The Gift of ... Hands?

I've always been a bit fascinated by sign language.  My mom taught me the alphabet when I was younger, and just a very small handful of useful words. In college, I took a couple American Sign Language (ASL) classes, and to be honest, I didn't do very well. (I averaged a B- or C+, and even failed ASL 202 because I missed the final exam.)

After Munchkin was born, I really wanted to do baby sign with her because I knew of so much research that confirmed signing to babies helps with language development.  She was a signing-pro by 15 months.  So much so that she was better than I was and creating her own signs! I quit signing to her because I was afraid I couldn't keep up with her, and that she'd make up signs that weren't real (kind of silly now that I think about it...).

Late last year, I felt a prompting, if you will, that I should brush up and learn more sign.  My favorite way to learn signs when in college was by watching songs performed in ASL; so, I downloaded many of the Primary Children's Songs in ASL to my kindle and during Sharing Time (since I was a Primary teacher and just sitting with my kids during this time) I would watch the songs that the kids were learning.  I would try to practice very small in my seat, trying not to attract attention.  No one ever said anything, and I figured no one noticed (or they just thought I was an inconsiderate jerk to be watching my kindle all through Singing Time).

Until, one fateful day, the Stake Primary Presidency was visiting during a Ward Conference.  The Singing Time leader asked me to come up and sign "My Heavenly Father Loves Me" to the kids.  (NO warning!  Not even before Singing Time started... just out of the blue, "Hey, Sister Neeley, I know I've seen you signing.  Can you come up now and teach the kids the first verse in sign?")  Now, this is one that I had not practiced in sign... the kids had not even learned the song yet, and I didn't know the song well (I'm a convert, and did not learn the songs as a child). I couldn't say no, though.  I knew what they were doing: trying to impress the Stake Primary Presidency.  So, I got up and ...

I made most of it up.
No lie.
I just made up signs, assuming one else knew ASL, no one would notice.  I felt humiliated, but tried to not let on.  I mean, the key to making people believe you is to just act like you know what you're doing, right???

No one noticed that I was making stuff up.  I knew about 1/3 of the words, and pantomimed the rest.  After Primary, the Stake Primary President found me and asked where I learned sign.

BUSTED!
Or so I thought... I mentioned that I had taken a couple classes at BYU, but was very rusty, not fluent at all, and quietly admitted that I had "made some of it up because I forgot some of it."  She laughed and told me, "oh, I'm sure you're just being modest.  You learned at BYU!" I politely thanked her for the compliment, and mentioned that I had to go pick up Munchkin from Nursery.  That was it.  I thought I'd escaped.

A few months later, shortly after putting the kids to sleep, this kind Primary President called me and told me of her plans for the primary children to sing and sign "I Am a Child of God" during Stake Conference in a few weeks, and she wanted me to lead the children in sign and sign to the congregation at Stake Conference! I hadn't been practicing during Singing Time at church anymore (didn't want another surprise request, and figured I had been rude to watch the sign videos and should pay attention to the leader, set a good example to my kids, etc), so I was even more rusty.  Terrified, I told her, "I think you and Heavenly Father trust my signing abilities far more than I do.  But if Heavenly Father thinks I can do it, and calls me to it, then I can and will sign at Conference."

Six weeks later, after watching and practicing "I am a Child of God" in ASL almost everyday, I stood at the front of Stake Conference and signed with 2 Primary children who had taken the challenge to learn the whole song and sign with me, facing the congregation where all the Primary children stood and signed the 1st verse and chorus to the song.  It was incredibly beautiful.  I couldn't sing the words without my voice cracking as I teared up, so I could only sign.

I know Heavenly Father helped me to learn the song in sign.  It was not something I could have done without divine help.  He blessed my efforts and gave me power to communicate through the Spirit to those at Conference.  The gift of tongues... only for my hands.  It was an incredible experience.

The next week, I was released as a Primary teacher for the 8-9 year olds and called as the Assistant Ward Primary Music Leader (the regular music leader is about to have a baby and the Primary Sacrament Program is in 10 days!). It's now my new goal to learn all the Primary songs in ASL, and use signs to help teach the songs to the primary children.  My current songs that I'm learning are "A Child's Prayer" and "My Heavenly Father Loves Me."

