Everett is my little super hero. He wanted me to tie his blanket around him. He is so fun and he is everywhere. He is a good little boy too. Sometimes he surprises me. This morning I was in my bedroom and he goes into the bathroom. I follow him and he is, it looks, getting something in the trashcan. I go in there and say, "Yucky! lets not play in there," and he repeats the word "Yucky." well he wasn't getting anything. He was throwing trash away. We celebrated with a clap and hurray which made him very proud of himself.



Everett has become a shoe person. He loves shoes. He will try to put on any pair of shoes he can find even if he still has shoes on. this is him in mommy's shoes.

Emma and Everett ready for church, except Emma's crazy hair that is not fixed yet. Everett is wearing a cute little clip on tie that i got from the thrift store. I love the thrift store.

The other night i had the sliding door open from our bedroom so the cats could go in and out if they wanted. well, it was time for them to come in and I called them. TigerLily came right away, but Zeke was nowhere to be found. I went inside and called for him and nothing. I got the bag of treats and shook it and nothing. I got a little worried. I went back outside and went in search for him. Chris was even outside calling after him. I finally went inside and grabbed the bag of treats to go around the apartment complex to shake it. TigerLily came with me. She followed me the whole time to look for Zeke. We went all over together and finally went back into the apartment and I told Chris that he was nowhere, but there were plenty of strays that started following us to get some treats. Before I went home I said a silent prayer for Zeke, and the thought came to me, "He is in the kids' closet." So right when I got home I looked in the closet and sure enough there he was curled up on one of Emma's pillow pets. Silly cat. He didn't hear me rattle the cat treats because the bathroom fan was on right by the kids' bedroom and it blocked the sound. I was glad he was safe. I wouldn't worry about TigerLily if she were outside. She has claws and she is fearless, but Zeke has no claws and is a big push over and a huge scaredy cat.

Just a bunch of randomness

Christmas Eve pictures

Chris' brother Mike and his awesome wife Sandy.

I tried to get this picture to where I wanted it but it just isn't working. Oh well! this is a picture of a sting ray. you can read more later. It looks like an alien

This is our kitten TigerLilly. She is my little buddy as you can see. This is how she normally is when I am sitting on a chair or laying in bed. Silly girl.

Just a random photo in case you forgot what i look like. Hee hee. Emma all decked out in her wings and cape with mask and a hat that I cut out of a jacket that was too small. I kept the zipper on though. It works really well. Not a bad idea.

If you can see in this picture I cut out the arms of the jacket and sewed them on her wings to help keep them on her arms. she loves them.

the day after christmas Sandy, my sister-in-law, Marisa, her daughter and Jaelyn her youngest, Emma, Everett and myself all went to the Phoenix zoo. we decided to go pet the stingrays. It was so fun. I didn't wash up to do it because I was going to take pictures the whole time. Emma loved it.

As I have been looking at this picture I think he looks just like my brother Michael when he was a baby.

Mallory, my niece. She is so fun and very charismatic. Emma loves her a lot. she is always asking if we can go to mallory's house.

My other niece, Marisa.

zach.

Jaelyn

Got Eggnog

Out seeing the Christmas lights and taking pictures with santa

We saw this cute hat at the store and i just had to get a picture of this cute little boy

I love Arizona

So I was talking to Chris on the phone yesterday. He was on his way to get supplies and notices a sign "30 oranges for $1.00." I told him to turn around and get some. that is a rockin' good deal. He got 60 oranges. As you can see, I am juicing them and we made orange juice. Mmmm good!

I put the rinds in our pot for humidity for a nice citrusy aroma. Love it!

This Christmas we are in Gilbert, AZ spending time with Chris' brother Mike, and his family. Tonight is Christmas eve and we went to the Mesa Temple to see the lights. It was a little cold but fun. I made the kids some hats that you will see in the pictures below.

Of Course I couldn't go to the temple without taking a picture of the Christus statue. Love it!

The NativityUs in front of the temple.

Everett in his Halloween jacket. That was the only jacket we had with a hoodie. He wouldn't keep his hat on. Silly boy.

We Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas tomorrow. we love you all!!!

I took the snowflake challenge! Thanks Matt and Monica

So this was my first attempt to making snowflakes. The last time I made a real snowflake was in Elementary school and I am sure they looked about like this too.


I decided to get a little creative and broke out the exacto knife. I know that is cheating, but this is what I got. Christmas trees, reindeer and Santa and snowmen.

These are my mini snowflakes made from the left over paper of making the real snowflakes. I got on line and googled how to make snowflakes. I cheated, but there is an actual tutorial on how to make them. Pretty handy if you want to make good ones.

