Christmas is over!

Christmas is my most favorite time of year. I love the Christmas music (yes I am one of those that start listening to it in October), the caos, and especially the special spirit during that time. But when Christmas is over I am one of those that I am ready for the tree and decorations to be put away. The tree is now down and the decorations have been put away until next year. James had a hard time with the tree being put away. He wanted "my Christmas" left up all year. The spirit of it all even effects 3 year olds. Taylor had a blast trying to pull all the ornaments off the tree and was successful with a few of them.

The week before Christmas was Ryan's birthday. Dave and Kim were here for part of it and Easton spent the following week with us. Dave and Ryan were able to finish the dog house for the most part (we have a new puppy and her name is Joey. Cocoa loves her, sometimes). Ryan got a new pair of jeans and a shirt, a Jeff Gordon car model, a gift certificate to Lowes, and some new contacts. We're not really big on celebrating our birthdays as we like to use the money to spend on the things the kids needs but Kim decided Ryan needed a birthday cake. We had the best intentions and even bought the stuff for the cake but sorry to say the cake still never got made. But I think his birthday dinner made up for it. We went to dinner at Rodizio Grill and Ryan loved it.

We had the Horsley Christmas party on Christmas Eve and had a good time. Santa came to our house on Christmas morning and left all sorts of fun things for the kids. We opened our presents and enjoyed our morning together. We went to Bre & Dan's for dinner and to open our family presents there. It was a lot of fun. We also got to go see Alvin & the Chipmunks on Christmas day and the kids loved it. We had a really good year this year. Even with the absence of Ben and our missing him, he made his presence known and we really enjoyed the special spirit of it all.

Merry Christmas to Everyone!!!

Happy Birthday Benji!

I know, it's already December 1st and I am just now posting this but hopefully Benji knows we love him anyways. It has been a crazy month and I'm afraid December isn't going to be much better. We celebrated all the November birthdays with Ryan's family on November 7th and had a great time. Benji loves getting together with his cousins and being able to play with them. The presents are a nice treat to but seeing his cousins is all that he needs. He had a great night there and it was fun to have a family dinner since this was our off year for Thanksgiving. Benji got Wii games which he absolutely loves and we got him a baseball pitch machine which after a few minutes he was actually able to hit the balls. Amazing as this machine pitches pretty fast.

Dennis, Sharon, and Heather were out the week of his birthday. We had a nice visit when they stayed with us on Monday night and then on Wednesday, Benji's actual birthday, my whole family went out to dinner at Olive Garden. He thought it was cool that Grandpa Dennis and Grandma Sharon could be out here for his birthday. He loved all his gifts of course.

That weekend I braved it all by myself and took all my kids (yes, that includes Taylor too) and two of Benji's friends to see G-Force at the dollar theater. It was a cute movie and Benji and his friends had a lot of fun. Taylor and Alyssa were good. It was James I had a problem with. I guess the movie theater was too dark for him so he kept telling me that he wanted to get out of there. He even tried to leave on his own a couple of times. Lots of fun for me with 5 other kids to take care of and trying to hold Taylor but somehow we made it through and ended up having a good time.

Benji is an awesome kid and we're glad we have him in our family. Happy Birthday Benji!

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent teacher conferences were this week and I was really nervous and excited to go. I wanted to see how Benji and Alyssa were doing in school but a little nervous about how Alyssa listened in class as we all know she has a very short attention span.

Alyssa is doing awesome and I am so proud of her. Just this past week she has excelled in knowing her ABCs and their sounds. She is sounding out words and trying to spell them. Not bad for being the youngest in her class. Her teacher even says that she stays in her seat and listens to instructions and enjoys having her in her class. I was very relieved to hear this.

