Mission Disaccomplished

I asked Chandler in the car on the way to school if he finally finished putting away all his clothes, and he answered," Mission Disaccomplished" I thought it was so funny. He is trying to use the correct prefixes, but sometimes the words he comes up with are so mixed up. He probably should have said Mission Impossible based on all the clothes I put in a pile in the center of his floor. ( He was supposed to hang them up, but somehow they ended up shoved in the back of this closet behind the stuffed animals.)
Avrielle did the same thing last week when she told me she is trying not to disclude any girls from school when they eat lunch together. I think she meant exclude, but it made me smile. English can be so difficult!!!

Grandparent's Day

Last night, I was having the kids start some of their school assignments for Monday. One of the things they had to do was write a paragraph about one of their grandparents to read at Grandparents Day on Wed. They both chose to write about Papa Bob. After they were done, we read them, checked them over, and then I sent them to brush their teeth and get tucked in for the night. About 20 minutes later, Chandler came out of his room with his eyes welled up with tears. He asked, "Mom will you pray for me?" At first I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Normally, when he gets out of bed, it is because he had a bad dream and is afraid, but he hadn't been asleep long enough. Then I noticed he was wearing the shark tooth necklace around his neck that my dad brought him from Hawaii a few years ago. I said, "You miss Papa don't you?" He crawled in my lap and tears just began to flow. I of course couldn't pray out loud because I would cry too, so I just held him. He told me that he wanted to call Papa today and tell him that he won the High Point award in swimming. I told him that there have been lots of times I wanted to call him too. It seems like these last few weeks have been hard again as we are reliving the "one year ago todays" It was this time last year that everything began, so when I think of Chan's birthday which is on Tues, I can't help but remember last year when we all were together. I hope Grandparent's Day won't be too emotional for them. I know they are thankful for the grandparents that they do have, but this day is just stirring up a lot of memories and the emotions are all still fresh.
On a side note.. On Wednesday at 1:00pm , David is taking an interview for a promotion at work. He was supposed to have a doctor appointment at USC that day, but we will reschedule it. He got a call out last night for a shooting, so he is functioning on very little sleep. I would love for him to get this spot. The chance doesn't come about very often, and there is a lot of competition. Please pray that he would be able to do his best, honor the Lord, and not worry about the lack of time he has to prepare. You can pray that if the Lord wills, he would get the spot too! He is studying like crazy already. Also, whoever does get the position we would trust God and know that he is sovereign over every event in our lives even if it doesn't turn out the way we would like. Thanks

Part 2

Dog Barf, Dog Barf, and more Dog barf. Yuck!

Anybody Want A Dog??????

Griffith Park Observatory Field Trip

Celebrating Chandler and Carissa's Birthdays

Two More Funny Things

Avrielle told us tonight that when she grows up she wants to be a nurse that delivers babies, but she doesn't want to be in the room. Maybe that's not the right career for her. What do you think?


In the same conversation, Chandler told me he wants me to have another baby so he can have an older brother. How does that happen????

What is Chicken Made of?

That is the question Avrielle asked us at dinner tonight. She is eleven by the way... David answered her in as straight a face as possible,......."Carrots." Boy do I have work to do.

Happy Birthday Nana Karen!

Dinner with Lance Roberts

Lance came over for dinner one night during his brief trip to the United States. The joke of the night was that he has never heard of what we had for dinner which was Carne Asada, even though his wife Sandy is Mexican. He was out here taking a short, but very extensive seminary class. We miss their family so much in the Czech Republic, but were glad to hear they may be coming to visit again for a longer time this summer.

It's been a while...

Over the Christmas break we visited the Natural History Museum.

Charissa and me.
Avrielle's new haircut.
Swimming the 100 backstroke at the New Years Meet in Ventura.
It's cold out here...I'm glad I don't have to swim!

Happy 39th Birthday David!!!!

Happy Birthday! I love you so much! xoxox

Oldies but Goodies

Building the Rose Parade Floats

Disfunctional Christmas Caroling (Tracey, This is for You!)

