I spent a while last week reading some of my older posts from the begining of last year, and realized I started out strong, taking time to smell the roses, but then I either got 1) lazy or 2)got too caught up in everything that I forgot to smell. So I am here to try again...

• my sister and her husband are expecting their first- this is so, so exciting for me! I have one sister and somehow I imagined we would have kids around the same time, but that is not meant to be. On one hand I was a bit sad, but on the other so exciting becuase I can be an auntie and love that baby to pieces, but don't have to be sore, fat or sleepless! Now, if they just lived closer...
• Andrew is becoming more and more difficult to keep entertained in the morning. This is the time of year full day kindergarten is extremely appealing, though I am still not a proponent. We spent one morning last week playing Ticket To Ride- he beat me soundly and legitimately. For those of you who understand the scoring: he completed 11 tickets, got 157 points alone from his tickets and had a total of 237 points. I was seriously the caboose with 6 tickets, and a total of 130 points. Go figure.
• We have a new cousin this week- Hadley Jane. Jamie and Heather had their first and did their part helping to even out the disproportionate number of Teuscher males in this world! Heather is a trooper and earns a gold star for her introduction to motherhood!
• We watched three little boys this weekend while their mom was in the hospital having their fourth boy ( yes another kindred spirit). I wish I had my camera out when their dad came to pick them up and told them baby brother was at home. Their sweet faces were priceless, so excited and already full of love for a new brother! Maybe I got a little emotional remembering the look of my own boys faces as they peeked their heads around the door at the hosptial waiting in anticiaption for the first glimpse of their new brother- priceless moments!
• Brandon slipped down the stairs and sprained his shoulder and wrist- I'm grateful we have comprehensive medical insurance we like (can't say that is going to be the case forever with the current political leaders :-) ) so we better enjoy it now!

Lessons from Lot and Abraham

I have had a great desire to study and really learn from the Old Testament this year. It has never seemed to captivate me, but I believe it primarily stems from my own lack of desire than anything else! Many know that my kids don't watch much if any TV, and so I have had to come to a new level of acceptance in this situation. Curious George is my babysitter, and for that I am grateful for DVR. Zach doesn't nap, so George fills in for a bit.

Here are two thoughts to ponder:
1) This was posed to us by one of the GD teachers, who was sharing a comment his wife made (thanks Jennie) As we look at Lot we first find him pitching his tent towards Sodom, later on he is actually living in Sodom. When commanded to leave he takes only his wife and two daughters, the other children and members of his family won't leave. How do our actions, desires and priorities affect our chidren in the short term and long? Lots choice to live near Sodom didn't seem to have a huge impact at first, but then as the enticements of the city beckoned them closer and closer, until they were in the city. At this point his children are in the thick of it. And when commanded to leave they won't. So, what are your children learning from YOU? how are your thoughts, actions, attitudes going to affect your children in the future?

2) Look at the realities of Abraham and Isaac- Abraham was OLD. Besides the symbolic nature of Isaac carrying the wood, could Abraham have realistically carried all the wood up the mountain after traveling for so many days? Isaac was in his prime- healthy and strong. Isaac could have easily said I am not laying down on this altar, and physically he could have overcome Abraham and walked down the mountain. But he didn't. He ALLOWED his father to bind him to the altar. So this begs the following question in my mind- How had Abraham and Sarah taught him? I'm sure in the course of the conversation between Abraham and Isaac, Abraham told Isaac he had been commanded by the Lord to do this. Isaac had to have be taught well, have a firm testimony and have great faith in his father and the Lord. What am I doing to teach my children to have great faith and believe in God? Am I teaching them what they need to know to build that testimony? Will they recognize and be obedient to those things, whatever it may be, that come from the Lord?

Anyway a little food for thought.

I have also been reading the book Women of the Old Testament by Camille Olson- a great book if you are interested in another perspective of these Old Testament stories we study.

