Smarty Pants

Hayden's teacher came out to the car with him when I picked him up. She said she needed to "brag" about him. Oh great, was my thought. His Pre-K class is working on number spelling recognition, like one, two, instead of 1,2. So they made a book "One, Two buckle my shoe." Mrs. Thompson was reading it to them and pointed out that the number 1 starts with an O. Hayden raised his hand and said "Yeah, but if it's the won like you won a game it starts with a W." She was stunned and then had to explain that some times if a word has two meanings it also has two spellings. There you have it, we have a very smart 4 year old in our house.

Visitors

We had a few unexpected visitors in our backyard this afternoon. They were right by our deck. By the time I got the camera and walked out back they were in the "woods", but still close enough to get pictures. Now we can add deer to our long list of critters we have seen back there. The kids were sad they missed them. "maybe when they come back, we can see them," Hayden said. Hopefully.

Easter Sneak Peek

One down one to go.

Why I say?...Why?

Today I had a few errands to run in Little Rock. I loaded the three little ones up (Drew 2 1/2, Halle 2, and Aiden 1) and headed out for the morning. Post office. Dry Cleaners. Target. Let me just say that trying to do those things was next to impossible with Halle. The boys were fine, but Halle was a disaster! She wouldn't hold my hand, she climbed out of the cart, and when I strapped her in, she screamed at the top of her lungs. People were looking at me like I was a crazy person. They are probably right!

It was getting to be lunch time and I thought, "I'll hurry and feed them so they will be full and sleep in the car, then I can just go park and wait for the big kids to get out of school." I was close to McDonald's and it was one with a playground (hard to find around these parts), perfect. I took the kids in, holding Aiden, Halle holding my other hand, and Drew holding Halle's. We get in with no problems. Then Halle runs. She knocks over a "wet floor" sign, and pulls down a poster hanging on the wall. I haven't even ordered yet! I grab 2 high chairs, put Aiden in one and Halle in another. Ordered. Got our food. And sat down. Aiden ate, but I think more food was on the floor than his mouth. Halle is mad because she can't get out of the straps on high chair. figures it out and is trying to climb over the bench and runs to the play area. Then there's Drew (he's a bit on the "different" side). He's sitting with his head turned to the wall staring at the bricks. He won't eat. he won't play. he won't talk. Just staring. Won't acknowledge me at all. Yeah, a little different. I thought he would be different at McDonald's, he's dad says he loves it. not with me.

Why do I do this to myself!!??

I called it a day. They did ALL fall asleep in the car, so I sat parked for an hour an a half. Made a few phone calls, read some scriptures. Enjoyed the peace.

Halle and her Princess Cup

Halle has become obsessed with her "pincey cup". She hasn't put it down since I gave it to her for our special Princess Lunch.

"Want moke in pincey cup"

(cough) "Oh, I choke on my moke, want choco moke."

"I yike choco moke."

Does he look SMARTER?

Not the greatest picture. I had to sneak up on him to get a picture with his glasses on. Nana has been asking. He can now see things much clearer and actually prefers to wear them even outside of the classroom.

Princess Day

Today is a special day for two special reasons. First, it is Vicki's birthday! She is the best Nana my kids could ask for. We are privileged to have her as our Mother and Nana. Secondly, Nana declared her birthday as the official "Gardner Family Princess Day". This day is a day to celebrate the Divine Nature of the princesses in our family. Last year she gave each of the girls a book called "The Parable of the Princesses" by Jenny Phillips. It is a book about a King who has three daughters, each one a Princess. He sends them out to a build their own kingdoms. They are faced with temptations and trials, dangers and deceits, challenges that will test their resolve and their commitment. Just like us! This is a book that every girl and women needs. It is a reminder that we are all Princesses of a King and we truly have a Divine Nature.

In preparation of Princess Day, I made the girls skirts. They opened a special gift from Nana.

Princess charm bracelets, of course. To remind them who they are.
Then Caite helped plan and make a Princess lunch. Heart shaped PB&J's, yogurt pretzels, and chips, and lemonade in their special princess cups. Isn't that what all Princesses want for lunch?
Halle thought it was really fun to eat on a special table in the living room. I think she liked drinking from her special cup the most.

We had a little Prince who felt a bit left out. So the girls made room for the Prince.

Even if he was a little silly and made some rude noises.

They got tiaras and candy necklaces

And some pink cupcakes for dessert!

Here's the book. it really is a must have.

