My Week in Salem

I spent the last week down in Salem, helping Amanda with the boys, so she could get some work done. And sleep. Henry has a good set of lungs, and he can be very loud when he wants. But he does like being cuddled. I once spent a whole evening with him in my arms, a book in hand. Ah, that was a wonderful evening. I took pictures when Henry got his first bath; he really enjoyed it.

Joshua is a handful. He likes tearing all the books off the shelf, flipping over his toy bins (and then climbing in them), pulling the puzzles off the shelf (and then the shelf down), and begging to see Pocoyo movies every time he sees me at the computer. Mostly I was on the computer when he was asleep. I tried doing a bit of work on my writing down there, but only on one day. We went out for walks several times while I was there. Once he fell asleep in his stroller; another time (after waking up too early and not going back to sleep), he fell asleep right in his high chair.

Joshua likes piling his friends, as he calls his stuffed animals, on top of people. His favorite book right now is a Richard Scary book that he refers to as the kitty book. He's started to develop a sense of humor. Sometimes if you ask him what an elephant says, he'll answer, "Dada mia." He also likes hiding things and asking where they went. Like I didn't see hm put that Cherrio on the chair. He got Puppy taken away after he tried hiding him in the diaper pail, at least until Puppy went through the washing machine.

Nathan and I went shopping for Amanda's birthday together. I'd wanted to get them windchimes for Christmas, but those are a seasonal item. So I got her windchimes for her birthday instead, one decorated with glass hummingbirds. And Nathan got her a hummingbird feeder. He also got her a panda card and candy from the boys. Joshua scribbled on the card and envelope (and dumped out his crayons). Mom and Dad and Clarissa came on Saturday, and we all went out for lunch.

happy happy happy

Happy birthday, Amanda! We hope you have a good day and fun times with all your boys!

Love - Adam and all his girls

Michelle's thumb: continued

Michelle had surgery on her thumb on Thursday, April 16. She had nerve grafts and skin grafts taken from her wrist. It doesn't look pretty right now, but the doctor says it's progressing well. She has posted some pictures on her Facebook page. Her mother was here for six days to help out.

The same day as the surgery, I took Brooke to the orthodontist, where she got braces on her lower teeth (she already has them on her upper teeth). She is almost done being a Brownie, and will bridge over to Junior Girl Scouts next month.

Bryan currently holds the dubious honor of being the healthiest person in the house. At first I felt bad having nothing to report about him, but since I'm listing everyone else's health problems, he's really doing just fine.

Emma had a couple of urinary tract infections this month, so she is going in for testing this week, to see if she has the same reflux problem that Brooke had a couple years ago. She has started pushing herself up on her hands, so it shouldn't be too much longer before she starts crawling.

Michelle's thumb

I was just chatting with Eric and I realized we hadn't told anyone else what had happened...

Last night, Michelle was trying to lock the bedroom window when the pane shattered and sliced off a piece of her left thumb and cut into the artery. I had just left for a cub scout pack meeting, so she called me home and then went to the neighbors, who called 911.

Michelle's visiting teacher came and took the kids while I took Michelle to the ER, and the neighbors cleaned up the glass and blood in our house. She got a whole lot of stitches in there, and she'll need to see a plastic surgeon to get skin grafts and whatever else it takes to put her thumb back together.

She's in a lot of pain - multiple prescriptions take the edge off, but that's about it. She can't drive right now because of the medications, and can't help with dishes or baths or anything like that because of the bandages.

I don't think there's really anything any of you can do to help, except pray for her. I'll try to keep you informed as we know more.

henry calendar

i am holding henry right now so i only have one hand. i put up a new calendar of him. if you go to my part of the site and click on his image you will find it.

cell phone plans

(If anyone saw the original post I put up 30 minutes ago, ignore it, and read this one instead.)

