It's been a long time...

Wow, so it's been a long time since I blogged and I really can't promise to be more consistent as my family life and church calling are gobbling away a ton of my time and energy -- and well as you know, something always has to be sacrificed, and this is one of the things I've had to in order to keep home and spirit provided for.



But so that our beloved readers across the miles can keep up I'll try to be a little better.



McCall - Having so much fun in dance is counting down the days (years) until she can get POINTE shoes for ballet - we have to visit the doctor first to see that the bones are formed correctly in her foot - usually at 14. This is somewhat unfortunate, for me, because lately I've been wanting to scale back, you know...MOTHERS WHO KNOW DO LESS...but she loves her dance. As we meet with her instructors they went over form, showing me how muscles in her legs should be forming if her toes and knees are correctly turned -- news to me! There are so many good dance places around and I'm glad we found this one. The Director of Ballet said she'd choreograph a special number for McCall to go with her violin -- once she's in pointe's. They have the big ballet production coming up in June. She has some great friendships formed with these girls.

Her violin is continuing to progress and we recently purchased a piano which is helping her further excel, she has now picked out many of her violin songs and can play them on the piano. She's playing Etude now. Her new teacher is quite strict and calls us out when we haven't practiced enough.


School is great. She loves to read - she loves the Little House on the Prairie series, just finished Anne of Green Gables and Elle Enchanted. She loves science and geography, and math -- she has been working on her times and division this year. She loves her friends and came home the other day and told me that Savannah and her had talked and they wanted to go see a movie on Saturday and were thinking about AVATAR, and Savannah thought that I should call her mom about it -- or she could talk to her mom, but would I call? McCall tells me EVERYTHING. After school I get details about lunch, school, the walk home...Secretly I often find myself having to take a deep breath and remain open and receptive to the specific details of the lunch room in the world of third grade.

When we read the Book of Mormon McCall is always so thoughtful, stopping up to ask what things are, like a concubine! :) Good thing we stick to the BofM each year as a family and haven't read the Old Testament yet!


She writes us all kinds of notes and in the future I'll scan some, her cell phone one is hilarious, oh and the negotiations for something from the American Girl catalog is awesome. She should be a lawyer.

Elizabeth - Loves her speech teacher and is making good progress in making some of her sounds like V, S, SH, sound much clearer. This is also helping with her reading. We are just starting to teach her to read and she is so smart at associating sounds in words, today when working with letter sounds and combining a+n for an she immediately said... like in Banana. Her speech teacher is also super impressed -as are we- with her math skills. When playing games she is quick to know scores, count, figure differences between scores (knowing without seeing that she is winning the others by four, or losing by 2). She can remember that Grandpa Keith had on a pink shirt in St. George last year or that we had a peanut butter and honey sandwich before getting an ice cream cone with Grandpa Mark.


She is DYING to start playing her violin. We have got it out a couple times and let her hold the bow and work on finger placement a little. With the new piano I'm considering having her take piano until she's 6 and then start violin but we may just start this summer/fall and follow the same route as McCall. She loves dance and has a knack for learing the routines.

Elizabeth is so sarcastic. It doesn't help that both her parents are this way. I keep trying to get the middle two girls to get there beds made FIRST thing when they arise, so at breakfast one morning to force the point home I complimented McCall at breakfast for getting up and immediately making her bed--like she always does. Claire responded with a "Mom, I picked up my bed!"--which she hadn't... To which Elizabeth fully aware of her sister's intent said, "Wow Claire, I didn't know you could pick up your bed!" She's only four but I think we are in for it.

The other day I was picking up baby toys and this gear toy wasn't running when the button was hit. I said it must be out of batteries. Exasperated Lizzie said, "Mom you have to turn the button on, on the back!" I said something like wow it's good your here to tell me how to run it. She replied "Yea, cause I'm big and your small and there isn't ANYTHING you can do about it!" I looked at her in surprise and she smiled and said "That's from Matilda!" She is a hoot.

