Holy Huge Marshmallows!!

Holy Marshmallows, Batman!! Can you believe the size of these things? When Fred was on his business trip in NM he saw them at some store and thought that the girls would get a kick out of them, so he bought them. When he pulled them out of his suitcase I almost fell over laughing. It was so funny seeing marshmallows this huge. Aymara's first remark when she saw them was, "AWESOME, Dad"! Aymara looooves marshmallows, so she thought these were GREAT! But trust me, they didn't taste as good as they looked. All the little girls liked them and it's a good thing or they probably wouldn't have gotten eaten. Oh yeah, and the neighbor kids thought they were pretty cool too. There taste was a little similar to the regular marshmallows, but they were not quite as sweet and definitely not as fluffy. These pictures are good, but they still don't do the actual size of the marshmallows much justice. You would have just had to seem them up close and personal. It was too funny! The little girls thought they were in Marshmallow heaven.

"Our Love Story"

I have decided to tell the story of how Fred and I met and fell in love. People still ask me, after five and 1/2 years of marriage to tell them our story. So, I will share it with all of you now and if you have heard it already then you don't need to bore yourself and read this post. Another reason I would like to tell it is because I have never put our story in writing and I would like to have it to pass on to our girls. Maybe it is a story that may also be used for Family History some time in the future. So, here it goes.

In my life, at the time, I was living in Pocatello and I had my three beautiful little girls. Katelyn-7, Ashley-4, and Lacey-18 months. In August of 2002 my husband at the time informed me that he wanted a divorce! In a way I was so hurt, but I also knew it was coming eventually. Anyway, I am not getting into that part of my life because it is in the past. Right now I am focusing on my life now and how grateful I am to have what I have at this moment.

Before I moved to Idaho Falls, I had just got a new job in the shoe department at Kmart. I didn't know where my life was going and what was going to happen to me and my girls, but I knew somehow we would be okay. I had to work and didn't have a choice under the circumstances and it actually ended up being a blessing. My District Manager came to work with me and train me. I asked him if there was any way that I could be transferred. He then asked me what city I was considering and I told him that the Idaho Falls area was where I wanted to be. It didn't look promising and I thought I was going to have to be stuck in Pocatello and have to stay there and deal with all of my drama there. My luck would soon change!

A few days after I mentioned a possibility of being transferred my boss asked me to take a break with him and that there was something he would like to talk with me about. We went on break and he then told me that the Department Manager in the Ammon store had fallen and broke her foot, and therefore couldn't work. He said that after working with me for the few days that he had, he was very impressed with my work and that he felt I could go to Ammon and be the temporary Dept. Manager until the previous one was completely healed and had a physicians okay to come back. I was ecstatic! As you can imagine. I almost couldn't believe my luck and thought it was too good to be true. He said he was serious about this and that he had all the faith in the world that this is something I could do, and do well. I accepted his offer immediately and was so grateful to him.

I ended up having to stay in Pocatello for a about two more weeks to finish my training there. I had to send my three daughters to Idaho Falls to live with my brother and his family because I was working full time and school was starting up there. Katie was in the 2nd grade and needed to start school. I new I would be moving to IF soon but at the moment was unable to do so. My sister-in-law, Camille was awesome. She took in my girls and was so willing to help me out and to get Katie registered for school. I will never be able to thank her enough for all of the love and support she gave me at a time in my life when I needed it. Her and my brother were the best!

On September 8, I finally got to come up to IF and start my new job and be with my girls again. I too moved in with Clint and Camille until my parents moved up here and got settled. I went into work that day and there was a manager from Logan that was there covering until I came up to take over. She was showing me around and started training me on how to be a Dept. Manager. She asked if I would like to go to the office so she could introduce me to the Store Manager, I said "Of course", and we were on our way. We got to the office and that is where I first met Fred. We were introduced and we shook hands. At that very moment I knew that there was something special about this man I had just met and that I had to find out what it was.

I started asking questions about him and found out that he was divorced. A found out that he was also asking questions about me and wanted to know what my situation was. The woman he talked to just told him that all she knew was that I was going through a divorce and I had 3 little girls. I couldn't shake the feeling that I had met him for a reason and that there had to be something to all of this.

