Congratulations Ben!!!

This post is dedicated to Ben, my super brother in law who graduates from college on Friday. Yay Ben! He is gradutating with a degree in construction management and already has a great job waiting for him. We the Hanson's are so proud of him. He is talented in more ways then one but especially when it comes to crafting things out of wood. He is so much fun and such a great addition to our family and I am so glad that He and Heidi chose each other for eternity. Together they have two beautiful kids that we all adore. We love you Ben!

Invite me to your blogs please...

So I have found some old friends on here and some have even left comments on my blog. I am unable to view their blogs because I have not "been invited". Inivte me! haha. melenienderrick@gmail.com

Derrick has a job!

Derrick has a job! YAY! A friend of his is working for the company that Derrick worked for in Alaska and asked him if he could fill in for him on a job in Cheney. Of course Derrick said yes and although it is not fun having him gone during the weeks, we know that we are SO blessed to have a job at all. This week the boys and I are in Cheney with him staying in his temporary apartment. It's been an adventure. There isn't really anywhere to sit but Rad made himself a little bed on a small coffee table on the first night. We didn't let him sleep there of course but it was a cute picture to take.
We are not sure how long he has the job, it may be temporary again, but we are hoping that he is able to stay on with this company. Work is so hard to come by locally.
We are thankful for the prayers that were offered in our behalf and while Derrick only half admits it (:0)), we know that it played a big part in us finding a job so quick.

Shaner Bandaner

The other day I had just gotten both boys down for a much needed nap and was taking advantage of the silence and was catching up on the days house work. Shayli came home from school not long after and I was chit chatting with her when Shane called. He asked if I could come get him from school. I said yeah but wanted to know why. He said that he thought that his jaw was broken and he needed stitches. I automatically thought he had been in a fight. And when I asked him if he had been he said "Melenie, no, just come get me." So I woke up the boys and we all loaded into the truck and headed to the high school. He didn't look to bad until he got to the truck. His chin was split wide open and obviously needed stitches. Shane as tough as he is HATES needles. He does not mind the pain but hates the thought of needles. My mom was in Spokane and so I was communicating back and forth with her as to what I needed to do with Shane. Shane was obviously in a ton of pain. He couldn't close his mouth and I REALLY hated seeing him like that. I kept picturing him at the age of three, even though he's a big bad tough almost 17 year old now. I would have done anything to make that pain go away. Anyway... She had me go to Shane's pediatrician. The doc said that Shayli and Rad could not wait in the waiting room without me so Shane, Cade, Shayli, Rad, the doc, her assistant, her nurse and I all loaded into the little exam room where Shane must have been in some shock. He kept saying that he was not getting stitches as he was dripping blood out of his chin. The doc thought that he probably dislocated his jaw and had Cade, Shane and I go to a different doc acrossed the hall while Shayli and Rad stayed in the exam room eating cookies and suckers while the nurses looked after them. In the other docs office it was hectic with paper work, Cade wanting to eat, Shane insisting that he was not getting stitches and oddly enough the waiting room was full of people who I either knew and wanted to catch up or who were really old and wanted to chat about the baby. When the doc was finally able to see Shane he thought that Shane had fractured his jaw and then tried to stitch Shane up. Not so much, Shane was NOT having that. So he super glued and butterfly'd the wound up and sent us back to the waiting room while he scheduled a CT Scan for Shane. It took forever so I ran back and forth between offices checking on the kids and Shane was STILL dripping blood. I eventually scared Shane into the stitches by telling him how ugly his scar was going to be. But while the doc was sticking the needles in to numb his chin Shane went completely white, his eyes rolled back and then closed. Yup- he was right. Needles were not his thing. My mom got there as the doc stitched the last stitch and I left with Shayli, Cade and Rad wondering how many more times I would be in the same office getting stitches with my two boys who are bound to be as crazy as Shane, who was wounded playing a game in PE at school. His jaw was not fractured, but the ligaments were pulled.

Shayli Update

I was able to volunteer in Shayli's class last week. It was fun. I helped the sixth graders at her school make holiday Schwags. Shayli and some of the boys in her class had me laughing a ton. Shayli is such a great girl with a really fun personality.

