Week #4:Benton County K9 Visits Emma's School

This week...

...Deputy Erickson visited Emma's school with the Benton County K9 handlers. They gave her class a 20 minute presentation of their duties and tool belts, the K9, and their patrol cars. The kids were excited to see the dog in action and have a chance to pet him.

Emma gets handcuffed in front of the class.

Deputy Hansen and Deputy Gonzalez with K9 dog Iago. Boy, they are well trained dogs.

Showing the kids the inside of the patrol car, the backseat where the criminals ride, and what he carries in the trunk.

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Week #3: Diamond in the Rough

This week...

...I shared a devotional on being a diamond in the rough for our Young Women. As I've said before, the theme this year is Come Unto Christ. I thought the process of how a diamond is formed was a fitting and inspiring analogy. (picture source - google images - then I added the text and borders)

Diamonds are formed deep within the earth under immense pressure and intense heat. Enough said, right?I gave them a brief background of how they're formed in the mantle at about 2700 F and under pressure the equivalent of 4,000 grown men standing on your foot. Carbon atoms bond and form diamonds - rough diamonds. Then trenches of lava from the core shoot up through the mantle to erupt through the earth's surface bring the diamonds along the way. The kimberlite then hardens and diamonds can be mined. That's when they undergo the refining process and are judged on clarity, cut, caret, and color. We had a great discussion about the types of pressure and heat and refining that they feel as young women today. Then we handed out ring pops and the little handouts I made for their journals.

...Claire broke out in a terrible rash ALL over her body. She was taking amoxicillin for an ear infection that she got last week. This is what we found this week. Note in file: Claire is allergic to amoxicillin.

...we attended the Great to be Eight event with Paul. It was so cute to see his class sitting across the front row as they listened to our Primary President talk to them about their upcoming baptisms. We felt the pride and excitement of all the parents gathered to support these great soon-to-be eight year olds.

Saul Jimenez, Paul, Mckayla Slaugh, Kaylee Stout, Jade Meyer, Jessica Gonzalez, Isabella Sandoval, Taya Riner, Daniella Hale

Week #2: A craft day at home and Paul turns 8

This week...

...we stayed home from church because Ben got strep. Oh man! It's the break of sickness! My sisters gave each kid their very own ream of white printer paper. They were the most excited about that. They each got their pack of paper out and it kept them busy all day. Claire was making up her own animal creations. Ben and Paul were making paper chains. Lainey was just coloring pictures and not interested in having her picture taken.

Claire was working on this tree house for two whole days. She did most of the work herself. I only helped her with extra supports to keep it up.

...we celebrated Paul's 8th birthday in the midst of sickness and doctor's appointments. We had a small party here at the house. Ben was still recovering from strep and I didn't want to take any chances with a big group of kids.

Paul wanted a Pegasus Beyblade cake. I did my best. Paul thought it was cool and that's all I care about.

Paul with Emma - Getting ready for the birthday song and the eighth epic wish of his life.

She looked all innocent and loving in that last picture, but what Emma was really trying to do is get the first go at the candles. Don't worry. Paul deftly blocked her.

So Jason tried a little blocking of his own. Paul didn't even see it coming. Pfffffttttt! Try again!

What a good kid! He was excited about the big gift behind him that Aunt Lara brought in. He couldn't wait to open it. It was an air hockey table.

...I made candy bar covers for our young women birthday gifts this year. We got the king size candy bars from cash-n-carry. Going simple and easy this year.

Here's a picture of the girls with their new journals for the year. I wasn't able to be there since Ben was sick so they took a picture and e-mailed it to me. It made my day tos ee them holding them up and all excited.

Week #1:Start the year out with Strep - no fun!

This week...

...I got strep on New Year's Eve. It. was. not. fun. We went out Monday to Mattawa for New Year's, but through the night and into the morning I knew that I had something because it was a beast to swallow. So we rounded everything and everyone up to come back home. My mom followed to help with the kids since Jason had to work that night. I went down to the Urgent Care Clinic and sat for several hours just to be seen. I hadn't had anything to eat or drink all day so I was pretty queasy when they gave me the shot. I knew that it might be a problem because I don't do well with shots, and sure enough I just about fainted as I went to pay. So I had to call for a ride and went to bed the minute I got home. Ugh!

This is my sick station - water to stay hydrated, crackers for the queasy stomach, ibuprofen/Tylenol for pain/inflammation.

It was a good thing that we played lots of games on Monday because it felt like the trip wasn't a total waste. We played Tenzie, Spot it! (such a fun game), and Ticket to Ride (Paul was in heaven). I talked books with my sister Shelly, watched Victor Borge (hilarious comedian pianist) with my parents and stayed up late talking to my sister Cherice.

Benjamin played with Lainey setting up the Little People Nativity set.  He's so good to play with Lainey sometimes. At other times he just likes to bug her and make her cry.

 

Hilarious! Look him up on You Tube.

...put this 600 piece puzzle together on one of my sick days. I was feeling better, but not 100%. My mom loves to do puzzles and we were teasing her that staying with us was keeping her from her favorite past time. We have two puzzles - the one shown because it's so cool and one from our honeymoon that we bought since ALL of the cool shops were closed. I tried to do puzzles when Emma and Paul we little, like four and two, but it didn't work. I didn't have a place to keep them out so I could work on them that the little ones wouldn't get into. So I scrapped that idea. We started this puzzle around 11:00 am and ended just before 8:00 pm. There are patterns that help as you put it together, but I tell you I was ready to give up more than once. Well worth it though when you can actually get it together.

...Lainey was cooking up some Mad Gab. She loves these pots and pans that are now my old ones.

...I want to include Ben's writing of a song they learned at school. They learned this song for the Veteran's Day assembly. It was so catchy that Ben, Claire, and Paul would sing it ALL the time after school. Before long, I was singing it; Lainey was singing it; and even Jason sings it on occasion. One night Ben asked for my help to write the song out. It was so cute and definitely good letter practice.