You're the Best!!

This picture was taken while they were watching a movie.  They were sitting so cute with each other.  E's arm around her shoulder I quickly grabbed my camera, happy to catch the tender moment.  

I just love our kids.  I know that I am not alone in saying, "my kids are the best".  I tell them all the time how smart, cute and funny they are.  I tell them constantly how much they are the best and that I love them.  So much to the point that all I have to say is, "I" and they finish my sentence.  I always come back with "hey" or "how did you know?"  M's response usually is, "because you tell us all the time".

I don't know how it is in other families.  I would have to say that E and M get along 95% of the time.  Other days it could be less but for the majority of the time I am so grateful that they have each other.  That M is so sweet to E and the other way around.  E is getting old enough to get right in on the action to play games and such that M is annoyed with him a lot less.

I am very grateful for the time we lived in Texas and the manners that were ingrained in M's head that she has taught to her brother.  I still find negative character qualities or words that they use that have been picked up for being around me.  I try to correct those such as instead of "Oh, my gosh" to "Oh my goodness".  I had a habit of saying, "Freakin" and am trying to break that one.  

It is entertaining to see what they pick up from us.  It is like a direct reflection looking at me showing me where I can improve myself.  One example is from last night.  This one I know both Chad and I do.  M says to Chad, "You need to come up here in 5 seconds or ..."   Or like this morning our sweet boy said, "Dad you need to help me or you are not going to go to Trafulga today".  It is always said in a calm tone but very matter of fact.  

I had to laugh and turn to Chad and with the straightest face possible say, "I really wonder where they ever learned to talk like that"  This morning and the night before was enough of a reflection of me to want to change.  I don't think it will be easy by any means but I do hope I can better improve before that is ingrained in them.

We really do have the best kids.  I feel very blessed that they are apart of our family.

My Parents

I am so grateful to be born into the family that I have.  I so appreciate the love, support and kindness that is shown.  I think that if I were still living in Texas I would be extremely sad of the amount of time my parents have been up here.  Now please know... I love Texas and all the amazing people I got to know and rub shoulders with on a daily and weekly basis.  I miss all of you tons.  With that being said, I don't think I could have settled into living in Utah if it were not for family.  I just feel so at home and happy being able to get together all the time.  My parents have literally being up from California at some point every month that we have lived here (except January).

It has been the best!!  It is so great to get my sisters kids together and see them more often then we ever did the 1 week a year we went to California.  My kids are just excited to be around them and to know Papa and Nana are coming to visit.  I would imagine that it is getting old for them living out a suitcase.  I so appreciate the love and sacrifice that they constantly show all of us.  There is no doubt in my mind that my parents love and think I am wonderful, even in those moments when I am not wonderful to be around.  They are the most loving and supportive parents and they are mine and I am so grateful.  I love you Mom and Dad more then I express.  You are the BEST!!!!

A New Door

 We have been so excited for years for the day that we would get these security doors on our own house.  My Parents and Sister had them in California.  Chad and I fell in love with the benefits of having them.  There are 3 benefits that we love about these doors. #1 You can answer your door to a door to door sales person and they are not right in your face.  #2 You can open your door during the day and get a wonderful breeze coming through your home.  #3 Your children can not get out without you knowing (You can lock it with a key from the inside).  I take it back there are 4 benefits.  #4 You can open the door and bugs don't readily come in.  We have really enjoyed them with the short week that they have been installed.  We can't wait until Spring to start feeling the benefits of having them.

Couldn't Resist

The kids have been sharing a room since Christmas.  It end up that the Playroom upstairs was only being used if our son's friends came over.  Which for being 3 was not very often.  Also our daughter's room was just shut down and kept closed and used as an area to get away from her younger brother.

So Chad and I started thinking.  I wonder if we could rearrange rooms.  We started to brainstorm.  We ended up placing our kids upstairs (in the room that never gets used).  Then we turned our girls room into the playroom and our boys room into the guest room.  I have $60 dollars worth of paint to paint his room and I am coming to the sad conclusion that we like to rearrange furniture too much.  I love the fresh look and feeling I get from rearranging.  I might just have to go neutral on all the rooms and decorate with things in the room.

