what a beautiful mess

                                                                      of 2011! I am welcoming a New Year. 2012 is going to be full of good things, experiences and lots of growing up...between the kids and Carl, there's a lot of growing to be done. This year I am going to simply enjoy my children instead of mourning the fact that they are no longer babies. I definitely miss my babies but to be able to experience their life with them and to help them become their best is exciting and I'm going to enjoy it! I'm not going to sit around and be sad and mopey (it's not really in my nature to do that but kids can do crazy things to your mind!). This year Josh will be starting school, Annabelle will go to middle school, Stephen will be baptized and Emily is going to be over a decade old...There's goi...

It must have been something really good. Yesterday I was sick. I slept all afternoon and did absolutely nothing. Emily took care of everything while I laid around and slept. And when Trevor came home from work and I was still sick, he proceeded to take care of everything. Which meant that he made dinner for the kids and breakfast, lunch and a snack for today. All I had to do was pass out muffins and put lunch in the oven. So that today, I could continue to lay around if I wanted. And considering today was a somewhat difficult day, sickness aside, it was more than appreciated. And even though, I'm in ratty old jeans, an old sweater, no make-up and hair in a ponytail, he still tells me I look pretty. He is a good, good man. (and he's not going to be very happy after reading this)

Oh yes, yes I can! HALLELUJAH! And not because it's Christmas time which is definitely deserving of some praise but because my Trevor is off for the next 6 days! Here in this house, we are the happiest when he is home.... He makes us laugh and smile and think and be rough and gentle and kind.... A recap of our day: sleep in, eat frosted shredded wheat together, sit around and goof off, shower, hang out and goof off some more, eat baked potatoes, make gifts for each other, fix the kids grilled cheese, attempt to clip Carls nails, give Carl a bath, read A Christmas Carol, watch Taylor Swift videos (at the girls suggestion) steal my wedding ring which was off so I could apply some Bag Balm , put the kids to bed,  finally give my ring back to me after a thorough frisking, shower and........... That's where we're at. I'm waiting for him to finish showering so we can watch a movie and eat chips and guacamole. 6 da...

This morning I woke up early, 6:00 a.m.. I had to let Carl out to go potty and make Trevor his lunch. I decided to stay awake instead of going back to bed like I normally would. So I made my bed, made the kids lunches, and got on the treadmill. All things I wait to do until 7:20 a.m.  I'm on the treadmill getting a good run going and I hear crying and think "not again"...I figured the kids were fighting or that Carl was bugging them (he does that sometimes to the boys). I looked behind me and see a familiar sight on Stephens face. The same look he had when Joshua got a hanger stuck in his eye. I knew immediately that something was wrong.  Josh comes to me and his finger's bleeding and Stephen is freaking.out.seriously scared. I look at Joshys finger and finally realize through the chaos that his finger got shut in the door. I grab him and stick him on the counter, get a wet towel and hold it on his finger. I thought it was okay at first glance but when I took a ...

I've used up all the allotted space in my Picasa web album which means I can no longer post photos unless I upgrade my GB by paying some money. So until I do that (which will probably be tonight) there will be no pictures of our new adorable little puppy that we named Carl. Just imagine a small, blond little bundle of fur with white paws and a white streak on his nose and you have your image of Carl. He has been so much fun. I've been against having a dog for awhile (after we had Maddie) but the kids really wanted one for Christmas and we gave in after much thought. I figure that everyone around me is having babies, Josh will be starting school next year and I just may be lonely. Sure he's a lot of work but not nearly as much work as a baby. Although he did keep us up all night last night from his whining and crying and howling. He reminds me a bit of Annabelle..... (a previously uploaded picture)

back from Boise and I'm sure not many of you knew we were even gone cause it was such a short trip. Candice and Quinn definitely knew since they watched our kids overnight. And we had a great overnight. A really great overnight. It's so nice to be alone with each other. It should be a monthly thing. Are you up for that Candice? And we got back to snow. It looks beautiful from the inside of my somewhat warm house. And I just got a call from the school and who was on the phone? Stephen. He forgot his backpack. I just laughed at him. Of course I will be taking him his backpack. But seriously? He is definitely my most favorite 7 year old boy in the whole world!

