Our Family

 Now that it is fall, our "family" is shrinking.  It has been a fun summer as the kids have found lots of "pets" to adopt for a time.  Here is Elsie's chalk drawing of our family:
 

From left to right:  Dad, Mom, Peter, Elsie, Kimball, baby Anna, and then I think it's our caterpillar, a racoon (I think she meant cacoon), and our frog.  Unfortunately Little Grey didn't make it into the family this time.  The caterpillars we caught this year were bitter sweet.  At one point we had 5, but due to unknown natural circumstances, only 2 made it to the chrysalis stage.  Of those 2, 1 survived and flew away.  The other monarch butterfly emerged from it's chrysalis while Mike was gone and I'm afraid Mike is more of an expert on monarch care than I am, and the butterfly died within an hour or so.  The kids were devastated.  Peter kept crying on our deck, and wouldn't eat lunch.  I had to distract everyone with a trip to the park.  However, here are some pics of the 1 survivor. 
  
Isn't it beautiful?  It is so fascinating and amazing as they transform into these amazing creatures!  To think this tiny, delicate butterfly will begin it's amazing 3,000 mile journey to Mexico is mind boggeling.  Someday will have to follow their migration path and experience the journey with them.  Elsie had a "Fancy Nancy" moment in the picture below.  It was great!
 
As for the frog... Mike found a huge frog mowing the lawn one morning.  The kids were sooo excited.  The afternoon was spent building a cage for it and finding food to feed it.  From that day on, all the kids foraged grasshoppers for that frog.  Kimball would find one after dinner, pull the back legs off (yuck!), and hold it in his hand all evening until it was time to come in and feed the frog.    One morning Peter came up to me very excited and showed me his fist.  All I saw were bits of grasshopper legs and heads poking out of the cracks of his fingers.  I think he had 10 or so in his one little hand. Even Elsie helped catch them and contributed in the leg pulling.  Those poor grasshoppers, enduring such mutilation and suffering, but frogs must eat.  Here are the kids holding that lucky frog:


As the evenings got colder, and fall approached, Mike and I told the kids that in order to survive, we needed to let the frog go to hibernate.  They were very sad, especially Peter.  After a few tears, we let them go (yes, we eventually accumulated another).  It was a good experience, and I'm sure there will be future frog pets in the spring.  But for now, we will just enjoy our family of 6 and Little Grey!

Father's Day

We had a great Father's Day a couple weeks ago.  Each of the kids worked really hard on making their dad a card, and couldn't wait to give it to him.  Well, all but Kimball.  He took his card back from Mike - it was too precious.  

 

We had a great weekend.  Mike and I went to the movies and saw The Avengers on Friday. On Saturday he and Peter ran in a 1-mile race together.  Mike helped pace Peter, and he ended up getting 2nd place out of the kids.  He finished in 9:33.  Peter was so proud.

 That Sunday afternoon Elsie brought a bunch of her animals upstairs and declared, "Since it's Father's Day, Dad, you get to play with me!!!"  Mike was a good sport.  He acted privileged, and knelt down and played with her for a short while.  We appreciate his constant service as he stays busy doing home projects, spending time with the kids, and trying to meet everyone's needs.  He is a good dad, and our family is so blessed to have him as head of our home!

Baby Girl!

 It happened! On June 20th, at 5:26, Anna Sovina was born into our family!  She was 6 lbs. 10 oz. and 19.5 inches tall.  I was so grateful to be at the hospital with the doctor there and have everything go smoothly.  She is beautiful and such a sweet baby.  Here are some pictures

  

Mike washed Anna's hair and got all the gunk off of it.  She loved the feel of the water. 

 Grandma and Grandpa came with the kids for a visit.  They took the hospital by storm - our room was rockin' for a little bit, and we kept the nurses busy as they kept our the kiddos supplied with crackers and dum-dums.  They were all excited to meet their little sister, and had a hard time waiting their turns.

She has been a joy to have in our family these past several days.  All her older siblings adore her and want to hold her all the time.  We are all enjoying her sweet, peaceful spirit.

