Thankful Thursday

On this, the last Thursday of the year, I would like to say that I am most thankful for my wonderful family.  We are a bunch of nuts, but none of us or those lame peanuts - we are the deluxe mix.

Abraham Lincoln Museum

There are a few people on my list from history that I would like to sit down to dinner with.  Abraham Lincoln is one of them.  The more I learn about him and what a monumental influence on this country he was, the more I am in awe of that great man.  I am convinced that without his inspired leadership we would not be the country we are today - whole and free.  While in Illinois visiting my sister, we drove down to Springfield to the museum there.  If we had the time we could have done a lot more in that town - including touring his house, and seeing his tomb.  But we spent about 6 hours alone in the museum and we could have easily spent a bit longer.

There were so many wonderful historical items and the museum did a great job at making the life of Abraham Lincoln real to you.  There were a couple of things that really were must sees there.  First, they had a four minute long video that played on a loop through one of the sections of the museum.  It was a graphic that showed a map of the United States with the South and North split as they were during the war.  The front line would change and curve and move as the graphic went along the years of the Civil War.  As it went along you saw where the battles were and where the South advanced and ultimately how the North slowly won the war.  The really solemn thing was the graphic in the corner of the large screen.  It was the death toll count for the North and South as the war progressed.  It was quite moving, and very humbling.  The room was quite with reverence as the song of the video played and the death toll rose.  It ended with over 1.3 million lives lost combined.  I had never realized it was so many and my gratitude for all those lives lost was tremendous.  Regardless of what side those men fought on - they fought for their values, fought for their belief in the rightness of their cause, and they died as a legacy to their convictions. 

It was also a honor as a parent to get to explain what the video was showing to my son.  It was one of those moments in a parent's life where you are sad you have to tell them anything so horrible ever happened but proud to share with them a part of their own legacy - won so many years ago on various battlefields across the country - and how blessed they are to live in such a wonderful country.  A country where men freely give their lives to fight for the freedom we enjoy.  I never take pleasure in exposing my son to the harsh realities of life or history, but I do take pride in the way he reverenced what he was taught and how he grew proud of his country in that moment.  It was also a honor to know that some of my ancestors fought in that war.  I thought of them as I watched the map around Pennsylvania.

Another neat part of the museum was a fun 3D movie that was unlike any other we ever experienced.  You didn't need glasses because the 3D was done one various screens.  But I still do not understand how they did some of it because at one point we had a real person behind the glass talking and then he disappeared.  It was fantastically done and also very cool to watch. 

Below is the family posing with the Lincolns - we're real tight.

 The children's part of the museum was very well done too.  Lots of dress up, make believe in log cabins (Corilynn's favorite - playing cook in the cabin) and of course, Lincoln Logs.

 Charlotte takes a moment to talk with one of the historical figures at the museum.

 Here we are with Abe and Mary Lincoln.

Overall, it was a fantastic day and a wonderful memory of a family outing.  God Bless America!

Christmas at Donna's House

For days before we left, Ruby was eagerly telling everyone we were going to "Nonna's house."  And we were all very excited to go.  It is always nice for me to get to visit with family and see them.  After we were to spend Christmas with Donna we were also going to get to see my other sister, Betsy, in Indiana. 

Christmas there was like living on a cloud.  It is so comfortable and fun to be there - the kids play nice and the parents do too!  Of course, the reason for the season is to celebrate Christ's birth and it was fun to join in with the Cummings' tradition of acting out the nativity from the scriptures.  The kids had great fun doing it and enlisted the missionaries (who came for dinner) to help too.  Lyman starred as both the Roman soldier reading the "decree from Ceaser Agustus" that the world should be taxed, as well as one of the three kings.  Corilynn was the angel that visited the sheppards and the "new star."  Ruby was going to play the baby Jesus but they couldnt get her to stay put - so she was an audience member.  Charlotte was behind the scenes and worked the lights.  It was a major production!

 Here comes Mary and Joseph (Camee and Jesse).

 The angel appears to the shepards (Jared and one of the missionaries).

 Mary and Joseph with the new babe in the stable.

 Here comes the three kings bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (gold wrapped Christmas crackers, a large pepper grinder and a stick of Old Spice deodorant).

 You can see our new star (she should be pointing it at the audience but obviously she is a bit distracted).

 The whole cast and crew - Kayla read the story from the scriptures.  Bonus for the reader of this blog - Mary is shown here both pregnant and with Baby Jesus in Joseph's arms.  Another Chrsitmas mircacle?

