Christmas 2012 Part 2

Christmas Eve 2012:

Truffle dipping with and audience: (captions not necessary)

Our little feast:

All fancied up in the Christmas attire made by Grams:

Belt Family Christmas 2012

Christmas Jammies from Gramma!

Fun on the slide!

ichatting with Gramma and Grampa:

Christmas 2012 via pictures

Here's a quick overview of our Christmas 2012:

The kiddos decorated Christmas trees. I even found little gummy stars for the tops of the trees:

She's ready to eat hers:

Look at this CUTE kid! I was so SO lucky to have my sister and bil and nephew come for Christmas!

Joe was sick, but still good company

I'm concentrating VERY intensely. I like a nice looking gingerbread house.

cuteness:

The cutest Grinch out there!

having fun making a mess:

He's happy to have my volleyball:

The finished G. house. Dustin created the snow and made the snowman:

The things she says....and thinks...

We're all driving in the van and Adelynne asks, "Mom, when do girls stop having babies?"

I stumbled a bit and said something like, "Well, its different for every woman."

Then I could hear Adelynne in the back talking to Amy saying that she wants a brother or another sister.

Ah hah. I then said, "Adelynne, are you worried that I'm done having babies because I'm 30?"

Adelynne: "Yes."

Little Bo Peep and my Amazingly Talented Mom

Halloween 2012!

 I saw this costume at Marshall's and passed it up. But then right before Halloween I couldn't take my mind off it, so I went back to Marshall's and bought it. I'm so glad I did. Aurora was SO cute in it. I'm sorry friends, family, world, but NO ONE was cuter than Aurora in this costume. NO ONE. 

 It even has pantaloons. And yes, that's a hoop skirt. So, Aurora wasn't thrilled to put it on, but when she realized the end results of being so adorable, she was thrilled. I'm still building up the courage to have her wear this to church, ha! Its hanging in her closet and I wish she had an occasion to wear it.

 And now to debut the amazingly talented mother that I have: My mom made Adelynne and Amy's costume. (not Amy's wig, but everything else). She put so much darling detail into their dresses, and I know so much time as well. Adelynne's dress especially. There wasn't a more spectacular Rapunzel than Adelynne, and Amy was unique and dazzling as Princess Jasmin. 

Daddy time

October 21, 2012

One Sunday afternoon, Amy decided she wanted to go on a picnic. So Dustin packed them up a "lunch" and they went to the backyard for a picnic. I spied on them and took pictures. I just wanted a memory of this event. Amy was so happy to have time with her Daddy.

 And here is Aurora, happily reading her books in her favorite outfit.

Progress Report Comment Sheets

These are the comments from Adelynne's and Amy's teachers.
Adelynne's teacher says:
"Addy consistently demonstrates respectful and appropriate behavior at school. Her respect for our classroom and school-wide rules maker her an excellent role model for her classmates. Addy continues to exhibit a good level of comprehension with fiction and nonfiction texts. She is currently reading at grade level. She makes logical predictions, connections, and inferences. She has also strengthened her ability to summarize fiction text by focusing on the important characters, events, and details. Addy has worked to increase her fluency and expand her vocabulary. Addy is beginning to build a foundation in writing. She thoughtfully implements new literary devices and revision ideas. She has also learned how to expand a small moment by adding details and description. Addy continues to strengthen her mathematical skills and understanding. She is increasing her number sense and strengthened her ability to add and subtract tens. Addy is ready to work towards automaticity with her addition and subtraction facts in the next term. She has participated in social studies and science with energy and persistence. Addy can identify and describe different kinds of communities. She has also explored the properties of rocks, how they change over time, and how they are used to meet our needs."

Amy's teacher says:
"Amy is an absolute pleasure to have in class! She comes to school each day excited and eager to learn, and she is always respectful to her teachers and peers. Amy is a cheerful and cooperative member of our class, and she is a positive role model for her fellow students. During whole group and small group lessons, she is an attentive listener, and while working, she always puts forth her best effort. Amy takes pride in her work and it shows!
  Academically, Amy is meeting and/or exceeding all of the grade level standards, which is great! She knows all of the upper and lowercase letters, as well as their sounds, and this surpasses the expectations. She also knows all of the high-frequency words we have learned so far. Amy loves reading books by herself and with her friends, and she is currently working on decoding words. While writing, she uses her knowledge of letter sounds to record multiple sounds per word. In math, Amy can count to 110 and she can read and write numbers 0-100. She is starting to solve oral addition and subtraction number stories as well. Overall, Amy is off to a wonderful start in Kindergarten, and I know she will continue to shine!"

