Christmas!

We were so excited about Christmas that we forgot to take pics with the still camera. Sorry no pics to post but don't worry, we have lots of video! We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We spent both Christmas Eve and Christmas day with Jeremy's family. I love the Christmas Eve tradition they have of honoring Jesus Christ and his birth. This year I volunteered to do the program. My relief society did an awesome Christmas party this year so I pretty much just repeated the program they put together. It was so wonderful to feel the Christmas spirit!

My friend and I made the kids pajamas this year. They all looked so cute in them. Kinley had Dora with butterflies and the boys had what else, but Dallas Cowboys pj's. Super cute! Kinley asked Santa for a scooter this year. She was so disappointed when she walked in Christmas morning and did not see a scooter. She was very relieved when she opened the box that had been hiding her scooter!

The kids are at such a fun age! Kinley got so excited about everything she opened and so did Ty!! Travis is very respectful and thanked us for everything we got him. All the kids got lots of stuff they asked for so it was fun for all of us!

Jeremy is a wonderful husband! He totally hooked me up like he always does. He gave me two wonderful gifts this year among the others. He did the 12 days of Christmas for me....everyday he would write down a special, thoughtful reason why he loves me!!! He also took the kids to Brushfire and made me an awesome platter with all their hand prints on it! Priceless!!

Christmas Projects

The kids and I have been having lots of fun with Christmas projects this year! McKinley and her best friend, Aaliyah, had a great time last sunday making snowmen! It has been so fun to enjoy the season with my kids this year! They are getting old enough to have fun with it! We also made a snow flake project, which was a donation from a friend, and poinsettias from the library. Thanks Karen and Cyndi for providing us with fun projects to enjoy!!

Tis the season

I don't have a lot to blog about but it is the season and my last blog is not very uplifting. We are in the Christmas spirit at our house! The tree has been hunted and is now fulfilling it's Christmas wish. It is decorated beautifully and is filling our home with that wonderful Christmas tree smell! I love real trees!!

We also have a cute little table all decorated with Christmas nick nacks. For some strange reason my kids think they are toys. I cannot get them to leave them alone. It is a pain but they are so curious about them. It's so fun to have kids around at Christmas time!

Kinley has made it very well known that she wants a scooter this year. She sat on Santa's lap and said loud and clear that is what she wants. Now she says he is making it. She wonders what color it will be and if it will have Princesses or Tink on it! Too cute!

Before we know it Christmas will be here and gone. I am trying to enjoy every minute of it with my kids while they are little. Merry Christmas everyone!

Assumptions

I found out a few days ago that one of my neighbors has it out for me. There is this old couple that lives a few houses down. I have had three run-ins with the old man and NONE of them have been good. They haven't been horrible but definitely not pleasant.

So last week I was going visiting teaching with a mutual neighbor/friend and she informed me I have reason to be concerned about this old man. Turns out he called her a few weeks back to "Make sure I was okay?" He told her he has driving behind me, I just had my kids in the car and I was laughing hysterically. Anyone that has had a three year old knows that can happen at any given minute with the funny things they say. He didn't come right out and say it but he eluded to the fact that he thinks I have a drug problem.

Needless to say I have been pretty upset about this man and his completely inaccurate assumptions about me. My friend suggested I take the time to get to know him so he can see the true me. I have decided I will not WASTE my time on such a complete jerk. I have better things to do with my time like be a good wife, mother and friend and yes.....laugh about the things in life that bring me joy.

So, man from down the street, you can take your bad attitude and wrong assumptions and shove it!!!!!!! I don't care what you think anymore.

Raggedy-Ann Eye Patch

Again with my special pictures. This post is about how wonderful my friends are. I have a friend down the street from me that I have known and worked with since I moved to St. George. She is so wonderful, she fills my Mom void since my Mom lives so far away. This is the wonderful gift she gave to McKinley a few weeks ago.

Kinley went to the eye doctor and has to continue wearing her eye patch for a minimum of 3 more months. I was disappointed when I found out, it is a trial every day to get her to wear it. So my friend came over and asked Kinley to tend Raggedy-Ann. You see Raggedy-Ann has a lazy eye too. She needed someone to tend her and make sure she wears her glasses and her eye patch everyday. My friend also brought Raggedy-Ann some extra eye patches so Kinley can change them to match hers!

My friends are the BEST!!!!!

Poor Travis

This was Travis two days ago, poor kid. Tuesday night after young men's/young women's he got hurt pretty bad. He and a group of friends were roaming the neighborhood when this happened. (Ty just had to be in the picture. His eyes are closed!!!)

