RICHARDS REGISTER

Its time...

2016-09-26T17:27:00.001-06:00

Periodically I come back to my blog and notice that it hasn't been updated in a while. And that makes me sad. I have been taking pictures and trying to make memories, but I'm not writing those memories down. I don't know if blogging is even popular anymore, but I like that it can combine my words and pictures in one place - and that hopefully someday I will get it made into a book and it will be my history.

I am going on my 4th year of homeschool and it is always a process it seems - we are still trying to find our footing and each year I have more confidence and feel like I know what my kids need even more. I still struggle with trusting that I am choosing the right things for them and guiding them in the right ways. But I keep putting one foot in front of the other. We follow the TJed philosophy of education, which is not a curriculum, but a way of looking at how to educate ourselves and our children. Someday when I have more time, I will write my understanding of it in more detail and share it here. It suggests that there are 7 keys to have great teaching and education. One of them is "you, not them" - meaning that if I work on my education and things that bring me joy, my children will catch the "bug" so to speak and will want to follow along. This has not been an easy task for me. I struggle with taking time for myself, as I suspect many moms do. I worry that if I focus on myself, they will get forgotten or not learn what they need to. Yet, when I take care of myself, I am better able to lead them - I know that - and so I continue to remind myself to continue forward on the path and breathe.

As part of the "you, not them" I have been taking a leadership class for adults called the 7 Keys of Great Teaching certification. It has 4 levels of training and audios, and includes reading many, many great classics and discussion - along with writing. This is my second time starting it and I have made it to the second level. The difference this time, is that I am not trying to do this alone and have some great women to discuss each reading and audio with. That has been a tremendous support. I have also decided to make a stronger effort this time to try and understand the 7 keys and work to fully embrace them (something I must admit has been hard for me in the past - leading to more stress and doubt). It has made a difference for me to say, "I am all in". Has it been easy? NO! I sometimes want to turn and run from the work, but I can honestly say that I am learning and growing and have more confidence this year and want to keep building my confidence.

The more and more I get into the 7 keys training, I have been working on what I really want to do for "you, not them". I have realized that I like to write. Do I want to write a book? No - but there is something cathartic about writing. So I have worked in the last few weeks to write more. I make my to do lists on paper now, instead of my phone. I try to journal what we have been doing - on paper. I have taken notes from conferences in a separate notebook. I am trying to write my feelings and thoughts on the books I read (not easy for me). And then today I found myself clicking on my blog. If it was a physical thing - I would have had to dust it off. And without even realizing it, I was making changes and editing things and suddenly I was writing this. I was a paragraph into this before I realized what I was doing. I should be doing other things now - and I look at the clock - yikes, time for dinner prep. But this has felt so good to write. And if no one reads this - thats ok too. I need this for me. So here is to a new chapter in my writing journey. Here is to memories made and kept. And here is to building a character that my kids can follow.

Never a dull moment

2015-02-03T23:53:00.001-07:00

I have not posted much here about our job struggles, but I feel the need to share now. Maybe to help someone else, maybe just as a record of this time, but I hope maybe to be able to come back and see what we went through and see Heavenly Father's blessings in all things and how we learned and how he allowed us to grow. At least I hope that happens.

The last almost 2 1/2 years have been a struggle, with what started with a job loss for Steve and has now led him to 3 other jobs that have not lasted as long as we would have liked, two moves and several months in-between of unemployment. To say that this has stretched us would be an understatement.

Most recently, several things have occurred together to lead us to where we are. About 6 months ago, Steve was working for a construction company as the Safety Coordinator in a part time position that we were told would ultimately turn into full time work. Then one day he was told that his time there was over and that his temporary assignment was finished. This came as a shock to both of us and while we struggled with multiple emotions, Steve picked himself up and took the first job that came his way - car sales for Honda. Now he had never sold anything in his life so this too was a culture shock for him and for us as it required long, long hours. None of us really liked this job, but he was so amazing as he worked hard to learn the business and do his best to make this job a success. He struggled at it for over 3 months.

During this time, I kept feeling like I needed to get a part time job, but he worked so many hours that I would not be feasible for me to work outside the home - much of my income would go to pay for babysitting. It wasn't feeling right, yet the feeling would not go away. I was teaching piano lessons, but only had a couple of students and it wasn't helping enough. As the months trying to sell cars continued, but the income was just not there, we had many discussion about what to do. Many times we both asked the question - Should Steve quit and figure something else out?

In December it seemed the answer was for him to quit and me to find work, yet again, we both struggled with it and weren't sure how to make it happen. So I decided to just start updating my resume and look to see what was out there and to let people know that I was looking. It was overwhelming me very much - mostly because I had not been in the workforce (admin related) since before Sean was born.

I was taking a 5 Pillar's class and during one of the classes I mentioned that I was looking for work. One of my friends in the class mentioned that her husband may have work for me, but she wasn't sure if he was already interviewing someone else for the position. At this point we had decided that I would look for full time work and Steve would quit selling cars (as he was really not selling enough) and he would continue to look for a better job. My friend told me that the position with her husband would only be part time. So I told her I was interested, but deep down I really wasn't and I kind of forgot it.

We got busy with Christmas preparations and celebrations and I stopped looking for work until after Christmas and Steve continue to sell cars. After Christmas I received an email from my friend saying that her husband did want to talk to me and to give him a call. Again, I was not sure that this plan was what we wanted to do and I honestly didn't know what I would be calling him for, but I felt the impression that I should call him anyway and just see what he had to say.

I called him a few days later and we had a good conversation, which ended up with me being offered the job - part time up to 30 hours a week, but all of them could be from home, except a couple times a month going into the office. Steve and I talked, but funny enough we both felt like there wasn't much to talk about - there was no downside. I could work around the kids and homeschool (he understood that very well as he and his wife homeschool their kids). Steve could continue to work and look for better work as well. So we took the plunge.

I should mention that after Christmas, but before I got the email from my friend, I felt like I should advertise piano again. Nothing readily came, but ironically, even with taking this job, I have increased my piano students as well.

Then just two days after I accepted this job, Steve received a paycheck with such a low pay (and questionable issues on his check) that we decided and felt that it was not longer in his/and our families best interest to continue (one issue being that he was paying more in time and gasoline than he was being paid). The struggle he felt whether to quit or not, was suddenly no longer hard. He felt such relief quitting - and so did the rest of us.

So now, in a strange reversal of things - Steve is taking care of the kids and the house and job hunting, and I am working 30 hours a week as an administrative assistant from the house as well as teaching piano and loving it, and then occasionally doing energy sessions too! It is crazy here. There has been a struggle to adjust mostly for me and Steve. The boys seem to do pretty well. They love seeing their dad more. And Sean has told me that he doesn't mind my job because he can see me during the day too.

I am learning to accept that Steve is a better housekeep than I am (I think I knew that already, but I a having to accept that now!). Steve is learning how to balance the house, the kids and his need to job search. It is not easy for him, but I am so grateful for all he is doing. He also gets to rethink about his value (which has for so many years been wrapped up in his job and his earning potential) - this has not been easy for him.

I am learning how to get efficient quickly again and to fit it all in. I admit this is hard for me. But within the first week I was able to schedule work and school and piano and it all seemed to work. Sadly, it has been harder to maintain in the following weeks, but we did have a welcome visitor for over a week - my mom came while she was trying to help my grandma with some health issues. That did make all of this a bit more challenging. And of course, there are unexpected things and appointments that have come up that we are trying to figure out as well, but it is getting easier. I am learning how to get through the tired times. I was also very blessed to receive a blessing from Steve. This helped my outlook so much.