I am very proud of both of my girls. They both have and exemplify excellent character and values, and that far exceeds their academic levels in my book. But I am also grateful that both of my girls are doing well academically. If you read my last post you will probably be able to get a feel for how Adelynne's teacher is just by reading her comments about Addy. I just feel like Addy's teacher's comments are so business like and have no emotion. At least they're nice comments.

And this is a off subject, but today there was an awful shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut. 20 children and 6 teachers/adults were killed. This news has been so heart wrenching for me today. I am aching and mourning for the families that have lost their precious children; that were not able to welcome their kids home from school today. I cannot begin to comprehend the heartbreak these parents and families are beginning to deal with. I cannot imagine the terror, the emptiness, the darkness they are feeling. I do know that I am grateful for my faith in Jesus Christ who loves us all and can heal all wounds. I hope those that are aching for their children will come to feel the hope in Christ in their darkest moments.

First Day of School

The girls did not start school until September 4th, the day after we returned from our trip. Both Adelynne and Amy were excited and scared to go to a new school.

Here they are ready for their first day, and Amy's being a goof. Grandma Biggs made them their dresses.

Sweet girls

My beautiful 2nd grader! Just so hard to believe, I still catch myself saying she's in 1st grade.

KINDERGARTEN! (?) How did that happen?! She is in full day too because that is all they have at their school. At first I was very nervous about full day, but I think its been great for Amy. The first few days were a little challenging for Amy though. She would ask if she could come home and have lunch, or if she had to go to school the next day. But by the start of the 2nd week she didn't look back. She loves her teacher and has made lots of friends. Her favorite friend is a little girl named Irene. And there is a boy named Andrew that she has a little crush on, and he seems to have one on her too. He drew her a picture and wrote a note that says  "Andrew loves Amy." When I asked Amy about it, she told me that he is nice and she likes his hair. Oh my little flirt! (But don't worry, Dylan, Amy still loves you most and says she is still going to marry you). 

This picture is just before school began. Adelynne really struggled with her new school and her teacher and classmates the first couple of months. She is doing much better now, but she really missed her last school and her 1st grade teacher and her best friend, Ana. I think her teacher has been the hardest for her (and for me). She is a nice teacher, but she is very business- like. She is not very affectionate or enthusiastic. I feel like her teacher is teaching college not 2nd grade. But despite my opinion, Adelynne has come to love school again, and says her favorite part is writing. Her favorite specials are library and music. At their new school they have P.E. every day, which I think is great.

Good luck, Adelynne! I think I was very nervous for her, but no tears from me, I'm usually more excited than anything. I always loved the first day of school when I was in school, but I never moved and switched schools as a kid.

She looks nervous, doesn't she? That's her teacher smiling back at us. (And I'm sorry about the large woman in the corner, but I didn't want to cut out Amy's teacher). Who is fantastic, by the way. Amy adores her. 

Bye, bye sweet Amy. There were no tears from either of us. But looking at this picture I want to cry. Gosh, they grow up fast! (Said every mother on the planet).

School's out!! Her first day was great at least. And that is her teacher holding the door.

Amy showing me her favorite part of the playground, other than the swings. Its a really cool slide that has individually spinning tubes.

Back home again, all tired and sweaty from having so much fun. We get to walk to and from school because we live so close and I really love that. Amy was sad that she didn't get to ride the bus for the first couple of weeks, but she's gotten over that now. I feel very blessed that our girls are at a great school. Every person I have met that has had kids at their school just can't say enough good about it. I think it was another way Heavenly Father was looking out for us when He led us to our house and we were able to rent it. Such a tender mercy.

Turning Two

So I briefly mentioned in the previous post that we drove back to our new home on Aurora's 2nd birthday. We spent 18 hours in the car that day. It was such a long day. I felt guilty the entire day as well, even though I know Aurora did not know the difference. Just so we could have a more fun celebration of our baby turning 2, we had some cake and ice cream on Labor Day. Aurora was pretty excited, can you tell?

