Tyler and Addie at Preference

February 2016

Tyler and Addie to THS Preference Dance.  He looks sharp, doesn't he!?  Shanine makes the corsages/boutonnieres for the big kids (well, Emily and Tyler, since they are the ones dating) and they always turn out so darling.  We've met Addie a few times, mostly at baseball games/events.  She's quiet and kind.  They had a great time on their date.  We didn't get to see them before they left on their date, so Tyler showed us some of the other pictures.  They turned out cute.  They were taken at a reception center that wasn't quite finished being remodeled, so there was a big, orange shop-vac in the background of some of the pictures :) 

They're Outta There!

February 29 

Daniel's staples have been in for about ten days now.  We put antibiotic ointment on it once or twice a day and it healed well.  Today Matt took the staples out.  Matt comes in real handy.  Real, real handy.

      

Kate was feeling a little left out since I'd taken pictures of Daniel's head.  So here is a picture of hers, for posterity ;)

Valentine's Day 2016

There are some little traditions that have started to surface as the years go by.  One is making homemade Valentines and having a nice dinner.  I like the corny Valentine's best, so that's what they get ;)  

Daniel, "You're just PLANE awesome!" and Tyler, "We're NUTS about you!"

Amy, "We think you're the BALM!" and Kate, "For 'CRAYON' out loud, won't you be our Valentine?"

Matt, "Are you copper and tellurium?  Because you are 'Cu-Te'! "

Oliver, "'PEAS' be our Valentine

Emily couldn't make it to our dinner, so I gave her a Valentine later, but it read, "We think you're DANDY and we're not LION!"  This isn't my card, but it's where I got the idea:

I also had to include this.  Amy wanted to make something for her mom for Valentine's Day so she sat down and made this...  I tried working on the Valentines but it was so fun to watch her paint.  She has a wonderful talent that seems to be unfolding.

Daniel does it again...

It was just a regular day... Kate and Daniel had woken up from their naps, watched a few cartoons in Grandma and Grandpa's living room while eating a life saver and periodically jumping on the mini trampolines in the corner.  Daniel had come up once "Wild Kratts" and "Bob the Builder" were over to ask for snacks every two or three minutes while I made dinner.  In between requests for more food he found various activities and toys to play with - taking spatulas out into the sand box, washing their hands up to their shoulders, putting their blue and green stools behind the big couch and trying to jump up and over the back of the couch but instead, bouncing off of it and falling backward onto the tile floor.  I was doing the dishes when I heard the fall and turned my head to see Daniel getting up from off the floor, crying and holding his head as he walked toward me.  Then I noticed the splatters of blood that were dripping behind him.  I ran over and tried (and failed) not to gasp.  Blood was squirting out of the back of his head.  

I immediately started to call Matt, I wasn't sure if he'd still be at the office because it was about the time he'd said he'd be leaving.  I wondered if I took him to the office or to the emergency room!?  Meanwhile, Kate came upon the scene and was very quick to point out, "There's blood all over the floor."  Daniel was screaming, I was panicking, the phone was ringing.  I told Kate to run get Grandma because I knew I'd need a ride to Matt's office or the emergency room.  

When Matt answered the phone in his pleasant voice I said, in my rushed voice, "Daniel fell and hit his head on the tile.  He's bleeding.  Do I bring him there?"    

Matt was calm and said, "Sure, you can do that."  

I was not as calm, as the towel I was pressing onto Daniel's head was wet with blood.  "Is that what I do?  Or not?"  

He said, "Well, I haven't seen the cut yet, can you send me a picture?"

"I can't see the cut.  It's squirting blood!"  (emphasis added, since I was emphasizing my description of what was going on).

"Ok.  Bring him down."  he responded, (see how there was not any "emphasis added" to his response?  That's because he was still as calm as could be.

Dad drove me down to Matt's office while I held Daniel on my lap, pressing a rag on his head.  He had stopped crying but was still whimpering and scared.  By the time I got up to the office it was basically empty.  Matt and Jodi were waiting for us.  We put Daniel on the table but as soon as they started trying to get through the mass of matted, sticky hair, Daniel started crying again.  I handed him Matt's phone so he could watch 'Bob the Builder'.  He quieted down quickly.   

