Brennan

Here are a couple of pictures of Brennan during soccer. I am terrible at sports pictures because I get too caught up in the game and forget I have a camera in my hand.

This is Brennan back as a defender. He is pretty good back there!

This is a funny picture, I didn't really see everyone's faces untill I uploaded it for this post. I wonder what just happened?!

Of course, fall means Brennan has a birthday. the big 9. Wow, one year left and my baby will be in double digits!

Random Thoughts . . .

*Quote for the day: Being the first Sunday of the month it's fast Sunday, which personally I think is horrible the day after Halloween. But anyway Trent catches Brennan eating a KitKat before church and says, "Brennan, don't you remember it is fast sunday?" "Yes", says Brennan. "I just need a little snack."

*I have no blinkers in my van right now, so we have resorted to using arm signals until we can figure out what the problem is. Completely humiliating. I'm glad we have been reviewing hand signals in cub scouts for bike safety.

*Chiefs Girls Soccer is going to regionals for the FIRST TIME EVER!!!!! Soccer has been exhausting, expensive, frustrating and totally worth it. We are proud of London for making varsity as a freshman. She has had some growing pains with this new adventure but she has done pretty well for the most part.

*I am the pianist in Relief Society. I love to play the piano, but not for other people. Most of my piano skill is self taught. I have a decent amount of musical education but not a lot of actual piano lessons. Little story . . . I decided to take lessons at Ricks when I was there, so signed up. I showed up to lessons the first day to find we had team lessons. The other girl had obviously had years of piano lessons so I went from feeling fairly proud of my piano skills to completely pathetic. I don't remember much about lessons for the rest of the semester but the "Recital" will be forever etched in the "Most embarrassing file" for the rest of my life. I showed up to the recital with my faithful roommate. I think I was last and followed wonderfully, complicated piano pieces. I really wanted to climb under the chair I was sitting on and become completely invisible, but no such luck. Resigned I sat down and played my piece. Variations of Clair de Lune. All I can remember is mine was that piano piece that everyone politely sits through yet can't wait until it's over. My friend and I laughed all the way home. Anyway, today was another one of those days. I swear I'm like the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of pianists. I wasn't told what songs we were singing until I walked into relief society. Sometimes this is ok, but not today. The opening song was Have I done any good? and I couldn't get one note right, it was all I could do to keep from rolling on the ground laughing during the song it was so horrible. They would have been better off singing a capella. The practice song was Because I have been given much. I love that song and didn't miss one note. I even had crescendos and decrescenos. The last song was Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd, nearly as bad as the first song. Somedays I am just so glad when the last note is sung, amen is said and I can put my hymn book away and call it good!

*I tried to make a witch hat out of cake for the Bruneel's annual Halloween party (good times!). I saw Paula Deene do this on her show. Pretty easy or so she made it seem. So I got up and made the cake before we headed out to the soccer game. When we got home I tried to put the layers together that form the hat but my cake was super crumbly. How on earth does one screw up a boxed cake mix? Anyway as I'm frosting it the cake is falling apart. I exclaim to Trent, "My cake is a disaster!" He comes and looks at it and says "Sure is Babe!" I quickly gave up. I did not have time to deal with that. I tasted it later that night, and although it was falling apart and looked terrible it tasted pretty good. So when Trent wanted to throw it away I wouldn't let him thinking the kids might enjoy it still (Brennan had made a token attempt at redeeming it for me, what a good boy!). Well Trent just announced that my cake was starting to look like the Sorting Hat.

*We have a couple new pets around here, thank you Trent. Crayfish. You probably didn't know crayfish could be pets did you? Well apparently you can when you have a 9 year old son in the house. He has been feeding them hot dogs. They are outside on the back patio in a tub. We had 3 but one died so now we have 2. Brennan disected the dead one, so in the tub are 2 crayfish and crayfish parts. I'm not sure how long we will be able to keep those 2 since we have a neighborhood cat that keeps trying to "fish" in the tub. I'll keep you posted!

*Reviewing this post I'm noticing a trend. It could very well be I need to learn a few things about pride. I guess I better ponder that, hmmmmmmmm!

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, But Names Will Never Hurt Me?

Post Edit:
Just to clarify. I, thankfully don't think anyone is gossiping about me or my immediate family. At least nothing too vicious and nothing that has wound it's way back to my ears.
This was in response to some things that were said about some people close to me that shall remain anonymous. But it was so frustrating to hear what was said and know it was pure untruth and very hurtful. It was a good lesson in how truly devestating gossip can be. So don't do it!!!!

I do not know who came up with that saying, but they are far from right.
A Jewish Proverb says "What you don't see with your eyes, don't witness with your mouth. "
I know we all gossip. I think it is the nature of human beings. Some are less inclined to do this than others and then there are those who have "diahrea of the mouth". So I am not going to use this post to further spread gossip but hopefully to warn. When you choose to pass on information think long and hard of the possible consequences. Are you sure it's absolute truth? And even then does it need to be passed along? What do you gain?
I have witnessed the unspeakable harm gossip can do to people. Some have weathered the storm fairly well, but they were in a good emotional state to begin with, where others were not. They were already in a vulnerable position and this has been devastating.
The mind is not as resilient as the body, therefore, sticks and stones may break a bone but that bone will heal, usually with no lasting effects, but "names" do hurt and can leave you crippled!

Love is in the air?

One of the things I appreciate about little boys is their matter-of-factness. They don't get too emotional about things which is a pretty nice balance to the emotion that abounds with girls.

Today I am driving my 3rd grade son to school and he casually announces that he has a girlfriend.

"Oh, really? Who?" I ask. He tells me it's a little girl who is new to our school and neighborhood and to protect her future rep, we will refer to her as "Jane". I probe him further only to find out that this relationship is not really something he enjoys but rather tolerates. He proceeds to explain that "Jane" follows him around the playground and watches him play soccer and dreamily sighs at his prowess on the soccer field. Are you kidding me?
Okay, so I am belly rolling while he is telling me all this because they are in THIRD GRADE!!!!!!! And his non-chalance about it kills me.

So, after school, we have some more alone time and I quiz him further about his "girlfriend". He tells me he has decided to break-up with her. (Again I have a near car accident, because I'm laughing so hard.)
"Did you ask her to BE your girlfriend?"
"No, she told me she was my girlfriend."
This girls got guts, but I'll give it to her for going after what she wants, albeit a little young?!
Perfect opportunity to interject the fact that he is a little too young to have a girlfriend and the reminder he cannot date until he is sixteen, so he may want to kindly tell "Jane" that she is a nice girl but he is only not quite nine.
"Yeah", he says. "Maybe I'll like her when I'm 16."