Basketball

 

Spring has been anxiously awaiting the start of Upward Basketball. She has participated in a couple of summer basketball camps focusing on fundamentals; however, this is the first time she has played in a league. She is really enjoying it and she is doing so well.  She had her first game on Saturday morning and it was so fun to watch her.  She was really nervous at first, almost like she wasn't sure what to expect.  It didn't take her long to get going though.  She made a couple baskets and had a great time.  Her best friend was on the other team.  They both wish they were on the same team.  I love seeing her excitement and joy on the court.

Our Climber

This is the predicament I find Gideon in much of the day...at least those times when I have remembered to push the bench all the way under the table.  Otherwise, he is on top of the table!  He much prefers to be on top of the table, whereas, I prefer this position!

FHE Treats

Before school this morning I asked Sammy what he was planning to make for Family Home Evening treats tonight so I could be sure to have all the ingredients. He informed me, with conviction, he was planning to make Monkey Bread.  So after school and quiet time he came to me all ready to make the treats.  He let me know that he did not need my help and that he was going to do it all by himself. And, do it all on his own he did!  He kept telling me how cool it was that he has "an ingredient he can make all on his own!"  I reminded him countless times that it is a recipe he knows, not an ingredient...but finally I just let him call it an ingredient!  He talked and commentated every step of the way...through all 40 biscuits!  I think it took him close to 45 minutes to prepare it (longer than it took to bake!) but he did an amazing job.  He was so excited when it came out that he had to run some of it over to Sue Ann right away so he could share the recipe with her too!  We all loved our monkey bread made by Sammy tonight!

As Zion's Youth in Latter Days

Thomas has the opportunity to play prelude for Sacrament Meeting each week on the organ.  He has been teaching himself to play the organ and has greatly improved since he began during the summer.  He has accompanied once during Sacrament Meeting when he was called the night before and asked if he would substitute.  He went to church early that week and practiced the hymns that were going to be sung for Sacrament Meeting.  He is slowly adding to his repertoire of hymns that he can play on the organ but he doesn't get time to practice other than while playing prelude.

So, yesterday morning he was playing prelude as usual.  He usually comes to sit with us once Sacrament Meeting begins.  Well, Bishop stood up to begin the meeting and after a couple minutes I realized that Thomas was sitting at the organ still.  I looked to Joel and mouthed, "Is he playing for Sacrament Meeting?"  Joel was just as shocked as I was and we caught Thomas' attention and he just smiled at us.  The Chorister smiled too.  I quickly opened the hymnbook to see what the opening hymn was going to be and my heart started to beat even faster.  It was "As Zion's Youth in Latter Days" and it is not an easy song to play on the organ.  Even more troublesome was I knew he had never even attempted this hymn on the organ.  I began sweating and I was afraid my heart was going to jump right out of my chest.  All too soon, the opening hymn was announced and Thomas began the introduction.  Cool, calm Thomas with a huge smile on his face and me "freaking out" as he would say.

The introduction to the hymn did not help put my nerves at ease.  He struggled through it and I looked at Joel with dread.  I was really worried about how this was going to go. I began to silently plead with our Father in Heaven to help Thomas be able to do his very best and to help him be able to get through the hymn without too many difficulties.  He improved dramatically as we all began singing and by the 2nd verse he was doing so much better and the third verse was almost flawless.  I had tears in my eyes and gratitude in my heart for a son that is so willing to serve and for a Heavenly Father that loves us and is aware of each of our individual needs.  I know Thomas received Heavenly help as he so willingly shared his musical talent so we could sing worship to our Father in Heaven.

I calmed down a little and was relieved because I knew he could play the Sacrament hymn with ease.  It is one of his favorites as he loves playing the Sacramental hymns on the organ.  I wasn't so sure about the rest hymn but he played it beautifully, although, he had never before played that hymn either.  Following the rest hymn our final speaker, our High Priest Group Leader, stood to speak.  With tears in his eyes he explained to the congregation the situation. The organist was not at church when it was time for Sacrament Meeting to begin and Thomas volunteered to play for Sacrament Meeting.  He was asked twice if he would prefer someone be asked to play the piano for the songs but he said he would be just fine accompanying.  Brother Johnson then, overcome with emotion, recited the words to third verse of our opening hymn:

          Thru test and trial we’ll have our fears,
           But we will not despair.
           We’re here to serve a righteous cause;
           Truth gives us strength to dare.
           We’ll love, and learn, and overcome;
           We’ll sing a joyful song,
           As Zion’s youth in latter days,
           Triumphant, pure, and strong.

