I love Christmas letters and pictures!!!

I absolutely love getting Christmas letters and pictures from friends and family at Christmas. I can't wait to see how much my friend's or family's kids have changed and I love to read Christmas letters about what is going on in their lives. So I think I might be obsessed with it because I go to the mailbox everyday at least once starting about a week or two ago and today I hate to admit I checked the mailbox 3 times because I thought maybe I missed the mail lady. Am I weird? The mailbox is not in front of my house either, it's down the street and around the corner. Even if I don't have anywhere else to go that day I always get in the car and drive down to the mailbox and then drive back home. Thanks to those of you who have sent them already but come on people (Annie, Lanee, Amanda, Vanessa Lee, Jenny, Joy, Vicki and anyone else who normally sends pics and letters) hurry up because my mailbox is sad and so am I because I NEED MORE PICS AND LETTERS!

My sick baby

Olivia got sick with some kind of stomach virus for the first time and she's almost 3. I was just telling someone a week or so ago that my kids have never thrown up and how nice that they haven't so far. I spoke too soon. Well, she actually did throw up when she was 7 months old the day before she was diagnosed with diabetes but that was because her blood sugar was extremely high and it was more like spit up because she was mostly just breastfeeding. Then I remember one time not too long after she was diagnosed (I think this had something to do with her blood sugar again) where she did it again but again she was breastfeeding mostly so it wasn't that bad. Well, this was bad but she only got sick twice and didn't wake up at all during the night so that was nice. She did have a fever early the next morning and now is having a few problems from the other end (sorry if this is too much info). This photo is of her passed out on the couch after getting sick the second time. Many of you know that this girl does not sleep hardly anywhere but in a quiet dark room, so this is odd for her because the t.v. was on, Audrey was babbling loudly, and Steve and I were talking. She was really sick and so sweet. I was sad that she was sick but she was acting so sweet that I enjoyed her sweetness. Make sense? Well, since then Steve got extremely sick as well and now I am just praying Audrey and I don't get it.

O.k. so I had to share this picture of Audrey. She is wearing overalls that my grandma Thompson made me when I was a little girl. Click on the picture to see the detail. This is the only outfit that I have that I wore when I was her age. So fun.
On the back right next to her bum cheeks she embroidered the words, "Dont' Spank" Hee hee, only a grandma would write that. I love it.
Please pray for Miss Audrey, she is involved in the Teddy study which is a study for kids with a higher risk of getting Type 1 diabetes. They are trying to find out what triggers kids to get this disease so we have to keep track of a lot of things as she grows. At Audrey's birth, the doctor took some of my cord blood and tested it and found out that Audrey has high risk genes for juvenille diabetes. To give you a good idea of her risk, children who do not have high risk genes still have a 1 in 300 chance of getting the disease. Because Audrey is related to Olivia that already increased her odds to a 1 in 20 chance of getting the disease. But because she has the high risk genes she now has a 1 in 7 chance of getting Type 1 diabetes. So in the study, we go in every 3 months and have her blood taken and tested to see if she is developing any antibodies. There are 3 antibodies and Olivia has 2 of them. These antibodies attacked Olivia's pancreas and killed her islet cells that produce insulin. Up until 3 months ago, Audrey's tests came back fine, but about 6 weeks ago we received the news that she has developed one of the antibodies. On the positive side, it is the most common of the 3 antibodies and in 75% of the children that develop this antibody it will go away on its own. We are praying that she is one of the 75%. We took her in today for her 15 month study visit and they drew her blood again. So in 4-6 weeks we will know if it went away or not. The nurse told me that sometimes it takes a few blood draws before it goes away if it's going to but that if it doesn't go away and she develops a second antibody then most likely she will get diabetes. I am trying to prepare myself in case she gets it so please pray that either way we will accept God's will for her and for us. I'll keep you updated on her results.

Little Versions of Me and My Friends

I've been meaning to post these pictures since I took them this summer but kept forgetting. My good friends from childhood Debbie and Vicki came by for a visit and brought their kids. On the couch Paityn, Vicki's little girl, is on the left, then Olivia, then Branson, Debbie's youngest boy.
Paityn is 6 months younger than Olivia and Branson is 6 months older than Olivia. They are so cute together. They really look like miniature versions of us especially Olivia and Paityn. Whenever my mom sees Paityn and Olivia playing together she remembers when Vicki and I were little playing and says they look just like us. Vicki lives not too far from us now so Olivia gets to play with Paityn and they just love each other. Debbie lives in Wyoming so we don't get to see them as much. Boo hoo.

A Little Pampering

I just came across this picture from this past July. Olivia loves having her fingernails and toenails painted so while Aunt Lisa was visiting she chilled on the couch while we pampered her. Doesn't she look so relaxed? My goodness.

Ta-Da!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I told you to stay tuned for the princess pictures and here they are along with a few other pics from the past few weeks.

She basically wears this everyday when we are at home. In this picture she has several outfits on top of each other. I love how she is posing, I told her to look like a princess for the camera and that is what she did.

