Things learned in 2010

This year has brought some new lessons learned and new things brought to our family's life. Here is just a few (in no particular order):
1. the words Avasular Necrosis- changed our life...
2. Insurance doesn't make you feel very secure
3. Our kids are way too smart for our own good
4. we have so much love for our family that it feels like our hearts will burst
5. Had some people leave our life to move on(in one form or another), and had some new great people enter our life.
6. Life really is like a box of chocolates
7.the atonement is a comfort
8.Goodness IS alive and well
9. It is ok to humble yourself
10. Mattea is wild...for real!
11. Luke is still sweet and an angel
12. Francesca is the example of faith
13. Cecilia's "voice" is so funny!
14. Bella is a teenager...nuff said
15. This next year bring to pass Louie and I being together for 15 years.. the last 14 have been full of life, and have been so worth every moment.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas time fun

Christmas Eve morning breakfast with the missionaries
Missionaries training Luke about missionary life.
The spread!
St. George Temple

All the kids eating lunch before our trip around to St. George
We hope everyone is enjoying this season!

I wish I didn't know that

Yes we live in a desert and yes we live VERY close to a lot of wild animals, but today was a day that I wish that we lived in a city again. Louie had a doctors appt and I was ready to leave early so that we could go to the city (St. George) to look at some things before the appt. So, between making sure lunches were made, taking a shower, making sure the kids brushed their teeth, packed their lunches, got shoes, etc., etc., Louie comes into our bathroom while I am taking the little time I have to get makeup on and shows me...a tarantula. Supposedly a DEAD tarantula. Now, I should say that I hate spiders...no, I loath spiders...and so this hairy "dead" tarantula gives me the heeby geebies! He thinks that it soooo interesting and keeps showing it to me..."It's dead Andrea. Kids look what I found!"...right outside our back door!!!! So my mind starts swirling with he what ifs...what if it was heading inside...what if it came inside...what it I found it....YIKES! But it's dead...NOT!! He had it is a cup with a lid that you get at Maverik and the straw is still in the cup. Well, our third blessing, Frankie thinks that it would be great to poke the "dead" tarantula with the straw.....and guess what?...IT WAS NOT DEAD!!!! And it was not happy either!So luckily it was in the cup and so now..."Hey Andrea it's not dead!" I wish that I didn't know that. "Get that thing the H-E double hockey sticks out of my face and out of my house!!"...because now it is my house, when there is this undead yuck in it! EWWWWWWWW! I wish I didn't know that that thing was out there. I wish that I didn't know that it was close to the house. So now I will be checking the back door before bed and all around the house.Sometimes, ya just don't need to know.
Ps. Louie got the good news that he can go back to work next week...

Live Traffic Feed

I love watching our blog's live traffic feed. To see who visits and where they are visiting from. I noticed though the other day that we had a visitor from Wales. Do I know anyone from Wales?...was my first thought. and then I thought(!) that maybe we are so famous that Kate Middleton is looking at our blog for vacation/honeymoon destinations?! Too far fetched?...yeah probably...All the same I hope everyone keeps on coming to visit! ( And Kate if it was you, we really are awesome...)

Our darling dog-in memory of Butterscotch

We got Butterscotch at a fair about 11 years ago. Cecilia was 10 months and Bella was 3. Louie saw him and thought he would be a great addition to our family. He sure was. He was very protective and loved our kids. When Luke was a baby I had put him in his car seat and he started crying, I went to the other room for a moment and Butterscotch started whining, running to the room I was in to where Luke was . He could not stand that Luke was crying. Whenever the kids went outside to play we would say to him "Go watch the Babies ", and he would go out with them and be their guardian. He finally got cancer about 2 months ago and it spread over his eye and around the side of his face. We knew that the time had come to say goodbye to our friend and loyal companion. We know that he is in heaven where I have an aunt and uncle that loved animals and that they will help watch over him until we meet again. Thank you Butterscotch for protecting our family and loving us. We love you and miss you.