Also, it seems Munchkin never forgot what she knew in sign either, and she is voraciously learning as many new signs as possible.  She asks me to teach her new signs everyday, and asks to watch videos from the library of books performed in ASL. She uses signs frequently throughout the day, too.  Papoose, I'm hoping will catch on soon.  I've already noticed that Munchkin's language abilities are far advanced for her age, and Papoose is perfectly average.  Papoose is slowly catching on, but she's already over 1 year, so she's not picking it us as quickly as Munchkin. As I learn more, I try to sign the books I read to them, as well.

Family Camping Trip

We went on a mini-camping trip with the girls and Brad's parents a few weeks ago.  It was just over 1 night, but it was a good test camping trip to see how the girls would do.  (They did awesome! We're going to try making this an annual family tradition with Nana and Grandpa.)

 On our way to Ohiopyle State Park in Pensylvania, we stopped to eat sandwiches and visit a petting zoo of sorts, called Living Treasures Animal Park.

 There were a few animal statues and Munchkin insisted on taking a picture with each one.  Grandpa has most of the pictures on his camera, but we got this one on Brad's phone.

 After setting up camp, we made dinner-- hot dogs and corn on the cob-- and Papoose enjoyed lounging in the little camp chair.

 That is what pure joy looks like, my friends!

 Munchkin had been asking for Grandpa to take her fishing for weeks, so he finally made good on his promise to take her someday.  She helped put the bait on the hook, and then Grandpa helped her cast the line.

Then she reeled in a few times.  Didn't catch anything, and after about 15 minutes, decided it was more fun to play in the mud on the bank.
A week later, Munchkin came to me and said, "Mommy, I want YOU to take me fishing.  Then I'll catch a fish. I didn't catch any fish with Grandpa." (I've been fishing once in my life, when I was 10, and I didn't catch anything. And didn't want to catch any.)  Grandpa took this as quite a blow to his ego, and promised to take her to a good lake to go fishing soon. Admittedly, the location we were at was terrible for fishing when we were camping-- in a busy river with lots of people.  Mostly this particular "fishing trip" was to let Munchkin reel in a line a few times, thinking that would satisfy her desire to "go fishing." As it turns out, Munchkin really does want to catch some fish and spend time with Grandpa, and she realized our weak attempts to pacify her curiosity.  (She is way smarter than we give her credit for most of the time!)

We had lots of fun camping with the girls for the first time and look forward to our next family camping trip-- hopefully next year, but then we'll have a little baby boy, too. :-)

5th Anniversary

For our 5th Anniversary, Brad's parents agreed to watch the girls for us while we went on a weekend trip to visit our nation's capital, Washington D.C. It was so much fun to just spend time together alone!  It's very rare, and something we both realized that we needed very much.

We arrived late on a Thursday night, and just checked into our hotel. Our tours started early Friday morning: first the Printing and Engraving Building. Brad collects coins and some smattering of other currencies, so it was high on the list of places to go. Our next tour was 30 minutes after the end of the engraving tour on the other end of the capital mall (a mile walk or more) at the Capital Building.  We asked an officer directing traffic for the quickest route and he told us we would never make it in time. We speed walked and made it with 12 minutes to spare!  Go us!

Marie is as tall as $1,537,800 in $100 bills.

Brad is as tall as $1,631,000 in $100 bills.

In front of the capital building.  Our White House tour was cancelled because of stupid political posturing related to the sequester.  One day, we will get to visit the White House... just means we'll have to go back again someday. We didn't even bother walking over to the White House since it was out the the way for the other sights we wanted to see.

We didn't get a Stanley Cupcake... but they looked awesome!

We had lunch at a Hawaiian food truck.  It wasn't the best, but it was still pretty good.  (Man, I miss Polynesian food!)

