a new friend

We have new neighbors. Along with the new neighbors came a new friend to play with. This little friend thinks her new home is our home. She waits for us to pull up in the driveway and walks right in (uninvited!). She prances around like she's the queen of the house. This little fur ball has won over the hearts of everyone in our home(especially Bree).


Our little Breeley has always wanted a kitten and this has been a dream or maybe a prayer come true. This little kitten looks identical to the kitten she "found" when visiting my sister this summer...in Utah...while out exploring the neighborhood with her cousins.

She begged, pleaded, and cried for this kitten. I believe we broke our little girls heart when we returned home from our summer vacation...kittyless.

I seriously believe Bree has prayed this cat here. It has been in her daily prayer since we left Utah.

Can I just say that these neighbors have even offered to GIVE us this rescue cat of theirs.

WoW...how nice of them to offer...right in front of our seven year old cat lover.

Terrific!

Oh man, now what?!?

It would be an easy NO WAY! but... I have these big blue eyes begging, pleading, and even crying once again.


These pics were captured after school one day while the girls were out playing with the cat.

First... They watch the cat climb the tree.

Next...They try it out themselves.
This cat seems to consume our second graders thoughts. ALL(no joke) of her spelling/story assignments look similar to this one.Her teacher even thinks she owns a cat.

Just lovely!

I don't know a thing about cats. Do I really want to take on this responsibility? I say "I" because that's who will assume the responsibility when the newness wares off.

Will they scratch up my furniture?

Are they easy to care for?

Is it terrible to DE-claw them?

Do they carry an odor?

Do they shed a lot?

Clearly... the begging, pleading, and crying are causing me to cave. Any opinions would be appreciated before we make our final decision.

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white Christmas

Our vacation started on Christmas Eve as we boarded a plane headed for Utah hoping to find a little snow to play in. We were pleasantly surprised as the snow kept falling for most of our stay. Although it looks like I had my camera in hand at all times, I didn't! I only took it out of the bag twice during the twelve days we were there. Those two times provided me with plenty of photos.

It would have been nice to snap a couple pictures of the kids skiing this year but I decided to leave the camera packed away while I took a break, relaxed and did a little skiing of my own.

We hit the slopes on Christmas Day and it proved to be the perfect day. There was no crowd. We skied all day and never had to stand in line.

Next on the list...

tubing at Soldier Hollow

When you dress warm you can stay out in the cold for hours and that's exactly what we did!

Sledding

This was definitely a favorite. The kids couldn't get enough!

Snowmobiling

Snowmobiling was definitely a highlight for our boys! A big THANK YOU to the Breinholt family for allowing us to join in with the family for the day.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas vacation this year. We love to get away as a family. Our time together is filled with excitement, laughter and cherished memories!

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Christmas 2009

The kids would soon find out that opening gifts early this year (on the 22nd of December) was just the beginning of an eventful Christmas season. They would be packing their bags and catching an early flight to Utah on Christmas Eve where they would spend the next twelve days in the snow doing what they love most...skiing... snowmobiling... tubing...and sledding.

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santa letter

Writing Santa letters has been a Christmas tradition for as long as I can remember. Over time I've watched what used to be five little believers dwindle down to only two and I question rather the two remaining are true believers. I've been asked a few times this year "Is Santa Claus real?" I avoid this question at all costs!

Why, you might ask? You could even be thinking....hello lady, get with it. If your child is old enough to come to you and ask if Santa is real, he/she is probably old enough to hear the honest truth. RIGHT? uhhh WRONG!

Let me explain: When I was six years old I remember being told by the "OLDER" kids at school that Santa wasn't real. I marched home and demanded an explanation. I vividly remember exactly how my parents told me... "The TRUTH." And I also remember how betrayed I felt that my parents had lied to me for years!

I decided right then and there that if and when I ever had children of my own, I would NEVER lie to them.

