Amazing Christmas Pictures of the kids!

Sorry it is in reverse order I don't know how to change or move or write text inbetween pictures on here still!! :(

More than blessed.....a christmas we will never forget!

I truly believe what you give you receive. I try really hard to give even if it is the smallest gifts from the heart. This year money has been tight and with my hospital stay in November, Christmas was absolutely not going to be in our house except for what the grandparents sent, which is plenty for three little ones that can be occupied with paper more than presents and don't really understand Christmas. I had asked my friend Christy if I might buy some of her old toys from her when she purged to make room for the new ones, she said she was already planning on just bringing some over! Christy was my hero! So the boys were taken care of! Then my new angel friend Meesha took us under her wing and said she wanted to adopt us for Christmas. I wanted to cry but at the same time I have such a hard time accepting things from people, but I said ok. She brought over 3 gifts each for the kids last week and I was more than happy with Christmas. She had talked to someone in the church who was also looking for a family to bring some Christmas joy and on Christmas eve I bawled my eyes out as a big bag of toys (almost all being for Rori was on our porch) This after Christy brought over more than just a few toys she also brought a few Santa gifts. 1 anonymous teacher left Lance a gift card for 50 dollars to Walmart and to top it all off Lance and a couple of coworkers were mystery shopped at Radio Shack and won their share of 1000.0 so Lance had 300 mystery dollars that he secretly bought some items with and didn't share his good fortune until my birthday! It is amazing to me what 2 people did to change our Christmas. I feel blessed to an extent I cannot describe, I feel angels come into my life and surround me, We also switched car insurance so after 2 months off from Geico we started with 2 months off with Horace Mann and so with the gift cards we got from my parents and the Walmart gift cards we should have food taken care of into January almost until we can get our tax return. Lance will have some extra hours at Radio Shack from last week and next week so we should almost be right side up until the nasty Hospital bill comes. I thank God for all the Christmas blessings. I can't wait to give back! Thank you Meesha, Thank you Christy, Thank you to our parents! Thank you for giving us the best Christmas!

My favorite capture this week

This seems to be a lot of people's favorites of mine! I can see this one on stretched canvas! I know I have this pic listed in my snow pics to but I want it to be my favorite capture of the week!

Christmas Letter 2008

Some were unable to read my christmas letter so I will copy post it to my blog! Of course it isn't as pretty!!

We hope this letter finds you well. 2008 has been a very uneventful year. We didn’t take
any trips this year, we didn’t move anywhere amazingly. We are still here another year in Las Vegas. Lance transferred schools again as the middle school he was at last year got rid of the art program. Lucky for him he was able to get in at his new school which is back to Elementary school. Mabel Hoggard is a Magnet school and actually came in 6th in the nation for magnet schools. The staff is wonderful; the kids are good as this is a school kids are on wait lists to get in and there is a lottery to get in each school year. The only problem is the school district’s lack of budget. Lance started the school year with what was left from last year in supplies and the teachers were told that there was 0 dollars in the budget for the year. It was pretty scary. Luckily the school was awarded a grant and he was able to get some supplies. Next year’s budget is worse and the year after that we are holding our breath because as it sits all Art, P.E. and Music teacher’s jobs are up for cuts. We should know by early next year if it is to be our last in Nevada. We will then pray for a job near family. Lance also continues working a 2nd job at Radio Shack which he likes and hates at the same time. I have remained working in the hardest job of my life which is being a stay at home mom. The kids are growing and amazing us with new things everyday. Rori turned 3 in March. She is quite a little mommy. She loves her babies, but she loves to play cars with her brothers too. She loves to sing and jump and dance, and will tell you daily her favorite color is red! Liam turned 2 in November. He is a character with a big vocabulary. He likes to watch things fall and is very into how things work. (I can hardly wait till he is 10 to see what gets destroyed investigating!!) Pierce my little happy guy turned 1 in September. He is just starting to walk. He loves books and cars and trying to keep up with Rori and Liam. In October we traded our 2 cars in for one family mobile, a van that seats 8, Happy Days!! The week of Thanksgiving I went to the ER with extreme abdominal pain and had a three day hospital stay. We found out we are pregnant again! But because of that we couldn’t find out what was wrong with me. They couldn’t do more than blood work which was normal and ultrasounds. So hopefully all is ok but I have been having problems all year so after the baby comes I will hopefully finally get the CT scan that the insurance has kept denying. We have done all the other tests. We will be adding our new little one to the family in July. Then we are absolutely DONE! I don’t know how ladies in their 40’s do it because at 36 I am wiped out!! We have finally started making a few friends here. I am glad of that because the only visitors we had this year was my parents a couple of times and Lance’s mom Chris came out a couple of times as well. We also got to have breakfast with my dear friend Kameron while he was in town. Remember if you visit Las Vegas we are here and would love to see you even if it is just for lunch!! We just had snow here in Vegas if you didn’t catch the record weather. The kids had an absolute blast! It is my favorite kind of snow, right before Christmas as it makes you feel holiday festive, and it is gone in 2 days!! (I am not a huge snow fan except the week of Christmas) I have a family blog that I am trying to keep maintained now at http://reneesohsorandomthoughts.blogspot.com/ I am also on Facebook as Renee Sieck Waters. Add me if you have an account and we aren’t friends already. I would love to hear from you, I have been enjoying Facebook so much as I have found some missing friends and love catching up!! I also have really reignited my love of Photography this year, upgraded to a DSLR camera and have been involved in a few Photo Groups that are expanding my love and knowledge daily. Some of my photos are viewable on my Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/naenay2/ keep in mind some photos are challenges from my groups and therefore are randomly strange! I would love to be able to sell some of my work. I have an idea for Dr’s offices brewing right now since I have seen my share of them lately and they are terribly drab for the most part! We wish you and your families a very Happy 2009!!!
With Love,
Renee, Lance, Rori, Liam, and Pierce Waters

