Kenadee's Christmas Letter 2009

I have had this tradition of writing a holiday poem for

many many years.

The past few years it has been 'Kenadee's Christmas Letter'

It is something I love to do (sometimes is takes a few days for my creative mind to start working) and I have family and friends tell me how much they enjoy it. so here it is...

'Twas the weeks before Christmas and all through our home,

Dad is putting up lights, Mom and I are writing a poem.

It has been a good year spending time with my family,

We laugh and we play just Mom, Dad and Kenadee.

I learned to ride a bike and got my ears pierced too,

I am taking gymnastics, and learning to tie my own shoe.

Dad got me a barbie jeep, for himself he got a big one.

Our motto now is 'got rock?' going jeepin' is a lot of fun.

I started kindergarten, I love my teacher and my class.

We read and we write, and even do some math!

I have this friend Charlotte, she is a ghost you see.

She travels and has babies, of course she is imaginary!

I ask a lot of questions like who, why and what.

My parents give me the answers, sometimes i think they make them up.

Mom and Dad are working hard, at their jobs day and night,

taking care of their little girl and raising me right.

My parents say they love me more than I could ever know.

They are proud of their princess and our love continues to grow.

I keep adding more toys to my Christmas wish list.

Like barbies, dolls and games and a nintendo DS.

We are grateful for so much this beautiful holiday season.

Like family, friends and loved ones, and let us not forget the true reason.

Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem and the birth of baby Jesus.

How He lives in our hearts and loves each and every one of us.

May the true gifts of Christmas be yours this year.

We all send our love to family and friends so dear.

We pray that your holiday is jolly and bright,

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!!

hugs and kisses

Kenadee

pumpkins

sorry friends...i forgot to post this cute little saying that kenadee got for a trick or treat from my moms friend.

a little girl was asked,

"what is it like to be one of God's children?"

she replied, "it is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from a patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes all the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed. then He carves you a smiling face and puts his light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

i thought is was cute and wanted to share it.

fall fun...

i love this time of year...the cool air (not cold!!), sweaters, carving pumpkins, candy...trick-or-treating, the smell of apples and pumpkin, a warm bowl of homemade soup, the thought of thanksgiving and Christmas, sitting next to a fire, and snuggling with my favorite people...and so much more. i hope you are all enjoying this time of year!!! i am so grateful for the wonderful blessings i have!!!

rainbow princess jillian, vampire kenadee, cowgirl julles (aka bffs!!!) kenadee and our carved jack-o-lanterns

my cute little vampire princess

gothic vampire mom and princess vampire kenadee...so much fun to dress up!!!

fall fun cont'...

more pictures...

kindergarten state of mind

my friend Deena gave me a birthday card many years ago that said:

everything you need to know you learned in kindergarten...

'boys are stupid'!!!

now that my cute little kenadee is in kindergarten i am sure she thinks that sometimes. but i hope she learns more in kindergarten than that. i saw this outside her class room and i loved it. hope you enjoy it too!!!

everything i needed to know...by Robert Fulgham

most of what i really need to know about how to live, what to do, and how to be, i learned in Kindergarten.

Kindergarten State of Mind

share everything.
play fair.
put things back where you found them.
clean up your own mess.
don't take things that aren't yours.
say your sorry when you hurt somebody.
wash your hands before you eat.
flush.
warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
live a balanced life. learn some, and think some, and draw some, and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
take a nap every afternoon.
when you go out into the world, watch for traffic; hold hands and stick together.
be aware of wonder. remember the little seed in the plastic cup. the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why; but we are all just like that seed.
goldfish and hamsters and white mice, and even the little seed in the plastic cup--they all die.
and so do we.
and then, remember, the "Sam Books", and the first word you learned--the biggest word of all--LOOK!!
everything you need to know is in there somewhere...
apply any of those items to your family life or your work or your government or your world and the hold true and clear and firm.
and it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world; it is best to hold hands and stick together.

kenadee's first day of school...kindergarten!!!

yes i know i am a week or so late on this post. i see all of my friends' blog with their adorable children with backpacks bigger than they are, standing in line for the bus or walking into the school. well now it is my turn to share my first day of school...

we can't start school with out a 'back to school' hair cut. and kenadee said, 'lets just do it at home mom, it will be much quicker that way.' so we did her kindergarten haircut on the bathroom counter!! pretty cute don't you think!!??

this is at 'back to school night'. kenadee is now a 'panda' at providence elementary. this is 'oreo' their mascot. oreo stands for: outstanding reader at every oppurtunity!!

