Summer

(the non-wedding stuff)

With our summer schedule pretty full with wedding planning, trips and parties it was easy to overlook the ordinary stuff that took place during the same time.  I'm grateful for the pictures that capture these memories when my mind is so full.

Though Kate and her boys were technically here for wedding reasons, the little boys just thought they were all together for some quality cousin time.  LeRoy felt a little outnumbered with all of the Fullmer girls together for Erika's bridal shower so he made sure that the boys had an activity too.

Nathan and Hyrum went to a baptism with me in the morning and when we got back their jealousy bubbled over as they watched their dad give rides to Logan and Korben.  After a quick wardrobe change they all crowded on the four wheeler for rides around the block and through the field.  Kate and I stood on the porch ready to take pictures and holding our breath as they sped around each corner and Logan bounced up and down on the back as they kicked up the dirt in the field.

Korben calls our house "Erika's house" and always wants to know the next time he will see Erika.  And Erika loves Korben.  She adores his smile, his questions, his humor and especially his love for her.  Korben always has a little anxiety when it is time to leave or others are leaving his house and it was no different when it was time to leave our house, or rather when it was time to leave Erika.  He sobbed.

With drool running down his face and huge alligator tears in his eyes he attempted to smile as we encouraged him to have a picture taken with Erika.  Erika tried to explain that she would see him in just a couple of weeks for the wedding.  She had to give him an exact date to mark on the calendar but even that did not calm his tears.  After attempting to go out to the car a couple of times he walked back in the door and with the most heartbroken six year old voice I have ever heard he shrugged his shoulders and cried out, "my life....it's ruined".

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Nathan and Hyrum are so good at coming up with simple ways to entertain themselves.  After a lengthy pillow fight they pulled off their pillow cases for a few sack races.

They laughed and giggled, crashed into each other, and raced until they were exhausted.  It wasn't about who was faster or who won but who laughed the hardest.  When they were physically worn out they climbed in their pillow cases like they were sleeping bags and read stories for a while.  When they had read long enough to regain their strength they started the races all over again.

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We left Erika's room cleaned out and empty for a couple of weeks after she left but I had plans for it.  When LeRoy started selling Legal Shield and Identity Theft Insurance it created even more paper work than we were already dealing with in our electrical business.  Since he was doing all of the training and applications he needed his own desk.  For a while he had a smaller desk that we had been given and I kept the larger desk. After just a few short weeks I realized that the small desk was not going to cover it for LeRoy but I could manage with the smaller one so I switched things around.  It didn't take me long after that to realize that it wasn't just the size of the desk that was going to make a difference but it was how we manage our own office space.  Every time I went into the office to work I felt like I needed to spend time organizing before I could even start working.  

So, the "Skittle Room" is now my office.  I can keep my desk clean and organized and LeRoy can leave his just the way he likes it.  

Speaking of the Skittle Room...Erika did this room all by herself.  For her 16th birthday she asked for paint and permission to paint her room however she wanted.  After hearing her plans (Skittles?), we agreed and took her to pick up primer and paint.

She started by priming the walls, which she really didn't like because there was no creativity involved but then she got to the really good stuff where she could draw on the walls.  She has been wanting to do that (and actually doing just that on many occasions) since she was two years old. 

It took her nearly a year to get her room the way she wanted it but it was well worth all the late night giggles with Brianna, the long hours on a ladder and even the yellow paint stain on the carpet.  Her bright, colorful, happy Skittle room is now my bright, colorful, happy office. 

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On a Saturday morning LeRoy told me that he had just received a facebook message from one of my cousins inviting us to his and his brother's combined mission farewell.  We were so excited for both of them especially since we didn't know that either one of them had been planning on serving a mission.  We only knew that they had been baptized about a year prior.  We got substitutes that day and early Sunday morning we left for Utah.

It was our first family trip in the new van and Derek was thrilled with the leg room!  

Listening to Steven and Nathan share their testimonies was such a testimony builder for me.  These boys have strong testimonies of the atonement and eternal families and have such an enthusiasm for sharing those truths with others.  I am so proud of both of them and grateful to LeRoy for loving and encouraging them to be their best and to always be worthy of the priesthood.  I have no doubt that they will bless the lives of many people.

December

During the few sunny days we were blessed with in December, Nathan was reunited with an old playmate.

He has always had a fascination with his shadow. Even when he was only two and still in diapers.

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Hibbard Elementary did a Grinch Christmas program and asked that the kids all dress up like the Who people.  Nathan wanted to dress up as JoJo from Horton Hears a Who. He even encouraged his hair to grow for the whole month leading up to the program and spent time in front of the mirror practicing his bored JoJo look.  After searching all over Rexburg hoping to find some left-over Halloween clearance hair color, we finally found some black hairspray to darken his blond hair.

The best looking Who kids ever!

