Conversations with Abby....

1. Abby likes to pick out her clothes and get herself dressed. We were getting ready for church and she had picked out some tights to wear. Our conversation went like this...

Abby: "Mom, these pink tights match my dress, Right?
Me: "Well, not really because the pink stripe in your dress in Hot Pink"
Abby: Very confused says " Then are these tights Cold Pink?"
Me: With a smile on my face I said "No sis, those are Light Pink"

2. We were in the car driving and I was very happy with how the girls were behaving. So I was telling them how much I liked that.

Me: "It sure makes me happy when you guys are sweet and kind and listen real good! Thank you so much"
Abby: "It sure makes ME happy when you don't scream mommy" :)
Me: "Me too sis! See, when you guys are good then mommy doesn't scream."
Abby: "Oh, maybe we should all just be sweet !"
Me: "What a good idea"
That concept didn't last long.

3. Abby has been asking a lot of questions lately and has become very curious. We have been talking about how we get milk from cows, meet from the deer daddy shoots and bacon from pigs. I was cutting a watermelon and realized I need to plant a garden for more than one reason.

Abby: "Mommy, what animal does a watermelon come from?" :)
Me: I laughed and said "watermelons don't come from animals, they grow in gardens"
I then discussed what else grows in a garden and realized I need to plant a garden so my kids can learn how things grow and also to save money. Probably not, but it was a good thought!

Kids sure are funny, aren't they?

Abby Has Hair - (a little bit)

Abby has pony tails, I can't believe it! The other day I was playing with her hair and realized we probably could do some pony tails. The smile on her face was the best! She has recently noticed that all the princesses and all her friends have long hair! She puts her pajama pants on her head and says "look mommy, my long hair." She keeps asking if her hair is growing. I reassure her that it is growing just very very slowly! This is a huge stepping stone for us and we are very excited!

The cutest is that Abby has always called them "tail hairs". Now just about every morning she asks if we can do tail hairs! When she first looked in the mirror at her tail hairs she said "I look different mommy". She is right, it makes her look so much older.

I need a little work on making it straight and even but I haven't had any practice! At least Abby doesn't know the difference. And just in case you have forgotten or don't know why I haven't had any practice....

Infant (2004)

This is Ava and Abby. Nothing has changed, Ava has a TON of hair and Abby has none. Pretty funny!

6 months

1st Birthday (2005)

18 months

The same hair style and accessories as baby sis!

Here is the same pair as before, Ava and Abby.

2nd Birthday...still no hair (2006)

Summer 2007

Fall 2007

3rd Birthday (2007)

4th Birthday (2008)

And now! Isn't her hair DREAMY!!

February update....

I can't believe we have had so many visitors already....we are missed! That is so exciting! Our very first visitors were our good friends Drew and Amy. They came to visit for the day to escape from their sadness that they were experiencing. We were glad to give them a place to escape to. I got my massage table out and gave Amy a 90 minute massage to help her relax and relieve some stress. I am so glad I have that talent and ability! I sure enjoy doing that for people. Amy and I have been good friends for a long time and have been through sooo much together! She is truly the best friend anyone could ask for. She has been there for me many times in my life and I am so grateful for her and her friendship! While she enjoyed her massage, Ryan and Drew found some trails and went mountain biking. I know Ryan really enjoyed that. He has only gone biking with me and the kids and its just not the same. Thanks Drew for kickin his butt! Then we met up with some other friends Kent and Susan for dinner and played some games. All in all, we have a fabulous day and really enjoyed spending time with Drew and Amy!

Our next visitors are some of my favorite people to spend time with, Dani and Nikki. They came to visit with their kiddos for the day. My girls were soooo excited to have friends to play with! Abby has especially missed being with all of her cousins and friends since we have moved. And I have of course missed being with my friends as well!! It worked out perfectly because Ryan was gone all day and night so it gave me something to do. We had fun playing at the park and just hanging out. Dani's mother-in-law lives close to me and she was so kind to babysit ALL of the kids so we could enjoy a fabulous dinner at my favorite place, Casa Manana!! Fortunately, I think the girls enjoyed that and it will cause them to come back and visit:) Nothin like good ol Mexican food. Actually, Dani and I had a girls night out just about every Tuesday night after work! It always consisted of Mexican food....hence the extra poundage! I sure miss that time we had but I'm sure I won't miss the extra pounds! Thanks girls for coming it was fun, lets do it again soon, please!!

I took a picture of all the kids playing but I can't seem to open it on my computer. And I am sooo done with computer problems. Every time I sit down to work on my blog something goes wrong!It is probably just me but I am so frustrated. Maybe I can figure it out later.

And lastly, my sweet mother came to visit! Sorry mom, that silly face is pretty silly alright! My mom came up for the weekend and we sure did enjoy that! The girls miss their grandma and I know she misses them a lot too! We showed her around town - all 10 miles of it - and also took her over to Duncan. She got to experience what that's like! I think she wants to move their now. We visited with Ryan's parents and grandparents. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family around! Love you mom, hope you come again soon!

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH!!

Isn't he just the cutest! I sure wouldn't mind having him as my nurse, even with the shaved head.....it's called starving students can't afford and don't have time for a hair cut every 3 weeks!

My sweet hubby started a new job at a nursing home as a CNA, or butt wiper as we like to call it. I know that's crude, but ya tell it like it is and lets face it, someday we are all going to be having our butts wiped by someone else! Anyway, Ryan started in February and at the end of the month the residents have a little meeting. In this meeting they discuss who they feel has been the employee of the month. Ryan had only worked about 4 or 5 shifts that month and in that short time he impacted the residents enough to be named employee of the month!! I think that is sooo great and I am so proud of my little hubby nurse! I am so impressed but not surprised in the least. Ryan definitely has a way with people. He is very charismatic, fun and a hard worker, when he wants to be! His goal is to make each resident that he cares for smile or laugh at least once during each shift. Actually, I think that goes beyond his work environment, who am I kidding, he is always trying to get a laugh! It keeps things interesting and I love that about him...most of the time! I have seen a tender side of him in that genuinely cares about these folks and their needs. He has really enjoyed his job, although it is very hard work physically and emotionally! He's a winner!

SPRING BREAK!!!

For spring break we made a trip back home to Gilbert! We had a lot of fun relaxing, visiting with friends and family, shopping etc. We don't have much shopping in Safford you know. We had a great time. Ryan got to visit Gore, his old job and go shooting with his buddy Rich and I got to go shopping with my mom and get a pedicure:) I didn't take very many pics but I did take some at Peter Piper Pizza for Noah's birthday party.

We also got to go on a date while we were there! Thank you so much mom for babysitting and allowing Ryan and I to have fun and remember why we love each other so much! We invited Dani, Ryan, Nikki, and Jesse to join us on our date and we are so glad they were able to come. We had a blast just like the good ol days when we were dating and did fun, crazy things! We ate dinner and then ended up at SKATELAND of all places! I know, we hadn't been there since we were kids. After checking into bowling and goofy golf just to find out that it was way too busy and crowded we decided to go skating with all the junior high kids. It really was a blast once we got comfortable in the skates. I think Harris biffed it the most! It didn't take long before we realized how old and out of shape we all are because we got tired way too fast! Thanks for the fun night guys!