We're still alive and breathing

I haven't blogged in so long! And this entry will be just short and sweet because I don't have a whole lot of time.

Neil takes his PANCE (Physician Assistant National Certification Exam) test tomorrow. We are really excited for him and know that he will do his best! Then the minute he gets home, we will start packing like mad people. My goal has been 5 boxes a day for the last week and so far I have done that...but there is so much more left to do.

After we are packed, we will be leaving to move down to Bakersfield. Neil has a job lined up down there and will start as soon as he gets licensed in the state of California. We are really excited to live closer to family! :)

One quick story:
Brendan really wanted to bear his testimony this week at Family Night. So even though dinner was late and we really should have put the kids to bed, we had a quick family night and set up the stand (a Clorox Bleach box we got from the grocery store for packing) with the microphone (our cheese grater) and the kids bore their testimonies. They were all really sweet and although Lincoln doesn't speak yet (we are working on that), the other kids insisted on him bearing his testimony, too. This is what it turned out to be:

We really liked that Michelle and Jason were able to come and visit us on Saturday night. We had a great time picking apples, pears, and a few blueberries at the local u-pick farm. Our kids absolutely adore theirs and they just had too much fun together. We are going to miss having them so close. They have been such a great support while Neil has been in school.  After picking fruit we took them to Miners...where the burgers are heavenly!  Thanks for such a good time Hurleys

Well, I am off now. Maybe the next time I post it will be from California. Wish us luck!

My Wild Child Eliza

So I just love my sweet Eliza. She can be such a silly girl sometimes...and sometimes wild, too! This month, I entered the contest at penscrappers.com again to try and win a Bamboo Craft. Can I have your vote again? Just click on the link below to see my wild Eliza and the cute layout that I put together. If you would like, leave a comment about my layout on the site, too.

Short and Sweet

This morning I was asking Brendan what kind of eggs he wanted me to make for breakfast.  I asked scrambled or fried eggs.  His answer was Wednesd-eggs!
The other day the kids were asking if they could come and get in my bed during the night.  (I really don't like them to because our bed is too small and only gets smaller if we add people...even if they are little).  I just told them that we would cross that bridge when we get to it.  Eliza asked, Mom, where is the bridge?
Lincoln is just such a sweet boy.  He understands so much...if we could just get him to start speaking.  He was babbling at Costco with me the other day.  He was saying ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma.  I just got really excited!  But I haven't gotten him to duplicate that moment since.  So, Neil doesn't really believe me that he really said mama.
Gotta love these kids!

Breakfast woes from Eliza

Yesterday, right after we sat down to eat breakfast Eliza said:  I'm all done because my tummy hurts
Mom:  You still have most of your pancakes on your plate.  What does your tummy feel like?
Eliza: It just hurts really bad because I ate too much food
Mom:  You haven't eaten too many pancakes.  You haven't even eaten one.  Is it because you ate yogurt before these pancakes?
Eliza (clearly upset now because of all of the questions):  No! (Squeal) My tummy really hurts because I ate too much quesadilla!

Will you vote for me? PLEASE

Can I ask a favor of you and all of your friends?  I really want to win a Bamboo Craft from Wacom...so I entered a scrapbooking contest and whoever gets the most votes will win.  You have to cast your vote before May 31st.  But why wait?  Will you vote for me and have all of your friends vote for me, too?  Just click on the link below to see my layout and vote.  (You won't be disappointed!)  Thanks.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy Mother's Day to my amazing Mom and Mother-in-law.  What wonderful examples you both are to me.  I hope you enjoy your present.  I wanted to post it here for everyone to see, too.  Hope you have a great day!

plus my own husband and children made me breakfast in bed and got me some earrings and a necklace. THANK YOU!!!!

Book Club Party!

