This is year Christmas was so much fun for our kids. Its fun to watch Logan and Morgan get ants in their pants while waiting for Santa to arrive and wondering if they were good enough for him to actually leave them presents. Logan has figured out that the ONE gift on Christmas Eve is going to be PJ's no matter what. Morgan doesn't understand how Logan is so smart and knows what he is about to open. Then there is Karsyn. She really doesn't care because she just needs all her presents to have some type of pink on it to make her happy. The boys both got guns this year. To their mother's dismay, they loved them and have thought about nothing else since Christmas morning. All they have wanted is to hold them, look at them, and shoot them. As for Karsyn, she loved everything she got but her real joy has come in taking all of Cannon's toys and hiding them. Making sure he cannot have any Christmas enjoyment. Have I ever mentioned how grateful we are that we only have one "Princess" in our home.

ANYHOW, Christmas break has been so fun. Grandma Zampedri came from Utah. Dad even took a day or two off to spend some time with us. Cannon is about to turn 1 next week. 2009 is finally coming to an end and another year is beginning. It is crazy how time flies and how fast our kids are growing. We are grateful for good family and friends that love us. We are are so happy to live in such a wonderful place. I hope that 2010 is wonderful for everyone. Afterall, everyone deserves to be happy and loved.

It's the holiday season!!!

Wow! Once Halloween hit, I haven't had a chance to stop and give an update. Halloween came and went with a princess fairy, Anakin Skywalker, and our very own Ninja Warrior. As always, a night at the ward's Trunk or Treat proved to be a success for the kid's candy ventures. I have never vacuumed so many candy Nerds in my life. I think that I am still finding them in the deep depths of the carpet.

Summing up the month of November----BUSY!!! Morgan had another surgery to remove some pollups from his vocal cords. Just like last time, he has bounced back fabulously. I started a new job at the hospital and love it so much. Chris is staying busy with lots of peoples little projects that have become HUGE blessings to our family. Thanksgiving was a hit. We cooked and cooked and had it gobbled it all up in about 30 minutes.

Now, it is December 1st. Already that time of year!!! The holiday season is well under way. The birthday madness starts Friday with my dad. Every year flies by so fast and before we know it 2009 will soon be gone. I hope 2010 rings in a happy new year full of good health and happiness.

This one is for you, MOM

Michelle called me from the valley this past Friday and you would have thought there had been a death in the family. I could hear through the phone a flood of tears and emotion. She then proceeded with this----I am at Fiesta Mall. It has turned into the "Ghetto". I then asked, "Are you Ok?" She then said something like this.... "Dillards is closing! The place where we had so many memories with our mom. The place where she would take us shopping and spend so much money she probably didn't have. Dillards, the one place where she used to take me, you and Kati all the time. " I didn't know at this point if I should laugh or cry. Can you believe it, our family is so nuts. We then concluded after a few minutes that we really knew she was gone because Dillards at Fiesta Mall was going to be gone too. Holy Cow!!! We just might need to be committed for that sad and disturbing conversation.

My Baby Is Crawling!!!

Cannon is finally crawling!!! I say that as if I am excited, but being a mother of four I can assure you that I am not. My sweet little guy can crawl from one end of the carpet right into the kitchen. The boy can spot a shoe from across the room and with much diligence he makes his way to it and then tries to devour it to the best of his ability. Our little "Marshmallow Man" is the best little army crawler that I have seen. He not only has the physical attributes of the crawl down, he is also stealth. My other kids when they were at this stage would cry and moan as they desperately tried to get to the object. Not our sweet guy. He is quiet and focused. Everything that he has wanted in his short life he is now making an attempt to get it. I am seeing this guy grow before my eyes. Our last baby is almost a year old. He is growing up too fast. I love this little man so much!

Tonsil Day for Morgan

So it is finally Wednesday and Morgan has to be at the hospital by 6:00 AM. For those of you who know me well enough know that is way too early for Kelci to be rising and shining. We had been building this day up. We let our sweet boy know all about the Popsicles and ice cream that he would get to eat. He was promised toys from Papa and Nana made sure he knew he would be receiving one of her "special" prizes after it was all through. Chris even sweetened the deal by taking the day off for our Morgan. He was so excited!!! After hearing all of that what kid wouldn't be?

