Christmas Bombs

Yesterday Caleb and his little friend Jonathon were comparing their Christmas trees. After some discussion they agreed that they both had big trees with lots of ornaments. Then Caleb, holding a red Christmas ball that was hanging on our tree, added "Yeah, but we have bombs on our tree!"

Update on Sara

Sara bounced back from her accident faster than I could ever have anticipated! She was pretty sore and swollen for a while but by Thanksgiving the swelling had gone down and by Friday almost all of the scrapes on her face were healed. I expected her to have big yucky scabs from the road rash and worried about scaring but she just seemed to wake up one morning and you couldn't tell anything had even happened! Today as I thought about her and how quickly she healed I know it was her faith that brought these blessings...faith that if Daddy would give her a blessing she would be okay. I'm grateful when my children ask for blessings because each time my testimony is strengthened in that simple faith brings about miracles. Faith is power!

Battered and Bruised

Sara took a pretty bad spill off her scooter yesterday. She hit so hard! She couldn't get her hands out to catch herself and took it full on in the face. Troy was outside when it happened and brought her in...she was bleeding so bad and we weren't sure just what to do with her! We wiped the best we could and calmed her the best we could and then started to assess the damage.

The first thing we noticed was a gap where a tooth had been that morning...we were worried it had been pushed up into her gum. Her gum was bleeding pretty bad and was all tore up so it was really hard to tell what was going on. After lots of panicked phone calls, we decided to call the dentist!

He met us within 10 minutes and numbed her as soon as we got there...then started to give the long list of injuries! The x-ray showed that the tooth we were worried about was completely gone...Troy later found it out in the street where she had crashed! It also showed that a top permanent tooth had been knocked out of its socket. The dentist tired to push it back into place and then wired it to a couple of other teeth to help hold it...he said hopefully the ligaments will tighten back up and it will be okay, we won't know for sure for a couple of weeks. She also had knocked a baby tooth on the bottom out of place...he pulled that out and put it in a little pink container for her...which she packed around all night! She had to get a couple of stitches in her upper lip on the inside...there was a huge gash! He helped clean the road rash on her eye, check, nose, lips and chin and put a layer of neosporin over all of it then sent us home with a bottle of motrin! Sara was so brave through all of it and was able to let the dentist do what he needed to do to help her even though she hurt so bad! I was so proud of her!

We got home just in time for the BYU vs UTAH game and the party that was at our house! Sara had lots of company from her sweet little cousins as they sat on our bed and watched TV quietly with her. It meant alot to me and I know to her, too, that they were so kind to her!

She wanted to sleep with me so we tucked her into our bed and before she fell asleep she very quietly whispered..."I need my teeth". It took me a minute to figure out that she wanted the little pink container holding her two teeth to put under her pillow for the tooth fairy! She didn't want to miss out on any money the tooth fairy owed her for both missing teeth!

Today she has been sore and swollen. It hurts for her to smile, talk and eat and she's not be doing much of any of these. But she has a good attitude about it and gives a "Thumbs Up" when you ask her how she's doing.
She did get excited about decorating the Christmas tree and wanted to help with that! She's also had lots of family and friends dropping by and calling to check on her. We appreciate how much you all love and care about her! Thanks Maya for the card and the milk shake! Thanks Laursen's for the balloon, books and ice cream...we made shakes with it and Sara asked for seconds! I was glad something finally tasted good to her! Thanks Cottles for the notes and treats...you are great friends!

10 Things We Love About Ben!

10. He's fun to be with, whereever we go, whatever we do!

9. He's willing to try just about anything

8. He can make friends with just about anyone

7. He's not afraid to talk to anyone

6. Although they have their moments...he really is good to Sara & Caleb

5. He's still not too big to give out hugs!

4. He works really hard for what he wants...especially when it comes to football!

3. He is smart and talented

2. He's a true, blue, through and through Cougar fan!

1. He's sensitive and kind and thoughtful

Happy Birthday Ben! We love you!!

A Snowy Start

We woke up this morning to about 3 inches of snow and Ben out shoveling, all by himself, this morning (at 7:00 am!). He was so excited about his birthday and the snow that I don't think that he could stay inside one more minute. When the rest of us finally made it outside he said "It snowed on my birthday! It's never snowed on my birthday before!" Then we told him that it has snowed on on his birthday before...on the day he was born! The snow made for a fun start to his birthday!

Going Private

I have decided to limit access to my blog to only people that I know. After KSL's story on blog safety I decided that I'm not all that comfortable having people I don't know reading my stories and watching my kids. I love posting about our family and have also loved reading your blogs and really hope that we can continue to share our adventures with each other. So I think I already have most every ones email so I can add you to my list...if not please let me know! I'll make the switch this weekend....

Happy Happy Halloweeny!