I started finding reasons to go to the office just so I could see him and maybe even talk to him while I was in there. On my days off I would make up excuses that I had to go into the store for something, and would hope that I would run into Fred while I was there. We started talking more and more and every time I would here his voice over the PA system I would get that tingly feeling inside of me. I'm sure you all know what I am talking about. It was crazy! After a few weeks I noticed that when he would get to work or before he would leave he would either walk passed the shoe department or through my stock room where I would be working on freight. He would stop and talk to me for a minute and tell me to have a nice day. It started getting to the point that I wanted to see him all the time, even though there was really nothing between us yet, that he knew of anyway.

I was still dealing with my divorce and wasn't sure I wanted to start a relationship that soon, but I was so drawn to him and even though we should only be friends I knew there were feelings beyond that, that were starting to surface. We started talking more and more, but it was hard because we were both at work and didn't really get to have any major conversations. I did find out that he too was a Mormon (which I was thrilled about), and that he had 4 daughters from a previous marriage. After talking we learned that we had both been through very similar situations with our first marriages and the heartache we had both been through. The more I got to know him, the more my feelings grew, and I didn't know what to do because I didn't know how he was feeling about all of this. Or his feelings towards me.

It seemed we were getting pretty close and I wasn't about to give up on what I felt was happening. In November, on Thanksgiving Day, we both had to work in the morning and while at work I asked him what he was doing the rest of the day. He told me that he didn't have his girls with him and that he would probably just come back in to work to keep himself busy. I then told him that he better not. It was a holiday and he should just go home and relax.

When I got home I couldn't quite thinking about him and wondered what he was doing. I decided to call him! I didn't know his number so I called information and got it. I then dialed his number at least a dozen times and would chicken out. I finally got up the guts to let it ring and when he answered it my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. He was surprised to hear from me, but once we started talking we didn't really stop. We were on the phone for THREE hours! I guess you could say that was officially the beginning of our relationship.

We didn't start dating until my divorce was final on December 17. But we talked on the phone all the time and at work we agreed to stay away from each other so other employees wouldn't have any idea we had anything going on. That was fun! It was kind of like we were being naughty and trying to get away with something! After my divorce was final we started dating and our relationship escalated pretty quickly after that.

Around Christmastime all of our girls met and got along famously. I felt like I had known Fred forever even though it really had been such a short time. I fell in love with him before I even met him (which is strange, I know, but that's how I feel) and I am so incredibly grateful to have him in my life. He has made me a better person just by knowing him. In January he proposed and on January 29 (my birthday), he made it official and gave me my engagement ring, which was absolutely beautiful. There's not much more to tell at this point. Our engagement didn't last long either. We were married on March 4, 2003 and now 5 1/2 years later we are still happily married with two more children that we share together. Nine beautiful daughters in all!

I truly believe that God had a plan for us and that everything happened the ways it was supposed to happen for Fred and I to be together. He is the love of my life and I know that we both went through what we did in our lives to finally find each other and to bring our two families together. I believe I have become a better person just by knowing him and I feel like my life is now full and complete. I love him with my whole heart and soul, and I am so proud of who he is, and I am grateful for all of the love and understanding that he gives me. Sometimes I don't feel like I really deserve Fred all that the Lord has given me, but I do know that I am truly blessed every day. I love my Heavenly Father so much and I know that I wouldn't be where I am today and have the beautiful family that I do if it weren't for Him.

Happy Birthday Kelsie!

Last Wednesday was Kelsie's Birthday, but because Fred was gone we waited until Saturday to celebrate it. Fred made her cake and Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Lorraine and her kids all came and we had a little party for her. I can't believe Kelsie is 14 now! She gets to go to Mia Maids now and I think she is excited about that too. I think she liked the gifts that she got. They were all pretty cool. Besides the pictures below, she also got a new fishing pole and $20.00 from Grandma and Grandpa. Alaya thought she had to get in on the action so she helped Kelsie blow out the candles.
This gift is one that Kelsie has been wanting forever! It is a 7.1 megapixel digital camera, and she was so excited when she opened it.
The gift she opened here is really cool alarm clock that reflects the time on either the ceiling or the wall, depending on where you aim it. She liked this gift a lot also because she needed an alarm clock for her bedroom.
This is a new DVD player so she can watch movies in her room, when she isn't reading, that is! Her dad also got her a TV from work for a pretty good deal.

Crazy Color Day!

