Re-Creating Disney's Frozen

I had to be at meetings all morning last Saturday.  I left before my kids woke up and I returned home after lunch.  When I came into the house I immediately noticed that Thumbelina was dressed a lot like Anna from Disney's Frozen.  I asked if that was on purpose and everyone started talking at once.

We took pictures! We acted out some of the scenes! I was Olaf! I was Sven! Thumbelina made us costumes! And so on.

Here are the original characters:

Anna and Elsa

Kristoff and Sven the reindeer

Olaf the snowman

Here's what they put together over the course of a morning.  See if you can pick out the scenes from the movie.

Do you wanna build a snowman?

My name's Olaf and I like warm hugs.

I think some company is overdue...

  I've started talking to...

 The pictures on the walls. (Hang in there, Joan!)

Don't let them in, don't let them seeeeeee....

Give me my glove!  

Let it go! Let it go!

Don't let the frostbite biiiiite.

Will you take me to the north mountain?

I can't feel my legs!

Those are my legs.

Elsa and Olaf

Elsa makes Olaf a snow cloud

After a while Hubba wanted in on the action but they couldn't think of anyone for him to be (because who wants to be Hans? No one. That's who.) so Thumbelina made him Jack Frost...

then created parts for him in the movie.  He and Elsa would have gotten along splendidly, of course.

 And he helped keep Olaf cold whenever it was needed.

Even All-a-Boy decided to create a character for himself.  He became The Ninja That Nobody Sees In Frozen.  But here's a glimpse of him as Jack and Elsa are having a snowball fight in my dining room.

Little X didn't want to be left out either but at that point Thumbelina was done with putting together costumes and posing everyone in different scenes.  She still helped him figure out a key role in the movie, though, and X was super excited to tell me who he was.  "Look, Mom!" he said while crouching into a ball.  "I a rock!"  And then he jumped into a standing position and announced, "I a troll!"  Here he is hanging out with Kristoff.

 

Pretty adorable for a troll, isn't he?

I love how my 17 year old enjoys playing with all of her younger siblings (disclaimer: not all of the time, but I'll take what I can get!).  I love the way their imaginations work.  I love having a front row seat to their creativity.  Days like this one, when everyone seems to get along and there is a feeling of fun and happiness throughout the house, are the days I most love being a mom to this crazy assortment of adorable people.

1,2,3 All Eyes On Me

When Elle was getting all of her things packed up into boxes before she left on her mission she found all sorts of random things she had collected over the years and distributed a lot of them amongst her siblings.  At one point she asked me if I had some glue and, thinking she needed to fix something, gave her some.

Later that day, I found this:

Apparently she had a package of googly eyes that she did not want to go to waste.  Throughout the week I have continued to find miscellaneous objects in our house watching me with bulging, wild googly eyes.

 

This one actually scared me a little bit...

I love that, along with various knickknacks and bags and boxes, Elle left some of her sense of humor behind.

And She's Off!

I really do not have many words here.

But here we are at 3:30 am on our way to the airport.

A couple of family shots before she headed for the gate:

And then a lot of hugs and tears - I think this one was the hardest.

One last smile from the security line...

and then we left our Elle Monroe at the airport (along with a large group of other missionaries, that made me feel a little better) to find her way to Mexico.  And then Louisiana.  For 18 months. A whole year and a half!

The crazy thing about missionaries leaving is the emotional roller coaster.  I want her to go!  But I don't want her to go!  But really, I want her to be doing this!  It's going to be such an awesome experience and she's going to do so much good and share what she knows and loves with lots of people who she'll get to know and love.  But I'll only get to talk to her twice a year! And what if, what if, what if?  And how can I be so happy and excited for her and be so sad and heart-achey at the same time?

It all comes down to this: This is what Elle wants to do.  It's what she's wanted to do for as long as I can remember.  It's what I want for her and where I want her to be.  And I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that she will be awesome.

Two More Days

I was feeling melancholy today about Elle leaving for her 18-month mission for our church this week. Somehow that brought me to our file cabinet where we keep various papers and artwork that each of the kids bring home or create over the years. I pulled out Elle's file and near the end I found the picture that is posted above.  She drew it at church, when she was 5 years old.  

On Wednesday we will take Elle to the airport and say goodbye.  She will fly to Mexico and stay at the Missionary Training Center there for 6 weeks before making her way to Louisiana to serve out the rest of her 18 months.

