Here are some pictures of our Christmas tree. We went with Grandma and Grandpa and the cousins up to the forest to get a real tree. It was fun. The kids loved it until they got cold, but Grandpa saved the day and all was well.

When I told Colin we were going to get a tree from the forest, he asked, "How will we know where to put the branches? If we get it from the forest, it won't have colors." My poor city kids. It is about time they had a real tree for Christmas.
We had a lot of fun decorating it. Colin insisted we get pictures of it right away.
They are still having fun decorating it. It changes every day.

It’s a Miracle!

A quick update of the Children's Miracle Music - Colin loves it so much that he says thank you for the CD in his prayers! For a while he had quit saying thank you for Mommy in his prayers because I asked him to empty the garbage everyday - now he is saying thank you for MORE work and I am back in the prayers. Happy Day!! I don't even ever have to turn it on; he asks Randy if it's time every morning as soon as he opens his eyes. No more fighting at bedtime even. At 7:30, I just quietly ask him if he will get the CD going and before I know it everyone is picking up toys like crazy, then next thing I know, we have the whole house tidied up and everyone has gone potty, brushed teeth, said prayers and are quietly waiting for family prayer. Then they lie down in their beds and listen as I read a chapter from Little House in the Big Woods while the 22 minutes of quiet music plays. Then we talk about the story for a minute, Randy and I leave, and the kids go to sleep around 8:30.

It’s pretty much like that picture you have in your head about angelic children laying quietly in bed in a tidy room listening peacefully as mom calmly reads a story.

Ok so Grace still struggles a bit but she is learning. The big kids are good examples for her and I help her with everything still. She does have a bit of a hard time being quiet during stories (she likes to sing a lot.) but Randy pats her back while I read and that helps. Another major plus for the program is it is helping her potty train! The CDs tell you to go potty as part of the routine and you have to at least try to get your point so she does it and has been dry all night every night since we started. She even kept her pull up clean and dry all day yesterday by herself. I tell you, that program is a Miracle!

We do pause the AM routine a few times – once for morning prayers just after make your bed and once at breakfast for breakfast prayer and while we read a story from the Friend. Breakfast is only allowed 10 minutes on the CD and that is not nearly enough for us so I leave it paused for about 15 minutes and then turn it back on when it’s time to get back to hurrying. The way we stretch out the AM routine, it takes about an hour to get through. It is supposed to be about 46 minutes. The night routine is 17 minutes of activity, 5 minutes already built in the CD of silence for Prayers, then 22 minutes of quiet go to sleep music. It lasts about 45 minutes.

Gracie's Guy




This is Gracie's letter to Uncle Brad this week. I am so excited! Last week, all she could do was scribble. She and Robyn draw ALOT together and she is apparently paying attention. A few days ago, Grace brought me a "guy" that was a head with eyes and legs. She was so happy. As she told me about the picture she said, "It need arms." Then yesterday I asked if she wanted to write a letter to Brad and this is what she came back with - a guy with a head, eyes, nose, mouth, arms and legs. Wahoo! I love being a mommy.

