Last Day of the Year

Well I decided that I had better post one more time for the year. I can't believe that 2008 is almost over. It has been a very eventful and fun filled year. I am so blessed to have a wonderful family and two beautiful children. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to raise them and love them unconditionally. Matt and I are so lucky that we have the things we do, a home to live in, a steady job and great family. We truly are lucky!! I decided to post a few pictures from the last year to recap all the good times. We wish all our friends and family a great and hopefully prosperous new year!!! Here comes 2009!!!

Christmas Day

After having a great time on Christmas Eve we woke up at our house on Christmas Day and the kids were excited to see that Santa came. We opened up the gifts he brought and then had breakfast. Parker got a few Curious George books, new pajamas, a Caillou movie, a phot book about him, and his favorite a Handy Manny tool set and truck. He had been asking me for this toy everday for about a month since he saw it at Costco. He was so excited that Santa listened to what he wanted and brought it. He said "Thank You Santa" after he opened it. Paige didn't care much about opening presents again, but she got a tea set, a little doll with a bag to carry it in, a block set, a purse that talks and has some fun little toys in it and a book about her. I got a new crockpot and a big skillet. Matt got a John Deere blanket, some new shirts, socks and undershirts. It was a fun morning. After we had breakfast and got ready we decided to head out to Matt's parents house where all of his stepmom's family was getting together. Well we had a pretty bad storm on Christmas Eve and into Christmas morning and the wind was really blowing. We had thought about driving the truck, but it is hard to fit 2 kids in there and all the stuff we were taking and that we knew we were going to get. So we drove the van. Well the roads were really really bad and we were about 1 mile from his parents house and we got stuck in the snow. It was like 2 feet deep and we knew we wouldn't be able to push the van out. So we called Kerry and she called her brother who came to our rescue. After he got stuck a few times in his big truck I thought we were in big trouble and that I should just start walking. But luckily there are still nice people in this world and a few other men stopped to help us out. It took them about 30 minutes to get us out and then we finally made it to his parents. What an adventure. Paige was asleep but woke up when we got stuck and then Parker fell asleep and missed all the excitement. When we finally made it to his parents we had out annual white elephant exchange that lasted over an hour. There were a few "hot" items that kept getting passed around so it took a while. Then we recieved some gifts from Matt's parents including 2 bags full of clothes for the kids, a gift card to Red Robin, a doll and stroller for Paige, a tool set for Parker and matching ties for Parker and Matt and a few other things. It was really chaotic out there with all of the family. I didn't get to really thank them very well for everything. We were kind of in a hurry to get going because Matt had to go to work and we didn't want to get stuck again. We had a very good Christmas and have been enjoying relaxing and playing with the things we got. We hope all of you had a wonderful holiday as well!!!

Christmas Eve Part 2

Here are the rest of the pictures from Christmas Eve, for some reason it wouldn't let me do more than 5.

Christmas Eve

My family has a tradition of getting together on Christmas Eve and having a fun dinner and then playing games and opening a gift. Well this year, my sister's fiance had his son on Christmas Eve so we did a gift exchange while they were here after our dinner. This year we had a Fiesta! My mom purchased a pinata and we had pulled pork tacos and chips and salsa and margaritas and strawberry daquaris. It was really good. Then the kids hit the pinata and got some candy and money (Parker got $14 from the pinata) Then we did our gift exchange. We all got spoiled!! It was a big chaotic because Parker and his soon to be cousin we so excited to open gifts and play with their new toys that everyone was unwrapping all at once, so we didn't get to see what everyone got. But it turned out good and was all had a wonderful time together. Parker got a couple new outfits, a nerf gun, a remote control 4 wheeler, a spongebob ball, bat and mitt, handy manny coloring book and reading book, Thomas the Train train set, a kids camera, a gator golf game, a movie, pajamas, and a few other things. Paige was so good, she mostly sat and watched everyone open their presents and then she would play with the wrapping paper and boxes. She got a few rattles, some lotion, a new dress, a couple of outfits (way cute) a new coat- pink and brown, a baby cabbage patch doll, a baby einstein movie, a warm fleece blanket, socks, and few other things. Matt got a new suit, and ipod shuffle, some golf stuff, and a part for his truck. I got some scrapbook stuff, a couple of books, a cute church bag, a Scentsy candle warmer, a big cooking pot, and a few other things. We also got a few family games. One of the best things we got (Matt and I) was an ornament that had Parker recorded on it saying "I love you daddy I love you mommy, Merry Christmas Love Popper" It was so sweet it made me cry a little. Also my mom made this precious plaster cast of Paige's hand. It is so time and cute, I love it!!! It was a very fun night, full of memories and good times.

