Thanksgiving

November has come and is almost out of here!  Where in the world has the time gone!  We have so much to be grateful.  When my heart is in the right place it is extremely full.  Sometimes I have to snap myself out of the beginning of a pity party when I start to dwell on one trivial trial-hey, I am honest and I am human .  As much as I am a positive person, I occasionally give in to temper tantrums.  Who doesn't?  You are lying :)
Some things I am grateful for:
*My family.  Sometimes my kids and spouse (hee hee) can drive me BA-NANAS!  But at the end of the day, they are the most important.  I love each one of them.
*My house.  It's not the newest nor biggest, but it's ours; it's a home; it's safe and protects us from the elements; it's comfortable.
*Our vehicles.  Have I ever mentioned how I feel like a used car lot.  We have 4 vehicles: 2 trucks, a sedan, and a suburban.  We have 2 (TWO) drivers.  In our defense, one truck is a work truck, the suburban is mine and Trevor has the other two for him. 
*Our health.  In a world where everyone knows someone with a debilitating disease, we feel blessed that we just catch a cold every now and then.
*My hubby's income.  Again, in a world where so many people are out of work or underemployed we are grateful for the income that provides for us. 
*Our extended families.  We both have very good in-laws that love us and support us in all we do. 
*Our friends.  We have some of the greatest friends who have amazing listening skills, who can make us laugh, who can related to us and our craziness!
*Our horses.  There is nothing better than a ride up the trail with all six of us.  Great family time.
*Our dog, Belle.  She's a nut, but she brings smiles to all of our faces.
*The Gospel.  Our membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Without our Savior we would have none of this, or at least not have gratitude for all of it.  Everything comes from Him and for that I am eternally grateful.

Of course there is more, but the list would just go on and on and on and on and on and on.....

Thanksgiving Day was wonderful:  Dinner at my brother's house with all the family and a friend of my mom's.  I hope we didn't scare her away :)  We can get a little obnoxious playing games and goofing around. 
The next day we hopped in the truck and drove up to the mountains to find our perfect Christmas tree.  Well, we found one....all 40 feet of it!  I will have to post a picture later-for some reason it's not letting me do it now-it says I have run out of storage space, HUH?


Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Updates

I figured I should jot some thoughts down while my two naughty, er, beautiful children were sitting in time-out.  Oh, some days I wonder....that's all, just wonder.

The pups all went to their  homes.  I feel so blessed that I had a good feeling about each owner.  All were going to homes where they would be hunting or homes with lots of children to give them lots of loves.  One pup went to a couple that planned on having her as a house dog-apparently they have had lots of labs as house dogs and thoroughly enjoy having them inside all the time.  I say, to each his own.  Belle does get to come in and enjoy the home, but she is definitely an outdoor dog.

Halloween came and went.  It was the warmest Halloween ever.  I believe the temp was 75 degrees.  I will take that any day.  Tomorrow we are supposed to get a huge snow storm, so now I can listen to Christmas music without feeling too guilty :)

Sporty and one of his baseball buddies-Chip-needless to say, he is quite entertaining



My little ninja fell asleep around 6pm and didn't wake up until the next morning.  When he woke up he asked if we were going trick-or-treating.  Poor kid-missed Halloween.

Sporty has started basketball and he is on a great team this year.  His coach is a really great coach.  His team consists of a mix of baseball team members and football team members.  It's really fun to watch them play and it's more fun for Sporty to have his sport buddies on his team.  He bonds so easily with his teammates and he truly loves them all.

Diva has started basketball as well.  BRAGGING MOMENT:  Diva is a very good athlete.  She is very competitive and she has the drive to do well, alot like Sporty.  I am her coach and I am really enjoying my team.  These girls work so hard and play with a lot of spunk.  We are even 3--0, which at this age really doesn't mean anything, but heck, we are undefeated.  I have twin towers which is awesome and then I have 2 half-pints that are cuter than snot.  They get in there and strip the ball away from the opponent-it.is.awesome!

