Thankful for Thanksgiving!

Grandpa Jarvis, Kaleb, Ben & Dylan...just happy to be alive as you can see!

Stuffed silly!

Mama's boy...he won't let me out of his sight lately!

I am a true lover of Thanksgiving. It's not so much the feast or the football, although I love that too, but more just the idea of everyone stopping their busy lives to give thanks. It's such a wonderful chance for us all to think about our many blessings and express gratitude to our Savior and those we love. Our old bishop sent out an email with a thought provoking quote that I'd like to remember and share. Father Patrick Henry Reardon writes, “Suppose for a moment that God began taking from us things for which we failed to give thanks. Which of our limbs and faculties would be left? Would I still have my hands and mind? And what about loved ones? If God were to take from me all those persons and things for which I have not given thanks, who and what would be left of me?” I am so, so grateful for each of you, my wonderful friends and family, who have touched my life so deeply and made me a very happy girl!

On a lighter note, here's some Thanksgiving highlights:
*Kaleb saw a black man on tv as we were watching the parade and said, "That looks like Grandpa!" Aside from the fact that he was black, the man was also grimacing in a frown and barking off orders to his troupe of acrobats. We of course asked, "Which one? Grandpa Murdock or Grandpa Stock?" "You know, the one in Oregon." We immediately called Dad at 7:45 am OR time and after getting a good laugh, he said he better come down and visit us so Kaleb knows what his grandpa looks like!
*Kaleb also made up his own Thanksgiving song to the tune of Mary had a Little Lamb: Murray had a little turkey, little turkey, little turkey. Murray had a little turkey who was on top of his head! This was sung to several grandparents all day while dancing on couches and jumping on beds.
*My pumpkin roll and homemade rolls were a hit at the Jarvis Thanksgiving reunion. It's always great to be around family and I love my cousins, aunts & uncles...they're all so great and wonderful to include us! Dylan loved Jenny's pumpkin cookies and had one in each hand. Randy made the BEST carrots I've ever tasted!
*We had a nice visit with G & G Jarvis in Mesa and Ben performed surgery on Gramma Rosie. She had stabbed herself with a pencil and there was lead embedded in her heel for 3 days until Ben dug it out! Grossness aside, she also shared a YUMMY lucious lemon bundt cake with us, and gave me the recipe.
*Good conversations with loved ones near & far. It's been a "grate" day for us all & we feel truly blessed!

Kaleb Update

3 Going on 13: Kaleb has really been on one lately. One minute he'll say and do the sweetest things...the next the exact opposite. Yesterday he spontaneously told me I was his best friend, that he loved me, and gave me a huge hug and kiss. Compare that to a few weeks ago when we muttered, "Stupid Mommy" under his breath after I had repeatedly asked him to clean up his toys. I asked him if he knew what "stupid" meant and he didn't know, but I'm still trying to figure out where he picked it up from. Punishment was time out and his first Murdock Report... a discipline tool my mom used when we were really in trouble. I thought I had at least a couple of years before the back talk begins! Can you just hear, "Don't you talk to me that way, young man!' coming out echoing my own mother's voice?

Kaleb's first Murdock Report

Little Ladie's Man: He also has a little girlfriend, Natalie. Natalie and Kaleb have been best of friends for about a year or so. They have been in the same preschool, music makers, and playgroup for quite a while now, and always have a lot of fun together. Kaleb is fascinated by Natie's girl toys & sparkling personality, and Natie seems to think Kaleb is her prince. She often tells K that they're going to get married, to which Kaleb promptly responds, "Kids don't get married, mommies & daddies do." Pretty cute. All of Kaleb's preschool buds run to greet each other and give hugs when they're coming and going, but Kaleb tried to take it a step further a few weeks ago. Chrissy was picking up Natie and we were talking while she was getting into their car. Pretty soon I hear Kaleb say, "Wait Natalie, I want to give you a kiss!" Ha! Must have learned that from his dad. :)

