Scrapbooking

So the new March kit is up at Scraptivity.
And it's a good one!!!
I had lots of fun with it.
Here are some of my March creations.



And then here are the class proijects from the Okotoks Scrapbook Convention from this past Saturday.
It all went good, despite a few hiccups in the middle of the road.
A mini album..
A 12x12 layout called Journey...

A 12x12 layout called Bubbles....
And lastly another 12x12 layout called Cherish Family time.

Lots of thanks to Scraptivity and Tin Box for supporting this great cause.
We raised a lot of money for the Rowan House Women's Shelter.
A weekend of women helping women.
I had lots of fun teaching the fabulous participants.
They were great!

Now I have lots of free time. :)
I can get back to my regularly scheduled life.
Gotta edit some photos and play with my kiddos.

a little sneak peak

A little sneak peak for my upcoming classes at the Okotoks Scrapbook Convention this upcoming Saturday.

I have a mile long to do list for the convention this week, and this was one thing on it. So check one.

Here are some pictures of tidbits of the projects we will be working on in the Fun in a Box class featuring the Scraptivity January kit.








We'll hopefully make it through three projects, but maybe more.
Covering crackle paint, paper piecing, layering, hybrid scrapping, antiquing, and a mini album if we have time. And lots of supplies will be left over too!

I have handouts to make, supply lists to type up, students to email, posters to make and email.
Just a few things to work around regular momma stuff. :)

What are you up to this week?

Celebrating Valentine's Day

Something that I didn't post about that has already passed, yet here I am posting about it.
Our Valentine's Day traditions.
1. We always cut out hearts and write things on them we love and hang them in the window. (This is the picture from last year.... cause I didn't take one of them this year.... this year they were all red.)

2. Our evening celebrations.
We feed the kids something they really like, cause really if we are going to enjoy a nice meal ourselves we'll all enjoy it a lot MORE if they eat and go to bed and THEN we eat.
I always make a fancy meal for us, complete with dessert.
Here is this years. Steak, baked potatoes, salad, roasted asparagus with hollandaise sauce. And a french lemon tart with fresh strawberry salsa for dessert.
And then Every year since we have been married we always watch this movie...
And I always cry at the same parts.
And laugh at the same parts.
And we always enjoy it.
There are not a lot of movie quotes said around this house, but some of the ones that ARE come from this movie. :)

3. As a little girl, my dad always bought something for me and my little sister. It meant a lot because my dad is not one of those kind of dad's regularly. I still wrap his christmas presents. But every V-day he would pick out something, chocolate, a stuffed animal, a flower and actually write the card out himself. That always meant a lot to me and I know it did to Kelly too. Well I've been telling Regan I loved that idea since we were first married. And this year, he started that at our house by getting Lucy a card, some candy and a but bear balloon. And she kept calling it all her special presents.
(Alden wanted to know when the day is that boy's get special presents....)

And since a few people asked to see my belly.... how's this shot from the playground?

heehee.

10 things about me when I am pregnant.

5 not so nice....

1. my lower back starts to ache and it makes it hard to sleep. it's started already.

2. i am still taking dicletin. i tried to go off it and spent a day and a half puking my toes up.

3. i could seriously eat all day long. And there really aren't THAT many things to eat!

4. when my kids are having a bad day I spend most of it thinking, WHY am I adding another child??

5. heartburn. ouch.

5 that are kinda funny.....

1. i have crazy dreams. i mean werid ones. I've already dreamt that my mom was having a baby, which she decided she was to old to have one so they were going to throw it away. I told her I would take it and she was arguing with me about how crazy that would be since I am having a baby. Another was that we bought my grandparents old house and we were fixing it up and all these old guys came in with their coffee who wanted to play bingo with my grandpa and I was arguing with old men about taking breakfast away from my kids. Stealing bacon from them.

2. i want to eat weird things at weird times. like devilled eggs at 10pm or mini pizzas for breakfast.

3. when the baby kicks you and it surprised you and you jump and people look at you funny.

