February 22, 2009
Dear Family,
It’s been a quieter week around here—Anne was sick w/ a good cold, so we decided to forego most outings (to aerobics, etc.) and let her mend. It’s amazing how much more I can get done at home when I don’t leave J . I finally got around to painting up the sheep in the "nursery", spruced up a little wallboard for the girls’ room that I’d had from DI for a while, and actually did the ironing!!
We had a single man over for FHE that Brian hometeaches (and the kids adore), Tuesday the children held down the fort while I went to a RS dinner, and Brian had visits; Wednesday I went out on visits; Thursday we got Tucker over for a minute and Brian played basketball, and Friday Brian and I took Brent to the Blue and Gold banquet, where Brian caught a hawk on his hand!! They had some "Birds of Prey" people do a little show there in the gym-wow!

Brian had to go in to work for a little bit Saturday morning, I went to our stake temple day early, and then made granola while Brian put up the rest of the insulation in the basement—we’re now ready for the sheetrockers to come!! Spencer has made great friends w/ Brandon (the guy in charge) who’s YM pres. in our ward. He has a daughter Spencer’s age too, but he always points to him, and says, "Oh, there’s my buddy!" He CAN’T leave people alone! From a mother who is still amazingly akward in the human race, it is like watching a miracle to see him warm up to everyone so easily! He points to everyone in sacrament mtg: "There’s my friend (one of Brian’s counselors), there’s my favorite teacher (a counselor in Primary), etc., etc. It is a bit of a job keeping him out of the workers’ ways though! He sits at the bottom step saying, "BOO!" (and waiting for them to be scared—he had quite a talking-to w/ our RS Pres., when she answered, "Boo Who?"), and asking them about everything they’re doing and "How’s it going?" He is reminding me of why I LOVE 4 years old.
Brian had only a morning meeting today, and choir was cancelled, so we’ve had such a luxuriant Sabbath here!—playing games (Manhattan is a new favorite w/ everyone!) and taking walks. I am giddy w/ excitement, as we had a chance (thanks to Angel Carrie!) to get Wicked tickets for April, and Brian, the gem, agreed to getting them!! I’ve been entranced w/ the music since I got the soundtrack for my birthday (though I even remember listening to some of the songs on an airplane channel, what, 5 or 6 years ago, and being so excited!).
Also, I forgot, amidst all that blogging excitement, to mention our new chair (you’ll notice it was in the couch photo). I found it at DI a couple of weeks ago for $20!!!!-and it was in perfect condition!! I noticed it b/c of it’s BYU color, and then GRABBED it when I lifted up the cushion to see Ethan Allen!! I’m not big on buying upholstered things there, but it was such a find, I couldn’t resist!! I brought it home and "steam cleaned" it (w/ boiling water??—the chair was steaming), and we have LOVED it!! We can tell it’s as excited as we are to finish our "BYU basement" and have a new home J .
And, the last bit of excitement is that Brian is now working w/ a "Warrior Princess." They actually hired his new secretary a while ago, but what else can you call her, when her name is Zena?? She’s an amazing artist, but tired of the instability, so came from working on a contract for the church, to work for them, and they feel lucky to have herJ . We’re doing well in all this snow! I thought it was shoveling before, but Dec and Jan were just "shoving snow"—you could just move it all over to the side…NOW we are shoveling in earnest, heaving and throwing it onto the growing piles on the sides of the driveway. I can enjoy it when I think of the weed seeds waiting to sprout for us! I even went sledding down the big hill at the high school w/ the kids for a minute the other day! (I love that the children have a place they can walk to to go sledding (the back of the high school bleachers makes a perfect hill, and we can see if the snow’s good from our kitchen window --idyllic, huh?). Hope you all are happy and well! Love, The Duncan’s
This is a black and white watercolor from Brian's secretary's webpage--Iknow, what is she doing in a law office?

This is about how Anne looked all week, poor baby--that humidifier was put to good use!!

Here's the new chair, and Anne today---still rosy-cheeked and worn out but smiling again!

Here's the sheep--I did take down the pink curtains though, since the boys are still sleeping there for now :).

This was the old frame I found for the girls room (used to be brown and for photos)

a little Dalmuti, anyone?

