Thank you, Sister...

I would be a horrible person, or should I say an even MORE horrible person, if I did not thank the heaven sent ladies who took care of my emotional and physical needs over the last couple of days. I do not doubt for one moment that they were inspired by the spirit to give me exactly what I needed. When I came home from school and swimming lessons on Monday I found a beautiful bouquet of a dozen peach colored roses waiting for me. When I pulled myself together, I called to thank her for the generous gift only to find that she was having a bad day herself. That, my friends, is the power of service.
After I cleaned myself up, another equally inspired lady invited me and the boys over to spend the afternoon with her and her family. She even offered to tuck me in for a nap! We laughed, I griped and later we all shared a pot of delicious barley soup. What a beautiful day. I don't know what I would do without the kindness, patience and understanding of my "girls." They really take care of me.
Our Relief Society president told me one evening that when we go visiting teaching we should always look at the sister and, in our heads, say, "This woman has problems." I never forgot that. No matter how a sister may seem when you look at her, every one has their own issues; their own "bag of rocks" you might say, that they are toting around with them. None of us are exempt. Ultimately it is how we find true happiness.
So, thank you to all of you who help me shoulder my bag of boulders. Please let me know if you need help carrying yours...

Two steps back...

OK. It is almost one a.m. I can't sleep because I just had a blow up with Damon's mom. I was so angry, I had to put my hands on my legs to hold them still because I was shaking so bad. I could sit here and tell you all of the awful things she said, and all the things I said back to her, which were all true and in strictly self-defense. However, all I can think of, is that I failed. I've been doing so great these last three months, and I blew it. I couldn't take one more accusation, one more negative comment and one more excuse for her own failures. So, I told her exactly what I thought and I upset myself and I know I upset my Heavenly Father.
Although I stand by what I said, I regret the way I said it. And you know what? I really thought I would feel better, but I don't. I feel like I left the high road for the brush in the ditch. I hate that ditch...
So, what do I do? She can't keep treating me the way that she does, and I am quickly running out of cheeks to turn.
It's been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day... Maybe I'll go to Australia...

A Much Needed Break

Our family has been very fortunate to make and keep great friendships. Those who we count among our closest always seem to know when we need a call, a girl's night away or simply a break from the day to day. Last month some of these rescuers invited us to their family cabin in Cascade. We needed a little family get away desperately and jumped on the opportunity. So, to these friends, a huge thank you. You don't know how much we needed this weekend!

Apparently Jonah was having way too much fun... Cole was just excited to play in the snow and watch Star Wars. Aah, the simple things in life...

With Cole, even the pouty face is a photo op.

Jonah is always mommy's little shutter bug. He knows just what to do when I pull out my camera. Lots of practice, huh Jonah?

All is calm, all is bright, Part Two...

When my brother and I were kids, we used to go sledding on the hill across the street from my Grandparent's house. It is actually a slope, not a hill, that comes down from the irrigation canal that runs through Southeast Boise. With the blessing of snow for the holiday, I wanted to relive the memory of sledding from 15 years ago and take my children to our special slope. As my brother David and I climbed to the top with Jonah and Cole I murmured to him, "Hmm, this hill seemed a whole lot bigger 15 years ago." However, that did not stop us in the least. Damon, David, the kids and I and even my Mom took turns "careening" down our slope. A perfect day for our special holiday break.




If you can believe it, Cole is actually asleep in this position. I was making dinner in the kitchen while the kids watched a show and noticed that he had been in this position for a very long time. I ran for my camera and captured this classic child moment.
Jonah's brain never ceases to amaze me. Here, he has used his Kinex and marshmallows to create an automatic marshmallow roaster. This was his own idea and his own design. Move over Steve Jobs!
Never before has evil been so cute. Here Cole wears another costume from Christmas. He wears this Darth Vader outfit around the house almost daily and walks through the halls humming the Dark Side theme song with his hands behind his back. I love the little piggy toes peeking out from under the suit.

