Time Out!

Last weekend three friends, Erica, Amanda, Katie and I went to Time Out for Women. It's sort of like Women's Conference and Education Week, but it is sponsored by Deseret Book. Anyway, It was a Friday night and then all day Saturday. There were awesome speakers and great LDS artists who shared their talents, experiences, and testimonies. It was a weekend I will never forget! Talk about being pumped up to get out there and face life's challenges! I hope to go again, soon, although Mark may not be too excited about that. No, really, he was great. He listened to me re-tell all the talks when I got home. My favorite was by Mark Mabry. He is the artist who created Reflections of Christ. There is a book of the photos, a DVD, and a CD. It was awesome to hear how he was inspired to start the project and how God prompted him to prepare himself to be able to receive the inspiration. My favorite performer was Hillary Weeks. She is hilarious! Stacie posted a couple of her "spoof" songs on her blog. Hillary did a few different ones last weekend, but I haven't been able to find them on the Internet. I was going to upload myself singing it, but apparently there is an error when I try to upload..lucky for you! So, I will tell you the words, and you can sing it yourself-to the tune of Favorite Things from Sound of Music...."Bedtime, and nap time, and bedtime, and nap time, bedtime, and nap time, and bedtime, and nap time, and did I mention that I love bedtime? These are a few of my favorite things. When the kids fight, when their dad's late, when I'm feeling sad, I open the freezer, take out the ice cream, and then I don't feel so bad!!" Amen to that!! :)

Noah is One!!!!

Happy Birthday Noah!!! Hard to believe that one year ago today, at precisely 12:07am, Noah came into the world-five weeks early and weighing 7lbs 14oz!! His little lungs weren't developed so they whisked him off to the NICU and there he stayed for about four days. He was the biggest preemie in the joint! We never once worried about him, well, maybe once, but we knew he would be okay. Lucky for him he missed sharing his Mom's birthday by 7 minutes!!!

Now he is the chunky, drooly, ornery, cutie pie we have today! Noah is a strong willed little guy who lets his feelings be known. (We have a few of those in our family :)) He is my brown-eyed boy, the one I dreamed about three boys ago! I knew I would get one eventually! I think his eyes look like pools of chocolate pudding! Yummy! He is cute enough to nibble :) Now if only he would walk, crawl, roll... anything!!! He's taking his sweet time, knowing eventually Mom, Dad or one of his older brothers will pick him up and take him somewhere. :)

We love you No-No!! Happy first birthday to you!!!

Bye, Bye Diapers!

Day four in big boy undies for Ty-Ty!!! Granted, he has had some #2 incidents, but hey, we just started 3 1/2 days ago! He goes in and sits on his Spider-man potty whenever I ask him to, and sometimes even on his own! And he hasn't had a "wet" accident, yet! I've NEVER had it this easy (knock on wood). I guess I've finally learned to wait until the kid is ready. Poor Devin and Sam, the older kids always get the trial and error period, don't they? Please tell me they'll be stronger for it! I still have remorse over their younger years. Oh, well. Onward and upward, as Mom would say.

Happy Birthday Mandy!!

K- so I'm a day late...what else is new? Yesterday was Mandy's birthday, and alas, she is still two years younger then I am, and always in better physical condition.
This is a song that will always remind me of her. We used to jump around our room to this song. It was popular when I was 15 or 16 and then came back when she were a senior, I think. Anyway, it's a great one! In fact, music was a big part of our lives, like that Christopher Cross song that would come on EVERY night right when we went to bed.."sailing, takes me away to where I'm always..." I still get the chills when I hear that song! We swore our radio was possessed! And the fact that Mandy hated having the radio on while we fell asleep, and I insisted on it. (sorry) And Sunshine Generation, who can forget Dad teasing Mandy saying that she looked like someone had a gun to her back while she performed.
I couldn't have asked for a better sister to grow up with. Mandy and I shared a room for our entire lives-until I went off to college. And I have to say, that was the best preparation for college roommates and mission companions :). We did fight over clothes, among other things, but it was never anything too serious. And I know none of you will believe this, but I used to be the clean one!! You can ask her...Anyway, Mandy was always the athletic one, and I envied her drive and abilities. She was a very loyal friend, and a loving sister. I'm afraid out of the two of us, I was the snotty teenager who told her younger siblings to "get the heck out of my room!". (I think I've since been forgiven)We loved to lay in bed and talk. Those talks lasted late into the night and early morning when we would come home from college at the same time. We could talk about anything and everything.
Mandy has always had a lot of friends, and she was and is a wonderful example in every aspect of life. In fact, I'm fairly sure she is really "older" then I am. She has always been the one teaching me.
I love that we are only two years apart and have some priceless photos together that I'm sure someone could use to black-mail one or both of us. Scary!

Don't hate us because we're beautiful!!! :) This photo is circa 1989, what do you expect????

This is one of my favorite photos, Mandy and I with Grandpa Keime.


Happy Birthday Mandy!! I Love ya!

P.S. Mandy, doesn't that top photo bring all kinds of weird memories back...the planter hanging in the background and that photo of the Polar Bear...even that brown chair we are sitting in. It's kinda freaky!

Happy "True" Year!!!

Happy 2009! Last night we had a little shin-dig with my family. Some of the cousins stayed late, or slept over and they had a little too much sugar and a little too little sleep. Ty even stayed up with the big boys, and when the ball dropped in NYC they ran outside and yelled and screamed at the top of their lungs. Ty had so much fun that he keeps talking about going outside yelling "Happy 'True' Year!"

I hope 2009 is a 'true' year for all of us, filled with happiness and hope. It seems that every new year brings its joys and struggles, and we end up better for them all. Here's to a wonderful 2009!!