It's A Wonderful Life

Baby Benson

2011-06-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

Me on a stretcher...WHAT????? Ok so here's the story. It was early Sunday morning..like really early, 3:30a.m I woke up to thunder and lightning and a whole lotta rain....and painful contractions. I was a week overdue and had never gone overdue before, I was soooo ready for this baby to come!! I woke Josh up and asked him what the time was, I wanted to see how far apart my contractions were. I had been practicing Hypnobabies so I put my earphones in and listened in and out of sleep for 3 hours. At 6a.m they were getting more intense so I got out of bed and sat on the birthing ball, resting on some pillows. so far about an hour I did this with Josh grinding into my back. I had back labor so it felt sooo good! Then everyone was starting to wake up in the house. At one point Talmage came into the room when I was in the middle of a contraction, Josh said he just looked at me had a puzzled look on his face. After I finished with the contraction, I said hi, he just looked at me and layed down on the floor and didn't make a peep....he could sense there was something different going on. I then told Josh that we needed to get to the hospital. He got our things in order and I went to the bathroom one last time before we left. Well that's when it "ALL" happened. My water broke while on the toilet, then the head crowned and I did all I could to not push, Josh came in and I stood up and hung on his neck, then there was the head. Josh looked down and sure enough there was the head. He quickly laid me down on our bedroom floor and called to his Dad to call 911. He felt around Benson's neck to make sure there was no cord and then told me to push. So his Dad gets 911 on the phone and they need our address, so here's Josh or should I say Dr. Nehring trying to think of our address while delivering our baby. He told me to push, I didn't feel like I pushed very hard, and then all of the sudden he squirms right out!! He looked reallly good and gave a good first cry. Josh placed him on my chest and I was just in total awe in what had just happened!!! The truth is I should have been really panicked, but I wasn't, it all happened so fast! The EMT showed up and clamped and cut the cord. They asked me to get up...I asked for some help....come on people I just gave birth. They put me on a stretcher and into the ambulance. Josh followed us and met us at the hospital, where Dr. Moore delivered the placenta, and said good job to the both of us! We are so grateful that little Benson didn't have any complicatons and is healthy and strong!

Proud parents of Benson Steven Nehring, 8.4 lbs, 20 1/2" long, born at home on Sunday June 5 2011 at 7:32 a.m.

Our friend Lyn Whyte said it perfect "Josh I thought you graduated from Dental School. You are specialized in Root Canals, not Birth Canals!" HA love it:)

Yawn.....what an adventure! On the way home from visiting the hospital Josh asked the girls what they thought about Benson being born at home, Lilli said "maybe he just wanted to see our house in Virginia." As we are moving to Nebraska this week. So cute:) Lilli and Talmage did get to see Benson right after he was born, so that was neat. Lilli kept giving me kisses, I loved it! My mom walked into the room and saw me on the floor, she said I looked really refreshed, so she didn't think I had actually had the baby yet, then she looked again and there was the baby, she came over to me crying (with joy of course) Josh's mom was pretty classic also, she just looked at me in amazement, "oh wow!!"

Hello World!!

Josh Graduates from Dental School!!!!

2011-06-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

We have been looking forward to this day for a LOOOOONGGG time!! It is kind of surreal that it is actually here!!! When we came to Richmond 6 years ago, 2011 seemed like eons away! I am so proud of Josh and this accomplishment....CONGRATS Dr. Nehring!!! He has worked really hard and I am so thankful to him for his perseverance and dedication!!!

My handsome husband...I made the lei for him. We recieved some at our wedding and I have now made it a tradition:)

Our little family....I guess we could almost be considered a big family:) With number 4 on the way:) I was feeling very prego, I guess 39 weeks along I should be feeling that way. It hurt to wear those heals, but the sacrifice a girl makes for the likes of fashion. HA!

Happy Birthday

2011-06-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to have family in town for my Birthday!!! Mom Nehring made this delicous cake....Red Velvet. My sisters made an awesome breakfast with my favorite, cinnamon buns with fruit and yogurt. Thanks everyone for making it so special!

1....2....3 BLOW!!

We went to Deep Run for a BBQ and playing, what fun!!!

Talmage and his cousin Channing.

Denta Schooll Gala

2011-06-06T14:34:00.001-07:00

The Gala was held at the Marriot hotel. We had a nice dinner and then dancing afterwards. No dancing for me....yes I am feeling very prego!!! We did manage a slow dance though.

Some choice people at our table!

Spencer and Eden

AD and his date

Virginia Beach with the cousins

2011-06-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

My parents and two sisters came out for Josh's graduation, a week early. So we went to Virginia Beach for the week!! My parents had a nice time share across the street from the beach. We walked to the beach and when it got rainy or cold we swam inside. The kids couldn't get enough of the water!

I have always wanted to ride one of these bikes, so we rented two and had a blast. Of course there were races and lost flip flops and strained muscles. Those things are harder to pedal than you think.

Here are the studs of the beach.....wow we've got some lucky women in our family:)

Uncle Brad was a sport and let the kids bury him.

Love you too babe!!!

Fall

2011-01-13T13:57:00.000-08:00

Izzy's Preschool Class did a little presentation of songs for Thanksgiving.

Lilli's Thanksgiving Feast. I went and helped out in her classroom. It was alot of fun, we made centerpeices out of mini pumpkins and put flowers in them. The kids all made their own shirts, head dresses, and drums!

Cutest 50's girl you ever saw? I think so!!!:) Dressed up for school's 50's day!

Sorry for the funny sideways picture! Lilli showing some serious skills on the balance beam!

The Nehring family, Halloween 2010...Peter Pan, Lost Boy, Captain Hook, The Wicked Witch, and a Mermaid

Lilli's 1st Day of School

2011-01-13T13:41:00.000-08:00

Lilli's First day of School was very exciting, for her and for her parents! I don't know who was more nervous, us or her...probably us:) When she left with Josh I got a little teary eyed, I just can't believe my little Lilli is so big! It is a good thing to for these little ones to grow up, even though I wish I could somehow stop them from growing up. It is exciting because it means she gets to experience the many wonderful things the world has to offer. I just hope Josh and I can teach her all she needs to know to be strong and to always choose the right. I guess we just need to keep trying everyday:)

I made her a giant cookie for her first day of school!

Coming off the bus, we are so proud:):)

A proud Gayton Gator! Of course her little sister/best friend had to get in on the action to:)

Her teacher Mrs. McDonald, whom she loves! I am so grateful that she has such an awesome teacher to spend her days with!

Summer Fun

2011-01-13T13:35:00.000-08:00

Since I've been the BIGGEST BLOGGER SLACKER! I thought I would update a bit with a few pics from this past summer!

Lilli's 6th Birthday....Mulan

Happy Birthday Sweet Lilli.....cake compliments of Daddy!

Cookouts in the canyon...yes they actually do have canyons in Virginia:) Roanoke

Pedicures

2011-01-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

Green Smoothies...YUMMY!

Peach Picking!

Power Washing the House!

My little 4 year old Cowgirl...this girl "Adores" Horses!

Izzy's 4th Birthday Cake....compliments of her Daddy!

We'll be Sporting Red....

2010-08-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

.........................Ok here it is.............Josh got accepted to the Periodontics Residency at the University of Nebraska!! We are going to be HUSKERS!!! We are really excited to finally know for sure where we will be going!! He was also given an offer at the University of Tennssee. They are both good schools but we chose Nebraska because it would be closer to home. Josh is really excited about the program at UNL. I have never been to Licoln, but he says it is really clean, lots of trails to exercise on and very family oriented! So here we come Nebraska! Even though I am from Canada, I have become a softy here in Virginia with it's mild weather. So I'm going to have to toughen up for those COLD winters! Josh graduates in May and then we will head west. It is a bitter sweet feeling, because we have loved it here in Virginia and have come meet some awesome people!!!

THe Stables

2010-08-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

The Stable had some beautiful horses!! They were very friendly too! The girls even got to see a horse have it's bath, they thought that was really cool:) Being there actually made me want to have some land and a couple horses....someday:) Izzy can't wait for that day....the day she can have her very own horse....someday:)

This horse was VERY friendly, every time they got close he would nuzzle up close.

The girls must have smelt really good!

This was one of my favorites! He was BEAUTIFUL and so, so friendly!

Lilli got to go for a ride also and did a fantastic job!

Izzy Rides Chip

2010-08-26T18:49:00.000-07:00

She was sooo excited for her horsey ride!!

Lookin Good!

Carol had Izzy practice some balancing while she was on the horse. She said that is what they work on first before they do any "real riding."

She was a natural and did so well....what a beauty....my little cowgirl!

Izzy Turns 4

2010-08-26T18:31:00.000-07:00

Here is my beautiful Isabella Faith!! She turned 4 and I can hardly believe it! She is such a joy to have in our family!! She has the brightest eyes, they just sparkle! She is an awesome sister and best friend to Lilli and an awesome big sister to her little brother Talmage! She has the most amazing laugh I've ever heard! It just brings me to a smile everytime. I want to "bottle" it and keep in with me forever, so that whenever I need a little pick me up I can just open it up:) She loves horses and says she is going to race someday. She has an awesome imagination and her and her sister can play for hours making up stories as they go. She loves to sing. She also loves to jump wherever she goes. She is a great helper and loves organizing things. She can spell her name and is excited about learning new things. Isabella is quiet, but fiesty and can hold her own ground! And says the darnest things:) We love you so much Izzy Bizzy:) Thank you for being the wonderful girl you are and bringing us so much joy!!

She wanted to have chocolate cupcakes with Tinkerbell cupcake toppers.

She got a posable horse named Sugar and Spice and a riding girl named Taylor Angelique. She also got a cow girl hat and a real "live" horse ride!

What a beautiful GIRl!

YEE-HAW!!

