Mr. Bennett has been training for a mini-triathlon next April. He rolled his ankle on a rock in the road and sprained it badly last Wednesday or Thursday. He could barely walk the first few days and really wanted to keep running, swimming and biking. Admittedly, I have been teasing him a lot. Not because he sprained his ankle, it was a freak accident after all, but because he wants to keep training/swimming like nothing happened. If he were one of his patients I think he would tell them to rest longer than he is resting himself. That whole doctors are their own worst patients saying comes to mind. ;)
So we have both been having a frustrating week since then. He wants to keep on his work out schedule and mad that it happened in the first place. There were a lot of things on the honey-do list that my honey can't do. I rely on Mr. Bennett a lot during the weekend for apartment jobs and heavy lifting that he is not able to do yet. The kids are going crazy too. Their rough and tumble Dad is relegated to sitting on the couch or computer chair with his leg up. I am trying to pick up the slack in silence. Until Mr. Bennett tells me he is going to go swim today!! We have a friendly wager going. I think it's too early and he's going to relapse. He thinks his ankle is healed enough and will be fine. For all of our sakes, I hope he wins. We'll find out in the morning.

thankful for you!

In my need to catch up on family and friends through their blogs I came across this story, life rather. It's the life story of an amazing young woman, mother of 4, funny, creative, child of God who has touched many by sharing her life through her blog. Stephanie, or NieNie as she is known in the blogoshpere, is truly tuned into what is important in life. And now she is fighting for her own life. She and her husband were in a devastating plane crash. Her life that was filled with yoga, creating, changing diapers, fixing meals, endless laundry, savoring her children, and enjoying her young family is now concentrated on staving off infection, undergoing countless surgeries and skin grafts, and healing her body that was over 80% burned. Her husband is also in the middle of a long recovery from burns and broken bones. They are both an incredible example of strength and courage. I ache for those sweet young kids who miss their parents so.

And after a good little cry, I am most thankful for MY four chillies who are the light of my life. Mr. Bennett is my love and together we are enjoying this wild ride of life. I am more determined to find joy in the little things and make my home a place of peace and comfort for my family.

Rarely is an entry complete without a photo so here is the latest. Dave decided it was Hawaiian Day for the kids Sunday morning so they all matched at church. I snapped these after church when the kids were tired and cranky so there was not a good one of all 4. I totally photoshopped someones head in the group one below. Any guesses who? ;)Yesterday, during a particularly crazy time of day when Syd was tired and crying, Coop was whiny and self-destructing from lack of food, and we were stuck in the car waiting for Jessie after school, I lost my temper and yelled for everyone to please be quiet. I got the quiet I asked for, but Toby so innocently and quietly said, "I want to go back to school." Oh that hurt. I know exactly what he meant and then realized I am smarter and better than letting the mundane craziness get to me. These little spirits just want love and attention and I need to put some more effort into listening and being the Mom I imagine myself to be. Someday the peace and quiet will come when they are older and I will never get these days back. I want to be able to say that I lived every day to the fullest.

Check ya later. I'm going to rock some playdough sculptures with Coop.

i'm gonna love you forever and ever.

Dan and Lauren were sealed in the temple on a beautiful, clear afternoon last Friday. Dave and I took Jessie and Sydney with us and enjoyed sharing this special event with them. Uncle Tom and Kristy watched the girls while we were in the temple and Lauren's family was waiting outside when we were done. There was just enough daylight left to get some group photos. We left the boys with their buddies at home which ended up being a good decision! (thanks Scott & Sami!) Afterward we all enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Jack London Square to celebrate (thanks Katie and Jeff!!!).

Our Jessie is getting so grown up. She loved being with the adults for the evening. She learned why there are so many forks and spoons at a formal place setting, and how to twirl long noodles on a spoon instead of playing tether ball with her tongue. When we sat down at the long table for dinner she picked up the menu and started to look at all the items. I leaned over and asked her what she wanted to eat, to which she replied, "I'm looking for the shrimp! I want something with shrimp or crab!" Her and I both ordered Fettuccine Alfredo with Prawns which was DElicious. It ended up being a little rich for Jessie because she got sick that night. :(

So, in case one didn't know, Lauren is a big fan of cake, especially frosting. Her wish was to have cupcakes for dessert from a shwanky bakery in Los Gatos. These cupcakes looked fabulous and they were just as delicious. A very sweet end to a wonderful night. Thanks for sharing your special day with us Dan and Lauren! We are so happy for you!