Our week long Halloween celebration was filled with fun costumes, pumpkin carving, buckets full of candy and lots of fun parties! Our parties included our ward Trunk-or-Treat last Friday, parties at school, Mom's crazy Halloween dinner and the Taylor Family costume party. Here's a few highlights from our Halloween this year:

-Sara and Ben both wanted to wear costumes from past Halloween's...nothing could have made me happier. Well, maybe except that Caleb was excited about his costume and would actually wear it!

-Troy's impromptu costume...I love a man with a mullet!!

-Eating bat wings, heart, "finger" food, brains, ears and eyeballs at Nanny's house. It isn't Halloween till Nanny's got the kids good and grossed out! Thanks Nanny for putting so much work into a party for only three little munchkins...we love you!

-Darth Vader (aka our Bishop) at the Trunk-or-Treat. He terrified our little Jedi and Caleb avoided him at all costs! At church Caleb still makes sure he always knows where Bishop is.

-Helping with Sara's class party...we made cute little spider webs.

-One last Halloween Hooray with the cousins! The kids played and played, did a little trick-or-treating and dipped apples into carmel and had lots of yummy toppings...very tasty and fun! Thanks Aunt Lisa!

Slippery the Fish

On Thursday Caleb came home from school with a new little pet. He has been very excited about his new friend and insists on taking it with us everywhere we go. We had to put our foot down about taking him to church! We don't quite know how long Slippery will last, we've already had to change baggies a couple of times and I'm trying to find look-a-likes...just in case!

Puppy Love

Nanny and Poppy suddenly and unexpectedly got a new puppy last week. Needless to say my kids are in puppy heaven...especially Caleb. The puppy, who we think is named Ted but we don't know for sure yet, is just a little tiny fur ball and cute as can be. Well Caleb loves to have Ted crawl all over him and when we were at Mom & Dad's on Saturday Caleb played and played with him and then Ted was ready for a nap. So Caleb got a little blanket and sat down on the couch with the dog wrapped up like a little baby. Ted fell fast asleep and Caleb sat and held him for a good 20 minutes just cuddling and loving that little dog. When it was time to go home Caleb did NOT want to go...he wanted to move in with Nanny and said "I want Ted as my dog, just my dog!". Boy he loves that little pup!

Fall Break...Hee Haw Farm Revisited!

**WARNING-way too many family pictures may follow**

The kids had fall break this last week and after all the talk about Hee Haw Farms that is what they all wanted to do...so off we went! The kids had a lot of fun, some of the highlights were Leroy the 1200 lbs pig...he smelled a little worse than that! Following the kids in circles through the corn maze as each took a turn deciding which way to go...we finally made it! Burying the kids in the "Corn Box". Riding on the pony (Sara's favorite). All three kids on the peddle karts. Shooting the corn cannons...nothing like Grandpa's candy cannon! But the over all favorite was the 30 foot hay bale slide. Caleb wouldn't go near it at first then after we finally convinced him to go down we couldn't get him away from it! We had a good time together...I have a feeling we'll be back!

We think he gets it from the neighbors!

Caleb's the only one that would get close enough!

The stairs up to the slide.

Ben and Caleb started out on the same kart, then when they came around the corner Caleb was on his own kart just a peddling away! I didn't think he'd be able to get that big thing to go in the dirt!Sara could barely reach...so she sat on the bar and off she went!

Faith Leads to Action

I was reading in the Preach My Gospel handbook a few days ago and one sentence caught my attention and has been on my mind since. It said that our faith in Christ leads us to action. I first thought of all the "Action" things I need to be more consistent with...Then I started thinking about all of the things that my faith has led me to do. Things keep popping into my mind and it has been a loving reminder that the things I do really do bring blessings. As I've thought about this I've realized that faith is more than just believing...it's a willingness to do. So since I'm too chicken to get up in Sacrament meeting...here's just a few of the things that have come to mind that I feel compeled to do because of my faith in Christ:
1. Live to be worthy of the Temple
2. Teach my children
3. Pray
4. Listen to the answers I receive (even when it's hard)
5. Serve (still working on the with a happy heart part!)
Kind of simple things, I know, but as I look at the list I'm immediately reminded of blessings that have come from each. I could make another list dedicated to each one. It makes me grateful that I've had opportunities to excercise my faith and gives me encouragement that what I spend so much time doing will bring me joy.

Let it Snow...

We had our first snow of the season and the kids...and I...could not have been more excited! They quickly put on their snow clothes and ran out to play in the little bit that started to accumulate on the grass and swing set. They even tried to make snow angels! Although it is all of a sudden FREEZING cold I can't help but be excited with them. There's just something about snow falling and piles of coats and hats and mittens and boots sitting in puddles of melted snow at the door while the kids are sitting at the counter all red-cheeked drinking hot cocoa! I love it!!So while Troy completely disagrees with me...I say "Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!"