Snowy Tuesday!

There was so much snow this morning when we were ready to leave for preschool!  I had to turn the car on early so that the windshield would defrost, and then I tried SO hard to get all the ice out of the wheel wells.  It was so hard in the front left wheel well that I couldn't get it out, so whenever I turned the wheel too much we could hear it "errrrr, errrrr, errrring."  But thankfully, the snow that was frozen on the windows had melted before we had to leave.  It was 23 degrees this morning, so it was super cold!  Grace, you wore your Elmo knitted hat today because it was "Hat Day" at preschool!  This is Dr. Suess week, and so that is how you celebrated!  While we were driving to preschool, we were slipping and sliding every so often, and so I made sure that we drove slow enough that we didn't slip too much.  After I dropped you off I did some homework, and I was surprised to see how much I got done!  I was almost late picking you up, but I'm so happy that your class came out early so that I wasn't the one that was late!  You were so cute!  I watched you through the lobby windows, and you accidentally dropped your backpack, and then took your hat off.  It was so sweet!  You were really excited about leaving, and really wanted to run out the door.  It was hard to keep your attention!  You must have really been excited about all the snow that was outside.  When we got home, I gave you a snack and then got some dinner into the crockpot.  Of course, it's not going to be done in time.  It's a bean soup.  Here's what's in it:

9 bean blend (soaked overnight)

3/4 cup dehydrated hashbrowns (homemade)

handfull of dehydrated onion

1 red bell pepper

your choice of seasonings

1 can of corn

Worchestershire sauce

hot and spicy sauce (about 2 tablespoons)

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 cup of water

So, because this isn't going to work out, I made corn chowder and it's in the wonder oven.  Here's the recipe for that:

1 can of corn 

1 can creamed corn

1/8 t pepper

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2.5 cups of milk

handful of dehydrated carrots (homemade)

1/8 t parsley

So I boiled that for 10 minutes and then stuck it in the wonder oven.  Hopefully it's good when we eat it for dinner!  We'll just have some toast with it, and canned pears (home canned).

Right now, you are in your room with Kelly, your developmental service interventionist.  You are having a tough day today, whining a bit.  But that's okay!  That just means you are working hard.  The house smells like bean soup, and my tummy is rumbling.  We are going to go to Idaho Falls after you are finished working, and other than Sams Club, getting gas, and returning a pot we bought at TJ Maxx, I don't know what else we are going to do there.  I will probably have us eat before we leave in hopes that we don't get hungry down there.

The sun is shining bright now.  No more snow has fallen, and the sun is glistening off the snow.  It's a real beauty!  I am going to try to talk daddy and Skyler into going out back with me to build a mountain of snow so that we can slide down it with the sled!  I know that I've kept trying and trying to keep you inside, but I just can't keep you in forever!  Plus, I really want to sled with you :)  We'll see how big we can get it :)

I love you sweetheart.  Daddy loves you, too.

Amanda 

Monday Already?

It snowed all night last night, so I'm SO glad I had found Scotty when I did!  We didn't do much today.  I made tapioca pudding and got some sauce cooking for lasagna.  

Here's what's in my homemade sauce:

Home canned quart of whole tomatoes, diced

One zucchini, diced

3 large carrots, diced

4 stalks of celery, diced

3 tablespoons of home dehydrated spinach (powder)

1/8th cup flaxseed

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

Spicy Italian seasoning (for homemade spaghetti sauce)

Let it simmer until the veggies are somewhat soft.  Grind until smooth, then add with your ground beef that you've already cooked.

Anyways, I made lasagna.  But I was in a sour mood just because I was really tired.  I'd run lots of errands, this and that...anyways.  I didn't finish making it until about 7:50 pm, so Grace ate and then went right to bed!  She had really rosy cheeks today because something made her excema stir up, so I put some lotion on her face before I put her down.  Oh yeah...

Daddy went in to get Grace out of bed because he was already up going to the restroom anyways.  It was around 9 pm, so not too late.  Anyways, I heard the "uh, oh" and knew she was naked. She came running into my room, in her birthday suit, and I'm happy to report that her bed was DRY!  She got to take a morning bath (which seems to be starting a trend) and I got to be lazy a bit longer!  She's such a smart girly because she'll say "all done" when she wants to get out, and so I tell her, "Ok, pull the drain, and I'll get your towel."  And while I'm going in her room to get the towel, I hear the drain pull and the water draining!  Smart girl!!

We wrote a letter to Me Ma today.  I like to find an article in each months church magazine and send it to her with a little note, so we did that this evening while the lasagna was cooking.  I let her draw on the card and what did she make?  3 smiley faces!!!!!  And you can definitely tell what they are too, which is the greatest thing!  Me Ma (my mom) will definitely love the card!

It's 10:21 pm, the guys are downstairs watching a scary movie, I just finished up some homework and am now writing this while trying to find something that I would like to watch while working on a little bit of family history.  I found that I'm linked to Abraham Lincoln, thanks to a third cousin I didn't know existed!  I am Ab's 1 cousin 6 times removed.  Anyways, I'm just loving family history, so I'm going to go work on that a bit now.  Goodnight!  Preschool in the morning!

Amanda

Sad and then Happy Sunday

We were so sad because Saturday night Scotty had run away and we didn't know where he was.  We went out around 11:45 pm to look and call for him, and then I went inside to stay with Grace.  The guys were out for a while and then came in with a story of police coming.  While they were walking around, a red truck kept following them, here and there and everywhere.  Finally two cops showed up and took down the guys information and said they were called in as a "disturbance."  How silly!  Why didn't the person just roll their window down in the truck and realize they were looking for a dog!  So, that was a horrible night.  Sunday morning was super hard too because he still hadn't come home.  I had let everyone know on my facebook and so people kept asking if we'd found him.  But no, we hadn't.  All through the day at home I kept having the thought I'd go out and look for him, but was so sad and tired that I just laid down once I put Grace to sleep.  When she woke up the nagging feeling that I needed to go out was so strong that Grace and I finally went.  Neither of the guys wanted to go, so it was just me and her.  Our windows were rolled down and Grace and I both called for Scotty, over and over, as we drove 2 mph on each and every rode in our subdivision.  Can you imagine little Grace?  "Stotty?  Stotty...tum heeeerrrreeee!  Stotty!  (Mumble gumble).  NOW!"  It hurt so much to hear that.  I prayed in my head, called to him, then prayed out loud.  Kept driving, kept calling and praying, looking behind us in case he was running after the truck.  We were going down a particular road and I felt the need to look in an empty lot to the right.  I saw what looked like a black and brown rock, but I looked back.  Sometime had caught my eye.  It was HIS eyes!  At this point I'm blubbering like a baby, not caring WHO was around me.  I ran to the edge of the lot and almost climbed over the 2 feet of snow but he had practically flown from where he was sitting at the far back of the lot, wedged between a wall of snow and a chain link fence.  He jumped into my arms, whining and licking and nibbling me over and over.  I was balling and telling him to NEVER run away again.  It was a mess...really!  Now I'm happy there was no one around me.  They might have thought I had gone insane.  But really, how would you feel if your husbands heart and soul had been ripped out because his pup was gone?  He and Scotty are joined at the hip, no joke.  Scotty follows him into the bathroom and sits beside the toilet.  And we take Scotty everywhere.  Even when we go to the movies, he goes in the car and just hangs out in Grace's carseat.  Anyways...back to the story.

