Christian's New Project

Christian has been doing a lot of pottery lately. He is doing Anasazi Replica pieces. He actually makes them the way they did 1,000 years ago! There is so much work and hours that goes into each piece. Fisrt, you get the clay. He drives about 1 hr 20 mins. to one spot, dig it up. You have to be careful that you don't get any coal mixed in because they lay right on top of each other. Second, you grind it up into a fine powder, sift it, then sift it finer and grind it up again. Third, mix it with distilled water to make the clay. Then you make the piece you want, whether it be a mug, bowl, dipper, or Kiva Jar. Let it dry. Then you "slip" it with white clay that you also have to dig for. You have to wait for that to dry at the opportune time before polishing it with a smooth stone. If you do it too early or too late, it won't come out right. After those steps are finished. You trace the design you want with a special pencil and paint it with a special brown paint made from natural stuff that I don't even know! Then you fire it! Christian has made at least a dozen peices, but hasn't quite fired them yet. He has been taking private lessons from a guy outside of Bayfield, CO whom he has learned all the technique from. He even read his book that he wrote, Clint Swink is his name. Below are pictures of some of the pieces he has done. I thought I would show everyone what he has been up to and what an artist he is. He has done a fabulous job. It is so exciting to think that these pieces(if they survive the firing process) will be displayed downstairs in our new house!

The Sweetest Pigtails Ever!!

I can finally put PIGTAILS in Delia's hair...barely. I have done this a couple of times before and decided I should take some pictures of it. She will not keep them in very long, maybe 45 mins. After taking them out 3 times and putting them back in, I decide enough is enough. The kid doesn't like anything on or in her hair!! I keep doing it because it makes her look more grown up and more like a little girl and hopefully if I keep doing it she will become accustomed to it..wishful thinking, eh? Well, she will have to eventually get used to it if she wants to keep her hair out of her eyes. Her hair grows naturally to hang in her face so you have to pull it back and Christian does not want her to have "bangs"...whatever...so I can't cut her hair. Poor child looks like cousin IT from the Addams family. All I can do I guess is try my best.

No More Bottle...Hooray!

