whew...

(the kids hanging out with a "Who" at Universal Studios. Ivan looks thrilled, doesn't he?!)

(family photo outside)

(the crazy 18 month old)

(I found Ivan sound asleep like this one night. What can I say? The kid was worn out!)

(Harmony's favorite Christmas gift! A box filled with packs of gum. She said she is about half way through it already!!!)

(Christmas Eve, with the required new pj's in front of the tree picture)

(this was the destruction found in the living room on Christmas morning!

(chasing after Santa! The Camarillo airport has a Santa in his sleigh that flies over on Christmas Eve. I think it was the highlight of Ivan's night!)

Has it really been 4 weeks since I blogged? Sorry! I don't know where I used to find the time for this! I used to blog regularly. Now it is quick catch up posts. I guess some is better than none but...still!

Starting at the top, Ben. Oh how we miss him!! I got a call from him in the first few days of Dec. saying he was leaving the main base and headed for a smaller one. There is no internet connection where he is and except for 2 emails and a 5 min. phone call, we haven't heard from him in a month. I can't wait until he is back at the main base and we can hear from him again. I complain a lot about his watching sports, but I wish he was here tonight! He has been a Duck fan...practically since birth. Tonight is their Championship game. I hope wherever he is, he gets to watch his beloved Ducks!

Harmony is still doing well. She gets frustrated with her brothers at the drop of a hat but...what are you going to do right? She still calls them "little bothers" instead of brothers. She is turning into a pretty responsible girl and I love that I can start to rely on her for more things. She is very thankful to her Aunt Darla...because she has a cell phone now! Oiy!

Ethan is so cute. Mason says one word constantly (besides Mom, of course!) and that is E! E! He can get "E" to do whatever he wants. Ethan always tells me he isn't going to let Mason boss him around anymore, but I don't see that happening! His whole life right now is video games, scouts & school.

Connor is my little sweetheart. He really just has the sweetest heart. It doesn't stop him from doing things he isn't supposed to do though! I always find him with candy wrappers, his DS, Legos etc where he is not supposed to have them. He wants to get a cell phone so that he can text. I asked him who he would text and he said, me, Dad and Vale.

Ivan has had a lot of adjusting after his big winter break. He thrives on a scheduled routine and it was a hard week back at kindergarten! He is so excited to be turning 6 next month. We are going to have a party with just his church primary class. I am not up for a big party without Ben being here! He wants an Indiana Jones party so I am going to have to get creative!

Mason is a total pill. He is 18 months old today and drives his Mom crazy. Seriously. I have had to purchase 4 baby gates, 3 handle door locks, and more in baby proofing gear. We also were the recipients of a new toilet. Mason threw a big black Lego wheel in and flushed. Our maintenance people came out and couldn't get it to dislodge. So they had to take the whole thing out and give us a new one. Anyone want to adopt him?!

Seriously, I wonder if my life will ever change. I am not nearly as exciting as the kids are!

poem by Harmony

A Christmas Acroustic by Harmony Turner

Members of family flocking the house
Evergreen scent fills the air
Roast beef in the oven
Remember the true meaning
Yum, yum figgy pudding

Candy canes, delicious!
Holiday spirit in the air.
Remember your manners.
In happiness we greet the
Singing Christmas carolers
Toys sitting 'round the tree
Mistletoe hanging
Amazing gifts for everyone.
Share the experience far and wide!

Didn't she do a great job?!

Life at the Turners

Oh my heart. Morning sickness has literally knocked me off of my feet. I wake up STARVING, but then after eating (so far it really hasn't mattered what it is) makes me so sick that I am laying down. Then I will start to feel better, only to get dizzy and sick and lay back down. I will force myself to do laundry or dishes or something, only to find myself, guess where? Back on the couch. I have had some good days, but unfortunatley I tend to get as much stuff done as I can, and by the evening am so worn out that I fall asleep...on the couch. Can you guess who my new best friend is? I am starting to feel a little like a hermit. I only get out when it is absolutely necessary. And even then, like at the NEX yesterday, I feel so sick before I get anything done, so I make no eye contact with anyone and just try to get through the store without throwing up in the aisle. Lovely. I forgot how bad morning sickness can really be. I forgot how much being preggo can take out of you. I forgot what it is like to take care of a baby on the inside, and 4 others on the outside. OK so this is the only time I have had 4 on the outside but you know what I mean!

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I have deep, deep concerns over the next couple of months. Why? Well the 3 olders have all been enrolled in basketball. So at this moment in time, this is what our weekly schedule looks like. Mondays- Cub Scout leader meetings and Girl Scouts. Tuesdays: basketball practice and than Harm and Ben are at the church for meetings and Achievement Days, Wednesdays: my cub scout den meetings Thursdays: Connor's cub scouts, basketball practice Friday: Family night, but also pack meetings,and other things scheduled for those days ( b-day parties, etc) Saturdays:basketball games and also the taking care of the home Sundays: There has been a rumor that I will have a new calling soon. Which means more work for me. Does that scare you? It does me!