Benji's parent teacher conference was great also. His teacher loves him to death and compliments him on everything. He is a great reader, speller, and is doing really well in math. The thing I loved is that while I was waiting to visit with his teacher I was looking at the things they had posted on the wall outside the door. All the kids in the class had made a paper that said I can be responsible by.... and they had to fill in the rest. Most kids put things like cleaning up their room, taking out the trash, helping their parents, etc. Not my Benji though. Benji's was I can be responsible by talcen to the profits (as he wrote it or translated - talking to the prophets). At first he tried to write following the commandments but it turned out to be too long so he changed it to the other one. I came home and gave him a high five and told him "way to stand up for what you believe in". I told Ryan I will let all the other kids be responsible by doing all those things they listed but I would much rather have Benji remember to follow the commandements and "listen" to the prophets since he will never go wrong in these things. Out of the mouth of babes. It really did make me stop and think and I was proud of him for his answer.

Happy Birthday James!

All of a sudden James turned 3. It seemed to come out of left field for me. I can't believe he is that old. He is definitely all boy too. He is not happy unless he's antagonizing his brother or sister and is very calculating on what will bug them the most. You can see the wheels turning in his head as he's trying to figure out what will get him the most bang for his buck. The little guy thinks it's the funniest thing ever to get them as mad as possible. We love him though and he definitely keeps our family hopping.

We went out for ice cream for his birthday to Cold Stone and enjoyed our time out. When we got home he opened his gifts from us. He got a hot wheel set, puzzles, Nascar jacket, and skates. He has played with and worn everything already. We were going to have his family party on Saturday but due to Benji getting swine flu had to cancel it until another time. He seems to have had a great birthday anyway.

Happy Birthday James! We love you!

The Month of September - Came and Went!

As always, life is crazy and who ever has time for themselves much less to update things. Yes, this is another way that I am a slacker. The month of September seems to have flown by but not without celebrating a few milestones.

Ryan and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary this month. I can't believe it has been 10 years! The time has really flown by and I don't feel like I'm old enough to be married for that long yet. The last 10 years has been a rollercoaster of different trials, tribulations, and triumphs and I wouldn't change it for anything. I was excited to hit this milestone but Ryan wasn't as excited as I was. When I brought this to his attention, he told me that the only thing that matters is eternity. He is absolutely right and I am glad he is looking at the big picture but I still like making a big deal about the little milestones that get us to that ultimate goal! I look forward to the many years, decades, centuries, etc that are left to go.

I celebrated my birthday this month also. We usually don't do a lot for our birthdays but decided to take the kids to Cornbellys at Thanksgiving Point this year. We had a lot of fun. The kids liked the pig races, the big slides, tractor train, dressing up as a princess and knights, etc. We were there for a good 3 hours and the kids still didn't want to leave when it was time to go. We will definitely be going there again next year. The best part for Ryan and I was being able to watch the kids have so much fun. It is fun to take a few minutes and just enjoy watching your kids be kids and looking at things through their eyes. You see things in a whole new light. I need to take those moments more often to appreciate life like they do.

First Day of School

Another summer is over, believe it or not, and it always seems to fly by.

Benji is now a 1st grader and is going to school all day. School started for him August 17th and he was so excited to go back. Truth be told, I think he was bored being home with mom all day. I think going all day kind of wore him out at first as he came home so tired and had a hard time getting up in the morning but I think he's getting the hang of it and he really seems to be enjoying it. He loves recess of course but also says he loves math which I am glad for.

Alyssa is now in Kindergarten and it really bugged her that Benji got to start school a whole week earlier than she did. School started for her on August 24th which was good so she didn't have to go on her birthday. She only goes for half a day but loves going everyday as opposed to preschool when she only went 2 days a week. She loves her teacher and they seem to do a lot of art things in class which is right up Alyssa's alley as that is what she enjoys doing. I can't believe she has started Kindergarten.

Only 3 more years before James starts!!!!

Happy Birthday Alyssa!

