The Stockards

Saying Good-bye

2010-03-15T22:08:00.000-07:00

Sunday at Provo Temple, the day before the MTC.
Saying good-bye. We want them to go, but saying good-bye is hard.

After lots of hugs, kisses, and a few tears, we let them go on their mission to Greece.

Snow Day!

2009-12-09T20:34:00.001-08:00

We awoke to a great surprise on Monday morning. The snow started falling on Sunday evening (see last picture) and it kept on snowing all night. We got a call early Monday morning saying that school was cancelled. We celebrated by screaming, jumping and dancing around the house. I grew up having regular days off for weather, but this was the first time any of my kids have had the pleasure of experiencing a snow day.

We played in the snow, slept, did a little work, watched movies, sat by the fire with hot chocolate, and overall had a great day. It was actually two great days because it snowed all day Monday and we were out of school on Tuesday too. It is sure nice to go back to a three-day week!

Decorating the Tree

2009-12-09T20:31:00.001-08:00

It is so much fun to go through the ornaments each year and decorate our tree. It looks beautiful.

Black Friday Shopping

2009-12-04T22:15:00.001-08:00

After a great Thanksgiving meal at our house, we drove up to Adrienne's in the shopping mecca of Northern Nevada. We hit some Thursday night sales and were up bright and early Friday to wait in lines at Kohl's and Wal-mart. We were mostly going for sport, but we scored enough deals to make it worth it. This is a picture from Thursday night, while we were still enthusiastic about the upcoming adventure.

In Loving Memory

2009-11-13T21:47:00.000-08:00

Today my dear friend Sheri Faught passed away. She had been courageously battling cancer for just over six months. Sheri and I spent so many fun times together. She was an amazing person and I am better for having known her. She was my walking buddy, my Girl's Camp tent mate, my EFY and baseball tournament travel partner. She was an example to me in so many ways and I will miss her terribly. She leaves behind a loving family - her husband and three great children, plus siblings, parents, and in-laws.

I know she is in a better place, free from the pain that had become her constant companion over the past few months. I know she will be able to have peace, rest, and happiness and that her love for those of us here does not end. I know we will see her again, but tonight I am very sad for those of us left behind.

Lauren's Birthday

2009-07-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

Ready to celebrate with a fruit flag as part of her birthday breakfast. We spent the rest of the day at a pool party at a friend's house.

Backyard Dinner

2009-07-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

Inspired by our dinners at Girl's Camp, our famiy cooked tinfoil dinners and s'mores in the fire pit. We precooked everything when we were making our Monday night dinners, and made them up on Monday. On Tuesday we just heated them and ate them for dinner on Tuesday. They were delicious and it was great after we cooked and ate outside to come in the house Tuesday night - no mess in the kitchen!

Fourth-Year Hike

2009-07-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

Lauren and her some of her friends as they prepare to depart camp for their fourth-year hike. Can you see the excitement in their eyes?

Birthday Weekend

2009-07-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

For my 40th birthday, we had a fun-filled weekend of activities. Some of these picutres were taken in Lisa's backyard where we had lunch Saturday afternoon. Some are from our fondant cake decorating activity at Adrienne's house on Saturday morning. It was a fun weekend of family and it went way too fast!

The big 4-0

2009-06-18T07:14:00.001-07:00

I am entering a new decade tomorrow, I'll be forty! I am excited about the day because my mom, and my sisters Jenny, Amy, and Christy are flying in to celebrate with me. Adrienne, Camille, Dorothy and Lisa are all working so hard to make this a great weekend reunion. What a party - I can't wait!

The thing I'm not looking forward to is everything you hear about how your body starts to decline in your forties and beyond. Other than the physical, when I look at what my life has held for me in the past forty years, I feel like I have learned so much and hopefully I'm at a place in my life where I can deal with problems that arise and also be of help to those around me. I hope that I am making a difference in the lives of my children and family and those around me.

Actually, I'm pretty excited to be forty. I have forty years of blessings to be thankful for. I am blessed with good health and I have a loving husband, kids who I genuinely enjoy being with, two loving parents in good health, and a large extended family that I can rely on and learn from. I have a testimony of Jesus Christ and why I'm here on earth that gives me purpose in this life and hope for the eternities.

I will enjoy this weekend with my sisters and family. What a treat, I can't think of a better way to celebrate! I just hope the next forty are filled with as much love and happiness as the first forty.

