Newsworthy

Not that we haven't had anything newsworthy to share in the last couple of months. . .Kenneth accepted a new job, we moved half-way across the country (Never did I ever think I would live in Kansas, but I do!!!), I am very large and pregnant, we just bought a house. . . to mention a few.  But, yesterday, something so newsworthy happened that I simply had to share it on the blog and I will catch up on the rest later.  Maybe.  No promises. 

Drum roll please. . .Grant made his first deposit in the potty bank yesterday!!!!  That's right, it's only taken him 40 months to figure it out, but he successfully went 3 times on the potty.  We thought this would never happen.  (Nevermind that we have a new baby coming in a few weeks and we will be moving into a new house and it may undo it all, but we are very excited for the progress.) 

(Oh yeah- Grant also got glasses in the mean time)

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas! 

A potty story, a.k.a. our Daddy, the hero!

Folks, this is one of those stories that you could never make up.  One of those situations where real life was definitely funnier than any sitcom could even try to be. 
It all started about a year ago.  Emma started a workbook.  To motivate her to work on it, we told her that when she completed the book, Daddy would take her to the store to pick out a new toy.  Well, she finished the book a few weeks ago and earned her trip to the store with Daddy (we tried to talk her into a trip to the thrift store to keep it cheaper, but she insisted it must be Target, and so it was).  She picked out a fancy horse-drawn carriage with two little dolls and two little dogs.  These little dogs were the size of thimbles, mind you.  Oh how the girls played with these toys!!  They couldn't stop!  They were having so much fun.
Two days later, Emma was on the potty when Arianna felt the need to come in the bathroom and hand Emma one of the small puppies.  Emma took it and proceeded to try to wipe while holding said thimble-sized puppy.  If I've told them once I've told them a thousand times that toys do not belong in the bathroom! (Do I sound like a broken record or what?!)  You can probably guess what happened.  Yup, there it went right into the toilet.  It sat there at the opening of the little hole.  Emma started to freak out and so I tried to get it with some tongs, and of course I knocked it farther into the hole so that it was no longer visible.  That really got Emma in a tizzy.  So, I tried to fish it out with a streched out paper clip.  No use. I called Kenneth for suggestions and he told me to just leave it alone and that he would get it out when he got home from work.  So, I decided that we would tape the flusher so no one could flush it down and also tape the bathroom door shut to remind the girls to use the other bathroom for the rest of the afternoon.  All would have been fine and dandy except that a couple of hours later the timing for the day dictated that I bathe the children in the late afternoon instead of after dinner like we normally would.  As I untaped the door so the little ones could get in the bath tub, I reminded the girls that they needed to use the other bathroom if they needed to use a toilet.  All was going fine.  Emma was showering in my bathroom and Arianna and Grant were bathing in the bathroom with the puppy in the potty.  I had to leave Arianna and Grant at one point to help Emma.  In the one and a half minutes I was gone, Arianna felt the urge and had to hop out of the tub and do a #2 in the potty- completely forgetting about the concealed puppy.  I couldn't believe it.  Of course, as soon as Emma heard what was going on (at this point she was done with her shower), she ran into the bathroom in a complete state of hysteria, blaming Arianna for doing it on purpose and flipping out saying we would never get the puppy back.  (I apologize if any of this is too much for any of you- you may gladly skip the rest- especially if you are at a stage in your life where you are not dealing with poop on a daily basis like I am and it is revolting to you.)  I once again called Kenneth at work and told him he would never believe what had happened now (all the while with Emma sobbing and screaming in the background).  He suggested that I try to scoop out the pieces to avoid them breaking down further so that he would still be able to get the puppy out when he got home.  As the martyr-mother that I am, I carefully scooped out as much of the poop as I could and painstakingly took it in a bucket into the other bathroom to dispose of it, then taped the toilet shut so we wouldn't run into this problem a second time.  Of course, at this point, the water is completely cloudy, er, in a brown hazy sort of way, if you know what I mean.  Yuck.   The potty remains untouched for the rest of the day- thank heavens.
Well, Daddy comes home and prepares to extract the thimble-sized puppy from the toilet.  He, knowing more of the inner workings of toilets than I, had a plan of attack.  First, he had to bail out as much of the mucky liquid as he could so that he can see what he was doing.  This, of course, involved finding the right small bailer-outer that we could then throw away and the right bucket which we could then throw away- after being involved in such dirty business.  To let you really be a part of this, you must picture the scene: a small, ugly, yellow wall-papered, yellow-linoleumed bathroom with 5 people crowded in it to witness the rescue (one of whom was quite vested in the outcome, being so attached the the lost item).  Of course, Dad felt no pressure at all to save the puppy.  No, none at all- knowing his 6 year old would be devastated if he did not successfully retrieve the poor poopy little puppy. 
So, there we are.   We are at the point where Kenneth is ready for step 2.  To press the trigger, so to say.  It was 'now or never time'.  Kenneth was thinking he could slowly press down the flusher and cause just a little bit of water to come through the little hole to force the puppy out and into his waiting hand which was blocking the larger hole.  Well, it didn't so much work that way.  Once he had slightly pressed the flusher it was full force with the water out of the hole and with his hand in there blocking the normal flow, it sprayed mucky water all over, in quite a fast and furious way, mostly getting Kenneth, poor guy.  But, in the midst of the chaos and nastiness of that unexpected spray, there it was; the puppy was safe in Daddy's hand.  Oh, the joy!  Emma was delighted and Daddy was crowned the hero.  Mom, of course, whisked that little puppy right away to the kitchen where I boiled it and washed it.  It still smelled.  (I guess being lodged in the inner depths of a toilet for a few hours will do that to you.)  Much to Emma's sadness, we put it up on a shelf for a day or so to air out until the girls dragged a chair over and could wait no longer. 

