Funny thing

I survived Strep. I always forget how horrible it is. I finally feel like a human being again!

Macy is potty training. I've had her in pull-ups for awhile so we could get out of the diaper mindset and a couple of weeks ago we were planning to start consistently using the toilet. She beat us to it and started herself! She is doing great and we are so proud of her. Just pull-ups at night and they are always dry in the morning. She hardly has any accidents now and she is good about going while we are out. It's never been this easy. She is too big. Yeah for Macy! First time without diapers for over 7 years! Wow, that is big...

Brynn lost one of her front teeth. She looks cute and I'll post a picture when I get around to it. It was right in the middle of my bedridden illness, see previous post. The tooth fairy forgot to come the first night. Brynn was a little sad so she asked her dad what happened. He told her maybe it was too cold outside. Brynn said "Dad, the tooth fairy doesn't go outside, she's just appears, like magic!" Stan didn't know what to say. The tooth fairy came the next night and all was well.

new weight loss strategy?

It's called Strep Throat.
Why it is effective for weight loss
-decreased appetite
-extremely sore throat (you couldn't eat something yummy even if you wanted to)
-strict diet which probably amounts to about 500 calories a day
-short length of time on the diet=quick results!
Would I recommend this to a friend? NO!
I don't even care if I gain the weight back. I want some real food. Stan was so kind and made some delicious potato soup for dinner.
I'm hoping to recover in the next couple of days. The kids are starting to get crazy. They have done really well without a mom or dad. I'm trying to keep them away from me so they don't get sick but they are running free all day and need some love and attention.
Stan was going to take me to a hockey game for our date night and we had to give away our tickets. =(

The New Year always brings change!

For some reason in the past year, when things change, they REALLY change. I've learned to adapt to and welcome change. Readers of my blog who have known me for several years, can attest to the fact that I've always despised change. I guess maybe I'm learning a lesson in life that I really need. I believe most of my adaptablity has come from the building of my testimony. Because I know personally that Heavenly Father loves ME and I know He is very much directing me in my life, I can move ahead with faith and trust. This doesn't mean that change is easy or that it doesn't require a crazy amount of work on my part, because it usually does, but I know I am blessed when I'm doing what I know I should be doing.
Some of the things we have done that has required my adaptablity: (and I have to add that I didn't always handle it the best)
-decided to not go on a mission, which led to marrying Stan!
-starting our family, before I finished College, but I finished after
-moved to Canada
-moved in with parents-in-law with a 5 month old baby and lived with them for 6 months
-moving to Edmonton before Stan had a job
-2009(becoming pregnant with #4, moving to a new house, town, ward, losing #4, and beginning research on homeschool)
-2010- Starting homeschool. Yes you read that right. I know many of you are shocked! As was I when I repeatedly felt the impression from the Spirit. I knew better than to question the Lord. After the shock and unbelief wore off, I dove in to finding out more about it and the direction we needed to go as a family. It has been very stressful, exciting, and, at times, exhilarating.
So, that is our new adventure for this year and life maybe.
The kids LOVE it. I'm actually loving it more than I thought. I really thought I wouldn't be able to handle my kids all the time. But, just as with other other things, the Lord is providing a way and it is fun.
If you have negative comments, please don't share them. I am new to the idea and I need encouragement. I'm just trying to do what is right for my family and I know we are!

Christmas

This is from Christmas morning. The kids were so excited to have tic tacs in their stocking. I LOVE how easy they are to please. I hope that lasts for a long time.

New Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve.

Our friend Tibi, from Romania, decided to be the donkey for a minute. Mary wouldn't ride, so Joseph thought it was better than walking.
The annual Christmas Eve Nativity. Macy got to be Mary.
My cute Christmas kiddos. Sometimes I look at them and still can't believe they are mine.
Nice, full REAL Christmas tree from IKEA. Fully decorated by the kids. I'd like to have a say but it's not worth all the fuss. They took pride in it and that's just fine with me.

Birthdays are special

My first attempt at homemade caramel was enjoyed by all these cute kids. The caramel was amazing. Thanks to April, my sister-in-law, for sharing. You could eat it straight from the pan plain, and that is what we did, and we dipped pretzels.
Brynn figured me out. I'm not a party mom, at least I haven't been. I'm not into party games and having 10 kids the same age over and trying to keep them all happy. Since we've been in this house, we've had lots of people over. Brynn realized if we invited the whole family, fed them dinner, etc. and made it less of a birthday party, I would go for it. And I did. I enjoy having the parents too so we can visit and the kids can play. We had 13 kids and 6 adults for Brynn's "party". It was really fun.
The kids were so excited to give Brynn her gifts.
Brynn LOVES to have dinner by candlelight. This was my attempt. It was a little dark. We could barely see our food. I need to get a few more candles.
This is Stan's sister Whitney. We had a b-day party for her. She turned 21 in November!


Brynn is now 7. It's hard to believe. We are grateful for her and we are so happy to have her in our family. When she was born, we borrowed a digital camera. We never did get the pictures digitally though. We printed them out and they are in her scrapbook. Maybe some year for her birthday, I'll scan them. She was a cute baby, still is cute.

Assorted catch-up

Brynn taking a spin.
We have an awesome back yard sledding hill! Stan built a berm because the kids kept crashing into our shed. It's just perfect.
Somehow Joel managed to get powdered sugar on his eye lash. Look at all the syrup on his plate. I'm glad his tummy can handle that much sugar.
Macy has always loved books but she is "growing up". She can often be found with the Friend magazine or book on the couch 'reading' out loud to herself or to us.
I love this picture of Brynn. The kids have been good about helping shovel. We've had to do a lot of it this winter already!

Baptism!

This is our friend Sarah and her son Carter.
Two years ago at Christmastime, the missionaries asked us to do some caroling with them. Sarah was one of the people we sang to. We were both very impressed with her. She is a very happy and beautiful person. She has a glow about her. She is very easy to get along with. A few months later she began the discussions. I was asked to sit in on one. We had two later at our house. She was progressing and gaining a testimony but she had some personal struggles. I don't know how many times she had the discussions or how many baptismal dates were set, but on December 12, 2009, she did it! It was such a special day. Stan had the opportunity to baptize them both. She asked me to speak about the Holy Ghost. It strengthened my testimony to witness and participate in this event. We are so happy for her and know that living the Gospel will bless her life.