Christmas 2010

We really enjoyed this Christmas season. We got to spend a lot of time together because Richard got an extra week of vacation this year and didn't plan for it, so it got used spending time home with us. It was so nice having him home more than normal. I really enjoyed all the excitement in my kids eyes this year and thought many times how lucky I am to have these three healthy and happy children. My girls especially love the Christmas season, the decorating, social gatherings, school parties. They love wearing festive clothes and earrings. I, on the other hand, prefer things really low key, so it's an internal struggle for me to keep up with them. Luckily Richard makes up for my lacking. He knows I hate getting the decorations out so he usually does it, which if he doesn't know, I should say I really appreciate him for doing that! I ended up using our camcorder the whole morning of Christmas and didn't get my camera out once. I feel so bad. We had a Christmas Eve celebration at our house with Richard and Carolyn, Branson, Stephen, and Jon. When they went home, the kids seemed more than happy to get right to bed. We read the Christmas story out of Luke and Porter held a picture of the nativity and said, "That baby is so hungry." Porter came into our bed at some point in the night and I ended up going in to see if the girls were up sometime before 8. We don't make them open up things one at a time, so Richard and I just watched the girls rip through their presents and laughed at Porter who would rip off a little of the wrapping paper and bring it to us. Then, we left it all behind and headed down to Gramman and Pa's house for the weekend. We had a lot of fun playing games, a wonderful Christmas lunch of ham, turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, dumplings . . .you get the picture. Carolyn is the best cook! We missed our Utah family! I got to talk to my dad, grandma, and skype with my brothers, sister and their families. We are so grateful for our families and most of all for our Savior. I can't begin to imagine how this mortal life would make sense to me without the knowledge of His Atonement for us. We talked this season in our family about how that is the greatest gift in our life and how we can show humility and gratitude for that gift by how we live our life and treat others. Now that Christmas is all cleaned up and we are starting a New Year, I hope to be able to take those lessons with us and as a family grow closer to the Savior this year.

Richard { 34 }

 

Christmas activities

Savannah has been working on her Christmas songs for several months in Chorus so it was fun to see them perform last week. They probably could have used a bigger venue as the cafeteria ended up being standing room only. I didn't even attempt a better picture closer up. She did a really good job!

 

wishing

***Disclaimer*** The Spiers family is mindful of the true meaning of Christmas and is working hard to celebrate it meaningfully.
BUT,
the mom of the house had a brief lapse of reality and decided to make a wish list all of her own.

Amazing Pictures from WWII

The lost blog post

I looked back at all our pictures taken this year to find some "lost blog posts" I could preserve for our memories. I am not the best at always having my camera with me and since I have a preference to blogging with pictures, many stories go untold. My camera was broken for several months and I'm afraid, the only picture I have of Porter from his birthday was taken with Richard's phone. The entire summer was not blogged about because we were too busy lounging at the pool with our friends. Someday I need to do a post entirely about how we spend the summer. However, I have come across a picture that is very blog worthy and thought I would post it to recap our beach trip we took in October with our friends, The Boland's. We love Mirimar Beach and hanging out with our good friends Ryan and Jenn! Even though the boys get really competitive, Jenn and I could not stop laughing at our boys getting so serious about beating us at Sing Star - this picture was taken very early in the morning and makes me laugh every time I see it!

Disappointed kiddos

So we had a busy Saturday. I had signed up to do the jingle bell 5k and got up before everyone else to go to that. When I got home Richard put up outside Christmas lights and the girls and I left for a baptism of a friend of ours in the ward. We came home and baked a pecan pie and mac & cheese for the ward christmas party. I double checked the ward calendar to make sure of the time and even sent a text to another friend of ours in the ward to let them know it started at 7:00. What do you know, but the Spiers show up with our food in hand ready to mingle and party, only to be rushed in and seated because everyone had eaten in the last hour and they were starting the program. I didn't even get to hear my friends sing and perform because Porter wasn't about to sit with the lights out - so I mingled with the other 2 year olds and their parents in the hall. As soon as the program was over, we headed home with teary kids- who, hadn't eaten or seen their friends. So, I guess the lesson learned is 1) don't rely on the ward calendar on the website and 2) I need to make better food to take - just in case that is what we are stuck eating for dinner, because it started an hour early. Here are a few pictures of kids (happy because they are looking forward to the ward party). No pictures were taken after!

