Ok! So there are the first 3 pics of Boston! Isn't she beautiful? Oh my goodness! I am missing her SO much!! Beth sends me pics of her almost every day on the phone so I'll have to search and upload a couple more. Apparently she has QUITE the personality. She laugh while certain songs are played on the radio. I should probably get Beth some primary songs and make sure she plays those. I'm sure she'd love them. She's 4 mos. old now. I can't believe it. It seems like yesterday that she was born! Beth had to have a c-section. We found out at the last minute that Boston was breech. So when she went into labor they had to do a c-section. THEN, when they were in doing the surgery they found that her uterus was heart shaped. Not a round heart shape but an oblong heart shape. So Boston could only go on one side of it. She couldn't turn around even if she tried. The other side of the uterus was really small (since no baby went there). Beth did really well and recovered at our house. It was tight with the three of them on top of the rest of the kids, but I wouldn't give up that time with Boston for anything! I miss her unbelievably! And Beth too! We had gotten so close since she had moved to Vegas. And now she's across the country AGAIN! Ugh...

Here's a picture of Nana (Me) holding baby Boston just a few hours after she was born. Or it might be the day after...

And here's Grandpa holding her. He's a pro of course! 11 children, he should be! LOL!

There's Daddy (Chris) knowing that the sun will rise and set with this little girl! He absolutely adores her! (he adores her mommy too!) Everyone was in attendance.

The whole fam bam! Well, actually it looks like a few were missing in that pic...

Uncle Wade...

Aunt Becky...or GREAT Aunt Becky...HaHa!!

Brynleigh decided she was bored so she got into some supplies and tried them on. Lol!

Tanner

Chase

Laura

Mommy was completely enthralled (when she wasn't scratching her nose! She had a reaction to the epidural or the Morphine. I think it was the morphine...)

Here's the happy family! Poor Beth had scratched herself to death and her nose and lips were a little swollen. But she sure looks good for just having a baby! And here's the picture of the quilt I did start to finish for my beautiful grandbaby! I'm not going to lie, I was REALLY proud of myself for finishing it!! I've been SO intimidated with the quilting it. The piecing was a piece of cake. The quilting was a pain in the rear! I need a long arm quilting machine! LOL! I SO loved the colors of this quilt. The fabric is a fabric line called "Ruby" by Camille Roskelley and her mum. I met Camille when she first started her pattern designing. I worked at the bank that she banked at, and she would come in a show me her new quilts. She is so fun and cute! I loved it! And she totally inspired me to start quilting! Now if I could only finish up the other quilts that are already pieced...

I did some burp rags for Beth for her shower also. She loves zebra print so I tied that into them...

I'll post some more pics and try to catch up with the rest of the year later...(can't really beat a baby though, can you?)

Time...

I guess time has gotten away from me! It's been about 1 year and a couple of months since I posted! Crazy! So many things have happened. Good AND bad. But I'll share the good things for now. I have a new granddaughter! My oldest daughter had her first daughter on Feb. 16th, 2012. I still can't believe that I'm a grandmother! But I have to say it's one of the BEST feelings in the world! Oh my goodness, I am in LOVE with that little girl! Unfortunately, Beth and her hubby moved back to Ohio just a month and a half later. I've been mourning ever since. I guess I could tell you her name now right? LOL. It's "Boston Anne Marie Johnson". Christopher, loves the Boston Red Sox. Hence the name...lol. I actually love her name! Better than the "Charlie" that it WAS going to be! HeeHee! What else...Oh we've moved again. Little bit bigger home. One extra bedroom, loft upstairs and a pool. Man are we grateful for that pool right now. The kids are loving it. Especially when it's over 100 degrees outside. Brynleigh and Emma are little brown bunnies! And Joseph looks golden all over! Even his hair has turned golden. It's the coolest color. I'll get some pictures and get them up! I hate when I post without pics. I don't have any on my laptop and that's the one I like to post from. Brynleigh graduated from Kindergarten this year. I can't believe that I won't have any more kids to go into kindergarten. I'm going to miss having a child home with me while others are at school. What am I going to do when there are no kids at home? I need to get a hobby. Wait, I already have a hobby! I've been doing more and more sewing. Or maybe it's more and more collecting of fabric...LOL! I made Boston her very first quilt and it turned out beautiful!! I loved it SO much! I did everything on it. Pieced it, quilted it and then bound it. I was so proud of myself for finishing EVERYTHING on it. Quilting and binding it was really intimidating to me but I really wanted to make sure that I did everything on it. I wanted her to know that Grandma did the whole thing for her! Don't worry, I'll get a pic of that up too! I also did a bag a couple of weeks ago for my Mom. I've never done a real bag before and it took forever. Especially because I'm not very good at reading patterns. They bore me to tears. I had to read it word for word...ugh! Oh well, next time it'll be a lot easier right? I've already got the fabric picked out and I'm starting it tomorrow. Whoo hoo! I can't believe how much I've enjoyed the process of quilting and sewing. You'll probably see a LOT of it. Hope I don't bore you with it all. Let's see, what else? Churchwise, I'm in Primary teaching the 9 year olds. The BEST age to teach! I love it! I've been doing this for about 2 1/2 years now. I guess I'm doing something right since I'm still there right? LOL! How about something new? Tonight was the most wonderful fireside that I have EVER experienced. Sis Ardeth Kapp spoke in our stake and she is such a powerful, loving woman. You feel the truth from the moment she opens her mouth. Laura, McKenna and Emma were with me tonight and I was SO grateful to share that experience with them. Sis Kapp spoke of Obedience, and holding onto our standards. And she did it in a way that the kids could understand. With humor, love, and her amazing testimony. Sometimes there are people that you wish you could just hang out with forever. Her spirit RADIATED the spirit of Christ. Oh my goodness, I cried the whole meeting. The spirit was incredible. Sigh... Well, enough for now, I'm a little tired. :)

