Happy New Year!

Saying goodbye to a very trying but wonderful 2009! It was such a crazy year for our family in so many ways but looking back I cant help but see the blessings and Lord's hand in our lives. How grateful I feel for the countless opportunities I have had for growth this past year. I feel very fortunate to have the family and friends that I do and to have the gospel in my life. Everyday is a new day because of the gift of the Atonement and I want to remember this each day in the new year. We live in such a crazy world and I often think about what is to come of it when my children are my age. On the other hand I think what a special time it is to be living. To see the gospel spreading and the temples being built by the handfuls. How blessed we should feel to be a part of this time on earth.
I look forward to the New Year. I know that challenges will come but I have seen how much I have grown from the challenges we faced last year and I hope I can take them in stride and with grace:) Maybe. That is a good thought.
I dont like making New Year's resolutions only because I feel that they are made just to be broken. But this year I think I might make a few of my own.
1.) I want to get our food storage where it needs to be. I had the excuse in our old house that "I didnt have the room" Well, now I cant use that excuse anymore so I am going to work in it.
2.) Read more books!
3.) Take more time for myself. This might be the one I break because I do have 3.5 kids and time for myself almost doesnt exist!
I hope all of you have a Happy, Healthy New Year. I wish that you may all find happiness in the simple everyda experiences that life has to offer:)

Flip it...

My dad and Mary got me a Flip camcorder for Christmas and so i just had to try it out this morning when Caleb and Brynley went sledding in the alley behind our house. I love this little gadget! It was so easy to download and upload the video onto the blog:)) My new favorite toy. Im sure everyone will get sick of me posting cute videos of my kids on here because it was so easy to do I will do more of them!

Gingerbread Houses...Homemade

My sister Heather came into town from Boulder the other day and everytime she comes home she puts her talent to work for us. For those who dont know she is a professinal chef, she even trained in pastries in France. She made homemade gingerbread houses with the kids yesterday. She makes the gingerbread dough from scratch and even the special frosting. She broughta ton of goodies for them to decorate with and she gave each of the kids a pastry bag filled with frosting and let them have free reign. They all were so into making their own little house their way. It was so fun to just sit and watch them at work:) They all turned out so cute and unique. I love how different my kids are. Here are some shots of their fun last night. Thanks Auntie!



I liked Caleb's "snow' effect he came up with using coconut.

Aubs made a garden with gumdrops in her yard:)

Bryn used a whole jar of sprinkles on her "grass"! She also kept putting candy inside her house "for later". Funny girl.

Angels and Snow

We actually got snow around christmas time! Yay! It looked so beautiful today and the kids were overjoyed with the snow on the ground when they woke up. The girls wated no time in trying to get outside to play in it. Too bad I couldnt find the kids' snow pants and gloves until later when I remembered where I had put them when we moved! Glad I found them for the kids to use later on. I swear I cant remember crap right now!
Caleb had Jordan over and they had snowball fights and played in the alley with soem kids sledding down a hill behind the houses. I can remember as a kid having a white christmas made it seem even more magical. I hope it continues to snow for a few days and maybe we can go sledding or mitch can take the kids snowboarding next week:)

The Nutcracker

My handsome boys were in the Nutcracker this year put on by Mann Dance Academy, that is owned by Mitch's Aunt's Judy and Becky. They asked Mitch to help out and play the President/Clara's dad and Caleb who takes tap played Fritz, Clara's brother that breaks the Nutcracker. Both of them did so good! Mitch looked so handsome all dressed up in a white tuxedo and did such a good job in his dancing. I didnt know he could dance so well:)
Caleb has such great stage presence as an actor. He doesnt look nervous at all and has such great facial expressions. Good job Guys! I really enjoyed it.

The Man Trip

For christmas I wanted to give Mitch something other than the usual book, pj pants and clothes, so when I heard him talk about this game between the Vikings and Cardinals I just knew that's what he would love! So as a christmas present to my boys I sent them off on their first ever boyss weekend getaway. They had such a great time together and I know they will remember it always. Thanks Dad for hooking them up in the hotel where all the players were staying. Caleb was in the same elevator as Kurt Warner and didnt even know it was him until he saw a picture of him on the TV! I asked Caleb if he said anything to him and and he said "He said Hi" And I asked him what did you say back and he acted annoyed with me and replied,"I said Hi back Mom." Oh, that would be a good reply:)
While driving down to Albuquerque, Mitch had his driver's side window fall down into the door and so he had to drive down and back home in freezing weather with his window down. Im not even going to mention the 180 dollar speeding ticket got, oh wait too late. It was quite the adventure for them!
I would like to think of this trip as in the mastercard commercial:
Vikings/Cardinals tickets $370
Airline tickets $250
Broken window repair $175
Speeding ticket $180
Having a memorable weekend with son: PRICELESS!
I sure hope I get something good for Christmas:)

Here are some pics of their wild weekend.

