It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Merry Christmas, Everyone! Hope the season finds you and yours happy and healthy . . . here's our year in review - -


Sara Alice joined our family March 28th. She is SUCH a sweet little baby and had our hearts from the first hello! She is always happy, and is currently crawling EVERYWHERE, eating crumbs and other stuff she finds on the floor, and pulling herself up to reach whatever she can get to! She is the center of attention, always, and brothers and sister ADORE her! What a lovely closing chapter to the "Book of Morgan"!!






Anna will be 5 in February. She seems to think, however, that she's already 15! She has personality plus, and is a friend to all. She can go from playing with a baby, to chatting with a toddler, to conversing with a teen, to enchanting a grandma in a matter of minutes at church, and is completely comfortable with all of them! She started preschool this year, and informed me the other day that she'd kissed "Trey" at school 'cause he told her to! Yikes. Here we go!


Joey turned 8 in November and is in 2nd grade. He has the biggest heart I've ever seen. He is kind to everyone, and seems to be a champion of the underdog! I hope he hangs on to that. He loves Cub Scouts and playing soccer. He also loves to collect stuffed Cheetahs, but at this point he's got so many there's barely enough room left in his bed for him! He's on the brink of loosing front tooth #2 and will soon be singing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth . . . !"






Tommy will turn 10 (holy cow!) in March. He's our Super Reader! I finally convinced him to start reading Harry Potter around Thanksgiving, now, three weeks later, he's almost done with book #5! He loves school, but wishes he could have harder spelling words! He also loves soccer and Cub Scouts - and is happy Joey has joined him because they really are good buds! Hope that lasts, too!






T.R. and I will celebrate 12 years this June! And no, this is not an engagement photo! Although it does look as though it could be! Kinda cheesey, but ya gotta have some cheese in your life ;)
T.R. is still Mr. Attorney Man! He enjoys it, most days, and is very good to leave the ick he deals with at work! Don't know how, but he does! He has been able to be involved with a few happy cases too, like helping a couple friends with the adoption process, etc. He was also put in the bishopric as first counselor in August - that's been kind of strange because it seems like such an "old man" calling! (no offense to any old men reading this!) But it has been good, and the "leaving it at work" talent has come in handy with this calling, too!
Because of T.R.'s new calling, I was released from Young Women. SO SAD for me! I've had a harder time letting go than I thought I would! Love those girls! But, it has given me more time to be mommy, now that I'm a church widow! Life is good. I still do a few weddings here and there, and like to surprise friends and neighbors with an arrangement every now and then . . . you can't go wrong with flowers!

We are so blessed with many wonderful friends, neighbors, and most of all family! It really is A WONDERFUL LIFE! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Oh, Come Let Us Adore . . .

Bethany and Rachel, sisters and my former Laurels, brought me this cake on my birthday! They found out I was celebrating with hamburger helper and no cake for dinner, so they decided to fix that! So sweet! The 4 candle is because I was celebrating the 4th anniversary of my 29th birthday, and because they know it's my favorite #! What cute girls, huh? And lest you think TR a bad husband who didn't plan a birthday celebration . . . he actually had, but we had to go to Tommy's school choir concert instead. Thus the Hamburger Helper instead of steak! It was a great day ;)

I believe this picture is self explanatory . . . but holy cow, how can he be 8 already?! And, no, there wasn't a flood - but the kid's so long and skinny that we opted for the jumpsuit that was too short, but fit his body, as opposed to the one that would've been long enough, but also would've floated right off of him!!

We had the Morgan family Christmas party at our house Sunday. Complete with a nativity scene! The unique thing about our nativity scene was that we had to wait for "Mary" to throw-up before we could start! Poor thing! But that's a story not everyone can tell, and she was fine the rest of the night! (As far as I know!) The kids looked so cute, and I even teared up a few times. It really is an amazing story, even when you hear it a dozen times a year!

SAY CHEESE . . .

Sara is/has been trying her hardest to push those stubborn top teeth out! This is her smile lately, I assume she's trying to make us aware of her progress. Sadly, the progress is still not visible to the naked eye! But she sure looks cute when she cheeses! Teeth or no teeth!

Just a thought . . .

If I could tell the world just one thing
It would be, WE'RE ALL OK.
And not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful
And useless in times like these
I won't be made useless
I won't be idle with despair
I will gather myself around my faith
For LIGHT DOES THE DARKNESS MOST FEAR.