Cade Update

Cade is doing great. Believe it or not he can already pull himself from a reclined position to a sitting position by himself and will sit up for about 20 seconds or more unsupported. He's a strong little guy!
I'm all about hand me downs. I LOVE them and have been getting a ton for Rad and Cade. The other day I got them ready for bed and then realized that they had matching pajamas! Both handed down from some great people!
♥

Radley Update

Here are a few pics from the last week or so. Rad has this thing about wearing stickers on his forehead. He pulled this sticker off of a pair of new pants and wore it all day. He thought he was SO cool. Rad also loves to get down on the floor and read the Nickels Worth with dad. It's cute to see. ♥

Tis the Season

I love this time of year for lots of different reasons that I'm sure I'll blog about this month, but this post is about decorations. I love Christmas decorations. I decorate the day after Thanksgiving on every year. Here are some pics of our tree this year.

Goofy Diddles

This picture cracks me up. It's Rad wearing a pair of goofy glasses on Thanksgiving.

99 facts

Thanks for the tag Liz. ☺

1. Started your own blog - Duh.
2. Slept under the stars – Love it.
3. Played in a band – Nope just choirs.
4. Visited Hawaii - Twice... even married there!
5. Watched a meteor shower - cool to see... yes
6. Given more than you can afford to charity-Unless we are the recipient of charity is it really ever "more than we can afford?" I HAVE TO AGREE WITH LIZ ON HER ANSWER SO I LEFT HERS THERE.
7. Been to Disneyland – Twice.
8. Climbed a mountain – Yes.
9. Held a praying mantis –a lot of times in Cali.
10. Sang a solo – Lots, even at my High School Graduation
11. Bungee jumped- no
12. Visited Paris - no on my list of things to do.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - No but I bet it would be aweseom.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - Hmmm?
15. Adopted a child- no
16. Had food poisoning - Yuck- yes, more than once. No fun. Remember that big peanut butter recall? Yeah- we had it.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty-no
18. Grown your own vegetables- Its a new hobby and I'd love it a lot more if the moose would stay away. :)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France - no
20. Slept on an overnight train -Not yet
21. Had a pillow fight – MANY times.
22. Hitch hiked - I want to say yes... but never got picked up.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - I'm guilty
24. Built a snow fort - Yes
25. Held a lamb - No
26. Gone skinny dipping - YEP!
27. Run a marathon- No would like to someday though.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice - no
29. Seen a total eclipse- yes
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - Both.
31. Hit a home run - Probably back in the day
32. Been on a cruise - No
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person- Nope
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors- No
35. Seen an Amish community- No
36. Taught yourself a new language- Started German once.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied-Ya
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person - No
39. Gone rock climbing – Yes
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David - No
41. Sung karaoke – Yes
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt - No
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant - Yes
44. Visited Africa-No
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight – Yes
46. Been transported in an ambulance-No
47. Had your portrait painted - No
48. Gone deep sea fishing- Nope
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person - No
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris -No
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling – Yes and I think it is scary...
52. Kissed in the rain – yes
53. Played in the mud – ALL the time.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater - It seems to be our new tradition with the Till's. :)
55. Been in a movie-Just home made ones.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China -no
57. Started a business - Just a little one.
58. Taken a martial arts class-Kick boxing and loved it... but im sure that does not count.
59. Visited Russia-no thanks
60. Served at a soup kitchen-Not yet
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies-No
62.Gone whale watching- Not on an actual whale watching boat, but i watched the Humpback Whales of the shore in Hawaii...it was amazing K- Liz and I have a lot of the same ansers.
63. Got flowers for no reason - Yes... even had a secret admirer once.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - Tried- too anemic
65. Gone sky diving- No
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp - No
67. Bounced a check- oops
68. Flown in a helicopter- no
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy – Yes, a gorilla from my first bday.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial-no
71. Eaten Caviar-Not yet
72. Pieced a quilt- on my list of things to do this winter
73. Stood in Times Square -No
74. Toured the Everglades-No
75. Been fired from a job- Nope but it was rumored that way.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London- No
77. Broken a bone - Doc's did it for me.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle- No but Derrick swears I will be soon.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person- no
80. Published a book- working on it.
81. Visited the Vatican - no
82. Bought a brand new car - don't think i ever will
83. Walked in Jerusalem - no
84. Had your picture in the newspaper – yes
85. Read the entire Bible - no
86. Visited the White House – no
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating- no
88. Had chickenpox – Yes twice
89. Saved someone’s life- no
90.Sat on a jury- no
91. Met someone famous -yes- cleaned Ben Steins house.
92. Joined a book club -No I read for myself
93. Lost a loved one - Lots
94. Had a baby - Twice
95. Seen the Alamo in person- No
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake - No
97. Been involved in a law suit- No
98. Owned a cell phone – Yes
99. Been stung by a bee – Yes

