Sachs Clan

Taylor was just talking about leaving cookies for Santa and I was reminded of last years cookie drama. I had to share:

We left out cookies for Santa on a plate and then we put Taylor to bed. While we were tucking him in. The dog was partaking of Santa's cookies. When I realized what she had done... I just figured that at least one Christmas duty had been taken care of. A few minutes later I heard a horrible screech, I looked over to see that Taylor was standing there looking at the empty plate of cookies... He said in a pained voice " MOM, Cleo ate Santa's cookies, now he isn't going to leave any presents!!!"

I assured him that Santa wouldn't pass him by and I think I found something suitable to replace the cookies. I just had to laugh because it was funny. YOU just can't plan for everything. Merry Christmas!

We have this rocking horse and all the kids love it. Lee of course is a bit small for it, but he loves it when we place him on top of it. Today I put him on it and when I pulled him off he threw the biggest fit... I placed him back on and he was happy again. After a few minutes, I took him off and he threw another huge fit. I thought it was so funny that I grabbed the camera to take a video. True to our children as soon as the camera was involved he started hamming it up for the camera and I never did get the big fit on video but he's cute anyways.

Well, we were stuck inside all weekend. Church was canceled... no driving was recommended. SO we had a lot of free time. I hate to admit it but here is a video and some pics of what happens at the Sachs house when we are left alone by ourselves. : ) (At least what can be shown)

1. Nate put goggles on Lee and Lee thought it was great.
2. Taylor unknown to his parents was taking pictures of himself.
3. Images far to scary to be shown even to our closet friends. (shall remain withheld)

All pics and video taken 12-14-08

(in the car - Taylor says)

TJ: Mom, Heavenly Father doesn't answer my prayers..

Me: What?! He doesn't?

TJ: Every night I pray that I won't have bad dreams but I still do...

Me: Well, maybe we should pray that you don't have any bad or SCARY dreams.

TJ: He doesn't answer my prayers because he is to busy helping the other kids with their dreams.

What do you say???
(That evening TJ and I are about to say prayer before bed...)

Me: TJ when you pray you really need to "feel" the words that you say... Heavenly Father won't listen if you are just saying the same words, over and over again.

(Taylor says O.K. and starts to pray - what he says after his prayer)

TJ: Mom, sometimes I don't feel the words but tonight I really feel it.

(This morning at breakfast)

Me: Did you have any bad dreams last night? (holding my breath)

TJ: ummm... no


----
I love my children. I love how we are all learning together.

I have 5 kids sleeping soundly, I can't believe my luck!! YEAH!!!

Thought a quick blog was in order. Well, Thanksgiving is here... I can't believe it but I am ready for the holidays this year. We even put up out Christmas decorations yesterday and got our tree up... though we won't decorate it until Friday. We were going to wait on the tree but TJ was so pumped that he pulled that 100 lb tree out of the crawl space and to the bottom of the stairs. He can be one determined little boy, now if only we can focus that determination in a positive way. : ) We decided to give in and put that darn tree up. Now if only we can have him wait until Friday for the decorations.. "patience" is not him. Tonight Nate and I have a date night (dinner and games with friends) and tomorrow I will be doing a 5k Turkey Trot and then we trot over to my In-Laws for the Turkey. My Mother-n-law is one of the best cooks around so I am salivating just thinking of the food. YUM! Friday will be spent cleaning and organizing the house. I start my Daycare venture on Monday and I am trying to make sure I am ready to have 5 active kids from 7:30-5:30. I know that isn't much more than some of you have on a daily basis but it will be new for me. I think we'll do good together, if anything I might try to do to much. With my "A" personality and my "everything has to be perfect" trait, I can very easily over do it. LOL!

