We Love Aunt Melissa!

We got our biggest Christmas present Christmas night when my sister flew in!
It was so, so good to have her here. Knowing she was coming made being away from family this Christmas more bearable. We spent a lot of the time inside (due to the freezing weather) making gingerbread houses, bracelets, playing games, shopping, and watching movies.
Of course Melissa and I had to visit the GAP clearance center in Cincinnati. Trevor watched the kids and we enjoyed perusing the isles and trying on like 50 items of clothing and let's not even start with the shoes and handbags. Bargain shopping without kids is SO FUN!



We stayed up way too late playing games and just talking, it was so nice to spend that time with Melis. Every morning the girls would beg me to wake her up (different time zones) so they could play with her and every meal or ride in the car they would fight over who got to sit by her... she is a very popular girl at our house.
We miss her already and can't wait for her next visit... maybe in 3 more months;) ?!? Please?!?
We love you Melissa!

Merry Christmas

Yes, Christmas was almost 2 weeks ago. I'm falling behind but I wanted to real quick post about our Christmas.

We were up late Christmas Eve getting things ready for Santa's visit.
Christmas morning Campbell must have been really excited because he was up at 5:30am... so, Trevor and I were up at 5:30. :( soooo tired!
We decided to watch my favorite movie (definitely NOT Trevor's favorite movie)- White Christmas- while we waited for the kids to wake up. Finally at 7:00 we couldn't wait any longer so we woke them up.

We had such a nice Christmas. The kids were thrilled with their new toys... and Trevor and I spent most the morning opening, untwisting, and assembling those toys (what is the deal with all of the twisty ties... SO Annoying!) We stayed in our pjs for most of the day and Trevor and I took turns taking naps.
At the end of the day when Hallie and Megan were getting ready for bed Hallie said, "This was the best Christmas Ever!!" Then the girls started talking about how Santa must really know them well because he got them everything they wanted. That Santa, he is a smart man, although I can't help but wonder if Mrs. Claus deserves more credit than we give her. ;)

Christmas 2008

We had a great Christmas!

Christmas Eve we went to our friend's home for a party. We had a yummy dinner and then we tied some blankets for a sick little girl and her siblings. I thought it was such a great idea to do a service project at the party. It really helped our family focus on the true meaning of Christmas and count our blessings. I want it to be a new tradition for us to do some sort of service every Christmas Eve. Even with the kids running around and the chaos of a big party, I really felt a sense of peace as we worked on that project together.The kids performed the nativity (notice the beautiful angels in the back).
It was a really nice nativity, until one of the shepherds decided to use his shepherd's cane as a weapon and beat up one of the beautiful angels. ;)It was fun to spend the evening with great friends and after some karaoke and pool we called it a night and headed home to get ready for Santa's visit. On the way home we thought about all of you at the Burton Christmas Eve party and we chanted "rubber chicken" in memory of you... hope you had a great party. We miss all of you so much.

I was worried that Hallie and Megan wouldn't be able to sleep that night from the excitement of Santa coming but thanks to the party they were beat and

were fast asleep minutes after their heads hit the pillows.

More on Christmas soon... as soon as

I figure out why I can't get to my other Christmas pictures, ugh!

Christmas 2006

I was organizing our pictures and came across our Christmas pictures from last year in our West Bountiful home. I was 7 months pregnant and Trevor was in the middle of residency interviews. A lot has changed in just one year.
I can't believe how much the girls have grown. It freaks me out a little bit because I know that next year I'll look back on the pictures of 2007 and think the same thing. How can they be growing so quickly? I'm with them every single day and yet in some ways I feel like I'm missing it. Does that make sense?

As I look back on this past year and all that has changed for our family I can see the Lord's hand in our lives. I feel so loved by Him and so grateful to know that He cares enough about me and my little family to personally guide us here to our new home in Kentucky. I'm so grateful for His birth and for His life and to know that He still lives!

I can't wait to see what 2008 brings.

We love you and wish you a very Merry Christmas!!!

Mary did you know

I was emailed this link and I wanted to share it with you because it touched my heart. This is one of my favorite Christmas songs and I have found that it means even more now that I am a mother of a baby boy. There is a special connection that I can't describe between a mother and her son. Mary must have been an amazing woman of faith... I hope I get to meet her someday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii9JvTyeL1Y

GRUBINATUB

GrubinaTub from kathryn on Vimeo.

