Thanks for the stickers, Grandma!

Peter says: "I am loved."

A Very Special Day

On the Fourth of July I turned 30. My birthday present was better than anything I ever could have imagined--my eldest child was baptized and my fifth child was blessed. I am embarrassed to say that I really have struggled with this birthday, but Heavenly Father planned these events this way to teach me what is most important in life. He gave me a taste of heaven and having had a taste, I only want to get there more than I did before. And he helped me see more clearly the reminders I have of heaven every day--my family. It was a great day.

Eight Years Old

My sweet Eden turned eight years old (cue tears) on Friday. We all enjoyed swimming and then ravioli and Phantom of the Opera cake.

It's that time again! Birthday Time!

Birthdays at our house happen all summer, and I like to make fun birthday cakes. The tradition for second birthdays is to make a cake in the shape of the birthday child's favorite stuffed animal. Thus, we have a blue moose cake.

Happy Birthday, Stevie!

Hannah chose a Hello Kitty cake.

I am trying to blog more frequently, so as a result, you are getting a total of 87 words. You'll have to follow our family mantra: "You get what you get and you don't get upset."

Christmas fun!

Here are a few photos of Christmas break, in reverse chronology, since I haven't figured everything out about this blogging thing.

Happy New Year!

We celebrated peacefully with Halifax, Canada at 8 pm MST.

Snow Cave Fun!

Stephen (and the kids) made a huge snow cave in our driveway. All had fun except Mom, who had to worry about crushed children and suffocation and then was required to shimmy into the cave, which had to have its door enlarged in order to avoid a Winnie the Pooh re-enactment.

Preston Family Nativity Play, Christmas Eve 2008

Leaving to see The Nutcracker with Grandma Sharon. They talked about this for weeks!

Fun with the Kidman Family!

(1&2)Playing with Grandpa and Grandma
(3) Auntie Nicole gave me this cool chicken-chucking gun!

Here are the kids in Christmas PJ's. The girls' were made by Grandma Sharon with matching dolly nightgowns. Thanks, Grandma!

Merry Christmas All!

Merry Christmas 2008!

We are so excited for Christmas this year! It is wonderful to remember all of our blessings and friends and family.

We are glad you have been part of our lives and we say have a very merry Christmas to you. We hope this letter finds you happy and enjoying the season of rejoicing with your family.

This is what we’ve been doing this year.

Steve—Steve passed the patent bar on the first try and became a registered patent attorney. He then got accepted to BYU’s Master’s of electrical engineering program and is working hard (as always) at that for another year. He is grateful to have school breaks at Christmas time.

Desiree—Des has been hard at work (and play) at home. She is still homeschooling and has enjoyed learning about the Byzantine Empire and the solar system with the kids. She also loves to watch the light turn on as they learn something new. Life had bit of a hiccup this fall though, when we were excited to find out she is expecting another Preston in May!

Eden—Eden has been up to her adventures, including skiing, piano, reading, and tracking down the “robber” who stole her scooter. She is always having an amazing adventure and unfairly has to be interrupted to do school. But, she’d never have known that she could sequester herself like a medieval monk and illuminate beautiful manuscripts if she hadn’t been interrupted for a few minutes.

Rebekah—Rebekah has been learning to read, and although that is a process of hard work for a kid, it has been paying off. She loves school and begs to do math. Sometimes she complains that Eden has more school to do than she does. She is also very giving and the first to share her candy from her piano teacher with her eager younger siblings in the car.

Hannah—Hannah has been having a great time in her co-op preschool and with her best friend Annie. She can be found wearing a princess dress at almost any time, including Halloween night and the next morning. She often refers to herself as “Princess Hannah” unless she says that her name is no longer Hannah it is Curly or Hello Kitty. She keeps us chuckling.

Stevie—Stevie has displayed his own personality this year, including flexing his muscles during Sacrament meeting for the little girl behind us. He is determined and full of energy. He loves to be outside and part of the action in any situation. He likes to dance with his sisters (and mom and dad), box with his dad, and plays the “UH-OH” dropping game incessantly.