What Would Ryan Give Jesus for Christmas?

So in during singing time in Primary on Sunday, the primary chorister had an activity set up where the kids were helping to prepare the baby Jesus' manger by adding hay. As they added hay there were asked to tell what they would give the baby Jesus for Christmas. The chorister was so tickled by Ryan's response that she came up and shared this with me afterward. As Ryan put his piece of hay in the manger and was asked what he would give baby Jesus, she was surprised to hear him respond with........a bath! Gotta love that kid!

The Miracles of Poster Board, Duck Tape & Spray Paint

SO, for Halloween this year, I had decided a long time ago that I wanted to go with a Wizard of Oz theme. I would be Dorothy (of course--I being the only girl in the fam) and Paul would be the Scarecrow, Ryan, the Tin Man, and Ben, the Cowardly Lion. Of course, being the procrastinator I am, I never really pulled it together......

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So of course, on Halloween day I had to come up with a costume for Ryan (we already had the lion costume for Ben so that was easy). But not willing to give up on the Tin Man idea, I rushed about, day-of, and gathered what I felt to be the easiest things to create Ryan's costume: poster board, duck tape & spray paint.

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I hurried home to put my brilliant idea together.....it wasn't--unfortunately--as easy to work with the duck tape as I would have hoped but I pulled it together anyway. (I later learned what would have been the easier, less complicated way of making it not only work, but actually look better, but I'm not that smart on my own and the advice came too little, too late--thanks a lot Lissa, next time could you get me the info on time please? ☺)

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Anyhoo, I had a time limit as the ward party began at 4:00 and we had to be ready. I put the pieces together, Paul got it painted, and Ryan got to try it on! Of course, to be the Tin Man, the finishing touches, such as the face paint and hair color, are somewhat an important element so at about 3:20, after having finished making the costume, I ran out to get the hairspray...(I did have the face paint already). I made it back within 20 minutes! (Paul was shocked I made it back so quickly, I think) and got to work getting Ryan ready. We suited him up in some grey sweats and then put the costume on Ryan--it took both Paul and me to get it on and off him every time--I sprayed his hair, painted his face and we put his "hat" on and......VOILA! The Tin Man, here now for your viewing pleasure! Along with the Cowardly Lion,

of course!

(Needless to say, Dorothy and the Scarecrow never made an appearance.)

We're Still Alive!

Okay....I guess I've been out of it for awhile.....well, we're still alive and well! But even now it's getting late and I don't really have a lot of time to type much...since I really should get some sleep and rest up for tomorrow. We're going to Lagoon tomorrow for the first ever Digis Family Picnic! We're pretty excited about it! I'm not pregnant this time so I can actually enjoy more than just Laguna Beach. The boys are so excited they can hardly wait! And we're pretty excited to see their reaction when they realize what "Lagoon" actually is!

Anyway, now that I've made it this far, (getting started--or in this case REstarted, is always the hardest part) I promise to come back and write in a few updates and try to be more consistent.

"Thankful for Ryan"

A few nights ago Paul, Ryan, Ben & I knelt down to say our family prayer before putting the boys in bed. It was Ben's turn. For some reason, Ben has stopped self-starting his prayers. He always wants help now and lately, Ryan enthusiastically volunteers to help Ben say his prayers. The other night when Ryan was helping Ben he went through thanking Heavenly Father for everyone in the family. Ryan would say, "Thankful for Daddy," and Ben would repeat, "Thankful for Daddy."
Ryan: Thankful for Mommy. Ben: Thankful for Mommy.
Ryan: Thankful for Ryan. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.

And everything went fine until Ryan said, "Thankful for Ben."

Ryan: Thankful for Ben. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.
Ryan: Thankful for Ben. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.
Ryan: Thankful for Ben. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.
Ryan: Thankful for Ben. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.
Ryan: Thankful for Ben. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.

And you may think typing it so many times is excessive but the truth is, this went on for several minutes--a lot more than five times...(Paul & I were laughing too hard to interrupt!)...but Ryan started getting frustrated that Ben wasn't getting it, (that he was supposed to be thankful for Ben) so we finally stopped them and explained to Ben what Ryan was saying so Ben finally said, "Thankful for me," and then Ryan was happy.

Ryan frequently likes to help Ben say his prayers so that time has not been the only time the same thing has occured but it was the funniest! It's fun watching my boys learn to pray and I love their enthusiasm. Any time it's time to pray they both beg for the opportunity. In fact, just tonight we had our home teachers over and when we knelt to say the prayer before they left, Ryan jumped in and started praying before Paul even had the opportunity to invite anyone else to offer it! It surprised us all but it was really sweet. I really am thankful for Ryan!...and Ben too, of course!