Ho Ho Ho, Merry...

You all know the ending to this title - Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!! Well, Rachel has taken a new spin on this saying. She has been watching a Barbie movie lately - Barbie as Mariposa (or something like that). So, to Rachel, it's now...

Ho Ho Ho, Mari-posa!

Nativity Fun

Emily and Josh decided to put on their very own Nativity last night. It was so cute! I think they just copied some of what they saw at our Ward Christmas Party, but they did a great job! Emily really had to convince Rachel to participate (as a shepherd), and they brought all the stuffed animals to help too! They came up with the costumes on all on their own (mostly from the dress-up box). Here are some pictures:

Emily is Mary

Josh is Joseph (don't you love the bandana beard?)

Rachel is a very reluctant shepherd (I think she looks like an angel)

Josh is such a loving daddy!

Emily is a calm and loving mother (although there was a bit of a struggle over who got to hold the baby!)

(Caleb watched from the sidelines!)

Merry Christmas!!

Please Forgive Me...

I really need to change the background, seeing as how winter has hit full-force this week, but I just can't seem to find the time...

Maybe by the time winter is over, I'll get it changed!

You Know It's Bad When...

In Primary, leading the music on Sunday:
Girl (Emily's age): "Wow, you're really pale!"

Me: "Oh, that's usually the way I am."

Boy (Emily's age): "You're not that pale!"

Me: "Oh, well thank you!"

Same Boy: "Wow, now you're red!!"

I am officially self-conscious!!

I'm Thankful For...

This year, we tried something new to get the kids thinking about their blessings. We put a jar of candy on the counter, with a notebook by it. Anyone could have as much candy as they wanted, but for each piece of candy they took, they had to write down one thing they were thankful for. Let's just say Emily and Josh ate a lot of candy!!

Here are some of the things they wrote.
Emily: pinket (her pink blanket), yard, freedom, Jesus, earth, cheese, curlers, napkins, family
Josh: Jesus, blankets, naps (not sure if he's thankful to take them, or if he's thankful his younger siblings do!), Wii, earth, white blankey (the one Grandma L. made for him when he was born), spiders, Pepperidge Farm, MOM, weapons(???)

Emily and Josh wrote things for Caleb and Rachel, like milk, blankets, family, etc.

Who would have ever thought to be thankful for napkins, or spiders for that matter?!?!

I am so thankful for each of my kids. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about how lucky I am to be their mom. They are amazing!! They have such wonderfully strong spirits and I am humbled that I get to be a part of their lives!

And I love all of you, and am so thankful for each of you! I shudder to think where I'd be without you!

I gave Caleb his first haircut a couple of weeks ago. At some point in our years of haircuts, we discovered that suckers work best to keep them on the seat and not-so-wiggly. So Caleb got to enjoy a purple sucker while I snipped away! It went pretty quick and turned out looking rather nice! But, I only have pictures of during the cut - I didn't think to get one when he was all done and cleaned up. Oh well - here he is! His hair was a lot longer than I even realized!

There are some people who wonder what moms do all day long. Here is my response to that:

{Caleb and Rachel snuck into the candy corn while I was trying to use the bathroom (the nerve of me, I know)! Rachel was a real lady, only eating one at a time. But Caleb was afraid she'd get them all, so he had about 10 in his mouth and several in each hand!! Don't you love all the orange drool?!?!}

I clean up messes ALMOST as fast as my kids make them!! I'm sure all you parents can relate!

Halloween 2009

We are bad parents - we didn't take the kids trick-or-treating! I know, I'm feeling pretty guilty about it! We had cousins over, and they were all having a great time, and we were having a great time, and they were eating tons of candy, so that makes up for it, right?!!? And Caleb got sick in the evening, so I'm sure that's a perfect excuse! (I'm really trying to make myself feel better, but it's not working!)

We did have a Halloween party earlier in the week with Jared's family, and the kids got to dress up for it. Well, Jared and I could have dressed up too, but that's just no fun! Here are some pictures from that night.

Rachel the Bumblebee and Caleb the Pumpkin - too cute!!

Josh was a Clone Trooper from Star Wars.

Jared took 4 pictures of him, and they all looked exactly like this!

Emily was a Rock Star, complete with colored braids in her hair, a headset, blow-up guitar, shiny skirt and mom's belt!

