Saturday, February 28, 2009

Hairdo Independence!

Makell has really been into the independent stage more than ever lately! At times it is absolutely wonderful and other times not so great. She thinks she can do anything and everything for herself. I beg to differ at times!
It was bath night and once again she insisted on brushing her own hair. I left the bathroom to check on the other girls and when I came back I found this! I have to say I was pretty impressed for a three year olds ability. I said WOW, what are you doing? She told me that she had fixed her own hair and as she was looking into the mirror said, "I look pretty huh mom"! My reply,(with a smile on my face) "Of course you do sweetie"! She was so proud of herself!
As I got a closer look, bobby pins were everywhere!
Not a bad job! Most of them were pretty straight!
26 bobby pins in all! I am sure if I hadn't of came in at that time she would have emptied the whole container! Makell is such a sweet heart! She is always making me laugh and putting a smile on my face!
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Saturday, February 21, 2009

Happy 90th Birthday Grandma!

On Thursday February 19th my Grandmother turned 90 years old. Talk about seeing a lot of changes throughout her life! She is an amazing woman and she holds such a special place in my heart. She has been faced with many situations that most of us will never experience. I love to hear her tell stories about her childhood and the things she had to do as a young girl. All I can say is I am grateful I was born when I was! I really don't think I could have handled the potty pot or the outhouse in the middle of the winter(or anytime for that matter)! I seriously can't imagine doing laundry by hand and having it hung all over the house when it couldn't be hung outside. I am grateful that our family can just hop in the car and go without rounding up a team of horses to make a trek somewhere. She is always expressing her gratitude for modern day conveniences. She definitely has taught the lesson on not taking things for granted. I admire her love for the gospel and her family. Throughout her life she has always thought of others before herself.

We had a family party in honor of her today. It was wonderful to celebrate her life and to see so many of the cousins! Some cousins put together a wonderful video of pictures throughout grandmas life and a cook book with some of her "famous" recipes for each of the grand kids and great grand kids. I am so grateful that I have such a special and close relationship with her. A few words to describe my grandma are; strong, obedient, loving, talented, faithful, example, frugal, teacher, hard worker, homemaker, wonderful cook, giving, and determined. She has taught me so many different lessons through out my life.
I am also grateful for the relationship my daughters have with their great grandmother. They call her "Grammy Great" because she is GREAT! They love the little saying she tells them when we are leaving from a visit. She says, "I love you ,a bushel and a peck"! Meaning: I love you a whole lot plus a little more!

I had to get a picture with all the girls. Our oldest daughter is named after grandma Alice. It's interesting how similar they are in their likes and interests. We love you Grammy Great!
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Friday, February 20, 2009

The "BIG" Girl Bed!

Makell finally has her "BIG" girl bed. This is definitely the longest we have waited to put one of them in a twin size bed. She had been sleeping in a toddler bed(thanks Jackson) and we have felt that it was time to move in to something a little bigger. Adam spent a day putting things together and Makell absolutely loves it! I will find her lying on her bed reading books, playing with dolls, or anything else she can get up on her bed. The first night she sleep in her bed she was in her pajamas by 4:30 p.m. We held her off for a while. Waking up with her the next morning about 3:00 a.m. didn't sound like something I was willing to do. We decided to hold family prayer in her room that night and after we had finished she told all of us, "Get out now, I'm going to sleep in my new bed"! She said it in such a sweet soft way that it made all of us laugh. We left, turned the light out, and didn't hear another sound from her until 6:45 the next morning!

Several people have told me I need to share our experience of how Makell's bed came about. So hear it is! WARNING: It's a little long!

