Thankful Day 4....

Today, (Thanksgiving itself) I am very grateful for...

{{FAMILY}}

This picture is old and doesn't include everyone who is important to us, but it does capture the strength and fun that I have in all my families. I am so incredibly thankful for all of my wonderful brothers, sisters, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, the list goes on......
They make me who I am and make my life what it is!

I hope everyone is able to spend this beautiful Thanksgiving holiday with the people they love the most, and that everyone can take a moment to count their blessings - we all have so many.

I am also so very thankful for all my friends who are like family to me. I love you all so much and thank the Lord every day for the friendships I am privileged enough to have.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful Day 3....

Today, despite the contention in our home, I am thankful for....

{{These Three!}}

It was so weird to not have them around while I've been sick. Harder than I thought it would be. The house was so quiet and there never seemed like there was anything to do. It was boring and just no fun at all. Becoming a mom was the best thing I've ever done! I love my kiddos so so much, and I'm so very grateful I get to be their mom!

I almost forgot!

It's also my baby brother's birthday!! Hahaha! I love this picture. It's true to his character!


I love him so much and I'm so glad my parents were able to adopt him into our family so I could have a sibling to grow up with. We weren't always the greatest friends, but I sure love him now! He's 21 years old today. Woohoo! Legal and everything!

Thankful Day 2...

Today I am VERY thankful for......

{{My Car!}}

Seriously, Cache Valley roads can get very bad in the winter. Today as I was driving the carpool, taking Kenz to ballet, and running errands around town, I was so grateful that I had my wonderful SUV with working 4-wheel drive. It kept us warm and safe while we were driving out in the crazy wind and weather! We are very blessed to have a good car. I know of several people who have very old ones that are falling apart and not safe to drive. And I know a few others who don't have a car at all. How wonderful to live in this modern day and age!

Thankful Day 1....

Today, I am very thankful for...

This guy!

He has been so wonderful to me for the last week, making sure I have everything I need and am being taken care of. He even yelled at an uppity receptionist at a doctor's office because she wasn't doing anything to get the help I needed. I felt bad, but hey, he just wants me taken care of =)

He is such a blessing in my life and is truly my knight in shining armor. I am so very grateful to have a preisthood holder in our home. And more and more I am so grateful that I married a returned missionary. I truly think that makes all the difference in a marriage! He is amazing, and I am so very thankful that he is my husband and the father of my children!

A Quick Update

So, I decided I better post this so people know why our kids are not at home with us!
Last week I got a terrible pain in my stomach. It got worse and worse as the day went on, and through the night. The next day we went in to the insta-care to see if we could figure out what was going on. That doctor was worried that it was my gall bladder and sent us to the ER at Logan Hospital. We spent a good 5 hours there doing some testing and trying to get me out of pain (Chels was nice enough to take all the kids so we didn't have to have them there with us.)
After a while, with no results, they sent me home and decided to treat me for stomach ulcers. They gave me a few medications to take that would help within four days. (ONLY four days!?!)
Well, after the four days were up and I wasn't feeling any better, we decided to take me in to a different doctor. My mom came up to stay and help with the kids since I couldn't really get out of bed, and to watch the kids when we went to the doc. They did some more blood work and testing for the H Pylori virus which causes ulcers. They also pumped me full of fluids since I was severely dehydrated. The next day they found the H Pylori test to be negative and are ruling out ulcers.
Trev's parents offered to have all the kids go down to their house so they could take care of them all while we're trying to get me stabilized. They've been down there since Thursday night, and we miss them so much!
We have an appointment with a specialist on Monday, so we're just trying to hold on till then. Meanwhile, I'm just here in this silent house. I don't have much energy at all and mostly stay in bed all day. I can't keep much food down and have lost a total of 13 pounds in less than a week. I run a slight fever so I'm either really hot or really really cold. Trev goes to work and then comes home and just sits with me. The pain is something I can't really describe. Mostly it feels like a really bad hunger pain but it just gets worse and worse when I eat. I also have really bad stomach cramping that hurts even worse than the "hunger pain" and happens every couple minutes or so. They're planning to do a scope of my stomach and intestinal tract and hopefully get some answers. Seriously, this is worse than childbirth. It's so painful, and I just can't wait until they figure out what's wrong. Even more, I can't wait till I can see my babies again!

