baptism

over thanksgiving weekend we baptized a. he was baptized in b's parents ward. my parents came all the way from maryland to help support a in his decision to be baptized. they were such a great help with all the food preparations. i couldn't have done it without them. thank you so much! 2 of my brothers were also in attendance with their wives and families. all of b's siblings were there with their families as well as 2 cousins and 2 great grandmas. a also invited some close friends who were able to come and we so appreciate their support and miss them so much since we've moved. k, m, and tatianna sang a beautiful musical number while a and b were changing. they brought such a sweet spirit. thanks girls! what a great day to have a baptism and thanks to all our friends who came. you made it even more special for a.

after the baptism it was back to my 'mil's house for food. my mom bought 3 hams, rolls, grapes, bite size brownies and aussi cakes, drinks, and supplied the paper products. she gets the amazing mom award! thank you so much. the ham was 'divine', that's for you lynette, and the brownies...what can i say...heavenly! everything was so yummy! then it was downstairs to watch the BYU/UofU game! love it. i actually didn't start watching till the 2nd half...there were no touchdowns and the score was LOW! i couldn't believe it. b nearly had a heart attack waiting for BYU to score their touchdown of the entire game and then running a safety to give them the lead. only to have the U miss some key passes and as the time ran out...BYU won. HURRAY! 2 years in a row. love it.

anyway...what a perfect ending to a great day.

signed . sealed . delivered

i mailed the last of my christmas cards yesterday and can i tell you how good that feels! holy cow. i am totally going to start in october from now on. it really pays off. i do however need one or two addresses...lisa j. and brenda d. both of you moved and i don't have current addresses. and, thanks to lynette whose card i used, i was able to get 2 last minute cards out! now i can concentrate on decorating my house...and finding the perfect gift for grandparents and siblings. gotta love the rush...can you tell i am already feeling it and it's not even december 1st! ooh look at the time...gotta make lunch for m before school starts...wait it's late start day! hurray! maybe i'll take a shower first.

pack meeting

a was so excited to go to his first pack meeting. he wore his new uniform complete with a neckerchief, thanks paula, and indian headress. the boys made these special for our indian nation theme. let me just tell you that sewing those patches on the scout shirt is no easy task. i had to sew one on 5 different times because it kept shifting. but now it's done...or so i thought.

a and his pack presented the flag, sang and indian song, and a earned his bobcat!

i was so proud! way to go a! you're well on your way to becoming and eagle scout like your dad. we love you!

happy thanksgiving!

we are leaving tonight for our thanksgiving in utah so i just wanted to tell everyone...happy thanksgiving. we are so excited to see old friends and spend time with family. this year we will be spending thanksgiving with both sets of grandparents! in the same house! since adam will be baptized on saturday my parents are coming all the way from maryland to help celebrate this special day for him. i am so grateful for all the support we get from our families. i can't wait. we hope your thanksgiving is filled with much laughter, yummy food, and gratitude for all that you have. i am grateful for all of you...my friends...my family...and for the great and wonderful examples you are. happy thanksgiving.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MOMMY!

i love this! soo sweet!

i had such a wonderful birthday. you know i don't really mind my birthday...it's comforting to know that b will always be 2 years older. the kids were so sweet to me today and even my primary class was unusually reverent. b made steak and shrimp for dinner and k made my brownies. we have boycotted the whole birthday cake in our house. everything was so yummy and i even got a nap. it was great! i also got to call a sweet friend of mine who shares the same birthday with me. my family has been the greatest gift i could ever ask for. what a blessing they are. i never could have imagine 11 years ago that i would be where i am today...wife, mother, friend...and that i could be all these things and more and still be sane. i love my family for making me who i am today and allowing my to keep dreaming. thanks to all the bday calls, cards, and emails. i love you all!

naked turkey

this is tom our naked turkey. we are a little late in getting him his feathers but better late than never. tom is our thankful turkey and when we are thankful for something...he gets a feather. hopefully he will have all his feathers by thanksgiving.

