Christmas Sssssssurprises

We were very lucky this year to spend Christmas with both of our families! Most of the Morgan clan was there and Grandma Stephenson came too! We had our traditional Christmas Eve program with the kids dressing up like the nativity scene.
Grandpa's Angel
Such a great looking shepherd/Joseph
Listening to Christmas stories and the angel stealing the sheep.
On Christmas morning Santa left a note for us to take care of his friend. Both Ben and Maggie were very excited about their new pet. I didn't think they would get on board so fast. I am still trying to get on board.
Ben has held the snake...
Maggie has held the snake, kissed it, and let it crawl up her shirt.
She even draws pictures of it. I guess after ten years of keeping a pet out of the family I thought it was time to compromise. Seth has been very patient with me and has taken on all the responsibility with the kids. I keep thinking I can hold it, but when I see it...I chicken out. I know I need to just get it over with while it's a cute little baby. Apparently it can get 3-4 feet long! Yikes!
I also managed to keep a game system out of the house for 10 years and that too has come to an end. Seth was very happy with our gift from Grandma Stephenson and I was happy too. Now we can play games with her and our other family far away. Ben rocks at boxing and Maggie does really well with the bowling.
Lily got the cutest pink kitty from Aunt Melissa. She was so cute giving it hugs and hanging out with Uncle Jeff.
It was a lego Christmas. Maggie loves legos almost as much as Ben so she got some of her very own!
Grandma Stephenson helped Ben put together the big castle.
Dad also helped, but Ben really did most of it all by himself!

Lily's First Steps

Happy Halloween!

You are a true Stars Wars fan if you can guess who Ben was for Halloween. His dad enjoyed making his costume (except the helmet) and mom enjoyed not getting the sewing machine out once this year! Just a few hand stitches to tack the cardboard armor into place. We were very lucky that it didn't rain! I was so glad Maggie decided to be Dorthy and more glad that she never changed her mind! Thank you Kirsten for letting us borrow your dress.

Dad took the older kids Trick-or-Treating while I enjoyed a relaxing evening home with Lily.

On Saturday we had our ward Halloween Carnival thanks to my amazing Mom for putting it together a week and a half before hand!
There was a clown that made all the kids fun balloons. I couldn't believe how patiently they all waited for their turn. Maggie got a turtle to wear on her wrist.
Ben of course got a gun.
The cutest little ghost and bumble bee in the house had fun playing and getting their pictures taken.
I don't know what to say about these two, but I'm sure glad they were there.
They kept the kids entertained and wore them out really good until it was time to go. The kids really had a blast, thanks Mom for making it happen!

Slight Change of Plans

In case you have not heard... we moved to Oklahoma! We both found new jobs and thought it was time to return to our roots. It was a bit crazy, but everything kept falling into place, so why not?
This was my view for three days. Ben rode up in the truck with Dad the whole time, while the girls rode with me. We had a great time singing to all the Dixie Chicks and Disney songs we wanted!

The first sight of Braum's was a sweet sight. We stopped for lunch. It was also in Kansas when the heat first hit us. Luckily now, about a month later, it has cooled to the low 100's.

Little Lily with Grandma and Grandpa.
The very best part of the move has been living 6 minutes from Grandpa and Grandma. Why oh why did we wait so long?
We are all settled in and the kids started school this week. Thank you Oklahoma for Pre-K! Miss Maggie gets to go all day everyday!! I think they are enjoying it and making new friends.

Happy 4th of July!

Ben Happiness

Whew...he made it! He learned all his ABC's and the sounds they make. With just a few calls home from the teacher and one ticket for throwing a snowball, he gets to go on to first grade!

The typical random person walking across right as his teacher hands him his diploma. Oh well.


Going out for lunch after graduation and sharing a hamburger with his best buddy.


A great big brother.

Other Ben facts:
1. He loves animals and wants to be a zoo vet when he grows up.
2. Likes to wear his clothes and underwear backwards.
3. Loves everything Star Wars and likes to be called Anakin Skywalker.
4. Has a fascination of learning about Egypt.
5. Also likes to learn about dinosaurs.
6. Very picky with sweets. He gives away lots of his Halloween candy and just likes plain regular chocolate chip cookies and plain regular brownies.
7. Loves to go to the comic book store with his Dad.
8. Loves to draw and cut pictures out of magazines.
9. Helped me title this post.
10. Just a typical silly boy that loves dirt, guns, legos, and his momma. And his momma loves him!

Sewing High

It all started with this free t-shirt I have never worn and will never wear. I try not to be a pack rat, but I sure am glad I hung on to this! So I was looking at other people's sewing/crafting blogs and stumbled upon an adorable little white skirt. I was just thinking the other day how Lily needed a white skirt for the summer! So perfect right! And then I read how it was completely made out of a t-shirt and thought "I have a t-shirt!" I love how I can make something without going to the craft store to buy supplies. To make a long story short... I got to work right away and about an hour and a half later I did it and I LOVE it! I'm already planning a red one for the Fourth of July!

Here is my finished product. The original tutorial has great pictures and super easy directions. I highly recommend this sewing project. Seriously! The waistband is a sleeve and the drawstring casing is the hem of the sleeve! How creative is that? Too bad I can't come up with those amazing ideas, I just copy them.
I think she likes it. :)
And now I have a super awesome 80's workout shirt! (Please excuse my laziness for not turning the picture around)

I always feel guilty when I start a new project and don't finish an old one. Since Lily will be ready to eat solids later this month I thought it was time to finish the applique on these bibs. I was pretty happy with how they turned out. Now she will be all ready to eat her vegetables.

Blessing Day Weekend

Finally, at almost five months old Lily received her baby blessing. Grandma Stephenson got this great shot of her a few days before her big day. Our first official family of five pic. Considering the rush before church, I was pretty happy with it.

The Morgan clan minus Uncle Greg and Aunt Linus. We missed you guys!
Grandma Stephenson with Lily and the beautiful blessing dress she made. Thank you again, it was perfect!
On Saturday both my little brother and sister graduated. Chelsea, in the middle, Jeff's new fiance graduated too. We are so excited to have you in our family! It was great being there for them. I just couldn't be more proud of my little sis! I like to think she followed in my footsteps, but really we had some great FCS teachers in high school.
The kids had a blast swimming with Grandpa and Grandma at the pool in their hotel.
Lily's first swim. That baby needs some sunshine!
Thanks for a great weekend. It was worth the wait.

Happy Baby

We have been getting lots of smiley baby pictures lately. She just laughed for the first time the other day and of course it was the best sound in the world. We have truly been blessed with a very happy baby. She is so easy going and mellow and just as sweet as can be.
What's cutter than a baby in a bucket? I wish I had this thing with my other two babies. We are borrowing it from cousin Warren. It's so great because most of her gets covered with water so she's not so cold during her baths like the other fold up thing we had. Also, she can bounce up and down or just sit.
Mom and Lily on a Sunday morning.

I had to include this picture of the kiddos playing Harry Potter. It's the best when they play nicely together.