Playing in the Snow with Papa.....

This weather has been crazy this year. Everytime I think that Spring is here then we have ANOTHER snowstorm. UGGGGG!

Oh well, I guess it gives the kids a chance to hang out with their Papa Howie. They are alway begging him to come out and play whenever it snows. So after they made those yummy cookies, Howie decided to go out with them and make a snowman. What a trooper!

There was not much snow but it was PERFECT to build a snowman with.

Alyssa wanted to come out and join in on the fun BUT.... this girl NEVER has any shoes on. Seriously, whenever it is time to go somewhere or do something, there she is in her little bare feet wanting to join. I made her go inside and get her shoes on before I let her out with us. She said I was MEAN!
Soon the door opened up and Lyss was coming out with "HER SHOES" on. Okay those look a little BIG for you Lyss :)
She was determined to come out and have fun with us so she grabbed the nearest shoes that she could find, which just so happened to be her mom's. It was funny to watch her manuever the stairs. I thought for sure she would "face-plant-it" on the way down.

NOPE! She made it down safely and was eager to get out in the snow to help build the snowman. She didn't think there was a problem with having NO COAT or NO GLOVES on! It didn't phase her in the least!!!!

Her shoes worked perfectly for forming the bottom of the snowman. I don't think she even touched the snow with her hands the entire time. She would just walk around in her oversized shoes and giggle as she watched Papa Howie and Karah building their "FROSTY"

Working hard......

Short video clip of the kids building the snowman. Before the snowman was complete, Boo thought it would be funny to CRASH him down. Hey... WAIT TILL HE AT LEAST HAS SOME EYES! That way he can "see" it coming!

All finished....Minus some arms!
You're really "stylin" Frosty!

It's a good thing that Karah didn't push down Poor Frosty because she needed to use him for "COVER" when the snowball fight began. She would hide behind him and then just poke her head out from the side and BOMB Papa Howie with snowballs! She is VERY sneaky!

Look out Boo! Papa is going to get you!!!


Snowball fight....

It has been a lot of fun having the girls living here with us.

Boo and her Papa.... So much fun!

Best Papa Ever.....

I know I seem to always be "Braggin" on my husband but SERIOUSLY.....HE IS SIMPLY UNBELIEVABLE!!! He never fails to amaze me. On Friday the 5th of March, after he had returned from a week of work, he volunteered to stay with the girls while I went to a doctor appointment. I think April was also gone somewhere. Well....when I arrived home I was so surprised. There was the most delicious smell as I entered my house. Karah and Lyss were dancing around the kitchen area, each wearing a HUGE hotpad on their hands. THEY WERE IN HEAVEN!

Howie had decided to make cookies with the girls while we were away. Just as I came in the door the timer on the oven rang and Karah was so excited to help pull out the piping hot cookies.

They not only smelled delicious they actually tasted great too!

What amazed me the most was NOT that he actually made cookies with them (because he spends tons of time doing fun things like that with them) it was the fact that he found an article in the "FRIEND" (a church magazine) from the past month about "Scripture Coookies."

He looked up the scriptures with them and as he read the scripture the girls had to decide which ingrediant they needed to make the cookies.

He told me that Karah was actually able to figure out all of them. Very smart little 5 year old!

I was so impressed that he chose to spend his day off teaching our granddaughters about the gospel. He is always teaching them little stories or principles of the gospel that are so important to him.

The girls were ALL smiles. They love spending time with their Papa Howie. He has a way of making every minute spent with him memorable.

I loved watching how he tenderly helped them prepare another batch to go into the oven. He always gets right down on their level and has them involved in every step of the project or activity.

Here they are showing me how to "squish and flatten out" the cookie with their fork.

They worked so well together!

While the second batch was cooking little Alyssa spent the entire time filling up her little teaspoon with water and transferring it into the LARGE bowl. Ten minutes straight without even stopping once. She seemed hypnotised with the activity. FUNNY TO WATCH!

When she heard the timer go off she was so excited.

More yummy lemon blueberry cookies ready to munch down on!

