Artwork by Eleni

My precious Eleni. I just have to love that girl! Two days ago, Gabe was fussing in his crib, so I thought I'd finish up the dishes, then go and get him. Eleni went in to "check on him," and a minute later Jacob went in too. He came running out, shouting "Mommy, you have to see Gabe! He looks really bad." "Oh no! Is he sick? What's wrong?" "I don't know. You have to see him. Something is wrong with his face!" I went running in, and there was Gabe, with a ball-point pen lying next to him.And Eleni was the culprit. I had a very serious talk with her (she just barely missed his eye!), and she said, "I sorry, Mommy. I make a bad choice." No kidding! And yesterday she "weah yo gasses" (wore my glasses) and completely bent them up. Luckily the eye doctor fixed them for me. If she didn't do naughty things in such a sweet, cute way . . .

This is a rare picture of Lyd with her hair not in her eyes . . . I have memories of my mom coming at me with hairspray--"just let me spray a little bit on those bangs--they keep falling in your eyes!" Well, it's payback time, because Lydia spends most of her life looking at you like Cousin It. She really is a beauty underneath all that hair! :)

I was really proud of Jacob--he did his own hair, all by himself! And he can't pose without putting his hands somewhere near his face.

When you're the best of friends . . .

I have worried in the past about my kids getting along together. There's a big old gap between Lydia and Jacob, and almost none at all between Jacob & Ellers. But ever since Gabe was born, they have all suddenly become the best of pals, and I am so grateful! That's not to say that they don't squabble plenty . . . This is an idea I stole from my sister Lou--lunch in a muffin tin, and it has been a big hit. And we're having a "picnic" on Mommy's bed because it was too cold outside and Gabe was sleeping.

Eleni wakes up at the crack of dawn, every single day, and is hungry. She eats with Lydia before school (this is her waiting at the counter--"Mommy, I HUNNNGY!). She eats again whenever Jacob wakes up. And by the time I get around to eating breakfast, she says, "I sit by yooo!" meaning she wants to eat my breakfast as well. Like her mother, food is definitely her comfort!

Jacob got a big kick out of Eleni's hair. Now I have to do it every time we wash it.

Lydia is my best helper! Without being asked, she'll pick up a crying Gabriel, put her feet on his bar, and "fly" him in the air . . . until he spits up on her. Then she's done being a helper, because--ew, Mommy, that is sick!

Hold to the rod--if you can!

Seth loves a challenge. When Jacob was a baby, Seth would balance him on his feet in one hand. Gabe, with his bow-legs, is a lot tougher to balance. But both Gabe and Seth are getting pretty good! Gabe is fine--he doesn't fall, in case any of you are worried about watching this, although sometimes it does make me a bit nervous.

Lovely Weather for a Sleigh Ride

We were snowed in at my parents in Idaho for Christmas, but we had such a fun time! Our kids had a blast playing with their cousins. We missed Anthony & Kylie, who were in Indiana for their first Christmas, but Beth & Jonathon and Benj & Amy were there, along with Abe, Chelsea & their 2 boys (Isaac & Miles) and Lou, Doug & their 2 girls (Amberlee & Autumn). Aside from the lack of sleep with 3 snoring, stuffy-nosed kids on the floor by us, it was definitely a wonderful holiday.
This is a picture of my sweet mother, brother-in-law Doug, Jacob (yes, Jacob. In the pink snowsuit; he didn't have one so he unabashedly borrowed Eleni's--after all, he's always telling me pink is his favorite color, but don't tell Seth), Eleni & Autumn, Isaac, Lydia, and my sister Lydia. My sister Lydia (who I call "Lou" to avoid obvious confusion!) is 7 months pregnant. She--yes, she is the one pulling the sled. I took all my pictures from inside the house. I have to admit I didn't feel bad about missing the sledding fun. I have decided that I'm a real homebody, literally, and as Seth says, I'm "all about convenience." Getting cold and wet and frozen is not convenient. My brother Abe said it reminded him of the days in high school when we'd go swimming for family night and I'd spend the whole time on the benches, doing my homework or reading. I hated swimming (I still do--how sad is that?) because, again, it's not convenient. It's probably more inconvenient than sledding. The kids didn't mind the cold, though. Dad hooked the sleds up to the tractor, then Seth hooked them to our new Sequoia. Eleni and Jacob wouldn't come in, they had so much fun!Eleni made my poor dad carry her around upside-down for an entire evening one of the days we were there. She loved it! Soon all the grandkids were begging to be turned upside-down.

