If you make it through this post, you deserve a thank you and a brownie!

Before I move forward I feel like I need to go back and catch up on what we've missed. So, what's happened since Daisey's birthday in September? Well, there was this little thing called Halloween in October.
WONDERful costumes!




Fun crafts!


Yummy treats!



And Crazy Hair Day!


A new stove!

Because I broke our's....

Oops! It looks like I took a sledge hammer to it, but really I was standing on a chair trying to reach something on the top shelf and the chair dumped me off!Our land lord was not happy.
In November:
There was a random deer just hanging out in our yard.

And then....SNOW!!!








Thanksgiving
Maggie and Ari

Ari, Daisey and Maggie

Adeline, Noah and Lauren

Isaac and Ethan

Danny and Val

Cuddles!

And more cuddles!

Our "Thankful Tree"

And turkey crafts!

On to December!
On the 13th our mancub turned 8! He's getting so big!

Why he's wearing pajamas at his birthday party? I really don't know. But, it's his birthday so he can wear whatever he wants!


James, Isaac and Andrew

Ari and Ethan

Yay presents! Ethan, Logan, Maggie, Isaac

Isaac requested an "Outer Space cake". I tried my best. It was a pain in the butt! Never again!

But, he was happy.

He made his own rice crispy bear astronaut!

Which reminds me,Isaac says that when he grows up he wants to be an astronaut OR a hamburger cooker. This future astronaut and/or hamburger cooker got a real tool box filled with real tools for his birthday. He was thrilled!

What do I love about the holidays?
Trimming the tree




Countdown to Christmas


Christmas stories

Holiday crafts





Family dinner parties



Children singing Christmas songs

Daisey playing "Joy to the World" on the piano.

Holiday goodies!





And for a delicious sugar cookie and glaze'frosting recipe go here

Christmas Eve
New jammies and ornaments

Bedtime stories


These faces on Christmas morning


How did Santa know I wear deodrant now? Hmm...it's a mystery...



Mohawk hat!

The kids' big present this year was a Wii. After months of enjoyment I must say that Santa made an excellent choice!

New Year's Eve
Happy 2011

Our new year's "feast"

We made these awesome hats and glitter glue firework "paintings".




Daddy wasn't feeling so hot, so we spent our night like this

They made it to midnight. Barely.

Up next, on January 3rd our baby turned FIVE!


January was busy. We celebrated nearly a month later at Chuck E. Cheese aka Bliss for children/migraine for parents.

But look at that happy face!


Alan and Aundra were able to share in the fun!
(I have no words for this picture!)


January means back to work!

Don't they look thrilled?


As you know from my previous post, my grandma passed away on January 8th. It's been really hard but I'm comforted by memories,family,
Sisters

My children snuggled up in Grandma's quilt when they're sick (we've had way too much of that the last couple of months)

Grandma's out of this world delicious banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

A memory book I made for my grandma's funeral, including this letter that Isaac wrote to Grandma. It makes me cry every time I read it. What a sweet little boy.


I turned 31 the first of February.
Woah! That's a lot of candles!

Gifts from my children. Oh, they know me so well!

Going on a birthday date! Dais insisted on taking our picture!

"Someone" turned SIXTEEN on Valentine's Day but she doesn't want her picture taken so this will have to do!

We celebrated Maggie, Val and my birthdays at the most amazing Japanese restrant (that I can't remember the name of!) with our friend's Jess and Augest and their girls. The chef cooks right in front of you. It was a lot of fun to watch but it was almost more fun to watch the kids. They were pretty excited about it!






Next up is Valentine's Day!

Aren't I a great cook?:)
And that about sums it up! Like the title says, if you made it through this post you deserve a thank you and a brownie!

My Grandma

This morning I said goodbye to my dear, sweet grandmother, MayBell Hoopes Burton. My grandma was born on Nov. 18, 1917. She passed away on January 9, 2011. 93 years of loving and living! Grandma was the mother of 8, the grandmother of 51 and the great grandmother of 123. Wow! She lived her life with grace (and spunk!)
To know her was to love her and boy, was she loved! The love that filled the room at Grandma's funeral today was so strong you could almost touch it!
I've had very mixed feelings today and the last couple of weeks. I miss my grandmother so much it hurts. But, I've been missing her for a long time now. In her last years she suffered from Alzheimer's. Grandma hasn't been Grandma in years. Along with sadness and missing Grandma, I am so very happy for her that she has joined my grandfather in their heavenly home. At the funeral my cousin, Shawn made the comment that the Alzheimer's may have been a blessing in disguise. If she had known that Grandpa was gone for the last 5 years she would have missed him terribly.