There are no words to describe how much we will miss her - but she is going to do some amazing work teaching others about Christ and I know it is where she needs to be for the next little while.  Being her mother I have often wondered who was teaching who - Elle has always been such an awesome example to me of a true follower of Christ and I can't wait to see what kind of an impact her sharing her light with others will make. 

We have two more days.  

My Best Buddy

This little guy and I get to spend a lot of time together.  As he's started to experiment with words it has been a lot of fun to communicate with him on another level.  He will often say something that I don't understand so I repeat the sounds back to him and he gets really excited and says, "Yeah, Mom!"

I was just organizing all of the pictures I took in the last two months on my computer and I realized that a lot of them are of our little X.  It's not because he's my favorite but because we are together pretty much all of the time.  And because he's so darn adorable.

Allen and I always take each of our kids out to lunch or dinner for their birthday - just the birthday child and us.  Little X will always respond to the question 'what do you want to eat?' with 'PIZZA!' so it was easy to figure out where to take him for his birthday lunch last month.  I love this picture of two of my favorite guys.

One day I told him we needed to go to the store so he told me, "I go downscares get ready!" and came back upstairs like this:

because everyone needs a large Star Wars hat and swim goggles for a trip to the store, obviously.  This kid loves hats.  And glasses.

When I was Christmas shopping X was my constant companion.  When I was checking out bikes at one store he grabbed himself a helmet with a mohawk, hopped on a bike that was just his size ("Look, Mom! Spiderman!") and was content to scoot himself around the aisle until I was done.

It's pretty exhausting having to keep up with me.  

I Am Loved

The other day I found this sweet little note written in the snow for me.  I recognized the writing right away- it was from Curly, who writes me more love notes and draws me more pictures than I have drawers or boxes to contain.  I took a picture (or 10, because the more you take the better your chances are that one turned out right) and then kind of forgot about it once the snow melted it away.

I was scrolling through pictures on my camera yesterday and found this simple snow note again.  I uploaded it to my computer so I could see it better and that's when I noticed something I hadn't seen before...

footprints in the snow!

I am not a huge fan of the cold.  You may think that's funny since I live in Utah but the fact remains - I do not tolerate frigid temperatures well.  At all.  (Ask my family about my parka.) So the fact that my little Curly would hurry out into the snow without shoes to write this little note in time for me to see it was even more meaningful to me.

It's a beautiful thing to know you are loved.  

Cats In Space

Elle and I have been doing a lot of shopping lately in an attempt to find her the clothes that she needs for the next 18 months as a missionary for our church.  The problem with shopping with Elle is that we are both fascinated by unique (some might say strange or crazy) things.  So instead of buying missionary clothes we often come home from a day's worth of shopping with things like a vintage plastic cup, a humpback whale light set and a purse shaped like an elephant.

Often when we see something crazy I have to go by my 24-hour rule so that I don't bring home a bunch of knick-knacky things that we don't really need (regardless of the cool factor).  My 24-hour rule is this: put it down and leave the store.  If I still want it in 24 hours I can go back and get it.

Just before Christmas Elle and I were shopping and came across these amazing cat pants!

You need a closer look, don't you?

 

Pure awesomeness.  Elle told me I could buy them if I wanted.  I almost got them for my cat-loving friend for Christmas but just before check-out I told Elle I was putting them back. She immediately put them with her stuff in the cart and then bought them for herself.

Do you know what happened?  I wasn't even trying for the 24-hour rule with these pants but I could NOT STOP THINKING ABOUT THEM.  Here's the thing, though.  She bought the last pair in the store. We even had two different ladies ask us where we got them when they saw them in our cart.  THAT is how amazing these pants are.  That is the power they hold.  SOLD. OUT.

A week after Christmas these pants were still calling to me. The internet, I thought. And so I searched, and there they were.  You can buy anything on Amazon! So I did.  And then the bad weather came and delayed my package in Illinois for almost TWO WEEKS.  But today?  It came.

I am now the proud owner of 'Cats Flying Through Space Cute Kitty Leggings' and I can't wait for the chance to wear them to the gym.

Christmas Letter 2013

The Fox wants to know... What do we say?

Allen says: I have almost 3 years as Scoutmaster under my belt. I enjoyed many campouts with the scouts as well as our week-long camp this summer and a rafting trip with some of our older kids. I enjoyed watching the milestones my kids have reached this year and have spent a lot of time contemplating my future life full of grandchildren.

