I am thankful for...

Each week my friend Jenni makes a list of what her and her family are thankful for. I LOVE that idea! So Jenni, I've decided that I'm going to do that. I'm going to ask each of my kids and Dave each week what they are thankful for and write them down.
Thanks Jenni for a GREAT idea!

I am thankful for....

Stefanie: Being able to be a stay home mom, my kids and that they are healthy, my camera, for an ice day, my house, HEAT!, funny words and things my kids say, the gospel, friends who make me laugh and of course CHOCOLATE!

Amber: Ice days, BFF's to play dress up with, my phone and UNLIMITED texting, driving permit(about 58 days till REAL license), pink Victoria Secret rainboots, a good hairstylist, YUMMY FOOD!, sleeping in, funny things we picked up while we did our family service project of picking up gross trash in the neighborhood, contacts, retainers, coke, ferrero rocher chocolate, giant smarties, thankful for my mormon teacher at school, indoor plumbing.

Jacob: Super Bowl, food, video games, taking a walk around the neighborhood, Call of Duty World at War.

Dave: Chocolate ice cream, that my one strawberry plant has made it thru the winter.

Hunter: That I could help my friends, that I get along with my friends, my family, Indiana Jones Lego game.

Taylor: Thankful for school, my parents, my friends, things we can do to help our community, food, the Wii, my heart rainboots and puddles.

Train hard or go home

Taylor decided to not do soccer in the fall. She wanted to do gymnastics instead. She has had a great time and even got her friend Natalie to go with her. She has learned how to do a one handed cartwheel and is trying to get the flipflop (back handspring) down. She is almost there. Thursday was her last night to go for awhile. She has decided to play soccer this season, so back to all day Saturday at the soccer fields.




Video of Taylor working on her flipflops

There's something magical about a snow day...

There's something magical about a snow day...well in our case an ice day. Not only do you get the day off from school, but anything can happen. I remember growing up in Indiana. In the winter you LIVED for the days when you woke up and it had snowed all night. First thing you did was turn on the tv to see if school had been cancelled. Seeing the name of your school on the tv telling you that school was cancelled was THE best feeling in the world! Well today we woke up to EVERYTHING iced over. The front porch, the drive, the grass, the trees and bushes, our cars. I mean EVERYTHING was covered in ice. Dave came in to tell me that everything was iced over and I had a flashback to when I was younger..."I hope that school is cancelled." Well sure enough school was cancelled! Of course now as a mom of four kids, my excitement just isn't quite the same as it was when I was in school. But I still felt excited at checking the tv to see if our school district, (forney isd) was going to be closed. It's been a good day and the kids have been playing with friends and just enjoying their day off and now I'm enjoying that the sun is melting and drying up all the ice.

Enjoy your snow (ice) day kids because tomorrow it's back to school!


My poor car! We couldn't get the doors open.


Checking out the ice on the swing.
Are flip flops proper winter attire?




Taylor trying to skateboard down the driveway.


Still in flip flops.
Where is his mother?



Hunter, Christian and Elijah on tour


Jake helping the little boys out on Guitar Hero



Our tree out front


out back


A couple of pictures I took on my way to the store.

"if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball"

Last night was the 2nd annual mother, son dodge ball game at the elementary school. We didn't go last year and so this year Hunter really wanted to go. I was a bit concerned about getting pelted with balls, but I figured how hard could boys in k-2 grade throw a ball right? Well it wasn't the kids I should have been worried about, it's the MOM'S! They were the ones to watch out for. Apparently last year some mom's got a little TOO into it and so this year they added a twist to the game. We all had to sit on these little rolling boards. Let me tell you that is a work out for your legs. There still were some mom's who were a little too competitive, but Hunter and I had a BLAST! I will say he was way better than me at not falling off the scooter, that is an automatic out. Of course he did have several advantages. First he is closer to the ground than me and second they play this in P.E. We really did enjoy ourselves and it was so fun to spend an hour with just him.

Eating pizza before the big game.



Trying to stay on the board and not get hit.

Branded

This is what happens when you forget to reload your kids lunch account.

A day to remember

Tuesday morning will be one of those days that I will always remember. I have been thinking about it and talking with friends about it for the last couple of days. It was such a historic moment in time and I'm so grateful for the technology that allowed us to feel like we were right there. As I sat watching the build up, I was bummed because my kids would be at school and I wanted them to watch this. How GREAT a country that we live in where, (I know they have overused this phrase, but it is so important and true) "the peaceful turn over" from one president to another. No war, or coup to make changes. No violence, but a voting and then a coming together to pass the baton from the old to the new. Jake had an ortho appt. before the actual events started and when I went to pick him up, the front office told me that the whole student body would be watching it. Thank goodness Jakes appt was short and he was back in time. The high school and the elementary school also were able to watch it. I was thrilled to know that my kids were able to see this part of history take place. When they panned the crowd and all the flags were waving at one time it brought tears to my eyes. (I always feel such a swell of pride when I see the flag.) I thought DANG! I wished I would have packed the kids up and driven there to be part of it. The feel to me was electric and what an experience that would have been. I didn't vote for Obama. I don't agree with some of the things he stands for. I'm concerned about some of those things and hope that with a lot of prayer, knowing that things will still have to be voted on and ultimately knowing WHO is in charge of EVERYTHING things will be ok. After watching Obama take the oath and hearing his speech, I felt optimist. I'm excited to see what lies ahead and I want him to succeed, because if he does than we do.

Some things that I thought of when watching the ceremony.

1. I'm grateful to live in THIS country.
2. Even though it would have been WAY cool to be there, I'm glad I'm nice and toasty in my house.
3. Dang! Thats a lot of people.
4. Look how cool all those flags look waving.
5. I don't care for Diane Fienstien.
6. WOW! I'm sure GRATEFUL for the way I was taught to pray.
7. Bill Clinton looks old.
8. What is George Sr. wearing on his head?
9. Wait what is Aretha wearing on HER head?
10.The little Obama girls are cute.
11.I am NOT into poetry.
12.Oh that poor guy fumbling the lines of the Oath, he is going to be fodder for the late night shows.
13.That was a good speech and Obama is a good speaker.
14.I like how Obama said "God bless the "United States of America" and not just "God bless America"
15.Again, I am SO EXTREMELY grateful for the way I was taught to pray!!

Thanks Dr. King for a day off

Monday was MLK which means to school kids and dads who work for the city a day off! The kids wanted to do something other than stay home and so Dave thought it would be fun to go ice skating. Unfortunately Amber had a couple of doctor appointments so her and I couldn't go. I was bummed because this would be the first time for Taylor and Hunter. Jake and Taylor had no problem mainly because they know how to roller blade really well. Hunter held onto the side at first, but started venturing out little by little. Dave was able to take a few pictures with my old camera and some video. He even took a picture of the Zamboni machine for Amber. She secretly wants to do that when she grows up! The kids had a BLAST and want to go again soon.

Hitting the rink


Stopping for a quick pose.


Getting a feel for the ice


A natural on the ice


Taylor going strong


He let go of the side...YEAH!!


LOVE this picture! They are having such a good time.


Amber LOVES the Zamboni machine. She hopes one day to drive it.




Hunter totally eats it! "OH MY BOOTY"

Go Taylor

What are my people thinking?

I have been living the good life lately. It's been a bit cold outside and so my people have been letting me come in the house a lot to stay warm. I hear Amber talk a lot about buying me doggie cloths to wear but the mom won't do it. She thinks they are silly and plus she says she only ever sees little doggie cloths. Thank goodness, because I'm not into fashion AT all. I am a more earthy kinda dog and choose to go natural. Saturday it started out cold again and so my people thought I needed a t-shirt on to stay warm. To be honest, I wasn't really cold. Well the little girl Taylor went and got one of her t-shirts and they put it on me. To say that I was embarrassed would be an understatement. It was NOT my color at all and it was too tight around my neck. I felt like it was choking me. I wanted to run and hide. In fact I actually wanted to go outside. Well to make matters worse, I was followed outside for a photo shoot. How humilating! I'm just glad we have a privacy fence so all the other dogs didn't see me. I already suffer from anxiety and this has just made it worse, I now have a fresh licking wound. Why do these humans think we want to wear cloths is a common question among us dogs. HELLO we have fur coats on!

Always willing to pose

It was a crisp day here in Texas. Well, I'm sure 32 is warm to some of our friends and family who are up in the Midwest. I'm sure you guys are probably thinking we are big baby's right about now, but really it was cold today. Amber didn't have to go to school today because it's finals week and since her grades were good enough and she hasn't missed any days of school she was exempt from taking her tests. She didn't want to stay home in the nice warm house, she wanted to go and do something and when I suggested we take pictures she jumped on it. There is this metal building on the way to BFFs Carlie that has been taken over by the senior class every year. Each year students go and paint the year they are graduating, their names and other stuff on this building. Well since I'm not brave enough to go spray paint something on it I thought it would be a GREAT backdrop for some pictures. And Amber is ALWAYS a willing subject. We were out there for about 20 minutes and I couldn't feel my fingers and poor Amber was dressed like it was summer so she was FREEZING. I did manage to get some good pictures even if my fingers were numb. Of course it helps when I have such beautiful daughter to photograph.














Of course she has to throw in some faces!










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Car seats

Why is it that when my kids were little enough for car seats they didn't want anything to do with them. Some days it was a chore to get them buckled. But now when they are TOO big for their car seats all of the sudden they become fascinated with them and they want to sit in them all day.

puddle jumper

A few days ago it rained really hard during the night and left a GREAT puddle out in the street across from our house. PERFECT for jumping in and since Taylor got some WAY cute rain boots for Christmas she just HAD to try it out. She had the best time jumping in it. I got several cool shots before she decided it was too cold and she wanted to put dry cloths on.

One of the funniest things I've heard lately

Listening to Dave and Hunter play Indiana Jones lego adventure game on the Wii. It is HILARIOUS! I'm not quite sure who is the 6 year old by the way they bicker. The best is when one of them gets mad at the other one and their little guy beats up the other one till he breaks apart, (cause they're legos). TOO FUNNY!

2008 a year in review

I know I should have posted this on New Years, but I'm the ULTIMATE procrastinator so now I'm finally doing it. This past year has been a good year for us. That's not to say it's been without it's trials and frustrations, but it has also been one of learning, adjusting, accepting and growing. We are thankful for everything we have been blessed to receive. We have a loving Heavenly Father that watchs over and blesses us. We have each other as well as extended family. We are healthy. We have a beautiful home, we have cars to drive and Dave has a good job and one that he enjoys. We have friends who bless us with their friendship, who make us laugh and who are there when we need a shoulder to cry on. We have had a good year and we have a good life for which I am thankful for.
Here are some of the highlights of this past year.

In March Dave's mom (gramma), sister and brother in law (Auntie Sue and Unkie Rick) came to visit us. It was during spring break so we were able to spend some great time together. We went to the Aboritum, well everyone but Taylor and me. Taylor ended up having tonsilatis during their visit. It was a very nice visit even though it rained liked crazy! We hope they will be able to come again soon!



April is HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONTH FOR DAVE!


June brought the end of the school year, mine and Hunter's birthdays and a visit from my sister. It's always a great time when Tracey comes.



Her favorite thing to get when she comes. Sonic ice!



July was a VERY special month indeed. Jake blew out 13 candles!!


In other July news. Taylor and Hunter went to horse camp.



School started back up in August. Amber started her final year of high school and this is Jake's last year in junior high or middle school as they call it here. Taylor started fourth and Hunter went into first.














NINE is FINE for Taylor in September. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!













October was an exciting month for Amber. First she received her driving permit and then her 17th birthday. We wrapped the month up by dressing up and trick or treating.













November 10th is a most sacred day in our home. It is the birthday of Dave's beloved Marine Corps.














AAAHHHHHHHHH...Twilight!!!!


















Happy Thanksgiving!! We celebrated with our good friends the Whites. Lots of food and fun!













December is my FAVORITE time of the year! We get to celebrate the Saviours birth, reflect on all our blessings we received thru out the past year and make new goals for the coming year. All the Christmas shows that we get to watch, and of course CHRISTMAS MORNING!!! It's just so dang exciting! I love to see how much fun the kids have opening their gifts. This month we had several things take place. First Jake finally got his braces on and then Amber finally got her gallbladder out. And unfortunately we also lost our dog Dallas.