Brandon thinks Dad is spiritually strong (note the muscular "Holy Ghost") and is good at teaching our family the gospel.
MIND
Matthew thinks Dad is smart and painted shelves full of books for him to read.
and
STRENGTH
Sam thinks Dad is physically strong, too!
Saturday we surprised Chris with his Father's Day present. He was gone all morning so we cleaned, organized, and {kinda} decorated his office.
This was one of the last rooms to be unpacked and he had done it himself. That meant most things were technically unpacked but still in piles on the floor.
We put up curtains in his favorite color, bought him a new little bookshelf, and moved all the exercise equipment into the room.
The kids each painted a picture of how they see Chris serving with all his heart, might, mind, and strength (Doctrine & Covenants 4:2)Then we hung them together to create an art wall.
"What did the mommy tomato say to the slow baby tomato?"
"I don't know. What?"
Slamming fist on table, "Catch up!"
It's time to do some catching up...
Sam turned 9 in April. He had a late party since he has a friend with the same birthday and didn't want their friends to have to choose. I love this picture of them playing football at his party.
This is at the old house. I didn't notice Elizabeth's "devil eyes" until after I uploaded the picture. I was about to edit it, but then realized that only a truly possessed child would want to clean THAT much {notice the play vacuum AND the real Hokey!} I just had to share.
While packing for our move Matthew found the goggles from Grammie and Grampa. Funny kids.
Brandon had his last orchestra concert before we moved. He's been learning the viola this year and picked it up so fast! Unfortunately, we couldn't see him well enough for a picture so this one is from Sam's party. Isn't he getting handsome?! He also just memorized all 13 Articles of Faith. We are so proud of him!
Sam was supposed to have his last baseball game the week before we moved. But the league decided to go with a tournament format instead of just taking the standings. His team won that Saturday and so they had to play again Tuesday. They won again, and were in the championship for the title - which was to be played at 1:00 p.m. on {yep, you guessed it} MOVING DAY!
A lot of juggling on our part made it so he could play. He struck out twice in the early innings and his team had two outs when he got up to bat during the last inning. They were the visiting team so they played the top of the inning. The league only allows 4 runs/inning and the score was four to one. That was plenty of room for the number-one ranked Philly's to take the game.
Two strikes flew and the other team's families were starting to cheer at his impending defeat. But Sam didn't let it faze him. He swung hard and hit a foul ball way out over the loudest of them. They became much more quiet, and a little nervous, I dare-say.
On the next pitch he swung his hardest and . . . CRACK! Into the outfield it went! He brought in two runners, sealing the victory and first place in the league for his team.
He got a trophy, a medal, and the game ball he's been trying to earn all season. Now that's leaving on a high-note!
We said goodbye to our old town and friends and started the drive to the new house. It was such an exciting {and l o n g, hot} day!
*Whenever I need to say, "Catch up!" to my children, I can't help but pause and then add, "and mustard, too!" I don't know how it started, but it will be fun to see my children say this to their dawdling kids. Maybe I'll add, "Get your buns over here!"
Last week I had some time to blog and started going through my pictures to see what I wanted to share. But then I became overwhelmed by how much I have let go by; Sam's championship baseball game, moving into a new home, Sam's birthday, Brandon's orchestra concert, some pictures of the kids playing...
And so I posted nothing.
I began to wish something big would happen so I could have an exciting post that wasn't about catching up.
Be careful what you wish for.
Friday, May 22, as I pulled into our driveway Chris told me to get straight into his car - we were going to the ER. Elizabeth had jumped from a window sill (indoors and only 2 feet high) and twisted in the air, landing on her arm. Sam said he heard a "pop" and her arm quickly swelled.
So off we drove to the ER, about 30 minutes away.
Chris made her a sling. She was actually in a pretty good mood while waiting at the ER.
She liked riding on my lap in a wheelchair to go get x-rays. See how it's bent in the middle of the forearm?
Luckily, the breaks are very small fractures. I really couldn't see them at all on the x-ray. This is about where they pointed to, but probably not exactly where they are broken (just in case you were squinting trying to see the fractures - and you know you were.)
After the x-rays we waiting a L O N G time for someone to tell us what was going on. Elizabeth became very restless and decided she wanted me to record her. She is such a ham!
The PAsplinted her arm and she got a new sling.
Yesterday, May 28, she got her cast. She thinks it's pretty cool and was so excited to show her brothers! The lollipop wasn't too bad, either.
Chris said that she hid her arm behind her when they got home and yelled for the boys to "come see what I got!" He went back to the car to get something and when he returned about a minute later her cast was already done up in signatures.
When I got home she proudly showed it off and said, "It says: Lizzy B's arm is hurt," while scrolling her finger along the boys' names.
This is my latest painting. It is an 8x10 acrylic on canvas. I finished most of it a few months ago but needed to sign it. With our move getting ever closer I decided I had better get it done and posted - who knows when I will see it again!
Also, I wanted to get suggestions for new paintings. But not out-right suggestions - no, that would be too easy! Please leave as many comments as you'd like with TITLES of paintings you think I should do. I'll come up with the rest!
Remembermy list of places I've lived and how I mistakenly had added it up to 30? Well, now I'll finally be able to add number 30!
We just bought a house and will be moving by May 16th! We are so excited! Here are some pictures of the new home.
4 bedroom, 3 full baths, about 2,300 square feet in a quiet neighborhood, within walking distance of a large park and the elementary school.
View from the front door - the living room and formal dining area. The kitchen is through the arch on the right, the family room and 4th bedroom through the arch on the left. I'm sure the kids will be running laps through these arches!
View from the landing at the top of the stairs.
Kitchen.
View from the master bedroom - no homes behind us! I believe it is zoned for commercial properties, so hopefully nothing annoying will end up there. The row of palm trees is the entrance to our subdivision.
Arizona backyards are notoriously tiny. At least if you buy within a subdivision, which is just about all there is available at any reasonable price. This one, however, is slightly larger than most and MUCH larger than our current yard. Now we just need to decide on some landscaping!
This has been in the works for awhile now and was the major force in keeping me home during the Open House in Salt Lake. I am so happy it paid off!
A few weeks ago Brandon and Sam participated in the annual Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. This was Brandon's third and last year and Sam's first year (he'd been looking forward to this for years!)
Sam's car, The Raging Rhino, won 11 of 12 races, placing 2nd overall. He also won "Best Design".
Brandon's car, The Roadkill Car, won 9 of 12 races and the "Funniest Design" award.
Life as a working wife and mother, to four {active} children, doesn't always leave me with much time for my art. But I'm trying to keep up with both, hopefully creating something beautiful along the way.
Sam thinks Dad is physically strong, too! 
