Saturday, September 26, 2009

Random Stuff









This is my new hobby. My friend taught me how to make hair bows for Avery. I have been having so much fun. You can be so creative. I decided to make a bunch for the craft fair I am going to be a part of in November. I can make any kind and any color. Let me know if you'd like me to make you one. I am going to be selling them too!




















Last Sunday we took the kids to Cherry Springs for a nature walk. Carter found a big stick and turned it into a gun. He had lots of fun kicking the leaves around too.











And this is my sweet little Avery. This is one of the few pictures I actually got of her looking at the camera. She watches her feet when she walks and so she wouldnt look up. But....we were in this grove of trees and the sun was shining on her just perfectly. Isnt she adorable!!











Avery is kind of a slow walker because once again, she looks at her feet when she walks so Carter, being the good big brother that he is, grabbed her hand and walked with her. How precious!


















And this is my little Jazz man!! He is just as big of a Jazz fan as his Mommy and Daddy. I cant wait to take him to a real game when he is old enough. He loves sporting his jersey and head and wrist bands.








This kids loves healthy food. I dont even have to try and force her....she just eats it! I was making tacos one night for dinner and she wanted some tomatoes. I gave her a few on her plate and she ate all of it. In fact she ate 4 plates of tomatoes that I had chopped up.







By the time I realized it, she had eaten the entire tomato!! I had to chop up another one just so I could have some on my taco. Avery and I are the only ones that like tomatoes. Im so grateful she loves healthy food. But.....she also loves unhealthy food too!! :)







The other day I was sitting the living room and the kids were in Carters bedroom playing.
Carter: Mommy!! Come here.
Me: What do you need Carter?
Carter: Come see me and Sissy.
I walk into the bedroom and find both of them in his little recliner....reclining.
Carter: Dont we look cute Mommy?
Me: Yes, you guys look so cute!
Carter: Take a picture Mommy!

An Awesome Night of Fun

Well the auction went great on Thursday! We raised a lot of money for Tegan and I pray that it helps her and her family with the day to day costs. I loved being a part of it all. Thank You Jen for letting me help. We got to the Red Lion at 3pm to set up. Erin, Alison and I were getting all of the centerpieces ready. We had fish bowls filled with pretty pink and purple rocks and goldfish. They were slippery little suckers! So much in fact that Erin ended up spilling the bag of like 30 fish on the floor and there was goldfish flopping all around. It was pretty funny and I just want to reassure everyone that we saved every single fish.....including the one I found under the table about 5 minutes later! We got the slide show working on the projecter and then the band showed up to set up and practice. The bands name was Brothers of Jared and they were really, really good! They played a lot of old and new stuff. I was really impressed with them. I highly recommend them. After setting up, we all rushed home to get ready and head back to start greeting people. I was positioned up front with Brandi, Shelby and Alison. Shelby and Alison are aunts of Tegan. It was really awesome to get to know them and work beside them most of the night. Our job was to sell raffle tickets, greet people and assign them a bid number. After the auction we were also in charge of checking the winning bidders out at the end of the night. That proved to be the toughest job throughout the whole night. It was pure chaos but everyone ended up paying and being happy with what they won. Even Brenda Baumgartner and Todd Blackinton from channel 6 news came. Brenda won a fun gift and it was really neat to see them there just showing their support for the Salce's, not because they were reporting the event. The auctioneer, Roger, did an amazing job with getting people to bid higher and making it a fun night for everyone. I never did get to go inside the auction because I was super busy selling tickets and checking people out but I could hear him and he sounded like he was having lots of fun too. We had one game called 50/50. Anyone who bought a ticket for it was eligible to win half of the pot at the end of the night. I knew the lady that won it and she ended up donating her half back to the family!! What an awesome thing to do! The whole night was so much fun. My family and Nicks parents showed up too and they all stayed the whole night. Carter, my son, had so much fun playing with all of the big kids at the auction. It was so fun to watch him laugh and run around. They all ended up dancing on the dance floor to the band. I'm pretty sure they had a good time too. Towards the end, Shelby, Tegan's aunt, got up and thanked everyone and there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Earlier in the evening, I had 2 small boys, along w/their mom, come up to the table and put $20 each in the donation cans. I thanked them for their generosity and the mom pointed to one of her boys and said, "This is my little survivor. He was diagnosed when he was 5 and he made it. Ive know people on both sides and we support anyone going through this." All four of us at the table were bawling like babies. Its just so amazing to see how generous people can be and that they really do care. I am so blessed to be a part of this and I pray for Tegan everyday that she will get stronger and healthier for her big surgery on the 29th. Thank you to everyone who came and showed your support. Mostly I am thankful for my beautiful children and for their health. You never know when it could be them in the hospital fighting for their life. We are going to start planning our next fundraiser for Nov. 7. A craft fair with lots of neat stuff. Keep it open on your calendars and please keep Tegan in your prayers! Thanks everyone!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Spread the Word

