Anna

Well, since it has been so very long since I posted I thought I could do a post about each of the kids individually instead of trying to go through all of the activities we have done over the last several months. First up is Anna. A lot of wonderful things have happened for Anna this year. She turned 10 in January! She is such a wonderful surprising mix of characteristics she is just a delight to be around. She is very quiet and observant and often notices things others don't. That means she is often aware of how you are feeling. She often knows just what to do even without asking you about it. I appreciate this so much about her. She has brightened my day several times just by taking the time to sit and talk to me. I have seen her do it with her brothers and sisters as well.

Anna also can be a worrier. Sometimes this is to her benefit because she works so hard to make sure something has a good outcome. She is the most careful with homework an practicing. She worries a lot but then she always ends up doing very well. Her piano recital a few weeks ago is a prime example. She worried and cried and practiced and practiced, but when it came down to it. She got up there and performed beautifully.

Anna is also a good friend. She is kind to those that are difficult to be kind to. She isn't interested in being popular (at least not yet). She justs needs one or two good friends. Even her birthday party she only wanted to invite 2 girls even though numerous times I said she could invite more. She knew what she wanted and so we stuck with that.

Anna can be surprising as well. Normally quiet and reading a book or making up some creative game, she will sometimes be quite crazy. Fun crazy, not annoying crazy. She makes me laugh and can really get all the kids going.

Anna started go glasses in January. Instead of a very plain, conservative pair, she chose this fun, colorful pair. She was very concerned about letting people see her in them at first, but now she faithfully wears them almost all of the time. I think she looks darling, and she is happy she can see better.

One of the most exciting things for Anna so far this year is that she has started taking flute lessons. She begged and begged for one for Christmas and she got it. She knew band was starting next year in 5th grade and wanted to feel comfortable before it began (otherwise she likely would not do it). I got her a flute teacher and she has been taking lessons the last few months. It has been wonderful for her. Her confidence has grown and it is something that none of the other kids do and makes her unique. She is really feeling a lot more comfortable in her own skin. We are so proud of her and the beautiful young woman she is becoming.

Here is Anna with the two girls she invited over for her birthday party.

This girl is Anna's best friend and they love that they both have brown hair and glasses. I really hope she is in Anna's class again next year.

Anna is 10 years old.

Here is Anna on her actual birthday. This purple chair for her room was her favorite present. I am not sure why but that day was just one of those days where you feel soo happy and realize how blessed you are and you can hardly believe it. It is one of those days where your heart just swells with gratitude. We enjoyed eating dinner together, dancing around the living room together and eating ice cream and talking. It was wonderful! Everyone was just on that day.

Here are Ben, Jacob and Lizzy dancing around on Anna's birthday.

Anna enjoying her favorite, spaghetti and meatballs with the birthday plate and cup.

We love you Anna.

The blur that was December

Our December was packed with lots of fun things including a John Deere Christmas party, piano recitals at the mall, a ward Christmas party, Jacob's Christmas presentation at preschool, Christmas Eve with friends, a wonderful Christmas day with just our family, a quick trip to Kansas and then Omaha, and New Year's Eve at home.

The work party was OK, but a little crazy. I think it was just fun to meet a few of the people Greg works with and fun for Greg to introduce his family to his co-workers. We did discover at this party that Ben has a fear of Santa (while Jake has none). We also proved that it is possible to squish 5 kids into a photo booth all at once!

Notice the absence of Ben in the picture. He absolutely refused to go near Santa.

The kids take piano at a big studio this year. There are a ton of students but they make the holiday recital nearly painless. Instead of listening to a hundred other kids, the kids sign up for a time to go and play at one of the local malls. We only had to wait for our kids to be done then we could leave. It was quick and easy. That was a nice surprise. Although I really missed our annual duet recital with Ms. Oles (our teacher in Bettendorf) at the beautiful Butterworth Center.

Lizzy at the piano. You can see me in the background.

Anna who is terrified of such things does a great job. I kept telling her no one was really going to pay attention anyway. Some people might be offended by that, but that is just what Anna wants to hear.

