Saturday, February 27, 2010

Valentine's Day!







Once again we had our annual Valentine's Day breakfast! And once again it was a huge success! It is one of my kids favorite holidays. Mine too. I am not so much about the romance of the day, gifts from my husband, going out on a date. I don't know, it's just not me.I like the romance weekly, not just on a special day of the year! But I do really love doing our breakfast. It's a fun way to show my family how much I love them!



My mom would make pancakes in the shape of a heart. I suck at doing that so I bought a heart shaped waffle maker! She would put Cinnamon hearts on top of applesauce. I couldn't even find red hots this year so we just had the applesauce. Then to top the meal off she would make little individual cherry pies. My kids don't like those so we make little cheesecakes with strawberries on top! It's fun hearing how all of my siblings have carried on this tradition and have modified the menu a little for their family! They tease me cause I do go a little overboard, but hey, that's just how I do things!I have such fun memories from my childhood of my mom doing it for us and I love being able to pass that tradition on to my kids. Thanks mom for showing us how much you loved us and for giving us such great memories and great traditions we can pass on!!



52 Blessings Project~ Week 6!


This Week I Am Grateful For My Bishop!


He is totally awesome. He seriously cares about the members of the ward and you can feel it.


He sends birthday cards out to all the kids for their birthdays. Grace was so funny when she got hers. He told her he loves her smile. She LOVED that! She would carry that dang card around with her and then make you read it to her. She'd give you a little giggle and say "Yeah, he likes my smile!"


What a neat impression he is leaving!


He is so good with the youth. For Zachary he even came to some of his football games. I loved that support that he showed. Poor Tony would panic when the bishop would show up and tell me...watch your mouth Lauri, DON'T humiliate us! Yeah...whatever!Haha! Good luck with that one honey...


I love that he pushes Zach a little. He has succeeded with him where I have failed. It leaves me with a feeling that I am not alone in rearing these little spirits. That Heavenly Father sends help for us.


I have had a not so great experience with a bishop before.(I know~ I shouldn't admit that)It made it hard for me to go to church.


I think because of that it makes me appreciate our bishop even more~


He is down to earth, funny, and yet a very spiritual person. He has made such a impression on all of our family. Especially the older ones.


For that I am truly grateful!!

Monday, February 15, 2010

I Had To Have One!

When we at mom's a few weeks ago we put Adelynn in the exersaucer that they had and that girl loved it! She played for a good half hour straight! Pretty good considering this girl only wants to be held ALL DAY LONG!
I knew I wanted one but was putting off buying it. Then last week disaster strikes. We all get sick! And I had crying kids fighting over who gets to sit on my lap! At one point I had Gracie, Ethan and Adelynn all sitting on me and Grace and Ethan were screaming saying the other one touched their foot or leg! Ughh it was exhausting!

So I gave in and ran to Toys R Us at like 8:30 at night. And bought one.Made Tony put it together as soon as I got home!

The next day once again, crying fussy kids! Even Adie is sick and clingy. But I put her in her new toy.

And as you can see at first she is not too happy to be put down. It only took a few seconds for her to realize that this was a good thing. And that pitiful pout soon turned into a smile. And my day was a little easier!


I am glad that I had to have one! Now maybe I can get a shower!

52 Blessings Project~ Week 5!


This Week I Am Grateful For~ Our Missionary!


Two weeks ago we were fortunate enough to be able to travel to California for our son Anthony's missionary farewell.

It was nice to be able to spend some time with him. The kids have really missed him I think.

He did a great job on his talk in church.It is neat to see how much his testimony has developed and grown.

I appreciate the example he is setting for our family.It is neat to be able to read his letters to the kids.

I still remember when my sister Shelli went on her mission. We were so proud of her and we loved looking forward to her letters and hearing all about the neat things she was experiencing!

This is such a fun and exciting time and I am excited for him!

Anthony~ We love you and will miss you! We're looking forward to hearing all about your many adventures!

Friday, February 12, 2010

She's Down Right Giddy!!!


So my Hannah girl comes home from school today and let me tell you she is absolutely down right giddy!Giddy!


I don't think I have ever seen her quite this way and I thought it was so cute!


See there is a certain boy at school that she really, really likes. But she felt her chances of him liking her were slim. Cause all the girls like him. She was even mad at two of her friends cause she when she confessed her crush on him to them they said THEY liked him too! How dare they!


But guess what?? Today he brought her something special for Valentines Day! Only her! A little heart shaped cake. That he told her he had the bakery put a red tulip on top of it cause that is her favorite flower!


And when she came home to tell me she couldn't stop smiling! And giggling! And giggling some more! See...she was so excited she even consented to me taking a picture of her with the cake! She never wants her picture taken!




Wow, my little girl is growing up and into boys already. Let the games begin!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Miss Gracie Turns Four!


