Some November Pics-& our Christmas picture

First picture is of Emma at her "Jamie-do's" birthday party! The girls had so much fun getting their nails and hair done!
Ted's young men. He has had so much fun with them over the last year!!! He's going to miss them- but not too much as he just got called as 1st counselor in the YM in our new ward! Yipppeee!!!
Emma's amazing birthday cake compliments of Aunt Dorothy! She loved it!
Our family Christmas photo
Emma in her pilgrim outfit from school.
We had a lovely November and are looking forward to December and Christmas time!! We are so excited to have be in a new ward and look forward to getting-to-know new families and friends! There were 60 kids in primary today! Quite a jump from the normal 6-10!! Yeahhh!! Merry Christmas!

Not so little Emma bug

I don't know how she ended up with that nick name-but that's what we called her when she was a baby and it still slips out now and then. She is turning into a little lady. Emma has a carefree-creative soul. She loves unconditionally, is observent to the needs of her family and zealous to serve! She adores her baby brothers- Kyle is a little bit easier to love right now then Adam, but she tries very hard to keep the peace with our #3. And she worships James. We are switching bedrooms around right now, all the boys together and Emma in her own room. She has sobbed herself to sleep two nights in a row now because she misses James. She said to me, "I'm going to miss James Mommy. He reads me stories and we cuddle up and tell eachother what we're going to do tommorrow." Oh my. What sweet kids I have. (We're going to put things back the way they were anyways because Adam won't stay in the bunk bed- he needs a room where he can be locked in:) We are so lucky to have Emma in our life. She loves to dance, sing, paint, help in the kitchen! Emma bears her testimony in Family Home Evening every week and it is wonderful and amazing to hear her sweet spirit growing. She truly knows that she is a daughter of God and that he loves her. There is nothing more important for her to know and I know that she will continue to share this knowledge with her friends and family through her kind and giving personality! We love you Emma! Don't grow up too fast!

This is my day...my baptism day!

A picture says a thousand words right? Here's a few pictures---it was a beautiful day. Impossible to describe!

Crazy 8's!

There's so much to say about this little boy who is quickly turning into a young man. The reason I am so proud of you is because you were smart enough to emulate your father-not your mother!! Our home would be a very different place without your sweet spirit, your calming influence, and your wonderful smile. Don't be afraid to laugh, to mess up and start over, and to find joy in the moment that you're in! Because the moments are flying by and before we know it...woosh! You'll be 19! Thank you for choosing to be baptized and for setting an awesome example to your younger siblings! I tried cutting Emma and I out of some of the pictures...I'm not that talented and just got really frusturated...but here are 8 pictures for 8 great years. I know this is a couple of days early...but I also knew it was now or never! The next few weeks are going to give me a run for my money! Kind of literally and figuratively:) Some of you know what I mean!

Courtesy of little lady

These shots are all taken by our little lady!!! She's quite the photographer!

Guess who...guess what???

Okay, I'll tell you who...Ted grew, harvested, and canned these babies...can you guess what they are?

Mellow men, Brotherly Love and peanuts

The other day Ted brought home a huge box filled with packing peanuts. He threw it in the entry as he headed out the door to work and yelled, "I thought the kids would have fun with this!" He was right-and they left the mess to prove it (and I left the mess for Ted to clean up-I thought he'd want to see how much fun they had:) Instead of flipping out about how to remove all the crushed peanuts from the carpet, as I would have done, he devised a nifty little contraption with the vacuum cleaner (so they wouldn't jam it) and sucked them all up. My Mom, who witnessed the whole scene, just laughed because had I walked in the door to that mess-oh my! But Ted just "solved the problem" which is the number two rule in her classroom. I learn a little lesson from my mellow man with the Apple juice container duck taped to the vacuum cleaner as he stooped through the house sucking up Styrofoam peanuts.

Story #2- Half way through the kids glorious peanut fight I heard this huge crash down the stairs and James screaming "It's Adam!! He's holding scissors!" You could hear the fear in his voice. It surprised me because James is usually so mellow about everything-hence mellow men. The scissors had jammed the top of Adams mouth-there was blood everywhere. James was devastated! I haven't seen him cry in a long time. He kept asking if his lip was going to be swollen. He literally came over and put his head on top of Adam and sobbed. As I sat there with my crying boys I had one of those moments where I realized how blessed I am to have James. I heard so much about "setting the tone" while I was growing up. James is doing a million times better then I did as the oldest. He truly sets a mellow, compassionate tone for his younger siblings. I can't believe he turns eight in just a few weeks. I am so proud of all that he is. Thank you James- for being brave enough to blaze the trail for your younger siblings. You have done it with courage and wisdom beyond your years. I know that you will continue to set a good example to them and lead them in paths of righteousness!






The peanut gallery.




Watching Saturday morning cartoons.