4. i cry over EVERYTHING. not getting invited to dinner, getting invited to dinner, movies, cartoons, books, talking to strangers.

5. my belly button sticks out, but only half way.

On the Bookshelf:

But I started a list on the side bar of my blog.
It's my reading list. I read a lot and I've always thought it would be cool to keep a list of the books I've read... but I've never done it. So this year I started one. I'll keep track.

And I'll give you a bit of a book review so to speak of what they are about. oooh I even just thought maybe I'd add in stars like for how good they are. Are you excited??

I'll sum up all my books so far (i've read 4 so far this year)

1. Enchantment by David Spot
I have loved Audrey Hepburn for a long time. Love all of her movies I have seen. ( my two favorites are Sabrina and Funny Face.) Audrey grew up in a home that was a bit void of love. Her father left when she was still very young and her mother was not the lovey dovey motherly type. She was more of a motivator and encourager, enrolling Audrey in ballet and schools that would make more a life for Audrey. She was caught in the war when Hitler invaded and in fact almost died of starvation until the Unicef came in and saved her, her mom and two brothers. It tells all about her whole life. Some things I learned about her.
• Audrey wanted to have lots of kids and stay home and raise them. She suffered 4 miscarriages, all of which took a considerable toll on her mental and physical health. She did have two boys.
• Audrey was loved by everyone who worked with her. She was never demanding but very kind to everyone who worked on the films no matter their jobs.
• Audrey never thought of herself as beautiful or anything special. When receiving her lifetime award she said something to the effect of always thinking of herself as a plain girl with a rather big nose and small chest with no particular talent.
• Audrey raised more money than anyone for Unicef. She was tireless in her efforts to help the children of the world. And thought that since God wouldn't give her a house full of children, he wanted her to save the ones already here.
The book was a little gossipy about Hollywood but the overall telling of Audrey's life and changes was wonderful! 4 out of 5.


2. My life in France by Julia Child
ooh i loved this book. Julia has way of writing that invites you in. It's like you are old friends talking about her memories. Some things I learned about Julia.
• She was tall (same as me) and had big feet (same size as me 12)
• She and her husband Paul never ended up having any kids although they tried for years.
• Julia moved to France after her and Paul were married since Paul worked for the US governent. He promoted the Us culture to the French. He worked all day and she learned the french language and to cook.
• Julia repeatedly recalled her first meal in Rouen of oysters, sole meunière, and fine wine as a culinary revelation. She described the experience once in The New York Times newspaper as "an opening up of the soul and spirit for me".
• Julia introduced French cuisine and cooking techniques to the American mainstream through her many cookbooks and television programs.
• She was quite funny and could win most people over.
• She and her friends would constantly talk about food and so they called themselves "foodies"
This book made me want to travel to France more than I already did. And I have made 4 french meals since reading it. :) 4 out of 5.


3. Rekindled by Tamera Alexander
I totally picked this book up at the library knowing nothing about it. My dad always used to read westerns (and still does) and I've been known to read a few of his in the past. But this was a love story too. Intriguing! It actually ended up being a christan love story. Which is nice that you don't have to worry about skipping over any nastiness. The main two characters, Kathryn and Larson are ranchers in the Colorado Territory who aren't fairing so well. They have never gotten the baby they so badly wanted, have had to sell more and more of their land since their livestock isn't doing so well. They have a empty marriage. Larson is in an accident while away from home and Kathryn doesn't know what has happened to him. After four months of cold winter she assumes he has died. She realizes how much different she should have treated her husband when he was home. It is a story of finding each other again and seeing what is the best in your spouse. And woven into that is references to the Bible and God's plan for each of us. It's not a typical book I would read, but I ended up quite enjoying it. I'll give it a 3 out of 5.

