Tess plays the harp.

It's cool to be able to finally say that.

We've only been talking about it for 2 years now.

But we moved to Idaho as you may recall.

And then we remodeled a house.

And the timing never seemed quite right.

Until a few months ago when we finally got serious about the idea.

And then, bam!

The harp and harp teacher fell right into our laps.

I think this is one idea the Lord is very much on board with.

He certainly made it easy on us.

You see, we've been praying to find something that Tess could call her own.

Something that would help her feel special.

I think this may just be the thing- she was positively floating by the end of the lesson.

And I'm pretty excited too.

Who wouldn't want harp music filling their home everyday?

I think this may be the start of something beautiful.

Week in Review

Last Saturday we took the kids to see Hugo in 3D.

Nate and I agreed it was the most visually stunning movie we had ever seen.

About 40 min into it,Tess leaned over to me and whispered,

"This is the longest preview ever. When is Puss in Boots going to start?"

I giggled for the rest of the movie.

For Sunday dinner I made:

Flank Steak in Ginger Jalapeno Marinade

Cream of Asparagus Soup (which elicited a kiss on the cheek from Tess)

Whole Wheat bread

Apple and Endive Salad

All from the Horsley family cookbook.

It didn't taste near as good as Mom's.

And I was too exhausted to make dessert.

But I'll keep working on it.

Someday, someday...



After dinner, Nate gave Tess, Will and Nora their piano lessons.

And David his electric guitar lesson.

Because David's not really a classical music kind of guy.

Then with his guitar out, Nate serenaded me with an upbeat version of Barry Manilow's Can't Smile Without You.

I love it when he does that.

Monday (MLK Day) was declared a Pajama Day at our house.

My favorite kind of day!

I tried to help David clean his room.

We weren't getting anywhere.

He was determined to hang on to every candy wrapper, broken lego and even the 3 day old milk sitting on his bedside table.

I resorted to showing him pictures of hoarders' houses.
Like this:

After this visual demonstration, we were able to whip David's room into shape.

He started saying things like,"Oh mom, I can breathe so much better in here now."
We even took an hour to organize his legos.

(Now how long do you think that's going to last?)

On Tuesday, the kids spent lots of time playing with the newly organized legos.

Except for Will who did lots of this for a change:

Wednesday: Nate and I (but mostly Nate) taught swing dancing to the youth in our ward.

Thursday: I had a 2 hour religious discussion with 2 Catholic friends. I found it invigorating. And vowed to do it more often.

It was a post- call Friday for Nate.

Which means that he didn't have to work.
The two of us had eggs benedict at Goldy's and then hit the slopes.
We have exactly one ski resort in Boise- Bogus Basin.

It finally opened for the season on Jan 19th- the latest opening in the history of the resort.
We were anxious to get up there. And it was a beautiful day.
We got in a total of 4 runs before needing to get home to the kids, but we have decided that this is our new winter Post Call Friday tradition.

On Saturday, we went skiing again.

This time with the kids in tow.

It took us 6, yes s-i-x, hours to make sure all the kids had ski gear, buy/rent what we didn't have, get season pass pictures taken, and get everyone dressed and ready.

We made it to the resort just in time for the afternoon blizzard.
And we forgot to feed the kids lunch.
And also, we (and by we I mean Nate) accidentally put Will's ski boots on the wrong feet.
(But it turns out that he is a total animal on the hill regardless.)

Despite the setbacks, we had a pretty great time.
Until we didn't.
And then we went and got 1 lb greasy cheeseburgers.

Which kind of makes me sick just thinking about it.

And that wraps up a week in the life of the Meekers.

---------------------------------------------

Now good people, please take a moment to pray for sweet Jack who will be having heart surgery on Wed.
Jack was born with Down's Syndrome to Chad and Jamie (my step-cousins...or something like that).
Read about their sweet family on Jamie's blog here.
Read this post and you will be crying for days.

And visit Jamie's design blog here.
There is no home improvement project this girl won't tackle.
She's completely fearless.
And...she's hilarious.