our little tradition we started in pre-school. i always color a heart on her hand so if she gets nervous or scared she can see the heart and remember how much i love her. she also colors one on my hand to...'so you will remember me'!!!

of course the 'back pack' picture!!!

waiting for the bus with her best friend jillian. notice mike in the background, what a great daddy he is!!! standing in line waiting for the bus was a lot of fun. seeing all the kids so excited for school. we have about 20 kids or more at our bus stop and about 7-10 are kindergarteners!!! all the moms were holding back tears...but as soon as the bus drove off with our precious children inside to begin their big adventure of school, the tears fell...

i still can't believe my little girl is growing up so quick.

we always tell her,

'no matter how big you get, you will always be our little girl'

our birthday girl

so many memories come back to us on this day...what an amazing day, or as kenadee would say, 'the best day of my entire life'. the day our little girl was born was the best day of our life!!! it is hard to believe that it was 5 years ago!!! we are the luckiest parents to have kenadee as our daughter. we are so proud of her. what a beautiful, smart, fun, energetic, sassy too, and sweet little lady she is becoming!!

she is 5...of course she wants a

'hannah montana' birthday cake!!!
and the movie!!!

make a wish...
her wish was that 'everyone in our house would be a family for always!!'

thanks to:
whitney and erik. for giving us the greatest gift of all.
for making our wishes, prayers and dreams come true.
kenadee for being our best little girl,
and bringing such a happy spirit to our home.
we feel so blessed that God has given us so much...especially our family!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KENADEE
WE LOVE YOU!!!

learning to ride...

well this post is long over due...as of july 24th kenadee is riding her bike with out training wheels. we helped her as much as she would let us, but then it was all her and we couldn't even touch the bike!!! all of the sudden she was off, in a left turn circle!!!

she could only turn left, and could not go down the sidewalk. and when she did try the sidewalk it was like a drunk bicyclist!!! i think it was too narrow, she needed more room (like the road!!)

she was so excited to wake up her daddy (he was on graveyards) to show him her big accomplishment. and what a proud daddy he was!!!

we were worried with the new barbie jeep she wouldn't want to ride her bike, well...all she wants to do is 'ride her bike without training wheels'. she is doing much better and learned quickly how to turn right, and to go down the sidewalk...straight!!! she has crashed a couple of times and has scrapes and bruises but she says that is part of riding a bike!!!

her favorite thing to say is...'i can't believe i got my ears pierced (still), and i can ride my bike without training wheels.' and this week it is the above with 'i can't believe i start kindergarten in 2 days, and it is my birthday in 4 days and i will be 5!!'

mom and dad can't believe it either!!! our little girl turning 5 years old, riding the bus, going to school, growing up...

hApPy BirThdAY...DEENA

today is my friend deena's birthday...so here is a little

HapPy BirThDaY to DeEnA!!

we have been friends since about 5th or 6th grade!!! we would walk to school together in middle and junior high...we were pretty good kids. then we went into high school...we were still pretty good kids we just started sluffing a little bit. there were 3 of us, keri, deena and shay. i won't mention how many times we sluffed and went to springville...and got caught!!! and how deena could make up an excuse or reason why we were there to the principal!!! i won't say what deena did in the mcdonalds bathroom!!! but i will say that we had a great time!!

deena...thanks for being such an incredible friend over the years.

celebrate big, eat a lot of birthday cake...and wish BIG!!! i hope your day is filled with many bright and happy moments!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY FRIEND!!!

love ya!!!

12 years and counting...

july 18th 1997 mike and i said 'i do' at sherwood hills resort surrounded by family and friends. what and incredible day...and here we are 12 years later!!!

my tradition is wearing my veil on our anniversary. mike thought i was a little crazy the first year but he looks forward to now every year!!! i can't imagine spending my life with any other man than mike. he is my soulmate, my true love, he gives me strength and compassion, love and respect. we have become stronger over the years. i never thought i could love anyone like i loved mike the day we married, but i have to admit...i love him more now!!!

this 'kissing' picture was taken by our little sweet heart...kenadee!!!

oh how our life has changed in 12 years...kenadee has brought a whole new meaning to the word 'love'. our family became complete with the addition of her!!!
of course, kenadee wants to wear my veil and asks about it on occasion (since last year when i got it out to wear it). i told her someday when se gets big and gets married, maybe whe will want to wear 'mommys veil'

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MICHAEL!!! you have made me the happiest, luckiest and most loved girl ever!!! heres to us and 12 years and many, many more!!!

I LOVE YOU!!!

