Ponderings

I have been stressed lately and feeling anxious about a number of things. It seems like everyday I hear about someone else losing their jobs, more homes going into forcloser, divorce, and family hardships among other things. It is hard for me b/c I feel helpless. I wish I had a magic wand to heal the hurt and pain people are feeling. I feel so blessed that JR has a good job, that we have money for groceries/rent, beautiful kids, and a husband whom I can say I am honestly in love with. We are at a pretty happy place right now in our lives but I am confused as to why I feel so gloomy? Maybey it is b/c last year was a really hard year for us with the death of Chelsea and then a very stressful pregnancy. I think that the Lord is giving us a break-thank goodness. But, I am feeling like I want to return the favor and I just don't know where to start and then I get overwhelmed looking at everyone else's struggles. I am not sure why I wanted to post this, but it is always good to let people know that you love them and care about them. So even though this isn't a very personal approach to telling you all that I love you, I just want you to know that I am praying for you and wanted you to know that the Lord loves you too. You are not alone.
Love,
Ronna

Barack Obama is now President

History was made yesterday and I was actually surprised by my reaction. To be honest, I voted for John McCain for many reasons but when I was watching the inauguration yesterday I couldn't help but get a little teary-eyed as I listened to speech and watched his family make their new home at the White House. I can't believe we have a Black President and I think it is great. I am not happy about some of his changes that he plans to make but overall, I think he will do a good job. It is amazing to see and feel the togetherness that this man has brought to the country and to the world. I think that is exactly what we need right now for this failing economy-a fresh face. I hope and pray that we can all come together as a nation and remember that Obama is just a man that is trying to make our nation a better place to live.

Gotta love the blowouts!

This is what I did on Friday night. The joys of motherhood!

Caitlynn is totally oblivious of what she has done.

I don't know why all my kids decided to get into the bath but I decided to take a picture because Luke is almost too big to take baths with Brooke anymore. Memories I guess.


Apparently she didn't like the outfit she was in, this one is way cuter anyway. But next time Caitlynn, please don't poo all over, just ask mommy.

New Years in St. George

At the last minute, I decided to go to St. George to visit my parents for New Years. Here are some pictures of our trip. This first one is of my dad, step-mom, and sister-in-law Katie with her dog Boo and my parents' dog Bella, oh-and the kids.

Here is a nice picture with my two brothers, my Dad and Luke. The only guy missing was JR-maybey next year he will decide to take off a little more time-but probably not.

Here is a cute picture of Luke and Brooke and their favorite Aunt Katie(my brother Rory's wife). This was taken at Cold Stone, yummy!

And here is Uncle Rory hiding behind his baby-oh I mean dog. Luke and Brooke sure got enough doggy-time to last them until the next trip I hope.

Isn't he the nicest Uncle ever??? Never a dull moment with Uncle Ryan around.

Here the kids are getting ready to take Bella out on her walk. She goes on a walk twice a day and my kids fight over who gets to hold the leash. So, one does it in the morning with Grandma Kay and the other one gets to do it at night with Grandpa Mac. They like taking her around the pond behind their house. It is definitely the highlight of the day for Luke and Brooke.

Here is my nerdy child Brooke. She looked so goofy with Grandpa Mac's glasses on and then when she put on the princess tiara it was even better. She is so funny!

Luke and Brooke with their Aunt Katie. Thanks again for watching my kids for me. They sure do love you.

A nice picture with Grandpa Mac. I wish we lived closer Dad, the kids sure miss wrestling with you.

And this is what Caitlynn thought of our trip. "Thumbs up!" Hope you all had a great New Years!

Merry Christmas!

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! We had a great time at home this year with just our little family and it was so perfect. We all got spoiled and I just wanted to share some pictures of us enjoying this wonderful holiday. Here is our annual "picture on the tripod after church" photo. I make JR take one of these pictures every year and it is fun to see how much our family has changed. I like to frame them in a Christmas frame and pull them out every year with our other Christmas decorations and put them on the mantle. It is one tradition that I actually follow through with. I usually send out that picture for our Christmas cards but this year, my friend took pictures of the kids and so I just used those. But I did sort of miss having our whole family on the cards, so I thought I'd put it on the blog instead.

Here is the decorated tree and stockings waiting to be filled. Notice how there are only four stockings, I never got around to making Caitlynn's, oops! Next year I will get it done and maybey she will even get a gift from Santa too. Thank goodness for grandparents or else she wouldn't have gotten anything this year. But don't worry, she won't remember. Do you remember your first Christmas?

