She knows!!

I had such a wonderful experience today with Kendyllee. I was cleaning and rearranging her room, trying to fit all of her new toys in there, and decided to make room for a small cd player on her night stand. Then I remembered that I had bought the Childrens Primary Songbook on cd and thought that would be fun for her to listen to. I got it all arranged and put the 1st cd in, and I Am a Child of God came on. Then it happened. Kendyllee looked at the radio with the biggest grin on her face and began to clap. She clapped and rocked back and forth thru the entire song. What a wonderful gift to me. It made me realize many things. She knows, at 7 1/2 months, that she is a Child of God, and He loves her very much. Such innocence and grace. I wonder if she remembers Him? She really makes me think and teaches me many things each day.

I know that I write about this a lot. But Owen and I are so blessed to have her in our lives. We are grateful to our Heavenly Father for her. Christmas was so special this year for us. To have a child, has made me think a lot about the Reason for the Season. Having Kendyllee has filled a void I did not even know that I had. I have thought about the Resurrection and how Mary must have felt. I can not even imagine!

Being a mother puts a lot of things in perspective for me. A completely new look on life, a new importance, a new beginning, a new excitement, a new reason for each day. I am sure all of you mothers reading this are going, Duh? But for some reason, this Christmas made me realize many things. I KNOW this is the reason I chose to come to Earth. To be a mother. I pray every day for his guidance to be the best mother to Kendyllee.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Love and miss you all.

We wish you A Merry Christmas!

Owen, Kendyllee and I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas. We love and miss all of you. We are very grateful to have each and everyone of you in our lives. Remember the true meaning of the Holiday and the spirit of giving. Thanks for all of the wonderful Christmas cards and pictures we have received. We love them all. It is so nice to hear from you and see all of your smiling faces. Be safe and enjoy the day. We love you!!

WARNING!!! Cute Pictures Ahead!!

Since it was the Sunday before Christmas, I decided it would be okay to put Kendyllee in her Christmas dress for church. Since she was all dolled up, what a perfect time to take pictures of her. She cooperated for a short time, then she was done. She kept clapping and waving her hands and arms, and rocking back and forth so some of the pictures are blurry, but still adorable!! Sorry there are so many, but I had a hard time narrowing it down to these out of the 60+ I took. So relax and enjoy. Love and miss you all and hope you all have a Merry Christmas. Be safe and happy!!

Mom- are we done yet?

Nap Time, Tummy Time, 1st Pony Tails and Santa Hats!

Here is what we have been up to the last week or so.

Kendyllee loves to snuggle with the dogs, and they love it too. I was doing dishes and she was fussy but I was so close to being done so I just let her fuss for a minute. Then she suddenly stopped. I looked over and the dogs had climbed up in the recliner with her. Then with in seconds they were all sound asleep.

Tummy time at our house is not a pleasant time of the day. Kendyllee hates to be on her tummy with a passion. So Owen decided to give her attention to help pass the time and seemed to work. I am afraid she will not ever be camera shy with us as her parents. Ha Ha ;D!!

I was so excited when I was finally able to put Kendyllee's hair in a pony tail. She however, was not to thrilled. She did not want to hold still so I kept her busy with some cheerios in her high chair. As you can tell, it stand straight up. I love it! It really shows off her chubby little cheekers.

Last Sunday was Owen's work Christmas Party. We wanted to be sure Kendyllee was dressed appropriately. Owen found this onsie weeks ago and fell in love with it, we were waiting for the perfect time to have her wear it and the cute Santa hat I fell in love with. And this was it. Everyone thought she was so cute and she (as usual) was taking it all in. It did not take her too long to figure out how to take this funny thing off her head.

Hope you enjoy.

Kendyllee's Christmas wishes for all of her family and friends. Happy translating!! ;O

CONGRATS TO THE HAPPY COUPLE!!

Kendyllee is so excited to have another AUNTIE!! Chase and Megan were married in the Idaho Falls Temple on Friday. Because of the weather, we were unable to be there with them. But we want them to know how proud and excited we are for them. We love you both and can't wait for the whole family to be together in February. We love you.

Kendyllee is 7 months!!

