I love my family!

Last weekend, the kids and I were able to go to UT to celebrate my great-grandma's 90th birthday. It was one of the best weekends I've had in quite a long time....and it was all because of my wonderful family. I was able to see so many cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and, best of all, my Mom, Dad and most of my siblings. It was so neat seeing everyone there and enjoying one another's company. I stayed at my cousin, Tammy's, house. My cousin, Lori, and her 4 kids and my Uncle Jessie stayed there also so it was a full house, but it was so fun. Paige had a BLAST with all of the kids (there were 7 kids altogether) and we were all sad to leave.

The birthday party for my Grandma was actually a surprise party, and boy, was she surprised! I'll never forget her face. She had the biggest smile on her face when she saw how many family members and friends were there. It was such a neat experience. We were told not to bring any gifts for her, but I found a book that I HAD to give her.

This book was about the First 100 year-history (1879-1979) of the little town that my great-grandma and great-great-grandma were born in. A friend of mine told me about and let me borrow her copy of it. While I was reading through it, I realized what a treasure it was for our family. It had so much of our family history in it, even an excerpt written by my great-great-grandma in 1979. I was blessed to know my Great-great Grandma Thorne, but since she died when I was young, I don't remember a lot about her. I was in tears when I read how she grew up with Grandpa Thorne and "began to keep company" with him before they were married, how she had to leave her 13-month old son, Ronnie, in the hospital when he had polio and how hard it was for her because the hospital was so far away, and how proud she was of her children, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. Family was very important to her and that is one of the many qualities she has passed down through the generations.

After reading this book, I knew that I had to get one to give to my Great Grandma. My friend actually gave me her book because she knew how much it meant to me. (She's such an amazing woman!!) My cousin, Tammy, and I made little bookmarks to put whenever any of our family was mentioned. Between the Byingtons, Lasleys and Thornes, we had to make over 20 bookmarks. On Saturday, we gave my Grandma the book. As soon as she realized what it was, she put her hand to her mouth and began to cry. Of course, I began to cry when I saw how much it meant to her! One of my uncles told me that she has hardly put the book down since she received it!! I'm just so happy that she treasures this book and it will be able to be passed down through the generations so we can ALL read about our amazing, faithful ancestors and hopefully come to know the people behind the names! Oh, just writing about it all brings all those emotions back!! I am so blessed to be a part of my wonderful family!

My Grandma is in the middle, with her sister, Naomi, and brother, Ronnie, on either side. They're looking at the picture of their family that was taken around 1945.

On Wednesday, Brian, the kids and I went to the little town of Rockland to pick up more books (many family members wanted their own copy once they saw what was in it) and we went to the cemetery to see if we could find my ancestors' graves. I couldn't believe how many were there!! Here are a few pictures of the grave stones. It was cold and beginning so snow, so we only got one picture with the kids, but it's a picture of Grandma Thorne's parents' grave stone....so my great-great-great grandparents. Amazing, isn't it?!?

Isaac Thorne Sr. was my Great-great Grandpa Thorne's grandfather

My Grandpa Thorne's parents

The back of Grandpa Thorne's parents' grave stone. Can you imagine losing 3 of your children (Glen, Vera and Jessie) in 4 days?!? I hope we never have to go through that!

This is Grandma Thorne's maternal grandparents. Sarah Lasley was one of the midwives in Rockland.

April 2008 General Conference

We had a wonderful General Conference!! I felt like so many of the messages were specifically written for me. I guess I really need to work on quite a few things!! A few of the talks that touched me the most were given by Elder Oaks (how to gain and bear a true testimony), Elder Hales (being one in purpose just as our Father in Heaven and our Savior are one...how I'm wanting our family to be!), Elder Ballard (motherhood...what a rewarding job we, as mothers, have.) I have much to work on, but this is what I love about General Conference. The messages don't make me feel guilty for the things I'm doing wrong or not doing, they just give me hope and helps me realize that I CAN be better. What a wonderful opportunity we had as members to sustain Thomas S. Monson as our prophet, seer and revelator. He is an amazing man and I love how he focuses on the one and cares so much about us as individuals who are trying to be more Christ-like and live worthily so we can be with our families forever. We are so blessed to have him leading us at this time!