He shared how wonderful it was to see Thomas overcome this test and trial in the midst of playing the hymn. How grateful I am that Brother Johnson shared this because I was too nervous and too busy praying for Thomas to listen and be touched by the words of this hymn.  I don't think I will ever listen or sing this hymn again without remembering the miracle of this day.  Our Father in Heaven blessed Thomas to be able to have the strength to dare an then to love, learn, and overcome so we could all sing a joyful song together.

Extra Mile

A few days ago I received a phone call from the Vice-Principal of Thomas' school.  She wanted me to be aware that Thomas would be coming home with something so I could look for it.  She said she received a letter from the Special-Needs Teacher about Thomas.  She was so impressed by it that she wanted to do something for him.  She decided to begin a new award at the school entitled the "Extra Mile Award" in honor of Thomas as the first recipient.  When I picked Thomas up from school I asked him how his day was and he told me all about orchestra, band, his classes, and the fun things he did that day.  He never mentioned anything of the award.  Finally I said to him, "Were you called down to the Principal's office today?"  to which he matter of factly replied, "Oh yea, I'm supposed to show you something."  He showed me the award and I told him how proud we are of him.  His response just warmed my heart.  He said to me, "But, Mom...I didn't help those kids for an award.  I just enjoy being with them."  What more could a mother ask for? 

He was given a certificate and a letter from the Vice-Principal.  Here is what the letter stated:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Biggs:

It is my pleasure to let you know that your son, Thomas Biggs, has been awarded the "Lakeview Extra Mile" award for services to his school community.

Mrs. Daviso, who teaches our multiple-handicap students, shared with me that Thomas helped several of her students in music class by devising a color-coded musical notation and key system for the recorder unit.  She stated that  he is always kind and patient, and that he took it upon himself to take these students under his wing.

Additionally, I have also heard from Mr. Monroe that Thomas has the makings of a fine musician - that he is a very hard-working member of the band program as well as an accomplished pianist and organist.

Please know that we at Lakeview feel very privileged to have the opportunity to work with Thomas.  I know that you must be very proud of him.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Muckleroy

Report Cards

Another grading period has ended and we were able to have report cards come home for our children.  Thomas, Spring, and Sammy all brought home perfect report cards in all subject areas; however, this was not what brought us the greatest joy.  We were mose grateful for the comments that were included on each of their report cards.  As I read through the thoughtful comments of each teacher my heart swelled with gratitude for the wonderful children they each are.  They are examples of the believers in all they do at school.  I was grateful for the opportunity it gave me to sit with each of them as we read the comments from their teachers and thank them each for being wonderful people.  I want them to always know that although we want them to be successful in school and learn and excel, it brings us the greatest joy when others around them can see their good works! 

For Journaling Purposes I am going to include the comments of their teachers:

Sammy:

Sammy is having an outstanding kindergarten year.  It has been exciting to see him continue to grow as a beginning reader and writer.  He has made excellent progress during the first two semesters.  Sammy's enthusiastic engagement in learning activities has been and will continue to be a great asset to his learning.  It is a pleasure to have him and his great example in class.

Spring:

I am truly amazed by the person and student Spring is.  Her work is always completed thouroughly and neatly.  She takes pride in all that she does.  I have tried to challenge Spring this quarter by providing a challenge spelling list, individual math on Fridays and extension activities in class, and reading instruction for higher reading levels.  Spring has demonstrated quite a talent in the area of writing as well.  Her written content and ability to analyze her work is blossoming.  I am so proud of her!!  Spring is so kind and respectful.  What an amazing leader and example for her classmates.  Way to go, Spring!