Kid Quotes

***(Hallie in the playroom with Meg) "Megan, you are the best sister!! It's true! Friends ARE for now and sisters are forever...(pause)... and dogs."
***Megan- "Mom, when is Hallie going to be an old lady?"
Hallie- "Megan, when you say that it hurts my feelings."
Me (trying not to laugh)- "I will be an old lady long before Hallie."
Megan- "Then will we get a new mom?"
Hallie- "No, Megan"
Megan- "Oh yeah, then daddy will take care of us"

Campbell Dances

Pause the christmas music on the sidebar first, then click on the play button.


Campbell dancing from kathryn on Vimeo.
A big THank YoU to Brett for helping me figure out how to post this video since blogger was not cooperating!

I was watching a cooking show today where the chef was teaching tricks to sneak vegetables into your kids food. I guess I was really into it because I didn't realize someone else was also watching and all of the sudden I heard a little voice behind me announce, "Mom, if you make that food I'm going to know what you put in it". . . shoot.

"All I want for Christmas..."

So BIG!

Campbell is growing up so fast! He is now 10 months and he is learning new things everyday. In the last 3 weeks he has started crawling, clapping, waving, and now he is standing on his own. I said in the last post that Jerry nicknamed him "Governor" because he waves and smiles at everyone, it's true! He loves to wave to people and they just eat it up. I often catch myself in a store surrounded by people who have come to talk to Campbell who apparently waved them over.
He is so cute when he is trying to stand up, he grunts and groans trying to hold himself in place then when he falls he sits up and grins and claps... he is so proud of himself! He also loves to dance! When we turn on music- he goes crazy! We got a video of him dancing but for some reason we can't get it to work on blogger (any ideas why?).
Anyway, it is so fun to watch Campbell grow and change. I can't believe he is almost a year old!!! He is so much fun!

Jerry and Kaye Grubbs Visit Kentucky

Right now I am blogging (obviously) and my mother and father-in-law are making me breakfast. They should visit more often. ;) Jerry is making his traditional heart-attack breakfast which includes sausage and gravy, bacon, and eggs... Yummy. Kaye is helping with the biscuits and stressing over the fact that Jerry is clogging our arteries.
They got here on Wednesday and are leaving today. :(

It has been fun to have them here with us and show them a little bit of Kentucky which is now very cold and rainy. We went to dinner by the Ohio river, went to the zoo, had a tour of the UofL's ER, and Trevor and I enjoyed a date night and some Christmas shopping while they put the kids to bed. Oh how we miss our family babysitters (hello Kim, Julie, and Melissa!).

(notice the Emu attacking Trevor in the picture, luckily Trev has quick reflexes and got away)
Campbell got his nickname from Jerry this week (every grandchild has one). It's "Govenor", Jerry thinks he is going to be a politician because he smiles and waves to everyone.



Trevor and Jerry got to take out one of Trevor's plane and also fly their helicopters in the house. Megan and Hallie have loved having their grandparents here to give them lot's of extra attention and hugs and kisses. We will miss them!!

Random stuff

***We got a fun package from my mom and dad about a month ago and ever since then the girls have been constantly asking me, "How many days until December?"

My mom sent them chocolate advent calendars and they couldn't wait to open them! As soon as they woke up this morning they were running to get their new calendars and Hallie asked if I could take a picture of them and put it on the blog. I said, "Of course!"

***We have the house all decorated for the holidays. I love to turn on the tree first thing in the morning and enjoy it all day long. Campbell also likes the Christmas tree... a lot. I had to put the tree on a 8 in wooden box and barricade it in the corner with the couch on one side and the coffee table in front. Not as pretty, but it will have to do this year. :)

***Trevor's parents and sister (Kim) are coming to visit this week. We are so excited! We have been in Kentucky for 6 months now. It seems like it has been a lot longer in some ways and in other ways the time has flown by! We feel so blessed to be here because we know it is where we need to be right now... for whatever reason. It is so beautiful here and we have met so many good people in Kentucky.

***I had the chance to talk to our neighbor yesterday about the Gospel. It was interesting. As I shared some of our beliefs I felt inside a strengthening of my own testimony of those particular beliefs. I don't know if she felt anything but I know that I felt the truth of what I was saying and I felt a deeper gratitude for what I have and a desire for her and her family to have the joy the Gospel brings . I am so grateful.