So I hosted the book club this month.  We read The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown for the month of April.  I just wanted to post a picture of my fun creation:

In the book, Robert Langdon had to carry around a granite pyramid in his shoulder bag.  He was also carrying a solid gold capstone in a sealed box.
So...I made one out of pound cake and whipped cream and we ate it with strawberries!  Those symbols on the pyramid are some sort of code that he had to break...
It was sort of a last minute idea and I was happy that it came together as well as it did.  When the kids woke up that morning and I was frosting cakes they wanted to know who's birthday it was.  They were disappointed to find out that it wasn't anyone's birthday and that they weren't invited to my book party.  Thanks to my amazing husband, who rode against a headwind to and from the park, for taking great care of the kids during our meeting.  I loved discussing the book and I loved the company of such good friends.  I loved the fact that we were able to talk without being interrupted.  We missed those that weren't there, but had a blast!
I am having a really hard time getting into the next book.  I am trying though...any suggestions?  I just fall asleep whenever I pick it up.  I'm sure that has nothing to do with the book, only with the fact that I stay up too late at night.
Lovin' life!

Things I want to remember and am trying to forget.

First the things I would like to remember because they make me smile:
Last Thursday I had to take Brendan to the dentist for him to get some sealants in his molars to prevent cavities.  I hadn't prepped him that well this time to go to because last time he did so well (who wouldn't if you could just lay back in a chair and stare at a movie on the ceiling?)  So I just told him the morning of the appointment that we would be going to the dentist so that the dentist could make his teeth stronger.  His response was classic!
His eyes welled up with tears and his chin started to quiver as he choked up and asked, "But mom am I never going to be able to brush my teeth at night ever again?"  I just had to chuckle as I pulled him close to me and explained that he could continue to brush his teeth and that the dentist and mom and dad would really like it if he continued brushing his teeth.
Now something Brendan has asked me to try and forget:
Last night at dinner he asked me if yelling was a bad choice or a good choice.  I asked him what he thought it was and he said a bad choice.  I agreed and then he asked me "Well then why do you and dad yell every day?"  Ouch.  It really hurts when your kids call you out on something.  So I am trying to forget how to yell.  I really need to do better and usually I do pretty good at not yelling and speaking nicely to my children, but these past couple of days-I'll admit-have been pretty bad.  No tellin' why.  I can't even figure it out, but I have lost it one too many times for a while.  So Brendan and I made a deal.  I played his little game about trying to figure out if whining was a good choice or a bad choice and he guessed it was bad.  So if he can stop whining, I can stop yelling...wish me luck.
Next up:

Now we have instituted something new at our house.  We have been trying to hold regular Cleaning Parties!  A Party?  Yup.  We get our new timer out and set it for 15 minutes.  Then one of the kids get to choose an index card out of a bowl and figure out which room we get to go to.  We then make our way into that room and clean for 15 minutes.  We actually try to beat the timer.  When that 15 minutes is up, someone else gets to choose the next card and figure out which room we are headed to and we set the timer again and clean for only 15 minutes more.  I can usually get through 3 rooms with the kids and then they are distracted, but while they stay interested, they are so much help to me!  Even Lincoln.
One day I was just trying to tidy up quickly -not having declared that it was a Cleaning Party Day-and Brendan walks into the room.   He stops, looks at what I am doing and asks, "Hey mom, are you having a Cleaning Party without us?"
Loved it!
They soon had rags in their hands and were helping out...of course we had to get the timer out, though.  I have really enjoyed being able to work along side my kids.  They sure have made it fun and I appreciate all of their help and enthusiasm.
Next let's forget again:

I really don't know how she could be comfortable in this sleeping position, but when this girl crashes, she is gone.  More and more often she is crashing at about 5pm, sleeps until 7 or 8 and then wants to be awake until 1 or 2 in the morning!  I am trying to forget about how tired I am the next day after one of these crashes hits.  I really would like some help in this department because it really drives me crazy when she does this, but she is an absolute bear if I try to keep her awake...I know, I know, how could you ever be upset with a girl as pretty and cute as this?

