Christmas 2008

Well, I have to admit, I dropped the ball this year for pictures at Christmas time. Things have been so very busy and I am so very pregnant that I guess the picture taking got put by the way side. :) So, here are the very few pictures that I did take of the kids this Christmas break. The first one is of the kids on Christmas Eve after they opened their new Christmas Jammies. Who doesn't love a new pair of comfy jammies! The next is a picture of Abigail and Katie on one of the many sledding adventures my kids have had this December. We have had so much snow and we definitely tried to take advantage of it all and do lots of sledding. It's been so much fun! And the third picture is a picture of our friends house in the neighborhood. (If this doesn't illustrate my lack of picture taking I don't know what does) They were gone this Christmas visiting family and had asked if we'd snap a quick picture of their home with all this snow. Not sure why I couldn't take a minute to take a picture of our home so I want to thank the Thorpe's for getting me on the ball enough to have some sort of record of all the snow that fell!! :) And last but not least is a picture of our Christmas tree this year. We trek-ed out into the mountains this year to cut our tree down. The kids had a blast and the tree turned out to be beautiful. It was a fun adventure.

We spent Christmas Day with our family and Grandma Cribbins here at home and then traveled to see Jeff's family up North in Mill Creek for Christmas Day dinner.We had a very blessed Christmas and are so thankful for this time of year where we can reflect upon the birth of our Savior and celebrate His gift to us.

Clean and Pure

This has been a busy month for our family and especially for Abigail. After turning eight on December 2nd she made the decision that she wanted to be baptized. We are so proud of her! She was baptized on December 20th at our church building in Maple Valley by her father, Jeffrey. She was surrounded by so many family and friends who love her and support her, despite the incredibly unusual winter weather. Our winters here in Washington are usually pretty mild but this December we received record amounts of snow fall and a whole lot of ice. It's been pretty hard to get around on the roads and we've all been stuck inside quite a bit. But the crazy weather wasn't enough to stop our daughter from taking her first and very important step into the waters of baptism and on her way back to her Heavenly Father. There is no way to properly describe the how I felt that day. I can only imagine how our Heavenly Father feels every time he witnesses one of his children make these important decisions. I am so grateful to have the gospel in our lives, to guide us and teach us. I am even more grateful to have such an amazing husband who is worthy to baptize our children into the church. Below are some pictures from her special day.





We are so grateful to all our family who took time away and traveled to WA to be here for Abigail's baptism. Grandpa Ron came from California to support her and to witness her baptism. Grandma Cribbins came from Colorado to be here and see her granddaughter become a member of the church. Great Grandma and Grandpa Allen came to witness and participate. Great Grandma Opal and Grandma Cribbins gave wonderful talks to Abigail about baptism and the Holy Ghost. Great Grandma and Grandpa O'Dore, Grandma and Grandpa Sligh, and Uncle Derek and Stephanie were all set to come from up north but due to the extremely bad weather and road conditions they were not able to make the baptism. We missed them so much but are glad that they are safe and didn't risk the long drive. We know they were there in spirit. Grandma Sligh and Derek and Stephanie were able to make it later in the day to our home and give Abigail lots of hugs and there love.

It means so much to us to have such a wonderful family and friends surrounding us! Thank you to all who came, who helped out, who sent their best wishes, and who are always there for us. We love you!

Birthday Fun!

Abigail turned 8 this month and this was her year for a friend party. She's always wanted a beach party theme but because her b-day is in December this was as close as we could get! We rented out the Covington Aquatic center and had a swim party. It was a hoot and the kids had a blast. Definitely one of her funnest parties yet! We opened presents and had some super yummy ice cream cake then the kids took to the water. Abigail had so much fun and she, and we, are so blessed to have such wonderful friends to surround us. Here's some pics from the party.





One of the things Abigail asked for for her b-day this year was some items from American Girl to go with her hard eared American Girl doll. So the bed below was our gift to her. She was so excited to receive it and couldn't wait to put Julie to bed! :) Just as a side note...we are so proud of her. She really wanted this doll but we weren't sure if she'd really play with it so we decided to make her earn half the money to pay for it. She worked really hard several months to save up all her money. She did it and she's really loves her doll Julie and takes very good care of her! Way to go Abigail. We love you so much and are proud of the young woman you are becoming! Happy 8th Birthday!!!

Grateful Times!!