First Week of Summer

I have found some definite pros and cons to summer, but overall, we are having a blast around here.  However, I'll start with my complaints first, ahem:
1.  The "fun" expectation.  This is wearing.  Yes, summer is supposed to be a lot of fun, but there is still reading/"school" at home to be done, groceries and errands to run, and a home to clean.  The first few days have been a bit rough as this realization has hit home for Peter.
2.  My mind must be stretched.  I have to think, have I read to everyone?  Spent quality time with everyone?  Cleaned what I needed?  Connected with the people I want?  Time is more of the essence, and, as Mr. Gilbreth in Cheaper by the Dozen would agree, there must be less wasted motions, and more efficiency to my days.
Okay, enough with the cons.  Now for the Pros, which are a lot more fun to revel in:
1.  It's all family time.  I have a three month break from driving homework I think is stupid down Peter's throat, racing the clock to get to school on time, scheduling Kimball's nap to coincide with when to pick Peter up, finding babysitters for Elsie and Kimball so I can volunteer at the school, drilling spelling words I know will never set in, figuring out how to pack a sandwich free cold lunch, etc, etc, etc.  I can do what I want, and when I want to, and nobody has to know or care.  It's liberating!!!!
2.  We are having fun.  I ask the kids, "What do you want to do next week?"  They tell me, I plan it, and we do it!  Last week we played in the water in the backyard all afternoon, explored an  "Antiquarian Bookstore" and picked out used books for the kids, played at Grandma and Grandpas, took 3.5 hours exploring every inch of a 2 mile trail along a river, went garage sale shopping, played at the park, played tennis, had friends over, and picked warm strawberries out of our patch.  Life sure is an adventure, and it's fun watching my kids explore the wonders of it!
3.  Peter and Elsie and Kimball all get to learn to play together.  It's no longer "Elsie and Kimball" while Peter is at school, or doing homework.  They are a team, and all three of them are in things together now.  It's so good for Peter to be a part of things, and for the younger ones to learn to include him better.
3.  A new library card!  We live in a small town, with a tiny library.  I have been at my wits end, reading the SAME books over and over to my children.  However, my mother-in-law lent me her library card to the "big" library in the town a couple miles away.  It has opened new doors for me and my children.  It will be a saving grace in the months to come with a new baby.  What a great summer perk!
So, summer is going to be fun, and exhausting.  However, I love my kids and am grateful for the time we all have together!

May Highlights

May was full of small, eventful highlights.  Fun moments, and lots of work when the fun was not being had.  Our home is getting ready for a baby at the end of June, so Mike and I are bombarded with each others "honey-dos" before the baby arrives.  However, here are some of the more fun things that happened....

Mike scrounged up an old playhouse someone wanted to get rid of.  Once we clean it up and secure everything, the kids will have a blast in it!  It was very heavy though.  Our neighborhood is awesome - within minutes of coming home with this huge hunk of wood, we had about 10 men help carrying it to our backyard, as you can see for yourself.  It quickly got its name as the "Princess Castle", and has stuck ever since.  Thanks everyone, for all the time and muscle it took to get this huge thing here!

Mike and Peter also went on a fishing trip with one of our neighbors and his grandson.  They had a blast.  Peter came home talking a mile a minute about his fish and what they did. With the help of Mike and our great neighbor, Peter claimed he caught 3 fish!  That's pretty exciting.
The same weekend, my sister Michelle came up to visit.  Michelle, Elsie, Kimball and I had a terrific evening as well.  We ate popcorn, chocolate, and watched Cinderella.  When Peter came home from fishing, it was straight to his 2nd to last soccer game.  By the end of the day, Peter was pretty wiped out!
Michelle came to get away from the pressures of school, but I'm afraid I just added to her stress during her stay.  I realized while she was here that I had a bigger project ahead of me than I realized, as I was supposed to come up with a mother's day gift for the primary children that Sunday.  Sweet Michelle stayed up way too late (or should I say early) helping me cut out little flowers for a card craft for each child in our ward to give their mother.  But oh, I'm not sure what I would have done without her!  She was definitely a life saver that weekend.  She bailed me out with the craft, subbed playing the piano in primary, helped get my kids ready for church in the morning when 1 of the 3 children was having a melt down, and was my stabilizer all Sunday.  Thanks Michelle!  (I still feel awful about your tires though!)

