New Year

I've been thinking back on my year as I'm sure most do at this time. And I'm thinking about what this coming year will bring and what I want to make of it. These are just a few of my thoughts:

Hi-lights:

* Going to Mexico
* Watching the kiddo's swim, learn guitar, play basketball, football, soccer.
* Spending my birthday in Capitol Reef - my happy place
* Family vacation along with Ron and Becky to Jackson Hole/Yellowstone

Disappointments:

* Having to put my sweet Duke down
* My grandpa passing away
* Stella's 2nd surgery
* Having to deal with health issues still

Game Changers:

* Deciding to adopt again!

What I'd do different:

* Spend less time on stupid things like electronics and more QUALITY time with my 2 favorite little people.
* Be more patient (been really working on this one)
* laugh more and not take things so dang seriously.

Goals for next year

* I don't care for the word "resolution". To me I hear that word and think about how many times people - including myself - make a list of things to change or improve and give up by Feb. 1st. How many times did you go to the gym after Feb. 1st or how many times have you not gotten past 2nd Nephi?! Ummmmm....You catch my drift. So I make GOALS throughout the year. Not all at once. Way too overwhelming. I do want to continually improve myself and my family. Not remain stagnant.
* Get my sorry butt back in shape. I took all of December off due to vacation, Christmas and foster care classes 3 nights a week. Crazy month! I am so ready to start working out again!
* Continue learning patience. I don't want my kids to remember me being stressed and yelling all the time. I find myself doing just that too many times. I feel even more responsibility to change this way knowing that a child coming into our home probably experienced some pretty hostile living environments. I don't want our home to bring up any negative feelings. Only love and safety.
* Eliminate stress as much as possible. This will be hard with work and the kids school/extra-curricular activities. However, after our trip and being off school for the past 2 weeks I've realized that so much of my headaches and dizziness are brought on by stress and sleep deprivation.
* Drink Water.
* Eat better.
* Take a picture everyday. Yes. This is my goal again. I make this goal every year and end up not doing it because of camera difficulties and then I get out of the habit. Last year I didn't take hardly any pictures of everyday stuff. Mostly holidays, birthdays and vacations. The little things are the big things right? I want to capture that so I'm going to do it for reals this year!

I am really looking forward to this coming year. I feel like there will be some exciting changes in store for our family which makes me most excited! I hope 2015 will be just as good if not better than 2014. Last year was amazing! I can't wait to see what the future has in store for me!

Christmas Joy

First of all I apologize if you can't see the slide show. For some reason it shows up on my edit post, but not when I publish it. My background is being wierd too! Stupid blog. ANYWAYS! Even with all the stupid drama that came before Christmas (see my previous post) our Christmas celebrations went without a hitch! When they started looking through their stockings I was just waiting for Tristan to comment on the things he saw, but he never did. They were both so thrilled with all of their presents and it was so much fun to watch their excitement!

Christmas Eve morning we went to the Duffin's for lunch. Jason wouldn't have his kids on Christmas until late Christmas day so they opened presents on Christmas Eve at Ron & Becky's. Afterwards we came home and made our gingerbread cookies for Santa. We didn't have time to decorate them, but they were still delicious!

Next we went to the cemetery to visit Liam and sing some carols, followed by dinner at my parents house. After many, many pictures we came home and the kids exchanged the gifts they picked out and bought for one another. When I was reading a Christmas story to Stella, Bill starting "Ho, Ho, Ho"ing down the hall and totally freaked Stella out! Her eyes got real big and she started reaching for the covers. She wanted to make sure she was in bed when Santa was there! It was pretty funny and took some convincing to let her know Santa wasn't there yet.

Christmas morning started about 8:00 for us. The kids ripped through their presents pretty fast. They had a little time to play before heading over to my parents for breakfast. We didn't spend as much time as we usually do at our parents house since we were just with them the day before. It was nice to have most of the afternoon to hang out at home, watch movies, and let the kids play with all their new stuff. Not to mention the wonderful 1 hour nap I took! It was a really fun couple of days!

