The Greatest Kid in the Nation!

I have to tell you, Thobe is so much fun right now. He is so sweet and smart and just amazing. I love all the progress that he's made at school. He struggles a little with fine motor stuff, but he has no idea that he does. He loves to draw and write and color. Thobe's doing a great job with reading, and he LOVES math!!! The most amazing thing about Thobe is his ability to make connections that most kids his age don't make. When we were out in Utah and went to buy a birthday present for his cousin, he saw a magazine that talked about The Biggest Loser. He said, "Oh look, Mom, the Biggest Loser" (can you tell what I do on Tuesday night?). He then said, "Hey, Mom. Have you ever heard of the Smallest Winner," and then he chuckled softly to himself. Also while we were at the store and were looking for cards, I asked if he'd like to give James a card that said "For the greatest kid in the nation." He said he'd like to get that for him. I put the card in the cart, and Thobe asked, "Uh, Mom? Am I the second greatest kid in the nation?" I assured him that he was actually the greatest kid in the nation, so the Thobe said, "Oh, so it's from the greatest kid in the nation, right, Mom?"

He was really silly when my mom and dad were here. He often spent time quizzing my grandpa on which letter different words started with and gave him simple addition problems. One time, he said softly, "Grandpa, what does is start with?" My dad didn't hear what he said or thought he said something else, so he answered that it started with an s. Thobe promptly corrected him and responded, "Uh no, Grandpa, it starts with I." Thobe has some pretty strong gender stereotypes. One night we went out to dinner and Michael and my dad rode in Michael's car. Last minute, Alden jumped in with them, they drove away. Thobe was the most out of control I've ever seen him. "I don't want ride with the women," he hollered. "I want to ride with the MEN!!!!" He also teased my mom a lot by telling her that he only loved her a little bit but that he loved my dad a lot. I think my mom saw really how much he loved her when they were getting ready to go into the airport, and Thobe said in a sad, quiet voice, "Grandma it's sad when family you love has to leave, huh?" It still breaks my heart when I think about him saying that.

Thobe's had so much fun in school preparing for Thanks- giving. He talks incessantly about the Thanksgiving feast that his class had. He also tells us a lot about the Pilgrims. The day before Thanksgiving, Alden said, "Thobe what do you want to be when you grow up. I want to be a lawyer." Thobe thought for a minute and then said, "I want to be a Pilgrim." I hope that Thobe has the same courage and righteous faith that the Pilgrims had. What a great kid!

Happy Birthday to Hyrum & All Sorts of Fun

Good Gravy Cakes!!!! I am so behind!!! We have had a very eventful last couple months. We celebrated my nephew Davin's 8th Birthday and Halloween in Utah where we got to see Davin baptized. The day after we got home, we celebrated Hyrum's third birthday (I can't believe he's three). The next day, my mom and dad came and stayed with us for a very fast and wonderful week. Then before I could even blink my eyes we celebrated Thanksgiving with Michael's mom, dad, grandpa and grandma, and Bob and Kathy Deck, and Seana Beavers. It's been crazy!!!

Our trip to Utah was great! We flew out Wednesday night and flew a red eye back Saturday night, but in that short time, we were able to do a ton of things! We got in to Enterprise at 4:00 a.m. our time, so we spent much of Thursday catching up on our sleep and just spending time with my mom and dad. Diane threw a birthday party for Davin and James on Friday that my boys got to go to. It was such a special treat for them to actually get to go to their cousins' birthday party. Diane put together a carnival for the boys that was really something else. Later that night we had a family birthday party for Davin, which again, was a very special treat because we usually don't get to go to those types of things. The greatest part of our trip was seeing Davin get baptized. It was really wonderful to be a part of that special time for him. He's such a great boy. We all love him so much. Alden thinks Davin is the greatest thing in the whole world!!! Michael and I were able to run to the temple with John and Lindsay after the luncheon and get home in time to get the boys ready for trick or treating. By the way, Alden is Buba Fett, Thobe is Jengo Fett, Hyrum is Spiderman, and Jacob is the pumpkin in the picture. Michael went out with them, while I stayed behind and got us packed, and then we left for the Las Vegas airport. Thobe ate his Halloween chocolate the two hour trip there and filthy when we arrived.  It was an eventful day with an very easy red eye flight home. The boys were terrific!

