Following Up...

As a follow up to my previous post, check out Rebecca's blog for her stake conference message from Elder Richard Scott, and cjane's blog (under "My New Identity") for her take on Elder Holland's message to our stake.

Who Doesn't Love A Good Stake?

This weekend was Stake Conference. For those of you who are members of the LDS church, that makes sense. For others, it's a meeting where we get to meet on a larger scale than just the members of our smaller congregation. I remember when my family first became members of the LDS church and were told that Stake Conference was coming up. I thought, "Hot Dog! We all get steak?!" However, there is no meat involved and the only feasting we do is in a spiritual sense of the word.

We were privileged to have Elder Jeffrey Holland come and speak to us, and it was amazing. Those who attended the Saturday evening adults-only meeting were rewarded with a wonderful testimony of God's love for each of us, no matter what our current situation in life. Elder Holland spoke of the many trials that any one of us could be facing, and the challenges that come with those trials. We can, in a sense, feel broken. He then shared with us that God loves broken things and knows how to fix them. We only need to have faith in his love and let him heal our broken hearts and broken spirits. He reminded us that clouds must be broken to shower the earth; grain must be broken to produce bread. So when we feel like all hope is gone, like there was never a time we have been truly happy, we need to just endure & save ourselves for the days of happiness that are inevitably ahead.

My favorite quote from the Sunday meeting (besides Elder Holland's remark that, "I've seen maternity wards, but you have a Maternity Stake!" There are a lot of kids in our Stake. I am fairly certain that they outnumber the adults.) was that the gospel of Jesus Christ can be summed up in one phrase for the youth of the church - the title of a Bryan Adams song, "Everything I do, I do it for you." Leaders, parents, isn't that what it's all about?

I love talks that make you really think.

And man, do I love a great Stake.

Somebody's Got To Do It

Motherhood.

It's a thankless job, for the most part. Despite my occasional frustrations, it is the best job I have ever had -and one that is immensely rewarding.

Take yesterday, for instance. My little Cowgirl draws like it's going out of style. She goes through a ream of paper in roughly a month. I love that she is sparking her creative genius, but hate cleaning up all of the papers that I find laying all over the house as a result. As I was leaving for a quick errand yesterday, she asked if she could have a piece of tape. I asked what she needed tape for, and it was to make a "Welcome Home" sign for me to see when I got home. Yes, that's cute and sweet, but it is the kind of thing that happens around here all of the time. So, as kindly as possible, I told her that she didn't have to make me a welcome sign since I would only be gone for a very short time, plus it would just use up more of her paper and she probably wouldn't get another ream until her birthday. She didn't make me a welcome sign. Instead, I got this little note from my Cowgirl:

At least I'm a smiling witch.

I love my job.

We're All Nuts

Do you ever feel unimportant?

A friend gave me a copy of the following poem a long time ago, and I have always appreciated it. Recently, however, it was put into a whole new perspective for me. Without going into too much detail, let me say that tiny pieces of plumbing like the NUT pictured above were something that I always took for granted. Well, at least twice.

Not anymore!

Human Gadgets

We all have a place in the world it is said

And some are the leaders and some are the led.

We all are parts of a great big machine

Where wheels, great and small, work with pieces unseen.

Consider your watch; which part would you choose

As the most necessary - the springs or the screws?

The nuts or the bearings, the large cog, or small,

Which one makes it go? Which part most of all?

Take your car - could you do without wheels, without tires,

The batteries, magneto, the spark plugs, the wires?

If you’d take off the steering wheel, take off the clutch

Or remove all the brakes - would it then be worth much?

No, the greatest flywheel could not spin without grease

And it’s held in place by one small simple piece,

So don’t be dismayed when you seem in a rut,

You’re important…though you may only be a nut!

- Richard Maxwell

All Clear

For those of you who expressed concern, you will be happy to know that my kid's names have been changed on my Christmas morning post. Although the info was on there for long enough to reveal their identities, they are now protected from blogstalkers.

I suppose that I had too much peace on earth on the mind, it being the holidays and all, and just used the names I know them best by. The new names I came up with are almost as good, and much better than initials. I don't know if I will ever use them again, but there you have it.