Isabelism

2010-07-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before, Izzy says the CUTEST things!!! Today after her bath she was rubbing her heel and said..."Mommy look I am starting to get this stuff on my feet, when I am finally a Mommy I will have tons of it on my feet." I look at her feet and she has some peeling skin.....Ok, ok her Mommy has some really DRY heels. I didn't know she was analyzing my heels....mmmm what else is she analyzing???:)

T-REX Cafe

2010-07-27T18:01:00.000-07:00

We did another girl's night, this time with the "little" girls! We went to Downtown Disney. It was a really neat place....what isn't really neat with the word Disney attatched to it? Anyways we took a water taxi over to the BIGGEST Disney store I have ever seen! The girls had been saving their money and wanted to buy something of their own. So we headed over and Wow can I say a tad bit overwhelming. We eventually found our way over to the stuffed animals...Izzy picked an Aristrocat baby cat, and then to the princess's. Lilli picked a Mulan polly pocket. They were very excited to use their own money, even though Mom and Grandma helped out a bit:) We were hungry so we found an AWESOME restaurant, the T-REX Cafe. WoW a very cool place. It was a very LOUD place with a meteor shower happening every 10 minutes or so. The girls loved it, they thought all of the dinos were really neat, some of them were so real they even scared them a bit.

The food was fabulous and we had an awesome time!

No worries.....

While we waited for our table they had a digging area for the kids and....the Moms...right?:)

Here the ice cave is behind us which changed color whenever there was a meteor shower. It looks like Izzy is a little worried with all of the dinos roaring and Lilli isn't so sure about all the noise either:)

PURSE

2010-07-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

Of course we had to have a girls night out! Before the trip I had a little insiration....:) I was inspired by an enrichment we had a few months back. The theme was "PURSE." They had fun games of guessing who's purse was who's and 5 speakers who spoke on P-erspective, U-nderstanding, R-espect, S-ervice and E-mpathy. So I called up my Mom and sisters and asked them if they wanted to do a girls night out...of course a resounding YES! We each picked one of the five PURSE topics and bought a purse to exchange. We went to Celebration, Florida a town that is owned by Disney. It was perfect. We ate a nice restaraunt with live music and then went and got ice cream and then sat by a beautiful pond. It was perfect weather with a perfect setting with awesome company. It was really fun to "really" talk and see what each one of us came up with for their topics. Then I put all of the letters of Purse in a "hat" and we picked and exchanged purses. We also put the necessities in the purses. It was alot of fun and we are going to make it a tradition. Not necessarily purses......my Mom is in charge next year, it will be fun to see what she comes up with!

These are the cute purses! I recieved the beige one from my sister Shannan, and I made the black and white one! In the end we were all happy with our purses, good thing we all have good taste:) Thanks for the fun night!

A BIG Thank You!!

2010-07-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

Thank You SOOO much Mom and Dad for making this trip possible!! It was so fun being together, nothing beats being together as a family! Thanks Dad for the lovely rendition of karaoke and for always being so "Goofy!" You always know how to make us laugh! Thanks for being such an amazing example of service and love! Also for being such an awesome Grandpa!

Thanks Mom for a fun vacation! The girls love your stories and how silly you are! Thanks for your example of love and service also! You are an amazing Grandma, we love you!

Magic Kingdom

2010-07-08T18:48:00.000-07:00

We saved the best for last:) The girls were sooo excited to see the princesses! They got some mickey ears; Lilli picked a fancy one of course and Izzy picked tinkerbell. When we first got there they had a show with a whole bunch of characters, princesses, villians the whole works. they loved it and it was a perfect start to our day!

This is my Dad's hat that Uncle Brad bought him, fits him perfectly:) Talmage loved it too.

The girls got their pics with the fairies and the princesses. First we stood in the line for the princesses, we waited maybe 20 minutes. Then I was ready to go! But Izzy loves Tinkerbell and really wanted to get pics with her too. I told them it would be a long wait, but they insisted! We waited for over an hour. Aaaahhhh I was so done, but the girls did really good and didn't complain. We were almost there and Izzy says she has to go pee REALLY BAD!! I look at the lady in front of me in a pleading look and she thankfully understood and said she would hold our place. So we rush, and I mean RUSH to the bathroom that was next door. They didn't even have one inside the store. Are YOu Kidding Me! Anyways we made it back in time and got the beloved Fairy Pictures! They were in heaven!

Need I say more?

Typhoon Lagoon

2010-07-08T18:39:00.000-07:00

After a long day at Animal Kingdom, we decided we needed a nice relaxing day at the water park. It was so nice, like an oasis!

Everything was so authentic, so real! Disney really is amazing at all they do! They had some fun slides and an awesome kids area! They also had a pool/tank that you could snorkel with sting rays, sharks ("nice ones" as Lilli would say) and an array of different fish. It was really neat. Lilli came to but got water in her goggles, so she got a little scared about that. Thankfully a nice lifeguard with a floatie came to her rescue!

My Sisters, I love em!

My two Studs!

Silly Lilli

2010-07-08T18:16:00.000-07:00

Talmage loved the Dionsaurs!! There was an awesome ride for us older folk, but they also had carnival like smaller rides for the wee ones. He loved them and of course was roaring all the way.

This ride was probably everyone's favorite. It scared me the first time I went on it! Lilli decided to come with us the second time! She was so brave! There was even a little boy older than her that was a little nervous, Lilli helped calm his fears:)

They had a really fun parade and the girls were ready for pics whenever any character came by!

This is my favorite!!! My brother in law bought one of those turkey legs and the girls asked for a bite. They couldn't stop, they loved it! Forget about those measley sandwiches, they want the MEAT!!! My little carnivors. Thanks Uncle Brad your the best!

Animal Kingdom

2010-07-08T18:07:00.000-07:00

We went to Animal Kingdom, and WOW it was awesome!! This Tree Lady was amazing! She was on stilts and really moved like a tree (if a tree could move:) She would just slowly move along her way and then slowly pose for people! Very cool!

Starting our trek!

The Safari was the first thing we ventured to . They took us in these huge jeeps and we saw some really fun animals! The girls were so amazed and Talmage just loved it too. He was roaring at all the animals:)

The giraffes were the most daring, they came right up to us.

The tree of life, it had pictures carved all around it!

Florida!

2010-07-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

It was actually my birthday the day we drove to Florida, so my family got me a lovely cake a few days later! So sweet!

My parents have a time share so we stayed there! It was awesome with plenty of room for everyone, and of course a sweet pool which we all loved!

On Our Way....

2010-07-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

For our Summer vacation we went to Florida to be with my family! We drove the lovely 13 hours...well more like 15, when you have a 1 year old that really did not enjoy it at all. The girls did really well and were soo excited! I tried to make it fun and brought along our "Mary Poppins Bag" aka, a really big bag with lots of fun things for the girls to do. I wrapped them up to add to the excitement, because who doesn't LOVE to open presents:) I had DVD's (borrowed from the library) Play Away books (also borrowed from the library) princess coloring pages, treats and a new cuddly toy for each of them. I actually found a free pattern online and decided to give it a try, so here are the girls and their cute little monkeys. They chose the fabric and they love them. Fun times:)

We can't forget to buckle "EVERY" passenger!:)

Priceless...Talmage with a princess sippie:)

It's a Squirel, no it's a Possum, no it's a Racoon

2010-06-24T17:51:00.000-07:00

The other night when I had just finished bathing the kiddos, I came downstairs to grab something and looked out our front window. There were some kids in our neighbors yard holding something and all looking on very intently. I asked them what they had, to which they replied "A Baby Squirel!" I told the girls to come down stairs, because I knew they would absolutely love to see this! They came running down stairs and were able to hold the baby. It still had it's eyes closed and made little wimpering sounds. Totally helpless. They were so excited!! They told everyone that passed our house about it. One man walked by and said that it was a baby possum, and then I got really grossed out, I hate possums, YUCK!! So they were able to hold it until Daddy got home. Then our neighbors arrived home and the lady said she better take it and give it some kitten formula and take it to a place for orphaned animals. The girls were sad to see it go.

Our neighbor reported back to us that it was actually a racoon, and sure enough there was the mother up in the tree, I had no idea that racoons burrowed in trees?? So it was really fun for the girls to watch the mother in the tree. They would has several times a day to go watch the racoon:) What a fun experience:)

Liili lost her First Tooth!

2010-06-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

Lilli had been working on this for a few days and then the night of Talmage's Birthday she was determined to have it come out. So she asked her Dad to pull it out....with a few tears it popped right out! She was so excited!!!

Look at that tooth....what a beauty!

Her sister had to be in the picture too and that night Lilli actually asked if the toothfairy would bring Izzy some money too. I thought that was so thoughtful! I think they must have a pretty special tooth fairy to bring the sister money too:):)

Talmage's 1st Birthday...Planes, Trains and Automobiles

2010-06-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

Talmage turned 1 on March 7th!! He is such a cute little boy who loves his sisters and Mom and Dad, especially his Dad:) He is an easy going dude full of smiles and laughter! We are so happy he came to our little family! He got an airplane, which he loves and some cars. He loves cars and is really good at making the "Vrooom" sound. It's amazing how boys just come with that ability!

He enjoyed his cake, but mostly the wheels (oreo cookies) he takes after his Dad whom we sometimes refer to as "The Cookie Monster."

Happy birthday little man, we love you so much!!!

Best Friends

2010-04-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

I debated long and hard as to whether I should send Lilli to Kindergarten this past year. She has an August birthday so I could have sent her. Anyways it was the day before Kindergarten registration and I was still debating. Josh and I had talked about it a lot and prayed about it and really I knew what we should do....sometimes I am just a little stubborn sometimes:) Anyways I didn't go to Kindergarten registration and I am sooo HAPPY I didn't. Isabella and her relationship has grown soooo much!!! They are the best of friends and they have become so close this past year. Of course they have their little sisterly "tiffs" but for the most part they get along so well!! It has been such a wonderful thing to see them grow so close!!

They have such amazing imaginations!! I love hearing their conversations and their laughter when they are being silly together!

Tonight as I was putting the girls to bed they love to "talk." Lilli wanted to talk about Kindergarten. She wants Daddy to wake her up and take her to the bus stop, or drive her to school. Izzy also wanted to talk about Kindergarten, not when she goes but Lilli's Kindergaren. She has a master plan....she is going to sneak into Daddy's car if he drives, or the bus. Then when they get to the school she will sneak into the classroom. She really loves her sister!! It really warms my heart to think about how close they are. I hope they stay close forever!

