"I'm on your team"

This morning Logan said our morning prayer, and during his prayer he said:
"Please bless that the bad guys will go to the place where the devil is ; but I'm on your team!!!"
I loved this prayer, it completely made my day. I am so happy to know that my child wants to be on Gods Team.
My children never cease to amaze me, and teach me. Children are such a blessing.

Seasons Change

Fall is such a fun time of year although I will miss summer, and am NOT ready for winter, there is just something about fall that I love. I love the beautiful autumn leaves, the smell of things being canned, the cooler air, having soup for dinner and all of the fall decorations.
On Tuesday for our family night, we took our kids to the local pumpkin patch. They had so much fun picking out their pumpkins. It was the funnest atmosphere.I think it was funner than selecting a pumpkin from the grocery store by far and the memories of going to the actual pumpkin patch will be ones that stick. It will definately be a yearly tradition for us.
I loved the time to take fun pictures of my children, it was so much fun. They grow up so fast.

My kids are really looking forward to Halloween this year. Landon is going to be a zombie, Logan a vampire, and Dylan a dragon. I found the funnest dragon costume at the DI for $8.00. ( and it is warm)
I couldn't pass it up for that price.













Landon and Logan are enjoying school this year and are doing well.
Logan was finally old enough this year to play soccer, and loved the whole season. He got really into playing the guard and the goalie. He was excited to get a soccer trophy.
Landon was way above the benchmark on his dibels testing and I am very proud of him for doing a great job in school.
He has also been playing piano now for about a year and has really taken off. I told him that at the rate he is going, it won't be long before he outplays me.
We had a great summer this year. We started it out just before school ended by taking our kids to Disneyland, then we had a fun camping trip with some good friends, we had a fun 4th of july at the kids carnival in Willard, my kids bounced at the bounce houses and tried out mutton busting for the first time on the 24th of July. We went to several parades & fireworks.
In August Terry went on a guys camping trip and I took my kids to the stargazing party at the American West Heritage Center. We had a blast. My kids were so good for me that night and it was really fun to take them. I think it will be a great memory. At the star party, my kids got to play games in the glow in the dark carnival, they rode ponies, made crafts and went on a star gazing treasure hunt. We also were able to go to our county fair.
In September I enjoyed a 3 day girls weekend at Bear Lake with some of my best friends. We went to womens conference, did crafts, stayed up late talking & watching chick flicks, went to an ice cave and just had a good time relaxing.
Terry just got back from a deer hunting trip and now I wish I could say life was going to slow down a little, but with the holidays coming, I don't expect that to happen.
I guess it is good to be busy in life, and we certainly are :)

No girls allowed!!!!!

Logan started Kindergarten on Monday.
Today when I picked him up I asked him how his day went, and if he made any new friends.
He started to tell me that there was this girl who was prettier than the other girls in his class. I asked him what her name was and he told me, I haven't figured out how to find out her name.
I just laughed. "He's only five" and already trying to figure out how to approach girls. I guess I'm in trouble- I had better post the No Girls Allowed sign on my front door sooner than I thought :)
Towards the end of the summer I felt ready for my boys to go back to school, but on the first day of school after I dropped them both off, REALITY hit me!!! They are growing so fast, and there is nothing I can do about it. All I can do is hope that I have taught them what they need to know to face the battles they will face in life. It is kind of scary to let go! I'm not sure I like it :(

Sun kissed

Logan has been curious about everything lately, he has asked what germs look like, if blind people can sleep, what our brains look like and how do we think with them- just to name a few.
This morning he was looking at his skin and said to me- mom Dylan and I have the same kind of skin. (I'm assuming he meant color) I said yes you do. Then he said mom you & I have the same kind of skin, except yours has polka dots. I started to laugh when I realized he meant my freckles.
I told him that those are called freckles and you get them when the sun kisses you. I told him that he will probably get more when he is out in the sun. He looked at my arm again and said whoa you have a lot of sun kisses!!! Why did the sun give you so many kisses?
I had to explain that you just get them when you are out in the sun.
I love his curiosity lately, he wants to know about everything, how everything works, and why it does it.
This is such a precious stage in their lives. I just wish that we would stay that eager to learn all of our lives. It is kind of sad that people have to lose that innocence and eagerness that children have.
Logan makes me smile all the time with the cute things he says.
Life has been good for us, Landon is now officially out of school for the summer, and is really looking forward to the break. He did really well in school this year and I am really proud of him.
On his last math assessment he got 100%. He loves numbers and math.
He has been taking piano lessons and has come a long way in 7 months.
Logan also just finished preschool and is looking forward to going to Kindergarten next year.
I can't believe how fast they are growing up. Sometimes I feel like the time I have with them is slipping away.
Dylan loves to be just like his older brothers and thinks he can do everything that they do.
He goes down big slides head first, gets in on the wrestling action whenever he sees his brothers and Dad wrestling. Sometimes he even appears to have the advantage! He acts like he is sword fighting with a light saber etc. You can pretty much find him anywhere his brothers are.
Terry has been trying to do more hiking lately and wants to start mountain biking as soon as the weather dries out.
I have been busy being a mom. I have been trying to get more organized and do spring cleaning.
It is amazing how much junk you discover when you start going through it.
We just got back from Disneyland the first of this month and we had a blast- it was really nice to spend time with my little family, without the normal distractions of everyday life. It was just about "US" time.
I will have to do a more detailed post about our trip.
We have a lot of fun things planned for the summer and are looking forward to spending some time in the sun ( To get sun kisses ) and together.
I hope all of your summers are filled with good times and memories in the making.

