I'm getting so much smarter with age...I'm remembering things that never happened!!!

Like 1 year of Willie's life...that never happened. For some reason I was thinking that he was 3.. Nope. He's only two. Either it's been a great two years and time has flown by - which is most likely the case - or I'm wishing his life away - which is sometimes the case. Sadly, I would have never figured it out if it weren't for my dear children.

My whole time-line in my life revolves around before and after Will's deployment. When did I get Willie...two months after Will deployed. When did we go to Disneyland...3 months after Will came home...you get the idea.

Usually our lives are gauged on when a child was born, you know like new parents know exactly how many months, weeks and days their baby is. I'm so way past that now. I forget sometimes how old I am. I have to do the...let's see, I was born in '71, sooooo...thing.

So other than telling time by Will's deployment...first deployment...we also have been telling time by how long we have lived in our wonderful house. THAT has been 3 years. For some reason I have remembered the date we moved in. January 17, 2007. I know that for sure because it was one year before Will left for Afghanistan - see...the whole deployment time-line thing again.

We have loved every day that we have been here in this special home. So in honor of the three years we've spent here, I thought I'd post a few pictures of some of the things I remember about the last three years. Now wait, has it really been three years? Yes, I'm sure it has only been three years. It really does just seem like yesterday!

This is the back of our house before the addition went on. My Grandma Jane had a covered porch that held birthday parties, bridal showers, baby showers, holiday celebrations, and it was even a place that I ran away from home to once. This picture is of course without the porch and the shrubbery that was surrounding it.

Oh, the mud and the mess. My house was always dirty at this stage in the process. I remember this as being a time of great frustration and wonder. I wondered if it would ever get completed - nothing against Will, I just couldn't imagine the project ever ending. And of course it snowed early that year.

progress.

more progress.

Then my grandma Jane died. She saw the addition to about the point of the picture above. She was such a good sport to watch my dad and Will and Steven and Ryan tear down her house. I wish she would have been able to enjoy the house all built back up again. There are many things I did in remembrance of my grandma. The big window in the back was especially to watch the birds in the backyard. Something she loved to sit at her kitchen table and do. We're blessed to feel of her love still. I know she approves. She whispered to me many times while Will was deployed when I didn't think I could handle anything more, "You'll be just fine, Julie." That was a blessing.

And the end. I know it looks like were in downtown Miami with the colors. If it weren't for the snow at the bottom of the screen then I know that's what you'd think. But I had to work with what was existing. It goes, I know it doesn't look like it, but it goes. That project was the most major before Will deployed. Will was working on things until the day before he left and he is still working on things today. I know it looks like I'm a pushy wife, but all the things he's been doing lately have been his idea. You'll see some of them soon.

The inside was changed a lot too. Mostly the kitchen which attaches to the addition.

Then our sweet Kansas died. She had Osteosarcoma - canine bone cancer. This picture makes me cry. Emma would pick up Kansas' head and lay it on her lap. This was at the end when Kansas didn't really move around very much. We loved her. Sometimes I hear a dog bark from around the corner and I think it's Kansas. I think she would be annoyed with Willie.

Then the deployment. Surely one of the biggest events in our lives since we've lived here...if not ever.

All the pictures with my red nose and puffy eyes from crying. I'm going to try to be more "media" ready for the next time. I can't believe how much the kids have grown in the past 3 years! They were babies!!

Then this privileged character - who parks himself on any ledge to see better - came into our lives. I remember my heart beating so fast from excitement when I saw four Westie puppies running around in a yard down the street. I knew then that one of them must be mine. He was way past due for a hair cut here.

Then, celebration, we're a family again. Disneyland - that's where families go to celebrate, right? Yes! Along with 3 million other families! We had a blast and we all lived.

Something that has remained unchanged - basically - since we've lived here is the Christmas lights around the outside of the house. My grandma always had them up and Will wanted to take them down but I wouldn't let him because there was no way that I was going to put them back up on the house while he was gone. This past Christmas, we changed them from being all inconspicuous and white to multi-colored and when they were white you didn't really notice them - even in July, but multi-colored...in July, that screams white-trash! So for the first time since we've lived here, Will took them down.

We're so blessed with what we have. I really can't believe it's been 3 years. Of course there have been so many other things that have happened, but I just tried to hit the big ones.

So here's to many, many, many more years in our special home. For being a 60+ year old house, it's in such good shape I think we'll get another 400 years out of it! By then, I'll be tired of vacuuming and I just won't care anymore.

The beginning

This post is for my sweetheart of a man and our engagement anniversary...17 years ago on February 2, Groundhog day, in the middle of a blizzard up Hobble Creek Canyon, he told me it would be Spring for the rest of his life if I said I would marry him. Sweet, huh?

Did Will know that "Julie-caused-hurricanes" can happen in the Spring time?

Love you, Honey!! Thank you for my beautiful ring!

Years ago...we're talking decades now people...I was a member of the SHS D'Velles drill team. The high school mascot was and still is the Red Devils...not named after anyone "famous", just named after a concrete product that was used to construct the original high school. "In the day" I'd say we were a very good drill team. Compared to what girls have to do now to be on any drill team, I'm glad the only complicated dance move we had to do was maybe...a death fall...or maybe splits on a muddy football field in the freezing cold with a sleeveless sequin outfit and character shoes. Drill team back then was not as professionally choreographed and elite as it is today. It was fun without all the crazy stress.

So in remembering the day when Will asked me to marry him I found the very first picture of me and Will together...sort of.

Actually, my best friend Angie got to hang on his arm....I was sooo close! This was our novelty dance at a UVCC (now known as UVU) competition, and we needed two hunky-hunks to be our lifeguards. Of COURSE Will was the first choice - in my mind anyway. Look at him! He makes Mike F. - the other lifeguard - look like an elementary school student!! Sadly, those were still the days when waxing my eyebrows hadn't ever been mentioned so the caterpillars still existed above my eyes, and also when I THOUGHT I had fat arms...if I only knew how much worse it would get!

