Sledding

We finished the year with a little sledding activity just outside our door in the courtyard.

Truthfully, it was bitter cold, and the snow wasn't great for sledding.

But the boys still had a good time.

After once or twice down the hill, Ammon made a snow angel.

Then he disappeared inside.

Peter lasted a little bit longer.

He had a fun time with our neighbors, who had invited us out.

After a while, the mom's decided WE were cold and ready to go back in.

I made a big batch of hot chocolate and we invited lots of people over.

Ultimately I had five or six children buzzing around my home.

As the oldest of six, I love the commotion of lots of kids.

It was a happy day.

All Day Long

The day after getting his SEVERAL Lego sets, Ammon woke up eager to get them built.

He barely took a bite of his breakfast before he was dumping legos onto the table.

I caught him as he was dumping the third set and stopped him from adding the fourth.

We did our best to sort the third one back out,

and so he began his project with only two sets blended together.

He built, and built, and built.

ALL DAY LONG.

We had friends come visit.

But he didn't stop.

I had to force him to eat lunch.

He got the first one done, then the second and even the third.

He finished the fourth set and then it was time.

The fifth and last set - Headquarters - was the biggest one of all.

He kept working:

Seven hours, eight hours, NINE HOURS.

After nine hours of non-stop building, he knocked something over and part of headquarters caved in.

So, before I knew what had happened, he had taken everything apart.

And decided to start over the next day.

10 Years Later (or something like that)

For my birthday, my in-laws offered to babysit so that Andy and I could have a night out.

But my mother-in-law and I were both in the middle of finals, so we took a raincheck.

Once school was done I started to look at the calendar to see when would be a good date night.

Andy suggested December 28 - the ten year anniversary of our first date.

That seemed like a fun idea, so we went with it.

It worked out perfectly and while Ammon had an extend the day party, Andy and I had date night.

Originally I had planned for us to go iceskating at the Gallivan Center.

I was going to make sure Andy held my hand and kissed me lots

(unlike the last time we skated there)

But when it came down to it, we decided it was much too cold.

Instead we decided to wander around the Gateway mall.

(Which, being an outdoor mall, wasn't much warmer.)

We had a nice dinner and enjoyed a movie together.

More than anything, though, we were just happy to be out with each other.

It was a pleasant evening - a nice anniversary.

Or so it seemed.

A couple of days later I realized that December 28th wasn't our first date at all.

Ooops.

We thought that maybe the 28th was the day I came home from my mission.

That would make it the anniversary of the day he first asked me out.

Turns out, that was the 27th.

So really, we went out on our special anniversary date on a very un-special day.

We realized that our first date was actually December 30.

But even though Andy remembered it wrong, I think it was sweet that he thought of it at all.

And that to him, ten years with me was worth celebrating.

Extending the Day

Pictures taken December 28, 2010

Andy's mom has a phrase that I have come to love.

When there are birthdays and holidays she often says that we will "extend the day".

And so, two days after Ammon's birthday, Grandma and Grandpa came by to do just that.

(Truthfully, they were there to babysit.)

But, since they were coming, they brought a party with them.

Grandma and Grandpa Shadel showed up with cake, ice cream AND presents!

Earlier in the day Ammon received a call asking what kind of cake he would like.

The question was meant to determine chocolate vs vanilla or something like that.

The answer:

A Transformer cake.

Ammon is lucky to have such an accommodating Grandma.

He was thrilled with the cake that came.

This is the first year I have really seen the benefit to having a birthday right after Christmas.

Grandma and Grandpa remedied Santa's mistake.

The presents they brought were more Legos!

(Ammon literally spent nine straight hours the next day building the different sets he got.)

Andy and I weren't here, but I understand that the evening went great.

The boys even did a good job going to bed for Grandma and Grandpa.

Often when we are putting Ammon and Peter to bed I want Peggy and Derrick to come back.

Bedtime just doesn't always go so well for us.

Thanks Peggy and Derrick!

We appreciate you.

Turning Seven

Just yesterday I was looking at pictures of days gone by.

