A Flash of December

 December was a lot of fun.  It involved a birthday party for Haley and Ryan, lots of Christmas activities, tons of crafting, and family fun.  Here are some pictures from our adventures.  First, we have a cute pic of Alexia and Ryan under the Christmas tree.

Here is Ryan eating his birthday cake.  We actually had a decorate your own cake pop bar for the party.  It was a lot of fun.  I should have taken a picture of our toppings.  Even the adults had fun decorating them!  I still had a separate little cake for Haley and Ryan though.

 Haley adored her birthday cake.  She picked it up and started eating it like a sandwich.  It was hilarious.

 Once she realized she had frosting all over her fingers, she started licking them to death.  She wanted to be sure to get every bit of frosting she could!

 Alexia and Ryan cuddling up on the bean bag, watching a movie.

 Ryan wearing daddy's glasses.

 Ryan has learned the art of using objects to make a fake mustache.  It is quite priceless.

 Even though it was December, it was still warm enough most of the time to play outside.  This is just a nice cute picture of them playing outside.

 Haley in one of the adorable outfits she got for her birthday.  I love it!!

Some Random Pics from November

 Alexia and Ryan.  They have always been such good friends and I feel so blessed for that.

Making homemade volcano's as a family.

 And a sad, priceless face from Haley.

Ryan

 These pictures are a bit fuzzy too, but they are just too cute to pass up.  I had the camera out to transfer some pictures and Ryan asked me to take some of him.  He started posing.  All I can say is that it looks like Calvin Klein has some competition!  I do apologize that they are blurry.

 I think this has to be one of my favorites!!

A Bunch of Haley

 Haley is such a doll.  She brings such joy to all our lives.  Her brother and sister adore her.  Here are some pictures of her from November.  First, doing one of her favorite things: eating.

She ADORES being outside.  She would live outside if I would let her.  This picture was taken at the park.

 The next few pictures were all from Thanksgiving.  She had so much fun running around our friends house.  This little chair was the perfect height for her to keep climbing on.

 She also adored this little bear at their house.  And what can I say?  That smile is just adorable.

 This picture is quite fuzzy, but it shows well one of the primary forms of entertainment for the night.  Haley would pick up one of the squeaky dog balls, throw it, and the dog would bring it back to her.  It was so sweet.

 Another priceless face!!

It's Been a While

 So... it has obviously been a while since I posted.  I think  I got discouraged and stopped because I can't seem to make the blog reader show on other blogs that I have updated mine.  It keep saying that the last time I posted was way back when I posted The Bat Car.  So, I feel like, since it doesn't update, that nobody reads it.  I may start a new blog as playing with the settings doesn't seem to have helped at all.  Anyway, for now, let's play catch up.  Way back in October, we had a little snow storm.  It didn't stay long, but it was there long enough to make a snow man!  The kids loved it. 

 Ryan was Optimus Prime for Halloween.  I don't have a good picture of it though.  Perhaps I will have him put on his costume so I can get a pic.

 Haley was Spiderman.  She was a cutie.

Alexia was Tinkerbell this year.  She had sooo much fun!  We went to a party at a friend's house.  They had some fun activities for the kids, then we did a little trunk or treat.

Perspective

I was playing with an empty paper towel role the other day... because when you have three kids, that is what you do!  And as I looked through the tube, one word popped into my mind.  Perspective.  Everything in our life is about perspective.  Though bad and good things happen daily, it is how we look at it that makes a difference in our lives.  If we dwell on the negative in life, we will never learn, grow, and come closer to God.  Though at times the negative points in life may seem overwhelming, if we focus on the joy and blessings we have, our life will be infinitely better.  In this picture you do not see that the table is a mess from the kids having just eaten.  All you see is a beautiful little blessing.  I have three of the greatest blessings in the world.  Without them, my life would not be complete.  I love them dearly and am so grateful for the opportunity I have to raise them.

Picking Pumpkins.... Almost

Well, last week we got a Halloween box in the mail from Papa and Grammy.  Each of the kids got a new Halloween shirt (which they love), and a gift certificate to take the family out to eat at McDonald's.  The kids were so excited!  The plan was to go pick out our pumpkins at the pumpkin patch, then go eat, then head home.  By the time we left the house, the kids were pretty hungry, so we stopped to eat first.  However, when we were done eating, the pumpkin patch was closed for the day.  Oops.  So we are going to get our pumpkins this week instead!  Here is our family picture from our outing.

And here is a picture of the kids with Aunt Sarah.  They sure do love her!

And here is an extra one of Haley, because she is just so darn cute (not saying the others aren't, but the others were more interested in the food and Halloween bucket than they were the camera).

The Flop

Before you read this post, you should know that I am currently annoyed and using the blog to vent frustration.  That being said, if you continue reading it is of your own free will and choice...

