Viewer Discretion Advised. . . it's real cheesy

Here we are roasting our ward and its members at our ward Christmas Talent Show. Sorry, most of you won't get the inside jokes but on the whole if you are affiliated with our church you might get a laugh out of it.

On The First Day of Christmas in our Ward We See:

1 Our Bishop handing out candy (played by our Bishops wife)

2 absent home teachers

3 "greetings and salutations" (as our 2nd counselor in the Bishopric repeats EVERY time he conducts)

4 Please be reverent (hard to do in a ward with over 100 primary children, over 50 nursery kids, and over 30 pre-nursery children. . . with no end in sight)

5 NURSERIES (no joke)

6 weeks of dinners (with the arrival of new babies monthly, this is a task for sure)

7 emergency preparedness (comes in handy when you live on the gulf coast)

8 Enrichment evites

9 million meetings

10 ward split rumors (ya think)

11 sleeping residents (our ward is primarily made up of doctors, resident doctors, med students, law students and lawyers. Why all the children you ask?)

12 pregnant ladies (hence the nurseries)

It was fun to perform but most of the fun was in the making of it! Nice job ladies.

Thanksgiving 2008

This year we had Kyle's family in town for Thanksgiving. His sister Jasmine flew in with her 4 kids for almost a week. Shane (husband) is currently deployed to Afghanistan, which allowed for the visit as they would normally be living across the sea in Japan but are living in Utah with family while he is away. We were just so glad to have them for as long as we possibly could. In fact here are Jaden and Ty's top ten reasons why they were so excited for the "cousins", as they call them, to visit:
1. because you are you
2. fun
3. hot dogs
4. movies
5. sleeping on tramp
6. staying up late
7. making pizza
8. donuts
9. forts
10. plays

The day before Thanksgiving Kyle's Dad and wife Geralyn flew in for the "meal." We spent the entire day in the kitchen and loved every minute of it. We tried a new turkey recipe (thanks Miriam) that required: injecting the turkey, using flavor injectors, (yes this was a first for me) with a special recipe of flavor, stuffing it with butter and peeled, sliced apples and throwing it in the oven the night before Thanksgiving Day! It baked for 12 hours! It was so nice to have that process completed when we woke up Thursday. I am convinced that is the way to do it. The turkey was delicious and it literally fell of the bones.
We stuffed ourselves over and over that day. We were so thankful for everyone that visited and are grateful for all we have been blessed with.

Reese gets her first taste of Great Grandma Lavonne's famous homemade rolls. She devoured them!

Reese Lynn hanging with Grandpa Lynn. Just as Reese warmed up to Lynn it was time to go! Let's hope they can pick up where they left off at the next get together.

Jaden's baptism . . . finally!

Jaden turned 8 in August. Originally, her baptism was scheduled for September 13, however, instead of family visiting that weekend we had an unwanted visitor named hurricane Ike. We are happy to announce that Jaden was baptized this past Saturday, November 15th 2008 by her dad. It was very sweet. As she and I were taking pictures around the church she told me, "I can't stop smiling. I feel so happy" as is evident in all of the pictures below. We are proud of Jaden and the decision she has made. She is a great example to us and her brother and sister. We love you Jaden.
Recently, Jaden had a school assignment that required her to bring items that described her (an artifact box). After presenting those items she was asked to choose one item and prepare a written piece that explains why she selected the item and how it has made a difference or has helped her to be the person she is today. Jaden chose her necklace that says "I am a Child of God" and her CTR ring. This is her written piece (word for word including spelling):
"One of lifes greatest questions is "who am I?" I know who I am. I am a child of God. This neclace and ring have helped me to grow to understand that. I know God loves me & each & every one of you & he allways allways will. I hope all of you will make good choices in yourlife, & hope you make it a good one."
Thanks to all of our family who came to support us. Grandma and Grandpa Johnson drove 13 hours from St. Louis, MO. Mom played a beautiful piano solo called, Baptism by Paul Cardall. Grandma Patsy flew in on a bumpy flight from Provo, Utah. Pat gave a wonderful talk on the Holy Ghost and presented Jaden with a hand made quilt. And Nick and Katy (8 months pregnant) drove from San Antonio, Texas. Jaden felt very special and we loved having all of you here!

The opportunity presented itself. . .

I had to jump at the chance to have all of my kids dressed as their nick name for Halloween 2008! The idea revolved around the fact that Jaden (the oldest and most opinionated),on her own, wanted to be a lady bug. Then it was just a matter of convincing Ty that a Tiger was "faster, cooler and more ferocious" than a power ranger! Reese on the other hand didn't have a say either way.
Also, Kyle and I can not take credit for nick naming our own children. All of our children received their nick names from my sister in-law Jasmine. She is the queen of nick names. What ever nick name she bestows - sticks.

JADEN - Our "Jady Lady"


















TY - Our "Tiger" or "Tiger Liger"

















P.S. We are fully aware of how feminine the valour tiger one piece looks. All I have to say is that all 22 Party City's were out of the one we wanted after 2 of them promised to hold the Tiger costumes for me. This was all Target had left. It's a large child size. We cut off the legs. Ty thinks it's AWESOME!


REESE - Our "Reester Bunny"


















KYLE - "I'm just a pay check"

Pumpkin time!

Here we are picking out and carving pumpkins "Texas" style. . . the day before Halloween! Carved pumpkins only last a few days as the humidity here causes them to rot, wilt, mold, and then of course attract the swarms of nats that greet you on your doorstep. We love Texas, however, we wish we could transport some crispy fall weather our way!

Catching up with a slideshow

Feeding time. . .

Always exciting to introduce new flavors to Reese! Wait until we show you her set of lungs during dinner time.