Addison's Favorites 2010

Favorite phrase:  "Rhett, give that back" (said very loudly and with a lot of drama)

Favorite food: broccoli cheese soup

Favorite snack: fishy crackers, peanut m & m's

Favorite movie: Darkwing Duck,Tangled

Favorite book: You LOVE lots of book but you like SkippyJon Jones and the Big Bones

Favorite game: Disney Sing It (Wii game), Go Fish

Favorite toy: Squinkies, Rupunzel Barbie, Woodeez families and school

Favorite daily activity: watching movies, coloring, pretending

Mommy and Daddy love it when you: are kind to your brother, do what we ask the "first" time, sing and color us pictures, say silly things

Favorite thing to do with mommy: Play Disney Sing It and coloring

Favorite thing to do with daddy: play games

Favorite thing to do with brother: read to him

Chores: keep room tidy, help mommy around the house, fold towels

Friends: Kenna, Brenna, Landon, Eli, Chade, Mia, Emily, Jewel, Julia, Katelyn, Mauryn

Nickname: Addie, Addie Gracie, Punkin Pants, Sunshine girl

Birthday: For your 6th birthday you wanted to have a Candyland Party. We decorated with a lot of different types of candy and you had your friends over to play. You had cupcakes for your friend party and grandma Nancy made you a Candyland cake for your family party. You had a lot of fun playing with your friends and as their goody bags you gave them gumball machines.

Other moments:
* You caught your very first fish this summer at the cabin with the help of Bapa Doug.
* You played your very first team sport - teeball and you were on a team with your cousins and some church friends
* You began kindergarten this year and your teacher is Mrs. Drescher. She keeps you on your toes because you like to talk and be ms. social. You are rarely in trouble but have your days when you have a difficult time paying attention. You are a daydreamer like your mommy.
* You enjoy school but don't really enjoy homework.
* You LOVE to create and color and have a hard time picking up after yourself. You are to excited to get on to the next thing and don't want to worry about clean up. Your room is often a disaster. You are a free spirit!
* You like to dress up like a princess but I may find you outside in the dirt wearing a princess dress. If you are not wearing a princess dress you are dressed up in sport clothes (your first choice is your tball shirt, shorts, tennis shoes and hat.)
* You had whooping cough throughout the summer and coughed for about 3 months straight. You didn't seem miserable but you looked and sounded like it. You were such a trooper.
* You are a very good big sister and have a lot of patience when it comes to your brother. You do get after him more often than I would like but I'm surprised by your love for him.
* You are very dramatic and everything is the end of the world. Even if we say "no" to you wearing a certain shirt (tank top) in the 32 degree winter weather. You would have thought that your best friend had moved away. You are definately 6 going on 16 and I'm dreading (o.k. - praying) that the teenage years do not hold the same amount of drama that you do at this age.
* You are so much fun and hold so much energy and light and love that we are so blessed to have you as our daughter. I admire your patience (at times) and your insight. You were so calm and supportive when grammy jojo and bapa pouie passed away. You were matter of fact and kept telling me that they were dancing with Jesus and that is ten times better than what they were doing here. You've helped me through the grieving process more than you know. I love you my precious punkin pants and I look forward to your 6th year and all of the fun memories we will share in 2011.

Rhett's Favorites 2010

Favorite Phrase: You have a rather extensive vocabulary for a two-year old. You can carry on a normal conversation with an adult and sometimes it's rather amusing. Right now you say "because" statements all the time even if it doesn't make any sense. Our favorite one is when we ask you where something is you immediately says, even without looking for it or glancing in any whichway "I don't see it".


Favorite food: horndogs (corndogs) and macaronis (mac n cheese)


Favorite snack: fishy crackers, pirate's booty and oranges


Favorite movie: How to Train Your Dragon, Toy Story 3 and any Winnie the Pooh movie


Favorite book: Brown Bear, Brown Bear


Favorite game: You like to play chase with your sister


Favorite toy: you are really into puzzles right now and you play with them a lot. You also like to play with your cars, buzz lightyear and your new dragon Toothless


Favorite daily activity: doing puzzles, reading books, watching 'The Heffalump" movie, playing with your sisters things


Mommy and Daddy love it when you: talk (almost everything that comes out of your mouth is funny), dance and sing


Favorite thing to do with mommy: read books and do puzzles


Favorite thing to do with daddy: wrestle


Favorite thing to do with sister: take her things and run with them so she will chase you


Chores: letting the dogs outside


Friends: Sam, Mauryn, Brenden, McKenna, Alex


Nicknames: Rhettster, Bruiser Boy, The Beast, Mister Mister


Birthday: This year for your 2nd birthday we had a Mickey Mouse birthday party. Grandma Nancy made a Mickey Mouse cake and we celebrated with friends and family. You had a lot of fun opening your presents and eating your birthday cake.