So I bring him home and I had collected myself but right when I walked in the door the emotions broke and it all started again.  The two guys came STORMING up the stairs because (what they later told me) because they thought I had found him dead.  Shew...I'm glad I hadn't!!!

Fast forward about an hour.  We went out to go to Walmart because I needed to walk, be warm, and see humans all at the same time.  We drove by where I found him and I walked back to the fence.  He had paced about 20 feet back and forth along the fence until the wall of snow was about his height, and then I walked to the right and found where he had dug down about 3 inches more into the frozen dirt.  That's where he slept.  Thanks to Heavenly Father the chain link had the plastic slates, in it, but not only that, there was a thick bunch of brush right where he slept, so the wind was kept off of him.  He has a cut on his nose and I'm only assuming its from digging in the freezing dirt, in the freezing dead of night, trying to get as deep into the ground and as close to the fence as possible.  

That silly dog.  I hope he never does that again.  Ever.  He slept with us that night :)  I had told Heavenly Father...well, pleaded...that if he brought Scotty home I'd NEVER be mean (raise my voice, scold when he sleeps on my pillow, begs at the table, chases the cat), to him AGAIN!  So, I'm going to keep that promise.  

Thanks be to Heavenly Father for bringing our pup home.  We missed him dearly, and are happy to have him back.

Amanda

A WHOLE WEEK!

I can't believe it's been a whole week since I've written!  I am so sad that I've missed out on 7 whole days of writing about the fun things we did!  I'll try to write it out here, but I'm probably going to miss a lot of things that we did.

Sunday:  You went to Sunbeams today.  You got to see Janica there, so you were pretty happy with that.  She had been teaching the lesson and so you ran up to her and she held you while she finished.  After church you had a nap and while you napped I made dinner since the whole Miskin family was coming over.  They came over for dinner and it was really good.  It was sausage with gravy mixed with seasonings, dried spinach, flaxseed, corn, carrots, zucchini and celery.  You REALLY liked the sausage, and so I just kept right on feeding it to you.  It's healthy!  Then you went downstairs with the kids and played and watched them play the Wii while the adults stayed upstairs and played catchphrase.  Bedtime came and then you were out like a light!

Monday:  You had therapy today.  There wasn't much that went on besides therapy, but after that we all drove down to Idaho Falls to go to the museum.  It was a free day because it was their 10th anniversary.  It was extremely busy and you were pretty upset that you couldn't touch any of the models.  The theme was "Carousels" and so there were so many different animals that we saw there!  You would keep screaming in excitement and pointing out one after the other!  It was so cute!  After that we went to Chinese Buffet.  We all really love that restaurant, and you ate a ton of food.  But we could tell you were really tired because you were acting way hyper.  We got home around 7 and I put you to bed around 7:30.  You, once again, were out like a light!  I wish I could have flooded the journal with pictures, but a lot of them were just the items there, and not with family in them.

 Daddy and Grace next to the pig carousel.

 I thought these ones were beautiful, but what I liked the best is that she pulled me over to her so we could pose!

 Daddy and Grace.  The geese's wings go up and down and the feet look like they are walking when it's moving.  But they didn't let it move.  See that guard rope?  Well, Grace had reached over and touched one of the geese and a woman that worked there bolted over and pulled her hand away from it, bent down and told her no.  Now, I was okay with this.  But then for her to hover, and rock towards Grace when Grace pretended like she was going to touch it again was overboard.  She was like a shadow.  I could see her out of the corner of my eye, and she was staring Grace down.  But, I bit my lip, and we moved on.  I understand that these things are really old and that, no, she shouldn't have touched.  Next time, though, back off and trust that I know how to parent!

The family that went :)  Most of the pictures with Skyler in them have him doing goofy faces, like the one above!

Last but not least, Grace riding the pretend horse!  She actually kicked it to try and get it to go.  How cute!

Tuesday:  You had preschool this morning and I could tell you had a lot of fun.  You didn't want to leave and so I had to make you stay in my arms.  But after we got in the car you were fine.  You mumble jumbled back there while we drove home, and once we got home, you had a snack.  We played together for a while until you went down for a nap and then I got on the computer and did as much homework as I could.  At 3 your therapist Kelly came, and so you had fun playing with her in your room!  The rest of the day was pretty normal.  We wandered around the house, played with your toys, watched Elmo, and piddle diddled until it was once again bedtime.

Wednesday:  I can't remember much of this day, but I do know it is one of the days that you don't have anything going on, so it was probably pretty boring.  It's so tough that the snow is here because we NEVER take you outside, and so we get stir crazy in the house.  If you wouldn't get sick so easily we would probably take you out more, but I'm just too worried about you getting sick.

Thursday:  You had school in the morning, and when you came to the lobby, you smashed your face against the glass and made some REALLY funny faces at me!  Then you dropped your backpack on the floor and refused to pick it up, so your teacher had to pick it up for you!  Silly girl :)  Then we came home and played, had a quick lunch, then you had to go down for nap.  But you didn't nap very long...you were more interested in jumping up and down in bed.  So when I went in to wake you up after your 20 minute nap, you weren't really happy.  But you had fun at therapy, and then we met Kelly at the library and she worked with you there.  A change of scenery was nice and for the most part, you did pretty well.  After that the evening went by quickly.  I don't really know why, I just know it did!

Friday:  Wasn't too exciting.  Same as it was on Wednesday, really.

Look how much snow there is!!  That's Scotty's track from the dog house and back.

 Here's Grace!  She was watching Daddy out back shoveling the snow.

And then here she is modeling the snow!  It doesn't normally fly into the front door, so this was funny to see!

