One of the best parts of being a mom and getting to work in primary is hearing the great things that kids say. Yesterday I was giving a sharing time about agency and being responsible for our choices.  We played a game in which two kids would come to the front-one would pick a choice out of the container and the other one would come up with possible consequences for that choice.  In senior primary one of the actions was something like not cleaning your room when asked or stealing a toy.  The cute boy who was giving the consequence said "you would probably get spanked by your mom" and then when I tried to further address it, he added "with your dad's belt!"  Hehehehe!  I was dying inside while I tried to smooth it over and moved on cause I totally wanted to bust up.
Kylie has become quite spunky and loves to tease us all. The other day I was trying to get her to do something and she wouldn't; then her dad tried and she did it.  She then told him she loved him and turned around to me and said with a sparkle in her eye, "but I don't love you."  She gave a long pause for effect and then followed it with, "does that make you feel sad?"  By that time she started giggling and so did the rest of us.  Pretty soon she told me she was just teasing and said "me do's (instead of does-so cute!) love you, mom!"
The other morning I told Brandt we were almost out of Strawberry Nesquik and I'd better go buy him some more.  He said I needed to buy him some food, too, so I asked him what kind of food he was thinking. He said, "hmmmm, maybe some black food."  I said, "oh, what kind of black food?"  He answered, "maybe some black and white food."  By now I'm really confused and said, "like what kind of black and white food did you have in mind?"  So then he says, "you know, like black white black," showing layers in the air with his hand.  When I started giggling he added, "like cookies!"  He wanted Oreos-so funny!!!
Yesterday Brandt was assigned to give the talk in Jr. primary.  I was so proud of him as he told his fog miracle story in his own words with some prompting from me because he got a little nervous, but that's ok because he didn't hesitate even a little bit to get up there.  I was even prouder of him for being a little missionary and inviting his dad to come listen to him.  I love watching his testimony blossom.  I hope he'll remember these experiences and always know how much his Heavenly Father loves and blesses him.

I don't especially like winter, but one thing I do like is seeing the new baby calves.  Brandt has been going out every night to help with chores before I get home from work and come to get him.  The other night it was warmer than it has been so Kylie and I bundled up in our warmest clothes and headed out with the boys.  The kids had fun playing in the straw, although poor Kylie coughed her little head off the entire time we were out there.  Straw seems to be one of her worst allergies, another reason besides the cold and the fact that I'm usually still at work that I don't take her out there very often.  This particular night they got to watch the first part of a calf being born and then got to see Bryce and Curtis pull the calf through the corral and into one of the calving sheds with its mama following close behind.  I remember going out with my dad and/or grandparents when I was their age and sitting or standing on the straw in order to watch them over the fence the entire time they mucked out sheds, put cows in, and watered and strawed the sheds.  We always had to be super quiet and calm so we didn't make the cows nervous.  Not my kids!  They only sit there calmly for a second before they are running wild!  They knocked over and restacked the straw dozens of times. They ran around and waved the cattle prod all over using it to tear apart straw bales.  They played and rolled around with the dogs.  And they were anything but quiet.  Good thing most of my dad's cows are pretty docile and didn't seem too bugged by them.

Spirit Week 1/21/13-1/24/13

Brandt was excited to pick out clothes to wear for spirit week.  Day 1 was 50s Day.  My mom said the first thing he said to her when he got off the bus was "what year was grandpa born?" Hahahaha-guess he learned something. :)  Day 2 was Farmer or cowboy and cowgirl day.  Buddy was bummed that I wouldn't let him take his gun since weapons aren't allowed in school, but he wore his holster and sheriff's star proudly.  Day 3 was best dress day and day 4 was favorite book character day.  Scooby has been an integral part of our family since Brandt was teeny.  He (and now Kylie, too) loves Scooby cartoons, Scooby books, and of course his best imaginary friend-Scooby!

