Birthday Bash and More....

 

 

 

Caleb

 Last Saturday Caleb took the Scouts on a twenty mile hike. He left at six thirty in the morning and came home at nine thirty at night. The last few miles he rolled his ankle and came home limping. He could hardly move on Sunday. He took the Scouts the previous Saturday before that on a ten mile hike. He is getting plenty of exercise. This weekend they begin the fishing merit badge. Caleb decided when we first got married that he wanted to go through all of the Harry Potters around Halloween. This last Monday for our FHE activity we popped popcorn and got out the pop and watched the first video. Hyrum was glued. He really enjoyed the movie and staying up late. Caleb slept through the whole movie. :)

 

Annette

 

Below is the first vision picture I mentioned in our blog last week. IT is hard to see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ because the flash takes out part of the image but they are there.

 

 

 

 

 

 It was my turn to teach pre-school this week. We learned about the letter "B" we played with balloons, and blocks, played with a soccer ball, colored butterflies, and read books about bears.  Here is a picture below of Hyrum and his buddies.

 

 

 

 

This picture is them hitting and having fun with balloons

 

 Our Butterflies, can you guess which one is mine?

 

 I played "A poor wayfarying man of grief" on my cello two weeks ago and last Sunday I accompanied a buy on the piano "Savior Redeemer of my Soul." This week we were having a piano recital in our home but one of the mothers had a baby and asked if we could postpone it. I should be slowing down with the baby coming but I feel like things are still picking up. I have been designated the playgroup planner. Every Tuesday I am in charge of coming up with ideas of what to do. Deciding on a location is always a challenge, I don't mind having it at the house but every week gets a little redundant.

 

Hyrum

 

My little boy will be three this week! I can't believe he is that old. We celebrated his birthday at our house with a Dr. Suess Lorax birthday party. Below are a bunch of pictures we took. We played a few games "Find the magical Truffala seed, pin the tie on the Lorax, and the what can you do with your Thneed game. For food we served marshmellows, teddy grahams, goldfish, and cupcakes. The food and games are themed around the movie.

 

 

 

Temple Trip

 

It is about a twelve hour trek for us to go to the Kansas city temple once a month. We usually take turns watching Hyrum while the other one goes through and then trade off. It is a treat to be able to go through together but we do the best we can.. We went this last Saturday and Hyrum did well in the car. We didn't pull out the DVD player until the last two hours of the trip. We stopped for lunch at McDonalds and had dinner at Chipotle. The high light of this temple trip was the kind treatment we received in the temple. While Caleb was in the temple Hyrum and I were in the waiting room. I forgot to pack snacks which is detrimental with a hungry diabetic three year old. I put on the Testaments but he still seemed somewhat disinterested. We usually walk around the temple grounds but it was raining and cold that day. One of the men in the temple Presidency comes into the waiting area looks at us and says "Would you like some snacks and something to drink?" I have never been asked that nor have I heard of any temple doing that. I told him we would appreciate it and he came back in with a bag of goldfish crackers, a bag of yummy Aldi crackers, and a cold bottle of water1 I chuckled to myself and thought "This must be like the celestial kingdom!" Hyrum and I enjoyed the snacks while we watched the testaments. Those snacks saved my life!

 

Hand of the Lord

 

Many women around me are pregnant it seems. I know of several that have been put on bed rest. This week I took some bread and a meal over to a sister on bed rest and we got to visit. I mostly listened to how hard it has been on her family not being able to do anything. I was personally reminded at house blessed I have been every single day of this pregnancy. When I first found out I was expecting I was terrified. I had so many problems with Hyrum: pre-partum depression, ulcers, sick every day for months and months, I had to stay in bed and sleep at least four to five hours a day I was so physically exhausted. I made a promise and a deal with the Lord that if he would bless my body and give me the strength and the capacity to take care of my family while carrying number two I would do certain things to serve him. (Those certain things are personal so I can't be specific) As I have done my very best to keep my promise the Lord has blessed my body a hundredfold. At first I was wondering if it was a girl because I felt amazing!!! When we went to our ultrasound and found out it was a boy I burst into tears not out of disappointment but I realized the personal miracle I had been witnessing every day since I found out I was carrying number two. Every day I am thankful I can play, teach and take care of my son. I can cook and serve my husband, that I have not had to experience the gloom depression brings when it is supposed to be a glorious time carrying a child. Tender mercies and miracles are real and we feel very blessed to be able to witness this one.

 

"Hikes, Cakes, and Bears oh My!"