Poverty stole your golden shoes
IT DIDN'T STEAL YOUR LAUGHTER
And heartache came to visit me
But I knew it wasn't ever after.
We'll fight, NOT OUT OF SPITE
For someone must stand for what's right
'Cause where there's a man who has no voice
There ours shall go, singing

My hands are small, I know
But they're not yours, THEY ARE MY OWN
I am never broken
In the end, ONLY KINDNESS MATTERS

We are never broken.
We are God's eyes
We are God's hands
We are God's heart

ONLY KINDNESS MATTERS, IN THE END.

-Jewel

This is the song I have been hearing in my head ALOT lately. Mostly after I watch the news. I really think everything will be okay, as long as we don't forget our neighbors. Our fellowmen. "We are God's hands" Now, go to.

EIGHT . . .

Joey turned 8 on the 8th (AND it's the year '08 -love it!) and if I may just ramble on about this sweet little boy for a bit . . . he is truly a gentle soul. And if predictions hold up, he may end up a gentle giant! (predicitons being 6'8 according to his height at age 3 times 50% or some strange formula like that!)

Anyway . . .

He's been collecting stuffed cheetahs for about 2 years now. He loves each one, and has a name for all 16! Tommy decided to make him a cheetah blanket for his birthday, and as you can see, it was a hit! He decided that instead of using the blanket himself, he'd cuddle ALL his cheetahs in it! Unfortunately, this left little room for him!

For his 5th birthday, all Joey wanted was a Jack-in-the-box. I searched EVERYWHERE and could not find one. Well, I found one this year and decided to get it. I told him, after he'd opened it, that I had saved the receipt and we'd take it back so he could choose what he wanted, as I was just trying to make up for not getting one before! He decided he really wanted to keep "Jack", major reason being - - he loved making the clown pop up for little sister(s)! What a nice brother.

And finally . . .

He doesn't have his first scout meeting until tomorrow, but was/is SO excited for it, that he asked me at dinner, "since I have to go to scouts tomorrow, and I've never worn my uniform, would it be okay if I wear it tonight and maybe tomorrow after school so I can get used to it?"
So, on went the duds, and we spent the evening passing off his bobcat requirements so that he can go to his first den meeting having passed it all off! And he did "get used" to the uniform!
I love this kid!

Halloweenie . . .

We had a very busy and fun Halloween! First we had a cousin party where we made stuff and played stuff and ate stuff! It was fun, but if you've ever had 12 kids (including two babies not pictured) ages 9 1/2 and under at your house for a Halloween party, then you know the chaos that ensued! But that's how you make memories, right?! Also, please notice the boy to girl ratio - - slight advantage to the girls!! A 9 to 3 advantage, to be exact! (if you include the 2 baby girls!)

Then, it was off to "Trunk-or-Treat"! Gotta say, I'm a big fan of the truck-or-treating! It's much easier for me to stand by my trunk and hand out candy as I watch my kids wander around a parking lot, than to have to go from block to endless block, only to hit a few houses of the people we actually know and trust! But man, I'd have wandered all night given the weather we had! PERFECT! I love it when you can wear your costume instead of having to wear a coat! Loved it! All in all, a very good Halloween. Now I must go 'cause the kiddos are sleeping and this is when I go through their bags to pick out the stuff I want!

You can drop my Mother-of-the-Year trophy off tomorrow.

Question of the day . . .

While sitting on the couch folding laundry, Anna beside me coloring, I answered this question -

Anna - "Mom, when I'm 82 can I take my shower by myself?"

Me - "Yes."

Anna - "Thank you."

I am not ashamed . . .

I admit it. I liked it. Alot. Song every eight minutes, cute 20- somethings playing teens, what's not to like?! Just bring some tortilla chips with you if you go. You'll need them to catch the cheese that drips from the screen.

So much to do, and obviously too much time . . .

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

It's possible I've been avoiding the laundry/cleaning. But all in good fun! I would've killed for hair like that in real life! And how flattered am I that I supposedly resemble a MALE celebrity!! (has anyone ever heard of him?) Kinda fun - give it a try if you have laundry to do! Much more interesting ;)

And so it begins . . .

Right now, Sara is at one of my favorite stages/ages . . . the one where she can sit up and play (with m&m wrappers, apparently!) but not go anywhere on her own.







But, as you can see, this is bound to change quickly - - and from then on, nothing is safe! Soon, she'll be finding the crumbs under the table that can't seem to find their way to the mouths of the other kiddos, and the sock fuzz left behind on the carpet. You see, the reason I don't like the next stage is that I actually have to clean or else risk the afore mentioned ending up in her mouth. Sigh! It was good while it lasted!






