All Thumbs

Two Thumbs Down- For those whom celebrated Pioneer Day by enjoying what had to be a mighty impressive display of fireworks in the church parking lot and leaving the mess behind.

Two Thumbs Up- For the youth who stepped up with rakes and brooms in hand and spent a good portion of a summers afternoon, on hot asphalt, sweeping up a mess they did not make.

 Two Thumbs WAY Up- For those who were in such a hurry to help that they showed up without shoes! They swept that blistering asphalt until they couldn't stand it and then borrowed shoes that were sizes too small from a younger brother and mom so that they could finish the job.

Two Thumbs Way Up & Bless the heart- Of this little one who wanted to help and hurried so fast that this is the way she showed up to help...

Now that is dedication.

Fourth of July Photo Shoot

Ben wasn't the only one in our family who had the opportunity to get in on the fun at the Fourth of July photo shoot, in fact, the whole family had a chance to get in on the action...

Including my parents, who were down visiting for the holiday.

One of the things I love most about Jason's style of photography...

Is his ability to capture my kids how they really are...

Or a look of how they used to be...

And sometimes, perhaps, how they long to be again.

Now tell me, what is better than that?

Belated Birthday Wishes

I love the month of July.

Not the sticky heat of summer or the mosquito laced nights that July brings, but the reverent and patriotic feeling for the country that I love that garners the hearts, homes, and streets of our nation.

And in Ben's case, his face.

Happy Birthday America!

 I'm a little late, but better than never.

Thanks to Jason at Backroads Photography for the idea of such a fun photo shoot and, of course,  for sharing the fantastic images captured from it.

All I want for Christmas...

Whoever said all they want for Christmas is their two front teeth, must have never had two boys with grins like these.

But want I really want for Christmas is to thank you all for your friendship, tell you that I hope that your Christmas is filled with great memory-making moments with those that you love and may the New Year  have all the best things in store for you.

That's not too much to ask for, is it?

What about looking at a few pics from our Christmas Eve too?
Thanks.
You guys really are the best.



Christmas Eve Pajamas

Mary, Joseph, & Baby Jesus



Three very wise and cool men.




Mary on her donkey.

And a very sweet shepherd.



Merry Christmas!!!

From me and all of my characters.

Don't Mess with Tradition

At our family gatherings there are certain dishes that are traditional to eat. At the Parke Family Christmas parties it is always dessert- Granny Parke's Pineapple Fluff and Peanut Brittle Dessert. The second takes a little getting used to, the first, if made right (read- not made by me), is a little scoop of heaven. The rest of the meal can change yearly, but dessert should remain the same. It just isn't Christmas with out ingesting calories in those forms.

On my side of the family, the traditional dishes debut at Thanksgiving and make an encore appearance for Christmas dinner. The only problem is we have 2 Thanksgiving dinners by celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving in October and American Thanksgiving in November, so by the time we have Christmas dinner in December, I am ready to retire the Green Bean Casserole and Sweet Potato Casserole recipes' for another 9 months.

Except this year.

I made the traditional dishes for our Canadian Thanksgiving that we shared with friends and I brought home almost a full pan of each....which I ate a portion of for lunch... for the next week.

I'll tell you that leftovers are good, but not that good. Bleck!

By the time that planning our American Thanksgiving dinner came around I didn't even want to think about green beans, sweet potatoes, or casseroles in general, let alone eat any of them. So I just said, "NO" to more tradition. This year we would just make do with candied yams and cooked carrots on Thanksgiving.

When I told Richard about the lack of traditional dishes at this years dinner he was appalled. I like to make my hubby happy, so I relented and agreed to make a small green bean casserole. Then on Thanksgiving morning, I was on the phone with my mom she mentioned how disappointed my brother, Nate, was that we weren't having the Sweet Potato casserole...

You can't have disappointed people at Thanksgiving dinner, so since there was still time and I had all the ingredients and I'm the nicest sister he has (the fact I'm the only sister he has doesn't count), I gave into tradition a second time.

On Tuesday, I ate the last helping of sweet potato casserole for lunch all in the name of blessed tradition. It's not gone, I just can not bear to eat another bite. It is sitting in my fridge waiting it's journey to the trash can or disposal since it's week expiry date is up. No one else has had any and the date today is December 2nd with our traditional Christmas Eve dinner, with the traditional dishes looming only a mere 22 days away... 

Here's to hoping Christmas comes slowly...very, very slowly.

Oh Canada...

Happy Canada Day!!!

In honor of Canada being Benjamin's birth country, I am dedicating a post specifically to some of the vocabulary I picked up living there... a translator of sorts. With any luck, you may actually understand me now...

