Suicidal Paint Job

Sheridan and Sariah going to practice Japanese writing on paper in the back yard. The kids had no school on Friday, so I laid down for a few minutes thinking that I would hear the little ones arguing or one of the older girls would check on them. They apparently had a little under an hour to be 'creative'. Season woke me up with her yelling, saying that she was going to go tell Mommy what they were doing. I went out and thought that I was going to lose it. Poor Sariah, she was trying to explain her way out of it, blaming Sheridan mostly, that I looked at her and said she was grounded for the rest of this 5 day break. Sheridan was deprived cookies for the rest of the day. We took pictures 'to show Daddy what they did', this way we could take them without making them think it was cute.

Who Left the Toliet Seat Up? Down?

We have a sign in our home by the toilets asking..."Please close the toilet lid before flushing the toilet", part of this request was to keep the little people from playing in the toilets, the other would be germs. Anyway, it's been several months since Sheridan has needed her potty seat, so I cleaned it and had it stored away. She found it on this day and was playing with it. At first it was a hat, then a crown and then ooops! It became an unwanted necklace. I was laughing so hard! She was so upset, but I couldn't help myself. After a few photos, I had her smiling too!

Our Old Dog, Joe has Gone Back Home

Earlier this morning Ken & I took our old Grandpa Doggie Joe, to the vet and had him put to sleep. He was 13 years old and was in pain from his hips. He was 122 pounds. A dog of his size, is considered 'senior' at 8 years old. He lived a very long, happy, fulfilled & truly loved life.

He passed very quickly and was beautiful while sleeping. I helped make a casting of his paw print so that the girls would have something tangable to remember him (even though they took fur clippings last night while they brushed him).

It was a very painful day for us humans. Colby & Rufus are still quite playful, but Colby was very concerned when I came home without Joe. Rufus seems confused a bit too. Actually Rufus seems to be on a hunger strike so far today. I expect that they will both be a little mopey for the next few days.

As for the remaining human members of our family, we will be missing and aching inside for our Joe, Joe. We loved him bunches!

Hair Styles for Christmas by Lauren

Lauren has always had a talent for styling hair. Through her schooling at Boulder Tech in the afternoon's, she is developing that talent. She did have to be threatened to complete the assignment of doing her sister's hair as a Christmas present for Grandma Markoff. They all turned out great and the girls did cooperate with beautiful smiles for the pictures. in order are: Lauren, Lee, Sariah, Sheridan & Season.

Gingerbread houses at Grandma Markoff's home

The construction pictures are shown in the posting below. We somehow missed a picture of Season's completed house. Maybe Grandma got a picture of it. She did a great job on her house and it was really creative and covered with plenty of candy!

Lauren's house had offered easy access for the birds.

Sariah used the pretzels to keep the birds out :-)

Lee is always trying to pile on plenty of candy. She even got the the idea from a friend that she should load the inside with a years supply of candy. She's always told us that we need to work on our food storage!

Grandpa and Sheridan were very proud of the job that they did in record time. Actually, they were the last done.

Grandma and Sariah took a moment to pose for a publicity shot to help promote this great work.

Gingerbread houses at Grandma Markoff's (Ken's Mom)

Every year close to Christmas day, the girls and I pack up for Grandma's house. Over the hills and thru the woods, to Grandmother's house we go... She makes the homes from scratch with a pattern borrowed from a friend. That friend passed away in November, so she was forced to find a new pattern. The girls and I concluded that they were actually birdhouses. They worked out great!

Lee and Sariah on a sugar high, try to finish the project under the deadline.

Season? Texting during this important tradition? Come on!

Sheridan and Grandpa Markoff were construction partners (this allowed Mommy to be the photographer this year). It was so cute, he just scootched in beside her when we were getting setup. Grandpa usually is working when we do the Gingerbread houses. It was fun to have him help!

We are Requesting Prayers for my Sister Cassie & her Family

On Thursday morning, Cassie went to a scheduled OB visit for her 39 week gestational age, baby boy. It was discovered that he had died prior to the visit. She was induced for the vaginal birth right away and brought his still body into this world a little after 8pm that night. The shock and sadness have touched many of their family and friends. Both Cassie, Bear and their children, Patrick 5 and Conner almost 3, has been understandably overwhelming. After his body was delivered, they chose the name of James Little Bear Holden. His features were very similar to that of little Conner. Bear was so overcome with grief that he was unable to hold Baby James. Cassie however, held him for an hour or so before he was taken for an autopsy. They chose to have this performed due to the obvious and severe deterioration of James' body. So many questions arise when a tragedy like this occurs. We hope that the procedure will answer a few of these questions. Cassie and Bear decided that Patrick and Conner should not see his body. I hope that this was a wise choice, but it is done. We are asking for the prayers of our family and friends to help them to be comforted during this time of heartache, loss and eventual mending of their broken hearts. Thank you in advance for your prayers and concern.