Here she is before she got her princess outfits, she started wearing this everyday even over her clothes minus the headband and glasses.

Just a pic of Audrey in her Cherry dress for church.

After a nap one day my dad went and got Audrey out of her crib and this is what her hair looked like, can you believe it?

My snow bunny, she got her new snow pants and it snowed a lot this past weekend so she had to test them out.

I have to add a funny thing that Olivia said the other day. She calls a lot of people or animals her "best friend". Well, she had to go potty so she climbed up on the big toilet instead of her little potty. I asked her why she wanted to go on the big potty instead of hers and she said, "I have to go poop on the big potty because it is my best friend." Wow, lucky toilet.

AND Breathe.................................

Do you ever feel like there is so much going on in your life that your shoulders are constantly tense and you wait so long to go the bathroom because there is just too much to do to take time out for that? Lately I have to remind myself to relax my shoulders, go to the bathroom, and just breathe. Why does life get so busy? Why do we bring this on ourselves? Why can't we just say no? Stop the madness. O.k. enough ranting but are ya with me?

We got back from Oklahoma on Sunday night and I feel like I have a million and one things to do. Thanksgiving was nice in Oklahoma. The thing I do like about going away from home is that I get to enjoy my kids more. I don't have the responsibilities that I do when I am home so I get to hold them more and play with them and just relax and spend quality time with them. That happens at home too but it just seems that without thinking about laundry, cleaning, bills, etc. that I just enjoy them more.

On Saturday after Thanksgiving we celebrated Christmas with Steve's family since we won't see them this Christmas.

Here are a few pictures from our trip:

We went to the Oklahoma City Memorial for the bombing that happened in 1995. We walked through the museum and it was very sad but they did a great job telling the story.

Here's Olivia standing in the outside part of the memorial.

Steve with his cousin Matt standing in front of the wall where still after 12 years people leave items remembering that day.

Audrey with her PaPaw

Audrey with her cousin Macie or May May as we call her

Olivia with her cousin Garrett- I love this picture, they both look so cute!

Steve, Audrey, Mamoose, and Papaw

Steve's parents bought a motorcyle with three wheels (is that a trike then?) and we took turns riding it at the lake. Here Steve and I are ready for blastoff.

Audrey and Steve's cousin Matt's little boy Evan. He is just a week or so older than her. They took the trike for a ride. Don't they look cool?

Making cookies with Aunt Lisa

One day some rode horses at Mamoose and Papaw's house.
Here's Matt and his dad, Uncle Steve. They came out from California with their wives, Vanessa and Aunt Joanne.

Steve's sister Shelley, looking very cool on Savannah.

Vanessa took Sheba for a ride.

Audrey just loved her cousin Garrett, he took such good care of her, was so gentle and she would just hang out with him.

Olivia anxiously waiting to open gifts.

By the way, she got 4 princess costumes and jewelry in a box from her Aunt Shelley and family and I'm telling you she hasn't been the same since. She put those costumes on and she would just spin around the room. I heard her say once, "This is a wonderful dream come true!" She was calling herself Princess of All. So funny. She kept herself entertained all day carrying around her princess stuff. I've never seen her so happy. The problem is she won't take it off. She wears it on top of her clothes everyday. Or if I dress her in real clothes to go out then as soon as we get home she immediately strips down and puts on her dresses. AND now, she wants to wear all four dresses at once all the time. I told her she should just wear one and then change to another but she insists on putting on all four of them. I'm going to take a picture soon and post it. Stay tuned for that.

O.k. so this was really bizarre! We were on our way home from shopping the day after Thanksgiving and at one intersection by the mall there were all these birds lined up on the traffic lights and they looked evenly spaced at that. At one point many of them started flying and I thought they were going to fly in my window. I felt like I was in that old scary movie "The Birds".

Look closely or click on this picture, the birds are lined up on top of the building, millions of them. Strange I tell you.

Going Out of Town

Well, we are leaving tomorrow to drive to Oklahoma and will be gone for 10 days so I won't be blogging until after we get back. I have meant to blog some before we left but well, it has been a very hard and tiring past two weeks and I can't seem to get the energy do stay up late. Late meaning past midnight which is the earliest I have been making it to bed. Steve has been out of town a lot in the past two weeks because he just got a new job and has been at training and such. And even though my mom and grandma came to help me out last week some it still has been hard. So hopefully when I get back I will let you know how the trip went. Until then, I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday Stephi!

We didn't go trick-or-treating this year, the girls are still too little (plus I want to hold off as long as possible since Olivia is diabetic) but Olivia had a BLAST handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. After kids would leave should would say, "I want more kids." "Where are more kids?" She could hardly wait until the next kids came by. My cousin Annie sent us two costumes for Olivia to try, a cat and a pumpkin. She would not try them on. It was like she was scared to put them on. So then I knew she definitely is too young if she is scared to put on a cute costume. Anyway, tonight she kept asking for candy which she very rarely gets. I told her she could have a piece if she tried a costume on so I could get a picture. I did it, I bribed her into it, candy works miracles. So below you'll see her in the pumpkin costume.

