Change

I typically support change.

Change brings new perspective on life, new challenges, and joy.

However, sometimes it brings sorrow too.

Yesterday I met with a member of our Bishopric. I was released from my calling as Primary Chorister and called as Cub Scout Committee Leader.

I don't really know what that means, or what I will do.

I do know that I will miss all my primary kids!!!!

(Over 100 of them)

I have served as chorister for 18 months, and would have loved to for 18 months more, and then 18 more months again! That is my favorite calling in the church. There is something so special about being with God's children. I have been spiritually fed and edified as I sang songs with them every week.

So here's to change. For the best or the worst, the only thing that is always consistent is CHANGE.

I love being a Mom!

Growing up I always wanted to be a mom. Never in my greatest imaginations could I have dreamt how great being a mom really is. I love the daily hugs, kisses, conversations, learning moments, smiles, tears and the laughter. My kids love me unconditionally. I probably don't deserve it but they love me despite my weaknesses and faults. Today is a day to celebrate mothers, but for me it is a day to remember how great my kids are and how lucky I am to be a mom. I love you Cassidy and Mckay. You guys are my greatest treasures!

MCKAY

MY sensitive, cuddly, do things at my pace, accident-prone, bundle of fun

CASSIDY

MY sweet, fun loving, energetic, smart, independent little lady bug
I am so happy we get to be together forever!

Happy 7th Anniversary!

How quickly seven years have passed.

Happy Anniversary Alisa!

I Love You!

Mckay gets a Big Boy bike

It was finally time to get Mckay a two-wheeler. A family trip to Wal-mart and we came home with a great bike. He was very excited to try it out, in fact, so excited I didn't get the "before the first ride" picture. Instead I have the "after the first ride" picture.

Mckay is not the most coordinated child.
He tends to fall down a lot.

His first attempt at riding his new bike at home resulted in two trips to the asphalt. Luckily for us, he kept getting back on.

This is the "After I am done riding my bike for the day" photo. In the end it was fun and he liked it. Our next investment just may be elbow and knee pads.

"But Wait! There's More"

Have you ever found yourself fixated to the television watching an infomercial for a product you don't need, but trying to convince yourself that your life just couldn't go on without it? Growing up with never had cable or satellite TV, so if you stayed home sick from school, you could either watch Sesame Street, or Ron Popeil pitch his amazing Food Dehydrator.I honestly became fascinated by infomercials and their in-your-face sales pitch approach. "Act Now" "Limited time offer" "Now how much would you pay?" "But if you act now" were catch phrases that appeared in every infomercial I watched. It didn't matter if you watch Ron Popeil pitching his dehydrator, or Chef Tony selling his Miracle kitchen blades, or even Billy May's selling Oxy Clean, each had a formula, and for whatever reason...it fascinated me. They fascinated me enough that I was successful in pitching to my mother our need for a RonCo Food Dehydrator. I think we tried it about 3 times before it ended up in the storage room. Sorry Mom.

So why am I bringing up Infomercials today? The answer is simple,...they convinced my daughter Cassidy that we needed a new Vacuum! The other day I found Cassidy watching an infomercial for a vacuum. When it went to commercial she ran up to me and loudly proclaimed, "Dad! Dad! It sucks stuff up on Wood and on Carpet! You want to buy one?!" It should be noted that we have no hardwood floors in our house, but it didn't matter; their sales pitch worked on a 5 year old girl who was now convinced we needed a new vacuum.

After I quit laughing I remembered I was completely fascinated by a product called Brown & Crisp Bags. Let me take you back...the year was 1996 and I was hooked. Most recipes require you to cook at 300-400 degrees in conventional ovens, but takes time to cook and clean up. Brown & Crisp allows you to cook at oven temperatures faster than conventional ovens without the mess and added clean-up time.

It should also be noted that I had never assisted my mother with the cooking of family meals, so I am still unsure why I loved this product, but I did. In fact I remember watching the commercial multiple times. I loved the Brown & Crisp. In fact, I loved watching infomercials, and now I have a daughter who got sucked into one as well.

OK, I fessed up, now I want to hear how many of you enjoy a great infomercial, and if so, which one? Anyone purchased anything that you desperately needed, but now wonder what you were thinking? "Don't delay, time is running out!"

Glow in the dark stars

I loved having glow in the dark stars on my wall when I was young. My mom never really liked it, but she put up with it. Thanks Mom for always being patient with me.

