Merry Christmas!

We had a fun Christmas- we hope you did too!

We made this handprint wreath for the grandparents. I loved them so much I'm going to make one for us!

The best present of the year.

The stockings were hung... We have used that tiny one for all the boy's first Christmas.

The train table was a HUGE hit. They played on it all day and are going strong today.

Collin loves to bang so this was perfect for him to bang away and make music.

Scotty was extremely excited to get his Trio building blocks and to make the castle.

Grant could only use one hand to open presents because he wouldn't put the train down!

Collin loved the paper.

Buttermilk scones and homemade honey butter- a perfect ending to the morning.

Christmas excitement

We're very excited for Christmas in our house! Scotty just moved the snowflake in our advent calendar and yelled out that there is only one more spot until Christmas and then he danced around excitedly. It is so fun. The kids had so much fun decorating our tree. The bottom is very heavy with ornaments! And as we put presents underneath it is almost too much for Scotty to wait to open them. Luckily Grant hasn't tried to open any of them. Collin has gotten over there a few times to play with presents, the power strip, pull on the lights, eat some needles and pull down an ornament or two. We got a Little People Nativity set and I have attempted to recreate Jesus' birth story with them....it ends with the wise men being abducted by aliens and the animals running away to the robot's castle. At least I try, right?

Trying to be just like Daddy.

Scotty thought this was hilarious!

We had a few picnic lunches in front of the tree.

Scotty didn't look directly at Santa, but he wasn't shy about listing the things he wants!

Grant just stared at him. The next time we tried to get him to sit on Santa's lap, he just shook his head adamantly and ran away. Although he didn't have any problem going up to Mrs. Claus to get some candy!

Collin stared and stared and stared. So cute!

PS: My sister in law is still in the ICU and on the respirator. She had surgery yesterday and they removed 4 liters of pancreatic fluid and part of her pancreas that had died. They will be leaving the wound open and going in a few more times to see what is going on in there. Hopefully with all that pressure from the fluid gone she will be able to breathe better and her kidneys will start working again. Thanks everyone for your prayers.

Lissa update

Lissa is still in the ICU and still on the respirator. She is off of her blood pressure meds and maintaining her blood pressure and it appears her pneumonia has cleared up. She has had dialysis three times and they have gotten a lot of fluid off of her. Now they are working on getting her off of the respirator. Hopefully she will be off of that soon. She had a very scary day with some heart problems which resulted in CPR and her heart being shocked, but no more episodes since then. She still isn't out of the woods but she has been taking some baby steps forward and we're hoping she'll just continue moving forward. Her boys are really missing her. They haven't seen her for over a week and it's very hard for them. I am so sad for them. Mark is being very strong for both Lissa and the boys. He is by Lissa's side everyday and also is sure to be there for the boys. He is a wonderful husband and father. Mark and Lissa will be celebrating their 10th anniversary this Friday.

This is an old picture- Brady is 2. But I love it because it really says a lot about Lissa and how much she loves her boys. They are very lucky to have her as their mom.

I am missing Logan, Brady and Brock! Grant and Collin are sick so I'm not watching Logan until they get better. I loved being able to watch him and the twins because it is the one thing I could do for Lissa, so I'm sad that I can't. Plus I have really come to enjoy having them around. They are cute, good, sweet boys. We'll continue to pray for Lissa.

Lissa

We have had a few scary days in the Lawrence family. My sister-in-law Melissa, or Lissa since we have two Melissa's, is in critical condition at the University of Utah hospital. She was taken to the Tooele hospital Sunday night with severe back pain and difficulty breathing. After finding that she had gall stones they were waiting to schedule gall bladder surgery when her blood pressure dropped causing her to pass out and she was taken to the ICU and it has gotten worse from there. She was flown to the UofU hospital Monday night. She now has an infected pancreas, Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome- which is very, very bad pneumonia, her lungs and kidneys have shut down, infection has spread to her blood. She is on a respirator and has a feeding tube in. They have said that the next 24hrs are very critical for her. They are going to wean her off of the blood pressure meds and if she can keep her blood pressure up that is great, if not then that is bad. We are all so scared for her. She is married to Miles' brother Mark and they have 7yr old twin boys Brock and Brady and 2yr old Logan. Brock is autistic. We are all doing what we can to support Mark and take care of the boys. Lissa is a wonderful person. Very easy going and kind. She is a wonderful mother to her boys. She is also a great friend and is always willing to help others. We are having a fast for her tomorrow and will be praying that she will be able to keep her blood pressure up. Lissa is also a very strong person and will do anything for her family. I know that she will fight as hard as she can to be able to go back home with her husband and boys. I don't know if I've ever met anyone that is as devoted to her family as she is.

Lissa loves babies. Here she is snuggling Collin. We love you Lissa!

Muffin Tin Monday

Today's theme for MTM is Christmas morning. All growing up we would get together with my Dad's family for a Christmas brunch. The food was always so good and included my Great Grandma Thompson's (Grandma T!) homemade scones and honey butter. Last year Miles and I did our own brunch here at home and it was really fun- and yummy! So for MTM this morning we did a version of our Christmas brunch. And then we watched Bambi II- because Scotty insists that Bambi's dad is a reindeer!

We have eggs, ham, oranges, Christmas tree shaped toast, Hershey kiss and hot chocolate. We did the toast instead of scones and the Hershey kiss is because we always eat a ton of candy on Christmas morning!

I wasn't surprised by the item that Grant went for first!

Scotty was almost as excited as if it were really Christmas morning!

Be sure to stop by Her Cup Overfloweth to see more fun MTM tins.

Happy Holidays!

I know we might be overdoing these a bit, but Scotty wanted to watch the Halloween video the other day and was so disappointed when it was gone and he begged me to do a Christmas one. So to make him happy and listen to him and Grant laugh over and over I'm putting it on here for easy access. This one is actually pretty funny, so you might want to watch even if it's getting old!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Happy Birthday Grant!

Today Grant turns 2!! We are so blessed to have Grant in our family. He is a very special little guy and we love him so much. Grant is very sweet, affectionate and cuddly. We love the cuddle time we get every morning and after his nap. He loves to give kisses and hugs- especially to Collin and it's so cute! Grant is also very fun and funny. He does the funniest things and makes us laugh all day long. He has a fun sense of humor that we are excited to watch grow. He is also a bit mischievous. He gets into things he shouldn't and has also recently started to experiment with putting things into the toilet! He likes to be a big boy like Scotty. He's still not talking but he is great at communicating with us. So great that he doesn't see a need to talk to us! We love Grant very much and we are honored to be his parents.

Here are some pictures of him from the last year.

Thankful

We had a very nice Thanksgiving. I hope that you did too! I have a lot to be thankful for this year. A wonderful husband, 3 great boys, awesome extended family, good health, Miles' job, and Cadbury Christmas chocolate ornament candy! This year we are especially thankful for Collin's good health despite being born early. And for all the help and support we received at that time. We also got to have two Thanksgiving dinners with both Miles' and my families- does it get any better than that?!

Urban, Brady and Scotty.

Saying cheese!

Collin was very happy to be fed yummy sweet and mashed potatoes by Aunt Mel. She's his favorite now.

7 of the 9 Lawrence grandchildren. Collin, Logan, Scotty, Brady, Urban, Brock and Grant. We missed Vivi and Reed this year. Neil and Michelle too!

Do you like the new contemporary construction zone decor? Steve and Geri are right in the middle of remodeling their kitchen. The fun destruction will happen soon!