Slices Nicely, Nicely Thank You

This is my second really good batch of bread. Yeah!! I was thinking that I always post about my kids and I thought, what do I do all day? Take care of kids. But I do have other interests, I just never write or post about them. Thus the picture of bread. Sean totally surprised me (which is hard to do) with a Bosch mixer and a wheat grinder for Christmas. I couldn't believe he spent so much on ME! I had been bugging him a couple years ago that if we have all this wheat, we should have wheat grinder (makes sense). I was into making bread at the time. Then I had some disasterous loafs and I couldn't bring myself to make it again. So when Sean got the mixer for me I figured I better use it. We have enjoyed homemade whole wheat bread the last couple weeks. Thanks to my cousin's wife, Carmen, who gave me a fool-proof recipe for wheat bread, my bread has come out nicely. It is not crumbley or heavy (problems I have had in the past) and it makes great sandwiches. I have been thrilled and it is not even that hard. So there it is, I am trying to be domestic. See Mom, even if I can't sew, I can make bread.

Cutie Pie

There are lots of pictures of Natalie. What can I say she is the only girl. She is starting to say cheese for the camera.

Thanks to Anne and Aunt Sharon (who is an avid shopper), Natalie can look so cute. What can I say it is so fun to dress up a little girl!! Sorry boys, it's just not as fun to put pants and a shirt on you.

Surprisingly, she kept her hat on at church. She refuses to leave any ponytails or anything in her hair longer than 5 minutes so the hat has been great.

Mommy, Mommy, Mommy

Ah, yes...my almost forgotton blog...it has been ages since I actually posted anything. It seems like it has almost been impossible to get a moment alone and the computer free to do anything. If Natalie is awake it seems she demands my attention. She is very into reading books and constantly brings them to me even though we have read them over, and over, AND OVER! I am happy that she likes to read books. At 12 months it seemed like she was busy exploring her world and that kept her busy. She is done exploring and wants to move onto new frontiers. Like, ring around the rosies with Mommy, reading with mommy, playing peek-a-boo with Mommy. Pretty much anything WITH MOMMY. So thus, I am excited to move onto whatever her next stage might be, like maybe, pretend play by herself or something that does not include me in all the waking hours. Alright, I have whined enough. Life has been pretty much the same. I am ready for spring so we can spend some time outside. I need to get involved in some things around here so I don't go crazy. I have a few acquaintances here but no real friends as of yet since moving to Twin Falls. I am grateful to all my friends and family who I can call and talk to, and for facebook messages or your blog updates that help me feel connected to dear friends and family. I loved getting Christmas letter updates from friends. I am so grateful for the special friendships I have made over the years. With your true friends, it doesn't matter how much time has passed or the distances you have lived, I feel like we can just pick up where we left off. I have been so blessed with friendships that I am sure started before I came to earth and will continue after this life. Thank you so much! Okay I am crying now, so time to move on.

Odds and Ends

This is my Asian baby. What's up with that scarey face, Natalie?

My Mom and Dad finished their mission at the Employment Center after a year and a half. Even though they live here, Sean thought it would be fun to make them a "Welcome Home from your mission sign.

Alex is reading to Natalie, I love it! Anyone who knows me, knows I love to read. I love that my kids enjoy it too!

Sledding Time

We went sledding at a park in town, not a big one, but big enough for our kids (and me, I think I am getting more chicken or like my mother as the years go by, yikes!) Here's Natalie, she hates that coat, she will push it away every time I try to put it on her.

Here is Alex with the saucer. You can see me carrying up Natalie and the SOFT tube. My bottom is not up for the hard saucer.

Zachary, Alex and me making our way up. Zachary is going to get run over one of these times. He walks up where people slide down even after I tell him to move to the side.

Alex's Christmas Program

Alex's kindergarten class did "How the Penguins saved Christmas" for their program.

It was really cute. Alex was a reindeer. He wanted to be a penguin so he could have an orange nose, not a black one.

Christmas House

We went to a person's house about 20 minutes from our house. They have Christmas decorations that are over the top! It takes a while just to walk through it all. The kids loved it, and I admit, I did too!

They even had a camel that we could feed carrots to. That was a favorite with the kids.

I heard from someone that they start months in advance decorating. Maybe they should just leave it up year round.

Here's the fam, dressed up for the cold. Grandma and Grandpa Smith came with us to. After, we went to their house for cocoa. Fun Christmas memories.