Avocado Lover

Whoever knew that my 3 year old would love avocados? Allie eats them like an orange and she even tries to eat them peel and all. I used to be able to save all the avocados for myself but now I am lucky to even get a bite! I don't mind feeding them to her - she definitely need the calories more than me! This child also loves mushrooms and tomatoes. I hope she continues to love the vegetable family and doesn't get tainted by her brother and sisters views!

My kids at Easter

Emergency Evacuation

A few weeks ago I was asked to participate in a 5th Sunday lesson with my family. Of course I agreed but I was not told any information. Well yesterday as we were on our way to Twin to go out to eat with our son Zach for his birthday we got a call that we were to evacuate our house and we only had 10 minutes. Alan negotiated with the caller that we would evacuate when we returned after all it was Zach's 16th birthday we were trying to celebrate. Upon our return and after singing happy birthday and having dessert we told the kids that we had 10 minutes to gather our stuff and leave. Alan told the kids that the house was going to be flooded and we needed to get out quickly. Abby started bawling and began to panic. (Way to go dad!) He was quick to reassure her that it was only a drill. We started racing around the house to gather things in a frenzy. I do have 72 hour food packets in a box downstairs underneath a few things along with our wind up radio, emergency blankets, 100 hour candles and our tin cups. Mind you they were not in any backpacks and not even together but at least I knew where they were! I gathered them along with a few blankets and pillows. We were also asked to bring our swimming suits and to meet at the Gaver's house. We were told that we were going to be gone 24 hours. Well, we didn't think that we were seriously going to be gone 24 hours so we didn't bring medicine or toothbrushes or water (really not sure why we didn't bring water). When we got to the Gaver's we were told to get in our swimming suits and go for a swim with our children and then we were directed to beds to sleep in. Alan left after everyone had gone to bed and got my antibiotics. He said he felt like a teenage kid sneaking out of the house after everyone had gone to bed!
We spent the night and after a full breakfast the next morning and after another swim we were able to go home.
Lesson's to be Learned
1-Have a plan
2-Have everything located in one spot
3-Include toiletries, medicine, first aid kits
4-Have a backpack with everything included for each person
5-Extra pair of clothes

Yes, it was a bit of an inconvenience but it was a valuable experience one that we hope to learn from and improve upon. Other people were asked to go without power for 24 hours, go without water for 24 hours, cook only from your food storage for a week and of course the emergency evacuation.
With the rising wheat prices (driving up flour purchases) and the impending trucker's strike I went to Ridley's after the YW broadcast and bought 75 pounds of flour and sugar along with 3 cases of water. Melissa was a bit embarrassed especially as the lady at the check-out asked me if I do a lot of baking, but I am here to tell you it takes a lot to feed my family of eight!

Zach's 16th Birthday

It hardly seems possible that I have a son that is old enough to date now! Zach spent his birthday with his family and has plans to have a get together with a few friends next weekend. He opened his gifts the night before his birthday anticipating a full schedule the next day with track and school. He got some clothes, shoes, a movie, guitar heroes III, motorcycle riding pants,and other things. He has had fun strumming the guitar and advancing in his skill level. I tried it once while the kids were in school and after so many missed notes the song ends. I tried to get through a song four times with no luck. It was hard! I either hit the notes too soon or not soon enough. After he got home from track Alan and I took him out to eat and then we came home for dessert. We were then evacuated from our house. I will tell you that experience in another entry!!! Happy Birthday to my favorite son!!!!!!

Easter Fun

We had a great Easter this year. I went to a ward party the week before without Melissa and Alan. (They were at a volleyball tournament in SLC) It was so nice to go to an activity and actually be able to spend time with my kids, eat and leave when it was over. I do not miss being the Activities Chairman at all!!!!
The Easter bunny visited our house last Saturday and brought lots of yummy goodies for everyone. I swear the kids had most of their candy gone by the next day.
Sunday morning actually went smooth, and maybe it was because Alan was home until 8:00 a.m. We went to church and the girls wore their new Easter dresses and Zach was sporting new shoes and a white shirt. He is very particular about his white shirts let me tell you. They can't be too baggy and the sleeves have to meet at the end of his shoulders or we have some major drama. The girls looked so pretty in their new dresses. They all got their hair cut except for Melissa and Allie (Melissa got her hair cut Monday).
After church we had a few hours before we were to leave for Jeremy and Amber's house. We talked to the kids about the resurrection and the atonement and how it applies to us. It was real nice Clark!
We got together late Sunday afternoon with all my siblings and their children for a feast and egg hunt in Murtaugh. It was fun and the kids left with more candy and a full belly. Zach even hunted for eggs this year. He was searching for the $5 egg which MaKayla found. He had fun trying though. This is the first year I didn't have to help one of my children gather eggs. Weird! I did help Lukie gather eggs though. It was nice to visit with my family. They are GREAT!

