A bunch of random stuff

So I felt like doing a random post about random things...a little bit of this and that, so enjoy...or not...whatever...lol

Not just a dust pan but....

a lego shovel (I know, I'm so smart)

And because I just LOVE this boy and LOVE this picture!



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These are the cupcake I made for Tanner's birthday party at the movie theatre.

You'll need these ingredients

Then mix it up following the package directions. Yes, this is not the mixing bowl that comes with the mixer. I used it for something else so I had to use my trusty tupperware.

Seperate the batter into 3-4 bowls and mix in food coloring gel. Pour each color seperatley.

Here is the yellow on top of the blue.

This is what they looked like after I took them out of the oven.






And then I iced them

Projects

This is the ONLY Halloween picture of my little guy. Both Tanner and I had the flu that day (so sad, I know) so we did not get to go out at all. He's still pretty cute, though.







These are the cupcakes I made for his birthday party. It was a HUGE hit and I can't believe he is 7! I can still remember the day when we were so worried if he would make it through the night of his first transfusion.





The un-iced cupcakes (directions in a following post)





How do I stay on top of things??? I have a calendar hanging on my front door on the inside so I can look at it every time I go out the door to see what's up for the week/day etc. It's a second calendar to my kitchen one. It's my life line.





This wreath was so easy and I am in LOVE with it. I'm all about wreaths right now.


I have some really yummy recipes I'm going to share in the next few days...so if you like food, come back.

Here's a quick look

the inside of the bag with the pocket




The bag with the flap closed




the bag with the flap open



This is a bag that I made my sister, Megan, for her birthday. I was trying to figure out what to buy/make for her for her big 30th this year and then my Mom told me she wanted a bag. So I thought...perfect! I'll make her a bag at the same time I make Jamie's. I am so happy with the way it turned out and she even used it at church today (she just got it yesterday). I"ll post more pictures tomorrow to show the inside.

Happy Birthday to Me!

My super funny sister, Melany




The Easter Hunt




My super cute nephew, Emerson. Isn't he a doll?? LOL




Melany and Chris




Another one of my super cute, fun nephew

As I get older, my birthday's seem to get better and better. Maybe it's in part because I don't live in Calgary anymore. Last year was the BEST by far..because it was my surprise 30th that I honestly didn't think I was getting and this year was another year that will be hard to beat. It comes in as a close 2nd to last year.

I love having birthday's with my family but I also really enjoy "social" birthdays with my friends.

This year I decided I really wanted to go quading. Yes, you read that right. It's not that I hate quading but it's NOT my passion. Lucky for us we know someone who is very passionate about quading and they were happy to take Matt and I out. But first thing's first...

For Easter we went to Calgary for Easter/Conference/my birthday/Tanner's yearly Cleft Clinic appt. Let's just say that Tanner's life get's a little more complicated/involved in the next few years and that he is no longer mine only. I have to share him with the Doctor's again : (
We have had him to ourselves for the last few years without thinking about surgeries that involve lengthy stays in the hospital. But that's about to change and I'm totally ready for it. I knew it was coming eventually. Tanner is so strong and he is lathered in love lavishly. I know the Lord looks out for him constantly, as do the people who love him. Anyway, that's what came from his appointment.

On Friday we went out to Canmore for my birthday. My sister and her husband had rented a condo out there for the weekend so we drove there to be able to celebrate together. AND!!! My sister Melany and her boyfriend, Chis, came too!!! That made my birthday all the better. Melany has a work schedule that does not always allow her to be at every family gathering. So I was really stoked that her and Chris came. My oldest sister was in Utah and I missed her but she needed the get away more than I needed her to be at my birthday. We ate at Boston Pizza for lunch and then we went to a park there and hid candy for Tanner and Emerson(my nephew). They seemed to enjoy it. Then we went to the condo Megan and Dean were in and had Dairy Queen ice cream cake and opened presents.