***I'm teaching Relief Society tomorrow. I'm grateful for the opportunity to teach because it gives me an added opportunity to learn. It should be especially interesting since Trevor works and so I will have Campbell. I'm thinking I will stick him in the backpack and just feed him Cheerios over my shoulder and let him pull my hair for his entertainment. Do you think that will be too distracting? ;) heehee

Addicted to Photoshop

Okay, I admit it... I'm addicted.

I can't believe how fun photoshop is! It takes your creativity to a whole new level. I've been checking out tutorials online (thank you Jamie) and I'm getting some photoshop books for Christmas (thank you Santa:)).

This morning I learned how to make a photo look like a sketch. This is the photo I tried it on. I love the way Megan's eyes look.

I use photoshop for everything now- to do my blog header, scrapbook, enhance my pictures, and this year I'm making our Christmas card with photoshop. Like I said, I'm addicted!

So my reason for posting this is, if you don't have photoshop, get it! You will be amazed at what you can do with it!

He Crawls

As of yesterday Campbell is officially crawling! I don't know what to say. Part of me is so proud of our little guy and the other part of me is looking at the stairs and the fireplace and the outlets and feeling a little nauseated about the whole thing.

Disgusting Times

A favorite at our house is hot chocolate. Whenever we are outside in the cold, Hallie will ask if we can have hot chocolate when we get inside. Well, the other day we came in from playing in the cold to have hot chocolate. We sat down...Kathryn looked excited as she sipped her simmering drink. I sipped mine and thought "what in the world is this?"...quickly I regained my composure... I had to keep it together for the kids. I watched Hallie as she drank. I could tell all was not well but she was polite and said nothing. Then Megan yells "this is DISGUSTING!" No one could have said it better. Hallie and I then felt it was appropriate to agree and we wasted the nasty drink. Kathryn however is happy as can be with the new taste...I have no idea what it is, but apparently 1 in 4 can enjoy it.

Happy Birthday Melissa

This is a shout out to my little sister Melissa on her birthday.

We are thinking about you and missing you out here in Kentucky today,

and everyday for that matter!

Hope you have a great birthday Melissa! We love you!

P.S.We just found out this week that Melissa will be coming to visit us

Christmas night and staying for a week...
Merry Christmas to US!!!

My Megan

Here are the pics I promised of Meg and her hats.

Yesterday was the primary program. Megan didn't have a speaking part, thank goodness, that would have been stressful! All she had to do was stand and sing the primary songs. They had the sunbeams sit on the front row in the congregation and then walk up to the front for every song. I was worried that Megan wouldn't walk up there but was pleasantly surprised when she came marching up for the first song. She looked in my direction and then locked eyes with me and hardly blinked for the whole song! Even though she knows all of the words to the songs (we have a CD with the presentation music on it that they listen to all of the time) by heart and sings them all of the time at home, her lips did not move. She just stared at me intently. She did this for every song! I would make faces at her in an effort to at least get her to smile but she was too focused.
After church I said to her, "Megan you were sooo brave to get up there in front of everyone!" She said, " I know that! I know that I was sooo brave in front of everyone." She smiled and was so proud of her accomplishment.

I just have to remind myself, baby steps, don't panic Kathryn. Someday she won't be afraid of everything outside our front door.

At least she is not afraid of the camera. We sure love our sweet little Megan! :)

Tis the Season

Well, I've spent the last few days fixing my Christmas template and picking out Christmas music for my playlist.

What is it about this time of year that just brings my emotions to the surface? Christmas music is especially dangerous for me. All you have to do is play Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" and I am a puddle on the floor. I don't know if it makes me feel happy or sad, it just makes me feel.

It truly is the "most wonderful time of the year" and Hallie reminded me why, "because of Jesus" she said. She is right, and I am so grateful.

A shot in the arm

I took Hallie to the Pediatrician today to get a flu shot. She was not happy about it! She got a Winnie the Pooh sticker and when we got home she put the sticker on a piece of paper and wrote this...



-My sticker with Pooh Bear and the Heffalump

I got this sticker at the doctors office and I got a sucker and we went to DQ to get a ice cream and I think that sticker was the only sticker like that there and I loved that sticker so much and for a second I couldn't get it and then I got it and I got the flu shot and she counted to five and I screamed and cried and it didn't hurt very much.