After the lunch (which we actually ran around trying to find that Hawaiian food truck because it parks in different places everyday and we really wanted poly food) we rested for a bit and planned to go see the Library of Congress (which, interesting fact about Marie: I have a poem I wrote in 7th or 8th grade that was published in some youth poetry anthology that's kept at the Library of Congress) and the founding documents at the National Archives building.  I have always wanted to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States in person.  And I did.  I was so filled with reverence as I read the original documents. I really do believe in the principles those documents stand for, and hope I can teach my children to live those principles and we can all defend them. I truly am grateful to live in the United States and for the freedoms it brings me.  Those documents reminded me that the freedom we enjoy today was bought at a precious price many years ago, and I hope to pass those teachings down to my own children. For dinner we took the metro to the Cheesecake Factory-- I had never been there, ad Brad's parents gave us a gift card for there before we left.  I got in touch with my inner child and enjoyed a delicious, artery clogging mac'n'cheese burger, and we split a mint chocolate oreo cheesecake slice for dessert.

 The second day, we visited the Holocaust Museum.  I think we were there for 4-5 hours.  We got there an hour early and waited in line for 2 hours before going inside.  It was emotionally and physically exhausting, or I just felt physically exhausted because I was so far emotionally spent.  I highly recommend going, but be mindful that it will take time and LOTS of energy to fully appreciate this place.

One of the neat things they do to help you "go there" is give you a little book about a person who lived during the Holocaust and you read their story as you go through each level of the museum. My person's story just got more and more horrific.  Brad's person had a pretty quick story, and we found out early that he survived.  By the last level, when I was supposed to read the last page of my person's book, I was absolutely convinced that she died.  I sat down and told Brad I didn't want to read the last page.  He put his arm around me and encouraged me to read it anyway.  I read that she did NOT die from the Holocaust.  She somehow miraculously survived and went on to become a teacher.  I lost it. Full on bawling.  In public.  That's what this place is capable of doing to a person.  So just, be prepared.

Cuddle time while walking around DC.

I really want to go back someday, but take the kids with as part of a homeschool adventure.  I really wanted to check out the American History Museum, and the Natural History Museum, but we didn't have time and/or energy.  After the Holocaust Museum, we checked out of the hotel, rode the metro to Brad's cousin's (where our car was parked), and met her for lunch at Cafe Rio. Then we headed to our next hotel, which was closer to the DC temple. Checked in, then went to the temple. Visiting the DC temple and doing work inside has always been on my "bucket list," so I made it a major priority to go there.  It was a very special experience, and one that was met after overcoming many obstacles (like forgetting my wallet at Brad's parents' house, in the diaper bag, when we dropped off the girls for the weekend, which had my temple recommend in it, so we had to call our bishop and the temple president in DC). I think we just had a fast food dinner on the way back to the hotel that night... I don't remember, it was late.

 Sunday was a special stake/regional conference, so we just drove home Sunday morning, and made it back to Brad's parents and were reunited with our little girls that afternoon feeling very much refreshed after a long weekend away.  It was a wonderful anniversary trip!  Thank you to Brad's parents for making it possible!

Happy 1st Birthday, Papoose!

Papoose is officially over 1 year old! (Another post very late in posting...)

Munchkin had a big 3rd birthday, but we don't really go all out for all birthdays.  We reserve 1st brithdays for just family.  Really, Brad and I are just too lazy/cheep to go all-out on a birthday the child won't remember.  So, 1st birthdays are a family only celebration.

Brad's parents and sister came over for dinner and cake.  We ended up inviting the missionaries, too, at the last minute because they didn't have anyone feeding them that evening.

After dinner we sang "Happy Birthday" and brought Papoose her smash cake.  She wasn't interested.  We tried to get her to eat some of it, but she refused.  Then someone got the bright idea of sprinkling mini-M&Ms on top because earlier in the day, Nana had introduced her to M&Ms and they were a big hit.  She dug in for the chocolate right away, got some frosting in the process, and decided she would explore the cake.  Not much made it to her mouth, but she did finally make the expected mess for traditional 1st birthday pictures.

I for one won't complain that my baby preferred to not overindulge in the sugary goodness, unlike the rest of us...

Because we were awful at capturing the first birthday on camera, here are some pictures of the Papoose.

Ready, Set, Go: Happy 3rd Birthday to Munchkin!

Ok, so this is being posted MONTHS late. Sorry!

Munchkin began asking for a CARS birthday just days after her 2nd birthday. Consequently, I always knew her 3rd birthday would be Cars themed.

We had such a blast!