Sisters....Best Friends

p.s- Tonight I got a little frustrated and Lilli looks at me and says.."The person who is grumpy needs a hug and a kiss." Melt my heart...I got lots of hugs and kisses and needless to say I wasn't frustrated anymore. Oh how I love my children!!! I am thankful that they are so forgiving and for all that they teach me! My Children, my Jewels.

An "Isabellaism"

2010-03-28T17:49:00.000-07:00

One of the many reasons I love Izzy is that she just says the cutest things that never fail to make me smile and or laugh:) The other day when we were driving in the van just Talmage her and I, she says to me while gazing out her window... "Mommy do you know what??? If I was Jesus I would make the Red Cardinals girls." I asked her why and she said..."because they are so pretty." I love it, thanks Izzy for making me smile everyday:):)

Joshua Nehring is Published in JADA!

2010-02-15T18:29:00.000-08:00

Yes it's true Josh has been published in The Journal Of The American Dental Association. Yes you heard it right, a Dental Journal!! He has been doing research with a professor for a couple years and their article landed in the January 2010 JADA!! As you can tell I am very proud of my babe:) Here is an over view of what the article is about.

JADA Continuing Education

Accuracy and dimensional stability of extended-pour and conventional alginate impression materials

Terence A. Imbery, DDS, Joshua Nehring, BS, Charles Janus, DDS, MS and Peter C. Moon, PhD

Background. The authors conducted a study to determine if twoirreversible hydrocolloid impression materials (Cavex ColorChange,Cavex Holland BV, Haarlem, Netherlands; Jeltrate Plus AntimicrobialDustless Alginate Impression Material, Dentsply Caulk, Milford,Del.) stored for five days were dimensionally accurate.

Methods. The authors modified Ivorine teeth (Columbia Dentoform,Long Island City, N.Y.) on a Dentoform model (1560 series model,Columbia Dentoform) to allow measurements of tooth and archwidth. They made impressions and generated casts immediatelyand at five additional times. They recorded tooth and arch widthson the casts and compared the measurements with those for thestandard model.

Results. Compared with measurements for the model, the greatestmeasured difference in casts was 0.003 inches for Cavex ColorChange(extended-pour alginate) and 0.005 inches for Jeltrate PlusAntimicrobial Dustless Alginate Impression Material (conventionalalginate). The percentage of dimensional change ranged from–0.496 to 0.161 percent for the extended-pour alginateand from –0.174 to 0.912 percent for the conventionalalginate.

Conclusions. Results of analysis of variance and paired t testsindicated that when generated immediately and at day 5, castsproduced from both impression materials were not statisticallydifferent from the standard model (P < .05).

Clinical Implications. When stored properly, both alginate materialscan produce accurate impressions at day 5 for diagnostic castsand for fabrication of acrylic appliances.

Key Words: Alginate; impression; accuracy; syneresis; imbibition

Abbreviations: ADA: American Dental Association

I don't understand some of the Dental gargin, but hey very impressive if you ask me!!:)

One of my Favorite Sights...

2010-02-04T10:55:00.001-08:00

my children "reading" together!!

On The Way Home

2010-02-02T16:51:00.000-08:00

Talmage with the cutest quilt that my sister Shannan made for him. A train how fitting:)

Happy New Year!! This is us when we got off of the bus to board yet another train. We walked into the station (we had no idea what time it was, we were a little out of it at this point) and everyone was saying "Happy New Year!!" We were so done at this point but still had hours to go on coach. I had to quickly snap this picture......."yeah Happy 2010!!"

Here is where the cars connect. When we were travelling in Montana it was so cold that there was snow in this area. Crazy!!

Here is the hallway and the roomettes were on either side. Pretty tight quarters, the picture does make it look narrower than it was but not by much. Anyways you had to walk like a penguin to keep balanced, it was pretty funny to watch the waiters carry their trays and keep it all balanced.

Eating yummy food in the diner car! I was seriously impressed with their food!!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-27T13:48:00.000-08:00

Letters and treats for Santa

Christmas PJ's

The "Leavitt" production of the Navitity. Izzy as Mary, Daddy as Joseph, Brad as the Donkey, Shannan, Mommy and Amber as the Wisemen, Grandpa and Grandma as shepherds, Lilli as the Angel, and Lindsey as the Narrator.

"SANTA BABY"

Oh sweet angel of mine:)

Canadian Snow FUN!

2010-01-27T13:42:00.000-08:00

The girls were so excited to play in the snow!! Since we don't get much in Richmond, they relish any time that they can play...so this was a much awaited day...and a perfect day, not to cold.

"Look Mom we built a snowman bigger than Daddy!"

My Mom and Dad bought a tree and then "planted" it their pasture so the girls and Josh and I went and "cut it down." And then we decorated it....of course the lights were the funnest part!

Inside the Polar Express

2010-01-27T13:34:00.000-08:00

We got a roomette for the longest part of our trip, Chicago to Shelby = 27hrs. If you ever go on a train ride I highly reccoment a room. It is so nice to have a place to lie down, you have your privacy, and you get free meals (well you do pay extra for a room but you don't pay any extra to eat at the dining car restaurant) which by the way has amazing food. Josh actually had the best steak he's ever had on the train. Talmage loved having a place to take a nap...I did too:)

Lilli and Izzy's little cubby/bunk. They slept up there together and thought it was so cool to sleep on a bunk bed.

The Chicago Train Station all decked out for Christmas.

ALL ABOARD....yes they actually do say that:)

Johnny Rockets

2010-01-27T13:22:00.000-08:00

We at Johnny Rockets at the Washington D.C train station. Pretty good but not as good as the one in Richmond.

Lilli had hot chocolate and spilled it all over herself. Nice start out to our 2 1/2 day journey. Thank goodness we had extra clothes. We felt like bag ladies carrying 7 carry on bags in our stroller. It was hard to take less and be "prepared" with enough stuff for 3 kids and 2 1/2 days.

The girls loved this display of a miniature train. The train station was really beautiful!!

Train Ride

2010-01-27T13:16:00.000-08:00

This is the girls starting our adventure on the train from Richmond to Washington D.C to Chicago to Shelby Montana. So excited!! Lilli kept that jewel on her head the whole time! When we go to the Ashland stop Izzy asked if we were almost there......ummmm not quite:)

We were all really excited to go on the train! It was really nice to be able to move around and "explore the train!" Or the Polar Express as we told the girls:)

Hooter Hider and Car Seat Cover

2009-11-30T08:01:00.000-08:00

I made a hooter hider for my sister-in-law with the same fabric I am making the girlie car seat cover. JoAnnes carries this fabric. Anyways just let me know:)

I love my Hooter Hider, now I can't live without it! Now nursing in public is so much easier!! No more blankets falling off of my shoulder....now I can nurse in style:)

Here's the car seat cover, and I love, love this! It is so great for your newborn, keeps all of the germs out! My little guy is 9 months and it still works great for when he falls asleep in the van, just cover him up and it keeps the light out and him alseep. And it looks dang cute, dresses up my drab car seat:)

You can look at JoAnnes website and there is also another website I like, fabric.com. Just let me know:)

Halloween 2009

2009-11-30T07:51:00.000-08:00

I know this is waaaaaaay late but what can I say I've been busy! Halloween for us was kind of a bust. Everyone was SICK....yes SiCK on Halloween can you imagine. We didn't go to our ward party, the girls were really sad about that, especially Lilli. She was really looking forward to walking across the stage. All day I could tell she was tired and had that sick look in her eyes, and insisted that she felt good. Anyways we rented Peter Pan and they were happy about that! My dad flew in that night and joined us for Halloween day. He got lots of cuddles from his grandkids and he LOVED it! We had a fun Halloween dinner and the girls even went trick or treating. They were pretty tired so we took the stroller, their very own princess coach:)

My Dad made a good Smee! It was so fun to have him here. Here's Smee and our little lost boy.

Peter Pan and Wendy!

Tinker Bell and a fellow fairy:)

"I want to touch the Temple!"

2009-11-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

On Thursday we went to the D.C temple. We hadn't planned on it....I got a call from Josh and he asked if I was up for being spontaneous. I said sure???? Elder Neilson was going to speak to all of the Dental and Medical students at the visitors center. I thought it was a neat experience so we quickly got ready, grabbed Wendy's and took off to DC in the pouring rain. Josh arrived 5 minutes after he had started talking, phew:) The kids had fallen asleep so I stayed in the van with them. When they woke up they wanted to touch the temple. So I drove up and they hopped out of the van, huge smiles on their faces and continued to caress the temple. As I watched them I felt the spirit so strong, I even started to tear up. Here they are 3 and 5 years old and never been inside the temple, BUT they know the importance of it, they can FEEL the importance. I am so blessed to have two beautiful daughters of God!!! They make me laugh every day and teach me a lot. It was so cute to watch them touch or I would say caress the temple...what a precious moment! And I thank my Heavenly Father for that tender mercy, a moment where there weren't any distractions just my beautiful girls and the temple, a moment where I wasn't thinking of things I needed to get done, a moment to just watch and revel in my girls. A reminder that I need to slow down more often and really just enjoy moments like these without all the distractions of life that seem to cloud our lives. It was a wonderful experience for Josh and the group even recieved an apostolic blessing. The kids and I went in after it was over and they we were able to shake his hand. It was worth the spontaneous drive to D.C.

A Sunday Drive

2009-11-09T19:03:00.000-08:00

We went for a drive to see all of the changing leaves. It was so beautiful!!! Again these pictures don't do it justice. The sunset was breathtaking!! Fall....my favorite time of year!!

When the sun hit these trees, it was like the color just popped out! The red leaves made it look like the trees were on fire! What a wonderful blessing this earth is!! I am so grateful that I have eyes to behold such beauty!!

