The Innocence of a Child

Last week a group of ladies from church went over to the Claresholm Longterm Care Centre to visit a dear friend from our ward for her 93rd birthday!  Sister Emma Smith is temporarily staying in Claresholm until there is a bed available for her in Vulcan.  The group of ladies consisted of our Relief Society Presidency, Emma's good friends, Lola and Marguerite, and Kay and Donna, and since we left before Jared got home from work, Calum, Emry and Armin also came along!  I was so proud of our kids, they behaved themselves so well, we stayed and visited for a good 2 hours, we did bring cake and ice cream so I think that helped to keep them entertained!

While we were visiting Emry and Calum were playing with an unused wheelchair, pushing it up and down the short hallway, laughing and having fun!  Sometimes Calum would wander off and play with some of the resident lifts that are stored along the walls, but he wasn't hurting anything or bothering anyone so we let him.  I think the laughing from the kids started to annoy one lady there!  I felt so bad for her and I wasn't really sure how to react to her behaviour.  At one point in the evening she wheeled herself over to our little group and started to swear and yell at us wondering why these kids were still up, why they weren't in bed.  Brenda, being a nurse, told her that it was still early and promised we would get the kids to bed on time.  This didn't appease this lady, Emry was scared of her and honestly so was I, she reminded me of the woman in The Princess Bride, when Buttercup is having the dream before she marries Prince Humperdink!!

Anyway, after more rants by this woman, she even told Emry to stop drinking her water and to stop laughing, the staff finally came and pushed her back into her room.  Emma was telling us that she does this all day long, she is so out of sorts.  It is so sad to see because I am sure when her mind was still healthy she was probably a very nice lady, and probably never swore or cursed to the extent she did to us that evening.

After about half an hour she made her way out of her room again and started wheeling herself over to where Calum was playing with the lifts against the wall.  I was a little worried because she had him cornered, and with her behaviour earlier I was sure Calum was in for an earful and I wasn't too sure how he would react to that.  At home he usually fights us back if he doesn't like what is being said!  This lady, her name is Ruthie, went up to Calum and told him it was time for him to go to bed, he looked at her and very gruffly asked her, "What?"  Well I was sure this was the end of Calum, the tone of voice he used was probably a huge no-no with her generation, I am used to him talking this way because it is his most common answer whenever anyone talks to him.  Well, she surprised me, she put her hands up to the side of her head to show him that she was sleeping, she didn't think he understood her when she said it was time for bed!  

What I witnessed from that point on was truly amazing.  The way Calum and Ruthie communicated to each other was so innocent, like two children talking to each other.  Calum came out from playing with the lifts and started to look more closely at this woman, he noticed her eyes were a little puffy, and pointed at them and asked her, "Your eyes hurt?", he continued to do this with her fingers and her knees.  She would answer him but I couldn't quite make out what she was saying, but it was a lot more subdued than the way she was talking before.  He accidently steped on her foot and I thought for sure she was going to go balistic, but she didn't, Calum bent down to rub her foot and said sorry, she patted his shoulder and told him it was okay.  It was the quietest 20 minutes of the evening for Calum and Ruthie, the interaction between them truly was a unique expereience to witness.  Calum has a heart of gold and to reach out to an elderly woman, not even knowing her is truly remarkable for a two year old.  Most kids would be scared, especially with the way she was acting earlier in the evening.  I am thankful my children have the opportunity to meet people in every stage of life, I find it gives them empathy towards others and helps them understand the trials others face.  I have heard many times how some elderly people can revert back to a childlike state, and I truly witnessed it that evening when Ruthie completely changed when she started to interact with Calum, they truly were on the same wave length, and even though it was heartbreaking to see her in that state it was also rewarding to see what the innocence of a child could bring out in another!

Too Young to Be Rolling Over :(

As soon as we put him on his back he instantly rolls onto his tummy!

For some reason I have felt like the time goes by faster and faster with each child we have had!  It seemed like Calum turned two before we knew it, and now it seems like Armin is growing faster than we can blink an eye!  Armin has been trying to roll over for at least 4 weeks, and has finally gotten it over a week ago.  So trying to roll would put him at just under 4 months to now actually doing it, he is just over 5 months! 