Lolo is doing very well in Kindergarten.  She still has no Zilch, ZERO, NADA desire to play soccer or sports for that matter.  That's okay, really.  She has started to play the piano and she wants to play the violin.  Good enough for us :)

Z-man is, well, out of control. He's gotten away with being crazy and encourage by uncles to be crazy for so long that it has kind of become him. We are trying to tame the beast without killing the spirit :)

Here we are in a nutshell.  Yes, we are just a little bit nuts, too.  Well, I am.

So much...

There is so much going on and I am over whelmed.  All pups have been sold and will go to their new homes in two weeks. PHEW!
Sporty played football and made it to the play-offs, only to get beat by ONE amazing kid (his team was good, no doubt, but this kid was A-MAZING!).
Diva is playing comp soccer and her team is fantastic.  They have won all their games and tied once.  Not bad for a bunch of 7 year-olds.
Lolo is enjoying kindergarten and sings all the time.  She sings conversations which is so funny to hear but the siblings get annoyed very easily. 
Z-man is my right hand guy, especially when it comes to the pups.  He loves to help feed them and hold them and MAUL them.
Trevor is busy teaching, taking a class, and, oh yeah, being the 2nd councilor in the bishopric.  This will be get interesting as basketball and baseball get started.  I really am a coach's widow and now a bishopric's widow.
All is well, all is well-at least that is what I tell myself as I lay in the corner, in the fetal position sucking my thumb....

Look Who is Here!!!

We are soooo excited to announce the arrival of 9 pups!  They arrived on Friday August 31, 2012, starting at 6:50 pm and ending at 3:43 am.   And yes, I did assist on the births.  It was actually kind of gross but cool at the same time.  My kids were able to witness a few births as well.  There are 5 females and 4 males.  All are healthy and beautiful.  Belle is one amazing momma and I couldn't be more proud!

 

 

 

Look how pink they all are-like little piglets!

 

This is Stalker-the proud papa :)

 

Here is Belle-she's exhausted.

2 weeks old.  Their eyes just opened and their personalities are starting to come out.  So fun!

 These pups are so blasted adorable and fun!  I actually did not sleep the first week of their life-I was a nervous wreck!  I ended up getting sick, sick, sick and am now starting to feel better.  We are sure enjoying them and it is so funny listening to them whine, yelp, bark, growl, and howl.  They are beginning to wrestle with each other and play each other-oh.so.adorable!

Puppy watch continued

By golly I am getting a little anxious-still no pups, yet Belle is showing EVERY.SINGLE.SIGN of labor.  I guess I have a skewed sense of how slow labor can be, after all, I had all c-sections.  In at 8am out by 8:30-lickety split.  Maybe tonight???

Puppy watch 2012

This is Belle-our NOW calm Lab.  Who knew that knocking her up would calm her down so much.  So much so that she's been sleeping in Sporty's room at night and she does not get off her bed.

This sweetie is due this week with her first litter of puppies.  Exciting!!!  Our kids cannot wait and frankly, neither can I.  I think I am nesting just as much as she is.  I have been buying blankets, heat lamps and other items just to get ready for the arrival.  I have put all her blankets in her whelping box, cleaned out the kiddie pool (back up if needed), and I check on her hourly if she isn't by my side in the house.  I think I am a nervous Grandma :)

This is Belle when she was about 2 weeks along-she just wanted to lay here ALL.DAY.LONG.

This picture was taken yesterday-she looks and acts like she is 9 months pregnant. I can totally empathize with her.   However, when she is outside she is still bouncing around, following us around, playing, and being so sweet :)

 

 

 

Isn't she gorgeous?  These puppies are gonna be beautiful :)

Good luck baby girl-I will post pictures once the wee ones arrive!

Overview

June:  Warm, lots of baseball, and I mean LOTS OF BASEBALL.  Between Trevor and Sporty our life was baseball.

