20 weeks

Sounds like a long time right? Well this first 20 weeks seems to have flown by. I had an appointment with the doctor and they did an ultrasound. Since I have changed doctors with this pregnancy things are sort of new to me. I wasn't expecting for them to have a huge flat screen TV for me to watch the ultrasound on. That was way cool. Then for the first time ever in one of my pregnancies....I have 3D pictures to share! I also was given a DVD with some video footage of the appointment, but that wasn't too spectactular. I showed it to Gabe and he said "really? next time just tell them to skip that part". I have been feeling really great other than being tired. I don't know if I was this tired with any of the others, but I must say that I have been managing quite well considering I have 7 other children to take care of, not to mention the house, the husband and other activities as we chose. I think that the thing I was most amazed about with this ultrasound, is the growth of the baby. I guess I just forget how quickly they do grow. This time when I saw the image of the baby, I thought, "yes, this is a baby!" It looks just like any baby would, just in mini. I did have one favorite picture that I will share:

This is a great profile of the baby with his/her hands right up by their face. So now, I am half way there!

Our latest news

Yes, we are expecting! We are excited to be working on baby #8. I am due in November. We don't know, and will NOT find out what we are having....feel free to take bets and make wagers on it. We currently have 4 girls and 3 boys. We would love for another boy to join our family, but we will take whatever we can get.

1st Haircut!

Okay, so we aren't the professionals, but we still did it....I guess I shouldn't say we, Gabe did it! James has been looking really shaggy lately. I have been wanting to cut his hair, only because it was starting to look like I had 5 girls. I could have easily put a pretty (barrette) in his hair and been great. But he is a boy, and as such he should look like one. Even though a first hair cut typically (at my house at least) means that they really aren't a baby anymore. So we broke down and did it last night. Gabe was awesome at working fast to get this wiggly little man his boy cut. As you can see from the before pictures....it was pretty bad.

This was during the cut. His bangs were so long that he would always have some sort of left-over food there.

This is the after. It is kind of hard to tell from this picture that he got it cut as it just looks like we styled it. I am going to try and get a better after picture. But he does look much better!

I did save some of his locks and Gabe asked me what I was doing. He asked if I was saving it so that they could DNA test and regrow a new James (or something to that effect). I told him no, but I saved some all the same to put in his baby book....whenever that happens too.

My 7 Dwarves

For Halloween this year, I decided that I was tired of having to buy costumes for the kids. I had plenty in the box, but I wanted to do things a little different. I came to the realization that we could do a themed Halloween. So I approached the kids about becoming the 7 Dwarves....I was suprised that they agreed. So I thought about it and decided that I would make their hats out of their favorite color. Then we would go simple (mostly in an effort to save a little money). I put their dwarf name on a shirt that they would wear with their hat. So here are my Dwarfs together for the first and last time on Halloween. We went to our ward trunk-or-treat party and once we got there, I don't think that I saw any of my children, other than Katherine and James, the rest of the night.

Family Reunion

Every year in Byron there is an event that can only be called chaotic. And the only reason that it can be called that is because it is a meeting of sometimes complete strangers that are also related. It all stems from one man, his wife and their children. But over the years it has grown to include the spouses of those children, their children and now spouses of those children and their children....you get the idea. So you attend this reunion and you don't know half the people because they are only related to you through either marriage into this family or because they are the son/daughter of one of the original husband and wife's other children. Yes, it sounds confusing and truly it is confusing while you there trying to comprehend how exactly you might be related to this person you are talking about.
But we still had fun. We left our house and thought that we would give the children a treat. We bought dougnuts from the store as we were leaving. After handing them out I turned around and see Jacob with chocolate all over his face because he just had to have a chocolate one. Luckily I was thinking ahead enough to not give Katherine one, or we would have seen the same thing. I just thought it was cute as the both were chowing down on their doughnuts. It was really a treat for them as we don't get doughnuts very often.






