Happy New Year!

I remember last New Years Eve as if it was last week. Daniel and I quietly brought in the new year in our front room, while the children slept. I had horrible morning sickness :) How did a year go so fast? New baby. New business. New hopes and dreams. What a year. How blessed we have been.
We said to each other that night that we had a feeling that 2007 was going to be our year, a good one. Boy- was it ever! I feel the same about 2008. I can't wait to experience the adventure and joys.

Personally, I have many personal dreams that are bubbling on a side burner. Getting ready to boil over, and for now I will keep those quiet. When things happen I will share, but for now, they are my treasured little secrets.

Christmas was wonderful. Without family close by- it seemed quiet and fast, but it was nice all the same. We did lots of fun crafts and baking, all the good things in life. We made memories and built our family bonds.
Love to you and yours- The Leylands

Our tree and our angel

Here is our Christmas tree, but this year our Christmas angel is underneath. Having a baby in the house for Christmas is so special. I don't know why, or should I say I can't put my finger on what it is exactly. I guess she is so fresh from Heaven. Maybe that is it. Especially this time of year as we draw close to the Saviour and remember his birth. Having them close and being able to feel their innocence and love is just wonderful.

Court of honor

It was Connor's first Cub Scouts court of honor. *sniff, sniff* My baby boy is growing up too fast. He earned his bobcat badge and was very proud, and so were we. Connor was very happy that night and we were proud to see our big boy participating the scouting program.

Yummy Yummy

So to get in the Christmas spirit we made a ginger bread house for Family Home Evening. The kids had so much fun, and so did us big kids. There was a lot of sneaking of candy when the kids thought no one was looking.
The house is slowly shrinking. HAHAHAHA, I think the kids think that we don't know they are slowly destroying our masterpiece, but hey, what fun would it be if you couldn't nosh on that scrumptious piece of art. It was fun, and that is what mattered.

The undefeated world heavy weight champ...

is still Chloe Leyland. Her title was being sought 6 years later by Annabelle Leyland. Unfortunately, she came up short. Chloe had her beaten by a long shot. As you can see, even at just under 3 months, Chloe looked as though her face would explode. I mean literally explode :) Annabelle never had a chance. She got close, but not close enough to knock Chloe out of the race to become Mr &Mrs. Leyland's fattest baby. They have both trained hard, eaten many meals at the Breastaurant, but Chloe remains the Heavy weight champ.

Some butter with those rolls?

Little, I mean BIG
Annabelle had her 4 month appointment yesterday and she is healthy!( Except for the bout of bronchitis and croup she had last week, which is why I included the sad little picture of her having her breathing treatments) She is a big girl. She weighed...wait for it...18 lbs, and was 26 in inches long. Here is a picture of her after her bath last night. She still hasn't broken Chloe's record though. Chloe is still my fattest chunkerdoodle to date.

So much to be thankful for!

We are so blessed. This year we had a lot to reflect on and thank Heavenly Father for. I am so grateful for many things, and without boring you all, one thing I am especially thankful for this year is Annabelle. We never thought we would get the chance to have another baby, so to have her here this year, cooing and babbling was very emotional. Life is good. I am thankful for all my loved ones and for so many things.

We had a quiet meal at home. Just the 5 of us. It was lovely to just relax and be with our family unit. 5 of us! I still can't believe I am a Mom sometimes, let alone in charge of 3 other lives, well make that 4 other lives:) It is fulfilling to see my kids getting big and growing up into such wonderful, talented and kind individuals. I did all the cooking and though it wasn't the most spectacular meal, it was good to share our thankful thoughts, smile, and laugh together.

Spooky, spooky...

Halloween was sure a crazy night here at the Leyland house. We threw a party and had nearly 80 people here. (Remind me never to do that again) :) It was just a lot of work and a lot of clean up afterwards. It was fun though. The kids were proud to show off their Mom's Halloween addiction I think. We had a bonfire out back, hot apple cider, great food, a spooky grave yard out front, great music, good friends, flying bats in the kitchen, spiders dropping from the ceiling. It was great. Annabelle slept through most of it, and the kids loved every second of it. Next year I think I am going to just decorate outside and freak people out. I missed that this year tending to all our guests. Fun night though.
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UGHHHHHHHH...

