Christmas pictures

Christmas was so nice this year! The kids let us sleep in until almost 8:30! We then got up and opened gifts. I didn't take as many pictures as I thought I did-which is odd since I got a brand new camera! Thank you my sweet hubby Steve-you truly spoil me. After putting away most of the gifts we packed up the car and headed out of town in an attempt to beat the storm-It only snowed for about the first 50 minutes. We got to my parents house and soon everyone was there. It was so nice to see everyone. The only ones not there were Gary and Debbie-but we did get to talk to Deb on the phone. Rick and Tara brought over their cute new puppy and most of the kids swarmed around him. We all got new board games for Christmas so we tried them out and had so much fun. As always there was plenty of food and we ate ourselves silly. The kids had a blast spending time together and they all got along so well-even sharing their new toys amazingly well. We had planned to take pictures of all the kids together but Makayla ended up with an awful rash and we decided to wait until the spots were gone at her insistence. Poor thing...maybe in a few weeks when Peyton is blessed. I hope that you all had a very wonderful Christmas and had time to reflect on our Savior and the 'reason for the season'. Love to you all!

Morgan-the daredevil!

Yesterday I took the day off of work. The kids and I made about 5 dozen sugar cookies, two pans of brownies & banana bars. It took a long time to do it all and then ofcourse even longer to clean up after. The kids got bored and went outside to play in the fresh snow. I went out to check on them and found this!It is hard to tell from the picture so I will explain it. We have a large dog house next to the house with a ladder leaned against it and with a piece of plywood on top of that. Steve made this little shelter for our dog. Anyway I found Morgan on top of the shelter with Koby's snowboard trying to slide down the slope! Thankfully she was not hurt.

Our little nativity

For family home evening this week-Steve read Luke 2. Koby was Joseph and Morgan was Mary. I got assigned to be the angel. Here are pictures of our very cute Mary and Joseph.

(Don't you love seeing the tv in the background!)

Peyton

Here are some very cute pictures of my newest niece. Matt and Mindy are already wrapped around her tiny little finger.

Holiday fun

I decided to try and take our yearly family photo by ourself. We have a timer on our camera but after a while I was so frustrated that I just called Matt and asked him to come over and take a few pictures for us. As you can tell from the many pictures, we had many different problems, from weird smiles, to blocking each others head, to having someone move. Thanks Matt for helping us out!
Two weekends ago we went to a party in Ogden. On the way home we stopped at the SLC temple and walked around the grounds. It was so pretty!
Under our tree there are several large gifts-the biggest is Morgan's favorite. She likes to stand behind it and pretend like she is taking our order. She usually offers cheesburgers or chicken-though once I think she had rice.
Steve keeps telling people that I am camera happy but it's hard not to take pictures when your husband and kids are so adorable!

Happy Holidays to ya'll.

Deep thoughts...by Becky Z

A couple of days ago as the kids and I were getting into the car, Morgan spotted a strip of paper on our lawn. She ran and picked it up and gave it to me. I thought to myself, Boy can this girl find treasures-she loves to collect leaves, sticks, rocks and now she is collecting garbage in the yard. There were only a few words on that paper but they have triggered some very deep thinking on my part. The paper said, "They all knew I was in over my head..."

Most people would just crumble up the paper and chuck it-and I did that but then I started thinking about every aspect of my life and what that quote could apply to. My marriage-nope-things are good there and I am very happy! My kids-yeah probably-I try really hard to be a good mom but there are so many parenting things that I am clueless about. But still I love my kids and they seem to be happy and well adjusted so maybe just up to my neck but not over my head. My job-no way-I can do it all in my sleep. My church calling-possibly-I have a new calling to teach relief society but I have done it before and I am not too worried. I know that as long as I prepare the Lord will help me out. Relationships, friendships, anything else I could think of seemed pretty good.

So maybe the quote couldn't apply to my life at all...maybe it was just the wind that blew someone's trash onto our yard. But I still think that everything happens for a reason and maybe this happened so I could analyze my life and realize just how great things are. Most likely. So now I want to just mention a few of the blessings that I have in my life.

