Celebrations and Sorrows...........

The kids and I are slowly getting back into the groove with things since our trip to Utah. We had quite the adventure, filled with both celebrations and sorrows.

Celebrations.........

.....My brother David and his wife, Lori, were sealed in the Manti Temple. They were sealed in the same room that my parents, myself, and each of my siblings were married in. So it was wonderful to be in that beautiful room, along with my amazing family again. (minus my sweetheart) I was so happy to have been there to experience that special day with David and Lori. They are an amazing couple and we love them so much. (how did I not get a picture of you two?)



.....Spending precious time with family and loved ones.

.....Sliding down the steps at "the house" and doing some work there. (Sorry we didn't do more, but the storage room looks great. Keep going!!)

.....Lots of cousin time (Thanks Cliff and Jenny for letting us kidnap Hali for a few days. The girls had a ball! ...and by the way, Cliff... No Deal!)

.....Having a betty crocker session with my sister, Holly. She makes the most incredible rolls. (I busted out the kitchenaid to try to make some, but had the wrong yeast. I'll let you know how it goes as soon as I try them. Thanks Holly!)

.....Introducing my kids to "Shearing Sheep". As a child I grew up on a farm where my dad raised sheep. It was always a treat when it came time to shear the sheep and though the process has changed drastically since my childhood, it was so fun to take my kids to my cousins farm and watch it all happen.

.....Finally getting to go for a horseride. Thanks Uncle Travis!! Afterwards, Brooklyn and Hali thought it would be fun to be the pooper scoopers. It's amazing what 4 year olds find entertaining.

.....Cheering on the Wayne High Badgers Basketball team. Brooklyn even got into my old stash of cheer/dance gear and sported the purple and gold with giant pom poms for the games. She loved being a "cheerleader". The team did great and ended up taking 1st at Region and 4th in the State Tourney. I have three cousins that play on the team, one of which has only one arm and has been getting a lot of great attention for his talent and determination. He's been on the news, the Today Show, and wouldn't appear on Good Morning America unless they took the starting five with him! He was also featured as the cover story in the February issue of The New Era. Congrats Porter, Lance and Tyce!

And now for the Sorrows........

Take a look at this sweet little girl. This is my niece, Alyssa. She is my sister, Lori's, youngest. A few days before we went to Utah, Alyssa hadn't been feeling well and was hospitalized with RSV. She then came home, but was not getting any better, so after another trip to the hospital, and a few tests later, she was sent to Primary Children's Hospital. Through more testing, the doctors found a tumor in Alyssa's abdomin. After a few days and even more tests, sweet little Alyssa was diagnosed with a cancer called neuroblastoma. She is in Stage IV and is High-Risk. It also is in her bone marrow as well as a little bit of bone disease. This being the case, they have to fight it pretty aggressively. She just finished her first chemo treatment and they are hoping to take her home to care of her there before the next series of chemo begins. This has been heartbreaking news and it's hard not to think about anything else. It's amazing how our Faith is tried and tested through these life "experiences" and gives us an extra push to realize how much our Heavenly Father loves us and to appreciate His amazing plan. It breaks my heart to be so far away during this time. I wish I could do more for their family. If any of you out there have any amazing fundraising ideas for me, I'd love to atleast be able to help out in that way. Leave your ideas in the comments for me! And if anyone is interested, they have a carepage for her here. You have to set up an account, then enter alyssasjourney as the carepage you want to view. Please keep her in your prayers!!

Playing CatchUp

Here I am again, playing catch-up with the blog................So Long 2007!

Well, we had a wonderful, adventurous holiday season (complete with returned missionaries, sick kids, a 40th anniversary, family parties, ice skating, skeet shooting, bowling, playing games, and delayed flights) and we're already running top speed thru the new year. The highlight of 2008? Brooklyn is finally in ballet class. Yipee! Yahoo! (there'll be more to come on that fun!) Also, the kids and I are taking off on another adventure to Utah. My brother and his wife are being sealed in the temple and we wouldn't miss it for the world. And hey, we're always looking forward to a great excuse to see family! More great news....My recently returned missionary brother is engaged!! Crazy and quick, yet so wonderful. He's been in love with this darling girl since the 8th grade. Wedding is in May! Another great opportunity to see family! Anyway, I'm sharing our holiday adventures slide show style. So grab some popcorn, kick back, and Enjoy!

December Twenty-What?!?!?

Hello Blogging World!

It's been a long time! I'm kicking myself in gear and posting a blog before Christmas if it's the last thing I do! I may not get Christmas cards sent, or neighbor gifts delivered, but I will finish this blog!! I've hit panic mode in my preparing for the holidays. I need to get one of those "Easy" buttons from Staples. I have just one week before the kids and I fly home for Christmas and have so much to do. Yes, you read that right. I am flying alone with my three kids. Call me crazy, but I'm anxious to spend time with my family AND my youngest brother, Michael, is coming home from his mission on the 19th (Yipee, Yahoo, Yipee), so I am willing to go to extreme lengths to be there. I'll let you know if I'll be doing it again anytime in the future. (Luckily, Brian will be joining us later and we'll all fly back together. I'm not that crazy!)

So, because this bloggin' stuff is suppost to fill the large hole of guilt I feel for not scrapbooking (okay,maybe not so large, but hey, I gave it an effort. I got to Brooklyn's blessing day) I feel the need to go back and document October and November. So hang in there as I indulge myself in catching up with our lives.

OCTOBER......