Adelynne is singing to Aurora:

The candles:

You can see our stacks of boxes that still needed to be unpacked. We arrived the day before the girls' first day of school, so there was a lot of preparation we needed to do that day.

Aurora brings so much fun and giggles and joy to our home. She is constantly making us laugh with her silly faces and actions. She is so sweet and cuddly. She still sticks her tongue out a lot, especially when she is concentrating on what she is doing. She loves to dance and sing. If she finds a toy microphone she will start singing into it, and sometimes begs her sisters to play on their guitars to back her up. Aurora's favorite show is Diego, with Dora being a close second. Her favorite food is chicken nuggets and her favorite snack is chocolate. I still nurse her before her nap and bedtime most days. She loves when her sisters play with her, and she loves to take off her clothes and take baths. Her vocabulary is growing, although she is still difficult to understand. She has said a few of her own prayers, where she is really just mimicking what she sees us do, but it is so cute. She loves to play at the park and is very frustrated when she cannot because the weather is too cold. There is so much fun to this little toddler. I'm so grateful to have her in our family.

Way back when....

This is the start of the back blogging. You have been warned.

Way back in August.... So we moved. Like we really moved. We packed up all our things in our tiny little apartment in West Lafayette, Indiana and shoved all of those things into a moving truck that turned out to be significantly too small. Huh, who knew? As our dear friends took our belongings out of the apartment to the truck, it seemed as if more things appeared. Things just seemed to be bleeding from the walls. How did we have so much stuff in that tiny apartment?? Geez! So we had to leave behind the things in our extra storage unit. We packed up and drove out of town on August 3rd. We drove to our new home in Evanston, Illinois. Luckily, and gratefully, our new home is only 3 hours away from West Lafayette, so we were able to arrive in time to have some fantastic help unload our moving truck. We were able to get most of the house set up over the weekend and attend church on Sunday, ANNNND, pack for our trip. That's right, our trip. You know our yearly trip we have taken for the last 6 years, now 7, since we moved to Indiana? The one where we drive all the way to Utah, Nevada, and then California? That trip. On Monday the 6th, we registered the girls for school, and a couple of other tasks, and then we hit the road. Long story short.... we got back to our new home on September 2nd, Aurora's birthday! The terrible thing about the trip, I only have one picture from my camera to show for it; here is proof that we were in Cold Creek on August 16th:

Some highlights from our trip that we really did go on:
- ran a 5K with my sister. It was not a registered race, but a mapped out course just for my sister and I. We both trained all summer to run together. We didn't have a remarkable time, but our goal was to do the distance together without walking, and we did.
- had a birthday party for Aurora and Brek with my siblings and my parents. It was the first time for our family to meet my brother, Mark's, new wife and her twin boys. I was so glad to finally meet my new sister-in-law. And my sister planned a fun Elmo themed party for us all.
- Biggs Family Reunion 2012!
- Stay with Grandpa and Grandma Belt at Cold Creek.
- Belt family Party to celebrate Ronin's 2nd birthday
- visit with Grandma and Papa Great. Saw our former cat, Nemo, who now belongs to my grandparents. He is half the cat he used to be! Looks amazing and is totally happy in his new home.
 - Stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Biggs. Played with cousins.

Some "Excitement"

