An OK Christmas

OK as in Oklahoma! We love spending time in Edmond, OK with my family. My sisters were all able to come for Christmas this year. It went too fast! We had fun decorating the tree, cooking and baking, playing with the children, watching movies, shopping, and playing Wii. We love you all and miss you already! Here are some pictures from the trip. (Not in chronological order)












We hope you all have a very happy New Year! And happy Birthday and Anniversary to Kristin and Matt!

Merry Christmas pics

Merry Christmas to you from the Adams'!

I'm feeling better, Mommy

The kids at bath time the other night. Both much happier and I can't believe how close they are getting in size! Noel is only 10 lbs behind Claire now and weighs as much as she did at her 12 month check up.

One of Claire's favorite books is Felix Feels Better by Rosemary Wells. She got it from her Grandpa Daniels for her birthday this year. Some of you may have seen it. In the book, the main character, Felix, eats too many chocolate Blimpies and stays up too late and the next morning is feeling 'peaky'. His mother tries to "perk" him up, but ends up taking him to Doctor Duck. Anyway, its really cute and tries to teach good habits as well as not being afraid of the doctor. Claire did so well when she was sick and was such a good patient for both trips to the doctor that I can't help mentioning this book as I think it may have helped. It certainly has helped her understand the word better. Every morning I ask her how she is feeling. This morning I got the reply, "I'm feeling better, Mommy".

This little guy is doing much better as well. He finished his meds on Friday. Last night he slept an eight hour stretch, ate, then went back down for four more! He hasn't done that since before the Chicago trip. He has his appetite back. He is pretty much back to his happy little normal self. His poor little voice though. When he gets really mad he sounds like a New Years Eve party favor or a Kazoo. We have a follow up appointment with the doctor tomorrow.

I'm so glad that they are doing so much better. They really had it kind of rough there for a little bit. Thank you so much Steph and Ish for the thoughtful meals. I have been pretty worn out. Noel has been acting like a newborn at night for the past month it seems. Let's hope we get another restful night tonight!

Sick, Sick, and More Sick...

Noel has lots of teeth!

Showing off his big brown eyes

It has been a hard couple of weeks for my little ones.

So, remember I said that Noel was sick but keeping the smile on? Well, the smiles came to a halt on Saturday night at our ward Christmas party and he turned into a very sad little boy. I was hoping to wait it out until Monday to take him to the doctor's office, but he ended up with a fever and an even worse cough. So, off to the emergency room again we went. Turns out Noel has RSV. We are lucky that he is an older baby. After a nebulizer treatment and a dose of some pretty strong meds, we were free to go home and try to get some sleep. He is in a much better mood now though he has coughed himself hoarse. I thought his runny nose was from his teething... Boy was I wrong.

Then last night, Claire started complaining about her ears again. She had complained in Oklahoma at Thanksgiving, but after some Tylenol she went to bed and we didn't hear about it again until now. This morning she woke up at 5:30am crying in her room. She had a fever and would not eat breakfast, when I tried to get her to eat she threw up. At least this time I could take her to an actual doctor's office. Since we switched insurances she hasn't been to her new clinic and I didn't know what to expect but the doctor was really nice and the wait wasn't long. He gave us a prescription for antibiotics and Claire is now taking a nice long nap.

So things are getting better. It's funny, but I had to go to the dentist to get a filling. I actually didn't mind at all. It was kind of a relaxing break from my home that is in disarray and my very moody children. You think that when you consider a trip to the dentist for a filling a relaxing break it means that your life is chaotic? I'm thankful for a thoughtful visiting teacher who heard about the kids being sick sick and immediately brought us over dinner. Here's to the kids getting better before Christmas. We are going back to Oklahoma for Christmas, along with my sisters, and have a new little nephew to meet. I can't wait! (BTW, my dad applied for a job back in Virginia that he has a pretty good chance of getting, so my family will be far away again... gotta make the most of having them close by).

