I am thankful for...

(My plan was to post this on Thanksgiving, but I didn't have access to a computer, so better late than never.)

I am thankful for...

* being an Oregonian
* being an American
* electricity
* seasons
* being a Heder, Heninger, Brammer, Knudsen and a Short
* my gas fireplace
*Gabe, who has helped me become a "yes" person
* Heidi, who kicks my behind and teaches me that it's okay to do "hard" things
* eternal marriage
* my makeup
* Marcy, who through example teaches me the joy of serving
* being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
* my Egyptian cotton sheets
* my computer
* Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Freeman, who educate my children
* Ryan & Dave, who "play" with my husband
* entertainers in general
* Rockelle, who teaches me about generosity
* Leslie, who has a very warm car on Tuesday and Thursday mornings so that I am more willing to go to strength training class
* books
* television
* scrapbooking and scrapbooking stores
* shoes with heels that slightly aid in making my legs look longer
* board games
* running shoes
* candy cane Hershey Kisses
* scriptures
* flattering, well-made clothing
* Trader Joe's Pasadena Chicken Salad
* my husbands fuzzy arms
* blueberry pancakes
* Diana, who is okay with being cheesy regardless of the brutal teasings that may follow
* Staci, who challenges my often way of "little" thinking
* Sarah, who cracks me up
* Kirsten, who has rockin' taste in home decorating
* all flowers and all trees
* Target
* cars
* Stacey, Melissa and Emily who help me relieve stress through our fun scrapbook outings and through their many funny and endearing stories
* my brothers
* Jenny, who made the MTC bearable and now is making H2C bearable
* my parents, (why I'm thankful for them will have to be it's own post)
* my extremely, hilarious, wonderful beautiful children
* my husband's love for cleanliness and his willingness to help maintain that cleanliness around the house
* Jared's wisdom
* Jeannie's inspiring loyalty
* art projects
* dishwashers
* bike trails
* Judy, who teaches me the art of unconditional love
* Jay, who's enthusiasm is contagious
* Jen, who fills all my needs that I require in a friend and then some
* Angela, who makes me laugh and think
*my Heavenly Father and my Savior

I could seriously do this all day.

"Follow Me Boys"

So lately our family has been resurrecting some of the old Disney classics to watch on Sunday nights, such as "Pollyanna", "Summer Magic" and tonight we watched "Follow Me Boys". I particularly enjoyed this one because it answered a lot of questions from my youth for me, such as, "Why did my dad love boy scouts so much?" and "Is snow camping with 12 smelly boys really a lot more fun than hanging out with your cute daughter on her birthday?". Well, all you have to do is watch Fred McMurray in action to get the answers. Heck, I wanted to be a scout master after watching this film. I mean sure, Lem Siddons (Fred's character) never got to practice law as he always planned to and he never had any of his own children, but he got the wife, inherited the store and was named Scout Master Emeritus in the end with a celebration that put Mardi Gras to shame. I mean that town of Hickory really knows how to throw a party! I realize that most people reading this haven't a clue as to what I'm talking about, so you better go check out the movie and then tell me how much you loved it! It's good clean family fun that I'm sure you'll enjoy and you'll probably be stuck with that darn marching song in your head for the next 10 days too!

My Little Brother

My little brother can be pretty cute and funny when he wants to be. Check this out:
http://www.gap.com/browse/info.do?cid=43164

Look at "Winter Wonderland" and the cast's version of Jingle Bells (you can watch the other ones too if you want).

Halloween Rocks...

at least that's what Elvis said, as in our Jaykob dressed up as Elvis...

and there was Max who woke me up at 5:30 am on October 31st to ask, "How many more days until Halloween?"

Mary was a hippie and Clara was a kitty...

Grandma and Grandpa Short along with the Janeways, Jensens, Dixons and Updikes came over to have some yummy chili before we headed out the door for trick or treating. I must say that we really do have a fun neighborhood for trick or treating. We must have passed out 400 or more pieces of candy and the houses really get decked out. It rained all day until about 4:00 pm when it tuned a beautiful 65 degrees...perfect for trick or treating!

After settling the kids down from their sugar high, they went down to bed and Jason and I started the partying...okay we waited until Saturday night to don our costumes as we headed for the coolest Halloween party ever!!

Along with good friends, the Merritts, the Wolfes, the Updikes, the Laings and the Bakers, we spent the last two months planning the most anticipated spook alley/ party of the season ( at least in our minds that was the plan). The men conjured up enough animal bones and fake blood to pull off a very creepy spook alley and since I was too busy screaming and digging my nails into Stacey's arm, I didn't get any pictures. I know my bad, sorry, especially since it would have been nice to have some proof of my husband pulling off a very convincing acting job of being the patient getting his leg hacked off by the mad doctor. Yes, gross I know.

The ladies decorated the barn and planned the food. We had dancing, games, spook alley and food...and no kids...Fun for all!!! And of course there were the costumes...

Not meant to be, but scary nonetheless...this is supposed to be our attempt at Ron Burgundy and Veronica Corningstone (from Anchorman)...I know I shouldn't even admit that that was what we were going for and just left it at...aren't we a cool couple from the 70s? Strangely, Jason really liked the feel of polyester...