I'm returning to Idaho next Thursday, the 16th, since school starts on the 20th. With the return to the states, it's time to pick up a cell phone! I looked all over the internet at plans from Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. And I'm going to go with the T-Mobile because they're the only ones with plans that don't require a 2-year contract (since I'm planning on returning to Canada the middle of next year). The biggest difference between the month-to-month and a contract is that I have to pay full price for my phone. So I'll pay the $60 for one that I found/like, and save $140 on the $200 cancellation fee (for breaking a contract). And I like the idea of not being tied down.

So I'll have the Fav5 plan - 5 phone numbers on any network that I can call whenever I want and talk for as long as I want. I know I'll talk mostly to my family, so I want to give you guys first dibs on my five slots! I also don't want to add anyone's cell phone if you are picky about your minutes. I know that Tawnia also has the Fav5 plan, so she'll just add me and we'll talk whenever. I'll probably add the house phone for Mom and Dad, instead of either of the cell phones. I know Nathan and Amanda have a house phone to call (cuz I miss hearing Joshua!), and I know that at this point Trina does NOT have a house phone. I will have unlimited nights (after 9pm) and weekends though, so I won't be cut off from anyone. So let me know what you think, and I'll be up and talking next week!

pictures?

Clarissa promised pictures of Henry right away (no, I wouldn't expect Nathan and Amanda to post anything until at least tomorrow), and Summer is asking to see Baby Henry. I think she thinks I'm referring to Baby Henry from our DC playgroup (he turns 1 this month - wow! I hadn't realized he was that old!), so it would be nice to see pictures of the Cousin Baby Henry instead of Friend Baby Henry.

Welcome to the World

Welcome baby Henry! I'm so excited that you are finally here. Remind the people around you to take lots of pictures to share with those who are far away. Let your parents rest, but remind Grandma and Grandpa and all those aunts to document your first few days on camera so the other aunts and uncles can see you. I look forward to meeting you this summer at the family reunion. Grow strong and healthy so you don't get picked on by your older brother (and cousins). I love you so much.

Love,
Aunt Mindy

Happy Birthday Joshy

WOW!!! Two years old!!! Happy Birthday Joshy! We love you, you sweet fat baby boy!

From: Eric, Laurel, Stevie & Allie

Happy Birthday Joshua!

Have a fabulous birthday today (especially since I know Aunt Tawnia is around to spoil you!). And here's hoping that your little brother shows up soon. I love you Joshua!

Love,
Aunt Mindy (and Uncle Aaron)

moving update

The Caudles have arrived in Mississippi and are back online. Our trip from DC was 3 days, 20 hours of actual drive time, and covered 8 states. We took a little side trip through the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina - very pretty. And the mist and fog do look like smoke! We stayed at the famous Chattanooga Choo-Choo hotel by accident - Adam made reservations at the Holiday Inn with an indoor pool that was also close to Lookout Mountain ... and there we were! How about that! It rained the entire time we were in Tennessee, and we literally couldn't see the top of Lookout Mountain even though we were right at the base of it. So there went the idea of going to the top for the view, although we did get a more accurate perspective on why the Civil War battle there was nicknamed "the battle above the clouds."

Pictures will be on the personal blog as soon as I have time to download them.

We haven't seen much of Vicksburg yet, and our first time at the ward is in about 2 hours. We have noticed a plethora of dollar stores and payday lending places - probably more than 10 each ... not exactly a sign of a thriving economy, but a good indicator of the poverty level here. Sad. The townhouse is fine and we'll be loving the pool in June! Our lease here is up at the end of September, so we have a little time to figure out if we want to settle in here or find a 3-bedroom HOUSE to move to for the longer term.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAWNIA!!!

Tawnia! You're a great sister and a fantastic aunt, and we all love you very much.

I hope you have a great birthday and have all kinds of fun.

Love,

Eric


(and also Laurel and Stevie and Allie)

Clarissa's big news

I'm going to BYU-I. I'm not sure exactly when but I'm going. I'll tell you more when I know.

Love Clarissa

Guessing time

Alright everyone. It's time to get in your guesses for:
1. The name,
2. date of birth,
3. time of birth,
4. weight at birth,
5. length at birth,
6. sex at birth,
and
7. place of birth
for our second child.

