Reflections

Recently, a guy that I knew from high school passed away in a totally unexpected accident. He was young, with a wife and 3 small children and a 4th due any minute.

We were in West Virgina at a baseball tournament when we got a phone call telling us of the news and immediately my anxiety kicked in. He was so young only 36, he was doing something that people do every day. Heat stroke.....WOW!!!

Being the anxiety ridden person that I am my thoughts turned to......I could be gone next week, I still have plans for my life and my children's lives, what if...what if....what if..... I cannot stop thinking about him and how quickly life can change.

It leaves me thinking, am I doing all I can to live a full and happy life to which I answer a big fat NO!

There are so many things in my life that I want to do. There are so many things that I have started and not finished. Not to mention that fact that I would still {even at 34 when my youngest child is 10} like to have another baby. I pray every night that I will stay healthy and safe. That nothing like this will happen to me or my family. That I will live a long time... all the time trying hard not to let the anxiety get the best of me!

OH YA

well, i came across these pictures and realized that i never posted anything about the time we spent with our family when they were here for ali's baptism. TOO LATE????? i thought i would at least add some pics!!
sorry there are so many but i'm retarded and couldn't get the collage to work. i think i need blogging classes!!! (hum, is there such a thing??) anyway, we took the fam to kirtland and did all the tours, a great beach with a fun playground (holli & i had fun on the zip line), mitchell's ice cream, to see the worlds biggest easter basket, of course the baptism, spent a lot of time playing outside riding scooters,bikes, playing soccer, baseball & football and taking walks...did some shopping a lot of eating and just having fun together!!! it was great have them all come especially since it was the first time some of them had been here!!!

16 and counting

Someone recently asked me how many grandkids my parents had and it took me a lot of counting to get the answer so, i thought since we just added a new baby today i would write them all down so i can start keeping a count that i can just add to as they come along!!! 

If you know my sisters you may be interested in how many kids they each have but otherwise you are probably not that interested.

Here they are from oldest to youngest!

1. McKenzie McDonald (Holli)
   
2.  McKinnely Mcdonald (Holli)
   
3. Hunter Moseley (Heather)
   
4. Bailey Moseley (Heather)
5. Mitchell Sorensen (Haley)
   
6. Kennedy McDonald (Holli)
   
7. Brooklyn Moseley (Heather)
8. Alexandria Sorensen (Haley)
   
9. Caroline McDonald (Holli)
   
10. Grace Knowlton (Heidi)
11. Liliana Peko (Kristen)
12. Chase Moseley (Heather)
    
13. Olivia Rowland (Katie)
14. Anthony Jr. Knowlton (Heidi)
    
15. Sawyer Lee (Kim)
    
16. Davis Reid (Hillary)

this list goes on with my step-brother and sisters

Chris Nelson has 4 (Sam,Camilla,Lucy & Zach)

Amie (Nelson) Casper has 3 (Carter,Jamie, & Andrew)

Holly (Nelson) Reynolds has 3 (Libby,Ashlyn, & Jonah)

Kara (Soderberg) Salisbury has 1 (Mia)

Brandon's Family

1. Mitchell 
2. Alexandria
3. Jaxon (Zach)
4. Madux (Annie)
5. Serae (Zach)
6. Braylen (Zach)
7. Mia (Annie)
8. Cambry (Zach)

I'm sure there will be more to come!!!

Do you remember this???

I think my older sisters will remember this.

When my dad and jan were here visiting, i asked them if they remembered this movie that i can remember watching as a very young girl. They thought i was crazy and told me there was no such movie. Well guess what DAD, i took the kids to the library today and i wasn't even looking for it but guess what I found...........

The Electric Grandmother!!!!!!! Has anyone else ever seen it??? I am going to watch it tonight with Ali so I can remember what it's all about.

I'M NOT CRAZY AFTERALL!!!!

Our weekend with Grandpa Brent & Grandma Jan!

We were so excited that Grandma & Grandpa were able to come visit us after Christmas!!! We had so much fun with them!! We spent a lot of time playing games and eating but it was really fun to be able to show them around Cleveland and Avon Lake. We went to the Christmas Story house which was humorous and showed them the Westside Market in Cleveland, took a walk down to Lake Erie it was sooooo cold.
Sunday we were able to drive up to Kirtland and see some LDS History Sites. It was really neat to be in places where Joseph Smith had actually been, and to see the Kirtland Temple was awesome as well. I was so mad because I couldn't find my camera before we left the house and it was not in the case which was in my purse so I didn't get any pictures in Kirtland only to find out Monday morning that the camera although not in it's case was in my purse the whole time. Hopefully grandma Jan will send me copies of the pictures she got!!!!!!
Dad and Jan, thanks for coming to see us we had so much fun and miss you already. Hopefully you got your luggage back and next time the airline won't lose it!!!
We love you guys thanks for everything!!!!