January

We celebrated Brian's birthday with as much fanfare that could be had on a Sunday! We were just happy to have him home for the afternoon. One of the presents he got was new phones for the house. Our old phones didn't have a mute or speakerphone on them and there have been numerous times he has wanted to take conference calls which are later in the afternoon/early evening at home. Some of you bright minds out there might be asking yourself why doesn't he use his cell? Those bright minds have never tried to use their cell phones at our house- we live in the ultimate black hole of cell phone coverage. Yes I know we should be in the digital age, but it like the Flinstones around here.... anyway, one of the phones the set came with was a rugged water proof phone which is neon green ( all of the boys new favorite one). Brandon remarks, "That's great dad, you can take your calls in the bathtub now!" Note to all those who do call the house, just don't ask where Brian is when you are talking to him!

We love him- he is a great dad, father, husband and friend. His ability to keep things straight and take care of everything that is on his plate right now amazes me!

A sidenote: I've come to a new conclusion on why we have been counseled to have dinner as a family- because that is when the boys see him, and then he's off again. FHE is another inspired program, besides teaching our children and stregthening our family ties we can count on Brian being home on Monday night!

PINEWOOD DERBY:

The two cars from the Teuschers this year: The Tornado- Matthew (top); The Predator- Brandon (bottom)

The best part of this picture is Andrew in the background- willing with all his might Brandon's car down the track. Andrew is the third boy from the left on the first row of chairs. Brandon's car is winning in the bottom of the picture.

The boys did well with their cars this year. It's taken a few years to learn how to make a car that will race well. Matthew got 1st place in the Wolf Den this year. Zach is the lucky one being at the end- his cars will be flying down the track. We are a quarter of the way through Pinewood Derby cars- 4 down 8 to go.

Grandma Teuscher even sent Pinewood Derby neckerchiefs- a fun addition to the afternoon.

Really?... Why?

Really, Zach... of all the laundry baskets why did you have to pick that one? Why couldn't it have been the darks or the lights, but the socks?

I know, seeing 60+ socks all over the stairs is much more exciting than 10-12 shirts or pants. And I'm sure seeing them fly through the air was just delightful.

(ps Ihave no idea where I was during this whole escapade, you would think I would have heard something!)

Sunday thoughts

The boys are down watching Olympics and it is slightly quieter in the house than is typical. We have enjoyed watching the boys watching the Olympics. I remember four years ago their excitement in being introduced to the sport of short track speed skating. They found an alternate use for their big soccer socks- speed skating down our "track" from the front door to the back- it is long and tiled. While still captivated by short track three new sports have made their way into the house this time around: bobsled, luge and curling. Bobsled and Luge thankfully made their debut while we were sledding two weeks ago and have remained in the snow, but curling might be around for awhile. I can't even describe their ingenuity in how they accomplish curling, but the roller blades are used on their hands and feet to simulate the sliding action across the ice or tile in our case. I'll have to try and get some pictures...

I love how a world of possibilites and dreams are awakened in them while they watch. Andrew can't sit still and is always about three feet away from the TV completely mesmerized by what he is watching. Matthew yells the loudest and Brandon gets so nervous for some of the US competitors he can barely watch! Zach just repeats what everyone else is saying- we crack up at his attempts at copying names of people. He just wants to be a part of it all.

A few other happenings:

We got a new oven and I am loving cooking in it- I'm not great at convection cooking yet, but I am qickly becoming a fan.

Andrew has decided that writing his name isn't good enough- he needs to include perfecting my name as well. I guess this is where the beginings of forgery come into play. Parents need to sign the homework each night, and lately when I go to sign my name, steph, is already written. On the bright side, at least it is neat!

I know this is totally obnoxious....but at least the boys toilet gets flushed very regularly...and suprisingly has cut down on the mess around the toilet.

Andrew was awarded Student of the Month for January. He is in afternoon Kindergarten so he is never at school for flag in the morning, so he was a little nervous as to what to do. His teacher wrote about him: He is eager to learn and works hard to achieve his goals. Andrew is enthusiastic and enjoys sharing his ideas. He is a good listener and sets a good example for others. -- we laughed about the statement "enjoys sharing his ideas". That must be teacher-speak for he really likes to talk! Andrew is never at a loss for words, he loves and loves to share his thoughts. Even when he says the prayers-- he is the one on a morning you are running late you really don't want praying, he goes on and on and on.

