Hello!

I just wanted to take a minute to report on a wonderful Thanksgiving! My family--mom, dad, Zack, Alivia, Lindsey, Brian, and Coleson all came down here for the week. We had a great time just visiting, relaxing, eating, eating, eating, and watching the grandkids get spoiled. Most notable about the week is Willie's new scooter. He hasn't forgotten about it for even one second since he got it last Friday. He's got a cold now, so I didn't let him outside today to ride the scooter--which didn't go over real well! Grumpy, grumpy Willie.

Grumpy Gus, too. And Emmeline. They are all sick--a product of the weather turning cold, staying up late, getting up early, etc. Oh well. We took Benjamin to the doctor today to put ourselves at ease. This is the first cold he has had that hasn't turned immediately into bronchitis or worse. Woohoo! So we'll keep praying that he (as well as the other two) get better without complications this time. The kids also got flu shots today while at the doctor's office. You can imagine how that went over. And, one final note, Benjamin now weighs 22 lbs. That's two pounds in a month...and he's now surpassed Emmeline...she was 22 lbs. at one year.

Last night we put turned our small apartment into a winter wonderland for Family Home Evening. It looks fantastic--homemade foam nativity set and all! I just have to hang some lights outside and make Benjamin's Christmas stocking and we'll be set. Also, I found my Yankee Stadium tree ornament! That made my night. I found it in an obscure corner of a Christmas box. It was obviously the first thing I packed, duh, probably so I wouldn't lose it in last year's move! Anyway, it's in a prominent spot on our tree now. Well, everywhere is "prominent" on our tree, seeing as it's only three feet tall...but that's a topic for another day!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

What we're thankful for...

For Family Home Evening last night we made a list of the things we are thankful for.

Emmeline is thankful for her pony, her animals, the Scriptures, her Primary class, and preschool.

Joshua is thankful for cars, trucks, tractors, milk, and "tu-ee-i" (UTI).

Benjamin is thankful for food, table scraps, crumbs, morsels, and niblets.

Luke is thankful for Mexifornia, his job, the armed forces, Gina Bardoo, and the fact that DJ pays his rent on time.

Kirstin is thankful for this wonderful time of year, uninterrupted sleep, the Yankees, twinkies, Luker-Baduker, and the fact that Benjamin finally cut a tooth.

We are all grateful for each other and for the Gospel.

Oh, and turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy....mmmmm...

Here's one I'll have to put in EmJ's journal!

Emmeline has a friend-boy here who is moving in a few days. On the way home from preschool the other day, he was upset because the other boys told him that they weren't his friends anymore because he was moving. Emmeline said, "It's okay, Chase, even though you're moving I'm still your friend." She's so sweet! Sweet enough that this boy wants to name his baby sister Emmeline! I love it. Perhaps EmJ would have come out of her shell anywhere, but meeting Chase seems to have been a big part of her transformation. For that reason, alone, I'm glad we moved here.

Turkey Head

Today as Luke was leaving I said, "Bye, sweetie!" Emmeline burst into tears and said, "Sweetie is the girl's name! 'See you later, turkeyhead,' is the boy's name!"

In other news, Benjamin had his 9 month checkup this week. He's 29 1/2 inches long and about 20 lbs. We weighed Joshua just for fun and he tipped the scales at a whopping 26 lbs!

And finally, the thermostat inside our house yesterday read 80 degrees. That's just not right. It's November.

Happy Halloween and Lots of Pictures!

Yay! Pictures for all of you finally! Happy Halloween! Here are my two cowboys! Scroll down for lots more pictures...dating way, way back. I'll try to stay on top of things from now on!

Happy Halloween Pictures!

Cinderella! Sorry about the sideways picture. See the next post for an explanation!
Cinderella and the distracted cowboy!
Cowboy and his sippy...at least it's not a binky!
Cinderella and her pal "Gus-Gus!"
Emmeline's first day of preschool.

Pictures!

Joshua's new tatoo!
While we were in San Diego, Benjamin got to go on a motorcycle ride!
Emmeline's first day of preschool (and Joshua's first day of pre-preschool!)
Joshua's tat again! Sorry, I forgot to rotate these pictures before transferring them to the portable hard drive. I'm not sure if Luke's computer has the tools to edit pictures, so for now enjoy them sideways!
This was the shot of Benjamin that ended up on the Diamond Vision at the San Diego Padres game last summer. Adorable!