Thanksgiving was at our house this year and we had a wonderful time! Here's the whole crew below - Great Grandma and Grandpa O'Dore, Great Grandma and Grandpa Allen, Grandma and Grandpa Sligh, and Uncle Derek and Stephanie. The day was filled with LOTS of good food, visiting, games and relaxing. I made my first Turkey this year and I have to admit I was very nervous but it turned out great. Not like the one from Christmas Vacation like I imagined it might! :) We had all the traditional foods and everyone helped out. It was so nice to have Jeff home for the long weekend and we took advantage of the time and got ready for Christmas. Jeff put up our Christmas lights in the rain (good old Seattle weather!) while the kids and I worked on the inside. We love this time of year and are so glad it's here! But, not to gloss over Thanksgiving - I want to just say how thankful I am for all of my blessings. My family being at the top of the list!! Good health for all of us and the Gospel in our lives are just a few more on the list. Truly there is nothing else I need in this life but what I have!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving too!

Happy 2nd Birthday Shane!

We can’t believe you are already 2 years old, Shane! We are so lucky to have you in our family and we love you so very much. This weekend was such a fun celebration in your honor. There are so many people that love you and many of them were here to celebrate with you. Great Grandma and Grandpa O’Dore, Great Grandma and Grandpa Allen, Grandma Sligh, Uncle Derek and Stephanie came to open presents and eat cake. Grandma and Grandpa Cribbins, Great Grandma Drees, Auntie Brandie, and Grandpa Ron all wished they could be here and they sent cards and their love! You loved all your new presents and took time to play with each one as you opened it. Some of the gifts you received were pjs, books, Lincoln logs, Hot Wheels, Alphabet refrigerator, and a fun red fire truck. What a day! The pictures below show the excitement you felt from each gift. One of your favorite things right now is Blue’s Clues so mommy and daddy found a Blue stuffed animal and some handy dandy notebooks. Blue hasn’t left your side since you got her! We are all so glad you enjoyed your day. For dessert, someone who loves you made you some very special cupcakes with Blues Clues paw prints on them. (Thanks again Becky!) They were delicious! Shane we love you so much and we are so glad you are ours!!

Love,

Your Family

Halloween 2008

Halloween was a lot of fun this year! All the kids were in to it...even little Shane. They all picked their own costumes and couldn't wait to go scare the neighborhood. Abigail was Alphaba, the wicked witch. Wyatt and Shane were very spooky white ghosts. Shane even played the part by learning to say BOO to all the trick or treater's! Needless to say, there is a lot of candy being eaten in our house right now!! What fun.

Updates

Well, it's been a while since I posted anything so here's a few updates on our family. :)

Abigail has been asking for a couple of years now if she could get her ears pierced. So, just a few weeks ago we took her to get it done. She was pretty nervous but was very brave and followed through! Her ears look very cute and she's super excited about it. It's hard to believe how fast she's growing up, but we are so proud of her and who she's becoming. Also another new thing for Abigail is that she started taking piano lessons. She's doing great and picking it up like a natural. She's got great rhythm. She must have gotten that from mom! It's so much fun to watch her grow and develop into her own person. Below is a picture of her new earrings.


She also just finished another great fall season of soccer. She's quite the soccer player and very fast on the field. Can't wait to watch her play for years to come!

Wyatt is loving kindergarten. We are so glad we sent him this year. He loves his teacher and classmates, and of course, recess! He's learning a lot and has even been bringing home little books that he's made and is able to read them to Jeff and I. He still enjoys lots of play dates with his friends and is really looking forward to starting Basketball in January. B-ball is his sport!! He's becoming a wonderful big brother too. As Shane continues to get older he finds that he likes having him around to play with. Oh, he's in the way sometimes but for the most part Wyatt is patient with Shane and loves to play with him. We know he'll continue to be a wonderful big brother to his new baby sister. Here's a recent picture of Wyatt at the lego table at school.


Shane is getting so big. He turns 2 next week. I can't believe it. I still think of him as my baby but he definitely thinks he's one of the big kids. He wants to be just like Abigail and Wyatt. He's getting quite the attitude and personality, but he's still just as sweet as ever. I'm not sure what we did to deserve him! Hopefully that sweet disposition will stick around when his new little sister arrives. Here's a recent picture of Shane picking some flowers for mommy.


Jeff and I are doing great. We are excited to have our fourth child in January. Still no name picked out yet but don't worry mom, we'll pick one eventually! :) We are looking forward to the holidays and are excited to see lots of family. It will be a busy couple of months from here on out. In November we've got Shane's b-day and Thanksgiving. Then in December we've got Abigail's 8th b-day, her baptism, Christmas, and New Years. Somewhere in there we've got to get ready for Christmas and the baby. Then shortly after New Years i'll POP and have a baby! At least the last few months of pregnancy won't really drag on. It should go by pretty quickly.

And lastly, I took the kids to the pumpkin patch so they could pick out pumpkins for Halloween. We had a great time and it was a beautiful day. I love Seattle when the sun is shining! We had some friends with us and they all had so much fun. The girls loved the corn maze and the boys loved the tractor, of course. :) Here's a couple of pictures from our day.






Yum! Popcorn balls...

How do you celebrate a marriage?