Well, there you have it - a brief synopsis of our Christmas break. We pray that you and yours enjoyed the merriest of Christmases and hope that God blesses all of us in this new and exciting year. Have a beautiful day!

All is calm, all is bright..., Part One

I love checking all of my friends wonderful blogs and finding that most of them are doing the same kinds of posts that I am - "Holiday Catch-Up." Over the last month we have had many fun and memorable events and, gratefully, I have had my camera for most of them. Don't leave home without it, I always say. Enjoy the pictures and notes. I hope that your holiday was as magical as ours. God bless you all!

One absolutely beautiful afternoon we decided to make cookies. The boys love getting little helping jobs from me and the had the most important job of all on this day - unwrap all of the chocolate kisses and smush them into the peanut butter cookies. They did a great job, even if there were more kisses in their tummies than on the cookies.
Sunday would not be Sunday without a nap. I just don't think this is what Damon had in mind. All three of them fell asleep on the couch in a wonderful pile of boys. Can you believe they stayed like this for over an hour?
For the first time in I don't know how long, we had a white Christmas. I felt like I received my Christmas gift early as we spent much of the month of December under a thick blanket of white. Once I got used to driving in the snow in the early hours to take Jonah to and from school, it became a wonderful treat.
Our big kindergartner, Jonah, was in his first school program for Christmas. He did an awesome job. The kids learned all kinds of new holiday songs, including a few Hanuka songs. I loved it when Jonah ran around the house singing about the "festival of lights" and the draedel.

I loved looking at our Christmas tree at night when it glowed so perfectly. I took this picture as Damon and I were going to bed on Christmas Eve. I made a promise to myself that this year I was not going to be running around frantically the night before Christmas, cooking, wrapping, etc. So, I didn't. We spent the day together with our family and stayed up watching movies and having snacks (wink to my cousins...). It was a perfect day, just the way I wanted it to be.
For Christmas, Santa filled a large Rubbermaid tub with costumes for Jonah and Cole. I just have to say, Santa is a genius for hitting the after Halloween sale at Target...
We've discovered that it is the quality, not the quantity that counts in our kids gifts. Once Santa finds and delivers that one hugely desired item, the rest of the gifts don't even matter. For Cole this year it was a Jabba the Hut toy. For Jonah, Japanese Pokemon toys. Believe me, Santa had to get very creative to find these.
Speaking of creative, I feel fully within my rights as a daughter-in-law to post this picture on my blog. Mostly because I know that Damon's mom, Cindy, never reads it. And who, you may ask, gave her this lovely little item? Well that would be Damon's dad, her ex-husband. Wink, Wink...

Well, stay tuned everyone. This is only the beginning of our holiday memories. However, my kids are reminding me that I have been on the computer for quite a while. Time to take a break. Tune in next time when our heroine will be posting more holiday fun in a single bound!!

Thanks for Giving...

