Claire

I am not sure who checks my personal blog, so I thought I would post some recent pics of Claire. She is now 20 months old and is a ball full of energy! She is very verbal and we have a ball. However, I am nowhere near wanting to have another one. I don't know how some of you do it!

Late!

Happy late birthday to Ashlee and Megan!! I hope it was a fun day for the both of you!

Check Out My Non-Blog

I just posted a lot of details about my Mary Kay inventory cleanout on MyEpistles. I am giving a mega discount on all products I have in stock. If you don't check my non-blog often, now is the time to do it! If you need an invitation to the site or want the info via email, let me know.

4 months old!

Hello! Here are some fun pics. I decided kids grow like WEEDS! It is so fun to see how much Haylee has grown over the last few months. She is becoming quite vocal and makes squawking noises all the time. We love it! She is very fun and always wants me to play with her. She is becoming quite the momma's girl!

Any Excitement At Home?

Hey Girls,

I am curious if there is any excitement going on at home this weekend. I'm going to be taking a trip out there for my sis-in-law's baby shower on Saturday. I'd love to hang with any of you at a swimming pool or the living planet aquarium or whatever -- kids or no kids welcome! I am probably going to leave Thursday morning but am flexible. Call me if you want to get together!

Kati's new arrival!

Kati had a baby boy early this morning at 12:04 am! He is 7 lbs. 3 0z. and 20 inches long. Mom and baby are both doing well! He has brown curly hair she said. They are naming him Kade (or maybe Cade...I didn't ask for the spelling) Stephen (her dad's name) Dixon. Her water broke at about 7 pm last night and she was only in labor for 5 hours, so she didn't have an epidural (which she planned on not having since she goes so quickly) but she said she had some drugs through an IV.

She went to the dr. yesterday morning and he said she wouldn't be having the baby too soon because she was only 50% effaced and dilated to a 1...but obviously he was wrong! She delivered at the University hospital and may go home as early as tonight.

Congratulations Kati!!

(P.S. She said it was ok for me to post since she doesn't have the internet at home. She did say she'd share some pics soon though!)

Halfway there...

Well I'm officially half way to my due date and realized that maybe some of you guys may not even know I'm pregnant yet!! I didn't post the announcement on this blog, but then realized that some people only look at this blog and not at any others! Sorry for the oversight! We had our ultrasound and we are having a baby girl! YAY! My due date is either October 29 or 30. I'm not exactly sure! We are so excited to have a little girl! I just hope she comes out with beautiful curly hair!!! That would just make me incredibly happy! I went to the Distribution Center (for unmentionables) and saw a cute little blessing dress and I almost started crying! I'm so excited to start shopping for her and to start decorating our nursery! YAY for pink and purple and all those fun girly clothes! We think that she will know all there is to know about football by the time she's 2! Hopefully she cooperates with us!! Anyways...I figured I would post on this blog too to share the news because we sure are excited!

my sweet baby

hey girls! I just wanted to show you my cute little guy!!

News!

I know it's shocking I actually have something to share! But if you don't check my blog I just wanted to announce that I FINALLY after a year of having a degree got a real life job! I am so excited. I really can't express how excited I am. I'll be working for the Alumni Association at the University of Utah. It really is such a great fit for me!
Anyway just thought I would share. Kind of excited about it! I hope you are all doing wonderfully! Love to all!

Luke Jacob Hawkins

Hey Everyone,
For those of you that haven't heard I had my baby on Sunday morning. We was born on his due date on Mother's Day... what a great present! We named him Luke and he weighed in at 8 lbs 7 oz. He's doing really well, the doctors were concerned because he lost a lot of weight at the hospital (almost 10%) so we're doing a lot of feedings and supplementing to get his weight back up. Jake disconnected our camera holder so i can't upload any pictures, but I will as soon as I can. I do have some posted on my blog.... along with the whole story, so check it out!!

In case you didn't know...