And guess what?  I think since the incident I can count on 2 fingers the number of times I have seen them play with that puppy.  Go figure.  At the end of the day, Daddy was the hero.  Another positive outcome out of the whole deal?  I was motivated to give the bathroom a good cleaning, which never happens often enough around here.

Happy Belated Birthday, Grant!

So, It has been 3 weeks now, but Grant did have a Birthday and is now 3 years old.  My oh my, how time flies!!  He is such a delight.  I am so glad to have him as part of our family.

At Grant's well-child visit, he weighed 31 pounds (41st percentile) and was 36 1/2 inches tall (19th percentile).  In every way he is as healthy as a horse.  He is the funniest child.  He always makes us laugh.  He is still not potty trained.  Typical responses from when when asked when he will potty train include: "In 3 days. No, actually, 6 days." or "When I am a girl".  Needless to say, we haven't gotten too far in that realm.  When he's ready, he'll do it, I suppose. 

Grant loves train, tractors, cars- anything with wheels.  He enjoys playing with his sisters and loves to do everything they do- which unfortunately sometimes includes dressing up like a fairy and dancing around the living room.  (Let's hope he outgrows that really soon!)

One funny quirk about Grant is that he hates it when I pull my hair back in a pony tail.  He gets super upset and will at times go into hysterics until I take out the hair tie and leave it down.  Funny guy.  Not quite sure what that is all about. 

Here's his Birthday interview followed by some pictures of his Birthday:

How old are you now?
I don't know.   
How old are you now?
 I don't know.
Grant, are you 2 years old?
Yeah.  I am 2 years old.  I am 2.
Grant, you had a Birthday.  How old did you turn on your Birthday? 

6

You are 3 years old. 
I am 3 years old.

What is your favorite animal?
a tiger

What is your favorite color?
green

What is your favorite food?
white sauce, white noodles.

What is your favorite treat?
chocolate.
Chocolate what?
Chocolate mango. (I laughed)
Chocolate milk.
Do you have chocolate milk mom?
I just laughed again and told him no.
What is your favorite book?
My truck book that has lots of pages in it.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
a teenager

Who loves you the most?
Emma

What is your favorite part of the day?
ride bikes

What is your favorite thing to do?
play



The dining area all decked out for the Birthday Breakfast- the big 3 balloon was a gift from the kids' adopted Grandma.





It's all about the cream for this guy; I let him lick the beaters on his Birthday.  He wanted pancakes with cream and strawberries for breakfast.  He doesn't like syrup.  He informs us it makes him too sticky. 

He loves that cream!

Yummy pancakes!

Grandma Pilz sent him $3.  His exclamation upon pulling them out of the envelope was: "Three monies!!!!!!"  He then immediately handed one to each of his sisters.  So sweet. 

Playing with his new Lightning McQueen racetrack from mom and dad.

