The meanest babysitter.....

When I was growing up, I did a lot of babysitting. I babysat pretty much every weekend and even gave my money to my parents to buy groceries, we were that poor, sometimes. I was in demand and I liked to do it.

I like to think I was a good babysitter, despite the horror stories my sisters and cousins will tell you of making them run around the house for being too noisy. What they don't tell you, is that I babysat them once a month for about three days straight, when their parents and my parents would just "take off" and party for the entire weekend. And when summertime came, I was the "chosen one" to watch all the cousins all day long while the moms canned and cooked and did all the motherly things. A lot of babysitting....I was pretty much their second mother at times! So, when they complain, they just don't remember everything....

And, they don't tell you about the cool dance parties we had and the sugar cookies we decorated and all the pictures I drew them to color....no, just the mean cousin/sister making them run around the house!

Let me introduce you to another mean babyitter......Emily.

She's a hockey player and she doesn't take crap from anyone! And that's why she is MY children's babysitter!

Her dad is in the military and her mom works at a department store and does hair on the side. They are wonderful and so cute, as you can see, sitting together eating cake!

Yes, this mean babysitter can handle Eleanor...and that makes her amazing!

She was their second mother this fall when we were so busy with the Day Violins business. She picked them up from school, taught them Lady Gaga songs, did homework with them, listened to them talk about their day and their friends and their concerns, fixed dinner and got them ready for bed. And she became the neighbors babysitter too, so we would "fight" over her and schedule her in advance, she was that popular with the neighbors!

So, when Emily turned 18 on the 18th, we decided to have an "I love Emily" party.

Did I mention she has a 4.75 GPA, takes college chemistry twice a week for fun, is being considered for the Naval Academy, WestPoint and Penn State, is the Editor for the school newspaper, one of the top players of the hockey team, drop dead gorgeous, plays the violin and is fun to be around? She comes to all the kids birthday parties, comes to their games and loves them unconditionally. AND doesn't let them get away with anything! I am so bummed she is graduating! I need to clone her!

Thank you Emily for everything! We hope you had a great birthday!

Eleanor's got a new man......

Eleanor has a new man in her life....yeah, I know! She's only five, but he came highly recommended. I have to admit, he's really cute.

Not very tall and has a hairy chest, but so does my husband.

And I have a serious crush on my husband!

Anyway, she brought him home to meet the family and spend the weekend. We all fell in love with him......

Meet Estuardo

She introduced him to all her friends and they got along famously....

She and Savannah woke up Saturday morning and played all day long with Estuardo.....

She wanted "ballerina hair" for the day, so we curled and crimped and made her the prettiest ballerina around!

Estuardo was the perfect gentleman. He never complained and did everything Eleanor wanted him to do. Since it was her half birthday, they celebrated at school and all her classmates made her a birthday book.

Look how happy Estuardo is to be reading the book with her!

She may be a handful, but she really is one amazing little girl!

This one is pretty darned cute, too!

Later on, they built a fort out of ALL the blankets in the house and ALL the kitchen chairs.....

Then they turned the living room into a movie theatre and watched one of our favorites, "Finding Nemo"

Sunday morning, Estuardo told us he wanted to go to church, so he sat very reverently in the front of the primary room and learned the songs with the children.

It's kind of a bummer he has to go away tomorrow. Eleanor understands. He will be missed, of course, but she knows he needs to go.

We've grown quite attached to him, but he has other adventures to experience.

Thanks Estuardo and come back again soon!

The power of Prayer

I am a firm believer in prayer.

I am always amazed at how much my faith grows when I have a prayer answered. And I have had many answered......

So I have made it a point to teach my children about prayer.

When I hear of a situation in someone's life, I talk to my children about praying for them.

And, when that prayer is answered, we rejoice and I bear my testimony about the power of prayer.

And even when the situation doesn't turn out like we wanted it to, we talk about how Heavenly Father has a greater plan for all of us.

Since I am not rich and my family lives all over the world, sometimes prayer is my only way to help them. And I have such wonderful friends, the least I can do is pray for them!

Some people get prayed about almost every prayer, like Uncle John serving our country and having to be away from his family. And, of course, the prophet and missionaries get the daily prayers.

Some of the things we have been praying about lately have all turned out positive.

One of them was my mom and her hip surgery. She got a lot of prayers. And fasting. And more prayers. Last time I talked to her, things were going better than the doctor expected. That is truly and answer to prayers. I can't describe how my heart swells when I hear my little ones and the bigger ones saying, "Bless Grama Annie..." because I know THEIR prayers are not just hitting the ceiling. They are soaring to the heavens and their little pleas are touching God's heart and he can't help but answer their prayers for their grandma.