We have had a perfect Princess Day. I hope as we continue this tradition and continue to read the parable, that my girls will develop a strong sense of self and KNOW that they are a Princess in every sense of the word. I know that as they grow and continue to learn, they will understand their relationship with Heavenly Father and their roll as His daughters.

Thank you Nana for giving us a WONDERFUL day to celebrate!

Funny Names

Since living in Little Rock our minds have been opened to a whole variety of creative names. The residents keep a running list at the hospital of "don't name your kid..." We also have some funny ones in our kids classes at school.

To occupy some of our "snow day" time we made Valentine's boxes and filled out Valentine cards. With class lists in hand the kids began writing. Here are my favorite ones.

Oseghale (pronounced: Osegley)
Cleon
Omar
Imani
Pashyon
Aine (pronounced: Anya)
Aliah
Terreicka
Tyran
Azarias
Q'Jayden (pronounced: Kuh-jayden, when you spell it you say "Q upper comma Jayden", it's not an apostrophe, it's an upper comma!)

Top ones from the Hospital are:

Shithead (no profanity please! pronounced: Sha-theed) His name has come up in several conversations among different doctors.

Iam (pronounced: Yum. His daddy is William, they decided to name him after his dad, just a shorter version on it!) Seriously, what's wrong with Will!?

Geronimo (like when you run and jump on something and say "Geronimo"!) yep, true story.

Chlamydia (aka an STD)

Nevaeh (Heaven backwards: these are usually premies, Aaron says if you name your girl Nevaeh, she will always die)

I'll have to have Aaron remind me of all the other ones and continue the post later.

Now that you are laughing, what are your favorite names?

Adding to the list:
Luscious (like when food tastes really good)
Gorgeous
Blaze (this is one I knew. When I asked his mom where they came up with the name Blaze, she said, "he's the youngest of 6 kids, our fire is still burning!") maybe I didn't want to know.

No School

So we are on day 4 of no school due to snow on the ground. The first 2 days were fun and understandable. Because Central Arkansas doesn't see much snow they don't have the equipment to clear ALL the streets and keep them salted/sanded. Fine. The problem is that Pulaski County Special School District takes in a HUGE area, a lot of which is country where the roads have never been touched leaving them very icy. So because buses can't get down some of the roads to pick up a few kids, the ENTIRE district shuts down. I understand it from a district point of view, but when our streets have been dry and fine for 2 days and we are still out of school ...it's frustrating. The news last night mentioned "Saturday School" (that's not going to work), cutting into Spring Break (people with vacations planned won't be there), or extending the school year. Either way...it's dumb! It would be nice if we could just do it on a school basis.

Isaac has been having fun outside and with his friends. The little kids had fun in the snow the first day, but it's now ice snow and not fun to be out in, so they are going stir crazy. I have tried to do a bunch of things in the house with them, but there's only so much that can be done, especially when I have 6 kids under 6.

So hopefully they can go tomorrow, Friday. It's their Valentine Parties, the little kids want to be there. But then Monday is a holiday, no school.

Snow...REAL Snow

We woke up this morning with over an inch of snow on the ground! What a sweet surprise. The kids were thrilled to spend the day building snowmen and snow forts and not be in school. I shoveled the driveway and walk way just to have it start snowing again. I just stuck a ruler in the snow piled on the deck...4.5 inches and still coming down. It's AWESOME! This NEVER happens around here. It feels like home.

I hope Aaron can get home tonight. They don't really plow around here.

I just posted a slide show of pictures taken this morning, before it started snowing again. I'll have to take more this afternoon and see how much we really got.

Day Fourteen

The flight from Atlanta to Little Rock was postponed 3 times and ultimately cancelled. So we had to wait until this morning. Aaron is home now. His bags didn't make it, but he did. We are happy. All is well.

As for pictures, we were told by the Government that we aren't allowed to post any on a blog or personal website. Sorry, I know many of you have asked to see them!! He had an amazing experience, worked his tail off, loving every minute of it. And if he sees another MRE in his life time it will be too soon.

Day Thirteen

So close yet so far away. Aaron had debriefing meetings this morning. Got his flight plans...to Ohio? He let them know home is Little Rock, not Ohio. Finally got on a plane from DC to Atlanta. Got on another plane to go from Atlanta to Little Rock. Had to get off the plane due to mechanical problems, and on another one. Hopefully he gets to come home tonight. He just called and is sitting...waiting. We are going to have very tired kids driving to the airport so late, or maybe they will be bouncing off the wall. Probably bouncing! We have done so well until tonight. I just sent Isaac to his room for the rest of the night. He has been on one all day. I can't handle it anymore. So he's safe in his room so I won't yell.

