Dancing Daughters

I really need to get them in for some training, they could really go somewhere... It is always nice when children are getting along. These girls love to dance, and have been trying to come up with new moves. Dancing with the Stars, here we come.

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Family resemblences

My sister shared a photo she found the other day in a photo box. What fun to see my cute little apples don't fall far from my tree.

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Do my best

Joseph started the Boy Scout program after he turned eight and is loving it, he can't wait for each Tuesday so he can go to scouts. It is exciting to see his enthusiasm for a program that focuses on bettering oneself, serving our country, and helping other people.

Joseph, a sentimental boy, loves that we used his father's old boy scout shirt, scarf, slide, and wolf hat. Funny thing is we would have only had to change out one number from the original pack number (Greg's was 415, Joe's is 475). There have been some changes to the uniform since his dad was in over 20 years ago. They no longer have the flag over the right pocket now it is on the right sleeve.

He looks great in his uniform.

Don't you think?

His daddy is almost excited as he is, and when we stopped at the scouting store he just had to pick up a pocket knife, because "every scout needs to be ready at all times." We are holding on to it for a little longer since they don't want them to bring knives to class YET.

Here he is asking "How do I open it?"


Here is why we are going to hold on to it for a while longer.

Family Reunion - Fisk side

Every body say "HEY," everybody say "HO!" Going to the Fisk Side!

I'm not sure which "annual" it is, we've been trying to get together every year since my brother Lachoneous passed away. I remember one of our first "Lakie Day" reunions was while I was a nanny for my brother, Dave, and his wife, Jen, back in 2000. We stayed in a few of these (like tents) riddled across the Pacific Northwest camping grounds along the coast line. Those first years we were a small band of Fisks, but look how we've grown! This year there were 13 children and 13 adults in attendance, and not all family members made it.

This year we stayed at a wonderful home in Donnelly, ID, an advertised "stones throw from the lake". I'm not sure who threw the stone they measured it by, but no one in my family could throw it that far...and yes, they tried! We had comfortable living quarters, a room for almost every family. The best room in the house was the "kids room," where I don't know how much sleeping actually took place. They had two queen bunk beds with trundles and another queen bed. It was a huge room! And I mustn't forget the HOT TUB! I think we would have had prunes for kids had we let them stay in as long as they wanted! If you were to ask any of the Porter children what their favorite part about the family reunion in Idaho was, they would unanimously proclaim the hot-tub...and maybe their Aunt Rosie...or their Uncle Calvin's raft...or the playgroud down the street...or the 4 for one Birthday party, hard to say! I proclaim it a success!



I volunteered to be the go to person for next year, hopefully I can do as well as Jessica did this year. Go Jessi!!

For those who might be interested, a break down of the "Fisks," starting with the oldest :

Von Del - "THE Grandfather," yellow shirt (hard to see, but in the back), long haired, semi-retired, dancing man, living in Ohio.

Vera Fisk - "Grandma Fisk", not in attendance. Living in West Jordan, enjoying dating and tending grandchildren. She has been a life saver, many times, for me!

Delvonna and Greg Porter - family in red (except for Greg who wants us to believe he is a rebel, but who truely didn't have a red shirt to wear). Living in Lost Wages (Las Vegas, NV) Greg is currently seeking gainful employment after serving in the military for 16 years, will re-locate willingly! Children: Joseph, 8, Brianna, 5, Kaitlynn, 3, and Elizabeth, 2.

Dave and Jennifer Fisk - family in dark blue. Dave and Jen are some of the only Fisk's still living in Portland, by way of Tigard, both successful at their jobs. Only boys! Dean, 9, and Logan, 7. Jen would like a little girl, but is happy to have nieces.

Ben Fisk, not pictured. Still living in Portland as well. Graduated from Law school and is seeking employment.

Rosetta Fisk, Stenzel, Davis - family in light blue. Working for Verizon, living in West Jordan, UT. Eamonn, 12, and Fiona, 9. Rosie thinks she has three more girls, but they belong to ME!

