Feliz Navidad....

there's a snake in my boot!

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blaine's viewing the note santa left for him...








Wow....what a day, right?? Blaine came into our room at about 1:30 saying "There's a wagon out there!". He went back to sleep and was just as excited the second time around, lol. It seems like we were really spoiled this year...Blaine especially! It was great to spend some time together as a little unit, it's been a little crazy for the past couple of weeks but I think we're finally normalizing. A huge thank you to Oma, Papa Dennis and Aunt Alayna for the amazing gifts - it is loved by all of us! Another thank you to Grandma Ginnie for really making Christmas possible! Thanks to Mom and Dad V who gave Blaine a Toy Story Woody doll that is now a constant companion to our little one (who needs siblings, right? haha). But most importantly....the biggest thank you goes to Heavenly Father who sent His son to us. He IS the reason for the season!! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you!!!

merry Chrsitmas eve....

blaine licking the spoon that we mixed Santa's cookies with....

a Christmas letter....

blaine and his "girlfriend" rose....she sure knows how to handle him, lol....






Many apologies for not having sent out Christmas cards this year! Would you be ok with a Christmas blog post instead? I'm going to imagine that you're feeling the spirit of the season and you said yes :).

Michael, Blaine and I attended our ward Christmas party last night. Good food, great company....wonderful time! The primary children provided the musical entertainment and they did a really good job.

After it was all over and we were feeling a little sleepy, someone told us about this Live Nativity happening behind our local grocery store. Remember that I just said that we were tired? Anyway, we decided to go at the last second and I am sooooo glad we did! It had to have been the best Live Nativity I've ever seen....they gave us coins at the entrance and reminded us that we needed them to pay our taxes in Bethlehem. But if we were feeling generous, we could give our coin to one of the needy (which, if Santa is reading this...I chose to do :). They had built a miniature Bethlehem on the hill and it was so realistic! Real camels were led around...we viewed the Wise Mens' procession and we even bartered trade with a carpenter. At the very end, we were led to a stable behind the inn where we saw Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus. Angels, shepherds, wise men.......it was AMAZING! How easy it would have been to pass up this opportunity in favor of an early night at home. I am just so glad we didn't.

~Merry Christmas to you all~

what's been happenin....

want's to be "cowboy woody" we he grows up, at the moment...



blaine's new haircut...albeit it's rather bed head just then...



We've been pretty busy these last couple of months. Mike's getting ready to graduate, we've been planning our move and we've been trying to raise a 3 year old that hasn't been getting nearly enough attention from his parents :). Hopefully that will be remedied come Christmas time! So please be patient with us when we don't call or email very often. And if we do actually call or email, please do not mind our tetchy and terse behavior. Just know that we really love you all and less hectic times are on the horizon!!

a snow day....

Well, it's snowed for the past 2 days here in BV, but this morning was the first time we were able to frolic about in it. The sun was shining and we were all in great moods....ahhhh glorious! I'd forgotten how fun snow could be~

extra extra.....read all about it....

oma came for a visit and was provided a surrogate papa dennis, lol...




blaine as a fearsome pirate for halloween....



blaine being blaine.....

we'll miss you pa....

On Thursday, November 11, Ralph Clark (aka Pa) passed away. He was truly one of a kind and we will miss him greatly! Wish we could have one more evening of poetry, boxing and Boston peanuts. Much Love~

L

another hiatus...

I'm taking another hiatus from blogging for a while. Don't know when I'll be back at this point...hopefully sooner rather than, never. Ta-ta for now!

home theater system...

Yeah, Blaine built this! Please excuse the messy house, but I believe the child is responsible for that, lol. We sat in the back row eating popcorn and watching Finding Nemo. What an imagination!

blessed with odds and ends....

So our heating element went out on our dryer the other day (and before you start worrying that this will be a pity party - it has a good ending :). I was really concerned about how we were going to take care of it, get rid of it, fix it, afford it.....or kill it lol. We decided to fix it ourselves and order the part that the dryer needed. At this point, we were still worried about spending the money but went ahead with the purchase anyway. So this same day (when I really did throw myself a pity party, haha), Michael was offered a short time job doing some construction. And his wages just covered the expense of that part! Isn't life amazing? I felt so so so blessed that the opportunity to take care of ourselves came up!

Now, I'm sure you've noticed the picture with knitting needles and yarn. It was announced at church that we were having our quarterly woman's meeting this Thursday and that several classes would be offered for us to take. Blogging (which I already knew how to do, though not well), Signing for Beginners (which I also knew how to do, and not very well at that either) and Knitting. I've always wanted to knit/crochet, but have very little patience teaching myself anything. So when the opportunity for someone else to teach me came up, I jumped on it...wrestled with it a little bit, then wrapped it up with a bow and tagged on a note; "to Me, from Me". And you know what? I had a fantastic time! Now don't misunderstand me and start thinking I've found that it was my calling in life, I still blew at it....but it was so much fun to learn a new skill. And I'm hoping that one day, I'll be able to make something other than "entry unknown". Like a sweater (um, those are pretty big) a baby cap (that's not uneven) or a potholder (maybe the size of a quarter).

a long time ago....

I was really into Shirley Temple! And truthfully, I still am. Watched a little Captain January this morning and was totally blown away by how amazing she is! Just 5 years old and already a star at that time. She also grew up to be a pretty incredible woman. She served as an ambassador for the United States to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. Pretty neat, no?

um, yeah...i forgot...

layne and blaine....



aaaahhhhhhh.....



he calls booger, papa's cow....*shrugs




yeah, had to post this...it was funny!


Well....surprise, surprise...I forgot to post more pictures of my trip to Oregon. So here they are, late lol.

another first....

