more rocks and sticks please...

MELISSA...TURN AWAY NOW! :) I thought I was at wits end with all the nature the kids brought home from school. Rocks. Sticks. Clumps of dried mud. In my home. In their backpacks. STOP the collecting! Actually, I think it's quite cute that they love rocks so much, I just don't want all of them on my kitchen counter. Mrs. Clark...Alex's teacher...loves them almost as much. Maybe the kids could take them there instead.

This is what Alex carried home the other day. From the Frey's. It was dead. Alex still wanted to show it to his Dad...Lizzy still wanted to pet it. I'll DEFINITELY take rocks. Thank you very much.

our sunday drive...

Fall has just started down here in the valley, but I knew we were running out of time with the gorgeous colors in the mountains. About this time last year, we went up to Cascade Springs with Grandma Bird. It was the most gorgeous drive. Beautiful, crisp air. We walked around, in no hurry to get anywhere. I can remember the whole evening vividly. I wanted to re-create it, but with Christy this time. We got outfits "semi" coordinated...OK they really aren't very much, but the kids all looked cute...no grubbies. First lesson learned...don't go on a Sunday night. That's what everyone is doing. Crowded. That didn't take away from the beauty though. It is so cleansing in the mountains. Crisp, clean, colorful.

I figured I would have the kids watch a movie in the van since the drive takes an hour. We've never had a DVD player in the car before, and we just can't get enough. Well, Emily and Lizzy got enough after about 5 minutes of a combination of switchbacks and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". Nausea. Crying. Me panicking because I didn't know where to have the poor girls do it. Seconds before Emily vomited (in the new car), we emptied out Molly's purse and handed it back. It was actually one of mine. Oh well. What to do with it now? I walked out into the woods and carefully tucked it under some ferns, right under a huge aspen tree. If you're hiking and come across a blue canvas bag one day, don't look inside to see it's contents. Each girl then chewed 1/2 of a bonine pill...for motion sickness. Thought that had worked, but Lizzy had her turn on the way home (FOUND an empty bag in my purse) and Emily went again...on the side of the road. Alex just kept fanning his face in the backseat, repeating over and over...boy, this is sure fun.

What did I learn? Dramamine or Bonine an hour before a drive...anywhere. Movies and mountain drives don't jive. A car sickness kit, as Davey called it...gallon sized ziplocks, gum, wipes.

You know what though...it was still completely worth it. The place is breathtaking, the light is perfect. I love my kids.

want to smile today?

l.o.v.e.

Look what Molly learned to do this week. :) It took a lot of hard work and concentration...so much concentration...the kind that makes your eyes cross. She'll call me back in to her room at naptime and bedtime if I forget to flash her the sign. She is awfully proud of herself too!

Today has been a wierd day for me. One of those days where I am quite overwhelmed, sad at times (though not really sure why), angry with my kids. I have felt a little bit of disappointment lately at some of the choices they have been making. They know I'm disappointed and they are sad. That makes ME sad. They are sorry. They are learning. They are beautiful little people. Now I need to go apologize, kiss them, and flash them the sign.

reading.

There are very few photos of me as a kid without a book in my hands. Even asleep in bed, they were surrounding my feet, draped across my chest. I actually had one of my dad's old briefcases, completely stuffed with my favorite books, and I used to sleep with it. Every night. :) My Dad instilled my love of reading. Why can't I seem to find the time any more?

Some one flipped off Alex at school today. A 1st grader. ??? His response...that's like 17 cuss words.

rub a dub.

I was gone for a little while on Saturday. This is what I saw as I pulled back in to the driveway. Dave had the older 3 working on his red car...Molly was out in the middle of the driveway seriously hard at work. I realize everyone has pictures of their kids cleaning the car...but somehow this is still so cute to me. So, so cute. She is a little person, full of attitude, personality. Look at Alex helping her spit-shine her little scooter car!

thanks for hanging in there...

