THANKSGIVING DAY!!!

 The family's Thanksgiving presentation!

For Thanksgiving this year, we decided to follow my family's tradition of making pilgrim hats out of construction paper, and putting on a little Thanksgiving day program. We talked about them coming over on the Mayflower and what they did when they got here, what they ate and their associations with the Indians. It was a cute program with each one of the kids participating. We then read a couple of thoughts about being grateful. Then we got ready to eat our big feast. As we ate, we went around the table telling each other what we were grateful for the most. Of all the foods we ate for dinner, everyone liked something different. Qaiden liked the homemade cresant rolls the best, Rachael liked the mashed potatoes with gravy, Jacob liked the sweet potatos, Shelley liked the stuffing with turkey, I liked the cranberry apple jello salad, and Rich of course liked EVERYTHING...he NEVER has a favorite ANYTHING! It was a great day. We worked on and finished a Presidents 1000 piece puzzle, played the game Apples to Apples, the kids watched the movie Chicken Little, and had yummy pies that Rich made; pumpkin, apple, and lemon. My sister, Shelley, came the night before to spend time with us. It was nice having her here. The kids LOVE their aunt Shelley! The day after Thanksgiving, we decorated our house for Christmas and cleaned the house, did laundry, and had fun. I love Thanksgiving time!  We hope you all had as nice a holiday as we did!

Work Out Time!

 My cute kids watch a movie in the kid area while I work out!

My friend, Jamie Clapier would bring her 2 kids (Dyson and Jersey) to the Hess Family Gym and I would take my kids.  She became a great friend while we both worked out together!

 Jacob just messes around like always!

 Rachael doesn't even break a sweat lifting that dumbell!

Qaiden sure is working out hard!

The Air Force Base here has a really nice kid-friendly gym that is specifically for parents with children only. Another added benefit is that it is FREE!!! So, I try to go every weekday after the kids get on the bus for school. This was Wednesday before thanksgiving and so there was no school. The kids always seem to have fun watching a movie or as you see here, only with my supervision, they are having a go at the different exercise machines!  

I have such STRONG KIDS don't I???

Facebook Poses!!

We just joined the FACEBOOK world online and realized that we didn't have pictures of ourselves.  So,  Richard and I took each other's photos for our new facebook profiles. I don't think they're the best, but they'll do for now. If you're not on Facebook, try it...it's a good way to get in touch with friends you haven't heard from in a while. Have fun!!!

Falling Clouds

Cool clouds...

My friend, Nan took this picture after we came back from visiting our neighbor. She thought it such a beautiful thing seeing the clouds low like this. I have seen many clouds such as these, and yet have never thought to thank the person who created them. Instead of looking in awe, I wondered "why on earth is she so excited about such a simple thing of nature." Now, seeing the picture, makes me feel sad that my eyes were not fully opened to one of God's beautiful creations and that I was so ungrateful when I did see it. How many times do we go throughout our day with half-open eyes, not truly seeing with gratitute the beauty in everything?! Thank you Nan, for helping me see with NEW eyes!

Thanksgiving thanks...

Today was not the best day. So here I sit thinking WHY am I grumpy??? I know that one of the reasons was that I neglected to say my morning prayers...Nonetheless, I should be happy because nothing really bad has happened. No one I know is sick, hurt or has even been killed. The market is at an all time low, yet my husband has a very good and secure job with the Federal Government. We get plenty of food to provide for us to eat, even the organic (more expensive) brands and tons of the good fresh fruits/vegetables. We have warm clothes to protect us through the cold winter months. We have 2 very dependable vehicles to get us to where we need and want to go. We have a warm and nice home to provide shelter we so desperately need to keep us warm from the elements outside. We sleep soundly in extra comfy beds. We have many pairs of shoes to protect our feet. We have good health insurance just in case. We can afford to pay our bills even if some months seem a little tighter than others. Of all these blessings, which I sometimes forget to thank Him to whom I owe it all, my husband and children are at the heart of these blessings! They bring me joy when I am down and they help me see things in a different light. Rich and I have been married now for 10 years. It's been a bumpy road at times, but we have grown stronger and have loved deeper through each trial. I thank Heavenly Father for Richard and my 4 beautiful kids. We live in a free country which gives us the freedom to worship our Heavenly Father the way we want to and thus, we have been able to have the gospel at the center of our lives. It guides us throughout our existence here on earth if we so desire...what would my life be like without it? I don't care to find out. I am sooooo blessed to have the knowledge of my Savior and what he has done for me. I love him with ALL my heart! I feel that when we don't acknowledge and thank God for all our blessings, we become more selfish and unkind people. Today was my selfish day I guess, and so I feel I need to apoligize to my Heavenly Father. I will do and be a BETTER ME!!! Thank you for EVERYTHING!!!

