Happy Birthday Dad!

Today would be my Dad's 59th birthday. Last year my Dad's youngest sister gave me a couple of discs with pictures on it and they are so neat! I just had to share a few of them. And you have to understand that up until a few years ago, I had never seen a picture of my Dad as a child or teen. There were so many great pictures, I could look at them for hours! Lucky for you I didn't post too many. I hope you enjoy them half as much as I do!
I love this picture! It would have to be Christmas morning with all their loot! That would be my Dad by the tree. He was the oldest, then Angelia, who is holding the dog, and Brenda, the youngest, is in between them.

Okay, most of the pictures of my Dad were him without a shirt, luckily this one he is fully clothed! :) I can only assume that this was in front of their house. I love the girls with their tightly curled hair. I know that was the style, and I know they laugh at it now, so I can't help giggle about it. I love my Dad's stance with his arms folded across his chest.

I love the laughter and love in this picture. This is my Grandpa, who actually died the same year as my Dad did. From what I have heard about him, he was a very loving man. I wish I had had the opportunity to get to know him too.

I about wet myself when I saw this picture. My Dad with a tuba!? I had no clue and I still have no clue as to when or for how long. These are just a few of the questions I have for him. One day I hope to have the opportunity to ask him many, many things. Isn't he cute!

I LOVE this picture! Doesn't he look so cool! I think this could be a beer advertisement. I'm sure my Mom will not be pleased that I am putting a picture of my Dad with an Old Milwaukie beer in his hand, but I just had to. You have to understand that my Dad had a bit of an ego. He had to being an Army Test Pilot. You can't put your life on the line every day and not have an ego and this picture shows that ego and I LOVE it! But he loved to fly. How many people can say they love what they do and love to get up every day and go to work. My Dad could. My Dad wasn't perfect, he had many flaws, like most of us do, but he was amazing! He was and is my Dad and I love him so much. I look forward to the day when I get to put my arms around him, I wonder if I will ever let go . . .

I miss you and I love you Dad! Happy Birthday!

Yep, It's a boy!

"I did it!" This is what I kept hearing coming from the kitchen accompanied by the pounding of his hammer. So, I had to check it out, because when he says "I did it!" he throws his hands in the air and has a huge smile on his face. It is just way too cute to pass up. So I round the corner and this is what I see . . .

He is smashing Cheetos with his hammer! That's my boy!!

Pay-It-Forward . . .

Read closely...this is how it works...

The Rules...

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!

If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Please take the button and post it on your blog; start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

Wax Museum

It's that time of year when the Wax Museum comes to town. I loved this assignment when Caitlyn was in 3rd grade and I still love it now with Haidyn. One of the book reports that they get to do is a biography. Haidyn chose Annie Oakley. Their book report consists of doing a poster and then dressing up as that person and posing in a "wax museum". It was lots of fun learning about Miss Oakley. Caitlyn chose Elizabeth Blackwell, one of the first woman doctors. I am thrilled that my girls have picked and learned about such strong women in history. Women who go against the grain and are strong and unwilling to do the norm. Anyone who knows my girls knows that they are very independant and strong willed (guess where they that from). I am and glad they can see such good examples of women in the past to help them prepare for the future.

Sick Princess

Our poor little Dilyn has been sick this past week. She had been up several times during the nights and running a temp on occasion. So, after three days of this I took her to the doctor. She apparently has croup or the beginnings of it anyway. This picture is after we went to the doctor and we got the nice cough syrup that has the narcotic in it that helps them sleep. Love that stuff. John read her, I think, about half the book and she was out. I love it that she fell asleep with her hands behind her head and her knees up. She looks so relaxed! Poor girl! She is going stir crazy now, tired of being stuck in the house!

Bakin' Fool!

