Merry Christmas!

This year's Christmas brought snow! My kids probably spent at least 2 hours in the frigid temps playing in the snow. They made snow angels and tracks all over the yard! However, they were not able to make a snowman. The snow was so dry and not at all packable. After some hot cocoa and a change into warm clothes, we had FHE and the kids were able to open their Christmas Eve gift....I'll tell you what it was because you will never guess (ha ha).....PJ'S!!! I think Gav was a little disappointed that he wasn't able to open any more gifts on Christmas Eve.....and I caught him peeking (yes, peeking) later that night (yes, I was wrapping gifts in the living room...lesson learned).

Gav and Shelbs raced to open their Christmas socks first!

Gifts from Santa!

Kams' new noise maker!

Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!

Did you know this cat continues to meow even though no one is playing with it?

Over all, we had a very enjoyable holiday. We were a little sad that we couldn't be with family, but we were able to talk to them on the phone. And even though we were not with extended family, we were together with our own little family and I couldn't have asked for more! Happy New Year everyone! See you in a few weeks!!!!

Readers Beware!

This is going to come close to a marathon post! I have so much to catch up on and you might need a snack (or caffeine) should you choose to read on! November brought us several birthdays..Gavin turned 6 and Shelbi turned 4 on November 18! Here are a few pics...

Gavin decided that this year he didn't want to share his birthday with his sister. So, because Gav had school that day, Shelbi and I went to the bounce house in the morning (that's what she wanted to do for her birthday). When Dallin got home from "work", they opened presents. Then, the Saturday of the same week we went to the mall and played in their play place (That's what Gav wanted to do).


I also let them choose what kind of cake they wanted. Gavin wanted a motorcycle cake and Shelbi wanted a big cookie with candles on it! Next year Gavin wants a day all to himself!

Then, came Dallin's birthday on November 25 (the big 3-5, but don't tell him I told you!). He "worked" on his birthday and I prepared a nice dinner for him to celebrate. This was also another big day for Gavin (and it helps me to remember).

He lost his first tooth! The tooth right next to it followed 2 weeks later! Do they ever stop growing up so fast?

Our next big event came on December 11 (Happy birthday, Ian). My AWESOME husband GRADUATED! I cannot believe it's over! Now he just has to pass the BIG test (no pressure there!). Here are some photos of the graduation....

Dallin with his friends from the program, Kevin and Tim. I am SO PROUD of you, Dallin!
A big thanks to Dallin's family for all your help and we are so grateful you were able to make it to the graduation!

After graduation, Dallin, Kam, and I headed to Gillette, Wyoming to find a house. Gav and Shelbi stayed with a friend of mine (thanks again, Shalene). Our trip was successful and we returned from a very cold Wyoming to beautiful sunny days in Texas. This was our weather on December 23.....

Our high that day was 75 degrees! We played at the park in shorts and t-shirts! We awoke on Christmas Eve to this....


I'm not sure if we even hit 40! The kids were so excited that we got a WHITE Christmas...in Texas!

They just keep coming!

The past two Christmases we have spent in Texas, we have been blessed by a Secret Santa or Secret Elves. I am so grateful to whoever it was that left packages at our door for my family. What a great opportunity it has been to teach my children about giving AND receiving, because not all that we have received has been a physical gift. Our gifts have come in the form of blessings: great friends, a great ward, and amazing experiences since we have moved here. It has been such a joy and blessing to teach my kids about blessings from our Savior. And even though there are days when I fall desperately short of my expectations, He still continues to bless me and my family. My best gift for Christmas? Seeing the joy on the faces of my children Christmas morning.

So Wrong!

Speaking of things being wrong, I received a letter in the mail yesterday from the City of Fort Worth. What's wrong with that? you might ask. It wasn't just any letter from the city (our water bill comes from them), it was from the Red Light Enforcement (I almost said red light district and that IS wrong!!!! LOL!). As you might guess from that, it was indeed a TICKET! My heart was pounding as I tried to remember the last time I ran a red light....there was that time in Vegas with my ROOMMATES....oh, that's right. I don't INTENTIONALLY run them! I opened the letter and gasped (because they print pictures of your vehicle, the intersection, your plates on the ticket). There it was.....8th Avenue and Elizabeth street and there was no mistaking the SATURN running that red light. Now, you might wonder, don't I drive the Santa Fe? The answer is YES! It was actually DALLIN that ran the light, but I got the ticket because the car is in my name. How wrong is that?! So not fair! And on the upside, so glad it wasn't me!

