Two Words

I have a BEAUTIFUL friend who picks one word each year to work on (ie: perserverance, patience, simplify, etc.). I have taken her idea and tweaked it.



My children amaze me. They are constantly blowing my mind with the things they can do and the potential they have. Also with their misbehavior at times, but they are, after all, children! I am blessed to have been entrusted with thir care and I want to help them understand how much I love them and believe in them. So I am going to pick TWO WORDS that I feel describe not only WHO they are, but HOW I feel about them.



My daughter was the easiest: BRILLIANT AND BEAUTIFUL, both inside and out. She can do anything, and she has a very loving, nurturing spirit. I'll let you know when I figure out the boys. I was thinking SMART and Sassy or slimy or silly for Lance, but I'm still working on that...

decoration ideas...

These are some of the ideas I have for decorations for our Tet party. This is for the stage (the curtain will stay closed - it is turquoise). PLEASE let me know which one you like best. Also, the easels would hold the paintings (pix of which follow). It is as close to scale as I could get. I would love to light the Chinese lanterns if I can, and the round ones vary in color, so can be switched around. The square ones are only orange.

Thanks for your help!!!!!!!

Family Home Evenings

hehehehehehehe...

A few months ago, my children were not participating with a good attitude during Family Home Evening. Mostly, they refused to sing. So in a fit of inspiration (?), I told the bigger ones (ages 13, 11, 9) that if they did not sing and sing well I would have them participate in Ward Choir practice.

So, both at Thanksgiving and for the Ward Christmas program, myself and my children were part of the Choir. Todd sang baritone, Aaron tenor and Audrey and I were sopranos (which was challenging for me). It was a fun experience and apparently we added alot, because we have been asked to come back for the Easter program! My children now sing well during FHE!!!!

NEW STUFF!

Here's the new stuff in my life...

Our good friend and adopted sister, Hanh, had her baby girl on Tuesday, January 13th. Her name is Analise Thien Y Auduong, and she is oh, so cute! I got to hold and cuddle her! However, you will not see any pix anytime soon of anything, because they borrowed my camera (left for the hospital too fast) and I haven't got it back yet!

Year after year, Thao and I promise we will go on vacation for Vietnamese New Year, so we won't have to decorate, help, clean up, organize, etc! Yet again, this year, we are missing the boat and will be setting up, decorating, organizing, directing, dancing, cleaning up at Tet on Saturday. So to all of you, Cung Chuc Tan Xuan! (happy new year)!!! Yippee for us. It is fun, but alot of work...

Futsal (indoor soccer is the best explanation for you un-soccer people) starts this Thursday. I am conflicted, because I seem to be far more organized during soccer season, but it is chaos. So, onward, ever onward.

Audrey and Lance have finished their testing for the Advanced Learning Placement program in school. The both said it was easy, and seemed to enjoy the challenge. Come the end of April, we will have decisions to make about where to put them with their schooling. I always thought that parents with special needs kids really had challenges figuring out how to help their kids but now I realize that really smart ones are also "special needs" and it is every bit as challenging. I have learned to be flexible and willing to do what is best for MY KIDS. I am responsible for them and to help them succeed, therefore, my priority is what is best for them...

We have a couple new families in our little Vietnamese church group. They are not members, but have been coming to Church and getting involved with our little group. It is wonderful, but difficult, because Thao is the only native priesthood holder left in our group. He also has been translating during Sacrament meeting and so he doesn't sit with us anymore. It's a little overwhelming and our Sundays are WAY busy (sounds like the rest of our lives). I worry about my sweet hubby multi-multi-tasking, but I have faith that blessings will come as we meet the challenges (good and bad) that Heavenly Father sends our way.

It is a wonderful new year full of tons of potential! Yea for us...

Thankful Tuesday

Perhaps it is the season, perhaps I am supposed to be learning something, I don't know, but lately I feel very humble and blessed.

The last month or so we have had several close friends have health issues. One of my Young Women (from years ago) is struggling with the fact that her husband has colon cancer. They don't have any kids yet, and they are both young. One of my kid's favorite teacher's wife has Stage 3 lung cancer. My best friend's hubby had to go in for surgery to remove a lump (luckily benign), and ended up with complications. A fellow soccer mom is undergoing chemo right now. My beautiful friend in Vietnam just found a large lump in her breast. "Grandma Joan", a close family friend, is fading. My dad's best friend recently passed away unexpectedly.