Alyssa lucked out this year as far as birthday parties went. She ended up with four of them. We first had a friend party for her on August 14th and got to play with water balloons and in the sprinklers. The kids seemed to really enjoy it and Alyssa had fun with her friends and enjoyed all the new toys she got. On that Sunday, we had her party with Ryan's family after church and just had cupcakes and ice cream. She enjoyed having everyone there and the presents she got for school and to play with. On her actual birthday, Ryan took her to rent whatever movie she wanted (she picked Disney Princesses and Race to Witch Mountain) and we had popcorn and sat and watched them as a family. She got her presents from our family on this day too. Then that Saturday, we went to Nanny's house and had a lunch barbecue with Nanny, Bre, Dan, Giovanni, and Maddy and went swimming. She had a blast and liked all the new clothes and toys she got there. I think she got really spoiled this year and she loved it. I can't believe she's 5.

Happy Birthday Alyssa!!!! We love you!

California Trip 2

We took our second trip to California from July 30 to Aug 3 for 2 family events. We left at 5:00 pm on July 30 and arrived at my aunt's house around 5:30 in the morning. It was great as far as the kids sleeping most of the trip but mom and dad were exhausted by the time we got there. We got to sleep for an hour and a half before the kids were up bouncing around telling us it was time to get up.

On Friday, we got to hang out with Nanny Great and Pops and just catch up for a little bit. It was a very relaxing day which is what we needed with how tired we were.

On Saturday, we went to my cousin Ben and his wife Kelly's reception. They finally decided to get married after 10 years of being together. The reception was from 12:00 to 5:00 pm and then the party continued at my Aunt Donna and Uncle Frank's house by the pool. It was fun to get to see everyone and spend time with Ben and Kelly celebrating their marriage.

On Sunday, we celebrated the August birthdays which included Pops (80), Nanny's sister Stella (69), Mom (54), Dan (28), and Alyssa (5). We got to see my cousins Heidi and Jennifer. Jennifer and her husband Paul just had a new baby girl named Emily and she is the cutest thing you've ever seen. We're so happy for them. Their little boy Adam is a doll also. Benji and Giovanni had fun playing with him. Sherry and Steve were also there and Aunt Stella and her husband. We had a great barbecue and enjoyed spending time with one another.

On Monday, we were going to leave early in the morning but Pops was going to take Giovanni fishing and Benji wanted to go so Benji and Ryan went fishing with Pops, Giovanni, and Dan Monday morning. Benji caught 14 fish and Giovanni caught 5 but Giovanni caught the only Blue Gill of the bunch. They boys had a lot of fun. We finally left after the fishing trip around 2:00 pm and again traveled through the night. Because of some road construction delays we didn't make it in until 5:00 am and lucky Ryan got to go to work at 9:00.

It was a fun trip but definitely tiring. It took us a while to catch up on our rest afterwards. Pictures will be coming shortly.

Lagoon

We had the annual Lagoon Day with Ryan's family on Friday, July 17th. I think this is the first year where we had each family there. We were only absent one family member but hopefully he'll be able to join us next year. Of course we had to go on the hottest day of the year (not that we knew that when it was planned), which is difficult when you have a 2 month old that is breast feeding, but it all worked out.

Benji got to go on a lot of the bigger rides this year. He is still too short for some of them but he did get to go on the Mouse and Wicked which he absolutely loved. He also got to ride on the adult bumper cars with Kim and Garrett and thought that was the coolest thing ever.

Alyssa went on all the kiddie rides still as she is still too short to even think about going on the bigger rides and I'm afraid it will be a few more years before she's even close. Poor kid is going to be short just like her mom. She had fun no matter what ride she was on as long as she got to ride with Mollie.

James screamed on every ride we put him on. He wanted to ride them but as soon as we got on would start screaming. We found one ride that he finally loved. The bumper cars! Can you believe it? As soon as he would get off, he would run over to me and say one more time. Of course I couldn't turn that down and spent most of the day there with him. It was a lot of fun to watch.

Even Taylor enjoyed herself as she did not really sleep the whole day except for two little 10 minute cat naps. She did great and wasn't really fussy.

