Happy 1st Birthday Grace!!

Well, another month has passed and I have been trying not to feel ashamed of myself for not posting pictures, but I really couldn't do it! But, God was feeling sorry for me and you (for not seeing cute pictures of the kids) and blessed us all. At last, I can post pictures ( yes, that was plural, in hope another one follows, but no promises here.)
Here is our little Grace all grown up and enjoying her special day. She is of course going on 15 months already and is such a doll. She started walking 3 days after her birthday and as the saying goes... "The rest is history"

I know, I'm WAY behind!!

Well, when I started, I was doing so well posting pictures and keeping the grandparents updated, but slowly, it all went down hill. I'll get back to it after Trav helps me with the pictures again, but we always seem to be so busy with everything else that my beloved blog gets pushed to the end of the to-do list.
Oh well, priorities right? I've been keeping busy with normal life. 3 kids, work, the house, teaching in RS @ church, being a sweet and wonderful wife (I finally gave in and "allowed" Travis to buy his flat screen TV, now he can be quiet about the darn thing!) , trying to cook but failing, planning birthday parties (Grace turned 1 before Christmas and Daisy's princess party is in a few days!She's turning 3 and is SO girly, I love it!) I've started manking hair bows for the girls and LOVE it, they are so cute! It's been fun to try something new. We are survivng the snow but I am still hating it. I don't have panick attacks anymore when it's time to pick Tristin up from school, and if the roads are not too icy, I can run errands, but it's time for it to go.
The kids are doing well. Tristin is still enjoying school, Daisy is in princess Heaven and Grace is working on more teeth, so you know how great she is!
We are excited for our trip "home" next month to Seattle and to the coast! I cannot wait to set foot on the sand and get swept away (not litterally of course.)
Well, Grace is screaming and laundry is waiting for my arrival! I'll post more pictures when I get it figured out again!

More Snow!

We have had a ton of snow lately and I have been going crazy because of it! I want it to stop! The kids adore it for the first 3 minutes and then come running inside because it's too cold. Yesterday was the first day I took Grace out to play, she just sat there for a minutes completely amazed by it all. And then quickly began eating it. School was closed today for Tristin. I hope I can make it to work, wish me luck!

My Mommy, my world...

I cannot even put into words how much I love my Mother. I've tried and I have never been able to capture it. All I know is, I miss her every second of my life and I love every moment I have with her. I feel at peace when I'm with her and that feeling is one I crave constantly but never really experience. I love everything we do and it doesn't have to be thrilling or exciting. My favorite moments are those spent on the carpet reading books to the kids, or when we're talking on the couch, or when she's winning at Yahtzee almost every time! (I don't know how she does it, because I'm pretty good myself, but she goes beyond all the Yahtzee rules and wins constantly.) I love our rides in my Volkswagon because we're practally sitting on each other's laps, or listening to the kids and laughing at all the silly things they are saying. I love it when she comes because we have fun no matter what. As she was getting ready to board the plane ( or go through the gate) she said that I was a good Mother, but compared to what she has been in my life, I feel I will never come close, how could I? She is incredible, couragous and breathtaking. She is my everything, and oh, how my heart aches when it's time to say goodbye. What a wonderful visit, thank you Mama.

G-ma & Daisy reading bedtime stories!

Miss Daisy loves her bed time stories, especially those by: "Mercer Mayer". She's so cute. I think G-ma ended up reading this one a few times, daisy already knows how to smile cute and get her way!

Decorating Christmas cookies with G-ma!

We had fun decorating cookies last night with G-ma! They turned out pretty cute, and yummy too!

G-ma & G-pa Come For A Visit!!

Mom and Brent are probably boarding the plane to return home to Seattle as I type this. We just dropped them off at the airport after having a terrific weekend with them! Why does it always go so fast? We went to I HOP for breakfast this morning, yummy pancakes!

Our 1st day of snow!

Yesterday I went outside to take the trash out like I do every Tuesday morning

(in my bathrobe, of course!) and the weather was normal, just cold, but I hurried inside to finish getting Tristin ready for school. About 25 minutes later, Daisy came up to me and said, "Mommy, I like the Christmas outside." I had no idea what she was talking about so I went to the window to see what her "Christmas" was. Sure enough, it was snowing! The kids were so excited, so they got their warm clothes on and went outside to build a snowman! I don't think they got too far, but they had fun with the 5 minutes they had before he had to get to school. Of course I freaked out for a second as I invisioned my family sliding off the road and getting stuck somewhere, but thankfully the snow was gone in about 3 minutes, and my panic attak subsided quickly. Now they are thrilled for snow and if it melts as quickly as yesterday, I will be fine. I HATE snow, I'm from Seattle, it doesn't snow there so it scares me to death to drive in it!

I scapbooked a page!

Something has come over me the last 2 weeks, and whatever has happened to my brain, I'm loving it! I have read 2 books and scapbooked 1 page! I stoppped cleaning for a few hours and allowed myself to do a few things I really enjoy, but always seem to deny myself. I doubt this will last long, but I've proved to myself it can be done! Yeah!