The Stylish Blogger Award

My totally awesome sister in law Nancy honored me this award! I would like to thank her and the rest of all the little people in my life that made this a dream a reality. Thank you! Thank You!....(cue applause)

So the rules go like this:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award (check!)
2. Share 7 facts about yourself
3. Award 7 new bloggers with the award

7 Facts about me....(This could get a little interesting!)

1-Even though I have never dyed my hair, over the last 7 years I have gone from a blonde with golden highlights, to a light brunette with blonde highlights, to a darker brunette with gray highlights! Its amazing what marriage and four kids will do to you! 

2-I can twist balloons into fun shapes! After I graduated college, I decided that I needed to have a hobby. So I decided to learn how to twist balloons. Its a lot of fun and my kids love it when I pull out my balloons. I'm still an amateur but I can do a pretty good dog, giraffe, hat, sword, and something else but I can remember what. Its been a while...time to pull them out again!

3-I was on the speech team in high school and loved to give impromptu speeches! They give you a list with three topics on it and a minute to figure out a basic outline. You then stand up and attempt to give a 3-5 minutes speech about one of the topics. You are suppose to be either informative or persuasive.  I got to be quite good at it!

4-I once gave a ten minute speech (an oratory) about how guys should have my guts to ask girls out. I spoke about different excuses that guys give for not asking out girls and then pointed out that girls have it just as bad as the guys! I know that it sounds really confusing but it was really good. So good that my advisor asked me to give it in front of the whole school. Talk about a little bit nerve wrecking! 

5-I have a passion for Early American history! I can't get enough of it! And with that passion comes a deep longing to travel back east to see all the historical sights! 

6-I have only flown on a plane once in my life and I admit that I didn't handle it very well! Anthony's hand was pretty much worthless after the take off! I much rather drive in a car for long hours then fly! (Shh...don't tell my husband who hates to drive! LOL!)

7-Even though I took 6 years (maybe more!) of piano lessons, I can only play the right hand and only the soprano part of that. I wasn't very dedicated to it but it really helped when I joined choir in middle school because I already knew the notes and music theory. 

Whew...that took a lot of soul searching...

I would now like to award the following with this awesome award....drum roll please...

Michelle Tietjen, Sara Birch, Deanna Poulsen, Rachel Chick, Megan Love,  Samantha Kneiser, and Aleisha Petersen

Our Visit with the Grinch

For our ward Christmas party, they had the Grinch come! He reenacted the "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and then when he " began to feel the thing that he never had before"...they tied that in with the nativity story and how Christ comes into our lives and can change our lives and expand our hearts. It was very moving and tied in so beautifully. 

The feast (consisting of "roast beast" craved by the Grinch, potatoes, and rolls) was followed by kids sitting on the Grinch's lap. It was the perfect photo op and I'm so glad that I grabbed my camera as I was heading out the door!

 Andrew siting with the Grinch! He was so brave that it surprised me! Usually  he is the scared one! Too bad the Grinch closed his eyes when my flash went off!

 Julia was too tired to be scared or impressed by the Grinch!

 Matthew on the other hand was TERRIFIED!! He wouldn't even get close to him! I took the picture and then he came running to me!

I was so proud of Peter! He was scared of the Grinch when he first came on the stage but he overcame his fear and sat on the Grinch's lap and even kind of smiled for me.

 A few extra of the Grinch!

Overall it was a great night and fun time to spend with the awesome people that make up our ward and my family.

No-No Matthew!

My poor Matthew hears that phase a lot, "No-No!!" He is constantly getting into or doing something that he shouldn't. I don't know if it just curiosity or the desire to be seen as one of the big  boys.  When he was younger (and by younger I mean 6 months ago) it was a deep passion for anything dairy, which he couldn't have because he was lactose intolerant.  We alway knew if he managed to grab a cheese stick or drink some "real" milk. His diapers would give him away...enough said. 

 But two weeks ago...that all changed... Matthew all of sudden was no longer intolerant. This is him enjoying his first ice cream cone! I thought that I might be able to "share" it with him...you know give him a few licks of mine but he had other ideas! He grabbed it and shoved it in! The whole time saying, "Mmmmm....Mmmmmm!" A kid after my own heart!

