forever swaner family

Saturday, May 31, 2008

It's official...school's out! I have mixed emotions this year, just because while I really want to make this a fun and exciting summer for the kids, I feel like I need a good routine right now just to keep my head above water!

We (meaning Derrick and the kids) kicked off summer break on Thursday night. They built a bon-fire in the back yard and made tin foil dinners and smores. Derrick delivered mine to me inside. I'd had a big day. Skyler's friends from our street all happened to congregate in our back yard for night games. It sure sounded like they were having a lot of fun, other than one of the neighbors yelling at them for running on his new sod. It was a fun night, since they are all really great to let me other kids join in on the games (none of Zac's buddies live right here on our street). They even took Myah along with them.

Yesterday, they woke to me making a nice big excel worksheet of their summer jobs. I'm sure they were so excited about that, but the days are just too long if they don't have a little work to break it up!

So, here we go with oodles of neighborhood kids, endless otter pop wrappers in the yard, dozens of shoes left around the trampoline, late nights, emotional days, back yard barbecues, smores, swimming pools, water guns, and great times! Wow, wouldn't it be great to be a kid again???

Notice that Skyler isn't even in the picture. Apparently, at this point he was the 'kidnapper', although I'm not sure what that means.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Are We The Only Ones???

The more blogs I'm reading, the more I'm thinking that I ought to have a giant 'L' plastered to my forehead...'L' for 'Loser'! Are we the only family that did absolutely NOTHING over Memorial Day weekend? I'm reading about all of these weekend getaways, and quality family time, complete with cute and happy looking pictures!
We spent our whole day Saturday working and cleaning the house and the garage, and doing yard work. And we listened to the kids tell us at least a thousand times, how 'that's all we ever do...work'!
All of that hard work on Saturday, meant that on Sunday, I was really very tired. So while I slept for a large portion of the day, Derrick played a game of RISK with the kids (go Derrick!).
On Monday, Skyler and I got up at 6am to deliver flags throughout the neighborhood for Young Womens and Young Mens. Of course, the 6am wakeup time, completely wiped me out for the remainder of the day. I spent a large portion of Monday sleeping again, while Derrick played another round of RISK with the kids. On the plus side, the boys went to see Indiana Jones (also with Derrick), while Myah and I stayed home and watched Cinderella.
Boy, I think I deserve some sort of 'mother of the year' award or something!

Monday, May 26, 2008

Finished...at least for now!

We did it! We finished relocating Myah to her new room, complete with a paint job. It's completely girly and she really loves it. I'm just so glad to be done! We still need to repaint some of her furniture, but we'll just see when we get to it. It sure feels good to accomplish something every now and again.

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Crazy Things Our Kids Say

'Mom, Desmond needs to be changed. He smells like a waffle'. -myah- I've heard all sorts of descriptions, but never a WAFFLE!
'Mommy, How come all of our prophets names start with "President"?' Myah
'Mom, baby boys are special too'. Myah's words of encouragement shortly following the boy ultrasound. Thanks Myah!
When talking about what to grow in our garden this summer, Skyler said, 'Oh, I know...let's grow more zuccini so we can have more pickles!' Pretty funny coming from a really smart kid!
'Mommy, I want my armpits to look like yours, with all the black pokey things in them!' Yep, that's Myah!
'...Thank you for Santa Clause...and thank you for his reindeer.' Myah's prayers last night
'Daddy...You smell like Grandpa!' (Myah) Derrick has picked up a new second job, working with my dad doing sheet metal construction...aka 'manual labor', and apparently, he's starting to smell like hard work!
'When I grow up, I want to be....A MOMMY!' Myah
"But sleeping makes me tired!" Never heard this excuse for a later bedtime before!
'How does my water turn into pee?' Myah
'My eyeballs are melting!' Myah...We built a fire for fhe and made smores...apparently it was pretty hot!
'Can I pet the baby?' I was babysitting for a friend the other day, and Myah was so happy to have a baby around!

Quotable Quotes

'Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, Today is a Gift. That's why it's called the Present' -kung fu panda...master uguay
"The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude." William James (borrowed from Katie)
"As long as it stays outside" -my grandpa joe- let me explain this one, he was a farmer and was referring to the problems and trials we have. I interpret this to mean that as long as we don't let them into our homes and our families, it's all good!
"Remember, a good attitude produces good results, a fair attitude fair results, a poor attitude poor results. We each shape our own life, and the shape of it is determined largely by our attitude." Jeffrey R. Holland

Hmmmm....

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.

'Well,' she said, 'I think I'll braid my hair today!'

So she did, and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.

'H-M-M,' she said, 'I think I'll part my hair down the middle today!'

So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.

'Well,' she said, 'today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail.'So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.'

