a lost battle

the hole in the wall was patched once. before long i could tell it was a battle i didn't want to fight. we'll wait until the time is right!

i ♥ faces "best face photo"

this week at i ♥ faces the photo challenge is "best face photo". it was my privilege to take pictures of this amazing family while i was in salt lake a couple of weeks ago! i just love the sweet look on little sami's face in this picture . . . those big brown eyes and dimple are enough to melt any mother's heart.

take time to smell the roses

To truly reverence the Creator, we must appreciate His creations. We need to plan to take time to observe the marvels of nature. Today, we can easily become surrounded by brick buildings and asphalt surfaces that shelter us from real life around us. Plan to share with your family the miracle of buds changing to fragrant blossoms. Take time to sit on a hillside and feel the tranquility of the evening, when the sun casts its last golden glow over the horizon. Take time to smell the roses. All the marvels of nature are glimpses of the Lord's divine power and expressions of His love.

-Elder M. Russell Ballard

my cowboy

Most of us rather like our cats to have a streak of wickedness. I should not feel quite easy in the company of any cat that walked about the house with a saintly expression.

~Beverly Nichols

happy birthday dear nathan

nathan has been looking forward to this day for months. he has been talking about his birthday buffet for weeks - anytime he sees something he likes, he says he's going to have that at his birthday buffet . . . but, we are celebrating traditional brasher style. nate decided on chicken pillows for dinner with a darn good chocolate cake for dessert ( it was a toss up between that and dirt cake). we love birthday's at our house!

nathan's favorite's at age six

food: chicken pillow's

dessert: darn good chocolate cake & dirt cake

candy bar: chocolate

color: red and orange and blue

movie: star wars

activity: playing star wars on wii

subject in school: recess and seeing friends

best friend: kade & harrison

toy: nerf gun and legos

job: sweep floor

primary song: i am a child of God

when i grow up i want to be a doctor

way to go bronco's!!!

fiesta bowl champions!!

Happy New Year

instead of a new year's resolution, i am going to make a "new month's" resolution! research shows three to four weeks is all the time you need to make a habit automatic. i am going to take this year to work on something new each month . . . and hopefully, by the end of the year i will have improved my life a month at a time!

so . . . my january goal is to spend time in the scriptures every day.

let this new year be the beginning of a new life in each of us where in "old things are passed away." let all blessed old things stay, but let the clutter of our heads and hearts be removed, that new inspiration and new affections may come in to gladden our lives.

-chester emerson

catching up . . .

i have really put blogging on the back burner the last few months. life has been full and productive. here is a small taste of how our family wrapped up 2009.

November:

we traveled to salt lake for thanksgiving and had a wonderful feast with the carter family. my mom prepared a fabulous dinner; my favorite dish being the stuffing!

"fly away jack, fly away jill

come back jack, come back jill"

highlights of the trip: visiting late at night with family - getting to know dave's wife kelli - dad's sunday school lesson on becoming as a little child - going to "new moon" with abi, lizzie, and mom - early morning walk with mom and sis - byu\utah game with mom, dad, & sis - citris grill with mom after the game - gingerbread houses and pizza with doug's cute sisters and families - going to see "a christmas carol" in 3D with kids, sam, melissa and family, laurel, dad, & mom - training table after the movie - late night movie "the blind side" with sam, melissa, doug, ed, val, laurel, dave, kelli, joe, & lynda - having doug be with us for the whole weekend - thanksgiving dinner and visiting around the table.

I am so thankful for my family, for the time we are able to spend together building memories, sharing, loving and growing. I love seeing the sweet interaction between my kids and my parents. I am always grateful to my parents for opening their home to us and taking such good care of us.

December:

always such a busy, festive, exciting, fun month. i love december. i love anticipating with my children, i love decorating the house, listening to christmas music, planning, reading christmas books with my kids and serving as a family. how blessed we are as a family and truly humbled as we focus on the gift of our Savior to the world.

here are a few pictures or our christmas house:

mr. peeps came to check up on the kids again this year. we are glad he is around to make sure everyone is behaving:)

one of my favorite's of the season is receiving greeting cards from friends and family. i love seeing how families are growing and changing!