Trav spotted a mobile basketball hoop in the street and decided to try to dunk on it, since it wasn't too high. Well he did manage to dunk! He also managed to pull the entire thing down on himself. I whole stand fell over and the hoop landed on his wrist.

He and his group of friends came home and told me they thought he broke his arm. It was really swollen and bleeding a little. His friends left after they knew he was in good hands. As soon as they were out the door the tears started falling. He was being tough so the girls (and boys) wouldn't see him cry.

Jeremy took him to the ER and three hours later he came home with a temporary soft cast. He only has to wear this for 3-5 days. It has been pretty difficult for Travis to try to function without the use of his right hand and especially his thumb. He is a trooper and all will be back to normal in a few days!!

My Thoughts, I'm Thankful

So I have been thinking a lot lately, scary I know. I have been stuck in my house, yet again, with sick kids. I feel so bad for them. Ty is okay. He has a runny nose, boogery eyes and lots of sneezes and coughs but he acts just fine. He still wrestles every chance he gets. But I feel so bad for McKinley....she has been sick with a stomach ache for 4 days. She acts fine in the morning then really sick at night. It's weird.

In being home with the kids a lot I have been thinking about how LUCKY I am. I have had so many friends and family around me going through extremely rough times. We all have hard times but these are extreme. Some have suffered major loss, others serious accidents and some have had every difficult, life threatening, surgeries performed on their loved ones. In knowing this about a lot of my friends I feel extremely lucky to know that we have not been stricken by any of this heartache.

I know I am blessed to have the wonderful life that I do. I am truly blessed to have the children and husband that I have. They are all wonderful! I am thankful every day that they are all with me and we are all happy. I feel privileged to have the gospel in my life! It has made me a better person in every aspect of my life. I am thankful for the roof over my head and the heat in my home. I am thankful for my extended family who love me and support me in all that I do. I am extrememly thankful for the plan of salvation. For the fact that my family is eternal. I am thankful for all the good friends around me. There are many other things that I am thankful for, these are just a few.

I just want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with all my friends and family that are going through hard times. And I want to express my thanks for the wonderful people around me that make my life better. You are the best! I am privileged to be your friend.

Halloween Costumes

Okay so I am special and can't figure out how to get the pictures turned the right way, at least you get the idea. Travis is an old man. He has been looking forward to this costume all year! He looked great! Who knew you could buy walkers at the DI? It was fun to dress him up.

McKinley is a fairy. Her costume didn't turn out exactly like I wanted because it was cold and we had to dress her in layers.

Ty is a dragon! He is adorable and he loved his costume. He even liked to wear the hat. He had to keep pushing it up so he could see but he never wants to take it off. So cute.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Rock Band!

Daddy come home we can't wait to play Rock Band!! McKinley watches the Fresh Beat Band on tv and loves it! She couldn't wait to play the drums like Marina. She was in heaven pretending she was playing. Check out her BIG smile!

Ty wanted to try to sing. It was so cute watching him play with everything. Do you see him trying to put the plug in his ear? This boy puts EVERYTHING in his ears. It drives me crazy. We love our Rock Band and we have a blast playing it!!!

Frame worthy

I love it when your kids do silly things that turn out so cute. Ty was outside playing with some balls, he thought it would be fun to throw all three of them in this bush. When he went in to get the balls he got stuck. The funny part....there was a cat in the bush behind him and he was freaking out! The pic with him (sort of) smiling is cause the cat came out and was rubbing my legs. He knew he was safe from the scary kitty.

LIONS

These are the super cute lions we made for our safari pack meeting last night. We had so much fun making them with our scouts!

Hot Air Balloon!!!

Yesterday we were out walking in the morning with our very dear friends. This is what we saw on our way home! It was so cool to be so close to this hot air balloon! I think the adults liked it more than the kids. We got to watch it land and watch them fold the balloon up and put it in it's bag. It really was fun, too bad we only had cell phone cameras!!!

McKinley's Hats

These are McKinley's many cute hat's through the years. Starting with day one and ending just a few weeks ago! What a cute little girl! I absolutely LOVE the baby pic of her in her car seat all in pink with the beanie over her eyes.

My Teenager

I have tons of pics to post another day but today is about my teenager. That's right I am the mother of a teenager.....seriously. I don't know how to deal with this but I'm learning as I go. I'm leaning on what I remember from my parent's raising me and my instincts. I'm also using what I know from my religion, prayers and many, many talks with my husband.

My son, Travis, turned 13 in June. For some strange reason I thought I would get a few months before all the teenage stuff starts, nope. For all you future parents of teenagers beware.....the drama starts almost immediately.

