Some great photos!

We planned on having my angel mother take our family photos this year to save money. So we got all dolled up and met her on Main Street in Mesa. We took a BUNCH of photos and then at the end of our little 'session' we were walking back to the car and saw a photographer standing there taking photos of someone. He looked at us walking down the street and could tell we were also taking family photos. I said, 'ya but we don't have a cool camera like yours!' It was the truth, we were using a simple digital camera, and his was awesome! I definitely had camera envy. He offered to shoot a few photos for us and I offered to design his Christmas Card for his family this year. So these were the few shots he took of us in about 5 minutes time: 

This is actually a photo I took with my phone a few weeks back at Costco. I edited it a bit and LOOK HOW CUTE these little loves are!

Goodness was I grateful for Troy Brinkerhoff's help! I designed his Christmas card for him a few weeks later.

front

Back

Cute HUH!

 I love my little family!

Christmas Card n more...

 I always love Christmas Card TIME!! I feel like it's my time to shine. I love designing my Christmas card because I can do whatever I want and get REALLY creative without anyone telling me how it should look! And the best part is, I get to print the card. I LOVE printing things! I love the idea of something I design, going into print! I love the smell of freshly printed things too! Anyway, without further babbling...here's the design of this year!

 Front (The ride side was cropped about a half inch leaving the ornate shape there at printing)

Inside Spread

Back

Cute huh!

Christmas is awesome! This year the kids were 5 and 2. Perfect ages to understand presents and Santa and the whole thing! They got so many toys and had a FUN time!

We also went for a ride on the Polar Express!

This was such a Magical experience for us all! You get to take a ride on this adorable train that looks a lot like the one from the story book. You have a host that narrates the whole experience for you. You get hot chocolate and a HUGE cookie on the ride. They play music from the animated movie over the speakers as you wide. Ethan was so excited he couldn't even sit up straight! He just kept fainting onto daddy! Ivy was literally bouncing off the walls. At one point you drive by the 'north pole' and it's beautiful! I had a few tears! All of a sudden, Santa appears on the train and he talks to every child and takes photos. We had seen Santa already 3 times this year, and it's so funny because Santa keeps asking Ethan what he would like for Christmas, and Ethan assumes Santa should just know because he's already told him so many times, so he says, "I already TOLD you!" Hilarious!!

When the ride was over, the best part of all was the puffy white soft falling snow!! I hate snow. Mind you. BUT this wasn't snow, it was magic fairy dust! I felt like a kid again as we played  and threw snowballs and just listened to the quiet and the giggling from everyone who was there. Surreal!

We stayed in a cute hotel that evening to cap the experience off well. 

Merry Christmas!

Potty Training IVY!

It's time! Ethan was potty trained at 2 and now it's Ivy's turn! I know this is usually a really difficult thing between a parent and child, but Ivy is ready, and I'm ready to be done buying diapers!

Update: Ivy did really well potty training! She's a pro with the pee and doing really well with the poo! Thank goodness for HoHos! Ivy loves those things! They are a great reward!

Immortal

Michael Jackson died in 2009. That was a sad day for me because I was excited to see if there was anything more in store for him as far as music went. I have always loved his music, and his performances! Second to none. So when I heard that Cirque Du Soliel was going to do a tour called 'Michael Jackson Immortal' I was thrilled to say the least! I bought tickets for this thing back in March! Come to find out, my 10 year reunion was on the same night. But I didn't want to miss out on this, so I skipped the reunion!

These are just some photos took on our phones from that evening.  We went with our friends the Oberlys and the Fergusons! LOVE THEM!

The show was amazing! I laughed and cried and got goosebumps and danced and sang!

 The show was spectacular! I wish I could go and see it again. 

Glimpses of my littles

Well Christmas is a coming! Whether we like it or NOT!

 Ethan got the idea to mark the Target Magazine with check marks to let Santa know what he wants for Christmas. :) Genius! 

This kid just makes me laugh with his scary faces that he pulls all the time. 

 Ethan and Ivy like to go to Costco with me so that they can sit next to each other in their extra large shopping carts. It's good and bad for them in that close proximity. 

 Little moments like this make it all worthwhile though. :)

 These little piggy tails make my heart smile. I just love styling my little dolly every morning. :)

 All gussied up and ready to go shopping at 'Walmart' which just happens to be our toy room. :) She LOVES my shoes.

Here she is again wearing mommy's new buckle shoes. She walks better than me in them...uh oh!

More posts to come about Thanksgiving and Ethan's birthday party!!

Thanksgiving

It's become a fun tradition of our little family to stay in a luxury hotel on Thanksgiving! All the hassle of traveling to family and cooking got too be too much! We lounge by the pool, cook smores by the firepits, soak in the hot tub, and explore the hotel grounds. For our Thanksgiving meal, we go to Mimi's cafe and eat their yummy plate of turkey, mashed potatoes, and other Thanksgiving goodies. They give you Pumpkim pie to top it all off! This year we went and saw a Christmas Movie with the kids after that! It was so nice and relaxing that none of us wanted to leave!!

