Parker

In all the hustle and bustle of holiday activities, that I included on my last post, I forgot to include one of the most important occasions......Parker's 7th Birthday!!! Parker makes sure we don't forget his birthday by reminding us of it all through the year! When we got our first snowstorm in October he was so excited because it was "almost Christmas!" (which, to him, means "almost his birthday!!!)

On Wednesday (the 17th) Parker and I celebrated his birthday at the "Birthday Tables" at school. The PTA has one day a month that they set up tables to celebrate all the birthdays for the month. Parker has been looking forward to this all month! He made a specific request for me to come eat lunch with him and put in his order for a Happy Meal from McDonald's - chicken nuggets with sweet n' sour sauce (don't forget this, very important!!!), fries and a root beer to drink. (Secretly I know he he wanted the toy most of all!!!) I was working that day so it was tricky getting my class off to lunch, running to McDonald's and getting back in time to eat it before Parker had to go back to class.

Thursday, (the 18th) Parker's actual birthday, was a crazy day for me. Tyler's Show Choir, Rhapsody in Blue, performed at an assembly at his school. Tyler was so excited, especially for one song they would perform, that he wanted me to be there. (I'll talk about that later.) Anyways, I had to get up early and take Tyler to school, because his assembly started at the beginning of the school day, so I missed seeing Parker in the morning. Eric made the traditional birthday breakfast with the three youngest kids and then took them to school. I was sad :( that I missed it and didn't even get to see him when he woke up. The rest of the day was crazy busy running errands and going back to Tyler's school to drive choir kids up to an elementary school where they performed. I also had a parent meeting for the play Tyler will be in at the school. By the time that was over it was dinner time. We decided to take the family to Golden Corral for Parker's birthday dinner. (He was happy about that. He loves that place!) After dinner we all went to Toys R Us to pick out birthday gifts and then came back to wrap and open them. Parker was so patient with it all and happy to finally have his day, even though this is such a busy time of the year. Here are a few pictures of his gifts:

He got this cool Transformers truck that converts into a Nerf gun. He loves it and, unfortunately for him, the other boys do too!

It's pretty cool because you can transform it with one hand and be ready to shoot in no time flat!





Most of Parker's birthday wish list consisted of Transformers. He had about five different ones on his list - the yellow Bumblebee, the red Optimus Prime....(I can't remember the rest of them). Of course, it is a week before Christmas and all the "cool" transformers have left the shelves, but we were able to find this great silver and black one. (I can't remember what it is called.)

Parker is my sweet, lovable guy who also LOVES Webkinz. He got this way cute frog to add to his growning collection. He is excited to get on the computer and play with his new friend! It doesn't hurt that he has a soft version to cuddle!







This last gift wasn't something he asked for but he loves it! It's a mini skeeball game. Huge hit! All the kids have enjoyed playing.

As Parker's Mommy I am so happy, blessed and glad Parker is a part of my life. I don't know what I would do without this little guy. I remember when he was born, I had all kinds of anxiety at the thought of having another baby. All that was quashed when I was able to hold him for the first time. It was love at first sight! Really! He was fussing when they brought him to me but when they laid him on me for that first time he calmed down, cuddled in and just cooed. It warmed my heart. It was a tender mercy to feel those emotions at that time and they have grown tenfold since.

Parker will always be my baby. It is great that everyday he comes to me several times a day to give me loves and say, "I love you, Mom!" My heart melts every time! When all the other kids are not happy with me for one reason or another, Parker never denies his love for me. I can always count on that. What a special spirit! There is so much more I could write about my little guy. He is happy. He's a good friend. He's well-behaved. He's a helper. He is SO smart. (He got all 4's -our school's A's - on all his kindergarten, and so far in 1st grade, report cards.) He is picking up reading so well. I'm SO proud of him. (Can you tell?)

Saturday

Saturday was an interesting day. I started the day at my computer, needing to print some material for my Young Women lesson. I turned on and booted up and what did I find? Ugh! My profile settings were erased. I opened up email and it wanted me to format for a new account. (All the old stuff was gone!) I checked for my program with all my pictures and all my family pictures were gone! I also checked the program I keep all my business transactions for Creative Memories and I couldn't even find it. Do you know what kind of sick feeling I had? I wanted to cry. Before fretting too much I decided I needed to see if Eric could help me. I explained everything and he said he would look at it.

