Amazing story

A few weeks ago I was checking out a coupon site that I don't visit very often. I saw this picture and read how this little boy had drown in the bathtub and they were soliciting prayers for him.

There was a link to read about what happened. I clicked on it and for the next two hours I sat and read and cried. Then I went and hugged my sleeping babies and cried some more.
It is the most candid blog I have ever read. The Mom left her two youngest children in the tub for just a short time to do some chores. In that short time, the boys turned the water back on and filled the tub too full. 16 month old Bronson Staker drowned in the tub.
Sara Staker chronicles the ordeal in great detail on their family blog. I have never been so moved by a blog. The strength of their faith is incredible.
The Today show featured the Staker's story yesterday. I am happy to say that this story has an amazing ending. Little Bronson has made a full recovery!

Snow? REALLY??!

What happened to 100% chance of rain?? I was quite shocked when I woke up and noticed that the deck was covered in snow and still coming down! UGH! I am ready for spring!

Garden Valley Fun

What a great weekend! We rented a cabin in Garden Valley and headed up with some friends. The snow conditions were not as great as last year, but it was still tons of fun! The cabin we rented had a really steep driveway, which made an awesome sledding hill! The kids had a blast! Mike had fun except for the snow down the back of his pants at the end of the hill! (it was a little slushy at the bottom!)



Now that we have had such a great time two years in a row, we will definitely be making this an annual trip!

Weekend fun!

What a great weekend! I had so much fun with the boys this weekend. Saturday we met Jerad, Sharra & the kids at Rafiki. The boys had a blast playing with all the different toys. They especially loved the dress-up area!

Today the boys and I met Jerad and the kids to watch the Squeakquel. It was pretty cute for a kids movie. I was a little worried about how well Cooper would sit through the movie...the last time we tried to take him to a movie he and Mike ended up leaving shortly into it! He did great this time! Noah LOVED the movie. He was cracking up the whole time. At the end of the movie all four kids were jamming out to the music!

What a great weekend! If only tomorrow wasn't Monday!

Song Birds

The boys were in the mood to sing the other night, so I thought I would capture some of the songs...Enjoy!
(You'll need to pause the music from my player at the bottom of my blog)

Christmas Fun

Well, after my black friday shopping experience, I needed something to get me in a jolly Christmas mood. Mike and I met up with his boss Teri, her boyfriend Alan and their kids at the Festival of Trees. We had a great time. The boys LOVED the Big Bird tree!

They got to sit with Santa and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Cooper was super excited to see Santa until I tried to put him on his lap! He sat next to him as long as Noah was there too. :)

On Saturday, Noah and I went to decorate gingerbread houses with Kimberly at her moms house. I was so happy she invited us again this year. Noah had a blast! He ate lots of candy!! He did a great job on the house. He designed it almost all himself!

Kim and her sister Beki made super cute houses too. Beki's was a log cabin complete with sledding hill! Adorable! Thanks Kim for inviting us again! Now I am in the Christmas spirit and ready to put up the tree!!!

Black Friday

So, for the 1st time ever, I started my Black Friday shopping as soon as it technically became Black Friday! Toys R Us opened at midnight and I was there! She's crazy, is probably what you're thinking right now...you are soooooooo correct! NEVER AGAIN will I shop Toys R Us on Black Friday. This was the 1st time I had ever shopped Toys R Us on BF...it will for sure be the last. It was horrific! They had the main aisles spit in two with stacks of toys down the middle. The major issue with that logic was once you were on a side, you couldn't get to the other side. Plus, you couldn't actually move at all! I found almost everything I wanted right in the main area when you 1st come in the door. As I headed back into the store I got stuck - literally! I couldn't move. It SUCKED! I was sweating in my "waiting-in-line" clothes, but didn't have enough room to take my coat off. I managed to move about 3 feet into what I thought was the check-out line....wrong. I stood in that line (with a bunch of other sweating parents) for 45 minutes when a (super crabby) employee announced that we were NOT in the check-out line. I was so ticked! I had to go to the end of the actual check-out line, thus negating the 45 minutes I was just hanging out! Thankfully, the WONDERFUL couple in front of me let me add my items to their cart. I didn't have one & my arms were literally about to fall off. My hands were going numb and my arms were shaking from holding everything. I am so thankful that I got in line behind them. They saved me! So by this time it is about 1 a.m. (So, if you are paying attention, you will notice that it only took me 15 minutes to find what I wanted. I spent the next 45 in the wrong line.) So now it's 1 am and I am FINALLY in the correct line. So what happened next? I waited and waited and moved 2 feet at a time for the next 2 hours...yes that is TWO hours. I finally checked out at 3:15 a.m.! I was in pain (my back, feet and arms were killing me), hot and STARVING! I may have neglected to mention that I had been up since 7:20 a.m. and was running on fumes that this point. So those of you who know me best will know what I did next...I loaded up my purchases, downed a DDP and headed to the next store! :)
It was a Black Friday full of firsts for me. I had also never been to Walmart on BF. There were a couple of items in the ad that I really wanted so I decided to head over. The best part was the store was already open so I didn't have to freeze my butt off! I got there at 3:30 a.m. and the sale didn't start until 5. I wandered around a bit to find out where the items I wanted were...in opposite corners of the store - of course! I decided to wait by the bike I wanted (I mean Santa wanted) to get for Noah. Holy crap. The second it hit 5 a.m. the store became total chaos! It was way crazier than Target & Shopko put together (my usual BF spots)! I managed to get the items I wanted and make it to a line...where, again, I waited and waited and waited! Not as long as Toys R Us, but only by a smidge! I finally checked out at 6:30 a.m. By this time, I am beyond exhausted and totally starving. I still have to stop at Walgreens to pick up some milk and Comet (an odd combo I know!). When I finally got home I downed a bowl of cereal and crashed on the sofa for about an hour until Coop woke up. Thankfully, my hubby was SUPER awesome and wrangled the boys so I could nap. I got in a good 2 hours before Cooper decided I should get up. ;)
I wasn't able to do all my shopping today like I normally try to do on Black Friday, but I did make a pretty good dent. You can be sure that I will head out again next year - just not to Toys R Us! :)