Home again

After a nice Thanksgiving at my parent's house in Oklahoma, we are back again. It's nice to be home and back in a routine. Well, mostly... we are still working on it. Noel has been teething like crazy - he is currenly cutting tooth number five and six. On top of that he has a bad cold. He hasn't been sleeping and last night had a fever. He still manages to keep a smile going. Eight months old and already such an example - during the day that is...

So, we've been back from Chicago for a couple of weeks now. Ever since at least one member of our family has been sick. They should add on the sicknesses that you could catch on the flight to the price of a plane ticket (your ticket total comes to $350 + one common cold + one 24 hour stomach bug...) Well, if they did that the airline industry would probaly be in even more trouble... Anyway, Aaron was sick the last day of the trip thanks to Star of Siam leftovers... Then Claire was sick and ended up in the Emergency Room the night after we returned.

I am so grateful for priesthood blessings. In Chicago, Aaron was so sick he didn't know if he would be able to make it on the airplane and wasn't in any condition to be able to help much with the kids or get packed up. We are so grateful that his dad was there to give him a blessing. Aaron was able to work up the strength to get to the car. We felt like we didn't have enough time, because it took so long to get checked out and the car packed up and then had to stop for gas. Thankfully, the Chicago airport was very quick and security was running smoothly. I'm so glad that Aaron had the strength to help us through security with having to take off our shoes (even Claire's), a car seat, two strollers, a diaper bag, our carry ons, our coats, and the children, of course. Once on the plane we felt a peaceful feeling that we had made it and we'd be home soon. Aaron had a really tough day, but we made it home together.

While Aaron and I were saying our prayers the night after we got back from Chicago, I could hear Claire coughing, then heaving in her room. After 7 more recurrences we decided it was time for a trip to the emergency room (since my kids seem to only get sick at night or on week-ends). The doctor gave her Zolfran and told me that this had been going around and that it would end as fast as it started. The next day Claire was back to herself and in a couple days her appetite was back.

That night Claire was vomiting every 15 minutes, Aaron gave her a blessing. It was so sweet as she laid there on our bed and Aaron put his hands on her head to bless her. He told her that Heavenly Father loved her and that she would get better. She still threw up about three more times, but was noticeably in a better mood and later at the emergency room, there was absolutely no wait and we were home in bed in less than an hour.

Through all this I have been healthy and able to take care of my family. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and is watching over us. He may not make everything go perfectly all the time, but he sure gives us help through tough times. I think the thing that helped the most was that with each blessing came this sense of peace that the sickness would pass and that everything would be o.k. It reminds me of my favorite quote by the late President Hinckley which gives me such hope through hard times as insignificant as you may think they are:

“It isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don’t worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers.”

Chicago vacation!

We left Thursday for Chicago. The kids were really good on the plane. We met Grandma and Grandpa at the Chicago airport. Aaron's parent's picked us up and took us to our hotel to get checked in. Getting the kids bundled up was kind of a new challenge for us. It was a balmy 30 degrees most of the time we were in Chicago. It wasn't that bad during the day, but at night brrr... Actually it didn't feel that cold and we prepared pretty well but it was just annoying to have to bundle the kids up every time we had to go out. I'm glad we live somewhere warm.

Aaron's parent's watched the kids in our hotel room while we went to the concert.






I wish I had remembered to take the camera. We took a cab to the venue and we got our seats. We had a reserved table. I called our contact and she met us after selling Aaron the latest CD. She took us to the tour bus and we met James Hunter and his band. They were all very friendly, down to earth, and totally in awe that we won a contest and meeting them was the prize (We didn't tell them that they real grand prize was a trip to London to see Coldplay). They were all British except for their keyboard player. James especially was a total jokester. I didn't catch half of what he said from his accent. I smiled and nodded a lot. Aaron did a lot better and translated for me later. They signed their tour poster and CD for us. This video (I hope this works) is from the same characters they used on the poster that they signed. Each one is a characature of each band member (James gave us that tip). Anyway, the song is catchy - reminds me of a slow dance from the 1950's. The concert was really fun. James dedicated his first song to "his new friends, Sarah and Aaron". That was pretty cool. It was great music for dancing (we wish we knew how to dance). His music reminds me of Chuck Berry, Little Richard, James Brown...its a classic R&B sound... It would have never interested me, but I'm a fan now - after this trip how could we not be?