Shortly after that...it all went down hill. Matthew "fell" when he tried to play with some of the toys that Peter and Andrew were playing.  I could hear him crying and then Peter shout that Matthew was bleeding got me to my feet but I still wasn't any hurry.  It wasn't until I saw all the blood pouring down his face that got into panic mode!  We hurried upstairs and got the bleeding under control and our "Papa" on the way. I don't handle situations like this very well...I am learning but still...I tend to panic and then calm down ten minutes after panicking. It's good for the heart...gets all pumping you know...any ways...Anthony ran him to the doctor while I feed the culprits and took them to school.

I got to the doctor's office just in time to see him glue the skin back together and to receive strict instructions to not let him 1) take off the bandage and 2) not let him bump it again! Uhhh...any one else see the problem with this! He's 18months old and a boy!! Needless to say he had the bandage off by the time we got home and split open his head again when he accidentally got tripped!  Back to the doctors office...he's going to have an impressive scar...sigh!

10 days later another wound appeared when he found out the hard way what the word hot means! Matthew touched our fireplace and got three small blisters (on his thumb and two other fingers) and one the size of a quarter on his palm.  It popped the next day and we started putting lavender oil on it and "attempted" to keep a bandage on it.  A week later and it looks so much better now and is about the size of pencil eraser.

I discovered a new gray hair Friday that had quite the crinkle to it. I justly named it Matthew! I think that Santa needs to bring me a deluxe first aid kit!

Julia's new hairstyle!

When I find out that I was going to have a girl, I just knew that she was going to be bald!! My mom loves to tell stories about how I didn't have any hair until I was two and even then it was peach fuzz. I never allowed her to put anything in my "hair" and so I was often mistaken as a boy! So imagine my surprise when Julia was born and she came with a full head of hair! I was shocked! I think I might have even cried a little! 

My boys and especially me have enjoyed being able to "do" Julia's hair. They take turns picking out bows and flowers.  Julia is so patient with all it and never fusses about "looking pretty!" The other day I decided to try something new! Pigtails! Aren't they cute!

They kind of remind me of antlers but...hey...tis the season right?

This Year's Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

We know that you have facebook and email but being the old-fashioned folk that we are, we wanted to write you a letter instead and tell you how hard each of us have worked to be good.

Peter developed a tick that is caused by strep throat but he was so good for all the doctor visits and took all his medicine, well … most of the time. He started kindergarten in the fall and has made a lot of new friends. Peter does everything that his teacher tells him and works really hard. He always tries to sit by someone on the bus so that they feel good.

Andrew got to start preschool in the fall and is learning so much! He likes to watch Peter do his homework and can do almost everything that Kindergarteners do.  He helps around the house doing dishes and helping take care of Matthew and Julia.  He helped Mommy clean all the walls doing Fall Cleaning and really liked using the tooth brush to get all the food off the walls.

Matthew is growing up so fast and loves to take care of his little sister. He gives great hugs and loves to laugh and play. He likes to talk in Matthew language, which the rest of us are trying hard to be fluent in! When he “fell” and split his forehead open, Matthew let the doctor glue his head back together. 

Julia is our little doll and we really love our sister! She is so patient with her brothers who love to comb her hair and put flowers and bows on her head.  She loves to smile and is so good with all the people that want to hold her. She is so good to laugh every time that we tickle her belly or toes. At five months, Julia weighs 14 pounds and is 26 inches tall already! 

Mommy and Papa have done their best to be good too! When Mommy had to have gallbladder surgery, Papa stayed with her and took care of her and Julia all day. He helped Mommy out so much with cleaning and cooking until she felt better.  Mommy tried really hard to be good and say thank you to all the people that helped her.

Santa, thank you for all that you did for us this last year.  We are thankful for all the help and support that we received from all your “helpers,” especially from our family and friends! Thanks for inspiring us to be good and to try a little harder to be what we are suppose to be.

Love,

The Tietjens