While we were at the park, it started to get chilly. Luckily I had remembered that Wyoming weather isn't very predictable and put jackets for everyone in the car. Katherine looked so cute just standing by these flowers. The funny thing was just before I snapped this picture I called her name. She turned saw me with the camera and grinned behind her binki, just adorable.
Other members of the family were there with their cameras and were taking LOTS of pictures. One lady had a printer with her. She was kind enough to print a couple extra pictures of my children that she had taken.





This first one is of Amanda and her second cousin, Shayla. Shayla is actually Gabe's cousin, but because of the ages she seems more like Amanda's cousin.



















This other picture is of Bethany and Mariah as we first arrived at the park where the reunion was held. They are always running around holding hands like this and it is very typical. I really like this picture although it makes me sad in some ways with respect to Bethany being the older of the two, but looking like the younger sister. From this photo you can see why I get a lot of questions as to whether these girls are twins.










Overall we had a wonderful time. We enjoyed seeing and being with others in our family, albeit very extended. And it gave us a break from our normal routine.

Way to go team!

Tonight Wyatt had another baseball game. We were thrilled at the end result this time. WE WON!!! This is their first win and it is exciting. For their third game a 5-2 win is great. It seems like things are starting to come together. They are batting better, they are throwing better and especially making the plays. They are no longer struggling when it comes to where to throw the ball. They know that they throw to first and after that then listen to the coach. I think as the season progresses we will see more and more progression in their abilities, but for now we are just excited for our first win. Way to go Cubs!!!

Our Portfolio Party

Wyatt and Bethany's school has started doing something that I really like, although some might find it really cheesy. They have found a way to celebrate the children's writing by hosting a porfolio party. They invite parents and other significant adults to the school and then the children read and share their writing with them. The school's goal is to have every child have an adult to read to. This year was a little harder for me, simply because I have 2 children in the school and I am only one person. Thankfully the school gives you some time to plan and I was able to call in some back up---Mindy. We love having Mindy closer to us and for her to be able to drop what she was doing and come spend some time listening to my children read their masterpieces. I was planning on her to just be there for one child (Wyatt chose her), but we did get to switch and I was able to look at both Wyatt's and Bethany's things that they had to share.

The unique thing that Wyatt's teacher did was to have the children's writing stored in a pizza box. Each child had their own pizza box that they had decorated and then put their stuff into. I wish that I would have gotten a picture, but didn't of course, of all the pizza boxes stacked at the front of the room after they were all finished.

Bethany's class had just plain folders that they decorated with their names and anyother way that they wanted to. I am amazed at the talented writers that live in my home. I, of course, am a little biased as I am their mother, but it is the truth. Bethany had a page where she was talking about our excursion. I guess what amazed me about that, wasn't the sentence itself, but the spelling that she was doing. She had spelled excursion, so closely that you could tell what she meant. Then she had a sentence that she talked about her "Bear bones" (the dog). I am so proud of both of the children.

They even got a certificate that celebrated their writing skills. Way to Go!!! Good job Bethany and Wyatt!! Now if you want to help, I think that they are going to be doing this next year too, and I will really have a problem then, as I jump to 3 children in the school----volunteers are welcome.

Spring Break 2009

Well, this past week has been what one would consider Spring Break from an undesirable place. When most of us think spring break we think sun, fun and going places. This year, we haven't gone many places at all. As a matter of fact, we stayed home most of the week. Unfortunately for us, the weather and the kids' health were factors in that. We have had a few more snow storms and rain too. As for the kids 5 of the 6 were coughing and had runny noses so we didn't go anywhere until that cleared up. Fortunately that happened in enough time go to Cody to be with Gina and her family for the celebration on Megan's first birthday. She did a wonderful job on her posts there, so check out her blog and see some great pics. So we were able to get away for a few days to see the family. I also took the kids to story time at the library. Usually they don't do the story time during school breaks like this, but this year they did. It was a treat for me, because I had all of the children there and got some pictures of the older ones helping sing the alligator song. (5 little monkeys swinging in the tree......).