UPDATE

It has been a while since I have gotten around to blogging. Obviously I am slacking on writting to our missionary. Sorry Brad.
We are very excited as to how the Idaho elections turned out. Hooray! I am a little concerned about Boise though - as a city, Boise votes completely opposite of the rest of Idaho. That's what happens when people move here for our way of life - first thing they want to do when they get here is change it. Silliness!!
We have been very busy with life. We have been on fieldtrips and had fiddle recitals and such fun things as that. I always forget my camera - ugh! I will try to do better. We went to Planet Kid for a fieldtrip with the homeschool group. It was a blast! (Think giant McDonald's playplace minus the ketchup and the smell.) Grace learned to jump very far into the ball pit. It was so cute. When she first started, she could barely clear the edge; by the time we left, she was landing in the middle of the pit.
I have been keeping busy with my 5 Pillar group. I have had two papers due for it already this month and one more still to come soon. It has been fun, but it will be nice to take a break in December. The book we just did was Steven Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It is very good. I actually wrote my own mission statement this time through! Hopefully I will be able to incorporate more of the habits in my life this time too. I have listened to it before on tape a few years ago and we have been trying to use some of his ideas but I still have plenty of room for improvement.
Randy ran a half marathon a few weekends ago. He did really well. We were proud of our dad. I think he got 9th place out of almost 700 people.
Last Wednesday, at fiddle lessons, the kids got Jingle Bells for one of their songs. They both have it pretty much memorized already and Robyn can play it on the keyboard too. If only every song were that much fun! Grace likes to get her violin out and say she is going to play Jingle Bells. We had a fun time practicing this morning, I learned a few back up chord to Boil Em Cabbage Down and we had a jam session. It was really fun to play together like that. Robyn even learned Shortenin Bread so she could play more songs with Colin and I. We aren't exactly ready for a real show, but we had fun.
A few days ago we got Children's Miracle Music. It is AWESOME! It is two CDs - one for morning and one for night. 46 minutes before you want everyone ready for the day, you push play on the morning CD and nice music plays for 2 minutes. Then a pleasant voice says, "Wake up, it's time to play our game." She then instructs everyone to make their beds and a song plays that you have to have your bed made before it ends. Then you go potty to a song. Then you "Do your act of kindness" or take a bath for three songs. Then you get dressed and comb your hair. Then you have 8 songs to eat breakfast. (That is not quite enough for us to eat in so I pause the CD for a minute to read a story from the Friend and of course to say the meal prayer.) Then everyone rinses their dish and then brushes their teeth. Then you get to record the points you earned by beating the songs done with each task. When you earn 100 points you get to go on a private date with mom or dad. The bed time one starts with the Act of Kindness (some job you choose when you started the CDs the first time) or take a bath. Then you get your jammies on, brush your teeth, and go potty. Then it has five minutes of silence for family
and personal prayers. Then 22 minutes of soft go to sleep music which I read chapter books to the kids in their beds during. We have only had it a few days, but I love it! My house has never been so tidy and my children more willing to get things done quickly before. It really helps everyone stay focused on the task at hand. It keeps me focused so I don't get sidetracked and makes it so I don't have to get upset at anyone for getting sidetracked themselves. I love it. It has made bedtime easy as pie. Everyone stays in their beds after the story because the music ends and thus so does story time. I actually read for the full twenty minutes instead of feeling like it has been twenty minutes and bailing early. Good Stuff. I found it at www.childrensmiraclemusic.com from an ad from Meridian Magazine. Check it out!

Hello

Mitt Romney for President

The kids and I went to a campaign rally for Butch Otter this morning. Mitt Romney was there and he spoke. It was so good. He talked about his going to Iraq and what the people want is the liberty to learn from other nations. He talked about all the threats that we are facing now and how grateful he is that we have a president who is facing them even though it is not "popular." He also talked about how important it is for us to get out and vote and to take a friend. Many races that were "in the bag" have been lost due to apathy.
It was neat to meet all the candidates. They all shook the kids' hands and squatted down to their level and took time to ask their names. We shook hands with Butch Otter, Jim Risch, Mitt Romney, Tom Luna, Steve Kimball, and some of their wives. Colin's favorite thing was meeting Tom Luna and shaking his hand. We had fun. The kids were great during the speeches, they were very quiet except when it was time to clap and then they clapped as loud as they could. Grace did sing "shave and a haircut, two bits" but it was only once and it was very quietly. We stood on the landing of the stairs in the back of the room during the speeches so we could see everyone and the stage really well.
Now that's socialization!

Two Bits!

Gracie loves to sing "Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits." Lately she has taken to singing everything she says and then adding "Two Bits." She just said, "I want to read, Two Bits." She has also said, "I need the stool, Two Bits" "I am so hungry, Two Bits" "I got my shoes on, Two Bits." And many other things, Two Bits. It is very funny!

Primary Program

The Primary Program went great today. The kids did very well. I was proud of them.
I played my violin for Dearest Children, God is Near You. It went better than I expected. :)
Sister Farnes called on Monday to ask if I'd do it. I told her that I am only comfortable playing in the key of A so I didn't think so. She, of course, didn't let me out of it that easy. She transposed the song into the key of A just for me. She still had to arrange the music, so I didn't get my copy until Friday night. We had a 40 minute practice on Saturday morning and then we performed today. I have only taken three months of lessons myself and I was not exactly ready to play in sacrament meeting, but I spent most of my teenage years teasing mom because she wouldn't play the piano in front of anyone. She spent all that time practicing but couldn't play in front of anyone. So anyway mom, I did it. I am not a hippocrite in that area. Also I have a quote that I keep on my fridge that says:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." Marianne Williamson

Go shine!

Scary Thought!