We had an awesome Thanksgiving this year hosted by my very brave, very patient cousins, Billy and Rhonda. They recently bought a new home in Lehi, Utah which was remarkably big enough to house 25 people, if my count is right.
We all had so much fun together at Rebekah's wedding in July, we just had to get together again. Those of you who have followed my blog may remember the last time all of us got together. Does "Norovirus" ring a bell? It does with our family. Nearly everyone who attended the wedding lunch at PF Changs came down with this horribly violent "curse." Nearly everyone, that is except me. I'm not sure how that happened. I remember saying my prayers when everyone was getting sick and begging the Lord, "Please don't let me get sick. I have to much to do..." Have you mom's ever said prayers like that? I'm confident you have.
Well, this gathering was no exception. When our family arrived at Billy's on Wednesday night, we immediately got the kids ready for bed. I noticed the toilet in "our" bathroom was a little sluggish, but didn't think anything of it. The next morning, it was a bit worse and when I sought out a plunger, the "mess" seemed to increase in severity, if you know what I mean. I notified the homeowner, but we were all having so much fun, we just closed the door to the bathroom and told everyone not to use it until we could fix it. Later that evening, disaster struck...
One of the children in the course of the day had either forgotten, or did not get the memo, that the bathroom was off limits and had gone ahead and used it. No one knew until there was two inches of raw sewage in the bathroom. Not only that, it was pouring down through the vent into the unfinished basement. I was so proud of all of the cousins that rolled up pant legs and waded through the mess to help clean up. More over, I was in awe at Billy and Rhonda who shrugged their shoulders and said, "Don't worry. These things happen." They even kept a smile on their faces when we woke up in the morning to see that the beautiful walnut floor outside of the bathroom had buckled. They set a new standard of patience for me.
We went on to have great fun shopping at IKEA and Tai-Pan (whoo-hoo for me!) and spent the evening at Temple Square taking in the gorgeous lights. My brother's new apartment is right behind the temple. You literally walk out his front door and the temple is right in front of you. What a blessing for him. My parents we able to join us for the weekend as well. My mom had the blessing of taking a whole 4 days all for herself and didn't have to take care of anybody but her.
So, here is to another adventure-filled holiday with the cousins. I can't wait to see what happens next time!

When ye are in the service of your fellow beings...

As I get older, I love attending church on Sunday more and more. This may be because my children are getting older as well and I can actually sit through sacrament meeting with fairly little interruption. This week I had the opportunity to discuss some upcoming service that I was participating in. I was surprised at the reaction. I was told that I was actually enabling the person that I was serving. That by doing the service I was not encouraging the person to help themselves. It actually made a little bit of sense and even though I was determined to follow through on my promise, I started to feel a little bit bitter. This was going to take time away from my family and from all of the things I needed to get done for the holidays...

As I sat in sacrament meeting this morning, a sister spoke about compassion and I suddenly was brought back to the Spirit. I was gently, but strongly, reminded that the services I was needed for were not for those I was serving. Those acts of service were to benefit me and my family. I needed to be of service so that I would be humbled, so that I would be grateful for my blessings. The help that I was providing was meant to be a lesson for me and those around me.

"Oh, I get it!!" I said in my head. I was cheered to be reassured, but disappointed in myself for not thinking of it sooner. Disappointed for letting someone else try to discourage me from doing the Lord's work. I also wish I would have thought of it while the original disparaging conversation was taking place. I'm sure it will come up again. That is the beauty of Relief Society, right?

So, in this season of giving, I share with you this lesson that I learned this week. I hope it helps you in your efforts this season and in those to come.

Birthday Boy Jonah!

While I have been neglectful to my blog, I ask for it's forgiveness as I try to catch up, once again, over the next few days.
We just can't get enough of birthdays around here. Jonah just recently turned 6 and for the life of me I can't remember where I put those last six years. As I watch my children grow, I try to revel in every moment and conveniently forget that I am aging as well. Not that 31 is that old, it's just closer to 40 than I would like to believe. Can I get an "amen?"
Anyway, I digress. Jonah had an awesome birthday! We had an Indiana Jones themed party for him and Cole (I just couldn't do two parties) and each of them invited a few buddies. It is amazing to me how 11 small people seem to occupy and fill every corner of the house. We invited new friends from Jonah's kindergarten and for most of them it was their first time in our home. Of course everything was an adventure, just as Indiana himself would have had it. Enjoy the pictures from the party. I couldn't have done it alone. My sweetie and my brother were both quite instrumental in the success of the day. I had this great idea to let the kids shoot blow darts at a scary native instead of the usual "pin the tail on the whatever" game. I gave each child a straw and a q-tip that had been cut in half and dipped in poison (ketchup). It made the perfect dart to blow at the bad guy, which was beautifully created by my illustrator brother, David. Damon was less than thrilled with the mess that it created, but he was very patient and waited off to the side with a cleaning rag. Good man...I know this picture is dark, but I made a pretty cool Indian Jones hat cake. The "sand" around it was crushed up graham crackers and I placed little jewels around it. I forgot to buy a number 6 candle, but I had a 1 and a 5! Thanks to the dollar store, each child got their own Indiana Jones hat, a candy whip and a bag of treasure. We even sat at the table and made paper snakes and our favorite librarian (Buddie) read stories. It was great afternoon. I hope Jonah loved it as much as we did. Happy birthday, Indiana Jonah!!

