Family Scripture Study

We read scriptures every night before bed. It is a good way to get the kids calmed down, (but of course there are those nights that everyone is fighting), but for the most part it's a good experience. Two nights ago Livvy grabbed her copy of the scriptures, (she has to have one because everyone else does), flips open to a page and says "And it came to pass." It was so funny.
Tonight as we were reading she was trying to talk over the person who was reading, and she would say loudly, "And it came to pass..." and then start talking about other things we had done today. She is a crack up. Not too many dull moments around here with her and Luke.
Livvy started with another cold this morning and has had to have a couple of breathing treatments. Poor little girl. At least it was warm for Trick or Treating. More on that coming soon.

Mother of the Year

After talking to a friend about her daughter who needed to have her adenoids out, she started telling me the signs and symptoms that could be seen with adenoid issues. As she was describing them to me, I said, "You're describing Luke!" And she was, to the T. Then Luke got a cold and he told me that one nostril was plugged up and that was the one he normally breathed through. In shock, I asked him if he really was only ever able to breath through one side of his nose, and he said yeah. Boy, didn't I feel like a great mom.
We made him and appointment to see his family doc, and they said that sure enough he has a classic adenoid face, checked him out and referred him on to an ENT.
Today we saw the ENT, and she thinks he has a combination of allergy and adenoid problems. She asked if we've ever tested him for allergies and I told her no, they've only ever treated him for them. I thought after I had Livvy tested for allergies it would be smart to test Luke, but did I? Nope. Mother of the Year!
So today Luke had an x-ray done to check out his adenoids, (the physical exam leaned very much to problematic adenoids), and then they are referring him on to an allergist to get the allergies checked out.
She told him after we get these things under control he'll be a whole new boy.

October 18, 2008

Saturday was a long but very great day. Luke had his final soccer game for the season, and we knew that other kids would be gone for the game, so we decided it was important for him to be there so they would even have a team. Luke played a wonderful game, and he never gave up. He played hard the entire game and did very well. Way to go Luke! In years past Luke has played defence extremely well. He used to hate offense, but this year something changed and he loves offense just as much if not more than defence. We sure have loved watching you play.

After the game, we rushed home and got ready to head to the Temple. I got the oil changed and poor Ryan got stuck with packing everything we needed. Ryan did great, and even packed things we needed that we would have never guessed would have needed. Thanks Ryan. It took longer than I anticipated for the oil change, so Luke and I ended up meeting Ryan and Livvy at the rendezvous point. There we got the van ready and met Juli, Paul, Max, and Addison, and then Brendon, Lorri, Natalie, and Gavin.
Due to people being late, we left an half and hour behind schedule. Brendon and Lorri had reservations for the 4:00 session, we left at 2:00, and it takes 2 hours and 15 minutes to make it to the Detroit Temple on a good traffic day. Just after our half way point we ran into construction which put us to one lane, stop and crawl traffic which lasted approximately 10 miles. It felt like forever. We thought that for sure Brendon and Lorri would miss their session. But Ryan never gave up, and on he went. He pulled into the Temple parking lot at 3:59, and the Brendon and Lorri rushed in and made it to their session.
Paul, Juli, Ryan, and I went to a 6:00 Sealing Session. It was so wonderful! What a blessing it is to have Temples here on the Earth, where we are able to do work for those who have gone on before us, and a place where we can be Spiritually fed in abundance. What a great experience.
We stopped and ate at Wendy's and then headed home. We made it home at about 11:30 PM. It was a long but great day.

I gave Juli many reasons to laugh at me on the trip. Ryan can be a crazy and frightful driver in my opinion. And I am admittedly a horrible "side seat driver." I've jokingly asked Ryan how he drives without me pointing out every detail he needs to know about on the road. Juli was so amazed too, at the fact that Ryan just politely smiles while I'm telling him how to drive. Yeah, someday I will cross-stitch that sign that says, "Drive as though you cherish those who in the car with you." It's so hard to not have control when you see other drivers coming toward you.

Nap Time

Do you like the nap time hair? She'll pull her "pretties" out because they get in the way while she's changing clothes.

Nap times are becoming harder with Olivia. She seems to think that she is too big for naps. I put her up in her room and shut the door and hope that she'll go to sleep. She does...after the fashion show she puts on for herself. She gets out of bed and empties her drawers of their clothes, and tries on as many outfits as she can. The other day when she woke up this is the way she was dressed (as shown in the pictures above). It was so funny, and she was mad at me for taking off her beloved pants, aka shirt that she had on. She is a funny girl.
I think I'm going to get her some more hangers and just put toys in her drawers and hang all her clothes up. She will change her clothes all day long. My laundry, which is never ending as it is, is truly overwhelming.

Miles of Smiles

We have a man who has a huge smile covering his face. I'm sure you can guess why.

Ryan received a job offer Thursday and another one Friday. What a happy guy! He will be a Sales Rep for a Medical Supply company. We received an offer with the Boy Scouts as well, which could be a great job, but they need us to move to another place in Western Michigan. That's kind of a downer considering the housing market in Michigan.
Hooray for Ryan! Our prayers were heard and answered. We are very thankful to a loving Heavenly Father who blesses us so much.
We are thankful to our many family and friends who supported us, fasted and prayed with us and for us. We are lucky to have so many good people in our life. Thanks so much to you all!

Once there was a Snowman

Olivia's first song that she can sing from beginning to end is "Once There Was a Snowman." She loves this song. It is so cute to hear her sing it. She also loves "Ring Around the Rosie's," "Popcorn Popping," and "I Love to See the Temple." We love music! I wish I could get her to sing for the camera. Maybe someday.