For those of you that actually read my blog I would love it if you can help me spread the word about Tegan Salce. She is a 2 yr old little girl that was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of cancer called MRT in April. There are only 15 cases diagnosed each year and only a 20% survival rate. Tegan's parent tried for 5 years to conceive until they were finally blessed with this sweet little girl. My heart goes out to them because of our own fertility problems. Tegan lives in my neighborhood and there are a lot of wonderful people helping out her family. We are having a fabulous fundraiser for her next Thurs. Sept 24th from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Red Lion. Its a FREE, yes I said FREE, Ice Cream Social. There is also going to be a Live and Silent Auction and also a raffle. There is going to be some amazing items in the auction and raffle. We need as many people to attend as possible. Please come and bring your family, friends and coworkers!! Did I mention there was going to be Free Ice Cream!!! To see all of the items being auctioned and raffled go to miraclefortegan.blogspot.com. I cant help but think how many of us take having healthy children for granted. My children in particular to me are divine gifts from God and I am so thankful that they are healthy. I cant imaging sitting in a hospital room for days on end watching my daughter endure the awful side effects of chemo and then to be holding her as clumps of hair fall off of her precious little head. Tegan is scheduled for surgery to remove the tumor and it is a very invasive surgery. They actually have to remove her collar bone to get to it. Please help us to raise money for the medical costs associated with her treatments and the traveling expenses. We will also be having a Craft Fair in early November. If anyone is interested in having a booth to sell items, please contact me. I will definitely be there helping out so you will see a familiar face there. If anyone has any questions or knows of something to donate for the auction or raffle please let me know. I hope to see you all there!!!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Spring and Summer Stuff

Here are some pics to go with what we've been doing for the last 6 months.....Just having fun mostly!!














We took the kids to Hogle Zoo and had a blast. Well except Nick....he got eaten by a lion!!










Me and Avery liked the elephant exhibit. It was our favorite!









Carter got pneumonia right after we moved into our new house. Here is one of the bad days he had laying on the couch. He was so weak he couldnt even sit up to let me dress him. Poor kid!










Avery had her first birthday in March and I made a butterfly cake for her which she hardly touched. But that was ok....she looked to pretty to get all messy!













My sweet baby girl on her 1st birthday. Doesnt she look so pretty in her party dress!










On Mothers Day we had a BBQ at my parents house and Carter was giving Avery rides on his Harley. He can pop wheelies ya know. Even with Avery on the back.









It's very rare that I get both kids "sitting" and posing for pictures. Here they are on the 4th of July all fesive-like. Carter was giving me the courtesy smile that's not really even a smile.







Kissing cousins....or should I say hugging cousins. We went to the mountains with Nick's family and Cayben and Carter actually got along for most of the night. They even hugged each other because they wanted to and not because we made them to apologize for something. Dont they look so stinking cute. I wish they didnt fight so much! :)








When cousin Sam came to visit, a lot of time was spent playing in the pool and eating popscicles. On this HOT day, they each ate about 3 popscicles and as you can see Carter is in love with his and Sam thinks he is a weirdo. He's probably right though.









Avery also enjoys a popscicle now and then. I tried to take the popscicle away from her to clean her up and she flipped out. Do Not Mess with her popscicle!!!









Last but not least, this is what happens when you let Grandma do Avery's hair. Enough said.