No Pictures -- Thankfully.

So, A picture is worth a thousand words, but in some cases, I'd rather have the 1,000 words. Last night is a perfect example. Hunkey had been feverish for most of the day. Part way into the night he ended up in bed next to me so that I could keep an eye on him better. About 3 AM I felt him flopping and breathing shallow and knew it was time for more Tylenol. I groggily trudged down the stairs to get it. About 1/2 way down I overstepped a stair and THWONK... thwonk, thwonk, thwonk. I bounced down the next few stairs on my tail bone. I sat there stunned for a minute, then slowly made sure that I was still in one piece. (One of my still-intact pieces hurt way more than I ever imagined it could hurt, but I knew that structurally, I was ok.) Since I still had a feverish child upstairs, I had to finish my errand. I got the medicine and went back up to our bed. I handed Matt the medicine then sunk down onto the floor in a wave of nausea. I do not recommend a super-size dose of adrenaline on an empty stomach! Matt -- only half awake and unaware of my true discomfort made a funny remark, "Did you drop a bowling ball down the stairs?" I did not find it amusing. When he realized I was hurting, he braved the treacherous stairs and went and got me some Advil. About an hour later I was able to fall back asleep. One HALF hour later, Maddo came in to our room. "Mom, I peed." She quietly announced. Granted the fact that she has been peeing by herself in the potty for several years now, I knew she was not telling me this in order to get praise for using the potty correctly. My heart sank. Why do the children never come in to our room in the middle of the night and say things like, "Dad, I peed." Or "Dad, I just barfed all over my bed, brother and floor." It is always, Mom that they want. I painfully got out of bed and helped her through that clean up. Approximately another half hour passed and then she woke me up again because she was scared. I tucked her in beside me and hoped that this was the last interruption of the night. I don't think I ever really got back to sleep.

I love this parenthood thing. Many of you could tell stories that are way worse. Why do we do this to ourselves, and keep having kids? I think that part of why I love my kids so much is because I have to do hard, awful, gross things for them that I would never do for anyone else. I know it is a true principle that we love those we serve. So, by serving our children in such difficult, inconvenient situations it must help us to love them "really a lot." (That's a Hunkey term.) I'm just glad that such a night as last night is rarer now that our children are older. I'm also glad that I don't have pictures of the ordeals of the night. A feverish child, Mother sprawled on the steps and bedroom floor, A sad-faced, pee soaked child, and 4 people crowded into one bed are not the pictures I'd want to have in my scrap book! Hee hee!

I hope all of you have a peaceful sleep tonight, and wake up in the morning grateful!

The Book of Mormon 179th Anniversary

Today KayBee was on the internet looking up why the school and library flags were at 1/2 mast, and came across a "today in history" page on Wikipedia. We were surprised to find that today was the day that the Book of Mormon was published in 1830 in Palmyra, New york. So, everyone take a minute to think about and appreciate such a wonderful book!

Here it is online for your convenience! http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bm/contents

Homey Rides His Bike to Work

Part of the reason we like living here so much is that Homey can ride his bike to work. He loves the exercise, and is happy to save money on gas. Here are some pictures of him as he is arriving home. Happily, the sun is up earlier and later, so he doesn't have to ride in the dark as much. The ride is down hill half of the way to work. Coming home is much more tiring! Lately, after he gets home, he goes running with me. Wowie! He's getting into great shape!

Thoughts Without Pictures

Here are some things that have happened lately that I want to remember. They are small, but funny or meaningful to us.

1. Ever since Elder Eyring's talk a couple General Conference's ago called "O Remember, Remember" http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-775-24,00.html I have been trying to keep a "hand of God" journal. At night I ask everyone if they have any thing for me to write. Of course the input varies in quality and quantity. (We don't remember to do it every day either.) A few nights ago, KayBee said, "Write that I was safe from the power lines." She had been riding her bike on her paper route and, while stopping in front of one house, had sensed something near her head. She looked up and was startled to find the power lines running from the street to the house sagging about 6" above her head. She said it really creeped her out. Quickly she rode away, but for the rest of the night she couldn't stop thinking about all the "what ifs." She said she felt blessed and protected and thought that such an experience was worth including in our journal.