Noel wrestling with his grandpappy

Noel on our King Size bed. Look at the little guy! He's so cute I can't stand it!



Noel all bundled up. - day 2. We went to Shedd Aquarium. It was under construction so we didn't get to see any penguins (frown) but we had a nice time. They had a ton of exotic fish, frogs, turtles, and even iguanas.


Claire loves Nemo. Can you see him?




Claire was a bit freaked out by this turtle. We was swimming up and down and all around so fast.


The Family at lunch at Shedd Aquarium. We had Chicago style hot dogs.

Noel stayed in his stroller most of the time. But when I got him out to look at the tropical fish he was entranced. He just stared with his eyes and mouth wide open and looked all around. This tank had little hammerhead sharks and big stingrays. He loved it when they would swim past. You can see one little fish up above his reflection in the glass.


Claire and Grandpappy swimming at the hotel.

Our hotel was awesome. We stayed at the Embassy suites right downtown on State street. They served an awesome breakfast buffet every morning and had a manager's reception every night with free snacks a beverages. Our room has a fridge and microwave so we could keep snacks and leftovers from our dinners. We were only three blocks down from the Magnificent mile. We made sure to take advantage of our location by doing some shopping on Michigan Avenue and visiting local restaurants. Fav - Cafe Iberico - Spanish Food - since Aaron went to Spain on his mission he has always wanted to introduce us to Spanish food. We had Paella and tried lots of Tapas and soups. And the dessert was heavenly! Least Fav - Star of Siam - Thai food - great the night of - not so great leftovers (lesson learned - when on vacation don't trust the hotel mini fridge with leftover Thai chicken curry). And of course we had to get some deep dish pizza - we went to Giordano's. It was very very tasty.

KGSR and Concord records picked a great week-end to have the concert in Chicago and to send us. It was the Magnificent Mile Lighting Ceremony where they have a parade and light all the Christmas lights down Michigan Ave. It was so cold that night, I decided to stay in with Noel. He had had a runny nose and his cheeks were getting red and chapped from being outside. But we could not deny Claire a chance to see the Master of Ceremonies Mickey Mouse. After the parade, Claire ran into our room and said, "Mommy! Mommy! I saw Mickey and Minnie Mouse!"

I got this one off the internet because our pictures didn't turn out. From what Aaron and his parents tell me there were a ton of people. As Mickey's float past the Christmas lights would turn on and everyone would cheer.

We had a great time. The trip home was hard. We were sad to say good-bye to Aaron's parents and Aaron was feeling really sick (from the Thai leftovers). But we are so glad that we went. Thank you so much to KGSR, Concord Records, and Mums and Pappy Adams for making the trip possible. It was a wonderful wonderful trip!

Chicago trip update

It's official - for real - sure thing... I went to the radio station today and picked up the itinerary and filled out the paper work for the trip. We are arriving in Chicago Thursday afternoon - enough time to check into the hotel and call some contact who is going to tell us where to go for a "Meet and Greet". I guess we get to meet this James Hunter fellow. I think that this is really cool - except I wish that I had won concert tickets to see someone I had a little more listening experience with or excitement about. What do I say when I meet him? "Um, well, I had never heard of you before, but I thought, "hey, free trip, free show..." Any suggestions? Anyone familiar with his music or know anything about him?

Claire sings

She finally sings on her own and with us. Before we could get her to sing a word here and there, but she would never sing along. I'm looking forward to teaching her all kinds of songs! Notice she loves a big finish!

