I couldnt resist

I couldnt help myself. I think these are funny. The boys love to watch themselves. So, here ya go. Oh, and yes, I know my heads messed up. Oh well...Merry Christmas!

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Attention Chamberlain Siblings

We drew names for Christmas gift giving.- Here are the results, not all of them were put in the montage. Have fun and be creative!

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Giver/ Receiver

Eden- Madison
Taylor- Hunter
Cole - Ariels Family
Neal- Maleah's Family
Maleah - Cole's Family
Ariel- Taylor's Family
Madison- Neal
Hunter- Eden's Family

I thought this was so funny. Who sings it better. Tanner or Asher?

Tea Cup

Zachary asked me to read him an old book he found on the shelf. It was all about babies.

When we got to this page, I asked him what each of the babies were doing in the pictures.

He said pointing to each one "This one is dressing up like her mommy, and this one is putting his socks on". Then he says in a frantic voice "Oh man, this ones pooping in a teacup!!!"

I couldnt stop laughing.

I am Thankful

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. The day passed without incident and with lots of food and friends. Our numbers hit 21 people this year. It was a group effort on the dinner and the dessert spread was awesome. I must say, if you cant be with all your family, close friends are a great substitute. Thanks to all who came!

We are mindful at this Thanksgiving of all the wonderful blessings we have. For all the sacrifices made by good people long ago, and currently, who give of themselves to bless others. We looked around at our little ones and cant imagine life without them. We are grateful for health, for employment and for our blessings from heaven. We know from whence our gifts flow, and our very lives are indebted.
We are glad Turkey Day came and we are glad its over.

Dinner Table

Mike and Nate. What 'cha drinking there Nate? CHEERS!
Michelle and Jimmy

Hungry Baby Asher



Party with the Poulsons


Eric and Jana. Abigail on the lap.

Kids table, which remained unoccupied while adults ate.
The kids played while the adults had their fill. It was delightful
to get to enjoy your meal without being interrupted.

Bailey getting some grub

Yummy!

If you cant see it it says: "Faithful friends who are dear to us.

Gather near to us once more".

Weeks of SCARY

Things have been busy around here. Life seems to pick up with holidays and the shortening of the daylight hours (have I mentioned that I hate daylight savings...what a crock!)

After Halloween was through, I thought I had my fill of scary things. However, things never seem to stay the same and a few more SCARY things have happened in the past few weeks. Where to start?-

Scary thing 1#- Lincoln left on his mission- This is scary for me, because it makes me feel so old. Its scary for Lincoln because he has to be in the MTC through all the holidays and he gets to meet lots of weird people in the Salt Lake City/ Spanish speaking mission (totally scary if you think about all the fanatical Mormon offshoots that he will be meeting). Overall, just a new scary strange experience for him.

Lincoln is the 8th child in my family. He was incredibly cute as a little boy and was lovingly referred to as "butter tooth" for the first few years of his toddler hood. He tipped over a chair while standing on it, hit his front teeth on the floor and one of them died, looking yellow in color.- We loved to tease him about it. He didn't love it much. He grew up to be a really great brother with tons of personality and heart.

He has dealt with kidney issues since he was little and endured a kidney transplant last December. The fact that he is even alive to go on a mission is amazing. The fact that he was worthy to go is commendable. The chance that he will succeed on a mission is absolute. He is a wonderful person...I am so proud.

Scary thing #2- My dad was called to be the Scranton Stake Patriarch here in PA. Its a huge job in the church with lots of responsibilities.- I would be scared to death to get such a big job. I know he will be great at it, and its totally inspired. He shouldn't be scared, but I'm guessing its probably really new and intimidating. I love my dad, I know he will do a great job.

Scary thing #3- We took the boys to see DISNEY'S A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Thinking that this movie might have a few intense parts, I quizzed the boys on "pretend" and "real" before we went. Intense was an understatement. This movie was scary for Four year olds. And it takes alot to scare Zachary. Just even the noises in the movie, ringing bells, screaming ghosts, the chains clanging were loud and frightening. Mike and I enjoyed the movie, its amazing to see the realistic animation these days. It really is a neat movie to watch from that standpoint. However, its not for little kids.

The opening scene is of Jacob Marley in a coffin. He is dead and really nasty looking. I kept looking over to make sure no one was writhing in terror. I asked Tanner about 6 times if he was alright, finally he said "Be quiet mom, Im trying to watch this movie". :)

-The boys made it through the movie. But they had alot of questions about ghosts and graveyards for the rest of the week. And why did "Santa" (ghost of Christmas present) melt into a skeleton and have evil little monsters under his coat?-Guess you need to see it to know what they are talking about. Pretty weird.

