Christmas

With Christmas landing on Sunday this year the timing of opening presents changed. Instead of getting up at dark o'clock and ripping through every gift then having breakfast, we leisurely looked through stockings at about 6:30 and then proceeded to a fantastic breakfast. After which we all dressed for church and headed out the door. The gifts remained unopened, untouched and unspoken of. When presented with options of how we would be handle Christmas morning, they decided to wait to open things until after church. Which meant they were choosing to wait many hours before ripping into those presents. Even Toran agreed that it was a good idea to wait. So they waited until about 2 o'clock that afternoon to open gifts. All of the pictures still show them in their pj's because when we got home from church they quickly changed right back into them before eating lunch. I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

That is exactly what I needed.

About a month ago Kali came running in yelling "I have found one! I was looking and looking and I found one." I couldn't figure out what she was talking about when she thrust into my face a four leaf clover. Yep, that's right we don't have a fine manicured lawn, we have been growing clover and Kali spends hours looking for the very elusive four leaf clover. We told her she would probably never find one, good thing she didn't listen and kept looking. We did facilitate her discovery by spending no time whatsoever on the so called lawn. Other than mowing every once in awhile. She is very welcome for the "Luck of the Irish" that is to come her way.

BIG NEWS!!! KIAH IS 12

I have put off writing this post for many reasons. One being that if I ignore it long enough maybe it won't really be true, I can't possibly have another child entering Young Women's. Two, she is the one most like me. Yes, she has my quirky sense of humor (read sarcasm), she sounds like me, she looks like me, she is my mini me. Needless to say we butt heads a lot. I know that is shocking. Of course when we are on the same wave length, there isn't anything the two of us can't do. We can read each others thoughts and feel each others pain.

I probably "get her" the best of all of my kids, it also means we tend to argue more too. It is harder for me to write about Kiah because she is most like me. Kiah is someone you just get or you don't, there is no middle ground. To most people she is ambiguous and amoeba like, but to me she is a very easy read. She is loyal to a fault, she is kind, she is creative and loves to work in 3D. She likes to create and make something out of things most people would never think of using as craft material. She is a thinker, she is reflective and ponders on things that many great thinkers have only scratched the surface of. She definitely thinks out of the box. She loves to cook (we are all grateful for this one). She makes the best beef stew ever. She likes to bake and make a mess of the kitchen and come up with things to please others. She adds lots of love to whatever she makes. Her cookbook collections is already better than mine. I could totally see her writing one someday. She hopes to go to culinary school someday and become a pastry chef or own her own restaurant. I say do both, as long as mom eats for free. She is passionate, full of fire and ambition. She is also timid, cautious, tentative and slow to warm to new people or situations. I have to say this has served her very well through out her young life. She is a great judge of character. I often look to see how Kiah reacts to someone before giving a final clearance. Kiah is someone who will give you her last dime, last meal, shirt and coat, and last breath if you need it. So it is good that she is a little slower to make a friend because once you have reached the inter sanctum of her circle, you are there for life and she is there for you.

She loves a good game of anything. She is very competitive and will not give up an inch for anyone or anything. If you win playing against Kiah, it is a well fought battle. Thankfully she is usually a pretty good loser if she loses. Kiah has always been my lover of the outdoors. She is most happy exploring the woods or streams. She loves to ride her bike, roller blade, jump rope, chase sisters. Of course as she enters these soon to be teen years she is discovering the arts of the home. She is becoming very capable in caring for and beautifying a home. She enjoys caring for younger kids and babies and can't wait to begin babysitting. It is fun to watch her grow into womanhood and to begin an amazing journey into discovering herself. If the past is any indication, she will be a witty, smart, funny, capable, handy, beautiful daughter of God.

Snowtober

Just when I was thinking that autumn was in full swing and the joy of the season was upon us, we were hit with our first winter storm. In October no less. We were in full Halloween mode, preparing for trick or treating when from out of no where came 10 inches of wet heavy snow. Now lets remember we are still in autumn mode and so are the trees, not all of them have lost their leaves. Enter high winds and heavy wet snow. We have trees that broke, some that came down and limbs and branches down. Power lines through out the town were on the ground and we were in the dark. Of course we were at the church when the power went out. Maybe I should back up a little. Saturday October 30th was the ward trunk or treat. I had finished costumes the night before and the day was spent carving pumpkins and doing hair.