Life in the Toone Household

Update with our Family. Life with 5 daughters, 3 dogs and 1 saltwater aquarium is always busy and eventful. We enjoy the constant chaos and change that is thrown our way weekly.

Lauren & Lee always busy with life as high schoolers and young women growing into lovely adults. Lauren with morning classes at the high school and afternoon hairstyling at Boulder Tech, keeps her very busy and excited for her future. She is confident and outgoing. Strives to be a good leader in her role a Section Leader for the flutes during this year as a Junior. Lee is gaining momentum and strength after the initial phase of Mono. Exhaustion is still a threat, but school attendance is improving and she is able to stay on top of assignments much better. We decided that participating in school Basketball for the winter season would not be wise in her attempt to recoup and prepare for Soccer this spring.

Season being our only middle school kid, is a delightful and friendly 'tween'. She has felt so grown up since being able to join the Young Women program, being 12 has it's advantages. School is a struggle for her. Organization and focus have not been strengths for her, we work daily on improvement. She is making real effort and is beginning to enjoy success.

Sariah has really launched in 1st grade. Reading everything including her scriptures, is something she works on constantly. She is very bright and we have begun to call her a sponge. I have heard that she is very respectful and obeys the rules at school. I often wonder where that goes during the drive home everyday.

Sheridan and I are enjoying our time together. She has never had me to herself as all of the other girls have experienced at one time or another. Her health this year so far, has been outstanding! Everyone else in the house, other than Daddy, has been pretty sick or injured. It has been exciting to see her enjoy the Fall and now, Winter weather! I feel bad that I have been the one sick and we haven't been able to do the little things that I look forward to when they are little like this.

I am truly grateful for my Honey, Ken. He is a dedicated, hardworking man. He very seldom will 'veg' out. It really drives me nuts sometimes. Business is going well enough that he really needs an assistant to free up his time to work his leads and continue to service his clients like they have become accustomed.

We have been blessed with a delightful family! Our children are respectful and kind to others, (at home is often a little different though). We feel the Lord and his blessings in our lives. Baby steps have strengthen us and made us better people and a stronger family unit. We love the Lord and recognize His hand in this growth.

Couple of Snapshots from Thanksgiving

Sardakowski Family tradition for Thanksgiving always includes a trip to the Denver Zoo or Museum of Natural History. We all enjoyed the Museum this year. It was relatively cool outside this year, so we opted for the museum. Grandma & Grandpa always purchase a family pass which gets all of the grandbabies in for free. We then journey to the host house. This year Nathanael & Jessica hosted us in their new home in Littleton. Delicious food was enjoyed and relationships were strengthened. Serene, Kyle and baby Brigham drove in from Utah. We really missed Ammon who lives Glenwood Springs, Rebekah & her family in Washington state and George & his family in Alaska. Otherwise everyone else came from around the metro area. We all are truly thankful for the love and support that we share in the Sardakowski Family!

Cousins Sariah and Brigham, snuggle after the Sardakowski Thanksgiving meal. Brigham was born in July and already weighs 18 pounds. He is a big boy! Aunt Serene calls him her 'old man'. He is a sweet and happy baby!Mommy & Sheridan enjoy a break from food preparation. It was very loud with the game on the TV, babies crying and everyone talking. Loads of noise is a way of life with our large family. We always love getting together as a family!