In honor of my forty years of living, I have chosen a new playlist, with songs from 1969 until 2009. Enjoy!

Spring means...

2009-05-19T21:22:00.000-07:00

Planting a garden! We skipped doing a garden last year, and the year before we didn't have great results, but we are both excited adn optimistic for our garden this year. Tom and the boys rototilled and got the boxes in place. Tom and I chose out a few plant starts (Adrienne, my seeds didn't do as well as yours!)for watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes, zuccini and pumpkins. We mixed in composted manure and planted the plants. Now, we just have to water, weed and wait!

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

Hooray for moms! What would we do without them? I am blessed with a loving, selfless mom who raised me in a home centered on the teachings of Jesus Christ and lots of fun and love. What an irreplacable gift that is in life! I also have an awesome mother-in-law who really has my back in the day-to-day events of raising my family.
This morning I was treated to a delicious breakfast in bed, made by my children. We all piled on the bed to watch a slide show that Lauren. She used picutres of our family from the years set to the song "Best Day" which is a daughter's tribute to her mom (listen to it on my playlist!). I got nice cards and thoughful gifts from my children and Tom is making dinner that we will enjoy with the Birds after church. It really is the best day!

I've had many family members and friends who have helped me and influenced me as a mom. Thank you for your love and examples. And Happy Mother's Day to you all.

Tommy's Accident

2009-04-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

Tommy called us this morning on his way home from seminary saying he'd been hit by a truck but that he was o.k. A semi-truck ran a stop sign and hit Tommy's car on the driver's side. I don't know how Tommy was so protected, but he was. After filling out accident reports, getting the car towed, and a visit to the ER he just wanted to go back to school and to his game tonight. He is sore and has a lump on his head, but he really is fine. We feel unbelievably blessed.

The car didn't do so well, as you can see. The side view mirror is gone and it looks like a lot of impact right at the driver's side door. It's actually hard for me to look at them right now; it makes me so very thankful that he is all right.

Current Apostle Song

2009-04-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

Virtue Hike

2009-04-23T06:29:00.000-07:00

For our YW activity, as an idea from the General YW broadcast, we hiked to the top of a mountain and unfurled a gold banner for the new value Virtue. We had great warm weather, but as you can see, it was so windy! When we got to the top, we read the scriptures for Virtue value experience #2 and discussed how we can have the Holy Ghost with us. The girls promised to write it in their journals to compelte the experience. We all had dirt in our mouths and eyes, but despite the wind, it was a successful activity.

Star Gazing

2009-04-23T06:24:00.000-07:00

Nathan, the ultimate stargazer, tipped us off about a recent meteor shower. He brought his girls out to watch one evening, and brought s'mores goodies. We enjoyed an evening of treats, great spring weather, and quiet time with family watching the sun go down and the stars come out. We laid on the lawn and saw many constellations and a few meteors too. Thanks for the fun evening Nate!

Snowy Spring break

2009-04-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is our back yard on this lovely Spring break. We enjoyed warm, sunny weather for our Easter egg hunt two days ago, but it is snowy, gray and cold today! Luckily, it should be back in the 70's by the weekend!

Easter

2009-04-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

We had a very fun Easter, and you get to see these photos in reverse order, starting with Easter eveing and going back to the morning.

Cousins on the trampoline, moms standing close by.

Our very cute cousins finding eggs in the back yard.

We were almost late to church for this photo, and Lauren was giving a talk, so it was a risk to take it, but I knew you'd be glad to see them in their new Easter clothes.

You're never too old to color Easter eggs.

Now we have like 3 dozen eggs to eat ... lots of egg salad for us!

It was a great day, but the best part about it was celebrating the resurrection

of our Savior Jesus Christ. We are so blessed!

Baseball Opening Day

2009-04-13T13:40:00.001-07:00

All decked out in his uniform after his first game - a win!

Painting Adreinne's New House

2009-04-13T13:23:00.001-07:00

We spent a day helping Adrienne and Matt at their new house. Painting is so much fun!The girls were excited to mark up the walls.

Grandpa flew in to help with house projects, I'm sure he was glad we saved all
the hard detail work for him!

Her house is so beautiful, you'd never believe the transformation!

