What's Christmas without a decorated tree?

This year we moved the tree into our front room so we can see the lights of it from the outside. It was Brooke and Brittany's first time to help. (They have been in bed all the years past.) We had a great time and of course the twins screamed for joy when we pulled out all the bright colored balls! I love the time together putting up a tree. Christmas music playing in the background and a fire in the fireplace. What's more magical than that?

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Paying our tribute

As I posted earlier, we lost our family cat last week. My parents were kind enough to send flowers, so after Thanksgiving dinner, we went out and put flowers on her grave. It was really sweet. We will miss you Katie!

Thanksgiving Day 2008

Thanksgiving this year was one that will go down in history as one of the great. We stayed home this year and had a great time as a family.

Everyone picked what they wanted to make for dinner. Montana picked deviled eggs.

Her first time, and she loved it!

Looks like dad approves!

Hunter chose to help with the turkey.

He had a blast (and was a little grossed out) cleaning it out! Wonder if he'll do it again-check out that face!

The girl's did crafts while we waited for the turkey to come out of the oven. Lexus talked on the phone to grandma and grandpa in Las Vegas.

Nice creations, girls!

Getting ready to make mashed potatoes-yummy!

Good job, dude!

My first attempt at homemade apple pie. Good thing we ate it fast, it wasn't so pretty....

Has anyone seen the twins!?


This is what the twins were doing while we were making dinner- fingernail polish!

Now, LET'S EAT!

Twilight Weekend

We had such a great time when Laura came over from Colorado for a visit.! We went to lunch, did a Body Shop party, went to see Twilight, and had breakfast! Good friends like that are one in a million!

Katie- our little friend

13 years ago this week, Barry and I were young newlyweds coming home from Thanksgiving at the Jardine's with the first addition to our family. Katie. Little did we know how much she would become to mean to us, nor how many wonderful memories she would give us. We fell in love with her huge eyes and big ears. She was my comfort at the end of every day, silently giving me encouragement, my sleeping buddy at night who would calm my fears. She understood me. She never seemed to age, even when she was older. I knew she was getting older and I would tell her daily, "you can't ever die." Nothing is forever in this life. We lost her last week. We were taking care of a family dog, Daisy, who was in need of a new home and we were her "foster" home until we found a more permanent residence. She had been a part of our home for 2 weeks and was adjusting very well. Even to Katie. Unfortunately, last friday, before leaving for Utah, I was running errands. I came home to quickly grab a coat I needed for the trip. The dogs had been outside, but while I was gone Daisy managed to open the back door, got into the house and killed Katie. It was a horrific scene. I thought our home had been broken into at first. Tables were knocked over, rugs flipped, pillows off the couches, heating vents out of the floor. Then I noticed the blood.... There was blood throughout my home; walls in three different rooms, on the couches, floors, bathroom cabinets. And then I found her. Terror frozen on her face. Lying on my bathroom floor, her favorite place to sit while I got ready in the morning. She looked like a dog toy, soaked head to toe with saliva. Words cannot describe the pain I felt as I held her lifeless body and cried. Such a sweet and wonderful friend did not deserve that kind of an end.

Why am I writing this? Partly because I need to. They say it's very theraputic. Partly because I want to. But mostly because this is Thanksgiving, the time to give thanks for all we have. I am grateful to the deepest depths of my soul for a loving Father in Heaven who sends little angels to touch our hearts, even if they are wrapped in little bodies of fur. I am thankful for the joy and pure happiness she brought me for thirteen years. I loved her! I am thankful my children loved her, and the tenderness I saw in my husband with her.

So I want everyone who knows me, to know how much I loved Katie and how she will be missed. Be grateful this Thanksgiving for all you have. I am.

What is life like with twins?

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Eggs Anyone?

Does breakfast for dinner ever sound good to you? Yeah, me too.


So the other night I decided to make a breakfast feast. German pancakes, bacon, eggs, toast, the works. It was so yummy, my kids all scarfed it dcown as fast as they could. (Which for my kids is quite unusual.) So there I sat, enjoying the small talk I was having with my three older kids when I heard a noise just on the other side of the counter that sounded like paper ripping. I knew Brooke was over there, and there was nothing on the floor she could destroy. So, I let it go.