This past week I ran into Kass Wallin at the Maverick gas station. I hadn't seen him for a really long time, so it was fun to see him. He said he got married the week before and he had just gotten back from his honeymoon. He said he's waiting to get into law school (sounds just like us!) and he would really like to go to the U. He's on 3 waiting lists (including the U). He married a girl that he met when they were doing internships in Washington, D.C. and she is from Vegas (I think that's what he said).

Just thought I'd write about it in case any of you didn't know (cause I sure didn't!).

39.5 Weeks!

Hey girls! I just thought I'd post a pic of me before this baby comes... which will hopefully be any day now! :)

BABY!?!?

Practicing being a big brother!!
Giving kisses!!

Well it is official!! I am PREGNANT! It came as a suprise, but I went to the doctor today and everything was ok. We didn't hear a heart beat so hopefully the little bugger was just being modest and there aren't any complications. My due date is approximately December 1, but the baby will probably come in November because I was early with Drew. We also had to discuss labor because with Drew, from the time my water broke to his delivery was about 3 1/2 hours! Yikes!! The two little tikes will be about 26 months apart and I am very excited to add another rascal to the bunch!!

BUTTON #3

Well we've added another Button to our growing family. I induced on the 23 he was 8lbs 6oz 21.5 inch long I dont know who he looks like out of me and Ryan but he definately looks more like Hallie. The other two have really enjoyed the new addition, maybe a little too much! Having three will be quite the task! Anyway hope everyone's doing well! Oh yea he's a BOY! and for now his name is Matthew, but I'm just not set on it so any suggestions on a name would be helpful.

I GRADUATED!

Hello Everyone! It's been a long time since I've posted. I finally have something exciting to write about. Well . . . I graduated yesterday! It's so great to know that I never have to do homework again! I can't wait to read something because I want to and not because I have to. NO MORE TEXT BOOKS!

Kris waited to get his Associates so that we could walk together. He graduates next Spring. He's wearing that weird robe because he spoke in commencement and is a member of the Board of Trustees. His speech was awesome! Of course I would think that because I'm his wife, but he's a great public speaker. That was his last duty as student body president. It will be so nice to have our lives back and live at our apartment more than we live at the school.

I guess another big thing is that I cut my hair. It's been long for so long that I just wanted a change.

Baby Bird

Here are some fun pictures. We blessed Haylee last week. Haylee is growing so fast. We took her for her 2 month appointment & she weighs 12 lbs! It is so much fun being a mom.

Here are my neices & Haylee. We had a hard time getting them to all hold still & smile for the picture.

Haylee on her blessing day!

there is life after taxes

Hi everyone! I am feeling great today because tax season is over!!! I cannot even tell you how relieved and happy I am to finally have a life outside of work. It was so emotionally/mentally/physically draining to work 65 hours/week for 2 months straight! So life is great now and 40 hours seems like nothing.

Jeff and I are going to Argentina! His work is sending him there for 5 weeks and I am going for 3. I am sad that we'll spend 16 long days apart but I am so excited to go! I am going to go to a Spanish school in Buenos Aires for a week while he finishes up work and then we'll spend the rest of the time traveling. I have been diligently studying Spanish for the last 2 years and I hope my the school will help.

And our last and most exciting news is that we are moving to California! Jeff got in to the MPA program at USC with a great scholarship. It was the hardest decision in the world deciding on which school he should go to and I feel really good and excited about our decision. So once again, I will be doing what I do best - packing up and moving, finding a place to live, and finding a new job. We don't know the LA area at all, and we hear the school is in a bad part of town, so if you have any suggestions of good areas to live in LA, let me know.

I hope you are all doing well! I love hearing and reading about your lives!

I got accepted!

I just wanted to tell you all that I was accepted into the MRI program at the U of U. I am so excited. There were 24 applicants and only 6 spots, so I was very nervous. I start July 7th and finish December 15th.

Huge Baby Sale!

Hey Friends,

My sister is the queen of knowing about baby sales. There is one tomorrow, Friday the 11th, in Sandy. It is at the Hilltop Methodist Church on 10600 South across from the Dimple Dell Recreation Center. I think it's supposed to be held from 9am to 8pm and has everything from books to clothes to toys to furniture. Thought you might be interested!!

