What We Did...

I wasn't very good at blogging during the month of December, I would like to say that it was because I was super busy and just didn't have time to...but the real reason was that I just didn't feel like it most of the time.  I didn't feel like doing much of anything I was in a real bad mood for most of the month and it was all I could do to keep going.  But here is a look at what we did manage to get done.

First off, here is Lexie with here Principal's Award, think honor roll, she was one of only SEVEN kids to get a 4.0 first quarter.  Lexie is going to be one busy girl in 2012.  She was transferred from regular math to advanced math because of her grades from last quarter.  She had the highest grade in all of her teachers classes.... 97.8%  She's a bit behind and is having to work double hard to catch up, but it will be good for her in the long run.

 Second she was asked to join the band by her music teacher for first quarter who is also the band teacher.  She decided that she wanted to play the french horn.  I am happy for her because she really like it so far, but once again she is WAY behind the other kids, they have already been playing since the beginning of the year and she is starting from scratch now.  And the fact that she picked one of the hardest instruments to learn how to play isn't helping either but she will get there.  They have their first concert next week and she can't really play any of the songs but she is practicing her heart out and giving it her best, which is all that I can ask of her.  Good thing that she is such a hard worker and is excited to do all of these new things...
Now here are a few things that we did between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
We decorated the Christmas tree I tried really hard to just let the kids do it and not go back and fix everything.

 

 

In the end it looked really good.

We made cookies a few times mostly as it got closer to Christmas... we made gingerbread cookies from scratch.  The kids really enjoyed it.

On Christmas Eve we made these candy cane cookies for santa, they were really fun to make, I think that it will become a tradition to make these every year.

They even tasted pretty good.  

We weren't able to go back to Utah for Christmas and I think that everybody would have really like to but Ashton was the most upset.  We skyped with Grandma and Grandpa Taylor on Christmas Eve to open our Christmas jammies and it made Ashton very homesick for Utah.  This was how I found him after we were finished.

But overall we had a GREAT Christmas. 

More Christmas pictures coming soon......

Merry Christmas!

This would have been the Christmas card I sent to friends and family if I had not been in such a funk lately and gotten it ordered.  But since it didn't happen here it is in digital form for all to enjoy.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Friendship

I'm not sure why I am writing about this here, but I just had the feeling that I should so here it goes.  One of my best friends called me yesterday to tell me the good news that she is pregnant.  I was truly happy for her and her family.  She is a great mother and adding one more child to her family is wonderful.  She is due just 10 days after I would have been due so it was a little bitter sweet for me.  She has known for a while that she was pregnant, but they didn't know when she was due so they waited to tell people until they had an ultrasound so that they had a due date. We already have 2 kids that are really close in age so it would have been fun to have another, but it isn't to be.  And I am okay with that, mostly.  I could only see one way to respond to her news and that was to be happy for her.  I realize that how we react to certain situations affects others and I couldn't dim her happiness because of something that I can't change.  I love her too much to harbor bad feelings for something that isn't her fault-or my fault for that matter.  She told me that she was so glad that I wasn't upset because she was really nervous telling me.  Which is understandable because it can be a really touchy subject.  Past experiences that I would never want to repeat (but that I am thankful for now) taught me that friends and friendship are too important to put aside because someone's feeling got hurt by something that can't be changed.

Things I am Thankful For Day 30

DAY 30. Unexpected phone calls.  I got a call from a good friend back in Utah this morning and it was a great surprise. We got to talk for about a half an hour, wish it could have been longer, but what a nice talk it was.  I am so thankful for friends that you can pick up with right where you left off no matter how long it has been since you last talked to them.  It really made my day.

So I am at an end of my 30 days of thanks.  It has been fun and brought me insight.  There were days when I wasn't sure that I could find something to be thankful for, but I managed to get through all 30 days.  And I am so glad that I did. 