Secret ingredient...

I have a new recipe. It's a really good recipe and I've just learned how to make it better! At first, I thought it was a fluke. But after doing it twice...I know it wasn't! I made the Lion House Rolls recipe. And man, they are GOOD! I can even make them look just like on the cover of the Lion House Bakery book. Who knew?!
So, you want to know what the secret ingredient is? Well, I have to tell you the story first! Can't tell the secret ingredient without the story!
It all began on Thanksgiving Day...lots of baking, lots of cooking and lots of work. I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed but extremely proud of how well my rolls were rising. They were beautiful. But I needed to put them in a warm damp place to rise even more. And the "Lion House" head baker suggested running your dishwasher for 5 min. and then placing them in the dishwasher (after turning it off of course) to finish rising. Well the first time I did it, I asked McKenna (my daughter) to turn of the dishwasher and then I put them in. But all the water had drained when I put them in. So I was a little bit upset at her for draining it. I told her just to turn it off. She said sorry, and she DID just turn it off. Hmmm....ok. So the next time (when I had shaped the rolls) I told her to not turn it all the way off but to let the water stay in there. So she did. I put the rolls in there and shut the door. OH MY GOSH! It turned the dishwasher on!!!! My beautiful, pride-filled rolls were ruined!! They were soaked!! (I'm not gonna lie! I yelled at McKenna and had to apologize later.) But I digress, I had to quickly dump the water and put them on a dry cookie sheet. They came out beautifully.
And then comes 2 days ago. I now know how the dishwasher works. I now know how my rolls work. And I'm making a beautiful Thanksgiving Dinner for Kelvin and Laura's Birthday. I hadn't done anything for their birthday yet and it was on the 27th of Jan. Bad wife! Bad Mother! I worked ALL day. I was cooking Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, 3 homemade pies, jello salad and "Lion House" rolls! And these rolls were gonna be the best rolls that I had EVER done! I knew it they were! Cuz I was getting better and better at them! I made them in my lovely Bosch, put them in the dishwasher to rise. And man did they rise! They rose right out of the bowl and all over the dishwasher! That's ok! There was still a lot in the VERY large bowl! So I took the dough and did my thing to shape them. Of course they came out perfect! So I put them BACK in the dishwasher to do THEIR thing! And for the next hour told everyone NOT to push the door of the dishwasher in! My brother in law and my sister came in with the turkey which I cooked in their oven and I was helping him with the draining of the juices out of the oven bag. I had to lean over and do it. And my hips PUSHED THE DISHWASHER DOOR IN AND STARTED THE DISHWASHER AGAIN!!!!! (You have got to be kidding me!) I snatched them out of the dishwasher and tried to put them on a new cookie sheet like the last one. The only problem is, they had already risen and when you touch them they kind of let all the air out. Like a flat tire. But I persevered...and put them in the oven anyway. (Quietly went to another room and cried for about 2 min. because I can't be in the kitchen without some sort of kitchen fiasco happening) and came back in the kitchen to finish the mashed potatoes. (I have the best recipe for mashed potatoes if anyone should want it. Seriously...)
So, back to the rolls. They came out gorgeous and yummy! So the secret ingredient is dishwasher water! I know! I was just as surprised as you! But it's true! Dishwasher water makes the rolls the lightest, fluffiest, yummiest tasting rolls that you've ever had.
Who knew?! =D

I AM SO EXCITED!

Wow! This is the best day ever, and it started being good at about 8:00 pm! My daughter Laura was accepted into BYU-I!! I am so happy for her! She was so excited she was walking into walls! I feel like I'M going to college! I wanted to go to BYU so bad. But back then I didn't know about college loans. I didn't have the money to go so I didn't! So if anyone knows of any great dorms or apartments let me know!! Holla!

Seriously?!!! Since JULY!?????

