October - Honesty

I'm part of a Live Laugh Love Group that gets together once a month to put together 2 Family Home Evening Lessons, visuals for a song (that we practice all month), and a monthly activity to work on with our families based on a theme. This coming month of October is Honesty. For this monthly's activity we are working on teaching the kids that they can be honest about their feelings as long as it is respectful and constructive.

    We each have an empty pumpkin patch that we start the month with.  If a family member is happy or sad because of something another family member did, they give or place a pumpkin in the pumpkin patch of that family member. As the month progresses happy and sad pumpkins are added to the patch. Some families keep all the pumpkins there all month. We count the pumpkins each Sunday talking about how many sad and happy pumpkins there are. For the number of happy pumpkins we have we put a corresponding number of candy pumpkins in a jar. When the jar is full we spend a special movie night together as a family with pizza, pop, a treat and everyone in pajamas. We usually grab our pillows and blankets for this as well. (Our four year old LOVES this.)

    This will be the second year we have done it and I thought it went very well last year. As a parent you become aware of how much negative versus positive praise you are giving. The kids learn that if they are mad or upset with a parent or sibling they have a positive way to express it. We had one group member last year who's little daughter (age 4) gave Dad a sad pumpkin because she was upset with Dad. When Dad found out they were able to sit and talk about why she was upset. This same member will also always remember how happy it made her feel when her Hubby left her a happy pumpkin for making him breakfast before work. If your up to the challenge that comes with trying to express to a young child how their actions make you, as an adult, feel then try your own pumpkin patch this October.

Finishing the fair

I spent the last two weeks getting ready for the Jerome County Fair. I made a toilet monster and a two headed pipe monster for our table display. We also drug out the minigolf dragon for the booth. Now I'm ready to lay back and chill for a bit until Ronin's birthday at the end of this next week. Dennis has been working at the Kiwanis fair booth every night this last week and now will start putting together a cardboard boat for his branch of the bank. That's right a card board boat. It has to float and carry at least one person. The Twin Falls city council is hosting the competition later this month and the bank has decided that each of their branches will come up with a boat. Dennis was put in charge of Jerome's. Needless to say he will probably be gone most of this next week as well. He was hoping that I could help more but I have had the fair to worry about. That and someone has to stay with the kids:)

There's no place like home

Finally we have come home to stay. Not that our schedule has let up any. This week we are getting the BZ Plumbing business ready for the upcoming county fair. We have a booth that we are putting together. Luckly half the booth we finished before we left to Utah. It's a dragon mini golf game that we plan on using at our booth. Looks great, eh! Now I need to create some signs and prep the trucks for the parade. Somewhere in all this I hope to get the house back in order. We'll cross our fingers.

Vacation after vacation after vacation

So this summer has been very busy for us. We started it out with a week and a half stay with my sister Isabella around the first of June then we came home for a bit. Then we left for a two week stay with my sister Lillian in California. After being back for just a week and a half we were off again for a week and a half vacation to Dennis' family in Wyoming. Now we have just another week and a half layover before we travel down to my sister Isabella again for our family get-together. I have after all of this concluded that while I LOVE visiting with family I would perfer to squish all vacations into a single month of straight vacationing then having the occational layover between. I get home to "unpack" but I don't want to unpack everything because there are some things that we may need on the next trip that's around the corner.
Another summer vacation observation- so many vacations make the summer go by fast.
Anyway, I'm looking to post pictures from our wyoming vacation as I get ready for the family vacation. Hopeing to post again soon:)

Spent some time in Cali. with my sisters

So this last two weeks the kids and I traveled down to my sister's Lillian's where we stayed for two weeks. My sister's and I try to get together at least once a year to laugh and chat..generally have a good 'ol time. However we have since discovered that having 9 kids all under the age of 6 complicates this immensely. Most of the time was spent monitoring the kids and sleeping in an effort to maintain our defenses again the fore mentioned kids. We have since decided that future sister time will be spent with as small a group as possible. Beware hubby the shadow looms when Mom will leave you all alone with the kids. Maw haw haw. Hmmmm I think my evil laugh needs some work. Anyway heres some pictures from our trip.

I'm pregnant again!

Dennis and I are expecting a new edition on Dec 8th. I'm hoping that this time it will be a girl but I guess we'll see. Raif and Ronin came with me for the ultrasound and Raif was very excited to see the baby. It even waved at him. I told him that the baby will come around Christmas so now he keeps asking if it is Christmas yet.

Easter was COLD!

Easter came really cold for us this year. Snow came to join in the festivities but we were not to be stopped. We just bundled the kids up and took them to the park for Jerome's annual Easter egg hunt. Raif was an old pro now and so Dennis had both him and Saun (Brenda's foster kid) with him. I took Ronin to the younger kid area. The fire trucks siren went off and everyone made a mad dash for the eggs. Ronin was confused in general but I did manage to help him pick up a few eggs. Raif didn't cry this year (for which we were all too happy for) and nabbed a few eggs of his own. All in all fun was had by all. Then we went to Grandma Grandpa Buhler's for a family Easter egg hunt. We did eggs for the younger kids and brown sacks for the older kids. By the end of the day Ronin was starting to get the hang of it (especially when he found that the eggs had candy).