Birthday cake- I love the look on his face.  I am kind of selfish and if I can get away with it, I make a cake that I like.  Since Grant's only request for his Birthday cake was that it had cream and berries on it, I got to make my absolute favorite pound cake recipe.  Delicious.  I was glad to see that he was delighted as well.  (Emma has even requested it for her Birthday in May!)

Enjoying his cake

After lunch and cake, we packed into the van and headed for the Central Valley.  We stayed one night in a hotel, went out to dinner and the next day went to "Color the Skies"- a hot air balloon festival.  Of course, what did the children do upon entering the hotel room?  You guessed it!!  Jumped on the beds, of course!



We spent some time in the pool, too.  Here's the Birthday boy enjoying the steps.



It was not much of a surprise that by bedtime they had gotten quite daring!

Here we are early in the morning at the festival.  Unfortunately, it was too windy for the balloons to actually take off.  There were many more things to see, luckily!

The petting zoo was the most favorite attraction for the children- the girls especially.

Sky divers!  It was so neat to see them land.  There were about 12 of them total!

Synchronized kite flying show set to music.  Very impressive.  I had never seen anything like that before!

A *Little* Perspective

Just had to share some of the memorable things the kids have said lately. It sure is interesting to get peeks into their little brains every now and again.
Perspective #1:
The other day we were getting into the van at the park getting ready to go home. I noticed that the car next to us was a Lotus. I have always been interested in cars. I mean, knowing the names of cars, not working on them or anything. So, I was impressed. I also have a 3 year old boy that is all about cars, if you know what I mean. So, I pointed it out to all of the children.
"Look at that car next to us." "It's a Lotus."
"That is a very expensive car. It costs a lot of money." I said.

Emma then said, "I think I saw a white one the other day."

"Probably not", I said, "You really don't see them very often. I bet it was another kind of sports car. They are so expensive and most people don't have enough money to buy one of those. We don't have enough money to buy a car like that."

Little Arianna then pipes up in the back seat, "Yeah, we gave all our money away."

I was confused because I thought she was referring to our money as in our family's money.  I thought, when did we give away all our money?
As I was having these thoughts she said, "We gave all our money to the library."

At which point I had to laugh out loud. To explain: A couple of months ago, the children cracked a DVD from the library. I was not pleased with them and to teach them a lesson, I made them give me all their money to help pay for it (all 2 dollars and 30 cents of it combined- from all three of them) (Nevermind that the stinkin' DVD cost us $25!!!!!) Anyway. Arianna will apparantly never let me forget that I made her give away her entire life- savings at the young and tender age of 4 years old!

Perspective #2:
To preface the story, each Sunday, except on fast Sunday, the Bishop of our ward gives the children goldfish crackers after church if they tell him what they learned in class that day.

Kenneth picked Grant up from Nursery and was carrying him down the hall when Grant asked, "Dad, is it slow day?"

Kenneth was confused and asked him what he was talking about. Little Grant then proceeded to explain what I did above, saying that on slow days they get treats and on fast day they don't.

Perspective #3:
Grant has asked me 2 or 3 times now since I've been pregnant: "Mom, why do we have to have babies anyway?"

I think he senses a great change coming in his life. . .

Speaking of the baby, I had the ultrasound today. (I am 19 1/2 weeks along) The baby looks healthy and perfect. I got teary-eyed watching the ultrasound today. It is such a miracle that a little person is forming inside of me. I feel so thankful that we are able to have another baby.  And no. . . we did not find out the sex of the baby. . .

New Developments

Hello big wide world!  I have {mostly} given up blogging for the moment because of my frustration with the computers in my life, but I fugured I should at least try and give an update on what is going on in our lives.  We are great!!!! 
Emma:  learned to ride a bike with no training wheels!!  She learned while we were on the farm in June.  (The best place to learn if you ask me; the dirt road is a whole lot more pleasant to land on than our asphalt cul-de-sac!)  She is a pro now and loves to ride all over the place. 
Emma also lost her first tooth!  It is on the bottom and so it is not glaringly obvious it is missing unless she really opens her mouth wide or gives a BIG smile. 
She also wears glasses now!!! She has a type of strabismus, or misalignment of the eyes, called Accomodative Esotropia.  The doctor is hoping that wearing the glasses for a while will correct the problem and then she won't have to wear them any more.  In the meantime, they fit her well and she looks adorable. 

