Thanksgiving Weekend 2009

We started off Thanksgiving weekend by going to the TSO concert and to dinner at Tucano's downtown! It was sooo yummy and the concert was so much fun! Thanks Mom and Dad for the tickets and dinner and thank you to Larry and Kay for having a late night with the kids! We are so lucky to have such great families!

We had Thanksgiving this year at Tyler's grandmas. I thought I would try and be ambitious and bring a chocolate pie. I have never made pie before and tried to follow my moms recipe. Needless to say it did NOT turn out at all and we had chocolate pie soup...if that! I was really bummed about that. Karson loved the mashed potatoes, stuffing and rolls and ate a ton! I thought everything was really good and ecspecially loved Kay's rolls, and the stuffing! Yum! We went home that night and watched Home Alone.

Friday Tyler put some lights out on the tree in our front yard, thanks babe. I got out the Christmas stuff and we started decorating. We went to lunch at Wingers and then ran to Wal-Mart for a few things. We went and saw " A Christmas Carol" in 3D with my family. Karson only lasted about 30 minutes and then he was done, my mom was nice enought to go outside and wait with him, but I felt bad that she had to miss the last part of the movie. I liked the movie,but it was a little scary for Kaili. We finished decorating our tree that night. I got out a snow globe that I have that plays music and Karson just loves it. It's so cute to watch him dance to it.

It is fun watching Karson experience Christmas this year, he gets excited and his eyes light up!

Sunday we celebrated Bethanies, ( nov 28) Rylee ( dec 18) and Katie (dec 25) birthdays at my parents house. We had a nice dinner and two yummy pies for dessert. My mom and dad gave us an early Christmas present of a Santa night light and the statue of a Santa kneeling over a baby Jesus. I LOVE it. It made me think of Easton. I miss him lots around Christmas time. We had a good weekend and I am looking forward to celebrating the holidays in December. It's always a busy, crazy time, but it is one of the best times as well! :)

BYU GAME! GO BYU!

We had plans on Saturday to go watch the BYU game with my cousins Erika & Marie and thier families. Unfortunately Marie wasn't able to come,but we still had a lot of fun! Kaili and Kayleigh played together for 5 hours straight with no problems at all! Karson had fun eating all the food and following the girls around.

Cute Kayleigh Marie!

We had tons of yummy food, apples and dip, chips and dip, crackers and cheeseball, veggies and dip, sugar cookie bars, and candy!

Kars enjoying his apple! What an intense game that was!

I am thankful for.....

sweet little Kaili, although she isn't so little anymore. The above picture is from our wedding almost 4 years ago. Kaili turned 2 the following week. I have known her since she was 14 months old. What an experience being a step-mom has been for me. It is the most challenging, rewarding, fun, hard, joyful thing I have ever done. Kaili has grown up soo fast and it has been fun to watch her grow and experience life. Kaili has had a different life than most kids her age, she has grown up with basically two moms and two dads.

I never thought I would be a step-mom, but then again my life didn't go exactly how I thought it would any way. I was only 23 when Kaili came into my life, and so I have tried to learn as I go. Kaili is a smart, funny, beautiful, imaginitive girl, she has a lot on her plate to deal with. And although we have our challenges with her, I am thankful to be a part of her life, I only hope that I can forever be a good influence on her, and keep our good relationship that we have.

Kaili can make me laugh, and I love when she wants me to sing her to sleep. It is nice to know that my voice is a comfort to her. Our family would not be complete with out her, and I am thankful for her in my life.

I am thankful for....

I am thankful for the knowledge I have gained from dealing with the loss of a child at age 25. It's wierd to think that in July 2010 Easton will be 3 years old. Sometimes the loss doesn't feel real and sometimes it does feel very real. I miss him every day, but I am thankful for what I went through so that I can better relate and understand other people who have dealt with the same trajedy or worse.

I am thankful for the knowledge I have of knowing that I will see my son Easton again. I am thankful for this because it has strengthened my testimony and understanding of the Gospel.

I am thankful for my.....

IMAGINATION!

