Merry Christmas

We just wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas. There are so many of you I didn't have addresses for so here is our Christmas card. Let me know your address if you want one next year!

Saige the red-nosed reindeer!

I guess we need to listen to a few more Christmas songs so we can get the lyrics down better!

Let it snow...PLEASE!

I had to put some snowflakes on our blog since we will be staying here for Christmas and there won't be any snow. It is going to be a very weird Christmas. Please send some of that soft Utah powder our way!

My day of THANKS

Thanksgiving is a nice holiday and all but my day of Thanks is November 24.
This is the day I am grateful:

That Miracles have not ceased

For my angel babies

For Modern Medicine

For parents who flew so far when we needed them most

For the Ronald McDonald house


For the greatest friends in the whole wide world (all of you) who stayed by our side

For the day when they finally got to sleep together in the same crib

For little girls who are as healthy, happy, naughty, silly, and active as every other 4 year old.
Happy Birthday Madi and Saige! We love you and are so thankful for you.

A little privacy please...

So, after much deliberation, we have decided to go private. Call me paranoid, call me crazy, call me anything you want because when it comes to protecting my family, I will do anything. There are a lot of crazies here in California and I don't want them to come and find my kids. So, if you would like to continue reading our blog, send me an e-mail or leave a comment (with your e-mail) and I will send you an invite.

There's NOTHING like a Sister!

Sometimes we love 'em.
Sometimes we hate 'em.
But, there is nothing like a sister.

There has been a lot going on around here and I hope to get to that soon but tonight I just wanted to share one completely sweet and equally hilarious story about my little twins (who are not so little anymore- I still catch myself calling them the babies sometimes). Saige has been sick-pretty sick and I will get to that story another time. She had to go in to the doctor a few days ago and they did some blood work on her. This ended up being a pretty traumatic experience for her. Then, we had to take her back in to get a shot of antibiotics-one in each leg. I had to take Madi with us and she was very good and concerned about Saige. She sat so patiently while we talked with the doctor. Then the nurse came in, two shot needles in hand. When the first one went in and Saige began to cry, Madi started yelling, "NO! NO! NO! DON'T DO THAT TO MY SISTER!"
They stick up for each other all of the time when Brett and I try to discipline them and stuff but never before have I seen her so determined to protect her sister. She was so mad and yet so close to tears. I immediately bursed into laughter, quickly followed by tears. It was so funny and so tender all at the same time. I couldn't help myself.
When Saige told her the day before about having her blood drawn Madi said, "I don't want Saige to have blood." She started crying and then Saige started crying all over again. I have some pretty tender-hearted little girls. What a great quality to have.
It made me think a bit about my sister-my best friend. I didn't always love her growing up but there is nothing that I wouldn't do to protect her. Sisters share a special bond and I am so glad that I have one-and even more glad that my girls have each other.

Pumpkins and Princesses

We had such a fun Halloween! Here are just a few pics.
I asked the girls what they wanted to name our pumpkin this year (last year he was Jack). They decided all on their own that they wanted to name this one Jill!

Flashback-Halloween 2006

I couldn't resist posting these videos of my pretty ballerinas. I made the girls tutu's and this was the first Halloween that we dressed them up. As you can see, I will never again waste time making a costume-since it was so hated!!

My favorite part of these videos is Madi constantly saying 'sorry' to Saige. I guess she figured that if Saige was crying it was probably her fault! The other thing I love about it is when we try to cheer Saige up by saying, "if you wear it, you will get candy", Madi instantly starts doing the signs (sign language) for please and more!

Just when I thought...

Just when I thought, "having twins isn't so bad", "the girls really are getting easier", "I love that they are getting so independent", "they entertain each other so well", I came into my living room to find the following:


Quarter inch bangs-the new style! Saige had cut Madi's hair!


When I told Madi that we had to take her in to get a hair cut she started to cry and said, "I don't want to look like a boy"!
The story behind this...
When I was in Kindergarten my mom told me that she was going to trim my hair. When she was finished she had chopped it all off. It was a tramatic experience! My dad said that my hair looked like a calf had been sucking on it and they decided that cutting it all off was the answer.
Anyway, when we were home last, Madi saw a picture of me with it short and she said, "why do you look like a boy"?
So, I told her the story. Now she asks my mom, "Grandma, why did you make my mom look like a boy"?




When I finally gathered up most of the hair for this picture and got looking at it closer, I realized that there was some red hair among the brown and sure enough, when I turned around, I saw this picture of Saige. She had cut her hair as well.



