Furry Furniture

As one of my good friends remarked, my sweet dog is like a piece of really hairy furniture.  The comment made me giggle, and I think it's pretty accurate. Though Cricket is more interesting than a couch or a loveseat, she is incredibly well behaved.  She doesn't bark, bite, drool, steal food, go through trash. She rarely takes herself for a walk (as in "runs away") and every time I do get that "Hey, I've got Cricket" call form my friends, it's bc one of my soldiers accidentally left the gate open. She doesn't smell funny, she doesn't whine, she's excellent with children and other pets. She's just the best dog we have ever owned /will ever own.  With her years of guide dog service to her fabulous previous owner, she has secured her spot in heaven in a way that I only wish I were able to.  Her one vice (and this is a great vice to have, all things considered) is that she sheds. I mean she really sheds.  I finally got around to getting her a dog brush, and with seven people in our family, and seven days a week, we each get to take a turn lovingly brushing our Dog Hero, Cricket.  Here's to our Furry Furniture!  We are better people bc of our amazing dog. (It's okay if you think that your own dog is the best dog in the world... maybe we're both right:~)

At the pet store today. She was so darling that the employee gave her two treats, not just one.

What a dog!

This picture probably doesn't do this scene justice. I took this shot after I dropped Calvin off for school (7th grade) this morning. The moon was so lovely and large.

It was breathtaking.

Where's Owen?

Annie walked in the door the way she always enters a room: full of purpose, an agenda, and a noon's going to stop me kind of attitude.  This quality is one of the things that both maddens and endears me.    Simon stayed home today with strep (bummer) so Annie and Owen were meant to walk home together. I went through the normal pleasantries with Annie (which she didn't care much for and then I asked her where Owen is.  Her reply started with: "I have now idea"... and finished with some suggestions about what might have happened to him from here to the school.  It was entertaining, and worrisome (which is probably how I might describe my daughter on any given day.  Needless to say, when I walked out the door and saw Owen playing in the snow, I was grateful that he had made it past the 5 houses from the school to us, and I was sufficiently impressed with his snow ball. 

A very giant snowball, which he told me he also made at school during recess.

Owen turned the ball into a seat...

Which he is proudly displaying in this picture.

The snow is pretty fun on a warmish day (anything above 30 degrees counts) and when 

you are cozy in waterproof gear.  

Special Sabbath

So, in my church the first Sabbath day of every month is typically reserved as a day of fasting. Our Savior set the example of fasting to grow closer to God when He fasted for 40 days.  Members of the Mormon faith, who are willing and able, typically skip two meals, and donate money for the support of those in need.  This is also seen as a great time (while fasting) to petition God about special concerns, or is a good time to try to find answers to questions, etc. Prayer is a key component of our fast. On this special (to me) fast Sunday, I need to express my gratitude to all of my family and friends for their efforts in prayer and fasting on behalf of our family. In just 2 1/2 weeks (16 days to be precise) Ryan will have an operation that will (hopefully!) remove the cancer form his body for good.  We have great confidence in his surgeon (she is no-nonsense, compassionate and intelligent) but we know that our faith is best placed in the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving God of the Universe.  I'm confident that as we put our trust in Him, all things will work for our eternal good.  Thanks to all for your love and support during this journey.  And thanks for the prayers.  I love Sundays, but today will be etched in my heart.

Part of us where playing games while Owen was reading with Ryan.  Owen is looking up, jus checking to see if his father had indeed fallen asleep at 7:30pm.  And yes, he had.  

Annie, Calvin and I were playing this fun dice game that a neighbor gave us as a Christmas gift.

Super fun, I love playing games with my kids.

My friend described Cricket as a hairy piece of furniture.

She is so well behaved (and hairy), I think the description applies. 

She would officially be my favorite piece of furniture, though.