One more Peeve of the Season today!

I don't know if the network television folks think everyone has cable or satellite and I know they don't since every other commercial is about making sure you have a converter box for your TV (only those of us without cable and satellite and the old tube not DTV's need the box) but anyway where is the holiday spirit??? I wait every year to watch Christmas shows and this year really sucks. We have seen a total of 3 only 2 being classic. Do the networks just think we all own the DVD's now and that the cable/satellite providers are taking care of all the holiday shows so they don't have to. I am so sad that it is the weekend before Christmas and there is not one Christmas show on except the semi lame made for TV movie 'I'll be home for Christmas' with Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Jessica Biehl (a very unlikely couple poorly cast) but once is enough for that show. :( Where is Rudolph, Where is Frosty, Where is It's a Wonderful Life for the millionth time for pete sake?? I want my Christmas!!! I've been forced to watch it in 9 minute increments on Utube! Blah!!

Unbuckled Kids.......... GRRRRRRRR

Today I took Liam and went to the store. On the way home I was behind a Toyota Sienna minivan that I was half admiring when a little girl poked her head up in the back window. HUH?? I looked in amazement back in the storage area there was a little girl... uh wait 2 kids. We stopped at a stoplight. A lady gets out of her seat (no belt) then a little boy jumps up and down on the back seat with an airplane in his hand. WHAT THE??? There were about 5 unbuckled kids in the car and three adults and I hope to God the baby seat I saw propped over the backseat and the storage area with a blanket over it was not occupied by a baby. The plates were from California with more strict belt laws than us but my goodness my heart started beating fast. I wish I had a cell number to call some law enforcement. 1st I think they were over the occupancy level of the car but I can't believe how they can just carelessly drive around putting their kids lives in danger. It's not like back in the day when I was a kid and we were just starting to really get some seat belt statistics. Hopefully some angel guards that van, I would hate to see the news report of all the kids that would be ejected on impact with an accident like that. I can't even drive across the parking lot from one store to the other without buckling my kids in. How can people do this???

PIctures of kids in the snow.

The kids absolutly loved the snow. Pierce got a little colder faster since he was crawling and got wet. More pics to come. Rori acctually ran out the door and dropped to the ground to make a snow angel. Funny how a few christmas shows teach you that you are supposed to make an angel in the snow. Unfortunatly the snow wasn't good snowman making snow! :(