Other highlights for the week: they got to have a slumber party in Grandma Sherry's living room, the birth of the new calf "Hershey", Easter egg hunting at Grandma's and coloring Easter eggs too. All in all the week was a good one. I am glad that the kids start back to school as I was running out of ideas to keep them busy inside because of them being sick. But now everyone is healthy and ready for school tomorrow.

The baby's name is....

The previous post is about a baby calf that was recently born close to our house. We now have a name for the newest addition to our animal family. His name is "Hershey". The way that that happens is that "Granny" Gard gets to name all the animals. So we had to wait a couple of days for her to come and see the newest one and give him his name. I personally think it is quite appropriate because he is a really dark chocolate brown......like a hershey's kiss, hence the name Hershey. Since that first day we haven't been over to see him again, because it has been raining and so therefore it is muddy and mucky where he is. And for some reason I really like living in the country but I am not a big fan of the mud.

More Hawk Pictures

Sometimes it is nice to have someone else experiencing the same things and taking pictures, they get a whole different angle. Thanks Kelli, because I borrowed these two pictures of the hawk incident from you. She got a better picture of the hawk in the coop and then one that I really like, Wyatt taking pictures.

What a day.

So we decided to start out our new year by going to the mountain and go snowmachining......that went off really well. Actually I am pleased with how the day did turn out, but the kids were a little disappointed that they weren't able to do much machining. So here is the story.
We were going to get up early and leave, but as we were just tired, we slept in a bit. Instead of leaving at 7, we left at 9. As we were leaving it was a beautiful day here, and I was hesitant that there would be any snow on the mountain. We were about half way to Dubios when the car ahead of us looked to have a bunch of snow fall off of it (picture what snow looks like falling off a car while it is driving 65 + and apply that picture here). As we got closer to them, they had pulled off the highway and true to Gabe's style we stopped to see what we could do. The car had actually overheated and so we were in rescue mode. Gabe did what he could with no antifreeze and tons of water. Then he told the family that we would follow them until they got to Dubios so in case something else happened they weren't stranded. They weren't able to go far before it was again overheating. Another stop to see if there was something more that we could do, and then continue on following them. After several stops they decided that it wasn't worth it to go on, gave us some numbers to call and asked us to call when we got service (cell phones are great when there is service, but we were in an area where there wasn't any.) So we drove farther on until we reached a point that we were able to get service and placed a call. Then we turned around and drove back to where they were and told them that their help was coming but it would be about an hour or so (they were also headed snowmachining and had 2 machines that they needed help with). Then we turned back to Dubios and headed on. When we got to Dubios it had started to snow and blow and the road said that there was to be no unneccesary travel ahead. We went just a bit farther to our friend's cabin. After looking around we decided that we would ride a bit, but not much because we didn't want to be caught in the storm and get stuck on the mountain. We unloaded one of our machines and while Gabe took the kids for a ride, I got the next one ready with their snowgear while sitting in the Excursion. The kids all got a ride, I got one too and then we loaded up and headed for home. On the way home we drove by a place called Diversion Dam----seeing as how none of us had been there before we decided to stop and take a look. This is actually a place where they divert the water from the river into a canal and send it on to Riverton. It was pretty cool seeing all the mechanisms that they used to make the water run where they wanted it to. We walked down to the riverside and onto the ice to see if we could get a better look. Gabe took the camera and made me about die, because he was able to walk right up to the dam on the ice and got some pictures. If I would have had the camera I would have taken some of him climbing over some of the cement outcroppings and such.
I know that the kids weren't happy about how long they got to ride the machine, but I am hoping that the lesson was learned that we need to stop and help our fellowmen, even when it causes problems with our plans. I am sure that if we would have kept on driving we wouldn't have got there in the middle of the snow storm, but at what cost to that other family? How long would they have had to wait for help? Would they have even gotten to play with their machines? Although we knew this family by association (the father's brother is a member of the church in one of the other wards, and Amanda knows the daughter), that doesn't mean that we stopped just for that----we actually didn't know until after we stopped. I hope that we can all do a good deed and not for the glory that comes from doing that deed. I am not telling this story to get pats on the back for doing it, I am telling in hopes that we can all learn a lesson about ourselves. Ask yourself what you would have done....

