Phun with photography...

We took pics of my sister and her fiance tonight. I do enjoy it so.They are a photogenic pair. I am excited for them to get married.This was so fun, the light was perfect and my best friend came and bossed them around and I just snapped beautiful pictures, easy peasy. :)

Aren't they adorable?

Keep it Fancy...

Doodle has some super cute outfits for this age range, and since we aren't making to church much this cold and flu season...

We are keeping it fancy.

Sometimes it be that way...

10 days people. 10 days! In 10 days I no longer have to play closet roulette. That is a game where you never get to wear what you want, you get to wear what you can reach without waking the baby sleeping in your closet. In 10 days the moonpie's constant grumbling and fussing during the night will not wake me up. That means, in ten days, I might get to stitch more than 2 hours of sleep at a time together. I might be rested - ish. 10 more days! I might feel like I have a tiny bit of sanity back. I still want my own place, it's still hard to share a fridge and kitchen, but I am thankful for the pressure relief that will come in 10 more days. I have been going crazy. CRAZY!

Am I excited? 

Boy howdy! 

Why is it harder to deal with the closer it comes to ending? I feel like the last few days have been torture. 10 more days! *throws confetti* 

Living with people is hard. We are on year three. I can honestly say it doesn't get easier the longer you do it, not to mention adding three new kids. Weee! Life is an adventure right? 

*Deep breath* 

I can do this for 10 more days. 

In other news...

How cute are my babies? 

Please disregard the spoon. It's hard enough to get them to sit there. 

I was counting on the boy's desire not to have his picture taken today since he was drippy and sick. Naturally he decided to try and get into every picture. :) 

Love the doodle bug. 

Wait, get back here!

Sometimes the best pictures are the ones that are a little crazy. I got new photography backdrops, and I am trying to figure the best place to set them up for the cousins valentines photography extravaganza. Now doesn't THAT sound fun?

Boys are hard to get a good picture of once they get moving.

Your Digital Christmas Card is ready...

I hope you have a wonderful holiday and a happy new year. May miracles continue in 2013 for you and your family. Thank you for all of your love and support. You have no idea how much it means to us. We feel so very blessed. I can honestly say that the last year or two have been some of the hardest of my life, but I have also seen the hand of God and felt the love of family and friends in a way that I never thought possible. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

I used bribes to keep the hats on. I should've passed out white candy canes. :/ Live and learn. Until next year!

How can a year go by so quickly?

Wow, there is a lot to catch up on. 

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We spent it with the fam up on the mountain. The weather was lovely. The kids were crazy. The food was delicious.

Toddler.

It became sort of my mission to get a good pic of this one.

The three yahoos. 

That's a "microphone" and he is singing his little heart out. 

The fudgesicle. 

It's sort of become an institution around here. 

As has this guy's messy mug. He's so...messy. :)

Digging in the dirt.

I told him I wanted a good picture, He did the rest. Strike a pose!

Enjoying the weather and the weeds.

We had a great time. We sort of celebrated the babies' birthday. Well, I did everyone else was kind of caught by surprise. I made a cake with homemade strawberry icing. It was tasty. Moon pie enjoyed it. Doodle wouldn't eat it. She doesn't eat anything. She thinks icing is disgusting based on the face I got when I managed to get some in her mouth. 

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since that day our lives were flipped around. It's hard to imagine that we were there in the hospital for four months. That's a third of this year, and it's already over. It's amazing that our babies are so healthy and doing so well. Doodle bug even ate pears tonight. You don't even realize what a big deal that is for us. It's huge! I can't help but have a full heart tonight as I think of the people who's prayers and help were there with us through it all. I think of all the nurses and doctors working so hard to keep our babies growing healthy and strong. The wonderful volunteers at the Ronald McDonald house and the staff that made us feel at home as best as they could. They were amazing. I think of how scared I was when my water broke and I realized there was no other option but to have these babies three months early and without Jason with me. I remember my sister speeding down the highway, and getting pulled over, and the obscenities that came out of her mouth. I remember she was with me the whole time. I see their tiny bodies in the medical transport, a glare from the light blocking my view, still not fully realizing what was happening as I was coming out of the anesthesia. I remember the sound of the helicopter as it faded in the distance with my babies in it, without me. Three excruciating days of waiting to be discharged so I could go see them, praying the whole time they would at least make it long enough for me to see them. Days and day of sitting by my tiny babies, wishing there were more I could do for them. 

