Boo is 3

When I was pregnant with Savanna I ended up having kidney stones and was in the Hospital for 4 days on a Morphine Pump trying to pass those little suckers. It was more pain that I have ever endured but was worth the fight. I think that maybe Heavenly Father was preparing me for my life with Savanna, it will painful, but worth the fight.

Adam sent this picture to me one day and as I open it up, I say out loud "Who is this really ugly baby?"And then I quickly say," Oh no I bet its one of mine."
Sure enough it was Savanna. Good thing she didn't stay looking like this for long.

Note to viewers, having a baby 4 weeks early causes them to have a thick white coat of stuff that I called pancake batter all over their body. Not so cute.

She has been a source of frustration, laughter, energy, nonsense, Patience, and happiness since the day she became a part of our family. She has more fire and lungs, than all the rest of us put together. (and that is a lot) She always does things her way no matter what. She is very stubborn and can cause me to loose my Patience faster than a bad driver. With all this fire comes a lot of fun and emotion. For instance, on Saturday we went and picked up her birthday cake, let me back track. Every time (at least once a week) we go to Sams Club we always have to look at the cakes. Her and MaKaya always pick out their favorites. So on Friday when it was time to pick out her very own it was more excitement than she could contain. She told the lady she wanted Barbie with purple flowers and chocolate. Now I will get to the point, when she saw her birthday cake she started clapping her hands and yelling, "Yeah I love my cake!!! I love my cake!!!" The bakery lady wished she had a camera because that was the cutest thing. All day on Saturday she told everyone about her cake. I kept thinking if she is this excited about her cake what is she going to do with all the presents.

Waking up today Boo ran to her dad and said "I'm free (three)today, I'm free today" At church when she saw her best friend Halle, she asked her to come to her house to see her birfday cake.

All afternoon she waited for her Uncle Bub to come, she just couldn't wait to see him. When it seemed like forever he finally arrived she ran to him gave him a big hug and said, "I've missed you so much". She luvs her Bubby.

Mom and the Birthday Girl
The fabulous Barbie cake

Uncle Bub gave her fingernail polish and now he is painting her nails.

Tuckered out after the long day of fun, in the arms of her Grandma Laraine

Three reasons why I love Savanna

1. She tells me at least 50 times a day how much she loves me.

2. She helps me remember to have Joy in the simple things of life. Such as finding a penny in the road is really really great.

3. I love her because she loves to fart and admits it when its her. She also loves to itch her bum. She really is quite hilarious. Oh and she really does not enjoy getting her picture taken.

HALLOWEEN!!!

We LOVE Halloween. My Mother has always been a huge fan of Halloween. She goes all out. Decorating the entire front yard, from lights, to skeletons, scary music, and of course witches. As a child I was always a Witch. The one with the scary chin and warty nose. Never a Princess or a Ladybug for me, nope always a Witch. For my mom being scary is what Halloween is all about. When I was old enough to decide I was never anything scary. I was always something fun, or cute. I remember being a Princess and my mom begging me to wear Billy Bob teeth with my costume. She loves to drive in the car and go to the store all dressed up and have people look at her. Many times good friends and grandchildren have no idea who she is.

Well I have to say that my mothers upbringing has worn off on me, and being a Witch is my most favorite character to be for Halloween. But of course I put my own signature to it and I am a purple cute Witch. (All though tonight I was told that I looked like a Naughty Witch)My mother did not fail me this year, she dressed up as a Scary Witch and took my daughters and I to dinner, and yes we were the only folks there dressed up.

I know you are dying to know where my costumes came from. My talented friend Jodi made them, and my dear Mother made my "cute" shirt.

The Mouth of Babes

Kids always do say the cutest most random funny things. I wish I had a little book for each of my children that I carried around and wrote the funny and cute things they said. But for today I will write what they have said, and be happy that it is recorded somewhere and remembered later on.

Savanna is almost 3, so daily she says things that make me smile. Today she said "Mom I love to go poop." She also says many times a day, "I luv you mom, I luv you so bad." Five minutes later she is yelling, "You so rude mom," and then back to "I luv you." Shaun watches her walk across to her friends house and the whole time she is walking she is yelling to him that she loves him.

Yesterday we were getting ready for dance, the girls were in the car and I ran back in the house for something. In the meantime I lost the keys somewhere, so I am frantically looking all over for them. I run back in the house and MaKaya yells to me from the car, "Mom, Jesus says they are on the counter."

