We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from the whole Pickett clan! We spent the Christmas holiday in Driggs, ID!...okay, maybe Driggs doesn't' warrant an exclamation mark-- it is really tiny and REALLY snowy; But, we had a great time and my mom and dad are talking about moving there! (but let's be honest, they have been "talking about moving" for like 10 years. So, here we are Christmas Eve in our brand new jammies!

This is the picture my dad captured of the Tetons in the ten minutes that it actually wasn't snowing! Good thing he was in the right place at the right time! SO BEAUTIFUL dad!

Christmas Eve must include a program of course, and here is our reverent Joseph!

Mary and Joseph and 'blanket Jesus'

After the nativity, we had a talent show-- Addison break danced AND snapped! Laynie danced (sort of), Kelly tried to break the world record of how many different instruments he could play Jingle Bells on in 60 seconds...he ALMOST did it too!

Christmas morning was unfortunately not as exciting as others have been...Addison was throwing up, and Kelly and I had been up most of the night with him! But, that said we still had a wonderful morning...here is Hailey with one of her 3 presents...she told me she loved it :)

And this is me and my sisters playing the Wii Fit that I got for Christmas! Although it is exactly what I wanted, I'm a little mad at it when it tells me things like, "Is that Annie? I haven't seen you for 5 days, you really should exercise every day!"... thanks for the reminder!

Where do we live?

It started snowing Wednesday morning and didn't stop until Thursday night! We had almost 30 inches when all was said and done...no school and lots of snow= heaven for Addison!

Our house in winter wonderland...at least it's Christmasy!

Here are some artsy shots that Kelly took...he did make a little path to the mailbox so Mr. "come rain, snow, sleet, or hail" can still deliver the mail!- Yeah, he didn't come on Thursday, but he DID make it today!

The light post in our front yard....

Our van...? I think that's what's under the mound of snow!

Laynie's 3!!

Could it be that our Lyanie is THREE? Of course her cake had to be PINK, and at the last moment she added that she wanted a CareBear...I did my best.

Birthday Girl! Nana sent her a whole box of fairy princess costumes complete with wands, wings, and fairy slippers. She was disappointed to learn that she still couldn't fly even after putting on her wings!

The fairy princess clan! And I thought I was being a stingy mom for only letting 4 friends come over...Woah, 4 GIRLS is like 10 friends! It was one loud, crazy, noisy, girly party!

But they are pretty cute...

And when the party was over- CRASH! Here is my exhausted fairy princess!

Happy Birthday Laynie! We love you so much!

New Appreciation

I recently had the DELIGHTFUL experience of taking care of my nieces and nephew over night...and I'll tell you what, 6 kids is a lot! Thus my title: "new appreciation"-- for my mother, mother-in-law, Sara, and all the other women out there that have 6 kids!(or more) I guess it may have been a little easier if they hadn't ALL been 5 and under...but what am I even talking about? it was a breeze and Kelly and I are planning our triplets as I type...

So here they are peacefully eating lunch in their cage, what? I MEAN fort! They were thrilled with the taped-up cardboard peices that I started putting together...until it fell apart and Lucy told me I should "just ask Kelly to do it."

Bath time with just the girls...all six at the same time may have been a little crowded, plus we've started to talk about privacy and modesty at our house...I know some of you are thinking "you've JUST started that talk?"...better late than never I guess!

My favorite quote from the weekend was when I took Addison, George and Lucy to the grocery store. Like the typical bribing mother that I am, I explained to them that if they were super good, they could pick out a treat.

"So", I emphasized, "No Screaming." and Lucy immediately followed up with "Unless we're bleeding!"

"right Lucy, you may scream if you're bleeding." I said.

And agin Lucy followed up with wise words: "But, not very loud right?"
See, hasn't her mom taught her well?

In other news, we have a cute Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, which I love and Kelly hates...He likes the big bushy kind I think. But it's Christmas, so he let me have my way. Why do my kids look like such rag-a-muffins in every picture I post? Oh well- We have been inside a lot due to FREEZING temperatures...I'm talking like 10 degrees...for the HIGH! It hurts your face to go outside, so we stay in and eat treats! What is Christmas time all about anyway?

