More Snow Pics

Before and After

Our Visit with Santa

Santa came to our ward party on Saturday! Peter was pumped! He couldn't wait to see Santa! Our party was a breakfast, so I woke him up and told we needed to get ready to see Santa and Boy did he get ready in time! Andrew didn't even fight us to get dressed!


Peter and Andrew waited patiently in line to see Santa and when it was there turn, Peter excitedly told him what he wanted! A bike! Andrew, who didn't want anything to do with this weird guy in a red suit, didn't ask for anything. Sounds good to me to! Just kidding! We told Santa to bring Andrew a bike too. It was a lot of fun to see Peter and Andrew's faces when they got to be with Santa. Their joy was intense, well at least Peter's!

P.S. I cut my hair! What do you think?

One of the scariest experiences of my life!

Wednesday I had my second doctor's appointment. I thought, "No biggie! I go in, they listen to the heart. I complain a little about being pregnant and the aches associated with it and then I go home." Well when I arrived at my appointment they were backed up and so it took a while to get me in but when they did, my midwife gave me some names of doctors that could possibly help the pain I am having through my back, hips, and legs. Then she attempted to listen to the heartbeat. After five minutes of trying and three minutes of me starting to panic, she gives up! I laying there praying that everything will be okay and that she will find it. She stands up and basically sees me panicking and reassures me that this is normal for some women that are only 12-13 weeks like myself and that we will do an ultrasound to just make sure. Some where in there she threw in the word routine and I tensed. When I was in labor with Peter the nurse kept saying that it was routine to do this and routine to do that, and it was, when there were complications that they didn't want the mom to worry about. So by this time I am attempting to stay calm. We do the ultrasound and much to my relief, the baby was fine! Just very very active! She couldn't even get a picture because the baby won't sit still long enough! So everything is fine, but yeah that had to be one of the scariest moments in my life. I also felt so blessed to know that I am being protected and watched over. I felt overwhelming peace and comfort while in the office. Deep down I knew that it would be okay. Life is such an adventure!

Christmas Tree Fun

We decorated our tree on Monday! Its on loan from my brother who received it from one of his wife's old neighbors. Their apartment was too little for it so we got to have an awesome tree this year. We are used to having little trees (6ft and under) so we didn't quite have enough lights or ornaments but it didn't really seem to matter though. We had a lot of fun decorating it!

Thursday we decided on to do a little Christmas tree decorating art project. I bought three bags of taffy and we spent about an hour stapling them all together to make a garland that we wrapped around the tree. The boys loved it...even though I had to remind them not to unwrap them several times. It worked pretty well! The boys did get to eat some of the candy! I'm not completely heartless!

I'm not so really craft person! I stole the idea from this month's issue of the Friend for anyone that is interested.

Snow Day

Tuesday morning we woke up to find that we had snow on the ground! Peter and Andrew were so excited! Peter could hardly wait to go out and play in it. I did make him wait until it was at least warm enough to breathe outside first. He walked all over the backyard and waiped off everything that was covered in snow. He also ate his fair share of it! He loves the snow!

Saturday this is what we encountered! It was a full out blizzard! Peter wanted to play outside so bad but I won't let him because it was so so so cold! Today hasn't been any warmer and we still have more snow! Its crazy! I'm not looking forward to driving tomorrow!

Photo Tag

I was tagged so here are the rules: You have to post the 4th picture in the 4th folder in your pictures folder. Then give a brief description before you tag a few others.

This is Anthony with his Daddy Apron! My mom gave us a basket or gift every month from the time that we annouced we were pregnant with Peter until we had him. This was Anth's gift. Its has all the things that a dad might need for a diaper change!

I tag Megan, Patty, Becca T., Rachel and everyone else that wants too! It was a lot of fun!

Fall Portraits

Last week I took the boys to the park and we did some pictures! They turned out so cute! Andrew's came out so much better then Peter's which is funny because when we did spring pics it was the opposite! NE ways... we had a lot of fun and I realized how well trained my boys have become. I pull out the camera and they automatically poise and say Cheese! My boys are the best!

Halloween 2009

Halloween this year was a lot of fun. We started in early October to work on our costumes! I had a lot of fun making the boys costumes this year, as well as Anth's and I. Peter decided that he wanted to be a fireman for Halloween but I didn't want to buy an expensive costume so I researched online and found a homemade pattern so easy even I could do it.