She kept dancing around saying "I'm a HOT rock star!"

All of us, with Jared behind the camera.

Man I'm scary!!!

The Rock-ettes!

These boys love their Star Wars!

I love the look on Caleb's face in this one!

He'd had more than enough pictures by this time!

All the Ripplinger grandkids - aren't they cute?!?!

Budding Artist

Rachel loves to color.

She begs me all the time to color.

This is why I don't like to give in to her pleas.

Thankfully it wasn't a permanent marker.

{I think maybe she's going to be an impressionist - looks like a spider to me!}

Jared's Handiwork

If Jared ever loses his job as a CPA, he could go into business as a craftsman! Here are some pictures of the nightstand he made for Emily (and he didn't start this until Friday afternoon, had it finished by Monday night - so basically 2 full days of work). I am so impressed - it is perfect!!

Oh, and the scalloped part on the bottom he cut by hand with a coping saw (not sure what that is)!

Who Ordered Snow????

We woke up to a skiff of snow yesterday - the very first snow of the season. We thought it would be melted by lunch-time. WRONG!! It just kept coming down - it felt like December or January!

Here is what it looked like last night,

And this morning!

It looks like about 3 inches! I guess next time it snows, I shouldn't tell the kids that I'm sure it will melt quickly, because I sure didn't hear the end of it yesterday!

I let them take their snow boots to school today (in the hopes of making up for it)!

Happy Birthday Emily!!

Today is Emily's 9th birthday!! I can't believe how much she is growing up! Even just since last year, she looks (and acts) so much older!

Here are 9 things about Emily:

1. She LOVES to read - sometimes she sneaks extra reading when she's supposed to be sleeping! :)

2. She loves animals, especially our cats. She wants to take horseback riding lessons from our neighbor.

3. She has lost 12 teeth - 4 of which were pulled all at the same time! And she has never had a cavity! Her smile is beautiful!

4. She is a very good helper to her mom. It is so fun to see her play with her younger siblings.

5. She is a very good musician, and can sight-read songs from the Primary book on the piano. She is also learning to play the violin, and she loves to sing.

6. She is a great friend to everyone, and she goes out of her way to be nice.

7. She is full of energy and imagination and can have fun doing just about anything!

8. She is very persistent and doesn't give up - whether it's school, learning a new song on the piano, or even trying to get out of punishment!

9. She is full of creativity and blesses us almost daily with cards, pictures, and great ideas!

Here are 9 fun pictures of Emily, starting with the day she was born!

We love you so much Emily!! You are such a wonderful and important part of our family! We are thankful for who you are and your love for life! May all your wishes come true this year!

Love, Mom, Dad, Josh, Rachel and Caleb

Celebrate!!

This is the 100th post for our blog!! Yea!! It's only taken me 3+ years to make it!

I wanted to do something special for this post. Something to knock your socks off and make you want to actually keep reading this blog (all 4 or 5 of you).

But I can't seem to come up with anything. NOTHING!! My creative juices have all dried up!

So I'll just give you a cliffs-notes version of life around here lately. I have not taken a single picture, as every time I go to use the camera, the battery is dead!

Rachel has almost completely given up naps (well, she's about 50/50). Caleb is trying to give them up too. He has napped less than Rachel this week! Add it up - you get two cranky kids and one very insane and cranky momma! But they're too cute to be mad at!

Rachel says some of the funniest things. And sometimes, it's just the way she says things that makes me laugh. Like, "This is my favorite book!" with as much excitement and energy as you could expect from a 2-year-old. The book was some Christmas craft book that has been sitting around. Definitely not an exciting book! She also came running in with a doll and said, "I found my Rachel!!" How can you not love that??!?

Caleb is getting a few words too, like kitty cat, what's that, and num-num (with a hand motion, which means he wants more). He only has 5 more Sundays until he can legally go to nursery!!

Emily is counting down the days until her birthday. For any of you who don't know, it's 5 days away. She wants everything, and I mean everything! So, if you were wanting to get her a present, rest assured that you can't go wrong! (But please don't run out to buy one for her - PLEASE!!!) Oh, and she's starting to wonder about how babies get in their mommy's tummies (I have dreaded this for the past 9 years!!). She informed us that there is a lock on the mom's tummy that you unlock, which obviously lets them in! Chuckle, snicker, giggle!!

