The start of all the Christmas Partys!

Merry Christmas to all you fellow blogger friends! We started our Christmas Party's this weekend on the 22nd. My Man and I just got in from the 2nd one tonight and we have another one tomorrow. Yippy! Well its good eatin' anyways. We are so happy this year for all that we have been blessed with. I hope to see all my family at some point in the next coming months. We really miss our family in Boise and all our close friends that live there. Dang those Gas prices. Will be posting some pictures in the coming days for all the fun. Love you all!
P.S My sister isn't doing so good today she went back into the ICU we fasted for her today. I know that Pittsburgh will do all they can. I also know that I'm not the only one that loves her. She will be taken care of. Sometimes you take steps back to take two steps forward. Keep her and Bryan in your prayers they will need it.

MJ Loves Elmo

My little girl with her favorite man Elmo....she loves to dance and sing with him all day
I just thought I'd share this cute photo.

My Sister's Laugh!

My Heavenly Christmas Gift!

This is my closest friend. She is also my sister! We love to spend time together but lately I've been going crazy because she is clear across the nation. As most of you might already know she is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania getting her new lungs. She just had her last surgery last night and is working really hard to get off the ventilator today. I wish I was there to be with her during this hard time but I know that my mother and father are there to help her through this.. Her husband is so amazing to me. I have prayed for him the most knowing that he might feel so over whelmed. I know she is a fighter she always push through when she really wants something. She has so much ambition and drive to get things done. I will be able to go and see her the week of Christmas so I am really excited to see her breath without the CF in her lungs anymore. I wanted to post the above video because it has her laughing in it. I love hearing her laugh.....she can make a whole room stop and listen to her when she speaks. This has always amazed me. She is my hero. My whole life I always wanted to be with her where ever she went. I tried to hug her all the time until she would hit me and tell me to knock it off. (I'm a little clingy) I can't believe this is happening still...she once told me that she knew Heavenly Father loves her because he gives her things that make her happy...the Tuesday I called her after she did her second day of testing she told me, "Maybe I'll get lungs for Christmas!" I here we are all amazed that she got lungs a week before this wonderful Holiday. I can't help but know that we have all been so blessed to be apart of this miracle not only for her but to still have her here with us. It is truly a gift, a blessing and a miracle sent from heaven to us all for Christmas this year. In the words of my sister "To ta lee"

Sorry if Its been a while since I posted. I have been a little over whelmed the past three weeks of my crazy life. I've just started directing the Theatre Department now that Jamie is now unable to teach. I hope that I can do as good as a job as she does with these kids. She truly loves this Art and I know she trusts me more then anyone to take it over but I just really want to see it stay here for her return.
I can't explain to you how one feels when they are just thrown into a whirl wind with their best friend/sister as she looks into the unknown. I sometimes wondered how and where to start. Then these angels that come from a small Idaho community, open there arms and said,"this is how" We have had such a positive feed back from this area on the "Hope For Lungs" Fundraisers. We just had our first one Dec 1st, there was so many people that came for the Spaghetti Feed this past week, there was a line out the door from people in our community that had heard that she needed help and came. I felt so full of joy that people had remembered her. Now I am working on a big music, theatre and dance Benefits Concert at the BPAC for my sister's cause in February. The response for this has been very heart warming and I know that the programs will really help them reach their goal to get all she might need for the next year. It so much work but I just take one day at a time. I can't think about how everything is going to come together or I will just freak out. I know the Lord is holding me though when it gets too hard. I'll kept you posted.......

Daddy Time!

My Man doesn't get to spend a lot of time with Mj. But he loves cuddling and snuggling with her. He taught her to say "I love you" and "hike" (when they play football together. She throws pretty good now and loves to play. She runs up to him when he gets home saying ..."hike...hike!" It makes him smile. And the bubbles picture was daddy's idea too. There are some way funny pictures of this moment but we all know what its like when mom breaks out the bath pictures, so I'll spare you.

Dads Project

Most of you might already know this but my mother wrote this song called, "He knows my name" and my father is the vocalist in this video. Anyways this is a project that I made for my father last month. He wanted it to touch everyone not just members of the church. I think the reason I love this song so much is that it reminds me of times that I have fallen short and had to ask for forgiveness. I got to hear this song a lot while I was making this video, I think thats why I really enjoyed working on this for my dad. I'm posting for those us who ever feel down and need to remember that you are special. Its a good way to remember who you are and where your from.

Halloween with Boo!

Have you
guess what
she is?
We have are
own live Boo
from Disney's Monster
Inc! She even says....Kittie!

My mother is the greatest ever! I really wanted to make Mj a really cute costume this year and my mother helped me make it come true! She is so amazing she put this costume together from scratch. I love her so much! Guess what Mj was!

Mj is TWO!

Darren's mom was in the end of October for Mj's 2nd Birthaday!

Mj was so happy to see her.

This is her cake... we had fun theming her party after Halloween this year!

This is her eating her cake before it got SCARY!

