Santa's Lap

We had a ward Christmas party earlier

in the month and one of the guys in the

ward dressed up like Old Saint Nick!

Caitlin in particular was kinda nervous
but he was so kind to her that she

warmed up to him quite well. Evelyn

informed him that she wanted presents

for Christmas and Caitlin whispered

"I love you" in his ear. Spencer just

wanted one of the candy canes that

Santa was handing out!

No Pictures Please

I just love
James!!
He'll
probably
kill me for
blogging
him, but I
found this
picture
when
I was
looking


through Picasa and it made me laugh. So there's this civil
war battle field down where my parents live. Anyway
this past summer on our way home we stopped and
walked around for a while. You know how it is...stand in
front of a bunch of memorials and take pictures of each
other. Well...I guess James would rather stick his head
in a canon than have his picture taken! I suppose I
should be in awe of his dedication in being humble but
mostly it just makes me laugh!

Homeowner's glee

Well James and I have moved up in the world. We are finally home owners!! Yay :) Some you may think.. is that it?! but every time I tell the girls..." take your clothes to the laundry room", or look at paint samples or when I find new squeaky spots on the floor, I can't help but smile. Kinda cheesy I know but I don't care. I can finally paint my walls AND my washer and dryer are inside my house and they're mine all mine...well mine and the banks'... and James'.

Calvin's Snowmen Antics

Classic Calvin snowmen for your enjoyment!

Baby blessing

James and I decided to have Madelin blessed last Sunday. Unfortunately in all the chaos of moving the camera was misplaced and we didn't get any pictures on the actual blessing day. So Tuesday I finally found it and I set up a make-shift studio in my bedroom. I'm glad I found the camera so soon because the sunday she was blessed she was just barely fitting into her dress!

Never Mess With a Couch!

My couch beat me up!
Ok, so James and I closed
on a house the weekend before
Thanksgiving. Well over Thanksgiving
weekend my folks came up to
help us out with the move.
Somehow the springs in our
couch came loose during the move
and while I inspected the problem,
my couch totally whacked
me in the face! Don't let this
picture fool you. This was taken
4 days after the beating.
So I'm the survivor of a brutal
sofa beating. Weird!

Tag

The Rules: Each player lists 6 facts/habits/secrets about themselves. At the end of the post the player tags six people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Have fun!



1. I think I'm obsessive compulsive. For instance: When I eat skittles, m&ms, runts, etc, I always sort them into colors and eat them according to flavors. I usually eat the flavor I least like and save the best for last. For skittles the order is: yellow, green, purple, orange, red. Wow I think I'm a little crazy.



2. I love to try new food. My husband is the opposite. When he finds an entree that he likes he rarely ever orders anything different. I don't necessarily like to eat weird things just stuff I haven't had before. I think the weirdest thing I've eaten would be fried pickles and frog legs but I was in Mississippi at the time. To appease my love for the new I've initiated expirement Tuesday. It's fun and it's only one night that my family has to suffer through.



3. I believed in Santa Claus until I was in fifth grade. Embarrassing I know. I love Christmas and I loved believing in Santa. It was a happy time for me. I also didn't have any older siblings to burst my bubble.



4. When I was dating in high school I always looked at noses and for arms. I can't possibly know the reason for my strange obsession , but the guys that were most attractive to me had good arms and cute noses. Weird!



5. I love to build and fix stuff. Nothing big. Little things like patching a hole in the wall or putting together a chest of drawers from walmart. Actually I'm really bad with exact measurements, but I have a husband that can take care of that for me. See we're the perfect team he's the brains I'm the muscle. LOL



6. I'm a perfectionist. Not in a good way. For example, when I was in high school I got really bad grades in my math class because if I didn't finish every problem on my assignments I wouldn't turn them in. Stupid I know but I couldn't stand to turn someting in unfinished. I think I've gotten a little better since I've gotten older but I still get hung up sometimes.

I want to tag: Laura, Nikki, Amy, Lia, Kate, and Calley

Trick or Treat

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I really enjoy designing and creating the costumes that my kids wear

This year Evelyn and Caitlin chose to be fairy princesses.

Recently Spence has really been into Toy Story so we made him a cowboy. The stick is actually a stick horse but he never really figured it out!

Last but not least. Madelin was a butterfly for 2 minutes (for pictures).

Pig Tails

There has been much debate as to whether Madelin has as much hair as Evelyn did when she was a newborn...I think this picture says it all.

Madelin

Well October 2nd turned out to be a great day, exhausting, but great! James and I ended up naming this little angel Madelin (Madee for short). She weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 20. 5 inches long. Labor was...well...labor. It was like death so I'm glad it was only 5 hours. I got an epidural but the most it did was to take the edge off. I guess I'm glad for that. All in all I can't complain. I now have four beautiful healthy children and a wonderful husband. I feel so blessed and grateful for the opportunity to have such a family.

Sweet baby

I took this picture the day that we brought Madee home from the hospital. It always amazes me how sweet these little ones are. Before I had her I couldn't quite picture life with her, now I can't imagine life without her. She's brought such a sweet spirit into our home. I'm glad she's finally here!

What am I doing?!

The longer I'm a mom the more I realize
that I have no idea of what I'm doing!
Back before I had kids I was the best
mom on the planet. Turns out I lost my abilities
as soon as I actually became a mother. Weird.

Evelyn

The alpha-female!
I say that but
in all reality Evi
is one of the
most tender
little girls I've
ever come across.
She loves her
brother and
sister to the
point of annoyance
for both parties.
Of course they
both love her
dearly just more
at a distance.

Caitlin

Ever since Caitlin
has come to our
home life has been
one big drama fest!
She has so much
spirit that one can't
help but be sucked
into her many many
moods. I believe
that great things
await this little one.

"The Boy"

This is "The Boy"
aka: Spencer.
Of all my babies
he has been
the most laid back.
Until recently
he never cried
unless seriously
wounded.
Oh, and he was sleeping
through the night
at 8 weeks old.
I don't know
why I qualified for
such a terrific kid
but I'm gonna
take him and run.

Children=really short hair!

Time moves so quickly these days. It wasn't that long ago that I was sitting
in geometry listening to Mrs. Peterson lecture about cake decorating. Now I'm the one decorating birthday cakes! I guess I should have listened better because ....well ....I'm pretty bad. I'm grateful that I cater to such a forgiving audience.
When I actually have time to think, I'm always amazed at how much I've changed. I'm still me of course, older but still me. My mom even says I look different since I've started having children. I guess what I'm trying to say is that being a "mommy" is the best change I've ever made! I do have days that I want to pull my hair out (hence the shortness of it) but after they're all asleep I'm reminded of how blessed I am to have such wonderful little people grace my life. And in just a few short weeks James and I get to welcome our newest little angel. Maybe I'll get a buzz cut!