So much to be thankful for . . .

I am so blessed. As I have been going through photos from the last couple of months, I have been overwhelmed by the big and little things that make my life so wonderful, and for which I am so grateful. Here are just a few of the many gifts I have been given:

Amazing family:

My kind, sweet, selfless grandmother:

A love for nature--something my boys share with me:

Healthy, energetic boys (sometimes I forget that energy is a blessing)

A sweet, smiley Gabey face--who wouldn't want a basketfull of that?!

Good friends:

Dirt--it saves my life:

Sweet blond hair to add variety to our brown-haired crew:

Lack of Television programs, but joy of the occassional DVD

(like for family "haircuts and a movie night")

*this was Isaac's first haircut--just a little off the bottom

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I don't know how people get through life without it!

This is La Primaria del Ramo di Forli:

Sweet brother moments:

A House to live in--and we really LIVE in it--and a great yard for exploring and adventuring:

Obviously,

THE BOYS who make life full, challenging, unpredictable, and fun.

And a Practically Perfect husband, who takes such good care of all of us

(So glad that he fell for me):

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for all that I have been blessed with.

Halloween week--scarey!

I can't believe how fast October has flown!

We have been enjoying some of the beauties of fall--like the need for long sleeves and jackets (I just love a crisp, chilly breath of fresh air)!!

Of course October brings our traditional "Halloween" books, movies, baking, and decorating.

We start every school day with Five Little Pumpkins, which we learned from Grandma Moss and just love (we have assigned each person his/her appropriate pumpkin):

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.

The first one says, "Oh my, it's getting late!" (Mom)

The second one says, "There are witches in the air!" (Gabe)

The third one says, "I don't care." (totally Adam)

The fourth one says, "Let's run, and run, and run!" (yup. Eli)

The fifth one says, "I'm ready for some fun." (Isaac)

Then, "woooooooooo" goes the wind,

And OUT (clap) go the lights!

And the 5 little pumpkins roll out of sight. (rolling hands)

I have been trying to learn one of the Witches' chants from Macbeth, because it is so fun and perfect for Halloween: Round about the cauldron go, in the poisoned entralls throw . . .

I was hoping to encourage my kids to learn Windy Nights, By Robert Louis Stevenson:

Whenever the moon and the stars are set,

Whenever the wind is high,

All night long in the dark and wet,

A man goes riding by.

Late in the night when the fires are out,

Why does he gallop and gallop about?

Whenever the trees are crying aloud,

And ships are tossed at sea,

By on the highway, low and loud,

By at the gallop goes he.

By at the gallop he goes, and then

By he comes back at the gallop again

I would say it in my creepiest voice, hoping to really grab them.

Well, . . .Adam would cover his ears and sing every time I began the poem, because he was sick of it, but . . .he'll love it next year!

One of our favorite books/poems to read at Halloween time is the tale of The Spider and the Fly (a favorite all year, but especially fun at this time of year). There is another really cute book called Here They Come by David Costello. It is one of Gabe's all-time favorites and is just fun!

In early October the boys learned the song, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home". It is a marching song from the civil war (the Northerners sang it). I showed them later how it is the same tune used in "The Ants Go Marching", and we learned that one. Well, since it was coming on Halloween we decided to write our own Halloweeny version--some of the verses are a bit tricky to fit in, but the boys and I had a pretty fun hour putting it together, and Isaac thought we were hysterical. Here are the basic verses:

The Ghosts go haunting 1 by 1,

ooooo, ooooooo (scarey ghost sounds)

The Ghosts go haunting 1 by 1,

ooooo, oooooo

The Ghosts go haunting 1 by 1,

The scariest one says, "This is fun!"

And they all go haunting

down to the town

to scare all the kids!

ooooooooo (longer scarey sound to lead into the next verse)

The ghost go haunting 2 by 2, . . .

The scariest one howls at the moon.

And they all go haunting . . .

ooooooooo

The Ghosts go haunting 3 by 3 . . .