It was a good thing that a haircut was already in the plans after the program.  I don't think we would have been able to get all the black out without it.  After his haircut and shower he wanted to take a bath and still, the water turned to a murky grey and it took another shampoo and lots of scrubbing to wash away all the black off of his scalp.

Nathan cringes every time he hears the last note in the song.  "We sound terrible!" he groans as he covers his ears.  My favorite part of this video is the last 2 seconds.  I love the little shrug that Nathan does right in cue with the music.  I adore this little man!


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I was not expecting the emotions that encompassed me during this program.  I thought it would be the usual elementary school entertainment but watching the students walk in caught my attention in a humble way and when Nathan's first grade class came in I was completely overwhelmed with emotion.  Then they started singing "Where Are You Christmas" and the words coming from those innocent children had me completely choked up.

Where are you Christmas 
Why can't I find you 
Why have you gone away 
Where is the laughter 
You used to bring me 
Why can't I hear music play 

My world is changing
I'm rearranging
Does that mean Christmas changes too


I realized that what I was feeling was a rush of gratitude for our teachers, sympathy for those who had lost children in the Connecticut school shooting that took twenty first graders from their families, and a prayer in my heart for all of the families, teachers, friends, officers, medics and anyone else who had immediately been affected by the tragic events from last week.

Once the kids sat down I counted the front row of wiggly, giggly, smiling first graders I was shocked to think that had the shooting taken place at our rural elementary school it would have been that entire first row and three kids from the second row that would be gone as well as six of our teachers/administrators that were standing along the walls encouraging their students.  I cannot even imagine the depth of sorrow, sadness, pain and loss that must have been felt in that community and certainly, there must have been questions of "where are you, Christmas" as their lives were changing.

I admit that this sad, tearful feeling stuck with me throughout the next few days and I had a hard time not tearing up at everything Nathan did or said, living through the eyes of parents who would wish for one more silly joke, whiny plea or happy hug from their first grader.  Then a song came to me and I had to look it up for the exact words.

Jesus, my Savior true,
Help me they will to do.
E'en in the darkest night,
Be thou my beacon light.

Through this dark world of strife,
Teach me a better life.
Let thy redeeming pow'r
Be thou my safety tow'r.

When strife and sin arise,
When tears bedim my eyes,
When hopes are crushed and dead,
Thy glory round me shed.

When silent death draws near,
Calm thou my trembling fear.
Let me thy mercy prove.
Guide me to heav'n above.

"Guide Me to Thee" Hymn #101

At the end of each phrase are the words "guide me to thee".  The verses themselves offer a beautiful prayer but the phrase guide me to thee seems to be the reaching beyond ourselves, our problems, worries, loss and whatever else is taking over our souls to really feel of His mercy and love through the atonement.  For those who are suffering in Connecticut, this is my prayer for you.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving came a week early for the Fullmer family.  It fit all of our schedules and meant that we could  see John and Audi before they moved to Virginia.  As it worked out, it wasn't a good weekend to take my whole family to Utah but it was a great time for me to hang out with nine of my ten siblings.

As usual, there was an abundance of food, games, laughter, stories, and plenty of reminiscing until the wee hours of the morning.  Watching all of the cousins play together made me wish that my little boys were in on all the silliness.  Then Max came walking into the room wearing a coconut purse as a bra while chanting "coconuts, coconuts".

I was glad it wasn't my little boys who had corrupted sweet Max.  They'd have him playing with guns or swords, even if the "weapons" were actually Barbie batons or a plunger.

A week later we had our own family Thanksgiving.  It was the first time that we had just our family, no extended family, missionaries, no friends or neighbors over.  Though I have loved having big group Thanksgiving dinners it was wonderful to have our own family all together.  Having Levi with us and having Bret and Erika come a day early to help make food and spending a couple of nights with us like they lived out of town made it seem like we were really transitioning to a new stage of life with older and married kids.  

The only picture that I took was of Hyrum working so hard to make the drink.  He wanted to do something all by himself and was so proud that he was strong enough to lift the heavy bottles of juice and soda and pour it all by himself without spilling.  Each time someone took a drink they praised Hyrum and he soaked up the love.

While the rest of us played games or took naps LeRoy caught his own little snooze on the couch.  Erika had been making all of us feel the inside of her new hat so for some extra comfort LeRoy stuck it over his head and didn't give it back until his nap was over because it was so soft.  

She quit sharing her hat after that.

On Friday morning after Thanksgiving we all slept in having spent the night staying up late playing games and watching movies.  Everyone wandered out of bed and had breakfast some time around noon.   