We have high speed at home!

Hey everyone, we now have high speed internet at home. I hope that with this I will be able to keep up with this blog. For now I'm just going to post a picture of the boys from the last snowfall

Getting ready for the 4th

My family will be coming in for the 4th of July so I have spent a lot of time at my parents getting things cleaned up for company. Unfortunately, it also means that I am pulling out cluttered corners for my Mom to sort through. I put all these things on a table in their livingroom. Dad hates having all the stuff sitting in the livingroom and Mom is working as best she can to sort through things she has had for years. You would think that dealing with this stack of "things" wouldn't be that big of a deal but it has been a very emotional journey for my Mom.
There she sits sorting through piles of things that she bought for that special occasion that never happened. The gift that she thought the kids might love but didn't. The piles of books from her long dead mother who she always felt she was a burden to. The holiday decorations she thought would would transform her home into an oasis for the holiday that never quite worked right. The dreams, ideals, hopes, and even some disapointments sitting on a table waiting to separated into trash, give away, and put away. She says that she knows that having the house clutter free will be a release not to mention easier to clean but she always tears up at this point.
I have wanted to help her several times over the years. All of my sisters have. Throwing and giving away many items over the years. However, I have come to realise that this will always be a journey only she can take. I move the boxes around and haul the stuff away when needed, reminding her that the end goal is worth it.

The Lost Months

If this blog were a cactus plant I would have killed it by now. My parents have gotten back from their last mission to Oklahoma. I felt like I was dragging them home reluctantly but they made it. We have started our garden and the peas look great. The cantalope however has been attacked by boxelder beetles and we only have one surviver (who may or may not get the million dollars). I have retaliated back against the beetles with boiling hot water. I have to admit that I gain great pleasure watching their bodies twitch and die from the water. I can almost hear the buggy screams of death....anyway.

Dennis is still with Farmer's Bank and I'm still here with the kids. On Tues and Fridays I travel out to my parents and do the books for the plumbing business while my parents watch the kids. We are also gearing up for our vacation at the end of July when we will travel to Wyoming to visit Dennis' family. So far we'll try and catch a indian powwow and the Cheyenne Frontier Days. Hopefully I'll get a rough schedule posted so that if anyone wanted to catch up with us they could.

I still do the occationally odd craft and this is my latest one. A hanging tent for Raif. He loves it and calls it his house. When I first put it up, Raif insisted that Dad sit in it with him while they read a story. He also thinks it is fun to say goodbye to everyone and go home.

Ronin is crawling everywhere and has started to climb up things so that he can stand. He started off with an army crawl across the floor but within the last few days he has progressed to hands and knees. He is eating up a storm and somedays I think that he eats more than Raif does. His favorite food are popcicles and you will be his best friend if you share.

TV Dinner Cupcakes and Young Women

TV Dinner Cupcakes
Originally uploaded by A Cockrell

We got these cupcakes at the scout auction. One of the ladies I know made them. They are cupcakes and everything she used to make them with is eatible. I gave them to my young women this last Sunday because they released me from my calling as the Young Women second councilor. I was just getting all their names down and then they released me. I am thankful though that I got to be in Young Women's even if it was for a small amount of time.

Making new chairs out of old

auction and decorating 004
Originally uploaded by A Cockrell

I got some fabric for 40% off and decided to finally change out the seat on our Youth Ranch finds. I think that they look great now and all it took was to staple the new fabric on and screw them back on. Then with a touch of the magic wand that we use for just such occations... whala a new looking chair:) (psst..it's the one on the right)

Halloween with the Cockrell's

Yeah, I know, dang good looking bunch. Here we are for Halloween. We had just had the potty party the day before so this was a busy week for us. Raif, Ronin and I went to a community Halloween thing that they had going in Gooding while we waited for Dad to get off work. No this is not what he wore to work. Bad for the banking image you know:) After he got off work and changed, we picked him up and headed to the trunk or treat that they had at the church. Then we went to another community Halloween party that they were having just down the road. Raif got irritated with the wizard beard that kept getting in his mouth and spent quite a bit of time out of his costume. In the end we got our sugared up bundle of energy in bed a little later then usual but he had a smile on his face. Oh yea, I finally got the chance to try a litte pumpkin carving I had been wanting to try. Our garden produced just one small pumpkin this year so I took that to mean I had a volenteer. Raif had fun seeing the face come alive and I loved trying a new technique. We then took it down to the bank as a Halloween surprize for Dad. I had so much fun with it I might make it a new tradition for us. Nothing like carving tortured faces into pumpkins to get you into the Halloween spirit.