Peter also finished up another season of soccer.  We were all so excited at the last game.  All season long he had wanted to score a goal, as is the dream of every kid that plays soccer.  It was an awesome play.  Peter was playing defender and happened to dribble the ball all the way down the field, maneuvering around other kids and everything.  Then came the goal kick.  It was a bit slow, and right towards the goalie.  However, the stars were aligned, and by some stroke of luck, the goalie forgot to stop the ball in front of the goal line.  Hence, Peter scored a point for the team.  YEAAAA!

Here is another random picture that was taken a couple weeks ago.  Elsie and Peter were playing outside for about 10 minuets by themselves.  When Mike stepped out to check on them, he saw the picture to the right.  Peter was so proud, and Elsie seemed to think she was a princess in a parade.  However, it was disconcerting as a parent.  Instances like these I'm so grateful my children are alive and functioning.

Last but not least, there was the solar eclipse we watched from our backyard.  It was a blast playing with our shadows and watching the moon pass over the sun as it did.  The lighting was so weird.  Our neighbor brought over his welding helmet and we all took a short peak at the sun as it was being covered over.  It was great.  What made it even greater was all the family that happened to stop by during the event, so we were able to share it.    I had a niece that was starving the whole time, and I felt bad for keeping her, but she was even a good sport!  The pictures are of the girls playing with their shadows.  It was fun because there was lighting coming from 2 different directions, making warped shadows.  Meanwhile, the kids entertained themselves with grandpa (or rather ON grandpa).  So, that was our May.  Now wish up luck for the month of June, we'll need it!

Mother or Commander? Ender Wiggin and I

From the time I was little, I have had a vivid imagination.  Although my childhood imagination has morphed as I've grown-up, it still manifests itself strongly when I read a fictional book.  I get caught-up into the stories I read and take on the subject's emotions and themes extensively.  When I read a sad book, I cry for days, if a character is hurt, I loose sleep over worry, or if the main character overcomes, I feel conqueror over my life as well.  Hence, reading fiction is somewhat exhausting for me and usually I just stick with non-fiction genres.  However, lately I have been reading Ender's Game and I feel so inclined to share my thoughts on the parallels I am drawing from Ender's character.
As a mother, there are ways in which I feel very connected to Ender as a commander in his war games at school.  First, some background:  Ender is a 9-year-old boy who becomes commander over a group of 50 in some serious school games.  The teachers at his school are continually bombarding him with rule changes, promotions, and other children he must get along with.  In response, Ender rises to the occasion.  Although he rises, he is often overwhlemed, excited, or even depressed with his circumstances.  He finds himself continually changing his strategies, trying to stay ahead of his opponents and the game.  To him, loosing is not an option.  This is where my feelings as a mother begin to parallel this prodigy of a character.
As a mother, my game is constantly changing.  There are no consistant rules and regulations, handbooks or texts to follow.  Just as Ender studied other commanders around him and battles of the past from those with experience, I observe keenly the tactics and ideas of mothers around me and those who have gone before.  I also pray to receive personal guidance on decisions.  No matter what, though, no situation lasts for too long, and regulations change.  Children grow-up, new problems arise, more children are born, jobs change, the economy changes, friends and mentors move and change.  Ender and I are continually pushed into new and harder challenges we are unsure how to overcome.  Change sometimes seems the only constant.
However, overcome we must, because loosing is not an option.  No matter what, I must stay connected with my children, never letting my role as "mother" slip.  I must teach them tirelessly, just as Ender with his army, how to overcome their opponents in life.  Just as Ender, this requires hard work, long days, extra practice, and more studying.  At times, it feels lonely and even depressing.  No one has walked this exact path of mothering these children of mine, and it takes much prayer, thought, and meditation.  As things turn, and battles are overcome and conquered, there are times motherhood can be very exhilarating and exciting.  I find myself thinking, just as Ender, "I love this game!"
Yes, motherhood involves finding new tactics and strategies in an ever-changing world in an ever-changing household.  It is always work, but for one reason and another, I love this role.  I love the pay-offs, and I love my children.  I "win" whenever my children run up and give me  hugs, when they make good choices, when they are kind to others, show responsibility, serve others, and develop their talents.  Watching them grow is the wonder of all wonders, and I am glad to be "commander", alongside my husband, and given the opportunity to help guide them in this game called life.

