You're Invited...

In case you can't read the details-John is getting baptized on Saturday, January 31, at 4:30 pm. We would love to have you there (you meaning anybody who reads this).

Time Out for Women...Overtime for Dad!

Melissa, Angela, Traci, (ME), Sandra, Ruthanne, and Lacey

I'm stealing this picture and referring you to my friend Lacey's post - she said it best. I had a great time going with friends from church to the Time Out for Women in Nashville. We left a total of 27 children behind, and seven dads, one of which gave me the title for this post the Sunday after we returned. It was so fun to stay up late, eat out at great restaurants (actually getting a dessert I didn't have to split), and enjoyed great conversation and time with friends. Is it too premature (or immature) to say BFF'S? These women are amazing, strong, compassionate, and inspiring - they're my friends, forever in my heart, whether they like it or not. Love you guys!

It Must be in the Genes

I found the cutest, funnest note that John wrote tonight in preparation for tomorrow's day off from school. There's no doubt John gets this desire to make lists from his silly mom, but I found it and got a good laugh from it.

It was written in pencil, and is hard to read. Here's the translation (using the same spelling as he used):

Sam and me schedule

1. Treasure Hunt

2. Play Board games

3. Jokes

4. Play store

5. Play with blocks

6. I do chareds (charades)

7. I show him my farm, animal town

8. Play with Sam's treasure

9. Watch a movie

10. Go outside, lie down and tell stories

11. Try on hats

12. Sleep

13. Make clowns

14. Prented to go to the future and the past a lot.

1._ 2._ 3._ 4._

5._ 6._ 7._ 8._ 9._

10._ 11._ 12._ 13._

14._

Key:

Yes - v

No - x

Hilarious! He's such a fun, and funny kid. I love him so much! Now, I'm wondering if he'll go through the same phase I did and write a "Make a (to do) list" as the first thing on his list.

Halloween Fun-tivities

We were overloaded with many fun activities to celebrate Halloween. It's one of my favorite holidays, because the kids get so into it. Because I was down and out this year (see here), the costumes had to be pulled together, and ended up being a modge podge of ideas. John wore his Merlin the wizard costume, Sam switched between Buzz Lightyear, and Prince Phillip, Eva switched between Belle, Cinderella, and Snow White. Joshua was an adorable Lion. He was my favorite. Seeing him in it never got old, and I always got a good laugh out of it. The week before Halloween started with John's school class having an early Halloween party, then that night we went to the zoo with our friends, the Calls, for their Halloween "party". The next night we went to our ward Trunk-or-Treat. Monday night we carved pumpkins (forgot to take pictures), Wednesday Eva had a Halloween party with her playgroup friends, and that night John and I dressed up for Cub Scouts. I went as a "wench", an old Renaissance lady, and Keith loved being able to call me wench lady for the evening. Thursday the kids dressed up and went into Keith's work. Friday morning were Sam and Eva's Halloween parties. Friday, the big day, we had candy overload, but we stocked up anyway. We had a fun night going out to Michelle's house. John went out with his cousin Cooper and his friends, and the the rest of us took the younger kids out. We came back for Chilli, donuts, and a good old game of Wizard, in which Christian's line of the night (meaning the line repeated over and over again for the weekend) was "The Larsens always have to win" (it can be very competitive). It was such a fun night for all of us!

Sam, Eva, and a trip to Ms. Martha's Farm

I love the preschool Sam and Eva go to. Besides the awesome teachers, they also get to be with a lot of their friends from church. We went on the annual school fieldtrip to Ms. Martha's farm out in farmland Kentucky. It was such a beautiful day. It was started off with a hayride through the country, and luck was on our side when a herd of dear crossed through our path. The kids played games, had yummy food, and picked out their own pumpkin to end the day. I love the fun that kids at this age get to experience!

