Winter 2009 Family photos

Here are our 2009 Family Pics. My friend Erika Rebstock Degraff took them. She is becoming quite the natural light photographer. Aliyah did not have any interest in standing still to take pictures when she had a whole park to explore.

Crew joins our family!

Yes, Loren and I, mostly I- Loren remained unfavorable, gave into the kid's plea for a guinea pig. Mishonne and I went to pick it out before she left for Wa for Christmas. A new shipment of 6 week old guinea pigs had just come in. I put my face up to the glass and this adorable guinea pig comes right up to the glass and stares at me. I told Mishonne I liked that one but she could have any one she wanted. After holding several of them Mishonne also liked Crew. The name comes from his cute hair do. Instead of have a furry head he has a Crew Cut sort of hair doo. So Crew is short for Crew Cut. He is very cute and friendly. I make our own little petting zoo area for the kids. When it was Dentons turn to play with Crew he started Giggling. I turned to see what was so funny. Crew had cuddled up in between Dentons legs next to his furry Pajamas. It was so cute. So We now have Roxanne the turtle and Crew the guinea Pig. Absolutely no more pets!

Snow in Louisiana!

The girls were excited to get snow two years in a row. Unfortunately the snow did not stick on the ground to build a snow man this year. We like having the one time snow fall as long as the 70 degree weather comes back within the week like it always does.

Christmas Morning

We got to have Heidi and Joe for Christmas this year. It was nice to have a one to one kid to adult ratio. Aliyah has Uncle Joe wrapped around her finger. If I tell her no she goes to Joe and puts her finger tips together which means “more” in sign language. Haley wants to cuddle or play games 24-7 with Aunt Heidi. Logan and Mishonne mostly love Heidi for her ping pong skills. It is nice to have family here during the Holidays. Wish it could happened more often.
Mishonne actually went to Washington for Christmas. She saved up her money and we told her once she was 12 and she was allowed to fly alone that she could go. She is having fun seeing her new baby cousing and getting Grandma all to herself.

Christmas Sunday Ideas

I had this really great idea to take the kid’s pictures on the Sunday before Christmas since they would be in their cute Christmas clothes. Aliyah had other ideas. She thought we were playing a game of “Catch me if you can.” You can see her dashing away at any chance she got. Mishonne tried to herd her in and we finally just gave up. The only picture she was still in the other kids were doing their own thing. It is a good thing she is so darn cute.

Here are some fun Christmas celebrations from December. Aunt Janel sends the kids a new personalized ornament every year. They love getting to put them up on the tree. Each year our church has a Christmas party. The Primary aged children got to sing for the party this year. Denton decided it would be more fun to play airplanes and make airplane noises instead of singing. It was quite comical.

Mishonnes Birthday Celebrations

Mishonne got a big Birthday hug from her siblings and help from Aliyah opening her presents.



We always have a family party and a friends party for our kids birthdays. Every other year they get an organized party with their friends. This was Mishonne's year so we had a Pajama Party. The girls has a ball. They had toilet paper and duct tape makeovers, matress stair sledding, smores, and home made pizza along with other games. There were 10 girls so it got a bit loud at times.

Cute Kiddos

Here are some fun pics of the kids this past month. Denton and Elizabeth dressed up as Pilgrims at pre-K.
One day I was trying to keep Aliyah up until noon so she would sleep longer. She got so tired that she crawled up on Denton and fell asleep.
Aliyah likes to follow Haley around so I took a picture of her posing with Haley.
Too cute!

Thanksgviving with the Thompsons

We had a wonderful time for Thanksgiving. Our good friends the Thompsons who we met in Delaware came up from Tennesse. They have three little kids the same age as our youngest three. We are so thankful for good friends that we have met along the way especially with our family so far away.

Aliyah loved having little Elissa to hug and hang with.

Halloween Fun!

WE had fun Halloween night trick or treating with the Mastens. Three of the kids brought friends along so we had quite the group. Mishonne was an indian girl, Logan was a ninja, Haley was a black cat, Denton a knight, and Aliyah was a Halloween princess.



The kids had fun trading candy when we got home. I even got a few pieces that I liked.



Aliyah found the kids' stash and thought she would do some quality control checks.

