For My Mom and Mom-in-Law

You ladies probably don't know it but I am very thankful to you. I am thankful for your example and for your strength. I have learned much from you, cleaning and cooking from my mom and kindness and enjoyment from my mom-in-law. I have learned love from you both. Thank you for being who you are. Thank you for being so good to me. And thank you for loving Seth and Michael so well.

Love,
Jeanie

Silly Family Fun

Great Orators of the Century

Seth gave his first talk in Primary on Sunday, February 1st. He was all dressed up in his argyle sweater and white shirt and tie - very dashing. We practiced his talk with him on Saturday and tried to practice with him on Sunday but he wasn't very receptive...

...Before I continue with this story, I must tell you how much Seth loves to talk into the microphone. When I was the Primary Chorister (up until last July), Seth and Michael would come to the Primary room to meet me after church and Seth would go straight to the podium and start talking into the microphone. Sometimes he prayed, usually he spoke and one time he gave a very long speech about the meaning of life or something. Like the great church orator he is, he always ends with "name of Jesus Christ, Amen." Now that I'm in Relief Society, he still goes to the podium but there is no step stool...

...So, we tried to explain to him what he would be doing but he wasn't grasping it and was having a hard time practicing. Anyway, we got him to Primary and sat him in his special "talk" chair (which he thought was very cool) and waited for his turn. We got up to the podium and, at first, he was whispering like mommy (why he won't do that in Sacrament Meeting, we have not yet figured out) so I told him to speak into the mic - right about that time, they actually turned on the mic and his voice got really loud...then he was into it! He did a fabulous job, he said his words clearly and, apparently, some of the practice sunk in because he remembered parts of the talk all on his own! When he finished his talk, he yelled to Michael, who was sitting in the back of the room, "I did it, Daddy!"

My Hubby

So, the other day I was telling Michael some of my woes and, well, I'll let the following speak for the rest...

There once was a beautiful woman named Jean.
(Take a look in the mirror, you'll see who I mean.)
She got kinda down, feelin' all outta sorts
So her husband gave her a wee kick in the shorts

He said, "Hey there my sweetie, wazza madda wid U?"
She said, "Got so much to accomplish, but nothing to do!"
He said, "That makes no sense, are you sick in the head?"
She said, "You're really not helping - I'm going to bed."

Well, her husband (let's call him Michael the Grand)
Was perplexed and befuddled and knew not where to stand
So he wrote up a poem he hoped would inspire
And sent it via email, to his only desire.

And it went a little something like this:

Jeanie, Jeanie, you're too awesome
To lay there sad and playin' possum
Gotta jump up and go go go
'Cause you'll be happier, I know

The journey of a thousand mile
Starts with step one, so put on a smile
Perhaps if we get up at dawn
And go downstairs, get a workout on

We'll have more energy and spunk
And ditch the blues and all that junk
And feel like we can take on life
With confidence as sharp as a knife

We can take procrastination
Replace it with strong motivation
If this power-poem fails to thrill
I think that we could get some pills ;)

But either way the time is now
To make a change - I'll tell you how
Use agency to make the choice
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice

No matter what I love you tons
So chop-chop girl, get off those buns!
And know that I am by your side
To overcome the blues inside.

Now, I may not be the best drill sergeant around
Nor am I a psychiatrist - but my advice is still sound
And most of all, I hope that you know
I love you so much - yes, I love you so!

Whenever you need me, my ear is all yours
And my shoulder, my knee, my pancreas, and pores
But in the end, it is you who must make the first move
Though I'll be right there beside you adding funk to your groove

My rhymes are degrading - my apologies
But there's one more word play that I'd like to squeeze
And that's this: I am sorry you are feeling this way
But I hope this little ditty has brightened your day.

Time Flies!

Time sure flies when you're not doing anything except recovering from the Holidays! Our Christmas was AWESOME! Seth was so much fun. He got a train table and wanted to play with it but he wanted to open gifts too so he'd open a gift, see what it was and then go straight back to his train table - as much as he liked everything else, nothing was as cool as that train table (thank you, Grandpa)! After a while, he totally got into opening gifts and wanted to open everyone's gifts, including the gift we bought for a baby of some friends! By bedtime, we thought he'd forgotten about that gift still sitting under the tree but just as we were ready to turn the lights out, he yelled "WAIT!" then RAN down the hall, grabbed the gift and asked if we could "call the baby" so he could open her gift for her (because earlier we had opened gifts from Michael's parents but he had to wait to open them until we could call Basi and Granddad).