We had a Blake Family Christmas Party in Provo at 1 pm, so we jumped in the car. I drove while Eric worked on my computer. The drive was eventful with snow flying. It was a little intense in some parts but cleared up when we got past North Salt Lake. Phew! The good part is Eric was able to find all my important things and reinstate them into my settings. The only thing I did lose was my old emails and address book. In the next few months I'll be collecting addresses from the people who send me stuff and I will be back where I started. (Hopefully!) I'm so happy we were able to find my pictures and the data for my business. Of course, pictures are priceless and no business data would have been hard to do taxes with. As soon as we got it all up and going I promptly backed everything up to my external hard drive. I now feel at peace that if it happens again at least I have a back-up. (I had my external hard drive replaced a couple months ago and had it on my to-do list to back everything up but never got to it. I won't be so careless now. I think I've learned my lesson!)

We arrived in Provo for the Christmas Party and enjoyed seeing the Blake and Christensen clans. We didn't have a summer get-together this year so we haven't seen most of them for a year, since last Christmas. Grandpa Blake is hanging in there but is battling bladder cancer. He didn't look as perky as he has been. He's not too excited to endure a lot of pain. We hope he can be taken care of quickly or that he can pass on quickly so he doesn't have to suffer. It hit Eric hard that things could change very quickly. Was that our last Blake Christmas Party with Grandpa? Will we have our big Christmas parties still? Will we see the Christensens anymore? Will we get together in the summer? We'll see what happens....

Parker was so cute during the party. We usually eat, clean up tables and have a program. In years past we've also had a visit from Santa. When we sat down for the program (we sang Christmas Carols), Parker got really sad and grumpy and we couldn't figure out what was wrong. I guess he figured that if we were singing songs that Santa was not going to come. Well, he was right. Santa didn't visit this year. Eric had a conversation with him later, where Parker said he was sad Santa didn't come. Eric told him, "Well, Santa doesn't always come." Parker then replied, "Well, he's come every year of my lifetime!!!" As we thought about it, yes, in the lifetime of his remembrance (about 3 or 4 years) Santa has come. What a bummer for him!

We had an uneventful trip back. The snow had stopped and the roads were clear. Yeah! We got home just in time to get the kids settled and Eric and I went out. We went to Jon Schmidt's Christmas Concert at Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah in Salt Lake. Jon Schmidt is an awesome piano player who is very entertaining. He included 3 of his kids, his Mom, Dad and many other talented musicians. He cracked jokes, played the piano upside down, backwards and every which way. It was a great concert that was much more than we expected. It would be fun to see him again.

We got home late. After all that, I didn't print the stuff I needed for my lesson, the thing I started to do at the beginning of the day. That's the story of my life! We woke up this morning to about 6 inches of snow on the ground. I was able to prepare my lesson this morning and felt very good about the outcome.

Life has been very busy this past week. Here's a bit of what I did: I worked 4 out of 5 days. The one day I didn't work I was at the school volunteering for Fun Friday. We had Tyler's Christmas Choir concert, Tyler's SEP's, Young Women Christmas Party, Relief Society Christmas Party, Tyler's photo appointment, an ortho appointment and I can't remember what else. This week I will work 2 1/2 days (so far), go to Jared's Choir Concert tomorrow night, go visiting teaching and have visiting teachers come, watch Mikaela's class keyboard recital, go on a hayride and food drive with the YM/YW, go to an assembly Tyler's choir will perform at and take them to an Elementary School for a performance, go to a choir practice for Sunday's program, have dinner with Jason & Kristi and have a neighborhood (our street) Christmas dinner for the adults. I'm still not recovered from last week so I guess I better gear up for what is to come.

Elder Wirthlin

I got an email yesterday that Elder Wirthlin died yesterday. It was confirmed in our local newspaper today. What a great (and funny) man and apostle he has been all these years. I will miss him. I wonder who the newest apostle will be?

November

It's been a few weeks since I've posted anything. I've been so busy. Yes, I did pick up my ring and it is on my finger!!! Yes! I love it.

I worked many days in November, more on than off. (That paycheck was great!!!) I even did my first full 6th grade class for the male teacher at our school. Because he is male, he got more boys than girls in his class; rambunctious boys at that. I can tell he has a challenge on his hands. I was prepared with my discipline plan, explained at the beginning of the day and, miracles of miracles, we had an awesome day!

My discipline plan is simple. I give out three little "star cards" (a piece of cardstock with a star on it) at the beginning of the day. I tell them I will be very picky about their behavior. Any little thing (speaking out in class, telling me what to do, out of seat when inappropriate, etc.) will lose a card. If they still have 3 left at the end of the day they can have 2 treats out of my stash. These treats are small laffy taffy, bite size chocolate, dum dums, etc. If they have 1 or 2 left, they get 1 treat and zero cards get nothing. Back to the 6th grade class, I only took one star card the whole day! I almost thought the teacher wouldn't believe me when I reported we had a great day!!!

