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Santa Claus is Comin' To Town

Wild Child #2

It's been well established that Kysa is a daring little girl. 

Her sister is following in her footsteps...and then some!

I did NOT intentionally encourage this monkey-like behavior.  I did my best to scold them while I took these pictures and then removed them from the ledge and sent them to their rooms.  Unfortunately kids are smart and they saw right through my attempt to discipline.  All I can say is that when we moved into our house I never imagined this ledge would become a jungle gym!

Our Very Own Reindeer

If these two look like they are up to mischief, it's because they are!

transitions

I am transitioning to working at the office 4 days a week.  It's a pretty momentous change as Kysa and Shay will be starting at Lighthouse Montessori in January, so I thought I'd better write something about it.  Mom has been helping me this week so I could train before we lose our awesome office manager Mitch Transtrum who has been holding down the fort at NAI Commerce One for the past couple of years.  He's going to grad school at U of U in an industrial hygiene program to eventually come back to Idaho Falls and work at the site, and his wife is having baby #1 on Monday.  He does an awesome job at NAI so Alison Frei and I have big shoes to fill.  It would be nice to continue to work from home but it's not just feasible right now, largely because of the uncertainty with the economy.  The girls attended a 3 hour class session at Lighthouse and did really well.  They have a lengthy application process but I honestly couldn't be more pleased.  The only bad thing is that they are located across town.  I have committed to NAI and the school through May.  We will be evaluating things in March to see if I will continue my commitment. 

It seems that we can't do without the $1200/month I've been making working from home, but the bottom line is I can't continue making that unless I help man the office because the dynamics have changed with Mitch leaving.  I've worked it out with them so that after paying for the Montessori school I will be making a couple hundred more than I have been making.  My hope is that I will be able to be more engaged at home because I will be getting my work stuff done while at the office and only using my computer at home on the weekends for personal stuff like blogging, projects, basketball stuff, videos, etc.  The rest of the time the laptop will stay at work.

Speaking of my laptop, I joked to Mitch yesterday that I hoped it wouldn't miss me overnight, and I even patted it and talked to it.  So this morning I came in and it wouldn't turn on no matter how many times I tried.  It would sputter and then turn off every time I hit the power button.  How's that for starting things out right with my new responsibilities?  It's had problems in the past, and luckily it's still under warranty until March.  Mitch took it to Best Buy for me to be sent in.  I won't get it back in time to make the annual Shippen Christmas video, but maybe I can find a way to improvise and do it on another machine.

Ty has a ball game tonight vs. Bonneville and again tomorrow @ Rigby.  I'm excited as the boys haven't played since last Friday.  I've actually only been to two of their games so far as I missed the game @ Bountiful and I went and scouted other teams when we played Clearfield and Blackfoot. 

Shay cracked me up last night.  She woke up in the middle of the night and wanted me to tell her a story.  She said, "Tell me the one about Olivia and Emma in the tree.  Tell me THAT one....and Emma gets stuck in the tree...now it's your turn..."  She is so bossy.  Her vocabulary seems to be exploding.  I told her I wanted to go to bed, and she said, "Not in Kysa's, or Daddy's, or Raleigh's bed.  They are sleeping.  You can't bother them!" 

Neat Church Magazine Article by my friend Amanda

A little inspiration from my very inspiring friend Amanda:

Amanda Dierenfeldt, “To Perfection,” Liahona, Mar 2009, 8–9

Growing up, I was always inclined to perfectionism. So when I received my patriarchal blessing, one admonition in particular seemed natural: to complete the tasks I was given “to the best of [my] ability, to perfection.” Only later would I start to realize how little I understood perfection—or the role of grace.

In 1998 I returned home early from a mission due to health problems. I felt a tremendous amount of guilt because I felt I had not completed my mission “to perfection.” Added to this sense of failure was uncertainty about my illness. So far, doctors had been unable to diagnose it.

In spite of my health challenges, I knew I needed to move forward, so I enrolled in a university to continue my education. After only two quarters, however, I returned home again, in pain, for urgent surgery. It was at this point that doctors discovered I had an autoimmune disease.

