Construction

Well we are enduring construction again in our little house. For Christmas we were given hard wood floors! Needless to say the day after Christmas we tore up the carpet in our living room and the hall way and are getting ready to lay the floors down and re paint. I am excited to have the living room done and put back together! One room at a time we are re painting and cleaning it out. These pictures are of the kids trying to help mike. Safety first!

Christmas

Wow I can't believe how fast Christmas came and went. Lets start with Christmas Eve. For the first time in I don't know how long I had Christmas Eve off. We went and picked my Grandpa up and met my Dad at the office then Mike, the kids, me, Grandpa, and Daddy went out to dinner. After dinner we went to Daddy's house and met my Mom there. The kids then opened presents while we visited. We left their house about 9 and stopped by my In laws house to say goodnight ( hoping it would wear the kids down) we went home about 1030pm and the kids were still wide awake! They finally went to bed and so did we. I woke up at 8am to start preparing for Christmas Breakfast. The kids actually slept in until 10am. By 1030am my little house was filled with family we had a total of 18 people crammed in my house! It was great and I was thrilled that they were there to share Christmas with us. We had a huge southern breakfast and then opened presents. The kids were thrilled that Santa came and brought them everything they wanted. (except a couch) Gaige got a tool bench and tools (his big present) Maddi got her baby doll with all of the accessories. Over all they had a great Christmas and made out like bandits! We spent the afternoon resting and letting the kids play with their toys then we went to Mikes parents house and visited for a while and then up to Uncle Jake's for Christmas dinner and more present opening. We all had a great time and by the time we left the kids were beat. Over all Christmas was wonderful and full of joy! I was so glad to spend it with my family!

Christmas quotes

May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace,The gladness of Christmas give you hope,The warmth of Christmas grant you love.~Author Unknown


-->Agnes M. Pharo:
What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.

Christmas gift suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.

Traditions

This is the time of year for family traditions. Years ago my Grandma Thornhill and I started a tradition of Christmas baking I would come up and stay the night and we would bake all day and all night. One year we made 28 dozen cookies, 3 batches of fudge, 4 pecan pies, and 2 pumpkin. This was the best time of my life. Before she passed away (4 years ago this month) she made me promise that I would keep the tradition up. Since then I have continued the tradition and instead of pies I do baklavah now. This holiday season I have made 22 dozen cookies, 3 batches of fudge, 1 batch of candy cane bark, and 3 pans of baklavah. I look forward to when my kids are bigger and can help more. I miss baking with someone else and sharing the traditon. This year the kids were finally big enough to help with the Christmas decorationg and as they grow bigger I am sure they will help me with more of our traditions.
A new tradtion that I started when the kids were born was having both sides of the family over Christmas morning for a big Southern style Breakfast we are doing it again this year and will have about 20 people crammed into my tiny house. I look forward to Christmas and can't wait to spend some time with my family.
As I think about traditions I have realized how important they are and they really keep the memory of those who have passed. I miss my Grandma dearly and think about her all of the time but most of all I think of the wonderful family values she has taught me.

I got a Job

So in the last couple weeks I decided that I was tired of the post office and never knowing how much of an income I would bring home and I made the decision to get back into the medical field. This is the place I feel most comfortable working and excel at it. I applied for 2 jobs one in the NICU at primary children's hospital and the other in the PICU at the same hospital. I interviewed last Wednesday and found out today that I got the job in the PICU! I will be working 3 twelve hour shifts plus I get benefits! It is a good move for me and the pay is actually more then what I was getting! I look forward to venturing into a new field of medicine since I have never worked in pediatrics. I am excited to be able to be home with the kids more and look forward to this upcoming year! Financially we will be more stable and I will be mentally too! I look forward to getting my sanity back. I start the job next Monday and officially start training on Jan 4th.

Graduation

So I finally am getting my Diploma! I technically walked last May and thought I was done turned out I had 3 more classes in order to finish. I took them this fall and with help from my family I made it! Between all of my family on both sides I was able to have pleanty of babysitting for school and work. I don't think I could have done it without them. Thank you all so very much!

