Best Investment EVER!

I am married to an accountant.
A wonderfully patient, understanding accountant. But an accountant nonetheless.
What does that mean?
It means that every penny spent is well accounted for, documented, and lamented over.

So, when we decided to purchase a trampoline for Christmas,
it was a little hard for my accountant lover to swallow.
Deciding we wanted a 'well-made, last forever trampoline' then finding how much 'well-made, last forever trampolines' actually cost, was an even bigger chunk to swallow.
For him.
And me.
Ouch!

Three months have passed since the kids opened the blinds Christmas morning to discover their trampoline dreams had come true.

I can honestly say that if disaster struck tomorrow and a huge wind storm carried our trampoline away (which actually did happen to my brother's neighbor- one day they had a trampoline and the next day my brother did)...

We got our pretty penny's worth.

Best investment EVER!

The Box Car Children

At Mapleton Elementary they have a fun day for the Kindergarteners called the Kindy 500. Each child makes their own car out of a box then brings it to school so they can travel the country to learn about different national monuments.

Jane knew exactly how she wanted her car and with a little help from her engineer dad and artist mom (ha!), this is what she ended up with.

She was one proud car owner.

Box car this year...driver's license before we blink.

I know. I know. Our abilities are endless. That is the best looking box car you have seen, right?

Okay, besides the limo (with a working horn) that one girl had. And maybe a few others.

He's a single man

While driving in the car today, we were jamming out to "All the Single Ladies" by Beyonce.

However, it was not until 2 minutes ago when I did a search to find out who sings it that I discovered it is "all the single ladies" not "I'm a single lady," as my girls and I belt out each time we hear it on the radio.

So, we were driving along belting out, "I'm a single lady. I'm a single lady...," when the only boy in the car, who happens to be 2, spontaneously added...

"I'm a single man. I'm a single man. (giggle, giggle)"

That's right, ladies. Hard to believe, but he is still single.

Siblings with benefits

What does it mean when your older sister gets her tonsils out...

Popsicles...

Milk shakes...

And movies all around...

Siblings with benefits.

On a more serious note, I had a profound realization the day that my first born got her tonsils out. Although a tonsillectomy isn't a huge surgery, of course there is always worry and concern when your child has to have any medical procedure done. It is a good thing those nurses know just how to make the separation quick and unexpected, because I am pretty certain there would have been tears if there had been time to say goodbye and give a quick hug. And those tears would have been mom tears. It was tough to watch my 8-year-old walk away down the hall with some lady we've never even met before (okay, she was a nurse, and a really nice nurse, but still). Although Ellie was extremely brave and seemingly calm, no doubt there must have been at least an inkling of fear as she lay on the bed surrounded by unfamiliar medical personnel in funny outfits and masks. Although I had total confidence things would go smoothly, the wait in the waiting room was not the most pleasant. I just wanted to be there for Ellie and I couldn't.

It wasn't until much later that day, after Ellie was home and recovering well that I finally remembered to offer up a prayer of thanks. After all, everything HAD gone smoothly, and except for a few minutes when she was first coming out of anesthesia, there hadn't even been any tears or much pain. It was during this prayer of gratitude that something really hit me... Ellie was never alone. She had a loving parent with her the entire time she was in that surgery. Kyle and I couldn't be there by her side, but her Father was right there the whole time. And He always will be.

I broke down for a few minutes as the reality of this profound truth struck me. To the core. Of course it is an idea I have always known, but to understand the implications of it, really blew me away. As much as I love my children, I simply can not be with them all the time...even in times of need. Yet, they don't ever have to be alone. They have a Father in Heaven who loves them even more perfectly than I do. He is always there. Always.

What parent could ask for more?

FHE Lesson

FHE= Fire, Home, Earthquake

This week our family home evening lesson focused on fire and earthquake safety in the home. We have been meaning to have a serious talk about these things since we first moved in, but I have been putting it off for a couple of reasons.

First, quite frankly, it scares the beegeebees out of me. One of my greatest fears is the thought of not being able to get to or help my frightened children during an earthquake or fire. I am generally not a worrier, but these thoughts have kept me up on a number of nights during my time as a mother. In the past, the fire/earthquake talk has been known to freak my kids out for several days also.

