Christmas Pictures

Well, It's been too long! We are all having a busy but wonderful time this Christmas. I'm still tap dancing and loving it. I've also taken to running and am training for my first 5k. Matt's work is keeping him busy as his group keeps growing and tracking down all those scary pirates worldwide. :) Alex is progressing in school and just made a topographical map cake in the shape of washington with all the cities, rivers, mountains, volcanoes, dams and regions on it.
He got the highest score possible, which is hard to achieve in our school system. He had fun making it and also eating it with his classmates! He also just performed a Christmas song on the piano for Primary sharing time. He did really well. We're proud of how accomplished he is becoming on the piano! He is starting the simplified hymns book now and we look forward to him being able to play hymns for us. His current passion is Pokemon. He can tell you what a hundred different Pokemon do are what they are decended from, thier powers and weaknesses etc.

Lili is in gymnastics and is loving it! She announced to me today that she can stand on her hands for 10 seconds without falling now. Handstands used to be something she struggled with. She is a determined little gymnast. I love to watch her work hard at something that she wants. She seems to already know that if she isn't good at something, she can just work on it and she will get much better. She doesn't get discouraged easily! She is also very creative and artistic. Her pictures and love notes are all over the house. She often ropes in her brothers, sisters and cat (Elinor) for her artistic creations. Here she is adjusting the costume she made Lucy!



David is loving Kindergarten, which did take an adjustment. His favorite thing is all the friends he's made. He's quite a social bug! Every day he buzzes through his homework and asks " Can I have a playdate?" In fact, they are usually the first thing out of his mouth when he steps off the bus! Just so I would have an excuse to spend SOME time with my little buddy, we had to come up with a rule. No playdates two days in a row. Whew! Now I get a spot in his little appointment book of playdates! I sure love the guy. He entertains me with his stories and opinions and I tell him mine. He is a good listener as well as a talker and we enjoy our conversations.
Lucy Ann is our personality! Matt likes to burst into the song, "She's got personality" at random times when Lucy Ann is being silly. This Thanksgiving she stole my camera and ran around getting silly shots of people. She did a great job of getting people to loosen up and the shots are priceless! We love playing with her. She loves tickle fights, telling "secrets" that end up blowing your ear, and playing with Alex. She has the funnest giggle!

It's all over... whew!

Today is the last day of school and boy have we been busy! Running here and there. Staying up way past bedime finishing things up. End of year projects, end of year recitals, and lots of activities! But it's all over now, at least for now. And we are just resting... at least until next week when our first summer trip begins.

Happy Birthday Alex!

Alex's party was a blast. I figured out how to use Microsoft Publisher and made those invites above becuase Webkinz doesn't make any! I made a Wheel of Wow, we broke geodes, and played balloon darts (while I was praying no one left the pary without an eye). Each game earned them Webkinz Cash or Kinzcash as the kids would correct me. The person with the most in the end won a real webkinz. It made me feel good when Alex told me that he loves my parties. That is what makes it all worthwhile! We saved all the stuff because Lili wants a Webkinz party too. We'll be having her party a little late, during the summer (the schedule picked up so fast that we had to keep rescheduling her party).

The Flowers in my Garden...

I heard someone once compare their children to flowers in their garden. All my flowers are starting to bloom! I'm afraid this causes more excitement in me than is even remotely cool. But then, I stopped caring about being "cool" years ago anyway. :) Another one of my amature hobbies is photography. I love capturing a beautiful plant or moment forever! Well, I went outside to take some pictures of my beloved flowers and found something even better. My Alex and Lucy were playing together and interacting so sweetly! I was blessed to be able to capture it.

And it beats any flower, any day!

I also watch Alex growing each day and I can't believe how lucky I was to have him for my firstborn. What a sweet son and brother he is! I love his thoughtful, kind, and fun personality. He often sits and has very mature conversations about things with me. Or very funny ones. He is quiet about his life and feelings unless you take the time to talk with him. But it is always a treat. I've always loved him. But I was also always afraid of what it'd be like as my children got older. I find that I really like Alex even more each day.