Snow Joke

Winter Rant Alert:

For the love of all good things, living in cold country is expensive.  Today we got the kids officially stocked for winter weather (as it was still warm and loverly when we departed for a Christmas in AZ.)  School starts tomorrow and I am sure that my littles will want to sled down hills and engage in some snow ball fights.  Enter the gear necessary to thrive in the snow:  snow boots, bib, jacket, waterproof gloves and a hat.  x 7.  We actually had loads of items that could either be transferred to a younger sibling or still fit (miraculously) but we still easily spent about $200 finishing up our winter preparedness attire.  Boooo.  I don't even ski.  To get set for the the weather where I grew up (sunny, fabulous Tucson) all that was required was a swim suit, available for $10, which would be worn the entire day.  Snow gear means getting all bundled up, and returning to the house fifteen minutes later to pee, which means the the whole thing has to come off again. I means tracking snow inside.  Yes, temps like this mean hot chocolate weather, which is clearly the silver lining.  But in all honestly, I could drink hot chocolate on a hot summer Tucson day just as willingly as I down in now while it snows.  Rant Over.

These aren't saying "wear me to stay warm and toasty."

Theyr'e actually saying "lose one of me so that you can buy me again and again, all season long..."

Rant really over now.

***This post is for Saturday, January 4, 2015.***

Winding up Winter Vaca

I'm guessing that since our Spring is already pretty full of some exciting activities (I'm having a baby, Preston, Annie and Simon will all be in plays, and Ryan Edward Smith is having his cancer surgery in just 18 days) we have bumped up our Spring cleaning.  Our January cleaning is well under way, and we have made loads of progress in the last few days; bedrooms, closets, pantry's, storage sheds, re-arranging furniture, budgeting, and de-cluttering are all in full force, and there is actually surprisingly little left to do.  I think Ryan and I are both in a "nesting" phase, him before his surgery, me before Norman arrives.  As a side-note, I'm not really a fan of the word "nesting" in reference to getting ready for a baby. For some reason I think it implies a little bit of "crazy" when in reality, every person that I know, both female and male,  does some form of prep work before a major life event occurs. IMO.

This might not look like much, but I love the sight of my organized kitchen supplies.

Needed some work done on our computers at the Apple store.

Annie and Owen certainly made themselves comfortable.

Just barely able to put the headphones on. Those tables are tall.

Swimming and Snow

My children have been eager to go to our local pool and have a swim, which seems silly to me, given that the weather outsides is 15 degrees (F). Our yard is covered with snow. The mountains are covered with snow, but if my kids want to pretend that they're still in AZ, then who am I to stop them from living up their winter vacation?! (As a side note, I am frugal, and we have a pass to the pool, otherwise, I would pull the "I said today is not a good day, and we just had Christmas...." line.  My kids love it when I say that kind of stuff.) The kids climbed on the rock wall. Then, like any good goal making family, we exercised on the track (It is January 1st, after all!) Annie, Owen and Simon ran a mile.  I briskly walked a mile. Then we swam.  I love these long, lazy, hang out together, winter vacation kind of days.

Owen.

Simon.

Annie.

She's a swimmer, she is.

Bothers and best buds.

Its not a very exciting picture, but I do love to see my kids working together!

Happy New Year!

I for one was pretty glad to see 2014 shrivel up and die tonight.  It has been like a Tale of Two Cities: the best of times, the worst of times.  The day began with some winter/ holiday cleanup, and in an attempt to make sure that 2014 had the last laugh, I got a migraine. But after a solid nap, and some TLC from my husband, I was ready to take on the rest of the day. My plan is that 2015 will be all the more fabulous because of the 2014 lessons learned, people met, experiences had, and recipes tried.

New Year's Romance.

And boy is he a good "ringing in the new year kisser."

I love that the hostess has the New Year's Countdown up.

Owen tuckered out, but rose to the occasion about 10 minutes before the clock struck midnight.

So many fun games with such great people.

Our New Year's was spent with dear friends, neighbors and my immediate family.  

We chatted, pigged out, partied hard and celebrated our blessings.

Goal setting during morning scriptures, to go along with the last verse in Luke 2.

"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."

Based on the above scripture we usually set goals in four areas: educational, physical, spiritual, and social. I'm sure I didn't invent this concept of New Year's resolutions that follow this particular passage.