Please make it so............................................................

Logan was saying his prayer tonight and he said " Dear Heavenly Father, please make it so Dad kills all of the bad guys, so he never has to go to work again!"
There never is a dull moment when you have children!!! Obviously my children really love their time with their Dad.
I haven't really written an update for a while, so here is what is new in our part of the world.
Landon is doing really well in school. At his last assessment, I was informed that for reading skills most kids were reading about 40 words per minute- Landon was at 80 wpm. His teacher also told me that he got 100% on his math assessment.
Every week Landon has a spelling test. I think he has only had one all year that he did not get 100% on.
I am very proud of his accomplishments. He has been taking piano lessons since November and has come a long way. He is now reading top and bottom hands and this week is starting chords.
Landon is my big helper, he is so mature for his age and a lot of times I have to remind myself that he is only six ( almost seven in June). He really helps me with Logan and Dylan a lot. I would be lost without my little buddy!
Logan is starting Kindergarten in the fall. He has Kindergarten roundup next month and couldn't be more excited to go to school. His group will be the first Kindergarten group to go to the new Elementary building.
Logan loves to draw and is constantly found with paper, markers, or crayons.
The other day he came up to me and had a stack of papers he had drawn pictures on. He wanted me to staple them together like a book. That night he wanted me to read HIS book for his bedtime story.
I got a group of mothers in my area together to do a preschool this past year, and it has been a really positive experience for Logan.
Dylan will be turning two this May. I am really saddened that my baby is not going to be a baby anymore. I don't know why, but he seems like he has grown up faster than the others. Maybe I just have learned not to sweat the small stuff so much and have let myself just enjoy him more!
Or maybe it's because he could be my last and I just don't want to let go of this stage yet.
Dylan is a sweet baby and loves to be held and cuddled.
If you tell him to say sorry he walks over to the person and pets their head.
He is still so agreeable, it doesn't matter what you ask him, the answer is always a nod yes :)
Dylan is my Mr Clean. On his 1st birthday we gave him a cake to eat all by himself. He touched the frosting and then held out his hands whining about them until we cleaned them off.
It is not uncommon to see him trying to sweep the floor, putting his shoes in the closet, or acting like he is wiping off the table.
He has been a lot of fun.
Our family has a vacation to Disneyland planned this year and we are really excited to spend three days at Disneyland and then two at the SanDiego Zoo and the Wild Safari Park.
I think this will be good memories for all of us.
Terry is still as busy as ever between work and family and as for me, I am just trying to do my best every day as a wife and mother. ( It keeps me busy- but I wouldn't change it for the world)
I can't complain, our lives are very blessed and we all seem to be doing well and are happy!

Try counting sheep (or pigs)

Landon has been in bed tonight for about 45 minutes. Just now he yelled down to me and said "Mom, can you take Logan out of my room?" I asked him why, to which he answered " because he is snoring like a little pig." I guess I should tell him to try counting sheep- or Pigs if that works better with the sound effects.
Kids make me laugh :)

What?????

Logan says the funniest things sometimes! The last time we went to Cafe Rio, Terry had a cold and so he didn't want to share his salad with Logan.
We decided to go there yesterday and I was sharing my salad with Logan- he asked for some more and so Terry went to give him some of his salad. He got a funny look on his face and said "Are you throw up?" ( meaning are you sick). It was pretty funny- Logan is my germaphobe.
Then today we were in the kitchen and Logan came in and said- " Hey you know what? If I talk too much, I'll run out of batteries." Personally I don't ever think he'll run out of batteries, he keeps me on my toes!!!
Any way- things are good for us. I decided to paint my kitchen cupboards black. I wasn't sure if I would like it at first, but I am half way done, and I think it was a good choice. I think it will be cute.
It is funny how a little paint can make something look so much newer.
I will have to post pictures when I am done.