The scariest one looked right at me!

And they all go haunting . . .

oooooooooo

The Ghosts go haunting 4 by 4 . . .

The scariest one hid behind the door.

And they all go haunting . . .

ooooooooo

The Ghosts go haunting 5 by 5 . . .

The scariest one died at 95.

And they all go haunting . . .

oooooooo

The Ghosts go haunting 6 by 6 . . .

The scariest one stopped to eat some chicks.

(Adam's favorite, but you could change it to "throw some sticks")

And they all go haunting. . .

ooooooooo

The Ghosts go haunting 7 by 7 . . .

They've never made it quite to heaven.

And they all go haunting . . .

ooooooooo

The Ghosts go haunting 8 by 8 . . .

The scariest one made an old woman faint.

And they all go haunting . . .

ooooooooo

The Ghosts go haunting 9 by 9 . . .

The scariest one stopped to rattle the pines.

And they all go haunting . . .

ooooooooo

The ghost go haunting 10 by 10 . . .

When the sun comes up they'll be gone again.

And they all go haunting . . .

ooooooooo

Halloween is a chance to laugh at the spooky,

to try something creepy,

(Adam with a shrimp scampi we used in our dinner that night--colored hair and eyes added)

or to feel a nice little chill go up your spine--like when we wonder what really happened to Icabod Crane in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Always nice to have another reason to celebrate!

Life back to normal?

Okay, it always takes me a little while to get back into the swing of things after visiting family in the states. But this time, it is just a bit crazy.
There have been some interesting things to alter the speed of transition, like:


#1--an injured David, trying to recover from the 4-wheeler accident on the dunes in Idaho. This is a true trial for him (and me). He broke 3 ribs, cracked his sternum, cracked his pelvis and bruised a lung--all recoverable, but painful. He has never been incapable of helping with so many of the everyday things in our lives, nor has he ever been in significant pain for a long period of time. He is trying to be patient and let things heal, but doesn't enjoy this more inactive life-style.

(this is a picture of where David went over--look close and you can see 2 little tire prints, against the sky, on the top of the hill)

He still hasn't gone into work, but has been working at home on the computer and on the phone. We try to be quiet during his business calls, but even when he is shut away in a remote room, voices carry! It's all about humility this fall, eh David?

#2--my closest friend here, Angie MacDonald, moved back to the states just a week after our return. She has been a saving-grace for me here in Italy. We will really miss our long, fun Miss Angie and Kenny days. The MacDonald's became family, so we will see more of them, but we miss them.

#3--a pregnant Rebekah. Okay, so we've done this before, but never without Daddy coming home most evenings and taking over so mom can run to the toilet and then to bed. And never with an Isaac--he makes things interesting (kind of like an Eli, but with more night-time sleep issues).


(Isaac loves to play in the bidet!)

We are excited for our new addition--all the males in the family are hoping for a baby girl, so mom has decided to root for the underdog and talk up another boy!

Thank heavens for pretty good little boys. They have jumped right back into life as they know it, full of toy animals, home-made games, wrestling, and hours spent in the huge field of dirt!

I have to say that I don't know what we would do without Eli right now. He has proven to be the greatest of helps with Isaac, most appreciated when mom just needs a rest. Isaac loves him and often wakes up asking where Eli is, "Li? (lie) Li? Li?. . .Li!!!"

(David and I always end up singing, "Li, li, li..pom...li, li, li, li, la-li, li, li ... li, li, li...pom...li, li, li, li, li, li, li, la-la-la-la-li". You may not recognize this without the melody, but it is a great part of one of the great Simon and Garfunkel songs).

Anyway, I've just made my life sound rotten, but we are doing pretty well, all said. As I wrote this, I have easily seen the flip-side of these "trials":

#1--I have had the opportunity to recognize all that David really does for me on a daily basis in his usual, very capable, state.

