FuNnUy WoRdS/sAyInGs

Okay, I have decided to start a new heading: Funny sayings/words. Under this, I will continually post things that my kids say/do.

For this one, it is Caty. First off, I love listening to 3-year-olds try and say words. You know what they are saying, but they never come out right. For her, it is aminals and posquitos. She will tell you all about the posquito bite that she got on her arm.

Last night, it was time for the girls to go to sleep. They used to like having the hall light left on, since they do not have a night light. Last night, they asked for the light to be turned off (Meagan and Jessica were asking for this). Caty came up to me and asked me to leave it on. She said "I don't want darkness, I want lightness". I thought that was just too cute. So my new word for now is lightness. Something I'm sure we could all use a little more of.

I'm back

Sorry to have been away for so long. We are in the process of buying our first home. I've been hesitant to say anything, as I was too afraid of ruining it. We close on August 28. I will post pics as soon as I get them.

Things have just been crazy for the last month. Here is a picture of Jessica w/her new glasses. (The old ones were broken by Nathan while they were playing).

Derek does things every once in a while that will remind us of his uncle Brian. Last week, during dinner, he yelled at his siblings to stop looking at his food. This morning, this is what he did:

If any of you know Brian, this is a totally Brian thing to do. He hid his food so that no one could see it.

The kids have had fun this summer, but are excited about school starting. Mainly because they get to start a new school, though it won't be until the second week of school. We are enrolling them at Wilson here in Norman for the first week, as both schools start the same day, the week before we move. So, they will get the chance to say goodbye to all of their friends (they've been at that school since Meagan was in kindergarten). Then, on to the new school. Time is sure going by fast, though at times I don't feel like it is going by fast enough. So much to do, so little time. (I can't wait to be in our new home).

Blessings

You know, sometimes I think we take it for granted that we can hear, see, smell, taste and feel, as well as other things. A few weeks ago, I was sitting outside enjoying a nice breeze while Mike was working on our washer. I took a few moments to just sit and listen around me to see what all I could hear. I sat back, closed my eyes and listened. Here is what I heard:

A train whistle from about a mile away, the neighbor four houses down using his sander, Mike working on the washer, the air conditioner running on the side of the house, the wind in the trees, cars on the main road about half a mile away, a truck revving it's engine down the street, the wind chimes two houses down, birds chirping, an airplane flying overhead, a fly buzzing past my ear, feet patter on the sidewalk, children laughing, the door opening and closing on our house, the keys of the neighbor next door as he opened his front door, a car door closing, noise of the bike wheels on the sidewalk, Caty chewing ice, cars in the school parking lot behind our house, tools dropping in the garage, and Mike talking.

All of this was within about 10 mins. It really amazed me what we can hear when we take the time to listen. Like right now, I can hear Caty playing and making noise when she is supposed to be taking a nap, or the girls just sitting in the living room talking quietly so as not to disturb the little ones.

12 years ago

Today marks 12 years since my dad passed away. He was visiting my sister Elena in California and died of a heart attack at the age of 63, just one month before his 64th birthday. There are times when I am grateful that he died when he did, because he had the beginnings of Alzheimer's and dying when he did, he didn't have to suffer. I am so grateful that I did not have to see him go through forgetting us, because that would have broken my heart. It is sometimes hard to believe that he is no longer with us. There are times when I will have something happen and I want to call him to tell him about it, but then I remember that he died, and it will be at that moment that peace and feeling of love will fill my heart. I feel like that is Heavenly Father's way of letting me know that he is not lost to me, that even though he is not here with me, I will get to see him again some day. And when I do, he will have seen the wonderful things (and not so wonderful things) that have happened in my life. I will not tell you that it is easy losing someone you love. Even when you have the gospel and know that there is more to dying than just death, that families can be together forever, there is still a hole that is there waiting to be filled again when you are reunited with your loved ones. I miss him so much, but through my faith, I make it through each day and remember the good times we had, even though I feel like I was not as good of a daughter as I should have been. He was a wonderful father, even though I was not raised by him, and only got to see him during most summers. He did the best that he could and it was not until he was gone that I realized just how much he did for me. He was a man of great faith. He always reminded me of who I am and what great things we can accomplish through living the gospel. Even though I did not make it to his funeral (I was serving a mission for my church and did not make it to the funeral, which is a long story) I know that he was happy with the decision that I made, because that is the kind of man he was. He knew where he was going. He wasn't perfect, far from it. But I know where he is and I know that I will be with him someday. I love you dad.

My dad and I at the airport back in 1992, saying goodbye on my way to live in Hawaii.

(I'm actually taller than him and am slouching to take the picture)

(I will post more pictures of him once I get them scanned.)

Clarification

Ok, I just read over what I had written last night and I'm not sure it really made sense. So, just for clarification, here is what I was trying to say:

Jessica is 7 and was born in '01, Nathan is 1 and was born in '07. Derek is 5 and was born in '03, Caty is 3 and was born in '05. And of course, Meagan is 9 and was born in '99. Hope that helps clarify it.

Interesting Facts

We took the kids out to eat tonight and the waitress asked us the ages of the kids. After she left, I realized something really cool that I hadn't realized all year, and it will only be good for another three months. Here are the ages of our kids, from oldest to youngest. 9, 7, 5, 3, 1. Here are the years our kids were born, again from oldest to youngest. 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007. Notice anything? Our kids' ages match the years that our kids were born, even if it is not the year they were born. Here are the end of the years along with their ages: 9-9, 1-1, 3-3, 5-5, 7-7. In other words, 9, 1, 3, 5, 7. This is the only time that their ages will end the same as the year. Of course, Meagan's is exactly the same, as she was born in 1999 and is 9 years old. Just a little something cool that I thought about tonight.

Sunday message

I think this could help us all. I challenge each of you to try this for one week. I'm not asking you to report to me or anything like that, let's just each try this and see how it affects each of our own families. I think it will really benefit not only us, but each of our family members as well.
(just click on the title and it will take you to the video).

Nathan - the latest news

We had Nathan's appointment this morning to get his arm fixed and in a cast. We got to the hospital around 6 am, got checked in and they came and got him sometime between 7:30 and 7:40. The anesthesiologist administered the anesthesia and then the doctor put the cast on him (we were in the waiting room during this time). This all happened and was finished by 8 am. We then just had to wait for him to wake up, which took about 15-20 mins. I think it took more time checking him in and out then the actual procedure itself. He handle the whole thing really well, not crying once. He is definitely a little trooper.

Here is our little angel.

The doctor said that he almost grabbed red, but wasn't sure if we were OU fans and didn't want to offend us if we went for "the other" team. So, he grabbed what he thought was blue, but ended up being purple.

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Being hurt has not stopped him from climbing and playing.

Nathan and Caty.