She is growing so fast...

I have been meaning to post this for the past few days and have not found the time to sit down and do it. But on this past Wednesday, we had Audra sitting on the floor next to the dinner table while we were eating. I was talking with Bri and I looked over and she had pulled herself up. WOW! I was not expecting this, I know that she is trying to become mobile but holy cow! Later that evening, she was getting into the position to crawl. My baby is growing so quickly, soon we will have a mobile baby.

Audra's Blessing

After waiting for months for Audra's blessing dress to fit (it was a gift from my dad and Kel), we blessed Audra Lynn yesterday. She looked so beautiful in her white dress. Colin even called her precious when I brought her out in the dress. Ryan Healy gave the opening prayer, with my mom then leading the hymn "Teach Me to Walk in the Light." My cousin Jake Buckmiller then blessed her for us and my cousins Erik Buckmiller and Ryan Healey stood in the circle with him. I gave the closing prayer. After, everyone came over to our house for a light brunch of Creme Brule French Toast, fruit, bacon, cheese potatoes and mint brownies. It was actually amazing we fit 27 people into our little home, thankfully a third of them were kids. (There were many people we wanted to invite, but do to the size of our home we could not, we are sorry that we could not include you all.) It was a wonderful day and now she "glows in the dark" (something my dad says after having a special religious events.)

Too True Tuesday - I am a Cheapie

So, here is the deal, my friend Wendy reads a blog that has everyone listing the ways that they are cheap. She did this and challenged us to do it as well. So, here are the ways that I am cheap:

I make my own baby food, because I can buy the fresh fruits and veggies for less then I can buy a weeks supply of baby food in the jars.

I put 5 cans of water into my concentrate juice instead of 3, which makes it last longer and it is also healthier (less sugar and fewer calories)

We own one car instead of 2, which means 1 car payment

We do not have cable TV or TIVO - we have rabbit ears to get the basic channels

We rent movies from RedBox instead of going to blockbuster or seeing it in the theater

I cook both lunch and dinner for the week, if we go out it is only once a week, plus it's healthier too

Brian uses his coffee filter 2 times before throwing it out

We use the reusable bags at the grocery store because they gave you 5 cents off and it's good for the earth

I will buy things from the DI if I find a good deal

I love Big Lots because I can find cheap laundry products, housewares, frames, etc.

We do our laundry at my folk's or Brian's folks, so we don't pay $2 a load

We buy in bulk what we can.

Food is our difficult area because of allergies, but when we find a coupon that we can use we do.

If Coly's pull-up is dry in the morning we save it for his nap or the next night.

I get all the kids pictures taken (except newborn) at JC Penny because I have coupons for 1 free 8x10 and all other sheets $3.99. I saved $70 last time.

We don't have any thrills, we have what our budget can afford. We don't use credit cards unless it is an emergency. When ordering off the Internet, we try to use in store pick up because it usually costs less to drive to the store to pick it up them to pay for shipping an handling.

Things I don't do:

I don't use cloth diapers

I don't reuse plastic wrap or aluminum foil

I don't save twist ties, rubber bands, or other clip things


SO, now the fun part. Post on your blog the ways that you are cheap or if you don't want to do that. Post a comment here. That way we can get each others ideas.

A stroll down memory lane

I have seen a couple of blogs that do a post on Mondays that are a memory that they want to record. I don't know that I will do this every Monday, but when I think of something I want to record I am going to post them. That way when I turn the blog into a book our children will have some of our memories recorded.
Brian and I were newly weds, his aunt Dorrie and cousin Marissa were living with us. We were renting my parents home in Murray. Bri and I were in our room, getting ready for the night and Bri was in his underwear and I noticed that there was a hole in his underwear. I told him that he had a hole in his underwear in the back. Bri grabbed the underwear where the hole was a ripped his underwear exposing his butt. I giggled a little and but that is not what SHOCKED me. Before I had time to even think about anything else, he opened the door and mooned his aunt and cousin. Then shut the door. It had everyone rolling on the floor and continues to be a joke that Brian bared his butt to his aunt and cousin out of the blue.

The Competition

Brian and I have loved having the Wii in our home. It gives a little something to do together in the evening after the kids are in bed. Brian, found the ski jump, which is a lot like the Olympic ski jumps and was having a fun time. So, I gave it a try and found that I like it too. I did really well and actually got 1st place. I was so excited. Well, Brian could not handle the fact that I was in the number 1 spot, so he had to beat my score and in the mean time took up almost all of the 10 spots on the record board. So, the other day while he was at work, I beat his high score (YES!!!) and now he can't beat it. But he has been slowly bumping my other scores off the score board. Between the 2 of us we have made the score board very difficult to get on, but it has been fun keeping him off the top spot.

Grateful...

Earlier today, I was reading the blog of a friend of a friend. She has been faced with some difficult trials. 2 1/2 years ago she lost her brother, her only sibling, he passed away in his sleep of natural causes at the age of 21. She has missed him deeply, but holds tight to her faith in the Lord and his atonement. She gave birth about 9 weeks ago to a little baby boy whom, she named after her late brother. Well, the baby died today from complications of RSV and Whooping Cough. He was too young to immunize before he contracted the disease.

Yesterday, my sister lost her pregnancy after years of trying, then giving up and adopting. She has had a lot of tears and heartache too, over this loss. She has been able to find peace in the fact that the fetus stopped forming a few weeks ago. So, she did not have to decide to terminate a pregnancy her body did it for her.

My heart has hurt for both of them today, I know that they will get through their trials. I feel so blessed to have my children happy and healthy. That I have been able to carry both pregnancies full term. I was bathing them tonight and felt so grateful for all my blessings and the joy that my children bring to me. I truley am blessed!

Tuesdays with Grandma

Bri's mom comes over almost every Tuesday after work, to play with the kids. Since Audra is still rather small Coly gets to pick the activity for the day. But one day in the not to distance future Coly is going to be playing Tea Party with Grandma and Audra; and Audra will be playing Dinosaurs with Coly and Grandma.

Yesterday, was Grandma's play time and Coly wanted to play with the play dough. He has so much fun stamping out animals and making "balls." They worked on this a while, while enjoying the Starburst that Grandma brings each time. Then the went fishing. Colin looks forward to "Gamma" coming over.