Bragging Moment

Noah decided at the last minute to enter a poetry contest the school district was having on Martin Luther King Jr. He won third place for it. (All grades were invited to enter) He will be published in the next Skipping Stones magazine and got $15.

Tonight we went to the school board meeting and he said his poem to the audience and received his award. Way to go Noah!!!!

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

By Noah Stoddard

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was judged by his skin,

Not from within.

He made violence silence,

And was a good knight in his fight.

He got shot by a gun,

Before he was done.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Here's a shot of the backyard Sunday morning. I am sure all 2 of Eugene's snowplows were employed yesterday. The kids made a little snowman while Kevin was shoveling the walk.

This is Holly, the neighborhood dog. Abby is in the pink and Isaac in the background. Holly was loving the snow and had so much fun dancing around and playing with the kids.

A closer picture of the little snowman. Abby stuck close to Kevin since she still has the chicken pox. She only got 6 and they have all scabbed over and so we are hoping we will not be housebound for long. Now we just have to wait for the snow to be gone.

Anna, Ellie and another neighbor girl made a bigger snowman.

If you have noticed, Noah is missing from these pictures. He was in the backyard at the middle school building snowforts with the boys.

Abby update

So it seems the chicken pox has invaded our house. I just got off the phone with the nurse and she confirmed it as best she could without seeing Abby in person. Abby's legs are better though, seems she had a bit of a reaction to Anna's lotion, but those suspicious spots are still on her tummy and one behind her ear. I hate the fact that they are always the most contagious when you don't know it. So sorry to her little preschool class!!!!

Mommy, I have dots...

Abby came downstairs tonight and told me she had dots on her legs and that they burned. I did the math and it was 2 weeks ago that Noah had shingles. I am treating it as chicken pox and hoping in the morning the dots will be "magically gone", but I am not holding my breath. Sometimes I just say to myself, "Lucky, lucky me." I am so not prepared for this. I can't find my Calamine or my Aveeno. Think people will mind if I take my chicken pox infested daughter shopping with me???? And lastly, will I actually be able to get any sleep tonight???????

P.S. I will post pictures as they are more visible.

Crazy 8's

I'm not sure if my sister-in-law meant me when she listed 8 people to be tagged, but I am not sure and don't want to feel guilty by not doing it. These are hard for me sometimes, I really have to think. So here goes:





8 things I am passionate about:


1. My husband

2. My children

3. My family (parents, sister and her family, in-laws)

4. Reading

5. Lists

6. Recipes

7. Friends

8. Shopping





8 things I want to do before I die:


1. Go back to Germany

2. Go to England for fish & chips

3. Repay all the kindness given to us during our struggles.

4. Lose the baby weight (I suppose I should stop calling it baby weight since 1. I had it before the babies and 2. my last baby is 4)

5. Master the chocolate chip cookie (truly this one eludes me)

6. Know that my kids are happy

7. Make a family cookbook

8. Have a clean house!





8 things I say often:


1. Go to bed

2. Can I have just 5 minutes of quiet please?

3. Love you

4. How many times do I have to ask you? (and yes, my mother's voice echos as I am saying it)

5. Crap

6. Welcome to my life

7. Life's not fair, get used to it

8. Talk to you soon


8 books I have read recently:


1. Someone to Love--Jude Devereaux

2. Good in Bed--Jennifer Wiener

3. Twilight--Stephanie Meyer

4. New Moon--Stephanie Meyer

5. Eclipse-- Stephanie Meyer

6. Drenched in Light--Lisa Wingate

7. Killer Dreams--Iris Johanson

8. Angels Fall--Nora Roberts

8 songs that I could listen to over and over:


1. Chains of Love--Erasure

2. Red Red Wine--UB40

3. Shiny Happy People --REM

4. Sold (Grundy County Auction Incident)--John Michael Montgomery

5. You Say It Best--Alison Kraus

6. Jack & Diane--John Cougar

7. The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia--Reba

8. Forever and Ever Amen--Randy Travis



8 things I have learned this past year:



1. How to survive without Kevin during the week

2. That I can get rid of a mouse on a trap

3. How to be more empathetic to someone who's grieving

4. More patience with my children

5. Spending quality time with the kids=happy kids

6. Forced extended vacations are nice

7. Blogs are fun and a great way to keep in touch

8. That I don't have to cross every thing off my to do list



8 people I think should do crazy 8's (if they want)



1. Arah

2. Jill

3. Karen

4. Sonnet

5. Cindy

6. Loni

7. Lynsdey

8. Alison

I did it!!!

