We celebrated Anna's fifth birthday on Wednesday of last week. Unfortunately, it fell right in the middle of the sickest week we've had around our house all year - no one was feeling real well. Nevertheless, we had a fun time watching her open presents and even enjoyed a little cake and ice cream. The party had to get moved to this week however, so she's gearing up to celebrate again. She is still as sweet as ever - always willing to give so that others around her will be happy. She's learning to read now and is super excited and super proud of herself to be doing that. We really enjoy having her in our family! Happy birthday Anna!
Monday, January 30, 2006
Anna turns 5
We celebrated Anna's fifth birthday on Wednesday of last week. Unfortunately, it fell right in the middle of the sickest week we've had around our house all year - no one was feeling real well. Nevertheless, we had a fun time watching her open presents and even enjoyed a little cake and ice cream. The party had to get moved to this week however, so she's gearing up to celebrate again. She is still as sweet as ever - always willing to give so that others around her will be happy. She's learning to read now and is super excited and super proud of herself to be doing that. We really enjoy having her in our family! Happy birthday Anna!
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Personality Test
So, some of you know that I am very interested in personalities. How they differ, how people in the same family are the same and how they are different. My mother-in-law posted a link to a good, free online personality test. It is based on the Meyers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which can only be taken through a professional counselor, etc. This was a pretty good one though, even if it is not as thorough and complete as the MBTI. I thought it might be enjoyable for some of you to take it. Ok, ok, the real reason I want you to take it, is so you will tell me what type you are, and I can know a little more about you, and understand you better. Yes, some of you are very difficult to understand!! If you are curious, I tested as an INFJ. If you don't know what that is, just type INFJ into Google, and all sorts of profiles will come up. Anyway, here is a link that I thought would be fun :http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp Don't forget to report back!
Monday, January 16, 2006
Kidnapped?
We had a little run-in with the police today that we thought you all would like to know about. So far none of us are in jail, so we're optimistic it will all turn out alright in the end.
The incident started benignly enough - naptime. Anna, who normally doesn't nap, seemed extra tired so Tammy had her lie down for a few minutes. After a while Ben woke up screaming (he sometimes doesn't wake up too happy). He was crying loud enough that he woke Anna from her nap and soon after Lizzy was up. All three woke up in foul moods and were all screaming and crying. Tammy, Adam, and I each tackled one and tried to help them calm down (I think Adam was most successful - playing catch with Ben normally calms him down).
Eventually, everyone was calm enough (though still a little edgy) that we decided to venture out of the house. We had been home all day and it seemed like we needed to get out, so we headed to the library. Arriving at the library, everyone seemed to be in good enough moods, but things went sour pretty quickly. The library was sponsoring a game which had each of the kids draw a slip of paper from a fishbowl. If they pulled out a picture of a fish, the child won a free book. Of course, Adam was the winner and the girls missed out. They handled it okay for a little while, but then Anna discovered Adam's new book wasn't any ordinary book, it was a sticker book! That's when life, in her eyes, became very unfair and when our day became much more eventful.
It began with a little complaining, which soon turned to tears, and eventually grew to sobbing. When the sobbing turned to all-out crying, we started to get some looks from the other library patrons and workers (libraries aren't the friendliest places toward crying kids). I decided it was time that Anna and I left the library. So, I left Tammy with the other three kids and headed for the exit. Unfortunately that meant a trek all the way across the library. Anna did NOT enjoy being hauled out of the library and let everyone know it. By the time we got to the exit, she was screaming at the top of her lungs and kicking and fighting and doing everything she could to get away from me. My anger and embarrassment was mounting with every kick I took to the gut and every pitiful look I got from another patron and I think that frustration was very evident on my face.