And today, it's Saturday.  The snow was coming down in buckets and buckets, and so we haven't even left the house at all!  In the morning you played in your room really nicely by yourself for about 40 minutes, which gave me time to not only get dinner in the crock pot but to also make breakfast and lunch!  We had oatmeal for breakfast and we ate together while I finished reading an amish book about how to put their values of family into your own life.  I thought it was such an interesting book, and loved reading about how focused they are on family.  After that you played a bit with daddy and Skyler while I cleaned the kitchen and made lunch.  We had cheeseburgers but you were not having ANY of it.  You were so tired!!  And now it's 2:45 and I heard you mumble a sentence in your bed.  I don't know if you fell back asleep or not, though.  Once you wake up we will probably play with some of your horses, read some books, go to the kitchen to taste the soup to see if its good (Chicken noodle with TONS of veggies), and then vacuum the living room.  You'd thrown your crackers on the ground and then stomped on them.  Oh and we'll finish the laundry, and then you can help me sort it all!  If there's time, we will watch another Elmo (even though you already watched one) or we will do some sort of art project.  I guess it really depends on how hyper you are.  I am having a craving for ice cream but I will try to be good :)  I think we will also throw in some freezer organizing, too.  OH!!!  Brother Ryan went on a date!!!!  This is his first one ever!  He had gone to a dance with Cousin Boyd and Brother Ryan and had an awesome time!  He danced with this girl, Maryn (?) for 2 whole hours!  We finally talked him into calling her today and he did.  He invited her to the movies and she was so excited that he had called.  So I'll report on how that went later.  23 years old and going on his first date in his life.  Wow...

That's it for now!  I'm going to go check the soup :)

Amanda

Mariah!

Grace got to play with her friend (therapist) Mariah ALL DAY TODAY!!  Brad and I went to Kelly Canyon to ski again, and shew, was it a day.  My first time on a black diamond run...or two.  Now I'm super exhausted, sore, and ready for bed.  Grace had an awesome day and was such a good girl.  Granted, she didn't take a nap all day...but that's ok.  She was still a great little one.  Ate a really good breakfast and lunch, played really hard, and listened very well.  And Brother Skyler and Mariah really liked visiting with each other, and hung out with each other while Grace played.  

All in all, a good day.  Shew...I'm tired...

Amanda

Valentine's Day!

Hi Grace!!!

Today was such a good day!  You had your Valentine's Day party at preschool today and it was obvious you had so much fun.  You also came home with a bag full of goodies, a heart that you decorated with sticker hearts, and a Valentine's Day HAT!  

 Hi Everyone!  Looking so serious.

But then you bring out the treats and the smiles come out!!!  These are for her classmates and teachers.

I helped Grace write her name on each one of them, and we started a few days early since she didn't have enough attention to do more than 2-3.

Since I had her pose with the Krispies I had to give her one!

Then we had some play time, nap time, therapy time.  At therapy you took rice krispie treats to the secretary and your therapists, and they were so happy.  You had a hard time giving it to Sarah, your speech therapist, because you didn't want to give your snack away!!

Tonight was really nice, too!  Skyler took us out to dinner for Valentine's Day!  That was so sweet :)  We went to Pizza Pie Cafe and they had a sugar cookie pizza.  I didn't have any, though, because I was so full.  You had TWO PIECES OF PIZZA!!

After we got home, you went to bed and then we read scriptures..me, daddy and brother Skyler.  I'm so happy that he is here, and so are you.  He had a great experience with reading his scriptures, and I am so happy that he is changing his life and being happy again.

Love you Grace, 

Amanda

You Little Stinker

I can't believe you haven't fallen to sleep yet!  It's 2:34 pm and I put you down to nap at 12:30!!  Well, you are going to be one tired girl, aren't you?  Your play therapist will be here so soon and you are still in your room jumping and giggling in your crib.  I have been busy cleaning house while you are in there playing.  It's fun to hear you in there being so silly, but I do wish you'd get your sleep!

Today you went to preschool and had a great time!  And on Thursday, you get to have a Valentine's Day party with your class!!  We bought little Rice Crispie treats that are in pink packages, and they have a spot where you got to write your name on it.  I can't wait until you get to give them to all your little friends.  And you will get treats back in return :)

Yesterday there wasn't much that went on.  We just played at home and you didn't take much of a nap then, either.  You did well in therapy even though you didn't have much of a nap either.  After therapy we didn't do much either.  I really wish you would be able to play outside but I just don't want you to get sick.  You get sick so easy that I want you to be as healthy as can be.

The weather has been so pretty the last few days, but today we got to try to catch some really fluffy snowflakes with our tongues while we walked out of the school.  You are so cute :)

Amanda

Sunny Sunday

It was a pretty day today but we still don't go outside to play.  I'm just too worried about Miss Grace getting sick since it happens so easily.  Plus, her preschool is having a Valentine's Day party this week and I don't want her to miss out!!  Church went well today.  She is doing so well in Sunbeams.  I just can't believe she's growing up so fast.  Sometimes I look at her and I see my baby, but then there are those times that I have to take a second look because it just DIDN'T look like my little girl the first time I looked.  This evening while I was trying to take a nap on the floor she kept sitting on my pack and bouncing up and down because she wanted me to play horse.  And then she came over and laid her head on my pillow.  She snuggled up really close until our noses were touching, and then she put her arm over my shoulder and patted my back.  I have such a sweetie. :)

Love you bunches Grace.

Amanda

Not Much

Not much happened today to report about.  It was Friday, nothing exciting.  We just hung out at home.  I just worry about taking you outside because I don't want you to get sick!  So now it's 9:37 pm and you are still awake so I'm going to go get you and feed you because I think you are hungry.

Love you sweetie!

Mommy

What a Busy Week

Gosh, I've been horrible at keeping up with this darn blog!  School, therapy, preschool, cooking, cleaning...oh, excuses and excuses.

Tuesday:

Tuesday you had preschool and had a great time!  When we were walking out you told me you had crackers and juice for snack.  It took a lot to get it out of you!!  And you are going to have a Valentine's Day Party!!!  I am so excited for you!  You love hanging out with your brother.  Skyler lives with us now, and you love saying, "Hi Sty-yer!"

Wednesday:

You didn't have any therapy or school today, so we hung out at home.  We totally reorganized your room and switched your toys out.  You had such a great time searching through your boxes of toys and seeing everything that you forgot you had!  I tried you out in your toddler bed...but...that was NOT a good idea!  I went in there one time and you had pulled out the bottom drawer of your chest of drawers and the clothes...were...EVERYWHERE!!!  I stood there staring at you and you high tailed it SO FAST to your bed, climbed in, pulled the cover over yourself and laid down.  So I turned your bed around and you are back to a crib.  That's ok, though.  I like you in the crib because then you stay right there and don't get out and play instead of sleeping.  In the evening we went to Idaho Falls to go walk around the mall, and then we all got hungry so we went to Evergreen Chinese Restaurant.  Then home to bed for you, and I did an online discussion for one of my classes.

