Boys & Blessings

 I am so grateful for these two little boys! I really can't get enough of them. I feel I say that a lot but it's so true and you can never say it enough. I'm so grateful I get to stay home with them on a daily basis. I couldn't imagine it any other way. There are a few days here and there where you want to rip your hair out, but for the most part I really could just eat them up. I love Ethan's sweet demeanor and Tanner's happy nature.

 Being a mother is something I always dreamed of and I'm grateful I have the opportunity to fulfill that calling. I think of my blessings often because I am truly blessed! I love being a wife to an amazing husband. Jared is so good to me and the boys. We love when he comes in the door from a long day at work. The poor guy walks in the door and three excited people attack him. He is a wonderful father to his boys.

 This cute little thing is just the best baby I could ask for. He has slept through the night the last two nights which is a dream. I hope this is a new trend for him. He takes great naps now, is getting on his hands and knees crawling to whatever he wants to attack. At this point he can get what he wants but is not all over the place yet. Give him a few more days!



Black Friday

Last night I debated if I should go to Old Navy and Walmart right at 12am when they opened the doors with the big sales or wait a few hours. Having a little baby and an active three year old in the end made me choose my bed but it was a struggle because I realize this might mean I miss out on a few deals. I received a text which I found when I was up at 3am, (one of the many times with Tanner from his cold) that Danny was at Walmart and got several of the deals I wanted. I was grateful for his efforts in my behalf and knew I could rest easier. At 6am Heather, Doug, and I went to Old Navy and that was a huge success. All the stores we went to I felt were well stocked and the lines were not bad at all! I got jeans for $15 and ended up saving $71. Later in the morning Jared and I went to Walmart and got some more amazing deals and are so glad we battled the stores. I have to say I was not a big Black Friday person until today. I want to go every year because I truly saved so much and it's fun to get great things for 50% off. We ended the afternoon playing tennis again but this time with Daddy too. Unfortunately, Jared had to come back home tonight but we are so glad he was able to come for a while. We are off to play games at the Brooks.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving! We have been having a wonderful Thanksgiving break so far. It started yesterday morning with a fun trip to Disneyland with Grammy. It was our first time at Disneyland to visit Santa and his reindeer. All 8 were there plus Ethan got to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas. He also told him we were going to leave him cookies and milk on Christmas Eve. Santa wanted to know what kind Ethan was going to leave him and he said, "chocolate chip." He told Santa he wants a train table for Christmas but since that was last year's Christmas gift Santa will have to be a little more creative. The last few weeks when I have asked Ethan what he wants for Christmas he doesn't seem to know. He is still a little too young to have a long list, which is quite nice. It was nice to experience some new activities at Disneyland and Disney knows how to do Christmas right.

In the later afternoon we got to hang out with Heather and Doug who are down for the next few days for Thanksgiving. It's been fun Christmas shopping, putting up Christmas lights, playing tennis, going in the spa, putting puzzles together, playing games, and doing lots of eating. This morning Heather, Doug, Dad, Ethan, and I went to play tennis at a park down the street. It was so much fun! We are going to do it the next few mornings as well. Ethan was a great cheerleader and ball boy. He was really good to help out and every so often we let him hit the ball. When he hit the ball he started running "the bases." I think he was born to be a baseball player. It was pretty cute!

We are excited to have Daddy met up with us later today for dinner. Jared gets tomorrow off so he will spend Friday with us in Tustin. Jared works SO hard and we are grateful for all his hard work. Well, the fun is just starting so more to come later. Off to have some dip - my favorite!!

Papa

Papa was a spiritual man who was proper, loved beautiful things, and had an eye for them. One funny thing about Papa was how strict he was about the TV shows his grandchildren watched while at his house. I remember many summer days watching TV in Grandma and Papa's room with the Hamills. We watched shows such as Saved by the Bell, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, or other kid-appropriate shows. To Papa though, even Disney was usually not considered appropriate. We would keep an eye out for Papa and if he came our way we always had the Disney channel on recall.

We lived six blocks from Grandma and Papa's house growing up. I remember Papa walking to our house many afternoons. He went on walks several times a day for his blood sugar and general health. In his later years of life he tried to get us to walk to the grocery store or the hardware store with him. This was way beyond his ability and way too far to walk. It was hard to convince him otherwise. Papa had diabetes and was very good at keeping it under control as much as he could. He, well it usually was Grandma, would measure out how much milk, berries, or cereal he could have per meal. They were exact but still, in the end, diabetes is the disease that ultimately took his life.