Steve-what an amazing husband! He shows me everyday how much he loves me. How lucky am I? I get to spend eternity with the man I love!

Koby & Morgan-both of my children are loving and good. They bring joy and love into every day. They fill our lives with laughter and I am blessed to be their mother.
My parents and siblings (and their spouses). I am blessed to have such a loving family that are always willing to help each other. I am also blessed to have great in-laws. The Zabriskie's are awesome.

I am so grateful for my health. Thankful for my job-in times when the ecomomy is so shaky and the number of unemployed is growing it is a relief to know that both Steve and I have jobs that will provide for our family.I am blessed to have the gospel in my life-it provides guidence, peace and happiness. I am grateful to our Savior Jesus Christ-for the life he lived and for the sacrafice of his death.

Most especially I am grateful for my Heavenly Father and for the blessings he gives me each day. I feel like a spoiled child that often takes things for granted and doesn't say thank you nearly enough.

A quote comes to my mind, "My cup runeth over." That is truly how I feel. I am over my head with blessings!

Happy birthday bro!

Just a quick shout out to Rick-Happy Birthday! I hope that you have a great day and that you are feeling better. We love you very much! Thanks for being such a great example to me. I really look up to you-you are my hero! Throughout your trials this year you have showed me what faith really is and have inspired me to want to live a better life. Our prayers and love are with you.

Christmas prep

On Tuesday we had a free night so we got out our Christmas decor and prepared our home for the holidays. We had a lot of fun. First we assembled the tree-I guess it's not the same thing as going into the mountains to cut down the perfect tree but it does save money to reuse the same tree each year and we know we will always get the perfect tree and I love that we don't have to worry about it dying. While we put the tree together Morgan got all of the decorations lined up on the piano bench. She is not OCD at all!

My favorite part of setting up was putting the nativity together. I carefully unwrapped each piece and talked to Morgan about each one as she carefully carried them across the room to hand them to Koby who set them up this year.

I have to say that our tree would never win the most beautiful and I know it doesn't look polished or sophisticated or even symetrical, but I love it! Every year we each pick out a new ornament-so we end up with Dora, scooby doo, basketball themed ornaments and many other random odds and ends. It is so fun to try and remember who picked which ornament, why and when. We also have many homemade ornaments that Koby has made at school over the years. So to me not only is our tree beautiful but it is also meaningful. So what if I am not Martha Stewart...I think I am more than happy with just being Becky Zabriskie.

December already???

I cannot believe that Christmas is only 24 days away or that there is only 4.5 more weeks left in 2008.

I think that because this year has been so difficult, it made me feel more grateful than usual this Thanksgiving. I have really been feeling so blessed. We have a great life and I am feeling overwhelmed with all the love that I have in my life. I could easily make a list of all the great things in my life but I would forget someone or the post would be enormous. So instead I will just try to share my love and gratitude by the way I live my life.

Thanksgiving was great! Steve got up early and played football while the kids and I slept in! We had dinner with Steve's family this year. The food and the company were both great. It was nice to visit and relax though it was tough to have our first Thanksgiving without Steve's mom. I took along my camera and then didn't take a single picture-and to make that even worse I then left my camera there and didn't have it with me for the entire weekend! Oh well you will all just have to imagine it.

On Friday morning I got up at 4:30 and made it to my first shopping stop by 4:50 (YES that is AM). I got a lot of good deals and a huge jump start on my holiday shopping. I also did witness, for the first time, an actual fight at Walmart. It was so crazy! I also saw a man on an ambulance stretcher holding an ice pack on his head. All of my other stops were pretty mild in comparision. People were friendly and helpful as we all tried to find the stuff on our lists. I was back home and in bed by the time Steve got up to leave for work at 7am.