When I think of imagination Disneyland comes to my mind. I LOVE Disneyland. Always have, always will. I love thinking beyond the boring box of reality and letting my mind wander, I think that is a part of why I love books so much because it lets you see things, feel things, and experience things you can't in a normal world. Yes it's all pretend and make believe, but so what. Imagination lets us be creative, and unique and keeps us young. Disneyland is just that place that as soon as you see it, smell it, hear it, you are happy. Disneyland keeps you in that magical world of imagination, from the rides, to the charachters to the movies, it's all just fabulous!

Pictures of Karson

I took these of Karson the other day! I just love this kid, always so happy and smiley!

Karson is growing up so fast, he can say hot, football, granma, uh-oh, amen, night night, cheese, more, he knows where all the candy is, he loves balloons, we have to get one every time we go to Harmans, and he loves balls. He has memorized where all of the balls are in his books and we go through each book to find the balls and then move on. He loves to sing and dance. He is such a blessing in our lives!

Here he was mad at me because I wouldn't give him the camera!

Karson loves my dad so much. He is always looking for him at my parents house, and snuggles up to him, here they are eating popcorn together!

Kars reading some books on his chair. He loves his books so much, which makes me happy since I Love books too!

Today I am thankful for....

Probabaly about a year ago I came across an artilce in GLAMOUR magazine about a reporter who had gone to Africa to do a report on this special womens clinic there. There was a Dr. who helped African women, physically, emotionally and mentally. I wish I would have kept the magazine so I could refer back to it more accurately, however some of the stories have remained fresh in my mind.

One woman was raped and after she was raped she watched her two children be murdered. One woman was shot inside with a rifle, this woman is still alive today. Another woman watched her sons head be chopped off. There are many more stories similar to this. These women are survivors. Somehow they have found the will to live. They have no control over thier lives, thier loss is beyond meausre and yet they have found the will to fight. So today I am thankful for strength, the strength I have found within myself, and for the strength I see in so many women around the world.

I am thankful for the woman I have become

Although unbearable at times I am thankful for the trials

God has given me

because through them I have learned to fight

Fight for my happiness and smiles

because it shouldn't always be so easy

I am thankful for the politics I don't agree with

because it means I have the right to voice my opinion and my thoughts

I am thankful for the husband I argue with

because it means I am not alone

I am thankful because I got to say goodbye to my baby

when so many others lose thier children with out that chance

I am thankful that I survived

Because even at my darkest hour, when I felt the urge to quit

I held onto the dim light and saw through the sea of tears

A woman's work is never done, is what the people say

I am thankful that I am never done,

because it means I am alive

I am thankful for the strength I managed to find within myself

I dug deep, and pulled it out

and learned it's ok to ache it's ok to be sad

but it doesn't have to last forever

I am thankful to be a woman

because women are strong

Today I am thankful for....

I am thankful for books. I love to read! I always have. In 9th grade we had to read " To Kill A Mocking Bird" by Harper Lee. For some reason this book had a profound impact on my life. I try to read it ever year, and I have two copies of it. One, my most treasured copy that is falling apart at the seams, I can't seem to get rid of. The second is just another copy of it for me to read. One day I would love to get it in a nice hard back, but for now my two little paperbacks suffice.

The book is based in a small southern town, it is about family, love, justice, racisim, creulty, unfairness, childhood memories and imagination. I love this book.

I enjoy reading all kinds of books and am fairly open to all styles of writing. I hope one day to publish my own book. That would be a dream come true for me.

Today I am thankful for books!

Today I am thankful for....

Today I am thankful for my mom, and my mother-in-law. I don't know how I could function with out either of them. They have helped me out so much with watching Karson for me so that I can still work three days a week. They have helped me when I am sick, when I needed advice on cooking, crafts, or just life in general. Being a Grandma is hard work, and I apprecaite that my kids have two fabulous grandmas that they have great relationships with. Thank you to my mom and Kay for all that you do for me and my little family. I am truly thankful for your presence in our lives. Thanks!

Daddy & Karson

Karson LOVES popcorn, just like his Dad. Last Saturday night I made Ty some popcorn and Kars was going to town with it.He loves it! It's pretty cute, because now he can eat whole pieces by himself and he kept wanting to put his hand in the bowl and get his own pieces.

Another cute picture of Tyler and Karson at my cousin Rustyns wedding reception!

Today I am thankful for.....

