It is not so bad...

Like I said in my last post, it is an UNDERSTATEMENT that Dave and I are blessed with good friends and family!

This morning Dave's mom and dad and Uncle Dennis, visiting from Denver, came over to try to help us with our car problem. They saw that the battery was quite corroded and proceeded to clean that all up for me. Then Dennis and John took the van to Wal-mart for me and waited over an hour for them to put in a new battery. After an hour they still hadn't got the van in, so they called to have Dave's mom come pick them up. I was so thankful that it was in getting fixed, but was wondering how to work it into my schedule to go pick it up when it was done. I have to pick the kids up from school and then I have scouts at my house. Right after that I have to pick Dave up from work. So, my afternoon was pretty full.

Avery and I ran to the bank, (in our car) and when we got back and opened the garage, there was our van. Good as new! It starts right up now! Thank goodness all it needed was a new battery! And thank goodness for awesome in-laws that step right in to help us out whenever we need it! Thank you so much, John, Shirley, and Dennis! You guys really helped us so much today. We are very grateful!

I have complained about all the things that have broke in our house lately. But, even with all that, we truly are being taken care of and looked out for. When our microwave broke, we went to find a new one. I wanted one to match the rest of our appliances, but we couldn't afford to spend too much. The first store we went in, we saw an exact matching microwave, everything we wanted, on CLEARANCE!! We got it for way cheaper than I expected. I told Dave that when we saw it it was like a stream of light on it and angels singing HALLELUJAH! I couldn't believe what a great deal!

And, when our fridge in the garage died, Dave's mom happened to have an old one in her garage that she wanted to get rid of and gave it to us! We have been so spoiled with having a fridge in the garage. We love to keep our soda and extra stuff in it. So, we were extremely grateful that we were able to replace it! And, Dave's brother gave us a new computer...the blessings never end!

So, especially this week of the year, I am able to really recognize how blessed our little family is. Just when all of these not fun things are happening to us, family steps in and helps us out so much! Thank you, everyone! We love you!

One more thing to add to the list...

One more item to add to the list of broken items in our house. (see last post) Yep...our van!!!! What the @(#$&#@(*&????? Seriously...tonight, I told the kids that I would take them out for pizza. Easton and Paisley had earned free personal pizzas at Pizza Hut. I thought, since I had NO dinner plans, that tonight would be a good night to cash in the coupons. I got the kids all ready in coats and boots to head out into the super cold weather. We loaded up in the van and I turned the key. CLICK CLICK CLICK...yep, wouldn't start. I think, in my extremely limited knowledge of cars, that it is probably the alternator! Just what we need right when I am trying to buy Christmas gifts! Grrrrr!!! That's all I can say, GRRRRRR!!!

So...if any of you know someone who knows how to change an alternator, let me know!! (If that is it.) It would be nice not to have to pay the million dollars for labor! (okay, slight exaggeration there, just a little annoyed!)

On a happier note, Dave's awesome brother and his awesome wife were SO kind to give us their old computer that they aren't using anymore! YEA!! So, I now have a computer that is usable. Thank you so so so so so much, Dan and Josie! You guys have done so much for us...we can't thank you enough! It does not go unnoticed. I have an ongoing list in my head of generous things you have done for us, hopefully some day we can repay you! :)

And, our kind neighbor, Brandon, helped Dave to pull all of our saved info and pictures off of our dead laptop. So, all of our precious pictures are saved on our new computer. I was a bit worried that we wouldn't be able to retrieve them. Thanks a lot, Brandon!!

It is an understatement to say that Dave and I are blessed to have awesome family and friends!

So, now I can finally add some pictures of Avery's new bed.




Her second night...sleeping like a baby! :)

She has been doing so good in it. I wish we had ditched the crib a while ago! Santa is going to bring her some bedding for Christmas...for now it is what it is! :)


And one final cute picture...



Can you tell they are sisters? I love these girls!



That's all for now...hopefully this is the last update of broken items in our household!!!!!

I am back!

Yeah, we are still alive. I know the few of you who read my blog faithfully must have wondered if we had disappeared off the planet. No, we are here. Have been for the last 2 1/2 weeks since I last posted. That isn't like me. I love to update my blog often.

But, well, nothing exciting has been going on. I didn't feel like anything blog-worthy anyway. But, there are a few things I wanted to post about really quick.