Dumptrucks

I got distracted online after a phone call today and the next thing I knew, Porter had his dumptrucks on my bed. He kept telling me something and I was going "uh huh" while I was not paying attention to him. When I looked up I said "Hey get those dirty dumptrucks off my bed and he said, " They not dirty, they dumptrucks, they working."

We are thankful for:

Savannah is thankful for her family and friends.
Cardyn is thankful for her family, school, teachers, Heavenly Father, and church.
Porter is thankful for - he just said no and told me "I did it" while he attempts to play Playstation with his sisters.

The Spiers have so much to be Thankful for this season! Most of all for our Family and the eternal blessings of the Gospel in our lives. I am grateful to be married to the most wonderful man, who is my best friend. I could not imagine a second without Richard in my life and the blessing of being a mom to my beautiful children.

Sunday

Today was the Primary Program in our ward and the kids did an amazing job. We have such a big primary and the songs sounded so good. Savannah and Cardyn had a few lines to say and both of them did a really good job. Cardyn was nervous and had practiced saying her lines so fast I was a little worried, but she did fine. Savannah got a little bored in the end and I saw her counting the speakers on the ceiling. Porter was terrible and had to be taken out several times. He also kept telling me he was going up to the stand to talk. I snapped a picture of them right after the meeting to send to Grandma, who had me get them new holiday dresses. They looked so beautiful!



We spent the rest of our Sunday laying low with the kids. The girls and I made a cake with a new frosting that is less sweet than most. My kids always complain that frosting makes them sick so when I came across one that claimed to be the perfect sweetness, I had to try it. It is definitely different, but was the first time I've seen them eat all their cake in a long time. Even Richard liked it. My sourdough bread attempt was a failure, but I still have my starter . . I just don't think it is strong enough yet to raise the bread dough properly. We broiled a London Broil for dinner and the kids hurried and bathed so we could play Playstation tonight. We played Buzz Jungle edition and Richard kicked all of our butts and gloated and got little man to run around saying "Oh Snap!" . . . we have to let them do their little butt-kicking every now and then, because after all, they are outnumbered. As I snuggled with the kids on the couch before bed, Savannah told us the story of Esther from the bible. Her teacher must have given her some serious background on Esther, because she didn't tell the familiar story, so I'm going to have to go back and refresh my memory since I was sort of lost. I loved listening to her, though. I just layed there while Cardyn played with my hair and thought I could listen to my kids talk all night. Then Cardyn started asking about the sacrament and when Savannah went to answer her question, she said "No, No . . . Daddy told me we would talk about it for FHE tomorrow." So cute. I usually jump right in and overload my kids with too much information, but I stopped myself tonight and just listened - they'll get it eventually. After I put the girls down, Porter and I were "snugging" and he kept pointing to his hands and saying something I couldn't quite get. Finally I realized he was asking me to see his callouses . . .something he overheard his sisters ask me yesterday after watching Beezus and Ramona.

Keeping Busy

 

{For Anje} - these arm warmers are easy to make and I was thinking they would be cute little leg warmers for Gabe. I put up a few pictures for you to see, but you basically just cut the toe off, turn inside out, sew the heel shut and cut off creating one long tube. Turn rightside and lay the seam down (will be under the arm) and cut tiny (they get big when thy put them on) holes for the thumbs. They are perfect for my non coat wearing kids.