We enjoyed hanging out with the whole family and having this fun day. Our family stayed in the campground that is right there and the kids loved camping out. It made it easier as we didn't have to drive home when we were tired. Ryan got the fun job of sleeping with the boys and by morning James had pushed him most of the way off the bed. The girls and I slept on the other side and it was fine except for being so hot.

We look forward to Lagoon Day next year!

Taylor's Blessing

Yesterday was Taylor's blessing. I was having a hard time with it as this is the first big event that Ben wasn't physically here for. It actually turned into a wonderful day. Ryan's whole family was there starting with his parents, sister and brothers and their families, his grandparents, and Kitty and Ron. My Mom and Breanne and her kids were there and also JJ, Stephanie, and Josh. When we got to church I saw that Bre had Ben's funeral program in her church bag with his 3 pictures on it. Ryan put it in his pocket so that we had a physical representation of Ben being in the circle even though we know he was there. Ryan did a beautiful job blessing Taylor and blessed her that she will learn from the examples of those around her and those that have passed which was very special.

The testimonies that were born at church were wonderful to hear and very uplifting. I really enjoyed hearing Ryan bear his testimony as he doesn't do it very often and it takes a big occasion to get him up there. I really love his spiritual side and wish he'd share it more often. He is stronger than he knows and is a great example to me and his kids. I also enjoyed my Mom's testimony and know that it will carry her through this difficult time.

We had a luncheon afterwards that everyone brought something to and it turned out really good. The food was delicious and we enjoyed visiting with one another. It was especially fun to watch Dave and Zac playing around and trying to one up each other. Good try Zac with the squirt bottle but I think Dave got the last laugh!

The day turned out to be a good one despite my reservations at first and I know Ben enjoyed every moment of it as well. Taylor is one lucky girl to have so many people who love her here on this earth and on the other side of the veil.

We love you Ben!

Benjamin Anthony Veri II 1935 ~ 2009

I LIVED, I LAUGHED, I LOVED,AND I LEFT.

Benjamin Anthony Veri returned to his Heavenly Father on May 24, 2009 due to health complications surrounded by his family.

Ben was born to Benjamin Anthony Veri Sr. and Helen Wojpaleski on February 9, 1935 in Solvay, New York. He married Gail Denise Haynes on Sept. 25, 1990 in the Washington D.C. Temple and later sealed in the Jordan River Temple.

He served his country in both the Army and Air Force Branch of the military and is a veteran of the Vietnam War.

Ben loved his family, especially his grandchildren and their activities. He loved date night with his wife attending the Grizzlies hockey games which became a family affair. GO GRIZZ!!! He also loved to fly back to New York to visit with his family there.

Ben is survived by his eternal partner, Gail; his sons Benjamin (Jackie) Veri and Ronald (Cheryl) Veri; his daughters Regina (Robert) Pawlak, Samantha (Ryan) Horsley, and Breanne (Daniel) Jenkins and numerous grandchildren. He is also survived by his brothers Tom (Wanda), Ronald "Skip" (Kathy), and Vince (Carol).

Ben was preceded in death by his parents and sister Justine "Jay".

Funeral services will be held Friday, May 29, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at the Parkway 5th Ward, 10200 S. 3200 West, South Jordan. Family and friends may visit Thursday, May 28, 2009 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Jenkins-Soffe Funeral Home, 1007 W. South Jordan Parkway, South Jordan, and prior to the funeral at the church at 10:00 a.m. Interment, South Jordan City Cemetery. Online condolences at http://www.jenkins-soffe.com/.

We love you Ben and miss you dearly! Thank you for being the Dad and Grampy that you didn't have to be.

Welcome Taylor!

Taylor LaRae has now joined our family. She was born on May 8, 2009 at 12:45 pm after 4 1/2 hours of labor. She was 7 lbs 8 oz and 19 inches long. She is a happy, healthy little baby and so far has been pretty quiet unless she wants to eat. She is a wonderful addition to our family and we feel blessed to have her here finally. Her brothers and sister can't get enough of her and we have a hard time keeping them away sometimes. Ryan's mom stayed with us for a few days which really helped us out in adjusting to this new addition and additional responsibilities. We are forever grateful for the help that she gave us. It really was a life saver. We have had lots of visitors which we enjoy having and everyone is great in offering to help us out if we need it. Welcome Taylor!