Forever at Disney

The Lybrook's have officially made our mark at Disneyland! My Dad and Mary got us a brick at the entrance to Disneyland. So the next time you are there...check us out;)

Photogenic.

Yesterday before church I attempted to take some shots of the kids for our chrsitmas card and wanted to share a few of my favorites.

10 Things I am Thankful for...

1.My Mitchy

He has given more than I can even express. His love, his support, he has given me strength and been there for me when no one else was. He loves me for me. Which says alot! He has been my best friend for over 16 years. He has been my love for almost 14 years. But most importantly, he helped give me my greatest blessings...

2. These guys.


3. My Family
( I dont have a picture of all of my family together because well, that has never happened!)
My parents who brought me into this world and have been such good parents to me, my siblings, my grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, in-laws... So many people who have contributed to my happiness. People I look up to and love and would do anything for.

4. Jesus Christ and the gospel

I love my savior. I know and feel his love for me. I feel very grateful to have the knowledge ands testimony that I do. I am blessed to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I know that without it I would have nothing. It has been my guiding light especially when times have been hard. I see what a difference it has made in mitch's life and in our children's. I believe in it and I know it is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

5. My trials
I never thought I would be grateful for hard times. But I really am. I look back at the trials that I have faced, and I have learned and grown so much through those expereiences that it helped shape the person I have become and have yet to be. I am grateful for those lessons in life. Another reason I am grateful for Jesus Christ, he has helped carry me through those hard times.



6. Opportunity
The opportunity I have had to serve, to learn and go to school, to be a mother, wife, friend, and to have some great experiences in life so far. We live in a country where everyone has the chance to be someone and to experience life to the fullest. My Heavenly Father for giving me those special opportunites in life. I am thankful for HIM.


7.Love

Because it does make the world go round.

8. Forgiveness

I love this quote because it does take strong, loving people to forgive. You cannot have love if you do not forgive. They go hand in hand with eachother. They work with eachother. I know that if we dont forgive those who have hurt us, then we wont be forgiven for our mistakes that we have made to others. What a powerful gift we have been given.

9. Memories
All we end up with in the end is the memory of our life. Its a very precious blessing.


10. Compassion

Simply because.

Update on the procreation...

I had another ultrasound yesterday and this little pea is growing big. She was almost 3 pounds already! So they pushed my due date up to Valentines Day! Too bad I know I wont have her that day because my doctor will schedule my csection a week before sometime. So...just wanted everyone to know she looks great and getting big. She already looks like a little Lybrook kid. Same little profile and nose as the others:))
I am betting on having gestastional diabetes. Just think that something is up because I dont have big babies and so I am concerned as to why she seems to be getting big so fast. Hopefully I dont but I will find out soon.
We still dont have any names picked out. Not even one that we agree on or even like. Mitch isnt allowed to talk about names with me anymore. I fired him for suggesting such bad names. Sorry honey but you know I still love you. Our child will someday thank me for not allowing you to name her!

Why I am getting excited to have another girl...

Because these two are so lovely~!

I love the look on Brynley's face in this one.




Cute Aubrie and her missing teeth;)

A Fall FHE

Made these cute little guys for FHE last night. Thought they were just so cute, had to share the idea with all of you. So easy and the kids thought it was very clever of their mom to come up with such a brilliant idea. Too bad I didnt come up with the idea, took it from Tip Junkie.


Yesterday Mitch and the kids thought it would be a good idea to rake up the leaves on the grass in the backyard. Even little Brynley got in on the fun.

What Matters Most

Enjoyed this brief thought on gratitude by our dear prophet Thomas Monson. If only our whole world followed this wise and yet simple counsel... What a change that would sweep across it. Its less than two minutes and it can change your whole day around:)
(Click on gratitude)

Gratitude

99 days...