                                                                

                                                                          Caleb
                   Caleb took the Boy Scouts on a ten mile hike yesterday. When Caleb arrived at the campsite and he was warning the Scouts to stay out of the bushes to avoid copperheads. He realized he forgot his sandals. He woke up at five in the morning to drive to the nearest Wal-Mart to buy some hiking shoes. I guess even if you are a Scout Master you may not always be prepared. He said the boys did well on the rocky terrain.
                  Caleb planted our fall garden crop. We are excited to be eating more fresh lettuce for dinner. Unfortunately our pumpkin and cantelope died, but the watermelon is still going strong. He may have to replant some of it because we discovered Hyrum's shovel and dirt in it a few days after he planted.
                  If you happen to enter a Sams Club you will probably see College Football team plastic and paper wear. Caleb has been in charge of that program. He got to pick and choose which teams they were going to use. BYU somehow got slipped into the selection. :)  The BYU items are selling pretty well in the Utah, Arizona, and Idaho region. Caleb has said that a couple of directors of athletics at some of the colleges have called up Sams Club asking why they don't have any of their team.
                                                                       Annette
                  I had two wedding cakes in the last two weeks. Unfortunately one didn't turn out as well as I wanted. When I delivered the cake the frosting had started to melt because it had been such a hot day. I took the cake back home and worked on it for another hour to fix the problem. It was pretty frustrating. Here is a picture of the other one I did.

                        My art class has been going well. I have now been painting and taking lessons for about five years and I hadn't really painted much of things that were important to me so I changed that about six months ago. I decided I would paint "The Garden Tomb" where the Savior rose from the dead. I used a few photos as reference but then added some of my own greenery and landscape. I had a few missionary opportunities while making it. I was kind of surprised that religious women here in the bible belt didn't recognize what the picture was of.  Here is a picture of it framed and on my wall. Several artists in the class think I need to submit it to the Ozark Pastel Show at the Gallery in November.

 

 

The next picture I wanted to do was of the First Vision. Once again I kind of referenced a photo or two but it mostly came from my mind. I was kind of chicken to bring this one to my art class because of it is boldness. Here is a boy that actually sees two persons standing in the air, but I decided that I would take it anyway even if the ladies were offended. Several of them asked me what the painting was about. I got to tell them that a boy went into forest, prayed, and then God the Father, and Jesus Christ his son appeared to him. The responses I got were "Oh, that's neat." It made me laugh when we were framing it some of the ladies kept referring to it as "those colors bring out the angels." I will post a picture of it when I am able to get a good one and it will be on the next blog post.

 

Baby Shower

Some sweet friends of mine in our ward threw me a baby shower. They asked me what I needed and I told them I didn't need anything. They decided to throw me a book shower which was awesome! You can never have enough children's books to read. They went all out on the food and the decorations. Here are some photos and a video.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture of the things wonderful people gave to us. They were too generous!

 

 

 

 

                                       Here is the party favor they handed out.

                                                                             Hyrum
                Hyrum started preschool this week with five others boys in the ward. We are using some of the Joy School curriculum but mostly working on the alphabet one letter at a time. This week it is my turn to teach. I get to teach about the letter B. I am going to have fun with that. We had a teddy bear picnic play group this week, Hyrum loved it. He is quite a social kid. He is able to play with other boys well.
                Friday night I was crazy enough to watch two other babies and Hyrum was right there to help me. He helped bounce Brizelle in her bouncer. He got McKenna her pacifier. He wanted to hold them so bad. This boy is going to be good with a baby. He is nurturing.
            Common phrases Hyrum uses is "Go Away" when he is upset. "Roar," "Thank you Mom," "Oh" and "no shot" and "no nap." One of this sisters at the shower got a gift for Hyrum to open so that he wouldn't feel left out.

We are a Happy Family

Every now and then it's good to have a reminder that We are a Happy Family!

Sunday morning Hyrum was full of all sorts of energy (that's what we'll call it!)  Annette took on the challenge of helping Hyrum dress for church, which he simply wouldn't have.  After Hyrum got excited and began to get physical as he was shouting at Mommy, he was given some time-out to help him cool off.  Both Mommy and Hyrum were pretty upset. 

After a few short minutes, Annette and I went to the door together to double-team the dress-up party only to see an angry, teary-eyed Hyrum sitting in the middle of the room with every one of his 50+ books scattered all over the room.

My favorite response to this sort of behavior is silence and the infamous look of disappointment (I remember Dad used to pull this out - it was the worst.  "Dad, yell at me, beat me - anything!  Just stop looking at me like that!) 

Hyrum saw the concern in my eyes.  He stood up, softened his countenance, and with out-stretched arms and with a little smirk and a pitiful gesture he held up a little song card he had fished out from among the wreckage of books:

The card read: "We are a Happy Family".