LeRoy and I watched a new TV series that we got on DVD for our Anniversary.  Nathan was on an adventure with a book, Derek played guitar until he fell asleep and Justin spent a little quality time with Oliver watching Hyrum. After wearing himself out as a super hero, Hyrum took a nap on the floor with Oliver. Levi decided they needed a little more excitement than that and offered to take Daymia, Justin, Bret and Erika to I-Jump in Idaho Falls. (Derek was invited but didn't want to go)

If I wasn't so worried about injuring myself I might also find it fun to jump into a pit of foam.  At this stage in my life, I'm content to watch my kids do it.  They were picking foam pieces out of their hair and clothes for the rest of the day.  

Vivien's 18th Birthday

What I really wanted to do for Vivien's birthday was put myself on a plane to go see her but that was a little out of the budget, even for an 18th birthday.  Instead, the kids and I put together a party in a box.  We included the gifts, the cake, and the activity.

In July, Vivien sent me a picture of a cake that looked like the American flag and told me that was what she wanted her birthday cake to look like.  Though I couldn't send an actual cake I did send a sugary, flat replica of one.  Though it was all edible when I made it (corn syrup makes great glue), I'm sure it was pretty solid and would break teeth if she had tried to eat any of it.  I had complete confidence that she would not attempt to eat it because she lives a much healthier lifestyle than the high fructose corn syrup Americans.

For the activity the boys put in glow stick masks and jewelry as well as glow in the dark fingernail polish.  We figured since she was already hanging out with her friends at night in the closed playground that they could all do it while glowing and spark some UFO rumors. If a security camera happened to spot them their glowing masks would protect their identity.  It might not be quite as much fun as playing Bang in the Rexburg Walmart but it was the best we could do for an activity shipped overseas.

For the gifts we put in some slippers that looked like shoes.  Her shoe addiction is so strong that we knew it would be a hit.  We also included a "wreck this journal" book which had ideas of things to put on the pages (like taping gum wrappers or tearing a page out to make an airplane or writing a list of what is under the bed).  And finally, we gave her a yearbook of her ten months spent in America.  The only frustration I had with that was that there were no new pictures to include.  All of the pictures of Vivien with our family have stopped.  We have new ones of her in Slovakia and new ones of us in Idaho but none of us together.  Hopefully, we can have a couple of months in the summer to make new memories, take new pictures and do another yearbook.

Shortly after her birthday Vivien was admitted to a hospital in the mountains for a couple of weeks.  Unlike our American hospitals, there was not a private room waiting for her with hours of quiet and TV.  She was in a room full of kids (nearly all of them younger that her) where she endured many sleepless, interrupted nights, volumes of noise and a major lack of privacy in the public bathrooms.  They had school time, music time, walks outside and all of the blood tests, breathing tests, annoying tests that any one person should ever endure.  I was so glad that I could keep in touch with her via texting.  Most of the time she just wanted to go home but near the end of her stay she had made a couple of friends.

She and one of those friends broke into an office to find a chair, snuck into the kitchen to get a knife to mix the hair color with and colored their hair in the bathroom.  Not what I had imagined her doing in a hospital but I'm glad she found/made some fun.

Finally, she was released, more tests were done and she has actually had a few weeks of feeling better.  Healthy (non-American) food, swimming, yoga and her own room have been good for her.  Unfortunately, she missed most of the first semester of school and has spent the last month trying to catch up and just as the new semester has started she has been sick again.

I miss her!  I miss her laugh, her smile, hearing her down in her room, seeing her shoes in the mudroom.  I miss that look across the table that we would share when the boys were being ....boys.  I miss seeing her hanging out with her brothers and all the craziness and laughter that it caused.  I miss our light chatter and silliness sitting in the family room with both of us working on our computers or reading while the guys watched a guy movie.  

Halloween 2012

October 31st was pretty low key for Halloween this year. We didn't even squeeze in time to gut any pumpkins. However, the month was full of dress up and imagination.  I had purchased a couple of costumes on clearance last year and pulled them out around the first of October.  Hyrum was in hero heaven!  

He was pretty convinced that if he was Whyatt and had a book he could solve any problem. 

He asked for a puppy because Whyatt recently got a new puppy.
I suggested that he teach Harrison or Oliver how to bark.

We didn't do any Halloween decorating around our house because I was too lazy Bret and Erika were having a competition 

at their apartment complex and we sent a bunch of stuff over there.

  

They won a gift certificate to a restaurant and many compliments from neigh"boo"s.

Originally Nathan was going to be Spiderman just like Hyrum

But then he changed his mind because "I'm Spiderman everyday" and decided last minute to go as "karate boy".  Because he was having a hard time making up his mind, I resisted the urge to inform him that he is karate boy twice a week and many other days as well.

My favorite part of Halloween was watching Hyrum.  He would put on those puffy muscles and hide behind that mask and suddenly he was invincible.  He would not respond to his own name and would bounce off of furniture spinning his webs.  He even insisted that he wear his costume any time we went anywhere.  During one of Nathan's Tae Kwan Do practices he was oblivious to all of the people watching him as he dramatically acted out his imagination.