Zeezrom and Drea Fisk - family in brown. Zeb is working as a engineer, they live in Salt Lake City...almost down town! Their children; Gideon, 7, Thea, 5, Otto and Elliott, 2. They have their hands as full as me, and although we are tied with the "biggest families" of our little clan, Drea got there first...darn twins!

Calvin and Becca Fisk - family in white. Living in West Jordan, both working and saving for a place of their own.

Jessica and Peter Nguyen - family in green. Peter is in the ROTC and pursuing further officer training with the Army, also attending Jessica's alma mater, BYU-Idaho. Zeke, 2, is their only child currently, but baby sister will be making her debut early next year.

On a sad note:

This post is for my friend Stacey. I meant to do a blog about our first hamster when we got him, but I didn't. He died an unspeakable death at the hands of my children and the dog on the very day we got him. So sad. Greg proclaimed the children were too small to keep a small pet, I tried to talk him into another one since there was a return policy for two weeks. It took him a few days to soften. I just couldn't see throwing away all the money it takes to set up a small pet in his comfortable (but not too pricey) digs with all the little animal needs for only one day of life with the Porters. So once I got the ok, Joseph and I set out on a quest to find another tiny, fluffy, cute friend.

Stacey knowing of the un-timely death of the first hamster requested a picture of the new little guy so we would have proof of life. Thank you Stacey! We really did have a great time with Night Rider, as Greg affectionately called him due to his incessant night activities on the wheel. The kids were very careful to keep him in his ball, away from the DOG, if he was out of his cage for any length of time. We, ok I, checked on him almost every day. One day after three weeks co-existing with us, I went to take him out and clean his cage and feed him. The cage smelled something horrible. Every ounce of food was GONE! He had died (I'm thinking starvation). I asked Greg what day he remembered NOT hearing the whirl of the wheel. He thought it had been quiet for a few days. Oh sad, sad day. Good and bad news, he made it past the return policy. If there is anyone in need of a hamster cage and all the trimmings, let me know.

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I know, I know, it's been a long time.

I should say it has been a long time since I posted, trust me, I have been checking in on ALL my blogger friends and family on a regular basis! It is so nice to be able to keep updated on everyone else's lives, especially when it seems like mine is not so interesting.

Honestly, I use my blog as a way to journal, and I haven't been doing so well at it...could you tell?

Stay tuned, I will TRY and get some updates soon.

Not his first fish!

Joe's paternal grandfather (Paw Paw Porter) wanted to teach Joe to fish, and they have been out fishing twice this week with Joe's "straight A" fishing pole awarded from said grandfather. This picture is NOT his first fish, which Joe is emphatic about telling everyone. However it is the first fish I got to see. Apparently his first fish was given to someone else at the fishing spot, and the second was legally too small and was released to grow a little more to be caught another day by someone other than Joe.

Not a bad catch!

In Paradise

Yep, we found some great shark's teeth!

Just try telling her "no"

Catching a wave!!

??!!?? *

We've been having a great time here at Amelia Island, FL, in a little beach town called Fernandina Beach. We are about 2 1/2 blocks from the beach. The water is warm, the rain is too, and there have been some great lightning storms. I already want to move here.

* This is a really big grasshopper the girls found on their walk to the beach. It got it's wings wet in the early morning rainfall. Elizabeth noticed it first and got all excited, Brianna caught it in her bucket and we took it to the beach where it tried really hard to stay away from the water. It wasn't until this evening that the daddy told them no more live critters in the house...they had taken it upstairs to their room.

I think we've killed about 5 baby frogs, not intentionally of course.

I did convince them to put back the hermit crabs we found in the tide pools before heading home.

On the road

First day on our three day road trip to Florida, we are doing well!

I think I have found the trick (for my kids at least) to end the endless, every fifteen minute question, you know the ONE...
Are we there yet??

I gave the older three children five raffle tickets each. That is the allowable limit of times they can ask it today. If they ask the question in ANY form I take a ticket. Once we bed down for the night the more tickets they have left the better the prize! So far only one ticket has been taken! We are at the end of the day.