My reflections

As I have looked back on our year, in pictures, I have come to find that the things that I have taken pictures of are those "stop and smell the roses" kinds of things. Having children has made me realize a few things about myself..the first being if I am to be giving away some food item, I hesitate to let the children help because I want it to be perfect. Another is that sometimes I say "no" to them, just because it is going to make a mess or I don't feel like doing that today. But I have to remember that they aren't going to be children for much longer, they are going to grow up and not want to blow bubbles in the freezing cold or point out the amazing sunset that you have been too busy to see. So my list of things I want to remember for this year are those that have made me focus more on someone else and those "stop and smell the roses" moments.
1. Cutting 10 inches of hair for Locks of Love. This Feb after a couple of months fighting with the new baby and long hair, I cut off 10 inches and donated it to Locks of Love. I will never know who got my hair, but knowing that because I CAN grow it, someone else can have hair too.
2. Bubble blowing at Grandma's at Easter. For Easter, Mindy gave the kids some bubbles. I wasn't too excited about going outside to blow them, because it was freezing cold, but I did. I have a wonderful picture of Jacob laughing as he tries to catch all the bubbles. It didn't kill me to go blow bubbles, but I did create a wonderful memory.....and the kids had a great time.
3. Paper throwing. I have a great staircase that lends itself to having things thrown off the top. At the top it is like a balcony to the entry way. The kids had found a carton of notepapers and were throwing them off the balcony to the floor below. Then they would race down the stairs, pick up the paper and run back to do it all over again. Normally I wouldn't have allowed this, but it was paper, and the kids were willing to pick it up at the end of the session---so watch the ticker tape parade.
4. Planting grass---we finally planted a lawn this year, it took a lot of work, but the end result is wonderful to enjoy, and we were blessed because just after we planted, Heavenly Father took over the watering duties, we didn't have to water for about 2 weeks.
5. Our motor home. I really didn't want to buy it, but Gabe convinced me that we would enjoy it, and we did. We took it to Jeff and Becky's wedding and the kids had a ball running up and down while Gabe was driving. We took it to Lander and went camping---one of the kids' favorite things this year.
6. Flower garden. After the lawn came in nice, we planted the flowers. With a little elbow grease and lots of care on my part they FINALLY bloomed and we enjoyed the colors.
7. New Excursion. See my post on that one, point to Gabe for a bigger family.
8. Sunset in Lander. Thanks to Wyatt I enjoyed a wonderful sunset that I might have missed trying to take care of the other family things.
9. Rainbows over the neigbors house. After one rainstorm I noticed that there was not one, but two rainbows over the neighbor's house, and then looking down the street, I found there were 2 more over those houses too!!
10. This one I don't think my dad knows I took . While in Sinks Canyon this year, I found him "resting" on the rocks. I think he was aware of all the kids around him, but he wasn't.

Katherine

Katherine's top ten list that she won't ever remember, so this one is more for me:
1. Sitting up
2. Rolling over
3. Crawling.
4. Walking
5. 1st Birthday
6. Eye surgery
7. 1st teeth
8. 1st words, both spoken and signed
9. Camping for the 1st time
10. 1st hair cut.

As you can see hers is full of first, because this was her first year. We loving having her and now you need to ask her if she is cute. Lately she has been nodding yes, or shaking her head no. So start asking her questions, and see what response you get.