Things are beginning to look like Christmas around here so we shall press forward towards my favorite holiday, trying to remember to be thankful for all that we have been blessed with.  Oh, and thank goodness for the post options feature that lets you post things in the past and have them ready for the future I could have never made it through all 30 days without it!  :)

Things I am Thankful For Day 29

DAY 29.  Chocolate.  I love chocolate, it almost always make things better.  Any kind of chocolate will do.  I especially like chocolate and peanuts or peanut butter.  I had to get some peanut M&M's at the store tonight because I was in need of a good chocolate fix.  Now the trick will be to not eat them all in one day!!

Things I am Thankful For Day 28

DAY 28.  Homemade cookies.  I love being able to make cookies with my kids.  And I think my kids really like to help me make cookies (and other things too!)  I like being able to choose what goes into the cookies and I try to make them a healthier treat.  Abbie and I made peanut butter cookies today, it was really fun.  I love the times when we get to do things like this.

She liked being able to smash down the balls of dough.

Things I am Thankful For Day 27

DAY 27. Family Dinners.  Because of circumstances with our family we haven't always been able to eat dinner together as family every night.  Since moving to Red Wing it happens almost every single night and I LOVE IT.  I love cooking and preparing good, healthy food for my family and watching them enjoy it.  Sometimes the conversation is a little crazy, how can it not be with three kids, but I enjoy that almost as much as the food.

Things I am Thankful For Day 26

DAY 26.   Patience.  I am thankful that my husband has been infinitely patient with me these last few weeks.  When I haven't been very patient with anyone.  I know that it hasn't been easy for him, and at time I have left him shaking his head and wondering where in the world the wife he married went.  But he has been there by my side the entire time.  Comforting and listening.  Calming and steading me.  Helping me through a dark and trying time.  He has been there when I needed him the most.  Thank you sweetheart.  I love you.

Things I am Thankful For Day 25

DAY 25.  Prayer.  I am so thankful that I can go to my Father in Heaven whenever and wherever I need to and He is always there for me.  Today has not been a great day at all.  I have been moody and grumpy and all sorts of out of control.  I don't know exactly why, but it has been an emotional day.  Then I read a post on a blog I follow that helped turn me in the direction that I needed to go.  She talked of prayer and how sometimes we are too busy trying to do everything by ourselves and can't stop and let the Savior in because we don't want Him to see us at our worst. So we shut Him out until we are perfect.  Never letting Him in at all.  When in reality He wants to be there for us all day every day and we just need ask.  It was just what I needed and after some time spent on my knees I felt better, not wonderful, but enough in control that I could ENJOY the rest of the evening with my family, not endure it.  Which was what I had been feeling.  What a great blessing.

Things I am Thankful For Day 24

DAY 24.  Thanksgiving.  I really like this holiday, and not just for the food, although I do have to say that I love the food.  I hate how it can get skipped right over and forgot in a rush of materialism of Christmas.  Not to knock Christmas because I think it is my favorite holiday of all.  But I like being reminded of all of the things that I am thankful for, all of the things I have been blessed with.  I love the simple restful day that it can be.  This is our first Thanksgiving away from family and while I am sad not to be with family I am thankful that my family is together to celebrate this day.  I loved cooking a whole big feast for my family and watching them enjoy it.  Then having no agenda or places to go for visits, just being able to hang out watching movies with my family is so much fun.

Things I am Thankful For Day 23

DAY 23.  Our furnace.  From the mouths of babes...  For family home evening this week we made a thankful tree and all of us took turns listing the things that we were most grateful for.  I wanted to be able to write everything because the leaves were small and I wanted to be able to read them later.  And maybe I get a little crazy wanting everything perfect.  Ashton insisted that he could write his own and even got out his own marker.  I went a head and let him because he seemed so determined, but it was grudgingly.  I have to say he did a great job and there was only one we couldn't figure out what he had written.  I thought it said "friends" but he said no it says "furnace".  And I have to agree that I am also thankful for our furnace because it keeps us warm and cozy all winter long, but also because it taught me that I need to let the kids do more.  They are capable.  That sometimes the journey is more important that the destination. I insisted that I wanted it pretty and neat, but now the leaf I will treasure the most is the one I can't quite read....