I'm not a wild pig!

My Mom sent this story to me a few days ago and I haven't been able to get it out of my head. It's been going around, so many of you may have read it already. I think it is so pertinent to our times right now, especially after seeing who won the election.


A chemistry professor in a large college had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab the Professor noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back, and stretching as if his back hurt.

The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He has been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist government.

In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked, 'Do you know how to catch wild pigs?'

The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke. 'You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming.

When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side.

The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.

Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught.

Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America . The government keeps pushing us toward socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc.. While we continually lose our freedoms -- just a little at a time.

One should always remember: There is no such thing as a free lunch! Also, a politician will never provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.

Also, if you see that all of this wonderful government 'help' is a problem confronting the future of democracy in America , you might want to send this on to your friends. If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life then you will probably delete this email, but God help you when the gate slams shut!


Sadly, the fence-building commences January 20, 2009. How long will we tolerate it?


"The inherent vice of Capitalism is the unequal distribution of blessings, the inherent vice of Socialism is the equal distribution of misery."
- Sir Winston Churchill

super mario rescues the princess.....

We have almost recovered from a fabulous weekend and crazy week last week. How was everyone's Halloween?? We had a huge and FUN night. A friend and I were in charge of the Halloween Carnival at our church on Friday night. We did it up right; dinner, carnival games, popcorn machine (thanks Jen!!), cotton candy, bounce houses, pinata, face painting and crafts, etc. A big thanks to all who helped set-up and take down and with the food. My Mom and Dad, Dan & Lauren, and Tom & Kristy came too. They all dressed up, if you call Dad's Hawaiian shirt a costume ;), and bailed us out big time by helping with the games and cotton candy that we didn't have helpers for. Thanks so much guys! I received so many compliments that everyone had a great time and we had a lot of visitors.
I thought making 3 of our 6 costumes this year would be no problem and that I could get them done with time to spare. I love making costumes that no one else has. Halloween has become a big holiday in our family because Dave and I and the kids love dressing up as themes every year. I figure we will do it up right until the year the kids are too big and too cool to do so. As usual, the weeks in October flew by and I was just finishing up Syd's turtle on Halloween morning before racing off to the school kids' classrooms. My Mom seriously saved the day by hemming my Daisy dress and finishing Syd's Koopa while I packed up to get us to the church early. We decorated as much as we could the night before, but some of the help that promised to be there didn't show so we were a little slower than planned. As soon as school was out I packed the kids and costumes in the car and we met Sami and Jen at the church to finish setting up. All the work was worth it because we had a great night and so did everyone else.

Introducing the Super Mario Bros. clan. The kids were introduced to the next gen of Super Mario on Wii and that's where the idea started. I remember wanting to go to my friend Ali's house in 5th and 6th grade so I could play Super Mario 3. I would walk in and ask if her big brother was home because that meant the Nintendo was free and we could play. Dave downloaded that same game on the Wii a couple months ago, and I sat down and played a video game for the first time in a very LONG time. It didn't take long to get frustrated and guilty about wasting time so the nostalgia didn't last long.
Denise rolled in 9 months pregnant and I was rolling with laughter. Her belly looked so real! She even had the walk down and that strained roll-up-from-a-chair-belly-first thing going on. NO, she is not at all pregnant! It was a great costume and she fooled several people that didn't know her. You can't tell, but Arnold is sporting some serious black eyeliner. He had fun pretending 'Nise was pregnant. Lauren is a teacher and walked around school as the Name Police. She had a huge pencil in her back pocket and the kids loved playing with her handcuffs. Dan decided to go low-key with a Wicked t-shirt. *side note* I want to go see Wicked so bad! It's coming this way in January. I have to figure out a way to get tickets and talk hubby into going or letting me go without him!Tom and Kristy look awesome! Little Sydney loved snuggling on Kristy's shoulder and even fell asleep. We wrapped up the night with showers and sorting candy for the Great Pumpkin. The chillies all got to keep 10-20 pieces of candy and put the rest in the pot for the Great Pumpkin to take while they were sleeping. He left them a small toy in their pumpkins and we have a lot less candy in the house. Yeah!!