My friend Arah, who inspires me in so many ways, got me into making these little monkeys. This one is Isaac's and he helped me stuff the body and legs. He sat there patiently as he slowly filled each leg. He brought it to school for sharing yesterday. This one is Abby's and my first one. It is special with all it's learning mistakes. She loves it though and carries it with her everywhere.

I'm getting better with each one. It has been a fun project and the kids are having fun helping me. Funny thing is with all the buttons I bought for the button trees, I had to go get bigger ones. I now have enough buttons to open a button store!!!!!

Pretty soon we will have a whole barrel of monkeys. Anna keeps coming home with somebody new she wants to give one to.

Thanks Arah for the wonderful idea. You're fabulous!!!!!

R.O.U.S.'s

This is a Nutria. Seen around Eugene quite frequently. In fact I saw 2 live ones off to the side of the road coming home from Target. I saw many more dead ones. When we first moved here, I called my dad and tried to explain to him what they looked like so he could tell me what they were. My friend Alison was the one who clued me in to what these creatures were really called. Sadly I was never able to tell Dad.

These things are truly creepy and their teeth are nasty. Instead of possum we have nutria road kill. There are tons of them around here. Just in case you don't have them (or miss them), I thought I would share with you!!!

Abby's Haircut

It's a cheesy grin and the morning after. I could have combed her hair a bit better, can't do anything about the cheesy grin. She loves the back. She calls it so soft.

She kept moving so I ended up going shorter than planned. Anna is extremely jealous. SHe wants me to do hair and give her highlights. She has actually been on me since New Year's when I did my niece's hair. So watch for her pictures to appear soon.

Update on Noah

Kevin took this on the way home from my sister's in Christmas Eve. If I were good at editing, I could have gotten rid of what looks to be Kevin's finger.

Noah went to school yesterday. The Doctor said it was OK. I figured he would be more distracted there than at home with mom. He has been incredibly brave and rarely whines. For anyone who knows Noah, knows this is pretty amazing. He tends to be the one who complains or whines the most when hurt. I have only heard that this is incredibly painful. It's the second thing people say when they hear he has Shingles. The first is that he is so young. I just wanted everyone to know that I am very proud of him for being such a trooper! I also figured people had seen enough of his arm and thought a cute smile is more fun to look at.

Shingles

Noah was diagnosed with shingles this morning. Poor kids. His skin just can't catch a break. He also has an outbreak on his right shoulder.

It started over the weekend and he didn't tell me until Tuesday night. With all his skin issues I just shrugged it off and said it would get better. Last night when I took a closer look it wasn't anything I had ever seen before. I emailed Kevin's cousin Earl (who is a dermatologist, darling and someone I trust more than my doctor) and he called me this morning and told me it was shingles and to get him to the doctor. The doctor confirmed Earl's diagnosis and prescribed some medicine for him. Now it's a waiting game for the medicine to kick in and help him feel better.

Back to school!!!!

There is only about 2 hours to go until bedtime. I feel as though I could have invited Dick Clark and his New Year's Eve countdown ball to help me celebrate this occasion. Don't get me wrong, I love my children to pieces. 18 straight days with them with only the occasional break has about done me in. I am so looking forward to having routine in my life once again and a bit of peace and quiet. Even if it only lasts for a couple of hours. Even if I have to spend it putting my house back in order. I live for lists and routine. This is a very happy day for me. Abby doesn't really believe me that she is going back to school tomorrow, I think she thinks it's all done with. But when I have to wake her up and get her ready, she'll know it's for real. And come Friday when the kids are all so exhausted and cranky, we'll all know school is back in session.

