And The Winner Is...

Congratulations Peggy!

I'll email both you and Becky so you two can connect

and she can get those in the mail to you.

Or should she just take them to Traci??? LOL

Congrats!

That was fun!

(i videotaped the drawing, but my silly morgan decided to name herself as the winner using our LAST NAME which i am a bit paranoid about using on my blog. SO to see the official video, you can access my Facebook account. i'll post it there.)

Anyone else have anything they want to give away in contest form??

Yummy Baby!

Welcome to the newest { H } addition:

Sione Lowry Tyler Setefano Kaveinga

born Wednesday to Tyler and Mele (Martin's brother and wife)

We sure love you guys and are so happy for you.

Little Sione is their first boy after THREE beautiful angel girls.

Thanks, also, for giving this dead blog something to blog about. It's about time...

Babies All Around!

Babies, Babies. All Around!
I just got back from two hospitals where I was able to visit with two friends with their beautiful new babies.
Congratulations to my dear sweet Kirsten and her new baby twin girls born at 5.8lb and 5.9lb yesterday...
And to Becky and her bouncing baby boy also born yesterday weighing in over 10lb!
I got to hold Baby Lake last week at church and also want to congratulate my sweet friend Lauri on the birth of her fourth little angel as well.
Everywhere I turn, a new baby is popping up. I think there's something in the water!
Congratulations Friends! Life certainly is good.

Happy Shower!

With twins on the way, Miss Kirsten needed a little bit of lovin from her girlfriends.

And lovin is what she got!

Melissa (our resident domestic goddess) made this amazingly beautiful, knock-em-dead cake to celebrate Kirsten's little peas in a pod arriving soon.

Not only did this cake LOOK good, but it tasted even better.

Melissa, you are one talented woman.

All of this was done by hand out of fondant. Man alive, that took some time.

With some major inspiration from Amanda (THANK YOU SO MUCH AMANDA!), we put on this fun shower. Seen above are the two peas in a pod pens that Nicole, Lauri and I worked on.

What an awesome turnout Kirsten had to support these babies.

Girl, I am so excited for you and I wish for you a quick and easy labor.

Kindred spirits we are, indeed, my friend, and I love you, too!

Babies on My Birthday

Congratulations to TWO of my friends, Brittany C. and Matt Janzen.

They, along with their families, each welcomed babies into the world

Friday July 18.

Wasn't that nice of me to share my birthday with these special little angels??

Congrats you guys.

Your babies are absolutely perfect.

Baby Emeric Pierce - born to Matt and Kaisa

Baby Ella Kate - born to Brittany and George

So speaking of my birthday, a big thanks goes out to my dear husband and kiddos. They made the day so very special for me. I came downstairs the morning of to a clean living room and kitchen and the table all decorated. The kids had brownies with candles and sang a beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday to me. SO CUTE! The girls also had a Birthday Cheer all choreographed. SWEET!

We celebrated later that evening with a little painting at The Potter's Quarter then on to dinner at Johnny Ocean's. After dropping off the rugrats at home, Martin and I enjoyed "The Dark Night".

(For a sneak peek trailer bite, click here.)

It was bittersweet to watch Heath Ledger's performance. I will miss him and his acting. The movie was great - I didn't find it as disturbing as many others have talked about.

Says alot about me, doesn't it??

Congratulations Kirsten and Jonathan!

Congratulations to my Sweet Kirsten.

She and her dear hubby are expecting

T W I N S ! ! !

I love you girl.

Those babies are so lucky to be getting a mother like you.

An Enchanted Evening

It's nice to have connections. Martin was a part of the committee a couple months ago that decorated our church's huge Modest is Hottest Dance. (The theme was Enchanted.) Well, Mr. Creative that he is, Martin suggested using the same theme for Olivia's 5th Grade Graduation party she so badly wanted to host. So... bless his heart, being the BEST DAD EVER, he spent countless hours transforming our garage into an Enchanted castle using the decorations from the dance. We even used the drawbridge for the girls to enter. It was so awesome! I hope my girls know how lucky they are to have a dad like that.

All girls from the 5th grade were invited and we had a great turnout. Best of all, they had FUN! And I had fun watching them. The highlight of the evening wasn't the outdoor movie projected onto the house they watched, but instead the Karaoke going on in the "garage". They sang their hearts out screaming, "Play that funky music, White Boy!!! Play that funky music right!!" To get a taste of what that sounded like, play the video at the end of this post. Listen carefully - it was too dark in there to get any visual. But it's worth listening to.

These girls are awesome. I have loved watching the progression of their friendships over the years as they have tried to figure out life. Many of these girls were my Girl Scouts for 3 years (Kindergarten thru 2nd Grade) and I was able to learn to really truly love them. Off they go to Middle School now.

Congrats Girls!

