My Kiddos

Tyler LOVES holding Elsie, kissing Elsie, hugging Elsie...he just loves his little sister. I love to see them all together. My favorite moments are when Tyler and Grace play together without fighting. It is the sweetest thing.

Beware the Pirate and Fearsome Warrior!

Tyler's 5th Birthday Party

Tyler wanted a dinosaur birthday party at Backyard Adventures. It was a lot of fun, and I loved just showing up with pizza and a cake and not having any other work to do for the party. It was great - except for my dino cake disaster. I got the cake done and then the head crumbled off. After all the time spent on the cake I didn't want to make more cake and try another head, so I told Brian I was just going to buy a cake. He told me I couldn't let my son down, and that Tyler really wanted a dinosaur cake. So I bought a loaf of angel food cake at the bakery and Brian cut it so it wouldn't fall again. Tyler got his dino cake.

To settle it once and for all, NO, Elsie is NOT a cow name!!!

SISTERS!

I was so excited when we found out that we were having a little girl, our Elsie. The pressure of getting Grace a sister was off. Having 4 sisters, I've maintained that every girl needs a sister, although Brian argues the opposite. Having 5 brothers, he insists that every boy needs a brother, more than a girl needing a sister. Oh, not so, my love. If Tyler gets a brother, I'll be happy, but I'd probably have to keep having kids until I got my girl a sister. They'll have the years of fighting over each other's clothes (hopefully never over boys, which did happen at my house growing up), but eventually, I hope they will end up being the best of friends. What a joy it is to have a sister.

And so, my ode to my sisters:

A Bag Full of M&M's:

My best of friends whenever I'm in need

Always there for my aching heart to feed.

Or just a laugh to give me a little smile

Even if we're separated by way too many a mile.

We've mastered two-way calling and learned five-way is the best

'Cuz when it's just a few of us we always miss the rest.

Sharing our daily adventures, not always full of cheer

Whatever is the story, I've got an attentive ear.

Mandy is my neighbor, shopping buddy and babysitter too

My adult conversation on our outings to the zoo.

A perfect example of selfless living true

Without my oldest sister I'd not know what to do.

Megan is my daily wake-up call on the telephone

My teacher of canning and quilting, before to me unknown.

Never an idle moment, always a busy little bee

Learning to do new things, she's ever inspired me.

Melanie's a beauty, filled with style, poise and grace

Helping me with fashion and how to put makeup on my face.

One who's ever faithful, her standards she'll never compromise

Showing me how to continue growing, although I'll never reach her size.

Mallorie, or Mookie, as she is so well known

A favorite aunt to my kids, a smile she's always shown.

She teaches me to love without judging, each and everyone

And she's always ready to take the lead in having fun!

My sisters are amazing, the best they truly are

I love them each so dearly, no matter near or far.

Thank you for teaching me - and for being my friend

Sealed for all eternity, we'll be together to the end!

Grace and Elsie, I hope you learn to love and appreciate each other. Sisters are the best, and you are so blessed to have each other.

Mandy, Megan, Misty, Mallorie, Melanie

The Real American Idol

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL???

Try it without looking at answers – don’t cheat!

1) Pick your Favorite number between 1-9

2) Multiply by 3 then

3) Add 3, then Multiply again by 3 (I'll wait while you get thecalculator....)

4) You'll get a 2 or 3 digit number..

5) Add the digits togetherNow Scroll down ...............









Now with that number see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below:

1. Einstein

2. Nelson Mandela

3. Jacob Zuma

4. Tom Cruise

5. Bill Gates

6. Gandhi

7. Brad Pitt

8. Mickey Mouse

9. Misty Anderson

10. Barack Obama

I know....I just have that effect on people....one day you too can belike me.... :-) Believe it!

P.S. Stop picking different numbers. I am your idol, just deal with it!!!!

Elsie's Blessing

My sister, Megan, crocheted Elsie's blessing dress. It took 40+ hours. It was truly a labor of love, and Elsie looked absolutely beautiful. On December 28, 2008 Brian gave Elsie a name and a blessing. We had a lot of family with us. Dean and Mary, Bryan and Karen, Kevin and Laurie, Quintin and Bryonna, Ryan and Mandy, Ladd and Emily, My parents, my grandparents and my aunts and uncles were all present. Brian gave her a beautiful blessing. We are so grateful to have her as a part of our family.

Four generations - Elsie and Grace with me, my mom and my maternal grandmother.

Christmas

We had a great Christmas! Tyler and Grace were more than sufficiently spoiled, as were Brian and I. Even Elsie was. We enjoyed the holidays, visiting with family, decorating, baking, eating, looking at lights, a trip to temple square, etc. This year I used my mother-in-law's gingerbread recipe and cookie cutter and made my own gingerbread. The end result was 30 individual gingerbread houses. Needless to say, the kids decorated a lot of houses. Every day we had someone else over to decorate. They thought it was great. The whole month of December my kids were on a sugar high. I asked Santa to substantially cut back on the stocking candy, and I was glad to see he came through.


Decorating gingerbread houses - a new family tradition (One of Brian's favorite's growing up)

The lights at temple square - Brian took the kids on trax with my family to see the lights at temple square. I stayed home with Elsie.

Grace fell asleep on the trax ride home in grandma's arms. She had so much fun it wore her out.

Christmas morning - what a mess.

Christmas Eve Nativity program.

Elsie is Here

Elsie is here! We were scheduled to be induced at 7am on 11/20. Well, Elsie didn't want to wait. Misty started having contractions about 10pm the night before and we went to the hospital about 4:30am. After taking the kids to grandma's house at 4am we went to AltaView to have the baby. When we got to the hospital Misty was dilated to a 4. The progress was slow until one little stint where the contractions became really frequent and she went from a 4 to an 8 in about 15 minutes. At that point, it was too late for any drugs as the baby was coming. Elsie was born at 7:46am on 11/20. She was 9 lbs. 14 oz. We don't need a turkey for Thanksgiving, we already have the Butterball!!! She was 20 inches long. Misty, the baby, and I spent all day napping as the night before really didn't allow for much sleep. Mommy and baby are doing well. I'll let Misty tell you how it was to have an almost ten pound baby without drugs. I honestly think that next time we have a baby, she will arrive at the hospital and say "I'm here to have an epidural. Oh...yeah...I mean...I'm here to have a baby."

Here are some photos of Elsie: http://www.crelubbock.com/elsie/