Lilli's Daddy Daughter Date

2009-11-09T18:54:00.000-08:00

Lilli went on a date with her Daddy...or should we say a "Ball." The county put on a Daddy Daughter Dance. I let her pick what she wanted to wear..she picked her Diamond Princess dress up. Daddy wore his suit and I did her hair all fancy and of course she got some lip shine (such an exciting thing for little girls:) They had a dinner of fried chicken, tater tots, a veggie and a cupcake. They did a craft and then danced the night away!! Josh said they danced most of the time, an hour and a half. Lilli's favorite song was "Who let the Dogs Out", and "The YMCA." They were both exhausted but they had a blast together! What a fun night for them!!

Cheezin It!

The Princess and her Prince Charming!

Izzy's Daddy Daughter Date

2009-11-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

Izzy was so excited to go on her very first Daddy Daughter date! There was a free play at Henrico Theater "Snow White." She got her hair done up all fancy with her pearl necklace and of course some lip shine:) Josh said the whole way there she kept rubbing her lips together. She got to listen to her choice of music...her choice was the Shrek soundtrack:) She sat on Daddy's lap for the whole play and her eyes were glued the whole time! She absolutely loved it!! Then her and Daddy went to Bruesters and had a Dirt Sundae. I was so excited to ask her about it when she got home, she was beaming!!! I am so glad they were able to do that and we plan to continue this, it is so important to have that one on one time with your children. Something I think we have been neglecting, but now see how important it is!

A Beautiful Fall Day

2009-11-09T18:35:00.000-08:00

Oh how I love, love, love the fall in Virginia!! It is soooo beautiful and the perfect weather. This picture doesn't really capture it...sorry:) There is just the right amount of coolness in the air, beautiful colors, mmmm love it:) We decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and go for a walk to the park.

The girls on the swings, their favorite thing at the park. And why not add some sweetness with kisses from Daddy.

Talmage with Izzy's Build a Bear "Marzipan. He also is a big fan of the swing. It was one of those perfect days spent with my wonderful husband and my cutest little munchkins. We didn't do anything big, we just went to the park, but just being together outside surrounded with the amazing beauty of all the colors of fall, I couldn't ask for more!

Cute

2009-11-06T20:22:00.000-08:00

Tonight when Lilli was saying her prayers she thanked Heavenly Father for everyone in her family and then proceeded to say "...and I pray that Mommy will have 16, I mean 106 kids." Haaaaa!!!! At least she has the concept of family down, right:) She gave me a good chuckle:)

Earlier when I was cleaning up after dinner her and Izzy were doing their exercises, which included jumping jacks, ab work and stretching...so my example is rubbing off. So cute to watch!!

Just some things I've made....

2009-10-10T15:26:00.000-07:00

This post is mostly for my sisters who said I needed to post the things I've made for my girls room, so here it is Amby and Shanny:) The dresser is from when we first had Lilli, we got it from a yard sale and painted it yellow.......WHY you may ask, yeah I am asking myself the same question. Anyways another project with none other than Rustoleum Spray paint! I really like how it turned out. It used to be in the closet, because HELLO it was yellow, but now it is out in their room. So now there is more room in the closet for their toys....YEAH:) I would like to get some pink knobs, but unbeknowst to me they are pretty expensive so this is how it will stay for awhile!!

Here are some modge-podge frames made with scrapbook paper!

The curtains, very simple design yet just perfect for their room.

I made these because I wanted to blow up some pictures of the girls, but didn't want to fork over the money for some frames. So I got some white canvas and covered them with some fabric, then I just tacked the pictures on. It's been a process, two years to be exact but I think I am finally finished with the girls room....besides the quilt:)

Girls Table and Chairs Make-Over

2009-10-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

I bought the girls a table with two chairs and a bench awhile ago and it has been on my To-Do list for a long time. Finally I got around to re-doing them. So here is the before picture......

and here are some after pictures. I LOVE how they turned out!!!! Again I used Rustoleum Spray Paint. I love using spray paint, so easy and very minimal drips!

For the cushions I just bought some of that green cushiony stuff from Jo-Annes and then covered it with some cute upholstry fabric, then I finished it off with some ribbon.

Oh so cute!:)

Vintage Window Make-Over

2009-10-10T15:04:00.000-07:00

So I saw this cute idea on one of the craft blogs I visit. So I set out to find myself a vintage window, or a REALLY old window. I found this place called Class and Trash. Josh was out of town the weekend I decided that I really needed a new project:) So I took all three kids with me. The girls thought it was really cool with lots of neat little treasures to behold. It went pretty well, besides the fact that it wasn't really stroller friendly but we managed. Anyways I found this beauty and couldn't wait to transform her:)

Here she is in all her glory:) I sanded it and then painted it with good ol' Rustoleum Spray Paint--one of my new favorite things. Then I had to find some fabric. I finally found some at a fabric store called U-Fab. A great place by the way! And then I just cut it down to size and tacked it onto the back.

Here she is with a little festive Halloween garland. I am really happy with how it turned out!

Do The Monster Mash!

2009-10-08T18:04:00.000-07:00

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MOM Project

2009-09-30T18:34:00.000-07:00

Josh went with his school to a MOM project in Southern Virginia. These projects are amazing. Made up of dental students, volunteer dentists and hygenists. All giving of their time to help those people in need for FREE! So you can imagine people lined up the whole day to see the dentist. Let's just say Josh pulled a lot of teeth. These people can't normally afford dental care so their mouths are pretty sad. But afterwards they are so grateful to be out of pain. So here is my very own Dr. Nehring giving one of his patients a shot. And I have to say from experience he does a dang good job with shots....he gave me three when he re-filled my cavity and all I felt were little pinches.

Josh absolutely loved this experience and hopes to do more of it in the future! Good Job Babe:)

Lilli's 5th Birthday...Mermaids

2009-09-30T18:16:00.000-07:00

I am really late on posting about this but just got the CD with these pics from a friend who graciously loaned me her camera after I had forgotten mine. Anyways Lilli had a Mermaid party at the pool with some friends. Her favorite thing to do in the summer is swim, she LOVES it!! So this was perfect for her. I made the cake and frosted them, but I have to give the credit to my wonderful husband on bringing our little mermaid to "life." Didn't he do an amazing job?!!! I turned out awesome. I just told him what I was envisioning and he put his creative juices to work!! Lilli loved it!! The kids had the funnest time when I was cutting the cake. They loved telling me which part of the mermaid they wanted to eat. So slowly our little mermaid disappeared, first one eye then her hair, then her lips....you get the picture. But it was delicious and well worth it!!

All the kids just waiting for a slice of that yummy cake.

For lunch we had star fish sandwiches, gold fish, "water" melon, and under the sea juice, a.k.a blue Gatorade. It was alot of fun putting everything together! The kids loved it and all had a fun time.

We also had treasure chest that they could pick out a shell and a treasure, a ring pop. For the goody bags I made pearl necklaces for the girls and the boys got pirate patches.

The kids loved Josh. They rode on him like this for well...most of the time! He loved it and had a fun time with them. I can't believe that Lilli is 5, yeah I have a 5 year old...crazy!! She is such a joy to have around, ALWAYS singing and dancing. She is also a great big sister and is always there to help with her brother and play with her best friend Izzy. She is a very considerate person. If I am ever lying down on the ground, she will bring me a pillow and sometimes even a blanket. Sometimes she will come up to me and ask me what she can do for me. Now that melts my heart:) She has lots of energy and loves to read. She can't read yet but will sit down with a book and "read" it, making it up as she goes. She loves to be read to and will sit for 2 hours listening to Narnia or Charolettes Web. I love to read to her, it's one of my favorite things too. She has an amazing memory and can recite a book back to you verbatim. We sure do love our Lilli Ana and are so grateful to have her in our family!

Some fun at the Children's Museum

2009-09-18T18:44:00.000-07:00

We went to the beloved Children's Museum. My kids LOVE it there!! My little Talmage loved looking in the mirror at himself and just watching his sisters! I know he can't wait to move and follow his sisters wherever they go.

Isabella looking GORGEOUS! This girl is my soft spoken one....well I guess she has no choice with Lilli as her older sister, the very talkative one:) She loves to dance and sing too but she will not compete for attention. So I try to make Izzy only time, when Lilli has to sit down and just watch so Izzy can have the spot light!

And Lilli dancing as she does wherever she goes. She even tries walking on her toes "like a ballerina" wherever we go. That girl was born to dance...when she was crawling she would totally move to the music on her hands and knees, we called it the crawling dance! Tonight we watched one of those American Girl movies, "Molly." Anyways there was some tap dancing in it and after the movie she was doing the steps over and over again!

I've Won Something!!!!

2009-09-15T20:36:00.001-07:00

So yes it's late and I should be in bed, but I wasn't able to check e-mail, blogs, etc earlier because our internet connection was acting weird. Anyways so I am checking my blog and there is a comment from someone I don't know, but then she says have you checked on the giveaways at the Apron Goddesses?? I had entered a giveaway for a way cute apron by Brassy Apple called the Kitschy Corset Apron.....and I won!! I am really excited if you can't tell:) I haven't won anything for a really LOOOOONG time! So thanks to the ladies over at Apron Goddesses and Brassy Apple!! So tune in for some sexy pictures of me in my new apron:) I am surely going to feel sexy in my new Kitschy Corset Apron:)

A Breath of Fresh Air

2009-09-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was at Walmart grocery shopping....all of my kids wanted to be in the cart. So Izzy was in the seat, Talmage was in the basket part and Lilli squeezed in with him. I was able to miraculously fit the groceries in too. We went to the deli to get some sandwich meat. We were waiting in line behind an older man. He turned around and had a huge smile on his face, he just had a nice grandpa look:) He asked if that was a little boy, and then continued to compliment me on my beautiful family, oh wow it was A Breath of Fresh Air..YES COMPLIMENTS!! NOT "Oh you have your hands full!" Cause really I don't feel like I have soooooo many kids. I do remember growing up we lived in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (how's that for a tongue twister:) and we had a family with 5 kids. Whenever we would go out to dinner, we would get the stares. Anyways I was so ecstatic to get some positive feedback. Thank you "kind grandpa" whoever you are, you made my day!!

