We Hope You Had a Wonderful Christmas!

Well, it is no secret that I complain about how hot it can get in Georgia. I have been really whining up a storm this past week as temperatures reached 75 degrees on several days and it felt really muggy in our house. It just didn't feel like December to me. Now, I know that many of you in blogland would gladly change climates with me and I am aware that I shouldn't complain...but I had to post pictures of the boys with their discovery from our backyard. They found carrots still thriving in our garden that Mike has already tilled over. So, there you have it folks...you can harvest your forgotten carrots in December and have a photo shoot in front of your Christmas tree. Ah, yes...that's Georgia for ya.

Brian was game to pose for the picture, but told me firmly that he wasn't going to eat the carrot saying, "I'm just gonna pretend to eat this carrot. I don't like it because it is hairy." in reference to the spindly little roots all over it. I cleaned off all of the, "hairs" for him and told him he could eat it, but he just looked at me blankly as if to ask, "Are you unwell, mother?" I ate several of the carrots the boys harvested and they were actually quite good.

We had a really wonderful Christmas and hope that all of you did, too!

I got the PedEgg that I have been asking for. As I tried it out I was thrilled to find that it actually works! While Brian was watching me he said thoughtfully, "You could use that to cut apples, Mom."

I've got to go, now...I have to hide my PedEgg before Brian tries to julienne some apples with it.

Merry Christmas! We love you!

Conflict Avoidance

Our Adam, age 8, has figured out the perfect recipe for conflict avoidance with his brothers.

He has started ignoring them...and I must say...it has been working brilliantly for him.

You see, Adam feels things very deeply and has been known to be inconsolable when a conflict arises with one of his brothers. For a very long time, Mike and I have been counseling him to ignore his brothers if they are deliberately trying to glean a reaction from him when he is upset. (We also tell his brothers to leave him alone, in case you were concerned.)

Recently, this is the kind of conversation that can be heard around our house if someone angers Adam. He came up with this brand of conflict avoidance all on his own.

Brian: "Adam!! You are a meanie!!" (I didn't make that up...he really did use the word, "meanie".)

Adam: (looking around with a fake look of confusion on his face) "Did I hear something?"

Brian: (with increasing frustration) "I said you are MEAN, Adam!!!"

Adam: "That is so strange...I didn't hear anything."

Brian: "Stop ug-noring me, ADAM!!"

Adam: (Looking over Brian's head with wide eyes) "I don't see anyone..."

Brian: (basically frothing at the mouth and unable to speak, comes to me sobbing because Adam is ug-noring him.)

So, here's the thing...after telling the child for years to ignore his brothers' teasing...he has actually listened and his results have been fabulous. I couldn't help but laugh at poor Brian when he came to me crying that Adam was ignoring him because, well...What am I supposed to say? "Adam, stop ignoring your brothers!", after years of telling him to do exactly that? Adam has finally come away victorious. In fact, the ignoring tactic has only become really problematic when Evan has made sure if Adam can't hear him...he can FEEL him...if you take my meaning. (Had to break that scenario up the other night *ahem*)

Maybe, they will all start ignoring each other during times of conflict and we can have some peace this Christmas season.

Now, that would be a Christmas miracle.

Here we see Adam when he was home from school with a fever last week. I came down the hallway and found him wrapped up like this on the couch. I can't help it...I think he is so cute.

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Adam (December 2008) 8 years and 5 months old.

Laughter and Tears

I had this written down in my notes from General Conference this past October. I ran across them the other night and it made me laugh again.

Let me set the scene...Our family was watching General Conference on the computer in the family room. We had been watching for over an hour and the boys were growing restless and had to be asked to quiet down repeatedly. Our Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson was about to address us as boys began to wrestle each other all over the floor. I yelled for everyone to "SIT DOWN AND COOL IT!!!" as I motioned for each boy to find a seat on different ends of the couches and love seat. I began pointing and snarling, "You, there! You over there...no, no, that's too close...at the end of that couch. You, opposite couch." Then after sighing mightily, I turned to Mike and muttered how I had just ruined the Spirit that was felt during the previous talks. The irony did not escape me that I was yelling at my kids so we could feel the love of our Prophet.

It kind of made me laugh at myself...yelling my head off at my kids as our prophet was about to speak. Well, it made me chuckle and then cry as I listened to his words of his talk entitled, "Finding Joy in the Journey".

As President Monson said, "Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future." (note: I scrabbled down his words but I looked them up in the talk to quote them verbatim...I am not that efficient of a note taker)

It was at this point in the talk that I began to cry and apologize to the boys and blow them kisses as they sat separated on the couches.

Then President Monson went on to say, "If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware the the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will - to your surprise -miss them profoundly."

My tears really began to flow at this point and I wailed, "I'm sorry, boys!!"

Evan said smirking, "See Mom, the laundry will disappear!! (I love the way Evan uses humor to calm me...he gets that from his father.)

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Me: *sniffle*

Adam: "Yeah, Mom...the laundry will disappear!"

Brian to Adam: "Where will it dis-peer to?"

Adam shrugging: "I dunno."

I began to laugh and cry at this point. I am so grateful for the words of our Prophet. I am grateful for the sweetness of my boys. And I was grateful that day to hear that our Prophet understands seemingly insurmountable, yet mundane tasks like cleaning fingerprints off of every surface the eye can see, and keeping up with the laundry.

The boys last December at, Lights of the South.

In the picture, Evan (10 years and 5 months old), Adam (7 years and 5 months old) and Brian (4 years and 7 months old)

Happy Birthday, Mike!

Last year when the blog was brand new, Mike expressed concern about what I may say for the blog world to read about his birthday. Yeah...he is still kind of shy about it...but I wanted to say simply...

Happy Birthday, Babe!! I love you more than I can ever express...or that you will allow me to express!!! You are wonderful, and my best friend!!

One of my favorite pictures.

Random picture from Egypt Night when Evan was in 2nd grade. We still have the yellow sarcophagus that Evan made, and Mike is holding.

My brother Frank called yesterday (on Mike's actual birthday) and told Mike on the voice mail that he is so old he is surprised that he isn't dead. Doesn't Frank have a way with words?

(For pity sake, I still can't get my pictures to enlarge when clicked on)