Sweet

I caught Luke putting the Build a Bear to bed. How cute is that??

Oh Christmas Tree. . .

One day we'll have ornaments on the bottom half of the tree. . .

Love Bug

Sometimes I forget how little my kids are. I'm so thankful for little moments that remind me they are still small and still need my hugs, kisses and cuddles.

Lazy Saturday

Just lazing around watching Elf -- the best Christmas movie EVAH! I'm grateful for a Saturday with relatively little on the calendar so we can relax.

My favorite Day of the Year

I love the day after Thanksgiving. Today we put up the Christmas decorations. I'm so grateful to have everyone home from school and work to just play together.

Overwhlemed

If anything was going to make me feel grateful, today would. I'm so grateful to all the people who dragged themselves (and their children) out of bed on a cold holiday morning to come run. For all the people who showed up early to see what they could do to help out. For all the fun I had planning this with my friends. For all their hard work in helping me pull off something I thought of on a whim a few weeks ago. For people who support me no matter what crazy thing I come up with. For people who pushed themselves. For friends who are like family. For having people you can be yourself around. For knowing you are loved and valued. For having friends you look up to. For a family who I adore. For family I love, even if they're far away.

Happy Thanksgiving! I wish I were with you guys, but I'll just be grateful for being warm.

Boys

I don't know what I'd do if it were just me and the girls. I feel like the boys balance us out. And I sure love those handsome faces. I'm so lucky to have 2 of each so I can experience the ups and downs of both.

Feeling Special

I think the Rogers family has been here 3 or 4 out of my last 5 birthdays. I love having them here. I love cousin time, I love the eating, laughing, playing games, shopping, running, being lazy. . . but they are not a birthday family. I spend a lot of the year throwing planning birthdays, shopping for events, planning parties. . . trying to make other people feel special. It was so much fun having the whole day to feel special this year. I loved waking up to my kids singing to me and giving me cards. I love all the treats people brought me, alone time with my husband, girl time with my girl friends, doing no housework. . . I know it's selfish, but I am so grateful I had *my* day this year.

And of course -- the BEST part of my day was this cake. Not only was it delicious, but it was the most thoughtful gift from the most thoughtful sister. I'm so lucky to have you. You always make me laugh, remember special things, come up with creative ideas, agree to anything I suggest, love my kids more than any Aunt ever could. . . SO LUCKY!!!

PS The cake was good, Sadie licked the ENTIRE thing. GRR

Old Friends

Since we grew up moving so much, we didn't have too many "old" friends (although the McGuire girls would definitely qualify -- I can't believe we're still friends). These are our old neighbors, the Arnetts. I love it whenever we can meet up, although Luke was a DISASTER chasing the ducks. Newest obsession: animals.

GIRLS!

I married a man from a family of 5 boys. There were also 3 grandchildren -- all boys. I knew there was a possibility I would never have a girl. But oh, how I wanted one. One to wedding dress shop with, and one who would call me with problems when she had her first baby. . . I'm so glad I got TWO of them. I love the hair, the frilly dresses, and the sass.

Fall

It may have finally cooled off around here. I'm so grateful we can turn the heat up and wear our sweaters. I have some cute winter clothes to wear!

This nook

I'm so grateful for our house. We built it when we only had Ellie and planned on moving out before too long. Instead we found that our neighbors, friends, Ward, schools, locations. . . all made us want to stay. I've brought 3 babies home to this house and they've all learned to walk here. When they first learn to walk they can fit into the tiny little cubby, but before too long, they have to bend down in there. They have all spent hours playing house, making a fort or hiding behind the big pillows.

"Say TRAINS"

Why do boys love trains so much? True story -- at my sister's wedding the photographer had everyone say TRAINS instead of cheese because it would make Nate laugh. I'm just happy when they find a toy they love.

Massages

My kids woke up to find the massage table up (Dustin was trying to help me get my hip feeling better), but of course they had to give each other massages. I'm so grateful for their funny little imaginations. They really make me laugh. Wish my hip was feeling better.

Go Cougars

So grateful for BYU. Dustin and I met there. We made some of our most amazing friends there. We had our first baby there. Because of BYU we both have college degrees and Dustin has a great job. We are so lucky to have our educations!

Good Morning

There's nothing better than waking up to a million hugs and kisses. I'm so grateful my kids like each other. Sometimes.

Ouch!

So I hurt my hip and I can barely walk. Dustin will be gone from about 6:30 am to 6:30 pm, so I'm grateful it's Regional Conference and I don't have any Church responsibilities today. We are going to lay low and eat dry cereal for 3 meals today.

13.1

I'm grateful for my husband who lugged 4 kids out in the cold and at the crack of dawn on a Saturday, so I could see them at mile 12.5. I almost started crying when I saw them cheering for me and shouting, "Go Mom!" Luckiest mom ever!

