Season's Greetings

In order to be "green" this Christmas season, I've decided to "send" our Christmas cards by posting a blog about our year. (That does sound better than saying that I'm running out of time to mail them before Christmas, and haven't actually started on them yet, right?? )


This has been a busy year for our family. I think that I will dub it as "The Year of Change." Back in February Charlotte joined our family. She is a sweet addition to our family of girls. In case you are trying to count, that makes FOUR little girls for us. Poor Jeff is really outnumbered. Charlotte is now nine months old, and learning to crawl ... although most of our floors are not carpeted, and so sliding has proved to be a very efficient way to get around :)

Madison is two and a half going on sixteen. Really, the other day she tried to convince me that she was sixteen so that she could ride in the very back seat of the van with her older sisters. I've been telling her that she will be able to ride back there when she is older. My children have very good negotiating skills! Madison is the kindest two year old around. She is always sharing with others and asking them what they like. She has learned that Daddy will give in if she whispers this secret in his ear - "Daddy, I love you." It melts my heart to hear it. She truly is Daddy's little girl.

Savannah is five now, and started Kindergarten this year. She goes half day in the morning, and she LOVES it. She is making friends, and her two favorite parts of the day are snack time, and painting/coloring. Since we moved at the end of Summer, she had to leave behind her friends from our old neighborhood, and that was hard on her. We all miss our Provo friends dearly, but I think Savannah misses them most of all. It's nice that my girls get along so well, because they will never be without a friend.
Brooklyn is seven, and eagerly anticipating turning eight so that she can be baptized. She is in second grade this year. Because we moved, she had to change schools. I was a little worried that this would be hard on her, but she quickly made a new best friend. Also she has a teacher that loves to do art projects, which is her favorite thing as well. The other day she said to me, "I feel like I've been at this school the whole time." Meaning that the changing schools wasn't all that hard after all. I'm so happy that she likes our new home and school.

Jeff started a new job this year at The American Academy. It is an online high school that focuses on helping people get their high school diplomas and improve their lives. He has really enjoyed this new environment and the people that he works with. He does their internet programming, and their "IT stuff." He is very happy there, and that in turn makes me happy.

I've spent my year nurturing four wonderful children, de-cluttering, remodeling our bathroom in Provo, packing, unpacking, more de-cluttering (as I tried to organize our new place), along with dishes, laundry, cleaning, running kids back and forth from school, and all the other day to day things that keep me busy. I'm hoping for less changes next year, and more time to reconnect with friends - old and new.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love,
The Beck's

100 Things I am Grateful For

Yesterday in church we had an amazing lesson on Gratitude. I thought it would be very fitting to write about the people and things I am thankful for, especially as this is the month of Thanksgiving.

100 things I am grateful for (ordered alphabetically)...

Accomplishing Goals, Amber & her family, Andrew, Apples, Atonement, Baby Kisses, Being a Mother, Being a Wife, Books & ability to read, Brooklyn, Brownies, Change of Seasons, Changing Leaves, Charlotte, Children's Laughter, Chocolate, Christ, Christmas, Cinnamon Rolls, Cold Drinking Water, Dad, Date Night, Debbie, Dishwasher. Disposable Diapers, Double Stroller, Educational Games, Educational Television, Erin, Extended Family, Eye Sight, Faith, Fall, Family Fun Night, Family Walks, Flowers, Food, Food Storage, Fragrant Shampoo, Friend's Blogs, Friends, Fruit Trees, Garden Vegetables, Good Choices, Good nights rest, Grandma & Grandpa Florence, Grandma & Grandpa Smith, Grocery Deals, Health, Heater, Help cleaning the house, Holy Ghost, Hot Baths, Inspiring examples of perseverance, Jeff, Jen and her family, Jenny and her family, Kelly, Kenny & his family, Kid Hugs, Lasagna, Learning new skills, Library, Living Prophet, Love, Madison, Meal Calendar, Music, My Mother, Newborn Babies, Nursery, Peace and Quiet, Pictures of my kids, Prayer, Priesthood, Primary, Raspberry Lemon Aid, Relief Society, Savannah, Savings, School Teachers, Scriptures, Shade Trees, Sibling Friendships, Sleeping Baby, Smiles from Strangers, Spring, Stain Removers, Summer, Tanya & her family, Testimony, Tiffany & her family, Tomato Plants, Visiting Teaching, Warm Baby Pajamas, Warm Coat, Warm Showers, Washer/Dryer, West and his family.

The first 50 things I wrote down were pretty easy. The next 50 took some thought. And now I find myself thinking about more and more things I am grateful for. So, please know that this is in no way a complete list :)

Halloween Photos!

