Esther P. Meets the Whirling Dirvish

My sister Joyce came up this weekend to help me paint. I have a ton to do and it's an overwhelming task when I can only do it at night when both of the kids are asleep. So here is a dramatization of what happened:

There it was.... that knock again. Esther caught her breath. Could it be? Was it really her.... "The Whirling Dirvish?" I must be, who else would be here at this time of day? and that knock. It was a reasuring, steady kind of knock. She strode anxiously to the door and pulled it open.
There, standing on the step with a smile on her face, was the great one herself. The Whirling Dirvish. (whom we will hereafter referred to as Dirv.)
With a happy little yelp, Esther welcomed her in smiling and happy she observed her visitor's obviously thinning frame and. Her smile slightly dimmed as she reflected that this amazingly active person had recently confessed to a less than adequate diet of late. A lack of funds being the culprit to her misfortune. Esther resolved to feed her as best she could while Dirv was there.
"We must do our best to plump this girl up!" She thought, and immediately began to plan a menu for the weekend worthy of a Whirling Dirv. Out loud she exclaimed:
"I'm so glad you came! We are going to have such fun!" They embraced and immediately began to catch up. Esther beamed over her two rambunctious children as Dirv played happily with them. Clare had immediately warmed up to her Aunt and was explaining that she had a number of pretty dresses in her closet and that princesses were some of her favorite things. Suddenly Esther exclaimed "We need to go! We have a volleyball match in a half hour!"
Immediately the Dirv kicked into action, getting the children ready while Esther prepared herself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for the big game. After all, the LDS Regional Volleyball loser's bracket title was at stake and she did not want to be responsible for the fall of the Tremonton South Stake team.
Once all was ready, they had only to wait for the return of Esther's handsome and dashing husband, David. In he walked, looking tired yet hunky and immediately busied himself changing clothes and shoes so that they could kick some serious butt in their volleyball game.
The church cultural hall was all abuzz as teams prepared themselves to have a spiritual yet good and competitive time. The Dirv again stepped up to the challenge and began chasing down an active Clare while holding Hyrum in her arms. David and Esther began their game. It was a hard and gruelling task. David bumped and set and spiked the ball while Esther, with the rest of the team cheered him on. Yet, in the end, all of his efforts were not enough and the South Tremonton Stake succombed to the superior skills of the other team. Perhaps next year they will claim the championship and the really nifty t-shirts that the winners get.

David, Esther, and The Dirv retreated back home tired and sober to lick their wounds and prepare for the day ahead. The next day, Saturday, loomed bright and clear. A promise of the productive day it would be.
"Well!" Said The Dirv. "Where are we going to start?"
Esther thought for a moment then said. "Well, I would like to get the family room downstairs painted and just a few other things."
Enough said. The Dirv lept into action. First filling holes in the green room and then cleaning it. She then moved to the kitchen light fixture where she scrubbed fan blades, cleaned bulbs, and those bulb cover thingies that are decorative. (sorry, the real name escapes me at the moment.)
After that task was complete she primed the family room walls, ate lunch while that dried, and then began the arduous task of painting. After one coat was done they retired to the back yard where they started a bon fire in their newly acquired fire pit. As they relaxed and sang by the fire, they roasted hot dogs and drank hot chocolate.
Soon it was time for the children to go to bed, and after tucking the little ones in. The Dirv began her tireless efforts once again. She and Esther put a second coat on the family room, singing Christmas carols and Primary songs while they worked. Finally, it was done. Both girls sat in the room and gaped at the awe inspiring change which had taken place by a simple coat of paint. Tears came to their eyes and the looked at each other, lips trembling. They didn't have to say anything, they both knew what the other was thinking......"If only we could get rid of this gosh-awefull ugly carpet, then it would look really good!"
Sunday, as always in the Palmer household was busy, yet it didn't seem so crazy, with the Dirvish their. It was time for her to go. After dinner, they saddly watched her pack her things and get ready to depart. They would miss their Whirling Dirvish, yet, in their hearts they knew they would meet again. Perhaps another time, in that big family room in Crane, Oregon.
We will always be gratefully for the hard work and tireless efforts of the Whirling Dirvish and dedicate this story.....To her.

Bonding Time

This weekend felt incredibly short. We were all so busy that it went by fast. Friday night we decided that we needed to get the kids out of the house so we went to McDonalds so Clare could play on the indoor playplace. It was so cold last week that we didn't get outside much. She had a blast running though tunnels and going down slides, till she got to the very top and was to scared to go down the big twirly slides. Daddy had to squeeze himself through all of the little kid tunnels to get her. It was pretty funny.

Saturday morning was our co-ed regional volleyball tournament. It started at 8:30 so we got a babysitter to watch the kids thinking that it would only be a couple of hours. Well, we won our first game. Lost the second, and then won the third. We got second place in regional play which means we move on to area play in Brigham City. We were there until 2:00 in the afternoon! Midway through the tournament we realized that we weren't going to get home too soon and the babysitters meter was ticking away. We were going to have to pay her about $40! So we had to run home, get the kids and run the babysitter back to her house. Then the rest of our team took turns watching our kids while we subbed in during our games.

David pinched his sciatic nerve again while he was playing which has left him really tender for the last couple of days. Poor guy, he has spent a good portion of his time in the hot tub. We have enjoyed having it.

