So Big!

This baby of mine is so much fun! We all love him to pieces. My phone is chalk full of pictures of him. He is super smiley, finally! Has found his voice and loves to squeal. He rolls around like a crazy man and runs when he is in the walker. The kids are so good with him and can't get enough. They worry anytime he is fussy and love to make him laugh. Life is good! I was blessed with amazing kids that love each other and that couldn't make me happier!

January 24....I now have a true "Pre-Teen"!

NOAH -
Noah is 11! I cannot believe it, but at the same time, it feels like forever ago that he was my one and only. Noah is a very special kid and I can't even begin to tell you how much I love him. He is very strong willed and stubborn, but he is a very good natured and kind. He loves his brother's and sister so much and is very nurturing and protective. He loves to tease and make people laugh. He is very sensitive and does not like to see people hurt. Noah is very good at sports and loves each sport he is doing at the time! Football is his favorite though and he can't wait for the season to start every year! He has found a spot as the Center and loves to play as much as he can. I am so proud of him. I am so proud of the young man he is becoming.
This year for birthdays we decided we are going to do "Family Birthday". (no friend parties this year:( ). We took the kids to Tucano's (Noah's choice) Grandma and Grandpa J joined us. Then on Sunday, his actual birthday, we had cake and ice cream with Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Steve. We had a fun weekend celebrating him!

5th grade has been a little bit of a challenge for us! It is hard to learn to be "responsible" for the work you are required to do! He has been able to do a lot of fun things, like the Science fair project, and he is part of the "Battle of the Books" club. I am glad that he wants to join in and try new things. I am just glad we have 1 more year before Jr. High!

Noah- we love you to pieces and are so glad you are part of our family. Happy Birthday bud!

Schools out...what do you do?

We decided to take the kids away for the weekend before they went back to school after the new year. We spent the night at a hotel in Layton, went to see the new Peanuts movie, grabbed a bite to eat and swam! The kids love going to hotels. It is a vacation every time!

Christmas and New Years 2015

It is no secret that I love the holidays! Christmas this year was full of love, wonderment, family, surprises, yummy food, cold nights wrapped in warm blankets, friends, and fun. The kids had a great season. Noah is older, so Christmas has become a little different for him, but still a magical time of year! It was so much fun to have Beau with us this year and to see his cute smile with all that went on. I sure am grateful for my beautiful family and for the birth of the Savior. We are so blessed.

New Years, we had Ricci, Jim, Darren, Erin, Daniel and Whitney and family's come over for games and yummy food. (that we all picked up from different places!) We had a great time and actually made it until midnight, if you can even believe that! I love my family so much and I love to have them over to play. Happy New Years! Here's to a year full of new beginnings! Welcome 2016. 

Our Home

I am truly in love with our house. We have been here only a year, however, I feel like this is where we are going to be forever! I have NEVER felt that way in the 11 other places we have lived. I love cleaning it and making it beautiful. I love picking the weeds out front and planting things in our yard. I just love it. We have the best neighbors and the best ward. The kids have friends to play with all over our neighborhood! I know that the Lord led us here for reasons that are obvious and many reasons we do not yet know. I am so happy to finally be able to say that we have "planted our roots"! My poor kids do ask on occasion when we will be moving, just because they are so used to that. It makes me feel terrible. I am just happy that I am able to finally say, "we are HOME"!

End of Another Year....Playing Catchup!

I cannot believe that 2015 is just about over. We are coming up on Christmas, just 4 days away! My kids are so excited, there is snow on the ground and fun in the air. I love this time of year. It has come so quickly and I am already getting sad that it is almost over. Below are a few things I have missed to document:

Family Pictures - November 2015. I am not super in love with them but they work for now! 

Football 2015
Noah did great! He had a fun team that did really well. We are already excited for next season!

 

This was our first Halloween in our house, the kids had so much fun getting a ton of candy...we have a lot of neighbors that go "all out" for Halloween. It was fun. We had Bat Girl, Bat Man, Blue Shadow, and of course, a Ninja. (not sure why the pics are blurry..boo!)

  

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Johnson's this year. As always, the food was super delicious, the kids had a ball running around the church and playing together, and the adults were able to chat. I am so grateful for such wonderful family and the blessing that our Heavenly Father so selflessly gives to us.

 

 After Thanksgiving, we were all excited to decorate! I love our house...that we have now been in for a year! And I love the Holidays. My kids had so much fun going through our decoration boxes and asking questions about what we have and finding the ones that they have made. Such a magical time of year!

Beau is getting so big. He is almost six months old already and such a fun little guy to have in our home. We love him to pieces.

My beautiful sister in law, Whitney, gave us the scare of our lives. She suffered a brain aneurysm and we almost lost her. She spent 1.5 months in the hospital but is now how and on the road to recovery. We have witnessed so many miracles and are so very grateful for the power of the priesthood and the power of prayer.

I am sure there are so many things that I have missed, but right now, my camera is full of Beau pictures and not much else! lol. Priorities!

Bitter Sweet

The week of Feb. 17th was so much tougher than it usually is. We celebrated my beautiful Mother. This was the first time in years that we, as siblings, all(minus Amy and Stacy) got together to take her flowers. While at the cemetery, cute Daniel asked Chris to give us a prayer. It was beautiful and sweet and perfect! I love my family so much. I could never have endured the pain alone. The Lord sure knows what he is doing!! We then went to dinner altogether. It was a great night!

Also on Feb. 17th, Sandy went in for surgery on her hip. She fell off of her stool in the kitchen. It was a bit concerning and due to the nature of the day already, it is fair to say we were all nervous! Everything turned out fine and she is in rehab getting physical therapy to help her movement. She is doing well, thank the heavens!

Feb. 19th we received the call that my beautiful Grandma Maxine went back to our Heavenly Father. Even though we knew this day was coming, it did not make it any easier. Grandma has always been such a huge part of my life. There will be a void without her here. I am so grateful to know that we will be together again. And to know that she is with my mom, grandpa and so many others that have gone before her, it makes me smile. We took the kids to St. George for her funeral. It was beautiful. So many love her and wanted to say goodbye, it was a wonderful sight. I have been so blessed with such a wonderful family and that all started with my Grandma and Grandpa! Because of her, I will "never take a wooden nickle" I will always "remember I have precious cargo in my car" and I will live life to the fullest with a zest for life that she always carried. Each time I drink green tea I will think of her!! I love you Grandma.