It's GREAT to be 8!!

Here are 8 of my favorite things about Peyton:

1 He's a very good friend. Whenever I volunteer in his class I see first hand how much he's loved by his peers. I can tell they look up to him and admire him. He treats everyone with kindness and is very loyal. He's a leader and he doesn't even realize it!

2 He has worked so hard on his piano this past year and is doing very well because of all the practicing he does. I love that he wants to learn the piano, it's something I regret not doing myself and I admire his dedication.

3 He loved his first season of basketball and gave it his all. He was awarded defender of the week twice and his team was undefeated.

4 He lives in the moment. He really gets into what he's doing, he puts his whole heart into it and soaks it up.

5 Peyton in an excellent student. He's super smart and loves to learn new things.

6 He's an amazing big brother to Ashton, they've become best friends. I love the way they make each other laugh.

7 Peyton knows right from wrong and is usually very good about doing what's right. He sets a quite example for those around him.

8 He has a huge heart and an explosive temper. Luckily we don't see the temper very often.

(I think he secretly switched to a Utah fan after sharing a suite with these guys at a Jazz game! Don't tell his Dad)

New Bike from Mom and Dad

After his final basketball game of the season

Happy Birthday "P"!! You're a great kid and Mom and Dad love you very much. Thanks for being such a fun, bright and passionate member of our family. I know being the oldest is sometimes hard, thanks for being patient with me. You contribute so much and we love being your parents. I hope your 8Th year is one of your best. You have so much to look forward to.

Love Mom

Time for an update

I haven't been in the blogging mood lately but I thought I should jot down a few of my thoughts and some things that have been happening in my life before I forget.

- Everyone kept saying that 2009 was going to be such a great year. Not so much for my family. Losing my sweet Grandma Mae has been such a hard thing to go through. Maybe because the loss of my Dad is still so fresh or maybe it just happened too fast or maybe someone dying just stinks. The hardest part of the the whole thing has been watching my Mom say good bye to her mom and her and her brothers having to sort through 83 years of memories.

- Another thing that really stinks about 2009 is that it's the first year of my life without my Dad. I miss him so much! I miss talking to him everyday, I miss his smell, his no nonsense advice, watching him watch my kids and most of all his love and tender heart.

- My sister in law gave birth to identical twin boys today. 13 week early!! I've been praying my heart out for this darling family. The babes seem to be holding their own so far, I'll keep praying and sending good thoughts their way. I wish they didn't live so far away. That's 3 sets of twins in Ben's family, crazy isn't it! I can't believe how blessed we were during my pregnancy and birth of our twins. 39 weeks I kept those babies in me, 6lb 4oz and 6lbs 8 oz, what a miracle. Ash and Ava have been such a blessing in our family. They teach me so much about life, patience, unconditional love, and sacrifice.

-The inauguration of President Obama was a spectacular thing to witness. I loved his speech and was impressed with the entire days events. It was nice to have the country united for one day at least. Now it seems like Washington is back to business as usual. 830 billion dollars, is this really the only solution to our economic troubles? President Obama says the bill isn't perfect, shouldn't it be? I feel like we're being scared into this thing just like we were with the bank bail out and look how that's turning out.

On a much brighter note:

-Peyton has been playing basketball and is loving it! He's on a really good team, they've one every game so far and he was named defensive player of the week last week. He's also preparing for his baptism next month, he can hardly wait!

- Ash and Ava are getting a little board and wish they were in school like they're big brother. I've loved having them home with me and have enjoyed teaching them math and reading. I can't believe how they've taken off. Such smarty pants!

- Mitch is still Mitch! He challenges me everyday. It's a good thing he's so dang cute. He can't wait to turn 3 and has quite a wish list for this birthday!

- Ben's been super busy at work and comes home late most every night. During this challenging economic time I try not to complain about the long hours. I'm grateful he has such a good job and loves what he does. We cherish the time we get to spend together as an family.

Well, there's a little update mostly for my own record and to let my blogging friends know that I'm still here. We have a lot of fun things coming up in the next few months that I'm looking forward.

Grandma Mae. . . We'll Miss You!

