Daddy saves the day!

Clara's preschool has a Dad's Breakfast that is hyped up for, essentially, the whole year. In fact, it is CRIMINAL to miss. Joel was out of town and promised to make it home in time for the big event. Thursday night he calls to say he is stuck in ALABAMA and is trying to get on a bus to Atlanta, so that he can take the first flight out in the morning. WHAT! I couldn't sleep. What was I going to say to Clara, who really terrifies me a little, when she woke up and saw that Daddy wasn't home from his Houston trip? She would be devastated! Apparently there was lightening in Atlanta, and they had to land in Alabama? YO! Well, 9:00 a.m., Joel pulls into the parking lot of Westminster Presbyterian, after traveling all night, just in time. Joel told the pilot that he would be his HERO if he could get to Charleston in time for his date. And, he did! Thanks, Dad. You are the best!

California, here we come!

Yes, we have sold our house and moved to an apartment until we head out west on June 5th. Thanks to my mother in law's amazing packing skills, we weighed in at 8000 lbs, exactly, and then sent our stuff out to California. So, now we will finish school and camp out (3rd floor 2 bedroom apartment with 3 kids...yo). I need to post some more, but for now, enjoy your Saturday! We are off to Karate, Dance, and then a boat trip. Date night tonight! Life is good...

It's been a while...my husband turned to the dark side and got a Mac. Pictures have been on his computer, so I've been slacking. Here are a few new ones. Nana and Papa visited, Tessa is crawling, and Clara is showing interest in taking off her training wheels. Kimball practices his Karate blocks, punches, kicks, kempos, etc. Joel got me a life-size Edward for Valentine's day, and finally, we got our first offer on the house...more on the last when we finish negotiations.

Papa and Clara

Tessa and Nana

A beautiful day in Charleston!!!
(We are so ready for Spring)
I'm completely MOBILE! No more scooting or swiveling. Crawling baby!

Clara "braving it" on Kimball's bike. She is ready to go!

Kimball showing off his warrior face

Joel's Valentine gift for me.
Those of you who know my husband well are familiar with his awesome Valentine gift history. What a lucky girl am I?

Finding Balance...

As we wind down our adventure in the south, we are forced to look at our lives and analyze our progression/neglects/habits/schedules/etc. What have we made of ourselves these past 3 years? Are we better than we were before coming to Charleston? Have we accomplished our goals and hopes? Well, in some ways, yes. But, lately we've felt a strong desire for BALANCE. In general, we all need less "plugged-in" time and more physical exercise. We all need more spirituality and scripture reading time. We all need more organization. We all need to play more and we all need to smile! One on one time with kids, date-nights, temple attendance, are all on the list, to name a few. So, with the help of our kindergartner's curriculum, we've decided to make a family contract each week. We list things (centers) that need to be done, work and play, and we check them off as we do them. Just a little balance check to make sure I'm not cleaning and Joel isn't reading Perio articles all the time.
I feel like my day is successful if I can keep the house mostly clean, children and spouse well-fed, exercise, read, sing/play piano, get places on time, and maintain a positive attitude. That means no yelling. That means using my "mom" skills to diffuse tempers and turn frowns into giggles. I'm embarrassed to admit that I've started reading the Twilight Series. It's border-line obsession right now, but I'm having fun getting lost in silly books (you know it's bad when you start dreaming about vampires). I hardly ever read for pleasure... time does not permit, so this is a good thing.
Kimball has started Karate and Clara has started dance. Both are doing GREAT and love it. I am so amazed at the growth in confidence. I hope to never over-program my kids, but I really want them to develop talents and feel good about their improvements. Next year we'll start piano lessons for both. That's a must.
Life is crazy, but hopefully we can find methods in our madness. I'm a little apprehensive about moving back to the business of LA. I'm totally excited, but a little nervous. This quiet, somewhat selfish, lifestyle has ruined me for big cities. I don't know if I can handle the chaos!!!
Well, sorry about the ramble, but I feel better...oh, journaling! That's a great center for the contract. Hope you all can find the balance that brings peace to your own families. Good luck!