Cole is how old?

Look at that handsome little face. Can you believe he is already three? Saturday our little Colie had a big birthday. So many things have changed over the last year. When he turned two, Cars were the big thing. Now it is Star Wars. He made out like a bandit this year and acquired quite a collection of "guys" as he calls them. We even outfitted him with his own light saber (life saber, as he calls it). I especially love it when he runs around with the light saber and sings the Star Wars theme song. What a little champ.

Last year Cole wanted a Lightning McQueen cake and I did a decent job. This year he wanted Yoda and I was pretty pleased with the outcome. I regretted after I was finished that I had used chocolate cake instead of red velvet cake for the Yoda head. That would have been awesome when we cut into it! Oh well.
The whole day was great. We went with Buddie and Boppo to see Madagascar 2, took pizza to Grandpa Gombert's house, ate cake, opened presents and then went home and watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. What a super great day with just our little family.

We are so grateful for you, Colie, and are so happy that you are such an important part of our family. You are our favorite three year old.
Happy Birthday, Little Jedi!!

Happy Halloween, Aarg!

I see because of the obvious lack of comments on my last post, except for Nancy (thanks!), I need to return to the lighter side of my life for my blog posts. So here's our official Halloween entry. We decided this year to go as pirates and have Cole dress up as Peter Pan. He's pretty fierce with a sword, so we knew he was up to the challenge. Halloween is the beginning of my favorite time of year. October through January are the months that I long for every year. I love the spirit in the air and in my home and look forward to all of the family time we get. It is just so warm and toasty all over. Hmmm, toast.It was actually my first year to get "Halloween-ed out." Between parties with friends (Rogers throw a wicked party), school parties, church parties and the actual Halloween night, I was pretty tired of being the "Buccaneer Beauty," although my sweetie seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. We are very fortunate to have children who only enjoy trick or treating for about two blocks. Then, when their buckets are about halfway full, they declare themselves done and we head home. I love that the greed of Halloween candy has not set in. I hope it never does.Well, I hope you all enjoyed this entry better than the last one! Have a super fun Fall! It is the shortest season of all but, in my opinion, by far the best. Love you all!!

A New Day...

Alright friends. Buckle in because I'm going to write some unpopular things in this entry. But, when my children look back at this family journal, this is one event that I want them to remember. I want them to know how their mom felt and the special memories our family shared on November 4, 2008. And while I know that I am publicly outing our family as Democrats, those of you that really know and love us, and I mean really know and love us, will understand and it will hopefully give you pause to think.

At dinner time on November 4th, we turned on CNN. We don't usually have TV on at dinner, but we considered this a special exception. We explained to the kids what we were watching. That the new president of our country was going to be decided tonight. Unfortunately my kids did not get the chance to see us vote. We took the opportunity to vote absentee through the mail to avoid the lines. However, in the spirit of celebration that we were making our marks, that we were showing appreciation to all those who lived and died and continue to do so for our freedoms and rights, I walked out to the mail box, placed my ballot inside, raised the red flag and yelled into the empty street "Rachel Sutherland has voted!!!" and silently said a prayer that this election year would be different.

So, back to election night. We pointed to the lower right corner of the screen where electoral votes were being tabulated. We explained to the kids that Obama needed 270 votes to win. At that point the count was 8 to 3 in favor of McCain. After dinner the kids ran upstairs to play Candyland while Damon and I settled in to watch till the bitter end. Periodically, Jonah would run down the stairs and look through the banister to check the count on the screen. However, the kids had to go to bed before the results were announced and the next morning, Jonah ran into our bedroom, jumped on our bed and asked "Did Obama win?" I gave him a hug and said yes to which he said, "I vote that Obama will have a great time as president." I vote for that too. Just not too much fun.