Here is my story and I have to say that I feel quite proud to have accomplished somthing so easily that I have been dreading for a while. I have been trying to get Delia to drink from a sipee cup since she was 6 months. Of course at first I was just trying to get her familiar with it. But she had no interest what so ever. I tried all kinds of sipee cups, but she still couldn't grasp the concept that something came out of it. I tried taking out the spill proof insert and of course she learned quickly that something does come out, but every time she went to drink it, she would choke. I still continued to try, however she did not like spilling water all over her(that was all I put in it) that she would toss it on the ground and lose interest. Is my child not that thirsty? When I put the spill proof back in, she would not suck, she just didn't understand and it seemed that she would never get it. She would suck from a straw though, apparently it is easier, less effort than the sipee(trust me she is all about easy) So I gave her juice boxes. I tried to let her hold it and carry it around, but she would squeeze it too hard and juice would fly everywhere. she would also take out the straw and try to dump the juice out...she is such a curious girl sometimes!! So I would just constantly ask her, juice? and give her drinks as often as I could. she learned the word juice very quickly. She was still drinking a bottle before naps and bedtime and but the time she turned 1 that was all she really wanted to drink. when I took her in for her 12 month check-up, of course it was a new doctor and it is so hard when you move right in the middle of things! ~sigh~ He didn't know Delia and what kind of child she was. He asked how much milk she drinks, I told him,which he said was fine. Then he asked if she was still on the bottle. I told him yes and the main reason being that she won't drink from a sipee cup. He told me that she should not be drinking from a bottle anymore and needs to learn to drink from a cup. He instructed me to give her a sipee cup, take the bottle completely away and just let her learn!! Well, that might be one person's suggestion, but as I have learned every child s different. I explained to him my concern that she wouldn't get enough fluids if I just "waited" for her to "get it" I wasn't going to deprive my child of anything to drink unless it was from a cup, or in his case a sipee for her learning experience! He assured me she wold be fine and that she would get it in a couple of days. Alright, so I tired it. for 5 days she had no bottle, cold turkey. I gave her a sipee to hold and waited for her to just start learning to drink herself. By nap time, if she hadn't drunken anything I would give her some juice just so she wasn't thirsty during nap time. She did not go down well for her naps. some days she took no nap, while others it took her 1 hr 30 mins to fall asleep. She woke up several times in the night during the course of the 5 days I did this, which made it very frustrating for us as parents. Then I talked to someone at book club about the struggle sof getting her to drink from a sipee and no more bottle. Her being a mother of four children under the age of 11 yrs. told me that in her experience and others as well that the ages of 15-18 months is a better time to start weaning because they understand a little better. Boy did I take her advice and run with it! Maybe Delia is just plain not ready! For the last couple of days Delia had been getting her bottle 1 hour before bedtime and nap time. I wanted to slowly take away the dependency on the bottle to sleep. She did pretty well to my surprise. Then today I decided to be drastic and go with my instinct and well the knowledge i have of my child. I just felt that she was ready. she just gets so much more independent everyday. I gave her 8 oz. of milk in the morning after oatmeal in a cup with a plastic lid and straw(which doesn't spill, but tends to leak if tipped upside down) and she would take some sips carry it and then set it down on her little chair, play, go back and take some more sips. In about 30 mins. she had drunken it all! She did the same at lunch time. So by her nap time she had already had 13-16 oz. of milk! After dinner I gave her some juice and then after bath time 3-4 oz more milk. Brushed her teeth and put her to bed 30 min. earlier. No problems. She really likes to carry it around with her. It's just not quite a "sipee" cup. Hooray! I think a lot has to do with that she didn't seem that attached to her bottle. While reading a website, it apparently said that if the parents are in control of the feeding time (i.e. the parent holds the bottle, not the child, even if they are old enough)it will be easier for them to let go. Delia rarely ever held her bottle while eating and never carried it around. She just wasn't attached to it. I guess maybe I did something good? Now her Binky on the other hand is a different story. Those two are like 2 peas in a pod. She would choose her Binky over the bottle any day. When I was giving her a bottle before bedtime and would set it down next to her Binky while I fixed up her crib, I would turn around and see her with her Binky in her mouth and the bottle in her hand, completely content to just hold it! I knew then that taking away the Binky was definitely going to be a hard adjustment. 1 step at a time I guess. At least I have the bottle thing accomplished. No more washing bottles. Yippee! Now if only potty training could be this easy ;)

Christmas in Utah

I have been without internet for over a week because Qwest 'accidently" disconnected our internet service!! So I am sorry for the delay. We had Christmas in Utah and it was a lot of fun. Delia got so many things. Her favorites include: a pony, musical tea set, play cell phone, and 2 strollers, the list goes on. She did get some much needed clothes and shoes, but didn't care too much about those. She is doing very well at pretending. She feeds her babies a bottle, stirs her tea cups and takes sips, and of course talks on her play phone all the time. I love just watching her play, she seems to get so much older every day.

As far as Christian and I. I got Christian a Wii with some accessories (although I play it more than he does) and Christian got me a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, I love it!! I have been wanting one since we were married ( almost 6 years) My parents gave us a nice big brown Berkshire blanket, it is so soft! They also got me a madame alexander doll. It was a really nice Christmas. I just like sharing the holiday's with family. Hope everyone had a nice Holiday and a Happy New Year!

Delia's Christmas Pictures

Here are a couple of pictures I took of Delia. I took a lot more, but left my CD at home(I'm in Utah right now)This is her new christmas dress. I think she looks cute. Christian thinks her hair looks funny. Be honest, does it?

