December Wrap Up!

First of December.

Yes. I must gloat - those are Devree's skinny jeans!

 Alex spiked a fever, let me hold him and fell asleep. 

Grandma and Devree in CHURCH!

 This is Austin's present to me. Wrapped all by himself, with half a roll of packing tape!

Junior High Choir Concert:

The first of MANY drill dinners. 

(The junior's mothers were in charge of this one.)

This is a picture of the girls having a devotional and then marking their routine in place:

A close up of Dev:

After a basketball half time performance:

James going to the eye doctor to see about cataract surgery:

Dev's decorated locker for one of her competitions:

     

Kambree with her grandparents and one of the many basketball games we've gone to to see Devree perform:

Rylee's Marathon Dance Recital.

(Six shows and three dances in each! That's right she danced 18 times!) 

Going in for surgery, the dilated eye has the cataract. 

Temple Square Christmas Concert:

High School Choir Concert:

(We were pretty lame at taking pictures this time!)

And our annual family picture in front of the tree the Sunday before Christmas:

More Facebook Posts

December 21, 2012 near Murray

Last night we hosted our annual "decorate sugar cookies for Santa" night with extended family but this year we had two special guests, Austin Richhart's clients. (Special needs adult women that he cares for in their group home.) We were thoroughly entertained by one's non stop talking (we heard her whole life story - non stop - except for the 10 minute reprieve we got while she was in the bathroom adding bows with pompoms to her hair or the few minutes she spent talking to her pink bears explaining how she had adopted them and was now there mother.) and the others sweet, sweet personality. (Who thinks both my husband James Richhart and brother, Troy Johnson are very good looking!)
The highlight of the night was when the non stop talking lady put frosting on her fingers and began talking to her mother- who has passed away - calling her from Heaven to come taste the delicious icing off her fingers! Never has frosting sugar cookies been so fun!

December 25, 2012 near Murray

Hilarious Christmas Gift:
So, James Richhart and I, after 23 Christmases together have a tradition (or call it our gift to each other?) of buying the exact things we really want and then letting the other wrap it and give it from them.
This year James ordered a bunch of motorcycle stuff (that I would never be able to figure out) online and told me,"A couple of things are coming in the mail - just wrap them up for me.". Me, being the dutiful (and lucky) wife did. I didn't even open them, I could see they were from some motorcycle place and just wrapped up every package that came addressed to him. Easy peasy.
So, this morning imagine his excitement when he unwrapped a motorcycle part he returned last month complete with a "rejected return" notice!! HA! Not only was his return rejected (due to lack of original packaging) he got it wrapped and under the tree!

December 29, 2012 near Murray

I told my kids about the sad news of Russia closing adoptions to US families and Rylee trying to console me, reminded me that Alex was from Ukraine not Russia."I know", I replied, "but often times the east European countries follow Russia's lead and perhaps Ukraine will do the same thing in the future?" Alex's response was, "Whew! I'm glad you came and got me when you did or else I would have to live there until I was 18 and then come find you."
So glad my boy is home and that he didn't have to come "find" us.

Awesome and Living

Alex has been sick recently. He has what everyone has - cough, runny nose, headache but being a man-cub, he's not very resilient or quiet about it. (Keep in mind he was sent to the hospital for every sniffle, cough or zit in Ukraine so he pretty much thinks he's dying every time he gets sick.)  I've given him Ibuprofen, rubbed his back and head during a movie and I think I made him tea....once.  The same stuff I do for everyone but with 4 out of 5 of my kids sick, I would get exasperated, "For goodness sake, if your head aches TAKE AN IBUPROFEN!"
He seemed to be on the mend and on Friday we went to the rec where he swam with his team for the first time that week and I got a quick work out in upstairs on the track. On the way home he turned to me.
"Thanks for being an awesome mom." 
It came out of no where.
"You're welcome." I said, "Can you tell me what you're referring to?" 
(Wanting to know what it was I was awesome at or should continue doing to retain my awesomeness?)
"Oh, just everything."
Fishing, I said, "Can you give me an example or tell me why you're thinking this at this very moment?"
Alex, "You take good care of me when I'm sick."
Oh.
And here, I had done so little.
Austin's asthma was triggered from his cold and he had to use his nebulizer a couple of times during our lovely week of sickness, this opened a flood gate of memories for Alex. Apparently his orphanage was sent to some sort of sanitarium where they had nebulizer treatments, mud baths and their backs pounded on?  He brought up a few memories we hadn't heard yet. He mentioned how he got lot's of shots in his butt and it was one big bruise when he was in the hospital for some mysterious illness that required a month long stay. How a nice family shared his room and would share their food with him. (I can't help but conjure up an image of my little boy sitting in a hospital room all alone.) How no one ever visited from the orphanage. No one visited at all. How he was on his own and how boring it was to sit in a room all day long. (Keep in mind. often times he would FAKE an illness to go to the hospital to avoid going to school. He tells me that is why he struggles with school now, because he spent so much time in the hospital.)  He told us it was just so boring and he would sneak out and go to McDonald's. I asked if he had money for McDonald's? "No, I would wait for someone to call that an order was ready and then I'd say it was mine and grab it and run out the door."
Oh, my goodness.
Anyway, during his illness this past week he was walking Ukraine memory lane more than once. I guess a warm house with people that love you, a soft bed, a mom to remind you to take some Ibuprofen (even if it's in an exasperated tone of voice), make you a cup a tea and rub your back and head while snuggled next to her on the couch watching a movie - is WAY better than what he had before.

