santas workshop

our family tradition:

the kids draw names and make a homemade gift for each other. here is kai working on sadie's gift. we call it santa's workshop.

we drew names with dave's family this year and they wanted to make homemade gifts too. sadie worked very hard on a 'go fish' game for her cousins. we printed 3 copies of different pictures with cousins and created our own go fish game. sadie drew each of the cousins on the cover of the game. it was a real work of art. the funny thing is that they also made us a game with pictures. they took a real guess who game and made picture sheets with all our relatives to fit in the game. the kids love playing guess who's in our family....it was a great gift and super clever!

christmas 2011

christmas was perfect at our house. i really couldn't have asked for a better morning. the kids all slept in the same bed downstairs (dave's family tradition). when they woke up, sadie called dave on her cell phone:) to let us know they were ready to come upstairs. we took the traditional picture on the stairs and then they came up one at a time.

it was magical! the tree looked beautiful and it was exciting to see the kids expressions while they had their first look around. we opened stockings first, the highlight being the toilet fun dip candy with the sucker plunger. they thought it was gross. i thought it was funny. then we moved onto family gifts. they were each so excited to give their gift. i love it when they are more excited to give.

max gave to kai--he made a pokeball fall game and bought a pokeball toy to go with it.

kai bought sadie a little dolphin statue from the school store. he did an afternoon worth of work to earn money to buy it. he really wanted sadie to love it. we decided it could sit on her desk as a ring holder so he made her some rings using his marbles.

sadie made a long winter cap for abe and bought a sled to go with it. she made it in her school FACS class. she was excited with how it turned out and the fact that she had no help. abe thought it was, "awesome!"

abe painted a sign for max's own, new bedroom. max loves penguins right now. he also bought him a little round ball stuffed animal penguin. max loves the little penguin and his big brother abe.

max decided to buy abe a present too, just because he loves him so much.

the kids made me gifts and it was fun to see their excitment to give them to me. abe gave me a recipe book, sadie made four business card coupons for free babysitting, and kai made me a tile with a painting on it. (here i am very pregnant with baby #5)

santa came!!! he left magic dust so the kids could sprinkle it on dave and he could magically tell who each gift was for.

highlights:

max and his cool mini mini plus this awesome penguin hat

abe- a foosball table

kai-an awesome pinewood derby style racetrack

sadie- her own shampoo, conditioner, q-tips, make-up, straightener, and clothes. she LOVED it!

i gave dave some new skis!!! very brave of me. he liked them and he should!

low-light:

the gap bags that were scattered all around the room. the kids soon learned these were filled with new clothes. the boys thought that was terrible. in fact, max opened the first one and stuck the pants back in the bag. then with a scrunched nose, like it was a mistake, said, "these are not for me." i assured them santa probably gave them more as a gift to their mom so that when they leave in the morning they have clothes that fit and it looks like someone cares about them.

we finished opening gifts, ate a great breakfast prepared by dave, got ready and went to church, then headed to dave's parents' house for an evening with family. a great christmas!

christmas thoughts

(a journal entry)

i knew at the beginning of the month that i had a lot on my plate...building a house, being pregnant, relief society, pta, getting kids where they need to be and prepared for whatever they were doing, and christmas....then i found out that we have to be out of our rental two weeks after christmas. our house won't be done until february so now moving and finding a place to live was added to the mix. suddenly it wasn't just christmas, it was christmas and a move. my heart rate went up. then i went to church and we have been so lucky to be in elder holland's home ward. he comes every once in a while and when he does, he usually speaks. this day he spoke briefly and gave everyone there an apostolic blessing. it was amazing. he blessed everyone to have a season of peace, angels, and wondering awe and reverence like the shepherds. he promised that those that had things in their lives that they were dealing with (marriages, finances, parents struggling-- and i can't remember the rest of the things he listed) he promised that things will get better. he said, "whatever you are facing, you will be equal to it."

i really loved it. i realized that many people were struggling with really hard things and i am grateful for the things on my plate, but nonetheless, it was a beautiful blessing and i looked forward to being equal to what i had to do and for peace and wondering awe. i am not going to lie, i was stressed. on christmas eve day i had a meltdown as i rushed to walmart for a few last minute things. i remember crying on the way thinking this is not wondering awe, this is crazy! it wasn't until i got to my mom's house that night for dinner that i relaxed. the kids did the nativity (max was a sheep and through the whole thing i could hear this quiet "baaaa" it was awesome). my brother taught about the atonement and it was in that moment that i felt the wondering awe that was promised. i will never forget it. i felt like here i am trying so hard to make my gifts so amazing and still falling short but the greatest gift was the baby jesus and the gift of the atonement. i felt like i was offering a penny and getting a thousand dollars in exchange. the atonement COVERS it all. i felt an awe and gratitude that calmed me. i had dave give me a blessing and he blessed me that i would be like the shepherds. they felt fear but then it was turned into testimony. he also said i am being prepared for what is ahead. i do feel heavenly help through all of this and i know as i watch it all unfold that my testimony has and will continue to grow. i know heavenly father keeps his promises and i was grateful for the promise of wondering awe this christmas. everyone needs to feel awe once in a while. it was a good christmas.

