HO HO HO! and a little bit more...

The count down is on. Only 7 more sleeps until Santa comes. The boys have written a wish list and sent the letter to Santa. Alick was the quickest at this and received a reply already with a picture of Santa. The three Elementary school boys took part in the School Christmas concert and did a wonderful job. It was the best concert ever. The whole school did the show in 1 hour. A record for this school. The bands usually play at the Intermediate concert but since the stirke set things back the kids were unable to perform. I was pleased that I had only one concert to attend instead of 2. :0D The furnace is still broken at the church and so the annual Christmas dinner was here. With our branch of members dwindling it was easy to have it here. All I did was clean up and set up and cook the yams, corn and green beans. Others brought the rest of the dinner. It was nice to have everyone here and we lit all the candles so there was a peaceful glow around the house. This year we put up our tree early because Drew, Carter and Dexter brought home a good one from the forest. He was so proud of this tree. It is very big around but perfectly fits in the area by the back door. The boys and I enjoyed decorating it. It has been up for 2 weeks already. ( I like to put it up Christmas Eve) I have to remember to water it everyday. It is a thirsty one and the tree stand isn't very deep. Dexter also brought home a tree and it is decorated and in Hyrum and Alick's bedroom. They have the master bedroom so there is room in there for it, although it is about as tall as Alick. It is very very very prickly and the little hang nail I had on my finger was flaming sore by the time I finished helping Hyrum decorate it. Things are falling into place here for the day of celebration. It doesn't seem quite the time for Christmas this year. To me it seems tooo early.

The last 2 months have whizzed by. Alick and I went to my Mom and Dad's place for a visit for a week. Mom had Angioplasty surgery and needed an extra body in the house while Dad was away for a business trip. We had a wonderful time. It was a laid back visit. One day was spent doing cards. It was a good time with Nana/Mom. As usual we stayed up late a few too many nights. Why is it that we spend the whole day together but when it is nightime we talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. Alick and Nana saw 'Madagascar' in the theatre. He bounced up and down the entire time. Nana kept asking if he needed to go to the bathroom. :0) This is what he does when he is excited during a good movie. He bounces up and down.

I have enjoyed these last 2 months to myself. I had a few friends ask what I have been up to, one thought I moved cause she hadn't seen me in so long. I am enjoying the time to myself. I feel spoiled that I can putter and generally take care of things around the house, without the distrations that happen when little ones are around. I do go to the local Parents and Tots group once a week to do a time with them called Mother Goose. We sing and do little action songs. It is a lot of fun. That is on Tuesdays. I am going to take a break for the month of January. I continue to take Highland dancing class once a week. I love it. It is wonderful learning a new thing that is for me and not parent related. I applyed for a job and got it. It is a casual position at the local public library. Our little library is only open 4 days a week, Tue, Wed, Thur and Sat. The hours are good and it is just an on call thing. I have a couple of friends that can take care of Alick when the need arises. I have been eyeing this job for a few years now and was just waiting for Alick to attend school for me to apply when it came up again. One of the big perks is No more over due fines. ;0)

Alick has adjusted to life in school and has a wonderful teacher. I have only been in twice to help out with his class. Once to read a couple of stories and another time for the field trip to the High School to see the Grade 11 students' Gingerbread houses and to decorate cookies. Alick tried skating for the first time and seemed to enjoy it. The local businesses sponser some time during the 2 week break for the public to have free skating time. Drew is planning on taking Alick a few times to teach him to skate and fall down. He is good at this and taught the big brothers a few things.

Hyrum would love a house on the beach. He would fish every day. Life is so full we don't have time to take him as much as he would like. But all in all he is enjoying life and has adjusted to Grade 4. He was placed in a grade 4 class at the beginning of the year and after the stike and when all the dust settled the school was given a position back which created another class. Hyrum was moved to this 3/4 split class and then had to adjust to new teachers, students and schedules. He is doing OK so far. His reading ability is not quite up to grade 4 standard and I voiced my concerns to the school. They were able to find him some learning assistance and so he gets 4 half hour slots a week in a small group of 4 children working at a similar level as he. I think I remember him telling me 2 of those days are boys only. :0D He is a sixer in cubs and likes the time spent with his fellow cubs and leaders. The leaders are planning some fun activities in the new year but I am not sure what they are.

