Worried Sick

I woke up to news that Chile had been hit by an earthquake. I stalled as long as I could bear before I got on the computer because I knew that I would be glued to the news and I had to get my Saturday work done. I have now succumbed and am watching, in between caring for kids, the news feed.

Here is a map of the earthquake. My mission was greatly impacted. I have been looking for any news (via facebook and email) and I am sick as I think of my Chileans in peril.

I am also anxious about the tsunami headed toward the Samoan islands.

May God hear my prayers.

Sunday Evening Rambling

Nat took the computer completely apart in the hopes of being able to remedy our ailing laptop. He managed to get it all taken apart and put back together again but was unsuccessful at reinstalling the operating system. I guess that we just have to look at it as a good mental exercise for Nat. And, now he no longer has to wonder what the inside of the computer looks like. I, however, am still in the dark because I slept while these dramatic computer events unfolded.

This leaves us back where we started, without iTunes or iPhoto. It's a real shame because there are some great pictures of recent happenings.

It's also a shame because you (all two of you) are forced to endure my ramblings without the photographic respites.

I was looking at the Fredin family blog and noticed a picture of Miss Ivy. She clearly has one of Whitney's eyes and one of Justin's. This has always been one of my favorite things about her. But, while looking at the picture, I realized that Isaac's slanty down eyes look just like Justin's. Mystery solved-- those eyes must be somewhere in the Fredin line.

I've had some questions about the move mentioned in the post about Luke. The truth of the matter is that we are still very much in the dark as to where we will be living come this fall. Nat is interviewing, putting out applications and we are all praying quite hard. My primary responsibility is to pray for patience, as most of this process (not to mention my future) is out of my hands. It's a hard spot for me to be in. But, if I have to trust my fate to any mortal being I am glad that it's Nat.

Isaac amazes me every day with his physical abilities. He is, by far, the most climbingest baby this family has ever seen. Noah liked to climb but it wasn't at this level. It is exhausting (AND dangerous, oh my goodness), to be sure. I have to admit though that there is a part of me that is delighted by it as well. He is fifteen months going on five, just determined to keep up with his brothers. He is also constantly delighted to test his physical abilities. It makes me think about this mortal life and the role of the physical body in progression. Isaac's delight with his ever increasing skills reminds that, yes, having a body is an amazing gift.

We finished reading The Long Winter and moved onto Farmer Boy, which we will most likely finish tonight. These are, by far, the most bonding fiction books that Luke and I have read together. I guess that's why we have read them multiple times. I keep meaning to order The Great Brain books.

Here's hoping that the last week of February can be enjoyed and not just endured!

Noahism of the day

Noah brings me a book and says, "Mom can you read me Lady and the Cramp, please?" I love that child's ability to mispronounce everything.

An aside: I have lots of cute Valentine's Day pictures but iPhoto is refusing to open currently. Nat is going to extreme measures tonight...

Class Valentine Party

Homemade Valentines

I sewed bags for each of the kids to decorate with their names and felt hearts.

Bingo with conversation hearts

Heart shaped cookies and sprinkles

We spotted a cardinal in the trees on the walk home together.


This is one of my favorite things about Luke. I don't ever recall having told him that he had to share his spoils. He, however, always gets home from school or birthday parties and divides his goodies evenly between himself and Noah. Brothers are the best.

The First One

In order to beat the Nat's-back-at-work blues I decided to pull myself out of the post snow storm haze and record a few things about this oldest boy of mine.

At almost 69 (!) months old Luke:

• loves to learn. He is starting to see exciting connections between what he learns at school and the rest of the world.
  
• is reading more and more each day. I can no longer spell things out when I don't want him to understand what I am saying because he can now decipher it. I guess I am limited to speaking in Spanish-- it won't be long until he has that figured out as well.
  
• still has the most incredible attention span for books. He can sit for HOURS and read or be read to.
  
• bounces constantly. When he isn't fully occupied or engaged he is bouncing. He even bounces during movies and sometimes books.
• runs errands all over the house for me.
  
• can now complete many meaningful household tasks. He is motivated to finish jobs and to do his best. This was a long time coming and I certainly don't take it for granted.
  
• loves the artist Claude Monet and impressionist art. They learned about him at school and was Luke was thrilled when I pulled out the art history text books with lots of his works.
  
• will always run and rescue Isaac when I need him to. Even if he is in the middle of something he runs to help him down off the kitchen table.
  
• is incredibly loyal to his family. Watch out if you say or do anything to his little brothers, you'll have Luke to deal with.
  
• relies on his little brother Noah in some pretty sweet ways. He is always trying to convince me that Noah can, in fact, attend kindergarten with him. He insists that there are others in his class who are even shorter than Noah.
  
• is still a problem solver. He loves to come up with solutions. I recently explained that we are working hard to save money for our upcoming move. He then came up with an elaborate plan to earn the money to buy a remote control R2D2 which he will then train to do elaborate tricks. He insists that people will be willing to pay exorbitant amounts of money to watch him perform. Then, he insists, we will have all the money we could possibly want and/or need. I hope that he never loses quality.
  