#2--In Angie MacDonald I have made a life-long friend--the kind that really does only come around very seldomly, and my kids have earned a sort of 3rd grandmother (she spoiled them rotten).

#3--I am hopefully going to have the chance to see another one of Heavenly Father's spirits join our home--always wonderful and interesting! I have seen my boys' sheer joy at the thought of having another brother or sister. When we told them Iwas pregnant, they just kept saying, "Is it really true?" and Eli said, in the sweetest, most tender manner, "I always knew I wanted another brother or sister, but I am just so glad!!"

Life sure is great for stories, and that is what I like the most--good stories to tell.

The Incomparable Grandpa Von

Happy Birthday, Dad!

We just recently got back from our yearly visit to the states--a chance to make more memories to live on throughout the year!

Our time was very short with the Callister clan, and my kids were very bummed to have to leave without more adventures with cousins and GRANDPA VON!

Most grandpas are wonderful, but there has always been something extra special about Grandpa Von. He has energy and an adventurous spirit, which helps make him fun, but he also has such a a sweet and thoughtful way. My boys all adore him.

Eli got to live in the same house with Grandpa Von for the first 8 months of his life, and has been hooked ever since--though he has always lived at least 2,000 miles away. Adam and Gabe were won over quickly, and Isaac is following in the grandpa-von-fan-club tradition.

It is easy for me to see why my children adore him, since I have my whole life!

But I thought that I would share a couple of examples of the sweet man that my dad is, and how he stays strong in their hearts and thoughts, even from thousands of miles away.

My dad works for Wells Fargo bank and so my kids have Wells Fargo wagon banks and wallets (we love to sing The Wells Fargo Wagon Is A-comin' Down the Street, from The Music Man).

Well, this year, he sent us a Wells Fargo Calendar. Each page has a couple of Cowboys driving the Wells Fargo Wagon pulled by a large team of horses through different scenery. It is fun on its own, but my dad took it a step further and added words to each image-- drivers exclaiming, horses talking, aliens or bigfoot or a hidden person in the distance making some simple little remark. He uses at least one of the boys' name on each page and they love it! I just have to smile as I picture him at the kitchen table with this calendar in front of him thinking up what to write.

*In case you can't read what he wrote here--the man next to the driver is saying, "Adam, please slow down, you are scaring me!" and one of the horses asks the other, "Why do we have these things over our eyes? I can't see you. Can you see me? Maybe they don't want us visiting with each other."

The other thing that he is good about doing at least a couple times a year is sending notes to my boys in the mail. They love to get the letters from Grandpa Von and read the individual letter to them. So far it has always been written on a notepad stating:

From the desk of ..... Von (though he has added Grandpa on top of the Von)

I keep these notes for the boys and know that they will always be a special reminder of their Grandpa and how he was willing to take time to think of each of them specifically.

These are just a couple examples of my sweet Dad. My heart is so warmed and grateful when I hear my kids praise him. He is a wonderful example of all I dream they will become as men.

My Dad drove to the airport with us when we were heading back to Italy, in case we needed extra help (David was hurt while we were in the states and I thought I might need extra help getting to the plane with the boys). Eli rode in Grandpa's car and stayed pretty close to him until we said good-bye at security.

It was so hard for Eli to say good-bye.

I was emotional, but trying to be the strong and collected mother--with 4 little boys and a husband getting wheelchair service, I felt that I needed to look like I was okay.

Eli did his best to be discreet, but he was sobbing. I could hardly look at him because I just wanted to bawl along-side him. Here was my tender-hearted boy leaving his favorite person on this planet (he loves his parents and brothers, but . . .), knowing it would be a long time until they met again. I was grateful for the man who inspired such a strong adoration, even if it made departure extra hard.

Thanks Dad.

Gabey turns 5!

Gabey-goo.

sweet thumb-sucking cuddler

Makes mom melt.

I can't believe that he is 5!

Of all my children, he is the one that I would just like to keep in compact form, so I can always have him near me:

-asking to come to the grocery store, when everyone else wants to stay home with Dad.