We still haven't made it to Temple Square, but will hopefully make it there this week before the lights get taken down. I try to keep focused on Christ during the Christmas season and hope my kids are mindful of Him too (as much as a 3 & 6 year old can be at least). I am thankful for my Savior, His example and the many, many sacrifices He has made on my behalf. I hope that in the year to come I can be more like Him. Definitely one of my New Year's resolutions!

BA HUM BUG

As many of you know I have had a few Christmas catastrophe's this year. Both involving poor Tristan. I am just writing this so that I will be able to look back years from now and laugh. Tristan is such a smart little thing and I love him for it, but there are times when I wish he wasn't quite so smart and so dang observant!

Catastrophe #1

It seems like lately Tristan and his best friend Ty are seeing what they can get away with at my house. Tristan loves to make him laugh and will do pretty much anything to keep him entertained. Last week when Ty was playing at our house they were supposedly playing "basketball". I figured while they were playing I would clean the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later I come out to check on them only to find them in the living room setting up the train track that we had gotten him for Christmas. Tristan was busy assembling it while Tyler had ridiculously large scissors in hand trying to open the box.

I had to do a double take when I realized what they were playing with. I was so angry and incredibly disappointed. I was really looking forward to seeing his reaction Christmas morning and now I won't get to see that. Tristan is so cute when he gets excited about things. He gasps and I love it! Now I will miss that. Not to mention all the other presents were by the train set - unwrapped.

We had the presents locked up in Bill's hunting room. The kids know not to go in there since that is where all of Bill's hunting supplies (guns not included. Those we keep in a safe at his parents house) are kept. I had no idea why they decided to go in there in the first place. I still haven't gotten a straight answer from him. Anyways, he pushed the chair over to the book shelf is in our computer room to try and get the key. When he figured out he was too short he came upstairs, got my keys off our key-holder, and unlocked the door himself. Little. Stink.

Needless to say he was grounded from playing with Tyler the rest of the week, won't be getting his train set for Christmas (not to worry though, he will get it for his birthday in Feb.), and won't get the monster truck he asked Santa for. We didn't want to be completely mean about it, but he had to know what he did was not OK. He shouldn't have been in Bill's hunting room and that was our biggest problem with what he did. We talked with him and agreed that if he didn't talk to Stella about the presents he did see and was good, maybe Santa would bring him something else. Maybe. He's been a good boy so far, so I'm pretty certain Santa will leave a few gifts for him.

Catastrophe #2.

Last weekend I went and bought the stocking stuffers. As I was putting all the groceries away Bill called the kids upstairs and so I hurried and shoved the (plastic) bag of goodies in the oven. Yes, we all know where this is going. I figured this was a safe place because the kids wouldn't see it in there plus I wasn't using the oven to cook dinner. Not the brightest I idea now I see in hindsight.

Fast forward a few hours later. I decide to make apple crisp. That's right. I pre-heat the oven. Tristan is my constant cooking companion so he is there by my side always. He asked, "Mom, is the stove hot?" Me: "Yes. Oh shoot. YES!" As I opened the door the Walmart bag is quickly melting, boxes falling apart at the seams, chocolate melting. Seriously! Use your brain Alicia! I threw everything on the counter and quickly covered it with a towel to try and hide it from Tristan. Of course he saw pretty much everything.

I've decided it's too much work to lie to our kids even if it is in good fun. I'm just going to tell him there is no Santa, no Easter Bunny, and where babies really come from and be done with it! I won't, but I have thought about it.

So there it is. My hectic Christmas season. And as Melissa pointed out, this all happened the day after my last post about holiday stress and trying to find my inner zen. It was a nice thought that didn't last more than a few hours! Ah well. Merry Christmas and a Ba Hum Bug!

'Tis the Season to be STRESSED?