Last night we were out shopping and as we were standing at the register, Gavin says to the girl, "Guess what? It is WAY past my bedtime!" The girl laughed and so did I. It was interesting that he chose to say that on a FRIDAY night and it was 7:45 p.m. (his bedtime is 8:00). At least he is becoming more aware of time!

Beware!

For those of you who read my fb comment about taking the SPIDERS over the MILLIPEDES.....this is why. Sure, the creature APPEARS relatively small in the above pic. However, this is a Texas sized spider!

And they live in my backyard! This is a garden spider and the cup he is in is a baby food container from Walmart (a little bigger than the single serve applesauce cups). I wanted to mail him to Utah so family would know there was no exaggeration on its size, but since I've already murdered a gecko (not on purpose!), I couldn't risk the chance of this one dying en route! EW!

Awesome tidbits from Texas!

First, I owe myself a HUGE congratulations for being able to breastfeed this long! 8 months!!! And still going! I am continually grateful at the end of every day that I am still able to nurse. For those of you who don't know my previous experience with this, the longest I was able to nurse my other two children was 6 1/2 months. My goal with Kam was to make it to at least 8 months (and I was VERY skeptical). I'm not giving up, just sharing my success!

On that note, I am also allowed to swear in front of my therapist (and I sometimes do)....wait, Charlene, if you're reading this, I'm kidding. I never swear....ever....! Oh, and Erica too....never!

The other day Gavin and I stopped at Braum's (awesome ice cream place, similar to Baskin Robbins for those of you not in Texas) for ice cream. I was waiting 1 car back from the window to pay (and my windows were down, of course) when I started to smell smoke. It smelled like a fire and with each gust of wind, became a stronger odor. I commented to Gavin about it and even started looking around for the direction it might be coming from. Then, I thought I saw a puff of smoke by the front driver's side tire (gasp! I know...). I leaned out my window and saw nothing...until I turned my head and looked back. There it was! It appeared that someone had tossed a cigarette into the wood chips right beside the Braum's building. I was disgusted and shocked at the same time. There were no flames yet, but smoldering ashes that grew in circumference every time the wind blew (and it was blowing yesterday). As soon as I got to the window, I told the girl to get me a cup of water so I could douse the hazard. I like to think that I just saved Braum's from burning down! I know there were no flames (but with the wind blowing like it was, it was inevitable that there soon would be), but sometimes mommie's need to feel like HEROES! And yesterday, I was one....at least in Gav's eyes. It was AWESOME!

Halloween Fun!

This year for Halloween, we headed out with some friends to do some old fashioned trick or treating (as opposed to a trunk or treat). My kids were too young to remember REAL trick or treating. They had so much fun and came home with WAY too much candy!

Our little spooks at the ward carnival. Gav was a knight, Shelbi was a lady bug, and Kamron was a frog prince. He tolerated his costume VERY well. He even kept the hood on for a little while!

We carved pumpkins and as always, the kids loved it. They were fascinated by the pumpkin "guts", though neither Gav nor Shelbi wanted to touch them. Gavin wanted to save the pumpkin seeds, but I said no. Dallin, of course, was totally decked out for this adventure. But, as the family knows, he is ALWAYS prepared!

Kam's, Shelbi's, & Gav's pumpkins

This is the finished product. I love it when the pumpkins are finished and we light candles in them. The kids love the spooky glow and I LOVE to scare them!

The glass in my ragu...

I made spaghetti for my family a few days ago. I was adding the Ragu sauce to my burger and when I went to scrape out the jar, this is what I found. This is a piece of glass about 3 inches long. Needless to say, I couldn't feed this to my family. But I took pictures and called Ragu.

Pretty scary!

They grow up so fast!

Shelbi really is a great helper. I think she's developing courage because now she will actually stand at the podium in Primary. She won't say anything, but she is still making progress. A few months ago, she wouldn't even participate because she didn't like that everyone was looking at her. She still doesn't like everyone looking at her, but is becoming more brave! And....she's not my baby anymore! She is growing so fast!

Speaking of growing fast, Kamron is just sprouting! He rolls and army crawls (pretty fast) and is not discourage when you put your leg on the floor in front of him to prevent him from attacking something....he just crawls over it now!

Shelbi loves to show off the preschool things she makes!

He's such a happy baby! And such a momma's boy. He's had separation issues since he was about 4 1/2 months...just ask my girl friends. He's so lovable that I don't mind. I'm a lucky mom that gets to maul her baby!

Zoo fun with Shelbi

Because Gavin is in school now, Shelbi and I have a lot of time to do some extra bonding. She also misses Gavin when he's gone. We went to the Fort Worth Zoo with some friends for the day and Shelbi LOVED it!