Things are not where they need to be for us yet, and we may even need to move again, but we have seen the blessing from Heavenly Father that a job and more piano students were provide just when we needed it. It did not come in the way we expected or even hoped (as we of course wish it was for Steve), yet we know that the Lord has a plan for us and he knows what we need. We may not yet understand what we need from this change, but we see that we are not alone and we are not forgotten. Steve even pointed out that despite our 16 year old car's many leaks, we never get a check engine light on and it just keeps running! We are truly blessed.

We do hope that this trial ends very soon, but we are doing our best to keep the faith, to keep close to the Lord, to have faith and to teach our children to stay close to the Lord. It is not perfect, but we keep trying and moving forward and somehow it all works out.

Out With the Old, In With the New

2015-01-01T16:27:00.001-07:00

I can hardly believe that another year has come and gone. So much, and so little has happened in 2014. As I just started updating my blog again and I didn't get around to mailing out Christmas cards, I wanted to take a moment and write down some of the happenings of 2014 and my thoughts for a new year.

While it seems like we just stumbled along this year many things did happen.

Sean
- turned 7 this year - started counting down to his 8th birthday - just a few days after he turned 7!
- started loosing teeth and growing new teeth - often he grew a new one before the old fell out!
- became a huge lego lover this year! Especially Star Wars legos
- He is so aware of his surroundings and will try to control all of it if we let him! Trying to keep him focused on being a kid this year. He wants so much to be helpful. He is quick to say sorry when he has done something wrong.
- Worked on Speech therapy this year. Reached a couple of milestones - finally able to say k and g sounds. Now working on S/SH/TH sounds.
- Took swimming lessons and though it was a slow start for him and he was afraid to go underwater or even swim without holding his nose. Then suddenly one day he just went under and is now swimming like a fish!
- Made a new friend, Carter, in the ward who loves legos just as much as he does. Continuing to make friends from homeschool park days.
- Learned many new board games and card games including family favorites - Monopoly, Phase 10, Skipbo, 10 dice.
- One highlight of his year was spending a week with his cousin Adam at a family reunion in Colorado. He discovered Minecraft during that week and is now a big fan. He still talks about his time with Adam over 6 months later!

Ryan
- turned 4 this year!
- He continues to want to do everything himself. We are getting better at finding a balance between what he can do and what we still need to help with.
- He loves to make messes and is getting better at cleaning them up.
- He loves to play with his brother Sean!
- He doesn't seem to have any toys he can't live without, but his favorites seem to be Hot Wheels and any toy figure he can carry around.
- He took swim lessons. He loves the water and while he still is a little shy about swimming by himself, he loves to jump into the water from the side of the pool!
- He is starting to love reading with Mom or Dad. His words after a good book - "again, again!"
- He loves to sing and does so every day. He loves to take a familiar tune (either a primary song or a Christmas song) and put in his own words. Lately the song of choice is follow the prophet. One funny variation was "Daddy's a goof ball" to the tune of "Follow the Prophet".
- He is growing leaps and bounds. He is so tall that most people think is 6 yrs old. In just the last 6 months he gained about 3-4 inches and about 10 pounds. His feet are now bigger than Sean's.
- He loves to cuddle! We have figured out that as long as his "hugger" is full, he is pretty happy and satisfied. Some days we need more hugs "I need 40,000 hugs" to fill him up.
- He finally potty trained! We had been trying a while and it just wasn't working - so I gave up and finally decided we didn't want to spend the money on pull-ups any more so we told him they were gone. I gave him heads up and within a couple of days he was mostly potty training and in two weeks was fully potty trained. He loves being a big boy!

Valarie
- I started teaching piano lessons. It was strange to start again, but I am finally getting my bearings again.
- I continued to take my 5 pillar class. I have one semester left and while it has been very challenging at times to even get there, I am glad I am associating with great women and learning so much.
- I am continuing to do energy session for family and for clients. I love seeing the healing that takes place!
- Have a lot of stops and start with the schooling process, but slowly finding a balance. Not easy to balance school, piano, energy work, household and all the other things I want to throw in there.
- Experimented with baking this year. Family favorites included cheese crackers, wheat thin crackers and english muffins.
- I had a couple of callings this year - Visiting Teaching Coordinator and Ward Organist.
- I got to participate in two Christmas programs this year - one for the Stake and one for the ward. I got to sing, play the piano and organ for both. I also have been active in the ward choir and am one of the few accompanists in the ward so I play a lot. I have enjoyed using my talents this year.

Steve
- Staying strong through continued job challenges this year. Started out the year unemployed and was able to get a part time job with a construction company doing safety, which was new to him (he had received his masters in safety the year before and this was the first opportunity to use it). That was not an easy job, but he learned daily how to apply his education to the construction world.
- When that job came to an end, he quickly took the first job that became available - Selling cars at Honda. Not his first choice, but he has learned so much!
- He is learning that he can do many things he never thought he could through these challenges this past year.
- He is the favorite with the boys and they are always requesting daddy time and wrestle time!
- He has had a couple of callings in the ward this year also - He was Gospel Doctrine teacher for most of the year, then was called to be the Scout Committee Chair. Unfortunately shortly after that he took the job with Honda and is unable to make it to church - so he currently doesn't have a calling.
- He has been wonderful this year supporting me in all the crazy things I have been doing!
- He is looking forward to the new year and in securing a better job - one more interesting and more directly related to his education and experience.

2015 - I am looking forward to this new year and all that we can accomplish. My goals are to improve our home and schedule and schooling so it is not so stop and go. Steve and I are looking forward to improved outlook for jobs and income and a hope that these financial struggles we have had over the past two years can be at an end. We learned so much last year about enduring and also accepting service and love from others. Also how we can continue to give despite having so little. I also learned that we can live off of so little and we don't need "things". My goal for the new year is to purge our household of things we no longer use or need. Sean is looking forward to his birthday and we are already starting to prepare him for baptism. Ryan is looking forward to days of fun and play! Here's to a great new year!

Homeschool Stops and Starts

2014-12-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

I will have to be honest that the year 2014 homeschooling was full of stops and starts. It felt like more stops than starts, but maybe that's just how it feels to me. We try to take a relaxed approach to homeschooling - following the Thomas Jefferson Leadership Education (Tjed) model. In this model children up to about 8 years old are in a phase called "Core". The primary goal of a child in core is to learn and grow through natural rhythms, play and family time. Natural learning occurs during this time and there is less focus on academic learning, though that certainly can and does occur.

I struggled most this year with keeping a consistent rhythm to our days - to include household and learning time along with days we had to run errands, or I taught piano. I will be honest that this still is being tweaked and I hope to find the balance that fits us this coming year. Even though I could probably do an entire post on what went wrong, I know a lot did go right. If we truly are focusing on a core education for our kids right now, that would include play based learning, life learning, good and bad, true and false, and right and wrong. I think we are slowly achieving that. So I wanted to focus this post on all the times we did it right. Some of the things that worked and some of the fun things we did in a learning environment.

One of the things that we did well, most of the time, was reading. The boys and I love our reading time and while there were times we watched more tv than read, we still have a good love of reading. I am also getting braver at taking the boys with me to library and they are starting to understand what is expected there.

