Ella

MY ELLA

Today I drove Ella around Logan and we talked about college and how she wants to be a veterinarian and work with race horses. She is becoming so amazingly smart and seems to take in everything around her... She asks questions, but she figures out so much on her own. I know this girl has an amazing future, and I am so excited to see what she will become.

So many

So many ridiculous cartoons that I can't stand.
So many meals I FLOP.
So many creative ways I can now hide from dirty diapers.
SOOOOOO many tears, and fits, and questions!
So many cuddles and kisses.
So many "I love you's".
So many blessings.

So many blessings.

Football, baybee!!!

Steelers = Candace's team

Greenbay = Lance's team

WAR

blood -eew

While shaving today, in lieu of dropping the soap, I managed to cut a huge chunk out of my left ring finger. It bled everywhere! Aaaah, beauty=pain!!!

neglect

I have been neglecting this blog, and it's time to get back in the saddle! Ever notice when one thing goes, EVERYTHING goes too? So today I picked up all the trash out of the van, I took down all the Christmas stuff (not entirely my fault--the bins for storing it all were in the storage shed until this week), scrubbed all 3 bathrooms, cooked pumpkin pancakes for Ella, and even did my nails.

Feelin' good!

Good Stuff

All the more introspection as time rolls on... I'm coming up on my last session of therapy this Thursday. I have found many valuable tools in the way I think. Translating everything that I have learned is something different... It's the same as knowing any certain truth and not demonstrating what you know. It grates on you, but you can be okay with it too. I have learned that 1- I am a valuable person. 2- I have pieces of me that I have neither listened to, nor given heed to which are desperate to speak out loud. It may be this way my whole life -yet, when I know I'm not heading in a direction that I want to go, listening will prove the most important thing I can possibly do. 3- Caring for me is not a present contribution. I am past/present/future Rebecca, and there is so much to address to each of them.

I am not going to dive much further into this, but I do want to say that it's been so good for me to have an outside perspective on ME and the way/ things I think. How can that not be helpful?
Good stuff.

7

7 years, baby. This one is for you....

:)

CHRISTMAS 2010!!!

WARNING:

LOTS OF PICTURES!!!

This has been such an incredibly busy season! The blog has been neglected. :( Here are some highlights!
Above is the delectable and coveted caramel corn that Rachael and I put together. Mmmmm.
She also made yumo cranberry salsa. I highly recommend this.

During the season Lance brought me some gorgeous Christmas roses. How blessed am I???

Here's Ella.

...And Mia...

Bri-bri too!

I had a crazy idea to throw a Santa-cookie decorating party for lil' ones. Above is Candace -my sister-in-law.

Here's my cute Melanie!

NOTE: there are lots of pix of this, but I uploaded everything for this entry, and don't want to mess with sticking them in the right spot!! (Someone tutor me on this so I can do things easier, eh???)

So you just get to see my friends and not kiddos with yummy sugar cookies! Sorry!

Christmas Eve was first spent at the Sortor's home. Here's Lance and Donny.

Chaedon and Donny.

I LOVE this picture! It's Mia and Grandma.

Here's a very excited Ella holding Sabrina!

Lancey-cakes.

Token self-shot. BAD lighting, fuzzy picture. Oh well!

Mia got a robot! She loves this toy!!

Santa Claus (Donny) came to see everyone that evening!

Sabrina got some fun toys.

Here's cute Chaedon with Santa! Love it!

Ella got some Leapster books with the pen to help her read.

On to the Nolan's home! Above is part of Mom's tree... It's the inspiration for my own. I have always loved her victorian tree. Sorry kids! Someday we'll have a 2nd tree with ugly ornaments, but this one is MINE.

Grinchy?

Dad read the Christmas story from The Bible and we sung carols.

Mom and my sister Sarah.

Lexie, Dave (my brother), and Grandmother (Dad's mom who was flown out for the holiday).

Kids and craziness... That's Mia, Tessa, Rachael, and Lily-bug.

Finally home. Here's our tree before we went to bed.

My tree.

Christmas morning mayhem.

YIKES!

Back to my parent's home for more gifts!

Fabulous Sarah.

Here's my VERY tired Sabrina, who was taken home early for a nap.

My Granny-loo.

We wound up at the Sortor's home after this session for a wonderful Christmas dinner -THANK YOU DONNY AND DEBBIE!

It was such a busy and beautiful day. I had it rougher, however, with a fever and a UTI at the end of the day. :( We made it through a very long and boring (if you ask Ella) Christmas break, and now after a quick round of a stomach/puke bug for all 3 little girls, our lives are starting to fall back into the grove of normalcy.

If you made it through this post, I'm VERY impressed! Sorry about the drought. I will get better.

Hey, who wants to take a pottery class with me?

Temple Square!

Temple Square in Salt Lake City is one of the most magical and amazing things kiddos can go see at Christmastime. I have memories from being a child going there (remember me pulling out the bulb from the huge red tree and having the whole thing go out, siblings o' mine? heh heh). Taking my children there is building beautiful memories for them, but even more incredible memories for me as an adult watching them...

Mia refused to wear a coat, but got along just fine. :)

Cute Ella at the ponds... She has like 5 loose teeth!

Lance and Ella! You can't see it well enough in this picture, but the tree was absolutely amazing! Not a branch unlit...

Lance jumped in one of my "token self shots", so here WE are!

Lance and Ella, with a glimpse of the coat (not Sabrina -as she preferred to walk, grrrrr!) stroller.

Lance and Chaedon!

Sabrina whined on the way home until she got a bum change. Oooooo, bad parent moment. Sorry, babe! Look at all the forgiveness in her little face!!!

I DROVE! Lance gave me a lil' payback from the bazillion pix of him driving I tend to take. How lucky would you have to BE to have this face steering the wheel?!

LOVE LOVE LOVE CHRISTMAS AT TEMPLE SQUARE.