Happy New Year!

This is my 100th post, and it seems fitting that it falls on New Year's Day.

It's that time of year where we feel like we can wipe the slate clean and have a fresh start.

This year I want to celebrate the small things, and really LIVE my life. No more excuses. I want to be my best self and stop worrying so much. If there are things that are bothering me, I want to change them. I'm going to stop being so hard on myself. I want to be more relaxed and a bit more spontaneous. I want to wake up every morning and say to myself, "life is good".

2007 was a good year for me and my family. I'm glad to say our "ups" outnumbered the "downs" and I feel like we grew a lot together (and grew in number as we added another Dodson to our clan). We are going to set some family goals this year and I will be optimistic that we can accomplish them.

So here's to a great 2008!

Also, today is my oldest brother Jeremy's birthday! What an old man you are Jer, but one cool fella! Wish we were there to celebrate with you.

Flabergasted

Could anyone tell me what would inspire a 5 year old to take a load of gold fish crackers, stuff them in a sock, crush them up, and then twirl and shake said sock around the living room?

My only guess would be that the freshly vacuumed carpet looked too clean?

This is my life.

December In Pictures

I took down my Christmas decorations today, which is always a sad day for me, but refreshing to have things cleaned and packed away again. I always think of the song from "The Forgotten Carols" by Michael McLean, "I cry the day that I take the tree down". I feel like there is an empty space in my heart for a few days.

We had a very nice, low key Christmas, and as I was uploading some pictures from that morning I had others from earlier this month as well. So here is a little bit of our (or the kids anyways) December in pictures:

-Snow Day!!!!-

-The Morgster relishing his new found balance-

-Kendle may have a future in architecture-

-Who knew licorice was this good?-

-Really Santa, I've been good this year I swear!"

-Santa's little helper-

-Christmas morning-

I always kick myself that I don't take more pictures of the fun things we do as a family. Watching Morgan on Christmas morning was like revisiting Kendle at that age. It is such a delight to watch the happiness in their eyes and the fun this time of year brings. It has been an amazing year and I'm sad to see this month coming to a close so soon. December always leaves us much too quickly.

Does Santa still make house calls for sick kids?

Since early yesterday morning we've been dealing with the flu. I'm hoping it's just a 24 hour bug since Kendle seems to be feeling better and hasn't had anything come up since around 2:00 this morning. She woke up wanting to eat some toast which is a good sign. I'm sure the fact that it's Christmas tomorrow has sped up her recovery quite a bit. I'm just hoping the same fate isn't in store for the rest of us. I don't think I would be able to cope with being sick two Christmases in a row. We will probably not be having Riley's family over tonight because his sister has a two week old baby and I don't want to be responsible for getting anyone else sick. So we will be having a quiet Christmas Eve (which I don't mind) and getting our things ready for tomorrow. Our Christmas tradition is that we get up early (umm, early might be an understatement) and do our stockings and presents and then jump in the car in our pj's and drive down to my parents to do gifts with them. It is really fun. We have the car all loaded up the night before with our bags to stay the night there, and all of the gifts we are taking down. It's only about a 45 minute drive to Irrigon and they are usually just getting up and around by the time we get there. My mom always makes a yummy breakfast and we lounge around and watch the kids play with their toys.

So hopefully Santa doesn't catch the flu bug too, and all will be well come Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas to all!

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas

I cannot believe that here it is, December 20th, and it's 50 degrees and sunny outside. I'm not big on having lots of snow, but this is the one time of year I can make an exception. It's hard to believe that Christmas is next week when I'm staring out the window at a bright, glorious day. I've been baking cookies all day and trying to tame the chaos which is my home. It's been nice to have a day finally where I don't have anywhere I have to be or go to. Morgan, by some chance slept in until 8:30 this morning (as did I). Kendle was up and around at her usual 6:30 or so, even though I tried to explain to her that she doesn't have to wake up so early any more because she's on Christmas vacation! I'm trying to get the kiddies rooms cleaned out before Santa brings his sack full of toys next week, and Kendle actually cleaned her room quite pleasantly yesterday afternoon. If you call shoving everything in the closet and under the bed cleaning, that is. (Imagine a huge exasperated sigh)

Last night I was able to join some friends for a night out to dinner and shopping , and we had our fare share of good food, laughing, and probably making every employee of every store we visited convinced that three insane (or insanely loud) women needed to get out more.