Grade 9 for Carter is going pretty good although I received 4 phone calls the week I got back from visiting my mom. I guess he didn't behave very well while I was gone in 3 of the 4 classes. His Social/Home Ec teacher told me he is a whiz with the sewing machine and she found him to be very helpful. He seems to be back on track now. There are only 5 weeks left in this semester. He is having a difficult time with his math teacher. Apparently he is not the only one for there are a dozen students left in this class. The others have all transferred to another class. I feel Carter can tough it out with him and for future math classes I will be requesting another teacher. This is Carter's last year in Scouts and we are trying to get all the requirements completed for his Chief Scout Award. He has done some baby sitting for a friend of mine. Her youngest is a busy boy and after not baby sitting for a while and then coming back to do it again, his little face little up and he said "Carter". I am sure it melted Carter's heart that he remembered for it had been a few months since he had been there. He had a funny thing happen last time. The second oldest boy is 6. Carter said he tried hard not to laugh because he sounded just like Hyrum. It was funny to hear the same thing going on in another home of arguing about computer time and stalling before going to bed. Carter will soon be my height. He is a fine young man.

Dexter is in Drew's grade 6 class. He has a great personality that is fun. His little insights and jokes are good. Even though he has allergies to pets he still loves them. He has become the cat caretaker. I have a friend that has 2 cats and when they go away for a long weekend she asks if Dexter will feed them. He enjoys this. He also likes that he gets paid. He even earned $100 this past summer caring for the 3 cats across the street.
Here is what he wrote for his part for the Christmas concert...
What is Chrismas about? Santa? Red? Presents? Actually, it's about giving. It's about family. It's about the holiday cheer.

Drew is still in his 30s for a couple of hours. ;0) He has decided to upgrade to category 5 (5th year ), which means he has 9 University classes that he is going to take over the course of a year. He found some good ones to take that apply to his teaching. They are all distance stuff so he can do them here at home or some other place that is quiet. He enjoyed time with Scouts but has found it harder and harder for he teaches the same age kids. I don't think he enjoys taking care of more grade 6 boys in his off time. Once a teacher always a teacher. With the university stuff he has to do there won't be time for the weekend scout activities. I think it will be good for Carter too, for every where he turns there is his Dad or a link to him. Church , School and Scouts..and of course home ;0) Drew continues to play a little on his chanter. I look forward to the day when he can play a song on the bagpipes and I can dance along. He still plays piano 2 to 3 times a month at church and now I conduct the music. I love to share talent time with him. He makes me smile. This next month will be conclude 8 years as Branch President. It could be 8 more at the rate things are going in the church here. We'll see what happens around the corner. For the most part there are no complaints. It is a good thing Drew served a mission to Utah those years ago when he had the chance.

Well your eyes must be weary by now from reading all this stuff about us. I love you all and send you hugs and kisses from all of us. May the simple joys of this season be yours. It truly is a wonderful time to reflect on the birth of the Savior so long ago. I encourage you to read Luke 2:1-20 and Matt 1:18-25 this Christmas and reaquaint yourself with the story of His birth. It brings peace to all who make the time to read and ponder this beautiful beginning.

Merry Christmas love the NEILSONs

Dexter opens the door to the blustery day outside &

is met with the sound.... " HWEET HWEET HWEET". We have 2 pets now. Quiggly, a black and white male guinea pig and Snowball or Snowy, a white male guinea pig. They are in the same cage. A cage that Drew and Hyrum built this past summer. They were a little apprehensive of one another at first but after about a week of small times together and sleeping in each others spaces they can safely share the same abode. Some days I wish parenting and sharing the same abode were that easy. You know how life constantly changes? Well I wish it wouldn't for a little while longer. It seems just as I get a routine in order something big comes along to interrupt my life... sigh. Despite Dexter's allergies to the guinea pig he insisted on getting a friend for Quiggly. This one was free. Since the cage is big enough for two I couldn't agrue with the price. They have a good time eating the grass and dandelion greens in the front yard. They can go out for a couple of hours and so far we can still find them in the front under a bush or by the garden bench. So Alick was just getting into the swing of things at school and the BC teachers went out on strike. This of course I do support but it will make this transition of life a little less smooth for us as we will be back at square one with the morning routine of going to school 5 days a week. I am allowing the boys some freedom and not making them do anything. HAHAHAHA. You would think the mother of 4 school age boys whose hubby is a teacher would be sitting at the table studying. Nope, sorry to burst your bubble. I am just enjoying the time I don't Have to go out and about. There will be plenty of time for studying when school is back in session. For now I am referee to the two who do not currently get along and enjoying the peaceful times when they do come.