When we arrived at the hospital, the deal was still going his way. Sweet Darlene Merrill was his nurse. She brought glad tidings and gifts to boot. He even was presented with his very own blanket that some sweet lady from the auxiliary had made for little guys just like him. Then they wheeled him off. Chris got to go back with him until he fell asleep. Everything WAS good!

As we walked into recovery to sweet Morgan, I knew he was in pain. He is buy far the best of our four kids to have had such a surgery. He is toughest with the best little attitude. He might feel pain, but we don't always know how much pain he feels. The first thing this little man wanted was his jammies back on. Then he wanted all the promises that had got him to this point in the first place to hurry and get there. He was still feeling pretty good. We found out from the doctor that he had numbed the back of his throat pretty good and he shouldn't be feeling anything for quite a while.

Great!!! We headed home and Morgan still felt great. In fact, Chris and I were so exhausted and our little guy was running wild. He wanted to eat everything!!! Nothing was stopping him (except his mom) from doing just what he wanted. I thought if this is how easy this is we had better sign the rest up for a little tonsillectomy, adenoid thing right away.

Then it hit! About 12:00 AM we were in pain. Medicine? If he would take it. Water? If he would drink it. Holy cow, some unknown beast laying beside me was moaning and groaning with a nails on the chalkboard cry. I just wanted to sleep. Couldn't this have started 7 hours ago when I was ready for it. Before I had this thought that all was well and life was normal. It was not normal. I had Morgan crying in pain, Karsyn crying because I wasn't laying by her but by Morgan, and Logan woke up ranting about how I loved them more than him. You might be saying to yourself, "Where in the heck is Chris?". I was asking the same thing until I found him sleeping soundly in one of the boys beds all alone. At that point I could have killed him and strangled the rest of them. By the time he did get up to help Morgan had calmed down, Karsyn had fallen back to sleep, and I had reassured Logan that I loved him just as much as the others.

Now all is well and Morgan is on the mend. Our nights are the hardest, but definitely getting better. I am hoping for school Monday. By the way.... I am not signing the rest up for this Tonsil/adenoid thing anymore either.

Can you say uck!!! This week has been all that and then some. It all started when our sweet Cannon turned into a sick nightmare right quick and in a hurry. He got a cold, started sounding like a freight train, and stop sleeping during the night altogether. I don't really know how he feels, but I am sure exhausted. Breathing treatments??? You bet, but am I the only one benefiting from them? I seem to be breathing great. He still sounds like a freight train. Prednisone??? Oh yea! There is nothing like giving your eight month old a steroid for his lungs to make him want to jump out of his skin at all hours of the night. Bliss??? You bet!

On a higher note, Logan had his first Cougar Mighty Mite Football game. Talk about exciting!!! There is nothing like watching 30 plus kids run around in overly large pads and helmets trying to either score or tackle the other little guys with the same top heavy heads. What a sight. With a few over achievers, we were able to pull a win off against the might Yellow Jackets 32-21. Just a plug for Logan---He did have a fumble recovery in the first quarter!!! Go Logs!!!

Today brought lots of fun and excitement to our home once again. No it wasn't the exciting sacrament meeting that we had to unfortunately miss. (I am almost positive the sweet old couple who usually sits in front of us we more than overjoyed that we weren't there.) After spending the better part of the morning at the walkin clinic, we found out that Karsyn has had a severe bladder infection. That would explain why for the last week she has had more accidents and bed wetting than she ever had wearing a diaper. It would also explain the foul odor that me and the boys have been complaining of also. I just assumed the girl was trying to prove a point to me and had completely regressed to the new born stage. Poor girl. This whole time thinking this was going to be a mind game and I was for sure going to win this one. I know, Mother of the Year Award will not be awarded to me this year. Needless to say she is on a heavy dose of antibiotics and at this point I am just trying to make it up to my little Blue Eyed Beast!!!