Can anyone guess where this was taken?

I was exhausted by the time I got home, but it was a lot of fun. And if anyone out there needs a personal shopper, or help finding something cute to wear, Natalie is your gal. Also, what is up with store's having ads for items they don't even have in their store, and employees thinking that you are lying about what you "think" you saw them advertise for. I just want a Hershey hot cocoa maker, is that too much to ask?!!!!!!

Well, I guess I'll get back to more cookie making and basking in the sunlight spilling through my window. And while I do, I'll be dreaming of a "White Christmas".

Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more

This quote from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" always runs through my head as I'm fighting throughout the war zone-like atmosphere of most stores this time of year:

(confused as to why the Who's down in Whoville were still celebrating Christmas with gusto)
Grinch: It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages boxes, or bags!

Narrator: And he puzzled and puzzled, till his puzzler was sore.Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more."

I grew up in an area where there were a lot of less fortunate people, probably 80 percent of my school were on free or reduced lunches and there were just a lot of families with hardships. I remember one year (I was probably a freshman in high school), for a mutual activity we took Christmas baskets around to some needy families, some in our ward and others just in the community. As we were riding around in one of our leaders suburbans, it was really loud and we were making jokes, and that sort of thing. Everyone was having a pretty good time. We didn't have many combined activities like this so the guys were pretty squirreley and trying to act cool to impress us girls (why I couldn't have had at least one normal, cute guy in my ward is beyond me, but that's not important right now) and so there really wasn't a very giving spirit in the air. As the night wore on though, the reality of some of these people's situations started to really set in and make us selfish teenagers look outside of our own wants and desires for once. A lot of the families were living in pretty humble circumstances, but I remember the last house we came to wasn't even a house. We pulled up to a little camp trailer on a lonely stretch of road and the noise in the car vanished. We had many things that people had donated for this family, and not just holiday goodies or toys for the children, but what you and I would look at as every day necessities like toilet paper, laundry detergent, and new bars of soap. When I saw the little children who lived under these circumstances my heart was changed right there and then. These children were more excited about getting cereal to eat than a new doll; a new blanket was more appealing than the coloring books. I stood there in my nice warm coat in clothes that were my own that were new from the store, and felt all the selfish Christmas gimmes disappear. My heart probably swelled up just like the Grinch's did in the movie. The people were so thankful and humble and all of us had tears in our eyes as we silently walked back to the suburban. On the ride back to the church I was very aware of my blessings and that I had much to be thankful for. I will never forget that experience as long as I live. Now, my family was by no means rich when I was growing up (by worldly standards anyways), but compared to most folks around us we had a lot. My dad is the hardest working man I've ever met, and has never let our family down. My mother is amazing and always made sure we had everything we needed and made life totally fun for all of us. Christmases at our house were always special and exciting and my parents always tried really hard to make it a happy day. Anyway, I just felt impressed to share that story at the moment. Maybe because I know that later today I will be fighting through the throngs of sale-hungry shoppers and I needed some perspective. :)

As the quote goes "He who has no Christmas in his heart, will never find Christmas under a tree".

A little Christmas Humor

I don't know why this always makes me laugh, but it does. Gotta love those wild animal background noises Jimmy Fallon pushes on the keyboard!

SNL Christmas Song

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It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

*Friends delivering treats

*Receiving Christmas cards in the mail

*Wrapping presents

*Finishing "to-do" lists

*Shopping for those last little items like stocking stuffers and batteries

*Making yummies and goodies

*Singing Christmas carols

Can you feel it? Christmas is coming!

Little Man hits the 6 month mark!

I can't believe it's been six months already since our happy little guy came to join our family. Morgan has added such a sweet spirit to our home and lifts my mood every time I see his adorable smile. He is so fun to be with and I love his laid-back personality (let's hope that sticks around). Every night as I'm putting him to sleep I say thank you in my heart for the blessing this baby has been to our family.



Here's to sitting up on your own!

Rocking and rolling on your hands and knees!

Driving yourself around the house in your walker!

Enjoying bath time and soaking mom with your kicking and splashing!

Trying new food!

Still sleeping through the night!

Babbling and cooing and squawking!

Smiling and laughing and playing!



And most of all, being so darn loveable!