CLARA NICOLE

Let me tell you a little about Clara. She can melt your heart and make you cry in the same sentence. Clara says it how it is. She is very bright and very observant, so, watch out!
"Mommy, I want my hips to look just like yours..."
(while she was eating ice-cream)
"Mommy, your tummy looks really big...I think you have a baby in there!
(while playing Candyland with mommy...no I'm not b.t.w.)
Ok! I get it. It's been 7 months. I have no more excuses! Time to get out the old
Tae-Bo video. Seemed to work in past post-pardum years.
Thanks, Clara, for speaking the truth!

But on the other hand, Clara is the sweetest big sister. I watch her with Tessa and think, GOSH, how cool is it that her greatest thrill in life is making the baby laugh?
(picture: cousin Hayden, Clara, and Tessa)

Clara is my buddy. Given the choice of an outing, she usually suggests Target and Costco...and nope, she doesn't get a present. She just likes being my shopping buddy. LOVE her!

Clara makes me laugh! She is genuinely original. Does that even make sense?
She is a natural trend setter. Tonight we were watching Ratatouille and she said without hesitation,"I want to be a rat!"

Oh the joys of our little red-head!

Open House
We are selling our home and would love you to stop by for a quick peek. Wish us luck!
Sunday, January 25 1:00-4:00
7102 Windmill Creek
Check it out

Ladies Man

Mom, Melissa says she wants to be my girlfriend.
What does that mean?
That means we want to get married when we grow up. So now I have two girlfriends, Emily and Melissa.
Really.
Melissa wants it to be a secret, Mom, so don't tell Dad. She said I could only tell my mom.
When did you discuss this?
When we were having nap time, so nobody could see.
Do you sleep by Melissa during nap time.
Yup.
Great...
Does this post violate my child's trust? I just thought this conversation was SO blog-worthy. Girlfriends? Already? Oh dear!

Cindy Lou Who?

Does anyone see the resemblance? We've had more than a few comments that Tessa looks like
a Who. Have you all been watching Christmas movies, or something? I think it's the eyelashes...

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We are so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the knowledge that our family can be together forever. Thank you for you friendships, love, and support. Happy Holidays!

'Tis the Season!

We hosted our annual Mustache Egg-Nog Party in Charleston and had some enthusiastic participants. Here are a few captured 'staches. Can you guess which one is my husband?

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The poetry was awesome, thanks to Justin A. and George R. We even had a power-point presentation by Sam P. that was entertaining and educational! People dressed to impress, some in their fabulous Christmas sweaters, others in outrageous Goodwill and the Super-Bad Suit Emporium finds. Joel's egg-nog was delish, as usual. We've had quite a few requests for the recipe, so here you go!

Joel's Famous Egg-Nog
12 Egg Yolks
2 Cups Sugar
4 Cups Cold Milk
4 Cups Cream
Vanilla
Nutmeg
1-2 Tbls. Rum Flavoring

Mix yolks and sugar in mixer. Slowly add cold milk. Chill for 3 hours, or overnight. Beat 4 cups of cream until thick, not whipped. Fold into chilled milk mixture. Season with Vanilla, Nutmeg, and Rum Flavoring.


This year the holidays will be taking us to Sunny California. For all of our friends from the west, we will postpone our Utah Mustache Party until 2009. If you find yourselves in California during the 23rd-30th, let us know. We'd love to get together for more festivities and good times.
Merry Christmas!

"That sounds like R to the S to the V!"
said the nurse, who apparently, is right...bummer.
We are sick, sick, sick!
Poor Tessa. The rest of us are on the up. No more fevers.
Tessa's sad little cough breaks my heart.
Apparently this is the worst season ever for RSV.
Keep your little ones healthy!

The Bully

What do you do? There's a kid at school that calls Kimball a name every day during lunch. Today it was "Butt-face." Apparently the bully is not in K's class, but Kimball knows him as "Dray-Dray." Then there's a girl in Kimball's class that kicks him under the table. Kimball says,

"She used to be my best friend, and now she is mean to me."

We didn't think we'd have to experience these scenarios so soon. So we find ourselves asking, What is the balance between teaching your child to defend himself vs. turning the other cheek? And is tattling always bad? I mean not when someone is getting hurt. And, how much should we be involved? I mean, how much of this could be conjured up in Kimball's head? He has quite the imagination and takes things pretty personally. Today he said,

"Mom, maybe I should pretend to be Dray-Dray's friend, invite him over for a play-date, and then I can do Karate on him...I'll kick him in the stomach, like this, pow, kachoo,pow, pow, koo, koo, etc."

