Orthodontics, turkey, temple and decorating

Jake got his palate expander on Tuesday to help make his upper palate bigger to make more room for some permanent teeth that look like they might be impacted.  It's been a little rough going, but he is handling it well.  Soon, his tongue should be calloused and not hurt from rubbing on the appliance.

I made Mike's favorite pie for Thanksgiving--apple pie.  He also got an expansion pack to a strategy game he is currently loving.  It's tough to say which one he enjoyed more on Thanksgiving.

We had a quiet, but relaxing and enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner.  I had developed a chest cold and let family members know with small children who felt it best to protect their little clan and not come as planned, so we opted to just have dinner with our immediate family. 

White Friday--instead of going shopping for Black Friday, Mike and I got to spend time with Caleb in the temple.  Sure love this sweet boy and his moral strength! Very few things beat the feelings of peace, joy and serenity I feel serving in the temple with my family.

Oh, and this week, Caleb was asked by the bishopric to be a youth family history consultant.  He is attending training tonight on how to find ancestors, their births and deaths using the LDS Family Search tool and do his own geneology.  I know he is going to do great.  When I was in ward council (a meeting I have every few weeks with the all the presidents of the different organizations in the ward) the bishop said they needed to ask two youth to help with family history.  Caleb's name immediately popped into my head.  But I am over the women in the ward and therefore, don't have stewardship over the young men and cannot propose young men to be considered.  I wasn't surprised when later, I was approached by the a member of Young Men presidency and asked if Caleb could be called to this position.

The day after Thanksgiving, we pulled out our Christmas decorations.  The boys went to town stringing the garland on the banister.  They did a marvelous job.

Daddy is always so thorough in how he sets up the tree.  He carefully fluffs each branch to make it look its fullest.

Cap, doing what he does best.  Chewing on anything and everything, this used to be part of the garland.

Aw...our sweet Chewbacca.  Always ready for a snuggle.  

I took him and Cap to a dog socialization class on Saturday to help them get used to strange dogs and people.  Chewy loved every human and eventually came to relax around the other dogs.  Cap loved all the dogs and tolerated the humans.  I met some really nice people.  I'm tellin' ya, dogs make you more social, loving and patient.  Having them has taught our children a great deal about compassion, love and service.  (And also forgiveness when they discover teeth marks in their shoes.)

Neutering Cap and cast removal

This week Cap got neutered and he promptly chewed his e-collar off, so I made a quick trip to PetSmart that night to buy one that was more comfortable.  The new one has lasted 24 hours longer than the first--so far so good!  He was pretty sore the first day and only wanted to lay beside me.  Caleb was worried that the procedure had altered not only Cap's reproductive abilities but also his personality.  After about 12 hours post op, Cap was back to his energetic, clownish self, much to Caleb's relief.  The vet said to limit Cap's activities.  How does one do that with an energetic six month old puppy???? He "attacks" Chewy every chance he gets, steals his toys and runs away to get Chewy to chase him.  Yea,  limiting his activity, ain't gonna happen too much.  

Lately, it feels like there is a A LOT of contention in our home.  Maybe it's the kids ages...sigh.  However, we do have moments like these every so often.  Grandpa Kessel taught the kids how to play Solitaire together and they love it.  It's the one thing they can do together and not fight lately.  Chewy likes the peace and quiet, too, as you can see.

Today (November 21st) Jake's cast came off.  He was pretty nervous about the saw that was to be used to get the cast off.  But the medical assistant was super great with Jake and explained everything he was doing.  

Once the sawing was complete, Jake was fascinated with the tools used to remove the rest of the cast.

Jake is going to keep his cast as a souvenir.  Emily tried it on.

Since the new bone growth is still a little soft, the doctor said Jake had to be careful not to fall on the arm in the next two weeks.  He asked how active Jake was.  I explained that Jake has met his insurance deductible, the first one in our family to do so this year.  Dr. Evans whipped out a splint and told Jake to wear it at school and when he's skateboarding or riding his bike.  Having the splint helps me to relax a little since Jake has no cautious gene in his body.

Strep, spacers, and birthday party, oh my! (November 7-12, 2016)

This week was filled with doctor visits and getting ready for Michaela's friend birthday party.

Monday, Michaela woke up feeling under the weather.  She was still sick on Tuesday; Caleb came home from school feeling ill and I took Jake to the orthodontist to get his spacers to prep his mouth for the palate expander.

Wednesday, Caleb felt better, but Michaela felt even weaker and I suspected she had strep throat again.  She never runs a fever or has a sore throat.  Her stomach just hurts and she has no energy.  Strep test was positive, started pencillin.  Friday, Jake and Emily woke up sick.  Took them to the doctor and strep test was positive, amoxicillin started.  

