This Fall

We have had an eventful fall. I'm finally getting to the point where I can sit down and post about it. We had a fun Halloween with our Salem cousins. Abigail was Pocahontas and Anita was Tinkerbell. Grandpa Gledhill came up to see us that week and got to go Trick-or-Treating with us.
As I posted before, we had some health issues this fall. This is Anita's shiner three days later, so it looked even worse before! I thought for sure that we were going to get a visit from CPS after we visited the doctor.
And last but not least, we bought a house! (no that is not our car parked on the street) It took a lot of effort and there were many times we weren't sure if it was all going to work, but it did and we are so happy. It is in Spanish Fork, Utah. It has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 fireplaces, and enough unfinished space in the basement for 2 more bedrooms and another bathroom. It has a new roof, which the seller's paid for, and a large garage. I don't have any pictures of the inside yet, I don't know where my husband put them and he is at work today.

Mike's sister Aubrey and her family came up from Arizona this week with some appliances for us, and we are so very grateful. Now we have to unpack all the boxes and put it all away. Ugh.

We are so grateful for this fall and all that has happened in our lives. Thank you to all those who have prayed for us and supported us in these endeavors.

Stitches

We had an interesting event happen this week. Abigail was over at a friend's house and their dad had given them some gummy spiders from Halloween to eat. He left the kitchen and the two girls decided they needed to cut their gummy spiders. Abigail's friend got a knife and successfully cut hers. She gave the knife to Abigail, who successfully cut her thumb.

I was at home sewing, when the girl's dad walked in, carrying a screaming Abigail. She kept screaming, "I don't want to go to the doctor, I don't want to go to the doctor!"

I didn't quite know what to do. I haven't had a cut that needed stitches, and haven't been responsible for anyone who has needed stitches. After a minute, I calmed down and called Abigail's doctor. They said the doctor could stitch it up for us. I took Abigail, kicking and screaming, to his office. She wasn't distressed at all about cutting her thumb, but about the doctor. She thought he was going to cut her thumb off.

I was able to get her calmed down by the time we got to the doctor, but everytime she thought about the doctor, she'd start crying again. The doctor came in, looked at the thumb, and told her he'd need to do some sewing. After he left, she turned to me looking very concerned, and said, "Is he going to use a sewing machine?"

She was brave and strong as she got the shots to numb her thumb and did great as he gave her three stitches.

All in all, it was a learning experience. Abigail knows not to use sharp knives and that doctors are nice and won't cut your thumb off.

Food Storage

While food storage isn't one of the top 10 things I love, I think it's a great idea. I found this interesting food storage "analyzer". It's through a food storage company to get you to buy their food, but it helps you see how long you could feed your family on what food storage you have, which is very helpful. I have enough grains to feed my family for 3 months, which is a good feeling. Between that and my emergency plan to work at my brother-in-law's dairy in exchange for meat, milk, and eggs if we need to, I think I'm doing good! =) Now I just need a garden.

10 Things I Love- #7

I was waiting to post anything new, because I wanted to keep that paying it forward at the top in the hopes that someone would accept. Alas, there's no faith in my homemaking skills! =)


I love fall! I love the beautiful colors, the crisp, cool weather, and best of all, change in general. I love change when it comes to weather, so spring and fall are always my favorite seasons. They're both full of anticipation of things to come. For fall, it's anticipation of snow, Christmas, and warming up by the fire with hot chocolate. In the spring, it's anticipation of swimming, barbecues, and warmth.

Pay it Forward

... It has to do with GIVING and receiving. Since I'm a lucky recipient, I've promised to "Pay it Forward". The first three (3) people interested in this little game will leave a message on my post. I will then send a handmade gift to those 3 wonderful people within the next year In order to play the game though, you must be willing to keep the spirit alive, and post a "Pay it Forward", and send out 3 handmade gifts to your readers!

10 Things I love- #6

Okay, so I didn't realize ten things I love would be so hard! I'm determined to press on and complete all then things.

I probably should have put this one first, because it is the most important, but I'm doing it now. I love my Lord, Jesus Christ. Sometimes I feel lost in life, but I know that He loves me, like the sheep in the picture, and I know that He will pick me up and care for me.

I know that He knows me and that He came to earth to live the perfect example, to suffer for my sins so that I can repent, and die for me so that I can be resurrected and be with my Heavenly Father again.

