Lots and Lots

We have had a lot of really fun things happen this week, and to hold your interest instead of doing one huge post we decided to do a bunch of small ones... enjoy!

Fun Family Day

Because of all the beautiful snow, we decided to attempt to take Leigha sledding. We went to Don's work because there is a great hill, and stairs to use (if we had actually used them it might have been a good idea). We had a great time, and got really wet, but it was totally worth it. Here are some videos of me attempting to help Leigha sled.

Because there was so much fresh snow, and we went to a completely cool place, there were no previous sled marks to make it easy to go down, so I attempted to make one for us. It didn't really work, and it kinda hurt my bum. (Leigha's sled is really small). Oh yeah the binky in my mouth is Conner's. It kept falling in the snow so I thought it would be easier in my mouth, weird but easier.


After sledding we went inside Don's work and played the wii, it was my first time and I really liked it. Leigha did really good and took turns and did not fuss when it was not her turn. I was very impressed. Conner was angel and just slept the whole time. Now $we can't get him to take a nap, but he is being super cute so it is okay.

And a Happy New Family!

This week I have been trying to teach Leigha to sing we Wish You a Merry Christmas, but her version is a little bit different. She sings We Wish for a Merry Christmas (like 6 times) and then... and a happy new family. I laughed at it a lot and so she thought it was funny, but really when you think about it it's so sad she wants a new family. I know she doesn't know what she is singing and it is cute, she also had a few different versions like a happy new Sunday, and finally we got it right... I think.





Here are some cute pics if my cute kids in cute Santa hats.
Look at that cute smile on Conner! What a little ham!

Also, one of our favorite mother-daughter bonding things is doing hair. I love to do Leigha's hair, and surprisingly she really likes it too, and is really good about having it cute all the time (the real reason it is cute all the time is because she took scissors to it and has a Mohawk that just won't grow out (you can kinda see it in the picture, it is getting better). So to prevent sticking up we tie it down...cutely. Well the end process is super cute, and lasts for quite a while, (so it is totally worth taking the extra time) but taking it out is well, not so cute just see for yourself. When her hair is all messed up she says it's squirrley, I think that's pretty darn cute!

Light em' Up

On Sunday we went and looked at Christmas Lights for a little family fun. Last year for Christmas my dad gave us some glasses that when you look at the lights it makes shapes. I think we have angels, santa's, christmas trees, ornaments, stars, snowflakes, and christmas lights (which is weird because you are already looking at christmas lights, but oh well whatever). They are a lot of fun and the best part about them is that you look like a total dork wearing them. Here is also a picture of our favorite light house, it is insane how many there are, and there is music too!




When we got home from looking at lights we listened to some music just for fun and somehow we found out that Conner loves Ricky Martin (I know what you are thinking and I am a bit worried too!) He was smiling and nodding his head to the music, it was so funny, but do ya think we got it on tape? Nope, but here is a video of him kinda dancing but nothing like what he was doing.

Don's Birthday Bash

Last weekend was Don's birthday and his family ventured through the snow to come and see us. We had a lot of fun eating (who couldn't have fun eating peir 49 pizza yummy!) playing games, opening presents, and visiting. We also did our family gift exchange and it was a lot of fun. We played Therapy with them, and it was interesting to hear a lot of the answers, and I think we all got to know eachother a little bit better, or more than we would like j/k. All in all Don had a really good day, and I think he is excited to be 26, but really I don't think he cares all that much. Here are some pics of our fun.

That's Disgusting!