Ward Christmas Party

We had our annual ward Christmas Party on the 19th and I am a little slow in putting a post about it on here. We had a fun time, the food was good and the primary kids did a good job singing. Santa came and visited and each of the kids got to sit on his lap and tell them what they wanted. Parker was so excited to see him and kept saying "santa, santa" but when it was our turn in line he got all scared and nervous. So here are the pictures of my kiddos on Santa's lap. Oh the memories!!!

Snow Much Fun

A few days ago after our big snow storm Parker helped me shovel the driveway and loved playing in the snow. It has been so dang cold lately that he can't be out that long, but managed to get his dad to pull him around on the sled. We even have a little mound of snow that Parker calls a "big mountain" and he rode the sled hown it a few times. The ride maybe lasted 1 second, but to him it was so much fun. So yesterday Parker had a friend over and they wanted to go outside and play so badly. So I tried to bundle them up as best I could and Matt was nice enough to take them out and pull them around on the sled for a little bit. They were only ouside for about half an hour, but when they came inside they both said they were freezing and so we made them hot chocolate and popcorn to warm them up. They were so cute and excited about the snow. I wish I could say the same.

My Baby is Crawling

So Paige has been trying really hard the last few days to crawl. She would get on her hands and knees and rock back and forth and then try to go forward and fall down. Well she has been working on it and today while I was on the phone she crawled across the room. So not just a few steps but quite a bit. Then after I got off the phone I grabbed the video camera and she crawled again on the video. I am so excited and I can't believe that my baby is growing up so quickly. She sure is a fun litle girl and I know she will be into everything now. Now I really have to keep my eye on her!!

Christmas Update

I guess I am posting this to brag a little. I am totally done getting ready for Christmas!!! All of the gifts are bought and wrapped and ready to go. I even have all of my stocking stuffers ready to go. I still have a few to deliver to friends but the rest are waiting for "Santa". I am so glad to be finished with over a week to spare. So you won't see me out the night before frantically trying to find a gift! Good luck to all of you out there, I hope you find the things you are looking for so you can get some holiday relief soon. Only 8 more shopping days left!!!

Little Boys are Such Joys

Yesterday Parker spent the day with his daddy. They had a few errands to run and then they went Christmas shopping for me(mommy). When I got home Matt was finishing wrapping the gifts they had bought. He said to me, Parker wanted to give this this to you, something that we didn't buy. I was confused for a minute and then he continued to tell me that Parker wanted to wrap the coaster set that we have in our living room and give them to me for Christmas. So Matt wrapped them up and put from: Parker, to: mommy on it. Matt told me to act surprised when I open it. I thought it was pretty funny. I guess Parker saw Matt wrapping all the presents and wanted to contribute. He probably looked around the room and that was one of the first things he saw. I thought it was sweet that he wanted to "give" me something, even though it was something we already had. He can be so sweet sometimes and I love it when he is.
On a side note, I have just finished all of my treats for friends and neighbors. I have a few gifts to wrap still and 1 still to buy. Other than that I am all finished. Now I just need to deliver my goodies and I will be on a roll!!!

Oh Christmas Tree

Today I caught Paige unassembling my Christmas tree. She is almost to the crawling stage and is become quite the curious little girls. She can't quite seem to get her leg out from under her and then figure out how to move her hand and legs to crawl. But that doesn't stop her from getting what she wants. I will put her down in one spot and a few minutes later she has scooted across the floor. This morning she made her way to the tree and began pulling on a branch. Then she caught eye of an ornament and successfully pulled and pulled until she got it down. Then after playing with it for a few minutes began searching the tree for something else she could get down. She found an ornament with a bell in it and thought that was fun to play with. I just watched her for a minute and then grabbed the camera to capture her in the act. I want to make sure and remember and preserve her first Christmas as much as I did for Parker. I had noticed that ornaments had been rearranged, but I just assumed they were always moved by Parker. Now I know that she probably took them off and Parker tried to put them back on the tree where she couldn't reach them. I have a few branches at about his eye level that have 2 or 3 ornaments on them and the branches at the bottom don't have any. Kids...you gotta love them!!!