 Another Cummings' tradition: age shaped pancakes on your birthday.  It wasn't Andy's but shortly after Christmas it was Jared's.  He got a 15.  Andy asked Dave to make him a 34 in Roman numerals.  It turned out pretty awesome.

Its a miracle!

I took Ruby to the doctors today for her 2 yr well child check and she jumped in her weight from the 2nd percentile (where she has remained for most of her life) to the 10th!  YAY!  Now I wont be reported to the Department of Child and Family Services anytime soon. ::wink::  And now hopefully they wont be on my case so much about how little she is despite her above average level of development, high food consumption and normal activity levels.  They wont keep warning me that she might be "failure to thrive" now despite those things too!

Also, I was reading my mom's Christmas letters from the past 40 years (she compiled them and gave us a book) and I found that from at least age 3, I wore the same size clothes as my younger sister.  So at 3 yrs old I wore 18 month clothing.  From there on we still wore the same clothes.  So take that doctors!  I was a little kid too!  And when you combine that to Andy's genetics (he disappears if he turns sideways) I think we have solved the "failure to thrive" mystery.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for the good people in my life.

Corilynn's Preschool Concert

Corilynn had a preschool concert and it was super cute to see all of them singing (even if you could not understand what they were saying). We chose to sit in the way back balcony and had to use our superhero zoom lens with the camera - so unfortunately all of the photos came back with zombie eyes. But she was cute.

We all held up I love you signs and when she found us I was lucky enough to catch this one.

Corilynn with her teachers Miss Joyce and Miss Mary.

Cack Peese!

Ruby could not wait until she got to have some cack (cake) for her birthday.  Despite her feral hair, she still looks adorable. 

 One of her presents from Grandma Mackrory was a beautiful Rapunzel doll, then at Christmas (which we opened early since we will be going to Illinois) she got her own dress up to match.  She pretty much lives in that dress now.

 Charlotte got her some bottles for her dolls but she seems to think they are for her.

 Also from our early Christmas is this beautiful flower hair bow from Cousin Brielle and Aunt Kristen.  Thanks!!

My Baby

Dear Ruby,

Someday, you are going to ask me what you were like at as a little girl.  I would like to think that my memory will always serve me adequately when that time comes and that I will remember every exquisite moment of your childhood so that I might share them with you.  But, as much as it saddens me, I have to assume that I will not always remember the things I would wish to share with you.  (Probably because you will learn one day when you are a mom that for every brain cell you cultivate in your children, you lose one of your own.)  For such a day as today - your second birthday - I would like to write a few things about you, to remember you the way you are now - for both of our future selves. 

Ruby, you are one of the most fascinating children I have ever met.  You are delicate, feminine and fearless at the same time.  You love animals, no matter what kind.  You love bugs and are not afraid of anything creepy or crawly.  First thing you say when you see a bug is "hold it!"  When you see animals you want to pet them and feed them and nurture them.  When you father took you to see some ponies that were near a fence by our house last week, you came up to the fence and called to them "hey, guys! Come, here!"  You love to be clean, though.  You do not like to have your hands dirty and ask for them to be "all clean" whenever they get smudged with something.  You love princess dresses and in your mind all dresses (from play dresses to church dresses to pj dresses) are princess dresses.  You love to pull kitchen towels about your waist and make your own princess dress.  You love anything girly and pretty.

Your hair is a nightmare!  It grows in all directions and can hardly be tamed.  It is a soft blond and is still quite feather soft and wispy.  If we do not pull it back, it falls in your eyes.  Your father will not hear of cutting it to give you bangs.  He thinks it will make you look to grown up.  I think he may be right.  But we cannot keep you from growing (much to our chagrin) - you speak more words everyday.  My favorite is how you say your own name  - "Eebee."

You love to snuggle and give hugs and kisses to all your family.  You have always been very keen to the love of your family.  You are happiest when we are all home and together.  you protest quite angrily if we do not remember to thank Heavenly Father for Mommy when we help you with your prayers (Thank you, dear!).  You are eager for Lyman, Charlotte (you call her Char Char) and Daddy to come each day.  You love to spend hours snuggling your big Danish sister and hanging out with her in her room while she gets her hair and make up ready.  You knock on her door and wait expectantly for her to let you in.  In fact, with most things in this life, you simply trust that you will get what you want without objection.  When you do not get your way - you display an impressive amount of objection with a passionate temper.

You love chocolate.  What girl doesn't?  You insist on chocolate milk and pull the chocolate syrup from the fridge whenever the door is open.  You named your stuffed monkey "Chock - it."  You are our baby and we spoil you frequently. 

