Guess who got her ears pierced?

We've had lots of discussion at our house lately about Taylor putting "Pretties" in her ears. My older sister got her ears pierced at eight and I begged and begged until I was able to get them at the same time at the age of 5. I was not against her getting them but after learning about what happens Taylor didn't like the idea of getting her ears "pinched." Today she was watching Dora and saw that someone had earrings in their ears so she declared that she wanted some too.

Taylor was quite the trooper. She sat on my lap and I could feel her flinch as they put them in. She only cried for about 5 seconds and then was easily distracted with a sucker and the items at Claire's. She picked little pink flowers and they are pretty cute! You can kind of see them in the photo although she wasn't too happy at the moment.
Bless her heart, you can still see the remainder of her tears...

All in all, she is pretty excited about having pink flowers in her ears and talks about them constantly.

Stuck at Home

I have had a minor flu bug the past two days so we haven't been out much. The girls seem to be doing a good job keeping themselves entertained...Kadie made a path with the books and was hopping across them and Taylor played with some of the dolls in her room. I'm grateful they have played well together while I have been feeling ill.

Family Photos 2010!

The time of the year where we take the DREADED family photo came swiftly and passed me by in 2009 so we did them early in January. I want to hug the woman who took our pictures. This was the first year that pictures have been almost stress-free. No one cried, yelled, or ended up pulling any hair out so all and all, it was a HUGE success.

Our two little munchkins:
The girls were a little distracted by photographer,
but still a cute family photo:
A new photo of us to celebrate our 6 years together:

God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers...

I Love you Mom!

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. ~Washington Irving

I consider my mother one of my dearest friends and always enjoy her conversation and company. Now that I am a mother myself, I never realized how much my mother went through to raise me and how hard being a parent can be.

I had the experience once to be with a friend who received a phone call that her mother was in the hospital and not doing well. We went to her house and hurriedly packed a bag so she could jump on the next flight home. While packing the bag, the phone rang again with news that her mother had died. Only minutes had passed from her first phone call. I still tear up when I remember the agony my friend experienced upon receiving that call. We that that our parents will live forever and it is shocking to realize that they are indeed mortal, and may beat us back in our journey back to our Heavenly Father.While it is not Mother's Day, I hope you all realize how important your mother is to you.

It is hard not to get angry or frustrated when others treat their mothers with little respect. Your mother is not your servant, your personal taxi, or your personal ATM. Your mother is also a woman with life experience that you will never hope to catch up to until you have been a mother as long as she has. Mothers do what they feel is best for the growth of their child and do not necessarily need parenting advice from others, especially their own children. I think that we sometimes forget that our mothers are human too and have feelings just like we do.

While part of this post is to encourage others to remember their mothers and how much love a mother has for her child, the other part of this post is to say SHAME ON YOU to anyone who is not treating their mother with the love and respect that they deserve. While a mother will live in your heart forever, I hope you all take the opportunity to let your mother know how much you love and appreciate her while she is still here in person!

Stir Crazy Solution...

Taylor's preschool changed the hours it runs this semester from four days a week to three days a week. We were at a loss for what to do with an extra day on our hands and went a little stir crazy with the cold weather this week. Taylor begged to go to what she calls "The Tree House" but is actually called "Outer Limits Fun Zone". It has a huge play land for the kids to play in, arcade games, black light golf, and lazer tag.

This is the first time that Kadie has been willing to go in alone. She did pretty good in the play area in the first picture after Lee showed her where to go, but refused to come down the slide pictured (The tree trunk). It is very dark and I ended up having to climb in after her. The play land is not really built for adults and I bet it made quite the picture for me to weave my way up through the netted holes in order to reach her.

One Year Older and Wiser Too...

I think that 2009 was one of the fastest years of my life so far. We recently celebrated the New Year, and for me, I am now celebrating the upcoming year by turning 26! My how time does fly. (A VERY belated happy birthday to my husband whom I forgot to blog about when it was his birthday...I'm slacking!)

While some of the events of 2009 were a struggle, I am thankful for the trials and the chances that they give for us to grow and become closer together as a family.

I am looking forward to the next year and the many changes it will bring!