Wow! I had NO idea that it was over 6 months ago that I posted on this blog! I can't believe it!
A lot has been happening though. Seriously, a whole lot.
Where do I start?

Well...number one on my list is that Kelvin does have lung cancer and the watched it for about 9 months or so before they conceded that it WAS cancer. It was really weird too. Kelvin had an appointment one day and they wanted to do surgery the next week. No warning. They just said, "Well, we think it's cancer and we want to do the surgery next week." Really? Ummm....we need a little more time to prepare here! My husband asked if it could wait till after Thanksgiving. (He works on Thanksgiving and the day after for overtime. It pays for Christmas. Huge deal with a family of 12!) They said ok. Since it was only about 3 weeks longer.
Kelvin had surgery on the 29th of Nov. and they removed 5 lumps or nodules! They thought there were only 3. SURPRISE!!! They tested them and each one was the cancer that they thought they had gotten out from his kidney. (Guess where your blood goes after it goes through your kidney?) Yup, your lungs...
He was home recovering for 4 weeks. It was nice to have him home after he recovered enough to do things. I look forward to retirement and having him around all the time! The other lung has 3 (maybe) more nodules and they are waiting because they are VERY small and might not be cancer.(Who knows?) So that was EXTREMELY stressful. And I don't know, but I get really weird when I'm super duper upset or depressed. I kind of shutdown with the talking. I don't know why. I'm fine if someone calls me. But I generally don't reach out when I should. I'm weird...I know.
Ok, that's not all that was happening at the same time. My sister who was pregnant with twins was put on bedrest due to her cervix being GONE! She had to be on COMPLETE bedrest. Not even able to take a shower. She could bathe but not shower. She couldn't even sit up in a sitting position. So.....I was helping her a lot since she had a little 1 year old turning 2 in Dec. When Kelvin went in for surgery, I had a break of about 3 weeks. Well, not really a break. I was taking care of Kelvin. Wow! It was really hard. I don't mind doing it at all, but it was hard. And taking care of Christmas for 10 kids at the same time was difficult too. It was just plain HARD! And I know that other people do SO much more. I really do know that. And I'm truly grateful to the Lord for the blessings that we've been given, I'm just sayin' that it was difficult. There. And right now...? Well, two days ago, my sister gave birth to her twin girls Bayley and Brooklyn. Weighing 4'1 and 4'3. Born at 32 weeks. They are doing amazing! One of them was on a ventilator for the first day but the next day they took her off of it. Wow! She's a champion! They just need to get their milestones in. You know, the breathing and eating at the same time stuff. And the gaining weight part. Kind of important...
So, I'm sure there is going to be some helping with the twins when they come home. And of course watching Aaron while they visit the hospital. I love Aaron. And Brynleigh loves having him around. So a bit more work and then I can concentrate on the house that has been neglected. By the time I get home all the kids are getting home and the chaos begins. Can't wait to get caught up on laundry!! My laundry room is a mess!
Ok. So here's the good news! I'm a couple lbs. shy of losing 70 lbs. I know! It's AMAZING!! I am SO exhilarated. I still have 50 to go. I would like to get to my prepregnancy period. We'll see. I'm hoping to do it in 6 months. I lost very little weight between August and January. A little blip in my progress.
Anyway, I really miss blogging and getting comments. It makes you feel good. Like you have a little support group all to yourself. So hopefully I'll be doing the blogging a little bit more. And I'll post pictures soon.
Oh! I forgot! I'm going out for some awesome adventures! I am now an advisor for "lia sophia" jewelry AND a demonstrator for "Stampin' Up" Nothing like doing to much right? HaHa! I love it!! Buttons on the sidebar coming soon!! lol

Check out these Beautiful Dolls!!!

 

Christine has opened up for business!  Here’s the link.

These dolls are the cutest dolls I have ever seen and she customizes them for you too!!  So go check them out!!

Worst Mom in the world!

 

Yesterday started out being a great day!  I went to lunch with my sister Becky at Cafe Rio at around noon.  And we had a great time, talking till I had to leave for my appt. at the Gym with my trainer.  The workout was good too.  I was pretty tired and ready for a  shower and then a nap!  On the way home though I  read a text from my husband who had written that Joseph and Emma’s kindergarten graduation was IN PROGRESS!!  That was a half an hour ago!!  I have NEVER missed a kindergarten graduation!  And I also didn’t have their costumes ready either!  I thought graduation was next week!!  Oh my gosh, seriously, I thought I was gonna have a nervous breakdown.  I was fighting tears the whole time when I got there.  I had missed the ENTIRE thing.  They were just leaving the stage area when I arrived.  If you could’ve seen Emma’s face when she saw me…it was just so sad. I tried to pretend that I’d been there the whole time, but I just couldn’t.  Joseph didn’t realize I’d been gone, but Emma knew.  So on the way to the car I ‘fessed up.  And, of course, I lost it.  I just started bawling!  They kept telling me, “It’s ok Mommy.”  But it wasn’t ok.  I missed something special.  Something REALLY special!  They were looking forward to it so much and they made me promise to be there.  They were the only ones there without their costumes!!  I’m not over it…I don’t think I will EVER get over missing that.  I’m still crying about it as we speak.  I cried, I sobbed and I mourned all day yesterday.

