Sick days

This is sick Sam, sleeping on his shark pillow and snuggling with his favorite bunny that was actually mine when I was little, and he also has to have his puppy in bed, and his puppy flashlight. And 2 blankets. Right now he has a big red patch on his cheek from where he wipes his nose across his face. Gross.

I am sick of winter. And sick of sick kids. And I'm pretty sure my kids are sick of being sick. Everyone was healthy in January, but other than that someone has been sick pretty much since November. Please please please can Spring get here already? Even though I hate to be hot, I might have to add Phoenix to the list of places I'd be willing to live--goodbye snow shovels and mittens and runny noses.

Grace is growing up

Grace is growing up so much and is having some great experiences. This year she has made the most amazing progress in her ability to get up in front of people. She has always been terrified of performing in any way--preschool programs, saying a scripture in church, dance recitals. She would get very clingy and cry or just refuse to get up. This year her kindergarten teacher has been instilling confidence in her and the change has been amazing to witness. For the Primary program in sacrament meeting last Fall, Grace got up in front of the whole congregation and said her line without any hesitation. This last week they had an assembly in school, and again Grace popped right up and said her line loud and clear. I was SO proud.

I have also been thrilled to see Grace having her own spiritual experiences. I know these are the experiences that will give her a solid foundation for the rest of her life, and I hope that she will always remember them. In Primary a few weeks ago, they were listening to a song and I happened to be sitting by Grace and she turned to me and said, "I feel warm inside" and I was able to tell her that was the Holy Ghost. The little girl next to her started goofing off and Grace said, "Sssshhhh, I'm feeling the Holy Ghost." So sweet.

Then last week after the assembly, we got in the car to go home and I had kind of parked in a snow drift. We were stuck, and I wasn't really sure what we were going to do. I got out of the car and tried pushing but that was completely pointless. I got back in and tried backing out one more time, and this time we got right out. Grace said, "I blessed the car Mom! I said a prayer and we got out!" Her innocent faith is just so sweet. And I was really grateful that we got out :) And the next week I was going to take some pictures but it was so overcast I had almost decided it was pointless, but decided to go try anyway. Grace said another prayer that the sun would come out, and sure enough, by the time we got to our friends' house, all the clouds had dissipated and the sun was shining bright. Grace was thrilled, and so was I.

I am so grateful for Grace's example and that she has a strong desire to do the right thing.

The traditional New Year blog post

2011 promises to be a big year for our family. The light at the end of the residency tunnel is starting to get bright, and that means we have some big decisions to make. We will be looking for the perfect spot to settle down. That's an exciting prospect, but also kind of scary. With residency and medical school, it was definitely temporary, so it seemed like an adventure to try living somewhere new. This time it will hopefully be long-term, so the pressure is on.

So, our big resolutions this year are:

• Find the best possible job in the best possible location
• Get the house 100% ready to sell

Other things to look forward to this year:

• Sam and Viv both in preschool this Fall
• Grace finishing kindergarten, oh my!
• Viv going to speech therapy
• Sam getting potty trained
• Getting some house projects finally crossed off the list (new carpet, pleeeeease!)
• I might have to find someone to barter with to make those darn valances

Hurray for a new year!

Gotta Love Shutterfly

I have always been a fan of Shutterfly. I've loved their photo books, especially. When Grace was about 3, I made her a super cute "Who Loves Grace?" book with pictures of her with a different relative on each page. She still loves it, and I just found out she takes it to school every day to look at when she's lonely on the school bus! How sweet is that? That inspired me to make similar books for Sam and Viv this Christmas.

This year Shutterfly is offering a great deal on Christmas cards for bloggers (50 free cards if you blog about it!). They have so many gorgeous cards to choose from (more here)! And it is super easy to try out how the card will look with your picture. I may have spent way too long one evening trying different cards with different pictures. Ooops, and I just sprent another good 30 minutes.

Here's a card I really like, but it just didn't work with our pictures.

I think this one is also beautiful. Maybe next year :)

The card I actually pick will be a surprise, though! Wouldn't want to send it out and have everyone think, "eh, already saw that."

Shutterfly also has fun calendars, and someday I am going to go ahead and spring for some fabulous photos on canvas.

If you'd like 50 free cards yourself, go to http://bit.ly/sfly2010. But hurry, your blog post has to be submitted by Dec. 15, and I've already procrastinated about as long as possible :)

More of what I Heart

We are having a fun and eventful Fall! One quick (enormous!) picture, I will try to do better at

keeping up. How sweet are these two? And how fantastic is this tree in the yard?



We just saw the musical "In the Heights" in New York, and I am completely hooked on the music. If you are planning a trip out there, you should see this.

Catch up on our Summer

Before summer is too far gone, a quick quick catch up. We kept busy swimming, going to parks, picking berries, and playing with friends. Our point and shoot broke so, most of the pictures I took were in the backyard.

More firsts!

Vivian is pretty darn happy about her first day of preschool!

All ready to go with her brand new school bag. She had a fun day, and she got to paint a balloon.

Grace at 12 months, with one tooth.

Grace at age 5, without one tooth.

It fell out tonight while she was brushing her teeth, and then was accidentally washed down the drain when she spit it out with her toothpaste. We're not sure how the tooth fairy is going to work that one out :)

We're so proud of both our girls!