Andrew was dubbed our Clifford! Peter was going to be Clifford but then bailed out so Andrew got to be that. (I'm so thankful that he hadn't reached the age of knowing what he wants) He refused to smile or let me take his picture. He was so cute though. He had a cute red hat, that my sister-in-law Tabitha made that had cute felt ears. The boys had so much fun trick-or-treating. After Andrew got his box of raisins though, he was done! Out of all his candy, he was most excited about RAISINS!

Anthony came up with the idea of Waldo! It was a big hit! Everyone thought he looked awesome! He won a prize at his family party for best costume! Its amazing what you can do with duck tape!

I decided to be Super Mom! I had a lot of fun with this costume! The wig was my favorite part! It was alot of fun to wear and be! And it went perfect with our Halloween surprise for Anthony's family!

Anthony and I found out we were pregnant about three weeks before Halloween! We were so excited but decided it would be found to wait and tell his family at Halloween! It was so fun to watch their faces as I walked in the room with my stuffed belly and watch their reaction! It was priceless! Alot of them thought we were just being funny, playing up the Super Mom thing and then it was the double take and the "Oh, Really!"s that made it so fun!

So I am about nine weeks pregnant and the official due date is June 21st! We are excited, especially Peter! He loves to tell people about the baby in mommy's tummy!

A Warning From a True Prophet

[Posted by Anthony]

[Please forward this to your friends (of any religion) if you want help to keep America from Loss of Freedom.]

A True Prophet's Warning

The quotes below come from an article entitled A Witness and a Warning from President Ezra Taft Benson originally published in the in the November 1979 issue of the Ensign Magazine.

Perhaps this article will will help us decide who to vote for in this coming election and in the future. Below are some direct quotes I have taken from the article. If you don't read the article, please at least read the quotes taken from the article.

• "Communism is Satan's counterfeit for the gospel plan..." (This is quoted from Marion G. Romney)

• "... we have to a great extent accommodated ourselves to Communism -- and we have permitted ourselves to become encircled by its tentacles."

• "Isaiah also predicted there would be those who would 'seek deep to hide their cousel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark...'"

• "... Communism, established, would destroy our American Constitutional government..."

• "We call upon all Church members completely to eschew [shun] Communism.

• "Never before has the land of Zion appeared so vulnerable to so powerful an enemy as the Americas do at present."

• "No nation which has kep the commandments of God has ever perished..."

• "... once freedom is lost, only blood -- human blood -- will win it back."

• "The righteous will be preserved by His power."

• "We must demand of our elected officials that we not only resist Communism, but that we will take every measure to prevent its intrusion into this hemisphere. It is vital that we invoke the Monroe Doctrine."

• "...pray that He will intervent to preserve our freedom just as He intervened in our obtaining it in the first place."

• "We must do as the Lord commanded us by revelation in 1833: "Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil.'" (D&C 98:10)

• "Men who are wise, good, and honest, who will uphold the Constitution of the United States in the tradition of the Founding Fathers, must be sought for diligently. This is our hope to restore government to its rightful role.

• "Last: We must study the inspired Constitution and become involved in the political process ourselves."

• "He expects us as members of the Church and bearers of His priesthood to do all we can to preserver our liberty."

If you have read this and you don't know who Ezra Taft Benson is, it is my testimony that he was a true prophet of God called to lead people in righteousness in these latter days in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints .

[Please forward this to your friends (of any religion) if you want help to keep America from Loss of Freedom.]

Preserve the Divine Sanctity of Marriage. Also Vote Yes on Proposition 8.

[Posted by Anthony]

It is true that people have a choice as to whether or not they want to co-habitate with a member of the same sex. However, the term "Marriage", was not intended by God to include same-gender unions. The sanctity and original meaning of "marriage" must be preserved! Marriage is about raising families in God's way.

What Am I Trying to Say?

• In the short-term, if you live in California, vote yes on Proposition 8. (If you don't know what that is, see the videos below.)


• In the long-term, no matter where you live, support anything that supports traditional marriage and don't let other people decide what "marriage" is. Accept and support God's definition of marriage.

Where Does The Church of Latter-Day Saints Stand?

• Here is a news article about the issue of same-sex marriage by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints -- of which church I am a member.


• According to the article (link above): "Legalizing same-sex marriage ... may well place 'church and state on a collision course.'"