December 16-20 i flew to salt lake for my brother joe's wedding on the 17th. besides my brother getting married, the highlight of this trip was spending time with my sister who lives in chicago. we were both traveling without our children whom we missed, but it was so nice to be able to spend that time together without the business of having the kids with us.

joseph & lynda

when i returned from utah, the kids had finished their las week of school and were out for the winter break. i love having my kids home from school! we celebrated mitchie's birthday batman style on the 21st. what a darling birthday boy he was!

on christmas eve we had our traditional feast. doug prepared prime rib, shrimp and cocktail sauce, funeral potatoes, and pumpkin pies for desert. we spent the day baking and watching christmas movies - my favorite being "it's a wonderful life"

the kids opened their christmas jammies and the gifts they had gotten for each other. before going to bed for the night, we watched "joy to the world" a christmas devotional which closed the evening with such a nice spirit.

we headed back to utah again to bring in the new year. one of our family traditions on new year's eve is to record and share a family memory. this is the tenth year of this tradition and we have quite a collection. it is always kind of a hassle to take the time to think of what to record and to actually do it - but we are always so glad. there is such a neat feeling listening to everyone's memory and a great way to bring in the new year.

another family tradition is bratzlie making. i used to help my dad with bratzlies and i was able to capture gracie and her grandpa making his third batch of the season. bratzlie making is an art (maybe because i can't do it quite right:) grandpa is a pro!

we are back home now . . . almost. doug and carter headed to arizona to cheer on the bronco's in the fiesta bowl. go bronco's!! kids started school and it's time to get back to a routine and a schedule. 2009 was an amazing year. we are blessed to be healthy and to have the gospel in our lives. welcome 2010.

Our Christmas Card

the story behind the card versed by my mother:

it all started splendid

oldest...pride and joy hair

fixed just so

all ready for the Christmas

family photo

then splat

a dastardly pigeon

let go

overhead

one amused

some concerned

a day not to be forgotten

for the wrong reason

little boys smile

perfect cooperation

hat girl sees the joke

but, oldest

just a poopy day

abi had spent an hour working on her hair for our photo shoot. what kind of luck to have a pigeon poop on your head . . . it took me a little while to see the humor in it, i was frustrated that the girl i usually don't have to worry about looking great in a picture had lost it!

on my wall

so, i had the silouhette's of my kids printed on a canvas and doug stretched it around a wood frame for me. it is large, but i love it. i love those sweet little profiles.

some of you requested to see the finished product hung on the wall . . . so, here you go:)

Boo to You!

we had our traditional chili and scones before the kids headed out the door to trick-or-treat. doug made a white chili to try something new which turned out fantastic. the weather was perfect for the holiday . . . i was a little worried that it was going to be really cold like it had been earlier in the week.

mitchell was especially fun this year going from door to door wishing everyone a "bappy halloween" on his way to the next house.

abi decided last year it would be her last year trick-or-treating. she had fun going to a few of the houses with lizzie and the kids and came home to help me pass out candy and watch some spooky movies.

always such a fun time of year . . . family, traditions, memories.

Pure

We had such a fabulous Halloween weekend. The most anticipated event was Carter's Baptism on Halloween Day. We all thought it was pretty awesome that he would be receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost on Halloween . . . something he will always be able to remember!

It was so great to have some of my family make the trip from Salt Lake to be here for our special day. There is nothing like having family visit and spending the time together was so fun! The weekend went way too fast.

My sweet mom posted this lovely poem on her blog describing this sweet moment:

real power

five young girls

one young boy

fresh still, round downy faces

some permanent teeth

but, mostly baby

all dressed in white

there was no fanfare,

fireworks, or dignitaries

but what took place was

truly astounding

heavenly gates unlocked

angels and witnesses

all that really mattered

happened

pure, wet, shiny

six priesthood daddy's

mama's ever watchful

guiding

gappy smiles

shake hands and embrace

smiley eyes

perfect trust and obedience

angels...

"behold your little ones"

Double Digits!!

Gracie is: happy . . . fun . . . clever . . . kind hearted . . . thinker . . . competitive . . . smart . . . gives great hugs . . . honest . . . responsible . . . babysitter . . . a friend . . . animal lover . . . gymnast . . . compassionate . . . a family game night . . . goal oriented . . . bug catcher . . . cross stitcher . . . pianist . . . 4th grader . . . loyal . . . thoughtful . . . respectful . . . a family girl.

Happy Birthday Gracie!!

xoxo

weekend home

my mother composed this little verse describing the events of our first night at grammy's house:

one look at this face

and it's tough to imagine

he's capable of capture

his small hand a grabbin'

poor little Squidgy

our once faithful fish

in this innocent grasp

his poor life got squished

beware of a three year old

chasing loose and free

good thing he's a cutie

or i'd tie him to a tree

now his mama cried tears

for the fish and the boy

he was put to bed soundly

the catch brought no joy

i love them both dearly

this mama and son

we bought a new Squidgy

too bad he can't run

My Brithday Boy

The greatest birthday gift ever. I love you Carter . . . Happy 8th birthday!

SURPRISE!!!

This year we surprised Carter with a birthday party and boy was he surprised. It was so much fun to see him enjoying all his friends. We felt like we scored big with how nice the weather was. When we were planning the party, we weren't planning for 90 degree weather - so we lucked out and had the boys swimming, tossing a football, jumping on the tramp and enjoying some good ol' root beer.

What a great group of boys! I was so impressed with how well they kept it a secret too! Happy Birthday Carter.