DITY Moves and Out of Control Small Children

When we moved from Illinois to Monterey, we did a DITY (do-it-yourself) move. Usually when we move, the military hires contractors to do all the work of packing, loading, and unloading. Mario even makes them unpack almost every box. We decided to do a DITY to California because we had a lot of our household goods already boxed up and in storage because we sold our house a few months too early and we had to move into a temporary house. So with a lot of the packing done, it only made sense for us to do it ourselves. The military reimbursed us 95% of what it costs them to pay the contractor. We made about $10,000 on that move to California and that was after we paid for the ABF truck, all the materials, and professional loaders. $10,000 wasn't too bad. But it was hard work and I don't really want to do it again unless my boys take charge of the entire move and they collect the money and put it towards their missions. They can box everything and hire loaders and unloaders if they want.

Mario told a guy at work about our DITY and apparently made it sound like it was great. The guy got a short notice PCS to Puerto Rico. So in two weeks, he and his wife packed up the entire house. Unfortunately they didn't hire loaders like Mario suggested. They begged for help from guys at work. Most of the guys refused to help because the guy was making money on the move and they felt he should hire people. But Mario felt like he should help because it was a great missionary opportunity since Kenny has been asking a lot of questions about the church. I went with Mario today along with a young guy from church. We worked for about 4 1/2 hours loading. The couple has 2 small girls ages 2 and 3. I found that I was of more service taking the girls off the mother's hands while she got work done. We played at the park for about an hour in the 50 degree weather and high winds. I froze to death. Then I asked if they would like me to take them to McDonalds for lunch. Unfortunately the closet McD's was all the way across town. Then it was like pulling teeth to get the girls to eat their chicken nuggets. Then as we were leaving and I had my arms full of food to bring back to their mom, the girls refused to leave. They ran opposite directions and would not come back. I am sure everyone thought they were my own children and I couldn't handle them. The whole point of this blog is to say that I am sure glad my youngest are almost 7 (in two days) because if they ever acted like this in public, they would get grounded for life. But they both acted this way at 2 and 3 years old. It was a nightmare taking my twins anywhere until they were old enough to understand stranger danger. My other point is I should never let Mario talk anyone into a DITY again. It is a lot of hard work and should never be attempted if you have small children.

Black Friday

This year, only Erin wanted to go shopping on Black Friday. We didn't really want anything in particular, we just like the excitement of getting up early and braving the crowds. Mario, who hates anything to do with shopping and Black Friday was the only one in the family that found things in the ads he wanted...a chainsaw and a new food storage shelf. So he reluctantly went with us so that Erin and I didn't have to carry the big boxes. Mario later said that it was kind of fun going out early and getting everything we needed and getting back in time for breakfast. I don't know about the rest of the county, but our town seems to be in a recession. The only place with a long line was Target and it wasn't nearly as long as last year. Walmart had tvs left a couple hours after the sale began. So I said to the cashier that they must have stocked more this year and she said, "That or no one is shopping." The line didn't stop last year and this year there was no line around 7 am. The media is saying big crowds, so it must have just been my town.

Mario has been very generous with the kids this year. He has been giving out lots of money to the kids for little things they do like making 10 football catches in a row or helping with yard work. I thought he was giving out way too much money, until I saw them spending all of it on each other. It is really neat to see their own wants being laid aside while they buy birthday and Christmas presents for one another. Nathan asked me to make him a chore chart like Erin and Eric so he can earn some more money to buy Zach a nicer gift for Christmas (apparently he doesn't realize that dad pays way more than I do, so he should be asking Mario for chores to do.) Zach is always asking for a chore chart so I finally made each of them one last night.

The kids got an early Christmas present only because Mario didn't know where to hide it and Erin was with us when we bought it. With some left over deployment cash, Mario bought them a 3-in-1 game table. It includes pool, table tennis, and air hockey. The kids love it except I am a grinch and I suggested that to make it exciting for Christmas, we should wait until Christmas to play air hockey and pool. So for one month, they get to have fun playing table tennis. Mario joined the "grinch fun" and to the kids' dismay, he suggested we wrap the balls for the pool table and put them under the tree. So no chance of them sneaking a game of pool while Mario and I are out for date night.