A Child's Prayer: Kaleb is really good about remembering to pray and always gives thanks for our food for each meal. He often wants to say it "after I take a drink" or wants to be the one to choose who offers the prayer. He also likes to pray when we're out to eat, (something that Ben & I don't really do) and often tries to kneel down on the church pew when prayers are being said in sacrament meeting. That being said, Natalie came over for dinner one night and Kaleb wanted her to say the prayer. Well, I think she said she didn't know how, so one of us said the prayer...no big deal. Then yesterday, Chrissy shared with me that Natie has been wanting to say prayers when they eat, ever since that night she had dinner with us. She even insisted on stopping a huge birthday crowd for her great grandma's birthday so she could say the prayer before their dinner. So sweet!

Other Fun Stuff: K has really taken to wearing his black superman cape and regularly wears it out in public for errands in the afternoon. He has started noticing other kids when they're acting naughty and we'll have a nice conversation about their behavior, but thinks nothing of it when he's in the middle of one of his own tirades. Kaleb has also taken on the role of "interpreter" for Dylan. D is really babbling now, and does say a few real words, but Kaleb is constantly saying, "Mom...Dylan just said ______!" It's almost always something ridiculous, including the word "butt" which he knows is a bad word in our house. Already trying to get Dylan in trouble! For the most part, he's such a good big brother, and it's so fun watching them really play together. I love my boys!

A Walk Down Memory Lane...

All about High School!

1. DID YOU DATE SOMEONE FROM YOUR SCHOOL? I dated lots of guys in high school...almost always older than me. I tried flirting my best with Ben, but he never really asked me out til after his mission.
2. WHAT KIND OF CAR DID YOU DRIVE? A silver Monte Carlo...the Silver Bullet. It was a boat, but good memories were made in that car!
3. DID YOU PASS YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE TEST YOUR FIRST TRY? Yes, mom checked me out of school that morning and we went in on my birthday. I remember reading the manual on the way into the DMV & wanting to drive home on the way back. Mom wasn't up for that, but we did practice in the church parking lot. Okay, maybe that was for my permit.
4. WHERE YOU A PARTY ANIMAL? Not so much.
5. WERE YOU CONSIDERED A FLIRT? I don't really know. Probably not since I couldn't get Ben to ask me out!
6. WERE YOU IN BAND, ORCHESTRA, OR CHOIR? Of course not. But my mom could tell exactly how my dates went depending on what I played on the piano when I got home!
7. WERE YOU A NERD? I was friends with everyone, nerds included, so that probably made me a nerd. I don't know, I was probably labeled more with the jock-preppy types.
8. WERE YOU ON ANY VARSITY TEAMS? Yes...I made Varsity softball as a freshman and played throughout high school. I also lettered in volleyball, I think my sophomore through senior years.
9. DID YOU EVER GET SUSPENDED/EXPELLED? No... I was a goody-goody and felt guilty skipping on Senior Skip Day!
10. CAN YOU STILL SING THE FIGHT SONG? Come on Newberg Tigers, let's go!!! Or somethin' like that. I still remember several of the cheers from high school football/basketball games.
11. WHO WERE YOUR FAVORITE TEACHERS? My fav. teacher of all time was in middle school, Miss Mac. I had her for 3 years in a few subjects and she was also my coach for volleyball & basketball. In high school it was prob. Sinkbeil, my math teacher. April and I were always cracking jokes with him.
12. WHERE DID YOU SIT FOR LUNCH? I guess I wasn't too much of a goody goody cuz April and I snuck off campus as freshmen every day. I don't ever remember eating in the cafeteria. We normally just went to my house which was 2 min. away, but sometimes we'd go out for fast food with friends.
13. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S FULL NAME? Newberg High School
14. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S MASCOT AND COLORS? The Tigers....blue and gold
15. DID YOU GO TO HOMECOMING AND WITH WHO? I went with Nate two years in a row, he was really nice and it was my first dance/date. I also went with Jeremy and Cody, I believe.
16. IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND DO IT AGAIN WOULD YOU? Maybe. If I could do things differently I would have continued to play basketball as a JR & SR (I quit b/c I sprained my ankle at the end of volleyball and wanted to work part time) & do a redo on my prom experiences for sure!)
17. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST ABOUT GRADUATION? Hmm... someone popped out of the aisle to take our picture (me & April) and we thought it was hilarious...like paparazzi. I think they tried to stop us from throwing our caps, but we did anyway. I remember it was hot and at the college in our home town, George Fox. My parents surprised me and gave me jewelry and we all went out for Chinese before hand. I had no idea graduation was such a big deal.
18. WHERE DID YOU GO SENIOR SKIP DAY? We went to Hagg Lake.
19. WERE YOU IN ANY CLUBS? Key Club, sports, SR class VP.
20. HAVE YOU GAINED SOME WEIGHT SINCE THEN? I def. gained weight through college, lost it after Ben & I were married, and have been up and down ever since babies came along. I'm probably pretty close to the same size, although I can't seem to get rid of my dreadful muffin top...I didn't even know what that was in high school!
21. WHO WAS YOUR PROM DATE? My best high school boyfriend, Ryan, was in college and didn't want to take me my JR year. He thought it would be weird going back to our high school prom, so I didn't go! My friend from German class, Sam, asked me my SR year and it was a disaster! But really funny now.
22. ARE YOU PLANNING ON GOING TO YOUR 10 YEAR REUNION? Did... kind of. There was a bigger one over the summer that I missed, but we got together over Christmas that year at a bar. It was really fun actually. Everyone who came seemed really happy and most had changed for the better.
23. DID YOU HAVE A JOB IN HIGH SCHOOL? Yes, I worked at a pizza shop...Papa Murphy's Take & Bake. We called it the pit, but it was a good job for that time in my life. 3 of my 4 brothers ended up working there after me.

