Costumes!

So Halloween is one of my favorite Holidays! People wonder why I dress up, but getting the looks I get from the adults who don't dress up makes it all worth it. So here are our costumes this year.

Brindley as Punky Brewster with Brandon the dog.

Karissa as Hannah Montana.

Lexie as the Cutest little which on the block.

Kristi as the Old Which.

The Old Which with Minnie Me!

Jim quite likes his TATS!

Ok, so yes I have too much fun!

I hope everyone else had a good Halloween!

Lexie's fun day!

I hope it was fun for her. I woke up early and got her cake made. The only thing she wanted for breakfast was a banana. We got her a banana and made her chocolate chip pancakes. She opened her presents and we took her to the pumpkin walk. She then picked McDonald's for dinner and we had cake and icecream at home. She is so excited to be three. Here are some birthday shots of her.

She kept trying to lick the frosting so I told her to just take a bite!

UEA...Utah Elk Hunters' Association

So I don't confuse you....This was the weekend before Mom went into the hospital. I just wanted to share about our fun weekend.

Actually UEA was during the deer hunt this year. Jim and I weren't lucky enough to draw a tag this year, but we went south anyway. We spent the weekend with Mom and Dad. Ryan made a camp on the mountain Saturday, so we went up and joined them for hot dogs. Man I miss the mountains down there. Here are a few shots I got of the kids at camp.

Another Update...

Thanks again to everyone for all of the prayers and concern for Mom. An unexpected complication came up the night before surgery was scheduled. I'm not going to go into details because I don't want to re-live the whole situation again. The surgery is post-poned for 10-14 days. Mom is recovering from the whole ordeal and will hopefully be released from the hospital on Monday so she can prepare once again for surgery.

Lexie Turns 3

Three years ago today we were in the middle of a very traumatic and trying time in our lives. It is said that through trying times, the greatest blessings come. Well, that was certainly true in this case. Our Lexie turns 3 today. She is doing exceptionally well, and is learning and growing so quickly right now. We love her, and are glad she is a part of our family.

LOVE YOU LEXIE!

10/25/2005

10/25/2006

10/25/2007

10/25/2008

Quick Update....

Just wanted to do a quick update on how things are going with Mom....for those of you that have been following. First of all, thanks for all of the prayers. Mom has said several times that she has felt peace and comfort and we know it is coming because of the prayers. We all as a family have felt the peace also. It's amazing how the Lord works.
Mom had an Angiogram (not sure of the spelling) yesterday. It went really well. From the sounds of things they won't have to replace the mechanical valve she already has. They will just replace another valve that has been having issues. Mom is still in the hospital so they can get her blood regulated for the surgery along with her potassium level and keep an eye on her kidneys. The surgery is supposed to happen tomorrow (Thursday). They hadn't talked to the surgeon himself when I last had an update, so we don't have a time.
Aunt Sheron has been here with us which has been a great comfort to Mom along with us girls. Thanks Aunt Sheron! We love you!
Thanks to all of you for your support.

Tagged

Five Joys

1- Having Jim as my husband

2-Being a Mom to three girls

3- Camping/Nature

4- Watching others feel joy

5- Accomplishing something that I have put off for a long time

Five Fears

1- Having someone close to me die before their time.

2- Being in a car crash...the airbag specifically.

3- Spiders

4- Snakes

5- Having to move farther away from family for a job.

Five Obsessions

1- TiVO

2-Blogging

3- Eating

4- Spending Money....which I don't have.

5- Spending all the time I can... when I'm not watching TiVO....with my family.

Five Surprising Facts

This one is hard. I don't have many surprises.

1- I dream of being an Olympic figure skater. (I know I'm a little old)

2- I also hope to run in a marathon some day. This one I do hope to accomplish.

3- I'm the one who climbs on the roof to hang Christmas lights...Not Jim.

4- I like to go deer/elk hunting. I get buck fever every year at this time.

5- I don't do much ironing... Jim does it (my clothes included)

Five Quirky things about me

I agree with Megan on a couple of these.

1- I can't stand chompers/smackers either.

2- I can't stand being breathed on when I'm sleeping.

3- I am very set on traditions that I had when I was a kid and try to keep them going with my family.

4- I can't stand when someone leaves the toilet lid open. If you come to my house and use my bathroom, CLOSE THE TOILET LID!

5- Because I was a waitress for nearly 10 years...I am very judgemental of waitresses now.

It's a BOY..., or a GIRL!

I have been trying for some time to reason with Kristi that finding out what this baby is going to be is a sensable thing to do. It will allow for us some time to prepare, get the room ready, shop for clothes; you know, all the pratical things. Kristi has always wanted to have a surprise baby, but for all up to this point, she has relinquished her position at the last minute, and decided that it was necessary to know. Sitting in the chair during our ultrasound yesterday, I was certain that she would once again see the light, and we would know by now what we were having. It has been the subject of much dispute around our house for the last, oh, I don't know, 4 months.  I had decided that I had voiced my opinion, and she knew where I stood. I was going to allow her to make the final choice. Well, some things never change, but not here. She held to her guns, so now we still have a baby IT. She also, as part of her argument was selling me on the idea of me being the one to get to buy the first gender specific clothes for the baby while she was still in the hospital. Hmm, I wonder if Dr. Dave has a root canal opening on that day. I just love shopping for baby clothes, by myself. Oh, how cute! Anyway, we now have a nursery that will not see paint until AFTER the baby is born, and a closet that will not see clothes until AFTER the baby is born, and I get to go shopping for new baby clothes!

