Year In Review

I can't believe 2007 is over. We have had a year full of many ups and downs, each event meaningful and leaving us grateful for life and the lessons that we learn along the way.

We have had two life changing experiences during the 2007 year; first, the birth of our third beautiful daughter Cassie Lyn Edwards. Cassie has been a blessing in our lives and a challenge, we now know what "Colic" means. I have never known of a baby who does not like to ride in the car and fall asleep, (like our first two children). There have been many drives from Provo to Lehi where there was not a moment of silence or a song that was heard. I am completely grateful to our Father in heaven who reminded me how precious my daughter is to me on one of those 20 minute drives. I will never forget how powerful the spirit is, and can be during moments of frustration. Things are getting better and I truly do love my little Cassie.

The second life changing experience that our family has had was when Kurt's dad was diagnosed with Kidney Cancer in September. I will never forget Kurt's voice when he called me from the hospital to tell me that Kelly had cancer. It was a moment when cancer became very real and personal to me. I had worked at the cancer clinic in Provo for three years and the reality of cancer had never hit me so hard. Unfortunately his cancer had spread to his brain and lungs and we were told that he had anywhere from a few months to a couple of years. Right now Kelly is going thru chemo and recently finished radiation. He is continually in our prayers.

Now for the rest of the year, here is a list of highlights that have not been forgotten,(in no particular order):

• Having my water break while I was working at the Lehi Round-Up Craft Fair


• Going to the Parade of Homes in St.George


• Trevor & Heather's Wedding ~ Heather we love having you a part of our family.


• BYU beating Utah again
  
• Sadie & Jessica's Dance recital
  
• Watching Sanjaya(?) during American Idol
  
• Cassie sleeping thru the night


• Cassie taking a bottle
  
• BYU winning @ the Las Vegas Bowl


• Finishing a baby quilt that I started before Sadie was born.


• Planting trees and bushes in our yard
  
• Sadie's first year of Soccer ~ Kurt was a proud daddy when Sadie stayed in the game after being clocked by another kid.


• Spending time at the cabin in Star Valley


• Kurt taking the girls on their own Daddy Daughter Dates


• Finishing Sadie & Jessica's bedroom ~ now onto Cassie's room


• Finally putting some kind of decoration on our family room wall


• Cassie's baby blessing ~ thanks to all who traveled to Provo for this event


• Donna & Kelly moving into their beautiful new home


• Heber Creeper Murder Mystery Ride ~ finally a date with my husband
  
• Another successful year for Kurt's business
  
• My parents getting their second mission call to Bulgaria ~ leaving January 28th
  
• Welcoming Cameron Edwards, Paxton Andersen and Treyton Edwards into our family


• Sadie cutting her own bangs ~ surprisingly did a good job.
  
• Tyler's short move to Utah ~ we wish it could have been permanent.
  
• Kari and her kids visiting from Alaska.


• Kurt deciding that his favorite meal at Chili's is the Caribbean Chicken Salad ~ I had been trying to tell him how good it was for about 4 years.


• Kurt, BJ and Trevor winning a golf tournament in Eagle Mountain


• Spencer getting engaged

As we look back we have been blessed with a wonderful life, and we hope to make 2008 another year to remember.

Merry Christmas

Thanks Britt for making this card for me!!!

Dancing Dolls

Besides Christmas, this is the day I look forward too the most. This is Sadie's second year in dance and she LOVES it. There is no doubt in my mind that she will be a dancer growing up, she's a little performer. Sadie had a blast dressing up as a hipo. Jessica loves dance as well and this was her first dance recital. I was a little nervous about saturday night with her dancing on the "big" stage with all of the bright lights but she did great!!! Here are my little dancing dolls.

What the heck is that?

About three weeks ago I received a phone call from BYU's infant development lab. They had record from the hospital that I had a five month old baby and were wondering if I would be willing to bring her into the lab for observation. Sure, why not, I don't mind helping some grad student out. Anyway I got there not knowing what kind of test would be done on Cassie and then told that she was going to wear a little cap made out of 100+ suction cups that had sensors inside of them to detect any neurological electo impulse something something something. My first thought was, what the heck is that? Anyway she did great and let them put this cap on her head for about 5 minutes while she watched a 3 minute video on shapes and sounds. They told me that they needed to take a picture of her for the study and then at the end gave it to me along with a certificate of appreciation. I just had to share the picture of Cassie wearing this whatchamacallit because it is kind of funny looking.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Yesterday after it had been snowing for a couple of hours, Cassie finally went down for a nap and let the rest of the girls play out in the snow. Kurt was doing snow removal out in Lehi and Alpine and because he had all of the shovels I couldn't shovel our driveway. Instead of shoveling we built 5 snowmen and a "girls only" snow fort. We had soooooo much fun.

