You Probably won't find this as funny as I do, but enjoy:

Porter, Porter

In March Melissa's little boy, Porter, turned 3. I was meeting her at the pool on his birthday with my younger two boys while my older ones were at Joy School. I love celebrating other people's birthdays, it's such a great opportunity to let them know how special they are, so I had William bring a present for Porter.
Now, before giving the present to Porter, Mikey had seen it and questioned about it. I told him that it was for William's friend, Porter. For some reason he got really excited and insisted on writing Porter's name on the gift.
Since then, my boys will mention Porter in their prayers. I don't know why, but they do. They mention Mom, Dad, Mikey, Roger, William, Grant, Nae ....and Porter (which sounds more like quarter when they say it). It has been somewhat humorous to me because I'm not sure if my boys even know who Porter is.
The other day Roger said his normal prayer, adding in a "Bless Porter". Upon finishing he said to me, "Porter's really really sick, huh Mom?"
This surprised me on many levels. You see, Porter has Cystic Fibrosis. CF is a heredity disease that causes the patient to have very thick mucus (among other things). A common cold can be very serious to a CF patient because they cannot just simply cough the congestion out, it's very thick. So, even though I hang out with Melissa a lot, I try to not have my kids hang out with us because with 4 little boys, I cannot guarantee that we wouldn't expose some kind of bug to Porter. In reality, she shouldn't even allow me into her home because I hang out with my boys all day (I may carry more germs than a day care).
I really haven't talked to the boys about Porter having CF, which is why I was so surprised when Roger mentioned that Porter was very sick. But it did make me grateful that without my prompting, my boys were praying for one of their little friends who needs an extra prayer.

One Expensive Sock

Do you want to see the most expensive sock? It cost $150! And guess what? It was going to cost hundreds of more dollars. Here it is:Yes, this little sock got stuck in the tub of our washing machine, causing the tub to not rotate.
As frustrating as this is, I was even more frustrated. You see, I called someone in to repair. After looking at it for a little bit, he told me (at least I think this is what he said, his chew was affecting his speech) that the master board of the machine was broken....it would cost at least $300, and even then we weren't sure it would fix the machine. He recommended purchasing a new washer. I told him I didn't think anything was wrong with the master board, I just needed the tub to spin. He insisted that the master board was the problem, and after charging me $65 he left.
Todd and I looked all over craigslist for a washer, and found a few that were possibilities, but I just did not think that our machine was broken. So we decided to have a second opinion.
The next guy was awesome. He used some actual manual labor and was able to pull this sock out of the machine.
I guess whether I pay the first guy to come look at my machine and lie to me so he doesn't have to do some actual work, or if I pay him through my taxes...it's all the same

Don't eat the Apples

During Sunday dinner I always ask the kids what they learned in church. They will usually answer (that is IF they answer) "about Jesus". This Sunday I asked them the normal question of what they learned. I almost started choking on my food when Roger replied with "Adam 'n Eve".
So I questioned him further, "What about Adam and Eve?"
"They ate a apple"
"Ya, then what happened?"
"They were thrown out of the bushes"
"Really? What else"
"They were sad.....They were sorry"

Ahh... progress.

Lake Farm Park

My friends and I went to Lake Farm Park. It's a county park that is a farm. It was a beautiful day, and we had a lot of fun.

We got to look and pet many farm animals.
The cat was a hitThere was pony rides offered. I wasn't going to encourage my kids to do it, but I wasn't against them riding. I was very impressed with how Mikey asked me for permission, so I forked over the couple of dollars and let them ride. Roger and William kept saying that they were CowboysThe boys favorite part of the whole day: Milking the cow!They were even more thrilled when we came home and found that LeNae had purchased them each a bowl with a cow on it!My favorite part of the day? Spending time with my men. It was fun to see their excitement of all the animals, to be able to just run and run, and to see them learning new things.
By the end, we were ALL tired.

Say a Little Prayer for You

The other day, LeNae took the three older boys to the park. Mikey had insisted on bringing Rattle, his little plastic snake, in one of my kitchen bowls.

Everything was going great, everyone was happy, there was no one crying. It seemed perfect. Then... Mikey was going down the slide with Rattle in the bowl. When he got to the bottom, the bowl went up and out flew Rattle. Mikey immediately started crying, so LeNae went to help him find his lost "pet". Rattle had landed somewhere among the wood chips, but because he was so small, he blended in and got lost.

