Dueck's Roost

So unfortunately, between mass birthdays, holidays craziness, and frustrating sickness (likely H1N1), I have neglected this blog during the past couple of months. At the top of the list of things I have not blogged about is our adorable three-year- old's birthday that occurred almost two months ago now. Seeing as today is in fact the 25 th of Dec (and it has indeed been an exciting day)., I will likely follow this up with a quick Christmas post. Our little Brooks ( Brookers for "short", which is often mistaken for boogers ... I can tell by the strange looks) is our three-going-on-ten-year-old. Even in a house full of gamers I never thought I would have to monitor my barely three-year- old's video game time--he is completely addicted to the DS (almost as much as juice). I also never imagined (although I probably should have considering my hubby) having a child that could very skillfully imitate Darth Vader, even before being able to respond accurately to "wh...

I've been sick for over a week and am just barely returning to the land of the living, but I had to publish a quick post about a couple of things that seem very worth sharing. First of all, for those of you in Western, WA, on Tues Dec. 8 and Wed Dec. 9 Kitsap, Pierce and King Co. Papa John's will donate 100% of their profits to the families of the four slain Lakewood police officers. Pizza anyone? Also, I was just informed by my mother-in-law that a blog, http://adailyscoop.blogspot.com/ , is holding an auction now through the 7th for the family of John Jones, the young man who died in the Nutty Putty Caves.

Halloween is a favorite around our house. Kevin loves watching " scary " movies, I'm a fan of the pumpkin carving and pumpkin cookies, and the kids of course love the candy (big surprise, huh?). It's a tradition for us to attend our church's Halloween carnival and trunk or treat on Halloween night. This year we also had a school carnival and an amusement park Fright Night the week before, an early party on the day of, and then a very brief session of neighborhood trick or treating just after. The fun never stops. Of course, I'm not a great costume planner and we always seem to be jumping into whatever we can scrounge up thirty minutes before we go running out the door. I suppose I should explain what we are just in case it's not obvious. Kevin and I are pirates (either that or extremely attractive biker people), Brooks is the most adorable Batman ever, James is a hairy pirate, Mae is a cross between a ballerina, princess, and wingless fairy, and Porter is ...

I was not the kind of girl that grew up dreaming about getting married and having babies. I didn't visualize my wedding ring, wedding dress, or wedding cake, and it never crossed my mind to think up baby names or imagine the house I'd live in. I hear that some people do this. How fun. I seriously missed out! When I left for college, I thought I would graduate after a few years, start a career, spend some time out of the country and then marry when I was 28 (seemed like a good age). All I can say is that I am so glad someone had a very different plan for me. I was putting on a movie for Brooks and Mae today and noticed my boys' school pictures on top of the DVD shelf and my heart just melted. The feeling was probably amplified by the precious fact that in the pictures they hold really still and smile no matter what I ask them to do. I'm so lucky to be a mom! The child that I have the privilege of blogging about today is Mae. It was her birthday about two weeks ago. So, ...

Porter turned eight a few weeks ago. For some reason, though, when I recently published the posting about his big day the system placed it below Kevin's birthday. No matter what I do, it will not let me re-arrange it (interestingly, the way it currently comes up is the actual order of their birthdays just not the order I posted them in, confused yet?). Weird. Anyway, if you're interested it is there, you just have to scroll down a bit. So, now for the baptism. First of all, since this was in fact our first child's baptism, I feel the need to do a little comparison of what I expected baptism day to be vs. what it actually was. What I expected on baptism day (sort of): The kids would use phrases like "why, yes please," "no, but many thanks," and "I love you dearly my affectionate siblings" Kevin and I would quote scriptures and express nothing but smiles, nods, and words of adoration We would all hear chirping birds and the quiet shuffle of chip...

There are a dozen or so things that I've been meaning to blog about, but it's Kevin's birthday so I decided it would be fun to do a little tribute to him instead. What We Love About Kevin My Contribution: He plucks my eyebrows better than I do He is not blind to my imperfections He loves me more now than he did pre-spider veins He is passionate and compassionate He makes me laugh, even when I want to scream He's got pretty teeth He is constant He has a cool Rambo knife He is fiercely loyal He could survive with nothing but a toothpick and a hankie (although his Rambo knife couldn't hurt) He can do anything with fishing line He's hot! here's what some of Kevin's family members had to say ... K's Mom: He is loving, responsible, and active at church He bears his testimony by words and actions He is a close friend He is an amazing son K's Sister: He's an awesome big brother and a great role model I have a blast with him all the time I can go to ...

Our first little baby turned eight a couple of weeks ago. It is hard to believe! This is the miracle child that took me by my stubborn 21-year-old finger and began my lifelong course in motherhood. He taught me patience by instructing me in the delicate art of nursing. He taught me selflessness by implementing a very strict nighttime regiment that involved sleeping in only one-hour increments. He even taught me not to cry over my lost hours of sleep (although that took some time) by looking into my eyes and always being so happy to see me. He taught me flexibility by randomly changing his sleeping and eating routines at least once a week. He taught me humility by sending me off to Spanish class with projectile vomit on my nice leather jacket and welcoming me back home with large wet circles leaking through my shirt. He taught me forgiveness, by not looking at me with scorn when I left a lot to be desired as his mother. He taught me inter-dependence by being completely vulnerable, and l...

We just had General Conference weekend which around our house is a little bit like a holiday, complete with traditions, good food, and a lot of family time. The most important part though, and the reason it is holiday- ish is because we are celebrating the opportunity to hear from the person who we believe to be the prophet of God on the earth today, as well as his apostles. For two days we turn on the tv or the computer, or head down to one of our church buildings and listen to amazing, inspiring, and uplifting talks about things that are very applicable to our lives right now. I am so grateful for the knowledge that there is a purpose and a plan for our lives here on Earth, and that God still cares enough about us to speak to us and give us revelation through his mouthpiece (as well as to us personally for our individual needs) ... and that he always will because he is unchanging and loving. While I loved all the talks and had several favorites, I especially liked Elder Bednar'...

Okay, so we're finally blogging. I don't know whether to rejoice or cringe. No, really though, I'm excited about this new adventure in blogging. I've just come to a realization that this could possibly take the place of scrap booking, which is life changing for me since not one of my four children have scrapbooks (please don't hate me). For my first posting, I figured I'd better do a little catch up of our fun summer. Admittedly, summer ended a few weeks ago, but hey, I'm obviously a little slow. Summertime around here was amazing. The kids and I all loved the whole not getting up and going thing. We were perfectly content "sleeping in," hanging around in pajamas, not making school lunches, and just taking things a little easier. Our whole family also enjoyed a variety of fun vacations and day trips. So here's the rundown ... One week after school ended I headed out as a camp assistant with the young women from church to their yearly summer Gir...