Answered Prayers and Miracles

The other night I was driving home from Montpelier with the kids following a well child check for buddy and Mariah's basketball game, and as we came over the overpass we were met with a wall of fog.  It got more and more difficult to see where we were going and I asked Brandt to say a little prayer that we could get home safely.  Within seconds after he said amen, the fog was completely gone and he said another quick prayer of thanks.  It was clear the rest of the way home until we got to St. Charles and it didn't get too thick to see again until right when we got to our driveway. Brandt said it was a miracle and I have to agree.  I believe there are miracles around us every day, we just have to stop moving long enough to see them.  I'll be the first to admit that I probably don't take time in my busy life to recognize a lot of answered prayers and miracles, but here are a few that I have noticed.  A couple months ago Brandt, Kylie, and I participated in the stake roadshows with our ward.  We always try to pray before we drive anywhere, so on the night of the performance in Garden City Brandt prayed very specifically that I wouldn't wreck into any deer.  While we were driving we came within feet of hitting a deer that was right in the middle of the road.
  Brandt often has a difficult time settling down, especially at bedtime, and he often wakes up in the middle of the night, sometimes because of scary dreams.  Many times it has been praying and humming or singing primary songs that have helped him calm down enough to sleep.
  In November my mom was very ill and Dr. Campbell ended up finding through a CT that she had diverticulitis with an abscess, which is something people die from if not treated quickly enough.  She was admitted to the hospital and did miraculously well being well enough to be discharged by the next evening-much earlier than expected. Although she was still quite sick, another miracle occurred when she was able to make the trip down to Lewiston for our huge Bodily/Wheeler Thanksgiving the very next week, which is something she had looked forward to for weeks and something that only happens every 2-3 years.  I know that it was because of the fasting and praying that was done on her behalf that it was able to happen.
 More recently we had a bit of a scare with Bryce's health.  He hasn't been feeling well for months but all of his basic labs and checkups turned out ok so it was chalked up to being overheated in the summer and fatigued with the work and stress of the house this fall and still not sleeping well this winter.  In December he ended up having a surgery for something different and it was discovered through some more lab work that his testosterone levels were extremely low for his age.  More testing last week showed that his prolactin levels were abnormally high, leading Dr. Larsen to believe that he has a pituitary tumor, which is most often the culprit. Over the weekend there were many family members who fasted and prayed for him as well as put his name on the prayer roll at the temple. Sunday evening he was given a blessing by his brother in law and his dad.  He had an MRI of his brain yesterday and it didn't show any signs of a tumor or other masses of any kind. While we still know that there is a problem that will have to be treated, what a relief to know that it wasn't what was originally suspected.  I'm so thankful for the power of fasting, prayer, and priesthood blessings and for the comfort of never having to face our fears on our own!

This was our first Christmas in our new home and the first time we decorated outside for the Holidays.  Bryce did a much better job with decorating than I did with picture taking.  It was so fun to drive home to the lights, or "Christmas" as Kylie would yell excitedly every time we got close, every night.  I didn't want the Christmas feeling to end, so I talked Bryce into leaving everything up until about the 2nd week of January.  Can't wait to do it again next year, and hopefully add a few things.  I'm trying to talk Bryce into figuring out how to put lights around my star-we'll see... :)

Christmas Day 2012

Christmas morning found both children sleeping in.  Why does that only happen on days when they are supposed to get up early???  Finally after my parents and Curtis had been here and waiting (and we'd already had the annual Merry Christmas wake up call from Dallas Arnell) we went and woke them up.  It took them a minute to perk up even after we told them that Santa had been here.  Brandt was happy to see that the cookies and milk he'd left for Santa had been eaten and that the reindeer food was gone. He had drawn the cutest picture and written a note that said "Dear Santa I love (heart) you Brandt (heart)."  Santa wrote back telling him thanks for being a good boy.  Both kids were excited to see what they got.  Brandt's favorite presents were night vision goggles, transformers, and a spiderman glove and web shooter (exactly what he asked for) from Santa and his Bogs (muck boots) from grandma and grandpa Thompson.  He also loved his robe and soft jammies from us. The transformers said they were for kids but they were next to impossible to figure out even with the instructions.  Finally after my dad, Curtis, and Bryce had tried to transform them, Brandt said, "call Gabe and DJ, they can do it!"  So...Jared, Mariah, and Gabe came over a little later and Jared was able to get them transformed.  Kylie loved her cradle and baby doll from Bryce and me, her makeup and fingernail polish from Santa, and her Barbie from grandma and grandpa Thompson. The only thing she asked Santa for was chocolate, so she was happy to get some of that in her stocking.  She also loved her new nightgown from Bryce and me and wanted to do a little photo shoot in it.  She's such a cute and funny little girl and I loved all of her different poses.  The best surprise was that I gave Bryce snowshoes.  He's been eyeing up some at the Jail House antique store for the past couple years but they were way above our price range.  So, I've been saving up and Maleri helped me find some more affordable ones online; we tricked him by having Jana order them and had them shipped to her.  He was pretty happy about them and it didn't take him long to find a spot to put them on the living room wall.  That evening we went to Liberty to have dinner at Grandma Hemmert's.  Once again, we had the yummiest food and the kids loved getting to play with cousins.  This time Maleri and the kids were there (Quinn had to work) and Kylie brought her fingernail polish so that they could all paint nails, including Bridger.  Jolie and Brandt spent a lot of time coloring and playing together;  I'm so thankful that have become good buddies and I hope that they'll be able to keep watching out for each other as they grow up, especially if Quinn and Mal are able to keep living here and they can keep going to school together.  All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas Day filled with all the most important things-family.