4. Mozart's Sister by Nancy Moser
I just finished this one tonight. Another total random library pick. It is a historical fiction based on letters that were written between members of the Mozart family. Wolfgang Mozart (who I am pretty sure you've all heard of!) had an older sister, Nannerl, who was also an amazing musician. They travel Europe doing concerts for quite a few years. Playing duets and solos. Nannerl did not have the same opportunities as Wolfgang (or Wolfie as she called him) because she was a woman. And women were not allowed to be paid performers.
This book tells, from Nannerl's perspective, about her growing up and life with (and without) Wolfgang. It is an easy read (i read it in 2 days) with lots of references to music and even talks a lot about what Europe was like back in this time period. I'd give it 3 out of 5.


As for my next books.... i've already started
Einstein Never Used Flash Cards and
Away from Her by Alice Murno.

What are you reading?

Monday Seven

1. Thankful that things went pretty good at a FREEZING cold wedding in Banff that I shot with my brother Sean. It was COLD. But fun.

2. Thankful for good books. Finished reading Julia Child's biography. And loved it. She was quite the lady. She was really tall (and actually had the same size feet as me...12). She and her hubby Paul were both in the Army and that's how they met. They got transferred to Paris when Paul was working for the American government and he was busy all day and that is where she fell in love with food. And decided to learn to cook it. She always wanted kids but they never ended up ever getting pregnant. Her famous book about French cooking took her over 15 years to write. And was first WAY longer.

3. Thankful that it was warmer today. Seriously too cold lately.

4. Thankful for the library. Love to get books and so do my kiddos.

5. Thankful for a healthy baby as seen in the ultrasound. I had my 20 week one and the lady couldn't see the spine fully so she wanted me to come back (annoying) but then Regan could come to the next one. So both kiddos came too. And in the waiting room Lucy kept saying, "well where is the ultrasound?" over and over. Then in the room she looked at the screen and says "I don't see a baby" Alden replies "it looks like a dragon." :) Lucy kept asking for the rest of the day where the ultrasound was. It was funny. She'd pronounce it like ULTRAsound. heehee

6. Thankful for the sweet deal on a little piano we got this weekend. It needs a bit of tune up. But so excited that we have it in our home. Regan plays and so do I. And since Alden has been in music classes for 2 years now, he is learning a lot. Now we can transfer that to the piano. So cool.

7. Thankful to be feeling a lot better lately. I am more forgetful (if that is possible!) but feeling less sick.

And here are two fav photos from the last posted shoot on my photo blog.

Motherhood Questions

My SIL Susie and my friend Alysha did this on their blogs and I thought they were cute. So here is my go too...

Typical time of wake-up:
um 800am... unless it's not a school day... then we all sleep in until 9 or 930 sometimes..... :) (I know I am spoiled!)

On a good night when you/kids go to sleep:
Alden: 8pm
Lucy: if she had a nap then 730-8, if she didn't have a nap 630-7


How long you have been a momma:
5 years, 3 months, and 21 days.

How many times have you been a new mom:
2 and soon to be 3.

How old were you when you became a mom (is this to personal?):
25

Favorite Kids show:
Veggie Tales!!!

Least Favorite Kids show:
So many to choose from...

Favorite chore:
lately I don't really have one... but I don't mind dishes. And vacuuming.


Least favorite chore:
Totally the bathroom. Especially since Alden got potty trained.

Meal you cook most often:
hmmm I try and rotate it quite a bit. But some of the ones we eat a lot are spaghetti, hawaiian haystacks, beef stroganoff, pancakes, roast chicken & fixings,

Kids favorite meal:
Alden: peanut butter sandwiches and sometimes he really likes macaroni
Lucy: hot dogs, meatballs, chicken nugets


5 things that make you smile when you are being a mom:
1.When Lucy repeats everything I say as a question. it cracks me up.
2.Alden and Lucy playing together. Nothing is better.
3.How Lucy whispers "love you mommy" when I lay her down at night.
4.Alden asking me to snuggle him
5.silly knock knock jokes

Favorite thing your husband does with your kids:
He uses different voices when reading books to the kids. You should hear his Mickey Mouse voice!

Last time you went out with no kids:
Today for my ultrasound.

If you could take your kids anywhere where would it be:
back to Nova Scotia for a visit

Favorite pastime/activity with kids:
crafts.