Now that this trip is over I've been thinking about the trip and the last 10 years of marriage. I know that there are a million different ways to celebrate marriage, whether it's a day, a year, or 50 years of marriage. I think the best way is to celebrate each and every day! This trip, while it has been amazing and probably a trip of a lifetime, reminds me that whether I'm here in Europe or home in the states, my marriage to Jeff is a gift! I am thankful for each day that I have with Jeff and the family we've created. I know that what we have is eternal and I look forward to eternity with the man I love!

Happy Anniversary Jeff! Thank you for this trip and for taking care of me and the kids. Love you now and forever!

Rome, Italy Day 3

Well, our last day in Rome is complete. It was perfect. We were able to rest and relax until the afternoon then we went out and took in some more sites. We went to see the Pantheon which became a church dedicated to martyrs just after the fall of Rome. The columns on the out side are one-piece granite columns, the biggest in Italy, and they were shipped from Egypt. Inside is beautiful with typical church deco, paintings, statues, etc. But what's really impressive is the dome in the center. The concrete dome is huge and it gets thinner and lighter with height. The highest part of the dome is volcanic pumice. The very top of the dome is left open and exposed to the elements. It would be a really cool place to stand in a rain storm!

Looking up at the dome



Then we walked further to the Piazza Navona. It was a long rectangle piazza filled with beautiful fountains and painters all around selling their paintings and art. Wonderful benches to sit and take it all in. We rested there for quite a while then went over to a local restaurant and had dinner. Music was playing and we enjoyed our last authentic Italian meal!




It was dark by the time we started to head back to the hotel and on our walk back we couldn't help but take this picture of the Colosseum all lit up.



It was a great last day here in Italy. I hope that all these posts have been fun to see and not to boring. It was really meant to be online journal entries for Jeff and I so we wouldn't forget all the amazing things we were able to do on this trip. I'm so glad that we were also able to share it with my family and friends so thanks to all of you that took a look and left comments. It's been fun to read your comments and feel closer to home while we've been so far away. Can't wait to get home tomorrow and see our family and friends. Love you all!

Rome, Italy Day 2

The other top prioritiy of Jeff and I while in Rome were that we wanted to go see the Vatican City and St. Peter's Basilica. It was pretty cool to see the head quarters of the Catholic church. We learned that St. Peter's Basilica is the richest and most impressive church on the earth. It was quite spectacular. I couldn't believe how huge it was. The pictures don't quite show it, but it was beautifully decorated and built, filled with marble everywhere and famous art. St. Peter's square was beautiful as well. We sat for a very long time enjoying the fountains and people watching. No sighting of the Pope though, just in case you were wondering! :)






Then after taking in the Basilica we walked down to the Tiber River and saw this amazing bridge. It's called Ponte Sant'Angelo. There is a castle at one end of it that is called, fittingly, the Castel San'tAngelo. It was built as a tomb for the emperor. It was used as a castel, prison, and place of refuge for popes under attack. We didn't tour inside of it but I'm sure it was cool.




Tomorrow we have plans to go see the Pantheon here in Rome. Then after a good nights rest we will be on the plane and traveling home. Can't believe how the time has flown!

Rome, Italy Day 1

Well, there's no getting around it. Jeff and I are tired from all the travel but still enjoying Europe. We are trying to take it even more easy while here in Rome. There were definitely some sites that we new we had to see and others that we could pass up. We decided not to go to the museums here because we are "museum-ed out" but the history here in Rome is a must see. On our first day we went to see the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. They are near each other in the heart of Ancient Rome. It's so impressive just how long these structures have been standing. The Colosseum is 2000 years old. The Romans pioneered the use of concrete which allowed them to build this tremendous building. It could accommodate 50,000 fans and was topped with an enormous canvas awning that was hoisted across the top to make it the first domed stadium. Just looking at the Colosseum I can't imagine how many men it took to drag that awning over the whole stadium. The Romans loved their entertainment and planned out the building of this stadium perfectly. In the middle under the stage were rooms and tunnels that kept animals waiting to fight then they were lifted up in elevators to the stage. The animals could come out at any point of the arena behind blinds and the gladiators had no idea where they would come from or by what they were going to be attacked. Pretty incredible. Of course, knowing how much our son Wyatt loves dress up we just had to buy him a little gladiator suite! Maybe he'll be a gladiator for Halloween this year. :)










Then we went across the street to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. I learned a lot here too. Palatine Hill is the hill above the Forum and it contains the remains of the imperial palaces and the foundations of Rome from huts to legendary houses. Pretty cool to imagine where the royals of Rome lived and ruled such an empire. The Roman Forum is the place where pretty much everything important in Ancient Rome happened. It's said to be the most important piece of real estate in Western Civilization. It's been a pretty cool history lesson up close and personal.







Another day of a lot of walking so we are tired. Back to the hotel for some sleep. :)