I also put together a map where they can look to see where we are at any given time. This seems to help them grasp how long it will really take.

All in all a good travel day.

Love of the Scriptures

Brianna says to me the other day:

Mom, I love to read the scriptures!

Keep in mind she is just learning her letters so she really isn't 'reading' the scriptures yet, but "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

G-ma Fisk is having her mark "God" every time they run across it in the scriptures. She is really enjoying her involvement during scripture time.

We recently went to pick her up her own scriptures at the Deseret Industries (I got a Bible, Book of Mormon/D&C/Pearl of Great Price for about $4!), and she used them for her first talk in Primary this past Sunday.

I think she is well on the way to becoming a lover of the scriptures.

Goings on

What a joy, my husband and I have been able to have two, count them...TWO, dates this month. My husband turned the whopping 35 this month. When asked as to what he might like for his birthday his response was sweet; "A date with my wife, without the kids, and without having to feel like we needed to hurry home to re-leave the babysitter." His request became my command. I put some feelers out to see if my mother would be open to coming for a visit, I was ecstatic that she said yes. Arrangements were made, and my mother came.

Not only does my husband get his birthday wish, but I get a bunch of things done that would have taken me longer by myself. One of the big things I had planned for the summer was getting my almost 5 year old ready for Kindergarten. Grandma has taught Brianna many letters using the Spaulding phonics program she used on my siblings for years now. She had been learning her alphabet here and there and practicing as well, but I didn't feel she was really going to be ready in time. Grandma has her writing as well as her 2nd grade brother (keep in mind he is a BOY, and penmanship is NOT something he feels the need to improve upon). Brianna is even reading a few words using this method. Here is a sample of her mad writing skilz:

Joseph had been working hard, or should I say finally focusing on earning straight "A"s this last quarter. Guess what, HE DID IT!! Yep, I'm a proud mom. He told me today that he got something just out of the blue at school. Luckily his teacher was right there and let me know that she had to pick out someone who had 'worked really hard' to award this "FUN" Reward Party. It allows the recipient and "5" friends of his choice to: 2 Slices of a one topping pizza, 16 oz cup of soda, 6 tokens, and 2 ride attraction tickets at the Las Vegas mini Gran Prix Family Fun Center. Pretty exciting for a little guy. I wonder who his friends will be?

Kaitlynn has been progressing with friendly competition as her sister has been writing, she thinks she should be able to do everything her sister does. I'm sure she will be more than ready for Kindergarten and might even get bored with it in the two years she has to wait. She will totally enjoy more time with momma only having to share with one sister while Brianna is off at school.

Elizabeth has been sleeping more and thus growing like a weed! While her sisters are working on their "Letters" she has been working on some sign language as well as 'new' words. She is getting pretty polite as well. We have been really working on the concept of 'sharing' which is important in a semi-large family. She also forgets to be gentle with littler folk. Not that she has much to worry about at home, but out and about she's kinda a bully. Once reminded she often can show a more gentler side by petting the victim. She never gives her momma a dull moment! If it's quiet, go look for her, Grandma has learned the hard way. She loves to play in the water and can quickly turn a carpeted (crazy, I know, but we haven't tiled yet) master bath room into a swamp land. She also is very clever and knows how to work 'child proof' anything. It's a challenge and she must conquer.

That's pretty much it for now. I'm extremely grateful my mom was "unemployed" enough to be able to come for a visit and to employ her skills on my children during this time. I should also mention she is willing to house & dog sit, cover for me in my nursery calling while we go to a family reunion in Florida. For a month! Yep, she's a GREAT mom!

It takes a village for a reason...

Summer in Spring

I don't know why every year I am surprised at how soon summer hits in Las Vegas. I've lived here for over 12 years (!) and each year it's the same (HOT early). I've already turned my A/C on, but not yet all day. We get super cranky, OK...I get super cranky, at our house when the heat shows up. This year I was able to hold out until the start of May, in most recent years I've been pregnant and really couldn't bare the temperature being over 75. Looking back, even in earlier years of living here, my cousin/room-mate called me "75 degree girl". What can I say, I am an Oregonian through and through.