These pictures are of some of the projects that I printed off for Paige so she could hopefully listen to Conference or at least be quiet enough so Brian and I could really listen to the talks. It works as well as it could for a 3-year-old. :0) She was fascinated by the first pictures of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and their ties. She said Pres. Uchtdorf's tie with the diagonal stripes and continued to draw stripes on almost every tie. Everytime someone else got up to speak, she'd ask me what his tie was like and she would try to draw it. As you can see the stripes were her favorite! :0) Thank you, Tammy, for giving me the link to these projects!!

Easter pictures

We had a good Easter this year. We had the Easter Bunny come on Saturday and he was happy to oblige. Paige and Austin LOVED their presents and had a fun time finding the eggs that the Easter Bunny hid. Luckily it was nice enough weather that we could go outside for the egg hunt. Paige and Austin were pretty funny with the eggs. We had a mixture of real and plastic eggs and they figured out pretty quickly that the plastic eggs had the goods. Austin would shake the eggs to make sure they had something in them and then spend quite a long time opening them. His favorites were the Lifesaver gummies. Yum, yum! Paige would just run to each plastic egg, open it, dump the treats in her basket and then drop the egg back on the ground. She knew what the best part was! Sorry we weren't able to get very many good pictures of the egg hunt. Our camera's batteries were going out and I had to rush to try to get as many pictures as possible.

For those that don't have the "I want to be like Nephi" book, I highly recommend getting it. It is such an amazing book that helps young children relate the scriptures to themselves. I LOVE it!

Sorry about the shadow! See the explanation above.

Here are Austin and Paige's Easter outfits. Aren't they so cute?!? Paige LOVED her dress. She twirled almost non-stop from the instant she put it on until we made her take it off so she could go to bed! She's definitely a girly-girl when it comes to pretty dresses! :0) I couldn't believe she stood still long enough for me to do her hair. I really love that her hair is getting long and thick enough to actually do things with now!

As you can see (kind of), Austin is doing a little walking now. He's been able to do it for a while now, but it definitely has to be his idea. I took him in for his 1 year dr. appointment and asked the doctor about it. He noticed that one leg was shorter than the other and said that that might be a reason for the delay, even though he was still in the normal range for walking. He was worried that his hips might be the cause of it, but the x-ray was clear, so there's not much to worry about. The funny thing was that the next day he walked about 20 steps from the couch to the TV. The little stinker!

Speaking of doctor's appointments. Paige had her 3-year appointment the day after her birthday and he asked if she could say 3-4 word sentences. As soon as the doctor asked the question, Paige went into a whole dialouge about going to see the rabbits for Easter and feed them and try to help them find their mommy. The doctor just looked at me and said, "I don't think she has a problem in this area!" Definitely, NO!

Paige's Birthday Pt. 2

Sorry this is a little late. Things have been a little busy lately. Paige now thinks she gets presents almost every day now that we had to take "shifts" with the opening of presents, Easter, etc. She's a pretty silly girl. Enjoy the pics.Paige loves the butterfly on the outfit, G'ma and G'pa N. gave her. Don't ask me what this facial expression is all about. It's one of her new ones! ;0)
Intently "reading" her new book Goose on the Loose. I can't get over how much this girl LOVES books. I love it!!
Her last birthday outfit. When she tried on the capris, she told me that the pants were too small because they were too short. Once I explained that that's how they were supposed to be, she said, "OH!! They're capris!!!"

A Mouse About the House!!

Can you guess who this "little mouse" could be?!?

Paige's Birthday Part 1

We survived our 3rd birthday party in about 4 weeks! Now I know how my mom and dad felt during the month of June!! (4 of the 7 people in my family have birthdays in June). Paige has actually had (or will have, I should say) a couple nights of opening presents. (It's been a pretty crazy week, to put it simply!)

