raising heller

well we had every intention of going to spokane for christmas but due to unforseen crazy snow weather, we were unable to go. that means that we spent all of christmas 2008 just our little family. it was actually kind of nice but we did miss having our family around. the kids were nice and woke up about 7:15 and were opening presents by 7:30. we didn’t leave the house all day. we played games, did crafts (well lily did crafts) read books and watched movies. i made french dips and sweet potatoes (actually yams) for dinner and ate a costco pumpkin pie for dessert. besides the occasional whining from too much candy, it was a pretty nice christmas.

this was the only nice picture we got of asher today. the kid is impossible to photograph. almost every picture we take of him is blurry because he is constantly moving. i love the big ol’ drool hanging off his chin. we keep debating cutting his hair a little. it is amazingly long. you can’t really tell here but when it is wet it is sooo long. what do you think we should do?

lily and jackson were so cute when they got up this morning. they were so excited but not too over eager, though i did finally have to get steven up because asher was ripping the paper.

jackson playing with asher’s little tykes guitar (for anyone looking for a toy guitar, this one is really good. both of the boys really like it) . i thought this picture was so cute of him. steven taught him how to hold a guitar and now he is so into it. i like that he holds it left handed.

ok, so last saturday we had a mini christmas with my mom because they were going to be out of town on christmas. the kids got to open their presents(from them), we ate pizza, had cake and a real good time (i realize this might sound sarcastic but it really isn’t.) also, i gave steven his present because it was a new lens for our camera that i knew he would want to figure out before the actual day.

asher waiting patiently for me to untie a smurf. don’t you hate how they package some of those things? i mean my hands were all but bleeding by the time i finished undoing the 100 twist ties holding it to the packaging.

here he is finally getting it out. this was actually lily’s toy but this kid LOVES stuffed animals.

me helping to get things organized. it is amazing what a mess christmas can cause.

jackson got a spiderman costume and beanie and has worn them everyday since.

steven and his beard. i know some people hate beards but i don’t actually mind it. i just don’t want him to become a beard guy, you know, the guy that no one can recognize without it.

lily posing in her leotard and tutu. i will have to take a picture of the whole thing, she loves it!

so let me start off by saying that potty training is not an easy task in the heller household. when lily was three her favorite thing to say was, “mom, i am going wear diapers forever!” now that jack is three i realize that i should be trying to potty training him but i really don’t want to deal with it. is there someone who likes to do it that can come over and do it for me? i have tried a couple of times to have him wear underware and try it out andme was successful, thus the picture above, but the other time he cried for an hour asking for his diaper. i was so excited that he actually went pee pee on the potty that i had to document it. does anyone have any advice?

this is how i found him the other day. i thought it was so funny that he kept his boots (sorry the picture doesn’t show the shoes) and tie on but took everything else off. i tried to get him to atleast put a shirt on but he refused. i am sure that he knew that he couldn’t have looked cuter!

you probably can’t see the box they are in but they had such a great time in it this morning. jackson slept in today so lily and ash were able to play together and the box was where they decided to play. i can’t tell you how many boxes have been worn out in this house by my children. it was kind of dark so the pictures were a little washed out but i really liked them anyways. it made seemed to make their eyes stand out more than normal.

if i was able to write well, this is what i would intend on writing. isn’t she awesome? i love her harmonies, they oddly make me cry. is that weird?

last night i decided to take dinner to steven at work because he has been coming home late this week and he has not seen the kids. well i went to burger king to pick up some chicken tenders for the kids and some food for steven and i. well we had a good time eating dinner at his office and then came home read some books and got ready for bed. the kids went to bed great and then steven came home. at about 11 we heard jackson screaming like crazy. i ran up there and found throw up all over (and i mean ALL OVER) his bed. we gave him a bath and threw his bedding in the wash and put him back to bed feeling fine. about twenty minute later we heard asher crying and sure enough, he had thown up all over his bed. after getting him all cleaned up he was feeling better and we quickly put him back to bed.