After going to church in Toledo, we went home and got ready for Hyrum's birthday. On Monday, November 2, 2009, our little Hyrum turned 3. It isn't quite as much as he says that he is (if you ask Hyrum how old he is he'll usually tell you 5). It's hard to believe that he's three years old already. He's certainly been our most mischievous boy, but he's also so much fun. Hyrum is so charismatic. He really knows how to wrap himself around anyone's heart. I love how loving and sweet and funny he is. He especially loves each one of his brothers and is a big help to me with Jacob. I really am so thankful to have Hyrum and am really grateful that he survived to be three years old. There have seriously been days that I have wondered if he would make it. The night of Hyrum's birthday, we met the Burke's at Hyrum's Chuck E. Cheese. Hyrum loves that place!!! We had a wonderful time where we had a birthday cake and opened presents. It was terrific!

The next day Michael's dad generously drove to Detroit to pick up my mom and dad. Then they stopped in Toledo and picked up Chris, and the four of them came down to celebrate Hyrum's birthday. We had a nice time. Then, my mom and dad stayed the next week with us, and I loved every minute of it. The only people that I think might have loved it more than I did was Hyrum and Jacob. My dad and Jacob were best pals. Jacob loved the constant attention and cuddling. My dad was constantly playing with little Jake and cuddling him in his arms. Hyrum was my mom's shadow. They were constantly laughing and playing together. Hyrum kept a constant tab on his Grandma. If he didn't see her, he'd say, "Grandma, where are you?" He also kept my dad busy too. He asked my dad to turn on a movie or something, and my dad didn't know how to do it. Hyrum said to him, "Yes, you can, Grandpa. Yes you can!!!" We were able to go to Alden and Thobe's school and have lunch with them and we just really had a great time. I always feel bad when I don't take my parents anywhere fun when they come to visit me, but I think they had a nice time anyway. My dad did a lot of projects around my house, like he always does, and my mom made some yummy things to eat, like she always does. We just had a great time! I was so sad when they had to go, but Hyrum was even sadder. He cried and cried and cried when they got out of the van to leave. It nearly broke my heart in two. When we started to drive away, Jacob said, "Uh oh." I think he anticipated not having Grandpa's constant attention.

Last Thursday we celebrated Thanks-giving. We had such a wonderful day! It really made me reflect on all that I'm thankful for. There are really so many things, but I want to highlight a few of them here. I'm so thankful for my wonderful and loving family and that I have four wonderful boys and an incredible husband. I love them all so much. I'm thankful for my warm home, for plenty of food, for so many modern conveniences in life. I'm thankful for good friends, for this beautiful Earth, and that I live in the United States of America. I'm especially thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ that made it possible for me to be forgiven of my sins that I can someday inherit eternal life. I'm grateful that he restored his Gospel to the Earth and that I have knowledge of this. I'm so thankful that through Christ I can be with my family forever. What a wonderful, peaceful truth! I really have so much for which I am grateful.

Monday Madness

I wonder if life will ever slow down? I love life the way it is, but I feel like we're constantly running. I feel like I try to get to everywhere I need to go on time, but that I'm constantly late. I just need to plan better. I think I'm still trying to balance a fourth baby--at least that's my current excuse. I hate that I'm chronically late--I don't remember what my excuse was before I had kids, but I'm sure I had one. It was probably just me trying to cram too much into my day. I wonder if I'll ever get that and be able to master everything. I've heard it gets worse as your kids get older. Yikes is all that I have to say about that!

In all seriousness though, we've really been blessed over the past few months. Michael recently started a chapter of the J. Reuban Clark Society here in Ohio. He's worked very hard on it and has done a phenomenal job with it. Conference weekend, he was invited to go out to a J. Reuban Clark Society conference, which he loved every minute of. He got to see old friends, including one of his old seminary students, spend time with his sister and her family, go to a BYU game, and attend a session of General Conference. It was really fun for him. I knew that being home with four kids by myself for five days wasn't go to be great, so I finally got Amy (my youngest sister) her graduation present and flew her out to spend time with me (I'm still wondering how much of a present it was if I was the one who benefited the most from it). Anyway, we had a great time together. People have often asked me if we are twins, which I find very flattering considering I'm 12 years older than she is. This time, when we were playing racquetball, the lady at the YMCA asked me if she was my sister or daughter--I didn't find the daughter comment to be quite so flattering. Oh well. She's a great person and example to me. I really love her so much!