Papa with his girls showing off their delicious scripture cookies.

They are so dang cute!

Steve, thank you so much for taking the time to teach our little ones. Your example of love for them is priceless. They have such a deep love for you and I can see why! You are always trying to help them to enjoy life to the fullest. Most "MEN" would maybe do an activity like this and then call it quits for the day. NOT HOWIE!!!! After making cookies for the past hour or so it was now time to go outside and enjoy the snow that had fallen that day. TIME TO GO MAKE A SNOWMAN!!!

Seven Years Ago.....

WOW! It has been seven years since my first grandchild was born. That day is one I will NEVER forget. I had wanted a grandchild for so long and the day had finally arrived. I remember anxiously waiting in the hospital waiting room for her arrival. I remember going down the hall and looking through the door of April's room (which was cracked open just a bit) and seeing the nurses scramble around to clean her up after she had been delivered. I remember seeing her little legs just KICKIN' around and then I heard her cry. AHHHHH! The sound of a newborn's cry. I remember Shawn coming out and letting us know that they just welcomed a healthy new baby girl into the world and it was finally time for us to come and meet her. I remember how my heart was so full of joy when I held her for the first time.

She was finally here and I remember thinking of how wonderful it was going to be to have this little bundle of joy in our family. I still remember the sound of her cry. I still remember how she seemed to look straight through my soul when her eyes met mine. She was a wise spirit that is for sure. I remember the many, many, many pictures we took of her in her short week on this earth. I look at them on a regular basis and am so happy that we went "NUTS" with our cameras that week, because it gives me more moments of her life to reflect back on. We seriously have HUNDREDS of pictures of this little doll!

I remember the happiness that she brought into my daughter, April's life. I remember conversations April and I shared about Kaitlyn's future. About how fun it was going to be to have a little princess in our home and how fun it was going to be to play "dress ups" with her. I remember wondering if she would grow to be a wonderful dancer like her mommy or if she would be into sports like her Aunt Ashlee. I remember being EXTREMELY happy that she would be living at MY HOUSE for a while because her daddy was going off to war. I was so excited to have a little one in my home again. Ahhhh...to rock her in my arms once again would be so awesome right now!!!!

I remember how April tenderly cared for her new angel. I remember watching her dress Kaitlyn in her special white dress so that she could receive a blessing from her dad and be given a name. I remember thinking that April would be an amazing mom and that we would be a "team" in raising her for the upcoming months while her husband was away.

I remember the sheer heartache of that dreadful morning when we found her not breathing. I remember the pain in April's eyes as her child was wisked away in the helicopter. I remember that look of HELPLESSNESS! I remember the emptiness of the room she slept in. I remember the feeling of numbness that overtook my body and how everything felt so sureal. I remember how frustrating it was when I literally forgot how to DIAL 911 !!!!!! Oh what a day. So many emotions!

I remember and will NEVER forget the calm peaceful feeling I got as Stuart Johnson escorted our family up to the hospital. I remember the beautiful songs on the radio that seemed as if Kaitlyn herself was sending us a personal message that she was fine.....We are an eternal family and we will be together again one day. I remember the feeling of warmth and comfort that all would be well. I remember many, many miracles that testified to me that GOD does look after his children. He is there for us.

I remember the unbelievable amount of love and support given to our family at that time. It was UNREAL!!! I remember coming home from the funeral exhausted both physically and emotionally. We all laid down to rest and were woken to a ring on our doorbell. Standing on our porch were some of our amazing friends. As we walked outside we were surprised to find beautiful luminaries lining the streets of our entire neighborhood. On each luminary was printed "In Loving Memory of Kaitlyn" I remember walking the streets to the entrance of our neighborhood with a few friends and just soaking up the moment. I remember feeling so very loved and so very blessed to be living among so many people who cared. I remember receiving so many thoughtful gifts of love and so many prayers that were sent our way. I will ALWAYS CHERISH those kind gifts and the love I felt from them. My friends are AMAZING!
There are so many things that I remember about ONE SHORT WEEK in my life. I could go on FOREVER! Sometimes it seems like just yesterday. It is unreal how much our Heavenly Father is there to help heal our broken hearts and how an event so tragic can be a blessing in our lives. I will always remember my sweet Kaitlyn Dawn! I will always remember how she touched our lives and how she is probably watching over us even today. She is our families guardian angel. She is our little "Katy Bug" and I love her with all of my heart!

