Happy Endings

We have been so blessed. Derek got a job offer at Serengeti Law on Friday! The day before my birthday in October, he was laid off from Mosaic Homes (the real estate market dropped and they downsized big time). After more than 2 months of worry and prayers, it's starting to feel like Christmas again at our house. He starts January 16th, so things might be tight for awhile yet as we try to rebuild our savings and food storage (what a testimony I have of this one!), but we are so grateful for this early Christmas present. We've had the opportunity to think a lot about how it's more blessed to give than receive, but sometimes it's your turn to be the recipient. We are humbled and amazed at the generosity of so many anonymous givers, so many prayers on our behalf, so many concerned faces in our new ward. I have learned from a talk by Elder Maxwell that as we learn to receive at Christmas time, we practice receiving the love and sacrifice of our Savior. How grateful I am for this holiday season, for our happy ending and for the beautiful beginning that the Savior's birth was. Merry Christmas Eve!

All I want for Christmas

Ellie had been so sweet, saying that there were too many things to choose from and she'd be happy with whatever Santa brought. Don't you love it? But yesterday she realized what she really wanted. Just a treasure chest full of gold and silver. :) Think Santa has one of those in his sack for me, too?

Bathing Beauties

It's been awhile since these three had a bath together. Showers are much quicker, but much less fun. They had a great time being silly and posing for their mother. I was pretty pleased with the results. They would've stayed in there all day, I think. Now, why don't they smile like that for family pictures??!

Santa Train

Saturday we drove 30 min. to North Bend and rode a real live train to see Santa in Snoqualmie (3 mile ride). It was VERY, VERY cold. We're talking blustery snowy freezing cold. I think it hovered around 30 degrees. I'd spent my birthday money in October on these tickets, though, and it's been sold out for ages. It had been highly recommended and I wanted to do it. BRRRRRR... did I mention how cold it was? We stood outside the depot until the train came, then boarded the unheated rickety old train and got off to stand in line AGAIN at the other depot to see Santa. It had a few space heaters, but again... it was mostly outdoor. Santa was incredibly patient and great (and INSIDE!!). The kids liked that part a lot. Then we went to find the refreshments - little lumps of cookies that had been cooked on an old boxcar. Sounds charming, but they weren't fresh or very good and the hot cocoa was really weak and nearly cold. We sat in a cold boxcar on folding metal chairs until it was time to wait in line to get back on the old train. Then we sat in the train while every child in our car yelled and blew the whistle Santa gave them. It didn't phase Derek, but I was ready to abandon ship (train?) and find another way home. Finally we got back to North Bend in as much of a blizzard as Seattle gets. Traffic was stopped on the freeway, it took forever to get warm in the car, Carver was cranky from missing his nap and needing dinner, Grace was grumpy from being in the front pack for about 3 hours straight and then buckled back in her car seat. All in all, it was not quite what I'd had in mind! A lot of it was because it was so dang cold and I don't think I have fun doing ANYTHING when I'm frozen. But the idea of the Santa Train is great and I think the kids had fun, which is what matters more than anything.

Elf fun

Have you seen this site? It's pretty silly, but we got a kick out of it. Check us out as elves! http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1140546407

the REAL us

This is the unfortunate result of my great idea to have a family picture taken after Thanksgiving. What you can't really see is that Lydia had been crying/sulking for 10 minutes leading up to the event (no ribbon in her hair, it was cold, etc...), Grace had been screaming her guts out and finally fell asleep in a blanket that I removed to indulge in vanities about her too cute sweater you can't even see, Carver had managed to eat one solitary M&M minutes earlier and drooled chocolate and colored candy shell all over the collar of his cute rugby shirt now hiding under his sweater, and Ellie was wiggling so much her feet are blurry in the picture. This is as good a picture as we got. I haven't seen the lesser attempts, but by the end we were all saying "this is Mom's fault!" instead of "cheese." So much for a family picture framed on the wall. Maybe I'll try again in a couple years.

I'll show you tag!

I promise I haven't been intentionally ignoring the challenge. Come to think of it, I'm not even certain I know who issued the challenge. I just remember Rachael saying something about how I had been "tagged" and that meant I needed to write six little-known facts about myself on her blog. I have no idea when the challenge was issued or whether my belated response is even relevant any longer. Still, in the spirit of mutual admiration and conciliation, I now take this opportunity to prepare for your viewing pleasure some little-known (more likely, widespread) facts about my wicked self.

