Halloween 2011

Halloween festivities started for us on Friday.

After school we carved pumpkins.

 My kids did not want to use their hands to scoop out the guts so they tried to do it all with those orange carving scrapers- hands work better.

 Angry Bird design for Jon- he loves angry birds

 Rhinoceros design for Joey- he wanted a power ranger zord and we saw this which there is a rhino zord so this was good enough for him. 

 She wanted a girl. There are bows that you can not see very well but she was happy!

 Friday night we attended a Taekwondo party. 

Here is Princess Arabella aka Sleeping Beauty. 

(I made her costume. It turned out and I learned a few new things along the way.)

 I was Dora and Lily was baby jaguar.

 Wolverine- Jon

 Power Ranger-Joey

It was a fun night! Peter had a campout-he was missed.

 We don't have trunk or treats in our stake and so we decided to organize one on our own for our ward on Saturday night.  It was not too much work to plan but a bit long in executing the day of.  We had a really good turn out and there were some great costumes. If I decide to do one again next year I have a few ideas of how to make it better. 

 My favorite costumes of the night were: Flo the Progressive girl and her husband Mayhem; a lab rat and her husband was the Pied Piper with bagpipes and a kilt; and Jack from Jack in the Box the restaurant.

I did not get many pictures because I was running games and such but there was good food and fun!

 Finally, Halloween night came.  We ate Halloween Mac-n-cheese, thank you Kraft and Peter took the older 3 out to get some candy.

I had a good time passing out candy and Lily helped.  

An added bonus to our Halloween fun was that the boys had a contest at school to see which grade could bring in the most candy on Nov. 1st to be sent to the troops.  Brilliant! I let the kids pick 30 pieces and the rest went to school!

Happy Birthday Peter! (Late)

This is my new favorite picture of you. 

We were at Joey's birthday party at Legoland.  I had left you with Arabella and Lily while I was doing something and when I came back you were here.  In the pink lego girl area with Arabella singing away on the microphone.  She was in heaven and you were happy to help create that for her.

I hope your 7th anniversary of 26 was great! I hope you have at least 26 more!

I love you!

Lily's Blessing

Lilian Grace Rabner was given a name and a blessing by her dad Peter on October 23, 2011.

We were blessed to have family here to enjoy her special day with us. 

 Grandma and Grandpa Rabner- thank you Grandma for the BEAUTIFUL dress!

 Grandma and Grandpa Bird

 Aunt Tammy and Carson- we were so thankful they made the trip to Texas for this special weekend.

 Proud mom and dad.

 Oh those eyes!

The blessing was wonderful- she fussed a bit but was overall really good.  Joining Peter in the circle were: Grandpa Rabner, Grandpa Bird, Derick Bird, Chad Ostermiller, Bishop White, 

Joey Webster, and Steve Ford- all great men!

How many pictures do you have to take to get a good one?!

 Not ready

 Jon- look at the camera and don't pull on Lily.

 Kids look at the camera

 Jon hold your head straight

 Let's just say cheese instead of fuzzy pickles.

 Jon look at the camera!

A moment captured and what a wonderful moment (day) it was.

Thank you family for traveling far to be with us!

