R.A.D. Kids Graduation

Today was Maddy's R.A.D. Kids graduation. RAD kids is a program the kids do at school as part of P.E. They learn 3 basic rules:
1. No one has the right to hurt me
2. I don't have the right to hurt anyone else.
3. If someone is hurting me, I do what I can to make them stop (fight back, run, tell an adult)
The program is taught weekly for 3-4 months. Today's graduation was their chance to fight back and get somewhere safe.

Serious kicking ability in that girl!

When approached by a stranger, the kids take this stance and yell "Stay back! You're not my dad! (or mom)"

After gearing up, Maddy was ready to fight the "Man in Red"...a.k.a. police officer in his safe suit. He grabs the kids and makes them fight hard to get free and run to the safe zone. We all yell and cheer for them...It's a great way to empower kids.

When Maddy was done, I asked her what her favorite part was. "Well....I was good at peppering his eyes, but I really wanted to head butt him! They don't teach the first graders to head butt...you have to be big like me (yeah...because Maddy is sooo big and scary!). And I elbowed him hard!"

Well...our little Maddy is now a force to be reckoned with. Hopefully she won't use any of her new moves on her siblings!

lazy Sunday afternoon....

I was sitting on my bed today, working on next week's primary lesson when Lady came running in yelling, "Hey mom! Look at me...I'm a house! See?"

Of all the things I would have done with the Build-a-Bear box, this was not one of them. Kids are the best....you can't pay for this kind of entertainment!

You cried and you cried and you cried, but I didn't!

Miss Lady lost her first tooth tonight! She's been wiggling that thing for weeks and finally decided tonight was the night (of course, mom and dad were strongly encouraging her with phrases like "the tooth fairy would love to come so close to Valentine's"). It was looking like she might back out of the deal once Tim got the dental floss secured, but he was quick and she didn't have a chance to change her mind.

After that, it was all smiles! She can't wait to tell her Kindergarten teacher because "then I get to write in the tooth book, for when you lose a tooth, and say what the tooth fairy does with those teeth!" Not to mention, Tim informed her that everyone else cried when they lost their first tooth....this led to a strange opening to family home evening. Laityn was conducting. She welcomed everyone, and then pointed to each of her siblings saying "You cried and you cried and you cried when you lost your tooths, but I didn't even cry!" The joy of being 5!

candlelight love

For Valentines we had our traditional candlelight dinner. We broke out the "fancy" plates and glasses and drank "apple pop". Jace kept asking to turn the lights back on because "I can't see the chicken". The kids told us all their Valentine's Day stories....and Kenzie grouched about her 6th grade teacher who "wouldn't allow us to have a party! Just doughnuts..."

Yep...those are hand dipped strawberries and they were soooo good! After dinner, we all played some hard core rock band. I had great plans to school Tim, but we played pretty evenly, so there was no gloating for me at the end of the night!

even 4 year olds get tired of winter

I was busy making dinner yesterday when Lady came tattling on Jace.
"Mom, you know Jace's little backpack...well...he's putting all his socks in it!"
"Why?"
"I don't know, he just is....but it's ALL Full...you better go see!"
I came in and found a backpack with a couple pairs of socks, 2 swimsuits, pj's, and underwear, and one very proud little boy.

"Jace, how come you're packing all your stuff?"
"Cause I need it for when we go campin'."
"Well....we don't go camping for a very long time. You might need some of those clothes before summer."
"Nope! I need to be all ready for goin' when we go!"

I guess I'm not the only one who is oh-so-ready for some warmer weather! And yes, after some convincing, we unpacked the bag and decided to wait until campin' was a little bit closer!

bits and pieces

Tim took Maddy with him to his Jr. High basketball game on Saturday. He shared this conversation with me when they came home.
Mads: "Dad would you love me if I was ugly?"
Tim: "Yes! I would love you even if you were ugly!"
Mads: "No, Dad, I mean like burn your eyes if you look at me ugly!?"
Tim (trying not to laugh, but smiling big): "Yes Maddy, I'd love you no matter what!"
....that is our dear, sweet Maddy!...

Today, I went out to shovel snow..yet again. I came inside to find a nearly empty tube of neosporin. Hmmm....found Jace with very soft, yet slickery hands. Apparently, he used it like lotion. While I was washing his hands, he told me he needed a quarter. I explained that he wouldn't be getting any quarters today...Mommy was keeping the quarter to help pay for the wasted neosporin. A rather large tantrum ensued, and Jace was put in his room for some quality calm down time. I came back a few minutes later and found the picture below. When I asked Jace why he ripped up his only dollar, he replied "I didn't want my dollar, I wanted a quarter!" Needless to say, the above picture is Jace spending some more quality time alone. Will he ever learn?

I was recently released from the primary presidency, and much to my happiness, I was called as the CTR 5 teacher. I haven't taught a primary class since I was very first married. In all my excitement to prepare my first lesson, I came up with a really fun idea for my class and thought I would share. I bought these boxes at IKEA, one for each child. Sunday they all took home their "Primary Box" to keep all their pictures, handouts, etc. The kids were super excited, almost as excited as me!

Liver Day!

February 7th is Liver Day at our house. 2009 marks seven years since my car accident, and seven years since 2/3 of my liver was removed. For anyone who doesn't already know, I was broadsided by a propane tanker...the driver plowed through a stop sign right into my little Mazda. The impact was so hard, my shoes flew right off my feet. Maddy and Carter walked away, or rather were carried away in their car seats, with nothing but bumps and bruises. This is my car--totalled! The dent in the roof and the break in the window are from the tires of the tanker coming up and over my car. The tanker flipped over. The driver climbed out and pulled me and my kids out, with the help of a school bus driver. They were worried the tanker was going to explode...thankfully, it didn't.

I was not as lucky as my kids. I had a lacerated liver, collapsed lung, bruised kidneys...those were the big ones. I came through surgery...barely...and was put on a vent. There were literally hundreds of prayers offered in my behalf that night, and for the next several weeks, I made a slow but steady recovery. This is me two days after the surgery. Would you believe they still hadn't washed my hair yet? And it was caked with blood in the back (apparently during surgery, some of the blood pooled under my head---gross!) I do remember bits of my surgery. My blood pressure was so low, that had to quit giving me the anesthetic. I heard the stapler as they were stapling my incision closed...that is a weird feeling!

I have a lovely 11 inch scar--shaped like an upsidedown checkmark, that follows my rib cage. My liver regrew within a year of the accident...amazing what our bodies can do. This event was life changing for my family. We are all stronger because of what we went through together. We were part of a miracle. And so, every year, we celebrate Liver Day. I am reminded of the power of prayer, and how anything is possible with faith. Happy Liver Day!