Omnipotent

Ellie: " Mom, if two people say a prayer at the SAME time, how does Heavenly Father hear both of them?"

Mom: (I gave a short answer because this question came in the middle of my Sunday nap)..."Because He can do everything."

Ellie: (without a moment of hesitation..and with a bit of a challenge in her voice).."Well, can he jump up and do the splits in the air?"

Thanks Grandma!

Apparently Grandma Madsen has forgiven us for the Christmas Morning Throw Down, because not only did she take the girls to see The Princess and the Frog, but she invited us out to her house to make the Beignets that were featured in the movie. She and her friend Dave took a trip to New Orleans last year where they had "real" Beignets. After seeing the movie, (which was set in New Orleans) she wanted the girls to taste the yummy treat as well. They were a hit! Ellie was especially pleased that they were dipped in powdered sugar. :-) I am grateful to have a Mother-in-law that takes the time and effort to create memories for my children.

This is when Jack should have been taking a nap....he doesn't look tired at ALL does he?

Here is the recipe my Mother-in-law emailed me! How nice is she??? Now you can all feel like you can make a special "New Ah-lins" treat!

Ingredients:1 envelope active dry yeast 1 1/2 cups warm water (approx. 105°) 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs, beaten 1 cup evaporated milk 7 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup shortening, softened oil for deep frying powdered sugar

Preparation:In large bowl, sprinkle yeast over the warm water; stir to dissolve and let stand for 5 minutes. Add sugar, salt, beaten eggs, and evaporated milk. Whisk or use electric mixer to blend thoroughly. Add 4 cups of the flour; beat until smooth. Add shortening; gradually blend in remaining flour. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. Roll out on floured board to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into 2 1/2 to 3-inch squares. Deep fry at 360° for 2 to 3 minutes until lightly browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. Serve hot with coffee. Dough can cut and frozen, separated in container with waxed paper.

I'm sensing a theme

I've been looking at old photos again. I know that throughout the years, some people strive to get ONE picture where all their kids are looking great. I however continue my quest to get ONE good picture of me and Mike. ONE of us is making my task very difficult!

Ok, I admit that I look fairly hideous in many of these shots, but it wasn't on purpose!

You're not invited to my Birthday

In the kitchen right after school......

Ellie: Mom, Hailey and Alli aren't my friends anymore.
Mom: Why?
Ellie:(all in one breath) Just because I wouldn't let them butt in front of me in the line and you're not supposed to let people butt you in line and I was just following the rules.
Mom: Well, maybe next time you could say, " Well, I can't let you butt, but I will come to the back of the line so we can all stay together".
Ellie: (in a DUH tone) Mom, I love being in the front. You know how I roll.

I do know how she rolls.

Oh, and five minutes later she asked if she could call Alli to come and play. :-)

Missing my babies

I remember hearing my Mom say that the happiest time in her life is when all her kids were little. I am just now starting to understand what she meant. Of course it's so fun to see my kids grow. I love watching them develop their talents and personalities. I love seeing them make new friends and learn new things at school. I love getting to know them as they begin to develop their adolescent personalities. But nothing quite compares to the sacred feeling of the sheltered and blessed life we lived when they were all at home. Looking at old pictures sometimes gives me that little ache for the past. I look at these little faces and realize that these children are gone from my life now. I have older, wonderful, more mature versions of them, but the children in the pictures have disappeared. It makes me a little melancholy, but it also makes me grateful that I get to keep them forever.



These pictures were taken in 2004. We wanted to give Grandma Madsen some cute pictures to hang in her bathroom.

Back before Ellie lost her sweet tooth

Well, my NEW camera is broken! I need to take it to the camera instacare, but in camera land "insta" means 4 to 6 weeks. Luckily though, I have an awesome plan! My computer is full of adorable pictures that have adorable stories behind them. Until I get my camera back, (and maybe even after) I thought it would be fun to record some of my memories from the past.