Last week at the high school they had "Spirit Week", where each day they have a theme that they get to dress up to. They have a few of these weeks during the year and Nichole and Renae seem to get a kick out of dressing up. These pictures are from "Crazy Color Day", which is obvious from what they are wearing! Nichole is so funny on these days because she goes all out and is always so excited about dressing up to most of the themes that are chosen. On Thursday it was beach day and Nichole dressed up for that day too, and I forgot to get pictures of her that day and I am so mad because she was so adorable. I love the girls in these pictures! Nichole is little miss model and Renae is like a colorful little gangster! I love the outfits they picked as well. Especially the little touches that I added!

Ouchie!

This is quite the BooBoo that Alaya got about a week and 1/2 ago. It was just an accident that just so happened to be caused by Aymara. Alaya was in Aymara's bedroom and she wanted her out, so she got her out and then proceeded to shut her door, rather harder than necessary. Alaya's little finger just happened to still be in the door when it was shut and it wasn't pretty. I was in my bedroom folding laundry when I heard Aymara state that "she had shut Alaya's finger in the door". I started walking out just as Alaya came walking in screaming and holding onto her hand as blood is running through her fingers. I grabbed her and took her to the bathroom to wash it off and to check out the damage. Ooooh, I kind off started to FREAK OUT when I saw what had happened to her poor little finger. It is hard to explain by writing exactly what it looked like, but I will give it a shot. Somehow the way her finger got shut in the door it pulled her nail clear out of the nail bed and the nail was just hanging on by the tip. When I would pull up the nail it would pull off almost the whole tip of her finger. So, if it wasn't for the fingernail holding her finger together then the tip of her finger would have been cut right off. In the midst of a bit of panic I called her doctor's office and they told me that I couldn't bring her to their office and to take her to the ER or to an Urgent Care where they could do X-rays. Well, Fred was still out of town and I then called him and was almost in tears asking him where I should take her. We decided to take her to an Urgent Care instead of the hospital which was a good choice, financially anyway.

We got there and she got right in and got X-rays before they decided to do anything else. No, her finger wasn't broken, but the bone was cracked. After the X-rays I took her into see the doctor. This part was not fun at all, and it didn't help that the doctor chose not to numb her finger before he tortured her first. He had her arm pinned down so she couldn't move and and then proceeded to shove her fingernail back into the nail bed. It was so sad, and Alaya kept sceraming at the doctor to "let go", and as soon as he would let go for a second she would say, "get down, a go bye-bye". I was so mad! Alaya was screaming and I was crying and then I finally told him to stop and numb her finger before he did anymore. He stopped, per my request and gave her some shots to numb her finger. He then worked on getting her nail back in the nail bed after he numbed it, it only took a few seconds to get it back in. So, you ask why they put her through that instead of just taking her fingernail off? Well, If they would have removed her fingernail they would have had to stitch the end of her finger back on, and because the nail was ripped from the nail bed there would have been a chance that it never would have grown back, and if it did, it would probably be deformed. That being said. I told them to go ahead and try to get the nail back in and pull it off as a last resort. When they were finished they wrapped her hand in what they call a soft cast. They didn't want there to be a chance of her nail coming back out or her hitting her finger on something and having it hurt because of the cracked bone. Alaya was such a trooper through everything and she was so good about not trying to pull the cast off.

After a few days we had to take her back in for a recheck. They took the little cast off and said it was looking great. They decided to put a splint on her finger and wrap it a little just to protect the finger (because of the cracked bone) for just a couple more days from being hit or bumped. She now has that off as well, but she still babies her finger somewhat and when I change the bandaid on it and she looks at it she says, "Ugly, Mama". It's not really ugly but it is still healing.

A Pigeon for A Pet?