*Eh? or Eh. - Means I am asking if you agree or I'm just making a statement in general. You have to admit, it does sound more intelligent than the standard American "Huh?".

*Toque- This is simply a knitted hat, like a stocking cap. Don't ask me why it's called that, but I say it anyway.

*Washroom- When I ask where this is I don't want to use your washer & dryer just your nearest toilet.

*Sorry (pronounced "sore-y") - All I have to say about this one is that I'm really sawree.  

*Girlfriend- When I talk about "my girlfriend" I mean just that- a girl that is a friend. Remember, I am happily married to a man.

*"I'll phone you."- When I use this or a phrase similar to this, I am simply stating that I will call you on the phone at a later time. It does not in any way mean that I would use the phone as some type of weapon to hit, bludgeon, or in any way cause you bodily harm. Just in case you were wondering.

There you have it.

Okay, you Hoser, take off now eh?

Dear Mom, My Mother's Day Apology

(The guilty parties responsible for me - my parents.)

Dear Mom,

I know this is late, so there is the first thing to apologize for. But this weekend was...crazy. I know only you could understand that. I also know you believe in  "better late than never." So here it is late.

(Oh, and it's not an apology for screwing up dinner yesterday. But I am really sorry about that too.)

I apologize...
.... for all the times I made you worry needlessly. I now know how it feels.

.... for anytime I was disrespectful and sassed you. I now know how it feels.

.... if I made a mess and didn't clean it up. I now know how it feels.

.... for the times when I didn't obey when you asked me to do something. I now know how it feels.

.... if I ever demanded anything from you when you were so tired from working all day. I now know how it feels.

.... if I ever begged for something, that you really wanted to give me, but couldn't. I now know how it feels.

.... if I changed my clothes multiple times a day creating bigger piles of laundry for you. I now know how it feels.

.... if I ever got frustrated with you for not knowing how to help me with my homework. I now know how it feels.

.... when I got upset when you were only trying to help me. I now know how it feels.

.... if you ever sacrificed so that I could have or do something that I felt was important. I now know how it feels.

.... if I ever spilled on, tracked mud on, or brushed crumbs onto your freshly mopped floor. I now know how it feels.

I am sorry, truly I am for all of these things, but I will not apologize for growing up, or leaving you to get married, or having four of the most amazing kids of my own to love because..... I now know how it feels to be a mother.

And it is the best feeling in the world.

Happy belated Mother's Day!

I love you.

Spring Marathon: Easter

I don't know why they call it Spring "Break" because at our house it is never a break, it's more like a marathon. We just go and go until school starts again signaling our finish line. 
I have debated about how to record all of this because I want it for future family history and I have family members that keep up with us through blogs, but yet I hate to bore all of my friends with a travelogue. So I've decided to do it in parts and if you are bored all I can say is keep on scrolling... 

 Easter

Checking out their baskets.

Easter for our family was really simple this year. Life simply didn't allow time for anything else.  We didn't color eggs and the Easter baskets were simplified, although the kids still received enough candy to last them until Halloween. We didn't even attend any egg hunts, except for one on Easter morning in Grandma Jeanne's and Pop Marlin's livingroom. This room is not the ideal place for an egg hunt because it really has a lack of nooks & crannies that make great  places to hide plastic candy filled eggs. This made the whole Easter Bunny part of Easter very short, but that left the rest of the day to focus on the real reason we celebrate Easter.

Along with celebrating Christ's atonement and resurrection we did get to watch or hear all sessions of General Conference which led into a funny conversation with Dallin on our way to Goblin Valley that afternoon.

Dallin's finds.

Dallin- I wish Jesus was alive and living on the earth right now.
Mom- That would be cool, huh. But you know he will come again and we never know when, so we want to be trying to do what's right so that we can be counted among the righteous.
Dallin- Ashton makes that really hard.
Mom-  What's that?
Dallin- Trying to be righteous.
Mom- (fearing to ask) How?
Dallin- He does things to annoy me, so then I have to call him bad names.

Ashton & his loot

Those darn older brothers.....they're just gonna keep us from going to heaven because we have to call them  bad names!
You know, I kind of wish we could blame some of the not so good stuff on older brothers. Then when I reach the judgment bar I've got three of them to pawn stuff off on.

Maybe there is hope for me getting into heaven after all.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter.

Ben's new movies

Grandma Jeanne helping Emma find an egg the boys didn't get to first.

Emma happy with her 2 eggs.

Worn out after a successful morning.

Feelin' Lucky.

At first I thought it was a Leprechaun....

...Then I just realized it was my silly Mr. Ben with not a stitch of green to be found.

Not very lucky considering today is St. Patrick's Day.

Unlucky, unless you are me.

Because if you are me, you get to pinch that little mistaken Leprechaun all the day long.