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving, we had a nice, quiet dinner at home followed by the movie "Tangled." Mario and I really wrestled with the idea of going out on Thanksgiving because we feel bad for the employees who have to work. We had started a tradition with the kids about 5 years ago of seeing a movie each Thanksgiving, but had to skip last year because there wasn't one that we felt was appropriate for all the kids to see. We thought about staying home again this year and playing a football game as a family, but it was too cold that day. So we decided to go ahead and see the movie which was really cute. We got to the movie theater a little early, so Erin and I decided to check out the sale at Old Navy. Mario refused to go in since he thinks it is wrong to shop on Thanksgiving. But I found lots of good deals on clothes for me and the 3 boys. I still can't find a skirt for Erin though.

Colonial Kids

Yesterday, Nathan's class learned about the first Thanksgiving. They made soup and candles and then played some fun games that the pilgrims would have played. I helped with the lunch and a sack relay race. The little girl with Nathan is Chloe, a neighbor and friend that we bring to and from school everyday. She is adorable. She is from church but a different primary class so my boys didn't know Chloe before we started driving her to school. I wish I had a video camera recording them in the van the first day. I think they were both trying to show-off for Chloe, but any girl would be repelled from their behavior. I laughed as I thought, they better learn how to behave properly around girls or they aren't ever going to get dates.

A Turkey's Plea

Christmas Tree

I am so excited about Christmas this year. It has been a tough year with the deployment and the potential of Mario losing his job. Fortunately this Christmas won't be a sad time preparing for Mario to leave. I am so excited, that I set the tree up a week early this year.

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A Brief Summary of My Kids

My mom asked me to write a brief summary about each of my kids for her blog. I am not sure if this is what she had in mind. Maybe it wasn't brief enough, but it is hard to sum up 13 years in a couple sentences. And if I write several sentences about one child, I better write equal amounts about the others. So I thought I would include it here on my blog and besides it is not often that I sum up their lives in a single paragraph. I love each of them dearly and I am proud of each of their accomplishments.

Eric has always been very alert and he has a strong moral compass. When he was only 2, he would become upset when he saw people boating on Sunday and not keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. When he was 3 or 4, he would make comments if he didn't see people keeping the door open for others. Even at 2, Eric was well aware of the stories on the news and would ask about them. Terri had to stop watching the news when he was around. Eric excels in school and loves to read, play video games, ride his skateboard, and hang out with his friends, and parents. He has loved living near the beach in Florida, Guam, Hawaii, and Monterey. He loves swimming, boogie boarding, and surfing. Eric always comes home and sits down to do his homework immediately even if it isn't due for a month. He is well liked by all his teachers, but it wasn't always that way. Terri often got calls from his preschool teacher because he would bite, hit, or pinch other kids. He has been playing the piano for 6 years , but doesn't enjoy it. He has played soccer, baseball, basketball, flag football, ran track, and now is starting to wrestle. He is currently serving as Deacon Quorum President and working towards his Eagle. He is a terrific big brother.

Erin was a wonderful baby. She never complained about going to bed. In fact, she often put herself to bed as a toddler. She sucked her thumb until she turned 5 and started kindergarten. We had the dentist put a wire in her mouth to prevent her from sucking anymore. She was rewarded with a new Gameboy for it. Erin is a wonderful student and loves to please her teachers and parents. She loves to read and always gets straight A's like Eric. She will do extra credit even if she has an A+ in a class. Erin attended 5 different schools for elementary school due to frequent military moves. Erin has been taking piano lessons for 6 years and although she complains about practicing, she plays very well. She is a hard worker and was recently rewarded for her hard work in math. She was able to advance to 7th grade math when she proved to her teacher that she has already mastered all the 6th grade skills. Erin often asks what else she can help with around the house. Erin is very attached to Nathan and she loves horses and begs for her own. She collects American Girl Dolls and toy horses. She loves to run but she has also played soccer and basketball. She is the most competitive Perez kid.

Nathan is a great, fun kid. He loves Winnie the Pooh and sleeps with him every night. Nathan is very affectionate and loves to make people laugh. His kindergarten teacher recalled a time when Nathan walked out of the bathroom and the kids were all sitting very quietly on the rug listening to the teacher read a story. Nathan snuck around the corner and made a large roaring sound. The whole class laughed including the teacher because up to that day, Nathan had always been so quiet in class. Nathan didn't enjoy reading until first grade, but now loves to read. He is a great speller and even won the Kindergarten Spelling Bee. Nathan is also a whiz at math. He can do math in his head very fast and accurately. Nathan worries about his twin Zachary because Zachary is much more daring than he is. He loves Legos and he is very creative with them. He loves to build his own as well as put together the Lego sets. Nathan would eat macaroni and cheese everyday if we would let him. He also loves junk food like his mom. Nathan says he wants to be a cowboy when he grows up so he can have horses for Erin to ride.

