Kindness Quote

Need ideas on how to be kind or service ideas?

 

See what we've been doing at "Pennies of Time"

 

Check the Service Boards on Pinterest

Christmas Sunday Pictures

A Little Decorator

 

My boys love rocks.

Erik had a rock collection when he was little.

I had a rock collection when I was little.

It was inevitable.

 

What I find throughout the house are rocks "artfully" displayed.  In threes, in glass containers, on window sills.  I don't know which one is doing it.  But, it is pretty fun to find!

 

 

Chills and Thrills

The boys are doing well.  They worked really hard on our "pennies of time" this week.

Our family service project is in FULL swing.  I mean, we have many, many, many things to pass along to Captain Hope's Kids.  Deadline is this week and the truck comes on Friday.  Evy and I will be toy sorting at Captain Hope's Kids on Saturday.  And, we are caroling at a nursing home this week. 

Erik is doing great in supporting all of us while he balances his job.

I am awesome.  Okay, I needed that.  Merritt is supposed to be sleeping and he keeps screaming the ABC song in an effort to get attention and the attention that I want to give him is to scream "GO TO BED AND BE QUIET BECAUSE I AM TIRED!"  So, instead I self-compliment by saying:  I am awesome.  It works.

Erik and I went to a work Christmas party last night.  Here are some pictures of us just before we left.

And, just because we haven't put out much recently on this blog, here are some pictures of the boys.

Chills and Thrills

Evy is reading and reading and reading.  He is writing and writing and writing.  He loves school but does talk about prefering to stay home with us sometimes.  (He knows we are fun!)  He is doing very well on the bike that he got for his birthday.  What a difference from a year ago when he was terrified of trying to ride a bike!  Being seizure free has been such a blessing for him in gaining confidence!

Merritt is talking and talking and talking.  He does have some problems expressing himself sometimes, but he has developed so many communication skills compared to a year ago.

Merritt loves his preschool class at the science museum. He loves that they go on hikes and have animal visitors. If we aren't going to that preschool, he would either like to go to Chick-fil-a or church. What a change from a year ago when he really would not have anything to do with sitting for hours at church!

We are very busy each day.  We fill our time with riding bikes, playing ball, cooking, books, art projects, pennies of time, and chores.  The boys really only sit down to do anything media related about once a week.  Naps are of the quickly forgotten past.  And, thus, I don't have much time to get on the blog to update.  When I get on the computer, I quickly update the "Pennies of Time" blog with service acts we are doing and then it is time to get up and do something else.

The boys are very much into caring about people these days.  It is directly due to our "pennies of time" that we do every day.  They still squabble and fight over toys or when they wrestle too much.  But, they are the first to speak up for another member of the family if something isn't going well.

Each evening, Merritt says,"Service Project!" and eagerly anticipates going to another neighbor to tell them about Captain Hope's Kids (the service project we are doing as a family this Christmas).  You can go check it out at Pennies of Time.

I have another calling, counselor in Relief Society.  I am busy getting the music squared away for the Sacrament Christmas program.  And, I have several projects going on along the side of that.  My time is fully engaged.  I am going to be better about the family blog. The kids just grow so quickly that if I don't write it down soon after the moment, I miss capturing the silliness or milestone.

Erik is doing well supporting all of us.  He still travels and helps people with employment related stuff.  He is the type of dad that usually does read "one more story, PLEASE!"  He loves pumpkin pie.

O My Goodness

We have been busy.  Miss us?  Go here.

I miss chronicling our family adventures, the ups and downs.

I hope to get back to it soon.

In the meantime, here is a gem of picture or two.

My Merritt Today

It is laundry day.  The house smells like the unmistakable soft smell of laundry detergent.  Earlier, this morning, I asked Merritt to read a book for a few minutes until it was time to leave for speech class.

He grabbed his orange copy of the New Testament and started reading out loud.

"God wants us to be happy.  God loves us.  Captain America loves us. Thor loves us.  There was a scout and he was running away.  And Green Goblin.  And Spiderman got him.  They are alive.  Mom?"  he paused in his reading.

"Yes."