On another note, we took a road trip to Roosevelt to drop off our old piano to my brother in law and his family the Sunday before Christmas. On the way home we were driving in white out conditions. It was pretty dang scary.  I asked Alex to say a prayer for us and it went a little like this. "Please help us to live until we get home." and then upon realizing what he had said "And then keep on living after that." Ha!

In sad news, Russia closed their adoptions to US families. I shared this as my facebook status today: 

I told my kids about the sad news of Russia closing adoptions to US families and Rylee trying to console me, reminded me that Alex was from Ukraine not Russia."I know", I replied, "but often times the east European countries follow Russia's lead and perhaps Ukraine will do the same thing in the future?" Alex's response was, "Whew! I'm glad you came and got me when you did or else I would have to live there until I was 18 and then come find you."
So glad my boy is home and that he didn't have to come "find" us.

And here's a few more facebook statuses  - apparently, this is my new form of journaling?

December 1st
Grrr....flat tire when I went to ride today. As I'm attempting to put air in my tire - exasperated because nothing's working right - as in my aptitude and our crappy bike pump - I am grumbling out loud, "This isn't working, how am I suppose to do this?" Alex jumps right in and takes over saying, "That's what you have sons for mom!" I love that boy! Thanks Alex Richhart- you saved me! (As well as Ryan - Amy Mortimer Walton's hubby that got the last 20 pounds of pressure in due to our dumb pump problem - back to Sheels I go to take back this $30 pump.)

 December 2nd
Confession: Yesterday during my bike flat tire adventure - I lost the little soft plastic piece for my headphone ear buds (I have these cool soft plastic things that cover the bud and fit down in my ear - it's suppose to make it not ache and/or fall out - it does neither but it's still better than the regular ear bud) so in addition to my flat tire I was freaking out about losing this little plastic thingy. I don't have spare. I made everyone stop what they were doing and help me look. I had my headphones in when I brought my bike back in the house, it had to be in the house! We retraced my footsteps over and over then we looked in my hair, my hat, and as I started to carefully peel the layers of winter bike riding clothes off - hoping it was stuck somewhere - I touched my ear and there it was - just the plastic part - safe in my ear! My kids just rolled their eyes and moved on....I on the other hand was thrilled! It made having a flat not half as bad as having a flat AND losing my ear bud thingy!

And this also happened this month and it was NOT Austin. I'll let you fill in the name.

Call today from a concerned neighbor "Are you home?" Me, "No." Neighbor, "Well, we just drove by your house and (unnamed child) is bouncing fire balls across the garage floor." And with that, she hung up promptly knowing I had things to attend to. We now have one very in trouble child who had to get a lecture from his dad, (my second phone call after curtailing the fire balling) write an entire page in his journal about said incident, consequences and lectures AND then look at pictures of burn victims on the internet with me. Needless to say, I don't think he'll be playing with fire again.
Oh the joy of parenthood - who needs a cardio workout when you have boys to elevate your heart rate?

Christmas Night and Grandpa & Grandma's

Austin had to go to work at 3 pm but brought his clients over to Grandma and Grandpas to celebrate. This is Rhea and Brenda. Such sweet ladies, Brenda got a new Ipod and was dancing and singing to Christmas songs:

Grandma got a new Ipad and here's Alex helping her get it set up:

Hugs for Grandpa:

 My poor brother Arron was so sick all day Christmas day. He hates having his picture taken anyway and usually ducks out of sight but he was too sick to move quickly on this one:

Christmas Day!

The token "waiting on the stairs" picture:

 Who knew off set spatulas could cause such euphoria?

Beard-o's!

Now this next picture has a story.

So, James and I, after 23 Christmases together have a tradition (or call it our gift to each other?) of buying the exact things we really want and then letting the other wrap it and give it from them. 

This year James ordered a bunch of motorcycle stuff (that I would never be able to figure out) online and told me,"A couple of things are coming in the mail - just wrap them up for me.". Me, being the dutiful (and lucky) wife did. I didn't even open them, I could see they were from some motorcycle place and just wrapped up every package that came addressed to him. Easy peasy.

So, this morning imagine his excitement when he unwrapped a motorcycle part he returned last month complete with a "rejected return" notice!! HA! Not only was his return rejected (due to lack of original packaging) he got it wrapped and under the tree!

But not to be out done....he got ME a sissy bar/back rest for HIS bike!

 Duct tape, gum and super glue from Dev!

 James modeling his chaps.....

And the backside.....Ha!!

 I think Christmas hugs are my favorite pictures:

 And everyone posing with their stash!

I even got matching PJ's this year:

And now for some Beard-o fun: