Thank You's are In Order

Thank you Aaron for loving me so much and focusing on the principle of quality time not quantity time.
Thank you dad for calling so much to check up on me.
Thank you friends for not being scared to invite the scary bishop and his crazy wife for dinner and chit chat. 
Thank you Trey for being so brave and going to primary without major meltdowns.
Thank you Trey for being a super star this week in going to school and doing homework.
Thank you Lord for this miracle.
Thank you little friend that I ran into at the kids school, for opening up to me about your life and also letting me know that people shouldn't be offended when offense isn't inteded, act on inspiration.
Thank you Burts Bees for making a chapstick that I am addicted to and can't go to sleep without it on my lips.
Thank you sweet sister for sharing your testimony in Sunday School and filling the room with the spirit.  The air was so thick you could have cut it with a knife.  I loved it.
Thank you friend for bringing by cookies late at night when the kids were asleep and Aaron was gone.  I enjoyed eating them all by myself in my quiet house and reading the fabulous talk.
Thank you same friend for opening up to me about your life and experiences.  I felt rejuvenated.
Thank you Lord for answering my prayers.
Thank you Elder Bednar for your fabulous  talk.  I have read it many times (because I'm slow on the up-take and because it is so fabulous) and it has given me new perspective.
Thank you Clorox wipes, you are perfect for a toilet seat used by boys.
Thank you sister for letting me steal your "happy chart" idea.  No more bad attitudes around this house.
Thank you beautiful weather for making me happy.
Thank you friend for your inspired email.
Thank you Lord for answering my prayers.
Thank you true friend in Missouri.  I love you but hate that you are so far away.
Thank you brother for forgiving me for not controlling my tongue and ripping your head off when you were being grumpy.  Thank you for your hug.
Thank you former bishops wife for your tidbits of wisdom that you give me in the hall at church.
Thank you Logan for only having to be told once. 
Thank you mom for helping out with the kids and for Sunday dinners.
Thank you Aqua Fresh for your fabulous spout design that cuts off the toothpaste and doesn't leave a dried up toothpaste mess on the kids toothpaste.
Thank you friend for burning me the "Sunday Medley" cd.  I listen to it in my car all the time.
Thank you cute neighbors, who are not of my faith but yet have come over to talk to the "bishops wife" (they think it's funny).  I don't know which one of you brings in my trash barrel for me because Aaron's not home and I forget, but you are fabulous whoever you are.
Thank you Fruit of the Loom for making little girl, boy brief panties.  After spending a small fortune in different panties, Dr's visits, perfume free soap and detergent, I think we found a winner.
Thank you Avery for being so dramatic when you talk.  It makes life fun and I'm excited to see who you are becoming.
Thank you visiting teachee's and my visiting teacher for having to put up with me and my absent mind.
Thank you Stawberry Limeade.  You are always there for me.

Ending a Chapter

Oh my little Avery.

The past 2 weeks have been a little surreal.  I registered Avery for Kindergarten.  My baby, my princess, my little sidekick at home is leaving me.  I also sold the crib and dropped off the high chair, car seat, carrier and baby bath at the Relief Society Presidents house to distribute as needed.  As much as I would love for this chapter to continue, Heavenly Father seems to have a different plan than what I had in mind.  I have thought that maybe by getting rid of the baby stuff I would jinx myself into getting pregnant.  But I can't let my heart and mind bank on it.  I am focusing on my 3 kiddos that I'm sooo blessed to have and that is what I need to be consumed with.

Avery is one very busy girl when the boys are at school.  When she starts school I will miss walking around the house seeing glimpses into how her mind and imagination work.

She tells me what to write on the paper and then runs off and does the rest.

I think Logan hurt her feelings on this day and apparently was not on her good list.

She is very artistic.  The girl could color and cut all day long.  She loves to write her own messages by sounding out words and has been reading Trey's old Kindergarten books without any help. She knows all the sight words and breezes through them.  Total freak of nature if you ask me because 1. I haven't helped her with anything and 2.  her momma is not the sharpest tool in the shed so to say. 

(Picture of a Christmas tree at night and our family)

I'm going to miss that girl when she leaves me to go to school.  I'm preparing myself now. I'm really going to miss this chapter in my life.  It has been a good one.  Many happy times, many hard times and many learning times.  I'm anxious to see what the next chapter has in store.

Sssshhh!!!!!

He has one volume......LOUD. 

He physically can not whisper. The other day he identified someone in his school class as "you know...the girl that you can't hear when she cries". I thought it was hysterical that he was actually in awe and shocked that people can cry quietly.  How can they do that?  Everyone at home pretty much has to talk loud so that they can talk over him and be heard.  Before you know it everyone is talk-screaming.  I realized today that I know when the tv is on because it's quiet.  He got caught today "being quiet" when he wasn't supposed to.  Oh man was it ever hard to turn the tv off when I really was enjoying the peace and quiet.   If by chance it does happen to be quiet he throws in a loud outburst of screaming or high pitched animal noises just to get the volume back up to par.  It makes me jump out of my socks every time. At night there is a chorus of "explosions" coming from his room.  He throws in a good 20-40 minutes or bombs blowing up and guns firing, it's loud and it's also quite the spit bath.  Aaron is losing his hearing or so focused on other things that he can tune it out.  I'm pretty sure it's the later.  I wish I could learn that little trick.  The kids are used to Aaron being gone so when he is home, by habit they come screaming at me as their go to source.  Some days it doesn't phase me at all, I enjoy it, I'm a mother and I love being a mother.  I'm not a particularly quiet person so I'm not hypersensitive to the noise.  I maintain a normal, average volume.  But sometimes I think that it should would be nice to have my own hiding place to go to and regroup for 5 minutes.  It's quiet and relaxing and there is chocolate there.  But most importantly no one knows where it is, it's hidden.  No knocking on the door asking what I am doing, or why am I taking so long or if I'm done yet.  Just 5 minutes.  Tonight my head hurts.  Tomorrow we'll practice our "inside voices" again.

Snowed In

Over Christmas break we headed up North to the cabin.  Aaron was already up there on a snowboarding trip with the Priests, so we made plans to stay up there as a family after the YM went home.  I knew there was a bad storm coming and I had tracked it with my dad for a couple of days.  I set the alarm early in the morning so I could load the kids up and get there safely before the storm hit.  We made it just in time and boy was it ever a big storm.  It dumped over 30" in 2 days.  Pinedale was one of the hardest hit areas.

   

Avery loved the snow the first day, after that it was too high for her to even walk in.  She just sunk to the bottom and got lost.  She loved cozying up by the fireplace and taking care of the snow gear.  I have started two fires in my life.  The first one involved gasoline (outside) because it was taking to long...not smart, and this was my second one.  I'm so proud of that little fire.





Trey stayed outside a little longer than Avery.  He got some good runs in on the sled the first day and he liked helping dad shovel snow.  By day 2 it was up to his thighs and getting around was tough. 

No matter how cold or windy it got Logan seemed to be unphased by it.  We joke that he is going to go to Russia or the North Pole for his mission.  He tolerates the cold much better than the heat.  After Aaron spent all day shoveling the driveway (so that we could get out) it made for an excellent sled run.  The driveway is steep and long.  Logan had the time of his life out there for hours going up and down.

 I couldn't let Logan have all the fun, so I had to give it a couple of tries.  I called it good after I lost control and wiped out.  Logan thought that was hysterical.

Stranger Danger!

This was Aaron's get up pretty much the entire time.  Poor guy just shoveled and shoveled and shoveled.  And it kept snowing and snowing and snowing.

This is what the car looked like after the FIRST day.

On the first day, when Aaron actually had energy, he built the kids a snow fort to hang out in.  They thought it was the greatest.