I had to hurry and get a picture of her in this cute dress on Sunday! It's the last time she'll wear it. She could barely move her arms because it's a little tight up top!

I made the mistake of sitting by the window with her during Relief Society and Sunday School. The sun was shining right on us - - it got SO HOT! So, I had to disrobe her and remove her onesie (don't you hate not being able to predict whether it'll be too hot or too cold at church? I guessed wrong this week!) then put her dress back on! So, the ward members sitting near us got a bit of a show -but I'm guessing it was nothing they haven't seen before! I also had to take the socks off! Aren't they cute? Socks with shoes built in . . . GENIOUS!







And in case any of you were worried that she might be missing, I believe I found Cindy Lou Who from Whoville!

7 weird things . . .

How exciting . . . I've been "tagged" for the first time! Wa-hoo! I'm supposed to list 7 weird things about myself (narrowing it down was no small task) so, here goes . . .

1. I must have things in even numbers, which means you'll get eight weird things about me 'cause I can't have an odd 7 - in fact it almost made me crawl out of my skin to have the number 7 listed so many times! Which leads me to . . .

2. Crawling out of my skin - - I have what I call "bug spots". These are parts of me that I cannot even touch myself because it "bugs" me! For example . . . the top of my head, the top of my ears, the sides of my neck (can't wear necklaces!) the inside of my upper arm, my wrists, my belly button, the inside of my knees, the outside of my big toes, and the tips of my toes! WEIRD! In fact, just thinking about things touching those places makes me crazy, and seeing OTHER people touching those areas on themselves gives me chills. Yes, I know, the word is psycho, not weird!

3. I cannot fall asleep unless my feet are clean and the fan is on!

4. My favorite number is 4, and I will and have done anything necessary to make things even out to 4 or at least a multiple of. For example, my family's birthdays (in their respective months) are Tommy = 4th, Joey = 8th, Anna = 12th, TR = 16, and Sara = 28th! No small task, mind you!

5. I don't like root beer floats because once when I was younger I had one in the evening and then had a really bad nightmare that night. Haven't liked 'em since!

6. My food can't touch (unless it's supposed to, i.e. potatoes and gravy, casseroles, etc.) This makes for quite the juggling act at Thanksgiving since I have to have 4 plates so that the jello doesn't run into the mashed potatoes!

7. I like things between my fingers and toes - so I can't wear socks to bed, or else I'm unable to tuck the blanket between my toes! (see, I told you narrowing it down was difficult!)

8. The bonus to even things out - - I am unable to float in water, thus making it impossible for me to swim! I know you're thinking 'ya, right' but it is true! There is a genetic "thing" in my dad's side of the family called Dominant Endosteel Hyperostosis - - DENSE BONES basically. Anyway, makes it so I can't float! On the plus side, I've never broken a bone! WEIRD!

I now tag anyone out there brave enough to list 7 of their quirks (or eight, if you need to, too!) And yes, I will be seeking psychiatric help at some point!

6 Months and counting!

This is Sara "cheering" when her brothers walked in the door from school yesterday! So cute! I said "yeah, look who's home" - - she heard "yeah" and knew what to do from there!

She had her 6 month check up yesterday, too. Drum roll please . . . 28.5" and 20 lbs. (Well, technically 19.91 lbs. I say close enough. My back and left arm would tell you it's more like 30 lbs. though!) And to top it all off - that's how big I was at 12 months! Watch out WNBA!

In her hands is the BEST pre-toddler treat ever! (A tip from my father-in-law) It's an empty ice cream cone! They basically disolve without coming off in big chunks! But even if a chunk does come off in their mouth, they can handle it without choking! I gave it to her while I was making everyone else's dinner and it kept her busy until I could feed her her dinner! Perfect - I highly recommend it! The best part is the price! One of her favorite toys is a diaper, and her favorite treat is an empty cone! It's gonna be a cheap Christmas at our house!!

Move over Sarah Palin . . .

Well, I've done it. Somewhere in my 2-hours-of-sleep-daze (see post below) I've figured out the answer to the current economic crisis.
It's simple really. We just need our Senators and Congressmen to sell cookie dough, candy bars, and wrapping paper in a good old Washington style fund raiser! The proceeds go to the sinking lenders and crumbling Wall Street! Think of it! And the jobs that will be created . . . astounding! We'll need people to produce the product, PLUS we'll need people to deliver it! Economy boomed just like that!