So much to be thankful for...

I have so much to be thankful for. Derrick and I were talking the other day about humility. Derrick is currently unemployed and both of us have been having one heck of a time finding a job. The unemployment office is always so full and who knows how many applicants there are for every job but it has to be a whole lot. Derrick and I were talking about how a year ago there would have been no way that we would have applied for jobs such as being a janitor or ringing the salvation army bell (those are jobs that we have looked at recently) There is nothing wrong with those jobs,nothing, we were just too prideful to even consider them. How ugly that pride must have been on us. So even though we are jobless and it's scary, we are both greatful to have been knocked down a bunch of notches.

Here are 28 blessings that I am thankful for... a blessing for every year that I have been blessed to live.

1♥ I am thankful for a husband who loves me dearly and who is not afraid to show it no matter where we are.

2♥ I am thankful for 3 healthy kids who love me.

3♥ I am thankful for knowledge and for the ability that I have to read to my kids for 30 minutes before bed on every week night.

4♥ I am thankful for a warm home to call my own.

5♥ I am thankful for my church calling and the things that my Beehives teach me.

6♥ I am thankful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and for the life that I live because of that membership.

7♥ I am thankul for my Savior and for the sacrifice that was made so that I can continue to have hope.

8♥ I am thankful for my Mom and for the amazing person that she is. I regret that I didn't realize who and what she was and is until the last decade but am so thankful that I do now.

9♥ I am thankful for my Stepdad and for the great man that he is. I am thankful for the example that he is and for the friend that he is to my husband.

10♥ I am thankful for a father who has passed on and with all of the memories and love that he left me with.

11♥ I am thankful for my siblings... "real" and "step" They are all something special to me.

12♥ I am thankful for my sister in law Amy and my brother in law Ben and for the fact that they are family and for the fact that they love my siblings like they do.

13♥ I am thankful to live in Sandpoint and for the beauty that surrounds me every day.

14♥ I am thankful for the tough times that make me stronger.

15♥ I am thankful for anything that sparkles.

16♥ I am thankful for the chance and opportunity to change and the chance to make self improvements every day.

17♥ I am thankful for good food.... just ask my figure. haha

18♥ I am thankful for friends, like the Tills and the Ramsay's and for the joy they bring to our family.

Shoot- Valeri really needs to finish her report so I have to sign of before I finish my 28, but I really do have so much to be thankful for and I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

♥

Pretty Shayli

Shayli is so much fun. She's such a sweet girl. She's growing up so fast and my heart has been full of a ton of love for her lately. I'm very lucky to be her Stepmom. ♥

Raddle Daddle

Rad has been a ton of fun lately. He says something new and hilarious every day. Derrick and I took him to a movie a couple of weekends ago. We went to see Madagascar II and he loved it. He had popcorn and pop and got really into the movie. It was fun to see him having so much fun at the "Big Move".

Cadle Ladle

Cade had his 2 month check up this week. He weighed in at 13 pounds and 1 ounce. He only had two vaccinations. We are following in Heidi's footsteps and doing an alternate vaccine schedule with Cade. The doc actually thought it was a great idea. I was afraid that he would frown on the idea. Cade really did great during the whole appointment. He smiled and "talked" to the nurse and the doc. The doc was telling us that the only thing that Cade is behind in as far as development goes is that he doesn't squeal yet. Cade's response to that was to let out his first loud squeal. It was funny.

Cade Solomon

He is growing like a weed and smile's and sleep's and rarely ever cries! We are so blessed with this handsome little man.

