Catch-up!

Where does the time go?  I just seem to not be able to keep up on things?  Does anyone else ever feel that they are running around in circles?  Well, here are some "noteworthy" events at the Lloyd home...


Nathanael , as I have said before, has the "heart of an athlete".  He especially just loves soccer!  He has trained and played and worked extremely hard to try out for Lone Peak's soccer team.  Despite all his best efforts, the competition was incredible and he knew that they did not have enough goal keepers -so he tried out for goal keeper and made one of the Sophmore/Freshman teams.  Apparently, he is not too bad.  He does have a 6 foot "wing span".  I have to say that I have really admired his hard work!  He is a good example to me of "laying it all out on the line".  He gave it his all and hopefully this will be a good experience.  I know that goalie would not be something that I would ever want to do!  Nat also had a spring concert with his Men's Chorus and I thought that they did a great job!  It was enjoyable to listen to and I am so grateful that his group performed first- because I had to take Zachary out in the halls for the rest of the concert-he was just too loud!

Lindsay was just offered a spot on a AAA girls soccer team.  She is so excited because, of course, she wants to try out for the girls' soccer team at Lone Peak at the end of the summer.  This will help her in her quest to try to make a team.  She also has musical theater at school and they are performing "Willy Wonka"-I'm not sure exactly what it's called , but they had all the kids audition to see who would be mostly the singing Oompa-loompas and who would be the dancing Oompa-loompas.  Lindsay was put in the dancing group but also was one of nine kids chosen to be in the "featured dance group" (there are over one hundred).  She also tried out for Concert Singers next year for ninth grade and we were grateful that she made it with her friends (not that she can't sing-there are just sooo many!).  Lindsay also gets her braces off tomorrow and as you can imagine, she is thrilled! 

Ethan worked hard and just received his Arrow of Light which is the highest award that you can receive in cub scouts.  He also just attended his first merit badge round-up for First-aid and received his first merit badge!  One thing I forgot to mention last time I wrote was the fact that Ethan's Valentine box got awarded "Just loved it!".  His class had voted on five awards and Ethan's was the top award.  I think it is because a lot of the kids in his class like the Disney show, "Phineas and Ferb" and Ethan decorated his box to look like Perry the Platypus.  Ethan was also awarded the Eagle of the Month for "being a good citizen".  One thing about Ethan is that he really does personify that character trait.

Clarissa is busy reading the Harry Potter books!  She just loves to read and read and read!  She wants to finish them by the time we go on our vacation.  She just finished , "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", which just happens to be my favorite!

What do I say about Zachary?  He continues to learn and try my patience.  I think he is the one that will make me go gray!  He is awesome!  His favorite thing to do lately is to get dressed- but then he wants to wear a couple of Ethan's sports jerseys-at the same time.  They are so big that it looks like he is wearing a couple of odd dresses.  In his mind, he is wearing a uniform just like his siblings. 

My "moment of joy" from this last few weeks was when I was listening to Ethan and Clarissa play "wizard's chess" with Harry Potter Legos and a five dollar chess set.  As a mom, it is fun for me to see how creative they can be!

Moments of Satisfaction

I cannot believe how fast time goes!  Here are some "notes" from the last two weeks at the Lloyd's home...
Nathanael is training hard to try out for the high school soccer team.  If he does not make it, at least he gave it his all.  He had to speak in church yesterday.  I went downstairs to edit his talk and make sure that his topic that he was given (living worthily) came through.  I thought that I would have to add a few things, etc.  Instead, I was completely impressed with what he had to say and did not change a thing.  He used scriptures, examples, and other church approved materials and it was solid!  It was such a satisfying moment to sit there and realize that he had written his talk completely on his own and that it was great!
Lindsay has been very physically active lately.  She has been participating in Futsal Academy, playing indoor soccer, and doing a little strength training.  She also has been playing basketball on the young women's basketball team.  Travis said that she never played better than she did last Saturday.  She is really turning into quite the athlete.  At school, she is in musical theater and was chosen to be in the "featured" dance group.  She was very pleased and honored.  It was a nice moment of satisfaction to see her so excited and feel good about herself.
Ethan just turned 11 years old!  We had a Harry Potter birthday party of course.  The party was a big hit and the boys all had a great time!  Ethan's grandma Jan could not come to the family party and so she called him to wish him a "happy birthday" and find out how his parties went.  Ethan told her about the activities and then he thanked her for the birthday present she gave him without being prompted.  It was very satisfying to see him be appreciative without me reminding him.

