merry christmas!

brock just turned 2 & all boy he is! brock has recently transitioned from a total mama's boy to a daddy's boy. it doesn't take these kids long to realize dad doesn't have as many rules as mom! brock is full of personality & loves attention (& he gets a lot!) he loves everybody, anywhere, anytime!

keegan is 7 going on 17! she is the perfect student & loves school. she is the best big sister to brock. she loves dance, gymnastics, & scrapbooking. she is very independent with a mind of her own (remind you of someone else?) we had a scare with itp this year but it is h=behind us & she is back to perfect health.

jake turned 8 this year & was baptized. jake puts up with school because he has to. he loves all sports (soccer, football, basketball, golf & baseball). he also loves scouts (& we know he did not get that from his dad). jake is very obedient & tries hard to always make good choices.

steve & shelby just celebrated their 10th anniversary. we are so lucky for all the time we are able to spend together. embellish IT! is keeping us very busy but no complaints. we still travel a lot. we are excited about an addition to our travel team, due in april :)

as we reflect on 2008, we are so grateful for our savior, family & friends. we wish you all a merry christmas! we would love to hear from you & hope to see you too!

las vegas

las vegas was fabulous! we got there & settled into our suite when vegas was hit with a snow storm - which in itself was no ordinary event. everyone was saying they hadn't had snow since the early 80's (not sure if that meant no snow at all or just not as much?)

anyways, the whole trip was planned around... take a breath, this will shock you ... BARRY MANILOW. for those that don't know this about me, i LOVE barry manilow. the last 3-4 times we've been to vegas, i've wanted to see him perform & he has either been sold out or not performing while we are there. i accepted the fact that there is no way i'd ever see him unless i went by myself since steve is NOT a fan of barry manilow. sad but true. so, steve totally suprised me & got us tickets to see him. he was awesome!!! during the concert, i leaned over a few times & asked steve if he turned to like him yet - all he'd say is "it's not too bad". they were having a barry manilow national fan club convention while we were there so you could imagine how crazy it was.

we also saw david copperfield. we were on the front row & i didn't take my eyes off him. he puts on a great show but i don't get it. he literally had a real car appear on stage out of nowhere. seriously, i am still in awe over the show - i just don't understand how he does what he does. simply amazing!

thursday we went to the price is right show (my favorite game show of all time :) it was SO fun! steve got called up & got to spin the wheel. the lady ahead of him spun .95, then he spun the 1.00. i jumped up & seriously about peed my pants. so, he got a bonus spin & he spun .15 so he got an extra $500 on top of the $350. they called a couple more contestants up then they called ME up. i was shocked because they only call about 12 people up for the whole show - what are the odds out of 600 people that steve & i BOTH get called up. well, i had to bid on a wine cellar- that in itself was a joke since i don't drink wine BUT i got the bid within $5 so I got to go on stage & play PLINKO. the host was totally razzing me & having fun with me. i'd have to say it made the show quite entertaining at my expense ... he asked where i was from & why i came to vegas. i kept saying 10th but couldn't think of "anniversary". when i finally got it out, he said YOUR anniversary, like i wasn't old enough. he put togther that the steve in shorts that spun the wheel & i were married. he asked me what makes a happy, long marriage - without thinking i said GREAT SEX. than you can only imagine how that opened the doors about being prego with our 4th, etc. he kept saying i needed to be careful jumping around & being pregnant & it was only a game - i told him i'd done much worse for $ while i was pregnant. it was hilarious. well, i had 4 products i had to price to get the plinko chips - i did not get ANY. they were the weirdest items & the prices were so out there too. so, he gave me one chip & i went up & dropped it into the $500 slot. so, all said & done - steve & i left there with $1400 cash. great little bonus to our trip!

everything was perfect until we were at the airport to come home. the slc airport was closed & they were not letting any flights into slc. we finally got out & home but it was a process. i was happy that we got home in time for our christmas party (we had at our house so it would of been really bad if we didn't make it back).

10 years

steve & i just celebrated our 10 year anniversary! 

steve has planned a trip for us - i have no idea where or any details. he has just informed me to ready w/bags packed wed. morning. pretty exciting (& kinda scary) since i am the one who always makes the travel plans.

facebook

for those of you that are a little behind the times like i was you may be interested in looking into facebook.com
it is really cool - you can find & reconnect with people. it does have some security, you have to invite them to be your friend & they have to accept BEFORE you can view their profile/photos/etc. i guess it is a pretty good feature but some people i want to see but i don't want them to know i want to see them (ex: ex boyfriends, husbands ex-girlfriend, etc). HA!

steve left town on a guy trip sat. morning, i logged into facebook after i put the kids to bed sat. night & it has consumed my last couple of days (not that i wasn't busy enough with 3 kids) but when the kids go to bed at 8:30 & sleep 11 hours... i don't need sleep, much less 11 hours. i moved to hawaii soon after high school graduation & have not been back to tennessee much since. then, when i was in hawaii, i met SO many people from all over the world & have not kept in touch with too many of them either. it has been fun to reconnect with people from 15-20 years ago.

Observation:
it is amazing to me how most people look the same & haven't changed much, even after 15-20 years. some are doing the same thing they were doing 20 years ago. i guess that just shows you that MOST people develop their values, characteristics, goals, personalities, etc. at a young age. Yes, we mature & grow up over the years but those child/teenage years are VITAL!
with all that being said, i try so hard to teach my kids life lessons & i expect the very best - in that sense i am a strict parent. i feel like my kids are knowledgeable & aware of things that are beyond their years. they ask & i explain- no matter what. at times, i think that i should not discuss such topics with 7&8 year old kids but then again I ask WHY NOT?! they have to learn sometime. i always want my kids to know they can talk to me & ask me anything and i will tell them the truth. so, what happens when they ask if santa is real? HA! i think as parents we always question how we raise & teach our kids - they are ultimately our responsibility. i try to balance my high expectations of my kids with a lot of fun! i think having fun & being a kid with the kids is so important too (plus it is a great stress reliever). i was taught work hard & play hard - i try to implement work hard & play HARDER!  anyways, just my profound thought of the day. their are so many different parenting styles out there - what kind of parent are you??

steve is getting home soon from his trip to texas & i am excited to see him. it has been a good trip for him but we sure have missed him. it has been a long trip for him too. when we travel for work, we are so busy that we really don't have time to think & miss the kids too much. the time just flies. when it is a leisure trip, i think you have more time & realize how hard it is being away.