Thomas:

Thomas is a great young man and he should feel very proud of his accomplishments.  He has a lot of confidence in himself and his enthusiasm for learning spreads throughout the classroom.  His example is refreshing and beginning to be emulated by his classmates.  Keep up the wonderful work!

Family Fun Night

Joel and I wanted to have a movie night with the kids last night.  I was able to get the movie, "Dolphin Tail" from Redbox.  Then I found a fun recipe for Pretzel Bites from our favorite cooking blog, "Jamie Cooks It Up."  Sammy and I made the dough during the day and then after dinner we all worked together to make the pretzel bites.  It was so much fun having everyone in the kitchen working together.  This was the perfect thing for all of us to do because there were so many different steps that could be done simultaneously so all could be busy helping.  There was lots of chatter, laughter, and excitement...I like to call this controlled chaos...in the kitchen.  And there were smiles...lots of them!  We made salted pretzel bites with a cheese sauce for dipping & cinnamon/sugar pretzel bites with frosting for dipping.  Then we enjoyed them while watching the movie together. We all liked the cinnamon/sugar pretzels the best, although, I think Joshie and Mary just liked them because it was an excuse to eat frosting!  We had to remind then they needed to dip their pretzel bite in the frosting...not just their fingers!

We all loved the movie.  My Mom had told me when she saw the movie she thought of Spring and knew Spring would love it.  Spring was in her glory and so envious of the kids that were able to swim with the dolphin!  It has inspired her to learn more about what it would take to be a marine biologist.  Sammy kept telling me, "Mom, I'm learning so much about dolphins that I never knew before!"  At one point Joel and I were sitting on the couch with Sammy, Mary, & Joshie curled up with us and I looked over at Thomas & Spring (Gideon was already in bed asleep) and I was overcome with gratitude for the blessing each of these little, and not-so-little anymore, spirits are to me.  It was one of those moments that I wish I could have bottled up to save forever.

Gideon's Goose-Egg

This afternoon Gideon fell down our basement stairs.  As I rushed over to him he had a huge goose-egg already forming.  The kids were all so concerned about him.  Sammy and Thomas started to cry while Joshie and Mary kept trying to climb on my lap with him.  Spring just about tossed her cookies when she saw it but she kept it under control and very responsibly took control of the younger ones and brought them to another room to read to them so it would be calm and a little quieter as I was on the phone with the Dr. office.  I am grateful for how responsible she was.  All the kids have been so cute with him since and are doating on him even more than normal...if that is even possible!  It reminds me of a similar experience a few years back with Sammy!

Little Miss Homemaker

Spring had a very productive day today.  They have the day off school and she was busy from the time she got up this morning.  She spent time this morning looking through recipes before deciding on what to make for FHE treats.  She chose Cream Cheese Brownies with Chocolate Frosting.  She loved that she was able to make brownies from scratch for this as well as the frosting.  She followed the recipe and made them all by herself.  They were super yummy.  We all loved them tonight and she even left a section without frosting for Dad since he doesn't like that much chocolate.  Then, Alanna, showed us an idea for making a scarf out of old T-shirts.  She wanted to make this so we found a couple old T-shirts and with that and some scissors she had it completed in less than an hour.  It is fun to see her complete different projects.  They are off school tomorrow as well so I don't know what she has in mind for tomorrow!

Monkey Bread

Throughout the day today we have told the kids we were going to make monkey bread for dessert.  They kept asking what it was and we just told them it was bread made by monkeys and since they were all monkeys...they were going to make it.  We had so much fun and they were super excited when they found out what it really was.  Joshie couldn't keep his fingers out of his mouth after dipping his bread into the butter and cinnamon/sugar.  They were all a sticky mess after making it but we had so much fun.  Spring told us we should call it "turkey bread" because Joel and I call the kids "turkeys" not "monkeys." We didn't get a picture of it after it was done baking because it was devoured rather quickly!  I am sure we will be making this again soon. 