Scary thing # 4- I finished my Zumba certification! I am officially an instructor. This can be really scary for those of you who can imagine me dancing and swinging my hips on a stage, in front of people. Its really fun and I love it. Im not the skinniest person in the room, but I definitely think that I will be a great instructor because of my love of the music. I will admit, I was pretty scared to go to the training in Philadelphia. I knew no one, didnt know where I was going, and I knew that it would be 8 hours of Zumba. When I got home, I was exhausted!! It was worth it and Im glad to finally have my certificate.

Enough scary things for now. Hopefully, the next few weeks will be easy and not at all scary.

Asher 18th mth Update:

Asher update:
At Ashers 18 mth old dr. appt he weighed in at a hefty 30 lbs and 35 inches. He is in the 90% in weight and height. He even said "Hi" when the dr. walked in. Then gave her five and asked to see the "ight" (he wanted to hold the otoscope). She was like "does he say anything else?". Then he repeated a ton of words to her and staked a huge pile of blocks, threw and kicked her a tennis ball, then sat down to read a book from my diaper bag. He is too funny. We love him.
He has such an easy personality. He loves his dad and wants Mike to take him out to see the moon every night. He says "moon...sky" which is the signal. He thinks he is a big boy and wants to do everything the older boys do. He eats really well and likes about everything. I gave him a hand full of raw blueberries and fresh raspberries. He was walking around all day saying "berry! Num,Num". Our only issue now will be taking away the bottle that is still a comfort tool. He doesnt like sippy cups in the evening hours and he starts crying for a bottle. Its time. Im praying for only a couple of hard days.
Asher is such a great blessing and wonderful little boy. He is growing up too fast!

Park in the Dark

We finished up October by spending some weekends at Hershey Park in the Dark. We have really enjoyed the theme park this year. We had a great time, and our boys are at the prime age for rollercoasters and rides. Asher is finally able to ride a few of the "bigger" rides. Here are a few pictures. He loves being a "big boy", cant you tell by the look on his face! I love this age!

Cowboy Roundup, Joyschool & Halloween

This years fall party was a cowboy theme. I was the MC, so I didnt get many pictures. Illness rampaged through the ward, cancelling numerous acts in our program. People stepped up to fill in and I was so grateful. I think people had a fun time. There was a thunderstorm group activity (cowboys are afraid of those on the open range), a standoff (even though it wasnt high noon), cowboy poetry, fiddling,dance numbers,and some sing along numbers with a guitar trio. It was really fun. Im glad I did it, Im glad its over. My brain had been fixated on it for months. Here are a few shots.

Jason did a great job as our cowboy poet!

A primary child behind bars...is this sending the right message? :)

My friend Jenny and I in our cowboy hats! YEEHAW!

An artist in our ward made this photo opt...isnt it great? Somewhere along the line, the person who was suppose to take pictures for us, didnt get the message. Most people didnt get to use this. DANG IT!

Then it was the Joyschool Halloween Bash! The kids watched Casper the Friendly Ghost. We talked about Kindness and friendship. The colors were Orange and Black. And the shape was a triangle, for a witches hat. Here a couple pictures.




Then it was onto Trick or Treating! Halloween crept up on me this year. Zach didnt have a costume until the day before. He finally decided he wanted to be a super hero. I thought he looked darling. Tanner was a pirate, he LOVED IT! Asher had to be a bee...mommy was supposed to be a flower for her bee, but I got too busy to finish my flower headband. I settled for an angel.



The Poulsons joined us. Do you see their theme? Harry Potter, Hermione, Hedwig the owl, and the Golden Snitch (around Nates neck). It was Darling!

Playing Catch Up

Its been a while since my last post. I cant believe October is almost over, it went by so fast.

We left on the 8th and flew to Utah. The plane ride was amazingly easy with the kids. Tanner and Zach were great. It was a whirlwind of activity and reunions in Zion. So many fun things happened. As well as a few sad things. Fun things included Hogle Zoo, Grandpa Banzhaf flew in from Tucson to play, Cornbellies at Thanksgiving point, overnighter in the camper trailer with daddy, SLC Temple, PACES DAIRY ANN!! (my high school hang out), Cousins dinner at the Binghams, The aquarium, Mike reunited with missionary friends, Mike college buddies and families all met us for dinner, visit with grandpa Chamberlain, visiting Grandmas headstone, Timp Temple, LOTS of CAFE RIO, early trick or treating, family pictures, family dinners and movies. It was a BLAST!