We have also been busy trying to figure out how to raise four boys and with diapers and soccer practice and piano lessons and homework and PTS and college football and learning Primary program songs and seminary. Michael is such an incredible seminary teacher. I can't believe what a great job he does. He has really had a lot of compliments this year. He even had the Lima News Paper come and do a story on his class this week. I will post the link here when the story is published. I'm so very lucky to be married to the coolest guy in the world. I love him so much!

Flying Hyrum

About a month ago, Michael and I took the boys to the high school track to pursue our running program. Normally this worked out well for Michael and me and the boys. The track, like many tracks, circles the high school football field, so the boys played football while Michael and I ran around the track. Unfortunately, since it is a stadium, the track also had a set of very dangerous bleachers with no backs that were especially intriguing to our curious, adventure-seeking climber Hyrum. Anyway, to make a long scary story short, Michael and I watched Hyrum fall a good 10 to 15 feet onto a bed of sharp gravel underneath. At first, I thought Hyrum was dead. I was completely out of control. I started screaming and crying and couldn't believe that I hadn't kept a better eye on him. Michael got to him first, just after he started screaming after he caught his breath. We quickly discovered that Hyrum couldn't put any weight on his legs, so we took him to the emergency room. I want to testify that our family experienced a series of miracles that testified to me that God is real and that he loves my family. From having our pediatrician working in the emergency room that night to having a friend give us a bag full of snacks earlier that day that were still in our car that the boys could eat while we waited to allowing Hyrum walk away from a horrible fall with only a bruised ankle, there is no doubt in my mind that God's protective hand was watching over us that day. I'm so grateful for this.

This experience has really made me much more grateful for Hyrum. This precious boy of mine is more mischievous and more disobedient (for lack of a better phrase) than any other of my kids. He is a stinker. He loves to get into things and do things the way he wants to do them. Just the other day, he poured a box of cereal all over Thobe's bed, seasoned our entire house with Italian seasoning, and told me "no" more than 50 times in that day. Every time I made him do anything he'd throw a major fit. But you know, I'll take it. It's funny how having a situation like we experienced with Hyrum reminds you that those little things really don't matter at all. They aren't important. I can clean up cereal and Italian seasoning. I can pick up Hyrum up and make him do what I want him to do, and you know, I can hear his sweet little independence voice ring in my ears. I'm so grateful that he's okay. Not only do I appreciate him, even in his disobedience, I'm enamored with my little two year old. He is so, so funny and charming. He really knows how to ring himself around anyone's heart.

He really does say some crazy things. Whenever you ask Hyrum, "Why?" He'll say, "Because the cougars." It really makes no sense to me, but that's what he says. If I say, "Because the cougars" when he asks me a why question, he laughs and laughs and laughs. He's such a goof. He really likes the cougars though. Every night when we say family prayer, we ask the boys to think of something that they're grateful for. Hyrum always says that he's grateful for the cougars. He's so silly. His new thing is to tell me that he's hiding in the bushes, especially when he's hiding under a blanket. He also is constantly telling me things that he's afraid of. He'll often say, "Mom, I'm scared of the dinosaurs." Yesterday he was scared of the the grumpy old troll from Dora. And on Sunday, when we went to pick up Alden, he was scared of a Halloween cat decoration. It's really hard to tell if he's actually scared of if he is just being silly.

Hyrum is a huge keeper of his toys. The other night, Michael was downstairs getting ready for seminary. Hyrum had taken a nap that day, so we thought he was still running on full. Michael said that Hyrum started very methodically carrying toys from where they go to the chair near where Michael was sitting. After he had collected all his favorite toys (some of Thobe's baseballistas, a bunch of legos and cars, and a Star Wars clone), Hyrum deliberately laid down on the ground, made himself comfortable and went to sleep. He had to put his toys in a place where he could stand guard over them, and then he went to sleep.

