Now that the holidays are over...

I love Christmas... but, I have to admit I am glad it is over! Our house has been so neglected since Thanksgiving... and now I am ready to start getting serious about decorating... oh, and cleaning, and organizing... One of my New Year's resolutions is to aspire to be somewhat of a "do-it-yourselfer" (I know that is not a word). I have lots of projects in mind for the upcoming year, and if any of them turn out, I might even share a picture of the end result on here.

However, before I completely move on from the holidays, I did want to share a few pictures from Christmas. We did have a nice first Christmas in our new home. We are still trying to create our own family traditions. One that we just started this year, (mostly because we are in Utah), is visiting temple square on Christmas Eve. It was VERY cold, but it was a special experience (at least it was for me), and I look forward to continuing with this tradition in the future.

I love this picture of Vanessa looking up at the temple!

A family picture...(sort of)

I got to thinking that we haven't had a family picture since, well, since Ben was born. We had a family Christmas party last night so I asked my niece if she would take a quick picture of all of us. Well, amongst all the chaos this is what we ended up with:

It will do for now, until we can afford to have some professional pictures taken.

The other highlight of the evening was the Nativity scene put on by all the kids. Vanessa was one of the wisemen with her cousins.

Ben was a sheep.

I like his bangs...

and Evan was supposed to be a shepherd, but he just wasn't feelin' it.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a Very Merry Christmas!

Another Birthday

So, today was my birthday. It's funny how birthdays change as I get older. When I was younger, birthdays were usually pretty exciting; a day that was all about me. Who doesn't love having a day that is centered around themselves? I am not one who likes to be the center of attention (in fact, I despise it), but once a year, a little bit isn't so bad.

This year, my birthday definitely was NOT about me. While we were getting ready to have a special birthday breakfast outing this morning, little Ben threw up all over the floor (kids can have such uncanny timing). At that point, we thought we would just try to grab something to go quickly, and come right back home. After being in the car for about five minutes, Ben started throwing up again. That was bad enough, but since we have all three kids sitting in the backseat of our car, the close quarters can sometimes be a problem. Vanessa, who sits right next to Ben, started to cry hysterically. Her cries set off Evan. We turned around as soon as we could and headed back home with our three crying children. The rest of the day quickly became more about Ben and his sickness, and not so much about me. All other "birthday festivities" soon went down the drain.

I have to admit that I caught myself feeling a bit sorry for myself a few times today. So, I decided I just needed to look at the day through rose colored glasses (is that what the saying is?) This idea of "positive thinking" is a bit new for me, but I thought I would be a little crazy on my birthday and give it a try.

It really wasn't that hard to find something good about the day. After Ben awoke from his nap, all he wanted was me. He wanted to hug me, and he wanted to lay his curly little head on my chest. Marty tried to take him for a little while so I could eat dinner, but Ben just kept looking over at me. He just wanted his mom. For the rest of the night I held him, and rocked him, and just enjoyed the moment (because Ben never just sits and lets me hold him). It was not long before Evan came over and wanted to sit on my lap too. Evan was in one of his "sweet" moods when he likes to just sit and cuddle and occasionally pull my face over to his to give me kisses or just press his face up against mine. He kept looking at me and just smiling. Oh, how I treasure these moments!

So for a rare 45 minutes, I got to enjoy both my boys on my lap without any disruptions. Not too bad... I felt SO loved, and really, who could ask for more on their birthday.

So thankful!

I am thankful for so much; too many things to list. I am especially grateful for the people or things in my life that remind me and testify to me, that there is a God who loves us and watches over us.

I am thankful for still moments with Evan. Moments, when there is no frustration, no tears, no anger,... when I can see the pure light in Evan's eyes.



He truly is an angel living among us. He is a constant challenge, but the blessings from having this little guy in our lives never cease to amaze me.

A New Addition

No, it's not another baby... We recently decided to take the plunge and get a dog for the family. I did a lot of research on different breeds, and narrowed it down to a few different choices. After consulting with a few friends and, of course Marty, we decided on a Boxer. Boxers are specifically known for being especially good with children and so far, so good...

Her name is "Luna". She has put up with a lot from these kids (especially from Ben and Evan), but she takes it well.

It is A LOT of work taking on a puppy. It is almost like taking on another child (almost), but I think she is going to be great for our family and most importantly a great companion to the kids.

Vanessa absolutely adores her and Evan is very intrigued...


and if she continues to make progress on potty-training, then Marty and I will like her, too. :)

Halloween 2009

We had a good Halloween this year. This was the first time we had been in Utah for Halloween since 2002. Vanessa had a great time being able to go trick-or-treating with almost all of her cousins. We took Ben and Evan too, but it got a bit cold for them after a while.

I thought Vanessa was a leopard, but apparently I had it all wrong. She informed me that she was really a "jaguar".

And Ben was a skeleton...

who was a little intimidated by his cousin who was also a skeleton.

Everybody had a great time.

Enjoying all the fall we can

We decided to take a quick trip up Payson Canyon yesterday to see if we could catch a glimpse of what was left of fall in the mountains. We missed it at Maple lake, but it was beautiful just below there. I tried to snap a few photos, but Evan and Ben were having a bit of an "off" day, so most of them ended up being of Vanessa, but that's ok, we just love that beautiful face of hers!

St. George Marathon

Well, I did it. I finally completed my first marathon. It took me almost 5 hours, but I finished. It was VERY challenging both physically and mentally, but is was an amazing experience, and I am so glad I was able to do it. I would like to do more in the future, but will probably not think about it for at least another year or two. Training not only takes a toll on me, but on the family as well. I would, however, love to do another half marathon or two in the upcoming year. We'll see...

Here I am (at 4am), just about to board the bus that would take me up to the starting line.

In the end, Marty actually missed me crossing the finish line (long story behind that). But, here I am again after finishing the race.

It really was an AMAZING experience that I will never forget.