It's a Wonderful Life!

I love this time of year!

I love my Savior who loved each of us enough to come to earth and live a mortal life and atone for our sins.

I love that He made it possible to be free from pain, sorrow, guilt, grief, illness, etc.

I love that Brianna still believes in Santa.

I love that Ben can't contain his Christmas secrets. (I love it, but won't trust him with any more!)

I love that James still has a little boy in him, and that I get peeks at that (mostly when he has a weapon -- bow & arrow, or gun-- in his hand.)

I love that my new dog is SO mellow.

And that he doesn't pee and poop in the house.

I love that we were able to spend Thanksgiving with James' family, and that we have a great party coming up with my side of the family as well!

I love that I love ALL of my family members! What a blessing that is!

I love that I can see. I mean I can SEE! LASIK is fabulous!

I love that Ben is LOVING third grade!

I love that I can take pictures with my phone! Afterall, it allowed me to capture these beauties!

The night Ben received his Bobcat!

Ben receiving his soccer trophy! His coach likes to give them a nickname each season. This time, he called Ben Mr. Fundamentals. :) Ben scored a goal on his last game of the season!

(Brianna did great in soccer this year as well, and she, too, received a trophy, but those pictures were on a different camera!)

Obviously, it's very difficult to get Brianna to pose for a picture!

Poor mannequin! I guess she learned too late that you NEVER mess with a 4 year old pirate!

B.I.G. News!!!

O.k., so we've told our parents, and a few of our close friends, but mostly we've kept it a secret, because we didn't want to jinx ourselves.

But, I suppose the time has come to make the announcement:

We have made an addition to our family!

His name is Rascal. He is eight years old. Completely housetrained. COMPLETELY M.E.L.L.O.W! He comes when he's called. He tolerates Brianna's intense "loving". He's cute and sweet. And, so far, I have NO complaints. I guess that's what's scaring me. I told my parents that I was waiting for "the other shoe to drop" and they replied that he's so old, he can't remember where he left the other shoe! :)

What?! You thought we were going to announce something else? Ha, ha! Don't you know us better than that by now?