My Handsome little Man

2009-09-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that in just 6 short months ago our little Talmage came into our lives. He is such a joy! He is the just a calm relaxed dude. I took these pictures on Sunday after we got home from church...I just couldn't resist he looks so handsome! A friend of mine made the cutest tie (thanks Jami:) mmmm I could just eat him up!

He has adopted a very high pitched squeel....hhmmmm I wonder where he got that from??? He does it when he is feeling ignored, because when we start talking to him he is all smiles and the squeel is gone:)

My three jewels

The girls are such great helpers! They started doing this all on their own. They do a really good job! So now they are always checking his diaper so they can change him. It's a great help to me:) Poopy diapers are off limits for now!

Talmage loves his sisters, they are always there to try and make him smile or laugh. They are very good at telling him stories, they will just sit by him with a book and read him stories. And most of all if I need a few extra minutes getting ready and Talmage is sad, they will go and make him happy. Thanks girls:)

More Birthday Fun

2009-09-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

We had a little celebration with some of Izzy's friends. We went to Deep Run Park and had a BBQ and played on the play ground!

Izzy with her good bud Talen. She wanted "Hello Kitty" cupcakes so these are what she got!

We also made pinatas....the kids had a blast trying to break it. But it didn't break, it fell down so the kids just kicked it around until the candy tumbled out of the hole in the top. I tried, I guess I'll have to try my hand at pinatas again and perfect the art of pinatas:)

Cow Appreciation Day

2009-09-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

We had a blast dressing up for Chick Fil'a's Annual Cow Appreciation Day! I love Lilli's rainbow cow!

The girls had to take a closer look at the big cow!

Yes I dressed up too, I couldn't miss out on the fun!

Izzy's 3rd Birthday

2009-09-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

Isabella had quite the eventful or 'uneventful" birthday. She was sick the whole day. She woke up pretty early then came down stairs to cuddle with us. She slept for a long time and then I heard some moaning. I walked in my room and stunk so bad, I was gagging she had diareah. So into the tub she went. Anyways my poor little Izzy Biz was sick for her birthday. I felt bad we had planned to go to the fountains and play in the water. But we made the best of it and watched a movie of her choice and then painted her fingernails. By evening she seemed to be doing alot better. We had pizza and then opened prensents and of course had a CINDERELLA cake. She was so cute; a week before her birthday I kept asking her what kind of cake she wanted, she changed her mind at least 5 times:) She finally decided on this, and I will be honest I was a little intimidated but a friend let me borrow one of those pyrex measuring bowls...it was a piece of cake:) haha. It turned out great and she loved it!! Happy Birthday my sweet Isabella:)

She finally got a bike, her and Lilli would always take turns on her bike, but now she will ride all on her own.

She rides like a pro! Tricycles are great in that they are easy to teach pedalling, but I think this tricycle is only going to last for this summer. Isabella is growing so fast, I predict she will be taller than her older sister....my younger sister is taller than me...just a prediction :)

"Wow you've got a bunch of kids...

2009-09-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

So today while I was getting the stroller ready to put Talmage in so we could all make the trek into the library a older man with a stern face walks past me and mumbles.."Wow you have a bunch of kids, wow!" And he said it like it was a bad thing. Some people...so I said back to him, "Yes I do and I love it!!" He just kept on walking but I seriously couldn't believe he said that! Oh and I always get "You have your hands full!!" A wise woman once told me (namely Cindy Dial, a wonderful mother of 5) she used to say "Better full than empty!" I couldn't agree more so that is my response now. Sure being a mother is hard sometimes, but overall the growing and all of the little moments and the things they say, it is truly priceless. I love being a mother to my girls, they make it so fun. Heck it's like you never have to grow up, you get to make big deals out of little things, like the moon or a fire fly. Be silly most of the time. Ha if you could see me dance and sing with them:) Their smiles and their laughter are what make my day! I can't get enough of my handsome little man and all of his smiles and squeels of delight! As I was rocking Talmage to sleep tonight I thought about how lucky I am to be a mother to these precious little spirits!! I thank my Heavenly Father for trusting me to "try" the best I can to raise these cuty pies.

Indy 300

2009-08-07T14:08:00.001-07:00

How is this for a 7 year anniversary date?? Josh and I have always said we wanted to go to a Nascar/Indy race before we leave Virginia. We just thought it would be fun to experience. Josh's buddy from Dental School called us up and said they had 2 extra free tickets. We jumped at the chance.

They had a sky diver jump into the race way, very cool! I guess this guy has set the world record for most jumps in an hour, I can't remember exactly how many times, but some crazy number like 600...CRAZY!!!

Thanks to Debra and Bryson for the awesome time! It was so loud you couldn't even hear the person sitting next to you, you had to yell. We wore ear plugs, but it was still soooo loud. You could feel the engines, it was sooo cool!! We loved it!

The race way and the gourgeous sunset, you never see sunsets in Virginia, there are too many trees you can't really "see" anything. So this was a real treat to behold:)

As you can see here the cars are zipping by, something like 200 miles an hour. Josh and I walked down near the race way and I could feel little pieces of something hitting me. I soon realized that it was pieces of tire. The cars were going so fast their tires were falling apart...I guess that's why they have pit stops right:)

Newsies Photo Shot

2009-08-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

My sister Amber took these while I was in Canada...sooooo adorable! I am very lucky to have such a talented sister!

Thanks Amber!!

Quote from Lilli

2009-07-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

The other night Lilli was lying in bed with me, Josh was out of town and she whispers in my ear..."Mom you are my cookie." I asked her why I was her cookie...she continued to say "because you are so sweet."

Melted my heart

Last Hurah before Russia

2009-07-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Utah...yes I went again a month after I had been there, but this time with Josh! Wow it was so much better with my babe by my side:) Anyways we had a wonderful time....but totally forgot the camera! We went to the canyon 2 times and had a picnic and good talks. I love the canyon and miss it so much, I love that you can drive 10 minutes and be in the mountains, we definately have to be close to the mountains wherever we end up:) We went swimming, and to the Oqiurh Mountain Temple open house. It was so awesome, and I loved that the girls could see inside the temple. Whenever we go to the temple they always ask when they can go to the temple, so I was way happy that they were able to experience it. They thought it was "so pretty."

The girl's favorite part was playing with their cousins. They all have so much fun together and it is so fun to watch them laugh, run and play together. The night we went swimming Josh and I had a date, so we left them with Grandma and Grandpa. They didn't get a bath that night and the next morning we went hiking up to the "Y." Then we decided that we wouldn't give them a bath because the cousins were coming over and they were all going to be playing outside in the sandbox, so might as well wait until the evening. Well Izzy fell asleep in Josh's arms, so she didn't get a bath. That night she woke up at 4:30 in the morning to go to the bathroom, I grabbed her hand and well can I say disgusting dirty sticky mess. Anyways at breakfast she was a sight to behold, let's just say acombination of chlorine, sweat, sand, and ice cream..she had a dirt mustache...sweet:) I thought now this is what being a kid is all about! She got in the tub, and then all preetied up and then back in the sand box to get dirty once again:) I have to say that is the dirtiest she has ever been, it took everything in me to not get after her for getting dirty....for isn't that what being a kid is all about?

We said our last goodbyes before Mom and Dad Nehring leave for Russia on their mission. They will be doing humanitarian work. They are nervous but excited! I think they are going to do an awesome job! They have even been learning the language, which is one of the hardest languages to learn! Dad even bore his testimony in Russian, very impressive! Wow do we love being with family....we love you all and miss you! Thanks for all the fun times!

Lake Moomaw Cont'd

2009-07-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

Josh coming in for the final stretch! He did an amazing job and I am so proud of him!
The whole clan, there were 7 other dental stundents that participated along with a few spouses. I totally want to do it next year! It was a fun event to watch and such a beautiful place to be!

My babe at the Triathalon Lake MooMaw 2009! Did I mention how proud I am of him?:) Go Daddy!

I have to say this is my favorite picture! Izzy not caring at all that she only has her panties on in public. She actually regularly goes withou a shirt at home, she is always saying she is too hot. I think it all started when her and Lilli were playing the Jungle Book and Izzy was "Mogley" need I say more? We did bring their bathing suit but didn't want to walk back to the car to get it, so they stripped down to their panties and took a dip. Izzy helping her Daddy with his number badge.

Oh to be a kid again!

Triathalon at Lake MooMaw

2009-07-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

Josh and a few of his friends at Dental school decided to do a triathalon, not to be confused with an iron man:) (The distances were shorter) So we drove about 5 hours and camped over night. I made "Team Nehring" and "Go Daddy" shirts, and we were ready to cheer him on!

Izzy patiently waiting at the biking finish line! We were right there and we missed him crossing the finish line. Lilli wasn't feeling well the whole time but she didn't complain at all. She did throw up in the grass while we were waiting, but then a runner came right in front of us (can I say disgusting?!) and puked all over the place so Lilli didn't feel so bad.

Josh finishing the swim! He did an amazing job with the swim, this was his hardest part and he did awesome! Wow is he ever handsome!

Post-race, getting ready for the swim! (Sorry these picutres are all out of order) His official number that they wrote on him with a sharpie. We were wondering how that would look at church since Sunday was the next day. Thankfully it came off with a little scrubbing:)

The Zoo and Fishes

2009-07-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

We went up to Calgary to visit my sister Amber. They needed some fish for their pond so we went to the pet store and picked some out. The girls thought it was pretty neat. They were always checking the pond to make sure they were still alive.

I thought this was an awesome picture! The zoo was a lot of fun! Thanks to Amber and Brad for the fun times!

The Leavitt "Ranch"

2009-07-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

Izzy and Lilli absolutley loved their Auntie Amber's dog Skeeter. Thanks goodness she is so good with kids. She was very patient with all of their loves:)

One of my favorite past times. After my sister Amber and I went for a run we were needing some cooling off. Lilli and Izzy were in their swim suits...so what better than a little sprinkler under the tramp. Izzy didn't last long, but Lilli had a blast, this was her first experience with this activity.

Of course the girls got to try their hand at horse back riding! They did an awesome job and loved every second of it.

