Journal #4

List your 10 greatest joys.
1. My husband
2. My sweet girls
3. The gospel
4. My parents
5. My talents
6. My brothers
7. My friends
8. Living in the USA
9. Nature
10. Being creative

If you could choose a different time period to live in when would it be?
I would choose to be a pioneer.  I have always had a great fascination with the pioneers and admire everything about them.  I would have loved to know Joseph Smith and other early saints.  I would have loved to have been one of the first to read the Book of Mormon.  I would have loved to walk across the plains.  I think it would have been so interesting to not have the modern day conveniences we have today.  I would have liked to help in the building of temples and the settling of Utah.  I love how life seemed less complicated than it is today.  Family was close and the work ethic was much stronger.  There was much less influence from "the world" and I think there was a deeper appreciation for nature and a reliance on the land.  I would definitely want to be a pioneer if I had a chance to go back.

Allie day

These are from Monday Jan 17th.  Sorry I had to post every picture because they are all so adorable.  Usually Allie has some goofy look on her face these days for pictures but for this minute and a half she was so natural.  I snapped as many pictures as I could.

Wearing mom's shoes

Trying to get up in mom's shoes



One totally cute girl in mom's shoes



Getting ready to help me do the laundry



She just started striking all these adorable poses.



I love this look-so mysterious



Winking.



Nothing but the usual.

These are just a bunch of pictures of random, everyday stuff with our cute girls.

I had put Allies hair in a bunch of little twists before church on Sunday the 16th.  When I took them out this was the result.  Don't worry we tamed the wild bangs before we left.  She got such a kick out of her crazy hair.  I think she looks sooo much like cousin Kinsey in this picture-anyone else?

Sunday evening computer/pickle fest

"See Dad, here are our pickles."

Allie helping me make cookies.  She is big into the helping these days.  I will be honest and say that I cringe sometimes when she asks cause I know it will take much longer and usually involves her wet fingers in the sugar jar but I know it is important and I love that she wants to help and asks too so I let her as much as possible.

She is a good measurer.

Baseball hat

Being like Sarah (one of the girls on Greg's basketball team who also played baseball).



A couple of cuties just after naps.



Journal #3

1. Where did your grandparents live? What was their home like? Did it have a certain smell or look?

My Baba (grandma in Ukrainian) lived a mile across the field from me in the same home my Aunt and Uncle live in now.  They lived their too.  The house is pretty much the same now as it was when I was a child.  It wasn't overly bright, kind of empty and smelled like baked bread.  My favorite things about her house: they had chairs that turned at the kitchen table, there were always peanuts to shell and eat, you drank water from the tap out of a huge cup (well it wasn't a cup it was like a cup but with a long handle, I guess it was a water ladle-what is the name of something like that), they had an organ for a while and I used to like playing on that, the basement was really cold but there were lots of really cool old things down there, her bedroom was bright and had a wrought iron bed frame.  I remember sleeping with her sometimes-it was really small and I had the hardest time ever falling asleep but it was warm.  She had homemade quilts and a butterscotch candy or two in the kitchen cupboard.  One of my favorite memories of her house was coming home after school and getting off the bus there when her and Wayno would be making twiddle bugs (a fried bread twist).  Oh they were so good.  Baba's bread was always really good and her gravy and pie.  I also remember her old house which she no longer lived in but it was on her property and we used to go in there and explore and play.  It was amazing to me.  I loved the kitchen-the old appliances and the wooden cupboards.  She had a cellar filled with bottled things and potatoes.  The upstairs was really neat-small, from what I remember but it just possessed such a charm for me.  The walls had wallpaper on them and there was no toilet-that is what the outhouse was for.  My Uncle tore part of it down and turned half of it into a shop.  I hated and still hate everything about that move.  Then my cousin in his reckless teenage years spray painted all kinds of crap all over the inside of it with his other buddies.  Baba would have been so mad.  To me if feels like such a desecration of something I considered so magical and wonderful.  Now there is so much stuff and dirt in there you can hardly get to the kitchen anymore.  I have such fondness for that house, the new house and my Baba.

