Thanksgiving Soup

Kacin's class at school

made Thanksgiving soup for all the families.

The kids chopped and sliced and salt and peppered

to make quite the soup.

They sang a thankful song and

each shared one thing they were thankful for.

On Kacin's placemat,

he said

"I am thankful for the sun that gives us light."

Two Minutes and Counting

"Uh, is this what mommy and Kacin do all day?",

Eric asked Kyler

after we challenged him

to beat our best time.

Well,

sometimes.

This is why you wanted me to be

a stay at home mom, right E?

So I can balance Kacin for over two min?

(we could've gone longer but we got bored)

Eric put forth a good effort,

but did not come close to our time.

Plus, he was disqualified for bending his knees.

We discovered Kacin makes the best partner
for this game
not one of us.

Copyright 2010

Kacin's first book.

A few months ago, probably when I told him no more lemonade stands this year, Kacin got it in his head to sell books. From the way he was talking about it all, I'm sure he was envisioning a table on the street corner covered with books that he, his brother, and friends had made. People would come from miles around and he would get rich from selling his books! This triggered a 2-day long painting frenzy. He painted cars, cars driving, and cars exploding to make his first book, entitled Cars. The excitement simmered down and I thought the idea was dead, but then he started asking questions about the library. I'm sure this time he was envisioning his book proudly displayed on the shelf, with a barcode, so many different kids could scan it at the computer to check it out and read at home.

I explained to him that before he made a book (with the hardcover he insisted on), he needed to talk to the library about the process of book donations. Like, he needed to be the one to do it, not me. I kind of thought that would put the kibosh on the idea. Would my little shy boy actually speak in a big voice to the librarian? Well, his will and desire was stronger than his fears and he walked up to the desk and asked if he could write a book for the library. She kindly smiled and directed him to the bearded man at the information desk. He reminded me of Santa Claus. Kacin walked up to him and asked if he could write a book for the library and if so what kind of books the library needed. The man was the kindest ever and encouraged him to go for it and write about something he knew about.

Kacin got started the next day. He thought and thought and finally decided on a Halloween book (since at that point it was a few days until Halloween). He made up the story and I wrote down his words exactly as he said them. He decided on the page breaks. I did the typing and he did the illustrations. After doing a little bit here and a little bit there, he finally finished the book today.

He carefully carried it to the library and presented it to the jolly Santa-Librarian. With a big smile, the man read Kacin's book and congratulated him. He suggested that Kacin also share it with his school teacher. Kacin happily agreed and now the book is home with us again. (I'm not really sure what I'm going to do if Kacin insists on bringing it back to the library--I'm not sure what the library would really do with it . . .)

We are proud that Kacin showed so much initiative and dedication in his little project. The first few illustrations he was drawing, erasing, and drawing again--striving for perfection. Though by the end of the book, he was pretty impatient and feeling done and we really had to encourage him to finish his last pictures with some kind of color and neatness. But he stuck with it and did it!

You are quite the author, Kacin! We can't wait to see what your next book will be!

No Credit

Eric went right to the source after a little discussion we had.
It proved my point to Eric perfectly.
Eric, the dad, can do no wrong.

E: Kyler, who spends more time with you, me or mommy?
K: (without hesitation) You

Apparently,
when I help with homework,
read books, read scriptures,
teach him piano, help memorize scriptures,
help get ready for school and bed,
cook with, play board games,
play at the park, go to the library,
go on bike rides, talk with in the car,
it all amounts
to no time together whatsoever.

However,
wrestling for 5 min. with dad,
is all the time in the world.

Oh, the life of a mother.

In the Seventh Year

Self pictures from our day out on Friday. . .

at the temple, the art museum, and the mall.