Sister's Graduation

My sister Graduated from nursing school on Thursday. We are so proud of her for sticking to it and finishing. She has been a super busy lady working 2 jobs and going to school to finish. We know she will make a wonderful nurse and that she will help out many people. We went to a little ceremony that the school had on Thursday night and then we went out to dinner to celebrate. The kids were pretty good, considering they had to hold still and be quiet for over an hour. We are so excited for you Charyn and can't wait to be able to spend more time with you now that you will have some free time!!!

Busy Day

Today I seemed to have a burst of energy or something because I got so much done today. I am worn out right now from it, but I feel so good when I accomplish a lot during the day. I cleaned my bathroom, incluuding cleaning out 4 drawers. I vaccumed the entire house, did 6 loads of laundry - including washing big brothers comforter and sheets. I made 7 loaves of banana bread, did the dishes--twice, made dinner, dusted my bedroom, cleaned out the coat closet, and copied my Christmas letter to get it ready to send. When Matt got home from work he didn't say anything about it until I wouldn't let him just plop his stuff on my clean and clutter free kitchen table. Then I told him how I had worked hard to get the house cleaned up and he had better put his stuff away where it goes. Then he made the comment on how good the house looked. Although I accomplished a lot, I still have a few more things to do in order for my house to be cleaned good this week. Sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor, paying some bills and folding towels are on my list of to-dos for tomorrow. I do know why I don't usually get this much done in a day, 2 kids that make messes almost as soon as I get one cleaned up. But it sure feels nice to have a clean house at the end of the day!!!

Girls Night Out

So I posted about a girls night out on Saturday. Here are the pictures of us girls at the resaurant. Lindee, Tate, Melissa, and Me. We had a great time talking, laughing and catching up with each other. We sure need to do that more often. It was fun to get away and have a break from the kids. Thanks to Matt for watching the kids. He did have to call and tell me to come home after Paige cried for over a half hour. He couldn't seem to calm her down....she's a mommy's girl. What to do?? But I guess 2 hours is a long enough time for dinner right, haha!!! Love you girls, it was so fun!!!!

Countdown to Christmas

Only 24 days until Christmas!! I can hardly believe another year has almost come and gone. There is something about the feeling in the air when Christmas is apporoaching, no I am not talking about the bitter cold weather. I love the feeing of Christmas all around, the lights and decorations, the holiday baking...and eating, the buying and giving of gifts, wrapping presents, decorating the tree, the first snow fall, and the music. The true meaning of Chritmas and the real gift we have all been given!!! I love the fact that I know we will be able to be together as a family on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning and to be able to spend time together laughing, talking, playing games, reminiscing and enjoying one another's company. I truly love spending time with the people that mean the most to me. I can't wait for that special time. So today begins the Christmas countdown!!! Here is my list of to do's before the big day: (In no particular order)
1. Finish writing my christmas letter, copy family pictures, and send out Christmas Letters to family and friends.
2. Finish Christmas shopping
3. Finish gift wrapping
4. Make holiday goodies for neighbors, visiting teaching families, and home teaching families... (not quite sure what I am going to make yet)
5. Attend ward Enrichment night, it is about Holiday Traditions.
6. Attend ward Christmas party.
so far that is what is on the calendar. I am sure there will be more to come.

Thanksgiving

Well we had a great Thanksgiving with family this year. We spent the day with Matt's family this year. We managed to sneak in 2 dinners, way too much food, and were able to visit with his aunts, uncles, cousins, and siblings. It was a fun day to be together. Yesterday we decided to do a little shopping. I was not one of the early birds that were in the stores at 4 a.m. but I did manage to get a few gifts on my list bought. I only have about 3 more thing to get then I will be finished. It will be nice to be all done so early this year. I will even have everything wrapped and ready to go. It makes life easier for me if I don't have to stress about gifts for a long time. We got our tree up a few days ago and "It's begining to look a lot like Christmas" we are enjoying having the holiday decor out to look at and Parker loves to turn on the lights on the tree. I think Paige has some motivation to begin crawling. She sees all the ornaments and decorations and somehow manages to scoot her little body closer and closer until she reaches them. One of these days she will discover how to crawl and realize it is faster to get where she wants to go if she crawls. It is going to be such a fun Christmas with these two little kids in our home, I can't wait to see Parker's reaction on Christmas morning. Tonight I am going to dinner with a few friends from high school and I am looking forward to some alone time and adult conversation. It will be so much fun. I'll post pictures later!!!

