Snowflakes

Winston and I had a fun time tonight cutting out some snowflakes. He was feeling a little down because his older brothers didn't want to play with him, so to cheer him up I suggested we open the art kit that Santa had brought him for Christmas.  He started out drawing a picture of our house and then a picture of a snowflake.

Looking at his snowflake picture, we decided to cut out a few of our own to hang in his room.  I haven't cut out snowflakes for years and it took me a few tries to remember how to fold and cut to get a decent looking one but we kept trying.  We hung up our best ones on his bedroom wall.

Snowflakes are such a fun project. The possibilities are endless and they're perfect for January - especially this year.  It's been the coldest January we've had since Winston was born.  I'm actually hoping it will snow some more soon to bring the temperatures up out of the single digits.  Brrrr! 

Christmas Story Advent

This year I decided to do something a little different to count down the days until Christmas.  I got together 24 children Christmas books (some new ones along with favorites we've collected over the years) and wrapped each one separately.  Each night we read a few verses relating to the birth of Christ and then let Winston pick a story to open and read for bed time.  He's loved this and so have I.  I thought I'd share a few of our favorites

The book pictured above "The Sweet Smell of Christmas" was a favorite of mine as a child.  All three of my boys have loved it too.  How can you not love a story that has yummy scratch and sniff pages?

What would Christmas be without a great nativity story with wonderful pictures and verse. 

This is one of the new books I bought this year.  It's about a camel named Humphrey who carried the treasures of the three kings and was able to meet and present the Christ child with his own gift - a wonderful and touching story.

This fun and silly alphabet book is Winston's favorite story this year.  It's full of darling pictures and a fun verse about a family's Christmas Eve with relatives from A to Z.

What would Christmas be without Phineas and Ferb.  This is a fun story about how these boys find the perfect Christmas Tree for their city.

What would Christmas be without this old classic - The Night Before Christmas.  We've owned this book since Zack and Bo were little and have read it every year on Christmas Eve - keeping the magic of Christmas alive.

I've so enjoyed our nightly story time.  This is a tradition we'll continue each year.

O Christmas Tree

I love our Christmas tree.  It's a family tradition of ours to get a real tree each year and our tree this year is such a beautiful shape and color.  An added plus - it makes our house smell so nice and piney. 

Another tradition of ours is buying a special ornament each year for our boys.  We started this when Zack and Bo were little and it's been a fun thing each year to add to their collection not to mention I enjoy shopping around for each year's ornament.  I love looking at our decorated tree and reminiscing about all the ornaments we've accumulated over the years - it adds to my holiday magic.

Don't get me wrong, I do love to see others theme decorated trees and admire their beauty, but for me our smorgasbord Christmas is the most beautiful of Christmas trees.  

Flashback Friday

Looking back through some old photos I found these cute pics from when Winston was not quite one year old yet on a trip to Lake Powell.  Zack was helping him drive the boat. These were taken July 23, 2007 - almost exactly 4 years ago.

I love looking at our family photos and remembering all the fun we've had together and seeing how far Winston has come.  I can't believe he'll be 5 this year!

4th of July Highlights

We had such a great time this year.  Our ward put together a primary parade and then the bishopric made breakfast for them afterwards - pancakes, bacon and eggs with orange Tang to drink.  Winston was so excited to decorate his bike - he had a blast riding in the "parade" and wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July.  

Here's the proud rider.  :)

He was so excited to go I could barely get him to hold still for these pics. 

He wasn't quite sure if he should just jump in - it was his first parade.

Off he goes!

After that we headed up to my mom's for the annual 4th barbeque and water games.  The grandkids (and now the great-grandkids) look forward to this event every year.  Winston hardly ate lunch - he just couldn't wait to get the water fight going. I didn't get a pic of it (because I was the one filling them) but we filled up over 150 water balloons for the water fight - boy did they go fast!

This was my brother Bruce's gun and it was taller than Winston but he managed to make it work.

Winston and Jack had a great time together.

Brad with our "grown-up" boys - it's so great to have them back home!