"The Green Goblin needs to learn about Jesus."

"Why?"

"So he can learn to be nice."

On the way home from speech class, he requested that Chunky and Speedy be moved to the "show room" because Speedy loves Dora and Chunky loves the PowerRanger with the Star. 

Merritt working on being a better listener.  He has a marble jar going, and when he fills it, he'll be able to go on a special Dad Outing.  He is working really hard to earn those marbles.

Chills and Thrills

Such a fun week!  The boys and I are VERY busy with our "Pennies of Time" Adventures.  We ended the week with what I call an Odyssey.  Check out the blog to see what we did.

Evy lost his first tooth! And, he stayed healthy all week.  Went to school every day!

We made some great new friends.  One of them taught our boys how to paint house numbers.  (he does it in a totally cool way!)

Found out that our pediatric dentist is a scammer.  Now, trying to get my money back. 

Evy ended a baseball class.  We are looking forward to a new class and a change in coaches!  You should see him in action.  He is FANTASTIC.  I'll try and get a video up soon.

I am continuing with a new therapy for my arm.  So far, so good.  It is called Airrosti.  In just over a week, I am out of all braces, using weights, and have really established some strength in my arm.  And, I get to wear some cool racing stripe tape up and down my arm.  I'm sure hoping that it continues to help me regain strength and mobility.  I am ready to be back to normal after almost 8 months of incapacitation.

As a family, we had a chance to go to a Ranger baseball game.  We always love going to sporting events.  There is never a dull moment between the boys and the actual game being played.

 

Cotton Candy!

 

Merritt charming the Texas Ranger girls, with his backwards shirt, backwards pants, and backwards shoes...and his beautiful smile

 

So cute and tired!

Posts in facebook for September:

September 27
Grateful for our dentist who helped us avoid a scheming dentist with our little one! He went above and beyond! Thank you, Dr.Nelson!

September 25
HGSE all the way! HGSE is not a diaper company. HGSE does not need to claim "hugs" in a name to show that the school is committed to achieving excellence in education. Don't like either? Then talk about it like I do: The Ed School

September 19
We just saw T-Rex arrive at The Heard, amid hundreds of butterflies!

September 17
When the pediatrician gave the positive verdict of a strep culture, she brought a new toothbrush with her at the same time. Brilliant!

September 13
Me: Merritt, how was the hearing test at school?
 
Merritt: Wike dis--beep, beep, beeeeeeep, beeeeeeeeeeep, beep, beep, beeeeeeep, beeep, beep, beeeeeeeeeeeeee!
 
Me: So, I guess you hear okay.
 
Merritt: Yeah.

It Is Called Self-Reliance, Mom!

Merritt, the master of all locks and impediments designed to keep kids under the age of 5 out of stuff, will never go hungry.  This was the third time this week that I found him making sure that his tummy didn't go hungry.  I am so glad that he is able to bust through the pantry lock.  I mean, I would hate for him to STARVE! 

Just as happy as a clam eating his favorite treat in bed, dried mangos.

Evy's First Tooth--Loss

It was a fantastic Sunday for Everett.  He lost his first tooth.  The tooth fairy left $0.50 and JEWELS!  The $0.50 Everett donated to a homeless shelter.

Austin, Our Beloved Austin

This summer we had a chance to visit Austin a couple of times.  These are pictures from our second visit where all of Erik's brothers and sister gathered to surprise his dad.  Awesome!

While Erik was working, I took the boys around town and visited some of my favorite spots.  The Nature Center, the Umlauf Sculpture Garden,

Can you see the lizard on the sculpture?  Evy could.  I couldn't.

 

 

There it is!

 

The boys completed a scavenger hunt along the way.

 

 

We gave Pa a big surprise when we were there!

 

Cousin TIME!

Later, the party moved to Dallas for more cousin time!

 

 

We also went to a great waterpark in Round Rock with our favorite guy group family.  Thanks, Morgans!  We went to the Austin Nature Center.  I made the boys take the trail to the Center and they made it all the way!  We also visited plenty of my favorite parks while we were there.  The only drawback:  no visit to EastSide Cafe.  That will *have* to happen next time!