Little Stinkers

Kid in diapers? Brilliant idea: http://www.littlestinkerusa.com
Let me know what you think.

20-ish Wishes (In Celebration of My 200th Post)

I just recently published my 200th post, which I think deserves some kind of attention. For my 100th post I listed 100 things I am thankful for (click here for that post). I want to do hopes and wishes this time. But don't worry; while it would be pretty easy to do, I'm not going to list 200 wishes today. Here's my top 20 or so:

• I hope someday to own a home that will meet my family’s long-term needs.
• I hope to be a suitable housekeeper by then too!
• I hope to hold my bachelor’s degree in my hands within the next two years. Or I hope we are blessed with more babies soon. I don’t think it will be possible to have both. But hey, since I’m only musing here, why don’t I go ahead and wish for both?!
• I hope to always see what is genuine/ sincere about others and what is good about them too.
• I hope to always treat everyone I encounter with kindness and tact, but I hope the way I treat people accurately reflects how I feel about them.
• I hope to be aware of my neighbors/ friends/ family’s needs, and I hope to have opportunities to fill those needs as well.
• I hope to be prepared for emergencies and hard times.
• I hope to handle emergencies and hard times with good decisions and a clear conscious.
• And in the interest of full disclosure I’ll admit that I hope to once again reach a size 8 or 10 and stay there at least until the grand kids start coming and it’s fully appropriate to be more soft and squishy. (Wrinkles and loose skin remaining at a minimum would be fantastic too)
  

Of course this list wouldn’t be complete without a fair amount of hope for my family’s future:

• My ultimate hope is that we can all make and remain faithful to the covenants that will allow us to be a family for all of eternity. I can't imagine anything more desirable than being a family with my favorite people forever.
• But as we're heading down that path, I want my children to grow up to be healthy (mentally, physically, spiritually, etc.), unselfish, balanced, educated, contributing members of their various social groups (family, ward, community, country).
• I want them to build personal, meaningful relationships with their Heavenly Father and learn to serve him with mind, body, and soul.
• I hope they learn to serve others and work, hard. But I hope they learn how to play hard too.
• I hope to foster in them an appreciation for nature, family, exercise, good music, and creativity.
• May they learn how to work toward and achieve goals.
• May they develop wonderful imaginations.
• I pray that Ben and I can teach our kids how to be self-sufficient. So much hinges on that.
• I know that much of this depends on the tools and keys that we, their parents, provide. I pray that we will be constantly in tune with the spirit of the Lord, that we might do a thorough job.
  
• I hope to someday be the mother my beautiful boys deserve, and likewise, I hope I will someday be the wife my amazing husband deserves too.
• I hope I spend enough quality time with my boys to provide them with a solid foundation and not an unhealthy dependence.
• With all that said, I hope I can convey to my children my total adoration and unconditional love. These are only my hopes. There are no expectations that they must meet in order to win my love or approval. These are not benchmarks that must be hit for my children to make me happy.

I only hope for these things because I believe they offer true happiness and freedom to the possessor. This isn't about something that I want from my children; this is something I want for my children.

I guess that's enough for now. Thanks for listening. Let me close with one final wish; I hope the future shows you all the opportunity and happiness you can handle. Lots of love, Lynners

An Update

I'm thankful to report that Sweety's latest blood tests show that even though his pituitary gland is abnormally small it's producing normal amounts of growth hormone. His latest x-ray, however, shows his bone-age as 15 months. Sweety is actually almost 32 months old.

Our endocrinologist offered a theory about the discrepancy. He thinks it just took a while for Sweety's underdeveloped pituitary gland to start working. He says that Sweety will probably always be small for his age (like we weren't already anticipating that), but will continue to grow on into his 20s before reaching his adult height.

The great news is, we probably won't ever have to do injections!!!! I'm not saying never, because I don't want to count chickens yet, and as our endo pointed no one can fully predict what will happen during puberty. However, I'm so grateful to be saying probably not!!! That's fantastic! I feel an enormous sense of relief on this one.

In the meantime, he still hasn't gained a pound or an inch since July-ish. I'm not worried, but I do hope he'll get going before he wears out his current wardrobe. ;)

Blind Hair

Today Smarty saw a shaved head and asked who the man with the blind hair was. I guess he figured blind eyes are non-funtioning eyes, so blind hair is non-functioning hair! Works for me.
*giggle*

Caps for Sale

A little while ago Smarty's preschool class spent a day with the book, Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina (10 times fast, anyone?) . If you don't already love it; go immediately to the library, and borrow it!

At school Smarty made this adorable picture that he's so proud of, with popsicle-stick trees, monkey stickers, and hats cut from magazines and clip-art. He also made a hat for himself.

After we picked Smarty up from school, we decided to continue partying. That book was a favorite of my childhood and has been a favorite of my kids too. So we made a hat for Sweety, and acted like monkeys all afternoon!

Two New Book Reviews

Please click here for my thoughts about

Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.

Or click here for my review of

Markus Zusak's the Book Thief.

Starting a Book Club

Attention: those of you who live near me. My friend Sharla of Winterwrite.com and I
are starting a book club!!

Each month our group will choose a book to discuss (we're aiming for inexpensive paperbacks). But we won't be limiting our monthly discussions to that book alone. If you don't read the featured title, we'd love to hear about what you did read.

Our first meeting will be Saturday, the 20th of February to talk about the Book Thief (and whatever else you've read). If you'd like to join us please email me at Lbardwell at gmail dot com, and I will send you the place and time. I hope to see you there!!

Christmas Morning with the Reeders

I'm so behind in my blogging!! So I'm dumping my favorite Christmas pics on you in three posts today. Please forgive that they are all in one really long column, but if I wait until I've got the time (or the motivation) to arrange them all cute, it probably will never happen!

So we'll start with Christmas morning at my house. All the Reeders came over, because we have the only Reeder grandkids at the moment.

I got a whopping 1.5 hours of sleep that night.

But sweet little boys make loss of sleep worth it!

A good look for Grandma

Uncle Russ and Aunt Manda-Lou. See the twinkle in her eye?

That twinkle will be arriving sometime in June!!! Woo-hoo!

I'm thinkin' uncle Joe could have used a bit more sleep too.

Smarty chats with Aunt Manda-Lou. But check out his

shirt from cousin Amy. Too funny; I love it!

Sweety loved playing with a brand new net and soccer ball


Look at how big and perfectly-formed these snowflakes are. (Click on the pic to enlarge it)

They fell a couple of days before Christmas. It was a gorgeous snow-fall.

Christmas Eve with the Bardwells

The Bardwell family Nativity play on Christmas Eve 2009:

Our exited angel

Pregnant Mary on the donkey

Well done, Donkey!

Joseph and some really cute shepherds!

The angel descending from Heaven

The wise-men and coach. I'm wondering what's up with the drunk shepherd in front.


The cast, minus one wise-man. I'm not sure where he went!

I may be partial, but I thought Sweety made a dang cute shepherd.

Neighborhood Preschool Nativity Play

Smarty's neighborhood preschool produced their own version of the Nativity story. Here's my favorite pics of the night:

Smarty in his shepherd costume, carrying a staff that Grandpa Bardwell made. He was so proud of that staff! He carried it everywhere that night.

Smarty's cousin made the most beautiful little Mary


Ben may be the world's most patient father

Now that's love!

Not sure why, but I just love that the star is hanging from the rim of a basketball hoop.

The Holy Family. So cute!

This is the part where Mary's cousin, the shepherd, comes for a visit and a peak.

All the kids sang to us.