The world we've created for our children and Will loses his first tooth.

On Tuesday I helped out in the childrens' classrooms at the school.

Two things to note:

1. They had a "Lock Down Drill."

Not to be confused with your average fire drill.

A lock down drill is when you practice what to do should an armed lunatic come onto school property.

Lock the door from inside the classroom. Turn off the lights. Get under your desks. Make sure you can't be seen from the window in the door.

Seriously?

This is what our world has come to.

I felt a moment of true panic as I crouched underneath the table alongside the students.

What if this were really happening?

I can't believe my 6 year-olds have to practice this.

And yet, I'm grateful that they do.

On a lighter note...

2. Will lost his first tooth.

Up until that point he hadn't let us near it.

I had no idea it was so loose, until I happened to notice it hanging forward in his mouth at a 90 degree angle.

"Will we need to pull that tooth or you might swallow it during lunch."

He reluctantly opened his mouth.

After all, the tooth fairy won't come unless you have an actual tooth to put under your pillow.

Later that night, I asked Nate to get some pictures to record the occasion.

The next day I found these beauties on the camera:

Wow. Thanks babe. Those are...um....really great.

It's a cryin' shame you chose medicine as a profession instead of photography. 

Thanksgiving

I know...Thanksgiving is so...so... 2011.

But it was a very memorable one and I must document it.

A few things to note about this picture:

1. It is about 2:00 in the afternoon.

2. David is already in his pajamas.

3. David did wear his Thanksgiving outfit for a full hour during the meal thereby honoring our agreement.

4. This was the last time I saw my cute Grandma.

Rhoda Cutler Wiscomb

1922-2011

Much of who I am is shaped by my grandma.

She was the embodiment of grace.

Even on her death bed, she offered ice chips (the one thing she could eat) to all who came to visit.

I'm happy for her to be well again.

And Grandma- I expect a killer Welcome Home Party when I join you.

With fine china, place cards and aspic.

(And yes Grams, I really like the aspic.)

And now, some important Thanksgiving information:

This year I will blog more.

Or at least that's my goal.

Once per week people.

I know, I know- I already missed the first week.

But we were out of town, so that's a pretty good excuse. 

Jan 1st started off here:





And then we went here:

Yep, 2012 is off to a fantastic start.

Happy New Year's everyone!

Happy Birthday Mom

1991

There is approx. 1 hour left on this, the day of my mother's birth.
But I couldn't let it pass without publicly thanking this good woman...

For giving me life.

For giving me 6 siblings whom I adore.

For supporting me in every dance performance (hundreds).

For staying up all those late nights to: sew my halloween costumes/prom dresses, type my papers (on a typewriter no less), or just talk.

I recently came across this quote and instantly thought of my mother:

"Whenever...temptations became most alluring and most tempting to me, the first thought that arose in my soul was this: Remember the love of your mother. Remember how she strove for your welfare. Remember how willing she was to sacrifice her life for your good. Remember what she taught you in your childhood...This feeling toward my mother became a defense, a barrier between me and temptation."

-Joseph F. Smith

This is the kind of mother she was.

Her goodness and sacrifice safeguarded me throughout my life.

Never underestimate the power of a righteous mother!

Thanks mom...

for everything!

All my love,

Erin

First broken bone...

...and it's not David, if you can believe it.

Cute Will broke his collarbone on Friday.

(I started writing this 2 weeks ago.)

He collided with another child while running at recess and fell on it wrong.

Nate was off work (three cheers for post-call Fridays!) so it was good timing if it had to happen, I suppose.

Although it did interrupt our day-long date to Goldy's (awesome breakfast!) and then Art in the Park (Boise's yearly art festival).

(Have I mentioned that life is pretty sweet with all kids in full day school?)

(I know what you're thinking...perhaps she should use a few more (parentheses) in this post. No problem.)

Notice how his right shoulder slopes at a not-so-natural angle...ouch!

Will has proven to be one tough cookie through the whole ordeal.

