So I am a total slacker!!!!

I just cant seem to find the time to blog anymore. Sorry guys. Here are some pics to get you up to speed on our life as of late.

We had a rough go of it for a bit with all the little kids catching a pretty harsh case of pneumonia and RSV. Little Jameson above spent 5 days in the hospital. Daniel and Abi (below) spent 1 night in the hospital. James was with Jameson as he was getting discharged while I was with Daniel and Abi in the ER getting admitted.

Daniel and Abi recovered fast and were out of the hospital the next day. I cant really say they enjoyed being in the same room becuase they were sick and in the hospital. LOL. It was one long week, but they all got healthy and are back to their normal selves. I get nervous at any runny nose or cough now, but they are doing well. We have such wonderful church members who helped with childcare, cleaning, and bringing us meals. Not to mention one great Visiting Teacher who took the top half kids a few times as well as gave me a great shoulder to cry on. Thanks to all who helped out. We really do appreciate it.

Other than the hospital stay, nothing too SHOCKING has been going on at the Snook house. We are just hanging out... Bouncing on the trampoline....

Enjoying hot dogs bigger than our heads....

Getting in touch with the ape inside of each of us....

Jumping for joy at the blessings we see each day....

Reaching for the sky at a higher potential in each one of us...

Spending some family time on hikes outdoors...

And enjoying some great bedtime stories....

I very much enjoy peaking at the world through the eyes of these little guys....

As they strap themselves in tight to me...

With working full time, school full time, and some various other duties (like laundry, kids, etc) I am staying very busy. One thing I am very grateful for is a loving family. I enjoy each moment I spend with these kiddos and thank my Heavenly Father every day for the chance to be their mother. I love them all and have learned a lot from each one.

Nativities from around the world

Our Stake Center has what they call Nativities from Around the World every year. It is a huge event that has grown over the last 7 years. For the last 3 years it has been ranked as one of Spokanes top 10 things to do during the Holidays. that is so awesome. The stake center is literallhy taken over by nativities of all shapes and sizes and people stand in line to get a chance to get inside and partake of the spirit of it all. Every night there are concerts from different choirs of the area. Children's choirs, cathedral choirs, etc. The gym is decked out in all Christmas galore, lights, trees, and tables surrounding the edges and in the middle all beuatifully adorned with Nativity sets that people have donated to the church for the week. There are over 300 nativities on display. In the Young Women's rooms there is a childrens area were they can play with less fragile sets of nativities and even get the chance to dress up and play in their own nativity scene. Good think I have plenty of kids to fill those precious spots. All the above picture is missing is a Joseph and Mary, which in hindsight daddy and I could have done, but well, the kids look so darn cute anyway.

The Releif Society room this year held a new exhibit called The Life of Christ with a pictorial chronology of Christ's life. We did not make it in there, but hope to see that next year.

Overall, it is a wonderful way to celebrate this Holiday season. I am so grateful to have such wondeful teaching moments like these for the children. They loved the childrens area and got all their wiggles out before going in to be reverent and see all the Nativity sets. They loved them and had a great time seeing sets from places like Peru, Mexico, Italy, and Portugal as well as Nativities made from Legos and toilet paper rolls, paper mache, and nuts and bolts. There were the small and cute sets and the obviously expensive and imprressive sets as well as sets that were handcarved or blown from glass. It was an amazing, spirit filled night. I cant wait for next years display!

Decorating for Christmas 2008

We have had a great December with these children of ours. Our tradition every year is to decorate the house on the first weekend in December. So, Saturday December 6th we went and got our Christmas tree. The kids and I had fun decorating the house, especially putting up James' army of Nutcrackers.

Notice the pillows lined up. This is our attempt to keep Jameson off the fireplace and from attacking the bigger nutcrackers. "Attempt" is stressed. They kept him at bay for a while, but he soon figured out how to get around and attack when he wanted.

We decided to save decorating the tree for FHE on Monday night. We had Grammy and Poppy over for dinner and decorating after that. It was really fun. It is nice to have Grammy and Poppy so close lately that they can do these things with us. We have not had them so close with kids around, so it was a very nice experience this year.

So this is everyong sharing in putting all the ornaments on the tree. We have put the tree up on boxes for the last few years. It provides a taller base so that little hands cant get to the tree/ornaments. Anyway, you can see Daniel on a chair to put his ornaments on. Also notice that he is in only a diaper. He has learned how to undress himself and spends most of everyday naked. Refer to future pictures and see him in zip up pajamas that I have strategically put on backwards so that he cannot take them off as it is freezing lately and can get chilly in the house sometimes. My attempt to keep him warm during these cold winter months.

Anyway, back to decorating. Noah had a chance to put the Angel on top of the tree this year. Here he is with daddy holding him up smiling big as he holds up the Angel. It is a special treat to be the one to put the Angel on. Good job Noah.

Here is all the kids under the newly decorated tree. It is impossible to get them all looking happy or at the camera all at the same time, so you get what you get. Cute kids anyway and awesome looking tree. They did a great job.

After decorating, we enjoyed some hot cocoa and cookies with Grammy and Poppy and talked about what each of us wanted for Christmas.

• Grammy and Poppy want clothes.
• Jim wants camera stuff.
• Teresa wants books or Cricut cartridges.
• Tyler wants Wii Skate It.
• Jacob wants Wii Lego Batman.
• Noah wants Planet Heros.
• Abby wants Barbies, or as she says Darbies.
• Daniel wants Elmo.
• Jameson probably just wants to be left alone, but we said toys for him. LOL.

It was a fun night and one to be remembered, especially having Grammy and Poppy there. I am glad that they were able to join in our fun this year.