A lovely lady from our church made me a loaf of bread to say thank you for serving as the Relief Society president.  It made my week!  Emily wanted a piece and when I went to run an errand she decided to cut it for herself, crazy girl.

He is a true retriever!  Picks up everything--EVERYTHING.

Michaela settled on a Paris themed birthday party.  Turned out rather cute, I think.

She requested the girls be able to decorate their own t-shirts like Jake did at his friend party.

The girls played soccer, twister, freeze dance, and ran an obstacle course.  Ate cupcakes and ice cream.  They all had fun, I think.

Michaela was all smiles opening her gifts.  I must say, every girl that came to the party was kind, included everyone, had good manners and were so sweet.  It made my mom heart happy to see that our daughter knows how to choose good friends.  She readily makes friends, but was so nervous, naturally, to start a new school this year.  But she has quickly made friends, and not just friends, but great friends!

November 1-7 2016

As usual, the Kessel household hasn't slowed down this week. The girls had dance,  Grandma and Grandpa Kessel left, Jake had an orthodontist appointment, I had Relief Society presidency meeting, Mike and I attended the Sandy City Fire annual awards dinner, Caleb had a boy scout service campout and yesterday we celebrated Michaela's 9th birthday.

On Tuesday, G and G Kessel left after staying with us two weeks.  It often feels a little empty for a few days after they are gone.  I sure lucked out in the in-law department.

Thursday, Jake had an orthodontist appointment. We have seen four different orthodontists--each one suggested different ways to deal with some impacted teeth and Jake's small crossbite.  We like Dr. Watson the best and Jake starts treatment on November 8th. Dr. Watson isn't going to pull six teeth (as one orthodontist wanted to) and he is going to use a more gentle approach to fix the crossbite, watch the impacted teeth for six months and intervene if necessary.  He is also very affordable and just overall a great guy who isn't out to suck your wallet dry.  Very happy with him.

Friday night, I got a sitter since Caleb had his service campout and I headed to Mike's annual awards dinner.  It was nice to dress up all fancy and sit with my gorgeous husband in his class A uniform and mingle among his co-workers.

As I mentioned, Caleb had a service campout.  I'm so impressed with his church leaders.  They take a lot of time out of their lives to nurture these young men, strengthen their testimonies and provide opportunities for these boys to grow into honorable men.  And the leaders don't get paid a cent.  Caleb and his troop mowed lawns and pulled weeds all Saturday morning throughout our neighborhood.  Caleb ended up being the designated mower since he was one of the only ones that knew how to mow. He mowed five lawns and was pretty tuckered out Saturday afternoon!

Church was rejuvenating. I love attending church with our family, especially now that the kids are all older.  It was a challenge when they were toddlers, but I'm grateful I continued going even though it was difficult.  The kids have developed such a desire to go now.  This Sunday, during the second hour, I got to help Mike with his Primary class, he teaches 9 year olds.  The third church hour we had a powerful Relief Society lesson taught by my first counselor, Toni Shingleton.  She spent hours collecting pictures of all Relief Society members and then created a slide show set to the song, "Beautiful for Me."  Her message was all about God's love for each of us, that we need not to compare ourselves to others.  We are enough just as we are. I felt such peace and joy afterward.

Yesterday was also Michaela's birthday.  I loved being able to just focus on her and let her know how much we loved her.  She asked for crepes for breakfast and homemade Cafe Rio for dinner.

Michaela got roller blades from Grandpa and Grandma Kessel.  She is getting pretty good!

We went for a walk and she wanted to hold Cap's leash while she roller bladed.

The only problem is, Cap doesn't like to be away from me so he pulls back in an effort to get to me.  One time it caused Michaela to fall, unfortunately.  Guess we will have to wait for her to hold on to his leash.

At the awards banquet.  Doesn't he look awesome?!

Some crazy people smashed all our pumpkins Friday night.  We were pretty saddened by this.

But one of the neighbor boys ran over when he found out and cleaned it all up.  His sister brought over cookies and another neighbor dropped by Oreos to say she was sorry it happened to us.  How can I stay upset when there are so many kind people in the world?

Missy opening her birthday card.  She got a Lego set and some Easy Bake oven mixes.  She was pretty happy with them.

Captain Kessel, who often commands fire scenes, has to discipline firefighters and oversee fire training, isn't above teaching 9 year olds about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mike had no idea I took this picture.  He and I taught a children's class for two years together until I was asked to be the Relief Society president.  I miss teaching with him!  But I'm glad I get to still help out on occasion.  He's a great teacher and sure loves the kids.  I love watching him shine in this capacity.

