Mary just came downstairs from bed to say, "Emily's tattling!" In the words of Inigo Montoya "You keep using that word. I don't think that means what you think it means."

Beware of Superman...He Drools

Last night we went to the annual friends and family Trunk or Treat. The kids had a blast gathering as much candy as they possibly could. Here are pictures. I'm such a mom. I was having an E.T. mom moment (you know when all the kids are getting ready to go out trick or treating and the mom starts freaking out because she thinks they're so adorable). What would the world be without a mom who thought you were the cutest thing in existence? PS Will was also Superman but we didn't get a picture. He also refused to wear the cape. When he went to the first car, I tried to coach him through it but he was eyeing the man and his bucket with unveiled suspicion. When the man put the candybar in Will's bucket, Will backed up, got the candy back out of his bucket and tried to give it back with a completely offended look on his face. He finally got the hang of it, though he never lost the look of complete bewilderment. I suppose he's right. Trick or Treating is a weird tradition.

I did have my first Pessimism Purge test. On the way home Matt and I were talking about how much fun we had Trick or Treating as kids and how sad it was that with the state of the world it's not really safe to just let our kids out to go trick or treating. Well, I switched it around and realized that this is THEIR childhood and not mine. They will have their own memories and traditions and even disappointments. Not necessarily better or worse, just THEIR'S. That was a good realization for me.

What the World Needs Now

On the way to school, the kids were singing along with Kermit the frog to Rainbow Connection.

I love it! Hearing their sweet little voices singing, "Some day we'll find it, the rainbow connection. The lovers, the dreamers, and me." is one of my favorite things.

As I was listening to the words and reveling in its optimism, I realized that really is what our society is in desperate need of right now. Times are difficult, troubling things are happening, but what could be more troubling than being without hope?

2 Corinthians chapter 4 says "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair.

"Persecuted, but not forsaken; Cast down, but not destroyed"

Hope is everything. We are going to have problems. At some point or another we will be brought to the brink of what we think we can handle. That is a given. What is not certain is how we will fight it or if we will fight it. Hope gives us that power. It gives us the assurance that there is something worth fighting for and living for. It gives us a reason to move when things seem bleak. It gives us light to guide our footsteps in the dark of night.

I am so grateful for the source of hope in my life. Earlier in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 it says "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of Jesus Christ."

As the holiday season approaches, I am going to ready my heart for the celebration by going on a Pessimism Purge. All those things in my life that dim my hope I will switch them around or I will remove them from my life. I want my hope to be "smiling brightly before" me all season. I can change the world by changing myself. Come along with me.

Excerpt From "The Happyless Buggle"

"Sophie often had a broken Happy these days. Gabriella would sit for hours letting Sophie reminisce about the “old days” until it was fixed."

Illustration by Josh Hicken

How cool is this picture!!

Words, Words, Words

It's official! After five months of speech therapy, Will is exactly average for his age with expressive speech. 47th percentile for expressive speech. "Normal" sounds so good right now! I'm not sure if that was simply Will's timetable for beginning to talk, if it was losing the binky that did it, or if it was the speech therapy, but as soon as he started speech his language skills exploded. He went from being a year behind (19 months old "speaking" at an 8 month old level) to being right on track.

I'm usually not a stickler about kids hitting developmental milestones, but I was just concerned about him for whatever reason. Even if all that we did really didn't do anything, I'm glad we did it. That last sentence was really lame. But being finished with speech is not lame. So, so, so excited!

Big Ben

Because of the issues with changing pediatricians when Ben was a month old (the old office held up the paper work making it so I couldn't get an appointment for three weeks), we are a little behind in Ben's office visits. He went in at 7 weeks, and then just this last week at 3 months instead of 2 mos. He weighed in at 19.6 lbs and was 26.75 inches long. Well off the charts in both height and weight. No surprises there. It will just be interesting to see if he keeps up the pace like some of my children have, or slows down like some of the others. I'm kind of thinking he's going to be in the prior category.

He is all smiles and is starting to try to grab things. I just love his fat cheeks! He gets dimples when he smiles. So so so cute!!

Road Burn

On Monday, the kids were on their way into school when the early bell rang. Joe (who HATES being late) started running and tripped. Luckily, the impact was cushioned by...his face. His glasses were all scratched to pieces, he scraped up his nose and chin, and his loose tooth got knocked out. Poor boy!! I went in with him and got him all cleaned up. We searched for his tooth but couldn't find it. He found it later in the day stuck to the concrete. He apparently DID hit hard. We took him out for ice cream after school.

