A Mother's Prayer

I have two sick babies at home.

It breaks my heart to see their sad little eyes and imploring expression at me. They seem to be saying, "Can't you make me better?"

No sweetie, I can't.

Erica and Elise are fighting a flu bug, one of the many lurking around this winter. Erica's nose is dripping like an endless fountain. I have no idea where all of the fluids are coming from. You'd think that eventually it would run out! Elise has been running a fever off and on. Unfortunately for her, fevers tend to induce seizure activity. She hasn't had any severe ones, but she keeps getting little jolts that scare her.

I realize that we have to go through bad times to appreciate the good, poverty to appreciate prosperity, sickness to appreciate health. But why does it have to apply to kids too? Can't we, as parents, just say, "Give me the burden! Let me carry the weight! Let me feel the pain!"

I gave the lesson today in Beehives and it was about the Savior and how he made it possible for us to repent and return to live with our Father in Heaven through the Atonement. It is hard to think about what he suffered for us, but I think that our Father in Heaven probably suffered just as much watching His beloved Son go through it as well. I am sure He wished that He could just take it away, all the pain and grief. "Give me the burden! Let me carry the weight! Let me feel the pain!"

But He knew He couldn't. He knew it was the only way He could get us back again, safe in His arms, because we are His beloved children as well.

So, I am grateful....for a Heavenly Father who loves us enough to send us trials that will only make us stronger. And who loves us enough to always be there when we feel the weakest.

So no, sweetie, I can't make it better. But I will be here for you to help you through.

Do We Live in Seattle, or What?!

Like I wrote about before, we had a pretty good snow storm come through the area over the Christmas break. Here are some pictures to document:

December 26, 2008

Only a week later, the snow was almost gone. There were piles of dirty slush everywhere. Areas where the snow-plow had piled up were still left, melting in odd shapes. Eric and I were just thinking today after church that we needed to come back to the church parking lot with a camera to photograph some of the odd forms and shapes that are left there. Many are still quite tall, as tall as the car, although we didn't make it back there tonight.


January 3, 2009

We should have, because it is snowing again even as I am writing. I had to get a few more pictures. You can even see how huge the flakes are! I thought they were pretty cool.

January 4, 2009

So remind me again....we do live in Seattle, right?

Rock and Roll!

Erica is starting to crawl. I now find her in the funniest places all over the place, but her favorite places by far are under chairs. I'm not sure what is so appealing about them. The world must be a very fun place to explore and see from that angle. She frequently gets tangled up in the legs or wrapped up in the hanging electrical cords we have neglected to rescue. She is also a very efficient vaccuum cleaner, far better than the electrical version. She can find the tiniest piece of lint or pine needle carried in from outside. Then directly into the mouth it goes! I can't keep up with her!

I also love to watch her rockin out. Whoever came up with the expression "Rock and Roll" had to have been watching a baby learn to crawl! She rocks and rocks and rocks until it looks like she will launch, then she's off!

New Year's Day

As promised, to celebrate New Year's Day, we took a trek out to Mukilteo Beach. Most of the snow is now a pile of dirty slush, but it is still quite cold out, especially by the water.

Following the recent trend, Heidi and Ethan made a fuss over not wanting to go to the beach, since it's "boring." They then bickered and fought the entire time in the car, while I gritted my teeth.

"We are all going to the beach, and you are going to have fun, whether you like it or not!" was my scathing thought, unsaid of course.

When we arrived at the beach we were surprised to discover that the whole beach-front had been "remodeled," complete with covered patio tables, a restroom building, and two playground areas. The kids' tune immediately changed. They couldn't wait to try out the new equipment. I also noticed a sign which read "Welcome to Mukilteo Lighthouse Park." Has that always been there? Have they given it a new name to go along with the facelift? I may never know....


