Justin is in AMERICA!

Justin called yesterday and he is back in America! They are at Ft. Lewis near Tacoma/ Seattle Washington. Now that he is almost home, I can safely post a little information about what he has been doing. He has been with a Utah National Guard intelligence unit in Afghanistan. They have been getting info about bad guys, and helping out the people of Afghanistan. He told me that as they crossed the east coast into Maine yesterday, he could feel the spirit of the United States and freedom that had been missing in the middle east, and that he is very very grateful to be back in our wonderful nation. I am going up to WA for a couple days (yay!!) and the soldiers will get home the end of next week. This picture is of Justin on a tank, wearing a scarf that the men use to keep sand off their faces, shield them from the sun, and whatever else they need it to do.

Pay it Forward

I got this from my Friend Shary's blog. Here's how it works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well-before you leave your comment here, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. Then come back, let me know you're going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Remember that only the first 3 comments will receive a gift from me, so be quick! It will be fun and it will give me an excuse to make something!

Smilebox for Alison, these are so fun!

Make a Smilebox postcard

Abby is two

Everyone knows 2 year olds are famous for tantrums. Abby has actually been pretty easy compared to a couple other two year olds (yes, I'll say your names Alyssa and Kyra). But this day she was not going along with our plan. Alyssa and Emma were getting awards for their reflections projects in the Fremont auditorium, and Abby decided she wanted to go up on stage with the girls. I wouldn't let her run away, so this was her reaction in the aisle. It went on for at least 10 minutes. She didn't appreciate me taking pictures, but she is so cute, even when she's mad. By the way, the reflections categorey was "wow". Alyssa won honorable mention for her 3D clay project with a Ute fan (her teacher Mr. Jeffs) and a BYU fan (her principal Mr. Sedarholm) hugging. And Emma got 2nd place with her 3D clay project showing a caterpillar changing into a butterfly.

Christmas Surprise

Justin and Chance worked out a surprise for me on Christmas . I wasn't expecting any presents this year (except the new boots I helped the kids give me). But on Christmas eve, Chance brought out a box with a poem on it from Justin. It was the willow tree statue on the left called "promise", and the poem was about the first stage of his deployment, as he left, and treasuring the moments together. I couldn't hardly read the poem through all my tears. It had been a hard day already, getting santa stuff ready all by myself, but I felt happy that he had thought of me, and didn't expect anything else. Then on Christmas morning, after the kids had opened up all their presents, Chance brought out another box. It was the statue on the right, called "hero", and had a poem from Justin about ways he feels I have acted as a hero. I see him as my hero, so of course I was bawling again in front of everyone. Then when we got home that night, Chance came in with one more wrapped box, and told me I was supposed to save this one till Justin gets home (I'll post a picture when I open it in March). In a strange way, this was one of the best Christmases I have had. I don't hardly remember what I got, or what I stressed myself out about giving, in the past years. But I hope I will always remember to appreciate the times we are together, and not take them for granted as I usually do. I love you honey.

Here is a picture of the kids from Christmas morning. We took this in front of the window so Justin could see that it was snowing that morning. The glowing in Kyra's hand is a tinkerbell flashlight. Ethan has a new straight 'do- he seems to like it (he's always flipping his hair now).

Emma's Baptism

This is a little late, but here is a picture from Emma's Baptism in September. It was so fun for her to have Daddy home for 2 weeks. All her cousins and family were there, and her 2nd cousin and buddy Eva even showed up from Orem. The weather was a little shaky though. It rained on and off, and the power even went out that afternoon. This wouldn't normally be a big deal, but I had moments before filled my crock pot with potatoes to make cheese soup for 50 people after the baptism! Luckily the power came back on a couple hours later, just in time for the soup to cook during the baptism, and everything turned out perfectly.

Halloween 2008

Pictures from Halloween

Yay! It looks like our blog is finally working! I am going to try to post some pictures from Halloween that have not been showing up. I'll cross my fingers...

Missing Justin

This picture is in the airport, when Justin came home on leave in September. Christmas time has been a lot harder than I thought it would be. Getting ready to play Santa all by myself has made me really miss Justin. He will be home in only 8 weeks, but I still feels like a long time to me. I seem to be about 15 minutes behind in life lately. I'm feeling tired physically and emotionally from doing this all by myself so long. My kids are late to school every day because they miss the bus, and Chance's grades were bad last quarter because he's not doing his homework. Hopefully the Christmas break will give us time to restart the new year better. You just don't appreciate how much your husband makes a difference till he's gone this long. I was sitting in church on Sunday feeling sorry for myself, and I remembered that Christmas is not about me, it's about Christ. He chose to leave his loved ones on earth at age 33, so he could save all of us. Justin will be home in 2 months, and we can be together forever because of Him. Those thoughts helped me get a true perspective back. The truth is, I know that we have been blessed and strengthened this year.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Halloween

The kids had so much fun at the Halloween Carnival. As is typical, Alyssa and Emma had their costumes drawn out on paper from different angles, made, and tried on a dozen times while it was still September. Chance decided right before Halloween to throw on a cape and get a Jedi light saber (he insists he in Anakin, not Luke). Kyra was a witch again because she has decided that is just her "thing to be" on Halloween. We dressed Abby up as Abby Cadabby form Sesame Street. She danced around with her wings and wand all night, and has been wearing the wings ever since. We missed having Daddy in on the fun, but we sent him lots of pictures.

Starting Kindergarten

Here is a picture of Kyra getting on the bus- and someone else's 1st day of Kindergarten in 1979 (OK, it's not that hard to guess who it is).

Our new Blog

Hey everyone, this is our new blog! I'll actually be updating this one- at least every week is the plan. School just started. Chance is in 8th grade, Alyssa in 6th, Emma is in 3rd grade, and Kyra started Kindergarten- YAY! Abby cries when Kyra gets on the bus because she wants to go too. I'm sure she'll be off with them before we know it. They get big so fast.