Another Fun Christmas Book

Last week Kendle brought home another library book, this time it was a Christmas story which I was excited to see. We just got around to reading it on Monday night and it was really cute. The title is "Santa Calls" by William Joyce. This author also wrote "George Shrinks" which is another family favorite.

Here is the Editorial review from Amazon.com:

Gather round for an Extraordinary Adventure, circa Christmas 1908, Abilene, Texas. The players are a boy named Art (devoted to "the making of inventions, the quest for adventure, and the fighting and smashing of crime"); his best friend, a Comanche boy named Spaulding; and Art's scorned little sister, Esther. One dusty December day, they find a huge wooden crate accompanied by a note that says, "Open the box. Assemble the contents. Come NORTH. Yours, S.C." The next thing you know, the intrepid trio sets off for the North Pole in the freshly assembled Yuletide Flyer, at Santa's cryptic request. Let the swashbuckling adventure begin! Santa's home is the glittering metropolis of Toyland, described as "the best of the old, the best of the new, and the best that is yet to be." But what's this? Dark Elves and their evil Queen? No one bargained for danger in the North Pole. After a dashing display of heroic and ingenious maneuvering, however, the three children are delivered back home in time for Christmas. But why did Santa call in the first place? He tells them, "Some secrets are best left unsolved." The real secret of this rollicking Christmas tale lies in two facsimile letters attached at the end of the book--Esther's touching note to Santa and his reply. Beloved illustrator William Joyce, creator of George Shrinks and Dinosaur Bob, has managed an unusual feat: an original Christmas story, breathtaking artwork, and adventure tale all rolled into one. (Ages 5 to 9)

So if you are looking for something a little different than Rudolph or Frosty, look this one up. I think your kids would really enjoy it.

Christmas card pictures

Oh, the joys of trying to take pictures of the little ones. They seem to know that this is the time that their mother really wants them to behave and so the instinct to do the opposite kicks into overdrive. I had to be fast and try to become a one woman laugh factory to get Morgan to smile.

I still managed to get some pretty good shots of the kiddies for our Christmas cards, regardless of the crying, whining and closed eyes (it's a family curse). Here's some of my fav's, funny and otherwise-( I am a terrible photographer to boot, so don't hold it against me)

Special Girls Night

Last night I had the most enjoyable evening. My mother, sister, Kendle, and I had a special girls night out to attend "The Nutcracker" . It was beautiful and enchanting and you couldn't have seen a more delighted child in the audience than my daughter last night. I've been to see this performance before, but it was a very different experience this time around having her with me and seeing the excitement in her happy shining face. I was worried that there would be parts where she would lose interest, but she was on the edge of her seat the entire performance and clapped her little heart out. ( I think at one point her eyes actually started tearing up ). One of the most exciting things for her to see was her dance teacher performing as one of the adults. She kept shouting out "there's my teacher mom, there she is"! This was the first time my younger sister had been to a performance for the Nutcracker as well, and I think she had an enjoyable time too. But the icing on the cake for Kendle was that they were selling little crowns and streamer wands out in the lobby, and of course my mother had to get her one. We were sitting in our row at intermission and Kendle happened to see another little girl farther down the row that had the crown and wand and yelled out "why does THAT little girl have a crown"! The whole row in front of us just busts up laughing and again I had to wonder why I am so fortunate to have the loudest child in the universe.

Afterwards we decided to head to the new Target and do some shopping. There was hardly anyone there and it was so quiet. Haven't experienced that at Target in a long time. My sister found a cute dress for her Christmas party she's hosting, and I found a chic little black dress for quite a steal. As if I already didn't love that store enough!

To top off the night we treated ourselves to some ice cream and headed back home to see how the guys were holding up. It's amazing what a little pizza, football, and a trip to Sportsman's can do to keep the guys (Riley, Morgan, and my dad) entertained for the evening.

I am so glad that we were able to have such a fun and memorable night together and I can't wait to do it again next year. This was the best girls night out!

Put a little love in your heart

Lately I've been discussing with my daughter the importance of doing nice things for other's without expecting something in return, just for the sake of doing it. We are having struggles around our house of "wheeling and dealing" for every little task to be done. Are we raising a generation of children that demand rewards for every little task or chore? I admit I do resort to bribery on a regular basis, and so in a sense it's partly my fault.

