Christmasing about....

First off...let's just pretend that we are on your front porch, singing you a Christmas carol and hand delivering you this card along with a tasty treat... :)  Okay, so some of the treats have been made and delivered, but not the cards! I worry about getting all my clients pictures done and ready for their cards, so mine always take a back seat. oh, well! There is always next year, right?

  oh, i also HAD to post a couple of pictures of the sweetest Christmas Pageant ever!!!! The kids had fun... and daddy, grandma, grandpa and i looooved every second of it! i love this special season! It really did seem to fly by this year, so i will enjoy the rest of what is left of it....hope you all do the same! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family!

our grandpa.

A few weeks ago we lost our sweet grandpa Mark. He was one of the funniest people i know. My kids refer to him as the "swearing grandpa" because he said "hell" all the time! I don't ever remember him being anything but spunky, active and full of life! When they'd come visit us when i was a kid, he'd go on early morning walks and talk to every single person that he passed on his way...then he'd come back and tell me all about them! He was a chatter box, and i like to think i got that little gift from him! I was also told my whole life that i got my blue eyes from him, because nobody else in our family has them! I am so glad i got them, cause now all my babies have the most AMAZING blue eyes ever! THANKS GRANDPA!:)
 I am so glad that we were able to see him a few months ago! As soon as we pulled up to his house the kids said, "there's grandpa!" Sure enough, there he was smiling ear to ear and waving to us from his carport -  he was just sitting out there waiting for us to come! He gave me a big hug and later offered me a look at his false teeth...gross! anyway, we sure love him and wish that we would have been able to visit him more often, but i know that someday we will all have a grand reunion on the other side!
  a friend of mine shared this little video, and i love it! This  video is why i love the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so blessed to belong to such a wonderful church, that gives us hope and peace in times of sorrow. Grandpa wasn't a member of the church, but my cousin asked him if he would like to have his Temple work done, and he said, "sure, i might as well have all my bases covered!" i love him!!!http://youtu.be/wy41VCbdt0I  (i can't get the video to load here, but click on the link to the left!)

can you believe it????

Can you believe that 6 months ago today....this bundle of pure adorableness (not a word, i know!) joined the bolton clan?  I think having a big family is a TON of work, but lots o' fun too!!!! I think after 6 months, we have decided he is a keeper for sure!

 things about sawyer:
 loves his mommy
 adores emily
 not a fan of sam
hates baby food
full of smiles and giggles
sleeps like CRAP
weighs in at 15.4lbs
looooves rachel's lala loopsie doll

                                                     his first love...miss lala loopsie herself!

our little winner!

Rachel is the newest reflections winner of our family! (zach won in 2nd grade too!) Her cute picture will go onto the regionals and she is BEYOND proud of herself! I wish i would have taken a picture of her project before she took it to school - it turned out so cute!

in case you are wondering about her poor face...she got in a fight with the treadmill...she lost.  I have NEVER let me kids on that stupid thing because i have always heard how dangerous they are. The ONE time i let her try it...her face ends up like this! She lost her balance and hit face first and it slid her right off. I felt so bad! The sad thing is, is that it looks worse and worse each day. Today it is all scabbed up and sore looking. Just as she left for school this morning she asked, "Is there anything on my face?" I couldn't help but laugh out loud...she was not amused and started crying! Apparently she was meaning any food on her face!:)
The morning after this happened she made a sign to put on her shirt that said..
      I FELL ON THE TREADMILL.
                DON'T ASK!!!!

silly girl!

heart breaker....

i think this little man of mine might be a heart breaker in a few years (like 20 years from now!) :)
for now i will be the only girl in his life - and i like it that way!

spooks!

am i the only one is so glad Halloween is finally over??? I do love halloween, but i swear it went on for a week!!! I managed to snap a few pictures of our little spooks on our way to the neighborhood trunk or treat. They came home from school and made ghosts to hang from daddy's trunk to make it look more festive!

                                        BIG brother ninja, holding his sleeping baby monkey!

         my little fairies...i made the wings , sashes, and head bands from a vintage sheet.

take note: if you want a BUNCH of candy...take this little cowboy with you!

he was given a handful at every house...the older kids were ticked!:)

ps. don't even think about touching is "howster" it is for HIS guns only!

mini session peeks!

I am FINALLY finished with my mini sessions! My kids are so excited to have their mommy back...and to tell you the truth, i am super excited to get my house clean again! It is disturbingly gross...please no visitors for a day or two! :) here are a few of my favs! if you don't see your session here, don't panic, i will do another post soon!

good thing...

good thing he is irresistibly cute, cause he's a stinker! apparently he thinks sleep is for wimps!
how can you get mad at a face like this? you can't.

11 years...

today paul and i have been married for 11 years! time goes by waaay too fast! i bet his parents never thought 11 years ago that they would have so many grandbabies! we spent a fun afternoon with the cousins and somehow managed to get a picture of all the littles! our "bigger" cousin Tanner was home sick with the flu...maybe we can photoshop him in!!! :)

   in case you were wondering....this was not an easy task, (just ask teresa!)  after 10 minutes of yelling at them ...this is as good as it gets folks!

many of you know this AMAZING family. I was honored when she asked me if i would take her family pictures before she started her chemo. I think of her often throughout the day. I catch myself feeling tired and complaining about being tired and sleep deprived...then i read her cute blog and see how strong she remains while not only being tired from her everyday dealings from being a mommy of 4, but tired and feeling yucky from fighting this hard fight against breast cancer. She is such an incredible example of faith....check out her blog if you want to be inspired too. (i think i cry every time i read it)  Desirae, you have SO many people rooting for you and your adorable little family!
www.markanddes.blogspot.com

the beast is out of his cage!

gulp...yup, i HAD to do it. He is a big boy now, and whether i like it or not, it is time for the crib to be passed onto baby brother! Oh, how i will miss being able to cage this boy in when i need to!
He is upstairs  right now taking his first nap in his new "ba ba bed" (big boy bed.) i use the word "napping" lightly, cause in all reality he is up there jumping up and down, climbing on and off the bed. i think he likes it!  thanks evan and allison for passing this great new bed onto us! i am just not sure i am ready for him to be such a big boy yet!

                                                            *pretending to be asleep*

sometimes.

sometimes i feel picked on. yes, i know i might sound like a brat, but i do. but then, i look at the fun we have as a family and i feel blessed. nothing extravagant, just being together...making memories.

                                                           {the cooolest lake ever!}
                            this mama even jumped off the cliff... that was the easy part...pulling myself up onto the doc afterwards????  not so much. paul said I looked like a "beach angel." thanks hun. :)

a little "carnivaling" was done a couple of weeks ago.

and last...a trip to our BEAUTIFUL mountains!

we even saw a moose!

sometimes....i am soooo grateful.