Arianna is as spunky as ever.  She never ceases to amaze us with what her little mind comes up with.  A week or so after we returned form New York, she was outside dumping dirt all over the patio (which she knows is against the rules).  I asked her why she was doing that and she responded that she was trying to make a dirt road, like at the farm!

Grant is growing up so fast.  He will turn 3 years old at the end of this month!  I can hardly believe it!  Unfortunately, he is still not interested in ditching the diapers.  I am hoping he will do what the girls both did and surprise us right around his 3rd Birthday.  I certainly don't want to be changing a 3 1/2 year old's diapers along with a newborn's!!!

Yes, you heard right!!  The biggest development of all is that I am expecting our fourth child in January- the day after Arianna's birthday to be exact.  We are very excited and feel so thankful to be able to have another child, with the chemo and all.  We weren't sure it would even be possible.  Much to the chagrin of my sister (you know who you are. . .) we will not find out the sex of the baby this time.  Oh! the surprise is wonderful!!!  So, I am 15 weeks along and feeling pretty well, just VERY tired. 

So, there you have it! Sans pictures.  Unfortunately, I can't seem to be able to upload pictures due to afore mentioned computer problems.  Story of my life. . .  I even bribbed Emma with a jelly bean so I could get a picture of her with her glasses and her missing tooth.  Na ja.  Hopefully we will buy a new computer soon and I will be back to sharing all our adventures. 

Beautiful New York

Beautiful evening on the farm. 

Here's just a small glimpse of the farm.  So beautiful.

Can't Live with 'em, Can't Live without 'em!

Oh, these children!  I love them to pieces, but boy can they drive me crazy!  Grant- at a little over 2 1/2 just screamed out my name for the last 40 minutes.  I put him to bed and could tell he was trying to stall, but I had no idea it would go on that long.  He wanted his little flash light.  I said no; we were not going to search all over the house for it and it was time to sleep.  He wanted a book.  No, it is too dark.  I left.  He screamed.  I tried to take care an email for Emma's schooling.  The computer was slow and the combination of that and Grant screaming in the background about drove me batty.  I came back in.  He still wanted a book.  I said no, it was too dark.  I left.  He screamed, "Mommmmmayyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!" about a hundred times.  I tried to talk to my sister-in-law so I wouldn't just be focusing on the screaming.  I had a hard time doing it, but at least the time went a little faster (and I got to talk to my sister-in-law =) )I went in again.  He wanted his flashlight.  I said no.  I left.  He screamed.  I finished the dishes.  Finally, I decided I would lie down with him in my bed if I needed to.  I could not listen to the screaming any longer.  I went in.  He wanted his nose wiped and to be covered up and I haven't heard a peep from him since.  I guess he wore himself right out.  So, here I am writing a blog post instead of taking care of the millions of other things I should be doing. 
We have had a rough couple of days with the children.  They have been ornery and difficult.  In return, sadly, I have been ornery and difficult.  As Kenneth and I talked about it the other evening, after such a day, we realized we have both been so busy, that they probably just need time with us.  Time with us just to play with them and read to them.    My children are angels when I take the time out to just sit on the couch with them and read books.  Or when I get on all fours and chase them around the room.  Ah, time.  There is never enough. . .
One thing is certain.  They grow up way too fast.  Emma officially completes her Kindergarten year tomorrow.  I will have a first-grader!  I am so glad about our decision to homeschool at this time in our life.  There is not enough time to be carting her off to school each day and to have her miss out on playing with and being with her younger siblings.  Of course, there are those days mentioned above when I wish I had a moment's peace.  But, I wouldn't change a thing.  It's like they say, Can't Live with 'em, Can't Live without 'em!

Emma is six years old!!!!

