Our Aweful Beautiful Life

Do you think the hunting game was a success? (At all age levels?) She may or may not like cake. Make your own judgements.

..."ugh uh Grandma, I'm older than you and bigger than you..." (Colton, to Mamps) -- to which she replied, "Colton, don't I wish that were true..." :) -- "Mom, when will Emmalyn be home from the babysitter. I. I almost forget what her hair looks like" -- complete with his arms out to the side, shoulders shrugging as if to say, "I just don't get it"...thanks for teaching him that, Uncle Jacob! --"Look what I did, all by myself!" -- Colton announcing that he'd just traced all of his capital letters by himself. --"GIT" - Emmalyn, encouraging her Dad (just like her big brother) to go upstairs so that they could decorate for Valentines day without Dad seeing their suprises. -- "ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ" -- Jason's been doing a lot of this lately. Poor guy has been working himself to the bone. In fact, as I type this, I can hear him snoring in the living room. It's 9:30pm. This weekend kicked...

    Today, we celebrated 4 years with Colton Robert Stockment. What a blessing he has been in our lives. Colton made being first time parents easy. Pregnancy was a peice of cake (okay, alot of pieces of cake...) and went by in a flash. Labor and Delivery was easy, complete with a great story to tell about the night he was born (rain/thunder/hail/sleet/snow/whiteout...which is when we finally gave in to go to the hospital). He slept through the night from a VERY young age (8 weeks to be exact), and he learned to crawl, walk and talk all right on cue, if not ahead of schedule. He earned the nickname Einstein and continued to amaze us with his memory.     Now, at 4 years old, he's doing wonderfully in school (of course, with a few things we need to continue to spend time working on...like focus, writing his letters, and cutting skills) and is making all kinds of new friends. He's social and out going (wonder where he gets that) and he loves to do anything an...

Have you ever been told you have "isms"? We were just discussing an old counterpart here in our office, and how we miss him, even though he's just moved downstairs to another part of our division. We miss his "John-isms"...things he did that were funny or quirky about him.  Technically, I think we've all got them. As I started to think about this, I noticed my whole family has them. Thought they might be worth sharing... "Kim-isms" -- Even thought I know that cold air can escape over the TOP of our bathtub/shower, I still make sure that both sides of the plastic shower curtain are "stuck" to the ends of the tub. Do you know what I'm talking about -- I feel like if they are not, then cold air will come sneaking in and ruin my hot shower. I do believe that's a headgame I play with myself. --I feel lost without my cell phone in the car. It makes me nervous. I'll go out of my way to go back home after dropping the kids off, i...

I've stolen lots of great ideas from my cousin/friend Lacy and her blog. She does a great job, and I love her wit. She is where I got the, "What I heard..." posts that I've tried a few times. I read this one that she stole from her cousin, and thought I'd keep the circle going. If you blog, and want to steal...enjoy! :) My cousin Molly started blogging and her first post was a hit!  Using the alphabet, she gave her readers a little introduction of herself.  Being apologetically unoriginal, I decided to use the same scenario for myself. A- Age : 29.....................and holding. Until April. Then I'm screwed. B- Bed size: Queen. It works, they say you have so much more room than a double bed. They obviously don't sleep with my husband. C- Chore I hate: Putting away laundry. I'll fold it until pigs fly, but I HATE putting it away. D- Drive:   A 2008 Chrysler Town and Country. We recently joined the van revolution, and I love it. The ki...

Well, the holidays always put us to the test, and the fact that I haven't blogged in nearly a month can assure you that we've been ON THE GO! :) I absolutely love Christmastime and the memories that come with it. Through the years, things have changed in that we don't get together with the Hall side any longer (Insert a super, super sad face here....those were some GREAT times) and of course, Christmas itself is different because we have our own kids to focus on. We work to make Christmas as magical for them as it was for us growing up. I think we created a wonderful memory this year by adopting Kid the elf. Colton loved it, and has asked several times since Christmas (when Kid flew back to live with Santa until next Christmas season) and we had a great afternoon making Christmas candies and rolls with Aunt Stacy...which has become somewhat of a tradition. Even though Christmas is a little bit different in the parent role than it was in the kid role -- it's all worth ...

Today  I am thankful for: 1. This blog. I'm thankful for this online journal I've taken time to do, even if I don't do it often. This blog & my xanga.com page have helped me capture moments in time in this crazy hectic life. Special moments. Special photos. Special memories are all captured here, and I can go back to them at any time. 2. Other folks blogs. I really enjoy "Following" a few other friends and their blogs. I enjoy hearing about their family happenings or in my cousin Trisha's case, the wild "once in a lifetime adventure" that her family has embarked upon this year in New York City. She'll be so thankful she captured this moment in time. I enjoy the funny stories, the stories that make me stop and think (thank you, Jeans Boots) and the photos of family and friends children as they grow. I'm thankful that they allow me to "be a part of their life" through their blog. 3. Cold Blustery Winter Days....preceding Chr...