Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Sunday, January 30, 2011
music to my ears
I was sitting in my chair and it occurred to me just how lucky I am. I could hear all three of my girls in the kitchen getting along. Not only are they getting along, but they are loading the dishwasher as well. Working together. Not fighting. While my dishes are getting done! What more could a mother ask? The sound of them working together is music to my ears. :)
Monday, January 24, 2011
Thankful.
We are all sick. Well, everyone except Ashley so far. This bug is a doozy! Poor little Drew got it the worst. Jeff and I were so worried about him. He didn't even have the energy to whine for two days. He was losing weight. He barely kept any liquids (let alone solids) for four days. Thursday night we decided that if he wasn't showing signs of improvement in the morning we would take him in. Friday morning he woke up hungry! That was an improvement. We had to give him tiny little sips of water every 10-15 minutes for most of the day to help him get a little more hydrated. He actually cried and whined (normally this would not be appreciated). He doesn't have his old appetite back, but he's working on it. I am so grateful that he is recovering.
Natalie was also very sick. I walked in to the house on Wednesday afternoon and could tell just by looking at her that she had a fever. Jeff said she hadn't moved from the chair since I left 6 hours earlier. That is extremely unusual for her! That night I noticed hives on her wrist from across the room. I decided to investigate. I found hives all over her back. They continued to spread. Her eye was even affected- swollen so much she couldn't really see out of it. It was heartbreaking. Her fever broke a little bit later and the hives began to die down. The next day she was almost completely her normal self.
On Monday evening Ashley crashed her bike and sprained her thumb, injuring her wrist as well. On Tuesday it was worse. She had scrapes on the back of her hand, but we hadn't noticed the thumb and wrist the evening before. We headed out to Herbally Grounded to get some herbs for a poultice. She was eager to try it out. She slept with it on her hand/wrist that night. When she woke up in the morning the bruises were gone, the swelling was hardly noticeable and range of motion for her thumb was much better. We did a poultice the following night. On Wednesday morning she was practically good as new!
I am so grateful that God gave us things on this earth to help us, heal us. I am thankful that I am able to learn about them. I am grateful for so many others who are willing to share their knowledge!
Jeff and I got sick later in the week. On Saturday Alona started showing symptoms as well. We are dosing ourselves with Infection Fighter (a tincture). I feel that it is helping and hopefully it will shorten the length of this. Hopefully we will all be back to normal very, very soon.
Natalie was also very sick. I walked in to the house on Wednesday afternoon and could tell just by looking at her that she had a fever. Jeff said she hadn't moved from the chair since I left 6 hours earlier. That is extremely unusual for her! That night I noticed hives on her wrist from across the room. I decided to investigate. I found hives all over her back. They continued to spread. Her eye was even affected- swollen so much she couldn't really see out of it. It was heartbreaking. Her fever broke a little bit later and the hives began to die down. The next day she was almost completely her normal self.
On Monday evening Ashley crashed her bike and sprained her thumb, injuring her wrist as well. On Tuesday it was worse. She had scrapes on the back of her hand, but we hadn't noticed the thumb and wrist the evening before. We headed out to Herbally Grounded to get some herbs for a poultice. She was eager to try it out. She slept with it on her hand/wrist that night. When she woke up in the morning the bruises were gone, the swelling was hardly noticeable and range of motion for her thumb was much better. We did a poultice the following night. On Wednesday morning she was practically good as new!
I am so grateful that God gave us things on this earth to help us, heal us. I am thankful that I am able to learn about them. I am grateful for so many others who are willing to share their knowledge!
Jeff and I got sick later in the week. On Saturday Alona started showing symptoms as well. We are dosing ourselves with Infection Fighter (a tincture). I feel that it is helping and hopefully it will shorten the length of this. Hopefully we will all be back to normal very, very soon.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
The big 1-0
I'm feeling old right about now. I can't believe my little girl is turning 10! Not for a few more days, mind you, but we had her party today.
My friend made her a wonderful cake. She met with Ashley to get ideas for it. Then she met with her again- this time bringing a sketch of the cake. Ashley was thrilled. The theme? Why, Percy Jackson of course! She fell in love with the books this autumn and her obsession has continued to grow and branch out. She knows almost everything there is to know about Greek mythology (ok, maybe not almost everything, but she does know a lot). So she decided that she wanted her cake to feature the symbols of the gods.