While I was recovering from surgery, I began working part-time at the chocolate store where I had been employed as a teenager. Even though I was doing what I could, I didn’t feel that I was pursuing anything worthwhile, much less completing it “to perfection.” I began to compare myself to others, especially to my friends who were completing their college degrees, serving missions, or starting families. I felt left behind.

Then I met Stephanie. She came into the candy store one day wearing a black scarf around her head. As I pointed out to her my favorite chocolate, I felt impressed to inquire about her situation. She smiled, removed her scarf, and, pointing to her bald head, told me she was going through chemotherapy. That exchange was the start of a special and candid friendship.

Stephanie came by the store regularly to enjoy a treat and talk about life. I learned that she was a member of the Church and that she had struggled spiritually as well as physically. She told me about some rebellious choices she had made and about her efforts to repent. She was working toward being sealed to her husband in the temple.

One day I shared some of my own challenges. I confided in her how discouraged I was by my circumstances. “I am scooping the same ice cream I scooped in high school,” I explained. “I didn’t complete my mission or college, and I don’t know what to do now.”

Stephanie responded, “Why do you have to finish the race of life in a set time? Why not just run the race?”

For the first time, I realized that the efforts I was making were my best, and my best was enough. The Savior loved me, and His grace, through His Atonement, was sufficient for me, for my deficiencies. Although I felt I had been looking to Him all along, until Stephanie shared her insight with me, I had somehow missed an important lesson about His role in my life.

Ether 12:27 says, “My grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” As I have been able to humble myself and have faith in the Lord, I have seen over and over again that He does indeed make weak things become strong. My increased testimony of this truth has helped me face my challenges with greater faith and hope.

A few months after that conversation, I left my hometown to start a new job and lost contact with my friend. One day my mom called to tell me that she had seen Stephanie’s obituary in the newspaper. I came home to attend her funeral and learned she had been sealed to her husband just three weeks before her death.

My heart sighed with gratitude for having had Stephanie in my life and for what she taught me about running a perfect race. I don’t always need to sprint. Occasionally, it will be all I can do to simply face the finish line. Doing our best to move forward—no matter what speed “our best” is—is OK. Our efforts can be made perfect because the Lord’s grace is sufficient for us all (see Moroni 10:32).

Check out Amanda’s blog at: http://flopbott.blogspot.com/

Grandma's Birthday Song and Silliness

Raleigh's 12/5 Swim Meet

Kysa's Christmas Dress

Not the best quality picture as I took it with my cell, but I love it.

Snowfall, Crazy Eyes at the Festival of Trees

I took the kids to the Festival of Trees Friday night as Ty was at Skyline
late distributing uniforms to all the teams. It was really crowded and it
took a lot of help from Raleigh to keep track of both of the girls. We
won't be doing that again for a few years! The Rupert festival is much more
our pace. It snowed a lot today during stake conference. President Russell
M. Nelson was our visiting G.A. It was neat to hear from him, although I
didn't hear all of it. I went last night to the adult meeting and then came
late with Kysa and Shay today. Raleigh and Ty went on time. Couldn't hear
well in the nursery room. The girls are full of it, still.

Cookie Monster & The Lion

Magic Hats!

Raleigh wanted the tree up yesterday, so I told him I'd put it up if he'd
clean up the house, which he did. Ended up going a little nuts with the
patriotic theme as I found a container full of good 4th of July stuff in the
garage. Kelsy would be proud.

Today the girls found two 4th of July hats in the same container, which Kysa
said are "magic hats". After donning her hat, she promptly requested a
magic wand, which I conveniently had two of in the basement thanks to a
recommendation from Grandma Ro that I withhold them from b-day presents last
year.

A few minutes ago as I was uploading pictures to our blog, Kysa came in the
room and very despondently reported, "Mom, my magic wand don't work....I
need to practice."

On another "magic" note, last night I was quizzing Kysa on the location of a
bracelet I had made for her. She said, "Mom, it's gone. It got magic-ed."
Apparently magic-ed means it disappeared. :)

Happy Birthday to Dad!

33--Yikes!

