Gremlich family photos and news

This is Annalise's family, minus Peter who is serving a mission in Texas. From top-left: Joe, Andrew, Erick, Mom & Dad, Jon (Laura's husband), Rychen, Annalise with Elisabeth and Rychen Parker, Laura holding Millie, Emily, Melan (Erick's wife) holding Ethan, and Evan.

(For those who don't know my family, Erick is the oldest and Evan is the youngest. There is a 17 year span. I am the 3rd child of 8. There are four grandkids. The rest live in Utah.)

My parents will be moving to Albuquerque soon! My dad got a new job there (he's a civil engineer). Hooray, what a good Christmas gift! Joe will be expecting a mission call next summer, and Peter returns in September. I love my big family so much, and we're so thankful for all of you. Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

Testimony

I have been reading a lot of the conference Ensign this week while Elisabeth nurses/naps.  I have just loved it! I have gotten into it like a great novel that you just can't put down. It's so comforting and inspiring. Our leaders are so inspired.  I was touched from a number of things I read today, and here is one thought I had. Non-members sometimes are curious, "You have a PROPHET? What does he say? What has he prophesied about??"  Well he doesn't say earth-shattering stuff, but he reminds us of the simple, subtle truths we need to hear over and over--and yes, that is very inspired, that is JUST what we need to hear, that is the direct truth from GOD.  For example, Pres. Monson spoke of enjoying our children, and how no other project is more important than just enjoying our kids in the here and now. I thought that was so profound, and just what I needed to hear. Just like he says, these things will be gone before you know it, and soon you will miss those messes, handprints, and piles of laundry! I bear my testimony that Pres. Monson is a prophet of God, and these are truly inspired words from God. I know our lives will be blessed with joy and meaning as we follow the prophets' counsel. I love hearing these truths, as my testimony is confirmed over and over again. The gospel is so true. It just makes perfect sense, and isn't life so wonderful when everything makes sense? :)  In church today, visiting my home ward, I had the thought, "Wow, look at all these kids who grew up, and they are still active in the church!" Almost amazed, as I realized, this is another entire generation who can testify of the Savior, who have found their own testimonies and once given free reign of their own lives,  they still choose the good path their parents showed them. A boy several years younger than me is now going on a mission to Japan. His testimony was so strong and powerful! And this is before he goes out! What a strong young man, servant of Christ, and what a great missionary he will be! Makes me so excited to be part of a united church, full of people who just love God and are willing to make so many sacrifices for Him. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and Thanks to Him we are able to have earth life, a necessary step in our spiritual progression. We grow more and more each day as we follow in his footsteps, and follow the counsel of His servants. Thanks to Him, we can return to our Father, and live in Glory with him and our families, forever.

We need more uplifting, inspiring blogs!! I challenge you guys to bear your testimonies on your blogs, and share scriptures or talks that have lifted you up or brought meaning to you. Even respond to this post with your favorite conference talk! Even if you're not LDS, what is your favorite bible verse that gets you through your tough times? Let's bear each other up. Thanks for your strength and Merry Christmas!

Snow in Vegas

The kids and I are in Las Vegas, where it is snowing more than it ever did when I lived here. Here are some cute photos from today.

Cloth diapering

I've noticed a couple cloth diaper advantages recently:

 

(1) I don't need wipes. The poop sticks to the diaper, not to the skin. Wouldn't that be handy in the disposable world?

(2) We have never had a blow-out or leak, period.

(3) Never have diaper rash. But that could also have to do with EC (because it gives time to air out the bum) or frequent changing.

(4) And of course, it's a whole lot CHEAPER.

 

Disadvantage: having to change it during the night. Sometimes we use a disposable so she can sleep longer without feeling wet.