1 thing you said you would never do when you were a mom:
Kids would keep getting out of bed over and over after we've said good night.


If you had an afternoon to yourself what would you do?
nap and scrapbook and eat.

1 thing you do that your mom did & now you do:



Favorite quality of your own mom:
Her love is just bubbiling out of her. Everyone around her is smothered in it.

Favorite kids book:

Best advice for a new mom:
I never do ANY housework after my kids are in bed. If anything I would only do the dishes. I think night time is my time. And I started that after Alden was born and I stick to it. It gives me something I really need. My own time to do whatever I want.

Scariest or most heartbreaking moment as a mom:
Waking up after being moved to my room after delivering Lucy and Lucy wasn't there. After paging the nurse to ask where my brand new baby was, all she said was "Didn't anyone come to talk to you?" Which I was then in a panic. Then going down to the NICU and seeing her all tubed up and moniters. Unable to hold or touch her. Horrible experience.

Most joyful moment as a mom:
When they first lay that baby on your chest after they are born.

Last time your child told you they love you:
tonight when I put them to bed.

Last time you said I love you to your kid:
When I put the kiddos to bed tonight.

Love these two. Tons.
And everyday I hope I am doing right by them.



And as for the belly shot, I'll try and take on in the next few days. :)

Monday Seven

1. Thankful for the opportunity to scrapbook. And the supplies.
(My pages this past week from www.scraptivity.com February 2008 kit.)





2. Thankful for a wonderful man and leader who lived a good life and that a new leader and prophet is called to guide us.

3. Thankful to watch classic old good movies while spending time with Regan.

4. Thankful that grandma and grandpa are always willing to have us over and even watch our kids (plus extras sometimes).

5. Thankful for good books. Just finished this book.
(sorry the picture is all grainy...)
And i LOVED it. IT is the biography of Audrey Hepburn. Regan got it for me for Christmas. She is my favorite actress. Love her movies. And Love her even more now that I've read about what an incredible person she was!
I'm reading this one now.

I'm halfway thru it and it is just wonderful too. I really love reading biographies! After I'm done I'll give you some intersting tidbits about her. She was really quite the lady! And in honor of all of the French food I am reading about, I am cooking Poulet Poche Aux Aromates for dinner with Crepes Fines Sucrees for dessert. Hope the guests engoy it! :)

6. Thankful that my kids play and play and play. We've had a friend of Alden's sleeping over for 3 nights. It was adventerous but fun. And now that the kids are by themselves that have been in SERIOUS play mode. Both making up their own little stories and talking to themselves right now around me. It is so cute. Lucy acts out Dora stories she has read and Alden makes up complete mixes of stories, movies and new things to make stories.

7. Thankful for when Alden sits and lets me take his picture. Especially when I don't have to even bribe him. :)

A fun post

Heather has this on her blog and I thought I'd share my answers just for fun!


1. Name your two favorite scrapbooking topics:
alden and lucy

2. Where are the two best places you've been to?
PEI and Cape Breton

3. Name two things you do every day:
Eat and read stories

4. Tell us two things that pretty much everyone knows about you:
I like photography and i like to bake.

5. Tell us two things that everyone DOESN'T know about you:
I hate black licorice (just like Heather) and really cold weather.

6. Tell us two things that got you into the hobby of scrapping:
My mom and my love of writing, art and photography.

7. Tell us two things that you want to accomplish in the next six months:
Have a healthy baby with a good delivery and um... i don't know... maybe I need to make some plans. :)

8. Name your two favorite scrapping tools:
My computer and my exacto knife

9. Name your two favorite sources of scrapping inspiration:
Online sites and magazines

10. How has your scrapping changed since you started?
I play a lot more with it. I don't feel forced into making pages a certain way. I just do them however I want and that makes it more fun.

11. What scrapbooking project have you yet to try but would love to?
hmmmm I have all my pictures printed for making a mini album about our LA trip but I haven't done it yet... so that?

