A little show about Liza

I'm sorry its sideways again.  I will remember to not do that next time.

Enjoy!  You might want a little popcorn too.

Pass the popcorn

Liza is getting close to turning 2 this spring, so some of her temper has been showing.  She has been pointing her index finger at who ever has done her wrong and babbles in a deep, iritated voice.  Sometimes she growls.

Well on Monday she woke up from her nap just wanting me to hold her and feed her.  I was a little busy making dinner and baking George's birthday cake, I couldn't help her much.  So she was crying when Callie tried to help me and play with her.  After I got the cake in the oven I took her and sat in front of the oven to watch the cake bake.  She wasn't to interested so she got off my lap.  Callie, I guess needing attention of her own, came over to push Liza's buttons and see how long it would take till she started crying again.  Callie would stand right next to Liza with her back to her and get closer and closer.  Liza got that finger out pointing it at Callie and talking to her in her iritated tone.  Callie kept at it and Liza kept at it.  Now Lucy was sitting at the bar eating a sandwich she should have eaten earlier in the day.  She snickered a little and said, "This is better than the movies!"  We all laugh.  Even moody Liza. 

The End. 

two peas in a pod

 Carson and Ginger would not admit that they are similar in a lot of ways but here is proof that they sit a like.  They are playing a game on the Wii together.

say "cheese"

When Ginger was 2 she feel down the stairs in our home and chipped her front tooth and bruised the other.  Consulting the dentist we found out we could pay lots of money for have them fixed or we could pay a little and have them pulled and just WAIT for her permanant teeth to grow back.  Well the wait is over after 5 years.  Ginger is getting her first permanant front tooth in.

The Dick family

Some old friends of ours came into town for the holidays.  Jeremy is from the Seattle area.  He has a cousin in our ward(church congregation).

We knew them in Grants Pass, OR when we were first married.  Jeremy was there working for Walmart.  We were neighbors and went to church together.  Esther and I were both pregnant at the same time with our Carson and their oldest daughter Brianna.  David and Jeremy would get up early in the a.m. and play basketball at the church.  Good times.

Jeremy, Brianna, Ashlyn , Esther, Schylar, Liza, Callie, me(Amanda), David,Ginger

Joshua, Carson, Lydia, George, Lucy

Liza's hair

PLAY-DOH

I have never been a fan of play-doh but with the rain here in the Seattle area we always need more things to do inside.  Our neighbor gave us a big bag of play-doh and tools to use to play with it.  The kids are loving it.

Ginger's creation.



going with the trend

 Uncle Kevin saw the post about Callie's new found fad and after talking to George by way of texting decided to make some cooler ones than Callie's with guitar strings.  When Nancy and Kevin sent them, they sent some extra pairs.  What a bunch of nerds.  Callie is wearing Ginger's glasses and Liza is wearing Ginger's old ones.  Callie broke her 3D glasses frame in her bookbag. 

They are all loving the glasses.  Carson wore the plain pair the other day at school. 

Happy New Year

We enjoyed the traditional southern New Years meal.  It wasn't my mother's, but still good.  I put some black beans in to make what we had go farther.  I was so proud of my kids and David who all ate some greens.  Its gonna be a good year for us! 





We found an alien

What a big brother!

A very long day

Wednesday.  It is usually a busy day for us but this past Wednesday seemed twice as long. 

For several reasons this past fall David put his resume out there again.  Our deal was that we were not going to move again!  1. We still have a house in Utah and we wanted to be able to keep it if we didn't have renters for a few months. 2. David has had an allergy since April, when he got into the building in Orting.  He has trouble breathing, tiredness, and red rashes.  He has taken a daily dose of Zyrtec since April as well.  He has had food allergies tested and outdoor allergies tested.  Nothing came up positive, other than a few things that were not significant enough like oranges, food coloring, dogs, and dust mites(that was the highest).  Thinking it was dust mites the carpet in his office was removed but still no relief.  The doctor thought it might be mold and with his office/building being very old it would be a great place for mold.  He couldn't be tested for all molds so we don't know for sure.  3. With the economy and Washington state, whom he worked for, there were gonna be pay cuts and insurance would increase.  4. Plus the VA system here in Washington is  behind the times a bit compared to the private sector of nursing homes.  He didn't want to get behind.

Well David got a new job and started on the 30th of December.  The company he actually worked for at the beginning of last year in a temporary position.  So he knew several people.  His job is a commute by bus and train.  That is what leads us to our Wednesday adventures. 

It was David's first day of commuting so our day began at 5am with David leaving for the bus at 5:40.  Liza was up at 5:30, which was earlier than her normal, so she was cranky all morning wanting to be held.  Realizing I had no eggs and had a few minutes before getting children out the door, I ran to Safeway down the road.  I went down the baking aisle just to check prices.  They had the 10lb. bag of Medal Gold unbleached flour marked down from $5.99 to $1.00.  I had to double check so I went and had one scanned.  I scanned a $1.  The cashier told the manager and she scanned a bleached bag which came up $5.99.  I went back and cleaned them out.  There were nine bags and I got them all.  Mistake or not there was a sign and it scanned $1.  So I bought 90 lbs. of flour for $9.   