Well it wouldn't be right unless I took a moment to write a few things down that I am truly grateful for, so here I go:

• My husband, who supports and loves me no matter what. Who shows me by his example what a Disciple of Christ should be.
• My Heavenly Father who guides me when all earthly wisdom is unable to help or comfort.
• Jesus Christ for his atonement, so that I can be forgiven of all my imperfections
• My Parents, for my Dad and his example of what a man should be and for my Mother, who thankfully I turned out to be just like.
• Taylor, who keeps me on my toes and has me rethinking how to parent on a daily basis but who is so smart and funny. He really is so fun to talk to and play with. I think he'll be a great joy to us and others.
• Frederick, who I don't get to raise in this life time but who is my son all the same.
• Lee, who seems so reserved and curious all at the same time. He shows such a quiet intenseness, I hope we can guide him to seek out the good things in life.
• My friends from all stages of my life, I appreciate how they teach me by their example.
• My Grandparents and Nathan's Grandparents, they have so much love and wisdom to share.
• My husband's job, especially during these economic times.
• A lovely WARM house to raise my family in.
• $1.53 gas. WAHOO!
• My mind, though guilty of turning off at times, is smart and with the Lord's help can solve any problem.
• My body, I still have a bum foot but we get by and mostly I am able to do all that I desire to do.

You know I could go on all day but I guess it boils down to this: I AM BLESSED and VERY THANKFUL. Thank you to you, my friends and family, for being there with me along life's journey. I love you all. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

As always 1st birthdays are a hoot. Letting a 1 year old go at cake is one of those weird traditions that has been around forever. LOL! Lee's approach was a bit different then Taylor's, Nate calls it the eating like a horse approach. (see video) It made for a good laugh! Still can't believe that our baby is 1 years old. As always time is flying by. Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Lee! (pics and video taken Fri, Nov. 14th 2008)

Yeppers... we got a walker over here! It's official "Mr. Nervous" decided to let go and go for it, just 4 days before his 1st birthday. I guess he decided that 4 1/2 months of walking while hanging on to furniture was enough practice and he better just get on with it. Enjoy the video! (he started officially walking solo yesterday 11/11/08 but I snapped this video of him today)

Well, you may have heard on the news that South Dakota had a blizzard... it was by far one of the worst ones I have been in. The wind, I heard topped at 83 miles per hour. The thing about this storm was that it blew and blew and blew for an entire night and day. I was soooo grateful for my nice warm home! Yesterday TJ and I tried our luck with the blizzard but that fun was short lived as we couldn't even open our eyes or keep ourselves upright. LOL! I kept thinking of our ancestors who did not have our modern day conveniences... We truly are blessed!!!!

So today TJ and I bundled up and went outside... we shoveled and shoveled and played. : ) I took a pic of our neighbors car.. it was completely covered. The drifts were so bad that we had a temporary sledding hill form in our front yard. TJ took full advantage of his chance to sled without traveling anywhere. LOL! Enjoy the video.

This baby is so determined to do everything HIS way, here he is trying to plug in a cord. At least he isn't so frustrated that he is crying and mad. I should get a video of him trying to get his socks off in his car seat... that's funny. Well... I thought a video of the little guy was over due, so here you go.

Well we did it... we cut Lee's hair. He looks so much bigger now. (sniff) (sniff) Here is his before and after shots. On a side note he started taking a few steps. He's a bit on the cautious side so I don't think he'll be ready to take off right away. But he is making progress.

Can we be done already!! I am so tired of this election. (sigh)

Why can't we just leave things alone... why does everyone feel that everyone should be bailed out. What about consequences. I'm frustrated.

I really get annoyed with Halloween, I don't like it as an adult but it sure was a lot of fun as a kid. So who am I to deny my own children of Halloween fun. (sigh) Here's to another Halloween night! We might try the Great Pumpkin approach this year... the day after Halloween have TJ leave out his candy in exchange for a toy from the Great Pumpkin. We'll see if he'll go for it. LOL!