We have introduced lots of games and I can see how their learning is climbing just from a simple game. Sean especially has learn so much math by keeping score, playing number games. It is remarkable what he can do in his head. He is also learning how to share and even lose graciously. Ryan is still working on that, but he is learning to take turns while playing a game and that there are rules to a game. He is learning that if he follows the rules we all can play and have a good time.

One day I was frustrated with the boys behavior so I whipped out some worksheets and made the boys sit down and do them before they could do anything else (we prefer hands on learning and manipulative to worksheet). But I did learn that Ryan is loving the chance to color and follow directions and may even like doing worksheets once in a while. I don't worry too much about him because of his age, but he is showing me how excited he is to learn!

So here in pictures are some of the things we did educationally though out the year. Someday I hope to learn how to collage so I can condense my pictures on the blog.

Earlier in the year Ryan was learning his colors and I pulled out colored construction paper to match up with his cars. It was so much fun that Sean decided to join in.

We joined a homeschool group called Ensign Educators, and had not had much chance to join in their activities. Then they had a field trip to Falcon Field Airport in Mesa. It is a smaller airport. There were people who talked about airplanes and then the boys got to climb in a small airplane. They thought it was great. Even Steve got to go on this field trip with us.

Three random pictures (l to r): Sean overcame his fear of climbing! Ryan loves sensory bin of beans! During our study of some of the US States, Sean built this lego lighthouse during our study of Maine.

We have done a few body study units. One was bones. The boys helped put together their bone man, which was about the size of Ryan. They loved that.

Another body unit study was cells and DNA. We made licorice and marshmallow DNA strands. So yummy!

Sean has been saying for a while that he wants to be an inventor. So we have tried to learn and read about inventors. Recently he has shown interest in all things electronic. So we asked around for people who might have appliances or old DVD players and such that were broken so we could help Sean take them apart and learn about them. He loved taking apart this old Xbox gaming system. We found a video on YouTube and he followed the directions to get it apart without breaking it more. We have several others things to take apart too.

We tried a couple of growing experiments. We started sprouting a sweet potato for a plant and we tried to grow more celery from the base of an old celery stalk. The sweet potato took a while to sprout but is still growing strong (I will try to get a picture of it soon). The celery did not grow more than what you see in the picture above. Maybe another one would do better. But it was fun to try.

My son the director

2014-11-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

Sean loves to invent new things, from Legos to Minecraft worlds, he is always thinking of what to create next. Then I found a Lego movie app and Sean immediately began to create movies. He has several short movies using his Legos (of course!). After his latest movie which was only about 45 seconds or so he said, "It took me longer to film it than it does to watch it." Welcome to the movies Sean!

Here area some of his movie creations.

"Bank Attack" (partial - I had trouble transferring all of the movie over to attach it here - it is missing the title sequence and maybe one or two frames at the beginning)

"Building" - he was building with legos and he filmed the process here.

"My Movie"

"My Play"

I love to see the temple

2014-11-16T18:04:00.004-07:00

Today I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the dedication of the Phoenix, Arizona temple, for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (see why we build temples here). I can't believe I almost talked myself out of going (Satan's efforts I am sure). It was an amazing experience and I will always go to any dedication I can go to in the future. I was able to hear from one of my favorite church leaders, President Dieter F. Uchdorf and Elder Dallin H. Oaks. Hearing from our church leaders was a humbling and wonderful experience. There were so many wonderful things shared, but there were a few things that have stuck with me. First, share my experiences in my journal and with family and children. Second, share my testimony. And third, gain a love of the temple and share that love with family, friends and especially my children - by doing things such as drive by the temple as often as you can, taking our children to the temple grounds, have pictures of the temple in our home, talk about the temple, let my kids see my temple service.

Last week, on Steve's day off, we attempted to take the boys to the Gilbert Arizona temple for Family Home Evening. We actually forgot for a while that it was Monday, but even then we thought, we are just walking around the grounds - it won't matter that it is closed. What we didn't realize was that the Gilbert Arizona temples grounds are locked when the temple is closed. So we couldn't even walk around the temple. The disappointment was palpable in our car. While I am sad that we could not walk the temple grounds, I was excited for the disappointment. I am seeing such a joy in our children when we are near the temple and they want to be there. They recognize at their young ages the different feeling that is there.

It has been such a great experience to be here in the valley this year to take my kids through two temple open houses and to see the excitement they have for the temple. Sean, who is 7 1/2 has been disappointed that he is too young to attend the dedications (both Gilbert and Phoenix). It is wonderful to see his budding testimony and excitement for the temple and baptism.

I will admit that my testimony of temples has come slowly. Many times I have lived near a temple and not taken advantage of going more often (especially when I didn't have to worry about babysitting). When I lived in Colorado, my testimony grew as I realized I had to travel to a temple (a full day trip there and back), thus it had to be a deliberately conscious decision to attend. Each time I gave up a Saturday, I gained a stronger testimony of temple attendance. Then as I have had the opportunity to have each of our children sealed to us in the temple as they became a part of our family, I have gained a testimony of eternal families and the blessing it is to have temples on earth to give my family that blessing. I have a testimony of the important work that is done in temples. And I especially have a testimony of all the amazing things that I learn about myself, where I come from and where I am going, and about my Heavenly Father.

My Cute Boys

2014-11-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since we have gotten pictures, but we recently had the opportunity to get pictures of the boys (and a couple with me in them). As usual, Sean didn't want to pose or smile for the camera, but Rachel, who took our pictures, did such a great job and was able to get some amazing pictures of the boys. I can't wait to call her again for family pictures. I love these amazing boys.

Live after the manner of happiness

2014-11-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

I'm cranky. I know that's not a good way to start a blog post. But there it is.

Why am I cranky? Could it be because I am tired and not sleeping well? Could it be that I am already burned out by homeschool and what we should do next? Could it be that despite my ability to live on less, I am tired of living on less, especially when it means that I can't get something I want (even something small)? Could it be that I am tired of my child's whininess? Could it be that I am making a change and getting off of some prescription medicine in order to stop having side effects and the getting off is physically tough, even though in the long run I will be better off? Could it be all these allergies I am having and the frustration that everything is blooming in November when we should have falling leaves and cooler temperatures? Probably all of these.

The other day, during the midst of my crankiness, when I had just yelled at my son for the umpteenth time that day for being whiny, I was in my room trying to get away from it all, trying to calm down and trying to find a positive thought to make it through the rest of the day. I was just trying to breath. I am sure that I was saying a prayer in my mind asking forgiveness for being cranky and yelley (yes that is a word at our house), praying for help and then a thought came into my mind very simply and very clearly, "Live after the manner of happiness".

Hmmm. Live after the manner of happiness? So simple, yet so powerful. That made me stop and think. What does that mean? Where did I hear that? This thought was so powerful to me in that moment, that I immediately went to my white board in my room and erased everything on it and wrote down "Live after the manner of happiness". Then I got out my laptop and went to LDS.com and searched out that statement. And I found it:

It is interesting that Nephi said this, because for many many years he had very large trials and challenges. Living in the wilderness for years, breaking his bow and struggling to find food, building a boat without directions, sailing on tempestuous seas, dealing with rebellious brothers, eventually having to separate his family from the brothers who wanted to murder him. Yet, here he said that they had lived after the manner of happiness.

I wanted to delve into this more and I knew I had heard it recently in a talk, but couldn't remember where I had heard it. A quick internet reminded me it was from a recent devotional given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles at BYU-Idaho in September. You can find the devotional here.