February 18 2009

Dear Family,

Oh, this blogging is getting the best of me--here I thought I had things about figured out, and now I realized everything was posting backwards of what I was trying to do, so that is why there are 2 "Dear Family"'s (and you ARE so dear!), and lots of dangling sentences! Other than blog mishaps, we are doing well though, as you may be able to read ahead. We just got our GA valentine's pkg in the mail today, so that calls for a belated picture of Emily's belated hairdo. (This was the 3rd application). Maddie and Emily both got hearts for their Friday school parties, and we got cute shots, but as you'll soon see, they were destroyed. They also wore them to church on Sunday, but that was they day the card was destroyed, so I finally took a "fake" Valentine's shot yesterday, once we replaced the card :). So, the conclusion of what you're about to read, is that things all work out--and now we not only have a working camera AND Valentine's goodies, but my calendar FINALLY came in the mail, as did our webcam!! (THANKS DAD!!) AND our new vacuum (no story there, the other one just gradually got worse and worse)---4 packages in 2 days--they must've been holding them for us just to make it an extra special day :)--AND this all happened, I know it sounds unbelievable, but just as our electrician finished wiring the basement!! (our most recent hurdle in progress). So there it is, and here at the beginning of this ridiculous posting, I'll close! Happy belated Valentine's Day (I'll save these sorts of shenanigans for April fools!), and we love you! Love, The Duncan's

February 18-first steps

Here are our replacement shots of Anne walking (I have to snap fast, after putting her on one side of the room, and racing to the opposite side w/ my camera before she gets to me!)

She seems to walk better when she's holding something, and I don't know if it's an early fettish w/ purses or "bags" (where are you Kristen?), but she can become quite fearsome when you try taking one away from her!--this is Maddie's empty scripture case :).

February 18-lost pictures

So that you may better mourn w/ me the damage I did pulling my card out of the computer prematurely (I've since had a computer tutorial w/ Dad on this point) and ultimately destroying the whole card, I lost images of me w/ my new antibiotic, Brian in his bolo tie (that he found when we were cleaning out the basement--he asked if I dared him to wear it to church, which of course, I did, and when he came out Sunday morning w/ it on, I about collapsed in giggles--he ended up only wearing it to choir though--where he was complimented on it in earnest :), Anne's first days of steps (that don't look a whole lot different from her 10th or 11th days):, the authentic before and after pictures of the couch (couches really don't change much for photos, though), and various and sundry other treasures I may not even remember... but of all the things I've lost recently, these were probably the most non-essential, and fortunately, most replaceable, and as everything, it was a good practice of learning life goes on!

February 18-while my back was turned

Among other crazy things last week (trying to organize VT interviews for 65 women in our ward on the one full day we were doing them), I recovered our couch--AGAIN, and what luck!--w/ $2/ yd fabric at Wal-Mart--again. The children really tried to talk me out of brown fabric, but I've seen what they can do to couches, and the darker and more dirt-like, the better! Here are my make-shift before and after pix, since I had a traumatic camera loss this weekend, just as I was about to post the best collection of life illustrations for our week! But, I'm slowly learning the principal of lost and found, or "things restored" and TRYING every day to be patient, again, and again.
I was going to list all of my lost things, but then I realized the last post was already full of things I'd lost (keys, coat, etc.). It must just be a normal part of my living, like breathing, in and out, lost and found, etc. Lately, I lost my cell phone (pulled out by Anne at aerobics, and then hidden AND turned off by one of the many attending pre-schoolers in the middle of stacked metal chairs)--so yes, I DID find it!!--w/ many tears of miraculous thanks after 20 minutes of scouring the gym, garbages, bathrooms, etc. We also lost the TV remote, and though I felt almost ashamed, I prayed to find that too, and after a couple of weeks, it turned up in Anne's riding back pack??? I think now would be the time to post the shot of her digging into the flour that I didn't think she could open, and that I NEVER thought she would try eating by the fistfulls!--I was right in the room the whole time, cooking dinner, w/ my back towards her. Good thing she's so cute!!

February 18-old couch, new couch (well, newold couch)

Old couch (summer '07 w/ cousins)............................New couch!

