I'll Be Home For Christmas!!!!

Well, this is it...the last blog entry before I will see most of you! I was hoping to get the kids Santa Picture posted, but that doesn't look like it is going to happen. We are running around like busy little bees. You know how it is before you go out town. Gary has been working late to get all his hours in so he won't have to go in on Friday! The kids are counting down and driving us crazy! I am just trying to get in all done. The good thing is I will have 18 hours to catch up on sleep in the car.

For those of you who like to keep up with travel plans, we are planning on leaving here between 6 and 7 Friday morning (which is 7 or 8 MS time). Right now we think we will try to drive straight through and hopefully be in KO by 2am. However, since we are traveling with 3 kids and 2 dogs, we are flexible. We might end up stopping and spending the night along the way. Either way, we will be in town in time for Christmas at Mamaw Bobbye's. Everyone keep us in your prayers for both safety and sanity.

That's it for now...as I type Ella is crying, the boys are fighting, the dogs are barking, and supper is boiling...needless to say, I better go. We will see you all soon.

All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth!

What a weekend we had. First and Foremost...Chance lost his front tooth! He is officially a snaggletooth. He looks so funny, but so BIG!

And then there is Miss Ella Bella who has figured out how to make people laugh. This is one of her new favorites. Her Daddy calls her a little "pot" head!

We had our first big snow this weekend...about 6 inches between Friday night and Saturday. The kids are loving it. The boys got out and played in it a little bit on Saturday morning, but we didn't make it up to the mountains yet. Friday night Gary & I had his company Christmas Party. We had a great time and found that there are actually people here we could be friends with.

For those of you who don't know already, we turned our house over to a property manager who will hopefully find someone to lease it in the next few weeks. We are hoping to start seriously looking for a house here in Denver after Christmas.

Gary left this morning for North Dakota. . . HA HA HA . . . it's even colder there. He will be gone until Thursday and then we are at a week and counting until we come home. Can't wait to see you all. Love you!

Elf Babies!

Jackson & I played on the computer this afternoon and made some elf babies! You have got to see how funny they are! If you need a good laugh, check out the link below!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1201433834

What Do We Look Like???Garbage???

Okay so the title of this blog is a little strange! Let me explain...It is Jackson's new favorite thing to say and it seemed appropriate since Gary and feel like we are living in pig sty most of the time. We just have too much stuff for this tiny apartment. I have to give a shout out to my mom though, she helped me find a good way to deal with it. I had gotten to a point that my mantra was I hate this ******* apartment. (I refuse to even type that word because it is not one I ever say.) So the fact that it would go through my head at least twice a day tells you how bad it had gotten around here. My mom made a suggestion that I wake up every morning singing "This is the day that the Lord has made." Well, I'm not really one for singing first thing in the morning, but I have replaced my daily motto with this song. Now, every time I hate this apt. I just burst out singing. The kids think I have gone crazy, but it works for me and I am not quite as miserable.
We have turned the house in Madison over to a property management company. They will find someone to lease it and keep it up for us. This takes a huge pressure off of us. So, as soon as we have a lease on it, we can find something else here! HALLELUJAH!!!
Kids are doing well. Chance asks every day if it is Christmas yet and when are we going to Kosciusko. They are very excited about seeing everyone. We went to the mall last night to see Santa...and he wasn't there. What kind of mall doesn't have a Santa. So, we are going to find one this weekend and I will post a picture as soon as we have one. I hope everyone is full of the Christmas Spirit! We will see you all soon!

It's the Final Countdown!

26 days & counting until we head HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!!

Thanksgiving wasn't quite the same not being with the family. We had a few sad moments, but I have to say that the Martins are a pretty good substitute. They were all so welcoming to us and made us feel like we were part of the family. Gary was even assigned the job of carving the turkey (which is always his job at home)!
The kids had soooo much fun with Brenda's kids. Chance and Malik are both 6 and the two quickly became best buds! Jackson and Rhys were like two peas in a pod! They liked each other and enjoyed the company, but sometimes they were a little too alike to appreciate the other one. We had to break up a lot of arguments. (Of course the fact that they were exhausted had nothing to do with it! HA HA HA). Then there are the little ladies! Ella Bella automatically took on the role of big sister to Miss Jorie! When she wasn't looking out for her, she was bossing her around, just like a big sis should.
Brenda and I picked up right where we left off. You couldn't tell we hadn't seen each other in 4 years. You can always tell the makings of best friend! We didn't skip a beat! It was like we had been together every day for the last 15 years. I am really excited that we are going to see so much more of each other.
Corey and Gary survived it all. They really were good sports to put up with all the running around Brenda Jean and I did. They missed quite a few games on TV, including the BYU vs. Utah game that was just as important as State/Ole Miss. We got to listen to the first half thanks to XM radio, but missed all the good stuff while we ate lunch. However, I have to give a big shout to Kim for keeping us posted. The girl sent me a text anytime something happened. We got a play by play via text messaging. It wasn't quite like being there, but it was the next best thing.
We love and miss you all and can't wait to see everyone in less than 4 weeks. Please keep praying for us and our house. We have yet to sell the one Madison, but are still hopeful. Maybe the Christmas season will be good luck for us. See y'all soon!

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, it's here! Our first holiday away from home! I have been really down about it. I want to be there for the food, the family, the egg bowl, and of course the Friday morning shopping! Going to see Brenda is helping though. The kids are really excited. They are so much like Gary and I...everything is an adventure.

We have packed and prepared everything ...Just In Case! It is supposed to snow here tonight. The high tomorrow is only 28! We will be driving through snow most of the drive. Won't that be fun? We will get lots of pics over the weekend and will have tons to post when we get back.

We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Think of us because we will be thinking of all of you.

Alive And Ticking

Sorry it has been so long! We have been busy little bees here in CO! Gary just got back from Montana. (Or as Chance says "Hannah Montana"! He just can't understand why we didn't see daddy on tv while he was gone.) The trip was to Glacier National Park. He got some great pictures and I will put them up as soon as I can.

You all will be happy to know that we will not be alone on Thanksgiving. We are going to Vernal, UT to spend time with Brenda and her family. For those of you who don't know, Brenda is my best friend from highschool when I lived in UT. She has 3 kids right around the same ages of Chance, Jackson and Ella. We are looking forward to a great, long, relaxing weekend.

I have started my job training and things are going well. There is a lot of information to learn and practice. I think I am really going to enjoy the work though. It is a lot of problem solving which is right up my alley.

Chance is doing great in school. He is in the top math group and next to top reading group. His vocabulary is unbelievable. He is definately growing up....TOO FAST!

Jackson is.....Jackson. Actually he is doing great. He is starting to listen a little more. He is helping out more...especially cooking! He loves to help me cook. He is also showing more empathy for others! All in all he is growing too and not just physically!

Then there is my Ella Bella! She is talking up a storm! Right now she is really into copying everything we say! And talk about attitude! She is quite the little diva! We can't wait until Christmas to see her little face!

I guess that is all the updates for now! I promise to try and post more often! We love and miss you all!