He began by mentioning the Prophet Joseph Smith and something he was known to say (not sure if it is an exact quote) - Happiness is the object and design of our existence and will be the end thereof if we pursue the path that leads to it. Elder Holland also mentioned that in the Declaration of Independence our founding fathers list the "the pursuit of happiness" as one of the "rights" of any individual. Interesting. The "pursuit" or "path" to happiness is our right, not happiness itself. I will be honest that this has been a struggle of mine for many years as I have been struggling with depression and challenges in life. If I have the right to pursue happiness, don't I have the right to be happy?

This devotional was just what I needed to hear, again and again. There were so many great things he said, but here are a couple of quotes that I love from Elder Holland's talk:

“We know one thing for sure. Happiness is not easy to find running straight for it. It is usually too elusive, too ephemeral, too subtle. If you haven’t learned it already, you will learn in the years ahead that most times happiness comes to us when we least expect it, when we are busy doing something else. Happiness is almost always a by-product of some other endeavor.”

“Your best chance for happiness is to do the things that happy people do. Live the way happy people live. Walk the path that happy people walk. And your chances to find joy in unexpected moments, to find peace in unexpected places, to find the help of angels when you didn’t even know they ... existed improves exponentially."

"Learn as quickly as you can that so much of your happiness is in your hands. It is not in events or circumstances or fortunes or misfortunes. We can choose, if not happiness per se, we can choose after the matter of it."

“God expects a willing mind in the quest for happiness and peace as well. Put your head into this. All of this takes effort. It’s a battle, but a battle for happiness is worth waging.”

"Kindness and pleasantness and faith based optimism are characteristics of happy people."

"Anger and other vices such as violence, rage, bitterness, and hate have nothing to do with living the gospel or the pursuit of happiness."

"If you want to be happy, work at it.”

I love all of these and more that he discussed in this devotional! This thought - live after the manner of happiness - gives me permission to let go of the need to "be" happy all the time. I had thought that if I was going to stop being depressed, I had to be happy all the time. That is too much pressure! I am so grateful for this devotional too, that encourages and shows the way to get on the path of happiness or how to live AFTER THE MANNER or HAPPINESS.

Attempting to find snatches of happiness in the midst of the challenges of life can still bless me and my family. It can give me that ability to start over in the middle of a particularly cranky day - to still find happiness at 3 p.m. after a rough morning. Or to find a piece of happiness first thing in the morning when my boys give me a hug after a rough night of sleep. If I strive to live after the manner of happiness, I will find happiness. Maybe not all the time, but as often as I search for it.

Ok, so maybe I have been cranky for all the reasons I listed above. But in the midst of all of that, I am grateful for a quiet moment, when my Heavenly Father looked down and saw his struggling daughter and answered her prayer for help with the comfort of a small thought. A small ray of hope that I won't always feel cranky; the desire to be happy and to find happiness despite my trials and challenges; and the knowledge to find the way which leads to the path that will bring happiness, along with the tools necessary to achieve it and make it to my end result. I think I will make it!

Halloween

2014-11-02T13:13:00.001-07:00

My kids love Halloween. But then, who's kids don't? They talked for weeks about their costumes. Sean staying a Ninja the entire time and Ryan changing his mind along the way to become a pirate. Sadly the morning of Halloween arrived and Ryan had a cold and didn't feel good. I tried to get him to nap, thinking that would help and he may still want to trick or treat, but no, he wouldn't nap. And he didn't want to go trick or treating. I was Ok with that. Grandma Gail came over after working in the Mesa Arizona temple and brought candy to hand out. Steve had an early shift and he came home and took Sean trick or treating, while Ryan went to bed early. I didn't even get a picture of him in a costume, and now the moment is past and I probably won't. That makes me a little sad, because the costume we have probably won't fit him next year.

Sean had a great time out with his dad, and only went around the block as he tires quickly and doesn't like to walk much, but he was satisfied with his candy haul and I am so pleased that the next day he did not even blink an eye as he divided up his candy with his brother! After trick or treating, Sean helped Grandma and me hand out candy. We didn't have many kids this year, but they were sure fun. My favorite door comment was from a cute little kid who peered into our house and asked (while the other kids said trick or treat), "Where's the dog?" I was informed from his mom at the sidewalk that most of the houses they had been to that night had dogs! My other favorite door response was when these two cute little twin princesses came to the door and got so excited about our candy. One reached into the bowl to help herself and got so excited about Gobstoppers. She rand and showed her mom and then ran back to us and said I love these! What are they? When we told her Gobstoppers, she suddenly got so sad and said, Ohh, we can't have these! - in the saddest voice. It was so cute!

Ryan's Pumpkin

Sean's Pumpkin

Pumpkin Carving

2014-11-02T12:58:00.001-07:00

For several weeks, the boys have been asking me to buy pumpkins to carve. The week before Halloween, I finally got one for each of them and then I decided to do a little "school" while having fun carving.

We compared the two different pumpkins for their size. We guessed if they would sink or float (they float if you have enough water). We tried to guess how many seeds were in each pumpkin (and sadly, by the time we could count them, they lost interest - so I have no idea how many seeds were in our pumpkin).

Finally we cut them open. First reactions from the boys - "Ewww!" "This stinks!", "It looks gross!" Lots of love for the pumpkins. So I talked about how to clean them out and that caused other looks of horror at touching the slimy, gross seeds! Knowing they both have a bit of sensory issues, I didn't push the issue and instead asked if they wanted to clean out the pumpkins while wearing a glove. Yes, that was the trick and each one of them tried a bit (but really, I did the majority of the work). Sean hated the smell so much that he had to leave the table while I finished.

Once the seeds were out, I placed the seeds and slime into baggies for them to play with and feel and get the sensory input without the "mess" and "smell". They liked that much better.

Then I asked each boy what they wanted their pumpkin to look like. We searched the internet for pictures and once they found what they wanted I traced a face on their pumpkin. I cut out the face for Ryan's pumpkin, while the boys got to enjoy a Halloween show. I actually enjoyed the process of carving!

When it was Sean's turn he wanted to try so I bravely gave him a knife and gave several instructions on how to handle it and where to put his hand and a few corrections and he managed to cut out one of the eyes. It really was tough to cut through the pumpkin so he was done and let me finish.

They were both so excited when they were finished (even though I couldn't get a picture of them smiling).

Now, what is the fun of carving pumpkins if you can't get a bit of science involved with - pumpkin barf (aka food coloring, baking soda and vinegar). Here is my poor video attempting to capture the pumpkins barfing! The boys loved it and we were able to get more going once I stopped the video and added even more baking soda and vinegar.

Who knew pumpkins could be the cause of so much fun and learning?

Here I go again...

2014-11-01T12:06:00.001-06:00

Every time I click on my blog to check out what is new in the blogs I follow I see my last post - about Sean's first day of Kindergarten. Boy that was a while ago. I get hit with so many emotions from that post. How nervous and excited I was for him to start Kindergarten. Then how much we both hated it, and eventually took him out to homeschool. And then the next two years of huge life changing events. I then think about how I am missing recording it and attaching pictures - my own family history. I want to start again. I have tried to start again many times in the past year. It seemed too overwhelming with all that I had missed and all I wanted to share. I even have posts that I started and did not post. And then there is changing the background - another thing to do.

So here is to today - to starting again, to starting from right now. And it is perfect that it is fall and my background still works! I am back! It may take some time to get back in the habit, but it will come. And eventually I hope to post past stories and events that I have missed (including our foster care years) so that eventually I will have a chronological story for me and my family.