10 Things I love- #5

Sorry, I don't have a great picture, but I love my in-laws! I have been so lucky to gain so many wonderful sisters- Elisha, Lesli, Missi, Aubrey, Carli, and Becki. They are all super talented and creative in their own special ways. I love getting together with all of them and talk, play cards, watch movies, and create! I also love spending time with Mike's parents in Midway. They are so gracious and welcoming.

10 Things I love- #4

I need to give a shout out to my amazing little sister, Crystal- a labor and delivery nurse, a super babysitter, a great shoulder to cry on, a sweet marathon runner (just ran her first one today!) and an all around wonderful person. She does so many things for me and other people, it's inspiring.

In addition to my sister, my #4 thing I love is my family- my parents, Bret and Teresa, and my brothers and sisters (and their spouses)- Lance (Brittany), Tamara (Chris), Crystal, and David. They are all terrific people and I'm so glad to be part of their lives.

10 Things I Love- #3

Of course, my number three thing I love has got to be my Anita Teresa. She is a spitfire. I grew up knowing an Anita that I thought was sweet, kind, and mellow, and thought that my Anita might be the same, but I was wrong. She can be sweet, kind and mellow on occasion, but she loves being upbeat, excited, and crazy!
One of the things she loves best is sitting on momma's lap and getting hugs. It's the only time she sits still, and even then she head butts me more often than not. She absolutely loves making Abigail laugh and Abigail loves so laugh so they make a great team. She just recently got the knack of going potty in the toilet (yeah!) and she loves the independence. She is a great little sister and a wonderful daughter.

10 Things I love- #2

Another thing that I love is my dear, sweet Abigail Joan, or Abby-jo as my husband loves to call her. She is prim and proper, hates getting dirty and loves good, "clean" fun. She loves to pretend to be the mom, and tries to be Anita's mom as much as she can get away with. She is wise beyond her years and I love her so dearly. She loves to learn and can't wait to start school next year.

We were looking at pictures of her when she was little, and I had forgotten that she was a chunky little monkey! She has slimmed out a lot and she is going to be a beautiful woman someday.

10 Things I love- #1

To get back into posting, I am going to write about the top ten things I love. The first one, of course, is my husband, Michael Terry Wright. I just happened to find a fairly recent picture of him, which is quite the feat considering he would prefer to be on the other side of the camera. I thing I love most about him is his patience with me. These last few months have been very hard for me and he has put up with me through thick and thin. I also love his amazing creativity. He can make anything beautiful with his talented hands.

The Women in our Lives

I just watched this amazing video about women and I couldn't help but share it. I have read the blogs of my friends that include so many uplifting messages that I just want to include my own. I even learned how to put a Youtube video on my blog to share it with you. =)

I love seeing all the pictures of the beautiful women in the video. I noticed that there was not a woman there that wasn't beautiful, and then I realized that all women are beautiful. They are all beautiful creations of Heavenly Father and He loves each one of us.

Catching Up

Wow. It's after 8 AM and my girls are still asleep. I better take advantage and catch up on blogging about my summer activities. The third week in June I got to go to girl's camp with the young women in our ward. We went to Goblin Valley in southern Utah. I had never been there before. If you ever get the opportunity to go, take it (as long as it's not between July 1 and August 31)! It was very hot while we were there, except for a huge rain storm the last night that soaked everything.

We got there Tuesday afternoon and after setting up went to the Valley of the Goblins. It is a cool valley that is filled with mushroom shaped rock formations. If you have ever seen Galaxy Quest, the alien planet scene was filmed there. It looks more like Mars than Earth. It is a great place to play hide and seek.

Wednesday we went on a slot canyon hike called Little Wildhorse. I had never done that kind of hike before, and it was really cool. It was fun to creep through a tiny canyon and climb over boulders and such.

Thursday we went rafting on the Green River. We had three large rafts and three one-man inflatable kayaks. We were able to stop in the middle of the trip and hike a little ways to see an ancient indian sacred spot with pictoglyphs. It was cool. I was able to go on the kayak for the last third of the trip. It was an adrenaline rush for me! We went through some big rapids and I only tipped over once!

Friday we went home. It was such a great week and I was so happy to get to know the young women in our ward so much better.

My girls are now awake and begging for some breakfast, so it's time to go!

"You Can Touch Anything!"

Yes, I know that I have a month and a half's worth of blogging to do and I will get to it, but I have a cute little story to share in the meantime.

Whenever we are at the grocery store and my girls start grabbing at things they want, I ask them, "do you have money to buy that?" When they say no, I say, "then don't touch it!"