Day Twelve

I just got off the phone with Aaron...Yes, he was FINALLY able to call. They took down camp yesterday and this morning and jumped on a plane headed our way. He just landed in Washington DC and was excited to shower, eat real food, and sleep in a bed. He hasn't had a showered since Jan 23. His hips hurt from sleeping on the ground. He's starving for real food. He said the assignment was amazing. So glad he went. I will fill in more details tomorrow after I see him.

The plan: the team is in Washington DC to be debriefed. Then hopefully sometime tomorrow he will head my way. He didn't know, or didn't have his travel plans yet. He is supposed to get those late tonight.

All I know is that we have a very EXCITED wife and kids at our house!

Day Eleven

Brian's update...he's my friend again!
"Good evening. As I mentioned in last night's update we did not hear from any of the teams in Haiti. Bill Devir, OH5DMAT Team Commander was on the conference call tonight and stated the team had a very busy day yesterday and they saw over 200 pt's with a couple serious pediatric pt's who were transferred to Children's Hospital in Haiti.

NOW THE GOOD NEWS!!!

The team was tasked with breaking down operations today and started demobilizing plans today. They also met with some of the non-governmental agencies who may take over the site. As the plans stand now they will fly out in the AM and be at Dulles Airport later tomorrow. They will go through a stand down process. They will stay over at least one night at Dulles and then probably head out Thursday--ALL OF THAT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE SO NOT CUT IN STONE. When I receive more concrete information tomorrow I will pass that on to you. I wouldn't be surprised you will know more from your team member tomorrow once they are able to access their cell phones and e-mail when they get back into the states. If I hear something tomorrow before they get into the states, I'll keep you appraised.

Bill's last comment was, "We will also shower, (and shower, and shower, and...)""

That's WONDERFUL news!! I really wasn't expecting Aaron home until the Saturday or Sunday. And I guess that's "all subject to change", but none the less we are excited!! Posters and party foods will be hung and made. I'm excited to hear the stories he has!

Home front: Had a good day. I'm a sewing fool these days. 2 skirts for my cute girls. Isaac got his glasses today. "I look like a nerd, but at least I'm still cool." They fit him well and look really nice on him. He looks older...too old to me my son.

Day Ten

Update from Brian:

"Well, not a whole lot of tell you tonight that is team specific as we did not have the opportunity to hear anyone directly from Haiti tonight. We did hear that they were busy and patient volume for all the teams combined were high. The teams that were activated this weekend are in VA and were processed in and will be on a plane in the early hours then on to Haiti in a couple of days. I understand that some of the missions there are changing as new need evolve and Non Govnt' groups are coming in and helping with the health care needs as well. It is anticipated that the teams there should start hearing something in 2-3 days as to when they might be coming home. It is still too early to have strong details on that as of yet. I'll certainly pass on to you that information when it becomes available.

I have attached a couple pictures that came in today that were taken at our team site."

Once again, not much information. I will be excited to hear real stories from Aaron and see real pictures. I'm hoping he remembers to take pictures...I'm usually the photographer in the family, so I'm hoping for just a few.

Home front: All is well. I'm tired, I have laundry to fold, and then I'm going to bed. Oh, I did make 2 dresses today. They are cute, if I had a camera I would take pictures, but I don't.

Hero's at Children's Hospital

Like I mentioned last night our Arkansas Children's Hospital was on Dateline NBC last night. I found it online also. You can watch all the segments. they will just keep playing with short commercials in between. Aaron is in and out through out the whole thing, but mostly in the first 20 minutes. You first see his hands wrapped around a little African American baby doing CPR, then later they show the rest of it. If you missed it last night you can click here. We think he's pretty special!

One correction: Just before Aaron starts compressions on the baby the journalist tells you who he is and that this is his first week as a resident. WRONG! He had already finished his first year (because Sarah commented that he was the intern of the year), starting his 2nd year. It just happened to be the first week of his PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) rotation. Keep in mind that this was filmed 1.5 years ago. I guess it just took a while to get it to TV.

Aaron's best friend growing up, Josh posted a special piece on his blog. He is very thoughtful and sincere. Thank you Josh!