FIVE!

Only five days til Christmas! Yikes! How did that happen?
Seriously, I love Christmas, but it seems that each year the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas gets shorter and shorter. Guess that indicates how old I'm getting to be! LOL!

I think we are mostly ready this year. Most of the gifts this year are intangibles, so there wasn't much running around and shopping to do. That was a nice break, but then I got to wondering what in the world will the kids do all day on Christmas if they don't have something to play with or to keep them occupied. So we might have to brave Wallyworld and get a game or two, or a puzzle or something of that nature.

I'm happy that we have Christmas Eve on Sunday because that really extends the time spent focusing on the Savior. We won't be shopping or running around after the 23rd this year and I like that idea. Hhhmmmm, probably ought to check my lists and make sure I'm prepared in the food department to go that long between store visits.

Soren is going to be so fun this year. He has been pretty good at leaving the tree and its decorations alone. A few years back I got a nice, pre-lit tree at Kmart for $12.50 during the after Christmas clearance. It also came with a stand that rotates, but since it's fairly big around and our living room is so small we've never had it rotate, cause it's usually smooshed up against a wall to make it fit. Well, since we are getting new furniture, which still isn't here and a whole nother story, we have already gotten rid of the old ones and now we have lots of room for a rotating tree. We have learned that that is a really good thing to have when you have a baby who wants to pull all the ornaments off. He can't hang on to them long enough to pull them off and he can't walk quickly enough to keep up with them once they move past him. I was also worried about him getting into the gifts, but he has yet to bother even one. I guess the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen are still entertaining and exciting enough for him.....He also really likes the lights in the window that we have up this year. We are not big decorators for Christmas, I think due to my desire to simplify everything, but we did find a working string of lights that work really well in the front window and Soren likes to stand on the couch and touch them one by one. His very first Christmas! Memories to keep close.

Oh, My! What a vision!

I just got to thinking of the newest, fanciest thing out in the world of kitchen appliances that I saw at Home Depot the other day. It was a lovely, stainless steel side-by-side refrigerater with a TV screen on the front of it.

My first reaction was "Hey, that's COOL! Expensive, but very cool."

The other night, for some reason I was thinking about it again and I had a startling vision come to mind of millions of Americans sitting in their recliners right in front of the refrigerator/TV and they were slowly, slowly growing larger and larger because........you no longer have to leave your chair to get a drink or treat from the fridge. You have the 'best?' of both worlds right there in your kitchen/living/family room.

As I type this I'm beginning to wonder which room you WOULD put it in.......Are we the laziest people in the world or what???

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I love Thanksgiving, don't you? My kids have this whole week off from school and I'm taking the time to catch up on some stuff that needed to be done, appts and such, and wishing I hadn't let things pile up so that I could stay home and just hang out with them. We are looking forward to spending time on Thursday with our Welch family....Nathan and Lori are hosting this year (again, that's what happens when you have the largest house). Curtis's parents flew in yesterday from GA and will be here a week. They asked me to bring rolls to dinner. Said that my rolls had been requested.????? What??? I don't make rolls except maybe once a year. I told them I would have to practice all week to make sure I had any that were edible.

Yesterday I got to go to the court building and sign myself up for traffic school. It was embarrassing. But I managed to make it through the ordeal and I get to go to traffic school on Dec 9. What a way to spend a Saturday.

I would much rather spend it like I spent last Saturday. Stacy and Stewart visited us and I went to the temple with them. I hadn't been in the longest time, it's hard when you are pregnant and then have a new baby. So I really enjoyed being there and the peace. Then Stacy and I did some shopping while Stewart went to the BYU game and then we got pizza for the kids and we went to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner. It was a full day, but very enjoyable. Funny how it's so hard to get together with them when they only live 70 miles away. But they're busy and so are we. We'll just have to make it a priority.

Well, better go get my day started so I can be productive today. Got rolls to practice and Visiting Teaching and running to do......among other things.

Joists are in!

We have floor joists. Soon we will have subfloor and that will require that we quickly put up walls and roof to protect it from the rain/snow to keep it from warping. Hoorah!

Went to the library today for the first time in a long time. We have had another book disappear on us and I was dreading paying for it. I wonder how many other people have 'Bermuda Triangles' in their homes. Things just vanish.....POOF!
I raided the home organization section. Still collecting ideas. Last week I got to peek into Stacy Julian's life and home and was I ever inspired. I have always admired her, she is so dynamic, and it was so cool to see how she does all that she does. How she organizes her home, her family, her work and her life. I have so many ideas floating in my head. Now the trick is to put them into practice. As I have thought about it, I think that any system of organization only works as well as the people who use it. I can go about my house organizing to my heart's delight but if my kids won't participate, it won't do much good. But I am determined to try. I believe there are a few things I can personally do to help make our home and my life run a little more efficiently and allow me time to accomplish some of the 'fun' things I want to do, like scrapbook my kids/ancestors' histories and do some painting/home decor stuff. For me, the critical part is actually doing! I'm a great thinker of things and gatherer of information, but terrible when it comes to putting into practice those thoughts/ideas. It's my perfectionist tendencies. 'It might not look right!" Well anything would be better than nothing which is what we've got at the moment.

