Olivia turns 1!

I think I am still in shock. I am having a hard time comprehending that my sweet baby is 1. I cried a little bit yesterday because no matter how much I try to convince myself she is a tiny baby.... I know that she is getting bigger and growing up a little each day.

Olivia has a special place in my heart. Well, all my girls do of course and I love them ALL more than anything in the world, but I believe that Olivia saved me. I was so sad all the time after my mom died that no matter what I did I didn't ever feel happy like I used to. We had been wanting a baby for some time and after months and months we finally found out that I was pregnant. I remember falling to my knees in thanks and gratitude for a new baby to love. I remember crying, but this time they weren't tears of sadness, they were tears of joy. Finally, I was happy. I felt good again. I felt normal and couldn't wait to love and hold this new baby that was in the spirit world with my mom.

The day she was born I remember so vividly being overwhelmed with happiness. I couldn't stop smiling and that is how it has been ever since. Olivia is so good. Good sleeper, content and happy, puts up with the girls dragging her around, holding her in what looks like a pro wrestling move, does great in the car, loves to eat, snuggle, plays great and loves me. Happy birthday my sweet baby girl. Thank you for coming into our lives. I love you.


She is my April fools baby so of course I had to make fun treats! Burger cupcakes and sugar cookie fries! They were a hit! I tricked Annie and told her they were real fries. The look on her face when she took a bite of they fry.....pure. happiness.


Then I made acorn candies. The kids loved these ...... and so did Rex.


And sushi rice crispy treats. Fun, huh? She will always have fun parties :)


We had friends and family over for a little party. I know that she has no idea what is going on..... but any reason to hang out with all the people I love, I will take it! Here is her own little cake, cute! She wasn't quite sure what to do because up to this moment she has never had any kind of sweets.....but


she loved it and made a huge mess.....yes!


Opening all her little gifts. Some books, clothes and a play smart phone. Now hopefully she will stop sucking on mine :) Isn't her hat awesome? I got it from my sister and all my kids love it. She wore it all day long. Cute!


Me and my baby. LOVE YOU!

What we have been up to.....

It is that time of the year where nothing exciting really is happening. The weather is pretty cold and rainy... we have had snow 3 times! The kids and I are trapped in the house trying to stay busy by playing games, painting nails, and gluing fuzzy balls on paper and Popsicle sticks(they love crafts). So here are some pictures of our days at home :)


Olivia loves playing the princess tent. It is quite entertaining and funny to see all three of them in there. Lots of giggles come from that tent.

Olivia and Macey posing as Annie steals my camera to take pictures in the playroom.

Macey sporting my sunglasses....i love her face.

Macey riding her scooter outside during a dry patch of weather.

Annie can ride her bike without training wheels! WHoo, hoo!! She loves riding her bike and zooms everywhere. We even went on a family bike ride on some bike paths a couple days ago and she did great!

When I went to check on the girls before I went to bed the other day this is how I found Olivia. Ha, she loves her blanket :)

And... the newest member of our family. Rex's Mitsubishi Montero. He sold our red Honda and the old grey pickup and got this baby. I secretly LOVE it. It is fun to drive and seats 7. The girls love it to and it will fun to take when we go play in the snow, Christmas tree hunting, hiking....or taking the girls out to drive around in the mud....not that he totally did that a week ago. Nice, I know.

Valentine's Day

We had a great Valentine's Day. I have to admit: I love all holidays. They are so fun! I love to go all out! So this year we had a blast. It went a little like this:

-got up super early and made Rex biscuits and gravy with orange juice (heart biscuits of course)
-made chocolate chip pancakes for the girls
-Annie took treats to her preschool class
-loaded Rex's lunch full of love notes and mini apple pies (his fav)
-made sugar cookies with the girls and dropped off at neighbors
-decorated the table with cut-out hearts and lots of chocolate candy
-made a yummy romantic dinner including:
grilled spicy honey chicken
homemade rolls
mashed yams topped with toasted coconut, marshmallows and candied walnuts
steamed broccoli
and chocolate chocolate chip cake for me and rex :)
- put the kids to bed and exchanged fun gifts
-had dessert and watched the movie: Valentine's Day (so cute)

what a great day! I just love my sweet Valentine, Rex!! (he surprised me by dropping me off at a spa for a wonderful massage, I had no idea!!) LOVE YOU HONEY!!


We started the week off with my dads birthday. Bowling, dinner and ice cream Sundays, yum!! LOVE YOU DAD!!

