My Favorite Prophet!!

Well, ever since I was 15, Hinckley has been the prophet. What a powerful man he was. I really was too little to pay attention to the previous prophets even though Benson and Hunter were great presidents too. Hinckley has been the one I have listened to and enjoyed for so many years. How lucky we were to have such a spunky, well learned, and spiritual giant for a leader. I will miss his cute humor. I remember going to General Conference in April of 2006 and when he walked out to take his seat, he stopped and raised his cane to wave to everyone. It was the cutest thing. He was so happy to be there and sitting so close to the podium, I could feel such a sweet spirit from him. We all know how much he has impacted our lives and how much he will be missed. How great his reunion was with his loving wife. I wish I could have been there to witness that. But, I received and email with this video and it was an awesome tribute to his life. It was made to celebrate his 96th birthday and will bring tears to your eyes. It is well worth watching and I hope you take the time to watch and share it with others!

A Day at the Park

Well, we went t the park and the only picture I got was this one of our cute Elli! I'm sure she wouldn't mind her bum crack showing for everyone to see. Too cute not to post!

Happy Birthday to Our Elli!!

Today is Elli's birthday!! She is 3! Everyday for about a week she has been asking every hour, "is it my birthday yet?" Nonstop asking. She has been taking the pink frosting out of the pantry wondering when it is time to make her cake! But we love her and am so excited for her BIG DAY!! We had a little get together with my family last night and had cake and ice cream for Elli, Crew and my Mom. There are so many birthdays in the month of January. But last Friday, Mark got 2 tickets to the Suns game and took Braeden with him, so Elli and I decided to get manicures. I took her for her birthday and she totally got the hang of it. She figured out that she gets her nails done and they look "beautiful!" She got flowers and just thought she was in heaven. She walks around the house saying she got her nails done! OOOhhhh she's cute! It was quite fun taking her to get her nails done!! Anyway, didn't get any pictures from last night but she is having another little birthday party with Mark's family and my camera battery has been charged for the party this time!

2 New additions

Well, my brother Ryan and his wife Melissa had a baby boy on January 11. And my brother in law and his wife had a baby boy on January 9th. Making 7 birthdays in January for both of our families. CRAZY!! January and June are crazy birthday months for Mark and I! But we love it and I am way jealous that their little babies are already here! I am so baby hungry and ready to have another little boy! I cannot wait! But we are so excited for our new additions! Congrats guys!

Ryan and Melissa's little boy Tyke Hunter

Brig and Camille's baby Elijiah "Eli"

I Have Been Tagged!

So I have never been singled out before and tagged by someone, but I told Steph I would do it! So I did and it wasn't that bad! Here it is!!

Getting to Know Me A-Z

A- Attached or single: Attached to my handsome hubby Mark

B- Best Friends: Definitely have the coolest friends, Mark, Braeden & Elli

C- Cake or Pie: My homemade cake with yummy ice cream!

D- Day of choice: Definitely Friday because we usually get a sitter and GO OUT!!

E- Essential Item: The many glasses of water I drink and baby wipes (I have to keep a stack in my purse everywhere I go… with or without kids!)

F- Favorite Color: It use to be blue but now it is dark green

G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Worms

H- Hometown: Mesa, AZ

I- Indulgence(s): Breyer’s Mint’n’Chip Ice Cream and snuggles with my kids!

J- January or July: July- I actually like summer because of swimming, but then again, I like January because I can drive with my sunroof open…it’s a tossup!

K- Kids: Braeden- 5 years, Elli- 3 years on Monday and another little boy in April!! Gotta love the kids!!

L- Life is Incomplete Without: Kisses from my husband and kids, GOOD FOOD, GOOD MUSIC, The gospel and family get togethers!

M- Marriage Date: October 20, 2001

N- Number of Siblings: 2 sisters, 2 brothers and I am right in the middle of them!

O- Oranges or Apples: I could eat oranges for every meal, but apples are definitely good with caramel

P- Phobias or Fears: Fear of not being the mom I want to be or the wife I should be!

Q- Quotes: “This too shall pass.” (It helps get me through annoying days and hard situations!)