But one thing I knew for sure, even waaay back then. I luuuuuved Will. Not like I love him now because what 17 year old knows what real love is? But from the time I started following him to his German class which was right across the hall from my word-processing class (wow! do they use the term "word-processing" anymore...ever?) I knew that he was something special.

Things that I loved about him then and still love about him now is that he was and still is a gentleman, smart, kind, talented, um, hello!!!...his body!!, thoughtful, honest, humble, a hard worker, creative, romantic (I didn't know he was romantic back then...but romance wasted on other girls doesn't count...because it wasn't me!) and now after being with him for 17 years the list goes on and on and gets deeper and deeper with the addition of children, responsibilities, separation, and all the other fun things life has thrown at us.

My life is blessed. It's not perfect, like my dad thinks it is, but I wouldn't change or trade anything in my life.

Love you, Will! XXXXXXXXXX - them are kisses!!

Farewell, Minivan-Mom!

What was sooo long ago, yet feels like it was only a couple of years ago, I had nothing more to worry about than me, myself and I. Days that I wish I had a few of now, but I know that I'd get bored and fatter from pure laziness. In those good-ole'-days, I had my own car. A car that was sporty in her day. A car with only 2 doors and no visions of car seats in the back.



So to make myself look even more spoiled and self-centered, I got myself a personalized license plate.

JULEEZ

Sadly, someone...I can't remember whom, nicknamed the car and ultimately me, EZ. I was not, nor have I ever been and am still not...EZ. But I was JULEEZ. It was my car. And then...

Will and I got married and JULEEZ had to go. We went down the path of small, compact, economical car and through the years have gone up in car size as our family has increased in number size as well. Until ultimately, I was driving around a minivan. Not a station wagon mind you, which I think I've said before I would never own, nor drive, but a minivan.

I was good with it because it worked for our family. We needed all the extra doors and space and when Lauren came along and I was trying to fit 3 car seats in the back seat of our Camry...things had to get bigger. So after driving the van around for a few years, our lives evolved into not needing a van anymore. The kids got bigger and could buckle their own seatbelts and Will was leaving for Afghanistan so we sold the van and I started driving the new family car...Will's truck. Again, I think I've said before, I didn't picture myself as the truck-driving type of woman so I was so glad that a few months ago I got to give Will his truck back and I got a new car.

A car that almost takes my life into full circle again except that I drive car pool and run kids around in it. A new, more mature phase in my life. We have a "date" car again that doesn't scream...WE HAVE FOUR KIDS!!! A car that turns easily without making a 23 point turn. A car that fits into any parking spot so much easier than a 4-door truck. A car that fits me and the kids...or just me and Will.

So of course, I had to claim it...

Not quite JULEEZ, but close. Like I said, almost full circle, but take out me being spoiled and self-centered and add in a hot husband and 4 great kids...

and here I am!

The Pampered Life of a 3 Year Old

William Wallace turned 3 on December 30th. He didn't get a cake. He didn't get a gift. He could care less if we sang Happy Birthday to him. I think we did sing, though. Everyday is a birthday for Willie. Such pampering and babying is his lot in life.

His own self-chewed up bed is not good enough for him now. He's kicked the American Girl dolls out of their bed.

And there aren't many other dogs who get salon style pampering after then come in from outside. Sometimes it's a shampoo/blow dry and other times it's just a blow dry. It depends on how much he rolls around in the snow and if the snow is muddy or not. He likes the muddy snow. Of course he does...he's white.

Yes, he gets away with things he shouldn't. Things that the "Dog Whisperer - Cesar Millan" would "Chtt" at, but he's the only one besides Will in my family that doesn't roll his eyes at me.

He talks back, but no eye rolling!

Guess what I saw today?

Blue sky!

It's been a while since I've seen blue above my head...it's been a murky brown/gray lately. So it goes in this bowl we call Utah Valley. January is the time of yucky air, smoggy/foggy skies, dead grass, dirty snow and filthy dirty cars. Oh, and I can't forget the hacking coughs of people - Lauren included - who suffer from acute-inhalation of the thick, dirty air. (that's a disease I made up myself!)

But today...the blue came back for a little bit. I sure enjoyed it...

and so did Willie...I couldn't get him to come inside. And just in case you're wondering, which you're probably not...it's been at least 4 months since I've had Willie groomed. Tuesday is the day! I'm a little sensitive about the way he looks. I feel like it's a reflection on my abilities of being a dog owner. I bet he'll lose 10 lbs. just by getting a hair cut! What a fluff-ball! If he was a girl, he would be sporting piggy-tails!

Emma's New Year's Wish!

Back to Emma's art.

I wish she would have wished for this a few days earlier, because then she would have been able to go! Will and Jay went to ice fishing and I guess Emma decided that it looked "fun and it is fun". Yeah, she's only saying that because she got to see the product of the activity...she didn't have to sit for hours in the cold waiting for the fish.

Will caught 3...Jay caught 4 - actually 5 but one got away...probably the biggest one!

While Will was cleaning the fish in the sink, the fish pictured in the middle started to come back to life. It started opening and closing its mouth and its gills were flapping and it was curling it's tail and squirming...eww. I almost wanted Will to fill the sink with water to see if it would start swimming again. A pet trout!



Very non-appetizing pictures - sorry. Just checking out the capabilities of my camera.

I think fish are ugly. I remember being a little girl and going fishing with my dad and if we caught a fish, we had to carry the fish. Being the squeemish girl that I am...I had no desire to stick my finger through its gills and out its mouth...or in its mouth and out its gills. Whatever. All I know is that when we as girls...me and my sisters...would catch a fish, my dad would find a twig or small branch that would BARELY be long enough to be able to hold the fish and fit our fingers on each end, and we would walk holding this little twig with the tips of our fingers with the fish dangling off of it...with a curled-lips, disgusted expression on our face. I'm sure.

In the end...they were delicious!

Jay...our Thesarus!