My wild and crazy girl just turned four! I always say I can’t believe it but with her I totally can! Not sure if it is because she drives me wild and time just doesn’t fly by as quickly with her or if it is because she is so dang smart and I forget how young she really is!
Grace is my sassy one through and through. Her sass is what makes her such a character! Although she is a challenge for sure she is also so dang funny! I remember our trip to Atlanta and all the teens were screaming with laughter. And it was because Grace was making up jokes for them. She loves telling jokes! And she loves being the center of attention!
I love, love that I can get her to dance on cue. She will rock out with me anytime anywhere. My kinda girl! The other day when picking up the mouthy teens she wanted me to roll down her window so she could dance and sing the song Tik Tok at the top of her lungs to all the kids around! Cracks me up. It was something I would do! Bonus~it embarrasses the older ones! HA!
For her birthday we went to the Rainforest CafĂ©. She loved it of course. Then we headed home for presents. She loved everything and wanted to know how I knew it was “just” what she wanted! It was a low key birthday but for her it was just right!
I love my sassy girl Gracie Mae! She brings excitement, frustration, humor, clarity, wisdom, and joy into our lives and I am grateful she is a part of our family!
Happy Birthday Grace! Here are some of the things we love about you!
Dad~Her view on life. Her funny facial expressions. How she sticks her hip out with her hands on her hips. She’s spunky! Her hair. How she dances. Her binky talk! You have to be a linguist to understand it! How she will mix it up with Ethan then she’ll rat him out!

Zachary~ I love the way she tries to smile with her binkers in, and even though everyone thinks she hates me we all know I am her favorite :) Also I love her sassy princess attitude and she's the only four year old I know who speaks her mind:)
Rachelle~ I love her Booty-luscious butt shakings. I love the way she’ll always bust a move for yo no matter where you are.

Hannah~ I absolutely love Gracie, she's fun,Insane and a wild beast no one can contain her.

Bailey~I love that she plays with me. I like that she likes cartoons. She picks flowers with me!

Ashley~

Anthony~ She is so wild and crazy, one of the most unique of the family. I love how her teeth stick out and her voice is super cute. She is so sweet and spunky. I love how she knows words to songs that I don’t even know and how she sings them in the car. She gives great hugs and kisses.

Elizabeth~I love how she snuggles me and sings at the top of her lungs. I love her crooked teeth. :]

Eric~ Grace is a huge load of cute fun times. I love playing with her as long as she doesn’t call me a meanie poo-poo face.

52 Blessings Project~ Week 4!


This Week I Am Grateful For~ My New Camera!

Yeah...totally materialistic blessing this week. I am feeling emotionally and physically drained lately. And sometimes it's hard for me to think of the blessings in my life. Which is exactly why I participate in the blessing project. So when I am having a hard time like I am now then the blessing project forces me to take some time and think of the good I have been blessed with. And I am picking something I love that makes me happy! Simple as that!

For My birthday this year Tony got me a new camera and I love it! I am always jealous of the fabulous pictures I see on other people's blog. I want mine to look that fab too. Waaa...

But I am hopeful with my new camera I can achieve better pictures! I still don't have a clue what I am doing, and I am trying to figure it out.I want the colors on my pictures to look brighter! And I DID manage to get a few that way! Funny thing is I don't have a clue what I did! HA! I definitely need to read up on how to take better pictures.

Here is one of the pictures I took with my new camera. I love the how bright the colors are. It's exactly the kind of pictures I want to take.

There is something wonderful about being able to look back at pictures of my children and remembering that special day, or remember how they were as they were younger. I love being able to capture our lives and look back. So I plan to learn all about my camera and figure out how to take fantastic pictures of my little animals and I'm having fun in the process. And for that I am very grateful!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Happy Birthday Ashley



21!! Ashley is 21!!! I can still remember meeting her for the first time.She had these big brown beautiful eyes and the best smile.She was so affectionate right from the beginning. I loved it when she told me it would OK with her if her dad and I decided to get married! She then gave me the biggest hug! It was so sweet!

I think she thinks I am kinda crazy ( which I am!) But I think she kinda like it too! She was my friend from the very beginning and I have always been very grateful for that!

And now she is a young woman.All grown up.WOW!It went quick!At least I know she is the same kind person that I met 12 years ago with that same beautiful smile!

Ashley~ I hope your birthday was super fabulous!I am grateful you are a part of my family.I am proud of the young woman you are becoming!I love you!
Happy Happy Birthday!

Here are a few things that we love about you!
Dad~ remembering her as a little girl. Her smile. her eyes. I love her laugh.I love her spirituality. I love that she comes to me when she needs to talk!
Anthony~ You are my twin! So to love you, is to love myself. and we all know how much I do.;) Haha! I just love everything about her. We are so alike and we really understand each other.Considering we are the only two people who answers their phones, we like to talk to each other about our lives.You are such a amazing and amazing daughter of God.I am so proud of all that you have accomplished. I will miss you while I am away on my mission! I love you!








Zachary~You are my twin. Just kidding. But you are a sweetheart and one of the few people who laughs at my jokes.I appreciate that :). She is caring and always seems to brightens the room with her smile or laugh.

Rachelle~I love her individuality and the way she glows when she enters a room. Her laugh is enough to put me in a better mood every single time.I wish we spent more time around each other!

Elizabeth~I love how loving she is and that she is always there for me.I love her outgoing personality and love for fun.
Hannah~Ashley is fun and loving. I just love her!
Erica~I love her personality, her awesome dance moves and how she helps me keep Eric in line! ;)

Eric~ Ashley is my oldest sister.Thankfully she's not from another mister.She's amazing and fun and awefully cute.I can't wait for her to bring home another black British man.
Grace~I love that she does the things that I want her to do. I like her.
Bailey~I like her playing with me.I like riding on her shoulders.