I'm not gonna lie. I am feeling the holiday stress this year! I wish I wasn't because I LOVE this time of year. I always look forward to Christmas and try not to get wrapped up (no pun intended) in the stress that comes with it, but this year I'm feeling it a little. I am trying to find my inner zen (hence the picture above). Just when I thought I was done with the kids shopping I keep remembering something else I was planning on getting. Then there's the teachers, leaders, etc., etc. I haven't even sent out Christmas cards yet! They've been kind of an after thought, where most years it's the first thing I get done!

So I want to know how you all deal with Holiday stress and what some of your traditions are? We will be going to see the lights at Temple Square tomorrow. It will be nice to focus more on "the reason for the season". It's so easy to get all-consumed by the presents. I need to remember what Christmas is really about and not worry so much about the presentation under the tree. I really think the parents care more about that than the kids do! I know I do!

Last year when my dad talked in sacrament during Christmas he talked about giving a gift you want to give the Lord. Something you want to change, improve, or give up all together. Write it down, wrap it up, and put it under your tree. Maybe this year I can give up stressing too much and enjoy being in the here and now more.

Anyways, I hope you all (along with me) can find some peace and joy in the season. Stress less and focus more on what Christmas is really all about. Merry Christmas!

What We're Thankful For...

So this year we decided to do something different for Thanksgiving. We made a "Thankful" jar and for 2 weeks wrote what we are thankful for. It was a lot of fun and something I want to carry on as a tradition. Next year I want to be sure to start it at the beginning of November. I loved to ask the kids everyday and hear what they would list. Here are our thankful cards all put together.





I love that Tristan is thankful for Tyler, Jesus, his "gun shot" & Lightening McQueen. And that Stella is thankful for art, snow, Duke and Princesses. Of course we are all most thankful for each other, but had to make sure to think of all the other things we are thankful for. I love this month for the very fact it heightens our gratitude for all of the blessings we enjoy everyday.



We enjoyed 2 Thanksgivings again this year! We spent Thursday afternoon with the Duffin's and Friday evening with the Robbins side. It was so much fun and so yummy! The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins, Stella was so disappointed it had to come to an end. The whole weekend was such a blast catching up with each other, playing games and watching some sports. I know I loved every minute and I hope everyone else did as well! Happy Holidays!

Easter

Easter seemed like it came so quickly this year! I kept forgetting it was Easter because it's usually later on in April. I did love that it fell on Conference weekend though! So nice. Of course the weather didn't cooporate so we had to have another indoor Easter egg hunt. (2 actually)

Easter was so much fun this year! The kids were a blast to watch. On Friday we got "egged". Somebody decided they had too much candy and dumped a basket full of filled easter eggs on our doorstep and in the front yard! The kids totally loved it! (Thanks Melissa!) It was such a fun way to start off our Easter festivities. Then we dyed our Easter eggs. I always love doing that! It's my favorite part. Reminds me of when I was a kid sitting around our table with my brothers and sister trying to make the eggs the ugliest color we could.

Sunday morning the kids were hilarious to watch as they found their Easter baskets and eggs! Tristan was so funny and excited about the whole thing! The whole rest of the day he kept telling everyone about the crazy places the Easter bunny hid the eggs. Believe it or not it was almost more fun than Christmas morning because they weren't constantly wondering if there were more presents and what else they were getting. They were just thrilled to have a basket full of boiled eggs and candy! Go figure!

We had lunch at the Duffin's then dinner at our house with my family. It's always great to see everybody and get to just hang out and catch up! It was a busy, but very fun day!

A Great Leader

It's been amazing to watch certain events of the world unfold. Especially this past year. Last time I wrote we just had our first "black" (even tho he's only half black, but whatever) president voted into office. I feel like we as a people have come so far to accept others for who they are. However, I still feel like we have a long ways to go. I think for the most part Martin Luther King would be pleased with the effect his convictions have had. They have touched so many lives! Even those who weren't even born when he was around. He was an amazing leader. He is one of my hero's and I hope for my children's sake and the sake of future generations people continue to strive for peace and equal opportunity. Afterall, underneath whatever color we are born to is a spirit of God and we all come from the same creator. And He loves us not matter what we look like!