YEA!' she exclaimed, 'I don't have to fix my hair today!'

Attitude is everything. Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Derrick

Derrick goes by many names around here, including Honey, Big Fatty (only when Zac is really mad or really tired), Babe, Appocolypse (his wrestling alias), Abomination (another wrestling foe),...but my definite favorite...Daddy (or Dad as the big kids say). I also think that to everyone in our home, Derrick is considered a great friend. He has a talent for turning those tense moments into funny and lighthearted memory makers. I guess that he is the perfect balance for me, since I have a hard time letting go of my 'schedule' and just having fun!
The man of our house stays very busy with work, play, more work, and a little more play! He still works as part of a management team of an imaging center, where he also does nuclear medicine, ct, x-ray, and lab work. When he's home, he acts as teacher, barbeque king, friend, companion, tutor, priesthood holder, elders quorum president, bedtime tucker-inner, and daddy!
So yes, Derrick wears many hats, and I have to say, I love every one of them!

Kelli

I am a middle aged stay at home mommy to five kids. I rarely get out, and I don't always manage to get a shower in every day. I cook, I clean, I sew (well, not really, but I wish I could sew!), I tutor, I clean some more...and I love my life! I am a wife, a new mommy, and an old mommy, a wannabe runner, a friend, a neighbor, a sister, a daughter, an aunt, a food network junkie, a inventor (of recipes, since I can't stand to follow a recipe as given), a hiker, a taxi driver, a librarian (my new calling in church...are you jealous???), and a really great sports spectator!
My goal over the next year is to try and be 'happier' on the outside while I'm with my kids. I'm always happy inside, but don't tend to show it as often as I should. Also, I hope to be able to give in service to those around me as much as they have done for me! I am so thankful to know that I am a daughter of God, and that he not only loves me but is totally aware of my trials and my weaknesses. I truly believe that he has surrounded me with special people to help me through those trials and to help me become better! How cool is that???

Skyler

Skyler has a whole variety of hats, and it's hard to know from day to day which ones he'll pull out! I guess that's all part of being a teenager! Skyler is a big brother, a babysitter, a son, a priesthood holder, a scout, a basketball player, a friend, a football player, an excellent student, a reader, an artist, a musician, a help (when he wants to be), a tease, and a future (and current) missionary! I appreciate Skyler's committment to the gospel and to living the gospel standards. I know that sometimes, we butt heads, but I have never ever been worried about him not honoring his gospel standards and covenants! What a great example to the younger brothers and sister!

Zacary

Zac is so often my life preserver! On days when I feel like I'm drowning, he is able sense that and jumps right in to save me! I often refer to him as our 'resident chef', since he absolutely LOVES to cook! He can follow a recipe pretty well, but he can also 'taste cook' (a boy after my own heart). Zac also wears many hats...soccer player (almost any position), student, resident chef, babysitter, big brother, cousin, scout, maid (really, the kid can clean...when he wants to!), missionary in training, manual laborer (loves to work on house and yard projects), and friend! I love Zac and so much appreciate his awareness in knowing when to jump in and help out!

Tannon

Tannon may be a skinny little thing, but his heart is HUGE! Tannon is a big brother (a fact of which he's very very proud), a son, a friend, a soccer player, a tease, a wrestler (just as home with Derrick), a student, a reader, a cub scout, a future missionary, an example, a food critic (since he doesn't like much of anything!), and a very tender hearted little boy! I love Tannon, and I think that his quiet, peaceful nature brings a smile to my face and makes his Heavenly Father very happy! I really and truly hope that we can instill in Tannon, exactly how special and amazing he is!

Myah

Myah is the cream on top of the Swaner family sundae! We are all just crazy about the only girl in the family! Myah's hats...big sister, little sister, daughter, friend, social butterfly, artist, student (preschool!), dancer, singer, comedian, peacemaker, and helper! If I can teach her one thing that she will never ever forget, it is that she is a daughter of God, and that alone makes her so incredibly special! She often says, 'I am a princess, because my Father in Heaven is a king!' I hope that she remembers that always!

Desmond

Little Des, is a true blessing in our family! He is the cherry on top of our Swaner family sundae. I never knew I wanted a cherry on top, but once he joined our family, I can no longer picture it any other way! Just when I thought we were moving along to the next 'stage' in life, there was a quick little u-turn along our path, and just about 10 months later...here we are with a new sweet spirit in our family.
So Des's hats...a little brother, a son, a sweet little spirit, a peacemaker (and he doesn't even know it), and a HUGE blessing!
Desmond joined us on August 18th, 2008 in Blackfoot, Idaho. He was born via planned c-section, and the whole process was an answer to many prayers! We are very thankful for our newest addition!