Here are my masterpieces. I am still learning, but I am pretty proud of them. They are better than my first attempts. this is at our ward Christmas party. Santa is buried in his beard and his belly is popping out of his jacket. Silly Santa. He'd better lay off the milk and cookies for a while if he is going to have room for all of the weight he is going to gain on his big trip around the world eating gumbo and more milk and cookies. Major heartburn or heart attach or even a stroke waiting to happen.

The kids were happy to see santa none the less

Hurray for Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a fun new year.

This year has been filled with a lot of changes. Where do I start. I will start with Chris. First of all may I say that he is simply amazing. He has done so much for our family and is such a shining example to me. This last March he was offered a job in Arizona and what do you know, we took it. We are happy to be in the sunny state of Arizona. Though, during the winter months it is a lot different than I imagined. I still wear a coat. Chris is happy to be in Arizona too. We are closer to His dad and brother. It has definitely been fun to be able to be around and get to know his family. Emma and Everett love the cousins and Grandma and Grandpa especially. One thing I have to brag about Chris is that every night he puts the kids to sleep and sings them to sleep. When Daddy is in the room and Emma is done getting ready for bed I tell her that daddy is singing, and that she better hurry, She runs to the bedroom. He is such a good dad. they always look forward to him coming home from work or from out of town to play with daddy. He is everyones favorite.

As for myself, not really much has happened. I have lost quite a bit of weight. I went on the HCG diet and lost 20 pounds with that. I loved it. Now I am running training for a 10k and once I am done with that on to training for a half marathon. I have a love for running. It makes me feel really good and I am actually accomplishing something. I have lost another 10 lbs with that. I still plan on losing more. Other than that not really anything big has happened.

Emma, I am planning on getting her into a school for the spring. I know she will just blossom more. She is starting to read and with a little help she can write her name. She has progressed a lot since we have been here. She mimicks almost everything I say, especially when I talk to Everett. It is so cute. Not too long ago she said, "Mom, I want to grow up to be just like you." What a smart little girl. She is also a good little helper around the house. when I am cleaning she always wants to help me. If I ask her to do something she does it without hesitation. So obedient.

Everett started walking this year, is talking a lot and loves balls and cars. He is such a happy little boy. He has almost all of his teeth. 3 more are starting to come in. Poor little guy. Even with that going on he is still very happy. He loves playing with Emma. They share a room and love to laugh together when they are going to bed. They will keep each other awake to play together. I am glad they love each other. At times Emma has a hard time with him and doesn't like to share her toys, but he loves to be near her.

A Way of Life

Lately I have been reading a conference talk every morning. I lay in bed, grab my phone and read a talk without any interruptions from the kids. It is usually before they wake up. I lay there and soak up the words from our inspired leaders and it in turn inspires me to walk a little taller and to "Be" a little better. I read President Packers talk yesterday about studying scriptures and it helped me with more of a desire to read the scriptures. Everyday we have an opportunity to draw closer to our Heavenly Father through every decision that we make.

Not too long ago my Stake President in the Derby Kansas Stake challenged us to change, to do one thing for three months that will help us to change to be better and then to report back to him. Well, I am starting a little late, but I have definitely seen a change in myself in how I think and how I feel and how my day goes.

Chris took the challenge of either reading or watching a conference talk and I have seen a change in him too. We have also made a change in our companionship too. We have been reading the same chapters in the Book of Mormon and then at the end of the day we have a spiritual thought together from that.We have a little discussion and it has helped us to grow stronger together.

It has been a huge blessing in my life to read the General Conference talks everyday and I want to challenge anyone who reads this to do the same. You can get online at http://www.lds.org/ and click on the general conference archives. Also going to http://www.mormon.org/ they have many wonderful videos to watch that are inspiring and uplifting. I strongly recommend that as well.

This morning I sang the Hymn "More Holiness Give Me" and then looked up the scriptures that go with that hymn. I read the first one in 3 Nephi 12: 48 then looked at the scripture just above it which says, "Old things are done away, and all things have become new." As I read that it hit me. As I have been reading in Alma, Ammon taught King Lamoni and his heart was changed and he came to understand that the traditions of his fathers were incorrect and basically started over and allowed himself to be taught true priciples and started living the standards of the gospel. He was converted. As I thought about that it also made me think of what traditions I have that are incorrect and what I can do to change them and truly become converted unto the Lord. I have to do away those things that are binding and start doing those things that will make me free forever. I know that by studying the words of the prophets, new and old I will be able to make those changes in my life. "...and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God..." Doctrine and Covenants 121:45.