July:  Hot, Bear Lake (twice), Camping (I am officially too old to tent camp anymore-bring on the condo living), Lava Hot Springs, Willard, Golf, Family Reunion and did I mention hot?

I have been slacking in the picture department, but I make a vow to do better.  After all, I have a fabulous looking family :)

Heart break

It's with sadness that I post this-Grandma W passed away on Thursday August 2, 2012.  She had been battling many illnesses from some time, some even for years, but a recent illness put her in the hospital for about 5 weeks and she just couldn't overcome it.  We love you Grandma-we will miss you, but your memory and your love with stay with us every single day!  To Grandpa-we love you and pray that our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, wrap their arms of love, peace and comfort around you until you can be with your Eternal Sweetheart again.

Thought this could be an interesting post...

The kids are all nestled on the couch to my side,
watching the Olympics, oh what a ride.
Thinking I could entertain with my writing charm,
I was OH.SO.WRONG, as my children cause each other harm....

Not bad, eh?  I really had every intention to post about the crazy and fun stuff happening in our household, but, alas, my children have decided to not cooperate and sit and be kind and be quiet and listen and show love and cheer on the U.S. and not touch each other and just act like robots that must follow every and all of my commands. 

Shall I try tomorrow?

I heart adoption pt 2

I do not know why Blogger won't let me put "I <3 adoption".  Instead it puts the first line of the post... 

Due to some certain circumstances, visitors were limited. And, little EK had to be in the NICU-don't worry, she was fine.  Lyndi had to get a crap load of antibiotics towards the end of her labor and it's hospital policy to put the infants in NICU for observation, or something like that.  ANYWAY, Aunt Margee and cousin Nicolette came to visit and see this precious little girl, but in a very sterile, non-fun room.  We also had to be quiet while we were in there and that is something we don't do well.

Even if we did have to see her in the NICU we were grateful for that time with her.  And if I wasn't so blasted behind on all this blogging stuff I would have pictures of how darling she is today with all her chubbiness and I could tell you that she is doing fantastic and so is Lyndi.  Jared and Amanda are amazing people.  Til next time....

LIttle voices

There is nothing like listening to little voices getting along with each other.  Cousins are playing nicely...for now :)

Our little graduate

Lolo graduated from preschool back in May-we are so proud of her!  She worked so hard and it all paid off; she was her class Valedictorian!  Congrats my brown eyed beauty!  We love you so much!

Lolo and cousin K

Gpa Ted and Gma Sandi

Gma Net and Gpa Roger

Lolo and one of her besties.

This darling little boy is in love with Lolo-it was like pulling teeth to get them to take a picture together :)

Proud momma and poppa

Lolo and two best friends

Miss Lori-thanks for getting our kids ready for Kindergarten!!!

Prayers needed

I am attempting this post through my phone, so here goes...
There is a high school friend of mine whose daughter was in a serious ATV accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Her condition is still iffy and so they are asking for all the prayers they can get on their behalf. I am passing along this request as well and hopefully through all our faith and prayers this little girl will pull through and her parents can feel peace and comfort as well. I have copied her blog for all to check out and to keep updated. Thanks

Www.mckennlie.blogspot.com

Stupidity...

This was a post I wrote on Facebook:

"Have you ever met anyone that has accidentally super-glued a flower clip into her hair? Well, now you have :) I AM Awesome!"

Yes, yes I did just that...I super-glued a dang flower clip in my hair!  How did you do that? I hear you ask...
Well, first of all, I PERSONALLY feel like I am too old to wear a flower in my hair, or to at least pull off that look.  I see other ladies my age wear them and I think they look cute-but I wasn't ready for it.  Soooooo, I decided to try it, but the darn flower was broken off the clip.