Record Snowfall

Las Vegas gets record snowfall, 3.6 inches
By ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press Writer Robert Jablon, Associated Press Writer 1 hr 40 mins ago
A rare pre-winter storm brought Las Vegas its heaviest snowfall in nearly three decades, closing the airport and freeways as several inches coated marquees on the Las Vegas Strip and weighed down palm trees.
The storm Wednesday and early Thursday also dumped snow on rain on much of southern California and parts of Nevada outside Las Vegas.
The National Weather Service measured 3.6 inches of snow overnight at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport, and meteorologist Jerome Jacques said about 2 inches was left before dawn on the ground near the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign.
"Snow is not unknown in the Las Vegas valley. On average we get 1/2 inch of snow a year," Jacques said. "But this amount made it a significant storm. We haven't had this amount of snow since 1979."
The weather service recorded 7.5 inches of snow at McCarran on Jan. 30-31, 1979.
The snow Wednesday prompted the cancellation of all flights in and out of Vegas. Visitors parked and posed for pictures wearing hooded jackets.
Other parts of Nevada were forecast to receive as much as 8 inches of snow in the second winter storm this week to drop snow on the desert city. Snowfall is common in nearby mountains hills, but not on the Strip or surrounding neighborhoods.
Elsewhere, snow shut Interstate 15 over 4,190-foot Cajon Pass east of Los Angeles. By early Thursday, just a single lane on the southbound side was open, as officers escorted a small stream of drivers through the pass.
Interstate 5, a major trucking and travel route connecting Southern California with the Central Valley and Northern California was shut down over 4,144-foot Tejon Pass, and roads through the San Gabriel Mountains connecting metropolitan Los Angeles to the commuter suburbs of Palmdale and Lancaster in the high desert to the north also were closed.
An overflowing river on the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday led to the evacuation of nearly two dozen people and rescues of about 50 horses.
Snow also fell across much of Washington state on Wednesday, with Spokane, in the northeast part of the state, declaring a snow emergency and vowing that its snowplows would be working nonstop until the streets were clear.
Most areas of Spokane had picked up 8 inches of snow by evening, with another 5-10 inches expected by daybreak Thursday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Jeffrey Cote.
Massive backups developed below all the passes, which authorities hope to have reopened Thursday.
The storm dumped as much as 4 feet of snow at Big Bear in the San Bernardino Mountains, said James Oh, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in San Diego.
Schools were closed Thursday, many of them for the fourth straight day, in several high desert and mountain districts.
And soldiers at Fort Irwin near Barstow were unable to deploy to Iraq Wednesday as planned because of the snowy conditions.
Calen Weiss, 19, of Tarzana, his brother and two friends wanted to go snowboarding at Big Bear but instead got stuck on I-15 in Cajon Pass for an hour as visibility fell to about 40 yards.
"It looks like Whoville, all snowy, but with less joy and more extreme misery," he said by phone from the Summit Inn.
Heavy rain also fell in some parts of Southern California through the day.
Near the California-Mexico border, San Diego firefighters and lifeguards evacuated 21 people along the overflowing Tijuana River, said spokesman Maurice Luque. They included 12 to 15 people who were on high ground outside a home, surrounded by up to 4 feet of water.
Five people were taken out by helicopter, while others were escorted in Border Patrol all-terrain vehicles, Luque said. Three men were taken to a hospital for treatment of hypothermia.
About 50 horses also were evacuated, but three others drowned and one was euthanized after tripping on barbed wire, Luque said.
In the Santa Clarita area north of Los Angeles, a wind gust caused a helicopter to crash, killing an electrical worker on the ground and leaving the pilot with minor injuries, county fire Inspector Frank Garrido said.
Even Malibu got a dusting of snow, as the usually balmy city saw a half-inch in the afternoon.
"It's kind of cool if you think about it, said Craig Levy, director of a juvenile detention camp. "It's kind of unusual to see snow in Malibu."
___
Associated Press Writers Solvej Schou and Daisy Nguyen in Los Angeles and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.

My kids are so excited to go make a snowman this morning. We got 5-6 inches at our house. Liam couldn't even go to sleep and woke up twice asking about the "No" I thought it so funny for a 2 year old to be that worried! I will post another post later with the kids playing. These are pics I took yesterday. It's nice Lance got to be home today too since they closed school!

Snowing in Las Vegas!!!!

Rori is so excited!! We have had our 2nd day with snow, I am hoping it sticks in our yard today, the other day about 5 miles away got 4 inches but our neighborhood was mostly rain mixed with snow! SO far we have had a good steady snow for an hour! Fingers crossed I would love for the kids to experience it especially here where it will melt away. Here are a few pics of Rori trying to catch some snow! I will post more if we get some more to play in. Liam went out and cried and said COOOOLD! heheheeh he must be born and raised in Vegas so far!! LOL!!