FRIENDSHIP PARTY

what an event...finally kenadee's friendship party was here. she has been waiting and waiting for this day (sometimes patient, sometimes not!!). we had a total of 13 girls. the girls made 'friendship bracelets' for a craft project.

(i didn't get a pic of them making the bracelets...i was serving up some jell-o). they also got to smash a pinata full of candy and toys, which sydney was the one to break it!! we had snacks, and jell-o, and princess rings and a whole lotta FUN!!!

taylor, kenna, brielle, jillian, paige,julles, reagan, grace, lindsey, halle, sydney, & kenadee

(you may be able to see the cute bracelets they made)

they ran through the sprinklers and played on the slip & slide...

what great little friends...julles, jillian, reagan

picture time...in no paticular order we have

halle, taylor, kenadee, jillian, julles, sydney, paige, grace, reagan, lindsey, brenley, & kenna.

friendship party cont...

after the pinata...

just chillin'...having some candy
my great helpers...
madison (my niece) and her bf brooke

mmmmm...jello!!!

we had a fantastic time. i might have to make this a summer tradition. thanks to all of kenadee's friends for being a part of her party. you are the best. and to the moms...thank you for having wonderful girls and being my friend too!!!

ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR SUMMER!!!

what a great sport...

kenadee has wanted to paint her daddy's toes for quite sometime...

and he let her!!! what a fun daddy she has...don't you think??!! i wonder what the guys at work will say, or the neighbors when he is out walking with flip-flops on!!!

hey dad's...kenadee is available for toenail painting. colors available: pink and purple with sparkles!!!

the NEW jeep...

i guess some body in the family has to have one...

who would have thought...

i never would have thought that my little princess would be doing THIS...




our neighbor up the street has caught many snakes, this one is a 'gopher snake'. he says they are harmless...but to me a snake is a snake is a snake...eeks!!!!





she had the slimey thing wrapped around her arm like a piece of jewelry!!!!










he also has this dragon lizard, (i think that is what it is called) its name is marshall and he is shedding...kenadee liked to peel the skin off like a sunburn...again, eeks!!!








the snake was also starting to shed. they have not named it yet, kenadee suggested lizzy.









kenadee said it felt wierd, and his tongue tickled her arm. and now she wants to go and hold the snake again. i am not too sure about this...my daughter has NO fear!!! (other than learning to ride her bike without training wheels...any suggestions??!!)

and the winner is...

nucors annual lagoon day...

we had a family craft day a few weeks ago to make kenadee's safety poster for lagoon day. we have made a few of these posters in the past, every child who makes a poster receives a $5-$10 gift certificate...but the winners get something bigger. we have wanted to win and this year it was our turn...

KENADEE WON FIRST PLACE!!!!!

the safety slogan we came up with was...

there is only one way home from work...

the safe way!!!!

mike helped out a lot and cut out ALL of the safety equipment...glasses, hard hat etc!!!

we really had a fun time making it together as a family. kenadee was so excited when we saw the blue ribbon. (i think i was even more excited!!!!)

for making a poster kenadee got $10, and for winning

1st place she got a

$200 savings bond!!! wow...thanks nucor!!!

yes...she was soooo excited!!!!

after the safety poster prizes they have a drawing for the employees at nucor. mike has not won in quite sometime (actually the only time he has won since we have been married is about 10 years ago and it was $50!!) they were giving away $100, $200, $250 and one $500 in cash!!! mike was the big winner...

$500 cash to MIKE MUMM!!!

kenadee went on many rides, and yes...

dad and mom went on the kiddy rides too!!

she was very aware of safety this year (maybe it was the poster!!).

she asked about seat belts, how high, when does it stop, and more.

but she was our brave little girl and had a great time!!!

our favorite was rattlesnake rapids.

mike was the winner on this ride...

he got the most wet!!!

what an incredible day we had as a family...

we celebrated our winnings at tapenyaki (not sure how you spell it)

with some friends, sushi and japanese grill!!! yummmmyyyyy!!!!

one of our best days this summer!!!

hope all of you are enjoying your summer with family and friends...

be safe and have FUN!!!

FuN sUmMer DaYs...FinAlLy

summer is finally here...i hope!!!

it has been a very busy week; family reunion, my birthday and fathers day.

here are our latestest adventures...enjoy!!

my delicious birthday cupcakes from the one and only, miss emily merkley. (if you have not tried her cupcakes you are missing out!!)

no pics of my birthday and the reunion...it was misrable in the rain, rain and more rain!!!

fathers day pictures...my tradition every year is to take kenadee's pictures and put them in this little frame for her daddy...here are a few.

my favorite...isn't she beautiful??!!

self portrait!!

and of course always one sitting on the bench