I tag: Mon, Robyn, Jen, Chrissy, Cindy & Kelly...have fun!

All Hallow's Eve

We had a week's worth of fun to celebrate Halloween & really got good mileage out of our costumes this year. Of course by the time it was really Halloween, Kaleb had decided he wanted to be a pirate. I got smart this year (last year K was a jack o lantern & a bee) and told him no, maybe next year. Sheesh, by the time Dylan's talking he won't get away with anything! Kaleb had a dress up parade for Music Makers, Dylan and I chaperoned the Monster Mash, we had a preschool bash, and finally a trunk or treat with the ward and dinner with friends. Fun times had by all! Here's some highlights in pictures...so bootiful!

Preschoolers really know how to party!

We posed for pictures,
cast some spells,
chomped on some worms,

and guzzled some spiders.

Everyone seemed to have a ball!

Catch up post... back to Cali

Friday we headed up the coast and stopped in La Jolla on our way to Barb's house. We had a nice walk, K & Dad played in the ocean, and we were able to walk out to see and see the harbor seals in their natural habitat. So nice!

The waves were so awesome here!

After La Jolla, we made it to Barb's and got to catch up with her and her cute boys. It was so fun being together again and especially seeing the cousins play. Dylan and Kaden are only four months apart and had so much fun!

Here's some pics of their ward trunk or treat that we tagged along to... our first "Incredible" outing. It was tons of fun! They have an annual chili cook off with cornbread, pie, and homemade rootbeer before hand followed, by a costume parade. Their ward went all out with the decorations and even had a cute picture booth. Very impressive inside, although the outside trunk or treat part was a bit chaotic. Nothing us super heroes couldn't handle!

Cutie cousins waiting for candy.

The Cullen family/Babs, Kaden & Jared.

Looking a little mischievious.

Our "Incredible" family... I love my boys!

My SIL, Babs, & I manning the trunk. Notice the lollipop in Dylan's hand & apple in the other. :)

The next day we just chilled and checked out another fabulous California beach...Crescent Bay. I could seriously live here! People have private beach access above in their 4-5 million dollar homes....not that I need a millionaire's home to be happy, but check out the view!

We ended the night with dinner and an outing to the pumpkin patch. Fun, fun, fun!

Thanks for having us Christensen Gang...we love you!