(One of the notable perks of being David's little brother.)

He's complained very little.

Here he is smiling for his x-rays.

And voila...

I texted my family from the E.R. and all the women replied "Oh no!!" (with 2 exclamation points) except for Dori who replied "Oh no!!!" (with 3 exclamation points).

It is clear to see who the most concerned sister was.

My brother Wyatt's response had me giggling:

"Running is too dangerous.
He should be hanging out on the roof more.
Nobody ever got hurt doing that."

Ahhh- I love my family.

Luckily the E.R. visit didn't take too long.
We were still able to get to Sun Valley on time for the opening dinner of Nate's work conference.
We spent a relaxing weekend there.
I, of course, have no pictures of Sun Valley.
Because I'm awesome like that.
But here are some pics of our journey home.
We took the scenic route.

Overlooking the Sawtooth Mountain range.

Getting in touch with our tribal roots.
Wait, where's Nora?


Oh that's right. There she is.


Redfish Lake.
This place is gorgeous.
In this picture, Nate is trying to decide where he will dock his boat (that we don't have yet) next time we come up.

He came to the dinner table last night and asked,
"Kids- would you rather go to college or get a boat?"
The decision was unanimous.
We'll start looking at boats this evening.

These pictures are totally undoctored.
Idaho really is just that beautiful.

It's actually not that funny.

Last night while I was at the church, Nate texted me this picture:

At first I wasn't sure what is was.
Was there an animal on our roof?

So I blew it up.
And OMGosh- there is my 6 year old son sitting on top of the roof.
Our 40 foot high roof with 10/12 pitch, to be clear.
(Go right ahead and start judging our parenting skills. I don't blame you.)
I quickly texted back:
What the h?
Which probably wasn't very appropriate for the church, but hey, I was typing as fast as I was thinking.


Apparently a good-hearted neighbor had seen David climbing out the dormer window and scrambling up the roof.
He quickly called Nate and said,
"Are you home? You're going to want to come outside immediately."
Nate ran out the door, looked in the direction of the pointing neighbor, gasped, told David to "hold still" (mostly so that he could get a picture), and then went and stood below the roof, and told David to "come down very slowly," which he did, crab-walk style. Luckily no one was hurt.


When I got home I went straight to David's room.
He wasn't really in the mood to talk.
But I got a few things out of him.
Why did you go out on the roof Davey?
-Jeesh, I just like view.
Do you know how dangerous that is? You could get really hurt or even die if you were to fall.
-Mom, you only fall if you get really close to the edge.
That's not true David. The roof is really steep. All it takes is one slip and you will fall all the way down.
-Mom, you just have to keep your hands dry.
(What??)


Look David- you've worn out the bum in your new pajama pants from sliding on the shingles.
(I thought this would really upset him because he has a slight obsession with PJ pants, and this pair happened to be new.)
And then I noticed it.
Another pair of pajama pants lying on his bedroom floor that also had a thread-bare bum.


(This is where things got a little more serious.)


David, how many times have you climbed the roof?
-I don't know Mom.
Did you do it before today?
-Yes.
Have you done it more than 2 times?
-Yes.
Like a lot of times?
-Yes.
(In tears now) David, do you have any idea how sad we would be if anything happened to you?? You have to promise me that you will never do this again.
I promise Mom.
No, I need to hear you say these words: "I promise I will never climb the roof again."



He said it.
And then I loved on him, said a prayer over him and sang him a song goodnight.
Well wait- he wouldn't let me sing the song. But I did get 2 kisses.
But only after I scratched his back for awhile.



Nate laughs when recounting this story, but I'm not quite there yet.
I spent hours lying in bed last night, wondering what else David was doing, unbeknownst to us, that might be putting his life in danger on a daily basis.
I probably don't even want to know.
He must have one very busy guardian angel.
I sent a hundred prayers up to heaven, thanking God for keeping our little guy safe.
And a thousand more, pleading with Him to continue to do so.

If I'm gray in the next couple of years, you'll know why.