Before I begin, I need to make clear that I AM NOT making fun of Jay. At least in what I am going to tell. This picture does it enough! He hates getting his picture taken, so I told him to show me how big his mouth is...

It's this big.

Jay is an awesome son. Yes, his room stinks like a boy. No, he doesn't like to brush his teeth. Yes, he is mean to his sisters. Yes, he becomes incoherent when video games are present. Yes, he pounds on everything as if were a drum set. Yes, he is kind. Yes, he is funny. No, he doesn't get into trouble. Yes, we love him! SO MUCH!

I promise...I'm only recording this for posterity sake, not to tease. Maybe for some bribery down the road, but mostly, it's something that I don't want to forget. I think all the time that I couldn't possibly forget what awesome or funny things my child has done - so I don't write it down - and I always forget. Always.

Last night, Jay said the prayer before our dinner. He's been know to add very flowery adjectives in his prayers. I wonder if his church teachers ever noticed. He is being very sincere, for sure. I think he doesn't want to say the same things that everyone else does when they pray and he's trying to be creative. I think that's great!

So, last night, Jay prayed that "we would be able to face the challenges of tomorrow (today) with glee."

Glee.

Have you ever heard a 14 going on 15 year old boy use the word "glee" in a prayer? No, Will and I didn't laugh. No, we didn't open our eyes to see what everyone else was doing. We didn't bring any attention to what he had said...and no one else seemed to notice or care either. Will and I just waited until we were serving the kids their dinner and with our backs to the kids, we looked at each other and smiled and mouthed the words...glee.

What an awesome kid! Full of such glee!

First Grade Gifts are the best!

I love it when the kids bring home the presents they made for me and Will the last day of school before Christmas break. It takes EVERYTHING they have to NOT tell us what is inside the bag! Emma had an easier time in keeping the secret than Lauren did this year. Lauren kept dropping huge hints that totally gave the gift away. She's not a strong one for keeping secrets.

I love that they're more excited for us to open their gift to us than they are about opening their own presents. I was preoccupied with my present from Will - so Will opened our gift from Emma.

Don't me and Will look so in love...under the mistletoe and all, with the huge heart above our heads! So true to life! And where did the CAT come from? Maybe it's Willie.

This is our gift from Emma. When Will opened it up and started reading the book, I was seriously thinking how stupid it was. What a horrible mom I am to think that! I guess it could have been a foam ornament with her picture in it...I have a LOT of those! I thought it was a serious book...seriously horrible and dumb...until Will got to the second page.

You know when you try to explain something to a child and they interpret it a totally different way? The way of a first grader? This book is so funny. We laughed and laughed...and still laugh. It was so fun to watch Emma's face as we read the book. She was so proud of her book. She's got a good sense of humor, my baby does!

This is Emma's page...(I do not endorse my children drawing pictures with people bleeding in them...but they still do it.)

These are some of the other funny ones.

Two heads are...cool! (I like that one a lot!) Up a creek without a...swimming suit! As you shall make your bed so shall you...do your homework! It's always darkest before...night!

Out of the frying pan comes...pancakes! It's bark is worse than...getting sick! The squeaky wheel gets...hot. And my favorite...A penny saved is...one cent!

Oh, to be as wise as a 7 year old. Sometimes simplicity makes more sense.

Thanks Emma!

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Katie Jane says that our Christmas vacation was "interesting". Will had to take a minute to think about it. I'm having a hard time thinking of how to describe our Christmas too.

I think some changes are in the future for our family and what we do at Christmas - for my little family's sake. For one, we won't be spending near the amount of time in our car as we have in the past. Going back and forth and back and forth and back and forth (get the idea?) from one family house to another, and back. No offense to family, but I think one gathering in December is quite sufficient. My nerves can only stand so many get-togethers with 20+ kids and almost as many adults...times 2 because the craziness is on both sides of the family. Poor Willie became an orphan dog for over 2 weeks because we were gone all day, almost every day. I craved to be home...doing nothing...not talking...not eating e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g....cozy under my electric blanket.

I feel like I'm sure to be cast out of both sides of the family...I think I'm going through the January blahs or post Christmas blues or something.

Of course, it was wonderful in many ways. I'm really going to miss the soft glow of Christmas lights 24/7. The music, the cards and family pictures from friends and family, the smells - my fave is the Mulling Spices from Williams-Sonoma...mmmm, and the excitement of my kids when they figure out how awesome it feels to GIVE. This year I played more of the religious Christmas music and I think that strengthened my testimony of the birth of our Savior more than anything. Beautiful, inspired music is so wonderful!

the above pics were taken with my new-awesome camera! Can you tell?

One of my favorite things about this time of year is decorating. Not that I could ever compete with the way my Grandma Jane decorated, but I love to decorate in this house. When I was little, maybe until I was about 5ish, the entire "Strong" family would have Christmas morning in the same living room that me and my family have Christmas morning in now.

I'm telling you...there's a great spirit in our home! How could there not be?

We're to the stage where we can make the kids wait until at least 7:00 a.m. before starting the craziness. Even then, by the time they drag me and Will out of bed, it's almost 8:00. Santa did a great job, ahem. But none of it was captured on film...at least in still pics that is. We videoed the morning events, but things got busy and I got an amazing gift from Will and the camera got turned off. Will got something that I think I'm going to enjoy using too. A TRX Suspension Trainer . I did 30 seconds of a plank and 4, four, FOUR oblique crunches more than a week ago, and I still have to curl into a ball to cough or sneeze! AWESOME workout! Will's team had one in Afghanistan that they hung in a tree and that's what he worked out on when they were "out in the field". When he told me he was doing push-ups from a handstand position, I knew he was in awesome shape.

Then, my sneaky, thoughtful man got me the gift that will keep me away from him late into the nights as I edit pictures and practice photo-skilz! I love it! I'm excited to see all that it can do, and also to see what I can do with it. I just want to take awesome pictures of my kids. Ones that they will look at and love forever. Good ones. Quality ones. That's my goal. Oh, and he gave me a "Fauxlex" from Korea...a Rolex watch. I have no idea if it's real or not. He still paid quite a bit for it, but...it says Rolex on the face and has the little crown...so it's real to me! I've gotten some awesome jewelry from Will through the years! I guess he likes me to have Bling!