Ashley absolutely loved her cake! It was tasty, too. Thanks, Danan!
My friend made her a wonderful cake. She met with Ashley to get ideas for it. Then she met with her again- this time bringing a sketch of the cake. Ashley was thrilled. The theme? Why, Percy Jackson of course! She fell in love with the books this autumn and her obsession has continued to grow and branch out. She knows almost everything there is to know about Greek mythology (ok, maybe not almost everything, but she does know a lot). So she decided that she wanted her cake to feature the symbols of the gods.
The PJ stands for Percy Jackson, with lightning bolts around it for Zeus and the first book of the series. The key is for Hades, the trident for Poseidon.
A dove for Aphrodite.
The bow and arrow for Apollo.
A snake for Hermes. The white fabric is representative of their robes.
Ashley absolutely loved her cake! It was tasty, too. Thanks, Danan!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Irresistible
Found this on my phone. One of the girls must have taken it. He is just too cute holding his orange!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
2010 Review
2010 was a year of many changes for our family.
It began with us still in L.A. for our Christmas with my sisters. We started the new year off with a day spent with family, followed the next day at Disneyland. What an awesome way to start the year, right? Then we had a long drive home (which was riddled with vomiting - the tail end of the horrible plague of Christmas 2009). Not such a great way to start the year. :(
In January Ashley turned nine. Andrew became known as Drew and started smiling.
February was a busy, busy month. After months and months of waiting and praying, we came to the decision that it was time to move. We set a date- March 1st. Jeff notified the company. The moving money came. We reserved a truck. Packing ensued in full force. I taught a class on making fabric headbands for all my friends. I made skirts for the girls to wear for Valentine's Day. (Yes, when things are crazy and I really don't have time I always sew- it must be my coping mechanism.) I squeezed in as much time with my friends as I could before the big move. We changed the date of our move to the 8th of March to make things a little easier.
March was the big month. We spent the first week of March trying to get everything packed completely. Friends came over and helped us load the truck. We finally found a place to live (the day we were packing the truck). Leaving was hard- our house, which we labored for hours and hours to make beautiful, our friends, our family. We spent two days driving to our new home. We were welcomed in our new place by our new ward. We started the long process of unpacking and settling into our new lives. Ashley and Alona started at their new school. It was a rough transition for them.
In April I started blogging with a friend on her blog. I mostly blog about sewing and crafty stuff. Natalie turned 4. We also drove up to Utah for my sister's senior recital (piano) at BYU. She rocked! We got to see quite a few members of my family while we were there.
In May Drew learned to scoot and roll to get where he wanted to go.
June brought about the end of the school year for Ashley and Alona. I headed to my hometown for my sister's wedding. The whole family was there. I spent a bit of time with my grandmother while I was there. I was so grateful that I was able to go because she wasn't doing well and I felt that I might not see her again. Drew started crawling and climbing.
July was more eventful than I had planned. We headed down to Arizona to visit my sister for the 4th of July. We had a blast! Then Jeff and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. It doesn't really seem like it has been that long. I decided that we should eliminate as much processed food from our diets as possible- a bigger undertaking than you would think. Rebecca came up later in the month to meet her husband and get her kids (as he was working up in Utah for a few months and they were spending time with his family while he was there). While she was at my house we got a call from my dad. His mother passed away. I flew out to Kansas for the funeral. We got to see all of the family again- this time without all the craziness of a wedding.
August was an exhausting month. Jeff worked what seemed like 24/7. It was hard to be stuck inside during the hot summer with no pool or grassy yard to set up a sprinkler while the kids are out of school- especially when it is just you and your husband is working well past the time you put your kids to bed. It was difficult. I thought I wasn't going to make it. Then they finally released the game they had been working on for months and months. Jeff took time off work so we could head up to Oregon for his sister's wedding. We spent just over a week there. We visited with his family and all of our friends. We tried to cram in as much time with everyone as possible and got very little sleep. Alona got strep throat. Good times! We really enjoyed spending time with the ones we love! We even got to go to the coast. Drew started walking. We made it back late on the 29th. Just in time for school to start on the 30th. That day Alona turned 7 and Jeff also celebrated his birthday. He did not turn 7.
