I've Been Tagged!


The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
Each player answers the questions about themselves.
At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

5 things I was doing 10 years ago
1. Learning how to handle one baby--oh to go back to just one. Piece of cake!!!
2. Living in Edmonds and loving being close to my sister and parents
3. Who can remember 10 years ago? I feel pretty good I came up with 2 things.
4.
5.

5 things on my to-do list today
1. Go to the grocery store
2. Get my sister gallons of shampoo
3. Fix dinner
4. Keep Mom's house clean
5. Drink more water than Diet Coke

Snacks I enjoy
1. Ice cream
2. Popcorn
3. Licorice
4. Diet Coke
5. Chocolate

Things I would do if I were a billionaire
1. Get the family back under one roof
2. Take my mother back to Germany
3. Take the kids to Disneyland
4. Pay off the Dental bills
5. Make it so my mother wouldn't ever have to work

3 Bad habits
1. Diet Coke
2. Being a bit too controlling
3. Cracking my knuckles

5 Places I've lived
1. Edmonds, WA
2. Bothell, WA
3. Spokane, WA
4. Eugene, OR
5. Soon to be moving to Hillsboro, OR

5 Jobs I've Had
1. Babysitter/Nanny
2. Worked at a Deli
3. Worked at a Health Club--daycare and reception
4. Hairstylist
5. Stay at Home Mom

5 Things People Probably Don't Know About Me
1. I hate unloading the dishwasher--would rather hand wash than unload.
2. I can not bake a good chocolate chip cookie to save my life.
3. I hate crowds.
4. When I was a teenager, I set the goal to go 1 month without sugar and did it.
5. I love to make lists--it's an addiction

So now I'm supposed to tag five people... goodness, I would love to hear from anyone. I just tagged a few people and Jill was the only one nice enough to do it. I'm not sure my ego could take more rejection. But if I had to name a couple it would have to be Arah and Karen. Of course anyone else can feel free to do it as well.

Growing Up

After being pestered with many questions about whether Santa is real or not, Anna has finally figured out who he really is. I never answered with a yes or no. I always say that our family believes in the magic of Santa. As soon as someone no longer believes, they no longer receive. I clearly remember the day my sister and I discovered the answer to that big question. It's a passage of life we all have to go through, but I am not quite ready for my children to lose that bit of innocence.

Christmas Morning

Abby enjoying her goodies from her stocking. Noah's favorite thing from his stocking. He's Spongebob.

Anna opening her presents.

Isaac and his nutcracker. He has wanted one all season.

Christmas Polar Dip

Christmas tradition in our family is to jump in the lake at Mom's house Christmas Day. It was done later in the day than normal (Bob was waiting for the snow) so we didn't get many good pictures.

Most of the kids chickened out this year. Only my niece Olivia and Abby jumped in. Abby is the youngest of all the grandchildren to do the dip. We were so proud of her. Hopefully the others will do it again next year.

Cookie Plates

For all of you who don't live close enough, here's what you missed. Kids' favorite. Wouldn't be Christmas without these.

Love these Santas!!! Darling!

Life is Good Tales of the Stoddard

The Giving Tree

This year one of our Advent Jar activities was to donate a gift to the Giving tree. We chose the one at the mall. It was originally only going to be just one present, but when the kids saw how many names there were, we ended up with one for each member of the family. Noah was very concerned about all the other names left behind and felt sad he couldn't help them all. He is sensitive to these things and was pretty upset by all the names on the tree. After careful and LONG deliberation names were chosen and the shopping could begin. Abby in the cart at the store. Abby wanted a small baby. So she got a 3 month old who wanted educational toys. I let her pick and it took forever. I think she tested every toy in the store before she picked hers.

Anna chose a 4 year old little girl who wanted clothes and shoes. Anna spent some of her own Christmas money to buy her some adorable little boots. Noah chose a 5 year old boy who wanted Legos and Spiderman. He, too spent his own money so the little boy could have both items on his tag. It was a proud moment for me to see my kids understand and sacrifice for others. Isaac picked an 8 year old who wanted Pokemon cards. He so enjoyed givimg something he loves to receive.

Every long shopping trip deserves a reward and so we went to Coldstone.