One of the things I do look forward to in summer is playing at the water parks (not something they have a lot of in Oregon, you pretty much just go outside, on any given day, to the water falling from cloud shaped water fixtures). In Vegas, as summer progresses, we have to get there earlier and earlier to avoid the excessive heat. Last week we hit a water park nearby with some friends.

Oh, to be a little girl again! No cares in the world, heat doesn't bother you, and it is ok to run around in your bathing suit 1/2 the day.

Who am I kidding, I'd just like to be "little" again.

Did I mention another good thing about summer is: Ice cream tongues!

Shout out to all the moms I know!

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day
With little time to stop and pray
For life's been anything but calm
Since You called on me to be a mom
Running errands, matching socks
Building dreams with building blocks
Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes
And other stuff that children lose
Fitting lids on bottled bugs
Wiping tears and giving hugs
A stack of last weeks mail to read
So where's the quiet time I need?
Yet when I steal a minute, Lord
Just at the sink or ironing board
To ask the blessings of Your grace
I see then, in my small one's face
That you have blessed me
All the while
And I stop to kiss

That precious smile

Here is a poem I found that touched my heart. I often get caught up in the mundane every day business of life and need to be reminded that it is just that; busy stuff. I know, with all my heart, that family is one of the most important things in this world. That my part as a mother is crucial. When I think of ways I can impact the future (of this country or this world) I must remember how much influence I wield through just raising my children.

I am thankful to God for the opportunity to be a mom, to take part in His "Great Plan of Happiness", and to raise the children He has blessed me with. I, like the author of this poem, pray for the blessings of His grace and find myself realizing just how blessed I am already.

Hope you enjoy your

To my little sister

Does the end justify the means??

I don't know about my Katilynn, I'm a little worried she might not make it past her youth. I've posted other mis-adventures of hers plenty of times, today is no different. This past week she had a little injury in a place that will not be mentioned, but I'm sure you can guess where it was.

Kaitlynn was climbing up on the kitchen counter tops (every one of my children have done this, except Elizabeth...but it's only a matter of time for her as well with such great examples), despite all the warnings and disciplinary actions on my part. This time, like most, it is to steal some food (which if they would only ask, they would receive) from the cupboards. At some time, whether up or down I am unsure, she slipped and fell right onto the open garbage can. One foot in and the other foot out. Imagine riding a bike and... there you have it. There was quite a bit of blood, and after getting it to stop we headed to the ER because you just have to make sure they are OK. The doctor made us stay to make sure the urethra was not damaged. But, once the doctor told her that was the only way she could go home she kept trying every time crying and saying she couldn't. Our trip was over three hours long...

Poor little girl.

Other than peeing she was having a great time having mommy all to her self. She is a crack up, goofing off and asking tons of questions.

Do you think that has stopped her from climbing??

NO, not one bit, I don't even think it slowed her down!!

Silly little girl.

We keep reminding her of her last experience but it does not seem to stop the adventurer in her.

So, after other silly falls and such, today she decided to climb up on the food storage containers...

This is the outcome...
She reminds me of a future Rene Russo who plays Lorna in Lethal Weapon 3, she shares the movie's funniest scene with Mel Gibson as Riggs, where she and Riggs compare battle scars.

That wouldn't be so bad after all, he's pretty handsome.

Does the end justify the means??

Room for Two

Rusty has decided the crate is a "safe" place and heads there on his own. Tonight he might change his mind.

If the one you are trying to escape climbs in there too, how safe is it? His look sums it up. He is her "toy" after all.