The girls waiting for Grandpa to saddle up the horses! Yee Haw!!

30 BIG Ones!!

2009-07-23T20:28:00.000-07:00

When we got home from our hike, Mom and Dad had streamers, balloons, a banner, pizza, salad and my favorite an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen! Decorated with Canadian flags, nice touch:) My Dad picked out the cake Winnie the Pooh, thinking of my girls how sweet:)

The tulips are from my wonderful and amazing husband. My favorite flower! I had an awesome day! And by the way I don't know why people dread turning 30? I feel great at 30, I still feel like I'm 20. I guess that's what counts is how you feel right?Anyways I had an absolutely wonderful 30th birthday! Thanks to every one for making it so great!!

Waterton National Park

2009-07-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

I've always thought this waterfall is so pretty. It has always been a tradition to take a picture in front of the falls, so here it is:)

We came across these hats at one of the stores and made us think of Grandma and Grandpa Nehring. They are going on a mission to Russia and are going to regularly be wearing hats such as these.

Another tradition is getting some ice cream at the little ice cream shop....mmmm so good!

Izzy and Lilli enjoying every minute! It was an absolutely wonderful day spent with my two beautiful princesses, my handsome little prince and my bro. The only thing that could have made it better was to have my babe by my side. (Darn those Dental Boards exams:)

Bear's Hump

2009-07-23T19:58:00.000-07:00

For my 30th Birthday I was in Canada and I thought what would I like to spend my doing? There was Mini golf, the mall, a movie, out to eat, you know all the regulars:) Then when I was on my morning run I thought a hike up Bears Hump would be absolutely wonderful! So my brother Mike and I headed up to Waterton National Park for the day. It is so beautiful there, and we had an amazing time! Izzy took to Mike and became his buddy, he carried her basically the whole way:) Thanks Uncle Mike! Here is Izzy feeding the chipmunks. I told her to bite off a piece of her banana and give it to the chipmunks. So she proceeds to do so, she bit off a piece and spit it out on the rocks:) The chipmunks were very grateful, who knew they like "regurgitated" food.

Now isn't that an amazing view? Wow the climb was well worth it!! It is amazing how windy it is there I felt like I was going to be swept off the mountain side. As I stood looking out over this beautiful view I thought back on my 30 years of life! How blesssed I have been to have the gospel, amazing parents who I thank from the bottom of my heart for everything they have done for me. Being a parent makes you realize how much my parents have done, an absolutely wonderful husband who makes me laugh every day, family, my 3 little jewels who make me smile every day my health, my talents and all of the wonderful friends who have touched my life for good.

Lilli was an amazing hiker, she did it all by herself and it was a pretty steep climb!

Uncle Mike got his work out and then some. The girls and Mike found the perfect walking stick but then when Izzy wanted Mike to carry her he ditched it. The girls were pretty sad about it but we said it would be there when we came down. Well needless to say we saw a man at the top who also thought it was the perfect walking stick. We were able to find some more walking stick, but just not as good as the first.

Izzy and her buddy Mike. It was really cute to watch Izzy. I could tell that she wanted to "hang out" with her Uncle Mike but was kind of nervous, they warmed up quickly and she wanted to hold his hand at all times or be held by Mike. It was really cute:0

2009-07-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

My sister Shan and I with are kiddos. We are very excited to have two little guys that are so close is age. They are exactly 4 months apart and we are excited to watch them grow together and become good buddies. And aren't they both lucky to have two sisters/cousins to take care of them:)

My Dad and his two handsome grandsons. Man aren't they just the cutest. They couldn't be so different. One as pale as pale with gorgeous blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair, and one with olive skin, brown eyes and dark brown hair.

Two handsome little men with my Mom, she is of course loving every minute of time with grandchildren!

Matching outfits...too too cute!

Little Fishies

2009-07-23T19:35:00.000-07:00

While we were in Utah we went to the new Lehi pool. I had forgotten my swimming suit so I stayed on the side lines with Talmage. The girls did really well with their life jackets and loved every minute of it.

Lilli with her cousin Cole. They stuck together and had a blast!

Izzy loves the goggles, she insisted she have them on even if she didn't ever go underwater:)

At first Izzy and Bridger weren't to sure about going in the water it took them about 15 minutes to decide they were going to enter the water. It probably had to do with the gigantic bucket that tipped over a gazzillion gallons of water every 10 or so minutes:)

Bridger all tuckered out from swimming...actually this was before swimming, just catching up on some zzz's so he will have lots of energy for swimming:)

Fun with Cousins

2009-07-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

Lil's and her brother snoozin together. I thought this was so precious.

Talmage and his cousin Jozie, they are about 2 months apart. She was born one month early so they are about the same size. Such cuties!

Izzy and her cousin Katie, they are only about a week apart. Obviously they don't like to just smile for pictures.

Talmage with his cousin Halle.

Lilli is always wanting to help and is such an amazing helper, I am one lucky momma:) Anyways she is always asking when Talmage is going to be able to eat so that she can feed him. Well when we went to my sisters she was very excited to be able to help with her cousin James. She did a wonderful job!

Cheers to Green Smoothies

2009-07-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

I have started making green smoothies and the girls love them. A friend introduced me to them and at first I was a little skeptical...spinach and kale in a smoothie?? But I decided to try them and they are a hit! Not to mention we are getting all of our veggies plus some:)

It's a Miracle they are all Sleeping...

2009-03-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

Here's our little man at 2 weeks old.He had his 2 1/2 week check up and he is now 8lbs 9oz. He is sure growing fast, alot faster than my girls. My sister Amber has been here this last week and took some amazing pics of the family. A BIG thank you to her for all of her help this past week. She doesn't have any kids yet so she was quite amazed at how exhausting motherhood can be. The girls had an absolute blast with her, playing Star Wars, and any other pretend play they could think of. In Lilli's words "Amber did an EXCELLENT job!!" We had a girls night out and went and got pedicures and manicures, and went out to eat. Thanks sooooo much Amber! It was awesome having your help and having some good sister bonding time:)

Well now that my Mom and Dad and Sister are gone I'm all on my own....and so far it's gone well! It's a miracle all three are sleeping right now! I was up with Izzy putting her down for a nap and I hear Talmage crying...he was sleeping. So I rush downstairs and find Lilli in my bed with him..he was in the bassinet. Lilli wants to help out so badly, she said she was reading books and heard him crying so she was in my bed saying "it's ok buddy, and singing to him. " I did get a little worried about the fact that she had carried him up to my bed. He is ok but Lilli and I had a talk about that, Lilli absolutely loves her brother and just wants to hold him and help every moment she gets! Isabella loves to give him kisses and help also. It's hard to try and set boundaries and let them love him too. I feel like I am always telling them be gentle or please let him sleep. They are such precious girls and I am so thankful for all of their help and for this new adventure in my life, that of 3 children. So far it is a better transition than 1 to 2 for me.

Thanks a MILLION!!

2009-03-17T18:43:00.000-07:00

A big thank you to Mom and Dad!! It was soooo nice to have them here this past week! Wow I had forgotten how rough the first few weeks are. Lilli and Izzy had an absolute blast while they were here! They went to Kangaroo Jacks, their all time favorite place, read stories until the wee hours of the night, wrestled, and played hide and seek. Mom was such an amazing help with cleaning the house, meals and just being an awesome Mom and Grandma! Dad and Josh went van shopping, did yard work and of course just being an awesome Dad and Grandpa! I am seriously so, so thankful for my wonderful parents and their help this past week. We sure do love having family visit! The girls had a melt down after they left and Josh and I felt a little depressed. Hopefully someday we will live closer! We love you Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa!!! THANKS A MILLION!!!

ANNOUNCING...TALMAGE JESS NEHRING

2009-03-09T17:47:00.000-07:00

Our little man is here!!! Yeah!!! He arrived on Saturday March 7, 2009 at 2:56p.m (2 days early just like my girls) He weighed in at 7lbs 5oz and 20 1/2" long. Saturday morning at 5a.m I woke up because my water had broken. Our wonderful friend Samantha Moore came over to be with the girls and we headed to the hospital. My contractions were not bad at all and when they checked me I was only at 2cm. So Josh and I slept for a bit, as much as you can in a hospital. Then I started to get bored so we played a good game of Phase 10. After that things started to get more intense. It was kinda weird to be in the hospital for so long before the baby is born. My other births I was only there before the births for a couple hours. So this one I was really getting annsey. He took his time, but once it started getting intense it went pretty fast. Then I was ready and there he was our perfect little miracle!! He looked like a little old man, so cute! My parents arrived in Richmond an hour and a half after he was born, can we say perfect timing! I am so grateful they are here and for all their help! Thanks a Million!! :) We are so excited to have him here and are so grateful for this wonderful blessing in our lives!!

Lilli was so cute with him, she loves to hold him and couldn't stop smiling. It really is a precious thing to watch my older children adore their new born brother!

Whenever Isabella holds him she says "Wake up, wake up!" and "Oh your so cute" She loves her little brother!

The "girls" and their new baby brother. Izzy was so cute when she first came to visit me in the hospital. She comes into the room eyes wide open. "Mommy why are you in that bed?" "Why are you wearing those pajamas." She was very confused as to why I was in this strange place.

Our handsome little man on his way home! We love you Talmage, welcome to this beautiful world!

Valentines Day

2009-03-03T18:00:00.000-08:00

For Valentines Day I planned a special "feast" as Lilli would call a fancy dinner. I dropped off a invite to the house, rang the doorbell and ran. The girls couldn't quite figure out who had left the invitation. The invitation invited them to a special Valentine feast, but first they had to go on a "Quest" with their prince charming. They also had to wear their fanciest Valentine outfit. I went around the neighbourhood and hid the clues for their scavenger hunt. Josh and the girls went on the hunt while I decorated the kitchen and made heart pizza. They had a blast scampering all over the neighbourhood to find their clues. They finally made it back to the house where the "Queen of Hearts" (moi) awaited them. They thought it was so wonderful! It was so fun to see their faces as they came into the kitchen where there was a candle lit dinner waiting for them with balloons and streamers, it was such a fun night!

Oh so romantic!