After looking for Rattle for sometime, LeNae suggested, without real intent, that they say a prayer to find him. Roger sparked up at this thought, came over and said, "Yes! Let's say a prayer...Mikey, kneel down ... Nae, kneel down".

Roger then said a prayer. He said a good prayer, one of his normal prayers, but never said anything about finding Mikey's toy.

After Roger's prayer, Mikey insisted on saying his own prayer. It wasn't a long prayer, he just asked Heavenly Father to help him find Rattle. After ending the prayer, Mikey got up, glanced over to the left and immediately found Rattle.

I'm so grateful that LeNae had mentioned turning to our Heavenly Father for help, I'm grateful that Mikey had the faith that Rattle would be found, and I am grateful that our Heavenly Father directed Mikey in finding Rattle.

Job well done

In high school I had a teacher that was determined to teach us kids from Southern Utah to speak correctly. "Don't say 'I'll be back real quick', it's supposed to be 'I'll be back really quickly" she would remind us.
Today Mikey and Roger were coloring. They both, at separate times, stated:
"I'm coloring so well!"
Miss White would be so proud.

Tea Anyone?

In 1773, in the harbors of Boston, the early men of our nation were sick of being unfairly taxed. Today we find ourselves in a similar situation. The government is growing bigger, having more and more control over our lives and decisions. So yesterday Todd and I took Mikey and Roger with us to a Tax Day Tea Party Rally.Now, this was NOT an Anti-Obama rally, nor an Anti-government rally. There were many Republicans and Democrats there. It was not Obama who has put the government in this mess (though his and Bush's encouraging of the last two bailout bills being passed did not help), it has been going in this direction for some time, and our Congress has been pushing it this way. We are heading into a socialistic government. I know this may seem appeasing to some - the thought that we will be safe and secure no matter what (sounds like someone else's plan...hmmmm), but that "security" comes at the expense of freedom. Also, that type of government is not self-sustaining. I visited Russia over 10 years ago. The cities were up to date, but when going into the countryside, I had to pinch myself because I felt like I was stepping back to the 1920 or 1930s. Under a socialistic government there was no progression. Progress was not embraced, it was taxed. Remember the Romans? They had conquered many nations and was one of the most successful nations. What caused them to fall? Oh, ya, they started taxing too much from their people, the people moved away or outsourced, and then Rome fell. Hmmm....will history repeat itself?The government is spending OUR money, and not giving a care or thought of where this money is going. Were you upset about the AIG bonuses? Did you know that our money is also being used for Catfish farms, and for studying cockroaches? How many other things are being funded using our money that should not be? If the government is being irresponsible with our money now, they are going to need more of it so they can keep up all of this funding of special interest groups, these businesses, programs, etc, etc. Our National Debt is so incredibly high, and only getting higher - and who is purchasing our debt? Oh, only China and Russia.I know this sounds all very materialistic, but in reality it isn't... you just have to understand the connection. If the government is laying on such extreme taxes, businessmen will outsource their companies. They will continue to be successful, but the difference is that they will be sharing their wealth with another country. (In case you didn't get the connection, this means fewer jobs in America). But the biggest danger to you and I is in this: When our taxes are so incredibly high (and I don't mean just income tax, I mean food tax, carbon tax, real estate tax, etc, etc, etc, etc) that even though we are working all day everyday we still cannot afford to provide for ourselves and our family, guess what happens. Oh, the government will give you a "voucher" for needed items. So good of the government, makes them look like the good guys...until you realize that the more dependant you become on them, the more control they have on YOU. They will mandate where you shop, who you talk to, when and where you can get health care, how many children you have and when, what you teach your children, where you live, where you go to church, and who you are.

I know that there are a lot of us that are upset, and even more upset because we have no clue of how to change things. You can contact your congressperson - get the contact information by going here. Talk to your local leaders, talk to your neighbors. All of these may help, but may not be totally successful. I propose that as Americans we team up and let our "representatives" know we do not feel like they are representing us, and when election day comes, we do not re-elect a single congressman or representative. When these people have been "representing" us for more than a term or two, they get involved with special interest groups and lobbyists. If we want real change, we need more than a new President, we need people to represent the people - not their own checkbooks!!

If you're not upset -

you're not informed!

