photo updates and basketball season

Basketball Season!! Nathan and Kimball are playing Basketball for ASA! So fun to go to the games! Nathan's team has played 2 seasons and has been the CHAMPS both times! They are super fun to watch! They will start up again in February!

Kimball! it is so funny to watch these little 6 year olds try to play like the big boys! Lots of traveling and grabbing and rolling on the floor! The dads are funnier to watch than the boys sometimes! All the dads are yelling at their kids and getting all into it while the moms are laughing! So fun!

THis is Aaron Berrett -- nathan's bro who is living with us! It was his 20th birthday on January 5th! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AARON!

The days following Christmas - involved lots of lego building!! ROck MONstER and Power MINERS!

White Christmas!!! Yahoo! It snowed in TEXAS!! We had a great Christmas morning!

Best gift - at least it was my favorite -- a treehouse for all the kids to play with!

Christmas EVE! We had a wonderful experience! We had a special guest come! Seriously, it was a very inspired night together as a family. We truly had a special moment as a family. The kids helped clean the house, prepared the table perfectly, and I kept telling them I had a surprise and someone was coming to dinner with us. They were so excited and worked hard. I kept saying - Wow I guess he is late. The food is getting cold. Well, lets just read this story while we wait. The story was the book about a special Christmas guest. It basically is about a man who is waiting for the Savior to come to Christmas dinner and all evening the man ends up helping all these different people and at the end of the night he sadly goes to bed and says Lord, why did you not come? The Lord answered and said he came 3 times - in each of the different ones he helped that night. I told the kids - that they were my special guest I was preparing for. They are each so special to me. And we had an empty chair and told them about the Jewish tradition. And this being a reminder that the Lord is a special guest at our table. He lives and is here with us -- when we invite Him! It went really well and the kids really liked it!

Graham cracker Houses! The Feldman's came to Texas for Christmas! (This is my sister Amy's family!) We had the kids make candy houses for Family Night! So fun!

Sarah and Whitney


All the kids!






Christmas Party with the Christensen's!! We had such a blast with my other family. This is my sister Donna and her in-laws! We love them just like we are part of the big family! We had a little trick up our sleeves -- we were suppose to sing Away in a Manger - but we added a little bit of RAP!

Virgil and Lucy's House! Uncle Mark is telling a story!

New Beginnings

I love a fresh start. I love Christmas and the opportunity we have to reflect on the Savior, our family and friends. I think it is set up so perfectly --- we get to refocus, remember what is really important in life, reflect on the birth, life and atonement of Jesus Christ and then we start a new year - a time many in the world make new goals and set new routines to try and improve their life and habits this new year. It helps me stay focused on setting goals that really matter.

Over the years I noticed that I would get all geared up for the new year - making lists and planning new schedules and routines. My husband never did. I thought - are you not driven? Do you not see this opportunity to change? Do you need me to set some goals for you and make you some charts that you can check off? I finally asked him just a year ago. His reply - "It doesn't matter what time of year you set the goal. It matters if you do it. There are people who talk about being great - and there are people who are great! Every single day I just try to improve." I thought - well, HMMM! Aren't you special! But then I thought I guess it is kind of true. I can make a 100 lists and charts, but that doesn't guarantee the change. We need to have that daily check and daily change our whole life long.

However, back in September, my husband attended Wood Badge Training in NM. He learned a lot about goal setting and improving your life. So, I wanted to teach my kids about goal setting and being pro-active. We started working on our family mission statement and doing a few things to help strength our family and get back on track. I was surfing the web finding new suggestions and I read an article that does suggest the new year is a great time to do a check on your life. It is a great opportunity to reflect on the previous year and see how you can improve the coming year. It is important to set goals and set obtainable goals. Our goals cannot be unrealistic or unmeasurable. My husband and I have had great conversations about goals and what we hope will happen over the next year! It is exciting to work together, to improve the family and just to take this time to think about what needs to happen to grow closer as a family and closer to the Lord! I will always be excited to have a new beginning. I like every Monday because it feels like a new start - a new week. I love each new year because it feels so fresh and I can let go of the past and try again! Anyway, this is a long post, but I do appreciate this time of year. I am home a lot more - because it is so cold outside and I am not out running errands, not fighting the kids on coming inside - usually they want to play with the neighbor kids or friends, or they are outside and don't want to come in to get homework done, etc - which I know is great fun and they should play --- but you know it is also good to just come home and spend the afternoon and evening together. *wow that was a run on sentence and really bad English... I hope you followed that anyway - I don't know how else to say it! haha!) Anyway, being inside and at home more has really helped me to focus on my kids and play with them.

So, life is good!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I can't believe it is 2010! I thought we would be living on the moon by now! Zipping around in space ships like the Jetsons!!

iT's FaLL yA'll

hAPPY fAll Ya"LL!!

We have had two birthdays and lots of fun already so I just wanted to post! i am so glad we got over the Swine Flu and all my kids are healthy - for now!! I hope it will last through the winter! For now, we are just enjoying the best fall weather we have had -- it is chilly at night and in the morning and then we have had beautiful bright days!



First - these pictures were taken when i went with Kimball on the field trip to the Butterfly Garden! It was really cool and I got some pretty cool shots!













(I love this one because the flowers are so beautiful and then if you look closely there is a cute little white catapillar on one of the leaves! Kimball spotted it and we snapped the picture!)