Adam is getting to be a pro. I had to do some serious persuading to convince him it wasn't a good idea to wear basketball shorts for a recital.

Our ward Christmas party was great. It was a breakfast. The kids could wear PJs if they wanted. During the breakfast any kids could play holiday songs on the piano. There was a santa and then a short program about the birth of the Savior. I liked having it in the morning. We are still getting to know the people in our ward so it is good to have an opportunity to mingle.

Here is Lizzy taking her turn at the piano during breakfast.

Here is Jake with his buddy Santa. He would always say he wanted a Surprise whenever Santa asked him what he wanted.

This is Jacob's first year at preschool and our first Christmas at a religious preschool. It was great to have them sing songs about Jesus and really focus on that as the meaning of Christmas. Jake was as cute as ever and I really appreciate his teachers.

Jake is the on the bottom row, second from the left. The older class is behind on the stage dressed in costume.

On Christmas Eve our new friends the Wadsworth family invited us for dinner and a program. We really enjoyed the yummy soup and the carefully planned program with songs and scriptures. This was the evening where we really remembered what Christmas was all about. What a gift the Savior is to all of us. The Wadsworths have been so kind to us. It was fun to have someone to celebrate with. After we left their house we came home and opened up our traditional Christmas Eve pajamas. Then it was off to bed for the kids. Greg and I enjoyed preparations for the next day. This is one of the great joys of being a parent.

Christmas was great. The kids obediently obeyed our rule of not getting us out of bed until 6 AM. I think all the kids were happy with their presents and we spent the rest of the day playing games and trying out our new toys. I love that everyone loves to play games. Each of the kids got a game this year and they have been the presents we have played with over and over. I think Clue was the favorite (it's hard to believe it's still around). Games are great family time. It was awesome just having time together as a family. OK, OK, I did get a nap in that day too. And because we didn't do it on Christmas Eve we HAD to act out the nativity that evening. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without that!

Our tree before presents.

Ben and Greg in their new aprons. Notice Anna in the background. Somehow she escaped the eye of the camera and that may be the only picture we have of her this Christmas.

The only picture of Adam as well. I guess you have to be under the age of nine to get a lot of pictures taken of you.

Here is Jacob. Oh how sad it will be when there is no more little ones to enjoy Christmas with.

Lizzy sitting on her balance beam all smiles.

Ben loved his apron and chef's hat.

A few days after Christmas we took the short drive down to Kansas to see Greg's grandma, his brother and his sister and their families. Greg's grandma will turn 90 this year so he is happy any time we get to see her. She does amazing for someone of her age. The kids entertained her with their piano prowess and we even convinced some of them to sing for her. We enjoyed playing games with her, eating Subway sandwiches with her and enjoyed watching her teach Anna some basic crochet. She is a great lady. We love grandma great. We also really enjoy visiting with Greg's siblings. We don't see them very often, but the kids always seem to jump right back into things and play beautifully together. Sandee and Ryan are always willing to let us eat their food and fill their house with 5 more kids for the evening.

Adam playing for his great grandma in the commons room of her apartment building.

Anna and Ben singing while Adam plays.

Greg also enjoyed going to the cemetery where his father and grandfather is buried. He also loves showing the kids where he grew up and where all of his stories really happened. We were also able to visit another cemetery where some of his ancestors are buried. It was a really great trip for him. I sometimes forget that his roots run deep and strong in Kansas soil.

The kids in front of the headstone of two of their ancestors, their great, great, great grandparents to be exact.

After a few days in Kansas we headed up to Omaha to the temple and the zoo. We love the Omaha zoo and it seems we find ourselves there almost every time we go to Omaha. We especially have come to love the Desert Dome that houses a great nocturnal animals exhibit. We are grateful there is something so fun to do for the kids while we attend the temple.

OK, I admit some of these Omaha pics were taken in November like the one below. There was snow on the ground in December.

We made it home on New Year's Eve and ordered pizza and stayed in. We let all the kids stay up until midnight. Even Jake made it. We played games, ate yummy food, and watched a movie. What a great way to say good-bye to one year and hello to the next.