We finally got out of the building and headed for the car - Anna still kicking and clawing and screaming "Let go of me!". On the sidewalk, we passed a friendly looking old woman. She said, "Oh my, someone doesn't want to leave the library!". I just grumbled something to her and went on, reaching the van and throwing Anna in. She continued to scream at the top of her lungs while I just sat in the front for a few minutes trying to calm down. I noticed the little old woman from before walking passed the van and looking kind of intently at the van, but didn't really give much thought to it.
Eventually, Tammy and the other kids made it out of the library, piled in the car, and we headed home. Upon arriving home, I headed up with Anna to have a "discussion" about what had happened at the library. After a few minutes of not making much headway and her continuing to scream, I left the bedroom and walked into the loft. I happened to glance out the window and noticed a police car parked at the end of our driveway - "That's odd", I thought.
Just about that time, the phone rings and Tammy answered. The conversation went something like this. "Mrs. Finch, this is Officer X from the Bettendorf Police Department. We received a call a few minutes ago about a possible kidnapping at the Bettendorf Public Library. The witness said the child was loaded into your van and carried away. Was your husband at the library a few minutes ago?" "Yes." "Did he have any of your children with him?" "Yes." "Okay, and did one of the children have a temper tantrum at the library?" "Yes." "Okay, we're sorry to bother you, we just wanted to be sure that it was your child your husband was struggling out of the library." After he hung up, the squad car in front promptly drove away.
We've had lots of incidents of screaming kids in public places - just one of the joys of parenting - but never have we had to have the police involved! Ironically, as we were walking through the library, with Anna kicking and screaming, I was thinking, "you know, I bet this looks like a kidnapping!".
Anna did eventually calm down and very sweetly and sincerely apologized for the way she had been acting. It's very unlike her to have fits like that, but I think she was just having an all-around bad day.
The incident started benignly enough - naptime. Anna, who normally doesn't nap, seemed extra tired so Tammy had her lie down for a few minutes. After a while Ben woke up screaming (he sometimes doesn't wake up too happy). He was crying loud enough that he woke Anna from her nap and soon after Lizzy was up. All three woke up in foul moods and were all screaming and crying. Tammy, Adam, and I each tackled one and tried to help them calm down (I think Adam was most successful - playing catch with Ben normally calms him down).
Eventually, everyone was calm enough (though still a little edgy) that we decided to venture out of the house. We had been home all day and it seemed like we needed to get out, so we headed to the library. Arriving at the library, everyone seemed to be in good enough moods, but things went sour pretty quickly. The library was sponsoring a game which had each of the kids draw a slip of paper from a fishbowl. If they pulled out a picture of a fish, the child won a free book. Of course, Adam was the winner and the girls missed out. They handled it okay for a little while, but then Anna discovered Adam's new book wasn't any ordinary book, it was a sticker book! That's when life, in her eyes, became very unfair and when our day became much more eventful.
It began with a little complaining, which soon turned to tears, and eventually grew to sobbing. When the sobbing turned to all-out crying, we started to get some looks from the other library patrons and workers (libraries aren't the friendliest places toward crying kids). I decided it was time that Anna and I left the library. So, I left Tammy with the other three kids and headed for the exit. Unfortunately that meant a trek all the way across the library. Anna did NOT enjoy being hauled out of the library and let everyone know it. By the time we got to the exit, she was screaming at the top of her lungs and kicking and fighting and doing everything she could to get away from me. My anger and embarrassment was mounting with every kick I took to the gut and every pitiful look I got from another patron and I think that frustration was very evident on my face.
We finally got out of the building and headed for the car - Anna still kicking and clawing and screaming "Let go of me!". On the sidewalk, we passed a friendly looking old woman. She said, "Oh my, someone doesn't want to leave the library!". I just grumbled something to her and went on, reaching the van and throwing Anna in. She continued to scream at the top of her lungs while I just sat in the front for a few minutes trying to calm down. I noticed the little old woman from before walking passed the van and looking kind of intently at the van, but didn't really give much thought to it.
