This is Halloween!! BOO!

Here are the boys Friday, October 28, 2011. Dressed in their Halloween finery. The feet have little pumpkins on them. Cuties.

Here are the girls dressed for Trunk or Treat at their ward house. Hailie is "The Fairy Princess" and Natalie is "Minnie Mouse!" They are SO adorable and funny!! I think they had a good time and got LOTS of candy!!! Happy Halloween!!!



Dandelion Dust

I just finished listening to a Book on CD Called "Like Dandelion Dust" by Karen Kingsbury. VERY GOOD! I recommend it.

Wyatt and Ethan Growing

I've spent a fair amount of time last week at Adam and Jessica's enjoying their children. I am loving seeing the boys grow. Saturday, while I was holding Ethan, he purposely moved his neck from side to side. Wyatt pushed himself over the top of the donut contraption he was laying on. They are both more alert and learning about life. Last night, I think Ethan spit up his whole bottle on me but I just wiped it up and carried on. I love being a grandma.

Special Grandma Time for Natalie in Honor of Her 2nd Birthday

Today, October 22nd, I took Natalie shopping for a new toy and to lunch at Burger King. She chose a dolly and then she saw Winnie the Pooh. The dolly was soon forgotten. In fact, she pushed it and it fell down. (Sorry Dolly.) Then she started singing "Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh..." So Winnie the Pooh it is. She also chose some princess stickers for her and a package for Hailie. She is always concerned about sister. Burger King Lunch was fun. She had apple sticks but decided my fries were the BEST! I enjoyed watching  her enjoy them. She would take a bite, throw back her head and then make an exaggerated swallowing sound. This happened over and over! VERY FUNNY! Then she started getting a little grumpy so it was time to take her home for a nap! Love you, Natalie Grace!

Blessing the Twins October 9, 2011

I didn't know we had this photo so I'm excited to show you all who stood in the circle while Adam blessed Ethan and Wyatt!

Kicking my Butt

Curves today and my butt has been kicked. I'm sore all over. It may have something to do with the fact that I didn't sleep hardly at all last night. Going to bed...tomorrow will be a better day!

Hailie Growing Up TOO fast!

I know I've told this story to most of my followers but I need to record it for posterity.

Last Thursday I had to take Taylor for his consultation to have his wisdom teeth removed and we took Hailie along because the other 3 children had a doctor appointment.  The receptionist explained that we would need to view a 10 minute DVD on the procedure. Just as we were going to enter the viewing room, Hailie looked up at the woman and asked, "Umm, can we watch a movie about princesses?" The woman, who is a grandmother, busted out laughing. Hailie was very serious. She continues to assert her unique personality!

Clean Up and Grandma Evening

Saturday~~I had an idea that blew up into a full day of MAJOR clean up in my bedroom. I found some missing items under furniture "APRISE!" (That's a Hailieism.)

Later in the afternoon I had the AWESOME                     
responsbility of the twins for a few hours.
I went and picked them up and brought them
back to my house. They were both hungry
and crying and luckily Andrew was over
and he volunteered to feed Wyatt while
I fed Ethan. Diaper changes and another
feeding later, I took them home. They
are ADORABLE!

The little girls went out with their
parents and purchased Halloween
costumes! Can't wait for those pics!

Quoting Again

I LOVE this book Cheri lent to me called "These Is my Words," by Nancy E. Turner.

Here's another quote I found that I like.

"Our children weigh hard on my heart, and thinking about them growing up honest and healthly, or just living to grow up at all, makes a load in my chest that is bigger than the safe at the bank, and more valuable to me than all the gold inside it."

Cheri loaned me a book titled "These Is My Words," by Nancy E. Turner. I thought it was an autobiography at first but it is a novel. Still, it has some thoughts in it that I can relate to.  Here is a sampling.

"Some people sense is wasted on and that's purely a fact."

"...children mourn in little bits here and there like patchwork in their lives."

Natalie Grace Lambson turned 2 yesterday, October 12, 2011. I visited her family to give her a gift and share in birthday cake! She was grinning from ear to ear. What a cutie!

Hailie says the cutest things...I love to engage her in conversation.  Last evening when I was at her house, Adam asked her to get him a band-aid for a cut on his finger.

