Seriously?

I recently read that Disney is offering full refunds on any Baby Einstein video made between 2004 and 2009. Do you know why? Because people have figured out the awful TRUTH that they will not make our kids little geniuses. GASP!! Did YOU know that?

Seriously?! What is wrong with people? Can you believe people were really naive enough to think that putting our children in front of a screen where little toys were pulled and pushed across a black or white back ground with classical music played on a synthesizer would actually make our kids smarter?! People were so upset when they realized their kids were not smarter that they threatened a class action lawsuit...hence the full refund offered by Disney.

I just found the whole thing so ridiculous! I mean honestly, when I've watched the show with my kids, it is a harmless little show but I almost feel dumber after watching it because it is so simple and non-intellectual.

Actually, you know who's the genius don't you? The mom who decided to make these videos? Every time my sister Tami sees them she can't believe how much this mom is making by buying a few toys and puppets and having them slide in front of a screen. I agree! She was able to convince SOME parents out there that their kids would be little geniuses in the end.

As for me, I just say, let's get worked up about the important things! Don't count on a video to do the impossible! Then maybe we'll have more time to come up with our own ingenious idea!!

Have a great Tuesday!
-Bek

Baby Names

A few people have asked me if we've picked out a name for this baby. The answer is not yet. Well, I think we've decided on a first name for a girl name. For some reason, names are coming a little harder for this one. We like several, it's just deciding on a name that is appropriate as a baby all the way till it's an old person (if it lives a long life).

I asked Josh what he thinks we should name the baby. First off, he is sure it is a boy and is going to be pretty disappointed if its not. But he's found a name he thinks would work no matter what sex the baby is. Josh's choice: Erp. Or I suppose it could be spelled Irp, or Urp. Anyway, when people ask him what the baby's name is, he'll probably tell you "Erp". But of course, no body has ever heard of that one so they usually ask, "what was that?" Then he gets shy and usually won't repeat it. Anyway, I told him that can be his special nickname for the baby.

so, the search for a fitting name continues. I just hope we've got it figured out before the baby comes.

Remember

Matt and I had the chance to go to Nashville, TN this past weekend. While we were in the area, we went to a nearby town, Franklin to visit a couple Civil War sights. We first went to the Carter House where the bloodiest battle of the Civil War was fought. Afterwards, we went to the Carnton Plantation to see where many of the confederate soldiers who died that day were buried.

It was a moving experience to walk on the soil where thousands of Americans died. There were so many moving stories about the battle and the lives that were affected by it. But as we remember all our Veterans today, I thought I'd leave you with my favorite quote from the battle.

At one point, during the battle, it was obvious to the Confederates that they were clearly at a great disadvantage and would lose many men. A soldier turned to General Cleburne and said that it looked like not many of them would make it home to Arkansas to tell about this battle. General Cleburne answered, "If we are to die...LET US DIE LIKE MEN!" He charged forward with his men and was slain in the brutal battle.

Let's be thankful today for the many Veterans who have died bravely so that we can still live in a land of freedom.

Pumpkin Party Pictures

We hosted our "annual" pumpkin party a couple weeks ago. I put "annual" in quotations because we haven't done it for the past two years. But it's something we started at our old house and wanted to continue so we got around to planning it this year. It was fun as always! Everybody brings their own pumpkins to either carve or paint. Everybody brings food to share and my sister Heidi, and my sister-in-law Marie and I made chili. It was a fun night! Here are some pictures from the evening.

My nephew, Joe working on his pumpkin

Another nephew, Drew paining this pumpkin...he was all business

Here is the kids' painting station.

Darci at work among Cade, Cole and Caleb (someday, when she's older, this would either be an amazing evening or annoying...depending on if she thinks boys are cool or not)

More artists

The adults working on their pumpkins

We had some amazing carvings again this year

Another little nephew, Will working on his pumpkin

Clint was very serious about getting his pumpkin right.

