Happy 5-Year anniversary--Happy.

We bought our home 5 years ago this month. This is what our house looked like when we bought it. (Except in Winter) We moved in on a Saturday--Valentine's Day 2003. A wonderful day. I love our house and hope to never leave.

We were married in Dec. 2000. In March 2001 bought our first home.

This is the backyard. I planted 1000 bulbs while we lived there. Every spring was beautiful.

This was our front room.

The kitchen we were so sad to leave....and still are (just the kitchen).

Due to Lane's job change from Iomega to a printer company we had to move to SLC, 1 hour south. We put our house up for sale in November 2003. We had tons of snow that year. We bought our house in SLC (the one we're in currently) Dec. 29, 2003. We had 2 house payments for 6 weeks until this house sold in Feb. 2003...BUT, the previous owners were building a house and it wasn't finished yet so they paid us "rent" for the 6 weeks until we moved in....and they officially moved out. The Lord blessed us emensely. It was meant to be to move when and where and how we did. As much as I liked that house it never felt like home like the house we're in now does. I knew we would never have kids while living in that other house. The spirit told me that.

Snow and Santa and "I don't want anything to do with him".

As you can see we don't have much snow. It's been very mild this year. But it was cold today.

Kimmie sharing what she wants from Santa....
Jacob could care less.

Exhausted!

It's not yellow, momma.

Making a snow angel on the cement!

Here is Kimmie a few days before her hair cut, ready for church.

Being silly, but actually took great pictures!
Jacob graduated from the high chair about 2 months ago.

My handsome little boy down below.

Here is baby Evelyn with Kimmie on Thanksgiving Day.

Lane is playing with Jacob in the back room opening Great-Grandma's stuff.

My sibling's. I guess we're all getting old-er.

Kimmie having fun trying to dodge the camera

What a cutie.

I'll share some stuff Kimmie said lately:

"Wall, quit hitting me, I'm trying to spin around!"

On Mickey Mouse Club House they asked a question "Does a little old lady have black pointy ear?" Having the kids try to guess that it was Pete and not Grandma (Little Red Riding Hood story), I said to Kimmie, "Does a little old lady have black pointy ears?....Does Grandma have black pointy ears?" Kimmie said, "No, Grandma has FLAT pointy ears." (sorry mom)

"Did you know boys are hearts? I can't hear mine or feel it. A boy took my heart-it's broken."

Lane said Kimmie put her fireman's hat on and said, "Look! I'm a fie farter!"

New haircut

As you can see we decided to change things a bit with Kimmie. It makes things a lot easier, but it sure made her look different! We had a coupon for Dollar Cuts, so Kimmie and I got ours done.

Not so sure?

SO much easier to comb. No fighting with it.

Where in the world is this year going? My kids are all of a sudden shooting up. Clothes and pajamas are getting smaller (where's the flood?). Thanks to my friend, Jessica, both kids have nice warm coats that fit them well. The kids are heavier, taller, and in some ways harder and other ways easier. But, I'm sleeping through the night so that is good. :0)

Jacob's his usual self and keeps me running, literally. His favorite things to do are climb the kitchen cupboards and dance on them (I have to get him before he slips and falls off), run into the bathroom every chance he can and jump into the tub and lick whatever water might be left in it (yuck, I know!). Or he'll flush the toilet and run out laughing. He is ALL boy and today he played in the snow for the first time in his life. Kimmie showed him how to eat it.

Today I got a call from the preschool saying they have an opening for Kimmie. YAY! She will begin Jan. 6th, going Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for 3 hours. I think she'll really enjoy it (not to mention me too). She is getting so big, my baby is growing before my eyes into a little girl. :( Sad to think about. I'm ready for her to get out of her "terrible 3's" though. She'll be a Sunbeam in January. Time flies! Jacob is doing well in nursery. And he does okay when I leave him at people's houses.

I got Tagged

I got tagged by Jessica Howard...

The rules
1. post the rules
2. Answer the six "8" items
3. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment8

My answers are in no particular order of favorites

Favorite TV Shows:
1. AFV
2. Smallville
3. Mickey Mouse Club House
4. Higgley Town Heroes
5. Little House on the Prairie
6. I can't think of what's on t.v....kids take over
7.
8.

8 Things I did yesterday
1. searched for a lost toy out of the stinky blue and black garbage cans..no luck.
2. drove to my mom's for "Wed. is Grandma's Day"
3. watched my kids color
4. played the piano
5. listened to my niece coo and talk so cute
6. changed a few diapers
7. stamped nativity scene's onto red cardstock for my sister's R.S.
8. drove home late at night and put kids to bed

8 things I am looking forward to
1. continuing to learn and grow and not letting people or things bother me
2. developing my piano and flute talents better
3. teaching Kimmie how to cook and clean because she always wants to--desire is good!
4. Jacob potty trained
5. Jacob speaking a few sentences---even words would be nice
6. going to my mom's next week
7. Thanksgiving at my Grandparent's, a rare occasion--we're usually in Missouri
8. Christmas spirit being felt, the real thing this year, because getting no gifts helps.

