The Long, Long Day

     I have been very tired lately and I just haven't felt like posting much.  I am getting so far behind.  So many things to talk about.  I had my thyroid checked just to make sure, but I got the results back and my levels were normal.  So it must be motherhood that's wearing me out.
     Today was a very long day as well and I admit that I still don't feel like blogging.  So I will sum up the day by copying and pasting my facebook status here:

Usually my kids space out their puke, but amazingly today all 5 of them managed to throw up! Haylee started the ball rolling first thing in the morning with Kelsey taking a close 2nd around 10am. Mackenzie joined the sickies around 3:30 in the afternoon and Nate spewed at the dinner table. Finally, Natalee came in last losing it all just before 9pm tonight. What a day!

GOODNIGHT!
(I wrote this last night but blogger wouldn't let me post!  Bad Blogger!)

The SCAM

Someone tried to scam us again.  It happened once before when we had monster van for sale on craigslist.  This time, Daren and Natalee were trying to find an adorable dog that Natalee could get for her birthday.  They found the following ad on pennysaverusa.com:

Quality White YorkshirePuppies For Home Sale
Price: $100
Location: Inyokern, CA 93527

registered Yorkshire puppies for re homing for more about our Yorkshire Terrier puppies Email us via jamesclarkson83@live.com for pics and more information about them a;so why i am given them out,Email us also on (jamesclarkson83@live.com)

This picture was included in the ad.  You can see why Daren and Natalee were so thrilled that this dog, for a mere $100, was located only a few miles from our home.
     I was getting ready to lay down for a nap when Daren told me that he had emailed the guy and was waiting to hear back from him.  Before falling asleep I told him how a friend had recently told me that so many online pet advertisements are just from scam artists that offer to ship the dog from a distant location such as Hawaii.  I found it hilarious when I woke up that sure enough, the "guy" (or little old lady?) had emailed back and was currently living in Hawaii.  What a surprise!
     This is the email we got back:

> Hello,
> I have a male and female puppies still available
> to go to a good and caring home. they are always happy being together.
> they love to go out for walks, parties and picnics . Right now i do
> not really feel as
> keeping them anymore especially how i lost my (kid &Husband) in an
> accident and i will also be going in for surgery .i will be sending
you the puppy/puppies from here ok .i hope it wont border you . things
have been hard for me ever since and am presently not in any position
of keeping the puppies any longer .I am presently transferred to
Hawaii and i am with the puppies here.. the puppies are
12weeks old and the delivery will take some hours to reach your
location ok . i have to get a legal document that certify and confirms
you as the new owner of the puppy/puppies you get from me ok . its
going to be done legally but easy and fast here in my location ......i
will pay the transportation charges for the puppies to be delivered to
you ok . so what you will only pay for is the adoption fees including
crate . So for one puppy you will be paying $180 and both puppies you
will pay $310 all the fees include both adoption and crate fees for
the puppies.
Do let me know which of the puppies you are interested in taking
......You are also free to take both puppies which is more preferably
since they love to play together depending if you can take good care of
them .Email me your delivery information , which will also be used to
get the puppies delivered to you as follow;
Full Names
Country
State / City
Home Address
Phone Numbers
Zip Code
Nearest Airport to your Location
i wait to read from you soon ....
(4 more similar adorable pictures were attached)

After reporting the mysterious email to a fraud center, this is the email we sent in return:

Uh, no thanks. We only responded to your ad because you said you were
located in Inyokern, which is close to where we live. We would never
buy a dog from Hawaii because it's too risky that it's just a scam.
You will probably have better luck finding a home for them locally. I
have a friend in Hawaii who might be interested if you want me to
contact them for you.

I really wanted to write something much worse but I was worried that if they are very evil people they would retaliate.  Daren was concerned that it really was a sweet, little old Japanese lady who recently lost her husband and son. He kept telling me to say something like, "If you ever have the dog back in Inyokern please contact us."  But I really just couldn't.  The pictures are adorable and I can see why he hated to give up all hope.

Flirty Mommy

     I just remembered something that happened at church yesterday that made me laugh!  There's a really sweet brother in our ward that hands out the programs as we walk into the chapel.  If you are one of my siblings you probably remember JV Ciani.  Well, I noticed as we walked up to him to shake his hand and get a program that he had gotten a haircut.  So I decided to compliment him on it.  I said, "Good morning JV!  Your haircut is very handsome."
     Natalee shot me a horrified look (embarrasment mixed with shock and annoyance) and said under her breath, "Mommy!  You're flirting!"  Luckily we were into the chapel and past JV by then because I admit, I laughed out loud.

Nathan's Sunday Outfit

     Nathan just looks so cute in his little Sunday outfits that I almost want to take a picture every Sunday.  Today I just had to!  He was wearing one of Jacob's shirts and he just looked like such a big boy.  So we did a little photo shoot of him after church.  After a few pictures, Kelsey decided she needed to get in on the action.  And then a few more sisters joined in.  It would have been perfect if Natalee had jumped in there too but she was standing next to me with her camera taking her own pictures.  I think she has a gift because she got some pretty cute ones.  If I think about it I'll add her pictures later.