Frankie's baptism

Frankie
Frankie and her sisters
Our family with Elder Van Bruggen and Elder Cunha

We had a special day for Frankie the day after Thanksgiving. She was baptized. Usually our church baptize at the age of eight, but for reasons, Frankie chose to wait so that her dad could baptize her. So, she had to be taught by these wonderful missionaries and last Friday she was baptized. Frankie has always been ready. She knows these things are true. She has such a strong spirit and it's not only strong, but unfailing. She just knows things and there are no questions in her mind of the things that are true. We are so proud of her choice and that Louie was able to complete the ordinances. We were worried at first that he wouldn't be able to bring her back up out of the water, so we had back up.(Thanks Elder Cunha!) But he was able to and the day was just perfect.
p.s. We only have the picture of Elder Van Bruggen wearing a pink tie, but Elder Cunha wore a purple one because Frankie asked him to. they are such great guys!

Avascular Necrosis

So as many of you know Louie has for at least the last 8 months or so been suffering with what we first thought was arthritis. He went the doctors and they didn't find anything wrong...x-ray after x-ray.Then last month I went to a chiropractor because I was in severe pain and he helped me so much that I thought maybe he could help Louie. So he took an x-ray with Louie standing up and found that Louie had a broken hip. He also saw a dark spot and was concerned and said that we better get into a doctor soon. So we went back to the doctor and after an MRI and tests later...the good news was it wasn't cancer but a "disease" called Avascular Necrosis. He needed to have a hip replacement on his left hip and will need on again on his right. The left one is the worse one. The right isn't as bad.
On November 9th he had a hip replacement and is going to be out of work for the next few weeks to a month. So, I want to give a shout out to Grandma Maddie and Aunt Hazel now. They have been helping us in more ways then we can count and it means so much to us. We appreciate their sacrifices for our family. Thank you also to all of you that have called, brought in dinners, taken our kids places or practices or done anything to help us. We are grateful. We truly appreciate all the support. Louie is getting stronger everyday. His pain before the surgery was like a stabbing pain and now he is just getting his muscles back to normal. He is doing all he can to get himself well. So, there's the update. I wish I knew how to link info about Avascular Necrosis on here, but anyway go and google it. It is quite a interesting thing.

Happy Birthday Luke Joseph!#7

Wow! Seven years ago, I was told that I wasn't in labor and that I probably wouldn't have him that day. I knew different. Later that night, My contractions went from 2 mins apart on the drive to the hospital to 45 secs apart by the time we got there. We got there at 7:30 and he was born at 7:58. Things went fast! Luke is our only son and he everything I thought a boy would be. Here's 7 things that make Luke Luke:
1. He loves Stars Wars (ironic). He will ask you which character he should like, and you better know the character because if you don't he will school you about EACH one.
2.He draws the craziest pictures!
3. He was 8lbs 10oz when he was born
4.He apologizes very quickly when he has done something wrong and does not like when he gets in trouble, even if it something very minor.
5. He says that his favorite class at school is recess and his least favorite is singing.
6.He is sort named after Luke Skywalker ( dad used to say when he was in the belly the famous"Luke I am your father" and it stuck) and Luke from the Bible. Luke in the Bible, wrote most of the stories that we hear of when Jesus helped women.( I thought that was interesting since Luke would be surrounded by women)
7. He is a very thoughtful boy. Seriously, God could not have given us a more wonderful son. He can be quirky, crazy, loving, and compassionate all at one time!
Happy Birthday to our sweet angel baby boy!

Halloween 2010

The Lady Gaga pose....
Five wild and crazy kids
The inside of the massacre...
The pumpkins
even got a picture of Bella !
At the Valley of Fire Halloween carnival
And her majesty is the Queen of Hearts....she has taught Mattea to call her "majesty"...
Frankie is a beautiful genie.
Luke as Darth...he is his own father...
Mattea was a blue fairy The makeup I did... not too bad...
The diva squad

Homecoming 2010

W. Mack Lyon Student Council
There's our girl!
The truck coming around the corner! Here's where mama teared up...


Every year here in Overton the high school has their homecoming parade and they get the middle school involved as well. This year Bella was in it because she is part of the middle school student council. It was so fun to see her up there. They are always a crowd favorite because they are on the fire trucks and they throw candy. Who knows she might be in the parade next year too! Our team, Moapa Valley High School, the Pirates, won their game 42-6 against Boulder City, just in case you were curious...

Frankie's 9th birthday

Frankie is ready to make a wish
Gotta love turning 9!
The cake this year was funfetti with funfetti icing. Bella did the lettering.
This picture was the one that was on her cupcakes that we took for her class. the bakery at Lin's let's you bring in your SD card and print the picture on edible paper. It was so much fun to do! She is so excited to be nine!