Well I think it is time to go paint the girl's fingernails pink and go visit her grave. Karah wanted to take windmills to her sister and her brother's grave. It was kind of sad today as Boo ate her breakfast she said "I hope one day my mom can have a baby that will actually stay alive! I really want to be a sister again and then Lyssi can be a big sister too!" Ahhh from the mouths of babes!

I love you Kaitlyn!

53 Years OLD!!!

Howie just recently had a birthday and turned FIFTY THREE years old! WoW he is really getting up there in age! LOL

I am always teasing him with how old he is but if anyone knows Steve they know he is still so young at heart. A BIG KID...that's for sure!

I was unsure as to how to celebrate with Steve this year. I got this hare brain idea in the middle of the night to decorate the kitchen area to surprise him. Usually I make big poster signs and decorate with balloons but this year we were pretty busy moving April into our home so I had to improvise.

The grandkids were sound asleep in the basement where I store all of my paints and poster board so I decided to just take strips of paper and write birthday messages on them.

Steve is alway making surprises for me and filling the "kitchen area" up with roses and gifts so I thought it was my turn to do it for him.

Balloons and candy kisses were also scattered around the kitchen for his early morning surprise.

It was hilarious to hear the girls when they woke up and found the balloons and signs. I could hear them saying, "OH NO!!! SOME ONE MADE A BIG MESS!" "SOMEONE IS IN BIG TROUBLE!!"

Lyss was excited to see the CHOCOLATES!

SHE ABSOLUTELY LOVES CHOCOLATE!

Papa Howie waking up to his birthday surprise.

GOTTA LOVE THE BED HEAD hairdo!

Alyssa was waiting patiently for Papa Howie to finish reading the signs so that he would offer her a kiss. A candy one that is!
She carefully followed him around making sure she didn't step on anything. Once he shared his candy she was in heaven. The girls ate more of the chocolate than Howie did I think. What a wonderful breakfast provided by their papa. Talk about a SUGAR HIGH!

I am constantly teasing him about his age because all of our married life I thought he was several years older than he actually was.

It wasn't until just a few months ago that I found out that he was JUST turning 53 this year. I thought he was going to be 55 or 56! OOOPS!

It's okay....I don't feel too bad about NOT knowing how old he is because he is confused about my age as well. He is constantly telling people that I am his "39 year old wife." Don't know what he is thinkin'! I am the oldest, most wrinkley looking 39 year old out there. The funny thing about that is when I was filling out papers at my doctor's office last month I ACTUALLY WROTE 39 down for my age!!!! HE REALLY HAS THAT DRILLED INTO MY HEAD! Oh well....

We had a lot going that weekend prior to his birthday so I was pretty wiped out for his actual birthday. I took him out to one of his favorite restaurants to eat and we had a rinky dinky little cake. We spent the majority of the day doing service for others so I still owe him a celebration!


I did find a picture to add to our home as PART of his birthday gift. We needed to REMOVE an "OLD FAMILY" picture we've had hanging in our living room and I thought this one looked awesome! We have had several people speak to us at church lately about the importance of hanging pictures of Christ in our homes to help invite the spirit. Steve has mentioned several times how he would like to buy one as well, since he left all of his pictures with his ex wife. The counsel the church leaders gave us was wonderful. There is a totally different feel as you walk into the entrance of our home now, and see the picture of the Savior right in front of you. He seems so loving and gentle in this portrait as he watches over his flock.

I hope that Steve knows of the love I have for him and I am so thankful that he is an understanding, unselfish husband. I am so impressed at how he is so willing to help others in need EVEN ON HIS BIRTHDAY. He is really a Christlike person and I admire him and his willingness to serve. Happy 53rd Birthday Howie!