Anyway, Seth played and played and played with his train table. We hardly heard a peep from him all day, except when he was ready to open another gift! We also had the sister missionaries who are serving in our area over for Christmas dinner. They are so cute! And Seth LOVED them! It was a wonderful time and we were thankful to have their lovely spirits in our home. We were also very blessed to have had such a nice Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Here is The Brittonian, Christmas Edition 2008:

So, what’s the deal with this “time” stuff anyway? It’s like it NEVER stops!

And so here we are again at this point in our solar orbit when the snow is falling in our northern hemispheric part of the world and we are preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ at its traditional wintertime observance.

Also by tradition, the Britton family offers this newsletter, The Brittonian, as a convenient way to summarize our family’s ups and downs of the past annum and to send you our fairest greetings.

Let’s break it down into easily-digestible parts for your Christmas dinner-laden tummies:

Whole Family: We’ve had joys, challenges, triumphs and sorrows in 2008. Notably, we are sad to report the loss of Jean’s brother James, who was 28. It was a shock to us all when a motorcycle accident took his life in August. We miss him.

Seth: Our little guy is nothing short of spectacular. He is the kindest, sweetest, most polite little person around. He is sharp as a Christmas ornament hanger-thingy and says the funniest stuff. He loves to sing and read and is still obsessed with trains (especially Thomas). He loves to laugh, he’s affectionate, and he’s a wonderful example to his parents. He can be a rascal, though: one of his favorite words is “no” and he will drive a hard bargain to try to get what he wants (which usually consists of staying up later). He is very independent and wants to try to do things himself before asking for help. This year’s big triumph: he has pretty much mastered using the remote control, and going in the potty. Yay for Seth!

Jean: The mommy of the Britton family stays plenty busy, keeping up with Seth and putting up with Michael. She has been involved in a neighborhood preschool with Seth that rotates from home to home of the participants, takes Seth to karate lessons, and still finds time to keep her Scentsy wickless candles business rolling along. This year, Jean was called into a leadership position in church (2^nd counselor in the Relief Society presidency), which has also kept her calendar full. This year’s big triumph: potty training Seth. Yay for Mommy!

Michael: Michael changed jobs in March of 2008, but is still working with words for a living. Speaking of which, Michael spent two weeks in October on the Oregon coast at an intense workshop for commercial fiction writers. It was absolutely fantastic, and has opened some important doors for Michael’s career aspirations. He’s currently working on a thriller novel that he’ll be sending off to New York early in the coming year. Dedicated to his goals, he writes fiction nearly every day. Michael is still working with the young men at church (Teachers Quorum assistant) and still has big plans to start working out one day. This year’s big triumph: Honorable Mention in four out of the last five Writers of the Future contests. Yay for Michael!

We’ve had a year full of days, weeks, and sometimes even months. It’s hard to say where we’ll be a year from now, other than at this exact same place in the solar orbit. But one thing we do know: we’re glad we know you; and we’re grateful for the birth, life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, that’s two things. Ah well – Michael wrote this – blame him.

With warm wishes for a very merry Christmas!

Love, The Brittons

Those Pesky Undies (yes, they're Thomas undies)

Seth has been doing really well with his potty training...in fact, I wouldn't call it training at all anymore. He can sure hold it a looooong time though! If he is really into his playing, he has a really hard time leaving it to go potty. He'll start to dance and wiggle, anything to keep from having to stop playing to go potty.

So, I say "Do you need to go potty?"

And he replies "No. I just don't want to go potty."

A minute later "Seth, I can tell tell you need to go potty."

"No. I don't have to go potty." is his very firm reply

"Are you sure?"

"No, I'm not sure!" (which means, 'yes, I'm sure I don't have to go potty.')

"Come on, Seth, let's go potty."

"NO!"

And so, he continues to dance and wiggle until he just can't stand it anymore and he'll say "Mommy, I need to go potty!" then we rush to the potty.

So, the other morning we went through this potty ritual then I told him to go into his bedroom and put his undies on. As I was waiting for him to reappear, I heard him say "Not quite right, please try again." (Which is a direct quote from a Thomas game on one of his DVD's) Then he came around the corner, taking very small steps, with both legs in the same hole of the undies, saying "Help! Help!"