Blessings

Typically I do this around thanksgiving but we have been blessed so much I had to write it down (I'm terrible at journals, so thanks blog!)

Chris went to Iowa this past weekend to look at Drake and find out more and hopefully find us a place to live. Long story short, he found a house 3 bedrooms, some yard, and best of all it is campus housing (off campus, this is not UT so We are very lucky to have found something that fits a family). They even lowered the rent $50 because they felt like they made Chris drive all over town. They will put in new carpets, and cabinets before we move in. I don't know what to do with myself. Plus Chris really enjoyed the school. He is excited but also a little nervous. I would be a lot more nervous if it were me, but hey its not.

I went and spent a few days with Kindy while Chris was gone. Oh how my kids love her house, or maybe the tramp or the cousins. Whatever it was they loved it. When we got home I showed Will a satellite photo of our "new" house in Iowa. He said where is the garage? I said there isn't one. then he asked where is the trampoline. Apparently if you live in a house you must have a trampoline.

Another blessing is Chris having a job still. In this economy this is huge.

Our condo has passed the initial approval from the bank for the sell. Now we are waiting on . . . I've got no clue but hopefully this is the last step. Another major blessing.

Jed goes into get scoped on Thursday. We are hope full that we will discover some reason for his throwing up, but if not we are really glad that we have had insurance, so we could see if we could find out if anything is wrong.

School is out and I am done babysitting. I have been so lucky to earn some money from home by babysitting, but I am so grateful that I have just my kids now. I feel like I'm a better mother and more willing to do things with my kids. because taking 6 kids to the store is crazy but 4 is really not all that bad.

There are many many more but we have been so blessed the last few months I am starting to get a little fearful of the coming month. Maybe it is the blessings before the trial of Law School, which I'm still OK about and not totally freaking out. I've started to pack. Mostly because there is a chance that the condo might sell before we have to move. WE don't really care we just want to sell this place and get out. Now off to look for a place to live for 1 1/2 months before we move to Iowa.

new photos

our "football" game. our rules, If I don't drop the ball its still yours, but this might mean you are tackled many many times.

Jed really enjoying an Ice cream sandwhich

Annmarie in her first dance costume. . . really pink and Orange? I even know they don't go.

3 little monkeys swinging on the bed. . .

For Mothers day Chris had all the boys looking like Payne Stewart! Loved it.

Will's solo

OK so this did not get posted last week.

So today Chris and I went to watch Will's Kindergarten performance. He did awesome. He spent so much time staring at us, in stead of the music teacher but hey he's 5 what can we expect. He had a solo as taped above. He did not tell us. He did great. Sadly we didn't tape the funniest song, it was the 3 little bears. Here are some photos of the event. Bella has the best papa bear face ever!

Later we went back to the classroom and each kid needed to tell Ms. Hundley what their favorite thing about kindergarten was. Will said Singing with the other little girl. Our Friend Jenn E says that she thinks Will likes her. Guess that just confirmed it.

whats new

Photos first.

Annmarie with her curly hair. She loves those sponge rollers. She has her first dance recital the first of June she is so excited! Costumes and all.

Here is what really goes on at our house. incase anyone wondered.

Jeffrey's 3 yr old photos.

Jed's 18 months photos

Wow where has the time gone! As 2 of my boys are partaking in their favorite past time (a hot shower) I figured it might be time to sit down and let you all know what’s going on in our lives. The last few months have flown by. Will has enjoyed every part of school and is learning so much. It is amazing to sit down and read to him but have him read most of the words to me. I love it! Annmarie tries so hard to read too, it is so cute. Jeffrey turned 3. It seems like this he should have been 3 a long time ago since he is such a big big boy. I love to hear him actually form somewhat correct sentences. Jed is picking up on everything. He is talking talking talking. He is a very good Parrot with the exception of milk. He refuses to say that word. He even says GI Joe. Not exactly the right way but it is soooo cute.

In April Chris and I joined 4 of my sisters 2 brother in laws and 6 almost family (now) running in the LA Ragnar. We ran about 200 miles (between 12 people) and had a blast. The worst part of the whole race was. . . we were in different cars. One of the best parts was I got to see an old pageant friends Tara. It has been years since we have seen each other, but it still seemed the same. We will be running another one in mid June up in Utah. We are much more nervous of this one since there is a huge altitude difference. Then there is a one in Vegas in October which we are “captains” of we still need a few runners if anyone wants to join us.