Gerb says: Allen and I were able to take a trip to New York with our friends the Biglers. I got to see Newsies on stage again! I loved my annual week in the mountains at Young Women’s Camp and have a new assignment at church to work with the young women (age 12-18) and their leaders. I’m learning a lot.                             

Allen the Younger says: I love sharing the good word of God and serving the people of Fort Worth, Texas! I’ve gone through a tornado and ice storms (it literally rains ice!) in the last year and have also seen many miracles. You can read my weekly letters home at elderblackfortworth.blogspot.com. I love y'all!!!

Elle says: I’ve graduated from high school and finished one semester at BYU. But the best thing that happened this year was that I received my call to serve a mission in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for 18 months, speaking Spanish! I will leave for the Mexico Missionary Training Center in late January and then on to Baton Rouge!

Thumbelina says: My braces are off! My XC team placed 9^th in state, I made it into Chamber Singers and I love it! We sang backup at a Foreigner concert (they let me play bass guitar!) and I also got to sing in Utah’s All-State Choir. I finally got my driver’s license, went to Disneyland twice, and I’m graduating from high school in the spring! Fantastic!

All-a-Boy says: I’m a freshman! I had the privilege of performing as a Wickersham in Seussical, I have a lot of fun singing baritone in Men’s Choir. I was able to enjoy a two-week trip to the National Scout Jamboree and various church history sites this summer. I’m almost an Eagle scout! I started (occasionally) wearing glasses this year. Allonsy!

Cowgirl says: I turned 12 and got to go to camp with my mom this summer! I loved going on a backpacking trip with my dad and the other girls my age at church. I graduated from 6^th grade and now I go to middle school. I’m in the choir. The kids in our family discovered Doctor Who and I can not get enough of it!  Geronimo!

Princess says: I’m almost 11. I love to read! Some of my favorite authors are Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Louis Sachar, Richard Paul Evans and Suzanne Collins. Of course, I still love the Harry Potter books too! I love to sing, go to school and be outside. We went camping in California over Spring Break and I got to shoot guns! That was cool.

Hubba says: I’m in third grade now. I got to be a Bear cub scout in October. It’s fun. That means I got my Wolf badge. I loved going fishing at our family reunion this summer. I caught a fish! I love shooting my BB gun. I also made up a comic strip called Mighty Boy. Nothing too exciting happened though. We didn’t move or anything.

Curly says: I’m seven now and my teacher is Mrs. Anderson. She really likes diet Coke. When we do math she makes it fun. I love numbers and counting as high as I can! I like to color and draw and paint and decorate things. I like to play games, ride my bike and roller skate. I love to read, especially Bailey School Kids and Flat Stanley books. Bye!

Little O says: I get to go at school now because I’m in kindergarten! I like to play with blocks and my brother Little X is my best friend even though he pinches me sometimes. I want to eat healthy food so I can grow huge muscles just like my dad. I like learning my letters.  My favorite letters are O and E and that one at the end of my name.

Little X says: Dats awaboyaygo. Wook dispartuk. Wach Bababurbur? Translation: That’s All-a-Boy’s Legos. (He loves to get into his brothers’ Legos when they are at school.) Look at this fire truck. (All trucks are fire trucks. Unless they are construction vehicles.) Watch Bob the Builder? (He loves watching Bob and knows the names of every machine.)                                          

We all say:  We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Fury of the Storm Wizard

Have you ever wanted to see All-a-Boy in his natural habitat?  Then here he is!



My friend Janelle's sister wrote this book and asked if All-a-Boy would be in the commercial to promote it. Pretty awesome, right?  The book sounds pretty awesome, too.  Here's a synopsis:

A storm is brewing in Silver Valley, where an unusual string of mining accidents has locals whispering of dark magic. When the marshal sent to investigate goes missing, his young assistant Boone turns to Jesse and Eliza for help. But Jesse is a new mage with raw magic, and Eliza is hiding a secret. The three must learn to trust each other before the valley is destroyed and they are ripped away from everything they hold dear.

We're excited to get a copy (shhh...it's going to be under the tree Christmas morning).  It sounds kind of like a Harry Potter-ish book set in the old west. Both things we love around here. I have a feeling this will be one of those books that gets passed from kid to mom to kid until we've all enjoyed it.

Not only can Shauna write stories, she has her own amazing story, too. Here's a little more information on the author and the book.

When Shauna Black was diagnosed with cancer in early 2012, her author aspirations were put on hold. Now, almost two years later, she will realize her dream as she publishes her first novel, Fury of the Storm Wizard.