I hate our van with a passion.  Hate is not a word I commonly use... never use actually.  Even having just said it, part of me wants to take it back.  But that is not the point.  We have owned our van for 2 years.  And a good 4 of those months were when the van was in the shop and not driveable.  I will say that I have definitely learned a lot from it.  Mostly what NOT to do.  I am going to spare you the long story, primarily because I know I would feel guilty about posting my frustrations.  Suffice it to say, we have dealt with some dishonest people and have officially paid more fixing the van than we did to buy it.  Just one of the problems we had with it was over $1300 to fix.  We have had so many problems and it has been such a headache.  We are officially at the point that we have paid more money to fix it than we did to buy it, which is not cool.  The current bill is over $1000.  And that is just to pass the emissions & inspection test to make it legal to drive in PA.  So... I think I am done.  I have no idea how we are going to manage on only one vehicle.  I really don't want to drop Jeff off at 5:00 am every day.  And I hate being stuck at home and waiting for him to get home to do anything (like go get groceries).  That also cuts down  on the already minimal time I have with Jeff.  I will have to find rides to church from most likely two different families (most people don't have enough room to fit me, 3 kids, and their kids) on Sundays when he has to work.  There is no way we can afford a new vehicle right now.  It is just so frustrating.  I apologize for being so grumpy.  I am just having difficulties with this.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I am not mad at the world or anything.  It makes me sad that some people are dishonest and take advantage of and hurt others.  Despite all of that, I still feel very blessed.  No matter how hard things get for me, I know that the Lord is by my side.  He loves me.  I find great comfort in knowing that.  I find peace and happiness in the knowledge and testimony I have of the gospel.  I am grateful for the knowledge I have of eternal families.  My family brings me so much joy.  We are surrounded by so much love.  Things will work.  Somehow, it will all work out.

Haley, Ryan, and Alexia

I have been so horrible at taking pictures lately.  It is really sad.  Kids grow up so fast.  I have been looking through my pictures for the year, and as the year comes to an end, so do my pictures...  That needs to be fixed.

Here are some precious moments I do not have a picture for:

1-Haley had her 9 month checkup.  For being born at barely under 9 lbs, we thought she would be a bigger baby!  But she is still just over 16 lbs.  That puts her in the 5th percentile for weight.  She is in the 25th for height.  She is really healthy though.  Ironically, she is my eater.  She will eat anything!  And she can down almost 2 bananas in one sitting!  She loves noodles, fruits and veggies, and basically anything she can eat by herself.  She is a climber and a mover!  She is always on the go.  And she is into all those things that my other 2 never were!  You know, the toilet paper, the toilet, the garbage... yup... all those.  She still has no teeth.  I am sure they will come eventually!  And probably all at once!  She is such a joy and is always smiling!  I just love her and I am so grateful for her!!

2- So we switched Ryan and Alexia's rooms around.  Alexia and Haley had been in the bigger room, and Ryan in the smaller one.  Alexia is now in the smaller room and Ryan and Haley share the other one.  I actually really like it.  The bigger room was blue with a sports border all around it when we moved in, so now I don't have to paint it!  Alexia's room is just plain white, so I would like to paint it to bring some color and personality to it.

3-TENDER MOMENT OF THE WEEK- So, one night Haley was having a difficult time falling asleep.  She usually falls asleep really well and fast.  Well, the night she was having a hard time, Jeff and I were sitting in the front room listening on the baby monitor.  While we were debating what to do, we heard Ryan start singing You Are My Sunshine to her.  It was so sweet!!

4- Alexia just loves Kindergarten.  She is learning so much!  They use a program called Kid Writing and I absolutely adore it!  She is getting so good at writing and reading!  I am so grateful for the love she has for learning and pray that she keeps it her entire life!  She is even learning a lot at church.  She is at that age where she is really starting to understand the stories, remember them, and ask questions.  I love it!

Otherwise, things are going well here.  We are all enjoying our new house, neighborhood, ward, etc.  We feel so blessed to have as much as we do.  Our kids do so well together.  I am so grateful for the blessings we have in our lives!

Opinions

Ever heard of them?  They are something I do not often post about.  I am not an overly opinionated person.  However, there are some things I am definitely opinionated about!  Thus far, the blog has always really been about the kids.  Don't worry, it will primarily still be.  But I thought it could be fun to write some of my opinions as well.  So where should we start?  Any suggestions?  Ask me a question and I will give you my opinion.

Trenton Drafts

So I was browsing the new interface for blogger (which I love!!) and decided to look at my drafts that for one reason or another had gone unpublished.  I found some really cute ones that I sure wish I had posted!!  Anyway, I found this section of post from when Trenton was born.  I decided to go ahead and post them anyway, even though it all happened almost 4 years ago!  They are such precious memories.  So the next few posts are all from my drafts.

