Will I ever not have to catch up???

Well once again I have TONS to catch up on but oh well it's life and it's not going to change any time soon. My Mom and Dad came over right before Thanksgiving. The week before they got here was CRAZY getting the basement finished but now it's finally done, well there's a few little things to be done but it's looking great.

Anyway having my Mom and Dad here was great, it was busy almost every day but it was so fun doing lots of things with them. The first week they were here it was Thanksgiving and all the family went over to Sherisse's house for dinner which was lots of fun. We all ate WAY too much but the food was delicious and it's just one day so it's ok, at least that is what I tell myself. I was excited for black Friday this year because my Mom was going to come with me. Dad wanted to go too but he went on his own, I told him he didn't need to go so early for what he wanted but he said he wanted to experience it so he did! We got up bright and early and were on our way. Rod, (Steve's brother) came over to our house to stay with our kids so Steve could come with us. Sherisse, Steph and Mollie all came too so it was fun. Our first stop was Walmart, it was AWFUL in there. It's always really busy but this year people were already in line with things before it was even 5am. Also things were in crazy places but oh well, we got a few things and then it was on to the next store. We went to Target, Porters, Home Depot, Fred Meyer, Lowes and had to stop into good old McD's for breakfast too, I LOVE their breakfast, yummy! We did try and go to JoAnn's to get fleece too but the line to get material cut was HUGE so we went back there another day. I think my Mom thought it was all abit mad but she was glad she went.

My Dad wanted me to sing while he was over so I called my friend to see if she could play for me. She's so good at playing the piano, I'm always asking her last minute so I really appreciated her hard work and her taking her time to help me out. I sang a song I've sung before with my sister but when I practised right before church I couldn't hit the first note. When I got up to sing I did the same thing. I kept trying to fix it but it wasn't happening so I had to stop and say "sorry, I'm totally off, I need to start again" so I did and it went so much better. It was pretty funny, it's a good thing I really don't care what I look like because otherwise that would have been pretty embarrassing. FUN TIMES!

The Monday after Thanksgiving we went to the Michael McClean concert. Sherisse came with us so we asked Steph to watch the kids. I've already written about the next part of that wonderful story so I won't go into more detail about that night. It was a great concert though, Mom loved it, she had to go and say hi to him afterwards and she even got a kiss on the hand which she thought was amazing! I was meant to teach preschool that week too but I traded last minute with my good friend Natalie, she's amazing. Later that week it was Maddie's birthday. She had invited a few of her closest friends from school to a bowling and pizza party. It was LOTS of fun and everyone had a great time. Steve was even able to come early so that was fun too. Mom and Dad's friend Josh who served in their ward came up too from Utah so it was nice to see him again, Syd loves him, poor Josh! Sherisse got pizza for all the kids, good job she got more than I asked for though because they ate TONS. Maddie had a wonderful time, bowling was a great party idea, I think we'll do it again another time. Afterwards we opened presents at home from family. Mom and Dad got her a cute CTR necklace (for her baptism) and a DS for her birthday and Christmas. We got her some new scriptures with a bag. Also a CTR ring and a DS game. She was in heaven, it was a wonderful day for her.

Friday night we went up to Rexburg for the David Archuleta concert. My Mom LOVES him so she was very excited. Sherisse was going to come with us but her and Brad both weren't feeling good so Maddie ended up coming with us which she was happy about because she had wanted to come all along. There was this other guy on first who was ok but everyone started going crazy right before David came on stage. All the girls went NUTS once he actually came out, it was hilarious! He sang all his normal songs first, the one Maddie and I knew really well was fun, we got up and danced with all the other super fans. Then he sang all his Christmas songs which were really good too. He does have a great voice but it was funny to watch all the girls just go crazy, we had one girl in front of us who was really nuts but it was fun to watch her go crazy.

That Saturday Maddie got baptised! My little girl, getting baptised, MADNESS!!! It's seems crazy to think that my first little baby is already 8, I really am getting old but you know what, I don't mind. I'm so glad Maddie made the decision to get baptised. She's such a good girl, sassy at times but mostly good. She is such a beautiful talented little girl. She started playing piano this fall and she is doing so well. She's very good at maths too and good in class which makes me not worry too much about her. I really do feel blessed to have such a wonderful daughter, I'm not the most patient Mom but I'm grateful that she is patient with me. I'm so proud that she loves the church and was so excited to get baptised, what a great example to her siblings and cousins. She was the first grandchild on both sides to get baptised so it was a special day. The day went by so fast, we finally got into the room and before we knew it she was in the font and it was over. Brad and my Dad were the witnesses and of course Steve baptised her. It was amazing to see her standing in the font with her Dad, my beautiful little girl getting baptised. Lots our friends came to support her and I really appreciate that, especially poor Alex, he missed his state wrestling tournament to be there, what a great friend. Brad was also SUPER sick but he came just to be there for Maddie. THANKS to everyone who came, we love you all. Afterwards we went to get Maddie's ears pierced, she had been looking forward to that for so long but as we were walking up to the store she started to shake like mad. Right before they were going to put her ear rings in she started to cry because she was so nervous but she wanted to do it. Then as soon as it was over she was fine and very happy. We then went to Chuck A Rama's to have lunch with all the family which was lots of fun. I'm so glad we have such a wonderful family and friends who support and love us. It was sad not to be able to have all my family there but I'm sooo glad my Mom and Dad were able to be there.

That Sunday was time for my Mom and Dad to leave. Right after sacrament we went back to our house to say our goodbyes. The girls were both a mess! They cried and cried and were so sad. Maddie was able to calm herself down but Syd was just too sad and was crying all the way back to church. I took her to class but she was just crying all the time so I let her come to class with me. It was so nice to have my Mom and Dad here but so sad for the kids and us when they have to leave. It would be so nice to live closer to them all, I always wish that one day they will all move over here. Hopefully it won't be too long until they're here again.

Time really does go by so fast. This year has flown by, especially since school started. There has been so many things going on, I'm looking forward to a new year and hopefully a little less things going on. I know life will always be busy but I want to try and not be sooo busy and take more time for my family and myself so I don't go CRAZY! I think I got abit too burnt out from everything these past few months so I want to try and take it abit easier. There are always so many things we want to do but there are different times and seasons for everything. There will be different times to do all the things I want to do so I want to try and not feel like I have to fit everything in right now. My kids are still small so I was to treasure that time more and when they're all at school I can do more of the other things then. Life, it's crazy but I love it!!!