And with that too long tousled hair, toothless grin, and just a hint of snow white legs sticking out between turquoise soccer shorts and one of a kind firefighter boots, who could resist?

I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

(This is was his outfit of choice which was decided upon while I was at the school collecting Box Tops, so I will not be held responsible. I like to think I have better fashion sense than that of a 5 yr old boy. Most days anyways.)

How much do YOU love me?

I'm supposed to be packing for a Valentine's overnighter in a hotel, which includes a trip to the pool complete with waterslide, with my 5 sweethearts, but you know I have priorities. And since I just checked my e-mail and found a friend of mine has gotten a big jump ahead on me for a contest I entered in, I thought packing and the inevitable donning of the swimsuit can wait!

If you remember or even if you don't, I wrote this post last summer after discovering a photography website and the amazing work of an incredible photographer. One image in particular won my heart and now I have the chance to win it...But...There's always a 'but' isn't there? I NEED YOUR HELP!

It's not hard; I'm not asking for money or an organ donation, just a wee bit of your time to make a comment on this blog post saying that I, Natalie Parke, sent you. That's it!

See...I told you it was easy and non-life threatening.

So if you haven't already gotten me a valentine, forget the flowers (they just die) and the chocolate (it gives me rolls where I don't want them), and show me how much you love me by giving me the gift of words in your comment for this contest. And yes, my friend (Rachel) may want a photo of her special needs child, but I have needs too! So I figure you could comment for both of us and perhaps, we can both be winners.

A big THANK YOU!
Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!

Inspiration

I love being able to go to church. I love sitting in a class or meeting and being struck with inspiration; those little "a-ha" moments when I recognize some tid bit that I can use in my life to make it easier, overcome challenges, become a better person, or to just simply- make me happier. Yesterday, I had one of those moments.

If you have read my blog for awhile you may have noticed that this month it has been different. I'm not talking about the sparse content contributed so far, that happens more often than not, but I am talking about the look. There has been no cutesy background or clever header photo to fit the month of January; just plain, boring, blah. Which is about how I feel about January...blah.

January is hard. How can it not be after following all the hoopla of December? There is the post holiday letdown followed by the fatigue of lots of family togetherness, acting like a covert spy to accomplish gift requests, the decorating and worst of all, the undecorating. There is the scrutinizing of the current state of our lives with New Year resolutions, topped off with the realization of just how many facets of our lives we are falling short in and need to improve on. And in our family's case, heap on top of all that, the 3 different home reno projects we completed at our parent's homes, including one paint job turned nightmare by the discovery of black mold, which added an extra day and a half and new drywall to the schedule. Coupled with my need to complete 25 hours of dreaded, so therefore procrastinated, continuing education hours before the end of the year and you have how I feel... the complete and utter need to be and do nothing. In a word- blah.

Oh, and did I mention the weather? I am in the opinion that unless I am able to hit the slopes, the snow, cold, and grey skies aren't needed anymore and we should go directly from New Year's to spring. White Christmas? Mission accomplished. Now snow, snow, go away.

I'm sorry to be a downer, so this is where my inspiration comes in. At church yesterday, a friend of mine was dressed in this cute, cheerful, red, Hawaiian inspired dress, it was the complete opposite of blah and so it hit me... I need something cheerful and reminiscent of warmth and sun to make it through the rest of the month! So here you have it- my new blog background.

So even though I am partial to the beaches of the Pacific Northwest, I'm finding the looks of Hawaii or sunny So Cal. very enticing, not to mention inspirational.  But of course, their inspiration is not to be out done by Sunday School...

Santa's Helpers

I know that we are half way through January, but I have tried to send this video of my mother's reaction to her Christmas present to my sister-in-law numerous times and no matter how I try to send it, it will not go. So I am posting it here. Thanks for the indulgence.

As a young girl, when my mom would venture out of the house on various mom duties she would often be visited by "The Good Fairy". The Good Fairy performed all sorts of magical tasks that in our home where my 3 older brothers lived usually centered around organizing and cleaning. You never knew when she would strike; my mother would leave on a grocery shopping trip and return to find that something had been straightened, organized, or just put in a better state than she left it. My mother loved it when The Good Fairy visited.

Well, The Good Fairy has grown up, but she still on occasion, likes to make surprise visits to my parent's home. Growing up also means that she now has connections and accomplices, even ones that live all the way in Idaho. Having connections and accomplices also means that The Good Fairy's magic is greatly enhanced and even more complicated tasks can be accomplished.

Dallin, one of The Good fairy's best accomplices & Santa's helper.

Well, it has been a while since The Good Fairy made an appearance at my parent's home, so it was a big surprise to my mom and dad when she and some of Santa's helpers made a stop one weekend in December, working their magic and leaving them a Christmas gift that would leave them "floored".