OK...so we just finished our family photoshoot with Jonathan Canlas an hour and 1/2 ago. I have been so anxious about it. So excited to meet him, to see how he works, to actually BE IN a few pictures. :) He was so much cooler and kinder than I even imagined. He came already knowing my kids names (just learned them yesterday). Cool, right? It went really smoothly. The kids were gems. I just kept staring at them while he did all the posing, wondering how I got so lucky. They are beautiful to me. I can hardly wait to see how they turned out. Will I ever be able to afford all the prints I want? Not only did our sitting fee go to the NieNie recovery fund, but everything he gets from the prints too. I tried really hard not to let him see me cry when he was telling me about it.

Anyhow...this tooth fell out about 30 minutes ago. 1 hour after our pictures. Whew. I love the whole toothless look, but I'm actually really grateful it decided to hang in there. 2 weeks till the pics should be ready. Till then, look at my happy...no exuberant, Lizzy! :)

*I just peeked (hate to admit it but I did) at Lizzy during her entire prayer down in her bed. She's excited about that missing tooth. Just before she went down, she kept telling us to listen while she said certain words. She digs it...you can tell by the way she tries not to smile while she talks. :)

the norm...

Want a kiss? Her face is seriously THIS messy...almost ALL the time. She's s dirty little thing. Gosh, I love her though.

Here's a question. I haven't showered yet today. Gross, right? I know. Why is it though, that I am SO much more productive when I'm dirty? Are you the same way? I get more laundry done, I'm faster at the dishes, I don't really mind cleaning the kitchen. Hmmm.

rockin' awesome...

I love my Alex. He is such a funny, kind kid. He's been into listening to my ipod lately. It's the first thing he asks when he walks in the door from school. The other day, he was listening to David Cook singing that Mariah Carey song he did on idol. I know...Mariah Carey? But seriously, it was SO good. Anyhow, Alex was convinced that David wrote it himself.

"It's rockin' awesome, Mom!

He made a rock song about love.

It's like freaking out and calming down at the same time."

our favorites...

This is what my cute Emily did during sacrament meeting today. She started out writing everyone's name...first.middle.last. Then she wrote next to every name, that person's favorite thing to do. When she got to me, she wrote "eat". After we both laughed out loud, in the middle of the meeting, she decided to ask me "for real" what my favorite thing was. I told her to put "taking pictures". I love it, she knows it, I felt like that was a safe enough answer. Then I saw what she wrote for Dave and I wanted to cry. Playing with them really IS his favorite thing...it's mine too. That should have been my first response. I'm going to be more like Dave this week. He is so attentive to the kids. He involves them, plays with them, laughs with them. By the time he gets home from work, I'm tired...but seriously, I should never be too tired for them.

i'm smitten...

The newest member of the Schofield family. :) We've been needing to do this for quite awhile...we finally did. The kids were near tears...like we had just rolled Disneyland into the driveway. It's up in SLC today getting it's DVD player installed. WOOHOO!!!

One: An American Poem
September 11, 2001


As the soot and dirt and ash rained down,
We became one color.

As we carried each other down the stairs of the burning building,
We became one class.

As we lit candles of waiting and hope,
We became one generation.

As the firefighters and police officers fought their way into the inferno,
We became one gender.

As we fell to our knees in prayer for strength,
We became one faith.

As we whispered or shouted words of encouragement,
We spoke one language.

As we gave our blood in lines a mile long,
We became one body.

As we mourned together the great loss,
We became one family.

As we cried tears of grief and loss,
We became one soul.

As we retell with pride of the sacrifice of heroes,
We become one people.

We are
One color
One class
One generation
One gender
One faith
One language
One body
One family
One soul
One people

We are The Power of One.
We are United.
We are America.*

I have been so worried that today would come and go without much time for me to think about that day. I remember it so well. I stayed in front of my television for days. I didn't want to stop to eat or sleep. I was completely consumed with these people and their pain and sadness. I remember going to the grocery store a few days after, and waiting in line listening to the high school aged checkers laughing about some new movie. I was so angry. How can you act as if nothing has happened? How can you laugh? How can you just move on? I still kind of feel that way. Have we forgotten what happened? Does life really have to go on? I think the answer is yes...it DOES have to go on, but we can also remember. Flags are lining our streets this morning. It reminds me of how blessed I am to live in this country.