My baby turned six years old this month!  Wow! How time flies!  We are so thankful to have Emma in our family.  She is such a sweet, intelligent, kind, good-hearted girl. 
On Emma's actual Birthday, we had Kenneth's brother, Jason, and his wife and 2 little girls visiting.  Emma was delighted to have them with us on her Birthday.  She kept me hopping in the kitchen all day.  She chose sweet potato waffles for breakfast with whipped cream, strawberries and bananas.  For lunch she requested grilled pizza- which we ate alfresco.  And finally, for dinner she chose Swedish Meatballs, which she has picked for every Birthday dinner since she was capable of picking.  (I actually made it for her 1st Birthday dinner too because it was one of the only dinners at the time that she liked.)  And for dessert, blessed child, she chose brownies.  I myself am not a cake lover, so I was very pleased to oblige in this. 
A couple of days before her birthday, her adopted Grandma, Miss Anita, gave her a little celebration at her house, complete with a HUGE 6 balloon, a big cookie cake decorated with horses on top, lunch of her choice and a stable for her horses to live in. 
Yesterday we had her party with her friends.  It was so pleasant.  We held it at the same park that we did last year and the weather was perfect.  So, yesterday marked the end of the official celebrations on her behalf.  We finally got around to the birthday interview today at dinner.  Sadly, I am having techinically difficulties and am not able to share any pictures with you all right now.  (Can you sense a trend around here!?!?!)  One day I will be up and running again and able to share all our fun happenings since Easter in pictures. 

For now, Here's is the Birthday Interview:

How old are you today?  6
What is your favorite animal?  A horse
What is your favorite color?  Purple and Pink
What is your favorite food?  Chicken Pot Pie
What is your favorite treat?  Chocolate
What is your favorite book?  Any book about animals (she means non-fiction)
What do you want to be when you grow up?  A regular person
What does that mean?  Be like you guys (talking about mom and dad)

Emma, do you want to have a job?  No.  Well, you mean like you had before you met Daddy?  (Yes).  I want to be a teacher in a school.

Who loves you the most?  Heavenly Father
What is your favorite part of the day?  Going places
Who is your best friend?  Clare and Natalie
What is your favorite activity, or thing to do?  Play games and play with toys.

What is your favorite song?  Mother, I Love You (the Primary children sang that in Sacrament Meeting today at Church)
If you could choose to go anywhere in the world, where would you choose to go to visit?  To Alyssa's house (her cousin who lives in Utah)
What kind of cake did you choose for your Birthday?  Cupcakes

What as your favorite thing you learned about this year?  About leopards
What did you learn about leopards?  They can climb a tree holding an animal that weighs more than they do.

What is something new you want to learn about this year?  Zebras

We did lots of things this year, visited lots of places, like the beach, the Wild Animal Park, Utah; what was your favorite?  the beach

What was your favorite part about your Birthday Party?  Playing with my friends.

What is your favorite scripture story?  The miracles of Jesus, actually, Noah.

What was your favorite part of school?  Miss Lorie visiting. 
Why was that your favorite part?  Because she brings us stuff.
(Miss Lorie is the Educational Specialist assigned to us from the Charter School.  We have a budget to spend on cirriculum and educational supplies from the Charter School and Lorie delivers these things to us when she comes for her monthly visit.  Many times it is art supplies, workbooks, puzzles, science projects, etc.)

Would you say you are more like Daddy, or more like Mommy?  Mommy.
Why?  Because I have kind of the same hair as mom. (I just cut my hair, so now we have similar lengths)

Laugh out loud

I love those moments when I laugh out loud at something the kids say or do. Just a minute ago, I was in the same room with Arianna (who was in a 'fort' in the corner). I was concentrating on something else, so I didn't understand her the first time she asked me the question. When I asked her what she said she repeated, "Mom are you going to whip me into a gallop?" I laughed out loud. She is such a crack up sometimes. (Can you tell we read a lot of books about horses?)

We are still alive. It' s been a long while since I've blogged. Ever since we got the new camera, I can't just upload pictures out in the kitchen, which is where I regularly use the computer; the camera software is on the computer in the office. For some reason, that really seems to stand in my way of blogging. But, we have had lots of great adventures and fun times- especially with a fabulous Easter weekend now behind us. I love Spring! Here in California where we live, I feel like we have been enjoying Spring since January. We started seeing the trees bloom then and we still get to see blooms and buds everyday. On Sunday, as I sang with and talked to the Nursery Children (18 months to 3 years) I told them that even the trees know that Jesus was resurrected! Seemingly they have been 'dead' all Winter, and in the Spring they burst forth with newness of life. There is no coincidence that Jesus was resurrected in the Spring of the year!
As the scriptures teach,
"All things denote there is a God; yea even the earth,
and all things that are upon the face of it" - Alma 30:44

San Jose

Grant was out in the backyard with Kenneth this evening and in telling Kenneth about the day he mentioned, "San Jose came today." Kenneth said, "What?" Grant repeated what he said and then Kenneth realized what he was talking about: JOSE, the 'gardener' was here today to mow the lawn. Grant is convinced his name is San Jose. He cracks us up. (San Jose is the next city South of us. We are in the San Jose Stake. We regularly shop and attend preschool in San Jose. It's amazing what they pick up and how they use the knowledge.)

