Valentines Day

We had another great Valentines Day this year. The kids always look forward to a surprise when they wake up. 

 I got to babysit Crew's best friend Boston who is one of my favorite little boys in the world.

Delaney & Mrs. Steele

 Then off to the kid's Valentines Parties at school! They have the BEST teachers this year which I am so grateful for!

Kai & Mrs. Hellbusch

Relay Race

Love Bug

 After the kiddos went to bed, I had a big dinner made for Trent and I to have our own little date. I am going to say that I don't usually make ribs but these were the BEST ribs I have ever had! They just fell right off the bone. We had sparkling cider in our fancy champagne flutes, ribs, cornbread, herb oven roasted potatoes, and bread pudding with a cinnamon syrup.

I love the four little loves in my life. Our lives are very busy and stressful at times, but they are my anchor.

Makin S'mores

It has been so warm all winter that we took advantage of the weather for family night and hung out by the fire making s'mores and playing in the backyard. 

I love my family. 

I love that my kids are each other's best friends.

(Even though some days they need being reminded that.)

A little "yoga" in the yard

I am thankful for all the joy that these three little pigs bring into my life each day.

2011

I can not believe that 2012 is here. I'm pretty sure that 2011 took the cake for our family as the craziest year in the many we've shared. I turned 30 for one thing... but that's not the craziest part:

       In the summer, Trent got called to be the bishop of our ward at church. We were incredibly nervous but felt that you can't turn down a calling from the Lord. We thought we knew what it meant to have hectic schedules but we realized we really didn't know just how hectic life could get. A short month later, Trent's boss at work told him that he could no longer keep him on the salary he was paying him and would have to make him a contract attorney which meant he'd get less work and only get paid for the work he did. Trent had already been looking for a new job and knew that there was nothing out there. It was an extremely stressful time for us. We eventually decided to look at jobs outside of Kansas City that ensured we would have to move.
       We knew that the most important thing we could do at that time was have faith and try as hard as we could to do all the things the Lord asks of us. At the end of October Trent decided to call a law firm here in town he had previously interviewed with when he saw a job posting pop up. He knew that it was really hard to get a job with this firm and that you had to be in the top 20% of your graduating class for them to even look at you (which he was not.)  He talked to the lady there and she said "It's funny you should call because the boss just asked me to call you today. He wants you to come in and talk with him."
      Trent left that meeting with a job. We got to stay in our home and keep the kids in their school and not have to leave the ward. We know that the Lord is aware of us and we are so thankful for all that he has blessed us with.
     I learned so much in 2011. Not only did I learn to rely on the Lord, but I learned about SERVICE. I learned what real FRIENDSHIP was. I learned what some of my WEAKNESSES and some of my STRENGTHS were. I learned how to LOVE more deeply.   I am a different person from learning these things.
      
We are excited to see what 2012 will bring.

CTR

Delaney did the lesson for family night this week. Part of it was making CTR out of play dough. For those who aren't familiar, CTR stands for CHOOSE THE RIGHT. I love that phrase. We are faced with choices every single day. Some are simple, some much more difficult, but no matter what,  it is good to have a reminder to Choose the Right.

Christmas

Getting ready to eat on Christmas Eve

Roast Chicken
I always love an excuse to make a huge meal!

In our Jammies & Robes we opened on Christmas Eve

Mom & Dad making us wait on the stairs before going down

Kai on Christmas morning

There was lots of hugging going on!

Crew and Daddy

Delaney & her new Kindle Fire

Christmas was wonderful! It was great to have so much family time and most of all, the Church family is thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ.

Pre-Christmas Activities

Not sure how many trips we took to Union Station/Crown Center last month... but it was a lot! Myrna came for Christmas this year!!

Riding the train at Union Station

"Hi Mom!"

 I still can't figure out why this large child had to sit right in front of Crew when there were 4 other train cars to sit in that were mostly empty.

Dance Party to Christmas Music

This is one of our traditions that the Christmas elf has us do. I'm always happy to see that our children have skills on the dance floor.

Even the pillow pets can dance in this house

Union Station with Grandma

Crown Center

The quality on these pictures are bad because Trent took them on his phone but the kids had fun playing at Crayola Land while waiting for Santa. I'm glad that they don't think they are "too old" for this.

Mary, Joseph, & a football payer with a towel on his head

Acting out our nativity this year was quite comical. Crew wasn't a fan of his costume which came off right after this picture...

Merry Christmas Friends!

Weekend in St. Louis

Taking a picture of ourselves in our hotel room

St. Louis

Trent got a job at a new firm in November that has many perks. One, of many, being that they offered to fly us to St. Louis for a Christmas Party last month. We stayed in a hotel while my parents took our kids and we had a blast! I know this sounds cheesy, but allow me to tell you that I am absolutely in love with my husband. The past few months have been very busy and hectic so I can not tell you how much we needed this time together. 

The next morning we found this amazing little restaurant in downtown St. Louis called "Rooster" that we fell in love with. Trent got the french toast:

And while you can not see what is so special about this crepe, let me just tell you that it was heaven on earth:

Nutella & Strawberry Crepe

We had a wonderful time and I feel so blessed to have my life!

3rd Annual Christmas Dinner

 This year was our 3rd annual Christmas Dinner with the Hastings. Brandi and I always get so excited to do this for our husbands. We love getting together and planning the menu, decorating the table and the big day of cooking all the food. This year I broke out the china my grandmother gave Trent and I when we got married.

Caeasar Salad with Parmesan Crisps

Crabcakes

Roasted Broccoli, Filet, Penne with Tomto Cream Sauce

Moten Lava Cakes

We've been in Kansas City for 5 years now. It is home for us. We feel so grateful to have friends like the Hastings who have been there with us through it all.  We love you guys!! Here's to many more Christmas Dinners!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

 We were so excited to break out the Christmas decorations this year!
Especially our 12 days of Christmas countdown I made for the kids last year:

 I finally added the 12 on the last pocket...

So far the Christmas elf has had us put up Christmas lights around the kid's bedroom window and pick out their special 2011 ornament at Crown Center.

 I think our kids will have the funnest memories at Union Station and Crown Center. Trent always parks us at Union Station where we look at the trains then walk the long tunnel over to Crown Center. Crew and Kai pretty much ran the whole way throught the tunnel while Delaney did non-stop cartwheels and hand stands. Trent and I followed behind laughing and smiling at what a wonderful life we have.

Choices, choices...

I was tempted...

 We ended the night with a trip to Sheriden's where we get the Frozen Hot Chocolate. It is to die for no matter how expensive it is.

Delaney picked out a gymnastics ornament and Crew and Kai picked out football ornaments.

We are so very excited to have Myrna joining us for Christmas this year!!

Family Rules

So I had one of those moments where I decided that maybe our kids just weren't CLEAR on what our family rules were. If that was the case, then we better spell it out for them. Trent and I got together and decided what exactly our rules WERE, then called a family meeting. This is now hanging up on our wall.

No more excuses, guys!