Thanksgiving.... and Christmas!

No, nobody at our home is excited for Christmas! (: Okay, perhaps a little. Dave and I have vowed not to listen to Christmas songs until after Thanksgiving, so here I am Thanksgiving night ready for what is to come! I admit this year I have been in the mood to listen to Christmas music for a week or so, so this task has been difficult. I have been trying to be ahead of the game and get Christmas prepared early so I am not stressed. I think it is going okay so far. It has definitely gotten me even more excited than in years past. So I am thrilled that December is almost here! This is our Family's FAVORITE holiday! But Yes, there was another GREAT holiday today which I will talk about now...

A little bit about Thanksgiving...this year it was obviously different being away from home. I did miss my Family a TON and miss the homemade pies from Dave's side of the family and my mom's stuffing (and soon to come Turkey Dumpling Soup). HOWEVER, we enjoyed creating our own memories out here in Ann Arbor. We hosted a dinner at our home for us and 2 other families. Thanks to the Smiths for a VERY delicious Turkey as well as the fixin's that go with it. And thanks to Isaksons for HUGE, but very TASTY rolls, and yummy homemade Pumpkin Pie! We cooked Yams, Garlic Mashed Potatoes (GREAT job Dave!), and Broccoli Casserole. At the table we were able to use our fine CHINA and other glassware. It was fun to get it all out. And of course, like Mother like Daughter I HAD to get Thanksgiving napkins... it only took 5 stores to find some I liked... but my mom raised me that way and I am grateful! All in all it was fun. Now this weekend we are going to cook our own Turkey and have yummy left overs and Turkey Dumpling soup ala Heidi (with Mom on the phone!). We are also going to get our CHRISTMAS decorations OUT! Wahoo. I am sick of FALL colors and ready for RED, WHITE, GREEN and SILVER!

Hanging out (stuffed) after dinner, I wish we would have gotten a shot of Dave and I ):(Anna and Josh- I had to post both pictures so you could see how they both have beautiful big brown eyes!)
For the last couple of weeks I have been thinking about what I am grateful for and the list is too long and I think I have done enough lists on the blog lately. I did want to post more than what I have, but it is getting late, my husband is already in bed, my feet are cold and I'll just have to end it for now. I have so many other things to write, but alas, another day will come! So for now I will say that I feel overwhelmed with the blessings that I have. I know I am lucky to live the life that I do. All my gratitude to those in my life who have changed me for the better and to my Heavenly Father and Savior who have made my life possible!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

(Our little princess before her second 2 hour nap today! She had a taste of sweet potatoes then was an Angel and slept so Mom and Dad could host! I love this Little Amazing Gift!)

MVP!!

A special thanks to the clear MVP of last night's game: Max Hall! I don't know what Ute fans' plans are for Thanksgiving, but someone better be having Max over for dinner! All I know is that last night's game is probably going to ruin his entire weekend (just ask John Beck). There were times where he truly looked like he was throwing the ball right to the Ute defenders. We were kind enough to drop a few of them, but we couldn't let all of the picks get by! 5 interceptions and a fumble is NOT the way to win the Heisman, fulfill a 'Quest for Perfection', or even beat a Jr. High team. I certainly had my worries coming into this game, but Hall was kind enough to put those at ease.

Big props to both the Ute offense and defense. They came out hungry and they played their hearts out. I've been critical of Brian Johnson quite often, but he was amazing yesterday. It's hard to find faults in a 30 - 36, 300+ yards and 4 touchdown performance. It was interesting to see the Ute "D" often drop down from pressuring Hall and instead fill more of a pass coverage role, daring him to try to squeeze the ball into the smallest cracks. The D-line did a phenomenal job of watching the quarterback's eyes and getting their hands up to bat down balls. BYU was certainly good enough to give Utah a run for their money, but Max wouldn't allow that to happen. Thanks Max!

I'm excited for the next step: a BCS Bowl of some kind, though I can't seem to avoid the feeling that we're going to get hosed. Chances are we'll play another version of '04 Pitt: a team with multiple losses that noone cares about. Once again, we'll likely be denied the chance of finding out whether we're good enough to play with the 'big boys'. At the same time, I'm not naive. Our chances of beating a top team were MUCH greater in '04 than this year. Still, you hate to see a perfect season end in a bowl game against a mediocre opponent that got there by winning a mediocre conference. It will be an exciting few weeks! GO UTES!

It's Time!!

It's time for Utah to put the BYU Kittens down for good. No more last second B.S. miracles. No more blown coverages. No more having to hear Cougar fans rub it in daily for 365 days. This game is HUGE. Last time the Utes were in position to go undefeated, we had to simply run over BYU who didn't deserve to be on the same field. This time, the game should be a lot closer and with more at stake. Utes win: 2nd BCS Bowl and 2nd undefeated season. Utes lose ... we won't even talk about that.

I've been anxious for this game since the season started. I'm going to do my part from long-distance and will be wearing Ute apparel every day up to kickoff. Gotta represent! I'm really sad I can't be there to see the game in person, but at least we'll have a strong Ute contingency here in Ann Arbor to cheer them on.

Just think about it ... do you REALLY want to see intelligent fans like these with smiles on their faces? I'll blog about how to spell the letter "B" later so that you Cougs can get it right by gametime.

Make sure to vote on our poll as to the outcome of the game. It'll be here before we know it!

What's in the name??

Today I realized that there are so many nicknames we have for Anna and the poor thing is only 9 months old. We as parents try so hard to find a good name for our child, then we go ahead and call them something else other than their given name.

