Catching up with..... Depeche Mode?

So last August, one of my all time favorite bands came to the Salt Lake City place they love so much and performed yet another out of this world concert. My sister (being a bigger fan than I - crazy, I know) ordered a copy of the nights performance on cd. She actually stood in line after the concert and paid for it then (this was last August, remember?). It came. Finally. The best part of this story is that to make up for lost time, they sent 2 copies and I, being her favorite, got the second copy. I love it when dumb companies make mistakes and I get to reap the benefits. Thanks Care! You are a cool sister and I do appreciate you sharing with me.

This post is actually supposed to be a "catching up with" post because I have been lost for a while, but my title reminded me of my new little gift from Cari.

Saturday was one of those days - you know, the kind that come and go and you wonder where it went as if it were never here. It was Brynlee's FIRST Birthday Party. Her Birthday is today, but the party with all the family was Saturday. She has been so fun. We were tending her in the beginning 3x a week but after I had my almost mid-life crisis, we cut back to one day and let grandma help out (which has been much appreciated). The kids absolutely love having her around. As of late especially. She has so much personality. I have given her the nickname "The Princess and the Pea" with much reason. She is the boss. She tells it how it is. If she doesn't want to nap, she's not going to. If she doesn't want to be held, she's not going to. If she doesn't want the rest of her banana, watch out 'cause she will let you know. She is most definitely loved by all. But, lucky for me, I am her favorite.

Cambree, Atley, Emma, Brynlee, Alexa, Kailee

Emma and I were the only two from our little family that went to the party. Erin has been sick so Jer stayed home with her. Josh was a good sport and stayed with them so that Emma and I could make it to the next part of our day - America on Stage at Thanksgiving Point. We had to be backstage at 4:30p.m. They had two performances and then we were headed home. It was short and sweet this year. Last year seemed more like an all day event so I was excited to not have to entertain Emma all day again. She, on the other hand, was a little disappointed at the lack of shopping done between performances. She left wanting more, but fortunately for her there's only a month until the next competition.

I'm not sure why or how and I know I am biased, but isn't she gorgeous?

We had to stop at Iceburg for a shake on the way home! If there's no time for shopping, there must be time for a shake!!

Josh had a soccer game at 7pm Saturday, but with Erin being as sick as she has been, Jer opted to stay home and miss the game. I don't think Josh has ever missed a game during his entire soccer career, but sometimes the little sister comes first. Like I said, he is a good sport.

Josh and Emma started piano lessons at the first of February. I'm enjoying the process. Emma loves it and takes practicing seriously where Josh still pretends to practice and then somehow gets distracted. He is giving it more than I thought he might. He's still bitter about me "making" him learn to read music. This is one of those things where one day he will thank me. I know it. Maybe when he's on his mission? Or perhaps when he sits down and plays October by U2 and the girls start drooling?

We made it so far this winter without sickness. Unfortunately, Erin started 8 or 9 days ago with a nasty cough and before I knew it she had strep. Poor thing has been on the antibiotic for 5 days and still sounds terrible. She got to go outside today for the first time in a week. A part of me was hoping the 55 degree weather would help - a little sunshine never hurt anyone.

She doesn't even look sick, I know. But if you heard her, you would understand.

We did finally make a dent in the amount of gerbils we have. We took 5 of them to a little girl in Sugarhouse that places them in schools for class pets. And, our cute cousin Noah took 2 of the boys (dad being one of them). The picture of Erin above is the day we took them to their new homes. We cleaned the cages out and did a head count. Erin has no complaints about having a new litter as soon as the previous litter gets to be 4 weeks old. The idea of having 16 pets is rather exciting to a 5 year old. Not so much for the mom and dad, however.

Our biggest priority these days has been getting ready for Tasha to come be a part of our family. I don't know that I have talked about her much on my blog as to not step on any toes or hurt any feelings, but we pretty much have no secrets at this point. :) Natasha started out one of my Young Women in our Ward, but quickly became like family. She was born in Russia and came to America almost five years ago. She has had a rough few years with all that has changed in her life. Fortunately, with all life has handed her, she has become an amazing young woman. She will be living here and adopting us as her family soon. On Monday, March 15th, she will be moving in so we have been using every minute to get her bedroom ready. This is a huge thing for us and has been so exciting, but hard to talk about. I get so emotional about her and the person she is. Josh, Emma and Erin are counting down until she will be here all the time instead of off and on. Jer and I have felt things changing for us for a while. The Lord most definitely has a plan for all of us and I have learned to stop questioning things when they "fall into place." I will surely be posting more about her in the near future.

Emma, Natasha, Erin

So there is the update in the biggest nutshell out there ... you should be all caught up (or maybe I just feel caught up now).