Thursday:

Today was busy, but I like busy!  You had preschool this morning and had such a great day again!!  You wore your super cute sheep hat with the ears and your sheep mittens.  I think this was the best day of preschool ever because when we got in the car and started driving home, you started singing the ABC'S!!!!!!!!!  The letters were all out of order and sometimes I couldn't even understand then, but you were doing it!  I would sing some, and then you'd sing the following, and then I'd sing more, and so on.  When I sang "W, X" you went "Y, Z."  I couldn't believe it!!  I clapped and cheered for you as we were driving down the road.  I probably looked so silly, but I don't even care.  You and I have sang that song over and over today.  Right now it's 4:41 pm, and you are in your room with Kelly, your play therapist.  And then I will make dinner while you are playing.  And then we will color coffee filters for the flowers that go on the Valentine's Day cards!!!  And then we will play some more, and then you will have a bath, go to bed, and I'll do another online discussion.  Love you bunches baby!

Amanda

Saturday and Sunday

Gosh the two days went by so fast!  To tell you the truth, I can't really remember what we did!  Oh, that's right!  The guys were in Montnaa on Saturday until the evening dealing with some family stuff, so Grace and I got to hang out together!  Then on Sunday the three of us went to church and Skyler went to church with Ryan.  After that we had our family friends come over for dinner, and their kids watched the Superbowl with Skyler while the rest of us visited upstairs.  This weekend definitely went by so fast!  Already Monday and back to homework I go!  So far we've made it to the computer.  I'm typing this up while Grace is sitting next to me watching Sid the Science Kid!  Today I will definitely be doing a lot of homework so that it doesn't drag on through the week, and I'm really hoping to get some more skiing in.  I just wish Grace's feet were big enough to wear the boots for kid skiis because I would SO take her up with me!  I would have so much fun trying to teach her to ski.  But I'm thinking that she is a bit too developmentally behind to figure out how to move and keep her body the right way.  So I'll wait for next year!!

Well, Happy Monday!

Amanda

Ski Day...Play Day

We both had such a great day!  Grace got to go to a friends house to play while I went skiing, and we both had a great time!

 Skiing was pretty good. The powder made it hard on some of the runs...I did NOT like that! Of course I did fall quite a few times, but if I don't fall, I'm not learning. All but the "skier's lane" which is for beginners, I took intermediate runs. Tried out moguls too, but it was SO hard to see each of them with the thick fog. I couldn't see more than 5 feet ahead of me! My first run I went almost to the top and took a side run but got lost! I went the wrong way on the run and ended up in 6 in deep powder...but then I tried to hike out of it back to the run and ended up in thigh high snow. So, a bit of panic there. Can you imagine it? Thick fog, surrounded with trees, and it super deep powder. No worries though :) I made it out alive. All in all I had a great time, learned how to catch some edge more than I have before, LOVE the speed, and had so much FUN!

 

Grace was so sad to leave her friends house.  I'm glad she felt that way though because that meant she had fun there.  When we got home we had pizza, juice and a short movie.  Then she and I enjoyed a bubble bath in our swim suits in "Daddy's Tub" (jacuzzi).  It felt SO good on my super sore muscles.  

 

Anyways, a wonderful day, and early to bed for sure :)

 

Amanda  

Fun Day Today

I had a lot of fun today with you Grace!  Daddy and brother Skyler went to Montana to take care of some business, and so you and I got to be together today!  I took you to therapy, and then Kelly, your new play at home therapist came over.  After that, we just had to have some fun!  We went to Walmart and got a Pepperoni pizza, apple juice, and chocolate ice cream. :)  You ate almost 2 small pieces of pizza all by yourself!  And you really enjoyed the apply juice.  I don't let you have it at all because it's SO horrible for teeth, but I watered it down and then we brushed your teeth REALLY well.  I enjoy spending time with you so much my sweet girl.

After you went to bed I made sure to get the rest of my homework done, and now I'm writing in your blog while I watch a movie.  

I love you so much sweet girl :)  You and your daddy are my everything, and I am so happy that I am your mom!

I love our girl time!!

Mommy

I'm Sorry Grace

Dearest Daughter,

I am so sorry that I haven't been keeping up your blog.  I've gotten lost in the midst of schoolwork, holidays, birthdays, and then the struggle your brother is having with his divorce.  I've loved so many moments with you that we've had, and keep them in my mind and heart.  It is now 11:05 pm and must be getting to bed so that I can get you up and to school in the morning, but I just want you to know that I love you.  Here is a list of things that have happened throughout the past weeks that I've missed writing here:

Mommy's birthday!  We went to Uncle Brian and Aunt Lisa's house for my birthday.  We got there on Thursday, went skiing on Friday (we had a babysitter come watch you.  She was the sweetest girl and had cerebral palsy, so she understands what it's like to have special needs!), on Saturday we went out to dinner for my birthday to Straw Hat Pizza (YUM), on Sunday Donna, Lane and Trudy came to visit, and then on Monday (my birthday) we headed home.  It was such a beautiful day to be driving home, and you were such a good girl!  I thought it was so cute when you fell asleep in your car-seat because you had one leg crossed over the other one at the knee, your head was slightly back, and your little mouth was hanging open :)  I left you in your pajamas so that you would be comfortable.

You love going to their house.  Every morning, when you first see uncle Brian, you yell his name... "MYAN!!"  over and over you say it.  And then you put your arms up and say "up" and then he picks you up and throws you in the air.  You and he giggle and laugh with each other.  You also sat by him during dinners and he would give you food from his plate, or some more food once you ran out.  You two just get along so well.  You also love your "Aunt Seesa!"  You love to play with the fun toys she brings out.  One day, while I was doing homework on their couch, you and Seesa were in the little tent she had put up and were playing with the pretend food.  She had a baby doll sitting in a pretend high chair and you guys were feeding her.  It was so cute to hear you and Lisa talking together and pretending to eat food.  You were in there with Lisa for so long...about 20 minutes!  Every time you were around Lisa you would try talking to her, and sometimes I didn't even know what you had said.  She's really picking up on your "Grace's language."  I love that she is able to do that.  That way you are being understood by someone other than me.  Uncle Brian is picking it up as well, so that's good.

I'll finish this list later.  It's too late now.

I love you.

Mommy

Blogging

I'm so sorry, Grace, that I haven't been blogging.  Ever since I started school I've been so busy, and then busy spending so much time with you!  I love being home with you AND doing school at the same time!  You've been great!  Sick, but this was such an easy bug this time.  You didn't need your nebulizer at all, and though you still have a tiny bit of a runny nose, you are healthy all the other ways!  We are going skiing soon!  We are heading to Uncle Brian's and Aunt Lisa's house on Thursday, will ski Friday, visit with them Saturday, go out to Pizza for my birthday dinner, and then leave for home on Monday!  So, hurray!

Well, I love you bunches sweetie.  I'm sorry that I haven't written much.  But I love you.  Always.

