Halloween... Harry Potter Style

This year Jeremy and the kids were the Weasley family from Harry Potter. My friend Tiffini made the kids' awesome Gryffindor costumes. They looked so cute! Here is her website.

We had a fabulous time at the school Halloween carnival, Grandma Craguns for scary movies, chili and breadstick dinner at church, followed by trunk or treating in the church parking lot. The kids made a haul!!The kids were very excited to go into the Spook Alley. Here they are waiting in line. When the time came though they started to get a little nervous and clinging to each other. (See below)Here we are at the ward party. I've been hiding from the camera for awhile... 8 months pregnant isn't a good look for me. :)

Jeremy wanted to decorate our trunk with a Harry Potter theme to match the costumes, but of course he was delayed on the farm so the kids and I threw it together a half an hour before we had to leave. Sometimes I think that my creative juices do not flow until crunch time because although I'd been thinking about it for a couple of days it wasn't until I realized I was going to have to do it myself that I got some decent ideas. And HOORAY!! our trunk won 3rd place!!! The kids were so excited (especially since they had helped so much... with the ideas and the actual decorating).

Our award winning trunk... Harry Potter & Ron Weasley's room with Gryffindor posters, a picture of Mrs. Weasley, a quidditch game out the window and potions class assignment brewing.

The Carpet

I can not find my camera cord so I haven't been able to upload pictures. BUT if I could... I would definitely post a picture of my mom and dad's carpet cleaner. My siblings and I bought it for them for Christmas last year. I didn't want to be the first to use it, but we had to clean some carpets! So, I finally broke down and borrowed it. I love it! I can just use water and it gets out so much nasty stuff.

Carpet cleaning has become my new obsession.

Now I must get off so I can go do another room while the boys are happily playing trucks.

Nesting

I am seriously so sick. I can hardly talk. I have a headache. My throat is on FIRE. I feel quite miserable. And what have I done the last couple of days?...

Painted, cleaned carpets, and laundry...

It is that DARN nesting instinct. It won't let me rest!! And I still have a list of projects that I want to do in the next four weeks. Most of them require spousal assistance... poor Jeremy!

On the upside... my living room carpet looks like new and Will will be moving into his new bedroom on Friday. He is SO, SO, SO excited!!

Ashton's First Lost Tooth

Ashton lost his first tooth this week. He has such tiny little teeth! He said his tooth felt weird. I felt it and it was SO loose. A few minutes later he pulled it out himself!

All day, I kept thinking... I can't believe he is old enough to lose a tooth. I know he is... he is 5 years old after all... but where does the time go.

Incidentally, he has already figured out that his dad is the tooth fairy.

Pumpkin Day

I have been quite sick since Friday, but yesterday I felt a bit better and got too ambitious. (Now I am really sick again.) I ran errands in Provo, taped off the old office so it can be painted, went to WalMart and for Family Home Evening we had "Pumpkin Day" where we enjoyed some of the 16 pumpkins Levi grew this year.

Dinner was "Dinner in a Pumpkin."
Then, we decorated pumpkins... with sharpies, not knives because the kids are all very independent and insisted on decorating their own pumkins and the LAST thing we need right now is a trip to the ER.

We had a great night and the kids finally feel ready for Halloween.

Only in Sanpete...

Today we were driving from Ephraim to Manti and about two miles outside of Manti we had to come to a near complete stop behind a trail of several cars. At first we were annoyed because we thought that there was a farm vehicle ahead that people were too timid to pass. But then, Jeremy spotted the real problem and started laughing. Ahead of us, running down Highway 89 were...

FOUR HORSES.

The horses ran side by side covering parts of both lanes, at about 10 miles an hour, with a trail of cars behind them, all the way into town where they were met by a Sheriff's deputy. The Sheriff's truck and another truck tried to herd them with their vehicles and finally got them stopped and cornered at the fairgrounds.

We couldn't get good pictures while they were running down the middle of the highway, but the one above we snapped with Jer's cell phone, once we got close to town and the Sheriff was rounding them up.

Baby Bailey

Bailey Helen Cragun

Born Today!

Congratulations Andy and Jenny!

Where to Go...

William was thrilled when Elder L. Tom Parry talked about the Manti Temple during General Conference on Sunday morning. He loves to drive past the temple and look at pictures of the temple and often asks, "When can I go to the Manti Temple?"

Last night, when we were talking about his reaction to the talk my mom said, "Will, do you want to go to the temple?" And he replied, "Yes! I do want to go to the Manti Temple." Then after a pause he added, "Cuz, I miss Jesus."

We, of course, thought that was adorable. Then this morning while I was getting ready for the day I was thinking about his comment. I thought about how the temple is the perfect place to be when you need to feel close to Jesus. Then, the oft-quoted phrase from the Bible dictionary popped into my mind about only the home being as sacred. And I realized... for my children our home can and should be the perfect place to be when they "miss Jesus"... when they need to feel God's love for them and be reminded that He has a plan for them... when they need to get away from the pressures and evil and stress of the world.

And I was reminded again about the great responsibility is to be a mother. Because my attitude and what I do and say will determine whether our house is a place they can go when they are really longing for their true home.

Bed Time Without Daddy

Why do my children listen to Jeremy so much better than they do to me? Tonight I angrily sent them to bed before scriptures were read, chores were fully completed and piano was adequately practiced because a fight over who was practicing first ended up in Matthew having a bloody nose. (They both wanted to practice right then.)

Katie knows she is trouble for the bloody nose and having done very little on her chores. I sprayed "Monster Spray" under Will's bed to scare away the monsters and have threatened Ashton with being grounded tomorrow.

And yet, Will just said, "I don't believe in Monster Spray. Now there are monsters AND crocodiles under my bed." He and Ashton are currently reading tractor books in the hall. And I can hear Katie in her room reading instead of sleeping.