The girls waking up and opening their Valentines gifts and having breakfast! Love those sleepy faces!

making sugar cookies

carefully cutting or Macey just playing with a blob of dough :)

Olivia crawling...yes crawling around on V-day!

The girls took turns using the camera and taking pictures of me with them. Some of them turned out so cute I just had to share. I love these kids!! Me and Macey.

Me and the babe.

Me and Annie. I have the best life :)

A little Bling

My sweet girls have been sooo sick! I guess I shouldn't be to surprised that everyone gets coughs and runny noeses becuase they are all in the same room.But Annie got a sudden urge to get her ears pieced, so...... not knowing if it would last we took a trip to the mall and she did it!!! Now Annie is my brave kid. Loves the doctor, eye exams, meeting complete strangers, but I thought she might back out of this one. No way. She was so excited. Yes, there were a few tears, but just a few minutes later, she was happy as could be. Even picked out her first pair of earrings....some cute owls. She wanted dangley (is that a word?) feather earrings but I said lets start with something a little less wild. Anyway, Brianne was there too to capture the moment.
Happy and hugging the bear
Right before.....
Right after... The tears are gone but poor Macey cried too when she saw Annie cry. How sweet. Tears of sympathy. But everyone recovered :) Macey does NOT want to get her ears pierced.
Side note.... my cute baby fell asleep sitting up and tipped forward. CUTE!! Don't worry I fixed her so her legs wouldn't fall asleep :)And she blends in with her blanket. Baby camo.
And, I am pretty excited about this! Brianne and I got together and actually accomplished something. We get together in high hopes of doing crafts or projects.... but the day flies by and all we have done is entertain, feed, clean up after, and break up fights between our kids. (They really do get along) Anywho.... we both got Kindle Fires from out husbands for Christmas so we made cases. Super cute.

Snow day!

WE finally got a snow day here in Cottage Grove! It snowed Saturday and Sunday night.It was so much fun! Snow just makes everything look so much better and pretty too. Don't ya think? Well, the girls (and Rex) LOVED it and played in it as much as they could. Just a few more inches and Rex and I were going to snowboard down our hill....oh well they played on the sled. It was a fun day and a cozy night.


How cute is my sweet family? Rex and all the girls in one photo...love it!!

Laughing while they were building their tiny snowman.

I love Annie's smile here.....

Macey looks so grown up here.....I can't believe it. So cute!

This is the view off our porch.... you bet we had all the blinds open all day! Beautiful!!

Melt. My. Heart.

Macey and Annie are seriously the best sisters to Olivia. They make her laugh all the time, they share all their toys (except for Squeenkies), help feed her, play with her, Annie even picks her up and rocks her. Every time they are sweet with her it melts my heart. It reminds me on a daily basis why I love being a mother so much and why I love these kids with all my heart. My girls are amazing and make me a better person everyday. They are sweet and loving. Kind and fun. Annie will complement me on my outfit or hair and always holds my hand and Macey will kiss me anytime I ask. And as for my sweet Olivia, I can't get enough of that baby. I LOVE being a mom. It is the best job in the world. And here is just one of the many reasons I am so happy.....

December Recap

WOW!!! I can't believe that that this month went by sooo fast! I have been horrible at blogging. I have been taking pictures..... but the I haven't taken the time to put them on our blog. Well, December has been crazy busy. I have been hanging out with my sister (so much fun!) crafting, sewing, cooking, playing, shopping:), hanging out with family and friends, and loving the holiday season. So here are some pictures of the last couple of weeks.....
Here we are Christmas tree hunting. There wasn't any snow which bummed out the kids (and Rex) but we found an amazing tree....maybe the best one yet....
It was fun to get out and hike around
I love decorating the tree as a family. The kids are so excited and it really starts to feel like Christmas.
Rex and Olivia and their new trick....it freaks people out all the time.
Annie had her first Christmas program with her preschool. It was soooo cute! I can't believe she is old enough to have school programs..... I remember when I had those as a kid!
Me and Macey smiling after we finished decorating gingerbread houses. So. Much. Candy.
Brianne and I have so much fun together. And our babies are super cute! I love having her here....please don't ever leave :)
Having Christmas dinner with our family. Macey took this picture of Heather, Papa, and Annie....not bad!
Christmas morning! Tearing through presents. We did enjoy a nice church service and yummy cinnamon rolls too!
All the kids together! Ok it goes Brianne's kids: Ezra, Micah, Ryan, Brady's baby: Adelaide and our kiddies :Annie, Olivia, and Macey! The whole bunch! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!