Vote For McKenzie

http://youtu.be/4BoWmkWbj1g

Samantha

An Angel Left Her Wings
Tina M. Marascia


I have this little angel. For me she left her wings.
She has no idea how much happiness she truly brings.
She brightens up my days with her smiles and her laughs.
She helps me to remember all the blessings that I have.

Her face, it is so perfect, she's sweet and soft and pure.
Sometimes she can be willful and sometimes she is demure.
She tries her very hardest to please and do what's right.
She gives the greatest hugs from morning until night.

Every person that has known her sees this light within her soul
I know that in this whole great world, she has a special role.
She's helpful and considerate to everyone she knows
This light in her shines brighter as my angel grows.

When she sees someone is sad, it opens up her heart.
She wants to do all that she can; she wants to do her part.
She'll squeeze away the sorrow and make me forget about my pain.
She shows me where the sun is when we're hiding from the rain.

I know that God must love me, He showed me with His Grace
I knew just how completely when I saw my angel's face.
And in that very moment when she came into my world,
I knew that she was so much more than just my baby girl.

She would be my sunshine, with a sweetness that won't end.
And when she grows up one day she would be my closest friend.
She would be the reason I would always try my best.
For my little angel baby girl would be my greatest test.

When God entrusts to you an angel, who has left her wings for you.
Encircle her with love with everything you do.
Let her know God made her, and that He trusts you with her care.
Be sure to make time for special moments with her to share.

And when at night she finally says her prayers and goes to sleep
I Thank Him for my angel, and ask for him to always keep
A watchful eye and hand to protect her from this world.
Protect my little angel; protect my baby girl.

CAP

McKenzie has joined the Civil Air Patrol. She is pretty excited about this. She participates once a week on Thursdays and then once weekend a month. She also has weeklong encampments that she needs to attend. She says this is the first step toward her dream, gaining acceptance into the US Air Force Academy.

You Tell Me

Last night could have been a scene straight out of a horror film or comedy, you pick. It started with me telling Dylan to please take his glass FULL of juice into the kitchen. Once he is in the kitchen I hear the glass hit the floor and shatter. First thing I say is "Damn not another one". I had just dropped a plate 30 min earlier and broke it. I look in the kitchen to see Dylan staring at his foot as a pool of blood gathers under it. I pick him up and set him on the counter as I apply pressure and yell for Ryan to come in and help. The kitchen is starting to look a little scary. Dylan is freaking out because he thinks he is bleeding to death. Ryan comes into the kitchen and doesn't know what is going on. I ask him to start cleaning up the broken glass as I continue to try to stop the bleeding. At this time Dylan tells me his stomach is starting to hurt and a few seconds later he is gaging. I am now trying to hold pressure to his open cut and grab a bowl out of the cupboard for Dylan to throw up in. If you know Ryan then you know that he doesn't handle blood or throwing up well. He turned his back to us and has his head in the corner gaging. He is trying not to throw up. McKenzie has ran off to grab Sam because who would want to miss this scene. I finally get Dylan calmed down and with that Ryan is now doing better. I now have a chance to get a good look at the damage. Dylan has 2 different cuts on 2 different toes. The top of his big toe has a long cut down the top and he has managed to slice the top of his middle toe. GREAT!!! Now I have to tell Dylan that he needs stitches. Once that word leaves my mouth he starts to worry again and we start all over again with the gaging. I finally get everyone calmed down and Dylan and I are off to Instacare.

Random Facts

Smelling bananas and/or green apples (smelling, not eating) can help you lose weight!

The average person spends three years of his or her life on a toilet.

President George W. Bush was once a cheerleader!

Due to the angle at which the optic nerve enters the brain, staring at a blue surface during sex greatly increases the intensity of orgasms.

The human brain has the capacity to store everything that you experience.

Women have a better sense of smell than men.

Ice Cream is chinese food!

Hippo milk is pink.

More than ten people a year are killed by vending machines.

In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of 5 times around the equator.

The numbers '172' can be found on the back of the U.S. $5 dollar bill in the bushes at the base of the Lincoln Memorial.

The 57 on Heinz ketchup bottles represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had.

The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C.

When you die your hair still grows for a couple of months.

The sound of E.T. walking was made by someone squishing her hands in jelly.

A skunk's smell can be detected by a human a mile away.

The average person makes about 1,140 telephone calls each year.

Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave.

The largest number of children born to one woman is recorded at 69. From 1725-1765, a Russian peasant woman gave birth to 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets.

Science Project

McKenzie and Dylan have science projects due this week. There is nothing worse then science projects. I HATE them!!!! They have worked hard on them (when I say "they" I mean me). Dylan wanted to know if he could inflate a balloon using baking soda and vinegar. He was excited when he saw that it worked.

REALLY!!!!

The best part of the Superbowl was when Christina Aguilera botched the National Anthem. Dylan kept saying "It looks like she is trying to poop". There were a couple good commercials. I liked the Darth Vader boy and the Doritos commercial, "Are you done with that?" Other then that I could care less about the game. I did enjoy the food we ate and probably ate too much. Actually I am sure I did eat too much.

Myra

We went to Violet's baptism today. She didn't stay in one spot long enough to get a picture. Myra on the other hand loves to get her picture taken. She let me take several of her. She is such a cutie.

Photo Editing

I have been playing around with editing some of my phots. I think I need to find a better photo editing program so I can do more. But I am having fun doing it.

Procrastination

Procrastination and perfectionism often go hand in hand. Perfectionists tend to procrastinate because they expect so much of themselves, and they are scared about whether or not they can meet those high standards.