It seems like the baking season has begun! Savannah needs a couple dozen treats here, and we do something for YW and school needs ________ and of course my man needs his favorite cookies once in a while! I also am attempting a sourdough starter and from studying up all you need is flour and water. I guess you "catch" the wild yeast in the air. It has been several days and other than a liquid forming on top that I've stirred in when I've "fed" the starter, I hadn't noticed any difference . . .until today. I forgot to feed it last night, so I got it down today and almost immediately after feeding it I noticed "the change". I will be so happy if I can get this started and bake my weekly bread this way. I've read a lot of good things about how much better it is for you. I've even seen that some bakeries in San Francisco claim to have kept their starter alive for over a hundred years. Tonight we are off to church for activities and looking ahead to a weekend of soccer, birthday parties and the kids have their primary program. We are looking forward to soccer being over in a couple of weeks, but I'm sure we'll start something to fill the time!

Sewing, Playing, Hanging out, Eating . . .

Great things to do on a rainy day!

Trick or Treat

What should be a one day holiday to dress up and get candy has turned into a week long celebration. Between the school, play-dates, church and the actual celebration of Halloween, the actual trick-or-treating doesn't have the effect it used to have on me when I was a kid. I've barely seen them get into their candy. On a more positive note, if I had spent a good deal of time or money on their costumes I would be happy they got more use out of them. Here are a few pictures from Halloween night:

Trunk or Treat

enough said.

Wear your costume to school

The girls got to wear their costumes to school today. If nothing else, it got Savannah up and going earlier than normal today. When they were deciding on their costumes this year, I told them I didn't want to spend a lot of money. They did a a really good job of coming up with something that we could either borrow or get fairly cheap. Savannah is a cross country runner (THANKs to Caroline Hanks for letting us borrow your XC shirt and running shorts). She also wore sweat bands and headband and her medal she won on her 5k race earlier this year. Cardyn is a black cat. She couldn't wear her mask at school so we just drew some whiskers on. Of course, Porter wanted his costume on this morning too.


Here is Porter later in the day trick-or-treating with some friends at the square:

Grandpa

Richard's Grandpa Spiers passed away about a year and a half ago. He was one of the kindest man I have ever met and am so grateful I got to know him and that he got to know my girls. Porter was born right as some illnesses set in on him and he never got to meet him. He and Grandma Pete were always so happy to see the grandkids and we never left without them telling us how much they loved us and Grandpa taking you aside and reminding you to love each other. When he was raising his boys he worked as a grocer. I know he lived in Picayune, MS most his life, so I am assuming this is there or near there - maybe in Slidell, MS. Richard and I were looking at these the other day and thinking how funny it is that they would stack those cans up like that. I remember even when I was little seeing displays like that. Now that I have little ones, I am glad they don't do that as much. I know one of mine would have knocked one of those down in a hurry. My kids like to touch everything at the store.

Crazy hair day

Monday Morning

We woke up to a really great thunder/lightning/rain storm this morning. The lightning was so close and Porter would grab me tight with every boom. I put him in bed with Daddy and when I went to get him, to take the girls to school, he did not want to leave Richard's side. It really charged him and the girls up. Savannah and Cardyn were hoping it would take the power down at school and Porter came home and kicked the balloon and ball around the house for awhile. He kept yelling "Get Open!" to me. Silly boy, he cracks me up sometimes. I posted awhile back a picture of Richard and all his brothers, and thought I would put one up when they were little.



I love seeing pictures of all the boys when they were younger. They all have very strong personalities, so you know it was never a dull moment at the Spiers household. Having a son now, I know Carolyn and Richard had their hands full. Richard was able to get a lot of pictures from his Uncle Bill of his Spiers family from the 1940's and 50's. I'm wanting to find out some of the stories from these pictures and put them on our family blog so my children can learn some of their family history. Since my mom passed away before my children were born, it is important to me that my kids know about them even if it is through pictures. {More to come . . .}

Eww, Gross, Disgusting!

This is what I hear every night when Cardyn comes to dinner. Unfortunately she is gaining a following from Porter. I had to hide a smile when I heard the word disgusting coming from Porter's mouth. She thinks I have it out for her with Lentils last night and Quiche tonight. I used to come up with another meal for my picky ones, but no more. We just tell them to peel a carrot and they can eat at the next meal. We got big tears tonight when the brownies came out of the oven.