Thank you for your concern.

What Time Is It?

Time to read scriptures! We try to make time every night to read a chapter from the scriptures together as a family. This has had many benefits for us, but the most unexpected one is this:

It puts the little kids to sleep like magic every time!

A Homemade Christmas

It is Christmas day, and I am happily eating Chocolate Crinkle Cookies & Egg Nog Bread (thanks, Mom!) with a tall, cold glass of milk as I sit at my computer.

We had the 6 oldest kids draw names and make gifts for each other this year, and it turned out awesome. Do you want to see what they made for each other? Of course you do, or you wouldn't still be reading!

The Pokemon-Obsessed Kid custom made I'm Taller Than You a ping-pong paddle and carry case, along with an IOU for some ping-pong balls.
The Little Lady Who Refers To Herself In The Third Person made a beautiful skirt for One Of The Letters Of The Alphabet.
Little Cowgirl Who Speaks Cowboy made The Girl Whose Name Rhymes With Nothing some froggy pajama pants.
The Girl Whose Name Rhymes With Nothing created a Pokemon case for the Pokemon-Obsessed Kid to carry all his cards in. Don't you love Mod-Podge? The pillowcase was a bargain-find.
I'm Taller Than You & One Of The Letters Of The Alphabet made Little Cowgirl Who Speaks Cowboy & The Little Lady Who Refers To Herself In The Third Person a quilt, pillowcases, and throw pillows to go on their new bed. Mr. Precocious got a Thomas bed set (the blanket used to be a sleeping bag with a broken zipper, so don't be too impressed) by Mom.
The Curly Headed Cutie got a "happy hands" quilt from Grandma.
Allen got to fix the window wipers on the suburban.

I got time to write a post.

Merry Christmas!

An Early Christmas

For anyone who cares to know, I had my 20-week ultrasound yesterday.

My good friend Heidi is an Ultrasound Professional and does such an amazing job that if I go to anyone else I am destined to be disappointed. Because Heidi and I live 7 houses away from each other and are no longer in the same church ward, we never actually talk to each other unless I am having another baby and need another ultrasound. Hmmm...I guess we talk at least every couple years, then. Anyway, I always feel a bit embarrassed when I call and leave her a message like the following: "Hey, Heidi, it's Gerberta. Um, I'm having a baby again, and I REALLY, REALLY want you to do my ultrasound. If it's not a huge inconvenience to arrange that between me, you, the doctor's office and the hospital, could you call me back?" She's always willing, and I am never disappointed.

Two babies ago I had an ultrasound with Joe-Ultrasound-Man at the hospital. I didn't want to call and bother Heidi AGAIN, and I thought, "I'm sure whoever will do a fine job." Wrong. He didn't let me look at the screen where the baby was, because I was pretty far along, about 32 weeks, and the baby was big so it was "hard to tell what anything is, anyway." (quote from Joe-Ultrasound-Man). 2 minutes later, and he says, "Everything looks good. You're done. Let me kick you on your way out, and thanks for the insurance money. My job is to disappoint pregnant women, and I am good at it." OK, maybe he didn't say all of that. But I bet he was thinking it. That was when I realized that Heidi is my Ultrasound Woman, forevermore.

Here is what makes Heidi so wonderful...
1) She takes the time to explain what I'm looking at on the screen.
2) She counts all of baby's fingers and toes.
3) She prints off lots of pictures for me to take home.
4) She shows me every detail.
5) She spends close to 45 minutes to complete the job.
6) She will not give up on discovering baby's gender. Which, by the way, was hidden by the umbilical cord for a good portion of the ultrasound. But, baby cooperated, wiggled and turned a bit, and there it was.

I guess patterns were made to be broken. Come May, our boys will have one more to help even up the family gender score.

Happy Holidays!

For those of you who I know read my blog, here is your annual Christmas newsletter. If you want me to mail you the hard copy with actual kid names and photo, leave me a comment or send me an email. Otherwise, less mail for you to go through! I put way too much work into writing our update every year, so this year I had everyone write their own. I think you'll enjoy having a new perspective!