I am going to try my hand at daycare. I'm thinking that 2-3 extra kids won't be too bad and I'll be able to pull in some extra $$ to put in savings. Nate and I are doing fine financially but it is going to take us forever at the rate we are going to have any amount of extra $$. Sure would be great to pay down some debt and feel safer financially in these tough economic times. I could do design but unless I hire sitters for my own kids I find it hard to give it the time it needs. So I feel like this is a good option.

That's about it... my random thoughts for the day.

Well, I have a five year old. Where has the time gone? Here's some pics from his party on October 12th. His grandma got him a Batman outfit so guess what he is going to be for Halloween. LOL! Friday night we went to a trunk-or-treat at the church and I snapped a pic of Lee in his costume. The last pic is of Nathan and the boys I came up stairs on Saturday and there they were all eating together. Dad had made pancakes and I was moved by the simple tenderness of it all. I grabbed my camera and took a pic. Hope you all are doing well. We have been busy... maybe a little to busy. LOL! Love to you all!

Taylor: When I turn 5 will I look different?
(his 5th birthday is tomorrow)

(sigh) I tore a muscle in my foot playing volleyball on monday and I'll be wearing the latest and greatest in fashion apparel for the next 2 weeks. Too bad league night starts this coming Monday... looks like I'll be out for at least the next two weeks. (I'm SO sad)

Gotta love kids... Our curious 10 month old pulled out our refrigerator's water tubing that connects to the wall. Luckily I have "Mothers Hearing" and noticed that there was a leaking/water noise coming from the laundry room. To my horror we had water pouring down from the upstairs into the laundry room. Within the hour we had our laminate wood floor pulled up, the refrigerator and stove pulled out and towels EVERYWHERE... things have dried off and it looks like we made it through this by the skin of our teeth. Just three inches away was our newly finished bathroom. Of course it's not insured yet because I haven't called the insurance company yet to tell them the rooms were finished.

Thank you, Lord, for the small miracles and those powerful promptings of the Spirit.

So we took all of Nathan's visiting family up to the 1880 Train (a steam engine locomotive) The weather was outstanding and the view's breathtaking. I never tire of the beautiful Black Hills.

There is a pic that has two women in it... that would be Nate's mom (Grandma Becky) and Nate's Sister (Jennifer). Nate's mom looks amazing for being 50+. We also took Grandma and Grandpa Panther with us... I think we pooped them out but it was wonderful spending time with them.
There is a pic of TJ wearing Grandma Becky's hat and holding a cat.... I laugh because while waiting to board the train TJ ran all over chasing that cat and he was so proud to have caught it. Of course, the cat must have wanted to be caught because most cats have the ability to out smart 4 year olds. As his mother I would prefer he not touch strange animals but I think that when dealing with a strong willed child you soon realize that as long as he isn't harming or being harmed... you might as well leave well enough alone. LOL! Enjoy the pics.. there are quite a few.

YEAH!!!! We made it!!!!! Finishing a basement is something I would never wish upon anyone... but I am so happy it's done. We now have a complete 4 bedroom 2 bath house! I have a whole new respect for house projects... I didn't have a clue as to the work/detail that goes into a single room. I am impressed with my husband's ability to learn the necessary skills to do all that he has done. I married such a smart man. : ) He is officially a carpenter, electrician, sheet rocker, painter, and dang good handy man!!

We also made it through a visit from my mom and sister, Nathan's brother's wedding, a visit from Nate's Grandparents and a visit from his mom. Our last house guest (nate's mom) left yesterday, and though I LOVED all the visits there is something comforting in getting back in the groove.

I'll be playing catch up for a few posts but then I hope to be back on weekly. So check back as you can. Here are some pics... (my sister and her kids, my mom and us 9-18) (my new sister-n-law and Nathan's brother, John --- Nate was his best man and is standing in the background 9-20)

Boy, do we have alot going on... don't give up on my blog quite yet. I'll be updating soon.

O.K. Leah asked for a Sparks Family update and I'm posting it here for all to see since I know that there are others that might wonder what everyone is up to.