We had parent/teacher conference a week ago. We got very good feedback about Easton and Paisley. The only less positive report, we already knew about. We heard about Easton being the "class clown" and talking too much. Yep...knew that. All in all, I was very proud of both of them. They are both doing very well grade-wise and their teachers seemed to genuinely enjoy each of them. We are very thankful for really, really good teachers this year.

It has been one of those couple months for us, I tell ya! First our 3-year old microwave died. We had to spend $130 to have them tell us it would cost twice as much to fix as to buy another. So, off we went to buy a new one. Then, our TV died. The one that we have in our front room and use the most. So, we brought the one out of our bedroom into our front room. Though, I admit, I really miss curling up in bed to watch "my shows". Then, our refrigerator in our garage died. That was a real bummer. We use it just to store pop, etc. But, we love having it out there! It really frees up our kitchen fridge. THEN, this week, our laptop died!!!! (That is another BIG reason that there has been no new posts!) We do have our DINOSAUR computer downstairs that is 13 years old. We can get online with it, but little else. And, to top it off, our darn garage door is being all crazy. We have a hard time getting it to shut sometimes and so I am afraid that it is on its last leg...

When it rains it pours! But, luckily, the only thing we felt we COULD NOT do without was our microwave. Don't believe me....try going 2 weeks without a microwave and you will realize how often we use them! We are doing okay without the other stuff. Unfortunately, all the rest of the broken stuff is really expensive. So, they won't be replaced anytime soon. So, if anyone knows of a smoking deal on a TV or computer, let us know! :) (Dave's mom just happened to have an old fridge in her garage that we can have! YEE-HAW!)

One final "fun" note...Avery took one step closer to being a "big" girl! We got rid of the crib and changing table this last week. We bought her a really cute little toddler bed. She LOVES it and is doing really well in it. She has done really well about staying in it. I was worried about that, but we haven't had any issues at all! She just climbs in and goes to sleep! Soooo nice! Also a little sad that my little baby girl is growing up!

Well, that is about it. We are sooo looking forward to Thanksgiving next week. My parents are leaving tonight to go to on a 7-day cruise out of Florida. I am so sad that they won't be here for Thanksgiving and ESPECIALLY Black Friday! My mom is my shopping partner! But, I hope that they have a great time! We will be spending a lot of time with Dave's family and are really looking forward to it!

Hopefully I will get my posts going again! :)

Game Night!

Sunday night Dave and I were really not in the mood to do a whole lot. We had had a busy Halloween weekend and neither one of us felt too hot. But, we were feeling well enough to play some games with the kids. So, we got out Talking Battleship and played a nail biting game of boys vs. girls. It was neck and neck the whole time. When both teams had sunk 4 out of 5 ships, it was just a race to find the last ship. Paisley and I shot and missed...and to our great fortune...Easton said to Dave, "just barely" meaning we had been CLOSE! That was all the girls needed. We were able to keep shooting in that area, found their last ship, and SUNK! Girls win! (with a bit of help from the boys.) What a fun time! :)

So, on to game #2. We thought we had better play one that even Avery could help with. So, we played Cootie! ;)



Avery and I were a team. It was pretty fun.



A little drama filled as certain kids, who we shall not name, but a boy child, :) would cry and be sad because he wasn't getting the number on the dice he needed. A certain baby girl would also cry when we wouldn't let her grab a leg every time she wanted. But, Avery and I won the first game.

The sad thing about this picture, is it is not staged AT ALL! Dave is really THAT excited!

Then, Dave decided he loved that game so much that we had to "Play Again!!" I wasn't so excited, as we had a bunch of drama the first game.


So, we played again. This time with a little less tears. Easton won.


An example of the drama!


All in all, drama and everything, it was a great evening. The kids and I don't get to spend very much time at all with Dave during the week. And, our weekends end up being so crazy, that we don't get a lot of just "hang out as a family" time lately. So, I think everyone enjoyed very much sitting around the table, playing games, laughing, (crying), and eating TOO much Halloween candy. What a great time as a family!

Halloween!!!

We had a really nice Halloween this year! The weather was PERFECT! You really can't ask for better Halloween weather here! The kids didn't even really need coats for trick-or-treating. It was great!

Easton was Darth Vader this year. Last year he was Anakin, but this year he ventured over to the dark side! :)




Paisley was Strawberry Shortcake.