Thanksgiving and Christmas Decorating

I want to first start by saying that I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving! We were lucky and had two. The first was hosted by my mother in law at her house on Thanksgiving she was very kind and scheduled dinner to be at 330 so that I could enjoy the dinner before I had to go to work. The dinner was fabolous and the best part was I ended up not having to go in to work! I was able to stay and watch movies with the family and enjoy pie later that night. The kids were very excited about Turkey Day and kept saying " Gobble Gobble Happy Thanksgiving!" they actually ate pretty good and really enjoyed eating the pie. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving. Then on Friday we had Thanksgiving with my family and this year it was a extra special treat. I didn't have to cook it Dona and Duane decided that they would cook and host Thanksgiving this year. It was a wonderful dinner and we had lots of good company. The kids were so excited to go to Aunt Dona's and Uncle Duane's house! As usual we ate tons and tons of food including pie and then all settled down to a game of phase 10 ( this is a very competitive game in our family) we had a blast! By the time we went home the kids were exhausted.

Over the weekend we cleaned the house in preperation for decorating the house for Christmas. The kids did really well and helped clean and decorate. This was the first year that they actually decorated the tree and they were thrilled!

Friend, Husband, Father

On November 20th my best friend and husband turned 32 years old. I just wanted to take a minute and share what a wonderful man he is. Mike and I met in Jan. of 2000 and we got married Aug 2005. Since the day I met him our relationship took off and he soon became one of my best friends. Once we got married I thought my life was complete until we had our twins Gaige and Maddi it was a very tough pregnancy but Mike stuck with me through it and was a wonderful support! He is a very caring individual and continually makes his family happy. He is a wonderful father and truly loves to be home with his kids! I am so glad I met him and I hope we get to celebrate many birthdays to come!
We spent the day just hanging out and then both sides of the family came over for cake and ice cream.

Princesses on Ice

A couple weeks ago we went to Princesses on Ice I was so excited to see how Maddi and Gaige would react. I was also anxious to see if they would actually sit through the whole program since they don't usually sit through a 30 min cartoon.We met my mom and dad at their house and headed down to salt lake to see the show. When we got there my mom bought each of the kids a princess cup with shaved ice and a huge thing of popcorn unfortunatly for them my dad and I had the bucket of popcorn and being huge popcorn fans we ate most of the bucket. The show started and Maddi's face lit up when Tinker Bell came out and started the show then Gaige got excited when he saw Mickey! The kids sat through the whole show and loved every minute of it. I was so glad we were able to spend this time with my mom and daddy since they used to take me to this type of stuff all the time. It was a wonderful day and the kids loved it!

GMS Counseling update

So here is the next business update....On Friday Nov. 20 we received our first 4 referrals so we now have a total of 5 clients and hopefully things will start taking off now. We have also been working on writing up more programs such as a Theft/Shoplifting class and a program for Juveniles. Duane has been working on more marketing stuff and is getting ready to go out into the community and market for us. I along with Duane have been working on a list of sources so that we can better help our clients. This has been a great adventure so far and I can't wait to see it up and running!

Gaige and Maddi's Room

Well it is finally done! Since the kids have done so well at potty training Mike and I decided to let them pick the colors to paint their room. At first I was kind of shocked at the colors they picked since Gaige picked orange and blue and Maddi picked pink and green but after getting their room painted it actually looks pretty good for a kids room! It is very bright and cheery and the kids seem to love it. We just need to hang the curtains and get some spider man and tinker bell wall decorations. Even with out the wall decor the kids are very excited about their very own room in the colors they wanted!

Thanksgiving blessings

As Thanksgiving approaches I have been thinking about things that I am thankful for. Here is my list:

• Family: I am truly grateful for the love and support of my family no matter what they are always there for me.


• My Children: Gaige and Maddison light up my life! I couldn't imagine a life with out their smiling faces


• Friends: Even though I rarly talk to or see my friends I am grateful to know they are there and that they are understanding about my schedule. I think about them everyday.


• Freedom: Since finishing up my criminal justice degree I have really started thinking about this topic and I am truly grateful to be free and thank our troops who are defending our country so that we may have this amazing reward.