In the time I've been doing this there has only been one child lose all three cards. Luckily I subbed the same class the next day and told this child if he had all three at the end of the day he would get a bonus treat. I was shocked that he was perfect that second day and I gladly gave him 3 treats!!! I am amazed what kids will do for a little treat! This is such a blessing and makes life so much easier for me and helps me be able to teach without frustration. Anyway, enough of that.

I walked 60 miles!!!!! Yes, I did the Breast Cancer 3-Day again this year. I left for San Diego on The 20th of November. We walked the 21st, 22nd and 23rd. Again, I had a great experience and I'm already signed up for next year! On the first day we had opening ceremonies and hit the pavement around 7:30 am. We had 8 people on our team. It was a little frustrating trying to keep track of everybody and walk together. We stopped at every pit stop and it was painfully slow getting back on track. We ended up finishing the 20 miles around 5:00 pm. Too long! We ate dinner in camp and had some problems with having the cars there to take everyone back to the hotel so 4 of us sat at the curb for quite a while waiting for our ride. By the time we got back it was very late (around 8:30 pm). I was a bit grumpy (to say the least).

Aunt Terri and I decided that night that we were not going to walk as a group the next day and that the two of us would stay together and cruise. We got a good start right at 6:30 am. We walk at the same pace and know how to do our duty (eat, drink, stretch and pee) at the pit stops and get going as quickly as possible. At the beginning of the day we hit the pit stops being in the top 250's out of 5500 walkers. We ended the day at 347 and 348 of 5500 walkers and finished at 2 pm!!! We were so proud of ourselves!!!

The third day was similar where we started around 6:30 am and hit the holding area for closing ceremonies around 2 pm. There was hardly anyone there when we arrived. (We didn't find out our place, like the day before.) It was nice to relax and wait while the rest of the walkers finished. We wait at the holding area and assemble ourselves to walk through the street with fans on either side cheering us to closing ceremonies. It is the coolest feeling. I felt like an Olympic champion! Closing ceremonies were again touching and inspiring. Terri got to carry in a flag and be in the "survivor circle" on the platform. Our team was so proud of her.

My body held up pretty good through the whole thing. I got a blister on the end of a toe and one on the heel of my left foot. Neither were very painful. (Nothing to hold me back at all.) My calves were sore but nothing a couple days of relaxation didn't take care of. I got a bit of a sunburn/tan (not too bad) and a mean cold sore popped up the day I returned. I think I will be losing a toenail on the blistered toe soon. I think I need to get some bigger shoes (I already have shoes that are 1 1/2 sizes bigger than what I usually wear) because my second toe is longer than the big toe and hits the top of my shoe when I walk. I thought I took care of the problem (I lost both of those toenails last year) but I guess not.

Overall it was an awesome experience. Nothing can beat walking 60 miles along the beaches of San Diego!!!

I got home the Monday before Thanksgiving. I took a couple days to recouperate and was back to the grindstone. We went to Norma's house for Thanksgiving. She asked me to bring a couple of my famous razzleberry pie so I had to shop and prepare those on Wednesday night. I spent the weekend cleaning house and trying to catch up on laundry (I'm still working on that!) I deep cleaned my bedroom, the TV room and my bathroom. It is so nice to have that done. Eric even shampooed some stains in the carpet. I'm still trying to adjust to working and trying to keep up with everything in my life so my house has gone to pot these last few months. I don't know how working people keep up with it all. (I guess most of them don't have 5 kids!) I still have lots to do but it feels good to make some progress.

The kids are back in school after the Thanksgiving break. I worked all day yesterday and a half day today, so I guess I'm back to school too!!!

Christmas is upon us. We spent Family Home Evening last night putting up the tree and decorating. The kids are excited. Eric and I did lots of our shopping on Black Friday. (He got up early and I went later.) It looks like Santa is going to be good to us this year!

Well, that's life up to now. It seems like November flew by. We'll see what December holds.

Birthday Gifts

I'm learning new things tonight. Namely how to include pictures in my post. Hopefully this will work without too much frustration.

When I finished my post about my birthday yesterday I hadn't received my gifts. So, I wanted to post what I received. Let's see if I can get this to work......

Let's start with Jared. Jared had to work so before he left he came skipping into my room, waving this flag and singing "Rise and Shout the Cougars are out...." My first thought was "Where'd you get that? I want one!" Before I could voice my thoughts he gave me the flag and said "Happy Birthday!" I am a happy camper. Just wait 'til game day. I'll be the dork flying the flag on my van all around town!!!
Next there's Tyler. He gave me these pink fuzzy cozy socks. They are yummy. Gotta love some yummy socks for cold feet. (Tyler was not a happy camper because he got in trouble with his dad right before this. He was trying really hard not to smile!)

