Santa and Rich

Here is a picture of Santa and Rich when he was a little boy! I think this picture was taken in around 1980-1982. I love the t-shirt and shorts he is wearing in the winter in Florida! I'm quite shocked that Richard actually sat on Santa's lap, because he was a very shy kids just like Dallin is now! And you can see where Jillian gets her toe head hair! I think Jillian looks alot like Rich in this picture. He is chubby and cute!

2008 Christmas Tree Search!

The day after Thanksgiving we went to our traditional tree farm at Home Depot to pick out our Christmas Tree! All of the trees are under a big tent, so it smells so good inside. I always feel bad for the workers because Rich and I are very picky and have to find the perfect one. And this year I think we did!

Could this be the tree? Or this one?

Finally, this is the one!

The kids watching the surgrey on the tree!

Take the Quiz here!

Happy Birthday Stacey!!

We got to celebrate Stacey's Birthday on November 29th by going out on her boat! This was the kids first time ever on a boat like this and it has been over ten years for me, so we had a great time! On our way out to the beach we seen two manatees swimming by and then once we docked at a little beach on the river side, we ate some yummy sandwiches. Then we walked through the mangroves to the other side in the ocean. We stayed and swam for a little while. While we were swimming, Leanne found a baby sea turtle. So I scooped it up to showed everyone and then Stacey saved it by taking it out past the waves! Then on our way back to the marina, we seen two DOLPHINS swimming right by us! It was amazing! Thank you Stacey! It was the best day to celebrate your birth!

Everyone on the boat!

Dallin and Jillian walking down the beach to find the right spot!

The baby sea turtle!

Two Dolphins!

Leanne driving the boat!

Aunt Stacey teaching Dallin to drive the boat!

CHRISTMAS CARDS!

When doing your Christmas cards this year, how about taking one card and send it to this address. If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so much would get.

A Recovering American Soldier c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center 6900 Georgia Avenue NW Washington, DC 20307-5001

Finally!!

Last night I got to see the long awaited movie "TWILIGHT" at 11:59 p.m. with some friends... yes it was a very late night for me but totally worth it. I have to let everyone know that it wasn't the BEST movie I have ever seen, BUT it was GREAT! On my way home, all I could think is "I want to watch it again right now!!" I heard that they are going to make the next three movies now!!! WooHoo!! I'm am going to see it again on Monday!! Can't wait!!

I'm Still Here

I just wanted everyone to know that I'm not being lazy, I just don't have an Internet connection right now. We are switching providers and it's taking a long time.

For everyone at Kelli's party on Halloween, I will get your pictures to you when my Internet is working again!!

Hobgoblin Parade 2008

We went to the 10th annual Hobgoblin Parade in Downtown Stuart today. The Parade is for the kids to dress up and walk down the street to all the shops to get candy. So... the kids got to dress up again, but this time Dallin wore his Superman suit and Jillian wore her Tinker Bell dress because their costumes are too hard to put on. And it was really hot! They got there faces painted and then we walked around waiting for the parade to start, but it took forever and we were very hot and had no water. Mema stopped by for a second to drop off our camera, so we took her water bottle that was half full. Then we decided to go get some ice cream and go home. It was fun but too hot!

Trunk or Treat Costumes 2008

Jillian as "The Little Mermaid"

Dallin as "The Iron Giant" Leanne as a "Pixie Fairy"

The kids and I had a great time last night. Leanne loved seeing her friends from church and gave them many hugs! Dallin and his buddies did some action figure fighting or something like that. And Jillian, I think had fun, but every two minutes she was screaming her head off because someone would step on her fins! Now we get ready for next Friday for Halloween!

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

Here are the kids before we left to go to the church for Trunk or Treat!

Well, we didn't win all the contests but we didn't go home empty handed! Dallin won "Most Original" out of the boys!

Jillie won "Best Over All" out of everyone!

And I won "Most Original" out of the grown-ups! (i was the only grown up over 16 in the contest)

Here is my cake that didn't win! :(

And my pizza didn't win either, but it was really good!

Trunk or Treat Tonight!

Tonight is our ward's Trunk or Treat Party! I can't wait! Jillian is going to be The Little Mermaid, Dallin will be the Iron Giant, and Leanne will be a Pixie Fairy. There is a costume contest and I'm planning on all of my children to win! And there is a homemade pizza contest and a Halloween dessert contest. I entered into both and I'm plan on winning both of them also! (why am I so competitive) I will be making a white mac n cheese pizza and a skeleton coffin for the dessert, it will be judged on looks only! I will post later with the kids costumes, my pizza and dessert(all with their awards)!!! I love Halloween!! PS. I forgot to mention that I am dressing up as a witch and if there is an adult contest, I'm planning on winning that also!