That was our week in review. Sounds good??? Next week should be filled with fun and excitement also. Morgan is getting his tonsil and adenoids out on Wednesday morning. My sweet little guy has no clue what is in store for him. I will keep you all updated with the progress when it is all said and done. We just hope it doesn't alter his "man voice" we all love so much.

What a great day! In fact, what a great weekend. I love it when the kids are off and Chris gets to spend a little extra time with all of us. We were able to spend lots of time with the kids, watch a little football, and even got to sneak in a movie on Saturday night without the kids. I love how we are able to have family around all of the time and we are able to make memories almost every day. Logan asked just the other day, "Mom, why don't we have family reunions?". My response was simple, "We have one just about every night of the week son." That is such a true statement. With only the two of us (Michelle and Me) we are always together. Most nights at our house consist of her family, my family, and of course my dad. Family dinner doesn't come every now and again, but most all the time. It sure is a good thing that I have a wonderful husband that is OK with all this craziness.

Today I got up and called my sis to find out what we were going to do. I thought Chris would be at work all day so we thought we would load the kids and my dad up for a drive to Greer. Chris ended up coming along (he never really is that into Greer). It ended up being such a great day. Chris took lots of pictures of the kids. We had great food in Pinetop before we left. Then when we were heading out of Greer we had a little pie and ice cream at a little mom and pop restaurant there in town.

I love having all the kids together (mine and Michelle's). All of there different personalities are so fun to see. Kortni and Logan definitely take on the role of the "older kids". Morgan and Karsyn are all about taking and posing for pictures. Sarah loves to play with the ducks as Karsyn is running far away from them. Then there is our sweet baby boy who gets lugged around wherever we might go.

We are missing Kyler. Last week he decided to move with his dad in Gilbert. I think he has wanted this for sometime and is so excited for his first day of school tomorrow. My kids miss him so much as do I. When everyone is together we definately feel like there is something missing.

Sharing

When I was a little girl, my mom and I shared everything. This was partially because I wanted to and partially because my mom never wanted me to eat a full meal, have a whole soda pop, or eat an entire dessert. I never thought much of it, until now. Karsyn wants to share everything with me. Maybe, just maybe, she had a special visit from my mom. In my mind I am thinking that they had a conversation like this.... She needs to share with someone, Karsyn. Once again, she is overweight and overfed. She really doesn't need 4 Rt. 44 Diet Cokes everyday. Sharing is really going to help her.

Now did this happen? NO!!! Am I crazy? You bet!!! I just can't help but think of my mom every time Karsyn says, "Lets share mom.". I love it, that is for sure. It takes me back to a time when I had my mom. Now I am the mom. I am the one she wants to be with every second of every day just like I did as a little girl. I love it that she wants to sleep with me every night and be at my heals all day. I love how she takes all her showers with me and watches every move I make.

I now know why I am so much like my mom. Karsyn will one day be like me too. I pray this might be a good thing. I feel like I have my own little conscience following me, repeating everything I shouldn't have said and correcting me all along the way. I am not only sharing my food with this little girl, I am sharing every part of my life. So Scary!!! I love her so much and I really want this little me running around to be better than I have ever been, happier than I can be, and more confident and self reliant than I could ever imagine. I really want her to have the world.

What A Day!!!

I am sure I have said it in about every post, but I am going to say it again, "I LOVE THE WEEKENDS!!!". Today was such a great day. We got up and got going. Chris helped the neighbors move. I got the kids ready. We were off!!! We had our regular Saturday lunch with my Dad. Then Jana and I had an early grocery shopping trip due to the Princess Party we had for Karsyn and Sarah. Everything was done before 2:00.

Now about this Princess Party. Michelle and I agreed that we could not celebrate one birthday without the other. This year we would do it closer to Karsyn's since she has been talking about it for about 6 weeks. We did it!!! They both think they are 3. Sure, Sarah is shy of it by 3 months, but who cares. The girls birthdays are over for a whole year. No fighting over presents because they each got the same things. Karsyn was Cinderella. Sarah was Aurora. All of Karsyn's presents were in pink wrapping and Sarah's in purple. Just like everything we do, Karsyn is pink and Sarah is purple.