We had planned on making an outdoor track in the backyard and having the kids all make their own "race cars" from cardboard boxes and some creative odds and ends, and having races in the yard.  The weather was beautiful all week (for April in Northeast Ohio, anyway), but the day of her birthday it was supposed to SNOW!  and snow it did.  :-(

Brad and I got creative the night before after looking at the weather forecast.  We bought some masking tape and black trash bags, cut up the bags into long strips, and taped them to the floor to make it look like a road.  Then we taped red, yellow, and green balloons together to look like traffic lights along the road.  When Munchkin woke up the next morning to discover her "road" she happily exclaimed, "Santa brought me my Cars, birthday!"  She followed it through the house all day.  It was a big hit with the party guests, too.

These are the best pictures of the "road" we built through the house.  I thought we had better ones, but they must be on a different camera... darn.

And we tried to serve themed snacks... which is really just my way of saying we tried to think of cool names to label the snacks to make them fit the Cars theme in true Pinterest fashion. ;-)

(apparently, the food pictures are lost on some other device, also!  bug bummer.  I was pretty proud of them.)

Overall, it was a great party, even if I learned that I have no clue how to handle a house full of children from age 11 years down to 11 months.  Wonder what Munchkin will ask for next year???

Her birthday presents from Mom and Dad. Mom tied the Cars quilt, Dad wanted to pass down love for one of his favorite sports.  We also finally fixed the tires on a bike that was handed down to us by a family friend (Thanks, Natalie Saxey), so she got a bike, and helmet from another family friend (Thanks, Melinda!), too.

Munchkin with her red and yellow traffic balloons stuck to her hair.  She was SO excited when she woke up, declaring, "Santa brought me my Cars birthday!!!"

For dinner, Munchkin's Nana and Grandpa and aunt Sam came over.  And we invited the missionaries, too.  Munchkin's favorite dinner is burritos, so we went out to a local restaurant that has delicious "Mexican" food.

 Munchkin got to wear a sombrero and the hosts and servers sang happy birthday to her.

 Oh, and the free dessert that she shared with everyone.  She's so sweet!

At the end of the day, she used her birthday money to get a new jacket and a Cars umbrella.  It was such a fun birthday.  We left the "road" taped to the floor for about a week or so.

Family Reunion Adventures

This will mostly be just a photo review of the Family Reunion, as it was back in July, and we finally just uploaded the pictures to the computer from the camera (aka: Brad's phone).

Friday, July 12, we flew out of Canton/Akron airport straight to Denver, Co.  Papoose did not fly well.  the flight was smack in the middle of her nap time, and she is one who only likes to sleep in her bed and on her tummy, NEVER in anyone's arms.  A large chunk of the flight out was spent trying to muffle her tired crying. Luckily, we were literally surrounded by other families with little ones close to Papoose's age or younger, so they were either (a) not bothered because they were used to it, (b) just glad it wasn't them, (c) or understanding enough despite their irritation that they didn't say anything. Either way, we were grateful, adn so glad when the flight was over. 

We spent Friday night at Brad's Papa DeShazer's home; this is his AWESOME backyard that the kids were exploring.  You can see Munchkin and one of Brad's cousins' kids (can't remember which one). Enjoyed dinner with the local DeShazer families; Munchkin had the BEST time playing with her 2nd-cousins.  It's rare she has lots of playmates close to her age, and this was a house full of 11 kids, most within 2-3 years of Munchkin's age. We drove the 10-ish hours to Bozeman, MT the next morning.

We stopped to see a temple on the way. Didn't do any work, just enjoyed some good stretching time on temple grounds.

Brad's aunt June opened her home to us during the reunion.  This is where Papoose perfected the art of going downstairs by crawling backwards.

We spent 2 of the 6 days of the reunion visiting nearby Yellowstone National Park.  Such an interesting place!  I'd love to go back again someday when the kids are older and do some fun homeschool adventures, and really learn more about the history, geology, and natural features at the Park.  

Some neat hot springs, you can see the steam rising up from the boiling water.

More neat hot pools and such.  Seriously, I need to get a book on Yellowstone geology!

It was pretty chilly in the mornings, by the afternoon most days, it was pretty warm.  Munchkin and I by the cool hot water/rock features.  (Seriously, I'm embarrassed I don't remember the name of this place. It was one of the first we visited, and one of the neatest!)

