I...
1- Had recently returned from my mission.
2- Was working at Nordstrom in Salt Lake City.
3- Could never have predicted how my life would be right now.
4- Went to Moab and road a mountain bike on 10 miles of slick rock.
5- Remember watching the news about the Columbine shooting for hours.


5 things on my "to do" list today (or tomorrow...)
1- Bake gingerbread cookies for Sophie's kindergarten class.
2- Clean the bathrooms.
3- Jog 5 miles.
4- Start packing and getting organized for our trip this weekend.
5- Mend some of the kids' clothes.


5 Snacks that I enjoy...
1- Chocolate Turtle Chex Mix
2- Raspberry smoothies
3-Toast with peanut butter, honey and bananas
4-Special K Vanilla Almond with Vanilla Soy milk - I eat it every single day. Yum.
5-Almond M&M's


5 things I would do if I were a millionaire...
1- Design and build a new home - a log cabin style on some acreage near the Snake River in the mountains.
2- Go on a family vacation to Hawaii.
3- Get piano lessons for all my kids.
4- Make regular visits to family and friends in Michigan.
5- Send Chris to baseball camp.


5 places I have lived...
1- Keflavik, Iceland
2- Concord, Tecumseh, and Westland, Michigan
3- Rialto, Upland, and Apple Valley, California
4- Provo, Lehi, Orem and Murray, Utah
5- Caldwell and Inkom, Idaho


5 jobs I have had...
1- McDonald's - for over 3 years in high school!
2- Nursing assistant in a convalescent home.
3- Marketing Secretary
4- Caretaker of twin girls with cerebral palsy.
5- Retail at Nordstrom.



Now I tag: Lindsay, Jennifer G., Jen Y., Jenny W., Elizabeth, Angela B., Jan W. and Suzanne! Have fun, ladies.

Two for the price of one!

Yesterday Sam finally lost his two front teeth. They'd been barely hanging in there for about a month. I love it when the kids lose those teeth because they look so cute with the big gappy smile! Unfortunately, we've been dealing with vomiting and other unmentionable unpleasantness around our house for a couple of days. I think Chris and I are coming down with it today, since we both have upset stomachs. It seems to have been a 24 hour bug with the kids, so I'm really hoping it passes quickly.

Some days you have it, some days you don't.

Yeah!

Well, we made it through another week, and my ploy seems to have worked, at least for the most part! Sammy did great at school this week, although he did briefly cry once. Hey, I'll take any small victory. The kids all love the dog, and having him has been kind of therapeutic for me, as well. It's been fun to focus on the challenge of getting him house-trained, and teaching him to obey. That way I'm distracted from how much I hate when Chris is in school. He's SO busy, and I get a little lonely for my partner in crime! It's a good thing there's never a dull moment around our household, with these four highly animated munchkins, and now a little puppy, running around! And notice the above picture? Noah was reading over my shoulder the other day as I was posting a blog, and he read what I wrote about not having any pictures of Sophie or Sam with the dog. He told the two of them that:"Mom put on the computer that you guys are afraid of Zipper!" Well, they wouldn't have it, and immediately demanded I photograph them in their fearlessness!On another note, Noah came home from school last week with a book he borrowed from his teacher. It was from the "Beast Quest" series, and he loved it so he asked me to get him all the books. He already is responsible for reading at least three books a night for school, that he is tested on every morning, and he has also been bringing home a longer chapter book for pleasure reading. The day he brought home the Beast Quest book, he finished it in about 2 hours, after reading his 3 books for testing and a Goosebumps book. I am amazed at how fast this kid can read. Anyway, I ordered him the series of books, and he immediately set to reading them and has already finished two of them. What cracks me up about these books is that they are about the quest to find different mythical creatures (minotaur, yeti, giant squid, etc.) and the harrowing events that take place along the way. I guess I shouldn't be surprised at Noah's interest in them, as he, thanks to his father, has become a huge Monster Quest fan (a series on the History channel which documents expeditions to find and prove the existence of various creatures, such as Bigfoot, the giant Octopus, vampires, gigantic snakes, Lochness, etc.). He informed me recently that when he grows up he's going to go to college to be a scientist so he can hunt for Bigfoot and be the first one to catch him. I love it!

Just more puppy shots!

He (the pup) can only walk for a bit at a time and then tires out, so Nick held him on his lap in the stroller. One of Nick's first attempts to pick him up on his own.

Groomer has it!

After church today the kids and I took Zipper to the park for a walk. I wish I'd brought my camera. Nick was so funny, he insisted he had control of the dog's leash, and he jogged the entire 2 laps around (one and a quarter miles) just so that the puppy would follow him. When we came home, I gave Zipper his first bath, then a little fur trim. I have never bathed a dog, well, at least not since I was a little girl helping my grandma who worked for a veterinarian. I was expecting a lot of thrashing and flailing about, but the pup was exceptionally calm and seemed pretty complacent about the whole thing. I think I've discovered my new calling in life! (Haha!) The kids thought it was pretty entertaining when he ran around the house shaking the water out of his fur.
You may notice that so far there are no pictures of Sammy or Sophie with the dog. That's because, as much as they both love to sit and watch him and talk about how "adorable" he is, they haven't quite warmed up to the idea of letting him jump, lick or wiggle anywhere near them!