Dear DPR....

With love,me.

Kit-Kat

Kit.  My February baby.  Ten months earlier she was not even a glimmer of an idea.  After I had had such a difficult time, pregnancy-wise, with Kindle....the thought of getting pregnant again sent me into panic attacks!  How could I possibly go through all that again, and have a toddler running around at the same time?  It definitely didn't seem possible or desirable at all.  But we had talked about it...knowing that we wanted Kindle to have a sibling(s).  I think it is so funny how most couples get married, thinking..."we want 12 kids!".  One pregnancy later, having an "only" child seems pretty good.  (we forget so fast, don't we?)  Anyway, I decided to really pray about it...for strength and courage and wisdom to know when it was the right thing...You know?  One afternoon, when Kindle was napping, I was sitting on my bed thinking and day dreaming.  Out of nowhere....I heard a little voice say "Mama".  Kindle was sound asleep.  There was no one else there.  It was as if she had just whispered in my ear.  "It's my time to come to you".

A few weeks later I was pregnant and sicker than a dog.  "Here we go again!"  I was beyond discouraged....I thought for sure that somehow I would be spared the same trial that I had just been through, and that somehow it would be totally different this time...not so.  I spent that summer puking. By Thanksgiving I was feeling better and ate myself into oblivion....I was distracted by Christmas and some how, by the grace of God, survived all the way till February.  HALLELUIA!  Kindle had a baby sister!  "Kindle and Kit"  had such a fun sound to it....(who knew that in a few short years I would never be able to call one without naming the whole family first..."Kindle-Ki-Clai-Lev---Mattie!  come here!"  Their names turned into a tongue twister instantly!)  I fell deeply in love with the "sisser".  I knew that forever she would not only be my daughter, but would also be my friend.

Happy Birthday to you Kit!
You will always be my funny nug nug.

"Oh, that's right.....I have a blog..."

So here's the thing.  I have excuses....I really do.  But let's not even go there. Instead let me just tell you all that's happened in the last months.  I will call it:

"Stuff that happened during November and December"

1.We found out that Kit is preggo!  Alrighty then!  Another "sweet" to kiss on!  So I flew home for awhile to help the barfing mother-to-be. De-lightful! (except the barfing part...that was not delightful, but spending time with the sweets was really, really delightful.)  

2. A few weeks later, we drove back to Utah for Thanksgiving with the McConnell Clan!  YEEHAW!  What a party!  Ben came home from his mission the day before, and Levi came home from Kansas, too.  Almost the entire Bransford group was in attendance....as well as a bunch of preggo and un-preggo cousins. (This year will be fruitful....just sayin.)  It was great. We ate turkey.

3. Back in the Spring, they asked the DPR and I to be in charge of our ward Christmas Party.  At the time it seemed like the right thing was to say "sure"....come the 1st of December, we were saying....."why-o-why"....but it came off without a hitch and ended up being so great!  I wish I had pictures to prove the greatness...but alas, I was doing many other things that night other than taking pictures.  Suffice it to say that many hands came together to make a wonderful night...Elvis showed up, along with Santa, Angels, and Mary and Joseph.  Feel the love.

4. and speaking of Love....Levi pulled out all the stops right before Christmas, and proposed to Nina!  I KNOW, RIGHT!!!?  He took her out for dinner and then after drove her to look at the lights....well,here...the pictures tell it all...

 5. Christmas was crazy....we went to church on Christmas morning...(I was leading the choir.  They were totally AWESOME!)  Then we took off and drove to the airport right after! Flew Home and partied for a whole week with the SWEETS!  Oh how I love them....

 Had our whole family together for New Year's!  (truly a miracle in itself...)and...I made a cake.  It was good.

Now, it is January. I wanted to hibernate for a month or two, but I can already see the writing on the wall...a wedding in March, Easter choir songs, baby due in late spring, plus...I really need to work off all the cake. I really am so thankful for the busy and the un-busy...and everything in between!

Oh....and I promise to post at least six more, three more,  a few more times than I have been doing...right after I get done hibernating.

It's almost here....

 I'm thankful for a holiday where the main activity

is putting olives on your fingers before you eat them.

just sayin....

Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween!

Over the weekend we had our annual trunk-or-treat party...or as I like to call it, "junk-in-my- trunk" time. (Because I know exactly where that candy is going...ya know? )  

This year we found this amazing terantula spider puppet that Rob handed out candy with...

Sometimes....even candy is not worth it!

 

Then this morning I found this lovely....

This is "Trunk-AND-Treat"!

 BOO to you!

Nana D

One word...."skype". period.
If you had told me years ago that most of the time I spend with my then future grandchildren would be over the internet....I would have told you that you were "loco-chicka"!!  But yes, that is what has come about, and people...I am soooo thankful for those pocket full of minutes with said McNuggets. And just like a box of Forest Gump's chocolates.... I never really know what I will get!

But then, neither do they! (I'm pretty sure they were looking at the DPR make crazy faces in this picture....he has the same effect on me.)
But I have been able to watch them grow from little peanuts into big peanuts and it has been truly awesome!

Sweety La La always puts on a show:

Sweet Birdy keeps me totally entertained:

And Sweet E and Sweet D?  well they are just much too much fun!

Put all the "SWEETS" together, and I (they)have total pandemonium....

Occasionally, I even get to skype with my man-child....ya....that's fun.

Just the other day, Kindle sent a text...."Mom, get on skype!  La la keeps asking to talk to Nana!"

Makes me melt...and not just a little.

and finally....(drum roll please)....

We've had birds nesting in the top of our bamboo shade on our patio all summer.  When they first started flying around looking for a place, the DPR immediately ran out to chase them away spouting opinions on how they were going to die out there if they built a nest because as soon as we turn on the AC it will be too hot....yada, yada...
They built a nest anyway, regardless of his opinions.  Then they did their birdy thing and before you can say "yumpin' yiminy" their were 3 little eggs in the nest.  Honestly, I didn't pay that much attention after that....until the end of July.  The little birdies were all busy and focused and I pretty much felt the same.

The WEDDING:

  in pictures.....

lovely.

happy.

beautiful girl

tinted jars for lanterns and flowers

felted birds cake topper

We are family.

sweet.

buckets of flowers

Vanilla Bean cake with Lemon-curd filling and buttercream...oh my!

on the patio

sundae bar---yum.

first dance

Stealing a quiet moment

Birdies flying away....

When we got home, I went to hang the lanterns on my patio.  I was dreaming of seeing the colored glass in the sunlight.  There.... I found the empty nest.
And I realized, it was really....really empty.

(sigh).