Just for Today

Thanks for the reminder Gina


*Just for this morning, I am going to step over

the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to

play.

*Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes

in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.




*Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and
keep the computer off, and sit with you in the
backyard and blow bubbles.



*Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a
tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck and I will buy you one if he comes by.
*Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.




*Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them.





*Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys.

*Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you.




*Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and
not get angry.

*Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars.





*Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite TV shows.



*Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God
has given me the greatest gift ever given.




*I will think about the mothers And fathers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers and
fathers who are visiting their children's graves instead of
their bedrooms, and mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't handle it anymore.

*And when I kiss you good night I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer. It is then, that I will thank God for you, and ask Him for nothing, except one more day.............

Sunday Breakfast

I LOVE breakfast!!!! I would rather go out to breakfast then dinner. I love pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, juice, whatever! But we dont have time in the morning before the kids go to school to make big breakfasts. SO .... I really got excited that we can have big breakfast on Sundays now that we have a later church time. And the kids love that we get to make it together!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

This is the last slide show - I promise - for a while at least :). The kids and I had a great New Years Eve. The only thing that could have made it better was if Jared had been home - we missed you babe! Jadie crashed at 8:00, Lexi did her best but was out by 9:30 and Raden stopped playing games for 10 min and fell asleep on the couch right before 12:00 but we woke him up right before the ball dropped. This was Bailee's second time to stay awake until New's years! We had fun eating and figuring out how to play our new wii. Hope this year is a good one for everyone!!! I dont know why the posting date says Dec. 31 - It is now officially 12:52 am on January 1 2009 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

I'm going to bed -

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Christmas Party

I know this is a late post but we had a lot of fun at our annual Christmas party. We had tons of food, a white elephant gift exchange, and of course , an ugliest christmas sweater contest. I wish I had gotten pictures of everyone and all the great sweaters! Thanks to all those that came and made it fun and thanks to the Mills and Durons for helping with the fun activities!!!! Start looking for sweaters for next year!!!!!

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O Christmas Tree

Friends and family to cut your annual christmas tree down for you(since you cant miss the UofA-ASU game) -- $15 for tree permit

new tree stand after tree snaps old one(which was the heaviest duty one from Home Depot ) -- great friend who made one the next day!

Decorating the tree -- 3 hours,LOTS of lights, two extension cords, 2 fire station ladders,good throwing arm(to throw the lights around the tree to the other side and hope the other person catches them), lots of hot chocolate to keep the kids awake so they could decorate after the ligths were on, stool to stand on to replace decorations from bottom 1/4 of tree to top of tree after kids go to bed, 30 min back rub for husband to ensure marriage is still okay :)

Beautiful Christmas tree -- priceless!

I saw this on a friends blog (thanks Kim) and wanted to post it on mine as well. I've always had such gratitude and respect for those serving in the military and their families. They sacrifice so much for the rest of us and I hope we take time to remember them, thank them and pray for them.

You probably want to get a Kleenex before you watch this great video
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My mom sent this poem to me also and I wanted to post it here too.

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

'What are you doing?' I asked without fear,
'Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!'
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said 'Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.'
'It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,'
Then he sighed, 'That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.'
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.'

' So go back inside,' he said, 'harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right.'
'But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
'Give you money,' I asked, 'or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son.'

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
'Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.

Living a lie

I have been living a lie- for those that think I keep my house clean here is the truth:







That's right- I can't claim the clean house award because it is actually Jared that keeps it clean. when he is not home the house is upside down until he does. Yes he is cleaning the picture frames.

I feel so much better after saying that out loud! :)

Thanksgiving

Okay so I tried to figure out how to make a collage with these picture but i couldn't figure it out (sorry Gina) so I am just going to post them.

We went to my brother and sister-in-law's house for a great Thanksgiving dinner complete with a raffle, Thanksgiving trivia (which I won second place in thanks to helping out in Raden's class when they were talking about Thanksgiving) and a kids turkey gobbling contest.

Raden made a pilgrim outfit in his class


This is my nana 90 yrs old and her great grand kids that were there


Eating dinner!


one of the grand kids gave my nana a indian headband to wear - I think she forgot she had it on



Then we went up to Pinetop to the cabin and were excited that it snowed! By the way - you never realize how little winter clothes you have until you have to pack for it. We spent the weekend with Jared's parents and sister and brother -in-law and their little boy. We had a lot of fun playing in the snow (the kids lasted about 30 min), being with family,going to a movie and of course drinking hot chocolate and eating smores!

CHRISTMAS SONGS

This is my favorite time of the year!!!! My christmas decorations come out the day after Thanksgiving and the Christmas songs get played until January 1st! We are going to be out of town until Sunday though so I thought I would start early! if you dont like christmas music you can either mute it or check back after the new year :)

looking at stars- kind of

I think I learned to love looking at the stars and moon when I was little. My mom was always taking us outside to look at them. She always showed us her Grandpa's star - it was the first one that came out and shined the brightest.There is just something peaceful and relaxing to go outside (with a cup of hot chocolate in the winter time) and get lost in the sky. To this day I could sit outside and look at the stars and moon all night. And to this day when I see that star (which we found out is actually a planet) I think - "There's mom's Grandpa's star". Well now its one of my kids favorite things to do. So last night we went outside after dinner on the trampoline and started to watch the stars come out. ( I have already implemented getting homework done before dinner -YAY! )We also like to make up stories. They get pretty creative. Last night's story was about city high in the sky called Twinkle and that is where the stars are made. A boy named light and a girl named shine were the ones that cleaned the stars so they twinkled in the night. One day though the stars where stolen by the dark night and they had to go a quest to find them. That's as far as we got because Jadie started getting restless and Lexi decided she wanted to jump instead. I ended up getting the camera and taking pictures - its funny how ever since I started blogging a couple months of go my camera never seems too out of reach :).






After a couple pictures the kids stated to get irritated with each other - "stop touching me !", "that's my spot!" " you cant see me in the camera!"," Jadie's pulling my hair!" "You stepped on me!". SO - we went inside. What i had hoped would be a relaxing evening wasn't.

Well- maybe for just a moment as the kids looked for their great-great grandpa's star and got lost in the sky.

And that was worth it.