Counting Blessings

I thought i'd be doing a Christmas post tonight, but i'm WAY too tired after a long day of driving to even load my pictures on to my laptop right now, so instead, i'll quickly post something that's been on my mind since we got home.

My nerves are completely shot. Tonight, after driving home from dinner at my in-laws, we got off our exit to our house and were waiting to turn left at the light. Our light then turned green. There was a short pause before Nate accelerated and it was a good thing we weren't in any hurry and a good thing he hesitated before entering the intersection. He pushed on the gas, I yelled, and he slammed on the brakes just in time for a huge truck to run the light and almost t-bone us. He was going at least 35 and had no intentions of slowing down. I pretty much stopped breathing for a bit and we looked at eachother knowing that if we had been hit, our van would have been tipped for sure and we all would have gone to the hospital.

So, tonight, as I sit here, EXTREMELY grateful for life and my family, I feel as though I've had a heart attack and I can't get to bed fast enough. Tonight, i'm counting my many blessings, especially thankful for the blessing of safety tonight and today in our long day of travels. It's times like these that I reflect on my Savior and am in complete awe of how much he cares and watches out for us on a daily basis.

Oh Little One...

Hailey: "Mom, can I have a lot of marshmallows in a baggie?"


Me: "No, Hailey, you cannot have marshmallows right now."


Hailey: (with a very frustrated look) "Mom, Santa's watching you and you're not being very nice to me"

Santa


We love Santa. It's become a traditon every year since the year Nate and I got married to go take pictures with Santa. It's always fun and magical for the girls to sit and tell him what they want for Christmas. Besides, he gives them See's Candy Suckers! 

Another tradition is that they send a letter to Santa every year and they also get a response in the mail from Santa. Very fun and exciting.

The girls lists this year were interesting.

Santa's got his work cut out for him this year!

One of the most exciting Christmasy things we have done this year was get videos sent to the girls from Santa. Those of you with children.. you've got to check this out. It's awesome. You just imput your kids info (no personal info is required) then they send a personalized message to your child through a video. Be sure to upload pictures at the appropriate areas to ensure a more personal video. It's really cute. Our girls just lit up with excitement when they watched their videos...


Hailey's:
http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/n2sLvMCJZlTdENfT6tV4Dg


Addy's:

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/N4nuDJ71lRTBSflNmuByYQ




Click here to create your own:

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

This is Hailey's rendition of 

'Santa Clause Is Coming To Town'

What fun traditions have you been up to?

Family Pictures

My talented cousin Rachel agreed to take some family pictures for us and she came up with some great shots...

(classic)

Not only is she a great upcoming photographer, she is a hair stylist as well. If anyone is in need of some serious styling, she's your gal. 

Thanks Rach!!

this picture makes me laugh...

...every time I see it.

we seriously have some CHUB-A-LUBS around these parts before age 2. 

And I love it!!

So.Stinkin.Cut.

Thanksgiving 2010 

Now that i'm off my pitty party, I have more exciting things to write about. Like Thanksgiving with the Johnson's. I love my in-laws. They really are such a great family to be a part of. The first night of excitement was when some of the crew got to town. Wednesday the 24th, we headed up to Mom and Dad's for a potato bar dinner and visiting with the fam.

The next day, Thursday, was Thanksgiving day. We ate an amazing dinner prepared by mom and followed up with some yummy desserts. Then, the family got together and we all drew names for Christmas.

We also got to Skype with Carmen and Ben in the Phillipines.

Then came Friday. Melissa, Hailey, Addy and I all went Black Friday shopping for a bit in the morning. We didn't find anything worth standing in horrible lines for. But, we had fun anyways. That afternoon, we met up with  some of the Johnsons and friends to see 'Tangled'. SUCH a cute movie. We loved it. There were so many kids there, it was unbelievable. After the movie, we met up with the rest of the crew for dinner at Los Hermanos, a family favorite.

Saturday was a chill day. We didn't do much in the morning. Nate played in a Turkey Bowl with some buddies of his. Luckily, he came home with no broken bones. That afternoon, we met up with Jess, Justin and Avery and went Ice Skating. It was a blast. Addy liked it as long as we were holding her arms. Hailey, on the other hand, was a pro from the beginning. She couldn't get enough of it. That night, we ordered pizza and played games till the late hours of the night. I think the girls finally went to bed a little after 11pm! Yikes!







Sunday was a special day. For all of us. But especially for Adam and Tonna. Adam was ordained an Elder and it was such a great thing to be able to witness.

The girls absolutely loved having eachother to play with all weekend

It was a great family weekend. We loved every minute of it. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again at Christmas! Including Carmen and Ben!

Due Date.

today was my due date. It's been on my mind a lot the last 6 months. It's weird though. I have felt so alone in this one. I have thought about it EVERY sunday since my D and C. But i'm pretty sure i'm the only one. Sunday was my weekly checkpoint and now that the day has come, it's a little surreal. I'm sad. Dissappointed. Frustrated.

But, I also know there is a reason for everything. Hopefully I can get past it and not think about it anymore.

