Thought you'd like to see these.

These are a couple of pictures that Andrew's aunt took on Christmas. I'm not sure when she sent them to me but I just saw them today. I think the one of the 5 of us with Alexys' arm around Jordan's neck, pretty much sums up our family!

Time to slow down for a minute!

This past few weeks have been busy in our lives. My second sister, Kathie, was admitted to the hospital on January 27th with bacterial meningitis. Her chances of survival at the time of being admitted were 50/50. My other sister, Suzie, and her husband, David, and their 2 kids, Katie and Mitchell, drove down to Fallon, Nevada to be with Kathie. She was so disoriented and confused and being very combative with the nurses and doctors that they had to sedate her and restrain her arms. She had quite the struggle and the hardest fight of her life. I am so happy to say that she is doing much better and is now living in Washington with Suzie and her family. During all of this, she also had a heart attack and thankfully, there was no damage done to her heart.
On February 3rd, Andrew and I flew to Reno to be with Kathie. I cannot tell you what that experience meant to me. To be there with my sister while she was fighting the battle of her life and to be able to help her walk out of that hospital, healthy and alive, was such an honor. Andrew and I just got back home on February 14th which also happened to be our 6 year anniversary.
Words cannot express how much I love my family and how grateful I am to have each and every one of them in my life. Coming this close to losing one of my family members has really made me re-evaluate my priorities. Not that my family didn't mean the world to me before. They just mean more to me now than ever before!
So...we are trying to get our lives back to normal. After being gone for 11 days and being away from my kiddos, we are still trying to get back into that "routine" we call life! Wish me luck!!!!

Happy New Year!

Well...I thought that since it's a new year, I would start it off with a new look. Andrew, my personal hair stylist, cut about 8 inches off my hair on New Years Day! I'm absolutely loving it. I know that one of my traits has always been my long hair. However, there is only so much that you can do with it when it get too long. So, short I went!


Jordan had the amazing opportunity to go to Washington DC with the youth on December 28th through December 30th to go to the Temple there and do Baptisms for the dead! He had an amazing time and the change that it has made in him is outstanding. He is still a big brother and picks on his little sisters quite a bit. However, the spirit that he has about him is absolutely noticeable! There is no describing how proud I am of him to be found worthy to go to the Temple and perform such an amazing ordinance! What a blessing!

On December 14, 2009, one of the most beautiful women in both spirit and body, was taken from this earth to live eternally with her Heavenly Father. Our beloved Grandmother, Isabell Erickson Wing, passed away peacefully in Price, Utah.
What an amazing woman Grandma was! She gave us all so many lasting memories that will be treasured for the rest of our lives. Grandma loved to make things. Weather it was food, or crafts, she had an amazing talent with her hands. She loved porcelin dolls and had an amazing collection of them. Most of them she made herself. Grandma loved flowers! There were always flowers of all kinds in her house. She especially loved peonies (I know that's misspelled).
I will always remember when we lived in Colorado just right up the street, 9 houses to be exact, from Grandma and Grandpa. We even lived with them for a short time when we first moved to Colorado. Grandma always made the best dinners for us. Corned Beef and Cabbage, Beef Stew, Ham...all of those savory dishes that Grandmas make. Every Christmas, Grandma would make her "Everything But The Kitchen Sink" Cookies. We called them that because there were SO many ingredients in them...everything but the kitchen sink! The Christmas of 2001, Grandma went back to Colorado to spend Christmas with us. Before she got there, I told her that the only thing I wanted for Christmas that year from anyone was her cookies. Low and behold, Grandma baked some of her cookies just for me! That made my Christmas the best ever! Oh how I loved those cookies.
Grandma loved to hear her Grandchildren and children share their talents with her. Every Christmas, we would gather at Grandma and Grandpas house (and there were a lot of us) and all of the Grandkids would put together a show for Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma would sit there the whole time with the biggest smile on her face just soaking up every note and loving every minute. She would praise every one of us and tell us how talented we were and make us all feel like stars!!!
Words cannot describe the love that I have for this woman. We are so fourtnate to still have a piece of her with us through our Mother who is just as beautiful, loving and kind as our Grandmother! When I look at my Mom, I see my Grandma. They were two peas in a pod! Grandma will truely be missed by so many! She will forever hold a very special place in my heart. I love you, Grandma!

What a wonderful time of year this is! Christmas is always my favorite. It seems that this year, I am a little more in the Holiday spirit than before. The only thing that would make it better is if my family was here to share it with me. It's hard being so far away from them all!
Jeena is feeling much better. After a total of 7 trips to the Doctor and Emergency Room, we finally got her healthy. She goes in for her follow-up today to make sure that everything is okay.
Jordan has been a busy little man these past couple weeks. Between school, Scouts, Honor Band, and Beta Club, he barely has time to rest! Hopefully, things will slow down for him soon!!

Oh...Life!!!

Whenever it seems that life has you down, something always happens that picks you back up again!
After 5 trips to the doctors office, 2 trips to the emergency room, and 6 trips to the pharmacy over the past 2 weeks, Jordan and Jeena are finally healthy! On Monday the 16th of November, Jordan called from school saying that his throat was hurting and his ears were hurting. So...I took him to the doctor, twice, and they finally diagnosed him with a sinus infection. I ended up having to take him to the ER that Thursday because he spiked a fever of 102 and I couldn't get it down. Then...this past Tuesday, Jeena called from school saying that her throat and ears were hurting. So, I took her to the doctor and he said that she had the same "virus" that Jordan had and he gave her some cough meds. Well, Jordan had a sinus infection and had to be on antibiotics. Where are Jeena's? So, needless to say, I ended up having to take Jeena to the ER on Wednesday becuause she spiked a fever. They gave her some Amoxicillin and she is finally better too.
Thanksgiving was a lot of fun for us. This is the first time ever that we have gotten to spend it alone, just the 5 of us. We started a new tradition in that we all made something for the dinner. Jordan made sausage balls, Jeena made homemade Macaroni and Cheese, and Alexys was the designated "stirrer." We all had so much fun and dinner was SO good!

The Latest

It's been a crazy weekend around here. Saturday was Halloween and it was a busy day in itself. The kids were outside playing on Alexys' little slide (that is no more than 2 feet off the ground) and Jeena fell off the slide and landed on her foot. We all know that Jeena is quite the drama queen sometimes. However, this time was different. She ended up spraining her foot quite bad and is now on crutches and trying to manuver around with them.

Yesterday, I had my second turn in Alexys' preschool class. It was a lot of fun. While I was there, her teacher informed me that the other teacher is going to be out next week and wanted to know if I would be willing to fill in for her while she is gone. WOW!! That is quite the undertaking. Dealing with one 3 year old everyday is hard enough. Now I get to go and deal with TWELVE 3 year olds for 5 hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday next week. It should be fun!! It will definately
test my patience...that's for sure!!

Jordan and Jeena both got their report cards last Friday! Jordan got 5 A's and 1 B!! Jeena got 3 A's and 2 B's! We are so proud of both of them and how hard they are working! When we were living in California, Jordan wasn't too fond of school. He didn't want to do the work or put forth the effort for anything. He even got suspended once for fighting! So...for him to turn around and pull off Honor Roll is something that we are VERY proud of!!!