Jacob

1. Haircut by himself.....gave me fits over that one.
2. 2nd birthday....he is getting to be a big boy.
3. Dancing at the 4th of July parade. He loved the parade this year. Every time a band or someone playing music would go by, he would turn to me and tell me that they were practicing and then start dancing and swaying to the music.
4. Swing set---need I say more.
5. Camping in Lander---again what more can I say.
6. Preschool with Amanda. Amanda is taking Home Ec and they were doing a preschool, she invited us. I took Katherine and Jacob and they had fun doing the activities that the kids had planned for them.
7. 1st snow without the older kids.
8. Independence Rock---he some how ended up on Grandpa Lyle's shoulders and loved that (got the picture to prove it)
9. Bunnies on the lawn. Jacob loves to look out the back door and check for bunnies. Living so close to the barn and the horses we get lots of livestock on our lawn. Jacob loves to look for them.
10. Sleeping with Wyatt---see Wyatt's posting on this one.

Jacob has been our miracle boy. We are enjoying having him here, and knowing that he is completely healthy and as normal as can be. He is loving nursery at church and is VERY independent. If something isn't done the way that he wants it, he will throw a fit until it is done his way.....this makes it hard because he doesn't always tell you the way he wants it until you are done doing it the way you think it should be done. He loves his little sister, but I think he loves the binkis there more. (that is a story by itself.) He is a very loving little boy and I am hoping that he continues to be that way for a while.

Mariah

Top Ten things that Mariah wants (and mom too) to remember:
1. Potty Trained----finally after lots of battles and lots of laundry, Mariah is trained. The key for her was telling her about school and that she wouldn't be able to go unless she was trained. Then sticking to that.
2. Starting preschool. Thank you to the Headstart program and calling me about my 4 yr old. They have been wonderful for Mariah and helping me get her going down the right road.
3. Her Birthday. She had a whirl wind weekend that week. She had her birthday, the next day had shots at the doctor's for school and then the next started school. Whew.
4. She too loved the wedding dresses (thanks Becky for that).
5. Camping in Lander. The whole family enjoyed that and hopefully we can work in a camping trip this summer.
6. Amanda's Make-up. For Amanda's 13th birthday she got some makeup and Mariah decided to try it out. Got some cute pictures there too.
7. 1st Snow without the older kids there. Mariah and Jacob managed to be outside for a matter of moments (not long enough for the effort it took to get them dressed up for it).
8. Independence Rock. She liked the fact that she could go all the way to the top and explore (as long as someone was right there with her).
9. Swing Set. What more can I say.
10. Laying with Daddy......see Bethany's post for the story there.

Mariah is loving school and I am hoping that she will be ready for Kindergarten next year, otherwise I am at a loss what to do with her (Bethany's teacher is encouraging me to make her wait as her birthday is really close to the cut off date--the rest is a whole other story). She is a sweet child and really eager to please. We are thankful for her spirit in our home. She is our lover---she loves everyone in the family.

Bethany

Top Ten for Bethany (again, not in any particular order):
1. Trip to Denver. She just loved being there with us, she loved getting a new teddy bear from Grandma Sherry before we left, and then at the hospital they gave her another one. She thought staying in a motel was pretty cool too.
2. Starting School--she started Kindergarten this year and for never having any formal school in her life, she has done pretty good. There haven't been many days where she hasn't wanted to go.
3. Birthday. I think that she thinks that the only place to have her birthday is at Grandma Sherry's. We went to Cody for July 4th and since her birthday is the 5th, we just had a party there for her.
4. Wedding dresses--this was the first time that my girls all had the same dresses, and Bethany loved it. Hers was a little longer than it should have been, but she figured out how to pick it up just right so that she wouldn't step on it.
5. Kindergarten round up---this is where the school invites all the incoming kindgergarteners to come to the school and meet their teachers and see the school and such before the year even starts (actually it is in May before they start). Our district also gives each student a box to welcome them to school with a few neat school supplies and some activities for over the summer. It was all I could do to keep her away from that box. Then she got another one when she went for a screening in August.
6. Camping in Lander. She just had fun hanging out with everyone. She loved going to Lander's park too and playing on the swings.
7. Homecoming Parade. She looked so little sitting there with her class, but she was having a ball. Someone painted a paw print on her forhead, and she was really proud of that.
8. Independence Rock---she thought it was sooo cool to be able to climb clear to the top by herself. I was a little worried, but she managed. Thank goodness there were lots of adults to help supervise my crew.
9. Swing set. Thanks again Mom for that, all the kids have enjoyed it.
10. Laying with Daddy in Thermopolis. After our trip to Cody for the 4th we stopped in Thermopolis thinking that we would go swimming for Bethany's birthday. After seeing the crowds we decided not to, but walked around the park that they have there. Above the pools they have a wooden walkway and paths that you can take around some pools of hot water. We walked around and around there and when we got back to the motor home, Gabe crashed on the lawn in the shade, and Bethany and Mariah, and then Jacob all layed down just like daddy. (got a really cute picture of that.

