Our Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving Day is snowed! This is a shock considering we live in a desert region. It was the most beautiful snow I have ever seen. The snowflakes were huge! About the size of my hand. The kids were excited and begged all day to play out in the snow. I told them I would let them later in the day when we went to my aunt's and uncle's to eat dinner. They live out in the country and have four children ranging in age from 9 to 18. I knew there would be plenty of time for the kids to play out there, plus they would have more people to play with. Besides that, I had some cooking to do.

After nap time, we headed out to their house. And the kids were not dissapointed to find my cousins pulling a sled behind a 4-wheeler. They had a couple of friends there, as well as my other aunt's three teenagers. One was driving and the rest would chase the sled and jump on in a huge dog pile until they would fall off. Then they would start chasing the sled again. The 4 wheeler was going in a large circle and did not stop to let on or off the riders.

My boys stood on the porch for a while watching. Soon, Landon was out in the middle of the circle. He would run towards the 4 wheeler, but by the time he got close, it had passed him by. Then he would start running across the circle to catch it on the other side, only to miss it again. I watched him do this for quite a while. Then finally, it was like the lightbulb went off. When he missed it, instead of running across the circle, he stopped there at the edge and waited for the 4-wheeler to make a lap and come around to him. He was standing in the exact right spot to catch the sled on the next lap. As the 4-wheeler makes the lap and is close to the house, it stops and all of the kids load off and come inside. It was time for dinner!

My heart hurt for Landon. I could see the disappointment in his posture and he made the long walk up towards the house. His face was red from the cold air. He said, "I didn't get to ride." "I know, Honey. I bet after dinner the kid's will go out again." My aunt suggested that I feed my kids first and then let them watch a movie in the bedroom while the rest of the family ate. I thought that was a good idea, because she had her nice dishes on the table (not the paperplates my children are accustomed to). Landon ate at lightening speed and then asked to go outside. I suggested he watch the movie and assured him I would get him when all the other kids finished eating and headed outside.

Once dinner was over, Landon and Cason came running, already with their socks, shoes, and coats on. They ran out the door. The big kids were still inside, taking their time to get ready to go back out. I looked out the window and watched as Landon and Cason sat on the sled, patiently waiting for someone to come out to drive the 4-wheeler. After a while, Luke and Sam made it out there and took them for a ride. They were so excited!

Beautiful Cows

Last Sunday Todd took the boys hunting with him. Todd got on a hunting lease this year with a couple of guys from work, including his boss Tim. Tim is from Ireland and has 3 children, the youngest of which is close in age to our boys. So, from time to time Todd and Tim will both take their sons hunting. Tim's inlaws have also been here visiting. On Sunday, Tim had also brought his father-in-law along for the hunting trip. The boys really seemed to like the father-in-law. He comes from an agricultural background and was talking to the boys about some cattle nearby. He said, "Those are some beautiful cows". Without missing a beat, Landon replied, "Their not women you know."

Superheroes

Landon's preschool class had a costume parade on Tuesday. As I took Landon to his class to drop him off I realized that all of the boys in the class were superheroes of some sort. Landon had decided to be Batman, he had been Spiderman earlier in the week. Last year he was Superman. There was another Batman along with two Spidermen. There was a cowboy and a military pilot, which are just a more real life version of a superhero. The girls were all dressed up as princesses. One of them was even dressed as a bride. Isn't that what we all really long to be...men: the hero who saves the world and women: the beautiful princess. The costume parade went off well. This picture is of Landon and two of his best buddies: Jack as Spiderman and Will as a cowboy (not Woody, just a cowboy)!

Sunday School

So, we took Cason for his first day in his new Sunday School class. He was actually supposed to be in another class, but I requested the same teachers that Landon had last year. They are an amazing family. The mother, father, and two children teach preschool Sunday School every week. Landon absolutely loved the class. And the teachers loved him. You could tell they really took a special interest in each one of the children. Each week when we would pick him up, they would tell us how smart Landon is, and that he always listens to the Bible story and answers all the questions. Landon loved playing with the son Cory. Seeing him was the highlight of his week. They would give the kids special treats, and would usually bring an extra one for Cason. You can see why we requested for Cason to be in their class.