• The article also states that the LDS Church has also joined ProtectMarriage, whose aim is to preserve traditional marriage and ensure that the California constitution only legally regognizes "marriage" between a man and a woman. http://www.protectmarriage.com/

What is Proposition 8?

Basically it comes down to this. Here is a direct quote from the Tell-A-Friend letter that ProtectMarriage.com has setup.

"Voting yes on 8 protects our children from being taught in schools that same-sex marriage is the same as traditional marriage, and Californians from facing mandatory compliance regardless of deeply held personal or religious beliefs."

(Source: http://www.protectmarriage.com/tell. November 2, 2008)

Take Action To Support Proposition 8!

• Watch the Videos Below!
• Join the endorsement list.
• Tell a Friend
• Post a Gadget or Graphic on your Blog. (Scroll all the way down at that link for the icons)
• If you live in California, Vote Yes on Proposition 8!

Halloween Surprise!

I will provide more details later! We are very excited though!

Pumpkin Patch

Family Home Evening last Monday was so much fun! We took the boys out to a pumpkin patch out at Woods Gardens. The boys were so excited to meet a farmer and to pick their pumpkins! It was a little cold so we bundled them up and took some fun pictures. The ones of Peter didn't turn out for some reason but Andrew is a real cutie!




The boys wanted to hold their pumpkins all the way home! They were so excited! Tune in later for our pumpkin carving expedition!

Hilarious!!!!

Anth and I did this the other night and it cracked us up! We were laughing so hard that we had to hold on to our stomachs! It was a lot of fun! You have got to try it! http://www.yearbookyourself.com

The Power of Creativty

President Uchdorf''s talk in the Relief Society meeting really hit home with me. The Friday before I had a horrible day! I think that all of the stress from the accident and trying to keep Peter from hitting his head and take it easy, got to me! I just started to cry and I couldn't stop! I was a basketcase! Poor Anthony! He just doesn't know what to do for me during those times! He left for work with me with tears on my cheeks. But being the awesome friend and husband he is, he called one of my friends for me and told them to call me because I need someone! Anth is so awesome... he knows that sometimes I just need a girl! NE ways... so this dear friend called me and just listened to me as I cried and tried to give me a little helpful advice. After hanging up with her, I decided to do something about my blues. I tried the boys loose on the sidewalk with some chalk and took out my camera and just began to shoot! It was amazing! After about five minutes, I was rejuvenated and felt so much better about everything! The desire to create and the ability to do so pulled me out my slump and helped me to focus on the good in my life! Life is good and the challenges in it only make it better!

The Results

Last Monday Peter had his hearing test. I was nervous but striving to have faith that all would be well and that the blessings that Peter had received while in the hospital would be fulfilled. As we went through the appointment, it became clearer and clearer to me the blessings and the miracle that I was witnessing. The technician was unable to find any damage or the blood that had been behind Peter's ear. I consider this a miracle. The doctors were trying to be optimistic when we left the hospital but they told us there was the chance. The miracle has been Peter's recovery! The day we left the hospital they told me he would want to sleep most of the day and would probably be in pain and throwing up a little still. We got home and Peter was off running! He has had very little pain, next to none, no throwing up, and has just wanted to play and run! It has been a challenge to make sure that he doesn't re-injury his head. His favorite thing to do is stand on his head (I know...weird kid) and since the accident that is totally not allowed. It's been hard trying to explain to a three year old why he can't do some of the things that he wants. But I consider it a miracle that he is doing so well!

We would like to offer thanks to everyone that prayed for Peter and for us. It has been a very faith promoting experience and we have come to learn how much our Father in Heaven loves us. Peter himself said, "Jesus made my head better because He loves me." The faith of a child!

We are All Home Now

Peter was able to hold down food, so he was released at about 10:30 AM today. I guess there is some blood back inside behind one ear. He will be going in on Monday to a hearing doctor to check his hearing. We did our own little test at home and he seems to be able to hear through both of them. We just have to have faith that things will turn out okay.

Thank you all for your prayers and for the visits! We really appreciate it!

Love,

Anthony & Alisha



The doctor didn't order a helmet, but we decided to get him a bicycle helmet to wear around.