Sleeping during the night has started to be quite the fiasco if you ask me.  3 days ago, all 5 of us ended up in the same bed in the morning.  Neil has promised a bigger bed after school is over.  That is what I look forward to these days.  Last night was better so maybe we are getting through this spat of sleepless nights.
Next something that the kids have remembered:

Now hopefully Neil will forgive be for posting such a flattering picture of him (one of the kids took it and it was the only one on the SD card that I have right now).  Last Friday I went out with girlfriends to a high school play.  One of the young women in our ward did an awesome job with her part!  But before I left, I made dinner for my cute family and then Neil said the blessing on the food.  Well, in the prayer he prayed that I would have a good time that night, but that I wouldn't be too crazy with my friends.  Well then I poured everyone a glass of water and Neil does this crazy thing where he pulls the pitcher of water way up high and then lets it fall into the cups.  The kids love it!  So that night, I tried to do it--and spilled some water and I said that I didn't need to be with friends in order to be crazy.  All of the kids thought I was crazy, though.
Well, days have passed and with Neil working in the ER right now he cannot be home for dinner and so I try and fly solo.  I tried to liven things up again the other night by pouring the water crazy...and spilled again.  Eliza said "Mom are you being too crazy again?"
It made me think of Neil and how much I miss all of the support and help that he is and that he has a way to always make things fun and helps us to laugh.  This is something that I really need to remember.  I love my husband!  I am proud of him for going to school so that he can spend more time with us in the future.
Next.

 

Lincoln is just so cute and at such a fun age.  He takes my mirror from me every morning when I do my hair...then I have to fight with him to get it back so that I can finish my hair.  Oh well.  This past weekend my baby became my toddler.  I finally broke down and gave him a hair cut.  The first haircut is always the hardest for me to give because it makes my babies grow up instantly.  But it was sorely needed and now he is just so cute.

I think that his favorite part of the haircut was being able to touch the clippers.  I wanted him to know that they wouldn't hurt him.  For the rest of the time all he wanted to do was touch them.  :)  But now he just looks so big and old and is ready to officially enter the nursery on Sunday!  YEAH!!!

He is just so cute...almost ready for school with a haircut like this.
And that about sums this catch-up post up.  Thanks to all of those faithful friends and family for reading all the way through this monstrous post.

Half Marathon Review: 3 Slower Bedke sisters finish!

I did it!  We did it!  Last Saturday we ran the Wenatchee Half Marathon.  Sarah, Chelsea, Hannah and I ran in the race and finished.  It was long and it was hard, but we did it!

When we got out of the car and were getting ready to go to the starting line, Brendan told me that he needed to tell me a secret.  I bent down and he started to whisper in my ear:  "Mom, just remember to run super-duper fast just like I do."
We all beat Melissa and Lance from the Biggest Loser!  (They weren't racing with us, but when they ran a half-marathon after they were sent home, it took them 3:56!)  So we are not LOSERS!  We are definitely WINNERS!!!  
Right before the start of the race I told Neil that he had better be there when I finished the race.  He made it there about 4 minutes before I came in.  That's cutting it pretty close.

 

Hannah won her age group even though she promised us that she was out of shape.  Sarah made her goal of 2:10 (she set that goal at mile 12) and then I came in at 2:19 (my goal was under 2:30 and I set that a couple of weeks before the race) and then Chelsea ran the whole way which was her goal and she came in just under 3 hours.  Whoo-hoo! 

And we have a goal to do it again next year...not necessarily in Wenatchee, but we would like to find another event that we could do as an entire family, or at least the girls!  So everyone, you are invited!  There was a group of runners that had t-shirts that said SOLE SISTERS and Chelsea had the bright idea that we could make t-shirts for the future that said BIOLOGICAL SISTERS.  What do you think about that?  We could put BIOLOGICAL SISTERS A MOM AND AN IN-LAW  so that Mom and Mary-Anne could run on our team!  :) or we can come up with something else a little bit more clever.

Things that I learned:  take your own candy and music.  Candy:  when I would train I would reward myself with a pack of SMARTIES when I would get to a certain distance.  I thought that there would be snacks at the aid stations, but there wasn't.  The aid stations just had water or power drink.  I really would have liked gummie bears or something.  Halfway through the race they gave us GU.  What did it do for me?  Just made me really thirsty.  I wish they would have had water at that station too, but they didn't. I wasn't at all prepared for a no snack run.  So I will always take snacks/candy on future runs and if they have some at the aid stations, well I will donate the ones that I bring.  :)  Music:  We all got separated from each other before even the half mile mark.  It is a really long time to run by yourself without music to pace you or someone to chat with.  I did find one friend to chat with for a while and then she kept on going and finished way in front of me.
But all in all it was a BLAST!  I loved it and it brought back a lot of memories from cross-country days.  I can't wait to have something to train for again, but for now I am just looking forward to running for fun with friends!