A little bit of a depressing post, I know. But they all can't be wonderful, right? That's boring.

Cheers to a pointless pregnancy that has brought lots of bills and frustration.

Here's to hoping for happier future Sundays!!

An Hour Full Of Tears...

Good tears. 

Last week was our Primary Program in Sacrament Meeting. Hailey has really been looking forward to it for quite a while. This is her first year in Primary, so she pretty much thought it was the coolest thing.

(the silly clown that she is on the day of her program)

She knew her part, and was VERY excited to say it. Not only to say it, but to say it in a MICROPHONE. Double WOW!

Her line was "We Believe in God, the Eternal Father."

When the time came, she said it and for me, the tears came. The cutest was all the songs. She knew them and sang her little heart out. For those of you who know Hailey well, know that she LOVES to sing. 

She was very proud of herself and so were we. I couldn't believe she sat through the entire sacrament meeting. ( although, she did play a small game of musical chairs at one point so she could sit closer to her friend Nona) We have a hard time keeping her still sitting with us and having coloring books and things to do. 

Addy was having a bit of a hard time. She is pretty attached to her big sister and didn't like the fact that she couldn't sit with her. But she loved when Hailey would wave at her.

I just can't believe she's big enough to do these kind of things. Where have the last 4 years gone??

Mini Getaway

For Nate's birthday this year, I planned a little trip. Just the two of us. I was super excited but also a little nervous. We've never left the kids for more than one night. And that was just once.

So, to make it easier and a little more cost-effective, I planned a trip to Vegas. I know what you're thinking... and yes, we go to Vegas all the time, BUT we always just hang out at my parents. This time, the kids got to hang out with grandpa and grandma and we got to go play. This is how our trip went.

Monday: drive to Vegas (with the usual stop in Beaver to let the kids play at the nasty McDonalds play place)
Tuesday: played at Damon and Summer's house, big family dinner with Damon and Summer, Jared and Jenna and all the kiddos.

Wednesday: packed up and left for the Red Rock Hotel.

we got there a little early so before check-in, we got some ice cream at Ben and Jerry's and checked out the hotel. Once we got settled, we went to this movie at the in-hotel theatre:

we had about and hour to wait before our movie started so we went bowling at the in-hotel bowling alley.

It was so nice because there was barely anyone there.

After our movie, we went to Islands for dinner... yum!

I've only been there once, when my sister in law requested it before being induced with her first baby.. that was a long time ago. It's now one of mine and Nate's favorite places. 

We went back to the hotel, I took a bath in the HUGE tub with it's own flat screen tv, while Nate watched a game. Loved it.

Thursday: slept in. (that was a great luxury) went to breakfast at the buffet at our hotel. SO GOOD!

went to see another movie.. 

why not go to two movies in 24 hours! we were excited that we had the option of doing that. When we were dating, that's all we did. We LOVE the movies. But, that's one thing that has had to go since having kids. We don't get to the theatre very often anymore.

After that, we went swimming in the SWEET pool at the hotel:

Then we went and got ready for our night out on the town. We got dressed up and went to see the show

  'O' at the Bellagio.

It was an interesting show. The performers were extremely talented, but Nate and I quickly realized it just wasn't our cup of tea. Which is a sad realization after how much those darn tickets cost. We walked around on the strip for a bit then went to PF Changs for dinner.

Friday: Slept in. Then, went to the buffet for breakfast again. Went and picked up our little ones from grandma and grandpas house and headed for home. 

It went by WAY too fast, as it usually does but we had SO MUCH FUN! I didn't take any pictures other than of our room, (which look exactly like the picture above) because I just didn't want to worry about carting around a camera. 

When we went to pick up the girls, they were excited to see us for a total of 1 minute before wanting us to leave so they could play with grandma. 

Everything turned out perfect and i'm excited for our next adventure.

anyone have any trips planned soon?

4 Years and Counting!

She was super excited. I was relieved. 

The time had finally come for her Kangaroo Zoo birthday party. Poor thing waited SO long for this only to have it cancelled and rescheduled. :-(  

But, we made it. Barely.

The night was a lot of fun with a few of our closest friends and family. Hailey and Addy did not stop  running the whole night.  Because we had reserved a party there, we had our own party room that was decorated with cute flower lights all over the wall.

I had made cupcakes to match her 'Princess' theme she wanted. I wasn't about to make another castle cake. One was enough. :-)

Then, it was time to play...

(I had to blow that one up big..it's too funny... and SO Nate.)

Hailey loved having some of her favorite little buddies to play with.

I enjoyed hanging out with some of my very best friends. These gals and I have been really good friends for quite some time and I can't say enough about how blessed I am to have them as friends.

Then it was time for the birthday girl to open presents.

the cutest little chair for the birthday girl

Grandma and the birthday girl

the gang, watching Hailey open presents.

Addy, Sol, Kyler, Logan

super excited about some candy she got.

check out this adorable hat. My friend Megan made it for Hailey out of an old sweater. There are matching leg warmers to go with it. I have such crafty friends.

HAHAHAHA! Love this picture!

Happy Birthday little Monkey. I'm glad you got your birthday after all.