I hate being pregnant. I hate women who say "I just love being pregnant!" I didnt knw that throwing up, getting fatter, having aches and pains in places you shouldnt have them, swollen feet, gas, bloating, acid reflux, and mood swings was something to LOVE! They must not have three other kids, go to school, clean their house,have a husband that works 12 hr. shift work days, take care of an ailing father in law, cooks their families meals, do 8 loads of laundry a week, wash cars, pay bills, workout, play with their kids, have a crazy church calling, etc,etc,etc. I havent enjoyed this pregnancy like I did when I was pregnant with Caleb. Maybe its because I am older and fatter and just plain tired. The only thing that is still the same is, I still find myself thinking about this little pea. What does she look like? Will she look like Aubrie or Brynley or have her own look? Will she be a good baby like my others or cry all the time? Will she be small or big? What color will her eyes be? Hair? No, my kids dont have hair, scratch that one:) What kind of kid will she grow up to be? Is she going to be healthy? Tall? What kind of person will she be?
No matter what kind of pregnancy you have, you still have the same thoughts, fears, dreams, that you had for your other kids. I love having those dreams. I want to see my kids happy and healthy and living good lives. Caleb is so smart, I wish for him to go on a mission, college and find a career he will be good at. Something awesome, unique. He once told me he wanted to be an engineer and build roller coaster. Cool!
Miss Aubrie is such a good dancer and singer. I hope she finds joy in those talents her whole life and passes them onto someone else. She says she wants to be a dentist when she grows up. And then there's Brynley. She dances and sings all the time. She cares for animals and is so compassionate with them. Maybe she will be person who goes and saves animals. Mitch thinks she should be a surgeon since she loves blood and guts and loves to destroy things and then try to put it back together again.
I hope they all see the dreams and potential I see in them. I want them all to be able to experience being a parent. I dont think a person truly grows up and becomes unselfish until they have a child of their own. I have seen it in myself and in others. It is one of the best gifts we are given in this earth! So even though I may hate getting fat, having breakouts, feeling sick, having my feet hurt, going through delivery...I will take it all just to get to experience what happens after birth. Thats when the journey and fun begins. So here is to 99 more days of hell, for a lifetime of bliss.

Scary Faces

Looking their very best...

Yeah, so what...

I'm gonna brag on my kids...AGAIN! Aubrie is so sweet and lovely, I can hardly stand it:) She is such a good girl at home and at school. Last week she got a special award for being Responsible. Her teacher told Mitch that they were working on a way to try and clone her! Mitch took the duty of attending the assembly and I told him to take a picture of her alone with her award smiling away and of course, he forgot and he lost her award paper. Aubrie got a great report card. She is learning so well and helping other students who struggle. She loves music, art and recess and she likes to take hot lunch to get salads to eat. Aubrie loves the routine of school and looks forward to each activity or class she gets to participate in. Picking out her school clothes each day is something she likes to do and let me tell you this girl's got some taste. I didnt say it was good taste either. I took her shopping the other day and she picked out boots that are silver! I dont think they are the cutest but I want her to feel comfortable in choosing her own clothes and just making decisions for herself that she likes. Yesterday when I was driving Bryn to school she said " I want to be a big sister Mom." And I replied "Well you will get to be when the baby comes" Brynley said quickly " No mom, a BIG sister like Aubrie." Brynley adores her and Aubrie has much patience with her on most days, which I truly admire and a thankful for:)

Caleb got his report card today and got all A's. His teacher wrote me an email and said this "Caleb worked so hard on his Nonfiction Story and (of course) his work was exemplary. When he finished, he helped another student who was really struggling. I was incredibly pleased and impressed with his kindness, patience, and his teaching ability. Your little guy is going to be the most AMAZING man when he grows up. He is already spewing with integrity and…I could go on and on and on. He’s amazing! I really enjoy having him in class. He really contributes to the goodness of the class! WOW!"
He got the Golden Pen award at school last week for Outstanding Writing. His teacher said he has such talent for writing!

Nothing makes me more pleased in life than to get these kinds of comments about our kids. Caleb is such a good kid that I find myself hoping and praying that it continues for the years to come. Only time will tell but for now I am going to praise them for being good and being leaders when it matters most. I am asked what we do different in our home. I cannot answer this question. Mitch and I are simply blessed to have such amazing examples in our life-Caleb, Aubrie and Brynley. I just told him the other day that we need to take life lessons from our kids more often. I feel that they teach us more than we teach them. Their love and forgiveness inspires me. The goodness and innocence that fills their hearts, feeds my spirit each day. Sure they are kids and they can drive me crazy but more often than not, they impress me to no end. I am feeling very grateful and hope that I can be the best mom to them...because they deserve it.

