Carolyn's Turtle

Even though it is my niec who received a new pet, I feel part ownership of the experience because it was a pet she inherited from a ward member of mine. I had been at a Relief Society activity when the neighbor asked me if I wanted the turtle. I immediately said no and didn't give it much thought until a few days later when I was at Katy's house. It randomly occurred to me that they might be interested.

And interested they were. It was just over 24 hours after I mentioned it to Katy that they were bringing home their new pet. Carolyn was giddy with excitement and it was fun to watch. Andrew and I debated keeping it for Ammon but felt like Carolyn was better suited for pet ownership. We felt bad knowing that we had passed up this opportunity for our own child, but even though Ammon would have thought it was somewhat cool, Carolyn felt like it was literally a dream come true. I think we made the best choice.

Of course, on the way home from meeting Carolyn's turtle, Ammon asked, "Can I have a pet turtle?" We told him that we can talk about having a pet as soon as he take the responsibility to keep his room clean. So far that hasn't happened...

German Pancakes

Now that we have 1:00 church, Andrew has been happily making breakfast for us every Sunday morning. We have gotten into a fun routine of having him make bacon and hashbrowns while the boys and I make German Pancakes. Ammon has it down pat. The second I tell him it's time to make German Pancakes, he is into the fridge getting out the milk and eggs. He even knows how many eggs we use! What a yummy Sunday tradition this is turning into.

This was the day after Valentine's Day so we still had cookies left over to decorate. Anyone who decorates cookies with us in the future - beware of the yellow sprinkles!

Strawberry Season

The week before Valentine's Day I bought strawberries. They were tiny little things that didn't look that great, but I was ready to be eating strawberries again so I bought them. I remember thinking how strange it was that the strawberries were such low quality because every year Andrew makes chocolate strawberries for me and usually they are so much better.

A week later was a whole different story. Apparently we aren't the only ones who do chocolate covered strawberries for Valentine's Day. They were front and center as you walked into the store. And they were MASSIVE!!!

I planned my holiday to cook a lot of different foods for the day - it's just what I like to do. But when it came time to do the strawberries, I was sent away and the men in my life took over. Andrew took this cute picture of the boys signing strawberry. They were such good helpers.

Apparently Ammon chose this strawberry for himself while they dipped them. All of the strawberries were big, but this one was seriously the size of his fist! He enjoyed eating it, that's for sure!

Valentine's Day Cookies

This year for Valentine's Day I got this crazy notion that I wanted to celebrate as a family. Perhaps that is partly because Andrew was gone last year and so this is the first time we have had all four of us together for the holiday. Whatever the reason, it was what I thought I wanted.
One of our activities during the day was to make sugar cookies. My sister-in-law provides this activity for a lot of our family get-togethers and so I used her recipes and we had a great time. The boys loved decorating their cookies. We couldn't find the red food coloring so we used green. Apparently M&M's were marketing green as the new color of love or something, so Andrew convinced me that it worked (I was really devestated to not have pink/red on Valentine's Day!)

After Ammon took great amounts of time and care in decorating one of his cookies, he gave it to me as a Valentine gift. What a lucky Mommy I am!

Overall it was a fun day, but by the end of it I realized that there is plenty of time to hang out with the kids, and still look forward to the sweet relief of Date Night! That's what we'll do next year for sure!

Snowman in the Making

On Valentine's Day we had a fun little snow storm and instead of heading off to the store as I had planned, I shoveled the sidewalks while Ammon and some neighborhood kids had fun building a snowman. Back in November he received a really cute "snowman kit" and was excited to use it! They actually started the process at the neighbors house and then carried the snowball (a good size for the head) down to our yard.

Once here, they took that ball and rolled it all around the yard until it got to be the size of the body! It was pretty big and they used up most of the snow in the yard making it.

I don't know what the thought process was - if they just felt they were out of snow, or if they wanted to take it back to the yard they started in, but the traveling snowman took another journey down the street and was completed on someone else's watch. I was glad for the time they spent in my yard, though, and the fun I was able to observe them having.

So adorable!

On a day when I feel a little discouraged about various things, this smile sure does brighten the moment. A little more than a year ago I spent my days telling my kids, "You're driving me crazy!" I am happy to say that these days I find myself constantly saying,

"My boys are so adorable!"