Last Night

You can't beat an evening on the most perfect beach with 4 of your most favorite people in the world! Time stands still here for me . .

Goal!

Savannah scored her first goal for the season in her game last weekend! I think she was a little surprised because she turned and looked at where Richard and I were sitting with a strange look on her face. She has been so close to scoring in her previous game but the defenders have either gotten the ball away from her or she has been a little shy about shooting. Hopefully a little taste of scoring will get her going for the season. Porter has made friends with the little sisters of a teammate of Savannah's and he had fun playing on the sidelines. Cardyn was MIA since her game was the night before and she had a birthday party. She was disappointed though, since we played Mrs. Nouryeh's (her K teacher) daughter's team. Saturday Jon and Jessica came over and we had a fun visit with them and Jessica's dog Calvin. My kids were so excited for that dog and had to show him off to all the neighbor kids. Porter was obsessed and fed the dog food to Calvin one piece at a time out of his bowl. He cried and cried when they left. Thanks for the nice visit Jon and Jessica!
The kids have been wanting to get up some Halloween decorations, so we made some ghouls out of two liter bottles and started putting up fall decorations. In the spirit of being resourceful, we made some home made decorations, the twine ball was from stuff I had around the house, old shirts made the rosettes on my witch sign and Richard even helped me make the ball on top of the steel flower pot with pages from an old book. We stayed up late crafting which is something we have never done since we aren't crafty people, but it was a lot of fun!

Breakfast

This boy loves breakfast! He usually eats two servings of whatever we are having. His preference is cereal (Honey-Nut Cheerios or Wheaties) or Pancakes. When he gets done with his pancakes he is quick to see if his sisters have finished theirs.


I've always wanted to make wholesome pancakes for my kids, but it has taken me a while to find the perfect recipe. The Spiers family can't make the blender whole wheat pancakes because 1) I can't make them taste good and 2) We can't have the blender going for 5 minutes early in the morning - it's just too much even for those of us who are morning people. Luckily I have found the perfect recipe for us. It is good for my kids - or at least better than the Aunt Jemima just add water + it is easy. I make this mix up:
*Makes 10 cups of dry mix

3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup vegetable oil

Add the oil to the dry ingredients. It seems strange, but it will make a sort of crumbly mixture. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup buttermilk (a combination of half plain yogurt and half milk will also work), and 1 egg. ** I have used 5 cups of freshly ground whole wheat instead of using the all-purpose flour and my kids ate them up. ***For those of you who know me well and my love of organic coconut oil - I also substitute 1 Cup coconut oil for the vegetable oil.

A Busy Weekend

Friday Richard and I participated in the Primary activity doing a little presentation on our mission and had to miss Cardyn's game. Saturday, we made up for it with the girls having back to back games so we spent the afternoon at the soccer field. Savannah ended up playing goalie for the first half of her game. She did a really good job and since we sat right behind her I got a few shots. She wasn't overly happy at us yelling right behind her so we had to assure her that we thought she did great - she just hadn't played goalie much before. We had to get clear back in the woods for Cardyn's game just to get a little shade so I guess that is why I didn't get many shots of her game. We hurried home and packed the car up to go down to visit Richard's parents for the weekend. It was nice to see everyone and eat good food - fresh lobster **Edit to say Crab** Sorry to mislead you Erin! from Alaska! It is a rare thing for all 5 boys to be home, so we made them pose for pictures. Even in their 20's and 30's they still complain. I can't imagine what picture day might have been like when they were little. We attended Sacrament Meeting in the 1st ward and got to see many old friends we probably only get to see once or twice a year. I love seeing former Young Women and am so amazed at how much everyone has grown! We drove back late in the rain and are exhausted today! I did get further into "The Hunger Games" after listening to it on the way home, but today I have been unable to get much done. The rain was supposed to bring cooler weather, but it is just not cool enough for me. I am waiting for that really cool Fall weather to energize me!