The boys. Nothing like a cheesy posed picture!!!

While at Old Navy, I bought Abby this coat. She didn't have a winter coat yet. She LOVES it and wouldn't take it off. She did her own hair. (See how much I've relaxed?)

We enjoyed it so much we are already planning for next year. We are going get a special jar and save a bit each month. It was fun to see them give so happily and learn to share with those who have less than we do. I won't be doing all the shopping in one day. 5 hours was too long. We were all tired and cranky by the time we got home. I even let Papa Murphy fix dinner for me.

I've been tagged

Lovebird tag....


1. Where did you and your husband meet? The first time was at a homecoming Fireside for Bob and Lucy Hickman. His brothers Neal and Paul brought me over to where he was standing and said, "Kim, this is Kevin, he just broke up with his girlfriend. He needs to get married. Kevin, this is Kim, she just got home from her mission and needs to get married. You two should get married. It's safe to say we were both mortified. It was about a year later that we met up again in the Single's Branch.
2. 1st thing said... Like I said we were embarrased and just wanted to get out of there. I think it was something like nice to meet you.
3. 1st date... I had a crush on him, but being a guy he was oblivious. So a couple friends and I planned my surprise birthday party. His job was to take me away while they decorated the house. He was supposed to take me to Know your Religion, but Mr. UPS man, missed the exit. So we ended up goinf to UW hospital to see if a patient was there he knew and then we walked the gardens. Funny thing is he took my friend on the same exact date. When we all met up later, she and I compared noted and laughed. This was in October and we didn't start dating until November.
4. 1st kiss...On the porch at my parents' house. If you blinked you would have missed it. W made up for it since then.
5. Long/Short Courtship....Long. We dated almost a year. People were starting to bug about when we would get married. Our engagment was only a bout 8 weeks.
6. Where did you get engaged....at Greenlake in Seattle eating the best ever fish and chips on our way to volunteer at a Aids benefit.
7. Where were you married?....Seattle, WA temple
8. How did the Reception go? It was great. No receiving line and after the honeymoon. In the afternoon and casual.
9. Where did you go on your honeymoon? Disneyworld for a week.
10. Who's turn is it next?........ Misti, Stacy, Jill and anyone else who wants to. This one is fun to read on other people's blogs.

Thinking warm thoughts

I hate the cold. I hate snow (thankfully, we don't get very much here). I like flannel jammies and sheets. I like fires and cuddly blankets. I have been cold all day and wishing for warmer weather and though tit would be fun to post some fun shots from Mom's house this summer. Wishing you a happy day and warm feet!!!



She's a vision!!!! All four of them.

Noah flying through the air.

Caught just as he was taking off.

WooHooo!!!!

This just screams summer!

Neither rain nor sleet, nor snow....

Is it wrong to want to kiss the mail carrier full on the mouth??? My keys were in the mailbox just now. It wasn't all that long, but when unprepared both physically and emotionally it made it seem like forever. Now I am off to replenish the pantry. And go out, just cause I can.

On the second day of prison...

We are still under house arrest. The mail doesn't come until 4ish. I am hoping and praying that the keys are in the mailbox today. I just opened my last Diet Coke. We had cold cereal and toast for dinner. I am a planner and when my plans fall through I have a hard time coming up with an alternate plan. We made it fun and each child got to pick what ever they wanted. Lucky for us, cereal is something we have in abundance. The boys chose French Toast Crunch, the girls Trix and I had Frosted Flakes. Delicious and Nutritious!!!! Abby missed preschool today and was sad her friends were going to miss her. Lucky for me she is easily distracted. I love a good stay at home day where after your shower you put on clean jammies. But forced imprisonment is enough to drive one crazy!! And instead of having a cleaner house, it just becomes thrashed. It never fails that when you can't go somewhere is when you need stuff. Toothpaste, Act mouthwash, food for the family and Diet Coke--did I mention I am on my last one???

What to do????

Kevin just called me, he has my keys with him in Hillsboro. I could go into all sorts of ranting and ravings, weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, but that will come soon enough when the kids get home. I had many places to go, but the biggest was the grocery store. I hope this isn't what the week is going to be like!!!