Mosquitoes

Yesterday evening we went to enjoy the beautiful Fall colors and take some pictures. I don't have any of the pictures to post yet, but hopefully will soon. We sprayed ourselves down with bug spray. But unfortunately someone forgot to tell the mosquitoes that bug spray was supposed to stop them from eating us alive. It was October 13th, and the mosquitoes were SWARMING all around us. It was hard to take pictures with 5- 10 mosquitoes biting you, and just as hard to hold the camera and take pictures when they were feasting on you as well.
The other night we let the dog in just before we went to bed and 8 mosquitoes came swooshing in in the short period of time the door was open. It is a crazy thing this late in the year to have soo many mosquitoes.

Our Phantom

Halloween is fast approaching, and ghosts and goblins roam the streets. Tonight, we sat down to a late dinner. The kids and I had been to a friend's soccer game and Ryan was helping paint a friend's house. So around 8:00 tonight we were sitting at the dinner table and I thought I heard a soft knock at the door. The dog barked to announce that yes, someone had been there. We ran to the door and to our surprise no one was there, but there were 2 boxes full of everything you can imagine. Livvy notices the Chex Mix first thing and says, "Oh, pretzels!" Like pretzels showing up on the doorstep is a common occurrence.

We all were surprised and amazed at ALL the wonderful products stuffed in the boxes; laundry soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, kids soap, regular soap, toilet paper, deodorant, toilet bowl cleaners, Greased Lighting, diapers, wipes, shampoos and conditioners, shave gel, fabric softener, Tylenol, Stove Top Stuffing (Luke's favorite), flour, cereal, sugar, Post its, pasta salad, black beans, kidney beans, mac n' cheese, granola bars, Chex Mix, and crayons.

To our Phantom we send out a huge THANK YOU. We're documenting it all so we can remember, and we figure since the Phantom most likely won't post it, we are for you. Thank you Phantom. We love you. Thanks for your love, and care for our family. May you be blessed for your kindness!

Love,

Katie, Ryan, Luke and Livvy.

Art Time

Cold Season

Olivia has Reactive Airway Disease, and when she gets colds her airways constrict and she starts wheezing. It's a fairly common thing for preemies to get, and she was an itty bitty 6 week preemie. For this she has to have breathing treatments to open up her airways. Up til recently she fought the treatments and screamed and cried. With this cold this week, she was asking for the treatments when she needed them, and insisted on holding it herself. She is growing up.

Jury Duty

Ryan was summoned to jury duty, when he checked in on Monday he was called to report. Then, he was selected as a juror. This came at not the best timing as he could have been in Chicago this week for an interview. But he did his duty. They choose 14 jurors, then by lottery pick 2 just before the jury deliberates as the extras who are excused. Guess whose number got drawn? Yep, Ryan's. He just called and said he is on his way home. Oh, the frustration. Oh well. Next week. The man he's interviewing with is out of town starting tomorrow morning, so next week it will be...unless he could take off right now and make it today. Hmmm, gotta go.

Prayer

Tonight as we were sitting down to dinner, Olivia folded her arms and started saying the blessing all by herself (and without even being asked). Now it wasn't the longest prayer in the world, but my little 2 year 2month old (to the day) said, "Heavenly Father, Dank you por dis day. In da name...Jesus...Amen. It was so cute. She smiled so big afterward.

I was just thinking this morning what a wonderful age this is. It is so neat to hear all that she is learning and retaining. It is just a wonder what developments they make though these stages.

She's Such a Girl

Olivia loves clothes and shoes. She loves to change her outfits all the time. If I am folding clothes, and it doesn't matter whose clothes they are, she has to try them all on. Forget about actually folding them, it's all about fighting her for them because she claims them all as her own. She is especially fond of Luke's pajama shorts. She actually wears them as her "skirt." She puts both legs into the same pant leg and parades around with a lovely tail hanging out behind her. I need to get a picture of that.

When clothes aren't out in the open, she'll head up to her bedroom, open her drawers and pull clothes out to wear. Oh, the screams I hear when she can't get a shirt over her head, or she can't move because both legs are in the same pant leg. You'd think the world was coming to an end.

She wears an outfit for about 5 minutes. How exactly does she get it dirty in that short period of time? I think it's funny that she loves to dress like a dainty little princess, but she plays like a Tonka Truck. She sure is a cutie.

She's the same way about her hair too. She loves to have "Pretties" in her hair, but the longer I spend on her hair, the sooner it's all pulled out.

This little girl sure brings a smile to our faces.

Fair Weather, Foul Weather and All Weather

My friend and I were talking the other day about friends. She said she didn't have fair weather friends, she had foul weather friends, because she knew that whenever she had a need her friends would be there for her.

So I've been thinking about my friends. I have soooo many. I am such a lucky person. I have friends all over the world. I love to catch up with friends and have time to just socialize. I love to take trip based around where we have friends. I love to know what my friends have been up, and love that they want to know about me too. When I travel back to Idaho, I try to visit as many of my friends as possible, and it just confuses my parents. They don't understand how I can, or want to, or have the time to keep in touch with so many friends. I think it's because I don't have "Fair Weather Friends," nor do I have "Foul Weather Friends," but I have "All Weather Friends." Friends who are there for me through the thick and thin, who care about me, and want to and will do anything they can to help. Through both the good and the bad.

So to my ALL WEATHER FRIENDS out there I send a huge hug and thank you to you. Thanks for being who you are, and thanks for all you do. I love you!