Good thing her hair was ratty enough to keep it hanging on! There were only a few chunks missing. Her curly hair is pretty forgiving so she didn't need any repairs done!

While the lady was cutting her hair, Madi had a very somber face. When she was finished Madi proudly declaired, "I don't look like a boy"!



She really likes her new hair cut. I only wish I could have talked her into doing it-instead of Saige talking her into it!

Side view.



When Madi was done and we were leaving the salon, Saige said, "Hey-what about me?" I asked her if she wanted to have her hair cut like Madi's and she said yes. So, here is her new do. It was harder for me to cut off her curls than to see Madi's get cut. I hope they come back!

Back view.


What are sisters for?

Free hair cuts, of course!


I yelled and yelled and yelled some more. After I was done yelling Madi calmly said, "I didn't want Saige to cut my hair"!
She didn't want to be in trouble but I am sure she was very cooperative when it was going on. I am sure she sat still while Saige did it. I can just see them cooking up this idea together. This was not an act of revenge against a sister for taking a toy. This was mutual plan.
I wasn't mad about the hair-I was just so frustrated because I KNOW that they know better than to do this. They were very aware of what they were doing and they knew it was wrong-and they did it anyway. I really am more in shock that they did it than mad that it happened. I sent Stef several pictures and asked her what I should do. She said, "there is nothing that anyone can do for her bangs but take her in and give her a bob haircut. I asked her to meet me in Barstow for an emergency hair cut. I can't believe that she didn't take me up on that!! On this day I really needed MY sister and I am so sad that we live so far apart.

I thought, "they knew better than to do something like this".
That's what I get for thinking!

Hurry up fall!

As if trying to make the fall weather come sooner I have changed the look of our blog. I couldn't be more ready for soups, pumpkin pie, football season, leaves changing, hot chocolate, apple cider, cooler weather, etc. Did you notice that most of the things I get excited about are food?! I just love spending time in the kitchen in the fall after a summer of avoiding turning the oven on at all costs. I better watch it though. Saige told me yesterday that my tummy is getting so big (which would be fine for her to say if I was pregnant-but I am not). When I asked her why she said that she said, "because of all of the food you put in there"! I love that kids can be honest. Well, off to the gym...

Road Map to Heaven

Today we were coloring and Madi said, "Mom, come and look at my picture." When I asked her what it was she said, "It's the road to Heaven"!

I am so glad to finally have a map to heaven! I have often wondered where it is and how to get there. The only problem is that it looks a bit complicated and I may get lost along the way. Guess I better get started on the long journey. I have posted a picture in case any of you need the map too!

Freckles Anyone?

When Madi woke up this morning and crawled into bed with me, she mentioned how many freckles I had on my arms, face, and everywhere else! I was tired and didn't respond. Then she said, "you should give some to some other kids". I said, "what?" She replied, "you have so many, you should share some!"
Believe me-I would if I could. Anyone want a few of my freckles? I have been humbled and am now willing to share!

Madisen still had a fever this morning so I kept her home from school. She was so sad to have to stay home-especially when we dropped Saige off. When Saige got home and we were done with lunch Saige said, "I have a good idea mom. Why don't you and Madi lay down on her bed and have a little rest and I will lay on my bed and be very quiet and not talk while you guys sleep?" I couldn't believe that she was offering to go lay down on her bed. It didn't work out quite like she had planned. She was the first one asleep-quickly followed by her sister. I think it is safe to say that I have some sick girls on my hands. They have never before offered to take a nap.

One other funny thing-Laurel asked her at preschool if she had fun camping. She said, "we had fun but mom didn't go. She was on a break!" Well said Saige!

Funny Saige

Just a quick, funny story about Saige. She is always saying the craziest things. Today she told me that she has aler-jesus. It took me awhile and a lot of questions to figure out what she was talking about. The second time she sneezed and said, "Oh, I have bad aler-jesus". I said, "Where did you hear that?" She said, "from Aunt Rae". "She had Aler-jesus in Midway and she couldn't stop sneezing!"

Sunflowers

When we were in Circleville, my incredibly talented Aunt Sundee took us to a field full of sunflowers to take some pictures of the girls. We think they turned out pretty cute. I wanted to do some fun things in photoshop with them but I can see that they will never get posted if I wait for 10 hours of free time! So, here they are. Sundee edited a few of them and I hope to get a chance to play around with them later. Thanks Sundee-we love you-sorry about the snakes and mesquito bites!