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!