The second reason I was putting off this discussion is because I just didn't know what to tell my kids concerning earthquake safety. A while back I received an email, as probably most of you did, concerning the "Traingle of Life." In short, it is a theory that basically goes against all the old earthquake safety ideas. The "triangles of life" are small areas that are found next to large objects when a building collapses. So, instead of hoping for safety by getting under things, this theory says to get beside big things so if the roof collapses and objects are crushed, you can be left unharmed in the small pocket of space formed next to the large object.

I didn't know whether to tell my kids to get under something sturdy or next to something big.

Well, I finally decided that neither of these reasons was good enough to put off some much needed instruction. I knew my fear would only be eased by becoming prepared and I knew I had to dive in and try to figure out the real answer to earthquake safety.

After doing a lot of research on the Internet, it became clear to me that all the major, respectable organizations such as FEMA and the Red Cross, still go with the old "duck and cover" earthquake safety guidelines. After reading this over and over on several websites, I was starting to believe that the "triangle of life" must not be as amazing as the email I received long ago made it sound. However, everything became even more clear as I read from the link below and other websites that challenged the "traingle of life" theory...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_of_Life

Basically, in America where buildings are built following strict codes, the chance of a building collapsing is much slimmer than in third world countries where the author of the triangle theory did most of his "research." Most injuries and deaths during an earthquake occur when things fall on someone, so being next to something large that could potentially tip over, is not the safest place for a child to be.

Yes, this post is not the most exciting thing in the world and there are not even any pictures to look at, but I thought this information may be helpful to someone else out there. Unlike all other family home evenings, I hope my kids NEVER use any of the information we went over at family home evening this week. Yet, I do feel a bit safer knowing that we at least have a plan if disaster strikes.

If it does strike, let's just hope it happens in the summer so my girls don't have to climb out their window into the muddy window well.

Because, as they stated over and over, that would just be too gross.

It's a...

Can you see it? On this counter sat a very important item pertaining to the future of our family... Look closely.







In that envelope sat the answer to a very big question...GIRL OR BOY???
I had my 20 week ultrasound this morning and to add a little excitement to the suspense, we had the ultrasound tech take a picture of the "important part" on our baby, while we weren't looking, and put it in this sealed envelope.

The envelope then sat on my kitchen counter for hours.

Staring me down.

Daring me to take a little peek.

I held strong.






When the girls came home from school, we took the envelope for a little shopping trip. After much debating and lots of ooohing and ahhhing, two tiny outfits were finally chosen. One pink and one blue.

We then took the two outfits up to the register where we left the clerk with our precious envelope and a $20 bill. As we roamed through the store a bit longer, the clerk became the first person (well 2nd, if you count the ultasound tech) to find out exactly who will be joining our family next. She put the appropriate outfit into a box, as well as the opened envelope and some change, and sent us on our way.

We hurried home and together as a family, opened up the box to discover this...





Ellie's face says it all. Let's just say that this truly was a SURPRISE!!!

Looks like another round of ruffles, frills, and bows.

And you know what? Despite some shock, we couldn't be more thrilled!


(This post was simply going to be the video of us opening up the box, but with uncannily "good" timing, when we tried to upload the video to our computer, we realized that we did not have enough space on our hard drive. Beautiful. After spending an hour trying to erase documents and unnecessary programs, we finally had enough space to upload the video, only to realize that we can't figure out to make it the correct format to be able to post it here. Beautiful. Hence, the delay in the post and pictures.)

How was Christmas???

How was Christmas, you ask?

Well, take a look and see...

We had a live baby Jesus,


And a baby that drinks (but doesn't pee).


There were cool new watches,


And new books to read.


New jammies,


pillow pets,


And surprises indeed.


The day was a good one,

No doubt about that,

but the real fun couldn't fit in Santa's sack.

It was left on the back porch,

And has proven to be better...

Than all the gifts combined,

Used no matter what the weather.

And let it be said,

That the Standifirds big and lil',

Were definitely born with,

Killer Trampoline Skill...