8 favorite restaurants
1. Cafe Rio
2. Thai Delight
3. KFC (Tuesday nights $2.99 country fried steak w/biscuit & mashed potatoes and mac n cheese especially!)
4. Robintino's
5. Taco Pronto (in McAlester, Oklahoma)
6. Giacomo's (in McAlester also)
7. Chicago Style Pizza (in Kearney, Nebraska)
8. my mom's cooking

8 Things on my wish list
1. to go to disneyland
2. to travel somewhere I haven't been before with Lane
3. to get a minivan
4. to learn how to cook better to make my husband happy
5. to go somewhere for our anniversary--it's been 8 years in Dec.
6. to pay off our current bills of chaos that happened the past 2 months
7. to enjoy the journey of life I'm in and not "wish" any stage away
8. to stay out of debt

8 People I tag
1. anyone who wants to do this

Newly done woodburning stove

Here is our stove when we moved in. The damper was broken also. Lane's project--took 2 years (sitting in the garage) and 4 hours :0)
Our refinished wood stove--sanded, repainted, new damper and handles. Ready to use for emergency preparedness. Yay!

BEAUTIFUL JOB LANE~~~

November 1st went duck watching

When yard work was over we went to see the ducks...are there any?

Lane, Kimmie and Jacob looking at some ducks

Uh, yes, there ARE ducks still on Nov. 1st

Big goose, beautiful ducks and mallards

Fun in the leaves--view from treehouse
Looking out towards Kennecott Oquirrh Mtns.

Looking South, East side view of house from treehouse

Halloween Pictures

Jacob BEE, Kimmie Tigger
Ready to go Trick or Treating! 2008

The only thing he wanted afterwards....his sucker.

Nov. 1, 2008 played in the leaves while daddy raked

Ready, you jump!

Baby EvelynBEE with Andrea and cousin Olivia
Baby BEEhind

JacoBEE

Lady bug Grandma with JacobBee

The Three 3-year old Mummies
Olivia, Darian, Kimmie

More funny sayings from Kimmie....

--The kids were playing outside while I was making dinner one evening and Kimmie kept coming in and I needed her to get out of the way for a little longer. So to keep her busy I'd give her errands to do or to search and find something. Jacob was playing and climbing where it was a little dangerous so I thought hey, I'll tell Kimmie "Go tell Jacob to come inside, it's time for dinner". She ran out and about a minute later she came back in and said, "Jacob said, okay, in another minute". :0) I found that really funny, especially because Jacob can't talk.

--"Momma, don't be so complicated!"
--"Momma, this puzzle is exasperating!" (coming from a 3.5 year old!)
--"No, I don't want a donut, or cookie, or fresh sugar, I want healphy food!"
--Mommy wants peace and quiet right now, Kimmie. "I like peek and quiet. Peek a boo".

Kimmie's answers are in the quotations....
--Music is fun! Do you want to learn how to sing Kimmie? "No."
To play the piano? "No."
Play the flute? "TUBA!"
Whoa, you'd have to have a lot of hot air! "I already do have a lot of hot air".
You're right about that--you talk a lot! "You do first!"

--Kimmie, hurry and get your shoes on. Uncle Paul is stuck at the store and needs a ride. "He's stuck and we have to pull him out?"
--I gave Kimmie a peanut butter cup. Twenty minutes later she came back to throw away her wrapper and said, "Momma, that was good. This is my favorite kind of dinner."
--Kimmie wanted to break a paint stir stick and asked Lane how (as she was trying to bend it). He said, "You've gotta use your head" (meaning, think about it). So she put the stick over head and pulled with both hands crack, crack, and broke it.
--"I'm not a baby, I'm a BIG doll. Do you know what dolls are made out of? Logs. Big logs, like bones. That doesn't make any sense, huh?" (She likes to play with lincoln logs, and Grandma tells her what little girls are made of--sugar and spice and everything nice..)
--Kimmie was playing with her striped stuffed kitty and said to me, "I'm her mom. Her mom feeds her and she takes care of everything everyday that isn't hers". I'm glad she knows what mom's do. :0)
--I gave Kimmie her usual cereal for breakfast and a pear. She looked at it and said, "Momma, I want some FOOD!" What do you want? FOOD! Like what? "A hot dog on a bun with ketchup and mustard!" So that's what she got. Another day she got up on her booster seat and said, that we needed to eat now because "I'm starving". I wish you could hear the WAY she says all of these funny things.
--"I have an ear invention".....no, Kimmie, you have an ear infection.
--Kimmie was being her usual self, off the wall, constantly talking and wiggling and figeting and saying "la la la la, ah ah ah la la" and it was just too noisey and Lane asked her to settle down but she wouldn't....then he asked her a question and she answered it, then she went back to her la la la and wiggling...so he said, "HEY, Kimmie. What does obsessive compulsive disorder mean?" She said, "Let me show you!" We laughed so hard, if she only knew.
--Kimmie came out of her bedroom (Oct. 26, 2008) with directions on how to assemble the crib that she tore off the bottom of the crib and she opened them up, the paper being as tall as she was, and began to talk behind the paper: "It says, 1st, you go to the crib and put the baby in....hmmm, special stuff--Jacob got chocolate milk on the sheets". So just for fun now I like giving her a cake mix or directions on something and ask her to tell me what they say just to see what she comes up with.