We had our first F.H.E. of the new year last night. We set some good goals. We have quite a few little things we want to work on such as more love, patience and respect with one another. But we set 3 big goals as a family. They are:

1. Get under one roof. As I have mentioned before, we are committed to having Anna finish out the school year here (noone should have to move at the end of 5th grade). But come summer we want to be under one roof.
2. Be a stronger/happier family. We will achieve this by holding F.H.E. each week, reading scriptures more regularly, praying together and playing together.
3. We will be more organized!!! The kids have committed to helping me out more around the house. There is a lot of sense to the scriptures that say God's house is one of order. I am much happier when the house is cleaner. We can do more when we are more organized. We are downsizing--if it doesn't make me smile we are chucking it. Of course, most of this will be done while children are in school.

Kevin is setting some goals and will be sharing them with me when he comes home next weekend. I am not sure he would want to post them for the whole world to read about. I am just glad he will be thinking of what needs to be worked on and doing it.

As for me, I always have a huge list. Still do, but I am determined to have a happier/healthier life. My goals for 2008 are:
1. Get healthier--I want to lose weight, but mostly I want energy to keep up with the kids.
2. Gain stronger testimony and faith
3. Be more organized
4. Be financially wiser and stronger
5. Have a happier family


For those of us who know us really well, know we have had our share of trials and struggles. This year we are taking control of our lives and doing all we can to have a better 2008. I am following the promise in D&C 82 "I the Lord am bound when you do what I say..."

New Year's Resolutions

I have seen quite a few of posts of New Year's Resolutions. I am a huge fan of setting goals and will be doing so, but my New Year doesn't begin until the kids go back to school on the 8th. It's so much easier to get organized, clean and throw things out without someone over my shoulder, lips quivering, asking if I'm really going to throw that out. Also, I need a few days to recover from being gone. We are just now getting the suitcases put away and the Christmas decorations down. (The house always seems so naked after decorations come down) This Sunday during F.H.E. we will be setting family goals and individual goals. I always like to work on something new each month as a family. Sometimes I am so organized I have a printout for the fridge. So as the Stoddard family new year begins, watch for our resolutions.

Is it bad luck when your Lucky Bamboo dies??

I want to know if I need to start preparing for bad luck now that my bamboo has died. Of course it wasn't the straight ones, had to be the curled one. I bought this thinking this was one plant I could keep alive. OOPS!

I am hoping it doesn't bring bad luck. I've had my share in the past and am hoping for a luckier 2008.

These are a few of my favorite things....

Anna is at the electronic and clothing stage in life. Here she is hugging her new skinny jeans (must be nice to look cute in those!!), wearing her new gloves, headband and bathrobe. Noah is actually saying, "YESSSSS!!!" He so wanted these Legos--thanks Grandma.

Grandma got Abby a dress up trunk and Anna and Maggie had Abby posing. Not a huge fan of the dress, but the color was great. She loves to dress up.

Grandma was Noah's favorite person this year. He so wanted a Husky jersey. He has yet to go a day without wearing it.

Isaac and his cool marble set. Santa was smart and brought extra marbles to replace those that get lost. He and Grandma must be in cahoots.

Among other favorite things this year were: Hot Hoops--Isaac kicks my butt every time we play (maybe this is why it's a favorite?), Blokus--too fun!!!, webkins and of course the always loved cash. I took the kids out yesterday to buy stuff--I felt as though I was Christmas shopping again. The kids all bought a lil' kins, the boys each bought a gameboy game and the girls headbands and a curling iron.

There's no place like home

After a very lovely, extended visit at my mom's, we are home again, home again, jiggety jig. I am amazed I managed to fit all of our belongings in the van and managed to leave only a couple of things. Prescriptions for Noah and me, nothing huge like a Christmas present or anything. The kids don't go back to school until the 8th, so we have a nice amount of time to recover and get back into routine.

We hope you all had a fun time ringing in the new year and that you reach the goals that you set. Our first Family Home Evening of the year will be spent setting a few goals for our family. I love this time of year. It's like a blank page just waiting to be written on. Here's to a happy, healthy and successful 2008!!!!