Snow, snow, snow, snow!

Utah is cold. Utah is snowy. Utah is beautiful and looks like the Christmas people sing about. Ivy is graduated---no, celebrated. Holly is a spectacular hostess. Dad and I are on our way home. We hope the projected severe winter snowstorm is delayed until we have made our way further south. However, if not . . . and if we don't make it, we love you. --- Mom & Dad

twins!

This is what happens when you live together for 6 months! -Holly

I'm bursting (in case you hadn't heard)

BOARD OF REGISTERED NURSING

Licensee Name:
PLUMB CATHERINE ANNETTE

License Type:
Registered Nurse

License Number:
717237

License Status:
ACTIVE

Expiration Date:
August 31, 2009

Issue Date:
December 19, 2007

County:
FRESNO

Recent Read

Mom and Dad have gone off to Utah and I am sure they are having a good time. Meanwhile, back at the fort, I take Dad's truck into the dealership to deal with some recall business. Dad had mentioned that I might want to take a book to read so on the way out the door this morning I grab the book on top of his newly acquired stack. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. I wasn't entirely interested in starting a new book but the waiting room had only so many car items to browse and so I sat myself down and the time passed quickly. I wasn't able to finished it when they handed me back my keys, but that was okay because as my spaghetti water boiled back home and I was clocked out I finished it. 280 pgs but big print it was a very easy read and one I very much enjoyed. I smiled and I cried and I think I even caught Michael's attention for a bit when he came in just as I was finishing it. Winner of the Newberry in 1995- please find it and read it if you haven't. Maybe it won't for you, but for me it hit a spot. I did not want to put the book down and even as I finished it I closed my eyes a while to slow the transition of my present reality. I would like to tell you what I found in it so fascinating but I do want you to read it.
Elisabeth

More Cheese!

The boys!

Cheese!

We had promised never to go back to Olan Mills and get sucked into their scheme of buying more than the special offer, but I guess people (especially salesmen) can see right through me. So we got caught again through another "special offer" deal.

Here we are though, as happy as can be (happy only because Amaya got to have Oso Polar in her pictures)!

Bare bum Alli Hope

I couldn't resist a naked baby picture. I want to share my Christmas tree and all the lights that Mom showed me how to put on, but I can't find the cord to my camera. (It's still in a box) When I find it I will share Christmas decorations at the Plumbs.

halloween

a gypsy and a punk

j

halloween

jacob and Grandpa

jennifer and andrew

halloween

jonathan holding sleepy amaya

halloween

Isabel and Enoch. :o)

halloween

Mom tried to get one of Amaya with the hood on but... She fell asleep at the party.

I lost my boys. Can you find them?

By the way. The boys were army men for Halloween.

Davenports go to Brinkerhoffs

The Davenports were in the air. After a full day of travel which included a five hour layover in Las Vegas (we only gambled with our sanity) we finally arrived in St. Louis, which is not where the Brinkerhoffs live. So finally the next morning we made it to the Brinkerhoff homestead. Sherwin kept steeling the baby Janessa (spelling most likely different). She is a happy little soul. The boys went wild and had fun. After we stuffed ourselves for Thanksgiving dinner we said farewell and went to Nauvoo. We spent a day seeing and learning. All and all the boys favorite part was playing a computer game (why do we spend money on these little people?) In truth they had lots of fun with their cousins.

You can all choose to participate in that old tradition of staring at your computer screen and doing nothing while the video clip loads. (4mb worth) For those of you with no patience, the video shows the boys traveling, Janessa being Janessa (she is a new person who most of you have not met, so she gets some good airtime here), our boys reading and all the kids making beeswax candles.

choo choo

Let me tell you (or remind you) how exciting it is to hear a cho cho train inside of you! We heard our almost 14 week old baby's heartbeat this week. Mark went with me to this appointment. I am feeling much better but still tire easily, so by the time I get home all I could do was get the christmas box out, the next day I emptied it and last night all I could do was look at it and carry the $10 big lots tree in from the car. Well, that was my intention- but I was asleep by the time we got home and so Mark carried it in. (we were home before 5 so it wasn't that late). I had fun studying the law of moses this morning in seminary and the neat thing is that I think they did too.