DISCLAIMER: What follows is a series of confessions and musings, the nature of which will sicken the average bloggee. Bloggee acknowledges and accepts that it proceeds at its own risk. Bloggee, by reading below, expressly releases from all liability Derek Howell and all affiliated bloggers including, but not limited to, Rachael Howell, Lydia Howell, Ellie Howell, Carver Howell, and Grace Howell (well, okay, maybe not Grace), (collectively "Blogger"). Seriously, I'd turn back if I were you.

1. During my early teenage years, a painful period for all but the most deranged among us, on occasion I would experienced inexplicable cravings for "teenage mutant ninja turtle pies." For those of you blessed never to have sampled the delicacy known as a "teenage mutant ninja turtle pie" (hereinafter "TMNT Pie"), the pie consisted of a creamy pudding-like substance encased in pie crust and coated with a nuclear (or if you're from Texas NEW-CUE-LAR)-green glazing. Think hostess pie on grade-A crack. I say "inexplicable cravings," because in the very act of consuming the substance my gag reflex would invariably reverse the flow of ingestion (i.e., make me choke). It was as if my body knew what the FDA had been unwilling to admit: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE PIES WERE NOT FIT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. Admittedly, the "pies" were tasteless revolting. I think I must have been drawn to the pie crust and glazing to supplement some sort of mineral deficiency. I attribute all subsequent character failings and health complications--including my herniated L6--to Hostess. Were it not for several statute of limitations, I would be a wealthy man. Alas.

2. While we're on the topic of self-medicating with processed food, I must confess that before what I like to refer to as "the Enlightenment," I was much taken with processed food. In fact, but for processed food, I would not be the giant of surging masculinity you behold before you today. Allow me to illustrate. During my 9th grade year, an acquainstance convinced me to join the Meadowdale High School track team. It took all of the first fifteen minutes of the first practice for me to realize that I was a woefully inadequate runner. Still, I was nothing if not completely oblivious to my physical limitations. I was determined I would succeed at track or die trying. So I promptly went about killing myself in the following manner: I would rise every morning at 4:30 a.m. and run a mile and a half with my dad before choking down a breakfast of cheerios and heading numbly off to early-morning seminary. After seminary I would go to school, where I would walk around in a daze until 11:00 a.m., at which point I would gingerly nibble on a single Pop Tart (leaving the second for the next day). That was lunch. Then I would finish school and manly trot off to track where I would run laps and pretend to be a pole vaulter. Then I would go home about 4:00 p.m. and eat two bowls of Captain Crunch with Crunch Berries and wash it down with Graham Crackers and milk. Then most nights I would engage in the purest form of escapism: reading fiction until midnight. What is the moral of the story, and the pertinent little-known fact? I am a whole food hypocrite. My past is littered with instances of illicit indulgence in high fructose corn syrup, articial flavoring, artificial coloring, and mounds of white refined sugar.

3. My favorite TV show of all time was Parker Lewis Can't Lose followed closely by The Simpsons. (What you didn't know about me . . . my sanctimonious, self-righteous demeanor is nothing but a guise.) I don't remember a single episode of either show, but I remember feeling truly happy while basking in their warm, loving glow.

4. My favorite candy bar of all time is the PB Max. It disappeared about the time that Parker Lewis was taken off the air. Which was probably immediately following the first season, cerca 1991. I've done my best to recreate the PB Max . . . and you can too! Simply find your nearest tablespoon-size utensil, a jar of chunky peanut butter, and a 12 ounce package of semi-sweet Nestlé chocolate chips. Combine peanut butter and chocolate chips in jar and eat with spoon. Take care to have plenty of water on hand. Chunky peanut butter can lodge in your throat in a size of sufficient girth to effectively block your windpipe. Not good. (If your wife asks me why I told you about this, I will deny we ever spoke.)

5. My dream is to write a book. I do not believe there is room in this life for most fiction, especially when one considers all the fascinating things that happen in real life. I want to record my experience growing up at the end of the 20th Century. It's not that I feel my life is particularly meaningful. It's not, and that's the point. I believe that when recorded, all our lives take on more meaningful proportions. I recently read (rather I am reading at a snail's pace) the life story of a woman I home taught for several years as an Aaronic Priesthood holder. It is likely the best book I have read in several years simply because she describes her ordinary life. Something with which all of us have been blessed, with the exception of Leisy and Laney Oswald.