• Education: Even though I am ready for a break I am thankful for my well rounded education with out it I would not be the person I am today.

Those are the most important things I am thankful for the list continues on and on but that is for another day.

Business Update

Well the business is going good so far. The offices are all most set up (we just need to decorate) and thanks to Daddy and Duane we printed our first Brochure. It looks very nice and we are one step closer to marketing and seeing clients. Speaking of clients my dad will be seeing his first 2 clients next week! I am so proud of my dad for getting this business up and going and I am sure it will be a great success! I look forward to helping more and getting our business up and going. I will update more when we have more milestones to talk about.

Halloween

Wow we had a busy but fun Halloween. We started our festivities off Wednesday night by letting the kids paint their pumpkins. They had so much fun and did a great job! Then on Thursday I dressed the kids up and headed down to my moms office where we went Trick or Treating. This has been a tradition for the last 3 Halloweens. We showed up and ate lunch with my mom then we took the kids around here office to trick or treat they were so dang cute! After they got their candy they would say " thank you and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!" they were so animated on the last part. By the time we left my moms office they each had a whole bucket full of candy.

The next day we went to Uncle Jake's office and Trick or Treated. Again they had so much fun. Maddi was a little scared of her uncle jakes costume and I can't blame her. He is not a cute woman! Gaige just thought it was silly. He told me that boys don't wear dresses. Jake and his co- workers dressed up as the Golden Girls.

That night the kids spent the night at Buna and Papa's and Mike and I went out on a much needed date. We doubled with our good friends Jon and Kiersten. It was so nice to talk to adults. Although I missed the twins. We picked the kids up Saturday morning about 10am and ran a couple of errands. About 4pm we got the kids all dressed up again and drove up to Grandma Vicki's house so she could see them after that we went to Uncle Paul and Aunt Michelles ward to do trunk or treat. It was total Chaos! I have to say its not as fun as the old way, but the kids seemed to really enjoy it. I must be a little old fashioned because nothing beats running up to a door and saying trick or treat! After Paul and Michelles we Trick or Treated and Grandma and Grandpa Smiths then off to Trick or Treat with Gaige and Maddi's little friends Kaylee and Lily. We went on the little block of my old neighborhood and on the big block and the kids had a blast! Once trick or treating was done we went to my dads to eat chili and other goodies and watch a movie. Overall Halloween was a blast but I have to say I am glad it is over.

Happy Thanksgiving

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!

Anonymous

New Business

Well it is official we have a business! We got our business license on Friday and the keys to the office. We moved all of our office furniture in on Saturday. Thanks to the help of Mike, Gaige, Grandpa Great, Cindy, Jake, Dona, Duane, and my brother Jake, and of course my daddy! They met at the house at 12 pm and loaded the big UHAUL by the time Maddi and I left the babyshower we were able to meet them at the office and Help unload. It was a big job but with all of the help we had it went by pretty quick. After we unloaded everything we all went to dinner and celebrated. Now we just have to put in for program licensing and get some clients! I am very excited about this adventure and will continue to post random updates. Thanks again to everyone who helped!

Pre Halloween Activities

Last Friday we took the kids to Days Farm up the street so they could pick out their pumpkins. They could hardly wait and when they saw all of the pumpkins they got so excited that they went from pumpkin to pumpkin saying that they wanted all of them. Gaige finally picked out a big round one that probably weighed as much as he did. Maddi picked out a tall oblong one that was about as heavy as she was. This year they are really into Halloween and so excited about all of the different activities you do for it. We also decorated the house.

Sunday we decided to visit Black Island Farms. It was a blast! The kids played in the kiddie area and then got really brave and decided to go down one of the big slides they had there. Gaige and Maddi loved it! We also went through a corn maze and rode a tractor to the pumpkin patch where the kids got to pick out 2 more pumpkins! Needless to say we have more than enough pumpkins to decorate our porch. We had a wonderful time as a family. I would highly recommend this place to any one with big or small children.

