A little bit of begging

I entered this cake I made for St. Patrick's Day in a contest on Gourmet Mom's blog. The voting ends in a couple of hours and I would really like to win the $100 prize package from cookware.com. At one point I was within one vote of winning, but the opposition is launching a strong resurgence. If you haven't yet, will you go to http://www.gourmetmomonthego.com/ and vote for Kendra's Lucky Leprechaun Cake? I'll love you forever, and maybe even bake you something, someday!

The Gubler House

Although funerals aren't inherently fun times, Grandma's funeral turned out to be a family reunion of sorts, and we had a great time being with my family. This was the first time in around 7 years that all of my siblings have been together.

What made it extra neat is that we were able to rent this historic home in St. George where we could stay together. That would have been cool enough. But how neat is this:

After being at the home for a while, we decided to check out the historic plaque on the front and saw that it was built by Heinrich Gubler, who was Grandma's Grandpa, or our Great Great Grandpa. It helped us feel near to our heritage, and close to each other.

The kids mostly enjoyed all the fun things they could do with their cousins in the carriage house, and the pool area (still pretty cold, but the jacuzzi was a big hit!)

Thanks, everyone, for making our whirlwind trip to Utah so memorable! Can't wait for our next reunion!

Ruth Gubler Nielson (1907-2009)

My Grandma passed away the day before Valentine's Day. I was actually at Trenton's class party when my mom called me on my cell phone to tell me the news. It was mostly expected, except part of me thought she might just live on forever. Up until recent years, I firmly believed that she was stronger and healthier than I was.

She was 101 years old, and probably could have fought on to live a few more years, if there had been much reason to keep fighting. She was an incredibly hard-working woman, who left behind a posterity that included 101 great grandchildren.

Barry couldn’t get out of work for the funeral, so the kids and I made arrangements to caravan to Southern Utah for the funeral with some of my Arizona cousins. Of 39 (?) grandchildren, all but one of those living were in attendance. In my family, all eight siblings were together for the first time in something like 7 years. Although it took a lot of effort to get our little family there, it was great to be with my family and extended family and celebrate the amazing posterity of my grandma.

My Trenton was the most mournful mourner at the funeral. He was very sad that he wouldn’t get to see Grandma Nielson again on this earth. “I loved Grandma Nielson, I didn’t want her to die.” He said over and over. I took turns with my brothers (thanks, guys!) trying to comfort him and remind him of the power of the resurrection, but when the funeral director asked if anyone needed to say their final goodbye’s before the casket was closed, Trenton was the first to walk up to the casket and take a very serious moment of silence. I’ll never forget the sight of him walking back to me, hands in his pockets and head hung down after he had said good bye to his great grandma for the last time on this earth. He has such a tender heart!

I think it would be ungrateful to complain about 101 years. Grandma lived on her own for most of those years, at least until she was around 95. My only regret...no one ever called Willard Scott.

During the funeral I wrestled a sleep-deprived, Tessa. The grandchildren sang “How Great Thou Art” and I lead the great-grandchildren (who had to remain in the congregation, because there were too many to fit in the choir seats) in “I am a Child of God.”

I took the following pictures at the graveside service, and luncheon. If any of my family wants me to email them photos that are the right size for printing (i.e. 4x6), let me know.

My cousins and brother paying their last respects as pallbearers.

Lovely floral arrangement on the powder blue casket, that I'm sure Grandma completely approved of. Blue was always her favorite color!

My mom, her sisters, and Aunt Ardella looking on.

My dad dedicated the grave.

My fussy, fussy girl, giving Uncle Guy a bad time.

The Hansen family at the luncheon. I had to include both shots because of cropping and goofy faces. We are in age order if you start with my brother, Deren (next to my dad) then to my sister, Serena (next to my mom) and alternate sides to the ends. Clearly not all of the spouses and children could make it, but it was great to be together with our original family, if just for a short time.

And for fun, I decided to make a few of these pictures black and white for a more timeless feel:

Happy Love Day!

These images were the treat toppers for the valentine that the kids gave to their friends at school. We thought we would share the love (minus the Hershey's kisses) with you all! Hope you are feeling loved this Valentines Day!

Tessa--photogenic and 15 (months)

(Please look at all of the photos in this post and vote for your favorite in the comments. Thank you!)

#1


Every time I stare into Tessa's amazing blue eyes, I melt a little. She is sweetness and fun rolled into one and learning so many new things each day. She's 15 months now, so I think it's about time she started helping to earn her keep around here. :-) First, I think she would make a lovely Picture Princess for Shabby Baby, and who wouldn't love to have a full wardrobe of girls and little girls dresses from this cute store? I think she would be especially cute in this dress.