Christmas Morning

Papa Rick, Grammy, and Nana Karen opening presents.
Notice the packaging...Mrs Smiths

Christmas Breakfast: Quiche, Broiled Tomatoes, Bacon, Bagels, Fruit and Chocolate Chip Scones!
Mom and Chan opening our stockings. One funny thing Chandler said that morning was. "Mom, do we have to open presents yet? I want to warm up to the day." What child doesn't want to open presents the second he gets up?? Go figure.

Christmas Eve 2008

Last Christmas Eve with Dad

One Year Ago Today

This day last year David had his biopsy. He couldn't button the top button in his collared shirt for our Christmas picture and decided that he had been eating way too many Christmas cookies. The next day I could see a lump in his neck and I told him he should see a doctor just to make sure it was nothing. I had a hunch it was a swollen lymph node, but he hadn't been sick or anything recently. The doctor he went to did blood work and nothing showed up, and then they did an x-ray, and again nothing showed up. David told her that his brother had died from lymphoma so she decided to send him to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor for piece of mind. That doctor told him it was definitely a lymph node, and to find out more info he could do a needle biopsy or a surgical one. He said the surgical one was more accurate, but left it up to Dave to decide. He didn't seem too concerned. David decided to have the biopsy on the 19th and in we went. We weren't really worried or expecting it to turn out to be anything major. That day however, everything changed. As soon as we met the surgeon in the morning he started talking about cancer for the first time. Then, we met with the anestigiologist (sp?) and he began to give us all kinds of warnings like the tumor is close to a major artery and if I cut a nerve he may have his face be paralyzed and never be able to smile again. I really started to feel the seriousness of the day and I called Karen to ask her if she could ask the people at church and the kid's school to pray. She called our church office and Pastor Dave came straight to the hospital. I am so glad he did. Right before I saw him in the hallway, the surgeon has just come out and told me everything went well in surgery, but his best guess was that David had some kind of Lymphoma and he wouldn't know for sure for about a week. He sent me to the pharmacy to pick up some pain killers and I was in a daze. We had the choice of getting the news the day before or after Christmas. I remember that week of not knowing and I think that was the hardest part. Trying not to think ahead too far, but yet preparing to hear bad news. God was with us every step of the way, and used so many people from church to encourage us and help us to think biblically in a time where it was so easy to be anxious. So many people asked us if it was ruining our Christmas, but I remember thinking No way. It was because of Christ's birth that we had joy and the forgiveness of sins, and the hope of eternal life. I remember how special that time was leading up to Christmas, and thankful I was to know the Lord. It is hard to believe a whole year has gone by already, and I have no idea what the future will hold, but the whole experience has strengthened our faith and I know that God took care of us and gave us peace when we needed it and I know he will be faithful in the future too. I hope we don't ever have to go through this again, but it was a time in our lives that I don't think either of us would change.

Christmas Traditions New and Old

Here is a picture of our tree. It's funny because I grew up without a Christmas tree, so when we got married and started having one, I dreamed of decorating the perfect themed tree like you see in stores, but each year my children bring home these precious ornaments that only a child could make, and they insist on putting them right in front. I've given up on a beautifully themed tree and now I let the kids decorate it however they want and I resist the urge to move the ornaments the way I would like them to be. Today, I caught my dog eating the new ones that the kids baked and painted last week at a friend's house. Happy ate the paint and everything. Hopefully she won't get sick and the kids will learn to put the food ones higher up on the branches. It is also an annual tradition for David and I to fight about the size of the tree, or should I say "discuss" He thinks it is way too big, but I love it. I think this year he will win the debate since he is the one who has to get it down and put it away every year, and we will be Christmas tree shopping in a few weeks.
Here is our manger scene from Costco. Every year we hide the baby Jesus until his birthday, and every year Chandler asks..."If the baby isn't born, why have the wise men already arrived?" I don't know, it is just a tradition and I like bringing out Jesus on the 25th. It's just the way it is.
No tradition here... It's just our fireplace.
I have been collecting Christmas books, and we try and read one every night in December. If you know of any good ones, let me know.
This tradition is my favorite. Each year since the kids have been born, I have taken their pictures at The Picture People. I love displaying the frames and watching how they have grown up through the years. It was just a coincidence but the backgrounds ended up making a pattern of white and green. What traditions do you have at your house?????