Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Naomi's Baptism and other highlights

If you are looking for the stuff about Naomi's baptism, it is here.  I saved the best for last!  Keep reading.


I know that Thanksgiving was in the last post, but I had to add this picture of how Nicholas set the table because it is so funny.  This is how my dad would set the table - with the silverware all over the place.  It is genetic! 




Tuesday, December 3rd, Steve got a somewhat panicked call from the owner of Hind's Feet Farm, the location of Jeremy's eagle project.  The people who were generously lending us the use of their bobcat for a month (two weeks still remaining) needed it back and they were coming in the morning to pick it up.  We quickly put together a work crew and met at Hind's Feet Farm after school to spread the gravel.  Using the Bobcat to transport the gravel from the pile to the work site saved us hours!!  The work crew of over 12 scouts and adults (THANK YOU!!!) also sped up the process.  In only two hours we got the first layer of gravel spread over the entire area of both Jeremy's and Ethan's projects.  This ward is amazing in that when you send out a cry for help you will get an almost overwhelming response.  We couldn't have done it without everyone who showed up. 


 
Of course, as it always is with such a great group of scouts, it wasn't all work.  After spreading gravel and clearing leaves off the path for another project, we had time for some silly photos.  



I love decorating the house for Christmas.  This year we really decked the halls and had a great time doing it.  There was Christmas music, the smell of wassail, a cheeseball and crackers (because it just isn't Christmas without a cheeseball and crackers) and family.  The kids loved putting the ornaments on the tree and telling stories that went with each ornament.  It took a while, but it was fun!

This piece is one of my favorites!  It helps my kids link Santa and his love for everyone with Jesus and His love for everyone.   Santa would not be the man he is without the pure love of Christ in his heart. 

This nativty set is just for the kids.  It is down low so they can see it and play with it and...  I had it all set up with the animals facing out but Naomi had other ideas.  She said that if she were an animal in the stable that night she would be looking at the Baby Jesus so she rearranged the animals accordingly.  I like her way a lot better.  

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without this wonderful pin my wonderful sister, Laura, made.  It is a replica of one that our Grandma Hansen had.  When Grandma passed away my sisters and I each got to pick out a few things of hers so we could always remember her.  We did well with sharing and negotiating until it came to this pin.  We all wanted it! Laura came to the rescue and made one for each of us.   

Our tree with all the ornaments that tell a story. 
 


 
Jeremy's high school had an ugly sweater day on Friday, December 6th.  Steve dug into his old sweater reserve and came up with this one.  Jeremy had a great time at school with all the other kids in their sweaters.  He almost took home the unofficial "ugliest sweater" title but was bumped out by a kid who had a red, white and blue sweater that played the national anthem.  
 

Saturday, December 7th, Nicholas had his first, official basketball game of the season.  He was so excited to finally get to play a game after weeks of practice.  He did really well and held the guy he was guarding at a scoreless level.  He played the first and third quarters and had a blast.  In the fourth quarter, the kid he would have been guarding kept scoring and Nick's team, who had been ahead the whole game, ended up losing by 3 points.  It didn't really matter because they had fun just playing. 
Nick is #5
 

Waiting for the rebound.  That is his position - right under the basket to pull down the rebounds. 
 

Time out for a little pep talk.
 

Naomi and Steve were on Grandpa and Grandma watch.  Rick and EllaRene were expected at any minute.  We had been tracking their progress all the way from Salt Lake to Charlotte.  At last check they were in Gastonia which is about an hour south of us. 
 

They made it for the last quarter of the game.  Nick was so excited!
 
 
Later that day we went down to the church for Naomi's baptism.  There were six children being baptized.  I was a little worried about how they would get everyone done and maintain the special, individualized feeling for each child.  We started in the chapel with a talk on baptism by the Stake Primary President, Fernanda Shamanis, followed by a special musical number by all the primary children in attendance.  Brother Rupp, one of the high counselmen, gave a talk on the Holy ghost followed by some fun facts about each of the children being baptized.  This is how Naomi answered her questions:
 
Favorite scripture:  this is our family scripture – D&C 64:33 “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work.  And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.”
Favorite Bible story:  Daniel in the lion’s den
Favorite primary song:  It was a tie between Nephi’s Courage and Follow the Prophet.
She wants to serve a mission in Egypt!  Maybe by then it will be open
Here is her testimony:
I believe in Heavenly Father and Jesus.  This church is the true church.  People have to be baptized by immersion in order to live with Heavenly Father again.  Families can be together forever.  I love hearing President Monson, President Eyring and President Uchtdorf speak.  They tell me what Heavenly Father needs me to hear.  I am grateful for my family and my friends .  I am grateful that I chose to be baptized today.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
 
After all of this they played a beautiful video about baptism as they released the wards one at a time to the baptismal font.  When it was Naomi's turn, everyone from the University City Ward went to the Relief Society Room to witness her baptism.  While Naomi changed, our ward was moved to their own room for the confirmation.  It was nice and intimate, just the way it should be.  Naomi felt very special.  If you ask her about being baptized the first thing she will say is, "The water was COLD!!!"  Then she will go on and tell you how cool it was. 