This is kind of a funny story I thought I would share. About 2 weeks ago, on a Monday, Fred went out to the garage and found a little feathered friend. He and Kelsie shewed it out of the garage and thought that would be the end of it. Well, Tuesday morning Fred had to leave at 6:00 in the morning to catch a flight to Albuquerque, NM for business. Later I had to go somewhere and went out to the garage to leave. The Pigeon was back! It almost scared me to death! I didn't see it at first and when I pushed the button to open the garage door I saw feathers start flying around. I was like "what the heck?"! So I went to look to see if the Pigeon had been hurt, but it was up walking around on the top of the garage door. When I got back from doing what I was doing it was still there. I shewed it out again and thought I had scared it bad enough by chasing it around the garage with a broom, that this time it wouldn't come back. No such luck. It won't go away! If it's not in our garage, it's on our roof or the neighbor's roof watching and waiting for me to open the garage door again so it can get back in. I tell you, I think the little feathered fowl thinks it has a new home. Little does it know... So anyway, a week of shewing it out I finally called animal control to see what we could do about our new found friend. They came out but the little bugger must have known something was up because right before animal control got here it flew out and over to the neighbors roof! She couldn't get it from there so she told me she would call me in the morning to see if it had come back yet, and if so, then she would come back and try to catch it. It's like the dang thing has a sixth sense or something! The Pigeon stayed away the whole next day, well until evening came around anyway and animal control was closed. Go figure! By that point, I figured it was probably long gone and had found someone else's garage to poop in and I was glad. But Noooo, it really couldn't be that easy now could it! Wednesday it showed up AGAIN, back in the garage, pooping all over! GRRRR!
What to do, what to do? The girls all love it and want to keep it as a pet. My opinion on that, WHATEVER! Alaya keeps saying "See a chicken mommy". So I take her out to the garage or outside (as it sits on our roof, waiting) to see the dang bird that has now become VERY irritating. It is now Friday morning and I haven't checked to see if it is still lingering anywhere close by, but my bet is, it is. I think it is probably a homing Pigeon because it has identity bands on both of its ankles. And it has definitely made a home with us, which is a bit annoying when you have to clean up its poopies all over in your garage! So, you have now met our new little feathered friend. AAARGH! Please, let me know if you have any suggestions on getting rid of a Pigeon. Besides shooting it!

TAG....You're It!

Miss Janet! Thanks for the TAG! I don't really want to do this, but I guess I will just to humor all of you. I have no idea how to answer these so I will just wing it and give it my best shot.

TAG....You're It!

Rules: List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 current goals, 3 current obsession, and 3 random facts about yourself. Then tag at least 5 people at the end.

3 JOYS:

1) My Husband...the love of my life

2) My belief in Christ and my testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

3) My children

3 FEARS:

1) Saying anything out loud for fear it will really happen.

2) Becoming a Grandma too soon! LOL!

3) Not being the mother and wife that my family needs.

3 GOALS:

1) To lose weight! Someday anyway!

2) To be a better Mother and example to my children

3) To have a lot more patience!

3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS:

1) Finding an interesting book to read that compares to the Twilight books,

(I feel for you Janet) I too am stuck!

2) Donating Plasma, without being REJECTED!

3) BLOGGING

3 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT MYSELF:

1) I can't run without throwing up! Can you say "Out of Shape", or what?!

2) Scrapbooking is my total obsession

3) Poetry is one of my passions

I Tag: Hillary, Becky, Kim, Jessica, and Kelsie

She's A Big Girl Now!!

Hurray!! Alaya is completely potty trained now and she won't even be 2 until October! This is a first for me. All of my other girls were potty trained within about one or two months after they turned 2. Aymara was even a little longer than that, just because she was so stinking stubborn. I haven't even had to buy Alaya any pull-ups! She was so easy to potty train, I can hardly believe my luck. Once she decided to go on the toilet that was pretty much it. She thinks she is such a "big girl" that she won't even let me put the potty seat on the big toilet to make it easier. She doesn't ever see anyone else use that dang potty seat so I guess she figures that she shouldn't have to either. She thinks she is soooo big!I am so proud of her and I am so excited that I officially never have to do the whole potty training thing ever again!! No more diapers! Until grandkids anyway.
She has been wearing her little panties (not the same pair) now for a good week and she loves them. I went and got her a package of brand new panties the other day and they are so cute. I handed them to her and she was so excited, she made me open them and she picked what pair she wanted to put on and even though they were a little big (until I wash them anyway) she thought they were pretty neat. These aren't here new ones, but I wanted to get a picture of her cute little Bootie in them because I want to remember how cute a tiny little bum looks in panties for the first time. And it is dang cute if I do say so myself!

