January... thus far has been pretty great. We kicked off (technically Dec 31) with a fabulous New Years Eve party. It ended at 8, when most people's begins... I still wanted happy children Jan 1st so their bedtime didn't change. Mean?  Maybe but honestly my kids didn't mind.  They were just pleased about the party.  Particularly Katie, I let her plan all the activities

She called it our "Pizza, Pajama, Jungle Safari, pillow fight, games, and snack party"

 I admit, Katie didn't plan the games other than saying she wanted to have games at her party.  This is the "flour game" you cut the flour with a knife trying not to knock down the coin that is placed on top of the "flour cake".  Whoever knocks it down gets to push it off the plate with their nose.

 Katie was actually the one who knocked the penny down but, it made her feel bad and she started to cry so I volunteered (or more was volunteered by my dear husband, thanks Jeff ;)  ) and she was happy after that.

 Kylee was irritated with me for having a dirty face so I had to clean it right away

 The pillow fight (the tents behind were for the "jungle safari" portion... Katie's idea)

 One of Katie's favorite games: I Can Do, Can You?

it's from an old sunbeam book I used to have that had activities to correspond with the lessons.  I knew it would come in handy when I had young children of my own.  I've been glad I held on to some of my old Sun Beam stuff.

 and "Happy New Year" at 8 O'clock and then bedtime for kiddos.  I ended up reading until midnight.  Boring?  Not to me ;)

 Getting ready to welcome home uncle Jeremy from his mission :)

 Katie worked very hard on the banner.  She was proud of her work :)

 (Jeremy is in the middle)

 At the airport.  YAY JEREMY IS HOME!!! Does she not look THRILLED?  (Actually this was when she was going up and down on the escalator but I thought it captured the sentiment better than other pictures)

 Katie was invited to a Rapunzel birthday party and she had a BLAST.  They had the cutest little party favors, to include this Rapunzel hair that she rarely took off until the following week :)

 Things are pretty good here.  Its fun to see the girls becoming such good friends

Kylee and "Dee" (that's what Kylee calls her) reading together.  Isn't that the sweetest thing ever?  I think so :)

Christmas

I am going to go ahead and post pictures first and to those who would like to read on, may. 

 You would never know that this girl is on 4 hours of sleep! She was sick on Christmas Eve, and well enough on Christmas day to enjoy it tremendously

 Skippy John Jones, one of Katie's favorite books

 Don't mind the monster that is me, I was on very little sleep.  

This is when I opened my gift from Jeff.  He contacted Jessica (my cousin, and best friend), who he knew I'd been wanting to see and set up a girls night out (complete with a gift card to Cafe Rio.

 One of Katie's favorite children's books, Marley.  She loves that dog

 Beanie, our sweet doggie slept with Katie while we were there.  I love how attached she is.  It's almost been a year since we got her and... we LOVE owning a dog.  It's been good for our kids.

 Kylee was able to sleep until 7 Christmas morning (she also didn't go to sleep until 2-2:30, but I'm not sure what was going on with her).

 Finally home and able to sleep in our own beds and play in our snow.  We missed the snow while we were in La Verkin

We spent Christmas in La Verkin this year.  I don't know if we will do Christmas day there again because it was a pain to pack the gifts down and bring them back home (we barely fit everything into the car). But we plan on spending time there just before or just after and sleeping in our own beds on Christmas Eve.

Our Elf came with us and of course my girls enjoy looking for him each morning, but my brother-in-law, Jared really loved him.  He once made the comment "I wish that Christmas was in 5 days instead of 3 so the elf could keep coming" :)  It was even more fun with him.  He's a great kid, my girls enjoy him.

Christmas Eve, my favorite day of the year, went really well down there with Jeff's family.  My mother-in-law cooked a wonderful turkey dinner, we played games and had a fun little family program with Jeff's brothers, even Chris and Sheralyn came down and stayed (Katie LOVES her only aunt, you have no idea).

All went well until about 10pm when Katie woke up bawling, struggling to breath and complaining her neck hurt really bad (her throat).  And that was pretty much the rest of the night.  Kylee woke up a lot too.  She also had a little cold but I think most of the waking was due to Katie's crying and just not being in her own bed.  We never really did get a good night's sleep while we were there (4 nights) because Kylee just doesn't sleep well out of her own bed. It's worth it to see Jeff's family, and usually we're able to squeeze in a nap if it is absolutely necessary.  