On our way to the baptismal font. 
 

Grandpa Rick and Grandma EllaRene drove from Utah to be with Naomi on her special day.
 

One big happy!
 
This beautiful doll is actually a music box that plays "Amazing Grace".  Grandma and Grandpa Weenig sent it to her as a reminder of the covenants she made today.  I has a place of honor in her bedroom. 
 
Sunday, December 8th, we celebrated my birthday since the actual day was going to be filled with basketball practice and homework.  Steve and the kids fixed a wonderful Chinese dinner complete with spice cake and cream cheese frosting for dessert.  Naomi gave a wonderful family home evening lesson on giving gifts to Jesus through being a better person every day.  This was what the girls had done for Achievement Days the previous week and Naomi was really excited to share it with the family.  I opened presents and then we watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.  It was a great day. 


 
Monday, December 9th was a great day as well.  EllaRene and I went craft shopping in the morning.  My best friend, Tabitha (along with her cute daughters), took me to lunch in the afternoon.  I am surrounded by wonderful people.  That is the best gift anyone can get.  
 
That ought to bring you right up to date with what is going on around here.  Talk to you again in a little bit.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

What Happened the Rest of November - Eagle Project Update!!

Naomi's birthday took up the first half of the month, but we still had other fun and exciting things happen as well. 

Soccer season officially ended the first weekend in November.  Naomi had a great time playing on Team Hamilton with coaches Kevin and Juan.  

 First row:  left to right - Olivia, Alivia, Hayden, Sophia
Middle row: L to R - Carlie, Naomi, Haylie
Back row: L to R - Coach Kevin, Katelyn, Paige, Coach Juan

 The highlight of the season - the trophy ceremony.  This is the last "everyone gets a trophy"  ceremony for Naomi.  She will be playing the the 8-10 bracket in the spring and you have to win to get a trophy.  That will be good for her, plus we are running out of shelf space!



 This is what whe wants to do when she grows up - be a professional soccer player.  You go, girl!
 
 
November 8th Nicholas started basketball practices.  He is so excited and eager to learn anything and everything about the game.  His coaches are super nice and boys are the team are fun.  This should be a good season.  As soon as we got back from practice, Nick's best buddy in the whole world who has been in Colorado for the last two years but is now living in Atlanta and had come up for the weekend, came over to spend some time playing at our house.  They had a blast. 
 

 
Naomi had a violin lesson that day and Jeremy went iceskating with the youth group that night.  It was a busy, but fun day!  We all slept well that night. 
 
 
November 11th, there was no school, so the kids were able to attend the funeral of one of the youth in our ward.  Because of multiple birth defects, he had simply stopped breathing while he slept.  Nick took this especially hard because he knew Chance and had worked/played with him on occassion.  We had a good talk about the Plan of Salvation and how he would see Chance again some day. 
 
November 12th, Naomi traded in her half-size violin for a 3/4-sized violin.  She is growing so fast. 
 
November 13th, Naomi turned 8.  We had a dinner of stroganoff and broccoli and opened presents.  We also unveiled her new room and gave her the bedding for her bed.  There is a whole blog entry dedicated just to her room renovation.  Check it out. 

 Her brothers gave her a Rainbow Loom for weaving elastics.  It is all the rage right now. 
 
November 15th was her party - check out the blog dedicated just to that event!  After the party Steve said we were never having another birthday party at our house, AGAIN!!  EVER!!!  We will see about that. 
 

EAGLE PROJECT UPDATE!!

 
Saturday, November 16th, they broke ground on Jeremy's project.  Using a bobcat, they cleared the path and then had to go back with shovels to do the fine tuning and get the exact dimensions they needed.  It was an exciting day!
 

The path
 
 The fire circle.
 
 Now that the paths and circle are dug out they needed to get the bridge in place.  This is part of Ethan's project, but the bridge needs to be in place before they can put down the gravel, sand and pavers.  No bad for a days work.  They are well on their way!


 
November was gorgeous this year!  Because we got so much rain the first two months of summer, the trees put on a great show during the fall!

