a little saying by Kalen

With his birthday coming up, I mentioned to Kalen that we could look at his baby book and talk about when he was born.
He says "I want to see pictures of me as a baby."
Me: "yes, this book has pictures of you as a baby."
Kal: "I mean when I was a real baby."
Me: "yes, when you were a real baby baby."
Kal: "I mean when God made me as a baby"
Me: "Okay, well, we'll be sure to look at those."

A little extra effort

I've been very thoughtful lately....not thoughtful as in kind but thoughtful as in thinking a lot.  I'm gonna be honest, I'm a little emotional about this post.  Growing up I was very close to my grandmother.  I'm named after her and spent my childhood being known as "Little Greta" simply b/c there was also a "Grandma Greta".  I would spend a lot of my summer at her house with her and grandpa, fishing and learning to play rummy.  We lived with them from the time I was 2 until I was 6 years old.  I remember her being the one to sew all my Raggedy Anns when they got a little too raggedy.  She also made comforters for all of us kids and I still have mine.  While I learned sewing from my mom, I still associate sewing and Raggedy Ann sewing with my grandma.  As I've been working on making my dolls, Grandma has been on my mind quite a bit.
 
Now, as an adult, my relationship with Grandma has been different.  She was not happy with me when I became a mormon and I spent a part of my early marriage not speaking to my grandparents. But once Sam was born I worked hard to repair that relationship and all four kids met my grandparents before Grandpa passed away last year.  Unfortunately, it felt like Grandma died alongside Grandpa.  She doesn't talk to us much and sometimes she pretends to not remember us.  It's really broken my heart that I can't be close to her.  Especially now when I'm making these dolls, Grandma has just been in my brain and today I began to make a little extra effort.  Today I started making Grandma's doll.  I selected the fabric with her in mind.  I carefully picked out and arranged every detail--from which part of the fabric makes up the apron straps to how the bottom of the shoes show certain pictures.  I even cut out the collar to match the shoe straps!  I've put my heart and soul into this doll and the details.  I hope to finish the doll in the next week or so and mail it to Grandma with a little note.  I pray that she will see what I'm trying to share with her.  I hope that this little extra effort will just be a good way to say "I love you".  I hope that if anybody can speak to Grandma, it will be Raggedy Ann.

Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday

It seems like every November I post the same thing and the truth is "I'm gonna do it again".  I love November.  When I was a kid, Thanksgiving was good for two things: eating a lot and three days off of school.  I was never extremely close to our extended family and even if we did get together for the holidays, none of my cousins were my age so I don't have a lot of big family moments around Thanksgiving.  But I've grown up and Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
My first Thanksgiving memory: Kurtis and I had been married 10 months and I was just entering my second trimester with little "Sammy in the oven".  We had our first home that we had purchased about 6 months before and decided to squeeze all the extended family into the house for our first Thanksgiving as a married couple and in a new home.  After everyone left, we had a mess to clean up but it was late and Kurtis had suggested we hold off washing the dishes till morning.  I was tired but couldn't sleep so I found myself washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen at about 11 at night.  As I went back to bed and laid down, I felt the tiniest little flutter, almost like a little finger running down the middle of my belly.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the first time I felt my baby move.  Not just the first time I felt Sammy but the first time I felt any baby of mine in my belly.  It is imprinted in my mind.
Now fast forward quite few years to Thanksgiving 2009.  I was 39 weeks pregnant exactly on Thanksgiving Day.  All the Christmas decorations were up. Christmas presents were bought, wrapped and hidden.  And at 4:30am on Black Friday, Kurtis and I were on our way to Kettering Hospital to bring in that new little baby of ours.  Something special about Kal like no other of my children, we did not know the sex of the baby until he was born.  We already had a boy and a girl so either way we would be surprised.  Kal's birth is the only one I cried at and I simply believe it was b/c he was a surprise to us.  One of the most perfect Thanksgivings ever!

 Then Thanksgiving 2012 (actually the week after) we had a similar experience.  Christmas was done and ready and the Thursday after Thanksgiving Kurtis and I welcomed our last little guy, our grand finale, Zekey to family.  I even broke the tradition and brought him home in a turkey onesie b/c it seemed appropriate.  It was a special delivery b/c we knew this was the last baby.  He just means so much to me b/c of the joy he brings to us.

So yeah, Thanksgiving means more to me than all the holidays. It is a time to be thankful, to cherish and enjoy our families, to remember that no matter what happens in life we are blessed.  So before you  put up the Christmas tree or break out the Christmas albums, take a moment to appreciate the turkey and what his special day really means.

Halloween 2014

So we were super blessed with a Trick or Treat night that happened to be in the low 70 degrees this year!  It was awesome!  What made it awesomer was that we invited some friends from church and had such a good time. I'm hoping to get more pictures to add but until then I'll share what I have. 
Sam wore Daddy's Darth Vader hoodie!  Easy-peasy costume! 
Izzy wore her Ariel dress from last year and started with a wig but it didn't last too long.
Kal was Optimus Prime, but only b/c he no longer fit into his Bumblebee with muscles costume.
And Zekey!  Ah alas, Zekey is my last little darling to fit into the one and only Halloween costume I made for the kids.  I made it for Sammy back in the day and all three boys have worn it.  I was a little teary eyed when I put it away.

