Christmas Card

We did a combo Christmas Card/Birth Announcement this year.  I was totally late getting them out.  I ordered them late and then the shipment was held up due to snow somewhere in the Midwest; but we HAD to announce the arrival of this beautiful girl and keep up our tradition of the yearly poem.  So we sent them out anyway.  I haven’t used the poem style every year, but quite a few of them.  Here is the announcement picture.

These pictures were also on the card.

And now for the year in review – poetry style!!

Christmas 2013

Well our cards are out late
And we thought about it
But then we decided
You wouldn’t give a rip.

So here we are again
Sending our rhyme
To let all of you know
What we do with our time.

Our newest family member
With her cute chubby cheeks
Arrived rather quickly
But she’s one we think we’ll keep.

Her name is Shylee Kay
She weighed just over 9 pounds
The other kids were excited
They jumped up and down.

She’s happy and healthy
And sleeps quite a lot.
Mom thinks that it is
The best Christmas she got!

Timberlyn turned 2 this July
And she’s really quite good
At being a two-year-old
Just as she should

She loves to play dolls
And dress-ups with her sis
But don’t make her mad
Or she might give you her fist

Miranda is 5 now
And as happy as can be
That she started kindergarten
This year, don’t you see.

She mastered riding a bike
With only two wheels
Loved going fishing with Dad
And all of those reels

Kanyon was sad to find out
He’s the lone boy in our clan
But he loves that little girl
And holds her whenever he can

He’s in the 4th grade
And you’ll probably find
Him playing baseball or 4-square
Along with stretching his mind

Kaydra turned 12 this year
She joined the Young Women at church
She’s most always quite helpful
Never leaving Mom in a lurch

She’s smart and she’s pretty
Growing up so very tall
Plays in the orchestra
Seems to have quite a ball

Leonard is working and hunting
And fishing and hunting
He went to Alaska this year
Oh -- did we mention hunting?

He helped Kaydra shoot,
Her first deer she did get
Although out in the woods
They sure got pretty wet.

Brooke had a baby
Did we mention that yet?
Most important thing done
And our family is set.

She loves being a mom
And works as a nurse
She really enjoys that
Helps fill up our purse

Our family’s happy and healthy
We’re really quite blessed
We love our family and friends
We think you all are the best

We had a good year
Full of so many things
We can hardly wait
To see what next year brings

We hope that you had
A Merry Christmas this year
And of course, we wish you
A Happy New Year!

Christmas!

We had a great Christmas this year.  I think it is the first year since we had kids that Leonard and I were both home for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (didn’t have to work) and we were at our own home (not traveling).  It was really nice to just be together at home.  On Christmas Eve morning we went to the Reynolds house for Cinnamon Roll French Toast with ice cream – It doesn’t get much better then that! 

Christmas Eve we spent at Leonard’s parents house.  We had a yummy dinner followed by a great show! The kids performed some talents and we sang some carols.  Kaydra played the guitar while all the cousins sang “Silent Night” That was my favorite part – I wish I had a video of that.  Those kids are pretty awesome!   Then we headed home for our yearly tradition of opening one present – which is always new pajamas!

Yay for pajamas that fit!!  Kaydra and Kanyon have especially outgrown their pajamas this year.  They keep growing and growing – it won’t be long before they pass me up!

Christmas day was great!  A few of the favorite gifts this year ---

Kaydra – IPOD touch

Kanyon – Compound bow

Miranda – Kindle Fire

Timberlyn – Her very own baby doll “Bella”

Shylee – An awesome stroller that will make her mom’s life much easier!!

When you have 5 kids, the presents multiply really quickly!  It seemed our tree had exploded!  Now for some pictures.

As you can see, it was a beautifully sunny day.  Hardly any snow to speak of.  We had family over for soup and salad for a late lunch that day.  It was great to visit and see cousins.   We truly are so blessed.  Thank you all for your generous gifts!

2 months

I know I always say this, but time sure speeds up when you are no longer pregnant.  The last two months of my pregnancy seemed to take FOREVER.  Now, I can’t believe we have had little Shylee here for two months!  Crazy!  Shylee is an awesome baby.  She is really just about perfect.  I may be jinxing myself here – hopefully not! 

She is a happy girl.  She smiles nearly every time we change her diaper. It’s awesome.  She cries only when she needs something.  She almost always stops when someone holds her – unless she is hungry – then she wants mom.  She seems to know who I am.  She settles right down for me if she is upset and I LOVE snuggling this little girl. 

She is getting some rolls on her thighs and they are delicious!  Her chubby cheeks get more ooos and ahhhs then anything else about her.  She is a good eater and it shows! She is really starting to look like one of our kids.  Her 2 month check up is tomorrow so we will see how big she really is.  In the mean time, here are some updated pictures from Sunday,  just before church. 