We did something I swore I would never do. We got rid of our dish and DVR. It has been a hard transition but thanks to Netflix, hulu, and cbs.com we still get the 3 shows we still like to watch. It is amazing how many shows we have stopped watching. Now some may ask why we got rid of dish. Let’s just say Chris has been a little nervous about his job security here in Vegas the last 6 months to a year. After some wonderful blessings we decided that Chris should go to law school. We tried 2 years ago, but due to a multitude of things we chose not to go. Well we are going! At this moment the plan is to go to Drake University in August. We are on the waitlist at UNLV. We are planning on moving but should UNLV decide they really do want Chris there we might reconsider. The amazing blessings we have had the last few months are amazing. The willingness of the Lord to let us know that Chris’s job is less stable now than ever before, paying off debt, and possibly selling our condo. Also we are in good health! Hopefully this continues. I have been amazed at the amount of peace in our lives thanks to this decision the peace is overwhelming.

Jed has been undergoing testing lately to see if we can determine the cause of his way to frequent throwing up. Nothing yet, but we are hoping to find something out sometime in his life.
Overall life is great and we could not ask for more. We are so blessed, and sometimes I wonder if we really deserve it. But I am so grateful for it. Here’s to the dream that I will update a little more often. oh yeah, we also have a camera now!!! So no more excuses on that front.

An update

An update on the family. Still no photos because still no Camera

Will - still loves school. He started taking Tennis lessons through the city. He loves them. plus there are only 3 kids in class so it is totally worth it. He is getting so big so fast!

Annmarie - Started Dance again. she loves it. There is actually a big performance this time with costumes and everything. I'm not sure I'm gonna like this. She went to a birthday party and got a pink makeup bag with 5 things of "lipstick" (lip gloss) in it. She is in heaven!!

Jeffrey - Wow what to say. His potty training is getting much better. I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. He is 2 . . . what more should I say.

Jed - he has been going through a rough patch. He had some crazy allergy that had bumps on his face and wrists. No clue what it was but we took him to the Dr and found out he had a double ear infection. There was no sign of that. Then he is getting into this screaming stage. He wakes up at 5 and screams and screams!! if he actually went to sleep at 7 when he is put to bed. He usually is up in his bed until 8:30! Hopefully this is a stage and he is done with it by . . .tonight!

Chris - is back in school. He is taking 2 classes this semester. I think he's liking it. The county is deciding on if They are going to keep Chris's department in the next few weeks. Hopefully they will but if not it gives us opportunities to try new things.

Karen - I've been busy. I run to the gym at least once a week, unlike Chris I hate to run on the treadmill. I've been working hard on keeping the house clean. We put it back on the market last week. I have been good at keeping it tidy. hopefully this lasts and hopefully our condo will sell. It would be so nice to have more than 2 bedrooms, and possibly a backyard.

We must be doing something right

I'm posting this to remember the great things Will has done the past few days. The photos are not mine, still no camera.

Yesterday he cleaned the kids room, mostly by himself. Then he vacuumed it all by himself (he did a great job).

Today he and Jeffrey got in . . . an argument and were both sent to their beds. When I went in to talk to them I saw Will kneeling by his bed, saying a prayer. He was telling Heavenly Father he was sorry for yelling at me. It melted my heart. Hopefully he remembers this and often turns to him for help, guidance and comfort. It reminded me of the song by Rodney Atkins, Watching you. great song.

Thanks for helping out these last few days Will, and thanks for being a great example to me.

Happy New year

As I look back on the past year I am amazed at how much has happened and in another sense how little has happened. My resolutions from last year. With the exception of reading the New Testament (I changed to reading the Book of Mormon which I finished last night) I think I got them all!! this would be a first for me. I liked how last year many people just picked a word and focused on that. So I have decided that my word for this year is "HONESTY." I tried last year, and hopefully will be better with it this year.

We still are camera less so sorry no photos just words. and no photos of Christmas either.

High Lights from the past year

January - A trip down to AZ. We went hiking and I realized again how much I hate heights and how much worse it is when I'm trying not to freak out while hiking with 2 kids. Oh yeah I also discovered Facebook this month too. Still trying to decide if this was a good thing.

February - Annmarie becomes the First of our kids to get stitches. She slipped on the bleachers at swimming lessons and got a huge gash on her eyebrow. We also took our first (and last of the year) full family hiking trip. It was fun and we should do it more often

March - I guess nothing happened this month since I blogged about nothing. It must have been a little too addicted to facebook. Jeffrey Turned 2. his party was at the park. I love the spring in Vegas (since the spring starts in Feb here). We also went down to AZ for a Spring training game. The kids had a good time. I remember it being hot hot hot.