Today is a new day, so I decided to take pictures again and you can tell me if you see any improvements.  I don’t really see any, but I’m biased.  I’ve lost 50 lbs. now.  I’m really proud of myself.  I know we’re not supposed to proud, but I can’t help it.  I feel like I have done something HUGE.

I know the photo on the top looks a little weird but I was playing with it and I like how I look like that. Ha Ha!! It brings out my eyes...lol.
60lbs. to go...

Oh my goodness, I am really hurting….

 

I haven’t said a lot about this, but I’ve been trying to lose the weight that I’ve packed on in the last 20 years.  And I actually did it without any aids/pills/surgery.  Just good old-fashioned hard work.  I’ve lost 35 lbs. so far and I feel SO much better.  I can move around so much better.  My body doesn’t hurt near as much as it did before.  I’ve actually been really worried about myself since I could see myself ending up like my mother whose health is not the best.  Her body hurts her everyday.  She doesn’t have much energy and is really tired.  And that was me.

So, even though it’s a little bit embarrassing to put pictures on here, I’m going to do it every month.  I would like to journal my journey.  I still have 75 lbs. to go. ( I know, I can’t believe it either.)  I never had a weight problem growing up.  I just became sedentary while I was having kids.  WHAT WAS I THINKING!?  This has actually been the hardest thing I have EVER done.  I am counting calories and working out.  Neither of which, I like to do.  Bleh!  But I DO realize that if I don’t do this, my later years will just be a lot of pain.  I want to have some fun when all the kiddos leave the house!  Do some traveling, hike some mountains, ski, take long walks and spend some time at the beach!  I can’t do that if I feel like crap!! So I hope you don’t mind hearing about my little journey of rediscovering “Julia”.  I kind of forgot to take care of myself and got a little bit lazy.  So here’s my picture at 30 lbs. lighter.

It’s so funny how you think to yourself, “Wow, I look pretty dang good!  I’m gonna take a picture”   And then you take the picture and realize that you look pretty dang bad!  Oh well, I’m 35 lbs. lighter and I’m still working at it.  I’m taking it 1 month at a time.  I tell myself that I will lose 10 lbs. a month.  I can do this!  Only 10 lbs. a month.  But holy crap!  I worked out too hard yesterday and today my body hurts SO much.  So I told myself to go back to the gym and walk the treadmill and stretch out those muscles by doing the incline higher.   NOT a good idea.  I pretty much want to die right now.  Try sitting on the toilet when your legs are so sore that you have to hold on to the wall and ease down!  I wish I had those handicap bars…

Should I be laughing?

Well, I don’t know, but I thought this was hysterical!

Last night, Kelvin and I were lying in bed (No this isn’t a TMI) and my little Joseph (age 6) came out of our bathroom and announced “Mommy, when I go pee I feel Jesus.”  

Ummmm….Okkaaaaaay…where do I go with this one.  Because for just a moment I thought “That’s a little freaky”  Not gonna lie…why would you feel Jesus when you’re peeing? 

But that was just a split moment of thinking.  And so I asked, “Why do you feel Jesus when you pee?”

And he says, “You know. When you go like this (insert whole body shiver) when you pee.

Me: “Oh yeah, sometimes you get the shivers or goosebumps when you feel Jesus, huh?”

Joseph: “Yeah!”

Me:  “Oh yeah, sometimes I  get  goosebumps when I feel the spirit too. Ok, goodnight Joseph.  Love you sweetheart.”

Joseph: “Night Mommy!”

(Oh my gosh please leave quick before I start guffawing in front of my sweet boy!)

I want this!!

So to get another chance at winning this awesome quilter's cookbook, I’m blogging about it.  But honestly, I really don’t think that you want this.  I don’t think you should go and enter.  Because I WANT IT!  And I never win…

But if you are like me, and love cookbooks, then…well…I guess you can.  But if you win, don’t tell me about it!

Well dang, I didn’t even win…

 

Oh well, I shouldn’t cry over not winning the cool little sewing clutch should I?  I have terrible luck when it comes to these things.  I never win anything.

I guess since I’m here I should catch you up with all the happenings here in Spendlove land.

First off, we moved.  And I’m so happy we did!  It’s so much bigger than the last house we were in.  We lived in the last house for over 17 years.  It was 1652 sq. ft.  With 12 people in it.  Whew!  That was a squeeze!