By September the kids were settling in at school. We met their teachers. I turned another year older. Made tons of zucchini bread-YUM!
October was the month we cut the girls' hair. They all had crazy long hair. Natalie kept asking to get hers cut so it wouldn't get stuck in the stickers she puts on her shirts (love 4 year old reasoning) so I finally got around to doing it. It is a tiny bit sad to cut all that off, but it is just hair. They absolutely love their new do's. I headed to DC to watch my sister's kids while she headed to Italy, taking Natalie and Drew with me. I even got to see an old friend after 9 years! Got home and headed up to Utah for by brother-in-law's fall opera (he was the lead in The Magic Flute). It was my first opera and it was pretty funny! Came home and made Halloween costumes for the kids- 2 pirates and a Medusa. Switched from zucchini bread to pumpkin bread- can you tell I love to bake?
November was election month. Jeff and I voted. I made tons of pumpkin bread. We are addicted. On Veteran's Day, Jeff called me from work. I was just leaving Albertson's with my haul of brownie and cake mixes (at 49 cents each you would too!). He asked me to come pick him up. They had a company wide meeting where they announced that they were closing. So we started a new phase in our lives. Unemployment. It was initially very shocking. There wasn't much sign of this happening beforehand. Luckily, they were all technically still employed through the end of the month (with a paycheck and all but not working). With severance (ha.ha.ha.) and 2 1/2 weeks of vacation pay, we figured that would take us through January. Natalie enjoyed having her daddy to play with all day everyday! I took advantage of having him home and tried to get out and do as much as I could. We headed down to Arizona for my nephew's baptism. My dad was there too. There was a huge birthday party at the park after the baptism. It was a short trip (we were there just about 24 hours) but it was so much fun. The next day I sang a solo with our choir in church. First time. It was scary, but I survived- and didn't do a horrible job! The week of Thanksgiving was a tough one for me. I think all the stress really weakened me. I was in terrible pain and started getting sick. I also got a clogged milk duct and had a horrible fever. I am thankful for a good chiropractor who was able to relieve some of my pain. I learned that I need to take it easy sometimes. We spent our first holiday (Thanksgiving) without any family since we got married. Drew turned one!!
December has been a month of gratitude. I know November is usually the month for that, but our family has been so blessed this month in particular. Jeff started a contract job. We got gifts from so many people (some were anonymous even). We seem to have all our needs met and then some. Our children are doing well in school (we had parent-teacher conferences). We are all healthy. We have beautiful sunshine! We have wonderful friends and loving family. Why wouldn't we be grateful? I think Jeff losing his job has made us (well at least me) more aware of just how blessed we are. We baked a lot of cookies. We fell in love with gingerbread cookies- I was skeptical, but they are SO good. We spent Christmas by ourselves for the first time. We even got snow, thanks to some friends! We spent New Year's eve with some friends. Best part- my kitchen and living room were clean!
We hope 2011 is a good year with a great job for Jeff, lots of sewing for me, much learning for our children, and lots of great time together as a family!
It began with us still in L.A. for our Christmas with my sisters. We started the new year off with a day spent with family, followed the next day at Disneyland. What an awesome way to start the year, right? Then we had a long drive home (which was riddled with vomiting - the tail end of the horrible plague of Christmas 2009). Not such a great way to start the year. :(
In January Ashley turned nine. Andrew became known as Drew and started smiling.
February was a busy, busy month. After months and months of waiting and praying, we came to the decision that it was time to move. We set a date- March 1st. Jeff notified the company. The moving money came. We reserved a truck. Packing ensued in full force. I taught a class on making fabric headbands for all my friends. I made skirts for the girls to wear for Valentine's Day. (Yes, when things are crazy and I really don't have time I always sew- it must be my coping mechanism.) I squeezed in as much time with my friends as I could before the big move. We changed the date of our move to the 8th of March to make things a little easier.
March was the big month. We spent the first week of March trying to get everything packed completely. Friends came over and helped us load the truck. We finally found a place to live (the day we were packing the truck). Leaving was hard- our house, which we labored for hours and hours to make beautiful, our friends, our family. We spent two days driving to our new home. We were welcomed in our new place by our new ward. We started the long process of unpacking and settling into our new lives. Ashley and Alona started at their new school. It was a rough transition for them.