2. As our oldest children become more concerned about what they wear, it gets harder to find things that are just right. For the last few mornings in a row, KayBee has spent many minutes digging through her piles of dirty laundry strewn on the floor, and roaming in and out of my closet -- unsatisfied. Her closet contained many hangers, a few too small shirts, and lots of empty space. "There's nothing to wear!" She fumed. "It's your own fault for not doing your laundry in 2 weeks!" I retorted. Finally she wandered into her brother's room and came out wearing one of his long sleeve T-shirts. He was still asleep, and could not defend his property. I chose to stay out of it. The next morning she didn't waste any time. She went straight to his room, and found another satisfactory shirt. I remember swapping clothes with my sisters, but is that normal for a sister to steal her little brother's clothes?! Luckily for the peace of our family, KayBee had selected shirts that Brother didn't really care about. They have now joined the pile on her bedroom floor. I have put a ban on her borrowing clothing from anyone until she does about 5 loads of laundry. As I was typing this, I suddenly remembered that when they were 6 and 7 years old, KayBee would sneak and borrow Brother's underwear because she never knew where her underwear was -- clean or dirty. Brother always kept his neatly in the drawer so she knew right where to find it.

3. Brother has found one more justification for buying his PSP. Recently we discovered that it can connect to the internet. On Saturday evening he was playing one of his games on it. He had worked hard to earn the ability to play. Homey announced it was time for scriptures and told him to put it down. He was irritated, disgruntled, frustrated and a few other adjectives of similar meaning. Suddenly KayBee had a great idea and saved the evening! "Dallin! You can go online to the church website (www.lds.org) and read the scriptures from there!" she recommended with a mischievous smile. The parents were not prepared with a negative rebuttal and so Brother was able to continue holding his prized possession as First Samuel scrolled across the screen.

I am never leaving the kids home alone again!

I was out jogging, or running errands or something. Maddo called and said, "Mom, I finished my math. Can I have 10 chocolate chips?" (Yes, sometimes I use bribes.) The chocolate chips had been put way up high at the back of the pantry to discourage children (and grown-ups) from munching handfulls indiscriminately. I told Maddo to wait until I got home so that I could reach them for her. She was not happy at me and hung up the phone with a comment that left me wondering why she had even bothered to call me in the first place. She has a strong tendency to do things her own way -- regardless of any preceeding counsel or subsequent consequences. When I got home everything seemed in order. "Thank you for being so good while I was gone." I told them all. I hugged Maddo and kissed the top of her head, in an attempt at motherly affection. She looked so cute and smelled so good -- like chocolate. Suddenly my Trouble Sensor Alarm went off: "EEERRRRPPP EEERRRPPP EEERRRPPP! MADDO SHOULD NOT BE SMELLING LIKE CHOCOLATE -- ESPECIALLY HER FOREHEAD!" I casually asked her why she smelled like chocolate. Before she could answer, KayBee jumped up and ran for the camera. "I have evidence! I'll SHOW you why she smells like chocolate! It's not my fault! Maddo told me that you said she could have them!" She continued ranting as she showed me these pictures. Although I encourage the kids' creativity and artistic expression, I think I have to draw the line somewhere. Too bad I didn't think to draw it BEFORE this effort. Who would have thought I needed to say, "Oh, by the way, no drawing on your faces with melted chocolate chips." Obviously we have a few things to discuss in Family Home Evening this week. The chocolate chips are now in an undisclosed location on a very high shelf in a very remote part of the house.

Sunday Evening Dessert

Ever since we started using the wood stove, the kids have been dreaming about roasting marshmallows in it. Finally I remembered to buy a pack. We had a lovely bed of coals going. The amazing thing is that it only took a few seconds for the whole thing to turn perfectly golden. I think we have found the epitome of modern convenience! Next Brother is going to want to do hobo dinners!

Scripture Time

Hunkey has found there are advantages to being the youngest. He doesn't have to follow along in the book, or take a turn reading yet. He also gets the best seat in the house.

Does this happen at your house?

I was cleaning KayBee's room and found this cartoon. Things like this make me wonder what goes on while I am gone. I hope that someday she will be the next Bill Watterson, presenting a female version of Calvin and Hobbes. I keep telling her that she needs to put together a book of cartoons for one of her Young Women Value Projects. Our family life certainly provides her with enough subject material! I'm sure that many of you also have things that would fit her themes. I have a great idea! How about you send us your stories, quotes and any other funny, embarassing, distressing, ingenious, etc. experiences with your children so they can be featured in her cartooning as well! (I just want to know that we are not alone in this crazy adventure of child raising!)

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Happy Command Day! (March Forth!)

This holiday has long been observed by the Prince Family. I am delighted to see that our children will carry on our silly tradition. Peachy stayed up late last night preparing numerous signs. She posted them around the house so that everyone could wake up to the fun surprise. Here are a few of her creations.