Mommy

Already Thursday

Well Miss Grace, it's Thursday and I didn't post yesterday.  Darnit!  School has got me going full speed whenever I have a moment to get on the computer.  But you will be happy to know that we had some fun yesterday together!  We turned on some kid nursery songs on the computer, pulled out a batch of potatoes, and you and I scrubbed them all clean while talking and singing!  Then you kept scrubbing while I peeled, and then went off to play while I finished.  The cutest thing was that you would always come to me and ask "Up?"  When I picked you up, you'd lay in my arms, cuddle up to my chest and say, "Baby...mommy baby..."  Isn't that so adorable!  Then you'd let me rock you just like I used to do when you were little.  I had the joy of doing this with you almost 15 times!  It never got old with me since you're my sweet girl and I'd do it a million times so you knew I loved you.

Today you didn't go to therapy, but Mariah came over and you were all excited to have play therapy with her!!  After that, you sat next to me at the computer and watched Blue's Clues while I did my homework.  I love when you sit next to me and we share the screen :)  Then I don't feel like I'm ignoring you because we are talking about what's going on in your show!

When you went to bed, Brother Ryan came over and the three of us played cards for a while, and now here I am writing on your blog!  I love you so much my sweet girl!

Amanda/Mommy

Sick Again...

Darnit..Grace is sick again.  We had a great day and all, with her going to preschool and then having her play therapist over, but she woke up from nap stuffy, coughing, and having a bit of trouble breathing.  I'm so tired of my little bit getting sick all the time!  It's hard on her little body!  Tonight by 6 pm she was laying down over and over again on the floor, saying, "ni ni."  I felt so bad for her and wished I could have put her to bed, but she did well staying awake.  Dinnertime was a bit of a struggle since she was so tired, but she got enough to be satisfied!  After a nice warm bath, I tucked her into bed 2 minutes before 8 and she was quiet right then!  Usually I hear her in there talking to herself, sometimes jumping, but this time...nothing!  No more preschool or therapy for my little one until she's better. 

Amanda

FOLLOWERS

I HAD CLOSED MY BLOG DUE TO SOME WEIRD SEARCHES THAT HER BLOG WAS BEING OPENED TO.  IF YOU WANT TO CONTINUE FOLLOWING GRACE'S BLOG YOU WILL NEED TO GIVE ME YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO I CAN INVITE YOU.  MY COMMENTS ARE MODERATED SO THEY ARE PRIVATE, SO ANSWER BACK TO THIS POST.  PLEASE ANSWER BACK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO I CAN MAKE MY BLOG PRIVATE ONCE AGAIN.  THANK YOU.

AMANDA

Fun Monday!

So far it's been a pretty fun Monday!  It's been -4 degrees so far, and a transformer had problems so we were without power!  That means the house got down to 65 degrees!  So we all cuddled in bed until the power went back on!  Then Grace and I had homemade oatmeal for breakfast while we watched a girly movie, and now she's in bed for a nap while I start to do homework.  Then she has therapy at 2, and then we will go wander Walmart for a while to get out since it's too cold to actually be outdoors.  The high for today is 1, and the low is -3!  And this week we won't get above 19, and the lowest low is -8 on Thursday!  Crazy right?!  Well, off to do homework now!

Amanda

Not Much

Not much has been happening recently.  Brad and I went skiing on Saturday, and Grace got to play at a friend's house.  It was fun, don't get me wrong! First of all, don't ski on a sprained ankle, it just gets worse. Second, if you rent skis/ski boots, make sure you move and walk and lean in them just as much as you would if you were skiing. Mine were as tight as they could go and I still couldn't turn in them. Third, I gotta get over being nervous!! I did have fun, but was SUPER nervous, and so I didn't get many turns in today. The loose boots didn't help. All in all, it was a nice Saturday. :)

Sunday is a normal day as always.  We went to church at 9, and Grace almost fell asleep in Sunbeams today!  Of course, now she's talking and talking in her crib when she should be sleeping!  At two I go visiting teaching, and then that's pretty much it for the day!

Amanda

Oh My Snow!

It's been snowing and snowing since yesterday morning!  This is so exciting!  Now I'm getting a tiny taste of what Winter is supposed to look like in Idaho!  But it's still nothing like the stories I've heard.  When I woke up this morning I looked at the clock and said, "we'd be waking Grace up from her MRI right now..."  We turned around from our travels to Utah to get her to all her doctor appointments because of the horrible weather.  In the matter of 30 miles, we'd seen 6 cars that had slipped right off the road!  The 6th one we helped.  She had gone off the side of an off-ramp, and so we used our tow rope to pull her back onto the street.  I'd say it was only scary because the off-ramp was practically all ice, and there were vehicles constantly coming off the freeway.  Obviously we had some heavenly protection there so we wouldn't get run over.  I had later thought..."  Wow, if someone were to slam into our truck, Grace's side of the truck would be first impact..."  Shew...Thank Heavenly Father for keeping us safe.  At one point the truck went parallel with the slight hill she had gone down and I was a bit worried that our truck would get stuck as well.  But then Brad put it into 4 low and we were fine.  After that we turned right around and headed home.  There's no sense putting ourselves in danger for doctor appointments that aren't needed desperately.  They are all just checkups.  

So, that's where we are now.  Brad and I are still in bed, and Grace is sitting here while I type and she's playing with her Magna Doodle that came from her Grandma/Grandpa Hildreth for Christmas.  Brad will be hanging out with his friend today (so he says) so it will be just Grace and I.  I'm hoping she and I will have fun, but we'll see.  Not much to do when the snow is falling.

Happy SNOW!

Amanda

Wednesday was a Calm Day, and Thursday was a Cold day!

Well, there wasn't much going on Wednesday.  No therapy, no school.  So we just hung out at home.  Plus, it's so darn cold that we can't go outside or we'd freeze!  It is fun to see the snow falling from Grace's window, which is what we love to do when there's a lull in time.  This was the super crazy busy day when we were scheduling everything for Spina Bifida clinic, but then we needed up not even going because of the crazy weather!  By the time we were 30 miles out of town, it was a white-out with super slick roads.  We passed 5 cars that had gone off the road, and the 6th one we saw we were able to pull over and help her off the side of an off-ramp.  We almost didn't get it, but at the last second, after we put our truck into 4-low, we got her out!  I'm glad we ended up coming home.  We had called Brad's dad to have him check the weather and he let us know Salt Lake was going to get 10 inches of snow today!  Shew!  I'll stay home, catch up on my blog, do some homework, and be safe :)  Now she's napping (since she didn't get to sleep until 2:00 pm).  And now, as I'm writing, I hear my sweet girl moaning in her room, ready to get up and be goofy the rest of the day.  