Adams Family fav song?

"Throw your Teddy Bear... and catch... turn around turn around jump jump jump!" This is one of Claire's favorite songs that I hear her singing all the time. But just now I heard it coming from the shower in our bathroom? Yes, that's right, my husband can't escape a catchy tune when he hears one.

Our Busy Halloween

Let me just start by announcing that Noel has gotten his first... and second tooth. They both came in this week one right after the other. This toothless smile will soon be replaced by a two toothed one. He is sitting up and rolling all over the place. Sometimes I wish I could freeze time and these beautiful children of mine would just stay little - but then I think about the possibility of having to nurse or change diapers for eternity and that I would probably go crazy if that were the case - I quickly let go of that daydream. Does anyone think that my baby boy looks a bit like Brett Favre or older Brett Favre? I heard that the other day, but I'm not convinced.


It's not pretty, I know. But this is how I found our little girl after snacking on Halloween candy the day after Halloween. This is totally gross, but my girl loves to chew on things and then spit it out. Those are Skittle remnants on her tray there. So I guess the chewiness of the Skittles were just too much for her... But she has had trouble taking naps lately. I made a deal with her that she can sleep with her doll as long as they really take a nap. If I hear any loud noises, the doll goes in her own dolly bed. I'm a mean mommy, I realize, but yesterday and today it worked. We'll see if that lasts.

Claire in her monkey suit gearing up for the big day.

Thursday.... This is Claire with her "preschool group". I hosted their Halloween party and they decorated cupcakes. They were so well-behaved, I was amazed! And clean-up as not as bad as it looks. For some reason I get really stressed out when it's my turn to host "pre-school". It only comes up once a month but when its my turn I kind of freak out a bit the night before especially. This time, I planned a ton of little things to keep them busy and engaged. We had those little monster sponge capsules that get big in water. We read a monster counting board book together (they were only $1 at Target, so I got them each one so they could all read their own). We had snack time outside on the balcony so Noel could take his nap in peace. It worked! We decorated cupcakes and made Ghost paper bag puppets. Then the moms came to pick them up a bit early and they went trick or treating around our apartment. It was a fun-packed morning for all of us. I really enjoyed it and was so releaved that it had gone well. I only wish that I would have gotten a picture of them all in their costumes.


Friday morning, we went to Round Rock's Halloween Party at Old Settler's Park. It was so crowded, we didn't stay long, but they had a ton of games, story time, and snacks and prizes.

This is us Friday night at the Trunk or Treat. Claire was a Monkey and Noel was a banana. I thought that Aaron was having trouble fitting us all into this shot so I'm squatting - oh so flattering...

Here's another one of my cute little man and my cute hubby. I keep trying to get shots of Noel's teeth, but he is always running his tongue over them. But I can't get enough of this little guys smile, so neither should my readers... right?

I voted!

I love early voting. I voted on Tuesday after Music Makers and it was so nice. No long lines, I took the kids in the double stroller and everyone was so accommodating. I got to use the handicapped person room and sit down and they gave the kids stickers. The voting machine was a computer that was touch screen and it was so easy. I was in and out in 5 minutes.

Now I do not belong to a party and I never vote straight ticket. Our church does not subscribe to any party, but teaches us that we should vote the way we see is right. They teach us correct principles and hope that we will vote accordingly I think. I usually don't talk about politics or like to speak out on policy things, but I can't help but share my thoughts on some things tonight, since election day is so close.

I'm thankful to Megan who wasn't afraid to say something. I loved Elder Nelson's article in the Ensign too. I've been thinking about the same things a lot lately. Especially when I read on one of my favorite blogs, Light Refreshments Served (by LDS women) this:

"Let me begin by saying that I am planning on voting for Barack Obama. Feel free to comment about how inexperienced he is and how you think it’s a mistake but just be aware that I am not persuaded by “arguments.” I don’t “watch the news” or “read the paper.” At first I didn’t want to vote for him because he smokes. But he quit so now I’m on board." -Kacy

What the heck?!!!! Go ahead and vote for Obama - but for better reasons than that!!!! Not only was I disappointed in that but more LDS women left comments like, "You go girl", and " I'm voting for Obama too, and I still have a testimony"... It made me really sad.

