Happy New Year!

I so rarely find myself without my camera...but I happened to leave it home on Saturday. The weather was great so we went to Bringle Lake and took the kids on a bike ride. They had a lot of fun and it was the first time that Regan has been big enough to actually ride the little trike...she absolutely loved it...being outside is her thing. Well, we really have had a fun little Christmas break- I didn't know how it would be this year but I am really going to miss the girls when they go back to school and Tod when he actually has to work a full day again. Anyway, here's wishing everyone a happy 2008. Don't you just love a fresh start? I am really wanting to improve some things about myself. I guess it's never too late to try again. Looking back on 2007, I really can't complain (though at times I have!) It had its ups and downs, but all the important things are still in place and that's what counts!

Christmas Eve, Christmas Morning

I thought this might be a bit of a long day with two anxious little gals nipping at my heels....it was a little lengthy, but we managed to get through it. We rearranged bedrooms which we have wanted to do for awhile and cleaned out old toys (with the hope of getting some new things!). We also made chocolate dipped pretzels for Santa and took a trip to the park- gotta love Texas weather! We finished our day with our traditional Christmas Eve Italian dinner and the girls opened their new matching pajamas. We then read the books that my Dad and Pat had sent which helped us think about the true meaning of Christmas. We ended with Tod reading "Twas the night before Christmas". The copy we use is one that my parents had when they were first married and we had read it every year for my entire life. I'm glad to have that book now for my own family...the cover is labeled with a price of 49 cents. The girls actually fell asleep quickly which gave us time to get to work! Even as an adult, I still get so excited. What a special night!!!

Merry Christmas Y'all!!

We had a wonderful Christmas Day! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the morning. The girls were soooo excited this year....even Regan got into the fun. Poor Ashton was awake most of the night waiting for Santa with hopes of getting her American Doll- she has wanted it for months and months. As usual, we had to wake Jordan up to get in on the celebration!

This Christmas was different for our little family because it was just us...no extended family and no friends around either this year (out of town visiting their own families!) Earlier this week, Ashton asked why everyone else got to go to Utah for the holidays, except for us! To be honest, I was kind of dreading it...but it turned out to be so nice and relaxing. After the girls opened their gifts, we just enjoyed! We all sat together and opened everything and played with everything and tried everything out. For once in our lives, we were not in a hurry!!!! We had a nice breakfast, snacks in between and a Christmas dinner. It really turned into a perfect day for us, and I found myself feeling really thankful for the Tod and the girls....also thinking back on all the great Christmases of my life...and yes, missing my family, especially my mom, a little bit. Some of my favorite moments of the day...seeing Ashton get her doll, playing Leapster with Jordan, and seeing Regan run from gift to gift checking things out. I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Happy Anniversary

Seven Years

Eight Moves

Three States

Three Kids

Best Friends.....

Happy Anniversary to us!!!

Grandma Wanda

Earlier this week, Tod's grandma, had a stroke, and she passed away peacefully yesterday morning. I have a soft spot in my heart for Grandma Wanda because she was the first person in Tod's family that I met. In fact, at the time Tod and I started dating, he was living with Wanda in Layton, Utah. The summer of 2000 is one I will never forget. I enjoyed getting to know Wanda- her spunky personality, her love of her dogs, and her funny stories. I can still picture her with a can of Diet Coke in her hand. She seemed to really understand how "in love" Tod and I were...and she was an awfully good sport about our late hours and comings and goings. We had a lot of fun times together going to the Star Cafe, working in her yard and just visiting. Since that time, we had kind of lost touch with us moving far a way...but I will still always remember Wanda with love and good memories. This picture is of Wanda holding Ashton when she was about a month old. I wish the girls could have gotten to know her. I wish that I could have known her better.

A Special Guest

Last Saturday, my baby sister (aka Aunt Katy) came for a visit. We had soooo much fun! We picked her up in Dallas and stopped at the American Girl store- quite an experience. We then headed to Texarkana to show her our life here. Katy is so easy to have around- sleeps whereever, eats what you're eating, and does what you are doing. This visit that meant she sang in the choir at church since we were short-handed, helped me take Regan to the dr., and helped with Ashton's school Christmas party. Some of the fun things we did were eating lunch at Olive Garden, going to Jordan's gymnastics, browsing at the craft store, working on last minute Christmas projects, and seeing Santa at the mall.

The girls love their Aunt Katy and look forward to the fun little personalized gifts she always brings. Katy has always made a big effort to be a part of the girls' lives, and since we had always lived away, that has meant travelling (usually with her own resources) to wherever we are living.

When we first moved to Texas and I was feeling a little blue, Katy said, "you know I'll come see you" and I took great comfort in that! The worse part of having her come is when she leaves...I always miss her so much, but she always departs with the phrase, "I'll be back..." and I know she will! We love you Aunt Katy! Thanks for coming to see us.

