What kids hear

This morning we were getting ready to go to Samantha’s preschool field trip and I was explaining to Katherine that we were going somewhere to play. Samantha and I both have orange preschool t-shirts that we wear to field trips. The last and only time we wore them was to the pumpkin patch in October. Katherine came along on that field trip as well. She remembers the playground they had there.

So, she hears, “we’re going somewhere to play” and she see’s our orange shirts and asks excitedly: “we’re going to pun-kin patch?”

me: “no, we’re going to Bounce U”

Katherine very excitedly: “Yay! Bounce me! Bounce me!”

I thought that was so funny. I’d heard Samantha say the same thing when she was telling daddy about her upcoming field trip a few days ago.

“We’re going to Bounce Me on Thursday for our preschool field trip.”

Gotta love those little minds.

Valentine’s Cakes and Banner of Honor

For those who have read my previous post you know I have a lot of money to raise. I have a few ideas and hope I can implement them.

First, I just want to say I am doing this because I want to do something big this year that means a lot to me. Something that will not only help me to get in shape but also have meaning. I had previously wanted to do a marathon but in light of current family events, I want to do this thing in Susan’s honor. We love her and will miss her greatly.

If there is anyone who would like to join me I would love to have some camaraderie. You can join as a crew member - $90 fee, 4 day commitment but no fundraising commitment, or as a walker - $90 fee, 3-day commitment and $2300 fundraising commitment. This one is in Philadelphia October 15-17, 2010.

I am eager to raise this amount not only because it will be a great thing for a great cause but also because if I don’t meet it I won’t be able to walk it.

I also hate to just ask for money so I am offering a couple services for each donation. See below (there are two):

Valentine’s Cakes!!!

For the month of February to anyone living in NJ/Newark DE/Elkton MD area.

For your $25 donation I will bake you a 10 inch heart shaped cake! If I get enough orders for Newark/Elkton I can bring several up. This is great for Valentine’s Day but why not celebrate Valentine’s anytime of the month. I won’t guarantee a Valentine’s delivery but depending on schedule and how many orders I get I’ll do my best.

Please make a selection from below and email me njladybug2@verizon.net or via facebook:

Cake flavors: chocolate, white, strawberry

Icing: chocolate buttercream, white or pink vanilla buttercream

I ask that the donations for these be submitted online. That will make it easiest for all. You can click on the link at the side of my blog page or search for me at The3day.org.

Please pass the word to your friends. It’s for a great cause!

Honor/Memorial Banner!!

For those who don’t live near me as well as those who do, I will be carrying a banner in the walk that will have personalized hearts attached to it. The banner will be a light fabric with appliquéd hearts that I will carry around my shoulders while I walk (like a hug). I will probably make a small quilt with it after the event to remember it by.

$25 will buy a heart that I will either send you so you can write a note or I can write it for you.

The notes are to honor those who have survived cancer or who have been taken by it. I am not picky as to the type of cancer – cancer is a killer/scary/terrible/life altering force in whatever form it takes – but do know that the donations are going to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure fund. I will carry those names and notes with me for all of those 60 miles.

For any of Susan’s family who want to donate, and anyone else for which there are several people wanting to honor one person, your personal note to that person will make this banner even more meaningful.

If you would like to send me a name or a note please email me njladybug2@verizon.net or via facebook.

I ask that the donations for these be submitted online. That will make it easiest for all. You can click on the link at the side of my blog page or search for me at The3day.org.

If you have mulitple names to submit – offer whatever you wish for them after the $25 and let me know how many. Note: you can make payments via a payment plan for 2-4 months.

Please pass the word to your friends. It’s for a great cause! I’d love to include names and notes from your friends who know someone. Ask around in your wards or at work.

Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure

It is official. This year, I'll be participating in a very special event called the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.

I'll walk 60 miles over the course of three days with thousands of other women and men. Net proceeds from the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure™ are invested in community-based breast health programs and breast cancer research. The research funded focuses on decreasing breast cancer incidence and mortality in the next decade.

I've agreed to raise at least $2,300 in donations. So I need help. If you can, please consider making a donation. Keep in mind how far I'm walking - and how hard I'll have to train. You can donate online by just clicking on the Donate link in my 3-Day for the Cure widget on the side of my blog page and it will link you directly to my donation page. Or go to The3Day.org and search for me. You can donate anything you like. You can even do a payment plan if you’d like to donate more and pay over the course of 2-4 months. And don’t forget to check on your employers donation match policy too! You can also call 800-996-3DAY to donate over the phone.

Without a cure, one person will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes in the United States. That's why I'm walking so far. To do something bold about breast cancer. I hope that you'll share this incredible adventure with me - by supporting me in my fundraising efforts.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Grandma, Susan, Mom

Today we divided up her jewelry. It was such a sad thing. I never thought that was something we’d have to do and so soon. Grandma, Susan, mom should still have so much time to be here with us. It seems so unfair that she is being called away now. We will miss her dearly. I haven’t really taken the time to think about it much. It hurts too much to do so. So I haven’t really cried. I nearly did today though.

