Blessing Day

What a great day!! We blessed Alivia today, and I couldn't ask for a sweeter husband to give such amazing blessings to my kids. He always does such a great job. I held my breath as he paused before "officially" naming her. I was a little scared that he might change it on me, but Alivia Rae it is :) In the blessing he said that she was named after her great grandpa Ray Squires and her Grandma Cindi Rae and how they found/find so much joy in life. Joy seemed to be the theme of her blessing as he blessed her that she too would find much joy and happiness in her friendships, through her talents, as a mother, and most importantly in her relationship with the Savior. He also blessed Alivia that she would always remember and strive to live up to her potential as a daughter of God, and to always serve and love those around her. I know this little girl has a great life ahead of her and I feel so lucky to be a part of it! She brings so much joy to our family. We love you Livi!



At 9 weeks she weighs in at 10 pounds 10 ounces. She is starting to get CHUBBY :)

here you go ashlee!

there's no place like home for the holidays

Before Livi was born, we decided that it would probably be too hard to travel with 2 kids and a newborn. So we didn't make plans to go anywhere for the holidays. Now that the season is upon us, I am feeling a little home sick. We've always gone home for the holidays, both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm pretty sure I can make it through Thanksgiving by ourselves, but I'm not so sure about Christmas. To me, Christmas is full of cozy traditions and fun times with the family that help us reflect on our love of life, family, and the Savior. I have so many fond memories of celebrating with my family and love the new traditions added to the mix from Andy's family. The kids love it too!! Since we are on our own this year, I want to start our own little family traditions that our kids will remember with fondness through the years and try not to be so homesick!

Some of my favorites include opening PJs on Christmas Eve and then eating grandma's orange rolls with hot chocolate and wassail. Or anxiously waiting for my turn to eat the chocolate mint candies tucked into the advent calendar pocket and hanging an ornament on the felt tree. Another tradition we started when we got a little older was that the girls would do a fun craft on Thanksgiving while the guys watched football.
I think this year on Thanksgiving I am going to make an advent calendar similar to the one my mom made and using some inspiration from this one.

So what is your favorite family Christmas tradition old or new? Please share and help us have a better Christmas this year (or you can just buy us plane tickets ;) !

A Little Closer to Home

Last week we found out that the Air Force is sending us to Omaha, Nebraska after Andy graduates. He will be doing a 1 year residency(the AEGD). I've heard good things about Nebraska, so I am excited. Even more excited that we are that much closer to the west coast! If anybody knows anything about Nebraska, let me know! We will probably be going out there in a few months to check it out. For right now, I am just doing a little research on the internet. They have a Costco, Target, and Mall nearby, so I think I am good to go :)

Happy Unbirthday to You

look who's 6 weeks old today! Little Livi Lou is a stinker, but we still love her. 

Happy Halloween!!

We had a great but COLD Halloween this year. I decided to take it really easy with costumes and told Avery she could be any princess that she wanted to be out of her dress ups. She went with Cinderella. Saturday morning she reminded me that she needed a choker, earrings, and a headband. I totally forgot and started worrying that I was going to have to drive around looking for the stuff. But, I was lucky enough to find everything we needed in my trusty old crafting stuff. I found some rhinestone and stuck them to her ears with GLUE DOTS, and then attached the headband and choker with glue dots as well. Worked like a charm! Here she is in all her glue dot glory. Sorry for the overload, I couldn't decide which pic I liked better.

I just love her eyes in this one

Drew was Buzz lightyear. I took him outside to take pictures and he wouldn't hold still for 2 seconds. He ran around saying he was flying and yelling "to infinite and beyond!"

The kids have been eating candy all day and Drew has been super hyper. I just walked into his room, and this is what I found. The big crash after the sugar rush. He NEVER falls asleep like this!