Once every six or seven months.....

I think it has been since July since I last updated, so I thought this picture was appropriate!! I think about updating all the time....I just don't do it!! I admire those of you that update regularly...I am obviously not one of them!!!

So many fun things going on in our lives!! Madelyn is in 1st grade and turned 6 last August, Aidan is in preschool for the 3rd year and turned 5 the day after Xmas 2010, Issac was 3 in November and Claire turned 1 in November as well!! Ron had another BDay in December and I have one next week, Holly will be 15 in a few months too!!

We had some super GREAT family pictures taken last year in October that turned out GREAT!!


WE got through Christmas with a visit from my parents!! The kids had so much fun and loved having Nana and Papa here to celebrate with!! They made reindeer cupcakes with Nana and read with Papa!! So much fun!! We love the years that they come here for Christmas!! Hopefully some day other members of my family will venture this way too!!

Maddie is a Daisy Girl Scout this year and starts cookie sales tomorrow!! I think I am more excited about it then she is!! I signed up to be the troop Cookie Manager, so we will be living and breathing cookies through March!! It will be so fun!!

Ron is still working at Holiday Oil in Taylorsville. He has gone through their management training and we have high hopes for him being able to get his own store over the next year or so!! He loves it there and loves the people he is able to interact with each day!

This coming school year, both Madelyn and Aidan will be attending the new elementary school they are building in Magna!! We are watching the building process and progress with excitement!! We don't know what it will be named yet, but the idea of a new school is so fun!!

We are moving full speed ahead into 2011 with hopefully lots in store!! So far it has been a great year for us and we look forward to more!!

Up to.....

I finally added some pictures to the computer so I thought I would update here too!!!
Just a few of the things we have been up to!!


We are potty training!!! Sort of!!


My creative side decided to make a brief appearance and I made this!! A wreath out of balloons to be hung in celebration of Birthdays (or 1/2 birthdays) at our house!! And I am LOVING it!!!


Aidan celebrated his 1/2 birthday on June 26th with a party at Pirate Island!! This is my most favorite picture!!

We went up to the Uintas to take the kids fishing on the 2nd of July!! Much fun for the most part!! Neat to be able to see the fish swimming right by you in the lake...not so neat to not catch any!! :-)



I have the cutest Aunt Jimima Baby EVER!!! And I can't believe she is almost 8 months old!! Seriously where is the time going???



And you know you live with boys when you go outside to the screams of the girls and find the boys measuring a spider with a dog bone (the red, white and blue thing you see to the right of the spider) to see how big it was!! I hope I survive these boys of mine!!!

So I should....

There are alot of things I should be doing right now...Blogging and/or playing on FB are not any of them!!

This picture is of our family, as it is right now!! Holly, age 14, our foster child. Then Madelyn age 5, Aidan age 4, Isaac age 2, and Claire at about 4 months in this picture. I Love my family!! It wasn't long ago that we were not able to get pregnant and look at us now! Some people think I am crazy and maybe I am, but I love my husband and I love my kids. They are my world and I wouldn't be the person I am without them, all of them!



This was Easter. My parents came to town for Easter this year!! They both made a bunny cake with the kids, hid eggs, searched for eggs, etc!! I LOVE my parents for the both the parents that they are and for the grandparents they have become! I am so grateful they are an active part of my kids lives and my children wouldn't have it any other way! They love their Nana and Papa!!



This is my sweet baby girl! My last child! She is adorable and I can't get enough of her right now! I love that I am able to nurse her, still!! She turned 6 months old on Mother's Day! She means everything to me and I am enjoying her so much! At her 6 month appt. she weighed 14 pounds 13 1/2 ounces, 26% for weight....and then 74% for height!! Like Ron, I suppose ;-)



And this is Aidan....my momma's boy! And I love him!! Nuff' said!!

THE pile.....

So the pile of things to go to DI was driving me nuts, so I had Ron take it last week. I don't think I made it to 50, although I added a few more things to the now absent pile....by falling apart sewing machine and another pair of shoes. So thats two more things, but still short of my goal!! I am going to try and find the last few things this week and take them over by the weekend.....I may have not gotten 50 things out in April, but I did get some things out, and by my calculations, that is progress!!! And that makes me happy!!!

I do have so many of the kids clothes to go through, but it seems like every time I have the time to do it, it is when Claire is sleeping, and oh yeah..all those clothes I need to go through are in her room, so that isn't working so well for me...I will figure it out soon though, I hope!!

So what should the next goal/challenge be???

adding more......

So my DI pile continues to grow, and grow, and grow....

I cleaned out my closet today and added 25 items of clothing to my pile, which is a bag and a half, garbage bag size!!! I also added 2 more Easter Baskets, a vacuum cleaner and a large bag of vacuum cleaner bags to my pile......now I am thinking I might need to make a trip to DI before Friday!!

So whats my total now??
I think I am close to 50, with the 25 items of clothing!!
Let's see, if I remember correctly, I still needed 39 more items.... I added 29 items today, so that would put me at 40 items gone and forgotten!!! Only 10 more things to get rid of..I am still going to see how much more I can rid my house of by the end of the month....I am sure there is more in here somewhere that can go!!!

On a side note, the dumpsters were here this past weekend for the annual spring cleanup! The city or county (not sure which) places dumpsters on every street...ours had 3....and you put whatever you need into them to throw away (non hazardous of course)and then a day or so later, they come and pick them up again and take all the junk to the dump!! I live for dumpster day every year!! This year we had a pile....an old toilet from the bathroom remodel, several 2 x 4's that were not straight enough to use, two old patio tables, a dryer, the list goes on..... We got rid of it all this weekend, plus I was able to convince Ron to get rid of 3 long tables and a shop vac that also IMO needed to go!! And the best part is, they did...GO that is!!! So that pile is gone now as well....Ce la vie!!

A decent start....

So in the DI pile are:
4 picture frames
3 pairs of pants
1 shirt
1 round thingy of tupperware like things and its holder
1 Easter Basket
6 Western BDay party invites w/ envelopes

I will count that as 11 things.....only 39 more things to go.

So my closet in on the list of things to go through....I was watching Rachel Ray the other day and she had this lady on there that was showing you how to dress your best to look thin, or something like that. Anyway, she said not turtlenecks, no velour, velvet, or courteroy..... Pretty sure I have a thing or two to get rid of in one or more of those categories (not saying which :-))

Its Been Awhile....

More and more of my time catching up with what everyone is up to, I find being done on FB, thus eliminating my need and/or desire to blog. This is different.....I found something I am passionate about...Spring Cleaning. But more then that...getting rid of the clutter!! Those of you that have been to my house know that it is small and not only do I have a small house, I don't have a garage, thus all the outside stuff is stored inside (or in the shed, but thats another story). Most of you also know that we are a family of seven...yes, seven!! A small house with seven people and without a garage for storage, makes for a crowded house, no matter how you look at it :-) So here is my newest project...I am going to get rid of 50 things....lets say by the end of the month. I won't throw the "stuff" away, because that is just against my system of trying to help others, but I will freecycle it and/or I will take it to DI.....I WILL GET 50 THINGS OUT OF MY HOUSE....and by the end of April. This is my inspiration: A book called Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life. According to the author you should follow these four rules when clearing out the clutter:

1. Rule No. 1: If the item, memory, job or even person is weighing you down, get rid of it.
2. Rule No. 2: If the thing is not contributing something positive, let it go.
3. Rule No. 3: If it takes you a long time to decide whether something needs to be tossed, throw it out.
4. Rule No. 4: If you're afraid to throw out something, get rid of the fear.

So I am up for the challenge...anybody with me???