Autumn Snow

Wade took these pictures on Sunday, Oct 12th. I think they are so beautiful. Such a contrast of Summer and Winter! Good job Holmesy.

My Sweet Hunter Si is 10!

Well, we had another birthday at our house last week. (Sorry Hunter that I am so slow getting this posted!) My sweet Hunter Si (short for Silas) turned 10. I'm not sure where the past 10 years have gone or why they have gone by so quickly. His birthday has always been a hard one for me personally, but a miracle for me too.
When Hunter was born he was 5 wks 6 days early. He was having a hard time breathing and needed a little oxygen. He was taken from me so they could give him a little help. After many hours of wanting my baby I was taken to the NICU where he was hooked up to everything plus some. It was determined at some point that he needed more oxygen than the little bubble over his head could provide. Some one had bagged him (oxygen) and did it a little too hard (as it was explained to me) which ruptured his little lung, resulting in a chest tube. They had also intubated him. It was a horrible shock since no one had told me he was in trouble. Unfortunately the dominoe affect continued. Because of the chest tube, he got an infection which then required 11 days of antibiotics and extended his stay. It was all very frustrating and terrifying. I didn't get to hold him for almost 5 days after he was born. Because he was intubated we couldn't even hear him cry, but his little tears told us how distressed he was. During his time in the NICU they came to us on 2 different occasions to prepare us for the very worse outcome.
Finally we were able to take him home where he was basically isolated for months. Everytime we celebrate his birthday I am reminded of his very hard, scary little start in life. However, I am always so incredibly grateful for the miracle of his life.
To see him today you would never believe that he almost didn't survive the first few weeks of life!!! The only proof of his ordeal is his scar from the chest tube. But, as Dr Rose would tell him, "Chicks dig scars".
Anyway, happy birthday Hunter!!! You are such an amazing kid and I love you so much. I love how silly you are, how cuddly you still are, how talented you are. I love everything about you!

I hope that you had a GREAT Birthday!!!

Tagged

Ok, Jill got me again, so here it goes....

List 5 fears, 5 joys, 5 obsessions/collections, 5 surprising facts about you.

5 Fears
1. Having one of my children taken from me.
2. Losing my husband.
3. Fire.
4. Snakes.
5. Getting stuck in a little tiny elevator.

5 Joys
1. Wade and our kids.
2. Having my parents in my life and my children's lives.
3. Seeing my kids succeed at anything they set out to do.
4. Family gatherings.
5. Scrapbooking/ reading.

5 obsessions/collections
1. Bags.
2. Jewelry.
3. Shoes.
4. Scrapbooking supplies.
5. Checking the locks.

5 surprising facts about you
1. I hate stupidity.
2. I love playing cards
3. I hate scary movies/ haunted houses, etc
4. I hate camping!!! (maybe with a trailer it would be different)
5. I love horse back riding.

Three

I've been tagged. So, here I go...

3 favorite last purchases:

Scentsy Plug Ins
Crepe Maker
Brown Skirt

3 favorite movies:

Phantom of the Opera
Wedding Planner
Dr Zhivago

3 things I haven't done yet:

Sky Dive
Swim with the Dolphins
Visit Scotland

3 things I can't live without: (you mean other than church and family)

My own pillow
My camera
My car

3 favorite dishes:

Broccoli Lasagna
Manicotti
Orange Chicken

3 favorite TV shows:

Biggest Loser
Extreme Home Makeover
Jon & Kate plus 8

3 last places I traveled:

Las Vegas
St George
Star Valley

3 favorite desserts:

Cheese Cake
Coconut Cream Pie
Peach Cobbler

3 things I would buy if $$ weren't an issue:

2 New Cars
6 Disney Cruise tickets
New Furniture for entire house

3 wishes:

To be completely out of debt
My Dad to be in remission
weekly maid service

Caden is 12!!!

