Merry Christmas To All...

... and to all a good night!

The Greatest

Everyone loves their parents and thinks they are great. And really, they probably are. But my mom IS the greatest! I mean, who else comes out to stay with you for a month just because you want her to? No one but my mom! Who else helps you clean, cook, take care of kids and works on projects ALL day long, and feels like SHE is putting you out? No one but my mom! Who else will watch me struggle with my kids and see me lose my temper for a whole month, and still think I am a great mom? NO ONE, but my Mom (ok, and Byron). Seriously, she is THE greatest and we had such a fun time with her here. We always think we have so much time to enjoy, and we do, but it goes so fast!
We did projects: assembled 48 I Spy Bag kits for our RS super saturday, scrapbooked (that I only do once a year as a demanded christmas gift for gmas and gpas), did lots of early christmas shopping, reorganized my 72 hour kits, and figured out christmas cards. I'm sure there were lots more. We did cooking: Thanksgiving yumminess, chocolate caramel pretzel rods, lots of soups and breads and a few new recipes. I love cooking WITH my mom and being able to just ask her to show me something instead of calling her on the phone and trying to imagine what she is explaining. We did fun things for the kids: 1st annual family carnival nite (thanks Wallises for the great idea!), movie nights, story time, FHE. Anything with Grandma turns into fun. I love the interaction and relationship she develops with my kids when she is here for an extended period of time. They truly get to know her and love her and miss her when she is gone. We did cleaning: Ok, not a ton this time, but she did reorganize my laundry room, and speaking of laundry, that woman can do laundry like no one else I know. I turn around and a whole weeks worth of laundry is washed, folded, AND put away! Amazing!

Mostly when she is here we just talk and talk and talk. She is an amazing woman that finds the good side of anything and everything, and feels so blessed by such little things in life. She devotes her life to serving her children and grandchildren. She is the greatest. We miss her, don't know if we can wait for February! Yeah, that's right, she's coming again, to once more, inconvenience us by watching our kids, cleaning house, cooking, and doing projects. SHE IS THE GREATEST!

My Michigan Girl

I am sure that Michelle is planning on posting about Sam's first birthday, which is today. But in case she wasn't I am going to put a picture of her here. That will surely get her to post something because she will not want a picture of her at the top of the blog. I really like this picture. She is super cute. Love you, babe.

What could be better than a JOB in Phoenix?

Believe it or not, Byron IS actually going to be done with his fellowship this summer. He has been looking into various practices and is starting to interview for jobs. But really, what could be better than a job in Phoenix?
Nothing, right? Right now it is 75 degrees and sunny in AZ. Always sunny! Big draw. Mexican food galore. Mmm... Mattas, Filibertos, Serranos, El Charro, Mi Amigos, mmm. Big draw. Our family is in AZ. Our little Sam is #26 grandchild on BOTH sides of the family. All of the Garn cousins are there and the majority of Burnham cousins are there too. That's a LOT of family. Many people would think this is a reason for not wanting to live somewhere, but not us. We love these people and want to hang out with them on a regular basis. Huge draw! He did Residency there and has lots of connections. Big draw. I could go on and on about all the things that are pulling our hearts back to the Valley, but I won't, it would take too long. So again I ask, could there be anything better than a job in Phoenix? Well, DUH! Yeah, a job in MESA! For real? Well, I guess we'll see next week. Byron is interviewing with a Pediatric Cardiology practice that is based in Phoenix. They service the entire Metro Area including Mesa. We have always dreamed of how sweet it would be if Byron didn't have to commute to Phx. With the building of the new Childrens Hospital in Mesa, we thought that maybe that would be a reality somewhere long down the road. Well, it might be sooner than we think. The Phx group needs a guy in the Mesa clinic. Hmm, isn't that interesting. The problem is that Byron has been in training way too long (news flash there!) and he is too subspecialized. He is training this last year in interventional catheterization within pediatric cardiology, but not many practices need an interventionalist right now, including the Phx group. The new hospital won't even be done for another year, and the cath lab will take even longer to get up and running. So initially Phx was talking about not needing a cath guy right now and we were looking into other options. Now they are interested in making some arrangements, giving Byron enough cath cases in Phx to keep his skills up until he can get up and running at the new Mesa hospital. OK, sign him up! I can already smell the orange blossoms! Just kidding. We are not jumping the gun, we know that there are about a billion if's and but's that need to be resolved and that the timing just might be off. Then we will go somewhere else and yes, Mom, we will still be happy! But even in our very realistic even doubtful minds, it is all very exciting! We can't wait to hear what the Phx group has in mind when he interviews next week. Wish him luck!

Fall Favorites

Our fall was jam packed with visitors and projects and get-aways and beautiful weather and FUN! Hence the lack of blogging. I am going to try to quickly post some of the highlights so I can get back to randomly posting nonsense. It started of with a WONDERFUL visit from my two sisters, their two kids each, and my mom. We had 5 adults, 2 big kids, and 6 kids under the age of 3 here in our tiny little house. It was GREAT! (No, we're not polygamists!!) We mostly took care of kids, a lot! But it was so fun to do it together and to see and hear how they make things work in their homes. My sisters are FABULOUS moms and it was so healthy for me to be with them for an entire week and pick their brains. We couldn't even fit everyone in our cars so we only did two excursions that were musts: pumpkin farm and church (and church we decided could only be an hour because it was during naptime for 6 babes!) The weather was GORGEOUS and we spent all our time outside. I'm not sure if right now I miss my sisters more or the weather....just kidding guys! What a fun time we had!