Olivia, Deborah, Makayla and Alyssa

Olivia's turn on Karaoke

Ryker (the ONLY boy present!!) takes a turn. At this point, I was parked in the living room feeding the baby when one by one, girl after girl, would run in to tell me, "Ryker's singing!!!"

Sierra and Sydney

Alyssa

It was difficult to get good photos in here without much lighting.

Hannah and Deb

All bundled up watching the movie in the cold.

Remember to pause my music before pressing play on the video.

Congrats Grad!

CONGRATULATIONS OLIVIA!

Olivia is now an Elementary School Graduate

and will be moving on to Middle School this Fall.

It's hard to believe that 6 years have gone by since we walked in the doors of this sweet little school for Kindergarten. I remember having a hard time leaving that day - wanting to stand in the hall and watch my big girl make new friends and begin her schooling without me. We've been blessed with the greatest teachers, several of which have become wonderful family friends. I am so grateful for the last 6 years here and for the opportunities Olivia has had to grow and learn. She has blossomed into a beautiful young lady in the halls of this school and made some tremendous friends.

It's been a great ride, this Elementary School journey, and I hope and pray Middle School is just as kind to our dear girl.

Can you see the look she's giving me?
"Oh Mom. Must you take my picture???"

Morgan and her bunny ears.

Olivia's 5th Grade teacher, Mr. McKenzie.

He was SO great!

Best of friends:

Deborah, Makayla, Olivia and Hannah

Grandma H., Aunt Margaret and Cousin Bennett came to support Olivia.

In the next post, Olivia's GRAD PARTY will be featured.

Way To Go Morgan!

Morgan earned a "Person of Character Award" which was presented by her principal at their all school assembly last Friday.

Her 3rd grade teacher nominated her for her trustworthiness and integrity.

We are so proud of you, Mo.

♥

Morgan and her Principal

Shout Out!

Gotta give a shout out to my precious sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Mele and Tyler. They are now expecting their fourth baby early 2009.

Congrats you guys!

(I'll cross my fingers it's a boy for you. Everyone needs to experience having a boy!)

Now move closer to ME!

Congratulations Paula and Josh

Welcome Colton Ray!

Born May 15, 2008

2:28am

7lbs 13 oz

20.5 inches long

I'm so happy for you, Paula.

He's absolutely beautiful.

I can't wait to snuggle him.

Good Luck Paula!

Paula's in the hospital having her baby!!

I wish you the best, my dear.

Push hard!

For those of you who want to keep tabs on our dear girl, check out her sister's blog where updates will be posted regularly:

http://crookstonfamilychaos.blogspot.com/

Brace Yourself

The day has come.
Olivia has been counting the days, the minutes for this special occasion.

She got her braces OFF!!















And she finally gets to chew gum again!
I don't know what was more exciting for her - getting the metal out of her mouth, or being able to chew gum.

Congrats Livvy! You have a beautiful smile. ♥

Morgan's Turn to Shine

To be fair, I feel I should post Morgan's Caught in the Act award from a year ago. Olivia's is hanging on our fridge and earlier Morgan questioned where hers was. Luckily, I found it in my photo files making it easier to post to share with the world how wonderful BOTH my girls are. ;)

This really was a big deal. In her 2nd grade class last year, each child had a behavior chart and would have to turn a card for minor infractions as well as major. (talking out of turn, not following directions, not staying on task, etc...) Morgan prided herself on the fact that she NEVER had to turn a card... the only child in her class all year long to not have to. We were very proud of her.

Olivia - Person of Character

Last Friday morning I get a call from Olivia's teacher letting me know she was going to be recognized in their all school assembly and receiving a Person of Character Award. So Christian and I jump in the car and go cheer on our girl. She had no idea she was receiving this award... until she saw us there. Then she knew! ;) Her principal read this "Caught in the Act" in front of all the students and parents present... talk about being a proud mama. She's a gem. And she's MY gem!

♥ 40 Years of LOVE ♥

Congratulations to my wonderful in laws as they celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary this weekend. What an accomplishment!
♥
Aren't they darling?

We spent Thursday evening with them at Izzy's for dinner (yummers!) and then headed out to their house for games. We had the perfect evening celebrating with them.

In 40 years of marriage, they've accomplished ALOT...

Pictured above: Their six kids (including my HANDSOME husband! - front row on the right!)

Pictured below: The Whole FamDamily! (as of July 2005) It has grown by several grandchildren AND one marriage since then.

Thanks for the wonderful example of an eternal marriage, Kent and Ludene.

Congratulations to Our Dear Friends!!!

Ben and Emy, We couldn't be happier for the two of you. Congratulations are definitely in order as you welcome Baby Clara into your family. I'm sure as you look at her precious little face you're telling yourselves she was worth the wait. WE LOVE YOU GUYS!! It's a happy day!