Sammy, the Author

Yesterday afternoon Sammy told me he wanted to write a book about dinosaurs.  He asked me how to spell "dinosaurs" and after that he told me he was going to sound out the rest of the words so he could write the book all on his own.  It was so fun to listen to him sounding out the words and coming up with the different things to put in his book.  He has really begun to show such an interest in reading and writing.  I love watching him learn how to sound out words.  He is excited to read books now and often wants to read to Mary and Joshie before naptime.  Earlier this week during our family scripture study his verse was a shorter one with many words he knew and/or could sound out on his own.  He was so excited to read his first verse almost all on his own.  It warms my heart to watch him finding this success and joy because he has worked really hard for it.  His eyes just light up when he is reading and writing stories.  Reading and academics has not come as easily to him as it has to the others.  I think, for this reason, it is even more exciting for me to watch him grow and progress.  It reminds me of the truthfulness of the words of our Savior in Ether 12:27 that if we humble ourselves (become teachable) and have faith in the Savior then He will make our weaknesses become strengths.

Here is his story (translation in italics):

Dinosaurs

By:  Samuel

They hav sopr sopr shrp teth.(They have super, super sharp teeth.)

They r gud stomprs.  (They are good stompers)

They ete met. (They eat meat.)

I like them.

Life of the 6th Child

I thought I would share a couple tidbits from Gideon's life today.  Sometimes people allude to the fact that our children must not get much attention since there are so many of them and only 2 of us.  I like to try to help them understand that with more children there is more love to share.  There may not be as much one-on-one attention time devoted to each child from Joel and/or I each day but there is definitely not a lack of attention to be had from someone in the family.  The kids always have someone to play with or pester...despite what our children believe those two words really aren't synonyms!  I am grateful for the fun times they have together.  I know I was blessed to be raised in a family with siblings to share life with.  When I think back on my life growing up the memories that I recall most quickly and fondly are those when I was with my family just doing "simple" things.

So, here are some glimpses into the life of child #6!  These are, by no means, exclusive events that I just happened to capture.  These things, and plenty more that I probably never see, are a normal part of Gideon's everyday life.  He really lights up when his siblings are around and it is fun to watch him seek them out and get their attention.  Rarely are Thomas or Spring doing homework and Gideon is not on their lap or trying to climb back up after he scrunched their paper!  Joshie and Gideon are often seen playing cars or chasing Scout through the house...ok...that reminds me of something that is worthy of a tangent story....

     This morning Joshie asked if he could take Scout for a walk.  I told him he could take him but he had to stay where he could see our house.  He agreed and out headed Scout and Joshie.  Mary went outside too, but "only to ride her bike."  A couple minutes later Mary came rushing into the house telling me she told Joshie not to but he said he was going to take Scout on a REAL walk all around the block.  I ran outside and couldn't see them so I started running down the sidewalk to the corner thinking when I got there I would see him and could call him back.  I got to the corner and couldn't see him...so I kept running.  As I got to the next corner I still couldn't see him.  So, I kept running.  I eventually ran the whole block and my heart was pounding not only because of being out of breath but because I was getting really worried because I had not found him.  When I finally got back to our house I saw the door open.  Joshie and Scout were in the house getting a drink of water because they were thirsty from their REAL walk just like Thomas and Spring do it!  He was so proud of himself...needless to say I didn't share in his pride!

OK, back to Gideon.  Mary loves to put him in his swing in the basement and he loves it even more.  Today I found him in his swing and Sammy giving him underdogs.  All the while Joshie and Mary were on the couch dodging Gideon's feet as he swung back and forth and Sammy was trying to aim Gideon's feet to knock them over.  Gideon was just laughing so hard out of pure joy.  I wish I had captured that on video...but I am sure tomorrow I will have the chance again!  How refreshing and wonderful it is when I take the time to enjoy the little moments and see life through the eyes of our children.