Sara has two children, one boy Chance (10) and a girl Triniti (8). She is divorced but after having gastric bypass 4 weeks ago she is hoping to be a hot little thing soon and catch herself a good man. : ) She and her kids live in Casper, Wy but are planning on following my parents to Utah.

Roger has remarried a wonderful LDS girl named Alyssa and they have a 1 year old named Madison. They live in Wichita Falls, Texas. I am proud that he is such a good man and good husband/father.

Micah is still single.... know of any young athletic types that want to move to Wyoming? He works for the railroad and makes good $$. LOL!! (but he's pretty picky - duh! he's single still)

Martha has a little boy named Leo (3) and she is finding the life of a divorced LDS women to be harder than anticipated. She just moved to Laramie WY and is going to school in the fall for Child Psychology. It's the first time she is on her own and I am proud that she is doing so well. She is finding the dating scene a little tough and complicated.

Mom and Dad are great.. they are moving to Salt Lake in October and I don't know how I feel about that. I wish that we could all live in the same town but I know that won't happen. At least it will be fun to visit the sites. Dad will be working for TSA-surface (homeland security)

Don't know how 3 out of the five siblings marriages have ended in divorce but I guess, two out of 3, were because of unfaithfulness. It's such a bummer because I have loved everyone of their ex spouses. I guess it has reinforced my desire to make my marriage work... to honor the commintment that I made to my husband and the Lord. Also the adversary is real and we as humans can be tempted by his lies and deceptions.

I know that everything will work out for Sara and Martha, I just wish that they didn't have to be alone and that they didn't have the sorrows in their lives. Roger has done great and he has a great little family. I know they have each grown and each have a wonderful future of hope and love.

Well that's the update.

We had a great time this weekend... went to see my mom and dad in Casper, Wyoming. On Friday we floated for two hours down the Platte River. My brother's were not in town but my parents, sisters and their kids all floated. It was a hoot... the kids kept trying to be brave and jump in the water but that water must be flowing from the arctic because it was COLD. Most of us chose the comforts of the HUGE air mattress or the paddle boat to keep the ride enjoyable.

Then on Saturday, we took a church history drive. We took the back way to Matins Cove and checked out the Oregon/Pioneer Trails. It's amazing all these years later you can still see the wagon ruts. At Martin's Cove we pulled our own handcart 2 miles and learn about the sacrifices made by our "spiritual" ancestors. Incredible reminder of the journeys of the past.

That afternoon we had Triniti's (Sara's daughter) Birthday Party and then Triniti was baptized that evening by my father. What a wonderful weekend. A little busy but what great memories. My parents are moving to Utah in about 2 months so it was good to visit and see the sites one last time.

Here are some pics of the family. (you should be able to click on the pictures to see them bigger) --H

Ever feel a little overwhelmed? That's what is going on over here... sorry to be behind on the blog but hopefully next week I'll be up and at it.

Thanks to everyone for your kind words of support... TJ is still giving me a run for my money and I anticipate that there will be many more years to come of it. sigh. Gotta love the spirit of that child.

Here are 8 month pics of the kid that doesn't cause any trouble... YET. : )

I'll be at my parents home all weekend and I can't wait. FUN. FUN. FUN. I'm sure I'll have pics to post when we get back.

Take Care and God Bless.

I might just fail at this....

Nate and I were talking the other night... we are pretty tough on Taylor. Not all the time but we both seem to lose our patience pretty quickly at other times. (sigh) Example: TJ kept putting a dinosaur toy in my face and roaring while I was nursing Lee... I said "Don't do that TJ" he did it again... I said "STOP THAT or I'll break it".... he did it again.... I reached out lightning fast and broke that Dinosaur claw toy in two. He ran off crying about how horrible his mother is and crying because he doesn't have any money to get a new one... I sat there mad but realizing that I probably shouldn't have broken his toy. (sigh)

This is just one many examples....

