Pink Eye

This morning we had to use hot towels to clean ours eyes. I said to my Mom, "Do you think she has pink eye?" and Jordyn said, "My eye is not pink. It is white!" Silly kid. I was hoping Tessa wouldn't get sick, but this morning she woke up all stuck together and gross. My poor babies! It was so sad listening to Tessa cry, "My eyes. My eyes."

.

I think this picture says it all. This was pretty soon after she woke up.This is about an hour after Tessa woke up, so she looks better.This is about half an hour after the last pictures. So, the day is getting better as we go along. Here's hoping the eye drops work quickly. Somebody will be pretty sad if they have to miss preschool and dance this week.

Tessa Reads

The Kids' Table

My Mom is AWESOME! Everyweek, everyone is invited. Sometimes everyone is there, and sometimes not. The kids are getting bigger. Too big for highchairs, but not big enough for the big table. My parents have a card table with really short legs. They set it up and the kids LOVED it...all four of them. (Love you Dad.) It was cute watching them all eat together. Silly kids.

New Years Goals

Okay. I've had time to think, really think. I'm always worried about posting goals. I've never been good at keeping them, and I just didn't want myself up this year for failure. But...we're on day five and things are going pretty good. I tried really focusing on just a few goals. I know that I can't change everything at once so I'm taking baby steps.

Family Goals
**Scripture Power! This is what the Hunter family calls "family scripture study" and we've decided to start at our house. So far things are going great. Well, sort of. The girls are still really young to sit still while we read a chapter from the Book of Mormon. I mean really, sometimes the words are hard for me to understand. But, so far, we've read each day. I love it!

**Eat out less! This is one of our biggest problems. We spend way to much money at restaurants. It kills our budget each month and makes us stressed, fat, and unhappy. So, what's the plan? I'm actually not sure. Jason and I really haven't set any rules. I think for me and the girls...we can eat out once a week. This will be a night when Jason is working late. Other than that, I hope Jason and I can go out every other week. I'll be the first to admit that I LOVE eating out and it will be hard for me, but it really is something we need to change.

Personal Goals
**Grocery Shopping/Meal planning. YUCK! I hate cooking. But... I LOVE to coupon. I wish I loved cooking. It just takes so much time and energy. Then, when you're all done you still have to clean up the kitchen and the kids. (Can you see why I'd rather eat out.) The last few months I've been slacking on my coupon shopping, but I'm back at it. Our grocery budget is $200 a month. Wednesday is my day to plan my list and plan my meals. I CAN DO IT!

**Being more healthy. I'm going to the Pleasant Grove Rec Center. I'm trying to eat less. I'm THINKING about giving up Diet Coke, but I'm not quite ready. I'm working out at home. Things are going good. My goal... 50 pounds! Wish me luck.

So, there you have it. Life is good and we're happy. (Oh, except that Tax Season is here and I'm not ready.)

Blessed

Sometimes I wonder if I'll make it to the end of the day. My girls are active and crazy and fun. They have amazing imaginations. They love to play together, read books, and pretend to be mommies. They also cry A LOT, fight, push, pinch, and want their Daddy. Most nights I'm tired. I sometimes yell way to much. I try to be patient, but loose it over silly things like spilt milk and dumped out toy buckets.

Then I find blogs like THIS ONE. I'm quickly reminded how lucky I am to have my two beautiful girls. They've taught me more about myself and what I want out of life in three short years than I learned in all the rest of my life. They remind me about the Savior's perfect love for each of us. They make me laugh and cry and work and play and remember my own childhood.

Tonight Jason and I watched Tessa sit on the couch with her baby. She was reading a book and taking her doll's hand and pointing to things on the page. We watched her cuddle up with about four different dolls. She made sure they were cuddled up and safe next to her. She is so loving and kind and good.