Pumpkin Patch October 2007

Here is a picture of us in Ohio, well actually we crossed the state border into Michigan to go to this pumpkin patch last year. It was a wonderful day and an awesome pumpkin patch. They had a pumpkin train ride, face painting, a giant hay bale maze, farm animals, tons of pumpkins at a great price and the best warm donuts we have ever eaten! Jillie is the only one who has changed a lot in the last year.

Pumpkin Patch October 2008

It was 85 degrees today at the pumpkin patch, as the bright hot sun was beating down on us! (the kids faces were a nice glowing red) Oh...how fun Fall holidays are here in Florida! But the kids got to sit on tractors, Dallin was very upset that he couldn't ride the tractor. They were tied to the hay bales so no one would steal them...again Florida is wonderful! Then the kids went through a small hay bale maze and then picked out some pumpkins. Dallin and Jillian really enjoyed pulling the wagons around! We also got a paper on "How to Preserve Your Pumpkin":

1. Soak pumpkin in bleach water overnight.
2. Spray pumpkin daily with a bleach/water solution.
3. Keep pumpkin in refrigerator everynight.

That's crazy...anywhere else you just have to carve it and put it on the porch and it will stay good for a month, but not in Florida! So we might be carving our pumpkins the night before Halloween!

Comfort from the Scriptures!

“2 Chronicles 7:14--'If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.' There is a promise in this scripture from the Lord, and He always keeps his promises...it's up to us! thanks cindy for showing me annebradshaw.blogspot.com...it's a beautiful blog!

Halloween Might Not Be Very Fun This Year...

It's kinda hard to see, but the kids are dress up for Halloween walking down the street and all the houses have signs in the yard that say Foreclosure!

General Conference Oct. 2008

This weekend, I really enjoyed General Conference that we have semi-annually. We get to hear the Prophet and the Apostles speak to give us guidance. Which I think is especially needed today! I know I need and enjoy the council they and the Lord gives us. I just wanted to share a few of the things that really pierced my heart and mind. Jeffrey R. Holland suggested that we could be more angelic. I loved this because if I can be more angelic to my family, friends, and neighbors then there would be more joy not only if my life but those around me! And then D.Todd Christofferson talked about being unified in our homes, wards, and stakes. He gave us three guidelines to help us first be of one heart and one mind, second be a Holy people as a whole, and third care for the poor and needy. I think if we do this individually first then we can work better together! And then David A. Bednar spoke about making our prayers more meaningful, which is something I am working on. He also gave three principles to help us achieve this: first counsel with the Lord in ALL things, second express heartfelt graditude for all the Lord has blessed us with, and third pray for others with real intent! As we do this our morning and night prayers will be a continuing prayer throughout the day, so that we can always have a prayer in our hearts. And President Thomas S. Monson talked about finding joy in the journey NOW! Focus on what we have instead of what we don't and don't put off things until tomorrow and fill our lives with the things that matter the most, so that we can experience Heaven on Earth! There were many other important talks, I just would like to image if everyone one in the world focus on one of the talks that were giving, how much more wonderful this world could be!

NO MORE STINKY DIAGPERS!!!

Jillie and her Elmo Potty!

Jillian is Potty Trained! And the amazing thing is it only took 3 weeks! Shes not dry at night yet, but that ok. I'm so happy that I haven't had to change a stinky diaper in 3 weeks! Candy and an Elmo potty was all she needed, I wish Dallin had been that easy! Jillie and Dallin with pull-ups on their heads celebrating this grand occasion!

Carol Decker

My friend Melissa from Ohio has a posting on her blog about Carol Decker, a girl she went to high school with. There is a local News station that has covered the story, that you can watch and a story from her husband. This story just makes my heart ache for this family, so I wanted to pass on their blog so you can check it out and maybe help out! The Blog is http://auctionforcarol.blogspot.com/

I got Tagged...So Your It!

I was tagged by my friend Maria(thanks), and I thought I would never be able to think of 8 things for each category but it was easier than I thought!

8 things that i am passionate about...

1. The gospel of Jesus Christ!
2. My relationship with Richard!
3. Being a mother!
4. Being a Daughter of God!
5. The Scriptures!
6. My whole family!
7. Being an American!
8. Who we elect in government!

8 words or phrases i use often...

1. Babe
2. I love you
3. Jillie, Do you need to go potty?
4. What the!(i don't finish that)
5. Do you need to sit in time out?
6. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
7. Clean up your toys.
8. Thank you.

