Turning 2...

This little girl is upset that we haven't opened the presents yet!

Oh, that's better...

What!?

Bampa and Grandma are the best!!

Time for Cake!

Hooray!

This birthday stuff is the best...

I like being 2!

Can I have another one?...............

Plan of Attack...

As I sit here typing, my husband is bombarding the children with one snowball after another.

The innocent little creatures are running for cover...

...but do not be dismayed, they will retaliate!

I can see them gathering their forces and making their plan of attack.

OH!!

I think Daddy is going down!

cold...

We left the house in a major snowstorm today.

Grocery shopping must happen once a week in this house!

No exceptions.

I mean, the kids need to eat, right?... right?

Anyway, we made it to the mad house stores and finished shopping just in time for the real cold to set in.

I am told that it is going to be a bit chilly in the morning...

...like 2 degrees...

Now, I grew up in rural Alaska where the temps during winter got as low as 60-80 below zero.

But, being that I feel as if I have done my time in the cold and snow, 2 degrees is really COLD!

BRRRRrrrrrr...

I feel it coming.

Mark... where are you... my feet are cold...

Major Pageant Meltdown...

Last night, the house errupted in pageant arguing.

I finally had to step in and call off the "rehearsal" last night.

Will the show still go on?

...it remains to be seen!

pondering...

Do you think your back could permanently stay in that painful bent over shape that we manage to put ourselves in when we wrap a trillion presents?

OUCH!!!!

Last night we took Miranda out to dinner for her birthday.

She is such a sweet kid. They just don't come any better than her.

I will have to share some birthday pictures later. I realized I haven't shared any of the birthday photos. What is going on??? Oh, yeah...

I am wrapping, wrapping, wrapping! Those are apparently the only brain cells I have left these days.

I wonder if my wrapping brain cells are all wrapped up in a pretty bow...

Hmmm...

A thought to ponder...

Another Snow Day...

concerts and sisterly recycling...

How excited can one 9 year old get?!

Christmas Concert time...

This amazing young lady was so excited to show us how hard she had been working.

We are so proud!!

...and then...

sisters need to do their part, right?!

We need to make the world a more green place...

The oldest thought she would start by recycling one of her younger sisters.

I think she was getting tired of hearing about the Christmas Concert!

At his best...

What does a boy love more than playing in the snow?

His hands don 't seem to get cold...

His feet don't get cold...

He wears himself out!

Then...

he gets up and does it all over again!



The abominable snow boy...



...at his best!

filthy...

What do you get when you mix eight kids and a steamy window?

A mess!

I literally couldn't see outside...

As soon as I finished cleaning this window (the next morning) the kids were at it again...

Sigh...

I guess I will have to get over my clean freak streak for awhile.

Mary Did You Know...

Hey S & S...

You young ladies know who I am talking too.....

This blog is about you too, so....

If you want to share something, shoot me an email and I will post it.

Outta here... the cookies are too tempting!

It's a wonderful life...

We made it to church this morning. I wasn't sure for a little while if it was a good idea. The snow was really coming down. By the time church was over, we had about 5 inches on the ground. (not too bad)

Mark is now looking over my shoulder which really freaks me out.

Okay... he's gone.

Ummm...

So church was slightly less populated today because of the weather. We only slid around a couple of times. The snow has stopped falling and the two "medium girls" (yes that is what we call them) are outside sledding.

Cookies are baking... they smell amazing... and the little kids are napping.

I wrapped several presents today. The tree looks full already. School is back in session tomorrow, but there are only 7 more school days until vacation. (yes our first vacation day is the 24th)

Winter has arrived around here. Thank you God for a great heater and a loving family!

It's a wonderful life!

Triple blessing...

Can you ever have too much family?

Not me...

I could add them forever...

...especially these three!

sad...

It makes me so sad that people seem to have forgotten the simple concept of being polite.

It is especially noticable at this time of year...but really it is a year round problem.

Even older people don't seem to say, "I'm sorry" ,"excuse me" ,"Please", "thank you".

When I do respond to someone in a store or out in public with one of these phrases, they look at you like you must have done something wrong.

The other day, a lady bumped into my daughter in the store. My daughter has been taught to respond politely. When my daughter said, "Oh, sorry" (even though the grown professional looking lady was at fault) she responded with, "You should be!"

What a shame that we all can't seem to remember simple common courtesy.

It makes me sad...

forecast...

I went to the 7 day forecast this morning and every single day it is supposed to snow...

The Christmas Pageant...

The kids have tried for... I don't know... maybe 10 years to put together some type of pageant on Christmas. Every year, it fails. Someone drops out and the performance never happens.

This year...
They even typed up a script. Oh boy...

I hope Chey can hang in there. She is usually the first to drop out. If she can manage to put up with her bossier sisters, we may actually get to see this performance.

mmmm...

White Chocolate Chip Cherry Chunkies....(secret recipe)

yummmmmm.....
Zucchini Bread...

Oh Yeah...White chocolate chip cookies

snickerdoodles

...just one blessing of the season!

To All a Good Night...

We do a nightly family devotion plus a nightly couples devotion.

The kids are usually downstairs at that point, doing...

well, you never know.

But this night...

We were in the middle of praying to end our devotion time when what to our wondering eyes would appear...
...but this tiny little man jumping on us with no fear!
Then, kisses and hugs were shared all around.

He was hoping that maybe a cookie or candy would be found.

Okay enough rhyming.

Isn't he hilarious, though?

I just love the way he is kissing me, but has one eye on the camera!

Awwww...

He wuvs his daddy too!

I guess in a house that is overflowing with estrogen, the boys have got to stick together!




Merry Christmas to all... and to all a goodnight!

ummmm...ouch!

Mark was cutting the dogs nails tonight and...

Yeah....

