Poindexter Palooza

Every year around the holidays, my family gets together to share what we've been up to for the past year. We play, eat, sing, and listen. It's a time to strengthen our bonds with eachother. This year would mark our 13th year. The past few years we've been doing it on Black Friday...We jokingly say that we are celebrating Black Friday but we are actually having our Native American Ceremony. We have Osage Indian in our blood. My dad and brothers have made medicine bags for each of us and we have special blankets. We have a Sacred Circle and get smudged as we enter into it. Everyone looks forward to it every year. This is how we celebrate the holidays.

This year we did the sacred circle a little bit different than normal. We had Tiki Torches lighting it up. It was nice to have the extra light and it totally reminded me of Survivor (yes...my favorite show)...




I was able to take a few pictures until my battery died. I was a little erked by that, but it's the memories of the togetherness that will always be cherished. I love my family. Each and every one of them. We all have very different views about life, politics, and religion, but when we get together, we are accepted as ourselves and loved unconditionally. This tradition isn't going to end anytime soon, it's only going to get longer and longer in length because every year there someone new in that circle...this year, among some honored guests, it was Carly, the newest member of our family, who had a medicine bag made just for her.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was great. We were originally going up to Oroville to be with Patrick's parents and brother, but because of many circumstances, Patrick and I decided to host Thanksgiving dinner at our house.



I enjoyed getting ready for the festivities. I actually decorated with the 80% off fall items from Michaels that I purchased. The table decorations were AWESOME! And the kiddos made sweet place mats, each telling an item that they are thankful for. Patrick got all into the decorations too. We bought new plates and glasses. I actually found plates and bowls that I liked at the Dollar Tree and Patrick found the glasses he liked at Ikea. We probably spent a little more money than what we really would have liked, but we now have these items for future shindigs.

We had my parents and their significant others, Patrick's parents, his brother and his brother's wife as well as his brother's wife's dad (did you get that?) and all their children and of course, my brother too. So we had a full house and we were able to seat every one of them.






I made a killer turkey...It was soooo good and I don't normally like turkey...I made some other yummy food and everyone brought something to share including the best homemade cheesecake EVER! We enjoyed each others company and of course the debates with Patrick's brother on numerous political issues...








I am grateful for so many things and it's unfortunate that I have to have a holiday to reflect on those things. I will not bore you with all the things that I am grateful for like family, friends and Christ. I will however, give you a little chuckle with what Ethan is grateful for...He is grateful for the Temple, for Fun, for Turkey and for Pancakes...and Malia is grateful for showers. I am grateful for all those things too.



Of course we had to get a family picture done outside by all the fallen leaves. The struggle to get everyone to sit and smile pretty is one of those challenges that I have given up on. Maybe one of these days we'll have that pretty posed cheesy picture, but until now, kids will be kids. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

Ouch!

I'm nursing a pulled muscle from bowling on the Wii...Who does that...seriously? I had a sore left leg muscle today after kicking all THREE of my brother's butts bowling (and golfing too I might add) at the Poindexter Palooza held on Black Friday and then when I went to kick Jake's butt again today, I found out why I was so sore. I'm thinking I need to cancel my gym membership and buy a Wii...It's obviously working some muscles out...LOL!

Saying Goodbye

I just returned from a lovely funeral service for Jen Gilbert. There was a whole lot of tears and laughter when loved ones spoke about her. My sister was asked to speak. She told Jen's girls that when they get older, she has a lot to tell them about their mom and then made a joke that their dad wouldn't let them talk to my sister until they are like 30 years old. There were many fun stories told about Jen by numerous people including her 3 brothers. Apparently her younger twin brothers used to chase her a lot and re-organize her room which annoyed Jen. Jen was a planner and very organized. She loved her husband and kids very much.

Jen passed away from a very rare condition called SCAD. I just tried to look it up online and there is very little information on it. It is so rare that most doctors don't check for it. 75% of the people who have this condition will pass away and it usually happens in either the last trimester of pregnancy or post-partum. It's basically a tear in an artery near the heart.

I know that Jen will always be Mekenzy, Kacy, and baby Jake's guardian angel watching out and guiding them throughout their time on this earth. I know it is and will always be hard for those girls to understand about death especially the death of their mom. It was heart wrenching hearing Kacy crying out for her mommy during the funeral services today. My heart and prayers go out to her and her sister, brother, daddy, and all the extended family. I can't get the song "God be with you till we meet again" out of my head. I know we will all be reunited with loved ones who have passed on, but in the meantime, it's ok to grieve and it's ok to be sad.

I'm So Sad

Among sorrow and grief, death brings realization and perspective. A dear friend of my sisters passed away yesterday. She was a young woman of only 34. Her name was Jennifer.

