And Yet Another Birthday!!!

We just love birthdays at our house!  We are busy, busy with birthdays this time of year!!  Vanessa turned 9 today!  She has been anxiously awaiting this day for some time now!  For about a month and a half, she and Thomas are the same age!  She loves that.  Him?  Not so much!  Hahaha.

 Eating dinner!

 Savannah!  I just had to include this picture of her cute little Cheeto face!!

Getting ready to dive into dessert!  YUM!

The much anticipated and hoped for.....new birthday bike!!

Vanessa had a wonderful birthday!  She got her favorite breakfast (crepes with strawberries and whipped cream), she got to swim, pick her favorite dinner and dessert and be in the spotlight the whole day!

We are so blessed to have her in our family!  She is such a help with the little ones.  She has an amazing smile and shares her laughter with everyone!  We hope you had a wonderful day, Princess!  We love you!!

And Another Birthday!!!!

Tanner turned 12 on Friday!!!!!  Wahooooo!  It was also his last day of school!  Plus he got to so see the new Pirates movie with Levi and Sam flew in that night with her friend, Colt!!!!  His day could not have been any better!!!  We actually celebrated his big day on Saturday since Friday was pretty hectic.  During the day we went to the Out Of Africa Wildlife Park up by Sedona.  Tanner let a giraffe eat a carrot out of his mouth!  Only brave one on the whole safari!  I will post pics about that outing on a different post. 

We got home later that afternoon and everyone swam in the pool for a couple of hours then it was time for pizza and ice cream (Tanner is not a fan of birthday cakes)!  It was a fabulous day!!!

 Lazy day, waiting to open presents!

 His favorite: Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream in a waffle cone!

 Everyone loves ice cream!

 The one gift he was begging for:  his own gift card to buy what he wanted!

 Looking snazzy in his 'birthday suit'!  Hahaha, that was funny!!

Two of the handsome men in my life!

We love you Tanner!  We are sooooo thankful you are part of our family!  We hope you had a wonderful birthday!!

You Had A Birthday, Shout Hooray!!

Miss Talisha turned six yesterday!!!!  What a fabulous day she had!!  She got to take doughnuts to school to share with her class!  She got to choose what we ate for dinner and where we ate it (outside of course) and what kind of cake she wanted!!  At one point all the power went to her head and she was trying to say who could eat her cake and who couldn't.....(there was a sister that was being a little bossy).  I reminded her that even bossy sisters get to eat birthday cake.

 Birthday dinner!  Sandwich's, chips and fruit salad!

 And they got to sit all over the backyard!

 Boys lounging and eating!

 And some of us ate here!

 Time for presents!

 Close your eyes.....keep 'em closed.....

 And open!!!!

 Everyone got to make Princess gummies!  The boys just loved this part of the party!  :)

 Strawberry cake with whipped cream!!

Blow fast!  The whipped cream is melting!!!

Happy Birthday Princess!  We hope you had a wonderful day!  Love you bunches!

Life....Hmmmm....

I have been thinking about a lot of things lately.  A few things in particular have really been impressed on my heart as well.  I always know the things in my heart come from a higher power.  Those are not the things I could have come up with on my own.   But they get placed there and wait for me to take hold.

One of the things I have been thinking about is an idea my best friend and amazing mother of 11+ children gave to me.  She suggested the two of us start a blog, talking about the trials, joys, every day life of raising a big family!  I love it!  And I think other people would too!  I think people are naturally just curious but also would be surprised at some of the things we experience on a daily basis.  And maybe it would help someone feel better when they are having a lousy day to read what's happening in our family and realize life might not be as bad as they thought!  Haha, the grass is always greener......

Now don't get me wrong.  Raising a large family is not always a trial, in fact for the most part it is pure bliss!  But when the rains come, it is usually intensified because of many different factors and personalities.  I think it would also be nice to know that another family is experiencing the same thing your family may be going through!  Maybe one of you will share an idea for something that worked in your home.  Maybe we can give an idea that will be helpful to you!  It's a win/win for all of us...right?  :) 

Now to think of a name for our blog......hey, here is your first chance to get involved!  Do you have a suggestion for a cute/clever name?  We would love to hear it!!

There are other things still rolling around in my brain but I will save those for another day!

Time Flies When You Are Having Fun!

Days go by and I keep thinking, "You really need to update your blog!".....and I agree with myself and we move on!  Hahaha......but seriously, so much has happened that it's hard to know where to start!  So here goes:

The move went well.  Ok, it was painful and I hated the packing and the loading and the driving and the unloading (wait, I didn't unload) anyway, and the unpacking and the getting settled....but other than that, it went great!!

It's over and done and we are moving on to the 'living' stage!  That stage is lovely!  It's just how I remembered it: lazy weekends with no yard work, sitting by the pool watching the kids swim, dinners outside, school uniforms, kids loving their school, kids actually learning at school (ok, sorry but you Oregonians know what I'm talking about here.  Our kids are way behind what these kids know!).  Life is good!  Grandparents are here!  Kids are sleeping over at their house!  They come over for Sunday dinners!  It's fabulous!!

Did I mention the weather???  I love the weather!!!  Blue sky every day!  Amazing temperatures!  I know, I know, it's going to get hot....a lot hotter, but that's ok!!!  It's a trade I'm willing to make!  It beats the 9 months of rain any day!!

Ok, so that's all for now!  I will start updating more often and get some pics on here!  But at least you know we are alive and doing well! 

Where Does The Time Go???

Well, actually I know exactly where the time goes!  What I can't believe is how quickly it goes!!  So much has happened in the time since I have last written. 

In December we decided to put our home on the market and head to Arizona when it sold.  We have been wanting to go back there for so many reasons and the time finally seemed right to go.

In January we learned that the company Scott works for, would be selling a portion of the business unit.  We waited, not knowing if the new company would still allow him to work remote.  In February we received an offer on our home.  Two days later we found out who Scott's new employer would be but we still didn't know if he had a job and if they would allow him to work from Arizona.  We moved forward with faith, knowing that we were wanting to go to Arizona for all the right reasons.

We spent a week in Arizona, looking for a home and visiting family.  We were able to find a great home with all the bedrooms we need!  Builders in Arizona know how to build big homes, that's for sure!

All the kids are excited to move.  They have been counting down the days for weeks now!

We feel truly blessed that the Lord has answered our prayers and opened up the way for all of this to happen.  Scott did receive a job offer from the new company and they will allow him to work remote!

We are scheduled to move the 18th/19th of April!  It will be quite a ride!  It always is.

Stay tuned!!!!

Worth The Watch

One Man Doing Amazing Things

Click on the link above.  Take the time to watch this video.  It's just under 3 minutes.  Just another reminder that there is so much we should/could be doing in this life!