Clarissa is really enjoying school lately.  She has a great teacher that gets how creative and imaginative she is.  Clarissa was given "The Eagle of the Month" award for the character trait "respect".  Her teacher said that she could think of no one else who deserved it more.  It was a great moment of satisfaction to have her recognized for showing respect to her teacher and her classmates. 
Zachary continues to learn and grow and turn more and more into a little boy each day. It was very satisfying to help Zac say his first little prayer. 
My "moment of joy" was also very satisfying.  Lindsay had invited her girlfriends over for a Valentine party.  She chose the activities that they would do that night and made up a schedule.  One of the activities was to go give a couple of widows in our ward a "heart attack".  She had all her friends cut out hearts and say kind things on them.  Then they went and taped them to their doors.  It was very thoughtful for her to think of these sisters and show a little kindness. 
The last couple of weeks have been really good at our house and I am trying to really appreciate these moments and these times and hopefully will remember them when we have "teenage moments" or toddler tantrums or disappointments.  I am grateful for the people that my children are becoming a I pray that they will continue make good choices. 
Cathy

"Stars"

It is only halfway through January and we have already had a lot going on at the Lloyd home.  Here are some "noteworthy" things happening around here....

Nathanael just finished his second quarter of his sophomore year in high school.  He continues to remind me daily that I need to take him driving and that his 16th birthday is only a few months away.  I tell him not to tell me-I am in denial.

Lindsay also just finished her second quarter in eighth grade.  She scored a goal in one of her last indoor soccer games.  She was very excited!

Ethan continues to play Jr. Jazz basketball.  In his last game, he accidentally passed the ball to the opposite team but turned around and ran hard and fast and stole it back from the kid that he passed it to-it was fun to watch!

Clarissa performed in her dance concerts this last weekend.  They did the production "Mary Poppins" and Clarissa got to be a penguin.  She was hilarious!  The first night at the end of her dance, she was the last one off and turned to the audience to give a great big wave!  To us, she was the "star" of the show.

We celebrated Zachary's 2nd birthday this last weekend.  The theme was guess what-"Cars"!  He is totally obsessed with anything "Cars".  It was fun to watch him get sooo excited over his gifts and blowing out the candles on the cake.  It's funny that when they are turning 1, you try and try to show them how to blow out the candles.  Now it was hard to get him to wait until after singing the "Happy Birthday" song before he blew out the candles  I think the third time around we just decided to hurry and sing the song before he blew them out!  He was the "star" for the day!

My "moment of joy" this week was when I had stayed up well past midnight decorating a Lightening McQueen car birthday cake.  When I first showed him the cake he said, "Mommy, cake, me!"  and then gave me a kiss.  The loss of sleep was totally worth it!

Someday I Will Laugh!!

We are still experiencing a few "technical difficulties" at our home and so I have not kept up on this blog as I should.  Anyway, here are some "notes" from the Lloyd home....

Nathanael took an EMS class at school this semester. He just passed the test from The American Red Cross which means that he is a certified EMR (emergency responder).    Right now, he continues to enjoy playing futsal as well as playing young men's basketball.  Someday I will laugh when I remember how he is eating us out of house and home!

Lindsay continues to play futsal and she also plays indoor soccer.  She played extremely well in her last indoor game!  It was fun to watch.  She hopes to get her braces off in the next few months.  Someday I will laugh when I remember how we would race to the orthodontist's office month after month after month...

Ethan just started rehearsals for the school play.  He also just started Jr. Jazz basketball.  His first game was this last week.  Ethan's favorite sport seems to always be the one that he is currently playing-which basically means that he loves them all!  Someday I will laugh when I remember how he would take the clothes that I just washed and folded and put them back into the hamper???

Clarissa is just about ready for her dance concert.  She also just started piano lessons.  She continues to write and illustrate many stories.  Someday I will laugh when I remember how there is no copy paper when I need it  because she has used it for her books.

Zachary is almost two and seems to be turning into a "little boy" more and more each day. However, someday I will laugh when I remember how he found a green crayon and decided to color all over my white closet door with it.  Someday I will laugh when I remember how he likes to try to clean up after himself and dumps everything in the sink or the garbage-which he misses half the time!

Someday I will miss the messes and the fingerprints everywhere.  Someday I will miss all the noise and the shuttling of children here and there and everywhere.  Seriously, I truly am blessed and this year one of my goals is to try to really enjoy my children more and all the things that being a mom of five includes.  My "moment of joy"  this week was noticing that my laundry piles were not so large this time because I am finally starting to really get my routine going-it only took about two years after having a baby!  Oh, dear!

Cathy

Happy Holidays!

Yes. We are still alive and kicking! We have just had a few technical difficulties at our house. Nevertheless, here is the latest from the Lloyds....