Hyrum still loves singing. It's really amazing to listen to all the songs he knows. I love to hear him sing. He also loves to make people laugh. He knows he's funny too. The other day when we had some friends over for dinner, Hyrum asked for some butter. After arguing for awhile, I finally put a small pat of butter on his plate. "Thanks, Mom," he said. "I like butter. Butter is good. You like butter, Mom? Mmmm, I like butter." He had all of us laughing really hard.

It's funny, but ever since Hyrum's accident, he seems more snugglely and loving than before. He'll often say, "Hug you, Mom?" For a few days after his accident, he couldn't walk. If I'd leave the room to go and get something, he'd pathetically cry, "Mom, wait for me!" When he did start crawling and eventually walking, he'd say and sweet and quiet yet very determined voice, "I'm coming, Mom. Wait for me!" It was very cute. I'm so glad that I can wait for him and that he can still come. I can't tell you how grateful I am for the blessings that God gives so freely to my family.

Alden's Funny Comments

It's so weird watching my 7 year old son grow up before my eyes. He's really becoming a regular independent person. In so many ways, it makes me so sad. My first baby boy is growing up. He doesn't need me for everything that he does. In a lot of ways, the whole idea of him and all my boys for that matter growing up makes me feel sad. However, I'm also loving this too. I love that he has independent thoughts and, as annoying as it sometimes is, he often questions my ideas or my way of doing things. The best part of watching this transformation is that I have a few glimpses as to what Alden might be as an adult. I know he has a long road ahead of him that is filled with potholes and detours that could lead him down a different path, but I have to say that I am very pleased with the person that my little boy is becoming. He tries to be honest and kind and obedient. Granted, the obedience thing will get a lot better if he can ever learn to listen well, but I keep reminding myself that listening is a skill that is developed over time and that you can't change someone's heart, and Alden has a very good heart. I love his sweet prayers and his undaunted faith. He is an amazing kid.

School is going so well for Alden. I can't believe the dramatic difference from last year to this year. He is like a different person. I LOVE his teacher this year. She recognizes Alden's strengths and is working patiently with him on his weaknesses. I feel so incredibly blessed to have Mrs. Hempleman as Alden's second grade teacher. She is amazing. You can tell that she loves teaching, that she loves her students, and that she wants to see them be successful. Teaching is literally her mission in life. I think she's incredible. She has really instilled in Alden the importance of doing his best. Alden started taking piano lessons this year (this is something I'm so excited about--I love sitting down with him while he practices and playing duets with him--it's one of my favorite times of day).  The other day he was practicing, and I said, "Alden you need to try to do your best on this--blah blah, blah blah blah blah." Alden replied in a very sweet manner, "Mom, I always try to do be my best. I'm just not very good at this, but even on things I'm not very good at, I always try to do my best."

He is incredible with his brothers. He and Thobe are the best of friends, and even though, Alden can be a bit bossy with him, he is also very good to him too. He's kind and patient with Hyrum, and he dotes over Jacob like crazy. As soon as Jacob sees Alden his face lights up, and he starts smiling and kicking and moving around. Alden is also very close to Michael. He loves his dad more than just about anything in the world (except maybe for Star Wars--Alden is always talking about some fact from the Star Wars saga and often drives me crazy with all his shooting noises--yesterday when the bus dropped the boys off, I opened the door to find Alden lying on the ground. Concerned I asked him what was wrong, and he told me that he was pretending that he'd just been shot by a battle droid). I know I've mentioned this before, but Michael has seminary in our basement on Friday. Alden and Thobe love joining Michael's class. One morning the boys didn't have school on Friday, so Michael gave a half hearted effort to wake the boys up. When they didn't respond, he went downstairs and had seminary. Shortly after everyone went home, Alden woke up. Michael told him that he tried to wake him up, but when he didn't wake up he decided to just let him sleep. Alden was very disappointed and said, "Dad next time, if I don't wake up, just kick me, okay?" Michael told him that he wouldn't kick him.

Alden also played soccer this fall. I couldn't believe how well he played. On his last game, he was incredible. It's fun to watch him improve athletically too. I don't think he'll ever be a star athlete, but I do think that he'll be able to hold his own.

