Faith and Innocence

Dinner conversation immediately following the dinner prayer tonight:

Maryam - We need to say lots of blessings (prayers) so we can get a baby and a dog.

Peyton - Yeah. A baby brother and a baby boy dog and a baby girl brother.


We've previously had conversations with our kids about wanting a baby to come to our family. And we've talked about how we need to pray and ask Heavenly Father to send us a baby. The kids have asked for a dog before, and Tobin and I would like to get one eventually; but we've never discussed praying for a dog. Too cute! Plus, I love their innocent little phrases like "baby girl brother." Peyton knows what a (very girly and bossy) sister is, so maybe he's hoping for a laid back, tom-boy sister next time!

Child's Play

Maryam and Peyton had to stay home from preschool today because they are getting over a cold. They played so nicely together! Peyton was being "Tobin the Superman" and Maryam was being "Lydia the Princess." They told me that they were going to a wedding after lunch to get married and if they prayed really hard they would get a baby. Obviously we have some teaching to do in the sex-ed department! But I love that they are getting the spiritual part of it - when we want the Lord to bless us we pray and ask Him. (By the way, we have explained before that because they are brother and sister they can not marry each other. But when they are the only two here, who else is going to play the part???)

Dancing at the pretend wedding (in their room)

Pretend wedding photo op!

Pumpkins for My Punkins

On Saturday we went to G&M Farms in Livermore, CA, with the Croskeys (minus Wolf). They have a big pumpkin patch with lots of things for the kids to do. There are a few animals to see, a dried corn box (think sand box) to play in, a play structure, etc. This year there were even pony rides. We opted not to do this one because it cost money and Tobin and I weren't sure the kids would actually ride the horses once we paid the money.

The kids loved all the play time!

Maryam & Peyton

Sadie & Maryam

Shortly after we got home, Maryam asked if we were going to carve our pumpkins into Jack-o-Lanterns. I figured this day was as good as any. We drew on the faces first, then carved them with our pumpkin carving tools. I can't remember where I got those tools, but they are awesome! The kids were not thrilled about all the "goop" inside the pumpkin, so Tobin and I got to dig it all out. I kept teasing them that I was going to make goop soup for dinner!

Maryam's pumpkin all ready for carving

Peyton's pumpkin all ready for carving


Our finished Jack-o-Lanterns!

Quilts for My Twins

Last fall I took Peyton and Maryam to the fabric store to choose material to make them twin size quilts. At that time they were still sleeping in cribs, and my goal was to get them big kid beds for their birthday. I wanted to have their quilts ready to go on those beds in March, when they turned 3. Well, we looked and debated over beds. Tobin didn't really see the need to remove them from the cribs quite yet, but I was ready for them to move on. And I was hoping we would get pregnant last fall and need the cribs for new baby/ies. After much searching and debating, we decided it was most economical (frugal) to use beds that already belong to us, though one of them was in Utah at my parents' house.

We didn't make it in time for their 3rd bithday, but the kids didn't seem to mind. In June we took apart the cribs and stored them in the garage. We brought Tobin's super single water bed frame up from the garage and put it together for Peyton's bed. We soon found that there are not many companies who make water bed mattress inserts, so the mattress had to be ordered off the internet. No cheapy mattresses to be found; we had to get a more expensive one. But I have rationalized this by telling myself and my husband that our son is going to sleep on this mattress forever! Ironically, this mattress was ordered from Denver Mattress Company. We used to live just down the street from one of their stores. If only we had known back then, we could have saved the cost of shipping now . . . .

In June we also took a trip to visit our families in Idaho and Utah. Tobin flew home after two weeks, and the kids and I stayed in Utah for two more weeks. At the end of that time, my dad drove back to California with us to help us tow a U-Haul trailer with my bed and dresser in it. What a great dad! By the end of one long, exhausting day we had driven from West Jordan, UT, to Pittsburg, CA, unloaded my old bed and dresser, and returned the trailer before closing time at the U-Haul store in Pittsburg.

Since early August, the kids have been sleeping on their big kid beds with just sheets and crib size blankets. (It took a long time for Peyton's mattress to get here!) All this time, I have been working bit by bit on their long awaited quilts. Last night I finally finished them. I think I had put off binding them because I wasn't quite sure how to make it turn out the way I wanted and because I was afraid the quilts were not going to look very good. Peyton's quilt was first to be bound. Once it was finished, I laid it out on the floor to look at it and realized it looked much better than I expected . . . almost professional looking. Of course, there are mistakes in both quilts. Don't look too closely. But I'm really pleased that they turned out so nicely! This is a true testament to my mother who taught me everything I know about sewing and quilting. What a wonderful teacher and mentor she is! I still hope I can grow up to be like her some day.

Peyton's new quilt and big boy bed

Maryam's new quilt and big girl bed