Bethany has been a joy to have in our family. She is a ball of fire, but a sweet girl. I hope that she continues to know that we love her just the way she is. She keep us on our toes. She might be little, but she has a huge heart, spirit and personality.

Amanda

So here we go. Amanda's top ten list of things that she would like to remember about 2008. (I don't think that they are in any particular order other than maybe when they occurred in the year).
1. Amanda had her first piano recital this year, did a wonderful job and continues to progress. Way to go Amanda!
2. Marching Band--she has been in band for 2 yrs now playing the clarinet(the first months were the hardest on me) but this year they were able to march in the Homecoming Parade.
3. Birthday--of course this one would be on anyone's list, but for her it marks the yrs of teenagedom, this yr was number 13.
4. Our Family Reunion in Lander---we took our new motor home and went camping for the week seeing the sights around the area---she mentions Martin's Cove(she got to pull a handcart), Independence Rock, and Sinks Canyon.
5. Band Concerts---she has really blossomed through band and playing in the concerts (it helps that they have an awesome teacher too).
6. She got a hair cut in May that looked really cute and she really liked.
7. Memorial Day--we went to Greybull to see Gabe's Grandmother and also went to the cemetary there and here (I took pictures of the headstones for our geneology.)
8. July 4th---always a favorite holiday, made even better by spending it in Cody with Grandma Sherry and Grandpa Lyle going to the parade and having a BBQ.
9. Swing Set---I am not sure why she would mention this as she is almost too big to play on it, but maybe it has been the time that she has spent with the other kids and helping to put it together.....Thanks Grandma Sherry!
10. Jeff and Becky's Wedding----Becky had gotten dresses for all the girls and ties for the boys and made all the little kids feel special. Amanda liked it because she was in the actual wedding party, on top of feeling and looking like a princess in her dress.
Now those were hers, but I am adding one or two that she doesn't want to mention---
1A. Braces---she was finally able to lose all her baby teeth this year, some by force, to get her braces on for good. If she does what she is supposed to by the time she is 15 she won't have them anymore----just in time for dating (oh joy).
Just to round it all off Amanda has been growing into a young lady, she is in the 7th grade and doing quite well. We are proud of her accomplishments and look forward to seeing what she will become. I am not looking forward to the time ahead when she stops wanting to be so helpful with the other children.