I guess we all have bad days...

Today Brynley was well, to say the least...very naughty. She was cranky and mean and just didnt like anyone or anything today. When I came to pick her up from preschool today she said "I dont want to go with you." Obviously she didnt have a choice and between me and Aubrie we dragged her to the car. But we stopped at ehr cubby on our way out and she handed me this picture. She said "I made this for you". Nice. Its a mean, sad looking pumpkin. Made me feel like Mother of the Year! Not really. But I really dont have any idea what I did today to make her day so bad. She was even sticking her tongue out at me and Aubrie at the dinner table tonight. So I snapped this shot of her. She really was this mean today. Its just safe to say that she woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I am counting down until bedtime...

Pumpkin Patch

Brynley had her first field trip for preschool to the Pumpkin Patch yesterday and boy did she LOVE it! She was so cute to watch. I am always so amazed how different each of our kids are. Brynley is not as social as Aubrie and Caleb are. She listens intently to what her teacher and other classmates say. Maybe she is just so much littlier than the other kids she goes to school with and thats why she really hasnt found her place. She prefers to do things by herself and even plays alone. Which doesnt seem to bother her one bit. She just likes everyone elses energy and I see her wheels turning as she watches the world around her, just taking it in. Her favorite thing there was the train ride. She was just laughing so hard and waving away as she rode that train!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice...

Thats what our girls are made of! And so I am completely thrilled to announce we are expecting another beautiful Lybrook baby girl! How could we not want another girl when we have such beautiful girls now and Caleb seems to be so happy that he will hold the title of only boy in our house. So everyone is happy! She looks "lovely" is what the ultrasound tech said. Everything looks good so far and we feel EXTREMELY BLESSED to hear that:)) Next challenge...a name for our little bug

Alright here it is...

Pumpkin Roll
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice- add these ingrediants together and set aside.

4 egg yolks (save the whites)
1/2 tsp. vanilla-add to a mixer and mix in 1/3 cup. sugar. Blend until lemon colored. Put in another bowl, add 1/2 cup canned pumpkin, mix well and set aside.
Clean mixing bowl and beater and then add the 4 egg whites. Mix on medium speed until soft peaks form. Slowly add 1/2 cup sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form.

Now gently fold in the pumpkin mixture to the egg whites. After mixed, slowly add the flour mixture. Fold gently. Pour onto a greased, (I use a spray that contains flour in it) 15x10x1 in. jelly roll pan.
Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. (Mine turns out perfect at 13 min.)

Let cool for 1 hour. Gently take a spatula and run it around the sides of the pan to loosen the roll and then add your filling on top. Roll it up and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Filling- I prefer a mixture of real whipping cream and cream cheese together. First blend your cream cheese 3oz., make sure its at room temp before you do this, with 1/2 c. powdered sugar and a tiny bit of milk. After blended, transfer to another bowl. Whip whipping cream (1 cup) with 1/4 c. sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla. Once whipped to desired consistency, blend in the cream cheese mixture and then spread over roll. Then roll up the pumpkin roll. Refrigerate for at least 3 hrs.

If any of you have any questions, just ask me. It takes some practice making these but once you get it, its easy and Oh so yummy!

Something I am great at...

How often do we get to say we are good at something? For me, not often. So here it is... I rock at making pumpkin rolls. Yum. They are always perfect and moist, and just plain delish. I will gladly share the recipe with those who want it. I am not a believer in keeping recipes a secret. In fact its one of my pet peeves, when someone wont share a recipe. I mean, how rude is that. You are giving such a compliment to someone by asking for the recipe and if they turn you down, I find it to be very rude. Almost a slap in the face. So, if you want it I will gladly share the love. It is really my family's fav dessert that I make. What says fall more than pumpkin?

My Boo..

Miss Brynley Boo. Oh how I love you.
She got her first "school" pictures today at her preschool. She insisted on wearing her new dress for this occasion and I couldnt help but snap a few shots of her beauty. What a beautiful little gal she is! I think she looks alot like Mitch in these. Her sweet profile and creamy skin, I could just snuggle her all day.