Sadie, Tatyana, & Jessia

The "daddy" snowman didn't last very much longer after this picture was taken.


Don't mind the giant snowflake in Jessica's face.

Dear Santa

I had to share the girl's letters to Santa. Sadie loves to write. She often opens up random books and starts copying sentences or she will help grandma Donna write her shoppig list. She had some help from her daddy writting this letter. Jessica had a good time thinking of things to ask Santa for. We asked her what she wanted and she looked around the room and then at the ads from the Sunday paper before she had any ideas.






KIDS ARE SOOOO CUTE!!!!

Edwards Family Pics

Here are the fun pictures from our family photo session we had last week.

Check This Out

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9602669856

Thanks Britt for this link!!!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving week and once again I was reminded that I am a very lucky person to have soooo many blessings in my life. This year we spent Thanksgiving with Kurt's family. All of Kurt's brothers were able to come and spend some time with the family.

Tuesday night started the festivities with a visit to the Marriott Center to watch the BYU Men's Basketball game. It had been three years since I had been to a game and I forgot how fun it was to actually go to the game instead of watching it on the TV. Sadie loves to dance around when the music comes on and Jessica just likes to hang out with the cousins.

Wednesday was quite an adventure, we went to take family pictures as a group. Who would ever guess that taking pictures with 12 grand kids would be so much fun. I honestly don't think that there was one picture of everyone looking at the camera at the same time. After being in the studio for two hours we completed our mission and then packed up the cars and drove to Malad, ID. A few hours after arriving at Grandma Peden's, we went the Frank and Gayles house and blessed Johnny's baby Treyton. It was awesome!!! After Treyton was blessed we had a family testimony meeting which I will always remember. FYI: If you are ever driving north on I 15 into Idaho and get hungry, stop in at the Malad Drive In and have yourself a treat, it is one of our favorite places to eat.

Thursday or (Turkey day) was awesome. I guess being around a great family makes you realize how blessed you are to have the gospel in your life. I am so grateful that I am sealed to my family and that we can be together forever.

Friday was and always is a great shopping day. I have to give my husband and the other brothers high fives for watching the kids all day long (5am-8pm) in addition to traveling back to Lehi without the wives, I'm very proud of all of you!!! FYI: never ever go shopping at JoAnn's the day after Thanksgiving!!!

"Saturday is the greatest day of the year" quoting Paul, the biggest BYU fan I have ever met. Once again we were able to pull off another win against Utah. Go Cougars!!! I personally think that there is way too much emotion involved with that rivalry. Kurt told me that he doesn't think he can ride that roller coaster again, we'll see about that.

So that brings us to Sunday, and with all of the fun we had with all of the family Cassie, Jessica and myself are sick with colds. I guess that is what happens when you have a great Thanksgiving holiday.

I've Been Tagged!!!

The rules when you are tagged:
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.(So WATCH OUT - You MIGHT be tagged NEXT!!!)

So here a few things about me...ENJOY

1. I am totally addicted to digital scrap booking and downloading free digital kits, papers, embellishments or whatever I come across. Now, if I could only find more time to actually get a few pages done that would be a huge accomplishment.
2. I cannot drink caffeine. If I do you would see a drunk version of the Tessa you know and love. When I was 14 I won a trip to France with 150+ other kids and pretty much the only thing they gave us to drink was Coke. I think it was after the 3rd day of traveling, my counselor forbade me to drink the Coke and put me on a strict water only diet.
3. Kurt and I LOVE having DVR or TEVO. I don't think I could ever not have this luxury. We love our stupid TV shows (the Hills, Chuck, Private Practice, Grey's Anatomy, ER, Friday Night Lights, & Las Vegas, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, yes I know this is pathetic) and it is so nice to be able to put the kids down, make some hot chocolate, and then watch our shows.
4. My husband thinks that I should live at Roberts. That's right, I love being crafty. I think my love for crafts equals the love my husband has for golf. Now if we could only see eye to eye on each others hobbies.
5. I hate to run. I dislike spiders. I'll always pass on cooked spinach. I will not massage ugly feet. Not a big fan of cleaning the bathrooms. When I worked at the doctors office I got sick to my stomach when I had to do ear lavage's. Cannot handle my husbands gross grass filled socks from work, but because I love him I'll always clean them. And my least favorite...toe nail clippings.
6. I love my family. I'll be the first to admit it, I wanted to have all boys before I had my little girls, but I love all three of my little princesses. Kurt is a great dad and husband and I love him sooooo much. He is the hardest working man I know and I am truly grateful for all that he does for our family.