I am excited.. So here I go again!!

Sean is a Kindergartner

2012-07-29T16:12:00.000-06:00

I can't believe that Sean is in Kindergarten! Time has flown so fast with him - it almost seems unfair. But as time marches on we adjust and enjoy each step. Because Sean taught himself to read at 4 1/2 years old and he has a strong mind for learning we decided to enroll him in the charter school - Caprock Academy. They have a strong educational program of leadership education, which we like and they push the students academically, which we feel would help Sean continue to learn and to not get bored. They have 4 day weeks and so in order to get all their days in, they start a month earlier than other public schools. So this week, Sean experienced his first week of Kindergarten!

He did amazingly well. Each morning was a little difficult getting out the door at 7 a.m (yes, that is right - they start early and he wanted time to play on the playground), but we made it. One of the easiest things is that Caprock has a dress code and we didn't have to worry about what to wear. We got to the playground and Sean quickly learned where to put his bag and the best place to play and my only struggle was whether to let Ryan down to play too. Sean wanted me to be with him on the playground all this week, so by the second day, Ryan was running around playing too. I just had to watch out for him a bit, but he did really well too.

Then when it is time to go in, their teachers come out with a sign and they line up by classes and then they walk to their classes. While they were waiting in line the first day, Ryan fussed and fussed until I let him down and he ran to be with Sean in the line. They held hands while they waited - it was so cute! Then Ryan decided that he had to be in front so he snuck in front of Sean in the line. So funny. Each day, this became the ritual with Ryan and Sean holding hands in line before he went off to class.

I am so proud of myself that I didn't cry the first day, but I did get emotional on the second day. Sean is doing so good, even with a few road bumps along the way (like getting pushed by a kid on day 2 and then resolving it the next day), or having to learn to sit still for a period of time (and thank goodness he has a teacher who understands his need to stand and work or to move around and she made accommodations so that he could do that without disrupting the other kids!) He seems to really like it and each day is slowly telling us more and more about it when I pick him up from school. He also really likes that he gets "3 days off" each week.

This is a new change for us and I am sure it will take a bit to really feel comfortable, but it is a nice start and I think it will be good for all of us.

Good morning school boy! Aren't you so cute in your uniform!

I'm ready to go!

This is where Sean like to hang out in the mornings before class.


Waiting in line - looking for me in the sun.

Ryan ran over to be in line with Sean - holding hands.

They seem to be waiting so patiently.

Ryan loved getting on the swings when all the students went into class.

4th of July Day Trip

2012-07-06T14:46:00.000-06:00

For the 4th of July we decided to get out of the heat and take a drive up to the Grand Mesa and have lunch. It was a beautiful day and the weather was only about 68 degrees up at the top. We enjoyed a nice drive with the boys and got out at the Visitor's Center and ate at a nearby picnic area. Then we enjoyed a very short hike with a few views. We are not used to being outdoors, but it was really nice. Ryan and Sean loved it as well and we learned that Ryan is fearless and it was a little scarry on the hike as some of the areas had a dropoff, and Ryan didn't seem to care how fast he "ran" or where he was walking. He also didn't want to hold hands and so it was a round short hike as we could not hold him every step of the way. But it was well worth it and it was nice to get out of the valley and the heat. A couple of fun things (or not so fun things) happened during our drive. First our SUV almost overheated. We had to stop and let it cool and we offered a prayer asking for it to work well, and very quickly the engine cooled and we offered another prayer of gratitude. After lunch and our hike on the drive down we drove through pouring rain and it was so wonderful. Also we stopped in a small town named Eckert on the way down the mountain and there was a quaint Chocolate shop open and we were able to get a chocolate treat. What a fun day!


Sean at the visitor's center


Ryan enjoying the stairs at the visitor's center


Ryan is pointing something out to us on the map board.


Mom, Sean and Ryan on the short "hike". Its sure hard to get everyone to look at the camera at once.

View of lake from our hike (above and below)

Dad and Sean on Hike. Sean is holding a piece of paper that has information about the trail we are on.

The boys found one of the numbered markers along the trail. Sean had fun trying to located all the markers.

Sealing Day

2012-05-26T16:06:00.000-06:00

Today we had the most amazing opportunity to take Ryan Phillip Richards to the temple and have him sealed to us and to have him become our child for eternity. It is amazing to me how special this blessing is in our lives and I am extremely grateful that I have been able to experience my eternal family this way. I know that it would have been much easier having children born in the covenant, but when you are in the temple being sealed together the difficulty and extra effort are rewarded with the sweetest blessing.

We chose to take Ryan to the Vernal Utah temple to be sealed to us. We awoke early to travel the 2 1/2 hours there and everyone was in a great mood. Ryan was very happy and snuggly when he woke and both boys did great on the trip. At one point they both said Whee for about 5 minutes with Ryan covering his eyes the entire time. The weather was mild, but the wind was crazy - about 30 miles an hr winds. Even as we drove home the skies were brown with dust.

We got to the temple and quickly changed the boys and then Grandma Gail and Grandma O took the boys to the Children's room while Steve and I got ready. In attendance were both of our parents - Grandma and Grandpa O'Dwyer and Grandma Gail and Papa Bill Richards and our bishop and his wife, Bishop Mike and Sister Terri Nelson. We are so grateful that they came to support us. We also felt the love of many friends and family that were unable to attend, they sent their love with us.

Before the sealing, Steve and I had the opportunity to spend time in the Celestial room and ponder on our day and eternal families. I felt such a wonderful feeling there. I knew it was all worth it - the waiting, uncertainty, tears and joy. Then the time came to go into the sealing room and the boys were brought in. Sean was wearing his white shirt and church pants and Ryan was dressed in white with a tie. I wish I could have taken a picture of that (we used the temple clothes for Ryan and they don't let you take them out for pictures). What cute boys they were and you could see their eternal natures in that room. Ryan was being held by Grandma Gail who was going to help him at the alter. He was very mellow (compared to his normal whirlwind excitement) and was laying on her shoulder and he was very calm. Sean was also pretty quiet for him as well. I am sure they knew they were somewhere special.

Before the ceremony the Sealer spoke to us for a minute and he asked Sean his name. After proudly stating his full name, he quickly and not so silently "transformed" down on to the chair he was sitting on. Sean might have known we were someplace special, but his personality still came out!

The sealing ceremony was very quick and Ryan was very calm. Normally he will fight you if you try to make him or force him to do anything and he did not fight having his hand held on ours. During the actual ceremony a smile came across his face and he smiled the entire time. Afterwards he hugged us so tightly and didn't want to let us go when it was time to get changed. Sean hugged us as well and we all stood in front of the eternal mirrors and saw our family go on forever. What a wonderful experience, I will never forget this special day!

One special thing to mention is that before we came to the temple we had a family home evening about temples and what a sealing is and we used paper chains to demonstrate how without sealing we are just individuals alone, but with the sealing power we become an eternal family with bonds (like a chain) that can't be broken. Ryan usually runs around during FHE and doesn't participate, but this time he seemed to listen just a little bit and helped with the chain. Then the night before going to the temple, we mentioned to Sean that we were going to the place where Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ come on earth. He agreed and then said that all the good people come there too. We asked him what good people? He said all the good people who don't live on the earth anymore. We clarified by asking - do you mean those who died? And He said Yes. Little children seem to be so close to the spirit and seems to just know things - as least our boys do. When we got home from the temple Saturday night, Sean asked me, "Mom, can you set up a play date for me tomorrow at the temple?" I am so grateful Sean was able to experience that and knows that the temple is the right place to be. I hope he will remember this experience all his life.