And Finally, I got my WA state license to counsel all figured out and started at LDS Family Services last Thursday. The client I saw first heard me getting oriented with the secratary and must have been worried that it was my first time ever at counseling, cause he asked me if this was my "first rodeo." I was happy to reassure him that it was not my first rodeo, that I just had a new bull...or...something...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Okay, here is our fun mantle loaded with Christmas decoration, and I love it! Actually, first I tried to fit most all of our decor on the mantle and it was a little too crazy! So, I moved a few items to the new dining-buffet table that Brent just MADE us! (PS we LOVE it!)

See how I strategically put the play-nativity and the plush Christmas tree right down at the kids level so that way they wouldn't have to touch my nice Christmas decorations... yeah, that strategy didn't work at all...

My favorite nativity- thanks mom!
Speaking of nativities, our stake is having their annual "Nativities from around the world" right now, and last night I got to sing with a small group to kick off the first night. AND, I did a solo, AND it was accapella! I asked Kelly how I did, and he said it was hard to hear (there were no mics!) and maybe that's better that it was hard to hear...

Do you LOVE the font on my door or what? Wow, I feel a little geeky when I get excited about fonts... but oh well- Happy Thanksgiving! What a wonderful time of year! And I feel like I have SO much to be thankful for! There are, of course, all of the obvious things: handsome husband, healthy kids, faith, all the miralces of modern-day convienences, and (at the risk of sounding petty) MY NEW BATHROOM! I know, it doesn't really fit in with family/faith/etc. but it is right up there this year on my gratitude list.

AND HERE IT IS! Thank you times a million to Kelly for giving up 2 Saturdays in order for me to have a bathroom that is cute and functional! (Okay, not JUST me, Kelly can use it too.) I can't put it any better than Laynie did yesterday when I was doing her hair...
Me: shoot, I just broke the rubber band
Laynie:Oh, Daddy can fix it
Me: Do you think Daddy can fix anything?
Laynie:Yeah (said with attitdue) daddy's a "good-jober"...he's a good-jober on the house and the car...(on and on)
So, I have to admit, she's right. Daddy is a GOOD-JOBER!

I did have a few contributions to the bathroom also...In addition to finding the perfect vanity, I MADE (yes folks I sewed) the shower curtain, and also put up these C.U.T.E. vinyl flowers to make the short wall (otherwise un-funtional) a little less boring.

Change...

Isn't change great? I L.O.V.E. the changing seasons, each new milestone that my kids hit, and especially a change if it means updating 'home decor' (like the bathroom sink I mentioned last time...) So, here are some pics to document the change that has been happening at our house this week. Hailey has mastered sitting! She only falls when her siblings tackle her or something fun like that. This is my FAVORITE stage of babyhood...she can sit up and play, but she can't go anywhere!! So blessed! Too bad it only lasts like a week.

Kelly is obviously taking his job of fixing the bathroom very seriously! Here you see the new floor he put in...I like it just a little more than the old crusty linoleum we tore out...and you also see the color of the walls I chose- Hope it turns out good! Stay tuned for the exciting final product!

And lastly a little change in the hair style always does a girl good... well, I guess that will only be true if this haircut turns out to be as maintenance-free as the stylist promised...I'll let you know! But at least the grays are camouflaged!!

PROJECTS!

So I thought I would share some of the "fun" things I have been up to lately! The vinyl cutter has come in handy to decorate and make this little house feel like home! The above pictures are actually old storm windows that I found in the basement, cleaned up a little, and wall-la...wall-art for Laynie and Hailey's room!

This was Kelly's project-- he put this big cougar (2 feet x 2 feet) smack dab in the middle of his office wall. Go Cougs!


Here's a picture of the writing around the clock that I promised to post...yes, I know the song says "softly, sweetly" not "softly, swiftly..." and no, I'm not sure how we made that mistake! But I will fix it...someday...