This house is almost twice the size and the kitchen is beautiful.  (You know how important the kitchen is!)  I need one that would inspire me to cook in it.  (Because I hated the last one!  It cut me off from the rest of the world. )  This one is open to the Family Room and is pretty large so I’m loving it.  And the second most important thing, a large bedroom and bathroom with a walk in closet!  LOOOOOOVE  IT!!!

I can’t believe what a difference it makes to have a larger home with my kids. They don’t fight near as much.  And the house doesn’t get near as messy as the other one did.  I’m pretty much loving the area too.  We have a park right through a little walkway.  How awesome is that! 

The moving was part of the stressful things going on because it was moving 17 years of CRAP!  I felt like that show about hoarders!  And I didn’t want to move it all either!  I have so much scrapbooking stuff!  I’m selling it off.  Not all of it, (because I just can’t do it..) but  a lot of it.  Oh wow, I really don’t want to do this again anytime soon.  I hate moving.  I wish I could’ve just hired someone to do it all for me.

And here’s the other stressful thing.  They found a small something in Kelvin’s lung a while ago.  So every 3 mo. they have been doing a CAT scan or CT scan or whatever kind of scan to see if it’s gotten bigger.  They told us that if it got bigger than it was probably cancer.  Well…that’s just great!  I thought we were done with that business!  But no, we’re not.  So the last scan it showed a little bit bigger.  So the doctor said that it was cancer and he referred Kelvin to a surgeon.  They said that the surgeon could just cut it out.  Cool.  Just cut it out.  1 week of recovery.  Cool, we can handle that.  The surgeon has a different take on it.  He says, “Well, I’m not entirely sure that IS cancer. (Hmmm…what else could a lump in your lung be?)  We’ll just wait ANOTHER month and see if it’s growing more.  And THEN we’ll take it out. (What the hec?!  Just take it out already!  It shouldn’t be there anyway!!)  So Kelvin is SO stressed about this, that he’s a big, grouchy bear. (Saying in a totally nice way…) And me?  I just want the whole thing over with.  It took since Feb. to even find out this much.  Way too long for me.

So I guess I’ve been in a busy kind of funk.  You know, kind of feeling sorry for myself and all…(aww, grow up already!)

But I have some good news!  I’ve lost 19 lbs.  19 nasty little pounds.  I am loving this!  Exercising and calorie watching.  Well, not really exercising.  I’m just walking.  Not every day yet.  But I’m getting better at it.  I love that I’m losing the weight.  I’m not depriving myself at all.  But I have been looking at something and saying to myself, “Do I want to waste my calories on that?  No, I’d rather do it on something better!!  (And no, I don’t mean on something better for me. I mean on something I like better!  Ha Ha!)  So I don’t eat NEARLY as much junk as I was!  I’m hoping to be done by the end of this year.   Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!  I really hope and pray that I can do this.  I can’t tell you how much gaining all this weight has cost me in the confidence department.  Bleh!

So, there it is.  Just a little bit of what’s going on.  Others have WAY more stress than I do, but I still had to whine a little…

It’s been a while…

 

I haven’t been blogging much lately, I know.   In fact the only reason I am even doing this is for the chance to win this beautiful clutch!  (But I promise that I will tell you every stressful thing that’s been going on.)  And if you REALLY feel like it, then I guess you can enter to win it too.  (Although I’m kind of hoping you don’t, because it’ll give me a better chance!)

Hasta!

I loved this SO much!!

 

I saw this on Camille's Blog and shamelessly stole it!  Seriously!  I was totally shameless!!  I had a HUGE smile on my face the ENTIRE time this was playing.  It brought back such GOOD memories!( And I'm not gonna lie, I was crying too! Don't exactly know why...) 

 

I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

My 2010 Word for the Year

 

Well, my word is more a phrase than a word but I’m still using it. But before I do, let me tell you why I’m using it. 

Since the birth of my twins, who are 6 now, I’ve been feeling like I’m not in control.  When I was on bedrest for those long months, the house with 7 kids, was really horrible.  And for me, that meant chaos in my mind.  It threw me into a depression.  One that I’ve been struggling with for the last 6 years.  I still don’t feel like things are back to normal, but now I feel the need to get things back to normal.   But I feel SO overwhelmed.  Like, where do I start?  My sister used to live with me back when I had only 6 kids and I had everything under control.  The house was decent.  My kids were decent.  My mind WASN’T chaotic.  I really think that that time in my life when I was forced to let go of control threw me into a tailspin that I’m finally able to stop. 

So, since I’m still feeling a little bit overwhelmed and unsure of where to start to get everything under control and where it should be, my new phrase is going to help remind me of what I need to do this year.

“Lift Where You Stand”- President Uchtdorf

I know I’ve mentioned it for others, but I really think it’s for me. I know I can get through anything if I just “Lift Where I Stand”  So, there you go!  My new 2010 word/phrase!  Wish me luck!!….

