Yea! I'm done! Yes, I have finished all my requirements for my teaching re-certification! I'm sending off all the paperwork tomorrow and so sometime after the 25th of February I should be official! It's so nice to have that over with! Whew!

Here's a fun picture of GNO. We went to Julie's for a Superhero Mystery Dinner. I had so much fun dressing up! Thanks, Julie!

Here are some pictures of Aaron's basketball. He started with Jr. Mustang in December and he's now finishing up Jr. Jazz in the next couple of weeks. He's become quite the basketball player. Just watching him bound up and down the court so fast makes me exhausted. :) He's started practicing with a comp baseball team, too, and he's really excited for that. He absolutely loves baseball! He wants to try out pitching - we might need some pointers, Garrett! He's definitely keeping busy, but it doesn't slow him down!

Wow! What a crazy two weeks! I feel like I've been doing nothing but running and then feeling like I've got nothing done at the same time. Last week I subbed Tuesday through Friday, and today and tomorrow I'm taking a class at the U of U to go towards my teaching certificate. I also got a call today to sub Thursday, Friday, and Monday for the class I had last week. Then...back to another class at the U on Tuesday and Wednesday. Does it ever slow down? My kids have been great about it. They are very supportive and have been trying to help where they can. The great news about all of this is that I will have all my points for my recertification done after next week's class. Yea! This has actually been very exciting because I feel like I'm getting closer to my goal of finding a teaching job for next year. I'm really getting the bug to teach and the more I'm in the classroom subbing, the more anxious I feel about having my own class.

I was reading a blog from a good friend of mine a few days ago and she was describing how proud she was of her kids and how she is trying to cherish the moments she has with them. It really made me stop and evaluate how I interact with my kids. Do I recognize those precious moments-the funny things they say, the sweet things they do, or the amazing way they forgive and forget so easily the mistakes I make as a parent? Time really does go by too quickly. I need to make an honest effort to really see my children for who they are and to cherish the small and simple things they do as children. I feel so blessed to have four beautiful, healthy, loving, kind, and happy children who try so hard to do what is right. I desperately want to the be the kind of mother they can look up to and know that I sincerely love them and am so proud of what they do and who they are.

So...you're wondering, "Why would she post this picture?" Well, it kind of sums up our sledding experience today. The picture is a little off balance and there's good reason for it. As I was taking this picture, I heard Aaron yelling at me so I looked towards him and Bam!, my feet go flying out behind me, my boots hit Aaron in the head, I hit my chin on the ice and then my forehead, biting my lip in two places and scraping my chin. How long had we been sledding? Oh, maybe 10 minutes. I was ready to go home. But I decided I had to stay. About 3 minutes later, Emilee hits a tree and Rachel and Sarah almost hit the same tree. About 3 minutes before my episode Rachel pops her tube flying into the park below the hill. Okay...we move to another spot that's not too crowded and no trees in sight. Sarah pees her pants. I think we were there less than an hour. Now we're sitting at home drinking hot chocolate, my lip is swollen, and Sarah's in the tub. Are we going to go sledding anytime soon? It's going to take a lot of bribery to get me out. But maybe...

Christmas was great! On Christmas Eve we made sugar cookies for Santa and we cooked for our "appetizer" night. We made spinach/artichoke dip, hamburger dip, little smokies, cheese & crackers, chicken crispers, and pop. Brett's parents came over to eat with us and to watch the kids open their p.j.'s and gifts to eachother. It's funny to see what the kids pick out for eachother. They really do give it a lot of thought and pick things they know their siblings would like. After the presents, we watched our traditional "Polar Express." I love that movie! On Christmas morning we started opening up presents about 6:30. Rachel and Aaron were up in Aaron's room around 6:00 and then finally woke up Emilee and Sarah. They were so excited! Rachel and Aaron fell while running into the living room. Rachel got her camera, Aaron got a rifle gun that shoots rubberbands, Emilee got her webkinz, Sarah got her pollypockets, and of course, they got wii games. We had Christmas morning with our family and then went over to Brett's parents' house for breakfast and presents. Later that night my sister, Lisa, and her family came up from Clinton and we had Christmas dinner together. I like to do a Christmas thought on Christmas night and this year I asked my niece, Paige, to sing the song, "Christmas Is A Feeling" with me. I think it turned out great and I had so much fun singing with her. Thanks Paige! It is always a lot of fun to see my sister's family and I feel pretty lucky that her adult children still want to come to my house, especially when it's snowing - no let me rephrase that - especially when it's a blizzard outside!! We like white christmas's, but the snow that night was a little ridiculous! It feels like Christmas has gone by much too fast but I hope our family can keep the spirit of Christmas throughout the year.

Yea! School is out! We are all looking forward to Christmas and the holiday break! I'm definately looking forward to no homework for a while! Hope everyone has a happy holiday!

Wednesday was a sad day for our family. We decided to give our dog, Govey, to a family who would be able to give him more attention. We found a family who lives in Tooele and they met us in Layton to pick up Govey. I think they will be a great family for him. They have another dog named Addie who looks very spoiled, so Govey will have a friend to play with any time he wants. I also got an e-mail from the new owners letting me know how he was doing and I guess he has adjusted just fine. She also asked if he had been microchipped. Wow! He's really going to be taken care of! We all feel like it was the best thing to do for Govey and it's nice to know that he is loved and will be happy in his new home.

Right now the kids are busy writing their Christmas lists to Santa. I hope we're not too late! Items range from digital cameras, to legos, wii games, ponies, webkinz, and last but not least the beebee gun. Wow! Good luck, Aaron! We'll see what Santa decides to bring - with mom's permission, of course.