Christmas 2007!

Christmas Eve we had a lot of fun with the Youngs. We spend the afternoon hanging out at their house eating and talking about family and traditions. We had a really yummy dinner thanks to Shannon and then we went to a Christmas Eve Methodist Church Service. It was mostly music which we loved! It was really nice to be able to show the kids how other people celebrate and a wonderful way to teach them about the true meaning of Christmas. After the church service we went back to the Youngs to help clean up the dinner mess and ended up staying for ice cream sundays. The kids got to exchange gifts and then we headed home to make cookies for Santa and the kids got to open their Christmas Pajamas & we talked about why we give and get presents on Christmas by explaining the 3 wisemen bringing gifts to baby jesus & then they went to bed watching The Christmas Story!.........

Because of the layout of our house we told the kids they were not allowed out of their rooms so if they needed us they needed to yell for us and we could come to them. 1:00 am Ali starts yelling for me(we were asleep which is the first time ever that we have been asleep by 1 on Christmas Eve)I went up to see what she needed and both of the kids had woken up and were ready to see if Santa had come.
Santa has not come yet I told them and after 15 minutes or so they went back to sleep.
Finally, 7:30 they woke up and yelled again. After I got the cameras ready and turned on our favorite Amy Grant Christmas CD, Brandon escorted them downstaris and the fun began!!!!! Santa left for Mitchie a bike and new golf clubs & Ali got an IPOD Nano and an American Girl Doll, they loved the Pool table from mom and dad and yes Mitch was still excited when he finally got to play on it. It was a great morning, thanks to all who sent gifts, we know it is a pain and costly as well, it is very much appreicated!!!
We finished off our day by making homemade pizza and eating ice crean and watch the new Santa Clause 3 movie that the kids got for Christmas. It was a wonderful day and fun to spend it together.

A quick trip to Utah!

Three of my sisters work for airlines so sometimes we get to take advantage of the perks that come with the job. This weekend Kimmy blessed baby Sawyer and she sent me a buddy pass so I was able to take a quick trip home for the big event! It was a really fast but fun weekend. I took 2 big suitcases full of Christmas gifts with me so I didn't have to do as much shipping which was a great idea except for the fact that to get from the long term parking at the Cleveland airiport to the terminal you have to walk forever!!!! So picture me walking through the airport with 2 big suitcases,another good size bag that was holding my clothes,my big purse and my big coat. Let's just say I have sore arms! You wouldn't think it would be that hard to pull suitcases but it was.

The weekend was fun I was able to do a little bit more Christmas shopping so again, I wouldn't have to ship as much stuff back to Utah. Of course we had to get my favorite salad from Cafe Rio. Yummy!!! My mom and I had planned to drive to Pocatello on Saturday because that is where Kimmy lives but becasue of the snow we weren't able to make the drive on saturday so we waitied until Sunday to go up. Olivia, Katie's baby turned 1 and I made it to the very end of her birthday party.

Mom, Katie and I headed up to Pocatello Sunday afternoon so we could help Kimmy get ready for the blessing that was going to be later in the evening. I got to see baby Sawyer for the first time. What a cutie. He looks just like his mommy!!! He was such a good baby!!!! The blessing went very well and Sawyer was amazing. He sat there wide eyed and just stared at Mark the entire time.






It was a great weekend and I wish I could have stayed longer but I was really missing Brandon, Mitch and Ali who were back home in Ohio.

A Little R&R!!!!

Last Christmas, my mom gave the entire family a cruise to the Carribbean. We just got home after spending a week relaxing in the nice HOT sun!!! Brandon,Mitch, Ali and I drove to Columbus on Nov. 10th and flew to Ft. lauderdale where we met up with the rest of the family. We stayed one night in Florida and then next morning headed for the Cribbean Princess Cruise Ship.

We spent a week hanging out at the pool,eating,watching movies on the big screen at the pool,eating,dancing,going to shows,taking naps,reading,eating,and just having a great time. We spent one day on the beach in St. Martin,one day on the beach in St. Thomas (if you've never been there it is awesome you need to go), and a day on the beach at the Cruise line's private island Princess Cays. We did a lot of laying in the sun,swimming,snorkeling and all the other fun things you do at the beach. All of the islands reminded B and I of Mexico in the why the people lived and of course the bargins.
Sunday morning we got up early and had to be out of our room by 8:45am so we stayed one more night in Ft. Lauderdale where we just relaxed in the room and met up with Kristen,Jason and Lili for dinner.
On Monday after a long flight and a 2 hour drive back to Avon Lake from Columbus we finally made it home just in time for bed.
Kids are off to school this morning for one day this week and they have they have the rest of the week off.