I was so excited and pumped because I got such a great deal.  I came home, got the kids on the bus, and had to figure out where to put all the flour now.  :)

Two weeks ago I was called to be the 1st counselor in the young women's program at church.  I was an advisor before, which entails teaching a lesson on Sunday, but this new calling will keep me more busy.  One of the things I am over is the activity on Wednesday night.  So this Wednesday, my first, we made cookies to decorate and give to the young men and priesthood leaders to show our appreciation for all they do.   Well, with the lack of time in the evening the cookies needed to be made in advance.  So I made 3 dozen cookies before the kids got home from school at 12:30.  The kids have half days on Wednesdays.  I then made the icing and had some down time.  That would be with 3 children just home from school filling me in on their day. 

Carson's half day is different than the kids in elementary school.  He usually goes at 6:50am to catch the bus and he gets home at 2:30pm.  On half days he doesn't catch the bus until 8:40 and comes home at the regular time of 2:30pm.  Well, we have been telling him to stay after on Tuesday and Thursdays to go to a math/homework tutor session and then come home on the late bus.  He doesn't always stay on those days and we have gotten after him because he needs to get some help with his homework.  Tuesday he didn't stay and I got after him.   I guess he wanted to make up for that because he didn't get off the bus at 2:30 on Wednesday.  I was getting really nervous before I took George to scouts at 3.  My imagination got the best of me.  I started wondering if he even got on the bus in the morning, but the school would have called if he didn't make it to there.  I won't go on but my imagination kept going.  I took George to scouts and would pick him up at 4:15pm.  I thought to my self that if I didn't hear from Carson by that time I would go by the school.  The late bus is usually home by 4:15 - 4:30.  I told Callie to call me as soon as he got home. On my way to the school, at almost 4:40, Callie called. Carson had stayed after to do homework, it just isn't like him.  I forgot to ask if there was a certain girl staying after as well.  Boys.  

I turned around and headed home.  I had 45 min. to get home, freshen up, pick up a young woman for basketball, and get to the church for a meeting at 5:30 all with a migraine creeping on.  I got the address for the girl off the newly "updated" list from the church and mapped it.  She lived right around the corner.  I found the house and no one was there.  I called her and she said she hasn't lived there for about a year and a half.  First thing to do at my meeting is to give her updated address to the proper person.  I finally found her house and was 20 minutes late to my meeting. After my meeting I run back home to get Carson for young men's activity and grab the cookies and icing.

While gone, I gave Carson the instructions to make fish sticks, rice and corn.  He did find just a bit side tracked by the TV and that drives Callie crazy.  So when I got home Callie's anxiety was rising and it didn't get better before I left and I needed her to be in charge.  So I sent Callie, George, Ginger, and Lucy to bed to read or go to sleep.  I grabbed pjs for Liza and took her and Carson with me to church.  I had a good time with the young women decorating cookies.  Liza always gets the attention.  She had fun playing with the door to the room we were in.  My headache was getting worse though and I heard from David that he had missed the last train and he was gonna check on the buses.  I would probably have to pick him up somewhere.  It was not a big deal but if my headache was getting worse I would have to hurry.  I was getting nauseous.  I had a quick acting medicine in the other car so I had to wait till I got home to take any.  I got home and found my children still in their beds reading.  I have such good children.  I put Liza to bed, grabbed some meds and a bottle of water, and hit the road to pick up David.  I found him and he took over driving while I rested my eyes.  It was 9:30.  We came home and found all the kids asleep.  Again. good kids.  Being exhausted we went to bed soon after getting home.  We knew it would be an early morning again. 

At 1:30 in the morning we were rudely awaken by the sound a big crash.  David leaped completely over me and turned on the bathroom light which is where the sound came from.  It was one sliding shower doors that shattered into a gazillion pieces.  David showered before going to bed and he hung his towel over the top of the shower door.  We are guessing the moisture and the heat from the shower and the towel got into the door and expanded, causing the shower door to shatter.     



Here are the cookies that the YW decorated.  I couldn't get the picture in the right place on this post. 

It was a long day and busy.  Days like this make me question if some things are worth it.  I then think of all the wonderful things that happen in between those tough moments. 

*I got an awesome deal on flour. 

*I got to see my kids faces light up when they got to eat the broken cookies that I couldn't take to the church.  Or when they got to lick the beaters from mixing the frosting. 

*I got to hear George give a beautiful prayer for his brother when I didn't know where he was. 

*I learned where one of the young women live and correct her address on the roster. 

*I got to ride home with David from work and have that time to talk. 

*As for the shower door, I get to go shower door shopping. 

My first attempt

This was my first attempt at divinity.  The children LOVED it.  It was always a favorite of mine at Christmas time.  I made a couple more batches but they weren't as good as the first.  The bundt is banana bread.  Christmas morning we had a couple of families over for a big breakfast.  Greg and Kara Richards and their two girls.  Plus Craig and Daphne May with their 4 children.  We ate bacon, cinnamon rolls, eggs on order(scrambled or fried), biscuits and gravy, fruit, juice, and hot cocoa.  It was yummy and so nice to visit. 

a few more Christmas pictures

Liza wearing the sweater that Lucy wore to Aunt Gina and Uncle Duncan's wedding.

Plates of goodies David took to work.

Our Christmas tree.  



I am posting this by sending a text from my cell phone. I like this! I can't do pictures though.

Sitting in the church waiting for Callie. She is having her interview with the Bishop before she goes into Young Womens on the 21st of January.

Shrink-a-dinks

A fun gift for Ginger.  Everyone loves watching them shrink in the oven.