Because I have not loaded any pics of MY kids on my computer....

You get to see her trying to get out of the house to go play down the street.(not the first nor the last time this happened)

In the very busy month of December some of the highlights were:


Working a lot which really helped out this month and through this realized this may not be my calling in life like I had previously thought.

Going to the train park with grandparents and cousins and having the whole park to ourselves because of the threat of rain. We met Elmo and some other cartoon characters that I can't remember right now. Emma loved them from far away but as soon as they got close she would freak out a bit. Ben on the other hand had brought his pack of gum that gives you a high voltage shock when you pull out a piece and he got every character there to try and pull it. Instead of waving at him like they did to other kids they would put their fists up wanting to punch him. It was really sweet to see. I am pretty sure he punched a couple of them as well.

Somewhere during this month Emma injured her leg really bad and I thought she had broken or fractured it. We are lucky enough to know a great couple whose wife happened to stop by that evening and when she heard that Emma was hurt called her husband who is a chiropractor and he saw her that night in his home and put my mind at ease that her leg wasn't broken. He also called the next day just to see how she was and had us come into his office to get her ankle, knee , and pelvis back in place. He saw several times this month and made sure she was back to her normal self that could climb on every counter constantly and get everything out of the cupboards. (aren't they supposed to grow out of this at some point) That was the only highlight of her being hurt. I was amazed at how we were helped immediately by generous people that love Emma and just wanted to help her get better.

Another fun tradition that I am so glad my mom remembered was the kids Christmas party with the grandparents. They all got an individual invitation in the mail inviting them to a sleepover Christmas party at grandmas. I'm not even sure what they did nor does it matter. They were picked up and taken to the party and I went to get them the next morning. That is the best Christmas present I can get. We were able to go out to dinner and then to a holiday party all without thinking about kids. The holiday party was so much fun! Thanks for planning and inviting us Cindy!

Two days before Christmas we had our annual kids holiday party at my house with another friend. I'm not quite sure if this one is going to be annual yet . My kids loved it as they should but I'm not so sure my neighbors would love if I did this again.
27 kids ranging from 2-13- Pizza- flag football game in the street-basketball in the driveway- 2 bins full of little Lego's-crafts at the table with about 5lbs of glitter(this was Dusty's fav. when he came home) I tried to explain that the floor was just sparkling because it was so clean. popcorn and a santa clause movie where I'm pretty sure at least a bag of popcorn ended up in and around my couch. This three hour party ended right on time and as soon as Cindy came in to pick up her grand kids she started ordering everyone around to clean up she had the house clean in 20 minutes. That was the highlight of the party for me. I feel like I keep thanking Cindy a lot.

Christmas this year turned out to be the best Christmas we have ever had . really. I always love Christmas time and look forward to it all year. This year was different due to Dusty's job status and having just started a new job the week before Christmas. I was looking forward to it but knew it would be "less focused on presents". We learned we have some amazing friends and family looking out for us and our kids. We were sincerely shocked and amazed at their generosity and they truly made us remember what this season is about. Thank you Christmas Club!


This post is way to long and I am planning getting some pics up at some point but for now I will leave you with my goals for 2009


1. Continue to build food storage

2. Organize my house

3. work on my lay up.

4. drink lots of water

5. convince Julianne to not wait till the birth to find out her baby is a girl and {convince her to name her after me}

6. read to my kids more

7. throw a party as good as the New years Eve party that I pretty much threw.

8. find awkward moments to bring up information I learned at the party.

9. Retire from my photography business

10. practice the piano (i may have played 5 times this year)

11. exercise 5 times a week

12. get called to the Relief Society Presidency

Don't be surprised if I fulfill all of my goals because once I write them down I am COMMITTED.

Goodnight