December 31, 2009

CANCELLED!!!Polka Dots...Gerbera Daisies....Weddings!




So this time around the theme is polka dots & Gerbera daisies! Sarah has loved polka dots and daisies forever...so it is only appropriate that now that she has found the "one" for her she choose to do her wedding with this theme! I'm excited to plan but not sure where to start!

Closing the door on a decade! Excited for the next!


It's really a blessing to look back on the past decade of my life, even though there was also some hard times, some sadness, even some anger, I can now look back and count my blessings for all that I've experienced.

Since the decade of 2000 started I've gained a few precious people in my life as well as enjoyed many special times with them. I've enjoyed the blessing of a new husband and the great times we have had together since we started in September 2002! I married him in 2003, adding 4 step children plus a daughter-in-law, 2 grandchildren, a wonderful father and mother, Vern & Beulah, as well as a new sister Patty, and brothers Gary, Brent, Jim & Mike and sisters-in-laws Ruth, Barb, and Patti and many nieces and nephews! I've had some wonderful times, conversations and family reunions with this Petersen family, I really do love them! We as a couple have also seen added to our family since then 12 grandchildren! We have experienced first hand the births of 4 of those (Jada, Madison, Jordan & Keleigh), and what a wonderful experience it is to be there to see these new little people into this world! We do love our grandchildren! What a blessing they each one are to us! The decade of the 2000's also brought us 3 son-in-laws, 1 daughter-in-law and currently expecting to add the 4th son-in-law in March 2010 and another grandchild April 2010 (the beginning of another wonderful decade)!

We did have some loss during this decade as well. We lost a wonderful father in Vern. He was quite a man, and I'd never experienced such fatherly love as during my time knowing him! We lost a grandchild to miscarriage and that was a sad time. We experienced illness and surgeries but we made it through them all. We also lost jobs, gained jobs and lost jobs again...but we are hopeful that our dream job is waiting in 2010! We also lost precious time with family members due to lack of understanding and misunderstanding, hopefully 2010 will see a remedy to this and we can make up for lost time! Time is something we can't get back, we don't get seconds, so it should be treasured, and I have a resolution to put the value on time that it deserves...to cherish every minute with all my loved ones!

These quotes about family are so true, and I love them!

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. ~Joyce Brothers

In some families, please is described as the magic word. In our house, however, it was sorry. ~Margaret Laurence

Family quarrels have a total bitterness unmatched by others. Yet it sometimes happens that they also have a kind of tang, a pleasantness beneath the unpleasantness, based on the tacit understanding that this is not for keeps; that any limb you climb out on will still be there later for you to climb back. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

I'm looking forward to 2010, to enjoy precious time with loved ones, to achieve personal goals, family goals, and to be all the Lord expects of me!

Bring on the NEW YEAR!

December 25, 2009

Christmas 2009!!!

Well even though Keleigh is only one she was our wake up call this morning! Of course she had no idea what we were doing or why, when opening the gifts! She was most excited when she opened her doll, simple things :) We all took turns (Chad, Sarah, Courtney, Keleigh and me) opening our gifts and we all got some really nice things! Too much to list! Let's just sum it up by saying we had a wonderful Christmas! I will say Sarah got a cricut and I'm looking forward to seeing her creations with that!

We had a nice morning, opening presents, then we went to Village Inn for breakfast. Jennifer's family has made a tradition of going to Christmas breakfast, so we thought we would follow suit, ya know I think we are going to make this a tradition, I loved not having to cook!

So after breakfast we headed to Spanish Fork for time with Jennifer's family! The kids loved opening their gifts and were having a great time when we arrived. I got a bread box (which I have wanted for quite some time) and of course the grandkids had picked me out a special gift too, they know I love turtles and Scott said any time they are out and see a turtle of any kind or on any thing they really want to purchase it for Nana! So I got the cutest little turtle loofah thing for the shower! I hate to get it wet it's so cute! Chad got a pair of leather gloves and a new cozy warm hat to keep him warm this winter!

Then Jennifer and I made dinner! It was great, she made some really great desserts, a pumkin cake bar thing and a danish dessert that was to die for! She shared her recipes, we had a nice visit and then decided to head home for some quite time!