Well, last week was Anita's birthday, and we got a birthday card in the mail today from her Great-Grandma and Grandpa Wright with $5 in it. Abigail got so excited and told Anita, "Now you can put that money in your purse and when we go to the grocery store, you can touch anything!"

Washington

This past week, the girls and I were able to go to Washington for my baby brother David's high school graduation. (Sorry, we've lost the battery charger for our camera, so it has been out of commission! As soon as we get a new charger and the camera is up and running, we'll get some pictures on this blog). We got to travel with my sisters, Tamara (with her daughter Lucy) and Crystal, and my grandparents. It was great fun. Abigail and Anita spent almost every waking (unscheduled) hour outside playing on the trampoline and the playground.

It's so crazy to think that David will be here at BYU this fall. He has grown up so much and I am very proud of his accomplishments. My brother David already has enough stories in his life to make a book, and the book would be hilarious. Here are a few things I would put in his book:

• He was carried around in a wagon everywhere, even to church, because he was in a full body cast for 6 weeks after breaking his femur at the age of 2 (he wasn't even potty trained, nightmare!)
• He gave a 15 minute testimony/sermon at the age of 8/9 in sacrament meeting, complete with true/false quiz.
• He went to an all-you-can-eat buffet and came back to the table with a plate heaping with two things- raisins and jello.
• He asked my older sister what "the hangy-down things on a cow's udder" were.
• He bore testimony in church that "he knew the Holy Ghost was his real father".
• After climbing on a 5 gallon bucket of honey with the lid not securely on, he fell into the bucket, then thought it was a fun game that his mom was chasing him and ran throughout my mom's carpeted kitchen.

I could go on and on, but these are just a few. We regularly have family "David story" hours where we are all in tears laughing (well, at least I am).

David- on the left in the orange shirt

Congratulations, David. I'm so proud of your accomplishments. You will be a great missionary. I love you.

Mother's Day

I have had a great mother's day so far. My husband is in the kitchen making me breakfast. He and the girls just gave me a portable garden, we'll see how that goes, I have a black thumb but I always love to try. They also got me Fable 2 on XBox 360 (psst, don't tell ANYONE I'm a video game nut.) I am feeling very loved and appreciated today.

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there.

Abigail's Funny

Friday Michael went to a Hostess outlet store and came home with Chocodiles (chocolate covered Twinkies). Yesterday I was explaining the name to Abigail, that it's a combination of chocolate and crocodile. She was having some troubles remembering it, so I didn't think she understood the concept. I found out she did understand when a couple hours later she came to me asking for "Challigators".

I'm Here

Just wanted you all to know that I am still alive, just not posting on my blog. Since March I have been making between 25 and 30 swimming suits a week (between 5 and 6 a day). Because of that, I don't have time to post. Nothing spectactular has happened in our family.

Anita got a puncture wound on her forehead in Nursery that we thought would need stitches, but instead we put a butterfly bandage on it and it healed up nicely.

Abigail started a new computerized preschool program from home and really likes it. She is a smart little girl.

Michael is working hard, as always, and will most likely be spending a few days in Colorado next week for work.

I am sewing like crazy, getting up at 6 AM to start and continuing through the day, hoping that I have a good day and don't have to keep sewing after the kids go to bed. It's crazy!

Because of this craziness, Michael and I are taking a little break this weekend and escaping. It's well deserved, let me tell you.

Some new pics

Pure happiness! As you can see, we still haven't gotten Abigail to keep her eyes open for pictures.

Abigail was throwing a fit one day and I decided to distract her by telling her I wanted to take a picture of her sad face. The minute I got out the camera her fit became an act and when I was done taking pictures she didn't even remember why she had been crying in the first place.

There hasn't been much going on in our lives lately, so I couldn't think of anything to post. Here are some new pictures. Abigail and Anita are so happy that the weather is getting warmer and momma no longer requires them to wear pants under their dresses every day.

Great Youth Activity

We just had a great mutual/youth activity. We played "Where's waldo?" at the mall. We had 9 different members of our ward disguise themselves and hide at the mall (it had to be in the hallways, no actual stores). Then we came in and had to find all of our waldo's. It was great fun. The strange thing was that there was another group playing the exact same game at the same time at the same mall (actually, there might have even been a third group that came later). We divided into groups and had to get signatures for all of the different waldos. I highly recommend this activity if you live within reasonable distance of a mall.

Comments, anyone?