We've had a few fun adventures, when I get another few minutes or ten or twenty I'll sit down again...

A few things I've learned this year...

1. Matthew's teacher actually had to talk to him about following the rules; he decided to wear the little wrap-around sunglasses you get from the optomitrist after your eyes are dialated, in class. Which MIGHT be understandable if he had just had his eyes dialated, but this was two days after the fact! Sometimes it is nice to see a hint of rule bending in him.

2. Apparently the kids had "intimate" weather schedule at school this week! Hmmm...that might be something interesting. I laughed all the way home when Matthew mispronounced inclement as intimate!

3. Tornado's can happen in AZ. We were under a tornado watch/warning (whatever it was called) the other night with all the rain.

4. We are actually getting climatized to this desert weather. I hate to admit this, but after three days of clouds, I was ready for the sun to be out.

5. I'm alive. Yes, you read that right. I called the insurance company to figure out a claim and the gentleman I was speaking with starts laughing hysterically. I was a little taken aback, but when I found out why he was laughing, I laughed the rest of the morning. The reason the insurance company wouldn't pay the claim was due to the diagnoisis code which was: unknown causes due to morbidity or mortality. So the gentleman laughed because here he was talking to someone who apparently was "dead".

December

December brought the usual amount of pure joy, excitement and craziness. The smiles on the kids faces as they were off in dreamland wondering what Santa would bring them. Making wish lists so long that we had to try and pare them down to three-five items which they thought was pure torture. The fresh smell of pine as you walk into the house ( we have yet to cave to the artificial tree). Trying to get all the school reports and projects done before the end of the term. Attending choir and orchestra concerts. Enjoying the myriad plates of goodies that were dropped off at the door.... the list goes on and on for all of us. The whirlwind of activities is part of the excitement of the month and the season, but sometimes even when trying to cut back and enjoy the real reason of the celebration, it still gets a little blurred.

Matthew had his eighth birthdy a week before Christmas. And as the calendar fell this year, his baptism was the following day. Our stake does baptisms on the third Saturday. As many of you know in our church children are baptized when they are eight, not at birth. At first when I realized we would be doing birthday celebrations, baptism and Christmas with Grandparents coming to visit it would be absolutely nuts. As I look back it was one of the most special Christmas' we could have had. There was a peace and a calm in our home. We were able to witness Matthew's baptism and reflect on our own testimonies of the gospel, realizing the great gift we have been given through the birth of our Savior and his atoning sacrifice. Also, as I read many Christmas cards and looked at our own family I was struck again at the tender mercies the Lord has blessed us with. I was again grateful for the hand of the Lord in our lives, as well as our family and friends. Even though we are all faced with different trials, the Savior states his hand will always be outstretched and how thankful I am for that. The real meaning of Christmas was felt in our home and was not lost- that was a real gift for me.

Of course, we enjoyed Christmas morning. Matthew said he woke up at 4 am and couldn't go back to sleep, oh the magic of Christmas morning! My parents stayed for Christmas so we enjoyed having them with us

A few of the other highlights of the month:

- Visiting the Air and Space Musuem in Tucson and seeing a Blackbird, B-29 and B-52 and, then on the way home driving through a dust storm that forced us to pull over to the side of the road and wait for half an hour. This experience is worthy of its own post- let's just say this was a real life application of listening to the spirit and in the end everyone is safe.

- Eating pizza while listening to a Wurlitzer Organ- glossy jet black wth gilded gold- quite a sight and played by a masterful organist!

- taking the kids skiing- the only thing we have found that makes our kids sleep in past the sunrise!

This is Matthew trying to snowboard on the sled.

Brandon and Matthew

Zach fell asleep

Andrew cruising down the mountain

Zach finally decides snow isn't so bad and spends the entire time trying to eat it!

I had to put these next two pictures in because they were so funny ( plus I forgot to put the Halloween one in an earlier post)

Andrew decided I was taking way too long to put up the Christmas decorations, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.... Although I was a bit displeased he did this himself, I am impressed he got all the houses up, plugged in and working.