Here are some pics of our day!




















December 24, 2009

Christmas Eve 2009!

We had some of our kids and grandkids over today, and it was fun seeing all the little ones playing together! I made a huge pot of homemade chickn noodle soup and some rolls and a couple of pies and the kids seemed to enjoy it. I decided since they had so many places to visit that soup and rolls was a great lunch/dinner because they will be partaking of so many traditional dinners tomorrow for Christmas.
We are going to our daughter Jennifer's for Christmas dinner tomorrow so I do have to make a couple things to take, my girls love my "dressing" it's what we from the south call stuffing, so I have to make that and a green bean casserole and my son-in-law loves this corn casserole I make so for him I'm making that as well as a dessert! So still lots of work to do!

Joe dropped by today with Amy & Tyler (they are sure growing up, and I didn't get any pics, so I'm hoping that we might see them tomorrow? Then Jennie, Matt, Macey and they brought Kaden over too, and had some soup and dessert, nice visiting with the kiddos! Jessie, Ethan & Tori came in from CO. and stopped for a visit too!

Sarah and Keleigh were here too along with Courtney, Sarah's fiance.

I did all our kids a basket of goodies and got the kiddos pajamas, I wish everyone could get back to what Christmas is really about and not the gift giving frenzy that so many have made it into!

Here are a few pics from the evening!






December 23, 2009

Temple Square & the magical Christmas lights!!

Sarah and Keleigh had a date last night to see the lights on Temple Square, and it was apparently a good date, they came home engaged! I don't have a date or details yet other than they are going to be married Mt. Timpanogos Temple in American Fork! She is marrying Courtney Larsen and he is a good guy and loves Keleigh too!

Here is a pic of the ring but I don't have a pic of the happy trio yet, it's on Courtney's camera, so will post when I get it!

Nana and her Christmas babies!




It's Party Time!




We went to dinner at Chilis for Keleigh's actual birthday, and here is what she thought of her birthday Sunday!





Keleigh's birthday was Monday the 21st but we had her cake on Saturday and opened up her gifts, as all one year olds go she was a little confused, and it didn't help that she was tired! Here are some pics of her little party!




December 10, 2009

3 weeks visiting my Mama!

I had a wonderful time with my mama! We didn't do a lot but it was wonderful just to spend time with her talking and enjoying some laughter and reliving old times, catching up and lots more! I was there for Thanksgiving and it was nice! I actually stayed for 3 weeks, what nice memories for us!

I sure love my mama!

I got to catch up with several relatives I hadn't seen in many years as well as see my 3 brothers! My sis in law is supposed to be sending me a pic we took, it was the first time me and my 3 brothers have been all together in many years! I can't wait to post it!

Happy Birthday!

We have a lot of December birthdays! So we wanted to do a post to say Happy Birthday to all of our family celebrating this month!

Griffin's birthday was the 2nd, he's 10 now, double digits! Griffin is such a great grandchild, he is funny, and smart and very inquisitive!








Madison's (Madi) birthday was the 3rd and she is 6 now! She is in kindergarten and for the longest she said there was no way she was going to go to school, but now she is loving school! She is a shy, sweet little light!









Jackie's birthday is the 15th, (Jackie is my stepdad) he came into my moms life about 6 years ago and so he was a late life stepdad, considering I was into my 40's 6 years ago! Happy Birthday Jackie!



Keleigh's been in our lives for a whole year on the 21st of this month. She is such a cutie pie, and we have such a wonderful full life with her living at our house, she is a laugh a minute when she isn't sick, she has had a year full of lots of illness but she has weathered it all, and is such a happy girl, but she definitely has her own "opinion"!











Jennifer's birthday is the 22nd, she will be 31, it's hard for me to believe she is already 31, I remember her birth so vividly! She hates her birthday, not because she is a year older but because her birthday gifts somehow come wrapped in Christmas wrapping! hahaha









Jennie's birthday is the 26th, she will also be 31! She is a fun loving daughter. She hated the Christmas wrapping paper too!