And now I am.

I am so grateful to have known her for so long. That Alan and I met so many years ago and that I was friends with her daughter Emma even before that and that our family sat behind her family in church when we moved into their ward. I feel lucky to have been in her life for so long. But at the same time I feel cheated and saddened that it is already time for her to go. I don’t want her to. We don’t want her to.

Only a couple of my kids will have known their Grandma Taber. I feel sad that they won’t have more years with her – to play with, to talk with, to learn from. To receive encouragement and advice and inspiration. Susan is a great teacher and has been a great influence in our lives. I have always loved her so much for being such a great and loving grandmother to our kids.

I am grateful that my children did have some years with her. I am happy that she is and will always be a very loving and dear grandma. Death doesn’t stop that. Feelings of love, comfort, inspiration and encouragement can still be passed through the veil. I really believe this. And I know that she will be there all along the way. I hope that we will be able to feel her when she is near.

My dear Gabby and even Samantha will have many fond memories and things to tell their younger siblings. I’m not sure what Katherine will remember but I know that she will remember some. Joseph will have to get to know grandma through the stories and journals and pictures that have been kept.

But they will all know that she is a wonderful, loving and very special woman. They will know how strong she is, how tough she can be, and how very much she loves to have her family near her and that family is the most important and best thing in life.

We love Susan very much and are so very sad at this time as we see the cancer take her away. But we also know how very real and true the gospel is and that she will be apart from us for just a short time. Even though it will feel like a very long time. We take comfort in knowing how very thin the veil is and that she will be able to watch over us in more ways than she has ever been able to before. We know that she will always be near and will still be a very big part of her grandchildren’s lives.

And I just want to tell her that I love her and will miss her. And that her grandkids adore her and will miss her. And that her son loves her very much too. I know that he will miss his Sunday phone calls home to mom. We look forward to seeing her again – healthy and strong and whole again.

Susan – we love you so!!

Cute

Samantha is so cute. She loves to draw pictures for people and fold them into tiny little packages and give them as gifts. Since Christmas was not long ago she has also taken to wrapping her little gifts in wrapping paper. Just this past week I saw her wandering around with a roll of paper and saying something about making one for everybody. Later that day there was a little package in Joseph’s crib from her. I thought it was cute and thoughtful that she would make one for little Joseph but I didn’t open it.

Well, just now as I was heading to bed I found one that had fallen between my mattress and headboard. Apparently she’d left it on my pillow that day and I hadn’t noticed it. So I opened it up and there was a pretty little tree that she’d colored and cut out for me.

So precious! Thank you Samantha!

Baybeach – Monday August 11, 2009 Part 1

Monday we took the kids over to the bay so they can go for a paddle with grandpa in his sailing canoe.  I have to admit I was extremely nervous. Especially at their insistence on taking Katherine – just two years old and not very good at listening (I wonder where she gets that from…) – out in that. Her life vest was too big for her and I just didn’t feel she would be safe if she went overboard. But both daddy and grandpa insisted she’d be fine. I think I greatly annoyed them with my constant nagging to make sure she is safe and sitting still and that an adult hand is on her at all times! And I really wanted her to sit in the bottom of the boat and not up on a seat. But – I’m the mom and I had the right to be extra nervous.

They did have a lot of fun and all came back safe and sound. Here are some great pictures from that:

Samantha and Samuel (Sam and Sam) trying out a seat and getting their life vests fastened:

Grandpa talking to Katherine and showing her the different things in the boat.

The kids and grandpa are settled in, somewhat:

And they’re off!

 

Of course the sail didn’t go out because the kids would have been in the way of the boom and not safe.

 

They really went far out there - down to the end of the pier and back. The bay really wasn’t very deep even out there so if a kid did fall in at least they’d be plucked out pretty fast before they even knew what happened but just the same. I'd rather not think about that. (Can you tell I was nervous?!)

Can you see the speck where they are?

   

There they are at the end of the pier. My camera has great zoom!

And some video just for the fun of it. This one is of Alan trying to get into the canoe. I caught the tail end of it. This was his, oh, 4th or 5th try or something. I had been watching him in amusement and it didn’t dawn on me to record it until this point. You can hear Katherine fussing when he gets in. She was a bit crowded out by daddy’s rear!

In the next video they are trying to set off. You can tell it’s not very deep here and they are still pretty close to the shore because Gabby is out playing in the water next to them. You can see Katherine helping Alan paddle. Very cute. And Samantha is somewhat afraid. She is sitting on the floor of the canoe right in front of Grandpa. Smart girl. Jimmy and Samuel are in the middle just enjoying the adventure.