Cubs/Scouts and Beavers has begun and I have been given the assignment of Registrar. It is a learning curve to see what to do in the beginning but will be a good thing to do in helping out the Scouts. Having 4 boys in the organization I have enough running around after them and helping with the badges and stuff that I cannot commit to being a leader in one group. (Currently Drew is a scout leader, with Carter and Dexter in his troop). Every little bit helps.

Well I must sign off for the ref job is in demand.

inspiration that touched me...

This afternoon while reading flylady emails this part of one of her letters jumped out at me and I made it into a poster for the fridge.


"we cannot allow the terror that men do to disrupt our lives, just like we can't allow the storms of life to stop us in our tracks. We have to take each day and find a reason to celebrate who we are and what we can do to help others. We can rebuild our homes, our lives and even countries if put our minds to it. We have a wealth of untapped energy right inside of our heads that is just waiting to go out into the world. It is only when we can release the clutter in our heads, our homes and our schedules that we can unleash the power that is in each of us. It is the power to do good in the world! One kind gesture can change the world. It doesn't take a huge organization! It just takes love!"

-Flylady-Sept 11, 2005

With the start of a new school year and phase in my life I feel empowered by the change that has taken place with getting a handle on household duties and routines. I still have work to do as it takes time but I believe anything is possible with the right frame of mind and faith in ourselves to move forward. This is why we love and support each other so much. With the start of a new season we have a chance to evaluate where we are. We can look back and glimpse what it was like, we see now where we are and we can peek into the future of what we can achieve. Give yourself a hug from me and keep on keeping on!

Love Cori

Summertime, summertime, sum sum summertime

We enjoyed our time camping in Sointula this past weekend. We saw a few new things at the beach we hadn't seen before. Sointula is a neat place. The weather was great, no rain!! It was nice to get away from home for a few days. We heard baby eagles up in the tree above our tent. We saw 3 cruise ships go by. We caught a couple of frogs from the pond. We went to the light station Sat. night and roasted wieners by the beach and visited with friends. Sunday morning we went to the beach and left on the 11 ferry for we had church to attend at noon. We were a few minutes late but thanks to fly lady it was only a few min. because all the boys had their clothes ready before we left. We rushed home, 2 of us showered, we changed, they ate and then we left

3 of the boys have been swimming each weekday for swimming lessons. They are enjoying them and the weather has been sunny but a bit breezy. It has been this way all week. The wonderful part of wind is that it keeps the fog away! The boys had a couple of water fights this past week. We went over to the school parking lot and rode bikes with friends. It is great having freedom to do different things and enjoy our little piece of heaven on earth.

Reading is always on the list of things to do during the summer. Drew and I are reading the latest Harry Potter story to the boys. Drew finds it amusing that some nights he reads us to sleep and we have to recap what we missed the next time we read. After each chapter there is always a chorus of "read more" so he KNOWS when 'we' are sleeping, he KNOWS when ' we're ' awake....Drew, Carter and I have read Kenneth Oppel's Airborne. We agreed Dexter would like it and have encouraged him to read it but he hasn't started it yet. Hyrum found a book that he enjoys, The Boy Who Drew Cats, adapted by Margaret Hodges. Alick enjoys any story with pictures so he doesn't really like hearing all the Harry Potter stuff but likes to listen anyway. One other book Drew started reading, before Harry Potter interrupted, was The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis. It is the prequel to the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I am looking forward to reading Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume, to Hyrum for he will be going into Grade 4 this Fall. So Now that we have shared some of our stories for the summer with you........Please tell us what you are reading or what you enjoyed reading as a child/youth.

