Future missionary

Jimmy has been carrying around the scriptures Grammy made him for Christmas since the day he got them. He is so cute about them. Today Tyler (another one of my "boys" that came home on Monday) was over today. Jimmy was sitting at the dining room table "reading" his scriptures. Tyler asked him "Are you reading some good scriptures there Jimmy?" Jimmy responded by saying "No. I can't find a page that I can read yet."
This afternoon we heard Jimmy over in Bella's corner. He was sitting next to her with his scriptures in front of her nose. "Bella, look at this page. Its a good one.... Read this page Bella.... We don't eat the scriptures Bella... We just read them." I think he is preparing to be a great missionary. Dogs need to learn the gospel to I guess.
Thank you Grammy for the wonderful scriptures. They have created many precious moments in our home.

Am I crazy?

Merry Christmas! I have not yet had a chance to blog about what a great and wonderful Christmas we have had. I am sad that it is already gone and passed. But I am getting in trouble by my husband for not blogging about the kids "best Christmas present EVER!" Yes I do think I am crazy. This is Bella.... our puppy German Shephard. We got her from a breeder that Mike assisted at work. Mike instantly fell in love with her. Once I met her I understood why. She is the sweetest thing ever. The kids have been asking for a dog for about the last 6 months. When asked what they want for Christmas the first answer out of their mouths was "a dog"! We had no intention of fullfilling this wish until Mike met Bella. On Christmas morning I wrapped 4 things.... A tennis ball, a rawhide chew toy, a rope toy and a stuffed german shephard. Jimmy opened the tennis ball and was actually kind of excited about it. Then Sara opened up her raw hide and had NO clue what it was. "What in the world is this?" Then Katie opened her rope toy. You could see a little flicker of hope in their eyes. Then Eberly opened her stuffed dog. The look of confusion was priceless. I then told the kids "You said you wanted a dog, well there is your dog (pointing to the stuffed dog)... Sara handed her chew toy to Katie and said "here.. you can have this". They were horrified. They couldn't believe that I would be this "mean".... Eberly than said "I am going to check in the back yard... just in case".. Mike was not yet back there with Bella. I then told the kids that Daddy had just gotten home from work and was out in the back getting fire wood. So they all ran back there to see there dad AND to tell him to hurry up so they could open up their "real" presents. All of a sudden I heard a gasp and Eberly ran outside. "Is that a REAL dog? Is that a REAL dog?" Then Katie asked "Do we get to keep it?" I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it was to see their excitement. It was the best feeling ever.
And I have to report that she is a FANTASTIC dog. She is already housebroken. When she comes inside the house you lay down a towel, say "down" and she lays down until you tell her she can get up. She plays soccer with the kids. (Eberly is thrilled about that). She doesn't bite. When you tell her "no" she actually stops. She even gets along with Betty Boop. Betty did make sure that Bella knew who was queen bee though. The only issue she has had thus far is the leash! She is so mortally offended that we would even think about putting a leash on her. She plants her buns down and just sits there. I have been watching the Dog Whisperer and I even bought his dog training cards. I used his technique and it worked. She actually walked on the leash yesterday! Go Ceasar!
Those that know my Katie know that she prefers animals to humans any day. This morning she told Eberly that she thinks she is half dog and half human!
So, yes I might be crazy, but I have to admit, I have been sleeping a lot more soundly knowing I have a guard dog. AND the kids happiness is worth it :)

Sweet Boy

Yesterday we got a really good storm here in San Diego. It was wonderful! We have desperately needed the rain. It was rainy, windy and cold! I loved it. I was a little nervous sending Katie to school though. She is just getting over walking pneumonia. She is still on an inhaler, but I figured that since she was off her antibiotics she would be okay to go. I sent her off to school with directions to make sure she stays inside and to bundle up if she did go outside. When I went to pick her up she was walking with this boy. He was holding an umbrella up over the two of them. (primarily over her though) I was so touched with this boy. He was looking out for my sweet Katie. Then when she walked away to me, he folded up his umbrella and went along his merry way. I thought this was so sweet!

Best Sunday Ever

What a fantastic Sunday! It all started this morning. The kids were straightening up their rooms. All of a sudden they came out and asked "Mom, why is there a christmas tree in front of our house?" I had no clue what they were talking about. I went outside and there leaning on our front porch was a beautiful 8 foot noble fir christmas tree. It was still all bundled up. I ran inside and woke Mike up. I made him come outside and take a look. We were floored. We had no idea who had done this. We asked a couple of our neighboors if they had seen anyone. They had not. We still have no idea who gave us this wonderful gift. Buying a Christmas tree this year was really cutting into our Christmas "budget". I wish I could find out who started our day so wonderfully and gave us a priceless gift. I would love to be able to thank whoever did this. We then went to church. All of us were already on cloud 9. Church was wonderful today. Mike got up in Sacrament Meeting and bore his testimony. I won't go into detail about what he said, but I will say that he touched many people. The spirit was so very strong. I honestly didn't think the day could get any better. We came home and put up the tree. We made some delicious chili (thanks for the recipe dad)! Then we decorated the Christmas tree. We had SO much fun. We turned on some Christmas music and had a blast. By the end they kids were dancing around the living room to some great Christmas tunes. Eberly said "We need to do this every night!" I agree!
What a great day! It started out with someone being so extremely generous. I wish they could understand how much they have blessed us. Today was ALL about family. I agree with Eberly. I wish every day could be like today!

Christmas Lights

Yesterday was my happy day! It was time to put up our Christmas lights. This is our third year at this house. Each year we add a little more. Our neighbors actually look forward to the day when they see us putting up our lights. We have been nicknamed "The Gingerbread House". We have had people ring our doorbell to tell us how much they love our lights. This year we added 2 additional inflatables. I wish the pictures turned out better. It is 100% better when you see them in person. Our whole house is outlined in icicle lights. We have santa in a sleigh on our roof, a carousel, a snow globe like inflatable with penguins and an 8' santa. We then outline our lawn with the big C9 lights. Last year we attempted to put arches over our driveway. They had a hard time staying up. We had a good rain and it weighed down the garland so much that they fell down. We are going to try redesigning them and reattempt them again next year. I took the PVC pipe that we used for the arches and made candy canes out of them. We have lined on each side of the driveway. We also have little mini lighted trees going up our walkway. Yes, our SDG&E bill is a little more expensive, but it is SO worth it. The kids look forward to this every year almost as much as Mike and I do. We started putting up the lights around 10am yesterday and didn't finish until after 5pm. That was with some additional help too. Garrett (one of my boys) came and helped. I LOVE Christmas!

My baby is 10!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Eberly turned 10 on Thanksgiving! I cannot believe my little girl is 10 years old. These past 10 years have just flown by. 10 years ago we started our little family. Eberly and Megan came into our lives both with very special purposes. We know Megan was needed very much by Heavenly Father. We also know that Eberly was very much needed here on earth by all her loved ones. From the moment she was born she carried a special spirit with her. To this day she still has it. She is always so thoughtful and so sweet. We are so blessed to have her in our lives. Happy 10th Birhday Ebi!. We love you very much!