So since we were suppose to go to Portland this year for Christmas, I didn't want to put the tree up. But when we decided to stay home, Luke informed me that we had to put up the Christmas tree or else Santa wouldn't come. So, here we are Christmas Eve day, putting up the tree, listening to Christmas music and just enjoying not having to drive anywhere. I highly recommend it.

Here are the people that made my Christmas so special. Thanks hun for all your hard work this year. You are the BEST husband I could've asked for. You are also a pretty good gift giver too. I love you! And to my four children (three walking, one flying) You make me love my life (most of the time). I have truly been blessed this year. We will always miss our baby Chelsea but are so thankful that she sent us another sister to love. I still learn from you everyday and miss you in those quiet moments. Some day I will get to raise you, until then, you continue to teach me.

What a happy family we are. Hope you are feeling the love of the Savior at this time of the year, we sure have felt His love. We love you all and can't wait to see what is in store for next year! It truly was a Merry Christmas for us.

Love,

JR, Ronna, Luke, Brooke, Caitlynn, and the spirit of Chelsea Lynn Edwards

Brooke's Princes Party

Brooke wanted a Princess Party this year and with a "pink castle cake". Here is the final product. It was crazy-fun, as all parties are, but I am sure glad it is over.

Since it was so fun decorating the castle cake, I decided to bake 3 more boxes of cake the night before and let everyone decorate their own "castles". It was a hit, and I tried to explain to JR that the extra $75 I spent on candy and frosting was totally worth the memory. The kids definitely loved it but I don't recommend it if you want a clean house.

Besides decorating castles, we made homemade tiaras and played Kiss the Frog Prince. The girls LOVED getting to put tons of lipstick on and trying to kiss the lips on the frog poster I made. The boys, not so much. But hey that is what you get at a princess party. I forgot to get pictures of that but it was really cute. Here they are opening presents. Notice how I said "they" instead of "Brooke". Luke likes to help her-oh well, she didn't seem to mind.

This is how Luke felt during most of the party until his friend Jacob showed up.


On the invitations, I told everyone to dress up and so they all looked so cute! Sorry about Brooke's immodesty. I tried to convince her to wear a shirt underneath but it was her party and she insisted on the hoochie ballet dress. I can only win so many battles with a 4 year old princess.

Thanksgiving

We had such a fun Thanksgiving this year. My brother Rory and his wife Katie came and also my older brother Ryan. We had a very relaxed Thanksgiving dinner-I wore my pj's and didn't even take a shower. Here is my brother Rory dancing with Luke and Brooke on the coffee table waiting for the turkey to cook. I don't remember what song they were dancing to but it definitely wasn't a thanksgiving song!

That weekend we went to the pier and had clam chowder at the Boudin Sourdough Factory and then went to the Musee Mechanique. It is a collection of over 200 vintage arcade games and attractions housed in a warehouse on Fisherman's Wharf. We like going there because it is free and you can just wonder around and watch other people put their quarters in and get a free show. No, we did spend about $10 in quarters but it is definitely worth it and my kids never get sick of it.

Here is Luke and Brooke trying out the massage chair that just shakes annoyingly. They liked it though.

Here is Brooke in front of a farm house where you could watch all the men at work and the windmill turning. It is actually pretty amazing how they all work. It makes me think of simpler times(before video games).

Here is Uncle Ryan using all my quarters on another massage chair. I threw Luke and Brooke on so we could get more for our money.

Here is the famous laughing lady. She does have a name, I just can't remember it. Basically all this lady does is make this freakishly loud laugh and her upper body shakes. It is kind of scary, in a scary clown sort of way. But we do it every time we go.

Another fun thing we did over Thanksgiving was to go shopping on Haight and Ashbury street. It is the famous hippy shopping district and it is great!!! I am a huge fan of Mendel's Art supply and I go there on a regular basis. I don't even mind all the crazy hippies/homeless people there. You definitely have to go there to appreciate what it has to offer.

Here is Brooke and Aunt Katie in front of a great costume store. I bought Brooke that crown.

Here we are on the Haigth and Ashbury intersection-where it all started ;)

Here we are in front of one of the many smoke shops. And yes we did get asked a few times if we wanted to purchase some marijuana.

Here I am with my awesome pouch that my friends gave to me at my baby shower. Caitlynn sleeps every time I put her in this and I totally recommend it for anyone looking to pack around a baby. It is called a "Kangaroo Pouch" and I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! It was perfect for the busy weekend, thanks again guys!!!

So as you can see our Thanksgiving was lots of fun-table dancers, party clothes, hippies, marijuana, slot machines, massages, an all-you-can-eat buffet and a happy little baby to top it off. I am so Thankful that I had fun people to share it with.

PS. What happens at the Edwards, stays at the Edwards. Anyone want to come for Christmas?