He may have gone a little short on a couple of them.

Has anyone done this before?

Poor guy is limping around tonight. (now that the bleeding has stopped)

Ooops!

What I do like...What I don't like...

Do you know what I love about Christmas?

Family!!!!

Do you know what I do not like about Christmas (or any other day for that matter)?

That we can't spend every single day with all of our family!!!

The top picture is of sweet new Mama Shannon and her most handsome young man Clayton.

The bottom picture is just Clayton...

But isn't he enough?!

I wish I could smother the little man in kisses...

and I would save a couple for his wonderful mama and his wonderful aunt.

...and for tonight's entertainment...

Brysen will be singing (and whispering) "Jesus Loves Me"...

Please ignore the "gentle" laughing in the background.

***Either go down to the bottom of the page and turn off the music I have playing or wait for the song to end and then listen to the video.***

Homeschooling Science Projects...

One of the great things I love about homeschooling is that each lesson is tailored to the individuals needs. If we want more hands on projects, we do them... If we can master a skill without the project, we can skip it.

Daddy and Sydnee enjoy their time together.

The above picture is of a lesson about motion and the forces that affect it.

They had a great time with this project.

What a lucky girl you are, Syd...

Christmas Crafts...

Everyone got in on the action the other day.

They pulled out the craft box and went to town making ornaments to put on the tree.
This project is another brainchild of Miranda.

She is so great with the kids.

I appreciate her so much!

She reminds me a little of her Uncle Sean...



The kids had a blast.

Now they have to show us their finished projects...constantly.

I love it!

There is nothing better than being a mom!!!

I mean, in what other aspect of your life do you get to see little boys with crayon tops on their heads?

Merry Christmas!

cold...

The girls played outside in the snow until after dark last night. Actually, they came in and turned on the back light so they could continue to play. When they were called in for dinner, they asked if they could go back out after they ate...

Why does the cold seem to bother kids so much less than it bothers me?

**Oh and by the way, I checked the 7 day forecast and our highs are going to be in the 20's and 30's. It definitely can get colder around here, but I think Arizona is sounding mighty good right now. Anyone with me??

Oh My Goodness!

There is just starting to be a little light in the sky.

Guess what I can see on my front lawn...

SNOW!

GRRRRRRRRR...

Bah Humbug!

Okay, I need to get over it... I know, I know. It is winter, after all.

weekend update...

We spent this weekend finishing the kids Christmas shopping, watching a movie and baking about a trillion dozen cookies... well at least twenty dozen...plus the making of zucchini bread from this summers crop. It was busy, but relaxing at the same time.

Yesterday was my mother -in- laws birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!
(A kinder, more caring woman you will not meet!)

I am slowly starting to wrap some presents. The kids have all of their gifts wrapped and under the tree, so it looks full already.

I did take pictures this weekend, but will have to post them later. I somehow have managed to get off to a later start today than usual.

I hope everyone is taking the time to enjoy the season this year.

What did you do this weekend?

You're My Everything...

Everything

You're a falling star, You're the get away car.

You're the line in the sand when I go too far.

You're the swimming pool, on an August day.

And you're the perfect thing to say.

********

And you play it coy, but it's kinda cute.

Ah, When you smile at me you know exactly what you do.

Baby don't pretend, that you don't know it's true.

Cause you can see it when I look at you.

********

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times

It's you, it's you, You make me sing.

You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

********

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,

And you light me up, when you ring my bell.

You're a mystery, you're from outer space,

You're every minute of my everyday.

*********

And I can't believe, uh that I'm your man,

And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.

Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,

And you know that's what our love can do.

********

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times

It's you, it's you, You make me sing

You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

*********

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times

It's you, it's you, You make me sing.

You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

********

You're every song, and I sing along.

'Cause you're my everything.

-Michael Buble

Let Your Light Shine...

I woke up to rain this morning.

We all know that I love rain because we don't get enough of it around here.

The only bad part is that the mountains are all covered in snow.

I know, I know...

I seem to be the only one around who absolutely despises the snow.

But, you must remember...

I grew up in Alaska and have had my share of snow, plus some!

Okay, I will put aside my snowy thoughts and focus on letting my light shine today.

I was thinking last night about how important it is just to let your positive attitude shine on your children.

I haven't always done a good job of that, but I tell my kids that the amazing thing about God is that he lets you start over every single day. If you royally messed up yesterday (and we all do it sometimes) you can start fresh, right now... this moment!

So, today and everyday, remember to let your light shine!

Decorating...

The friday after Thanksgiving is always Christmas decorating day.

Thanksgiving night the Christmas lights get turned on and we all oooh and ahhh.

The real work sets in the next day with dragging in a tree and all of the "stuff".

May I just say, that I am really glad my kids are old enough to do the tree!

I decorate most of the other rooms in the house, but the tree is all theirs.

I remember the days when they really were to young to be of much help...

Even the little ones got in on the action this year!

Our little man got to do the honors and put the angel on the tree.

Well, it didn't make it onto the top of the tree, but next to it...

We had the best laugh... with him not at him!


The biggest miracle of all was that we only broke one ornament!



Now comes the task of keeping all the little hands from touching the tree.

And guess what...

After the presents are unwrapped and the tree looks bare and ugly...

the tree is outta here!

You heard me...

Out

Of

Here!

...and I will get my living room back.

Oh JOY!!!

leave a trail...

My husband was so eager to try a new photography technique.

He went out the other day and brought home some extremely gorgeous photos of our favorite hiking area.

Isn't he becoming an extremely good photographer?!

Do not go where the path may lead; instead go where there is no path and make a trail...

-emmerson

This just in...

This just in...
There is now more evidence that children are absolutely crazy!!

Choking, wrestling, pinning...

...just to prove who can beat who...

They are insane!!