Jordan Marie

Something has been on my mind...after taking these pictures of Jordan last week, I was stunned to see how her birthmark has changed and nearly disappeared over the last four years. As many of you know, when Jordan was born, she had a strawberry hemangioma on her lip. This baby picture was taken when she was 8 months old (the date on the picture is wrong). While we were in Iowa, she had 3 laser surgeries and we were told that over time, the birthmark would fade and diminish. I could never have guessed how good it would look now. Since moving to Texas, no one has even asked about her lip... and it makes me happy to know that now when people look at her, they see Jordan and not a mark on her face.

Things I love about Jordan:

-Her fun personality- she is almost always happy and giggly! She thinks everything is funny and will even laugh at my silly jokes and actions.

-She is a great sister- puts up with Ashton's orders and takes such good care of Regan.

-She is very independent- I have joked that she could probably survive on her own if she had too- she gets dressed herself, bathes herself, gets own snacks, etc.

-Jordan has great nicknames- J0-J0, Beanie, Chunk-a-Monk, etc.

-She can chat with just about anyone who will listen

-She helps me around the house and sticks with chores until they are done

-Jordan has learned lots of Bible stories at school this year, and when I pick her up she retells them and it is so cute...last week, "God told Jonah to go to Ninebah- He said NO- God made a big storm come and the men threw him off the boat...a big shark swallowed him and he was in his belly for free (3) days and free (3) nights. The then he pit (spit) him out on the wand (land). Then he listened and went to Ninebah!" Quite accurate!

I just adore this girl...by the way, she made this darling Christmas tree at her preschool out of a flower pot and paper towel rolls. They do the neatest projects.

Gingerbread Party

On Saturday, we held our annual Gingerbread Party. This is one of our traditions and for some reason we didn't do it last year, so I was determined to have it early in December this year! We call it a gingerbread party, but we actually decorate sugar cookies! Anyway, it's always a lot of fun and something the girls really look forward too. They invited 8 friends over, so we had 10 kids plus 3 babies in our little duplex! The kids did a great job on the cookies and thanks to my sister Melissa, I actually had a yummy soft sugar cookie recipe to use! I will have to post that soon. One memorable thing about this years party is that after we were all done decorating, the kids went outside to play in the backyard...they had on t-shirts and flip flops because it was 78 degrees! We seriously feel like we are on vacation. That night we decided to embark on another Snarr family tradition....driving around to see Christmas lights while drinking hot chocolate and eating popcorn. This year we opted to get milkshakes instead and we drove around with our windows open and the Christmas music blaring. This was after we had barbecued chicken for dinner on the grill outside! Fun times and very memorable for us as a family....our first Texas Christmas season!

A Few More Farm Pictures...

Just wanted to post a few more pictures from our trip to the farm. Ashton, Jordan and Regan were

Bon Fire Buildin'

Horse Back Ridin'

Dog Playin'

Rock Throwin"

Pond Explorin'

Grandparent Lovin'

Authentic

COWGIRLS!!!!

Barn Raising

I wanted to post a few pictures and explain a little more about the mini barn raising I witnessed over Thanksgiving. Last winter, part of the Snarr's barn collapsed due to the heavy snow. It was going to be a big job to repair, so on the day after Thanksgiving, several men and boys from their Missouri ward came and help rebuild part of the barn. It was absolutely amazing for me to watch...to see it go from nothing to something in just a few hours. I was very intrigued, and we were all thankful for the wonderful help! I didn't actually contribute much (other than keeping the kids occupied), but I did climb up on the rafters and pose for a picture!

Thanksgiving Thoughts.....

Well, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving and before December is upon us, I wanted to be sure and record a few of my thoughts this year. Last year, we celebrated Thanksgiving by hosting dinner at our brand new house in Iowa with our WONDERFUL friends. Life was sweet and good. At the time, I never could have imagined the changes that the year would bring. And here's the thing...last year I really did feel grateful for the things our family had...but this year I feel that I truly have a more thankful heart. And it's different because the things I am thankful for are simpler and deeper...healthy kids, a good job, time with family, old and new friends, answered prayers, meaningful relationships, warm weather, etc. The changes in our lives have caused me to really look at myself, to come face to face with my weaknesses (which are many!), and to really identify the person that I want to be, regardless of my circumstances. For all these things, I am very thankful.

Now, on to the fun!!!! And we truly did have so much fun in Missouri. It will take several posts to really record all of the events of our weekend, but it was so good to be with Tod's family on their farm. I always enjoy going to the farm because it is such a "get away" from everything and is always very relaxing. This trip we enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving meal, a modern day mini barn raising (more on that later), and a birthday celebration for Tod. The girls loved horse back riding, four wheeler treks, and playing with the dogs. I loved my early morning shopping trip with Megan on Black Friday.

