Poor Sophie!

You know they are feeling pretty darn sick when they crawl under the desk and fall asleep. My heart aches when my kids get sick, but I have to admit that I love how cuddly they get! Sophie and I cuddled all night last night!

Picture proof of our 5th Annual New Year's Eve Party

Chad's band...which still hasn't got an official name.

Ideas! Help me pick a hobby!

I had an argument with my hubby this morning because he thinks that I need a hobby. Besides reading, that is. This, from the man who can't seem to focus and has tried about 100 different hobbies in his lifetime (weightlifting/body building, snowboarding, piano, singing, acting, novel writing, screenplay writing, lead singer in a band, wood-working, boating, waterskiing, motorcycling, wakeboarding, surfing, guitar, harmonica, nose flute, drawing/art, real estate investing, comedian, magician, and jewelry-making, just to name a few). He currently is working on 7 of those...all at once. Which is why my "hobby" is mostly housework and taking care of kid stuff...
Anyway, he promised me that I could have some time off to cultivate a hobby, so now I need some suggestions. The one stipulation is that it cannot be anything related to food, as I am currently on a diet. (That is where the argument came in. I wanted to go to school to become a pastry chef.) I look forward to seeing what ideas you can share!

Funny, funny Adam

We have been having trouble with our microwave overheating and shutting completely off. I found out that Adam has been
"cooking" a chapstick in order to melt it so he could get it out of the cap. Adam got a good talking-to and I figured the matter
was finished.
Last night I came home from running an errand, and Adam greeted me at the door, just super-excited, saying, "Mom, Mom,
you're not going to believe this! It is freaky! I mean totally amazing! My prayer totally got answered!" He then proceeded to
tell me that the microwave had shut down again (yes, the chapstick found its way back in there again), and Adam knew he
would be in trouble, so he started praying, "Please bring the microwave back to life!" over and over again. About 15 minutes
went by with him continually praying this, while watching the microwave closely to see if it would come back on...when suddenly,
the lighted display DID come back on -
but it didn't show clock numbers, it scrolled this joyful phrase: "We bring good things to life."

Yes, it is a GE Profile microwave. (think about their advertising jingle "GE - We bring good things to life!")

The chapstick went in the trash...but Adam didn't get in trouble. And his prayer DID get answered - the microwave is working
great!

Our new baby...puppy, that is!

I think I am having a mid-life crisis. And I know Chad is. He got baby-hungry after watching "Benjamin Button" and so we looked at each other and said, "It's time for a new puppy!" (4 kids are enough for this semi-crazy woman)
Meet Lacie, our new 10 week old Morkie (a mix between a Yorkie and a Maltese). She is tiny and adorable, and my kids think their mom ROCKS!!! I think I must be nuts!



She's a very mellow little thing, and she's doing GREAT with the potty training already (everyone knows that is the most important thing). I had one brief bout of "buyer's remorse" last night, but mostly, I'm just wondering if I need to see a therapist.

Noooo! My Baby is growing up!!

Sophie just pulled her own first tooth. She is thrilled. She said, "I pulled it out and nuffing hurted!" Too young! She's not even 5 yet! I am just so sad.

New Christmas Pajamas

EVERYBODY gets new jammies on Christmas Eve!





Even our crazy Daddy!
(pictures courtesy of my cell phone. Still can't find the cord I need!)

Book Recommendation

I just started reading a new book (I gave it to Chad for Christmas, but I will have it read before he does) called, "Broken Things to Mend", written by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. I don't know about you, but I have things break in my life on a daily basis! It is about calling on the power of our Savior to help us heal and deal. With life's difficulties. No matter how big or small they may be.
I am on chapter 6 and already I am feeling uplifted and desiring a stronger relationship with my Savior. I think this book has a lot to teach, and I have a lot to learn.

MerryChristmasHappyNewYear!

I know, I know. I am running so very far behind on this blog. I blame it on my camera-to-computer port cord, which went wandering off about three weeks ago. In spite of having many pictures to post, I cannot import them. Frustrating!

We had a wonderful, quiet, and downright lazy Christmas with just the six of us. I was forced to simplify because of said surgery, and it was sooo nice! Unfortunately, part of that simplification was that we did not get any Christmas cards sent out. Oh well, if you are reading this blog, then you know everything anyway. Maybe next year!
We went to Big Bear between Christmas and New Year's to get a little snow play in - BIG MISTAKE!!! The traffic was the worst, and then it was so crowded that we only stayed for about 3 hours. The kids were begging to go home! I spoke to a shop owner, and he said that it is ALWAYS that crowded during the holidays. Next year, we'll go in January sometime. Or, maybe we'll just drive up to UT and play in Grandma's snow. The drive wouldn't be much longer!

On Jan. 30, we hosted our 5th Annual New Year's Party (I can't believe it has been 5 years!). This year, Chad really wanted his band to perform at the party, and after some mild arguing/negotiating, I agreed. Chad got permission to use the church cultural hall, which was great because I just can't accommodate a rock band in my house. I was worried about decorating - hard to make that room look really festive! But thanks to lots of balloons and Adam's help setting up every table and chair in the room (!), we pulled it together. Thanks to all our friends for coming out and supporting us - we had a great time and hope you did too! And clean-up was a breeze, with all the helpers! The band is happy, they got to perform in front of real live people!
We always have a true White Elephant gift exchange - some of my favorites from this year are:

1) the coin purse made from a Kangaroo scrotum (you can't even tell!)
2) the Tinkerbell costume
3) as always, the "Goaticorn", a lovely ceramic candy dish (for you out-of-staters, it looks like a mixture between a goat and a unicorn) that comes attached with the stipulation that it must be on display at the home of the recipient for the whole year...looking forward to seeing it at Hanshaw's house this year!

After the party, the actual New Year's Eve was tame. We played "Pass the Pigs" with the kids and then went to bed. Before midnight. Aaaahhhh...sleep. Until Megan got home from the Stake New Year's Eve dance, and had to tell me all about it. I got back up for that!
Now I just have one more weekend to get through before the kids head back to school and I am back at it with Adam and his homeschooling. I sure have enjoyed the break!
Thank goodness for Christmas vacation! I have enjoyed spending time with those I love. And having time to reflect on what is really important in life. My Savior, my family, and my friends. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
May 2009 be a better year for us all!