While some may only see that a Democrat has won over a Republican, I choose to see the amazing change that has come over our country. The vast majority of citizens actually feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves, that their votes actually matter. There is a sense of hope, of risen spirits that our country desperately needed.

It is time to set aside our fear. I know that it is comfortable and easy to do what we have always done, to vote the way that we have always voted. That luxury is gone and was never really an option in the first place. What a blessing we have in America and in the Gospel that we have our agency. That those of us raised in the church can take what we have learned, what we know to be true and put it to work to make good decisions, ones that ensure our freedoms and please our Heavenly Father.

Do I think Obama is perfect? Heck no. He's a man and he's a politician. Not the most stable of combinations. But right now, he is our best shot at making the necessary changes that need to happen to our economy and our government. The fact that our family chose to vote Democrat has zero bearing on our testimonies and our beliefs. It doesn't make us any less in our Heavenly Father's eyes, simply because we didn't do what everyone else around us was doing. Our excitement does not only come from who was elected president, but at the prospect of something new and different for our world. Nothing great was achieved by people who simply did what was done before.

I want to live my life like the famous bumper sticker, "Quiet women rarely make history." I challenge you to back away from gossip and assumptions. Do your own research if you have a question. I know it is much more interesting to listen to radical statements and assume the worst about someone, but instead, encourage the wave of positive thinking that is sweeping the country and do your part to keep it moving.

I pray that I'm right. I hope that my children look back at this entry and say, "That must have been hard for Mom and Dad to do, but I'm glad they did it."

Two more kids?

My dear sweet husband has been after me for some time to have another child. I smile, maybe laugh, give him an assuring pat on the back and go back to the endless loads of laundry, dishes, fruit snack wrappers and yucky little drips around the toilet that come from living with three males. While I may have a hand in the laundry and the dishes, I claim zero responsibility for the bathroom mess.

So, my dear friend Michelle and I came up with the next best thing. She and her husband had the faith to allow Damon and I to watch their children, Thomas and Taylor, for 5 days while they went on vacation to Japan. It is only day two and things are going great. I actually had to pause for a minute this morning when I realized I actually had to do Taylor's hair. I've had it pretty easy with two boys. A little water and some gel and we are out the door. However, I was very proud of myself. When Michelle called to check in this morning at 7:45 a.m. I was showered and dressed, the children were dressed and fed, backpacks were ready by the door, the dishwasher was unloaded and loaded with the dirty breakfast dishes, beds were made AND the kids were quietly watching a morning cartoon show. Ta-Da!! Go ahead, ask me what time I got up this morning to make that all happen. 5:00 AM!! Oh, well, at least I was proud of myself.

The following few days will detail what we do while Michelle and Emmett are away so that they can check on their little ones through, as Tommy says, cyprospace. Have a great time on your trip guys!! We love you!!

Cole, Thomas, Jonah and Taylor are bowing down to the "Shine to Media" as we call it. Cartoon Network came out with a Star Wars cartoon and it gave me just enough time to whip up a big pot of spaghetti. Thank you George Lucas!

After baths and jammies, everyone came downstairts to decorate Halloween cookies. Exactly what they needed right before bed - more sugar...

Taylor loves to be nude, much like her Aunt Roo (just kidding, kind of). Bedtime is no exception. Emmett and Michelle warned us that she likes to take off her jammies and to promise her a candy if she could keep them on all night. I took it one further and promised her chocolate chip pancakes in the morning if she stayed dressed. When I checked on her when I went to bed, this is what I found at the end of the couch. Apparently she has heard about my cooking and decided she could risk it.