I love to blog, but sometimes I wonder if anyone else but me really cares, you know? Anyway, if you read this, please comment, if only to say hello. I love comments! Yes, yes, I rarely comment either, but I will try to do better, especially if you comment on my blog!

Thanks!

St. Patrick's Day

I love St. Patrick's Day (I actually love most holidays, especially because they usually involve food for me). I'm not really into wearing green and pinching, but I love the food! Mike and I make corned beef and cabbage and it's so great. After my birthday, it's the next thing I have to look forward to.

What a Week!

What should have been a great week has turned into a disaster. Monday was my birthday. 27. I still love birthdays. Who wouldn't like a special day all for you?? Anyway, Monday was pretty good. I went to lunch with my grandma Gledhill, Crystal, Tamara and Lucy and had a great time. Then, Crystal came over to watch the girls while Mike and I went to dinner and shopping for my birthday.
Dinner was great, but when we started shopping, I started feeling horrible. I was achy and getting chills. We ended up calling it quits and going home. I was in bed all day yesterday feeling horrible. My brother Lance was in town from Washington with his wife and two daughters and we had a special dinner planned on Tuesday for him and also for my birthday. Couldn't get out of bed to go. It was very sad.
Last night I discovered that Ibuprofen could do what the dayquil/nyquil wasn't, so today was much better. I was able to get some sewing done, but I'm still too sick to leave the house. I have the chance to see Lance and his family again tomorrow, so hopefully I'm feeling better.

Michael and I watched an amazing movie this afternoon- Emma Smith My Story. We have often heard the story of Joseph Smith, but this is from the perspective of Emma and all she dealt with. I felt her sorrow and pain as she had to bury so many of her children and eventually her husband. She was a constant comfort and help to Joseph and all others who knew her. As I watched Emma deal with her momentus struggles and came out of them so strong, it made me feel like I can endure all my miniscule troubles. She is my new role model and I have so much respect for her. I encourage you to watch the movie and learn the amazing person that Emma Hale Smith was.

Abigail's rhyming

Abigail loves to rhyme. This morning, she told me her new favorite rhyme: fake bake.

Abigail's Prayer

These are some of the things Abigail said in her prayer today:

"Bless that mommy will be happy so she will not do bad things" (it's been a rough day for me)

"Bless that Anita will tell the truth, just like I do" (Abigail isn't known for her humility)

"Bless that mommy won't yell anymore" (see #1)

It was a humbling prayer for me, but pretty funny.

A Wonderful Week

Our week has been great. As soon as Mike got off work on Friday we packed up and went to Midway to his grandparent's cabin. It is a beautiful place where we can relax and have fun. We got Abigail to sled, which is pretty amazing. She isn't much of a risk-taker (like her mom) but we started out slow and kept it within her comfort level. It wasn't too long before she was going down the hill full speed with Mike. She had a great time.

For Valentine's Day, we had a nice dinner with Mike's grandparents, parents, his sister Missi, Coleen and Lhomond Jones (an aunt and uncle), and a cousin and his wife. It was good food and nice conversation. Mike made me (is making me) a set of hand turned canisters of my kitchen for my Valentine's gift. I'll post a picture as soon as they are done. They're beautiful! I'm so excited to have them.

Sunday we went to church, then came home. I got to go to a wonderful concert by Wendy Rush (a great friend) and sisters. They have the most amazing voices. It was so beautiful.

Monday was our anniversary. 7 years. Wow. It was pretty low key, since we celebrated our anniversary early by going to the Zermatt. We took the girls for some Cold Stone ice cream (our favorite) then we watched a movie.

This is where I need to insert how lucky I am to be married to Mike. He is such a hard worker and does so much for our family. He is my best friend and I can't ask any more than that. We got to talking about our 1 year anniversary and how we hardly knew each other!! What would it be like to be married 57 years? We'll probably look back on our 7 year anniversary and say we hardly knew each other. =)

Yesterday was Mike's birthday. He got a flat screen TV (a small one) for our bedroom so he can play video games and we can watch movies. We went to the temple and had dinner.

Monkey Girl

Did you know Anita has an opposable thumb on her right foot? We've been trying to keep it a secret, but it's out!

Never Mind

Abigail lasted only hours with her new PANTS resolve. She just came to me telling me she changed her mind and wants to wear a skirt over her pants. Oh, well.

A Momentus Day!