We do not know where the time has gone. It seems like the last 7 months have flown by so fast. Here are some pictures that I have taken the last couple of days so you can all see how big and beautiful she is. ENJOY!!

Kendyllee loves her baths.

She was being so funny with her binky, I could not resist these pics.
I have no idea where she learned to do this. And she just learned this morning and has been doing it all day. What a turkey!!

Such a sweet face.

She loves to talk and jabber. I have been trying to teach her how to blow a kiss. Instead she takes her hand and puts it up to my mouth and helps me blow a kiss. She also loves to make all sorts of sound like this one. Some times she gets so carried away with it, that she will slobber all the way up to her elbow. I have decided my life must have been pretty boring before she was born. Owen and I love her so much and are so thankful to our Heavenly Father for allowing us and trusting us enough to raise this precious daughter of his. She brings so much joy and laughter into our lives everyday. We love her and are grateful for her sweet spirit in our lives.

What a Blessing!!

This is my younger brother Tyson. I just wanted him to know how grateful we are to have him in our lives. He is such a true person thru and thru. We had quite the scare one year ago today, and we are all very lucky to have him with us today. That was one time we were grateful for his stubbornness and never quit attitude. He is so strong willed and we know that helped him pull thru this as well as he did. Here are some of my favorite recent pictures I have of Tyson and his beautiful family.

Tyson on Sassy!

Tyson and Brooklinn in Mom and Dad's back yard.

Brooklinn is not as excited about her first Halloween as her mom and dad are.

Tyson, Mandy and Brooklinn at the Perine Bridge in Twin Falls.


I snapped this picture when he was not looking, but I love it. ;)

Uncle Tyson loving on the cutest niece ever.

Uncle Tyson and Kendyllee when she was 3 weeks old. You can tell he loves her.

Tyson, we love you very much and are so grateful to have you and your family in our lives. You have been such a wonderful son, brother, husband, father and uncle. We all love and miss you very much. Stay safe and give your beautiful daughter a kiss from her Colorado family. I love you Tyson!!! ;)

Freezing in Colorado

So I finally got off my rump and made an appointment for the dogs to get their hair cut and all the works done. I love Chloe's hair so short. They both look like different dogs. Since that day, they do not like to play outside so much. I will let them out, they will go out and do their business and come right back in. It is to cold for them with out all that insulation.

BEFORE

OTIS AFTER
CHLOE AFTER
See she is so cute!!

Crazy 8's

Erin tagged with this one. Some of them were very hard to come up with. Have fun!!

8 Favorite Shows
1~FRIENDS!!!
2~CSI: Las Vegas
3~Law and Order: SVU
4~American Idol
5~Law and Order
6~Biggest Looser
7~Dancing with the Stars
8~So You Think You Can Dance

8 Things I did Yesterday
1~fed the dogs
2~made breakfast
3~made dinner
4~wash bottles
5~feed Kendyllee
6~changed poopy diapers
7~changed wet diapers
8~bathed Kendyllee

8 Favorite Restaurants
1~Squeezers
2~Carinos
3~Olive Garden
4~Chilis
5~Pita Pit
6~Famous Daves
7~Applebees
8~Gringos

8 Things I am Looking Forward to
1~Christmas
2~moving back to Nampa
3~Owen back on days
4~moving back to Nampa
5~loose weight
6~moving back to Nampa
7~Kendyllee feeling better
8~moving back to Nampa

8 Things on My Wish List
1~Move back to Nampa
2~be skinny
3~Kendyllee to feel better
4~out of debt
5~safe and healthy 2009
6~family to be safe and well
7~long and happy life
8~move back to Nampa

8 People I tag
1~Mary
2~Jamie
3~Lacey
4~Carmen
5~Heidi
6~Shannon
7~Santa Clause
8~Tooth Fairy

HApPy biRThDaY DaDdy!!

Today is Owen's Birthday. I just wanted to take a minute and let him know how much Kendyllee and I love and appreciate him and all he does for us!! Since he will be the big 26, here are 26 things we love about him.