Things I'm Thankful For Day 22

DAY 22.  Cell phones.  I carry my everywhere, which can be a burden sometimes because I always feel compelled to answer it even if I am busy.  But they are so convenient and make is possible to talk to loved ones back in Utah whenever I feel the need to talk.  I am grateful that I can call my mom anytime I need to and don't have to wait for a special time to call her.  If only she would answer hers today!! 

Things I am Thankful For Day 21

 DAY 21. Pomegranates.  Sort of a silly thing to be thankful for I know, but I bought one and the store the other day and didn't tell the kids.  Not for any real reason, I just didn't think about it.  Tonight while Jake was getting his lunch ready to take to work with him tonight he saw it mentioned that it was still in the fridge and did I forget about it?  Um, ya or it wouldn't still be there!!  My kids were so excited for that silly pomegranate.  That couldn't wait for me to get all the little seeds out of the shell and were eating them as fast as I could get them out.  I barely had enough time to take a few pictures of it before it was gone!

Things I am Thankful For Day 20

DAY 20.  My three little miracles.

Lexie

Ashton

Abbie

I know I already said wrote that I am thankful for my kids, but that thankfulness has taken on new meaning this last week.  My miscarriage had already made me more thankful for our beautiful children, but I am even more thankful now. If you are pregnant and freaked out about stuff in general, you may want to stop reading now because this might just give you more stress and I don't want that. Keep reading if you want, but remember that I told you so.   I had extra blood work done after we found out our bad news because of something the lab found in my initial labs, and we got the test results back this week.  I carry anti M antibodies in my blood.  Never heard of it, me either until this week. It seems that there is not very much information out there on what exactly that means in terms of being pregnant.  They won't harm me at all, but they can break down the red bloods cells of any baby that I carry causing miscarriage or stillborn births.  Both parents have to be carriers for it to affect the baby.  We don't know yet if Jake is also a carrier, but I am thinking that he is.  Anyone can become anti M positive at anytime and you would never know it.  I don't think I have always been a carrier, just since I had Ashton (more on this in a minute.)
The worst cases causes death to your baby, but babies can also require blood transfusions in utero or at birth, in more minor cases babies are born premature and severely jaundice.  I don't know for sure and probably never will, but I think that Abbie is our miracle baby.  She was born at 36 weeks and had such bad jaundice that we were at the pediatricians office every other day for her first two weeks until her levels began to stabilize.  It might just be a coincidence but I don't think so.  Healthy babies are born to mom's with anti M all the time but it takes lots of monitoring and includes lots of stress.  We have had the spirit confirm to us that our family is as it should be so I don't think that we will be trying to get pregnant again.  If I were younger and we didn't already have three children things might be different, but I am going to cherish the family that I have and leave it at that.  But my heart still hurts for what might have been.

Things I am Thankful For Day 19

DAY 19.  Warm fuzzy blankets.  We are getting our first real snow fall of the season, so we aren't going out and get to snuggle in warm fuzzy blankets and watch movies all evening!  Fun, fun, fun!

Things I am Thankful For Day 18

DAY 18.  The YMCA.  Until moving to Minnesota the YMCA was just a song that my kids like to sing to annoy me.  And if someone said that they were going to the Y, they meant BYU.  But now I am starting to love my YMCA.  We signed up for memberships a few weeks ago and I hoped that we would use them enough to make it worth the money.  With all that has been going on I hadn't gone as much as I would have liked but this week I vowed to do better, no matter what.  I have made it three times this week and I can't wait to get back.  I haven't been brave enough to try and of the classes that they offer, but I like walking on the indoor walking track and using the treadmills and elliptical machines that they have.