Tuesday night Dustin and I went to bed and were trying to get to sleep, but Dustin was feeling some pain in his side. He would get up go to the bathroom and come back to bed. Then do it again, and each time he came back to bed he was in more pain. He was becoming more vocal about the pain he was in. Finally I got up to be with him and I found him hugging the toilet. Then he started vomiting. But the vomiting brought no relief from the pain. I was starting to get more and more worried. After throwing up he started pacing the length of the house faster and faster. And then he said that he thought I should take him to the doctor, and I asked, "Now?" And he said yes. I was ready to panic at this point, but I remained as calm as I could be for his sake. I called a home teacher but he didn't answer, (it was 11:30 at night), so I texted him so he would know it was me trying to call. But I was still trying to hurry, so I called the other home teacher. He answered his phone and said he could come in a few minutes. I don't know how far away he lives, but he came 30 minutes later (a very long 30 minutes later). Dustin was getting light headed, he could be still. His pain was awful. The first home teacher called me back and asked what was going on and as I told him my emotions got the better of me and I began crying. He offered any help we needed, but there was nothing else at the moment. As soon as our home teacher arrived Dustin and I got in the van and I drove him to the emergency room. Just before arriving at the hospital I had the impression that Dustin had a kidney stone. Up to this point I had no idea what was going on and I was very scared. But as soon as I had that impression, my fears settled down. But poor Dustin was hurting so badly. When he got admitted into the Emergency Room, the nurses immediately told him he would have to calm down his breathing. Dustin was hyperventilating so badly. The doctor came in and after a quick examination told us that Dustin had a kidney stone. So as soon as Dustin calmed his breathing a little the nurses were able to give him an IV and get his pain medications started. It still took nearly an hour for Dustin to be without severe pain. During which his hyperventilating reached a high when he could no longer feel his hand and his fingers were cramped and purple. Dustin was so pale too. The worst was over after about an hour and a half. But the nurse came back and told us that Dustin's potassium levels were alarmingly low and that he would need some potassium supplements.  The early morning hours were slipping away and after more pain meds and a cat scan the doctor decided to admit Dustin into the general hospital for monitoring. Dustin really was ready to go home when his pain was gone, but he reluctantly stayed. And then he stayed all the next day until a little after 3 they said he could go home. Thankfully, Dustin had a quick recovery and is back to life as normal. I am so grateful for the help we received from our church family, especially our home teachers and visiting teachers. We hardly know them, really, but they came to our rescue and helped out so much. And then we had many offers of help from other ward members. I feel so blessed to have a ward family that is willing and able to help us in our time of need. Our home teacher came to our home and stayed with the girls during the night. He left his wife and infant son at home to come and "watch" our girls. Another friend came and took Aurora on Wednesday morning for a couple of hours so I could get a nap. My visiting teacher brought us dinner and took my load of towels home to wash for me. Tonight she brought them back so nicely folded. My other visiting teacher took Aurora for me this afternoon so I could get the rest of my laundry washed at the laundromat (we don't have a w/d or hookups in our house). That was very nice because I was still tired and I could get the laundry done more efficiently. I've received emails and notices and a few phone calls and I'm so grateful to have the prayers and positive thoughts on Dustin's behalf. I feel so blessed.

Something I needed today

I subscribe to a blog called "The Red Headed Hostess." I admit that when I receive her daily emails, I rarely read them. But today I was emotionally distressed by the news that our van needed a lot of repairs and would cost a lot of money. With our already stringent budget, this brought on me a wave of emotion and I retired to my bed to cry out my concerns. My mouth uttered no prayer, nor did I address God as I cried out in my heart for my family's needs. I just cried into my pillow. But then I heard the all too familiar "ding" of my email notification. My immediate thought was to ignore the email and read it later. But I didn't. I opened my email and saw this: Daily Bread Posted: 07 Nov 2012 09:16 PM PST I used this story in Gospel Doctrine a few weeks ago, and I just keep thinking about it. It is by Elder Christofferson, and I can’t tell you how applicable this quote has been in my life lately and I am so grateful I found it. So I thought to share it with you. Some of you may need it now, and others may need it in the future. Here you go: Trust in the Lord—Solutions May Come over Time Some time before I was called as a General Authority, I faced a personal economic challenge that persisted for several years. It did not come about as a consequence of anyone’s wrongdoing or ill will; it was just one of those things that sometimes come into our lives. It ebbed and flowed in seriousness and urgency, but it never went away completely. At times this challenge threatened the welfare of my family and me, and I thought we might be facing financial ruin. I prayed for some miraculous intervention to deliver us. Although I offered that prayer many times with great sincerity and earnest desire, the answer in the end was “No.” Finally I learned to pray as the Savior did: “Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). I sought the Lord’s help with each tiny step along the way to a final resolution. There were times when I had exhausted all my resources, when I had nowhere or no one to turn to at that moment, when there was simply no other human being I could call on to help meet the exigency before me. With no other recourse, more than once I fell down before my Heavenly Father begging in tears for His help. And He did help. Sometimes it was nothing more than a sense of peace, a feeling of assurance that things would work out. I might not see how or what the path would be, but He gave me to know that, directly or indirectly, He would open a way. Circumstances might change, a new and helpful idea might come to mind, some unanticipated income or other resource might appear at just the right time. Somehow there was a resolution. Though I suffered then, as I look back now, I am grateful that there was not a quick solution to my problem. The fact that I was forced to turn to God for help almost daily over an extended period of years taught me truly how to pray and get answers to prayer and taught me in a very practical way to have faith in God. I came to know my Savior and my Heavenly Father in a way and to a degree that might not have happened otherwise or that might have taken me much longer to achieve. I learned that daily bread is a precious commodity. I learned that manna today can be as real as the physical manna of biblical history. I learned to trust in the Lord with all my heart. I learned to walk with Him day by day. -Elder D. Todd Christofferson CES Fireside, Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread, January 9, 2011 I read in complete amazement. I cried more tears, but this time tears of comfort and relief. God heard my cries. He heard my unasked prayer, He heard the words of my heart. And he sent relief, immediate relief. My money problems aren't solved, but I have been given a reminder to have faith and endure my trials. I am so grateful for the peace and comfort I received this morning.