 

February 15-Happy Valentine's

Dear Family,
Happy Valentine's Day! We had a fun weekend, sprinkled w/ character to make it memorable. Brian took me out to dinner Friday night (we like avoiding crowds) to Kasbah Grill (our favorite little Indian place, and the owner's a client, we even saw Miles there w/ his wife that night!) and (window) shopping for couches. I had a blast asking questions all about my newfound knowledge on "8 coil hand-turned springs" and "kiln dried wood" with "reinforced joints" and we did find a crazy little store in Riverdale where you can custom order couches, so I think we have a place to go when the time is right. We topped off the night w/ a Marie Callender Razzleberry pie! Saturday was a little less romantic, though Emily kept trying to get us all to make a Valentine craft or eat Valentiney food :). We cleaned out the rest of the basement (freeing up space for the sheetrockers), and then shopped around for carpet. Buying carpet, I've decided, is a bit like voting. There are very few answers, and very few unbiased opinions, and though you want to make the best decision b/c the consequences are long-lasting, it is hard to know where to find accurate and current information!!! On our way home from Lowe's though, I started to feel quite sick, and had to go into an Urgent Care facility w/ a UTI. First though, Brian made us all dinner of hot dogs and french fries (they were actually SO delicious, since we seldom have hotdogs--Brian and Maddie don't enjoy them very much), so I can say he made dinner for Valentine's :). He stayed to man the bathing and bedding, and I ended up being gone from about 6-9PM. Ironically, I came home, not only w/ relieving Rx in hand, but quite refreshed! I had taken a book, and though admittedly, quite uncomfortable, it was so peaceful to just sit and read for so long! I even my free ice cream cone coupon at DQ on the way home (I'm hardly ever in the car alone!). Brian had straightened everything up, even after all that cooking :), and I'm sure he wondered at my illness that put me out just long enough for "evening chores" and then had me ready to play our new game "Manhattan" (that we gave ourselves for Valentine's Day) before bed--and I won! The children celebrated at school on Friday and I got the girls' hair braided into hearts (thanks for the idea Sharon!), helped in Brent's class, and had a fun day--almost a second Halloween at these parties (Spencer even suggested playing "Trick or Treat" w/ all the candy when the kids brought it home). Ah, but now we are off!--Emily is invited w/ her parents to a "Great to Be 8" night for all children getting baptized this year---can we believe she's getting baptized this year???? I told her maybe we should braid an "8" into her hair for the fireside :).

February 1

Dear Family, Here we are, trying to figure out this blogging world--sorry the pics are all jumbled together, but we'll eventually get the hang of it!...so pics first, and then the letter:

This is Anne in her favorite place: the dishwasher! We keep telling her to stay excited and she can

spend many hours there, but for now we keep peeling her off of the door, which she sees as her personal step (and singing stage?)

This is Anne on her first birthday--she got this outfit from G&G, and thought she could dress herself, so all night, she would walk, crawl, or play around, with this fleecy headwear, and replace it quickly and seriously every time it fell off.

Spencer's selfmade astronaut (w/ a little help from Maddie).He'd go outside, then come back and say he'd been to all the planets and did I miss him?

These are the girls

dressed up for

Spirit Day at school:

Hawaii Day (In snowy January). They assured me they were promised indoor recess, so flipflops were okay

Anne loves to be up to the table with everyone, esp. if we let her eat AT the table, instead of from her tray. She had an especially happy night feeding herself w/ refried beans in this shot

Here is everyone, smiling with Anne and her presents--they all had fun watching Annie then next day, though Emily is still scared of that "crazy red poofy hair!"

Here's the birthday girl, eating her birthday pie!

Feb 1, 2009

Our baby is one!-hard to believe, esp. when she is STILL not sleeping through the night, walking, or weaned! These have been one year (or earlier) landmarks with the other children, but it just goes to show you that even after 4 children, you surely don't know it all! After a few meltdowns this last week, losing it over Anne bonking her head more times than I can keep the ice pack frozen for, feeling like no one will ever learn to pick up after themselves, that the laundry and dishes will never be done, and that I may never actually obtain patience, I realized I was a bit sleep deprived, and that just because Anne was one did not mean life instantly sprang back to normal. I'm trying to relax and enjoy the fleeting babyness, and give all of us a break with the milestone deadlines :). Still, she is making strides (haha!) in her walking, her black eyes are healing, and she's had no concussions. She claps in response to every "Yeah!!", and it's hard not to think she's a genius when she puts the brush to her hair, or necklaces over her head.