My biggest regret with my sweet boys is that they are growing up so fast and raising children already seems like such a fleeting phase in my life.

Through A Child's Eyes

It was fun to celebrate Valentine's Day with the kids this year. It started on the 11th when we prepared for Ammon's preschool party the next day. In the afternoon Peter, Ammon and I went to pick out the Valentine's he would be giving to his class-mates. He immediately picked Madagascar 2. That was surprising to me since we had never seen the movie. But he was quite happy with his choice.

That night, I went out so Ammon worked with Andrew to make his Valentine box. They made a cute team and I was glad to snap a few pictures on my way out the door. Ammon was also able to address each of his Valentine's (with Andrew's supervision) while I was gone.

Although I returned home after bedtime, Ammon was still awake. I was shocked to realize how incredibly and genuinely excited he was! It was like Christmas Eve and he just could NOT get to sleep. We sent him into his room over and over again and about every 5 minutes he came back asking, "is it day time yet???" We even tried giving him a clock and explaining what time to look for, but that didn't work either. Eventually he fell asleep but I think it was close to 11:00 by the time that happened. I really worried that he was going to be so tired that he would either be miserable during this much anticipated party, or miss it altogether. My fears were in vain, however, and he had a wonderful day with his friends!

Speechless

Lately it seems that I have had nothing to say. I blame that, in part, to the fact that I have too much to say.

Life has become more and more routine than it has ever been for us. It has been nice. It's about to get even better with weekends off. It will be the first time in our married life that we have weekends without any work obligations. I'll miss that mid-week break we've had of late, but I think we will be happy for the tradeoff.

In the midst of my own routine, I have been watching as family, friends, and even people I hardly know face the challenges of life. I have worried for people and wanted to fix the struggles I see. But always I remember that the greatest peace and strength I have felt in my own difficulties have come from the Lord. I feel blessed by the relationship I have developed with God and with my Savior Jesus Christ - through the hard times I have gone through. I have found myself feeling increasingly at awe with the understanding of the great things Heavenly Father has in store for us as His children. I am amazed to realize how much each of us seem to be called to bare, and find comfort as I look around and see each of you rising to the occasion.

I am gaining a great understanding of how to become "one with God", and in turn I find myself grateful for the opportunity to become one with you. As we rejoice in each others triumphs and mourn with those who mourn, we continue on the path that allows us all to become better alligned with our Father in Heaven and His will for us.

Draper Temple Open House

Last night we went to the Draper Temple Open House. I LOVE temples, and it is so much fun to go tour the whole building. This is the 4th temple open house I have been able to attend, but the first time I have had children to take with me. I enjoyed the opportunity to teach Ammon about temples and more than that, for him to have the chance to feel what it is like to be in a temple. We went from room to room pointing to the various pictures of Jesus that hung on the wall. Of course we always see that when we patron the temple, but it was nice to see the consistency of it and realize that He is represented in EVERY room and EVERY hall. Truly the temple is built as a House of the Lord.

We were not able to take pictures inside of the temple, but on the way in they had this example of what the exterier of the temple was made out of.

After the tour, they had some disaplays set up in the church next to the temple. Ammon enjoyed this map which had a pin representing each temple in the world.

I have so many wonderful memories and experiences involving temples. More than anything, I treasure the peace that I always feel when I am there. The movie they showed at the Houston Temple Open House had a song which has always touched me. It says:

I can feel the power of Heaven

As I stand on holy ground

And the Spirit whispers what I long to learn

Eyes are touched with understanding

I have strength beyond my own

It's a place I reach for Heaven

And it reaches in return

I can't think of a better explanation of the temple than that.

Geo Trax and Nap Time

A few weeks ago Andy mentioned that it would be fun to combine our Geo-Trax set with Grandma's and make an amazingly HUGE track. Ammon got wind of that idea and literally spent days begging to do it. So last week when Andy came home early from work due to a dentist appointment, we decided to pool our resources and see what we could come up with. It is an undertaking I will not volunteer for again anytime soon. It took over an hour to construct our track! We built a triple level bridge, though, and that was cool. And, as always, even though it was such a huge job, we wished for more track - I especially wish we could have built more underneath the big bridge.