Christmas…

 

So, you’re not going to believe this but I was sick on Christmas Day and didn’t take ONE picture.  I still can’t believe it.  I have video of the whole thing but I’m usually the picture taker and I forgot to take the pictures. 

I did take a couple of pictures of the table  runner that I made for my little sister, Melissa.  We decided to do something different this year and we chose a theme for this year.  “Home for the Holidays” was the theme.  We could do whatever we wanted, whatever WE thought “Home for the Holidays” meant.  Well, my sister loves to quilt too, so I knew she would love this.  (I hoped she would love this…LOL!)

I got the pattern from PS I quilt .  I went to her etsy shop and purchased the pattern and she emailed me with it.  Seriously really easy.  Although I forgot the ric rac that was supposed to go on it.  (And I had to rip out the binding twice because I forgot how to do the mitered corners!)  Yeah, then I googled it and looked at a tutorial and remembered. Bleh!  I was NOT a happy camper at that time.  That was a LOT of picking out!!  But it’s SO cute isn’t it.  The line of fabric is “Figgy Pudding” and I am in love with it!!!  So, I got more!!  I can’t wait to make some more things with it!  Wouldn’t it be cute as a wall hanging for Christmas?

The day after Christmas we went down to my parent’s house in Hesperia, Ca.  Every one  of my brother’s and sister’s were there with ALL the kids. (Well, one was missing, my niece Meghann….she was working)  It was SO much fun!  Even though I was sick.  It was really crowded too.  My parents don’t have a really big house and their living room had 23 grandchildren and 7 children and spouses in it!!  Amazing!!!  

Picture above is of all my sisters and sisters-in-law.  Left to right is: ME,Christina(John’s wife), Becky, Melissa, Yvonne.  Front left to right: Laura, and Lahren (Will’s wife) .  It was so fun to have everyone there!  We had a really good time!  Lots of fun gossip time.  Okay, we really didn’t gossip about everyone, but we were having some good talking time!  LOL!

Do you see the fireplace behind us?  I LOVE that fireplace!  Someday I’m going to have a fireplace with either stone or brick.  A huge focal point.  I don’t know why I love them so much, but I do.  Here in Vegas the houses are too contemporary to have  something like that.  I hate contemporary.  I don’t mind modern but I really DON’T like contemporary.

Well, I’ve got to go party hearty with the chitlin’s for New Years Eve, so I’ll see ya later!

Dear Santa

 

Dear Santa,

I usually don’t bother you with my wish list, but the girls over at  The Fat Quarter Shop insisted that I write it and post it on my blog!  I mean, really, after reading my 10 children’s wish list, how could I possibly bother you with mine?! 

But if I HAVE to do it…then here we go!  I tried to go with only one, but seriously, I don’t want to put any pressure on you, so I’ll just give you a couple of ideas.  You can choose…

The first thing on my wish list is a beautiful quilt kit made from Glace!  I saw this at the “Quiltique” store here in Las Vegas and fell in love.    Glace's Frosted Windowpane Quilt Kit…

Isn’t it beautiful?  You should see it in person!!  Utterly fantabulous!

The second on my Christmas wish list is this yumminess!   The Madeline Wall Hanging Quilt Kit by Fig Tree Quilts !  I know they are incredibly popular…and there might not be any available…but I am still putting it on my list.

Wouldn’t you just like to have one of those dress forms with those wonderful items of clothing hanging on it?  Second best would be the quilt hanging on my wall!!

And yes, I’m being a little bit presumptuous, but I’m going to put one more thing on my list.  It’s a biggee…but I can’t help it.  The folks over there at  The Fat Quarter Shop got me started and I can’t stop…

I really want…ummm…really, really really want…Blush Fat Quarter Bundle by Basic Grey for Moda. 

Do I sound too selfish?  Really, I’d be happy with just one. 

Thank you Santa!  I know you do a LOT of work here at the Spendlove house.  Having 10 kids creates a LOT of wish lists.  I really appreciate ALL the hard work that you do!   I promise that I’ll be a good girl from now until the day I die…

Oh, and please  let there be peace on earth and goodwill to men!

Merry Christmas Shopping!

Julia Spendlove

P.S.  And should anyone else want to send their own letter, they can send it HERE.  (I was taught to share)

Monday Memories

Well, I'm trying to blog from my Mac computer instead of the PC. I usually use Windows Live Writer and it's so much easier. So I googled to see if there was a program that could be used with the Mac. Supposedly Blogo is supposed to be like it, so I'm trying a free 21 day trial.
Anyway, this picture is one of Brynleigh and I right after I got out of recovery from having a c-section. I don't look too scary yet. The next day is another matter. I was pretty hopped up on drugs for the pain. I really should show you the pictures. The kids still laugh at how I look!

I looked for the photographs of the twins when they were born and unfortunately, all of their birth pictures were on a regular camera. I need to find them. I found some but they were stuck together. I think I'm going to freak out if I can't get more. I think I have the negatives.
Here's some photos of them as babies though. They were so cute!! I loved to have them next to each other and look at the differences.

