A name and a blessing..

Kevin blessed Addy in our ward on Sunday January 22nd. We named her Addyson Sylvia Foster. She is named after my mother Sylvia who passed away when I was a teenager. I had always wanted to name one of my girls in honor of my Mom. Addyson was actually born on October 24th which was the exact day my Mom passed away fifteen years ago. I hope that she grows up to be as righteous and faithful as her grandmother.

Kevin gave her a beautiful blessing. She was blessed to be a light unto others. He also told her that she would be an example to her older brothers and sisters. Our bishop commented on how Addy was calm and looking around during the blessing. It was really special to have Uncle Spencer in the blessing circle this time.

We had everyone over to the house for lunch. We all enjoyed the yummy food. Thanks to everyone who brought food to share.

We are so thankful to all the family and friends that came to the blessing. It was great to have Kevin's sister Lisa attend the blessing. She had brain surgery two weeks earlier and still made the effort to come. My Grandma and Grandpa Rosen are in the above picture with Addy.

A picture with my side of the family.

It was so much fun having my two best friends Jan and Kathleen come.

Addy being held by her Grandma Sue. She made this beautiful blessing dress when we had Mckenna. All three of our girls have worn it. It was a little sad thinking this will be the last time one of my babies will wear it. It is an heirloom that will be passed down to the next generation. It was a really memorable day. We love our little Addy and are so glad that she is a part of our family.

Birthday fun at trafalga!!

It was Parker's year for a friends party.  The boys made paper airplanes as everyone showed up.

Then we headed off to the trafalga fun center.

We got a bunch of tokens so the boys could play some games.  They were having fun playing skee ball in this one.

They took turns racing eachother on waverunners.  It was so funny watching how into the games they got. 

The main event of the party was laser tag.  The guys all geared up and ready for the game to begin. The boys told me that Kev came in first place.

We went back to the house to open presents.  Parker really has some great friends.  It is funny how loud they can be when they are together. 

We had pizza and rootbeer floats.  It was a good time for everyone!

Faith to be healed..

A little over a week ago we found out that Kevin's sister Lisa had a brain tumor.  The news was shocking to all of us.  She had been having some symptoms but nothing too serious.  We had just been spending time with her up at the cabin and she had seemed fine.  It has been a roller coaster of emotions for all of us. We went to visit her that night at the hospital. She was calm and smiling the whole time we were there.  It is amazing the courage and strength that she had even knowing that she would have brain surgery to remove the tumor.  She asked for a priesthood blessing before everyone left that night.  It was a very sweet experience to be there for the blessing.  The circle consisted of my father in law, brothers in law and Kev.  The spirit in the room was so strong.  I know that great blessings come through the power of the priesthood. We talked to the kids about Aunt Lisa and told them that we needed to pray and fast for her.  Mckenna and Parker both wanted to fast.  It was Parker's first time fasting. They now know what it means to fast with a purpose.  The surgery was on Sunday exactly a week ago.  She was in surgery for six hours.  We were so relieved to hear that everything went so well. They were able to remove most of the tumor.  We went to visit her a couple hours after the surgery.  She was still tired from the anesthesia but she acknowledged us.  She would sleep and then join in the conversation.  Kev was telling us that he used his phone so much over the weekend that his battery kept running out. My brother in law Cody said that he bought another for his phone and suggested Kev should do the same. Lisa opened her eyes and said, "check ebay"!! It really made us laugh because Lisa always loves to get a good deal.  We left the hospital feeling very relieved after seeing her.  She was doing so well after just coming out of surgery.

She has continued to amaze us throughout her recovery. She was up and walking just the day after her surgery. We took the kids to visit her during her stay at the hospital. They were very happy that Aunt Lisa remembered who they were.  She entertained us all while we were there.  She showed us her cool scar and tried on some of her cute hats.  As we left the hospital Parker said, "Mom, Heavenly Father really heard us."  I know that he did hear our prayers.  It really is a miracle that has taken place in our family.  It has strengthened us all and brought us closer together.  Lisa came home from the hospital on Friday.  We are still waiting to hear if the tumor is malignant or benign. We are praying and hoping for good news. 

Where is all the snow??

We went up to the cabin on new years eve for a few days. We were shocked to see how little snow there was.  We can't even remember a year where there has been this little snow over the holidays. You can see that the other side of the mountain doesn't have snow and the sagebrush is sticking out in the field.  Kev got out the gator and took the boys for a ride.  They loved doing donuts on the ice.

All our kids were excited that there was some snow to play in.  Parker had fun making snowballs.

Mckenna and Hayden having fun together in the snow.  They are standing in the ditch on top of the frozen water.

We still did some snowmobiling.  It was more like snowmobiling on ice.  We let Mckenna sit in front and have a chance to drive the snowmobile.  She loved it and wanted to be out there all day.  Spence was a nice Uncle and took the girls on lots of snowmobile rides.

Hayden having fun playing with all the toys in the bunkbed room.  Those toys have been around a long time.  Kev used to play with them when he was a kid too.  Check out the nice new carpet.  In August the cabin was remodeled and we said goodbye to the red shag.  The new carpet is nice and soft.

I snapped this pic of Kev hanging out with his brother, sisters, and Mom.  We spent most of the time hanging out in the cabin this year. It was good times.

Grandpa Foster decided to bring his Wii up to the cabin.  We all had a great time playing.  We brought up our two new games; mario kart and tetris.  It was fun having four of us play at a time.  It brought out the competitiveness in all of us.

Kev and Hayden watching a movie together.  I really liked this picture of the two of them.  You can tell that Hayden gets his big, brown eyes from his Daddy.

It was Addy's first overnight adventure away from home.  She was a little angel the whole time.  Aunt Heather always comments on how she never makes any noise or cries.  Addy was having a conversation with her Grandma Sue in this picture.

Mckenna really wanted to play at the park.  We four wheeled up in the gator.  She had fun trying out the teeter totter in the snow.  We are hoping to get some more snow in the next month.  We really want some powder for snowmobiling!