Beat Down and Uplifted

I have several things that I have been meaning to post and pictures to share with whoever reads this blog like Lily's blessing and our trip to the Texas state fair or the first 2 halloween parties we attended (one of them we hosted) but today I had a bit of a beat down.
I should not let things get to me the way that they do but I do.  I am the relief society president and as such I have realized that there are things that I can and can not do as just a woman because someone may get their feelings hurt or feel left out.  This may seem silly but it is something I have discovered.   Today it happened again despite my best efforts and after this conversation my day seemed to go from good to horrible- a steep slope.
Satan is good.  It was mentioned in one of our meetings today that he will find the smallest crack and drive a wedge in so that there is a gaping hole.  I had a great time at ward council- we discusses specifics and worked on how we can help the members of our ward as a council and not so much as individuals.  Really good! Then sacrament went suprisingly well considering we forgot our bag that has coloring books and Friend magazines to help the kids maintain reverence.  Then several things took place that left me feeling defeated, overwhelmed and tired.  A crack and then with each new occurrence that wedge was hammered in.
I did what most women do and I talked it out with Peter, one of my counselors, a friend and then my mom.  All reminded me that I should blow it off and I will (or at least keep trying).
My day had a few silver linings that reminded me of just how blessed and loved I am.  I worked on cub scouts with Joey including helping him make dinner for the family- sloppy joes.  He did great! Peter and Joey did the clean up so that I could go make a visit.  The visit was a very good one- a wonderful contact with 2 set possible follow ups.  My kids happily went to bed and I enjoyed an evening with Peter.  I worked on a few fixes for some of the issues that came up during the day.  I feel that the wedge is being pulled out and the crack is closing.
Finally, I watched a little video tonight and was given that final reminder I needed to focus on those wonderful blessings I have.  I was reminded that Heavenly Father really does know me, He know my heart, He knows my intentions, He knows my limitations and He knows how to push me so that I can grow.  I am not perfect and He does not expect me to be. He asks that I do my best each day and remember the covenants I have made with Him.  I love the concept of a covenant and I cherish the testimony I have that His promises are sure.  With that, tomorrow is a new day and I believe my crack is nearly gone.  I will make tomorrow better and strive to remember all day that I am loved and remind those around of that same thing.

Baptism

It was a beautiful day!

Joey was so happy and so eager.

 Peter was ready - a worthy priesthood holder and father that has taught Joey so much that helped him to be ready and to make this wonderful decision.

 We were so happy to support him.  We had both sets of grandparents, my brother Derick with his wife Tammy and there three kids (Carson, Kennady, and Kate), the Larsen Family came up from Houston, the Ostermiller's who are like adopted family, and the Websters, the missionaries, the Nelson's (Joey's primary teachers) and the Bishop.  

 Grandma Rabner spoke on Baptism and Grandma Bird spoke on the Holy Ghost.  

The water was warm and

Joey was baptized and it was great! 

He really did look different afterwards- he was glowing.  

I am so proud of you Joey and your choice to be baptized.

I promise it will be the best thing in your life.  You will come to cherish your membership in this true church and the companionship of the Holy Ghost will guide you throughout your life and provide you comfort and reassurance that you are a child of God.

We love you!

Before I forget...

A few conversations with my kids that must be recorded.

Jon: Mom you are wearing a belt.
Me: Yes I am.
Jon: Girls don't wear belts. Well rockstar girls do.  So you can just be a rockstar girl.
Me: Thanks Jon, I will.

Me: Arabella, I am so proud of you.  You did great at your first dance class.  You are a great dancer.
Arabella: I am proud of you too mom.  You are a good dancer.
(Arabella had her first Mommy and Me dance class last week.)

Joey: Mom, is there anything I can help you with?
Me: No, not right now but thank you so much for asking.
(Unsolicited help from my children is a new thing for me.)

Joey also made us the most sweet thank you card.  When I can make my computer (either one) and my camera happy with each other I will post a picture.  It told Peter and I that he was thankful that we loved him and his siblings.  He really is a thoughtful boy!

2 Months

To mark her 2 month birthday, Lily slept through the night: 11 pm to 7 am.  

She could not have thought of a better gift for her mommy!

 These 2 pictures were taken a few weeks ago. She was awake and looking at me, so no silly side of the head shots. Now she is more awake each day and more interactive.  I can tell she is noticing and trying to figure out the world around her. 

 She will take a bottle and Joey loved being able to feed her the other night. 

 We have a whole lot of pictures of these sisters.  I hope they always love each other like this.

 Arabella sneaking in for the hug around the neck.

 (I really like the passed out Jon in the background. He was up and playing one minute and out like a light the next with one leg and arm hanging off of the couch.)

 She is so sweet when she is sleeping. 

 Conference Sunday

 This picture is a bit off but it is a bit tricky to capture a smile when you have to make some silly faces yourself to get one.  She has great smiles!

I meant to take a picture of her next to something when she was little to use as a comparison as she grew but never got it done.  I remembered that Peter had held his thumb up to her foot the day we left the hospital and her tiny foot was the length of his thumb and now it is just past it.  

At her appointment on Monday she was:

11 lbs 5 oz and 22 inches long

Yes, that is 5 lbs more than her birth weight exactly!