The finished product

(I am sorry it is sideways, I didn't want to drop $30 bucks on new software to edit it right now, so if you get a kink in your neck from watching it, send me an IOU for a neck rub.)


The Good Fairy wishes to thank her accomplices in Pocatello who pulled off getting my parents out of the house for the weekend- even with a snowstorm looming- which is a major feat considering my father and his hatred of driving in the snow. Those "magical charms" known as grandchildren work wonders.You guys are the best; we couldn't have done it without you!

A disclaimer to the Parke Family in Denver- The Good Fairy's male accomplices did not, will not, and have not EVER worn tights in the accomplishing of their good deeds.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

From our funny farm to yours.

Christmas Eve pajamas 2009

A Thanksgiving Leftover

On the way home from our Thanksgiving weekend Ben treated us to this little serenade. No matter how many times we heard it, how out of tune it may have been, or if the words weren't exactly right, it still brought a smile to my face and reminded me that even after a less than stellar holiday, I am a blessed woman with much to be grateful for.

So tonight before the giving thanks of November ends and we head into the excitement that only the Christmas season can instill, I reflect on the performance of a sweet boy's favorite song and I give thanks.

I give thanks for a little spirit that is drawn to the truth of a particular song that teaches him who he truly is and why he is here.

And the part where he still thinks his parents are "kind and dear" is something to be grateful for too.

Giving Thanks

Cartoon by http://www.guy-sports.com/

As I sit here in my parents family room staring at the unfinished walls in the mismatched pajamas my good husband dressed me in yesterday because I was too weak to dress myself, I find it fitting to be sick here. I am laying on the couch where as a girl I watched "The Sound of Music" while I waited for the virus or infection that had taken up residence in my body to move on. Today it is the same, except today the movie is "Charade".

Cary Grant always has a way of making me feel better. But today Cary's magic doesn't work so well. After all, it is Thanksgiving, and I am sitting in a basement- alone.

It is okay really, when I don't think about what I'm missing; turkey, potatoes & gravy, yams, stuffing, and pie. Really the food has no appeal to me; my tender tummy warns me against it. It is the other things about this holiday that I miss today. 

It is gathering with a large group of family, much too large to fit in anyone's home, but we do so anyway. It is the 50 or so (I lost count a long time ago) grandkids & great-grandkids running around in between all the adult bodies perched anywhere they can comfortably or semi-comfortably fit. It's the plotting of the most efficient routes amid the scattered newspaper ads to aquire the best early morning deals on Black Friday. It is catching up with my sister-in-laws while the men catch glimpses of football through their tryptophan induced slumber.

It is the experience of Thanksgiving I miss. The experience of being together.

But luckily for me, I married into a family where they love to be together and do so every chance they can get. Most holidays, monthly Family Home Evenings, missionary comings and goings, weddings, baptisms, baby blessings, and in a family of 10 children there are a lot of those. So now I can happily look forward to the Christmas season and all the family gatherings that will ensue. I can look forward to the experience of being together again.

And hopefully, by tonight or tomorrow, I can look forward to a plate of leftovers.

Those are some things I can definitely be thankful for.

Speechless

I'm not sure if viewing this counts for 'Turn off the TV and Get a Life Week' or not, but so I can in good conscience say I did the challenge in all honesty, I have not watched it. Your comments will have to tell me how it turned out. Regardless, just know that the real thing was amazing. It left me speechless and teary eyed.

Thank you Veterans for bravely and unselfishly preserving the freedom of the land that I love.

5th graders performing "God Bless the U.S.A" in ASL.

Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful I gave birth to this cute little "butterball" in Canada, because it gives us a great reason to celebrate Thanksgiving twice each year.

Benjamin has dual citizenship between the USA and Canada.  It is one of the things that make Ben special and unique in our family. In order to honor Ben's uniqueness and birth country, we try to observe some of Canada's holidays as well as our own. Plus, it is always fun to have another holiday to celebrate, right?

Since today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada we ate a different kind of "butterball" than the cute one pictured above. I spent the better half of today making Thanksgiving dinner complete with some of our traditional must haves like green bean casserole, orange jell-o salad, and Cran-Raspberry juice mixed with sprite and real raspberries. Of course, we also had turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, yams, buns (Canadian for rolls), and stuffing.

And pie... you can't forget the pumpkin pie. 

I figure why not celebrate Thanksgiving twice a year? In fact, perhaps we should celebrate it more often.  In a world where we seem so preoccupied with getting ahead and having more, we need more days where we are content and grateful for the things we have been blessed so abundantly with in our lives.

Plus, it is a great excuse to eat pie!