When I was in junior high (see aforementioned "self-medicating period" supra), I was asked to read the play "Our Town." It's not very long, I've only read it once, but I have never forgotten the play. Somehow that play captured a feeling about the progression of life (the warmth or peace of it?) that I can't explain. I believe that feeling can be captured in a personal history. Very likely it will be many years before I have enough time to begin such an undertaking, but that's my dream.

6. The last little-known fact about me is that I am not the man you think I am. You may know me as mild-manner (or, depending on the day, "no manners") Derek Howell. Well, you'll be surprised to learn that I am actually a ninja in disguise. Yes, it's true: struggling father by day, NINJA DADDY BY NIGHT! I have been known to take on three impish fairies (or two impish fairies and a troll depending on with whom you speak) at once. I even have a ninja suit. If you don't believe me check out the clip below.

I tag you...

I forgot to tag 6 people to tell 6 little-known facts, habits or interesting things about themselves. If you feel like, that's great, otherwise try to forgive me!
1. Merideth
2. Shannon
3. Renae
4. Holly
5. Angela
6. Rocia

Tag, I'm it?

Hailey tagged me... so here are 6 little known facts about me.

1. I am usually a bit cluttered, but a few things make me NUTS... Carver dumping bath toys around the bathroom when it's not bathtime, the icky foam left in the sink after you do dishes, counters and stove tops not wiped down, and worst of all, those lame clear faucets cheap housing always have and the yucky stuff you can see underneath them. For awhile I was removing them and cleaning out the gunk with a toothpick if necessary each time I cleaned the bathroom. I also love to vacuum and mop floors.

2. I had acrylic nails in high school, despite the fact that I was both teaching and taking piano lessons. Mostly they were natural, but sometimes they were painted "smokin' in Havana" by OPI.

3. I've been to Loch Ness, Scotland, to see the famous monster. I was in London through BYU Study Abroad and our group went to Edinburgh. A few of us thought it'd be fun to take a train up another hour or two to look for Nessie. We also had to take a taxi and I was the only one brave enough to sit in the front next to the driver (pretty weird when you sit on the left side and don't drive!). We saw beautiful countryside and even dipped our toes in the lake, but there was no sign of a monster.

4. I can type really fast one handed (better with my right, but I can do it with my left, as well), a skill I've developed from emailing and feeding babies at the same time. I think it started when Ellie was born.

5. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a cheerleader and a waitress when I grew up. I was a cheerleader for boys basketball in junior high (and that was enough for me), but I never was a waitress and there is still a teeny-tiny part of me that wishes I'd given it a try.

6. I love to talk about cars with Derek. We look at new ones online together and talk about interesting ones we see as we drive. I've gotten pretty good at identifying all sorts of makes and models.

Carver's new haircut

Friday night I tried to cut Carver's hair. Last time he protested a bit about the scissor part I did on top, so I thought I'd try starting with that to get it over with. But there was NO way. We tried movies, a dum-dum sucker, watching in the reflection of the sliding glass door, Derek holding his head, on and on. Then to make matters worse, when I first started with the clippers on the bottom he jerked his head back into the clippers and I knicked him with the plastic guard and drew blood! In the end, it all had to go. Derek still had to hold him while he screamed and cried and I buzzed. I mourned for a couple days, but it seems cuter to me every day. Maybe when he's three he'll let me cut it my way again....

Twilight

Okay, I finally read it. I was curious from the write up in BYU magazine awhile back about Stephanie Meyer (wish I could dream up a best seller right now!!). But I was also pretty turned off by all the hype about it. It's for our ward book group on Tuesday, though, and so the time had come. I read it all yesterday afternoon and evening. At one point I was giving Lydia a practice spelling test, giving the 3 big kids popcorn, putting Grace to sleep in my arms and reading at the same time. It's sick, probably a disease. And definitely not good for me or my family. Anyway, I was pretty bothered the first half by all the descriptions of Edward's "muscled chest" and "beautiful crooked smile" (gag!) and her high schooler obsession, but it was still engaging. And the last third actually had some plot and so I'll probably have to read the next ones. Darn!

Playing in the Leaves

Carver and I played in the leaves today. I love fall!

Little Pumpkin

She really is a little pumpkin. We loved the shirt and hat from Grandma Howell!

Twutterflies

The girls wanted to be twin butterflies ("twutterflies") for Halloween and I loved it so much I wouldn't let them change their minds after that! They were beautiful butterflies! We had a great time at the ward trunk or treat last weekend and they are beyond excited that tomorrow is Halloween.

