Pictures

Awile back I decided that I would no longer take my girls to a photo studio again. Gone are the days of screaming girls because they don't want to sit still, unfriendly and not so good lookin' photographers, a sweating mommy who is about ready to pull out whatever hair I have left on my head and in the end not so good pictures that I paid too much for. I have always wanted to be a photographer in my own way and so I just take the girls pictures myself. I like how natural they are and it only costs me a few dollars to get prints from Costco!! These are a few of the most recent pictures of them taken in our back/front yard. I just love these girls!!

Merry Christmas

Today is Christmas and we are so grateful to celebrate this holiday together as a family. We recognize this day as the day of our Savior's birth and through Him and with Him we can live again and be with our Heavenly Father and families forever.

We are also blessed with the love of all of you, our family and friends and we wish you a Merry Christmas and hope that you have lots of joy and peace this holiday season.

Our tree this year. The top is a little lop-sided but since it's a fake tree we can fix that pretty easy!!

A lot of New Posts

My two Favorite Ornaments this year:

This one I found at Goodwill

Jessica MADE this Owl one for me (how cute is this owl?)

What I've been up to on my sewing machine:

Stockings for the fab five!
This took a lot of trial and error, but in the end I'm really proud of myself

Crayon rolls for the girls for Christmas. I'm hoping to make bags to match.

P.S. Does anyone know how to get these posts to line up right?? It's really buggin' me!

My "Treasures"

Of all the gifts I have ever received, these three beautiful, healthy and creative girls are my most treasured gifts of all. My goal this new year is to enjoy more moments with them and to not take things so seriously. I want to have more fun with them and to speak more softly to them. I want them to always know how much I love them and how lucky I am to have them and to be able to be home with them. I want to be a good example to them. I want them to know how much the Savior means to me and how much He loves them and wants them to succeed and be happy here on this earth. This may seem like an easy thing, but in my day to day life I struggle with living in the moment and remembering what truly is most important right now. I will strive to do these things for my "treasures" so they in turn will do the same for their "treasures".

ROckin' Around the Christmas Tree

The girls have been dancing at a local studio here for the past 8 weeks and they had their Christmas Party/Recital last week. Gracie and Abby danced to "OH Christmas Tree" and Bryanna ended up doing a solo performance to "Rockin' around the Christmas Tree" . They had a lot of fun and I love watching them feel so good about themselves.

P.S. Abby insisted on wearing a pink skirt under her black one !!

Holiday Parties

Both Gracie and Bryanna had parties at school last week. Earlier in the week Bryanna sang with the rest of the 1st graders then her party was on Friday. Gracie also got to perform Christmas songs with the kindergarten classes and then had a pinata breaking party in her class. The picture is of Gracie with a Santa Clause bag mask over her head!! I love to be able to attend these events and to help with the girls classrooms.

Christmas Traditions in Utah

While we lived in Utah we took advantage of being able to visit Temple Square at Christmas time with our friends the Sprouls. We were able to go 2 years in a row before we moved. This picture is from 2005 ( I can't find 2006 pictures, aaarrhhh).

It is beautiful and peaceful and the nativity is awesome. We also take time to go inside and see the Christus! We enjoyed our time each year and are grateful to the Sprouls for inviting us! I am thankful for the memories.

Favorite Christmas Book

This book is my all time favorite Christmas Book. I first got it as a child and loved the pictures and story. My parents had it a for a few years after I got married and then found it and gave it to me (again) one Christmas. Now I love to read it to my girls and last night Bryanna said, "Mommy, this is my favorite Christmas book too"! It's a special story and it reminds me that Christmas doesn't have to be big, just meaningful and full of love and family!

Christmas Lights and Hot Chocolate

Last night we had a family outing to go look at Christmas Lights. We were in search of one house that supposedly had a big production, but we didn't find it. We did however see lots of other beautifully decorated homes. The girls loved looking at the lights and drinking their hot chocolate in the car with their jammies and slippers on. We listened to Christmas music and enjoyed our time together. I love to do things that make my girls smile!!

I love Christmas

I saw a quote in a magazine that said,


"Christmas isn't a season , it's a feeling."


That is exactly how i feel. I love everything about Christmas. I love the feelings I get when I see the decorations, the cards/photos I receive from family and friends, giving presents, my Christmas CD's, Christmas movies, ornaments, lights, and most of all the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ. I love how this time of year reminds us of His love and service. This time of year makes me want to be a better person and to show more love. I love how this time of year "feels". I hope we all can remember the true feelings of Christmas and that we can return those feelings to others.

Happy Thanksgiving 2008

I have been trying to find a picture of Thanksgivings past but it's been hard. Looking through my scrapbooks I discovered that the last time we had a family Thanksgiving with my side was in 2003!! And the last Thanksgiving with Derek's family was in 2005. This picture is from Thanksgiving 2007 after we had just moved here to Nevada (Derek was taking the picture). The last 3 years we have had our own little family Thanksgivings and it has been great because I am so Thankful for my husband and children and I love them, they are my life.