In the middle of all of this, it was time for Peter to go down for a nap. Andy volunteered to take him down. It was quiet, but after not hearing from Andy for a while, I went looking. This is what I found:

Usually I enjoy playing Geo-Trax with the boys, but I have to admit, I felt a little but gyped. I was so exhausted and would have loved a nap like that. Oh well, to be fair, it seems like Peter pretty much hasn't slept since then - and Andy is the one who has taken the brunt of that. I guess I can't complain after all.

The other day Ammon brought me one of his transformers so I could help him get into "vehicle mode" and I just had to pause to relish in the fun of having boys. Although my heart sometimes longs for a daughter, I sure do enjoy my two boys. If not for them I wouldn't get to play Geo-Trax and Transformers all day. And seriously - those are some fun toys!

Last Week

The holidays are over and it seems that the camera was put away with the decorations - I haven't gotten it out much. It has been a fun and busy week.

Ammon is back to school, which is fun, although I enjoyed the break this year.

Andy is back to working days, which is nice. It's great to have him around for dinner and bedtime again. It changes my day, though, and I am still getting used to it. I clean a lot more and blog a lot less. I am up earlier in the morning, and more tired at night.

Peter has been struggling to sleep well this week, which has also been exhausting. Fortunately he hasn't really gotten sick - he has just seemed to be on the brink of illness all week.

My days have flown by with Ammon spending the mornings in school, afternoons of visits and play-dates, and then Andy home by 3:30. It's been fun.

I was hoping to start school tomorrow, but it didn't work out - a major devestation to me. That is definitely the low point of the week. Oh - and remember me talking about how horrible it is to call the mom of the nursery child in as the nursery leader - well, I'm her co-teacher. That happened today. There are three teams of teachers so it will only be once or twice a month. And since there are only two kids on the roll, it should be easy. Although there are two other kids that will be joining us in the next couple of months and I am thinking we should just tell their parents to bring them in now.

Have a great week and hopefully I'll post again sooner than later.

Awesome Grandma

My Grandma is awesome and inspiring. She is an amazing woman that is everything good a Grandma should be and more. Part of the "more" is her awesome love for technology. Several years ago she strengthened our extended family unity by introducing us to the concept of a family website. And as an fantastic digital scrapbooker, one of the fun things on that site is that she makes us all scrapbook pages that she uses as banners on the site. We ALWAYS get a page for any special occassion such as our birthday or anniversary, and even on some random days when she just wants to make a cute page like this one. It is something that we all look forward to and are constantly impressed with the newest technique she has learned or is trying out. She is a great example to me that it is never too late to learn more and enjoy what you do. Thanks Grandma!

Fast Sunday

These cookies make my mouth water any day of the week, but I can't believe that my crazy husband (and his devoted assistant) made these on Fast Sunday - during the fast! I could never have done it - I would have popped a bite of something into my mouth. But Andrew - he has discipline that I cannot comprehend and did not eat them until after church when we broke our fast.

The cookies were made for Peter to take in the treat bucket in nursery. Now that we've started the new year, Peter's nursery class has two people in it. He is the older one as the second person in the class had her first official day today. With the new year, however, came lots of primary changes, and somehow nursery fell through the cracks and no teacher even showed up! That made church more adventurous than necessary! Oh well, more cookies for us at home. Oh, and did I mention that one of the new nursery leaders is the mother to the little girl who started nursery today! Poor woman! She spent 18 months counting down the time when she could go childless at church, only to get called to continue to take care of the child during church!

After church we had some snuggle time and Andrew tried yet again to convince me that football is worth my time. Hmmm... Still not buying it. But Peter had a fun time snuggling up with Daddy and watching the game. Peter is getting so good at so many words these days, but I love that one of his best and first words is snuggle! He loves to snuggle and will often bring a blanket and tell you that is what he wants to do. So cute!

When Ammon was a lot younger, he slept in this Fire Truck toddler bed. He was a very claustraphobic baby which is why we put him into a toddler bed as young as we did (vs the crib) and he wasn't much older than two when we put him on a twin because he got claustraphobic in this bed. So I have no idea what is going on here! Last night Peter slept on the "big bed" (Ammon's bed) and Ammon slept in the Fire Truck bed. And now tonight I find them both piled on this tiny little toddler bed together! I kind of get it, though. Siblings can be a security blanket. When I was little I remember most nights sleeping with at least three other people on my twin bed, and sometimes not only were Katy, Joey, and Danny there, but the golden lab was there too! So, I guess my boys come by it naturally.