I'd like to share a story that my sister, Valerie wrote for a school paper. She has such a beautiful way with words and a soul wiser than her 15 years.

A 93 year old woman was lying on her hospital bed, looking off into space, a space that no one else could go. When my sister and I walked in she looked at us with those lifeless, vacant brown eyes. "Hi Grandma," said Brittany. There was no response. We went over and sat on the bed next to her. The age spot covered fingers that used to be busy crocheting and filling the kitchen with the aroma of homemade bread and cookies were now rigid and grasping my hand so tight, as if asking for help.
She wasn't always like this. She used to be a strong minded, witty person who was always full of life. Whenever I went to her house she would get off of her little rocking chair, take me to the kitchen, where she'd pick me up and set me on the red counter top and find some kind of delicious dessert in the freezer. She unfailingly saved desserts in her freezer for when company would come over. Something was always baking in the aluminum pans that filled the house. Grandma made the yummiest banana chocolate chip cookies in the world!
Other than her family, her favorite things was the red and yellow tulips that grew every spring in front of her little blue house. Her life had once been vibrant and colorful, but was now fading into winter, just as the flowers had done, right before my helpless eyes.
We tried to talk to her, but she would never respond. You could almost see the fear that she had within each pore. Lines and creases covered her face. I looked at those familiar brown eyes, but no spark of recognition when she looks back at me. She doesn't know who I am. I'm a stranger in the room. How can you miss someone so much when she's sitting right before you?
The old woman that I used to know is slipping through the cracks of time. Alzheimer's is hard on everyone who surrounds the person that it has control over. Every goodbye between us is long and lingering. We never know which one will be our last.

My Grandma Burton taught me so much, simply by living her life. She made the world a better place just by being a part of it. I pray that I can follow in her footsteps. It's a comfort to know that this is not goodbye and I will see her again someday.

Merry Christmas!

He's Eight!

What's happened to this little guy?

He eats his vegetables like a good boy and is growing like a weed! No more chubby cheeks and he's grown a little taller!

Today is Isaac's eight "happy birthday to him." I love that he still calls it that! He also told me that he is growing into a man and that he will do amazing things in his life, like give money to the poor and be an astronaut....or maybe a hamburger cooker guy.
He cracks me up! If there's one thing I can say for Isaac, it's that he is one funny little man! He makes me laugh everyday! He's thoughtful and sweet, brave and wise beyond his years. I don't know what we'd do without him in our family! He sure is patient with those sassy sisters of his! There's nothing he wouldn't do for them!
Yesterday Isaac had a family birthday party with his Grandma Diane (we won't say how old she is, I don't want to get in trouble!)He was sure Isaac about all those people showing up just to "celebrate him being borned." We really do try to work on his grammar, but I must admit I love his way with words!
*Pics of the party to follow*

She's nine!

Nine years and eleven days, actually. She's already counting down to ten!

When I think about Daisey I picture this little girl:

So, how has this happened?

Time flies huh?

This year we had a family bbq party. There were lots of cousins to play with, lots of yummy food to eat and lots of girly presents! Daisey was a very happy girl!

She gave me specific instructions on what kind of cake and decorations she wanted but I got sick and it just didn't happen. She picked one out at Sam's Club and sure enough, the world didn't come to an end.

My favorite part of this picture is Maggie's face. She's just as excited to see what is in that present as Daisey is!

And, I love Isaac's face in this one! You can almost hear him saying, "Are you kidding me? Another barbie? Is this girly party over yet?"

Her gift from us this year was a fish tank. It's what she wanted more than anything in the whole wide world!

At the end of the day, after everyone had gone home the birthday girl announced that she was so happy her heart might burst! Aww, now that's what every mom loves to hear!

After much twirling in her new pink nightgown from Grandma, they all went to bed happy and high on sugar. And they all lived happily ever after!

Bubbles! Bubbles! Bubbles!

Bubbles aka boredom buster! We used this bubble solution recipe but there are plenty of bubble recipes out there. We were supposed to let it sit for 24 hours. We waited about 8 and the bubbles still turned out great! How cute is Daisey's label?

For hours of bubbly fun, round up bubble wands in all shapes and sizes,

including fly swatters from the dollar store that we cut big circles in, I know, weird. But they were a hit!

Pour bubble solution into a container large enough for sharing. Sharing is key.

Then let them have at it!

Bubble machine? Don't waste your money. We were unimpressed.

Enter Bubble Train.

This little guy however is awesome! We learned that after 3 full hours of play the batteries run out. 3 hours of laughing and playing and (get ready) no fighting is well worth the money spent on batteries in my book!