Carver is afraid of stuffed dogs

Grandma Howell sent the neatest stuffed dog puppet for Carver's birthday. When he opened the box, though, he nearly jumped out of his skin. I wish so much that we'd been filming because he literally jumped back 2 feet! Then we'd bark at him with it and he'd run and hide. HILARIOUS! He loves it, though - in that love/hate way. He's sleeping with it right now.

Cold, cold girls

Sorry there's no picture but I've just got to post this story. Derek took the girls on a walk this afternoon before Carver's birthday party. He drove them to Rock Creek, not far from our home, and walked around a bit to see the fish. They came back to the truck to find broken glass and the inside a mess. The ipod car adapter was still there, so was the 20 bucks in the console. Only when they got home did they realize that the girls' coats were the only things stolen. Too bad it was Lydia's only one and Ellie had just gotten hers out of the hand-me-down box from my aunt and was in love with it. It was big, purple, puffy and even a bit shiny in the right light. What's not to love about that? They were both absolutely heartbroken. It's mostly a huge disappointment to us that we have another expense at a time we need it the least, but I sure felt for the girls, too. If only their mother had been there to MAKE them wear their coats, whether they were cold or not! I'm so good at that sort of thing.

Happy Birthday Carver!

We celebrated a day early with Grandma and Grandpa Eucker and Auntie Lyssa in town. It was so much fun! Carver loved to look at his dinosaur cake and kept growling at it. But would he eat it? Not a bit. We gave him a piece with a spoon and he just smashed it between his fingers. The rest of us thought it was pretty tasty for a funfetti cake with bright green frosting (it was cream cheese frosting, though, and that makes all the difference if you ask me!)

Fall Fun

This is the kids at the salmon hatchery in Issaquah. Hailey and Jack came for a couple days and aside from our lives and home falling apart before their very eyes, it was a great trip. The girls loved playing with Jack and we all wished many times after they left that they lived next door!

Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch in Fall City, about 30 minutes from here. Unfortunately, we ran out of batteries in our camera so Derek ran to a gas station to find some. All he could find were flashlights packaged with batteries. Two flashlights later, those batteries died almost immediately and we only got one chance at a family picture! Not bad, all things considered. We ran into our friends, the Garvins, there and has so much fun with them. We love our pumpkin patch tradition and have a great big one on our porch next to three little ones we grew in our own garden.

Grace's blessing day

Finally, I dressed her in her blessing dress and got a couple good pictures of her! (Good thing it still fits, eh?) It was such a hectic day the first time around that I only got one not-so-great shot of the occasion. It was on September 30th. Derek did a beautiful job on the blessing and we had Grandpa Eucker, Grandpa Howell, Uncle Tyson, our friends Kimball Garvin and Cody Hill stand in the circle with him.

Stitches for the Bruiser

Derek took Lydia to her 9 am soccer game today and I was running behind so I hadn't showered before they left. I told Ellie to play with Carver in his room and I'd get him after I was dressed. But before I even made it in the shower, I heard Carver crying and ran in to find the dresser on top of him from about chest down. He loves to pull his clothes out of it, so who knows how it happened. His head was bleeding by his eye and I can't tell you how scary that was! I pulled the dresser off of him and he was fine everywhere else. I'm sure we'll see bruises, but he got up like nothing had happened. I wiped his eye and knew we'd need stitches. It was 8:45, I was supposed to take Ellie to team pics and her game by 10. I called my friend and dropped her off to go with them and took Grace and Carver to urgent care. I was still wearing my PJ T-shirt but did pull jeans on instead of my PJ pants, but I was embarrassed to blend in so well with everyone else at urgent care! It took FOREVER (nothing urgent about urgent care) but we got to the doctor about 11, I think. That's a longer story, but she thought she could do it without sending us to Children's in Seattle for conscious sedation. So they wrapped him up in a sheet to hold his arms down, I held his body, a nurse held his head and the doctor got 3 stitches in, but the middle one didn't turn out as well. He screamed through it all and it was super sad to feel party to it all, but I didn't want to leave him. Grace slept through all of it and that was a HUGE blessing since I didn't know what I'd do if both my children were screaming in urgent care. We got home about 12:40, in time for me to finally shower and listen to afternoon conference. I missed both soccer games and it was Ellie's turn to be goalie!! I was so looking forward to that. We moved Carver's dresser to his closet and I hope his room is safer now. Oh - and they weighed him at urgent care. 38 1/2 pounds!