R- Reasons To Smile: Andes Mints, random phone calls from Mark saying he loves me, and when all the laundry is clean, folded and put away!!!!!!

S- Season: My favorite time of the year is the Christmas Season (if that counts) I love the feeling Christmas brings.

T- Tag Three: Traci Fernandez (let’s see if she does it!), Amy Miles, and everyone else on the side of my blog! Come on guys…I did it!

U- Unknown Fact About Me: I am VERY stubborn. Believe it or not. Mark can attest to it too, but in my defense, he is stubborn too!!

V- Valentine’s Day or Easter: Valentine’s Day because even when I didn’t have a boyfriend, it was my birthday and I still got to celebrate!

W- Worst Habit: Biting my nails and reorganizing the cabinets (Mark complains he can never find anything because I move things around)

X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds when finding out if it’s a BOY or GIRL!

Y- Your Favorite Food: Anything Mexican- Abuelos Mexican in the Chandler Mall area!! Excellent food!! Oh, and Taco Bell! Don’t ask me why, it’s just my favorite Fast Food!

Z- Zodiac: Aquarius

My Sweet Little Braeden!!

I just have to write this down for memories, but our Braeden is one amazing little boy. He surprises us how smart he is everyday. Everytime I talk to his Kindergarten teacher, she tells me how smart and what a fast learner he is.

At the beginning of school, Braeden learned the alphabet in sign language, not from his teacher, but from a chart his teacher has hanging on the wall. Now he is always asking me different signs for words. Braeden is very observant with everything. He notices details of things I don't even notice. We have to watch what we say around him because whether we think he isn't listening or not, he is. Pretty soon we won't be able to spell words around him.

She told me the other day that she had each student go to her desk to practice reading. She said Braeden was so bored with it. He told her that it was easy and read all the words. We have a book at our house that when he read it the first time, he had a little trouble with some of the words, but the next time he read it, he knew all the words. He has a photographic memory and remembered how each word was pronounced. I was so proud of him. I know other kids are smart like him, but when it's your own kid, you are so proud and obviously I don't know where he got his brains from. Not from me, Mark says he was smart as a little boy...BUT...no, I'm just kidding, he probably got it from Mark.







Anyway, asisde from being such a smart little guy, he is a sweet brother. He is so kind to Elli and takes such good care of her. I'm glad Elli will have a big brother to protect her in school. I loved having an older brother. Braeden still gives me kisses...although when I drop him off at school, he tries to kiss the closest part of my body to him. He'll kiss my arm, or if I am standing up, he'll kiss my belly. But I tell him he's not aloud to do that and he'll always kiss my lips after that. Braeden and Elli love "Curious George." And "the man in yellow hat" always tells George to be a good little monkey. So every morning I tell Braeden to "Be a good little monkey" and it always makes him laugh.







Braeden has a cute sense of humor. He says things that makes all of us laugh. My favorite is when Elli and him are alone and I hear them laughing together. It just melts my heart. I love how Braeden is a great artist. He is always drawing things and they always turn out looking like what he says it is. He's crafty and wants to make projects with random things around the house. He's very creative and is just like his Grandpa Harper. From very little, he loved being with Grandpa and tried to fix things and figure out how they work. Loves working with tools and will try to fix things around the house.







I also love hearing him sing. Braeden has been singing since he could talk. But when he just turned 3, we had just moved into our house and Mark had completely set up his recording studio. Mark had recorded a few songs of his own and we realized one day that Braeden had memorized his daddy's songs. So we decided to play songs in his room while he fell asleep and he learned those songs and we wanted to see if he would record them. So we are lucky enough to have some really cute songs of Braeden singing when he was 3. We gave CDs to my parents and Mark's parents for Christmas and then we made one when he was 4 for the next Christmas. We have a recording of Elli when she wasn't even 2 yet singing "You are My Sunshine" with Braeden. It is something I love having and worth every penny of getting the recording studio.






