Ok - how cute is this? :)
****For the record so no one thinks we are bad parents...

Colton was only holding this gun for the picture******

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving 2009 Recap....

We have never hosted a Thanksgiving dinner before and let me say it is a little bit stressful. I will forever appreciate the work that goes into preparing for the big day. Our day started out with my obsession that EVERYTHING MUST BE CLEAN!!!!

I had to pull out my inner Drill Sargent......

mixed with a little bit of my inner Mary Poppins......

Dave and the kids were a huge help and everything got done!!! YAY!!!

We had our friends the Barringtons come over along with Dave's cousin and her husband. We had a pretty good spread of yummy food. I was highly impressed with the way things turned out except for this little number...............

What the #@*&!! is this you say....... Well ... It is a fried turkey. Yep fried as in FRIED!!!! Those of you who know my husband and his cooking of meat know that he has a phobia of serving it undercooked. He is afraid that we will all end up with some sort of food related bacterial infection if he does not thoroughly cook it.

I was thinking we would cut it open and all we would hear is "poof" and all that would be left inside this little number would be bones. Luckily I was wrong and there was some meat left - VERY WELL DONE!!!

Thank heavens we had another baked turkey to serve along side this beauty.

This is Patrick. Porters new found best buddy. In fact, Porter was ready to pack his bags and move into the Barrington house because Patrick offered him these things...

1. $100 a day allowance

2. No rules

3. Pepsi on your cereal is allowed

4. Play outside all day

and on it goes.....

But I'm pretty sure that these little sweeties would not appreciate a new brother hyped up on Pepsi.

This is Amelia

This is Rachel
I sure love these boys of mine.

I have been very blessed to be their mother.

I am so thankful for them and my cute husband.

Oh Porter..... the new and upcoming photographer...... I went to upload my pictures and found some wonderful works of art........... Here is one of my favorite photos

Strategically placed???

__________________________________

Then we have the photos that I took of him at his request. I did not pose him. This is all Porter. :)

Hmmmmm.......................

I took this one just because they are cute. I came downstairs to find this adorable sight. I had to throw it in here.

Remembering The True Meaning Of Christmas

As my kids get older I am finding it more and more important to impress upon them the true meaning of Christmas. This year I decided to order this picture of Christ and put it by the tree as a constant reminder of why we really celebrate Christmas. Of course I want Christmas to be full of fun and magic but I also want them to feel the importance of remembering our Savior. I would love to hear any ideas or traditions you have in your families that help to remember the true meaning of Christmas.

So here is the finished Christmas Tree! I had a hard time getting a good picture but you can get the general idea. I love waking up and turning on the lights - it makes my day!!!!

A Quiet Place

Today I walked in the kitchen to hear some crazy noises coming from the cupboard. I opened it up to find Porter quietly playing his Leapster game system. I asked him what he was doing in the cupboard to which he replied, "I need some peace and quiet."

If only I could squish myself in there!