Carly Visits Her "Adopted" Grandma Venice

Venice is my dear friend(mommy's dear friend)and has been for many years. Notice the white knitted blanket around Carly. Venice knitted for Carly before Rob and I were married--knowing and believing we would have Carly. She is one of my strongest, most faithful friends. I love you Venice. Dick, her husband is so terrific, too. They are just so special to me and my family. They are family to me. I love you!

Update on the Sickees

Mama is doing a little better today. Carly had a bad day today, though. Poor girl. She doesn't like being sick any better than I do. We are trying hard to feel better. Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day!

The After Christmas Sick-ees

Wow. I've spent the last two days in bed not so nicely getting rid of my insides. I'm just starting to feel a little better tonight--not even a lot better. This is the first time I've even looked at my computer in two days. Carly has had a little bit of illness too--mostly from the other end. Although, she seems to think it's funny for some reason. She laughs hysterically every time she makes a really bad diaper. We've got her on pedialite but she seems to be feeling ok otherwise. Hopefully, we will be back to our normal pace soon.

UH-OH

Someone is trying to turn my little girl into a University of Utah fan! I don't think so!!



This is Carly with Megan's best friend, Cass. We've adopted her as one of ours!

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Digging Through the Archives

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Handsome Daddy, Mommy and Carly

More Christmas morning photos! We love Christmas!

The Girls on Christmas Morning

We had a great Christmas morning! Just thought I would share a few more pictures of our fun. Here are some of our most precious gifts! Love, love, love . . .

Our Rockband 2 Family Christmas

Our kids are crazy about Rockband 2. So is Rob for that matter. Anyway, we decided to go a little crazy ourselves and give them a fun Christmas. So everybody has been spending their time (everyone except me that is) playing Rockband for the last couple of days. Actually they are getting pretty good. Even Carly is getting in the act!

Carly with Grandpa's Good Ol' Bear Tom

Tom is an Heirloom Bear. He is being passed down from Grandpa to Carly and as you can see she doesn't mind a bit. Carly fell in love with Tom right away. She snuggled right up to him and hung on. Grandpa got Tom from his Mom--so Tom has been around for awhile and he knows lots of things he can pass on to Carly. She is pretty darn happy to have him around and there's going to be a whole lot of snuggling going on--that's for sure! Merry Christmas Everyone!

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS . . .

IS MY TWO FRONT TEETH! OH, LOOK I GOT 'EM! YAY!

THANKS SANTA!

Dangerous Chocolate Cake In A Mug

Cake In A Mug (so neat!)

1 coffee mug
4 Tbsp. cake flour (plain, not self-rising)
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa
1 egg
3 Tbsp. milk
3 Tbsp. oil
Small splash of vanilla
3 Tbsp. chocolate chips, optional


Add dry ingredients to mug, mix well with a fork.

Add egg, mix thoroughly.

Pour in milk and oil and vanilla, mix well.

Add chips, if using.

Put mug in microwave, and cook for three minutes on 1000 watts.

Cake will rise over top of mug--do not be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little; tip onto a plate if desired.

Eat!

(This can serve two if you want to feel slightly more virtuous.)

***And WHY is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?

Because now we are all only five minutes away from chocolate cake any time of
the day or night!!!***
_____________________________________________

The Tongue Smile

I don't know how she does that with her tongue but I sure think it's cute! This is an old picture--by a month or two anyway. You'll be able to tell in the next day or so because we have a big reveal coming. There's something in that mouth now. Something she wants for Christmas if you get my drift. Now if I can just get her to hold still and smile for me . . . Ha!

She'll Be Comin' Round the Corner When She Comes . . .

Christmas At Our House

This is our Christmas tree. Isn't it fun? We have great fun traditions with it! Notice the train and track behind it filled with candy? These are Rob's trains from childhood and he has been putting these around the tree with the kids since they were kids. He runs the train each night all the way up to Christmas and we get to have a couple of pieces of candy.

Notice the painted soldiers in front of the tree? A dear family friend painted one for each of my girls. This is a friend who used to paint the windows of the town square in my home town in the most delightful winter wonderland way! She used to make our whole town magical with her amazing artistry. Anyway, these lovely soldiers are besutiful reminders to me of her magical gift to my childhood.

All of the ornaments on the tree are a mixture of all of our lives. It makes it a very fun and happy tree for all of us. I just wanted to share our love and happiness with you at this special time of year. We wish all of you a very, Merry Christmas! Much love to all of you!

Congratulations Honey, I'm Proud of You!

Hubby got a promotion at work today! It's a great one, too. I am so proud of him! He works very hard and is so smart! Great job, honey! (pun intended) I love you!

We Only Thought She Was In Charge Before. . .

. . . Now We Know For Sure!

I DON'T USUALLY LIKE THESE . . .

BUT THIS ONE BROUGHT TEARS TO MY EYES. HONEST, IT DID!

A Baby's Hug ~

We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, 'Hi.' He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.

I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map.

We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled.. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. 'Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster,' the man said to Erik.

My husband and I exchanged looks,
'What do we do?'

Erik continued to laugh and answer, 'Hi.'

Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, 'Do ya patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek- a-boo.'

Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk.

My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.

We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. 'Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik,' I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's 'pick-me-up' position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man.
Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love and kinship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time.

I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, 'You take care of this baby.'

Somehow I managed, 'I will,' from a throat that contained a stone.

He pried Erik from his chest, lovingly and longingly, as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, 'God bless you, ma'am, you've given me my Christmas gift.'

I said nothing more than a muttered thanks. With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, 'My God, my God, forgive me.'