Other moments:
* You LOVE the cabin and talk about going there ALL THE TIME. You want to go "throw rocks in the river".
* You are so good a cleaning up after yourself. After you are done playing with something you always put it away - even if we don't ask you to. In fact, we will find you picking up after your sister if she isn't doing it.
* You take great naps and it is no problem to get you to go to sleep at naptime. Or at bedtime for that matter. The problem lies with you sleeping through the night. You always wake up and crawl into bed with mom and dad. Mom and dad need to get with the program and make you stay in your own bed at night. We have just been lazy.
*You and sissy both had whooping cough this year and it was the most frustrating thing I had gone through. You coughed for about 4 months straight but never lost your energy or your love for life.
* You enjoy tormenting Solomon and tend to do so more when you are tired.
* You are a ball full of energy and are always moving, never walking, you are always running or jumping or bouncing. You have gotten better with your balance though and don't run into as many things as you used to but you head still takes a beating from time to time.
* You have restrained from putting things in your mouth as often unless it's snow (even if it's been on the parking lot for three days and is now dirty slush - you will eat it), or burning candles (you put one of those in your mouth at the Christmas Eve service and burned your lip).
* You definately keep mommy and daddy on your toes and we are constantly laughing at you. You are such a sweet boy who loves your family and your sister. You have brightened up our lives so much and we look forward to many more fun memories with you in 2011.

2010!!!!

2010 has been an interesting year. It brought many highs and lows. I've had to search deep within myself this year and so some soul-searching, especially recently. It's been tough on me emotionally and yes physically as well. I've loved and lost this year and can only hope that lessons will be learned from it. I am going to highlight a few of the major things that have happened to us this year and I am going to be completely honest about my feelings.

I turned 31 (not a major deal for me - birthdays have yet to have a negative impact on my life - luckily! I'm sure there will come a day)

We went with some of our great friends to Lagoon for a family vacation. We had a lot of fun playing Rook (winning at rook for Janna and I) and watching the kids enjoy the fun rides at Lagoon. We stopped off at Shoshone Falls on our way home and snapped a group picture.

We met with Jeremy's family for a Franklin Family Reunion in Cheney, Washington on Jeremy's uncle's ranch. We had a lot of fun playing horseshoes, exploring the ranch, going on hayrides and participating in a mystery dinner.

We spent many weekends up at the cabin with both sides of the family - and loved every minute of it. We floated the river, played many games (including our new favorite "Settlers of Catan"), and watched many movies. Addison caught her first fish with the fishing pole she got for Christmas with Bapa Doug.

We said goobye to our beloved small group! This was an emotional process for me - feelings were hurt. Tears were shed. I guess when you love much, you open yourself up to the disappointment that close relationships can bring. It is still a sore subject for me to discuss because it brings up negative emotions that I hold inside. I love each an every one of the people that were involved in our small group - I really do!! It's my own shortcomings that I'm dealing with. I miss them all and I miss our group. I will always hold the times we shared as wonderful memories!

small group girls ( love them all SOOO much!)

We grew and maintained a garden for the first time this year. We produced corn, green peppers, lots of cherry tomatoes, strawberries and raspberries. It was rewarding and fun and we are looking forward to doing it again in 2011.

Coached volleyball again for the first time in 3 years. I had a lot of fun but realized that it took quite a lot of time away from my family and am not sure if I want to do it again in the near future. I LOVE it but may want to wait a few more years until Rhett is in school and able to withstand some time at practice.

Said goodbye to two of the most important people in my life - my precious grandparents. They both passed away in November and the wound is still fresh. I still cry often while thinking about them. I miss them soooooo much! I am so grateful that I will see them again and rejoice that they are having a blast in heaven but selfishly I miss grandpa's hugs and grandma's listening ear. This next year will be tough without them.

We also said goodbye to some of our closest friends. Friends that only come around once in a lifetime. Friends that made us feel completely comfortable to be ourselves. Friends that we've laughed with, raised children with and shared life experiences with. They received a call on their lives to become pastor's of a church in Redmond, Washington. We are so proud of their courage to follow God's path for their lives and look forward to hearing about how God is working through them to reach the lost in the Seattle area. We wish them the best of luck but selfishly miss their laughter and their presence. This next year will be a little more dull due to their absence.

We ended off the year with some fun family activities. We rode the North Pole Express to the North Pole, enjoyed intimate family time building forts, watching movies and playing games. We enjoyed watching the children open presents at Christmas and discuss the real meaning of Christmas. It was a great way to end the year.

I'm actually glad to leave 2010 behind me. I look forward to the coming year and the challenges and new experiences that it will bring. I'm a planner (kind of) and have enjoyed planning the coming year - I have some crazy ideas and I will be posting them soon.