Aymara's 1st Day of Pre-School

Today was Aymara's first day of Pre-School and she absolutely loved it! She has been so excited to go for weeks now and last night before bed she was so cute. She got new school clothes like the other girls did and before she went to bed she picked out what outfit she was going to wear today and she layed it all out on her floor so it would be ready to put on when she woke up this morning. She asked me if I would put makeup on her too, but I told her that she would need to be just a little bit older before she could wear makeup to school. She just replied with a "Dangit"!Isn't she just the cutest little thing you ever did see? Maybe I'm just a little partial, but I think she is pretty stinking cute! She loves her little Dora backpack and she was thrilled to finally get to use it!
This is a picture of her class. She should be used to all of the girls, since that is all she sees around our house anyway! Besides her daddy. Those poor "2" little boys, or maybe they could consider themselves lucky! I guess you could look at it both ways.
She was so excited to come home and show me what she worked on. It was the letter "A" and she was pretty proud of herself because that is a letter she already knows! Hence the name "Aymara" and all the "A's" that are in her name. She already knows how to write her name so this was a letter that she obviously knew how to do all by herself and was easy for her.

These books ROCK!

OMG! I totally love these books! This is the best series I have read since Harry Potter. I loved them all, from the first page of Twilight to the last page of Breaking Dawn. From the minute I started reading I was totally addicted and just couldn't put them down. This is crazy, but when I did have to take a break and stop reading, I thought about them constantly and wondered what was going to happen next in the story. This probably isn't the best way to describe these books, but I am going to use the analogy anyway. Once you start reading them they are like a drug and you just want more. I am so sad the series is done because I would have loved there to have been more to it. Like something about Renesmee and when she gets older and her story with Jacob! I do have to admit I was a little dissapointed in the grammar of the books. I think Stephenie Meyer could have picked a better editor, because obviously the one she has doesn't know how to edit very well! She missed a ton of grammar mistakes in all 4 of the books and that kind of stuff just really bothers me. Grammar aside, the books were awesome and I highly recommend them to everyone! I could go on and on about these books, but it's better if you just read them yourself and then decide if you agree with me or not.

The "Kokie Mobile"!!

I promised to blog about the lovely vehicle that Nichole gets the pleasure of driving to school. Yes, she is really and truly driving a "Mini Van"! Fred has had this van for quite awhile now and we just had it parked so instead of getting her
a car(which we couldn't afford anyway) we decided to give her this van to drive. She didn't even care. She was just grateful to have something, anything to drive. My dad does vinyl graphics on vehicles so she asked him to do something cute
on her back window and this is what he came up with. I think that is probably the only thing she really likes about it! I had to put these pictures on of the two side views of the van so you could get the full effect of what she is actually driving around! Ugh. She is so cute about it though and is totally okay with all of it. What a sport! I guess on the upside, when all of her friends want to get together to do something fun without all having to drive. They can all just pile into the sweet old "Kokie Mobile" and away they go!

My Daughters

I have written a poem that I have dedicated to all 9 of our beautiful daughters, and I would like to share it with all of you who read my blog. It's not the greatest, but I hope it will mean something to them. I was going to post a picture of all of the girls together with this, but I couldn't find one.

My Daughters

My daughters are like the sunshine

Each one a beautiful ray of light,

Shining each and every day

They make my world so bright.

Their smiles just simply sparkle,

And their laughter fills the air.

Sometimes they like to taunt and tease

But it is mostly love they share.

Each daughter is incredibly lovely,

And unique in her own little way.

They are so much fun to have around

And their hugs just make my day.

Nichole is such a sweetheart,

Always willing to help me out.

Renae is fun and energetic,

And always has something to talk about.

Kelsie is definitely one of a kind,

She's the peacemaker among them all.

Katie is full of so much life,

And with her we have such a ball.

ChristyAnn is such a cutie.

Mostly quiet, but fun in the same.

Ashley is probably the craziest,

With her, everything's fun and games.

Lacey is quite the mommy's girl,

With kisses and hugs to share.

Aymara has attitude all her own

Like a cute little feisty bear.

Last but certainly not least is Alaya,

She is the baby, so you see.

She always has us smiling,

And she's as spoiled as can be.

All of my daughters are special

And I truly love them all.

I'm so grateful for each one of them

And for my blessings, big and small.

They make my life worth living,

With all the joy they bring to me.

Each one of them has stole my heart

And they each complete our family.

~Janae~ 8/15/08

First Day Of School!