Alan Turns 39!

Alan's birthday was a low key affair this year. I had some weird stomach virus and didn't feel too great so I wasn't able to do my usual breakfast in bed and such... He claims it was a great birthday anyway. He spent a few hours at work and then he hung out with us at home. We are usually able to go on a picnic for his birthday but the weather was COLD this year. He is in his 40th year you know!!!!

Hubby Tag!

I was tagged by my brother in law Steve and I am tagging Emily because I know of no one else who has a blog!

What is his name? Alan Cannon Leavitt
How long have you been married? 17 years and 4 months
How long did you date? 3 years (mission included in there)
When was your first kiss? In his parents house
How old is he? 38
Who eats more? Him
Who said I love you first? He did at our senior prom
Who is taller? Me (I've got him by a 1/2 inch!)
Who sings better? He can really sing out when he wants
Whose temper is worse? That would be me. It takes a lot to rattle Alan's cage
Who does the laundry? I do
Who does the dishes? I would say that I do the most dishes but he helps out when able
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does
Who mows the lawn? Pretty even steven there!
Who pays the bills? Alan - what would we do without bill pay!
Who cooks dinner? That would be me, but he can do pancakes, waffles and scrambled eggs!
Who drives when you are together? Usually he does I get tired driving to Twin Falls
Who is more stubborn? Probably me again. It is that Palmer side that comes out every now and again
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Alan
Whose parents do you see the most? Mine, his are serving a mission in Chile right now!
Who proposed? He did in front of the Logan temple
Who has more friends? Well he is my best friend so he probably does since he is the Bishop
Who has more siblings? 6 kids in both
Who wears the pants in the family? I would like to think that we share them, but he might beg to differ
What is his favorite meal? Anything I cook!
What does he enjoy doing in his spare time? Surfing the internet and finding deals!
What is one of his good qualities? He is such a good father and treats me like his queen.
What do you love about him? What is there not to love about him?!!!!!

Rachel Turned 9!!!!

Rachel turned 9 on the 12th. She has been anticipating her birthday for a while now. We decided to do brownies in cupcake holders for her to share with her school class the night before. I asked her how many children were in her class and she assured me there was 24. That was perfect because I could use two muffin tins. So I made 24. Not but 15 minutes after they were cooling she came up the stairs and said, oh yeah I forgot the new kid. I told her that she would just have to go without one then. She gave me that look as if I was the most stupid mom in the whole world and went back to bed. So.... I baked 2 more brownie cupcakes and used the rest of the mix for a YW activity. What I do for love....
The morning of her birthday was the usual chaos of getting ready for school but she was able to open one present with a new outfit that she could wear and have a great breakfast made especially by her mommy! Her dad picked her up from school at noon and they went and grabbed some lunch together at DQ. She informed her dad that she didn't want to go to his workplace this year for lunch and eat leftover Mexican food! Her class loved her brownie cupcakes and asked her if her mom bought them because they were so-o-o good! Alan picked the girls up from school and we had a few minutes to open a few more presents before she dashed away to an activity day. She came back bearing balloons, lip gloss and a small bear. We had her favorite meal for dinner (Bird's Nests or commonly known to some as Chinese Sundays) and then we opened her presents. She was able to talk to grandma and grandpa Leavitt on the computer which was a treat for her. We had DQ cake/ice cream and then I rushed off to YW. I felt a little bit guilty leaving her, wondering if I made her day special enough but when I got home she hugged me and told me that this was the best birthday ever and she thanked me for making it fun. She has had fun playing with her big Brat styling doll head. The girls have given her a doll a t-shirt to cover up her immodest stomach. Last night she kind of startled me as I was going into another room. Her head is the size of a toddler and out of the corner of my eye I got a look at her and wondered who was standing in my hallway looking at me! It made me giggle to think that the doll head made me look twice. I took the doll to Hannah's room while she was in the bathroom and placed me on her dresser. A bit later Hannah brought the doll up to the kitchen. I asked her what she was doing with Rachel's doll and she said that it freaked her out when she was crawling into bed and looked up to see this doll starring at her. She was not going to have that doll looking at her all night! We placed it in Melissa's room and it didn't seem bother her at all. Funny.