Family and the Countdown

It always seems that your last month of pregnancy goes by very slowly. I don't really have a funny story to tell or anything that really stands out that I wanted to share. We are just counting down to the arrival of our new baby girl. She is due May 5th but if she is not here by the 8th, I will be induced. I have a feeling we'll be doing the induction as not much of anything is happening. I just wanted to share how thankful I am to have my family. Even though we have our trials and tribulations just like everybody else, I am glad to have my family to go through it with me.

Benji is getting so big and responsible. I put a lot on his shoulders and he lives up to all of it. Alyssa is a handful (to say the least) but I love her creativity and how she loves everyone around her. James is just a ham. I don't know what else to say about him other than he makes everyone laugh.

As I was getting ready for the day two days ago, an overwhelming sense of humbleness, thankfulness, and gratitude (not quite sure how to describe it) came over me and 10 years later I realize even more how grateful I am that Heavenly Father put Ryan and I in each others paths. I wouldn't want to go through all the stuff we have with anyone else but him and I'm ecstatic that I will be with him for eternity. For me, he is perfect (even the times he isn't being quite as perfect as I want him to be). He is amazing and I love him dearly. This little girl is lucky to have him as her dad here on this earth.

Even the days I don't feel it as much, Family is really amazing!!

Innocence of Children

Don't ask me how we got on the subject, but at lunch today Benji, Alyssa, and I started talking about the things they get to do when they grow up. We were talking about how the boys get to go on a mission after high school and Alyssa can go if she wants to when she gets older. We also talked about how they will be able to go to the temple and eventually get married and have their own houses with their families. We were talking about these things for a few minutes and the next thing I know, Benji starts crying and saying how he doesn't ever want to move out. That he wants to live with mom and dad forever. Of course it melted my heart to know that even though I'm an awful parent sometimes, he still loves me despite my faults. But he was really upset about this and started telling me how he would miss the backyard, our cars, and the Wii, etc and that I wouldn't know where he lived. I told him when he got older and had a house of his own he would want mom to come see it, which I would be excited to, so I would know where he lived and, if he wanted, he could live right next door to me. I wouldn't complain.

I tried to calm him down by telling him it was going to be a long time before he grew up so he didn't need to worry about it right now but that didn't work either. He just kept getting more and more upset. Then he started asking other questions like what if Ryan and I died and so forth and I tried to answer those to the best of my abilities. The clincher was when he asked if he would "explode when time ran out" is how he put it. I was doing everything I could not to laugh because I could tell these are things that really bother him. I explained to him that Jesus would come live on the earth again and then we would be able to live with Jesus in Heaven. I'm glad I was able to be calm and have this hour long discussion with him and explain things in a way his 6 year old mind could comprehend. I love when I have these opportunities and teaching moments and hope that he will be able to draw on these experiences with me later in life when he needs them. I love their innocence and I especially love to know that they want to live with me despite my faults. I'm not such a bad mom afterall.

California Trip

We had a very busy weekend. We decided to attend my cousin Ashlee's wedding this weekend in French Camp, CA. We left on Thursday at about 1:00 in the afternoon. My parents, Giovanni, and Maddie left an hour before us thinking we would catch up with them. As we were leaving, our tv in the car quit working. Great timing! We had a 12 hour car trip ahead of us and no tv to entertain the kids. We stopped at Wal-Mart in Tooele to get some that strap on the headrests but, just our luck, they didn't have that kind. My parents waited for us in Winnemucca and by the time we caught up with them, we had already passed 25 police cars. I guess we must have been on the watch list. Regardless to say, there was no speeding on the way. We finally made it to Sacramento, CA where we were staying with my grandparents at around 1:00 am.

