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!