I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not. I felt it was God asking, 'Are you willing to share your son for a moment?' when He shared His for all eternity. How did God feel when he put his baby in our arms 2000 years ago.

The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, 'To enter the Kingdom of God , we must become as little children.'

If this has blessed you, please bless others by sending it on. Sometimes, it takes a child to remind us of what is really important. We must always remember who we are, where we came from and, most importantly, how we feel about others. The clothes on your back or the car that you drive or the house that you live in does not define you at all; it is how you treat your fellow man that identifies who you are.

MOTIVATOR 2 NEVER MOTIVATED ME

So, I sold my Motivator 2 today. That's my Bowflex Motivator 2. For some reason, I was never motivated by it. It's a weightlifting machine--but I guess you are supposed to do the weightlifting. That seems kind of crazy to me. What did I pay for?

Actually, my cute husband bought it for me a couple of years ago when I was complaining about my flabby arms. I told him I needed more than just my treadmill. I was used to doing cardio and weightlifting. So, it has sat here for the last two years collecting dust. Oh, I did make a dozen or so attempts to do some arm and leg lifts--but never with any enthusiasm or intensity. Turns out I do the cardio on my treadmill just fine but I only do the weightlifting if there is a trainer around to kick my butt! And guess what? There is no trainer here! Yay!

Buh Bye Motivator 2!!

Ahhhh! I Want to SCREAM!!

I just accidentally deleted 189 pictures off my computer . . . mostly of my cute baby girl! I was just trying to delete 1 picture I had a 2 copies of and somehow it deleted 2 folders of pictures. OHMYGOODNESS! I'm a technadweeb! I am on my second program now trying to recover them. Hopefully I can. If not I think I may still have most of the originals on the camera s.d. card but that means I have to go back in and edit them all again. Aaargh!

Well, so much for the picture I was going to post tonight. Darn, darn, darn.

Daddy and Carly

Good lookin' and all ready for church!

Here's a Couple of Monkey's for You . . .

A couple of my favorite monkeys. They were having a crawling race and I made them stop to take a few pictures. The little one was winning! Cute, eh?!

THE BATH TUB TEST

During a visit to the mental asylum, I asked the Director, "how do you determine whether or not a patient should be institutionalized."

"Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub."

"Oh, I understand," I said. "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup."
"No", the director said, "a normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"


ARE YOU GOING TO PASS THIS ON, OR DO YOU WANT THE BED NEXT TO MINE?

(I stole this from my friend Natalie's blog. Pretty funny, eh?)

The Doctor Said She Needs A Little Roughage . . .

Yah, this is my cell phone eatin' baby. So, yesterday I was giving her a bath and all the sudden I heard a few loud noises coming from the rear section of the baby beneath the water. Then I saw some movement of the water and the baby giggled and pointed and said "Bubble." Sure enough, there was a bubble. There was also baby poop in the water. Yay for mommy.

Later in the day she was laying on our bed with me and was being kind of cranky. I was trying to give her a bottle and she wasn't being very interested in it. All of the sudden she crawled up to the headboard and grabbed the little box of teething swabs and handed them to me and then laid down on her back and opened her mouth and patiently let me apply them to the top and bottom teeth that are trying to come in.
Call me crazy but I think I have a smart baby, er, uh, with the exception of the cell phone eating thing. Oh, right--she was just chewing on that to soothe the teeth!

NO PICTURES PLEASE!

I'M FEELING A LITTLE CAMERA SHY TODAY . . .

Sing, Sing, Sing . . . Something, Something, THE PHOTO

(Julie is the pretty brunette in the middle.)

Sing, Sing, Sing . . . Something, Something

Julie had a choir concert tonight. She is in the lead girl's group. It's called Rhapsody. They did a really great job. I was really proud of her. We got a few pictures but I will try to post them tomorrow. None of us feel very good tonight so we are calling it quits for the evening.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE . . .

A few pictures of friends and family with Carly this weekend. Oh ya, and us.

The Party's Over and Baby's Got the Right Idea

We've had a busy week with lots of things happening around here. The last couple of days we had Carly's sealing and blessing and lots of family and friends came. It was wonderful and so nice to be with everyone. This was Carly on the way home yesterday after the festivities. It's a good picture of the way all of us feel tonight! Go baby go! Let's all go to bed . . .

Check Out This Awesome Family!

Here are some pictures from this morning. We all dressed in white like Carly. This is her blessing dress. Isn't it gorgeous? My very dear friend Taylor made her bonnet. It has some of the lace from my wedding dress on it and it can come apart really easily for Carly to use as a handkerchief at her wedding and then put back together for her first daughter's blessing. It's so beautiful. I have some amazing friends. Speaking of blessings, I have so many I can't begin to count them all. Wow.

Carly the Cube Climber

Carly did a little cube climbing at Thanksgiving. We went to one of Rob's brother's homes and they had this for their kids to romp on and she found it quite fascinating. I'd forgotten all about these pictures until I was just looking through my stack. She definitely had a great time.

Just In Case Any of You Were Wondering . . .

I'm getting around just fine, thank you. I'm quite the whiz!

Look At My Happy Girl!

She's so fun!

Happy Birthday Julie!

Julie turned 15 today. I can't believe it. Anyway, she had one of her best friends over after school and they played pool and did DDR and other stuff. We did the pizza, cake, ice cream and presents thing. It was fun. I think she had a good day. We took more pictures but I had the chip out of the camera at first so the rest are stuck on the camera and I can't figure out how to get them off. I need hubby's help for that and he's busy right now so maybe later. Oh well. Happy Birthday my beautiful 15 year old! I love you!