Goodbye 2008!

Yesterday Steve and I were discussing life in general and our future plans etc. He said as far as work goes, we could probably stay here in Alabama as long as we wanted to. Two years ago if he would have said that to me I would have said let's get out at the first opportunity and I would have meant it and prayed for it. Yesterday for the first time since we moved here, I thought, "you know that wouldn't be so bad. We have good friends here, our children are doing well and I can't think of a better place to raise a family. " I think part of my change of heart is due to the true friendships Steve and I have been able to form the past two years. To all my friends reading at this moment. Thankyou! Thankyou for keeping me sane. Thankyou for being my family away from family. You might think you don't make a difference in the world, but you do, especially in my world. My mom has always told me to bloom where I am planted. Blooming is much better with good friends beside you giving you encouragement, nourishment and love. This year I am thankful for good friends.

Speaking of being thankful. . . our thanks goes to the Nicholsons for inviting us over to spend Thanksgiving dinner with them for the second year in a row. Both Stephanie and I forgot to take pictures of the feast, but it was a good one. We ate so much we decided to save the pie for the next weekend. Note to self: Next year lets not make my Grandma's cinnamon rolls. I was so sick from them that I could barely make them for Christmas (our usual tradition). I made Steve's mom's Martha Stewart cornbread stuffing recipe again this year, as well as 7 layer bean dip and artichoke spinach dip. Second note to self: Try not to overload on appetizers before the actual meal. Your stomach can only hold so much. After much eating, many games were played and movies watched. All and all it was another great thanksgiving. Thanks Stephanie and Scott for helping us create Alabama traditions and keeping us from homesickness and boredom.




My birthday was a little boring this year. (Note to husband: not a brilliant idea to get your wife a curling iron for her birthday--I forgive you). But really, I wanted a simple boring birthday. Steve made me home cooked Korean food which was delicious and we opened presents and ate cake with the kids. He also took me out to dinner over the weekend for a night on the town.

A week or so after my birthday my parents dropped in to give us a visit. This year we decided not to go home for Christmas for the first time since we've been married. (Don't tell, I actually thought I might get homesick, but I didn't. Maybe that's because we are heading to Utah tomorrow and I don't have to stress about packing Christmas presents and I get to go skiing in a non-crowded ski resort). Can you believe I only took one picture with my parents and the kids? Yes one. You're looking at it. Would some of you please give me your desire to take lots of pictures. I loose mine all the time. I get too into whatever I'm doing and then forget all about it. All you photogrophers out there (yes you, you know who you are) you make me look really bad.

We had a great time with my parents. I went Christmas shopping for the kids with my mom. On saturday we went to Bridge Street and ate at Red Robin (huge treat for the kids) and then we went to see a show. We ate so much popcorn by the time we got out of the movie my dad decided to take us to Maggie Moo's for dinner. The kids thought it was way cool to have ice cream for dinner. Totally stuffed to the max. The next day I got to speak in Church (not cool), my Dad flew home and my mom stayed a few more days and then went home. I feel so blessed to have parents who make time for me and my family even though they have eight other children and are incredibly busy.

Ok, don't laugh. A few days after my parents left we had Steve's annual Holiday party. Thankyou again friends for letting me borrow the dress and the jewlery-- another penny saved! Steve's party is a big deal for us every year because it is for over a thousand people and he is the guy in charge of it. Steve has been the MC every year along with some of the others on his team. They work really hard and I am always glad when it is over because I actually get my husband back, mentally and physically. I have to say this year was the best party I've been to so far because they had a lip sinc contest for large prizes like 52 inch flat panels, and brand new refrigerators. It was sheer craziness. They also did this thing called wrap the manager where three different teams had to gift wrap executives. It was fun to see some of the Korean managers get out of their comfort zones. I also got a special treat-- Steve actually danced with me this year. Usually I never get to dance with him because he is running around, but the people on his team made him stop and give me a turn. He was a little nervous because we were one of the only couple's on the floor dancing and every one seemed to be looking at us, but he didn't step on my feet, he just blushed a bit. That's ok because I'm glad I can still make him blush.







During the month of December we did the usual fun Christmas time activities. We went to see the lights at the botanical gardens, and did breakfast with Santa at the High School.

We also got to go to Stephen's kindergarten Christmas brunch. That was lots of fun. We went caroling to many of the classrooms in the school and had a great breakfast. Luke was very excited when Stephen's teacher, Mrs. Mittman made a Reindeer t-shirt with him. I also went into Stephen's class room one day and made my grandma's cinnamon rolls with the kids. We made a big mess, but had lots of fun.