I got the Hannah Montana Movie, plus the CD to go along with it, Miley Cyrus' breakout CD, some amazing jewelry (not anything fancy...more chunky than anything), a bucket of honey and Matt and I got a combined birthday gift of East Side Mario's GC and movie passes for a date night, an Ipod (story for this is later), curlers from Susanne, the HSM dance Wii game from Sharon, a glue gun from Jenn, and some paper and craft things from Shelby. I am so very lucky to have so many people who love me and spoil me not only on my birthday but every day with their friendship.

I went with Erica to the movie "The Last Song" which was really good. It was kind of sad at the end but surprisingly I wasn't as emotional as I thought I could have been. I think it was because I was having a really difficult week the week before with missing my Dad and I cried all my tears out that week before so it was fine. It was a really good movie. Really clean. I don't remember any language either. So I would recommend it. I had a really nice visit with Erica...thanks : ) who I don't get to see very often.

Conference was SO good. I loved that it was a lot about families. It was really enjoyable and I can not wait to get my hands on the Ensign to read them over and over.

For my actual birthday I went with my childhood friend, Meghan, to the movie Avatar. it was "totally AWESOME"!!! I loved it! My first 3D movie ever and now I really want to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D. It was a really neat experience and I am so glad I got to go with Meghan. We don't get to do much just her and I together. We use to hang out ALL the time as teens. In fact one summer we spent at least 3/4's of the summer sleeping at each other's houses all summer. That was so much fun. Anyway, then Tanner went to her house to play with her son and Matt and I went for Chinese food and then we watched Pirates of the Caribbean 1&2. I've never seen them and I really enjoyed them.

On Saturday, Kelvin took Matt, Susanne/Chris, Natalie and I out quading. It was a lot of fun but very painful now. It was so worth it and I would go again for sure. I really wanted to get really muddy, but I only got slightly dirty. Next time I'm going to get really muddy...lol.

So overall, it was a great birthday. I am so thankful for all the birthday wishes and kind words that people wrote about me on Facebook.

We didn't do too much for Spring Break. Tanner had a couple of play dates and that was about it. We hung out for the most part.

OH! the Ipod story....so funny! Melany gave me her used Ipod because she thought she lost her Ipod and so she went out and bought a new one. Then a few weeks later she was making her bed and Chris found her old Ipod. She was going to pawn it off but then they talked about giving it to me so now I am the VERY proud owner of a used but new to me Ipod which I absolutely love. I had to erase some of the songs off that she had on there because of foul language but for the most part, the songs are good. She even has some really old songs that I love...mostly dance stuff. I'm such a nerd...lol. The reason that this is funny to me is because for Christmas she gave us her Wii because she said she hardly used it. I just need her to get an Iphone now so I can have it when she gets a new one...lol. She is such a good sister. All my sister's are. I love my sisters a lot.

We are heading to Great Falls for Matt's birthday. We are going to do some grocery shopping before we come home too. Butter is so cheap there as well as cheese.

So life is going along great for now. Busy, steady and constant but it's good. I feel surrounded by love lately and am happy to be in the place that I am. I think life has a lot to do with how you choose to feel. I try to choose happiness for the most part because being unhappy or annoyed or mad or any other negative feeling doesn't make life any easier. When life is hard, sometimes being hopeful or optimistic is the best we can do. But it's better than moping around feeling sorry for ourselves. We can all be better and do better but there's no sense in beating ourselves up for not doing all that we want to do at the moment we want to do it.

Have a great day!

A birthday gift

Last night I received my first birthday gift. Guess what it was....no really guess...your guess is as good as mine because I am not allowed to open it. When? Well my birthday is over a month away (April 9th) and I am not allowed for one month and 6 days to open it. I am only allowed to look at it and yearn after the beautifully wrapped gift that sits in my house. I know it will be a really good gift...after all it is from one of my dearest friends. Ahhhh...the agony of having to wait. For those of you who want a list of things (no, I am not assuming certain people will get me a gift) that I would like here it is:

Hot Rollers for my hair

A stock pot

A glue gun(I don't even own a little one)

High School Musical 1,2& 3 on CD

Miley Cyrus' CD breakthrough (or is it breakout???)