Today Jordyn helped me pack a good-bye box for Nonie with food and supplies...to take back to college. She got a pink elephant from her room and put it in the box. She said it was for Nonie to look at and think of her. She said Nonie could play with it. I watch Jordyn share and give hugs and kisses. She has a very active imagination and when she grows up she wants to be a Princess Mommy. She is smart and giving and beautiful.

And you know what the best part is. They are ours. All ours. And no matter what happens to our little family in the years to come I know that they will ALWAYS be ours. Heavenly Father has blessed me so much, not only with a perfect little family, put with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He love us, and I know it.

Four Kisses

Happy New Years!

I am so excited for this new year, even though I have yet to sit down and write my goals. I worry too much about failure. So, I'm sitting on the goals for a few days. By now I bet you're wondering about "Four Kisses". You see, every night before bed we brush our teeth and say our prayers. Then we get together and give each other a kiss at the same time. This is called "four kisses". The girls love it, and so do we. Tonight we went to my Parent's house for some steak. Yum! The kids played with toys and the older kids worked on a puzzle. (This time the puzzle matched the box.) We all stayed up until mid-night. The girls did AWESOME! And here we are....the first "four kisses" of the year.

And here we are...One tired family!Even Heber made is until midnight. What a kid.Houston on the other hand, rang in the new year all tucked away in his car seat. He was ready for bed and by 12:01 so were the rest of us.The night was fun. And to all you blog readers.....I hope this New Year brings you many laughs, more smiles, and great times with family and friends.

The Best Of The Best

I've been sitting at the computer for over an hour making a list of my favorite things from this past year. I've only cried about a hundred times because I've been reading through all my old blog posts. Seriously! I'm one lucky girl. So here's the list...

In January I started back in school. I only went for one semester and I only took two classes, but it was challenging and pushed me. After that one semester I decided that it's just not the right time in my life for school, but one day I'll make it back. After a few months of physical therapy Tessa took her first steps. We also had Tessa's first birthday party, even though her birthday was in December.

In February Jason and I went to the Hunting Expo and spent the night in Salt Lake for Valentine's Day. We really enjoy our little mini vacations and wish we could take more...

In March I caught Heber stealing cupcakes from the garbage can. Silly kid. I've really missed watching him these last few weeks. He's so funny and cute, and really growing up. We also went to Discovery Gateway. It was fun, but I decided that I'm NEVER paying to get in.

In April my sister Jaymie got married.

In May Jason graduated from the University of Utah with his Masters. WOOT! It was a long road, but he did it. I am so proud of him. We also went to the Zoo.

In June Jason and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. Lucky us! We also finished our front yard. It took forever, but it was worth all of the work.

July was a hard month for us. We had to say goodbye to Jason's brother Steven. He went to Afghanistan. We're so proud of him and the service he is giving to our Country. We love you Steve! We also celebrated Jason's 27th birthday.

In August Jordyn had her 3rd birthday. We celebrated with a family party at Grandma Sue Sue's and a friend party at home. We also went to Park City for a quick overnight trip...Jordyn broke her collar bone.

September was my birthday -28- and Jason took me to see the Lion King at the Capital Theater. Jordyn started pre-school and dance. She loves both very much and is always asking, "What day is today?"

In October we went Trick-O-Treating.

November was filled with lots of fun. We took a three night vacation to Park City (we go there a lot). We had Thanksgiving with the Hunter family, the girls fit into their miracle Christmas dresses.

And finally December. This has been a busy month for us. We had five family parties. Jason went to Chicago for a work conference. Jordyn sat on Santa's lap. Jason had his wisdom teeth pulled. I got the "viral flu" - what ever the heck that is. Santa came. We went to a cabin with the Hunter's and Tessa had her second birthday. Oh, Jordyn had her first dance recital and our second nephew and first niece were born one week apart.

What a great year! We've been blessed with many great and happy times and not too many sad ones. We've been stressed. We've worked hard. We've relaxed and had fun. Here's hoping the next year is just as great, and maybe a little better.