in memory of rachelle

what a day...kenadee and i drove down to spanish fork to attend my cousins funeral. it was a small graveside service with many family and friends. i am sure none of you know my cousin, i have to say i didnt really know her either. but way back when...when we were just kids, rachelle and i were together a lot. she was only 6 months older than me and we had some fun times at grandma and grandpa hansens. we played in the chicken coops, at the farm, we played in the leaves and ran around the big tree in the front yard. we played for hours on grandma and grandpas porch. we tried to catch water skeeters (is that what they are really called or is that what we called them???) we picked apricots in the loader of grandpas tractor, and we went all the way through the fields to pick plums. and somewhere out there is a picture of us when we could not wait for the other to go to the bathroom (grandma only had one bathroom with 6 kids!!!)...yes we are both sitting on the toilet going 'potty'!!! we had many incredible times together with each other and with other cousins!!! i honestly cant remember the last time i saw rachelle. we both went in different directions in life. i really wish i could have known her more. she had some really tough times in her life and i wish things could have been better for her. i am so thankful to know that she is in a much better place, with God. and i know with all of my heart that our grandma and grandpa were there for her with open arms to welcome her to heaven.

after a long day we finally got settled in to bed and ready for prayers. it was kenadees turn and she starts her prayer like always, soon after she says, 'mom i have to ask you something, what was your cousins name?' so i tell her, 'rachelle'. then she continues...'bless mommies cousin rachelle in heaven. and that she met my grandma c. even though i didnt know her long, she was a great friend. (kenadee had not met rachelle!!) she finished her prayer and i had tears going down my cheeks. how thoughtful and beautiful was her prayer. i had thought to myself earlier that i would 'add' a little something to her prayer about rachelle and our family. i didnt need to, she did it all on her own. i am so proud of my little girl. especially that she knows about heaven, Jesus, and God. i am so grateful for prayer time as a family. being with my family today, i feel so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. family and friends and so many loved ones. i pray that rachelle always knew the love that her family had for her.

rachelle you will be missed.

before...

well...if you have been reading my blog you know that kenadee turned 6 years old in august. we decided that it was time for a new room for kenadee, a 'not so little girl' bedroom. here was her room before, dont get me wrong, we loved it for quite sometime but we needed something new. we switched her room with the guest room upstairs and we are turning her old room into an office. (pics of the office will be another blog post in the not so near future).

kenadee kept asking when we were going to start painting. we told her that we would start soon. little did she know we had already started the painting and had to lock the door to keep her out. we wanted it to be a total surprise...and it was!!!

continue to read on for the after pics....

...and after

so here it is...

kenadees new bedroom!!!

she was pretty surprised when she tried to go into her old room and it was locked. dad told her 'your bedroom door is not locked' ah ha!!! she came walking in to a big surprise!!!

i am pretty sure kenadee loves it. she keeps saying how 'psyched' she is to have a new room. and is telling everyone about it!!! i think we are all happy with the way it turned out.

pictures by mom...

okay...so i got a new camera for my birthday, and photo shop. i am desperately trying to figure them both out!!! so here is some of my work.

i didnt get kenadees pictures taken for her birthday, i thought, 'i can do that'. so i did and here they are.


...continued...

...continued...

isnt she so beautiful??? i sure think so...

first day of first grade

wow...how time flies. kenadee started first grade last week and of course i had to share some pictures of yet another incredible milestone!!!

our tradition...i always put a heart on her hand for the first day of school.

(yes i am sure i will do it all the way through high school)

getting on the school bus. i am so proud of myself...i didnt even cry!!!

i am not sure why i didnt worry about her getting on the bus after school, i just figured it would be just like kindergarten, (the teacher would take them out and make sure they got on the correct bus). she made it home just fine for the first 3 days. then when i went to pick her up from school i had a panick attact when i saw all the kids and busses. i then realized and remembered...she is not in kindergarten anymore!!! there were a million kids!!! she didnt worry at all, i am so proud of my little first grader!!!

hey curly girls...

hey curly girl friends...check out the kutting edge blog for great tips, tricks and curly clues for all types of curly hair!!! http://kuttingedgesalon.blogspot.com

also check out my sassy specials page on my facebook!!!