Eliza Eliza Eliza...I love this girl!

I was washing the pots and pans today in the sink and Eliza came over to watch me and probably help out.  I had the biggest pot soaking in the sink and went to dump out the water so that I could finish washing it.  Eliza watched me pour out all of the water and said, "Wow Mom, that was a big dump!"

I just had to laugh.

Then we moved over to the stove and started to make dinner.  She was so excited to help with anything.  Her response was always "uh, sure mama."  I secretly love how she calls me mama.  It just makes my heart melt because it is as if she came up with it on her own and she is the only one who uses that term of endearment with me. 

My favorite part of the day was when she leaned over off of the ladder and just gave me the biggest hug.  I told her that I loved her to which she replied, "I love you too."  The hug came at just the right time and I was in the worst need of a hug.  Thanks Eliza!  She just made my day today.

We can't wait to get a dog!

This week was fun.  Neil was gone to Seattle (that wasn't the fun part) and I tried to have a good time with the kids.  On Wednesday night we rented Hachi from the RedBox at Albertson's.  The kids and I watched it in their room after we had gotten ready for bed.  I was secretly hoping that they would fall asleep during the movie, but it didn't happen.
I loved the movie.  It was slow paced, had wonderful music, and was simple.  It was just nice to relax with my kids and watch a good movie!  It spawned a nice array of questions from my kids, too.

And I know now more than ever that this family needs a dog.  We can't wait to get out of this apartment so that this can happen.  When we were at the park the other day, there was this family that brought their little dog with them and Brendan followed them around and played more with that dog than on the toys at times.  The lady asked him if we had a dog, but he said "no...we live at the aparpments."
Last night Neil said: "Do you know what will happen if you keep on watching dog movies?"  I have fought the idea of getting a dog, but I think that now I can honestly admit that I want one, too.  I just know that it would be good for our family.   Shhh....don't anyone tell Neil.  :)

Tell me what you think

So I have been dipping my hands into digital scrapbooking.  What do you think?

 

All four of the above layouts used products from Little Dreamer Designs:

Alegria by Michelle Filo

With Love by Michelle Coleman

Sweet and Tart by Leora Sanford at LDD and Paislee Press at Oscraps

Fall Leaves by Michelle Filo

Glittery Flakes by Heidi Larsen and

some more snowflakes, the ribbon and the tag from Ho Ho Ho Kit by Catia Cunha at digidesignresort

This last layout used paper from:
Strawberry Lemonade by Jessica Sprague,
Floral Brush Frames by Lori Barnhurst (retired)
Stitches:  i luv u by Mari Koegelenberg
Flowers: Alegria by Michele Filo and i luv u by Mari Koegelenberg
Tea Stain: A Hand to Hold by Lynne Marie Favreau
Font: Pea Hart by Amanda (all of her fonts are free and very cute)

Some of my favorite sites besides the ones already listed:
The Daily Digi
Songbird Avenue (100% of purchases go to charity)
Pencil Lines
OScraps

Those are my suggestions...as a few of you have asked.  But just have fun!  I know that I am!

I plan to print pages in a Blurb book.  I have ordered some books from there before and been very impressed!

Remember Victor Borge?

I just turned on the TV and there is this special on PBS about Victor Borge...obviously a telethon trying to get donations and contributions, but I forgot how funny he was.  We watched him as kids and I remember just laughing all of the time.

Remember this lady?

Watch the very end of this one...

My kids liked this clip:

I still can't stop laughing! OK one more:
The page turner is actually his son...interesting fact that I learned while watching the PBS special.