Christmas was great this year! Steve has been wanting a wii for about three years now, so we decided to get one for our family present. We have used it a TON and it was worth the investment to us. The kids also got some great gifts from all our family as well as from Santa Clause. Steve redeemed himself from my birthday and got me an i-pod shuffle for Chirstmas. We enjoyed spending Christmas eve and day with just our little family have now officially started our own traditions. This year we had Christmas dinner with the Marsaws and that made the day perfect! Again, this year I am thankful for friends!

I can't finish off this post without adding a little about Luke because I have previously added posts about Stephen and Anna, but not my little man. When Stephen started kindergarten it was really hard for Luke. He still cries in the morning sometimes when Stephen leaves for school not only because he will miss his brother, but because he wants to go to kindergarten so badly. Sadly for him, he misses the deadline for kindergarten by three days, so he won't be starting next year, but I do have him registered for a regular preschool which he is very excited about. Luke also has not been able to play soccer because again, he misses the deadline to start. This last fall Luke was really struggling and frustrated and I felt he needed something of his very own he could excell in. We decided to put him in gymnastics. He loves it, has a wonderful teacher, Mr. Ken, and has really improved his skills this year. I'm so grateful for strokes of inspiration. It really makes mothering much easier!

Ok. I'm signing off now. Kudos to you if you actually got this far. I can't believe I did. This year I will try not to get so far behind!

Christmas Scraps

This year for Christmas, I decided to get ambitious and use my new photoshop toy and all of Kim Greenfield's awesome pictures and scrapbook my parents and Steve's calendars for Christmas. I also put together two scrapbook albums for my Grandmothers. Wow. Let's just say it took a little more work than I thought, but it was fun. I am glad I have now have a creative/artistic outlet and I am glad I can reach out to family. Here are the pages for the calendar.

Big Steve, Little Steve

First off, I'm late in coming, but I have to wish my husband a happy birthday. We have been married seven and a half years now and I have to say I thought I loved him when I married him. I didn't think that my heart could grow any bigger, but it has and it continues to grow. I have made many decisions in my life, some good, some bad. Marrying Steve was the best decision I think I ever made.

We had a simple birthday this year. One night we had pizza with the kids and opened presents. Over the weekend I took Steve shopping and made him spend his birthday money on himself. I won out and got him to buy a new white shirt. I'm very proud of myself for that one. I'm hoping I can talk him into buying a new pair of loafers to wear to work for Christmas. His are looking pretty shabby. Steve was Stephen's soccer coach this fall and we got a gift certificate to outback from all the parents. We used that one for a little date night. I forgot how much I like outback!


Soccer was stupendous this year. Steve did a great job with the kids. He was patient and fun. It was inspiring to watch all the kids on the team improve, especially with their ball handling skills.


Stephen loved having his Dad as his soccer coach. He was not the best kid on the team, but he ran hard. He improved greatly over the course of the season. Most importantly, he loved being part of the team. He loved all the kids on his team and they loved him too. He thoroughly enjoyed all the practices and games and is very enthusiastic about soccer. I have to say, I loved watching my husband and my son out on the soccer field. They did a great job.

"These things are important. . . . take pictures twice a year."

Dear Anna,
At first having you was not easy for me. I didn't want to be pregnant again. I had to give up all the excercise I like to do with my body and teaching at the gym. I wasn't sure if Daddy and I could pay for you and everything you would need, but Heavenly Father told me it was your time to come. He said it would all work out so I decided to trust him even though it wasn't easy for me. Now I watch you growing up. I watch you taking your first step. I watch you laugh and wave and give me kisses. And now I wonder why I ever doubted, why I even questioned. I love you my sweet baby. You were worth all of it and much more. Thankyou for coming to our family. Thankyou for bringing me so much joy.
Mom

Kim Greenfield recently took our family pictures. She got some beautiful shots of Anna . . . . Thanks kim.

Halloween Festivities

First off, Sorry for falling off the blogging wagon for a while. You would think I could get Halloween up faster. My photoshop program kept shutting down on me and when you get addicted to digital scrapbooking that is a HUGE bummer. Needless to say we are up and running. . . (by the way did you see the new pics? Kim Greenfield is so talented. . . much more to come!) Now onto Halloween. . .


This year the Brossards went a little bigger than usual and Mom and Dad actually dressed up. Dad was himself as Prince Charming, Mom was Cinderella, Stephen and Luke were transformers(ofcourse), and Anna was Dumbo.


Of course we had the usual festivities. Dad carved pumpkins with the kids. We decorated sugar cookies and took them to the neighbors, etc. The big change of the year, however, was deciding to start the tradition of an annual Halloween Pary with friends and their kids. It was a little crazy and a whole lot of kids, but it ended up being fun for all. Everyone was told they would not be allowed in the door without a costume. Here is some of the damage. If I don't have a picture of you or your weren't invited I'm so sorry! We had a really hard time figuring out how many people we could fit in our house. We mostly stuck with our neighborhood and joy school friends. If I could of I would have invited everyone. Sonja and Lynette kindly sent me their shots to use for this post, with all the hustle and bustle I didn't take enough pictures. See if you can guess who these rogues in vogue are. .