Travis has been spending a lot of time after school on facebook chatting with his friends. After hours on the computer he goes to "hang out" with his friends. Keep in mind his friends includes girls (one girl in-particular). He has gotten to the point where he doesn't like to go and do anything with his family anymore because he would prefer to be with friends. I have thought a few times that he spends too much time with his friends. I keep reminding myself that he is a good kid, he has high morals and he reports to us on a regular basis. So....I shouldn't be worried right? Wrong.

He is a good kid and there isn't much to worry about. However, there has been the occasional missed text that he forget to send or he came in a few minutes after curfew, which by the way is pretty early. Yesterday he was asked to watch the little kids for a few minutes. Well the kids pounded on my bedroom door the entire time I was in the shower. I actually got out of the shower to make sure the house wasn't burning down because it was none stop. Turns out Travis was tired and didn't want to come get them. Why was he tired? Out to late with friends. We decided despite his actions with his siblings to let him go out with friends. Well he was supposed to test us and let us know where he was going to be and he forgot. Ooops.

Consequence.....a few days without friends. If he can't help us out and show the responsibility he is asked then action must be taken. Today Travis approached me and asked what his punishment was going to be. How good to ask for his punishment!!! Anyway we ended up talking for over an hour. I LOVE this boy. He is able to talk with me and express all this thoughts, feelings and emotions. How many teenagers do that with their parents? We are very lucky. He reports to us ever time he is away, when he comes home we hear all about what he did while he was gone. I love that. I hope it never changes. I do, however, hate the part where his feelings are hurt or his heart is broken.

I guess the whole point of this post is to express the love I have for Travis. He is my step-son by birth and/or marriage but to me he is MY SON just like McKinley and Ty are my kids. He lives with me, he talks with me, he reports to me, he respects me and he is sealed for time and all eternity to ME! I am thankful every day to have him in my life and to share the love that we do. I feel blessed not only to be his Mom but to have the closeness that we share. I love to talk to him and cry with him. He is the best!

After a few days the punishment will be over and all will be back to normal. I just pray that he will continue to be a good kid and talk to me as openly as always. I love you Travis. I know punishment sucks. I just want the best for you now and always.

Funny Ty

This is my sweet baby Ty-Ty. I love him to death. These pics are just of him having fun and showing off a little bit of his funny personality. Ty is 19 months old and he is so hilarious. He makes us laugh every day.
In this first pic he is wearing Kinley's granny glasses from the day she had her eyes dilated. The second pic is him getting finger paint all over himself. Forget painting on paper what are bodies for!! Pic number three is him being impatient. Come on now the boy needs to eat! The next one is my favorite! We were grocery shopping and he just couldn't handle it anymore.....he had to sleep. We made soft pillows out of paper towels and mop sponges. Priceless. The last pic is of him sleeping with a football. Ty loves sports of all kinds and if he sees a ball forget it, it will become his.

Lin's Meat Sale!!!!

Check this out! On Saturday Lin's had a meat sale. It was awesome! I'm sure we got more than we should have but it feels so good, as a Mother, to know that your freezer is full and your family will be able to eat for months.

My freezer has never been this full in my life! The two bottom shelves and the drawer are all full of meats. We got 40 pounds of chicken breasts, it was only sold in bulk boxes. We got 13 pounds of hamburger, a package of pork chops, 4 packages of bacon, country style ribs, spare ribs and 2 roasts! Talk about a hook up!!! All of this cost us less than we normally spend on just chicken and hamburger for 3 months and we will be eating this for at least 6-8 months.

Getting it figured out!

Thanks friends for all of your help. I got some great advice from you about how to add more friends to my blog. I do have to admit I am a visual person so my friend Cyndi came over and helped me yesterday. Thank you soooo much Cyndi!! You are the best friend ever! She showed me how to cut and paste the addresses and it is super simple, I'm just computer challenged. I can't wait to check out what's going on with all my new friends!

Help!!

Okay Blogger friends I need help. I am still learning this whole blogging thing and I'm computer illiterate so.....help me!!! I don't know how to add friends to my links. The few I have someone else added for me. So any advice would be very welcome. Thank you!

Glasses

I didn't realize I hadn't posted pics of Kinley's glasses yet. She looks like a little orphan in these pics but her glasses are super cute on her! Notice the attitude change in the two pics. She HATES her eye patch. She does love the glasses though so once her eye is corrected it will be all good!