Lilli's guess on who brought the invitation was Grandma and Grandpa...:)

What good finders they were! It was dark so it was even more fun to use a flashlight! They were very excited about that!

First Dental Visit with Dr.Nehring

2009-03-03T17:45:00.000-08:00

The girls were excited about their dental visit with Daddy. When we arrived Josh had to take care of some buisiness so we headed up to Peds without him. They called our names and we went in. When we got to our "post" and were invited to sit down in the chairs, the girls did not want to sit down. Let's just say that they clung to me and wouldn't let me go. They were expecting their Daddy and here was this strange lady in front of them. They wouldn't let go so we went over their health history first. Finally Josh shows up and the girls are totally relieved, I was too:) They ran to their Daddy and gave him a big hug. They were totally fine after Daddy arrived. Lilli did a really good job! She obviously only trusts her Daddy in that kind of situation, thank goodness he's going to be their "Dentist for life!"

Izzy was fine with Daddy working on her as well....well for the top portion of her mouth. Then she got aggitated. Josh gave her the option of him continuing or having the other Doctor. She opted for the other doctor. Funny girl:)

I got a kick out of the glasses! So snazzy! The lights are really bright for the kids so they provide them with these too cool sunglasses! The girls loved it! This was Josh's first time doing this kind of thing on his own! He did a wonderful job!

Restfulness as a Mom???

2009-02-22T15:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I think I overdid it because by the end of the day I couldn't move, I was so sore. I went on quite a long walk in the morning and then painted and organized Talmage's room. I was pretty tired by the middle of the day but couldn't stop because HELLO this baby is going to be here any time now. So my wonderful husband was there always trying to help. By dinner time I was thinking eggs sounded good, nice and easy. So I came down stairs with Izzy and walked into the kitchen and there was Josh and Lilli making dinner. Wow that was a major treat. So I decided I would sit down and relax. So there I am sitting on the couch with Izzy snuggled close. Just thinking how blest I am to have such a wonderful and amazing husband wonderful girls, and how nice it was just to sit and relax while my hunny made dinner. I was just soaking it all......until Izzy looks up and me and says "I feel wetness" (she is in panties now, it's been 2 days) My "dream" state is abruptly interupted as I look down on the couch to see....yes a whole lotta "wetness," yes pee. Needless to say I wasn't too happy to be yanked out of restfulness! As mom's we all know it only comes once in awhile:) Izzy knew I wasn't to happy and the look on her face was "I'm sorry and I feel terrible." It was too cute and before she could cry I told her that her sister Lilli had done that once when she was potty training, she smiled at that and into the tub she went. I did make it clear that peeing on the couch, is really yucky and that she will never do it again..right? I am thankful for the few moments of restfulness I was able to have. The work of a mother never ends does it. It's dang hard at times but the wonderful things about it far out weigh the hard times. Josh made a delicious dinner of apricot chicken, one of our new favorites, Rhodes rolls fresh out of the oven and potatoes. YUM it was so delicious! Thanks Babe!:) I am so grateful for my two beautiful princess's and a soon to be little boy. Wow the time is coming fast. How do I feel about #3...well I'm excited a little apprehensive. This is all new territory for me...a boy but we are all excited! Who knows when he will come he could really come anytime now. I hope I last until at least the first part of March; I have a shower to attend, a room to finish painting and a closet to organize:) Wish me luck!:)

Dr. Nehring's Jr.

2009-02-17T13:56:00.000-08:00

The girls hadn't ever been to the dentist so we decided they probably should go, especially with our future dentist:) Josh set up a special appointment for the girls at the Dental school. He brought home his tools so the girls would know what to expect. And as you can see they got to try out daddy's special tools! They loved it and were very good little dentists princess dresses and all:)

Now say "Aaaaahhh!"

"Looks good Mom!"

Snowmen in Virginia...could it be?

2009-02-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

It actually snowed in Virginia, I could hardley believe it! That morning I took a morning walk and it was beautiful!! Snow on the grass and cars. I love the snow, I think if it is going to be cold there needs to be snow, otherwise the it's just cold for no good reason. When I got back from my walk the girls were ecstatic! I was upstairs putting a load of laundry in and when I came down Lilli was just coming in the back door. No shoes just her stocking feet. I think she was so excited she couldn't even think about putting shoes on. She tells me daily that she wished it would snow. I feel her pain! Some of my favorite memories are in the snow. And growing up in Canada we did get lots and lots of it. Lots of cold too, my dad even made a skating rink in our back yard! Wonderful memories. Anyways we got outside and made our very own snowman! Lilli loved it and could have played for hours. Izzy on the other hand doesn't like to wear puffy coats mittens or hats. So she was pretty cold, by the end. It was a blast and by 11:00a.m all the snow on the grass had melted. I guess that's what you get in Virginia a snowman on a green lawn.

Lilli was our pro snowball roller! You can see Izzy in this picture taking her mittens off:) The snow was pretty wet so the balls were HEAVY! I prayed that I wouldn't go into labor lifting them. Baby's still in my belly so no worries!:)

A few weeks earlier it snowed a littel bit. So we made a mini snowman. Really there was only snow on our front porch and didn't think we could get a snowman out of it, but Lilli saw differently. While I made lunch she worked on it and then after lunch we finished it off, I think it turned out pretty dang cute!

My little ballerina on pointe

2009-02-17T13:27:00.000-08:00

My little ballerina has her own pair of ballet shoes, but decided that she wanted to try my point shoes. Yes I did dance at one time, it seems like so long ago now. I havn't danced since I had Lilli and I really do miss it! I want to teach some day...well Lilli actually gave me the chance:) She asked me to teach her! It was alot of fun! I even attempted the pointe shoes, but being pregnant and all I couldn't move very far, I did get up on my toes though:) Lilli loves to dance and wore the slippers around all day. By the end of the day she had blisters. She said "that's ok." Anyways I love watching her in my much too big for her shoes wobbling all over the house on "pointe":)

New Years Day

2009-01-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

New Years Day was a very nice relaxing day! We decided we would make it a tradition to get chinese food. So we ordered from Sticky to Go Go, Yummy! We picked it up and drove to Stoney Point to see the Magical Snow Show. Yes here in Richmond we don't get snow, so we have shows that try to bring snow to the holidays. The girls were asleep when we arrived so Josh and I had a little "date" in the car. We ate our dinner in peace and then woke the girls up when we finished. It was fun, a little different but a fun memory!

The girls were excited to see the snow! Especially Lilli, she regularly asks me why we don't have snow and wishes it would snow. I think the flakes were made of bubbles, at least that's what it looked like when they landed on me. Afterwards I also had a soapy taste in my mouth. Anyways we'll take it bubbles and all:)

Happy New Year 2009!!

New Years Eve

2009-01-09T14:44:00.000-08:00

We went to Ashlee and Christians house for New Years Eve. Lots of people and kids and of course yummy food. We had a wonderful time playing games and bringing in the New Year with our wonderful friends. Thanks for the fun time!

The kids all cuddled on the air mattress to watch movies while the adults played games. It worked out really well and the all had a fun time!

I think the most fun part of the new year for the girls was wrestling on the air mattress. Happy New Year 2009!

Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens

2009-01-09T14:27:00.000-08:00

Our neighbors took us to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens to tour the lights. One of my favorite things there were these little fairy villages. They were so inctricately made, it was amazing! The girls loved the lights, villages, train villages, doll houses, all of it!

The theme was spiders, so they had these huge spiders all lit up.

They had a huge bon fire and make your own smores. The girls loved this! They got to roast their own marshmellows, they thought this was pretty neat.

Thank you to Larry and Linda for an amazing time at the Gardens! We had a blast!

Christmas Morning

2009-01-09T14:04:00.000-08:00

I made matching nightgowns for the girls, they turned out really cute and fit the girls perfectly! Here they are Christmas morning. It was so cute when Lilli came down she looked over the couch and shouted "Santa came he really did come!! There are tons of presents under the tree, Yeah!!

Some very happy faces. The girls opened their presents pretty fast so Josh and I just waited until they were finished to open ours. It was fun to see how excited they were!

Izzy was so cute when she opened this present, she shouted "A baby doll.." she was very excited about this one:)

These are two of my favorite pictures of Izzy. She just had to be either wearing or holding EVERYTHING!

It was a wonderful Christmas. We missed our extended family but it was kinda nice to have our own little Christmas... it was a lot more relaxing! On Christmas Eve we went over to our neighbors and they spoiled the girls with presents, they are the girls surragote grandparents. We then went to see the Tacky Christmas light tour, the girls were really tired so they fell asleep in the car after the first few houses, but it was fun. Christmas day we had a delicious breakfast of homemade cinnamon buns (they didn't really rise very well but so delicious). This is going to be our breakfast tradition so I guess I have some time to perfect it. We had the other set of surrogate grandparents over Sharon and Ned. They also spoiled the girls. We are so grateful for our families and friends and mostly for our Savior Jesus Christ and all he has done for each and everyone of us.

Gingerbread House Tradition

2009-01-02T12:17:00.000-08:00

Our finished creation! The girls had a blast creating the gingerbread house. It was our first time doing it with the girls. My family always made gingerbread houses every Christmas, a tradition we plan on continuing!

Lilli and I finished the house and did a pretty good job if I say so myself:)

Daddy and the girls put the house together and made the roof with frosted wheats. Isabella's favorite thing to do was eat the candy. I don't think she's ever seen such a spread of candy within her reach. We finally had to take her up and put her to bed before she made herself sick.

Christmas Sunday

2009-01-02T12:09:00.000-08:00

Here is my beautiful family on the Sunday before Christmas. We got the girls new Christmas dresses and had them all wrapped up for them to open that morning.

Lilli loves her dress and wants to wear it everyday. Izzy and Lilli looked so beautiful!

