Dear Santa,

I need a little help this year getting into the Christmas spirit. I don't know if it's working retail, or just life, that has left me out in the cold. I have always loved everything about Christmas. But, this year...yikes! I don't even have the Christmas tree up yet and I think I have cursed the lights too many times to count. We are one of the only houses on the street with no lights or decorations on our house and Sarah thinks it is really embarrassing, and quite a travesty. I don't really want to dig out all the decorations out. But, I have to, because I am the mom and Christmas is for kids and I want my kids to be happy. I want my kids to have a happy, warm, good Christmas that they will remember. I am supposed to go to Sarah's class and share a family Christmas tradition. We don't have any traditions! The only thing they remember about last year was the car catching on a fire....now, there's a story. I know this is all very trivial, and lots of people have much more important needs, I was just hoping you could send me a little extra love this year. Because, truly Santa I need you and I still believe in you!

No, he's not Jibberish...

So, Sarah got a dreidel game at school today (interesting because we of where we live) and we were playing it tonight. Dave was spinning the dreidel as well as anyone has ever spun a dreidel and Ethan asked him if he had ever played before. Dave said, "No, I'm not Jewish." A few minutes later after Ethan had gotten the spinning down Dave asked him if he had ever played dreidel before. Sarah said "No Dad, he's not Jibberish". We laughed so much. It was cute! I love my babies!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Pumpkin Patch Fun...

We had fun at the pumpkin patch with our friends,The Perrins'.  We love their family so much and we love to play with them. 

Sarah, Celeste, Alaina, Zach, Ethan  

Hey Tooth Fairy....

Sarah lost her first tooth on Thurs. Oct. 2 at 8:30 pm.  It was really quite exciting and it didn't even hurt when Dad "flipped" it out with his thumb.   She was very excited, but said she didn't really like the taste of blood in her mouth.   Silly girl - she was cute.  The tooth fairy did not disappoint and with three more loose teeth the tooth fairy may have to get a part-time job to keep up.  :)

one of my favorite pictures....

So, I am a little bored and I don't have anything exciting to post.  I had to repost this picture because I love it so much.  Sarah and Grandpa.  We were at Shoshone Falls one day in the summer of 2005 (Sarah was 3) with Grandma and Grandpa,  and Sarah jumped out of the car and grabbed Grandpa's hand.  Anyone that knows my Dad, knows he has BIG hands and Sarah is just so little.  This was the summer after my Dad's heart surgery and a year before his kidney transplant.  We are so thankful that he pulled through both surgeries and is doing so well now.   We love him so much.  He is a one of the good guys and a wonderful father and grandpa.    

We have been tagged...

This fun game is to go to the fourth folder in your pictures folders and post the fourth picture.  This pictures is Ethan  a few day befor  Christmas 2007 - we opened all our presents at home before heading to Granny's house in Lovell.  Sarah had just opened her camera and this was one of the first pictures she took.  I tag Birgitta, Jen, Melissa, and Gaylee.  If you don't want to do this, I don't care.  :)

Random Conversation with Ethan....

Ethan:  Mom, they don't have fireworks in Texas

Me:  Really, how come?

Ethan:  Because there is no grass to sit on to watch the fireworks.   In Texas they only have sand. 

Having never been to Texas, I don't know where this came from or how this idea got into his little head, but I had a good laugh.

Ethan's 4 year old pictures

Ethan turned 4 in August and he is so handsome.  He loves gymnastics, Disney Cars, riding his bike, his family.  His best friend is Sarah.   He says the funniest things and makes us laugh.  We love him so much.

Sarah's 6 year old pictures

Sarah turned 6 in May and she is adorable.  She loves art, gymnastics, school, her family.   She is a great sister to Ethan.   She has 3 loose teeth (finally).  She is a sweetheart and we love her so much!

Back On-Line

I am trying to get back on line and into blogging again.  Here is a recap of the past few months.

Tha cat (Joey) went away in May when he decided to attack Dave (after several visits to the E.R. and IV home therapy for a week, his hand is much better). Who knew cat bites could be so infectious and deep? 

Sarah and Ethan took swimming lessons in the summer and both did really well.  We went to the pool quite a bit and Sarah loved loved the slides....even the big one.  Of course, I didn't take any pictures.  Sarah took a craft class at the library and LOVED it....She loves art and anything crafty....unfortunately for her, I just see all that stuff as a big mess to clean up, but I am working in being a little more laid back.  We went to Lovell the last weekend of June to see Dave's family and go to his 20 year class reunion.  Lucky for us, we got to sit by the drunk guy at the dinner...always interesting.  We had a lot of fun.  We always love to go see Granny and Papa and all our family in Wyoming.  And, thankfully our car didn't catch on fire...yea!  (Ethan is pretty traumitized and still worries about this anytime we go on a trip).  Sarah and Ethan are also both still in gymnastics and they love it.  Ethan is actually very good and goes twice a week now... Sarah is more passionate about it wants to go twice a week, but it's so hard to do when she is in school.  Ethan is very athletic and strong and very competitive. I think he will do well at anything he wants to do.   We moved to Spanish Fork in July and I hope we don't have to move too often in our lives, because it sucks.   But, we love living in a house and having more space - garage, basement, yard.  We miss our friends in Provo a ton and it's hard to start over in a new wardand neighborhood.