Zachary is very coordinated. He is just now (he's turning 7) starting to get competitive in sports. Like Nathan, he has played soccer, basketball, and flag football. Zachary loves to read and is excited about reading chapter books. His first grade teacher describes Zach as the model student. He is smart, obedient, and helps those around him that are struggling in class. He is compassionate and will try to comfort anyone that is sad. Whenever Nathan is sad or hurt, Zach will run up to his room and grab a pillow, blanket, and Pooh Bear to help comfort Nathan. He is a hard worker and does lots of work around the house. He will often finish dinner early and get up and start the dishes for Eric and Erin. He loves to do service for the whole family. Zachary is very attached to his mom (Terri.) He loves to sleep with her when his dad is out of town. He is usually the first one up in the morning and loves the alone time with his mom. Zachary often surprises Terri with breakfast that he has made. He loves long walks on the beach with Grandma (Lynn). He loves to ride his bike and skateboard. He also likes to run on the treadmill and play outside. Zachary loves the family dog, Buzz, and wants to be a veterinarian when he grows up. He doesn't like cats though so he only wants to treat dogs in his clinic.

One Style Fits All

Erin is in need of some new church clothes. So while at Target, I thought I would pick her up a cute skirt and matching top. No luck. All they had were these type of skirts:

So, I left Target and tried Dillards, Macy's, the Children's Place, Old Navy, Sears, JcPenney, Ross, and a couple other stores that I couldn't name right now. More of the same but in many different colors and textures. What if my daughter doesn't like this style? Aren't there any other choices? Erin doesn't like the style and if you ask me, they are too short anyway (even with leggings.) I think girls think that they can wear tiny shorts and skirts as long as they have leggings underneath. I better not get started on that one. Anyway....

I tried going to second hand stores thinking that maybe they would have some variety in their skirts. No luck there either. Most of the skirts I found at the two places I stopped were short jean skirts.

So, I typed in modest girls clothing in Google hoping to find some good LDS websites selling girls skirts. First thing that came up in my search was Amish and Mennonite, plain and simple clothing. I had to laugh. Do Amish even shop online? Then I thought, maybe an Amish dress would be kinda cute on Erin. Probably keep all those middle school boys away!!!

Book of Mormon Challenge

Back in July, the Relief Society challenged each sister to read the Book of Mormon in 100 days. That meant reading approximately 5 pages a day. Wow, I don't think I have ever read so much in one sitting or at least not consistently. Fortunately there was a schedule for the reading with a few catch-up days built in. Also, to my delight, they didn't include weekends. So each weekend either became my catch-up days or get ahead days.

I just finished the Book of Mormon today. How grateful I am for this opportunity. It couldn't have come at a better time because of the struggles our family was facing with having Mario deployed. I asked Erin if she would like to join me and she did. Then I decided to include all the kids. In the past we had done most of our family scripture reading out of the Children's Book of Mormon stories since we always have young children. And there were some nights since starting the challenge that I got too far ahead of the kids so I would catch them up to where I was by reading the children's version. But for the most part, we did our family reading out of the Book of Mormon.

Our family has been blessed for doing this. One blessing that I have noticed is Nathan and Zachary's reading has greatly improved. They love to read their verse or two when it is their turn. They follow along when others are reading as well. They seem to really like this time as a family.

Because we have so many verses to read, we usually read in the evening before bed. But Mario has started implementing reading a verse or two in the morning at breakfast. His scriptures are always based on having peace at home and many days we focus on the same scriptures. So the kids are memorizing them. We noticed that recently when we missed a day of this, our day didn't go as well as the others.

Lego Jackpot

Here are the Legos that we found at a bazaar today. Total price...$5. This picture isn't even half the Legos. These were just the ones at the bottom of the big box, that is pictured behind Mario. It was like Christmas.

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Uncle Charlie

I write this with permission from Charlie.

My brother Charlie, who is a brand new Army Lieutenant, just deployed for a one year to Afghanistan. I felt bad that he had to deploy so quickly after joining the Army. Mario was able to wait 12 years before a deployment. But Charlie had a good attitude and was anxious to get out there and get to work. He is a hard worker, quick learner, and go with the flow kind of guy. I don't recall him ever complaining about anything, ever.