The boys enjoyed their first rally. They did really well, and would clap when the audience would clap.
Here's the rally from Mikey's point of view

Happy Easter

Having a Passover meal to kick off the Easter weekend was such a blessing. It helped me to reflect more on the Savior's sacrifice for us. The Passover feast started the day of Christ's Atonement, and Crucifixion. Then, three days later we celebrate His Resurrection!!!
I prefer to do the Easter toys and treats hunt on the day before Easter, so that we can focus more on Christ on the Sabbath. Mikey and Roger both got shirts that light up - my mom had given all the boys a light up shirt for Halloween and they love them, the only problem is 1- they are quite Halloweenish and 2 - they want to wear them EVERYDAY, not caring at all when the last time they were washed. William got a Walle hooded towel (the other boys have similar towels and wear them around as capes, so this way William could fit in - which I don't mind, but when he wore it to the library the other day...). And they all got an umbrella. Not sure if they'll ever use them for going in the rain, but I must say I was a bit embarrassed when I had a guest ask if she could borrow an umbrella to run out to her car and I had to inform her that even though we get almost 40 inches of rainfall a year, we do not own an umbrella.
Here's a picture of Mikey and Roger with their umbrellas, and sadly yes, they are both wearing their Halloween light up shirts - I am not kidding about how often they wear these shirts!We decided to spend our weekend with Todd's parents, Mike and Eve. They were gracious enough to meet us in Columbus and take our kids home with them while Todd and I went to the temple. It was such a nice session. I LOVE THE TEMPLE!! It is so incredibly peaceful and strengthening. THANK YOU MIKE & EVE!!
Our evening with Todd's family was really nice, and after we got the boys to bed, we stayed up and had fondue chocolate and fruit.
As Mike and Eve were taking the boys to their house, Roger got the hooked handle of his umbrella stuck in his mouth. (dang umbrella!) Eve had to go in the back and help him get it out. It caused the lower pallet of his mouth to either bruise or rip (or both). He was really sore the rest of the day, keeping his mouth open and having a difficult time swallowing. That night Todd and Mike gave him a blessing, and he was much better the next day.
We went to church with Todd's family. They have such a nice ward. Everyone knows everyone, and there is such a good, welcoming spirit about them. It was fun to see all of Todd's old friends.

Shalom

This year Todd, LeNae, and I have each been studying The Old Testament. It has been an awesome experience studying this great book. I have learned so much of what the Abrahamic Covenant means, and what being Children of Israel means to us today. With the Easter season approaching us, we decided that we wanted to hold our own Passover meal, with a Christian focus. So, I pulled out our "Nativity Costumes", took the legs off the table, purchased some lamb meat, and invited over some special people - Jessica and Sister Titera, who also dressed up for the feast.
We started out by sharing the story of the Children of Israel in bondage in Egypt. The boys have known the story of Moses for some time (which is why they call their baby doll Moses -Moses being put in a basket in the river is one of their favorite stories). We talked about the burning bush, and how God told Moses to deliver His people. We told the boys about the plagues that were put on the Egyptians, ending with the plague of the death of all the firstborns. We explained how the Children of Israel were instructed to use blood from a sacrificed lamb and paint a mark on the two doorposts and lintel of their homes.
Using watered down ketchup, we painted the door frame (mostly just the storm door) of our home. The boys enjoyed this one a lot.
We then went and sat down for the meal.
We started out by removing any Chametz (leavened bread) -we only threw one piece of bread out because I cannot afford to throw all our bread out. The unleavened bread of the Exodus does symbolize that the Israelites were told to leave in haste, not allowing them time to wait for their dough to rise. But also, when food is leavened, it spoils faster, so leavened has been likened to wickedness and sin. So this throwing out of the leavened bread also symbolizes throwing off wickedness - symbolizing repentence. Roger loved going to the door and throwing the bread out.
Then we lit the candles.


Then we filled up our cups with "wine" - grape juice. (I usually don't feed my kids juice because of all the unneeded sugar and the cost, so the boys went to town drinking the juice...they kept filling and refilling their cups - William even wet the bed that night because he drank so much!)
Then we went and washed our hands (Urechatz) - it's a symbolic act of preparation for the Seder and Passover feast. I thought it correlated very nicely with baptism and the partaking of the Sacrament. The first Sacrament was given at Christ's Last Supper, which was during Passover. Christ fulfilled the Law of Moses, and therefore the Passover, and instituted the Sacrament in it's place. The washing of the hands with water could symbolize baptism and the need of baptism for the partaking of the Sacrament.
We dipped our Karpas (any vegetable that represents the arrival of spring) in the salt water - which represents the sweat and tears of the Children of Israel in bondage, and I like to add the scripture that man shall eat by the sweat of his brow, and I also like to add the sweat and tears of Christ as he atoned for us.
We broke the middle Matzah (unleavened bread), and had Mikey hide it. The middle Matzah that gets broken symbolizes the Messiah.
We discussed how this night was different from other nights. We discussed how the story of the Exodus can pertain to us in our bondage to Satan or his snares.
We presented the 10 Plagues that were put upon the Egyptians. As these plagues are presented, after each plague mentioned we dipped our finger in our own "wine" and placed a drop of the "wine" onto our own plate. This symbolizes that even though we celebrate the freeing of the Israelites from slavery, we do not take pleasure in the suffering of the Egyptians.
Mikey used his dots to circle around his plate to look like a clock.
Roger used Sister Titera's plate.Todd presented the Seder plate, and we discussed the symbolism for all items on the plate.