In April I started blogging with a friend on her blog. I mostly blog about sewing and crafty stuff. Natalie turned 4. We also drove up to Utah for my sister's senior recital (piano) at BYU. She rocked! We got to see quite a few members of my family while we were there.
In May Drew learned to scoot and roll to get where he wanted to go.
June brought about the end of the school year for Ashley and Alona. I headed to my hometown for my sister's wedding. The whole family was there. I spent a bit of time with my grandmother while I was there. I was so grateful that I was able to go because she wasn't doing well and I felt that I might not see her again. Drew started crawling and climbing.
July was more eventful than I had planned. We headed down to Arizona to visit my sister for the 4th of July. We had a blast! Then Jeff and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. It doesn't really seem like it has been that long. I decided that we should eliminate as much processed food from our diets as possible- a bigger undertaking than you would think. Rebecca came up later in the month to meet her husband and get her kids (as he was working up in Utah for a few months and they were spending time with his family while he was there). While she was at my house we got a call from my dad. His mother passed away. I flew out to Kansas for the funeral. We got to see all of the family again- this time without all the craziness of a wedding.
August was an exhausting month. Jeff worked what seemed like 24/7. It was hard to be stuck inside during the hot summer with no pool or grassy yard to set up a sprinkler while the kids are out of school- especially when it is just you and your husband is working well past the time you put your kids to bed. It was difficult. I thought I wasn't going to make it. Then they finally released the game they had been working on for months and months. Jeff took time off work so we could head up to Oregon for his sister's wedding. We spent just over a week there. We visited with his family and all of our friends. We tried to cram in as much time with everyone as possible and got very little sleep. Alona got strep throat. Good times! We really enjoyed spending time with the ones we love! We even got to go to the coast. Drew started walking. We made it back late on the 29th. Just in time for school to start on the 30th. That day Alona turned 7 and Jeff also celebrated his birthday. He did not turn 7.
By September the kids were settling in at school. We met their teachers. I turned another year older. Made tons of zucchini bread-YUM!
October was the month we cut the girls' hair. They all had crazy long hair. Natalie kept asking to get hers cut so it wouldn't get stuck in the stickers she puts on her shirts (love 4 year old reasoning) so I finally got around to doing it. It is a tiny bit sad to cut all that off, but it is just hair. They absolutely love their new do's. I headed to DC to watch my sister's kids while she headed to Italy, taking Natalie and Drew with me. I even got to see an old friend after 9 years! Got home and headed up to Utah for by brother-in-law's fall opera (he was the lead in The Magic Flute). It was my first opera and it was pretty funny! Came home and made Halloween costumes for the kids- 2 pirates and a Medusa. Switched from zucchini bread to pumpkin bread- can you tell I love to bake?
November was election month. Jeff and I voted. I made tons of pumpkin bread. We are addicted. On Veteran's Day, Jeff called me from work. I was just leaving Albertson's with my haul of brownie and cake mixes (at 49 cents each you would too!). He asked me to come pick him up. They had a company wide meeting where they announced that they were closing. So we started a new phase in our lives. Unemployment. It was initially very shocking. There wasn't much sign of this happening beforehand. Luckily, they were all technically still employed through the end of the month (with a paycheck and all but not working). With severance (ha.ha.ha.) and 2 1/2 weeks of vacation pay, we figured that would take us through January. Natalie enjoyed having her daddy to play with all day everyday! I took advantage of having him home and tried to get out and do as much as I could. We headed down to Arizona for my nephew's baptism. My dad was there too. There was a huge birthday party at the park after the baptism. It was a short trip (we were there just about 24 hours) but it was so much fun. The next day I sang a solo with our choir in church. First time. It was scary, but I survived- and didn't do a horrible job! The week of Thanksgiving was a tough one for me. I think all the stress really weakened me. I was in terrible pain and started getting sick. I also got a clogged milk duct and had a horrible fever. I am thankful for a good chiropractor who was able to relieve some of my pain. I learned that I need to take it easy sometimes. We spent our first holiday (Thanksgiving) without any family since we got married. Drew turned one!!