It was a traumatic experience for all of us which is interesting since apparently "it didn't hurt very much." ;)

Something Red

Ever since we moved here I have been looking for some red hanging plants to put on my front porch. I looked all over and just couldn't find anything I loved so I gave up hope on red flowers and talked to Trevor about painting our door or our swing red. Unfortunately Trevor doesn't share my passion for the color. I just wanted something RED! Today I looked out the window and had to catch my breath when I saw this... Isn't it beautiful?!? I don't even know what kind of tree it is and I know that it will only last for a little while which is why I will be looking out my windows and swinging on the porch swing and pulling out my camera a little more... enjoying our beautiful red tree.

Tagged

Okay, I've been tagged (thanks a lot Christina ;) and these are the rules I have been given.
A. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
B. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.


Seriously, I can't think of anything that anyone would want to read about me so I've decided just to make stuff up that is interesting ;).

That brings us to fact #1 about me, I am a rule keeper, always have been. So I guess that means I will actually have to write this about me... sorry. (1 down, 5 to go, think hard Kathryn)

#2 Favorite Jobs
- Inkleys (a photo store) I worked up front selling cameras and doing the register and then I was moved to the back where I printed the 1 hour photos... some people take really weird pictures! Our boss was a total softy and let us do just about anything, including go to the store after hours and watch movies on the big screen ( have you seen the new show Chuck?) and take pictures in the studio etc. but that is a whole 'nother story, huh Steph.;0
- Apple Village, assisted living. I was a CNA and loved to work in the Alzheimer's Unit. Every night was a new adventure. I was often part of their delusions so I was everything from a hotel bellhop to a Primary 1st councilor (she was the Pres. and it was the primary presentation). I just played along because that is what you do with Alzheimer's, you can't bring them back to reality so I would try to help make their delusions pleasant and just be whoever they thought I was. I loved those people.
-Labor and Delivery Nurse at Utah Valley Hospital- Can you say PUSH!!! This was what I always wanted to do and worked so hard for. I loved being part of such a monumental moment in peoples lives and celebrating with them the joy of a new healthy baby. I worked the graveyard shift so I also had lot's of opportunities to help deliver babies when the doctor just couldn't get out of bed quick enough. I worked there until one night when I was contracting more than my patient and decided that I better get my own bed. I had Hallie a few hours later (before my patient had her baby, not that it was a competition ;))...push!!

#3 Things I will never wear again
- Stone washed jeans
- Banana clips
- electric blue mascara
- a fanny pack
- my pre-Campbell jeans :( Okay, I haven't totally given up hope on this one yet

#4 My claim to fame
When Trevor and I were first married our home teacher was none other than Brian Blosil. Who is Brian Blosil you ask... only Marie Osmonds husband (now ex-husband)... hello!

#5 Things I've learned as a mom
- Barney loves me
- Showers are underrated
- TV is indeed a good babysitter
- Spit-up goes with anything, at least my babies think so
- A mother's love is limitless

#6 My favorite things
- raindrops on roses... sike
- anything pumpkin
- sleep
- anything chocolate
- shopping without kids
- jeans that fit
- brown paper packages tied up with string ( I really do like that one)


Okay, that's more than enough about me. I tag Melissa L., Stephanie, Marla, Aprilyn, Traci, Heather D..
P.S. I just came up with my own 6 facts etc. I'm making up my own rules, so just share any 6 things you want.

Campbell Update

I've had a lot of people ask me how Campbell is doing. Happily he is "all better". We are sleeping again and life is back to normal... normal is good. :)

I took this picture and some others (I put them in the slide show on the right) of Campbell and the girls a few days ago. Megan had so much fun with our "photo shoot" she asked if we could do it again and today she gathered up like 8 hats and told me she wanted a picture in each hat. She's my poser. I'll post those pictures soon.

FLY GIRLS

Well, today was a good one. I had the day off and we went to the model airplane park. Hallie and Megan went with me. It was fun - the first time I have flown my F-27 Stryker (it is a cool remote control jet) since we moved here. It was bitter sweet. I was able to hang out with my fly girls, but it made me homesick. I have some great memories with Dad, Todd, Bill, Grandpa, and Ty. We had many excursions when we were supposed to be working. Thanks to Todd for making it possible, to Dad for driving the Jeep for the ultimate fly test (it is hard to explain, but imagine sitting in an old jeep without a seatbelt zooming down a rocky windy dirt road in the wind and trying to keep up with a remote control airplane - guess who's idea that was)!