After breakfast this morning, Abigail decided what she wanted to wear. She ran up to me and told me she wanted to wear pants with no skirts today. I was speechless! Every day since she was 18 months old she has picked a skirt or a dress. She wouldn't wear pants unless there was a specific reason and I made her wear pants.

We took a picture to remember this great event (she even kept her eyes open for the occasion). It amazes me how big she is getting. She is turning into a beautiful girl.

She's Trying

Abigail asked this morning if she could practice keeping her eyes open for the pictures (she knows that I posted the pictures of her yesterday). As you can see, her first attempt wasn't a success, but the second one was a step in the right direction.

Abigail wants everyone to know that she wasn't ready in the first picture and that mama should have waited.

For some reason, Abigail CANNOT keep her eyes open for a photo. I take a picture, look at it on the camera's screen, and she has her eyes closed. I tell her to keep her eyes open and retake the picture. nope.
I take picture after picture, hoping that I will get one with her eyes open, but she never does it. I think she anticipates the flash and closes her eyes to protect them from the light. She always complains that she closes her eyes because of the light.

After about 3 shots I start getting more firm about her keeping her eyes open, so she pulls her eyes open with her fingers, which doesn't look good in a picture, so I tell her to put her hands down and we're back to square one. FRUSTRATING!

Anita, Abigail, and friend Emily

The girls with crazy morning hair

My Poor Daughter

She's my poor daughter not because she got herself into this predicament, but that when she started yelling at me for help, I saw what happened and ran for the camera instead of helping her out. The first picture had Anita blocking the shot, but I think it is a great picture of her distress. The second picture she had realized the humor in the situation and was smiling. Right after the second picture was taken, she got herself out from between the rungs of her rocking chair and continued playing.

When I finally got these pictures up, Abigail saw them and said, "ow!", as if in remembrance of the hurtful incident.

Love

I would have to say that February is one of my favorite months. Actually, it just has a great week within that month. February 14th is Valentine's day, and while that is pretty nice, it only gets better from there.

• February 15th- my niece Halley's birthday
• February 16th- my 7th anniversary (also my mia maid advisor's and a mia maid's birthdays)
• February 17th- Mike's birthday as well as his twin sister Missi's birthday (of course) and their nephew Garet's birthday.

Mike is entering the ripe old age of "he's too old to tell", but it ends in a "0". We've been talking recently about how old we're getting, but we are just at the very very beginning of the "I'm getting old" stage. It'll get worse every year.

Bubbles

I realized it has been a long time since I posted a picture. Mike has been taking the camera to all of his installs lately, so when I run for the camera, it hasn't been there.

Last night, though, I got some great shots. My girls have big, swirly dresses that they got from their cousins and they LOVE them. One of the things they love about them is that when they stand on the heater vent when the air is blowing, the dresses billow up. They call it making "bubbles".

A Wonderful Weekend

We had a great weekend that seemed to have gone on forever, which is always grand. Mike got home from Colorado around 6 on Friday, then we got everything ready and left for Midway. My amazing parents-in-law watched the kids for the night while we spent the night at the Zermatt Resort, which is a very nice resort about a mile from where my parents-in-law live. We had some great food and got in some much needed relaxation.

This weekend was our stake conference and we had the privilege of having Elder Robert D. Hales attend. Because of this, there were rumors that we were going to get a new Stake Presidency, but we didn't. We were able to enjoy learning from Elder Hales both Saturday night and Sunday morning. There is something so special about learning at the feet of an apostle of the Lord in our day. We soaked it all up and we are hoping to be better people from the experience.

Sunday evening we got together with some new friends of ours for dinner and games. Michael has been playing airsoft with a new group of friends every Saturday, and we have been getting together with a guy from that group and his wife. We played Settlers of Catan with the Knight's and Cities expansion to it, which put a nice but difficult twist to the game.

When Mike and I went to bed Sunday night, we talked about how wonderful it was that our quick weekend had been so relaxing and refreshing. It seemed to last a week instead of just two days, which is what we both needed.

Life Update

I wanted to make a post that isn't "bodily function" related, so I'll fill you in on some happenings.
Mike left at 4 o'clock this morning for Colorado and will be there until probably Friday(he better get home then, see further down), so we're a house of girls this week.
My mutual group is going to the Draper Temple Open House tomorrow, and I am very excited that I get to go.
Michael and I get to spend the Friday night at the Zermatt Resort while my parents-in-law watch our kids. I'm very excited about that.
I am still pretty busy with work, which is amazing for this economy. For those of you who don't know, I spend my time at home making dance recital costumes, high school drill team costumes, and super cute swimming suits for a local company.
I am very grateful for all my Heavenly Father has given me, especially my two sweet daughters. They are so wonderful.