Well, this post has turned into a travelogue, a very long travelogue, and I am just as thrilled it is over as you are. December was an awesome month!

Thanks Adam; Lizzy's lip

A big thanks to Adam for posting some. I don't know why it seems so difficult to post sometimes. As Adam said we did love Thanksgiving with our dear friends the Jensens. The BYU game was awesome too. Greg and my blood runs blue so it is fun to share that with the kids. It has been fun for Adam that BYU's basketball team has done so well this year because now some of the boys at school actually know who they are!

Anyway, I am still (always) playing catch up. There was one event between Thanksgiving and the BYU game that Adam didn't mention. Lizzy had to have a small surgery on her lip. She had broken a salivary gland or something on her bottom lip, probably from hitting it against something. Well it filled this sack type thing that was bigger than a pencil eraser. She had to live with it for a few months before we were able to get her in to see our dentist. We have been so grateful for the kids' dentist here. We have never had so many mouth problems for the kids. He uses lasers to fill cavities and do other things. Our old dentist would have had to send Liz to an oral surgeon. I imagined him just slicing this thing off straight, but there ending up being a little crater in her lip at least the size of a pencil eraser. She was a trooper, but it was pretty uncomfortable for about a week after the surgery and she hated when I would clean it every day with hydrogen peroxide. Now she is good as new and you would never know she had a big hole in her lip 2 months ago. Thanks to Dr. Wade for making the experience as good as possible.

I am not usually grossed out by things, but I thought her lip looked just awful after the surgery. I wasn't expecting it to look that bad. I wish I would have taken a before picture as well. Hopefully this after picture won't gross you out too much. Good job Lizzy!

How 'bout dem Cougars!!!

I would just like to say that BYU and Jimmer Fredette are AWESOME! They had a huge game last night against #4 in the nation, undefeated San Diego St. So BYU was needing a boost, and Jimmer gave them one. He scored 15 straight points. He ended the first half with 20. He didn't slow down in the second half, finishing with 43 points. I was a little worried when they were down by one at the break. Jimmer was the only one who was scoring any points. It turns out that he was the only one who needed to be. Here are some "fast facts" from themtn.com:

Fast Facts

• Jimmer Fredette, the nation's leading scorer, had 43 points on 14-of-24 shooting, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range.

• Fredette topped 40 points for the second straight game and the third time in his last four games.

• The rest of BYU scored 28 points on 11-of-32 shooting.

• Kawhi Leonard led SDSU with 22 points and 15 rebounds, but the Aztecs shot just 35.5 percent from the field.

Here is a link to the highlight video, along with the recap. http://www.themtn.tv/01/26/11/MBK-Fredettes-43-boosts-BYU-past-SDSU-im/landing_byu.html?blockID=398670&feedID=2968

Once again BYU is awesome!

-ADAM FINCH

My name is Tammy Finch, and I approve this message. Go Cougars!!!

OK, now it's my turn. The Finch's last 3 months

Since my mom didn't want to post, you will have to listen to me, Adam. I am going to give you a lecture about what has been going on in our lives for the past three months. First there was Thanksgiving. We spent the holiday with our friends the Jensens. My dad baked about a dozen pies, so he was pretty busy the day before the holiday. On Thanksgiving me, my dad, and Brother Jensen went to the Turkey Bowl. We had a great time, and luckily did not experience any injuries. Then we enjoyed a delicious thanksgiving dinner. On Friday the girls plus Ben and Jake went to see Tangled with the Jensen girls. I stayed home and watched a lot of football. The final day we were there, we went to Monkey Joes. It is a inflatable slide playground. We had a great time there.

Later in December (I know it's a big jump forward, but nothing really happened from Thanksgiving till now) we went to a BYU basketball game, against Creighton, in Omaha. It was a lot of fun, and we even got to go down on the court and meet the players. But there was about 5,000 BYU alumni there as well, so we never got very close. I did get Jimmer Fredette to wave at me, though.