Trevor

Baby Darth Vader

Campbell's 1st Halloween.
I recorded Cam so you can hear him wheezing. In order to hear it you have to pause the music at the bottom of the sidebar on the right and you may need to turn up your volume.

Halloween 2007

Happy Halloween Everybody! These are the pumpkins we carved this year, you will notice that there are only four, that's because I was so exhausted after we did everybody elses I was done! It's hard to tell in the picture but the 3rd one over is Campbell's and it has a binky in it's mouth... Trevor and Hallie's cute idea.
Hallie was a cowgirl this year. Yeehaw! She looked so cute with her freckles. Megan was Ariel from the Little Mermaid. She felt soooo pretty! I caught her looking at herself in the mirror several times and just smiling and playing with her long red hair.
This is a pic of the whole family at the trunk or treat last week (yes, I know the picture is crooked, I did not take the picture, just tilt your head slightly to the right ;)).
Trevor was a "babe magnet". This is the only picture we got of Campbell in his Halloween costume (see below). He was a policeman. Halloween night we had dinner with some friends in the neighborhood. It was fun to get together with them. To be honest, Halloween was a bit of a blur to me, I was stressing over Campbell the whole night. He has been sick and yesterday he started wheezing and just seemed miserable.
Campbell's first Halloween, poor kid. We didn't even attempt to dress him up or take him trick or treating. He sounded like he could barely breathe. After a terrible night of pacing the floor with him and almost going into the ER but then talking myself out of it (several times) I took him to the pediatrician today. His bloods oxygen level was lower than it should be so they gave him a breathing treatment and sent me to the hospital to get a chest x-ray. The final diagnosis is bronchitis and an ear infection. They sent us home with antibiotics and a machine to give him 3 breathing treatments a day. He does not like them but hopefully they will help, at least enough that we can get a few more hours of sleep... pretty please.

Just a reminder

Well, it happened. I knew that eventually I would forget to set my alarm and I don't naturally wake up at 6:30am so I knew that if I did forget we would definitely be very late for school.
I rolled over and forced my eyes open to check the clock, it was 7:35am. I screamed "Field Trip!" Today is Hallie's first field trip. Of all the days to sleep in!
The next 15-20 minutes are a blur. I put some clothes on, rushed upstairs and encouraged the girls to move very, very quickly. Hallie was so worried and on the verge of tears, she did not want to be late! We rushed about, getting dressed, combing hair, making lunch, brushing teeth etc. It was a mad house! At one point I rushed around the corner yelling to Megan to put on her shoes and stopped mid-sentence when I found Hallie on the front room floor kneeling in prayer.
I stopped and just stared for a moment. In all of this chaos and worry Hallie stopped and prayed for help. I was filled with warmth and gratitude for my beautiful, sweet children. I am often humbled by the lessons I learn from them.
How thankful I am to know that when they leave the shelter of our home they are not alone and are protected by a loving Heavenly Father and they can always go to Him for help.
Hallie stood up and smiled and was giggly and happy the rest of the way to school. She didn't miss the field trip and everything turned out just fine. I guess all it took was a little prayer. Thanks for the reminder Hallie.

P.S. On the way home from the school Megan told me she thought Campbell's full name should be Campbell Bubba Spitter-up Carrot Grubbs. Sounds good to me Mega-moo hunny-bun sweety-pie Grubbs.

Giggles

This will make you smile.

Kentucky Roads

These are some pictures I took the other day on the way to Megan's preschool (which is about 2 miles away). This is one thing I love about Kentucky, the roads are thin and winding but they are so beautiful!




As you can see Autumn finally made it to Kentucky. Don't you love Autumn?!? I love wearing sweaters and warm socks and sitting by the fireplace with the kids in our pjs. I love the crisp air and the beautiful colors and the feeling that things are changing and Christmas is coming. I love bundling up and going on long, chilly walks and coming home and mixing up some hot chocolate then sitting around the table and warming our hands and noses. I love all of the smells and the sudden desire to bake pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie and pumpkin soup... yum!!!
I just love Autumn!