A Problem With Semantics

Emily became friends with a girl in her class on the very first day. She talked about her for a while, but after a couple of weeks, Emily never mentioned her again. When we were making a list for her birthday party, this girl wasn't on the list. I asked why, and Emily said, "She's a snot!" I said, "Really?" And Emily pointed to her nose, "Yeah. She has snot on her nose ALL the time, so I can't be friends with her any more."

We had been reading a book in which one of the characters always calls people "snots". Apparently Emily took them too literally. I tried to explain the difference to her but to no avail.

But, if you are wondering about this poor girl who was ostracized because of her unfortunate runny nose, never fear! This evening, Emily proudly announced, "Mom, M and I are friends again."

I said, "That's great, Emily!"

Emily added, "Yeah. Now that we have kleenex in our class her nose isn't snotty anymore, so we can be friends again." Phew! Saved by the kleenex!

Pictures I've Been Meaning to Post About and Haven't

Will loves to put his hands in his pockets. It just cracks me up to see him mozy around like that. This Sunday in the pictures, he was following Matt around, copying everything he did.

I worked really hard on my garden...until mid May when silly discomforts and complications from the pregnancy made kneeling out in the garden impractical. So, the bugs at everything that wasn't fried by the crazy heat. Then, I found some onions and carrots. This meager offering is the first edible thing I've grown in the garden. Here's to an actually successful garden next year!

Blessed Life

Is there anything better than a round soft and smooshy cheek nestled against your face? I think I may be the luckiest person in the world.

Darn!

On Friday, Joe was not acting like himself. I asked if he was feeling okay, and he said his head felt weird. I thought I should keep him home, but he said he was okay. Even when he was getting out of the car, I felt like he should stay home. But, I let him go. I got a phone call from him at 8:30 telling me he threw up. I felt horrible! Why didn't I trust myself and listen? At least he threw up in the bathroom. For that, I can be grateful. When I was in first grade, I was too shy to ask the teacher if I could go to the bathroom since we were lining up for lunch. When I finally asked, it was too late. I lost it right outside the door. Purple grape juice throw up all over the white tiles, right in front of my class and the second grade class lined up across the hall. Embarrassing!!! Throwing up at school is the worst!

On the up side, Joe got to hang out at home all day. He didn't throw up again, and started feeling and acting much better soon after that. Will was in heaven being able to hang with his big brother all day. It's at moments like that that I want to rethink homeschooling. But then, I need to look at the lesson I JUST LEARNED and trust my instinct and listen. Matt was sick on Monday and I'm hoping no one else is close behind. Yay for cold and flu season!!

Poor Will!

Will was up all night with a fever last night. This morning, I was feeding Ben, and Will walked over with his church shoes on and holding my sandals. "Go. Mom, go!" He was so upset when I told him we weren't going anywhere that he laid down on the floor next to me whining. His whining quickly wound down to a periodic whimper and then ended all together. I looked down, and he was asleep. Poor boy. Hopefully he sleeps off this bug.

Ben's Blessing

On September 25th, Matt was able to bless Benjamin Clark. We were so excited that not only Matt's mom and Russ could come to the blessing, but that Matt's Grandma Rose and his Aunts Beth, Debbie and Jan were able to come as well. This was the only weekend they had available, so we delayed blessing Ben (we're nuts and usually bless our babies within the first month). We told the men helping with the blessing that they better start doing reps with hand weights a couple weeks before the blessing so that they would be able to hold Ben up the whole time. He is a BIG baby. We have started calling him Big Ben. Hopefully it will either die, or he won't resent it as he gets older. Right now, I think it's adorable. I am so grateful to have Ben here. He just completely holds my heart.

Aunts Come Marching

I was so excited a couple of weeks ago to finally meet Matt's grandma and some of his aunts. I met Aunt Beth very briefly about seven years ago while she was on a lay over in Salt Lake City. So, I was ecstatic when I heard they wanted to come to Ben's blessing. They were wonderful and fun and my kids are absolutely in love with them. Aunt Debbie sat with the girls on the floor and colored and told them crazy stories about growing up in Oklahoma. That night Emily dreamed that she came back to visit again. Good thing they're related because they are now a part of my kids' family. The younger three referred to all three Aunts as "grandma". They couldn't believe how cool it was to have so many grandmas running around. They were so fun to visit with, and how could you not love women who show so much love to your children?

I hope it will be far less than ten years before we meet them again.

Grandparents to the Rescue!

The kids were in heaven last weekend. Grandma and Grandpa Russ came for a visit! They were there for Ben's blessing and also for Matt's triathlon. It was so wonderful to visit and have the kids get a chance to spend time with them. We miss them so much already!