I love cuddling with Braeden. He still lets me kiss and hug him. He is a rock when he is sleeping. Ever since he was little, little, Mark and I will go in his room and cuddle with him while he's sleeping. It's my favorite part of the day. He is so adorable while he sleeps. When it's almost time for bed, he loves getting books read to him. Now that he is in school and gets to go to the library, he loves me to read those books to him.

I am so in love with Braeden and I tell him that everyday. He's my little buddy and even though it is nice having him in ALL DAY KINDERGARTEN, I miss him like crazy. Elli misses him too and she gets excited everytime we pick him up. We love you Braeden and am so thankful for all of your cuteness and sweetness!

Elli's Dance Recital

Well, this is a little late of a post, but before Christmas, Elli had a cute little recital. Olivia Slade is in her dance class. But their class was to perform very close to the beginning but when they got there, we found out they were 2nd to last.

Since we forgot our video camera... of all things... Mark decided to drive back home and get it. Well, it took him a bit longer to get it because good ole Queen Creek decides to close every road they can on the weekends and make traffic horrible. Well, he missed her little performance by 5 minutes. And to top it off, my snap camera's batteries died and I didn't even get to use the video camera on that. Luckily my parents came and they took pictures for me. And Emily Slade took video of it (both our husbands missed it.)

Braeden went with Mark so even he missed it. He was the most excited to see her perform. But it was so adorable to watch her dance on stage. She was so cute and she actually danced. While we were waiting for them to go on stage, Elli kept on asking when it was her turn. She couldn't wait. Anyway, can't wait for the big performance in May. So fun!!

My Wish....

OK, ever since I heard this song..."My Wish" by Rascal Flatts I have fallen in love with it. I guess since I have kids now, it is something I hope my kids learn from Mark and I. It's how I try to live life, even though that's not easy, and how I hope my kids can live life! I've been wanting to write this down somewhere so when I am gone someday, my kids know this was my song to them. This is a song I wish I could say I wrote for them, but you know... when have I ever written a song. Anyway, Rascal Flatts are my favorite group, I love their music!

MY WISH

I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow

And each road leads you where you wanna go

And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose

I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.

And if one door opens to another door closed

I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window

If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile.

But more than anything, more than anything...

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to

Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small

You never need to carry more than you can hold

And while you're out there getting where you're getting to

I hope you know somebody loves you

And wants the same things too,Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but you never forget

All the ones who love you, in the place you left

I hope you always forgive, and you never regret

And you help somebody every chance you get

Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake

And always give more than you take.

Sunday Favorites!!

This is something Mark & I enjoy so much!! Sleeping kids!! We were watching some movies on the couch and Elli fell asleep by my side. I quietly slipped away from her, but Mark couldn't get enough of the cuteness that she has when she is sleeping!!

Christmas....Good Times!!

We had a great Christmas! Couldn't ask for anything better. We were able to be with the Bakers and the Harpers! On Christmas Eve Eve, my parents did their Christmas Eve Party. We had gingerbread trains for each family to make and some very yummy food. We acted out the nativity with all the little ones. We opened pajamas from the grandparents and they were so cute! It was a fun night with the fam!

Then on Christmas Eve, we went to Baker's Christmas Eve Party. Lots of yummy food again (I tell ya...it's hard being pregnant during the holidays. I was so good by not eating a lot of sweets before now, but the baby is "CRAVING SWEETS" now. I've only gained 10 lbs so far, but I think I might make it to 30 lbs by the end of this month. Let's hope not though.) Santa Claus came to visit us too. It was cute because Santa walked in with a really cheap costume on, a really young face and a beard that was very fake. Then after a couple minutes, the REAL Santa came in with a REAL beard and nice outfit. The real Santa told the fake Santa to leave and to stop tricking the kids. It was a cute little act they put on. Anyway, even though it was great having Santa there, Braeden was too anxious to get home before Santa left to deliver presents, so we headed out and put the kids to bed.