It’s hard to tell but her eyes are BLUE.  In fact, she looks very much like Kaydra did as a baby.  She is a good sleeper, frequently giving me 6 hours in a row of good sleep.   She has started looking at her hands, trying to figure them out.  OHHH!  Stay little, baby Shylee!!

One more picture to show off those baby rolls!

Love this little, sweet princess!

Santa Baby!

We had a really fun ward Christmas party this weekend.  Good food, a GREAT program, and a visit from Santa Claus.  Perfect opportunity for pictures.  Our ward primary is small so there was plenty of time for all the kids to visit with Jolly Ol’ St. Nick.

And the perfect place for a baby’s First Christmas Picture. While we were waiting in line, Shylee fell asleep. 

How beautiful are these pictures!!!

 

The program was put on by the Achievement day girls.  They performed “’Twas the Night before Christmas” and did a fantastic job.  It was fun to watch Emily and Anna (Jodi’s kids) perform and do so well!  The entire room was laughing and having a great time watching them.  After they finished, Santa came and we sang some Christmas Carols.  Santa had the Bishopric, the Elder’s quorum president, and the high priest group leader on stage to help with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  Leonard was Rudolph.  It was really funny.  Thankfully, his sister was ready with the camera!  It was hilarious.

 

It was a fun time.  I love our ward.  We are small but we have a great time when we are all together.  I was released from my calling as Gospel Doctrine teacher this week and put in as 2nd counselor in the Young Women’s.  I am excited because I will get to work closely with Kaydra.  What a fun opportunity to spend some time with my oldest daughter.  I will miss teaching Gospel Doctrine a bit.  I know that I learned a lot and I had a great class.  I wouldn’t mind doing it again someday.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is so awesome.  It is for EVERYONE!  That is the best part about it and I have definitely grown in my testimony of the Savior and the Book of Mormon over the past 2 years.  If you haven’t read the Book of Mormon, you should.  It’s a great story! – and I believe it to be true with all my being.  I am looking forward to the new adventures that await me in my new calling.  I expect to learn just as much!

O Christmas Tree!

We have a HUGE Christmas tree this year.  Seriously.  The kids were all home sick on Thursday and Friday, December 5&6.  So like any good parents, we took advantage of it and made them help us hunt down a Christmas tree on Friday afternoon.  (They were really sick on Thursday and starting to feel better on Friday – don’t judge me!)  Anyway, we headed to the woods.  I was in the Suburban with all the kids and Leonard was on the 4-wheeler – it could go places the Suburban couldn’t.  Leonard already had a tree in mind.  It was really cold – as cold as it has been since we moved back to Coeur d’Alene.  I think it was 2 degrees.  Not as cold as it would get in Idaho Falls, but pretty cold for us!  He took me on the 4-wheeler to see the tree he had found before we got all the kids out of the warm car.   It was monstrous.  It was beautiful, but I didn’t know how we would fit it in our house.  We decided to keep looking.  We headed back to the car with the kids and got them out to help us look.  It didn’t take long before Leonard found another, slightly smaller tree that was much closer to the road so we could easily haul it back to the house.   I am SO glad we got the smaller one.   The kids think it’s awesome.  Our dining room is much smaller now! 

That is Timber in front of our tree.  We had to cut a little off the bottom and a little off the top so it would fit under our ceiling.  It took Leonard, Kaydra, Kanyon, and me to get it in the house.  But it’s awesome!  Here are the kids decorating, the ladder was a necessity!

This is how Shylee participated the entire time.  I love the swing!

Then we decided that we should probably include her in a picture!

Merry Christmas!

Idaho Falls–Thanksgiving

We were able to go to Idaho Falls over Thanksgiving.  Leonard had to work and couldn’t come with us.  My mom and dad drove to Coeur d’Alene on Friday and then back to Idaho Falls on Saturday to help us all get there safe.  I was grateful for them doing this and even more grateful for their company along the way.  It was fun to visit with them. 

The kids were happy to be reunited with their cousins.  It had been several months since they had seen each other but they wasted no time and played like crazy.  Timberlyn was my tough one.  Shylee was so easy – she was a great baby.  Timber was a typical two-year-old surrounded by people she didn’t know very well.  She was my constant shadow, which, honestly, drove me crazy.  She needed ME constantly and no one else could replace me at times.  It’s nice to be needed, but SERIOUSLY!!  As a side note – I say “seriously”  a lot.  My kids say it too and they got it from me!