Munchkin and her closest-in-age 2nd-cousin at the Neeley reunion. (Munchkin is actually sitting here next to me as I type crying that her cousin is too far away to visit. They played every chance they got.  

Like father, like son.  Brad and his dad carrying Munchkin and Papoose on the boardwalk.  Love that I captured this moment!

Papoose liked the little details.  She's shaking hands with a tree while on a short walk to see the paint pots.

Thanks to Brad's cousin Traci, we had the use of this awesome stroller!  The girls were a bit cold that morning. :-)

This place was breath-taking. (Literally! I was having massive asthma problems while there; combination of out-of-control allergies, high elevation, lots of hiking, and pregnancy. I felt physically awful, but still so glad I went!)  And so happy to get some time with Brad. :-)

The girls were pooped!  Again, SO glad to have a good stroller!

We saw LOTS of buffalo, this one got really close to the car.

Traffic completely stopped for this herd of 200+ buffalo to cross the river.  Once on the other side, the young buffalo started chasing Canada geese.  We saw so many buffalo!  Everytime we saw one, Munchkin would point and shout, "Buffalo! Buffalo!" I think it was her favorite part.  She still talks about all the buffalo she saw; it may be among her favorite animals.

Dancing on a stump with her 2nd cousin.  Traci's olsest daughter was such a fun helper and so kind to Munchkin!  We love her.

Momma and Papoose, trying to remove Mom's attempt at keeping hair out of her face.

Papoose loves her grandpa!  This was taken at one of the many waterfalls.

Some elk causing a traffic backup because everyone wanted to take a picture. We could almost touch them, they were so close!

If i remember correctly, this was along a trail near Old Faithful. Our 2nd day in Yellowstone we saw Old Faithful and took a long walk to see the Morning Glory pool, and a few other geysers along the way.

 Just enjoying the ride...

Daddy and Munchkin as Old Faithful errupts.  It was much warmer the second day.

We never did get to see the mama grizzly with her cubs.  But maybe that's a good thing?

At the Morning Glory hot pool.  The colors are different types of algae that thrive at various temperatures.  The water is VERY hot!

Just some adorableness.  These girls had a great deal: get to see all the awesome sights without having to do all the walking.

Munchkin and her 2nd cousin playing outside.

Picking "wildflowers" for their mommies.  What sweethearts!

Playing inside a basketball, and with some blocks.

One of Papoose's favorite things to do is crawl on top of someone's head and lay there, laughing.  Having some good sister fun!

Papoose's favorite toy is a ball, any kind. Give her a ball, and she is a happy baby.

After the reunion, we drove the 10-sh hours back to the Denver area to stay the weekend with Papa DeShazer again and spend more time with the DeShazer cousins.  Also, to our great pleasure, our best friends the Hofmann's were making a trip to the Denver area that weekend, so we were able to see them for the first time in nearly 2 years and meet their adorable little boy, fondly called Tank.  

Tank and Papoose.  Tank is a fitting name for this boy!  I think he's about 5 months younger than Papoose, and he's bigger than her.  LOVE Papoose's face in this picture as the two of them jump on the couch together! :-)  

Papoose didn't explore the backyard much the first night we stayed at Papa's house, since she was completely exhausted after the plane experience.  This time, we had trouble keeping her from wandering out alone in the yard.
Also, important to note: Papoose took her first timid steps while on the reunion, shortly before turning 14 months.  4 little steps in Bozeman.  About 6 in Denver.  Then NOTHING for 2 weeks after we returned home. (Now's she's a walking champ!) This picture captured a rare moment when she was standing all by herself and clapping for herself at this amazing achievement. :-)

With our best friends, the Hofmanns!  Love and miss you guys! (oh, and Tami, if you're reading this, I have like 5 more shots of this pictures, some less blurry but not everyone looking at the camera.  Remind me to email you all the originals.)

Not sure how we managed it, but we never got full family pictures, or the Neeleys or the DeShazers!!!  (or if someone did, I don't have copies...) We had such a blast!  The plane home was a bit earlier in the day, so Papoose wasn't as cranky and only cried intermittantly the last 30-ish minutes.  Much nicer.