Giving

These are thoughts that have been running through my head throughout the month of December that I wanted to share. Christmas morning was a day that I have been looking forward to for a long, long time. I even have an image of my mind of how I thought it would play out. I saw in my mind of maybe where I would've stood ect. Does that make sense? As Christmas morning came and all the presents were opened I had to pull the classic Carver tradition "Well, look what is hiding back here!" So I found the lone present and with my heart already pounding gave it to my dad. The anticipation was so great that I felt as though I wanted to jump out of my own skin. It was the wierdest feeling that i have ever felt. I had so many emotions going through me that I couldn't contain my tears. Well, I have never gave so unselfishly before, never worked sooooo hard on something for someone else. That moment of me sitting on a chair and my dad handling the box that inside lay a book of his mother and her life and the thought that he had no idea. Not even the slightest hint of what I was doing. He didn't even know that you could publish books this way. That was definately a moment that will stay with me forever. I was focused on him that morning and could've cared less what I got for Christmas. I know now that that is what Christmas is all about. Giving.


Sharing the hug that followed the opening of the book was one of the greatest things I have ever experienced. I can still feel my dad sobbing on my shoulder. As I hugged him I whispered in his ear, "Im sorry that you lost your mother when you were so young. She was an awesome person." With tears spilling on my shoulders he replied, "It hurts, you don't know how much it hurts. I cried so many times. I cried and cried." To hear my dad say those words to me and to share that with my dad is a moment between us that I will cherish forever. That made everything worth it. Everything.

Opening "the book"

I'm Back!

Okay, Im back...finally! It has been a hard few months and where to start Im not sure. If I type everything that has gone on I will be here next month still typing so I will try and highlight the month of December.
One of the main reasons I quit blogging for a while was that I was afraid that the secret would get out. The secret of "the book" as it is known now. For those of you who don't know what "the book" is I will explain a little.
Are you ready?
This turned into a 6-month project but was so worth my time.
To save time I am copying what I wrote in "the book" under preface. This explains all of it.

When I was younger I remember seeing pictures of my paternal grandma. It was a
face that I didn't recognize. I didn't think much about her, for I only knew her name and that she had red hair. Now that I am in a different stage in my life, married and with three young children I have a little different perspective on life then I did back then. I hadn't thought much of my grandma in years until I came across a handwritten letter addressed to Ray and Violet Dewey. The Dewey's were friends and neighbors to my grandma and grandpa when they lived in New Plymouth, Idaho. They were taking care of her newborn baby while she was mentally ill at St. Benedicts Hospital in Ogden, Utah. The letter was dated May 13, 1952 and I realized that this was probably the last thing she wrote before she passed away. As I read these precious words I couldn't hold back my tears. My heart ached for her and for the pain that she felt as she longed to be with her family again. After reading that letter I instantly wanted to know more about her and her life. That night we spent many hours reading letters and looking at old photos of Virginia and learned
just a little of the amazing person that she was. It was then that I realized that this information was priceless and didn't belong in a box. I wanted all her family to be able to enjoy the legacy she left. This book is a result of what has been gathered together in the past 6 months. I am not an expert as writing but have tried my very best to relay the information as it was told by Virginia herself and what has been written about her life. I've done this in love and have tried to be sensitive to those who will turn these pages.

The Latest

I seem to draw a blank of what to blog about so I will share the random things the Frederiksens have been up to.

1. On Saturday night Darin and I went out on a date. He wanted to take me to a place called Fast Lane. Oh, baby I had a wake up call. It is a indoor race car track similar to Boondocks only faster and more furious. We ended up in a heat with some other FURIOUS racers that surely have been there several times before. I was lapped by some of them twice! I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into when I was told to put a headsock on and a helmet, not to mention a neck brace. But later while racing as I smashed into the side wall I was glad that I followed directions. It was intense, but so much fun.





2. Also on Saturday was our Super Saturday for the 10 Mile ward. It was a combined event with my old ward, Cherry Lane ward so it was so much fun to know everyone there and talk and craft with all my friend. Thank you to my good husband for willingly taking the kids and letting me play. The only thing he asks me when I get home is "Honey, is that all you did?" But my reply is always the same with "No, I got a lot of talking done and ate a yummy lunch." That takes a lot of time to, right?

3. We are now finishing off our Halloween sugar cookies from last FHE and loving them. It is a BIG tradition for those orange, sprinkly pumpkins to be baked a few weeks into October. This year they seemed tastier than ever. I have learned that each cookie doesn't need to look like Im taking it to a bazaar. Letting go is good...those cookies are a work of art all decorated by the kids. But I promise that it doesn't change the taste, not one bit!