10 years of Matt + Belinda <3

Hi All - it is me Matt. Belinda and I are having a great time having our 10th Anniversary at Disneyland! Here are some pictures.

Picture to right: Belinda and I eating at the Blue Bayou. :) One of my all time favorite rides is the Pirate one. We made reservations to eat at the Blue Bayou the first night. It was fun because we got to sit right by the water. People going by on their boats made all sorts of interesting noises and of course stared. It felt pretty weird, like we were part of the ride for them or something! One obnoxious guy started singing this crazy perverted song nice and loud as he floated by. Matt and I had a lot of fun from then on scheming about what we could throw at people like him without getting caught. In the end, after alot of laughing and failed attempts, we decided we didn't want to get kicked out of Disneyland on our first day. But maybe we'd come back on our last day here? :)

Picture to Right: Belinda and I at Sleeping Beauty's Castle:

On our first date, Matt pulled me into the hall to teach me how to waltz. He started singing softly the waltz from Sleeping Beauty, as he taught me the steps and spinned me around, " I know you, I've walked with you once upon a dream. I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar to me... And if I know you, I know what you'll do. You'll love me, at once. The way you did once, upon a dream"!

Of course, it was all in fun, and he wasn't pretending to mean any of it. But my romantic heart melted at once. Before and after that dance was so magical! It was, quite simply, the most fun I'd ever had on a date. Some say soul mates don't exist, but things moved so fast for us for a reason. From our first date we both knew something really special had happened. Maybe we did know each other once upon a dream!

As Matt and I passed the carousel, it was playing our waltz. Matt twirled me around and around and I felt a bit dreamy all over again!

Picture to Right: Belinda and I on the Steamboat

What a trip! We had so much fun running around to rides, shows and restaurants that I even got blisters on my feet the first day. We stopped at the Steamboat for a nice moment of relaxation! Unfortunately, there were no seats left, so we were left standing. Oh, well! It was a nice view anyway.

It was quite an emotional roller coaster preparing to leave my kids for a whole week. But in the end the kids loved being at their Grandparents and Lucy loved Rose and Kyan. And somehow we were able to relax and let it all go after leaving. Once there, Matt and I joyfully remembered what it's like to date again... for more than a few hours each Friday. At first it almost felt odd, having that much time together. But I can't tell you how wonderful it felt to spend almost a week alone with my best friend. And to remember all the reasons we fell in love, even before we had 4 beautiful kids.

Happy 10th, Matt!!

-Matt and Belinda

When you have a frowny face, do not let it stay!

No matter how bad my day is going, I have never been able to keep my "frowny face" when one of my cute babies comes around! Here's Lucy's latest song. Check out her expression... what a little ham!

David, my buddy

David has always been my little energizer bunny. With energy to boot, a "let's get this party started" attitude and a vivid imagination, it's never a dull moment! While I'm cooking dinner, I often find myself standing in the dark, as I hear a "Let's have a dark party!" proclaimed by a little boy running around turning off lights. In church last week, the bishop asked the kids why Jesus created the earth for us. While other kids were saying stuff like "He loves us", David proclaimed very seriously that Jesus made the earth so we didn't have to live in outer space! Many of the teachers tell me they look forward to what David will say each week. He's not trying to be funny, he really believes this stuff he thinks up! A classic example was when we went to dinner at my sister, Rose, and her new husband's house. When asked why he was doing something, David launched into a very serious conversation with my new brother in law. David explained the details of what needs to be done to avoid detection by aliens. We had a real laugh and thanked David for looking out for us!

However, during times that are supposed to be quiet (prayer, scripture time, nightly stories, home teacher visits, FHE...) it can be pull your hair out kind of crazy. I've learned to stay calm, but I'm still hoping David doesn't grow up to associate church stuff with timeouts. Needless to say, getting David to listen and remember any lessons taught has been a challenge.