That afternoon we loaded up the car and drove over the river and through the woods to my parents house. It was nice to see everyone for a few days. Jen and her family were there, and ofcourse Rick and Tara are just a few minutes away. The kids all got to help milk the cows and feed calves. On Saturday Koby, Rick and Papa went into the mountains to get a Christmas tree for Rick and Tara. They had a great time together. We got to spend quite a bit of time together and as always it's so fun to be with family-we did miss Matt and Mindy and Peyton! (funny story-Morgan was telling Jen about Peyton and she said, "Peyton is our baby but we will share her with Matt and Mindy.")

Last week Koby, Morgan and I got into the spirit of sharing by passing around a cold. We are all still coughing and sniffing-can't wait for that to be over! We have stocked our shelves with Nyquil, dayquil and cough drops.

We are getting ready for the holidays by having our first Christmas party tonight and another one at the end of the week. We hope to put up our tree and decorations this week. Morgan loves to point out all of the Christmas lights-I think she will love going to temple square this year. Koby helped Morgan make a wish list for Santa-so I think we are all set. Steve ofcourse will wait until the week of Christmas to get his shopping done but he would hate to ruin tradition by starting early...just kidding honey! I love that you are so different from me-what a great balance we make.

Peyton is here!

On Monday morning I became an aunt-again. I have a new adorable niece! I can't wait to spoil her. The kids and I got to visit her at the hospital yesterday and we took several pictures. Morgan asked me if we could keep her-I told her Matt and Mindy wouldn't like that. She also asked if we could get out our baby toys so Peyton would have something to play with. Morgan loved that everything was so tiny-especially her toes. Poor Koby had to stay back since he has a cold-the doctor did say he could visit her but only if he wore gloves and a mask and did not hold the baby. I should have taken a picture of him too! Oh well.
Peyton is so beautiful and tiny. Matt and Mindy are so cute with her-I think Matt will be the very protective father. Congrats to you both!

Shhhh don't tell

I have a confession. I am frugal-AKA-thrifty, penny pincher, tight-wad, CHEAP! Honestly I didn't really have much of a choice, this trait was thrust upon me by life. While I was putting myself through college, I was a single parent (not just physically but also financially), worked part time and somehow we made it with grants, scholarships and student loans. WOW-somehow I really went way off base there.

So anyway, I am one of those crazy women who actually love to go shopping on "black Friday". On Thanksgiving morning before Steve heads out to play football I make him get me a newspaper. I pore over the ads, make lists and begin the strategy. I have to basically map out my day and figure out which store takes the number one priority. And then on the big crazy day, I wake up between 3:30-4:30 depending on when the sales I want begin. Often my mom, aunt, and sister go with me, which makes things easier as we can split up and help each other on different sides of the store-kind of like a zone defense. Sometimes I get pushed or bumped by carts, sometimes there are rude people who butt in line or snatch things from right underneath you and sometimes what I most wanted is sold out by the time I get my chance. I often end up with sore feet-but at the end of the day I feel like Santa with a trunk full of gifts. I am going this year-rain or shine or freezing temperatures and I do it because I love to get a great deal. And maybe because of the excitement of the hunt. I would much rather be out shopping the day after Thanksgiving rather than the week before Christmas-that is what I think is crazy!

Anyway, I came across a website that other "money-smart" people might be interested in. www.blackfriday.info - Good luck to all of you that dare to be adventurous enough to wake up early and find a great deal!

Dance recital

Last night we got to watch Morgan's dance recital. She was so cute but also kind of sad because class was over for awhile-no worries-I will sign her up again in January. I have to apologize for the quality of my posting-the pictures turned out dark-we were in a small room, with bad lighting, a wall of windows and a wall of mirrors. It has nothing to do with the photographer!=)Steve used our camcorder so if you really want to see the whole thing you can come on over.(I can't convert it-we aren't that high tech-we bought the camcorder 5 years ago!) After the first few pictures turned out bad I used my camera to video so you get a glimpse of the last few seconds. Which is sideways by the way and I can't figure out how to fix that.
Don't you think Koby looks so happy to be there? Really though he gave Morgan plenty of suggestions before the show. I think the look of boredom is really just to show off his total coolness! By the way Morgan got to keep the boa and she wears it quite frequently. Tara next time we come to visit we will bring the video for you to see-since you share a love of dance with Morgan.