Eva and her BFF Molly

The Woes and Ohs of M-O-N-O

I recently survived (or am surviving) a dose of the ills. It has been MISERABLE!! After a couple days of misery, I had a trip to the urgent care, was incorrectly diagnosed, I took handfuls of pain medications, was in even worse condition a few days later, had many middle of the night tears, made the mistake of trying to diagnose myself using WebMD (bad idea!! - scenario's of my death bed replaced sugarplums dancing around in my head). I finally got into the doctor, with the fear that I would hear "there's nothing I can do for you". I get in, and after a few tests I'm told I have MONO, and "there's nothing I can do for you", just my luck. I was told (five days too late) what pain medication would work best, what to expect, and good luck. A few days later the majority of the pain had gone away, and instead was replaced by an increase of exhaustion, to which I'm still claiming it's effects (of course I may have to use this excuse for awhile. Really, when am I not tired???) I am feeling better though, but can't let it pass by without giving thanks where due.
First of all, Keith was AMAZING (with only a few discrepancies). He really stepped up to the plate. He nurtured me, fed me, and took care of the kids like a champ. For a few days I just layed in bed watching him bath, dress, blow dry hair, and get all the kids to bed by himself. He took work off, and really did a great job. Four days into it I was in tears feeling not only miserable, but pressure to get the house ready for company we had coming to stay with us, and having absolutely zero energy to do anything. Without being asked he cleaned all the bathrooms, vacuumed, cleaned carpets, and mopped the floors. He even decided to de-junk and reorganize the toy room. This is where I focus on the thought behind the action, and not the failure in actually having a plan to follow through with the idea. I came down in the middle of the night after his cleaning expedition, and the night before our company arrived, to find garbage bags full of toys, all our toy bins taken apart, and piles of toys he wasn't sure what to do with, scattered on the floor. It eventually all worked out, and I appreciate his effort to make things better. (The picture is for my SIL who, in one of my many phone calls, I told I was going to send a picture of the mess left behind for me to deal with from her awesome, loving, and well meaning brother).

Thank you to my SIL, Michelle, for putting up with my tears, which she's had to do a lot lately! This, and a speeding ticket I got recently on my way to her house, she's been put in the hot seat, and I tell her that now that she's seen me cry, we're bonded, and there's nothing she can do to get out of it. Poor girl!

Finally thank you to friends who helped me out. I had one friend watch my kids, and pick up Sam and Eva and take them to school the week I was sick, despite having company in town (and she was the lucky one to see me after days of not showering, and wearing mismatched pajamas and had the unfortunate position of claiming this unkempt nomad as her friend to her parents). Another friend continued to amaze me with her compassion and concern. She was offering babysitting and meals, despite a full load of her own. She's always the first to call and see what I need when word gets out that I'm not doing well. She's always caring for others and her phone call brought me to tears (yes I cried a lot over those 10 days) . I'm just so grateful to have great friends surrounding me.

Anyway, alright, I wasn't intending on writing a novel about the misery of being sick, but the blessings I received from the experience needed to be remembered and acknowledged. I have been blessed with a wonderful family, and fabulous friends. I'm glad I have such great people in my life. THANK YOU!!

I Know Someone Famous...

Actually, famous around here for her incredible talent, and now famous for all of my friends and family to see. My friend Amy submitted designs to "Dancing With the Stars", and she was picked out of all the entries to be one of the five that people can vote for. So I'd love to support her, and have all my awesome family and friends take just a second to go to this website and vote:

http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars/index?pn=designvote08

It's Amy, from Crestwood, KY, and these are copies of the pictures submitted:

You will have to register, but that only takes a second. She is definitely worth the time to do it. You can read more about Amy and her experience about the entry here.

To quote my friend Lacey:

Amy makes me proud.And she's true. I asked her how she managed to design a modest costume and she says she used BYU ballroom dance standards.She's a previous BYU ballroom dancer and graduate, costume designer, and fantastic artist, but she's staying home to tend her babies.She takes care of her home. She loves her husband.And they all come first.Let's vote her first!And, In support of an LDS stay at home mama, please link this post on your blog so she can get as many votes as possible.It's not like she has a design firm to promote her ya know?

She is inspiring, to say the least. She has three young kids under the age of four, a husband who travels nonstop, and to see what she came up with in what little spare time she has is awesome. So, anyway, PLEASE take a second to vote. You can vote up to five times (either in a day, or until Friday night, when the voting ends - I'll let you know). So as many times as you will, we'd love to see her get her recognition.