After Nathanael had his wisdom teeth removed, he developed a secondary infection the night before Thanksgiving. His cheeks swelled up again and were very painful. Fortunately, we were able to clear it up with a stronger anti-biotic and he was able to really enjoy Christmas. Nat played futsal (brazalian indoor soccer) over the last few months. Travis coached this team and they won the championship the night before Christmas Eve. Both he and Travis considered it a wonderful early Christmas present. Nathanael also got into the holiday spirit by singing with Men's Chorus in a holiday concert at the school. I am not sure which he likes better-soccer or music! This year, I believe that Nat was grateful for pain medication and being able to eat normally again.

Lindsay participated in her school concert singing with SSA-the women's chorus. It was very enjoyable! She also participated in a holiday dance concert at school. Lindsay participates in futsal academy as well as plays indoor soccer with her team. She continues to improve and is learning a lot. I think Lindsay is grateful to be old enough to go to the stake dances!

Ethan also played futsal with his team as well as participated in futsal academy. It has really helped him learn some good ball skills that he can use in soccer. He sang in the little Christmas concert at Deerfield Elementary and did a great job! His face was very animated! He also found out that he gets to be the character, Michael, in the school play, "Peter Pan". He is really excited. I think that Ethan was just grateful for a break!

Clarissa sang in the little Christmas concert at Deerfield. She is very dramatic and really got into her songs! It was so fun to watch her! She has told me more than once in the last few weeks that she is sooo grateful for her family. I am so grateful that she feels that way!

Zachary was really fun to watch this year with all the Christmas festivities! He absolutely LOVES the movie, "Cars"! It was so satisfying to watch him figure out that when you get to open a present, it ususally has something in it that you like-almost all of which had something to do with "Cars"! I think Zac is grateful for "Cars".

There have been so many wonderful things that have happened in the last couple of months, it is difficult to pick just one "moment of joy". However, one of the highlights was on the way home from choosing a Christmas tree. Picking out a live tree is one of my favorite memories growing up and it is so exciting to me to go pick out a tree. On the way home, we had a tape playing. It was, "John Denver and the Muppets, A Christmas Together". We were all singing, "fa,la,la,la,la" along with the tape as loud as we could! It is a memory I think that I will treasure for a long time!

We are so grateful for this time of year to reflect on our many blessings at Thanksgiving and to enjoy family time together and fun memories at Christmas and New Year's. To me, it truly is the "most wonderful time of the year"!

Cathy

The Monday of Medical Mayhem

We survived!  It has been an interesting two weeks at the Lloyd home.  Here are some "notes" about it...

Two weeks ago, Travis and I took Nathanael in to an oral surgeon to have a tooth exposed that was not coming up.  The orthodontist said that they had done all they could do with his braces without that tooth.  When we got to the office of the surgeon, he recommended that Nat get all four wisdom teeth removed because he had to be "out" for the exposing anyway and it is much better to do this procedure when the wisdom teeth are there- but not totally developed and have large roots.  We ultimately left the decision to Nat and he decided it would be better to get it over with and have it behind him.  Everything went well.  When Nathanael woke up, he kept claiming that he was fine and kept insisting that we take him back to school.  He claimed that his brain was sharp and that he just couldn't talk. Really???  Then when we got home, he jumped out of the van, went inside the house, and ran down the stairs before Travis or I could help him.  He just kept telling us that he was fine!  Of course, the medications wore off and reality set in later.  Anyone who has had their wisdom teeth out can relate to how miserable one can feel.  Despite the pain and not really being able to eat, Nat was a fairly good patient.  He took his medications when he was supposed to and kept himself hydrated and rested.  He is finally doing soooo much better and we are all grateful that it is behind him and he can enjoy the holidays!

That same day, I had scheduled a dentist appointment for four of us to have some dental work done.  What a pain!  I did not know when I scheduled the appointment that Nat would have his wisdom teeth out that morning.  Lindsay needed a small cavity filled.  Poor thing!  She takes such good care of her teeth and yet she is the one whose teeth are not as strong as the others.  I felt like I had to keep the dental appointment because it is so hard to schedule that much time.  Anyway, she got her cavity taken care of and I don't need to worry about it anymore.

Ethan needed one tooth extracted.  It needed to come out to allow for some other teeth that are coming in and must have space.  His teeth don't come out!  Almost all of them have had to be taken out by the dentist.  When we see the teeth after they come out we realize why they don't just fall out on their own.  The roots are unusually long!  His teeth look like talons!  Ethan handled everything well and I don't think he complained at all.