My cuties

These are my cute kids on Sunday morning. Koby and Morgan usually get up around eight, put on a church video and get some breakfast-Steve and I often sleep in until 9ish. I know the kids totally spoil us! Don't you just love Morgan's hair?




I took the photos below after we got dressed and ready for church. Steve didn't feel too good but he tried to smile for me anyway-what a sweetheart! In the picture where Morgan is alone does't she look like she is in pain? Sorry that the pics are a little blurry-not sure what the problem is.

Halloween pics

What a thought!

One of my favorite talks during the last LDS general conference was by Joseph B. Wirthlin called 'Come What May, and Love It'. I think it really meant a lot to me because as a family we have had a difficult year and I often found myself thinking that life is just too hard. Anyway I read the talk today online and it really helped me so I want to share a few of his quotes.

*The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable. (the story of his daughter's blind date really had me laughing!)

*Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others.

*The simple secret is this: put your trust in the Lord, do your best, then leave the rest to Him.

Wow! I think this talk was meant just for me.

Our fam

Get your own Family Sticker Maker & MySpace Layouts.

This was so fun! I had Steve and Koby help me with this and it was really funny to try and capture our talents, interests and personalities. Try it out!

pumpkin

On Monday for family home evening we carved pumpkins.
Koby loved it,
Morgan was grossed out,
I had fun
and Steve tried to stay awake by taking pictures of us and Georgia.
We only had two pumpkins but because I wouldn't let Morgan use knives or the little carving saws she colored the hair on while I carved her pumpkins face. Koby worked on his for a long time so I just realized there are no final pictures of our pumpkins but I will get some tonight.

Happy Birthday Koby!

Well my little boy just turned 11! Wow-that sure makes me feel a lot older than stating my actual age (which is young-very very young!). I can't believe how fast he is growing up. I am so lucky to have Koby as a son! Here are some pictures of his recent parties. He had some friends come over on Friday night-they ate pizza, played x-box and then ate brownies. All of his friends are nice sweet boys so it was a very easy birthday party.


On Saturday we had a family party at the Nickelcade.



He got many gifts and really felt spoiled. He told me he got everything he wanted for his birthday-and I think that is pretty rare for a pre-teenager!

Koby has always been an amazing boy. I was a single mom for the first 5 years of his life so it was just the two of us and I couldn't be happier for the type of person he is becoming. From the moment of his birth he was able to bury himself deeply into everyone's heart. When he was a baby my big tough, manly-dad would put Koby on the beanbag and have him watch ballgames with him. My dad also let Koby start driving the tractor at about age 2 1/2-if you don't believe me we have the pictures as proof! My mom would do anything for Koby and I think he knows it. She also doesn't take it to personally that he is almost as tall as she is. My brothers and sisters adored their first nephew and often spoiled him with toys, presents, motorcycle rides, nintendo system, their time and of course their love. My aunt Karla often thought of Koby as her own child. One of the reasons I fell in love with Steve was because of how great he was with Koby-because we were definately a packaged deal. Amazingly it was a very easy process to blend our family. The Zabriskie's soon fell in love with him as well-in fact maybe Koby is the reason they like me...hmmmmm-interesting thought.

Koby started loving sports at an early age-how could he not between watching games with Papa and going to watch all of Jen, Matt and Rick's games-basketball, football and baseball. Koby loves basketball and football and we love to watch him play. Koby is also very smart. When he was almost four he asked me if I would teach him to read and before he started Kindergarden he was reading. He enjoys learning and really likes science.

Probably the thing I love about Koby is that he has a desire to be good. He has a huge heart and is willing to help anyone. He is an awesome big brother to Morgan and I know she would do anything for him. Anyway now that I have bragged and bragged about him, I just want to say, Koby I love you and I hope that you have a great year!