Since Missy is going to have a friend's party this year next Saturday and will have a cake for that, we opted to have a simple treat on her birthday.  Chocolate donut and ice cream.

Caleb...he has turned into a teenager over night, it seems.  Both he and us, his parents, are learning everyday how to navigate through these uncharted waters.  (I'm sure glad I don't have to parent alone.  Mike keeps me balanced.) There is a lot of frustration for both parties involved, but the great new is, he keeps things fun, interesting and challenging and we are sure glad he is in our family.  As you can see in this picture, Cap doesn't mind Caleb's antics.  

And that my friends, was our week!

Of soccer, broken bones, performances, promotions and Halloween

Life just keeps on movin' here at the Kessel household!  Funny how time is, it just keeps moving whether you are ready for it to or not.  In the last month, we decorated the house for Halloween, attended our school carnival (a.k.a. Hogwarts Night), completed fall soccer season, had our first broken arm, attended Mike's captain's badge pinning ceremony, went to the Living Planet Aquarium with Kessel grandparents, watched the girls Halloween dance recital, attended stake conference and went trick or treating.

It's been such a fun and happy month.  Fall is my favorite time of year and Halloween just might be my most favoritest holiday. 

Miggy putting up my bats

Michaela has joined the school choir (and is loving it) and performed at Hogwarts Night.

Emily with her teacher at Hogwarts Night.  We love Mrs. Thill!

Attending the boys' last soccer games wore Cap out.

Two days after Jake's last soccer game he was playing goalkeeper in our backyard, blocked a shot and suffered a right radial buckle fracture. Only four weeks in a cast, then two weeks of being careful.  No bike riding, pogo sticking, skateboarding, scootering and trampoline jumping for six weeks.  Kinda tough for our active, no fear child.  He can, however, still play soccer with the cast.

Mike and I had the opportunity to attend the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team game against Switzerland.  It was a blast!

Our selfie.  We also got on the Megatron and kissed for the audience to see.

Caleb had a mini concert for orchestra.  They are working super hard. 

(Caleb is in the far left.)

I'm excited to see their Christmas concert.

Living Planet Aquarium

Just because these two make us all so happy.  

How can you not smile when you look at this photo?!

Mike being sworn in as captain at a Sandy City council meeting

Me pinning on his captain's badge.

Retired captain and newly sworn in captain.  

Grateful Mike's parents were here visiting and got to attend the ceremony.

Me and the Cap'

At the girls' recital.  It so fun to watch!

Emily: black cat; Michaela: vampire

The day before Halloween, I was asked to speak at Stake Conference--a large church meeting comprising of about 5000 people from our area.  I was pretty nervous (thankfully, I didn't faint) but it was a great honor to be able to do this.  Mike, the kids, and my Mom came early and had good seats (thanks to my Mom) and the kids behaved very well throughout the two hour meeting.  It was a day filled with joy.  I am so grateful for our family--for our faith and the peace and focus it brings to our lives.

Stake Conference Flyer

Emily, our black cat, in the school Halloween parade. 

Michaela in the school parade.  

She said she wasn't allowed to stop for pictures.

She was a vampire because she is too old for princesses now.

Jake in the parade, giving high five's, of course.  So, Jake.  

He is Link from Zelda.

Caleb, a mummy.  The first year he didn't trick or treat with us but went with his friends.

I'm a little sad about this rite of passage.  It's all happening too fast.

Let me divert here for a moment.  Mike and I are terribly proud of this young man and the friends he has chosen to associate with.  They were invited to a party where some of the other kids didn't make the best choice.  Caleb and two friends stood up and told them they weren't going to join in and walked away.  Caleb and these two friends were then wrongfully accused of joining in, but went back to the people that accused them and apologized all on their own to help the situation be resolved.  How can I not feel hopeful about our future generation when I know that these boys are going to be in it?

Uncle Phil and Aunt Lisa and kids joined us this year.

Jake and cousin Harrison.

Trick or treating at the Fullmer's house.

As you can see, it was a month packed with lots of activities.  All the kids are doing well in school.  We switched elementary schools this year to simplify our lives so we didn't spend so much time in the car and on homework.  I still feel good about the change even though it's difficult to leave such good friends and faculty at Harvest.  I often remind myself, when we say "No" to one activity we are always saying "Yes" to something else.  In this case, we said to "No" to learning Spanish and "Yes" to developing our roots deeper in our neighborhood, "Yes" to less stress, "Yes" to being able to do other extracurricular activities and thus greater happiness.  I'm grateful for our extended family on both sides. Their love and support are what makes our lives that much richer.  Glad that Tim and Diane could come and spend two weeks with us.  They are always such a great help. We hope everyone had a marvelous Halloween!