Shayli Lady... chicken pox... darned hot tub

So last Saturday Shayli woke up and told me that the inside of ear hurt. Not like an ear infection... more like a sore bump. So we diagnosed it as a zit and went about our day. When i picked her up from a friends house later she hopped in the car and said, "i found a lot more zits today." I automatically started to ask her where she had them and when she said that they were mostly on her belly and back I thought, "Oh know! Can't be good!" Then she said that they itched. I didn't think that it was chicken pox because she has already had a bad case AND she has been vaccinated but to make sure that she didn't have anything contagious I called an after hours nurse hot line and she told me to take her to an Urgen Care on Sunday morning. So I did and she was diagnosed with the Chicken Pox. Poor girl felt horrible that she may have exposed the boys and a bunch of other kids and of course felt horrible and uncomfortable with the itching. So we bought her some fun things to do in her room, called the school on Monday to let them know, Grameri picked up her school work on Tuesday afternoon and then on Tuesday evenging my friend Stacie called. Stacie's girl had spent the end of last week and most of the weekend with Shayli and they ended up with the "spots" too. But she took her girls to a different doc on Tuesday and he diagnosed them with a virus that you can contract from a hot tub. The girls had been hot tubbing so that made sense. So I took Shayli to the same doc that the other girls went to and sure enough... not Chicken Pox. Grrr... poor Shayli had to miss school, be in quarantine and take some sick medication for nothing. Not cool. Here are some pics of her and her friends playing, frosting cookies, Shayli in the docs office, one of the nasty bumps, hanging out in her room in quarantine and the blasted hot tub that caused the whole fiasco. Shayli was SUCH a trooper through the whole ordeal. LOVE YOU SHAYLI GIRL! ♥

Raddle Daddle

Rad is not a big fan of bath time. To clarify, he loves the bath but has a fear of getting water in his eyes. So now I have to give Cade a bath first to show Rad the Cade doesn't get water in his eyes and then Rad will take his bath after Cade gets through his. Here is a picture of them wrapped up in their towels after bath time.

I remember Mel telling me about Mr Bean and how he loved to line up trucks, I thought it was so cute and now here I am with my little guy that does the same thing.


Call me crazy... Rad loves to play in the dirt. The dirt outside is now mud so to give Rad something to do I took the flowers out of one of my in door flower pots and then put the pot full of dirt on a blanket in my living room so that he could get his dirt fix. It really didn't make as big of a mess as I thought it would.

Here he is after playing in the dirt.

We made some frosting so that the kid's could frost some sugar cookies and Rad had such a hard time holding himself back from the frosting. He wanted it SO bad!

Rad has been having a ton of fun with playdough. Shayli had some friends over last week and Rad wanted to be everywhere they were. So to give them some space we played all kinds of new games. His favorite playdough game is "snakes".

Rude Awakening

Over the weekend I was at my moms and she was showing me some of the cool toys that she had bought for the grandkids to play with. She had some really cool Disney princess dolls and Valeri and I were having so much fun playing with them. V had Snow White and I had Ariel and we were picking out their dresses and accesorizing and having so much fun with it. I look at my mom who had just walked in the living room and said, "Bet you never thought you'd be watching your teenage daughters playing with dolls huh?" Then it hit me... I'm closer to 30 then I am a teenager. Ah the reality. Above is a pick of us closer to being teenagers... taken in 2003.

Kidd Kid's

Here are the pics of the 6 of us kid's after Shane's football game a few weeks ago. I love my family!

PICS

Cade in his devil costume.

Shayli painting boxes.

Cade in his blessing outfit.

Derrick, D-Wayne, and Alex in ties.

Shayli, Heidi, Valeri and I went to Yokes for ice cream and left with a cart full of Cade, pastries, soda pop and ice cream. Didn't eat so healthy that weekend.

Here is a picture of Andrew, Samantha and Rad playing in Grameri's cat's water dish.

Grandma Wanda and Grandpa Wayne came over the other day. It was great to see them. Here is a picture I took while we were all gathered around watching Derrick take out the train set that they brought him. It's a train set that belonged to his great great grandpa. Very cool.

Oh I love the times where both boys sleep at the same time. It's even better when they snuggle with me to do so.

At Cade's last appointment he had a blowout and I didn't have any extra clothes. My midwifes did but only girly outfits. :)