• still loves Star Wars.
  
• has an amazing mind for details. He remembers little facts from all the books I have ever read him.
  
• brings the energy level in our house to a whole new level. I am always amazed at how quiet it seems around here when he is at school.
  
• is a rule follower. This is sometimes stressful as he is reluctant to enter into situations where the rules are unknown. Recess was particularly stressful for him at the beginning of the school year. He was really worried that he would end up in the wrong line and wrong class. Once he got past his anxiety it quickly became his favorite part of the day.
  
• is a loyal friend. I wouldn't characterize him as outgoing, though he is plenty social. He is very content to play with one or two good friends and will defend them unendingly.
  
• still gets love letters from the girls in his class. In preschool he brought home letters (usually just hearts with his name written in the middle) nearly every day from two girls in his class. In kindergarten there are two or three girls who write to him as well. The letters are starting to get a little more elaborate, with sentences like "you look nice" and "I like your hair".
  
• is still the messiest eater in the family. I keep waiting for the magical day when I don't have to remind him to use his fork during our meals.
• never believes me. I have to prove everything to him. This is the analytical side of his brain that has to make everything line up right. "Because I said so" doesn't cut it for this logical little man. I am finding ways to make this work in our family. Today he wouldn't believe me when I told him that Fred Rogers was never the president of the United States.
  
• is very creative.
  
• loves nature and all of God's creations. He could probably live out of doors year round.
  
• needs regular alone time with his parents to fill his bucket. This is perhaps the best discipline technique I have. If he feels good about himself, the rest follows.
  
• is still my most cuddly boy. He is getting a little big but still likes to sit on my lap and receive kisses on his smooth creamy cheeks.
  
• is so tender and sensitive.
• is a wonderful big brother.

Luke, my first baby boy, has a corner of my heart all his own. I couldn't have started this adventure off better!

Snowmageddon?

There is another storm forecast today, schools are canceled and the government is still shut down. We are among the lucky ones in the area who haven't lost power and so we are just all cozy in our little house, full of food, books, and boys.

The idea with these pictures of the three boys all next to each other was to show how deep the snow is. The problem is that the boys aren't really heavy enough to sink all the way down. It's probably a good thing because the snow is taller than Isaac and I am sure that he wouldn't have been happy to be completely buried.

Day 2

Snowpocalypse Day One

The view of the forest behind our house was breathtaking and captivated Noah for a good long time. There were also some deer spotted, moving in and out of snowy thickets.

The snow began on Friday afternoon and continued through the day yesterday. It stopped yesterday evening leaving us with somewhere around thirty inches of snow. I was somewhat cautious about taking the camera out because I don't have a filter on the lens (shameful, I know). But you can be sure that there was plenty of reading, snuggling, and eating happening around here in between playing outside in the larger-than-life snow piles.

Church is canceled today and the snow has stopped falling so there should be more pictures to come...

Frosty Lashes

I just can't decide which one of these pictures I like the best.

One thing's for sure, though. I do love that baby.

New Mormon Battalion Visitor Center

The church news just did a segment on the Mormon Battalion Visitor Center's renovation. Here is a link to the article. My dad is in two of the video segments.

Another Snow Day

A snowman named Jack-- constructed by the boys and their father, whose work had a two hour delay. Note the sweet potato eyes.

Luke lovingly put Jack's nose in place.

Every snowman constructed by little boys should have a large stick in his hand right? Sticks are another boy mystery to me. We leave no sticks behind in this family of men.


This was impressive to me. The boys filled the recycling bin with snow from the parking lot to make these giant bricks.

Luke and I started The Long Winter again. I can read these books again and again and still tear up when Laura and Carrie make it home from school in the midst of the blizzard. Here is the quote that had me choked up today:

"It was so wonderful to be there, safe at home, sheltered from the winds and the cold. Laura thought that this must be a bit like Heaven, where the weary are at rest. She could not imagine that Heaven was better than where she was, slowly growing warm and comfortable, sipping the hot, sweet ginger tea, seeing Ma and Grace, and Pa and Carrie, and Mary all enjoying their own cups of it and hearing the storm that could not touch them here."

Her description of home is what I long to create for my boys. I want them to have the feeling that the storms around them cannot touch them once they are home.

I owe a special debt of gratitude to Laura and Mary. The connection and the conversations that result from reading these stories with Luke are precious to me. Every winter, I hope, will include another visit to the Dakota prairie for me. I hope that Luke lets me take him with me for a good many more years. I am hoping next year we can convince Noah to sit still just a little bit longer. Isaac's time will come as well.

At the end of a day full of winter flurry we retreated into the kitchen for hot, homemade soup. We imagined how grateful Laura and Mary would have been for such a hearty soup to fill their bellies. Then Luke, without complaining, ate his soup.

I love when school is canceled and I get my Luke all day long. It is a welcome respite from the daily routines. I feel as though I am somehow reclaiming this little boy who I send into the world everyday. Come what may, he belongs to me.

I will be happy to send him tomorrow; he loves school and school loves him right back. But days like this leave us just a little more connected, on a little firmer ground. It is a chance for him to remember that he is still my guy.