So, we took Blaine bowling for the very first time. It...........was.............awesome!!!! His first turn he got a spare and he and I were tied at the end of the game lol. So he might be a natural at it like his daddy :). Hope you all enjoy the video!

sisters.....sisters...

...aren't we gorgeous....



as good as a shot we were going to get with six kids, lol...

Have I used that title before? Eh, I don't care. Keeping in theme though, Amber came to visit from the faraway country of Texas (haha). It was pretty awesome to have the her, Becca and myself together - plus all of our children! Thank you sissy, for sharing yourself and your little ones~ I think we all had a pretty good time (not mentioning the disastrous missed flights :). Love you~

random...

No picture either, sorry. But last night we had such a good time with some friends and we were up pretty late (okay...it was only 9:00, but for those of you that know me....that's my usual bedtime!). So naturally, Blaine got to bed later than normal. Fingers crossed, we were hoping that he would sleep in, so that we in turn could sleep in. I heard him running around his room at about 6:00, so I tiptoed in picked him up and placed him in his bed. I laid down next to him hoping that he would fall back asleep. And he did! Especially after twirling my hair around his fingers. When he was nice and unconscious, I had planned to go back and get some more shut eye myself. But I pulled my hair out of his hands and watched him do the cutest thing! He would raise his hand and stroke imaginary hair, not finding it, he'd put it down again. Then he would raise his hand again and do the same. I probably watched Blaine do it for 10-15 minutes and found it to be one of the sweetest funniest things. There is something special in every day, let's live like it!

ahhhhhhhh, nature......

creepy plastic people sculptures in the woods...ooooooooo.....



the boy and i taking a swing...



i actually captured a butterfly!



handsome boy....



Michael and Blaine at the SVU maze...


Another glorious summer day! Wish they could all be this way. I just about fell asleep in that hammock, as did Michael. All that was missing was a good book and an ice cold glass of lemonade!

missed me?

kitty cat bonding....



cousin bonding....



auntie bonding....




already bonded...and thankful for it :)



So I've just gotten back from a trip to Oregon to see my family (hence the lack of blogging) and I have so much to share! For the life of me, I can't seem to post more than 4 pictures at a time....so this will probably be the first of many entries. Hope you enjoy the photos as much as I did!

i can do this...i can do this....



just plain cute....



there you are!

What a fun little weekend we had! On Friday (which is not really a weekend day, but hey....my blog, my rules) we explored a new park. I love watching Blaine take in something new. He's just so excited and can't wait to see everything! We went back to this same park on Saturday with Beck, Trent and the kids....but, alas!, I forgot the camera! :( A good time was had, anyway. Wish you all could have been there!

good costumes, bad costumes....

Star Wars......so GOOD




Flash Gordon......good movie, BAD costumes



Equilibrium......GOOD costumes



Eragon.....good book, bad movie.....BAD costumes


I really get into movie costumes. Does anyone else? Sometimes....so terrific....others.......well, not so terrific. Here's my list~

Now Star Wars seemed a little extreme and out there when the series first came out. But really, you can't compare it to anything that's been done before because this exists outside of our galaxy. You know what I'm saying? I really love Han Solo's costume especially. It really captures his renegade personality. The star fighters jumpsuits are really cool too.

Flash Gordon was a pretty fun and silly movie. I don't think it was meant to be serious either. Having said that, their costumes really were over the top. They looked like they were put together real quick. And not well. Like every single piece was stitched together from the cheap and leftover cloth bins.

Equilibrium was totally underrated as a movie. However, that's neither here nor there. Let's talk about the wardrobe. Clean and simple lines...well done. Believable, I'd say. You can really feel the mood they're trying to convey.

When you read a book you like and it gets made into a movie, you'll almost always be disappointed! Eragon is no exception. And you know what? I can't even tell you what was so bad about it. It just was. The costumes started to annoy early on. A farm boy wearing perfectly pristine clothing? Yeah, that's what I thought too.

the wonderful....

We've had no tv for going on 3 weeks now. At first I was devastated (naturally). I mean, how was I supposed to get my Mentalist fix? Or my Community.....my 30 Rock?!? *sob. Thank goodness for a great library! We've been able to check out some really awesome movies, new and old, that are appropriate for the whole family and..........this is the best part........it's FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Well, not really free if you return them late which I of course (*cough), have never done.
Short story long, we watched The Wizard of Oz today and we both loved it! So far it's been a really positive experience...and if you have any suggestions for great old movies, leave your picks here!

lisa's life truths.....

It is an unwritten rule that I must cry during each and every episode of Little House on the Prairie. Even the happy ones.

It is impossible to watch an action movie and not picture myself in that role. Even in my imagination, I'm much more clumsy. But of course, I have fabulous hair.

There is no time, day or night, that I do not want a slim-jim and a Dr Pepper. There is no time, day or night, that I will not procure these items for myself.

Every time I enter a library, I sigh because I just love the smell of books! The same is true of Barnes and Noble.

I get a twinge of jealousy every time I see someone rocking a great hat. My hat collection is never worn outside of the house because I'm afraid people will laugh at me if I do.

Do you have any life truths?

having fun outside...

laundry helper....



my only flower...the next morning all of the petals were blown away :(...


Summer is almost here and it is soooo pleasant just to be outside! I also look forward to this time of year to hang my laundry out to dry, hehe. It doesn't sound like fun, but it is.....I promise!!

*warning* tons of pictures ahead....

Wow, what a day! Our little family took the short drive out to Boxerwood where we enjoyed the scenery and each other's company immensely. And there's something about being in nature that makes me KNOW that God exists and loves me. Don't be jealous...He loves you too :).