THEY IS AMAZING

I got the cutest - cutest Christmas package yesterday. THANK YOU Sherry and my RS mom!! :O) I call Sherry's mom my Relief Society mom because she was the Relief Society President while Dave was deployed and took such good care of me - just as if I was one of her own girls. Lucky me - she still takes care of me. :O)

Sherry sent the cutest popcorn bucket with a movie and microwave popcorn. The boys were sooooooooo excited when they read that it was "butter lovers" popcorn. I heard Kaden say "Mom never buys this kind." They say thank you!!! Also LOVE the pj pants - so cute. Remember how they are my favorite things ever!!! :O)

My RS Mom sent me some very - very snugly one piece pajamas - which made me laugh and the cutest Christmas socks. I can't wait to wear my pj's - although I might have to swallow a few bravery pills to put a picture of me in them on my blog. Porter grabbed the socks right out of the box and said, "They is amazing!" He LOVES them - won't take them off. I have visions of him wearing them all summer long.

The boys love their game - they were super - super excited. Kaden said "This is from Kimmie's grandma? She must really like us!" :o)

Thank you so much!!!!!! We love you!!!!!!!!!!

The boys had a fun Christmas I think. Dave and I absolutely love watching them open up their gifts and they way their little faces light up! They were so funny this year. When Kaden opened up his gifts he would almost always say - "I love this --- but mom I know what the true meaning of Christmas is." (Good Boy)

Colton put thank you notes in our stockings this year. Such a sweet boy!

Porter got a geo trax train set from Santa - which he loved!!! He loved it so much that when it was time to open up the other gifts he would not do it. Dave kept saying "Porter you have a really cool one over here and he would say, "Um - no thanks." Just wanted to play with his train.

I love my boys!

(Just as a side note --- notice the marks on Colton and Kadens forehead...... they seriously worked as hard as they could to get a rug burn on their heads. It took some effort - but they managed -- BOYS! )

Christmas Eve Party 2008

We had a really fun Christmas Eve Party - thanks to all who came. We had lots and lots and lots and lots of food and then a little program - Complete with talent show. Here are a few clips.

Happy Christmas Everybody!!!! Gavin sang Jingle Bells - sort of ------- It went like this -----

Dashing through the snows

on a pair of broken skis

Over the hills we go

crashing into trees ---- you get it :O) Whitney played us some Christmas music and did an awesome job!Bribery worked great for the boys - they sang a rocking version of Jingle Bells complete with some pretty sweet moves!Porter just ran around them singing his part - no holding still for this kid An interpretive dance by the Kuhnis -- The Nutcracker -- Yep --

you should be sad you missed itThe Tarbett family has musical powers - so they led our music for us! We are going to miss you so much when you move home to Utah - but we'll see you soon!! Mindy played Away In A Manger while Rusty sang it - beautifully

Napolean ------ I mean Nate gave us a song that he learned while in the "Happy Hands Club!" :O) Did you hear ------- SANTA IS COMING -----------

Um ..... MOM!!!!

So it had been about 10 minutes since I had heard from Porter - so I sent Colton up to find him. He brings him down with some beautiful mascara on. I am so used to him doing things like this that I was like "Hmmmmm, wonder how I'm going to get that off." Colton was looking rather worried and said, "Mom, is it ok if he puts on makeup - I feel like that is not ok - maybe he wants to be a girl."

Christmas Lights BAMA Style

A couple of weeks ago we were introduced the "Crazy Christmas Lights" House in Enterprise. Our friends The Weavers took us with them to the drive through Christmas display. It was amazing! Everything was set up in themes with matching music playing. So Much Fun!!! The kids absolutely loved it. We stopped in first at Smoochies the famous ice cream parlor around these parts to get everyone ice cream. Ice cream in December you say -- Why yes, it is like 75 degrees here. Only in Alabama can you go look at Christmas lights while eating ice cream.