Here are pictures and videos of the party we had with G'ma and G'pa A. the night before Paige's actual birthday. It was so fun having them here to help celebrate. Paige and Austin absolutely ADORE both sets of grandparents and we LOVE it when they come to visit and play with us!

To start things off, here's the age-old birthday song. Watch Paige's face while we're singing. She LOVES being the being sung to and being the center of attention, don't you think?

Paige LOVED her "Pink Daisy" cake. I was planning on making it a traditional white cake, but Paige insisted on it being PINK!! Just one of her favorite colors! Austin (and everyone else) LOVED the marshmallows, of course!

Paige modeling one of her jackets from G'ma and G'pa A. She loves these little jackets because they are so soft! They're perfect for nice Spring days!!
Dr. Paige. We think she'll follow in Brian's footsteps quite well with those glasses on!! ;0)
Oh, how we love Grandmas and Grandpas!!!!!!!
Paige was extra spoiled this birthday. She got THREE polly pocket style princesses...Snow White, Ariel and Sleeping Beauty. She has played them almost every second she possibly can since she's gotten them. I'm not so sure about the itty-bitty shoes that Paige insists I put on because I'm "strong", but they definitely are very cute and occupy Paige for a very, very long time throughout the day!! :0)
We got Paige a few dress-up clothes. She has almost the whole outfit on and, as you can see, is trying to keep them on! :0) Yes, I have a little "taking in" to do, but isn't she an ADORABLE princess?!?

We really did plan on having another little party while Aunt Kandra was here, but things were quite busy around here. Between having to practice and play the music for our Relief Society program, Dr. appointments (thankfully well-child visits!!), and doing fun projects with Kandra, we couldn't find a time when everyone was home and awake. So....hopefully tomorrow she'll be able to open the rest of her presents. She's been so patient with us!

Bad hair day, anyone?

Paige has been very creative with hair-dos lately (which 3-year-old girl, isn't?!?). She loves to get ALL of her bow and clips out and either put them in my hair or her own. Here's some of pics of Paige's creations!

Luckily I have found someone in my ward who cuts and styles my hair in a much more "pleasing" fashion! :0) Hopefully I'll be able to get a few pics of my new hairstyle and color posted soon. (Don't worry...it's nothing drastic!) :0)

Did you wear GREEN today?!?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Today was a very busy day, so we did most of our "projects", as Paige calls them last week. We made Paige's lovely Lephrechaun hat (the "L" was for "lephrechaun" and the "P" was for Paige) and made yummy sugar cookies. Between the 4 of us, these were gone in about 3 days. Sad, but true. That's why I don't make sugar cookies very often! You have to love how Paige put the sprinkles on some cookies and none on others! She had so much fun decorating them!

Guess who's 3!!!

Make a scrapbook - it's easy! We can't believe Paige is 3-years-old already! This year has flown by!!

Paige, we love you so much and we are so blessed to have you in our family! You amaze us with all of your talents. You definitely keep us on our toes, but you know what? We wouldn't want it any other way!! Happy Birthday, Sweet Paigers!!

Austin's 1st Birthday!

So, we survived Austin's 1st birthday. It actually was a very laid back event. Grandma N. came to visit and help celebrate. That made Austin and Paige's day, that's for sure!! I still can't believe that Austin is 1 already! This year has gone by WAY too quickly for my liking. Oh well. That's just how it goes, I guess! Anyway, here are some pictures and videos of the big event. As you can see, Austin is developing quite the personality!! :0)

These first 4 pictures were taken a couple days before the B-day. Paige wanted to make Austin a card and this is the final product. Austin absolutely LOVED it and got very angry when we tried to take it away from him.

Austin's loot! Yeah....some boy toys!!!!Austin's construction cake. I saw the idea on the Kraft website. Very easy and quite cute. I realized after I made the cake that I didn't have anything to write the #1 with, so Oreo cookies became the next option. Oh well! (Also, for all you farmers out there, yes...I know that a combine harvester isn't a construction truck, but it's the only thing I had!) :0)
Cheesing it for the camera. Can you tell he liked his birthday cupcake?!?