And here are a couple little scrapbook pages from a couple nights ago. :)

Pregnancy

I felt the baby move last week. At like 4 am. After I had been up for a while with Lucy who was having a BAD night. A whole week ago today cause it was last Saturday. It's always nice to feel those little fluttering feelings. :) I felt him/her move again last night while laying and trying to get to sleep. Makes it all the more exciting!

I always forget how hungry I get. Some days (kinda of like right now) I am hungry but I have run out of things to eat. It's a funny phenomenon. I have to keep eating all day to keep the pukies away (that rhymes) so after a while you get tired of eating.

Lucy and Alden are kind of getting the whole baby thing. Alden more than Lucy. She still can't figure out where in my body the baby is. Still always asks if the baby is in my chest. I'm sure the bigger my tummy gets, she won't be able to ignore where the baby is. :)

Names are a hot topic. Not only with Regan and me but with everyone else. I have lots of names I enjoy. All are older. I don't like spell them funny or make up names. Just good solid old fashioned names. Like Lucy. And Alden. (A lot of people don't know but Alden is actually an old name. You meet old men in nursing homes named it.) We'll see who wins out with this one. :) Regan picked Alden and I picked Lucy.

It is always funny to me people's comments about my body during pregnancy. I was a house with Alden. I gained 50 lbs. I got really big. And my legs went straight from my knees to my toes. So attractive! But with Lucy I had a cute little basketball belly.I gained under 25 pounds.
And with both pregnancies people said differing things.
"Oh you're looking small"
"You can't be that far along, where is your belly"
And there are always those kind people who tell you the opposite.
"When are you due??" (Like you can't possibly make it another month being THAT LARGE. :)
Already this pregnancy I have heard both. That I am "punchy" already and others that "you can't tell at all". It just goes to show that it's all in the eye of the beholder. And that as long as your husband tells you you look beautiful at the end of the day WHO cares what those other people say :)

mothering is...

i think there are times when you are so full of love for your kids,
so aware that you are doing okay
and the right thing
that it is bursting out of you.

childbirth.
the first moment they place that baby in your arms.
when your five year old asks for a blessing, on his own, because he is sick.
the first time your daughter tells you she loves you, on her own.
watching your children play together lovingly and enjoy it.
seeing your child sing with his primary class.
the snuggles and cuddles before nap time.
there are lots of those moments.
soul-filling,
all most unexplainable moments.


but some days there are those other moments.
when you can't help but think that you
are the worst mother that ever lived on the earth.
no one can possibly be doing a worse job than you.
when your daughter screams "i don't like mommy, i want daddy" in her crib for 30 minutes.
or you carry your children out of the mall screaming, one in each arm.
some days it seems that they are lots of those moments too.


so it comes down to,
what do you do?
how do you make those unhappy moments,
where you're feeling so at your wits end
that tears or laughter is all you can do,
okay?
do you cry?
do you laugh?

sometimes both.
sometimes neither.

how do you make those soul filling moments carry you over?

it is hard to understand how mothering is
really you can't until you have kids.
i've said that before.

some days are hard.
some days are easy.
i don't know what the best thing to do.
the thing i try to do is remember those soul-filling,
all most unexplainable moments.

remember them and hold onto them.
and if they aren't helping,
there is always chocolate.
:)

I'd love to....

Are there things you always dream about doing?
One of the things I am always interested in is learning stuff.
I am sure that comes from my momma.
She dropped out of high school to marry my dad.
Then went back to school, after having 7 kids, finished high school and went on to university to become a teacher.
But besides that learning, the lady knows how to do everything.
Carpentry.
Baking.
Cake Decorating.
Quilting.
Cooking all types of ethnic foods and regular everyday food.
Painting
Photography (like real dark room developing)
Bookkeeping.
Sculpture.
Woodworking.
Dry walling.
Plumbing.
Seriously it's almost overwhelming the stuff she knows how to do.
She's trained to be a fitness trainer.
Really anything.

She's taught me a lot of stuff.
But mostly she's taught me that you can always learn to do more.
There are lots of things I'd love to do. Lots include learning. Some don't.
But here is my current list of things I'd love to do.