I see the light!

As a footnote, the baby is doing great, and developing nicely. The doctor says our chance of having another ordeal like Lexie is unlikely. We continue to pray that the baby will be healthy, and that Kristi will be able to carry IT full term.  Kristi and I are thankful and excited to be having another baby.

PUNKY POWER!

I know I am not the only one out there that watched Punky Brewster growing up. I thought Punky was so cool. I even had a pair of her shoes! I also used to wear my hair in piggy-tails all of the time. (But I don't think the piggy-tails were to be like Punky.) I have chatted about Punky with Michelle several times because she apparently was a Punky fan also. Sorry Michelle if that was a secret you didn't want out. Anyway, I never thought I would get to see another episode of it again. Two nights ago Jim's brother, Matt called while at Sam's Club. He had seen the first season on DVD there and wanted to know if I wanted it. Matt is one that remembers those little things like what your favorite candy bar is and will surprise you with it. He remembered how much I liked Punky Brewster and when he saw the last copy at Sam's he thought of me. I of course got so excited and asked him to get it for me. He was so excited for me to have it that he even drove it out to me that night. Thanks Matt! So far I have only made it through about 4 episodes, but I am loving it. My girls are loving it too. They wanted to watch it all afternoon yesterday. I love the fact that they like a show that I watched all the time. PUNKY POWER!!!

Thanks!

Thanks to all of you for the words of comfort. I appreciate all of you and your prayers. For you two that made the comment about Wayne County....I would love to move back down there. It would just have to be on the Sevier County side. We have talked about it though. Once again, thanks to all of you.

Hope, Faith and Understanding and a little football.

To start out with the football game was awesome. We were really worried about the weather and if we were going to get rained on. It didn't start raining until after we got home. It was fun being at the game and just feeling the excitement there. The spot we picked to sit was mixed with both BYU and USU fans. It was so funny to listen to the fans make comments loud enough for everyone around them to hear. There were some highschool boys sitting behind us that didn't understand some of the calls made during the game, but they sure humored themselves in making fun of the "refs" and those calls that they didn't know. At the opening of the 2nd half Jim said all he was hoping for was that the Aggies would score on BYU and that Hall would get sacked. Well, any of you following BYU knows that the last two games they have played they have held the other team scoreless. Yes, the Aggies scored twice on BYU and Hall got sacked. I do like BYU and would clap when they scored, but when the Aggies scored, you knew who I was cheering for!

Hope, Faith and Understanding.....

As today has started out I am so thankful for the messages that were shared over this conference weekend. I am not one to vent to others (other than Jim) or to share my hardships, but today I need a place to let it out. I know we all have experienced times when things just seem to crash down on us and we wonder how we are supposed to make it through. I know that if we stay close to our Heavenly Father we will make it through. Right now I am struggling seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Mom and Dad left this morning after a great weekend, but also leaving us knowing that Mom has to have heart surgery again within the next couple of months. Then becoming frustrated with the job search for Jim and I know the pregnancy hormones aren't helping any, but that's where I am at this morning. Back in the spring Jim recieved a Priesthood Blessing from his dad. In the blessing Jim was told that something was going to happen that would try our faith. Hearing that we both were kinda curious as to what was going to happen. As our summer started, so many unexpected things happened that we struggled to deal with. With hearing the blessing that Jim recieved we knew we had to try even more to stay close and rely on Heavenly Father. In doing this, we have felt peace with everything. We know we will be taken care of, but we have no idea what is going to happen. Just when we think things are looking good it all gets pushed farther away from our reach and once again we are left wondering when the end of all of this is going to come. This is where I have found strength in many of the messages that were shared in Conference. Now I just need to use this strength and have Faith and believe in that peace that we have felt. I also need to rely on the atonement to pull us through these trials. I know the understanding may not come for awhile, but I have to have the Faith. I keep wondering why we have to go through all of this when we experienced the trial we did with Lexie, then I realize how easy things have been over the last year and a half and that we needed something to wake us up again and to keep pushing us to move forward and increase our knowledge and understanding of the gospel.

I am so thankful for my little family and the understanding they have of everything that is going on. I have been moved to tears many times by the little things my girls have done to help us through this time. We were at Sam's club on Saturday with Mom. Brindley saw the cheeseballs and I told her to go ahead and put them in the basket. Me, not even realizing what she was doing, before we even got to the end of the isle she had pulled out and counted her money and was giving it to me to pay for the cheese balls. I know she is only 8, but I also know she understands things alot more than I do sometimes. I thank Heavenly Father every day for Jim and my girls and no matter what happens we will always have each other.

Football!

Yes, I like football! I especially like to go to the games. There have been a few times that I haven't had a voice the next day after attending a game! Today I get to go to the USU/BYU game. Yes, I know that USU is the underdog, but just the fact that I get to go gets me excited. What makes this even better is that Mom and Dad are coming to go with us. I am so excited that I get to go to a game with them again. When I was in grade-school Dad had season tickets to BYU games. I loved going with him and cheering and singing the cougar fight song! I still have the little key chain that used to play the cougar fight song. So yes, we are BYU fans and USU fans. I think I will be wearing Aggie Blue tonight though. Good luck to both teams!