During the second day Aaron panicked and wanted to load up and try and get home before it got any worse.  I talked him into staying one more day.  The roads were closed in both directions getting of the mountain. We watched movies, played games and snuggled. 

I thought it was great being snowed in with my most favorite people in the world.

I couldn't get over how beautiful everything looked as we were driving home.  So clean and pure.  The words to a primary song kept running through my mind.  "I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world, Heavenly Father created for me."  I tried to snap as many pictures as I could but a picture just didn't seem to do it justice.

Meanwhile, I looked over at my husband gripping the steering wheel so hard he was white knuckled.  His face was contorted from the stress of trying to drive on the icy roads.  A normally 2 1/2 hour drive took us 5 hours but we made it home safe and sound and had a great time.  It was an adventure.

Sunday Best

I thought Avery looked so cute today before church with her scripture bag, doggie, cardigan and skirt that I want in my size.  I am smitten with this little girl.  She has turned into a spitfire lately, but she sure does melt my heart.

Christmas in a Nutshell

All the time, energy and preparations, all paid off when I was able to witness these emotions on Christmas morning.  Santa was good to us this year and so were mom and dad.  I was able to stay on budget.  It took a lot of effort shopping sales, using coupons and price matching, but I did it. 

Some of the highlights of this Christmas season were:

Temple Lights

McCormick Stillman Train Park (crazy busy but worth it)

Decorating for the Ward Christmas Party

Not getting a Christmas decoration box down and didn't even miss it

Sonic Hot Chocolate

QT Hot Chocolate with a dash of Horchata to cool it off.  Yum!

Logan being a Wise Man in the Primary Nativity

Trey being sick the last 2 days before Christmas break.  The only 2 days that he has EVER wanted to go to school.

Making cookie bags for tithing settlement

Avery continually decorating every knob in the house with Christmas ornaments

Reading Christmas stories

Christmas music

Christmas cards

and so much more

The kids went right outside to try out their new bikes as soon as all the presents were opened.  A bike with pegs was on Logan's and Trey's Christmas list.  Avery's Christmas list was pretty much all the little toys that you see when you check out at Walmart.  She wasted no time putting on her new hat and parka that Grandma Stephens made for her.

I was worried about what reactions we would have this year.  I knew going into it that there were some big ticket items on their lists that they were not going to get.  They were each so appreciative and excited about every little gift received and given.  Not once were the big ticket items mentioned or even remembered. 

I feel so blessed and happy to have such good kids. 

Jeans

Run, don't walk, and go get these Gap Vintage Flare Jeans.  They are on sale right now and they are super comfortable, super modest (as in not too low) and super cute.  They fit similar to the Seven For All Mankind's Dojo jeans ($$$).  I got mine for $15.  RUN!

The Card

The Christmas card of 2010. 

With people moving and my lack of brain cells I apoligize to those out of towners that I missed.

Christmas Eve

We started the day off prepping the front yard with reindeer food and glitter so the reindeer could find our house.

That night we went over to Grandma and Grandpa White's.  Here are the grand kids (minus Logan) lined up

listening to Grandpa read from Luke. 

Then the kids got to open their presents from Grandma and Grandpa.  They each got their own bucket with their names on it filled with goodies.

Nana gave each family some of her children books.  They are so old and vintage, I am in love with them.  She saved a special book that she got just for Trey.  I wish I had a picture of his face as he got this special book about a boy who was named Trey growing up (Bill Gates).  He was elated.  Sometimes the middle child needs a little extra attention and love.  I know first hand. ;)

The next day Trey opened the door for Nana and said,  "I love that book you got me.....I haven't read it yet, but I know it's going to be great!"  He has asked me to read his "Trey Book" to him every night since he got it.

The "Right-Left" White Elephant gift exchange was a tradition we borrowed from the Stephens family.  You never know what random dollar store items you are going to get. 

We went home and set out the cookies and milk for Santa and tried to sleep.  There is such a magical and reverent feeling about Christmas Eve that I love.