I am like a female Macgyver, seriously, give me super glue and I can fix anything.  I fixed a broken cupboard door that split in half with super glue and BAM my condo sold just.like.that.  I took the glue and fixed the clip.  I let it dry for like, oh, an hour, or at least it was dry to the touch.  What I hadn't thought about was that it was still wet on the actual flower.  I popped that sucker into my hair, went to church, went to my mom's for dinner, came home and when I went to take the clip out, it WOULD NOT BUDGE!  Holy crap!

I slowly pulled individual pieces of hair out of the "stick zone" and then I thought that if I put it under hot water then maybe that would break it up a bit to get more hair out.  I was wrong-it broke my hair completely off.  It was about a 2 inch by 2 inch chunk.  Yes, CHUNK!  It was about 11:00 at night and I just looked in the mirror and shrugged.  I mean, what else could I do?

The next morning I surveyed the damage and it actually wasn't too bad-I apparently added layers to the one side of my head.  AWESOME.  Yes, I am THAT awesome.  Who else could pull off a layered look created by super-glue???? 

So now you have met someone who accidentally super-glued a flower clip into her hair. 

I <3 Adoption pt 1


I have thought about how I would approach this subject in the most gentile, loving, sensitive way, so here I go...

World, meet E.K.  She arrived on April 25, 2012, at 1:08am.  She was a whopping 7 lbs 5 oz and was 20.5 inches long.  Isn't she beautiful?!?!!

Now, let me back up 6 months earlier.  My sister dropped a bombshell, and YES it was a bombshell, that she was pregnant.  I had very mixed feelings flowing through my noggin as she explained the who, what, where, why, and how of life and this particular situation.  I felt so bad for my sister and the tough choices she was going to face in the the very near future.

Flash forward a month or so-I get a phone call from my sister asking me to contact a friend of mine,who had adopted two ADORABLE boys, to ask a few questions about adoption.  Up to this point she was wanting to keep the baby.  So I called my friend, Amanda, asked the questions and received the answers.  The entire time I was on the phone with her I just kept thinking, "please let my sister choose adoption and choose Jared and Amanda."

A week later my sister called me again and asked me to contact Amanda again to see if she and Jared would meet with my sister and her case worker-so I placed the call.  What a wonderful, tearful, joyous call I have ever made in my life.  I really didn't think I would cry but I just broke down, which caused my friend to break down as well.  Her answer, "Of course we will meet with them!"

Flash forward to April 24, 2012.  My sister was past her due date a few days and she was having contractions but nothing consistent, but I went to spend the day with her anyway.  I was rubbing her back during a contraction when her water broke!  So excited but a little nerve racking-at least for me. 

We get to the hospital, Jared and Amanda were called and labor began and continued and continued, etc, etc, etc.  Man, labor is long!

Here are the adoptive parents, me, and my mom.  We were my sister's cheerleaders the entire time.  There may have even been some dancing involved-just saying.  And there may be some pictures catching a certain blond in the act-again, just saying :)

My sister wanted all of us in the room when she began pushing so, of course, I was was totally there!  I gave birth to 4 children, but all by c-section so this was a whole new experience.  Let me just say, I have a whole new respect for women who give birth vaginally-yes, I did just type that word.  I CANNOT believe all the work my sister did to bring this beautiful little girl into the world.  I was amazed, in awe, and I just kept saying, "How the HECK are you doing this!!!!!"  And then there she was-this perfect little being, with perfect dark hair, and perfect olive skin, and perfect little fingers and toes.  Side note:  My sister was born with 12 toes, so we examined the toes right away :)

SHE.WAS.PERFECT.

The flood gates opened and cameras began to snap, and flashes began flashing.  It was so surreal to see everything going on.  My sister looked beautiful, absolutely exhausted, but beautiful.  AMAZING~

Beautiful birth mom

Proud Poppa and Momma

Even more proud Birth Grandparents

...and my favorite-This is Woody-not only was she a FANTASTIC post buddy in high school, but she is one.amazing.dr!  Yes, I grew up with this Doc, and she has some mad skills as an OB.  Love her for the way she took care of my sister.

There is so much more to come, so to be continued....