Grandma Westover and Trenton

Trenton was born on February 16th at 12:23 in the morning.­ He weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and was 20 inches long.­ This picture was taken the day after he was born.­ This is my Grandma Westover holding him.

Ryan and Trenton

We put Ryan and Trenton next to each other to show how much children actually grow in only 2 months.­ I couldn't believe the difference! The pink tag on Ryan is one that all kids under a year have to wear at the hospital to prove that they belong to somebody and aren't being stolen.

Blessings

Okay. I am going to try to make a really long story short. For those who want a longer version of the story, simply read the novel following the first two pictures. After having been married for ten years and not being able to have any children of their own, our friends Tina and Jared were finally able to adopt an adorable little boy. We were able to go the sealing in Salt Lake just before we came back to Ohio for school. Here is a picture of the happy family:

Tina, Jared, and Trenton

Here goes the novel. We met Tina and Jared through dance at BYU-Idaho. Tina was on the folk team and Jeff and I were on the ballroom team. Each year a team from each form of dance (ballroom, modern, and folk) went on a month long tour together at the end of the school year. The year after we were married the tour was to the east coast. I hung out with Tina quite a bit on tour. After that we became good friends. We had them over to our house for parties and visits. They got along really well with everyone in my family they met (especially my dad-he and Jared could talk for hours)! Anyway, a couple years later, they moved to Nebraska for school and we were getting ready to move to Arizona, but we still kept in touch. Not long after they left, my little sister Emily found out she was pregnant. She was between her junior and senior years of high school. After a lot of crying and debating, she decided to get married. Well, it didn't take her long to realize that he wasn't the type of man she wanted to marry and that her life was going in the wrong direction. So, she started debating again. One day she called me and asked what the names were of my friends she had met who hadn't been able to have kids. I told her and she said thanks and hung up. She looked up their profile on It's All About Love (the LDS Family Services website for adoption) and said as soon as she saw them, she knew that she was carrying their child. She went in to talk to LDS Family Services and told them she had already found the couple she would like to adopt the baby. Though she had an idea in mind of how she wanted to tell them, one night she just couldn't wait anymore. She called me and asked for their number and told me she was going to call and tell them. To tell you the truth, I was glad she wasn't waiting. I had talked to them a couple times since I knew she had decided to give the baby to them and it was just killing me! Anyway, Emily called them that night (I think it was around 10:00 or 11:00 pm their time) and told them that she was pregnant and that God had told her she was carrying their baby. Needless to say, there were a lot of tears of joy that night. I think it was well after 1:00 am before they finally went to bed.

Kindergarten Kid

 Alexia is in Kindergarten now!  She has had so much fun!  Her school is phenomenal!  I am so grateful we moved to where we did before she got into school.  I am excited for she and Ryan (in a few years) to attend school here.  Her first day was just an orientation day, but we still had to do a first day of school picture!

 And of course we had to get one with Ryan in it too.  And if we have both of them, of course it has to be one with attitude, not a boring smile one!! Haha!

The next day was Alexia's first real day of school.  We walked her over to the bus stop.  She was so excited to start!  Ryan missed her terribly that day though.  He spent all day needing my by his side and saying "I miss Alexia super much."  It was cute.  I can't say I got much housework done that day, but we did have a good time!

We had her back to school night last night.  She seems to have blended really well with her class (despite missing school for a week).  She is such a social butterfly!

A Rush of August

 I will try to go through August as fast as I can.  We got a new dog named Pepper.  She is awesome!

 We went to a ward carnival.  They had a face painting booth.  Alexia wanted her face to have sparkles.

Ryan wanted Batman.

We played outside a lot, went on a picnic or two...

 

 and Haley had some watermelon.  I'll tell you what.  That girl loves her food!!  Giving her food is a sure fire way to make it into her heart!

 And of course, she is still always smiles :-)

Fourth Fun

 For the 4th of July, we went to one of our friends house in the neighborhood for a barbeque.  Then we headed up to the hill in our neighborhood where you can see a few different firework shows.  The kids had so much fun!  They got to try out those popper things...

 And you can't have a 4th of July party without sparklers!!

 They were definitely a hit!

And what can I say, Haley is just so darn cute!!!  They were handing out the glow bracelet things and Haley grabbed one.  This picture reminds me of the Muppet Christmas Carol.  You know in the beginning of the movie when the door knocker turns into a face with the ring in his mouth?  Yup.  I wish I could put this cute little picture on the door as our knocker.  I think her big blue eyes are just darling!

The Dork Coat

Jeff always hated wearing his medical school white coat.  He called it his "dork coat."  The coats medical students wear are shorter than those doctors wear.  Well, in July, he officially graduated to the long coat!  The dork coat is gone!  He was pretty excited about that!

Old Pics

I found these old pics from Ohio of Ryan helping Jeff mow the lawn.  Though they were from a while ago, they are just so darn cute!  So I had to post them :-)