Love Beck

The Homestretch

I know a lot of you have probably seen this picture on my own blog. But I thought I'd post it here as well! I am 35 weeks along now and have about 5 weeks left. Hopefully this little guy will come a little sooner than that, but it's coming quickly. I had a doctors appointment today and we did an ultrasound to make sure his head was down... she said that everything looked great and that I needed to be extra aware of signs of "labor" now..... not just "pre-term labor." I started to panic a little, this is getting very real! I'm super excited and I'm so ready to have my body back and to be able to buckle my own shoes or shave my legs or really bend over and pick things up! I know you moms can attest to that! I hope everything is well for everyone!!!

Life as a Mom

Raini Girl
Mr. Bode
The Family at Justin's, my little bro's wedding

So the past couple of weeks I have just be thinking how I have gotten the hang of two kids. I mean at least they are both on schedules and they are really cute to each other. Well, so yesterday I think I can say that I really don't..... So Bode has been sick for about 2 weeks, so I thought I better just take him into the Doctor. So I have decided that inorder to be anywhere on time I have to start getting the kids ready one hour early. So I got Raini up and started to change her diaper, and it wasn't just a little pee pee diaper, you know, it was one of the ones you have to use 2 or 3 wipes on. So anyway I set it next to her while I turned to help Bode, and when I looked back she had her arm in it and had grabbed it and it was all over her. So instead of putting the other diaper on I thought I better get her in the tub. So Bode and I ran to the other bathroom, to grab the baby soap and when we got back she had gone again, all over herself and the bed. So discussed I grabbed her, put her in the tub and started washing. When mean while. Bode was in his room being very quite. The next thing I know Bode walks in naked and decides he wants to sit on the toliet. So while I'm holding Raini in the tub I'm holding Bode on the toliet. Who realy doesn't like the toliet because of the big hole. So dealing with two screaming kids, trying to hurry to get to the Doctor, I got Raini out put a diaper on her and then put a diaper on Bode. We were all ready to go when Bode decides to poo, so we went to change it and he stuck his hand in it and smeared it all over his bed. I was freaking out, I couldn't believe that this was my life!!! Poo poo and more poo! So we got in the car drove like crazy to the Doctor and come to find out he just had a simple cold...all that to say he has a cold! So needless to say, I don't have the hang of things and probably never will, but I guess you just take one day at a time and laugh at the little things. It doesn't last forever!! Well, I miss everyone! Hope all is well! Love you all! Patrice

Food Court Musical

LaFaunda sent this to me. You guys have to check it out! It is HILARIOUS!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkYZ6rbPU2M

Disneyland Hotels

Hey, I have kind of a random question for you all. Do you remember which hotel we stayed in repeatedly when we went on choir tour to Disneyland? And/or do you have a favorite hotel within walking distance of Disneyland that you would recommend to stay in?

Let me know asap. We might head down there if I can get arrangements made!!

Quick Update

Molly in her Easter dress

Molly in her new swimsuit

Hey everyone! I know a bunch of us have our own blogs, but I thought I'd just quickly post some pics here and let everyone know what we're up to. Molly will be six months old on April 7th! She is rolling over, and trying really hard to sit up (she fell out of her bouncer the other day trying...oops!). She is such a happy baby--always smiling.

Yesterday we celebrated Justin's 25th birthday. We went up to Park City and went shopping, just the three with us. It was a lot of fun.

On another note, Justin has heard back from a few law schools and we're going to let everyone know when we've heard from the rest of the schools what our plans are for the fall.

I love reading what all of you are up to! Hope everyone is well.

Edible Playdough

Hey I saw this on John Kate plus 8! It is a great show and really motivates me to have more kids and be a great mom. Hey she is still alive and functioning with 8 so I can make it with one!! Anyways she made edible playdough for her 3 year olds. It sounded like fun! I haven't tried it yet, only because I would probably be the one eating it, not Drew! Here it is: Eaqual parts of powdered milk, honey, and peanut butter. I can already smell it now, hmmm. Enjoy, I hope it comes in handy for someone!!