Jesse, the main character of Fury of the Storm Wizard, must find courage as he grapples with the death of his mother and a move from the Kansas prairie to a Colorado mining town, where Jesse discovers he has astonishing magical power.

When he befriends a girl scarred by fire and a young dragon disguised as a human, Jesse finds strength to overcome his challenges. Together, the teens must uncover the truth behind a string of deadly mining accidents and foil the plot of an evil mage before Jesse can learn to control his magic and use it to save his friends and family.

Like Jesse, Shauna found strength to defeat cancer in the support of her loved ones. They gave her the courage to make her dreams into reality.

Fury of the Storm Wizard will be available the first week of December 2013 in paperback and ebook formats at online booksellers. Please visit http://www.thunderstrucknovel.com or http://www.shaunablack.com for more details.

If you read it, let me know what you think!  We'll be sure to do the same.

Hubba's Greeting Cards

Hubba had a homework assignment to look at the pictures on these cards and then come up with greetings for them. I don't know about you, but a lot of cards I see at the store are a little dramatic.  I was impressed that Hubba stuck with more of a what-you-see-is-what-you-get approach. For the first few cards he went with the obvious, simple greetings.  

get well soon

 can I hod the BaBY

thanks for the Bike 

But these last two were my favorites.

I Made you a wedding cake

Dear gma thanks for the turkey

I don't know about you, but I would pay good money for cards like these from the store.  

Beholding of Angels

I have been studying and thinking about spiritual gifts lately - where they come from, how we recognize them and what they are.  When I first read over the list of different gifts I could only recognize one as a gift that I possess. But as I've thought more about each one I am beginning to realize that I have more than I originally thought.  

I received an email from Princess' teacher the other day.  It said,

I wanted to let you know about the wonderful job Princess had been doing in my class. She sits next to M, who is an academically gifted student with autism. M often has trouble focusing and sometimes makes odd noises or hums as a symptom of his disability. Princess has been so patient with him and has been a wonderful friend to M. I'm aware that it's easy to be distracted by his behaviors, and I am impressed with Princess' positive attitude towards the situation. M loves his table!

I was so proud of my sweet girl. She has always been such a tender-hearted young lady who is a friend to everyone.

Princess had a class store the next day, where each person had the option of bringing items from home to sell and/or getting to spend the class 'money' they had earned at other students' stores.  Kind of like a yard sale for 5th graders. When I picked the kids up after school I asked her how it went.  She told me about what things were most wanted and what she had sold and then wanted to show me some of the things she had bought.  As she pulled some binoculars from her pocket a ball of foil fell out.

"What's that?" I asked.  She looked like she didn't want to tell me. "Is it just some trash, Princess?"

"Mom, please don't get mad."

"Why would I get mad?  Did you buy some treats and eat them all?"

"No."

She went on to explain that her friend M, who sits at her table, didn't have anything to sell at the class store so he had made balls out of foil and set them out for sale.

"No one was buying them, Mom" she told me, "and he was really excited about them at first but then he started to look really sad. So I went to his store."

"And bought one of his foil balls?"

"No." She pulled three more from her pocket. "I bought four."

My vision got a little blurry just then.  I drove in silence for a few minutes and then I told her about the email I had gotten from her teacher the day before and how proud Allen and I were of her. "Those foil balls are my favorite of all the things you bought, Princess", I told her. 

Grades are important and all, but this is the kind of stuff I love to hear that my kids are learning.

One of the spiritual gifts that we can be blessed with is the beholding of angels. I remember reading about that gift and wishing I had it - to be able to see my dad again and others who have left earth life.  But when I stop thinking of angels as immortal beings and recognize the earthly angels that I share my life with, my kids who teach me by example how to bless the lives of others, the more I think about it, the more I feel like this is a gift I may have been given.  Because even though they can be typical kids a lot of the time I am constantly impressed and touched by how natural it is to them to serve and help others. 

Let It Snow!

We woke up this morning to a world covered in white stuff.  Little X was completely fascinated and would not stop staring out the window and pointing out everything that was now covered in snow.  He was excited when he saw Little O getting his snow gear on after breakfast.  X went and found his hat and snow boots, put them on while still in his pajamas and loudly proclaimed, "Outside!"

I helped him into clothes more suitable for the weather and the two boys happily played until their cheeks were tinted red and I made them come inside to warm up.    

The snow has not stopped falling all day long.  It's been piling up like crazy and Little X has resumed his watch from the window, fascinated as every evidence of his play time this morning is slowly disappearing beneath the falling snow.