Holiday Cheer

Christmas has finally come and gone. I shouldn't say finally because it always seems to come sooner than you'd think. However, I feel like we have done just about everything possible to feel the spirit of Christmas this year. For the past month we have done the Christmas parties, gone to see The Forgotten Carols, went on the Polar Express, and saw the lights at Temple Square. If all of that combined won't get you in the Christmas mood I don't know what will!

Last weekend we had Christmas with Stella and Tristan's birth mothers. We had dinner at the Carroll's and enjoyed spending the evening visiting and watching the kids open too many presents. On Christmas Eve we made and decorated gingerbread cookies for Santa. The kids handled my cake decorating tools pretty well. Everything was a mess, but it was a lot of fun! Later we had dinner at my parents house and played games. We've started a tradition of Stella and Tristan buying and exchanging presents for one another. We think it will help them feel the joy of giving. They seemed to enjoy exchanging presents.

The kids were excited to see that Santa had eaten quite a few of their cookies and left a note. Even better was the load of presents dropped off under our tree. Stella got the fully loaded barbie house she has asked for and Tristan got an automatic nerf gun and Geo Trax airport. Not to mention a bunch of other stuff. After the presents were all opened we headed back over to my parents for breakfast and more gifts. Then over to the Duffin's to finish filling the rest of the back of the truck. Both of our parents go way overboard. I swear it looked like we were moving by how much stuff we brought home!

The day after Christmas poor Bill had to work AGAIN and so the kids and I went sledding with my family. Aside from the minor injuries and freezing weather it was a great way to end our Christmas weekend!

BELIEVE

Tonight Bill and I surprised the kids by taking them on the Heber Creeper Polar Express. Tristan loves trains so we thought this would be right up his ally. Stella has had so many fun things going on this month between her dance recital, Princess on Ice, girls-night-out and such, that we thought it would be fun to do something special Tristan would particularly enjoy. When we pulled up to the train station they both had such a look of excitement!

As soon as we left the train station Ms. Clause came on our train and served her own recipe of chocolate chip cookies and hot cocoa. I even got the recipe from her! Afterwards we read The Polar Express story. Once we reached the North Pole Santa came on board. We were the last part of the train to meet him so we didn't get to see him until after we finished singing Christmas songs. Stella volunteered us to be part of the 12 Days of Christmas group.

Tristan was a little nervous at first when he saw Santa, but after I explained that he didn't have to sit on his lap he was OK. All the kids on board received the first gift of Christmas ~ a bell. The kids were so happy afterwards and had such a good time on the train. It was very worth the trip! We definitely believe in the spirit of Christmas!

Santa Clause is coming to town!

Saturday evening we went to my parents ward for their Christmas dinner. My dad is the bishop so we like to go and support him ~ especially if we know Santa is going to be there! We didn't make it to our ward's breakfast since we were gone for our anniversary and thought this would be a good way to avoid dragging the kids to the mall to see Santa. Anyway, when we got there we had a short program in the chapel and watched a video of the wise men following the star to find baby Jesus. It brought tears to my eyes to see how much Stella knew about the story of Jesus' birth. And when she saw Mary holding her new baby Stella said, "Jesus is so beautiful!" She is so right! He is beautiful. It makes me feel good to see the love she already has for Jesus and to see how much she is learning! I love her unquestioning faith! There is so much we can learn from children.



At dinner time Santa made his appearance and came around to greet the kids. Tristan wasn't quite sure about the strange looking guy, but he did shake his hand. When we went to line up to sit on Santa's lap Tristan refused to sit on his lap. We knew this would be his reaction. Stella was good and sat on his lap and told him what she wanted, but was pretty shy. Tristan wouldn't tell him what he wanted, but he did give him knuckles and got his little gift bag from Santa. He was pretty funny!