well this morning everyone feels fine. i have to think that the food they ate some bad food. all night i kept waiting for lily to wake up and throw up as well. needless to say it was a sleepless night. fortunately lily never got sick. do you think it was food poisoning? everything was so sudden and they feel fine now. i mean what are the odds that they both throw up 20 minutes from eachother without any warning? how bazaar!

have you ever seen such a face someone not even 2? he was jumping around on the couch and along with his laughing and having a grand old time, steven caught this face with the camera. steven thought he looked like a little vampire, of course we had just finished watching interview with a vampire. i love this crazy man!!!

so for the last couple of days lily has been sick and last night her fever was 105.2 (crazy right?) well i called the doctors and they said we needed to take her to the childrens hospital of seattle emergency room. well i have to admit that i am not the best at situations like this. i can’t help but think the worse which makes me a little emotional when i need to be strong. thankfully steven was home and he gladly to her to the hospital. they were at the hospital for like 4 or 5 hours (they didn’t get home until 2am) and all i can say is that i am grateful for my husband. he sat there with her without a complaint, held her hand and was strong for her. thank you steven for being such an amazing dad to our children and sacrificing your sleep even though you are at work 12 hours a day.

well i really wish this picture was bigger because it is awesome! i have to say that i saw twilight for the second time and i loved it this time. i think the first time i saw it i was so super worried that it would be bad that i couldn’t enjoy it as much as i did the second time. steven went to see it with me and he actually thought it was ok and that he would definitely see the second one (this is more than i could ask from him, since he couldn’t even get through the first 100 pages of the book. too many long gazes for him to take.)

so for those of you who had a hard time the first go around see it again!! if you live by me and don’t have anyone to see it with, i will suffer through another time!

i wanted to say happy thanks giving from our family to all that read this. i am going to list some of the things that i am grateful for at the bottom of this post so sorry for the length of it. lily had her thanksgiving program at preschool today. some of them dressed up as pilgrims and some as native americans (i wanted to say indians but i thought i would be politically correct.) obviously lily was a pilgrim and have you ever seen such a cute pilgrim before?

50 things i am grateful for
1. heavenly father & jesus christ

2. my husband
3. lily
4. jackson
5. asher
6. parents and inlaws
7. friends
8. love
9. the temple
10. a house to live in
11. my dogs
12. being healthy (minus the common cold)
13. my family being healthy
14. a good book
15. long phone conversations
16. puzzles (my kids love them)
17. the rain (we see a lot of it) after weeks of really hot weather
18. the sun after months of rain
19. lily and jack singing
20. steven playing the guitar
21. writing songs with steven (we have been recording lately so maybe you will hear them soon)
22. lily and jack don’t wake me up in the morning they go immediately downstairs and read
23. sleeping in
24. a good kiss
24. pancake mix (without which i wouldn’t be able to make a pancake)
25. coke (i had to put it)
26. indian food (no matter how expensive it is)
27. crockpot (it makes cooking so easy)
28. music (helping me through many hard times)
29. learning new things (i never thought i would miss being in school)
30. steven going back to school
31. playgrounds in the mall
32. the kid drop off at the grocery store (you have an hour to shop by yourself)
33. steven doing the dishes without asking him to
34. bandaides (why do they make everything better?)
35. the library (without which i would spend a ridiculous amount of money on books)
36. blogging (it keeps me connected to my friends i never get to see)
37. forgiveness
38. understanding
39. trust
40. that the elections are over (i mean, who wants to see another election commercial?)
41. long silent drives (usually involves sleeping children)
42. that i am still connected to my friends even though i don’t ever see them (thank you phones)
43. iphone (thank you steven)
44. a good movie that you want to watch over and over (i think twilight might fit the bill)
45. the laughter of my children
46. their smiles
47. their unconditional love
48. steven always lets me lay on the big couch (even though his feet hang over the one he’s on)
49. he gets me things when i don’t want to get up
50. his unconditional love

wow, it is harder than i thought to stop at 50. i have so much more i am grateful for. i have such an amazing family and wonderful friends. things definitely go wrong but so much more goes right. heavenly father blesses me every day and i just hope that i will always be able to recognize that. writing it all down every so often definitely helps. i have so many great examples around me and i wanted to thank each and every one of you for everything you teach me by just being who you are. thank you and i love you all!