We never painted this weekend.  If Trevor's home, we tend to not want to work but wrestle and lay around and be lazy. It's funner that way anyway.  So the boys played some video games and shot the bb gun in the backyard and  the girls watched music videos and hung up some more snowflakes.  (we may be going a little crazy with the flakes) Today I taught the Young Women a lesson on wise financial principals.  Surprisingly it's been my favorite lesson to teach so far.  It was good to be reminded of my testimony that I have of being wise in our finances.  We may not be able to take the trips we want or buy all things we would like but it's nice to not be in the red each month.  There's a lot of peace in that.  After church we came home to get dinner ready cause we had some important guests~ Scott and Jenee came over for homemade cafe rio salads! I love Sundays when we get to vis...

brought to you by Joshy.  He picked a very fortuitous time to be picking his nose.  Want to know what I wished for?  (not that it would matter cause I got the smaller piece) I wished that my kids would not pick their nose.  I didn't really wish for that but I should have. 

the deacons passing sacrament.  He gets better and better at drawing each day.

has been a really great day. Here's just a few of the reasons why: * Josh and I ate our lunch together while watching Wipeout. * This afternoon we went to pick out our families Christmas gift.     I am so excited for it.     I mean...WE are so excited for it. * We went to our wards Christmas party tonight.     I absolutely love this ward.    There are so many really wonderful people and it's nice to know it's our "forever" ward. * Thanks to Quinn I have found a couple of new favorite songs.     Maybe you know these songs but for a country girl they're new to me.     Christina Perri   A Thousand Years  (from Breaking Dawn). She's beautiful like my sister in law Mckenna...     and Lenka  The Show  (it's a really fun video). * Tonight Trevor and I are going to watch Atlas Shrugged and share a blanket and drink our sodas. . And tomorrow we just might be painting. And maybe we'l...

Emily took one of my InStyle magazines to bed.  (it was all cleaned out of the images I don't want her to see) She loves those mags.  As do I... And we look a lot alike too....

Annabelle came home early yesterday from school because she had an earache.... Yeah right!  This is just some of the fun her and Josh had~ She may not have actually been sick but it was a lot of fun having her home with us!

Odd combination of words, right? Read on.... We've been sick here in this house and it's been the pits... What's up with that?!? I hate being sick, the kids hate being sick, Trevor hates being sick. Come to think of it, I don't know anyone who likes being sick. Am I wrong? NO! But we are on the mend...thank heavens. Emily gave us a FHE lesson last night on staying fit. She did a great job. Notice her wet shirt...that girl doesn't dry her hair after her shower and she gets soaked. I don't know how she can stand it. As of right now, I have on a pair of wool socks, a dress, a shirt, a sweater, a blanket, and some finger-less gloves. No wet hair and I'm still cold. Of course that could be because we keep our house at a balmy 67degrees (that's the word Trevor uses sarcastically...even he gets chilled!) On the lunch menu today? Scrambled eggs with a lot of ketchup. I allowed Josh to do most of it. He squeezed so much ketchup on ...

Because we had some yummy nachos for dinner and  a lot of these: (muddy buddies) We are going to end our night watching a movie and eating these: Back when I was a teenager my best friend had a couple of pomegranate bushes as her house.  We would pick the fruit and throw them on the ground to open them  and eat them out in the blistering heat of St. George.   Those were the good days when pomegranates were free and not 2 dollars each.... (But they are oh so worth it!) Trevor says he's never had one... His world is about to be ROCKED!!!! ( just kidding...kind of.)

When I first mentioned that we would be doing our tree trimming party Emily said "But when are we going to decorate the tree?" It's humble and beautiful, my favorite kind of tree... I love that as we put the decorations on the tree, my kids ask about them.  We talk about them and remember them and the reasons why we received them. My favorite ornament are my ballet slippers given to me when I was five by my brother Stephen.  They always get the very best spot on the tree and are always the first ones I put on.  I'm not sure if they're my favorite because I always wanted to be a ballerina (still do!)  or if it's because they remind me of Stephen and how much he is missed and loved.  I'm positive it's the latter.  I wish so much that my children could have known him and all his wonderful talents and quirks! He would have been a fantastic uncle but I also know that my kids will  know him and...