ALSO- a friendly reminder that we should send out our Christmas packages before the 3rd of December! :o)

Evidence that Heavenly Father loves me.

Thanksgiving went off without a hitch. Isabel's yummy rolls, Jennifer's super duper tasty sweet potatoes that I loved, and of course Mom's never fail turkey and stuffing! Mom's home was beautiful and it was a wonderful feeling to be with our family.

All week long Seena and Roman had been collecting for our friends in El Salvador so it was especially fun for them to see where they were sending Barbie and Donetello. I wanted to give a special thanks to Elisabeth for that.

Tonight Jeremy came home from school frazzled. He was so overwhelmed with everything that was needing to be done. He immediately got on the computer and began to work. Trying to be supportive and understanding I did the night routine, but by about 8:30 I was feeling a bit frazzled myself. The kids finally got to bed and I was struggling with a tired baby who didn't want to surrender to sleep. I walked, I rocked, I nursed(which usually works)she just didn't want to cooperate and right as my frustration was about to boil over I felt two strong hands reach over my shoulders and pull my squirmy baby away. It probably only took Jeremy ten minutes to get Allison to sleep, but what it meant to me will last much, much longer. Today I am thankful for a husband who is busy with many things but will set them aside for me and our family.

climbing tree's and Decorating for christmas

Last month Andrew and Jacob were really into climbing tree's everyday. Jacob would say
"I'm Monkey, Mama."
Andrew is always on some adventure, he 's always talking it seems, and it's harder to remember what he says. He's a little brain though, and comes up with some fun ideas now and then that i do remember. The other day Grandpa was giving Jacob a ride on the riding lawn mower, mowing around the big tree in their backyard, through leaves, (which made an interesting design.) etc. Andrew said
"Mom it looks like he's making a Galaxy! thats silly!"
( http://www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/images/Milky_Way_galaxy_sun05.jpg )
He always seems to be relating the unrelated. It can be Entertaining.
We put up our Christmas tree the other day and the boys are into the season already, Andrew's been singing "Rudolf", and Jacob, "Jingle Bells". They enjoy dancing to our Christmas music (but always seem to get in trouble when they do, for wrestling..and someone usually gets hurt).
Micheal and I are very happy and enjoying life..well Michael might not be soon since finals are next week, I think.
I guess I have been a little stressed on Sundays, but I guess thats usual, Sunday just always seems to be the opposite of "a day of rest" anymore. Its so crazy usually! Being a primary president you almost never sit down i feel! I'm sure my counselors feel the same (right Isabel : )).
Our primary program is week after next so we've been practicing, so we will probably be a little more stressed until the program is over. I hope it turns out well.
Hope everyone is doing well! Is anyone coming to visit for or around Christmas? It would be fun to see one of the far away families!!! I look forward to your visits! : )

Construction of a temple in San Salvador, El Salvador!!!!

From the office of the First Presidency dated Nov 7, 2007 announcing the construction of a new temple I received the news in an email today as well as a copy of a translated letter dated Nov 16, 2007. Signed by the Presidents Hinckley, Monson, and Eyring they say,

"We are confident that this will be a blessing to the many faithful Saints in this and surrounding areas who have had to travel long distances to enjoy the blessings of a temple... We commend the Saints for their devotion and faithfulness, and are thankful for the blessings that will come to them through the construction of this new temple."

I wish I could convey how this makes me feel, but I think words aren't enough this time. I hope we all take advantage of the great blessings that we can and do enjoy!