Joshua is trying to lose a tooth. By trying I mean he wiggled it to the point that his mouth was sore enough that he had to call me to come get him from school! (OK - I'm not that easy! I gave him some ibuprofen, fed him lunch, and took him back to school.) I think he's got another pesky root that doesn't want to give in. Which means we're probably going to have to make yet another trip to the dentist!

I got a new calling as the primary chorister. Hmm...never done that one. I pity those poor kids who have to listen to me "sing" the songs. I think the singing genes skipped me!

Jared, after working 2 late nights at work last week because of the 6-month extension deadline for income taxes, is now trying as hard as he can to find work to do. ??? ??? Why can't the government have taxes due all year long, according to social security numbers or something like that?? Wouldn't it make more sense to spread it out a little?!?! I think I might just email them my plan!

The garden is dead!! I've never been so happy to see a plant die in all my life. Next year, we will not be planting more than 6 tomato plants!

I hope you have enjoyed this installment of "As the World Turns in the Ripplinger Home." Stay tuned for scenes from our next episode!

Flu Shots and Tomatoes

Yesterday we headed down to the Health Dept. (all 6 of us) to get our flu shots. We learned the hard way last spring - during tax season - that it is not a good thing when everyone in the house has the flu - at the same time! We just never made it in last fall to get the shots, so this year it was a huge priority.

Rachel went first, cried a little, but was more than happy to stop for a sucker.

I went next, then Josh, who was very tough.

Then Emily went, wincing the entire time and squeezing my hand as hard as she could! She stepped away to pick out her sucker, and Jared got his (shot, not a sucker - although he did a great job and deserved one too).

As soon as he was done, Emily said, "Uh oh!" and turned as pale as I've seen her since she passed out with her first tooth!

Can you see where I'm going with this??

Jared, with Caleb in one arm, caught her on the way down to the floor as she passed out!

This girl adds so much excitement to an otherwise boring and hated event!!

The nurse dropped everything and got down with her to help her out - had to even give her a little wiggle to get her eyes open again!

When Emily woke up, she said, "Did I pass out??"

Uh, yeah! So she lay there on the floor while the nurse got her some concentrated Tang to drink.

And Caleb got his shot. I don't even think he realized what was happening as he was happily slobbering on the sucker Jared stuck in his mouth right before the shot!

We all walked out on our own two feet, thankfully!

But I don't know if Emily's going to be so willing to go back next year!

Now, on to tomatoes. This morning I picked 14 gallons!! That's right - 14!! That's twice as much as I picked a couple weeks ago, and that batch yielded 38 pints of crushed tomatoes (which Jared canned all by himself - with kids running around)!! Heaven help us!! Thank goodness Jared found some people at work to come take them from us. I was ready to set them on the driveway with a sign that said, "FREE - PLEASE HELP US!!"

And a Child Shall Lead Them...

We partied (haha!) as a family at Apple Days this past Saturday. {haha! because Jared and I had just spent the day canning peaches, so we were pretty dead!} For those of you who don't know what Apple Days is, see this post. We didn't make it to the parade this year, but we did have lots of fun going down the huge inflatable slide, getting treats, and roaming around.

This is Emily and Josh doing the beanbag toss:

{Notice Rachel chilling out here at the bottom!}

Then Rachel took her turn to show them how it's really done.

I can't believe I didn't think of that!!!

Peaches

We came,

{On Saturday morning}

We canned,

{56 quarts of peaches to be exact}

We CONQUERED!!

{2 1/2 bushels of peaches!! Add that to the 3 flats of raspberries that made 43 pints of jam, 110 ears of corn that made 22 quart bags to freeze, 6 quarts of fresh tomatillo salsa (which we've happily eaten), and lots and lots of tomatoes that are getting peeled, smooshed, and frozen as they come!}

IT IS ENOUGH!!!

{but those pears at Macey's are calling me!}

Rachel-isms

Rachel has really caught the jabber bug lately! And we're starting to be able to understand most of what she says, which makes it so fun to listen to her! She comes up with some fun things to say, and sometimes makes me giggle! Things like:

"Let's go watch moo-bees!(movies)"

"That's dolly's bank-a-let!(blanket)"

When asked if she needs to go potty, she says, "I already went at the church!"