Gaige and Maddi Double the Trouble

Maddi

Gaige

Maddi and Gaige

On Friday my son and daughter decided that while I was taking a quiz and thinking they were behaving they would remove everything out of their room including their beds. When I finally realized that it was way to quiet for the twins to just be playing I got up and went to see what was going on. When asked they told me that they were getting ready to paint their walls. Gaige picked the wall closest to the door and wants it blue and Maddi picked the opposite wall and wants it pink. Then they told me to call daddy and have him bring home paint. Where they learned this I have no clue. But they have decided on the colors and how they want their room arranged. I was hoping that they wouldn't care about rooms and colors for at least another year. Oh well they know what they want. So it looks like we will be painting a blue and pink room I am not sure how it will work but we will figure it out. Its nice to know that they worked together in moving the furniture. Team work is very important.

They are truly growing up too fast. I have been teaching them about money and how to save it in their piggy banks and when we helped my daddy unload the Uhaul (from buying office chairs) my daddy said he owed them and Gaige piped up yeah 2 dollars! My dad thought it was so funny and needless to say they each got 2 dollars. Its amazing how fast they catch on to things. They also told my dad that they would help him move into the new office for 2 dollars. I am sure when the time comes my dad will be fine with that again. They are smart and put a dollar each in the piggy bank so that they could save the other dollar is to spend at the store when we go with grandpa great next week.

Everyday I watch them I can't believe how big they have gotten. They went from little preemie babies to these little toddlers who think they are way bigger than they really are. They are talking more and more everyday and can now count to 5 by their selves, they know most of their colors, animals and the noises they make, and many other things. They love to learn and explore. I am truly blessed that I am able to stay home with them 90 percent of the time.

Gaige and Me

Maddison playing in her froggy toy box

Gaige and Maddi on the fire engine at the fair

Mike, Gaige, Maddi, and Grandpa Great

I forgot to add more pictures

September Review

We had a bunch of things going on in the month of September. I am going to start with our big project. We decided to paint the outside of our house and between the prepping and painting it took all most the whole month. It looks very nice now and we can move on to the next project. This summer we have done quite a bit to the outside of our house. We put a fence up out front, leveled and planted a back yard, and painted. Our house is still yellow and white but now there is no chipped paint hanging off of it.

Now for the fun stuff. The first of September my in-laws set up a car show in Kaysville we attended a little late but there was a great turn out and still some cars there! We were late because we had to rescue my Daddy. His car broke down and when I told this to Gaige he said very seriously " Oh Shit MaMa Pa Pa's car is broke.". After saving Pa Pa we made it to the show and Gaige absolutely loved seeing all of the old cars and even saw a couple motorcycles (not part of the show) Maddison enjoyed them too but had more fun being adored by everybody. In fact she told her Grandma that her name was Princess Maddison not just Maddison.

In the Middle of September the twins stayed at my parents for 3days and 2 nights. From what I hear they had a blast. Mike and I went to the salt flats to watch the races. It was great! I can't believe how fast some of those cars went!

Last but not least we went to the State Fair with my Grandpa. It was so much fun the kids were so excited they didn't know what to do. They love animals especially horses. The first thing we did was take them on the pony ride. Maddi told me that she wanted a horse I told her that MaMa didn't have the money for a horse and she told me then her PaPa will buy her one. Its amazing how fast kids catch on to who spoils them and who will tell them no. Gaige loved the MOOO cows he couldn't believe how big they were al l he talked about was the BIG moo cows.

New Adventure

My family is starting a new adventure in our lives. We are starting a family business. My daddy is who came up with the idea and we have been working towards this for a while now. Our business is called GMS Counseling and we specialize in Substance Abuse Treatment, Mental Health, Domestic Violence, and many other things. I am very excited about this and Have decided to continue to get my education in Social Work. This will help me contribute more to the business. We had good news this week, we finally have an office for the business now we just have to get our licensing! Gaige and Maddi are very excited because their office has a window that looks out on a pond with ducks (quack quack) and Geese (honk honk) really its not just their office but they seem to think it is. We have a lot of work a head of us but I am looking forward to every minute of it.

I gave in

Okay so I finally have given into blogging. I think this will be the easiest way to keep my friends and family posted on the many things that go on in my family's life. I am not sure how well I will do at this but its worth a try.