Monday, November 10, 2008

The Song of a Child

Hearing a child sing is one of my favorite sounds. No matter how on or off key they are I love how hard they try, and the serious look that comes over their faces, especially when it's a serious moment. This was the case yesterday.


It was our ward's Primary Program, and to say that the kids were good would be an understatment. For a Utah ward we have a rather smaller primary than normal (around 50 kids), but they all sang their hearts out, and they all knew the songs so well, even the little Sunbeams, which Brody is a part of.

Each child had some sort of speaking part, and some even had singing parts. Peity had her own little solo part, where she sang the sentence, "I Am A Child of God." She sang so well and was exactly on key, she did awesome! As a family we were so graciously volunteered by the choirester to sing a number called "Home". Brett wasn't too thrilled, but he was a good sport, and we got through it just great.
All the kids knew their lines, and said them with such feeling. Peighton actually memorized everyones parts, just incase someone forgot their line, we called her the Understudy for everyone. Stoney was asked to give a few sentences on his experience in the temple when we had Brody sealed to our family. He wrote this all by himself, and he did an excellent job. Brody, along with all the other Sunbeams, said the exact same line, "My name is..... I am a child of God." Gunner game a poem on being a Missionary. He memorized the whole thing, and said it with such feeling and without any mistakes. He did AWESOME! Here is the poem:
When I grow up and turn 19
I’ll be the best missionary you’ve ever seen.

I might be called to Montana or Brazil
But no matter where I’m called I’ll be thrilled!

I’ll find those seeking to know the truth,
Their names might be Sam, Jane, or even Ruth.

But as I sit and think I realize,
I don’t have to be 19 or be really wise.

I can share the gospel even when I’m a kid!
I can teach people just like Alma did!

Sharing the gospel with those I know,
Will surely make my testimony grow!

Sometimes it might be scary to do,
But God will help me & bless me too.

So I’ve decided even if I think it’s scary
I’ll share the gospel NOW & be the BEST missionary!
The spirit was present during the entire program, and many-a-times you could see several througout the congregation wiping their eyes, or sniffling.
The theme for this year is" "I Am A Child of God." They focused a lot on being a missionary and helping other kids know that they are a child of God. One of my favorite parts of the program was when the Elders sang the first verse of "Called to Serve", and when it came time to sing the chorus, all the kids popped out of their chairs, and in full voices sang the chorus, "Onward, ever onward...." Chills ran through my body, and as I looked at each of my children there on stage, especially my boys, I pictured each of them in their dark suits & ties, and their name badges that say, ELDER HARWARD. I look forward to that day, when we can send our first child out into the world to be a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. For Stoney, that is only 8 1/2 years away!

I'm so proud of my kids and for the way they all were able to let the spirit speak to my heart. I'm so grateful that my Heavenly Father felt me worthy to be their mother. They each are such examples to me each day, and when I hear them sing songs like the ones they sang yesterday, it makes me realize just how lucky & blessed I truly am to have all of them in my life.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

30 Years of Frustration!

The Rubics Cube has been one of the #1 toys since the 70's. It has brought facination to millions throughout the world. However, I am not one of these millions. The Rubics Cube has brought me nothing but complete confusion & frustration! I would spend hours upon hours trying to twist and turn this cursed cube with having maybe two squares (not sides - but squares) match as the ending results of my hard work.

However, as I began to master this cube, I realized that all I needed to do was either peel off the stickers & replace them so all the colors matched on each side, or, I would break each block off and rearrange them so the cube match (which, I might add is no easy feat in & of itself - those little blocks are tough to click back into place.)

I gave up on this stupid brain teaser long ago, hoping for it to never cross my path again. Then yesterday that all changed. Stoney ran in from school excitedly waving something colorful in front of my face yelling, "Look what I won at school! Look what I won at school!" He was finally able to get his excitement under control and what do you think he showed me? A BLASTED RUBICS CUBE! Sweat began gathering on my brow, and fear & anxiety pulsed through my body!

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, and well into the evening, I avoided the blasted thing, but I secretly heard it calling my name, "Cammie, you know you want to try! Come on, you can do it - NOT!" Ending with an evil laugh (I know, I'm psychotic.)

After watching Brett work it, and succeed at matching one side, I thought, "That didn't look so hard. What the heck." I listened to the coaching of Brett, and with my tongue sticking out of the corner of my mouth, I twisted and turned like a pro, when suddenly (30 min. later) I came away with one complete side of red, all matching! You heard right, I matched more than two blocks, and I didn't peel off any stickers or pop out any blocks! I did it! Me! The Rubics Cube Retard!