When I first met Tod and visited the farm, I couldn't believe how different our lives were- his family still teases me about being a "city girl", but now I am so glad that my kids get to experience life on the farm and all the neat adventures it presents. The 8 hour drive was worth every minute to be able to see our family and enjoy Thanksgiving together.

Happy Birthday Tod!

Yesterday was Tod's 31st birthday, and even though I have tons to do (we just got home from Missouri last night), I couldn't miss this chance to wish him a happy birthday and thank him for all he does to make our family tick!!! He is such a great guy and there are so many things about him that I admire and love, but at the risk of being too sappy, I'll just share one quick incident that illustrates one thing I love about my hubby. A few weeks ago, we had the missionaries over for dinner, and Tod was making them laugh and showing them a good time, as usual. Well, after we ate, one of the missionaries turned to me and said, "It must really be something to be married to him- never a dull moment." And I thought, "You know, it really is!" It really is something to be married to someone who can always bring a smile to your face (even when you don't want to smile!), someone who can always make you feel safe and taken care of, someone who takes life for what it is and makes the best of it. This last year has seen our family through some ups and downs, and Tod has really held things together and been an example to me of how to perservere and "keep on keeping on." He has shown unselfishness and committment, and I am thankful for him as my best friend. The girls absolutely adore their Dad, and he is a wonderful person in their lives. For that, I feel very blessed. So, Happy Birthday Snarrzy (who loves to be featured on my blog, ha ha), here's to many more good times!

A Thanksgiving Feast

Today at Ashton's school, they had a Thanksgiving feast for the kindergarteners. I was able to go and help, and it was so much fun! There are 7 kindergarten classes, and we rolled a long piece of brown butcher paper all the way down the hall and then seated the 140 students around the "table". It was quite a sight. The kids munched on turkey (lunch meat), cheese, dried fruits, popcorn and even pumpkin pie. They got to choose to either dress as pilgrims or Indians, and the costumes were great. It was fun to celebrate in a good old traditional way! Any time that I can be in the classroom, I just enjoy it so much...especially spending time with Ashton and seeing her in this setting. When we moved here, I was so concerned about finding good schools and we have really been blessed to have Ashton in a great classroom with a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Brine.

Finally Walking!

About 2 weeks ago, Regan finally started walking! And we are all very excited...in fact, we are so excited that it doesn't even matter that now she can get into everything and unload everything, etc! I love to watch babies taking their first wobbly steps...so cute. The girls absolutely love to take Regan's little hands and walk with everywhere.

Candy, Candy, Candy

So here is the result of our week long Halloween celebration...and as of today, I have officially taken myself off of candy...at least for a couple of days. It's been funny because the girls have really stopped asking for treats...it's just me who can't get enough of it this year!

Yesterday we enjoyed 80 degree weather, today it is in the high 60s and we are all freezing! I have been working on holiday projects and dealing with Regan and her "teething blues". I locked myself out of the house yesterday and had to call my friend to come resue me...it's been one of those weeks when I just feel so scatterbrained!

Happy, Happy Halloween

Wow! What a day we had yesterday! It was non-stop and tons of fun! Today we are all experiencing a "Halloween Hangover" as we like to call it! What did we do on Halloween?

- Went and helped with Ashton's kindergarten festivel, I had to be there with all 3 of the girls by 8:00 AM! We were in charge of the pumpkin toss.

-Sat in the car and talked to my friend (thanks Heidi!) on the phone while Regan took a quick nap

- Ran over to Jordan's preschool party for pizza and a fun Bingo game she and I had come up with

-Had a flat tire on the van and had Dad make a quick run to Sam's club to fix it!

-Went trick-or-treating (in balmy 70 degree weather) with our wonderful friends, the Cook family. Regan was so into this! The girls were so into her...she looked so cute in her leopard costume that my sister Mel made for my niece last year.

-Headed to the church for a chili cookoff, games and a trunk or treat- they had a spook alley that Ashton just couldn't get enough of, even though she was terrified!

-Came home with so much candy, we don't even know what to do!

Here's to a fabulous Texas Halloween!!!

Walnut Church Halloween Party

After we got back from Dallas, I took Ashton and Jordan to the Halloween party at Walnut Church. Jordan's preschool is at this church, and they put on a GREAT Halloween party, complete with dinner, trunk-or-treat, a hay ride, a train, face painting and games. We really had a lot of fun. This year, I really let the girls come up with and put together their own costumes, and they looked really cute. Ashton went as a hula girl and Jordan as a cow girl. Regan is going to be a leopard but she was too tired to go to this party, so watch for upcoming pictures of her.