My mom jumped in to get their pic too!

Jack, Winston and Clay were all on one team fighting against their older cousins.

My beautiful sisters Heidi and Lauri and my beautiful niece Brittany.  Lauri's holding little Scott - the youngest grandchild for my mom.  It was so fun to hang out with these amazing women.  I'm blessed to have them in my family! 

Me and my wonderfully awesome mom.

I had to catch this shot with my mom, Bo and Zack.  I like that you can see Brad and Bruce  in the background.

Jack, Luca and Winston - we finally got them to hold still for about 30 seconds to snap a few pics of them together.  They're all within about a year of each other and it's been fun watching them grow up together.

Winston, Jack, Clay and Tucker bouncing and squirting each other - good times!

Winston and Jack having a jumping contest.

All in all it was a great day!  I sure love my family!!  :)

Happy Birthday Dad

Today is my Dad's third birthday since he passed away.  He would have been 80 years old today.  I snapped this picture of my parents when we (Brad, Zack, Bo and me) went to visit them on their mission in Nauvoo, Illinois.  They were in charge of the Carthage Jail Visitor Center and conducted tours through the jail - the building behind them in this photo is Carthage Jail.  We were fortunate enough to have our own personal tour given by my Dad. 

I'm so grateful we were able to go spend time with them and share some of their experiences in Nauvoo.  I know it's something I'll always remember and so will my boys.  We had such a great time!  I have so very many wonderful memories of my Dad.  He was and is a super Dad. 

I still miss him but have come to feel that he's not too far away.  I like to think he's become my family's guardian angel and is always there to watch over and help us.  Happy Birthday Dad and thank you so much for being such a great Dad! 

Mother's Day

I'm so glad we have a day to celebrate mothers. I try to tell her often how much I love and appreciate her, but it helps to have a special day dedicated to moms.  I have such wonderful memories as a child because of my mom - family trips, playing house, reading stories together, dancing around the family room to old 50's music, playing dress-up in her old dresses, baking cookies and pies and just spending time together.  My mom taught me so many important lessons.  I always knew how much she loved me and I owe all that I am to her love and dedication as a mother.  Love you Mom!

 This is a pic from a few years ago - I realized while looking through my old photos that I don't have as many pictures as I'd like of just me with my dear mother.  I'm usually the one taking the pictures.  I'll have to make more of an effort to get some pictures of us together.

Winston and his Grandma on Mother's Day.  He sure loves his Grandma!  

Superbowl Pics

We had a great time watching the big game, hanging out together and eating lots of yummy, fattening food.  I made way too much food and ate too much of it - Mmmm.  I love having an excuse to bake.  : )  Brad was especially happy since he's been a Greenbay Packer's fan since he was a boy.  By the way, what's a Cheese Head anyway?

Two Years

I find it hard to believe it's been two years since I lost my father.  It still feels like his passing happened only a few months ago, yet at the same time it seems like forever since I last saw him.  I miss my father - I'm sure I always will.  I do take comfort in knowing there will come a day when we'll be reunited.  How wonderful to have this hope.  Until then, I have many wonderful memories to think back on and I'll always be grateful for being blessed with such a wonderful father.  I love you Dad

I put together a list on our family blog of all the posts various family members have written about my dad.  It's comforting (even though it's a little hard at the same time) to look back at our thoughts and feelings during the past two years.  Here's a link to this post for anyone who would like to reminisce about Dad.

Pics by Winston

We gave Winston a kids camera last Christmas.  It's made by Fisher Price and I've been very impressed with this fun, tough little camera - it really is kid proof!  Winston has had a blast taking pictures and it's been fun to look back through the photos he's taken and see things from his perspective.  The pictures aren't the highest quality, but they're better than I would expect from a child's toy.  There are a few that make me smile and scratch my head - like his picture of our fruit bowl and the picture of his shoes while sitting in his car seat.  He's getting really good at using his camera and it'll be fun to see what he decides to photograph this next year.  Here's a slide show of a few of his photos from 2010. 