December has been a month of gratitude. I know November is usually the month for that, but our family has been so blessed this month in particular. Jeff started a contract job. We got gifts from so many people (some were anonymous even). We seem to have all our needs met and then some. Our children are doing well in school (we had parent-teacher conferences). We are all healthy. We have beautiful sunshine! We have wonderful friends and loving family. Why wouldn't we be grateful? I think Jeff losing his job has made us (well at least me) more aware of just how blessed we are. We baked a lot of cookies. We fell in love with gingerbread cookies- I was skeptical, but they are SO good. We spent Christmas by ourselves for the first time. We even got snow, thanks to some friends! We spent New Year's eve with some friends. Best part- my kitchen and living room were clean!
We hope 2011 is a good year with a great job for Jeff, lots of sewing for me, much learning for our children, and lots of great time together as a family!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas Morning
Here are pictures of the kids opening presents.
Drew with some of his matchbox cars.
(sorry for the grainy picture- bad lighting)
Natalie being Natalie.
Natalie with her favorite toy- a pirate girl from Aunt Katy!
Alona opening emptying her stocking.
Ashley with her books (tons and tons of books) from us!
Alona got a CD player with quite a few CDs from us. She was so happy!
Natalie got a 24 pack of playdough from us.
Drew checking out a card from grandma and grandpa.
The scene in our living room this morning.
Alona with her gifts and eating her slim jim.
Natalie's haul.
Ashley with the majority of her gifts.
SNOW!!!!
In Las Vegas. Can you believe it?
Ok, so it was just imported. Thanks to our wonderful friends for making it a white Christmas!
I hope you all enjoyed your day and were able to spend it with loved ones.
What we did today...
The kids all got something to ride from Santa. Alona and Ashley got bicycles. Natalie got a big wheel tricycle. Drew got a little toy he can push or ride on (he can't quite get on and off of it himself yet but he loves to push it around). So we took the pedals off the two bikes and went out to teach the girls to ride. Now I know they might seem a little old to be learning to ride without training wheels, but we lived in Oregon- where it was almost always raining.
I searched YouTube for videos on teaching kids to ride. What I found- take the pedals off and let them learn to balance on the bike without them interfering. So we did just that. We made sure the seats were low enough that they could put their feet firmly on the ground with their knees slightly bent when sitting on the seat. Then they started just scooting along with their feet on the ground. They got used to the feel of the bike and then started lifting their feet to coast. It started out with about a half second of their feet off the ground. Eventually Alona got up to 24 seconds of coasting and Ashley got up to about 7 seconds. Ashley got bored and went in while Alona kept at it- that's why Alona has progressed more than her. Then we set up a little course (using old water bottles because we didn't have cones) for them to practice turning. That is as far as we got today. Once they are comfortable with turning and coasting we can put the pedals back on and get to really riding them! It is very exciting for them.
I searched YouTube for videos on teaching kids to ride. What I found- take the pedals off and let them learn to balance on the bike without them interfering. So we did just that. We made sure the seats were low enough that they could put their feet firmly on the ground with their knees slightly bent when sitting on the seat. Then they started just scooting along with their feet on the ground. They got used to the feel of the bike and then started lifting their feet to coast. It started out with about a half second of their feet off the ground. Eventually Alona got up to 24 seconds of coasting and Ashley got up to about 7 seconds. Ashley got bored and went in while Alona kept at it- that's why Alona has progressed more than her. Then we set up a little course (using old water bottles because we didn't have cones) for them to practice turning. That is as far as we got today. Once they are comfortable with turning and coasting we can put the pedals back on and get to really riding them! It is very exciting for them.
Don't be fooled by the snow in the background, it wasn't very cold out (57) and the snow was imported (a Christmas surprise by some friends).
Cruising down our street.
I'm too cool for this. (not really, but it comes across as this)
Queen of the snow mountain.
Queen of the road.
Not sure how to do this.
The snowman, and yes it is really tiny (maybe a foot and a half).
Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas!
This year things are very different for us. It is strange to have sunshine and 60 degree weather (not that I mind in the least!!!!). This is the first Christmas we will be spending without any extended family (and hopefully the last). Jeff is working a short contract job, so there isn't time for travel. Things are far different than I ever imagined they would be.
Despite all of the changes that have occurred this year I have to say that I am extremely grateful. I am so grateful that Jesus Christ was born. I am so grateful that he gave his life for us. I am grateful that I am able to feel the love of our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ, especially at this time of year. As we receive love, prayers, support, and even gifts from our friends and family I can see just how blessed we really are.
I hope you all can feel the joy of this glorious season.