It's hard to capture him rolling in a picture, but he is just too cute to not put these pictures on!

 Knowing this is our last baby I find time going way too quickly.  The kids and I were watching t.v. the other night and a Pampers commercial came on and of course all the babies on it were newborns, and absentmindedly I said I want one of those, Emry quickly answered with I already have one!  I told her Armin really isn't a baby anymore, she just gave me one of her looks!  I absolutely love the infant stage and it seems like all kids come out of way too fast.  I am thankful for the children I do have, and for the amazing personalities they have each developed, and I will try my best to keep them little for as long as I can!  Although, I must admit that I do also enjoy watching them grow up and witnessing the wonder in their eyes when they learn something new it truly is a rewarding experience as a parent.

It's Great to Be A Mom

I am thankful to be a mom, and even more thankful to have a mom!  This past friday I was able to spend the day with my mom making cupcakes, laughing and having fun!

Every year her and a group of ladies organize a weekend conference for youth in Alberta.  The conference takes place at the beginning of November but the ladies also organize a big fundraiser in the spring.  This year their committee tried their first annual Flower Extravaganza!  Each lady had a table they were to decorate and provide dessert for.  My mom wanted to serve cupcakes and she asked me to help her make some!  I showed her how to make the chocolate raspberry filled ones, and together we made a couple of different kinds of icing.  I always thought that buttercream icing was what icing made with butter and icing sugar was called.  It is actually icing made with egg whites, sugar and butter, no icing sugar.  It took quite a bit longer to make than standard icing but it was really good.  We made a strawberry buttercream as well as a caramel buttercream. We made our own version of the caramel buttercream to go along with the newly invented brown sugar pound cake my mom made!  She found that the the cupcakes were a little heavy so we cut them in half and filled them with a vanilla cream pudding, put them back together and iced them with the caramel buttercream that we added cream cheese to.

They all turned out to be really delicious, and I teased my mom that we should compete on the Cupcake Wars t.v. show!  My sister laughed when she heard that there was an actual show on t.v. called Cupcake Wars!

This is what Armin did while we made cupcakes, I don't think we even saw the other kids, they played outside the entire time we were there!

Mom bought this bed for her dog, but he refuses to sleep on it.  Armin on the other hand absolutely loves it!  It really makes him smell like cedar, I won't complain!

To add to the fun I went to the Flower Extravaganza on Saturday night to again spend time with my mom.  It was a lot of fun, all the tables looked so beautiful.  My mom decorated hers with her favourite flowers, pansies, I think her table truly stood out from rest as being the most beautiful!

We were given a demonstration on how to properly plant flower pots using the right variety of flowers and how to care for them throughout the season, we were also shown how to make corsages, and then they had an auction to help raise money for the Youth Explosion.  It was so much fun spending time with my mom.  I am so thankful for her in my life and for the wonderful example she is to me.  She is a strong woman with a big heart, she is very accepting of others and I have honestly never heard her say an unkind word about anyone, or make an unfair judgement about someone!  I am also so thankful for how close she is, and how often our kids get to see her!  I had another great day with my mom yesterday as well, she came with me to Lethbridge to get a few things and then we took Calum and Armin to see my Grandma and Grandpa Scheibner (my mom's mom and dad), we hadn't seen them since just before Christmas.  On Sunday we were able to spend Mother's day with another fabulous mom!  All of Jared's family came home to the farm, we had great food, Chicken Cordon Blue (thanks to mom Puzey!) and good laughs!  Family truly is a wonderful blessing in our lives and I wouldn't change any of them for anything!

I was also really spoiled on Mother's Day!  Emry brought home an adorable package she had decorated on Thursday, but made sure I didn't open it until everyone was at the farm on Sunday!

She painted a plate and put her hand print on it.

She also made me a card with a little poem inside.  The poem said, "For all the diapers that you changed, for all the play dates you arranged.  For all the trips back and forth to school, for cleaning up all the spit up and drool.  Why is there only one Mother's Day?  You could have at least gotten the ENTIRE month of May.  Happy Mother's Day Mom!"