Claire - Oh, where do I start with Claire? She is the cutest most mischievous child I have laid eye's on. She always has a smile, she changes dresses 3-4 times a day. She always has a twirly skirt under the dress- all the better to TWIRL in. She stands in the tower of the play set and sings at the top of her lungs "I feel CONNECTED, CONNECTED..." She carries around a dress up mirror called "Melody" which came from some Barbie movie. She colors on EVERYTHING... and it didn't help when Grandma&pa Stoner invested in an easel to help with her creativity. I still find little bits of artwork on tables, walls, toys, shirts. (The permanent marker on my computer screen and keyboard --oh and 10 key -- was my own fault so we won't get into that whole ordeal). She always has a collection of toys in her bed. Palm size books, polly pocket dolls, a ring, bracelet, a smooth clear rock she calls her diamond. She must be active at night because they are not there when we put her in bed!

At the break of dawn each morning I can hear her in from her bottom bunk... "Libabeth, Libabeth... wake up!" Whenever she falls she quickly jumps up to "I'm OKAY" before running off after her big sisters. She has the biggest deepest denim blue eyes shaped like teardrops and she's got this one sided dimple which I just want to eat when I see it in every grin.

Grandpa Keith has tossed a ball around and is excited for her strong left arm. She is always with shovel and pail digging in the dirt. It will be sad once we plant our garden and she losses her free reign of things.

Stella -- What do you say about the happiest, sweetest baby? Oh- -- I mean when I'm around, if Grandma's or friends hold her she screams and cries but when I'm around she is all smiles. She loves kisses, loves hugs and curls into the small of your neck which reminds you of the joy we will feel in heaven. She is fast on her belly doing the army crawl and is working on getting her knee's under her. Right now she is looking at the outlet that my laptop was plugged into, I could see her raise her toy to it so I said "Stella" she turned and smiled, then went back to looking at the outlet, turning her head and smiling each time till I DON'T give her eye contact -- then she'll go back to getting that toy to the outlet. She's 10 months and is already smart as a raccoon! Better put the protector back in...

Needless to say Stella is in to EVERYTHING. We went through the house clearing it of choking hazard toys and things. She is still into everything and is discovering the joys of being off Mama's lap and playing with balls, blocks and rattles.

She says mama clearly and a few other sounds but mostly baby jumble --- oh but her laugh, it is strong and low in her chest and it shakes her little body up and down. If I ever get my computer life organized I'll post video.

Erik and I sit in bed with her at night after all the others are in bed and enjoy her. That is the blessing about coming further down the line -- as parents you learn to let go and just delight in them. She's got her dad's brown eyes and while it wouldn't take that to make him adore her I think she gets extra points for that.

As a family we have enjoyed the recent addition of Fiddler on The Roof. The girls dance around singing "matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match!" or stomp their feet and clap their hands overhead in beat to "TRADITION, TRADITION!" We love musicals. We also added My Fair Lady recently and they sing "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plains!" Much better then "Where the Wild Things Are" -- I was so unimpressed! Last time we buy a movie for the kids without seeing it first!

Erik -- Busy busy busy, like always but Saturday and Sunday are our treasured times to have together as a family. We don't get to see him much Mon. - Fri. (I'm kind of a work widow until Sat. and Sun.) But he works hard and makes sufficient for me to stay home and still have some fun! Still golfing anytime he can.

ME -- The usual running from school, to preschool, to speech, to dance, to violin, to church, to serving the needs of the sisters of the church. Trying to keep a somewhat organized home and life with four girls who seem to make messes faster then I can get them cleaned up. I've got 5 flats of flowers in the garage waiting for a warm day to plant (not this week) but I'm working on planting a few more perennials and fewer annuals to simplify my life but you just can't beat annual color. And the watering system Erik installed last year was such a blessing -- but I think this year I'll have him run lines to my flower pots. I'm looking forward to Summer and time with the kids but June and August are already filled up and then we have all the kids birthdays June, two in July and then Sept. so it doesn't end up slowing down much!

I love my book club and love my neighborhood friends -- who without their support and encouragement I wouldn't be able to fulfill my calling in the church. I'm reading the Old Testament again this year and trying to get done by the end of summer so I have time to read the BofM before the end of the year, in addition to reading it as a family. Our Stake has issued an invitation for all families to read it this year. Not something new to read it each year as a family so I'm trying to follow the intent of the invitation by increasing my personal reading.

Mostly I'm trying to let less of the world in our home and let more of the gospel permeate our walls and hearts -- which means letting go and scaling back and sacrificing other things. Recently I attended a training meeting in Salt Lake which spoke about the essential, necessary and the nice to do things. I'm trying to make sure we get in the essential and necessary and hope to have time for a little of the nice to do.