Don't judge me too harshly. I had absolutely not one bit of makeup on in that picture. But I loved the twins up there with me. Emma is on the left and Joseph is on the right.

Isn't this one of Emma priceless. I don't remember what she was crying about, but so many of her pictures are of her looking cross.

This picture of Emma is very drooly. Is that a word? Nah, but I did just make it up. She was ALWAYS drooling. In fact she had issues with drinking anything.

Isn't Joseph so cute! They always had their eyes so WIDE open! I used to wonder if they would always be that way. Nope, they turned out all right!

This photo reminds me that Emma was the most flexible little baby that I've ever had. I should've taken pictures of her folded over in half. She would bring her leg next to her ear. I should probably put her in Gymnastics. I don't want her to lose her flexibility.
Introducing KAIDAN!! And he is the sweetest Mama's boy ever!! He was about 3 years old in that picture. He had the funniest personality. And this picture makes me laugh EVERY time I see it! His dimples are amazing. I love to see them. They show even when he's not smiling!!

Hopefully these pictures loaded in order. The picture of Kaidan in the red shirt is his first day of kindergarten. He is such a shy little guy. But incredibly intelligent. Getting him to talk in public is like pulling teeth. He whispers.. I'm hoping that he'll grow out of it soon.

And yes, he's a ham when he thinks no one is looking or there's a camera pointed at him. LOL!!

Kaidan got himself stuck in the hamper and so I took a picture before I helped him out! It was so funny! He was NOT happy that I took a picture of him stuck. LOL!! I couldn't help it.... it cracked me up!

I'll leave you with this last picture of Brynleigh. My kids were NEVER bored. They just played with their brothers and sisters!

Some birthday news…

 

Since I haven’t been blogging lately, I thought I catch you up on the happenings here in Spendlove land.

Last month on the 7th of November, my beautiful Joseph and Emma turned 6.  I can’t believe that it’s been 6 years since I had them.  I’ll tell you a little story about them.  By now you all know that I have 10 children. Jo Jo and Emma are 8 and 9 in the lineup.  For every pregnancy before them, I would ask Heavenly Father for twins.  And then when I saw the ultrasound, I would be heartbroken when it wasn’t twins.  I don’t know why I wanted twins so badly, but I did.  I really did.  I remember a specific time  when I was just praying and asking Heavenly Father AGAIN for twins (I wasn’t even pregnant at this time)  I remember saying, “Please, Heavenly Father, I REALLY want to have twins…PLEASE can I have twins…” And while I paused and breathed in for another “please” I heard a voice.  Not out loud.  But still, a voice.  It said, “O.K. you can have twins”   Now this may sound a little strange, but if you knew how many times I’d asked, you might understand.  This voice sounded exasperated.  Not in a mean way, just like a Mom who had heard their child ask a million times for something and there not being a reason NOT to give it, give in to the request. 

I remember thinking to myself, “Really?!  Serious, did I just hear that?!  And then came the impression that it would be a girl and a boy.  THAT was the most exciting thing that had EVER happened to me.  But here’s the weird thing.  I kind of forgot about it.   I know, I thought it was weird too.  But…when I became pregnant again, there was a  time when I remembered it quite vividly.

Kelvin was sitting next to me on the sofa and he would often put his hand on my belly and just rub it for a moment.  I was barely pregnant at the time.  When he rubbed it this time he paused.  And then he said, “Julie, I think we’re having twins…”

I looked at him and said “Are you saying this because you think I’m fat already, or are you having a revelation?”  (I know, you can laugh)  He said,”I just have a feeling”.  Well this is when I remembered what had happened.  So my reply to that was “Well, if we’re having twins, it’s a boy and a girl!”  And then I told him about what happened the year before.

A couple of weeks later, we went to the doctors for an ultrasound.  I was a lucky girl and got to have an ultrasound early because I have diabetes so I’m considered “high risk”.  The technician looked at the screen and moved on. (I thought I saw “something” but she moved too fast.)  After a bit, she says” Well, I’ve got some news…”  And before she could say anything, Kelvin says”We’re having twins!”  “Yep”, she says, “you are!”

I can’t even describe how incredibly blessed I feel to have these beautiful children.  All of them.  But, to have 2 in my womb at the same time, was absolutely the most FANTASTIC thing that I’ve ever done!  Seriously, I loved EVERY second of it.  Well, except for the 21 weeks of bed rest.  I thought I would love it, but seriously, I hated it!!  The house has NEVER recovered.  During those months of bed rest, my husband did the best he could, but housekeeping wasn’t one of them.  And due to a misunderstanding (thanks to a certain man in our ward) no one from the ward came out to help with the cleaning.  And my husbands father had cancer with radiation EVERY week for an entire year, so SHE couldn’t help.  But there IS one thing that was a saving grace.  My ward brought dinner in EVERY day for those 21 weeks and 3 weeks after they were born.  I cannot tell you how much that helped our family.  And how grateful I am for their service.  Oh my goodness,  I am STILL SO GRATEFUL!