Merry Christmas!
Despite all of the changes that have occurred this year I have to say that I am extremely grateful. I am so grateful that Jesus Christ was born. I am so grateful that he gave his life for us. I am grateful that I am able to feel the love of our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ, especially at this time of year. As we receive love, prayers, support, and even gifts from our friends and family I can see just how blessed we really are.
I hope you all can feel the joy of this glorious season.
Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
It made my day.
Things were getting rowdy in the living room. Drew was all wound up and running on the tiles around the fireplace. He came over and leaned on the table next to my chair. I didn't realize what he was doing (even though I had been watching him carefully just minutes before to prevent this from happening) and he leaned a little too much. The table started to move and he slid right off. He fell, cutting his lip. I told Jeff I needed a damp wash cloth. He brought me a wet wipe (not disposable, but a cloth wipe we use when changing his diapers). I didn't really want to put it in his mouth- even though it was completely clean. It would just be wrong. I am sure he didn't realize what my intentions were for the wash cloth, so it really wasn't his fault. I refused the wipe and told him I needed a wash cloth. He rushed to find one. Unfortunately, I think the concern for Drew made him tense and he was crashing doors into toys in a rush to get the wash cloth out of the cabinet upstairs. Of course, I got upset and told him to calm down (more like I yelled at him- because he was upstairs and I was downstairs). So here I am, cleaning up Drew's mouth so I could see exactly what the damage was. Jeff sitting on the couch, looking less than happy about all this ruckus going on and the miscommunication and all that. I am holding Drew trying to comfort him. All of a sudden I hear Ashley playing the piano. Silent Night. The piece she is playing at the recital in a week. Then I hear Alona start singing along. It suddenly all became clear. Drew was fine. It was just a tiny cut on the inside of his lip. The bleeding stopped. He was happily nursing. If I was really going to tell Jeff to calm down, maybe I didn't need to be upset myself. Imagine that! (Now everybody already knows that I am nowhere near perfect- maybe even farther from it than most.) So I sat there, humbled by my daughters who were in the other room making music together. Getting along perfectly. Ashley had to pause in places, but Alona would figure it out and wait for her. The way they worked together was wonderful. I remember growing up someone would go to the piano and start playing. Others would gather around and sing. It was spontaneous. Nothing stands out more in my mind than the memories of our family making music together. For me, this is what its all about. Music is one of the greatest joys in my life, after family and God. So when it all combines (Silent Night being music sung/played by my family together, music about the birth of our Savior), I have to say it is an awesome thing to me.
With all that we have been going through recently, I am really trying to focus on all that is great in our lives. We have each other. We are all healthy. We have food and shelter. We have friends. We have SUNSHINE!!!!! (I am especially thankful for that every day, as it really makes it easier to deal with all the trials when the sun is shining.) I am so grateful to everyone who keeps us in their prayers. Jeff is starting a short term contract position on Wednesday. We are so grateful for this. We will at least be able to make it until our lease is up at the end of February. Hopefully Jeff will have a permanent job by that time. Of course, we don't know where this will take us. We are hoping to stay where we are (Jeff and I both dislike moving), but will end up wherever he has a job.
I feel so blessed right now. That may seem strange, but it is at times like these that you can really feel the love and support of those around you. I am so grateful to have a wonderful husband who works so hard to provide for our family. I am grateful for my wonderful children, each one of them brings something unique to our home and are such a joy to us. I am so grateful for the little things in life that make you stop and savor the moment.
What makes your day?
With all that we have been going through recently, I am really trying to focus on all that is great in our lives. We have each other. We are all healthy. We have food and shelter. We have friends. We have SUNSHINE!!!!! (I am especially thankful for that every day, as it really makes it easier to deal with all the trials when the sun is shining.) I am so grateful to everyone who keeps us in their prayers. Jeff is starting a short term contract position on Wednesday. We are so grateful for this. We will at least be able to make it until our lease is up at the end of February. Hopefully Jeff will have a permanent job by that time. Of course, we don't know where this will take us. We are hoping to stay where we are (Jeff and I both dislike moving), but will end up wherever he has a job.
I feel so blessed right now. That may seem strange, but it is at times like these that you can really feel the love and support of those around you. I am so grateful to have a wonderful husband who works so hard to provide for our family. I am grateful for my wonderful children, each one of them brings something unique to our home and are such a joy to us. I am so grateful for the little things in life that make you stop and savor the moment.