It's Not Christmastime Anymore

Usually it takes about 10 to 15 minutes after we turn on the Primary music and turn out the lights for everyone to be out for the night.  Once everyone is out, I am a very happy camper.  :)
But the story is different when Eliza has had a nap during the day.  She just can't settle down and doesn't ever go to sleep.  I really try to make her stay in her room even though she isn't sleeping.  I tell her that she can read or look at books IN HER ROOM.  The key is getting her to stay in her room.  Usually she does a really good job with these rules and then goes to bed a couple of hours later.
The other night she came out of the room almost crying.  Something was really upsetting her.  She explained: "Mom, it isn't Christmastime anymore...."
and then I agree and say that it isn't, but is still trying to figure out why she is so upset.
"Well, those guys are singing Christmas songs."
At the end of the first Children's Songbook CD are a handful of Christmas songs because it makes it that far into the Songbook.  She ended up stopping the CD and starting it over because I guess that she just can't bearthe thought of listening to Christmas songs during the rest of the year.

Remember when...

On Sunday I did Eliza's hair in 2 French Braids (and am so sad that I didn't get a picture of it :( ) but was reminded of all of the years that we did our hair in millions of braids, corn-rows and such for cross-country races and GIRL'S CAMP.  Mostly I remember girl's camp, but I can remember braiding Shannon's hair a couple of times among others on the team for big races...I think I could even find a picture somewhere...hmmm.

But Girl's Camp hair braiding parties were the best.  We would have to start on Saturdays sometimes because there were so many people that we would invite over and so much HAIR!  The best was watching Anne of Green Gables every year while in our braiding trains.  We would sit one person in front of the other and each would busy their hands by braiding the person in front of them.

The best was that we wouldn't have to worry about our hair the whole time that we were up at camp.

I have got to find some pics!
The first on is when I was a youth leader on the 4th year hike 1996.  I think that this was the first year I actually braided my hair for camp.

This next one is of me after a week of braided hair.  I remember it feeling so weird and fluffy-like.

And this last one is of three of my amazing sisters and their amazing hair and our friend Kelly Phillips. 

What memories!

Fee-Fi-Foes

Brendan came to me this morning asking if he could play with these fee-fi-foes.  I had no idea what he was talking about until I looked down and saw that he was holding some small figurines in his hand.
At Christmastime we were invited to a party at the house of one of the doctors that Neil was doing his clinical work with.  They generously gave each one of the kids a present.
Brendan came home with 3 G.I. Joes that night and loves them.
But he just can't seem to remember what they are called.  Fee-fi-foes?

Pink and Purple are now Magenta

Eliza was constantly saying (95 times a day) that her favorite colors were pink and purple.  She loves these colors so much and wants the whole world to be on track with what her favorite colors are.  We decided that we could mix it up and teach her about the color MAGENTA.
What is really funny is that she has stumped a few people with her knowledge of MAGENTA.  We were up in Spokane a couple of weeks ago and my cousins asked her what her favorite color was.  She answered very confidently: MAGENTA.  One of my cousins looked at me and asked What color is that?
So we had Eliza respond: Pink and purple mixed together.
We were beaming parents!  I just love how she pronounces it: magenta!

Thirsty Tired and Granola

One of my favorite little games to play with the kids goes like this:
"Mom, I'm thirsty."
"OK Thirsty---" or "I love you Thirsty"
They typically get a little bit upset and correct me by stating their own name.  They really don't like the game at all, but fall for it EVERY time.  That is probably why I keep egging them on!
Last night at the dinner table Eliza said that she was tired.  Neil chimed in and said, "OK Tired, eat your dinner and then---" and then Eliza cut him off by exclaiming that she wasn't Tired, but Eliza Ann Erickson!"  (Please believe us when we say that Eliza is not one to be messed with when she is tired.  I think she gets that defective gene from both mom and dad, but oh well.)
This morning I was pouring some granola cereal over some yogurt for Brendan and I didn't know if I had given him enough granola with the amount of yogurt so I said "tell me if you need more granola" and before I could even blink an eye he replied with "My name is not Granola, it is Brendan."  I guess he had just heard "tell me if you need more, Granola."
I guess Brendan is finally catching on to our little game  :)

Let's get Disney

This morning and for quite some time now Brendan, Eliza and Lincoln have loved getting Disney.  They will spin around in circles for minutes at a time and then resolve that they are Disney enough and be done.  Then they start spinning again and again just so they can get Disney. 
I think that it was Brendan that just came up with that and no matter how many times I have tried to correct him and let him know that it is dizzy and not Disney, he can't get it straight in his head.  Eliza does everything that Brendan does and Lincoln thinks he is 4 right along with them.  I love to be able to watch my kids playing nicely together.
Absolutely love it!