1st Tooth!

The day finally came - Peter lost his first tooth last Monday.  He was soooo excited.  Apparently, all of his friends, and everybody in his first grade class had lost a tooth already.  You can imagine how excited he was when his finally came out.  I'll admit, the whole process is gross, and I couldn't understand how I ever thought loosing teeth was exciting when I was a girl.  For some reason, these benchmarks of growing up, no matter how disturbing, are rather exciting when we are young.  I've posted the pictures.  Please take note of the blood marks on his cheek and pajamas.  It was so gruesome and exciting all at once!
He was also very excited when the tooth fairy came during the night.  She left a new circulating gold dollar and a dime.  I keep telling Peter that I think the tooth fairy left the dime so he could still pay his tithing without breaking-up his gold dollar.  He's not buying it.  I think the tooth-fairy may need to leave a note next time of her intentions.  Any how, those coins haven't left his side all week, and he's shown them to everyone.  It's pretty cute.

Pokey Little Puppy Flower Garden

Elsie gets to pick her hairstyles Monday thru Saturday.  On Sunday, I get to decide on the hair style.  It's a fairly good system, and so far it's made everyone happy.  However, it does mean that sometimes Elsie gets some pretty out-of-the-box ideas, and according to our agreement, I must follow through.  On some days she brings up all the hair bows and flowers she can find and tells me she wants a flower garden.  Sometimes I'm even luck enough to put in Pokey Little Puppies along with the flowers.  If any of you aren't aware of the children's book titled, The Pokey Little Puppy, I highly recommend you read it.  It's a children's classic.  It's about a dog with a short, squat tail.  I think the dog's tail reminds Elsie of the pony-tail style where the hair isn't pulled all the way through.  On this particular day, about a week ago, I was privileged enough to put in 8 "pokey little puppies" with flowers.  She loves it.  Elsie definitely has her own ideas and ways of doing things, and frankly, I kind of appreciate her own originality and uniqueness.

Our Ballerina

We have a neighbor that, before she had children, was a professional ballerina.  She has been so great to give some very low-key lessons to interested neighborhood girls.  Elsie has LOVED them.  I was just asking Mike why we bother buying Elsie clothes, because 80% of the time she is dressed in one of her leotards.  I'm not sure which she likes more - the outfits, or the actual dance.  Here is our little diva.

Messes

Here is a little insight to what my days consist of:

Every morning these two stinkers run around and terrorize the house.  In the above picture, they are 'cooking'.  Apparently they made some tasty stuff.  Let me make this clear, this is no exceptional morning.  This is routine.  They are quiet and non assuming, going about forming piles here, dumping and filling baskets up there, and having a blast.  That's what is so hard about being upset.  They are so busy pretending and having fun, that I don't have the heart to stop them (sometimes).  
So here's my question - are my children without bounds?  Are they out of control?  Do I encourage enough structure in my home?  Otherwise, why would this sort of chaos be so appealing to them?  I wouldn't mind an honest opinion.