I do however, miss my family terribly!! The holidays always bring out the emotion in me and the homesickness comes back. I have a lot of fond memories of the holidays with family, mine and Dereks'. We are so lucky to have such wonderful families and traditions. . Today I am grateful for that and for all the many blessings we do have even though we are far from family. I am grateful for cameras so that I am able to capture all of the many memories and preserve them and have them for my children to treasure. I am grateful for the gospel and the knowledge I have of my Savior and for His sacrifice so that I could live here on this earth and have a family and enjoy this journey here. I am grateful for loving and hardworking parents who are there for me and my family when we need them. I am grateful for such good friends who are such a big part of our lives. I am grateful for my health and my children/husbands health. I am grateful for Derek and for his job and that he is willing to work hard to provide for us and makes it possible for me to stay home and take care of our 3 beauriful girls.

We hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving wherever you are and whatever you may do. Make lots of memories and never take your family for granted!!

Dance, Dance

Recently we put the girls in dance here at a local studio. They LOVE it!! It's only once a week and they ask when they get to go to dance the night we leave their class. It's so good for them! The dance studio was asked to perform at the high school during the craft fair this past weekend. All the girls practiced their dances and then went to the HS for the big performance. Our friend Raychel was there too, and she was so sweet to give the girls some of her flowers after their performance.

The pictures aren't very good but it's all I have.

Dads-n-Donuts

Our elementary school puts on a dads-n-donuts every year and this year Bryanna and Gracie and Abby w got to go with their daddy. Since I am part of the PTA I was helping with all the food/drinks while Derek sat with the girls and ate breakfast. He even won a prize and let the girls pick it out )a ball). Derek is such an awesome Daddy to our girls, they are so lucky to have him. Me too!!

Sleepover!

My girls had their very first sleepover with friends. Our friends in our ward had a baby and I offered to have their girls over to our house. They had a lot of fun and although it was hard to get them to sleep I enjoyed watching them have so much fun!!

One Word game

"One Word Game".

Where is your mobile phone? bag
Where is your significant other? work
Your hair color? brown
Your mother? inspiration
Your father? hardworking
Your favorite thing? crafts
Your dream last night? dunno
Your dream goal? skinny
The room you're in? front
Your hobby? crafts
Your fear? dying
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Kuna
Where were you last night? shopping
What you're not? fake
One of your wish-list items? camera
Where did you grew up? Oregon
The last thing you did? email
What are you wearing? clothes
Your TV? Dora
Your pets? none
Your computer? Dell
Your mood? anxious
Missing someone? parents
Your car? blue
Something you're not wearing? shoes
Favourite shop? Target
Your summer? busy
Love someone? Lots
Your favorite color? green
When is the last time you laughed? dunno
When is the last time you cried? tuesday

To all of you who want to , play along and add this on your blog, but fill in your own answers (obviously)

Happy Halloween!

For Halloween this year we used costumes that were in our "dress up" box. Thanks to Uncle Shawn and his international gifts to the girls, we had a variety to choose from. Bryanna and Abby were China girls and Gracie was a witch, wearing a dress from Dubai. They were all as cute as can be. We went trick-or-treating around the block and thankfully it wasn't too cold. There are alot of kids in our neighborhood so we didn't stay out too long. After the girls picked out their favorite candy the rest was bagged up and sent with daddy to work. We also got a pumpkin pizza from papa murhpy's. We have done that the last few years so we're making it one of our Halloween traditions!!

Carving Pumpkins

This activity I hand over to Derek because I can't stand dealing with the guts of pumpkins. The girls each drew a face on their pumpkin and then they proceeded to empty the guts out and cut out their faces. I happened to have latex gloves for them to wear so they didn't get too messy. We baked the pumpkin seeds but nobody ate them!! The girls were most excited about putting the candle in the pumpkin to see them glow in the dark!!

Monster Cupcakes

I made these for Gracie's Pre-K class Halloween party. It took some time but it was fun to see the end result. I got the recipe off of Familyfun.com.

School Halloween Parties

Bryanna and Gracie had Halloween parties at school. Gracie was a princess and Bryanna a witch. They got lots of sweet treats and had fun playing with school friends. Gracie's class put on a play of 'Where the Wild Things Are and then went on a "costume parade" at the "big" school Abby was happy to tag a long too!

Halloween Fun with Friends

The other day we had some fun with our friends the Wolz girls. We had "mummy" hot dogs and "googly" eyes for dinner. The girls made Halloween rice krispies and we painted their nails Halloween colors. It was a lot of fun!! Thanks to the Wolz girls for inviting us!

The Pumpkin Patch

We went to the Pumpkin Patch on Saturday . It was by far the most expensive pumpkin patch we have ever been to, but it was all about the experience. The girls got to pet/feed goats, watch pig races, do the corn maze, and the bounce house. We found 3 perfect pumpkins and had a good time.

Pumpkin Thief!!!

Sometime between 6 and 9:30 pm last night two of our pumpkins on our front porch were taken. I have been really mad about this. Even though it is only pumpkins, they were ours and nobody has the right to come up to my house and take something that isn't theirs. I am really irritated! Our neighbors house got "Tagged" last weekend and I felt so bad for them and then angry about whoever those laim people were that did it!! Losing pumpkins is not as severe as that but has it really come down to not being able to decorate outside for the holidays because dishonest people think they can violate your property and take what is obviously not theirs?? UUGGGGHHHH!!! Now we will be putting our NEW pumpkins on the back porch. I may be totally overreacting but tonight I don't care!