I hope you like the pictures I added to the website. I'll be adding the Halloween ones soon.
http://www.thecallahanfam.blogspot.com/

October is over?

This month (actually, Year) flew by. I was recalling what kind of month I'd had, or, our family had. At the end of September Lane injured his right foot. He just pushed on the shovel and the pressure on the top of his boot broke a bone on the top. He was in a lot of pain 2 days later and went to the dr. --the x-ray showed he broke it. Now Lane's foot is healed nicely. He's trying to get used to using it again and bending his heal....
One day this month was a stressful morning trying to get out of the house to get to grandma's. After I showered I heard Kimmie yell up the stairs, "Jacob's diaper came off". Knowing before I showered that he he was poopy for the 2nd time that morning, I ran down as fast as I could and saw the diaper, saw Jacob, went to pick him up just as I stepped in the fresh stuff with both clean bare feet. What a shock! It was the same color as the brown carpet and Jacob had already smashed it for me. I picked him up and tip-toed up the stairs with poop on my heals all the way to the bathroom and back into the tub. Well, Jacob has taken his diaper off a few times since and I now know I cannot leave him without pants on...and a onesie w/snaps is even better! So, while I tried to think of "how" I was going to clean the stinkin' mess and several tries to keep Jacob out of it I put him upstairs. As I was cleaning it up I heard a "thump". Jacob had gotten on the kitchen table (which he's done several times) but the table cloth slipped and off he went. He had a hard day. But at least he's not crying from any teeth coming in--they're all done.(Looking back at this day, it is kind of funny but it wasn't at the time it happened.)

Our car was towed this month. We had the fuel pump replaced. We got a new clothes dryer. Our old one began to get really hot on the outside and burned the label on the back of it. The dryer squeaked after not using it all summer. The squeaking got so loud which helped us learn this danger. I could run it 5 min. then let it cool down, then run it 5 min. and so on. A few days after we knew we needed a new dryer I walked into the storage room to put away the laundry baskets before bed (which I debated on doing but wouldn't have seen) and heard, "drip, drip, drip" and told Lane to come look at something just as bad as everything else....the dishwasher from upstairs was leaking and dripping through the ceiling onto the cement floor downstairs. Lane just hugged me and made a pretend whimper like a sad dog. When it rains it (literally) pours. Could things be worse? YES. We are so blessed. Going without a dishwasher for a year is what we've done before, we can do it again, hopefully sooner.

I went swimming with the kids last night, 1st time in a real pool and had a blast. Grandma Muir watched baby Evelyn while her mom (Andrea--my sister) and I swam with Kimmie, Jacob, Olivia (cousin) and Kristy (my aunt). The kids wading pool is a lot of fun, the current pool is swift and relaxing and the slide is the best! We need to swim more often. We left the pool at 9pm--freezing. Jacob was still stomping in the water after getting dry and dressed in the dressing room. We were all so tired the next day all 3 of us slept in until 9am.

Here are some of the funny sayings this month:

Dadda, I want ice cream and a sandwich with no onions.

Daddy, that is a really fat pumpkin just like your face is.

Kimmie was jabbering all morning. When lunch time came and she was still talking I told her to sit on her booster and be quiet while I made her lunch....and she said, "All this talking is making me hungry!"

Kimmie wanted to help me wash the counter and some sticky drawers. She had to go potty and left the windex and paper towel on the table and ran to the bathroom and ran right back and said, "Momma, whatever you do, don't clean everything!" and she ran to go potty.

What a "fall" into the season

I have finally found an easy way to keep up with sharing news to everyone. Learning how to blog was a little challenging, but almost anything that is free is worth a try. I love to record history of myself and family and love reading about the lives of other family's and friends.
We've lived in our house almost 5 years. The last quarter of this year has brought many events to us--real trials. But nothing we can't get through. Lane is still the executive secretary in our ward for the Bishop. I was released as Primary President after 2.5 years and am now the ward music coordinator. I find musical numbers for sacrament meeting and so far I really love it. I've found my "new love" again that I had lost a few years ago. I love music and it's very theraputic, along with writing, for me.

We've been quite busy. This summer Lane built stairs for the tree house to match the tree house and painted them. About a month ago we finished our yard work. Lane painted the picket fence and my parents (who I owe more than I can ever repay) and I planted about 1000 bulbs in the front yard in 2 Saturdays. And now I've put 2 trees in the parking strip. Lane refinished our wood-burning stove and ward members carried it downstairs for him because he broke his foot doing the yard work.
I'll just end by saying Happy Halloween!!