Twilight

I finally got out and saw Twilight last night. I really wanted to go to the midnight showing last Friday, but decided that it would probably be better for me to wait for a few days. Paige has been waking up about 1 in the morning lately and I didn't want her crying for an hour while I was at the movie. Then the weekend was really busy, and yesterday Matt said he would go with me to see it. So we went, on a "date" together to the movie, without the kids. It was pretty good. I thought that they did a good job getting most of the high points of the book. Of course I still think the books are better, but how can you fit a 498 page book into a 2 hour movie?? There were a few things that weren't in the book that were in the movie and I was like, they didn't say that, or that wasn't how it happened. But they were minor details. I was a little bummed at how the caracter of Jacob was cast. I pictured him a whole lot different in my mind, he wasn't as cute on screen. And his role was very minimal in the movie. Not that I am a Jacob fan, I prefer Edward, but Bella and Jacob sure weren't as friendly in the movie as in the books. So for sure there has to be 3 or 4 more movies, and I am looking forward to them. In the meantime, I may have to reread the series and do some more comparison. But overall I thought the movie was good and it was fun to see it set to life. I am amazed that Matt went with me and he seemed to like it okay, not his favorite, but still, he went!!!!! I think he was a little confused and lost at times. I had to fill him in on certain places. Any of you out there that haven't read the books, read them first, then see the movie!!!

Ornament Exchange

For about the last 5 or 6 years I have been part of a group of ladies that get together every year and exchange Christmas ornaments. We had our annual get together and exchange last night. It was so much fun. Each person does about 15 of the same ornament brings them wrapped together in 1 box. We then each take turns unwrapping a "gift" and then pass the rest around. So everyone leaves with 15 new oranaments. It is fun because some people are good with wood and others are good with sewing and stitching so you get a variety of ornaments. I look forward to this party each year and all the fun ornaments that we get. It is so fun to remember who made what when I am decorating my tree with handmade ornaments. We also do a potluck dish, something new, and bring the recipe to share. So we always have wonderful food and leave with new recipes as well. It is a fun night out and a much needed break from the kids. Here is a picture of the ornaments I got this year.

New Recipe

I got a new recipe from a friend and tried it last night and it was soooooo good I decided to share it with all of you. If any of you are like me, I am always looking for new wonderful recipes to add to my collection to mix things up. It seems like I get in a rut and feed my family the same things over and over again. So it is great when I get a recipe to try that gives a little variety to our family dinners. So I hope you don't mind me sharing Karla. (I don't know what you call it for sure so I renamed it)
Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
1 Can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 4 oz can diced green chiles
1 C. salsa
4 frozen chicken breasts
1 pkg. taco seasoning
Put in slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. Shred chicken 1/2 hour before serving and return to slow cooker. Serve with tortilla chips.
or... If you want a little more substance and a real meal shred chicken 1 hour before serving and then add 1 C. rice, (or 1 pkg Zattaranes spanish style rice) 2 C. water and 1 more can diced tomatoes. Let cook until rice is tender. Serve on a tortilla with melted cheese (like a burrito). It is super yummy and very easy. Thanks Karla for the recipe, I kinda altered it a little hope that is okay!!

Earrings!!!

On the post below I asked if anyone noticed anything different about my little girl. Tara is a smart one. Yes we pierced her ears. I had been thinking about it for a little while and I always think little girls/babies look so precious with them. I always wanted to do that to my children when I had them. And then we had Paige so I had the opportunity. Matt and I were at the mall and kind of spur of the moment we decided to get them done. She of course did not like it. But after about 30 minutes she was perfectly fine and she has done really well with them ever since. Kind of like getting a shot, only prettier and more noticable. I think she looks so adorable, and for sure no one will get her mixed up with a little boy anymore (unless they are plain stupid). The only thing that would have made the experience a little easier is if the store had had 2 employees available to do the ears at the same time. They only had one person, so I had to hold her head still for the second ear. That wasn't fun. I will try and get a clearer picture in the next few days. I just had to post how adorable and cute my little girl is!!!