The winner gets something really cool. I can't tell you what it is because I don't really know, just know that it is something everyone will want.

Some helpful hints:
1. The due date is April 2nd.
2. On March 4th Amanda was dilated 1 cm.
3. Amanda has been having some painful contractions the past few days.
4. Joshua was born one day after his due date.
5. Nathan is The Best.


LET THE GUESSING BEGIN!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLOG!

It doesn't seem like it's been that long but I'll believe you. I need to do a better job at posting what I've been up to. Mostly, just working on my sewing projects and being beaten all too often at Scramble or Word Twist. We had a great Boggle game at Nate's the other day and I was doing great until the final round. Amanda was glad to end the game then because she passed me up. The same thing happened when Nathan came in and joined us for another game. This time it was Nate's turn to win in the final round.

Right now it's time for FHE so once again HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLOG! I'll try to post more often.

MOM

Hey all

I have been wanting to get on here and post, but I couldn't think of anything. I still can't really but I can post in honor of this blog being 5 years old. That is pretty crazy.

Five years, huh?

Yeah, it has been that long, hasn't it? Since that time, I finished at Chemeketa and went on to Southern Virginia. And now I'm trying to make a living as an author. I'm still researching for my book about Devon. On Thursday, I visited the hospitals with his mom, so that I can describe them.

This weekend was filled with trips to and from Salem (since Amanda needed some extra help). I beat Mom and Amanda at a round of Boggle. And that wasn't even the round where I got the six-letter word (steers). There were only three vowels, all in one corner, and Mom and Amanda had to cross off all their words. That left me with one word -- elk. I won. But after the third round, I went back to my typically low scores.

Sunday, I was teaching Primary. The time was longer than usual and the lesson didn't have a lot beyond some discussions, so I ended up spending ten minutes telling an overdramatic version of the story of Alma the Younger. (The lesson was on repentance.) Then I looked up ideas for Achievement Days (my other calling). And we went to a baptism that evening, one of the little girls from the ward. It was very sweet.

then and now

THEN ... Adam's and my first dress-up date when we were engaged to the symphony at the Kennedy Center.


NOW ... Adam and me with Summer and Rosemary at the DC Temple Visitor's Center, taken just this morning.

me too

Sure, I'll post too. I baby-sit all day and attempt to work on the book at the same time. It is difficult, to say the least, but at least he still takes naps. The other day he even took a nap while eating his lunch. He kept eating though. I even got it on video. Oh yes, and besides the book and the baby-sitting, I've had the opportunity to work on some portraits and do some graphic design work. I'm staying very busy, and even then I don't feel like I get enough done. For a break tonight though, I'm going to do some visiting teaching and then head over to Aaron's for dinner - we're making grilled asparagus and mini pizzas, with banana bread for dessert.

The Proposal

So I am hopping on to post per Eric's request, but I actually have something to tell you all today.

Today, at thirty years old, I received my first marriage proposal. I promptly said no, but let me explain.

There I was, sitting on the floor in my science classroom with 12 first graders. We were getting ready to read, "Sarah, Plain and Tall." I had just handed out the books when Jack leaned against me. I turned to him and sat him back up the non-verbal cue that he should be sitting up tall. He leaned against me again and I looked down at him again. He looked up at me with his adorable blue eyed blonde haired face and said, "Will you marry me?" I didn't laugh. (I'm amazing! I know!) Instead I just smiled and said, "No. I just don't think it would work out." Some of the other students heard my response and wanted to know what Jack had asked. I said, "That's between me and Jack." And then we went on to read chapter five.

The fun part was then going around and telling all the teachers that I'd been proposed to and waiting to see their responses. Then informing them that I had said no... and then telling them that it was a first grader that proposed. I also text messaged a few friends... and I might have made a phone call or two to tell the same story. Let's just say, that it made the rest of my day very enjoyable. So although I'm still single... at least I can now say that I've been proposed to.