Potty Party Cake

Potty Party Cake
Originally uploaded by A Cockrell

Well Raif finally made it to the middle of his chart and on Oct. 30th we had a big potty party for him. This is a picture of the cake that a friend and I made for it. The base is just a white cake mix and the cars we made out of a cake I baked in bread pans. We then added square devils food cakes (from the store) as the cabs and decorated with frosting and candy. I also hung up about two dozen lighting bolts that I made from paper from the ceiling. Then we watched the cars movie and all the kids got to make their own pizza's. I think that Raif had a really good time and loved being the center of attention. Lisa said that it will be hard to top this with his birthday. I guess we'll see:) Raif is doing well with the potty. He still has a couple accidents but for the most part he's got it down. We are VERY proud of him.

Potty Training

potty
Originally uploaded by A Cockrell

We have started potty training Raif. At first it was a real uphill battle and I didn't think that we would make it. Then my little sister gave me the idea of doing a potty chart. Everytime that he goes potty he moves his little red car forward. If he has and accident then he moves it backward. At first it didn't seem like he would get past go but now he is moving at a swift pace and will probably reach the "potty party car" in a week (small bladder's make for fast progress). Then we will have a huge car themed party. I'm sure that we will be as excited by the party as he will be.

Raif and Ronin in the Stroller

Raif and Ronin in the Stroller
Originally uploaded by A Cockrell

Raif loves riding in the stoller with Ronin. I think it is because it is one of the few times Mom lets him "hold" Ronin for an extended priod of time. He gets to kiss, hug and talk to Ronin for as long as the ride last.

School Set up

school 005
Originally uploaded by A Cockrell

This is the "classroom" I set up for Raif. There are close up pictures of things on the flickr account to the right of my posts. I put out some of the projects that we have worked on.

School Starts

I have started doing school for Raif. We start at 9 AM every Tues-Fri. It usually last about an hour and we have been doing it for about 2 weeks. Raif loves it and gets excited every morning when it is time. I have put together enough lessons for the month. They consist of bacic things like the sun, rain, wind/clouds, snow, my body, skeleton, senses.... I am amazed at how much he likes to sit down while we talk about these different things. We start by checking the calander and he puts up the date and we talk about what day it is. Then we set up for school pulling out the supplies and assigning seats (I made up slip covers with our names so that he can get used to seeing and recognising his name), and saying pray (this is the only time I have been able to get him to say the prayer). Every friday I get books from the library that goes with the theme and we start by reading the designated book(s). Then we take some time to sing some songs. Next is serious work with practice in drawing in straight lines, recognising letters of the alphabet, cutting straight, and reading practice that consists of a jumble of ideas that I got from the library. We pick and choose among these of course. Then we break off for some fun with an activity based on the theme. Finally it's snack time and recess. I'll try posting pictures of his "work space" when I can.

Ok so maybe once a month:)

Mom and Dad Cockrell just headed out from visiting with us. We got to have them for a whole week and loved it. Raif was really excited to get grandpa up in the morning and have him read him books.

My parents have been called out to Oklahoma where they are planning to be for TWO months. This time Brenda will run the rentals, I'll do BZ work (with Alma running the truck) and Isabella running the farm. They will leave in the middle of June.

We finally got our garden in (thanks to Mom and Dad Cockrell's help) and can't wait for something to start growing. I did plant a large cherry tomato plant that should be producing soon but I kind of think that may be cheating:)

I'm also putting together a large activity for the YW to do while they are doing the temple celebration. I'll try to post the general idea of it later

A Year in Review

Well I know it has been a while since we got on to say anything and I now have almost a year to review. In short here it is:
Dennis and I are expecting a new baby, we think it is another boy due at the end of August. (I'll try and post some ultrasound pictures). If it is a boy we may name him Tristan Buhler Cockrell, if it is a girl we are not quite sure what we would name her:) so here's to hoping it is a boy:). I didn't have any problems with morning sickness and I'm not really showing so most people forget that we are even expecting.

We bought a new house in Dec 2007. It is on a nice little side street with mostly local traffic. It has three bedrooms and one bath. Built in 1970's by the guy across the street. Most of our nieghbors have been here long enough to tell us all about the history of the house. The front yard has some beautiful landscaping but the backyard is weeds. I've started drawing up some ideas of what we would like for the backyard but it will take a few years for us to impliment anything.

Mom and Dad have come back from their mission. (BIG relief for me:) Though they have put them in again. This time they will be going on smaller week/weekend service trips to do plumbing for the church when and where it may be needed.

Raif is running all over the place now. He loves playing outside and watching Stuart Little (at least this week he does). He is getting better at talking, using mostly one to two word sentances. He likes watching and holding babies so we hope that he will love the new baby when it comes.

I got called as the Young Women's 2nd councilor about a month ago. They are getting ready for a big song and dance production in Aug when the Twin Falls temple is dedicated. All of our activites until then will have to do with practicing and learning what we will be doing. So far I love being in Young Women's. I am in charge of the Beehives and with the celebrations I will have several new girls in my class bring my total to about 10 beehives. Most seem excited to do the dancing. Dennis has been called into the Sunday School Presidency though I don't think they have him doing anything for it yet.

Dennis is still with Farmer's and seem to really enjoy his work. He doesn't care for the times when he has to do collections on some of the loans but it's a tradeoff that he is willing to live with.

Well that is a quick review. We will try to keep you updated more.