More Birthdays

As February and March rolled around, others of us in the family got a year older as well.  The ages will remain anonymous, however.  The day before my birthday I was out late at a meeting.  I came home tired, but as I walked in the door, I smelled something wonderful.  Mike was so sweet and made me my favorite flavor of cake - chocolate, double layers and all!  The sacrifice was especially appreciated because of his somewhat limited experience at baking.  He thought he needed 2 cake mixes if he were doing a 2 layered cake.  I can see how it can be confusing.  Mike cleaned the oven and everything.  I speak the honest truth though, when I say it was one of the best cakes I've ever had!!!  Thanks sweetheart!

Mike also had a birthday.  His cake was much simpler, but a family favorite of his growing up.  It's called lemon punch cake.  I love my mother-in-law for keeping family recipes and traditions fairly simple and practical.  It's been a great blessing!  We had no idea what to get him for his birthday, so we picked out a bunch of fishing lures.  The kids were really excited about giving them to him, but I think we picked out the wrong kinds.  I hope Mike knows how much we love and appreciate him, even though his birthday was a bit lame.  Mike is wonderful, hardworking, thoughtful, and very giving.  He is a jack of all trades, and can fix anything.  He never ceases to amaze me.  Mike is also very patient and kind towards other people.  I think that's why he's so good for me, because I require a lot of patients at times.  He is always eager to do the right thing.  I love him and know how lucky I am!!!!

Catch-up post - Elsie's Birthday

Elsie's birthday was clear in January, but I'm feeling motivated to catch everyone up on our not-so-eventful, but very busy lives.  Elsie turned 4, and as many of you can guess, she wanted a princess birthday party.  I made felt crowns for each of her friends she invited, and we played fun little princess games.  It was a lot of fun!  Here are some pictures:

  

Yes, these girls are all Elsie's age, or there about.  What she lacks in height, you can see she makes up in spirit!  They had a blast dressing-up in our accumulated 2nd hand costumes.  

 

The picture above left needs a caption to explain that the funny figured cake  is an interpretation of a pink castle.  I was a bit tired and 3 or 4 months pregnant at the time, so I simplified as much as Elsie would let me.  She was quite excited about this cake, and that is what matters!

That evening we got together with another family and grandparents and had a small family party.  It's pretty cute, every year Elsie wants to invite my dear friend Stephanie to her birthday party with all her other friends.  Stephanie is so good to give Elsie her undivided attention for a time whenever she comes over.  Elsie loves it!  She had a fun birthday, and got lots of princess accessories to keep her going for a while.  The below picture goes out to all those moms who work so hard making their children's birthdays special.  It is a lot of fun and rewarding, but also very exhausting! Happy Birthday Elsie!!!

Elsieisms

Elsie is a very funny girl. As I have mentioned in past posts, she is ALL girl. A very different breed from my boys. I guess I shouldn't be sooo astounded, because, after all, I AM a girl. However, Elsie thrives off of being called "Princess" and goes around all day dressed up as a ballerina. She loves flowers in her hair and the colors pink and purple. Every day there must be a considerable time allocated to coloring. It can't just be any coloring page though (and thank goodness to google image), it must be a unicorn, a princess _____, a ballerina, or a baby _______ (you can fill whatever animal you'd like in the blanks).
This girl can play all day long, and lives in her own world, where everything is quite pleasant. I have seen her play with colored pencils for over an hour. She did stop for a moment to ask me if I had helmets for all of them. She has got a great imagination and draws Kimball into her play all the time. Together, they terrorize the house on a daily basis.
The other day I took her into a hair salon to buy a present for a friend. While we were there, Elsie saw someone getting her hair highlighted. The conversation went as follows:
"Mom, what was that lady doing?"
"Well, she was getting her hair dyed."
Elsie - "Why was she getting her hair dialated?"
I suppose we've taken much more trips to the eye doctor than the hair salon. I respond, "Dyed. Some people don't like the color of their hair, or they get tired of it, so they change the color."
Hmmmm. This gets Elsie thinking. I buckle her up in the car, and she is quite for a few minutes. Then she asks, "Mom, do WE dye our hair?"
Curious where this is leading, I cautiously say, "Well, Mom doesn't, but lots of people do, and that's fine."
Then I get this desperate response, "Mom, can I dye my hair pink because brown just isn't my favorite color!!"
Ohhh, dear. I held in the laughter because Elsie was a bit concerned, and told her maybe when she was older.