Thank You Merrill Family

This past weekend we took a little trip up to the Seattle area because Neil was awarded a scholarship at the Washington Academy of Physician Assistants (WAPA) Conference.  He was awarded the Mike Merrill Scholarship in honor of a PA that passed away 3 years ago from cancer.  We got to meet his family: his mother, widowed wife, and long-time friend.  We sat at the same table as them and visited with them some.  What an honor it is to have Neil's name attached to his, in form of a scholarship.  Here are some pictures:

  

Before he passed away from a rare cancer, Mike Merrill practiced as a PA with a passion for emergency medicine.  Neil shares this same passion and we are very grateful and honored that he was able to receive this scholarship.  Congratulations Neil!

And to the Merrill Family, THANK YOU!!!

Best breakfast!

So I have been really tired lately and when I woke up to a really loud somebody knocking on my door, I ran out to get it.  Lincoln had been sleeping with me...and when I turned around from getting the door, this is what I saw!.  All three of them were eating sunchips that were left out from the night before (thanks Neil) and three kids totally zoned to morning cartoons.  Now I feel like a really good parent already today!  We'll have to see how the rest of the day plays out...it is bound to be definitely good based on the balanced and nutritious breakfast we all had!

A child's prayer...at our house

I hope that this post isn't sac-religious in anyway because I just think that it is absolutely adorable how my children say prayers.  Brendan and Eliza’s prayers usually follow this general flow:  “Heavenly Father, Bless Amber on her mission.  Help Brandon and Sara to have a baby.  Bless us to be strengthly (not misspelled) and healthy.  Bless that the prophet will be our leader.  Help us to be good on the Earth.  Help us to be happy and play nicely.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”  There is usually some variance to it, other than the first sentence before and, as of late, the first two sentences.  Most of that stuff they came up with on their own.  The cutest is when Brendan helps Eliza to say it.  Priceless.

I have to add in this little tidbit of a story.  When Grandma and Grandpa Bedke were here visiting us right before Steven and Jill's wedding, we were sitting around the table and getting ready to eat and Eliza was asked to say the prayer.  Brendan didn't want to help her this time so Neil was helping her.  The prayer was a bit longer than usual because Neil was helping and Brendan decided enough was enough...he had better intervene and help Eliza end this prayer.  So after Eliza repeated what Neil had said and before Neil could add anything, Brendan jumped in and said: In the name... and waited for Eliza to repeat it.  I thought that this was just too funny and I started to laugh.  I was trying to muffle it, but then I just started shaking because I was laughing so much.  Eliza being the bright child that she is and never letting anything get past her, noticed and got this really confused and almost hurt look on her face.  I opened my eyes to peek at her because she wasn't finishing the prayer.  She was just staring at me and then of course at Grandpa, too because then he started laughing.  Then she started crying.  Neil ended the prayer.  I tried to explain that I wasn't laughing at her and that I was just laughing at the fact that Brendan had butted in because it was taking so long for him.  But there was no convincing her of that.  I tried to say another prayer with her, but I really couldn't compose myself.  I hope that Heavenly Father had a sense of humor in that moment, because I just am still giggling about it. 