We then recited our Dayenus. Dayenu means that it would have been enough and we are grateful. It is a way of giving praise to God, and showing appreciation for all the blessings given us. Each person recites a line, then at the end of each statement, everyone proclaims "Dayenu".
One example is, "Had God brought us out of Egypt, but not executed judgements against the Egyptians, it would have been enough". We went around and shared our own personal Dayenus, discussing things in our lives that are most important to us.
We had an extra place at our table, but not for Elijah the Prophet. We told the boys of how Elijah has already come and has restored the sealing keys of the gospel. We then explained that there is someone that we are waiting to return to earth, and that is Jesus Christ, our Savior.In preparation for this meal, Todd kept telling me that I was having too high of hopes for the evening for the boys wouldn't be too cooperative during the meal. We were all very pleased with how reverent and involved the boys were throughout the meal. The boys were a part of the discussions and the Spirit was so strong, and I know that the boys felt it.Roger's favorite part was the Nirtzah - eating the hard boiled egg. He ate about 4 or 5 of them!

Mikey enjoyed blowing out the candles. (P.S. Can you believe that we had a meal, on the floor, with real candles, with the flame lasting the ENTIRE meal!!!)
"L'Shana Ha'ba-a B'yerushalayim - Next Year in Jerusalem"

It's okay...I'm a doctor

Today we went on an entertaining little family walk.
Mikey's bike is a bike that a neighbor had given us, but unfortunately it's a little big for him and we're too cheap to buy him one that would fit him more properly. We want to get Roger a bike, but are waiting for his birthday - which is this summer. So, this left us with Mikey riding his big bike, and Roger walking behind.
Though he looked a bit awkward on his bike, and at times looked as though he may fall, Mikey was going quite fast. Roger wanted to keep up, so he ran. Unfortunately his running wasn't fast enough; therefore he lagged behind. It didn't help that he had insisted on wearing his Spiderman water shoes that were a little big and awkward on him. He kept running though, and didn't ever give up. LeNae, Todd, and I were amused by this sad, yet very cute sight.
Mikey was getting closer to the corner, so we called out for him to stop and wait for us. Seeing that he could have a chance to catch up, Roger pushed his running to the next level. Unfortunately, because of the increased effort in his running, and the Spidarman shoes, Roger tripped and fell onto his tummy.
Mikey had seen Roger fall, and jumped off his bike and ran over to Roger. He got there just before Todd did. Mikey got on the ground by Roger and said, "It's okay Roger...I'm a doctor!" He then put his hands on Roger's chest and yelled, "Clear!"
I think he's been playing with Todd too much.

They ARE watching

In the morning, whichever kids that wake up before I do (this always varies) come and get in bed with me. After my alarm goes off, I will get up, turn off the alarm, and kneel down by my bed to say my morning prayer.
This morning we slept a little later than usual - it being the weekend. Mikey came and snuggled with me in my bed. After a while I said something about getting up.
Mikey immediately hopped out of bed, knelt down, clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and said a silent prayer!
I am humbled by this great child of God.

Scratch My Back

My boys have these stuffed animals that are their "babies". One afternoon I was driving somewhere when I overheard this conversation from the back seat.

Roger had just put his "baby" up his shirt.
Roger: My tummy is so big.
Mikey: You going to "pop" your baby out?
Roger: No...not yet.

Couple of minutes later
Roger: My tummy is SO heavy.... Mikey, scratch my back.
Mikey: I scratch your back, you'll pop out your baby.
Roger: Yep.

After some scratching, Roger grunted and pulled his "baby" from under his shirt.
The funny thing is that when I was laboring with Grant, Roger had come in and scratched my back. So to him, a mother has to have her back scratched in order to give birth.