Changes

Our year has been crazy...just like everyone else! Big news for us though...drum roll please!

We are moving! Our three year stint in Tucson that morphed into almost 9!!! is coming to an end. Surprisingly enough- at least to me- is that we are moving back to Graham County. We are hoping to find a home in Thatcher, but we will be somewhere in the general area. We are all so excited about this move! Updates will come in the days ahead, but I just wanted to share the info to any of our readers that still check on us occasionally!

Family Craft Day

So we have been doing craft day on the first Saturday of every month with all of the Roussel girls for almost a year. It is a blast. We craft (obviously) chat and usually eat. I love Americana (duh) so I volunteered to be in charge of July's craft. This is what we made:

Side one

Side two

Just simple table decorations...and we may have spent more time playing with vintage buttons, than actually crafting, but we have fun and we get to be together! I'm so excited for out next craft day, September 5th! See you all there!

April Fools on You!

So I forgot to update the news from my April fools blog.... It turns out that Jeremy and Kayla were only fooling themselves. They are expecting and due in December! So I guess that backfired a little bit huh? That's what you get for making a fool out of me! Just kidding though, we are so excited for them and will be even happier for Kayla when she isn't so sick anymore. Love you guys!

Christmas....

As we take down all of our Christmas decorations, I wanted to take a moment and remember how wonderful this Christmas was! There were three weddings since last Christmas so our family grew. It is a wonderful thing the way that love grows right along with the additions to a family, so that we never run out.

As always, we started our Christmas Eve traditions with Chad sharing the story of the first Christmas. The incite that the kids bring grows each year and I always look forward to what they are going to say about that special story of the birth of the Christ child.

Then for fun we always read "The Night Before Christmas". Why it captivates us year after year is something I'm not even going to mess with!

In past years the kids would exchange gifts, but this year they got Christmas pajamas from mom and dad. Its something we started last year with the Polar Express, that I think is now to be an established tradition.

Christmas morning we wake the kids up (yes I know totally reverse of everyone else's house...). Take the picture of everyone waiting in the hall, and then let the shower of paper begin. There is screaming and "Thank You's" when the dust settles, everyone is happy ( I know, a small miracle!) And we get ready for round two...

Out the door we go and off to Gilbert. (sing with me)"Through the construction and down the road to Grammy and Umpa's we go..."

We arrive. Hug and visit. Then, have a wonderful breakfast with the highly acclaimed, CREAM CHEESE ROLL-UPS. If you don't know what that is, my friend, you live a deprived existence!

We organize the gifts and then, from youngest to oldest, it begins again. Now some think this has changed over the years, but its pretty consistent. A little twist that isn't to every one's benefit, sorry Tara and Riley, is that the spouses are stuck with their Roussel counterpart's age to determine their order of unveiling....

We love to see others faces as they are opening gifts picked out just for them. That is definitely one of the highlights for me anyways...


Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!!

Halloween

We're off to see the Wizard!

Allen was a perfect Tin Man. Wesley was a great Scarecrow. Madison was made for the Role of the Cowerdly Lion, and Ashley pulled off Dorthy like no one else!

First stop Mrs Feerick's house.

On to the heart of the trick or treating with Deni as Glenda the Good witch, Blair as the Wicked witch of the west, and Chad, Pam, and I as the Lollipop Guild. Madison and Deni really got into the candy collection this year - running from house to house, sampling the goods, it was a blast!

The Kids looked AWESOME. I know I'm going to miss the themed Halloweens but I promised the kids they could pick anything they wanted next year and that they didn't have to have a theme.

The end of the night...one more picture before the sugar feast!

The Pumpkin Patch

I know I'm behind, but our Computer is having issues, therefor I am having issues. When there are that many issues, nothing gets done!


More importantly...we took our yearly trip to Buck-a-lew pumpkin farm with Deni and Blair this year and had a blast! Everyone got a pumpkin and plenty of dirt ( Why do I always wear a white shirt to the pumpkin patch?)

Madison and Deni on the drive out!

All five of our animals!

The End...

So I was so upset that I didn't have any pictures of the end of the waterballon fight...! Carolina sent me the cutest pictures, including the my favorite ones of Madison and Christian. I'll let you see and guess which ones they might be!

Let's Party!

We got together with the Jensen's before they left for their

roadtrip and just had a blast!

Before...
During...

Oh I wish we had an after picture! Believe me it was good!

What an amazing family.

Our camera had issues that day, but at least we got a couple of pictures!

Good?bye...

Why is it "Good" bye? Real goodbyes, the ones that say, 'it will be a while or maybe forever before I see you again,' aren't ever that great. I guess if we are looking at the parting itself as separating on good terms, then it makes an inkling of sense, but otherwise it is just another of those English juxtapositions.

The hardest part of any friendship is when it is time to say goodbye. As much as we might like things to stay the same, change is an inevitable part of life. There is a secret that only real friends know and it is this. All the mountains and valleys in the world cannot separate friends whose hearts are as one.

Allen woke up this morning crying (that was all it took for me to start as well) because he knew that our friends had left and were on their way to Oklahoma. As members of the church we are so blessed with an instant ward family wherever we move to, but there are times when you meet a family that you just click with. It is that kind of friendship that is so hard to see move away. However, it is that kind of friendship that you know won't dissipate with a change in zip code. We miss you already Jensen Family!