So, school has finally started up again and the girls were all so excited they couldn't hardly wait. Katie, Kelsie, Ashley and Lacey all started yesterday and Nichole and Renae started today. Katie and Kelsie were bummed when they got home because they said that nobody talked to them all day. Ashley and Lacey had a lot of fun and they both really like their teachers, so I am glad about that. I am excited for Nichole and Renae to get back today so they can tell me all of their exciting news about their first day. I will be waiting by the door!!

This is Kokie's Senior year and she is so excited! She even has her own vehicle to drive this year and it might not be the "Coolest" ride but at least it is something. I will post about that later and I will have to include pictures so you understand what I'm saying about it not being the "Coolest" ride in the school parking lot!

Renae is going into her Sophomore year at Hillcrest and she is totally excited to be going back to school. Of course her excitement is due to being back together with her friends and all the socializing! We know it certainly isn't for the education and the learning part of it! That's okay though, I completely understand, that was exactly how I was back in the day.

Kelsie is here with us this year for the first time and she is in the eighth grade at Sandcreek. She is so cute and we are so glad to have her here with us this year.

Katie is also in the eighth grade at Sandcreek. So her and Kelsie should have fun seeing each other around school. She was also extremely excited to start school again, but she somewhat enjoys the educational part of going.
Ashley is starting the fifth grade and she is also more like me when it comes to going to school. She wasn't that excited to go back and only does it because she has to. She likes to see her friends but that is pretty much the most of it!
My little Lacey May is starting the second grade and she is one that just loves everything! She was also excited to go back and couldn't wait to see her new teacher and all of her friends. Isn't she just soooo stinking cute?

A GREAT Day At Rigby Lake!

This was such a fun day. We all had a blast! The only one that wasn't there with us was Katie. She chose not to go because she was afraid that the water in the lake was going to make us all sick, so she went babysitting instead. We were there for about 4 1/2 hours, from 1:00 until a little after 5:00. While we were there having so much fun we forgot to put sunscreen on! Yeh!! So, most of us are paying for it now. Like: Nichole, Renae, Ashley, ChristyAnn, and especially myself. I would put some pictures of my sunburn on here, but I don't think it would be appreciated very much! We all decided that Katie really missed out, really she did, other than the sunburns of course. And guess what? None of us are sick from the lake water!

Kmart Employee Picnic

These pictures were taken at the Kmart Employee Picnic that we had a couple of weeks ago. It was a lot of fun and it was nice to just sit and visit with some of the employees, outside of Kmart. Usually when I see them it is when they are working.

Here is Alaya playing a little game they had for the youngest children at the picnic. They had to throw a water balloon into this little basket and try to pop it. Alaya's balloon just kept bouncing after about 3-4 tries so she got to keep her balloon and get a treat too. She was so cute!

This is Lacey playing the water balloon toss and she actually did pretty good. The balloon popped on the little girl that was her tossing partner so Lacey was happy about that.

Here is Ashley playing the water balloon toss. Nice picture Smash! Ashley and her tossing partner beat everyone in this game so they both got to pick some pretty cool prizes.

Here's the girls playing a game similar to musical chairs but it was with a funny little toy and they had to pass it around and whoever had it when the music stopped was out. Lacey ended up winning this game and she was so excited.

This is some of the girls playing tug-of-war against the boys, and the girls won!

~ENCHANTED~

I totally looooove this movie!! I hadn't even seen it in the theatre but decided to purchase it on DVD. I have watched it so many times I honestly can't even tell you how many. I think I lost track around about 20. So, if you ask me, it was probably one of the best purchases I have ever made! It was definitely worth it and I recommend it to everyone (except for maybe the guys). I would have to say that it is probably more of a "Chick Flick", but a definite must see! The actors are all so incredible and I love Amy Adams as Giselle. She is so GREAT and she is perfect for the part she played. I haven't seen the new movie "Mama Mia" yet but I have heard so many people rave about it, but at this point I think "Enchanted" is probably the best movie I have ever seen. I love all of the music and the whole story line is just so cute. All of my girls love it too and I think it is such a fun movie for the whole family. I am totally addicted to watching this movie and I still love it every time I watch it!

Like Mother, Like Daughter!