Mark and I didn't have very much to put together. My kids' Christmas list was very simple. All Braeden wanted was a battery operated train for the traing table he got last year. The train he got last year was put in water and didn't work anymore, so that was his only request. But he also enjoyed getting his Nintendo DS, Lincoln Logs, Legos and Tinkertoys. Everything Braeden got this year were things that would keep him busy. He loves putting things together. He was such a sweet boy and before he even started opening presents, he told us this was his favorite Christmas ever. He said that after opening all of his presents too. Makes you be grateful for the little things and what Christmas is really about. Elli didn't know what was going on so she got a doll house, dolls & barbies. Mark was a cute daddy and went out and got some things for each of the kids. Together they got an art easel with a paper roll, dry erase and chalkboard so my sweet little kids STOP USING MY COMPUTER PAPER!!! Everytime I go to print something, it is out of paper. So Santa was sweet enough to get the kids that!!

Well, Christmas morning, we headed out to visit Brent and Emily and see their new RV. It was the coolest thing we've seen since 1980!! Then we visited Brig and Camille (Mark's bro) We took a gander at what they got for Christmas and wished them a Merry Christmas. Then we headed to my parents' house and had a huge present opening party. My parent's always go ALL OUT for Christmas. We were so spoiled. My kids got some really neat things. Lots of games, Elli got some more Princess dress up clothes and shoes. (As a matter of fact, she wears it 24/7 and it is impossible to take it off her when we need to get regular clothes on.) I got a new Oil Core Electric Skillet, tortilla maker, Bosch (from Mark) and lots of kitchen gadgets. My mom gets us new kitchen things for Christmas and birthdays. I have the coolest kitchen everything because my mom gets me the coolest things. Anyway, thanks Mom and Dad. We had a great dinner with Bisket and ham and everything else that is good to eat with that. After hanging witht he Harpers, we headed to Greg and Holly's house (Mark's other bro) and visited them for a little bit. We had a wonderful Christmas!! Couldn't ask for anything more!

Christmas Party

We had a ward Christmas Party las week and they had the primary act out the Nativity. It was pretty cute. Braeden got to be shepherd and some of Braeden's other little friends were in it too. Denen had to dress up as an animal and he had a really costume. But we had a fun night and we love our ward tons!! So many fun families!!

I just can't stand it...

I love watching this little girl go to dance. It is the cutest thing. She has a dance recital tomorrow and I can't wait. Braeden is so excited to watch her perform on a BIG stage. He has been counting down the days!! Anyway, I just love my little dancing girl!!

Here's the Deal...

I've had a lot of people ask me about NLightN CDs. Yes, they have a Christmas CD that they are selling for $5.00. It has 3 of their own songs and & 3 other songs that everybody knows. It is really good!! They also have 2 other CDs out that you can get at Deseret Book or Seagull Book. You can also preview and buy them at iTunes. There is another Enlighten group that comes up, but it is pretty obvious which one is the church group. The other 2 CDs are all their own songs that as group wrote. They bring a great spirit to any home. Anyway, hope this answers some people's questions. If you want any of the CDs and don't want to drive to Deseret or don't know how to use iTunes, we have some at our house that you can buy!!

NLightN

Well, the little NLightN group had a concert in Safford last Monday!! They auditorium has 999 seats and it was almost full! The boys drove up early Monday morning and the wives (or we call ourselves the"Groupies") drove up later to watch the concert. The guys did great and it was entertaining!! We didin't get home until midnight which was very hard to stay awake for the drive home. But I wanted to thank my parents and sister for watching our kids for us so I could have a peaceful night without kids making noise during the concert!!

The groupy wives!! Lauren Howell (front), Alyssa peterson (2nd row left) Jenica Ballard (2nd row right), Me, Emily Slade (3rd row right)

The Men . . . . Mark Peterson, Camron Howell, Mark Baker, Brent Sldae, Aaron Ballard

The whole NlightN clan!!

This is just a preview of the greatest Christmas song there is... O Holy Night. This honestly is the best version of this song I have ever heard. The recorded version on their CD is amazing. Such a beautiful sound and Aaron who sings it is such an amazing vocalist. Really, he is a one of a kind singer!! Anyway, here's a portion of O Holy Night!!

Drake's B-day!!

