Lasagna Anyone???

I don't think just a wipe will clean this big mess up!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Garrison playing his new Wii game

Our new Trampoline (safety net is not up yet)

After Santa came

Jammies opened up on Christmas Eve

Our family wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Let us all take some time to remember that without our Savior Jesus Christ, none of us would be here. I am grateful for Him and all that he did and continues to do for me and my family. I am grateful for Mary and Joseph and their undying faith. I am grateful for the great care they took in caring for the Prince of Peace.

I am thankful for my family. This year has not been an easy one for me or them and I know that without each of them, I would not have made it through. My children give me strength to go on and to realize that this beautiful life is truly a treasure.

I am thankful for my husband. He truly is my everything. Without him, I would be nothing. I am grateful for all of the sacrifices he has made for our family. I am grateful for his testimony of the gospel and his love for our Heavenly Father and Savior. Thank you Buddy for everything.

I am grateful for my friends. You know who you are. I am grateful for their love and guidance. I am grateful for their faith during tough times. I am grateful for their love for me no matter what. They do not judge me and love and respect me for who I am. Some who read this have been my friend since birth (literally) and others have been my friend for a few months but you all mean so much to me. Omaha, I love you!!!!!

I am grateful for my wonderful parents who have given me so much. The testimony of my parents has carried me through many difficult times. Even though my mom lives far away, and my dad is gone, I feel their love each and every day.

I am thankful for this wonderful day. I am thankful that it gives me the opportunity to sit and realize just how lucky I truly am. I have four beautiful children, an amazing husband, friends and family that all mean everything to me. I am thankful for the gospel. It is why I am who I am.

I am most importantly thankful for my Savior. I cant express enough how thankful I am for the Atonement. He paid the price for me and my sins and I find myself much less than worthy of that kind of love. However, He gives it to me none-the-less. I try every day to do as He would have me do. I can never repay Him for all of my blessings. Merry Christmas everyone. We love you.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today would have been my dads 69th birthday. This day is always rough especially since it is so close to Christmas. Christmas always makes me miss my dad as it was such an important holiday to him. My dad LOVED Christmas. It meant that he got to buy gifts for not only his family but many times other families as well. He loved to make others happy. He was such a generous man. He also loved to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. My dad had such a love for the Savior. He had an incredible testimony of the gospel. He loved The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints. He was proud to be a member of this great church.

My dad was such an amazing man. Of course he had his faults and knew very well how to embarrass me but what an incredible dad he was. He loved his family unconditionally. He treated my mom like a queen and expected her children to do the same. He always complemented me. It is funny how siblings can be to each other and he would hear some comments made and then later in the day would pull me aside and let me know how special I was. I cannot tell you how many of those instances I still remember and carry with me close to my heart.

When my father passed away, it was just me and my mom there with him waiting together for the paramedics. The last thing my dad ever said to me was "Don't cry Heather, everything is going to be okay." I knew at that moment that he was going to die that morning. Moments later he did. Once we found out that my dad had a terminal illness (8 days prior to his death) he was not afraid of dying. He knew the gospel was true and he knew that he had tried his hardest to live righteously. His concerns laid with his wife and family. He was worried about us being okay without him. That is the kind of man my father was. He never worried about himself. Always putting others in front of him. At times when you thought he would be so angry at you for something, those were the times that he was the most compassionate. At least with me. I cannot speak for my other siblings.

I miss my dad so very much. There is not a minute of a day that goes by that I do not think of him. I miss him so much. I just want him to be proud of me and know that I love him so very much. Thanks for being my dad. Thanks for loving me and giving me such a wonderful childhood. Thanks for loving our mom and showing us how to not only respect others but to be respected. I love you daddy poo!!!

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!!!

It has been snowing all day today and the kids couldn't be more excited. Now when it snows here, it doesn't always stick like it does in Nebraska but sometimes we get lucky. By the end of the storm later this week we may actually have some decent accumulation. As of now we have a few inches. The kids came right home from school and started playing. After they played for a little bit, they came in and had some hot chocolate. It was so fun.

Happy Anniversary!!!!

Today, (Pretend this is being posted on December 13) is our 11 year anniversary. It has been such a wonderful day and an amazing 11 years. First off, I want to tell my husband Buddy just how much I love him. He truly is the love of my life. He is my soul mate. I am so blessed to have him in my life. He has stood by me through thick and thin and loves me no matter what. He has put up with quite a lot being married to me and I will be eternally grateful to him for loving me so very much. He truly is the most amazing husband ever. Thanks babe for being so wonderful. I love you with all that I am.

The day started off with a beautiful boquet of a dozen yellow roses. Then, he let me go have a few hours to myself. Then tonight, we got all dressed up and went to his work Christmas party. We have been to many work Christmas parties but this one was by far the most fun. We had a blast. The highlight of the evening however, was when Buddy participated in a singing contest. It was not really Karoke because there was no screen to read the words off of and it was with a live band on stage. So Buddy sang "Sweet Home Alabama" and did awesome. So many people were amazed that Buddy really did know how to sing and sang very well. Out of the 5 contestents, it was down to Buddy and one other guy. They had a sing off and Buddy was hillarious. He didn't really know the song but he got up there and shook his booty and just had a ball. Everyone loved it!!! A side to Buddy that most have never ever seen. He won a $1000 American Airlines gift card!!!! It was so much fun.

Now it is very late and we have Church VERY early so I am off to bed. What an amazing day!!!

Our Thanksgiving Trip

My, my sister Tiffany, my sister Linda, all holding my cute mama.

My niece Melissa

My sister in law Jen, her son Luke, and her daughter Camryn

My brother Richard, Buddy, my brother Darren and my nephew Ryan playing Rook.

My nephew Eric being so silly

Well, we left on November 22 and went as far as Flagstaff and spent the night with Buddy's parents. We woke up the next morning and went to Hurricane to spend some time with my family. All of my siblings except for one came so it was a lot of fun to see everyone. We left there on Wednesday and went back to Flagstaff to spend Thanksgiving with my husbands family. We had a lot of fun there as well including early morning shopping on Friday. I didn't take nearly enough pictures but here are some of what I did take.