The kids, again, got spoiled. From ipods, DS/XBox games/coats/snow pants/ boots/ doll clothes/ and the gift to end all gifts for Jay and Katie Jane...they got mine and Will's old - and I mean OLD - cell phones with their own numbers and unlimited texting...which, as of today, in less than 2 weeks time, Katie Jane has texted/and received over 2,400 texts.

Praise unlimited texting!

My Culinary King!!!

I think I was planted firmly on my behind reading the operator manual for my new camera...waiting for the battery to charge, and Will was slaving away in the kitchen making the Christmas brunch quiche, which BTW was DEEEE-licious! Will seems to work better when his tongue is sticking out. An absolute must when concentration is needed!

Actually, remembering back right now, I wasn't reading my camera manual the whole morning, I think I was trying to bring some order to the chaos that was all around us from Christmas morning. And steeling the kids candy out of their stockings. Santa failed in the candy department this year...for sure!

The family got a Wii for Christmas...along with every other person/relative/stranger that I know. So I won't go on and on about how we went bowling and played tennis, and golfed and improved our archery skills over Christmas break, because just about everyone else did the same thing...on their Wii!

It was great to see the kids surprise when they opened a Wii remote. They couldn't believe it! I'm getting soft in my old age I guess. Throughout my adult life and not too many years ago, I was known to say that I would NEVER drive a station wagon (I think I've held true to that promise...unless a minivan is a glorified station wagon...and then I'm guilty...but not anymore!) and that I would NEVER allow video games into my house.

We have an X-Box 360 AND a Wii now.

Sometimes entertainment wins the battle...so much for that promise!

Emma in her nightgown from Grandma S. with her AG doll, also named Emma, in her jammies too. This pic was obviously taken with my old, not-so-well-loved camera, because my new very-much-loved camera was getting it's battery charged.

After a short morning of making Mii's, we headed up to grandma and Grumpa S's for brunch. My family is so much fun. When we can hear each other talk over all the kids, we have so much fun visiting and reminiscing and playing games. Then the effects/affects - I always forget which one to use and it's too late to figure it out - of not a lot of sleep and a very full tummy kicked in and all I wanted was to be in my bed. In quiet!


Kristy, Lezlee, mom (holding her China made in Korea from Will - modeled after a "Royar pattern" from England as it was marked on the back...get it? (Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra), Jill, Holly, me and Janette - Beckie MIA.

Happy Birthday, MOM!!! She spends EVERY birthday cooking for everyone else and always getting one gift for both her birthday AND Christmas.

My baby sis made all us gals aprons for Christmas...or what Lezlee called, optional lingerie! The way I looked on Christmas morning...it's an apron. Holly is so talented and so generous.

It turned out to be a great day...one that I hate to see come and go so fast. I'm thankful that I had my family to enjoy it with. There were so many times that I heard the song "I'll be home for Christmas" and I would cry and remember a year ago listening to that song and other being-away-from-loved-ones-at-Christmas time songs and crying much harder and wishing to have Will home...which we all know, I got my wish!

So I guess if I had to describe our Christmas this year, it would be...a busy, chaotic time that was joyous. We celebrated the birth of our Savior, the greatest Man that ever lived or will live. We felt the joy of giving and enjoyed being around each other as much as a teen/tweens/and a 7 year old can. We also mourned the loss of our dear sweet neighbor, Jon Jensen. It was his birthday on the 25th also and he almost made it to 91...just 2 days short. It had been a while since I had a sobbing breakdown - which I did almost everyday while Will was gone - but when I heard our dear, sweet, boxed milk and tootsie pop bringing neighbor had died, and I know this is going to sound weird, but I was so filled with the Spirit and I had my testimony strengthened about eternal families and the Plan of Salvation.

And in the end...THAT was the greatest gift I got this CHRISTmas.

I knew it!

I knew if I threw a temper tantrum long enough that I would get what I want. Ever since I returned my sisters camera, I've been sulking and complaining about not having a nice camera.

Well, this awesome guy...

spoiled me...I got my nice camera!

So from now on, I can't blame the camera for my crappy pictures.

I can only blame the people in them for not being photogenic...or realize that it's just the person behind the clicker!!! Hopefully, over time, I will learn something about photography and improve in doing what I think is fun!

Get the picture?

Have I been busy?

Does this answer your question?



I can't wait for the mundane, everyday to begin...did I just say that?

I got spoiled for Christmas and I don't know where to begin with all the happenings...but they'll have to wait until I dust a little!

Right Now...In a land far, far away...

lives a man named Will.

I know I'm missing Will a lot when I start watching my romantic, swooning type movies to compensate for the lack of romance while he's gone. I even took the little TV out of my laundry room and put it in my bedroom so I could watch 'Pride and Prejudice' in total quiet without any sounds of SpongeBob or children to ruin it! I know I brag about how wonderful I think Will is...to the point of annoyance maybe, but there's something about 'Mr. Darcy' - in the short version of Pride and Prejudice - that reminds me of Will.

Maybe it's the way he walks.

ummm, yeah...the walk is for sure!

Maybe it's his loyalty and quietness.

Maybe it's because he's so good looking with the most heart-stopping voice.

Again...I'm thinking of Will!

He teases me that Mr. Darcy has a hairy chest and knows that I don't like that - but Tom Selleck does too. I'll forgive a hairy chest for only a few gorgeous men...Will included, of course!

So without giving out too much information...which I tend to do...I'll say that Will is visiting his old stomping grounds in South Korea. He spent 2 years there almost 20 years ago - wow! That's what OLD people say in church when they refer to their missions! I was so excited for him to get back to Korea - mostly for the sake of the food! Even though he feels he's lost his Korean language skills, which he has not because in our house my kids use the Korean word for milk instead of saying 'milk', he's been a great help to a lot of the people he's with right now - especially on the taxi rides! He sent me these pictures of Seoul from his hotel room window.