*Author unknown

want me take a pic-chuh you?

I know, I know...the camera is fake. It's plastic. I don't care. Can I tell you just how much joy this brings me? Just like her Mama. Good heavens, I love this little girl.

freshly painted...

Look Mom! They look super awesome pretty.

*Then today...Hey Dad...I have super-awesome green poop.

the reason why...

Alex may just be the sweetest kid I know. Really. Have I mentioned what a great artist he is? I am so proud of him and all that he's learning in his art lessons. I was talking with my friend Kristin the other day about our boys. We were talking about sports and the pressure to be great at one of them...or ALL of them. What if they don't excel at any of them? He's a great athlete, but just hasn't quite found his niche yet. With sports at least. His niche just may be art. I realize that won't exactly make him popular during his school years, but what woman doesn't love a graphic designer. They're cool guys. I was very drawn to them during college. I guess what I am getting at is that art is a wonderful trade for him to be learning. It will make him successful, just maybe not as popular in this sports saturated area.

This is a picture he did of our house a few months ago. I love it. In fact...it may find a place on our living room wall. It makes me happy. Now on to the reason for this post.

Alex has some strange ticks. Kindof like turretts (sp?) but not quite. I've mentioned them to his doctor who has told me not to worry. It's normal. Well, I still don't want him to get teased, so when I see them, I bring them to his attention. Emily has some too...very odd. Anyhow, one of his ticks is with his hands. He spreads his fingers far apart, then tenses them or curls them...almost like he's trying to crack his knuckles. I've asked him in the past what it was all about and he said something about feeling sweat between his fingers. The other morning as we were walking to a friends house, he did it again. I asked him why. He said (let's see if I can quote), "I used to think it was because there was sweat on my hands, but now I think it's actually my body's way of telling me I want to draw." I could have wrapped him up in a huge hug right there...frozen time...cried because I love him SO much.

really...

We heard a truck outside our window on Saturday. This is what they were delivering for our neighbors backyard bash. Yep...that's how we roll on the west side!

*photo taken by Dave...through the window so as not to appear to be gawking while he and the kids were gawking.

well - we tried...

Pictures, pictures, pictures. This was our attempt from the photobooth this summer in Delaware. I really have no idea what I was thinking trying to move so many people in and out of these. Keep in mind that there are probably only 3 seconds in between each shot. I still love them though. Dave and I at the top are kindof the calm before the storm. :) Emily only has a little sliver, blurry, blinking, completely caught off guard. They make me laugh though. Our life, as much as I love it, is not perfectly composed, peaches and cream ALL the time. This captures that in a way.

We have now been in our home for 2 years and still have a HUGE empty wall in our living room. We do have one great small family picture up that my friend Christy took for us. The poor thing is so off-center since we got our piano. Why am I so bleeping lazy? We got some great frames at IKEA on Monday, but once we got them home I just wasn't sure. I guess I just want things on my walls to look perfect. What IS perfect though? Really. Pictures of my kids will be perfect...at least to me. I think I can hold off for one more month. We have 2 photoshoots coming up...one with Jonathan Canlas, and one with Anna Jones. Both were as fundraisers for the Nielson family. I'm really, really excited for them. I think both photographers are amazing. I'm anxious to see what they are able to get. Surely something worthy of my wall.

sigh...

I love catching moments like this. I could sit and stare at these pictures for quite awhile...relaxed, smiling, grateful. I knew that my children would adore Molly when she was born. Alex was 7 and the twins 5. She was like a new toy...a doll baby. I had a feeling though, that the novelty would wear off. They would get tired of playing with her, annoyed when I asked them to help. I am here to say, that 2.5 years later, she's still like new. Aside from when she's throwing a 2 year old temper tantrum (and yes...she really does throw them), they still adore her. They smile when she comes into the room. They laugh and run to tell me when she says something funny. They protect her. It makes me so happy as their Mom. I would imagine that the Lord feels the same way when he watches us love and care for eachother. Mourning for those that mourn, carrying one anothers burdens. It can be hard sometimes...exhausting actually, but what the Lord would do if He were here. I'm so grateful that He gave me my children. They are my greatest treasure.