I have to redeem myself now because I want everyone to know that I am trying to teach about prayer to my kids.  We pray quite frequently to help us find things that are lost.  But Brendan reminded me the other night at Family Home Evening about a special prayer that he had said back in July.  If this four year old kid can remember something as far back as 6 months ago, maybe something is sticking.  When we were in Mammoth for the family reunion Brendan lost his shoes.  They were the only pair that we had brought with us besides his Sunday pair.  We really needed to find them.  So we went looking...and looking...and couldn't find them.  Then he and I knelt down in the living room of one of the condos and said a prayer to have Heavenly Father help him find his shoes.  Right after the prayer, we went and looked in the rooms again and we were able to find his shoes.  He put them on, we said a prayer of thanks, and then he went off playing again.  Grandma later told me that he walked into their condo and Ryan asked where he had been and he told Ryan that he had been looking for his shoes and that Heavenly Father was helping him and that he had then found them.  What a great kid!

I hope that my children will always turn to their Heavenly Father again and again throughout their lives.

Oh and one more thing.  Every night Eliza will fall asleep during the song A Child's Prayer.  I think it is one of her favorites!  I know that it is one of mine.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Does your family like cookies?  Well ours sure does and I think my favorite are peanut butter ones because Neil makes them with the kids and it is just too cute the way that they work together as a TEAM!  :)  Last Sunday the kids helped Neil make cookies because our friends the Flynns were coming over and we haven't seen them in a long time.  They moved just 30 minutes away, but we haven't gotten together to play games for forever it seems! So we were happy that they were coming and Neil wanted to make cookies.  All of the kids had to help him.  I think that this was Lincoln's first time making cookies with his Dad.  Neil set Lincoln up on the counter and taught him how to turn on the mixer when it was time to mix all of the ingredients together.  That little brother is such a quick learner!  After the cookies were done mixing and the beater was up in the air, he decided to turn on the mixer again and little bits of dough went everywhere...especially all over DAD!  :)
Well the next step in making peanut butter cookies is rolling them into balls and then pressing them with a fork.  A long time ago when Brendan was just learning how to make pb cookies with his dad, Neil started making squishing sound effects when he would press the cookies with the fork.  It started a tradition and Brendan and Eliza started in with the squishes without having to be prompted at all.  Lincoln hasn't quite figured out the squishing sound or even using a fork yet.  He just wanted in on the action of squishing and this is what we got:

Good thing the stove top was not on.  We don't regularly set our children on top of the stove, but in tight quarters here we just don't have enough counter space! 

Eliza's face is the face of a very pleasant 2 year old little girl.  We love her dearly!

Brendan stole the camera and took this last picture of the cookies baking in the oven.  He then came and told us what he had done.
The cookies were very tasty and I had 5+ too many!  Thanks Neil and kids for the yummy entertainment and delicious cookies!

Pause

I am excited for this new year!  I can't believe that 2010 is here already.  Sometimes I wish that I could take just a little while and pause everything that is going on around me.  Wouldn't that be great?  The kids think that they can pause just about anything.  Today Eliza put her chips on pause so that she could come and help clean up her toys.  They have paused their playdough and even put their robots on pause.  See what the pause button on our DVR has done to my children?  Neil just asked me about 2 minutes before midnight if I could pause everything...has he become corrupted, too?  Just kidding.  What would I do if we could pause for a moment and take a look around.  I think that this is going to be my resolution for this upcoming year.  I would like to pause more often and take a look at my life and count all of the many blessings that I have.  I am happier when I can see them and I can see them more clearly when I pause for even 3 seconds each day.  :)

We got some snow today...lots of it and the kids got to go out and play with their Dad.  Lincoln didn't know what to think but Brendan loved it.  He said "Wha-hoo" every time he slid down the hill.  He is just such a boy and I love it.  Eliza just ate snow off her gloves the whole time.  She didn't like the sled at all.  Doesn't she just look so cute with her purple hat on.  Pink and purple are her favorite colors.  :)

I loved the festivities tonight.  We played Candyland and Squiggly Worms with the kids and then drank sparkling cider at 12 midnight hoosier time (9pm PST).  We figure that the 2 older kids were born there and as far as Brendan is concerned we are moving back there after Dad is done with school.  And they were super tired even at 9!  They are just so cute!

We are sad that we have to take the tree down tomorrow.  The kids don't want to take any of the Nativities down either.  This has been a good Christmas and New Year season.  Can't wait to see what next year has in store for us...Neil's graduation!!!!!! The countdown has begun!