Things I'm Thankful For Day 17

DAY 17.  Early Out Days.  I love it when the kids get our of school early.  I love being able to have more time with them just hanging out or actually doing some sort of preplanned activity.  In Utah we had early out day every Friday and I think that I took them for granted, but here they are a rare treat.  I more fully appreciate the extra time now.  We have had two early out days this week because of parent teacher conferences and they have been the best.  Today ended up not going quite as we had planned, but still I am thankful for the extra time with my family that they have given me.

Things I'm Thankful For Day 16

DAY 16.  Bubble baths and jetted tubs.  Today my kids wanted to go to the YMCA and go swimming, but neither Jake or I were up for it.  Lexie didn't really mind she is doing her swimming rotation for Phys. Ed.  in school so she swims every other day.  Ashton and Abbie were disappointed but understood that mom and dad were too tired to take them.  They were consoled with getting in our big bathtub with bubbles and jets.  It was fun to watch them have fun with the jets and I smiled at their silliness.  They had a good time even it was not exactly what they wanted to do tonight.

Things I'm Thankful For Day 15

DAY 15. Kids who do well in school.  (brag time just a little) Tonight we had parent teacher conferences with Ashton's teacher and some of Lexie's teachers (the ones we could get in to see) and everyone had only good things to say about them.  They are both doing well in school and their teachers really like having them in class.  Ashton's teacher said that he is a good example to the other kids in his class and that he is one of the smartest kids in his class.  Lexie got straight A's and her teachers all like having her in their classes and she got really good reviews from her science teacher and her music teacher who encouraged her to come and start band with them even though they are already a quarter of the way through the year.  He said he thought she would catch up easily.  I am so proud of both of them that they are doing well in school, but more importantly that they are respectful and always try and do their best.

Things I'm Thankful For Day 14

DAY 14.  Family Home Evening.  We haven't always been the best at having it on a regular basis.  And there was a long time when we didn't have it at all, but now it has become something that I treasure.  Even if it is hard to make it happen sometimes.  I think the kids really enjoy having it too, because they remind me that we need to have it and want to give the lesson.  I love knowing that we get to do things as a family and  be together and enjoy each other's company each and every single Monday night.

Carving Pumpkins

I know Halloween was a while ago, but I don't want to miss putting these pictures on here.  We carved our pumpkins Sunday night, and Jake insisted that the kids are old enough to clean out the "guts" by themselves this year.  I agreed because I didn't want to have to do it either, it's not a fun job.  Abbie thought the whole thing rather gross and pulled many a face as she worked to get her pumpkin cleaned out.  She made me laugh a few times.  See for yourself....

This one is my favorite.  

The kids all got to design their own faces and I think they did a great job.  We helped with some of the cutting, but Lexie and Ashton did theirs almost all by themselves.  I think they did a great job.  

Getting everything just right.

Dad helped with the mouth there were lots of teeth.

Mom helping Abbie make her face.

All finished.

Super cute.

A screaming pumpkin.  

They looked really good with lights... 

Abbie's

Lexie's 

Ashton's

Morning Snowfall

One day last week, I'm not sure which, we awoke to a small dusting of snow.  Abbie was so excited that ran back to her room and donned her snow boots immediately.  She was so cute that I had to grab my camera and snap a picture.  The snow was gone in a matter of minutes so I am glad that she took the chance to play in it.  I know that more snow it on its way eventually, but the joy of that first snowfall is magical even if you do get sick of it after a few storms.  At least I do.

Things I'm Thankful For Day 13

 DAY 13.  Afternoon crafts.  I bought these little birdhouses the other day at Joann's and let the kids paint them yesterday afternoon.  It was fun to watch them work so hard on their creations.

And I might add that they all did a great job.  

I need to do stuff like this more often. It was really fun

Things I'm Thankful For Day 12

 DAY 12.  One on one time with my kids.  Today I am thankful for one on one time with my kids.  Last night Lexie went to a friend from church's house to hang out and play games, Abbie fell asleep on the way there and ended up staying asleep for the rest of the night (from 7 on), and Jake was at work so that left Ashton and I home alone.  We played Family Game Night on the Wii it was really fun to get to spend so much time with just Ashton.  We giggled and laughed and had a great night.  Fun. Fun. Fun.   Our favorite game is pictureka, but operation is a pretty close second.