I CAN DO THIS!

Soren @ 10 months

Soren was 10 months old on Monday, Nov 6. He got his first tooth that day. At least that was the day I first felt it. Today, the 8th, he started to crawl in the normal manner for the first time. He still drops and army crawls if he has to get somewhere fast, but he's sure working hard to stay on his knees. Where, oh, where did my baby go???? He has started being very vocal and voicing his opinion on all sorts of matters. Yesterday Curtis and Soren and I went out to lunch at Jason's Deli and we could not put food into his mouth quickly enough for him. He kept yelling his dissatisfaction and the people around us kept looking at us to see why he was yelling....One older lady stopped by our table on her way out and dropped off a package of crackers for him. Little turkey!
He is sleeping through the night now with great consistency, which is such a blessing for Curtis and I. Now if he just had a bedroom other than ours....He calls me Mom-mom and knows that that means me. His favorite foods are bananas, beans, grapes, meat, peas, berries. He pretty much eats anything, but is not too fond of mashed potatoes. I'm not sure he can be mine if he doesn't like potatoes.

We are so thankful this year to have this sweet little boy as a part of our family. He daily brings joy to our home and a gentleness and softness in all of us. We are blessed!

HAUNTED!! That's how I've been feeling for a couple of days now. Not in the way that is obvious, but by some words I read the other day. I was working in Sadie's kindergarten class checking in the kids homework. Some of the kids were missing part of their work so I went to their backpacks to see if I could find any papers and in one of them I found a large pile of papers. I pulled them out to see if this child's homework was in there and as I glanced at one of them, obviously written by an adult, not a kindergartner, a line or two caught my eye. It said,"I'm sorry you don't like our house, or like our furniture. I wonder sometimes if you even like me. I guess that I haven't been the best husband, father or provider that you expected.... " I quickly put it away and didn't read any more, but I am haunted by those words because in truth, they could have been written by my own husband. I can't count the number of times that I have complained about those same things, either to him or to others. I realize now that by doing that I am essentially telling him that he is a lousy husband and provider. That is the last thing that I want to tell him. I know how hard he works to provide for this family, and what a wonderful father and husband he truly is. In my heart I know that no house, no amount of $$ and no other thing in this world would ever make up for having a poor marriage or a disinterested father for my children and that I am actually RICH beyond my wildest dreams. I feel badly that I read a part of some one's private conversation, but it was unintentional and I put it away as soon as I realized what it was. But I look at it as a wake-up call for myself. No more thoughtless comments will come from me on this subject. I want to be supportive and sustaining to my husband, even when he is not present, rather than saying and doing things that diminish him and his self-worth. He is priceless to me and I need to treat him as such. I hope that I am forever haunted by these words....so that I will never make that mistake again.

Whew! Countdown to Fall Festival is on!

The BIG fundraiser for the year for our school is the Fall Festival. It's a big dinner, dancing, games, fun family time kind of thing. They always have a silent auction that brings in lots of money and each family is asked to contribute at least one item to auction off. I don't know about anybody else, but for me that is a very stressful thing. They suggest going to businesses and getting products and services donated, but anyone who knows me knows I would rather cut my arm off than solicit donations. So for the last two months I have thought and thought and thought and tried to come up with a fun, unique idea that I think will be appealing and bring in $$ for the school. Thanks to my mom and her embroidery machine I usually have something fun.
This year I donated 12 Christmas ornaments that are covered with machine-embroidered lace which is embellished with Swarovski crystals. They are very pretty and I hope someone else thinks so too! I turned them in yesterday.

It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Whew!! Hopefully they'll get a day of rest before the next big stressful thing gets loaded onto them.....

Hasta!

Wacky Wednesday!

Whew! I get to sit for a moment. It has been one of those days. I'm really ready for Curtis to be home. I try to keep things together when he leaves town, but it truly wears me out. I was reading on Melody Ross's blog last night. She is the founder of Chatterbox, Inc. I learned that her husband had an accident a while ago and has suffered from a brain injury, so she has had to be the mom and the dad and the business owner and keep everything going at home and at work. I am amazed at her ability to keep going, and keep a positive attitude about it all. Very admirable.

Took Soren in to the dr. today for a 9 month checkup. He is one BIG boy. He clocked in at 22.2 lb, 31 inches long. He was 90% for his weight, 80% for his height and 75% for his head size. Dr. Berry teased me and told me that he will one day be a linebacker and that I ought to package and sell what I've been "feeding" him. But of course, he is all good. Everything about him is great. He was absolutely crazy there too. He sat on that crinkly paper on the exam table and kicked for all he was worth just to hear it. He was wanting to get into all the drawers and cupboards. Thankfully he fell asleep on the way to Aunt Nicole's so that she didn't have to put up with his antics while she watched him.