This is Jessica & Nathanael's beautiful baby girl Leah. Mommy and Leah show very little sign of stress while hosting dinner. Leah did get upset that she could not sample Aunt Amber's Sweet Potato Casserole and Christmas Slush. Just wait until next year Leah :0)

Our Three Dogs

Joe is out Great Pyrenees/Golden Retriever mix. We figure that he is at least 13 years old. Our black dog is Colby, we call him our Heinz 57 dog. He is a mix of several different breeds. The prominent breed would be Border Collie. Colby is about 7 or 8 years old, (we can't quite pinpoint when my sister Bekah & I picked him up from a gas station in the corner of Arizona, between Vegas and St. George). Then there is Rufus our 9 month old Pug. He is the only purebred dog I have owned. Growing up, my family always adopted those mutts that became beloved members of our family. Now my brothers and sisters all have purebreds of different varieties. Even Mom & Dad own a couple of their own :0)

I wanted to post this picture of our dogs, in the garage, after Joe had a bath. We are faced with needing to put Joe down very soon. He has gotten so old that he only gets up when he eats, needs a drink and answer nature's call. As it gets colder, he gets 'stuck' and we need to lift him to get his feet below his body. His aspirin two times a day help quite a bit, but it just doesn't help him get on his feet. It is a hard decision to make, but we are holding on for our own comfort at this point. We would like to wait until after the Holidays, but we will see what Joe's health will dictate.

We have loved and cherished Joe Joe. As with any big dog, he was always in the way. What is it with big dogs? They always find the tightest, smallest and most inconvenient places to lie down. He has stolen his fair share of food from the dinner table or counters. Escaped many times from our yards to explore the nearby homes and parks. He is always gentle and doesn't mind when the 'Animal Warden' approaches him to return him home. His partner in crime has always been Colby. Colby is never quite ready to come home and tends to get aggressive with the 'Warden'. The two of them have been very close buddies since Colby joined our family. We expect that Colby will go thru some considerable grieving when Joe is gone. Rufus will also grieve a bit. At least they will have each other and the pain will pass.

Sheridan and I went swimming at Paul Derda Rec Center 2 weeks ago. Her favorite part is always the fountains! She really froze her little hiney though until she discovered the family hottub. We spent the majority of our time in it. Check out her little pose below...

Gotta enjoy the time that you have because when you blink it's gone! I really am loving her at this age, probably because she's it until grandchildren :0)

I got flowers!

Kyle, Serene and baby Brigham sent me 'Get Well Soon' flowers. (Strep throat hits me pretty hard everytime).Thanks you guys, there are so beautiful!

Where is Sheridan? We put her to bed...

We put Sheridan to bed fully dressed in a clean, uncluttered bed last night. I went in to check on her at 10:30pm and was really confused. Where is Sheridan?

With only a nitelite to guide me, I gently felt all over the pile until I found an arm.

At this point, I decided to grab the camera.
I lifted off the book that she fell asleep under.

With the mystery solved... I straightened up her bed. I put the pull-ups back into the basket, placed all of her books into a neat pile on her dresser, put all of her little puppies back into their bed, folded up her pajamas, repositioned her in her bed and made sure she was covered with a few of the blankets she had chosen. Then I kissed her goodnight and took a final picture. Goodnight my little Sheridan. Sleep tight!

Our Beautiful Afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch Part 2

Sariah & Sheridan pose as cute little scarecrow and jack-o-lantern. Sheridan will actually be a jack-o-lantern for Halloween this year.

Top left is Season, next is Lee. Below Lee on the right is Lauren. Sheridan is across from Lauren and finally Sariah is holding the whole pyramid up!

Season looks straight into the sun so that I don't get the 'shadow' effect. She had to hold down her hair, so it wouldn't fly into her face.

Lee was helping Sheridan find her pumpkin. She said that Sheridan just walked right up to the right one and told her that she wanted that one to be hers. Lee found her own not far from there.

There were acres and acres of pumpkins. They always have a corn maze and other attractions in addition to the pick your own pumpkin setup. It's northwest of Denver, but only 5 minutes from our house in Broomfield. It was a great day!

Pumpkin Hunting at the Pumpkin Patch Part 1

Family Time at the Pumpkin Patch in Lafayette, Colorado

We were able to pull the whole family together to go to the Rock Creek Farm Pumpkin Patch close by our house. The older ones really didn't want to go, but when we were there...we all enjoyed the pumpkin hunting, farm animals, weather and the really short drive home.

Sariah is always posing when she is alone in a picture.

Ahhh, Sheridan! Her first pumpkin patch experience. She went so far searching for "Sheridan's" pumpkin (she's always talking in 3rd person).

Ken is our fearless leader. He was busy taking all of the pictures, so I took the camera from him and I snapped the unwilling subject.

Lauren & Mommy. Lauren had a brand new, lovely, baby blue cast put on earlier today. She staked her claim just a few minutes after this shot. She discovered her perfect pumpkin and sat promptly down upon it, while everyone else searched a few acres or more.

Lauren hobbled around on crutches thru the patch.