Happy Birthday Emily!!!!

Happy Birthday! I'm sure we all wish you were here to celebrate!!!

ta da

no one has posted in awhile... so this is random... but hopefully entertaining.

THE BIG "03"

Well, my first baby is 3

Ahh! Time flies way too fast. Her birthday really lasted a week because we went to St. George and had her party down there with my family, so we had a little party with Ryan's on Sunday.

She now is wrapping up anything she can find and askes you to open your present. Anything wrapped, shiny or has a bow, it's hers. Not much else to tell Blake wont talk, but he has successfully figured out the word no and loves it. He is such a boy, anything he has becomes a car and my walls are the race track. He makes me laugh. It will be very interesting to see what this next baby brings into our lives. Anyway hope everyone else is doing great! HAPPY EASTER! This is my favorite time of year.

My NON-Blog

Hey Girlies,

It's me again. I just wanted to let you all know that I am creating a "non-blog." :) That's what I'm calling it anyway. After many requests from friends and family to start a blog, I am finally doing it. Well, sort of. I don't feel entirely at ease with the blogging world and security issues involving my family. Maybe I'm just paranoid! But I've found a solution to keep you all updated in a way I feel is safe. I'll be using a website called MyEpistles.com. I will send out email invites for you to join/sign-in and read my posts. If you're not interested, you can discard the email and never visit the site. And if I miss getting an invitation to you, let me know and we'll fix it. Hopefully you won't think it's a pain!

A little more about MyEpistles: Adam's cousin created the site. We have groups for our families and it's so fun. I can set it up so each member of the invited group can be listed as a commenter or an author. An author will post an "epistle." I'll probably make everyone commenters so it's actually my non-blog; however, if you think it'd be fun to open it up to all authors, let me know. There are also tabs where you can personalize your name, track significant dates, and list your address and phone number (optional). The members of my group will include friends from high school, college, etc. If you don't want to participate, you don't have to. But of course I'd love it if you did. Watch for an email from me!

Love Becky

Haylee Bird

Here is the newest addition to the Bird family. Haylee LaRee Bird was born 2 weeks ago! Wow the time has flown by. I started feeling labor pains Sunday night. They lasted all day monday, but I thought they were false. Monday night they started getting worse and so I had Tyler take me to the hospital just to check it out. My contractions were every 5 minutes, but they weren't horribly painful. We both thought I would end up being sent home. But, instead we had Haylee the next morning. The doctor on call was Stuart's dad and so he ended up delivering her. He did a great job. Everything went so fast. I hope that all of my babies come that smoothly. She has been so much fun to have around. But, I have to admit that I am alot more tired than I had expected. I have a new respect for motherhood. I have no idea how people have more than 1 kid. I am exhausted with just one! I guess I will just have to tough it out someday. Anyways, I hope you are all doing well.

Hello to everyone

It has been awhile since my last post but I really haven't had time to sit down and post. Jacee has been keeping me updated. Scott didn't come home for lunch today so I thought that I would take this time to say hello. Life has been pretty busy around here...Scott and Kris, are trying to get a business up and running, I'm training for a half marathon that is on march 8th, we are getting ready to go on a cruse and trying to keep up with Emily. Emily is now 3 months old and so much fun. She has figured out that she has hands and loves to chew on them. She loves to smile and kicks like crazy when we put her on her back. It is so much fun to see her grow and change right in front of us! We are still living in orem but we might be moving out of Utah. Were not sure but we think that it sounds like fun. I loved looking at and reading all the other posts. I figured that they had been posted for a while instead of responding to all of them I would do it all at once. Everyone looks great and sounds great! Good luck to everyone that is pregnant, moving or what ever else is going on!! Talk to you all soon.