For her birthday, we all went bowling for FHE--the children had a few school coupons, but it was still spendy enough to remind us of why we don't go more often! I was just glad the children didn't beat me this time, but we all had fun, and I think Anne enjoyed watching us celebrate her big day :). The kids had the great idea of making apple pie for her birthday, since she LOVES the cooked apples I give her to snack on. She did love it, and didn't seem to mind either her lack of "real presents" like her siblings did for her. She did have things to open: socks, shoes, toddler snacks, the movie Annie, clothes, and cards, but I couldn't bring myself to buy anymore toys--not only after Christmas, but after 4 older siblings--how many 1-yr-old toys can you get?? Besides, all she really wants is a dishwasher she can climb in and stand on all day. She was a hit though, we all had fun watching her eat, try to touch her candle flame, and clap over every gift.


Spencer hit a good milestone too, with giving his first talk last Sunday. He was excited, but it was impossible to practice with him! Every time I would try to talk about ideas, he would tell me, "I already know the Gospel, Mom!" and then when I asked what he'd say for his talk, he'd respond, "I already know what to say Mom, I just going to make it up myself!" He would babble on for a minute with Gospel "vocab" sprinkled in, but making no sense, so I was wondering what he'd actually do in Primary. I finally just typed a few sentences out, and read them to him a couple of times, and waited to see what would happen. In front of that podium though, his humility returned, and he let me just whisper in his ear what to say. He wasn't too flustered to flash his cheezy dimpled smile between every line though, and he did (thankfully) fine.


Brent and Maddie are enjoying piano lessons, and Emily's cruising through Junie B. Jones now--so it is becoming more frequent to happen upon an unusually quiet afternoon where Anne is alseep, and see 4 of the 5 of us awake, buried in a book. Those Junie books are funny too, b/c Brent and Maddie still pick them up, now that they're lying around again, between their reading, and devour a few more (laughing aloud as they go). I guess those are the moments, Spencer decides to make an astronaut costume out of paper bags. He's still trying not to be bitter over our new limits on computer games (what w/ our new "dotcom" access, as they all call it :).

Brian had a pretty big case handed to him at the last minute last week, which left him at work most of a Saturday, but he was happy to work on it, once he fit it all together into a good solution. That same Saturday he was gone, I watched some neighbor kids for the day, in a last minute pinch, and I think the 9 children (though it delighted Anne at least!) may have been a factor in that meltdown! We worked hard on clearing out the basement when Brian did get home, so we felt ready for things to start moving. Of course, it didn't, but we just heard from our guy last night, and hopefully things will get going here this week.


Besides reading, I made it to DI this week, after aerobics, and was so happy to find snowboots galore! (I've been looking for a while, but in the shoe dept. not outdoor equip.). We loaded up the cart, along w/ a cute mirror for the girls room, and went to drive home for Anne's well-needed nap, when I realized I didn't have my keys! I figured Anne was holding them, and dropped them somewhere in the store, and tried to convince poor Spencer to hurry back in w/ me for just a minute. About 40 minutes later, after going through my purse, the line I was in, the bags, and re-crossing every aisle of the store, I finally found them!! They were in one of the boots!!! This, after fretting that morning that we'd lost Spencer's coat too. I was talking with the kids in the van on the way to school about who'd seen it last, if he had it at church, at the library, etc., and they were all giving their 2 cents about where they thought it was. After they all got out for school, and I took the 2 youngest to aerobics, THERE the coat was, right in the back seat (it's bright yellow!) where all of those children had been sitting!! Funny detectives!


To wrap up the month, we got the van repaired painted wooden toys for a Humanitarian activity, enjoyed ward temple night, helped in Emily's class (I read them the fairy tale, Goose Girl, and we made geese out of paper plates--my own design!), Brian volunteered at DI , home and visiting teaching, and more of the usual.


OH! and we are excited for upcoming plans!!: Mom and Dad visiting over Spring Break, reservations for the Draper Temple Open House in March (the kids were esp. excited to find out they could go inside!), and a 2 night stay in Yellowstone's "Rough Rider" cabins for July! We're so excited to have a family vacation!! So the year is off to a swinging start! Hope all is well with you too! Love, The Duncan's