Are those not great costumes? How fun is that! Now, back to the party. First we gathered at our house for a potluck dinner and let the kids have costume parade and picnic out back. Then the adults left the kiddies with babysitters (yes I know I am brave to abandon my house to little crazy bodies full of sugar and adrenaline) and headed to the Marsaws for Bingo and charades. It was a little competitive (well not a little, a lot), but if you don't want to win, why play? Right? That's my motto anyway. Not really but still fun, fun. Here are some shots of the kids.



What a Halloween! I think I've finally recovered!

A Typical Steve Story

So before I move onto Halloween and soccer. . . and while I'm still recovering from our Halloween party, I have to share a "typical Steve story." Last Friday night we went to the temple. We are getting much better at it now that we trade our kids with another family and we carpool with friends and then go out to dinner. Its easier to want to do the right thing when 3 hours of driving is actually fun you know? Being that Steve was in charge of a golf tournament for Korean executives the next day (bummer when you have to work on Saturday), he wasn't sure if we should go to the temple because we get home late and he had to be there early. Because we set a goal to make it to the temple once a month and it was our last chance, he decided we should go anyway. We got home at 12:30. Steve had to "finish up" a few things to get ready for his tournament, so he got to bed at like 2:00. He got up at 5:00 the next morning (how do you work on 3 hours of sleep?) He drove 50 minutes to Arab (don't ask me where that is), set up and started his event, then he drove back to Madison and coached Stephen's soccer game. Of course people are still calling him while he is coaching the game.

After the game he drove straight back to Arab, finished his event, sent his employees home early (what?), cleaned up by himself, and got home at 4:30. Meantime, being my insane self, I got a babysitter during the afternoon and ran 18 miles. Yes, I am training for a marathon, but that's the longest I've gone in 3 years so when I got home I could barely walk, to say the least. It's adult stake conference session that night. I'm in bed complaining about the throbbing in my legs, he's exhausted and I say I don't really want to go to the meeting. We went to the temple last night, maybe we should just stay home? Tired eyes, he looks at me and says, "I just know the Lord will bless us if we go." How can I not love this man? It was a wonderful meeting. The spirit was so strong, I was crying, thankful I went. The talks and the music absolutely superb! And of course, I let Steve sleep in until 11:00 the next day and take a nap after stake conference until 7:00 that night. Now that's tired! What a guy!

Oh Where, Oh Where. . . .

My sweet little Anna. . . . where has she gone? I can't keep up with her and she can't even walk yet! She is pulling everything out of my cupboards. I find her in the bathroom playing in toilet water and pulling out the toilet paper. Someone bring me back my sweet little baby!

Fall is for Having Fun!

I love fall in Alabama! The weather is beautiful. The smells, the colors, the leaves, the trees. It just makes me happy.
Last week I was able to take Anna and Luke on a Kindergarten trip to Tate Farms. We had a wonderful time. It was a lot of fun for Stephen and Luke to eat lunch together. Stephen introduced Luke to all of his friends. Each class had a guide that lead us from activity to activity. Luke walked in the line next to Stephen and all of the rest of the kids. I was so glad that Stephen was genuinely happy that Luke was there. They are truly good friends and best brothers. Luke was so excited to go with the big kids and participate in all the activities.


First we went on a hay ride through the cotton fields. Anna loved it. It was bouncy and fun. After the cotton fields we made it to a humoungous pumpkin patch where the boys were able to pick their own pumpkin.

The rule was that you had to be able to pick up your pumpkin in order to take it. Once you found it, you would raise your hand until the guide came to cut it off the vine. Luke was elated. He ran through the patch until he found just the right one and raised his hand as fast as he could.

Stephen was excited too. He went for big first and it took us a few tries before we found one he could actually carry. Stephen has a wonderful kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Mittman. He loves her to pieces. It was really special to watch her with her class. I'm really grateful there are such wonderful schools here.


After picking pumpkins, we were lead from one activity to the next. The boys jumped from a barn into the hay, the played in the corn crib, went through a corn maze, climbed tires. They were completely exhausted when we finished. Infact Luke fell asleep on the way home and ended up taking a 3 hour nap.


Anna did a great job of hanging in there for the day. She had lots of fun too. Stephen was very proud of her and kept telling all the kids that that was his little sister. Anna particularly loved playing in the corn crib. She loved scooping up the corn with her hands and watching it fall through her fingers. All and all it was a great day and a fun field trip.