My Heart is Full

My heart is filled with gratitude for the out-pour of love and support we received from so many people over the Christmas holiday. We literally had dozens of people dropping off goodies at our home, inquiring after Brad's mom, and offering to help us in any way they could. I am also thankful for all the people who have been praying for Brad's mom. She is showing signs of improvement now, which is a huge blessing. We are hoping and praying that she'll continue to improve and that she'll regain her strength. We want her whole and well again so she can come home to us as soon as possible. I'm sure that's what she wants more than anything else.

Merry Christmas!

6-Month-Old Gallery

Lizzy turned 6 months on the 9th. As part of a family tradition, we took her to get her picture taken. I thought it would be cute to make a little gallery of the kids when they got their 6 month pictures taken.
Here are the three siblings at 6 months old. Aren't they adorable?

Scott at 6 months.
March 1998

Emma at 6 months.
May 2001

Lizzy at 6 months.

December 2009

It's cute to see the resemblances between them.
And just for fun, here's a baby picture of their daddy when he was around 3 months old:

I think Lizzy looks a lot like him.

What Happened to the Poodle?

Rosie went from looking like this:

To looking like this:

What happened to the poodle?
Talk about extreme make-overs!

My Mother's Visit

My mother came to visit me during the second weekend in December. Some very nice people donated money for her to come which I greatly appreciate. It was a real treat having her here. She spent hours mothering Lizzy and spending time with her. The only time I had Lizzy to myself was when I nursed her, but even that was less often than usual, because my mom constantly asked to bottle-feed her.

It was really fun having Grandma Whitcomb here. We hope she comes again soon.

My First Turkey

I officially feel like a housewife now. I made my first turkey dinner last Sunday, right after the Thanksgiving holiday. The turkey was a gift from Brad's work. I roasted the 14 pound bird (whom I named Wilbur) all Sunday afternoon while we were at church, then I made some candied yams, corn pudding, and turkey stuffing. Brad, his parents, and I had our own little mini Thanksgiving dinner. I used the left over turkey to make a homemade soup yesterday. Emma loved it!

The Highlight of My Day: November 2009

Something good happens each day. Here's what happened in November:

Sun 11/1/09: The weather is beautiful and perfect! I love the hint of crispness in the air without it being too cold. I love seeing the leaves change colors. It's gorgeous!

Mon 11/2/09: I was bad tonight and let Lizzy try a tiny bit of my ice cream. She really liked it! Her little tongue kept going in and out as if she wanted more. I only let her have a couple of licks, though. I was surprised she liked it so much.

Tue 11/3/09: I am so pleased that Scott is reading Harry Potter! He can hardly put "Order of the Phoenix" down. I think he's on page 790. He'll be done by tomorrow!

Wed 11/4/09: I had such sweet little moments with Lizzy today. At one point she and I were sitting on the couch together. She was looking at the ceiling and smiling. I was admiring how beautiful she is. I kissed her cheek. She giggled. I kissed her again. She giggled. We repeated this over and over again. I love her so much!

Thur 11/5/09: We finished reading "The Five Children and It" tonight. Scott and Emma enjoyed it very much. We'll be starting a new book shortly.

Fri 11/6/09: It was Date Night for me and Brad! We went to Jamba Juice and watched Brad's new U2 video. I got the Pumpkin Smash smoothie for the first time. Very yummy!

Sat 11/7/09: Brad and the kids did an amazing job cleaning up the living room and doing the laundry. I appreciate their help. I love my family!

Sun 11/8/09: I love how both Scott and Emma call me "Mama" now. It's my new name. :) I love it!

Mon 11/9/09: This morning I took Emma to her Speech evaluation meeting. We brought Lizzy along, and it was really sweet watching all of the ladies in the office and hallways admire how cute she is. My baby is adorable!

Tue 11/10/09: I am grateful to have a husband to lean on during hard times. We were both feeling sad tonight since Brad's mom was back in the hospital. It helped spending time together.