Chantel's Wedding Celebration

 Jennifer, Renee, and Deanna Williams,
Steve, Shelley, Charise, and Cheryl Nebeker
COUSINS!

  It was nice eating homemade bread and soup and visiting with family we hadn't seen for a while.  My mother's family don't get together very often, so it sure was nice!

 Deanna Schallenberger is the youngest of the 5 girls.

Renee Starling is the next to the youngest of Aunt JoAnn Williams' girls.

Jennifer Picklesimmer is the oldest of my Aunt JoAnn's girls that live in Utah (the other 2 girls live in Colorado and Alabama I believe),

Well, the Sunday after the wedding, my cousins, Deanna, Renee, and Jennifer with their families got together for dinner with my Aunt Linda being there too. It sure was a nice time visiting with them even though short. I love family!!!

The newest couple..."Chantel and Reed Wilkson" have just come out of the Mt. Timpanogas Temple after being sealed for all TIME and ETERNITY...AWESOME!

The Nebeker Family introduces Reed Wilkinson to the family!

Niece's and Nephew's

Jacob, Rachael, Ashlynn and Qaiden

The whole extended Nebeker family

Chantel and Reed Wilkinson got married October 25th, 2008. Here are some of the photos that my Aunt sent being that I FORGOT to bring my own camera!!! Of all the things to forget, huh?

Fall is FUN!!!

 With soooo many leaves from 8 trees, my kids and I had to blow the leaves in big piles (which took a very long time), and wheelbarrow them to the back yard jungle gym where the kids built a leaf fort! LET'S PLAY I SPY...CAN YOU SEE THE FACES OF THREE SILLY CHILDREN IN THE MOUNTAIN OF LEAVES?????

Aleah discovers a leaf! 

Fun, fun, and more fun to be had...

Conner Mee (a neighbor/friend) always would come over to help us rake.

 

Fall is my favorite season...my kids make it even more fun!

I sure LOVE my children!

Halloween 2008

Jacob was the HULK for a couple of parties but on Halloween night he was a MUMMY. Rachael was of course a WITCH, Qaiden wanted to be FRANKENSTIEN, and Aleah is the cute little PUMPKIN! Rich took the kids out until a little after 8pm and they wanted to go back out for a little while longer to get a few friends homes. So I took them for another 15-20 minutes! They were so tired but had a GREAT time this halloween... and the candy will most likely last for the whole year long!

Lil' Rascal's Halloween Program

Qaiden is of course the FRANKENSTEIN...a D.I special for only $3. The kids all sang the cutest halloween songs for the moms and dads. Of course he didn't sing loudly but every once in a while he moved his lips and sang a few words! What a cute bunch of kids!

AFTER ALL THE CANDY!!!

Richard had to design this for his office decorating competition. He and his team WON 1st in the whole building for their creative designs! This was just ONE of the many original decorations. Cool, huh?

Halloween Story Time

Our family went to the Botanical Garden in Kaysville for their annual pumpkin walk, complete with storytelling, face painting, arts and  crafts, free pumpkin decorating and seed tasting! It was a lot of fun. Qaiden got a dinosaur painted on his cheek, Rachael got a butterfly all over her face. As you see in the photo. Jacob is our sensible one and didn't want to get one when he would have to have it washed off an hour later! Smart kid!!! We saw all the fashionably carved pumpkins on our walk around the Botanical center as we were leaving...they were very creative.

Stir-Fry Head!

Aleah likes to put food on top of her head! What a cute little nut! :-)