Who Is That Masked Warrior?

Your never too old to dress up. Gregory decided to come with us trick or treating. He startled quite a few people! BTW he didn't trick or treat, just hung out with the adults and Juno!



The ninja has my baby!!

Happy Halloween!!

For Halloween the kids decided they wanted to be characters from Star Wars the Clone Wars. Ryan was Captian Rex, Audrey was Ahsoka and Angelina was going to be Padme'. As we were getting ready for our Ward's Halloween partry I was putting on Angelina's costume. Well it came up really high on her neck. All of a sudden she is screaming, "Help me!! I am dying!! ALCK!!! It is choking me to death!!
I can't breath!!!! Get if off! It is killing me!!! So we made a last minute run to Target and came up with Supergirl. Everytime some one would say "It's Supergirl!" She would say "NO! It's Angelina!" Nickloas wore a skeleton t-shirt that glowed in the dark. Angelina said it was so we wouldn't lose him trick or treating.

Nickloas' first Halloween. All bundled up to get some candy.

Audrey's Big Day

Audrey was baptized October 25th. It was a beautiful baptism and we were surrounded by friends and family. We are so proud of her for her decision to be baptized.

Audrey is wearing the dress that my 4 sisters and I were baptized in. Angelina can't wait until she gets to wear it!

Audrey and Daddy

Audrey, Angelina, Nickolas and Ryan

At the baptism we decided that since everyone was already there, we would bless Nickolas. It wasn't until halfway through that I realized the blessing gown we have blessed all of the children was at home sitting on the back of the couch. So Nick was blessed in what he was wearing. Hopefully he won't hold it against us when he is older! :)

The Family

Audrey with Nana, Uncle Gregory, and Papa

Audrey and "our friend" Jenni

Alex, Jay, Spencer, Nathan, Susan, Sarah, Audrey, Lauren, Ryan, Angelina, Ken and Nickolas

I forget how tall our family really is!!!

Already behind...

So I am already behind and haven't even been at this blog thing for very long. I could list all of the good excuses I have beginning with the fact that since we live in the boonies and have dial up it is hard to blog at home. Ken promises that we will get satellite Internet soon. So at the moment since I am laid up in the hospital I am going to use their wi-fi and try to get caught up! Oh yea, Tuesday I had the mother of all migraines. No kidding, after 18 years of migraines this was the worst one ever. After calling the Doctor he decided it was time to be admitted to the hospital, have tests and get me on an IV migraine treatment. Well, 3 days later they still don't know what is wrong and maybe they will let me go home tomorrow. I have to be migraine/headache free first. Who knows how long it has been since that has happened!! Then I get to go home and start more new drugs to see if they will help. Susan-I still think the benign brain tumor would have been the way to go!! I am missing my kids something awful, especially the baby. But they are in good hands. Daddy has been great even though work and school are crazy for him right now. Times like these I am extremely grateful that we live near my parents and that we have some really great friends who love my kids like their own. So here we go, catching up.....

Audrey's Hero

Saturday, October 25th Audrey was baptized. She turned 8 in September but she wanted to wait until Uncle Jay was home from deployment and since he was coming home the middle of October, Audrey decided she would wait a few weeks to be baptized. Now Jay is Audrey's hero in more ways then one. Since she was a baby she has loved any guy in a uniform. When she was 2 she used to carry around a picture of Jay in his dress uniform. At 3 Aunt Susan was teaching her how to tell who was ranked what by their uniform. One day while visiting Jay and Susan, Jay beat us home and answered the door in his jeans and t-shirt. Well, a meltdown ensued, and Susan made Jay put his uniform back on for Audrey! When Jay deployed for Iraq a picture of him in camo with a big gun went on our fridge with an "I Love My Sailor" magnet. It is still on there even though Jay has been back from Iraq for 2 years now. In fact when Jay came home from Iraq we went up to visit and while at the hotel we went swimming. Well Audrey was not a good swimmer at the time and was drowning. Superhero Jay jumps up, jumps into the pool and rescues Audrey. Her comment later was, "He really is my hero!!"

Yes, Jay we love you. Even me-go figure! We pray for you when you are away and are always thankful for your safe return.

I continue to find it amusing that even though we are not in the Navy and Jay is, we still plan our families major events around the Navy's schedule. I guess it is our way to be patriotic.

BOO!

So the other day I am sitting in the family room feeding the baby and reading a book. Angelina comes walking in the room all hunched over. She calls this her old lady walk after her great-grandma. She says,

"Mom, are you looking at me?"

"Yes I am Angelina."

All of a sudden she jumps up with her hands in the air and yells "RRRAAAA!!!! I AM HERE TO SPOOK YOU!!" Good thing I was sitting down or I might of dropped the baby. She was covered head to toe in baby powder. Whatever possessed her to rub baby powder all over herself I do not know. It was even funnier when later I went into my bathroom and slipped in baby powder that was ALL over the floor.

You're Going Where?

September 27th, after 2 weeks of my mom and dad trying to beat each other to the mail box, my brother Gregory received a big white envelope in the mail. Otherwise known as his mission call. It was an overwhelming and amazing experience to be able to be a part of. We were at my parents house hoping that it would be the day “it” finally came. Gregory met the mail man at the mail box and took the stack of mail from him. Looking at his back we could not tell if it came or not. When he turned around, he just started walking down the driveway. Mind you we are all standing at the window staring at him. Finally he holds up that big white envelope. Screaming ensued.

We had to wait 15 minutes for Ken and one of my sisters to get there. So we all go out on the deck, better cell phone signals. Dad called my sister in Atlanta. I called our good friend Susan and on my cell. Susan’s husband Jay, who is in the Navy and was in port in Cyprus, called Ken’s cell phone. (Ken calls Gregory a friend stealer because Jay and Ken are best friends and 16 years older than Gregory but yet Gregory is good friends with Jay and Susan as well. Of course they have known him since he was 7 years old.) So Gregory opens his letter, flips it over and covers it with the envelope. He begins reading it and with each word you could feel the spirit more and more. Along with his voice getting louder and more excited until he finally reads Albania Tirana Mission.

He is going to Albania. So we are all wondering where in the heck is Albania? Thank goodness they enclose a map with the mission calls nowadays. Plus Susan has a world map on her dining room wall and she and her kids had run over to it to try and find it. So she was trying to tell me where it was. So for those of you who have no idea where it is, it is across the Adriatic Sea from Italy’s boot, above Greece and next to Yugoslavia. He of course will be learning Albanian. Gregory will report to the MTC January 21, 2009.

I am very proud of my brother. He is an amazing young man. It has been such an inspiration to see him and his testimony grow this last year. He is a wonderful example to those around him. He is going to make an AWESOME missionary. I am thrilled that my son wants to be just like him. I look forward to hearing all about his mission and the trying and rewarding experiences he is going to have. He will be so blessed for making this decision. We are going to miss him something awful. Especially Ken. I am not sure what he is going to do while Gregory is gone. They are close friends and brothers. Sometimes I have to remind Gregory I am the blood relative!

Talk about a small world in the church though. Susan’s sister-n-laws Grandparents served a humanitarian mission in Albania in the 90’s and opened the mission. A friend of ours in our ward served her mission there and was one of the first sister missionaries. They did not even have Albanian Books of Mormon then. My Bishops parents served the last half of their second mission in Albania about 4 years ago. Another Sister in our ward was over there when it was still communist helping with adoptions. So Gregory has several people he is going to be talking to, to hear all about the country he will call home for the next 2 years. The stories he will have to share when he comes home to us.