I hope everyone finds time this season to think about what they're giving instead of what they're getting. And I'm not just talking presents - there are so many other ways to give!

And now, for your reading pleasure, I present...

BLACK FAMILY NEWSLETTER 2007

Everyone is going to tell you about the highlights of this year from their own perspective!

Allen- Gerberta and I celebrated 15 years of married bliss in August. I attribute this longevity to Gerberta's agreeing that I'm right so she can fall asleep while I talk to myself about the merits of my brilliant arguments. I remain employed at Wavetronix, which has grown remarkably in its 7-year existence. It is still a wonderful place to work. Church service is an ever-increasing occupation. I particularly enjoy the opportunities this affords to go on high adventure scout trips with the young men. Above all, family life is the most interesting, challenging, and rewarding aspect of my good life. Gerb and I are as excited for the arrival of our ninth child as we were for the first. Call us crazy, and doubtless we are, but the insanity is priceless.

Gerb- The most exciting news this year is that we are expecting another baby! Allen & I celebrated our 15^th anniversary with a 14-mile hike and a river run - something I never thought I would do. I was also thrilled to spend a week camping this summer with a dynamic group of 12-17 year old young women. What fun! I continue to enjoy life as a wife and mother and all of the craziness that comes with it.

A.M.- I turned 14 this year & I went on to Venturing Scouts where we do more challenging and fun campouts. I also started high school, which is much harder than middle school was. I have developed new talents in ping-pong and tennis, which, along with friends, eating & sleeping, are my passions in life (according to my mom).

E.M.- This year I was able to fly in an airplane for the 1^st time to go to Texas for the Family reunion! I was also able to go to Girls Camp with my mom & had a blast! In November I turned 13 & am now officially a teenager. I am excited to be in my school play, Guys & Dolls.

J.C.- This summer I enjoyed catching frogs, swimming and singing with my family at our reunion in Texas. I have also been making new friends and working constantly in Mr.Z’s mind stretching, fun 6^th grade class! (check it out at www.classroomofchaos.com)

K.C.- I turned 8 this year and got baptized on May 5th. In the summer we had a family reunion in Texas. We went to the beach, the water was cold but I got used to it. It was a fun year. I love Cub Scouts, playing with Isaac, Pokemon, swimming, and school.

E.G.- I went to 1^st grade at school. I went to the beach at Texas. At Texas I got to practice talking like a cowboy. I like to write letters and draw.

G.A.- I playded with the dollhouse. I playded with HH. I rided on the tractor in Texas because it was so much fun! I sawded fire bugs & went to the beach.

H.H.- I like my trains. I love peanut butter, toast & milk. I love nursery at church and do NOT want to leave next year. Just try to make me. My little potty training toilet seat makes a cool cowboy hat.

C.D.- I learned to walk, then run, then climb. I can climb anywhere and get into anything. I can get away with this because I am so adorable.

New Addition- I am busy growing bigger. See you in May 2008!

May God bless each of you in the upcoming year!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Big Girls DON'T Cry!!

I don't know what is wrong with me these days. Yes, I am pregnant, but this is getting ridiculous! Everything makes me cry. Barbie movies, kids in the store, old people, radio commercials, listening to Dr. Laura & Glenn Beck, and especially music. Not only radio/CD music, but hymns at church and even those cheesy Christmas songs that have been playing since the day after Halloween!! I hate to cry, especially in front of anyone. My face gets all scrunched up and blotchy and I can't just have tears flow, I have to sob. It's humiliating, and the hormones are NOT helping. My friend Jenny sent me this video, and I bawled like a baby.



Please tell me it evokes emotion in you as well, so I can tell myself I am (somewhat? I'll take somewhat) normal.

*DISCLAIMER: I would like to clarify one point and say that I love GOOD Christmas music. Just not the above mentioned cheesy kind.

It's That Time Again!

Time for potty training!

It's high time HH started using the toilet, and so far I guess you could say it's going well because he likes his little toilet seat. There's only one problem...