Shelbi and her friends climb aboard the kangaroo! It reminded me of Gavin atop the husky in Central Park!

Termite mounds

One evening I asked the kids to go to bed and when I went upstairs to check on them, this is what I found. I think it was mostly Shelbi's idea since she is OBSESSED with stuffed animals. I thought it was pretty cute and they both told me that the animals were in school. They must have been having circle time!

The stress of it all....

This past week has been very hard for me. My dad was put in the hospital a week ago Sunday. They thought he had e-coli, but it turns out that he had some other kind of bacterial infection. He was released yesterday and is sounding much better. And then there's my own personal issues and feeling like I need to have friends to validate my own self worth. It's so easy to forget who I really am when I get caught up in what everyone else is doing. I have no control over the actions of other people and when I'm drowning in my own ocean of tears, I don't remember that my worth is not determined by my friend's choices. It's hard for me to not compare myself to other moms. I know that's a dangerous road and everyone's circumstances are different. I need to pull myself out of my hole of self pity and focus on what's really important in my life: my family, my children. In the end, they're what I really live for.

Starting early

As Shelbi and I were driving the other day, she was trying to tell me something. This is how she starts out, "Gav, oh, Daddy, oh, Mama!" I laughed. She went through everyone's names (except Kam's) before she got to mine! I thought that didn't start until you have kids! Or maybe I've done it so many times in front of her that she's learned it!

On a more serious note, I had the neatest experience with Gavin and Shelbi several days ago. They both have been sick with fevers and coughs (no, it isn't the swine flu). After 3 days, Dallin and I decided they needed to have a blessing. The kids weren't too sure about it at first. I think they thought it was going to be some horrible ritual where they would be beaten well. After the blessing, I sat down with them and talked to them about the Priesthood, explaining that a very special prayer had been said on their behalf. Of course they asked questions about the oil and the whole process. I, of course, got teary eyed as I realized how grateful I am for the priesthood. And what a comfort it is to know that we can call upon the healing powers of Heaven.

Adding to that serious note is another one. I was talking to a girlfriend a few days ago and we were discussing being fabulous (I happen to think she is super awesome). There are days when our parenting skills mimic that of someone who needs more education in caring for children. Days like that we probably don't feel so fabulous and are pretty sure we will not be up for nomination on the good parent award. I told her that sometimes the most fabulous thing about us is that we are daughters of God. What does that have to do with the tea in China? Nothing, but even at our worst, we are still His children and that's fabulous all by itself.

6 months!!!

He just keeps getting cuter and cuter!

Kam had his 6 month check up today. I can hardly believe that six months has already gone by! He is such a great little guy! Kam weighed in at 15 pounds 13 ounces and is now 27 inches long! He rolls ALL over the place and is really close to scooting. He sticks his bum in the air while reaching and then he topples sideways and rolls. Kam can tri-pod for about 10 seconds before he leans too far one way and falls over. He has 4 teeth and bites frequently. He is sleeping through the night most nights and when he does awaken, it is only once and he always goes right back to sleep. He is so NOT a fan of baby food, juice, or anything that resembles baby food! He will tolerate water (barely), but loves to try whatever I am eating (but that does not happen often). He is a huge momma's boy and cries whenever someone else tries to hold him (he's better with Dallin). We love him so much and Gav and Shelbi are the best big brother and sister EVER!!!

Hanging out at the park!

Gav and Shelbs feeding the ducks. These ducks were actually bread snobs! No, I really think that because it was Labor Day weekend, they were fed A LOT and so they weren't very hungry when we came along. Even the turtles stayed away!

Random pics

It was definitely a PJ day!

Such a ham!

Anyone else think she'll try out for cheerleading?! I bought this little uniform for her at a thrift store thinking that she could use it for Halloween. It has since become her favorite thing to play in. She will wear this all day sometimes and yes....she does have a little cheer that she shouts!

Is that not the meanest face of a 5 year old? He probably gets it from me!

He's just so sweet!

Secret Agent chalk girl?!?

Secret Agent Shelbi

Chalk makes for GREAT make up! And she does this EVERY time we chalk!

Rain storms are always fun for us. Once the threat of severe weather is over and the rain is pouring, we head outside for a reprieve from the heat! Notice the water gushing out of the rain gutter on the right....it was raining really hard!

This is one of our favorite past times! The kids head outside with their umbrellas, then jump in puddles until they are soaked....but they still need the umbrella..."but I'll get all wet!" says Shelbi!