April - Chris ran in his first Ragnar relay with people from our stake. It was down in LA so we decided to stay a few extra days and take the kids to Disneyland! They had a great time. It will probably be a while before we go again but hey Will still talks about it.

May - I Started taking classes again, stinking license, I have to keep it active. So what I remember most about this month is that Chris did an awesome job of picking up a lot of the slack I left around.

June - I went to WY with the youth from our ward and stake on the Trek. It was one of the best experiences I have ever had in my life. I also got to see my parents. I finished up my online classes, so glad to be done with school again. I have another 5 years to take 6 credits.

July - This was a busy month. It started off with our 8th Anniversary. We went and saw Phantom of the Opera. I forgot how much I love doing "cultural" things. We then went to Colorado and spent some time with my parents and Chris's sister Michelle. We also saw Becca Brockbank and her kids. Then we headed on back to good ole Victor, NY for Robin Aparo's wedding. We had a blast and the kids still ask to this day to go to sister Clark's house. they loved the bikes and being able to play outside in the summer. Oh yeah and Chris went up to WA and ran another Ragnar relay with Kris my sister. He is really loving this running stuff.

August - This month was filled with more days playing at the water park (splash pads), grinding wheat by hand. Eating wheat bread. Birthdays and Will starting Kindergarten. How can I have a kid in school already!!! I feel so old. He loves school and has been asking almost everyday this break when he gets to go back.

September - This was the month of the temple. I think we went about 5 times for different things. Ward temple day, stake temple day, people being sealed. It was a great experience. We got in the last of the swimming for the season and continued to run everywhere. Will turned 5 and now thinks he is old enough to do anything.

October - Wow where to start with this month. I figure if you have held on reading for this long you deserve the truth. It started off With Chris and I running the Vegas Ragnar with random strangers. Who thanks to facebook we still chat with. It was a wonderful experience. One I am so excited to do 3 times this year!!! (LA, UT, and Vegas). We had a party for Jed the same night we finished the race. On October 24th. I found out I was pregnant!!! yeah. then Tuesday I started having some issues. We went to the temple that night and got the feeling that Heavenly Father would take care of everything. The next morning after a sleepless night I went to urgent care. Yes I was still pregnant, but if I had anymore blood I needed to go to the ER. Well at 5:30 the next morning I had a lot more blood. Off to the ER I went. Thanks to wonderful friends Chris was able to join me just after I was admitted. As it turns out I was having a miscarriage. Thankfully Heavenly Father took care of everything and I did not need any medical assistance to help with the process. I have learned so much these past few months. First off how much my Heavenly Father knows me and what I need. How much he loves me. Also how much other people love and care about me. My testimony has grown so much. I can honestly say I am grateful for this experience. Hopefully I have learned what I needed to learn and will never have to repeat this again.

November - This was a month of coping for us. Coping with the loss and becoming thankful for so many things. I think I have never been more thankful than I was this holiday season. Carmen and Angie came up for Thanksgiving and we had a blast.

December - For Christmas we had both of Chris's parents, Angie, and Michelle here. We had a great time and loved seeing family.

We have had an Amazing year!!! There is not a thing I would not change. Our goals for the next year. Be in a different home by 2011. that's the main one. Hope you all have a wonderful new year!!!

Finally a new "real" post

So all of the photos are backwards (most recent to furthest back)

Here is the last photo taken with our camera (new in July). Somehow they don't make real camera's childproof.

Gotta love Jeffrey

Brett Lee got a hold of our camera.

Here's Angie!

Annmarie in my steal of a dress from Thanksgiving night.

The boys in their matching sweaters. They hate them I love them. they will wear them 1 day a week for 2 months and like it!

Annmarie whacked her forehead on a door jamb. It looked awesome. Jed also has had recent bruises but with no camera no proof.

A good friend of mine took photos of Will, Annmarie, and Jed in October for birthdays. I loved loved loved them. Here are 1 of each

Will before Church. If you all only knew how hard it is to get this boy to wear pants and long sleeves.

Jed loves to climb.

Halloween

Jed found how to make the smoke work. He loved it.

Jeffrey loving the candy, as usual.

William as an Army man . . . again. So glad we buy costumes big!

I think this is the 3rd year she was this ladybug.

Here birthday cake

October flew by. It was marked by Birthday's running and medical issues. November went by in a blink. We spent time in AZ and had family form AZ come visit. I cannot believe that December is almost over. We sent out cards on Friday, hopefully you got one if not send me your address and we will get one to you.

We have been helped by so many in the last few months and do not feel that we have said enough thank yous. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. we have no camera so hopefully I'll post again before we get a new one but no guarantees.