Love and Marriage

Congratulations!!!!

Happy Father's Day

A Dad is a person

who is loving and kind,

And often he knows

what you have on your mind.

He's someone who listens,

suggests, and defends.

A dad can be one

of your very best friends!

He's proud of your triumphs,

but when things go wrong,

A dad can be patient

and helpful and strong

In all that you do,

a dad's love plays a part.

There's always a place for him

deep in your heart.

And each year that passes,

you're even more glad,

More grateful and proud

just to call him your dad!

Thank you, Dad...

for listening and caring,

for giving and sharing,

but, especially,

for just being you!

Happy Father's Day,

To all you dad's out there, and especially

Chad, Umpa, and Grandpa Charlie...We Love you!

Sonoran Desert Museum

Wesley's joke last week was..." are all the animals tired since it's the snorin desert museum?" -insert bent over giggles here. So, with that we decided to spend the morning checking on the "sleeping" animals, and make good use of our family pass! Saguaro Cactus blossoms

Ashley with the fish.

(She totally fell off right after we took the picture!)

Wesley got a little tired so Allen

volunteered to push him in the stroller!

The blessed backpack!

Madison just being so stinkin' cute!

Our June Bride...

Aren't they so stinkin' cute?

We love you Aunt Lexy and Uncle Riley!!!

Happy Birthday Chad!

Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Kayla came to visit for the day, and were able to help us celebrate Chad's 32nd Birthday!
The requisite Birthday Cheesecake!

Jeremy and Kayla

Saturday Jeremy and Kayla were married for time and all eternity in the Mesa Arizona Temple. I can't believe my baby brother is married! They are so in love, so happy, and so ready to start their lives together.

Congratulations! We Love You!

http://www.atjphoto.com/williamsbridal/

Happy Mother's Day

WHO IS MOTHER?
Mother is half of the Father/Mother team, the one who gave birth to you as a child. When she first held you in her arms, she fell madly in love with you! She is the one that changed your diaper, gave you your bottle, bathed and dressed you. She is the one who tended to you when you were sick, wishes she could have bore your pain, but unable to even share it with you. There is none like a Mother.
If you have children, then you know what it's like to be a Mother. Often, it's a tough job, with unruly children, and many heartaches before they are grown. Sometimes a Mother is lucky that she has well-disciplined children, but only because she has done her best in order for them to be well-adjusted teenagers and later adults. Mostly, Mother sits and worries that she hasn't done her best with her children, especially if they don't turn out as she thought they should, with all the training she had given them.
Mother is a human being, capable of making mistakes. She is not perfect, just as none of us are perfect. But she is the one that we picture as being perfect during our childhood. As we become older, we realize that Mothers are capable of right and wrong ways of doing things, missing the mark, just as much as the next person. But she is still Mother. The thing that sets her apart is her everlasting love for her children and her intent that they lead normal, well-adjusted lives.
Not until we become adults, do we really begin to appreciate WHO Mother really is. She has nurtured you through your childhood, put up with your sassy ways and times of being lazy during your teenage years, and cried through your becoming an adult. But Mother was always there to encourage you when you made a mistake, although sometimes it's hard not to show disappointment {I am sure I've done that}.
As we grow older and have our own children, we realize that Mother was a very strong person, and we begin to wonder can we ever fit into her shoes. No, we wear our 'own shoes'........we can never do things the same as our Mother, although she has given us the pattern from which to build. IF we have a Godly Mother {I did!}, then we can bring up our children in the ways of God, so that when they grow older we have the assurance that some day they will live for God. After all, Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the ways he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Mothers are special. Is your Mother living today? If so, try to make this Mother's Day the most wonderful day of her life! Show her you care if only by telling her you love her. Take her out to eat, take her flowers, but show up on Mother's Day, if possible. You will never know how much this helps Mother to realize her family still cares. Sometimes we get busy doing the usual things in life, and lose sight of the most important aspects - loving our family. And Mother happens to be where that 'family' began. Without Mother, there would never have been a family. You might also tell Daddy that you are so happy that he chose Mother to be his wife. Make his eyes light up as well!!
M - Messenger, relaying God's Word
O - Outpouring of genuine Love
T - Trusts in God
H - Heart set on things above
E - Earthly saint
R - Rescuer of the Wayward

This is my day, by Baptism Day...

Allen's Baptism was on Saturday. It was a special day filled with family and friends. I am so excited for Allen and the choices he is making!

We have more pictures of his special day, but these are all from the luncheon we had for friends and family before the baptism. Thank you all for coming and sharing in his Baptism Day!

Gilbert Historical Museum

So, forever Allen has been asking to go to the Gilbert Historical Museum. We drive by it every time we go to Grammy and Umpa's house, but the schedule is kinda weird so we have never been. Well a few weeks before his birthday, Allen asked if we could make a special trip just to go to the museum! It was a fun experience and there was plenty to keep the kids (of all ages-go Uncle Rob) entertained!

We love you Uncle Placido...

Chad's Uncle Placido passed away on Friday. A long life with a wonderful family that we all love very much, he was a kind man who gave to those less fortunate and always had a smile to share! We love you Uncle Placido...

Our thoughts and prayers are with his sweet wife, Aunt Helen, and his children.

Congrats!

Just wanted to give a big shout out to "Aunt Lexy"...she is now officially engaged to Riley Richards! Congrats, we love you both!