This is Addison's room...Kelly designed the alphabet art on the wall and did one for Grannie's basement too! It's not enough for Addison though, while working on the girls' room he informed me that I need to make his room look cool too!

A little Thanksgiving decor...

And on a random note...look at the GREAT bathroom vanity that I found on CRAIG'S LIST for $100! SO exciting because I priced these babies at Home Depot and Lowe's and I just saved MEGA bucks...and you know how giddy it makes me to save money! Not only did I save money, but now we can replace the sink that the Junior High didn't want anymore which is currently hanging in my bathroom! Oh happy day!

Happy Halloween!!

The kids with their cousins on Halloween night...side note on Laynie's pink puppy costume; I went to Old Navy the weekend before Halloween b/c they were having $5 costumes...well, when I got there they gave me a "scratch and win" coupon...and I won $5!! (I know, am I really getting that excited about $5? YES! I never win, so I was totally pumped!) So I bought the WHOLE family Halloween T-shirts ($1 each!) and Laynie's costume...and only spent $5!! Whew, I L.O.V.E a good deal!!
Now, this little guy is WAY too awesome to have been bought at a store, as is his brother below. These monsterous creatures were made by my super-talented mother-in-law! They were the PERFECT addition to our Halloween dinner!!
(This one was filled with delicious salsa...I mean monster brains!!)

Our first time to host a party in the new house...and it was a PARTY!

Addy wanted to be Frankenstein this year...a costume that my mom bought almost 2 years ago on after-Halloween-clearance...sweet deal for me!!

Laynie and her loot-- she had trick-or-treating down...the people would give her a piece in her bag, and she would reach for another! She got 2 at every house! But how could you refuse this pink little puppy?

I think Hailey takes the award for the night though...could there be a cuter little froggy? She might be a little upset at me today, cause I let her cry it out last night. It only took about 25 minutes though before she was back to sleep... so it wasn't COMPLETE torture!

My Girls...

I do feel a little guilty that Addison is missing in this post...but he has a GREAT time at school all day instead of being made to pose for pictures to appease mom's blogging addiction...he'll get his special post later :)

I MUST give a special note for Laynie...she has totally and completely conquered potty training!! She doesn't even tell me most of the time, and she has gone 2 weeks without an accident!! This seriously feels like A MIRACLE to me! After asking her for months if she wanted to try sitting on the potty and always getting a NO! in response...the very words "mommy, I have to go potty" seriously sound like the hallelujah choir to me! WAY TO GO LAYNIE!

This picture I had to post for Claire and Tiffany...Claire, thank you for all of Laynie's CUTE 3T clothes...I especially LOVE the jogging suit and totally think of you when she wears it!

Too bad there is not some reality show for 'Happiest Baby'... Haiely would totally win. She is so mild mannered and smiley!! She is 6 months old today and I honestly cannot believe that...half a year already? She is lovin the rice cereal or any food-related item really...the cheeks will witness that she is a good eater!! She loves to watch Addy and Laynie, they are the ones that get her to laugh more than anyone else!

I have been thinking a lot about my mom-role the past few days. I listened to myself last night say to Addison "When I ask you to do something, I don't want to talk about it...I just want you to do it!" and then I cringed! Why am I not "talking nice" like I always tell my kids to do?! So I made a goal to be better today, and I was in deed a little better. I love being a mom, I just wish I could remember that fact better during the whining, mess-making, and disobedient portions of my day.

TWINS!

Nope, I'm not as cool as some of my dear friends that are having real twins (Jaime, Brenda, etc.) But how fun is it to dress the girls up in the same outfit! (So cheesy, I know!!) But my mom did it, and we turned out okay...so here are my twins!
Too bad Laynie was SUPER uncooperative and wouldn't even really look at me let alone smile! These are the ONLY two shots out of several where her face is even pointed in my direction! But at least Hailey was in her usual form: happy smiley and so adorable!!