Christmas Pictures

here are the links to the before mentioned Christmas pictures - just click here and here. our computer crashed and had to go in for repairs for a few days.

just wanted to shout out (oh, look at hip i am!) a big thank you to our families! we had such a great time seeing everyone (well, almost everyone!) over the holidays. thanks for the beds, the food, and putting up with 5 extra people.

we love you all!!

back in the new year

so, we are back from our Christmas adventures. we were able to spend quality time with both families this holiday which was very fun and rewarding. after spending Christmas in spokane (and almost getting snowed in! they had crazy snow there and it is still coming!!!), we traveled to the farm in red deer to spend new year's with my family. a few high lights:
-rollerskating in spokane (jensen's new fave thing to do)
-bowling in spokane and red deer
-making a snow cave in spokane
-playing lots of games and building puzzles
-sledding, of course
-sitting by the fire, visiting
-reliving old memories and making new ones
-eating all the good holiday treats
-gaining a few extra pounds, i am sure (but it's all baby, right!?)
i will post some holiday pictures in the next few days. i have been "suffering" with the cold the kids had over the holidays but thought i better sign in for any who may be reading this blog and wanting to know if we are still alive and well:).

happy new year everyone!

baby bump

so, we're having a girl.



YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by burton

CHRISTMAS IS....

Christmas is family.

Christmas is decorations.

Christmas is presents.

Christmas is not about me only.

burton brought this little "poem" that he wrote at kindergarten home last week and it really warmed my heart. what a sweet little boy. i love his perspective on Christmas.

for pictures of what we have been doing to get ready for Christmas, click here.

update

it's about time i sat down and wrote about a few fun things that have happened. first, we finally got some snow! not a ton but enough to play in. the boys were all so excited to go and play in the snow and we had a lot of fun in the park by our house.

we are all getting excited for Christmas and the chance it brings to visit all of our family!!

funny evan story - i had a doctor's appointment a few days ago and evan came with me. before we went, he was talking about how we were going to hear the baby's heartbeat and he was fairly excited. my doctor let evan hold the sonogram and push the button as he found the heartbeat and we listened to it. pretty fun for evan. after i was all done and getting ready to leave, evan climbed up on the examining table, lifts up his shirt, and says, "my turn." so my doctor brought the sonogram back out and found evan's heartbeat. as soon as he heard his heartbeating, evan's face lit up and he said, "mom, that's my baby's heartbeat!!" it was futile to try and explain to him that what he was hearing was his heartbeat, not a baby in his tummy. but he was convinced otherwise. so, according to evan, both him and i have babies in our tummies.

i took this picture a few weeks ago of jensen and burton. burton has scary dreams often at night and one thing we told him to do was climb up top of their bunk beds and sleep with jensen instead of coming upstairs to sleep with us all the time. i always check on them before going to bed and this is what i found one night:
i hope they always love eachother so much.

just can't get enough

i just can't get enough of my little niece, grace.

really, can you blame me? look how adorable she is!!!!

i love her to pieces - and her mom, marion, too! i feel really blessed to have such wonderful women in my life. my mom, grandmothers, sisters, and yes, even the in laws....i really love them too:) and now, the next generation of little girls that will grow in to beautiful and admirable women before i know it.

i hope this little bun in my oven can join the girls club.

i would really like that.

that being said, i will be most grateful for a healthy and happy baby, whether boy or girl. although jensen may not be. he was telling my gran this last weekend that if we have a boy, i told brent that we would sell him and that brent was ok with that.

i'll have to watch jensen if we do have a boy - he is getting really good at spelling and writing and would have no problem whipping up some "brother for sale" signs.

where we live

i have always found that the beauty of nature makes me appreciate our Father in Heaven and the beautiful world He has created for us. i find that being out in the woods, walking on a beach, the smell after rain, sunsets, fall colors, spring colors, and so many other sights and sounds of nature fill me with a deep sense of gratitude that i can enjoy the world around me and a profound feeling of thanks for the beauty of the creation.

Heavenly Father must truly love us to bless us with such beauty in our surroundings.

looking at my family brings me the same feelings of gratitude.

i really am blessed.