Our little cutie pie is teething. Dad's razor for shaving sure feels good vibrating on those little sore spots.
Who needs one ball?
When you can have two!
This little man is delightful! He keeps us smiling!
Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons. Ruth Schabacker I found this on a friends website, Brigham and I had a good laugh with them and thought we would share- in case you missed it.
These are our rules, deal with them.
*Men are NOT mind readers.
*Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.
*Sunday sports...It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.
*Crying is blackmail.
*Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one! Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!
*Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.
*Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
*Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.
*If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one .
*You can either ask us to do something, or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.
*Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials.
*Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.
*ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have NO idea what mauve is.
*If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.
8If we ask what is wrong and you say 'nothing,' We will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.
*If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.
*When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really!
*Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball or football.
You have enough clothes.
You have too many shoes.
For the last 10 months or so- Brig has had an aversion to hair cuts. He thinks it is cool to be long and shaggy. Well, as I thought about him up there giving his talk- I was overcome with embarrassment. So I stooped to bribery. Brig loves root beer, so I said he could have a can if he would let me trim his hair. He consented. As he was sitting in my barber's chair I casually commented on how I wished he would let me trim the sides and back a little too. So, he cleverly asked for more root beer to trim more areas. By the time it was all said and done- Brig was receiving his own 2 liters of root beer and I was cutting all of his hair exactly how I would like it, with the exception of leaving the front a little long. Although, Brig did not love his haircut, I think you will agree with me, that it was a win-win situation.
As a side note, we all went to the Holy Trinity Lutheran church to hear the wild bells ring out. They had a bell choir with some two hundred or so bells. It was wonderful. The best part was a solo act of one man playing "Carol of the Bells", all by himself with about thirty bells. 
Somehow, I managed to cut Kaleb out of this picture- but he loved the stained glass windows on this old church building. He said- "Those windows are sure pretty." And they were!
Kai is reaching for Daddy-o. He has had enough. Kaleb wasn't thrilled about sitting on his lap either, but he did. He had the sweetest expression as he was sitting there. It was like he finally decided that it was okay, and then he put on a sweet smile for his picture. 
You may have noticed that Brig was missing from the picture. Thats because he was sitting here.... at a table....... with 8 girls. HELLO PLEASE!- you are only twelve. Please try to remember that, and help out your dear ole ma- by being a little bit reserved. Thanks! 
After the brunch- our neighbors pulled out their four wheelers and sleds and our kids played with them- zooming around the cul-de-sac. A lot of fluffy stuff fell from the sky during the day. It was delightful! 
Thanks Burtenshaws!
After the snow fun the kids came in and warmed up by the fire. We ate popcorn and played games until way to late. It was hard to say goodnight to such a fun day!
Hmmm! I wonder who has been naughty and who has been nice?
As a side note, I am not at all happy with my camera. If I weren't getting a new house for Christmas, I would be asking for a new camera. Its a good thing Kai's cuteness just oozes through this picture anyway.
Seth not only chose the magnificent arbor specimen, but he also sawed off the end of it. Cub Scout in action.
This is one incredibly good looking guy- even when he is snarling through an amazing muscular display. A veritable He-Man on our own front porch. Here is a shout out to our very own Ho Ho Ho! We love you!
Then they sat next to the warm, TOASTY fire and ENJOYED them.
I think it is time for a little update! Progress was mighty slow for a few weeks. The mechanical guys have been soooo slow. The brick guys aren't much faster. This is about all they have to show for two weeks of work. But- we love the brick. We think its a great color.
The sheetrock-ers on the other hand have been cruising. They got the main floor and above the garage all done in one week. This is a view from the back windows in the great room- looking up to the front of the house. Seth is standing in front of the fireplace. The two openings on either side are for sliding doors between the Great room and Living room. 
This is looking from the kitchen into the dinning room.
This is standing in the Great room looking towards the kitchen.
A peek at the Master Bath.
This isn't a great shot- but its the floor of the Family room in the basement. I think it looks really cool. It is a diamond cut pattern in the cement that has been stained. It has a really cool mottled look- like real stone. The cement has radiant heating. It will be warm and toasty and the kids can't mess it up by tracking in dirt. Bonus!
The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. ~H.U. Westermayer
Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow. ~Edward Sandford Martin
Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action. ~W.J. Cameron
My super cute sister and I headed out to the movies for a little "Twighlight" action. I was pleassantly surprised with the movie. I was prepared to not care for it too much, but I really liked it. It was fun, if not a little kooky. I didn't care for the scenes of the vampires acting....well...like vampires. I never could get over the ridiculous height of Edwards hair either. J and I then went out to lunch and she even stayed the rest of the evening with us. I am thankful for my baby sis- she is adorable.
The kids all got together to provide entertainment. They decided on a "rock band" and had a great time putting together outfits, making instruments and deciding on their music.
For each new morning with its light,For rest and shelter of the night,For health and food, for love and friends,For everything Thy goodness sends.~Ralph Waldo Emerson
We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~Thornton Wilder
Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.
Land of the free, because of the brave!
Seth wrote a poem about a soldier. I thought it would be appropriate to share here. It is called:
I Am a Soldier-by Seth ReddI pretend I am shooting the enemy.
I feel the bombs dropping under my feet.
I touch the trigger to fire.
I worry that I am going to die.
I cry, "Fire"!
I am a soldier.
I understand that I love my country
I say, "God bless America".
I try to do my best.
I hope we will win the war.
I am a soldier.
I loved hearing all the thoughtful things that my kids came up with. There were some pretty funny things too. Brig said he was thankful for a girl named Kendra. Wha!!!! I think he did that to get a rise. Seth wanted it off the tree the next day....He didn't want "some girls name on our tree". 
We are happy to report Brig and Katry both received straight A's on their mid term report cards. Seth, who is a veritable genius, also received straight A's from RHS (Redd Home School). I feel very happy that the kids were as prepared as they are for public school. That is always a relief, cause sometimes you have to wonder. However, I am also disappointed that school is such a breeze for them, cause I'd like them to be a little challenged. All the areas that they were so advanced in, are just going to slowly dissolve into their current education, and that makes me sad. I am very happy that they are doing so well, and amazingly enough, despite all of the naysayers out there, my kids are excelling socially. They have lots of great friends, and according to their teachers, they are very well liked, adjusted, happy kids. Socialization, was the number one concern I got from so many people, when they heard that I home schooled. It was, and is, my number one concern as well. There is a lot of "bad" socialization out there. So far, all is well, and we are all happy.
Tuesday night we had our ward trunk or treat activity. They also had a mini carnival that the YM and YW provided. Katry went dressed as a "girl on crutches." Her dad helped her out, providing a cast for her arm and her leg. She wore that for two days and was delighted to get it removed.
I spotted Kaleb outside in a dinosaur/cowboy costume- riding his bike.
Katry's jack-o-lantern.
Seth's jack-o-lantern. See what I mean- this was tricky. As you can see- we didn't even finish it. 
For our actual trick or treat night Katry went as a mad scientist and Kaleb was a complete dinosaur. I can't believe it- but I don't have a single picture of Seth or Brig in their costumes. Seth was a ranger (think Aragorn), and Brig was a crazy clown.
The younger kids had school off for Halloween so we went swimming and made "mummies" for lunch. Brats wrapped in dough. The kids loved them.
The weather for Halloween was beautiful. We sat outside on the lawn chatting with neighbors and enjoying a lovely fall day. Kai was our love-able lion. We hope your Halloween was perfect.!