26~He is a very hard worker.
25~He is very dedicated to everything in his life, work and family.
24~He is the biggest kid at heart.
23~Because he is a kid at heart, he loves Christmas. Our tree has been up since November 6. Which believe it or not, is late for us.
22~Owen has an extraordinary sense of humor.
21~He lets me cut his hair short, (so I do not have to cut it as often and I really love it short) even though he is not to fond of it.
20~Owen is very easy going and easy to please.
19~He sings to me all the time. I love it so much.
18~Owen has the most gorgeous eyes ever. I get lost in them when he looks at me. (sorry so mooshy)
17~Owen is very caring.
16~He is open minded when it comes to pretty much everything. He is always the one calming me down when I get excited about something.
15~He does not judge others.
14~Owen is wonderful at budgeting money.
13~He is always willing to help me with what ever I need around the house or with Kendyllee.
12~He is the best daddy ever. He loves our little girl so much. I love to watch him melt all over the floor when she just looks at him.
11~He sings to Kendyllee, which she also loves. It makes her grin every time.
10~Owen eats what ever I cook. I like to try new things and he will let me know when he does not like some thing, but he will still eat it that one time.
9~He is very adventurous. Likes to try new things.
8~Owen has been very understanding and patient with me, and some times I know that is not easy.
7~He is the best looking man I have ever seen.
6~Owen gives the best bear hugs ever!!
5~I have to say he is also a great kisser!
4~He holds the Priesthood and honors it well.
3~Owen is my best friend!!
2~Owen is a very loving hubby and daddy. Kendyllee and I are so fortunate to have such a wonderful man in our lives!
1~And most of all, he is my ETERNAL COMPANION and I love him sooooo much!

Owen, Kendyllee and I love you very much and are so grateful for you and all the hard work you do for us everyday. We love you very much and hope you have THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!! ;)

What a photograph!!

Here are some pictures that were taken around home. Mom and dad took them. They are all very pretty and make me miss that area a little.

This canal runs through Parker. Mom drives past this canal every day. One day she decided to take her camera and she got some beautiful pictures.

Gotta love the Tetons.
The Rexburg Temple!!

ROaD tRip

Owen has been working over night and putting in tons of hours getting ready for the big Day After Thanksgiving Sale. (Which turned out very well. Great job honey!) So a couple weeks ago, Kendyllee and I decided to take a road trip home for a week to spend some time with family. She did very well on the road. We stopped at my Aunt and Uncles house in Ogden to spend the night both ways. It is so nice having them there. They have been so wonderful, we feel so at home there. (Thanks Reynold and Sharon. We love you!!) Kendyllee and I had a wonderful time. It was a very quiet and relaxing trip. Heidi and her boys came to Rexburg and spent a night at my parent's house. It was really nice to see her and her wonderful boys again. I really miss her. While they were there, we took Christopher to see the horses, which he loved. He also got to go for a ride on the 4-wheeler, which he also loved. He is such a character. It was really nice to spend time with all the family and it was also nice to come home and see Owen again.

Grumpyness

We really wish we knew what was going through her mind right here. Owen and I were trying to decide if she was thinking "EXCUSE ME", or "YOU LOOKIN AT ME". What do you think?

VRRROOOMMM VRRROOOMMM

Heidi and I took Christopher for a ride on the 4-wheeler and he did not want to get off. It was really cold and he was bound and determined it ride it all day. On the last ride, he asked me if he could drive the lawn mower. So I put him in the front and he had a blast. When we finally peeled him off of it, he kept asking to ride and drive the lawn mover.

Dad also took Chris and I for a ride. And the dogs too.

Kendyllee sitting on the 4-wheeler. What a doll. I wanted to take her for a ride but it was really cold. So she sat instead.

All bundled up and no where to go!

This has to be the most beautiful face I have ever seen. Check out those blues. They melt Owen and I both. We are going to be in big trouble later on in life.

Gabe is also all bundled up. What a handsome guy he is.!

Practicing her wave.

Spending time with Grandmas!

Kendyllee is teaching her Great Grandma Larson how to play "Patty Cake". This is her new favorite past time. As you can tell by the blurry arms, here she is clapping.










And here, she is throwing it in the oven. What a character! ;)

















Kendyllee really loves her Great Great Grandma Keppner. She is always smiling and having a great time when we go to visit. And by the look on Grandma's face, I think it is safe to say, she loves it too. We all love you Grandma Keppner and Aunt Fern!!!