A Season of Service

You don’t have the power to make rainbows or waterfalls, sunsets or roses, but you do have the power to bless people by your words and smiles... You carry within you the power to make the world better..."
—Sharon G. Larsen
Ensign, May 2000

There have been times in my life when others have helped me when I didn't have the strength to do all that was required of me as a Mother and Wife. Now that life is on a easier plain I am enjoying the time I can help others. I try to have the boys help when they can as good Cubs and Scouts should. In the last few months we have stacked wood, babysit, watered plants and made meals. It is the little things in life that make a difference in the lives of others. I have a friend that found a good deal at the flea market out at the dump. For 2 bucks she got 6 pieces of lino that was left over from someone's reno job. One day she phoned me and said "Are you busy today?" Nope. So she came over and that afternoon we lined the inside of my cupboards. She cut the lino to fit the shelves. I cleaned out the cupboards and sorted through them. It was a wonderful act of love! Here is a challenge for you.................find one act of service to do each month. Good luck and enjoy making the world a better place. I know I am. =0)

Summer is here at last! :0)

I am counting the days until school is out for all the boys. Carter finished earlier in the week and I wish they were all done at the same time. I think that June is the longest month of the year. There are many activities going on and the weather is warm and the evenings are long. It is difficult putting the boys to bed at a decent time in order to get up in time for school. I must admit here that there were a few mornings when one of the boys would stay home to catch up on a few zzzzzzzzs.

The soccer season is coming to a close with a tournament for Dexter's team this weekend and a game for Hyrum's. The weather this season was awesome. Alick's team had the gym as a backup place for practice and I think they used it twice. The schedule was manageable and with the help of gracious friends we were able to get the boys to all the games they could, unless they were at a cub/scout camp, which happened a few times. At this point in the year if I had to guess who would play next season, I would say Alick, Dexter and Carter. Hyrum, I think is finding that he prefers fishing to anything else except maybe making forts. The boys all had great coaches and good teammates. It is neat to watch the progression that happens over the season and see a team come together and play as a team should. The soccer season is from April to June and I think it is just long enough. I also think it is unfortunate that it ends at the same time as school for it seems that everything comes to a screeching halt and there is nothing to do, all of a sudden.

The dance recital for myself went well. I danced in 3 numbers. 2 Highland ones and a hiphop. I sure do love dancing, especially Highland. I have my own kilt, vest, blouse, socks and shoes. The kilt is not an authentic Scottish kilt but for $40 I am not going to complain. A kilt costs about $500. I look forward to another year in dancing but will limit myself to one class this time.

We are anxious to see the 3rd Star Wars movie, The Revenge of the Sith. A few of us have read a junior novel about it that tells pretty much the whole story. Alick amuses all of Drew's students with his ability to hum the theme song. We have discovered a few fun web sites that parallel Star Wars. Alick's fave. Dexter's fave. Drew's fave. Carter's and Hyrum's fave.

The garden is slow going this year. Although we do have a few plums for the first time on our plum tree and it looks as though we are going to have a lot of raspberries. There seems to be too many slugs this year. I had high hopes of a great bean tent for Hyrum. Carter lashed some 6 foot bamboo stakes together for me. Alick and I planted Scarlet Runner beans around the bottoms of the poles that we pushed into the garden. Only half of the plants have come up on one of the tents and they are quickly being eaten by the ugly slugs. I have been quite busy the last week and have neglected the garden. I have heard beer is good for drowning slugs. I will have to do something or we won't get anything out of the garden this season.

Ah the joys of summer on the Pacific Coast. The first day of summer, the weather gave us the official sign of summer, fog. It was foggy in the morning, sunny, warm and beautiful in the afternoon and cool and foggy in the evening. A typical summer day here on the North end of Vancouver Island.

