new family pics of all

rachel with such personality!!









caleb with his blue eyes and dark skin is gonna be a heartbreaker!!
















colby is growing up, and so handsome

















the whole family posing. can you tell the sun was in our eyes? :)








rebekah had strep throat when we got these taken, i just didn't know it until after. she had her arms folded and said she was cold the whole time, but genius me didn't put it together until the next day when she had a fever. she is still gorgeous, but we retook her individual pics later. here they are.











i love this one of our backs. it is really cool looking!




nathan and i. he really is quite the handsome man, with the clean-shaven look.
















and here is the whole fam. caleb his tonsils and adnoids out just a few days earlier, but you can't tell. that kid is tough!!















my beauty girls










handsome boys

winter sing

last night was the school program, that they call the winter sing. caleb couldn't be in it, because he had his tonsils and adnoids out on wednesday. poor kid! but he is taking it like a trooper, and is barely taking any pain medicine. only when we force him to!

here is rebekah's class getting ready to sing



colby getting his snazzy tie tied by dad

colby posing for the camera after a great performance.

rebekah ready to go sing
and videos of each awesome kid. i am proud of them, and all of their hard work!!

new fun

i always post the pics in backwards order from the time they actually happened!!

here we are chilling between concerts. we didn't have a whole lot of time to relax, but when we did, we sprawled out on the floor to munch. it was very nice!! our concert was a great success, selling out the hall for both performances. i loved performing again, and it is so fun to be a part of such a cool organization. our next concert is march 5, where we are doing an original oratorio premiered here that is composed by one of our amazing directors, brett stewart.
here is tat and i in the car before our concert
colby got his wolf award for scouts, and had to search for beef jerky all over the room. it was pretty funny to see him wandering around looking clueless!! he found it behind the books though!!
nathan had his birthday on the 28th, but we celebrated early to spend it with family.
rachel still just worships caleb, and was climbing all over him. this is the only shot where you can see both of their faces!!
i can't believe how fast time is flying by. i am actually done with my christmas shopping though, so that is a huge relief. and i am managing to keep the house and kids mostly clean, despite the debilitating dizziness and headaches that seem to follow me everywhere i go!! at least they don't last as long anymore.....here's hoping!!

we moved!

i don't really have pictures this time, but we have had another big change in our lives. we moved!! we are only about a street away from the old place, but we love it. we now have another almost 1100 sq ft, and all the bedrooms are upstairs. there is even a little room off the living room where i can stash the crafts and sewing projects with my own table!! it is perfect for our family, and i am so very thankful that we were able to find it when we did. my friend was over a few weeks ago, and has an "in" with a realtor they are working with. totally out of the blue, she suggested getting online, and doing a search of the area. now, i had been checking every day for a new place to go up for rent, and hadn't found anything exciting. i was doubtful that she would either. so imagine my surprise when she names the street that the kids school is on!! i run over to look at it, and am floored. it was/is everything we wanted, and had only been up for that day!! i don't believe in coincidences, and this was too perfect to be one anyway. i had just been called as the ward choir director, and here was my answer as to if we were still supposed to be in the area or not. so, jump forward a few weeks, and here we are. moved into our new house, and everything just falling into place. so thank you for answers to prayers.
everyone seems to be making a list of things they are thankful for, so here is mine in no particular order:
1. our new house-room to roam
2. answers to prayers, even silent ones
3. kids, mine and everyone elses
4. friends-enough said, they rock
5. my hubby-he is the greatest man on earth
6.my inlaws-some people don't love them!!
7. parents- they put up with a lot over the years
8. sisters (and brother)
9. brothers and sisters in law
10. modern conveniences -ac is my best friend!!
11. good food-sometimes that i make, and others that i buy
12. fast food- sometimes you just have no desire or time to cook
13. restaurants- dates with hubby, and sometimes the kids
14. tv- i love to sit and watch a good show with the fam
15. dvr- i can never go back to commercials
16. music- i love to sing, and listen to good music too
17. the evmco-it is the highlight of my week
18. the gospel - keeping me in line
19. health- i complain a lot about all the little ailments, but it could be a lot worse
20. chocolate-yummy
21. chiropractors and massage- aaahhhh
22. laughter- the cure for what ails you
23. books- i love to read a good romance!
24. the post office- they are idiots, but they are our employment, so i like them
25. temples- sealings, and knowledge that those who have gone before are not gone
26. school- i love that they kids are old enough to be educated all day!!
27. antibiotics and modern medicine- sick kids and hubby would be a lot worse
28. facebook and blogs- we know what is going on with all sorts of people we couldn't otherwise
29. stars- i love to look at the constellations, even though i don't know most of them!
30. the birth, atonement and death of Jesus Christ- because of Him, life isn't hopeless
ok, now it's your turn everyone!

costumes are fun!!

we had a really fun time dressing up this year. at the last minute i decided to join in the fun, and dress up too!! i chose to wear nathan's high school football jersey, and do the under eye smudges too. those didn't end up looking like they were supposed to, but hey, i tried! we also had no crown for princess rebekah, so aj made one! i was impressed. who knew what could be done with cardboard, tinfoil, tape and stickers?! colby was superman, caleb was johnny from the fantastic 4, and little rachel was a hula girl. i wasn't sure what to do with her hair, because she doesn't have much of it. but again, aj came to the rescue. we braided as many spots as we could, and while i was pulling pizza out of the oven, she put embellishments on the bottom of each braid. i never would have thought of that!! and it looked great!!