our day

i spent the day with sadie and her friend. we shopped for bedroom sets, made christmas returns, ate at the cheesecake factory (my fave), and did baptisms at the temple. they are cute, happy girls. fun to be with.

highlight: when the handsome waiter asked sadie a question as she was putting bread in her mouth. she was caught off guard, so she did what any reasonable person would do... she took the bread out of her mouth to answer him, but then started laughing and couldn't stop:) i love that girl!!!!

the twelve days

i am so excited today is the last day of school and we made it to christmas break!!!! my kids have had so many school assignments the last few weeks, i feel like it's been the twelve days of projects and now we can change our focus to christmas.

here's a glimpse of some of the things we've done the last few days:

(abe wrote and illustrated a book, made an info board, and gave a memorized speech about north carolina)

(abe made a christmas scene and had to figure out how to light up part of the scene with wire and a battery. he made a snowman with red glowing eyes. creepy.)

science projects have kept sadie busy...as a funny side note, she had ugly sweater day at school yesterday. she found a sweater in dave's closet and she said it totally passed at school as an ugly sweater and she giggled to herself a few times because dave still wears it:)

max and kai made candy lei's for their teachers and max's class

is that a giant tootsie roll?

when abe was little, anytime he made a wish, he would wish for a tootsie roll:)

too bad, it's actually a sled for his class gift exchange.

father christmas

father and mother christmas came to midway!

our kids have always hated sitting on santa's lap.

every year they say, "we will just send him a letter."

we had to bribe our kids to go and see him.

sadie flat out refused.

kai kept saying, "i am not sitting on some random guys lap!"

abe was slightly embarrassed

because a girl from his class was the escort.

max, on the other hand, did not want to

but made it worth his while. he said, "i just asked him for a nintendo ds."

this was not one of his three original christmas present requests, but i guess figured he could get a bonus gift for being brave and sitting on the big guys lap.

it was a fun family day. tim, holly and jade came and hung out. we went to the creche at the homestead. i have never seen so many nativities. my favorite--the one from africa with the hippo. i have never imagined a hippo in a nativity before. it was awesome!

move over mitt

abe ran for class president yesterday and won!!

they are in the middle of their 5th grade economy and they all have class jobs. abe's job was desk checker and it was pretty time consuming for not much money. we decided he needed a new job, so we made him a little business selling shrinky-dinks. when i picked him up on the first day of his business, he immediately told me, " i quit my job. my business is so successful!" he didn't waste any time deciding desk checking was not for him. anyway, the class elects a new president every four weeks and the president gets paid pretty well, so abe decided to go for it. they can't campaign, only give a speech. abe made up new lyrics to "jingle bells" and sang his speech. he said the class cheered when he finished and he won! on his presidential agenda- to give the desk checker a raise!

therefore, i make a record...

for my mom's family christmas party, she had a book fair. she had so many books and the kids were able to choose a few, but in order to choose a book, you had to complete a family history assignment (this is totally my mom's kind of fun). one assignment was to complete a pedigree chart using family search. my kids enjoyed exploring and adding information on family search. the second assignment, to find two scriptures about making a record. the third assignment was to write a paper entitled, "therefore, i make a record" all about a few personal events that happened to them in the past year. sadie's was very heartfelt. she talked all about the things she learned by moving this last year. i was impressed with how sincere it was and her outlook and desire to learn and do what is right. abe told me he decided to write his in book of mormon form and since he worked hard on it, he limited it to one event. they read them during dinner, and it was a treat listening to abe read his paper. we were in tears!

for your enjoyment, abe's record:

"Therefore I make a record that in the year of 2011 I, Abe Tullis, did participate in an NJB basketball game. And at the half we were behind by many points. In the next half we shot greatly and played fiercly avoiding the fiery darts of the other team. With little time left in the game we needed 3 points to tie the game. And it came to pass that I did shoot a three point shot with 20.0 on the timer then with the power of my muscles the ball went through the net to send the long match into overtime. And I know the record I make is true and I make it with mine own hand, the same hand that swooshed a winning 3 point shot. And I shall make an account of my proceeding in all my days. (Most Likely)"

i love the disclaimer "most likely". not completely committing.