Nap differences

Rychen P. and Elisabeth are very different babies, especially when it comes to nursing and napping. Rychen would always nurse to sleep and always fall asleep while nursing. Elisabeth does neither. With Rychen I could reliably nurse him and have him fall asleep with no trouble. Then I would roll away and he'd sleep on the bed for 2 hours, like clockwork. But I would have to lay down and nurse him wherever he would nap - he would NOT transfer well at all. With Elisabeth, she nurses only when hungry (healthy habit but a bit inconvenient). She prefers to nurse upon waking and will not nurse when she is fussy. When she is tired, she is too fidgity and will not concentrate on nursing. So we bounce to sleep. A lot of times she sleeps in the sling, on me, with a blanket covering for darkness (my back is getting strong, trust me). Or she will sleep in the baby swing but needs darkness and white noise. Very inconvenient!! But an easy public sleeper (nursing to sleep in public, not as easy). The good thing with her is that lately I can bounce her and then lay her in the swing, don't even have to wait 20 minutes - she will sleep through the transfer. I haven't tried putting her in bed yet, we'll see how that goes.

Move-in ready!

As of today, the house is done except for a fence. We did the "final walk-through" and we can start moving things in. But Saturday is our official furniture-move day. Here's some photos from earlier this week.

We have grass (and shrubbery which isn't shown here):

The finished kitchen:
(when we get money we'll have to purchase a refrigerator. In the meantime, we can live on bananas)

Bathrooms:
(Rychen P. thinks he gets his own bathroom, since Dad has claimed the master toilet as his own, that Bub is not allowed to use! So the hallway bathroom is mine and Bub's. I am special, I get to pee wherever I want.)

The only thing I would change is put the tub in the master bath (rather than shower). Oh well. Birthing only comes once every 3 years 'eh...

Living Room:

Hallway (cabinet at end of hallway now has shelves and doors):

Pictures with Santa

This man is Santa 365 days a year. How awesome is that!

Grow into her eyes

A stranger was oogling over Elisabeth today and made the comment, "Maybe she'll grow into her eyes."  I laughed--what a funny thing to say! I have just never heard that expression in regards to eyes.

his and hers

Rychen P. loves taping things. Taping envelopes shut or taping random objects to the walls, mostly. But what happens when the tape runs out? So we went to the store to buy more tape, and decided to buy one exclusively for myself so that he couldn't waste all the tape in the house, in addition to his. We bought two 49 cent rolls of tape (well, we could only afford one, but thanks to Cindy Alldredge, we now have His and Hers tape dispensers).

Classic and wholesome

While we're on the subject of TV, I'll throw this in too. Lately I am obsessed with watching The Cosby Show re-runs from the 80's. Rychen and I went through a phase where we watched all the Everybody Loves Raymond episodes, and now it's Cosby I can't get enough of. It's really funny and--get this--WHOLESOME... which you don't get very often now-a-days. There are two aspects I'm really attracted to: (1) The clever parenting tactics, which I strive to emulate, and (2) The fact that the husband and wife actually love and respect each other. - Can you think of any other sitcom (in color) where there is a nuclear family, let alone the parents loving each other? How strange that this is the case. How strange that we think it's funny when spouses yell and make fun of each other. Seriously, isn't that the case with every sitcom on now? Til Death, Yes Dear, Everybody Loves Raymond, the list goes on. Now, Rychen and I adore Raymond and Debra. We relate to them a LOT. But there is something disturbing in how we are entertained by watching them yell at each other. There is not a good spirit in our home when we watch that show. So we are being more selective about the shows we watch now.... Any thoughts?

I really like this movie

I was expecting something stupidly cheesy, like Johnny English (yawn) or Pink Panther... We chose this movie when nothing else seemed appealing only because of my recent fascination with Steve Carrell. Anyway can I just say, this is the first time in LONG time that I have been thoroughly entertained with a movie, especially both the comedy and action sequences. I enjoy watching movies a lot, for instance Stranger Than Fiction is a great movie, as well as Dan in Real Life. But those movies I could walk away from to get a drink of water... Not so with Get Smart. I love it!! And I'm not sure why. All I can say is that it is very entertaining.

This post is a bit funny because, to be honest, I am totally out of touch with pop culture and what's showing in theaters at any given time. In fact, I had not even heard of this movie until we found it upon browsing, and I hadn't heard of Steve Carrell before about a month ago! So tell me now, what other new releases did you like?

Birthday book memories

Rychen P. and I have been reading through his Birthday Book, which is a book of letters I have written to his throughout the year, presented at his birthday. This series was from before he turned 2. It is so sweet to review these stories, I am so glad I wrote them down! It's ironic that I am up in the nighttime with a giggly, awake baby because I was reading about being up with Rychen P. (when he would wake up crying, and we'd have to go driving to get him back to sleep). When I told him this memory, he got teary and told me "I wish we could do that more." Wish we could do what? "Go for drives in the nighttime if I wake up." Ummm, yeah. Good times.