Well we loved how their room turned out and I could not resist sharing.  They are doing so good together.  No longer is either one of them showing up in our room in the middle of the night.  We love that they are so cute together.

Chad's Birthday

There are so many great blessings of living near both mine and Chad's family.  One of the blessings was being able to celebrate Chad's birthday with his parents.  We had all of Chad's family over (10 adults, 7 kids) and had a great evening.  It was so fun and just plain enjoyable.

Our kids are very blessed to have 3 sets of Grandparents that absolutely love them.  It was very much impromptu.  Telling them the morning of the day before.  Everyone decided to contribute something to the meal.  I made 3 Times the Recipe for Chicken Roll-Ups which is one Chad's favorite meals.  Monday is usually my busy day with working out, early out for our daughter's school and Cub scouts which was at our house.  Then to go and make so many Chicken Roll-Ups.  Thank goodness for the help of my Sister in law and Mother in law we were able to get them in the oven just in time.

Here is the recipe:

Chicken Roll-Ups 

* 1 can of 8 crescent rolls
* 2 (10.5 oz) Cans of Mushroom/ Celery / Chicken) any combo

* 1 cup Shredded Cheese
* 1 (12.5 oz) can of Canned Chicken
* Milk - Use 1 can of empty soup and fill to top.

Use ungreased 9 x 13 glass dishes.
Mix in bowl -
2 cans of soups
1 can of milk
Place small portion to cover bottom of 9 x 13 dishes.  Then set aside.
Take crescent rolls and spread out in triangles.
Place a handful of chicken and cheese then seal up (by pushing sides together or just roll).
Place rolled up Chicken Roll - Ups in 9 x 13 dish place remaining amount of Soup/Milk mixture over crescents making sure get covered w/ mixture ( might need to use a spoon)
Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Makes 8 Chicken Roll- Ups
330 calories per serving

New Glasses

Our cute girl got glasses this year.  Technically she should have had her glasses in Kindergarten.  Though our eye doctor in Texas gave us the pros and cons.  More likely to break them or loose them.  She can see near it is just far way that is blurry.  So he recommended waiting until 1st Grade.

We really realized how sad her eye sight was when we were sitting in church.  I asked her to read the number for hymn on the stand.  She would tell me she could not see the numbers.  After further questioning I determined she really could not see them, at all.  I felt terrible. We had to wait until after Christmas to get her eyes checked again, a year after her last appointment.

We go to the doctor in Utah and find out her prescription.  The doctor lets us know that she would not be able to pass a drivers license exam without glasses.  Talk about a blow. Feeling like you just ruined your child's eyesight by not getting glasses sooner.  The doctor reassured me that by having had glasses earlier it would not have made a difference.  Her eyesight was going to do, what it was going to do.  I hope that is true and not something he said to make me feel better.

The next day we took her to Lens Crafters.  Picked out her glasses.  She was excited, shocked and amazed at what she calls, "the new world".  We come out of the mall and she says, "Wow Mom!  Look those trees have branches!!"   "Oh look, those are mountains" Hesitant we ask her what she thought they were?  She tells us matter of fact, "I just thought it was piles of dirt that sometimes had snow on it."

Oh, talk about breaking your heart and feeling like the worst mother ever.

Jumping to January 2011

I can not believe how fast January has zoomed past.  Every year we take a million pictures from September until December.  By time January comes we must be pictured out.  I'll add some pictures later.

So I decided to go public for a little while and see how it goes.  I obviously changed the name of the blog due to the fact that we are not in Texas anymore.  I am going to try a few things and share more thoughts and random tidbits and keep my detailed day to day life and pictures private and for my family.  I am still trying to decide if I am wanting to share names on this blog.  Those of you who know us already know who are kids are so for now I might leave them out.  If you are wanting to have access to the day to day stuff you will have to email me privately and you have my email.

Though for now I am going public.  Though just note that it will not be what you are used to.