 It feels like a dream now. It's hard to believe it all happened the way it happened.

It all comes flooding back. 

We are truly blessed and have seen miracles.

We can never repay

Blessed. So very blessed. 

Happy Birthday Doodlebugs. I love you.

Added bonus Doodle face for the win!

Happy Halloween...

We had a great Halloween. The cousins carnival bash was a great time to be had by all. I didn't get to visit with people as much as I would've liked, but it was great to see everyone.

I was able to pull off a family costume. It was awesome! Behold! The family circus!

J is the ring leader, I am a gypsy, Moon pie is the lion tamer, Doodle bug is the animal acrobat, (you know the girl who rides the horses and the elephants, does she have a name?), and  the Boy is a sword swallowing pirate.

We went trick or treating. It was kind of fun to take my kids in the same neighborhood that I grew up trick or treating in. It's also nice to know many of the people who's houses we went to. We went to the chili dinner, which was a madhouse, and then hit the pavement.

My new super deluxe giant stroller came just in time for the festivities. It was really nice to have. It seats two and has a sit and stand for the toddler. Yay for that!

 Headed due West.

   The limo

The tired octopus. 

I didn't get a picture of Dora. Darn it.

Alpine and mysterious ways...

At the last minute we decided to go to Alpine for Labor day. One thing I am finding is the last minute is not the best strategy when you have small children. It worked great when it was just us two, but not a life strategy I suggest for when you multiply. I give myself very good advice, but we very seldom follow it. Also, a long drive for two becomes a crazy long and tedious drive with children and holiday traffic. That being said, I am so glad we went. It was so beautiful. It was green and lush and full of flowers. This is the first we had been up since the big fire and it was kind of scary to see how close it came to the property. It was also neat to see an area where the trees were burned out and the lovely colors of green grass and yellow and purple and red flowers under them. It looked like gold spilling out into the meadow. It was still so pretty.

Quote of the trip: 
Me: That was so pretty, this part, not as much.
J: Yeah, it's like the awkward teenage part of AZ.

Things I learned from this trip:
1. The boy needs to sit closer to the front. Can we say, car sick? Twice?
2. Never buy tires in Payson. Get them checked before you leave. Talk about an expensive trip.
3 I am so happy my parents have a place on the way. It was so nice to have a place to be comfortable with all the babies while the tires were being fixed.  And a washing machine, see 1.
4. I love the Mountains. I think I could live there very happily. It always feels like coming home when I go there.
5. The squirrel living in the cabin goes to bed at 11, after a rigorous lap or two around the room.
6. Babies will get sunburned even in the shade.
7. If you haven't seen the sun in over a year, you will get sunburned super quick.
8. Remember your pillows.
9. Take time to make smores with your son.
10. Apparently going anywhere makes us sick. Wheeee!

This morning I awoke battling a horrendous sore throat. Doodles is a little wheezy, and Mr .Moon is grumpy and sneezy. Three of the dwarfs right here. Moonpie didn't let me sleep the first night. He was up every hour screaming. The boy decided we needed to have a long chat the next night and kept me company all night until he finally crashed out and doodle awoke for her breakfast and morning snuggles, last night
moonpie woke up a few more times, and I felt horrible. This morning my wonderful neighbor called to see if she could bring something by. She came over with some spinach dip and crackers, she told me someone must have been thinking about me because she just couldn't get it out of her mind that someone over here needed spinach dip and crackers. So funny. I, of course, was trying to "figure it out" and then I just started laughing. I felt so loved and totally amused by the fact that spinach dip and crackers could bring so much joy. God does indeed work in mysterious ways and I am thankful for a wonderful neighbor (who is our fairy godmother) who was willing to follow the prompting. I had a much more positive outlook on the day as I ate my spinach dip and crackers. The breakfast of champions.

The wonder of nature. :)