January Instagrams

1. One of Ms Layla's favorite pass times... Go Fish!

2. A sweet picture Lance sent me while I was at the gym. 

The kids love their daddy.

3. Painting Sarah's nails :)

4. Our Squishy, so fresh and so clean.

5. & 6. Daddy's way of babysitting.

7. Mr Marx's first day of potty training!

8. A sweet note from my Love :)

9. Me and my little Mr.

 1. First snow this winter in Mississippi!

2. Shooting guns with daddy.

3. Wagon rides with papa.

4. A huge ice storm hit the southern regions!

 It caused 3 snow days in a row!

Christmas in Utah 2013

Our Christmas was fabulous.

It was white and very cold!

 Lots of family, sleepovers, cousins, eating, 

presents, movies, games, wrapping, lights, playing, ice fishing, sledding,

ice skating, and Cafe Rio happened!

The children did great on the plane rides, everyone stayed healthy, all except

for a little mishap with our squishy baby, and we just felt SOOO much

love being at home with our Utah family.

It was just perfect.

(I have so many Instagram pictures I want to share on here, but I can't remember

the easiest way to do it! Someone please help me!)

]

Fall Family Pictures 2013

 

Annual Utah Trip 2013

Goodness, I love my home state.

I miss it so much, and every time we go back to visit, I want to move back.

I pretty much drive Lance crazy about it.

I do love Mississippi. It's beautiful here.

But Utah will always be my home.

 

We had THE time of our lives. As usual.

All except for the 2 weeks we all passed around pink eye.

Worst.Illness.Ever!

Like EVER!

 

But we won't dwell on that.

We had plenty of Café Rio. Went to the lake as often as possible, roasted marshmallows and ever starbursts (yummy!), played with cousins and had numerous sleepovers. Papa and Grandma even slept on the trampoline with all the grandkids.

Talk about some pretty awesome grandparents.

My children will always remember such precious memories.

We went to Lagoon for a weekend with the whole family, and when we went swimming in the hotel swimming pool, we filled up that whole pool and hot tub.

It was awesome, having us all together.

 

Now the 30 hour drive there and back... that was another story.

Actually the drive there was tougher than the drive back.

Lance drove the majority of the way to Utah while I sat in the back entertaining, feeding, holding, and playing with the kids. Then on the way back, my mom and sister-in-law helped me drive back and it was much more peaceful...ONLY because we had Baby Einstein. Talk about a miracle DVD! Layla flew home with her Uncle Greg, and that was a HUGE help. Her and Marx in the back seat together just to go to Wal-Mart is treacherous.

So, in 30 hours, I'd hate to imagine what they'd do to each other.

 

Anyways... here are our memories via iPhone.

Sadly, I sold my camera...

 I'm ready to step up in the DSLR world, so I'm researching new

camera's. So for now, it's going to be pictures from my phone.

Which, btw, I'm pretty happy with.

 

Craft Area Makeover

So I have a HUGE love for IKEA.

But this is the thing, I have never even been in one!

Omg! I know!

The IKEA in Utah opened right after I moved away and the closest one to me

is 6 hours away, in Orlando, FL.

 

My dear friend, Elizabeth, has family that lives near IKEA, so whenever she goes,

I send her a list. And just recently, I sent her parents a list because I knew

they were coming to visit, and would be making a stop at IKEA for her.

Phew.. Got that?

 

So our previous craft area wasn't much of a craft area.

I kept all the supplies in a basket, put away.

Therefore, we didn't get it out very often.

Out of site our of mind, right.

 

But my children need entertainment. A LOT.

Is everybody else's kids like that?!

 I knew just what to do.

 

I'm pretty embarrassed to show the before.

I've been doing little projects at a time.

Trying to stay in budget.

Out with the old, in with the new.

 

BEFORE:

 

AFTER:

 

I  made all the art, and cut the vinyl myself!

All using my Silhouette Cameo.

Love that thing.

And the frames I got at Target, not IKEA.

 

 

Next up?!

Our Entry way.

Wish me luck!

Spiers Family Reunion 2013

 

We LOVE going to Uncle Troy and Aunt Charolette's homestead!

They have a beautiful house and property in the country

outside of Purvis.

And you know what we love even more?

Getting together with our family and eating some delicious food.

Then watching our kids run wild and enjoy their cousins.

It is the best! :)

 

 

February 10, 2013

It was a Sunday.

We had gone to church, come home and ate lunch, then all laid down to take a nap.

I was the last to wake up, around 4:30. I was waiting on my mother to call me so we could facetime with my family.

The weather was bad, it had been all day, but it wasn't anything we weren't used too.

We did have tornado warnings, but again, nothing we weren't used too.

 

My friend, Beth, text me around 5:00.

She said, "If you haven't heard on the news, a tornado is headed this way!! Be prepared!"

I read the text to Lance, he changed the channel to the news, I gathered the kids and put them in the bathtub with the crib mattress over them.

 

Lance wasn't coming fast enough, so I ran out to get him, he was in our back yard, and there it was. About a half mile away from our house. BIG, black, and scary. It was moving so fast that we then ran through the house to watch it in the front yard. It ripped apart our beautiful town of Hattiesburg.

 

 

 This was a big beautiful brick home. Squashed.

I haven't even seen all the damage yet. But the damage I have seen I am just amazed.

Amazed that no one was killed. The Lord was watching over us that day.

 

The clean up started right away, but I took these pictures a week from that day at our bishops house.

They had 190+ trees down around their house. Again, amazing.

 

I have a whole new respect for mother nature now. After living without power for 24+ hours I realize how unprepared we are! I have my behind in gear now. We are getting prepared.

(and I'm silently praying we'll eventually end up in Utah)

This just hit way to close to home.

Meeting Lily

The first thing Layla noticed when she walked in the door was my stomach.

She walked right past Lily and said, "Mom! You're still pregnant?! Where's Baby Lily?"

Talk about wanting to cry!!

 

Marx didn't really have any interest in her.