Snow in St. George

Monday it snowed in St. George. To us Dixie Folk, this seemed to be a whole lot of snow! That it was actually sticking to the ground was quite impressive. And since our kids have never lived where we see a lot of snow, they're not fully equipped. Thus, Mom's coat and slippers! And yes! they still wanted to ride their scooter all thru the snow.

The kids were ecstatic to build some snowmen. Not just one, but three!! The kids hands got a bit chilly though, thus the inside photo. It was a challenge bringing Frosty and her two gigantic babies inside. Had to make sure we got our buddies on film!!

And then Tuesday comes, very next day!! We're ready to pull out the skiis, snowboards and sleds and really enjoy this weather!! (Only for a short time thou, then bring us back our warm sunshine!!

Cali's Intro to Solids

And here we are at Cali's 1st introduction to solids. Dad, Jax, and CoCo were competing to see who would give her the 1st bite. Who do you think won??

And once the bite was in the mouth, the true battle began! "That spoon feels so good on my teething gums, don't you dare take it out!!"

Is this feeding over yet??

I'm ready to be done. All I want is my thumb!

Santa

"Come What May, and Love It"- If only, in the heat of the moment, I had followed this wise, inspired counsel given to Joseph B Wirthlin by his mother. Now after some breathing time, I am looking back and asking myself, 'So what, if all three of my young children do not want to happily sit on this scary stranger's lap.' 'So what if mom has to be a part of the photo.' "Come What May, and Love It". Hopefully this wise counsel will ring thru my head in the next heat of the moment! If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.

Christmas Cousin Photo

Here's the end result of the Christmas Cousin Photo Sessions with both sides of the family. Not the most perfect end results but nevertheless, at least a few happy smiles. But wait, story is not all told yet......



What is not shown in these top photos are the hundreds and hundreds of photos that were taken to get to that one finished product. And yes, I had to include at least one of these hundred to document the story. I'm learning a lot in this journey of motherhood... "Enjoy the moment!" Memories will last forever, with or without the perfect photograph. In fact, these bottom 2 photos bring a big smile to my face b/c they capture the moment. Children are truly 'love made visible!'

Christmas Tree Hunting

Well, here we are in Dixie National Forest. We were successful in talking Daddy into taking us to hand chop our very own Christmas tree.












Chloe, of course, found the perfect tree- just her size! We luckily were able to talk her into doing a little more shopping around. The kids had so much fun helping Dad cut the tree and then carrying it all the way down the mountain. We are proud of our end-product and had so much fun decorating it. Maybe next year, we will go-green and not head out to chop a tree down but on the other hand, we selfishly love having a little bit of nature in our own home. And we treasure the adventure of it all!

Snapshot into 2008

I'll be honest, it is hard for me to begin this blog from the present moment. I have so many memories that I am wanting to make posts for. But rather than go back in time, I have convinced myself that it is best to start in the present and move forward. But just to wet my appetite, I thought I would allow myself one posting of our 2008 family highlights. So here it is in slideshow form:

Miracles

Anything can happen in life...

A 4-year-old boy could successfully learn to fly...

A 3-year-old girl can survive off a diet of dirt only...

A mother and her children can survive an enormous sandslide....

A wife & daughter can happily smile at the camera as their beloved husband/father is being attacked by a grizzly bear....
And YES!!.... possibly even Andrea Alice Poulton could be creating her very own blog!! Miracles happen everyday.

Remarks by Andrea:
"I may have come into this world 2 centuries late but as my mission statement states: By small and simple means shall great things come to pass."