Oh- speaking about misusing knowledge- in an adorable way- I made naan (Indian flat bread) for dinner the other night and Grant said he was going to eat his 'flatbed truck'. The kid eats, drinks, and sleeps cars, I tell you.

Spring, School and Some Good News!

Hello everyone!! How's that for happiness! I love her smile. I got a new camera for Christmas and I have been playing around with it a little. I really want to learn.

Here is some more playing around that I did:

These gorgeous blumes are in my own backyard. Yes, it has been Spring around here for a while. There were already blooming trees in January. It is very strange for this Up-State New Yorker (yes, I consider myself to be such). But, I will enjoy the beauty while it is to be seen February or not!

We also planted another round of seeds in our garden (by we I mean Kenneth, of course).

Here are the peas up. Yum.

Homeschooling is still going well. I can't imagine Emma leaving us everyday! We'd miss her too much! It is an interesting process, this homeschooling. I really have no idea what I am doing. At the beginning, I tried to make it somewhat like the Kindergarten class I worked in. But, Emma resisted almost any structured learning time I would try to do. So, I pretty much let her do what she wants. This morning the girls chose on their own to do this:

Arianna and Grant are so proud of themselves when they point our California.

Upon completion, they rolled around on the ground. Why? I do not know. After they did it together, Emma did the puzzle again on her own. She told me she did it without even looking at the box. How's that for a geography lesson?

Emma is a great reader now and reads aloud for about 1 hour everyday- plus what I read to her. I figure for this age, that is enough. We talk a lot about everything. I really believe that Emma learns a lot just from everyday life. We also have a great library and make regular trips.

We are also thankful for good friends that we have kindergarten co-op with and meet once a week to learn Science, History, Music and Art. It is great. And of course, Park days with friends are the icing on the cake.

Life is good. And now for the good news. . . The PET Scan showed nothing to worry about. It was completely clean!! Hooray!!! Kenneth is feeling great! How thankful we are.

Off the Cuff

Do you ever spend way too much time trying to think of an appropriate title for your blog post, or think of creative ways to combine all the happenings as of late into one neat tidy flowing blog post? I spend way too much of my brain energy on this sort of thing. I need to be more 'off the cuff' about it all sometimes. Maybe that way I would actually record more of the adorable and hilarious things my children say and do that make motherhood oh so worth it.

Tonight we happened to go out to dinner with some friends. (Which is very rare for us) Before we went I got down on the kids' level and tried to prep them. I tried to remind them what we should and should not do in a restaurant. I must say they did quite well. I was pleasantly surprised. When I was talking to Grant about it I asked him what he would like to eat at the restaurant. He replied, "Something good for my belly." (Can you tell we talk about what kinds of foods are good for our bodies?) I asked him what kind of food. He got the cutest little smile on his face and said, "corn." What a funny little guy. At the restaurant when we were asking the kids what they wanted to eat from the menu he did it again- whipped out that cute little smile and just said, "corn." He ended up having the largest pancake I have ever seen with scrambled eggs and 2 strips of bacon. . . and he was in heaven.

Arianna chowed down her fish sticks (not sure what possessed her to order those. We don't eat them at our house and maybe she has had them once or twice at Grandma's.) But she gobbled them up like crazy, then ate some french fries. Then we reminded her to listen to her belly and stop when she was full. She stopped for a while and colored and worked on the activities on the blessed children's paper they give out (I was so thankful for that paper tonight- the girls were completely occupied and happy for an hour!) Then she took a break from her coloring, picked up the large leaf of romaine lettuce that was on her plate as a garnish and proceeded to gobble the entire thing up- with no dip or dressing. I must admit I was bursting with pride that my barely 4 year old would do such a thing!!!!

So, there you have it. My off the cuff musings for the evening. As for some real news, Kenneth is having a PET scan on Wednesday. He finally met with his Oncologist on Tuesday and he feels he should have one done to be safe. Kenneth has been feeling great lately, so we hope and pray that it is clean and that this is simply a precautionary measure and will not disclose more cancer. We know that the Lord is looking out for us. I don't believe it to be merely coincidental that Kenneth was asked to speak in church on Sunday on the topic of 'Facing the Future with Faith'.