Here the contestants put in their candles and make their last adjustments before the judging begins.

I think this was the hardest year to pick a winner. All of the pumpkins were just so great. Everybody votes for one as most creative and one for most beautiful/artistic. It was actually a very close race this year. The winners were:

Jay: most artistic Jarod: most creative

The prizes were apple pies made by me...I know, maybe not the most exciting prize but it works.

Here are the pumpkins

I wish you could see all of these with lights in them and the lights off...they just look even better.

"Boo!"

Thanks to everyone who came. Hope we can do it again next year.

Here are their Costumes

I'm not a big fan of Holloween but it is fun to see the kids dressed up. I am one of those very last minute moms when it comes to the outfits. I seriously didn't come up with an idea until the day of. So, basically we used what we had in our dress up box and regular clothes.

Aria was the chicken this year. All of my kids have been a chicken at this age because my sister, Heidi bought this for Josh when he was a toddler and it's the only costume I don't have to think twice about. She enjoyed it for awhile and then preferred just to wear the orange pants.

Darci was a 1940s lady waiting for her man to come home from WWII.

Here she is with her noble service man.

I guess he's just really excited to finally be on leave and with his girl!

A Grateful Day

I thought I'd share a story of when my kids were very good since I often share times when I am struggling because of bad behavior!

Today, our town was having an H1N1 vaccine clinic where we could get the shot for free. My OB strongly urged me to get it and my kids' pediatrician also wanted me to get my kids vaccinated. So, this morning at 9:15 I dicided to head over to the center to get it done quickly at the beginning of the day. I just assumed that they had started around 7:00 am.

I got there around 9:30 and was pleasantly surprised to see that there were not as many cars as I had expected and the line was reasonably short. There were only about 100 people in line. So, we got in line. the sun was out after days of rain and dreary weather so I was thankful.

By 10:15, however, the line had not moved an inch and the sun had been hidden by a thick layer of clouds. The wind had picked up and was beginning to blow against our backs. I finally asked the ladies in front of me, "What time are they going to open the doors?" Their answer made me cringe, "12:00". At this point, Aria was begining to fuss because she was ready for a nap. Josh was stressed about the prospect of getting a shot. Darci was not enjoying the wind.

I thought to myself, "Should I give up on this and do it another time? Should I come back later? Should I stick it out?" I finally decided on the third option. I quickly prayed, "Lord, help my kids to be unusually patient. Help my kids not to be too cold. Please help the nurse who administers the shots to be kind. Help us to get through this wait".

Praise the Lord because my kids did very well. I had thankfully packed pretzles and fruit snacks that helped Aria to wait as patiently as possible. Darci and Josh ended up playing in the grass by the line and it was one time I was thankful that they don't mind playing in their own imaginary world.

about 5 minutes before 12:00 and older gentleman came up to me from behind and said, "Your kids have been so patient and good and now they're all going to get shots!" I said, "I know! I feel so mean!"

Once the doors opened, the line moved quickly and we were all vaccinated in about 20 minutes.

As I walked out the doors and saw the line of hundreds of people still waiting outside, I was thankful that for once I was not organized and had checked the start time. I never would have showed up so early and gotten through the line before the rain began to fall. I was also so thankful for my kids who behaved so unusually well. I was thankful to a God who cares enough to hear a desperate mom's prayer.

I am feeling very sorry for anyone who was out there at 3:00 (the time I was originally going to go) in the cold rain.

So, that was our adventure today...sorry for the boring post.

Thank You Guys

I just wanted to acknowledge all the comments on my last post. It was so encouraging to read from mothers who have walked this road ahead of me and gave hope. I was grateful for words of challenge and encouragement to keep falling before the Lord. I was thankful that my thoughts were able to somehow communicate the feelings of some of you other moms out there. There is an encouragement to know we are not alone isn't there? I'm thankful for each one of you and wanted to say thank you for sharing in my life through this blog!

Have a great day!