Advent Day 21 - 25

I'm finally getting around to posting this - had to wait for some pictures of Christmas from my dad's camera.

Day 21 - Build a blanket fort and read Christmas stories with our Christmas socks on.

Day 22 - Polar Express Train

Day 23 - Go see Tangled with the cousins

Day 24 - make some homemade ornaments/ Christmas Eve service/ Christmas with Mimi and Bapa

Day 25 - MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Christmas at home and then Christmas at Grandma Elaine's

The fort that daddy built - it was big enough for both kids to stand up inside it and for mommy and daddy to comfotably sit and relax. It was a lot of fun!! Rhett had decided that outside the fort there was a dragon that was waiting to get us and we played along - that is until he got genuinely scared. And since Addison was sick with "the cough" and ended up on our bedroom floor around midnight Jeremy resigned to the confines of the fort to finish off the night. He is still a kid at heart!! Thanks daddy for such a fun fort - I'm sure that it will be built again and again.

entrance to the fort

Eating dinner in the fort

reading Christmas stories in the fort

Daddy reading Christmas stories

Me and my kids at the North pole via North Pole Express train - so much fun!

Santa took time out of his busy schedule to take some pictures with the kids - Addison, Rhett, and cousins Avery and Emma

It's cold at the North pole

Addie with her cousins Emilee and Elizabeth - they were so excited to see Tangled!

After the movie picture - we both LOVED it!!! Super cute movie

Christmas Eve at Mimi and Papa's - after opening their stockings the first thing Rhett did was pop not one by two suckers in his mouth.

Just what she wanted!

Just what he wanted - and mommy because puzzles will keep him occupied for a long time :)

Jammies to match her Rupunzel Barbie

Buzz Lightyear Jammies - he's trying to push the buttons and then saying "they don't work" - he is expecting to hear "to infinity and beyond"

Christmas morning at home - Rhett got Toothless and Hiccup from "How to Train your Dragon"

Addison opening Darkwing Duck DVDs

Christmas at Grandma Elaine's - Rhett opening his Buzz Lightyear

Merry Christmas Grams!

Addie got a Littlest Pet Shop mobile

Christmas dinner - lots of people and lots of fun!

Advent Day 16 - 20

Day 16 - Make sugar cookies

Day 17 - Homemade ornaments for gifts (pending)/ Deliver our gift to our 12 Days of Christmas Family
Day 18 - Peppermint day - make peppermint bark and peppermint scrub

Day 19 - Church Christmas program/Christmas with the Franklins

Day 20 - Family game night with popcorn

Christmas gift for the "12 Days of Christmas" family

(cocoa, marshmellows, mugs, sugar cookie mix, cookie cutters, sprinkles, blanket and cozy Christmas socks)

Christmas decoration

peppermint bark

Christmas program (prior to Rhett tumbling down the stairs)

Christmas with the Franklins (cousin picture)

Opening Christmas presents

Family game night with popcorn

we played Disney Scene It - Addison won! And Rhett ate all the popcorn

Peppermint body scrub

making sugar cookies

Her favorite part - the toppings!

My Christmas Favorites!!

I LOVE Christmas - it's the bestest time of year and if anyone knows me well I kind of overdo the Christmas decorations a bit in my house - I enjoy it though and it makes my house feel fun and festive throughout the holiday season. As I was putting up my decorations this year I took my camera and captured a few of my favorite Christmas decorations. I know that as the years pass my taste in what I love will change so I thought I would capture what is my favorite right now.

An antique sled that Jeremy and I found in his grandparents barn. We asked if we could have it and they were more than obliged to give it away. It's one of my most favorite things and I have a difficult time putting it away after the holidays. It's just so stinkin cool that it deserves a permanent place in our house, but it may lose it's luster and awe for me if it was out all year.

I think my mom got this for me for Christmas last year. I LOVE IT!! I wish it was usable but it works well as a decoration in our kitchen.

My Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" village. I only have a few pieces but I LOVE them so much! I hope to extend my collection.

There is nothing like the voice of Bing Crosby at Christmastime - nothing!

My lanterns have always been a favorite of mine and for Christmas I put candycane candles in them and use them as a focal point in my living room.

My bright red snowflake blanket that my friend Bekah gave me a few years back. I love it's bright color and I snuggle with it every evening when we watch our favorite tv shows.

My nativity - I need to begin to collect more pieces but I love what I have.

And of course the Christmas tree - a "real" one! I have refused to join the "fake" tree bandwagon. I understand it's concept but there is something magical and Christmasy about a "real" tree. I hope to continue to beg my husband each year to keep up with this tradition. Each ornament on our tree holds a special place in my heart and as the kids grow older and make new ornaments it will begin to be even more special and will ALWAYS be a favorite!

To say that these are my only favorites would be far from the truth. I seriously LOVE all of my Christmas decorations. I just chose a few of my most favorites to share.