My thoughts: I would never have reacted that way if there had been someone else in the room. Why do I act that way when I am by myself. If I continue to lose my cool I will raise a boy that loses his cool... do I really want to be his example for that? Just because I'm older it doesn't give me the right to lose my cool so quickly... I would never allow my children to act like that towards each other.

How do I solve this? If I always act as if someone else is in the room, wouldn't that be the better approach? After all isn't my Heavenly Father always aware of my actions. Is it possible to find more patience? I am 31 years old... how come I don't know how to do this?

Anyways... I just had to spill my thoughts for a moment..... (sigh)

1. YOUR REAL NAME:
Heather
2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of real name plus izzle)
Heaizzle

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color and favorite animal)
Green Dog
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME:(your middle name and street you live on/or neighborhood if it's a number)
Spring Bengal
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)
Sache
6. YOUR SUPERHERO/CRIMINAL NAME: (Your 2nd favorite color, and favorite drink)
Blue Cherry Pepsi
7. YOUR IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, 1st letter of your last name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of your dads name, 1st letter of a siblings first name, and last letter of your moms first name)
Ecsogmi
8. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (parents middle names)
Louise Lee
9. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets)
Black Cleo

I've never really liked doing these things but I've been given the challenge by a fellow blogger and I guess if you are even reading this you must care somewhat about what I think so here I go....

The rules are as follows: List 3 Joys, 3 Fears, 3 Goals, 3 Current Obsessions, and 3 Random Surprising Facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. So here is what I came up with...

3 Joys
*My Immediate Family, Nathan, Taylor & Lee
*My Extended Family - Parents, Siblings, Grandparents, etc
*My knowledge of where I am going and why I am here


3 Fears
* I can't imagine living without my husband or children (I admit to sometimes getting up multiple times at night just to check on my children - at times my fear for them has caused me some anxiety but then I have to remember that all things work out and it is all in the Lords hands.)
* Snakes and large Spiders freak me out (I know that's two but they are all qualify as creepy crawly things)
* That I'm not doing enough... enough for me, enough for the Lord, enough for my family

3 Goals
* I want to paint. I want to try Watercolor so as soon as I can afford a class I want to take one.
* I want to write and illustrate a few children's book. I have a few stories to tell... I don't necessarily want to publish them but I want to do it for my children.
* I want to work with TJ on learning how to read and read scriptures with him more often... I need to remember that it's not just the quantity of time that I spend with him but the quality of time that matters most.

3 Current Obsessions
* Facebook (Mobwars - I'm embarrassed to admit it)
* Blogging and taking pictures to put on the blog
* Nate wants me to say it's him and now he's asking me why I am laughing - O.K. so my family is a pretty big obsession

3 Surprising Facts About Me
* I have trouble accomplishing anything because I am to busy accomplishing a little of everything, you could say I am the Queen of undone projects.
* I have two toes that are numb from my last pregnancy (8 months ago) I should see a doctor but then I'd probably just get pregnant again so I think I'll just wait it out. They can't stay numb forever, right?
* Ahhh... I can't think of anything else... anyone who knows me knows that I am a big ole loud mouth and I don't really keep anything secret. Oh, Oh, Oh... I just thought of something... this morning I called the Police Station to report two bikes without tires on the side of the road. So if you didn't know, you know now I'm a busy body to boot.

O.K. I did it.. I hope you where entertained... at least marginally. O.K. so just to be annoying I challenge Becca, Kate, Julie, Cheri and Grandma Shirley to do it. Have Fun!

Thursday 7/17 we took a trolley ride to a downtown festival. It was a hoot. O.K. so it wasn't a real trolley but our 4 year old doesn't know the difference. : ) I snapped a pic of the boys and I just had to share... Nathan is such a good dad he had Lee packed onto him. He is not afraid of being a hands on dad. I love that about him.

