Relationship Exercise

I did this in my Marriage and Family Relations class yesterday and really liked it. Read Moroni 7:45-48 (it is the one that talks about charity.) Then list the attributes:

Suffereth long.
Is kind.
Envieth not.
Is not puffed up (proud).
Seeketh not her own.
Is not easily provoked.
Thinketh no evil.
Rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth.
Beareth all things.
Believeth all things.
Hopeth all things.
Endureth all things.
Never faileth.
Is the greatest of all.
Is the pure love of Christ.
Endureth forever

Think of ways in which specific characteristics, such as “seeketh not her own” or “never faileth,” may be expressed in the marriage relationship. For example "is not puffed up"-one man in my class said when he comes home from a long day of work and wonders what his wife has been doing all day because it appears that nothing has been done, he tries not to be puffed up and think he is the only one who has had a busy day. It was really interesting to see if we apply true charity by defininition in our marriage or our parenting skills rather than just "trying to be Christlike." I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Daven's birthday

(to the right)

You can see how happy he is in this photo but it is dark. I am not a photographer! He kept saying "Yeah!" He was very happy and had lots of help from his siblings unwrapping and playing with his presents. He thought it was very neat to just rip the paper. He would take a piece that was torn off and tear it into smaller pieces instead of grabbing more off the present.

(to the left)

Once again, not a great photo but he did like his bike!

I am ready to be done with festivities, at least for a few days!

Well after having my family and Bridger's family over for Christmas Eve and spending the next two days with my siblings and their families in a get together, we celebrated Daven's birthday today and had everyone over again. I feel like I have eaten and eaten and am not looking forward to being weighed at the Dr.'s office this week. I was so tired of big celebrations, I asked Bridger if we could just take it easy on Daven's birthday. Well, this is what everyone who had birthdays around Christmas warned me about. I thought then (during my pregnancy with him) that I wouldn't do that and I could make his birthday just as special no matter what time of the year it was. Well, 2 years into it I am trying to break my pact with myself. It is a good thing I have a husband who wouldn't let me and reminded me that if it was any of the other kids and their birthdays I wouldn't do it any differently. I think he may need to keep reminding me yearly. I hope not. Now we have a few days break before New Years celebrations and school getting started again. I am just biding my time. Each day that passes is one day closer to delivery (whenever that may come). The holidays make it go faster, but I was still tempted when another Mom told me she had delivered at 32 weeks. I thought, I could already be done! That sounds wonderful. She told me it wasn't, but I am not so sure sometimes!

Christmas letter

12 Items of Interest of 2009
The first item of interest of 2009 is:
One new baby boy due February 8, 2010!
The second item of interest of 2009 is:
Daven will turn two on the 27th of December. He has been busy already this year acquiring his first set of stitches and being spoiled rotten by all his siblings. He loves them all just as much as they love him.
The third item of interest of 2009 is:
Three and a half years of school in the MBA program are finally completed and Bridger is done with school! We are so proud of him and hopeful to see some more of him.
The fourth item of interest of 2009 is:
I have finally undertaken the challenge of trying preschool at home and have 4 little girls in my preschool (including Brynna). It is busy, but fun to be the one to do the fun activities with them instead of their teacher. I have a much greater appreciation for preschool teachers! Still undetermined if I will do this again!
The fifth item of interest of 2009 is:
Brynna turned five in September. She is a tease and is always telling Bridger and me the most interesting things. He is her “buddy” and can convince him to do almost anything “since that is what buddies do.”
The sixth item of interest of 2009 is:
Of the four years we have been in this house, we have had 5 floods. This next one will be our sixth. I am not so naïve anymore as to think it won’t happen. We came home from a family reunion after the fourth of July to a flooded basement. This house has not been a lucky house for that! Most of our neighbors got flooded as which flooded Bridger with work!
The seventh item of interest of 2009 is:
Kjerstin turned seven and is still busy trying to be the mom and turn the world on its side. She has a lot of determination and I think it may happen!
The eighth item of interest of 2009 is:
We finally took eight days out of our crazy life and took our kids to Washington D.C.! Bridger’s brother lives there and has been asking us to come since we got married. It is a great place to take kids. There is SO much to do and we would love to go back! It was one of those family vacations where there is little complaining, and everyone is having a good time! I like that kind.
The ninth item of interest of 2009 is:
Corban turned nine this year. It was the first holiday since he was about three that he hasn’t asked for a video game of some sort! I was thrilled. We are making progress. He progressed from a white to orange to yellow belt in Taekwondo! It has been great for his self-seteem.
The tenth item of interest of 2009 is:
Bridger and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary this year! I can’t believe it has been ten years! It has seemed to fly by. We got to get away for the weekend. It was wonderful of grandparents to help out, and fun to not have to think about anyone but each other for a full 3 days!
The eleventh item of interest of 2009 is:
My parents came home from their second mission to Finland. They have only been here about 1 of the 4 years we have lived here. Now when we have family over for dinner, we have Bridger’s parents, my parents and my sister Pam, a total of eleven people (including us). It is fun to have family in the same town as us. The kids have a great relationship with their grandparents and aunt and we feel very blessed to live so close to family.
The twelfth item of interest of 2009 is:
Twelve months full of school (everyone but me and Daven), TaVaci (singing and performing group all three older kids are in), soccer (Kjerstin), Taekwondo (Corban), football (Corban), basketball (Corban), swimming (the older three), 4-H (Kjerstin), softball (Brynna), scouts (Corban) and gymnastics (Kjerstin and Brynna), and therapy (Corban, but don’t we all need it?). It keeps me running!

We hope all of you are well and enjoy this opportunity to keep in touch with those who we care about!
Have a Merry Christmas!
Love
Bridger, Cindy, Corban, Kjerstin, Brynna, Daven, and ?

Christmas Break

I was going to post my Christmas letter last week but it took me all week to finish it and I still want Bridger's input before I post it. Now comes the time to keep the kids occupied for 2 whole weeks. I am not complaining. I am ready for a break in routine but I think that they will have me running (with all my extra energy). Not to mention that I still need to finish up some shopping. :) We had tons of snow and I thought I could occupy them with sledding. This last week it rained and has been in the high 30's, low 40's and the snow is gone! We got everyone's stuff out last night and looked it over to make sure it looked equitable. I think it is okay. I am just never sure if everyone is going to be happy. That is the hard part about Christmas for me. My Dad always had a hard part with that and I guess I inherited it! The good news is that Bridger finished his classes. Goodbye ISU!

Bridger passed his oral exam for the MBA program!

On Friday the 4th, Bridger had his 5 hour long exam where he gets up in front of 3 professors and has to prove that he has learned the material necessary to meet the MBA degree requirements. He was told he passed with flying colors! He still has his finals for his classes this semester. They have orals before so students will be done and can concentrate on finals. Hooray! It has been 3 1/2 years and has been a big commitment for everyone in our family. We are proud of him and hope to see a little more of him in the near future!