Don't Carpe Diem

I wanted to share an article I read recently. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me laugh at motherhood and cry with joy that these beautiful children are mine. Read it! You'll love it! Here it is.
The article talks about 2 different types of time. Chronos time- the hard, slow-passing time- regular time. And then there is Kairos time. This is God's time. It's those moments when time seems to stop for a moment and you feel such joy. 'My cup runneth o'er' moments. I love those moments. Like when Emma, on her own accord, takes the 2 little ones to the couch and reads to them. Like when Grant gives me a big slobbery kiss and looks me right in the eyes to say he loves me.
Then there's Chronos time. It has taken a month to recover from Christmas vacation. The time just seemed to drag. I couldn't seem to be able to get anything done. I just barely took the Christmas decorations down last week. I finally posted about Christmas (find the post here.) And really, the only reason I was able to accomplish all that is because I had sick children and so we weren't able to attend pre-school and kindergarten co-op last week and I allowed the kids to watch movies all day!
One of the highlights of January was going to see the Peking Acrobats at UC Berkeley. We attended a special school performance during the day. The kids loved it! (Notice Arianna wanting to be an acrobat in her Birthday interview) They were amazing!!
If you are interested, look at these images of the acrobats. Simply amazing!
I also managed to post about the rest of Arianna's Birthday celebration. Go here to see that- just one post ago. You've got to check out her cake!

Well it's final- I think I am finally caught up!! Now if only I could keep up with everything else in my life!!!!

Here are some pictures of our last few weeks:



Kiddos helping to wash teh van after our long car trip.

Grant and Daddy. Those outfits weren't planned. I promise. (Aren't they adorable!)


Here are the girls practicing acrobatics.

Emma tumbling- just like the acrobats.

Arianna's Birthday, Part Two

Arianna may have decided not to have a party, but really, she essentially ended up with 3 parties! We celebrated here at home (breakfast and lunch). Then, in the afternoon, Kenneth and I abandoned the Birthday girl (and the other 2 as well) and went to see the U.S. National Ladies Ice Skating Championships. They were watched by good friends of ours who have 5 children. We brought over cupcakes and a gift and she had a little party with them! Then, on Monday, we went to visit Miss Anita (our adopted Grandma out here) and she threw a little party for Arianna. Good times all around!
Here are the pictures:
We had caterpillars for breakfast, what else for lunch than a crab?!?! Arianna and the other two were delighted. Arianna requested peanut butter and jelly and frozen peas for lunch (she sure does makes it easy on me) so I figured I could at least make that somewhat exciting. I saw this idea in Family Fun magazine. They made them with croissants, but I didn't have them and, of course, thought to do this last minute, so this is what I came up with!
Here they are with their crabs.

Then came the main event, the cake. Kenneth came up with this set up. Pretty cheesy, but pretty darn cool for a 4 year old! It was kind of selfish of me, too. I wanted to make a particular chocolate cake recipe, which Kenneth tells me is really a brownie (no wonder I like it so well!) You bake it in a loaf pan and then it sinks as it cools, so it does not have a shape condusive to frosting. Plus, I didn't want frosting anyway. So I had to come up with a way to serve it with the whipped cream and raspberries. So, I just cut it in chunks and made a volcano. Voila!

And boy was it delicious!

Arianna loved it! The first thing she did was remove the dinosaurs from the habitat and share with her siblings. One for each of them. So sweet. (No, it is not always so blissful.)

Opening gifts at home after lunch.

In the afternoon/evening, Kenenth and I enjoyed being at the U.S. National Ladies Ice Skating Championships. Kenneth got tickets from work. It was such fun! And nice to be on a date together! One of the highlights of the evening, was Michelle Kwan being inducted into the National Ice Skating Hall of Fame. Pretty cool. Kristi Yamaguchi and Brian Boitano were also there.Here is Michelle Kwan on the big screen.

There is Ashley Wagner taking her victory lap before being awarded as Champion.

Kenneth and me with the Four Champions in the background.

And finally, some pictures of Monday's celebration with Miss Anita: Arianna delighted with Miss Anita's dinosaur brownies powdered with 'snow'.

Yum!