Well, that settles it, I be a jeanieous!
P.S. Have I mentioned how much I hate fund raisers?
P.P.S. Party at my house at the end of the month - you see, I have $40 worth of cookie dough coming on the 26th! (sing with me now - - "I'm just a girl who can't say no" and my own kids weren't even the ones selling!)
P.P.S.S. "Wow, look kids! Santa left cookies for YOU this year!"
PPPPSSSS. This is NOT an endorsement for Sarah Palin. I mean c'mon. If I can figure it out, how come the "Hockey Mom Maverick" can't ;)

The opposite of fun . . .

The past two weeks have been spent dealing with the dreaded CROUP. Absolutely, positively, NO FUN. It started with Anna. I ended up at the Dr.'s office with her. Now, I know what you're saying, "you don't take 'em to the Dr. when they have croup. There's nothing the Dr. can do." This I know, however, she sounded like an 80 year old emphasemic man enjoying his last cigarette. Scary. You could hear her gasping for breath in the back room from the front room. Apparently the fix for this is steroids. Yes, my 4 year old had 4 doses of 'roids. That'll come up in therapy later, I'm sure ;) Then, Anna decided to "share" with Sara. And so, here I write, two hours of sleep under my belt last night, approximately 4 the night before. Like I said, the opposite of fun. Six month old baby girls SHOULD NOT have to have the croup. Poor thing. Fingers crossed that tonight will be better. I really didn't know how much I appreciate my kids being able to breathe . . . oh, the things we take for granted ;)

Peaches and Pirates . . .

I'm kinda "well pleased" with myself right now! (oh, who am I kidding? I'm PROUD of myself. I know it's evil, but dang it, I'm full of PRIDE!) Move over Betty Crocker and Molly Mormon - there's a new Peach Queen in town! (coincidentally, for those of you who know that there actually IS a Peach Queen or 'Miss Brigham City', the new one is T.R.'s cousin!)

I canned 9 quarts and 12 pints (could've done more, but I didn't want to go back to the store to get more bottles!) made 3 pies, and a month's supply of 'puree' or as we call it here 'baby food'! Not bad for free - - thanks Grandma! And . . .

Every year some friends of ours celebrate September 19th, International Talk Like a Pirate Day (yes, that's a real thing!) by having a Pirate Party! So, here we argh!

Sara looks a little boy pirate - ish, but still super cute! T.argh even rented his costume this year - complete with boot covers! And, what you can't see is what you should appreciate most . . . . I have fishnet stockings on! Yikes! But I was trying my hardest to be authentic, and I figured that most sea worthy wenches would be wearing fishnets! How else are ya gonna catch enough dinner to feed those swarthy mates?!

Holy cow . . .

I can't believe I'm doing this, but it's been pretty slow around our house lately, nothing new and exciting to report - so I thought, "I know, I'll find the scariest picture I have of MYSELF, and wow all my faithful readers"! No, actually, T.R. finally put all of the pics from Sara's first days on our home computer and I stumbled upon this one (taken a week and a half before giving birth to my 9 lb. 3 oz. - 21" girlmonster!) and decided to post it as a way to further motivate myself to become an 'after' picture! I measured my so called "waist" the same day, and it had grown 15 inches! yah, that's not coming off without a fight . . .

Anna's Turn!

Anna started Preschool on Wednesday! She told me she couldn't put her arms down because they were "awake and excited" - - thus explaining the JAZZ HANDS! Tommy and Joey never went to preschool, so this is new to us . . . but our neighbor 2 houses away does it in her home, so how could I not send her?! She has a 10 second walk to and from . . . not bad! Not to toot her horn or anything, but she can already read and do math, and use scissors without cutting her fingers off - so the preschool thing is mostly for the social experience! (mom can only be so fun for so long!) In her primary classes and at home there's just boys, boys, boys, so I'm hoping this will somehow help her to see that she's NOT the boss and that there are other princesses in the world who also need to be heard! Here's hoping!

Strawberries are sour . . .

My cute Sara in the high chair for the first time - - seriously, can we please slow time down somehow?! I feel like I'm sending her off to college already, for pete's sake! (Please notice the Puma sneaks . . . a gift from one of my Laurels!) So STYLIN'

Now to feature what I believe to be a GENIUS invention . . . the thing in Sara's hand is a "binky" like contraption. The handle comes off and there is a little mesh bag that can be filled with fresh food (today it was strawberries) that baby can practice biting/sucking on without the danger of chokable chunks! Brilliant! Her favorite so far has been watermelon and cantelope - - the strawberries were a little too sour as manifested by her face! Luckily she doesn't seem to be allergic to anything so far. HMMM . . .What to try next . . .