Things I'm Thankful For

DAY 11.  The military.  It was easy to find something to be grateful for today.  I know first hand the sacrifices made by the men and women (and their families) who wear the uniform to defend and protect our country.  Without these selfless people who put the safety of many above their own our world would be a different place, one I wouldn't want to live in.  Thank you to all veterans past, present and future who wear the uniform, defend our country and do it all with little thanks from those whom they defend.

Things I'm Thankful For

DAY 10.  Good friends.  I will always feel a sense of overwhelming gratitude for the outpouring of love I have felt these last two days.  People who have called, texted or messaged me to make sure that I am okay. I love each and every one of you.  Thank you so much.

Things I'm Thankful For

DAY 9:  My three wonderful children.  Today it is really hard to find something to be thankful for.  My heart is so heavy with grief.  But if nothing else I see my kids in a new light today.  I love them so very much and would do anything for them.  They are all precious gifts that I have been given and they mean the world to me.  I will cherish them more and am so grateful for them.

No little pumpkin

A fourth little pumpkin will not be joining our family in the near future........ more later when I can see through the tears................

Things I'm Thankful For

DAY 8:  My Comfortable Bed.  I absolutely love my bed.  Right after we moved into our house Jake convinced me that we needed a sleep number bed and I grudgingly agreed.  They seemed so expensive and I wasn't really sure that we needed it.  But because he wanted it so much, I agreed.  It only took a few night for me to realize that we did indeed need this.  I had never slept better.  We could both have the kind of mattress that we wanted and be comfortable all night.  I still love my bed now, after nearly 8 years.  I would never get anything else.

Things I'm Thankful For

DAY 7: Mormon Messages.  I love being able to watch these short little video clips whenever I need a little pick me up.  I can watch them on my phone or on the computer.  Tonight we had a more low key Family Home Evening and we let the kids pick a few to watch after we got back from dinner.  Their favorite one is "the marshmallow one", aka Continuing in Patience.  There is something for everyone and always just what I needed to hear.  This I think is my favorite one, although picking just one is HARD.  I love them all.

Things I'm Thankful For

DAY 6: A quiet Sunday afternoon.  I didn't feel the greatest today and Jake had to work until 6.  I am thankful that my kids let me rest on the couch after church while they watched movies and played games.

Things I'm Thankful For

DAY 5: The Church.  I am so grateful to belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I am glad that I know where I came from and where I am going.  I love feeling the spirit and knowing that I am a daughter of my Heavenly Father. I know that my family can be together forever.   It brings great peace to my life.

(Oquirrh Mountain Temple)

Things I'm Thankful For

Since it is November and we, as humans, need to be reminded of the things in our lives that we are grateful for again and again I have decided to do one thing each day this month that I am thankful for.  I really do like this time of year and I wish that most of the world didn't skip right over Thanksgiving for a more commercially friendly holiday (that I love too!) so I am going to spend a little extra time this year being thankful for all of the things that I have been blessed with.  And, since I am a few days late in getting started I am going to do a big catch up post now and then one each day highlighting the things that I am most grateful for.

1. My wonderful family.  We have had a couple of really rough years and I am so glad to be finally living all under the same roof, spending time with the ones that matter most.

(we need an updated picture, but I guess now we will wait for the baby to make it's appearance for one)

2.  My husband, Jake.  I love him so much.  He is my best friend.  He works so hard to give us everything we could possibly need and/or want.  He is always there for me.  He gives my life balance.  And I know that he love me.

3.  Good music.  I love a song that has a message that really hits home and this new song by Hilary Weeks really did for me.  It has a great message.

4. Books.  I have read more books than you could ever try and count.  I love reading and getting "lost" in a story.  I love reading to find out information and just for the fun of it too.  I could read all day long and into the night, but I don't think my family would be too pleased so I try and limit myself.