So, as I might have mentioned, Miss Ellie has QUITE a sweet tooth. As this story will prove, she developed that sweet tooth very early in life:

When we were living in West Jordan, we had the Swan Man ( a magical man who brings ice cream right to your door!) visit us from time to time. One of the most delicious treats we ordered were mint chocolate chip ice cream cones. Of course the kids LOVED them! (especially two year old Ellie...who's sweet tooth was in full force!)

One day, I came into the kitchen to find her eating an ice cream cone. I scolded her and reminded her that those are special treats and she needed to ask me first. ( Plus she had already had one that day. ) Twenty minutes later I heard some peculiar noises coming from the kitchen. Little feet tip toeing across the kitchen floor.....the freezer door opening....the freezer door closing....the pantry door opening...and the pantry door closing.

Because I knew EXACTLY what I would find when I opened the pantry door, I grabbed my camera. Simultaneously, I swung open the door and took the picture.

Just LOOK what I found inside!

All I could do was bust up laughing at my naughty, crafty, adorable little two year old. I think she was glad that I was laughing too. :-)

Fast forward to present day. That naughty, crafty, adorable six year old informed her Grandma that she "lost her sweet tooth." She is pretty sure it was the one that fell out a couple of months ago. Although, in my opinion it grew back twice as sweet!

A conversation

Yesterday Mike's Mom took us to The Princess and the Frog. The girls knew they were going right after school. Annie came bounding in the door, and this was our conversation:

Annie: Mom! Are we going to the movie now??!!

Mom: Yep, I am just going to go change and we are outta here!

Annie: (as I turn to go up the stairs to change)..Mom, can I play the Wii?

Mom: No, cause we are leaving as soon as I change.

Annie: Where are we going?

Spinners Film Festival

Ok, now that you've seen the video, let me explain why it was made.
Shortly after the break out hit, "Chuck Chuck you Rock", my Brother-in-law Kyle and I thought it would be fun to have a family film festival. After all, the Hyde's are notorious for the their home videos, why not create a festival to show case them!? So Kyle proceeded to designed the logo, created a website,(where individuals could read up-dates on the festival, register their films, see previews of registered films, and even order "Spinners Gear"). He also organized the event, invited (and hosted) the family, and made the awards. (Wasn't I a big help?...and yet Kyle kept referring to, and quoting me as The President and Founder. ha ha)
The festival had three different movie categories: Music Videos, Documentary, and Feature Film.
During the screening, (which we kept calling the Viewing...and tried not to) each audience member was given a voting ballet containing the name of the film, and each of the actors/actresses who appeared in the film. Then we all rated them on a scale from 1-10. We also scored our overall enjoyment of the film.
We finished the night off with the Golden Spinner Awards. We had an MC (Stephen), musical numbers, ( Topp Hennessee (aka) Dad, Mike B. singing Any Dream will Do, The Beardens (us) sang, " A tribute to Cheese", and Sarah's family sang a song called "Believe"). We had presenters, (Mom and Kent, Dad and Pam, Amy and Jessica, and a special guest presenter...Chuck) And even beautiful models (Casie and Keri) to give the trophies to the winners. It was such a fun festival, and we can't wait until next year!

I am not sure why these are so small, but here are a few shots from the evening

Kyle explaining the voting procedures

I was so proud of the family for dressing up for the Awards!

Mike singing at the ceremony

Maybe we have a little too much time on our hands

My little family put together another video masterpiece! I must warn you that there is some violence, and some VERY cheesy dancing involved. In fact the cheesy dancing is what brings on the violence. SOME people just can't stand to see people dancing in such a cheesy manner. (this will make more sense after you watch the movie. :-)

............... AND NOW.........................

Bearden Family Productions presents....Christmas Eve

In case you were wondering, my brother is the "other man" in the film...he's cute AND single AND did you see those dance moves??

She'd been drinking too much egg nog....

This post could have been about the Bearden Family's wonderful Christmas. It could have shown pictures of the kids opening their presents or dressed in their Christmas jammies or having fun with family. But... no, this post is going to be about the memory that will always be in my mind when I think about Christmas of 2009. This post is about The Christmas Incident.