On Friday, Ryan got to run around town looking for a new tv for the car while the kids and I got to visit with my grandparents, aunt, and cousins. The kids enjoyed looking at all the horses at my grandparents house and even got to see miniature horses. I think we went out to visit them 5 or 6 times.

On Saturday, we got ready and went to Modesto, CA to visit my aunt, uncle, cousins, and their families before the wedding. It was great just to sit and visit with them and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The wedding was at 4:30 in French Camp, CA about 30 minutes from Modesto. It was a nice wedding and we're happy for Ashlee and Matt. We decided that Alyssa and James are going to be our partiers as they were dancing all during the reception and didn't want to leave when the time came. Benji is still my shy one and just sat at the table patiently waiting for when we were leaving. Alyssa and James tore up the dance floor and danced with anyone that would dance with them. They were so cute and it was a lot of fun to watch them.

We got up early and were preparing to leave by 6:00 am PDT but a storm threw a wrench in our plans as the pass through the Sierra's was closed. It took us an hour to decide what to do. We finally decided to go down south and come up through Las Vegas and St. George. That would add 3 more hours onto our trip but it was better than sitting there and hoping the pass would open back up. We left at around 7:00 PDT and all was going well until another freeway on our route was closed for 1 1/2 to 2 hours and we had to wait. This turned in to a very long trip. We hit some wind and snow along the way and by the time we reached our house, it was 4:15 Monday morning. I am glad we had the new tv or else it would have been an even longer trip. We are glad to finally be home and I think it may be a while before we take another road trip.

A Night To Remember

Benji didn't have school on Monday due to President's Day and the kids were "housey" so I came up with the brillant idea to go to the Grizzlies Hockey Game that night since kids 12 and under were free and I didn't have to use any of my tickets for them. We decided this would be our Family Home Evening activity and that we would just leave at 9:00 (which is when we put the kids to bed) whether the game was over or not. The kids could just fall asleep in the car.

I picked Ryan up at work as it was on the way and everything was going as planned. We got to the game just as it was starting. We hadn't eaten dinner so we got the kids and Ryan something to eat (nothing looked appetizing to me yet). We got into the game 5 minutes into it. It was fun just to be there on a Monday night as there weren't a lot of people there and we had a lot of room to stretch out. At the end of the first intermission, I decided to go get something to eat and Alyssa came with me. I made her walk around the entire thing to see what I wanted to eat and it took me forever to decide. I finally did and then we were walking back to our seat when I ran into an old friend so I stood there talking for 5 minutes. We finally got back into the game with 12 minutes left in the 2nd period. We made it through the 2nd intermission and into a few minutes of the 3rd period when 9:00 rolled around and we packed up our stuff and left.

This is where it really gets interesting. We got out to the car and Ryan says "I hope you have the keys". Mind you, Ryan is the one that drove there. I told him no and we frantically start looking for the keys. It was pretty cold outside and the kids started crying and saying how they wanted to go home. I told them we'd be ok and took them back into the lobby while Ryan and James ran back up to our seats to see if the key was somewhere up around there. We have a friend at the hockey game who is a former police officer and he asked one of the police officers on duty to help us out. The officer told Ryan to stand by our car after the game and he'd come unlock it for us. Wouldn't you know it, the game went into overtime and then into a shootout which still took forever for someone to score. In the meantime, I had called Ben to come get us in case we couldn't find the key and to help calm the kids down. Ben got there just as the game ended and the kids and I sat in his car until the officer came to unlock the car. Ryan found the keys which had been locked in the car. We finally left the E Center about 9:45 that night and headed to my Mom and Ben's to get Alyssa's shoes she had left at their house on Saturday and change James' diaper before we headed home.

The kids stayed awake the whole way home and we finally pulled into the driveway at about 11:20 when I remembered Ryan's car was still at his work. I normally would have just taken him to work the next morning but I had to have both kids to school and be at my doctor's appointment in American Fork by 9:30 so I wouldn't have had time. We pulled out of the driveway and went and picked up Ryan's car. The kids fell asleep during this leg of the trip which was good because we didn't end up walking in the door until midnight.