Look what was over the house

Isn't that a great sign?

And here is Cecilia, getting ready to find gold under it....Bella encouraged her to go!

Happy Birthday Frankie!!!

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Francesca Suzanne is named after my friend Suzie for good reason. Just like Suzie, she energetic and full of the go-get -'em attitude. And today she turns nine! Frankie was born right after the terrorist attacks and so while I was in labor with her, the TV was on and people were watching the happenings of the world! She gave us a few scares before she was born, and prayer was a big part of her delivery. She broke her arm when she was 2. They had to reset her arm and then about 3 days later we went to the first visit, they couldn't see or hardly tell that the break had been that bad. She healed very quickly. She was more scared of the cast coming off then the actual breaking of the arm! She is fan-tas-tic at gymnastics, wonderful at school and is now excited to go to cheer classes every week. She loves to cuddle and give hugs. Funny facts: she is the EASIEST child to get to bed. Never argues and even puts herself to bed, sometime without us even knowing it! Also, when she was little her way of throwing a tantrum was to lay down on the ground stiff as a board and just be. Very dramatic and quiet... and now she nine! Happy Birthday Frankie! We are so blessed to have you be in our family!

Our wonderful man and the pain in the hip...

For at least, six months or so Louie has had terrible pain in his left hip. Went to the doctor, 2 times, went to the orthopedic surgeon assistant, had x-rays, had blood work...nothing. Finally this last week, I had severe back pain and went to a great chiropractor and he helped me so much that I said that "hey, maybe you can help my hubby." He took new x-rays and WHAM!! Louie has a broken hip. Not sure when it happened, or how it happened but for sure it did. Also they saw a spot that MAYBE it might be a tumor and that could have caused the break, but not sure. So we go to another doctor and yes there is a break and that they are going to schedule an MRI to get a better idea of what is going on. It has quite a wild last few days, but we so grateful that things are finally getting worked out and that we have so many people that are praying for Louie and our family. We know it is through faith and love and prayer that miracles can happen. More updates will be coming ....

Family dinner and the blue plate

Since there are 7 days in a week and we have 7 in our family, we have made it so that every one gets a say it what we have for dinner. Isabella's on Monday, Cecilia is on Tuesday, Frankie is Wednesday, Luke is Thursday, Mattea is Friday, Louie is on Saturday and mine is Sunday. This week we traded Frankie and Louie, so today she wanted home made pizzas. It is so fun to have everyone make their own. They had a great time. Then we stole this other idea of the blue plate. (I think that it might be a few of you out there that have this idea.) We have a blue plate and on the night of their dinner, they get to eat off the blue plate and tell us the best thing of their "blue plate" day. It is so fun to watch as they know it is their blue plate day and they get to have it. Dinnertime has been a lot more fun an experience and been back to the time that it should be. Just having our family share a meal. Course by the end of the week, my dinner is usually the left overs of everyone else's dinner, but hey then I don't have to cook! Just nuke 'em! Anyway it is fun to sit around as a family and enjoy that time together. And we are even trying to make some things from scratch....ok, I said some things...we are still learning, but at least not every night is a TV dinner. But, if it's Luke's night, we might be having that!...just on a blue plate...

The Good China

A few months back our nephew Brian introduced me to these noodles and they were sold in these plastic bowls. I just decided to keep them and use them. The other day I found this. Mattea somehow broke this "fabulous" piece of china and she fixed it. I think the bandaids add to the design. (Never a dull moment folks!)

Luke's first Soccer game

The first goal of the game scored by Luke's friend Stockton. Luke tried many times and finally scored the last goal. Their team had 3 goals!
Goal makers! Stockton, Luke and Tyler all scored for the team.
Luke playing hard
Listening to the coach
Figuring out the next play...or maybe just taking a break :)

So begins another sports season. Luke says he loves playing and he did great! It's so fun to see him enjoying this! He is on the King Cobra team (they came up with the name),or otherwise known as the yellow team. At first we weren't sure if he had scored a goal, but our friend assured us he had and Luke later confirmed it. He tried many more times to get a goal and came very close. So, now Thursdays are going to be soccer time! Go Team King Cobra!!