A Grateful Heart

I didn't want to let the month of November go by without expressing my gratitude for all the wonderful blessings in my life.  For the past year, I've tried to focus on "Finding Joy in the Journey" and being grateful for all that I have.  It hasn't always been easy.  Why is it such a simple thing to fall into a mode of self pity and wanting things that are out of reach?  All that does is bring sadness, disappointment and heartache.  When I focus on the many wonderful things in my life, I'm overwhelmed by how blessed I truly am.  Not only do I feel satisfied with what I have, but also I'm filled with such a deep sense of gratitude I can't help but feel and be happy.  So here goes with a few of the things I'm grateful for - really my list could go on and on and on...

I'm so very grateful for my family - my three wonderful sons and terrific husband.  I'm so grateful my sons have returned home safely - that they've had these wonderful opportunities to serve missions, to teach and help others and by doing so have learned so much about their own capabilities.  I'm so grateful for how our lives have been blessed by their missions - both spiritually and financially.  I'm grateful for their example - to Winston and to me.

I'm so grateful for Winston's health.  The surgery he had last year has made a HUGE difference in his health and strength and I know he's been blessed and watched over these past four years.  He is a miracle and I can't help but be amazed at how far he's come since the day of his birth.  Knowing how much Heavenly Father has blessed this little guy fills my heart with so many emotions - it's hard to express the depth of gratitude I feel.  I'm also so very grateful for Winston.  He's brought so much joy to our family and to my life as his mother.  My father told me he would keep me young and as usual, my father was right - even though Winston can be exhausting at times, his energy and enthusiastic wonder add a sense of magic to the mundane and remind me how special the simple things in life really are.

 
I'm so grateful for my wonderful husband - for his support, his strength, his kindness and his friendship.  He really is my best friend.  He knows all about me and still loves me inspite of my flaws.  From the day we met I've felt a connection with him - I think we're kindred spirits.  I feel so lucky and so blessed to be able to share my life with this incredible man.  Just the sound of his voice brings a smile to my face and warms my heart.  I couldn't do all I have to do without his help and love. 

My life is so blessed and enriched by my wonderful family and friends - your offers to help, your listening ears, your hugs and "I love you's."  I want to thank each of you for these special blessings - your love, your help, your friendship and for all that you add to my life.  I truly am grateful for each of you.  When I think of all I've been blessed with, my heart overflows with gratitude and I feel such a sense of peace and happiness.  Thank you.

All Together Again

So much has happened since my last post.  Bo arrived home on November 18 - my family is all together again!  His arrival was every bit as exciting and thrilling as Zack's and I can't even describe how great it is to have my boys home again.  Winston has been on cloud 9 - he adores his big bros.  It's so sweet to see him wrap his arms around them and tell each of them that he loves them.  It's so pure and heartfelt that at times it still brings tears to my eyes.  He really is thrilled to have them back - probably as much as I am. 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving - visiting with all of our family on both sides.  I made Zack and Bo's favorite desserts (we had tons of food!) and of course at the end of the day we watched Christmas Vacation - it's been an annual tradition of ours for at least the last 10 years.  Even though I was already stuffed, I just had to have a giant slice of my pumpkin pie while we watched the movie.  Boy was it yummy!  Unfortunately, I didn't quite make it to the end and fell asleep on Brad's shoulder - my boys laughed at me for dozing off.  All in all it was a fun and fulfilling day.

Halloween Happenings

Winston had a great time this year.  He's finally old enough to get the whole trick or treat thing and he had a blast going around saying, "Trick or Treat" - not to mention he loves having Zack home.  This year for his costume, Bo sent home some genuine leiderhosen from Germany so Winston went as a little German boy.  He looked adorable in his authentic costume - the pants are real suede!

 

He also loved carving his pumpkin. Brad took him to the store and he picked out the biggest one he could find. We had a good time getting all the pumpkin guts out - at least until he decided to throw some on me. Yuck!

 

 Brad helped him light the candle.  He was very proud of his pumpkin and we had so much fun with him, I'm already looking forward to next Halloween.  Winston, you rock!