With the emanate threat of snow coming the time was moved up an hour to 5pm. We were to have chili and cornbread, play games, decorate cookies and of course go from car to car to get those ever popular treats. Sister Faulkner said the snow wouldn't start until 10pm. So when it started at 3:30pm we simply ignored it because Sister Faulkner said it wouldn't start until 10pm. We carefully drove to the church and had one of the most enjoyed times we have had at a trunk or treat. Maybe because many stayed home due to the weather so there was actually room to move. We ate, paraded in costume and then proceeded to trunk or treat around the halls because there was already many inches of snow. After that we had the fastest clean up and take down of any church activity I have ever attended and then we drove home, slowly. The snow was flying wildly at this point and we listened to Christmas music all the way home. Yes, Christmas music before Thanksgiving. We came home to a dark and cold house. Started the fire, lit the candles and hunkered down for a long night. The youngest girls were thrilled with their candy and with lighting their pumpkins for light, that they hardly noticed the cold the first night. But by morning they were asking when the power would be back on. We were all asking when the power would be back on. We ventured outside to see the damage and were totally unprepared for the carnage that met us. Trees and limbs and power lines down everywhere. We cleaned up the need to get it off the fence or the road and left the rest for later. Monday afternoon and evening our small dead end street was filled with utility trucks. They pulled new wire, put up two new poles and replace a transformer or something. Dan was sure we would have power by that night. Well we didn't. We spent another night keeping warm by the fire and reading out loud from Charlotte's web. But by Tuesday afternoon we were back up in the lap of luxury. Warm and using the dishwasher. It was an early test of winter preparedness I don't wish to live through again this winter. It may just be a very dark, cold, wet winter this year. One that I am willing to for go. Here's to wishing global warming was actually true.

What else does one do in the snow with no power? Of course Tessa has made a recliner in the snowbank and is reading. She is a true New Englander.

Fall and Winter Wardrobes

The one thing you can count on is change. Here in New England the seasons are changing. The leaves are beginning to change colors and fall off the trees, acorns are every where, tour buses are making their way through small towns, apple cider is being sold on the town common, along with apple cider doughnuts (yum), the rains have started and the temperatures have dropped. I love the fall in New England. The other change that is taking place is the switching of the wardrobe. This is one of my least favorite things to do. We spend a couple of days going through every ones dressers and closets trying on all of last years fall and winter clothes, handing down what doesn't fit and making a list of what is needed for this year. And then the fun begins, a trip to the fabric store and a finger walk through the patterns and what do I end up with? A new wardrobe for kids, and hours of work for me. I hope I can get it all done before the snow flies.

I hope to show some finished products in the next couple of weeks. With any luck I just might be able to get it all done before they grow out of them. It is times like these I wish I had a sewing room where I could just leave stuff out all of the time. Instead we don't eat dinner. It's a trade off I'm willing to make right now.

I'M PUBLISHED

Granted I had to do the publishing myself. Here is a look at a fun little project I did recently.

On the last page you can slip in a picture of your favorite super hero. A really fun project for mommy's to be. I also made a little girl version but I don't have pictures, sorry. It has a cupcake, flower, baby doll, blue bird and something else. It is totally cute in pink and purple. For those of you who are wondering if my services are availible to provide you with your own copy of this very cute book the answer is no (unless you beg relentlessly and have time to wait for shippment). I will happily send you the pattern. Also for those of you who are close enough to little Mr. Wells, I made one about shapes and colors. Ask him if you can take a gander, maybe he will share. The best part about these books, you can chew on them and they won't fall apart.

New Phones

So this evening we made the big jump. We all have iPhones. Yes, I know what you are all thinking. However, Dan is only home for three days and he has had enough of Verizon. We all have the same numbers so you can still reach us if you really feel a need to. The home phone is going away very soon so feel free to lose that number if you wish. Needless to say Micah, Anique and I are all sitting here getting phones set up. I think that counts as quality time spent together. Mostly because Anique set up my phone and added some apps to my phone. I am grateful for the games that will now entertain me whenever I need entertaining. Micah loaded some music on his and had it clipped to his belt and says "it's like a digital Walkman" who knew? Yay for new phones that you can read your texts on.