Knee Surgery

2009-01-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

Josh had knee surgery the day after his last class for the semester. He hurt his knee playing basketball and tore his ACL. The doctor told him that some people never get it fixed but that if he wanted to be active he probably should get it fixed. So here are the battle wounds. Just before surgery he was asking a ton of questions right up to the time they put the mask on. They had to tell him to just breath, a polite way to say shut up so we can do your surgery. When the nurse came to get me to go see Josh in recovery she said, "He sure talks ALOT doesn't he. He was on some pretty strong drugs for the first week, so he said a lot of funny loopy things. The girls were such good helpers! It was a little hard for the first week as Josh didn't get out of bed. I am so thankful to some good friends from the ward who brought in dinner for 5 days. It's amazing how much relief a simple dinner brought, it was so nice not to have to worry about dinner at the end of the day! We had one scary incidence when Josh got up out of bed, he hadn't been up out of bed for awhile and he got up to fast. All of the sudden I hear him calling for me. He said he was going to pass out. He was able to lean against the wall with his crutches but he started shaking and his eyes were going all weird. I called to Lilli and told her to go across the street to get our neighbors for help. She was the hero for the day. She ran over as quick as she could and even looked both ways before she crossed the street. Meanwhile Josh started to shake and breath really irregularly, while I am pleading him not to pass out. There was no way that I could catch him. Thank goodness for the wall and his crutches he stayed upright. Our neighbors arrived and there was one on each side and I picked up his leg as he was still out of it and was putting pressure on it. Anyways we got him to the bed no harm done. That was pretty scary for me but after that little episode he has done better everyday. He has had such a good attitude the whole time and never complained. He is doing physical therapy now and has made huge strides. I am really proud of him and thankful for this experience. Serving Josh really brought us closer together and helped me be less selfish.

Happy Birthday Josh

2009-01-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

Josh turned 31, WOW! I wanted to make him a special dinner but all he felt like was eggs. So we ended up having pumpkin pancakes and eggs. I turned out to be a delicious dinner. He had a scrumptious ice cream cake especially from Ben and Jerry's.

We got Josh a "Get Strong, Get Ripped Quick" machine. You just mount it in a doorway and you can do pull ups. Or use it on the ground for push ups, sit ups, etc. Here the girls are showing their muscles off. Every time Josh uses it the girls have to have a turn. Lilli really enjoys is, one time after using it she said to me, "I wish it was called Get strong, Get ripped SLOW. She would love to do it for a LONG time each time.

Leaves, Turkeys and Being Thankful

2008-12-31T13:54:00.000-08:00

Josh grew a moustache for a school fundraiser, here it is the infamous moustache. Lilli and Daddy sporting milk moustaches. Josh had the moustache for a month, can't say that I was in the least bit thankful for it. I hate facial hair, but let him do it for a good purpose...never again!

We made a countdown to Thanksgiving and put a feather on for each day. Everyday each of us wrote something that we were thankful for. It was really fun to see what the girls were thankful for.

Every year we get to rake a ton of leaves, I actually like raking leaves...the girls love it. We throw them in the pile of leaves and watch them dissapear, and then put all of the leaves on a tarp and they get to ride on the leaves to the back yard where we dump the leaves in the forest behind our house! I love working out in the yard and watching the girls have so much fun in the outdoors. These are some of my favorite times!!

"Can we pleeeeease color with markers"

2008-12-31T13:46:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when I let them use markers and leave the room for a couple minutes. Lilli had put on pink lipstick and black on her eyes. Izzy decided to go for the gothic look. I had to smile and take a picture, what cuties:) Let's just say that the markers were put away for a looooong time!

Trip to Utah

2008-12-31T13:32:00.000-08:00

The girls love dogs, so Grandma and Grandpa's dog Lucky was never in lack of attention. The girls even insisted that we share breakfast with him.

Grandma and Grandpa made a yummy pancake breakfast in their sheep camp one morning. The girls absolutely loved it, it was a lot of fun! Thanks for the fun time and wonderful memories!

Grandpa and Grandma had a pumpkin patch and the cousins got to pick to their hearts content. Lilli and Izzy love, love being with their cousins. It is my favorite thing to watch them playing and having so much fun with their cousins. Lilli tells me weekly that she wishes we lived closer to her cousins, "not to drive there, I want to walk there..."

Izzy and Bridger were good at overseeing the picking:) Lilli found the perfect pumpkin, just my size as she would say.

Happy Halloween

2008-12-31T13:15:00.000-08:00

Lilli and Izzy went trick or treating with their friends Kenny and Talen. They had such a fun time! Last year Lilli was tired after 5 houses, but this year I could hardly keep up with her. She wanted to run to and from every house. Izzy liked to take her time, but she kept going the whole time.

Making gingerbread haunted houses for playgroup. Rachel Carlson in the ward made a whoppin 25 all from scratch. Yes she's amazing!

This year Lilli wanted to create her own design for her pumpkin. So she drew it on a piece of paper and then I transferred it to the pumpkin. It's a "Halloween Puppy."

Izzy wanted a scary face for her pumpkin, so this is what her and Daddy came up with!

We dressed up in the "Aladdin" theme. Lilli of course was the princess Jasmine and Izzy was Rajah the tiger, Josh dressed up as Jafar and I was Aladdin. We won best overall costume at our ward Halloween party!

Reflections of Christ

2008-11-20T17:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday in Institute we watched a very touching slideshow called Reflections of Christ. Mark is the photographer and wanted to take pictures of real people reflecting Christ's life. the music they put to it added so much and I was very touched, what a perfect thing start the Christmas season, yes I know we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet, but Christmas is my favorite time of year! I love the feeling that is ever more present in the world, of giving and kindness. I would call it Christ-like, and wish it would stay ever so prevalent as it is at Christmas time. Anyways I loved it. I am so grateful for the people that use their talents to help us visualize Christ's life. This is actually a traveling exhibit and is now at the Washington D.C temple! Check it out at

reflectionsofchrist.com, and then click on Blog. Hope you enjoy!!:)

Pocahontas or John Smith?

2008-11-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

Sorry about that last post...I hit a wrong key obviously and it erased everything that I had written, and then the girls were needing my immediate attention, so here it is:) We went to our 22 week appointment with the whole family. We had told the girls we were going to see the baby in my tummy and find out what it is. Isabella started saying that we were going to have a Pocahontas baby and Lilli said we were going to have a John Smith baby. I had been thinking it was a boy, so in the waiting room I was kind of nervous. Well they called us into the ultra sound room and there we got to see the miracle of life, one of my most favorite things. Lilli loved it and kept saying "This is so cool!!" and kissing my hand:):) Isabella wasn't too much into it but when Josh would point out a foot or hand she paid attention. We told the ultra sound lady what the girls had been saying all week and she then continued to say..."Well it definitely is a John Smith baby!" I started tearing up, it was kind of like WOW! We are very excited this is just going to be a whole new ball game. I have 3 sisters and 1 brother who is 10 years younger than I am, so I remember dressing him up and doing his hair:) I am sure I will be fine, just keep them covered right:)We went and celebrated at Chipotle and Bruesters!!! Anyways we are very excited about our little "John Smith!"

IT'S A...

2008-11-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

Mommy, Mommy Quite Contrary...

2008-10-30T16:54:00.000-07:00

Mommy, Mommy, Quite Contrary How Does Your Garden Grow?

With Lilli, Izzy And Baby #3 All In A Row!!

This is how Lilli told family we were expecting! I had my first check up at 3 months (in September) and we weren't going to tell the kids, but I had an ultra sound and I was just to excited to not tell Lilli. We had been mentioning the baby here and there in our prayers for awhile but Lilli never believed us, but then when I went to the doctor she said "..so the doctor really said you were pregant?" I showed her the pictures and first asked her what she thought it was, her guess was a lion:) I asked Izzy also and her guess was a car. Pretty good for first timers:) So I asked Lilli to keep it a secret and she did really well for about 3 weeks and then when we were at the park with some friends she all of the sudden burst out..."Mommy's Pregnant!!" Everyone's mouths dropped including mine. I probably could have waited a little longer, but I wanted Lilli to do the telling and she did it all on her own time schedule, which is just fine with me.

Lilli's 4th Birthday

2008-10-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

Lilli wanted to have a Fancy Nancy Birthday Party. It is a series of books that remind me so much of Lilli. We have checked them out at the Library a few times and Lilli thinks they are great! It's about a little girl who loves to be fancy, but her family is just so plain, so she gives them some lessons and then they go out to eat all fancied up. Well that is exactly what we did for her birthday! She invited her "fancy friend" Sammy. They had a blast getting all fancied up and then actually going out all dressed up, that was a treat! Yes we Mom and Dad got fancied up for the occasion.
Wow look at that concentration, very serious action going on here.
At the restaurant Lilli let the waitress know it was a Fancy Nancy party, so the she was awesome and really played it up with the girls. Their faces were priceless!! She had a fun time and even got a couple Fancy Nancy books of her own.
Daddy how handsome you are:):)
Happy Birthday Lilli, we sure love you and are amazed at how big you have gotten. You are such a great big sister and always so happy and energetic!! Thank you for your smiles and laughter they bring so much joy into our family! We love you sooo much!!

Puerto Vallarta

2008-10-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

This last July my parents took us all to Mexico to stay at one of their time shares! It was absolutely wonderful!! It was beautiful and very relaxing!! A BIG Thank you to Mom and Dad for making this wonderful trip happen and for all of the wonderful memories!
I know it has been way to long since I posted, but I am going to do a little update. Josh and I took a wonderful trip to Mexico with my family...kidless!! It was our first time leaving the kids for a week, but they did just fine. We had an absolute blast with my family! We rode the dune buggies. As you can see every inch of us was covered with wet, wet mud! We went up in the mountains and jumped in some waterfalls and of course Josh had to hit every mud puddle he saw, some were even warm, yuck!! One of the warm puddles we both were gagging and dousing ourselves with our water bottles. But so much fun none the less.
We also went snorkeling, so much fun! We went on a 12 person boat with surviver man. He took us hiking in the jungle, with bare feet up to some beautiful waterfalls. He also took us to some private beaches, broke some coconuts open for us and took us to some awesome spots to snorkel.

All in all it was a wonderful trip! We had tons of fun, and also built relationships. It was really neat to get the whole family together like that, because it probably won't happen for awhile. What a wonderful blessing!!!