Husband Tag

I've been husband tagged, so here goes:

What is his name? Jared Charles

How long have you been married? 8.3 years

How long did you date? 7 months

How old is he? 30

Who eats more? Jared, except when I'm pregnant or nursing

Who said I love you first? me, I was a little antsy

Who is taller? Jared, 5' 10' (he has 9 inches on me)

Who sings better? Jared does a great beat box!

Who is smarter? Jared's college GPA was .02 higher than mine

Whose temper is worse? Jared flares, Heather glares

Who does the laundry? If I didn't do the laundry, my mother in law would do it before Jared would

Who does the dishes? Me, okay he helps once in a while

Who pays the bills? I used to, until free bill pay, now the computer basically does it but Jared types in the numbers

Who cooks dinner? me, but he made some awesome homemade marinara sauce last week

Who drives when you are together? He very gentlemanlike always offers

Does your husband take you on dates? Yes, sometimes it's just a lunch together and sometimes it's with others but we do try to get out

Who arranges for the babysitter? We switch off

Whose parents do you see the most? toss up

Who is more stubborn? Unfortunately, that too, is a toss up

Who has more friends? Doesn't matter, Jared has Justin (his twin brother)

Who has more siblings? I'm oldest of 10, Jared's 2nd youngest of 8 by 30 minutes

Who wears the pants in the family? Jared, and that is okay because he is a good guy and I love him. (And why else would I be doing all the laundry, dishes and meals:)

I tag: all the wonderful ladies who read our blog!

What was that?

This week my sweet darling son Weston started using a new term of endearment. "Weston you are a cutie" was answered with "Mommy your a poo-poo head!" What was that? "You are a POO-POO HEAD!" How dare you! I'm shocked! Say you're sorry! "Sorry poo-poo head."

On the other hand Fiora has decided to create a dialect all her own. "Fiora, pick up your coat please." "Hheormaoivenoiadmalmv...hogeinsdajgioda." What was that? Then she waves her arms around and does a few extra finger motions because that sign language sure clears it up. "Just pick up your coat."

Savanna's speach is clear and kind, albeit a bit loud. In the car, when her piercing outbursts are particularly resonant, she was heard to say, "That even hurt MY ears." Things can get interesting when she is reading her homework. Reading "being" as "dink" and "dance" as "bank" makes a mother wonder if she is learning anything, or if she is a bit dislexic. And then of course when she is both deaf and dumb when I ask her to put her coat away.

We've made some progress on the "poo-poo head" problem. After the initial shock I learned to ignore it and ignored behavior isn't repeated with Weston. Unfortunately ignoring him doesn't get hime to flush the toilet after he goes, or put away his coat!

Winter Wonderland

I came back from sunny Texas to a perpetual ice-skating rink. The ground here is covered with snow and under the snow is two inches of ice. Jared is ice-fishing today, fishing fever knows no tempurature limits, I hope he comes back with all his toes and fingers. It was Lillian's birthday the 15th so despite the snow we took the kids up to the cemetery to look for Lilli's headstone and put a poinsettia on it, that Savanna so wisely pointed out "would just die," and sing happy birthday. It took about 10-15 minutes digging through ice and snow to find it, but we did (after Jared and the kids said a prayer)! Weston is in the picture hiding in the middle, it was COLD!

While I was gone, Weston got a bad cold and croupy cough. But otherwise they did very well. Grandma Sandy gave them all a very good report, and so did Jared. They went down to Gunnison Saturday and had fun at Grandmas. I guess that means I can leave more often! Just kidding. I missed my sweeties.

Wilkinson Quints

What a super time I had in Austin Texas with the Wilkinson Quintuplets! Their grandma and my aunt Betty Ann took a picture of me holding all 5 babies, Kyndall, Ryder, Kassidy, Rustin, and Kaydence Wilkinson. I miss those babies! Rachelle (my cousin, the quints mother) has that house running like a well oiled machine. Volunteers come round the clock and I didn't need to get up at night with the babies because of the night shift helpers. I did get to push all five in the five-seater stroller though, that was fun!

In spite of the busy work feeding, rocking, playing with and changing babies, I got to go to lunch with Rachelle one day, and every evening we played games or watched "The Office" or a movie. We sang Americna Idol Revolution kareoke to the babies every evening before putting them to bed. What an amazing experience, and miraculous that they are all so healthy and developing so well. Rachelle and Jayson are living a life of service, it wore me out! It was very inspiring to see their stamina, work, faith, gratitude, and love. Read all about the quints at www.wilkinsonquints.org.