it was a fun night with family. i'm grateful for my mom's tireless efforts to make memories, and share her testimony with my kids. and once again, it made me smile at what awesome kids we have and how grateful i am to be their mom. love them!

it's that time of year!

what do you want for christmas??

i want it to feel magical.

progress

as you can see, we started off a little rough with the flood, but i think it was a blessing in disguise. it had to be, right? what are the chances of a pipe bursting in the exact spot so all the water would end up in our foundations?

it has been a long process and sometimes i wonder what we were thinking. it seems strange that we will actually live there someday. it seems very far off. i hope in the end it all turns out and that we made a good decision. when i calm my fears, i am actually really excited and feel very grateful. i wonder if the house or the baby will come first?

happy thanksgiving

we had thanksgiving with the haws side. the seven course meal included my kids favorite, seven layered jello. it is a thanksgiving treat and also WAY too much work for jello, but they love it! my mom always includes traditions from my grandparents like shrimp cocktail and clousures. it was quite the meal. my mom had worked extremely hard to make it nice. she likes the kids to help so abe was in charge of menus this year and they all helped make little rice crispy turkey favors. of course, we played thanksgiving bingo for chocolate dollars and real dollars. i am grateful for my mom's efforts to have important family traditions.

grand

i keep telling dave that i'm not sure we remember how to just hang out together. it seems every time we have a minute together lately, we are discussing something major like house decisions, kids, projects, or work schedules and our relationship seems to be all business. he decided to prove to me that we still have it and that we do like hanging out. he cleared the day and went black friday shopping with me and then swept me away to the grand america hotel for a night. we had so much fun. we hung out in salt lake and shopped, went to a movie, looked at christmas lights, and ate at fancy places. it was great being together and not talking shop, but really enjoying each others company. it also made me really excited for christmas.

thanks john, marilee, tim and holly for keeping our kids over night! we owe you!

pink or blue?

a few weeks ago, we visited dave at work to see if we could get a sneak peak if we are having a girl or a boy. his ultra sound machine is super old and i was only 15 weeks at the time, so the chances of getting a definite answer were not great. none the less, it was a fun try, especially because we took sadie and she got to learn all about the machine and what to look for. she was excited and interested. so.....dave was pretty sure he got a good look, but also has been feeling the whole time that it was a girl. i was convincing myself that i saw boy.

at our last appointment they said we could get our ultra sound any time. dave was actually with me so we went right to radiology and asked if they could fit us in. they did. max was there this time. he kept saying he wanted a brother....so when they said it was a girl, i thought there would be tears. nope, he looked at us and said, "i was just trickin' ya. i really wanted a sister."

we let max share the exciting news with sadie, abe and kai.

he held up two candy bottles, a blue and a pink. he made them guess, then he thrust the pink towards them and told them it's a girl! sadie screamed (so excited), kai almost cried (disappointed-and still says they could be wrong), and abe said, "girls play with less toys and make less of a mess, so i'm good." he has about had it with sharing a room with two younger bro's and can't wait to only be in charge of keeping his area clean:)

dave tells me he knew it all along, and he's sure she will be a mini me and look and act just like me and kai.

i think i am still in shock....but can't wait to meet her.

gratitude concert

sadie had her first dance concert with elements dance company. it is a new dance studio that just opened this year. we were so happy when it opened because sadie loves modern dance and the other dance studios here seem to be drill/jazz competition style or strickly ballet. this studio seems to be a great fit for sadie. it was a gratitude concert just in time for the holidays. i have missed watching sadie dance. she did a beautiful job and watching the tiniest dancers in elf costumes dance around a mini christmas tree made me realize how excited i am for the christmas AND thanksgiving.

two of sadie's close friends, my mom, and almost all of dave's family came. it was wonderful and sadie kept saying she had no idea so many people were going to come. it has been a long time since our family has been to one of her dance recitals and i think she loved it.

a good day!

i feel so good today! the last few days i've actually felt like myself. today i cleaned the garage and it felt so good to be outside in the crisp autumn air, working and getting organized from our move. dave hired someone to come and clean our house and even though it makes me feel like a failure, i am so glad he did because it was such a boost!

life is looking up!

plus, our favorite decoration in this fully furnished rental-- our chicken, miraculously laid an egg.