Tonight my kids put glow in the dark stars on their wall with their dad.

Cassidy putting stars on her ceiling and wall. When Taylor asked if she had put any on the ceiling yet she said, "Sometimes I roll to the side, so I need the stars on my wall."
Mckay putting the little star on his wall. It may not glow too much because it doesn't get much light under the bottom bunk, but he was excited to put them on. He was even more excited to turn the lights off when the time came.

Dad helping Mckay get the little stars off the paper.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Stars...

I will give you a dime to be quiet

Growing up I shared a bedroom with my younger sister, Ashlee. We share great memories of pretending to sleep while the tooth fairy came, while Mom vacuumed late into the night, and even during an earth quake. We had a lot of fun nights telling stories and laughing when we should have been asleep.

However, I was always the one that wanted to go to sleep first! Some nights it would get late and I would say, "Ashlee, I will pay you a nickle to be quiet so I can sleep."

"OK," she would agree. Twenty seconds later, "Do you want to hear a joke I made up?"

"No, I will pay you a dime to be quiet," I would say.

"But Lisi, it is a great joke," she would quickly return.

"Ashlee, I will pay you a quarter to shut up" (Shut up wasn't allowed in our house, but sometimes I had to say it to emphasize I was serious and ready to sleep.)

Sad thing is, a quarter was a lot of money to me and I would have given it up in a heart beat. Even worse, I still remember the joke she would tell over and over again...."What did the hat say to the cow? You stay here and I will go on a head"

I have great memories of sharing a room. Our current house is a three bedroom house. Taylor and I have opted to put the kids in the same room so we have a play room as well. In the last month Mckay has been going through a, "Mom I am tired can I go to sleep?" phase. Not that I am complaining, I love it. He will occasionally ask for naps, or just say that it is bed time. A mother's dream come true.

I love standing outside their door. Cassidy will start to talk, or bang a book on the metal post of her bed and I hear Mckay say, "Cassidy be quiet, I am trying to go to sleep," or "you are being loud and keeping me awake." Sometimes he even just yells, "Cassidy, stop it!!!!" I can't help but laugh. I totally understand Mckay, and am sorry, because it probably won't ever stop.

What I hate the most!!!!

There is not a lot of things that I hate. I have a list of pet peeves, but who doesn't. In fact, this may be the only thing that I can honestly say I hate. I just hate going to the dentist. Ugh!

Today I had my bi-annual checkup at the dentist. I absolutely loath going to the dentist. I am not sure where it stems from. Growing up I had no problem going to the dentist. After Mckay was born I went to the dentist. I was in the middle of my cleaning and I started to bawl, for no good reason. I couldn't breath, I was dizzy, I lost complete control of myself. I am not proud of it, but because if it I hate the dentist. It happens every time.

Laughing gas has become my best friend at the dentist. I don't make it through an appointment without it.

I have tried to figure out what it is at the dentist that causes me to loose it. This is what I know for sure does, but there may be more out there!

-The Smell
It doesn't matter if it is a brand new office or decades old, they all smell the same..It makes me sick.

-The sound of drilling
It doesn't even have to be in the room I am in. Any drill and I loose it.

-The scraping sounds
What I would give to turn off my hearing for half and hour to have my teeth cleaned.

- Sitting in the waiting area
I just know what is coming. That I am about to loose all control of myself. I just can't wait for it to be done.

-Cavities
I never had cavities growing up. Having babies sucked all the calcium from my body and caused cavities. The first cleaning after having kids I had 9 cavities, the time after 7. And I promise I do know how to floss and I clean my teeth regularly.

-Laughing Gas Buzz
They say that laughing gas wears off quickly with a little of oxygen. It always knocks me out. It takes me a day to feel normal after sucking it in for an hour.

-The appointment time
It is just my luck, but every time I go to the dentist, something has happened to their schedule. My 30 min cleaning turns into me suffering in the chair for 90 mins. I have had appointments that when I arrived they were no longer scheduled. I have had dentists forget that I was there and I just sat there stuck to the chair, not able to move with the laughing gas cords tying me down. I have arrived and had to sit in the waiting room for over an hour before they would even take me into the back. AHHH. Nothing ever goes right at the dentist.

I could go on and on......but I won't. At least not today.

I must say I am celebrating tonight. I survived a day at the dentist. In fact it was perhaps the best day I have ever had at the dentist. (This does not mean it was a good day, it just wasn't completely terrible!)