Every morning when we go to get Leigha out of bed she does something silly. Sometimes she is a puppy or a kitty or hiding in her room, today she was not talking. Don and I figured it out pretty quick seeing as she was not saying or acting like anything. Playing along we said "If you are not talking how can you tell us you love us? She did not respond. I said "If you can't talk how can you tell me what you want?" She pointed to something. So I said "Oh, so what do you want for breakfast?" She pointed to the ceiling. I said, "You want the ceiling for breakfast?" No response. "I guess you could have the ceiling for breakfast." Don said starting to reach up, "I'll start getting it down." Still no response. I said "Thanks that will be good." All of a sudden out came a response..."THAT'S DISGUSTING!" We were glad she was talking, and we were glad she did not actually want the ceiling for breakfast. Don was surprised that the first words to come out of her mouth were big words. We thought it was funny. Later in the day I was doing dishes, Conner was in his swing, and Leigha was watching 12 Dancing Princesses. She comes running into the kitchen, "Conner is funny!" I said "Oh really?" Wondering what she had done to him this time. So I went into the living room and sure enough Conner was funny. She had put her gloves on him, and he looked pretty silly just sitting there. Last week Conner started to smile the non-gassy smiles. I have tried to get pictures of it, but have failed miserably. Today was successful. He is so cute and is starting to develop a fun personality (even though he is still fussy a lot of the time). So here are some cute pictures of my boy smiling. :)

The Table Cloth

With it being the best time of the year I have been reading a lot of Christmas Stories, and I thought I would just share one of my favorites with you all. It's called the table cloth:

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October, excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.
They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc. and on Dec 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On Dec 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm - hit the area and lasted for two days.
On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.
By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria.
The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. She was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again.
The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.
What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike? He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety, and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between. The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid

I loved that story, it just shows how much our Heavenly Father loves us, and demonstrates just one of His tender mercies.

Life As Of Late

It has been a while since I have done anything...so...here is a brief catch up. The past couple of weeks we have been goers. It started with Don having a meeting down in South Jordan so the whole fam tagged along and we went and saw the Hill Bunch. It was a lot of fun, and we had a great day. The best part about it was not only seeing Kara, but seeing her happy in the new digs. then the next week we took a lot longer trip down to Arizona, and it was a bit crazy. The week started out with Leigha having the flu, and it would just not go away. She kept saying " Mommy, what we gonna do?" and all I could say was "Mommy will take care of you and you will get better." So by the time Wednesday came and it was time to leave she was still sock. We left at about 3 and got down to Provo about 5:30 and Don and his dad gave Leigha a blessing we switched cars (thanks again for renting us the Torrent) and got on our way. We got to Page about 1, but the time we got into the motel it was 2 (a long and somewhat funny story). Leigha was feeling much much better the next day as we travelled the rest of the way to Phoenix. Jan let us use her DVD player, and it was a life saver on the long car ride. We did thanksgiving stuff with Don's fam all day Thursday and Thursday night, surprise surprise, I had the flu. Cute Don took care of me all night, and Don's parents took Leigha to their room (thank goodness). The next day was a biggie, I spent all morning in sick in bed, and Don went and helped set up for his grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. We got to go to lunch with my Dad (that's him holding Conner) and sister, Juli, and 2 of my cute nephews Tanner and Justin(that's them in the picture with Leigha and Conner...cute huh?). It was a lot of fun to get to see them. Then it was off to Conner's blessing. that went well, and then pics (I really did not feel well, so don't look to close) and then the 50th, which sad to say I missed because I was asleep in the primary room. Then right after that was done we drove back up to page and then back to Provo on Saturday. Short but sweet, but also long and grueling. All in all we would not have missed it for the world. Then the last bit of our travels were back down to Kara's on Saturday for Sammy's Birthday Party. It was a lot of fun and I was so glad that we went. So a lot of travels in not a lot of time, and we have learned the hard way that Conner does not like car rides. It will be a while before we venture out into the world again. We will be happy to stay home for the holidays.

Our Day Today

We had fun making some random videos of Leigha singing. The first one is her singing a song I taught her to remind her how to spell her name since it is a bit... different. She loves it and she is not afraid to sing it to, well, everyone she meets. The other one is her singing I am a Child of God, I swear she is only 3 even though she sounds like a boy going through puberty. We also had a funny story tonight. Don had his Thanksgiving Dinner at work, so it was just me and the kiddies, I asked Leigha what she wanted for dinner and no kidding this was her response... "I want cereal for dinner... without the milk... without the bowl... just in my hands... with the big box." I thought that it was funny that she was so specific, and that she wanted such a crazy thing for dinner.