This week I have been a woman obsessed! I have been obsessed with baking and cooking! I don't know why, well, actually I do. Let me share . . . I had a wedding cake for Saturday, but that was only a portion. I know this is surprising, but I have been a rebellious soul when it comes to food storage. Not that I don't want to do it, I do, I really do, but when I start thinking about it and the amount of food I need to still get it becomes overwhelming. The thought of the amount of wheat one should have seems slightly ridiculous, and once I have it what am I going to do with it? I have nothing against making stuff from scratch, I make just about everything from scratch, except mac & cheese, but on occasion make that from scratch too. But until this week I had never made bread. It intimidated me, not sure why, but it did. I started this past year making rolls and scones, and this week I finally took on bread! And if I do say so myself, it was delicious! Last week I was at an Enrichment Board meeting and after attempting to argue my pathetic side, I was told that I needed to be hit upside the head and just accept it and follow it. So this was my attempt to follow the teachings that I have been presented with. No, I did not grind my own wheat, but I actually did buy wheat flour, for the first time. I am taking steps in trying to improve my attitude.

Isn't it pretty? Then I made dinner every night this last week. No eating out, nothing from a box. And I must say, we ate really good this week and we had homemade bread for almost every meal. Then, yesterday I had a wedding cake to do for a sweet young friend of mine. Karyn and Matt were married in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple yesterday! I am so happy for them! Karyn asked if I would make her cake, and I was excited to do so. I have the habit of getting very stressed out when I do wedding cakes, to the point where I can't sleep and almost every time I say I won't do another one, but I always do. This time, for some reason I didn't get stressed out. I love it when they look as good as I have them planned out in my head, that doesn't always happen, but it sure is nice when they do!

What do you think? The bride was very happy how it turned out, and that is the best part! Now I am off to make another batch of bread and my kids want to make some soft pretzels for a treat. Another busy day in the world of a mom.

HELP!

Okay, here is my silly dilema. I am trying to set up a slide show in Add a Gadget. I have set up files in Flickr and Photobucket but cannot for the life of me get it to load in the Slideshow. Has anyone been successful in this endeavor? I need help. Thank you for listening!

-Tiffany

New for me!

For the past 11 1/2 years of motherhood, I have played my fair share of Barbies, Dolls and dressup. Now I get to play cars! I must admit, I never thought I would be doing this after having three girls! I love it when Brevin grabs my hand and pulls me down the hall to play cars with his mom. (What is really great is when he won't let his sisters play, cause he just wants to play with mom, and they sit back on the sideline looking eagerly on in hopes of one rolling past so they can roll it back to him!)

Is it like this for you?

Today as we were cleaning up the house, Saturday is a special day . . ., I thought I would keep track of the amount of hair accessories that I picked up. This is a common occurance with three girls, and one little boy who is always sucking/chewing on a ponytail holder (Why? Don't ask, I don't know). Every day I manage to put away at least ten different accessories. I'm not sure why this happens every day. I know that I don't put this many items in my girls hair everyday, but I sure put away a lot. Is this a normal thing for any of you? I must admit it frustrates me greatly! Every where I turn . . . bobby pin here . . . barrette there . . . it is getting a little tiring!

Happy New Year's?

I love New Year's! The start of the next year is always fun and this year is no exception. I have only one complaint concerning New Year's . . . resolutions. Why do we have to do this? I can't help but think that all I am doing is setting myself up to fail. I have nothing wrong with setting goals, but it always seems that we set these many goals for ourself and by day three at least half of them we have already failed at. I love setting goals for myself, but I haven't set a New Year's resolution for myself in years, because I don't need the pressure of yet another failed attempt at reading my scriptures every day (that lasted I think at the most 3 days), saying my prayers every day (one day), being nice to my kids (3 hours), being nice to my husband (10 minutes), losing weight (this is always in process, I have 20 lbs to go to get my tummy tuck!) over my head. I hope I am not sounding angry or grumpy, I just like to start my goals when I am ready and one at a time versus ten all in one day. I am still trying to accomplish my goals from years ago! So, if you set your goals for this new year, I wish you luck! And I wish you a Happy New Year's.