All Sorts of Fun

Peter stirred the soup and Ammon helped me make the Patty Melts after Andrew grilled the hamburgers. I LOVE cooking as a family.

Today was a day where we all went our separate ways and we all enjoyed what we did (even Andrew who got the F350 stuck in the snow and had to dig it out). I had the chance to hang out with my awesome friend Amanda. We spent several hours together just chatting, but I felt like I still needed hours more just to catch up. I took my camera over there determined to get a picture of us together, but got so wrapped up in talking with her that the thought never even crossed my mind. (And seriously, when do I not remember to pull the camera out?)

Andrew was helping get some things moved from my mom's house to Katy's house. He took the boys with them and they were able to play with the cousins while he got the truck stuck, unstuck it, and eventually even accomplished the original task of unloading things.

The fun thing about getting stuck in the snow was that Andrew had no idea how long it would take him to get out of it. So he called in to work and just told him he would be out for the entire day. Whoo hoo! In the end, he got called in to close the call center tonight since the other manager isn't there, but he only has to go in for these last two hours, so I'll take it.

We were still able to play all day in our various activities, have a nice dinner, get the kids to bed, and go out on a spontaneous date before Andrew had to go. Now I am ready for bed and my husband will be back by my side before I know it.

He's a Morning Person

In my last post I failed to mention that we finished the night off by inviting Katy over to be our 4th player, and Andrew, Dad, Katy and I played a couple of games of hearts. She brought two of her kids with her (Kylie stayed home sick) and we had a great time. Hearts is my all-time FAVORITE card game and I LOVE playing with my family. We got so wrapped up in the fun we were having that we forgot to worry about bedtime for the kids (something Katy and I are both pretty strict about). The kids were up a good 2+ hours past their bed time, but as usual, Peter was awake bright and early. This morning he wanted a bath. And even though he is running on less sleep than normal, his smile is brighter than ever!

New Years Day

I started the year off right - sleeping in while my husband made me a fantastic breakfast! How spoiled am I?


I then lounged around the house in my pajamas all day getting killed at Gin Rummy. (Kind of sad, but it's a tradition - I always lose when I play my dad. It's ok - I win everyone else...)

I enjoyed watching as the tradition of holiday puzzles with my Dad turned into my son enjoying holiday puzzles with Grandpa. That was a sweet moment.

And of course we finished the day with another great meal from Andrew. I love it when he is around to cook. It's what he loves to do with his time off, and we all LOVE it when he has time off.

I'm well fed and relaxed and excited for 2009!

Learning to Grill

Andrew is an awesome griller. I especially love his chicken! It works out for us that not only do we love to eat what he grills, but he loves to cook on the grill! So much that he will brave the snow to do it. Ammon enjoyed the opportunity to study under the master griller and learn the art of amazing terriaki chicken. It was delicious!

Happy New Year!

Well, 2008 is coming to an end. It's been an adventure from beginning to end. It's been a hard year in some ways, but a good year overall. It is amazing to look back to how the year started and what I would have expected at that point versus how it all played out. It seems like all of the most significant events of the year are the ones I never would have guessed. It makes me curious and a little excited to see what adventures are in store for 2009.

I just finished reading the year-end post of a blog I follow. This blog has been touching to me and I have benefited from my awareness of the tragedy and miracles this family experienced in the past several months. Take a moment to read it and remember that we truly have a Father in Heaven who will watch over us and get us through anything that we are called on to experience. And if you don't have that moment, at least take from her writing this thought:

"If any one year of my entire existence holds more sweet and sour than did 2008, I will be mortally surprised. I'm young though, and who knows what God will ask of me in years to come. He asks me to endure and then sends angels of every degree to help in the task. It is the definition of surreal. Try it sometime. (Or don't.)"