Carrie Underwood's last CD (I have Play On, her newest one)I think it's called Carnival ride.

Movie passes

fun, everyday bracelets/necklaces

Knee socks-I like wearing them at night to bed

So, nothing too fancy. I will be celebrating my birthday in Calgary with my family during Easter break.

We have had Tanner sleep without pull-ups this week and for the last 2 nights, he has been dry in the morning! It's kind of a big deal because we told him he could sleep in our bed when he was dry through the night. Matt is sick right now so Tanner and I will sleep on the guest bed so that we don't get sick.

I have had some really good study sessions the last couple days. Really good for answering questions that I have had for a while and also at provoking (for lack of a better word) more questions. I am grateful for people who know the answers or for finding the answers through reading more. It helps me to understand the principle of line upon line, precept upon precept.

Life feels a little crazy right now. We are so busy babysitting, me working, delivering papers and cleaning that it keeps us out of trouble and from being slothful.

I haven't been feeling overly great lately. I've been getting a lot of bad/migraine headaches. The doctor wants me to get some blood work done but it's a fasting one so I'm waiting to do it next week when I have time to do it. It could just be that my migraines are changing...which kind of sucks because after having braces I got one maybe once a year...if that. Life goes on, though.

I am running in the Moonlight 6k run in 2 1/2 weeks. I'm excited to do it. Sharon, Susanne and I are all going to do it. Well, Susanne and I are doing it together while Sharon gets her goal time...which will be at least 5 or more minutes before mine and Susanne's ; )

We are looking forward to our trip to Salt Lake in the summer. This will be our first family trip together. It's kind of exciting!

Well, things are good and we are looking forward to spring.

All I want for Christmas

I was thinking about gifts...mostly because I'm pretty much done my shopping...and I thought, not for selfish reasons, I would put mine up here. I am a huge list person and I love to shop from lists. My friend has a "favorite" etsy list and I think that is such a good idea. So the things I enjoy or like are:

1. Bath and Body works soap-gentle foaming or moisturizing NOT the deep cleaning kind. Betcha some of you didn't know there was a difference...lol

2. Brown/tan brads for my card making

3. Zip up Hoodie in any color

4. One of those winter hats that covers the ears and has the tie dangling down.

5. Movie passes

6. Any Church movie (I really enjoyed Forever Strong)

7. High School Musical #1, the Re-Mix

8. Taco chips and cheese sauce (for nachos and cheese) it's a weakness

9. Mini Wheats (brown sugar) because I am slightly addicted...lol

That's about all I can think of.

I'm really looking forward to doing our first Christmas together as a family here at home. I have list of 24 different activities to do during the month of December. some of them I used from Megan's blog from last year.

Some of them include: A Jerusalem dinner, go for a drive and look at the lights, go to the old fashioned Christmas downtown, go to the ward party, have a $5 dinner, watch Christmas movies after making a Christmas treat, sleep under the tree (or really close to it) as well as some other things.

Some of them have to be placed in certain places (ie the ward dinner or the old fashioned Christmas) but I'm going to have to make up some sort of calendar to put them all in. Sadly, I do not have an advent calendar.


(The Advent Calendar I made)

My sister made one for the little boy she nannies last year and I asked her if she would make one for Tanner this year. She didn't make one for his birthday so maybe for his Christmas gift she made him one...who knows...one can hope. If not, I am going to make a permanent one in the new year. I'll have to make a temporary one this year.

I've been SOOOO crazy busy making Christmas cards to sell. Matt asked me today if I was done and I replied "I hope so". So that's why I haven't gotten around to making an advent calendar. I would love any ideas or if any of you have one, could you let me know how to make it.

It doesn't really feel like Christmas because there is no snow yet. Matt said he heard on Friday we're suppose to have snow. I love the snow, but I'm enjoying the snowless weather right now.