"I'm heavy momma" when she feels like I'm not holding her tight enough when we're walking around

"I went thhtththt in the potty" when she farts

She still answers either yes or no (depending on her mood) to most every question!

Oh, yes, and on the {mostly} rare occasions when she poops in her pull-up, she always gives me a resounding "Yay mommy!!" when I dump it in the toilet!

Ripplinger Family {mis}Adventures

I'm thinking about writing a book, although with the topic I have in mind, it might be a little long. Here's an excerpt from my rough draft:

"This morning was a pretty typical morning. We got up, ate a delicious breakfast of oatmeal, and got ready as quickly as we could. The kids really wanted to play some cheap, extremely simple hand-held video games Jared dug out of a box recently. When there's fun to be had, they're really good at getting done quickly, which is usually because they do the bare minimum! Like getting dressed but not putting socks on; brushing teeth but leaving toothpaste in the sink; running their hands through their hair and calling it good. We rushed out of the house - like usual - to get the kids to school on time.

As we pulled into the parking lot, Emily exclaimed, "Oh yeah, it's picture day!" Oh great!! There's no way they are decent enough to get their pictures taken! {Refer to the paragraph above, about doing the bare minimum} I had to make a split-second decision: let them go as they are and get re-takes done next month (which I will probably forget about again), or take them back home, make them change clothes and REALLY do their hair, which would make them late for school. I chose the latter - let's get this whole incident buried and done with! We rushed home as fast as we could to fix the problem. Clothes started flying, hairbrushes began tugging through hair, and a few curls were quickly put into those beautiful red locks that belong to Emily."

See what I mean?? Our {mis}adventures are a little too frequent, and I'm afraid if I compiled them into a book, it'd be bigger (and likely more confusing) than the Bible!!

Amazing!!

I actually have a minute to breathe this morning, so I thought I'd let you in on what I'm listening to.

It's a beautiful, wonderful sound.

No, it's not peace and quiet (which I adore)!

It's Emily. Playing the piano. She opened up the Children's Songbook and is sight-reading her way through "I am a Child of God" and "Reverently, Quietly."

She's doing an incredible job.

And I'm not biased.

Oh, and just a reminder: she's 8, almost 9.

Amazing.

Back to Routine

School started one week ago! Emily is in 4th grade (yikes! where did my baby go?), and Josh is in 2nd grade (yikes again!). I can't believe how fast the summer went! And we didn't even do anything terribly exciting as a family this year, other than reunions. But we have enjoyed a lot of time together as a family.

It is good to be back to a routine - sort of! Life seems much more pleasant (for me at least) when there is structure! Everyone knows pretty much what goes on in a day, and there is plenty to keep us all busy. But, it is always nice to not have to be ready so early, to enjoy carefree mornings with the kids, to just BE! I always miss that once school has started!

I was pretty impressed with what the kids accomplished this summer. Emily read all 700+ pages of Harry Potter #4 - and it only took her 6-7 weeks!! Josh read and read and read, too. He started the first Harry Potter book, but we had to return it to the library before he finished it. We'll have to go back and get that one soon because he keeps begging me to take him (always after the library has closed for the day)! Emily finished off one set of piano books and is cruising her way through a second set, and Josh is making good progress on his set. They both got very good at cleaning the bathroom, and more importantly, keeping it clean between cleanings! And Rachel and Caleb have turned into quite the two-some! If he's not bugging her, she's bugging him! But they hardly ever do anything apart!

I have loads of pictures -when I get some time I will do a picture post!

Where Were You...?

Where were you on this day in 1999 when this happened?

I was on my honeymoon!! More precisely, I was running to get into the Jeep that Jared had pulled up to the front door of Olive Garden (where we had lunch) and trying not to die by hail pelting! In the process, I stepped on, and crushed, the container that had our wedding cake in it!! Good thing my parents took some home to freeze!

I am soooo thankful we didn't decide to have Aug. 11 as our wedding day!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 10th anniversary!! And it's a magical one too, because it's also the 10th of the month!! I had planned to put some pictures of our wedding day in this post, but for some reason, our older pictures aren't showing up on the computer! So instead, here is some fun trivia about the past 10 years...