(I might look cute in that dress, too if it came in my size. :-)) So I am submitting her for that.

I also have been wanting to submit a picture of her for Regis and Kelly's Beautiful Baby Search. Yes, I know they probably already have a million submissions, but I do think those eyes are spectacular, and I wouldn't be sad to win a trip to New York, or even better, a $125,000 college scholarship for her. The trouble is that every time I try and take her picture, she has food on her face or runs away, or something. The pictures in this blog are the ones I am considering submitting (asap)...so help me out and VOTE for the one that you think shows off her cuteness the best:

#1 (First photo at the top of this post)--All about the eyes!

OR
#2
Cute smile--Messy face

#3

Oh, the hair in the eyes and the dirty face, but still sweet.

#4

Clean at last, but how do we feel about bathtub photos?

#5

OK. Probably won't send this one since the hair is everywhere. She had just come down the slide (a new trick she has mastered) and had crazy static hair. I thought it was too funny (yet, still cute!)

And I'm not sending this one either, but I thought it was a cool photo from cousin Jackson's birthday party. I like the yellow and the purple. Notice the wet leg. I consider it quite an accomplishment that only that much of her body made it into the lake right by our ramada. It was her main objective through out the party.

I'll have to see if I can remember all of her words and signs, and do another post about how big she is getting. We love her tons and she does a great job of keeping us on our toes!

Don't forget to vote...please and thank you!

Today's Trentonisms

"Mom, when I'm like 98 and a half, I can play paintball!"

****
T: Do Moms and Dads have school?
Me: Some do.
T: Do Moms and Dads have home school?
Me: Well, I guess we are always learning things at home.
T: And do you have home school by our "home teachers"?

(I'll add some pictures to this post tonight!)

Chillingly Wicked

Do you recognize this icy queen? She looks pretty frightening, doesn't she? Kira and Trenton had the opportunity of posing for this talented photographer in their Halloween costumes, for a fairy tale series she is working on. I finally got a glimpse of this picture she took of Kira here, and here. I'm still hoping to see some of Trenton in his knight costume. This is just the initial phase of the series. I can't wait to see what she comes up with. She'd like to put these pictures in a book or calendar. Go here for more of her magical pictures.

A Years Supply---of Toys?

So I made what was supposed to be a quick stop (ha,ha!) at Target, to look at prizes for my Blogoversary Party Party today (What's that? Glad you asked. Go here to find out!), when I found a friend with a shopping cart full of toys. It turns out that a good chunk of their toys are 75% off right now. So I followed her lead and came home with all kinds of toys and games that I'm hoping will give us birthday presents for the whole year (maybe longer). Is this considered emergency preparedness?

Joy In the Journey

I posted about our family's theme for 2009, JOY IN THE JOURNEY on my other blog. Hence some of the elements of the blog redesign. Does your family have a theme, motto, or word for 2009?

Kira's Big Heart & Short Hair

Some time back, Kira and I discussed growing her hair out and donating it to Locks of Love. Then when it started getting really long, I really started liking it. We said that someday she would do it, but hadn't talked about it in sometime. When she was in Prescott staying with her Grandma, after the holidays, for some reason they started talking about it, and she decided she wanted to do it to surprise me!

Then everyone got sick, so when they rejoined us for New Years' she still had long hair, and immediately told me that on Friday, she and Grandma were going shopping BY THEMSELVES--or in other words with out me!

Well, instead of shopping they went to Lolly Locks, where Kira had her hair cut and donated. Fortunately Aunt Mikelle went along with my camera and took lots of pictures, and since I wasn't there, I'm going to have to let the pictures tell most of the story.

Jackson's hair was too short to get cut, but he had a great time, anyway!

I'm told her braid was a good 14 inches long!

Look at her fun hairdo!

Kira is joining the ranks of the other generous children on the wall behind her--each of which donated their hair to Locks of Love.

And here she is after surprising everyone at church on Sunday.

I loved that long hair, but the short do is awfully cute on her, too!

I probably don't say it enough, but my Kira really has a big heart! Her 6th birthday she agreed to ask all of her friends to bring presents to give to children at the Children's Hospital, instead of to her. She is growing up into such a neat young lady, and I am very proud of her!