(We had to complete a little task of finding all the things at the Garden and one of the tasks was to find an animal using a part of nature for a home or survival --- this squirrel came out of no where, and then posed for us!! We were one of only 3 groups in the whole school that were able to catch an animal for a photograph!! Go us!)



Kimball and his cute pals! Turns out these two boys are my friend Amy's kids -- me and Amy went to school together growing up and now our boys are in the same class at school! Small world!








BiRthDays!!!



Grandpa and Grandma brought over 2 balloons for Tori's birthday!!


Tori and her beautiful party dress!


I love how nuturing and motherly Abby is! I am taking pictures and Daddy and Abby are helping her blow out her candles!!



She got a new baby doll -- WITH a PACIFIER and A HAT!!!! Tori was so excited!


Whitney's birthday is 3 days after Tori's so we sang happy birthday to her too! My brother John is swinging her arms during the Birthday song!!! I just love my little Whitty Sue!!


The 2 B-DAY girls! I know one day they won't want to share birthday parties but for now - it is wonderful!!


another b-day gift! I just love that i can give her a new sweater for her birthday and she likes it all the same! She has no idea that I only got her a baby doll, a new dress and a new sweater for her birthday! She had so much fun just having all the cousins and family singing happy birthday and playing with her! (And here is a shout out to Target -- they have some pretty cute clothes out -- the dress and sweater are from good ole Target!! So CUTE!!)


So far that is the fun we have had this Fall!! November is a great month! It reminds me not only of all that I am thankful for because of Thanksgiving -- but because both my little babies born in the month of November had very scary births and we are just so thankful for their lives!! It was a close call on both of them and we have a lot to celebrate this month!!! I am blessed indeed!

halloween

I know! I know! Way late posting these, but I just had too....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!


Kimball as super cool Batman!



Collin as the ever impressive Buzz Lightyear!


Whitney the little wicked Witch! haha - I don't know why but she really likes dressing up as a witch I think -- this is the second or third year now! She is always so timid and sweet though!!



Abby carving her pumpkin!



Our little Tori - didn't want to dress up! We managed to get her into a Dorothy costume - because it was like a dress and she was use to that - but she wouldn't wear any of the cute fairy or butterfly costumes I had!

Choose This Day

Choose This Day

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Rain and Showers

It is fall! Everyone seems to love fall! I have been hearing lots of people talk about how much they love fall, but so far I am not enjoying it much! Usually I would say that I like it - the weather starts cooling down, the leaves start changing colors and the pumpkins and smells of fall are so warm and inviting, but so far - we have been just fighting off sickness and rain! So, today, I thought - it is time to do a little blogging! But what should I say - should I just whine about how fall has been a bummer so far this year? Or just complain about how I am kinda getting tired of sick kids and getting up in the night to coughing and tummy aches? So, I decided to look over some of the pictures I have taken over the last couple months and think HAPPY THOUGHTS! This picture of my sweet little Tori just cheered me right up! She has such a funny funny little cheesy smile! When the camera comes out --- out comes her silly grin! But I just love it! It has been pouring down rain and one day I finally let the kids just go crazy! They loved it! We had a little river flowing down our street and the kids had a blast.








Next little picture I came across was another cute one of Tori! She isn't a baby anymore - she is making her way into the terrible twos! She loves water and loves taking showers. After her shower, I wrap her up in this little pink hooded towel and just snuggle and kiss her like she is a little baby! I can't believe she is growing up so fast and this is my last little baby! I can't quite let her grow up! She is a really sweet girl and I adore her!





And then I found this picture I took of the kids when Nathan was out of town! We made signs and taped them up all over the house. Then we took about 40 pictures - put the camera card into the Wii and it played a slide show on the TV -- did ya'll know the wii could do that?! Kimball figured that out! So, when Daddy got home he had a big surprise from all the kids! WE love our Daddy! Nathan is a great dad and husband! I am a lucky little girl - to have 5 fantastic kids and a great husband! Life is GOOD! I am blessed!




Ok - now go away swine flu, rain, and fevers! I want to enjoy my fall (afterall it only lasts about a month and then WINTER is here!)

Summer Vacations Come to a Close

I find myself sitting here in my kitchen and it is only 1:24 pm. The day seems to drag on when the kids are at school. I just can't believe summer is over! Yesterday was the first day! All three older kids are in school and love it! They enjoyed seeing their friends and meeting their teachers! All came home with big smiles! Today, I just wanted to quickly put together a post of some of our summer fun! We went to Utah and California to visit family and friends! As usual I wish I had taken more pictures. In Utah we stayed with Nathan's brother Brian and family and with my sister Amy and family. We got to go visit with some of our old friends Heather White Kennedy, Mandy Miner Webb and Liann Walker. Then we headed off to California the week before school started and stayed and hung out with Nathan's family. We mostly stayed with Jon and Kristyn but we had such a blast the whole time and had a huge family celebration for Nathan's mother! She had a 70th birthday bash! We hung out at Corona del Mar Beach and the kids had so much fun! Here are the pictures I did take!

My sister Amy's new baby girl!

Bridal Veil Falls - Whit, Mari and Abby

Bridal Veil Falls - freezing but so fun!

The Berrett grandkids with Gma Berrett

CALIFORNIA:

I forgot to say that Jon and Kristyn have the most amazing orange trees covering their front lawn and we made the best tasting orange juice ever!! Hand picked, fresh squeezed!

We had a great summer!