Lydia, the Poet

Lydia composed this poem while I was doing her hair this morning. I thought it was super cool that it SOUNDS so much like poetry and worth documenting with her own inflections. The words are simple, but well thought out. I'm so glad that she let me tape her saying it. I love her creativity!

Grace "Burrito" Howell

Here's Grace all swaddled up. Sometimes it just looks so funny to have the bundle of blankets and then a little head peeking out the top! Today was her 2 month well check and she weighed in at a whopping 7 pounds, 12 1/2 ounces and measured 21 inches (and a bit). She's almost exactly the birth size of which of our children? Stay tuned for the answer.... I was pretty proud that she'd gained nearly 2 pounds in 2 months, but she's still less than 5th percentile! I guess we don't have to worry until her growth curve drops off, so he'll be watching her 4 month weight closely. Also, she's going to follow in her Daddy's footsteps and have her tongue clipped underneath - probably Monday when Carver sees the ENT for another ear tube follow-up. If only we could arrange a 2 for 1 deal in the billing department, as well....

Soccer girls

This was from Ellie's first soccer game and yes, the game was underway. That's her friend, Kayla, who also attends preschool and sunbeams with Ellie. I guess they told the coach they were tired. We have to keep reminding Ellie not to sit down on the field! She often ends up fake panting and asking to rest during the games. Ellie's favorite part of soccer is sitting out and sometimes I can't blame her. She chases the ball around with 10 other kids (5 on each side) - boys and girls 3-5 - and hardly touches the ball, let alone kicks it. I wouldn't be keen on running around on a field, changing directions often and trying to catch up with those kids actually PLAYING the game, only to be alluded one more time from real participation. All that said, we'll make her play again next year. :) After all, she loves the snack at the end and feeling like a real soccer player. She's number 6 on her team.

It would be super cool if this was Ellie scoring a goal, so we'll pretend it is. It was actually from pre-game drills, which I think she enjoys much more than the game. She enjoys practices, too.

That's Lydia! I don't know how I caught this shot because I don't remember her jumping so high - ever! She likes soccer better than Ellie, I think, but hates getting sweaty. Lucky for her, the weather has turned colder and it's harder to feel sweaty these days. Lydia is great at staying with the ball and keeping involved in the game, but doesn't really know how to steal the ball yet. We were late in signing her up so the only way she could play was if they formed a new team and one of the latecomers agreed to coach. That's how Derek came to be the coach and me, his assistant. It's alright (except for one dad who wants to be coach, too), but we are counting down the Saturdays til we have our lives back! The season lasts through October and we'll have Lydia do it again next year, as well, but not with us coaching!

That's Lydia again in the teal shorts. All the girls on the team have ponytails and similar color hair. It's nice that her shorts stand out! She's number 3.

Daddy Dog Pile

Just horsing around on a school night.... that's Lydia laughing through it all and who knows why Ellie wanted to sleep in the summer hat she found in her drawer today. Carver's favorite place in the pile is on Derek's head or neck so he has better access to Derek's face, which he likes to poke and smash. I love watching them all play and knowing that it is one of those things Daddy (not Mommy) does best!

Our little Grace

I can't believe she's already 8 weeks. She seems older, but still so tiny! When I give her a bath it looks like hospital newborn pictures with her scrawny arms and legs. I guess when you start life at 5'14" it takes awhile to catch up. Aside from wishing 0-3 month clothes fit a little better, we love her just the way she is! She is such a good baby.

Happy Garbage Day!

I love this for a couple reasons - first, because we love the garbage truck! In our last townhome, the garbage man even left a match box size replica of the WM truck on our porch for us one day. And then I love seeing Ellie being a nice big sister to her very large little brother (he's almost as big as she is now) and having a happy moment at home together when Lydia's at school. I hope that they get to be friends this year.

So here's the latest family picture, taken at Manito Park in Spokane over Labor Day. The blanket strapped to my chest is actually Grace, still too small for a real appearance in the family photo. (Ignore the stranger in the back of the picture, she's not with us - I guess we won't be framing this one, eh?) 4 kids is a real whirlwind, let me tell you. But they are tons of fun and we love seeing them grow into their own selves.

here we go

Hailey inspired me to give this a try, but Derek doesn't even know. Hopefully this will be fun and not one more thing to keep up on!