Amanda

Preschool Changes

Well, since there has been some scary things going on in the world, Grace's preschool has made some changes in how parents are to drop off their children.  We used to take the kids through a back door that leads right to the preschool room, which I can see how is a BAD IDEA!  But now we are to take the kids to the front of the school, and wait in the lobby.  The teachers will then walk down and pick up all the kids at the appropriate time.  I think this is so much better!  I'm so glad that they decided to change the procedures to drop off the children.  It makes me feel a little less worried, even though I still have a heart flutter every time I drop her off.  Just the idea of something happening to my sweet pea makes me tremble.  But I need to just remember to keep breathing, praying and believing that she will be safe.

Amanda

Way behind on posting

I know I'm way behind, but sometime in the near future I will update!  We are leaving tomorrow to go to Utah for her normal MRI/Spina Bifida clinic, so obviously it won't be in the next few days.  So bear with me :)

Amanda

Sunbeam Sunday!

I was so excited about today because it was the first day as "Grace, the Sunbeam!"  I can't believe she's getting so big!  Oh, something about yesterday...she wanted a cracker while we were playing the game with Ryan, but she'd already eaten, and dinner was going to be soon.  So she came to me and signed open while saying "kacker open dur?"  It was so darn cute!!  A three word sentence!!  I was so proud!  Anyways, so I took her to the primary room, but she didn't want to go in!  It was something new, and of course she was a bit shy.  But her teacher gave her a baby doll to hold, so at that point she was happy to go in.  Her "uncle" Garon came a bit later and was with her the rest of the time.  He is her shadow, so she will have him with her every Sunday so nothing happens to her from the other children.  After church I invited them all over for dinner, so we will get to visit this evening.  And Ryan came over and brought his game so we can play again!  So all in all, a great Sunbeam Sunday!

Amanda

Slow Saturday

Well, I didn't do much except for go on a fun date with my honey!  Grace got to play with her two friends that came over to watch her while Brad and I went to the theater to see "Life as Pi."  It was a wonderful movie, and I enjoyed the company with Brad!  Oh, and Ryan brought over a new game and so we played that before we left for the movie.  It was a pretty neat game, and made the time go by between nap-time for Grace and leaving for the movie.

Amanda

Friday Already?!

This has definitely been a weird week.  It's gone by so fast, and so it's weird to see that the weekend is already here.  Two more days and then my college online courses open up!  I'm hoping that Grace understands that school is very important and that when Mommy needs to do homework, that she needs to let me do it :)  But I know she'll be great!  I have two hours Tuesday/Thursday to do homework while she's at school, and if she gets into BYU-I preschool again, that will be two hours every morning!  I can tell she's getting back into her schedule of being home, all except her naps.  She's still keeping herself away.  Oh, and do you want to know how I found her this morning?  Stark naked!  Little stinker took off her footie pajamas and her diaper...and yes, I forgot to put a onesie on her.  Oh well, she got to take a swim bath with Daddy, so she was happy!  What are we going to do today?  Nothing big...clean the house, make bbq beef for dinner with croissants, and organize the food storage room.  Grace can help with the first two, but we've got mason jars on the low shelves in the food storage room that she'd just love to push off!  Oh, and laundry.  She really likes to help with that, too.  Her favorite thing about laundry is pushing the buttons!  

Well, that's Friday for us.  Nothing big, and nothing exciting.  Just a normal day in our household.

Amanda

Christmas

Christmas day we got to spend at home for the first time since we moved here.  That was pretty fun to do!  Grace was so excited about all the presents, especially the Dora doll that she got from Santa!  Skyler got to come down for Christmas, so that was nice that we could spend some time with him, and Grace was so excited to have him here to play with!  Our friends came over and celebrated Christmas with us, played games, and brought Grace a singing Elmo for her present!  They gave us a couple's massage gift certificate :)  We had a big lunch of lasagna and tons of snacks, and played games late into the night.  

On the 27th we left to go visit Brian and Lisa, my brother/sister in laws.  I had such a great time!  We just got home yesterday, and it was hard to leave.  We went skiing twice while we were there, which is my first time ever in my life.

 We also played games, checked out some guns (a left handed 270 for me, and a 300 for Brad), and just relaxed :)  New Years was fun as well!  There were so many yummy snacks and treats, and I loved spending time with family.  And now we are home and back to the grind.  I REALLY miss being up in Montana with family, and am hoping to get together with them again so we can go skiing!!  I will definitely be working on it.  I fell both days, but that isn't a surprise.  The first day I messed up my ankle a bit, and my knees were NOT liking the confinement and positioning of my body from the ski boots, but those didn't stop me from skiing on the 28th as well.  The knee pain went away super fast, so it wasn't a bother, and after resting my ankle and stretching it quite a bit, I was good.  My first day I also bruised my knee from the ski hitting it!  But, I got some good turns in, and all in all felt proud of how well I did for my first day.  The second ski day I was more scared because of my falling from the first day, so Brian came up with the idea to give me his helmet, which played music.  I rocked it with that helmet!!  It was so hard to give it back ;)  I got 9 runs in that day, and skiied from 10-3.  

Great times, all in all.  I was happy to be spending time with family, and can't wait to do it again soon!  Grace loved it too!  Aunt Lisa had so many toys for Grace to play with, and Grace's cousin was there as well, which was so much fun!!  They played well together, and it helped that Qeirstyn (her cousin) was so gentle and old enough to understand that Grace needs a little help being good.  Grace definitely LOVED all the snacks that were always out, and loved using the word "MORE!" over and over until she got yummy snacks!

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 20-24

Well...you can obviously see that I failed on completing the countdown for 2012!!  Oh well, though.  That's ok :)  It was a super fun time and I'm so glad we did a countdown!!  This holiday season was awesome.  I really couldn't ask for anything better.  What a wonderful day to end the year, and ring in 2013!

Amanda

So Behind!

Wow, I can't believe how behind I've gotten!!  At this point, there won't be any updating until after the 1st.  I'm up in Montana with my sister and brother in law, and so I'm not going to spend hours updating when I could be visiting :)  Here's some updates, though.  Christmas with friends, skiing with my brother in law and Brad, hanging out with my sis-in-law while the guys ski again, card games, beautiful days, and New Years!!!

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 19

Well, today just seemed to fly by, and to tell the truth, we didn't do ANYTHING related to Christmas!  Well, I organized presents, and make a pile of what needs to be wrapped.  Does that count? :)  I think it's the the fizzle as I get closer to Christmas...I'm getting burned out!  OH!  I looked up tons of recipes and cute appetizers for our Christmas dinner :)  There we go, Christmas activity!

Anyways, Grace is doing well.  She's got another nasty double sty on the bottom right eyelid that looks nasty sore.  Dangit.  I wish she could just be healthy, with NO issues, for...4 months straight AT LEAST!  Even in the summer she was getting sick.  So now it's warm compresses on her eye, which I might add, she HATES.