Synchronized Smiles

I'm always grateful for times when my kids play together happily. Even if it creates a disaster.

Happy Veteran's Day

We're grateful for the people who keep our country safe. Who volunteer their lives for our freedom. For their families who sacrifice so much. For our Grandfathers who both served our country. God Bless America!!

Trader Joe's

I am thankful for Trader Joe's and all their delicious food. Luke here is demonstrating his love for Peanut Butter Puffs. We all know Nate is obsessed with their pretzels and hummus. I love their old fashion cinnamon graham crackers. Vanilla Trader Joe Joe's, brown rice, garlic na'an, sweet potato fries, yogurt, multi-grain crackers, schoolhouse cinnamon cookies, oatmeal, all purpose cleaner. . . I wish you were closer Trader Joe's, but at least we don't live in Utah, where there are no TJ's.

Donuts with Dad

I'm grateful Dustin was in town so he didn't disappoint poor Nate! The week before, Dustin was out of town and Nate was in tears because he thought Dustin was going to be gone for Donuts for Dads. I don't think he believed me when I reassured him that Dad would be home in time.

Survey
What is your dad's name? Dusien
What do you call him? Dad
How old is he? 33
How tall is he? Very tall
How much does he weigh? Very hevy
What color is his hair? black
What is his favorite drink and snack? diet coke and prezzle
What does he cool? soup
What's is favorite TV show? football
What;s his favorite thing to do with you? Play wii
What does he do for fun" work
What does he do during the day? cook
What's the one thing he says to you most often? eat
If I was a dad, I would. . . play wy my kids.

Fashion Diva

I'm so grateful to have a daughter who is a girlie girl. It sure makes shopping fun. Ellie is far more stylish than me -- carves, hats, boots, hair clips, jewelry. . . I'm looking forward to it even more when she's a teenager because she can take me out and tell me what to buy!

Funny Faces

Nothing makes my kids happier than getting to make funny faces for the camera. OK, maybe getting my cell phone and taking their own funny face pictures might make them slightly happier.

So I'm thankful for digital cameras. So we can take as many as we want without having to develop the whole roll of film to come out with 24 goofy pictures.

This girl

How am I so lucky that I get to be her mom? She is so sweet and thoughtful. I feel like I'm always piling responsibilities on her and she just does them. I don't think I would be half of the mom I am if I didn't have my sweet Ellie to love me and help me. She wrote this essay for me at school:

My Mom Maddy

My mom Maddy is a special person in my life. She is one of a kind, beautiful, smart and intelligent. My life is much much more better because of my mom.

I'm gong to tell you somethings about my mom. My mom is not very tall, which means she is petite. She has brown hair and gray eyes. She also has pierced ears. I think my mom is gorgeous.

These are some hobbies my mom likes. My mom is interested in scrapbooking, gong to the gym, and she spends time cleaning. She works very hard to keep the house clean. She also likes tulips. Those are her hobbies.

My mom is special for a ton of reasons. She says she loves me every day. She also likes baking with me. My mom says I'm pretty. She makes me happy when I'm sad. That's why she is special to me.

Everybody has a special mom. I think my mom is pretty. She's smart. My mom is super special to me. I love my mom very much.

BOOKS!

I don't know if any of kids will love to read as much as I do, but I LOVE reading -- especially a good's children's book.

PJ days

I love a day when we can stay home and clean, organize, and purge (something we're going through right now as the house has been ignored for the last month or two) and it's always fun to see Sadie run around in whatever she has chosen for her PJs the night before.

Brownies for breakfast

Actually, as grateful as I am for brownies, I am more grateful for times when I can get Luke to eat!

Thankful for LEGOs

Nothing can make Nate happier (or sadder) than all those LEGOs

A Month of Thanks!

So we're going to try to go with a theme here -- a whole month of things we're thankful for. One thing we're thankful for -- the weather has finally cooled down and we can wear sweaters in the morning. It's been so nice to run outside and let the kids play outside and not worry about the heat.

Happy Halloween

For Halloween we had our friends, the Christensens, over for some fun Halloween games. I made orange hamburger buns, and we did all orange foods, Mummy Wrap game, get the oreo from your forehead into your Mouth (from Minute to Win it) and made monster brownies for dessert.

Hobo Halloween

Another great Halloween. Sadie and I were Witches and we told everyone that we turned Luke into a frog because he was naughty. Then this discussion took place:

Sadie: I'm a witch
Unsuspecting Ward Member: Are you a good witch or a bad witch?
Sadie: A good Witch
Me: Tell them what we did to Luke.
Sadie: We turned him into a frog because Witches don't like babies. Except it was just my mom because she's a bad witch.