That's all for now

Davis at 8 months

A quick review of what Davis is up to:

-lots of babbling (has definitely found his voice)
-eating lots of cheerios (mostly shoving them in his mouth)
-Darin says "pooping 4 times a day" (he changed alot of diapers today)
-turning a complete 360 on his tummy
-clapping his hands....so cute!
-dishin' out graham crackers while fixing up his food. This kid has no patience!
-guzzlin' down bottles. Love not nursing!
-giggly and happy, showing off those dimples!
-showing off his toothy smile. Pretty cheezy most days.
-cutting his 2 front teeth, thank goodness, he wont look like a vampire too much longer with his laterels already in.
-saying goodbye to snuggling. He is too busy looking around and on the go!

What is there not to love about this round ball of dimples and slobber?

Not much..

Irresistable

whats going on with us

I feel bad about not being able to blog lately but my life is getting so busy! It seems that i have something going on every day and it's challenging just to keep the laundry done let alone get it folded. I have been working on a HUGE project lately that seems to be taking over my life. I think that I may have to slow down a bit and face reality. The fact of the matter is that I cant do it all! I can't be a mom and get this project done in just a short amount of time. I am a pleaser and want to get it done by Christmas for me as well as for others but I am not willing to sacrifice my families happiness because of it. The answer: i don't know but i think i just need to slow down and get it done the way i want it instead of hurrying through it and making my life as well as my kids a nightmare. Wow, im a mess!

Anyway, the air is crisp and the leaves are changing. I love this time of year. Its the anticipation of whats coming. The kids are excited and so many things to plan for. Davis is growing up soooo fast and is almost 71/2 months old already. what a cutie he is. His dimples make me melt. I love him as well as Carson and Chelsea. They are loving life right now. We moved Davis into Carson bedroom and now Chelsea has her own room. Pink and all! im feeling a little creative and thinking its time for some girly stuff to be happenin' in that room. im looking for a twin size bed and mattress. so keep your eyes peeled. I prefer something old and cheap so i can refinish it the color i want or a nice wood that would go with a pink and brown quilt i am making. I just can't fathom paying out the nose for a bed. I guess im just cheap.

My Personality

This is all pretty much me except the irreverent, unconventional part!

You Are An ENFP

The Inspirer You love being around people, and you are deeply committed to your friends. You are also unconventional, irreverent, and unimpressed by authority and rules. Incredibly perceptive, you can usually sense if someone has hidden motives. You use lots of colorful language and expressions. You're quite the storyteller! In love, you are quite the charmer. And you are definitely willing to risk your heart. You often don't follow through with your flirting or professed feelings. And you do break a lot of hearts. At work, you are driven but not a workaholic. You just always seem to enjoy what you do. You would make an excellent entrepreneur, politician, or journalist. How you see yourself: compassionate, unselfish, and understanding When other people don't get you, they see you as: gushy, emotional, and unfocused

What's Your Personality Type?

Too Cute!

We heard Chelsea say the funniest word the other day. She was talking about these pair of jeans that were given to her from Olivia. They were pretty trashed looking but when Chelsea picked them up she said "Mom, these are crotten!" Crotten What kind of word is that. The big rip was in the crotch of the jeans so maybe a combination of rotten and crotch.....that's my guess! Its a word that is used everyday around here now. 3 year olds girls are funny, you never know what is going to come out of their mouth!

Tender Mercy

Applesauce, Salsa, Strawberry Freezer Jam, Corn, Peaches, Fruit Cocktail were all the items on my agenda this year for canning. Why? I have no idea.. I get all pumped and excited until im half way into it and then I say Uuuuggghh!! But hey we will have something to eat in the middle of winter. I had a little episode with my salsa a few days ago. Marne helped me to understand that this was truly a tender mercy.