Wednesday, November 20th Naomi FINALLY got to go to Achievement Day girls.  She has been waiting patiently to turn 8 so she could be with her friends.  In our church, when the boys turn 8 they get to start cub scouts and when the girls turn 8 they go to Acheivement Days.  They work on crafts and fun things that help them understand the gospel better.  It is tons of fun because all the girls in the ward ages 8-11 attend.  Once they turn 12 they go into the Young Women program.  FUN!  FUN! FUN!

We also found out that we will have family closer to us!!!  Bradden, Steve's brother, has accepted a job in Knoxville, Tennessee.  He and his adorable family will only be a four-hour drive away. 

Thanksgiving was nice and relaxing.  Everyone pitched in and got dinner ready.  YUMMY!!!  After dinner we all cleaned up and then watched "Sharknado" which has to be one of the most stupidly brilliant movies of all time.  It was so campy it was fun!

Black Friday we stayed in for a bit and then went out when the rush was over.  The kids love watching the crowds and we got a few things taken care of off our list.  It was a relaxing day.

November 30th I got to try Zumba for the first time.  I actually had a free Saturday morning without soccer, basketball or scouts!  It was really fun.  I think I could get into this!

We started decorating the house for Christmas.  I love putting up all the decorations.  The kids helped out and we had a great time.  That afternoon Jeremy had a friend, Justin, come and hang.  While we were helping Justin's family move earlier in the month, they rediscovered all the Rescue Hero toys in Justin's attic.  They planned a "Rescue Heroes Reunion" right then and there and today was the day.  They crack me up.  Let's just say that a "Rescue Heroes" movie might be in the works.  This was a great way to end the month of November. 

 

 








Naomi's Mad Scientist Party

 
 
 
 
Naomi has been planning this party since August.  She even provided a detailed list of what she wanted to have from start to finish.  Before you start to wonder if I spoil my kids and am an overindulgent parent you must understand that #1 this is Naomi's 8th birthday which is a milestone for her.  She will be baptized next month.  #2 I only do birthday parties on the kids' even years.  Her brothers both have February birthdays which are one week apart (that's three years minus one week!).  Steve and I came up with this rule so that we would not have to do two birthday parties in February every year.  It has worked out well in that the kids build up the excitement and having a party is not something they take for granted.  That said, I do go all out when it is their year to have a party!  It is so much fun!
 
 
Decorating took me all day, but it was exactly what Naomi wanted with a few things I added to help make the party more functional.   I added the red biohazard curtain so that I could stage all the different events during the party without little eyes seeing what was coming up next.  I could also make a complete mess of the kitchen without anyone seeing.  It was great. 



 Naomi's cake was done in her three colors - red, black and yellow.  The bottom layer was chocolate, the middle layer lemon and the top two layers were red velvet.  She found the design for the cake on Pinterest.  The white frosting even glowed in the dark under black lights.  It was totally cool. 


 
When our guests arrived they had to scan their palm print to gain access to Naomi's Secret Lab.



I placed the hand print over the doorbell which I had programed to play "Happy Birthday"


 
 Once in the door, they were in the open decontamination area.  To enter the lab they passed through the clear strips of plastic which kept any foreign particles and hazardous gases in.  The red curtains had signs saying "Authorized Personnel Only". 


 
 We started the party off with dinner - brains and fingers (nuggets and french fries) complete with a Jello mold in the shape of a brain.  That was a huge hit.  

 

Awesome Mad Scientist Hair



 

After Dinner Entertainment

Jeremy and Nicholas presented some really fun experiments for the kids.  It would have been fun enough just to see the amazing feats of science, but Jeremy and Nick took it one step further. 
Jeremy was Dr. Slimeovski, complete with Russian accent.
 
Nick was the assistant, Igor. 
 
 Here they are making elephant toothpaste.  This was a real crowd pleaser.  They also made lava in a cup, did a milk and food coloring firework show and blew up a balloon withouth using their mouth. 
 
 Here is Igor's take on how to blow up a balloon without using your mouth.  The kids LOVED it.  The actual experiment involved a bottle filled with vinegar and a balloon filled with baking soda. 

 The kids all sat still and watched the show in amazement.  The adults were amazed that the kids sat still and paid attention.  This is one fun and rowdy bunch.

 Singing Happy Birthday


Bella really got into it!

 The kids were ready for the cake and ice cream after doing their own experiments - making slime and balloon racer cars.  I didn't get any pictures of them doing the experiments because it took all hands on deck to make sure everything went smoothly.  That, unfortunately, left no extra hands for the camera.  Trust me when I say it was fun, organized chaos. 

Opening Presents

It was really fun to watch Naomi open her presents.  I don't know who was more excited, Naomi or the person giving her the present.  Kids are the best!



The Birthday Gang!

I think the night was a hit!  Everyone had a great time and went home with smiles on their faces.