Wed 11/11/09: I cut Brad's hair for the first time tonight! It was my first time ever cutting a man's hair. I did a pretty good job.

Thu 11/12/09: Lizzy learned how to splash in the big bathtub today. It was so cute watching her little legs kick! Tonight was Activities Day for Emma, which I attended. When that was over, Emma came with me to Young Women in Excellence. I loved listening to the speakers talk about "Making a Marriage a Happily Ever After."

Fri 11/13/09: I exercised today! It was my first time on the treadmill in about a year. I felt so good afterward.

Sat 11/14/09: Brad and I went on a date without the baby! Hooray! We've only done that one other time so far. Today we went to the movies in a snow blizzard. I admit that I thought of the baby the whole time, but it was nice to finally be alone with Brad, too. I liked seeing all the pretty snow during our commute.

Sun 11/15/09: Tonight was tithing settlement, and both Scott and Emma came with us. Marilyn and James watched Lizzy. When we got home we had a joyous time watching "Shaun the Sheep" together.

Mon 11/16/09: We filled out "Who am I" questionnaires for FHE tonight. We also talked about modesty and the importance of keeping our bodies clean (physically and spiritually).

Tue 11/17/09: Tonight was SEP conferences at Scott's and Emma's school. They did such a great job this past term. Both of them made their AR goals, and both of them got high grades on their report cards.

Wed 11/18/09: Brad was such a sweetie today! He offered to clean the refrigerator and did a wonderful job. I have such a fantastic husband.

Thu 11/19/09: Scott and Emma came home from school early today, since they don't have school tomorrow. I love spending the extra time with them!

Fri 11/20/09: Brad took a half day off of work and we took the kids to Super Salad to celebrate Emma's 9th birthday. Happy Birthday, Emma-girl!

Sat 11/21/09: Emma had two birthday celebrations today. Her little cousins came over for lunch and we had pumpkin pie instead of cake. In the afternoon we had the rest of the family come over (minus Brad's Mom), and watched Star Trek and ate birthday cake. To top off our festive and busy Saturday, we went to the church in the evening to attend the Hill's Pie Party. That was fun!

Sun 11/22/09: Brad's mom came home from the hospital today! She'll be staying in the living room until her health improves a little more. I am so happy and so grateful that she is home and not in the hospital. My heart is full of gratitude to the Lord for answering our prayers.

Mon 11/23/09: It was great spending the day with Margaret and helping her. I've missed her so much. She means so much to me.

Tue 11/24/09: Sister Healy made us a delicious dinner tonight! She made homemade burritos with yummy white sauce and cheese. SO GOOD!

Wed 11/25/09: Have I mentioned lately how fantastic my husband is? Today he worked on cleaning and organizing the pantry. He did a wonderful job! The pantry is finally in order and there's so much more space now than before.

Thu 11/26/09: Loralee made Thanksgiving dinner at our home this year. She did a fabulous job! We had a houseful of nieces and nephews. It was nice visiting with family and having Brad's mom with us.

Fri 11/27/09: Had a marvelous evening with Bradley and the Twinkle in Springville, UT. I love romantic getaways! They remind me how much I love my husband.

Sat 11/28/09: We had a lovely morning before returning home from the hotel. Brad brought home a giant box from Best Buy to be our Christmas present this year. We also went over to the storage unit this evening and picked up some Christmas decorations.

Sun 11/29/09: I made my first turkey! Brad brought home a free 14 lb turkey from Del Sol, so I got to make a mini Thanksgiving dinner on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It turned out perfect!

Mon 11/30/09: The kids came home today! We had a good FHE lesson after going to the library. We talked about the media and making righteous choices when choosing what to watch, listen, and read. It's so good to have Scott and Emma back!

Thankful for Twinkle

Our little Twinkle is such a sweetie and I love her so much. I am very thankful that she's now a part of our family. She brings us so much joy and laughter.