Even though the wind was blowing I insisted on getting some pictures as we never got the chance when Sean was sealed (it was 5 degrees outside with wind at the Monticello temple and no one would even try it!). So the pictures aren't the best, but I love them. After pictures we got something to eat and drove right back home, taking a little longer because the wind got worse. A long day, but wonderful day!

Ryan running around outside the temple.

Ryan and Grandma Gail

So Happy, Ryan and Grandma Gail

Our Eternal Family - even with a boy who won't look at the camera!

There's my boy! love the mommy and Sean pictures.

Grandma and Grandpa O'Dwyer

Grandma Gail and Papa Bill Richards

The boys had this funny fascination with holding on to the pole - afraid they were going to blow away???


Steve and Val

The next day, while Steve's parents were still here, we went to my parents house to give Ryan and name and a blessing. It was a beautiful, simple blessing and Ryan was back to his normal squirmy self - as he sat on my lap with all the hands on his head, he was ok for a minute, but then suddenly he tried to move his head out from the hands and kept moving trying to get the hands off! And they kept trying to move with him so that the connection was there! So funny and so Ryan.

Steve O'Dwyer, Steve, Ryan, and Bill Richards

Family Pictures

2012-05-25T15:48:00.000-06:00

We finally got new family pictures. It has been 3 years and since making Ryan a permanent member of our family, I decided that it was well past time. They turned out so cute, even though we had a 5 year old that did not want to participate (and who put a sticker on right before so to avoid fighting we just left it - it is who he is!). So glad we captured these and the bears in the boys pictures are the bears they got at the adoption, so they were extra special.

The first four pictures are ones we printed, but the last four are ones we loved, just because they were funny. Sean did not want to participate so we have pictures of him shooting a gun, showing off his sticker and then he wouldn't stop pouting at one point so we all did. Love that one!

Adoption Day!

2012-05-23T15:31:00.000-06:00

On December 6, 2010 a baby boy came to live in the Richards' home. It was a rough start. He cried a lot. We were excited for him to be there, but hearts were raw from our last foster child and we wondered what would happen in the next few months. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months and this boy became a part of the Richards' family. He didn't cry as much. We bonded and loved. Now the only question was would he remain?

For a while now Ryan has been a part of our family. He bonded with us quickly and despite our initial hesitations, we truly loved him from the beginning. In January of this year we knew he would be staying with us forever, but until today it was not "official" in the eyes of the world. Today we had the great joy taking Ryan to court and making him an "official" Richards. He woke very early today and was happy right from the start - almost as if he knew what was happening today (and we have talked about it a lot). Grandma Gail and Papa Bill came from Tucson and Grandma and Grandpa O were also there. We got to the courthouse early to make sure all was in order. Ryan danced and played around in the hallway. He would run to Grandpa O and others - back and forth - so happy. He knew today was important and special. Sean was excited in his own way - but being 5 got bored waiting - so we let him play Angry Birds on Daddy's phone while we waited. Two happy boys - it can't get better than that.

The time finally came to move into the courtroom. We got settled in and as we were placed under oath, Sean joined us in raising his right hand. That got a smile out of the judge and he even made a verbal note of that. Our judge was Judge Deister, who has overseen Ryan's case from the beginning. Both boys wanted to sit on Daddy's lap and even fought over him a bit during the proceeding. Even for the short 15 minutes it took, they both had a hard time sitting still. Sean found that he couldn't resist the microphone on the table and we had to move it several tines out of his way. Ryan wanted his drink and refused to be still (no surprise). Steve and I both answered a few questions and most importantly told the judge that we wanted to adopt Ryan. Our caseworker answered a few questions and then the judge said a few things - mostly just official stuff about this situation and I don't remember anything that he said because the boys were really squirmy so I couldn't hear that well. Just when it seemed that they were starting to get even more restless it was done. We are "officially" his parents (even though we became his "parents" on December 6, 2010). And his name was officially changed to Ryan Phillip Richards. The judge brought out 2 stuffed bears, which got both boys excited. We then got to take pictures with him and our families.

Afterward, we visited with everyone for a few minutes and got well wishes (others who were there besides grandparents were our two caseworkers and Ryan's two C.A.S.A. workers, who were so helpful during his case), then we went for breakfast at the Pufferbelly Station and then walked around downtown Grand Junction for a while.

Even though he has been part of our family for so long and we have known for months that he would never be leaving, it was a relief to have this part finished and know that we don't have to worry anymore or fight through this process of bringing children into our home. He is meant to be ours and he fits right into our family. And even though we have called him Ryan for months, I don't have to worry anymore that I shouldn't be calling him that, or that when we go to the doctor or other public place, I will have to hear his birth name and remember to call him by that. His name is Ryan and it fits him.

Ryan was so happy that day from the moment he woke, like he knew it was a special day. As we were leaving the courthouse, Ryan was hop-skipping all the way out! He was so happy! It was a wonderful day. One of the best parts of the day is that we are now "officially" our own little family and we don't have to have any interference from the county, the state, caseworkers, or anyone. No one can tell us how to run our house anymore. We don't need permission to do anything for Ryan anymore. It is a wonderful feeling to be complete and to see what this new part of our lives brings - as just us.

Sean and Ryan looking out from the 3rd floor window in the hallway outside the courtroom.

Steve visiting with his mom, Gail - Bill behind her taking pictures.

Ryan loved playing on the bench by the window while we waited.

Steve's dad Bill taking a picture of me taking a picture of him (we just couldn't resist)!

Sean was trying to sneak into my bag to get my phone and play Angry Birds!

This and the next 2 were me trying out the fast burst on my camera. Ryan was so happy and was just dancing around the hallway.

Grandpa O'Dwyer and Ryan.

Grandma and Grandpa O'Dwyer and Ryan.

Judge Diester shaking my hand after with Steve and Ryan.

Judge Diester, and our Family! This was the first of many pictures this week and Sean would not have it - it was tough to get any smiles out of him. The Boys were holding the bears given to them by the judge.

Our Family with Grandparents from L to R: Grandma O'Dwyer, Val, Sean, Grandpa O'Dwyer, Steve, Ryan, Grandma Gail and Papa Bill Richards

Happy 5th Birthday, Sean!

2012-05-06T15:54:00.000-06:00

Five years ago, on May 2, 2007, a sweet little baby boy was placed in our arms and became a member of our family! The last five years have been full of fun, adventure, tears, frustration and most of all joy. We are so proud of Sean. He has grown so much in the last year! He graduated from preschool and is getting ready for Kindergarten. He taught himself how to read. Sean still loves building with Trio and has gotten very good at reading the directions for different buildings. He also loves all things Transformers. He will even pretend to be a transformer and transform whenever the mood strikes him (all over the house, in the store, at church)! We have had to talk about good places to transform! He has learned to ride a bike. He loves to sing (though he won't admit it) and will sing at the top of his lungs when he feels like it (songs that he sings often are - the Transformer's theme song and Army of Helaman and Scripture Power). He still loves to have a lullaby song before bed (I love that he is still my baby that way!) He does not like to be called a baby and rarely likes us to give him a nickname anymore and he will hug us but says he doesn't like kisses. He also tells me that I'm his girlfriend! He is learning to share with others and does well most of the time. He is also showing us how sensitive he is to others around him and he will try very hard to comfort others when needed. He loves to talk and will sometimes be talking as he goes to sleep and when he wakes he will continue the conversation as if he never slept! Sean loves anything electronic and is very good at using the computer or ipad or phone. I am sure soon he will be teaching me things. He loves books like his mom and we enjoy going to the library together and getting new books to read. He is learning how to help around the house and like any typical kid often asks if he has to help. Sean has several friends that he likes to play with - Addie, Rome, Joshua, Sawyer, Mattie, Cadence and Lucas. He is also very much a Daddy's boy! He loves his dad and wants to spend as much time with him as possible. Whenever there are things to do around the house, he will be right by his dad's side. He also loves to go into town with him whenver the cars need to be services or whenever there are errands to run. Those are special Daddy, Sean times. We are so grateful for him and love his special spirit in our home. We love you Sean! Happy Birthday!

