Let it snow, Let is snow, Let it SNOW!!!!

I was not in Spokane for last years amazing amount of snow, so this is all new to me. I dont think I remember this much snow at once since I was a little girl.

It has been snowing since yesterday morning. We have accumalated about 2 feet of snow so far. It is very pretty to look at, but hard to get much done in. I am glad that I finished my Christmas shopping yesterday and dont need to go anywhere. LOL. We will just have to call family on the coast and tell them there packages might not make it before Christmas. We were supposed to mail those today. I dont think we are going to make it to a post office.

Anyway, here are some pics of our snow covered life.

Jims car is under there somewhere. We dug him all the way out and got him about 100 feet down the street before he got stuck. Good thing some neighbor guys were out snowblowing and shoveling. They came and helped us push the car back. Jim called the store and they are closed today, so we all get to enjoy a rare "snow day" together. I think we will make cookies and stuff. Should be fun. If anything, the snow has given us some time to spend together as a family.

Our back porch.

Jameson, Daniel, and Abby had fun watching Daddy outside shoveling the snow.

Here is what they saw. As you can see, it is still coming down.

Anyway, that is our Winter Wonderland. We will enjoy the day off and see what the weather brings us tomorrow.

Jacob's Baptism

DADDY AND JACOB

What more can we say. We are so very proud of Jacob on this day. He was very adorable and very nervous, but he did great. He was a bit scared about the whole "getting dunked" issue. We practiced and practiced at home, but Jim said that when they were getting dressed he was a bit shaky and awkward. TOO CUTE.

Jacob enjoyed his day and said that he feels happy about the whole thing. It was a Stake Baptism, so there others from the Stake getting baptized at the same time. We all met in the chapel first where we had some talks about baptism and the Holy Ghost. There was also a great musical number by 2 of the Young Women. It was very well put together. The Glenrose Ward was then excused to go do the little girls baptism and we waited for a few minutes for that to get done. We then went to the Relief Society Room and did our Wards baptisms, which was Jacob and Cameron.

Our family did okay during the whole thing. We had to get up at 6 in the morning to get everyone breakfast, dressed, and up to the Church by 8:30 for pictures. It was hard and Jameson and Daniel were both very tired. Jameson was taken by a wonderful lady from our Ward who fed him and put him to sleep. That left Jim and I able to deal with Daniel who was so very grumpy. Abby ended up with a family friend as well drawing pictures and stuff. It is nice to have so many friends willing to help out so that we could enjoy the day with the kids. They did good though, considering they had to get up so early.

Here is a pic of the whole family at the baptism. I cant believe we were actually all able to squeeze onto that couch. LOL. Not for too much longer when all these boys grow up.

Here is a pic of all 3 of the children getting baptized with Jacob. I cannot remember the little girls name, but she is from Glenrose Ward. Cameron Johnson is on the end and he is from our Ward (6th Ward). He is in Jacob's class and they are friends.

Along with turning 8 and getting baptized, Jacob is very excited to have started Cub Scouts. He has watched Tyler go for the last few years and he is excited to finally have his chance to join in the fun. The first thing out of both of their mouths was "You are going down at the Pinewood Derby." LOL. Not that we encourage competition, but how can we help it with 5 boys. So begins our double duty in Cub Scouts. Soon Tyler will be in Scouts and Noah will be following Jacob into Cub Scouts. Fun and busy times are starting.

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.

Christmas Card 2008

Just had to show off my scrapblog creation for our 2008 Christmas Card. I love being crafty and designing these pages. It is so much fun.

Jacob is the Magical age of 8

I cannot believe another one of the boys is old enough to be baptized. It is amazing how fast time goes. I am so proud of Jacob for the growing up he has done in the last few years. He has really matured (as much as an 8 year old can) and has grown and learned so much.

The typical birthday pancakes with "J" for Jacob. They love them and I don't think another birthday will go by without making their special pancake.

For Jacob's birthday we got to go visit Missoula and friends. The day was spent playing with one of his best friends, Aubrey, whose mom just happens to be one of my good friends also. It was fun for everyone. They had cupcakes prepared for him and made the day so nice. After visiting with them, as well as others in Missoula, we went to dinner where Jacob got to open his presents and then were able to attend Current's Night for the University Villages. Currents is an indoor water park and the UV was having a free night for all UV residents. We got permission to "crash" the party and had a wonderful time. Jacob says it was one of the best birthdays he could remember. (of course that has only been 8 :p)

Here is Jacob with his best friend from Missoula, Aubrey. They went to dinner and currents with us and we spent pretty much the whole day with them. It was a fun day.