They tried to clean things up a little since we still couldn't see the actual cut.  He was still bleeding quite a bit and his hair was long making it even harder to get to the cut.  So they eventually decided to turn him upside down and put his head under the faucet and try to clean it out.  That didn't go over well.  Daniel was screaming/crying and kept saying, "No, Daddy!"  I cried.  They put him back on the table, he was still dripping blood, they still couldn't see the cut, so they cut off some of his hair until they could see it.  It wasn't very long, maybe and inch and a half, but it was on an artery, so it was really bleeding.  Matt put four quick staples in to see if that would be enough pressure to stop the bleeding.  It wasn't.  So he needed to put in some more but Daniel was not happy.  Jodi and I did our best to hold his arms, legs, and head while Matt took his best shot and put five more staples in, for a total of nine.  He said it wasn't his best work, but I was impressed he got any more in at all.

I was glad when I could hold him on my lap.  Sweet boy.  We asked Daniel if he wanted a sucker for being brave.  He said yes.  Then I asked if he wanted to get one for Kate, too.  "Yes, a pink one.  Kate likes pink."  Made me teary again.  He's such a thoughtful little soul.

 

We got home and Matt showered Daniel (I got a good one in that Matthew Jared Cornish, yes I did!) and snuggled with him on the couch.  At home he gets to just be Daddy.  Here he is (below) cleaned up and ready for bed.  Just as I said, it was a regular day.

A Thursday

 It's a Thursday in the Cornish household.  I thought I'd capture a few of the goings on.  First, Kate has preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which makes the mornings fly by.  Today was a special Thursday because her class would be having their Valentine's Day party today.  We'd made little Valentines for her class that said, "Sip, Sip Hooray!  It's Valentine's Day!" and had a twisty straw.  Caroline is rubbing off on me in that I think they get plenty of treats so why not find a non-sweet way to celebrate.  Kate thought it was great!  We made one for Daniel, too, for which he did a happy dance.  In trying to take a picture of them with their straws, neither would hold still as they both decided it was the perfect time to try and hop on one foot.  Turns out that is a skill we need work on :)

 

After a very enthusiastic return from preschool (she was soooo excited about all the Valentines and activities) we had lunch and then headed over to the church.  One of my new favorite things is to take the kids to the gym at the church and let them ride around on their scooters or tricycle.  They have a great time and get a lot of energy out.  I wish I'd thought of it months ago.  Kate and Daniel like to take Oliver on rides on the tricycle.  Oliver seems to be ok with it, too. 

  

My plan worked perfectly in that all three Littles slept once we got home.  I was impressed with Kate sharing her Valentine treats with Daniel.  Anytime she was allowed a treat she would get one for him, too.  Sweet girl.

Later in the afternoon I was cooking dinner and casually noticed Daniel filling up a cup with water from the fridge.  I realized he had done it at least twice in the last few minutes, so this time I followed him and found him watering this lovely (plastic) plant.  You can see the puddle of water around the base if you look closely :) :).  I thanked him for watering the plants and told him that plant has enough water but that he could help me water the banana plant, which he was very excited about. 

 

Amy had volleyball and Tyler had baseball tonight, so we didn't get to see either of them.  We had dinner when Matt got home and then spent the evening reading books, showing Daddy Valentines, chatting, and getting ready for bed.  Just an average day, another happy day, in the Cornish home. 

The Dentist

I took Kate to the dentist for the first time today. I told her about it a week or so ago. She's brought it up a few times, always sounding a little nervous. She'd say things like, "They won't let you sit by me. I'll be 

 by myself."  I assured her that I would get to sit with her.  Mom and dad took Daniel with them to see a play that Robyn girls were in at school. I wanted to be able to hold Kate's little hand if she needed me to.  

Kate played in the waiting room, making Lego cookies and baking them in a little box and chatting away. But as soon as they called her name to go back she didn't have anything to say.  The dental hygienist and the dentist were both great. Kate did everything they asked, holding her mouth open as wide as she could the whole time, even when they were done and talking to me she laid there on the chair with her mouth wide open.  Once it was over, she was very excited to get a prize and chatted happily as we walked out the door. 

I'm not sure why experiences like these give me a little hiccup in my throat, but they do.   She looks so little sitting in that chair and yet getting big so fast.

The big kids are home

I've had this picture on my phone for a few months.  I took it one day when the big kids were home.  I just loved seeing signs of them around the house.  Sometimes there are LOTS of signs of them around the house :)  Their lives have certainly gotten busier and busier  as they have gotten older so there are fewer dinners with us all around the table or everyone crashed on a couch or playing games around the dining room table.  Sometimes it makes me sad.  Other times it makes me grateful for any time we do see them and get to chat, laugh, play, eat, or just be together.  Together - it's a wonderful place to be.