All That Jazz

Hey All,

I have a good friend who told me about an awesome sewing website. They sell some really cool fabric (although it's expensive), and I thought some of you might enjoy taking a peek. http://purlsoho.com/purl

Colt is learning so much right now. He loves to smack his lips together, give fives, say "Oh", turn the lights on and off, pull himself up on anything (or try to anyway), do the army crawl, sleep on his tummy with his knees tucked under him... My favorite is when he grunts really loud to get attention because at the same time, he throws his arms down in a jolt and makes his body stiff (okay, that's hard to explain). It is hilarious! He loves his Tonka truck, the itsy bitsy spider song, and walking everywhere (with help, of course).

We are currently in Salt Lake, staying with my parents. It has been an enjoyable trip so far -- for the most part! Our schedule is quite hectic and it's seems like something wrong or crazy happens everyday. We traveled Wednesday afternoon, and because of the insane snowstorm, it took us between 6 and 7 hours to get here! Yuck. My sister and her two kids and my brother got stranded that same night and slept over with us at my parents' house. Thursday morning we began to recover... except that we had a tricky time getting Colt to the doctor, then waited there forever. Not to mention Colt dropped in weight and height percentiles and the doc practically made me feel like I'm starving my baby. What?! Good thing Adam and I had a nice V-day date. Then I was really disappointed because I forgot my temple recommend and we couldn't go like we planned. Bah. Friday my mom and I ran errands with Colt. We visited my grandpa, and I accidentally spilled baby food carrots and it splattered ALL over his carpet, couch, linoleum, and clothes. Carrots pretty much stain. Oh, boy. By the time we got home, Adam and I needed to rush and meet friends for dinner. But we couldn't because Colt had a diaper blowout! Yuck again. We survived. This morning I awoke and realized that I didn't bring my BYU ID and all sport pass; we're planning to go to the basketball game tonight and, of course, it's sold out. What is the deal? It's like I'm pregnant (except I'm not) and my brain is absent!! Maybe I never got it back in the first place...

Okay, that's all. Here's to hoping for less crazy days.

Happy Birthday to Janessa today!!

I always remember Karen and Janessa's birthday's because they're just one day apart. Janessa, hope you have a fabulous birthday. Love your new blog, Drew is adorable!!

Happy Birthday to KAREN!!

Happy Birthday to Karen today! She is so great for starting this whole blog thing and for doing all the work of keeping us all updated with the address and birthday list. Isn't she the best? Happy Birthday, we all love you!!

Its a BOY!

Hey everyone it has been a little while ok a long while since I have been on so I thought that I should share our good news. We just found out that we are having another cute boy!!! I am very excited, I really didn't care either way but I was right on my guess, I have been carrying the exact same as I was with Drew besides the fact that I feel and am a bit bigger! It will be fun to have to wild little boys to chase around! Oh and on the ultrasound there was no sign of the hemorage anymore so I can finally exercise again.
Besides that news everything is the same old. Drew had his first dentist appointment today it was a little scary but he was so excited to get a new tooth brush and tooth paste! Drew is growing so big and cute I love him to death! Andy is never home, school is so so time consuming but someday it will be over. I hope that everyone is doing great!
I am having trouble putting on pics and drew just woke up so I will post some sometime soon!

I jumped on the band wagon!

Ok so I did it. Finally after months and hours of reading everyone else's blog, I made one. Nick was like " What is this and why don't we have one?" when he saw me reading one day. So here it is. Not much, but at least I have started. I really don't have time for this, but oh well. Just don't be suprised if my house is messy and dinner isn't ready because all afternoon I have been blogging. Take care! Janessa http://janessanick.blogspot.com/

Want to get away?

So I have been thinking, since it is completely freezing and snowing where most of you are, you should all just come here to visit me! The weather is pretty darn mild (I do miss the snow though) Anyone is more than welcome!

Who's Pregnant?

Here are a few pictures of me at 26 weeks. Jake took them yesterday. I'm going straight out so I thought I'd show you a behind picture then the side view!

So Grateful

Hey guys! I saw this on tv the last night and it touched me so much that I had to share it with everyone. How grateful I am so have a healthy husband and son and be with them today. This story really helps one count their blessings. Love you all
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3776975n

Here Goes THE Update

Well, to start off, I miss you guys. I'm not depressed or even very lonely, but what a great group of friends we have!