Belt's and Bench's. More in common than you might think.

Just back blogging from way back at the end of July when we spent an evening with some of our BFFs, the Bench Family. We love this family dearly and miss our more frequent interactions with them. They will be moving to Utah in December and so our interactions will be reduced to facebook statuses and an occasional Christmas letter perhaps a yearly visit. :( Well, we hope not, but that's certainly the reality. Ugh. Sometimes change sucks!! And when I say suck, I mean it hurts, like your heart is breaking kind of hurt. We have made so many wonderful memories with the Bench Family. Doreen has been the kind of friend to me that everyone should long to have. I am so grateful to know them and claim them as friends. Here are some pictures of our evening with the Bench's before we moved.

Amy's BFF. Amy LOVES Sabrina. Before Amy even understood what playing meant, she had figured out how to play with Sabrina. I wish these two could grow up together. They are so alike its funny.

The Big Sisters. Aubree is about 14 months older than Adelynne, but they have always been great friends and played so well together. Aubree's love of reading always inspires Adelynne, (and me too)!

I LOVE THIS PICTURE

The baby sisters. This is the best picture I could get from them. No hugging picture, but really, these two girlies (just weeks apart in age), LOVE each other SO much. They play so well together, just like Amy and Sabrina did at such a young age. They are so excited to see each other and play together. I think their favorite thing to do together is go into their room and surround themselves with books and read to each other. One of them will "read" to the other, and then they both will bust out laughing. This play will go on for 20 or 30 minutes. Its got to be one of the cutest things anyone could ever see.

All 6 girlies

The Belt and Bench Families. Aren't those two guys so blessed to be surrounded by so many gorgeous ladies?!

Adelynne's 7th Birthday

For Adelynne's 7th Birthday we had a "beach party." We got the biggest (affordable) inflatable pool we could find (believe me the pickins were slim), a sand station, beach umbrella, slip n' slide, beach balls, water guns, a water balloon fight, piñata, and a yummy lunch. It was a hot day, but I think everyone stayed pretty cool in the shade and with the water. The kids really had a great time!

Cake time! (Left to right: Olivia, Sung ju, Clayton, Adelynne, & Ana).

The girls in the pool pre- party time. (This picture was taken with my phone).

The party goers! Left side, front to back: Ashley, Olivia, Sung ju, Clayton, Adelynne, Kristen. Right side, front to back: Kelsey, Aubree, Sabrina, Amy, Aubrey A., and Bliss.

Adelynne's Actual Birthday. Wearing her beautiful birthday dress made by Grandma Biggs.

She's so beautiful and smart! 

I'm so grateful to be Adelynne's Mom! I am blown away that my baby is 7 years old! She is such a sweet girl. She wants to make others happy and be liked by everyone. She is very sensitive to the feelings of those around her, at home especially.  She hates to upset others and will cry when she realizes that she has hurt someone else. She is helpful and kind to me and her sisters. She enjoys singing and dancing and swimming. Adelynne also enjoys playing games and drawing and some reading. I love her so much!