Then one day, David recited something to me that we had talked about nearly a year before, while on a walk. I started noticing that he remembered everything, nearly word for word, that we discussed while DOing something one on one. So David and I started trying to have one on one time regularly. When it's sunny, we go on walks. When it's rainy, we bake stuff. I'm not perfect at doing it all the time. But it's really helped things. He remembers what we talk about and even obeys better at other times.

I love moments like that! When God shows you how to be a more effective Mother! And what a blessing it is to have such great kids... I sure love them! My aunt babysat the kids yesterday morning. She told me that Lucy got hurt and so she was giving her hugs. David watched silently, then piped up. He said, "You know, I like loves from grown ups, too."

We like to give you loves too, David!

birthday season has arrived!

In the Berryhill household birthday season is Jan-May, where there is at least one birthday per month! As someone who LOVES holidays and pretty much any reason to celebrate, I have always put on big birthday parties. But the last couple years, I've found myself racked with an ever growing guilt. Monthly (or more) parties in a busy family of 6, have started to feel more like an overwhelming chore, than a party. I always wondered why I had regular big birthday parties and my youngest siblings seem to strain to think of their last official birthday party. I think it is happening to me. I keep thinking... next year... next year for sure... So forgive me if I don't get around to sending out adorable pictures of handmade, creative parties. I'm afraid, for now, they are a thing of the past. Now, if I can just stop feeling so guilty...

Potty training blessings... yes, I said blessings!

Lucy was almost two. The cursed time of potty training was coming and I tried to pretend it wasn't. Maybe if I didn't think about it, the time wouldn't come when I would need to potty train again! Then one day, out of the blue, Lucy started sitting on the potty. I watched from a distance. Unready and unwilling to jump in and start a long process of accidents and headaches. But I told myself, if she really goes potty in that toilet one of these days, I'll buy some undies for her and do it. Lo and behold, one day she did go! And then she started going all day, in the potty, entirely on her own accord. She undressed herself (something Alex wouldn't do), climbed up on the big potty with out fear (something Lili wouldn't do), and went both poo and pee (something David wouldn't do) whenever she needed to (something none of the rest did). I literally only had to wipe, although she tried doing that as well. I've never heard of any real live kid doing this. If I had, I would have been sceptical. Lucy truly does have a mind of her own!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Matt made a snow fort for the kids while he was shoveling our driveway after 9" of snow fell! Later another 9" fell! It was a record snow for our area and boy did we have fun!
The kids played till they were frozen, then inside for hot cocoa to warm up again. Then dry gloves and outside again.

We also bought tubes from a tire store and Matt and I got a workout pulling the kids up the hill we live on to a nearby hilly park. The first time we went we all froze our buns off and went home early. We dug out the snow box and surprized ourselves by finding a snow suit for everyone! An unexpected blessing! Matt says our neighbor had given him a bunch of snow suits last summer, that her kids outgrew. Kudos to Matt for putting them in the snow box!

So we bundled the kids in the snowsuits and spent hours tubing in our park. They have some good steep hills and we joined a crowd of neighborhood families sledding. Kids everywhere were bargaining to trade a sled ride for a tube ride and our kids made a lot of friends that day!

(Fall) Family Picture Time... Yikes!

Alex took the camera, after our pictures were done and started shooting pics of Matt and I. We were just happy the family picture circus was over!

Matt has a special bond with the kids! When Matt started putting in extra hours at work last year, we started having him do the kid's bedtime routine, so he'd be able to spend some time with them each day. Since then, it's been amazing how close the kids have all become to their Dad.

We were all trying to keep our spunky little Lucy in the picture at this moment! She kept trying to escape! All the kids were busy trying to help me, instead of looking at the camera... oh, well. At least they're good siblings!