My side of the Story:

What I hear from the living room:
Ding Dong...."She's here!" "She's Here!".....(Children running to the door)...(door opens)..."Merry Christmas!"....Thud....silence.
I run in to see my Mother-in-law face down in my entry way with blood spilling from somewhere on her face.


My Mother-in-laws side of the Story:
With two bags full of presents in her arms she carefully walks up the icy steps toward the front door.... Carefully....Carefully....Carefully...."Oh good, I made it without falling"....Ding Dong..."Merry Christmas!" Suddenly......falling...falling...falling...toward the tile...can't catch myself....SMACK!!!...pain...blood.

Ellie's side of the story:
Watching...waiting...watching...watching....out the window. Grandma will be here soon! Ding Dong..."She's here, She's here!" Run to the door....fling it open...."Merry Christmas!" JUMP onto Grandma wrapping arms AND legs around her which causes the falling, falling, falling......Thud...Grandma's bleeding. Ellie's fine.

This is not going to be my most favorite Holiday memory of all time, but I'm sure it will be the most talked about for years to come. I felt absolutely HORRIBLE! My sweet and good natured Mother-in-law was laughing about it before the blood stopped flowing.

Aside from the smashed up face and mega bloody nose, she also has a black and blue knee and a skinned knuckle. Not to mention the overall soreness that comes from being tackled to the ground.

We are signing Ellie up for football.

Eventually I'll stop being amazed

Here are a few more pieces of art from Annie the Amazing! (that's her new name:-) The first two were done at art lessons. The teacher puts an object in the middle of the room and the children sketch them. Usually it takes Annie about three lessons to complete one. (Each lesson is 2 hours long) The third picture I found in her back pack. She told me that she drew it at school during some free time. I will sell anyone these pictures for $10,000. Come on, this is a steal considering she is sure to be famous some day. :-)

She was embarassed to get her picture taken infront of EVERYONE!

Annie is not the only ULTRA talented child in the family. :-) We had fun watching Ellie in her First Grade Christmas program this year. The funnest part was hearing her practice at home. She regularly performed for us while I cooked dinner, before scripture study and after family prayer. Boy did she know her songs! She told me her teacher wanted her to know the songs so well that she could sing them in the shower. (Yes, she performed there too.) My personal favorite was called "Pablo, the Reindeer from Mexico. " At one point in the song all the first graders yelled, "Ay, yi, yi, yi!" I loved it. :-) I also loved watching Ellie look at me during the program. Because she had sung her songs so much for me at home, she knew what my favorite parts were. Each time the first graders got to one of those parts, Ellie would look at me and give me an adorable knowing smile. What a cutie she is!

Another of Ellie's gifts is her ability to make friends. Here are a few of her BFF's doing a very sassy "handshake".

Annie and Ellie are not the only SUPER ULTRA talented children in the family. Casie tried out for Aladdin Jr. last week. She did a great job, and got a small speaking part. (That's pretty good considering the cast is over 80 kids!) Casie is also an amazing babysitter. She is so sweet to baby J, and actually gets her sisters to go to bed. ( Although I don't know what she will do when Christmas is over and she can't threaten to take away presents from them) She is such a good girl and is learning patience and self control....she also learned to curl her own bangs!!! :-) I wish I would have taken a picture of her first successful bang curl. Luckily there was no blood, but it took a lot of long suffering, sweat and even a few tears to achieve her goal. We ended up laughing and cheering when she finally got it right!

Jack is as adorable as ever! We all absolutely ADORE this little guy. His new trick is finding places to hide. He loves to crawl under Mike's desk. It's so funny to see a mischievous little smile creep across his face when he hears me "looking" for him. ( "Dad, have you seen Jack? I can't find him...Jack...Jack...where are you?") It's funny because he just sits there as silent as a mouse with a huge grin. I love it! (I should mention that when I do make eye contact with him and he knows he's "caught" he pats the floor and invites me into his secret little club. We've had some good little times under Dad's desk.) ( I should also mention that Mike is working during all of this....sorry hon. :-)

With Christmas in the house, he has a whole new set of hiding places. See if you can find him!!!

Caught ya again Jack!!!

Wait....

