Happy New Year

2009 has brought many ups and downs in our home.  We feel very blessed for all that we have and for the wonderful family support we have during tough times.  We have three beautiful children who are all (at the moment) healthy.  We have a home to live in, a car to drive, and food to eat.  We have what we need and feel very blessed that we are also employed.  We are very thankful for all the love and support we receive from family and friends and pray that things will get better in 2010.

Christmas Pictures

The loot before the mass invasion of overly excited children!

Isn't it a rule that everyone has to take a stairs picture on Christmas??

Josh LOVES shoes and had to wear around his new church shoes with his pajamas.  He even took them on a test walk after we put them on by walking from the living room to the kitchen and back.

Grandma and Grandpa opening one of many gifts made for them by Sammy, Andrea, and me!!

Can you sense the excitement?

Josh looked very grown up wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.  Can you spot what is wrong with his sweatshirt??  It took me until today to notice!!

I really stole this picture off my sister's blog because I didn't get any pictures with my bike.  My dad surprised all of the girls in the family with this new bike!  It is REALLY nice!!  I love it.  It is a cycle cross bike and is by far the nicest bike I have ever owned.  I wish it was a little warmer out so that I don't freeze everytime I go on a ride.

Until Next Year

Christmas has come and gone again!  Andrea was already telling me tonight what she wants for Christmas next year.  She wants walkie talkies and a Snow White bike that is like Sammy's bike (two wheeler with training wheels).  We spent time riding today and Andrea wanted to ride her own bike.  She was very sad that she couldn't ride her trike with me in the street.  I wonder if she thinks that when she gets a bigger bike that she will be able to ride on long bike rides like mom and dad.  The reason that we went on a bike ride....my dad surprised me (and my two sisters) with bikes this year!!!  They are cross train bikes so they are like a road bike but the tires are slightly different.  I LOVE IT!!!!!!!  It is so quiet and rides really smooth.  I wanted to tell my brother about it (because he is into bikes) but I was sworn to secrecy until he gets off his mission in June.  I now need to get Sammy riding her bike with more confidence so that I can take the kids on bike rides during the day.  I have a bike trailer I can put Josh and Andrea in so I just need something for Sammy. 

Our Christmas was really good.  We got to have my parents here with us which was lots of fun.  The kids loved it even though they mostly got clothes,  socks, and underwear.  They were equally excited about all of their presents.  I got a surprised by a box of clothes from some people.  Whoever you are, THANK YOU!!!  I have needed new long sleeve shirts for quite some time but didn't have the money to buy them.  I am pretty sure I know who all the people are that contributed to my clothing present but I just wanted to say thanks...it was very appreciated and needed!!

I will post more about Christmas later along with some pictures but for now I am going to bed!!

Merry Christmas

Pictures

I am working on a few projects for Christmas for my mom and dad so I had to take some pictures today...this is what I was able to get!

If you know my Grandma at all...Sammy takes after her when it comes to having her picture taken--She LOVES to pose!!!!!!

In case you are wondering--YES, my backyard is really that small!!

My Cute Kids...

We are lucky enough to have my  mom and dad come to our house for Christmas this year.  I was trying to think of different gifts we could make them so they could have a few extra things on Christmas.  We have no money so they had to be things that would be basically free to do.  My mom and dad like to read so I had Sammy and Andrea make them bookmarks.  Andrea just scribbled on hers really fast to be done but Sammy put a lot of thought into her bookmarks.  This is what she came up with:

Here is a close up of the three that I thought were the most creative.  She did a bike one and a helmet one for my dad.  The bottom one is a swimming pool then a runner with two paths to follow to a bike and then a path to bike on.  My mom and dad are really big into triathlons!  I think these bookmarks are the perfect gift for them!!!

Inspiration

The last couple months, I have been following the blog of one of my friends from high school.  I learned about his blog through facebook.  My friend has a 7-year-old son who got a rare tumor called a chordoma tumor.  I have read about their family's struggles and sacrifices during this difficult time.  I have been strengthened by their testimony of Eternal Families and our Heavenly Father's love for each of us.  If any of you are feeling a little down with how things are going in your life I strongly recommend that you read the testimony of the Vance family on Jared's blog.

I was deeply saddened this week to find out that Jared returned to his Heavenly Father on Monday.  It broke my heart as I thought of my own children and the day to day struggles we have.  I hope and pray that I can learn to enjoy every moment I have with my own kids.  I also have learned to appreciate the blessings that come from a temple marriage even more than I already did. 

Soccer

These are pictures from Sammy's last soccer game!!!  I was glad when soccer was over...Sammy didn't love it so it was hard to go every week.  She thought she got to throw her shin guards away after the last game!!!  I thought that was pretty funny...it shows you how much she loved soccer.

Joshua's Birthday

Our Little Man Turned 1!!  I can't believe that Josh is already 1.  It seems like the last year has flown by.  He is a happy little guy.  He LOVES his dad during the day and LOVES his mom at night.  I am still trying to figure out how to get him to like his dad at night!!  Josh loves balls and cars.  He is really good at kicking the soccer ball around, teasing his sisters, and giving his mom and dad hugs.  We love this little guy!!

I can finally post!

Our internet has been HORRIBLE lately so I haven't been able to post anything...here goes a month long catch-up!!   By the way...we got high speed internet today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!