Fun Family Day

Here the kids are at Oakway. We will be going back for a not so impromptu picture. We found Frosty outside of Coldstone. They were so excited to see him, they didn't even ask for ice cream.

We ran a few errands and squeezed in a bit of fun today. We ran to the mall for a few minutes, and saw Santa eating at the Buffet. I would have taken a picture, but figured that would be rude. It was just funny to see Santa at the Buffet. Abby said he wasn't the real Santa, he wasn't fat enough and he didn't have his hat on. Kevin took the kids to the play area and I managed to squeeze in a few minutes of shopping.

We then went to Trader Joe's. We Love their Candy Cane Joe Joes (a peppermint oreo and ten times better than mint oreos!). If you have a Trader Joe's you need to try them. I use them in a candy recipe. There was a contest to find Yoda in the store and so the kids had fun going on a Yoda Hunt. Isaac found him up near the ceiling.

Isaac drew from the Advent Jar this morning and it was to watch a Christmas movie together. It was late when we got home and so we had to settle for a 30 minute show, and so we watched Frosty. Tomorrow we will go for the full length feature. I don't think the kids had ever seen the original Frosty, they were glued to the T.V.

Christmas Card Holder

I have a delightfully crafty friend, Arah, ( she is also the reason we have our adorable button trees) who made these and we copied her. I love easy ideas that the kids can help with. It took a couple of days because I let the kids do most of the painting.

But they loved it and are pleased with their creation.

Now we just need to get our Christmas cards to fill it up. Hint Hint.

I have actually purchased stuff to send out for Christmas cards/letters. I know I am horrible at sending cards, but this year I have it as my goal. Feel free to keep asking if I have them mailed yet!!!

Having Hot Chocolate

Our Advent activity was to take a Hot Chocolate break. We combined it with making snowflakes.

It's sometimes suprising how the simpler things in life are what get them most excited. They love hot chocolate and were so happy to be getting it. It's not like it's hard to make. Pour milk, add cocoa mix amd press the on button. My kids are half and half for marshmallows and whipped cream. I like a bit of vanilla ice cream, but will settle for whipped cream. How do you like yours?

I-5 Flood

This is I-5 not too far from the Outlet Center in Chehalis. It blows my mind that you can kayak on the freeway.

Stringing Popcorn

The kids loved stringing popcorn and lasted longer than I had anticipated. My living room is in desperate need of a vacuum, but it was worth it. We sat by the fire and practiced saying "I love you" in German, Spanish, French, Portuguese and I counted English as one of the 5. We called Daddy to learn the Portuguese and the kids all yelled it to him as the phone call ended. It was more fun than I had expected.





Abby looks mighty proud of herself with this, but I did all the work. She kept losing her thread and wanted me to help. She just ate the popcorn rather than stringing it. We are trying fruit loops this afternoon when Isaac gets home. Anna cruised right along with hers. She seemed to enjoy it and wants to finish hers. I gave her an extra long one. She took a quick break to throw up--she must have a touch of the flu. She is home today.

Isaac worked hard on his for a few minutes and then decided he was done. In prayers last night he prayed that he was thankful to poke the popcorn and could he please make a necklace out of it? I'm thinking the fruit loops will be more up his alley. Nice cheesy picture, huh?

Noah loved this project and in fact chose this over a Popsicle. I think he could have kept on going if it weren't for bedtime. He can't wait to get home from school to work on it. Lucky for him it's Wednesday which means early release.

Isaac picked Take a Hot Chocolate break for today's activity. Yippee!!!! One that is easy and enjoyed by all. We only wish Grandma were here to enjoy it with us. That *!#*#! (stupid--a swear word at our house) freeway is still closed and won't be open until tomorrow at the earliest. I can not begin to fathom 10 feet of standing water on the freeway.

Our Advent Jar

This is our Advent Jar. We pull a slip of paper out of the jar before the kids go to school. Anna pulled out Make Strings of Popcorn, so this afternoon we'll pop some corn, turn on some Christmas tunes and have some "Forced Family Fun" stringing popcorn for the tree.

Noah pulled out Learn to say "I Love You" in 5 languages. And that has been fun listening to the kids try to say it.