And then... one day my four year old son came to me and said, "Mom, I don't believe reindeer fly!" I panicked.

You see, B.T.C. was at work and I was left ALONE to answer questions (not good). My four year old continued, "Mom, Is Santa Claus really real?"

I didn't want my child to ever view me as a LIAR. I wasn't "prepared" to answer the question just yet so I did what anyone in that situation would do and avoided the question. This didn't work. The little guy was persistent and kept asking so I said, "Well, what do you think?" to which he replied, "I don't think he's real. So I said, "Well, you're right!"

I quickly learned that this was the WRONG thing to say! He looked up at me with tears running down his face and angrily said, "You're just like that Sherem in my Book of Mormon (Jacob 7) who teaches people there is no Jesus Christ!"


I stopped dead in my tracks, got down on one knee, looked him straight in the eyes and said, "You're right! I'm so sorry. I will ask for forgiveness just as Sherem did.

YIKES! Who knew the little dude even paid attention during family scripture study!

Sooo wanna know what my reply has always been from that day forward when confronted with the Santa question..."Hmmmm... well...I believe You're daddy would love to discuss this with you!

I know...Not a very nice thing to do to the hubby! But for me... Mums the word.

the wish list...

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Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving experience started with packing up the car and traveling to Utah to visit family. Somehow in the back of my mind I knew that while traveling such a distance with several little bodies packed in the car we were bound to experience a little

unpleasantness along the way. I was right. Out of no where one child felt the need to barf. I was grateful for the zip lock bag I keep tucked away in the glove box "just in case". We also encountered the typical bickering that occurs among siblings. We nipped that one right in the bud. I wasn't about to listen to 11 hrs of petty quarreling. If anyone in the car was caught being negative they had to sing a song ALL alone, out loud, to a radio song which was selected by me. I took my job seriously and selected only the most fitting songs for my punishees. It was NOT a desirable experience especially when our teenage son had to sing along with Miley Cyrus. It did however make for some pretty good laughs since our family(with the exception of Dawson) can't hold a tune worth a darn! It was pretty miraculous how quickly the quarreling vanished.

The drive wasn't too bad thanks to the ample supply of hand-held video games, ipods, cell phones, movie and laptop screens all being played simultaneously.

As we reached our destination the kids were bursting with anticipation to see cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. We stayed for seven days and the whole trip seemed a blur as every second was packed with activities and excitement. It was nice just being together as family. And it was REAL nice that some of the cousins were finally old enough to be "babysitters" which allowed for some adult time and fine dining.

Our activities included eating(a ton), staying up late playing cards and board games. We watched movies, hiked, visited Thanksgiving point, skied and of course the boys snow boarded. The girls however shopped, shopped, and shopped some more. I haven't been out on a Black Friday in years. Boy was that fun! I love being with my sisters. We make great shopping buddies and shared only the best tips in hair, make-up, and fashion.

I love being together as a family during the Holidays. We enjoyed every bit of it!

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"ideal setting"

I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and appreciation for my sweet little family as I listened to President Eyring’s talk OUR PERFECT EXAMPLE . He said, “ Just as Jesus used a child in His mortal ministry as an example for the people of the pure love they must and could have to be like Him, He has offered us the family as an example of an ideal setting in which we can learn how to love as He loves.”

As I study the scriptures and learn Christlike attributes and try to incorporate them into my life, especially CHARITY and LOVE, I've recognized that I have wonderful examples around me daily... my very own children. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by the LITTLE people in our home. They are so quick to forgive. They have a natural ability to love ALL God’s children. They have a sincere desire to serve and are so full of love. I appreciate their example and agree that in this “ideal setting” I can learn how to love as the Savior loves.

I just wanted to pass along this video that was shared with me. It's just another cute reminder of how children are so willing to forgive and how they avoid letting anger linger. Steve Chandler says, "If you have seen this already, watch it again. You will laugh even harder than you did the first time."

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