We went to Idaho Falls in August to a Dance Family Reunion.  It was a lot of fun to see a lot of people I don't really know (and they are my relatives).  But we had a great time with my brothers and sisters and their families.

Dave switched companies and now works for Primary Residential Mortgage.  He loves it and is really busy and likes working from home.  We like it too.  

Sarah started school on Aug. 20.  She loves school and is doing really well.  She has made lots of friends and comes home happy everyday.  I cannot believe she is in first grade and goes to school all day.  We miss her a lot.  Ethan goes to preschool 2x a week and he loves it.  We found a great preschool here - a lady in our ward, who is also the Primary Chorister.  She has  tons of energy and creativity.  Okay, I think I will end this novel for now.  On a side note and speaking of novels, I very much liked and enjoyed Breaking Dawn, last book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer.  

Apparantly, I have blogger's block or I just lack the motivation to post anything new right now.  I took the kids to the Zoo on Monday.  We met Aunt Monica, Merlin, and Trevor there and we had a great time.  Today Ben is going to take us for a ride in his airplane and we are very excited.  I will post some pictures tomorrow.  

Ethan's famous face

Need I say more?

Sarah Singing...

Sarah had her singing program at school last week. She had fun, but was exhausted when it was all over. The program was 1 1/2 hours long and they did it 4 times in 3 days. These pictures are not very close, but she is in the front row, pink shirt, denim skirt, arms folded. Cute Sarah singing her heart out. We love her so much and are so thankful she is part of our family.

I had my gall bladder removed yesterday. I am very sore and tired. The Doc found a stone the size of a marble in there that didn't show up on the ultrasound. I felt like I couldn't breathe and it hurt bad when I woke up. I think I was kind of hysterical - the nurse used the word "anxious". I can't remember, except that I felt wierd and scared. Dave is such a good husband and he took care of me all night. I don't think either of us slept more than a few hours. He is a great daddy and helped the kids all day and all night, too. I think we are going to survive.

a little of this.. a little of that...

So, I am having a "Cholecystectomy" next Wednesday. (Just a fancy word for gall bladder surgery). It should be fun. It will be most exciting not to have any more gall bladder attacks and all the pain and vomiting that come with it.

And, I finally got released from being the Nursery leader, and guess what my new calling is.... Cub Scouts... am I serious, you ask. Why yes I am. I am blaming Dave for not holding his hand up and opposing the calling. :) I know absolutely nothing about Scouts. I guess I will learn A LOT and then maybe have a jump start to help Ethan get through it when he turns 8.

My camera broke, so I will have to use Sarah's to take some pictures until we get a new one. Or maybe I will post some more of her pictures because she loves taking them.

that's all for now!

"The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Is The Hand That Rules The World" by William Ross Wallace

This is a special post dedicated to my mommy. It's been 20 years ago today that she passed away, and I miss her. It is devastating to lose a parent or loved one at any age. And even thought life does go on, it affects you for the rest of your life. Most days I feel grateful for my blessings and family and all that I have here on earth. But some days, I feel cheated because I didn't get to know my mom as an adult and I don't get to spend time with her and she doesn't know and love my babies or my wonderful husband. Some days, I feel mad because it's really just not fair. I have a great dad and a truly wonderful stepmother and I love them both, but I still miss her everyday. My mom was very patient and kind and I know that she loved me. I only remember her getting really upset with me one time. I think of that every time I get frustrated with Sarah and Ethan and I know she probably would have had a lot more patience than me and it helps me to be better. I think of all the trials she went through in her life, and how she endured with a beautiful smile on her face. She never gave up on people or life or things. She loved unconditionally. And, I know she still loves us and wants us to be happy. I know I will see her again and our family is eternal, and that is what makes it all bearable.

Ethan got his first buzz haircut on Monday. He is really really cute. He thinks the best part is that he doesn't have to wash or comb his hair.

Cosmo

It's kind of wierd to post a picture of your car... but, here you go...

Some Christmas Pictures...

UPDATES....

So, I have discovered that I am really not that great at blogging...though I have the best intentions, I truly am a procrastinator. We are all well in the The Doerr house. As some of you know, we had the most exciting Christmas adventure. Tre Cool... our most beloved Toyota Camry... caught on fire on the way to Granny's house in Wyoming. We got most of our stuff, including the children and car seats out before Mr. Wyoming Highway Patrol started screaming at Dave to get away from the car because it was going to blow up. (Seriously, has he never watched Myth Busters. Cars only blow up in the movies.) Tre Cool completely burned ...melted to the highway...I would have taken pictures, but my camera was in a big pile with all the other stuff. So, we got to ride in the ambulance (no one was hurt) to Basin where Heidi and Bret picked us up and took us to Lovell. We could never thank everyone that helped us enough.... especially the first guy (I can't remember his name) who stopped and helped and called 911...the Manderson fire dept., the Basin search and rescue guys who gathered all our stuff of the highway, Bret and Heidi for picking us up, Granny and Papa for letting us stay with them for a week and Granny for bringing us back to Provo. So, we bought a new car on New Years Eve and we love it. I will post a picture of Cosmo (that's his name) soon.