Papa was the patriarch for the stake. He gave all his grandchildren their patriarchal blessing besides the last few. I'm so grateful my grandpa had the keys to preform this ordinance in my behalf. It was a special day! I remember Papa fasting and oftentimes giving patriarchal blessings on Sundays. If we went over during a blessing I remember having to go in the house around the back and staying very quiet. Grandma never cooked anything smelly while they were there since most times the person receiving the blessing had been fasting and she didn't want to make them smell food.

Papa loved his garden, especially his rose garden. Throughout the day he could be found in the garden, in the "brown room" reading books or in the library oftentimes with a book in hand but asleep. If you slightly moved a vase or other figurine Papa would know it had been altered and would adjust it back to just the right angel. It's funny because I am like that in many ways.

Many times if Papa saw us playing with face cards he tried to get us to play with something else. I remember one time he offered to buy them off me. Papa was an amazing leader and Christlike example.

Papa went to the LA temple every Tuesday and often came home late in the evening after being there all day. He was a sealer in the temple for many years. This was something he loved to do and a great blessing in his life. Papa was able to seal Laurie and John, and I had hoped for the same but unfortunately that didn't work out.

As mentioned earlier, Papa really did love beautiful things. He loved musicals, plays and anything uplifting. Grandma and Papa had session tickets to musicals each year along with my family. My grandma, Papa, Dad and I were usually the ones who got to go. I loved seeing Fiddler on the Roof, Annie, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Peter Pan, and Phantom of the Opera to name a few. We always had Lifesavers and Werther's candies to suck on throughout the show. This was such a treat for me! On a side note, I remember Papa stroking my arm over and over during some of the shows and I started going crazy after a while with the consent movement.

Tonight I was telling Jared I was writing about my grandpa and asked how well he knew him. Jared didn't know Papa very well but he did gave him his patriarchal blessing. Jared came with his parents to Papa's viewing, which was such a fun surprise. I hadn't seen Jared in months since we were both away at school and just home for the summer. Papa just might have played a hand in us getting married because that was the first of many "running into each other" occasions we had throughout the next year. Papa would have been proud I married Jared and would have loved him! I am so grateful for the influence my grandparents had on my life.

Remembering Grandma Jack

I think of my Grandma Jack from time to time but have thought of her more lately especially since having children. We had a very close relationship and I am so grateful for that. She has been one of the most influential people in my life. She taught me so much about cooking, baking, cleaning, raising and teaching children, and so many other life skills I will always use.

I think of her often on Sundays and always recall her telling me as a little girl, "The activities you participate in on Sunday show your dedication to the Savior." Growing up we always kept the Sabbath Day holy and it was always easy for me to do. Whenever she said that to me, Grandma was usually referring to the smaller activities that we should put aside like laundry, chores, and other house work. My Grandma would always create a teaching moment with her grandchildren whenever she could.

I remember her always having a nice dinner on the table for Papa every evening. She always set the table with a place mat, china and a well balanced meal. She had a main dish often with two side dishes and a piece of bread. Even if everyone else was eating on paper Papa always had a nice place setting for him because that's want he loved so she made it happen. When we ate with them and were hungry after dinner, she always told us to have bread and butter. She was an amazing cook and baker. She knew the little secrets that made meals that much better.

In the summers we made strawberry jam and during the holidays we made dozens of different kinds of cookies. We would store them throughout the house under beds, in closets and cupboards. Anywhere they fit we put them. We would freeze them as well and eat them for months to come. She always made homemade pie crust and taught me how to do that. I can't say I have made one from scratch without her though.

I would go to the grocery store with my Grandma on a weekly basis. She would honk her horn when she pulled up to our house for me to come out and join her. The store attendants all knew us at Stater Bros and we became good friends - even to this day some of them are still there and say hi. Often times I would do lots of her errands with her. If it was a quick errand most often I would just run in to get the item while she waited for me in the car. Sometimes she would stop by our house with chinese food, one of my favorites! Grandma was the one who taught me about good Chinese food. We had our favorite restaurants for certain dishes. Some of our favorites were Moo Shu Gai Pan, Cashew Chicken, Beef and Broccoli, Walnut Shrimp, and Sweet and Sour Pork. When I was younger lots of my siblings and cousins didn't like it, but Grandma and I weren't too sad about that. More for us!