So I was shocked and sad to find that his new commander in Afghanistan has been in Charlie's words "hazing" him. With fast Sunday approaching, I asked my mom and dad if they would like to join Mario and I in a fast for Charlie. I also asked Eric and Erin to fast with us for Uncle Charlie. I have found with Erin that we need to plan out our fasts and come up with a meaningful fast (to her) and then she willingly and happily joins in. She fasted almost monthly for Mario while he was deployed. Even Zachary fasted several months (one meal).

I was brought to tears when the next day (Monday) when I received this first email from my brother:

Appreciate the prayers and fasting. Yesterday, it seems the way the Commander (CDR) has been treating me has been noticed and brought to the attention of the Battalion CDR. The BN CDR talked to my CDR last night and told him he needs to be more of a mentor to me. The 1st Sergeant told me this morning. So things look like they are getting better. He actually showed me some stuff today, so let's hope this continues. I've have definately learned a ton since getting here so I know where and who to go for things.

This email was from Tuesday:

I worked a long day today, but that's because I worked out tonight with the CDR. Things were night and day difference today for the most part. I'm figuring out my place here, which has taken awhile.

What wonderful blessings from Heavenly Father...one that my brother was being treated so much better, but second that my children had their prayers answered so quickly. Hopefully this was a testimony building experience for them.

Zach on the Ripstick

Eric sold his Ripstick to Zach for $5 last Saturday. Then Erin taught him how to ride and he has been practicing in our garage ever since. Today he asked me to come watch him because he learned a new trick. He learned to dribble the basketball while riding. Then he and Erin started passing the ball too. I am amazed at his balance.

Zachary's Apologies

My family asked me to blog this so we never forget it.

When Zachary gets in trouble for hurting or offending a sibling, we often ask him to apologize. His apology sounds sincere when he says it but then when he hugs them, he stomps on their foot at the same time.

It sounds really mean and Eric and Erin should be even more upset with him. But it often leaves them laughing.

I see so many older siblings that are annoyed with the younger siblings, and I am so glad that Eric and Erin find so much humor in our crazy little boys.

Answered Prayers

An email from Mario:

Terri,

Every day I see the hand of the Lord in my life at work. I got a research project I was completely in the dark on yesterday afternoon which was due this morning by 8:30. Well, I ran into a guy that knew exactly what I needed, he sat with me for about 15 minutes, looked over my notes to correct them, and the presentation went without a hitch this morning.

Remember the website project. Guess what. Imagine my surprise when I found out we already have one up… a bit out dated, but up. I was even referred to a comm troop that works for 12 AF that manages it. All I have to do is tell him what I want on it. It’s gone from a huge project to a very simple and fun job.

I think He is answering my prayer asking that I can have more time with my family. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." I have a story for nearly every day. The Lord takes care of me with small miracles. I’ll be home on time today now that I don’t have the website project to tackle anymore.

Love,

Mario

Daddy Daughter Hoedown

I love these pictures of Erin and Mario from the Activity Day Girls' Hoedown. I wish I could take pictures as well as these. Maybe one day I will make time for that photography class.

Zach's writing

I realized that I haven't written about Zach recently. So here's a blog just for him.

Thank goodness the school didn't call the police since he wrote "Murder" in his paragraph and he has a man laying down dead on the ground. I try to teach my boys that they can't use words or pictures like that in school. Apparently they don't listen. Regardless, we are proud of how well he is doing in school.

Primary

Erin was the Primary spotlight yesterday.

Our Primary Program was also yesterday. I don't know if the policy was changed at the Stake level or the Utah level, but now the kids no longer each get a primary part in the program. I liked it better this year. We are usually in wards with well over 100 kids, so it is always a challenge to give all the kids a part. The focus was more on the songs this year. There were only a few (like 3) talks and Nathan was chosen to given one. We were so proud of him. Erin got to play the prelude music before Sacrament Meeting. She did awesome too. Here is a copy of Nathan's talk.

Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel Lead Me to Jesus Christ

When Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ ask us to do something, it is called a commandment. When we obey, we show Heavenly Father that we trust him and we show our faith.

It makes me happy to know that if I make a mistake, I can repent and Heavenly Father will forgive me.

I am excited to turn 8 next year so that I can get baptized and also get the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

I know that I can live with Heavenly Father, Jesus, and my family again someday in heaven if I obey the commandments and follow Jesus Christ.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.