Here is one of my favorite stories. When Rychen was about 1 1/2, he went through a phase where he would randomly take objects and bring them to the trash can. Once I was missing my book of checks. I got the idea that he might have thrown them away. To test my theory, I took a blank check and lay it on the desk top. I said "Hey Bubba, look!" and sure enough, he picked it up and went straight to deposit it in the garbage can. Some time later, I was missing my keys. I didn't make the connection as quickly. Days went by. Then it occured to me--Where else would they be? They have got to be in the trash, Darn it! So I went through all the food scraps and junk that is our trash can. Nothing. Well, it had been long enough that we probably took the trash out. So I went out to our apartment building dumpster and found our previous bag of garbage. Brought it inside, tore it open, and had my way with it...and at the very bottom of that nasty, old rubbish - I FOUND MY KEYS!

2 a.m.

Just one way having kids keeps you on your toes. If you don't have kids and you're up at 2 a.m., you are probably partying. Hooray for you! It's my birthday but I am not partying here.

Snip snip

I turn my back for one minute, and what do I find these boys doing? Cutting. Nothing in particular. Just cutting. Dad said "What? He asked me to cut with him!"

Gobble Gobble

Hanging out...

(Rychen likes to kiss everybody on the forehead...is that a normal Dad thing?)

Playing Uno, multi-tasking (at home I nurse her while I play!)

Waiting for food to cook, we looked over Black Friday ads. Rychen P. was saying he wants a little violin and a little guitar for Christmas... Before we knew it, Grandma was pulling out her "little violin," and had taught Rychen P. to play! He learned proper form and how to play the open finger notes (the 4 strings). I was really impressed, but I don't know anything about the violin so maybe this is really easy. We have a video if anybody wants to see...

Getting food ready... (I made blue corn bread, maple sweet potatoes, and a bean salad) BTW, Elisabeth is sleeping in the sling, covered by a blanket to make it dark - she is a light sleeper!

Grandpa with the bird...

After dinner... Rychen P. refusing to smile for the camera (for the first time ever). Doesn't he look huge in this picture? This kid is not yet 3 1/2.

If you want a headache, get a family picture taken

I hope you all appreciate your Christmas cards. I went to hell and back to create them for you! It's hard enough to get a baby to look toward the camera with a pleasant expression, but add that to appeasing a three-year-old's demands and making him sit still. What began as a cheerful "Hey, let's take a family picture!" crumbled into a desperate "Shut up and smile! Nobody is moving until we take a good one!" But I will say a few things.

1. Ha! I WON! There is no yellow star toy in our pictures!
2. Thank you Rychen for being the rock when all we wanted to do was throw rocks at each other.
3. Thank goodness for the awesome feature on our camera that enables us to freeze a video and turn a still frame into a picture.
4. Thank you to everybody who tried to reason with Rychen P., get Elisabeth to smile, and take endless pictures and videos of us, in hopes of making something work!

Just for kicks and giggles, here is one failed photograph:

Despite Elisabeth's cute expression, there are two reasons this photo didn't make the cut: the sour-puss on her left, and the fact that yes, the baby is indeed born, believe it or not! (This was Rychen P.'s obstinant refusal to smile, after getting in trouble.)


We started the evening with Elisabeth in a blue dress, but with as long as it takes to get a family picture taken, clothes get a bit wet, as you can tell. So then we had to dress her up with her white jacket. (I didn't bring a change of clothes for myself, so thank goodness we had a satisfactory pose by the time I leaked through.)

Thanksgiving Reflections

Five years ago, my boyfriend went home to his family for Thanksgiving and told them about me. They wanted to meet me, so they invited me to visit over Christmas break. In the meantime, Rychen and I grew closer and were speaking of marriage, and then meeting his family was the final confirmation I needed: I seemed to fit right in. I enjoyed them very much those first few days, and really admired them. I felt like I could be myself and be appreciated, in a way I had been lacking with my own family. This seemed to bundle up the package, things fell into place, and we became officially engaged.