And here they are moving at a good clip heading back to shore.

This is it for now. More on this day later.

Beach Week 2009 Saturday and Sunday

The big event for August was the Taber reunion at Cape Henlopen in Delaware. Every year the family gathers to spend a week together and have fun at the beach. We absolutely love this vacation and this time to get to know everyone.

Because our own family had grown so much over the past few years we didn’t have the cargo space inside the van that we used to have so we got a carrier for the tailgate. Since we didn’t have to fly we ended up bringing a good amount of activities for all the kids so we needed lots of space and careful packing. It’s amazing to see how much stuff we were packing!

The hunting/gathering phase (which I hate to do but don’t trust it to anyone else unsupervised…) almost complete and getting organized: In the back, buckets are holding the kids clothes and personal items. The table is holding beach gear. A small table in the corner (unseen) is holding snacks that we wanted to bring for the week and our movie projector and speakers.

Packing the tailgate bag: activities, toys, games and booster seat.

 

We also have a top of the car carrier that held beach chairs, beach cart and sand toys. We were ready for everything!

We went down early Saturday and spent time on the beach with the Taber-Kewene’s before meeting the others for lunch and checking in at the house.

 

Sam and Sam playing together. They’re like peas in a pod. The Ocean was really tame that day which is really nice for the kids.

Gabby the waterbug:

I love these pictures of Alan and Joseph.

Playing in the water:

Samantha really likes the sand.

We don’t play at the ocean beach on Sunday although a walk to the bay beach to play there with restless kids we have done. We do fill the day with other activities. For instance this year we made placemats for everyone in order to make setting the table easier. This one is Aunt Sarah’s.

The kids and grandpa also put on a skit: “Tacky the Penguin” by Helen Lester. The kids had fun making their costumes and putting on the skit.

Here is a video but it’s not great due to bright windows and crying babies but it was fun anyway.

This is it for this post. More of beach week to come later.

Joseph at One Month

Here are some fun pictures of Joseph, one month old.

Here he is trying out the pouch I made to carry him in. That pouch was a real lifesaver! He really liked to sleep in it. I love this photo. This must be how he slept in the womb. So fun to get a glimpse of that.

He sure has a surprised look on his face and he is so skinny! Especially for a little guy weighing in over 9 lbs when he was born.

 

I love this: “hello?…hello?…anyone there?”

Working on the Temple Grounds

I guess I have to back up further than I thought! Something about having a brand new baby in the house and not enough time to do it all! Here I go back to July.

On July 18th, when Joseph was just three days shy of a month old, our family had the opportunity to participate in a service project with our ward at the Washington D.C. temple to clean up the grounds and do some deep cleaning inside. We decided to make a family activity of it and we all went. Alan and the kids stayed outside and pulled weeds out of the flower beds. Of course the kids didn’t last long but Hailey Shipley, one of the youth there, was wonderful and kept them entertained while Alan worked. Joseph stayed happily in his stroller near Alan for much of the time but he did get a little toasted. Poor little guy – not a month old and he had his first sunburn. But really it was more of a sun kiss because it wasn’t bad. Alan did pretty well keeping him in the shade.

I really enjoyed my opportunity to work inside the temple. It was a neat and spiritual experience for me. The temple has been such a wonderfully cleansing thing for me in my life so to be able to give back to that was wonderful. My job was to wash the thin marble windows in the hallways around the sealing and endowment rooms. When that was done we went downstairs to the annex to wash the big windows there. The annex is the walkway from the entrance of the temple to the temple itself. It had a really amazing effect on me to walk into there.  I felt like I’d stepped through the veil to see these people dressed in white cleaning the entrance to Heaven. At least that’s what it felt like. And really that’s what it was. I really felt the spirit of that and that we were truly doing something special for our Father. But not just that but there was a sense of preparation in it too. As if the Lord Himself were to walk into the temple and it had to be prepared for Him. It also made me think of the Second Coming and all the work that is being done to prepare for that – that our cleaning and preparing the temple was symbolic in that way. I don’t know if anyone else who worked that day felt that. I hope so because it was pretty special.

Since we had our children with us instead of leaving them at grandma’s house like we normally do when we go to the temple, there was no need for us to hurry back to get them. So I packed us some food and we enjoyed a nice picnic on the grass at the visitor’s center before leaving.

 

Alan got a needed snooze…

the kids ran around a little bit, and after a very fulfilling day we headed on home.

End of Year 2009

I have such a backlog of things I wanted to write about and because I hope to put this year’s blog entries into a family book I need to include these stories while they’re still somewhat fresh in my mind. So, I am hopeful that I will be able to knock them out bit by bit over the next few days and get my blog current. I hope you enjoy going back with me and seeing what we’ve been up to over the last few months.

I hope I can remember what I wanted to write about… :)