Needless to say, Ryan says no more hockey games on a weeknight. I told him it was just one of those nights to laugh at but he wasn't laughing with me.

Another Nascar Fan In The Making!

So on Saturday Ryan had run to the store and I was picking up our bedrooms so I could vacuum. All of a sudden I noticed it was really quiet and started wondering where James was. I kept calling his name and he didn't respond to me so I started getting a little worried that maybe he had gone outside since he knows how to unlock the deadbolts without standing on anything. I came down into the basement and there he was watching Nascar of all things. I started laughing and had to call Ryan to share the news much to Ryan's enjoyment. Then today I left the livingroom for a moment and when I returned he had Nascar on again. When I asked him what he was watching he told me Jeff Gordon. Not only is he liking daddy's sport but also his driver! James is only 2 and I already have 3 big Nascar fans in the family. Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!!!

Stitches Already!

James beat his brother and sister at having stitches and he's only 2 years old. He did have help in getting them from his brother. Monday night just before Ryan got home from work, I was working downstairs and heard a blood curdling scream upstairs. By the time I got up there (all of 2 seconds), the side of James' face was covered in blood. I ran him into the bathroom to clean him up and figure out where the bleeding was coming from. While I was doing this, I called Ryan to let him know what was going on and freaking out at the same time. He called our neighbor who came over to look at it with me as I was unsure what to do. James had a cut in the crease under his eye and a nice scratch down his face. The bleeding had slowed down a lot and was just bleeding here and there. My neighbor thought it was fine and when Ryan got home he thought James would be ok too. I wasn't sure but knew I was an overzealous mom. The story I finally got on how it happened (3 hours later after James felt up to telling on Benji) was that Benji was rocking our entertainment center with his feet slightly. That made a huge heavy stone tile with a saying about families on it that Dave and Kim made for us a couple of Christmases ago fall and hit James. We were lucky it was just a little higher as James could have lost his eye. I guess James just needed to be hit upside the head with the message that Families are a Blessing!

That night, we put Neosporin on a bandaid and put it on his cut. I made him sleep in our bed so I could watch him. In the morning, you could tell it had been bleeding some through the night so I made Ryan take him into the doctor as I had my own doctor's appointment that morning. I just wanted to be sure he was going to be ok as I still didn't have a great feeling about it.

We got Benji and Alyssa to school and I headed for my appointment while Ryan took James to the doctor. I finished my appointment at 9:45 and called Ryan to see if he was at work so I could pick up James. They were still at the doctor's office and the doctor still hadn't determined what they were going to do with James. Since it was in the crease under his eye, it was hard to determine exactly what the damage was. After I got to James' doctor, he came in and looked at it again and determined it needed stitches. We were definitely blessed. I guess after it's been so long, the doctor can't normally do stitches as it has started to heal but I guess they were able to with James because it was still bleeding a little bit.

Have you ever seen a doctor try to stitch a 2 year old? It's like trying to hit a moving target. They had to strap James onto a papoose board which has him strapped from his head to his feet. On top of it, Ryan had to put the weight of his upper body on James as he was trying to wiggle out of it and screaming at the top of his lungs. Good thing Ryan was there because all I could do was stand in the corner of the room with tears streaming down my cheeks. I know it was for his own good and they were trying to help him but do you know how hard it is for a mom to stand there with her son screaming at the top of his lungs for her to help him? I can't imagine how Heavenly Father felt when his son went through the Atonement if all I could do was bawl while my son was getting stitches. We finally got through it and James has four stitches. We have to put Polysporin on it every two hours and that's just as bad as getting the stitches. You have to hold him down just to get it on. All in all, it take a good five to ten minutes depending on how hard he's fighting. He's not going to like us on Saturday when he has to go back and get them taken out but that's Ryan's job.