New Year Eve Dance

2009-04-13T13:17:00.001-07:00

This is way late, I know, but this is the picture of independence - first dance without a parent driving them! I was a nervous wreck all night, but they did great!

Teenage Driver!

2009-04-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

Tommy got his driver's license in December, after much work getting the Eagle Scout project done. He is loving his freedom and it is nice for Tom to not drive to 6:00 a.m. seminary every day!

Nutcracker 2008

2008-12-30T14:16:00.001-08:00

Lauren and Alyssa were in the Nutcracker this year. They both take jazz and ballet. They were excited about their bigger parts this year. Lauren is really into lifts and she and a friend started off the jazz performance with a double cartwheel that was really cool. They had several costume changes, the green shirts are from their jazz dance. The yellow costumes are from Marzipan, their final dance in the Nutcracker. Below are videos, the first is just the double cartwheel, the second video is the rest of the jazz dance. The last is the Marzipan dance.

Tommy's first date

2008-12-30T14:13:00.000-08:00

Tommy went with some friends to the Junior Prom. He is a sophomore, but these friends are juniors. He rented a tux and we even got to host part of their progressive dinner. They looked great and even though the power went out at the dance, they had a fun night.

Our Christmas Card

2008-12-30T13:45:00.000-08:00

In a moment of December hecticness, Tom and I decided that we would save some time and skip sending Christmas cards this year. To be honest, it wasn't worth it! As the fun cards and photos started rolling in from our family and friends, I wished we had sent something out. Our family is healthy, happy, and busy. We are truly blessed beyond measure and we love to celebrate the birth of our Savior at this time of year.
I am sorry we weren't represented in your Chirstams card holder this year, but watch for us next year. We won't skip again!

Reunion Park Day

2008-12-30T13:30:00.000-08:00

After the mom pedicures, we all went for a picnic and playing at a great park. We all wore our new family t-shirts. There was basketball, whiffle ball, playgrounds, and an ampitheater for dance performances. The day flew by, with so many things to do and so many people to talk to and get reacquianted with!

After a the day at the park, the adults had a late dinner at PF Chang's. Our family had to leave early the next day to catch our flight. What a wonderful week!

Pedicures

2008-12-30T13:28:00.000-08:00

Friday morning after Thanksgiving, while most of the world was shopping big sales, the Andros ladies were getting pediucures.

Reunion- Jump Man Jump

2008-12-30T13:24:00.000-08:00

We had a fun gathering day in Richmond at Jump Man Jump. It was two big rooms full of excited cousins and their parents. It was a great place for the kids to play and the adults to visit...and play too. We had some fun on the obstacle course. We had pizza and browinies after. These photos are from the age 9-up cousin room.

Andros Family Reunion!

2008-12-30T13:06:00.000-08:00

The Andros family, all 69 of us, got together for a few days over Thanksgiving weekend. The kids and I flew out for a week in Virginia. We spent the first half with Mom and Dad and then second half of the week in Richmond.

Following are some photos of the highlights.

Our sightseeing day was the best ever! Dad took us and chauffered us around town. We saw so much in just one day. We went in the Washington Monument, the Library of Congress
(for just a second), the Archives, the Natural History museum. We saw the White house and many monuments that we usually don't see on the Metro. We went to Arlington National Cememtery, which was a first for me. We had a few cousins with us, which made it even better!

We were at the Library of Congress long enough for a picture with the Capitol in the background.

After seeing the documents in the Archives.

A carful of cousins all excited about our day. This was at the beginning, they weren't nearly as enthusiastic by the end of the day!

Disappointing Loss

2008-12-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

As the election results were counted, we were disappointed to see that Tom lost the run for judge by a narrow margin. We were ahead for part of the vote-counting, and it was reported in a few papers that it was too close to call, but he was ahead. He got a lot of congratulations from people who were embarassed to find out he really lost. He even got a letter from one of our state elected officials congratulating him on his new job.
It is truly disappointing to put your heart into something and not get it, but we are happy he has a job he loves to continue onward with.

The campaigning continues

2008-10-18T13:36:00.000-07:00

Jetway Chevrolet donated the use of their big billboard truck for Tom's campaign.
It is a great truck because it is so visible. We got permission to park it in Yerington and we were happy about the location. Tom ordered these banners, but it was tricky getting them attached so that the truck was road-worthy. Here are some pictures of the process.