This is for all of you who wonder what life is like having boys... you try and put up some sort of holiday decoration (or any decoration for that matter)and it just turns into a new play place for legos and army men and it makes you say Why??? :) I love my boys!!!

November

Saturday's thruought the fall found us at the Soccer Complex. We have a standing rule in the house that the kids can't play organized sports until they are in Kindergarten... which means this year Andrew got to play as well. Some Saturday's were v.e.r.y. l.o.n.g. and some v.e.r.y.h.o.t. but by November the temps were perfect and we enjoyed watching the boys. Andrew had played enough backyard ball with Brandon and Matthew to be quite a dominating little player. Brian coached Matthew's team, which ended up having quite a few kids from church and the boys school on the team which made it fun. Brandon had one of those "character building"season's as his team won a total of two games all season.

The boys begged Brian to allow them to take apart the old printer. Hmmmmm..... this is yet another instance where I see the Teuscher gene coming out in them.

Brandon just finished a unit on the Anazasi people in History so we took a day trip to visit Casa Grande. It is one of the largest prehistoric structures ever built in North America, and its purpose remains a mystery. There is something about being able to visually see things that you learn about in school. As I side note-- I wish schools would take more field trips! I know, I know... it all boils down to money.

A number of Brandon's games this year were played on Friday night. They really enjoyed playing "under the lights" We were just glad that some Saturday's weren't as long.

We went to San Diego for Thanksgiving. Eric and Emily came out to do Blake's blessing there insead of in NY. Zachary was glued to him. He was absolutly captivated by him. All we heard was "Baby Bake" the entire weekend. There was a house full- Eric and Emily, Jamie and Heather, Nathan and Karen Ryan and Cassidy, Dawn, Laurel and all of us... We got the dining room for our sleeping quarters. Brian commented that you've got to be pregnant, have a new baby, or be the first ones at mom and dad's house to get a bed- none of which we qualified for. The dining room table got moved, lest you think we had a fort under the table for our bed. Which come to think of the boys would have thought it quite the sleeping arrangement. All in all we had a wonderful time. Karen has some good pictures on her blog of all the boys and the various types of turkeys we ate. (She always has the best action/candid shots out of all of us!)

Thanksgiving morning soccer game.

We toured the USS Midway while we were in San Diego. I was amazed as we walked through with the amount of wire/cabling that was strung overhead. I don't know how people who are stationed on aircraft carriers don't get claustrophobic. The hallways are so narrow and the ceilings low. The first picture is taken in the room where the "nerve center" of the Navy's operations in the first Desert Storm took place.

October....

Halloween brought the following characters to our house:

Brandon The Vampire

Matthew The FBI Agent

Andrew The Vampire

And Zach the black haired Yoda... we could not get him to dress up as anything for most of the evening. Somehow Dawn convinced him to finally hold a light saber and put on a costume. The recurring theme of all the boys was the hair. They all wanted black hair...even Zach. He refused to put something on, but wanted his hair done like the others.Typical.

During Fall Break the boys made this table. We couldn't find enough work goggles so Matthew just put on his swim goggles. It was a few days project which was nice.

We headed to the corn maze- once again the camera on the phone and display screen on the camera saved us. They can only handle so long and once it gets dark we are done for! Brian is a great naviagtor and can figure our way out of most of the loops- we are always glad he is with us.

Zach turned two. Enough said. We can end all posts here and can sum up our last three months
with those three words. Zachary turned two. I really have never had a child like him. I am literally and soundly beat by the end of the day. Everyday. I think his temperment paired with the other three have really given me a run for my money. I know I am strong, I can do hard things, but the last three months I feel I am slowly being hammered into the ground. I know everything has its season, but I wish I knew where we were in this season- beginning, middle ( I know we aren't at the end- so I won't even mention it!) We love him dearly- he is vivacious, inquisitive, loves to snuggle, and has the most charming eyes, but he is a rascal!

A two-year old is kind of like having a blender, but you don't have a top for it. - Seinfeld


I was never a huge Seinfeld follower, but do admit he had some great one-liners.