We then had a great visit from Grandma and Grandpa Garn. Grandpa was presiding at a Stake Conference in Grand Rapids so we packed up our crew and joined them for the weekend. It was wonderful to be with them for extended periods of time to visit, but also to hear them speak and testify of the Gospel. It was such a treat for us! We were so lucky to have Grandma stay with us longer for almost a week. The kids got to really know her and do fun things that Grandma Garn is great at doing. She is one of the most positive people I know and I love having her contagious attitude around. I put her to work helping me with projects I have been wanting or needing to get done. She helped me bottle 24 cans of chicken, start assembling I Spy Bean Bags, and made Jack a vampire cape for Halloween. It was so fun to have her here and we are so glad they are no longer on the other side of the world; the other side of the country is much better! Byron and I were able to have the get-away of a lifetime! If you've never been, you HAVE to go to FORT WAYNE, INDIANA! OK, so I am being sarcastic, but it really was a fabulous time! Anywhere without kids is a great place to be! PLUS, if you meet up with really fun people, it is even better! My sister and her husband were coming out to the midwest for a wedding so my mom and my other sister and hubby decided to jump in on the fun. We got to do all kinds of great things that we don't get to do with kids. We went out to eat 6 DELICIOUSLY GLORIOUS times, saw two movies, played a round of goofy golf (don't ask who won, or lost...), went to a musical, slept in, worked out, and went shopping. Most of all we talked, and talked, and talked. UNINTERUPTED! It was amazing.And thanks to good friends who helped out with our kids, they survived extremely well without us. Hmm, guess we better go again! By the way, if you ever have the chance to go to this restaurant, GO! It was so dang good! Go Fort Wayne! And hooray family!!

Vampires, Cheerleaders, and Harry Potter, OH MY!!

So this is about as generic a post as it gets--kids in Halloween costumes (no offense to everyone else who is doing the same), but it has been over a month since our last post and as junior partner on this blog it is all I can muster tonight.

In order of appearance:

Jack--The Vampire

Special thanks to Grandma Garn who was here in MI for the week of Halloween and made this cape for Jack's costume.

Max--Harry Potter

Max was also Harry Potter last year (although with a different cloak). Needless to say we were very glad when we were struggling to decide in the very week before Halloween that he chose a costume that we already had on hand.

Lucy--Michigan Cheerleader

We had a hard time deciding between the many costumes we had for Lucy, but anyone who has lived in Ann Arbor and knows the passion for all things UofM will understand why this won out.

Samuel--Dinosaur (maybe Alligator??)

Sam really disliked this costume (and we really are not sure whether it is a dinosaur or alligator). He wouldn't keep the hood on and so the best picture of him is with the hood off. Still pretty cute though.

Finally, this is really disgusting.

Both boys hit the Jackpot . . .

and participated in the ritual of sorting the candy.

Max was obviously thrilled . . .

and when we put it all together in one bag it totaled . . . .

15 POUNDS!!!

(I have to admit my hypocrisy of calling it disgusting when I am eating as much as anybody else!)

--Byron

Pre-winter Projects

Knowing we will be TRYING to sell our house this coming spring, we've been busy getting some some things done outside before the winter comes. Move over "Get It Sold", here we come!!!

Before

And afterBy the way, these pictures are of our 3 season screened in patio adjacent to our garage. We totally made fun of these when looking for homes in MI, but we love it and have spent many a fun gatherings in this patio. Hmm, maybe it's time for another, now that it actually looks decent.

We stained our deck and the fence in the background (even though in the picture the fence is not stained yet.) They look so much better! It has rained since and the water just sits on top in little happy puddles for Lucy to stomp on. I LOVE IT! No after pictures of the tree ring, but with the circle complete and filled in with mulch in the center... it looks pretty snazzy, believe me!

We rewarded ourselves with this:
Come on, we deserved it!!!

(ok, the caramel popcorn didn't have anything to do with being a reward for projects, it was just so unbelievably good that I have still been dreaming about it and just wanted to look at the picture every time I look at my blog...)

It's Official

He's mobile!

Queen Lucy

Our little girl is now TWO!
Ok, she has been for 3 weeks now, her mom is just slow...
Alas, she did turn two and had the birthday any 2 year old would LOVE. This is the conversation we had at the dinner table about Lucy's party.
Boys: Who are we going to invite? Can our friends come too? Can it be a water party?
Me: Does Lucy like it when her friends are here?
Boys: No
Me: Is Lucy nice to her friends?
Boys: No
Me: Does Lucy like to share her toys?
Boys & Lucy: No
Me: Does Lucy like it when mommy talks to other grown ups?
Boys & Lucy: No
Me: Should we invite all Lucy's friends and their families to her party?
Boys & Lucy: No

So it was decided. Let the spoiling begin. We had just a family party, with balloons for the girl, cake for the girl, presents for the girl, and ring-around-the-rosie for the girl. She had a ball and didn't have to share one thing!Here are some thing I always want to remember about my newly 2 year old LUCY!

