I Love My Sister...

...and her pretty headbands,

and her pink bike helmet,

and her princess crown,

and her Dora Ugg boots with the fur trim,

and her Minnie Mouse ears.

My mom also has some pink fuzzy slippers that are fabulous.


My dad isn't worried about me...well not yet anyway.

Grateful

First of all I have to say the boot is off. It's been less than three weeks since I broke my foot, but I got these great flat boots for Christmas, and when I wore the left boot to my orthopedic appointment last week, the doctor liked the way it fit my foot. So he told me to try taking the "big boot" off of my broken foot this week and replacing it with my Christmas boot. It really hurt to get the new boot on, but now that it's on my foot, it feels just as supportive as that other big clunky boot, yet it's a whole lot easier to get around on. Walking around with one foot higher than the other gets old fast, and I don't even think I noticed how annoying it was until I went walking around the house today in two boots that are the same height. I think I even got more done today because I wasn't bogged down by a stupid gimp walk. I really hope when I go in to see the doctor next week that he tells me the Christmas boot is doing a good job because I just don't think I can ever go back to that other boot.

The last few weeks have really been hard for me. Because I broke my right foot, I couldn't really drive. So I've been stuck in the house for the past two weeks slowly going crazy. I'm so used to my independence and being able to go get what I need when I need it that it was really hard to go back to having Kevin and my family drive me around to appointments and other places I needed to be. And to top things off, I had the flu this past Saturday and Sunday due to a flu shot that my doctor gave me because of some flu symptoms I started to have before my prenatal appointment. The weekend sucked due to fever and achiness, a hurting foot with a big clunky boot on it, and a big huge belly that is starting to get hard to maneuver around. It just seemed like things kept getting worse and worse.

But I have to say that when things seem to get really hard, Heavenly Father sends his angels to help take care of us:

• Like today, and this is silly, but I really want to include it, I went to Taco Bell (because I can now drive in my new smaller boot) and got food for the kids and a medium cherry Pepsi for myself. The guy at the window gave me a large cherry Pepsi, and said, "Here's your medium cherry Pepsi" with a wink and a smile. I don't think he knew how much I really needed those extra few ounces of caffeine, and I know he doesn't know how much I truly appreciated his extra kindness.
  
  
• My in-laws took care of my kids the whole time we were in Reno so that the kids could still have a fun vacation in spite of their mother's broken foot.
  
  
• Two weeks ago, my friends from high school and Hot Dog on a Stick Laurie and Kim called to have their kids come play with my kids. I had had a whole week of being stuck in the house with only kids, and I don't think they realized how nice it was for me to finally have a little adult interaction. Laurie showed up with breakfast for me and my kids, and Kim came back later with a nice cage for the backyard for our bunnies to run around in and some dinner for our family.
  
  
• My sister Jodi took me to my first orthopedic appointment way out in Henderson and watched my kids while my other sister Denise sat at the office with me for an hour and a half while I waited for the doctor. Then my mom treated us all to a nice lunch after my appointment. And Jodi came back later in the week to bring us some more dinner.
  
  
• My neighbor and good friend Emilee took Rebecca to dance class last week and offered to take her for the rest of the month until I could drive, even though she is about six months pregnant and has her own four-year-old and two-year-old to take to the class. She also brought us some delicious taco soup last night for dinner.
  
  
• One of my oldest, bestest friends in the world Julie came by with a big dinner and some Anderson Dairy ice cream last Friday even though she and her family were getting ready for her husband to start a crazy year of paramedic school this week.
  
  
• My mom took me to my second orthopedic appointment last week and sat in the car with a movie on for my kids to watch while I was inside the doctor's office.
  
  
• And last of all, Kevin has been so wonderful through all of this. He carried me around in Reno, pregnancy weight and all, before I could really walk around in my walking cast. He helped me get in and out of the tub and helped me get dressed before my foot was stable enough to let me do these things on my own. He's been making dinner on the nights that we haven't had leftovers from our friends and family, and he's been cleaning the house so that it hasn't become too much of a disaster. When I had the flu he took care of the kids all weekend so that I could sleep it off. He even took both kids to church by himself. He knew that I really wanted to mop the floor, so he mopped the entire downstairs. He's been taking care of all of the grocery shopping since we got back from Reno, and he's been willing to go do anything I ask him to do to help me out.

