Holding @ 26

(My 32nd Birthday)

My sweet husband tells people that I am 26. I keep laughing at him and saying thanks. I just hope that I was in good condition at 26. If he is always going to refer to me as a 26 year old I just need to think back 6 years-although I am not sure if I can remember anything from back then. I always think I'll just remember everything-HA HA on me. I didn't even remember to take off my bra before I got into bed last night. I would like to have faith in Steve that he lovingly remembers me 6 years ago and that is why I am still there in his mind-but I know he doesn't remember either. So here's to another year, hoping that I was, am the best I'll ever be or have been in the land of 26.

There's a lot of Love in this house

Just in case he doesn't remember that he is so loved, I will remind him:

Brrr and Dirt

sleeping on Mama

Hang'n with cousin Emilee

T-Bone and Brrr were playing "prince"

El and Ki just adore Brian.Mama and papa love him too!

A Weight In and a Cut

Brian at 4 months

Brian at 2 weeks

He has managed to almost double his birth weight and grow almost 6 inches.

He is 26 3/4th inches long-in the 90th %

and he is 16'10'' in the 75th %

he even had to get a hair cut, more like a trim:

Looking good my little man

I now see why Grandma Lora was so scared to do it, he moved around a ton. We are lucky he still has his eyes intact.

Ki is Nine

Wow-I can't believe that she's already 9 years old. I hate to think about all the things that I haven't done in her lifetime. Ki is such a great way to start a family. She is a great older sister and good example.

At least her eyes are open ;0)



 All she wanted for her Birthday was fried chicken. She got it!

She is all smiles.

I am thankful for Ki. She makes me laugh and sometimes cry. She loves to read. Her favorite series right now is The Secrets of Droon. She is working on book 15. She is doing well is school and can't wait until Monday to get back to school. She loves her teacher Mrs. Smith. She is so creative and imaginative! She is a very responsible child. I know that she treats people with respect and is fun to be with.  I love you my brown eyed girl!

Dear Brian

Dear Brian,

You are a gift to our family from Heavenly Father and we are so pleased to be your earthly family. You came into our lives at a time of transition and trial, but brought us hope and joy. You make our family complete and will always be an adored little brother. You bring happiness to all of us. You are precious and we love you very much.

When I was driving to work one morning I was thinking about what you should be named. Dad was trying to stick with the two letter first names, as your sisters do. I never thought that we could find a two letter boy name that would sound good (and I was right). Dad's vote in that regard was Oh No Smith. And I said, NO WAY! I really like to use family names, and just the last name doesn't count, so again dad's vote was vetoed. Dad's middle name Loran, came from his mom's name Lora Le. Mom's middle name Nell, came from my grandma Mildred Nell. Ki's middle name is Le as is grandma's, Aunt Kelli's and Aunt Lisa's. El's middle name is Lynn, as is Aunt Brandie's and it's short for Lynette-our aunt. So I was thinking that I wanted to name you Oran Reed or Oran Hirth. My dad's grandfather's middle name was Orin, as is Pops' and so is uncle Jeremy's. Reed is Grandpa's first name and then Hirth is his middle name. I wanted to change the spelling to Oran to be like dad's middle name minus the L.  A family name is important. Helaman 5:6-7 reminds us. We were having a hard time committing to a name and you were going to be born in a little more than a month.

One morning while driving to work, I was pondering your name or lack of name at that point. And a feeling came over me and I started crying and I knew that you were supposed to be Brian. You see, Uncle Brian was dad's older brother. I believe that a long time ago he offered to return home to heaven soon after he was born so that he could be our guardian on the other side. I have had many feelings that you are close to his spirit and that you two had a great time in heaven before he had to say goodbye and let you come to our family. Grandma misses her baby Brian and she feels sad when she thinks about him. I felt like we could give her a chance to have a Brian in her life again that she could love, and I pray that you will get to stay here for many years and live in a way that brings healing and love to us all, as I feel Brian asked you to. Peace filled me and all day I felt like this was a name that you could live to honor. Then there was the challenge of your middle name, I think that you may remember this special man that we called Grandpa Jack. He got to spend some time with you and Brian in heaven before you came to earth. His actual name was Antone Robert Christensen. And so your middle name Antone is in honor of this amazing man we love and miss.

