We love family visits!

We were so excited to have Lori and Ryan and Bethany here last week! They are moving to Texas--yeehaw! We are looking forward to having them just 10 minutes away! It was our first time to meet Bethany and she is a doll! She is the sweetest baby with the sweetest disposition! The girls really enjoyed playing with her and getting to know her a bit. One night while they were here I watched Bethany while Lori and Ryan ran out for a few minutes. Bethany was really fusy (seriously, this is the only time she cried) and the girls were quite distraught. I walked over to pick up the baby and Samantha said "Mom, run to her! Don't just walk!" I picked up the baby, patted her back for a minute, but she kept crying. Samantha says "Mom, don't stop! Keep doing it!" So, I keep doing it, but Bethany kept crying. At this point, Natalie has her hands over her ears and says "I need a vacation!" and proceeds to go next door. I was cracking up at my kids! They don't remember crying babies, but I do! I practically had three at once and one with colic--this was nothing! Bethany really only cried for maybe 10 minutes then settled down. When Lori and Ryan got back, Natalie says "Bethany cried so loud I had to go to the neighbors". We enjoyed the week with them and can't wait til August when Lori, Ryan, and Bethany move into their beautiful new home!


Ryan is an artist and does some really fun art projects with the girls. They are always asking him to teach them how to do something artistic.


We took these pictures this morning before church. Such a good one of Bethany.


Me and my youngest sis.

Easter Pictures

I am really late getting these posted. We have had a SUPER busy week. Lori and Ryan and their baby Bethany have been here this week. I will post some pictures with them a little later. For Easter, we went to Mama Judy's! We love her so much! She is always so good to us and does so much for us! She always treats us to very yummy food and we enjoy seeing her and visiting with her SO much! We had a great dinner, had an egg hunt, and just enjoyed talking with Mama Judy and watching the girls play. I spent many Easters at Mama Judy and Papa's as a child. Sadly, my Papa passed away last May and we miss him so very much! Thank you Mama Judy for all you do for us! We love you!!!!


Mama Judy with the girls


The family at Mama Judy's


Samantha and Susanna look like they are reaching for the same egg


Natalie


Greg and Nan enjoying their treats

Spring Break at the cabin

Wow! We had a great time at the cabin for Spring break! There are a lot of pictures so get comfy--you're gonna be here a while! My friend Camden and her kids came with us. SO much more fun with friends! It really feels like you are "getting away" there. There is no internet and I get no cell coverage there. There is a satellite and great set up for watching lots of movies (with popcorn of course, which we did in the evenings). My parents have outfitted the cabin with lots of bunk beds so everyone had a place to sleep. The weather cooperated and the kids did great and got along so well! The main attraction for the kids is swimming in the lake, which was too cold for swimming right now, playing in the sand, playing outside, building campfires, getting dirty, and just being a kid! I say yes to a lot of things at the cabin that I would never say yes to at home! I have to give a big thanks to Camden and her kids for helping to make our trip so much fun!




Tanner and Samantha clearing a space for our campfire. They really enjoyed using the pitch fork, rake and shovel!


Samantha enjoying the s'more she made!


The Mamas! We enjoyed some hotdogs and s'mores too!


The kids had fun playing in the sand.


Sitting in the sun trying to warm up on the boat ramp.


My cutie pie Miss Natalie! Sooooo adventurous that one!


We were having an easter egg hunt, but the kids were distracted by a brand new moth on the tree.


Down by the lake.


The lake was very rough on this day and waves were crashing against the wall. The kids thought it would be so fun to see if they could get splashed.


Here it comes......


And they were soaked just like they wanted! Of course everyone was freezing 2 seconds after, so what do we do?? Go put on some dry clothes then go back to do it again!


Me and my girls.


Susanna on the deck.


Enjoying the tree swing.

Friday Flashback--The Cabin!

Angie age 11 at the cabin


Samantha and Natalie at the cabin July 2003


Greg, Natalie, and Samantha enjoying the lake near the cabin July 2005

The cabin has been a place that our family has enjoyed for over 30 years! It has had different owners over the years, but thanks to Mama Leslie and Pappy Joe we are still having a great time there! It is a great place to relax and get away from it all--literally! We are headed there for Spring Break and are looking forward to a super time. (Greg will stay here and work so he can fund our activities--thanks Greg!) I'll post some pics of our adventures when we get back!