Eventually, Tammy and the other kids made it out of the library, piled in the car, and we headed home. Upon arriving home, I headed up with Anna to have a "discussion" about what had happened at the library. After a few minutes of not making much headway and her continuing to scream, I left the bedroom and walked into the loft. I happened to glance out the window and noticed a police car parked at the end of our driveway - "That's odd", I thought.
Just about that time, the phone rings and Tammy answered. The conversation went something like this. "Mrs. Finch, this is Officer X from the Bettendorf Police Department. We received a call a few minutes ago about a possible kidnapping at the Bettendorf Public Library. The witness said the child was loaded into your van and carried away. Was your husband at the library a few minutes ago?" "Yes." "Did he have any of your children with him?" "Yes." "Okay, and did one of the children have a temper tantrum at the library?" "Yes." "Okay, we're sorry to bother you, we just wanted to be sure that it was your child your husband was struggling out of the library." After he hung up, the squad car in front promptly drove away.
We've had lots of incidents of screaming kids in public places - just one of the joys of parenting - but never have we had to have the police involved! Ironically, as we were walking through the library, with Anna kicking and screaming, I was thinking, "you know, I bet this looks like a kidnapping!".
Anna did eventually calm down and very sweetly and sincerely apologized for the way she had been acting. It's very unlike her to have fits like that, but I think she was just having an all-around bad day.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Ben update
Well I just took Ben to the doctor for his 15 month checkup and shots, so I thought it would be a good time to give an update on what he is doing. He is just over 24 lbs. now and about 30 inches long. That is between 50 and 75 percentiles for weight and 50 for height. Of course he still has a huge head, in the 90 something percentile. He has six teeth, but is working on his 4 back molars right now. Poor little guy, one tooth has bruised and swollen up his gums so much that they are all purple and have been for quite some time. He doesn't like me to touch it, but other than that he doesn't complain too much. He is sleeping really good now, usually about 11 hours a night, and he takes one nap each day. I weaned him about a month or two ago, and he is doing fine with that. It has been nice for me too! He is saying a lot of words now. His two favorites are probably apple (meaning ball currently) and Papa. He also says five (like give me five, but it sounds more like die), good night, bye-bye, Lizzy, more, stinky, and up. There are others, but I can't think of them right now.
Probably the most exciting thing, though, is that Ben is finally walking!! I guess he was a little embarassed about what I said in the Christmas newsletter (I know the picture was terrible by the way, but at least it was a picture), so he started getting around a couple of days after Christmas. It has been such a gradual process for him. He has been taking steps for a couple of months, then he started to go between things that were close together, then things that were a little bit farther apart, and now I would say that he is finally walking. He still can't stand by himself though. He crawls to hold on to something to pull himself up to standing so he can walk again. He still is just a pleasant little guy. Very cheerful, but also very strong willed. He knows what he wants and what he doesn't. It is sure is fun to have him growing up a little bit. I really enjoy this stage of a child's development.
Probably the most exciting thing, though, is that Ben is finally walking!! I guess he was a little embarassed about what I said in the Christmas newsletter (I know the picture was terrible by the way, but at least it was a picture), so he started getting around a couple of days after Christmas. It has been such a gradual process for him. He has been taking steps for a couple of months, then he started to go between things that were close together, then things that were a little bit farther apart, and now I would say that he is finally walking. He still can't stand by himself though. He crawls to hold on to something to pull himself up to standing so he can walk again. He still is just a pleasant little guy. Very cheerful, but also very strong willed. He knows what he wants and what he doesn't. It is sure is fun to have him growing up a little bit. I really enjoy this stage of a child's development.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Wisconsin Dells
Since our family never really had a chance to take a family vacation last year and since we were tired of the cold dark snowy winter weather, we decided to take a trip to the Wisconsin Dells for a few days between Christmas and New Year's Day. Wisconsin Dells is known as the "waterpark capital of the world" (I never would have guessed Wisconsin would be the home of the waterpark capital of the world - I would have thought that would be Las Vegas or somewhere hot!). It's a little town in the middle of Wisconsin completely built around tourism and boasts the largest waterpark in the world along with the two largest indoor waterparks in the world not to mention the other 20 or so waterparks in town.