I was so proud of myself, I began doing a celebration dance around the living room. I handed the cube to Peighton, my 7-year old, as I continue my victory dance, which only lasted about 10-minutes. That's when I heard Peity scream, "I DID IT!" I quickly stopped in my tracks, turned & looked, and what did I see? Peighton, standing there holding the cube high in the air, showing me that she had matched one color! WHAT THE HECK!

The proud feeling I had inside was completely thrown out the window. Not because I wasn't excited for Peity, but this was the first time Peity had ever tried to work a cube, and what did she do - her very first try I might add - MATCH ONE COLOR! Oh well, I'll continue to try - NOT!

CURSE YOU RUBICS CUBE!
P.S. This just in. As I was typing this entry, Brody decided to play with the stupid thing. In less than 5-min, he had all but one silver block matched. Seriously, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

YES WE CAN!

President-elect Barack Obama

A time of much needed change is upon us. What an exciting time to be alive and be a part of this great nation as we made history last night! As our 44th President-elect, Barack Obama, gave his acceptance speech last night, I was in awe of the powerful words he spoke, as were those - it seemed - who attended his speech, live. He spoke with such conviction, it seemed almost as if he were speaking to each person individually.

Althought I did not vote for Obama, I still thought if he were elected that he would do a good job. I feel that NOW is the time when we need to start becoming "One nation under God" again. Put political sides behind us, and get back what has been missing for so long, our commitment to this great country, the United States of America! It's time to get the reputation we have had since this country was founded, as being the best nation, the strongest nation, the nation that every other country emulates to be.

May we all make the same commitment that President-elect, Barack Obama, mentioned in his speech last night. May we all remember, and act on the words that were so prevalent throughout his speech....

YES WE CAN!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Here Comes The Northwind

I've been a blogger for 6 months now, and for those of you who follow along, you've noticed I change my background as much as my address. Sorry about that, but I get bored of typing on the same page day-in, day-out, so just like in the movie "Chocolate" starring Juliette Binoch & Johnny Depp, my blog page feels the northwind blow and realizes that change is about to happen.

I've found this great blogsite, "The Cutest Blog on the Block" (http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com/). They have simple, cute backgrounds for every season & / or occasion. The best part about this site, is that all thier posted backgrounds are free! And they have teaching links to help you design your blog the way you want. How great is that! So, as you might have noticed, my page has gone from a freaky, haunted house, to the calm, soothing colors of fall (my favorite season, by the way.)

I also found the great website playlist.com. Now I can different music that goes with the individuality of each page.

I know this probably takes more time than I should be committing to my blog, but it's fun to change it every so often, and keep you on your toes and wondering, "What is Cammies blog going to look like today?" Check back in a month & see the new change.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

We "D.I." for Halloween

Here in Providence, Halloween seems to be as important a holiday as Thanksgiving or Christmas because my kids have been out of school since early Wednesday afternoon. I did hear that the teachers chose not to deal with the whole sugar rush thing their students are on for the day, so they conveniently scheduled parent teacher conference during this time. Man, are they smart! I thought the kids would be sad that they didn't get to wear their costumes to school & have class parties, but they didn't say a word. They were way more excited that they got a 4 1/2 day weekend instead. Hey, their not dumb!

I hate coming up with ideas for costumes, and I hate even more the outrageous cost of the costumes, but this year, being our first Halloween back in Utah, we utilized D.I (Deseret Industries) to the fullest. Normally, in years past, we have spent at least $80 on Halloween costumes - crazy I know, but when you're buying costumes for 5 kids, it starts to add up.

But when we took the kids to DI, they were in costume heaven! All of a sudden, their creative juices began flowing and they picked their costumes all by themselves. So, thanks to those who decided to get rid of these marvelous pieces of clothing, our halloween budget this year was only $9.78! and this was what our kids were transformed into:


Cassidey: A Hoochy Mama

Stoney: An old lady - with boobs, even.
(Top Row - L to R: Garrison Wren - Dracula; Gunner - Nerd)
(Front Row - L to R: Brody - Iron Man; Stoney - Old Lady;
Peyton Wren - Barbie Cheer Leader; Will Wren - Old Lady; Peighton - Gumball Machine)
Gunner: A most excellent nerd.
Peity: A Gumball Machine
Brody: Iron Man
(I was kind-of bummed because Brett & Bill sent the kids out before I could get individual pictures of each of the kids, but at least you get an idea of what they looked like.)


Our kids (along with our good friends, Bill & Jen Wren & their family) had a great evening running from house to house, filling their bags (pillowcases) with as much candy as they could possibly get. I must say, in years past, they got sooooo much candy it was rediculous. What was even worse was that half the candy went to waste because half of the candy was the crappy kind that tasted like wax, or someother unspeakable substance. This year however was completely different. They didn't get near the amount of candy they had in years past, but the size & quality was incredible.