1. Attend a photography workshop. Like this one here or take this class or this one would RULE or another similar.

2. Take a french cooking class. That would be so cool.

3. Take a foreign language class. Like French or Spanish.

4. Travel Europe. There are so many cool things to see there and learn about history and art. I've wanted to see this Mueseum since I was younger. I want to see the Mona Lisa. One day.

5. Take another quilting or sewing class. I did one in Nova Scotia and it was totally cool. And I learned lots about my machine. I'd probably be better if I took a sewing one so I could finally learn how to follow the directions on clothing patterns. Those things might as well be in another language.

6. Attending this would be totally cool.

How about you? Anything you'd love to learn?
Are you finding ways to expand your mind already?

Saturday Seven

1. Thankful that I could go visit and spend a while with friend Heather yesterday. It was so great to spend time with her and her cutie pie little girl. Got to visit another friend after that too, Sarah. So I was lucky to have good women around me all day. (Heather added a picture here of our visit.

2. Thankful this week to be starting to feel better. I am down to one dicletin pill a day. :) That is GREAT.

3. Thankful for good movies. Watched Stardust this week. And really enjoyed it. It's hard to find clean, good movies. And this is one. Check it out if you haven't seen it yet! (Other good movies we've seen lately are August Rush and The Ultimate Gift (this one is a little cheesy, but good.)

4. Thankful that Regan is working so hard in Medical School. Sometimes I realize all that stuff he has to learn in such a short amount of time. It is overwhelming to me and I'm not in med school. Thankful that he is a hard worker.

5. Thankful that I have scrapbook supplies. We aren't really in the stage of life where I can spend money on things like scrapbook supplies. But I love doing it A LOT. And I have been given some from friends (like Heather and Connie and Crystal and Mary and others) Such kindness. And I have been designing with Scraptivity for 3 years now (wow that's quite a while eh?) and now I get to design for Tin Box stamps so I get stuff for free. Which REALLY cuts down on the price for me. It works out well and I have been lucky enough to be able to do all this without putting us into the poor house (or at least more than we already are. :) ) Makes me very much want when we have an income to be as generous to others as so many ladies have been to me!

6. Thankful for a good day with Lucy. (She's hitting the tantrum stage... which is NOT fun.) And that she slept for 14 hours in a row last night. Hello. Wowzers eh??

7. Thankful that my kids go to ORFF . It is SO cool that Alden is learning to read music. And Lucy just loves it too. I'd recommend it to ANYONE!!!!

Scrap, Scrap, Scrap

Some pages as of late.
A lot of these are for Tin Box Creation Stamps.

On this one, I used Lower Impact Alphabet for the title and the Block This set for that journaling block.


Used Tin Box Lower Impact Stamp set and the Doodle Stitch set (both of which ROCK!).
This was made for an inspiration challenge...

from this piece of art....


This was using the Tropical Punch stamp set....


And so was this one...


And this was a digi page I made from the Jan sketch from scraptivity.
I made everything on it, except a few brushes that I used.

Some photos to share

I thought I'd share some of the photos we took while were in Waterton for our pre-christmas trip. It was beautiful. And it snowed a lot the second night we were there. Which added to the beauty!!!
And if it looks Regan is standing out in the middle of nowhere... he is. HE is actually standing at the edge of Cameron Lake.

Today

Well thanks for all the well wishes!
We are quite excited.

This morning I had a drs appointment.
Which I took Lucy too.
And it was fine. (Alden was in school.)
And to make sure of my dates, they asked if I could go to an ultrasound today at 3pm. So I said sure.

I went and I had both my kids with me.
The receptionist lady looks at me and says "don't you have anyone to watch your kids?"
I said "can't they just come with me?"
(I've had my fair share of ultrasounds... i lie there, they squirt warm blue gel on my tummy and poke a monitor thing into my tummy until my bladder is going to explode, while we sit and watch a computer screen... nothing a kid can't see..)

