Spot Light on...

I love it when my family makes it onto other families blogs! I have only had a blog for a few months so I haven't seen anyone Else's before now so I am going way back on other peoples posts and seeing that, once in a while, I make an appearance in some of their history. I am going to start spotlighting one friend or family at a time on my blog. If you do not want to be spotlighted that is fine just please let me know.

We'll start with the newest member of our family, Parker, and one of her best friends, Halle! Parker and Halle are both July Rubys and sweet little girls. They enjoy long naps, bottles of milk, and pooping in their pants. Halle has 3 big sisters that love her and that are also good friends with Parker's older Brother and Sister. Halle's Mom is one of the nicest, selfless people I know. I met Halle's Mom 5 years ago when we lived in the same apartments and had our first girls. As most of my best friends know...it's not easy being my friend. I am not good at calling or writing or making plans. I love Halle's mom for making the effort to stay my friend over all these years. Hers is a friendship that I will never lose and am a better person for having.

Rememering all her hair dos

First day of Preschool (3) "Corn rolls"
Fancy up do


Fun wig and spray

Piggy tails are too long!

I never thought I would be able to say this once bald girl's hair would be too long but I DID! Every new hair do was so exciting.

Age 1: Finally a clip will stay in stead of double sided tape

Age2: We can use a braces rubber band and do a tiny spout

Age 3: She is too old for a spout but that is all the hair she had
Age 3.5: Two tiny piggys on top was all we could get

Age 4: Full piggys or small pony tail

Age 5: Just about any do was possible but the ends were so thin and whispy and she looked homeless a lot of the time. (I'm no good at doing hair)

NOW: She is 5.5 and we got the BIGGEST hair cut of her life! Her hair is to thick and healthy now! She and I both LOVE it! Daddy kinda misses the long hair we waited so long to get.

You have to keep scrolling to the bottom of the last post to see the latest!

Hair

Trampoline Hair

"Piggy Buns"

Creative Braids


WE LOVE THIS NEW DO!!

(only trouble is that it is right at mouth length so it's ALWAYS in her mouth...)



She looks so old!!

I GET to have TODAY

I have had too many friends in the not so distant past that have gone through unimaginable trials relating to their kids. In the blog world you can read about them and then you read about their friends that can relate and so on. It's hard to see how much sadness and unexplained death and grief is out there and in my very close friends lives. I feel so helpless! I want to say comforting words but have nothing that will dull their pain. Some of the feelings I have heard mentioned is "Why do bad Moms and teenage Moms and Moms that don't even want their children get to keep their kids and I have to lose mine?" I feel so badly for these Moms that have to ask these questions! I have no answers to these questions. The only One that knows is our Heavenly Father. In my daily prayers I often get stuck in vain repetition "nourish and strengthen our bodies" or thank thee for "today". Really? Today? What am I saying? What am i really thankful for? I want everyone that reads this to know that I have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that I know our Father in Heaven has a plan for us. Today, I am thankful for TODAY! I am so overwhelmed with gratitude for TODAY! I complain about my trails that are legitimate sometimes...But I have 3 beautiful, healthy, smart and loving children that I GET to raise. I GET to be a Mom and I love that calling. I hesitate when I say this because I feel like it may come across as insensitive to those that have lost children but I think they would rather hear me saying how incredibly blessed I feel to have my kids rather than what a pain it was fighting with Sydney today. I don't know why some get called home sooner than others but I do know that I am thankful for TODAY and the fact that tomorrow I will be tired when my alarm goes off because I GET to wake up and listen to Sydney whine about me getting the tangles out of her hair. I get to clean up the toys after Joseph destroys my house. And when Parker pukes on my carpet and poops in her pants, I GET to be the one to clean it up. I am thankful for TODAY.

Thank You!

Much thanks needs to be given to my great friend, Heidi Stanford!!! My blog is now super cute! All she asked me was what colors I liked and all I said was green... Does this not scream, Amanda? She is Amazing! I love every aspect of it and it is all due to my wonderful friend. Thank you, Heidi, I love it and YOU!!

Joe and Coop's Birthday

Joseph Paul was born @ Noon on Dec. 7th 2005. 8 hours later his cousin, Cooper James, was born in a hospital across town. I will admit @ first I was worried about having boys on the same day with anyone let alone a family member that lives down the street and is in the same ward. I thought they would CONSTANTLY get compared and they would probably hate sharing their birthday... I was wrong. It has been so fun! Cooper and Joseph are not even comparable. There are no two boys less a like. We have shared every birthday party so far and they have loved it! This was their 3rd. Aside from being twin cousins they are BEST FRIENDS! Opposites attract. They got twin Bob the Builder tool sets and twin bikes and so much more. Odd year birthdays are the little family parties and evens are the bigger parties. We have such an awesome family so the "little" family party was huge and the boys got spoiled! Being in December part of our party was making GingerBread houses. We had the party at Cooper's house. Cooper's mom, Kasandra, is a great hostess with great ideas. The party was a hit! Everyone loved it. I love my boy so much!

A little deep and personal...

ABOVE PICTURES HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY OF THE WORDS BELOW AT ALL...I JUST WANTED TO HAVE PICTURES AS WELL AS WORDS. THESE ARE A FEW PHOTOS OF MY SYDNEY AND HER BESTIE...TATUM.

Are blogs about feelings? Well, here is what I am feeling tonight. I was very lucky and blessed to get to spend New Years Eve and the ball drop @ St. Joseph's Hospital with my longest and best friend, and her beautiful angel daughter. I only met this angel one other time but I will never forget her. She passed away on Monday and I am so affected and saddened by it. My heart has literally hurt because of the pain I know my friend and her family must be going through. I had another friend a year ago that lost her baby son and that too really affected me. I cannot begin to imagine the sorrow a parent must feel to lose a child. I haven't dealt with much loss in my life, other than my brother, and that agony actually brought me to my knees, made me punch the ground, made me lose sleep, made me make numerous bad choices...very literally CHANGED MY ENTIRE LIFE. The pain I felt was the most real and awful pain I've ever felt and my pain is, I'm sure, a tiny tiny fraction of the pain my friend is going through now. I love my friends. Especially you...you know who are (tingrin). I'm so sorry for your loss. You mean so much to me and I hate to see you going through this. I want to be there with you every minute but I know you are surrounded by love. I am here...

No picture, No post

I feel like if I don't have a picture to post and talk about I have no reason to blog. So here are all the Dickerson Cousins...almost all of them...when we were up North for Thanksgiving but because my last post was about Thanksgiving we are calling this one Christmas-ish. I have a lot of pictures that now, after I take them, I think 'OHHH! I can blog about this!' However the time it takes just isn't my top priority. I do like blogging, though.