Tickle Me Thobe

Thobe is such a pleasure to be around. He is so quiet, yet so smart. I can't believe all the things that he knows. He is like an absorbent sponge that when you think is just sitting but is actually just absorbing everything around him. I can't believe all he's learning and how smart he is. When he started school, his teacher told me that he was worried that Thobe would have to repeat kindergarten. This upset me; not because I don't want him to repeat (if it's what he needs, then I'm fine with that), but because I was worried that his teacher wouldn't be able to recognize Thobe's potential and felt that his teacher hadn't had time to get to know Thobe. While I'm still a little concerned, I've been so pleased with how well Thobe has done in school, and I think his teacher is starting to recognize what a special boy he has in his class. His fine motor skills aren't quite where they  need to be, but he's made huge strides in his writing since the beginning of school. He's also more confident at home and even a better listener. He loves school!!! Every day when he comes home and I ask him how is day was, he says that it was great! I love how much he loves it. A couple weeks ago he was sick, so he got his class picture and went through his class over and over and over naming every person in his class. It was very, very cute. He also loves writing and coloring. Often writing is the first thing that he wants to do when he gets up and the last thing he wants to do when he goes to bed. Although he's not super proficient at it yet, he loves it so much, and I'm certain that the more he does it, the better he'll become.

Thobe loves playing games. He often walks around the house boxing or running or pretending he's playing some type of sport. He'll often ask me if I want to play a game with him. Almost always, the game is something that he's made up that usually involves numbers. He'll say, "Mom, what's 11 plus 2?" or some other number combination. I'll turn the question back to him, and he usually knows the answers. He really loves math. I'm always so surprised to hear him do math facts. It's pretty amazing. He also loves playing Uno and board games. My favorite is when he wins. He shakes his fists in the year and hips and hollers with all his might. I have to get Thobe winning on video. When I do, I'll post it. We had some new people in the ward on Sunday and invited them over (Michael called them guinea pig friends). They were very amused and surprised by Thobe's excitement for winning. As always, Thobe continues to be a gigantic sports fan. Warren bought tickets for Michael and the boys to go see Toledo play Ohio State. The anticipation of it was almost more than Thobe could take. He couldn't bear to think of his two favorite teams playing each other and would usually cry whenever we'd talk about it. He ended up going to the game dressed as a Toledo fan with a Buckeye shirt underneath. Shortly after the game started and Ohio State had scored their second touchdown, Thobe quickly took off his Rocket attire and cheered for his Buckeyes, so apparently he's not the loyal fan that his Grandpa Monday is.

Thobe also has such a tender heart. He is always telling me that he's sorry if he's done anything remotely wrong. He loves his cousin James, mostly because they are so close to the same age. I told him the other morning that I needed to have him call James to wish him a Happy Birthday because James just turned six. Thobe was standing in front of the mirror, and when I told him that James was now six, he got a very troubled look on his face. Soon, the trouble turned to horror. When I asked him what was wrong, Thobe, in a faint and very distressed little voice, replied, "Mom, will James still be my friend?" As soon as I reassured him that they would still be friends even though James is not five anymore, Thobe got very happy. He's such a sweet little boy. I love him so much!

Jacob is Four Months Old!!!

I can't believe that my Jacob is 4 months old. He turned four months on Sunday. I also can't believe what a bad blogger I've been too. Oh well. Jacob is an incredible baby. He is so happy and pleasant. He loves to just sit in his swing for hours and hours and hours. He also loves the mobile that hangs in his crib. He loves warm baths, cuddling, and his pacifier too. He absolutely LOVES his daddy and his brothers. It's so much fun to watch his face light up when he sees them. It's really hard to imagine what our lives were like before he was born. He's just so sweet.

One of my favorite things about Jacob is how happy and excited he gets when he sees one of us or when he's about to eat. He starts kicking his legs and waving his arms in the air. Just this week he started giggling. Yesterday when I walked in the room he just started smiling and laughing and flailing his body every which way. It was very, very cute!

He also is very verbal. He jabbers more than most of our kids did when the were his age. He seriously sounds like he can say, "Mom" and "Hola." I know that sounds ridiculous, but it really sounds like can do that. He loves for us to make sounds that he can copy, and he loves us to stick our tongues out at him so that he can copy that too. As many of you know, when I'm concentrating, I stick my tongue out. Often when I'm concentrating and holding Jacob, I'll look down, and he'll have his tongue out too, trying to get my attention. It's very, very cute!