Happy Fall Y'all

This year I do a swap with two other moms for pre-K. We rotate teaching twice a week. I much prefer the cheap BREC Pre-K that used to be in our neighborhood but this is a good second option. The pre-Ks around our new home are expensive and I would rather spend the money on the house. So for our fall field trip we went to a Pumpkin Patch by Port Allen. It was fun for the kids. They got to pick their own pumpkin and do some pioneer activities like pump water. Aliyah liked the people and the petting zoo area.

Home Finally!

Move over Budget, now there's something leaner! After living out of the budget truck for 3 weeks we finally closed on our house. Check out our floor sofa and card board box side table. Luckily we kept out our matresses to sleep on. What a nightmare. We did not know from day to day how long our situation was going to last. I had to commute the kids to school 25 minutes one way for 2 weeks. Luckily Mom Renee was here and the Lablancs let us hang out at their house during the hour in between the elementary and middle school start time difference. Phew, that was close. I almost went insane.






Well here it is. Our new house. It took some miracles to get us here but here we are. It is on a dead end street so the kids can ride bikes and not get in traffic. We love bing less than 10 minutes from the church bldg. and 17 minutes from the temple. It also only takes Loren 25 minutes to get to work. It is out in the country compared to the old house and has 700 more sq. footage. Now that Mishonne is in middle school she is in a different school but the Dutchtown schools are all next to eachother. This means less taxying for me. Yeah. We are close to the freeway and so can get to places easily. I am also only 5 minutes from the Tanger outlet mall. I still have yet to go there but just wait. WE are enjoying it very much here. Thanks to friends and Mom Renee for helping us out while we were in limbo for 2 1/2 weeks.

Here is the front of the house, the garage, the work area in the garage, and the very undeveloped back yard
A funny story: Loren took Mishonne on a hike through the woods you see in the dead end picture. There is a big pond and lots of trails back there. They got to the end of a trail where it comes out on the other end of our neighborhood and a lady with a rifle comes running at them. Actually she was running with a rifle because her husband just spotted an alligator by the pond and was going to shoot it. Only in Louisiana!


These are the downstairs pics. There is a nice big entry way with an office nook, the piano room, the kitchen, a guest bathroom, and don't forget Logans under the stairs man cave. He has locked himself in there many times to read his Harry Potter books. HE just started reading them in September and is now almost finished with #4.


The cute little boy came with the house!



I just finished my bedroom last week. I saved up for 2 months to get a new comforter and painted the walls to match. Dont worry Grandma we still have our ten year anniversary quilt that will rotate with this one.
The messy clothes pictures are my unfinished closet. It is so huge that half of it is used as a closet and the other half is my new sewing and craft room. Cool!


Upstairs is the game room and kids' rooms. They are all undecorated. They will get done as time and money allow. It is fun to have a big area for the kids to play. We are getting our beloved ping pong table for Christmas.

Haley's Super Seventh Birthday

My kids get a big party every other year and on the off year they get to invite 2 or 3 friends and go do something (so Mommy does not have the mess at her house). This was Haley's off year so she wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese. I found some good coupons and so that is what we did.
Notice the cool dog cake. Mishonne and I found the cake at Albertsons the night before the party. It was better than making it myself. Plus Haley is a HUGE animal lover and it was perfect.
Haley is in the pics with her friends Catalina, Emma, and Lizzy.

Denton Boy Turns 4!

Denton had a little birthday party at the Jambalaya water park with his friends. He loves playing in the sprinklers there. We had a spiderman theme with cupcakes. For his family party he wanted doughnuts instead of cake, hence the doughnut with candles in it. He is growing up so fast, especially since he had his tubes in his ears. He talks better now that he can hear.