I am so thankful for the beautiful children I have, and though at times they drive me absolutely crazy I know they love me just as much as I love them!  I am sure I drive them just as crazy at times too!

Where Has the Time Gone?

Today is our little girls 7th birthday!  I can remember the day she was born like it was yesterday!  We were at Lalainia and Jason's in Calgary for Ashton's baby blessing!  I woke up that morning feeling like I had to go to the bathroom really bad, but really didn't go at all!  While we were in Sacrament Meeting for Ashton's blessing I felt so hot, and light headed.  Jared and I decided to go back to Lalainia and Jason's apartment instead of going to the rest of church.  It was decided on the drive to their apartment that I was probably in labor, so we called the Vulcan hospital to see if we should come right in.  The nurses told us just to stop in on our way home later in the evening and they would hook me up to the monitor, since I wasn't due for another 3-4 weeks.  We stayed to have dinner with everyone and then made our way to Vulcan around 3 that afternoon.  Well, minor contractions started on the drive down and became more frequent the closer we got to Vulcan.  Once at the hospital, I was hooked up to the monitor and the doctor was called in to see what should be done.  Since we determined that my water had actually broke in the morning when I thought I just really had to pee, the doctor thought it would be best to induce me to get the contractions going.  By 4:30 the next morning I had a beautiful, very tiny, baby girl!  It was so nice having her in Vulcan, and having my very best friend by my side!  Jared has said that he felt a little helpless, but then so did I, I think that is the typical feeling of all first time parents!  We really liked the name Emry if we had a girl, but we weren't sure about a middle name!  When Jared was holding her just as the sun was coming up that morning, he looked at her and called her Emry Dawn.  We both loved it and found it very fitting.  When Mom and Dad Puzey came in later, the first thing David said was, "I think Emry Dawn sounds really nice together..."  I have always loved how in sync Jared and his Dad are!  She truly is our little angel, I am so thankful for the little girl we have, for her super sweet personality, her kindness towards others, her sensitivity to others feelings, the way she helps Calum, the way she plays with him and the teacher and example she is to him.  Sometimes it seems like he listens to her much better than he listens to us, he really loves his big sister!  He has at times asked for Emry to put him to bed at night!  I also love how much she helps me out.  She is always willing to take Armin if I need her to, she will change his diapers (even poopy ones!), and she will get him dressed or put his jammies on!  She is also a big help to her daddy.  When they go check cows together she will jump out of the truck or Jeep to open and then close the gate for Jared, she will bring him the tagging box when they have a new calf to tag, she goes to the dump to help unload the truck and she has even tried her hand at painting the walls in our house with Jared and has done a good job!  I look forward to the day when her and I can share clothes, when she will come to me for advice about boys, or when she needs her mother's shoulder to cry on!  I say I look forward to that day but I do hope it takes its time to get here!  She has already grown up too fast, but she will always be our little girl no matter how old she is!

We decided to celebrate her birthday last night for Family Home Evening since Jared has Young Men's tonight, we thought it would be too rushed if we tried to have her favourite supper before Jared went in to Young Men's.  Emry requested steak for her birthday meal, like most girls she has expensive taste.  When I was at the store getting the steak, I noticed they had corn on the cob, Emry's other favourite food!  When she saw the corn on the cob, she was so excited!

I decided to make the raspberry chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, only to make them more personal for Emry I garnished them with candy butterflies.

Since it was also the first day for Jared at his new job, I made him a tractor cake because he is now working at John Deere!

They were both happy to see their cakes, I think ecstatic best describes Calum's reaction to Jared's cake!  I had put the cakes in the back entry closet and closed the door so Jared wouldn't see it, but as soon as Jared got home Calum took him to the back to show him "Daddy's trator!"

Emry's face looks this way because she was nervous of the sparkler on Jared's cake!

We had set up a little treasure hunt for Emry which she had a ton of fun doing.  She then opened her present, a lego set for girls!  She opened all the little packages right then and had Jared down on the ground helping her build!

She truly is a terrific little girl and I am so thankful she is in our lives!