Wow! My baby boy is 12 years old! I can't believe how fast time goes by. He had a big birthday weekend. On Saturday, the 11th, he had a party with 7 of his friends. We took them to Layton Surf N Swim. It is a pool that they cover with a big white 'bubble' during the winter. Every 20 minutes or so the siren sounds and big waves begin. It is a lot of fun. I think that all of the kids had fun. We had plenty of treats and drinks at the pool for them. After the pool we came back home and had pizza and doughnuts and Caden opened his presents from them. It was a fun party. This group of kids are such good kids. They were funny and just a lot of fun to have hang out. On Sunday, Caden's birthday, He was advanced from the Primary and Ordained a Deacon. Grandma & Grandpa Hunter, Grandma & Grandpa Holmes, and Cheyenne attended Sacrament Meeting with us and then Caden was Ordained following the meeting.
Wade Ordained Caden and Grandpa Hunter, Grandpa Holmes along with the Bishopric (Bp Lattin, Bro Bitton, Bro Branz) all were able to stand in. It was really a great experience. Caden was so ready for this big step in his life. He is such a great kid. I am so proud of him and we love him sooo much.
After church Grandma & Grandpa Hunter and Grandma & Grandpa Holmes came over for dinner. Because it was his birthday Caden got to choose the menu. He chose to have Meatloaf (yes, you read that right), potatoes, gravy, snicker/apple salad and rolls. Both Grandma's also brought yummy salads. For his dessert he chose Cinnamon Coffee Cake. Definitely not a traditional birthday dinner, but it was his chose. I must say that the Meatloaf was quite a hit. Both Grandpa's were very happy with his choice.
He opened the rest of his presents and then we spent the remainder of the evening playing a game and watching old home movies. It was a great day!!!
I love you Caden! You are such a great kid and are so much fun to have around! Thanks for all you do for our family. You are a great son and a great brother. Love you pal!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Ever wondered what happens when you're not home?

So, apparently, this is what goes on while I am not home. These two are so silly and cute together. Alexa loves to dance and Ally loves to do whatever Alexa is doing. They are so funny together. I love that Alexa loves to spend time with her sister. Caden was making fun of how they were dancing. I told him that they were dancing like no one was watching. That is how I want all of our kids to enjoy life!!! Thanks Alexa and Allyssa for loving each other and having so much fun together!

Catching up...

Over General Conference weekend ( Oct. 4-5) we went to Wolf Creek with Scott, Heather and their girls. We love spending time together and all of the kids get along so great. The kids are so funny when they are together. Ally and Avi disappear almost immediately. They go off on their own and play non-stop. They are great friends. Madi and Caden like to hang with Alexa or with the adults. They are funny though. They have a lot in common and love to just hang out together. It was such a great, relaxing weekend. We watched the morning session on Saturday and then Avi and Hunter both were heading back to their soccer games. Neither of them wanted to leave the condo. As it was, both games were rained out and so they got their wish. Scott had the great idea of Ice Blocking. The kids had a blast. It was definitely a big hit. When they came back inside they were freezing and wet. Some nice warm Hot Chocolate and warm bathes were just what they needed to warm up. As always there was tons of great food, fun games and laughter. Little Kendall was such an angel. She is just an amazing baby girl. She was so good and she even slept through all of the noise and chaos. Grandma J'Leanne joined us for the day on Saturday and then on Sunday Grandma and Grandpa Holmes and Grandma J'Leanne joined us for the day and had dinner with us. It was a great day. Thanks Grandma J'Leanne for the use of the condo. Thanks Scott and Heather for inviting us to spend the weekend with you!!!

Oh yeah, we did have one mishap....... We had used all the dishwasher detergent and didn't want to call for more. So, Heather told Wade to use just a couple of drops of liquid dish soap. Not long after he started the dishwasher he walked into the kitchen area and was quite surprised by the steady flow of bubbles escaping from the dishwasher. Of course he didn't think that just a couple of drops of liquid soap would really be enough so he used a couple of squirts instead...........

As you can see, we had a bit of a sudsy mess!!! Hmmm, I wonder if he will ever believe what he is told. We did have a great laugh at his expense!
Ahhh, memories!

Ally is growing up!!!

My Ally-bug is growing up! She has desperately wanted to have her ears pierced. On the morning of Sat., Sept. 27th she came upstairs and said that she had a dream that she had her ears pierced. I smiled at her and told her she would have to talk to her Dad about that. She gave her big, puppy-dog eyed smile to him and went over and gave him a hug. He just smiled at her. She walked away from him knowing that he wouldn't let her. I mentioned to him that maybe we should let her do it before she was much older. I then reminded him that Alexa was older and she was awful about letting us take the posts out. He shrugged and had that 'I give up' look. He then told me he didn't care if she had it done. I went and told Ally that she could have her ears pierced. She was SO excited. We went that afternoon to The Silver Loft at the Newgate Mall. Alexa and her cute friend Ashley went too. They were being so cute with Ally. They were helping her pick which earrings and then they were trying to keep her from getting too nervous about it. She chose her Amethyst posts, her birthstone. After it was done they were telling her how cute her earrings were. Ally said it hurt a little bit, but she has been all smiles ever since. She is also very diligent about cleaning around her earrings. She got all of the way to the bus stop one morning and remembered she didn't clean her ears so she ran back home. I told her it was ok, she could do it after school. She ran back up to the bus stop but the bus had already come! So she came back home, cleaned her ears then I drove her to school!