He likes it as a hat.

And for those of you who thought I invented my conversation with GA in the last post, here's what I found when I got out of the shower...


I guess she was exaggerating about it being on the floor. It wasn't so bad to clean off the table. And CD.

Gerb Unplugged: Some Random Musings (It's long, so grab a sandwich)

To those of you who watch TV on a regular basis and still maintain a blog on a regular basis I ask:

How do you do it?

Because, as previously mentioned, I don't watch TV at all and I still don't have time to post to my blog regularly. Especially lately. When I first started blogging I decided that every post would have a picture. They are so much more interesting that way! However, today I am breaking my unwritten rule. Otherwise there would be nothing, once again, for those of you who are nice enough to check often. I also decided I would post at least once a week. That has obviously not happened either. Here's what I've been up to since my last post...

LIFE.

Do you ever have weeks or months where life just happens at such a rapid pace that there is no time to sit and reflect on the chaos (whether it be the good or bad kind) around you? That's what I'm talking about. Here's one small example:

We had Thanksgiving here at our house, just our little family and no visitors. We practically begged family members to join us but they all had plans. The good thing about being just us for dinner is this: MORE FOOD. The bad thing is this: I have to make ALL the food. Which I am used to for everyday stuff, just not the Thanksgiving caliber of meal. I baked 7 pies (3 were frozen, purchased from neighborhood kids for fundraising). Of the "from scratch" pies I made were a banana cream, a cherry and 2 pumpkin. No big deal, right? Well, silly me, I thought it would be fun to make the pumpkin pies from fresh pumpkin. What a job! They were a hit (still are...anyone want some pie?) but the work put into them may not have been entirely worth it. The entire day before Thanksgiving was baking & extras day - I made my pies, rolls, and frozen cranberry salad (it's worth it, trust me!) and that took all day. Thanksgiving morning I put in the turkey, made the mashed potatoes and gravy, yams, green beans & sparkling cider. I decided to skip the stuffing since the majority of the family does not appreciate it unless it's in turkey stuffing casserole. I also went for the kind of whipped cream I got to whip myself. More work, but I think that the difference in taste was definitely worth the 5 minutes.

We all sat down to eat, and within the hour everyone was done. Who washed dishes? Me. I decided I wanted to reflect on what I was thankful for during all of the food preparation time, and my family is definitely #1 on the list. So, since no one volunteered to wash, I just did it. (The kids did come dry the dishes, I must give them credit for that.) By the end of the 2 day ordeal, I was ready for a long nap - or at least a good book.

I decided that Thanksgiving is the time for me to show the family how thankful I am for all they put up with the rest of the year. It's definitely a labor of love, or else it wouldn't happen around here.


Other things keeping me busy:

(Today anyway...)Trying to remember not to use my kid's names in my posts. I don't want to make my blog private, but I hate not using their names. Their initials seem inadequate somehow. Why do there have to be wackos out there? Can't we all just get along?

CD started climbing a couple weeks ago. On the table, on the piano, on the beds, up and down the stairs...you name it, she climbs it. And I remove her from her lofty destinations or prevent her from reaching them. Plus, she had a disgusting runny nose for 2 weeks straight. That was fun to keep up with. But her 1-year-old cuteness makes up for it all. Every morning I marvel at how she can become even more adorable each day.

HH is as precocious as ever, and those of you who know any of my boys (who share the same personality for the most part) know that he's a delight, but quite a handful. He can get into the refrigerator and up on the kitchen counters all by himself (kitchen drawers make the most convenient ladder!) and likes to help himself to whatever looks good. When we had egg nog in the fridge, he would wake me up in the morning, carton in one hand and cup in the other, with, "Can I have some egg drink, mom?" He has discovered that non-fiction books about trains are much longer than AND have more pictures than children's versions, so he will sit and flip through one for a good, long spell. Add his independence to his latest full-blown ear infection and painful ingrown toenails (which the doctor keeps telling me he will grow out of), and welcome to my life.