(For some reason the obituary picture wouldn't copy)

View/Sign Guest Book
Mae O'Rourke Markham 1926 ~ 2009 Mae O. Markham died at her home on January 11, 2009, surrounded by loved ones, after a short battle with cancer. Mae was born April 7, 1926 in Tooele, UT to John and Edith Shields O'Rourke. She was raised in Eureka, Utah where she attended St. Joseph's Catholic School and graduated from Tintic High School. She maintained a bond with Eureka throughout her life. She planned and faithfully attended many class reunions. Mae married Robert Markham on February 15, 1947 in Salt Lake City, Utah. They resided in Salt Lake. He preceded her in death on September 24, 1995. She was employed for 25 years as an administrative assistant for the South Salt Lake Police Department, where she attained the rank of sergeant, retiring in 1987. She enjoyed an active retirement, spending many hours with her children, grandchildren, great-grand-children and many good friends. Mae loved life and remained vibrant until the very end. She kept busy bowling, going on outings with the 49ers club, serving as a delegate for the Democratic Party and as an election judge for many years. Mae was a member of St. Ann's Catholic Church and St. Ann's Ladies Guild. She is survived by two sons, John (Carol), Ogden, UT; Robert, Salt Lake City; two daughters, Janet Susan Taylor, Murray, UT; Patricia (Jim) Hatchett, Boise, ID; 10 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and sister Marie Jerman, Scottsdale, AZ. Preceded in death by parents, husband and son-in-law Colin Taylor. A funeral mass will be celebrated Friday at 11:00 a.m. at Saint Ann Catholic Church, 450 East 2100 South. A vigil service will be held Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at Neil O'Donnell and Sons Mortuary, 372 East 100 South, where friends may call from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Committal, Spanish Fork City Cemetery, 420 South 400 East, Spanish Fork, Utah.

A Few December Photos

Ava's final singing/dance performance.

I'm so glad we found Clayton, Ava loves it so much. They had so many Christmas performances which kept us very busy but Ava loved every minute of it. She even shed a few tears getting ready for the final show, I however did not!

Thanks Grandma and Annie for the flowers and support.

Cutest twins EVER!!

Mitch and Santa

Excited boys!

Ava and Santa

Peyton and Santa

Ash and Santa

Abbey and Ava

Snow Day

The kids love going out in the cold but as for me. . . . .

I'm ready for summer! I know I sound like a big grump, but I hate putting snow clothes on my kids(they cry and wine until everything feels just right...(can you say OCD) and then stay outside for 10 mins.), my clean floors are dirty and wet, there are snow clothes strung all over the house, my kids are board, my house is a mess, Mitchell's nose won't stop running, and I have tons of shopping to do but refuse to take my kids out on the roads in the blizzard. So...if you don't get a gift, a card or a plate of candy from me this year just know that I do love you, I'm just throwing in the towel! I think I'll watch a movie with my cute little kiddies and let everything else go!!

Festival of Trees

Ben's two sisters and mom decorated a tree with Dale's Santa collection for the Festival of Trees this year. When I walked up to the tree I was overwhelmed with memories of Dale and his love for the Christmas season, I know he would have been so pleased to see his collection of on display for so many to enjoy. We went early in the day because of Ava's performance so it wasn't crowded, Peyton must have stared at the tree for 20 mins. The hostess asked him to tell her all about his Grandpa so she could tell his story to the people who came to view the tree. He couldn't believe that we were giving grandpa's collection away, I think he would have packed it up and took it home right then if he could have. The tree turned out great, Dale would have loved it!

November Review

We've had a fun and busy November and beginning of December. My goal was to have my shopping done by December 1st and here it is the 4th and I haven't started, and I'm not even stressed!(Yet)

I just wanted to document a few highlights of what we've been doing this past month:

*Ben and I went to Chicago/Milwaukee for Adnan's wedding. We had a great little get away without the kids and got to visit some places we'd never been before. The wedding was so beautiful, we couldn't be happier for Adnan and his hew wife, Kristen.

*Ben went to Denver to visit his brother and go to the BYU vs Air force game for his birthday.

*The kids and I had fun going to movies, hanging out with grandma, and ordering in for dinner while he was gone.

*Mitchell decided he didn't want to wear diapers anymore and potty trained himself. I can't believe how easy it was. YEAH Mitch! No more diapers at our house. . .EVER!

*Ashton got his cast off.

*Mark and Colette came to stay at our house for a few days for Thanksgiving. We love it when they come, we pretend like we're on vacation too. Ava had so much fun having Jessi around, she was so sad when she left.

*We celebrated Thanksgiving twice, once at our house with the Johnson family and then at my Grandma and Grandpa Taylor's.

*Ava started her singing and dancing performances. Which is a big part of why I haven't started my Christmas shopping.