Double the Trouble

WE recently went up to Tennesse to visit our friends, The Thompsons while Mishonne competed in Destination Imagination held in Knoxville. They have a girl about Haley's age, a boy about Denton's age, and a baby Aliyah's age. Each duo created their own kind of mischief. The older girls together learned that 2 a whining is better than one. The boys learned that teasing is better done in twos and the babbies learned that exploring is more effective done together. Lets just say I am glad I don't have any sets of twins.
This is pretty hilarious if you know the story. Karen and the kids all went with us an hour away to see Mishonne perform in Knoxville. ON the way back Denton and Matt were at it arguing and what not. I told Denton to stop talking or else. Well Karen gave Matt the same warning, but he decided to back talk. Karen said if you act like that again then we are going to pull the car over. He tested her and sassed again so I pulled the car over, on the highway mind you. Well she pulls Matt out of the car, gives him a talkin to and puts him in time out. About this time I realize we are in a great kandid moment so I grab my camera. Here is the pic of Matt pouting amongst the daisies. It was priceless. After his time out we told the girls to hop out so I could get a pic of them. IT ended up being a much quieter ride home after that.

Katie and Haley in a wild daisy field. They became fast friends.


The babbies got into the garbage and pulled out the watermellon rinds and went to town. MMMM!


Denton and Matt playing nicely with the puppets. It lasted about 30 seconds.

It was really good to see my friend Karen. I got to help reorganize her basement which is the kind of stuff I love to do. We batted our eyes at some guys on the side of the road and got them to transport some free wood shelves we found.
It is always a reminder that my little family is being looked after when I see all the friends we have met along our journey the past 13 years. It is tough not living by family, but at least we have close friends to count on.

Have Your Cake and Eat it Too!

Our baby girl turned one on the 10th! Wow, I cant believe it has been a year since Aliyah joined our family. She has been such a joy to us. We let her have her own cupcake for her birthday. She loved it. The sweet tooth definately comes from her mama. What a fun day.

DAncing Feet

Haley got to dance with her good friend Emma this year. I got to do their hair and makeup for the recital. Even though I love sports I also like to do hair.
Haley was lucky enough to have Grandma Maryann and Uncle Christopher here for her dance recital. She looked so sweet in her adorable costume. We had fun taking pictures of her at the gardens.

Haley's friend Catalina also got to see Haley dance. It was a special night.

A Bitter Sweet Mother's Day

My Mom got to be with us on Mother's Day this year. I have not been with her for a Mother's Day in 13 years or more. Isn't that crazy. It was very cool to have her here. I even got asked to give a Mother's Day talk and so she got to be there. OF course I cried like a baby when I gave it but the spirit was strong. The kids got me all kinds of cute cards and gardening stuff. My favorite gift was a poem by Mishonne. She is a gifted writer.
The other crazy thing that happened on MOther's Day is that my broher Christopher got to come for a visit before he went into the army. We are so excited for him to find some meaning and direction in his life. We love him to death and want to see him happy.
So the bitter sweet part of this day was that I got to spend it with my Mom but Christopher left for basic on Mother's Day. I drove him to meet the sargeant since Mom would have blubbered.

A trip to Wisconsin.

WE decided to spend EAster break by heading up to Wisconsin. It is always good to see the people who became Loren's family on his mission there. I too have a soft spot in my heart for these amazing families. We miss them when we don't get to see them for a long time. The kids had a ball playing the Wii at the Bruettes, football and little Joseph at the Neimics, and the awesome food at the Dentons.

Chic and Mom Bruette with Loren

Our gang of five with the four Bruette grandgirls. Haley made fast friends with the girls and was sad to leave them.



The Bruette girls Megan (and her husband) and Melanie and thier son T.J. with me and Loren.

THis is a cool three generation photo for Loren. He baptized Mary and her son Brian later joined the church when he was 18. He went on a mission and was married in the temple. They had their first baby, Joseph, two weeks before Aliyah was born. Cool!

Here is Aliyah being a bully and trying to take away Joseph's toys. She thinks its pretty funny.
Here is the whole Denton gang. Granny Denton, the matriarch started it all. Loren taught and baptized her and her girls. Loren got to go to the temple with their family to have her and some of her kids and her deceased husband sealed. Now there are little Denton great grandkids running around. The dominoe affect is priceless.

Here are some fun pics from our time with the DEntons.

Here Comes Trouble!

Aliyah is getting so big and getting into everything. Her favorites are the shoe box, the lid drawer, and the book shelves. Aiyah now climbs up on the fireplace hearth so we have to watch her carefully. The other day she was chewing on something so I ran over to get it out of her mouth. It was none other than a dead lady bug. Gross! She just had her 10 month day. Wow, how time flies by.

Here is Aliyah on Easter Day. What a little joy.