A Small Victory

Anita wore panties for 3 HOURS today with ZERO accidents (that's a better record than Abigail this morning). She also successfully went potty in the potty chair for the first time today. It was a great celebration. She is by no means potty trained, at least two of those three hours were spent sitting on the chair while watching a movie to distract her, but it was a step in the right direction.

Anita's Potty Journal

Day 1: introduction to panties
Wet Panties by lunch: 5
Successful attempts at going potty: 0
Best part of the experience: no poopy panties!

I asked her this morning if she wanted to wear panties and she said yes. After the first accident, she didn't want to wear a diaper, she wanted to wear panties, so I let her. After 5 accidents in as many hours, I decided she didn't have a choice, she was wearing diapers for the rest of the day. Overall, I would say it was a good start at helping her realize what she's doing and the uncomfortable effects of wetting her pants. Luckily, she wears pants AND a skirt every day (pants because mom requires it, skirt because Anita requires it) so she didn't make any messes outside of her clothes.

I have a Sweet Daughter

Anita wanted pancakes this morning, so I decided to try a new whole wheat recipe that I got from www.allrecipes.com. Through a combination of an unconventional recipe and some personal ineptness, it didn't come out well. The pancake batter was too thin and the pancakes came out flat. I added too much vinegar to my sour milk, so we ended up with sour whole wheat pancakes.

Even though the pancakes were a disaster, I wasn't about to let my hard work go to waste, so we ate them. They tasted okay, if you like sourdough.

The sweet thing about it was that Abigail loved them. When she was in the middle of eating her second pancake, she turned to me (very seriously) and said, "Mom, these are the best pancakes I never [ever] had in my whole life." She is such a sweetheart.

Our New Year

I've been in a bit of a rut in the blogging and my kids haven't done anything cool/funny/scary/dangerous lately so I don't have much material.

Our new year has been fairly uneventful. Our family has decided to do better at eating healthy and exercising, keeping our house less cluttered (we spent a weekend getting rid of half of our kids' toys) and generally trying to be better people.

The greatest thing we have done in our efforts is to buy a lock for the girls' closet. We keep all of their toys in there, and they are constantly pulling everything out then leaving it to play with something else. We got a lock that is too high for them to reach and open it to get a few things out then lock it, and they have to put those few things away before they get more. It is week 2 of this and it's been working great! My house is virtually clutter-free because there aren't toys EVERYWHERE. The girls' books and kitchen toys are always out, which gives them some things to play with all the time, but for the most part, it is all locked up. Another great thing I have been doing is having a quick clean up of all toys before each meal. It only takes about 5 minutes, but helps a lot.

Nominee for Mother of the Year?

I haven't been posting very much the past couple weeks because I don't feel like I have anything really to say. Today, though, I got some material.

We went to the grocery store this morning and when I got the cart, both Abigail and Anita got onto the side of the cart. They love to hold onto the top and put their feet up on the base of the cart (exactly like it tells you NOT to do in the cart disclaimers). Going shopping is stressful enough, so I've learned to pick my battles as far as this is concerned. When they got onto the cart, they both climbed on the same side and the cart began to tip. Luckily, I was holding onto the cart and they didn't fall. I told them that they can't be on the same side, because it would fall and they would hurt themselves.

They obviously didn't listen.

One minute later, as I turned from the cart to get some produce, Abigail decided she wanted the stuffed hippo in the cart that we had brought to play with. It was on Anita's side, so she ran over and climbed on her side to get it.

CRASH!!!!

I turn around to see both of my girls pinned to the floor by the cart, screaming. A very nice stranger and an employee of the grocery store ran to help. Everyone else looked, then turned away. The stranger said that her boys had done the same thing once, which made me feel a little bit better. So, there we were, three crying females, one trying to calm the other two. Luckily, it didn't take long before the three of us were all under control and we continued our shopping with no further incident.

We're Home

We had a wonderful time at "Grandma T's" house for Christmas and New Years. The whole family was there and it was great. The boys got to go skiing/snowboarding and skeet shooting, and the girls got to go out to lunch and see Twilight. The grandkids had a lot of fun together.

We made it there and back safely, which was an answer to prayers. We spent a couple of days at home organizing and relaxing and we are now back to normal life.