Air Hockey With Benji

This air hockey table has been a great gift. The boys love to play each other and even Alyssa likes to play her brothers. Mom and Dad have been able to play each other once or twice. The best is when Mom or Dad play Benji. Benji has great hand/eye coordination and can play the game really well. Mom is not so lucky. She has yet to beat Benji. Just when she thinks she has the game, Benji comes roaring by with the points. He usually beats her by at least 3 or 4 points. It's a lot of fun and mostly funny for everyone else as Mom isn't trying to let him win and is really playing her hardest. James loves to play with everyone else and we usually have 3 people playing on the table with 2 pucks going at the same time. These are times we will definitely treasure and memories we will always have!

Merry Christmas!

Ok. I know it's the middle of January but this is the first chance I've had. The kids had a great Christmas and, as every year, are spoiled. Who needs Santa Claus when you have grandparents? Anyway, they each got a V Tech handheld from Santa along with a new game and a keyboard V Tech. It was a great idea Santa had and has been a big hit. They don't fight over who gets to play games anymore as they each have their handhelds and they get to play games where they actually learn something which is what mom likes. They got a few toys and clothes from mom and dad and the big family gift was our 6' air hockey table. Even James loves to play with it and asks Benji to play with him all the time. It's fun to watch him stand on a chair so he can reach and try to beat Benji. I think he just likes it when people score as he always says Score! no matter who did.

Grandma and Grandpa, Nanny and Grampy, and Grandpa Dennis and Grandma Sharon did their spoiling of the kids also. The kids made out like no other with all the new toys, games, and clothes they got. The boys each got a new bike which Benji can't wait until the snow melt to ride his and James loves to get on his even though he hasn't quite figured out how to work the pedals. Alyssa got a new doll house that dad is going to have fun putting together. Problem is we have to get around to painting it first.

The gift that Alyssa loved the best was the one from Heavenly Father. There was an envelope under the tree to Benji, Alyssa, and James from Heavenly Father and when she opened it up it had a pink paper inside of it. I kept telling her that Heavenly Father determines if we are going to add a boy or girl to our family and he is blessing us with a little girl. She was so excited that she hugged the paper. It was really cute to watch. All the kids got to call Ryan's family and tell them what we were having and the kids thought that was pretty cool. My family came over for dinner and I told them that we would tell everyone after we said the prayer for dinner. Alyssa did really good since it is especially hard for her to keep a secret. She likes to tell everyone all the exciting news. As we were in the kitchen, she came over and whispered to me asking if she could tell Bre and Dan it was a girl before dinner. Of course, Bre was standing right next to me and heard the whole conversation but I told Alyssa that we needed to wait for dinner and she kept it secret. Then we set the table with pink napkins and my nephew Giovanni was complaining about using pink napkins as they are a girl color. Alyssa looked at him and told him shhh, it's a secret for me and my family. I just started laughing and asked Alyssa if she would like to share the secret with everyone else which she was more than happy to. We almost made it to when we had planned as that happened as soon as we sat down at the table. I think everyone is pretty excited. Alyssa has already told me she's going to help hold her sister and give her a bath. She asks me everyday when the baby is coming as she is having a hard time waiting. It's been fun to see her so excited and I've been soaking up every minute watching her as this is our last one.

All in all I think we all had a great Christmas. Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Ok. So I'm bad at keeping my blog up-to-date but December is just a crazy month so here are a couple catch up blogs. Ryan's birthday was December 19th and lucky him got to spend it at our ward's Christmas Party. Hey, at least he was treated to dinner and a show as they were doing a play. He got a drop down ladder for our garage from his parents and a New York Yankees jacket from my parents. The kids and I just got him a shirt and tie as it was what he was in need of. December birthdays are hard as your trying to get ready for Christmas but I hope he had a good day overall.

The kids are always excited when daddy comes home. It usually starts an hour before he arrives asking when he'll be home and as soon as he walks in the door, their faces just light up. Their world revolves around daddy and, even though he won't admit, he can't live without them either. I'm so glad for every year we get to celebrate another birthday together.

Happy Birthday Ryan! We love you!