Paisley and Chi Miller
Ben and Stacey Wolfe
Curtis & Amy Updike

Rockelle & Shawn Dixon (as Sharon & Ozzy)
Ryan & (pregnant) Heidi Janeway

Finn & Beth Schade

Learning the "Thriller" dance

the onlookers from the balcony where creepy movies were being played

Here's Emily ( I mean Marilyn) who so graciously let us use her barn and property for the event...she also happens to be a crazy dancer (crazy as in good!)

Good times for all...can't wait for next year!

WARNING

WARNING...mothers reading this post may feel a strong sense of inadequacy and jealousy because Mary just told me that I am like the coolest mom ever and after you hear about the birthday party I threw her you might feel the same. With Mary's birthday only two days before Halloween you'd think we'd have thrown her a Halloween party by now, but princess and make up parties kept getting in the way, but not this year. Mary requested a Halloween bash and that is exactly what she got! (Nothing but the best for our little princess.)

For starters you need to have a cool barn for the proper setting. Lucky for us, my friend Emily has a really cool barn (this isn't like a gross animal barn...it's like a cool party barn...have I mentioned that it's cool?)

(I forgot to take pictures of the outside of the barn...a different post)

And then of course, you need a really scary witch that can make a really good concoction of chicken toenails and bat wings and even bring a few kids to tears (it's true).

The witch is none other than Grandma Heder! Heder Boys...ever wonder where you got your flair for drama? Look no further than your own mother! No joke...she was good...a real genuine cackle. Oh and yes, Jason had plenty of obvious mother in law/ witch jokes (didn't see that coming).

Then there were plenty of appropriate fall time activities...

There were donuts on a string...

and apple bobbing...

don't forget the fun costumes...

Alexis, Sydney, Hannah & Annika

Here is your hostess with the mostess, in costume as a tribute to the guest of honor...Mary (my favorite line was "Third grade and Hannah Montana are awesome!")

Here we have Sarah and Abby Dixon dressed as prom queens and that is Jaykob as Elvis. Sarah & Abby surprised Mary with tickets to High School Musical On Ice and they whisked her away right after the party.

How cute...my little black cat holding a little black cat.

And here is my cute little white cat.

It was a birthday party and so there were presents, cake & pizza...

Mary was very spoiled by her friends with a lot of fun presents! She got several Webkinz? They are little stuffed animals that you can register online and play online games with, etc. I'm rolling my eyes, but in reality I'm thinking "why didn't I think of that?"

Mary is blowing out the candles on her tower of cupcakes. We are covering our ears because all the guests were singing an extra loud version of "Happy Birthday".

What a cute birthday girl!!!

So there you have it moms...I know, I know, you're all thinking how are you ever going to live up to this. You can't say I didn't warn you.

Let's get real though. I actually didn't have to do much. My friend Emily provided the barn, my friend Melissa brought the decorations, my friend Heidi decorated the cupcakes and my mom provided the entertainment. All I did was stretch out my daughter's new Hannah Montana t-shirt. Luckily, she still thinks that I'm like the bestest mom ever. Let me bask in it while it lasts.

Pumpkin Patches

Within a span of 5 days, I visited 3 pumpkin patches, but you know what? I'm okay with that. I love fall and pumpkin patches are the ultimate way to enjoy this season. On Tuesday, I took Max and Clara to Lakeview Farms for Max's preschool field trip and then on Friday we went back for a birthday party with the whole family. On Saturday we met Jason's parents and sister at Bauman Farms. Both Jason and Jaykob won a gallon of freshly pressed apple cider by slingshotting apples into the eye of the jack o lantern...way to go boys!

Max and Clara taking a ride on the train

Max with best friend, Avery

I just had to post this picture of Avery...too cute and so Avery

Climbing on one of the many hay forts at Bauman's

Here's another hay fort

After all those visits, we somehow only ended up with two little pumpkins. How did that happen? In any case, that means we probably aren't done with pumpkin patch visits. Oh well...

Happy 1st Birthday Clara!

A year ago today I was sitting in Dr. Stewart's office with the the results of a non-stress test. Clara had flunked it. I had been having problems with my amniotic fluid being too low for almost a month and being put on and off bedrest with the hopes to increase it. It seemed to be doing the trick, but when I went to my appointment on October 1, 2007, Dr. Stewart said that it was too low again and we shouldn't keep waiting anymore for the fluid to go back up but that it would be safer to induce me. He called the hospital right away and arranged for me to come in that afternoon. I called Jason and made babysitting arrangements for the other kids. We checked into St. Vincent's hospital around 12:20 pm. At 12:45 Dr. Stewart broke my water and it came out at 1:15. I was given pitocin at 2:04 and by 3:15 I was having contractions every two minutes. By 4:20 the contractions were coming every minute and I then received my epidural. At 6:15 I was dialated to a 10 and Clara was born at 6:27 pm at 7lbs. and 1 oz.!

The delivery couldn't have gone smoother and she was so healthy despite being my smallest baby.

For her birthday today, we went to the doctor's for her 1 year check up and she is a healthy 21 lbs.! She also got 4 shots (not much of a birthday present) and then we met Jason for sushi afterwards (she played with the chopsticks).

I look in awe at this beautiful little girl everyday and can't believe that our family was the lucky ones that she decided to experience mortality with. (Think of "Raising Arizona" when I say) I love her soooo much!!!

Happy Birthday my darling little girl!