Just a few people living there!

He was so excited when he got off the plane and didn't smell the combo of open sewer and kim chi...which is what he smelled 20 years ago when he got off the plane!

And he had the opportunity to meet up with a missionary from our town/stake. Elder Hyer's (the Elder next to Will) parents sent along presents with Will to give to their son. So they met up yesterday/today...they're 16 hours ahead...deja vue from last year and trying to figure out what time it was where Will was. Just looking at the food on the table makes me jealous! I looked at this picture for a minute and then noticed the little "pin-up" picture behind them. Do you think they noticed? I think so too!

I haven't had a chance to talk to Will since he sent me these pictures, but I sent them to Elder Hyer's mom as soon as Will sent them to me and she was thrilled to tears! I know how it is - in a small, different way - to treasure every tidbit of information from a loved one far away! I even looked at Will in one of the pictures above and I think that he's changed in the week he's been gone.

I can't wait to get my 'Mr. Darcy' back!

We're a changing!

A major stress in my life is family pictures. School pictures rank right up there along with family pictures, but I'm not there when school pictures are being taken...I can't critique my kids and tell them what to do...someone else does that. But family pictures are different. How hard is it to get all the planets to align and all of my children to look at the camera...and smile...and not blink and to sit up straight. I guess maybe formal family pictures aren't for me.

We had a good friend, Mike, take our family picture in our "Family Tree" a couple of months ago. He did a great job! I always love the pictures, but I hate me in them. I always ruin it. But I loved seeing how much my kids have grown in 2 years. Next year, we're going to have to find a new place for Emma to sit. I might not even fit in that crook of the tree next year!

So here's us...in our beloved Elm tree.

I know it sounds really vain of me to notice things about myself...mainly because I think my family looks great and I can't see anything wrong with them, but I can ALWAYS find something wrong with myself...but, I've decided that I look much better with short hair (Holly, remember that and remind me of it every time I say I want my hair a little longer!) and even though I don't feel "heavier" (me + the scale = not friends), why is it that the camera adds at least 10 pounds to only me? Why? Did we just eat dinner or something? Maybe it's NOT the camera.

And just to compare, here is the picture my BIL, Brad took in the fall of 2007. He does a fabulous job too. All the kids have the full, almost baby faces of when they are young. So cute!

I love the freedom I have now that my kids are getting older, but when I look at pictures of my kids when they were younger, I miss that time in my life. But then I remember that I usually only take pictures of the good, fun times...so I remember all the good, fun times. All the frustrating times are not caught on film...so I'm good.

Some Happenings that...happened!

Since this past January, which was about the time when Will came home from Afghanistan...I can't believe it's already been a year, the main road to the most important shopping center here in town (my direct link to the big "W" store) has been shut down. Completely shut down. A new bridge was built over some railroad tracks (hooray! I hated getting stuck waiting for those trains) and an old bridge was re-built and widened. So in order to get to the store where spending less than $100 at a time is unheard of, I had to drive down old country roads with big bumps and two more sets of railroad tracks along with thousands of other people. I would like to say that it slowed my spending at said store...but I don't think it did. It only took a little more thinking time about which road I was going to take to get to the other road that led to THE road that took me to the store. I'm a stressed driver.

So as I was saying...since Jan. 09, this road has been closed for MAJOR reno and widening. Well...just before Thanksgiving they opened it back up. Since my dad is on the City Council, they had a big opening ceremony and celebratory procession down the finished bridges and street! They had fire trucks and police cars and car after car after car of people with kids on their laps...following the police officers...blowing air horns and honking their horns and waving and celebrating!

Yeah, getting to "W" more easily is a MAJOR deal here in our little 'Ville'.

I left work and walked up onto one of the bridges to take pictures - this is when I was still in possession of my sis's camera - and took a few pictures of my dad making his celebratory ride on the newly opened street! He decided to take his Ford Model-A...can't remember which year...in honor of this traffic stopping - literally - event!.

There was a little 'opening ceremony' at the top of the new bridge which seemed to take a while, so I took a few pictures while I was waiting. It was a very mirky day. One of those lovely Utah inversions!

The Provo Temple...about 10 miles away. And then...

the road opening parade began! A parade without the candy, so maybe it was more like a procession...because there MUST be candy in a parade!

I wonder if people thought I was important...like I was covering the road opening for some newspaper or important magazine or something ;) In my high school graduation picture I think I look like a news anchor...with really big hair. I kept looking for my dad in his car and couldn't see him until he was almost right in front of me. I thought he had decided not to take his Model-A, but here he came...

My dad is a car fanatic. An old, classic car fanatic. From this Model A to his silver anniversary 1975 Corvette (which he bought, sold, bought the same exact car again, and then sold again...I got to drive it once, Ryan...na na na na na na!!!). And ever since I can remember, my dad has had pieces of old cars in his garage. We used to play in the partially built car when we were little kids...until I saw a mouse run through it, and then I never went near it again! It was a hobby he always wanted to get around to, but never did because he's a work-a-holic! So instead of building the cars himself, he just ended up buying one all put together!

It has an awesome horn and everything.

So my dad and Phil B., who is also on city council with him, took a stroll down the road that I like to call...the pathway to Walmart!

the end.

Have you ever seen anything this steaming hot?

I was at my desk doing some bill paying and planning and I turned around and saw this...

He had just gone on his morning run.

Steamy, huh?

In Mourning...over a camera

I told Will as we drove away from my sister Beckie's house..."I feel like I lost my best friend."

I had to give her her camera back.

Now everytime I see something I want to take a picture of...it's not worth it. I took a picture of Willie today with my very expensive HD video camera that I got for Will to take to Afghanistan - it ended up being too big to fit in his pocket behind his body armor, so he left it home - GREAT video because it has a hard drive, but not so great still picture taker. It's very slow.