-telling me I am pretty and he loves me

-ready at any moment to have a story read to him

-climbing into my bed in the morning for some snuggles before starting the day

-making up poetry like:

Once there was a Raccoon and he met a

Ibex and then they met a

Iguanadon and then they met a

Allasaurus and then they met a

Amabeledon and then they met a

Diplodocus and then they met a

Liopleridon and that was the end.
(all real creatures, mostly prehistoric)

The day before his birthday I told him that he just needed to stay 4 because it fits him so well. He let me know that he was going to be 5 (there is something so magical about that whole-hand-age), but he said, "Don't worry, Mom. I will still cuddle you up!"

Gabe's jungle-themed party

Gabe says, "The best thing I got for my birthday was my Ibex, and my favorite thing we did is adventuring to find animals . . .but not real ones, toy ones!"

Beauty through Eli's eyes

The other day Eli runs into the house exclaiming, "Mom! Mom! You have to see this bird that Gatto killed!"

Now, Gatto (the cat who has adopted us) kills numerous birds, lizards, mice, moles, etc., and loves to leave them on the porch as little gifts. I have seen many, and was in the middle of something, so I was going to decline the new opportunity.

Then Eli went on, "It is the prettiest bird you've ever seen. It is all red with a blue belly."

We don't have birds like that here, so I got up and went outside to see it.

This is what I saw:

It is a pretty ordinary bird--the kind that are always lying dead on the front porch. It is sweet and so I would have felt sad that it was killed, but I wouldn't have thought much more of it, since it is just one of the many little brown birds in the yard.

Eli is color-blind. He wasn't trying to trick me into coming out. He truly saw something beautiful in this simple little bird.

I often wonder what Eli sees and feel sad for lack of color in his world. I am such a color nut--it makes me so happy to see bright, happy colors. But this day I learned a sweet, touching lesson--Eli doesn't see what I see, but maybe sometimes what he sees is better.

That little bird was acknowledged and appreciated by Eli in a way that, perhaps, no one else could appreciate him.

Maybe we should all be a bit more "color-blind" at times.

Thanks, Eli.

Christmas in July

Yes, it is now officially August--wow.

This last week--in honor of the end of July, we decided to have Christmas in July. I did this for the women in Relief Society and then for my boys on friday morning.

The boys and I got out our Christmas quilt to sit on while we sang Christmas songs and read our favorite Christmas stories. We made fun snowflakes while the fan blew on us to keep us from sweating. So fun.

There is just something so magical about Christmas time. So just one time a year? I think not.

We listen to Christmas music all year and my favorite lullabies are definitely Away in a Manger and Silent Night (they are so sweet).

I get all happy inside when Gabe picks How the Grinch Stole Christmas for an afternoon movie, or when one of the boys pulls out The First Christmas Tree, or Christmas Oranges, or The Light Of Christmas (love this one), etc. to read on just a normal day of the year. The warm, wonderful feelings that come from these stories are exactly what we need in our everyday lives.

Today we were all home from church (except for David) due to bowel issues 3/5 of us were experiencing. We did church at home--each boy gave a talk in "primary", and we each bore our testimony in "Sacrament meeting". Later we watched The Lamb of God, and The Testaments.

It was so wonderful to ponder Christ's life and the atonement, after talking about the joy of His birth this week.

I am touched each time I watch these films and remember just what He did for each of us. I reminded my children that He truly knows them and loves them--they let me know that they already knew that (what a great gift for them!).

So, no matter what day of the year it is--to each of you a Merry Day-to-remember-Christ-and-to-feel-His-spirit!"

on a side note:

Gabey loves to create crazy creations with our pictures on picnik.com. This is one of his latest--it is actually David, Isaac, and Gabe in the pool behind our house, but Gabe made them into crazy aliens, with a little help from mom (I just followed the instructions given me by him).

He wanted me to share this up-lifting image--maybe not real fitting with today's theme, but . . .