I wish that I were writing from my other computer so I could show you some photos during that time.  They were so cute.  I could tell you the story behind their names though.  I’m sure everyone that is mormon thinks that they were named after Joseph and Emma Smith.  But in actuality, they are named after their Grandma and Grandpa Spendlove.  Kelvin’s mom’s name is Emma Frances Spendlove.  She uses the name Frances as her first name because an aunt was called Emma too.  But I love the name Emma.  I really wanted her to be named Brielle Emma, but it just didn’t flow right.  So I switched it to Emma Brielle.  (Doesn’t that sound so much better?)  As for Joseph, that was a little bit difficult.  Kelvin’s father’s name is Eugene Spendlove.  (I don’t like the name Eugene AT ALL. )  But as a boy, Eugene would tag around after HIS grandpa who was named “Joe”.  He would even wear his overalls just like his grandpa, with one of the tabs unhooked.  Since he was SO much like his grandpa, the whole family started calling him “Lil’ Joe”  The name stuck.  He is known today as “Joe” by all his family and any friends that are still around from back in the day.  So…I decided that I WOULD name him Joseph.  (and the fact that they have the same names as Joseph and Emma Smith is just a bonus!)

Joseph and Emma are as different as night and day.  Emma is the sweetest little girl that I have EVER had.  Literally.  She likes to do what is right.  I think the idea of doing something wrong is truly foreign  for her.  I used to be afraid that she’d get “twinkled” (taken back to Heavenly Father) because she was too good.

Now that is not to say that Joseph is bad, because he’s not!  He has so much imagination.  He does things just to get a reaction.  To see what would happen.  It was way worse when he was younger.  Thank Heaven it’s evened out a little.  I was really worried, wondering what kind of trouble he’d get himself into. 

And he loves Emma so much.  As Emma does him.  I asked Joseph’s teacher how he was doing in school and her reply was, “Fine, except he wants to use the restroom all the time”.

O….K….wonder what that’s all about.  So I decide to ask him why he’s using the restroom all the time at school.  His reply, “Cuz, I wanna see Emma.” (The two classrooms are divided by the restroom)  That was the sweetest thing.  Made me want to cry.

Emma is like a little mother to him.  She’d do everything for him if I let her.  Of course Joseph would let her!

Here’s a couple of birthday pictures.  They were SO excited to get these!

That night we were supposed to go Chuck E Cheese’s but when we arrived, it was a madhouse.  I do not like to be in a place where it would be difficult to find my children, so we went to Denny’s for dinner and ended up going to Chuck E Cheese’s on Monday when it was less busy.

Fast forward a month and it’s Brynleigh’s birthday!  December 4th.  Oh my goodness, she is spoiled!  By everyone!  She’s the last one and everyone knows it, so they spoil her.  I’m having to undo some damage from that now.  She thinks she should be given her way with EVERYTHING.  She’s got the funniest sense of humor too.  And she loves her mommy.  Her grandma asked her who’s girl she was, and her quick reply was “My Mommy’s!  (Yeah for Brynni!!)

Here’s some picture’s of her Preschool birthday.

And here’s a picture with her Preschool teacher, whom we really love.  She has a genuine love for her preschoolers!!  I wish I has MORE kids to go to her.  I wish I had found her back when my oldest one’s were younger.

For her birthday dinner, we went to “Red Robin” where she ordered a beautiful pizza!  (Tasted disgusting! I tried it…)

My sister Becky and her husband Michael came with us.  Along with their son Aaron.   Isn’t he a cutie!  She is finally letting me put some photos of him on my blog! 

After dinner we went to Build a Bear and both of them got to build their own stuffed animal.  Brynleigh chose a tie dye bear.  (Not my choice, I would’ve gotten the cute Frosty)

Here she is kissing that little heart so her bear will know she love her!

And making sure she is nicely groomed before she gets dressed!

She dressed her little bear all by herself.  (I tried to help and she would have nothing to do with it!!)

I think she looks “pleased as punch” in this picture.  Don’t you?

Too bad that she decided to change the outfit right after!!

Since Santa Claus was right outside the store, we decided to take Brynleigh and Aaron to see him.  Aaron absolutely LOVED Santa!  Bryn…not so much.  She refused to look at me OR smile!  And Aaron laughed and giggled throughout the whole thing!!  Santa even came over to check out the pictures of Aaron because he was the happiest little baby he’d ever seen.  (My sister was secretly SO proud!  Hee Hee!)

Here’s the proud parents!!

 

So there’s two birthdays!  I’ll hopefully have more tomorrow.  It’s so hard to get on here sometimes!  But I have so many pictures to post!!