Today in sacrament meeting, you were taken in the arms of Dad, Grandpa Homer, Pops, and your uncles-Rob, Ron, Caleb and Jordan. Bishop Smith too-of no known relation. And you were given your name and a blessing. I felt the love of your dad as he spoke to you and have no doubt that Brian and Grandpa were close as you are the bearer of their names.

I love you my little man. I know that you are a gift and I feel so complete with you here in our home and I know that you will grow to be an honorable man and continue to bring your family joy and happiness. Remember where you came from, who you are, and who you will become is more than just a name. You are a beautiful child of God.

With Love,
Mama Torrie

A Trip to the Zoo

Jordan-you crack me up.

Turtles at the entrance

My sweet girls

Pops and the girls

a monkey

My little man Brian

a bird

A pretty parrot

A pretty bird

The big turtles

That be a tiger in that cage

It was so much work for Brian to go to the zoo that he passed out as we were on our way out

 

We made it to the Phoenix Zoo with my parents. We went around 2:30 pm and didn't realize that it closed down at 4:00 pm. El really wanted to see the giraffe but he wasn't in his cage b/c they were closing. We only made it through half the zoo when they asked us to leave-so rude! Lessons learned for next year. Instead of driving into the Phoenix Zoo, we'll drive down the street to the Wildlife Zoo-it's a better Zoo experience I think.

Chrsitmas Week

We had a great time with loved ones this Christmas and hope you did too.

Pops and Mum with Brrr

Steve getting ready to open his Birthday gifts

new pajama pants

I now own "boy" paper for scrapping

That is Pops with his new ball fetching tool-when you loose your golf ball in the water you can get it with this thingy-not that he needed to use it when I was with him-he he

I made Brrr a hat

The boys- Steve, Caleb, and Jordo were playing PS3 in the extra room-aka- the garage. Jordo we love you even if we made you sleep in the garage.

Hailey with Brrr. She is the best Auntie ever!

Jordo was a good sitter too!

El and I, early on Christmas morning

Hailey got some BYU swag. She started "BYU Wednesdays" at school. She is so lucky to be in a town where there are so many members of the church her age. She is a good girl! It has been so fun watching her grow up and become a beautiful young woman-I am 15 years older than her so I can say that.

Mum with her visor and golf shirt. I love playing golf and laughing with my mom.

Ki girl and her presents

*Note to self-when you are going to make them PJ's just try to make them fit next time!

I am glad that my brother, Caleb and his wife moved here in August. Not just because I now have family in the state, but that means that my parents have to come visit for Christmas. They have been coming to the warmth for the past three years now. I love spending this time of year with them. They get to leave cold weather in Idaho and enjoy the beautiful winter here-and this year it was so warm, we all loved it.

When Pops comes that also means that we get to golf. Pops and Steve went almost everyday. They even let my mom and I join the, twice. I am not a good player, but we get to play every other shot when I go. Mom and Pops are on a team and Steve and I are on a team. We all tee off and use the best lying ball. Then we alternate who hits the ball. I like playing that way b/c I don't feel so defeated that way. There is no way I could play 18 holes on my own!

My above mentioned brother and his wife welcomed a baby boy into the world on the 26th. I am excited for Brian and Beckam to get to know each other. By the time Caleb is done with dental school in 4 years, the B boys should be great buds!

Birthday Boy

You may recall that Steve is a Christmas Baby, so he gets super excited for Christmas/Birthday morning. We usually sing and have him open Birthday presents first. He got to choose Christmas/Birthday dinner too and didn't have to help prepare it. Good thing my Pops was here to make an exceptional prime rib dinner.

 I am thankful for Steve and the fantastic father that he is. I am thankful for his daily dedication to his health and wellness and that he puts up with me everyday.

 I love you Steve!

Hope you had a great day.

Kinder Winter Wonderland

El had a speaking part in the program it was really cute!

El with Mrs. Campbell-Hernandez

It was crazy doing this with El because I feel like it wasn't that long ago we were there with Ki. I am not getting older!