I got about 2 hours of sleep on Christmas Eve, which still was about 1 hour and 40 mins more than Jeff.  We decided to divide and conquer.  I stayed with Kylee and Jeff "slept" with Katie, who coughed, cried and kicked him from 12 am to 4:30am, when his family gets up to open presents. That is NOT a tradition I have even the most remote desire to continue.  It would just be asking for me, and my little ones to be grouchy all day.  It may work for some families, but not mine.  We don't do well on little sleep (except Jeff who actually does fine except the inevitable head ache that sets in the next day).

Since my kids hadn't really gone down until 2am, I was not thrilled that they still planned on getting up at four but they did and were good to be as quiet as possible so the little ones could sleep a little longer.  Most everyone was really nice about it, well aware that we'd had a rough night (and lets face it, I don't think anyone else got much sleep.  It's hard to sleep through screaming children).  Even 8-year-old Jared willingly put off playing with some noisy toys until the kids woke up.  It's hard to be quiet while opening gifts but they did it, which was really nice because my girls were able to get a little more sleep.

I did have a little moment that morning, as I usually do when I am on no sleep (and the fact that the three days leading up to this I had little sleep didn't help) Jeff is super good with the broken Emily (who thankfully rarely appears unless there is a death, or the first few months after the birth of a child... I am usually not a crier) and was able to cheer me up and the rest of the day went really well.  I am SO grateful for my husband's abilities to make me feel better in any situation. He was the hero of the day.

We weren't planning on leaving until the day after Christmas but we weren't prepared to deal with another sleepless night and we knew a storm would be coming in so we decided to leave a day early.  I was SO glad we did, we actually got a good night's sleep.  We got home about 9pm (an hour after the kids' bedtime).  I got Kylee to bed while Jeff unloaded the car and went to help Katie.  Only to find her toothbrush had been used, she used to bathroom, and had put herself to bed.  She was out like a light and slept well ALL night.  It was wonderful.  I felt like a person again the next day.

My girls night was Thursday and it went really well. It was nice to get out and have some time with Jessica :) I need to venture out more

I am thankful

Well as you can see, Thanksgiving for Katie was kind of a bust.  She couldn't even keep soup down so... water and pedialyte was all she really had to eat (and some milk that she BEGGED for and it was a BAD idea to cave because 5 minutes later... you can  guess what happened, I'll spare you the gory details).

Jeff was sweet enough to stay home with Kate so Kylee and I could still go to dinner with my family (I had potatoes as a food assignment and did not think it was a good idea to bail like that).

Kylee ate like CRAZY which is funny because she is usually a horrible eater, and I know Thanksgiving every year with Katie she has somehow gotten by on a few olives and rolls.  Whenever there is a feast, I think she gets overwhelmed eats a tiny bit and plays... usually obviously not today.  Katie had a TV day which I normally don't allow even more than an hour but...  not much else you can do with a sick kid.

Anyway... back to Kylee, that kid had lunch before we left because she was starving and could not push it until one.  So she had a full lunch, and then picked off everyone's plates.  For dessert of course we had pie and Kylee basically at all of my mom's.  It's strange to see her eager to eat foods. 

SO glad Kylee stayed healthy (Wow spoke to soon on that one, Fortunately Kylee's was 12 hours of horribleness and recovery after that

My husband and I celebrated our 6th Anniversary last Sunday... ok so actually we haven't technically celebrated other than saying "Happy Anniversary" to each other.  We didn't do gifts (except Jeff bought me a rose... you cheater!) or really get out together.  We celebrated by spending a quiet evening at home watching a movie (after the kids were asleep). Jeff did not read or study during the entire thing so... that's kind of huge.  That's celebration for us, and we enjoyed it, so there :)

Alright that's all the pictures I have so, you can stop reading if you don't care to read my thankful list which is likely cheesy :)

• I am thankful that I have more than everything I need.  We never go hungry, without clothes, or shelter. We even have things we don't need but are nice to have around anyway.  I am thankful for my TV, or a good book.  A nice way to unwind after a busy day.  I am grateful my kids have toys they enjoy and can keep entertained most of the day just here at home.

• I love my heater, we keep it just low enough that I need a sweater in my house in the evening (I like that, but the kids stay warm, Katie has the warmest room in the house and Kylee gets a space heater).

•  I am, of course thankful to be a mother.  It took me a good two years to get pregnant for the first time, and another six months to get pregnant with Kylee and I am just so grateful they are here safe and sound and I have the opportunity to be their mother.  Will I be blessed with more? I hope so, but for now I am thankful for the two I have.