Lizzy at 5 months:

Emma's New Look

There's a new girl in the house! Or at least it seems like there is. Emma decided to donate her waist-length hair to Locks of Love the weekend after her birthday. We had been talking about getting her hair cut for a long time. At first Emma didn't want to get her hair cut until after Halloween, so she could be Batgirl. After Halloween she wanted to wait until after her birthday, so she could have long, Hermione-like wavy hair on her special day. So, two days after her birthday I asked her if she wanted to get her hair cut. Without hesitation she exclaimed YES!

Here she is trying to pose like Irina Spalko:

Happy 9th Birthday, Emma!

Emma turned 9 years old today!
Here are Emma's favorites for this year:

My favorite game is uno.
My favorite color is purple and black.
My favorite place to visit is the cousins' house.
My favorite thing to do for fun is play soccer with Daddy.
My favorite vacation was going to Oregon last summer.
My favorite book is Harley & Ivy.
My favorite author is Kevin Henkes.
My favorite animals are cats and rats.
My favorite holiday is Christmas.
My favorite movie is "Shaun the Sheep."
My favorite superhero is Batman.
My favorite food is pizza and spaghetti.
My favorite vegetable is peas.
My favorite fruit is apples.
My favorite candy is chocolate.
My favorite ice-cream flavor is peppermint candy.
My favorite singer is Bono from U2.

Emma eating ice cream at Souper Salad on her birthday.

Nine Reasons Why I Love Emma:
1. She has such a sweet and energetic personality.
2. She is always obedient and honest.
3. She tries her best to be a better person.
4. She makes our home happy and lively.
5. She is loving and kind.
6. She likes to serve others.
7. She is a peacemaker in our home.
8. She loves to give hugs and kisses.
9. She takes her responsibilities seriously.

I love you, sweet Emma-Roo!

It's That Time of Year Again...

Time to Play in the Leaves!

It's autumn-time. It's autumn-time.
The leaves are falling down.
It's autumn-time. It's autumn-time.
It's all around the town.

It's autumn-time. It's autumn-time.
There's yellow, red, and brown.
It's autumn-time. It's autumn-time.
Bright colors can be found.
~Rita Mae Olsen

Halloween 2009

We had a busy Halloween this year! Parties, parades, pumpkins, activities...

First off, I should mention that Emma was the first person to decide what her costume would be months and months ago. Brad bought her a Batgirl suit earlier this year for her to play dress-up. The costume was not intended for her to wear for Halloween, but Emma was in such a huge Batman phase she immediately chose that to be her costume, and we did not persuade her otherwise. Scott, who also loves Batman, decided to be his favorite Batman villain: the Mad Hatter.

The Story Behind our Costumes (in a nutshell):
Brad, Lizzy, and I are all Gotham City residents who were unfortunately hypnotized by the evil Mad Hatter. Brad and I are tricked into thinking we are the King and Queen of Hearts, and Lizzy thinks she's the White Rabbit. Batgirl's job is to come rescue us.

School Halloween Parade
Scott and Emma dressed up for their school Halloween parade on Thursday, the 29th. I showed up that morning with Lizzy and sat next to the Hill family. Jason Hill took these pictures:




Ward Halloween Activity
Our ward Halloween party was on the same name night: 10/29/09. We dressed up again-- all of us this time-- and went to our church building. Scott and Emma decorated Halloween cookies, made caramel apples, and played games.


Del Sol Halloween Party
Friday afternoon was Brad's work party. We showed up at 3:00 and went Trick or Treating around the corporate building. Brad wore his "Ned Flanders" mustache from two years ago. It was fun seeing all of the great costumes. Del Sol always gets into the Halloween spirit.


Pumpkin Decorating
Two of our pumpkins started getting rotten by Halloween day, so Emma and I painted those two, and Scott carved the "good" one.
In case you couldn't tell, Emma's pumpkin is of the Robin signal, from Batman.