A little later, I got up to start on dishes and rounded the corner. And then I knew. Just what eggs sound like as they are being smashed on the kitchen floor- paper ripping!

Yep-Brooke was as happy as could be sitting in the middle of a raw eggs mess. All over the floor and her hands. Thank goodness for my trusted vacuum/dog, Heidi, who loves to clean up after them!

Note to self- when hearing a strange noise that seems out of place- GO CHECK RIGHT AWAY!

Eggs Anyone?

Double Trouble

So I thought I would share with you my day yesterday. It all started out fine, Hunter was home from school because he threw up in class. I was finally getting a rhythm on the never ending laundry. It became nap time for the twins. So I put them down (for the first time) and 30 min. goes by. I notice the sound of water running up stair and giggling, so I went to check out what I thought was Hunter and Lexus playing.

NO.

It was Brittany on the counter in the bathroom with Brooke standing next to her. They were trying to clog the drain by stuffing chicken nuggets down the drain while the water was running.

Needless to say, they went back in their cribs-without pacifiers this time. That'll teach them-right?

Nope.

Twenty minutes goes by. I think they've finally fallen asleep. I went upstairs to tell Hunter something, and found clothes strewn all over the hallway outside the twins door. Apparently, they were mad. They got back out of their cribs, went into their closet, and began pulling all their clothes off hangers and throwing them out their door.

Third-times-the -charm......Back to their cribs they go.

I decided to try and get the laundry going again. A little time passed and all the kids came home from school. Anyone who has kids, know that between 4-6:00 p.m. is the "witching hour". All chaos breaks loose. Homework, cub scouts, reading, dinner, hungry kids, tired kids.

So, who do I see coming down the stairs?

Brooke and Brittany- soaked to the bone with water!

They flooded my upstairs! They took Tupperware bowls of water and poured them all over the bathroom, hall, and Montana's bedroom!

What's the point of this story?

It explains why I sped to the store and paid whatever the cost to purchase these:

Our First Broken Nose?

GOOD NEWS!! It's not broken, or so he thinks (the doctor). After seeing all the blood gushing out of Brittany's nose, I thought for sure we had our first broken nose. This picture was taken after we cleaned her up the first time. Trust me, she looks better in this picture than she did before it. The bleeding just wouldn't stop. I know this is probably going to land me in the running for "worst mom ever" category because I stop to take a picture of my bleeding child! But, some things you have to see to believe!

So how does something like this happen to a sweet little girl, you might ask? Let's just say a certain older sister thought it would be fun for her to hang from a tree branch in the backyard. Mind you, this "tree branch" is several feet off the ground and my older kids have to use a chair to reach it. In the process of teaching her younger sister the art of swinging, a 20lb. two-year old can't hang on like the rest of them. Surprised!? Yeah-me, too. (Not really if you know my kids).

So luckily, I took her to the doctor today and he said he doesn't think it's broken, but we have to "wait for the swelling to go down first to be sure." She could have used some glue on the end of her nose to close the split, but since it had already been 24 hrs. it was holding itself together and no need to re-open it.

And the stories of raising children continue to go forth!...............

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Harvest Party!

Today I got to go to Hunter's 3rd grade class and help with their Fall Harvest Party. I did the Boo Bingo Center. We had Bingo cards and used Candy Corn as our place makers. (We ate a bunch, too). They made slime, played pin the tail on the cat, made eyeballs, and played hot pumpkin. We had such a great time. I can't wait to do more with his class!

We had such a crazy, fun time carving our pumpkins this year. Usually the twins are in bed, but we thought they could hang out with us this year. Hunter is getting better and better each year and now is carving it by himself. Montana and dad figured out a cool design. Lexus helped the twins. Brooke liked transfering one bowl of pumpkin guts to another bowl. Back and Forth the guts went, sometimes they made it back into a bowl. Other times, it went everywhere. Brittany was happy pushing her baby around the table and including her in the festivities!