I was laboring in the kitchen all day (5 or more hours) earlier this week making salsa. That included cutting tomatoes and vegetables until I wanted to scream then waiting for the salsa to thicken over a few hours time. After awhile I was getting close to being done when I noticed the salsa smelled burnt . It made me sick to my stomach to even think that i had burned that salsa. I didn't even want to go there! I was TICKED! i was so mad that I just felt like crying. I felt like no matter how hard I tried that I still couldn't do anything right. Let me just remind you that I HATE burning food. Nothing makes me madder! I didn't even want to taste it cause i wasn't ready to face the fact of it being burnt. I waited, waited, and waited, trying to let it sink in and get used to the fact that my salsa was done, over, wasted! As i said a little prayer in my head "please save this salsa, let it not taste bad, please, please" I put the salsa to my saddened lips and tasted first a spicy hot, jalapeno taste and then awaited the taste of burnt that i was sure was going to follow. I was sitting there with my feet aching, enjoying the cushy seat, and was trying to figure out why I did not taste the burnt taste that I was sure was in that salsa. I was sure that it was just me, maybe I couldn't taste it cause i didn't want to so off I went to find Darin, thinking that surely he could tell me that it was burnt. He thought it tasted fine too. After having Marne's husband taste it while I was there and getting his approvel of the ok tasting salsa I was starting to believe that maybe I had been given a tender mercy. The Lord knew that I was trying so hard to stored food for my family and do what he has asked that he preserved my salsa from tasting burnt. Later after I had emptied my pan, there covering the bottem was a solid layer of charred salsa. I am just grateful for He who is watching over us when we least expect it.

Who Is Carson?

The other night I was reading Curious George to the kids. During the story I had a

Ah ha moment. In the story George ends up getting in trouble for his curiousity. He gets

trapped by the man in the yellow hat because he was interested in the hat while in Africa.

Then later he gets put in jail for playing with the phone and accidently calling 911. It occured to me that Carson is my Curious George. He never gets in trouble for being mean or rude or throwing fits, instead he gets in trouble for making a mess when his "experiment goes a-wall. Im telling you this kid is thinking of things he could do all day long. His latest idea is finding miscellaneous stuff in the garage and putting it behind the car tires and listening for it to
"crunch" as I back up. For example: a rotten peach that was in the trash, empty water bottles,

and a clothespin. Arrgghhhh!! The every day dealing of Carson's curiousity. In these pictures it's just a random afternoon at home and this is what I find him doing outside. He figured out that the electrical conduit for the garden trellises would fit perfect in the hose. Then it could drain into a bucket and fill up. Perfect for him to sit and cool off in 90 degree weather!

In honor of Carson starting Kindergarten at age 51/2 I wanted to describe who he

is and what he loves at this age. I will never forget my first child going of to school.

That phrase just has a beautiful ring to it, doesn't it?

Size Shoe- 1
Favorite color- Blue
How tall-4 foot
Weight- 47 lbs. all skins and bones
Favorite toy- the hose, and balloons
Hobby- gardening, baking with mom, riding his bike
Likes- to be included in whatever is going on
Dislikes- being ignored, talked over, not letting him get his word in
Last Lunch eaten- 2 hotdogs, 1/4 banana, and a yogurt an hour later
Favorite Dessert- Mmm, anything with loads of sugar...ice cream, cake
Best bud- probably his mommy, then Davis
Temperment- Kind, giving, easy-going , loves to laugh
Strengths- Fun loving, clever brain, shares easily
Weakness- drawing, being quiet,
Favorite TV show- How it's Made, Curious George, Man vs. Wild
Favorite place to visit- Grandma and Grandpa Carver

Restaurant-Red Robin ( they give balloons there)

Last Dinner- Grilled Chicken Sandwich with lettuce and tomatoe
Last Breakfast- oatmeal with br. sugar
Favorite Frozen Treat- Otter pop, fudgesicle
Favorite fun place- Roaring Springs

Trick regularly pulled- sneaking some kind of sugar out of pantry or freezer
What he want to be when he grows up- "garbage man or a house builder"
Good friends- Bailey and Emma Stafford, Braden Clark
Most hated chore- putting away folded clothes
Happy about- starting kindergarten
Worried about- the fire drill today, "it's goin to be scary"
Who he looks up to- his Daddy, Uncle Dellas, Tanner Frederiksen (cousin),Missionaries
Favorite holidays- Christmas, 4 of July, and Halloween
Favorite teasing act- making fun of with Chelsea's Barbies or dolls
Favorite respose from Chels- hearing her scream as she chases after him

Ticklish- Oh, yes on his knees, tummy and armpits

Above all the most favorite thing that his mother loves about him is

his contagious smile and his upbeat, happy attitude!

Love you tons, Cars

-Mommy

At Last!!!