Date Day

One of the benefits of having Greg work from home is that we can do date day instead of date night. Thanks to the public school system we do not have to find a babysitter. I got called to substitute at the girls school today, but turned down the job to keep our date! Greg knows exactly how to win me over and takes me first thing to my favorite place ever--SONIC--to get my favorite drink ever--COCA COLA (I would rather drink coke than water). Then we went to look at houses (our favorite pastime), went shopping and ate some yummy snacks! Nothing too earth shattering. It was a beautiful sunny day, probably 75 degrees, and was all around great to spend time with my babe!

Thoughts of forever...

After the sealing,Dallas Temple March 11, 2000


Natalie 2 weeks


Samantha 2 weeks


Samantha and Natalie 8 years

Tomorrow will be 8 years since we had the privilege of having our twins sealed to us, and I have been reflecting on the miraculous and amazing process of how they came to our family. I am so grateful for the support of family and friends who helped us and cheered us on. I am so grateful for Heavenly Father's plan for me and so grateful He didn't let me have the plan I had for myself! The blessings He has given me have been FAR greater than anything I could have ever imagined for myself. I remember the frustration of infertility and the heartache of wondering if I would ever be able to have a family. I remember the many doctor visits, surgeries, shots and hope of seeing the little blue line on the pregnancy test each month. Greg and I both hoped that we would get twins through the fertility treatments, but after many months and for various reasons we decided to stop the fertility methods and pursue adoption. We filled out all the paperwork and checked the box that said we would take twins, never dreaming that we might actually get twins. I remember being at work when the social worker called and said that there were premature twin girls and could she show the birth mother our file. I cried and cried as she told me what she knew of their condition in the NICU, the possibilty of them having every conceivable disorder, and liklihood of them being mildly disabled at the very least, and did Greg and I still want to consider adopting them. Greg and I didn't care what they had or might possibly have, it was just YES, YES, YES we want them! Greg called the social worker back after I had talked to her to reiterate that we absolutely wanted to consider adopting these girls. And I knew that they were meant to be with our family.

We lived through the NICU, cheering the girls for every ounce gained and every improvement made. As many of you know it is very touch and go in the NICU. One day everything is going great, and the next there are many setbacks, just like real life I suppose.

Susanna joined our family the old fashioned way later in 2000 and it has been an adventure ever since! Our family dynamics are very interesting sometimes--it is not all sunshine and roses everyday, but I treasure the journey through life with Greg and these sweet girls and look forward to forever with them! This is probably the longest post I'll ever have--thanks for reading!

New roof

The insurance adjuster was out this afternoon and confirmed that we need a new roof, new gutter, downspouts, and some fence repairs thanks to the hail storm we had a few weeks back. This is the first time we have ever had to file a claim with insurance. The estimated damage comes to over $13,0000!!!! FORTUNATELY we have a deductible of only $500! At one point the adjuster was on the very tip top point of our roof with a bag and a measuring tape--I was so nervous that he was going to fall off so I had to go inside.

Friday Flashback

Ok, so I copied this idea from someone else's blog--imitation is the highest form of flattery! I hope she won't mind! This is a photo of my roommates at BYU. I can't remember the exact date. Probably 1989 or so. Emilie (she spells it with an h in there somewhere, but I can't remember where it goes so I left it out), Laurie, Lisa, Angie. They were a great group of girls and we had great time together!

Ok....more snow!

Warming up by the fire with Am. Girl dolls and friends following 2 plus hours of playing in the snow

Winter was not done with us! We got quite a bit more snow this afternoon. When I picked the girls up from school they let me know on several occasions the this was the best day of their life! They had me lined up for gallons of hot chocolate, popcorn, and various kinds of items that could be used for the eyes, nose and mouth of a snowman. Along with these snow day duties came "dryer duty"--every 10 minutes someone came in wet and cold and had to change gloves, pants, socks, etc. These things went in the dryer so they could be mostly dry for the next round. Still no cancelled school at this point, just a 2 hour delay so we can do it all again in the morning!

A few hours of winter

We were awakened this morning by squeals and screams of delight--"IT SNOWED"!! It did indeed snow a little. The girls got dressed and went immediately outside to play. There are two slats missing in the fence between us and our neighbors, so all the kids were throwing snowballs at each other through the space. The snow will more than likely be gone by late morning, so there IS school today (much to the girls dismay)!

Story time with Dad

Story time with the Dyer's! This was a few nights ago--Greg is snoozing, Susanna is reading to everyone, I'm not sure if Samantha is yawning or just about to say something, and Natalie looks like she is daydreaming! At least a couple of them look interested!

Backyard Picnic

The girls had afternoon soccer games yesterday, so they had a friend over to play in the morning. At lunch time they asked if they could have a picnic in the backyard, which of course is fine with me anytime they want to eat outside (no mess in the kitchen you see). They were doing a "cheers" with their capri suns!