8 things i want to do before i die...

1. Go on a mission with Rich.
2. Go to as many temples as I can.
3. Get in shape.
4. Learn sign language.
5. Learn Spanish.
6. Do some international traveling.
7. Send my son(s) on a mission.
8. See my children get married in the temple.

8 things i have learned from my past..

1. All of our choices have consequences.
2. I can't change the past, I can only learn from it.
3. I am happier when I keep the commandments.
4. I am stronger when I pray and read the scriptures everyday!
5. My parents did the best they could!
6. Not to judge people because of their past!
7. To be kind to ALL people.
8. That I can truly be forgiven for my sins, through the atonement!

8 places i would love to go or see..

1. Any and all temples.
2. Temple square at Christmas time.
3. All the continents.
4. Heaven.
5. Michigan to see my mom.
6. Missouri to see my family.
7. The Grand Canyon.
8. A small private Island (like in Breaking Dawn)

8 things i currently need or want...

1. A healthy and strong body.
2. Our own house.
3. Our own garden.
4. To live by all of my family.
5. Bright white teeth.
6. A new pair of glasses.
7. A cat.
8. A dog.

8 people i tag.. (now, you're it)

1. Allyson
2. Abby
3. Caralee
4. Kelli M. & Kelly H. (since they have the same name they count as one)
5. Amanda J.
6. Candace S.
7. Lara H.
8. Melissa E.

What Dallin Wants to Be for Halloween!

This is the Iron Giant. It is a movie that was released in 1999 based on a 1968 novel, The Iron Man. We love this movie, I'm shocked that this film didn't do good at the box office. They said it was poorly advertised, but anyways Dallin loves it and has decided that he wanted to be the Iron Giant for Halloween. He first wanted to be Optimus Prime but I told him that would be too hard to make. And now he wants THIS...a transformer looks simple compared to this. So, we'll see!

Our Siblings!

I was looking through some old pictures this morning and I found these pictures of my brothers and me and Rich and his brothers. Rich does have a sister, Stacey, but I couldn't find a picture of all four of them together. I guess I wanted to post these picture, because neither one of us rarely gets to see our siblings and I'm really missing mine right now! I'm missing my whole family. Most of them are in Missouri where I grew up and my mom and brother Jeremy are in Michigan and Ohio. I always get this way around the holidays. My kids have never Trick or Treated at my dad's home. Also in October my family is having the 11th Annual Camp Out in Missouri that we have never been able to attend. And then there is Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am so grateful that we are near Rich's family and can be with them or I might not make it. I just want my brothers to know that I love them and I miss them! Joshua, Me, Jillian, Jeremy, and Dallin Winter 2006 Richard, Phillip, Michael, and Dallin 2003

Jillian's Obsession!

Can any one guess what Jillian is going to be for Halloween ? (I know it's early, but since I make their costumes it takes awhile.) There is 4 clues in the picture, see if you can find all 4! You might have to click on the picture to make it bigger!

Tropical Storm Fay August 2008

Well, we survived Tropical Storm Fay. We got 12 inches of rain in 24 hours and she is moving very slow. But we were really lucky compare to most. We didn't lose power or have any damage. She did however blow a lot of mangoes and avocados off our trees but that helps us out because we don't have a long picker to get them off the trees. And she blew a lot of palm frawns off the palm trees. So me and the kids went out and picked them up when there was a little break of no raining. Thanks to all of our family and friend that called to check on us!

Richard's 30th Birthday! OH NO THE BIG 30!

On July 23, 2008... Rich turned the big 30! We had friends and family over to celebrate with us. We ordered Rich's favorite food, Anna's Pizza! It's the best! And he even got a #30 pinata full of candy! He is actually handling turn 30 pretty well! Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with us! The kids showing off the new trick they learned from their Aunt Stacey!

Everyone eating dinner! Rich enjoying his birthday!

Everyone is singing Happy Birthday and Rich is making a wish before he blows out the candles! ( I'm sure his wishing he doesn't lose anymore hair!)

4th of July 2008!

We had a wonderful July 4th party this year. The weather was good...no rain but still humid. We invited some friend over and had a barbecue...um good food! Then we watched to city fireworks from our neighbors dock on the river and we had the best view! It was a great 4th!

Diana lighting sparklers for the kids!

Everyone eating under the carport.

The Missionaries! Kids with sparklers. Kids watching Diana do amazing things with the sparklers. I love at every partly we always end up with a black spiderman, spiderman, batman, superman, jeff gordon and princesses!