Every day is a gift...: 2009

Thursday, November 12, 2009

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

I've been wanting to add more pictures of our precious Thomas taken at the end of the summer. Many thanks to my sister Cayr for helping me create this slideshow. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then these pictures are novels!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The house is so quiet...

What is it about the time after the kids are all in bed and let's say, oh, midnight? The house is so deliciously quiet. The feeling is almost as good as secretly indulging in a dark chocolate truffle as it melts in your mouth, and then you lick your fingers and check the corners of your mouth in the mirror to make sure there are no traces of evidence lurking in the corners.

No one is asking "mom, I need this" or "mom can you sign this" or "mom, I can't find that". No radios blaring, no tv's incessant noises. Just the hum of the refrigerator in the next room and the whirring of the computers hard drive as I sit in our Study and play a mindless game of Solitare or Majong.

I really should go to bed. My pillow (and husband) becons me to join them. I know, I know! I need my sleep. But just a few more minutes of peace and quiet...

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Welcome!

Welcome to our family's Blog!
I am excited to create these pages as a way to journal my memories and experiences. I'm imtimidated by all the amazing blogs I've seen this past week. I'm not all that witty or funny. But my guys are pretty hilarious, so I'll let them be the comic relief.

So originally I was going to put "Tiptoeing thru whatever we step on" as the title-header of our family blog. But when I showed our sons Timothy and James our new blog Timothy said, "We more like stomp thru whatever we step on mom." Hmm, I'll keep thinking about it.

Dan & Elizabeth ~ Summer 2009

Dan is a small town Family Doc with a rewarding full practice here in Eastern Oregon. When he's not on-call he enjoys biking, flying single engine airplanes, or hiking with Elizabeth in the mountains near our home. He loves to fish and bird hunt too, but rarely finds the time. Wildlife photography has become one of his favorite hobbies, so if he could just find a way to fly, bike, fish and take pictures all at the same time.

Elizabeth is a busy homemaker, trying to keep up with all her boys, and constantly finding ways to use her creative talents at home, in church service and in the community. Even with all of that, Elizabeth has recently become a triathlete and over the next few years will be pursuing her masters degree in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. Sometimes she even gets to have lunch with a friend and sleep a few hours.

Dan & Elizabeth love to travel, both with the boys and especially as a couple. They look forward to traveling to new areas, on land, sea and in the air. Lookout world, we're coming to discover and explore!

James

A Senior! How fast the time goes by. James turned 17 in February. He loves playing football, skiing, hiking and whenever possible playing video games, but he doesn't find the time to do much playing any more with his heavy school load and football practice. James loves engineering and drafting and is looking forward to college next year, and in some way combining those two fields. James is a great help at home, both with projects that need to be done and helping around the house. He attends early morning Seminary five days a week and has such an amazing ability to understand the scriptures. We are so proud of him and all he's trying to accomplish.

Timothy

Timothy is the life of the party! AKA Timmy Tuba, Tim loves being in Band, playing with the Pep Band at home games and has started taking piano lessons. He is incredibly talented at hearing a popular song and then figuring out how to play the chords and melodies on the piano. He also enjoys the attention from the young ladies when he shares this new found talent. He is starting to realize how important his school work is, and he has a great group of friends both at church and at school. Tim is a fun brother, most of the time, the comic relief that breaks up any tension in our home and is a great help with his youngest brother whom he lovingly calls "best buddy". We can always tell when Timothy is gone because the house gets SO quiet. At only 15 we wonder what great adventures the future holds for Timothy and the family.

Scott

Everyones best friend and the unrelenting teaser of the family, Scott is a complex paradox of opposites. He is our peacemaker, cheerleader, mischevious imp and spiritual guide all at the same time. Scott is 11, the "big man on campus" as he is the greatly anticipated 6th grader this year. He is now anxiously awaiting his 12 brithday in November when he will receive the Priesthood in our church. Scott is our social butterfly, always wanting to have a friend over. His teachers describe him as "easy to get along with" for anyone he meets, adult or child. Everyone is a potential friend. He adores his baby brother and is so good to help out around the house. Scott is sensative and kind, and wears his heart out on his sleeve. We really enjoy our 3rd son.

Brady

A creative, musical and imaginative boy, it's hard to believe Brady is only 9 years old and in the 4th grade. He loves all forms of art, and whenever he gets the chance he has a paper and pencil in his hand. Brady also started taking piano lessons about 2 years ago and is becoming quite proficient. He plays beautifully and it's a joy to listen to him practice. When he's not drawing or playing music he also enjoys writing and will sit at the computer for a long time writing and editing his newest book. He has become very good at reading this past year and loves a good story. Brady has recently learned the joy of cooking as well, and is frequently making some treat for the family or helping mom in the kitchen. His smile and cute laughter is often seen and heard in our home. He is tender hearted and a great helper.

Thomas

Don't let this sweet face fool you! Oh the precocious one. This innocent looking boy has to keep up with 4 older brothers and he does it amazingly well, as if he was born to it. He's "big enough", "strong enough", and "fast enough". Thomas turned 4 this past August and started pre-school at the beginning of September. He goes for 3 hours in the morning on Mon-Wed-Fri and really feels like one of the big kids now. If you could wrap up all the talents, creativity and athletism of all our boys into one boy it would be Thomas. He loves to play ball, run, bike, swim and listen to music. He's a bundle of positive energy only stopping at the end of the day when his battery finally wears down. And yet, he still loves to climb in bed between Mommy and Daddy in the early morning hours to snuggle and drink his "cocoa".

Every day is a gift...