Feb -
 |
| Jennifer's 7th Birthday! |
March -
We took a trip to Nauvoo over Sharilyn's birthday! (See next page)
 |
| Sharilyn's 5th Birthday! |
Our poor VW bug is falling apart. It's in the shop once again. The housing on one of the headlights went flying off as we drove down the expressway. It flew right over the top of our car. Rust is also taking it's toll and it sounds like either the gas tank is falling off or the right front wheel is wobbling loose. We lose a little more of the car each day it seems.
A friend who works with modeling for advertising took these cute pictures of Sharilyn. Debbie Coulter did her pretty hair cut.
April
 |
| Happy 1st Birthday Emily!!! (insert bday photos here) |
May -Yesterday Sharilyn was taking dirt and making little tiny hills all around the garden. Chris asked her what she was doing and she said she was making houses for the ants.
Squirrels have gnawed on the phone line again so the phone is out. Those squirrels are everywhere. We've had them begging at the back sliding doors. I'm quite sure they'd come in if we leave the door open. The other day as Sharilyn was leaving for school, a big Mallard duck flew down and came right up to the back door! I offered it bread crumbs and it took them right out of my hand! It didn't seem at all afraid.
We have inherited a fish aquarium from our home teacher and we're loving it!
While Chris has been in Boca Raton FL this week, we've been babysitting a tea-cup poodle for my friend, Mary, whose husband threated to kill it. :( (Mary and Catherine also came for one night) Mary has been having missionary discussions at our home.
JUNE
Jennifer was a performer in their 1st grade song-fest. She also auditioned for the part of the greeter and out of all the 1st grades, she was chosen. She welcomed everyone to the 1st grade song fest and introduced the group etc. We were proud of her. She spoke clearly and with expression despite her two front teeth missing. :)
This girls found a baby rabbit that seems abandoned by it's mother. We've had it in the house and I'm feeding it with an eye dropper. We also have a cocoon in the kitchen and we're excited to see it hatch!
We spent a weekend campout in the Wisconsin Peninsula. (See next page for photos...)
We are expecting baby #4 and our due date is December 28th. Now I guess I know what "soon" means! (See explanation at the end) Anyway, the Doctor said they would probably need to take is C-section one week early which means I might be in the hospital over Christmas.
The temple is near completed and it is breathtaking! Just magnificent. We've had so many people ask us about it and tell us how beautiful it is and they want to go through it with us. We've had a few firesides with friends at our home with the missionary sisters to explain the difference between a church and a temple.
We get to sing again!! The temple choir for the dedication is such a wonderful experience. The music is so beautiful and stirring and I feel moved to tears in almost every practice. We are so grateful to be blessed with such a fabulous experience. There were auditions for the choir - which we went to. I was pretty sure Chris would make it in but not myself because they were only picking 8 soprano, 8 alto, 6 tenor and 6 bass. I was so completely shocked to be accepted! On our first practice a very talented director, David Zabriskie, told us all that he thought he was holding auditions to choose the best singers but he soon discovered that he was holding auditions for the Lord to tell him who to choose. He said he didn't even look at the scores because the spirit told him who to choose and that it was the Lord who chose the choir. I suddenly felt so honored to be there because I felt that the audition was not really for Br. Z but rather it was an audition before the Lord, who had, with His tender mercies, picked me!? I have been in awe and so grateful. Br. Zabriskie emphasized to us to sing by the spirit. "that our music would be more than just words and notes that they will hear, it will be the spirit they will feel."
I wish there was a permanent temple choir; to sing praises to the Lord in His house! Chris and the Elders Quorum have been busy on the temple grounds, cleaning and also the inside. They will also help supply guides and crowd and traffic controllers for the open house.
 |
| We got to visit David at OHare airport on his way to Montreal Mission |
|
|
 |
| Chicago Temple dedication Aug 9, 1985 35th LDS Temple |
The temple dedication was such a beautiful experience and spiritual high especially singing in the temple. I really believe that an unseen heavenly choir sang with us because the sound was greater than we were. Chris has put in a lot of time helping on the grounds and with groups for the open house. He will also serve as a veil worker. The church keeps us busy but it means so much to us and brings us a lot of blessings and joy. I will always be thankful to my ancestors for accepting the gospel.
We're really excited to have a new car. A Nissan Stanza Wagon. It was sad selling the VW. It was in such poor shape. A hole in the floor would fill with water whenever we'd drive in low spots that would fill with deep puddles after rain. Sharilyn was so funny. She said "Let's call the station and tell them that a car is much better than a Volkswagen!" We took it on a stroll to Rexburg! (see next page) We enjoyed the drive and time to chat.
Sept - Institute has begun again. I love it. I leave every Thursday morning at 5:40 am. I also do a lot of key punching on the computer for extra money and will be baby sitting for the Village Church one Weds. per month and the Methodist Church one Thurs/month. (Mom's Morning Out groups & I can take the girls so it's great!)
Chris plays golf with the neighbors at 6:15 am each Saturday morning. It's been great for neighbor relations.
We go to the temple at 5 am every Friday to be to the first session so that we're home before the girls wake up. The girls are okay with this. We have really enjoyed this and will need to go separately once the new baby comes. Our temple choir gets to sing in Stake Conference!