10 things i am thankful for today...

1. my cute husband who gives me a kiss and hug before heading off to work. even if i am still sleeping he always comes over and gently gives me a kiss and says, i love you. this means so much to me. it puts me in such a good mood in the morning and i am thankful for that extra 2 min. he takes to let me know that he loves me.

2. kennidy's independence. i can always count on kennidy being ready in the morning for school. by the time i am out of bed she is dressed, eaten breakfast, and made her lunch. i am grateful that she is such an independent young lady.

3. my mom. today she called me and has single handedly taken care of all the major food preparations for a's baptism next weekend. and she lives in maryland. it's amazing what you can do with the internet! thanks, mom. i love you.

4. lazy days. i love to sleep in but what i love more is an uneventful day when i can catch up on projects that need to be finished!

5. taking random pictures with my camera and posting them on my blog for viual enhancement. i am thankful for my blog and my camera that lets me keep in touch with my friends who don't live close by.

6. school. i am thankful for my kids' teachers and all they do to help my children succeed. i have really smart kids, if i do say so, and i give lots of credit to those teachers who have pushed them to be better. thank you.

7. the united states of america. i could go on all day about how grateful i am for this country...but today i am grateful for the men and women to serve so that my family can sleep peacefully at night. my family is very patriotic...with men serving in the marines, army, and air force...i am grateful for my military heros.

8. showers in the morning. i am grateful that i can shower in hot water for as long as my kids allow me to.

9. exercise for the most part. i enjoyed exercising a lot more when i had my WOB doing it with me. and i admit that we laughed more than we 'crunched' but now i am thankful for my morning walks with f and m.

10. i am thankful for my health that allows me to do so many things. i am grateful that i CAN exercise, walk, run, type, take pics, and all the other physical things i take for granted. i am thankful for my body and that if nothing else...i am healthy.

flattery...and christmas

last night i ordered our family pics for our christmas cards. 100 pics! this afternoon i received a call from the costco photo lab. the lady at the lab wanted to know if i had the copyright for my photos from the photographer that took them. i thought...wow are they THAT good? i told her that i was the photographer and she said, surprizingly, 'oh they just looked so professional' to which i replied, 'well thank you.' (they really don't look professional...it's nevada and they probably don't get a lot of scrapbookers photos that come through their costco) i had to laugh at the whole conversation because seriously in utah as many times as i developed pictures, and i was on a first name basis with the photo lab gal (michelle), i never once got that reaction. they just get more good pics because of all the photographers/scrapbookers.

anywho...i couldn't believe i needed 100 pics. we have loved moving around and meeting new friends and keeping in touch with them all. we don't have friends in others countries...we'll have to work on that one...but we have loved having friends all over the united states. i have a friend in england but he's married by now...and we kind of lost touch after high school. flashback. one of my most favorite things to do in december is to go to the mailbox and find christmas letters from all of you. i love seeing how much your families have grown and hearing about all the fun things you have been up to. it makes me feel like we've been along for the ride. oh i can't wait for december!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

november 12, 1999... i woke up early this morning and started getting ready for work. i was going to the bathroom more than usual and thought...this is strange. and was doing my hair when it happened. a gush of water came running down my leg. what? i thought...he's not due for another 2 weeks! i told b that it was time to go to the hospital because my water broke and he asked, 'are you sure?' (last time it wasn't my water). i showed him my pants and he called out neighbor to ask if she could watch k. while he was taking k to the neighbors i got in the car with a towel on my seat and buckled up. as soon as the seat belt clicked there was another gush of water. holy cow! i only have so many pairs of pants! i went back in as b was coming out and he knew by the way i was walking that i was going to change again.

we only live 10 min. from the hospital but it felt like 20. my contractions were coming and i kept telling b to hurry. we got to the hospital and i was dilated to a 5. i got my epidural right a way and 2 hours later we had a new member of our family. A was an 8lbs. bundle of boy (and joy) and had a full head of light brown hair. b was so excited to have his first boy! we couldn't have been happier. (until we added #3 and #4 later down the road.)