It's time to go trick or treating, It's time to go trick or treating, It's time to go trick or treeeeating, 'cause Halloween is here! (Sing these words to "For he's a jolly good fellow")


Madison dressed as a witch.
Favorite joke this Halloween:
Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Ben
Ben who?
Wait'n for Halloween
(She skips the part where you say the name again.
It should be "Ben wait'n for Halloween!")


Savannah, also a witch.
Favorite joke this Halloween:
Q: Why are cats such good singers?
A: Because they are "Meow"sical!


Brooklyn, our scary ghost.
Favorite joke this Halloween:
Q: What do baby ghosts wear on their feet?
A: "Boo"ties (booties)


Mama Cat with Dragon Charlotte.
Favorite joke this Halloween:
Q: Who did the Vampire take to the movies?
A: His "Ghoul" friend.


"I used to work on Wall Street"- Jeff
Favorite joke this Halloween:
Q: Why did the Vampire subscribe to the Wall Street Journal?
A: He heard it had great circulation!

Happy Halloween!

Two of a Kind

When I saw this picture, I noticed just how much Madison and Charlotte look alike. Up to this point, I've thought that Madison looked more like Jeff, and Charlotte looked more like me. But here it is, proof that they are two of a kind. Especially if you imagine Charlotte with a little more hair.

New Shoes and Dogs Don't Mix

I cannot remember the last time I paid full price for a pair of shoes for myself. Scratch that. I can't remember the last time I even bought new shoes for myself. I still wear the sandals I had in High School. (Let's not talk about how long ago that was). "No need to buy something new when the old ones are perfectly fine, and totally comfortable," I tell myself. I thought for sure this was the summer they would finally fall apart- but summer is over and they are still intact. Amazing. I just don't have the knack for wearing out a pair of shoes.

Well, that's not totally true. I had this pair of brown shoes that I found at a garage sale. They were in perfect(ly fine) condition, and just my size. I paid $1.00 for them. I loved them. I wore them everywhere. One day it happened. The elastic that holds the pseudo buckle in place - snapped. I tried to see a way to just sew it back together or something, but it just doesn't look like that is a possibility. I almost thought about crying.... but that seemed silly over a $1.00 pair of shoes.

A short time after that, I was in the shoe store looking for shoes for one of my kids. And you wouldn't believe it, but I found a pair of shoes that were pretty much the same as my old pair that I dearly loved. Different brand, but same cute brown color w/ the buckle. Unfortunately they wanted $30.00 for them. (Jeff, do you read my blog? I wasn't going to put the price here, 'cause I haven't told you how much I paid for these shoes. I guess I've told you now.) Sheesh, that's a little steep. They were having their BOGO sale though, and we only found a pair of shoes for one girl... I couldn't pass up the "get one half off" part of the sale, even if it is the $15.00 pair I get half off of. Very wise marketing.

So I did it. I bought those over priced shoes. Take into account that they will probably last me until my death bed at the rate I wear out shoes, and I did need (want?) them to replace that other pair, and they actually are pretty comfortable, and did I mention that I really, really like them??? (No need to mention that I have 15 other pairs of shoes in my closet).

Then, I wanted to savor that newness, so I left them in the box, in the closet, for about a month. Every so often, I would look at them and wonder if I'd made a good choice. Finally, I decided that it was time to start wearing them. Today, I even had the courage to wear them out of the house while I walked to the school to pick up Savannah. It's a done deal! I'm the proud owner of a new pair of shoes. They are officially mine.

Now, rewind a bit. You might remember that we have recently moved. In this new area that we are in, there are dog lovers. Not just a few. Not just dog owners. Dog LOVERS!! I'm beginning to believe that everyone who lives here has something in their genetic makeup that makes them become overly attached to dogs. At any given time of the day, I can go outside and see someone out walking their dog. We are a very leash friendly, pick-up-after-your-pet-doggy-bag, neighborhood.

You know the childrens dog book, Go, Dog. Go! ? Big Dogs, Little Dogs, Black and White dogs, and they all go up the tree to the dog party? I've read it many times. This neighborhood is that book. In fact, I think P.D. Eastman might live up the street from me. The week we moved in, our street had a "block party" which included the annual dog race. All of the neighbors on our street brought their dogs to the block party. The dogs are like members of the family. It baffles my mind... I'm clearly not a dog lover.

But, I am a shoe lover. (Even if I agonize over the purchase price of a new pair). So here I was sporting my new pair of shoes on my long walk to the school. When we got home I started thinking about what a nice day it is outside. "I have a bit of yard work to do, and I can do it and enjoy one of the last nice days before winter sets in," I thought to myself. Madison was asleep in the stroller, so I moved it over into the shade on the lawn. I stepped off the lawn onto our sidewalk and felt the dreaded "squish." You know the one. The kind that happens right after you've stepped into dog poop.