The wind was biting cold. Eric and the little girls only stayed out long enough for some pictures, then sought refuge in the car. There was, however, some brave enough to go sailing today. We admired the boat from the beach. It reminded me of the time my family and I went waterskiing on New Year's Day in Idaho. It was called Polar Bear Day. It was freezing! We wore dry-suits, to be a little warmer, but our heads, feet, and hands were exposed to the freezing water and wind.

Mind-numbingly cold. My ears hurt just thinking about it.

We each got a T-shirt that read "I waterskiied on New Year's Day." Yes, we were crazy. Many said it was fun. But I knew better. We were only out there so we could say that we did it.

And I'm glad that we did.

(As a side note, we had to practically drag the kids back to the car when we were ready to leave. Ethan still insists he wasn't even cold and his ears never hurt once. Hmmmm)

Christmas Dresses

Erica and Elise got matching dresses from Santa this year. They wore them together for church today. What a cute pair!!

Gotta love that grin!

Winter Wonderland

Don't ask me why he's not wearing a coat...

The Last Leaf. On the Japanese Maple in our front yard, my favorite tree.

The havoc that a snow-plow can cause!

The mountain of snow in the front of our house.

My official measurement.

Yes, that's 12 inches.

Snowy Stairs

We have a family tradition of going to Mukilteo Beach on Christmas afternoon, after all the presents are opened and people are starting to want a change of scenery. We started doing it the first Christmas we moved to Washington, five years ago. We were living in Mukilteo at the time. Since we have no family around to go visit after opening presents, we thought, "Let's go to the beach."

We're from Idaho, I must remind you. It is a very novel thing to go to the beach. On CHRISTMAS!

So, the tradition started. It has been fun to see our pictures from the annual escapade. You can tell exactly what the weather was like every year. One year, we just wore light jackets. One was a downpour of rain. Last year was bitterly cold, so we were all bundled up and pink-cheeked.

Alas, the weather became an obvious factor this year, as well. No trip to the beach.

We have been assaulted with a severe snow-storm, as you locals know quite well. We currently have about a foot of snow around our house. The transportation department is seriously lacking in preparation for this kind of assault, so we have been quite house-bound. My van pretty much can't function. The snow has been so deep in our neighborhood I haven't wanted to risk getting stuck. The kids got out of school three days early. I missed three days of work. The entire area is at a stand-still.

We simply couldn't make it down to the beach, the roads are too treacherous.

So, this year we will be visiting Mukilteo Beach on New Years. Close enough, right?

The kids have been loving playing in the snow. They've been outside everyday, building snow furniture and forts, and shoveling mountains of it around our culdesac to create "paths" for their bikes. (Yeah, I bet our neighbors loved that!) Unfortunately, every time I get myself ready to get some pictures of them in their glory, it is starting to get dark and I think, "I'll just do it tomorrow."

Wouldn't you know it, today they didn't want anything to do with the snow!! I couldn't bribe them to go outside, even for a photo op! Eric, however, happily complied. So we played in the snow for about an hour. I explored all over the yard, seeing everything with new eyes, since everything looks different when it's covered by 12 inches of snow!

A snow plow actually made it into our culdesac this afternoon and left a mountain of snow in front of our driveway. So Eric spent some time shoveling a way through that. The kids have become very experienced shovelers-of-snow this past week as they spent hours working on their project. That is fun! But to shovel the driveway, what could we possibly be thinking?! That is work!

So, Eric did it himself. And the kids missed out on being part of the pictures.

A Kid's Christmas

As per tradition, the kids were allowed to open one present each on Christmas Eve night. Of course, that package was specially selected by mom and was a new pair of pajamas. They expected this, as usual, but Ethan couldn't resist to ask if he could open another.

Firmly, no.

The last several years I have had the kids wear reindeer antlers for the "Christmas Eve photo," but this year we noticed they were too small for the older kids. So they were upgraded to Santa hats. They were a huge hit. Ethan has been wearing his around for the last several weeks. He looks forward to wearing it next year too.