Birthday ear piercing

2008-10-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

Alyssa turned 10, the magic age for ear piercing in our famiy. She was a bit scared by the process, but she is happy about it now.

And the injuries continue...

2008-10-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

Tommy took a hard hit in a football game and his coach thought he had broken a rib. He was urinating blood, like a lot of it for at least 5 days. After a few doctor visits and a CAT scan, he was diagnosed with a severely bruised kidney. He can have no contact or exercise for 8 weeks, a diagnosis that is akin to death for him because if you don't have football, what else is there in life?

Then Alyssa fell yesterday in school and hurt her arm. She didn't say anything, just went and ate lunch and went back to class. Her teacher noticed she was pale and sweating, probably going into shock, and sent her to the nurse. She told the nurse about her fall and she could see it was quite swollen. We got her to the ER for X-rays and found she fractured her radius in her arm. She will be in a cast for 6-8 weeks. That also means no violin, no ballet, and no jazz for her, at least for a while. She was quite a brave little girl about the whole thing. She has been enjoying resting on the couch with her arm on a pillow watching movies.

We are hoping to avoid any more injuries and stay out of the ER for a while.

Two concussions and a broken nose

2008-09-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

Those are our injuries in the past two weeks with the boys in football. Tommy took a hard hit and had a mild concussion in his game last week, then Ryan got his bell rung in practice. He was pretty out of it and I started to take him home, then turned around and went to the ER. He was swelling up at the top of his nose, between his eyebrows. Turns out he had a mild concussion, and probably a broken nose. Apparently, they don't do anything for a for those, unless he has problems and needs surgery when he is fully grown. He will probably have two black eyes as the swelling drains, just in time for school pictures.

Labor Day Parade

2008-09-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

We had quite a crowd to pass out information cards for Tom at the Cantaloupe Festival parade on Labor Day. This was before Nathan's and Adrienne's families got there. It was a very successful parade and we had a great day with the cousins after.

I was a little surprised to see how much taller than me Tommy has gotten, but notice his feet!

First Day of School

2008-09-06T11:09:00.001-07:00

Lots of new things on this first day of school, Lauren started at the high school, Ryan, Alyssa and I were all moved to a new elementary school, so that was new for us. But at this point, two weeks into the year, everyone is doing fine, despite this nervous-looking picture.

On this day...

2008-08-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Nineteen years ago Tom and I went to the Washington DC temple to get married. We had lots of guests and family, many of them from across the country, who drove all over Maryland and Northern Virginia to participate in the events of the day. It was a wonderful day!

I guess you really don't know how it feels to live something that you haven't lived before. As we made our marriage covenants that day, I had no idea what the road ahead held for us. I had watched my parents and I expected to be happily married like they were (and still are - Happy anniversary to you Mom and Dad - 42 years today!!) but until you do it yourself, it is hard to know how it will be. Even though I was in love on my wedding day, I could never have known then how much more my love would grow as we experienced our life together.

I count it as a true blessing to have a wonderful husband and to have been blessed with our children. We have had many happy times, some struggles that have been great learning experiences, and also some difficult times. Tom has been by my side for everything. I don't know what the next nineteen years (and beyond!) will hold, but I'm glad we'll face them together.

Lyon County Parade

2008-08-18T12:12:00.001-07:00

We had a great parade day on Saturday. We had many people helping and we couldn't have done it without them!! We got Tom's new campaign card in the hands of every adult there. The card looks really nice and we got positive feedback on it. We also had plenty of candy, an important detail in a parade. There were enough people that it wasn't too much work for anyone (I hope!). It was hot, but really a great day for a parade and we were so happy with how smoothly it went.

Monopoly Games

2008-08-18T12:05:00.000-07:00

My boys have spent many summer nights playing Monopoly with Brandon Bird. They are addicted to the game. I can't say that I understand their interest in that particular game, but I love that they are having some good old-fashinoned fun. Maybe one of them will go into real estate development when they are older.

Braces, braces, braces

2008-08-18T11:59:00.000-07:00

Alyssa got braces this summer. We didn't expect that to come up so soon since she is kind of young, but they said it was time. So, we have had three kids in braces this summer. No popcorn or Now n' Laters at our family movie nights. Here are our three in braces.