We cashed out on winning gifts too! My mom and I beat out the rest of the group on one of the quizzes. Granted I had a little help from the bishop on two of the answers, but he just confirmed what we were already thinking! I tried to let someone else win with the tie-breaker question. It was what is Bishop Robbins' first name. He goes by Steve, but his real name is Jon. When the guy guessed James I corrected him and won the prize. Stella also won one of the jars of candy that people had to guess how many pieces of M&M's were in the jar. She was pretty happy to walk away with that prize! I felt a little guilty taking prizes from a ward I don't even belong to, but what can you do!

Thankful...

I can't believe it's that time of year again. The holidays are here once again! I absolutely love this time of year. Everyone seems more mindful of others. More forgiving and unselfish. I have been thinking of the things I am thankful for this week. I could make endless lists of my blessings, but these are on the top of my list this year!

* I'm thankful for my wonderful, handsome, hard-working, loving husband of 10 years!

* I'm thankful for 2 beautiful, healthy, entertaining kids!

* I'm thankful for amazing family and friends! I don't know what I'd do without them!

* I'm thankful for my health. Nothing puts everything into perspective like a little "scare".

* I'm thankful for my job which allows me to work when convenient for me!

* I'm thankful for my home and the everyday comforts I enjoy.

* I'm thankful to live in this country and have the freedoms that so many other's have fought for us to have.

* And last, but certainly not least, I am thankful for my Savior.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and takes a moment to give thanks for the blessing, big and small, in our lives. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

"Thankful"

Some days we forget to look around us
Some days we can't see the joy that surrounds us
So caught up inside ourselves
We take when we should give

So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be
And on this day we hope for
What we still can't see

It's up to us to be the change
And even though we all can still do more
There's so much to be thankful for

Look beyond ourselves, there's so much sorrow
It's way too late to say, I'll cry tomorrow
Each of us must find our truth
We're so long overdue

So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be
And every day we hope for
What we still can't see

It's up to us to be the change
And even though we all can still do more
There's so much to be thankful for

Even with our differences
There is a place we're all connected
Each of us can find each others love

So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be
And on this day we hope for
What we still can't see

It's up to us to be the change
And even though this world needs so much more
There's so much to be thankful for

Summer Fun

This month has been a busy, but fun one for our family. July started off with a camping trip at Fish Lake with Shaun & Mistee and Ron & Becky. It was rainy half of the time, but that seems to be a recurrent theme in our camping trips so far! We took the kids fishing at Gates Lake and caught almost 20 fish! It was definitely not a boring sport that day! Stella wasn't too into so she got some coloring done. Whatever keeps them happy!

We did the usual camping activities. Eat, 4-wheeling, camp fires, and such. On the
4th we got hit hard with a huge rain storm. We were originally planning on going to the Sevier Rodeo, but now we weren't quite sure. We decided to risk it and take a shot at missing the storm. Luckily for us it had cleared up before we got there. We found the softest rock on the mountain we could find and enjoyed watching the rodeo with the kids. Stella and Tristan were surprisingly into it the whole time. Stella has decided she wants to be a rodeo-princess when she grows up. She loved the cowgirls in the sparkly outfits. Tristan liked all the animals and the little truck that drove out during half-time (I guess is what it could be compared to). Aside from losing Makayla for 10 minutes we had a great time! The fireworks were awesome!! (Even though Stella asked a few minutes into them if we could go home)

We have tried to go swimming at the Kearns Rec Center weekly this summer. Stella and Tristan have such a blast going down the slide over and over! Stella has found a passion for swimming I think. We need to get her in some swim lessons we've decided. It's hard to get her out of the pool once we are there. Tristan likes it about every other time we go. He doesn't last as long as Stella, but still loves the slides.

We went to the museum up at the U of U. We went with our adoption playgroup. We took Tracks up to the U. Stella and Tristan had never been on Tracks before so they had a lot of fun. Tristan is obsessed with trains so I knew it would be something he would enjoy! We brought our lunches and had a picnic when we got there then walked through the museum for the next few hours. They got to see all kinds of gross frogs and stuff like that. I was beat by the end of that play date, but they had a lot of fun so that's all that mattered. Note to self, don't forget the umbrella stroller next time and don't wear heels!!