Campaigning for Barbara Ehardt

The highlight of helping Barbara Ehardt with her city council campaign was riding the "Barb mobile" (my decked-out bike trailer) after school with Raleigh whenever possible, going door-to-door with Raleigh, and riding segways around town with Kasie Shippen and Rebecca Nead.  The hours I spent building her web site, designing newspaper ads, making a YouTube video, and defending issues on local discussion boards, etc were worth it, but not nearly as enjoyable as hitting the streets with my friends and my son. 

More Leaves

Fall Fun

Playing in the leaves at Amy's house across the street.

Quality Time with Raleigh

After looking through Raleigh's scrapbook tonight (which Raleigh requested out of the blue), I said jokingly, "See Ral, I really do love you."

He smiled and said, "Yeah, one of the good things about you is that I like computers, and you are a good fixer. That's one of the really good things." ☺

Now the kids are watching a family highlight video from 2006. Shay is really into it. I love my kids.

Reading to Sisters / The End of Soccer Season

Raleigh’s last soccer game was cancelled because half of the other team had the swine flu.  Our last chance for a victory…let’s just say we don’t have to worry about the kids getting overconfident in their soccer abilities. The other picture--Raleigh has been great lately about reading to his sisters at bedtime.

A True Witness of Jesus Christ: Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland just gave an amazing testimony of the Book of Mormon in General Conference. I am looking forward to being able to post it. For now, I'll post these powerful testimonies:

Grandma Ro's New Swing

Cupcake Decorating

Chocolate zucchini cupcakes were a hit, decorated with frosting, M&M's,
colored marshmallows, and juju fish.

Our favorite park

We love going to the park by the Art Museum. Great playground, squirrels
(which the girls like to chase), the river, and a beautiful water feature.
Plus it's close enough to Skyline that Ty can meet us for lunch.

Raleigh Reading to his Sisters

The girls have been enjoying Raleigh's newly acquired reading skills.

Grandma Rue's House

Pictures from a Sunday visit to Grandma Rue's house on September 6th.

Shay's bedtime comedy

I was tucking Shay in and brushing her hair for a minute, and then I said,
"Well Shay, I'm going to go now. If you get out of bed then you're going
to."

I paused. She finished my sentence, "...get door shut and SPANKINS! Now get
out!"

I got out, and she stayed in her bed. Nice.

Shopping for Bode

Kirby found out she's having a little girl this week, and we are excited! We found these outfits for $5 tonight.  A 12 month, 4T, and 5T, so hopefully they will work for next summer.  If Bode is built like Kysa and Shay, she’ll be wearing 12 month sizes by the end of the summer.  J 

"I'm 45?"

I picked Kysa up to take her to bed tonight and she felt extra heavy so I
put her on the scale in my bathroom. "Yep, you're still 45 pounds", I said.
She looked at me puzzled and asked, "I'm not three anymore? .. I'm 45?" I
explained that she weighed 45 pounds--she was still 3 years old. As I was
tucking her in she was not convinced. She insisted, "I need to go tell
Daddy my number. I need to tell him I'm 45!"

As I was wishing Shay goodnight I said, "I love you Shay."

She responded, "I love you A LOT."

Both of the girls talked to Kelsy and Grandma Ro on Skype tonight for about
30 minutes. Kelsy played her flute for them. Raleigh and Ty went to the
Rigby-Madison football game since Skyline didn't have a game this week.
General conference tomorrow! It's been a really busy week for me with work
deadlines and all of Barbara Ehardt's campaign stuff. It will be good to
slow my pace a bit and enjoy conference. We even made it to the temple
yesterday night with Giff, Mari, Rachel, and Austin, which was a small
miracle considering how busy this week was. They brought their kids up here
and I had Jenna Zollinger and Brooklyn Brizzee come to babysit the 7 kids.
(It was six for most of the time as Raleigh had flag football practice and
then went over to Ryker Perkins house.)

Ryker's Birthday Party

Onala and Brad Perkins went all out for their son Ryker's b-day party a
couple weeks ago. Raleigh got "drafted" and we had to RSVP to his
recruitment officer (Onala). I brought Kysa and Shay to the park where we
dropped Raleigh off, and they got to join in the fun for awhile. Obstacle
course, camo clothes, a water balloon "war", even helmets and face paint.
Raleigh was impressed and so was I. He is convinced that it was the best
party EVER.