I feel for these wonderful people and their families, and rejoice in the lives they touch each day. How grateful I am to have been touched in some way by them. And how grateful I am for mine and my family's health. I hope that by living my life to the fullest and appreciating what I have will honor my friends and their families.

My hopes, prayers and thoughts are with each of you...

Help...

Does anyone have solutions or suggestions of how to deal with a very angry 5 year old? Lance gets soooo angry sometimes, and I try to cuddle him, distract him, put him in time-out, read to him, threaten him, etc, etc, etc. He gets this growl on and runs around hitting or saying he'll kill someone. Should I just beat it out of him????? (JK sort of!)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10...

My Baby is Four :(...

Joey is four years old today, although I had to remind him that it is now OK to be four. (We had a big discussion 2 months ago that he WAS NOT four yet!).

He got some Thomas toys and a game for his birthday, so our family room has been transformed to the Island of Sodor. It's almost 2:00 and he's still in his pj's (bad mom!). He got a phone call from Goeffrey the giraffe from Toys R Us, then from Grammy. Can you guess which call he was more excited about?!?!?! We are having Vietnamese for dinner tonight and an ice cream pie for a cake. Dad has a Silver Thread (see sidebar link) interview, so it will just be mom and the kids! What a kicked-back b-day!

Happy Birthday to my very sweet four-year-old with a nice shiner!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

A happy Holiday wish to all our friends and family! We think of you at this wonderful season and wish you the very best, with all our love and hugs...

May you have a very merry season and have a wonderful new year!

My Christmas Wish List

1. Peace in my house for 30 minutes...
2. A package of paper cups so I don't have to wash cups.
3. Children who don't complain about doing chores.
4. Painted toenails.
5. A clean house without me having to do it!
6. A good hair day.
7. Hugs - NOT Zerbets!!!
8. More time with my friends and sister.
9. More time...
10. All my loved ones to know I love them and appreciate their influence in my life!

The Reason!!!!

So, this is the reason (one of them) we went to Arizona. We are the proud owners of a Toyota "Surburban". It's actually a Sequoia, but my brother has a Suburban so he calls my sister's Expedition a "Ford Suburban", so we jumped on the bandwagon.





We needed a vehicle we could take camping, and this one has eight seats, so our big, huge teenager can spread out, and I can separate those children who choose to fight while we are in the car...

So if you know anyone looking for a nice 2000 Ford Windstar van, it's for sale!

And, yes, it is our Christmas present to ourselves!

Our Thanksgiving Weekend

He must have been trying to shock me, because Thao suggested we go down to Arizona to spend thanksgiving with my sister. Four and half years ago he swore he wouldn't go back (he got a speeding ticket on that trip)! So I rushed through my mini-week to prepare to leave Wednesday am with my parents in tow (not literally).

We had a wonderful time enjoying each other and spending the first semi-Stowell Thanksgiving dinner in over eight years. And the weather was beautiful! Carri and mom made an awesome turkey dinner ( I helped a bit), Carri wowed us with her mastery of swimsuit making, Sam entertained and loved Joey, and the big girls were inseperable, and Uncle Brandon was awesome about taking Todd and Aaron hiking, then playing all kinds of sports in their huge "front yard".

We had a wonderful time!

On our way home, we stopped at the Grand Canyon to be thankful for God's amazing creations! If you have never been there - go!!! Next to Arches, Yosemite and Lake Tahoe, it's one of my favorites!

Now, on to the reality of finishing up the Reflections Art Contest for the school, doing laundry (endlessly), and getting ready for Christmas. Maybe tomorrow I'll tell you WHY Thao wanted to go to Arizona!!!!!!

I'm Baaaack!

hehehe...
I will now take back my blog...but it will have to be later! Todd has his own, and I need to post again. We had an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING time in Arizona for Thanksgiving, with a YUMMY turkey dinner. THANK YOU, EKBERGS! A few pleasant surprises like Sam and Joey bonding, fun watching Grandpa play baseball and watching my boy's shocked faces when I hit the baseball TWICE! It was great to spend time with Carri and Mom, and see how mellow Thao was about being there! I will put pictures on when I find my camera (I'm still unpacking)...

