Happy Birthday Ethan!!

Well folks, Ethan is now 8 years old!! I can't stand it. Where did the time go? Here's a stunner.. When the new baby is Ethan's age, Ethan will be 16!!! I need smelling salts. He had a great birthday. He gave me an igloo shaped cake pan for Christmas, so I thought, what the heck. It's still winter, he likes cake....So he got an igloo cake for his birthday complete with powdered sugar "snow". I'm so proud of my boy. He is such a compassionate person. Ethan always is thinking about others and wanting to make sure they are ok. Most of the time I'm totally amazed at how kind and patient he is with Emily, so when he loses it with her I know she really deserved it! :)He loves anything that has to do with Star Wars and Legos and if they are Star Wars Legos, watch out! Anyway here is a picture of the boy with his cake.

3...4...2...1!

All that is needed here is I was so upset with my child today, I forgot how to count backwards!!!! Sigh.

Charlie bit My finger

Oh my goodness! My friend Erin showed me this on her Iphone and I nearly peed my pants laughing. The best part is that it's a little British boy and the accent is what's so funny!

Officially a Boy

Well folks, it's happened. My son is now a full fledged boy. This evening after I called Ethan and Emily in from playing, I caught Ethan doing what every boy must be programed to do. I was coming around the corner and there he is, standing with the fridge door wide open, ready to take a drink of milk. RIGHT FROM THE JUG. I thought this didn't occur until puberty was upon them. I was wrong. I can only wonder how often he does it or if this was his first attempt. Heaven willing he'll wait until puberty to try again.

I Survived Black Friday.....

I HATE crowds. In all my life of shopping, and all of you know I LOVE shopping, I have never done Black Friday. Have you heard the horror stories??? Jeff used to call me when he was on graves and tell me about all the crazies in line at midnight.... Well, my good friend Jenny talked me into going with her this year. I got up at 4 A.M. Oh yes, you read that right. Most of you know that I am not a morning person, so this in itself is a MAJOR accomplishment for Jenny. Jeff asked me before I left if I was excited, and I'm not going to lie. I told him I was actually a little scared! He LAUGHED. We were at Kohl's by 5am. When we walked in there was already a line that wrapped AROUND the inside of store for check out!!!! Long story short, I actually had a great time. There were 7 of us and we took turns standing in line so that made it bearable. I actually got some really good deals at Kohl's and saved myself almost $100! I'm signing up for the crazy train again next year. That's right, I've gone to the dark side.

"Poo" Corner

My friend Jenny's little girl is now completely comfortable in my house. She has found a corner to do her business in! She hides behind the recliner in the front room. Haha. And let me tell you it perfumes the house! Haha. I'm glad she feels at home..

Apple Pie Muffins

Ok. My friend Jenny and I want to open a cafe. I'm in charge of baking and she's in charge of sandwiches and salads. Here is one of my creations..... Apple Pie Muffin w/ Crumb Topping & Cinnamon Whip Cream! It's very yummy. Last week I made pumpkin cheesecake muffins with cream cheese frosting!! Delightful. I'll post more as I come up with them. Next week I think I'll make plain old blueberry muffins.....boring I know.

Emily's Trip to the Dairy Farm

Today Emily and I went with her class to a dairy farm here in the valley. I was very impressed! The kids got to interact with all the animals and even got to flavor their own milk. Lots of fun. Here's some of what we did. Notice there are no pictures of any cows.....

What will the baby be?

We had our ultrasound on Friday. We have decided not to find out what the baby is so you will all just have to wait! Here are some of the ultrasound photos. The one in the middle is of the baby's hand, the ultrasound tech said the baby has good muscle definition already! Near the end of the ultrasound the tech showed me how the baby was laying. Both arms were behind the head and the ankles were crossed. That's Jeff's favorite position! How funny that they already have little bits of personality. As you can see, the head is big and round. Again, just like Jeff's. How fun for me. Haha!

The Fleeting Moments

Sunday was an incredibly emotional day for me. Most of you know, I don't cry very easily, but Sunday I cried several times. We had a wonderful lesson in Relief Society about being daughters of God. I was asked to read a quote by author Anna Quindlen. This is the quote:
"The biggest mistake I made as a parent is the one that most of us make... I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of my three children sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less."

How ashamed I felt of myself sitting in that room, knowing I was making those same mistakes. Knowing that I could never get those fleeting moments back.

Now, why this lesson hit home so hard:

Saturday morning we received heartbreaking news. A family in our ward lost their oldest son due to a drunk driver. This was doubly hard for us, as he was a police officer for the city of Phoenix. Shane Figueroa was responding to a shots fired call when a drunk driver ran a red light and struck the drivers side of Shane's patrol car. He is survived by his wife and 3 month old daughter as well as numerous extended family and friends.

As the wife of a police officer I have lived this in my mind wondering how I would cope if Jeff never came home from his shift. My only consolation would be my knowledge of the plan of salvation and how it works and my Savior's love for me and my family. I know his family is close to the Savior and that this is a comfort to them. I hope his wife finds peace with her Savior and comfort in his love for her and their family as well as forgiveness for the man who took her husbands life.

Please keep this family in your prayers and remember the fleeting moments of life, they are the most precious and often the ones we remember the least.