We have had a very good Christmas. We have had all of the family ... over to Desi and Tim's. Talk about crazy!
Every Christmas Tim fixes Christmas Breakfast for all of us.

It was nice just hanging out with family.

Even Bailee enjoyed herself.

She loves her auntie Desi ;

I got to talk with Justin on Christmas too. He is doing well but sure wishes people would write to him. He is afraid no one will remember him when he comes home. So if you are looking for something to do....please write to him.

...Kay Justin, I did my part ;)

Christmas Eve

I was just sitting back thinking how fast this year has gone. So much has changed in our lives but we have been so blessed. I love looking at the Christmas tree and just enjoy watching the lights at night. I think more today than earlier days because I know that the hustle and bustle of shopping is all over. Christmas will be here tomorrow if we are ready or not.

I have been blessed 'again' this Christmas season. If I could have one wish it would be that my kids are taken care of - and my wish came true.
(And they thought it was all about them) ;0
Thank you all who have watched over and cared for my precious family.

Now I can relax and do the traditional Christmas puzzle as Jed.....yes, plays on his little tracker.

I do have to show you one of my Christmas gifts that I opened up early. I did have permission. Doris got me these slippers. I LOVE THEM! They are in door out door slippers.

Mmmmm sounds like Jed needs some...He just came in and said his feel are wet. Mine aren't

tee hee...

Merry Christmas everyone!

I am so glad that we are on break. I know I only work part time but.....it was time to just stay home and not have to deal with the kids in the halls.
My break started out good. We won our sophomore and JV games here in Tooele....YEAH! We lost our Varsity game by 6 points - but it was such a close game. I was so proud of those girls. They played with everything they had. It was such a close game.

Saturday was one of those days that I should not have started. First we had the clogged drain and had to have Roto Rooter come out. Then, I washed my MP3 player :( Then, I lost my ribbon off the back of my car as I was driving to the post office. So why did I put the ribbon on the back of my car? It was just one of those days!

I was so glad to see my sister and brother in-law Chuck & Jim. It has been so long since we have visited. They came at such a good time. Jed has been sick and I have been feeling sorry for my self. What a good pick me up! We both got blessings and I realized how selfish and materialistic I was being. I have been counting my blessings ever since, starting with what a great family I have come from. Heavenly Father has been so mindful of me! How could I not be grateful for everything He has done for me.

Then Sunday came. 1st off, I was excited because we were going in to our old ward :)
I really miss our ward. We have some good people here but it's just not the same. The spirit was so strong. The talks and music were amazing. It was so nice to be back. It might be the last time for a while since Jed will soon....have a calling. Stay toned
The reason we went in to Magna was for a Birthday party for Franny. This is Angelina's baby girl. She just turned 6.
Desi has been so good to entertain the family at her house.
Briggs liked the cake and the camara.

Zoee has lost another tooth. I can't believe how fast she is growing up.

Well now I am going to sit back and enjoy the holiday. We don't have another game until the 29th. Maybe I will get all my scrapbook stuff out of storage and do something fun for the next few weeks. Or...do my visiting teaching. Oh yea, I finally got some sisters to visi :) Believe it or not, I have missed that too.

Fundraising for Cyprus Girls Basketball Team

Our Basketball team is in need of some $$. I really hate fundraisers where you buy the cookie dough and only $2 goes to the school. I love that Coach Adams feels the same so.....we are asking for donations. All the money goes to the Girls Basketball team. We are in the hole $10,000.00. Even $1 will help out. If you know anyone who would be willing to help, please pass this letter on.