So, when KatieBug got home from her dad's house she wanted her hair colored too. I was a little nervous to color hers but I did it anyway, because I have a friend that is a Cosmotologist and I figured if I screwed up then I would just go and have Debbie fix it. Luckily Katie's hair turned out great and she loves it. Now the only little blondie we have in the family is Ashley, so I tease her now and tell her she needs to get her hair colored too or people might think she is adopted! Actually, I think I like Katie's hair better dark than the color it was. I definitely know I like mine better now than the color it was before! Sometimes it is fun to do something different. Katie is my daughter that is a serious little Mama's girl and likes to be with me and hanging out with me. She is my little scrapbooking buddy and comes with me a lot on Saturday nights to scrap. Sometimes she even goes without me when I don't feel like going. The Scrappers think it's great that she comes because they all just love her to pieces and love to see the pages she finishes. She is so much fun! So, you know how I mentioned that now that my hair is darker I need a tan? Well, I started laying out the very next day and a few times after that. So I now have somewhat of a tan after about six years of being a white girl! Change is GREAT!!!

~The Love of My Life~

Today I am dedicating my blog to my wonderful husband, Fred. This picture was taken before we got married and it is one of my favorites of us so I would like to share it with those of you that view my blog. The poem below is one that I wrote to him not long after we were married and it pretty much sums up exactly how I felt then and how I still feel now. He truly is the love of my life and it took me awhile to find him, but I finally did and I am so grateful for him and everything he does for me and for our family. He is such an incredible person in so many ways and I want him to know that I love him with all of my heart and appreciate all of the sacrifices he makes for me and all the girls. I appreciate him for how hard he works for the things that we have and I am grateful for the love that he shows me every single day. I can't imagine my life without him and all nine of our girls, and I feel so incredibly blessed to have such a beautiful family to share eternity with. I love them all so much!

Through My Eyes

My heart is simply overflowing

With the love I feel for you,

And what an incredible feeling

To know that you love me too.

I love you not only for who you are,

But for the way you make feel.

And I know without a single doubt

Our love is genuine and real.

You are such an amazing person,

And through my eyes I see,

A man that's as close to perfect

As I think someone could be.

There are so many things about you

That I admire and also adore,

For you truly are the love of my life

And of that I am very sure.

I just can't help but wonder

What I did to deserve your love.

Then I think of our Heavenly Father

And the plans He had up above.

Because I honestly don't feel worthy

Of this gift He has given me.

But I'll cherish you and honor you

Through out time and eternity.

~Janae~ 4/27/03

Grandma Justa in America!

This is Grandma with almost all of the grandchildren here in the states. We are only missing our Kelsie and ChristyAnn. And we were so sad they weren't with us, but I am sure before Grandma leaves we will all get together again.

This is Grandma with our sweet daughter Kokie and this picture turned out great. One that I think Nichole will certainly treasure and pass on to her posterity.

Here is Grandma with our little Alaya! Alaya loves her Grandma "Hola" (there is a story behind this that I will share later) and she likes to sit and swing with her in our porch swing.

This picture was taken when we took Justa to Rexburg to see the new temple there. This was a great day and we all had a lot of fun spending the day with Justa. Doesn't Justa just look so happy?

Grandma Justa is here with us from Bolivia and we are all sooooo excited to have her here. She is such a beautiful person both inside and out, and she has the sweetest spirit of anyone I know. She is someone who loves life and makes the most of it every day and she is grateful for everything she has and for every opportunity she is blessed with in her life. At this point we really don't know how long she will be staying here with us in the states. She wants to stay long enough to get her residency here and we don't know how long that will take. But every minute we have her here with us we are grateful for. We all love her so much and love having her with us. Unfortunately for me there is a language barrier between us, for she only speaks Spanish and I only speak English. I am kicking myself for never taking the opportunity to learn to speak Spanish because it sure would come in handy since I married Fred. My goal is to one day (soon) to learn the Spanish language. Even though I can't communicate with Justa, every time I am around her I feel such a strong spirit from her and you just can't help but love her, and her beautiful smile just makes the whole room seem to glow!

In For A Change!

Well I finally did it! I colored my hair and I am totally loving it. After I did it I thought that Fred might get a little upset with me, but surprisingly he really likes it too and I am sooooo glad! I have been wanting to do this for a very long time now but have never gotten up enough guts to go through with it. I am glad that I finally went for it because I like it a lot. And maybe now people won't question that I am the mother of Aymara and Alaya! I just need a really good tan now and I will be set!