While we were there the American Fork Band had a bus crash driving home from competition. It was a moment of reflection and gratitude when we were informed that none of the students were killed. A girl from Mikes ward, who was on the bus, bore her sweet testimony that Sunday about the miracles that saved them. It was a reminder about how instantaneously it can all be gone. We must live each day to the fullest. Never wavering in our attempts to live as we should.

Camille, Mikes 19 year old cousin also added to the concern while we were in Utah. She drove her 4 wheeler off a 30 ft cliff and broke numerous bones in her body, including her pelvis, orbital bone, nose, foot and others. She was blessed and will recover but her journey on that road has only just begun. As I prayed for her, I was again touched at the sense of love amongst our extended family members. We are so fortunate to be in such a family. We love Camille and wish her the best as she heals.

We love all of our Utah family and friends. We feel sad that we were not able to see more friends. It was busy and illness cut our visiting short. Zachary turned up with Hand Foot and Mouth the last few days we were in town. Several of the family, including myself, came down with severe colds (sorry about the coughing all night everyone!!! I know you wanted ME to go sleep in the camper!). It made the last few days in town tough to get out.

We love you all and miss you! Thanks for such a great time!

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My sweet Granny

Oh how I miss you Granny. You are so sweet and soft. My hips dont miss you...but my heart does. Why cant you come to Pennsylvania. People would love you out here. My yummy cookie love. Toodles for now.

Peaks and Valleys

I once read that marriage is full of Peaks and Valleys.

We started this trail together. Packed with a few essentials, a compass, some guides, and the guts.

Two souls, filled with passion, dreams and potential. Waking to unblemished days, uncomplicated decisions. Learning to trust and walk hand in hand. Oh sweet ignorance and youth! The climb was easy in the beginning. We had endurance and our burdens were light.

Days became long and nights even longer with the miracle of creation. Double duty rested on our weak shoulders. We attempted to rise to the occasion. Only to stumble at times. HE secured feeble knees and shouldered what we could not. HE carried us all through the basins and gorges of human nature. All were blessed. All were loved. All thrived. We began again, as we must daily, and attempted the ascent.

Blessed beyond measure, miracles were given. Manna fell from the heavens and gave us more sustenance. We learn little by little. Challenge by challenge. Progress comes by faith and obedience. Love comes by work and service. Commitment comes from choice.

It is all around us now. The ripples of good choices. The echos of those who testified of true happiness.

Sometimes, when we listen hard enough, we can hear them. Calling down from the mount. Calling us to remembrance. Encouraging us to continue to climb.

Smiles, tears, laughter, screams, smelly diapers, colored markers, Johnson and Johnson, peanut butter, little shoes, smoking trains, smudgy fingerprints, crayoned sick figures, Disney songs, scary monsters, McDonald's toys, hugs and kisses.

It is all around us now.

Can the climb be both easy and hard. Sad and Happy. Good and Bad?

Can the low Valley's last for years and peaks rise from unstable ground?

Can Eight short years change your life forever?

Yes, yes it can.

Here is to you my love, my life, my friend.-Eight years has flown by.

They haven't been without some trials. Like every marriage, the peaks and valleys have been present. Sometimes we were in different places. You on a peak, me in a valley. The trick is helping eachother to the summit and finishing together. Our journey continues. I'm grateful for your companionship on the trek of life. It makes the valleys easier to cross and rise from. It sweetens the peaks and enhances the views. Here's to the journey. Oh, the joy in the journey. Here is to our Peaks and Valleys. What endurance they have built. What muscles, what lessons, what faith.

Happy Anniversary Babe!

What a load of Croup!

All the boys have been ill. It has not been fun around here.Asher got Croup this past week. Zach and Tanner both had some kind of cold going on. Fevers were out of control. Mike and I have not been sleeping at all. UGGG!


You may notice that my baby is missing something in these pictures. His CURLS!!!
We gave him a haircut that turned into something we hadn't anticipated. Now we have to wait for it to grow out to see our curly boy again.

Since we have had lots of time indoors, we have made the most out of the library. We had a couple books that just tickled me. One was called Halloween Night by Marjorie Dennis Murray. IT has the cutest illustrations. Its a parody of the Night before Christmas. My boys loved it. Especially the scene with the dead spiders on the floor. Zach said "mom, that looks like garage". My face turned pink, Im sure.
Also, a book called Skeleton Hiccups. Pretty darn cute.
Looks like my love of Halloween is rubbing off on everyone. YIPPEE!

Life goes on

Things are as busy as usual around here. Here are a few pictures.


We went to Lancaster on Mikes day off.

Tanner refused to take pictures all day.

Doesnt this look like a postcard?

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The pirate ship playground