Braeden's cousin (Ryan's oldest son) had his 5th b-day last Sunday. So we went over to their house and had dessert. It is always fun getting all the grandkids together for some crazy fun!!

Lisa's little boy Crew and Ryan's little girl Blayke

My cute Elli and Ryans' boy Brock

Lisa's 2 boys, Cole and Cade

My incredibly cute and hilarious sister Kara and Crew

All of the grandkids minus Crew

Hope you had a great birthday Drake!! We sure do love you!!

Crazy Kid Fun!!

Well, Braeden has been bugging me to have some friends over to make some Christmas crafts. So I finally gave in and invited 3 of his friends over and we made some fun crafts. These were little santa's sleighs made with candy canes and chocolate candy. Way cute! We also made some snowman out of socks and did some coloring. Braeden had a blast and he still asks me if he can have them come over again! He enjoys making stuff and thinks he has to do it with friends.

What do you think....

Mark and I got an ultrasound today! We had a clear image of what we are having...what do you guys think?? Those are his legs spread out. He made it very known what he is! He was moving so much and just an active little guy! We are so excited to be having another little boy. I finally got this one right!! With our first 2 kids, I had no idea, I was just hoping for whatever, with this one, I actually thought it was a boy!! I am way excited!! Anyway, just thought I would put this adorable picture out there for everyone to look at. I'm sure he won't mind, he's a Baker!

I have some WEIRD kids!! :)

This must be Mark's genes kicking in. Braeden hit his head on something and decided a bandaid would make it feel better. It was totally cute, so maybe my genes were kicking in!!

Our daughter loves to make us dinner in her little kitchen. Her new thing now is to take all of her clothes off and put her apron on. It is the most adorable thing ever!!

And the back view!! Who knows of this is appropriate or not, but I think it's adorable.

What a Great Weekend!!

We had such a nice Thanksgiving and hope you did too!! Mark's parents and oldest and youndest brothers came down to spend time with us folk in AZ. It was fun being with everyone. We had a nice large feast on Thursday and fun activities for the kids so they kept busy with that. It was busy, crazy and worth it all at the same time.

Of course, since USC was playing at ASU, we went to the game with all of Mark's brothers and Mom. What a fun game (for us, sorry to ASU fans) We definitely enjoyed sitting by all the rude ASU fans that kept their mouths quiet in the 2nd half. My sister in law and her sister were so great for watching our kids while Mark and I went to the game. Thanks girls!!

Well, on Saturday, a bunch of friends from high school decided to get together and go to lunch and reminisce of the old days!! It was quite fun!! Glad I went and enjoyed seeing all of you girls. I forgot my camera and depended on the girls to post pictures of this get together on their blogs, except, they didn't post the picture with me in it. They decided this one was cuter and therefore, that is why I am not in this picture. :) But we had a blast!!

Shanon, Brooke, Steph, Caryn, Alison, & Amy

The only downfall of me going to the lunch was when I came back, my husband had a HUGE surprise for me. Not a fun surprise though! Now, he has been wanting a snake for a while and I was fighting not to get one. I know I wouldn't have to do anything to take care of it, but I just don't want a snake. But, when I got back from lunch, everyone was hanging out at Greg and Holly's house. Well, I was talking to my sister in laws, then my cute nephew said my name and put a snake in my face. I SCREAMED and ran out of the room and knew my husband bought it. I thought, "Well maybe it just looks real but it's really fake. Mark wouldn't buy it knowing I didn't want one." Well, everyone was laughing at me and wanted to rewind my reaction (like TIVO) and said, "That's your snake." I gave Mark an evil look and was still in shock. Now my kids were in love with this reptile and how could we take it back to the store. But now we have had it a couple days and it's in my son's room, the kids always hold it around their neck and what can you say... we have to keep it now. No, but I still love Mark even though he did that. He's lucky I am easy to get along with!! :)

There are 2 brothers missing, but it is very rare to get all of them together, especially in AZ. Some of them are ANTI-AZ and hardly come to visit, but it was a great Thanksgiving this year. I can't wait for Christmas, I have been excited since Halloween to decorate and listen to Christmas music.