The party

Arianna having fun with her gifts from Miss Anita. Thanks, Anita!

It's all dinosaurs all the time around here nowadays. They even separate the little ones into piles: babies and food! They get that some of them are carnivorous. However, I also saw them setting up the babies to nurse from the mommy. I tried to explain that dinosaurs were not mammals, but they didn't want to hear it. Oh well.

Happy Fourth Birthday, Arianna!

Arianna is four years old today! We can hardly believe it! She is such a smart, beautiful, funny, happy little girl.
She was so excited for her Birthday she was up at 5:45 am. I said "Happy Birthday" to her first thing and she said, "I am going to love this day!" She was so delighted to see the Birthday sign and balloons and presents.
I wanted to write just a little bit about Arianna. She was such a good baby; always so happy, a great sleeper, and always able to soothe herself with her beloved thumb.

The day she was born.

She has always adored her big sister (and vice-verse) and they are the best of friends. They hardly know what to do with themselves if the other one is gone!

Emma looking in on her new little sister.

They love playing together!

Here are the two of them together just last month.

Arianna on her 1st Birthday

Arianna on her 2nd Birthday

Arianna's 3rd Birthday!

Arianna 3 1/2 year old- this picture is so Arianna.

For Kenneth's Birthday, in November, Arianna decided she was going to stop sucking her thumb during the day. We were so proud of her! We are amazed at her will to do something once she sets her mind to it. She still sucked at night time though, and when asked when she was going to stop sucking at night she would say, "when I am a mom." Needless to say, we thought the night-time thumb sucking would continue for a very long time! But, she again decided on her own last week that she was going to stop at night time. We helped her remember during the night for the first few days by putting a mitten on the hand she usually sucks on, but now, she will tell us in the morning that she just forgot to suck in the night! What a relief to us that she is done with that! Her determination and will are truly amazing - something we pray will be a huge strength to her throughout her life.

Arianna decided she did not want a big party with friends, so we are celebrating at home with just the five of us. She really prefers to just spend time with her closest friends - her family. We had a special Birthday Breakfast today and opened a couple of presents this morning. We will do some more celebrating at lunch time.

Here is her Birthday Interview:

How old are you today? "4"

What is your favorite animal? "Dinosaur"

What is your favorite color? "Black" (last year it was yellow- the pendulum doth swing, eh? We're hoping it's black because of her favorite black dance outfit she loves to wear lately!)

What is your favorite food? "Cake"

What is your favorite treat? "Brownie, actually, ice-cream"

What kind of ice-cream? "Umm, mint"

What is your favorite book? "When the bug went Kah-choo"

What do you want to be when you grow up? "An acrobat! Um, actually a farmer - because I want to live on a farm. Because I want to ride a horse - a black horse."

Who loves you the most? "Ah Daddy" {Mom's disclaimer- Dad was the one asking the question, otherwise she would have said me!}
Emma "That's not right. There is someone else that loves you even more."
Arianna "Um, Mommy."
Emma "No!"
Arianna "Grandpa Pilz?"
Emma "No, not someone who died." Then (whispering in Arianna's ear) "There is someone who loves you even more"
Arianna "Jesus"
Emma "Yes, that's right!"
Note: This exchange was quite comical - we're going to have to start videoing these interviews.

Arianna "This is taking too long."

What is your favorite time of the day? "When I can open my presents"
Mom "What about a normal day?"
Arianna "No, let's not talk about that."
Note: At this point, Arianna is really ready to move on and eat or open presents.

What is your favorite activity? "Playing Candy Land with you, Daddy."

Arianna "This is taking too long."

So, Arianna, since you are 4 years old and you stopped sucking your thumb, how do you feel? "Happy! I want you to take a picture of my thumb!"

Not sure how long it will take for the callus to go away, but at least the crack that was in it a week ago is healing!

Here are the pictures of the morning celebration:
Breakfast: Cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs (we add flaxseed meal, in case you are wondering why they look funny), and a special Birthday Caterpillar who decided to visit.

Grant and Arianna couldn't wait to eat the raspberries!

Cinderella and carriage from mom and dad. Can you tell she was delighted?! After she opened it she said, "I love it! You got me just what I wanted!"

Pajamas from Grandma Pilz

We'll post pictures from the rest of the day later, but we wanted everyone to know earlier in the day that it's Arianna's Birthday!!!!