Since our kids were not ready for the really big and crazy waterslides (and we didn't think our pocketbook was really ready for the pricetag on the really big and crazy waterslides), we decided to go to one of the smaller, children-oriented waterparks. Adam would have liked some bigger slides, but he was content with the 5 water basketball courts. There was one area meant for toddlers - Ben liked to spend a lot of time there. Another area was where the rest of the kids spent the majority of their time (pirate ship with water cannons, basketball, and slides). Our hotel was attached to the park so we could go from the room to the park anytime we wanted without having to go out in the cold winter weather.
A lot of our pictures turned out blurry, so some of the best shots didn't work out, but following are a couple of movies and a few still shots of our time at the park.
Here's Lizzy playing in the toddler pool. Every few minutes the pelican opens his mouth and vomits a tub of water down on the kids. She and Anna had a great time with this. After getting spit on, they would run over to the water fountain and take a "shower".
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Here's Anna and Adam playing in the bigger pool. Anna is enjoying her favorite slide and Adam is of course playing basketball.
Here's Anna and Lizzy getting spit on by the Pelican.
This is a blurry shot of Ben getting drenched. He enjoyed the water most of the time, but was usually the first to be ready to go back to the hotel room.
Another shot of Adam playing basketball. In the background is some of the other fun things to do (like the pirate ship).
I should mention that when our family had taken on us President Hinckley's challenge to read the Book of Mormon, this trip was the reward we had set for ourselves if we all finished. Adam, of course, led the way and finished about a week early. We're very proud of him for accomplishing that! The girls also spent a lot of time listening to stories from the Book of Mormon reader. Tammy and I followed and finished up just in time.
Since our kids were not ready for the really big and crazy waterslides (and we didn't think our pocketbook was really ready for the pricetag on the really big and crazy waterslides), we decided to go to one of the smaller, children-oriented waterparks. Adam would have liked some bigger slides, but he was content with the 5 water basketball courts. There was one area meant for toddlers - Ben liked to spend a lot of time there. Another area was where the rest of the kids spent the majority of their time (pirate ship with water cannons, basketball, and slides). Our hotel was attached to the park so we could go from the room to the park anytime we wanted without having to go out in the cold winter weather.
A lot of our pictures turned out blurry, so some of the best shots didn't work out, but following are a couple of movies and a few still shots of our time at the park.
Here's Lizzy playing in the toddler pool. Every few minutes the pelican opens his mouth and vomits a tub of water down on the kids. She and Anna had a great time with this. After getting spit on, they would run over to the water fountain and take a "shower".
Share Video at DropShots.com
Here's Anna and Adam playing in the bigger pool. Anna is enjoying her favorite slide and Adam is of course playing basketball.
Here's Anna and Lizzy getting spit on by the Pelican.
This is a blurry shot of Ben getting drenched. He enjoyed the water most of the time, but was usually the first to be ready to go back to the hotel room.
Another shot of Adam playing basketball. In the background is some of the other fun things to do (like the pirate ship).
I should mention that when our family had taken on us President Hinckley's challenge to read the Book of Mormon, this trip was the reward we had set for ourselves if we all finished. Adam, of course, led the way and finished about a week early. We're very proud of him for accomplishing that! The girls also spent a lot of time listening to stories from the Book of Mormon reader. Tammy and I followed and finished up just in time.
Friday, January 06, 2006
A book
Well, once again it has been a while since we posted. We just like to keep you all hoping and anticipating a new entry. I hope it is worth the wait.