Sorry this has not been updated lately. I have been through it this year with my health. I had a root canal that was not properly taken care of, so I was put on antibiotics, then told to come off them because they were making the baby sick. The infection reared it's ugly head again and so the stupid dentist put me on steroids and pain killers that seriously made me hallucinate. I had to pump and dump my milk so I didn't lose it, and after weeks of pain, another round of even stronger antibiotics my troubles are over. Well, not totally over. I have nerve damage from where the doctor put the anesthesia and so 1/2 my face is numb and tingly. It could take months to go away, if it ever does :) How fun is that! So- sorry for being a stranger lately to my friends and loved ones. I barely made it through the big Halloween party I had planned before I got sick. I'll post more on that later. I'll get to replying to emails and calls soon.

HAHAHAHAHA

Play the second video, the first one isn't working for some reason and I can't delete it. Sorry!

Some one had a birthday!

My little Chlo-jo turned 6. Where does the time go. Everyone always says that if you blink you'll miss them growing up. I feel that way. She was just a little toddler running around cutting her own hair. Now she reads so well, is so beautiful, so kind, and is such a big helper to me with the baby. Ahhh- I want to be super man, go fly into space and stop the world from spinning, so I can hold on to my kids a little longer. We had a crazy day. Connor has strep throat, she was sick, Annabelle is sick, and I am sick. We had a nice dinner and then took them to Build- a- Bear workshop. Chloe was so happy! It was a fun night.

My favorite song right now!

For some reason I love this song! Plus I love Greys, so the video I found makes me love this song even more.

[via FoxyTunes / Ingrid Michaelson]

Annabelle ...

is getting CHUNKY! She is almost 2 months old. Her hair is getting redder and I just want to squeeze her all the time.

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Mommy was bored while nursing.....

and this is what happened. HEHEHHEHEHE

10 years !

Ten years of marriage. I can't believe it. I love Daniel more today than the day we got married. I know it is an old saying, but it is true. We have been through so much together. We have our beautiful family and many memories and triumphs to recall. How lucky are we? Not everyone finds their soul mate, best friend and personal comedian. I did! And I love him, and I want everyone to know that! Here are my beautiful flowers I received from him, and some from my parents.

Birth announcement

Here is the birth announcement everyone should have gotten but I didn't get around to it. Enjoy anyway :)

PICS, PICS, & MORE PICS

I figured I would add more pictures from the blessing and baptism, for those who couldn't be here. We missed you all, but hopefully you can enjoy the pics and know we love you. (And if you want to see the pics closer, just click on the photo. For those who don't know :)


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Daddy and his girl




Daddy and his boy

Connor, Mercy, Madelyn & Chloe

First day of school.

Chloe began kindergarten this year. Dan and I went with her to her open house, took 2 week old Annabelle along and watched in awe as she confidently walked around getting to know her teachers and class room. We were assured everything would be just fine and we were very impressed with the great lengths the school goes to, to make sure the kids are safe.

The first day (where she would stay all day) came & Granddad, Grandma and Daddy took her and Connor. I waved goodbye at the door and as I watched her get in the Durango, I cried my eyes out. I went upstairs to go nurse Annabelle and cried for almost a half an hour. When Connor started I was sad too, but he was always so ready for things like that. Chloe was ready, scholastically. She can read so well and is so intelligent, I guess Mommy wasn't ready to say goodbye to her buddy and little girl. Life goes too fast, and I think that realization hit hard Aug. 20th 2007. Luckily I knew her big brother would be there to look out for her, especially getting off the school bus.

Crazy days!

August was a whirlwind. We had both sets of families here to celebrate Annabelle's birth and Connor's baptism. We had Chloe's first day of school & Connor's first day of second grade. It was such a blast being together and sharing fun times. It came and went too fast and now I am yearning to be together again. Ken, Denise, Ben and Rachel came for 2 weeks all the way from England. It was hot and humid here, but we still made the most of our time. Though some days you didn't want to open the door to the oven, I mean outside.
Dad was here for a few days and then kept up his busy schedule of work, flying around the world. Mary and Mom came down with the 3 girls for Connor's baptism. Too bad we didn't have more time with them, but I am so glad they came.

We did many fun things, but just being together, laughing and loving one another was by far the best. ( Play the song below...it says it all)

better together- jack johnson

[via FoxyTunes / Jack Johnson]

And so it begins...

I am sat here nursing our 12 day old daughter Annabelle, and typing with one hand. I keep thinking how precious this time is and how fast it goes. It seems like yesterday that I was holding Connor or Chloe as newborns. I am horrible at journaling, though I love to go back and read the day to day highs and lows of our life, when I could be bothered to write about it. So, a new challenge. I will start blogging, and maybe this will be a better way to journal the life of these Leylands.