2. What do you remember about yourself as a teenager?

Oh brother-I remember that I was not confident at all, I was shy, I had big dreams and goals, I was a good student, I loved art and crafts, I was not popular or even close, I had plenty of awkward moments and some pretty bad taste in clothes.  My best friends were: Charelle Racicot, Christine Sidebottom, Chelsea Bull, Leanne Murphy and Maria Mogdan as well as Chris (a German exchange student) and Carolyn (a french exchange student).  We were all pretty similar.  We had cooking parties and sleepovers, we all ate lunch together at the same table.  We were all smart.  Charelle and I were the only members of the church in our little group.  We had pretty much the same interests in everything but she was a bit more ambitious that I.  I loved the gospel, I played the piano for my branch, I had crushes on lots of boys but never any dates.  I loved to dance but rarely got asked.  I wanted to be a High School Art and English teacher and my only college choice was BYU.  I was extremely close to both my younger and older brothers.  In my high school years my younger brother Daniel and I started the door notes.  He actually started by leaving little notes on my door.  I began to follow suit and we would write eachother a note everyday.  That was one of the greatest things that could have happened to me as a teenager.  We also began nightly pondering sessions where we would just talk about things together just the two of us.  That also is one of my favorite things from my teen years.  Pretty much except for Charelle and times with my brothers I would like to just forget most of my teen years and early teen years-well I have almost completely blocked those from my memory (thank heavens).  Neither are a time I would ever like to relive and I will do everything in my power to not have my own children have to repeat anything like my teenage life (except for the best friend part).

Fun Family Album

A digital scrapbook by Smilebox

It's Brailie Day

Today's post is all about Brailie.  I had her to myself Thursday the 6th while Greg had taken Allie to a basketball game.  This is the result:

She loves this camo fishing hat of Gregs

She looks pretty cute in it too.

New favs are a hat and sunglasses-neither of which stay on very long and both of which she is always begging to have me put on. 

On this evening I was able to get her to keep her hat on for a while and get some great pics.

This is her trying to get it off and me saying NO!!!

Playing with the farm

Trying to fit Dora into the tractor

She plays so cute when Allie is not there to bug and take things away.

She likes this helicopter.  Must have some flying genes in her from Grandpa Sam

She loves the tractors too and pushes them on the floor and makes a "vroom" sound.

Doing what she does best: dumping and making a mess

Yep see, here they go all over the floor.

Going for round 2

Where is your poopitz?

I've done my duty as a mother of Ukrainian heritage and successfully taught both my girls where their "poopitz" (bellybutton) is.  Check that one off the list.

Allie and baby Jesus

Our town still has up their large nativity set in the park.  We have been super huge fans of this since it was set up in November.  When Allie first discovered baby Jesus was in the manger she has wanted to go and see it every day.  When the weather has been nice we have walked over and looked at it and she has even touched baby Jesus a few times.  Well lately the weather has been cold so we have not gone for walks but everytime we drive by the park she begs to see baby Jesus (and is quite disgusted with you if you don't stop I might add).  On Monday  (Jan 10) I took the girls for a quick walk to see baby Jesus.  One of the wisemen was knocked over and his head came off so we fixed him first.  Then Allie wanted to see the baby.  She had me walk up to the manger with her.  At first she just looked then she asked if she could hold him.  I said sure.  She picked him up and cradled him in her arms so gently.  She then asked if we could sing a song-Away in a Manger is what she picked.  We sang that.  She talked to him and told him how cute he was.  She showed baby Jesus to Brailie in the stroller.  Then she wanted me to sing one more song, "Could I hold the Baby" (a primary song we learned last year that I am teaching her).  When that was done she was not ready to go so we just stood and she held the baby a little longer.  Then she placed him back in the manger and said good-bye and that we would see him again and we walked home.  What a little sweetie.

Pigtails and other crazy happenings

I figured if she could do one pokey up pony tail-why not try two.  I think she looks adorable (my mom probably hates it).

This is Allie showing off her acrobatics

This is Allie being her regular self.

Christmas Fashion on Display

These are pictures I took from Sunday Jan 2nd.  I dressed the girls in some of their new Christmas outfits.  Brailie wore her new boots from Uncle Steven and Allie wore her new dress from Grammy.  Brailie was also sporting her first real pony tail.

I think she makes an adorable cowgirl

This picture is kinda blurry but I love her pose-so country.  I hope she will love to country dance when she gets older.

This face is better than the squinty eyes and open mouth

So stinkin cute (in my biased opinion).