Annie: Mom, can you buy me another Tamagotchi for Christmas? (she has gone through about 6 of these digital pets in the last two years. They ALL ended up lost or broken)...and then if I take care of it this time, could you give me three bucks?

Congrats girls!!!

After knowing the dead-line for reflections had come and gone, and after not hearing anything about Casie and Annie's entries, we figured they hadn't moved on in the reflections program.

BUT...in actuality.....

BOTH were chosen to represent their school in Council! Good job girls!!!!

Second chances

So this time I steamed them, buttered them, salted them, sour creamed them, AND put some fresh bacon on them....They weren't too bad. Next time I am going to try it without the Brussel Sprouts.

Busy..but not too busy for thoughts....

Tis the season for BUSY me! The vocal group I am in has officially started it's holiday mayhem so I might not be the best at updating my blog, but I did want to record a few things that have come to my mind this week.

As I was getting ready for a performance on Thursday, Jack fell down a few stairs. Luckily he didn't get seriously injured, but he tore the flap of skin that connects his upper lip to the gums. I called the pediatrician, and she said those kind of injuries can't be stitched.
She said it would heal fast, but it will be very tender for a few days. She was right!! He had a very restless night to say the least. Lots of whimpering and full on screaming at times. I ended up holding him and rocking him for most of the night. It's so hard when someone you love so much is suffering. I just kept thinking about how innocent and sweet he was, and how he didn't deserve to suffer like this. It was then my thoughts turned to gratitude for my Heavenly Father. When I think about Christs sacrifice for me, I usually focus on what he was going through. The pain he felt. As I sat there rocking Jack and wanting so much to comfort him, I started to think about Heavenly Fathers sacrifice for me. He had to watch his precious, innocent son suffer. A son that loved and served others. A son that had no sin. A son that loved him and trusted in him. And the pain he had to suffer was greater than anyone can comprehend. It was such a powerful reminder of Heavenly Fathers love for me. It amazes me that he loved me enough to let his son suffer for me. After seeing my own son suffering just a little bit, it makes it even harder to understand. I don't think I will ever feel worthy of that kind of love, but I am so grateful for it.

Ellie: (with a ball in her shirt) Look, Mom, I have one big boob.

Mom: Ellie, let's not say boob.

Ellie: Look Mom, I have one big nibble!(she misunderstood me a while back when I told her that everyone had nipples....I thought it was cute so we went with it)

Mom: Ellie, don't say boobs or nibbles, say breast. That's what they are called and it's a nicer word for a sweet little six year old to say.

Ellie: Mom...look at my one big breast!

Annie: (approaching) Ellie, do you have a ball in your shirt?

Ellie: no, it's a boob.

Come on...don't tell me YOUR family doesn't sit around and sing songs about Cheese.

I thought Mike's enormous belch at the end was particularly special.

Learn to love what's good for you......

OR.....try to love what's good for you until you realize they are quite NASTY and give the rest to your hamster.

(Although these are very cute and we had fun pretending we were giants eating whole heads of lettuce, I just can't say that I am in love with brussel sprouts. And if I didn't like them, you can imagine what the rest of the family thought of them....Anyone have any ideas on how to make these babies taste good? I just roasted them in olive oil and added them to our pasta dish.)

But all hope is not lost............there's always dessert.

I like tall... men and I can not lie.........

One dirty,..dirty,..diiiirrrrty chandelier and one treacherously high entry way were no match for this one time Kleaning Kousin and his trusty Little Giant Ladder. Grime be gone! Let there be light!!!

After living with the dirty eye sore for over two years...(I am talking about the light fixture, not the one time Kleaning Kousin,) I feel words aren't enough to express my joy at having it clean. So here is a little song that just came to mind.....

(clear throat)...I can see clearly now the muck is gone!

I can see all obstacles in my way...(meaning the obstacles that occasionally crowd the stairs. like...toys,... shoes..banana peels)

Gone are the dark layers of filthy sludge....it's gonna be a bright....bright.....artificially lit daaayyyy....(that would be so nice for you)

ok, I'm done.

Jack Frost

Jacks first experience with snow