Finally, this past weekend we went to the cabin with the Duffin's. We went down Thursday and Bill's parents joined us later that night. We went swimming as soon as we got there. It was the perfect day for it. 100 degrees with no wind. Friday morning we went fishing at Gooseberry. We did pretty good! Stella reeled in all of the fish. Tristan was busy pretending to reel in fish on his new Cars fishing pole. We went 4-wheeling when we got back and when Jason and crew came up we went swimming again. This time the weather was not so great, but we had fun anyway. We got home later that night. It was a fun couple of days, but I have to say there is no place like home! After all of the busyness that went on that past week I was in need of some good down time!

Easter

We had a great time this weekend with our families! We dyed eggs Friday night together. Then on Saturday we headed down to Shaun and Mistee's for the day. We were there to celebrate Lukes 6th birthday, but had a little Easter egg hunt while the weather was decent. The kids all had fun looking for eggs and the older girls were helpful in making sure the little ones found their eggs first. Glenwood is always a nice little get-away! We all had fun playing games and pigging out. It's what us Robbins' love to do!

Sunday I awoke to Stella's huge eyes and excitement that the Easter Bunny had come and left a basket full of goodies! Tristan woke just a minute later so we were able to see what was left for them. After church we relaxed a bit before going to the Duffin's. There we did another egg hunt and ate some more. Yum! I love Easter time! It is a reminder that even though it had snowed last week, Spring is somewhere around the corner. Spring is the perfect time to remember the Savior and the whole reason behind Easter - the Atonement. We had a great weekend together and with everyone else! Happy Easter!

What is your dream???

"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream."
"But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred."
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
" I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."


Today is MLK day. I have to say that every time I hear his "I have a dream speech" I get chills from head to toe! Pretty much any time I have heard him speak I get chills. He was such a passionate man who gave everything he had to making sure everyone had equal rights. I am thankful for his leadership and his willingness to stand up for what is right. Tomorrow we will have a new president and wether or not we voted for him I am glad to see how much our country has progressed. It is about time we had someone of mixed race in office! I hope our country will begin to improve and see many positive changes.

My dream is much like Martin Luther King Jr.'s. I dream for a better world for my children where everyone has equal opportunities regardless of race, gender or creed. I dream that my children will always feel safe and secure no matter where they are. I dream that we will all leave our mark on this earth in our own way and leave it better than before. I dream that we will begin to see less violence and hate and see more peace and love. That is my dream! What's yours?

Halloween

I love Halloween! It has always been one of my favorite holidays. I had the chance to go to Stella's pre-school and watch her class do a little parade. They sang some Halloween songs and after we decorated sugar cookies. Stella loves school and was excited to sing for all of the parents.

This year was so much fun with both Stella and Tristan old enough to grasp the concept of trick-or-treating. The Saturday before Halloween we went to our wards trunk-or-treat. As we were getting ready Tristan, dressed up in his cute cow jammies (his costume since he wouldn't wear the first one I had bought for him) brought his blankie into the bathroom, laid on it and fell asleep right before the party. He thinks he doesn't need naps anymore, but apparently he does! Anyways, Bill took one for the team and stayed home so Tristan could take a little nap.

Halloween night was a lot of fun too! We had our wonderful friends, the Eichelbergers over for dinner before we went out trick-or-treating. Stella was dressed up as an Elephant and Tristan actually let me dress him up in an extra costume Melissa had for Tyler. He was a Zebra. They were two of the cutest animals I had ever seen! Stella's hat, or trunk, kept falling in her face so she didn't wear the hat part for very long. We met up with Stacy and Emma and had fun going around our neighborhood! Tristan lasted longer than I had anticipated. We had so much fun and are excited that the holidays are here!