Too many cooks in the kitchen or I guess I should say too many campers in the tent!
She loves her new tent! She was so spoiled this year! Thank you everyone for giving her more toys then she can ever play with in a day!

Boise State Season on a roll!

We are all fans of Boise State! We watch them faithfully every week.

Mj is learning how to cheer them on with daddy's help. So far they're 7-1 and their on a roll. Hopefully they get ranked where they should be soon or I think My Man going to have a heart attack. Mj even knows that this is daddy's favorite because every time she sees her jersey she says"Daddy!" She even went and found it the other day when he was watching another college game and wanted me to put it on her. What a great Fan!

BLAST OFF

So we went to "Blast Off" With some of our friends on Friday night. It was so fun. Big ball pits and tubes that went all over this 1500 sq foot room. Slides and optical courses that we raced on. It really is just for the kids but I think we had as much fun as they did!

Mj is learning how to open doors Hippy! My life went from busy to frantic over night. Plus its been raining all last week ucky. I love her sweet little personality its so fun to watch her learn.

She has an expensive purse...

A fancy toy Doggie named Layla ....

and a big white gorgeous smile...so

enough said!

Mj's Elmo

Whats Big, Red and Giggles a lot?

He's on Sesame Street....

Myriam loves Elmo. I swear thats all she ever talks about!

Polina Seminova!!!

This is one of my Favorite dance pieces I've seen for a long while! ENJOY

A Mothers Love

Kisses from my little girl Mj is
one of my greatest blessings. I love how she offers
everyone a kiss. I happen to catch her in the act which wasn't
too hard!

CF Walk A Thon

I Just love this picture and just wanted to share it! This was when we went up to do the Walk-A-Thon for Cystic Fibrosis in SLC. This is our 5th year walking and raising money for her cause. We had so much fun roller blading and mostly watching My man try to push the stroller with roller blades on. Afterwards we all went to the Zoo and Mj had so much fun. We loved seeing her face light up as she saw the big animals.

My boy buddies!

My older brother's two boy's, Brendon and Brady. Mj spends a lot of time with them and it shows. She loves playing with cars and trucks. She even says "Rumm..rumm" when she pushes her toys. I think she really enjoys playing with them as much as I love hanging out with Dorthy.

Nana's Party

At my Mother-in-law's 60th birthday party in Boise. Mj and her Great Uncle hit it off. She loves everyone that gives her attention and food! It was so warm there I wanted to stay there. We had a lot of fun that weekend just relaxing.

For the 2007 EISF Parade we enter a float with our Classical Ballet and Theatrical school and out of 106 entries we won the Grand Prize!
The Mayor's award for "Best Over All". We worked so hard and had a lot of help from Dayle Floral with the beautiful flowers. I can't wait to do it again next year!

The Riley Family. Yah, we clean up pretty good.

My Man!

Hold back Ladies! I know his pretty hot....well I thinks so anyways. I have to tell all of you that getting him to pose this way is pretty tough. He really is a very shy guy but every once in a while he'll give me that look. You know the one that you can't stop laughing with gittiness. He is such a good father and husband too. I know you will not believe me but without being asked he does the dishes, laundry, cooks, cleans and will take Mj for an entire weekend. Am I lucky or what!!!

"Bugger J Lewis"

My Best Girlie friend and sister "Bugger J Lewis". I love spending time with her everyday. She is a joy to all those who meet her and her contagious laugh and smile. She is a silly head and a fighter. She doesn't let most things get her down . She love to teaching acting to her students and is looking to get new lungs in the coming months. We are all going to miss her when she has to leave to live close the hospital that decides to except her. A piece of me will leave when she is away but I know she will always be only a trip or phone call way.

What I'm how old!

I Just had my 27th birthday in September. I can't believe that I am staring at the deep darken realm of the thirties. What happened to the years. I swear I was just 21 a moment ago. Now I have a two year old and a husband that just signed up for a pension! Looking back I know that I have learned a lot about living, loving and some hardship (mostly learning how to do the first two with the last) . Why is our moments like a passing summer. You are basking in the sunlight and in the next hour your enrolling back in school!

With the Boise State Football Season Starting my Lit'l Babe was so disappointed when he couldn't watch the seconded game. We drove around all morning looking for the channel he thought was playing his team. He said he hates our little farm town only on those such days!

Mj AKA Yum Yum
My little horse lover! She loves to ride her horsey around the house and yard. She can make horse noises but it sounds more like shes spitting then a whinnee. And she says horse about a million times a day until it starts to sound like a word that is very inappropriate. So thats nice when we go to wal-mart!

Studying a classical art form can be rewarding and punishing at the same time. It's very fulling with in your soul, to control your physical body and wondering mind But its a battle that dancers aways fight. They try to make something beautiful out of what only seems impossible to reach or even touch. A soul cries to move outwardly the way she feel inside of this confining, clumsy human body. Just like our struggle here on earth to reach something that is with in our hearts but we feel it will never be within our grasp. We still try to make beautiful moments and sometimes change lives in the dance-