Campaigning on the 4th of July

2008-07-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

This is the part of the volunteer group after breakfast and before heading out to Fernley, Fallon, and Yerington. Tom and the Birds went to the parade in Fernley and ran a booth at the fair there. They got lots of help from the Otuafi family in Fernley. Dorothy and Tom's friend Ron went to Yerington to run a booth. The girls and I got help from Kevin and Amy and their kids in the Fallon parade. The second picture is Alyssa, Me, Lauren, Claire, Logan and Ashley on our float at the Fallon parade. We gave out a ton of candy (but we could have used about double what we had!), lots of fridge magnets, and saw many supportive people on the parade routes. We met people at the booths, all wiith a really positive response. It makes us excited for the next event, a parade in Yerington for the Lyon County Fair in August.

4th of July

2008-07-22T08:53:00.001-07:00

The best part about the 4th of July is Lauren's birthday. She turned 14! It was a busy campaigning day for us, so we did a birthday breakfast. This is the birthday girl and the fruit flag before the meal got going.

Girl's Camp Birthday

2008-07-22T08:39:00.001-07:00

I turned 39 at Girl's Camp in Mammoth, CA. The first-year girls in my camp made a banner for me and Lauren bought me the book "The Host" (completely without my knowledge, she got it at the BYU bookstore!") and brought it up to camp. She ran to my camp on the morning of my birthday with that gift and a sweet card from Alyssa. I got lots of songs and treats from the girls and leaders. I went on a beautiful hike in the mountains, had all my meals prepared for me, ate treats from a yummy bakery sitting by the litlte stream in our camp, took a nice shower and had testimony meeting that night with many stake visitors. A great day really, but the best part was that I got to see my family the next day.

Alyssa's Spring Dance Recital

2008-07-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

Alyssa's dance recital was called "A Walk in the Park." She danced beautifully and it was a joy to watch her!

Park City trip

2008-07-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I went to Park City, Utah for a day before picking up Tommy and Lauren in Provo from EFY. At Ryan's request, we went on the zipline and alpine slide. Even though I have done both before, it was really scary for me when we started going up the ski lift. You can see from the picture how high up it is. Despite the fact that I really prefer to have my feet on the ground, we did the zipline once and the slide twice and it was very fun.

Alyssa's violin recital

2008-07-22T08:09:00.001-07:00

Alyssa started playing the violin in Feb. 2008. I know I'm her mother, but I think she is really good. This is her playing at her recital. She played a solo and a trio. (Next time I'll video and post that so you can listen! I'm still learning.)

Take me out to the ball game!

2008-07-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

We had fun watching Ryan play baseball this year. He wasn't sure he wanted to play this season, but he had fun once he got going. This is Ryan at bat and again on first base.

Campaign Photos

2008-06-25T18:32:00.000-07:00

We had a family photo shoot so we would have something current to put on some campaign literature this summer. I was happy with how they turned out, so I am posting a few of them for you to see. Don't be surprised if you see one on our Christmas cards; that always seems to sneak up on us.

School's Out!

2008-06-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

Hooray for us, school is out! We had a half day on Friday and I was home by 2:30 taking a quick nap! We are looking forward to a few summer projects, some campaigning, a few small trips and a few visitors. Hopefully some good weather and good books too!

Tom's TV Debut

2008-04-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

Spring Pictures

2008-04-23T21:53:00.001-07:00

Our family on Easter Sunday, March 2008.

Who's taller?

2008-04-23T21:48:00.000-07:00

I still think it's close, but he thinks he's way taller than me. Ryan reminds us that I'm the one not growing, so whatever the margin, Tommy is officially taller than me.

Alyssa's Surgery

2008-04-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

The tooth is on the top, to the right of her front tooth.

Alyssa had this oddly-shaped baby tooth that wouldn't fall out. Come to find out, she has an extra permanent tooth growing that needs to be removed. We scheduled her oral surgery, and I went in with her to get her settled. The doctor came in and never asked me to leave, so I stayed in during the procedure. Needless to say, it was quite gruesome. They hacked into the roof of her mouth with a mini-crowbar tool to dig that tooth out. They really go at it, not with nice little gentle cuts. I started feeling a little dizzy and I thought I might pass out while I was watching, so I diverted my eyes to prevent that. Anyway, it was quick and relatively painless (while she was medicated). She is healing nicely and we just hope the permanent tooth comes in like it should.