Here is my weekend story……………

Dh had teachers union meetings down island and so all 6 of us left early Friday morning. The boys missed their soccer games but did not complain because they enjoy the trips to the big city. We had a good time shopping, watching TV and eating junk food. Saturday morning we watch more TV and at about 10 to noon I get a call from the front desk asking if we are going to check out. I say yes, soon. Ok she says check out is at noon. (DUH)

Well I go to brush my teeth and while I am doing this the boys are of course goofing off. #1 son locks #3 son out in the hallway. I go to break it up and find out the dead bolt is stuck. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA. What a joke. So I tell #3 to go to the front desk and tell them we are locked in the room. I get a call. She sounds sort of put off and I interrupt to say, Yup we are locked in the room. The dead bolt is stuck. She sends a lady with keys. No luck. The maintenance man comes. Nope. Still stuck. He hands me a screw driver through the small window opening which by the way #2 wanted to climb out of. I undo the screws for the dead bolt and he takes it apart. Nothing. So he squeezes through the window and takes the hinge pins out. He gets them out but the door won't budge. Finally we get out after an hour and a half of waiting. The M guy cut the dead bolt and piece by piece pulls it out of the hole in the door. We are free!

Oh yeah Ds#3 feasted on chicken fingers and fries in the resteraunt while we watched Even Stephans movie on TV. As I sat there watching TV I would think of #3 and giggle at the thought of him sitting there all by himself (he is 9) without any shoes on eating like a prince. And sure enough when we joined him he said he had fun. So we thanked Ds #1 for locking out his brother.

The hotel gave us a free lunch that would have cost me at least $40. And when I handed in my keys I told the front desk the toilet needs plunging. It flushes real slow.

Life is at an interesting stage,

Alick, the youngest at 4, and Carter, the oldest 13. As I look ahead to where life is going with older boys I am happy with the thought of biking and hiking and exploring with them and on my own without the extra appendage. Yet as I look back I see where we have come from I smile at the fun of having small ones underfoot learning and growing. It is a happy/sad feeling. Until now I haven’t really thought about me and the things I can do with others outside the home, for me. Yes life is busy and never dull but as the boys are aging and becoming less “needy” of mom’s constant attention it feels weird yet exciting.

We went away for a few days to meet up with my parents down in Parksville. It was a good time and I didn't miss the computer for we had a lot to do. We missed Drew for our visit carried over 2 school days and he could not join us. We swam everyday and went for a couple of walks on the beach. Alick is turning out to be a little fish and loves swimming. We bought him a new floatie suit that is like a little wet suit with floats on the front and back. We spent one day shopping and generally enjoyed the quiet time with Nana and Grampa.

Easter Sunday turned out good. We had dinner with friends and I worried the turkey was not going to be cooked. In the end it was great and only an hour behind schedule. You see DH usually cooks it and does it in one of those oven bags that cooks the turkey in less time. Well I asked Carter to come home from church and put it in the oven. I said it would be all ready you just have to put it int the oven. Well he saw the bag and thought, plastic bags don't go in the oven. I thought mom said it would be all ready for me to put in the oven. So he spent 5 minutes getting the bird ready to put in the oven, taking it out of the bag. (sigh) I had it timed so it would be ready for 5. I cooked it at a higher heat and like I said it was only and hour late.

Carter competed in a couple of Gymnastics competitions last month and the month before. He did well and found a new love for something new. At the Zone competition he earned 2^nd in rings, 3^rd in Floor and Vault, and 5^th in Pommel Horse and Low bar. At the Provincials he received 5^th in rings and floor, and 6^th in Pommel Horse. We attended the Provincial competition and Grandpa Wayne joined us for the day! I mixed up the times and so Drew and Wayne were unable to see Carter complete all of his events due to Drew’s eye appointment but all in all it was a great time together.

The long awaited soccer season has begun and will fill a lot of our Saturday mornings from now until the end of June. All 4 boys are playing and I am happy with the teams they will be playing on. I am often glad to have 2 parents in our family and especially during soccer season for Drew will gladly attend the boys home games leaving me free to travel when necessary to Port Hardy, Alert Bay or Sointula. I will need to make a few adjustments to our after school schedule. Hyrum and Dexter have practices Mondays and Wednesdays. Carter and Alick have practices Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is a good thing that back when we married a wonderful relative gave us a Crock pot because I think I will be using the Crock pot A LOT for our dinner meals! If you have a favourite meal that is cooked using the Crock pot, please share it with me.

The weather has been so unbelievabley warm and clear.....