"Nuts"

Joseph was one of the acorn (choir) in his school's play "NUTS." He wanted a bigger part, unfortunately when the roles were being assigned he was out of town. At first he was offered a smaller roll of a speaking nut but he turned it down saying that he wasn't going to be around when the play was performed (discussions in our home of Daddy's separation from the Air Force had left questions of a pending move). He was refusing to even just practice as one of the choir members sticking to his story of not being around. Somehow his teacher persuaded him to get involved (she is a great teacher, for Joe, I tell you!). He then couldn't wait for today to come.

The story line is of the circle of life. Acorns fall from the tree, some get picked up by animals for food, some actually make it (with the help of rain and sun) to grow. The play was performed three times and the principal said it was great every time. It was actually the First Graders performance, Joe's 2nd grade class was the only other class involved. They threw in some cute humor with some big "bad" squirrels who would fill their mouths with acorns, they were rapper squirrels with bling. One of Joseph's class-mate (church friend too) was one of these, well received by the audience, squirrels.
The catchy theme song had Katilynn and Brianna dancing along with the kids on the stage, doing the hand motions as well. The costumes were great and the stage decorations were very well done. Good job to all involved, it was a pleasure to watch! And to show our support, we will purchase the CD (at Joe's insistence).

Good job, Joe, for changing your attitude and getting involved after all.

The Potty Dance

Fair warning: this is a post about bathroom business...as the title indicates.

I have been very fortunate to have assistance in potty training all children thus far.
With every child, as it became "time" to train, my Fairy Potty Mom would magically be around to help. Not this time.

Elizabeth has been showing some interest in training in the ways of toiletry. So, I have decided to try it out by myself. **see the fear in my face**
I've read up on "how to potty train in three days or less,"
and think I may have what it takes. I have whisked her off to the bathroom first thing in the morning, sat and sang songs while she tries to do her business, and get excited after any amount of success. So far a pretty good start. I've even bought some bribery candy!

Tonight I realized, with great joy, that I am not alone in my quest. Her sisters came to announce that Elizabeth was "on the potty" and they were singing her songs to help her go. Although nothing came of that sitting, even with the temptation of candy(...for everyone!) later we had quite the 'doo'zy. When she came strolling out of the bathroom after going #2 on her own. Of course I had to clean her up, and then we "all" did the potty dance (this included Daddy and brother). She was so pleased with herself. As was I.

I know it is just the start, but I may be helping decreasing the amount of diapers in the landfills...in three days?!?

I don't think we want pictures with this post. :-) And, no, I haven't tried to let her go naked yet as the instructions suggest. It might just speed things up though...

Our attempt at Crating our dog

We wish our dog, Rusty,
would take to the crate as Elizabeth did.

We ended up having to gently force him in for a few hours while we were gone today. Tonight he went in to lay down for a few minutes on his own. I was worried that he might not ever want to go in by himself after the forced incident this morning, but I was pleasantly surprised. He might warm up to the idea after all.

Hey, it can't be all that bad...the kids like to climb in too.

Honor Assembly

Congratulations to my successful second grader!

If you couldn't tell, the second grade class award ceremony happened on March seventeen (St. Patrick's day), an apparel/accessories sea of green.

Joe's teacher had the largest amount of both honor roll students and honor society students (1/2 of the honor society students were hers)! Way to go Mrs. Evans!!



We are looking forward to Joe moving up to the Honor Society Students, currently about 18 students, by the end of the school year.

GOOD JOB JOE!

Out of the mouth of babes

Joe, on the way to the sitter's house: "I'm so happy Mom and Dad are going on a 'date' tonight!"

Me, to myself, smiling: "Me too!"

Fast forward three hours later when I get a phone call on our way home from the sitter's house.

Sitter: "So, I thought I would tell you of what Joe said while you were gone."

Joe, to all the girls (her three and my three): "Yeah, Moms and Dads need to go on dates sometimes so they don't kill their kids."

Me, smiling: "Sooooo true!"

Thanks Stacey for watching my kids, so I don't kill them. You are a GREAT friend, if I haven't told you that lately. Let me know if I can return the favor sometime!! :-)

Honor Roll!

Little Joe could be a straight "A" student someday!