Anyway, the kids went to church with Grandma on Sunday and they were able to see their friends again since it is our old ward.  I stayed home to “rest” with Shylee and Timberlyn.  Didn’t rest much but it was a little quieter anyhow.  Shylee spit up everywhere (all over her, in my hair, on my clothes) so she got a bath while Timber finished her breakfast and brought me the bowl of leftover milk while she spilled it across the kitchen floor as she walked.  So then I had to clean a kitchen floor.  Awesome.  The kids seemed to have a good time at church!

Monday night we went to the temple for family night.  It was a great opportunity since my kids haven’t been able to do that in Coeur d’Alene.  They were all excited to “go to the Temple”.

Kids listening to the Sister Missionaries

They asked, “What did the Savior do for us to show that he loves us?”  The kids each answered.  Their answers were, “He helps others, He served them, He is kind, He is nice, He died on the cross for us.”  Then after their talk, the Sisters asked the kids to try to do the same thing this next week to show love for others like Jesus did.  They all agreed except Kanyon.  He wasn’t sure how he could die on a cross for someone.  They let him pick something else!  Funny!

We watched a couple movies and then went outside to walk the temple grounds and take a few pictures.  It was pretty dark, so they didn’t turn out too great.  Still awesome for the kids to be near the temple! 

Most of the time we were in Idaho Falls we just visited and hung out with family and cousins at my parents house.  It was very pleasant. Paul was there, of course.  Courtney and her family came over everyday.  Jackson and Chelsea stopped by to visit several days.  On Wednesday Jake and Jana and their family came from Utah to stay too.  We missed Scott and Markell and their families.  It was fun to visit with everyone. 

On Thursday  we had our 1st Thanksgiving dinner.  It was everyone from my mom’s side of the family that was in town and we ate at Terry and Debie Roe’s house.  I should have taken more pictures.  I actually didn’t take any but I had Courtney take one of Grandma Parry holding baby Shylee.  I love it!

Then on Friday we had our 2nd Thanksgiving dinner with my dad’s side of the family.  It’s awesome that both sets of my grandparents are in the same town!   Well, really close anyway!

Then, on Saturday, our last day there, we got to see Tarek get baptized!  I am SO glad that we were able to be there for his baptism.  He actually turned 8 in September but he waited for his Grandma and Grandpa Beck to be able to come and that meant that we were able to be there too!!  I am so glad.  It is such a blessing to be part of a family that has children making such great choices.  He is an example to my kids and I am grateful he is choosing the right path!!  We love you Tarek!  Here is one more picture of all the cousins at the baptism. 

Right after the baptism we had a bite to eat at Courtney’s and then Paul drove us to Deer Lodge where we met Leonard and switched cars.  Paul then drove my mom’s car back to Idaho Falls while Leonard drove us home the rest of the way.  Thank you, Paul, for being willing to put up with my kids and help us get home safe!  You are so awesome!!   Thank you,also,  to everyone who put up with us for the week.  At times, it seemed like one of my kids was crying ALL THE TIME!  That’s what happens when you have FIVE kids – the odds are against you.  If someone is crying – it’s probably one of yours!!  I love all the kids though.  I hope they grow up to love their cousins as much as I love mine.  Cousins are THE BEST!! 

Blessing Day–6 weeks old

Shylee was given a beautiful blessing by her father on November 22, 2013.  She was officially named Shylee Kay FitzSimmons. She was just a few days shy of being 6 weeks old.   We weren’t sure when we were going to bless her.  Getting as many people together as possible was proving difficult because of the pending winter weather and differing work schedules.   We had already planned on my Mom coming to Coeur d’Alene just before Thanksgiving to help me bring all the kids to visit Idaho Falls for the week.  A couple days before she came I called and we talked about how we thought the best time to bless Shylee would be when Mom came to get us.  At least she would be there, even if no one else from Idaho Falls could come.  She talked to Dad and he was able to clear his schedule of work for the day and so they were both able to make it.  I am thankful that they took the time to drive up one day and then back the very next day with a Suburban full of kids!  It brought back many memories of traveling with all my brothers and sisters!  Anyway, Shylee was given a beautiful blessing.  We invited the Bishop and his wife, and all the family in Coeur d’Alene.   And now, for a million pictures!

Shylee’s blessing dress was made from the train of my wedding dress by my cousin Debie.  She is the 4th child to be blessed in it – after her 3 older sisters!  I love how “princess” it makes them look.   Shylee was blessed to be an example to her siblings, even though she is the youngest child.  She was blessed to marry in the temple and to have a strong testimony.  Someday I feel we will all look up to this child and the choices she makes.

To end the post, one last picture of our family -  it’s the first one of all of us together!  I don’t know why it took us 6 weeks to finally get it done!!

I am so blessed.