We are a couple behind, because I was a bit slow in getting it finished, so we are doing 2 a day for a couple days. The kids are so excited and enjoying what we do. I think it helps that they got to put their ideas for "FFF" into the jar.


*These jars make great journal jars as well. They are darling and fun for the children to do. I think we will keep up our jar, just rename it our "FFF" jar and use it for FHE and a fun thing to do on the weekend.

Rain Update

I-5 is still closed for about 20 miles. The only way for Grandma to get here is to take a 440 mile detour. So much to our chagrin, Grandma's trip to visit is postponed. We are very bummed by this as we were looking forward to a visit with Grandma. On the plus side, my house is clean enough for my mother to visit. And as my mother pointed out, this could have happened Christmas week and we wouldn't have been able to make it over the hill and through the woods...

We woke up to a very warm day, with bright sunshine. It may not be as warm as Las Vegas, but we are enjoying a break from the wet and cold.

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

My mom was supposed to be coming for a visit today. She was actually on the road and had to turn back because of the rains. It's not so unusual for some flooding in the Seattle area when wet weather hits, but there is more flooding than normal. I-5 was closed in Chehalis making it impossible for her to get through if she hadn't turned back. Mom said schools were reaching parents and telling them to get their children early because the buses couldn't run. Not only do we not have Grandma here, but I have to figure out something for dinner and hope and pray the kids don't wreak havoc on the house between now and school. Hopefully the weather will mellow and she can make it tomorrow safe and sound.

Here in Eugene we are having very wet weather, but nothing that will bother us too much. I just drive the kids to and from the bus stop. Don't have to get dressed for that and since I'm up it doesn't bother me. I kind of like listening to the rain on the roof and windows. Although the winds were so loud they woke me up last night. It's a great day to turn the fire on, put some Christmas music on and read a good book. It's a stay in your jammies all day day.

What's the weather like in your neighborhood??

HaPpy HaPPy BiRThdAy AbBy!!!

Blowing out the candles. She wanted pink and white mini cupcakes. She also had Dora Strawberry and Banana ice cream. Hot dogs and ketchup. We also had a salad bar with a dozen items to choose from and her favorite fruit kabobs. I think Noah liked them best, having downed 5.

For her fun activity Abby chose to go to Enchanted. She loved it. The evil witch scared her a bit, but for the most part sat with her eyes glued to the screen. Isaac liked it and Kevin said it was a lot better than he had thought it would be.

Showing off her new clothes. She loves getting clothes.

More new clothes.

Opening presents.

Good Morning and Happy Birthday Princess!!!

Work in Progress

Here is my Advent calendar as of right now. I still need to find more numbers and I am toying with box decorations. But keeping them simple. Let me know what think.

Craft Night

My friend Arah and her family did these darling trees for a project on Thanksgiving. I loved them so much we had to have some. Abby had so much fun, but would load her pin up with a bazillion buttons if you didn't watch her.

I wasn't sure how many buttons or pins it would take, so we are sharing this tree. I will probably go get a couple more. Gotta love the projects that Abby can do without huge supervision.

On Martha Stewart's website (under the kids' section), there is a darling Advent Calendar using boxes. I found some fun boxes shaped as stars, snowmen, squares and rectangles. Here we are in the process of making it.

All the kids kept saying how much fun they had.



With the boxes, you can fill with all sorts of fun things. And they are big enough for everyone to enjoy a treat every day.

I also started a jar that will have a family activity to do each day of December. It will be a kind of Advent calendar as well. We brainstormed and came up with all sorts of ideas like, going for a walk, going to the library, fixing dinner for breakfast and eating it in our jammies, having a family Christmas movie night, decorating Christmas cookies and such. One child will draw in the morning before school and we can all look forward to our family activity later that day.

When all crafts are complete, I will post pictures. I only have until Saturday so we know they will get done. I guess they could always end up in the never finished pile, like all the kids' stockings.

Guess who dressed herself????

Guess who is pleased with how she looks??? It was quite the ensemble and I couldn't resist sharing.

Here are Abby's birthday kabobs and dip. Abby loved the sprinkles and licking the spoon.