Easter

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday! We had a beautiful morning reflecting on our Savior, and his amazing sacrifice for us.  We followed through the day visiting our amazing family! We went to Grandma Sue's for Lunch and a Easter Egg hunt. After Grandma Sue's, we headed off to Grandma Martie's for lots of good food, and candy filled eggs! We had a lot of fun with family! My kids have some pretty amazing cousins!
Jake and Joe were excited to find brand new ties in their easter baskets at our house!  Courtney got a dress that was made by Mommy! Here are some pictures of our day!

                                         Courtney Said, "Pretty Daddy!"

                                                      Traditional Picture of all the N Cousins!

Jake's Big Day and Big Decision!

Jake turned the age of 8 this past spring. How blessed we are to have such a beautiful boy in our house!  Jakester is the fun loving kid in our house! He is very compassionate! He is a great friend to many! Here are some important facts of Jake...
1. He is reading like a champ! His favorite books are "The Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series.
2. He loves to ride his bike. He has had his bike for just over 2 years, and I am probably not exaggerating to say he has ridden his bike over 100 miles.
3. He loves Soccer! This Spring was his first season playing formal soccer and he did FANTASTIC!
4. His favorite buddies are Zack & Greyson and Jayden.
5. He loves to read the scriptures with Dad! His favorite scripture story is Daniel and the Lions Den.
6. Jake excels in Math. He knows about 90% of his multiplication tables.
7. Red Enchiladas (beef) are a sure fire way to put a big smile on his face!
8. Jake loves to take care of Magellan. Whenever we go for walks, it is Jake with the leash. He and Magellan are very close to one another!
9. Jake has a very special bond with Dad and Grandpa!
10. Jake loves to go to the cabin at Bear Lake.
11. Jake has an amazing faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jake has been counting down the months, weeks and days until he was able to be baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! What a special day! The Spirit was very strong that day, and I knew that Jake had made this choice on his own. He was so excited to make that commitment. He mentioned during that day that he was perfectly clean! As his parents it was a great experience to see the brightness in his countenance! I am so proud of him. We had a small get together/luncheon for him. He was so happy that all of his grandparents were there! He loves seeing them all at the same time! He loved having his Aunt Heidi, cousin Torrie and his special friends Jayden and Ashton came too, it really made him feel special to have them there.

Jake is an amazing kid and we are so grateful for him! He teaches us all lessons everyday. We love you Jacob Strevell!

Ladies And Gents, we have a 2 Year old!

Our little Sister Sue has officially turned two! I love this age! She is so much fun!

• She is a big fan of shoes. Not her shoes, but her brothers stinky sneakers. (hopefully this changes soon!)
• Baby Dolls are a big deal to her. HUGE!
• She is a very independent little girl. She likes to go down stairs BY HERSELF, if you help her, you will infuriate her.
• She loves ice. When we go to the gas station she loves to take some of my ice out of my coke.
• Suckers are a favorite treat.
• She will eat pickles.
• She announces when she needs a diaper change. I think potty training is in the 6 month horizon.
• Justin is her hero. Daddy makes the world a better place. All he has to do is walk in the room and her face lights up.
• She likes to carry a purse, a diaper bag, or her baby dolls.
• She is beginning to talk a bunch. Just today she said "I wanna samich" and "I wanna tookie pease."

She is a beautiful young girl and she makes us smile daily. Her brothers adore her and they will do anything to make her smile. We are so grateful to have her in our family. We are very lucky to have three beautiful, healthy kiddos!

Baby dolls are a big deal to her. BIG!

Jake-isms

Being a mom has it's perks. One of which is hearing the one liners from the kids. Lately, Jake has been rather witty. Lastnight he got into trouble for yelling at me. As a consequence, he was told that he was not allowed to play the Wii for the remainder of the night. About an hour later, I walk into our great room and he is playing Mario Brothers on the Wii. I said to him,

"Ummm, Jake, I said no Wii for the rest of the night."

Jake replies, "Mom, it's opposite day, that means I can still play!"

I really tried not to laugh, but wasn't successful.

Tonight I was preparing supper. As I was finishing up getting the food ready, Jake says to me,

"Mom, you are the best Mom in the whole universe!"

I replied, "Oh, thank you Jake that was really sweet!"

He says, "No one else thinks so, but I do!"

Wow, I am feeling the love!

Joey's Birthday Party

Here is a video taken of Joey's Birthday Party...with some modifications and music!

Someone to Celebrate!!!

Today we celebrated the birth of my second son! What an amazing little boy! I am so proud of Joey, and I am so blessed because he is mine! Today he is five years old! How crazy time flies! I remember the day he was born. I was huge! We dropped Jake off with my Mom, so I could go to the hospital and have him. We were scheduled for surgery at 1pm and we needed to be at the hospital by noon. We got to Cottonwood Hospital and got to the desk to check in. It was quite surreal actually, everyone was so relaxed, directing me to sign here, and Here, and HERE! Oh and here are the risks of C Section deliveries... make sure you read those. As we went through the paperwork, the nurse at the desk said, "We are running behind schedule. We need you to come back in one hour." Okay... I was thinking, so what do you propose I do??? Apparently the nurse had mind reading powers and suggested that we go take a stroll around Fashion Place Mall. So that we did. We looked at a real estate kiosk, we stopped so Justin could have lunch, (meanwhile I was starving and totally salivating at the sight of his cheese stick and Lemonade!)

We head back to the hospital after we had been gone about an hour, they had me strip, put on one of those sexy hospital gowns, and off I was wheeled to have my little Joey!

I remember laying on the table and thinking... I wonder how big he will be? I can't believe i am going to meet this little guy face to face! I wonder what he will look like? Will he have his daddy's big brown eyes? Dark Skin? Fair Skin? Just picturing him in my mind seemed to take the nerves away. Suddenly, I felt a shift in my abdomen... all my insides that had been pushed to different places were suddenly shifting back, and then I heard it! My little boy Cried! I was so excited. Justin was beaming in his Marshmallow Suit! They told me his weight and all I could think was... "That's my BOY!" He weighed 8 lbs. 9.6oz, and 21 inches long! He was so handsome! He had the sweetest little face, cute little hands and toes!

It's crazy to think five years have passed since that happy day. Each day with Joe is an adventure. He is always asking questions. He is very inquisitive. He loves to know how things work, and why they work the way they do. He is a spitfire like his mother... never a doubt what he is thinking or feeling about something or someone. He is witty and makes me laugh all the time! He is a smart little kid that absolutely adores his big brother and little sister! He loves his friends and talks about them often! Goodnight prayers are a big deal to him. He loves to say his prayers and loves to give his mommy loves!

I am so proud of my Joe Joe! He makes me one happy momma, EVERY SINGLE DAY!

I love you Joseph!