Halloween with the Cousins
We spent Halloween evening with Bruce and Loralee's family. We had a yummy dinner and Loralee's special Witches Brew, then we went trick or treating in the neighborhood. The kids had a wonderful time!

The Highlight of My Day: October 2009

Something good happens each day. Here's what happened in October:

Thu 10/1/09: We picked up Rachel and Craig from the airport tonight! Looking forward to spending time with them this weekend!

Fri 10/2/09: We went out to eat at Iceberg today with Rachel and Craig. Poor little Emma was feeling rather sick.

Sat 10/3/09: Today was General Conference! We played croquet with Rachel and Craig between sessions, then Rachel and I had fun giving Emma a makeover while the boys were at the Priesthood session.

Sun 10/4/09: We played Apples to Apples tonight with the Bruce-clan and Rachel & Craig. We played just for fun, and kept playing and playing until it was late. It was great!

Mon 10/5/09: The nicest part of the day was laughing with Brad while watching "Arsenic and Old Lace." He and I were both feeling sick today, so he stayed home from work and I got to spend more time with him.

Tue 10/6/09: Lizzy's first time in the big bathtub today! She and I went in the tub for some playtime and to get cleaned up. She loved being with her mama in the water. I can't wait till she starts splashing (or can I?).

Wed 10/7/09: I watched "Early Edition" episodes this evening while nursing Lizzy. It was nice being lazy.

Thu 10/8/09: I went to the YW activity tonight. We played Jeopardy using the Strength of the Youth pamphlet for our trivial questions. Our team won!

Fri 10/9/09: I made my homemade chili tonight. Emma was extremely happy! Chili is Emma's favorite "Fall food." Love this time of year!

Sat 10/10/09: I put three baby rats on hold today from a rattery in West Valley. It was hard picking which ones we should get, but we finally made up our minds. They are going to be CUTE!

Sun 10/11/09: I gave a YW lesson today on Knowledge. It turned out well, and I'm glad it's over!

Mon 10/12/09: We are having a fun time reading E. Nesbit's novel, "The Five Children and It." We are reading it for our bedtime story every night as a family.

Tue 10/13/09: I felt so much happier today than yesterday. I think Brad lavishing me with extra attention last night really helped. I thought about him all day. I love my husband!

Wed 10/14/09: Brad and I went on a date to Jamba Juice tonight and watched "Last Chance Harvey" at home while slurping our lovely smoothies. Yummy!

Thu 10/15/09: I took pictures of Emma and Lizzy tonight. Lizzy was wearing the Halloween shirt Emma made for her.

Fri 10/16/09: Tonight I went with Brad and Lizzy to Brad's volleyball game. Brad's team won the last two games.

Sat 10/17/09: Lizzy had her first solid food tonight: rice cereal. She thought it had a funny texture and kept spitting it out of her mouth. Typical baby behavior. She is growing up so fast!

Sun 10/18/09: Today was Stake Conference. It was nice having more time in the afternoon to relax and spend time with family. I made some yummy BBQ steak for dinner.

Mon 10/19/09: We went to the library for FHE tonight and then had a lesson on "Graditude." I am planning FHE lessons around topics from the "For the Strength of the Youth" pamphlet.

Tue 10/20/09: Scott painted his Mad Hatter hat a darker forest green to match his costume. It looks fantastic! He's very happy with it.

Wed 10/21/09: I watched a good movie today called "Back When We Were Grown-ups." It was very different than the average movie, and I enjoyed it.

Thu 10/22/09: Brad was home today to get ready for the U2 trip. We went shopping together and then had some nice alone time at home. I love spending time with him!

Fri 10/23/09: We saw U2 perform live in Las Vegas today! It was my first rock concert. A-MAZ-ING!

Sat 10/24/09: We had breakfast with Rachel and Craig before driving home to Utah. I'm glad things worked out so perfectly with them coming to Las Vegas the same time as us! It was wonderful having them watch Lizzy while we were at the concert, and that we had conjoined hotel rooms. It was perfect!