She recently woke up at 6:15 am (ugh), calling "Momma....Momma.....I'm Darvin'!" (Starving)

She has ears like an elephant and constantly keeps us up to speed on what is going on in the neighborhood even though we are inside the house, "oh, airplane", "oh, choo choo train", "oh, doggie", "oh, beep, beep", "oh, copter". She hears all of these way before I even notice.

Her "hair" finally blows in the wind, at least when she is on the swing!

We taught her that instead of hitting and pushing and yelling "go away" when someone does something she doesn't like, that she should just say "no thanks". There are many times when we hear her angrily yelling "NO TANKS! NO TANKS!"

Lucy LOVES baby Sam Sam, as we call him, (she calls him Dam Dam) She loves it when he comes in her crib to play or when she gets to play with him in his crib. She always wants to feed Dam Dam, which I hate because it is messy baby food, but is pretty cute.


She is a pretty dang good eater and I can almost always get her to try one bite of anything, then of course she usually eats the rest, but even if she doesn't, she will at least try it.

Byron taught her to fill in the blanks: "Daddy is the ....." she yells, "BEST!" "Mommy is the....." she yells "CUTEST!" (yeah, we're brainwashing, whatever!)

My mom made her a little snuggly when she was born and she LOVED it and always slept with it. We lost it at the waterpark resort so of course my mom made her another one and sent it in the mail. We made a big deal that Grandma made it just for Lucy (so she would give Sam's back to him) and she was pleased as punch. That was months ago. The other week church changed to the horrid 1 pm slot so I brought the snug for her so she would fall asleep. Yeah right. She told 3 different people, while showing off her snug, "Grandma Made It, Lucy." She seemed so endeared to her Grandma, it made me happy inside!

She's the worst dancer ever, but she loves it and does it all the time.


She loves PBS's Super Why! Did I say loves? I mean is ADDICTED!

She can belt out the Indiana Jones song with the best of 'em.

She loves to go to Nursery now, and thinking of church, she doesn't escape to go up to sit with Byron on the stand anymore Woohoo! (except for last Sunday, darn it!)

She throws a fit with the best of them, but she snaps out of it pretty easily.

Boy I love this girl! Can't get enough!

Hard Hearted?

Once again it is back to school time and with both boys now gone all day I am too excited. I realized a few years back that I am a "special" mom. I was taking Jack to his first day of Kindergarten, surrounded by moms putting on a brave face and wiping their tears. I didn't get it. I gave Jack a high five and a "see you in a few hours" and whistled a happy tune the whole way home! I wondered what in the heck was wrong with me. Do I not love my little boy as much as these concerned, compassionate, emotional moms? I got over that pretty quick. Of course I do! Jack and I had a unique relationship, and he was very ready to be at school and I was very ready to have someone else inspire him, teach him and help him grow. I thought it was great! And I still do! I think I am a much better mom in shorter segments of time. I know I need to be totally positive and patient for 2 hours in the morning. Then I can regroup and unwind (with my two little ones) and be ready to be "on" again for another 5 or 6 hours, even though those 5-6 hours are the most crazy, frantic time of the day. But if I can break it down I do much better. The whole 14 hour straight thing day in, day out does not bring out the best in me. So, when it is time for school to begin, I say Hallelujah! Don't get me wrong, I still worry to death about my boys up there at school. Are they fitting in? Are they being nice to kids around them? Are they going to make it to the bathroom? Will they be respectful to their teachers? Can they stick up for themselves and make good choices? It goes on and on. My prayers have come much more frequently in the last three days. But does it make me cry? Not gonna happen, the smile is too big! Both Max and Jack wouldn't look up for a picture, getting too big for mom to hang around! Now I get to spend more time with my two little rascals! While we were walking home Lucy said, "Jack, Max?" I told her they were staying up at school to learn ABC's and numbers. She said, "How....Bout...Lucy?" Soon little girl, too soon! Maybe the tears will come then? (I doubt it.)

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Creepy

We like to plant LOTS of tomatoes because we really like tomatoes, and because we also like to share. You know, with, like, neighbors and friends. We didn't have this in mind:
These things were huge and they were eating my tomatoes! After we found about 4 of them, and their giant poop, I was pretty creeped out. Fortunately, after googling "disgusting tomato caterpillars" I found out that they would not devour me and my children, and that to get rid of them I simply had to cut off their horn until green blood comes out and throw them out for the birds. Or stomp on them. Or cut them in half. Or drown them in water. Ok, very creeped out. Definitely something for the strong man of the house. When Byron came home, he and the boys pried them off the plants, took them far into the backyard snipped them in half with trimming clippers, oohing and ahhing over the green oozing blood, and threw them in the garbage. We haven't found any more but I still feel totally violated. Hungry?