Will - this is not a ploy to get you to buy me a camera for Christmas! It's NOT and I already spent the money you could have used to buy one! Ha HA!

So until I save enough money to buy what I want, pictures are going to be rare! Once you experience high quality...it's hard to go back!

I might be on Santa's naughty list for being so spoiled!

HELP!!!

The background paper I was using for my blog apparently expired - because I think it was from someone else's Photobucket account...oops! and I got all frustrated and click-happy trying to figure out how to fix it and get the confusing blocks of info that were on my blog, that I just saved a new template to my blog. Forgetting that I had spent HOURS - it seemed - trying to get everything all centered and stretched so that it wouldn't be all narrow in the middle with my old template.

Major headache!

Does anyone know how to get the left margin closer to the left...instead of all lop-sided like mine is? I did, many, many, many, many years ago take a DOS class, but all this new language and numbers has me completely mixed up. Crimeiny!

And my blog looks so dumb.

I just want simple. No more changing paper styles and colors for my background. I'm just fine with the white. I just don't want my blog to be too big for the computer screen so you have to slide over to see the entire page.

Does anyone know something I don't about setting up a new blog template?

How Thankful I feel.

This time last year, I was really struggling with Will being gone. I knew the end was near, but that didn't help the stress and the anxiety and fear go away. Will had missed birthdays and anniversaries and some holidays, but we've always been together as a family for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And maybe if I hadn't had to struggle with the Christmas tree lights things would have been better...that was always Will's job.

You know how sometimes you realize how blessed you are in your life, and then a little time passes and you forget how blessed you still really are? That whole taking things for granted stuff. While Will was gone, my testimony of the importance of family and eternal families was solid. I knew that whatever happened, as hard as it may be, we would still be a family as long as we were each doing our part. Since he's been home, I've definitely taken family for granted again.

Then this weekend, Will received a call to do a job he's trained for in the National Guard for the first time. Its called - get ready for another Army acronym - CAO, which is Casualty Affairs Officer. A CAO is someone who has the...unfortunate task...of telling a family that their husband, wife, son or daughter has been either wounded or killed in action. Sunday night's call was for Will, along with a Chaplain, to tell a family that their son was killed in Afghanistan.

My heart was so heavy as I thought about this poor family, seeing two decked out in uniform soldiers at their doorstep giving unimaginable news. My heart was breaking for Will, too. I can't imagine how hard that would be.

This event has had me on the verge of tears since Sunday night. I knew where Will was going and what he had to do, but the kids kept asking questions about why Will was in in uniform and where was he going so late at night. I realized that for more than 6 months last year, I could have been the one to have two decked out in uniform soldiers at my door. It just made things all too real. And, sadly it happens daily somewhere in this great country. I honestly can't imagine.

So this morning, I was on calorie 764 on my way to my daily 1000 and mile 4.6 on the elliptical, listening to "Party in the U.S.A." by Miley Cyrus (don't judge me) and Iron Man started playing on the screen in front of my face. I know it's just a movie, but it's just too real for me now - especially the first part of the movie. I know Will traveled those same roads in Afghanistan...the same ones that many men and women have lost their lives on. Wow! I feel so thankful. So the combination of "Party in the U.S.A.", Iron Man, the thoughts of the sad news Will had to deliver on Sunday night, and realizing how lucky I was that I got my husband back - how lucky so many are - brought me to tears at the gym. I guess my mind was putting a little patriotic theme together in my exhausted condition.

I am so thankful for my family. I'm thankful that I can see the eternal perspective of things. How humble I feel to know how blessed I am. I'm thankful that I have a desire to keep my family together forever. A lot of people don't because they can't see past themselves.

I'm overflowing with things to be thankful for. But mostly, I'm thankful for hope and faith. Life would be very hard without those two things. I'm so thankful for the teachings of Jesus Christ...without them Thanksgiving would just be about the food.

Lots of fun...and lots of vacuuming!

I love the fall...I love the crunch of the leaves...I used to love playing in the leaves (until I started to care what might be accumulated along with them in the pile - bleeeck) and I'm so glad that my kids had enough energy to collect all these leaves into a pile, just to scatter them again. That's why leaves fall to the ground anyway, right?

This, by the way, was the second or third leaf accumulation pile of the season. I have my BFF's in the house - vacuum, washer and dryer - and Will has his BFF in the garage - Mr. Leaf Blower!

Needless to say, during the fall I daily find a small trees worth of leaves in my house...a leaf here and a leaf there...they come in on my kids and they come in stuck to Willie. But if it weren't for these leaves, my kids would never be this nice and have this much fun together without forking out beaucoup bucks for their entertainment. This was definitely a sight to see.

Brother and sisters...being nice to each other! Fall in the Twilight Zone!

Add this to the list

A few weeks ago, I got a new car. Not exactly the one I was planning on getting, but I love it and I can finally give Will his truck back after 2 years. I wasn't too thrilled about driving a huge truck around as a family car anyway. Not quite the "image" I was going for. When I think of girls driving pick-up trucks - as their first choice - they usually have big, long hair, wear pants that are too tight, own cowboy boots, and can pull a horse trailer. So not me!

So gladly, I will FINALLY let Will drive the truck that fits him so much better than a 20 year old Honda with almost 300 thousand miles. I would always get the image in my head of "Bob Parr" aka Mr. Incredible, jam packed into his teeny-tiny car, when I saw Will drive away in the Honda. Anyway...


I just discovered something AWESOME about my car...or something temporarily AWESOME about my car. Of course, most new cars come with a trial of XM radio for a few months. So I preset all my radio buttons to channels like the 80's (I usually love EVERY song that plays) the 90's, Love Songs...of course, Disney Radio (annOYing!...especially with a car full of girls singing every song), I even found a french channel...which I don't really understand but I love to listen to, and one of my favorites is the 40's channel. All 40's and big bad type music. Love it! So when I turned the channel to XM 4 the other day and saw "Traditional Holiday" as the channel description, I was so excited. A channel that plays my favorite old, classic Christmas songs....24/7!