I know that I have procrastinated getting my daily picture done. The first day I missed I thought to myself, "I will do 2 tomorrow". Know I am a week behind. This is harder then I thought it would be. I have a few things I will be doing this weekend. I should be able to take some good pictures.

OUCH!!!!!

Today I went to the Dr to have the 1st cast taken off and the stitches removed. I didn't know that I had 3 different incisions. 2 small ones for the scope, where they removed a bone spur and then the big one to repair the ligaments. Now I understand why my foot hurts so bad. The top picture shows my cankle and the 2 small incisions.

Back To Work

I went back to work today for the first time since my surgery. I get some funny looks from people when I am on my scooter. My co-workers thought it would be nice to add a flower pinwheel to my scooter. This doesn't make it less embarrassing for me.

Pinewood Derby

Dylan participated in the Pinewood Derby today. He worked hard with Grandpa Jensen to make the fastest car. It was a close race and Dylan ended in 2nd place.

B rad

The kids got Xbox Live for Christmas. It's crazy to think that they can play with friends from all over. Tonight while Sam was playing she kept saying that "B rad" killed her. After being killed by "B rad" a few times I looked up to see that Brad is the one that is killing her. lol :)

Wish I Was At Disneyland

Uncle Dale, Uncle Roy and Ryan at Disneyland. I want to be somewhere warm and sunny.

Movie Time!!

Since my surgery I haven't been able to do much with the exception of watching TV. You would think with 100's of stations and Netflix I would be able to find something good to watch. I have watched Transformers 3 times. Dylan loves this movie and there is nothing better then sitting next to that kid and watching Transformers with him. Although I wouldn't complain if he wanted to watch a good "chick flick".

My New Wheels

This is what I will be sporting the next 6 weeks. Don't be jealous but I think my new wheels are better then yours.

What Do You Do When You Are Bored???

McKenzie has many ways to entertain herself when she is bored. Today she thought she would try and scare Samantha and Dylan by dressing up as a doll. This is how she came out of her room.

Visit From Trevor

Brynn and the kids came to visit me today. It was nice to see Trevor and Lola. Lola is getting so big. McKenzie and Dylan took Trevor over to the school to go sledding. I don't think he knew what he was going to do but he was excited to go.

Thanks Brynn for helping me with dinner.

Lateral Ligament Reconstruction

I was told that everything went well. My Dr said the ligaments looked like spaghetti noodles. He was able to salvage enough to make the repair and didn't have to do a graft. I get to wear this pretty cast for 2 weeks. Then I will get my stitches out and get another cast for 4 weeks. After 6 weeks I will start physical therapy for 2 months. It will be a long recovery.

Guilty Pleasure

I have 11 days off before I have to go back to work. What will I be doing?? I think I will catch up on some reading. I might be able to finish a few of these.

Hunter Library

This is Sam's favorite place to go. She will check out a bag full of books a week and read them all. She loves reading. She asked me tonight if I can take her so she can stock up for when I can't drive for a while. I don't think the books she got will last her very long.

A Parents Prayer

Thank you God for

The children of mine

Who teach me things

That blow my mind.

They entertain themselves

In the funniest ways.

I pray that the innocence

They possess never goes away.

I pray they will

Grow up and be smart,

And I pray that they will never grow apart.

I pray that they will call home

Whenever they are near a phone.

I pray that they never feel alone.

I hope they turn to you

Through guidance and prayer

And know that you and their parents

Will always be there.

Althea A. Anker

Nana Rae

We visited with Nana on Saturday. She is doing so much better. I could hardly keep up with her. She can't wait to go home.

Abram

Today my nephew Abram was baptised . I am so proud of him for his choice.

Before

This is the before picture. The countdown has began. I am starting to get a little nervous about my surgery. Every time I think about the little things that I won't be able to do for 6-8 weeks I start to talk myself out of it. Like how am I supposed to shower? Or how am I going to get to the car if it snows? My biggest concern in the not driving part. I like my freedom to go where I want when I want. I might need to hire a driver. Well this is the before picture of my ankle. You can kind of see in this picture that my right ankle is still a little swollen. I guess that isn't going to go away for a while. I got a pedicure today so that my toes will be pretty for surgery. Not that anyone will care, but I do.

BOYS!!!

I remember the excitement as a kid when a boy would show any attention to a girl. The notes passed in school that said "Will you go out with me? Check Yes, No, or Maybe". Well McKenzie is feeling that excitement now. I didn't think the day would come when I would have a daughter old enough to experience this excitement ,well I now have 2. This is the dog that McKenzie got for Christmas from her "boyfriend". When I say "boyfriend" I mean a boy who is a friend who McKenzie can't stop talking about.

She might kill me for posting this!!

Sammy

My gorgeous girl. Love you Sam!!!

Work Work Work

This is where I spend most of my day. Someone really should clean my desk for me.

Monday Night and The Bachelor

I think I have brainwashed my kids. After years of watching the Bachelor my kids now enjoy it as much as I do. Lets hope Brad doesn't screw it up again.

Bionicles

Dylan got sick a couple days before Christmas with a bad cold. He hasn't been able to play outside much. This is how he spends his time when he isn't bugging his sisters.

Picture A Day

Ryan gave me a pretty nice camera for Christmas this year. I am going to start blogging more and do a picture a day. My goal is to do this all year. We'll see how long I make it.

My parents take us out for breakfast every New Years day. This tradition has been going on since before I can remember. It started out at Coachmen's Pancake House but we have finally outgrown that place. We went to Denny's this year. It's always great to get together with everyone for breakfast. This is one tradition I look forward to each year.