Also I added a pic from today 7/20... When Lee was born someone gave us a little suit from a wedding they had been in. I put the suit on him today and of course had to take a million pics. Sometimes motherhood is all about the little "mommy" thrills. Poor kid. I didn't make him do anymore wardrobe changes so overall he was a good sport.

We had a great time "fancy" camping.... I didn't take many pictures because I was too busy having fun. They had a pool, water slide, jumping pillow, water park thingy, miniature golf and so much more. Our family really had a great time. The campsite is right below Harney peak... (South Dakota's tallest mountain - I took a quick snapshot) In the evening we went and listened to a local band that came up to the campsite... I have a couple of video clips from that. We also took Nathan's little brother, Spencer, Taylor and him had a blast playing together. (Spencer is 7)

We had so much fun this 4th of July. We started the day off driving to a little town nearby called Piedmont where we walked to the parade site from a friends house. I have to say that it was wonderful, so much better than the parade here in town. I got a couple of pics of us at the parade and one of Taylor with his hat in his hand after he said to me "Mom, I got all the candy... let's go home now" I laughed because the parade had only just started. There are perks to being at the beginning of the parade route. We then hung around and TJ and Dad rode in a "real" local firetruck. Another pic shows Nate in a play ground toy, a little boy asked Nate if he could sit next to him. The little boy was so excited that an adult was driving the playground equipment. LOL!

After a great lunch with our friends we headed back home for naps. We then headed over to another friends house for the fireworks. They live up on a hill overlooking the local country club... it was awesome. No crowds, great friends, and they even played patriotic music while the fireworks were going off. (and Lee was sleeping in the house) So it was an awesome setup!

I just love spending time with my family. This weekend we are going camping at a KOA in the hills. I know it's "fancy" camping but we get to go swimming and we will enjoy all the KOA perks. : )

Hope your 4th was great too! All our love...

I wasn't thinking when I put on my pajama bottoms with the shirt I was wearing today. Nate thought is was hilarious, so that's why we have a picture. He should just be happy that I don't wear this out. LOL!

Note to Grandma:
Taken tonight 6/30

Well to be honest we don't have much going on. It seems I am always running here and there but not really accomplishing a great amount of anything. It is finally warm here in South Dakota so I guess summer is officially in full swing. This 4th of July weekend will be fun we've been invited to 4 different parties on various days so that will be fun. But to be honest I'll enjoy the following week with nothing being planned. : )

On a random note: My girlfriend from years ago was proposed to recently and her proposal was posted on You Tube. Nate and I just watched it and it was SO fun. It was fun to reminisce back to those beginning days when we had new love. Seven years later it is still sweet but I think sometimes we have to remind ourselves more of how wonderful the other person is. It is so easy to fall in ruts and it is important to remember to think of how special your spouse is even all the many years later. After watching her video I had to go give my own sweetheart a big ole kiss. : )

Well here's a few random photos of the kids and Nathan. I love these boys.



Note to Grandma:
TJ/Lee & Lee photo taken 6/23
Nate/Lee taken 6/29 on our downstairs deck

I did it I survived a week with about 50 girls. I can't say it was easy. It rained everyday and the temps dropped as low as 38 degrees. We had some beautiful moments but as our camp theme suggested we had to "be steadfast and immovable". (in order to keep from leaving early) The 1st night we were there we got a horrible hail storm. The camp was in shambles in the morning but we recovered.

Lee went with me and he was such a trooper. We had to cuddle together at night to keep warm. I don't think we could have pulled it off, if he wasn't such an easy going kid. Though the weather stunk, the area was beautiful. I love the Black Hills.

We camped about 10 miles from Crazy Horse... I took a picture of the monument (it's a work in progress - it's not completed) I went home the last night and left Lee with his daddy while I went back and helped the girls take everything down. (It took about an hour and 10 min to get to the Boy Scout Camp from where we live.) Anyways... it was great, we really have some beautiful girls.. inside and out. Here are a couple of pics of Lee and a random one to show how pretty it is out there.