Sun 10/25/09: Sister Clark made us a very yummy dinner tonight. I need to get the recipe for her yummy tuna and spinach pie. So, so good!

Mon 10/26/09: We finally got our family pictures done! Hooray! Lizzy was pretty fussy unfortunately, but I'm crossing my fingers that some of the photos turned out well. Can't wait to see them!

Tue 10/27/09: Brad's meeting tonight was very productive, and I'm very happy about that. Also, today was the first snow of the season! It was very pretty seeing all the snow on the newly fallen leaves outside.

Wed 10/28/09: Brad and I did some major shopping tonight at Sams Club and Walmart. The refrigerator downstairs is completely packed with milk. I hope we'll drink it all before the expiration dates.

Thu 10/29/09: This morning I went to Scott's and Emma's Halloween Parade, which was fun! In the afternoon, the kids and I drove to West Valley and picked up three adorable rats from a rat breeder. They are so CUTE! In the evening we went to our ward's Halloween Party, where we played games, ate candy apples, and decorated cookies.

Fri 10/30/09: Today was Del Sol's Halloween Party. We all got dressed up and headed over to the corporate building. We went trick-or-treating with the kids and saw a lot of really neat costume ideas.

Sat 10/31/09: Brad and Scott did baptisms for the dead this morning at the new temple. In the evening we went to Bruce and Loralee's house for trick-or-treating. We had a very nice Halloween!

Emma's Halloween Poem

Black Cat
by Emma 10/12/09

Black Cat
Black mean
Biting, watching, scratching
He has snake eyes
Cat

Lizzy's First Snow

Another short video for my family of Lizzy looking at snow for the first time. She didn't seem too impressed. She liked being outside, but she was more interested in the camera than the snow.

"Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma"

To satisfy the requests of my family, I have uploaded a video of Lizzy's latest accomplishment: saying "M" sounds. She can now say, "Mmm-Ma-ma-ma-ma." I like hearing her say "Mama" in her tiny little baby voice. So stinkin' cute!

She learned how to shape her mouth to create "M" sounds on our drive to Las Vegas last Friday. By the time we got to the hotel she had mastered it pretty well and said "Mama" a few times. We forgot to tell Rachel and Craig that, so when Lizzy started demanding for her "Mama" while they were babysitting her, Rachel and Craig were very surprised. "I didn't know she could talk," Rachel exclaimed when Brad and I returned to the hotel.

My First Rock Concert: U2 360

I am no longer a rock concert virgin! I went to see one of the greatest bands on Earth perform live at the Sam Boyd Stadium last Friday in Las Vegas. It was quite an interesting experience! U2 drew in a HUGE crowd of over42,000 people to this concert. Brad bought tickets for him and me near the beginning of the year, and they were ground floor tickets, so we could be up close to Bono and the rest of the band. I'm not nearly as big of a U2 fan as he is, but let me tell you, my adrenaline was pumping and I was jumping up and down when U2 showed up on stage only about 30 feet away! I have come to appreciate their music over the last three years, and I was very excited to see them up close.

Brad and I left early Friday morning with a bunch of other U2 fans carpooling in our van.
From left to right: Tony, Dan, Uncle Jerry, and Craig.
Lizzy came, too. My sister Rachel and her husband Craig babysat Lizzy during the concert. I was thrilled that Lizzy was able to come and that I was able to see Rachel. I'm glad everything worked out so perfectly.

We waited in line for several hours. That wasn't very fun, but at least we had each other to keep company.
My legs and feet were killing me!



The stage was amazingly HUGE!
From what I've heard, it's the largest stage ever constructed for a rock concert.


Hooray for U2!

Bono was so close!

Thanks U2, for making this experience a memorable one for me.
I may even go to another rock concert someday.
Just not any time soon. My feet still hurt.