the only drawback of the evening was running over a cat on our way home. they usually dart away at the last second, but this one didn't!! so a very big apology to whoever's pet i killed! wah!

pumpkin fun

usually nathan is the sole pumpkin carver, but last year i decided to give it a whirl. i did something super simple, and thought i would go for something a little harder this year. nathan decided to do the creepy skull face, in order to try and please colby. i went with the witch stirring her brew over the fire. they both turned out really well!! i am super proud of myself for managing to make something this cool looking, with the paper sliding all over the place in the "goo" as rachel was calling it. then, because i was having so much fun, i decided to go for it, and carve rachel's little one she got at the pumpkin patch. it was a lot harder to clean out!! let me tell you! i cut my hand trying to scrape it out, but i survived. i copied a picture rebekah made at school, for the face. what do you think of our masterpieces? i think we did a pretty dang good job!!

pumpkin

this is my best friend since junior high, allison, and her son brandon. he was tired, but happy!! such a cutie, almost makes me want another one, but not quite....!



the girls doing the maze. rachel is taking the lead and getting them out of there!!









it was a really fun maze, even tat and i went through it, just to prove that we could do it faster than the kids!!









there were goats and cows the kids got to feed hay to. it was really cool. i had never seen a cow's tongue come out and scoop in the food before.


there were lots of fun places to take pictures of the kids in. the triplets (almost) posed together a lot. such cuties!!














and andrew rounds out the crew while caleb is in school.

rachel got to pick out her own pumpkin, and loved decorating it with stickers. very fun and worth the money spent!!







our kids hanging out with aaron and ajs kids. watching tv in our room.


grandpa gresko made rachel this rocking chair, and she loves to sit in it. especially when no one is watching her do it!! she is such a silly girl.

tree destruction

the picture order is backwards, sorry!!

for anyone who doesn't live here, the last few days were filled with freak rainstorms almost like hurricanes. for natives of this lovely hot desert, we had no idea what to make of the horizontal rain and hail, crazy high winds, and booming thunder. all we knew was that it was loud, and we should probably stay inside!! when i finally did have to brave the rain, and go pick up the kids from school, i noticed uprooted and broken trees littering the roads, but assumed we got away unscathed. i was wrong. the kids have a music class after school on tuesdays, so i was didn't come back home, but nathan called me and asked if i had seen our tree. i told him i hadn't noticed anything, and he told me to just wait and see it. after class, we came home through flooded streets, and more downed trees, just taking in the destruction, and wondering what awaited us at home. we pulled into the driveway, and saw that half of the huge pine tree in the front of the house had cracked and broken, and was literally resting on our roof. i called our landlord and was assured someone would be here soon. we were afraid to have the kids in the back bedrooms, so the girls were in caleb's room, and the boys on the couch. if that tree fell anymore, it would go through their roofs. luckily, we had an uneventful night, and it wasn't until 3pm the next day that the workmen showed up. we got home, and they were on the roof, chainsawing the limb down piece by piece. they had wrapped heavy duty ropes and straps on to the tree, to lower it down, and scared us by telling us not to go in the main part of the house. according to one guy, if it goes, it is going straight through the roof, no question. it was a nerve-wracking few hours, but they finished around 7pm last night. needless to say, we said many prayers of thanks for our safety and being watched over!!
on a side note, my sister had 2 windows broken by the hail, and my parents had the neighbors tree break and fall over into their side, crushing the block fence, and sitting on their roof as well. thankfully, only property was damaged, and no one was hurt!! but what a storm!!!

my colby

ok, so it's been a long time since i have been hit with a vertiginous migraine (the doctor's fancy name for all the misery going on!!) and i was not expecting it when i did. thursday was a normal fun day, but that night, i was hit with a migraine. hard. friday morning i woke up still pounding, and now we got to add the dizzy, head spinning nausea to it. not my idea of fun. i slept off and on all day, not getting out of bed. nathan had to work until after 8, so the kids and i were on our own. colby had pack meeting at 6, so around 5 i asked him if he wanted to go, so i could call someone and set up a ride. his answer brought tears to my eyes. he told me it was his job to take care of me and the other kids, and that was way more important than going to pack meeting. he said, what if caleb and rachel did something they weren't supposed to? or you needed something and couldn't get it. i am going to stay here and make sure everything is ok.

i don't know what i did to deserve such a sweet boy, but i am grateful every day that i have him. he is still a silly kid, that acts like a kid much of the time. but when he needs to be, he really steps up and is the man of the family. i was so proud of him and his willingness to serve his family. he is such a tenderhearted and loving boy, i love him so much!! and now he is 9, and moving from wolves to bears in the cub scout program. he is doing so well in everything he does!! we love you colby!!

accomplishments and birthdays

ok, there have been many accomplishments in the last few days, and i thought i would mention a few of them here. i made this dress yesterday, with minimal mistakes and frustration!! anyone who knows what a hard time i had making rachel's dress, knows that this was HUGE for me! i only had sandy's help once, and that was pinning the zipper in place. i came home and sewed it in, and even did the decorative lace on my own. i am very proud of myself!!

















grandma gresko's 60th birthday was on monday, and her being here to share it with us was an accomplishment in and of itself. she has thought her time was coming to an end a few times, but lucky for us, she has been wrong. it was such a blessing to have her still be with us, so we could celebrate her birthday together!! we love you sandy!!!














































then we have colby's 9th birthday, and rebekah spinning in her skirt. she likes to twirl.





swimming fun!! rachel and daddy snuggling

rachel, and then caleb.

snuggling mom
and rachel with her hair done and in a cute outfit!!