As my children get older they say less and less things that catch me off guard, but this conversation with Lexi is one I hope to never forget. Shortly after she turned 8 I gave her the birds and bees talk. After I explained how the deed was done, she said "Eww that's gross!!! Mom if you really think about it, that is just gross!!!" A few days later our dog Sammy threw up and Lexi said, "Mom what you told me the other day is more disgusting than Sammy's throw-up."

Friends

Back row left to right

Tina, Kara, Kim, Krista, Vanessa, Jenn, Jenn, Monica

Diana, Destiny, Amanda, Kate

What is a Friend?

I think this answer changes as we go through out life. As a child it is someone that shares their pack of gum, and wears twinner clothes with you. As a teenager a friend is someone you hang out with on a friday night. You are at that uncertain stage in your life where you don't always get to choose your friends, they choose you. Then my 20's came and some of the good high school friends I kept in touch with, but mostly I was so busy with marriage and kids that friends were an after thought. Then I hit my late 20's and things in the friendship department couldn't be better. I have the best group of friends that I could ever ask for. Each one of these girls have differnt talents and qualities to make the perfect batch of friends. We motivate, we inspire, we laugh, we tease, we teach, we love. We help each other in this crazy life to endure the hard days and devour the great days. You have all stamped your print on my life and it is better because of you.

A Nie Day

Mr. Nielson and Stephanie

Ever since I read about this tragedy I have been overcome with thought, heartache and awe for this family. I started reading Nies blog and it consumed me. Everything about her just really amazed me. I would tell friends and family about her I could never finish without crying. They were a little confused why I was so heart broken about a stranger, but they didn't understand that she has become a dear friend of mine, just one I have never met. There have been days that I have thought about her and her family more than anyone else. I think of her sweet children being cared for by their amazing aunt Courtney. I think of her Prince Charming heart broken himself watching the Love of His Life struggling for hers. I think of her laying there asleep day after day having no idea that she is strengthening so many families, testimonies, relationships, because she was brave enough to share with us her LOVE for life and all that it entails.

I was able to run for her today. As I was driving to the park there was a big sign hanging up that said RUN FOR NIE. It made me cry. Where you signed up there were balloons everywhere. That made me cry. I ran with Adam and his pace is much faster than mine. When it was hard for me to keep up with him I thought of her fighting for her life and it helped me focus through the exhaustion I was feeling. I was overwhelmed to see all these people there to run for her. Many like me running because we love her, and some like Adam running because it was for a good cause.

Through out this journey I have also fallen in love with Courtney. She has this amazing writing ability that allows you to really feel everything she is saying. She has testified of our LDS beliefs countless times. I know the impact of her testimony has touched thousands of people across the world that are following this story. What I love most about Courtney is her love for Nies children. Lets just face it, Nie is just one in a million when it comes to being a mom and I have to say that Courtney is filling her shoes quite wonderfully. Today they were having a book signing that Courtney helped write. I was so excited to meet her that I literally had butterflies in my stomach. I looked around for her and then looked some more and then a little more when finally realizing that she probably wasn't coming. I was saddened by this fact because I just really wanted to hug this amazing women and tell her Thank you for loving Nies kids. I was also really excited to finally meet my new friend. As I was leaving I understood why she wasn't there she had a much more important job to do, and that was to love Nies kids, oh and the Chief. I will continue to think often of my new friends and will cherish the lessons of love and service that they have taught me. Thank you for sharing your beautiful story with me.

Teeth

Last summer Lexi lost her 4 front teeth. It took a whole year for her last top front tooth to grow in. She was very self conscious of her pretty smile because that last tooth grew in so crooked. So we took her to sweet Dr. Lee and he hooked us up with some awesome braces. The greatest thing about putting braces on your 8 year old is that she thinks they are really really cool. I think she looks really really cute.
MaKaya had a loose tooth for days and days and days. She would wiggle and wiggle it. I would wiggle and wiggle it. She was nervous for it to hurt so she wouldn't let me give it a good wiggle. She was dying for it to come out. We were in a hurry (of course) and so I was quickly brushing her teeth, not being as careful as I should and what do you know I brushed her tooth right out. She was so surprised and so was I.

Come Join Me

On Saturday I will be going here and here. Please come with me and we will have lots and lots of fun, and we will be supporting a very great family . If you want to watch something that is so heart-warming it will put a tear in your eye go here.