We officially have a child in school. Everyone say YEAAAAA! I know you are all cheering me on at home. It was really a bitter sweet moment. It hit me when we went last Thursday to meet the teacher and visit the classroom. As we walked through the school and into the classroom I got a little tearie-eyed. I totally didn't expect that. But I told myself to "suck it up" Im supposed to be excited, not be crying. The first day of school, Carson was basically jumping up and down, he was so jazzed. I don't think I've ever seen him get ready so fast. It's so great that the school is so close. We can wake up at 8 o'clock and be showered and out the door and at school by 9. This will be such a great year for both of us, almost life changing I feel like. It really will be good for Chelsea too. She needs some alone time with me without Carson right there stealing the spotlight all the time. Plus, that girl is actually gonna learn how to clean up for once by herself. So for us it's Kindergarten...volunteering....school parties....homework..here we come. Gladly.

A Rexburg Adventure!

This last month has been a crazy one. With flu,vacation, and school starting we have been a busy family. In the middle of August we took a trip to Rexburg (the kids and I) to see Maren and her fam. That trip is one of those where it's so much fun but so much work at the same time. We are basically single parents for a few days. Maren is one of those friends who I will know my entire life. We see eye to eye on so many things that we just "click", I guess. What I didn't realize a few years ago but I do now is that because we are such good friends our kids will likely be as well. During our trip there were a few disagreements about who got to sit by Carson. Bailey and Emma like him quite a bit. I hope they can stay friends as they grow older, it would be kinda fun.




Our trips can only last just a few days because with 6 kids between us things can get pretty hairy in a heartbeat. Here are just a few things to describe our trip.

staying with Maren in her beautiful no stove, cupboardless house (but we had a microwave)

• watching the rain and thunderstorms roll in



• eating out of grandmas YUMMY garden



• staying up till 5 o'clock am getting a good "talk" in with Maren



• feeling groggy the next day, especially after my incident at the vet. How embarrassing



• DEALING



• getting dumped on at the splash park for a Millhollow yogurt



• hearing the kids giggle as they play



• lawnmower rides



• hot tubbin'



• eating lunch & walking through the beautiful BYUI gardens



• just hangin' out at home doing what we do best--being moms
  
  Thanks Maren---You're so great!!

A garden transformation!

Before & After

3 months later



I have been waiting to blog about my garden or our garden as it is Carson's as much as it is mine. He is out there all the time watering and picking away. Just tonight as we were outside he said "Mom, I love this garden, I love watching everything grow from just a tiny seed." We are already planning our next years garden and the things we are going to do different. I love to see the progression of our ginormous sunflower that is quickly changing the landscape of our garden. It kinda got there on accident. It goes way back to March when we starting the seeds indoors. Carson stuck a bunch of different seeds in a half-cut milk carton. We planted about 3-4 zinnia seeds close to each other and a couple different kind of sunflowers mixed in with a cantaloupe and a cucumber. Well, days turned into weeks and I kinda forgot what we planted. I just figured that I would be able to tell them apart by the seedlings. So needless to say I planted what I thought was a zinnia. But it didn't take long and one of my zinnias started passing up all its fellow mates. i thought is was just an agressive zinnia! But one day I noticed the stem getting fatter and fatter, then it hit me. This plant was no zinnia, this was a mammoth russian sunflower that reaches a height of 8-12 feet! Nice one Sher! As the days passed and I watched that sunflower grow knowing that it was going to get huge I thought about pulling it. But I couldn't make myself do it. My curious mind wanted to know just how big could this thing get. So I decided to plant the same seed in just the normal dirt next to the house and compare. Yes, those sunflowers are big too but nothing compared to the one in my box. So I truly believe that it's my magical soil! It has to be! This garden has made our first summer in this house so much fun. Thanks to Marne for showing me SFG. I am so glad that I decided to do it. Its been awesome and I'm sure I will be an addict for awhile. this picture was taken on the 4th of July 6 weeks after we planted in May!
July 23

Wow! This garden is really taking off. Carson is showcasing our first tomatoe. The first of many to come!The base of the stem is huge.Carson can't even put his hand around it and now I can't either! If I had to pick my favorite plant I would have to say it's my tomatoes.They are growing like crazy. The cherry tomatoe plant is out of control. Check out this pictures!

For a current picture stay tuned for my next blog. Im going to snap a shot from the same angle as my first picture and post in a few days. Stay tuned.....

This is one cherry tomatoe plant. I never thought that it

would get this big. I did prune it alot when it was first growing and have gotten TONS of little tomatoes off of it. Below it is two purple cabbage plants. the one is taking over.

Evolution Of Dance

This is hilarious! Check it out.