You have to have the birthday song, right?!?

Sorry this is so long, but Austin was so funny opening up his presents, that I had to include one of the videos we took. Enjoy!

Yesterday and Today

Yesterday felt like Spring. The sun was shining and I was so excited to see these little beauties on our tree outside.

Today, Winter has shown it's mean, ol' face again. It's been snowing all morning and is still at it. (I'm sure all of you Ohioans are laughing at me right now!! It's definitely NOT a blizzard, but still!) :0) Just one question....When's it gonna end?!?

More Paige-isms

Yesterday, Paige, Austin, and I were playing with some toy animals. Paige put the sheep on the giraffe's back. (She's so silly!) I laughed and asked if the giraffe was giving the sheep a piggy-back ride. She looked at me as if I said something stupid and said, "No, Mommy, he's giving a giraffe-back ride!" Oops, my bad!!

Then today Paige was putting Lucky, her little stuffed dalmation puppy, and Lamb to bed in the family room. She had them laying on a pillow and wrapped up in one of her blankets. She had a stack of books next to them and she was reading to them. She had all of the lights turned off because they had to go to sleep. I asked her to turn the lights on so she could get dressed and she said, "But, Mom, they're scared of the light...the lights need to be off!" Isn't it usually the other way around?!? :0)

I love the imagination and quickness of Paige. She keeps us on our toes constantly and is such a joy to have in our house, even when she thinks she's the boss and refuses to take naps except maybe once a week!! (Yeah, I'm sad about this one!!)

Help!

OK, all you blog-stalkers out there!! :0) I'm trying to find someone who has the sheet music for a song called "The Woman I Was Before" from the Women of Destiny Vol. 2 CD. It's written by Doug Walker and Sherry Marks Walker. I'm supposed to be singing it for our Relief Society Birthday Celebration, but we are having a difficult time finding the music for it. One of the counselors in the presidency was told that it's out of print now, so.... If any of you have a copy or know where to get a copy, PLEASE let me know!! Happy searching! :0)

Paige tells it like it is?!?

So, Brian was home during his lunch hour and we were just talking in the living room. Paige was telling Daddy everything that she did this morning. She told him that she used her crayons to draw on her "Leprechaun hat". Then she said, "Mommy, your so big and strong, you can open my crayon box for me" (it's a tupperware container that she has a hard time opening up sometimes). "What about Daddy?" I asked her. Instantly, she said, "Daddy's not strong...he's just big." Needless to say, Brian and I had good, hard laugh after this comment!! Gotta love what comes out of a 3-year old's mouth!

My Sweet Birthday Boy!!

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

His birthday is not until Saturday, but I couldn't help but post this a couple days early!! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!!

OK, I'm a slacker

I was on the phone with one of my friends this morning and she mentioned that she really didn't know what I've been up to because I haven't updated my blog for a while. Oops!! I AM a slacker!! Sorry.

Let's see, we just got back from a weekend in Utah which was very fun because we were able to get Paige and Austin together with their cousins. The weather was great on Friday and Saturday morning, but slowly got colder and colder through Sunday. We enjoyed it while it latest, though. Here are a couple videos from our time there.

OK, here's the video I MEANT to post the first time. Oops! (Thanks, Bekah, for tipping me off about it!) :0)

We've also been celebrating Austin's 1st Birthday, even though his birthday isn't until Saturday. He's already a pro with the "Birthday Cupcake" and has already gotten a bit of practice with opening presents. Here's a few pictures from his birthday activities.

Here's Austin's very first cupcake. "Look, Ma, no hands!!"

G'ma and G'pa A. came over and gave Austin his birthday presents a little early. He LOVES his car books and his animals. Thank you, G'ma and G'pa!!!

We had a little party last Monday with a couple other boys Austin's age. (They are all just a month apart.) It was so much fun. I loved the little cupcakes with their initials. Here's a video of part of the birthday song. I was a little late in getting the camera ready! ;0)