cookies & milk

last night kenadee woke up from a bad dream and came into our bedroom. she asked me if i would tuck her into her bed and snuggle with her for a minute. of course i said yes...i love to snuggle with her!! as soon as i got comfy and warm next to kneadee mike got up and went into the kitchen. kenadee heard him and asked what daddy was doing. i told her he was probably just getting a drink.

my husband has this crazy late night habit of having cookies and milk (chips ahoy), usually in the middle of the night. i have been 'invited' to his late night snack on several occasions, but usually i am fast asleep and i dont realize he is gone. kenadee knows about his little habit and tells her daddy that she wants to join him sometime. of course he does not want to wake her at 3 am for chips ahoy!!!

but last night was different...she was already awake and she knew he wasnt just getting a drink. 'daddy is having cookies and milk, can i go too??' of course i said yes!! she flew out of the bed and joined him in the kitchen. i almost got up to join them but decided that this was a daddy daughter moment. i waited in kenadees bed just listening to the two of them, i couldnt hear what they were saying but i knew they were enjoying their special 'cookies and milk' time!! after they were finished we all snuggled as a family in kenadees bed (hers is the most comfortable) for a few minutes...until kenadee says, 'mom, can i tell you something in your ear?? you can go back to your bed now.'

what a special time for all of us...thanks mike and kenadee!!!

Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour by Cirque du Soleil

WHAT DO I HAVE TO SALE, GIVE OR DO TO GO TO THIS!!!???

anybody going to go with me???

sandra

congratulations to my sweet friend sandra anderson!!!

my wonderful friend shay introduced me to sandra a few years ago. shortly after that she was in a sledding accident that left her paralyzed and in a wheelchair. i can not even begin to imagine the struggles, and the hard times she has endured since her accident. but i do know this...sandra is an amazingly strong, sweet, loving and beautiful woman...inside and out.

on tuesday november 2nd, sandra was a contestant in the ms wheelchair utah pageant. i was so excited to hear that she was doing this. she came into the salon a few days before to get her hair colored and cut for the big night!! i really wanted to be there for her (it was on a school night!!) and to see and hear the other incredible stories of the others. i asked sandra what her talent was and she said that it was a surprise. she wrote and sang a beautiful song. i watched it on line and it brought tears to my eyes as i am sure it did to everyone watching. (she told me she would give me my own private performance...yay me!!!) i couldnt wait to hear all the details about her big night. i got on facebook the next morning and looked at her page.

SANDRA WAS CROWNED

MS WHEELCHAIR UTAH 2011!!!

wahoo!!! i was so excited and happy for her. i could barely write a comment because i had huge tears in my eyes!!! (check out my comment...the very first word is misspelled!!) i am so proud of this amazing woman, and her accomplishments!! i can not wait to follow her through out the next year as she shares her beautiful story and message to so many people!!

sandra, you truly are an inspiration to me and so many others.

i am proud and blessed to call YOU my friend!!

good luck to you sandra...in all you do in life!!!

JOY

today kenadee brought home a book from the school library. it is a very large 200 page book with many short stories in it. she says she will not take it back until she (not me) has read it all!! she began reading it as soon as she got home from school.

this is how our conversation went tonight while doing homework...

kenadee: mom you may have to help me with the big words.

mom: sure, but big words are just little words put together. and words make sentences and sentences make stories and...

kenadee: and stories make JOY!!! mom, maybe when i get bigger i can sit on a stage and read stories to parents and their children...i would bring them so much JOY!!!

oh how kenadee brings me so much JOY!!!

finally...

well i lost a tooth

whatever shall i do?

I'm left with a window,
and my tongue is peeking through.

kenadees first loose tooth took forever to come out!!!

we tried everything to get it out...

(other than holding her down and pulling it with pliers!!)

...we even tied it to the door. the string slipped right off her tooth!!!

could the tooth be any looser??? after 30 minutes of trying to get her to 'pull' it, i left her alone in the bathroom. i really thought she would come running out with her tooth in her hand. nope!!!

i told her if i didnt pull it out the first time i tried i would give her $20!! nope!!! she said...'mom, it is not about the money!!!' wow...i thought loosing a tooth was all about the money!!! i was worried she would swallow it in her sleep, (it was barely hanging on!!). nope!! then i worried she would loose it at school on her field trip. i sent her with a baggie in her pocket. nope!!! then tonight after prayers and a snuggle i asked if i could try to pull it. kenadee was still really nervous, and was scared that it would hurt. we decided to tie a string on it again and she was going to pull the string and therefor...pull the tooth. i knew if i got the dental floss around it, that little tooth didnt have a chance of staying connected!! i was right...i barely moved the string and it popped right out!!!

she was so excited to finally loose a tooth. she called her daddy first and then grandma donna. she did a little dance and of course posed for a picture. and now i think she is finally asleep!!

i guess all that is left is for the tooth fairy to come!!!

kenadee...and think pink

my sweet little kenadee, and hugs with mom and with dad. i have had a lot of fun with my new camera and photo shop!!! just one i wanted to share!!!

hope all is fabulous with YOU and your loved ones. i am so blessed to have an amazing family and fantastic friends!!!

oh...its october...remember toand... please support breast cancer awareness!!!

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.