     Today was also Nate's first time taking the sacrament.  I'm always a little unsure of when to start giving my kids the sacrament since it's so sacred and I know they don't quite understand it.  But at the same time, they are innocent, pure little children.  I usually wait until they're about one and Nate is very close to that.  Last Sunday, when the bread tray passed us and I handed it to the deacon without giving him one, his bottom lip curled up and he got a very hurt expression on his face.  Then I did the same thing with the water, quickly passing it to the deacon before he could knock the tray over, and Nate did the exact same hurt, curled lower lip expression.  So I realized he was ready and I wouldn't keep him from taking the sacrament anymore.  He did almost knock the water tray over today though.  Mackenzie was sitting next to me and she insisted on holding the tray for me but held it a little too close and when I took Nate's cup away he was instantly reaching for another one.  He didn't knock any over but the top of his hands patted several of them.  He doesn't have any obvious illnesses right now and I'm sure the tray was then passed to a completely unsuspecting group of people who had no idea my 11-month old's fingers had just been in their water.

(If you're wondering about the little scratch on his cheek, it's a 'walking wound.'  He is getting quite good and a lot more daring.  He was trying to walk to the fireplace and stumbled right before he got to it and his cheek hit the stone.  We're grateful that it wasn't a lot worse!)

Kindergarten Graduate!

June 8, 2011

     Mackenzie has finished her first year of school!  It is always amazing how fast the school year flies by, each year picking up speed.  Mackenzie's teacher was Mrs. Glennon who was also Natalee's kindergarten teacher at Faller.  We were so excited when Mrs. Glennon moved to Inyokern school.  She did so many wonderful things with the children and she helped them prepare this amazing kindergarten program.  The kids sang some adorable songs.  Mackenzie's favorite was, "I am a Pizza" and she continues to sing it often, as does Kelsey.  Kelsey is going to know it before she even starts kindergarten!  Natalee and Haylee got to get out of class to watch her program.  Nate was there too, sitting on my dad's lap the whole time.  He was mesmerized by the music.  I think he takes after Daren a lot because I see signs of him being an animal lover and a music lover.  (Natalee was the same way when she was a baby.)

     Mackenzie made some new, wonderful friends this school year.  But this is a picture of her with her best friends from before school started.  Joey Cannon, Vadie Grover, and Nathaniel Farrell.

Teacher Gifts

     Tomorrow is the last day of school and we like to give our teachers a thank-you gift at the end of the school year.  Figuring out a thoughtful gift that isn't too pricey (we have three teachers to thank!) can be kind of difficult sometimes.  My friend's sister was a teacher and she told me that she always gets a gazillion candles and lotions for gifts so not to do that.  Well, what else is there?
     Haylee's teacher this year was an old high school classmate of mine, Amy Auld.  This year she got married and she just announced to the class that she is expecting a baby boy.  That made her gift pretty easy.  But as Daren and I were talking about what to give the other teachers for their gifts (looks like I'll be whipping up some pumpkin bread tonight) Haylee brought out her mini Book of Mormon and said she wanted to give it to her teacher.  I reminded her that she had already given her gift-I had suggested she wait until the last day of school but she was so excited she had to bring it today- and also her best friend Grace is giving her a Book of Mormon with her testimony in it.  She said she wanted to give her something from herself, not something store-bought.  And besides, that way they'll have two so they can read the scriptures together.  I couldn't argue with that logic so I told her that she had to write a note explaining why she was giving her the Book of Mormon.  I said she had to say why she gave her the same thing as Grace and what the Book of Mormon means to her.  I then asked her what she would put in her note.  She said, "I'm giving you this book, so you can know about the past when there were lots of Mormon boys going around preaching the gospel."
     I couldn't resist a little laugh.  Luckily, Haylee started laughing too so we just laughed together.  We then talked about how it would make Grace feel if she took Grace's idea and did the same thing.  So she isn't going to do it after all.  I'm proud of her for wanting to share the gospel with her teacher.  Kids are the best missionaries.

The Story of the Eighth Article of Faith

     Mackenzie came home from school the other day and was so excited to tell me that they had to write a story in their class.  "Do you want to know what I wrote for my story?" she asked.  I could see she was bursting with excitement to tell me.  I asked what she had written about and she answered by reciting by memory the eighth article of faith.  "Wow!" I said.  "How did you know how to spell all of those words?"  "I sounded them out," Mackenzie answered.  I could see how proud she was and I congratulated her.
     I had completely forgotten about the conversation when one day, Mackenzie came home from school bursting with excitement again.  "We got our story back Mom!  Do you want to see it?"  And there it was, clear as could be, the eighth article of faith:

We bleev the bibll to be the wrb fo God as far as thigs are chrasladid crecktlee

We asso bleev the boock fo moomim to be th wrd f God.

     When Daren came home from work I showed it to him and asked him if he could figure out what her story was about.  He looked at it for a second and instantly said, "Of course, it's the eighth article of faith."  I can't help but wonder if her teacher was able to decipher any of it and if so, what she thought about it.  I'm proud of my little missionary!

(I believe the picture she drew to go with her story is the gold plates on the left and the Bible on the right.)