THE DISEASE

Today the girls had me bring Jack into their school class for Show-N-Tell. They were VERY excited to show Jack off to their class.
After being mauled by 30 3rd graders, we went to Abby's class. While in Abby's class, the discussion went like this:

Abby: Does anyone have any questions?

Classmate: How much bigger will Jack get? Is he fully grown?

Abby: Well, he won't grow anymore because he has a disease.

Classmate: A disease? What kind?

Abby: It's called Short-Man Syndrome. He would grow bigger but since he has this syndrome, this is as big as he will get.

Me & The Teacher: DYING laughing!

CAN'T FORGET THIS...

One of the main reasons why I blog is to remember the small, everyday occurrences in our family's life.

Like Camille pretending she is in a photo shoot while I was taking her picture in her Christmas dress.

Seriously, where does she come up with this stuff????

Abby is so creatively mischievous. Just today, she bit her sister's bottom. Then, tonight Camille came downstairs crying because she went to brush her teeth and discovered Abby had put a BIG, HUGE BOOGER on her toothbrush!

Don't let her sweet face and big, brown eyes fool you! Last year, while Camille slept she wrote boys names on Camille's face. Luckily for Camille, a Sharpie wasn't involved!!

SPECIAL DAY

This week 2 VERY SPECIAL people have a birthday. In fact, they share the same birthday. I love these 2 people SO much and I especially love that they share the same birthday!!

The First Birthday Girl Is....
CAMILLE. She woke up this morning and was excited to open her first present which was a new outfit to wear to school.

Then, she wanted to have her hair like this:

After a day of her daddy bringing her birthday balloons to school, her parents taking her out to lunch to her favorite place, The Olive Garden, treats for her school class of Kit-Kat's and rootbeer, she planned her special birthday dinner menu. It included much of the same favorites as last year. Salmon, shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad and Shirley Temples to drink. Unfortunately for Camille, Costco was out of Sushi.

I still can't believe how fast the time has gone by! I know it sounds so cliche, but it seems like just yesterday Camille was the happy, bald baby that LOVED her daddy to hold her. Not much has changed, except the bald part.

She is turning into a wonderful young lady. She is definitely the life of our family and is constantly making all of us laugh.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAMILLE!!

We all love you and hope you have had a wonderful day!

The Second Birthday Girl Is....

My dear friend, Sachiko. I adore this lady. She is so cute, so fun and a terrific wife and mother. I still can't get over how blessed I am to have met her. About 2 and 1/2 years ago, her son was one of about 200 students who came to Utah for a week from Japan. We were so blessed to have her son, Sotaro stay with us. And very quickly, I became fast friends with his mother, Sachiko. For the past 2 1/2 years, we communicate frequently via e-mail and talk occasionally on the telephone. Daren always tells me that he can't believe how much alike Sachiko and I are. It is almost freaky how much we like and enjoy the same things. When she tells me about how she spends her day, it is almost identical to how I spend my days. She loves to cook, she is very involved with her children and their education, she loves being a housewife, she spends a lot of time doing wash, cleaning and going to the grocery store. She finds joy in being a wife and mother. She called Camille tonight to wish her a happy birthday and I could talk to her for hours and hours. She is such a neat lady and I admire her dedication to her family, her husband and children. She is a great example to me and wish she lived closer. It is a dream of mine to one day visit her in Japan. She asked me what I'd like to do when we go to Japan. What I want to do the most is just sit in her home and talk and laugh and be around her.

Happy Birthday, my friend! I love that you share your birthday with my daughter.

I'm glad you enjoyed your birthday with NO HOUSEWORK!! I guess us women are all the same no matter where in the world we live. We all would love a birthday filled with NO HOUSEWORK.

REFLECTING

I'm excited for 2011!

2010 was a good year but had its ups and downs.

I can't help but wonder what will be different in 2011. There were quite a few changes in our life in 2010.

First of all, I love to exercise now. NEVER thought this time last year I would be saying that.

And, I am a dog owner. I NEVER EVER thought that would happen.

In fact, I can't wait for the snow to melt off so I can go jogging with my dog. NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS did I think I'd be saying that now.

Moral of the story, NEVER SAY NEVER cause you never know what curves life will bring you.

I was awake until 3:30 this morning with a million different thoughts running through my mind. But most of all, I am truly grateful for my husband, my children and the health we each enjoy.

I just hope at the end of 2011, I go to bed enjoying these same blessings.