I Can Get Dressed By myself!!

Rori came out today dressed like this. "Look mommy I got dressed by myself" A Pajama top and another shirt for pants LOL!! Then she said "mommy mommy Get your camera!" LOL!! Here she is!

Rori singing some christmas tunes!

Rori sings and sings and sings, though she doesn't get it all right it is so fun to listen to her. She sings in the shower and in the bathroom alot. She has since 2 years old made her own songs up on demand with a topic. I hope to get her a guitar and some lessons in the next year or so. The music teacher at Lances school teaches guitar. :) For now here is a little of my joy!

Does anyone else think it is selfish to give birth at 70?

Another 70-year-old in India has IVF baby

70-year-old woman gives birth! Dec. 8: After 50 years of trying to have a child, an Indian woman and her 72-year-old husband get their wish. Willie Geist has the story.
ZeitGeist


A 70-year-old woman in India gave birth to her first child, a girl, after undergoing infertility treatment, according to a report in the Daily Mail.
The mother, Rajo Devi, had been trying for 50 years to get pregnant with her 72-year-old husband, who had failed to become a father in two prior marriages. It was undetermined whose egg and sperm were used in the treatment, the newspaper reported.
Devi became pregnant through in vitro fertilization at a clinic in the northern Indian state of Haryana after doctors determined that she was healthy enough to survive a high-risk pregnancy. The mother and her infant daughter are reportedly both doing well.


I myself think this is selfish and unethical. The child with both parents that old will end up serving them. When the child is 10 the parents will be 80 and while there are some spirited 80 year olds I would say a majority of them are not going to be running and playing and wanting to take a child all over to this activity or that. By 20 the parents are 90 if they have made it this long. The child will never have siblings and will not have parents or grandparents to help it through life or see the birth of their child (grandchildren). To me it sets up this child for a lonely life I mean even if it had cousins or aunts or uncles most likely they would be in at least their 50's. I mean you practically have to set a will up at birth to have someone to raise your child. How sad and selfish. I can understand wanting to be a mother, but when the average life span of India is currently 62 these parents are already well above the average. No matter how much I wanted a child it seems to me there should be a cut off age and I personally think it should be illegal to give IVF treatments to someone who may not be able to raise their own child and leave them orphaned to society. Maybe it is just me. Does anyone else feel this way? Now I am not opposed to say being a serogate later in life like that mom did for her daughter and had triplets, but ONLY if it was not life threatening. In this case the babies were still coming to a mom and dad that could raise them and the grandma was the oven for them to grow. That is true selflessness! :)

Trying to feel creative!

I know there was a reason for me to think about doing Christmas stuff months ago. Of course I procrastinated to the end and now I am trying my best to find a creative bone in my body to do scrapbook pages and recipe pages for my family Christmas, make the kids ornaments for the grandparents and of course Christmas cards. This is what I finally settled on. I chose to do photography this year instead of painting, and I am unfortunately e carding a majority of my card list to save some money on printing and postage. But at least we have an ecard option!! :) I went to the OB on Thursday. Everything looked fine. I measured 8 weeks and 4 days so my due date is July 12. He sent me in for an extra ultrasound on Friday morning to check my gall bladder since the ER didn't do that, and that darn thing still looks normal. I know my body and know something is off kilter so although normal is nice to be I would sure like to find the culprit of my pain and misery! The pain has mostly subsided to a dull roar in the right side again. I still can't sleep but in one position. But at this point I am happy that all the main pain is gone. Now I am left with pregnancy blah! Pierce is still deciding to walk just in short spurts though he is able to stand up by himself in the middle of the room. He gets on the little push car and rides around, it is funny to look over and see him on there because he looks so small compared to Liam. He is also climbing more and more much to my dismay! Rori hasn't changed to much this week. If I had a dollar for all the funny things she says I would be rich! I wish I was a good journaler like I used to be I'd have it all written down! She breaks out in song all the time! Liam is super sweet(but mischievous) He makes me smile so much. He randomly comes up several times a day to offer a kiss and say " I ya you" :) He is all of a sudden having trouble going to sleep at night now. So I have to figure some things out with Liam and Rori both as they want to stay up till 10p and they still wake up by 7a and that is not enough sleep for their little minds! They are playing together so good now too. :) Now I am going to make an e-card like I did for Pierces B-day!

My favorite capture this week.....