First and Last Day of School, Labor Day Weekend

                                                      First and Last Day of School

                 Diabetes is going to create some challenges for Hyrum as well as Caleb and I. Hyrum was very excited about his first day of school. In fact we were all looking forward to it. I prepared his lunch by counting all of the carbs for the teacher labeling on his things and doing whatever I could to make it easier for her. One of his teachers who is a diabetic was to administer his shots.
                 About one hour after he began I got a phone call from the director saying she was upset because there were "no directions" on what the teacher was supposed to do, and there was no notarized form giving them permission and if she didn't have those things in her hand Hyrum could no longer stay.
               Well normally driving back over there would not have been a problem but my temporary crown I just got the day before from the dentist fell out and they needed to see me to put it back in. I was confused about what kind of direction this teacher needed. I felt like I labeled all of his carb count in his lunch and that she should be able to do the rest.
               When I arrived at the school I had a meeting with the teacher and the director. Apparently the diabetic teacher has type 2 diabetes and that she controls hers with diet. She doesn't know how to give a corrections. They proceeded to tell me there school was not a licensed program, and all the legal problems it would cause them if something were to happen to Hyrum. The director was angry at me for not picking up the phone as prompt as she called.  After a long, lengthy discussion they decided they would only take Hyrum if I would go every day and give him his shots.
              Well quite honestly, I was under the impression this diabetic teacher knew what she was doing because she told me she knew how to use a diabetic pen, and count carbs. She told me she had done it all! I was frustrated that they told me how great there program was and how accommodating they would be and within the hour they call and tell me the exact opposite. I understand they want Hyrum to be safe, it just seemed like they were more interested in covering their tails.  I just wish from the very beginning when I asked them if they could accommodate for a diabetic they would have flat out told me  "no." I don't feel like they were very honest about the whole thing and Hyrum was definitely disappointed. He cried and through a tantrum as I took him into the car to leave.
              I talked to my sister as well as a friend in our ward that have diabetes and they told me that there are many times as a diabetic you run into circumstances that make you feel discriminated against. I am curious as to what other experiences Hyrum will encounter.
             I called Caleb to have him meet me at the dentist office so he could watch Hyrum while they put my crown back on. The first thing Caleb said when he saw us was "Was Hyrum suspended from school the first day?" Caleb took Hyrum for an ice cream cone and to the park to comfort him and make him feel better about having to leave the school. He saved the day for both Hyrum and I.

                                                                 Labor Day Weekend
             
                 We kicked off our labor day weekend with a fun date. Caleb and I got McDonald's ice cream cones and then went to see the new Percy Jackson movie. We don't go to the theatre often because we feel like it is so dang expensive but this was one movie Caleb was anxious to see. We actually enjoyed it very much. The villain "Luke" reminded us of our Young Mens President Brother Cutting. He looked like he could have been brother Cuttings son.
                 Saturday I had a wedding cake that I was ready to be done with. It was a cake they scheduled long before the pregnancy. I had a lot of trouble with this cake. I hate yellow cake because for some reason or other it sticks unlike the other flavors. I had to remake one of the layers a few times because it kept sticking. Another frustration I encountered was a bride that had a hard time explaining what she wanted and then kept changing her mind. First it was chocolate, than yellow, than marble cake, then white, then back to chocolate. I had to call her twice to clarify.
              After I finally get the cake perfect and set it up at this hotel she is getting married at. I notice that some of the frosting on the cake started to sag. I have never ever had this happen before! It was over ninety five degrees and pretty humid that day which caused it to melt some. I tried to fix it there but only made it worse. It was so embarrassing. I told the bride I was taking it home to repair it and that's what I ended up doing. I was able to repair it but it took another hour or so. I had to make sure it got in the freezer when I arrived back at the hotel to prevent melting. It was so frustrating!!!!
            After my crazy cake madness we took Hyrum to see his first movie in a theatre. A cheap three dollar theatre. The movie was "Epic." We went all out on the goodies and it was a lot of fun to see Hyrum enjoy himself with his goodies as well as the show. I brought him a few pillows to sit on so he could see. He had fun moving those into different seats. We did make it through the whole movie!The next movie we will probably all see together will be Planes.
                                              
                                                              Hand of the Lord in Our Lives
              
            Caleb's job is a real blessing to our family. Most companies do not allow the schedule flexibility that Caleb's does. There have been many times during the day not just this week but in previous weeks that I have needed Caleb whether it has been an emergency, or sickness, he has been able to either leave work and come, or work from home that day.
           I try to get babysitters to watch Hyrum so that Caleb does not have to leave his employment but like the crown falling out experiences there are just times he is needed ASAP and he is able to come. We both are very grateful for this blessing.