Now 5 years later, Rychen and I are as close as ever, and we have two great kids to show for it. I am so thankful for my Jones family and the friendships I continue to develop with them. I am so blessed to be the wife of somebody who respects me, who cherishes me, serves me, and is sure to express this every single day. I have grown immensely as a person over these 5 years, and I have them all to thank for it.

And of course, Thank you to my Gremlich family for my home of origin, the endless patience and love, the wisdom I gained from you, the gospel light, and the challenges that made me the person I am today. I wouldn't trade my upbringing for any other, regardless of how many times I said I wished I could back then! Mom and Dad, I am so thankful for your sacrifices (I have one of my own, now I know!) and so grateful for the life you gave me.

Thank you to Rychen Parker for being the craziness that keeps me sane. I owe most of my growth to you. You are often my best friend, for we share so many things. I pray that I can treat you as the prince you are. Forgive me for when I fall short. Know that I love you.

Elisabeth, you are my angel, my sweetheart, my cutie girl Lissa-Loo. You are the culmination of personal goals, overcoming short-comings, and realization of faith. You are the purest thing I have beheld in this life. I pray that I can preserve that as much as possible. I hope you can feel my love for you every day.

Thank you Father in Heaven for the hair I have pulled out through my dealings with each of these people! I may be bald, but I am such a bigger and more whole person because of it.

Big Announcement!

See this?

It will soon belong to us!

Here are some photos along the way...

The foundation:


Laying cement into the framework:



The beginnings of a house... On this day, Rychen came home from work and said "Let's go see the house! There are big things happening!" and I said, "vertical things?" YAY!!! As we drove toward the house and I saw walls, I actually got emotional! I choked up as I exclaimed to Rychen P., "Look! That's our house!"




From the back... This corner on the left will be my garden!


Putting the roof on:





Exploring the inside...


This is the living room, the front door, and the hallway opening. There is a small dining room to the right, and behind the camera is the kitchen.










They said we had a choice of color. After many choices got vetoed, we finally understood: we had a choice between brown and grey. So we chose brown. Hooray for cookie cutters.



Here's about where we are now:

And this will be the front yard. I am standing on the driveway/walkway to the door, and beyond me will be the front yard.

Bathroom cupboards:



Here is the kitchen. We get a bar! Nice surprise, I didn't know about. The door on the right is to the garage.

It was really exciting to see the nice cabinetry put in the other day. I didn't realize we were getting such nice cabinets, closets, etc. We were really lucky with this house. I had brushed off the idea of buying a new house for a long time, until every other house was not working for us, and it finally dawned on me that a new house would be the SAME PRICE, and nothing would need replacing for several years... Um, yeah, makes sense! So we ordered a "stripped down" house, to get it as cheap as possible, but with this builder's reputation, his version of stripped down is actually really nice. So it's still a small starter house, but at least it is new.
I am also really excited about the yard. We are paying extra for a fence, that was just one thing I couldn't let slip. I get a huge area to garden in! There is a good sized yard to play in as well, and of course one of the first things we'll do is to plant FRUIT TREES! All this yard maintenence will take a lot of work but how fun, to have our own property, finally!

Here's what really appealed to us about this house. It is in a FLAT neighborhood where we can ride bikes. It's on a cul-de-sac, so Rychen can play outside with the neighbor kids. It is on a main street but this street is not busy, so there won't be traffic noise. And it's right across the street from church, where Rychen teaches seminary every day. Unfortunately that does mean that we will be leaving our ward, and going into Brush Hills ward. But we are excited to meet new people and get settled in for a longer duration (after switching wards every year since we got married!)

We close December 11th.
December 14th the kids and I fly to Las Vegas.
Then Rychen will move us in, and fly out the 18th.

And we come back to live in our new home at the beginning of the year!

More November photos

When will all the baby photos end? C'mon, they are so cute. Give me another couple months.

(this above is a quilt that Great Grandmother Huxford sewed)

This is a onesie Daddo bought Elisabeth on a business trip. He usually is against spending money, but loves to splurge to buy the kids souveniers, especially at ESPN zone!

And here are some cutey tootie sibling lovey doveys....

This is LION, "I call him Row-bert" (which means Wilbur, I think) the latest attachment object. First it was Teddy Bear, then Mickey Mouse, and now this random guy.