Mom, thanks for the trip. We had a lot of fun and really appreciate all that you put in to making it a good time for everyone!!!!We love you!!!

Go SEAHAWKS!!!

Even though we now live in Ohio, we are still big Seahawk fans!!! Brent and Nick came up this weekend to watch the Hawks beat the Browns!!! It's been really fun to have them here. They flew into Columbus (2hrs away) so B & I took the kids down Friday night and stayed in a hotel which the kids always love to do.
Saturday morning we got Nick and Brent from the airport and made the drive back to Clevland only getting one ticket along the way. Hung around the house for most of the afternoon and then we went to Dave and Busters last night. It was a lot of fun if you haven't been there you should go sometime.
We had a really great breakfast this morning and now the boys are off the the game. Everyone is leaving tomorrow morning including Brandon but it is always fun to have people visit. Hopefully they will come back soon!!!!

Sawyer James Lee

A few weeks ago I blogged about Kim having her baby boy and Katie took some really cute pictures of him so I thought I would post them. (you may have already seen them on Katie or Beatles blog)!

Happy Halloween!!!

Ever since we moved to Avon Lake, we have been hearing about this Halloween Party that the neighborhood puts on every year. The last few years it has rained,snowed or hailed while trying to decorate and get ready for the party, and has been terrible weather the day of.
We have been very excited to see what this party was all about and over the last week we have watched and helped our neighbors and new friends get ready for the big day!!! Just to give you an idea, they had a huge tent that they turned into the "haunted tent". It had 4 rooms that you had to crawl through a maze to get to each room. The first room was just a welcoming room with a big mummy that moves and makes noises, the next was a pirate room with 3 big pirates, a treasure cheast, bats, snakes, etc. The next was the spider room with big spiders and webs and the final room was the best. Our friend Scott made a coffin and inside they put a skeleton and some red roses, the rest of the room had bones, head stones etc. It was very cool and actually kindof spooky as you walked through it and all the decorations were making noises.
They had hay rides for the kids, pumpkin painting,bobbing for apples and a lot of other activities.





Yes, we did dress up. They had a contest for the dad in the best costume and the mom with the best hair and guess who won? Brandon as the "tooth fairy" and me for best hair.

Ali,Isabel,Anna



It was a really fun party and we couldn't believe how much time and energy was put into making it fun for kids and adults!!!

Fun family & friend fotos!!

A New Baby Boy!!!

My sister Kim finally had her little boy this morning and we are so excited except, I am very sad that I am not there to see the new mommy and baby!!!!! Sounds like baby Sawyer and mom are both doing well. Can't wait to see pictures of my new nephew!!!

We love you Kimmy, congratulations!!!

Is that an Ocean or a Lake????

I have never lived in a place where the weather is 95 degrees in October!!!! I love it!!!There is this fun beach down the street from our house so we went to check it out to see what it was all about before it gets too cold. It looks like it will be a really fun place for us to spend our summer days next year. If you've never seen Lake Erie, it is huge!!!! It is hard to believe that it is a lake not an ocean and we get to see it everyday!!!!!!

What a weekend!!!

We had a busy and very fun weekend!!!!Ali got to go to her first "real" concert on Friday night(thanks Zach & Shally)!!!It was pretty funny becuase we were the only one's there without Cowboy boots and hats. It's so fun to see how the kids react to being in an different enviornment. We walked through the gates and Ali said "how come everybody is wearing cowgirl boots and cowgirl hats". Then we were walking around and she said "mom, I just saw somebody litter", another comment was "i'm not going to listen to those people because they're saying naughty words". We had a great time listening to the music and doing some fun people watching!!!!

Saturday Brandon and I got to go to dinner with a group of neighbors. We are learning that our new neighborhood gets together pretty much every weekend. Somebody rented out the party room at a resturant and we had dinner and hung out all night. It was a fun way to get to know people a little better.

Went to church this morning and the kids had a bit of a hard time but it always takes them a little while to get used to it. Of course there are football games to watch now (YEAH!) cookies in the oven and dinner to be made. (don't forget the Emmy's tonight) What a fun weekend. We are so happy that we have been able to make friends so quickly!!!