• I am grateful for a bathroom.  Lame? NO!!! Aren't you? I've been reading too many books that take place before the lovely convenience of an indoor bathroom, and I am thankful we have two.  With Katie sick I am especially glad.  I was never good, as a child at making it to the toilet to throw up.  But she has every time.  That's her instinct... she RUNS to the bathroom when she feels it coming.  That's amazing.  My poor mother, it took her kids much longer to grasp that concept (and NO I have never gotten angry at her for accidentally throwing up anywhere else she just threw up ALOT as baby so... maybe she's just that good at feeling it come on).

• I am grateful for nightmares.  Weird, YES!  But I am glad that when I wake up, I know it's just a dream... usually.  A few nights ago I had a horrible nightmare that my children were in danger and I could not, as hard as I tried, save them.  It was horrible and I woke up and could not calm myself down.  I just wanted to hold my children but couldn't justify waking them for my selfish purpose. Pretty soon, I hear little Katie steps in the hallway.  She climbs up into my bed and asks me to snuggle her because she is scared.  Wow, do you know how good that felt?  And that same, or similar thing has happened on 4 or 5 different occasions. In a weird way it kind of reminded me how mindful of me my Heavenly Father is of me.  Knowing I would never wake my child, He sent her to me (well that's how I'm going to look at it).  I can't describe the horrible feeling I had before my sweet little girl came to me needing cuddles.  She obviously had no idea how much her mom was truly the one who needed cuddles.  I love my children, and I love my Heavenly Father and am truly grateful for the love He has for me.

• I am grateful for the kind man I married.  I could go on for pages and pages with reasons I love him, but I'll just name a one.  When it snowed last week Jeff got up to shovel the walks.  He took forever, and I went out to look for him when I noticed our walk was done and he still hadn't come inside.  He had helped the neighbor girl and her mother shovel their walks, and was busy working on our other neighbor's.  Nothing feels my heart with more love than seeing him preform selfless acts of service.  He truly is a gentleman in every sense of the word.  So, to all my single friends gentlemen do indeed exist, my husband is living proof of this and I love him and simply could not have picked a better eternal companion.  I can promise you there was some definite divine intervention to help me find him and I am truly grateful to be his wife forever and ever.

• I am grateful for the gospel and the influence it has in my life.  I won't get preachy, but I would not be where I am today if it weren't for the strong power of prayer and the scriptures to help guide me in my decisions.

• I have been born of goodly parents.  No one can deny that... or you don't know my parents. I am grateful for them, I needed saints to raise me, so that's just what I got.

• I am grateful for a modern prophet who receives revelation.  I can not tell you how many times I fall into a depression when I see terrible things going on in the world and how callous people can be.  I read words from our prophet and instantly I feel better.  

• I am grateful for my friends, all of them.  I love you them dearly and have been blessed to have found such loyal friends.  The kind that don't backbite, or judge and are always willing to help me in whatever way they can, by giving advice or just lending an ear so I can vent.  Seriously I don't know how I got so lucky to have such amazing friends but I am truly grateful.

The list doesn't end there but now I am going to spend some more time with my dear husband so that'll do for now.  :)

Ok so, I had my complaining session on Facebook and I'm ready to move on.  I've been whining because Jeff's school is going to be substantially more expensive than we were planning but I am thankful he found something he'll enjoy and we'll figure it out somehow.  Worst case scenario, I'll get a job. I'm not super fond of the idea because I would HAVE to be full-time. I can't handle missing that much precious time in my kids' lives that I'll never get back. If I get the pay I had at my last job, minus daycare costs... all in all, I'd be bringing home a whopping four to six bucks an hour.  Leaving my children, paying someone else to raise them, and still barely making anything... not super keen on that idea. I want to raise my kids my way, and I certainly don't want to have anyone else do it for me.  It broke my heart every time I had to leave a crying child who just wanted her mom, and I don't want to go back to that if I can avoid it.  I loved my job, I did, but I love my kids more.

Jeff is always optimistic--though he doesn't pretend the situation hasn't been frustrating--he doesn't think it'll come to me having to figure out daycare and a job, so I think I'll stay optimistic with him.

Other than that nasty financial news, things have been great. I'm loving my time at home with my kiddos.  Seriously, I'm living my dream being there for my kids all the time.  I'm relishing this precious time I have been given to be a mother. We are having a blast... but I think my husband and I are due for a night out soon.  I have been a little more irritable with the kids lately, poor girls. I had some time without the kids back in Sept, I think but... I'm due soon.  My girls are paying for my stir-craziness, it's probably made worse by the fact that poor Jeff has had test after test and we don't see much of him (often he's here... but not really here because he has to study). 