I Love to See the Temple

On our way up to Idaho for Christmas, we spent a couple of nights with Seth's wonderful grandma in Salt Lake City. We had an appointment for Gabriel (who is doing very well--only 6 more weeks of full-time brace-wearing!) at Primary Children's, and we decided to make an evening trip to Temple Square, since we've never taken the kids there before.

Jacob couldn't get enough of "Trax" (he thinks every train has a name like on Thomas the Engine). We had decided to take the Utah Trax from Murray to Temple Square. It was fun for all of us, aside from the cold, because Jacob kept exclaiming every time he could see the tracks or went under an overpass; "A TUNNEL, MOMMY!!!!!

We tend to visualize idyllic family outings in which our kids behave, are in raptures over the sites, and are smiling, beautiful magazine-cover children. No, it was nothing like that. From the get-go the kids were starving, freezing, and tired. When we reached the Cristus statue, Eleni had a meltdown and cried and screamed, "I wann go HOOOME!" But Temple Square was truly magnificent, and hopefully time plus trial will equal humor for the rest of it. Besides, they look happy enough in the pictures, right?

"Thanksgiving with the Kings" or "Rediscovering My China"

I inherited (and continue to inherit) the most wonderful family of in-laws! (this is Jessica talking, by the way--you probably know by now that Seth doesn't have two seconds to even look at the computer unless it's to write a paper) This is long overdue, but I just wanted to thank them for making Thanksgiving so special for our family! We had Seth's parents, Vance & Brittney & baby Austin, Sarah & Tyson, Brian, and Grandma King for almost a week last November, and we had a thoroughly enjoyable Thanksgiving as a result.The women did the cooking, the men did the setting-up-of-the-table and the carving, and Brittney did the making-of-things-to-look-amazing.

I'm ashamed to admit that when I pictured Thanksgiving dinner, my practical brain thought, "Okay, we'll use the paper plates and it will be so easy to clean up." But my beautiful, talented sister-in-law Brittney (daughter of a catering genius) very kindly asked if it would be okay to use the china in my display cabinet? and did we have a tablecloth? My grandma gave me china for my wedding and no, it had never been used but has been on display for, oh, five years now. So I dug out a tablecloth, Brittney threw together some gourmet relish trays, and wow, isn't it beautiful? I should have taken credit for it from the get go, huh.
And there's our handsome Uncle Brian, who leaves on his LDS mission to the Fiji Islands in a month. We'll miss you, Brian!

"Come What May, and Love It"

This morning as I was riding an exercise bike at the gym, I looked up to see Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin's picture on the morning news. As the captions explained that he died last night, I felt especially saddened, then grateful for the good man he was. As an apostle for our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I have always loved Elder Wirthlin's humble wisdom and darling sense of humor. My father-in-law once said that Elder Wirthlin's talks in General Conference, although hard to understand at first (Elder Wirthlin's eyesight was failing in recent years) were always the best to re-read. I especially loved his talk from the October General Conference. It's so good, I hope you don't mind my quoting it. With the Christmas music playing, this advice seems like the perfect way to remember Elder Wirthlin and to welcome in the holiday season:
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There is an antidote for times such as these: learn to laugh.
I remember loading up our children in a station wagon and driving to Los Angeles. There were at least nine of us in the car, and we would invariably get lost. Instead of getting angry, we laughed. Every time we made a wrong turn, we laughed harder.
Getting lost was not an unusual occurrence for us. Once while heading south to Cedar City, Utah, we took a wrong turn and didn’t realize it until two hours later when we saw the “Welcome to Nevada” signs. We didn’t get angry. We laughed, and as a result, anger and resentment rarely resulted. Our laughter created cherished memories for us. . . .

The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable.

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The whole talk is wonderful http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-947-9,00.html if you have time to read it. May we all find more joy in this Christmas Season!