Eight wonderful things about my Jacob.

• Jacob is very understanding of how people are feeling around him. He understands happiness, sadness, anger, etc and tries to make all around him feel better about their day, life, or whatever. (Of course, every child has an opposite and he can be grumpy and cause all around him to be grumpy also, LOL).


• Jacob is very kind to all around him. When he sees that something needs to be done, he does it most of the time without asking and without complaint. His teacher has told me many times that he is the one who puts everyones chairs on their desks after school, picks up trash in the room, etc. most of the time without being asked to do it.


• Jacob has a great spirit. He believes so easily and loves the Lord and the gospel. I am so proud of him and his desire to be baptized.


• Jacob loves his little brothers and sister very much. He has been known to have a tea party with Abby, play legos or bionicles with Noah, make up games with Noah, and chase Daniel around tickling him.


• Jacob has a very strong will and determination. When he sets his mind to something, it gets done.


• Jacob is very imaginative. He is constantly making up games with Noah complete with a list of rules and regulations. It is amazing some of the things those 2 can come up with, using only a few toys and lots of paper. They are constantly making maps, lists of names of their bionicle creations, and drawings of different things.


• Jacob is a great student. He has become an avid reader and is enjoying doing things that Tyler has done. He has read our whole collection of Magic Treehouse and Secrets of Droon, forcing me to try and collect all the books we are missing in those sets so he can finish them both in order. I love that he has become such a lover of books and reading, since I am also, and we have fun having afternoon reading time together.


• Jacob is very friendly and not shy at all. He is the child who will walk up and ask to join kids while playing at the park or whatever. He can just pick up where they are and go with the flow. As a mom who is very timid and a bit shy about approaching others I do not know, he has taught me a lot about just jumping in and having fun. It is great to see this come out in him and learn this trait from him.

So Jacob, on your birthday, I wish you a very Happy day and I love you so much kiddo. Keep up the great job. Cant wait until next month when you get to be baptized.

What do you get when you dont have to go to school?

Special days at home with mommy while older kids are in school bring about very special surprises. We had an impromtu shopping trip for some last minute items and Abby was able to talk mommy into getting cookies. Now if it was all of them, I would never have gotten these cookies for them, but when you only have 2 to buy for it makes it a bit easier. LOL.

Abby and Daniel both enjoyed their special little treat. Of course Abby picked a pink flower for herself. It is pink afterall and a flower. What more can a little girl want.

And for our little Sunshine, Abby picked the Sun. What a perfect little treat.

I did not get the picture of the mess that they made with the cookies afterwards. They only ended up eating the icing off the cookie and then crumbling the cookie all over the floor and smearing left over icing across the bookcase. Oh well! It was tasty while it lasted.

First Day of school

We have 3 in school this year. It is amazing to think that I will only have 3 kids at home during the day. Boy, what will I do with all my spare time. LOL. We have been anxiously awaiting the first day of school, so it was a releif to finally be at this point.
Tyler is in 5th Grade this year. He has been very excited to get the chance to make some friends here in Spokane. Since I am posting this very late, I can already tell you that he has become friends with a boy who is in both his class at school and also at church. He is a triplet with a brother and sister in the 5th grade also, so he has made some good friends and I cant complain too much. He enjoys walking home from school with them every day. It is great to see him growing up.

Jacob is in the 2nd grade this year. Wow, I cannot believe it. He is getting big so very fast. Jacob is very excited to be reading and getting to a point where he can keep up with Tyler a bit better. He is learning and growing and becoming a great student. We are excited for the progress he has made.

Noah is our big Kindergartener. His big day is finally here. We are so proud of him and all the work he has put in the last year to get to this point. The school we are going to this year has all day kindergarten, so he is at school all day with his brothers. This is so great for him (as well as for Mom). He enjoys school very much, but it does wear him out by the end of the week. I am excited to see him start his school career and begin all the fun stages we have started with the older boys. It is amazing that he is at this point already. Yeah Noah.

I am so very proud of all 3 of my school boys. They are doing so well and enjoying school so much. I wish them all a good time at school this year.