Don't ever cross Kimball. He is pretty conniving. But at the same time, he has a very sweet-heart, and would never hurt anyone (well, no one other than a certain sibling who might be driving him crazy). Kimball, by virtue of being the big brother, cares for people smaller and younger than himself. He makes friends with those that don't have any. I really am so proud of my sweet boy...but, how do you deal with bullies? Advice please?

Thanksgiving in North Carolina

We had a great time in Winston-Salem for the Holiday. Here are some pic's. Enjoy!

A Hendry Visit...

My sister Brooke and her family, Tyler, Elle, and Tatem, came to visit us this past weekend. While Tyler and Joel were in Perio Courses, Brooke and I played! We took the kids to Middleton Place, Charlestown Landing, Historic Downtown, Angel Oak, 5 Guys, etc. One night we went to Disney on Ice. Another night our neighbors brought us some live crabs to cook, the highlight of the weekend, so we feel like the Hendry's got a true Charleston experience. Kimball, who's favorite foods are Oysters and Crabs, was in HEAVEN cracking open the crab legs and pulling out the meat. YO! Papa Miller would have been so proud.

The two Periodontists: we are so proud of you two. It's been a LONG road.
Now stop playing the Wii and bring home some bacon!

The two babies, who despite having similar genes from their mothers, look nothing alike to us. Tatem is quite a bit bigger than Tessa, and their head-shapes are so different. But aren't they beautiful? Elle and Clara had a great time together. The dynamic between our kids is probably more like siblings than cousins, so the fighting is pretty intense as well. That's how we know they really love each other!

Kimball is pretty excited to have another boy cousin. Now these two, they resemble each other a little bit more, don't you think?
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Before the pot...

After! Ready to eat. Where's the butter?

Good times! Thanks for visiting, guys. We had a blast.

Loving this face!

For the past couple of months, Tessa has been sharing her beautiful smile with us, all the time! We are LOVING this age (4 1/2 months) and wish we could freeze her in time. Kimball even got her to giggle out loud the other day. All you have to do is look at her and she is all grins.

His Tender Mercies

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Kimball found this great stick. He was totally excited. He was throwing it in the air, attempting to bring down some "witches hair," or Spanish Moss, at Middleton Place. You can guess what happened, the stick got stuck in the tree. What a disappointment, and any of you with 6 year old boys know the drama that comes with disappointing events. He cried and cried, he pled with daddy to put him on his shoulders to get it down (that only reached about half way). The stick was a goner. Joel and I started to walk away and turned to see Kimball kneeling in prayer. Oh dear. What now? Just as Kimball started to stand up, the once absent wind picked up and the stick fell out of the tree. Are you kidding me? Wow, Heavenly Father really does answer prayers, even the somewhat silly ones! I love this talk about the Lord's tender mercies. Thank you Kimball, for your sweet faith.

Happy Halloween!

Yes, I let him dress up, or should I say not dress at all, as Michael Phelps. Only because he's a hottie, but I'm not taking responsibility for the scarred 6 year old girls that ran away screaming at the sight of a grown man in a speedo! Our ward friends have a new found respect? for my husband. Now that is SCARY!

The "Last Chance"

We have a little problem in the evenings. It may have started years ago, so it's more like a bad habit that will never be broken. It's called the last chance. Kids are in bed, teeth are brushed, prayers are said, etc. and the kids complain that they are hungry. Oh MAN! If they were not so dang skinny, we might say NO WAY! but being the soft parents that we are, we ALWAYS give in. Man alive, we'll never learn.

Star Wars Party

Kimball's party was a Jedi Training Academy. All the young Padawans learned how to use the force, construct and use a light saber, etc. Their final battle was to conquer Darth Vader. The boys were very cute and VERY excited about the theme. One little guy had never seen any of the films, so the family rented episode IV to prepare. So glad we assisted in that conversion, bringing another youngling unto the knowledge of the force.
Can I just say that Costco makes a very good cake? In my attempt to "scale back" and make this as simple as possible, I ordered this baby and the kids LOVED it! No shame, right?

I love my husband...

These homemade light sabers turned out better in my head. The paint started chipping off almost immediately, so all of the boys were covered in colorful flakes. At least the soft pipe insulators didn't kill the Sith. Mental note, use pool "noodles" next time!