I forgot to add that I did make my Raggedy ann costume too!
To make it perfect I'm including pics of Sammy, Kal and Zeke all in the costume!

cute kids sayings

Isabel was given a shirt that says "I'm a Mormon. I know it. I live it. I love it." She read the shirt and I said "do you know what a Mormon is?" She replies: "no, what is it?" Me: "it's someone who goes to our church." Izzy: "So I really AM a Mormon! That's great!" I love her little "epiphanies".

I literally just yelled at Kal to leave me alone for a little bit. Not 5 minutes later, he comes running in saying there is a big spider in his room and he needs me. I grab a shoe just in time to see the spider go back in a corner, so I'm moving everything out of the way and ask Kal to move back. He says "I'll help Momma. Nah-nah-hah-boo-boo Spider! See it's coming to me!" And suddenly, I'm over need my space from Kal.

my exact conversation with Kal: me: "where is your underwear?"
Kal: "it's in the bathroom. my butt stinks. It went 'toot' 4 times, toot, toot, toot, toot. Then it came out and it smells so I didn't put my underwear back on. I don't want my underwear stink."
And people wonder why I am the way I am? You can't have daily conversations like this and be normal, folks....you just can't.

you know that time in the evening when the 19 month old is running around with your bra in his hands....flinging it at people like a whip! yeah, it's party night at the Ebers

October in a nutshell

Lately, I've been so overwhelmed with just life.  Four kids, a new puppy, teaching toddler music class, teaching voice lessons, sewing dolls, planning for upcoming holiday season (Halloween, Thanksgiving, two birthdays and Christmas), taking care of a house and still trying to be a happy, healthy mom.  I changed my diet to a more healthy diet in an attempt to feel better, physically and mentally.  Life is just crazy....the new normal, but still crazy!
But a lot of good things have come from October. 
We got a new puppy (okay, we got him in Sept but still, he is fun).  Meet Oren the Beagle (named for great-grandpa Oren Franklin Snapp).

The Cub Scout pack took a field trip to the Fire Station and the boys all loved it.  I took all four kids on my own b/c Kurtis had to work at a soccer concession stand.  My favorite photo is Zeke sitting all on his own on the bumper of a fire truck.  I think he was overwhelmed by all the cool things. The best part was when we were getting ready to leave and they got an emergency call so we all stood outside the fire station and watched the ambulance take off with the sirens/lights.

I recently tried to do some new craft projects.  My favorite as of late has been this canvas with the kids feet prints making owls on a branch.  It hangs in our living room.

We went to the circus as a family.  Last year we went and Daddy was on a business trip so this year it was exciting to have him with us.  We did take a potty break and missed them shooting a woman out of a cannon but the theme for the circus was "under construction" so Kal was super thrilled to see the construction theme vehicles and costumes.  We also really enjoyed the unicycle-riding basketball players.  Sam now wants to learn to ride a unicycle.  The elephants were also fun to see.

Sam started choir this year in fourth grade and though I try not to get super excited or push music on my kids, it does make me super happy when they enjoy singing and music. He even sang in a trio of boys for a small bit in one song.  Loved it!  I don't have a lot of pictures of it all b/c I videotaped most of it.  They sang "Money, money, money" from ABBA and "when I'm 64" by the Beatles plus a few others.  I enjoyed the different selection of songs.  Zeke also enjoyed the concert.

I got super excited when I was able to get this one Raggedy Ann that I've been looking for.  She's been pretty expensive and she's very big (34") so I've had a hard time finding one that I could afford. I was able to snag this girl for $35 (with shipping).  I was very happy!

We've really made a huge effort to feed the missionaries more often.  I like to have them in our home and try hard to get the kids used to seeing the missionaries often.  One night the elders joined the Eber boys in an all-out shoot out of nerf guns.  It was a good time had by all!  Note Zeke was carrying around the largest gun.

Kalen had not one but two field trips in the last week. Both were outside and cold and he and I had to bundle up hard to keep warm.  The first one included a pumpkin patch, hayride, and playing outdoors.  The second was on a farm with lots of animals (we touched ducks, pigs, goats, horses, cows, chickens, and a donkey named Marshmallow).  It was a lot of fun and we did come home with another pumpkin!

Last night Daddy and Izzy had a date together to see Disney on Ice Princesses and Heroes!  They had a super good time and Daddy surprised me by relenting and buying Izzy an Ariel doll!  He usually doesn't splurge like that.  He took 207 pictures but I'll just show one.  Of course, he did not get one picture of him and Izzy at the event....silly man.

Lastly, while taking the dog for a walk, Kurtis and the kids come running into the house yelling for me to come outside quick! I panic and run out to see them all ooohhing and aaahhhing over the rainbow and the sky. Just perfect b/c last night for Family Home Evening we talked about the Lord's creations and how beautiful the world is. Coincidence? I think not.

Yes, October has been a good month.  So much has been going on that it is hard to keep up and keep going but I'll take the good and the bad and be grateful that our kids are happy and healthy and safe.  We keep trudging along and are blessed in small, simple ways but I think those are the best ways anyhow.
Next week is trick or treating and Sammy gets braces.  The Ebers are growing up and moving along and I'm pretty happy that I'm along for the ride.

Wise words from Sam

After working all around the house today on various projects, I expressed the need to take a shower.
Me: "I look a mess right now."
Sam: "You don't look a mess."
Me: "Okay, well, I feel a mess."
Sam: "Well tell that feeling that Greta is no mess!"
I love that this little boy is so sweet and innocent in everything!  He is just what I need!