GA is such a funny little girl. She is at an age where everything is absolute- black or white. She wants me to "do school" with her all the time, which would be fun but is not possible with other little people here needing attention, too. We make time everyday to color, practice writing her name, read a story (or 2 or 3), or play with Furryvilles or the dollhouse or Legos. She likes to keep me informed on what's going on around the house, especially when I'm trying to take a shower.
(knock, knock)
Me: "Yes?"
GA: "Um, are you in there mom?"
Me: "No, I'm an alien life form, using your mother's voice."
GA: "Um, OK mom, um, CD is going down the stairs now. And HH won't stop being mean to me because he is not so good at sharing."
Me: "Well, I'm in the shower right now. Can we talk about this in a minute?"
GA: "Um, but CD can fall down the stairs so you better come get her now, OK, mom?"
Me: "In a minute."
GA: "Um, and CD also got HH's breakfast and put it on the floor. And um, she likeded it, so maybe you should make some more."
Me: "WHAT? Did she make a big mess?"
GA: "So, mom, um...maybe you need to get the vacuum out. You better stop taking a shower now, OK mom?"
And so on.

EG is becoming as obsessed with reading as her older siblings. She is strict about rules and does not like it when other kids do not follow our family rules. She likes to inform me when they are not following her interpretation of the rules, which I believe is often called a 'tattletale'. She is an arts and crafts fanatic, often leaving behind paints, water, paper, scissors & tiny scraps of paper for me to clean up - or for CD to eat, whichever comes first. She loves learning and would do math/reading/spelling worksheets all day if I had enough of them.

KC is the man with all the questions. He and his 2 younger sisters are also notorious room-destroyers. I don't know how their room can be orderly and clean and then 5 minutes later look like a tornado came through. He loves to pay all of the neighbors visits and make some kind of note or treat to take over with him. He's a socialite if we've ever had one. He feels very put-out when I will not allow him to go to a friend's house before his jobs and homework are completed. He is obsessed with Pokemon - always wanting to talk about Pokemon characters/cards to anyone who shows even remote interest. He is also into getting all his Cub Scout requirements signed off so he can advance. Thanks to one of these requirements, he decided yesterday that doing dishes is FUN! Thank you, Cub Scouts!

JC becomes easily frustrated when it comes to getting things done on anyone's time but her own. That's all I'm going to say about that. I get to do a good deal of nagging to get her out of the door in the mornings, which we both hate. Her talents are in writing and drawing, and she's a frog lover. Frogs! Not the real kind, just the cutesy ones. I'm not sure how she'd do around a live little hopper. JC is still the sassy gal in the family, and also a good helper around here.

EM is also a great help when she's asked. She enjoys art and outside sports, most especially Ultimate Frisbee. She is fun to go shopping with, something we both enjoy. Otherwise, she's holed up in her room reading some book series about magical pants that fit a girl and all of her friends. What in the world??

AM has become obsessed with 3 things: friends, ping-pong and tennis, in that order. We noticed his screen was pushed out of his window, and we all know what that means with teenagers, right? He isn't really the type of kid to do that sort of thing, so we asked him about it. He was sneaking his tennis racket out of his bedroom window because he didn't know if we would let him play with it outside. Ummmm....did he think we expected him to use our indoor tennis court??
Wait...I thought of 2 more obsessions: Food and Sleep. In that order. He is at least a good 3 or 4 inches taller than me now.

Hey...was that my Christmas newsletter? YES! Consider it a personal greeting, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Just kidding. I'm making the kids each write their own summary of the last year for our newsletter, and they'll have to edit it down to one paragraph of about 3 sentences each so they can all fit on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. I love writing projects! Did you know that I occasionally print out an email so I can go through and edit it with a red pen? Crazy, I know.

I'm not sure how to end this random post.

How about this?

THE END.

P.S. My big kids read this and noticed I still left one kid's name in. It is now fixed! Foiled again, blogstalkers!!

It's Not A Mid-Life Crisis

I have become very aware of something recently.