So in other news...Tanner had his 6th birthday! I invited 9...yes NINE children over to our little house. We were so very lucky and had great weather. Matt and I took them over to the park and played there and Matt started a game of 'what time is it mister wolf'. Everyone seemed to have fun. He got too many gifts. He got a beautiful Nativity from my Aunt. He really loves my Mom's nativity from when we were kids so it's nice for him to have his own. It's an adult type one. Porcelain and a really fancy, moss covered stable. Matt and I don't even have a stable for our nativity. He got 7 new backugans, 3 new transformers, some monster tonka trucks, sugar cereal (he LOVES, by the way) and some bionicles and dress up clothes. He got more than that (I KNOW!!!!! SERIOUSLY!?!? totally ridiculous the amount he got) but that was the main part of what he got.
My sister Melany got him this pressure nerf ball gun...it is soooo much fun. Matt and I use it A LOT! I told her I would like another one so Matt and I can have gun fights. It's just a gun that shoots balls. I know, I'm such a bad parent...encouraging gun fighting...lol. It is so like Melany to get something like that. I can't wait to see what she gets him for Christmas. I didn't do a fancy cake this year (making cards, remember) so I bought these Wall-E cake decorations. Tanner loved them. For his friends party, I did a caterpillar cake. Sharon lent me her jumbo cupcake pans and I made one for each child and they got to decorate the cupcake and take it home for their treat. They all had fun with that. Well, that's probably more than what everyone cared to know about his birthday, but we had a good time...even though he fighting a cold AGAIN!



















Matt is still looking for a permanent job. The Fed-Ex thing...well, we haven't heard back from them at all. So we're back at square one. He has some odd jobs that he's working on, but nothing to bring in the income we need for our bills. He counted the number of places he's applied to right now and he told me it's 27 places. And that's just in the last week. So hopefully something will come of it. I'm not too stressed this time round. We've been through this before and the main thing I learned is that I can't force someone to hire Matt so there's no point in stressing too much about it. Obviously, I'm a little concerned, but we're praying and Matt is doing the best he can. We know that we're doing all we possibly can to put figure out what to do. But that's enough of that.

We just got our new ensign today so I'm excited to read that today. I love the ensign and it really makes me feel so grateful and appreciative of what I have. It really helps re-set my priorities every month or re-affirms that what I'm doing is what I should be doing. Tanner uses the 'Friend' to do Family Home Evening lessons. He will usually read the picture stories (the ones that have pictures for words) or read the 'Matt and Mandy' story. He would teach FHE every week if we let him, but I have to put him into the rotation in the new year. I would like to make a FHE chart because right now I just have it on our calendar who's doing what.

Well, sorry for the LONG winded entry. I had a lot that I was thinking about and wanted to share. I hope everyone is enjoying their day and has a great week!

Birthdays

What is your rule on birthday parties? We didn't decide what our guidelines are for birthdays are until we moved to Raymond. Tanner is allowed as many friends as the years he is turning (this year he get to invite 6 friends because he is turning 6) but I guess my question is do I let him invite all 6 or do I make suggestions on the 6? He has been to many parties for kids that I would not really encourage him to invite to his party because they aren't really playmates of Tanners. The other thing that on "weak" day I have conflicting feelings on is the pressure to invite all the kids that he's ever been to their party. That would make for a huge party. It's hard when they get older because the get invited to so many parties and you don't know if that parent is going to expect an invite to your child's birthday. The other thing is that we do not do goodie bags. What parent wants their child to come home with more toys and things? I certainly do not. I mean, I guess it's fun for the kids to get something but my thoughts are that they got invited to a party and got fed fun food and cake and got to play games. Shouldn't that be enough? It's a lot of pressure sometimes. I don't want Tanner not to be invited to parties because of the guidelines we have set for the parties we have for him, but we just can't afford to have 10 kids come to our place, eat food, and take a loot bag home. We are simply trying to be modest in our life and that, for us, means not having big birthday parties.

