Just Fooling Around

Since the leaves don't actually fall in Santa Barbara until mid-winter, we have to wait a long time to rake up a big pile and jump in, or carve your name, or just simply take a quick nap.

The REASON!

Jesus is truly "The Reason for the Season!"
I love this magical time of year.
May the SPIRIT of Christmas
enter your heart,
and stay there
forever!

Seth's FIVE!

How did that happen? Seth, you incredible kid! What can I say? Seth is an absolute joy; so energetic and full of intensity and spontaneity. It's rarely a dull moment when Seth's around, that's for sure! His creativity and blossoming new skills seem to catch me off guard nearly every day. And I absolutely LOVE that when he offers a kiss or a huge hug, you can almost feel a part of his heart reaching out in love to you.




Sethy, my Sethy!

Warriors at heart

So the kids are one-quarter "Viking." Danish, that is. But when Billy's November homework project was to decorate a doll that was dressed in clothing from an ancestral country, we had to scour the pedigree charts for something fierce and exciting. We did a little online research on the pillaging and conquering habits of the Danish Vikings, and they fit the bill perfectly. In fact, Seth commented: "The reason we like Star Wars and swords and stuff is because we are a quarter Viking!"

Happy Halloween!

Halloween has been a blast this year! Hayrides, pumpkin cobbler, jack-o-lantern carving, costume parades, & candy. Somehow kids bring the spark back into every holiday!



I remember singing this song as a kid, and now it's a Halloween favorite around here:

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The first one said, “Oh my, it’s getting late”
The second one said, “There are witches in the air”
The third one said, “But we don’t care”
The fourth one said, “Let’s run and run and run”
The fifth one said, “Isn’t Halloween fun?”
Then ooooh went the wind
And OUT went the lights
And the five little pumpkins rolled quickly out of sight!

Happy Billy Day!

Happy Birthday, Honey! You sure are cute, then & now!

Wise Words

A few weeks ago, out of the blue, Grace announced: "Jesus loves me!" He sure does. And if she grows up deeply feeling and understanding that love, she will have discovered the secret to true peace & joy! Tonight while I was laying her down, she told me (in Gracie terminology) all about how we are happy when we follow Jesus. How does she know all this stuff already? And, more importantly, how can I get her to remember it and live by it forever?!

She dozed off after we sang:

"I’m trying to be like Jesus;
I’m following in his ways.
I’m trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say.
At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice,
But I try to listen as the still small voice whispers,

Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus taught."

It was a priceless moment.

Life Changing Moments

Emily Halverson, our amazingly talented friend, compiled a book called Life Changing Moments about people's... life changing moments. It's a very touching book with heartwarming stories that make you ponder your own life and course. The stories come from the lives of a varied group of people, and one happens to be Billy's story of his conversion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His story is number 23, "name withheld." Sorry to blow your cover, Honey!

Amen to what he said!

I LOVE General Conference--the music, the testimonies, seeing the Salt Lake City temple grounds, the renewed commitment I always leave with to try a little harder, to be a little better. Elder Holland's talk in this afternoon's session was such a powerful witness and testimony of the Book of Mormon, and of the incredible blessing that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth. Here's in case you missed it, but especially so I won't ever forget it!:

Enter in...

Today something very significant happened for the Hall family, something Billy has been hoping for, dreaming of, and praying about for a long time! His brother, Andy, was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It is inspiring to see someone take that leap of faith and enter into the waters of baptism. What a glorious path he has stepped onto!

biRthDayS!

Where does the time go? I now have a 7, 4.75, & a 2-year old. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Billy & Grace!!!

Refugio

The end-of-summer-blues were postponed this year, as we enjoyed a great campout at Refugio State Beach with my family.

Local Influence

We enjoyed a little downtown SB "culture" the other day. But when we arrived home, I was surprised to see that Billy decided to set up a wishing well of sorts on our front walkway, for all the neighbors to try:


Inspired by our local homeless, he'd set up a little pan-handling station... which, to my relief, turned into a penny tossing contest for the neighborhood kids, with prizes for the winners.

So today the boys hosted a lemonade stand and actually gave people something for their money.

Jesus Wants Me for a SuNbEAm

Today was Grace's first day in Nursery! It's hard to believe she's already 18 months old (actually on the 6th). The experience went well, considering Grace's history of greeting other toddlers with a shove in the chest... it must be all those gentle interactions with her older brothers.

After she got a little more comfortable, the serious face softened and our fun-loving Grace came out. Check out her dare-devil balancing stunt. She's gonna be a bad influence on those other kids!



She, and a bunch of the kids, helped out with the closing prayer. And during the prayer she had to make sure her belly-button was still there. Oh, she's funny.

a boy and his worm

Billy wishes he could have a pet dog, cat, bird, bunny, even chicken. But right now, since we are still apartment dwellers, he has to settle for things like goldfish (dead x 3) and... worms. Is that the longest worm you've EVER seen?!

spring's a comin!

We visited the Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens today and the plants were about to explode into blossom!

Thanks, Mother, for watching Grace so we could share this special adventure with just the boys.

family scriptorian

We've been reading through the scripture readers as a family and the story of Alma the younger struck Billy this time around. He woke up this morning excited to make a list of all the scriptures he wanted to read on his own.

Then he proceeded to read them (with a little help) from his Book of Mormon.

His diligence and desire inspires me.

after the rain, all the critters come out

It rained all day. Kids (and moms) go stir-crazy in the house after about 3 hours. So when Grace finally escaped outside she headed straight for the puddles, and of course, found the biggest one around!

Soon Seth joined in, never wanting to miss the action...

...and within minutes it was a party in the puddle!

Unexpected Bliss.

There's an old saying that "cleanliness is next to godliness," and I believe it! For about 10 minutes this evening it was more like "attempting cleanliness feels like heavenness!" Somehow the stars aligned at just the right moment, and the entire family was happily (at least I didn't hear any grumbling, so I'm assuming everyone was happy) cleaning up: Billy was washing a sink full of dinner dishes, I was folding a 6-load mountain of laundry, Billy E was organizing his closet, Seth was "hunting for crumbs" with the vacuum, and Grace was... quiet (not sure what she was up to)! Why was it such a great moment for me? Perhaps it was because it hearkened back to my highschool and college housecleaning days- when I got cash for transforming a messy house into a haven. Maybe it was the relief, albeit brief, of knowing that I wasn't alone in the black hole of domesticity and chores. But I think it was the fact that we were all working together to bless our little home. Whatever it was for everyone else, it was my bliss for the day!

Let the practical jokes begin!

Does anything look odd about this chest of drawers?
This was Seth's handiwork while Billy was at school today. And when I asked him about the missing knobs, he just snickered and said "I'm playing a trick on Billy!" I wonder what Billy will think up as payback? Aren't younger siblings fun?!

Best years of my life!

What a great day we had at the beach today! It started out when we discovered that the high would be in the low 80's (yep, in January) So we dusted off the beach gear and headed to Carpinteria State Beach. As I was unloading the kids and gear, an older lady sat in the car parked beside us, watching. Her window was down and we started to chat. Her comments stuck with me all day, enhancing it and prodding me to BE PRESENT! "These will be the best years of your life!" she said, with a reminiscent smile. Ahhh, the best!

Second Bath Anyone?

Hey, who wants to take another bath? Wait, why are my jam-jams all wet?