Jennifer is in Brownie Troop 18. They meet after school on Tuesdays. Jennifer & Chris have been invited into the neighborhood group called Indian Princesses. I helped Jennifer select the name of Lily Fair. I'm hoping Sharilyn can go too. (This was a YMCA thing but it was too expensive so the neighborhood started their own group and meet in homes every other week.)
 |
| Indian Princess (Daddy daughter group) |
 |
 |
|
 |
Girls are excited to be in school and they got the teachers they wanted.
|
|
Some days just don't go as planned: Sharilyn ran into a pole, Jen tripped and dropped Emily who had to have 3 stitches in her chin, Our big beautiful sunflower got eaten by a squirrel, the hot humid weather is causing us much suffering as we only have a swamp cooler in the master bedroom. On really hot nights the girls come and sleep in our room.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Something so cute with Sharilyn: We were playing "Crossing the Plains". Chris drew a card saying he could take what he wanted so he took my plow. Sharilyn looked so sad for me. She drew a card saying to give $10 to any player. She smiled and handed it to me (and she had the least money of all of us!) She then said I could have her plow also! That is just so sweet. Even though this is just a game, it surely shows the love and unselfishness of her heart.
Oct - We had rain for two days and nights solid. Chris did a good job swathing the roof with tar because we only had to use a couple buckets to catch leaks. (Used to use about a dozen buckets/pots/pans/ bowls etc,)
With a fourth child coming, we are working on converting the back room (unheated porch) into a bedroom.
October
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
We had a fun Halloween. Took cookie plates to a bunch of people and the girls enjoyed trick or treating. Emily dressed in Sharilyn's ballerina tutu. I didn't think she would enjoy it so much but she was so excited and jabbered all the way and was so cute! Emily is in such a cute stage. She is smiley and giggly and loves to pretend to be a dog! She likes to put a bowl on the floor and lick stuff out of it and crawl around saying "Ruff! Ruff!" She's a cutie and we all spoil her! She also just loves singing. We often sing songs during FHE and she just loves to join in.
Jennifer has been selling girl scout cookies for her Brownies troop.
November
Chris & I went to the doctor for an ultra sound and it was so fun! We could see the baby wiggle it's fingers and kick and put it's fingers in it's mouth.
Chris spent a long time on the roof trying to fix a football size hole that the squirrels dug! (Making a nest for winter?)
Cute Jennifer: After hearing the story of Sampson and how he prayed and then with the strength of God, leaned on the pillars and collapsed the building, killing all the enemies, Jennifer exclaimed "Is that God doing that!? Wow! He doesn't do that when we pray. How come Mom?"
Jen got constipated so we gave her a big tall glass of warm water to try and help things along. It did finally work. Jen went to church the next day and told her primary class all about her constipation experience.
Cute Sharilyn: In church Shar wanted to hold someone's new baby. "She said I can't hold her baby because it is too fuzzy." Sharilyn loves to play "church talk" and give a talk! ha ha.
I was trying to get the girls to bed and Sharilyn came out saying "My stomach is telling me to go to sleep; my chest is telling me to eat. Oh...I guess I'll do what my chest says."
Sharilyn wanted to tell me what she made in school but got so frustrated because she also wanted it to be a surprise and not tell me. She finally told me and then started crying because now I knew what she made and it wouldn't be a surprise. Sweet little Shar. I told her I would forget all about it.
Shar passed some gas and laughed and said she had a kiss in her bottom. She was begging me for some colored glue that you can eat. It took me so long to figure out what she was meaning. Finally we realized she was talking about frosting.
One time I looked outside and kept seeing Shar freeze in a funny position every time a car drove by. When she came in I asked hr what she was doing and she said she was disguising herself as a statue so no one would recognize her. Another time I left her in the car (doors were locked) so I could run in the PO really fast. When I came back she was in my seat sitting up tall and still. I asked her what she was doing and she said she was disguising herself as a grownup.
Cute words: Dandy longlegs, fingernail clickers, politeful, "I cried my ears off", "Bless us to have fun on our film strip" (field trip), "Can we buy trespassed to Great American?" "Mom, Jennifer attackled me." Shar was begging me to put some "fox" in her hair. I struggled and questioned her for so long trying to figure out what she was wanting. Finally I realized she meant mousse! Ha ha. She noticed I had cut my fingernails and said "Oh! I see you chopped down your fingernails. Remember when they looked like a witches."
Sharilyn took Jennifer's hand and said "Come on honey."
One day Sharilyn said out of the blue "Don't ya wish this whole world would start all over again." I wonder what was going through her mind.
We gave Shar a gold foil chocolate money. She said thank you and we could see that she did not know it was something edible so we told her it had chocolate in it. She looked so surprised and said "There's chocolate in it!!? Oh! I thought I was going to pay tithing with it!"
Guess what I found! A piece of candy on the ground and it was in a wrapper and not in any mud or anything but I didn't eat it or anything." "Good for you
Sharilyn!" "Because it might have been a lobster. Maybe somebody put a lobster in the wrapper. A baby one."
"I don't want to be on a game show where they win lots of money." "Why Sharilyn?" "Because then I wouldn't get any sleep!" "Why wouldn't you?" "Cause I'd be worrying about the money."
Now that Emily has learned to walk, she loves picking up everything she can carry and she throws it into the trash can to see the lid spin. We're not sure how much stuff got thrown away before we discovered she was doing this. Everyone's shoes were missing one day and Sharilyn discovered them in the trash. She pulled them out and told me she was unfilling the garbage. ha ha :)
Dec
 |
| Deep snow at the pre-school! |
Shar made a star out of foil. She called it her "Shiniest star". She was so cute going into the kitchen and turning out the lights so she could see if it would glow in the dark.
 |
 |
|
|
After the Christmas party Sharilyn begged us to drive Santa Claus home. She had such a pleading in her eyes. I wonder what amazing adventure she was imagining if we were able to do such a thing.
 |
 |
  |
 |
1985 closes with a new born King!
 |
 |
William Aaron King is born!
