we hope that you all had a

merry christmas

and that the new year will bring to you many wonderful memories and joys.

i know that christmas was a little disappointing to you,

but let me just say that not receiving a christmas card from me is no indication of my feelings towards you. i decided that this year there were a few things that needed to be eliminated from my crazy schedule in order to keep my sanity!

wait, i guess i lost that a long time ago. well, then to keep me happy.

we had a great christmas and enjoyed its simplicity.

my children were good and got gifts,

but mr. potato head and i are starting to feel the

presence of the world's materialism in our home (or at least in small fry's attitude)

and agreed that we need to instill in her gratitude and true joy.

she did comment on christmas morning about the scarcity of gifts.

oh, joy! i have a lot of work to do.

she has been spoiled for 5 years as an only child.

here are a few pictures from christmas - oh, wait, i forgot. my camera is not working. sorry.

i'm sure that i can dig some up somewhere and make a page to share - check back in a few days!

these 2 are crazy about each other. i just had to scrap it.

it will be fun for her to have this memory to look back on.

my question is...

if they have been together this long,

how much longer will it be before tigger is placed on the shelf?

5 years and counting...

here are my latest pages...

tricia - we miss you!!

this was so long ago, but i finally did it! and that is something to be proud of, considering my life at the moment. i stayed up until midnight so give me some love

because tomorrow i will need it.

finally...

i got the first page in tater tot's scrap book finished (below). lets see if i can get it printed now.

i really need a weekend with no interruptions and distractions

(that's code for children & husband) to just catch up on life -

or maybe a week.

that is what i can ask santa to give me for christmas! but i probably won't get it,

just coal for me this year.

ohhh! isn't she tiny? not anymore!

okay, she never was really small but now at 4 months she weighs 15 pounds! hey chunky, lay off the milk!

WOW!! can you believe it? i have posted sooo much the last few months. tricia would be proud. so in honor of tricia i am posting the latest scrap that features her picture,

well the picture she took of 'small fry'. this picture was taken this summer just before father's day. we had spent the afternoon trying to take all our kids' pictures for a special father's day photo shoot and in the mayhem, tricia,

point... click... shoot, got the perfect picture of 'small fry'.

i titled it 'celebrate all the little moments in your life' to help me remember that the moments that are most precious and most telling are the ones that seem so insignificant and small.

althought this moment was short, it tells sooo much about the girl.

tricia you amaze me with your photography skills - you are quite the photog.

and yes, i know this is the same picture on the sidebar - i just love it that much.

btw, happy birthday, heather!

here we go again. more of the scrapping. if you get tired of this let me know.

i am trying to catch up on several years of back scrapping. this page was to capture 'small fry's' love for her baby sister. she would spend a lot of time giving the baby love while i was pregnant.

and it didn't stop there...

she continues to give lots of love to her sister. what a sweetheart. enjoy.

just want to share some of the fun happening at our home. i have enjoyed digital scrapping and am starting to develop a 'style'. the story behind page one: every friday night we 'campout' in the living room. this includes pillows, blankets, a movie and treats! after watching a movie, we all fall asleep in the living room. i usually sneak off to my bed when the snoring starts. about 3 am the whole family joins me with 'small fry' sleeping on the floor next to my bed until about 7 am when she joins the rest of us in the bed. good times. one thing that makes me smile: when we are all snuggled in the bed together come saturday morning. story for page 2: 'small fry' is just a kick when its tub time. its the best time to catch a big smile. i got out the camera and she put on a show. she makes me happy and brings such joy to our lives.

The First Birthday

Ava Ruth Adams was born at 8:31 pm on July 7, 2009. She weighed 8 lbs 1 oz and was 20.5 inches long. She has lots of dark hair and mom and baby are doing great!

FYI

For those of you who want to know, all 3 of you, we are happy to announce that after 3 ultrasounds we have confirmed that 'Tater Tot' is a GIRL! We couldn't be more excited. Small Fry is more than excited.

Small Fry was a little confused on the technicalities of determining the gender of the baby. Just the other day she asked me how they got the pictures and how did they know it was a girl. I told her that the machine can take pictures on the inside of my tummy and they saw that it was a girl because she had girl body parts.

Reply:
"Oh yeah, Mom. Because if it was a boy, they would have seen this little thing poking up, (sticking her index finger in the air) like this. Then it would have been a boy."

What could I say to that. She was dead on! (Insider information: Lately, gender identification and curiosity have been at a high.) Another instance just happened the other day - it is HILARIOUS and if you want to hear, call me, I am glad to share.

Getting back to the baby. I am 8 months and we are all doing great. A little tired and getting anxious, but mostly happy.

Stubborn Little Tater Tot

It's a... baby! I wish that I had news for you but my children are just naturally stubborn. We could not get this baby to cooperate. This baby was breach and sucking on its toes. The position made gender unclear. The only thing I can give you is a 90% guarantee that it is a girl. Maybe we can get a better picture in the future but until then we are all in the dark. Below is a 3D image taken of the face. I am told that the baby is sticking out its tongue. Stubborn and sassy. I wonder what this child has in store for us.

A 'Small Fry' Observation

Picture this. 'Small Fry' holding hands with Grandma as they pass time in a local outdoor sporting goods store. Two men, dressed in wranglers, big belt buckles, plaid shirts and cowboy hats walk past...

"Oh, look grandma, cowboys. Hmm, I guess they left their horses outside!"

Its a...!

Come back in 3 days to find out what our newest spud is.

Ahh, the woes of pregnancy! I am starving. It was only 2 weeks ago that the sight of food was repulsing! Now, I can't get enough. At 14 weeks the baby is only as big as a fist and requires an extra 300 calories a day in my diet. Seems more like 3,000 today. I have already consumed my limit. Breakfast included:

• 1 bowl of pumpkin seed granola with milk
• 1 glass cranberry juice
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 2 pieces of english muffin bread toast with butter

There are no excuses. I am just famished. Hmmm, I wonder what's for lunch.