Christmas pictures and MaKinley's turned two pictures.

Here are some pictures of the kids that I just had done. I needed some of MaKinley at age two. But, I decided to take the older kids with me. They turned out pretty good. I love my kids to death. They are the cutest kids ever!!! Enjoy the pictures.

So, I thought I would try again to see if MaKinley would like Santa. We went to the mall to visit him. The theme was the Polar Express. MaKinley loved looking and touching all the fun scenes that they had. She once again was nervous to see Santa, but she did sit on his lap; there was no smile. He asked her what she wanted and she said, "presents and canny." At least this time she told him something. Tanner did not want to go and see Santa, but I made him. I told Tanner that no one is ever to old to visit with Santa. He really did not want to sit with the girls. I told him that he needed to let Santa know what he wanted. He just looked at me as though he did not believe any more. It was hard for me not to laugh, but I told him that he has a sister that believes and one that I am on the fence with. I did tell him that Santa lives in our hearts and we should believe in the magic of it. Forever!! I think that he will understand when he is a parent himself. Let's hope.

So, here is Kinley in front of a huge snow globe with a scence from "Polar Express."

Just some more pictures of the path to Santa.Here are the kids with Santa. MaKinley is scared. Just look at her tongue hanging out of her mouth. She does this sometimes when she is nervous or scared.
MaKinley by herself and once again she will not look at Santa. At All!

The kids in front of the "Polor Express." What cute kids!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!!

Wow, its hard to believe that the Holidays are almost over. I love this time of year. It is a great time to reflect on the Savors birth, although we hate being away from our families and we wish that we could share our joy with them. We love to see all the lights and smell the treats cooking. I just love when the tree is up and our home looks like Christmas, but the time has flown by. Santa was very generous this year. It was so much fun to see MaKinley who is just starting to understand it all. She got the hang of opening up gifts pretty quick, but if she opened a gift that she wanted to play with then it was a bit of a struggle for us to get her to open another one. She was so excited with each gift. So were Tanner and Marquel. She really enjoyed looking for lights and Santa at each turn in the car. She would light up with excitement each time we found Santa lights. This year was fun with her. Our family has some traditions that we do each year. On Christmas Eve we drive around and look at lights. This year we went to a place that had a drive through light show. My kids loved it. So here we go through Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The light show. We only have a few. The pictures did not turn out very well, but you get a peek at what we saw.

The kids in their new pj's waiting for Santa to come!Santa's little elves have already visited. I can't wait to see their faces.

MaKinley looking at what Santa left for her. That kitchen was a hit. She loves it! Tanner and Marquel with their Santa gifts.

Derek looking at one of his gifts. I can't decide if he likes it or not?

The kids and I.MaKinley checkin' out one of her new gifts

Kinley and her horse that Grandpa Stuart made for her. Soooo, cute!

Kinley making daddy some food from her new kitchen.

Ward Christmas Party!

Santa came and visited us at our ward Christmas party. This was MaKinley's first time to see Santa this year. Needless to stay she would not sit on Santa's lap, so Marquel held her. Then I tried to get Makinley to do it by herself. She at first cried and then she would not look at him at all. She was not sure of the man in the "Big Red Suit" this year. When asked what she wanted she said "Canny!" He was handing out candycanes that night and that is what she wanted, no gifts. I guess we had not explained to her the whole Santa wishlist thing. Oh well, maybe next time, but now whenever we go to church she asks for Santa and candy. We tell her that Santa only is there at Christmas time, but she still asks. The joys of a two year old mind. Gotta love it! It was a fun-filled night. Dinner was served, Tanner was a wiseman in our Nativity Play, and Marquel sang songs with the primary.

The kids and Santa.

MaKinley is not happy.MaKinley's Priceless look.

MaKinley turns TWO!!!!!

So, in December we celebrate two birthdays. MaKinley turned two on December 15. Boy, the last two years have flown by. I am happy and sad at the same time. She is our last little one. I cherish every milestone that she crosses and cry with it (Tears of joy and hoping that I could savor each moment longer). I can still remember being pregnant with her and how excited we were to finally have another little person join our family. We wanted another baby for years. It took us so long to get her here. It was really a growing time for Derek and I. I had to put my trust in our Heavenly Father and let him carry me and comfort me when, I thought we would never have another one. I think that I needed this to somehow learn that I can't do it by myself (as much as I thought I could, come on, it takes Derek and I to make it happen, right?!) Well, technically it does, but the Lord plays a much bigger part than we my realize. At least, I found this to be true for me. I am truly blessed to have Kinley in our lives. She is that joy that was missing for so long. She brings smiles to everyone she meets. She is loving to her brother and sister. She can't wait to see them when they get home from school. She enjoys being with her dad. He and her have their special time at night. Derek bathes her and then they sit together as she drinks her bottle(yes, we are working on this need of hers)then he takes her into her room and reads to her. Sometimes, it seems like they are in there forever, but MaKinley loves it. She and I enjoy our days together, just her and I. I get to be her client at the beauty shop, her baby, her patient and sometime her mom. She and I share some fun times together when the kids are at school. I am so glad that she chose to be in our family. She makes us complete. I can't imagine life without her. Happy Birthday to our MaKinley!!

Here is where it all took place our Home!

"We must start with a prayer before we can eat guys."Two little sweet girls. We love our friends. This is her opening her gifts. She is starting young, don't you think? "Grandma, Hi"More gifts!Tanner looks more excited than MaKinley.
Who has a party without balloons? MaKinley lovs them. In fact, they are still in our home. We can't throw them away, yet.

Here is her cake. She wanted a pink one. She loved it!

"Let me try it, first"
"Yea, I like it!" Finger-licking good!
"Maybe I will use my fork." "It works better."
"Oh, yea, who needs to cut it when I can pick it all up with my fork."

"SOOOOO Good!"

"I can't fit it in all in my mouth, darn it!"

MaKinley loves anyone to read to her. Her sister sat and read with her while Derek and I cleaned up. Those two girls are precious.

Derek and I got MaKinley a ride on toy and she wanted nothing to do with it at first. It took some friends to show her that it was fun. She thought it was "too scary!" "Get me off it, Dad!"

Derek and the kids. MaKinley was so done by this point. You will not see her looking at the camera in the rest of the pictures. Bless her heart. She had had a busy night.

Me and the kids.

Here is a video of Kinley on her car, Finally!


This is us singing "Happy Birthday!" to Kinley with her cake.

This is just more birthday cake moments. Enjoy!