In the summer of 2003,
I was almost 19, had finished my first year of college, and
was working as a part-time nanny for two different families.
One of the families was very rich (E says I shouldn't call them rich because it makes me sound snobby, but there's no other way to put it. They were. They were not just "well-off". They had money dangling from the trees in their spacious backyard. So sorry if I sound snobby, but they were definitely rich. ),
had a beautiful home,
a state-of-the-art kitchen they never used
because they ate out every day,
A working dad, a working mom, and a 5 year old daughter.
The dad seemed busy.
The mom seemed tired and stressed.
The daughter seemed sad and lonely.
They never seemed happy and
always seemed a little awkward around each other.
In the summer of 2003,
I was also dating Eric Allred.
After about 3 months of dating,
E proposed and we were engaged.
I told the families I worked for.
This particular mom seemed a little shocked.
The next day,
her 5-year old said to me, "My mom said you
shouldn't be getting married."
She explained what she overheard her mom saying--
I was too young, it was too fast,
and I shouldn't be doing it.

Seven years later,
this post is for her.
I have now been married about the same amount of time
that she had at the time,
though I'm about 20 years younger.
I am not rich, I do not own a beautiful home
or have a state-of-the-art kitchen,
and I do not get to eat out everyday.
But
I am happy.
I am more in love with my husband than ever before.
And he's my best friend.
Our marriage and our family is strong.

Eric and I have been talking lately about why--
Why,
even though we have our fair share of trials and chaos and stress,
why
we are so happy together.

In a conversation with Julie Beck and her daughters,
they recalled their mom's advice to them,
to safeguard their marriages.
Eric and I agree that safeguarding your marriage
is a daily thing
and must be a priority.

Our seven years of marriage wisdom,
may not amount to much or anything new,
but during a conversation we had recently,
we noticed a few things that have helped us.
We pray together every night.
Even when we were living in separate states
and we both had to have a phone to our ear,
we prayed.
We go out on dates just about every week.
We talk and make decisions together
so we're on the same page and consistent
especially when it comes to things like parenting.
I've learned a secret about E, too.
The best way to get him talking is to walk.
Strolls around the block and through the neighborhood
do wonders for our communication.
We've also learned to let go some of the "small" stuff
much more quickly.
We realized that there was a pattern,
One of us would do something or not do something,
then the other would be upset,
tension and hurt feelings for awhile,
and then we would work it out,
forgive,
and be happy again.
Repeat.
So what we realized was that,
since we always seemed to end up there anyways,
we could just skip ahead
to the forgive and work it out part
and bypass a lot of the upsetness
so life is just better and much more fun.
We try to be supportive of each other's hobbies and interests,
whether it be piano lessons or basketball,
we encourage each other.
By no means,
do we have anywhere near a perfect marriage,
we both get frustrated, annoyed, worn out, and upset.
But
I think each day we make the decision
to be committed to each other,
to our marriage,
and to our family.
And so I know that we can look forward
to many, many more years together,
each better than the last.

Happy Seventh, E!

ToNightGoodNight

E is out playing basketball. The boys sound asleep since 7:15pm.
Dishes done.
Laundry folded (if you ignore
that one load still sitting in the dryer,
but at least all the laundry that was piled in the hallway

is now neatly tucked away).

And I'm pretty much just excited
to spend a whole day with my E
just me and him
all day tomorrow.
We're celebrating 7 years since tying the knot.
It was my turn to plan an anniversary date.
Yes, unlike all of the friends E has talked to about it,
we take turns planning our anniversary celebration.
Which I don't really mind
because that just means tomorrow
he has to go to an art museum with me.
Shhh.

He doesn't know.

I would tell him,
but he's at basketball and I am home cleaning.
Thinking about E's reaction when I tell him what I have in store.

Much rejoicing?

We'll see.
And I was thinking about how much I enjoyed my boys
yesterday.
Kyler confiding in me about a little girl
who gave him a bracelet and a note
whom he does not have a crush on.
Kacin working on a book that he is writing
to donate to the library.
We were laughing pretty hard at dinner

yesterday.

Not today.

Today,

There were reasons why bedtime was 7pm.

And now I think it is definitely my bedtime.

Goodnight.

Jumping in the Leaves