Thanks so much to Jared, my mother-in-law Sandy, and my mom for helping with my responsibilites so I could be a part of the quints miracle for a few days.

Are you smarter than a 1st grader

(While singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer)
Rudolph the red nose reindeer, you'll go down in history...Like Columbus!
(Jared deciding to use this as a teaching moment says) Savanna do you know who Columbus is?
Yes.
Why did he go "down in history?"
Well, he was looking for the West Indies but actually sailed into and discovered South America.
Uh, yeah, but do you know what he's really known for?
He proved the earth is round.
Right.

Savanna: Mom, playground is a compound word. See play (does playing motions) and ground (hits the ground) then put them together, playground.
Me: Right. What else is a compound word?
Savanna: Into. Upon. Outside. Outto.
Me: Wait, outto? that's not a word.
Savanna: Yes it is, out and to put together is a compound word.
Me: But nobody says ...
Savanna: Mom, out (grabs the air with her left hand) and to (grabs the air with her right hand) OUTTO (brings hands together).
Me: OK.

Well I'm off to Texas tomorrow. Jared's got the kids for 6 days, with help. He is terrific! I'm going to visit my cousin Rachelle and help her with her quintuplets! I've been wanting to do this for 5 months now so I'm excited.

Happy New Year

2008 RESOLUTIONS

Jared
30, flirty and fisherman. Jared turned 30 December 22nd. He didn't make his goal to be a millionaire and retire at 30, but hey, he's doing pretty well for himself in the Real Estate and Property Management business so no complaints here. Jared's resolution is to fish in Alaska and Yellowstone this year, and of course a lot on the Provo river as usual. And make out with his wife on the other days.

Heather
Serene, serviceful, studious. My resolution is to not stress (serenity), give much service to my family (and make some time to flirt back with Jared), and neighbors in my choir and music and teaching callings, and go to BYU. I'm no longer employed with LDS Distribution Services, I had to make time to serve and make out so I let go of my cherished employment. Also, I'm taking several prerequisite courses in the evening so I can enroll in the Masters of Social Work program in 2009. This also involves service as I will be volunteering at Kids on the Move (early intervention) and the Family Support and Treatment Center throughout the year.

Savanna
Pretty, positive, and proactive. At least, that's what I hope this year will produce for her. We are going to work on getting proactive on homework, chores, and riding a bike sans training wheels! I know she can do it because she's already plenty proactive in ordering, demanding, and complaining. We just need to channel that energy into positive effort!

Fiora
Friendly, funny, and five. Fiora is five in a month! My stars, how time does fly. Fiora has asked me many many times if I can set up play dates for her and I rarely do it, so I'm going to work on getting her some friend time this year. She has a great sense of humor that I need to appreciate more.
"Mom, can I have a chocolate truffle?"
"Fiora, you threw up 7 times last night, let's eat something healthy first. How about a banana?"
"No way. How about Macaroni and cheese? Because THAT is healthy!"
"OK"
"Then I'll have chocolate."

Weston
Happy, healthy, humble. Those originally were my goals, but they would suite Weston well also. He's kind of got that last child tendency to be a little spoiled, sometimes. And so we'll work on his humility. He definitely won the prize of getting the most ailments last year, so we're hoping for better immunity and no head openings this year. I hope to get him in spring soccer so that will keep him fit. He's a pretty happy boy; we've got to work on showing that happiness in public more!

A note from Lillian

My First Christmas In Heaven

I see the countless Christmas trees
around the world below with tiny light,
like Heavens, reflecting on the snow.
The sight is so spectacular, please
wipe away the tear, For I am spending
Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs that
people hold so dear. But the sounds of
music can't compare with the Christmas
Choir up here. I have no words to tell you,
the joy the voices bring, For it is beyond
description, to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me,
I see the pain inside your heart.
But I am not so far away,
We really aren't apart.
So be happy for me, dear ones,
You know I hold you dear,
And be glad I'm spending Christmas
with Jesus Christ this year.

I sent you each a special gift, from
my heavenly home above. I sent you
each a memory of my undying love.
After all, love is a gift more precious
than pure gold. It was always most
important in the stories Jesus told.
Please love and keep each other, as
my Father said to do. For I can't count
the blessings or love he has for each
of you.

So have a Merry Christmas
and wipe away that tear, Remember I
am spending Christmas with Jesus
Christ this year.