So Exciting!

No, no. Not me.

But my best freaking friend/cousin in the whole world get's a baby girl!!

WooooooooHooooooo!

She has two boys already, and this (according to her husband) was her last shot at getting a girl.

I CAN'T WAIT!

Kjersti Rose Kerr.

Cute, huh?

Kjersti is a family name from some of our swedish ancestors. Rose is after Chelsea's mom.

I have self acclaimed exclusive rights to this baby.

And I'll tell you why:

1. I predicted Chels was preggers before she suspected.
2. She used a spare pregnancy test of mine at my house.
3. I was the first one to know.
4. The baby is due the day before my b-day.
5. I got to go to the ultrasound appointment to see if it was a boy or a girl.

See what I mean?? This baby's practically mine. Hahaha! Just kidding.

On a side note, do you know how many people I know that are pregnant right now?? Seriously, there must be something in the water!

Chels, Megan, Kira, Steph, Alisha, Sunny, Natalie, Emily, Chandra, Betsy, Dawn just had hers..... Holy cow! If I missed anyone, sorry. I've obviously got a few to keep track of.

Anyway, Congratulations Chelsea!
(and all you other amazing ladies!)

Maybe Someday Soon.....

(To the tune of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame.)

Take me out to a restaurant
Take me out somewhere nice.
A play or an opera or ballet too
I don't care how the cost looks to you.
For it's Root! Root! Root for a sitter,
I hope we can find one this late.
Cause it's One! Two! Three months or more
Since our last real date!

(Three kids will do that to ya.)

Our Halloweek!

We began the week by making some Halloween sugar cookies. Yummm! I have the BEST sugar cookie recipe ever, and Chels did her yummy frosting that I'm pretty sure I could live off of for a week. The kids had fun!

A few of the finished product! They didn't look amazing or anything, but man, were they yummy!

I decided to make the girls' costumes this year. Mom came up to help. I still don't know what we were thinking! Here is the sewing madness!
I noticed Jamison staring out the window for a good 15 minutes while we were busy. I finally went to see what had his attention for so long. Yep - snow. Big, fluffy flakes of it. It was then that I realized he probably doesn't remember snow from last year, so this was him seeing it "for the first time." Weird.

He also found other ways to keep himself occupied while I was otherwise invested. I chuckled when I noticed the sewing machine case wriggling on it's own on the floor..... okay, not really on it's own.

Kenzi's costume was finished first. She was - ahem - "The Queen of the Halloween World, with Wings and a Wand Too." Whew, what a mouthful! Goofy girl!



(I forgot to take a picture of Ashlin's costume until it was actually on her.)


The next night, Chelsea and I decided to make Witch's Brew for the kids. This is a tradition my mom started when I was a kid, and it's so much fun! It was fun to see my own kids caught up in it's spell!

We dressed up as witches....

And the Bewitching began!

The girls both had Halloween parties at school. Here's Kenz all ready for her day!


I was a room mom at Ashlin's school so I got to go help with the party and see all the cute kids! It was so much fun! Ashlin was a fairy princess ~ or if you ask her "A Sleeping Beauty Snow White Princess Fairy!" Wow, my kids are weird.

Her teacher rocks!

We also attended the ward's Trunk or Treat, but as I've already made clear, they're not my favorite. No pictures.

Brittany and Kyle came up for the weekend, and we went out to dinner and hung out. It was super fun. Of course, we were so busy, I totally forgot to take any pictures of this either.

Trev got really into Halloween this year. He was in charge of the outside of the house and yard. He had fun.... maybe a little too much fun.

The pictures seriously don't do it justice. All these things were life-sized, and the effect was pretty creepy. So was this guy.

Mom and Dad came up to have dinner and hang out with us like last year. The rain ruined our plans for a bonfire and hot chocolate. Oh well, maybe next year. Kenz and Ash were super excited to go trick or treating!

Jamie, not so much. Trev said about a half hour into it, he got the hang of it and ended up loving it. He was a monkey. He still wears his costume when ever I let him. There's a fake banana in the pocket, which he kept trying to get out and eat. Silly little man! Doesn't he look so happy??

All in all, we had a great Halloween Week! Can't wait for next year!