12/2009
Dear Potential Cyprus Benefiter,
As members of the Cyprus community, we would like to thank you for your interest in assisting the current members of Cyprus High School. If you are a parent with a child who attends Cyprus, you already have a vested interest in the high school. If you’re Cyprus alum, then you are familiar with its situation. With this letter, we address the hope we hold that in the future we can continue to receive help in all of its many forms so that we can better prepare our students for the future.
We, the girl’s basketball coaching staff at Cyprus High, are asking for your help to better the team’s situation. As a new staff, we have dedicated our time and efforts to establishing a solid girl’s basketball program in Magna, something the school hasn’t seen since Coach Erin Tanner (now our Athletic Director) went to the state tournament in 2003. In the mere six years since Coach Tanner stepped down from coaching, Cyprus has gone through five different girls’ basketball coaches, an unstable and difficult situation for the team. Josh Adams, our current coach, has not only been a strong and steady part of the Cyprus community for the last three years, but has made several very positive changes in the lives of its students. From taking a debate team of one member to that of 80 members in two years to coordinating with three different high schools to raise over $30,000 for the Save Darfur Project, Coach Adams has been actively involved with Cyprus and its students. He believes in them and in this community. We are confident he can inspire the Cyprus Lady Pirates to greater heights and lead the team to victory.
Sadly, the team and staff have inherited some of the problems left from previous years. We have been victims of vandalism and thievery in our own high school. Equipment has been abused and stolen. Brand new uniforms have been taken. Old debts have been laid upon us. All of this has put the program in a financial hole before the season even begins.
Because of all this, we turn to you. We are requesting the aid of anyone who can financially help out our girl’s basketball program. Our goal is to raise $10,000 to replace all of the uniforms and equipment that were stolen, as well as pay for some items that should have been provided in previous years. Having this equipment will help to unity and inspire our team and provide us with the means to truly succeed this year and in the future. With all of the activities we have planned for this summer (including camps which will be open to anyone who is interested), we will have the resources to solidify the program each subsequent year, but for this season, we are forced to rely on anyone who can lend a helping hand.
Payment can made by cash, check (payable to Cyprus High School), or on our website. We recommend using the website. You’ll be able to print off a receipt for tax purposes as you make the donation online. Visit our website:
http://www.graniteschools.org/hs/cyprus/cyprusonline/
At the bottom of the page, click on ‘Web Store’ (as you mouse over it, ‘pay fees online’ will appear). For the login, use the user name 1234 and the password gbasketball. There will be a basketball icon entitled girls basketball donations. Just enter the amount in, add to cart, checkout, and print off your receipt.
We appreciate your interest in our program and in our school. Together we hope to build and sustain relationships that will help our girls succeed not only in sports but in life after high school as well.
Sincerely,
The Cyprus High School Girls Basketball Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Joshua Adams
Assistant Coaches: Aaron Riedthaler, Kristina Anderson, Sonja Richardson

Basketball Pictures

We are in the pre-season of basket ball and as far as the score goes....ummm we won't even talk about that. I will let you know when we do win. Wait.....we did win one JV game so far but anyways,
Our girls are the cutest, funnest girls to be around. To think that these girls here will be graduating in 6 months makes me sad.
I have adopted (or I continue to threaten) this girl. She has lived in foster care for about 14 years of her life. Yes, she will too be graduating but I will still adopt her.

I had to laugh as I was taking these pictures, someone said "wouldn't it be funny if these pictures turned up on facebook" mmmmm....little do they know ;)

The middle girl in the picture below is the funnest girl to watch play. She always has a smile on her face and apologizes when she may hurt another teams player. If you come to one of our games, watch her! She is worth watching.

Like I said, we have some of the cutest girls! Tia, the smallest one...is one tough cookie. I don't think I would mess with her ;)

Here again are my girls.

Check out Lori, always a smile on her face.

Here are the coaches and me.

Sophmore team with Coach Anderson

Junior Varsity team with Coach Reed.

Varsity team with Coach Adams

Wish them luck if you happen to see them walk by. They are the BEST!

Have you ever started your day and nothing seems to go right? Well that is how my day started. Derrik came up and said that he had no hot water. I told him to use ours and then came to find out that we had no hot water or water coming out of our taps. Call me spoiled! I like hot running water in the morning.
I tried to call Jed and he did not answer his phone. That just went along with my day. So I jumped on the computer and looked it up to find out that it was most likely "our hot water heater" was frozen. Oh yea.
Jed finally called me back and told me what I needed to do. I got a heater and put it out side (oh yea....I did say out side) on top of our water heater and closed it up.
Did I tell you that it got to -3 out here last night?
I turned on the hot water in the house, well no water was running so it was like off and went in to feel sorry for my self. You know, one of those HEAVENLY FATHER, PLEASE HELP ME! moments that I have had so many times .....(by the way, this is not our water heater...I got it off of flickr to make it a little more dramatic)
And right at that moment.......I heard water running, yes out of the faucet. It was almost like He was sitting and waiting for me to ask Him for help. No pipes burst! Everything was fine. Oh how grateful I am and then.....a hot bath - yeah! But then it kept coming, almost like He was reminding me that He is very mindful of what we are going through at this time. I got to talk to my 'best friend' from school (Cyprus) who just got sent away. I get way too attached to those stinkin kids at school.....but that story is for another day.
Some sweet people came over and gave Derrik and his family Christmas. Tysen was so excited to see Santa.

