Pass Along Some Love

there's a pretty good chance that some of you don't know that our little man cabes will be having surgery on the 30th. he has a hernia, next week i'll explain more about that, and will have the most common childhood surgical procedure performed. he has to have it, and the only real worry that i have is with the anesthesia. i'm certain that all will be well, but for now i get to worry. he will not have to stay the night, and the chance of side effects are very small. that is all for now.

History and Me!

so no new pic's of the little darlings this week as my camera consumes vast quantities of batteries, and i have run out. i thought i might take a moment and just write. in the past few weeks we have had a recurring theme: history. as we have been to different doctors e.g. pediatrician, pediatric surgeon, dentist, ob/gyn, general, i have repeatedly filled out forms relating my and my families medical histories. a bit redundant, but i know useful. i find history fascinating, even history of you and your body. it's like a little story and with each past situation related one finds out more about why a person is and how that person became. i love history of just about anything, although i doubt i would search out the history of such things as golf or hockey on my own. history is what intrigues me most often about the book of mormon, possibly not the best drive, but it gets me reading, and searching. if i could choose i would want most of my important belongings to have a previous history or come with a story that's certain to be worthy of my passing it on. i would love to have a vintage wedding ring (it's ok, glenn knows), a home that's old with walls that hold scraps of paper from many decades ago (but a.c., and plumbing), quality clothes from the past (the good past), rooms filled with beautiful books of art and people and well, history, that have been previously loved, and pictures of ancestors, with their histories. alas, i have not been gung ho on doing geneology on my own, but it's bubbling under the surface of all that laundry i must do. so, a bit of info on me, and quite possibly the next time i run out of batteries i'll just write again. this was nice.

Our Week of the Weak

This past week sickness has run rampant through our home. Toran was out for about 6 days, and has a "wellness check" tomorrow. Haven got the crud on Thursday, and the Dr. says it's just an upper respiratory infection, but that she'll be sick for about 10 days. Caleb has a yucky cough, and hopefully that's it. The boys are posing with their fave Easter presents, and Haven is wearing a bday dress from nana and papa!

Fun Toes

Ciela wanted to do some toe painting with a friend and so I painted some designs for her and her friend, by using a great book of ideas. Caleb, of course wanted his toes painted too, so Glenn painted Thomas and Duncan the trains. Caleb loves his toes!

Thanks Nana and Papa!

Nana and Papa sent this beautiful dress for Christmas, and Haven wore it then, but of course we were running late to church-Christy Standard Time-so no pic's before, and during the last minute of Relief Society Haven had a HUGE blowout, and left church wearing cousin Abel's pj's-Thanks Aunt Lizzie! So, now the dress is ready for our pretty Easter princess, and finally some pictures!

Hurry Up, Easter's Comin'! And So Is Haven!

We decorated eggs 3 different ways: tie-dye (messy and not worth it), glitter (totally ridiculous, the glitter won't stick), and sponge-paint (awesome, although best if you don't follow the directions). Everyone had fun, except for Haven. We set up a barrier of benches and within a very short 2 or 3 minutes Haven was suddenly over the "wall". So, Glenny put her back, and we got the cameras out. She climbed up and over the bench, swung her legs around, and walked about 8 steps before tumbling! I have now relinquished all hope of not having a new "monkey" in our home. Good thing she's cute!

Happy Snowy Easter!

Here are the little peoples happy for Easter, and check out what's left of the snow from the previous night's snowfall.

Funny Bunny

Ciela wrote a short story for school before Easter, it is so cute.

"How Bunnies Got Their Long Ears"

Hey! Do you want to here why bunnies got their long ears? Well, this is why. A long time ago bunnies only had short ears (short was adorable at this time). Bunnies were in every corner of a nice village until winter came. There was never a winter so cold and windy in this village. There were no children running and playing in the snow. And there, bunnies were cold and scared in their dens. They wouldn't be able to hear foxes come near their dens to eat them. Then, there was a rumble and dirt fell on the bunnies, and then they had a good idea! All the bunnies pulled on their ears until they were long. They popped out of their dens ans whacked the fox with their ears! Well, that's how bunnies got their long ears.

Special Pals

................in our family we've set up a special buddy system: ciela is with caleb and toran is with haven. that way there is a big kid with a little person, and the help is usually helpful. so far the system is working, and toran loves getting to be haven's special person, sometimes a little too much, but he knows how to get her too laugh more than anyone!

Aren't You Glad We Have Oranges?

i think haven loves oranges more than any other food. she chews all of it, including the rind, and won't quit until you give her a new one, or remove the queen of messiness from her chair. caleb also is a big lover of oranges, and shows you just what he thinks!