Christmas Music Recommendation

I am a big fan of Christmas Music. Of Course I like the Traditional and classics like, Nat King Cole and andy Williams, but I have found an album by a new artist that I have really come to enjoy. He is a lot like Michael Buble, whose christmas album I have, but Micheal only has 5 songs on his. This new artist is Matt Belsante. He is fun, refreshing, and puts a new twist on the traditional songs. It's not weird like some others are. I think you would really enjoy it, of course in additonal to all the classics! Sometimes I like to hear something new every now and then during the Holidays. You can hear samples at Amazon.com Let me know what you think.

Count Your Blessings!

I have not yet posted the things that I am so grateful for and with this Christmas season I thought I would post some of the things I am grateful for.

1. First and foremost my Savior Jesus Christ.
2. The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
3. My absolutely wonderful husband! He is such a hard worker and really takes pride in providing for his family. He is such a good father and I love him very much. I am a very lucky woman to have him in my life.
4. My beautiful daughter Delia. She is everything I hoped for and more! She and Christian mean the world to me!!
5. FAMILY, not only was I blessed with great parents, but I also have great in-laws too!! I don't know how I got so lucky, but I love his family so much and we get a long so well! I am wanting all of them much closer to me than they are.
6. My husband's great job. I am so grateful for the job Christian has, especially with the economy right now. We are very blessed to be where we are.
7. Buying a house. We are grateful to be able to buy a house in the next couple of months.
8. Great friends. I am so lucky to have so many friends who are so supportive and love me! Every one's friendship means so much to me.
9. Books! I really love to read. I may not be a fast reader like all of the rest of you out there, but I love it.
10. digital cameras!! I can't imagine going back to the old way! You get to choose the exact pictures you want, which makes for great scrap booking! ;)
11. The whole line of Scrubbing bubbles!! I love the products, they clean so well and so conveniently.
12. King Size Beds..oh the room!! (I want one!!)
13. To be living in America!
14. Amazon..what would I do without free shipping.
15. To have NO Credit card debt!
16. COWS! without them we wouldn't have great steaks or cheese!
17. Hot running water. Not only for washing the dishes and the laundry, but for long bubble baths! (we were without hot water for the first 5 days in NM)!!
18. The ocean, where without I couldn't dream!
19. The color black. Just wear this for 2 months after the holidays and you won't feel guilty about all the yummy holiday food you ate! ;) gotta love it.
20. Nail polish remover, for without I wouldn't have been able to get a key chain sticker super glued to my finger, OFF! (long story)

Just to name a few! It is so important to count our blessings everyday. Heavenly father has blessed us with so much. Merry Christmas!

Pre-Nursery...Your Thoughts??

Okay, so I really want to hear everyone's thoughts on the sub-ject of Pre-nursery classes. I know that I am not the only parent in this situation, which is why I wish to discuss the topic. When Delia was born I asked to Bishop to give me a calling the was "low-key" because of me being a new mom, which of course he was willing to do. Now of course being a new mom I did not realize that it would be harder holding a calling in their toddler years rather than their baby months. Although I liked the calling I had (Activies committee for the ward) it didn't involve me as much in the church as I would have liked...which was someting I realized after delving into it. When we moved to Farmington, NM a couple of months ago and the bishop made his usual "new-comers" visit asked us about our previous callings to get an idea of what calling to give us. I practically begged the bishop to give me a god calling because I was yearning to get more involved in the church again..not knowing how hard it was going to be with Delia. Delia was not walking at this time and was a little difficult at church, but manageable. Once I started my calling (teaching the sunbeams) she became harder and harder to handle. While at first I was excited about my calling, I found myself not happy and dreading going to church because Delia was just too hard. I hate to say it, but it is the truth. Which brings me to the topic of Pre-nursery. I know the church has things the way they are for specific reasons, but what are your thoughts for a pre-nursery for say 10-18 mos.?? It is so hard for moms to do their callings or even accept them because of their pre-nursery toddlers. It is the hardest for teaching callings. If their was a need for it in a ward or even a stake..do you think that would be a bad thing to request? I've tried taking her into nursery early when both christian and I are teaching and that wouldn't fly, especially since they already have 16b kids in there with only 2 leaders!! I can understand, but it still leaves me with no other option. I team teach with another primary teacher and I find myself on the days I don't teach walking the halls with her and sometimes even going home. To make matters worss, church is during her nap time 1-4 pm. Would it be a bad idea to write President Monson about the situation and ask him about his thoughts on it? Not necessarily asking him to do it, just his thougts? Anyone wish to give their thoughts on the subject?

