Grateful for my boys...

It's hard to believe that Ethan and Dylan would have been three on Sat. how fun and busy those two would be right now. Even though this week is always really tough for us I am really trying to focus on the positive instead of the pain. I am grateful this week for those little things that my family has done that are really big things for me. Last night Hunter was playing with a cardboard box, he set it up with chairs around it and said, "Mom, I just probably want to take you to dinner at my restaurant." I gave him a tablecloth and he got busy setting up a little table and coloring menus and signs for his restaurant. Then we made homemade pizza together just him and I and we sat down together at his little table and ate and talked just him and I. After we ate he came over and gave me a hug and said, "There you go sweet mom" (sometimes he calls me sweet mom and Avery sweet girl) and just sat on my lap so I could hold him. I am so grateful to have such a beautiful four year old who in sweet moments like this makes the whole world feel better. I remember how nervous I was when I found out we were having a boy since I had grown up with a housefull of girls. I never could have imagined how special the relationship is between a mom and her little boy. I am grateful to have a husband who has called me during the day just to tell me he loves me a little more this week and spent extra time giving me back rubs and snuggling with me until I can finally fall asleep. It's not so much what he says as much as it is that he always knows what I need. There is just something about Deke that is so amazing, it is like he just always knows how to make it better, he provides so much comfort and understands like no one else can. There has never been a doubt in my mind as to why he is my eternal companion. I am grateful for Ethan and Dylan they are such valiant little spirits that all they had to do was come and get a body, they have to be some very special little guys. I can not wait to get to hold them and really get to know them. I am grateful that they have helped me to realize more than ever that I believe in the plan of salvation. I am grateful for a million things in my life but this week I am so very grateful for my boys. Each one of them all take such good care of me and are so tender to their sensitive mommy. They hug me and hold me and make me feel so much love. This week is one of those where I just can never have too much love and support. Each year I feel like we are making positive progress but some things will never change. I am still their mommy and they are still my babies and that will always touch a very tender part of my heart.

Deke, Hunter, Ethan and Dylan thank you for loving me the way you do.

Just to name a few...

Today I have been having a major sweet craving and it got me thinking about some of my latest favorite sweet things. Here they are in no particular order: A stop at Lollicup for a strawberry or peach slush with boba. What is Boba you ask, well they are little balls of tapioca mixed in with the slushy (the little black things you see in the bottom of the drink) I know it sounds weird but it is actually really good. Yum I get thirsty just thinking about it. Next on the list would be Dippin Dots the "ice cream of the future" where I would choose either banana split or rootbeer float. I love this ice cream because it is extra cold, takes awhile to melt, and I love the way it feels on my tongue when I eat it. I know that sounds silly but seriously I like the shape of it. Tons of little balls of ice cream they are so good, so much better than regular ice cream.

Then I would love to indulge in a Bahama rama mama at Bahama Bucks which is a slushy with a gelato like substance and then more slush and then cream drizzled over the top. I kid you not when I add that I practically lived off of these the last two months of my summer in Arizona pregnancy with Hunter. They are only in Mesa so we enjoy them whenever we go to the temple.

Last of all in the area of pastries would be Entenmann's cheese filled crumb coffee cake which can be found at any grocery store near you. With a yummy sweet cream cheese filling and a crumbly topping it is my favorite coffee cake.
Believe me there are many more sweets that I love but these seem to be on the top of my list of current faves. They are all delicious and if you see one you haven't tried you should, they are all sooooo yummy! Happy snacking!!!

Snack stealer

Avery is an official nursery member which we are all excited about. Wrestling with her during sacrament is becoming quite the chore so we were very excited for her to take this next step. When Hunter went to nursery, he of course was the social butterfly and comedic relief. The problem we had with him if any was that during snack and lesson time he insisted on being the "seat assigner" for all the other kids telling them where each of their seats were. Avery is much more hesitant and not as concerned about the other kids. She loves singing time but is not so interested in story time. Her favorite time is snack time and she has been dubbed the "snack stealer" of the group. Yes once she has devoured her own snack she then attempts to eat all the snacks of any and all people sitting near her. Halfway through snack they bring out the toys and all the kids run over and get busy playing, not Avery. Avery stands by the snack table the whole time circling around it and trying to swipe something when we turn our heads. She never leaves her post to go play with toys or interact with the other kids, no she just stands by the table waiting for us to get busy talking so that she can take some food. I thought that surely this was just a "first week" kind of quirk but no she has done the same thing all three weeks in nursery so far. I should have known since she is so serious about her food. She doesn't share food with anyone and throws a fit every time she is done eating no matter how much food she has had (example: this morning 3/4 a can of pears and two pieces of french toast, along with innumerable cheerios). She seems to enjoy it though and we are happy for her to take this new step.

CTR 5

Well Hunter's first year in Primary has come and flew by us and I can't believe that he is now in CTR 5. He was a little hesitant about it all since he really loved Sis. Dexter but after church he couldn't stop talking about all the things he did today in primary. He is very excited and motivated to try to "choose the right" because he is a CTR 5 he keeps telling us. It amazes me how much he has grown since his pictures last year of becoming a new Sunbeam, it goes so fast. He just gets taller and gains more freckles, the more freckles he gets the cuter he gets. Avery has ventured into nursery which brings emotions of gratitude rather than sadness from both Deke and I. I am always grateful when they go to nursery so that I can actually listen to the lessons during church. I will post about her nursery adventures later this week.