Parkin' It

The other day we went for a walk to enjoy the warm weather and ended up at the park (not like it was a far walk, but it was not our first stop). Leigha saw that there was no water in the canal and she said "Oh no, Mommy the water is all gone", and I said" Yep." " Did someone drink it?" " No, silly." "Did the fishes drink it?" "No." " Did a wheel (whale) drink it?" "Nope." Well Leigha is convinced that a whale drank all the canal water. She is so funny! We had a good time, and it was nice to enjoy the last bit of warm weather while we could.

It's Leigha's Birthday Party!!

Today we had Leigha's Birthday Party and it was a lot of fun. It had it all..good food, good fun, games, and mostly great people! Kara and her boys drove up from Salt Lake (thanks!) and Heidi and Jack came too. We also had our neighbors the VanVorhees, they are good friends, Colleen dropped by for a spell too. Leigha had a blast! The theme was Curious George so we had a poor attempt at a curious George cake. Pin a butterfly on the Curious George Poster and Don't eat George! (a poor man's don't eat pete). I think a great time was had by all...at least until nap time.

A Haunted Halloween

With all the stories of witches and ghouls, we have decided that we have a ghost! And our ghost likes to do mean things to us, like break our water heater on Halloween. We were awoken to the sound of water pouring and when we went to investigate an eerie wet basement greeted us on a scary Halloween morning. But we were able to perservere, (and smell without our beloved baths) and hopefully Monday everything will be fixed again (except our noses) ((just kidding we found a way to get clean)). We did have a good day with great trick or treating. Our little piglet and pooh were so cute, and they had a lot of fun too. We only had one trick or treater, but some fun surprise visits from friends. As for our ghost hopefully her trickery will be done for now. (I call the picture with Don and Conner "Patty and Pooh"). We went trick or treating to Don's work, and Leigha loved playing the fun games they had like bean bag and fishing, and stealing candy from the cute little old ladies (she did say trick or treat). She also gave great hugs to who ever wanted them, she is so sweet. Conner was cute too... he was passed around and adored...as he should be. Then we went to the ward trunk or treat, it always fun to see friends...especially in costumes! Happy Halloween Everyone!

Leigha's 3rd Birthday

Today was Leigha's 3rd Birthday, and I am so sad that my little baby is getting so big, and so old! I remember being in the hospital with her just as clearly as I do, well... Conner! There is no way that my little baby is that big, but it's true she is, and it has gone fast! She is super cute, and we had a great day today. We went to lunch with daddy at "Old McDonalds EIEIO", and she got to wear some of her new duds, she looked so cute (thanks Meagan)! We watched some of her favorite movies and read someof her favorite books, and did a lot of her favorite things. It was a great day. Well, I thought I would just put a few of my favorite things about her.

1- She taught me what "mommy love" is, and that love just grows deeper everyday!

2- Her smile brightens my darkest times, and her laugh just spreads all over until you are laughing too!

3- She is so close to the Spirit. She always reminds me to read scriptures and have prayers.

4- She is so sociable, and there is never a lack of fun or friends with her.

5- She is great at making and keeping friends, or as she calls them her family (she treats friends as family).

6- She says the funnest things all the time... the sweetest things too (" as you wish your highness").

7- She is so incredibly SMART!!! She teaches me so much, and I always have to be on my toes.

8- She is an amazing big sister and big helper!

9- I love bed time with her because it is our singing time when I rub her face and give her snuggles and she rubs my face and gives me snuggles too as we sing our favorite lullabyes.

10- She reminds me everyday that she is a child of God, and that I am too... there is no greater gift than having a daughter who knows whose she is, and reminds me of who I belong to as well.

Happy Birthday my Little Angel Leigha Grace!

Daddy Daughter Date

On Saturday Don took Leigha to the Pumpkin walk for a fun Daddy Daughter Date. They had a blast, and I was really glad that Leigha got to go, and jealeous that I couldn't. Here are just a few fun pics of Leigha. Grandma Smith also came up on Saturday and got to see Conner for the frist time.