A's birthday always jumps out and surprizes me. it just a week after halloween and i am always scrambling for gifts and party supplies.

we are going to have a family party tonight and then a 'jungle' party on saturday with all of A's friends. we have put the traditional birthday cake to rest in our house and have rootbeer floats instead. we aren't big cake eaters so it'll be 8 candles in the ice cream! A is so excited to be 8. b and i got him an xbox with a couple games (b got some games for himself, too) and scriptures, primary song book, and carrying case. this is a tradition passed on from my parents. he also got watch walkie talkies from uncle gabe and aunt kristen, new sunday clothes from grandma and grandpa c, and a money from grandma and grandpa s...he already knows what he's going to buy! he will be baptized in utah over thanksgiving weekend . we are excited to see family...even my parents and some siblings will be there...so excited for that.

A is such a sweet young man. we have loved watching him grow in all aspects of his life. you are such a special part of our family and we wouldn't be complete without you. happy birthday, A!

photo shoot!

i love taking pics of my kids...it can be frustrating at times but i am always happy with the results. today i took the kids to an old rodeo arena i found near our house. it was a bit chilly so we didn't stay as long as i wanted to...to get all the shots i wanted. but again i am happy with the results. i had fun editting them.

the kids had fun running across the arena pretending to be bulls!

f is such a ham!

more pics in my 'gallery'.

cub scouts

oh how i love cub scouts! i am over the bear and wolfs and they are at such a funny stage. last night we talked about indians and played some really fun games. their favorite game was called TILLICUM. it's like rock, paper, scissors...only you use earth, fire, and water. with your fist being raised slowly to your shoulder while saying 'til-li'...then dropped to your waist on 'cum' and making the sign for earth, fire, or water you try and beat out your opponent. it was fun to watch these boys chant and laugh 'i won, i won'. the boys loved it. we had 2 boys who told a story from the bom so they could pass of a fig goal. it was cute. cameron told of lehi's son's going back for the brass plates. he got to the part where they were asked to go back for the daughters of ishmiel...sp...'lamen and lemual complained. then lehi said you need wives. so they went back to get their next door neighbors.' love that he said next door neighbors. so cute. i can't wait for a to be exposed to the scouting world. i hope it a great adventure for him.

anyways...we spent the afternoon playing at the workmans. right after school we headed over there to play and the kids had a great time. they are always asking me 'who can we play with mom?' at least once a week we try and play with friends. it would be more but our options are slim...there aren't a ton of friends where we live. but they do have fun on the days we all go over someone's house. including me. it gives me a chance to have real adult conversation. my conversation skills have been lacking the past 8 years. whenever the kids complain ' i never get to play with friends'...i say, 'neither do i'. they smirk at me and walk away.

no nap

this afternoon i tried to get f to take a nap. we watched 'a knight's tale' and i thought that would put him to sleep for sure...but it didn't. he even layed on my bed for awhile but didn't fall asleep. i thought i was being really boring...working on christmas cards...that he would get disinterested and go take a nap. didn't happen. finally he came out of my room and wanted to play the piano. so we did. didn't last long but it was fun while it lasted. he's such a busy boy. then 5 minutes before we had to pick the kids up from school he comes to me and says, 'i tired.' perfect timing.

just listen

as my busy day comes to a close i wonder about all the things i could have done differently...should have done differently. i logged into blogger tonight and this song by jenny phillips started playing. i was blessed to be in her ward in utah and she sings from her heart. her testimony is written in her songs. i love them so much. they are so peaceful...so if you have a moment just sit and listen to the words...the maker's touch.

peace filled me once again and i felt the love of a heavenly father who contines to put up with me and my daily mistakes. i am so grateful for the knowledge i have of him and of his love for me.