Yucky! And all over my new pair of shoes. So now you have it. The reason new shoes and dogs don't mix.

Baby Picture

Isn't she sweet? Charlotte is about 7 months old now. Her blue eyes can convey so much that she can't say in words yet. She is such a good baby, and we love her so much.

A New Hairdo

Madison, my third daughter, has amazingly curly hair. (Compliments of daddy's DNA). She, however, will not leave a clip, or an elastic, or anything in her hair. Some days I was doing her hair two or three times, and still she looked like I had not combed her hair in a week.

So, last night I decided on a whim to cut her hair. I'd tried bangs before, but her hair has so much curl that I could not get them to do what I wanted them to do. However, since she won't leave in anything to keep it out of her eyes, I didn't see that I had any other choice.

As I was cutting her hair, I learned that she does not know the meaning of, "Hold really still" or, "please don't move." Every time I had the hair just right, and was ready to make a cut, she would get a little wiggle and turn her head to one side or the other. She is a kid who needs really fast hair cuts, and I'm not a fast hair cutter. So, we ended up doing it in two sessions. One last night, and another one this morning. Here is the final (maybe) hair cut.
In this picture the bangs look very uneven. They don't look that way in real life. The bangs really are all the same length, although they turned out a bit shorter than I anticipated. It's all that curl that makes it a bit unexpected ;) The best part is that all day today I have not needed to move the hair out of her eyes so that I can see her pretty little face.

When I sent her to look in the mirror to see what she thought of her new hair cut she said, "I look like Megan." (Megan is a close friend of ours that has bangs and cute short hair). Needless to say, my daughter loves her new haircut too!

First Day of Kindergarten

Here is Savannah on her first day of Kindergarten. She had an extra week to wait, after her older sister, Brooklyn started school. It was an excruciatingly long week, especially because she had to walk to the school to drop off her sister, and then she had to walk back home without being able to go to school herself. She loves kindergarten! Every day is a new adventure for her.

Today she did an excellent job reading and writing, and so she got the honor of entering her name in a school wide drawing for kids who are working hard at school. Way to go kiddo!

Second Grade

Here is Brooklyn, my amazing oldest daughter, on her first day of Second Grade. She has changed schools because of our recent move. She is excited, and a bit nervous (as anyone would be starting something new). Luckily she was able to go to the school the day before and meet her teacher and look over her classroom, and get an idea of what to expect the next day. I'm so glad the school did that. She has been attending for several weeks now, and has made a really nice friend who also started at this school the same time she did. When she comes home, she mostly tells me about recess and the games she played. She is loving Second Grade.

Bitter Sweet

I sort of fell off of the blogging bandwagon there for a while. It seems this is the way that all of my Journal's work. I write for a while, and I find joy in thinking about what it is that I want to write. Then I find joy in reading the things that I have written. And then, I forget about writing about life. I find that I've been so busy living my life that I've completely ignored my desire to write about where life has taken us.

So, here I am again. Brooklyn has already finished Kindergarten and First Grade. Savannah will be starting Kindergarten in a few more weeks. Madison is no longer a baby, but a sweet little two year old. (Did I say sweet? Sometimes it is more like a sassy two year old :). And, I've had another child.

My how time gets the best of us. Charlotte is five months old in two days. Five months old already. She is a sweetheart! The odds of having four girls in a row are very slim. And yet, somehow we have hit the jackpot! We have the nicest girls around. I'm so glad to be their mom. XOXOXO

In another week, we will be moving away from this wonderful place that we have called home for the last five years. It's the only home that Madison has known, and the only home Savannah remembers, and really the only home Brooklyn remembers as well. It's weird to think that in a few more years, Brooklyn may be the only child who remembers this house. I hope the others will remember the love that we gave them throughout their childhood, even if they don't remember the exact surroundings.

Moving is so bitter sweet. Saying goodbye is hard, and so instead of saying goodbye, we've pretended that life isn't going to change. We've pretended that everything will always stay the same... even though we've been busy trying to find a new place to live, and a good school to replace the one Brooklyn has attended for two years. Today I had to face reality and email her school to let them know that they can let two more lucky children attend. I've had to go out and find boxes so that we can box up our things for the move, and I've had to make changes to the Visiting Teaching Assignments for next month - and remove myself from the list. It's all starting to hit home today. And next week, it will all be in a new home. How funny that I was able to fool myself for this long.

It will be an amazing change for all of us. I just know it.