Clarissa also needed to have her teeth extracted as well.  She had to have four little baby teeth pulled.  I overheard the dentist saying how easy it would be to pull out those little teeth. He was surprised when it took a little more effort because, like Ethan, Clarissa has roots that are extremely long!  Unfortunately, that night, Clarissa's bottom lip was extremely swollen and continued into the next day.  I wondered what in the world was going on because I had never seen this with any of my other children.  It ended up that because her lip was numb and she had never experienced that sensation before, she bit her lip over and over-hard and caused many canker sores as well as a giant cold sore.  It took several days for her lip to heal and be normal.  Even though she was in pain, Clarissa did not complain!  She was awesome!

While we were waiting during Nat's surgery, Zachary was breathing funny.  It wasn't so obvious at that point that something was wrong and I debated whether or not to call his doctor.  I finally decided that he needed to be seen, so that evening after the dentist, I took Zac into his pediatrician.  By that point, it was obvious that he was having trouble breathing.  The doctor gave us an inhaler and put Zac on an antibiotic and told me to come back in two days.  I took Zac back to the doctor and it was determined that he has asthma-triggered by a cold.  I had juvenile asthma but grew out of it and so I hope that Zachary grows out of this too!  I just need to watch him close every time he has a cold now.

As you can tell, it was quite a day, but I am grateful that it is behind us and that we can enjoy the holidays.  My "moment of joy" was when Nat was changing his cold packs on his cheeks every thirty minutes.  He asked Clarissa to go get the frozen one out of the freezer for him and take the one back that he had just been using and put it in the freezer.  She told him that she would be happy to and was a cute little nurse!  When she gave the ice pack to him he said, "Thank you sooo much Clarissa!"  I really thought their little exchange was so sweet!

Cathy

The Lloyd Characters

Once again, we have celebrated Halloween...already? Well, here are a few "notes" from the Lloyd home...

Nathanael decided to be Dr. Doofenschmirtz from Disney's "Phineas and Ferb" for Halloween. He really enjoys watching that show. It gives him time to laugh and "chill out" from his crazy schedule. Every year, our family carves pumpkins for Halloween. Nat really does not like cleaning out the pumpkins! When he was little, he would cry and cry when we tried to get hime to pull out the pumpkin "guts". It is so interesting that still after all these years, he carves out his own design but refuses to clean it out!

Lindsay was a "goth" this year for Halloween. She looked pretty convincing! At a ward Halloween party, an elderly woman came up to me and told me that Lindsay looked so much like me when she was all "dolled up" like that! I really was not sure how to take that compliment? Was it the black lipstick or black eye shadow? I know, it was the nose piercing! Ha! Ha!

Ethan was Harry Potter this year. He was perfect for it with his new glasses! We were lucky because we already had a costume that some of our other kids had worn. It seems that every year we either have some character from "Harry Potter" or "Star Wars". This year we had both! Ethan really is into Harry Potter this year and has already said that he wants the Lego Hogwarts Castle for Christmas.

Clarissa was soooo cute this year as Junie B. Jones. She loves those books and I can often hear her laughing out loud in her bed as she reads at night before she goes to sleep. Clarissa took quite awhile to decide what she wanted to be for Halloween-but when she did-it was perfect for her! She was quite entertaining quoting phrases from the books. I loved it!

Finally, Zachary was Yoda from "Star Wars" this year. I had always promised Travis that we would have one of our little ones be Yoda because the baby/toddler costume was so cute. Since Zac is our last little one, it was kind of now or never! He loved Halloween!!! This was the first year that he got to go trick or treating. Travis took Ethan, Clarissa, and Zac this year because it was his turn. He dressed up as a Sith Lord to go with Zac. Zachary was his "little green friend". Travis asked Zac if he wanted to walk or be carried and Zac kept saying "walk". He walked for over an hour and did not want Daddy to carry him! I guess candy is a pretty strong incentive for him. Hmmm. Good to know for future reference! Because it was Travis' turn this year, the weather was fantastic- so just be aware that next year, the weather will be miserable because it will be my turn and the pattern has never failed! I don't really like trick or treating. I didn't even really like it as a child! I remember one year in which it rained and rained and I was so cold that I begged my dad to take us home ( I think it was only after one street). Anyway, he encouraged me to continue and as time went on, I noticed that my hands were turning blue and I told my dad that I was so cold that my hands were turning blue! He took me home and I realized that my hands were blue from the dye that was on my witch's hat! (I really was panicked that it was a permanent condition!)

Well, my "moment of joy" was when the pumpkins were all carved and set out on the porch. For some odd reason, I get a lot of satisfaction out of making sure each pumpkin is scraped very clean before a face is carved in! I know it is weird but that is just the way I am- a little weird!

Cathy