We have been looking for several months know for a bed. I have absolutely loved the sets we purchased for Kourtney and Kaitlyn. They are solid wood, sturdy, and cute. We wanted to get Makell the same set and found out that they didn't make it anymore. I was so disappointed! Well, we found ourselves going from store to store, looking at online ads and just couldn't find anything we liked. As we were looking I kept having these feelings that we needed to be patient. For something that was made really well it was expensive and out of our price range. Beds that were in our price range were built cheap and looked cheap. We had a company build a piece of furniture for us a few years ago and thought I would call and ask them if they would come out and give us a bid. If you find something you like this company will take a picture and build it for you. They can do it a lot cheaper than you can buy it in the stores and they look awesome! I called them and they came out to give a quote. It was still more than what we wanted to spend. The salesman told us that they had one in their store that was very similar to what we wanted and it was at a reasonable price.
On the following Monday I was checking our banking account and saw that $150.00 had been deposited in our account that was from something I had totally forgotten about. I called Adam and asked him if he had remembered and he had totally forgotten about it as well. At that point we decided when Adam got home from work we would run over to this particular store and look at this bed they had told us about. We were looking around and there was that feeling again to be patient. I thought I had been patient long enough! I found myself getting frustrated. We left the store and Adam and I talked about going to one last store before heading home. We pulled out of the parking lot and Adam looked across the street and he said, "Analice, look at that"! I looked and their against this house was the EXACT SAME bed we bought for Kourtney and Kaitlyn. I told Adam to turn around and I would go ask if it was For Sale. Adam and I knocked on the front door. A gentleman answered and said that it wasn't his. It was his sister-in-laws and thought she was selling it but she wouldn't be home until later that night. He gave us her number so we could get in contact with her. Evening came and we called and she told us that YES she was selling it and she would take $50.00 for it. I couldn't believe it! It was in great condition! I had wanted this bed for Makell from the beginning! I finally realized why I had had the feelings to be patient so many different times! I asked her if she wouldn't mind if we came over that night and picked it up and she said that was just fine! I had really wanted to find a matching bedroom set but was thrilled to find "the" bed. Adam left and I stayed home to put the girls to bed. About twenty minutes later the phone rang and it was Adam. He said are you sitting down? He proceeded to tell me that he asked if they had a dresser that matched the bed and if they were willing to sell that as well? Crazy!!! These people said they did but it was in a set with another bed that was exactly like the one we had just bought. They didn't want to break up the set and figured they could get more for it that way. They were moving and still had it in storage but would be getting it that weekend. Then the man said, "let me tell you what, if you want to buy the other set we will sell it to you for $100.00. SOLD! We feel we were totally blessed. Know we have the option of keeping the second bed or selling it. We purchased two beds and a dresser for exactly the amount that had been deposited into our account that morning because of our "10%" at the beginning of the month:)!

The very next morning I received an e-mail from my wonderful father-in-law that said, "One never gives a crust to the Lord without receiving a loaf in return". How TRUE is that?!! I am sure some may think that $150.00 is not much and it was all just a coincidence. I believe it was much more than that! I truly believe that if we have faith, do our part, and be "patient" the Lord WILL do his part in what ever situation it may be!


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Monday, February 16, 2009

Dan is Getting Married!


I can't belive it! My "baby" brother is getting married! On Valentine's Day Daniel popped the big question and Stephanie said YES! We are so excited for Daniel and Stephanie. I am excited to have a new sister-in-law and the kiddos are exstatic because they will have an additional cousin! Stephanie's little boy Dane is a hit with the kiddo's! I can't even tell you haw many times we hear Makell ask "Is baby Dane coming" ? I wish I had a nickle for every time she's said that! We know the big event will happen in the fall, but no date as of yet. We are so excited for them! Congratulation guys!





Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentin's Day! Adam told the girls that he had a special Valentine for each of them. He had them sit down on the couch and he handed them a card with a flower on it. He told them HAPPY VALENTIN"S DAY, watching and waiting for their reaction! Every year on Valentine's Day Adam brings home individual flowers for everyone! They get so excited! The kids did thier school parties on friday and when Adam came home from work without flowers Kourtney wispered to me and said, "Mom, I think dad forgot our flowers". I reminder her that tomorrow (Sat.) was actually Valentine's Day:).
They each read their individual note from their dad and they thought it was the best! Adam was trying to get a rise out of them but it didn't go over they way her had planned. They were all (including Kourtney) perfectly fine with a "love" note from their dad!
SURPRISE! After the cards he handed us all our flowers! He sure knows how to put smiles on our faces:).
I surprised everyone with one of their favorite treats! Chocolate covered strawberries! I think the kids would live on them if I would let them;)!
The girls made chocolate covered strawberries to take to family members as a Valentine treat. I think someone was sneaking some chocolate!! The evidence is on her face:)!
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Friday, February 13, 2009

Science Fair Experiment

This year was Kourtney's first Science Fair Experiment! She chose to learn about buoyancy and why things float in salt water, which is in the field of Physics. By adding salt to water she made an egg float. She was absolutely thrilled about it! She is our little science girl! It was fun watching her come up with a hypothesis and then completing her experiment to see if she was right/wrong. She did a wonderful job! We were all able to take a trip to the school to see the finished product on display. Great Job Kourt!! We are soooo proud of you!!
Kourtney measuring and adding salt to the water one teaspoon at a time.
It floats!
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Friday, January 30, 2009

Thought for the Day

Earlier this week I was browsing the Internet for a lesson I needed to prepare and came across this message or thought and LOVED it! I thought I would share.

The Home is the Most Significant Classroom
Perhaps the most significant classrooms is the classroom of the home. It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are the laboratories of our lives. What we do there determines the course of our lives when we leave home. Dr. Stuart E. Rosenberg wrote in his book The Road to Confidence, "Despite all new inventions and modern designs, fads and fetishes, no one has yet invented, or will ever invent, a satisfying substitute for one's own family."
A happy home is but and earlier heaven.
Thomas S. Monson