That's pretty much it for today.  Not much to share.

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 18

Shew has today been busy!  This morning I went grocery shopping, and then Grace and I had oatmeal.  When I had made the apple pies yesterday, I kept the syrup from when I was reconstituting the dried apples.  It was so thick with cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg, along with apple that I just COULDN'T throw it away!  So I poured some of that into the oatmeal and I must say that was the most I've seen Grace eat in a long time!  Then she and I went to the police station and fire station to drop off the pictures of us giving them the cookies awhile back, then we went to Walmart to buy cards for family and friends, and then we filled them with various pictures that finally came in the mail, sent them off at the post office, and then I HAD to come home before I pulled my hair out!  Grace was going CRAZY because she was so bored!  While she slept I made applesauce (YUMMY!), did the dishes, put together my scrapbook a bit more, wrote in her preschool memory books and put in some of the papers from her classes, and cleaned my sewing room a bit.  Deep breath... now I'm writing this while watching "Hart of Dixie" and Grace is in her room playing with Mariah, her play therapist.  Later we will go on errands with Daddy, and see what else comes of the evening :)

Here's some cute pictures of Grace turning the light off with some help from her stool!

Up she goes :)

Wa Bam!  It's off!

"Look ma!"

By the way...can you believe that the high for today is 27 degrees?  And when I went grocery shopping this morning, at 7:30 am, it was 20 degrees?  WOW!!


Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 17

Darnit, I missed a day again! Monday was pretty uneventful.  We had sundaes while watching a Christmas movie together, which is always fun.  It was really cute because Grace actually asked for ice cream.  I told her we would have some, and then I went about making dinner, and she kept saying, "Ice Teem?"  It was so darn cute!  Reese's ice cream with whipped cream, nuts, chocolate syrup and milk is WONDERFUL!!!  Monday was also a therapy day but we kept her home since her nose is still running a bit.  No need to share germs!  OH!  I made pies and bread!  Dutch apple pie (2), and blueberry apple cinnamon bread (6 small loaves).  Yum yum!

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 16

So far, it's been a nice day.  The snow has been falling the last couple days and so we have a nice 3 inches or so outside, which is just absolutely beautiful!  I have cleaned the house a bit while I let Brad sleep in, and I got his presents ready for him to open when we get home from church :)  I will be making him dinner, and there are a lot of yummy treats I got him so we can watch a movie and snack together :)  Can you believe it's been 6 years already!!  Grace will probably hang out with us too, but that just makes it even nicer.  To see this little one that we created with love makes me smile all the time.  Well, I better get ready for church.  I will be modifying this blog with pictures once we have our evening, so stay tuned!

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 15

Today we went to lunch with our friends to Pizza Pie Cafe!  It's their anniversary on the 18th, and we are on the 16th, and so I invited them so we could share a celebratory lunch together :)  It was a lot of fun, we visited for quite a while after we finished eating, and it's just lovely to have these great friends!  They came over that evening too, and we watched some tv for a while, but then we had so much fun!  We played Wii dancy party, and their three kids played together.  And then it was Brad and Garon's turn, and than Mysha and I!!  We had lots of laughs, and Grace even got involved.  She was supposed to be in bed hours ago but had gotten messed up on her sleep schedule because of going out to lunch, and so I brought her down.  She had SUCH a great time dancing with all of us, and I was so glad I had decided to bring her down :)  They left at around 11:30, and then Brad and I watched a movie together before heading to bed.  Another great day!

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 14

Gosh I'm definitely falling behind!  I'm having a bit of trouble keeping the days right, but I'll do my best.  This was Friday, and since she didn't have any school, we hung out at home.  Of course, we watched another Christmas movie!  And we also got one of the presents that I bought for Brad for our Anniversary!  So that's pretty exciting.  Our friends will be coming over for Christmas to play games, have dinner, and just have fun (Probably play the dance game on the Wii) and so I've been talking with Grace about what we should eat for Christmas dinner.  We figured we would stay down here since Ryan didn't get to spend Thanksgiving with family, and we didn't want him down here alone again.  Plus, I work Saturday, which is when we would travel to family.  So, long story short, we will celebrate our first Christmas in our new house this year!  Grace is still pretty backed up with phlegm, and so we are hoping it will clear up over time, on it's own, without having to get a doctor involved again.  Our friends invited us to there house for dinner, which was so fun!  We had some extra yummy beef stew, and then they came to our house to play dice!  They are really enjoying that game, and it's especially fun to play with them :)  So that was our fun Countdown day 14.  If you haven't noticed, we've gone away from our list.  Sometimes, plans change.  And at this point, it looks like plans are changing to just having something fun to do each day that we wouldn't normally do!  That works for us!

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 13

Sorry I missed updating for day 13!  I'm a day late, but that's ok!  Grace had her last day of preschool yesterday, and so when we went for her open house, we got to make a reindeer ornament!  The face was the outline of her foot and the antlers were her hand prints :)  This was so fun to make with her!  Then we just got to visit with other parents, her teachers, and just relax while she showed me everything in her classroom.  Then after that she had therapy (speech), and then play therapy at home, and then her teachers came over (from BYU-I preschool) to do their wrap-up for the semester!  So it was a super busy day yesterday, but that's definitely how I like it!  

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 12

Well, another crazy day :)  You know how you plan things, and then things change?  Well, the past couple days have been that way!  Today Grace got to go play with "Uncle Garon" for a while (THANK YOU!) while I went to an appointment and Daddy took a nap.  Then I had a friend over while she napped and we sewed skirts together!!  I will count that as our "Countdown Activity" today because they were skirts for the humanitarian center!  A little later Grace and I had an appointment, and then I went to clean a building for a couple hours, and now, as I type, she's in her bed SCREAMING because she doesn't want to go to sleep yet!  So, I guess I better go get her...after I get a bagel so we can snack together while we watch "Hart of Dixie!"

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 11

Well, another yucky day and so Grace didn't get to go to school  It was her second to last day of school before the Winter break comes, so I'm really hoping this yuck goes away enough so she can go to the open house on Thursday!  So we ran some errands, had a hot dog lunch at Sams Club, and while Grace was taking a nap, I wrote some more of my book :)  Then our friends brought over cookies!  And so we are counting that as our "countdown" activity for today!

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 10

Monday, another sick day.  Darnit.  There was no therapy today either since she's feeling yucky.  SO we pretty much just had a lazy day.  It's not really keeping up with our countdown, but time slows down when we have sickies in the house :)

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 9

Today was church day, but sadly, Grace was sick, and so she and Daddy had to stay home while I went to church.  Then afterwards our friends came over and we watched a few episodes of "Merlin" and then played a few games of dice!  It's so hard to do anything "scheduled" when little miss isn't feeling well!