My sister, Eliza, has a son, Marrick, who did NOT want to go to primary his first week. So, in family council, I mentioned to the kids that we needed to pray for Marrick to want to go to primary. Every day, every prayer, included Marrick. And, though he still needed some extra attention to go, he went and he even folded his arms in the halls going to class the very next week! Small victory=prayers answered.

And just a few days ago, I got an email from a friend who has breast cancer and was going through a double mastectomy and exploratory surgery for some other possible cancerous areas. My kids don't remember her, though they have met her. I told them about her and we started praying. Several weeks later, just before the surgery, I saw her at a birthday party. I told her my children were praying for her. She got very emotional and thanked me. We took some pictures together and I showed the children who she was. Now they can place a name with a face when they pray.

The email stated that every thing went well and they found no cancerous areas. She is recovering quickly and feels wonderful! Her email made me emotional and I thanked her for the opportunity to tell my children that their prayers were answered.

And a situation that has been plaguing our family lately has started to resolve itself.

It's been a hard one.

One that has made me cry for days.

One that has my husband and I awake until the late hours of the night, sometimes in a heated discussion about what is best for our family.

One that has made me wonder why prayers five years ago were answered that way they were. But weeks of fasting and prayers and we are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. Research, interviewing, contemplation and tenacity are the only way this one is going to be answered.

And it is one that leaves you wondering why two choices can both be good, though in the end, one will be better, but how do I know?

So, I am grateful for trials and miracles that enables me to teach my children gospel principles and to strengthen their testimonies...and mine.

May God bless you all and remember, we are praying for you! :)

Having a Quack Attack!

So, for the BCS National Championship Bowl, we decided to show who we were voting for....OREGON! The kids designed their own t-shirts and then we used freezer paper to make the shirts. I posted the "how to" on my creative blog, www.onecreativeday.blogspot.com, if you really want to know how to make these super easy and super cute shirts.

This is how Eleanor dressed to paint her shirt....I made her put a big, old t-shirt over the top!

The boys hurried up and did the dishes so they could design their shirts....

Garrett chose a vintage design. I think it turned out awesome!

We made Savannah's perfect for a two year old....

Xander made his all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He loved it that is almost cryptic!

Sportin' our new duds!

Eleanor had to have cheerleader hair all day, so when she came home and changed out of her uniform, she could immediately be ready with her shirt!

baby QUACK!

Diva QUACK!

And, after eating all green and yellow food for dinner, this was our dessert!

So, even if they don't win, we at least had a great time and showed our Oregon spirit!

The National Junior League Cotillion Winter Ball

Many years ago, before I married Jason, there was a guy in my ward who approached me about buying a franchise call the Junior Cotillion. It's basically etiquette classes and dance classes. Most people have heard of the "coming out" balls for the southern belles, well, this is the pre-cursor for that.

Anyway, I told him I wasn't in a position to do that and he ended up selling it to my friend, Marilyn Wellington. She has since made it into a fantastic program. I think it is a wonderful program and I signed Xander up to do it. He actually thought it would be fun, which thrilled me!

So, last night was the Winter Ball. There were to be no dates (which I liked) and they were going to practice all the dances and etiquette they had learned so far.....

So, here is my twelve year old looking VERY grown up! And no, that is not our mantle...my friends just bought this GORGEOUS house and we used their house as the backdrop!

His good friends and twins, Angela and David on the beautiful staircase.....

Everyone looked so good! Angela had her hair done and had the most beautiful silver dress on! The boys looked so handsome in their ties.....

Hmmmmm.....who shall we dance with this evening?!?!?

We just need some sunglasses!

And a token picture with mom!

My friend, Marilyn, asked me to be a chaperone and help with the corsages and boutonnieres, so I got to take some pictures too! Each boy was assigned a girl and they escorted them into the room and introduced them to the receiving line. Xander was asked to escort one of his friends from school, Lillian. She looked so pretty!

Then they had to seat them at the table and wait for instructions.

They had learned three dances...the waltz, the foxtrot and the cha cha.

Xander was lucky to be paired up with one of his good friends, Stephanie. She looked so pretty!

Uhmmm...is that MY son dancing with a girl and having a good time??!?!??

They did have a good time and they did a great job. Afterwards, we went to Olive Garden and fed them. This is the last picture I took. I think they were done with me taking pictures!

I can't believe Xander is old enough for all this social stuff! It's bittersweet. He's growing up so fast and such a great kid! I am very lucky to be his mom! And the good thing is, he won't be doing the "deacon shuffle" at the stake dances! He'll be able to actually DANCE and feel confident about himself!