Jennifer married her high school sweetheart whom she started her family with. She had just given birth to her 3rd child last week. A son named Jake. Jake is the brother of two beautiful older sisters Makenzy and Kacy, who are 7 and 5 years old and look just like her. My heart is broken and yet I have realized, once again, that God will call us back on his terms and on his time and we may not know when that will be. With her death, I have pondered all night and day about my life and where I am with the people I love and most importantly, where I am spiritually. Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us and even with this knowledge, I can't help but think why would he call back a mother of not only small children, but a week old infant. I can't imagine leaving this mortal earth with my children so young, yet it happens all the time. It is so sad to think of how things are going to work out for her family, but it will, because it has to. My thoughts and prayers are with Jennifer's family at this time, especially with her husband and 3 small children. I pray that the spirit can comfort them and all who are affected by the death of Jennifer. May they draw closer to God and ask for his comfort and strength and not curse him. May they wrap each other in their arms and love each other and draw strength from each other and may they raise those kids to always remember their mother and remember the love she had for them and may Jake always know who his mother was and that she stayed alive long enough to bring him into this world so that he could get his body and fulfill his mission on earth. I pray that all of you who are reading this post will remember how precious life is and how short is can be. Give your children an extra hug and kiss and tell them you love them all the time for you don't know when it will be the last time. To Jennifer Brown Gilbert...May you Rest in Peace in the loving arms of the Savior.

Bragging Rights

Becoming a mother gives you the right to brag about your children. Things that mothers think are so important to share with others may not really be all that important to the listener or in this case, the reader, but I am going to do it anyway. It's so nice to hear positive things about your children from people you don't normally converse with. I had two different conversations in one day regarding my two older daughters in which I think is most definitely blog worthy.

Raya has been begging me for her friend Lizzy to come over and play and although I would prefer her friends to come to my house, I have a hard time allowing them to come when we have school the next day. Since Friday was a no school day, I allowed Lizzy to come over after school on Thursday. The kids played very well together except for when they felt like torturing the only boy in the house. My bragging comes when Lizzy's mom came to pick her up. I have talked with her only a few times. Lizzy hasn't been in Raya's class since kindergarten and they are now in 4th grade so our paths haven't crossed much. Lizzy's mom said that it is finally nice to have such a nice kid for her daughter to play with. Apparently Lizzy has had some "not so nice" friends in the past where her mom had to put a stop to a "not so good" friendship. I am in shock about it. I didn't realize that that kind of stuff happens at 9 years old, but it does and I am now aware. One of the biggest things I try to teach my kids is to always be kind to everyone and make sure they are aware of those who may not have friends or those who are getting picked on and stand up for them. I have seen and heard stories from and about Raya that have made my heart happy and that feeling of "I've taught my kid well" comes over me. One that stands out happened in church. A few boys were picking on a girl while in class saying "Ewwww don't sit next to Emma, she's gross!" Raya's teacher came up to me and told me this story. She said that Raya, without hesitation said "I'll sit next to her." Her teacher said it was so refreshing to see a young person act in that manner and that I've done well teaching her.

Each month at the Elementary school, the principal picks a character trait and has a lunch for students who show that particular trait. The class votes on two people for their class. This months trait was "Caring" and Raya was voted for out of 36 students and was able to enjoy a lunch with her principal. It is true, Raya is a very caring person and I am soooo proud that she is turning into such a lovely young lady!

My next brag is about Malia. Malia is in first grade. Her teacher is actually a substitute teacher and has been since the beginning of the year. Her real teacher has been on medical leave since the end of last year. I got her teacher a simple $5 gift card to Jamba Juice just to say thank you for being there for my Malia. So she called me to thank me for it. We went on talking about Malia and how much I've seen her change and she told me how much Malia has opened up since the beginning of the year.

She then went on to tell me a story that happened earlier during the week. Her teacher gave each student 7 letters. They play a game with them. The kids start by making a one letter word like "a" then go to a 2 letter word like "at" Then a three letter word like "cat" and so on and so forth. After they got through the sixth word, the teacher told them that all seven letters make a word and to see if they could figure it out. She told me that she walked by Malia's desk and was blown away that Malia had spelt out the word "Scratch". Her teacher said that she wasn't sure if Malia knew for sure what she had spelt, but got it none the less. Malia did come home that day and told me that she was the only one in the class that knew how to spell "scratch" but didn't elaborate on the story so it was nice to hear how it happened.

Malia has always been a silent learner. She doesn't talk much but takes everything in. I am so proud of the progress she has made this year in school. It has been a huge change and I am excited to watch her grow throughout her school years.

So I will just brag about my two oldest daughters for now. I don't write much about them so it was time for me to share some of the good things I get to see and hear about. After all, I'm a mother and I've earned my bragging rights!

Escape Now or Die Later...

Bright and early when the sun is just barely up, I pack the kids in the car and head off to take the older girls to school. This morning was no different until we reached the corner street where the school is. Six turkeys grazing on the side of the road was not a normal site to see. I live in the suburbs and seeing a flock of turkeys along side a busy street is a rare site. They were big turkeys. They flapped their wings and chased each other. We were fortunate to have left a few minutes early so we were able to watch these turkeys for a while. What a coincidence that Thanksgiving is just a week away and here are these big, plump turkeys walking along side the street. I watched cars stop, kids and parents stop, and the crossing guard stop and all watch these turkeys. Then I noticed the second one to the last in line. He was limping. Then it occured to me...These turkeys must have escaped from becoming a Thanksgiving meal. The only problem with escaping is that there are people like me who thought immediately to go and get my gun so I wouldn't have to pay for my thanksgiving turkey and then I remembered that I didn't have a gun or the heart to kill an animal...so I will still be heading to the store to pay for someone to do my dirty work so that I can enjoy a nice plump yummy turkey on Thanksgiving day...and to those turkeys on the side of the road...RUN FOR YOUR LIVES OR DIE...it's Thanksgiving time!