Bing to Goulet!

XM 23 - the normal love song channel - also plays Christmas music, but nothing is more annoying than to hear a rapper try to sing a Christmas song! Way corny! And a Christmas song is not a Christmas song if Miley Cyrus sings it. Sorry...it's just not!

All I need is a stash of hard-tac candy, XM 4 and I could live in my car!

Project # 1539...since Will's been home

I don't know how many more things Will is going to find to do on the house. He's been making up for a lost year at home by spending almost a whole year working on our home. I'm so glad that he can do these projects and that he cares and wants our house to look nice though.

I think I've said this before, but I love my house. I love that it's old and has so much character. I love the spirit that it has.

This is a picture I took when Will refinished the original screen door...I had to use this picture to show ONE of Will's latest improvement projects/changes. The metal pole has been there from the beginning. It never bothered me. In fact, I never really paid attention to it, except to tie a yellow ribbon around it when Will left...which has been there until last week...like I said, the pole never bothered me. But Will and I had talked about making it look more like a column or something...something I THOUGHT about, and something he ACTED on.

This is the post now! Didn't he do a great job? It's finished but I think we're going to stain the wood more to match the front door and screen. I had to use this picture because Willie wanted to come outside so bad and watched me from inside while I took pictures. I love seeing that little head peaking out the window!

I'll post project #1540 when it's finished...probably this weekend!

Thanks for being so talented and such a hard worker, Will. xxooxxoo

Halloween...THE end!

Will the late posts ever end? I was looking at pictures today and found a whole bunch that never made it to my blog and must be included since if they're not on my blog they won't make it into my book. Uggg, the responsibility!

So for posterity sake...here is more of our Halloween 2009!

Mmmm! Pumpkin seeds! I think I got enough to last more than a month! (that's a lot because I LOVE them and eat a lot of them) Will was gone helping a friend during this fun, messy, rather stinky activity, but it's gotten better throughout the years because the kids are older and can do most of it themselves - minus the cutting part - I still don't entirely trust the kids with sharp knives and thick, hard to cut pumpkin. I think that's more of a mom fear than one of my neurotic traits.

Grrr...blurry picture of Jay with GUTS! It's odd that my girls don't mind reaching their hands inside the pumpkin and pulling out all the slimy, stringy stuff but Jay...won't touch it. The ladle is his weapon and he'll show a brave face...but has no brave pumpkin carving skills! Honestly...not one time did he touch the inside of his pumpkin!

Lauren...no problem!

Katie Jane...no problem!

Emma...No problem!
In fact, Emma is my dare-to-touch-anything kid. Worms, live fish (ewww) gerbils (double ewww!)

Since Beckie's family got sick, we had an impromptu Halloween Party at gma and grumpa's house. Chili and soup on a not so chilly day. I realized after I looked at all these pictures, that I didn't get a single picture of Katie Jane in her costume...she was Mother Nature.

My mom always has big plans for her and my dad's costume. They've been ketchup and mustard, ghooly ghosts with flashing eyes, she made my dad dress up like white trash, complete with a mullet hairstyle and cut off t-shirt with some rock band or something on it and I think my mom has had him be the Tooth Fairy. Yeah...it WAS funny.

This year, my mom was Captain America and my dad was...

Nacho Libre. He didn't even know who Nacho was. We had to tell him how to pose! He's a good sport. And Nacho's been working out, or at least on a diet so that belly is Nacho (not so) big! My dad's used to the teasing from us kids. Until he stops wearing black socks and sandals riding on his Harley...we won't stop!

Batman had all kinds of flying, swooping and running skills! All things that Jackson is really good at too!

Tyler has been growing his hair out for MONTHS in anticipation for what he wanted to be for Halloween. A mad scientist doesn't have manicured cheveux. He's got to have MAD hair! Watch out! He's gone MAAAADDD!

Love him. Trevin can transform into any character...with only facial expressions! And watch out, he's got a fast draw!

Ballerina Emma refused to go "trunk-or-treating" so she handed out the candy, and me (I was Raggedy Ann) and Will (he was...whatever we found in the costume container) went around to all the other "trunks" and saw how creative people are.

I'm not really a good Halloween mom. I'm always trying to throw something together at the last second without spending any money. Can't we just eat the candy without dressing up? I'm kind of a poor sport...not even kind of...I AM a poor sport!

Case in point. Lauren was an Afghani girl- something that is very really in our home. She's learned that mom's not going to buy costumes and so she works with what she's got. AND she loves the outfit Will brought back for her from Afghanistan. She likes to wear it at any and every opportunity! Especially if I let her wear make-up...that's what she wants to be.

I'm so glad I took pictures of the kids' pumpkins, because about 1 hour after returning home and putting them on the front porch all lit up and in great Halloween tradition...some brats came by and took them off of our front porch and splattered them all over the road and filled the streets with ours and several other neighbor's pumpkins.

It's times like that, that I wished that either the Great Pumpkin from Charlie Brown was real - except really, mean and attacked kids that destroy others property and/or that we could hire the Headless Horseman to scare those disrespectful brats to death!

But I've got Will instead...that's going to be fun to watch next year!

Biesinger Fall Family Party!

Hosted by wonderful Gerald and Marlene who had a great idea to get all the adults in the family together to enjoy dinner and visiting.

(The bigger I made these pictures, the worse the blurriness became...grrrr! Just squint and pretend that you don't have your contacts in or forgot to wear your glasses. Great camera, poor - well, saying photographer is really stretching it, so I'll use - picture taker!)

This is going to sound rather, ummm, I'm going to have to make up a word here...ostracizeical (?) of me, but...

Since we're part of the generation that's still in the child bearing and/or rearing years, when we all get together for family reunions and dinners it's near chaos, but not quite mayhem with all the kids running around and or requiring attention - as most children do. It's just a phase of life we all must go through and enjoy...Eating at super speed, almost being able to finish eating and not even given the chance to eat at all. So when we were wrapping up our family reunion this past summer at Anna and Ryan's, we noticed that us adults hadn't really had a chance to sit and visit and catch up, amidst varying children issues and activities! I'm more of a sit and visit kind of person...I'm not really interested in competitive games and active activities - I'm a lot about relaxation!

