Snow! Finally, I was very serious about postponing Christmas until we got some... I grew up in Nevada, snow-less, and I love snow at Christmas! It can leave in February, but I want it until then!

The year has been long and adventurous. The kids are growing and changing. Life is ever unexpected, and complicated, and wonderful!

We rejoice in the gospel of Christ. We love to serve and hope that our children learn to love it also. How much of His love and patience we see in the world. We lean ever more on the teachings of the prophets to get us through our daily lives. How much sadness... but the joy.... oh the joy! Our children are such a great reminder of the love that our Father and Saviour have for us. They remind us of forgiveness, innocence and charity.

The Atwin home wishes you the best for the coming year, may we all find the Peace of this Season in our hearts the whole year through

It has been soooo busy! Thanksgiving was wonderful, we spent the day at home and had my mom and step-dad over. We ate silly. We found some table tops at DI that are beautiful, just missing legs. We have had them in storage in anticipation for the time that the living room, kitchen are remodled and then we will have setting for us all around one table again. Well with Thanksgiving we wanted to have us all at one table, so being the last minutes preparers that we are, we went to Lowes to purchase 8 legs, they only had seven. We knew that we had ample amount of wood to make one temporary leg. So we purchased the seven and brought them home. That day we ran to the storage unit to retrieve the tops and one hour before zero hour the guys got busy assembling the tables. The legs had to be cut at the top to fit the table configuration. We couldn't remember what they looked like, and the guys did a fabulas job shaving a corner of the top of the leg to make a perfect fit. We got one table done and they flipped it over and uh-oh....They were too tall!!! We had all looked at these legs in the store and they were great, not one of us took into consideration that we were measuring them against the kitchen bar table, we don't have a regular table in our home, never had, so it was a perfect bar height. We had to make all temporary legs for the day! Scott was very excited, he would like very tall tables, but Joy and I mulled it over and decided that the height would not only be expensive (the chairs would have to be bar stools) but that they would over power the room. Scott is dealing with the disappointment. Meanwhile, four of the seven legs can be used for the new bar in the kitchen, and we have come up with other ideas for the three. Then we will buy eight more of the correct height later...

We cut down our own tree this year. We went into the mountains with our permit and inadequate clothes and had a great time, you wouldn't think it would take so long to find the perfect tree. It was wonderful and we are already talking about next year and the clothes and shoes we will wear and the hot chocolate and snacks we will take to eat. It wasn't until we were up there that I realized that I had forgot my camera! I have done that a lot lately!!!

We went to my sisters to celebrate her husbands 50th birthday. He has been papa bear of the family for a long time. We sure appreciate his love and wisdom, I turned to him many times in my youth for advice and comfort. He always managed to say the right thing and for that I feel blessed to know him and call him friend. It was a surprise, my sis had to tell alot of untruths to keep it that way too... The look of surprise on his face was perfect! I took a photo, but had forgotten to charge my battery!!!! What a louse I have been about pictures. Well like they say, the cobblers kids don't have shoes!!

They were just hanging out outside while we were doing yardwork, I snuck in and grabbed my camera, I wanted to catch the moment.

My niece is taking a class at school and needed to do a group of at least 5 for an assignment, I needed to do family and kid pictures so we got dressed and headed up the street to an empty feild by our house. She did quite good...

I took the kids shot... I don't buy school photos, so here are out 2008-2009 school year photos, what good lookin' kids, can't say for sure which side of the famiy it comes from...

This is so much the personalities of these two brothers...

My girls!!!

You couldn't ask for two brothers who love and take care of their sisters more, they are the best!

Anouther week gone already... I had some planters warts on my right foot treated on Tuesday, talk about pain.... Loritab has gotten me by. 5 days later the warts are not as painful, just tender, but my foot is killing me from having to walk on it sideways!!!! I don't know if I can bare to do it again..

Wednesday I went to my sisters home and canned applesause. I was hobbling around her kitchen, and because of my weakend condition got to sit a lot and hold her baby... What a hard life.

My 12 year old is such a good student, likable, friendly, lots of buddies, but flunking three classes at school because he simply doesn't hand in the assignments. I am beside myself on what to do. I have threatened to remove the T.V. from his room. Take away his computer time, not sign him up for winter community basketball, and anything else I can think of to motivate him to pay attention in class and hand in assignments! I gave him the whole "this is your job, just like dad has a job and if you act like this when your a grown-up you get fired, and if you continue I'm going to fire you and simply....go to....school for you....." To say the least we have gone the rounds over this one. To add to my angst if you talk to his grandma she says that his dad was the same way! I'M RAISING MY HUSBAND! So I ask him, what would have helped you when you were that age and he says getting after him... I ask "So that's what would have helped you?" He tells me he wouldn't have liked it, but it would have helped. So here I am practically going to school everyday (checking on his grades and assignments) so that he will get better grades than my husband did at that age, where is the justice, maybe that should be dad's job, yea, let dad deal with it.... Ah, I feel better already.... OK! Fine, the control freak, "you won't stay on top of him" side has just won, guess I have a new job...

What a week, life is continually busy. We spent a glorious saterday doing yard work. Last week was Halloween and I finally got to going through the images from the day. The kids always have fun picking their costumes, Tayla (4) was easily swayed to a costume that we already had in the costume box (A clown.) She looked precious. Esther (5) found her costume at the thrift store and I told her that it was the kind of clothes that her Grandma's wore when they were her age. Cris (my nephew;8) played flag football this year, so his costume was a shoe in for him. My sister Joy took shin gaurds for skating and stuffed them in his clothes to be football gear. His sister Lizzy (9) picked being an Indian, Joy outdid herself with this costume, at least I think so. I don't put that much into it. Malachi (9)went from wanting to be a mad scientist to a cowboy, and then settled on a football player with Cris. Elijah (12) last year said that he wanted to be a pirate again. Then as the day came he didn't want to do anything. Then he went for a Zombie and was all dressed up with ripped clothes and white make-up then the next time I saw him he was normal Eli, he is not into dressing up much. He doesn't like alot of attention, he could be so good at drama, but he is too shy and won't do it! Reston(13), my nephew, dressed up as a character from his favorite game, battlering, he made the sword himself! Paige, my neice, turned 16 a few days before halloween and so her BIG party was that night, what a great party! She had a costume party and dressed up as an angel, I have an obsesion with old wedding dresses and I have a dozen, so she took one and remaid it to work for her costume. I should have taken before and after photos of the dress, so you could see the work that she did! She had about 40-45 kids show up. We have left over dessert from it still! Amee, neice, and oldest of the clan at 18 dressed up as a pirate, she put it together herself, what a great job!

Tayla



Esther Cris and Malachi




Reston

Reston and Amee

Lizzy
One of Paige's friends, I just love this image!
Every Angel needs her cell phone... Calling heaven?

One of Paige's friends made all the goodies, we have a future caterer in our midst.
Mysterious Amee...

Line dancing, NOT country style... (we call it "HITCH" style)

There was a pinata..

My niece from SL valley, McKayla

She hates this photo, but the teeth cost "Mom and Dad" a LOT.

This is Mom and Dad..

My sister Joy and Bob.

Paige and her dance with Dad.

First day of school, she was so nervous and excited too...

Tayla's 4th birthday.

We decorated the girls room for Tayla's birthday!

At the family reunion, the girls got soaking wet.

A family trip to the Lake.

With cousin Shane.

We were celebrating having Tayla in our home for 1 year. We called it "Family Day."



Tayla can touch her tongue to her nose,

just like Grandma Judy...

She was riding the scooter around the backyard.









Tayla got the wagon from her birth mom.



She wanted to play ball with the big boys.