Sorry about the bad pictures. We didn't really have any good ones of the BYU game. That is all I am going to post today, so you will have to wait another day to hear about Christmas

-ADAM

October Fun

October was a busy month. Some of our busyness was from doing fun things. My dad and his wife Nancy were here for a few days. We went up to Boone, IA (yes, the train place) and went on a scenic ride to see the fall leaves. We also took a short hike located just behind the Kate Shelley museum. (What?!! You don't know who Kate Shelley is?! You must not be an Iowan! Go look it up. It's a great story). It's a nice, easy hike and there is hardly ever anybody there. The weather was just perfect. Fall is definitely the best time to live in Iowa. I also enjoy watching the fields be harvested. What a blessed nation we are. Abundance is all around.

It seemed difficult for us to squeeze in our annual Pumpkin Carving Family Home Evening. Greg was traveling several of the Mondays so this year we didn't do it on a Monday. We did it on a Friday. The kids had school off and Greg took the day off of work. It's fun that the kids can do a lot on their own with those cool carving knives they have. Ben was particularly insistent on doing nearly all of his on his own. He even made his own Jack o' Lantern face instead of using a pattern. Our pumpkins were then the centerpiece of our decorated trunk for our ward's trunk or treat that night. They turned out pretty good if I do say so myself (and I do!). Sadly we do not have a picture of the finished product. You will just have to take my word for it.

Oh, did I mention we had pizza while we carved? Jake definitely enjoyed that.

Anna chose a very intricate design so I helped her a bit. It turned out awesome!

Ben happily carving on his own. Great job Ben!

We spent a different Saturday at a Howell's Pumpkin Patch. We went October 30th and it wasn't very crowded. Most the pumpkins were gone but we had already carved up some store bought ones so we didn't care! The corn maze was rather pathetic (translation: way too easy) for our crew, but it was so fun being together and enjoying the nice weather. The workers there were so friendly and helpful. They had a play area too. All of these "toys" have been made out of things you would find on a farm. Like the fast slide made out of a giant black pipe, a tire swing made out of a tractor tire, the hay hill made out of, well, hay. It was pretty simple stuff but enjoyable just to be together and have fun playing together instead of working together (or working apart or playing apart). It was a great family day. I think next year we will look for a bigger, more difficult corn maze since we enjoy those so much.

On the hill o' hay.

Even Adam enjoyed the slide. I think the speed and bumpiness of it made it that much funner. Notice Adam's two loves: BYU and Iowa.

They had several inner tubes from tractor tires that you could play with. We played with these for quite a while. Here the kids are squeezed into a stack of tubes. Aren't they cute? I am happy almost daily that they all get along so well. What a blessing!

The actual pumpkin patch. Not as cool as my brother's photos, but something a little different at least.

I'll take care of these critters any day!

Perhaps the crown jewel in every child's October crown is Trick or Treat night. In Des Moines it has a different name. It is called Beggar's night and is celebrated the night before Halloween. The kids are supposed to give tricks for treats. Really they are supposed to tell a joke to get their candy. Not everyone adhered to this but many did. This was EXTREMELY stressful for my introverted, please let me sink into the wall and no one notice me, Anna. It did slow things down a bit but it made it feel as if we lived in a really small town and we knew everyone and they knew us. You actually have to interact with your neighbors. I think I liked it....Greg stayed home to give out candy and listen to jokes. Jake insisted on staying home to help. I took the other kids out to tell jokes and get candy. Adam and Lizzy in their determined way ran from house to house and quickly left Ben, Anna and I in the dust. That was OK with us. We enjoyed our great neighborhood and the more leisurely pace. I was glad Adam wasn't too cool to let his kid sister tag along with him. He and Lizzy did two more full blocks by running ahead of us. They were all happy with their loot and graciously shared with Jacob who has decided that next year he will go trick or treating.

Hot Dog Adam! What a fun costume.

Pirate Ben.

BYU Cheerleader Lizzy! Go Cougars!

Anna the witch.

Jacob the Dragon.

Now Thanksgiving is upon us and the fall is giving way to winter. This too is a wonderful time of year. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and are filled with gratitude for all you been given. Next up is Christmas! The fun never ends. Enjoy your week!