Marlene had a great idea to have an adult dinner, yes - SANS children - so that we can actually hear each other speak! And eat our own food! And not help anyone to the bathroom! Can you imagine???

We had so much fun. The food was wonderful (Ask Gerald for ham cooking tips), and the decorations were so creative and beautiful. Marlene had given us all an assignment to pick an item that describes us as an individual. It was so neat to hear what everyone came up with and to get to know each person a little better. Everyone was so creative. So fun!

Will's parents, Marianne and Jim

Will's sister Anna and husby Ryan

The oh so talented Marlene. She used to be a baton twirler when she was younger (she is STILL young) and Jon being the awesome man that he is was so excited to learn how to twirl! I love the look on his face!

Will's cousin Craig and his cute wife, Cassidy.

( Craig is holding my descriptive item...a Nut Roll candy bar. It takes a little explanation!)

Will and Ryan - having both served their missions in South Korea - are super competitive ping-pong, I mean table tennis players! It's a big thing over there!

Lori and Chris - Will's brother

Cousin Connie and her mom, Will's aunt Carol.

Todd and Connie

Jon, Will's brother and Tasha

Andrew, Will's cousin - we learned something very 'revealing' about Andy!

Dallin and Will's sister Donna

Missing were Will's cousins David and Celeste in VA, Elder (Craig) Biesinger in the frozen land to the north - Canada, and Brian and Jane, Will's sister in Kansas. We missed them for sure! And of course Will and I were there, but I managed to stay behind the operator-challenged camera while Will was playing ping-pong. Just as it should be!

The whole evening was so much fun, but it came to an abrupt end when we got home and Emma - happy birthday to her :( - and Lauren were throwing up. It made me appreciate this evening so much more!

Thanks again, Gerald and Marlene! Thanks Biesinger family! Date and time are already set for next year!

What? She's 7?

When I look at these pictures, I can barely recognize my kids! Time has gone by so fast and there are days when I think I can see my kids growing before my eyes. It has been such a pleasure and a joy (along with the frustration and sorrow, of course) to raise these kids. I am so glad that I have taken pictures of them since they were little so I can relive the memories of them growing up! They are so, so, so cute!

My baby, Emma. She's 7 and I almost can't believe it! Although she told me yesterday that she still feels like she is 6 - it's so hard to feel the difference sometimes, right? When the ultrasound tech. told us that it was a girl, we were thrilled. Some people might think that hearing that girl #3 is on the way would be a discouraging thing. I don't think that I wouldn't have been a very good mom to boys anyway...I can't handle the mess and smell and the endless hours spent on bleachers watching sports. I love exactly what I have, thank you very much!

Emma was a joy from the minute she was born. She had a FULL head of black hair, which NEVER fell out...I remember sitting on the bathroom floor with Emma on my lap, round-brushing her hair dry. She couldn't even sit up by herself and she was enduring salon-style hair do's. I loved it! She was a clone to Katie Jane both in looks and personality...full of spunk, attitude and energy! She's the same 7 years later.

(I love Emma's little glare...saved especially for her uncle Ryan!)

Emma knew exactly what she wanted for her birthday - thanks to the Disney channel and Nick Jr. As it gets closer to Christmas, there are ENDLESS commercials for toys and games that all kids want and parents dread. Their wish lists get huge and of course, they expect it all. Emma really wanted a Zhu-Zhu pet...I know, a what? Well, if you watch the Disney channel and Nickelodeon you would know! (to me, it's dang mouse...bleeeeck!) Thanks to Amazon...I found one because walking through store after store in shoes that were too small and were killing my feet, let alone broken toe, didn't produce the desired gift. All I would find were signs saying that there was a limit of 2 per customer in front of an empty shelf and horror stories of long lines.

Am I THE mom, or what!

She got her desired 'pet' as well as another pet to help manage the 'mouse/hamster'...a Fur Real cat (the only kind of cat allowed in my house), which Willie is having a hard time figuring out, and mom's favorite gift to give...clothes! She was ecstatic and thrilled and promptly made beds out of shoe boxes in her clothes drawers for her new pets. She's my animal lover. ANOTHER one of my animal lovers!

This brought back way too many horrific memories of seeing little, disgusting, intruder mice running across my floor in Nephi. Rodents of ANY kind, fake or most definitely real give me the heebie-jeebies. I seriously can't enjoy Cinderella or any other movie with mice in it. Not even cute! It's such a Japanese toy too. It makes all the sounds of the Teletubbies...sounds that all Japanese cartoons/characters make. Why? I don't know.

But, whatever my baby wants...my baby gets. She told me that she's not a baby anymore either. I know, but she's MY baby and she always will be. I still try to cuddle with her and I'm sure she gets special privileges that the other kids don't. All "youngest" children get special privileges, don't they?

Emma told me several times that she had a great birthday. Will made her an over the top breakfast and me and Will took her to lunch at her favorite restaurant - Red Robin - where she got her favorite - chicken strips and french fries...she LOVES french fries! Sadly, after dinner she got really sick and spent the night throwing up! What a way to end her great birthday!

My baby, Emma. She is grown up beyond her years - a result of being the youngest and wanting to be like her older sisters. She amazes me every day with her spunky personality and the clever things she comes up with to say and do. She has an amazing imagination and is a super artist. She knows what she wants and says so. A tender heart to her mom and dad, and a quick punch, jab or slap to her brother and sisters...that's Emma.

I Love you, Emma!

Falling

I looked out the window last Friday morning and it was literally raining leaves.

I couldn't get the camera to capture how many leaves were actually falling, but it was incredible. It was RAINING leaves. The poor walnut tree just decided that it was time to let them go all at once.

I love the colors and the sounds of fall.