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I have had a few people ask some baby questions so here is the 411 on that...I am a little over 2 months now. I am hoping and praying that the morning sickness will be gone by the end of next month (everyone feel free to pray for me also). I go in on the 9th to have my first ultra sound. Just to hear the heart beat and measure. I am looking forward to it very much. When the time comes, I will be finding out. I mean come on, I want to go shopping for a new baby!:) So far the vote is 6/6 in favor of having a girl. However, we will take what we get. I used the Chinese birth chart and it showed us having a boy. However when we plugged the info in for the other kids, it was wrong. So who knows right? We have a girl named all planned but no boy names. If it is a boy we will probably let the kids pick, although we may end up with Annakin or Indiana. :)

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In March, we will be meeting my parents in Hawaii!! I can't wait. I am excited to take the kids this time, even though it means a lot more work! I am anxious to see my parents. It will be so wonderful.

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And Ben surprised me with an early birthday gift. I know, really early. I haven't told anyone yet but...I get to go home!! The baby and I will be coming home for 2 weeks. He is going to pay for a commercial flight so that I can just get straight there and back. No trying to hop on Space A flights. I am looking forward to it. He will have the kids for 2 weeks on his own. I asked him if he wanted me to go in the summer so he doesn't have to worry about homework, GS, church activities, CS etc. But he said he would rather do that than try to entertain them all day every day!

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I know this post is getting way long but...Christmas was a crazy day for us. The kids were up at 6:03. We had to wake Ivan up to come down. He wasn't as excited as the older kids. They were of course spoiled rotten. The older kids just played with their toys. We had a little bit of crankiness but not too bad.

However this was the first Christmas that Ivan really knew what was going on. And let me tell you, he had a hard time with it. First of all, he was way tired. Second it was sensory overload. Third, kids with autism tend to hyper-focus on things. So he opened one of his gifts and didn't want anything else. It was a Lego set. Of course he wanted ben to put it together right that minute. Forget the fact that he had a pile of presents left to be opened. Forget the fact, that their were still presents under the tree waiting to be handed out. He would also hyper-focus onto the boys toys. Making it frustrating for them and for us. He had a rough time. Ben and I were trying to be patient on very little sleep, but didn't always work. I had been feeling bad that he has never had a friend birthday party, but now I don't. I don't plan on doing one for a while either. It's just too much for him. He fell asleep cuddled up with me that night. What can we say? It was a long day!

And there you go. The novel that is the happenings at our house.

Christmas-kind of

The past two days have left me feeling extremely nauseaus and tired. I guess I have had a little too much holiday. So I will update you all on our comings and goings when I feel better. But here is my favorite picture of my cutie-tooties on Christmas Eve in their new pj's.

Holiday lights, parties & rice krispie houses

We had a totally relaxing week, last week. It was amazing. We did get out and do a few things though. Being sick all the time, has made me kind of feel like a hermit. So it was nice to get out!

Friday night Connor was supposed to have a "Go See It" with his Cub scout den. However, they moved it to Saturday. So because of our Branch Christmas party, he wouldn't be able to go. We could go as a family though and he could still get credit.

After dinner at the kids favorite place, Naps ( they seriously love it there), we headed down to the Hilton. They have a huge train set up and a nice tree and decorations. The kids loved watching the train. Ivan had his eye set on one train and raced around trying to keep up with that one specific train! This little trip prompted lots of comments and questions about, whether or not we would ever see snow again.

Saturday evening was our Christmas party for church. I had not been feeling well all day, and actually planned to skip it. But when Ben said he wouldn't take pictures of the kids with Santa, I went anyway. The kids were very cute singing their songs. Well Connor never sings, but at least he doesn't cause any problems either!:) Santa unfortunatley, could not attend this year. (The rumor was the costume couldn't be found)and so my whole reason for going was a mute point. Oh well. We had a nice time chatting with friends and eating good food!

Yesterday I told the kids if they would just let me take a nap ( this was after about 5 requests) I would let them make Rice Krispie houses. We found a little kit at the commissary and I thought it sounded a lot easier than gingerbread houses! So they had a good time making those. The box said it only made one house, but we got 3 with some leftover.

Tonight is the Rain Gutter Regatta for the boys. After that we will just be doing a lot of baking, wrapping, watching Christmas movies, and just enjoying each other and the season!

muffins & a Christmas tree

The other morning I made poppy seed muffins. Connor came up to me and said, "Mom I just love Popeye muffins." I looked at him and than couldn't help but crack up. He looked at me and said, " that is what they are called is it?" Not quite...popeye muffins. Too funny.

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And here are the pictures of the kids decorating the tree. The "theme" of our tree is, "let the kids put ornaments wherever". At this stage in our/their lives, it works for us! We always put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving. I had gone Black Friday shopping and felt completely awful by the time we were going to decorate. So I had the kids do it while I took pictures. They had fun. They have hung around the tree, every day since it was put up. We do have some gifts under there now. So they spend a lot of time there. I just love watching my kids experience the magic of the holidays!

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And last but not least, this is my 800th post! Holy cow!January marks 3 years. That is a lot of our life recorded!