31 December 2009

. . . nine days . . .

. . . a week to put it all up . . .
. . . two days to take it all down . . .
{done ~ hooray!}
. . . that's a pretty big chunk of december . . .
{the outside lights are all that's left ~ gotta look festive for the new year}




29 December 2009

. . . you know what they say . . .

"if i would've known how fun grandkids are, 
i would've had them first!"
{don't they know how ridiculous/preposterous that is?}


. . . it is hard, though . . .
. . . to remember christmases 
before these fun kids 
came into our lives . . .


. . . addi ~ 7 1/2 . . .
{on the phone, drew told her she sounds like a woman now}



. . . halleigh ~ 6 . . .
{keeps us laughing}



. . . tate ~ 3 1/2 . . .
{was really excited about his old man pjs}



. . . tagg ~ 19 months . . .
{mostly likes eating}



. . . elliott ~ 13 months . . . 
{loves candy from papa}



. . . as cute as they are on their own . . .

. . . it's not as easy as it looks 
to get a good photo of all five . . .


28 December 2009

. . . a different angle . . .

. . . you may ask . . .
. . . what's going on here? . . .
. . . i'll tell you . . .

. . . there's some awesome teaching going on here . . .
. . . i hope these laurels and priests realize how lucky they are
to have brother romney 
give them a lesson once a month . . .

. . . in yesterday's lesson, 
for instance, 
we learned that 
obedience can be summed up 
in two words . . . 
. . . tiger woods . . .


27 December 2009

. . . priorities . . .

. . . at the tender age of six . . .
. . . halleigh's way more organized than i am . . .
. . . take for instance ~ the list she prepared
on a fuzzy post•it note 
before visions of sugar plums 
started dancing in her head 
on christmas eve . . .
{except there was never any "dancing". 
she was awake literally the entire night ~
extreme excitement.}


. . . anyhow ~ back to the list . . . 

translation:
tomorrow's to do list:
1. help mom clean house
2. eat breakfast
3. get ready
4. open my presents
5. have quiet time
6. go to grandma's house
7. go to heather's house

. . . and, finally . . .
8. go to sleep
awesome 
Awesome!


. . . really? number four? . . .
. . . open my presents? . . .
. . . gotta have those ducks in a row . . .
. . . love that little girl! . . .


26 December 2009

. . . grinched by a maytag . . .

. . . the date? 23 december 2009 . . .
. . . the time? 11:40 p.m. . . .
. . . the scene? me wrapping gifts in the family room . . .
 . . . the smell? burning plastic . . .
. . . the action? try to locate melting tupperware in the dishwasher . . . 
. . . the finding? nothing . . .
. . . the diagnosis? electrical wires fried . . . 
. . . the thought? oh, <never mind>! . . .


. . . many dishes hand-washed on christmas eve and christmas day . . .


{fast forward to 26 december 2009}
. . . the destination? lowe's appliance department. . .
. . . the mission? obvious . . .
. . . meanwhile, back at the ranch ~ tyler began bailing . . .



. . . chris arrived . . .
. . . dismantling commenced . . .



. . . followed by removal . . .



. . . meet chris ~ one man show . . .
although multiple people were available/willing to help
{he looks a little punch drunk. stuff is heavy!}



. . . there was drilling . . .
. . . and twisting . . .
. . . and clamping . . .



. . . but we got stumped when it came to wiring . . .
. . . which necessitated yet another trip to lowe's . . .



. . . followed shortly by success . . .



. . . r.i.p. little maytag . . .
. . . you served us well for lo! these many years . . .



. . . but you've been replaced by a bosch . . .

. . . rumor has it ~ you get a fresh loaf of bread 
with every clean load of dishes . . .


25 December 2009

. . . from our house to yours . . .

. . . we wish you the merriest! . . .
{tagg, addi, tate, halleigh & elliott ~ last night}

. . . with lots of love from the romney family . . .
{elder drew, hansens, rasmussens & johnsons, too!}


24 December 2009

. . . hallelujah! . . .



. . . we're calling mexico tonight! . . .






23 December 2009

. . . attention! last minute shoppers . . .

. . . take a deep breath . . .
. . . there's plenty of time left . . .
. . . to shop for all the babies on your list . . .
. . . at a discount . . .
. . . remember? $2 off each oops! . . .
. . . call {or email} me . . .
{i have a few red/white and plenty of pink & blue,
but the kitchen towels are gone ~ sorry}


22 December 2009

. . . rhyming again . . .

. . . once a year . . .
{at the most}
. . . i write a poem . . .
. . . here's 2009's offering . . .
. . . most likely a literary classic . . .
. . . so, here ~ for you ~ my blog neighbors . . .
. . . is your virtual chips and salsa . . .
. . . enjoy . . .


17 December 2009

. . . my fourth brother . . .

. . . friday 17 december 1971 . . .

. . . a day i will always remember . . .
. . . the last day of ninth grade
before christmas vacation . . .
. . . i had a new red outfit . . .
. . . there was going to be
a school dance that afternoon. . .
. . . i didn't go . . .

. . . my seven-week-old baby brother
never woke up that morning . . .
. . . today it's known as sids . . .
. . . but thirty-eight years ago,
it was called crib death . . .