My Cute Chef

 I love that our children enjoy cooking and baking and helping me in the kitchen.  Although sometimes it is more work and definitely more messy, I have seen the benefits of it as I now watch the ease and confidence that Thomas and Spring have in the kitchen.  They can independently make meals, cookies, treats, and follow recipes very well.  Joshie has had a very high interest in helping me cook the last couple months.  He was given a "Lightening McQueen" apron from Grandma Powell at Christmas so now he runs to get his apron as he is calling out, "Me help you cook, Mom."  This morning he helped me make these yummy Spinach Lasagna Rolls.  I love the website these come from so I thought I would try them out.  He loved pushing the button on the food processor to grate up the spinach.  It was the perfect recipe for him because he could do all the stirring and he could help me spread them out and roll them up.  I had to be careful so though because I kept catching him sneaking a bite out of the lasagna noodle before we put the filling on it.  I would catch him and he'd smile with that dimple in his cheek and say, "Sorry Mommy.  It's just so yummy."  So, yes, he still needs to learn to not bite off of the things he is cooking!  Oh, well he has time to learn this lesson and right now that darn smile of his usually gets him off the hook!

I was somewhat nervous as to whether the kids would eat the dinner with it having spinach in it.  I debated about making some without the spinach but thought I would give it a try.  So, before I took the foil off the pan I told the kids that Joshie and I decided to make green lasagna rolls for dinner so we dyed some of the cheese green.  They thought that was a really strange thing to do.  Lucky for me, Joshie didn't tell them the truth about the not-so-hidden ingredient.  To my utter astonishment, they all LOVED it and Thomas even asked for seconds!  Now, comes the dilemma...they all put in their requests for what color to dye it next time I make it...Mary wants orange, Spring wants me to dye them blue, Thomas thought yellow would be cool...they may catch on to me afterall!  Oh well, I'll enjoy it while I can!

Klondike in the Mud

Thomas attended his first campout as a Boy Scout this weekend and it was the Klondike.  All our snow had melted so it was really just a campout in mud!  He had a great time though.  He planned the menu for breakfast, figured the cost of the food, went shopping for the food, and prepared breakfast.  When he was planning for the food he was given the budget and was trying to figure out the cost of all the food.  I asked him if he thought he could buy enough food for everyone and stay in budget and he replied, "I think I can.  We need to go to Aldi because we can get more food for less money there than anywhere else."  A little while later he seemed a little troubled.  I was concerned that he was getting a little nervous about camping in the cold weather.  When I asked if he was alright he confided, "I'm just kinda worried that I won't be able to get enough food so nobody is hungry and still stay in budget."  I was surprised at how seriously he was taking this responsibility. He ended up staying well within budget and everyone had plenty of food to eat.

He had a great time at all the activities.  I almost laughed when he got home though because he was so tired.  He was pretty much a zombie for the rest of the day and went to bed relatively early with very little reading.  And, we had to wake him up today for church at 7:15...we NEVER have to wake him up.  As we were driving to church I looked over at him and he was almost asleep.  He told me he was still just a little tired from camping.  He is very excited for all these new adventures he is able to participate in with Boy Scouting.  I am grateful for the opportunities it is giving him to push himself and really develop some skills and confidence in new areas. As excited as I am for him, I think Joel is so much for excited to finally be sharing these experiences with his son.  Joel has served with the Young Men/Scouting program for the 13 years we have been married.  As we were laying in bed talking last night Joel told me how much he enjoyed having Thomas with him and that, "This day has been a long time coming."

Winter Finally Came!

It started snowing lightly yesterday and then picked up in the evening.  By the time Joel and I headed to bed we knew we would need to get up early to clear the driveways.  Thomas excitedly came to me around 4:30 this morning to tell me all the snow he saw when he looked out his window.  He said he woke up at 2:00 am and was so excited he had a hard time sleeping much after that.  He then asked if he could start shoveling the driveway to surprise Joel.  So, he and I bundled up and headed outside. He was able to clear the sidewalks, Sue Ann's and some of our driveway before Joel came out.  I was so happy that Thomas thought of this.  What a great gift he could give to his Dad.  All the kids were super excited for the snow and wanted to head for the bus early so they could play in it on their way.  Joshie and Mary have had a great deal of fun in the snow this morning as well.  Now I need to head out and see if I need to reshovel so I can get out to pick Sammy up from school since it is still coming down pretty hard!  We are all so excited that the snow finally decided to make an appearance!