(silly abe! i love that kid!)

it is a good day!!!!

halloween highlights

our halloween excitement started over the weekend. we saw beauty and the beast at wasatch high school. despite it being a great performance, max fell asleep in his chair....i should have known it was the beginning of something! the next day abe said his throat was hurting a little, then on sunday he mentioned it again. since his behavior didn't slow down at all and he didn't complain, i didn't think much about it until sunday night when max had a super high fever and was up a lot of the night with a sore throat. so... halloween morning i asked abe how his throat was and he replied, "doesn't hurt too bad, i'm good to go." he was dressed for school and so off to school he went.

i took max to the doctor and they test him for strep throat--POSITIVE! right away i thought of abe, at school, and was sure he had strep too.

abe jumps in the car....our conversation went something like this:

me: "how is your throat?"

abe: "not too bad, i haven't thought about it."

me: "how was your halloween party at school?"

abe: "great! we bobbed for apples. they made me go first! it took me twenty-nine seconds."

me: "really? you bobbed for apples, with your whole class?"

abe: " ya. and they made me go very first."

me: "did you all use the same water?"

abe: "yep. some people took about a whole minute."

me: "awesome. max has strep throat and i think you might too. we are going to the dr to get you tested."

POSITIVE! i had to email his teacher and tell him abe has strep and i heard he had a great time bobbing for apples in your class :) maybe dave could give a "we gave this to you" discount at the clinic.

even with strep, we tried to have a little fun.

abe was a crazy byu fan, kai was a vampire and max was the cutest mummy i have ever seen. his rags started to fall down and so he was hobbling from house to house (with strep throat) determined to trick-or-treat.

we didn't see much of sadie since she enjoyed hanging with her friends, but she left me this photo on her camera since she knew i would want a photo of her. thoughtful girl!

Happy Halloween!!!!

B is for best!

way back in may, abe tried out for the only competitive soccer team here in our small town. soccer had been such a huge part of his life in flagstaff and i was worried about his first real, competitive try-out. it may sound silly, but i prayed and prayed for him. i know it's just soccer but i really wanted what was best for abe to happen. he tried out and the day before they announced the teams, i had this overwhelming feeling that we were going to coach the b team. later that night the phone call came and right when the phone rang, i knew what it was. they suggested abe could have been put on the A team but wondered if dave would be willing to coach and make a B team. with dave's schedule, i had visions of him getting caught up at work and me taking over the team moments before a game. another dad was asked to co-coach so dave could do it with his schedule. at first i was wondering how in the world this would work. dave was already a scout leader, sleeps at the hospital one night and works late another, and to add soccer practice a few times a week plus games and traveling for games, i wasn't sure it was possible. anyway, the last game of the season was last night, and even though we lost it felt like a huge success.

we went out after the game as a team and the boys each received trophies and a picture of the team. i sat watching the whole scene. abe walking up to get his trophy from his dad who loved coaching him and has been able to spend so many hours with him each week. with all the boys chanting, "abe! abe! abe! abe!"-- i re-realized that God has a hand in our lives, in the little details of our lives. i felt so grateful that i felt an impression that abe would be on B team and that we would coach. it made me feel like we could move forward with it and somehow it would work out and be the best thing for abe. he has had such a leadership role on the team, and has loved hanging with his dad! i have no idea what is in store for abe, but i have strengthened faith in the fact that Heavenly Father is watching over my kiddo.

dreamland

What could be better than falling asleep with a sucker in your mouth?!

this month has been a little bit like a dream, good and not so great.

we moved out of our house, into a little duplex just for the month. it was super hard due to the fact i am 12 weeks pregnant and feeling like my energy is being sucked out of me. we just moved back into our house and still have piles to organize...

but on a happy note,

i am excited to add baby #5 to our family!

I am extremely grateful for an awesome husband who works so hard and gives 200% all the time. he wouldn't let me step foot in that duplex to move out or clean because he knew the smell made me sick,

so he did it all (with help from sadie and abe).

my awesome kids are excited for this baby and they each help me in their own way...little things like, max gave me the cutest foot massage, or when i am having a not so great morning, they will say, "mom, you can do this." our family motto is 'i can do hard' and so we have this month. hard and good....and i kind of feel like taking a big long nap

with a sucker in my mouth.

swiss days

the buzz is all about swiss days.

it's coming up.

i was lucky enough to help with some of the prep.

shout hooray!

who's had a birthday?

joshua kai tullis!!!

and.....

guess

how

old

he

is

today?

SEVEN!!!!

or......

SEVEN!!!

(it's not a gang sign, it's a seven)

his impressive dad made him slightly blue-ish pancakes for breakfast. secret ingredient: frosting! it is a happy day!!!

max took time to write whom each present was from. look closely and you can see this one is from MAX!

sadie and abe worked hard to earn money to buy kai a huge lego pack. it was a hit!

birthday activity: we spent the day in park city. we rode the coaster and the alpine slide.

happy birthday, KAI!!!

we love you and your thoughtful, yet determined spirit!

(and that was a lot of exclamation points, but you only turn seven once, right? !!)