Anything Different?

Do you notice anything different about my little girl in these pictures???

Spiderman Pajamas

Well I finally got the Spiderman Pajamas off of Parker yesterday. He wanted to go outside with his dad and we talked him into wearing warmer clothes. That was the easy part. Then last night when getting ready for bed, what did he want to wear??? You guessed it, the Spiderman jammies. Well I sneakily (is that a word) put them in the washing machine so he couldn't get them out of the dirty clothes basket, so he was so upset and had a full blown tantrum about the jammies. I wasn't going to give in. After being worn for 4 full days, they were downright dirty!!! I told him he could wear one of the other 5 pair he got for his birthday. No? he wanted the spiderman jammies. So after a few minutes in time out and many tears I finally convinced him to TRY ON the dinosaur jammies. I let him look at himself in the mirror and once he saw himself with the dinosaurs on he stopped crying. He realized they weren't so bad and were actually kind of fun. He decided that he could wear them this time. He made it thru the night!!! This morning he had to point out to me the different dino's on the jammies and he seems to like them more. But I better get a load of laundry done just in case. I may just sneak the clean Spiderman jammies into his drawer and see if he notices they are there tonight when he picks out his jammies to wear. We'll see what happens.

Thankfulness

Today I finally took down my Halloween decorations and swapped them for Thanksgiving things. It got me thinking of all the many things that I am thankful for at this time. So this post is going to be a list of things that I am thankful for in my life. Anyone who reads this I am tagging you to do the same on your blog or on a sheet of paper to get you in the spirit of the season and to really realize all the things we take for granted in our daily lives. I know that I take things for granted so here is my list in no particular order
1. My family, Matt, Parker, and Paige
2. My extended family, parents, in-laws, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins etc.
3. Great friends... I hope you know who you are!
4. A roof over my head
5. Clothing to wear
6. Food to eat, and food storage!! (6 months we have stored)
7. 72 hour kit
8. A vehicle, I would hate to have to walk to the store and back with two kids, where would I put groceries.
9. The right to vote... I voted today!
10. The gospel in my life... The choice to worship how, where or what I may.
11. A calling in the church. I love Primary and the kids in our ward. They have taught me so much.
12. An education. I am glad that I have some education to fall back on.
13. Clean clothes.
14. Water... I love water...to drink and to take hot showers in.
15. Seasons. I am glad I live in a place that has seasons. Although the weather here is crappy and wet, I still like the fact that it changes.
16. The internet, as dumb as that may sound it is a great source for information and the ability to blog and keep in contact with family and friends so conveniently.
17. The scriptures.
18. Other books, I love to read a good book, any suggestions???
19. Scapbooking, all my scrapbooking supplies. I love to capture memories and then look back on them and be able to remember that particular picture.
20. Pictures
21. A digital camera. What did I do without it?
22. A king size bed, how did we ever sleep on a full size bed Matt??
23. A portable DVD player. Keeps big brother occupied on car rides.
24. A dvr recorder. I am addicted to some television shows and it is so wonderful to record, pause or fast forward shows.
25. A washer and dryer in my home. I hated having to take my clothes to mom and dad's and how do people go to the laundrymat (I think I spelled that wrong) every week.
26. Cell phones
27. Land lines, there when you need them.
28. Chocolate
29. My talents, some I am still developing
30. My husbands Job... what in the world would we do without him or the job!!! Thanks Matt for working so hard.
31. Challenges in my life, they make me stronger.
32. Doctors, they saved my two kids lives, and mine
33. Music, and IPOD
34. Heat. I love to be warm and cozy, especially in the morning.
35. Close family. I know I said this already but I am so grateful that we are close and all get along so well. I would hate to not have my family in my life or to not get along or be so far away from each other.
This list I could probably make longer but these are the things I can think of right now. We live in a wonderful country in spite of all that in going on and we are really lucky to have the things we do and we should enjoy them and not take advantage of them. We may never know when there will come a time when we will have to go without. Happy Tuesday!!

pictures

I can't figure out how to do a slideshow so here are a few picture from Parker's birthday.