For Sean's Birthday we blew up balloons and put them in his room to wake up to. We then let him on a scavenger hunt (I will try to post part of the video here soon) to find his birthday present.

Playing with his birthday present - Decepticon Barricade


Sean's showing me how Barricade works.

Listening to Grandma Gail and Papa Bill singing Happy Birthday!

Later in the day, we took Sean and Ryan to Kidzplex along with Sean's friend Joshua to play for his birthday. Here are some random pictures of them playing.


The ballpit was a hit!

Sean, Joshua and Ryan having a blast in the ballpit.

A few days later, on Saturday we had Sean's Transformer Birthday Party! We had a Transformer Cake, Transformer Hats and played Pin the Autobot Symbol on Bumblebee (a transformer for those who don't know). Sean was so excited. This was his first friends birthday party and he could hardly wait for the kids to arrive. He kept watching out the window and when they finally started arriving, he ran outside to meet them with a transformer hat for them to wear. We played a couple of games, let the kids watch Transformers (the original cartoon series), opened presents and ate cake and let them play. At the end, they searched for the Energon Cube (the source of power for transformers) and found goodie bags of candy to take home. Of course, Sean received many transformers or transformer related items and a Guess Who game, which he loves to play. Most of all he got to play with all of his friends. What a fun day!

Table set up

Sean was just as excited to look at his cake as he was for the party. The cake came with two figures on top - Optimus Prime and Mega Tron.

Everyone at the party: Jocie, Addie, Capri, Rome, Me, Lucas, Sean and Sawyer - not pictured are Daddy, taking the picture and Ryan who fell asleep. We couldn't get Sean to smile for the picture - this was the best of the group ones.

Opening presents


Blowing out the #5 candle. It took him 2 tries - I think because he was so far away from it!

Opening the energon cube to get their surprise!

Ryan and Daddy enjoying the party - you can see the Bumblebee poster in the background for the Pin the symbol on the Bumblebee game.

I can't believe my baby is not a baby anymore

2012-05-01T16:01:00.000-06:00

True to my typical fashion lately, I think of something I want to post or write about and it takes me two or more months to write about it and actually post it. About 2 months ago Ryan turned 18 months old and I realized that my baby is not a baby any more! It seems like just yesterday he was brought to our home, as a large 3 1/2 month old darling baby. Now he is trying to talk and he is running and jumping and climbing and getting into everything and being a "boy" not a baby! Boy the time flies. He is such a fun and adventurous addition to our family, we cannot imagine our family without him and cannot wait until we can take him to the temple to have him sealed to us for eternity. Here are some fun pictures and some of his milestones/fun stories. --

I love my baby!

Ryan is all boy and he loves to be outside. He is fearless and can already play on the playground equipment by himself. This made me very nervous at first, but I have learned to just sit back and watch, as he loves it. One day he was only in a diaper and he managed to sneak past me out the front door when someone visited. He ran around outside as happy as can be and never once worried about running on the rocks barefoot! Many times we will notice new bumps and bruises or scrapes and not even know where they come from because, unless he really gets hit, he will not cry. Also his newest fascination is with mud. If there is mud somewhere, he will find it, especially when we are out at a park. I have decided we won't go to parks anymore without a change of clothes and a towel!


Look Mom, I found Mud!!!

It seems that one of Ryan's purposes in life is to eat...and eat and eat. He loves food - almost anything that we give him. He has become very proficient with a fork and spoon and in the past few months he has let us know that he will be feeding himself! We have noticed that he is left handed and he has a funny way of spooning food into his mouth by scooping with his fork or spoon and then placing his right hand under the utensil and making sure that nothing is spilled and it all gets into his mouth! Eating is very serious business to him!

One of Ryan's favorite places to be - at the table. This time he is playing Angry Birds with Sean, but usually he is just wanting to eat!

One day about a month ago, after finishing his meal (we were still eating as he also eats fast), he was running around the house. He came back to the entrance to the kitchen and looked down and saw where the carpet stopped and the linoleum began and he just suddenly jumped over the line with both feet. He looked up and we all clapped and he went back and did that over and over again. Now he jumps all over the house.

One of the new skills he is learning. I couldn't get him to smile, but he was concentrating so much. He also loves to have his clothes off!

Ryan is very independent. He wants to do everything himself and that can cause problems as there is still a communication gap. It has been a challenge to work with him sometimes and understand what he wants and also to help him know that sometimes he has to do what we want. One of those things is getting him to walk with us, without running ahead. Teaching him to hold my hand was a challenge and it took a while. While he was learning this we had many moments where I would just have to carry him screaming to get to the car or the store or where ever because he wanted do it himself and he just would not do it safely or without running away. One of the most embarrassing moments for me was when we were a few minutes late to church and he wanted to walk in on his own, but run and not sit down and he wouldn't hold my hand, so I just had to pick him up and march into church, Ryan screaming the whole way! One thing that has helped us to communicate better are the Baby Signing time videos. They are wonderful and Ryan will now ask for them by name!

Ryan can either be super happy or super upset. Here is one time when he is mad, not getting something he wants!

Ryan has been making so many fun faces lately. I have tried to capture them in pictures, but he doesn't like his picture taken. In fact, when I try to take his picture, he will sometimes come after me! He makes a surprised face with his mouth in the O shaped when he hears any sort of popping noise. He also has discovered that he can jump on his mattress and I have watched him go to one side of his crib and jump across the bed laughing the whole way. Ryan is also very ticklish and has the best laugh. He also has the loudest scream and so he can cover all spectrums.

Things Ryan likes: Baby Signing Time Videos, stuffed animals (especially hugging them and sleeping ON them), his blanket, trucks, and any toys that Sean has (in fact, it has been hard to shop for him because he really don't seem to have his own likes - just what Sean has. We bought him his own toys for Christmas and his birthday and he rarely plays with them - he would rather play with Sean's toys) - of course, this can create some brotherly friction throughout the day.

Right before nap with his favorite dog and blanket.

He seems to prefer sleeping ON his stuffed animals rather than next to them.