I spent an hour in Sadie's classroom today helping with the recording of homework. I am amazed at how much those cute little kids have learned in the 29 days they've been in school. Sadie is very business like in her schooling, comes right into the room, gets her things from her cubby, sits down and gets busy. Not much talking to the other kids or getting distracted by anything. She has made tremendous strides in her writing. So fun to see the progress.

Seeking organization!

I really shouldn't be up at this hour, but Soren got me up and of course now he's back asleep, but I'm not. I really look forward to the day when I can get a whole night's sleep.
I've been having lots of thoughts of ways to organize my home and my life so that it is more efficient. I think that organization is key to surviving being a mother of more than one child. I have gotten ideas from lots of places, including here. I was so inspired by what she has written and the challenges. I am trying to put some of those ideas into practice. Another idea I got was from my friend, Katie. While visiting at her house I noticed that her water cup had an elastic string with alphabet beads on it, spelling out her name. She had them for each member of her family. She said that it saves her washing those thousands of cups that seem to end up all over the house which no one will claim as theirs. I loved this idea, because I am forever washing cups, way more than necessary, even given the number of people who live in this household. So I ran right out to my trusty craft store and picked up the supplies to make name bands for our household. It has helped already, even though I haven't gotten all of them made yet. Who would have thought that such a simple idea could be so useful??

Weekend Survival

Aren't the weekends supposed to be somewhat more relaxing than the weekdays? Not so here at the Welch Compound.

I did so love listening to and watching conference this weekend though. The talks were all so good and I can't believe how amazing I think Pres Hinckley is. I think he could run circles around me. I really loved the phrase I heard, (not sure who said it): "Adult Onset Pessimism" I have suffered from this disease for most of my life and it's time to be cured.

Jordan went to homecoming on Sat with a friend he worked with at 7 Peaks. Her name is Coleen. Curtis and I took them to the rifle range to shoot early Sat morning. It was frigid and she came in flip-flops but she sure was a good sport. She was not afraid to try to shoot and she had a go with all four of the ones we had with us. I have to admit that I was really surprised that he had asked someone out and I think that he had a good time. It's so strange to watch your baby become a man!

Ha! Found it!

I totally forgot how to get to this blog of mine. I didn't make a note of the URL or anything and I'm really such a computer doofus. But I finally figured it out and here I am again.

It has really been nutso around here. I truly wonder some days if my house and I will survive this year. If I haven't said before, I drive my kids to American Fork every day for school and since I have a child in afternoon kindergarten that's about 3-3 1/2 hours of driving every day. Add that to the hours of homework coaching every night and other obligations and then you can imagine what my home must look like. I just don't have the time and energy to keep up with it all. And the kids aren't being helpful. They could just put their things away when they get home, but they are as tired as I am and most of their stuff ends up on the floor and on couches and chairs. It makes me tired just to walk through the house looking at all the work that needs to be done.

Enough whining. They are doing really well in school and I'm so happy with the way they are learning to self-govern. (Except in relation to putting their things away at home) They are more thoughtful, think deeper and in different ways and are becoming better at expressing their thoughts and feelings on things. They pray differently and are becoming so knowledgable in spiritual things and scriptural things. It really is worth all the hassle I am having. I think!

It was a full day today, I volunteered for 3 hours at the school so I'm beat. I'm closing this joint down and heading to bed. Laters......

Is this really going to work?

Just thought I'd give this blog thing a try. I like typing my journal anyway and now it's much cuter than the 'notepad' version I had before.
We are trying to settle into a regular routine again after a summer of craziness. I, for one, am looking forward to the routine, but I am having a hard time getting the kids convinced that it's a good thing. I have to remind them of every, little thing. With seven kids that is an awful lot of instructions being issued from my mouth every day. No wonder they tune out 'motherese'!
I am so happy to be reconnected to the world. We have not had the internet in our home for over two years and I have missed being able to look up whatever I desire at the touch of a button. It's way too much work to go to the library every time you think of something you need to do some research on. Funny how much we have come to rely on the internet for information and to connect to people.
Anyway, here's to the internet and to a new school year.

Almost Forgot

Today Soren is 8 months old. Can't believe the time has gone so fast. He is getting very brave and trying to stand and pull up to things. He scoots around on his backside and occasionally flops himself onto his stomach, much to his dismay. He will probably never learn to crawl since he hates being on his stomach, unless he is sleeping. He is working on his pincer grasp and getting better at it all the time. Clapping his hands and shaking his head no are his two newest tricks. He always brings a smile to our faces.
Sometimes I look at him and think how close he came to not being here. We were so done with having kids. I just look at him and think of all the joy I would have missed out on. What a precious blessing he is to our family. So thankful that I can still be taught and learn lessons. So thankful for the patience and mercy of a loving Father in Heaven.