Christmas Update

We've had a great couple of months and a wonderful Christmas. We spent a lot of time with family, shoveled a lot of snow, and ate plenty of yummy, calorie-laden treats. We had a visit to Temple Square, read stories and scriptures about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and had special conversations with the boys and also reminded ourselves about the real reason why this was such a special season--I love that they are old enough to finally understand and appreciate that miraculous event.

(Please excuse the date imprint on the pictures, and the fact that
even the dates are wrong. Silly camera.)

We also had a lot of fun. It makes me laugh that Santa always tries to bring an abundance of well-rounded toys and the boys, specifically Ethan and Noah, always focus on one little thing as their favorite. This year their favorite was Pokemon cards (does that surprise anybody?!). Santa brought Ethan a new digital camera, Noah a new Hot Wheels racetrack and Leapster games. Ethan took three or four pictures on Christmas day, Noah just played with his racetrack yesterday for the first time, but ooohhhhh those Pokemon cards! :) And Aaron's favorites were of course those from his Grandma's and Grandpa's (Gs & Gs always pick the best things!), the fun little Lawn Mower and Little People train that he can push around the house. I'm just glad they're happy and are having fun.

On Reading, Not Writing

Obviously I've been waaayyy more into reading blogs these days than writing--I've been taking the term "blog stalker" to a whole new level! I don't know what's gotten into me but I've had absolutely no interest in writing anything but a literal obsession with reading everyone else's blog.

It starts harmlessly with keeping up with friends and family blogs (see list to the right), then moves to Other Blogs I like (see here and here). Then the new obsession is the hilariously funny, spoof blog of Seriously So Blessed (not for the thin-skinned, mormon mommy blogger but it's way funny) and then I move on to someone else's blog I don't even know. And then, if I still haven't had enough reading/stalking I start clicking on that little link at the top of blogs, the one that says Next Blog so I can read blogs of total strangers who are sometimes wierdos and sometimes write in different languages. (Give it a try, it's kind of fun!)

So, if anyone is actually still reading this blog but me anymore...

smile, wink, sniff, cry...

...what other blogs do you like to visit? (So I can add them to my list myself and continue to waste even more time, lol!)

On the Move

The past few weeks have been a blur, but it's official--we're all moved and finally in our new house. All I can say is that I hope this home will work for our family for a long time to come becuase moving is miserable business. We are so grateful to Josh and Jana Arnold for letting us rent their basement apartment these past few months--they were life savers. After we sold our house it looked to be impossible to find somewhere that would do a short-term lease and accept a 60-lb. golden retreiver. But the Arnold's did both, and we're so grateful to them for putting up with us for a few months.

We love our new house, and it's so nice to finally be close to Ethan and Noah's schools. We'd love to have visitors too, so give us a call or email andrea_barker31athotmaildotcom and we'll give you our new address.

And, our household items aren't the only thing on the move lately. After months and months of waiting, our little Aaron has finally decided to walk. (Yes, he's 16 months old!) We've been kind of concerned about him lately, but they finally determined he needed ear tubes (he had constant ear infections and fluid buildup in his ears.) After his surgery, he just up and started walking. I'm convinced the fluid in his ears was affecting his equilibrium and made him feel dizzy when he tried to walk. I'll post pictures or a video in the next few days (maybe weeks?) once we get our computer and camera port set up. But we were so glad and relieved to see him finally reach this milestone.