6 year old girl!

January 7th was Tia's 6th birthday...

I made her a big bow to wear to school,

she liked it because it "crinkles" We had a party for her in the evening, she pretty much screamed throughout the entire event.

It is a good thing that she is (ordinarily) so cute and lovable! Oh No!! Birthday Party!!

(turning 6 is apparently very stressful :)

Oh No!! Not CAKE!!! :)We finally gave Tia a bath, put her to bed

then let the other kids open her gifts. They were more than happy to help :0)

Snow!

The front yard The pile from just half of the driveway! You can see the dark line at the bottom of the snow... that would be the lawn. It's under there somewhere. The snow has been insane! We got about 1 1/2 - 2 feet in 2 or 3 days. I have shoveled more snow than I ever thought possible. I have to keep the whole street in front of our house clear for Tia's bus (so the wheelchair lift can come down). It has been crazy!

Hailey's Sealing

Hailey sleeping on Claire's lap... so cute!

Trying to get everyone to stay still for a picture is very difficult! OK, I was checking my blog for the first time in forever and noticed that for some reason I skipped over Hailey's sealing day. It's official, I have lost my mind... Hailey was sealed to us in the Provo Temple on November 15, 2008. We had her blessing at the church then a lunch afterward. It was a sweet and special day (except for the fact that I was sick as a dog with strep throat). For those of you that wondered where I was most of the luncheon, Tia HATES the church building, we have no idea why. Our friend Thomas was playing the piano for her in the Relief Society room and she stayed happy for a very long time. Hailey then fell asleep in Claire's arms (so sweet!). So, I just kind of parked myself there with Tia and Hailey. (I really felt like crudola from the strep). We are very relieved that Hailey's adoption and sealing are finally done, it took forever. It was a wonderful experience, having all of our children there in the Temple with us, I had a great feeling that my sweet mom was there with us also. (oh crap, I'm crying again!). The feeling and the knowledge that families are eternal and that our loved ones that are no longer on this earth are not as far away from us as it feels. That feeling is such a comfort to me. It was really cool for us to have Andrew standing in the circle as Cody gave Hailey her blessing. This event was bittersweet, knowing that Hailey is our last child. It is a weird, yet comfortable, feeling.