I'm already looking forward to this again next year!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Word Art

I LOVE making word art. I'll upload these to my site soon, but I wanna pin them so bad that I'll start with the blog...

Ethan Turns 5!

Ethan has been excited to turn 5 ever since he turned 2! We have talked about riding the yellow school bus when he turned 5 years old! He is still in his 3rd year of preschool, but come next Fall, he will start Kindergarten and ride the yellow school bus! I'm shocked that Ethan is now older than Calliou is, the 4 year old from one of Ethan's favorite TV shows on PBS.

5 years old seems like a huge milestone to me! The stepping stone to a coming of age. I never thought the day would come. We haven't had a friend birthday party for Ethan yet because it seemed weird to have one when he was so young. I knew it was time to have a friend party when he turned 5. He has a 'girl-phobia' right now. So this was to be a strictly BOYS ONLY party. :)

 First we turned on some of Ethan's favorite music, and had playtime and pizza.

 Next, we opened presents. 

Then, the boys got to run around and play in the backyard. These boys are so cute! 

Last, we went to the Bounz House and let them burn of all of their energy jumping around to their heart's content. Ethan has such a good time! He doesn't have any brothers, so he's always begging for play dates with his friends. He felt like a King as the boys all wanted to play with and sit by him!

This little guy melts my heart. He is kind, loving, and funny! He always recognizes the good in others. He loves all things Halloween, and Hot Wheels! What a gift he is to us!

Happy 5 Ethan!

Halloween Party

I love Halloween just as much as the kids do! We go to a party every year at the Ferguson's home just down the street from us. Joe and I decided to go as the leg lamp and box from the Christmas story! Awesome!

This is us last year...we found pics of Brett and Jacque (the party hosts) and made masks out of them. The best was that Joe got a RainDeck shirt from Brett and wore it. That's what Brett always wears!

Happy Halloween!

Toy Town!

We went to a fun place with our friends the Judys recently. It's called Toy Town and it's in Phoenix. Long drive, but totally worth it! It's a little place where they have kid sized buildings set up with different themes on them. Some for boys and some for girls. There are toys in every house and all over the place. The kids can also dress up.

Ethan as Buzz Lightyear/Spider Man! Ha!

Now Ethan wanted to be a fireman!!

Ethan never let this hot piece of machinery out of his sight! He drove it all around making sure the other kids weren't 'speeding' and giving them tickets if they were. :)

Ivy enjoyed playing house with the locals!

Pushing her baby in her princess gown. She was so preoccupied, I couldn't even get her to smile at me to take a photo!!

They would have stayed here all day if we could, but I had to run to IKEA so we had to bribe them with candy to get them to leave. I swear I only bribe with candy in dyer situations like this! I will definitely be returning here very soon! They get an A+ for being clean, and indoor so my kids can play on a hot day.

I know.

I'm in a good place.

Looking back, I realize that I was caught between a rock and a hard place without even knowing it! I ask myself every day why I am happier. I wonder where this new-found joy came from.

BUT I KNOW.

How could I be so ungrateful. I am blessed.

Perhaps it's that I have seen so many families be ripped apart lately because infidelity, or some other grievance. Perhaps it's that I experienced a couple of days recently keeping watch over more children than just my own. It's having my eyes opened to these other realities, that makes me look at my own life with a smile. There's a beam of light shining down on my days that wasn't there before. Life experience is giving me the maturity to take a step back and look at my life through God's eyes. Life. is. good.

I find that my favorite day of the week is Sunday again! This fills me to the brim with happiness! I can't wait to grab my scripture bag and head out the door. I can't wait to pull out my pen and my highlighter and ponder on the words of the Lord. What was but a tiny flicker of fire in my heart for a couple of years, has now become a growing flame.

My husband loves my children, he's patient with them, he knows when I need a break and he takes initiative. He engages in their life's and wants to be a part of them. They trust him, they love him, I love him.

I love him, and I feel peace when I'm with him. We laugh. We're silly. We talk about life's challenges and life's  happiness. He knows I have so many weaknesses. He knows the laundry situation is so-so. He knows I lose my patience and get lost when I'm driving. He knows I'm a terrible cook. He knows all of this and more. BUT he loves me. He listens to me. He knows the right things to say.

Life. Is. Good.

My testimony is growing again, and I'm not doing anything to stop it.

I'm grateful to my Savior for never giving up on me. For staying the course with me for the last few years while I was merely going through the motions of what I knew was right, hoping it would all start to make sense again. AND it does!

It's said that peace is an inner calm and comfort born of the spirit that God gives to His faithful saints. If being faithful awards me with a life of peace and calm, then faithful is what I'll be.

Life. Is. Good.