You are so sweet to your family members.  If Corilynn cries, you rush to her and give her a hug.  You don't always understand why someone is upset but you are always quick to give them comfort. 

There are so many wonderful and delightful things about you, Ruby.  As your mother, I am so blessed to have you.  I cannot believe my baby is two today.  I love you little Ruby Dubes.

Love, Mommy

 Ruby dressed as a King from at the nativity exhibit in Kirtland.  They had a kids section with nativity dress ups.  She quite loved the toy baby Jesus and the little stuffed lambs.



Kirtland

We went as a family up to the Nativity exhibit in Kirtland this weekend.  They had hundreds of nativities there from all over the world.  I love nativities and so it was really a treat for me and everyone else agreed to go.  I love seeing all the nativities from all over the world and I took tons of pictures of the ones I liked best.  In the kids' section there was dress up clothes.  Corilynn is pictured here as Mary.

 Ruby is a wiseman (baby) who thought she was a Shepard because she loved the stuffed sheep.

 Lyman was a wiseman too.

 Here are all three wisemen.  Ruby holds the baby Jesus toy.

 Here is Joseph and Mary.  Mary's pregnant tummy looks a bit unnatural.

 After all the fun we had time enough to tour the N.K. Whitney store.  It was wonderful.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for the opportunity I have had this past week to read through my edited manuscript  Even though I have read each chapter a bazillion times while we edited them over the past several months, it has been a long time since I got to sit down and read the entire thing fluidly.  I am supposed to be looking for any mistakes that need corrected or changes I want to make.  What I found more often (though I did find some corrections still - it seems the process is never over!) is that I came across parts of the book that I had forgotten were there - special scenes, lines, moments.  They have made me chuckle, swoon and smile.  It is fun to read them again and remember "the good times" of when I first created those parts.  I am getting really excited for this book.  It's been fun to see the final version come out.  It's not a different story, it's the same, but it is better than before.  Gail (my editor) is fantastic and I have really enjoyed this process.  The only scary part is now that the editing part is winding down, it means I am getting that much closer to being finished.  It means any stranger off the street will be able to read it and there is a feeling of exposure that goes along with that.  There will be those who will not like it and some that will like it (hopefully more than the meanyheads that don't).  Either way, praise or censure is a bit daunting to me.  Oh well, at least I know I can trust my mom to write me a good review on Amazon.  :)

Birthday Festivities

Corilynn sports her new ballerina outfit for her birthday. 

 I cannot believe my little girl needs 5 candles on her cake.

 A little look at our pretty Christmas tree this year.  I love this season.

Happy Birthday Corilynn!

Today is my sweet little girl's birthday.  What more could I be thankful for on this Thursday than for her arrival in our family?  They all say it - "I remember when she was born...."  and I do - her birth (like the others) was very indicative of her personality.  While Lyman's was long-suffering, and Ruby's was fast and bossy, Corilynn was my baby that came quiet and serene.  She is my daughter that is everything loving, quiet, peaceful and warm.  She is five today and a whole hand big. 

So five things I could learn from my daughter are:
1: The art of being a wallflower.  Corilynn never puts herself forward to be first, or to be showcased.  She is content being the happy supporter in everyone else's plans.  While, she does not hide her talents, she is not boastful or flashy.  She is humble.

2. Contentment.  Corilynn is always happy with what she gets.  She doesnt question if her brother gave her the smaller half, or the inferior play toy.  She is happy with what she has in life and never asks more of anyone.  She is incredibly grateful for even the smallest things and always shows her delight in the little things in her life.

3. Observer.  Corilynn is a great observationalist.  Because she does not push herself forward in social situations, she is great at watching others.  She always has the cutest (and usually very astute) observations about life, others and herself.

4. Self-worth.  Corilynn does not believe herself to be smart, talented, or beautiful - she knows it.  But because she is humble it only adds to her contentment with life.  When she looks in the mirror you can see that she approves of herself.  She does not see her 1 inch bangs (self inflicted) or her mis-matched clothing (also self inflicted).  She sees a beautiful little girl.

5.  Clear vision.  Now this one is not a wish to have better eyes like when I was a child.  This one is about Corilynn's ability to look at everyone around her and see the best.  She sees people the way God sees them.  I have never heard her say anything mean about anyone, even her brother (who frequently drives her crazy).  Her prayers always include the prophet, her primary teacher and a thanks that she got to play with her brother or sister that day.  She never does anything for her own benefit - it is always for others - to make them happy (with a note, a picture or a hug).

We are grateful that five years ago today, our little Corilynn Olivia, came quietly into this world.