Patch and Stools

I know it has been forever since I have posted. McKinley is starting to get used to her glasses and eye patch. We had to go buy bandage eye patches because she kept cheating with the felt one. She would pull her glasses down and look sideways out the patch. Now she likes the patch because there are 5 different patterns to choose from so it's fun to pick a new one every day. I'm hoping she can quit wearing it in about 3 more weeks. That is when we get her re-evaluated. Wish us luck!!

The pictures I have posted are of my new yard sale find! I have started yard saleing and I think I'm getting addicted. It is sooo awesome to find a treasure you have been wanting or looking for and only have to pay a small price for it! I found these awesome bar stools and it only cost me $5 for all three of them!! Awesome! I have wanted stools for a long time now but never wanted to spend the money for them. My kids LOVE them too! They eat every meal on them. They also like to sit on them and help us or watch us cook. What a great find!!

Eye Doctor Appointment

Today we spent 3 hours at the eye doctor. I noticed about 2 or 3 months ago that Kinley's right eye wonders a little bit. So today we finally went to the eye doctor. Kinley was AWESOME! She did really good until they put drops in to dilate her eyes. One of the attached pics is her dilated eyes. They are totally black.

When they were checking her eyes I wanted to cry. I had to cover her left eye (the good eye) with my hand while they tested the right eye. She would move her head all around and say she could not see the object they were showing her. I seriously thought there for a minute that she was blind in that eye.

After more testing it was determined that she is EXTREMELY far sighted. As objects move closer to her face she cannot see them and her eye starts to wonder. This is called "Lazy Eye". She has most likely had vision problems since infancy. Seriously, am I that bad of a Mother? I didn't even notice until she was 3.

Next week McKinley will have to start wearing her glasses with a patch on the left eye to strengthen her right eye. I feel so sad that we have to cover her beautiful face and eyes with glasses. The eye patch is really cute and will eventually be removed but she will be in glasses the rest of her life.

I couldn't resist attaching a picture of her in her sexy grandma shades. She hated wearing those things and was begging to go home so she could take them off. Next week I will post more pics of her in her new glasses. McKinley I love you with all my heart. You are an amazing kid that I can learn a lot from. Thank you for being such a good girl to your Mom and Dad!! We Love, LoVe, LOVE you!!!

Riding her bike!!

Kinley got a bike for Christmas and just learned how to ride it! Isn't she cute!!!

What a mess

Why must this happen every time he eats. What a mess. And this is mild.

Father's Day dose of reality

Poor Jeremy got a Father's Day dose of reality this year. On Mother's Day I like to take the day off. I sleep for hours and let Jeremy take care of everything. He gets to cook, change the diapers, clean up the messes and give the baths. This Father's Day poor Jeremy did not get the same luxury.

The day started with an early morning at the church to set up chairs. Then he returned home to help me get the kids ready. Both the kids were dresses they just needed shoes. Oh but wait...of course Ty needed a diaper change. He always waits till he has a fresh diaper on to poop. So Jeremy is changing Ty and the kid decided to pee all over the place, luckily he did not get Jeremy just all over himself. So it was a quick change for Ty then off to church.

The rest of the day was good. We got to eat some super yummy fish for lunch. The only downfall to that was the nasty smell in our house for days.

Round about 5 o'clock things changes. Kinley was eating dinner and had WAY to much in her mouth. Bring on the gagging followed by the throw up. Daddy had to clean her up while I cleaned the floor.

Later poor Ty had another problem. The boy is teething and has nasty diapers. You know the kind you can't really smell til you open them and then they smell like death. No one knew until he started crying and prancing around that he was poopy. I took him straight to the tub. His bum was burned so bad he wouldn't even sit down in the water. Jeremy had to come help me hold him so I could get him cleaned and medicated. Poor kids.

So sweet dose of reality. Got to deal with poop, pee and throw up on Father's Day. Daddy's never get a break!!

Crafty?!

Ok seriously what is with me and crafts? I don't do crafts. But for some reason lately I have LOVED them. A few days ago my kids and I made all these with the exception of the hair bow frame. I have had so much fun crafting!

All my kids helped with the cookies. Yummy! Snickerdoodle anyone? They were sooo good. Maybe cause they were made with so much love. My kids rock!!!

Kinley and I made the hair bows together. She loves them so much. Now I need to learn how to make the ones out of ribbon. Oh wow that will be a chore for me. But just like everything else I'm sure I will love them and end up making a ton.

I made the tiles with out any help. I need to get the ribbon on them so I can hang them in the kids' room. They were a lot of fun. I'm totally into mod podgeing lately.

The following day I also made hooded towels to auction at our family reunion. Wow what a busy beaver!! Let's see baking, mod podgeing, painting, and sewing.....who is this girl? Where has Suzanne gone?