Yes, it has been a while

....and probably will continue to be a little longer until I make time to blog.

For now...Life is great, Christmas was wonderful, Family is amazing, Anna is the sweetest, Friends are fabulous, Chocolate and Christmas desserts are toooooo good, so hence weight is fluctuating, Snow is Abundant, relaxation is needed and taken, and we are happy!

Oh, and today marks 10 YEARS since Dave and I first "hooked up" aka cuddled. Thanks Babe for 10 wonderful years full of laughter, fun, and love. More to come later!

A Good Laugh...

I took this a few weeks ago, but haven't put it up yet! I know it is a little long but you have to watch at least until halfway through when Anna Belle plays peek-a-boo with Anna!

This was a couple days after Anna started crawling, I love the thump thump of her hands. Now she is cruisin'

By the way, Anna Belle is home from the hospital. No RSV (well 80% sure), I don't really know what she had... did not get the whole story. But we're back to the grind tomorrow and I just will have to be "Toy Nazi" so that they don't spread germs!

Crummy Day

Well I know that most blogs are "positive," in fact I was talking with a friend whose Mom hates blogs for that reason. However, life is full of unpleasant things so today I am putting it out there... TODAY was a CRUMMY DAY! After holding the girl I nanny for four hours straight with her coughing, runny nosed, and gagging on her phlegm until she threw up I then found out that she has Pneumonia or RSV! She was put on oxygen and hospitalized shortly after I left her. Thank goodness Anna is such an angel and literally played by herself the whole day. I am hoping that I kept them far enough apart that I won't have to deal with those sicknesses at our house. Now hopefully the parents can have what they need to take care of their little one.

Another crummy thing, I found out the earth lost two very special people. One, Elder Wirthlin, who served so faithfully and dedicated his life to the service of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I loved his final conference talk, I actually turned my Ipod on today and his talk happened to be the last thing I had listened to. One great quote from him is "The question isn't whether we will trip and fall, but rather how we will respond." Thank you Elder Wirthlin for your life and example.
The other person who passed was a personal inspiration to me; my wonderfully talented piano teacher, Jenny Bennett. From when I was little I had the desire to learn the piano. My mom supported my talent and sent me to one of the most amazing pianists I know, Jenny. She taught me chords and scales, which I hated while I was practicing, but realized years later how important this knowledge is. I will always remember her for the way she enhanced songs and made a simple hymn sound like a concert solo, how she LOVED the piano, and Loved her students. She taught me to split difficult songs into smaller pieces so they didn't seem so difficult, she taught me to have patience as I struggle through these pieces, she made me "count" and do "correct fingering," and hold my hands correctly. She helped me learn two songs that to this day are my favorite to play, "Phantom of the Opera" and "How Great Thou Art." My mom said the funeral was beautiful and almost everyone in the audience was impacted personally by this wonderful woman.

Also, My husband just spent over 12 hours studying and just walked in the door exhausted. poor kid.

Okay, I honestly cannot end on a bad note. The evening turned out to be okay, I got to dance and laugh with my baby and she went to bed easily, I watched a little of "Celtic Woman" (with tears) and want to see if I can get their music somehow, and though it took me over 3 hours in the kitchen I got a "taste" of home. I made my mom's recipe for Turkey dumpling soup using the "remains" of the post- thanksgiving turkey I made this weekend. It definitely was a good comfort food tonight!

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?