Love,

Elisabeth

*ivy loo*

mops n pops . . . n whoever else helped (mark, bit, jonny, meh, i dunno) . . . the basement looks AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! omg! the pictures do not do it justice i'm sure.

jonny n isa, your lil'uns r so freakin cute! amaya's response 2 ekik is so twoish n so amayaish! it must be so exciting 2 grow n learn with ur squeaker n keaker! n oh, btw, he has grown so much! two cute, too cute!!!!

julie, thank you for bloging here. it's great 2 hear from you. i am excited 2 hear from u n c u soon!

2 u n the rest of u, i love u so much n i can't wait 2 cum home!
*ivy*

*Elisabeth*

It is so much fun to hear and see about you all! Welcome Julie and Isa and families. Here comes Thanksgiving week! Hey maybe we could share a little of our Halloween costumes on here. I didn't take a picture but I think Mom did. I'll get it from her. Looking forward to seeing yours (for the first time or again).

They should have been taking pictures all along

It seems only a short time ago that Mom had to go into the deep, dark dungeon to do the payroll or pay bills. A concrete prison that smelt of dirty rats (mom has refused to watch ratatouille), where you ducked under cables and wires, peeked around boxes and over stacks of papers, and dodged falling insulation. When her birthday rolled around this year- part of the gift giving was to clear out the room, build a three-doored wall to hide the water heater and wiring and such, take down old shelves and build new ones (in a newly formed closet), drywall, plaster, texture, paint and stain. The so far result is absolutely amazing! Though neither the before or after shots do it justice- it definitely is an applauding affair! Oh, the cleverness of our parents and the selfless dedication of their loving children. (Great idea Boy!) If you are around you should stop by and see it. I don't think mom will suddenly be raring to go into the office, but at least we won't have to send down search and rescue teams to recover her body.

Wow

I had to go and see the pictures of Andrew and Jacob. It was amazing. I loved it. Cute boys, cute family, and a beautiful page that looks like Jenafur.
Julie

Julie

How exciting for Amaya! To be young and have fun. I didn't think much of my little sister when I was her age, not that I remember, but the story goes that she was the bad giant BOBO in Jack and the Beanstalk. Of course she grew up to be a very good friend.

I like to see your bunnies Ivy. It would be fun to visit the little rats.

Andrew and Jacob sound an awful lot like a couple of other boys I know. Why are you "sister bear" and not "mama bear"? We like the bearenstains here too.

I am going to Missouri! Yea! Happy Thanksgiving

"Happy Day"

Isa Jingle
Having a Sqeaker and Kikker to play with makes each day a "happy day" (Amaya's version of Happy birthday). She thinks lighting any candle, even if it is to be put inside a jack-o-lantern, means it is time to sing happy birthday, and that the candle should be blown out. "Sopla, sopla!" she says.

Also, Amaya is finally beginning to acknowledge Enoch as part of the family. Her perspective is quite interesting though. Last night, we were all sitting on the couch watching Shrek the Third for the first time (actually Amaya was climbing all over). Then, at the sight of an ugly, green ogre baby she exclaimed..."EKIK!" What a loving sister.

Above are some quick pictures of our every day happy days...

basement

Dad just blogged about the basement work that they have been doing, but something in the computer didn't work. So, he will tell you about it again later.
Eli Wade, Janet

ok, so this one's a cute picture, but i think the comment being made is kinda dumb . . . doesn't make sense. *ivy*

ivy loo

these are my seven babies that i had a name game for. i thoughtr it'd b funner to be able to put bodies to the names. i've been told they're much bigger now, mom can vouch for that. i love you all so very much. i'll post more at another time!

*ivy*

Jennifer

Sounds like fun, we're in. : )
Here's some semi recent pictures of our family at my myspace page www.myspace.com/jenafurh
it's important not to forget the h , bad page.
Anyway we're doing good here. At the moment, Andrew's telling us he's brother bear, that I'm sister bear, and Jacob is ""Too Tall"". (Andrew's into the Bernstein bear books, but most of all pretending to be someone else almost always.)
Michael is working on making the family room compatible for his home made movie projector. Which has turned out very cool.

I have this idea... what do you think?