Grandma always taught piano lessons growing up. She taught almost all of her grandchildren to play piano. Unfortunately, there are few of us who can still play anything more than "Mary had a Little Lamb." She was very patient with us but I'm sad to say I didn't take too many years of piano. I wasn't into it and she tried everything to get me to enjoy it. She would tell me if I practiced she would take me for an ice cream cone. I remember her offering me a dollar at the end of each week if I practiced. I remember not wanting to take her money and wouldn't let her pay me. I wish she could teach me now!

I could say so much about my Grandma. She knew so much about so many things. I wish I could talk to her about her life and hear her stories now that I'm older. I have heard them before and I know we have her journals but now I would have a greater appreciation for it if she were still around. I greatly admire her and I'm truly in awe of the life she led. I don't know how she raised three little children (including giving birth to one of them) while having polio. She was and is quite an amazing woman!

Two little boys

At Tanner's six month check up he weighed in at 15 lbs 8.8 oz and was 27 inches tall. He is under-weight for his age so we go again at the end of this month to recheck his weight. Tanner baby is getting has his top two teeth in, is also getting his bottom two teeth and is sitting up. His teeth have made him a little more fussy but not too bad. He is still sleeping well waking once around 4-5am. I love, love, love having a baby. Tanner is such a cute baby and adds so much to our family. I'm so grateful that Ethan loves him and has taken a liking to Tanner since day one. Ethan has never had any jealousy with Tanner which says a lot. Most kids struggle at least in the beginning but not Ethan. He has such a sweet spirit. All day I hear him say "please," "thank you," and "sorry" without ever being prompted. His writing skills are also really improving and he truly enjoys it. I love watching him grow into a boy. I love having two little boys! I think of my many blessings often and feel so blessed on a daily basis. I have a great life because of the people in it.

Trunk-or-treat and Beach House

It's been a while since I've blogged, though I have had several things I have wanted to write about. Since my last post we have been watching Joy down in Tustin while Matt, Kay and Brett were in Jerusalem for about a week and a half. Just the boys and I went down since Jared is hard at work. We spend our days riding bikes around the Goodmans' culdesac, wrapping up our Halloween activities and spending the last several days at the beach.

We went to two trunk-or-treats. First to the Goodman's ward where Joy was a Chilean Miner, Ethan a Train Conductor and Tanner a puppy. We enjoyed chili and hot dogs, Ethan walked in the parade, and went trick-or-treating from car to car. Ethan was amazing that night and really enjoyed himself. He didn't even eat one piece of candy.

The next day we went back to LA to meet up with Jared for the weekend. While there we went to our ward trunk-or-treat which was really nice. They put in so many hours creating carnival games, a really nice dinner and decked the cultural hall with a huge spider web and other fancy decorations. I was very impressed! Sunday, Halloween day, we went to church and made caramel apples in the evening with almonds and heath topping. They were amazing! I'm not a huge caramel apple fan but these apples had a sparkling cider taste to them. Mom practiced throughout the week and taught us all her skills. Ethan passed out candy to the few trick-or-treaters in the evening.

At the end of the week we went to Newport Beach and spent a few days at a friend's beach house. It has eight bedrooms with three floors on the ocean front. The master bedroom has an amazing view that looks out onto the ocean. It felt like a mini vacation - it would be a dream to have a beach house like that. Every morning we watched the sunrise at the kitchen table while drinking hot chocolate. One morning Dad, Tanner and I took a walk along the beach during sunset. In the mornings the tide was high but in the afternoons the tide was so low we could almost go to the end of the jetty. I love low tide. There were thousands of shells with little critters still in them and we had fun searching for crabs in the rocks.

One afternoon Jack - Molly Marquis' little boy - came over to play, and he and Ethan became quick friends. It was so nice they played so well and had so much fun. We played chase in the water, built castles, watched a movie and played in the sand while Mom and Suzie quilted. While playing in the water with Joy one afternoon Ethan lost his shovel, and after looking for it for a few minutes Ethan looks down at the water and says, "water, don't take my shovel!" And boy was he serious. Luckily, later in the day when the tide was low we found it again. We played with the Brooks boys a few times as well. The days were filled with sand activities and usually ended with Yogurtland. What more could you ask for?