People I tagged: Heather, Brittney, D'Lonna, Britt, Emily, and Arianne

Finally...A Mommy Daddy Date

After 4 months of trying to get Cassie to consistently take a bottle, she finally gave in and let us go on a real date. If you have never been on the Heber Creeper, you should try to find the time to do so. We went on the Comedy Murder Mystery Dinner ride and had blast. Unfortunatley we did not win any of the prizes that were given away for being the best detectives, however we did figure out the majority of the mystery. It was just nice to have an evening out together and to be able to just talk without any interruptions.

Daddy Daughter Dates

How could this week get any better? First there was carving pumpkins, followed by Halloween, but then Daddy surprises the girls with their own special Daddy Daughter Dates. Jessica got a phone call on friday afternoon from Daddy asking her if she was doing anything that evening, after she said no, Daddy told her that they were going to go to the BYU Men's home opening game. This of course did not sound fair to Sadie and after a minute on the phone with Daddy she was quickly calmed down because she was asked to go on a date the next day to the BYU Football game. The preperation began: hair was combed, clothes were picked out and of course don't forget the lip gloss. Sadie even had a purse stuffed with the essentials for the game: a sucker from her Halloween candy, a blanket, and some gloves. The highlight from Jessica's date was the deer that they saw on the way to the game. Sadie was excited about the snacks and the marching band. Needless to say Kurt wasn't thrilled about the last thing mentioned. It was fun to see how excited the girls were to go out with their dad.

Happy Halloween

I think we got enough candy last night to feed a small country. Kurt really gets into the whole trick or treating think. He even has a very strategic game plan for the evening. Let's see, Kurt and the kids started trick or treating last night at 5:15pm, while Cassie and I stayed at home to pass out candy. Around 7pm I called Kurt and asked him if he wanted me to pick them up and start our friends & family door knocking. After driving to the other neighbrhood nearby, I stepped outside of the car to help the kids get in and was told..."Daddy made us walk too far!" As we were driving to Kurt's parents house around 8:15pm Sadie had had it and told us that she wanted to go to bed. That's when we knew that the excitement of knocking on doors and asking for candy was over.

It's ok Pumpkin

We love carving pumpkins!!! The funny thing about this activity is that I always get stuck gutting the pumpkin out because it makes Kurt sick to his stomach, so then he gets to help the girls carve their pumpkins. While Jessica was watching Kurt cut the eyes out of her pumpkin she sweetly told the pumpkin..."It's ok pumpkin, it's only a sharp knife." We better have the talk about sharp objects.

Mmm Mmm Good!!!

I am the kind of person who hates summer and loves fall. I am in love with the beautiful fall colors, the cool crisp air, and most of all the hot chocolate and soup that is associated with autumn. So for all of you who love soup, here is my favorite recipe...

Potatoe Cheese Soup_
Source: Unknown
5 c. diced potatoes ( I add a few more!)
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped carrots
3 c. water
3 chicken boullion cubes
*boil 15 min. Do not drain

White Sauce:
3/4 c. butter
4 c. milk
3/4 c. flour
*cook on low, add 8-12 oz. velveeta cheese
Add white sauce to vegetables, stir and enjoy
serves: 6

Out of the Mouths of Babes

8/26/07
After getting ready for church, Sadie told me that my skirt was too short and then asked me if I was wearing black make-up. With a hesitant yes, she told me.... "Well, you look scary, like a witch, without a hat."

9/5/07
Sadie's prayer "Please bless Daddy that he won't get sweaty"

10/5/07
Sadie's night time prayer following the first day of General Conference "Thank you for Latter Day Saint Day, please help me know if the Church is true."

Welcome Home Little Cassie

Cassie Lyn Edwards was born on June 27, 2007 @ 6:06 pm, weighing 7lbs 6oz. Sadie and Jessica have been the best little helpers with the new addition to our family. Jessica did however ask to take her back to the hospital the day after Cassie was brought home. Life has greatly changed since she was born and it has taken time to adjust to life with three kids. Cassie is one of the few babies that hates car rides, and she lets us know each time we go for a drive anywhere. The great thing about Cassie is that she is sleeping 9-11 hours a night. This is what keeps me going. I love getting my sleep!!!