"Who cut you Daddy?"

"No one. I cut myself."

"Daddy, you shouldn't cut yourself."

Later we were reading a book about some animals who come out at night and what they eat.

"What is that Grandma?"

"It's a skunk."

"What do they eat?"

"They like to eat bees."

"Ew, Yuck! That's icky!"

Love that girl!

Body Language

I participated in an AMAZING training this morning on body language and thought I'd share some of it with you today. I couldn't add a stick figure in this post but think about these things.

"Reading body language is a skill to find answers and solutions. To begin reading body language I must remove judgement and see movements as indicators. When I see indicators, the next step is to ask better/more questions."

"While you are speaking, the brain prepares and organizes 450 words per minute to say. At the last moment, our consciousness filters this down to 150 words. As a person speaks, there are an average of 300 words that are held back. These hidden words show up in body language.

57% of our commuication is gestures-36% is tone-7% is what we say.

Our left brain is analytical, uses numbers, logical, contains our past history.

Our right brain is artistic, thinks about the future and our vision of us.

Shifting eyes side to side indicates that I'm listening to my inner voices and not to the person I'm speaking with. It can also mean that I don't believe what you're saying or I am thinking about ending my life.

Looking up means we are seeking inspiration from our higher power.

Looking down means we are looking into our soul and emotions or deciding how much we want to share. No pun intended but my eyes were opened on this one.

When children are asked to make a choice, they look down because they are using their emotions to make a choice. Do I want a popcicle or do I want an ice cream sandwich, for example. Oftentimes as parents, we interpret them looking down as shame, or deceit or not listening so we tell them to look at us when we're talking to them. We have interrupted their choice making and should not be surprised that they make a snap decision under such pressure and half way through their choice they insist that they wanted the other thing. Give the child the opportunity to look down as long as needed. When they bring their head up you should be looking at them in an open and pleasant manner.  They will instantly feel your acceptance of them and readily tell you their choice because they've had sufficient time to think about it. (OH HOW I WISH I'D KNOWN THIS! WHAT A KEY TOOL!!)

Your hands indicated capacity. Open or closed. Don't hide your hands.

Closed lips means you may want to say something.

Buckled knees may mean I can't handle this.

Feet or other parts of body pointing toward the door mean I'm done or I need to leave.

This was VERY interesting!

I also won a CD about body language and when the woman called my name I realized I need to practice my penmanship because she called me Barbara Rambson!!  It was very humorous!

Real or Imaginary - Disney or Reality

Since I am unable to comment directly on Cheri's blog--Cheri I wanted to expand on what you posted about Pocahontas and delve into what you eluded to "...just around the riverbend."

I agree with you that the real story of Pocahontas is so much deeper than the songs and dances with a cute dog and racoon who fight over a bowl of cherries. Some of my favorite stories are honest dramatizations of real events. I think that's why I liked the movies "Martin Luther", "Amazing Grace," "The First Vision," etc. When the actual truth is told and not glamorized or changed in any way, it gives the viewer or reader the best picture of what that person's life was actually like! I WANT THE TRUTH! This is what I scream when I find out that what I thought was true was really just "dolled" up for the audience and what the writer believes will sell. When this happens, we miss out on the connection with reality and though I enjoy light fiction, when I believe I'm reading about a real person, I want to know that's what they went through and I want it presented in truth, not in an effort for me to like or dislike them. I should be given the opportunity to make that decision for myself.

Loving the Granddaughters

I guess some people of the world would say that I need to get a life but the most joyful times I have are associated with family members. I love my family! Last night was no exception. In the evening while Taylor and Adam attended the General Conference Priesthood meeting, Jessica and her children visited me. The girls decided watching Cinderella on Grandma's bed would be fun! Hailie watched the whole show. I think she is enamored by the hope of the handsome prince.

I know I need to wash my sliding glass door and I plan to do that this week. I don't know if you can see the sticky fingerprint but it reminds me that little ones still visit me.

I love to take walks in Murray Park. Now that I have a regular exercise program, I haven't taken as much advantage of this lovely walk but this morning, before General Conference, I took a walk and brought my camera along. I've loved this park for many years and have seen my children and  now grandchildren enjoy it as well. Take a walk with me.