A good one for sure

We decided to kick off 2008 up in Prescott with our very good friends the Grant family. It is so special when you find friends that the wives get along, the husbands get along, the kids get along and well everyone feels like family. These guys feel more like family than friends to us and we have missed them so much since we moved, we couldn't wait to get up there and see them. We enjoyed a delicious dinner, visited, the kids played, we talked and played games till the wee hours of the morning. Then we all got up and had pancakes and talked until we had to pull ourselves away and back down the hill. Hunter just loves Dylann and Evan so much and Deke and I could never get enough time with Kerry and Erin. In PV Erin and I served in RS together, I was her visiting teacher, and we found any other excuse to get together several times a week. She is definitely one of my best friends and I am so thankful for her. We are so thankful for you Grant family, you have been such a wonderful blessing in our lives. We had such a great time and all I can say is I have a very good feeling that 2008 is going to be a great year for our family for sure!!

Merry Christmas

Well this was an exciting Christmas at the Burch household and Hunter was very ready for Santa to come. He had colored lots of pictures for the reindeer and had a plan set that when he heard the jingle bells he was going to wake up and ask Santa if he could ride on his sleigh. Christmas Eve as he went to sleep he placed the pictures next to him and for the first hour or so every noise he heard he was awake and wondering if Santa had arrived. Mom and Dad decided to have Hunter call GG and Papa in Snowflake and Grandma Tobar in San Diego to see if Santa had been to their houses yet. They both informed Hunter that they had watched the "Santa Tracker" on the news and that he was just over Florida which was still a long way from Arizona. We clicked on the news and sure enough he had been spotted over Florida, once Hunter had nailed us down to an approximate time as to when Santa may arrive in Peoria (always our schedule kid) he finally fell asleep. He came in the next morning at 6:30 almost in tears because he hadn't heard the jingle bells and didn't think that Santa made it to his house. Dad went out and checked by the tree and yelled back that Santa had come! Hunter and Avery raced out to the living room to find this:


Santa had come!!!! Hunter excitedly picked up the note from Santa which said what a good boy he had been this year and how he had seen Hunter sleeping so peacefully and decided not to wake him up. Santa told him that he had hugged him though and thanked him for the pictures that the reindeer loved them especially Rudolph. Hunter raced to his bedroom to look for the pictures and came running back out, "Mom the pictures are gone, Santa came in my room and took them for the reindeer!" The whole time we are videotaping this event and my heart is swelling with happiness. I have always loved Christmastime but there is just something about watching the joy and excitement in the eyes of your children that brings the magic back. Santa brought Avery her very own kitchen and tons of fun stuff to go with it,


Hunter was given lots of great things but his favorite things were his drill set that was "just like daddy's" and his new fishing pole. (Pictures of a very cute first fishing trip to come)

This year we even let the kids pick out presents for each other and give them to each other. Avery didn't really understand but it was really fun to watch Hunter get excited to give something to her. All in all it was a wonderful Christmas, hope yours was a merry one. Oh and due to waiting still on family pictures to get developed our Christmas letter will now be coming to you in the form of a New Year letter. Happy Holidays from the Burch's!

Cottage style or Malibu retreat?

On Thurs. night we headed to my dad's house for dinner and to visit with Brenn. We stopped by the store and grabbed all the fixin's for some gingerbread house making. Neither Lisa or Alec had ever done a gingerbread house so we were excited to be there for their first experience. We divided into teams: Dad and Brenn, Lisa and Deke, and MeKell supervising Hunter and Alec. I asked them to give me their game face, here's shots of all the contestants getting their game on:

Hunter and Alec excited first timers, ready to build and sugar themselves up,

Brenn, definitely the creative artistic threat to the other competitors yet might be distracted from the need to constantly be texting,

Dad, the motivator keeping his team energized and encouraging them to "think outside of the box with their ideas, however his frustration with his team mates texting issues could come into play,
Deke, the engineer whose structural sturdiness could very likely overpower the other teams yet his enthusiasm to create may allow him to become power hungry and cause contention with the team,

Lisa, the quiet innovator who could very well come up with a single new idea that could blow that competition out of the water, however her trash talking ways could cause her to be jumped by the other contestants (hence she is preparing herself with a weapon) Deke and Lisa get off to a good start, Deke's structural style already in another class:

Dad and Brenn are having a rough start with design as seen below and their lines of communication are starting to break down and cause a lack of partnership:

Hunter and Alec are finished, with their final entries as follows:
Alec with a traditional style house who skillfully used all available materials in his construction.

Hunter who goes for less flash and color but uses one style element repeatedly and innovatively, and that style is gum...lots and lots of gum. The other two teams have now finished and it looks like Brenn and dad were able to pull it together, here are their entries:

Deke and Lisa use the cottage style themed around the "3 little bears," design elements include a shingled roof with licorice trim, texturized grass and flowing stream with bridge, graham paved driveway and a new innovative tree design never seen before. The design is clean and sturdy as well as colorful and cozy, what did their competitors come up with:

Brenn and dad came up with a style has never been seen by anyone we know in the gingerbread world, a beach retreat. This comes complete with exposed beams, lots of windows and a nice patio looking out onto beach front property. A landscape includes palm trees, a sandy beach with starfish, a beach umbrella and lawn chairs and a beautiful blue ocean. The design is unique, beautiful and relaxing. Upon discussion the beachfront is definitely this years winner as its style begins a new trend in gingerbread making. It has prompted us to want to continue this as a tradition, next year Kimbre and Marley we will wait to do it with all of you. MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!! Here are some final shots of everyone....