Invisible Poop

One of my favorite things about Jonah is his ability to tell a story. Honestly, there are times that I wish he would just cut to the chase. I don't need to know every last detail. But I have to remember, no matter how insignificant it seems to me, it is absolutely critical to his 5, almost 6, year old mind. Today, I was grateful that I had the patience to listen to this story, because if I had cut him short, the story simply would not have even been remotely as hilarious as this one he told me over lunch today. Bear with me as I try to share it with you as it was shared with me:

"Mom, you know what happened on the playground today? I had to go potty, and I felt a little bit of poop come out. (I'm silently saying "Oh no.." in my head) So I went to the bathroom and pulled down my pants but there was nothing there! But I could still feel it! When I pulled down my pants again, there was something glowing! And ya know what? I think it was invisible poop!"

The only thing lacking in this retelling is the expressions on his face as he told this tale. He told it with such conviction that I was actually thinking, "Wow, invisible poop. Who knew?"

Go Lightning Lions!!

Ok, I think we are up to fun thing number 4: Jonah started soccer! I had no idea that they made cleats, balls and shin guards so small. Jonah's first game was last Saturday and these boys were the picture of good sports. The team that they played from Longfellow Elementary had very obviously been playing for a while and were more than likely quite a bit older. "Slaughter" is the word that comes to mind when I think of the score. But I have to hand it to the self named Lightning Lions. They ran out there and had an awesome time. Practices have also been fun as they have played "games" with Coach Nate to teach them the basics. Jonah is confident, excited and continuing to learn how great it is to be on a team.

Here, the Lightning Lions are checking out the other team, trying to figure out their stragedy, I mean strategy.

Getting their game faces on...

Jonah helping his team mate, Jonah (yes there are two of them!) on the field.

Way to go Jonah!!

Well, Cole is down for a nap and Jonah is playing Lego Indiana Jones, which makes now the perfect time to blog. Ok, time for fun thing number three: My birthday! I have to admit, I feel a little funny blogging about my own birthday, but we had so much fun I just have to share. My birthday was on the 1st, which was Labor Day, which allowed for a little extra fun. My brother David was in town (fun to the extreme) and my awesome husband planned a great party for me and some of our closest buds: My parents and brother, The Schultz Family, the Egbert Family (who only partially came due to illness :( ) and the Ricks Family. We played fun games with the kids and had cake and ice cream.
But we didn't want the fun to end and since there was no school or work the next day the Ricks and Schultz spent the night!! We just rolled out sleeping bags and blankets and let the kids fall where they were. It was great. The whole night simply proved even more that you don't need booze to have a fabulous time.
The first game was an egg race with small wiffle balls instead of eggs. Sorry, groceries are just too expensive to waste. Here the teams ready themselves for the whistle.

Chip Schultz, as usual, does everything with style and grace. Fortunately, no bones were broken with this one.

Even when the game was over, the Tommy and Jonah would not give up. I love how they insisted on following the rules of not touching the "egg."

Speaking of style and grace, here is my brother David with my Dad getting ready for the three-legged race. Look at the length of those legs! Hardly a fair contest when compared with their competitors.

And these were the competitors: Jonah and Jack...

The birthday girl trying not to be too embarrassed that everyone in the house was singing to her and taking her picture...
I'm not sure who was more excited that I got a Wii: Me or the boys. Let's put it this way; it was in the house for two days before I had a turn to play it.

One of the finest gifts I have ever received in my life was given to me on this, my 31st birthday. It was a photo bag, but not just any photo bag. The Schultz family took time, love and care to put truly priceless photos in the bag for me. Photos that would make me laugh, cry and reminisce. Photos of Chip half naked when he was a teenager. No, I'm not kidding; your just going to have to believe me. Don't ask me to see it. I have been sworn to secrecy and was also asked to surrender said photos at the end of the evening. But the memory will live on forever. I know because the images are permanently burned into my cornea...

Thank you everyone for an awesome night. I will never forget it and am so grateful that I could share it with you. An especially big hug and kiss to my sweetie for giving me the best birthday gift ever: time with people I love.