Today I am thankful for my sweet, precious Karson Maddux. Karson was truly a gift sent to me by God, ( as all little children are). After Easton I was so worried it would take me a long time to get pregnant again, but then 3 months later I found out I was pregnant. I was SO excited when we found out it was another little boy. After 21 long, painful hours in labor, we welcomed him into the world. He has been a huge blessing and joy to us ever since. He has adjusted so well to his life, and he is generally an exceptional good little boy. I can't really call him a baby anymore, because he isn't one. I love him so much and don't know what I would do with out him in my life. I am also thankful that he FINALLY slept ALL through the night last night. It was heaven, I woke up at 4:00 am, worried about him, and then drifted back off to sleep.

Love you Kars!

Countdown to Thanksgiving...

I am going to copy my friend Brandee, and try to post every day about something that I am thankful for until Thanksgiving. I must do my first post about Tyler. What kind of wife would I be if I didn't? :)

I am thankful for Tyler because he accepts me for who I am. I know I am impatient at times, short and snappy at times, and all my other weaknesses that I have, but he still loves me any way.

I am thankful for that little voice in my head that knew it was Tyler Fankhauser who was going through a divorce the same time that I was, and I am thankful to Danie who told me to just call him. I was scared to make that phone call,but thankful that I did.

I am thankful for Tyler for always trying so hard to provide for me and give me everything that I want. He has long, tiring days, but he still manages to get everything done that he needs to get done.

I am thankful for Tyler because he always wants to make me happy. We have our fights and our struggles and our differences, but in the end we become stronger as a couple together.

I am thankful for Tyler, because NEVER once in the past 5 years since we reconnected has he ever ONCE said anything to me about my weight. Whether when I was at my skinniest or my biggest AKA pregnant, he has always told me how beautiful I am, and I know he will love me no matter what size I am at. This is a huge important thing to me as I have struggled with weight issues and self image issues my whole life. Tyler has always made me feel beautiful in his presence.

I am thankful for Tyler for not giving up on me, for holding my hand when things got tough and being a support to me.

So today I am thankful for my husband, my best friend, my one and only Tyler! Love you babe!

McDermott Family Annual Halloween Party

As promised, here is Bethanie in her Rouge X-Men costume! She looked really good!

Here are the guys, Johnny is Tiger Woods, but then later he surprised Bethanie as spiderman, I will have to post a picture of him in that outfit as well.

Here are the girls.

The kids, minus Karson who wouldn't stay in the picture! :)

My cute little fam!

Mom and dad. The kids weren't too sure about Papa's make up...

Kaili and I

Wouldn't it be great if Ty and I really did swing dance together? Maybe one day....our party was a lot of fun. We ate two different kinds of soup, breadsticks and grapes. Then we played some games a candy walk, a " bat" fish pond, toss the scary Halloween things, decorated sugar cookies, and did some foam activities. The kids had a ton of fun as always. Thanks Mom and Dad for a great night!

Little Mermaid and a race car driver

My cute race car driver Karson would not let me get a picture of him smiling, so these will have to do. He looked so cute in his outfit!

Miss Kaili has been saying she wanted to be Ariel for Halloween since last Halloween. She REALLY wanted red hair, so I bought red hair spray and made her hair red. It looks cute right? Well I will never use that stuff again! It gets on everything, it makes a mess, and it was a pain to get out!

She loved it though and it made her happy, so I guess that is all that matters right! :)

Halloween Day

We had a good day on Halloween. The kids slept pretty good, and we woke up ready to have some fun. We went to lunch at Rock Creek Pizza and then headed home to carve pumpkins. Ty always does such a good job with our pumpkins.

We were lucky to have such good weather for trick or treating. We took the kids around in the wagon, and Karson had fun exploring people's porches and banging on thier doors while Kaili said Trick or Treat. Later that night we went over to my parents and Luke, Fernanda, Keith, Kyle, Kaili, my mom and I went trick or treating through out her nieghborhood. Kaili had a ton of fun going to the houses with Keith and Kyle and I was glad they came with us. We didn't get back to my moms until almost 9:30

Kaili got a TON of candy and Karson had fun playing with Papa at my moms house while we were gone. It was a fun Halloween for us to be together as a family!