• Location of our wedding: Salt Lake Temple
• Places we've lived: 6 (4 different cities)
• Most we've paid for rent (not a mortgage): $1700 a month
• Least we've paid for rent: $440 (our first apartment, 2 bedrooms, no A/C, but a great little apartment)
• Number of jobs (Jared+Heather): 9 (I think)
• Number of degrees received (just since we've been married): 3
• Number of perfect children: 4!!!
• Number of vehicles: we're currently on #5 and #6
• Tax seasons we've made it through: 8!!
• Number of gardens we've planted: 5

And now, 10 things I love about Jared (in no particular order):

• He's handsome
• He's strong
• He's a hard-worker, willing to provide for our family
• He loves music
• He is thoughtful
• He loves to play games
• He is smart, and also wise
• He is trustworthy
• He has a rock-solid testimony
• He loves me, even when I'm my absolute worst!

I love you Jared! You are the best thing that has ever happened to me! Thank you for being my husband and wanting me for your wife! I look forward to the rest of eternity with you!

Happy Birthday Josh!!

Joshua is 7 years old today!! Can't believe it's already been 7 years since we brought our little boy home!

We've had a great day today. Josh chose crepes for breakfast, and we put cherry pie filling in them - yum!! Jared was home for the morning (because we were getting some gravel and a shed), so Josh was able to open presents this morning. That turned out to be a great thing, because he got to spend the day playing with all his new stuff. Surprisingly, I think his favorite gift was his Webkinz snake, which he named Stripers. We got to go out for lunch (Sonic), and we had his favorite food for dinner - SHRIMP!! Can you believe a kid his age loves shrimp??

Josh is such a great kid. He is a hard worker, a deep thinker, and very energetic. He has a great memory, and he loves to ask lots of questions. He can always make us laugh, and he is very helpful too.

Here's a look at then and now...

We love you Josh!! You are "totally wicked" and we're glad you're part of our family!

Flowers and Jam

What do flowers and jam have in common, you may be asking?

Nothing at all, really!

Here is a picture of the beautiful flowers Jared brought me for my birthday last week. Aren't they pretty?!! He is a smart man! He remembered that lillies are some of my favorite flowers. And the coloring on the two roses is sort of like tulips, some of my other favorite flowers.

Maybe you remember the movie "Alice in Wonderland" - not the cartoon version. I remember watching it as a kid, thinking what an odd story it was! And maybe you remember a song about jam. I think it went something like, "Jam tomorrow, jam yesterday, but never ever jam today." Well folks, we've got jam today!!

{Thankfully we don't live in Wonderland, although sometimes it feels like we do!}

We bought 3 flats of raspberries yesterday, which gave us 43 pints of delicious raspberry freezer jam, with 4 pints of berries left for eating!

Here's a picture of the whole process - 4 batches going at a time!

As a sidenote, I love jam, especially freezer jam. But after realizing just how much sugar goes into it, I'm kind of grossed out!

Do you realize that for every tablespoon of jam you eat, about 2 teaspoons of it is sugar?!?!?!

We used 23-24 POUNDS of sugar for all that jam!

Now that's a lot of sugar!

Just a Typical Day

Here are a few shots of a typical day around our house...

If Emily is not off reading, she is playing the piano! I don't have to beg and plead to get her to practice, I have to beg and plead to get her to stop!! She's great at multi-tasking too...see the cracker in her mouth?!!

Caleb's new favorite activity - climbing to the highest surface he can! Yes, he's standing on the cedar chest which is up against the railing, which is the only thing keeping him from taking a flying leap down the stairs! In a 5-mintue span, he has managed to climb onto the kitchen table, be removed, climb onto the cedar chest, be removed, climb onto the end table, only to be removed yet again! I hope I can survive this kid! In fact, I hope he survives himself! But how could that face not instantly melt you?!?

Rachel is synonymous (spelling??) with sweetness. She just bounces around with her ringlets bouncing right alongside! She has discovered how to be a little impish, though! You can see it in her eyes! She is usually the one showing Caleb just how fun it is to climb onto things, or she's right behind him encouraging him to go farther!

And Josh...well...just look at the picture! Would that drive you nuts?? He prefers to wear socks, and this is how he wears them 99% of the time!

Moment in Time

Go ahead...try to tell me these aren't the cutest kids you've ever seen!!

{Just playing around with Photoshop and had to get this up here!}

I'd like to burn this image into the deepest, most permanent recesses of my mind, with the option to open a full-size, life-like view of it anytime I want.