What a weekend!

T.R. took the boys for a quick trip to Yellowstone this weekend! (well, Friday and Saturday!) What a good dad!
The girls stayed home 'cause mom's not really ready to "vacation" with the whole brood yet!
It actually turned out to be a good thing we stayed because . . .

Sara spent the weekend with a cold AND a sore mouth from cutting her two bottom teeth! NO FUN! The "ice sticks" helped, but the poor thing couldn't breathe! She seems better now - in fact at this very moment she's sleeping (has been for 3 hours!) because she can breathe again! Phew. She's such a little angel . . . even though she was misserable, she was SO good at church yesterday! (yes, we had to take her - TR and I both had to teach, plus I was being released from Young Women :( so we needed to be there.) What a trooper! I just wish there was some way to explain to them why they feel so rotten at this age! Poor thing!

World's Best Big Brother!

Don't let your little boys go to bed . . .

'CAUSE THEY ALWAYS WAKE UP A DAY OLDER!

SIGH.

How did this happen? I have a fourth grader, and a second grader (who's as tall as my fourth grader!) First day of school . . . gotta love it!

For those who haven't seen us in awhile, Joey (2nd grade) is on the lefty, Tommy (4th grade) is the tighty righty!! Pretty handsome kiddos, if I do say so myself!

Yummy, Yummy says my Tummy!

Sara will be five months old next week. With the other three, I waited until they were EXACTLY six months old to start cereal. But this time, I just couldn't wait anymore! If it looks like a six month old (she's actually 2 inches longer than JOEY was at this age! And according to my mom's records, she the same length I was at 11 months . . . 28 inches!) and acts like a six month old (she's been playing with spoons and making "eating" motions with her mouth for a couple weeks, plus rolling over both directions and nearly sitting on her own) it must be a six month old, right?!!


I'm pretty sure she was in there longer than she needed to be, and by all accounts could technically be older than she is! So, we started the rice cereal last night! SHE LOVED IT! She ate a bowl and a half! Which is good, because although she's longer than Joey was, she's nowhere NEAR his weight!! She only has one fat roll on her legs!! We've got some catching up to do ;) You gotta have 'em while they're still cute, right?!




The "this is good stuff" smile!






Taken at the tail end of the traditional mouth-full-of-mush sneeze!! Luckily the shrapnel missed the camera! EVERY baby must do this at least once a feeding, right!! My favorite is the mouth-full-of-peas sneeze! That one seems to do the most damage!!

Bad hair day . . .

From the day Anna was born it was bows and frills - it just fit! Well, Ms. Sara is a different story! She looked silly with bows in her hair at the hospital, those headbands that ALL babies wear look absolutely ridiculous on her (I don't know if it's 'cause she has so much hair, or if it's that her face shape doesn't lend itself to that particular look? but really, ridiculous is the right word!) and I put a super fluffy, frilly, girly dress on her for church one of the first times we took her . . . it gave her a rash! An honest to goodness "I'm-allergic-to-this-stuff" rash!!

The other day, I decided to give it another try. Maybe she'd look okay with a little sum-em, sum-em on top . . . well, as you can see . . . not so much!! So, we'll stick to the "just woke up" look! She actually has the double cow lick going on in the back - the kind where one grows one way and the other the other way! So what we're left with is STRAIGHT UP and blowin' in the wind!! But, hey, it works! ;)

A glitch already!

okay, so when I pull up my own blog, it only shows part of the first post - unless you click on the title on the right hand side! Then the whole thing appears! And, for some reason, all the comments are showing up without being prompted! I knew I was blog illiterate, but I figured the troubles would come later! Should've know it was too easy to be this easy ;) Or, maybe it's just my computer that does this - either way - this could be trickier than I thought!! But hey, if reading this kept you here long enough to hear the Barry Manilow song, it was well worth everyone's time!!

The first chapter . . .

I promise this won't be all religious! But, as my first official post, and since I'm very new to this, I wanted to try adding an image not from my camera - - just for the "halibut" - - say it out loud and you'll get it ;)

Anyhoo - - this is probably my all time favorite Mormonad. The small print at the bottom says: IT'S OVERRATED. SOMETIMES THE CROWD IS JUST PLAIN WRONG.

LOVE IT!

Well that was easy . . . here we go . . .