 I think he averages like 3-4 major exams a week.  Let me tell you this doctorate level stuff is no picnic.  People mistake when they seem surprised he's not working also.  This is not a "go at your own pace," masters level degree it's not an online thing at all, and its not a master's degree.  Physical Therapy schools are moving to doctorate programs rather than masters programs.

 So this being a doctorate program, (again not a masters, which is still difficult but not the same thing)  no less than 17 credits of difficult classes each semester. He'll have over 133 credits in DPT school when he's done.  He goes straight through the summer, seven (or 8, can't remember) semesters straight.  He tells me BYU's undergraduate stuff was kindergarten compared to this program. It's not one of those programs where you can work and go to school.  All the DPT students are strongly advised against being employed while attending their school.  Seriously if Jeff worked also (apart from his military stuff which he does), I don't think sleeping would be an option for him. His monthly drills are hard enough to squeeze in, I can't even imagine what would happen if he got a job. No one in his program has a job, excepting 4 and ALL of those go under 16 hours a week (most much less and doing something where they can study at work).  They are specifically told not to work.

  Anyway, he's been busy and I've been getting cranky but I figure if I get out quarterly, which is about as much as I can seem to pull off, it keeps me pleasant.

Kylee has been saying a few more words, which is fun.  She has even started to mimic prayers when it's her turn for family prayer (the cutest thing EVER, but I feel weird about getting a prayer on film, so I don't). My main concern with her is she WILL NOT let me read her books.  This is super frustrating because I feel like if she'd let me she would like it and maybe even pick up some more vocabulary.  I won't push her though, I don't want her to hate it.  I just wish she would enjoy letting me look at books with her.  That's something she would rather do on her own.  Katie on the other hand, gets PLENTY of book time. We still go to the library twice a week so I don't get sick of reading the same things over and over.  We are WELL on track to hit over 1000 books before kindergarten.

Occasionally when catalogs or ads come in the mail Katie and I will sit down and look through them together, not that I ever purchase anything from a catalog... it's just fun to look and dream.

 Last month we got some ads from Seagull Book & Tape (is it weird that it's one of my favorite stores?), and I pointed out a cute skirt and top to her.  She smiled and told me it was "totally coo" (she always leaves off the 'L' in "cool", its cute how she says it).

Anyway, I didn't really think about it after that, as I never do.  New things are not in the cards for us... at least not yet. We went to visit my in-laws just after my birthday.  They decided to take Katie to a fun place with those air bouncy toys but it was going to be right during Kylee's nap so I stayed behind (I'm a stickler for naps, I know but she just sleeps SO much better at night if we don't skip that nap).  They had a blast, didn't get any pictures though :(  My sweet mother-in-law asked for help to pick out a gift for my birthday, so my all-knowing husband took her to Seagull Book & Tape to look for something.  They were looking at some of the cute clothes they have there and my sweet little Kate pointed out exactly--to inlcude color-- what I had pointed out to her in a catalog.  Smart girl.  They didn't have my size so Jeff and Tina settled on something else equally as cute. As soon as Katie walked through the door she jumped in my lap and sighed and told me.  "It wasn't the one you wanted, I told them, but it wasn't the right one." 

I had NO idea what she was talking about, I looked to Jeff for some clarification but he just shrugged and distracted her with something else. A few minutes later Tina (Jeff's mom) came out with a gift bag, I opened it and inside was the exact shirt I had pointed out to Katie, and a very very cute skirt.  (THANK YOU! I LOVE THEM!! SERIOUSLY LOVE) and then it all made sense.  I am just AMAZED that Katie was able to remember that, it was just something I pointed out one time, and it wasn't even relevant if she was paying attention, I was more pointing it out to myself than to her.  Impressive little girl.

Alright and now for the picture segment.

My little girls LOVE to play together, but they are also partners in crime.  Here is just one of the examples of the mischeif they get into when left for just a short time (long enough for me to make a restroom run).

One of Kylee's favorite pass-times

Poor Jeff

Finger painting fun

I can't believe Kylee has learned how to swipe and unlock my iPhone

Crazy kid who constantly makes me smile

Blanket fort :)

Every single day... at least once she must attack her daddy

Jeff was a good sport for our treat-or-treating inside grandma Bennett's house