The other thing Matt and I have been talking about lately is sleepovers. Tanner had his first friend sleep over last night and Tanner has slept over at one of my best friends place because I had to work late. I talked about it with Matt and then with a friend of mine and she said it would depend on who it was. I think that's how I would like to do it too, but it's still too early to tell. I read about an alternative to sleep overs called "late overs". The child comes for the evening until a set time (decided by you and the other parents). They get to do all the things that you would normally do at a sleepover like watch a movie or play games, eat the junk food they normally eat (or healthy if that's your choice) and then they go home at 10 or 11 or whatever pre-determined time. I like that idea for a lot of reasons. But I do think the occasional sleepover with certain children is okay. I don't know, what's everybody Else's thoughts and or guidelines on this subject. When my sisters and I were little, sleepovers were 100% okay. We slept at friends' house that were in our ward and that was it. OH! except we did sleep at our neighbors house when my Dad was in hospital and my Mom stayed with him and when my sister got hit by a van. We grew up with these neighbors and played with them almost daily. When we got older we were allowed to sleep at the friends' house of the kids my Mom babysat but that was when we were grade 6 or older (from what I remember). These are kind of big stages now because of all the bad things that happen or could potentially happen at a sleepover. There are so many kids that have been assaulted or abused at sleepovers so it's not a simple thing anymore.

We have been having a great summer so far...still...lol. Tanner is in swim lessons again this week. Today I almost had to throw him in because he was refusing to go in. What a turkey! He got to go up to Calgary again last week too. He had a great time and came home with an adorable haircut. They went to the zoo and saw the Koalas and watched the Elephant show, went swimming, to the Aerospace Museum, and for a sleepover at Aunty Carolyns.

Well, that's about it for now.

Lies for good

This month has been an amazing month! I turned 30 just a little over a week ago and boy this year was a gooder. I told my family back in the fall that I wanted a surprise party because I had never had one before. My Mom said it would be up to Matt to plan that and when she said that I thought "well, I guess I'll never have a party then". Matt's not the best at keeping things like that from me. At least I thought he wasn't. Turns out, he was very secretive and was colluding with my best friend to throw me a huge surprise 30th birthday party. Man, I was totally surprised.

I was told that the Bishop wanted to meet with Matt and I and I was really worried because I really love my calling. Anyways, we got to the church and the Bishop asked us to help him count chairs so they could take them over to the stake center to set up for general conference the next day. When he opened the door, there was all my dear friends (minus a few) to surprise me. It was amazing. Of course I cried because first, I was in such shock/terror that when we entered this dark gym, there was everyone yelling surprise. It's a good thing I don't have a heart condition. Then to realize that my best friend and Matt planned this for me was indescribable. I can't believe that they would do that for me. I felt and still feel so undeserving. The family that I use to Nanny for had driven down to be there and that was a huge honor and surprise. We also had a pinata which was really fun.

Then as if that wasn't enough, my Mom and Aunt came down on Thursday night (the 9th) and when we went the next day for lunch, my sisters (minus Melany) had all come down to surprise me because they had planned their surprise before Matt and Susanne had and couldn't make it down for the first party. Then we had Easter after lunch back at home. And this weekend, my MIL is coming for Matt's birthday and next week, my Aunt is taking my to lunch. So it has been, to say the least, a wonderful birthday.

I feel so grateful for the friends I have made in the last 2 years in Raymond and for the friendships that I have kept with old friends. I just can't express how lucky I feel and what joy I feel for the friendships that I have and am continuing to make. This was truly a birthday I will never forget.