Good News on Peter

In the middle of the night, the nurses said that Peter had a tear in one of his eardrums. However, the doctor came and checked Peter's ears and said that there is no tear in either eardrum. He also said that the fracture is not as bad as he thought. It just goes from the lower back of his skull down to the right bottom part. So it doesn't even go over to his ears. What a relief!!!!

There is blood behind one ear, but the doctor said that that could just be caused by a blood vessel breaking from the impact. If Peter can hold food down this morning then he will get to go home. Then from what I understand we need to take him into another doctor in a week to check his ears or hearing.

We have truly been blessed. We are thankful to Heavenly Father and for all the prayers for Peter. Hopefully things will continue to go well.

Love,

Anthony & Alisha

Asking for Prayers for Peter

Peter fell out of a shopping cart today and received a basilar skull fracture. From what I understand, the fracture goes from the back of his head around to at least one ear (or maybe both ears -- I'm not sure).

He is doing very well. But according to the doctor he could lose his hearing in one ear. The doctor will check him later on during the week. So maybe that means that hearing loss wouldn't happen right away, but later? I don't know. Peter is asleep right now, but when talking to him before he didn't seem to have any hearing problems that we noticed.

We are spending the night in the hospital. The nurse is going to check on him every hour over night.

We appreciate any prayers or fasting on his behalf.

Love,

Anthony & Alisha

My HERO!

This post is dedicated to my wonderful, patient, and supportive husband! He has helped me out so much! We have had three weddings within the last six weeks that we have had to help in some of the planning. It has been really busy and Anthony has just been the absolute best! He watches the boys so that I can do all my errands, go take pictures, and just have some me time! I so appreciate him and love him so much! This past week I have also been sick and he has been willingly to stay home and take care of things so that I can have some recoop time! He is so good with our boys too! He tells them wonderful stories (I some how did not get that gene) and keeps them busy outside! You can tell that they love him so much! Anthony also clears off the table and helps with the dishes almost every night! He is so perfect and I just love him so much!

The best thing that he has done lately for me was build me a website that I could post some of my photography on! I was so surprised and it made me feel so special and loved! He gives me the confidence I need to do my best! He totally supports me in photography hobby! He gives me time to take pics and helps with photoshop to make them look better as well! He is the best! This is the address to the website that he built for me.

http://www.daydreamphotostudio.com/


I love it! When you click on the pictures it makes them bigger! Your the best honey! I love you!

Labor Day Birthday!

Andrew celebrated his second birthday on Tuesday! He has gotten so big so fast! He loves to sit and chatter and he is just so special to us! We love him so much! Andrew's birthday is special because it is one day before my dad's! My dad turned fifty this year and so to celebrate we had a baroque and went bowling! It was alot of fun!

Peter likes to say that his name isn't Peter Tietjen but Peter the Snake and his brother is Andrew the Turtle! Where he got this,I have no idea but I think that its kind of cute! So in honor of that cuteness, I made a turtle cake for Andrew's birthday! I was so excited about how good it turned out! If you know me, you know that I am horrible at decorating cakes! So I was really excited that this actually looked like a turtle when I was done!

This is James at Teton Lanes. My dad, my brothers Glen and James, and Anthony were on my lane and my sister, Rachal, and my mom and I plus the two boys were on the other! Not very evenly match but it was still fun! James is a pretty good bowler and so is my dad and Anthony. But me, not so good! I done right horrible so I was glad to be able to bowl with the kids who had the bumpers! Got love the bumpers!
Andrew had so much fun bowling! They have a ramp that kids can use! They just put the ball on top and push! Andrew did awesome! He got 106, which beat both me and Rachal! It was a great activity for our family and one that I think we will be doing for more often now!
My mom after she got her third strike! She bowled an awesome game and beat everyone the first game! (The girls and the little kids only bowled once but the guys got to do two games because they were faster!)
This was Rachal's face after the boys reset the pins just after she got a strike! It was her first and only for the night and we all felt really bad! But she was a good sport and it's kind of funny now that we look back on it!

The scores! You might need to click on the picture to see it better! But as you can see, we all did pretty good! I was pretty excited about my score! It was the highest I've gotten in a long time and I only used the gutters maybe once! (even time it was my turn that is) Anthony had an awesome second game! He got a turkey and the his personal best score! I was so proud of him and he was such a great example of sportsmanship! He didn't gloat or all! I definitely would have! He teaches me so much! Overall, it was great day! We had a blast!