Then, I realized that there is so much that goes into a name, it has it's own origin and meaning and there are many around the world that could have your same name. However each person makes their name their own. I think we each fit our name and it becomes a bigger representation than just a name. I have loved being "Heidi" all my life and hope Anna will feel the same.

Here are the many names the members of our family have been called (and their meaning):

Anna- "Favored Grace"

Karen - "Pure"

Nicknames: Princess, Peanut, Bug, Angel, Beautiful, Munch, Crazy girl, Love bug, Little Love, AK, Little One, Stinky, Pretty girl, Mumshk (my mom's word), Baby girl, Smilers, Dimple girl,Pprecious, Happy girl, Cutie, Brown eyes, and many more.

Heidi- "Noble one"
Kay- "Pure"
Nicknames: Heid, Heed, Heiders, Kinners, HK, Peaches, Tin, Heidi Kay Biv, Heidaloo, Heidi Ho, Hody, Peach Dawg, Big Mama, Guys Dig, Babe, and some I have forgotten.

David- "Beloved"
Burton-"Fortified settlement"
Nicknames: Dave, Daveeed, Davey, White bread, Fatkid, Fatty, Texas Wedge, Obeseonekinobi, Tons of Fun, Miner Wedge, Chicks Dig, #31, Burton Lumber, Daddy, Dada, and many more.

What does your name mean? What nicknames have you had?

GO UTES and SHE'S MOBILE!

A few exciting things!

1st off, we have been bad at posting about our love of sports teams. Here is a shout out to our UTES!! Wahoo, win over TCU and an amazing season so far! It was so exciting to watch last week's game we stayed up late (the game ended @ 11:00 in Michigan). Anna was a trooper and finally fell asleep just in time to be rudely woken up by the whole room jumping up and shouting for a touchdown by the UTES! We miss our time of being in the MUSS and being there for the games. Luckily we have our little Ute fan club here and are able to enjoy the games with fellow A2s who also have a passion for Crimson Red.

Here is our Fan club as you can see this is soon after Anna had woken up!(thanks Cara, I stole your photo.. hope that is okay!) (This was in 2004 when Utes went 11-0--- let's do it again UTES!)

#2, Anna is crawling... here comes trouble! Though as my parents saw on Skype she goes backwards more than forwards and loves that she figured out how to go from her stomach to her bum! She is growing up so much! This picture isn't the best, but it was what I could snab tonight. By the way it is 10:30 and Anna won't sleep. We all have our good and bad nights, I guess.

#3 We are trying to teach Anna to sign and I think she said "milk" and "more" today!

#4 Yes we do cheer for the school Dave is attending, but wish they had a better year! Too bad this is the first time in 30+ years that they haven't been to a bowl game and could possibly be their WORST year EVER! At least they have won a couple including last Saturday's game! GO BIG BLUE!

Thats it for now.

I'm Lovin' it!

Yesterday and Today I was walking and here is what I was thinking: I am LOVING:

- The 70 degree weather in November
- Hearing the Fall leaves crunch under my feet
- Going on long walks with the girls (even when I have a ghetto make shift "double stroller"- made by me, a rope, and two totally different strollers)
- The smell of fall
- My AMAZING husband and how hard he works, I am so proud of him! (He just got all A's on his very difficult tests! well I guess one A-, but that is still an A!)
- Reading whatever I want, sorry babe!
- Seeing the squirrels. Seriously I don't think I have seen this many squirrels in my life. There were 6 outside one house! AND I saw my first black squirrel.
- Anna's bedtime... when it is at 7:30
- When Anna wakes up happy and is excited for a new day
- Watching Anna learn and get better at things each day
- That Anna Belle is signing "milk"
- Anna singing with a princess toy
- Talking with great friends
- That I will have a new niece in less than a month!
- That I will get to see her in just over a month
- Morning talk shows that help me have some adult interaction throughout my day


I think that is a good list for now. Good night!

An October Update

Well it seems as though the month of October has flown by. We cannot believe it is now November! The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind as Dave studied for a few mid -terms, we got Anna on a better nighttime sleeping schedule, and had Halloween celebrations. Here is a look back on what we have done...

Our friends the Dunfords had us over for "Dinner in a Pumpkin" and pumpkin carving. It was a blast! Thanks Abby and Jonathan. Our Pumpkins. Dave and Mine is the 3rd from the right and Anna's is the small one (we carved a binky).

There must have been some other presence there... SPOOKY!

This month Mia decided she liked to go under the porch, but couldn't get out. Though it made us mad we couldn't resist this funny picture.

I was in charge of decorating for the ward Halloween Party. I had issues with the white ghost balloon idea I had. So on the way to the party we stuffed the deflated white ghosts in the trunk and went and got these. Luckily we didn't have to drive far, this is what other cars had the joy of seeing along the way. We laughed the whole way there and Anna enjoyed it too!

Anna and I with Hunter, Katie, Isaac, and Abby at the Ward Party!
HALLOWEEN NIGHT at the Owens! Thanks for the yummy Chili, bread sticks and treats! Dave and I were the zookeepers for our little Giraffe.

Anna was a trooper during her "First Boo" She didn't mind her costume and was happy (as usual) all night!

Today we went with the Abernethys, Dunfords, and Isaksons to a park. It was nice to get out in the fall weather and see this beautiful place.

Our friends along the walkway they went around the lake.

This is us looking into the lake at the almost non-existent fish.

The Abernethys

The Dunfords ( I didn't get a family photo of the Isaksons- ):)

Mia and Dave up on a 50 foot look out. Mia seemed to be scared, she was making this funny face.

Mia enjoyed getting in the lake,

This place was beautiful!

The whole Miner clan! (Anna slept the whole time).

This quote was on my computer when I got on the Internet. It seemed fitting:

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."