Parker was so cute. At the beginning of the day Parker brought me this vase of red roses to start me off. Eric said when they were shopping he insisted that Mommy needs some flowers for her birthday. It was totally his idea. (He's going to be such a great romantic when he grows up!!!) He also gave me a pink pen because he knows Mommy loves pink!

Zachary gave me a comfy microfiber fleece blanket. Can you tell I'm into comfy cozy stuff? I'm in love!

Mikaela took Eric all over town to find chocolate covered gummy bears because she just knew I would love them. She was right! What a cutie! (I look like a total dork in this picture. You are welcome to ignore!) And last but not least.....Eric took me to dinner at LoneStar because I had a coupon for a free birthday meal. Can't beat that! He was worried through dinner that it was taking too long. (I didn't really think so. I was enjoying the meal and the company). I knew he had something up his sleeve but wasn't quite sure so I just went along with it. After dinner we went to the mall. It was 8:50 pm and the mall closes at 9:00 pm. He took me straight to the jewelry store and asked me if we should buy my new wedding ring. (We had looked last year and he knew what I wanted and exactly where to go.) The saleslady was closing up shop when we walked in but was very willing to help us. She showed us the ring but I didn't like the diamond that was already set in it. She showed me a different diamond and told me she could set it in that ring for the same price. It is a better diamond and a bit bigger. SOLD! The transaction went very smooth. She gave us all kinds of discounts that we couldn't resist. She was the best saleslady we had encountered in a long time!

I am a happy camper that I get to finally have a real ring on my finger again. (My original ring was about to lose the diamond so we decided a couple years ago that I would get an upgrade instead of fixing the old. It's been in the jewelry box since then.) The only disappointment is that I had to leave the ring there to get sized and have the diamond switched out. I get to pick it up on Friday. I can't wait!!!! Here's a picture of it. I'll be taking a picture of it on my finger when it is actually there.

All in all I had a great day. No complaints here!

Halloween

I have never liked Halloween much. It is so spooky and dark. As a child was so scared. I still don't like all that dark stuff but I'm starting to appreciate the holiday a bit.

The kids didn't have school because it was "end of term" teacher prep day. We ended up staying home, cleaning up and taking it easy most of the day. It was really nice. I tried to have dinner ready before the festivities began but didn't quite get done in time so I worked in the kitchen while running back and forth to the door. I made Broccoli Cheese Soup and Pumpkin Crunch for dessert, yummy festive food!!!

We had lots of fun trick or treaters. They were all dressed up so cute. I have found that I really love greeting them all. I actually told Eric and the kids they weren't allowed to hand out candy because I wanted to see them all!!! Hee hee!!!

Here's how we celebrated:

*Eric took Mikaela, Parker and Mitzi (the dog) trick or treating.

*Zachary still didn't feel well so he stayed home. I was so sad for him. He had so many fun plans for the day!

*Tyler went to a party with kids from Rhapsody (his show choir group).

*Jared had his friend Amber come down from Brigham City. They took Tyler to his party and dropped by Mrs. Nelson's (the science teacher at the Jr. High) to say Hi. (She loves it when her students and previous students stop in to visit her.) They then came home to watch a movie while I did trick or treat duty.

*I enjoyed greeting everyone who came to the door!!!

It's time to be done with this post now. Eric is taking me out to dinner!!! Yeah!!!

My Birthday!!

Today marks 41 years since my birth. I am starting to feel old as I watch my kids grow. I can't believe Jared is 18 years old. I remember when I was 18. It was just a little while ago. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a fun time of my life. There's so much that has happened since then, including getting married, going to school and graduating from BYU, being pregnant and giving birth to 5 children, getting through each of their 1st years (those were some hard years), moving into our home, and now having them all in full-time school and working. I'm feeling so much happier and content now but am struggling to adjust to the changes. I guess life is no more busy than it has always been, just different.

Everyone has been great today. I was able to sleep in a bit this morning and Eric made french toast for breakfast along with the traditional candle in each. Since we had such a busy week, our house was a mess. We had a huge mountain of clothes that needed folding in our room and another huge mountain waiting to be cleaned along with stuff strewn everywhere, dishes that needed to be done, dirty floors, etc. Usually our tradition is that the birthday person gets a day off. Well, that was not a very good expectation since my greatest wish is a clean house. So, I told everyone this morning that I would really like to have peace today and everyone's help getting things cleaned up. We worked hard this morning. I folded all the laundry and helped pick up while the rest of them did their parts. The house looks so much better. Now Eric and the kids are outside doing yard clean-up (mowing for the last time, cleaning out the garden, etc.) while I continue to keep the laundry going and resting in-between. I'm a happy camper.

We haven't done any gifts or the like yet. I'll have to report on that later, I guess.