What makes your day?
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Happy first birthday, Drew!
Today is Drew's first birthday. It is hard to believe it has already been this long. We are so grateful to have such a wonderful little boy in our family. Drew is quite mild mannered. He has a love of music. He loves to sing and dance. He is all boy. We went to Phoenix last weekend to visit my sister and he found a broken toy gun. He immediately was attached to the thing and even started making shooting noises. Boys must just be born with it! He started walking at eight months, just days before he turned nine months really. He gets around like a pro now. He is absolutely adored by his older sisters (and mom and dad, of course). He loves to make clicking noises with his tongue (and getting others to do it with him). He isn't talking yet but knows how to get exactly what he wants anyway! We are definitely blessed to have him in our family.
Loving his presents.
Testing the waters...
First taste.
It was good enough to keep going.
This is fun!
Forget the hands!
The end.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Why must they grow?
We are switching to winter clothes at our house today. The girls are "shopping" in our living room from the many bins of clothing we keep in our garage. They LOVE it. So, while I'm watching them try on even bigger (which really equates to longer) clothes than I expected, Jeff pulled out the tape measure and started seeing how much they really have grown. Ashley is 4 feet 6 inches. Alona is 4 feet 4 inches (I'm pretty sure one of these days she will pass Ashley in height). Natalie is 3 feet 8 inches. Natalie is the most surprising- as she is only 4 yet has to wear size 6 pants for length. They are all growing up way too fast!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Halloween 2010
This Halloween was our first real time trick-or-treating. In Oregon, it was always cold and rainy. There also weren't very great neighborhoods to go out in where we lived- not without driving. So we always stuck to the church Trunk-or-Treat night. We did the church Trunk-or-Treat here on Saturday night. On Halloween night we headed to Alona's friend's house to go out as a group. They live over in the other side of our development. It was so much fun. The kids had a great time going around the neighborhood. They had a blast playing with the other kids after trick-or-treating. I am so grateful for all of the new friends we have been making here in our new home.
Alona and Natalie wanted to be pirates. They are obsessed with pirates since riding the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland last Christmas. Ashley has been barreling through the Percy Jackson books and is obsessed with Greek mythology, so she chose to be Medusa. Those are snakes in her hair (but not real ones). I ran out of steam and didn't make a costume for Drew. He is too young to understand anyway.
Alona and Natalie wanted to be pirates. They are obsessed with pirates since riding the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland last Christmas. Ashley has been barreling through the Percy Jackson books and is obsessed with Greek mythology, so she chose to be Medusa. Those are snakes in her hair (but not real ones). I ran out of steam and didn't make a costume for Drew. He is too young to understand anyway.
Andrew in his stroller, ready to go out for his first Halloween.
Short trip to Utah
Back in October (when we seemed to be constantly on the go) we went up to Utah to see my brother-in-law, Jubal, perform as the lead in The Magic Flute at BYU. This was 1 1/2 days after coming home from Virginia. Of course we went up to SLC to pick up some fabric while we were up in that area. While in SLC I thought it might be fun to go to Temple Square. I may have been there once before, but I'm really not sure. The kids and Jeff had never been there before. It is absolutely beautiful there.
Beautiful plants and flowers.
They had so much fun running around and exploring.
Here the girls are in front of one of the statues.
Natalie was having a great time posing for me!
Drew decided to get in a little nap.
Alona lovin' the flowers.
The kids stopped to see this non-Monarch butterfly.
More flowers.
We just couldn't get enough of them!
The girls under a tree.
I love Natalie in action.
The architecture of the Salt Lake temple is amazing. The girls loved running up the steps.
Part of the Salt Lake temple.
After our day in SLC, we headed down to Provo. We got to spend time with my sister Aurelia and her husband Jubal as well as my brother Joseph and his girlfriend Julia. We went to the opera on Saturday evening. Jeff and I had never been to an opera before. It was surprisingly very funny and quite enjoyable. Jubal was fabulous in it. My favorite part was when the three witches fight over him and ooh and aah over him while he is "unconscious." We also got to visit with some friends while we were there. Our good friend Josh came to see us and we all went bowling with our friends Esther and Thad. (Are you jealous, Kristi????)
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