I'm so grateful for you all, and I really don't think I could have gotten through this tough time without all of your help. Thanks for being my angels.

Fun Things

What is a fun thing to have when you are 31 weeks pregnant?

A broken foot.

Here's a closer look at my fun new boot. Now I really feel like Bella.

And what's a fun thing to do on the first day of your anticipated visit to Kevin's sister in Reno?

Fall down the stairs and break your foot. I picked a great time to get my first broken bone. The last few weeks of this pregnancy are going to be lots of fun.

On a lighter note...

What are fun things to get for two kids who really want a pet and two parents who don't want to do any serious pet maintenance?

Bunnies! This was what Santa brought our kids for Christmas this year, and we are loving these sweet babies.

William might be loving them a little bit too much. Feel free to come visit our new family members any time.

Lovin' the Snow

We bought Rebecca a snow suit to wear in Utah. I never dreamed she would get to wear it in our own backyard.

I hope the rest of you Las Vegans got snow today because it is really coming down now.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

This is a picture of my backyard from yesterday. It snowed for a few hours straight in the morning - enough for some snow to even stick. The forecast said there should be more snow throughout the week, but it looks pretty clear today. I would love a white Christmas in Las Vegas.

iPod Tag

Directions:
1. Put your iPod on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. No Cheating.. you must write the name of THAT song. No matter what..

(Warning: I have a lot of ABBA and Justin Timberlake on my iPod, so their songs make up most of this post.)

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?

"Super Trooper" by ABBA (I guess it's not just okay, it's super trooper!)

2. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?

"Waterloo" by ABBA (I'm here to fight evil til the end.)

3. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GUY/GIRL?

"Disappear" by Hoobastank (I especially look for this in girls who try to flirt with my husband.)

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?

"Sexy Love" by Ne-Yo (Not quite. I feel pretty fat and pregnant actually.)

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE PURPOSE?

"Dashboard" by Modest Mouse (Sorry a few of these don't fit very well.)

6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?

"Just Don't Tell Me That" by 'N Sync (This is pretty true. I don't like to hear bad news ever.)

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?

"Forgotten" by Linkin Park (I sure hope not.)

8. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?

"My Love" by Justin Timberlake (I am the favorite child.)

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?

"Lonely Day" by System of a Down (I should probably get out of my house a little more.)

10. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?

"A Mother's Prayer" by Celine Dion

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?

"Like I Love You" by Justin Timberlake ("Ain't nobody love you like I love you" is the whole line, so for sure.)

12. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?

"You Are the One" by Shiny Toy Guns (Not exactly.)

13. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WHEN YOU GROW UP?

"Die Without You" by Brandy and Ray J (Pretty harsh.)

14. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?

"Long Time Gone" by Dixie Chicks

15. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?

"I Will Remember You" by Ryan Cabrera (We didn't dance at my wedding, but this song is a pretty good choice. It starts out "Eight years later - time goes by fast", and it does when you're married.)

16. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?

"Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie

17. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?

"One of Us" by ABBA (But I'm not sure which one of us...)

18. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?

"Hey Mama" by the Black Eyed Peas (I did keep the fact that I was pregnant for the third time a secret for a while.)

19. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?

"Cure For The Itch" by Linkin Park (But not in a dirty way.)

20. WHAT SONG THEY WILL PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?

"S.O.S." by ABBA (Maybe I'm not going to the Celestial Kingdom.)

Thanks for sharing this, Janet. I had a lot of fun doing this. (P.S. I put most of the songs from this post on my Playlist in case you are curious about what they sound like.)

What a Difference a Year Makes

I didn't post anything about Thanksgiving this year because I didn't take any good pictures. We spent Wednesday, November 26 to Tuesday, December 2 in New Harmony, Utah with my family. We ate too much, and the kids played hard, and it was a great time.

Anyway, on to my original post. Every year we try to take the kids to see Santa to get their pictures taken for Christmas. This year we went to Town Square because we heard that they had a cute Norman Rockwell inspired Christmas house and that it snowed there at night.

Last year, this was William's reaction to sitting on Santa's lap:

Blissfully ignorant to what was even happening, I'm sure.

This was his reaction to sitting on Santa's lap this year:

At least Rebecca was happy, and we got our Christmas picture of the kids for 2008. We'll see if he likes Santa any better next year.