Some Mighty Strong Wind

I woke up this morning to a crash at 5:00 AM - Unfortunately Dave has to leave around 4:00 AM for morning flight line. So all by myself I went downstairs and noticed that our barbeque grill had fallen over and hit the house not to mention that our swing set had fallen over and three of my picture frames had fallen off of the wall. The wind was obviously very strong - I've never seen anything like it. Gotta love these Alabama storms. Thank Heavens the kids slept through it.

Coltons Magazine Cover

Colton made a magazine cover at school. They could pick anything they wanted - and he chose to do one for his dad. I thought it was so cute!!

Twilight...........

LOVED IT!!!! LOVED IT!!!! LOVED IT!!!!! (Sigh) :O)

Grateful

I love pictures because I love the feelings that come when a picture triggers a memory. I pulled up this picture and it almost brought me to tears. This is a picture taken in our yard in Morgan. Dave was deployed and my cute uncle came over to till the garden for me so that we could start planting. We absolutely lived in the greatest place on earth while Dave was deployed. I was sure it would be the worst 18 months of my life. I am so happy to say I could not have been more wrong. Our little family created an unbreakable bond that I cherish! I was surrounded by friends and family that loved us - and made it known. Of course we had our down days - but those days were so outnumbered by days that were overwhelmingly blessed. I know that we were protected and watched over by our Heavenly Father who blessed us in more ways than I could even begin to express. Sometimes I get busy and forget some of the things that have changed and blessed my life. I am grateful to be reminded!

I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas.....

I found this picture on my computer and it made me homesick. We took this picture off the front porch of our house in Morgan. I have lived in Utah/Idaho all of my life and have almost always had a white Christmas. There is something magical about "Christmas snow".

I do have to admit I am loving the weather here in Alabama though! :O)

Little Wanna Be's

Dave was issued his flight gear today. I had some very excited little boys that think their dad is pretty cool!

Dads Dare

So here we have Kaden dressed up in his old costume from about 3 years ago. Dave dared him to skip all the way up to the end of the street singing the Winnie The Pooh song as loud as he could. Surprisingly - he took the challenge. The reward - 50 cents for ice cream at school the next day.

Happy Halloween

Soldier Colton was a little sad this year because next year he turns 12 before Halloween. Our family rule is trick or treating is for kids under 12. So he was bound and determined to get as much candy as possible this year. He did a pretty good job!Do you love how serious Kaden is about posing as a ninja. No joking around - this ninja business is serious stuff!
Porter was a little froggie this year. He was a little difficult when it came to trick or treating - he could not understand why we went to the door - got candy - but could not go inside and make ourselves at home.

Arrow Of Light

Colton had a great ending to his years as a cub scout. He received his Arrow Of Light. He was so proud and excited. I think the greatest part is that he got to receive his award along side of his two best buddies, Daniel and Evan. I've said before how grateful I am for the friends that he has made - we could not have hand picked better. We love you Colton!!!

(PS - The reason he does not have a scout shirt on is because we lost it in the move and I did not want to buy him one for all of the 6 months that he had left in Cub Scouts. How do you loose a scout shirt you ask........ Yeah - not sure! )

Coltons Arrow Of Light

Swingin In The Rain

I just had to take a picture of Porter swinging his little head off in the rain. He absolutely loves his swing set. He will spend hours swinging and singing. I love hearing his little skreachy voice singing as loud as he can!

WHEW........

For the past week my mind has been a little preoccupied with worry over these two cute people. For those of you who have patiently endured my never ending talk of Sherry and this little angel I thought it would be nice to put a face with the name. So here they are healthy and doing so well! Little Matthew is doing soooo much better than you could even imagine. In his little 3 pound body lies a 8 pound spirit strong as ever - I am sure much of that has to do with the many prayers sent his way. Isn't he the cutest thing.

Happy Birthday Porter

5 weeks old - pictures taken by Jackie (http://www.jackiepettit.com/) Thanks Jackie!

I can't believe that my baby boy is already three years old. He is such a huge blessing in our home. He is such a funny little guy always keeping us laughing and on our toes. I feel so lucky to have him.