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 8

This was so exciting!  We went to a show at BYU-I and had such a great time!  There was an awesome jazz music group, and vocalists that did amazing jobs.  What was the funnest?  The Christmas friends were there!  Frosty the Snowman, Santa, The Grinch and Rudolph!  So fun :)

There will be pictures on her other blog since I can't put any on this one.

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 7

Today was pretty fun today :)  Grace had her last day of BYU-I preschool...ok, well that was pretty sad...she will really miss her teachers and classmates, and the teachers were pretty emotional too.  No one cried, but you could see it in their faces.  Thankfully, one of the teachers made a video of the kids time in the class, and so that's awesome to know we will have forever!  After that we made cookies and cookies and cookies and cookies!  Gosh there were so many cookies!  These ones were butterscotch pudding chocolate chip cookies.  In the afternoon we went to the fire station and police station with bags of cookies so they could have some Christmas treats :)  Then we went out to dinner together, which was fun, and now is relaxing time.

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 6

Oh what a day!  Grace didn't fall asleep until after 11:30 pm last night, and then was wide awake at 8 am for school.  Crazy girl!  So she went to school, then after nap (which she also didn't take) she had therapy.  And then we rushed home for therapy here, and then we had company at 5:30 for dinner!  Grace fell asleep right before they got here, but only took a cat nap, which I'm glad for.  We ate potato soup and her yummy pumpkin roll, then played a game of dice and then they left.  We were going to go to the Planetarium for a Christmas presentation, but Grace was too "iffy" to make the trip.  So now it's 7:47 pm, she's in the tub, and our other friends are coming at 8:30 to visit.  Busy day, and I'm glad it's almost over!

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 5

No pictures today :)  We were supposed to make reindeer hand print faces with googlie eyes and pom pom noses, but instead I made cookies that we can hand out.  And we actually did give some to one of our neighbors, so we've started on the handing out!  They are vanilla pudding chocolate chip cookies.  And BOY are they good!  There was also school for Grace this morning, and then Mommy had work this evening.  Nothing much to report otherwise.

Amanda

New ornaments for 2012!

Yesterday Grace got two packages in the mail from her Dado and Papa, and one thing that was in there was her 2012 ornament!  Here's was a little moose with a red and white scarf standing next to a Christmas tree, and her name was written in the snow below it.  Ours was a Santa face with a beautiful beard! Thank you Dado and Papa!

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 4

This morning Grace went to preschool, and so that gave me time to make some chocolate chip cookies :)  After she got out of school (I had the bag of cookies with us) we went over to the assisted living facility here in town and we gave them to one of the caretakers so the residents could enjoy them :)  It always feel good to think about others, and I know they probably get ignored.  Grace had a great time!  When we got in there she calmed down, which was nice because there was a Bingo game going on.  When I went up to the caregiver and told her why we were there, Grace grabbed the bag out of my hand and lifted it up to the caregiver, saying "tootie."  They were so surprised someone had thought of them that they were "Deer-in-the-headlights" looking at us.  Maybe people should think about all the grandmas and grandpas more often.  I think I'll be going there to visit a lot more since I've got time.  After that we went to a pet adoption place, but was overwhelmed with CATS!!  So we are thinking about making treats for the cats, but I don't know...96 cats is a lot of treats!  Later today, probably after nap, we will write a letter to Santa and take it over to Broulims so they can mail it for us :)

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 3

Today was sure a fun one :)  Grace got to go to school where we made a photo album of some classroom photos.  Sadly, the group class photo was taken on a day that she was sick so she wasn't even in it!  But that's ok...then she had therapy in the afternoon, and at 5 we went and saw Santa!  It was so much fun!  I bought Grace a super cute outfit and she wore her cute boots, and she just rocked it for sure.  We had cake and cookies after, and then went grocery shopping.  All in all, a great day 3.  She was tucked into bed at 8:05 and probably asleep by 8:08 pm!  Silly girl conked out.  I guess that's what happens when she doesn't take a nap!  Oh, and one of our friends brought over a HUGE box of clothes her daughter had outgrown, and so now Grace has a TON more clothes, as well as a jacket I'm hoping fits her :)

Shew, I'm tired...off to go write my novel.  I'm on page 83 with 29,364 words!  So I'm getting there :)

Amanda

By the way, when we went grocery shopping tonight we were VERY happy to see that Broulims had a mail box JUST FOR SANTA LETTERS!!!  And you know what's fun?  GRACE WILL GET A LETTER BACK!!!  So we will be writing to Santa tomorrow for sure :)

Christmas Countdown Day 2

Today was definitely a daddy daughter day for sure.  I think the two of them spent...80% of the day together!  Playing horsey, playing chase, playing in her room while I'm folding laundry.  It was just so beautiful.  This was pretty much a calm Sunday countdown day, and this evening, at 6 pm, we watched the Christmas Devotional together.  And then more playing daddy daughter style!  They played some fun games together and I just loved watching it.  Wonderful countdown day for sure.
  

Amanda

CLICK ON THE LINK TO THE RIGHT TO GET TO GRACE'S NEW BLOG THAT WILL ACTUALLY HAVE PICTURES ON ITChristmas Countdown BEGINS!!! Day 1

I am so excited that our Christmas countdown is here!  I love that Grace is old enough to understand what we are doing.  Every time we go driving in the evening, she points out all the "kissmiss yights!" over and over.  It is so beautiful to hear her jabbering back there about them.  Every so often we get an "Awww."  Another thing she loves to do?  Whenever we are headed to Montana, we are driving on dirt roads that have been grated (I think that's the word).  Anyways, the tire tracks from the tractors have made such deep divots that you can feel the bumps, and when you say, "ahhhhhhhhhh" out loud, you voice bounces up and down too!  So, ever since she's realized that, she does it ALL THE TIME!  For the past few nights, she'll start... "ahhhhhhhhhh" and then.... "mom!....MOM!!!  AHHHHHHHH" She wants me to start in.  And then I do too, but Dad?  "Dad...ahh...DAD...AHHHHHHHH"  She's asked us both to join in :)  What else would we do but join?  And then after a few seconds she cracks up, covering her mouth or eyes with her hand as the laughs and giggles pour out of her little body.  SO SWEET!

Anywho, today, for day one, we had "Snowman on the Shelf Breakfast!"  Our snowman is named, "Mr. Snowman" and we use a snowman instead of an elf because she's never seen an elf before, but can tell you "snowman" at the first sign of one.  So...here's our breakfast fun!

Well...darnit...guess what?  I've filled my 1G of photo room...darnit.  I'll try to figure it out...but until I do, I think I might start another blog and put a link to it.  I'll see what happens and add another post about it.


Amanda