Can's of soda pop, bags of chips, HUGE giant size candy bars (you know, like the 4 x 6 or 7 in candy bars), regular size candy bars, etc. They hit the jack pot! Man, where were these houses when I was growing up. I was totally jipped!

This was Cassidey's first year she didn't go trick or treating with us. She ventured out alone with her friends. They went to a few homes, but decided they wanted to watch a scary movie instead, which turned out to be a lame, disney-like musical of a Cinderella-like story line, starring Selena Gomez. Teenagers!

All-in-all, Halloween '08 was a huge success! The kids didn't stay out late, in fact, Peity came home earlier than everyone else, partly because she was tired, and partly because her costume was falling apart. She kept pooping out "gumball" balloons as she walked from house to house. By the time she got home, her "gumball" supply was almost completely depleted. They all said they had a GREAT time, and they are actually almost finished with their candy! Woo Hoo!

All hail The Great "D.I."!

Princess "Pei-Pei" Turns 7!

Time..... An idea made up by Man.
Time can either be a good thing, (anticipating the end of class, dinner's ready, or bed time), or a bad thing, (anticipating the end of class, dinner is late, or bed time.) But time is something a parent dreads when they realize their baby girl is growing up way to fast!
Our littl princess, Peighton, turned 7-years old on October 28. It seems like yesterday when we received the jaw-dropping news, (before being wheeled in to have a hysterectomy I might add), we were pregnant with her! Peighton came into this world with a BANG! and her life has continued to be so ever since!

(Peity opening her birthday gifts. We thought it was cute that Stoney
was as interested in her Jewely Bead Kit as Peighton was.)
Although her birthday was on the 28th, we did not celebrate it until the next day because of many different conflicts. So Peity so kindly decided to celebrate it on the 29th, when all our focus and attention could be placed on her. What a smart girl!

(It took Peity a couple tries to blow out all her candles. Brett always gets a kick out of getting the re-lighting candles. I love that he is always a kid at heart.)

(Peity got the big job of cutting her own cake - which she frosted herself. She thought she was big enough for the job, now that she is 7.)

Our family does not have traditional birthday parties. Instead, we choose to throw parties on special occasions, such as: 1 yr. - First year of life; 5 yr - First year of Kindergarten; 8 yr - Being Baptized; 12 &/or 13 yr - Receiving Priesthood, entering YW, & becoming a teenager; 16 yr - Getting Driver's License; & 18 yr - Graduation / Adulthood. The rest of the birthdays are celebrated with family, which makes it more personal and we focus, as a family, only on the birthday person. The kids seem to like it and it works well for our family.


(While Peity was busy cutting her cake, Gunner was busy finishing off the rest of the icing.
When he was finished, he had it all over his face & hand. That's our Gunner!)

This is Peighton in a nutshell.

P = always PATIENT with everyone. Loves PHOTOGRAPHY
E = always ENERGETIC. Always EAGER to learn.
I = INQUISITIVE about everything. IRRESISTIBLE laughter
G = GIFTED artist. Loves to live the GOSPEL. Enjoys GIVING of herself.
H = our HARDEST WORKER. Loves giving & receiving HUGS.
T = always THOUGHTFUL. Our TINY princess. One TOUGH girl.
O = tries hard to be OBEDIENT. Always OPTIMISTIC
N = NEVER quits. Loves having her NAILS painted. NEVER stops!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS PEI-PEI!
WE LOVE YOU!












Nothing Like A Sweet Tooth!

Halloween just isn't Halloween without some overly frosted sugar cookies to get you in the goulish mood & heighten your sweet tooth.

The kids had been begging us for the past few days to make cookies, and me being the terrific baker I am said, "Tomorrow. I promise!" Well, that promise was put off for 3 days. Finally, on a lazy Sunday evening, Brett decided to be the kids hero, and he made up a batch sugar cookies. He even made homemade icing! He truly is the BEST!

After dividing the icing into different bowls and adding different colors to them, we went to town. At first the cookies looked like easter eggs. I reminded the kids that these were for Halloween, and that triggered their creative juices. Soon we had cookies with pictures of witches, frankenstiens, pumpkins, cats, etc., flowing out our ears. It was really fun.

We sure had a fun time decorating, making a mess, and in Brody's case, just plain eating as much frosting as you could possibly eat. Brody would ice a cookie, lick it off, ice it again, and again, lick it off. He did this to at least 5 cookies. The cookies were suppose to be passed out to friends & neighbors, but after seeing the whole "licking thing" going on, we weren't sure which cookies had not been "double iced." But hey, the thought was there, right?
It started our Halloween preparations off to a good start!