I will soon be the mom of 9 children. NINE! Not that I don't think I can handle it. It's the rest of the world that I'm concerned for. Will they know that it's impolite to ask things like, "You're done now, right?!" or "Are those ALL yours?" I am always tempted to reply with the sassy remarks that cross my mind ("Heck no! We're just getting started!" or "No, I borrowed them from the local orphanage") but instead give polite answers. I don't want them to think ill of me.

Which brings me to my next epiphany.

Am I looking like a mom-of-many? Do strangers look at me and think, "Look at her, she can't even take care of herself - let alone all those kids!" I know, I'm being a bit dramatic. But it's only to explain myself to those who are wondering what's going on.

It's like this.

I looked at myself in the mirror a few weeks back and wished my hair was a bit more tame. I thought, "How would my hair look if it was straight?" So I straightened it. And then it needed bangs, so I gave myself bangs. The kids all asked, "What happened to your hair, Mom?" or, "Your hair looks different. Is it going to be curly again tomorrow?" I love the honesty of children. So I decided to forget the straightening thing and just love what God gave me - but I kept the bangs. I liked how they helped me look a little more....I don't know. Nice, I guess.

Then I thought about make-up.

When we had our family pictures taken about a month ago, I put on the basics - eyeliner & mascara. My 13-year-old daughter told me I looked good with eye make-up, that it made my eyes look "brighter". So I put on make-up, too. And you know what? I liked it.

Anyway, to make an already long story longer, I'm making an effort to look my best these days. You'll have to be forgiving if you drop by unannounced in the middle of the day and I'm still in my PJs, though. That's still going to happen. But when I'm out of the house, I'm going to look my best - and hopefully completely shock anyone who sees me pregnant and asks, "Is this your first?"

I'll proudly answer, "No, it's my ninth. Isn't it great?!"

Tag, I'm It

I have been "tagged" by both Shellie and Su in the last week. This means I get to share 7 random things about myself with you. I am also supposed to "tag" 7 other blogging friends, but I honestly don't know who would roll their eyes at the idea and who would be a good sport. If you want to share 7 random thoughts, leave a comment and let me know.

Random Item #1: I LOVE old pictures, like the one of my dad in his first car posted above. There is so much personality and interest in an old photograph - each has a story waiting to be told.

Random Item #2: If you knew me before the age of about 6 or 7, my name was Donna - at least when family was around. Donna is actually my middle name, but one of my grandmas told my parents that I would hate my name and blame them for it, so I was "Donna" for a good, long time.

Random Item #3: I do not like large bodies of water. They scare me because of all the unknown. Is there a piranha in there? How deep does it go? This may be due to the fact that I did not learn to swim until I was nearly 18. The funny thing is, I'm OK with the ocean - but only from the shore. I'm slowly learning to overcome this fear, though. Give me time.

Random Item #4: In high school I always told people I wanted to have 32 kids someday. 32 was my lucky number, and it seemed like a good number of kids to shoot for. My plan was to adopt 25 and have 7 with my husband. I had all of their names chosen. (Names like Brock Lee & Calli Flower - they were the twins) When I married my husband and my amazing mother-in-law had her 16th child, I realized that she will be living that dream for me once all of her kids are married.

Random Item #5: I love music. Some people love music for the music, and some people love music for the words. I love different songs for different reasons, but I especially love songs that capture emotions that are very real to me and songs that bring back memories in vivid detail. Actually, some songs I do NOT like because they bring back memories that I would prefer to leave buried in the deepest recesses of my mind.

Random Item #6: I have a hard time making real, true friends. I don't know how to explain this one really, so let me just say this: I have to know that the person is genuine. I'm not sure how else to explain it. I can't allow myself to be vulnerable with someone else unless I feel my secrets are safe with them. And once I decide you're one of these friends, you're stuck for life. Words are such a mucky mess when trying to describe things like friendship and love, aren't they?

Random Item #7: I can express myself much better in sign language than I can by speaking. The English language is frustrating at times because it does not translate the passion and depth of meaning behind words which I prefer in ASL. Because of this, I have a love for learning new words and vocabulary. The more words on my side, the better I can express what's really going on in this crazy head of mine.


I could continue, as my life can be rather random, but that's 7 items so that's where I'm stopping.