Saturday night we were invited to eat a dutch oven dinner at our neighbor's house. We had so much fun talking and laughing and playing "Linkity" It was good to get out of our house and bond a little bit with our neighbors. We have really missed our neighbors from Smithfield, we were all such a close nit community and such good friends.

Sunday was the usual craziness before church and during sacrament meeting. I was about ready to give up and go home mid-way through but then something amazing happened. Both of the kids fell asleep! Miracles never cease. And that's not all. We got them home after church (still sleeping) and in their beds and they slept for another 2 hours! David and I both got a Sunday nap! that hasn't happened for a looooooong time. So here we are, monday morning rested and ready to go. Hopefully the rest of the week will go well for all of us.

In Gratitude for Sleepless Nights

Recent events in the lives of some of my friends and family members have made me reflect somewhat on the things I have to be grateful for. Some have lost babies, others have discovered that they cannot concieve children of their own. Others have given birth to children with severe physical and mental dissabilities. I also frequently refer back to Elder Wirthlin's talk in General Conference in October "Come What May and Love it" as well as President Monson's talk; "Finding Joy in the Journey."
All of these events and reflections have helped me to see the joy in the everyday disasters in life and to enjoy my children more. Let me share a few things that I am grateful for.

I am grateful for sleepless nights spent with my crying baby, because it means he is breathing and warm. I'm grateful for those horribly uncomfortable 9 months, because it means there is another life to live. When my child has temper tantrums, it's okay, because it means she has an independent and fertile mind. And those messes that we are always cleaning up? Well, It means that my children have healthy little bodies that are mobile. When my daughter swats me on the bum then runs away, I laugh, because she has inherited her Daddy's sense of humor. I'm thankful for beautiful children that aren't always perfect. But at the end of the day, when my son smiles his beautiful smile, and my little girl gives me a wet little kiss, I'm grateful that for here and now, Heavenly Father has lent me an angel to remind me that we are all in His hands.

Sorry about the dumb picture posts, I'm still learning. Last night I went to an enrichment meeting where they were doing a few christmas crafts. They did some jewelry trees which I thought were really ugly and gaudy but they also did a some really cute cinnamon ornaments. So, here is the recipe for them if any of you are interested.

2 cups cinnamon
1 cup applesauce
1 bottle (4oz) Elmers glue

Mix and form dough. Roll out on waxed paper. Cut out with a cookie cutter and cut a hole into the cookie for ribbon to go through. A straw workes great to cut the holes. Place on a cooling rack to dry, turning occasionally. You can also place the cooling rack in the oven on warm (not hot) to dry the ornaments or put them in a dehydrator. The smell so good and you can paint them and hang them on the tree or put them in popourri, make a wreath out of them or put them in your heater vents to smell up your house. They look very quaint and country cottage-ish.
So we are doing that this holiday season. I'm so excited for this season! Thanksgiving and Christmas is my favorite time of year. Being close to family, having such a big focus on Christ, giving and serving other people. Not to mention the great food and goodies! Please share any great recipes you have or craft ideas. I welcome them all!

Agendas

So I I was thinking today that my life is pretty boring and I don't have a whole lot to write about. Mostly what I do is take care of my kids and work on the house. So, I am going to include our house projects and include before and after pictures of the things we improve. Last weekend we painted the downstairs bedroom. The one we like to call the "Vegas room" you know, the red carpet, black and gold bed with the mirror on the head board, dark wood paneling. Wow! what a difference a couple of coats of paint can do!

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween Clare really stocked up on candy. At five o'clock we went to the "trick or treat on main street" All of the businesses on main street were giving out candy so we headed out all decked out in our halloween garb. Well, the kids were. Clare went as princess Fiona from Shrek. Hyrum was a sweet little skunk. At first Clare was unsure about aproaching strangers and waiting for them to drop goodies into her sack but she caught on quickly and would push and elbow her way through the crowd of good little children waiting for their turn to get her share of the loot. Main street was packed full of trick or treaters, old and young, princesses and monsters, zombe's and cute, cuddly kitty's. It was a treat for the eyes. After we finished main street, we weren't quite sure we were ready to quit yet so we headed out to a subdivision in our ward. We had a great time. Finally we headed home and spent the rest of the evening handing out candy to our own trick or treaters which was my favorite part. I love having trick or treaters come to our house! We never had any come in Crane so it's a blast for me to be on this end of the Treat!

A little Princess

Clare is our little Princess. She loves princess movies, dresses, and pretty shoes. She is all girl and lots of fun. She is also a big tease. The thinks it's so much fun to tease Mommy and Daddy by pretending to give them kisses and then running away giggling. She also loves to sneek up on us and scare us with her scary tiger face and a big lion's roar. We love her to death and are glad she is our sweet princess.

I found out that my upstairs shower was a great place to take pictures. Hyrum is always smiling so it's so much fun to take pictures of him. He is such a sweet heart and tons of fun. He loves Daddy's hats, getting tickled, and playing with his big sister. (Even when she is a little bit mean and abusive.) He likes taking baths and eating Ritz crackers. Hyrum is my ray of sunshine and can make any of us smile no matter what. He is a joy and blessing to have in our family.

Welcome to my Blogging experience

Hello all of you out there in the blogging world! Carla and all of the other cute blogs that I've seen recently convinced me to create a blog and publish my crazy yet uneventful life. I'm looking forward to learning more about my computer as well as keeping in touch with the outside world a little bit more. Be patient as I learn to post pictures and do all of the other creative and impossibly technical stuff that you all do. Thanks!