Dear Barbie,

Dear Barbie,

I felt I needed to send a quick thank you note to tell you how much I appreciate your move to the big screen and your great acting in The Princess and the Pauper. I loved playing with you as a child mostly many hours building your dream house and was pleasantly surprised to see your career move to acting a few years ago. I know that this movie was one of your first, but may I say that I think it is some of your best work. I can see that you have spent years learning dancing, singing and acting. This practicing has really paid off. Not only are you a great actress, but you are also a great babysitter. That's right your movie is the only one my Lyla will watch. We have spent many hours over the last month with your singing in the background.

My daughters have greatly appreciated your guidance in becoming a princess. Lyla has now learned to sing and dance just as a princess should. Please send my regards and warmest wishes to all the others that played a role in making this great movie.

Thanks again,

Jamie Combs

P.S. We have lost our Twelve Dancing Princesses, could you send one for Christmas if you have extra copies.

Birthday Girl

Well my little girl is now 7 and I can't believe how lucky we got with such a great little girl. Miya has always been kind with just a little bit of fiesty edge she only shows at home. Miya is a great big sister. Cannon was born when she was only 18 months and I remember her getting the diapers for me when he needed changed and she just loved to help with her little brother. She is that way now with all little kids. She really loves to help out (and she also likes to be the boss). She is great at thinking up games for the kids to play and she loves reading to Cannon and Lyla.
Things Miya loves to do now:
Read and learn new words.
Sing. She has always loved singing and would make us songs almost as soon as she started to talk, but now she can read the words at church and she might be the loudest person singing the hymns.
Running. This is just mostly laps around in the house now that it is cold outside, but she loves to be moving.
We are so happy to have Miya in our family. I thought I would include a picture that I found of Miya when she was two just to remind myself that Miya and Lyla are little twins born 4 years apart.

Thankful For...

Well before we head off to Vashon to stuff ourselves full of yummy food I thought I would sit down and document the things I am most thankful for this year:

• My family. I have three beautiful, happy, healthy and wonderful children. A hard working, loving, kind and thoughtful husband.
• My health. I am so grateful to have a body that is capable of getting things done.
• The Gospel. I love having the truth and light in my life and for the blessings of peace I have had this past year with all the other things going on.
• A home. I am so happy to have protection from the elements and a safe place to put my kids to bed every night.
• Nature. Living on a lake I feel I get to enjoy so much nature just in my own backyard and it is a wonderful blessing.
• Life. I am happy to be having experiences that teach me to grow and become better, but also just because life is good and fun.
• Laughter.
• Friends and all my other wonderful family. Wonderful sisters that are both friends and family. Parents who are always great examples and friends.

Parent Teacher Conference

This week we had conferences for the kids and was interesting to hear what the teachers think of my children.

Cannon:
Always trying really hard to master whatever is being taught. (You should have seen how he practiced tying his shoe during church since his dad showed him on Saturday.)
He brings up great questions in class.
He is friends with everyone.
He isn't shy like Miya. (He has her teacher from last year)
He is wonderful to have in class, but he has had to stand on the line for time-out a few times at recess. (I have talked to him about this and the rule of no touching other kids. He loves to hug and so does his best friend in class, but it always turns into wrestling and then time-out.)
He is very respectful of his teacher, Mrs. Jones.

Miya:
She is a great reader.
She is SUPER quiet.
She is always helpful of other students in class.
She loves a challenge.

I am just glad they are both really liking school and we are excited to not have anymore half-days this next week.

Cannon

Well, where to begin? I guess to start a couple of weekends ago when Cannon was sick. He came home from school on Friday not feeling well. Cannon can NOT handle having a stuffy nose. It drives him crazy. He can't sleep, he can't stop sniffing (even though it does nothing), there are lots of tears and screaming and then finally there is a discussion with mom or dad. Everyone in the house hates it when Cannon gets sick. He is not a silent sufferer. Miya can get the stomach flu and you give her a bowl and she just does her business empties her bowl and goes back to sleep. You don't even know how sick she was until the next morning she tell you how many times she was up during the night. Cannon lets everyone know when something is bothering him and he doesn't stop until everyone no longer cares that he doesn't feel well.

Well I kept him home from school on Monday just to be on the safe side. Even though his fever (101.5) was long gone and his cough had settled down. On Tuesday morning I gave him the "sometimes it just takes positive thinking to get feeling better" he just rolled his eyes at that. He had been doing the international sign for choking the entire weekend because his cough was irritating his throat. I told him he needed to put on a happier face to go to school. Well less then an hour later I got a call from the school to come pick him up. That day he tried as hard as he could to act sick...he laid on the couch as long as he could (30 minutes) then he was up and ready to play. This pattern continued on Wednesday with a call from the school. Thursday and Friday he wanted to be at school because he had Fall parties and the ward party on Friday that he knew he couldn't go to if he missed school.

The weekend he was fine. Yesterday I took his temperature before school because he again had on his sick face. 98.6 and off to school we went. The phone rang an hour later...Cannon has a temperature and needs to be picked up. What? Okay. He does have on his sick face when I pick him up and we go talk to his teacher who says, "Cannon said he couldn't go home because he would get in trouble." Me trying to act like he didn't get in trouble last week when he came home and really wasn't sick tried to laugh that comment off. When we got home he ran to the bathroom and went potty. Now Cannon likes to have his time in the bathroom and doesn't really like going at school. (Reason #1 he came home) He came out and asked if he could have some of his candy. (Reasone #2) No. Then he did his homework and started to play. (Reason #3) I started putting two and two together and started asking questions. Cannon did you have PE before they took your temperature? Yes. Did you go straight to the office from the gym? Yes. Where you hot and sweaty from PE? Yes. Now my kids don't normally get super high temperatures, they do however get super hot and sweaty at PE. Cannon's temperature at 103 was the highest he had ever had. I took his temperature at home, it had now been 40 minutes since PE and he was at 98.6 AMAZING. So I did what we all do just to make sure our kid can't pull the sick card for the rest of the year and took him to the doctor.

Now I know that Cannon wasn't sick anymore and while we waited in the waiting room at the dr. office (with people seriously looking like they might die) Cannon was jumping off things and running around. When the doctor came in the room I said, "I am sorry we are here but Cannon needs to hear that everything is okay." Surprise Surprise, Everything was okay. I called the office this morning to let them know that Cannon didn't have a fever yesterday and that I was bringing him back to school this morning. When I told Cannon to get dressed he once again tried to put on his sick face. I informed him that if he wanted to keep staying home from school, home would become a much less fun place to be. He raced to his room, put on his clothes and he has been at school for over an hour now and no call from the office. I still have my fingers crossed.