Pages, Pages...

Here are some of my recent pages. It has been fun to use the new version of Photoshop. I still have a lot to learn. Thank goodness Kimberly figured out how to zoom in and out easier!

First Page...

Here is my first page with the updated version of Photoshop. It is going to take a little getting use too.

Dear Sam,

I just want you to know how proud we are of you. This potty training business has been rough. I was nearing the loony bin and you were not a happy boy. Silly as it may sound, this is the best Christmas gift we could have ever asked for. Doing things at your own pace has always been your style and for some reason I just couldn't go with it. Thank you for being patient with me.
I love you!

Mac the truck. Your reward for wearing big boy undies!!

Merry Christmas To All...

...and to all a goodnight!

As I was folding laundry in our room this morning, this is what I heard from the kitchen. Hope it brings a smile to your face, it did to mine.

Closer Then We've Ever Been...

Tonight after I put the big kids down, Max and I went into his room to get him ready for bed. There stood the shopping cart. We have tried before to get him to walk behind it but to no avail. The story was different tonight...

Hopefully this is the beginning of a new adventure for him. I am sure many of you wonder why I push these thing. Well... he might be small, but he will be 17 months on Tuesday and frankly, I am tired of lugging him around all the time. Plus I would really like him to walk before he goes to nursery! (Which is the end of January, but who's counting?)

Milestone...

I'm sure that everyone is sick to death of hearing about Sam and his potty training, but I just have to share... He went to church in undies today!!! No accidents. Wahoo! When was the last time you went wahoo?

What's a Thinger?

Last night as we were finishing our dinner of Grilled Cheese, Fruit and Salt & Vinegar Chips (I was lazy and the kids have been sick), Sam holds up his hand and says, "My thinger hurts!" For some reason that struck me as so funny. I kept replaying it in my mind and laughing. I hope it makes you laugh too.

New Do...

Evelyn decided that she wanted short hair. I hadn't said anything about cutting it, it was all her and out of the blue. She seems to really like it. She said she wanted to be like me. lol!

Before

After

Keeping My Fingers Crossed...

I don't know if this is going to last, but I wanted to have it documented just in case. This morning, Sam said he wanted to wear big boy undies. As you know from previous posts, potty training hasn't gone well with him. He had a bout of diaherra while we were in New Mexico and that seemed to actually jump start him a little. He had 48 hours of no accidents. What a miracle. As soon as we got home that all went out the door. *Sigh* Yesterday was the same. Pull-ups are too expensive to be constantly peeing in them. Back to today... he stayed dry all day!! No accidents of any kind! Can you hear the choir of angels singing the hallelujah chorus? He pooped in the potty! I knew he needed to, he kept tooting. I tried to get him to sit for awhile, but he just kept saying, "I'll try." I didn't want him to try, I wanted him to do it. A while later he came in and said he needed to poop and poop he did. Makes a mother proud...

Gratitude...

I wish to express my gratitude for a loving family. We had a fabulous time in New Mexico for Thanksgiving. It had been over a year since we had all been together. There have been 3 born since our last get together, 2 of them I had never met. The rest of my family hadn't met any of them. We made up for not seeing each other by celebrating a slew of holidays in the few days we were together. There was a birthday party, New Year's (that was sort of every night), Christmas, Easter... hmm am I missing any?

"Your most important friendships should be with your own brothers and
sisters and with your father and mother. Love your family. Be loyal to
them. Have a genuine concern for your brothers and sisters. Help carry
their load so you can say, like the lyrics of that song, 'He ain't
heavy; he's my brother.' "

President Ezra Taft Benson, "To the 'Youth of the Noble Birthright,'" Ensign, 
May 1986