Avery was Apple Dumplin', Strawberry Shortcake's little sister!



A friend's sister made the girls' costume. I think they turned out so cute! We received many compliments and the girls loved them!



Here are my 3 trick-or-treaters:



We went to our ward Halloween party, which was a lot of fun. We got to fill up on yummy homemade soup and treats. Then it was off to the real reason for the night...trick-or-treating!! We went to my grandparents' house first. They spoiled the kids, of course. My uncle and aunt were there with their 5 kids and so we were able to go do some trick-or-treating with them. The kids loved trick-or-treating around the neighborhood with their cousins.


Easton checking out his "loot".


Avery had to drag her bag most of the way because it was too heavy! :)

At one door, we looked over and my little cousin, Treyson, had his pants all the way down. It didn't seem to bother him, though! :)



We also spent some time at my parents' house, where again, they got to trick-or-treat in the neighborhood. They got more candy than we will EVER eat. But, a great night!

Guess Who!!

We are going to play a little guessing game! Ready??

Okay...whose legs are these?



They are pretty nice, right? And those fishnets are oh so lovely!




























Guessed yet?


























You guessed it!!



Did you know it was the legs of my "manly" husband? :) Oh yeah, I am a proud wife!

I do need to explain. His training class and another class had a competition. If Dave's team lost, they got to pick his Halloween costume. So, yep, pretty obvious, his team lost. Someone went to Shopko and spent almost $70 on this beautiful get-up! I wouldn't have ever done that, but more power to them for being able to bring out the feminine side in Dave!

The kids' reactions were funny! I told them to come upstairs and say good bye to Dave. When they saw him, Paisley screamed and they both just laughed and laughed.




Avery wouldn't go near him for a while. She had the maddest look on her face. She was NOT impressed. Easton asked him, very seriously, if he could still play football. I guess he was worried he was losing his father for good. And, when Dave left, Paisley shouted, "Good bye, Princess!!" So funny!

New niece!!

My brother, Jarom, and his wife Jackie had their 3rd baby today! They already have 2 super cute little boys and now they have a beautiful baby girl. She was born at 2:50 p.m., weighs 7 lb. 15 oz., and is 20 inches long.

I, of course, had to get up to the hospital as soon as possible. Thankfully, my sweet sister-in-law, Erin, watched all 3 of my kids so I could go see her. Thank you so much, Erin!



She was just wide eyed when I got up to the hospital. She was looking all over and making little noises constantly. Sooo cute! I won't lie, seeing a newborn makes me just a tiny bit baby hungry! There is nothing sweeter than a newborn baby!

I can't wait to see her again! Congratulations, Jarom and Jackie! She is absolutely beautiful! I am so thankful that everyone is healthy and happy.

Welcome to the family, little Sadie! We love you already!

New School Pics!

The kids had their pictures taken at school a few weeks ago. I felt so bad that the last time I had Avery's pictures taken was when she had just turned 1, over a year and a half ago. So, I took her over to the school and had hers taken, too.

I think they all turned out really nice, actually. At least I have some current pictures for my wall. (And, Steph, I will finally get you some pictures of my kids!) :)

Easton, age 7 1/2


Paisley, age 6


Avery, age 2 1/2

Trials

Some days I feel overwhelmed by my trials. Some days it really feels like I have a heavy burden on my shoulders that I am silently carrying. I look at others and think how nice it must be to not be carrying my burdens. (As if they don't have any or something.)

But, then, there are days like today. I am thankful for my trials today. My trials seem relatively light today. I know that I will get through them and I know I am fine. I have had things put into perspective today, but at the expense of others' trials. I have seen two friends with eyes full of tears today because of their trials. I can't tell you how sad it made me. I just didn't even know what to say to either one. Nothing I say will take away their burdens. But, I was able to help each lighten their burdens a tiny tiny bit...I hope. That makes me feel a little better.

After I saw my second friend with tears welling up in her eyes, I felt horrible. I had to go in a closet and pray. I prayed that these women would get through their trials and that I would know what to say and what I could do. I prayed to be a tool for Heavenly Father to use to help my friends in their trials.

These thoughts are just weighing on my mind today. I pray for my friends. I am thankful that the Lord has blessed me with "small" trials at the moment. I pray that I can be a good friend and a tool that the Lord can use.