Tanner has learned to ride a 2 wheeler with training wheels. I don't think it will be long before he rides the bike without the training wheels. He is cuter than ever and is a bit more sassy now than he was a few months ago. He gets more of the "Tanner...!" warnings now where we just say his name and he knows. He is seeing the same chiropractor as I am and I am really happy that the doctor is so good with Tanner. He talks to him and asks him questions. Tanner isn't always the best with some doctors and so I am relieved that he is good for Dr.Bridge. I hope he'll be the same when we go to the dentist next month. I took him with me last month so he would see what was happening and I really hope that helped him and prepared him for his turn in the chair. He was a mess last year and I hope I was able to lessen the anxiety for him this time. I think it's important to show children that we do the same things and that it's not scary. I use to not take Tanner because it was inconvenient and I didn't want him to run around but now that he's a bit older, I can usually get him to stay with me.

Anyways, I can feel that summer wants to come. It has been pretty nice out lately and that's always a plus because then we can be outside without getting cold.

Things are going well for us right now. I have no complaints and I like that feeling. I feel at peace with life and my environment. That sounds so lame, but I don't know how to explain it. I just feel contentment.

So that's all for now.

This one's for you Sharon!

Sharon has been asking me for pictures so here they are. We had a great time in Calgary. Usually by the 4th or 5th day, I feel ready to go home but I was sad to leave because we were having a really nice time all together. Tanner got lots of really nice gifts and we are so thankful for all the things he got. We are now in full swing for Christmas and getting ready to send out our cards. We went to the Raymond 11th annual old fashioned christmas last night and we had so much fun. We went on hayrides, decorated cookies, shopped a little, got free hot chocolate and dounuts, and went ice skating for free. This was the first year we went and we will be making it an yearly thing for sure. So I think that's all for now. Enjoy the pictures.


Trying out his new skates he got for his birthday
Tanner and his new rollerskates
A blanket I made recently
The new family
The Book Of Mormon cake for his party at my Mom's. I would make it darker blue next time
The emoticon cupcakes for the party at Matt's moms
Tanner and his cousin, Wyatt
A doctor in the making????? Maybe
My Mom made this wreath and put it on my Dad's headstone the night before my Uncle was burried right next to him
My sweet nephew Emerson
The birthday gang
Me and the birthday boy
Having a hot dog roast for his birthday dinner....yum yum
The Crayola Crayon cake
Getting ready for party #1 of 3
Tanner got this crown at School and wore it for 3 days straight.
Shelby and Tanner
Our Tree

Some sad news

I will first start with the bad news, my uncle died on Friday from his heart attack. It has been very sad for everyone. He was dearly loved and we will miss him all.

Second, my sister went back into the hospital. She has an infection. She was thankfully able to keep the baby with her so that was a blessing.

And as if that's not enough I just found out that a relative has cancer.

It's been a long week and will most likely continue being a long week but I want to be there for my family and be supportive and be strong. I know my Mom is really sad because it brings back memories of my Dad. When someone dies, the pain never goes away completely, it just gets less intense over the years and less frequent. I am actually good. I am trying to focus on staying calm and doing whatever I can to help. I hate when I offer my services and people say that they will use them and then they never do so I'm really trying to put myself out there. Right now, it is all about just being with my Mom and sisters and making sure they are okay too. I have it kind of good living further away than the rest of my family because I don't feel the intensity that I probably could feel if I lived in Calgary. That's not to say that I haven't cried, because I have.

Anyways, Tanner's birthday was on Friday. What a gem Tanner is. I just love him so much. At church today someone put into words how I feel and she said that she felt she is able to feel a glimpse of how much Heavenly Father loves her by having this little girl. I think sometimes we underestimate how much we are loved by Heavenly Father. I always think "how could I love Tanner any more than I do right now?" How could anyone love anyone so much? It's such an intense feeling and I know that that feeling is only a portion of how much the Lord loves us. Tanner had a great party. He had 5 of his friends over and we had cake and ice cream and played games and opened presents. I didn't want to do anything fancy because we didn't have a lot of money so I thought cake and ice cream is so easy and not expensive at all. I made him this really cute cake. It was a crayola crayon box cake with 3 'crayons' sticking out. I'll upload pictures later. We also went to the show choir dress rehearsal and he loved that. He just loves music. So that was about it. He is having 2 parties up in Calgary and is really excited about them.

