Thank-you Melia

I just wanted to post that Melia, my poor little sleeper, has gone to bed at bedtime every night for nearly two weeks now, in her bed! Way to go, Melia!!! You finally learned how to put yourself to sleep! Thanks Shannon, Kristen and Super Nanny for your help and encouragement.

A Hero in My Life

When I was 15 going on 16 I was at a crossroads of my life. I was headed into my junior year of high school. I was stuck in a depression, I felt quite dark and unsure about life.
Many great things happened that year that shot me off in a more positive direction, but one of the major ones was getting to know this good man, a man of God. I read his biography and developed a fondness and admiration of him because of his hard work ethic, his humor, his humility, and his drive to improve all things in life.
And one of his credos was what got me moving forward, and I still love this quote today:

"...you can't, you don't, build out of pessimism or cynicism. You look with optimism, work with faith, and things happen."
-ensign, june 1995

BAM! I love that quote. And I love the things you stood for, President Hinckley.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Jesus Camp

Watch this...

Annie and I watched this movie and got pretty uncomfortable with a lot of what was said. If you have not seen this film, I would highly recommend it to anyone that wants to peak into Evangelicals worlds. This clip is pretty wild.

Some of my favorite quotes in the order in which they are said and my thoughts: 

mom says-"yeah, its not really a big problem is it... it's a huge political issue and that is why it is so important for you to understand it." hmmm so what exactly is the cause if any of global warming?

mom says- "what if you had to go to school where your teacher said evolution is stupid, and you are stupid if you believe in it." Levi says- "I wouldn't mind that." mom says-"you wouldn't mind it." hmmm so it is ok to think others are stupid if they don't agree with you.
mom says- "If you look at creationism you realize that it is the only possible answer to all the questions." really? all the questions? how about electricity? ah.. 
mom says-"science doesn't prove anything, and it's really interesting when you look at it that way." Levi says- "it is?" mom- "it is." it's true there is not a single thing that science proves.

I hope that we can all think about the things that we teach and say.  It is scary to think that kids are taught without having to reason or think.  

Christmas with the Hydes

Well, here is this year's Hyde family picture--a little rushed and hectic, but we are all present, except Elder David Hyde, of course!
Christmas day went like this: We woke up by alarm clock at 6 am, drove to the Hydes, did the Christmas presents for a couple hours, had a nice breakfast cooked by Mark and Anne, then we napped ( I napped 4 times that day--turns out I was very sick!), we talked to David on the phone, ate dinner, then John and Shelly blessed their little girl, Goldie, then Mark blessed the new home, and everyone played games for a bit.
David is doing well. He is serving in the West Indies. He is a trainer and a district leader. He has 9 months to go.
This year three baby girls were born within six months: our Sophie, John and Shelly's Goldie, and Christie and Cameron's Jadynne. John did a wonderful job blessing Goldie. I may be coming to Utah this week for Jadynne's blessing! Elkingtons here we come! Hooray!
The blessing of the home was nice. Danny and I have never thought to bless our home. I guess we are still giving it some thought...as it has been a few days and we haven't done anything about it. I think when I am done with this blog we will have a goal setting session. It is Sunday night, and a good night to think about the new year.

Melia was the star in the Christmas nativity. The gold star matched her gold shoes very well!

Here is "Grammy" with four of her six granddaughters. Melia would not cooperate but look at Sophie's fluffy hair! It is getting long!...well, in a baby sort of way.

It was a great holiday. We spent many days inside the Hyde's new house. Sometimes when everyone comes into town it feels like a marathon to pack everything in. We are all getting a little more grown up now, with more kids and responsibility, so our party style has changed somewhat. But it was a lot of fun! We played the game Rock Band for four days straight. Sarah was the band leader. Has anyone else played Rockband or Guitar Hero? You really feel like a rocker!!! Anyway, we all fit much better into the new Hyde home than the old one. Mark and Anne have done an incredible job. It is a beautiful and peaceful home.

Tired girl

Melia is bad sleeper, and it is most likely our fault. She can't just climb into bed, hear a night time story, say her prayers and go to bed. Nope, not her, she was spoiled as a baby because we always held her to sleep, rocked her to sleep, watched tv with her to sleep...ugh. A mistake we are not making with Sophie. Well she is always falling asleep in random places, often an hour past the time she should have gone to bed.

But hey, good news! She is doing a lot better now that she doesn't nap during the day. Now she usually goes to bed between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. Hooray! It is still in pathetic places, as pictured above, but at least the time is an improvement! I guess we'll have to keep working on the night time routine though!

Sophie starts solids

Sophie-Pie is 5 months old now and feels very eager to eat some real food. She loved her first two experiences with rice cereal, but has not enjoyed the last three. I can't say that I blame her. But I will keep working on it. Melia tried it (mostly because she was jealous Sophie and I were having such a good time without her) and thought it was so gross she actually puked it up all over the counter (along with her breakfast she had just finished). It was so disgusting, so I thought I should tell you about it!

halloween princess

Melia takes a look in the mirror to check herself out...

She goes wild with approval and excitement...

and she heads off for the princess promenade of her life!

(Sorry no pictures of Sophie--she was sick. I did put her in Mara's cuddly old leopard costume and she looked exactly like Melia looked in it two years ago! My girl's looks are very similar!).

a trip to lattin farms

On Nevada Day we went with a couple of Melia's little friends and their mom's (who happen to be my friends as well) to Lattin Farms for picking pumpkins and petting farm animals.

Here is her friend, Finley. He lives five doors down the street. His mother's name is Nellie.

This is Jacey and Kiera. They live across the highway. Danny and I are good friends with their mom and dad, Candy and Ryan Wilson.

This is right before Melia's tantrum, which concluded our trip...
and we had to leave without buying any pumpkins!

Melia is having 1-2 screaming tantrums a day. Any advice?

flowers from beth

Thanks, Beth! They lasted for two weeks!

bob's new porsche

This is my dear old dad. (psst, Dad--I am not saying you are old!). He looks pretty handsome next to his new ride, doesn't he?