When he puts his mind to something he can succeed. I am excited for him, he's been on the Honor Roll since first grade. They will be recognizing him at the "All-Star Honor Assembly." I know many mom's who have smart kids probably think I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill, but I've also worked HARD the past couple of years to try and get/keep him on track.

It will be fun to watch him get his certificate of achievement on Tuesday. His dad will get to be there this time, which is always a treat for Joe.

I'm proud of my little scholar in the making.

Orchids or Kids, I'll take both!

I just love the serene settings at the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens (and it's free!!) It was decorated for the Chinese New Year 2009: Year of the Ox. We caught the tail end of this exhibit, it ends on the 28th. It is just amazing what they can do with plants and flowers!

They had tons of
my favorite flowers,
the Orchid.

There was also a lovely Coy pond, all three of my girls were climbing the fence
to get a good "look see."

The girls are a handful each time we go
(Elizabeth has taken a liking to running a muck),
it might be easier if I didn't try to take picutres.

I'm glad I weathered the storm.

I got to have my Orchids...
and kids too.

**Tea Party**

We finally had the "long awaited" tea party Brianna has been anxiously anticipating and repetitively inquiring about...

The party attendants were her friends Katie and Emma, her cousin Fiona, sisters Kaitlynn and Elizabeth.

We mustn't forget the "nosey" guest, Rusty, the human dog.

Everybody dressed for the occasion. We had fancy plates, refreshing H2O (no worries with spills), and some chocolate chip cookies.

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE tea parties!

2009 Valentine

For Valentines day, 2009, we were visiting family in Salt Lake City.Aunt Drea thought it would be sweet for all the girls cousins to get a long stem red rose from all the boy cousins. At this visit there were just the perfect ratio of girl to boy cousins. Elizabeth was quick to break her longstem rose and before the night was over almost all the Porter girl's roses were either short stem or decapitated.

A Valentines to Remember!

3 out of 4, Dentist agrees he likes Porter children

Ok, so I'm not sure if this is really such a great thing to post about since it will reflect poorly on my parenting skilz.

We went to the dentist last week to find out that three out of our four children needed some work ranging from very mild to semi-extreme.
Today we did the work on all three*...
and are now anxiously awaiting our Income tax returns!
Although we still have coverage through the military there are some overpriced expenses (sedatives) which are not covered that had to be paid for TODAY.

We learned a few years ago that it is easier on everyone involved if our child(ren) is/are medicated for dental work. This is also my opinion, Greg would differ on the "everyone" part. He had a very tough time watching sedation effects on his then three year old son. This time he was dreading having Elizabeth (his precious baby, almost 18 months) go under. He didn't sleep well, not that he does anyway. He has now announced that it was better to go in prepared for the worst because then it wasn't so bad.

We were told that the children would probably sleep the rest of the day away.
I got gypped, I want my money back!! OK, how about half?

*Kaitlynn is our "NO cavities" winner this round. Yea!! Kaitlynn!!! I think she was glad too.

A Reading Rainbow

Today as I picked my son up from school, this magnificent rainbow left a trail of color to his school. I only had my iPhone on me so this is the best picture I could get. If I was a true photographer I would have a camera around my neck at all times (I'd probably have a really great camera too).

One day this picture may impress my son, today I'll share it with you.

Knowledge is golden!

Almost completely healed!

The good news: The girls mouths are looking ever so much better!! I think the sores are all gone inside their mouths and just have their lips to clear up and Dr. MOM will call them completely healed.

The Magic-Mouthwash was hogwash!!

All it really did was coat the sores and maybe numb the area for 1.5 hours, but we couldn't dose again for 30 more minutes (every two hours, how do you actually do that through out a day??). So for 30 minutes they were crying and whining again. That is what made this virus they caught so exhaustive for me: Crying and whining X 2 girls, Magic-Mouthwash treatments (1 tsp. swished every two hours) X 2 girls, and then Elizabeth thinking she needed mommy all the time too. No one got a good nights sleep in the house.

The doctor had asked us to stop doing the salt treatment my husband had started on Brianna before we even went to the ER. She said it was harsh on her little mouth.

I did the magic-mouthwash for 4-5 days pretty faithfully until Brianna's medicine ran out. When it didn't look any better in either of their mouths I decided to go back to a salt treatment of my own, using sea salt on a q-tip (pretty easy, and inexpensive). I also q-tipped some hydrogen peroxide on the sores. After only a couple of my magic treatments you could see instant reduction in the size of the sores and they were less inflamed. The next day they were willing to brush their teeth & eat (finally!). To think I could have gotten rid of it earlier ... ARGGGGH!

Oh, and I did go the (semi local) herbal store * and got something called Kid Viral. Although both of them complained of the taste and only did one dose each, I'm hoping it will help me keep the kids Virus free...

I'm not sure my lesson learned here, but I will keep my magic treatment(s) handy for the future, and toss the Magic-Mouthwash!!

* I am going to do a plug for the hormone balancing "Restore" from Herbally Grounded, the a fore mentioned herbal store.

I was starting to feel very imbalanced mentally, for lack of a better term. I felt cranky all the time, not very patient with my kids, lack of motivation, and scatterbrained all the time. I had considered going to the doctor for some legal "Happy Pills." A very good friend said she had been feeling the same way and actually got some medication from a doctor then a friend of hers said she had done the meds and found these herbal pills that did the same thing only less addictive.

Long story short, I tried them...and they seem to be doing the trick. I am less cranky, a little more patient with my kids, feel more motivated and focused. I actually want to get out of bed (after a few more minutes under the warm covers...) and feel a little more hope,that there is light at the end of the never ending tunnel of laundry/dishes/crying babies etc.

If you have been questioning your hormone balance, give the herbal remedy a try.

Big Shoes to fill

The other night Elizabeth was trying on her Daddy's new shoes.
They are almost half her height alone.
The amazing thing is she could actually walk around in these massively huge shoes (10 1/2 6E)!
"Moon Boots"
She was cracking us up.

We hope you enjoy the video too.

Sweet Sweet Sleep

Her daddy told me to get the camera...
she had fallen asleep watching tv on the couch
with her older siblings.
She tries so hard to be a big person, it wore her out!

For Rose and Fiona

The other day Brianna got a package in the mail. This package was from her favorite (blond) aunt, Rose, and her cousin Fiona. The instructions in the sweet letter from her cousin (who, by the way, had spent her Christmas money on the gifts) read:

"Share with your sisters."

Here is the long promised picture of the girls "sharing" some of the stuff in the package. They love to dance! And they love all things girly...

Thank you Rose and Fiona, they loved your package!!

New Nick names "WaaDo" and "WaaNa"

Herpangina: a painful mouth infection caused by coxsackieviruses, most common in children. Symptoms usually associated are high fever and sore throat.

Why do all the viruses have to sound so horrible?? I'm sure if I knew the Latin terms for things then it would all make more sense. This is not the same thing as the herpes virus the doctor told me.

Poor Brianna, "WaaNa," and Kaitlynn, "WaaDo," got this "horrible" virus and are currently on the mend. They had been very whiny over a few days and were both running a bit hot. I was enjoying the naps they were taking and kept the fevers down with a fever reducer but when the mouth sores showed up I decided we needed to go to the doctor. They were full in the Pediatric clinic for all walk-in calls, so we did the next best thing...we went to the ER (got to enjoy those military benefits, for a few more weeks anyway).

Three hours after getting there, we walked away with double doses of everything they prescribed. The doctor was very sweet and gentle with the girls. She kept telling them those sores look like they really hurt and that she was going to give them something that would make it feel better. I need to work on my compassion. Ofcourse they were going to be complaining about their teeth hurting. Once the sores showed up I felt badly for them. It was hard to eat. I was giving them Popsicles so their mouth would be numb for a bit while they tried to get something down. Then that was all they wanted. Now they have the doctor's permission to eat lots of Popsicles and ice-cream.

They are still not happy about the sores.

Neither am I!