Haappy Newww Year!!!!

May your new year be filled with many

happy memories!

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Dear Sweet Taylor!

So beautiful and funny!

My baby, my joy!

Thirteen today!

When did it happen?

Where did time go?

WHY?

I love my girl!

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Merry Christmas

Wishing all my family and friends a very Merry Christmas and a

Wonderful New Year!

I have mixed emotions this year.

We have all our children home for Christmas, but we are missing Jake!

He will have to be here next year to celebrate with our LOUD, Abnoxious,

OUT OF CONTROL family!

I miss my Arizona and Texas family! ALOT! You guys are the best family a gal could have!

I miss my friend Lisa! Come back Lisa!
But most of all I am regreting my desicion to invite all the eastern family here to our house for Christmas instead of going to Nancy and Peter's house like we usually do every year.

NOW I HAVE TO CLEAN! UGHH!
I love my quick thinking...lets have everyone here!

smart Lor real smart!

Back to the real Message!

I hope Santa brings you everything you want!

I hope your house cleans itself!

I hope you enjoy the holidays!

I hope you'll come visit soon...just don't bet that I will have a clean house!

But you can bet it will be fun, loud, there will be tons of food AND lots of games!

Holiday Hustle

I know Christmas will be here every December 25th. It never changes, same day every year!

But I cannot for the life of me be prepared!

This year we got our tree up the week after Thanksgiving.

Rick decorated outside.

We listened to Christmas music all day.

Then time stood still!

We did not shop, bake or mail cards.

It was even 70 degrees outside, how could it be Christmas?

We now have less than a week till Christmas.

Will I be ready?

Usually every year we are out shopping Christmas Eve, we grab a guick bite to eat at the mall and hang out with all the crowds.

We are just never ready before then.

This year I wanted to be ready, to have it all done by now.

I wanted to have a wonderful dinner on Christmas Eve.

Something nice, with pretty dishes and maybe candles.

The kids are old enough now.

My dear friend Lisa does. One year we enjoyed the festivities with their family.

I want that.

We will see.

Oh the weather outside is FRIGHTFUL!

Yes it is cold!

Yes they are outside!

Yes they are having fun!

Cutest snowman and snowgirls EVER!

But inside it's so delightful

YES I am INSIDE where it is warm!!

Thanks Tay for being an awesome almost 13 year old!

David's Surgery

Last Tuesday David called and told me he wasn't feeling good. I assured him it was the stomach bug we had just gotten over! Bad call mom, it wasn't! We found ourselves at the hospital all night, and I feeling so guilty couldnt sleep. Come to find out he had had an appendix attack! Early the next morning he was taken in for surgery and spent the night again in the hospital. Funny thing is they put this 6'5" 21 year old in the pediactric wing. Whats up with that?

He is doing well, but is sore and not moving as quickly as he used to!
It was quite the adventure! Thank Heavens he is well!

Our family loves hard boiled eggs! We love them deviled, in egg salad and just plain with salt and pepper. Any way you peel it, eggs are so yummy! (I couldn't resist the pun!)

One too many times in the past 22 years of marriage I have either under cooked or burned eggs I have been trying to hard boil. The smell of a burned 'boiled' egg is nasty and takes forever to get out of your house!

Fortunatly for me I found a really easy way to make the eggs so I don't have to babysit them while they are cooking.

• Fill the bottom of your pot with eggs, only put one layer otherwise they will crack.
• Cover with cold water.
• Put on high heat and bring to a rapid boil. Some recipes call for salt in the water, I have done it both ways and it doesn't seem to matter.
• Once water boils cover pot and remove from heat.
• In ten to twelve minutes you will have the perfect hard boiled eggs and they will not have that greenish gray ring around the yolk!

Little Arli

Arli 8 years old at her baptism, Feb 1997

Arli has had many milestones in her life. First, her birth, then her baptism, entrance into Young Womens, becoming a teenager, her first date, her first boyfriend, turning 18, leaving for college, becoming engaged, and voting for president.

Little Arli had another first last night.

She had her first wedding shower .

There are others planned, but last night was her first. It makes it special, and I am glad she enjoyed it so much!

She has had many other firsts and some seconds and thirds. Some were happy, some sad. She will have many more firsts in her life, I wish I could be there to share in all of them!

I am happy she had a wonderful time!

Thanks to all of Jake's family for being there feeding her and showing her a good time!