Survivor Mom Blog

I am experimenting with doing a new blog for moms. My goal is to compile their knowledge of what things work well for them as a mom. I don't know how it will work out, but here is the address if you want to check it out.
survivormoms1.blogspot.com/

Will the bishop take me to jail?

A few months ago, Terry was in priesthood meeting and overheard Logan and his primary teacher out in the hall. After listening to the conversation, he gathered that Logan had made a big mess with the soap in the boys bathroom. His teacher was taking him to tell the bishop what he had done ( in hopes that he would not do it again). As they were walking toward the bishops office he heard Logan say "Will the bishop take me to jail?"
I thought it was pretty funny. I think he was really worried about that :)

Last week Landon had his tonsils & adenoids taken out. He also had tubes put in both ears. He has had sleep apnea since he was a baby and really struggled to breathe at night. I took him to an ENT Doctor when he was 6 months old, he scoped Landon's adenoids and told me they were really large, but because of his age at the time he did not feel comfortable taking them out. Last year in school he failed his hearing screen and I took him in to the Doctor to have it checked, but their equipment was needing to be serviced so I was told to come back. The summer rolled around and we were gone a lot, so needless to say I never got around to taking him back in once the equipment was fixed.
At the beginning of this school year, they did another hearing screen and he failed that one too.
So when I called the Doctor he recommended that we just have a full hearing screen done.
I took him to see an audiologist and they checked his hearing thoroughly, they told me he can hear fine, but that the problem was the fluid build up in his ears. I was also scheduled to see an Ears Nose Throat the same day. He was a real disapointment, because after giving him Landon's history he checked Landon's throat and told me that his tonsils were a little large, but that he didn't recommend having them out right now. This Doctor was in the room for less than 5 minutes and charged me over $100.00 for the visit.
I was really angry, because I felt like he was not even listening to our concern with the apnea and fluid in the ear problem, all he cared about was getting in and out so he could make his money. I felt robbed, because my husband works really hard for that amount of money and now I will be making payments for the next few months on something I feel this Doctor did not deserve.
I decided I would not worry about the issue, since the Doctor really didn't seem to concerned.
A few weeks later, we stayed at my in laws house for Thanksgiving. Landon was sleeping on a air mattress in the family room. Everyone was commenting on his horrible breathing and snoring while he was a sleep. At this point I began wondering if I should get a second opinion.
During the next week while volunteering in Landon's class, his teacher pulled me aside to ask about the findings of his hearing exam. I told her that they thought his hearing was fine, but that he had fluid in his ears. She told me that Landon could be right next to her and she would say something to him and he would act like he did not hear her.
I decided to call Landon's Doctor and ask him what the next step is for taking care of the fluid in his ears. He looked at the ENT report and said that he had noted on the report that Landon's tonsils were 3+ he said that with his apnea and hearing problems, I should get a second opinion because he felt something should be done.
He scheduled me with Dr. Schueller at MckayDee hospital.
When we went to this appointment, it was a totally different experience from the other ENT.
He had a PA come in to examine Landon first. The first thing he noticed was how congested he sounded and how he was breathing out of his mouth. I told him the history- he looked at Landon's tonsils and said that they were a 3+ so very large. He told me that with the apnea they like to listen to the parents, because they are the ones who see the child sleep. He did a test with a tuning fork, where he placed it ringing on a bone behind Landon's ear and then he put it right in front of his ear and asked which place he could hear the tone better. Landon told him that he could hear it louder on the bone- he should be able to hear it louder in front of the ear. The PA said that this indicated fluid in the ear.
He requested the hearing screen and was amazed that the other ENT was not concerned because it was a completely flat curve, which meant his ear drum was not moving at all.
So the Doctor came in after reviewing the findings of the PA and did a few more exams himself.
He told me that there were several really good reasons why the surgeries needed to be done and he was convinced that it would help a whole lot.
After the Doctor did the surgery, he told Terry and I that he was amazed at how much fluid drained from Landons ears, he said it was a lot. He also told us that he could tell that Landon had large adenoids by the way he talked, but after seeing the size of them realized that he had been 100% obstructed by them.
Landon is 1 week post surgery and is doing great!!! Right after surgery he told me how loud I sounded :) His sleep apnea is gone. I have to really watch him breath when I check on him at night, because he is so quiet now. Before you could hear him 3 rooms away.
I think this was a long needed good choice. It gives me peace of mind that he can breath at night.

Other than that, we are doing great! We had a good holiday season but I am ready to have a normal schedule back.
I am really looking forward to the new year and hope that I can accomplish some of the goals I have set.
I like the quote out of a fortune cookie I got recently which says " A goal is a dream with a deadline."
Hopefully I will meet my deadlines.