A lot of people just brush over the topic of abortion in this election, like it's not an important issue. It is important and it will always be important. Especially now when some states - Colorado, Oklahoma, and South Dakota are all trying to pass legislation that in some way or another goes against Roe Vs. Wade - so there is a very good chance that it will be under scrutiny again.

I would have voted Libertarian in this election if it weren't for this issue. Bob Barr didn't come out and say what he believed but I think he would leave it up to states to decide and I think it needs to be more universal than that. As much as I appreciate and have used gov't resources (Pell Grants, Wic, Medicaid), I feel that government needs to get smaller. I can't stand the idea of my tax dollars going toward funding abortions (Planned Parenthood). I agree with the Libertarian logic that if we are given more tax credits for charitable donations, our money will go where we want it to. Pregnancy Crisis Centers, for example, are all over Texas. These privately run organizations focus on helping low-income women and encouraging adoption or becoming more self reliant. I want to be able to choose where my money goes -like to Pregnancy Crisis Centers - instead of the government spending our tax dollars on things that Lobbyists want them to - like Planned Parenthood who encourage abortion as the first alternative to an unplanned pregnancy.

When I found myself pregnant and Aaron was without benefits soon after, I looked for ways to get maternity care. It took about as long to get approved for Medicaid as it did for us to get health benefits from Aaron's work (three months). I checked out Planned Parenthood. They basically said right away that if you can't afford to have and raise this child then you need to abort it. What about adoption being the first alternative instead of jumping in and saying it's o.k. to abort? It's just plain wrong.

So what I'm trying to say is don't vote just because someone smokes or not... There are other issues a little more important than that on the table here people! Watch the news! Read the paper! Learn about the issues at hand and how each candidate feels about them. I know that sometimes it feels like you need a PhD in each candidate to know which way to go. Have you looked at the candidate's Health Care Agendas? Yikes. Talk about complicated. I think that I finally understand and I actually like McCain's ideas... Anyway, I'm not going to judge or say anything bad about anyone who votes for Obama. Just don't vote for him because he's cool or he quit smoking, or because you think it's about time we had a black president (I thought that when I first heard he was running) but because in your heart you feel he's the right person and he'll make the right choices for our nation.

FHE tip

For those of you who have little ones and want easy but effective gospel lessons for Family Home Evening. We have found that the new Nursery Manual is a great resource. We've done the first three lessons so far and they have all gone really well with Claire. What are some of your FHE ideas that have worked for your family?

Happy Pumpkins

We got this ghostie hat from Aunt Jenny a couple years ago and I thought I'd put it on Noel for fun this morning... Yep... still cute....


We took a trip to a pumpkin patch Friday morning. It was a good time. Johanna drove and we all piled in her mini-van. It was about a half hour drive but the kids just chilled watching Finding Nemo in the back. Luckily the babies slept. Here is Claire on the hayride. The girl is not afraid of much. She just climbed right on and made herself comfortable.

Here the kids check out the pumpkins. Claire kept trying to take home this green one.

Checkin' out the goats

More hayride...

Lookin' natural on the tractor.

A treat for the ride home

The other night for FHE we decided to go outside on our balcony and paint a little pumpkin. Earlier while grocery shopping, Claire found "the one" and kept yelling, "My punkin!" So it had to come home with us. Noel was kept occupied in his jumperoo. He loves this thing just like Claire did at this age. He doesn't have as much baby fat on his thighs to work off though... his legs are so skinny!



I marked a face on the pumpkin and gave Claire some paints. She was excited - even though the picture may not lead you to believe...

The finished product and painted toes