So, I thought to myself, am I any better at doing thing's for others? Do I expect something in return? This month I have challenged myself (and you can do the same if you like) to try and do at least one kind thing every day. Now I'm not talking about baking a huge batch of cookies, or buying someone an expensive present. It could be something as small as taking the time to visit with a neighbor, sending a happy e-mail, or giving a friendly wave (even to that grouchy person who never waves back). I know when I am the recipient of a kind gesture it brightens my whole day and I feel like passing that feeling on. Happiness is so contagious, I've always been drawn to happy up-beat people. By the end of December I hope that I will have made someones day, made someone feel less lonely, or let them know they have a friend in me. I know it is so "Miss America" to say you want peace on earth, but really this time of year, it doesn't sound so cheesy. So if you want, you can join me and put a little love in someones heart today!

Political Christmas

I really wanted to post some pictures of our Christmas lights we put up, (to prove that we actually put some up this year) but wouldn't you know that my camera is out of batteries and there are no more to be found in our house. You can tell we are really prepared for any sort of emergency situation. So I thought I'd share this poem with you that someone posted on our family website. It is a parody on "Twas the night before Christmas". If you aren't interested in politics this might not amuse you as much as it did me.

" Twas the month before Christmas when all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying, nor taking a stand.
How the PC (political correct) police had taken away,
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing,
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teacher would say
December 25th is just a 'Holiday'.
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get IT!
CDs from Madonna, an XBox, and I-pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken and Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.
INCLUSIVE, SENSITIVE, DI-VER-SI-TY
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
And WE spoke not a word, as they took away our faith,
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace.
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me,
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say,
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!"

I'm not sure who wrote this, but it certainly hits the nail on the head of how this time of year, the true meaning of why we even celebrate Christmas is lost and forgotten by many. I was saddened to see that my daughters school does not have a Christmas concert. Is this a normal across the town thing, or just at her school? I'm not sure since this is my first child to attend. One thing that I think is really neat is that many local churches band together at Christmas time to do good works and also have that big annual Christmas concert (have any of you gone?). I try and concentrate on the good things that I see people doing this time of year, and teach my daughter the real reason of why this time of year is so special.

I am fortunate that I grew up in a place where our school's held big festive Christmas concerts and activities, our town had an annual tree lighting ceremony in the city park where choirs would sing religious carols, it was a tradition that the seniors had our own private Christmas party and made ornaments and stockings to decorate our SCHOOL tree, that every Christmas Eve our family would gather and we would have the little ones act out the nativity and listen to my grandfather read from the scriptures about our Saviour's birth.

So as for me, I will be shouting greetings of "Merry Christmas" to all.

Random thoughts on a Monday morning

-My five month old is obsessed with electrical outlets and cords already, I'm in trouble. He is a blur as he sprints by me in his walker.Yes I said SPRINTS. We have to shut all of the bedroom and bathroom doors so he doesn't get into mischief. HELP! He figured out how to balance when I try to sit him up by himself and is doing the inch-worm crawl and roll method. The Christmas tree has taken a severe beating already.

-We put the finishing touches on our Christmas lights last night, I will have to post some pictures of it tomorrow. They look nice, even though one of our annoying neighbors (who didn't have his hearing aids in by the way) stopped by for a good 20 minutes or more and proceeded to tell us that we used the Jewish holiday colors of blue and white, and aren't we Mormon?

- Riley had to take Kendle to the bus stop this morning and talk to the bus driver about someone that took Kendle's hat last week. The bus driver had the hat, but of course claimed to know nothing about the incident. This is only about the tenth bus-related problem we've had so far this school year. I'm about done with the big yellow monster.

-We found out our new church time will be 2:30, which we've been informed by our friends in 6th ward is the worst possible time ever, but after moping around yesterday I'm trying to put a positive spin on it. Suggestions anyone?

- I have a junk food hangover from this weekend and need to get my booty on the treadmill and sweat it out, not to mention throw out the rest of the tempting stuff still lying around. To all my dear friends out there, if you really care about me do not bring me holiday goodies this year. That is probably the best gift you can give me. I've got to shed this baby weight that is threatening to set up permanent residence.

Just some of the random things going through my head today.

Victory!

38-31 final score, Beavers win!!!!!!! Overtime, bad calls, and more. What a game.