Denver-revisited

Okay, so I posted a while back about our trip to Denver and how much I hated the traffic, but never told about our reason for making that trip. The reason was I wasn't sure of the outcome. But after last night I know the outcome and it doesn't change the status at our house one bit. You will have to bear with me as I have to tell it from the beginning, so I have to go back to July. In July, Bethany turned 5 and I took her in for a well-child check and so that she could get her shots to be able to go to school in a couple of months. At that visit it was discovered that she hadn't really grown much since last year (height or weight). So her doctor recommended that we have a weight check in three months and see what happens. She really wanted her to gain about 3 pounds in that time and told me to load on the food. Actually what she said was to load the calories....instead of giving Beth a plain piece of bread, put peanut butter on it type of things. So we went home and didn't really change her diet, becuase she is a good eater and we were doing those kinds of things anyway. So 3 months passed and I took her in Sept for the weight check. She had only gained 1/2 a pound. So the doctor asked for us to run some tests to see if there was something medically wrong with her, specifically looking at her thyroid, but also doing a bone age test. So I took her to the hospital where they drew blood for the tests and did the x-ray for the bone age test and went home to wait. The doctor called and told me that the blood tests looked fine, that her thyroid was working great ect, but the bone age test was the one they were concerned about. They told me that her bones looked like that of a 3 yr old (remember that she is 5), and this is indicitive of a growth hormone deficiency. So they recommended that we see an endocrinologist in Denver and check things out with him. I left that conversation feeling like she had a diagnosis and that we were just headed to Denver to confirm and get the proper treatment. When we get to Denver the doctor tells us that it isn't sure that she has a growth hormone deficiency, they will run more tests and that she may have Turner Syndrome have a nice day and we will call you with the results. (That is almost as fast as they did that too). So we come home wondering what Turner Syndrome is, what does that mean for Bethany and for me really stressing about what I am supposed to do now. I will admit that the internet is a great source for information, but can be bad when you are unsure if you really have that condition. Try it, look up what Turner Syndrome is and then put yourself into my shoes. We waited the time frame that they gave us before they should know the results, and still no call. The doctor had given me an email address, so I emailed her to ask about it....only to discover that they hadn't run all the tests that they needed to, and we had to have MORE blood drawn. Fortunately they could do it here at the local hospital and we wouldn't have to drive to Denver again. So they drew the blood and we waited some more. And finally last night, she called and gave us the results. Bethany does NOT have Turner Syndrome nor does she have a growth hormone deficiency. Essentially she is a perfectly healthy 5 yr old girl, just tiny for her age. So now what.....we are going to continue to monitor her with the specialist, but won't have to go to Denver, only to Casper as they do clinics every 3 months there. There may come a time where we might have to do more testing, but for now it is just a wait and watch her growth. It is hard as a parent to know that your child isn't growing normally (they told me that in Denver) but I know that she is perfect for her size (they told me that too). These past months have caused me to reflect on my actions during her pregnancy and after to wonder, could I have done something different?, but in my heart know that she is perfect and nothing is wrong with her, other than she got the raw end of the genetic battle and got Gabe's short side and mine too, and is therefore going to be really short. But for any and all who have met Bethany, you can astest that this little girl is little in body only.....she has personality and spirit that people twice her size don't have. I am so thankful that the tests right now have fallen in our favor, but still pray that she will be the child that she was meant to be.

Birthday and concert

We have had a busy week with Katherine's birthday and Wyatt music concert falling on the same day. We decided to have cake and ice cream today for the birthday as the concert was a must do and we didn't think we could do both. Wyatt did a really nice job at his concert. They sang all patriotic songs and it was fun. He didn't have a special part this year, although he did help the music teacher in moving the microphone. He was excited as his grandparents were able to come and see him. (Thanks for coming and we hope to see you soon)
We had a fun time celebrating for Katherine and she looked like she REALLY enjoyed her cake (see the picture). As per being a year old she wanted to play with the packages more than her toys. And as for having older siblings she didn't get to play with her toys much the first little bit. We had a good turn out and don't have much cake left, YEA (for some reason I don't like left over cake). Thanks to all who made it over--we had a nice time.

Trunk or Treat

This years winner. And the whole gang.

Last years winner.

Every year for the longest time (actually about 13 yrs now) our ward and/or wards has hosted a Trunk or Treat party for the kids on Halloween. I love it because it gives my kids a chance to go trick or treating without the worry and hastle of actually going trick or treating. They have games for the kids to play along with dinner and a costume contest. Then after it gets dark, we retire to the parking lot and pass out candy from the trunks of our cars to all the kids. They tend to get a lot of candy and it is fun for them to do it. This year was no different. At the appointed hour our family appeared, had the dinner and then they judged the costumes. We had a winner for the 2nd year in a row for our family. The funny thing was it was the same costume that won last year, just a different person wearing it. Mariah won for her LadyBug costume. We had a fun and safe Halloween.