Sunday, December 17, 2006


Well - tomorrow is going to be too crazy to post anything what with packing and last minute errands - so I thought I'd better wish everyone a Merry Christmas tonight!! I hope that all of you enjoy every minute of your holidays! Nathan has his HUGE test tomorrow! Cross your fingers for him! He will do great. He's DYNAMITE!! I think that he is really looking forward to just RELAXING and not having anything schoolish to worry about. He's been in study mode since Thanksgiving. He ususally gets into that mode about 3 weeks before a big test. Luckily he only has about 2 or 3 big ones in a semester. It's good and bad because it means less tests to take - but WAY more material per test. UCONN doesn't rank it's students or give letter grades - it's a pass/fail system but they do tell the students if they were below average, average, or above average. It's really important to stay above average if he wants to specialize and so far he is doing just that. He seems to be above average in almost EVERYTHING he does! Sheesh - I'm such a lucky girl!

Tons of stuff has been going on with the girls - every time I sit down to write stories I get writer's block. Too much on my mind. I'll definitely have lots to tell when we get home from vacation! I also want to become a "DIGI-SCRAPPER"! I really want to be better at scrapbooking - but it is SOOO time consuming. I've heard it is much easier to do it on the computer and the pages are just as cute! So - look for some digital scrapbooks (hopefully!) next year!

I can never figure out how to get my BUBBLESHARE albums onto my blog so here is the web address that you can go to and see more family and Christmas pictures.:
http://www.bubbleshare.com/myalbum/100352.fd84f5ca090

Merry Christmas!!

Friday, December 15, 2006

That Holiday Feeling

For some reason this Christmas is seeming 20 million times more hectic than usual! I think that I've been so busy checking off my lists that I haven't had time to really get into the Christmas spirit! That's all changing today because I've just about finished my hectic week and I can sit back and just enjoy the music and the lights and the food! Christmas is a very bittersweet holiday for me. It's definitely my favorite - but I miss my family in Idaho and Arizona and I miss my mom. It will be 10 years this January since she passed away. The time has gone by so fast. I'm trying to carry on some of the traditions that she started. She made us a doll every year for Christmas. We LOVE those dolls. From the time that we were little Kelyn and I would sneak out in the middle of the night to see what Santa had brought. I love it when the house is dark and the Christmas tree is all lit up and the stockings are stuffed. And we loved those dolls that were always next to our stockings. Kelyn and I still like to sneak out to look at the tree! My mom also let us help her make ornaments for all the cousins every year and she always made something cute for her siblings. I am just so thankful for her example and for all that she taught me. Anyway - that is why Christmas is bittersweet for me. It's the time of year when I miss my mom the most. I wish she could be here to love on my girlies (and me). I wish that Nathan could know her. It's okay though. Life is so great and we are so happy and I can honestly say that I have been blessed because of this trial.

Just a few memories of my mom:

*Watching her line dance to Neal McCoy's GIVE ME THAT WINK and her saying how much she loved his tight cowboy jeans and boots.
* mopping the floor with her and Kelyn. This was on our hands and knees and we each picked a corner and met in the middle. I'm SO glad she taught me how to work!!!!
* One time I came home from school and said the word "freakin" and she had told me that if I said that again she would put soap in my mouth so I took off running and she started chasing me around and around and by the end we were both laughing so hard - it was the best.
* Coming home from school with my friend Renee and turning the corner in the kitchen to find her NAKED and leaning against the counter just chatting away on the phone. HAHA! Renee and I still laugh about that!
*She was always such a good sport and drove the UGLIEST cars. One time Kelyn and I were playing around the block and she drove up in her "new" white car and leaned her head out the window and asked if we wanted to go cruising with her. The funny thing is I think that she really was excited about this new car and it was so ugly. VERY LONG, VERY WIDE. One time we had to get out in the middle of the intersection and push it into a gas station. NICE!
* Her reaction to me starting my period. CLASSIC.
* If she ever got after me she would come in to talk to me later and apologize and help me understand why I had gotten in trouble.
* The way she loved dad. When I was a teenager she told me that she still got butterflies when he held her hand.
*Her whistle that could be heard 4 blocks away!
* The way she took care of me when I was sick. I had a bell that I could ring for her and she always held my hair back when I threw up. I wish I had taken better care of her when she was sick.
*Making Valentines Day cookies. We got to miss school the day before V-day to help make them. We always had stacks and stacks of heart-shaped cookies on the table and once we were done decorating them we would go around to people's houses and leave them on the doorstep and knock and run.
* Her teaching us girl's camp songs and singing in the car on all of our vacations.

I'll stop now - I'm all weepy and this post is FOREVER long. But I did want to write something in remembrance of my mom. She deserves to be remembered because she truly was an amazing lady. I'm thankful that I can still remember her smile and her laugh. I'm glad that she taught me to love Christmas and I hope she peaks in to watch my girls when they see THEIR Christmas dolls.

Ma Kivett 01

Sunday, December 10, 2006


Happy Birthday Anika!!

That's right! Our little girlie just turned 3! Time is flying by way too fast! She has been looking forward to her birthday for months, so she has been in heaven. We spoiled her rotten! She ate whatever she wanted, stayed up late, skipped bath time and had a fun birthday party with all of her friends! She was a happy camper. Her Blue's Clues party was a success. She can't stop talking about it! We are so lucky to have Anika in our family. She has such a fun personality and she is so nice and funny. We love her so much. It's been so great to watch her grow from a baby to this crazy, cute little girl and I can't imagine being without her.

Happy Birthday little doll! We love you!!

Monday, December 04, 2006



Anika had a mini photo shoot the other day because she got a haircut! I thought that these two were especially cute!