One aTATER, Two aTATER, THREE!

Yes, it is true my cute adorable super funny and completely sassy boy turned 3. The big day was Monday and he rang in the big day in true 3 year old fashion - HE WAS SO ORNERY. I can't say I blame him after a busy weekend and no napping that is what happens, right? After he did have a nap he was a perfectly happy boy and we had a good family birthday celebration.

BOY /boi/n. A noise with dirt on it.

I can sometimes resist temptation, BUT NEVER MISCHIEF.

Joyce Rebeta-Burditt

And now the top ten Reason why I love Josh!

1. His smile melts your heart, your anger, your frustration. He knows how to use it as a weapon against mom and dad and he uses it often.
2. His nickname is Tater and really who doesn't love some good Tater's
3. He is super loving, always giving us kisses and snuggles.
4. As one of the people who works in the nursery at church told me on Sunday, "HE IS ALL BOY!"
5. He has a great sense of humor and has since he was a little guy, for whatever reason he just gets it.
6. He is FUNNY! Now I am not just saying this - he really has a gift for making us all laugh and lightening the mood. He also likes, no LOVES the audience.
7. He say's the most adorable things. For example calling Tyler 'Big Slim'
8. He loves to play with the boys, especially his big brother, you know 'Big Slim'
9. When you ask him how old he is, he always says something other than his real age, usually he says 5 or 6.
10. He is happy! He is just a happy cute little man.

I am so glad that this cute little person gets to be apart of my family! Happy Birthday Tater, we love you bunches!!

Brookie Turns SIX

Six years ago a little whirlwind joined our family. Little did we know what she would have in store for us. It didn't take long for it to be evident that raising this little girl would be an adventure full of love, noise, emotion, tears and excitement. Brooklynn never ceases to surprise us. Steve and I were discussing the other day about how Brookie wakes up in the morning. She is usually happy and she wakes up saying in her own head, "Here I am world, let's have a fantastic day!" We are very blessed to have her in our lives and this mommy can say she has learned a lot about being a mommy from this little Angel!

"A girl is innocence playing in the mud,

beauty standing on its head,

and motherhood dragging a doll by the foot."

- Alan Beck

"Attitude is a Way of life"

"Forget the sugar and spice,
Girls are Made from
Real Heart, Guts, and Soul"

Now for 10 Things that make Brooklynn loved by me.

1. She is very loving!
2. She is a wonderful friend and is always there to take care of and comfort someone who needs it.
3. She is beautiful
4. She is smart and is turning into quite the reader
5. She is determined, this girl has a mind of her own and is ALWAYS right. (Hmm I wonder where she gets that from)
6. As her Auntie Julie has told us often, "She has Disney Princess Eyes!"
7. She is the only person I know who can fall on her face while standing perfectly still.
8. She is always willing and wanting to help me in whatever way she can. (If only I was better at letting her help!)
9. She loves her brothers and her Daddy unconditionally, even when they all drive her nuts!
10. She has an amazing memory and loves to TALK and is enthusiastic about life!!!

I actually could go on. Steve and I have been very blessed with this amazing little person to raise and boy oh boy do I hope and pray we do a good job.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKIE KAY!

LOST AND FOUND

I'm not quite sure how this happens, but often Steve's wedding ring goes missing. He takes it off for this like Golfing and playing Basketball. Of course it would make sense to put it in the same place each time, but that would also make much too much sense. At one point this last week I noticed that it was on the counter in the kitchen. Not realizing that Steve never took it from the counter and placed it back on his finger, this is where I found his ring today while attempting to make my children some lunch.........

Christmas Vacation!

Christmas lived up to its expectations this year - MOST DEFINITELY! We had a fabulous Christmas Break and I enjoyed every minute of family time and fun that we were blessed with. As mentioned in an earlier post, there are no pictures from Christmas, but I do have some from our outings after Christmas. So let's begin.

With the kids out of school on the 19th our break began with finishing up those last minute details, grocery shopping and for Steve buying me some Christmas. He is always the last minute guy and I am always pleasantly surprised by the things he gets me. Since this was our very FIRST ever Christmas at home, (yes that is right people Steve and I in 9 Christmas's married have never been in our own home), I planned on baking some of our favorite Grandma Empey treats by myself. With all the plans and cooking ready were set and just ready for our company to arrive.

On Christmas Eve day I cooked. I woke up early to make Peppermint Bark (Yummy), Potato Cheese soup, and various other goodies and then assisted Nana in making stuffing and jello salad. Nana and Grandad arrived early in the afternoon to some very excited Children. We spent the day just hanging around and cooking and then at 5 we headed over to the Poulsen's for their traditional 'Favorites' dinner. This is a great tradition, at least in my opinion, and it was wonderful for them to invite some of us lonely transplanted families over. The idea is that each person picks a favorite food and that is what you eat, everyone's favorite. We ate Salmon and Sushi and soup and dips and just lots and lots of yummy food. It was fantastic. There were 4 families there, Us, the Poulsen's, the Turley's and the Salway's. The kids had a great time and the evening finished off with the kids doing the Nativity. Once we arrived home I shared a story with my kids and then we all opened our traditional jammies. We were all matching thanks to Nana and Josh loved his 'Berry Berry ME!' jammies. The front of them said, 'A very Merry Me!' Brooklynn could not get to bed fast enough, she was in such a hurry, apparantly sleep makes Santa and Christmas Morning come faster.

Christmas morning involved fun, gifts, more fun, some beautiful songs and Ukelele playing by Grandad and just basically a wonderful time. We also enjoyed a power outage and wondered if we would be able to get our Turkey cooked in time. All turned out well and we had another FIRST - our FIRST ever Turkey dinner at our very own house. It was yummy! The day turned out to be wonderful and relaxing and just fantastic. Josh was adorable and just over the top excited about the presents - he thought it was pretty cool. He is very protective of his presents and I have heard him scolding his brother and sister saying, 'this is mine Christmas'

The rest of our break was filled with fun, the wii, the snow and just enjoying being together. On New Year's Eve Day we joined some friends up at a snow park and the kids had a blast sledding. Josh loved the 'no' (snow) and the sledding. We went up again a few days later and again had a great time.

Looking back on 2008 I am overwhelmed by the blessing that we have. I look forward to the New Year and can't wait for the adventures that lie ahead!

This is what Josh looks like after sledding!