Michelle had this great idea since it was princess themed that the girls would be princesses. Kortni was the princess maker and boy did she do a great job. They were glittered and done up like no other princesses I know. You should see Michelle's bathroom. If you walked in it you were going to be glittered!!! There is glitter everywhere. The girls loved it so much. Everything was perfect.

I am so glad that my Karsyn's best friend is Sarah. I hope that they will always be. It is so nice to see them growing up side by side. They are the best little princesses around and I love them so much.

Happy Birthday Karsyn and Sarah!!!

Happy Day Before Third Birthday, Karsyn

Its the middle of another week. For the Zampedri Family that means that we have made it through one family home evening, one football practice, one night of bishopric stuff. It means we made it through Tuesday and we are finally here at Wednesday, "hump day" (the middle of the week hump). It also means that we have one mutual, one more football practice, one more bishopric thing. Then the weekend is here!!! Woo Hoo!!! I can't complain. Can I?

Today, Karsyn is my two year old. Tomorrow she will be my three year old. I cannot believe that she is three. Scary thought how fast time flies. It seems like only yesterday that I went into the hospital with her. Michelle was there, 6 months pregnant with Sarah. My mom was asleep in the chair next to me because she had worked the night before. My dad was there, making his wise crack (stupid) comments as always. Misty was there being her calming self. And last but not least Chris was right next to me trying to figure out what he was going to watch on the TV while I was in labor. I wish my mom could see my little girl now. She didn't quite make it to Karsyn's first birthday. They would have had a great time together. I see alot of my mom in Karsyn. Now she is three. She is halfway to kindergarten. She is almost a Sunbeam. She is her Dad's most precious possession. When he asked for a Daddy's girl, he got just that. She is all his.

Happy Birthday Karsyn Daisy. This world would not be the same without you little princess.

TGIF

All the kids are sleeping... The house is so quiet. The bathrooms are even clean. I can hardly believe it. It is so nice.

I don't know if I have mentioned it, but since school started I added 2 more to my crew. While my friend, Jessica, is hard at work teaching my Logan, I have decided to stay home with her sweet baby Chase and his older brother Braedon. I never thought that I would like being a babysitter as much as I do. It is so fun to add 2 more to our growing crowd.

I started this babysitting "thing" last February when my sister started bringing her Sarah. I love having her so much. She fits in our family so well. Her and Karsyn are only 3 months apart and are so much fun together. They are the best of friends and the worst of enemies. I figured out after the first couple of days that the way to stay sane would be to schedule just about everything. So that is what I have done. I can't believe how well my kids have done with this. I don't think I have ever had a set schedule. If we needed to go somewhere we would. Now we live a whole different way. If it isn't on the schedule, it probably wont happen.

It really is crazy how life can change in just a few months. I went from working everyday all day to being a domesticated mom who would rather clip coupons than do anything else right now. I look forward to KMarts doubles up to $2. I live for the Safeway ad to come out on Wednesdays. Weekends are bliss. Bargains are everywhere. My kids are wonderful. I truly have the best husband in the world. Today, life is good.

Ground Hog Day

Sometimes I wonder if life ever slows down? I feel like "Ground Hog Day" happens every day at our house. Here it goes, everyday just like this....

• Wake Logan


• feed Logan


• Wake Karsyn and Morgan


• Chase and Braedon Arrive


• Logan Leaves


• Cannon wakes up


• Braedon and Morgan argue, fight then tattle


• Chase nap time


• Cannon Nap time


• start lunch


• Eat lunch


• Morgan and Braedon Catch the bus


• Feed Chase lunch


• Girls go take a nap


• Try to get babies asleep


• Everyone wakes up


• Braedon and Morgan off the bus


• Logan is home


• Chris is home


• Dinner


• Chris goes to meetings and I get the crew bathed


• Scriptures


• Prayer


• Brush Teeth


• Bedtime

This is what we do Monday through Friday. Some days we might leave the house others we don't. Cleaning day is pretty exciting for us. We love it when Chris comes home for lunch. It is like we have our own special guest on those days. I truly need to figure out how to mix things up with 2 babies, 2 toddlers, and 2 kinders running around. Everything should ease up when the 2 toddlers start preschool, finally!!! Maybe that is when we will start our adventures (because I am so adventurous).