TODD!!!

Guess what? I got my own blog! look at the links... then check it out!!!

From Todd =)

Technical Difficulties

So, it's me again, and I have an update on my guitar progress. Crazy train is learned, One is perfected, Sweet child o' mine is in progress. I said I was going to post some videos on my mothers hilariously lame (just kidding) blog, but we are having some technical difficulties, aka my mom. So since my mom isn't willing to post some videos right now, I'll have to wait. Anyway, I don't like my mom's personality on this blog, so I'll be choosing to make my own blog sometime in the distant future.

By the way, Dan, I like your new blog, I posted some comments.

=)

TODD

During the time period in which my mom has been forced to make a blog by my aunt, there has not been much of me in the blog except for the "Personal guitar hero" thing, which was pretty embarrassing. Anyway, the only reason my mom says those things about me is because I'm freakin' amazing at three things, soccer(and yes to all you football players, it's cooler that your demented oval-shaped ball game), art, and music, most of all. Specifically, guitar. Me and my friend Andrew are the best guitar players in our grade (and that's saying something, because Andrew still sucks, lol, Just kidding, he rocks), and he can play every song that I can play, except for "One, by Metallica". Unfortuneatly, in the last two days, he's learned a song that I can't play, to be specific, "Crazy Train, by Ozzy Ozborne", yes, parents, "eww", but at least I have some competition now. Anyway, I have another friend Greg, who plays the bass, and he is self-taught but he's friggin' amazing. He's trying to learn the bass part to "Sweet Child o' Mine, by Guns N' Roses", and I can already play the guitar part, so when we get together again, we'll make a video, and you can see our awesomeness. Also, when I can play "Crazy Train" I'll make a video of that. Well, I think I've babbled on long enough, so rock on, and peace out(lol, just kidding, hippies suck!!!)!

So Very Thankful Thursday

A few weeks ago, my best friend's hubby went to the doctor becuase he had a lump in his bicep. It turned out to be a tumor the size of a golfball, and they didn't know how bad it was. It was very scary in many ways, and iI worried so much for both of them. Last week he went in for a biopsy, and I got a call last night that it is BENIGN!!!! I am so grateful for that he will be OK, and so will their awesome family. Prayers truly are answered, but I also know that we are strengthened through our trials. And I am SOOO grateful for friends!

Monday Madness

For my very favorite sister (okay, my only sister), I have changed your comment line, just as you asked. Now I'm contemplating all sorts of other changes to your blog. I'm thinking it should be something like a treasure hunt. Can you find all the stuff I did? Should I give you a few hints? Like maybe I made 5 changes. Can you find them all?



Love you bunches!

Thankful Thursday!

I am thankful I do not have my neighbor's tree. It is big and beautiful, but when it drops leaves, you don't wanna be there. You can hear leaves dropping from our yard. So for any of you who are complaining about raking leaves, check out the car and the sidewalk. And this is just from today!!!

the rest of the Halloween Pictures

Yep, those are my toes, and they are glow-in-the-dark, too!

Yes, I Still Live...

Ok - enough harrassment! It's been a busy week and I was sick last week (that really sucked, by the way!).

Then we had Halloween -what fun! My daughter was beautiful, thanks in HUGE part to my AWESOME sister for making her costume. Aaron was a ninja (?), Lance is Spidey and Joey was Thomas the Tank Engine. Todd wears a shirts that says "I don't do costumes". What a party-pooper.

On Halloween night, our power surged and smelled like it fried something. So I called Rocky Mountain Power, they came 35 minutes later, and told us the transformer was faulty (the boys got really excited when he mentioned "transformer"). Sunday they came to replace the unit, and the kids felt sorry for them! I was really grateful they came so fast, and I sure have learned to appreciate my electricity!

Today, Lance and Joe are building train tracks. Down the hall and into the kitchen and past. And they are asking for MORE tracks!!!!!

Then there is outside. Beautiful, but do I have to go out? Boy, am I grateful for a garage!