. . . at the tender age of thirteen,
i thought my world was coming to an end . . .
. . . today, as a parent myself,
i try to imagine the pain and anguish
my parents felt then/still feel
at the loss of a child . . .
. . . and i can't even begin to fathom it . . .

. . . i remember police officers coming to our house . . .
. . . an investigation and autopsy {accidental death} . . .
. . . i remember the never-ending outpouring
of love and support for our family . . .
. . . dad was our bishop . . .
. . . i still remember the chicken enchiladas
that minnie brought . . .
. . . not your usual pot-luck chicken enchiladas . . .
. . . no ~ these were made from scratch
{and lots of love}
with great big chicken chunks . . .

. . . i remember my mom and dad
forcing themselves
to put one foot in front of the other ~
making arrangements for
a next-day graveside service . . .
. . . a tiny white casket . . .
. . . the pink dress i wore . . .
. . . the cold december cemetery . . .

. . . i remember a new piece of christmas music
{published one year earlier}
~ mary's lullaby . . .
. . . but the wounds were too fresh . . .
{i still can't listen to it without tears}

. . . and yet, i feel hope and gratitude
for my knowledge and testimony
of the plan of salvation . . .
. . . because heavenly father wants us to be happy . . .
. . . and we will be happy if we're obedient . . .
. . . we'll be happy with our family forever . . .
{we just need to live the commandments}

. . . i know i'll see my baby brother, kyle, again . . .
{and if by some sad chance i don't
~ it'll be all my fault ~
not his}
. . . he was already good enough . . .
. . . he's just waiting for the rest of us
to prove ourselves . . .


16 December 2009

. . . b•y•o•s . . .

. . . bring your own socks . . .
the rules:
•each girl brings socks {only one duplicate pair = miraculous!}
•you play the left/right passing game
•everyone turns into a foot model
•and leaves with happy toes
. . . more fun ensues afterward ~ involving:
•popcorn chicken
•spicy wings
•yummy spinach dip
•chips and salsa
•scotcheroos, and
•hot chocolate
. . . merry christmas to our awesome laurels . . .


12 December 2009

. . . blue, blue, you got the flu . . .

. . . we believe in equal opportunity babies 'round here . . .
. . . so . . .
. . . let's hear it for the boys . . .
. . . and although you won't find any sign of snips . . .
. . . snails, or puppy dog tails . . .
. . . you will find the christmas sale is still going on . . .
. . . two dollars off the price of each oops! . . .
. . . making them just ten dollars a piece . . .
. . . now 'til christmas . . .


10 December 2009

. . . pink, pink, you stink . . .

. . . here's a fresh batch of girly oops! . . .
. . . perfect for stuffing ittybitty/teenytiny stockings . . .
. . . with shades of bubble gum, magenta and pepto bismal . . .
. . . they're sugar and spice and everything nice . . .
. . . 'cuz that's what little girls are made of . . .
. . . and in the spirit of the season . . .
. . . have i got a deal for you!!! . . .
. . . all in-stock oops! are just ten bucks a piece . . .
{save $2.00 each ~ now 'til christmas!}


09 December 2009

. . . move over michael scott . . .

. . . meet sue sylvester . . .
. . . coach of the cheerios . . .
. . . my favorite tv character these days . . .
. . . tonight, on the season finale, when she said,
"i'm going to my condo in boca to brown up a bit" . . .
. . . yes, i had a "diet coke out the nose" moment . . .
. . . can't wait for new episodes next spring . . .


08 December 2009

. . . nacimiento . . .

. . . a friend suggested that i ask drew
to pick up two nativity sets
while he's in mexico . . .
. . . one for me and one for his future wife . . .
. . . i thought that was a great idea . . .
. . . drew? not so much . . .
. . . he said, "i have no idea
where to find a nativity scene here.
i will look, but i can't promise anything.
i don't even know where to buy one
in the states." . . .
. . . i believe him . . .
. . . unless nike, volcom or nixon makes it,
he wouldn't have a clue! . . .
. . . so, bless chris and amber's hearts . . .
. . . they found one for me
at one of their cruise stops . . .
. . . it's so charming . . .
. . . there's plenty of livestock . . .
. . . don't you just love mary and joseph's halos? . . .
. . . and the knobby thingies on the angel's head? . . .
. . . and how the Baby looks just like his mother? . . .
. . . the wisemen are my personal favorites . . .
. . . one blond, one african . . .
. . . and the asian has michael jackson's nose . . .
. . . talk about your cultural diversity . . .


07 December 2009

. . . compare/contrast . . .

. . . true story . . .
. . . people have laughed at me . . .
. . . for hauling out the laptop . . .
. . . pulling up old blog posts . . .
. . . and referring to them . . .
. . . while decorating for christmas . . .
. . . seriously . . .
. . . i have a LOT of shtuff . . .
. . . and i figure ~ hey! if it looked good last year . . .
. . . repeat! . . .
. . . so ~ here's christmas 2007 . . .

. . . and christmas 2009 . . .
. . . which looks a little different . . .
. . . reason being? . . .

. . . awesome friends keep giving me wonderful things . . .
. . . like this huge snowman platter . . .

. . . and red apothecary jar . . .
. . . hello, gorgeous! . . .

. . . on the other hand . . .
. . . see if you can spot the difference
between tree "two years ago" . . .

. . . and tree "today" . . .
. . . aside from the obvious change in carpet! . . .
. . . anyone????? . . .