Hannah Banana

After much persuasion from my sister Jaime, I decided to create my own blog and that way you can read about us if you want to!
The month of February has been an interesting one in our household. I really don't know when exactly it started and when it ended. Hannah pretty much consumed my entire attention. For those that don't know what happened to Hannah I am sending a copy of an email below that I sent out to family the day after her accident.

"We had quite the scare yesterday with Hannah which made me appreciate all my children and how much I love them. Hannah and I spent ½ of the evening in the Burley ER last night. She went skiing with her 5th grade class and had decided to try a bigger hill with her teacher and some other friends. She started going down the hill and was going too fast and she didn’t know how to stop and hit a tree. We were very LUCKY that she did not hit the tree head on but with her left side. She is very bruised and sore with no broken bones. We know that it could have been much worse. I am grateful that my sister, Jaime was with her and stayed with her at the hospital until I was able to get there. Jaime found two LDS guys who worked there to give Hannah a blessing. When I arrived Hannah was moaning and crying because she was on one of those flat boards and it was strapped tight and her head was throbbing. They didn’t break any speed records at the hospital and her head was very uncomfortable and they would not let her move. She told the doctor “no offense but I don’t like your hospital.” They released her into my care after several hours of waiting for some guy in Switzerland to view the cat scans (it was after hours) and gave me strict instructions to watch her carefully for the next 24 hours. She suffered a concussion and had no apparent brain or spinal injuries. I slept very little last night. Hannah was in bed with me and I was constantly asking her if she was ok. We have a follow-up appointment with a Pediatrician in Twin tomorrow. When she was finally released from the head contraption she tried to sit up and pain shot through her left lower back and side. She needed my help to move into a sitting position and to walk. It will take some time but I believe she will heal and life will go on. I wish Alan were here. (He was at a Ag show in California). I could really use his support, but there is not much I can do about that. Please keep Hannah in your prayers, we are having a follow- up visit with a Dr. tomorrow."

That next morning the ER doctor called me from Burley and told me that their radiologist from the hospital looked again at the cat-scans and thought that there was something that was over looked in her lower back and that we should have some more x-rays. Panic mode set in and I called our High Priest group leader (Prez. Farnsworth) to come over and give her a blessing. He promised her (without knowing ahead of time what was going on) that we would find out answers today and that she would heal from her injuries and be able to do all the things that young girls like to do.They then carried her out of the house for me (She does weigh almost 100 pounds and I had been lugging her around for a day and I didn't think I could maneuver the stairs without help.)
The doctor looked her over and at the recommendation of the radiologist in Burley had another scan done of her lower back. We found out that she fractured her spine in two spots (T-9 and T-10 to be exact). There was a slight compression in them but the spine doctor in Boise didn't seem to think that would affect her. The pain she was likely feeling was from all muscle and tendons around the spine that had been injured. He said that she hit so hard she fractured the inside of the spine which is quite protected by tendons and muscles. She was then told to rest and her body would heal but it could take up to two years. He encouraged her to not participate in P.E. the rest of the school year or run for the next 3 months. He said that she would know when she was ready to start do things again. We used a wheelchair for about 3 days, a walker for two days and a cane for one. She still has a little trouble bending but other than that she is doing great. She said some really touching things in her testimony last week that had the whole ward dabbing at their eyes. She told them that she went skiing a few weeks ago and hit a tree. She said that when her teacher asked her if she wanted to go up onto a bigger and better hill she had a feeling that she shouldn't go. She said she ignored that prompting and because of that decision ift will affect her for the next two years of her life. She said that she was grateful for this experience because she learned how important it was that we heed the promptings of the Holy Ghost and that she would never question those feelings again. It was a very tender and heartfelt testimony that left me in tears. Melissa got up a while later and thanked the ward for their concern and help with our family. I ended the meeting with my thanks and told them how Hannah commented that she felt so loved. I consider myself to be a pretty independent person not asking or expecting much from others, so I was deeply humbled and grateful for the help that came whether I wanted it or not. I am also so grateful for the priesthood power here upon this earth. I am so grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord that He shows me everyday of my life.
Hannah is now feeling pretty confident that in a month when we have another check-up that the doctor is going to tell her to do whatever she wants. Of course I am on the cautious side and keep telling her not to push it. I am so amazed at her positive attitude. (If it were me I would probably still be limping along!)
I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers, even if they are a little repetitious at times. We are truly blessed and watched over.