So for now, that's all.

2 more days

....until Tanner's birthday that is. I am so excited! He had a little "party" at school today. He got this super cute crown. I have picture that I'll upload another time. We're enjoying hanging out and we even watched Rudolph the Red nosed reindeer today. I love that movie. It's such a cute movie. Matt went into Lethbridge today and applied at several different jobs. He was also able to get his resume put on a disc so that he can take it to the library and e-mail it if needed, which is much more convenient.

Some not so good news, my uncle had a heart attack today. We're not really sure what it all means. We hope and pray that he makes it and that all is well.

So that's about all for today. I hope everyone is having a great day.

Oh, happy birthday

Happy birthday to my Mom...on the 7th. The woman that I love almost more than life itself and who I would gladly give up my life for. She is my rock for sure. She is always reassuring and comforting. She is a really great snuggler, even now as an adult, I still crawl into her bed with her when I'm there and snuggle with her. She is such a strength and so courageous for all that she had to go through when my Dad was sick and dying. She sacrificed so much. More than I think I know. She never complained. She is such an amazing person and I love her so so so much.

Pictures to come

If I can figure out how to get pictures on my blog without writing from my computer, then there will be a lot of pictures that I'll upload of our super, fabulous weekend. We have had a great time. Amazing! Wonderful! Splendid! Fun! I don't think I've had such a great time in a while. I hope when my husband throws me a surprise 30th birthday party it will be just as great. That's a huge HUGE hint for those of you. I really want a surprise party in April when I turn 30. I've never had a surprise party at all and what a great occasion to finally have one right?????

Anyways, we have had a great weekend so far. We are looking forward to the next 2 days.

We ended up at my Aunt's house in Airdrie instead of at my MIL's. Long, unhappy story that I don't really need to repeat, but we are having a great time...other than being woken up every night by 2 or 3 trains. My aunt lives right by the tracks and it's so loud. I really need my small town place of residence...little noise. No airplanes, trains, traffic, sirens all night, drunken people yelling, car horns honking, car alarms going off. That is what I am looking forward to in a couple of nights. SILENCE! Pure silence. Ahhhhhh....

It was really funny that people asked me at my Mom's party how we were liking Raymond and we both answered the same every time...we LOVE it! It's glorious. Quiet, peaceful, relaxing, and calm. OH! and every one asked me in that way that you know they're asking for more information without trying to be insulting how I was doing...like I was pregnant. I had to laugh because I said I was doing wonderful and didn't say anything more. Oh, people...if they only knew...lol. I think we're getting to that stage where people kind of expect us to be having or trying to have another baby. Sometimes I think people need to just keep their opinions on something that is so personal and intimate to themselves...especially if you don't have a close relationship with that person. It would be like if you're bishop just randomly came up to you and asked if when you were going to have another baby because he thought it might be time. That might be a bad analogy, but hopefully the point comes across.

Well, I should be off to bed soon. Until later...

A fun day

Today is my friend, Susanne's, birthday. For her birthday a few of us got together and had a little surprise party for her. It was so much fun! Here are some pictures from the fun time together.



Here's one of my best friends, Sharon. Isn't she cute!




Here is her family. Aren't they all so cute!





Shelby, Tanner and Anna eating...only because they knew cake was coming



Nicole and Susanne. Nicole and Susanne grew up together




Susanne and her cake. The wind blew the candles out so we had to pretend that she blew them out. That's why she looks so surprised.




So we had a great time...well at least I did. I've never thrown a surprise party because someone has always upstaged me or taken my ideas and did the party themselves. So I am happy that I FINALLY got to throw one. It was so wonderful to be with amazing, wonderful friends and have our children play and visit with each other. I am so so so eternally lucky and blessed to have such terrific friends that love me and stand by me and support me no matter what. Friends that I care for so deeply and feel so loyal to them. I just really love my friends. Life would not be the same without them.

I love friends!