Am I complaining? Heck NO!!! I do love everyday. Cannon is starting to sit up more and roll everywhere. It is so good to see him grow each day. Something that I have missed with my other 3. Karsyn is way to old for her age. She is growing up before my eyes and if I were to blink I would miss everything she is doing. Morgan is Morgan. I love to see his routine that rarely changes. Changes make him crazy and I am glad that I can be a part of his routine each day. As for my Logan, he is so wise for his age. He is an old man in a 7 year old's body. He is responsible, pulled together, smart, fatherly, and most of all the sweetest older brother that any sibling could ask for. He loves to love on Cannon. If I wouldn't get arrested he would be my number one babysitter....I will have to wait a few years for that.

Life is good. It is predictable. I couldn't be more blessed.

Nothing Special

The first weekend of the first week of school flew by. After a much needed sleep in on Saturday we had a great lunch with Papa Kort. Then it was back to bed for a nap. It was wonderful.

After sleeping all day, Kortni babysat while Chris and I went to to The Time Travelers Wife. I loved it and hated it all in one. I cried a little, laughed a little, and at times was a bit confused. All in all I would totally recommend it.

I was grateful for Sunday to come along. It is so nice to be able to have that stability and certainty each week. The kids love primary, Karsyn adores her nursery leader, and my Dad took Cannon home after sacrament meeting. What a great day.

We made it to Day 2!!!

What a great day the kids had at school. Logan couldn't be happier with his teacher, his class, and his new school. He loved every moment of it. Morgan on the other hand was a little unsure until about 8 o'clock last night when he exclaimed, "Dad I love school so much!" . That was news to me. He hadn't really said much about our hour spent in Kindergarten orientation. He was just so happy to get home so that he could change out of his school clothes into his "old faithful" clothes. When I say old, I mean old. When he likes to wear something he wears it up until I finally throw it away due to size and looks.

Kyler and Kortni loved Junior High so much. I haven't seen Kyler that excited about something in a long time. Football was definitely a highlight for him and we had a no incident day. Kortni thought her teacher was "super sweet" and even got to be in the same class with one of her friends from last year.

As for me, I made it through the first day of school. A little tired from rising with the birds and running around, but we made it!!! All is well in the Zampedri Home. As soon as our schedules get adjusted and on track I am sure that I will be one happy mom again.

First Day of School 2009

So I woke up rise and shine to get Kyler and Kortni off to their first day of Junior High. They looked so cute!!! Kyler has decided to play football (we will see how it goes) and Kortni still is too young to play softball unless her aunt Missey can pull a few strings. I dropped them off at the "New" Show Low Junior High and that was it. They didn't want me to walk them in, hug and kiss them, or make a scene that would draw any attention to them. It is so sad when you aren't the cool aunt anymore, just the aunt with a whole lot of kids in a minivan.

Then it was time to get Logan ready. The first day of the first grade in a new school. I couldn't believe how old he looked in his new school duds. He decided that he wanted to ride to school with his teacher (our neighbor and best friend) Jessica Gilmore. So we said our good byes on the front porch. He is always so together. A quick hug and kiss and he was off. I came back into the house and cried. My oldest baby was off.

I pulled it together and looked at Morgan (our little 5 year old) and his friend, Braedon, and have been counting down the hours until afternoon Kindergarten starts. So sad, but so true. It is time for this boy to spread his wings. Unlike Logan, he is completely dependant on my every move. He is so sweet and those close to us say he truly is our "forever baby." For this very reason I am ready for a break!!! A good break, not a long break, but a break none the less. Good luck Mrs. Marchant----Here comes Morgan and Braedon!!!!