She stares at me like I am the BIGGEST idiot she has ever seen.
Says nothing.... just keeps staring.
Her: "How old are your kids?"
ME: "two and five"
Stares at me.
Says: "well did you actually drink the water?"
me: "Yes." (Obviously... i can READ and follow instructions)
Her: "We might have to rebook your appointment"
Stares at me.
Her: "Do you have your alberta health care card?"
Me: "Yes, it's right here"
Her: "Fine, take a seat"

So they give my kids some coloring books and tell them to sit behind the desk with them while I get my appointment. I explained it to the kiddos and they are fine.

When I come out, Lucy is crying and holding on to Alden.

None of the three ladies standing beside her are even looking at her or trying to see if they could console her. They are chit chatting about music and the recptionist's new tatoo.

So I try to set up my next appointment she says to me.
"So try and find someone to watch your kids."
Really? Don't you think I figured that out by then?

I'm not saying kids are perfect. Far from it.
But they are good at sitting there beside me.
And no where on the paper from the dr does it say ANYTHING about not bringing kids.

The kicker was after the lady was so rude to me, they had a sign that said something about how unkind words will not be tolerated.
Apparently that only applies to the patients.


Good news after all that.... I am actually at 15 weeks and 1 day.
So further along that we thought. :)

three things

1. We are back from the funeral. It was emotional for me. Not because of Grandma. She was in such bad health. It was a relief for her to go. And she will be MUCH happier where she is now. But that we were burying her next to my little sister. She died in 2000 and it still gets to me. I have only visited the grave yard twice in the 8 years since her death. Still don't like to be there. Just reminds me of the loss. Some people like to remember their lost loves ones in grave yards. Not me. I'd rather think of her life. Of good memories. Not of loss. And on friday i was standing knee deep in sad reminders.

2. On a much happier note, It was interesting being at someone else's house for Christmas this year in particular. Since I am pregnant and just at the three month mark, I was sick not at home. With lots of people around all the time. Made Christmas a little different for me. (i'm due in july) And yes, we are quite excited. The kids have differing things to say about the coming baby. Lucy now says she also has a baby in her tummy too. And whenever I am holding her she puts her hands on my chest and says "Babies in here?" (always awkward!) Where as Alden only wants twin brothers. (No idea where he learned what twins were....)

3. Got some new pictures of my brother and sil and their kiddos on my photo blog. Just love them. (I mean the family.)

Happy New Year!!

Well, we are back from a great Christmas holidays.
It was packed busy with family things.
Some highlights.

1. Making a long all day craft with my sister inlaws and mother in law (and a girlfriend too) that turned out super duper cute. I made sure all of them gone theirs done (since I will for sure finish mine. :) ) So as soon as I finish mine I will post a picture of it. :)

2. A full day of Davis fun. A new annual tradition. We did sledding, bowling and then swimming. We do it the last Saturday before Christmas. And I just love it. My kids love it.

3. The night of the 23rd (Sunday night) we all got together at my mom and dad's house and acted out the nativity and opened presents from each other. My parents have a three bedroom house. And we had 2 great grandmas, one grandma and grandpa, six husband and wive couples (12) and 15 grandkids ranging in age from 11 years to 9 months. It was mayhem to say the least! Lucy was supposed to be Mary but she was over tired and not into dressing up with a towel on her head. She threw it on the floor and yelled "I hate Mary. I don't wanna be Mary." (Consequently a cousin stepped in the be Mary.) The shepherds lost interest after about page one (there were six pages of acting to do) and one little shepherd just wanted to keep dumping baby Jesus out of the Manger. :) It was crazy and oh so funny.

4. For Regan for Christmas, my gift was that me and him went and stayed in Waterton (sans kiddos) for two nights before Christmas. We went cross country skiing and ate and a nice restaurant and watched some tv and movies. It was super duper fun. (And I am super duper out of shape!) :)

It is good to be home for a few days. We have to go back down south for a funeral as my grandma passed away on the 30th. Hope you had a good holidays and got lots of good time with loved ones!