I found myself staring into the face of five month old Peter and the three year old Ammon.

How I miss my baby Peter and my three year old Ammon!

They were so adorable at that stage.

Then I looked over to more recent pictures.

I saw my three year old Peter and my six year old Ammon.

And I remembered how adorable they are at this stage.

But already this stage is changing.

Ammon isn't six years old anymore.

He is a charming, vivacious, energetic, and just plain fun seven year old!

Pictures taken December 26, 2010

From the moment I learned I was expecting a baby - due January 11,

my goal was to get the birthday as far after Christmas as possible.

I was none too successful - only managing to get four hours and eleven minutes past the holiday.
Every year I feel like properly celebrating Ammon's birthday is a struggle.

It seems hard to compete with the celebration of Christmas.

This year we arranged for a slumber party with cousins Michael and Will.

They were planning to come over Monday night.

We spent the morning of Ammon's birthday attending church with grandparents.

Afterwards we stopped by my parents home for a visit.

It was there that Peter came down with a sudden and high fever.

Because scarlet fever had been going around our area,
Andy took him into the instacare right away.

Despite unexpectedly spending the day waiting for Peter,

it turned out to be a fun time.

We played Trouble many times and he won most of them.
Grandma and Grandpa gave him presents which included his very own game of SkipBo

So he also learned how to play that and we had a few rounds.

After lots of game playing, Ammon even decided to bake his own cake!
(Aunt Rebecca helped with that.)

Soon after the cake went into the oven, Peter and Andy returned from the doctor.

We lit the candles, sang Happy Birthday and ate our treat.

I was glad that Ammon was satisfied with this birthday celebration.

Peter, we learned, did have the strep germ and so we had to cancel the slumber party.

By the time we returned home, it was practically bed time.

Fortunately Andy reminded me that WE had a present for Ammon.

It hadn't gotten wrapped yet, so Andy just brought it out under a blanket.

Ammon was pretty excited about his remote control truck!

By this time, the medicine had helped bring down Peter's fever.

For the first time all day, he had some energy to play.

So the two of them had fun trying out the new toy.

Eventually we really did send them to bed.

And I ended my day grateful that Ammon's birthday was a miraculous success.

Why Didn't You Teach Me That Before?

I attribute much of the development of my childhood testimony to my mom, who was very deliberate and selective in exposing me to certain music.  One of the tapes I listened to had children songs based on the New Testament.  Many of those songs have impactful lessons that still influence my life.  A favorite of those songs was about Satan tempting Jesus during His 40 day fast.  One verse went like this:

Come, Satan said, I know you must be hungry.

Use your power now to turn this stone to bread.

But Jesus said to Satan, there's more to life than bread.

Like trying to live by every word of God instead.

And then there was the chorus, that has always stuck with me:

Jesus knew who He was

And He didn't need to prove it.

Not even to Himself.

He just stayed very calm

And He went about His business

Making sure He did the work His Father wanted Him to do.

As a parent I have often found myself in situations where Ammon is distressed because he knows he is right about something, but there is someone else who disagrees.  I usually try to talk him down from it:

"Ammon, you know you are right, and I know you are right, so it doesn't matter what [insert name here] thinks."

And that works pretty well.  But today, on the way to church, when Peter was disagreeing with him about something, and he needed that reminder once again, I elaborated.  I told him about this song.  About the lesson he can learn, not from me, but from the Savior.  He understood it immediately and responded by simply asking "Mom, why didn't you teach me that before?"

And I have to wonder - why didn't I?  I wanted to say that I was waiting for him to get old enough to listen or to understand.  But I realized (again) that children understand a great deal at very young ages - particularly as it pertains to gospel truth.

There is nothing that has brought my life more peace, joy, understanding, direction and happiness than my knowledge of the Savior.  And although I think I am teaching my children those same lessons that bless me, it turns out that there are parts that are slipping through the cracks.

Today I was reminded to do even better - to place a greater emphasis on and more completely teach the knowledge I have of a loving Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ.  So that my children can be blessed as I have been.