He had a big red bag full of presents for his family.

Tysen didn't really know what to think but he liked Santa.

Some of these are blurry...sorry. I had to add them.
He got to look inside his stocking.

Funny thing is he was happy with the candy. Hey, we could all save some money ;)
Tysen ran up and gave Santa a big hug.

I asked Tysen how Santa came, did he bring his reindeer?

Tysen ran to the window to see if he could see them but they must have been on the roof.

To those sweet angels that took care of this family....drove all the way from the north pole "or so it must have seemed" Thank you from the bottom of my heart! You touched my heart tonight.

How blessed we are to have angels like you.

Just look at all the gifts that they left.

Derrik was so worried about how he was going to get anything for his kids this year.

Now ... this is what you missed when you left our home....

Oh yea, Dad checking out the stockings.
He was so excited when he pulled out the toothpaste. I know this is blurry but I had to add it. He had just ran out. Amazing how things like that are a great gift after having to buy it with your own money.

He was like a little kid in the candy store.

It was so funny to me because he acted like it was no big thing while Santa was here but when he left......it was another story.

For a day that started out to be such a bad day, I am now going to bed feeling very blessed. Thank you again for being so good to my family. You will all be in my prayers tonight.

Hope you have a Merry Christmas.

Yesterday was Ron's birthday and here I thought it was today. Good thing he is young enough that he wont remember...Sorry Des, I still love you!!! (long story for another day)

He is now 3 years old. He looked so nice all cleaned up and in his new clothes. This little boy has more energy, no wait....maybe as much energy as his cousin Evva. I can't believe how fast they grow. The night that he was born, we had Timmy with us out here in Tooele working while Heather was trying to call him to say she was going to the hospital. Yea, he missed it.
Tim (father) needed help this weekend moving, so Timmy (son) asked me if I would watch the boys over night. I don't think I have ever kept them over night with out their dad.
It has been fun having them. I am sure that Timmy and Angelina needed a break away from all the kid, even if it was to go help Tim move.

We have this 'Big' mirror in our dinning room. We have laughed so hard while eating with our grand kids as they watch themselves in the mirror while we try to talk to them. See, Evva isn't so bad....Isaiah does it too. I had to take a picture. Kid's just love to watch themselves in the mirror.

For my birthday Jed made me 2 picture frames to hang in my TV room. I love them. We only have one hung so far 'with no pictures' but I wanted to show them off. He did such a nice job on them. I will take more pictures when we get them all done and hung with pictures.

We have had such a nice Thanksgiving weekend. We spent Thanksgiving at Desi and Tim's. Dinner was sooo good! We had everyone but Jeddy this year. We were to bring the turkey but our freezer is so small that we had to wait to buy the turkey. So on Wednesday we went out and guess what....no turkeys. We finally went to Maceys and someone at the store ran into Salt Lake to get more turkeys. After waiting for about a half hour, they finally came and we went home. When we got to Tim and Desi's house.....we forgot the turkey. Oh yea. Tim had got one from work so we ate his turkey.

Friday morning Desi and I did the Black Friday shopping. It was so much fun. I don't really go for anything but to spend time and make memories. Which I did. I love spending time with Des.

Saturday we decided that we had to cook the turkey so we had the Jone's over for dinner. Then we had somores for dessert.

It was fun. Briggs liked them

but it got stuck on his hand. We laughed so hard.

he would shake and shake and it still would not come off.

All in all it was fun.

Look what I got :) Tim and Des got me a area rug.....I love it. I would keep the kids on top too.

To top it off...we went and saw "Blind Side" Very Very good!!!! A must see.
Hope everyone had a good thanksgiving.

This weeks progress report

Last week Andrew, Mike and Sam made 'normal' stairs for our back door which is so nice. I am sure that our neighbors are loving the fact that they do not have to hear us leave each morning as we walked down the ramp. I am loving them! .... the pink house will stay pink til spring. Yes, I am counting down.
This week Craig, Chad and Matt came and helped with our front steps. It will be nice to be able to use our front door where we don't have to worry if the stairs would collapse. Thank you guys for coming up 'again' and helping on a busy Saturday.

When they took off the old wood, we used our fire pit to burn up all the bad wood. It has been burning all day and it is still going. The wood is almost gone. It has been cold out side today so I have been standing by the fire to get worm.

Thank you so much to all that have come and helped. I am so blessed to be a part of such a grate family.

And for the inside....Desi made my sign to hang. We are truly blessed!