Putting the "Happy" in the Holidays

We had a great trip to Utah and a fun time in Prescott on the way back. And I'm sure I'll have lots of "happy family" pictures to share soon, but this photo made me laugh out loud, so I thought I would share it right away. I was attempting to get a family photo the Sunday before Christmas. The girls are actually wearing dresses that I made (I know, *gasp*!). It took several tries before I could get much cooperation. This picture pretty much says it all. Yes, I caught Kira mid-eyeroll--annoyed with her father, who is apparently a big goof! Trenton is distracted, as usual, and I think I should have a contest to see who has the best caption for what Tessa is thinking. My vote would be something like, "Did I really choose to come to this family?"

We hope your Christmas was as "happy" as ours!

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas! (Just like Tessa!) If you have received our Christmas greeting in the mail, welcome! Most of the side bar information is from last year, so come back soon, and I will try and get everything updated. I have kind of neglected our family blog, since I have been putting so much time and energy into My Insanity blog. But I plan to repent, soon! If you haven't received our card yet, don't worry, most of them haven't made it into the mail, yet. I still need to collect a lot of updated addresses (and finish assembly). If you think your address might be one that needs to be updated, I would love an email with your current mailing address (the only surefire way to make sure you don't miss out on one of our coveted Christmas--er, New Years--Cards! :-)). You can write me at bnkhalterman@gmail.com.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with some festive pictures of our family at the temple lights in Mesa last week.

We pray that you've had the chance to feel the spirit of this season!

Love, the Haltermans

Letters to Santa, and mean elves, and a toothbrush

Trenton: "Mom, does Santa have cameras everwhere to know if you are bad or good?"
Me: "I don't know. Maybe he sends his elves to spy on you."
Trenton: "It's not nice to spy on boys and girls!"

We have some version of this conversation everyday in the car on the way home from school. Today he told me it is a lie that Santa knows if you are bad or good. Maybe that is his wishful thinking!


Kira helped Trenton write his letter to Santa. The funniest part was that she wouldn't write "I've been a good boy this year," at first. She would only write that he was trying to be a good boy. She insisted that the first sentence would be a lie, and refused to write it, until I insisted that he could say whatever he wanted in his letter.

Incase you can't read it, here is a transcription:
Dear Santa,
I want a new niga (ninja) turtle. I would also like mini legos, and a lego bionicle. I have been good this year.

Love,

*(mostly erased scribbles)*

(with lots of help from his big sister, Kira)

But you have to read Kira's letter! It will make you laugh. It will make you cry!:

Dear Santa,

I don't need a lot for Christmas. A few things I need are a toothbrush, and a pair of tennis shoes. You gave me a toothbrush the year before last year. I also have another toothbrush, except for it is a grown-up toothbrush. The one you gave me the year before last year is worn out. And I would like lace-up (with ties, I mean) tennis shoes. I wear size two. You can give me whatever other things you want. I didn't ask for a lot for Christmas, because I know times for other families are very hard. They need a lot more than I do.

Sincerely,
Kira Brynne Halterman
age, 7 in 2nd grade.

Mary's Gentlemen??? (A Christmas Trentonism)

I'm singing this very cool arrangement of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (first on my playlist) at a Christmas party tomorrow night. Apparently the children think it is cool, too. Because they bee-bop when we listen and sing it around the house. Today I finally listened closely enough to get Trenton's version of the lyrics:

"We gotta rescue Mary's gentlement, let nothing you dismay!"

My Human Thesaurus

Kira (making up a story and telling it to Trenton):

"...and when I woke up, I was astonished! I was flabbergasted! I was dumbfounded!"

(She might have kept going if her mother hadn't broken into laughter).

Anyone need to borrow my human thesaurus? She isn't very heavy.

Tessa @ One Year Old

Here is Tessa after her birthday party last month, with all of her fun presents.

She had her one-year-old check-up today. I thought I should share the stats:
weight: 24 lbs. 4 oz. (without diaper) - 90%
height: 31 1/2 inches - 100%

So she is still growing strong!

And strong minded! And strong willed! She is climbing on everything, tackling her siblings and dad, and flirting with old men at restaurants (I'm going to have to watch this one closely when she gets a little older) coming up with new stuff every day.

She says:
Ball (all the time)
Bottle (sounds a lot like Ball)
Bye ("")
Dad
Hi
Mom
*barks like a dog*

She signs:
nurse/milk
I want
more
bye

And she has gone from hating anything on her feet to having a major shoe fettish, fueled by these adorable purple ones given her by her aunts for her birthday. She always wants them on and proceeds to tap dance around.

Even if she isn't wearing anything else!