If there is one thing that my eyes were opened to this year it is this: All around us we have acquaintances, friends, even family members each with their unique and personal struggles. There is more heartache and difficulty in the world than I have really understood before. Not just in the extreme and obvious situations, but even in the subtle average lives all around us. Maybe it is the lady at the store, the person at church, or someone you know more intimately, but more likely than not you spend your day interacting with someone whose heart has a heavier burden than you would possibly have imagined. And as my eyes have been opened to this over the year, I have also learned that Heavenly Father is with us all. Always. And that peace and joy can be found through the Savior Jesus Christ in every circumstance.

As for what next year will bring? I have absolutely no idea. But ready or not, here comes 2009!

Expensive Tradition

Several years ago I made a costly mistake: I bought the Christmas ornaments made by Kiddie Kandids. Then I did it again the next year. They seemed like such a great keepsake. Each year I bought one for Ammon and one for our family. I love them! But, they are expensive! The expense really sunk in that third year when Peter was added to the mix. Three ornaments is a lot of money any time, but especially at Christmas.

This year I spent most of the Christmas season convincing myself that I would put an end to it. For the most part I was ok with it. Until, late into the season we got around to decorating our tree. I pulled out our ornaments and I was heartbroken to think we wouldn't do more this year. They are so adorable! I love looking back on the past few years and seeing the growth of my children all tied into the Christmas festivities. Still, I kept putting it off, not really having the money to get them. I ended up getting some Christmas money and so yesterday we broke down and got this years ornaments. I was giddy all day, I love them some much! It is so fun to see my collection growing.

Five Years Old

Yesterday my beautiful Angel Ammon turned five years old. He is a child who warms my heart and brings great joy to my life. He is full of life and energy, amazingly independant, and sometimes exasperating. But always, when it comes down to it, his motives are pure and intents good. I adore this little boy.

Ammon recieved this dress-up outfit and couldn't wear it enough!

He enjoyed licking the batter from the cupcakes we made.

I insisted on getting a picture of me with my boy on his special day.

I always love seeing these two together. What a great pair they make!

Sledding

So fun!

Geo-trax, a Quilt, and Cribbage

Merry Christmas

from the Shadel Family!

We had a wonderful day. We kept things simple. For the boys Santa brought Geo-Trax. Little did we know that grandparents on each side would follow suit. The delight you see on Peter and Ammon's face was over the fly-through barn and the airplane Santa brought.
After opening gifts from Grandma Lynn and Grandpa Joe we were able to add on a bridge with more flying track. What a fun surprise. It became quickly apparent that one plane for two boys was not cutting it, and we wondered if Ammon would have some additions to his birthday gifts the next day.
Turned out that wasn't necessary. Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Derrick showed up and along with them came the geo-trax airport and another plane! Ammon and Peter (especially Ammon) hit the jackpot when it came to the geo-air products. In one day he got the entire line of stuff with the exception of one plane. (And although two planes is really great with two kids, three planes would just be over the top right now!

Andy and I kept things even more simple between us. For him there was a quilt I made. It has some things about it that make it very sentimental and special for us. He got his quilt a few days early. I also received a homemade gift. We woke up early Christmas morning before the boys got up and I opened my much anticipated present. It was a beautifully crafted cribbage board that he designed and made for me.
I couldn't have asked for a nicer gift. Cribbage is a game that means a lot to us on a lot of levels. A couple of years ago he and I were both working opposite shifts. He would leave in the morning and before he got home I would have to drop Ammon off to get babysat until Andy could get him. I would head to work and by the time I came home Ammon would be sleeping. After Ammon was asleep, Andy would fix me dinner and when I got home we would play cribbage together while I ate. It was literally the only time we had together during those months, and the memories I have of that time are fond. The significance of this game runs deeper for both of us. I learned to play from my dad who learned from his mom. I can still remember the method my dad used to teach me and even which room in the house I learned and practiced the game.
Andy never learned to play as a child, but found that his grandparents have a great cribbage legacy of their own. When he started this project his dad mentioned that his grandpa has made several cribbage boards over the years. Andy called and talked with his grandpa and learned that they have played two games a night for longer than they can remember. They even went through an eight year period of time where they kept track of who won (in 8 years, Gram won 60% of the time). This game makes my heart happy as it reminds me of fond times in my life and special relationships in my family.

What a wonderful holiday we had!

Sugar Plums Dancing

It's Christmas Eve and ready for bed. What a fun holiday so far!

Merry Christmas!