We have been in Star Valley for almost two weeks. I really like it here. It gets COLD -- 24 below zero cold -- but as hard as it is to believe, it doesn't feel that cold. I sometimes get bummed when it starts snowing AGAIN, but all in all the weather has been fine. Not to mention it is beautiful here. So beautiful!

We're settled and doing well. Adam is working for his dad doing development, remodeling, accounting, etc; mostly whatever their newest idea is! I spend my time trying not to be bored. Luckily I landed upon boxes of books and have lots to read; Adam's mom also invited me over to make 12 Grain Bread (yummy!!); and Colt takes some attending to. :)



Colt is such a cutie. He's still not crawling, but that is good for now -- we haven't bought a gate for the stairs yet. He has been pretty sick for a few days. He slept a TON and wouldn't eat much. It is wonderful that he is feeling so much better now.

We have such a nice place to live in; we love it! And there is room for visitors if you want to make the 3.5 hour drive. Check out the great view from our front porch.





Well, this week has been awesome for news! We found out that three of my sisters-in-law are pregnant!! I guess Adam and I are on the "off" year, but that's okay.

It's kind of amazing that I can miss my family and friends so much more now... I guess I mentally understand that they are all further away. Good thing I have some wonderful family here to do us good.

Keep in touch and lots of love!

St. Louis, Missouri

My brother has finally left on his mission. We dropped him off yesterday; with a mother, a pregnant woman, and three sisters on their periods let me tell you how controlled our emotions were.

We are excited for him though, and hope the time flies!!!

Baby Shower!

Who: Laura Bird and baby Haylee

Where: Meg Miller's
1177 East 8600 South Sandy, UT 84094

When: Saturday, January 12th
11 am -1 pm
A light lunch will be served

Invitations will be in your mailboxes soon!

Please respond in the comments if you will be able to make it so Meg knows how much food to prepare. Also, if you'd like to help, talk to Meg! Thanks!

Funny Stuff!

Hey everyone!! I hope that you guys had a great Christmas. Hear is a very funny website that will have you rolling about mom stuff. http://inthemotherhood.msn.com/?GT1=10749 Watch episode one it is the funniest. I thought that everyone could use a good laugh!! Oh I cut my hair short for the first time in 23 years!?! It was fun! We will see how long it lasts! Take care!

Merry Christmas late,,,

Hello everyone! I just wanted to say Merry Christmas to everyone. I don't get as much time as I used to so I don't post much or check the blog. When Emily is sleeping I have to choose what must be done and then if there is time then what I want to get done. All you mothers know how this goes. It has been a very busy month for us but in between all the Christmas stuff we blessed our little baby on December 23rd. Scott and I had a lot of family in town that we wanted to be at the blessing so we decided to bless her really early. We did it at Scotts parents so we wouldn't have to take her to church. These area few more pictures of Emily. Our Christmas card picture we used and she has been a little sick and the only place that she would sleep was in her tub. Silly baby but it helped her sleep. Hope everyone had a great Christmas!! The Wilsons

THIS FRIDAY

Just a couple things.
I need to know a rough estimate of who is coming by Thursday so we can get the bread bowls; If you know someone who is coming that hasn't posted just list their name for me.

I think that we will just hang out after dinner, unless you are dying to play a game with everyone, then you can bring one.

I'm pretty sure that's all Oh wait if anyone is trying to decide on what to bring we're lacking in the goodies department!

Thanks for helping and I hope your week goes well! And I'll see you on Friday!

PREGNANCY AND BABIES

so everyone is pregnant or already has kids and i was feeling a bit left out. so i made something. damn i'm funny. but seriously... who has kids and who is pregnant.... and for those of you who are still confused, i'm not pregnant.