I am feeling the itch to get gardening but I am having a hard time getting motivated to actually get out there and do it. We have been sick a lot this past month and I have enjoyed all the inside time. I have been a busy beaver in the last couple of weeks. I scrubbed the inside of the dishwasher (it was smelling bad when it was empty), cleaned out the fridge, organized the pantry, cleaned out a couple of cupboards in the kitchen, gutted out the front entrance (I only have a cupboard unit left to finish off this job), scrubbed the sliding glass door with a toothbrush (The water was black and I changed it at least 3 times :P), gave the bathroom a scrub (walls included), cleaned up the boys room, & did some in my room. I guess it is kind of nice to have sick children for it gave me an excuse to actually stay home long enough to get all these things done.

Spring break is soon upon us and I am ready to sleep in and go out for a few picnics at the beach, for soccer season will begin right after the break and where my head was I don't know for all 4 boys will be on 4 different teams this soccer season. Well I am sure it won't be too bad after all for we have great friends that I am sure will be open to doing some carpooling, I hope.

Another month in the home of the Neilsons

has turned out to be quite a busy one. But if you were to ask me what have you been up to I couldn't tell you anything new. Life with 4 boys just keeps on speeding along.

Mondays, are a day to recover from the weekend and put the house back in order. Alick often plays on the computer and has found a few favourite web sites. He is getting pretty good at navigating around the pbskids or lego sites by himself. Carter goes to Gymnastics afterschool. There is a compitition down island at the end of the month. He is practicing routines in three areas for it, the floor, the parallel bars and the rings. He is quite happy with himself for his new found abilities. I am happy he is trying something new and liking it. On this night Drew has Pipes practice and we try to fit Family Home Evening in.

Tuesdays are pretty quiet after school. The boys all go to Marilyn's for Terry Tuesday time. This time with Marilyn is filled with fun, movies, games, baking and a place to go and spend sometime with someone who loves them almost as much as I do. Drew and Carter go to Scouts on this day as well. This means I should be organized with supper for them to be there on time, which happens most of the time. I am hoping to get things going with a choir at the high school on this day at lunch. I have such fond memories of singing in high school. It is something you can do anytime, anywhere. Once you learn the words, you have a song with you always.

Wednesdays, Alick and I go to Storytime at the Library before lunch. Afterschool, Carter has gymnastics and twice a month Drew has Union meetings.

Thursdays are another busy day. Alick and I go to playgroup in the morning. Dexter and Hyrum have Cubs in the evening. For special occasions I go and do craft projects with them. After dropping them off at home I run off to dance class. This is my second year of Highland dance. I had the chance to dance with some other girls at the local Robby Burns dinner, Friday night. It was a wonderful opportunity to perform 2 dances that I have learned. :) Drew was very proud of me!

Friday is a time for the boys to play with their friends. Some evenings are very quiet when one or two of them go for a sleepover and other evenings are loud when someone is here. It is a good time for the boys and their buddies. I enjoy getting to know the boys' friends. It helps me to see that some of the quirky things they do are a part of the growing they do and it is nice to be reassured it's only a phase.

Weekends are weekends, with papers to deliver, cleaning to do, fun to play, stories to read, food to prepare, church to attend and events & activities to attend. In the winter weekends are pretty easy to manage. But come April, May and June they are going to be pretty busy for that is soccer season around here. (Not to mention Cub and Scout outings.) This may prove to be extra busy this year for 3 of the boys are going to play soccer. I know Alick would love it too. He has a natural ability with soccer balls. When he was 18 months he would roll all over the ball and give it a kick. The next season he would boot it and by the end of the season found he could drop kick it. I am wondering if I can juggle 4 boys playing soccer?! It is a mighty good thing there are 2 parents in our family!!!!!

I am enjoying the ages and stages the boys are at. For the most part they get along well together and help one another out. They are happy and healthy. But don't get me wrong all is not perfect. I have been sleeping in and the boys have been late for school too many times in the last few weeks. They do bicker and fight over little things, wrestle and argue, shout and lose their tempers. But there are times when we sit at the table and laugh and giggle or chase each other around the house to tickle or gather together for one big family "Flamy-as Alick says" hugs and it makes it all worth while.