I arrived ten minutes early, and I didn't have to sit in the waiting room!!!

I sat in my chair, chose my channel on the TV, and the x-rays and cleaning were done immediately. (They couldn't say my name right, but they never do so I should stop hoping.)

I still got dizzy, had a hard time breathing, had sweating hands, had to clench the chair but I did not loose complete control of myself.

I DID NOT HEAR ONE DRILL....that is right. No drills in that office for 45 mins. I heard a child's tooth pulled, I hear another patient getting teeth cleaned, but I never heard a drill. I think it makes a world of a difference when there are no drills.

After my teeth were cleaned, I only waited about 3 minutes for the Dentist to come it. He reviewed my X-rays and the verdict was good. NO CAVITIES! That is the first time since having kids that I can schedule a 6 month check up and not have to go in for work in between!!!

I was in and out in 45 minutes, my insurance covered the whole appointment and I made it without laughing gas today! Today was a success!

Sleepy?

Tired Anyone?

Remember when you could fall asleep whenever you were tired, and it didn't matter where you were? Those were good times!

The Ensign Olympic Games

Taylor and I were sitting on the couch. We heard Mckay tumble down the stairs, he started to cry. Nothing new at our house. We waited for him to walk to us, because we knew he was ok. We talked and hugged, he laughed, and off he went. Cassidy from the background yells, "Dad we need you to come catch us so Mckay doesn't run into the wall again." We went to check and this is what they were doing.

My two cents

Valentine's Day was great. I love that there is a Holiday just to celebrate that we love people. The Tuesday before Valentine's Day I was reminding Cassidy that it would be Sunday and explaining to Mckay what it was. I told them we would make Valentine's for our cousins and cards for other people that we love. I then went upstairs to shower and get ready for the day. When I came down to check on the kids Cassidy had gotten crayons and paper and both kids had made cards for Taylor, with no prompting or help from me. Cassidy folded the papers into a book and even helped Mckay write an M on the front so Dad would know it was from Mckay. For the next 5 days, Mckay took the card in the car, the grocery store, and any place that he could. He was proud of his work, and very excited to give Dad his card.

Cassidy helped with the inside of Mckay's card.

I love spending every day with Taylor, not just Valentine's day.

I love my kids. They are thoughtful and caring. They made Valentine's day extra special.

FHE Painting

After seeing how much fun Mom and Dad had painting on real Canvas, the kids asked if they could paint on canvas as well. So for Family Home Evening this week we sat around the kitchen table and turned Cassidy and Mckay loose with paint, brushes, canvas, and their imagination. Cassidy (Top Two on Left) Alisa (Top Right)

Taylor (Bottom Left) Mckay (Bottom two on Right)

Alisa successfully painted a side-by-side design of Cassidy and Mckay.

The kids had a fun time, and we had a fun time watching their imaginations at work.

Happy Valentines Day!

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A Really Fun Valentines Day.

Thank you Alisa for being My Valentine!

(Yes, We painted each other's portrait, and Yes,

they look like they were done by fourth graders.)

Our Valentines Day evening didn't go quite as smoothly as the day. We put the kids in the bath, where they decided it would be really fun to splash water all over the bathroom floor.Alisa went down to the kitchen where she found water all over the kitchen floor....

It didn't take long to discover that the water from the kid's "splash-time" had traveled through the floor and was leaking through one of our kitchen can lights. The joys of parenthood!

Happy Valentines Day!

Busted

Disney Channel's Phineas and Ferb is the most watched children's show in our house. The story line is basically the same every time. The character, Candace, is always trying to "bust" her brothers for inventing and building incredible things. Every time Candace is about to bust her brothers, the inventions disappear.

The other day I was getting ready to go to work and Mckay saw a candy on Taylor's night stand. "Mckay, that is for Dad. I know you like that. If you want some you will have to ask Dad to share tonight."

"Ok, Mom"

When I got home from work Cassidy showed me some pictures she took while I was gone.

Candace may not be able to bust herbrothers, but Cassidy can.

When I asked Mckay if he ate Dad's candy, he just looked at me. I reminded him, "You get in more trouble for lying than for making wrong choices," then I showed him the picture.

He then readily agreed that he ate it and to apologize to Dad when he got home.

Cassidy-ism

Driving home from the Post Office today this is what I heard:

Cassidy: Do you know what true happiness is? True Happiness is Love.

Mckay: Why is it that?

Cassidy: Because when you love each other you are happy.