Lunch

We typically have lunch around noon sitting at this little "snack table" (for dinner we all sit at the big table).  Today we had corndogs, peas, ham, and applesauce.  I asked Kate to say the prayer. Her prayer included the following:  "Please bless that my corndog will cool off fast.  I like ketchup but oranges make my lips burn..."

Provo City Center Temple

It's February 1, 2016 and we spent the morning at the new Provo City Center Temple open house.  I was really looking forward to it.  We had Oliver stay home with Grandma and Grandpa so we could talk with Kate and Daniel (and chase them without being outnumbered) about what we were seeing.  Of course they are little, but I'm always surprised what they remember.  We've been doing scriptures at night for months now.  We use the pictures from the Gospel Art Kit which has a verse about the picture as well as a summary of the whole story the picture is depicting.  We keep each picture for several day, telling them the story each night, asking them more questions about it as each day passes. We finished the Old Testament pictures and now we're in the New Testament.  It's been a great way to do scripture reading with them now.  I'm pleasantly surprised at how much they remember.   As we were getting ready to go to the temple Kate said she wanted to see where people get married.  I didn't realize she had put that together, but was excited that we would be able to show her.  So taking them to the temple and having them see and touch and experience was something we didn't want to miss.  

The lines moved quickly, which was helpful in keeping Kate and Daniel preoccupied.  We first were directed into a room were a 10 minute movie about temples was shown.  We were also given white slippers to put over our shoes.  Neither Kate nor Daniel was very excited about the slippers (not sure why) but were soon distracted by the movie.  We were on the very front row and Matt pointed out sealing rooms to Kate when they were shown in the movie.   I wondered if any of our kids would get married in this temple.  I'm excited, of course, for our kids to grow and get married, but I am in no hurry for it to happen either.  The last 5 years have felt like drinking out of a firehose at times - with the big kids getting bigger faster and the little ones coming so quickly and changing so much...!!!  It can be so overwhelming at times.  But I just try to take deep breaths and hold on.  The temple is a wonderful place to do that.  The big kids came with Shanine and I got to talk to Amy about it.  She said she loved it and talked a lot about the ways they kept things or themes from the old tabernacle in the design of the temple.  I love that, too.  Here are these two little people who I love with all my heart as we're leaving the movie room to start the tour.  We were asked not to take any pictures (I did sneak one more of the entrance to the temple... I figured we weren't inside, so technically it was ok). 

 The tour itself isn't very long.  I wish we could have had more time, though I understand that thousands and thousands go through every day and it isn't practical, but still a girl can wish.  It's simply beautiful.  The halls are kind of narrow but very tall which continually drew my eyes up.  The art work alone could have been it's own tour.  We showed Kate the sealing rooms that we went by and I was hoping to show her the brides room, but it isn't part of the tour.  At the end of the tour they had a great display of pictures of the tabernacle and throughout the years and some of the charred things that survived the fire (a post and scriptures) and they found in the excavation of the plot (coins, marbles, even the faces of some porcelain dolls).  They also showed that they found some original painted trim on some plaster that had been covered up.  So they used that same design for the brides room. 

I would have loved to spend more time reading all the displays, but the Littles were being, well, little.  Matt said he'd take them upstairs to a pavilion with a Christus statue so I could read a little more (bless his heart!).  I didn't stay too long.  When I got upstairs Matt pointed to a woman coming my way with a big smile.  It was a good friend from my cohort and first years of teaching, Kathryn Robinson Dodds.  Her family just moved back to Utah.  We had a great time catching up.  We also saw Betsy Johnson's Sister, Jessica, and her family who had come down from Idaho for the open house.  It was fun to chat with them.  However, the Littles (and I suspect Matt, too, who had been trying to keep them out of trouble while I chatted) were ready to go home for lunch. We did attempt to get a picture of us with the statue before we left, but Kate was not interested.  We love her anyway.

 

I have long had a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  That testimony has sustained me through challenges and sorrows.  It has also been the light that illuminates joy and purpose in life.  And now with a family, a wonderful husband and children, I am overwhelmed at the peace, the joy, the promise that it brings.  I love to see the temple.