He loves food, almost any kind - his favorites are bananas, cheese, eggs, crackers, apples, most fruit, many vegetables, meat - almost any meat you give him. He loves to sing and we often hear him singing or at least humming parts of songs. I have heard him singing the alphabet song, I am a child of god, the Barney song (I love you, you love me...), he hums the tune to Transformers (because Sean sings that all the time), the Lullaby song, and another primary song I can't remember now. Ryan likes to be where mom and dad are and to be held alot still. That is tough sometimes, but lately I have been enjoying it (in fact before I started writing this I held him while he fell asleep for nap and that was wonderful!). Ryan loves his Daddy and at night, when he comes home Ryan runs to him and does not want to be away from him. He loves having Daddy put him to bed and will even calm for bed fast with Steve (much to my dismay sometimes). He doesn't like to share, which is typical of his age, but has gone as far as not wanting to share mom or dad or share playing with us. He loves to play with Sean, though Sean doesn't always like playing with him, he loves to wrestle with mom or dad or even sean and he loves to run around the couch after dinner with Sean giggling all the way. He is also interested in the potty now and so we are slowly encouraging that.

We love our Ryan and are so grateful that he was sent to our home to love and raise. He is such a joy to our family!

Who can resist this look?!

My reader

2012-02-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

Sean decided in the past few months to start reading. We have been so amazed by this and in awe as we really didn't do anything except read to him and answer any questions he had about letters and words. He has just always been a lover of books so I think it came naturally. So we bring home tons of books from the library - reader and chapter books and picture books. He will read all of the beginner readers and many of the picture books and we still read chapter books to him. One day I was trying to get pictures of the boys and he was very insistent that I take pictures of him reading. We love our reader.

Snow play

2012-02-19T15:50:00.003-07:00

This winter has been very mild and has been lacking snow. While I don't mind - I do like a little bit of snow. We have had some a couple of times, but it is usually gone by midday. So when we got snow one day when it was our turn to have preschool at our house, I decided to let them go out to play (I learned it was a tough challenge to get 5 kids 4 and under ready to go outside and then clean them up). They had a blast playing with the toys outside. The favorite seemed to be the toy lawn mower and they all seemed to take a turn. Towards the end, they ganged up on me and started throwing snow at me. What fun we had!

I realized that my camera was set to take the pictures with a blue tint to them so that is why some are like that, but honestly I kind of like them.

Sean "cooked" something for all his classmates and at one point he was chasing, I think, Addie around the grass with a plastic pizza saying - here is your pizza, I made it for you. All the while she was running away from him saying she didn't want it.


Rome and Sawyer in the house.


Let me out!


Addie pushing the lawn mower - collecting snow on the wheels. Rome behind her.

Ryan managed to find a ball outside - his favorite.

Sawyer - I think I took this through a window.

I didn't have boots in Ryan's size so I wrapped his feet in plastic bags. They worked pretty well, except they were slippery - he didn't mind though.


Addie - I think other than throwing snow at me, she spent all her time making tracks in the snow.


Sawyer on our little rollercoaster.

Rome and Sawyer.


Rome trying to get a snowball going.

Addie - she had just thrown snow at me.

Look at the mischievous grin - I think he is planning on getting me with snow.

Sawyer taking his turn with the lawn mower.


I'll have a seat, thank you very much!

Sean's coming after me again!

Does anyone fine this a little creepy?

2012-02-19T15:30:00.003-07:00

I was going through some of my recent pictures and I have found many that weren't great. I was about to delete this picture when I noticed something odd about it. Can anyone else see it? Look very closely.

Still don't see it? Look at his eyes. They are closed in this picture, but can he see through his eyelids?

First Haircut

2012-02-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

The week after Christmas Steve and I both needed haircuts and we realized that Ryan was getting pretty shaggy. So we decided it was time for his first haircut. We weren't sure how he would do, but we found out soon enough - he did not like it! He cried and cried and cried! But it didn't stop me from taking pictures anyway. He sure looked different afterwards. What a cutie!

Before. You can see how the hair is pretty wavy and curls up around his ears.

Not a happy camper.

He was starting to mellow a little.

All done! What a cutie!

Christmas (finally)

2012-02-19T15:07:00.003-07:00

Christmas was a simple affair for us this year. We didn't go anywhere and just spent time with each other. We had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner at my parent's house this year. We let the boys open gifts from Grandma and Grandpa and Aunts and Uncles. We played games and had a fun time. This year Sean was very interested in Santa coming and made sure that we had food out for him (including a cookie and a doughnut with milk).

What I remember of Christmas growing up, was getting out there to the tree and ripping the wrapping off as fast as I could until all the presents were opened. It seems this was the same for all of my siblings. It seemed that usually all of our present opening was done in about a 1/2 hour (even with 7 teenage kids). I thought that is how it would be with our boys. Not so. Sean played with his stocking for at least 1/2 hour before we could talk him over to the tree. There was a bike from Santa unwrapped by the tree and even with that he was slow to walk over and look at it. Ryan was the same. When we got them to open even one present, all they wanted was for us to open that package and for the playing to begin. After a while we would try to get either one of them over to open another present. I think we could have gone all day if it hadn't been for myself and Steve pushing for the next present to be opened (because we were anxious for them to see). I am pretty sure that they loved their gifts, but there was no hurry! Steve and I decided to only get one thing for ourselves and we each bought our own gift and then wrapped them anyway and put them under the tree! I guess I just like opening presents, even if I know what they are!

It was special this year, because Christmas was on Sunday so we dressed up and went to Sacrament meeting for the Christmas program. In past years, I have been in the choir or was the choir director or involved in the music for the program in some way, but this year I had no involvement at all. It was very strange and a little sad, but at the same time it was very nice as well to just sit with my family during the program, thinking about Jesus. The primary kids did go up to sing and Sean enjoyed doing that.

We try to take a family picture on Christmas day, but since they boys will barely stay still we knew that we couldn't get it done in front of the tree like we usually do so since we dressed up for church we asked my friend Becky to take our picture. None of them turned out great but they will do for now!

All in all, it was a quiet, nice Christmas this year.

Cousins Haily and Emily with Ryan and Sean. We could never get them all to sit still to get a good picture!

Sean opening gift from Grandma and Grandpa O

Ryan talking on his phone!

This was why we couldn't get Sean to open presents. He got a transformer in his stocking and he insisted on getting it out and learning how to transform it right away!


Sean helping Ryan with his block train set.

Sean opening his kite from Grandma Gail and Papa Bill. He can't wait until the weather is nice to fly it.

Ryan loving his ball pit tent with balls.


Momma and Ryan. We found the fireplace movie on Netflix so we had it running all morning! - I realize that we didn't get a picture of Steve.

Sean trying out his new bike. It took a little bit for him to get his balance, but he loves it.

Ryan enjoying running around outside while Sean tries his bike.

Here is the best family picture we got. It is time to get some professional pictures done!

Christmas prep

2012-02-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

I decided this year not to stress out about Christmas. I decided not to do Christmas cards - thinking I would send a Happy New Year email with a link to pictures (no such luck). We would play and bake and enjoy the holiday. And also enjoy that we were not getting used to a new little additions, since Ryan has been with us a year now (can you believe it!?). I also decided to make a wooden nativity scene and my dad helped me cut the wood (Thanks Dad!) It was a nice time. Here are some fun and random pictures of our prep.

What a ham - Ryan loved playing under the tree, just as much as he loves being undressed.

I can't believe he posed!


This is our sad tree that only has ornaments on the top, because of Ryan - maybe next year it will go back to normal!

Sean getting in the Christmas spirit with an ice cream and Santa hat.

Keeping Ryan busy while I am cooking in the kitchen - he was fascinated by this sparkly tree - it kept him busy for about a 1/2 hour.

Wooden nativity blocks that I made - kid friendly!!

The best picture in the world

2012-02-10T15:51:00.000-07:00