Family-1 Squirrels-4

for fhe last week toran wanted to make bird feeders, so he and cabes gathered up some pinecones, and we went to the store to pick up some cheap peanut butter (i'm not sharing the good stuff with animals) and bird seed. we rolled the pinecones in the p.b. and had to mention several times to caleb not to eat it as now the p.b. was dirty from the dirt on the pinecone. after making the bird feeders, glenn hung them up in the some trees out in the yard. the next, day we all watched for the birds to come, but none came. the following day, while playing outside i noticed these little strings hanging without any birdfeeders. darn squirrels! now the squirrels are scouting around all over for more treats. ciela and toran sprinkled bird seed over the whole yard, and so there now are plenty for the squirrels! this is a good time to mention that while i am very grateful to have a digital camera, i cannot get it to do what i want, even with the aid of the fixing abilities from mac. that string that is mimicking a branch is what i am trying to show you!

Outdoor Girl

haven loves being outside! if you say "outside" or open the door she gets all excited and squeals. glenn took her outside and put her in the wagon, which was filled with balls and other outdoor goodies like tree limbs and dirt from the boys adventures, so haven began to put it all in her mouth, and especially loved a little orange golf ball. after awhile she tossed it aside for the frisbee, and was being pulled around the yard, when suddenly she spied the golf ball and dove forward almost falling out of the wagon to get it back.

Trailor Boys

caleb and toran decided to hitch up the wagon to caleb's bike using one of toran's magnificent ziptie's. the plan atleast stopped the arguing over who got to pull the wagon into who got to ride in the wagon!

The "Taylor Hello"

Glenn has a buddy from school named John Taylor, and he and his wife Sara teach Caleb for Sunbeams. Glenn taught Cabers how to say hello the same way that John says hi to all little kids. Caleb loves to do this uber-cheesy move, and it makes us all laugh, especially when he kind of winks, and giggles. This other shot has Caleb, the model, aka Zoolander. We love our CALEB!

Reflections

Ciela had to enter the annual Reflections Contest as part of her Gifted Program class, although she was not excited about it. She ended up being a finalist and just recently went to a little awards party for her and the other particioants. The theme for the contest this year was "The Perfect Place", and CIela drew herself alone on a beach with plenty of books to keep her busy.

Vacuum On-Demand

Haven had just recently finished lunch, and while I was prepping for dinner she was playing on the floor. Then she found a ziplock bag, brought home from Toran, and proceeded to crawl around and pick up cheese, peas and bread and place them in her little bag. Then she sat down after a few minutes and started to enjoy her freshly gathered snack. That's when I retrieved the bag!

We have had some progression in our home over the last couple of weeks. Ciela tested for her green stripe and made it. As part of her test she had to break a board, which she did! She was so excited and has already earned her first tip in the new belt level for mastering her "form" (choreagraphed steps that involve kicks, blocks and punches). Toran just earned his 4th tip and in doing so was moved up a new belt level (the younger classes don't have to test in order to proceed to the next level). He has found renewed joy in Tae Kwon Do, and thinks he'll keep up with it for a little while longer. And our little princess Haven turned 1, which she celebrated by enjoying ice cream for the first time, tentatively at the start, but then with gusto emergd as a true member of the Ashworth family! Glenn completed some finals and midterms and we are beginning a week of no school for him YEAH!!! Although as the house taskmaster, i have lists of things to accomplish with the aid of my handy man. We received a taste of spring here for 3 days. All of the snow melted, and we saw the grass for the first time since early january, but of course a new storm arrived bringing with it 4 inches of new snow, and so we see how spring will be here in the wonderous buffalo area. The snow is a lot better than the nasty mud that we had on our 3 "warm" days. Love to all, and off i go!

So, I'm actually updating here. Quite shocking to some, and to others hmm... they've already deleted this spot from their list. And this time around I'm doing all the work, not Glenn, so this update might take several days (code for weeks) to complete the way I'm hoping. Here's what's been happening around here:
Ciela has been literally kicking it at tae kwon do. She will be testing for a new belt level tomorrow and is super excited. She is doing great at school and loves Achievement Day Girl activities. She does not like the snow, and has asked that we move to somewhere that doesn't snow. I have reminded her of the whole arizona-thing with the whole roach-thing.
Toran, man. What can I say about the #1 boy? He is adored at school, his teacher can't get enough of his sweet little way he talks. He is also moving along in tae kwon do, although is a bit wiggly. Toran really likes the snow, but misses being able to make snowmen. The snow here is so weird!
And little Caleb. Oh, this funny boy has grown up so much in the last few months! He really loves preschool, and just had his fourth birthday bash with a few buddies. Cabers IS the snow man. That boy will play in the snow naked without gloves, if you aren't watching.
Then, we have princess Haven. She LOVES to crawl, and does so everywhere. She stands and has taken a few steps to get to the couch from the ottoman, but she doesn't want to walk out in the open for anyone. Haven has crawled up a few stairs and her fave thing is when daddy comes home! No matter where she is, if she can here his voice she books it towards the voice with this funny little shirt grab and kinda rolls her hands around. She loves daddy!
Well, that's it for now! Off I go!

Haven grows up!

Haven's first real swing ride. Of course, she was heavily padded to keep her from flopping around. And she wasn't exactly pumping her legs or even holding on. It's just that she is 6 months old now -- it goes by too quickly.