I love Autumn! The cool, crisp air, the breathtaking colors of the changing leaves, bringing out the sweaters and long sleeves, and Halloween. It's a pretty quick change of seasons for us though, and the playing-in-the-piles-of-leaves weather doesn't last long. It's more like playing-in-the-soggy-piles-of-leaves weather. But we enjoyed it while we could!

Our attempt at getting some great fall pictures. Isaac would not hold still for anything. Who could blame him though with all those crunchy leaves to kick around! I was chasing him with the camera trying to get a shot, and that's the best I could do. I love the picture of Brooklyn holding Lillie Kate. Her face says it all!

The 1st Annual Mill Creek Ward "Hot Dog & Rod"

This ward activity was so much fun. Even the men enjoyed it! (maybe a little too much). Brian had his dad send his old pinewood derby cars from when he was a kid, and he settled on this yellow racer (lane 3). We ended up taking 4th in our division! Brooklyn loved the CareBear car and my personal favorite was "The Wilson Mobile" (the green one up front with the faces. We love the Wilson Family). The kids had a blast and it was a big hit with everyone.

Playgroup Halloween Carnival

The kids enjoyed a fun Halloween Carnival with all their friends in playgroup. I hadn't gotten any costumes for Halloween yet, so we had to be creative (the morning of) and dress in whatever we could that would pass as a costume. Thank heavens for the dress-up drawer! Brooklyn had an old witch costume that she was willing to wear and we put a ball in Isaac's hands with a little outfit of his and waalaaa, a basketball player! We have quite a big group of mom's with little babies. We look like the makings of a mixed up fairytale. (Lillie Kate is the little pink mouse in the middle.

Craven Farms

It wouldn't be fall without a trip to a Pumpkin Patch. I sure adore my little punkin' heads! We happened to go on a beautiful, unusually warm, 70 degree weather day. This farm is a favorite and has a lot of great things for the kids to do, and they have fun picking out their own pumpkins. Notice the yellow gourd in Isaac's hand. He wouldn't put it down, and for the next few days he insisted on having his "punkin" with him at all times. Even to sleep. Speaking of sleep. Lillie was sleeping in the stroller the whole time, and I did the #1 momma no-no and woke her up to get a picture. You see the results of my efforts. Not pleasant.

The next American Idols?

Who would have thought that a laundry basket and sweeper could be such entertainment! Brooklyn created this perfect stage/mic combination, which turned our kiddos into quite the performers. It was such a spontaneous and fun night of singing, laughing, and standing ovations. If only you could hear Isaac's rendition of the ABC's and "Down by the Station", and Brooklyn's "Jesus went to Jordan's waters". You'd all have a good laugh.

HALLOWEEN

We had such a fun Halloween and were thrilled that Brian got home in time to join us for the ward Trunk or Treat. Brooklyn decided that the witch costume was cute enough for her to wear again, (that made life so much easier for me) and we found the cutest doggie costume for Isaac. He would crawl around on all fours making the cutest, high pitched, barking noise. Lillie was our chunky little pink mouse. Don't you just want to squeeze those cheeks? The kids had fun at the Trunk or Treat and were munching on the candy as soon as it hit the bag. I had to include the picture of my friend, Galicia, dressed as Moses. I got such a kick out of that. And our sweet Lillie slept through all the action, as usual.

We only carved one pumpkin this year, and it looks like all the footage for that is on the video camera. We did get this one shot though. Brooklyn drew the design herself and mom carved away. The kids were good to help with about one scoop of pumpkin guts and then they were done. Isaac would say, "It kucka mom". (i've never spelled that word before. It looks kinda funky.) The pumpkin turned out pretty cute. Good job Brookie!

NOVEMBER........

We celebrated Isaac's 2nd birthday and my (I'm not telling) birthday. We tried to get in a few last days at the park and enjoy the last of the changing leaves. Thanksgiving was also wonderful. (too busy enjoying the food and forgot to take pictures). We had an amazing dinner with a couple of family's in our ward. We realized this was our 7th Thanksgiving we've spent without family. We are so thankful for the gospel and the ward family's we've been blessed with over the years.

ISAAC's 2nd BIRTHDAY

Isaac had such a fun birthday. We had a little party with some of our friends. Isaac loved running around being rowdy with his little friends and did a great job blowing out his candle. Check out that party girl! She looks like she's had a little too much cake!

A DAY AT THE PARK

Enjoying some of the final days of fall! The kids had fun exploring the park and couldn't believe they found such a big tree. Brooklyn thought that it must be a magical tree to be so big and tall. They tried so hard to reach around it. We loved the color of this red tree. It looked like it was on fire. The picture doesn't do it justice!

DR. BOBBY

Just another day on the job. Can you believe all of those pagers. The kids were right. Their dad is a super hero, and with such a fancy utility belt! Kaaa Pow! (that was supposed to be a super hero attack sound of some sorts)

MY BIRTHDAY

I had such a wonderful birthday. My friend watched my kids for me while I went to spend my birthday money. I forget how enjoyable it is shopping by myself. That was a party in itself! Later, Brian and I went out to dinner at Salty's, on Alki Beach, which has unbelievable views of downtown Seattle. (I snatched this picture from their website.) The food was amazing and it was so great just to be with Brian and enjoy some much needed time together. Aren't these flowers beautiful.

HELLO HOLIDAY SEASON!

Brooklyn welcomed in the holidays with a very festive picture. The kids were pretty excited to get the Christmas tree and decorations up (okay, truth is my husband was probably the most excited. He would have liked to have decorated after Halloween. He loves, loves, loves, Christmas!)