New edition

Hey there friends, I thought it was about time to post. It has been a really really long time.... So Things are great. We moved into a new house about 2 months ago. I really like it. The house is awesome and the neighborhood is perfect. There are alot of young couples that live around us, so we have prospects of future friends, it we get out to meet some people. Clint graduated on Friday!! HEYYYYY!! Finally!!! We were pretty excited! But our most exciting news is the birth of our newest edition, Miss Raini Pedersen! She was born on December 11, at 9:52 am. After a fun night at the hospital, and a quick delivery she was born. Everything went smooth. I thought life was going to be so hard with 2 kids. I never knew how I could love anyone as much as I love Bode, but it is amazing how much love you can have for your kids. She is beautiful in every way and I can't think of anything more amazing than bringing children into this world. Anyway, sorry for getting so sentimental. I just love all you guys and hope you are enjoying your Christmas season!

Merry Christmas

I thought that it would be fun to post our Christmas card online instead of sending a bunch out. I hope that everyone is having a great holiday season anis able to spend some time with the ones that they love! Merry Christmas! Love you all!

Car for Sale!

My nurse Sid is selling her gold 2005 Honda Accord if anyone is interested or knows someone who is. It has 36,000 miles on it and says its a gem!

Harp this Sunday

Hey everyone! I just thought I would let you all know I am playing my harp in my parents ward this Sunday, the 9th. A bunch of you asked me to tell you when my recital was and I forgot to post it. So I thought I would tell you about this. My parents ward is at 11:00. The address is 9150 south 1300 east. It is the cream church by the Kinder Care and Western Gardens on 13th.

Another baby picture

I wanted to post this picture because its my favorite so far. This was taken the day Emily was born. Emily is officially 1 week old. When I was up with her this morning at 4:31 it was crazy to think that last week I was giving birth to her at 4:31. It has been a fun and tiring week! Now I know how all you moms feel.

HO HO HO!!

Hi Everyone!! I hope that everyone is having a great holiday season!! Every year my family and I adopt a family for Christmas instead of exchaning gifts for the adults. It has turned out to be one of my most favorite thins to look forward to and I get more excited picking out toys for the children than I do for my own. This year we have a family that has relocated here due to the Katrina disaster. There is a single mom who works 2 jobs, a 10 year old boy, a 6 year old girl and a 3 year old boy. My siblings and I have split the children up between us. We are asked that each child receive two articles of clothing, two toys and a book. Now that isn't alot to get them, however when I sat back and looked at it, I realized that this is probably all that these kids would be getting for Christmas, and that isn't alot. Especially considering that they probably lost and had to leave behind alot at their home back east, due to Katrina. Anyways I was just wondering in anyine wanted to pitch in with extra toys of clothes of even something nice for the home that a family would enjoy. Like I said, we are going to cover their main gifts, but I just feel bad that we personally can't give them more, which they need probably more than any of us do. If you have any ideas or would like to pitch in, email me at janessa.whatcott@hotmail.com or call me at 891.1372. Oh and everything has to be done by the 17th. Thanks, love you all Janessa

Advent Calendar

I was checking out my cousin's blog today and saw the cutest advent calendar ever that she made!! I try to be crafty, and sometimes succeed and sometimes don't, but I totally want to make this!! I don't have these stamps or anything, but I think I will just make some minor adjustments and make something work. I'll post a pic on my blog if I finish it and it looks decent! But here is the link to check out the tutorial:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/advent_calendar/
See what you think!

Christmas "Party" Details

So the 21 does seem to work out well for most. This party will also be a farewell to Adam and Becky before they leave for the wild wild west!

I was thinking dinner around 6:30; I will make a tomato basil soup, bread bowls, and crackers and a cheese ball. If you guys could bring the odds and ends, fruit, vegetables, dessert, drinks you know what you like. If someone dares to make another soup that would be awesome. I will have plates, cups, etc... Just post what you will do on the blog so others can figure out what they will do.

Then theres the question of what to do after dinner, ideas are very welcome we could just mingle, or do a white elephant gift, or some kind of game???

THERE ARE NO INVITATIONS, STRICTLY WORD OF MOUTH SO INVITE WHO YOU TALK TO, EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

I'll post directions to my house later, if you have any other comments/questions, post 'em or
e-mail me at brobutton@gmail.com

p.s. this is my first planning/gathering event so there's bound to be some screw ups.