Mom's visit

2008-04-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

Lauren snapped this picture of Mom and me when we were at Adrienne's house in January. I'm just a little behind in posting it.

Height check

2008-01-27T20:11:00.000-08:00

Tommy is growing so fast these days. He'll pass me up soon, I'm sure. In the meantime, we have taken a few back-to-back pictures just to record the height changes. Here is the latest one.

Tommy's Basketball

2008-01-27T16:49:00.001-08:00

Tommy made the Freshman basketball team at CCHS. He has had fun playing and has doen well. So far, this is the only picture we have of him playing, but there are still a few games left.

Let it Snow!

2008-01-27T16:42:00.000-08:00

Typically, we don't get much snow in Fallon, or much that sticks anyway. We have had a few snowfalls, some light and some even bigger where the snow has stuck around for a few days. This is the most snow we can remember in Fallon, over the last 8 years. We are enjoying it!

Jump Man Jump

2008-01-27T16:28:00.000-08:00

Adreinne set up a fun family party at a bouncy house place in Reno called Jump Man Jump. Nate and Camille, Adrienne and Matt, Dorothy with Lisa's kids, and we met there the night Dad and Mom flew in. We jumped and had pizza. It made for a fun kick-off to Mom and Dad's visit to Reno. I'm posting a few shots from the evening.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-27T16:24:00.001-08:00

Here we are, just a few minutes into the new year. We are at the Faught's house, with numbers the kids decorated.

Christmas Day

2007-12-26T00:17:00.000-08:00

It is the close of another Christmas day. We have had some good cousin time over the past few days. I never get tired of witnessing the tender side of my kids as they choose their gifts for each other. We got some very sweet gifts from my siblings, the kind that make you feel closer even when you aren't together. This day was particularly good, everyone was just happy being together. It was a candle-making, game-playing, nap-taking, fashion showing, helicopter flying, book reading, candy-eating kind of day. We were kind of sad to see the day end. Ryan reminded us that we actually have 366 days until the next Christmas, because of the leap year coming up. Christmas is over, but we have New Year's Eve and a visit from Grandpa andGrandma to look forward to!

The Nutcracker Ballet

2007-12-25T22:55:00.000-08:00

Lauren and Alyssa were new dance students this year and tried out for parts in the local production of the Nutcracker. We had no idea how much they would love it when we started in September! They took ballet and jazz, in the same classes, which was nice for transporting them to classes. Participation in the Nutcracker was optional, and they spent 3 hours each Saturday from September until last week working on this. They were happy with their parts and they had a lot of stage time. It was really a good performance. I was so happy with how well they both did; you'd never know they were beginners! They can't wait for the June recital.

Ice Skating

2007-12-25T18:31:00.000-08:00

We planned early in the month on having all our Christmas preparations done so that we could go ice skating on Christmas Eve. (Funny how you make those plans so casually, not realizing the effort it will take to make it happen!) We made it, even though Lauren and I stayed up until 2:30 a.m. the night before doing what I would have done during the day. It was a beautiful day for ice skating and we had a fun group to skate with. Lisa and Brandon came, Nathan and Camille's family, and Matt came by with the boys. It was a nice way to use our Christmas Eve energy.

"I Got Christmas Lights"

2007-12-10T19:29:00.000-08:00

When Tommy was about 3, we put Christmas lights on our house. He was so excited about it that he made up a little song (or chant) that we sing each year when we put up our lights. This year, Ryan, Lauren and Alyssa wanted to add the colored lights to the icicles. We think it looks pretty good.

The Mom Song Sung to William Tell Overture with Lyrics

2007-12-08T21:49:00.001-08:00

This is my current favorite song these days. It's kind of catchy and I'm finding myself singing lines of this song to my kids. Enjoy!

Christmas PJ's

2007-12-08T12:03:00.000-08:00

After the tree decorating, everyone gets new pajamas. These aren't epsecially Christmasy, but they are new and it is still exciting to open them. The girls were happy to get feety jammies!

Decorating the tree

2007-12-04T09:48:00.000-08:00

We decorated our Christmas tree last night. You might think that with teenagers this gets boring for them, but it was so fun! We have a tradition that we buy an ornament for each child each year, something that represents an experience from that year. As we pulled the ornaments out of the boxes, each one brought up a flood of memories. We had fun talking and remembering the story behind the ornaments from each year.