The kids, amazingly, went to bed without much fuss at around 9:00 pm. It was all a masquerade of cooperation, I tell you. I just happened to be up and about in the living room at around 3:00 am when what do my ears hear, but a bedroom door opening softly and two eyes peering over the banister to the living room below.

"Get back to bed, Ethan!"

About two minutes later, yet another door opens. This time to the girls' room, and no it wasn't Elise.

"Get back to bed, Heidi!"

"But I just have to go to the bathroom! I wasn't going to peek!"

Hmmmm....

The doors remained closed until about 7:00 am. I instantly knew it was Ethan, it always is, and I waited, hoping he would come wake us first so we could go down together.

What was I thinking? It's CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!!

Eventually Eric and I make it downstairs, with two sleepy little girls in tow. Heidi and Ethan had torn apart their carefully crafted arrangement from Santa. It was strewn blissfully across the floor. But I couldn't help but smile as they excitedly showed me everything Santa brought them, exclaiming over each one.

Santa is just magic, no matter how old you are.

Presents were soon being unwrapped. Heidi was ecstatic over the new phone that Eric and I broke down and got her. It has a keyboard for texting, since that's all the kids know how to do anyway. Complete with all the bells and whistles, it is far cooler than either of our phones can even dream about. It looks more like a tiny computer than a phone.

The other success in the Heidi department....I actually selected two coats which she said she would wear!!! I can't believe my luck. One is a warm, fluffy coat with a fur-lined hood (but not too puffy, it must fit perfectly) for her everyday wear. The other is a way-cute wool pea-coat that fits her like a dream. Way to go Mom! (Why two coats, you ask? She was far-lacking in the outer-wear department, and have you been to Old Navy lately? My new favorite store!!! Awesome sale!)

Ethan is a much easier client to please. Give him remote-control something that moves, or something to build or make, and you're gold. He got a set of two fighting remote-control helicopters that have been happily buzzing around our house all day. And an assortment of building toys (think Legos to the extreme), with some paper airplane folding guides. Forget the clothes. No practicality, please.

The little girls were half-asleep for much of the mayhem, so mainly what caught their attention was anything that lit up and made a bunch of noise. They equally liked each others gifts and shared them quite nicely for most of the day. Erica gave out a few hours later and took a monster nap, which was as pleasant to her as to the rest of us. Elise, however, hung in there. No naps for her. She's four, after all, and heaven forbid a four-year-old to take a nap!

Christmas Poem

'Twas the week before Christmas, with the lawn full of snow,

And I began to wonder where the whole year did go.

It's been a year full of blessings, and challenges too,

So I'll jot down a recap and send it to you.

Eric's always busy, the Elders' Quorum he leads,

He's so willing to serve and help meet other's needs.

He's a wonderful dad, the kids he adores,

My only complaint is wishing to see him more!

Heidi's our little lady, in 7th grade, it's true.

She loves playing in the Band with her flute that is new.

She's now in Young Women's, to all the activities she goes,

And she loves her new cell phone, as every teenager knows.

Ethan is a great reader and creator of things.

When he thinks no one is watching, he also loves to sing.

All over the house are his drawings of planes and sharks.

In October he was baptized, a new adventure he embarks.

Elise is learning to investigate and explore,

She's in every nook and cranny all over the first floor.

She had a few rough patches, with a hospital stay,

But she's as cheerful as ever, in her own special way!

Our newest addition is little Erica, so sweet.

She has her daddy's blue eyes, and is such a treat!

She's now seven months old and is learning to crawl.

To my delight she's a Mommy's Girl and I'm having a ball!

I am still both working and keeping up our home.

In my freetime I've discovered the internet to roam.

With four kids and a calling my days are always gone,

But I wouldn't give any of it up, the kids aren't kids long!

We hope that this note will bring you much cheer.

Overall it has been a fantastic year!

All our love we send you with hope it will be

A season of joy and a Christmas that's merry!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!