Here is Audrey in the Hershey's Kiss costume we had for Olivia a few years ago. We wrote under the Hershey's Kiss part Sugar-Free. Get it? Because Olivia is a diabetic. Hee hee.

Here she is, the girl who would only try the costume on if she got candy.

My brother Mike went to some Halloween parties and he brought over some wigs to show us so we had to try them on. Audrey didn't even try to take the black wig off. How do you like me with a mullet? Scary!

Audrey with a mullet

Steve's family and friends in Oklahoma have never been more proud. After the picture was taken he said, "Honey, hand me a beer and sit on Daddy's lap." Just kidding, he just made me write that. How do you like his Elvis grin?

Happy Birthday Stephi! You look great at 33!

There are no monsters, there's Jesus!

Today Olivia created a new game. Here's what happens. I had to lay in Olivia's bed and pretend like I was crying. She would be outside the door and would come in when I cried. She would come over to the side of the bed and rub my arm and say, "It's o.k. sweetheart. Everything is o.k. There are no scary monsters, there's Jesus. " I would tell her not to leave me because that's what she always does in real life and when I would do that she would say o.k. and crawl in bed with me and pretend to sleep. She would then say, "I have to go now.", and leave the room. Before she left the room she would tell me to cry again. This so called game of hers repeated itself a dozen times before this mommy could take no more. I wondered if she would ever want to stop repeating the same thing over and over but she didn't seem like she would stop if I didn't. She wanted to play it before nap and I said we could after her nap. She has a great memory. After nap we were downstairs and she said, "Oh yeah mom, we forgot to play the game. " I said, "What?" She said, " You know the game upstairs in my bed." I said, "Oh yeah, how could I forget." We ventured upstairs to play this game at least another dozen times." Oh the sacrifices we make as moms to entertain our children. But it was so cute that she was acting like I do. Steve and I tell her there are no monsters and that Jesus is here and she copies us. So cute. And she kept calling me sweetheart. She calls Audrey sweetheart and darling sometimes. She'll say to Audrey, "Come here my darling." I don't call them darling so I don't know where she got that from but it's funny.

Afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch

Right next to our housing community is a big field and this year they put a corn field maze that they make into a haunted maze at night. During the day it is a pseudo pumpkin patch/play area for kids. Believe me, Steve and I were disappointed. There was not much to do. (I think it is mostly known for the scary corn maze at night instead of a pumpkin patch.) I have been to one other pumpkin patch in my life called Anderson Farms and it far outdoes this pumpkin patch but Olivia had a BLAST so we were glad we went. She was having so much fun walking through the pumpkins and playing in the corn box, she did not want to leave but it was FREEZING that afternoon so we couldn't stay long. Steve and I buried the girls in the corn box (like a sandbox but filled with dried corn) and it was hilarious. Audrey just laid there as still as could be not moving one muscle. Now, that is not like her. She usually would be squirming to get out of there but maybe she was so cold she just froze there.

Daddy came to Music Class!

Oh how much fun the girls had last week when their dad came to music class. He was just going to sit in the corner, watch, take pictures, and run the camcorder. Well, change of plans. Because he was there, the girls kept running over to him to give him a hug or sit on his lap. They were distracted and therefore not participating. So good daddy that he is he decided to join in. He still stayed in the corner (there are mostly moms in the class so I think he was nervous) but he was having fun. Olivia loved it and he even made the other women laugh several times. Thanks for being a good sport honey.

Go Rockies!!

O.k., I realize I am writing this after the Colorado Rockies just lost to the Boston Red Sox in their first World Series game of this year and the score.... YIKES 13-1. Poor Rockies. But there is still hope right? Anyway, I thought I'd post this pic of Steve and I at a Rockies game this past July. We are proud of them that they actually made it to the World Series for the very first time. Great job Rockies!

Cookies, Pumpkins, and Making Memories

My mom and dad are here for the weekend and so we had some bonding time. Mom and Olivia decided to make my mom's awesome sugar cookies with frosting because Steve basically told her she had to make them. He wants the cookies for every holiday. While they were making the cookies they were both singing a made up tune by my mom called, "Making Memories". They just sang those two words over and over.

The finished product. YUM-O!

After cookies, the boys decided to carve pumpkins. Here's how it went: Steve just started carving away very fast and messy. His pumpkin turned out great but he is just not that worried about how clean it was inside and didn't have to have it perfect. Mike on the other hand is like me and my dad. We are slow, we take our time, and we are perfectionists. So Mike had to use a permanent marker to get his design just right and the inside of his pumpkin was so cleaned out, not a seed or string left. Very opposite styles of pumpkin carving. However, Steve was done much earlier and enjoyed the Broncos on t.v. Oh yea, they were also singing "Making Memories" as they were carving. It was so funny.

Mike, Steve, and Olivia carving pumpkins

Once again, the finished product. Steve did the one on the right and Mike did the one on the left. For those of you who don't know CR stands for the Colorado Rockies who have made it to the World Series. Go Rockies!!!!!!!