lots of family, lots of fun!

We found out the week after Thanksgiving that R's Grandpa F has brain cancer and may not be with us for too much longer (thankfully he is doing much better as of late). Due to the fact that we don't know how much time we have left with him, we had alot of family head into town to see Grandpa.

R and I relised that we were very blessed with the fact that we had a house that everyone could come to. (Since R's mom, dad, and sister K moved up to Utah, there was no place for everyone to crash otherwise.) We knew that there was no way that we could have fit everyone in the old apartment, we barely fit in it! So yet another reason why we love this new house.

The Sunday after Christmas we had R's Sister, Aunt A and her family come and stay with us for a week. It was so nice to get to know them better, and to see the kids playing together. (A is still talking about cousin R, and pretends to talk to her on the phone)

A with Cousin R

A on a trip to Gran and Gramp F's house with Aunt A, Uncle W, and cousin R

We also had a chance to spend time with R's other sister C and her family while they were here. (unfortunately I never had my camera out when they were here, I need to get the pics that C took with her camera). We went to the park a couple of times, and we got to spend one night with everyone here at the house... 9 more people than we are used to, but so fun. The adults, besides R (horrible timing, he got the flu), stayed up playing games, talking, and eating root beer floats.

Although it was a bit hectic at times (trying to keep 4 to 7 kids quiet, so that Uncle W could work from the office), it was lots of fun, and we hope that we can do it again some time. Just for a different reason that we all get together.

late but here!

I am horrible at uploading my pictures from the camera in a timely manner... So here are the pictures from Christmas.

The Tree (on a side note, A keeps asking about the tree and commenting on how mommy and daddy put it away, I think she is still upset with us)



The Nativity at the Temple. The kids had lots of fun looking at the lights and Baby Jesus.
Showing off their new Christmas PJ's
Opening presents
Playing with the Potato head toys..... I'm kinda regretting the decision to buy those ones.

Getting farther...

So with all the running I have been doing the last two weeks I am finally able to run almost a whole lap around the 1/2 mile loop. Although my run may be a slow one, I am doing it. Last night the only thing that stopped me from going the whole way was my knee.

Although I am not a fan of pain, I am going to keep the running up. I hope to feel better about the way that I look, and better physically. I am already seeing a difference in the way my pants fit, and how flat my belly is starting to look. R told me the other day as he gave me a hug before going to bed, "don't let this go to your head, but I can tell your loosing weight". Yay, I'm not the only one noticing a difference!

I am so grateful to you wonderful friends that are making it easier to keep this up! and keep encouraging me to go farther! your are wonderful!!!

I suppose I should conclude now, seeings as I now have a very messy little boy to clean up, and a couple of piles of spaghetti to pick up from chair, floor, and table.

GO ME!

I just want to say.... I ran a whole 1/4 of a mile with out stopping tonight! I am so floating on air, I don't know if I have been able to do that since PE in 6th grade. Which once again was... a while ago. (its not that I am afraid to put my age on here, I have just noticed that most of my readers are older than me, and don't want them to feel too old :)).

Thank you, you wonderful friends that push me to get better. I am hoping by next week I can do the whole lap. We shall see if my lungs will allow that, but that's my goal.

And reality set in....

So a friend from church was asking if anyone would like to join a running group. I thought "hey I have been wanting to get into running, I'm gonna join!".

In my imagination I saw myself being able to run long distance and keep up with the other "girls" with no problems. I was so pumped for the night that I was going to start. I headed out of the house to get there early (mainly due to the fact that I HATE HATE HATE being late for anything), and I was so excited to show my stuff....

After a change of location, and a couple of walking laps around the loop, I was already feeling it. I decided to put on my big girl panties and run anyways. Reality set in within a short distance when my lungs felt like they were going to leap out of my chest. I pushed my self to keep going. It got to a point where I just couldn't run anymore, I had to walk.

I thought I must have gone a considerable distance, even if it wasn't half way around the track. I looked behind me and saw just how far I went. Boy was I disappointed. I hadn't gone far at all.

I have to say I was more disappointed in the fact that I had let myself get so out of shape than anything else. I realised that I haven't run since I was in 9th grade, that was.... a while ago. I cant believe that I would let myself be so lazy, and give up on myself as much as I have, to get to this point.

I decided that I better put my big girl panties on and keep going the 3 nights a week we had decided on. One of these days I will get to see those things I was imagining, it will just take a while and lots of work. But this time I AM NOT GOING TO GIVE UP! I am going to keep doing it, because I want to better myself and live a healthier lifestyle. I don't want all the health problems that so many of my family members have from being overweight.

I WILL DO THIS BECAUSE I AM WORTH IT!!!

I am so thankful to you Sisters (you know who you are) that kept pushing me last night. I did get farther than the time before and my lungs weren't hurting nearly as much when I got home. You guys are Angels!

Things that I love...

I LOVE this time of year. This time of year has been my favorite for as long as I can remember. Although I have to say that I love my Utah Autumns and Winters.

I love the feel and the smell of the leaves that have fallen from the trees. The crunch and crackle under foot, and the sweet smell that they give off when decomposing. The beauty of the trees with the multicolored leaves. The yellows, golds, oranges, and browns. It is a beauty that is there for a short time every year before all the leaves fall on the ground, and you know that if you don't take it all in you will miss it.

I love the snow, the way that it makes the world look so clean and white. I really miss being around the snow for that reason. I remember days in Jr. High and High School when I would be walking around outside. The snow would glisten under foot, and there was fog all around me, I felt totally alone and yet at peace. I love the crisp air that chills your nose and cheeks and the way if feels when you start thawing out. I love how clean the air seems. I love the crunch under foot from stepping on ice and snow.

I love the beautiful Christmas lights, especially at the temples. I love the way that they glisten and add so much color to the otherwise dark and boring night.

I love the tasty dinners that you only get at this time of year. The smells of the turkey in the oven, and the taste of the homemade stuffing. I grew up in a family where we made lots of pies so I love that part the most.

I love the wonderful memories of years past. Memories of my Grandpa that died when I was very young, going to Christmas Village (in Ogden UT), Family,and parades. There are so many memories that add to my love of this season.

I love Christmas music that gets you in the Christmas spirit. The songs that proclaim the birth of Jesus Christ and his mission here on the earth. I love the fact that you can hear it everywhere this time of year, you go to the store and you hear it, its on the radio (or at least on 99.9 KAZ), and you don't feel so guilty pulling out your Christmas CD's.

I love hot chocolate and lazy evenings playing board games with family and friends. Just taking it easy and not worrying about the troubles of the world for a while.

So needless to say, there are many things that I love, and there are more, but I think that I will stop with these ones. I hope that I haven't bored you with this, I just felt a need to get it out.

Adventures in taking pictures....

So this year we really don't have enough money to get our pics taken professionally, so we decided to be cheap and take some pics at home and hope that they turned out good.

We had lots of fun setting up green screen material (that Richard has bought for his web series that he is getting started), lights and getting the kids to stay away from the cords. We have some wonderful friends that came over and took pics of us, along with us taking some to see if we could take some good ones.

I have to say I think that they turned out pretty good, we are hoping to be creative and get a good picture of an outdoor scene or something and we can impose it with the green screen, but even with out it, I have to say that some of the pics (especially the ones with Amanda) turned out with the green.

Any way to save money right?