Thankfully, Matthew, "the obedient child" as he calls himself, practiced, worked and is asleep.

Okay... update... Ashton is on the stairs hiding and Will is sitting in my bed saying, "Mom, I'm going to color with you tonight!" Now, he is DELIGHTED because he just drew an excellent circle. "That is cool! Mom!" By the way, while I am typing this Ashton has joined the coloring party. And Katie is telling me I never have time for them because we didn't read scriptures or Nancy Drew tonight.

But I guarantee that if Jeremy were home tonight all four kids would be sound asleep by now. And they would have practiced their piano, finished their work, and received spiritual nourishment and we would have read Nancy Drew. Also, there would not be a trail of blood from my living room to the kids' bathroom or blood drips all over the toilet, floor, and vanity. There would be a lot less contention around here.

p.s. Ashton just said, "I've got to tell you something weird about me. I don't fall asleep at night. I sleep in the morning." This from our little alarm clock.

State Fair

I really liked Rodgers and Hammerstein's State Fair when I was younger, but only had a few vague memories of what the State Fair was REALLY like. I think we only went a couple of times when my 4-H projects made it to the State Fair.

Now... I go every year to sell books at the fair. It is quite different than I remember. Luckily for my kids though, Jeremy has brought them up at least once each year to enjoy the fair while I work my booth. This has turned into a nice tradition for our family. The kids have seen some really cool things and had great experiences. Here are some pictures from their visit this year.

p.s. If you are planning on attending the fair stop by the Usborne Books booth in the Market Building (near the sheep) and buy some amazing, educational children's books. :)

Menu Ideas

I really enjoy the blog "Eat at Home." Recently, Tiffany (the blogger) has started posting weekly menus and shopping lists. The menus have been very affordable, easy and it's been nice to try some new things. (Plus since she has four kids too they are perfectly portioned for us.) If you feel stuck in a food rut (like I did) I highly recommend her weekly menus. Here is the link: http://eatathomecooks.com/weekly-menus. You can get to her website from the button on my sidebar.

Awesome Deal...

I have two dates left in September for Usborne Book parties that I need to fill asap. So if you (or anyone you know) would like to host a fun, easy party (I'll do all the work) this month you'll learn about something new, get LOTS of free books, have fun, AND you can choose a bonus gift of:

The Complete Book of Farmyard Tales, plus CD... my #1 seller. Perfect for boys and girls 0-8 years.

ORThe Internet-Linked Children's Encyclopedia... my #2 most popular book... perfect for ages 4 to adult (seriously, Jer and I learn from this book all the time!)

OR Any set of for 65% off

Plus, we have AMAZING... seriously truly AMAZING.... New Titles (including lots of Christmas ones) just released.

I am happy to travel to do parties!

You can email me at: jill@utahusbornebooks.com if you have any questions. Thanks!!

Some Sunday Inspiration

Our Miracle... 5 Years Later

Today is Ashton's 5th birthday! It is amazing to think that he is already 5 years old, but at the same time it is hard to remember a time that he wasn't part of our family. He is SO hilarious and enthusiastic and smart. Ashton is brilliant at puzzles, creating and construction and his sense of humor makes every day life a joy.

At this time 5 years ago, Jer and I were experiencing one of the scariest times in our life. When Ashton was born there was no thrilling first cry and because the nurses quickly took him out of the room as they tried to get him to breath, my first good look at him was when we was about 20 minutes old and on a ventilator.

His first month, Ashton had quite a few ups and downs and he really scared us more than once. For some reason even after we got home, he liked to stop breathing on Sundays. It was also a time of spiritual growth for me. It was very humbling to realize that I had this precious little baby, but I couldn't make him healthy... his life was in others' hands... the doctors and the Lords. It was very difficult for me because I'm a bit of a control freak. I knew that His will would be done and I could only hope that His will was the same as mine, but I had to learn to truly trust the Lord and that no matter what happened it would be okay. I had experiences where I was reminded that the Savior knows me personally, loves me, knows how to comfort me and will take of me.

So... it's been five years and we are so, so, so grateful that we got to keep our little Ashy. When we look at pictures of his first days we can't believe that sick little baby and the active, little fireball are the same kid.

Here are some pictures from this summer of Ashton being Ashton...

Thoughts on the First Day of School

Today is the first day of school with new teachers (Mrs. Jordan and Mrs. Worthington) and today will be Katie's first day in the cafeteria. The kids didn't seem the slightest bit nervous... just excited. I, on the other hand, felt quite emotional about the whole thing. (Don't worry, only Jeremy saw my tears this morning.) It is so bittersweet to send them to school and the first day of a new year is a reminder of how quickly they are growing up.

As I was driving home after helping them find their new classrooms and blinking back tears I pondered why I was so emotional about the whole thing. I decided it was because I was letting my precious little ones (okay, maybe they aren't SO little anymore) spend time away from me, in the care of someone who will never know them as well as I do, but who will also be responsible for teaching them what they need to learn this year. They will have all sorts of new experiences, they will have to figure out social relationships and dynamics and I won't be there to guide them. I thought, "Wow, what a responsibility to be a teacher. What trust parents put it in them."

Then, as I was turning the corner by our house the Spirit taught me... that is how Heavenly Father must feel about this new little one he is sending to us in a few months (and all our children for that matter). He has to be temporarily seperated from His precious child and put him in the care of people who love him, but will never know him as well as He does. He has to watch as his child tries to figure out relationships and has new experiences and tests and trials. All He can hope is that we teach him the things that he is supposed to learn in this life. And I was reminded... what a responsibility to be a parent. What trust God puts in us!

So... those are some thoughts I had on the first day of school.