So, I have not the time nor the inclination right now to become an avid blogger- but it has been fun to share with you in this way. So... the idea that I have is to invite you to become partner bloggers with me!! What do you think? A family journal of sorts, a way of communicating the little and seemingly unimportant details of our lives (or the grand and glorious) with each other. I will admit that I have never been what I'd like to be as far as a letter writer (it's the sending part that usually gets me), and though I do like to chat on the phone from time to time- a picture is said to be worth a thousand words. I find this blog quite painless when I am around somewhere with internet access. It is fun to ramble on the keyboard and I think it would be even funner still to be able to read other's rambles and comment on them. So, what do you think?

Happy Halloween!

Here's a new experience for us- Trick or Treaters! I have never heard our doorbell ring so many times! Having lived out of town (both of us) I don't think we are really used to giving candy out to strangers. Which reminds me of a quote, "There are no strangers here- only friends we haven't met". We went to two ward parties dressed as a Gypsy and a punk. You can guess who was who. Dressing up and pumkins are the only things that I like about Halloween and we didn't even get a pumkin this year. Alas, no jack'o'lanterns. I did discover a brownie recipe that when tweaked Mark says is even better than the mix brownies. For him, that's saying a lot. Which leads me to my next thought. When we make treats it's always better to give away just about all of them. They taste better all around. Happy Halloween!

The freebean on Oct 29th

He is especially cute if you know what to look for. The arms and legs, the head, the fluttering heart. New due date is June 1st. It sounds like a very pleasant time to have a baby. This doctor's visit was so much more pleasant than the last. I even didn't mind my flu shot. I am still exhausted and only occasionally nauseas without the throwing up. Doctor say that both she and I are healthy and normal. Always nice to hear. I keep calling our bean baby he and she so that I do not refer to as "it" or something similar. Cause even though I don't know her gender I know he's not an it.

I'm Pregnant!

I guess the title says it all. I think that I have always envisioned something grand and spectacular about being pregnant. I now just feel the symptoms of that time of the month that just isn't coming with weird exhaustion that I have been attributing to teaching early morning seminary. I get really hungry and then when I eat I barely take a couple of bites and feel full as full can be. At least telling people and their hurrahs will comfort me. Oh, we are not telling anyone (I can't imagine they don't already know) so this unread blog is the only one who gets to hear about it. My tummy is puchy. My skin has a lot of acne. My girls are sore and can I say bigger? The tests sunday night said positive. I can't figure how far along I am- all the web sites are different. 7 weeks? Fun stuff, huh? I am very excited and feel truely blessed to have this miracle in my life. What a nice general conference!

That was weird

I wrote this whole nice blog on how the word puchica isn't all that great afterall cause it's just an unimmaginative way of expressing yourself. Go figure, I should be able to come up with a few better ones than that in my vocab list. Anyway, there I was doing all that when I published my blog and discovered that it was written in some language that I for sure can't read. hmm....

न्यू इन्सिघ्ट्स ओं पुचिका

ई फौंद आउट रेसेन्त्ल्य ठाट पुचिका इसं'त अल ठाट ग्रेट अस इत सीमेद इन थे बेगीन्निंग। इत इस जुस्त अ निस वे ऑफ़ बीइंग एक्ष्प्लिकित् ऎंड ई ऍम वे अबोवे उसिंग गेनेरिक वोर्ड्स तो एक्सप्रेस म्य्सेल्फ़ राईट? ई मैं यू वौल्ड थिंक ठाट मय वोकाबुलार्य कोउल्ड एब अ लित्त्ल बिग्गेर!

Puchica

Puchica! It seems to be a word that always fits any given blank. I don't want to spoil your discovery of the joys of puchica, but I find that it is a reaction word. Mama Leti was the first ever heard use it. In that instance I was sure that it was some four letter word when translated into English. The thing is, I never could translate it into anything other than itself and now if there is someone out there who does know what it means, I'm not sure I want to know what it is. I have become quite comfortable with my personal multipurpose use.