The week before promotion Sunday, I spent time talking to the kids about their new classes and new teachers. I reminded Cason how much fun Landon had last year and told him he would get to play with Cory in Sunday School. He was so excited. So the day came and we took the kids to their class. When we went to pick Cason up, the teachers said that as soon as he came in he started asking where Cory was. They assured him that he would be coming soon. (They are convinced no one cares if they are there, only if there children are there). They also told us about the lesson. They talked about how Paul's friends got into trouble and were in jail and how he prayed for them. The teacher asked, "What do we do when are friends are in trouble?" Cason said, "Put them in Jail!" We all got a big laugh out of it...I guess mercy is not his spiritual gift! I think he would make a good police officer when he grows up.

Shark Boy

Landon watched Shark boy and Lava Girl while at my sister-in-laws house. Since then, he wants to have his hair stick up all the time. This past Sunday he told me that he wanted to have his hair like Shark Boy for church. I explained to him that we could do that a different day, and we needed to comb his hair down for church.

When we picked Landon up from Sunday School, he came out with wet hair sticking straight up! The teacher said that he went in the bathroom and did it himself. He said, "I look cool!" Todd and I shook our heads and laughed. That day we had taught in Sunday School about different temperaments (personality types). Todd and I were both very shy and reserved as children. We never would have done such a thing that would have drawn attention to ourselves. Landon is the total opposite of us. Almost everything he does is motivated by wanting to get attention, to be noticed, or approval. He has never met a stranger. I am so grateful that Landon has such great self-esteem. He tends to be a leader and obviously has a desire to be a trend-setter!

Injury at Cornfest

Some friends of ours have an event every year at their house: CORNFEST! Cindi's family grows corn and when it is ready, Barry drives to New Mexico to pick up the corn (by the truckload). We then recieve "the email" that cornfest is less than 48 hours away. They cookout hamburgers and the night is spent shucking and eating fresh corn.

Monday night was cornfest. We were having a nice evening with our friends (there were about 70 people there). I walked in the kitchen to check on the kids who were at a kiddie table next to the buffet line. Todd had been helping Cindi move the desserts and was standing at the kitchen sink washing his hands. I didn't think much of it, until my friend Taffy came and told me that she thought I needed to take Todd to the emergency room. She said Todd cut his hand pretty bad.

Todd was helping to move a cake and someone had left a butcher knife on the back of the cake plate. Todd didn't realize the knife was there and when he moved the plate the knife started to fall...Right towards the kids' table. So like any protective parent, he caught the knife with his hands, cutting it very badly! He actually cut in between his pinkie and ring fingers and obviously needed stitches. By the time that I arranged for Taffy to take my kids to her house and we moved around carseats, Todd was being tended to by a nurse, Linda.

Linda and her husband John just came back from the mission field about a month ago. They had been in Africa for over 10 years. She was an ER nurse before they went, and while they were there she was more like a doctor. She offered to glue his hand back together, so that we didn't have to take him to the emergency room for stitches. Which saved us a lot of time and money! I am very thankful that Linda was there and was willing and able to help us out.

Hair

Last spring at MOPS, a woman in my MOPS group gave a testimony. She talked about losing her hair starting about age 3, and by junior high was mostly bald due to alopecia. She then took off her hair and revealed her bald head. She talked about how kids teased her, and how once she got a wig it was so obviously a wig that boys would try to tackle her in the hall and take off her wig. Even though I have known her for several years, I had never noticed that she had a wig. She always has nice looking hair. She shared about her struggle and how the best thing that ever happened was getting a human hair wig.

After her testimony, my MOPS group decided to grow our hair to make a mass donation to Locks of Love. So for the past year, I have been growing my hair. I have also been trying to talk friends and family into making the donation with me. So on April 9, 2007, we made our donation. We all met at a local salon, and stylist donated their time and skills. We had about 19 people donate hair that night (I even managed to talk my sister in law Tawnya and my niece Tori into making a donation as well). In order to donate, you have to donate a minimum of 10 inches of hair. So, I now have a short summer do. I hope you enjoy the pic of my mini makeover.

Shortly after the donation, my friend Taffy's daughter, Lora, started losing her hair. At first, they thought she was pulling it out, because she would have a handful of hair when they got her out of bed in the morning. Soon she became more and more bald. Lora is one year old and was born about 10 days before McKenna. She has always had a ton of hair and even won best hair in a baby pageant when she was just weeks old. After several trips to the doctor, they diagnosed her with alopecia. They think the hair loss will not be permanent and some of the bald spots have started growing back. Anyway, I wrote all of this to say that I think I have decided to keep letting my hair grow and then make another donation.