I just finished reading a book that I enjoyed and thought I would share a little bit about it. It was a book Greg gave me for Christmas. The title is "Cure for the Common Life" by Max Lucado. Many of you probably know him because of his children's book " You are Special". We love that one too. He is a Christian minister who has written many books. This particular book is non-fiction and is about finding what you are good at. It seems geared to those in the working world, but I was able to find some personal value in it for myself, although I am not in that world. He basically says that we are all given gifts, or talents if you like. These talents were given to us from God and will help us give something special to the world while we are on this earth. When we use them we are glorifying God, and we should acknowledge that He has given them to us. There were a couple of things that I liked about this book. One, it is full of excitement and makes you believe (or remember) that you are special and important as an individual. You are important to the Lord, and you can bless the lives of others in ways that no one else can.
I also liked the fact that he very openly addressed the issue that even the little things are important. To be useful to God and to be important to Him doesn't neccesarily mean that you are a great political leader or the CEO of a company or whatever else people see as "important". There is need for those who are great plumbers, artists, mothers, friends, computer scientists, ministers, and whatever else. There is a place for all of us! We are needed! We are all special. It had a great sense of that in the book, and and at the same time, a sense that you shouldn't let that go to your head. Give the credit to the Lord. He gave you those gifts. Let Him use you.
There was also a simple but helpful section in the back that helps you think about and find your own strengths. He says we should look at past experiences including childhood for some direction. I haven't spent a lot of time in this section, but I think it will be helpful, and it sounds like it is really a condensed version that is used by professional consultants. It is just nice that Max Lucado is trying to help you actually apply, in a very real way, the things he has written and believes.
For those of you Mormons out there, the religious language is a bit different from our own and the scripture references are from different versions of the Bible, rather than the King James version, but I didn't think that mattered much at all. It is also very simply written and easy to read. You almost feel like he is standing there talking to you, or at least you are listening to him teach a group. I would recommend it, especially if you are feeling dissatisfied with work or just wondering what you have to offer to anybody.
I just finished reading a book that I enjoyed and thought I would share a little bit about it. It was a book Greg gave me for Christmas. The title is "Cure for the Common Life" by Max Lucado. Many of you probably know him because of his children's book " You are Special". We love that one too. He is a Christian minister who has written many books. This particular book is non-fiction and is about finding what you are good at. It seems geared to those in the working world, but I was able to find some personal value in it for myself, although I am not in that world. He basically says that we are all given gifts, or talents if you like. These talents were given to us from God and will help us give something special to the world while we are on this earth. When we use them we are glorifying God, and we should acknowledge that He has given them to us. There were a couple of things that I liked about this book. One, it is full of excitement and makes you believe (or remember) that you are special and important as an individual. You are important to the Lord, and you can bless the lives of others in ways that no one else can.
I also liked the fact that he very openly addressed the issue that even the little things are important. To be useful to God and to be important to Him doesn't neccesarily mean that you are a great political leader or the CEO of a company or whatever else people see as "important". There is need for those who are great plumbers, artists, mothers, friends, computer scientists, ministers, and whatever else. There is a place for all of us! We are needed! We are all special. It had a great sense of that in the book, and and at the same time, a sense that you shouldn't let that go to your head. Give the credit to the Lord. He gave you those gifts. Let Him use you.
There was also a simple but helpful section in the back that helps you think about and find your own strengths. He says we should look at past experiences including childhood for some direction. I haven't spent a lot of time in this section, but I think it will be helpful, and it sounds like it is really a condensed version that is used by professional consultants. It is just nice that Max Lucado is trying to help you actually apply, in a very real way, the things he has written and believes.
For those of you Mormons out there, the religious language is a bit different from our own and the scripture references are from different versions of the Bible, rather than the King James version, but I didn't think that mattered much at all. It is also very simply written and easy to read. You almost feel like he is standing there talking to you, or at least you are listening to him teach a group. I would recommend it, especially if you are feeling dissatisfied with work or just wondering what you have to offer to anybody.
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