Grammy and Poppy

I just had to include these photos. Whenever my mom comes to visit, I have to fight for my time with Elsie. I think she assumes Grammy is coming to see specifically her. They love and appreciate each other. Thanks for your visits!

Here is another random picture. The only snow we've gotten so far this year happened in November. Since then it has been a green Christmas and a spring January. What is going on?

Happy Birthday Kimball!

Kimball turned 2 on October 28th. When our kids turn 2 they get a toddler bed. This was well past time for Kimball. He would lay on the top part of his crib when he woke up and holler for someone to come get him. It was a very precarious situation. He never did try to jump down though. He loves his new room with his alligator bed and zebra horsey to ride. Mike found this horsey at a second hand store. We thought it was a great $5 addition. He is very protective of his stuff, as only a 3rd child can be.

I had no idea what the kids could get Kimball, plus there wasn't a lot of time to shop. So, we improvised. Peter and Elsie gave him toys they felt like they could part with. Kimball loved them and to this day there is no question as to whose they are. He had a great time opening the presents and is still hording them in his room to this day.

Kimball is a spitfire. His language is developing very quickly and he uses it to its fullest potential to tell us exactly what he wants or how he feels. If we don't catch on quick enough, he immediately picks a fight. It doesn't matter how much bigger one is than this tough kid, he'll let you have it if you don't act fast enough to a request. He has a great laugh and uses it often. He thinks the silliest things are hilarious. As a 3rd child, he idolizes his older brother and sister and learns so much from them. He is mischievous, and between him and Elsie, I am always skeptical about their innocent play. We are so happy to have Kimball in our family. He brings extra love and lots of fun.

Halloween

How did this holiday slip by without a picture of my kids in their costumes? Maybe it was Elsie changing her mind 5 minutes before the Halloween party, and frantically trying to pull a princess costume together. I don't think I have a great excuse though. Just picture it in your mind: Elsie as Princess Elsie, Peter as a skeleton, and Kimball as an adorable pumpkin. We did get some excellent pumpkin carving pictures though. Peter did his own pumpkin carving, Elsie was her own designer, and Kimball was a ferocious drawer. Check out the pics.


It was fun and Elsie even won a prize for her pumpkin at our church Halloween party. Peter was about as proud as Elsie was for her. It was a fun holiday with lots of candy!

Our new artist

At the beginning of the school year Peter entered an art contest at his school that represented what diversity meant to him. He drew a pictures of 2 Native American Indians using oil pastels. He did a great job. I liked how colorful and blended their faces were. To our surprise, he ended up getting 1st place. We were all really happy for him. Hopefully this will give him a reason to sit down and challenge his creative skills a little more.

1st: Autumn

I know, I know it's already 2012 but this is my blog and I can write what I want to. It has been ages since I've written anything, so I thought I'd backtrack a bit. Don't worry, you'll love it, I'm sure. I must include some great pictures my talented sister Michelle took when her and Becky and the rest of her family came up to visit in October.
I just love Peter's face in this picture - he's having sooo much fun on this hike and enjoying the company of his totally cool Uncle Micah. Peter was telling Micah-inspired jokes the whole time - i.e. (said in a thick accent) "In the Soviet Russia the sticks walk you."
I had Michelle to help me keep an eye on this little guy. He sure loved the attention as well.
As always, Elsie had a blast with her BF and cousin Eden.


Take a close look at those hands. There was sticky marshmallow EVERYWHERE. I do not advise the extra large marshmallows. They are way too hard to eat and not parent or kid friendly at all.
Can you see the motion in this picture? Our "hike" and campfire were a lot of fun and very beautiful, but as always, a lot of work. In the end though, we made some great memories and was well worth it. Thanks Becky for bringing your family and Michelle up here and having fun times with us!