Fields of Gold - A musical quiz

So my friend Mindy G. had this on her blog that she got from another friend's blog and I thought it sounded interesting. Wow, it is amazing to see how much of the personality of our lives revovles around the music we listen to! Some of them are a little creepy and iffy, but fun...

The questions below are some that we often may wonder, but what better way to answer them then with music. Here are the Rules- 1. Put Your iTunes, Windows Media Player, MP3 Player, Playlsit or whatever on Shuffle. 2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer. 3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds! 4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.

If someone says, “Is this okay?” You say? "Best of My Love" -the Eagles

How would you describe yourself? "You're the Only woman" -Ambrosia (Well, I guess in this case it would be "I am" I could take it as I am the only woman for christian ;) I like to think so)

What do you like in a guy/girl? "Blue eyes" -Elton John ( I do have to admit that Blue eyes are my favorite, I'm glad Delia has them, but I love Christian nonetheless)

How do you feel today? "You're the biggest Part of Me" -Ambrosia (This fits because I have been thinking lately at how much I love and appriciate me husband..awww)

What is your life’s purpose? "Sacrifice" -Elton John (looks like I've got my work cut out for me ;)

What is your motto? "How Deep is Your Love" -the BeeGees (I am a serious sucker for romance and maybe the question I am always asking unconsiously)

What do you think of your parents? "So into you" -Atlanta Rhythm Section (A little weird, but I guess it fits)

What do you think of often? "Too much Heaven" -the Beegees (I guess lately I have been thinking about how blessed I am, epecially the belssing of my little family)

What is 2+2? "Make it with you" ( A really good one, because if we keep working toward eternity together, we will make it ;)

What do you think of your best friend? "For the First Time" -Kenny Loggins ( I started bawling, because I am on an emotional happy high, but this was one of christian and I's wedding songs and it contiues to be true throughout the years)

What do you think of the person you like? "Handy Man" -James Taylor ( this is a weird question becuase don't we potentially "like" everyone? But any way christian is pretty handy)

What is your life story? "Fire and Rain" -James Taylor ( I always seem to be hit with little trials I don't expect, but when I turn to my heavenly father, he seems to "wash" them away like rain to fire..lol, cheesey I know)

What do you want to be when you grow up? "Little Jeannie" -elton john (I got a little teary eyed on this one too because it has a lot of significance in my life and my parents used to sing it to me becuase it sounded like "gina" and I guess I grew up being just ME )

What will you dance to at your wedding? "How sweet it is" -James Taylor (all I can say is awwww..)

What will they play at your funeral? "Desperado" -The Eagles (seems apropriate enough)

What is your hobby/interest? "Carolina in My mind" -James Taylor (I really like to travel and want to see the world, so I guess this fits)

What is your biggest fear? "Goodbye Girl" -david Gates ( A little emotional on this one too, the song is about a woman who has been dumped so many times is afraid to love again, my fear, yes a little personal..but hey it's the truth)

What is your biggest secret? "Sister golden Hair" -American (Yes, I have "golden" hair, but it's no secret!)

What will you re post this as? "Fields of Gold" -Sting A good one because it is one of my favorite songs!!)

TAG: Tracy, Summer, Heather Weston, and anyone who wants to give it a whirl!