SNOW!!

We woke up with a dusting of snow this morning and Alex & Daniel got dressed and ran out as soon as they could. There was just enough snow to make this guy, the first snowman of the year. You can see he's already starting to melt in the photo, but they had fun. He's totally gone now. :(

Itty Bitty Football

Here are some videos from Daniel's class. Enjoy

Video of Becca and Daniel

This is a cute one. Enjoy!

Lance's new blog

I've been meaning to mention Lance's new blog for 2 weeks now, but I'm obviously behind seeing that everyone has had a birthday and I haven't posted a single picture. Sorry about that.
Anyway, it's marriagedoc.blogspot.com
He's got several posts on there already, and it's pretty good stuff. And I'm not partial at all. Check it out!!

Alex cracks me up!

Yesterday in church Alex was thirsty, and asked me for a drink of water. Well, we only had 5 minutes left until the meeting was over, so I told him he needed to wait. So he said, "Mom, I'm so thirsty I'm going to die!" I was like, "it's okay, just a few minutes." He says, "Mom, I'm going to dehydrate! And after you dehydrate, you evaporate!" We laughed for two whole verses of the closing hymn. He's so funny!!

Flower Garden

I, with the help of Jenny, Alex, Daniel, my mom and a few ladies at a local nursery have planted a flower garden. Those of you who know me well know that this is a new thing for me, and I'm excited to see if it works. I've never been able to keep a house plant alive for more than two weeks, so maybe I'll have more luck with outside flowers.
Anyway, here are before and after photos. I'm probably going to get some wood chips or something to put in between the plants (at the suggestion of Lance), but that will have to wait until another day.

Time

My baby is one! I can hardly believe it. She walks, she talks a bit, and now she's not even a baby anymore. She is so big! I'm amazed at how much she can do!
I'm sad and glad. I'm glad she's still small size wise. And I love when she'll cuddle with me--it doesn't happen very often.
Alex turned 7! He's so big.
Daniel's almost 4 and Jenny's almost 9. Wow, time sure flies!

Conversation

Today Daniel says,
"Mom, this towel fell in the toilet, but I got it out."
Me: "you mean the sink?"
Daniel: "no, the toilet."
So I put it in the laundry. The sad thing is that it didn't even phase me. I'm just glad he told me before I used it!

Becca can walk!!

Yesterday Becca walked--two weeks before her b-day. She got tubes in her ears last Thursday and I think that might have helped. Here's a video from today. She's been practicing since she woke up!

Old Videos of Alex and Jenny

We were looking through some old videos and found these gems. Hope you enjoy as much as we did.

video

I'm trying again with the video.

Photos

Just FYI, I'm doing better. The house is getting unpacked and organized. I was able to get the taxes done and we're getting a nice return. Alex is doing better in school and Jenny is totally loving school. Daniel, Becca & I have been playing a lot and we've had some sun.
Lance and I have a date tonight, and next weekend for our anniversary and I'm having a b-day party the weekend after that, so there is a lot to look forward to!!
I thought I'd post some pictures from earlier in the year. The firetruck ladder picture is especially cool to me. There was a funeral for a fire chief and they raised the ladders as a tribute. It was right in front of our house. Very cool. Alex loves his stuffed animals! Jenny did her hair crazy and wanted a photo, and Daniel made the crown his first week in Primary.
Also, we all went rollerskating two weeks ago, and I took the camera, but didn't have any memory, so I only got one video--which isn't working at the moment, so I'll add it later. Daniel is amazing on his scooter! So enjoy!

Thanks

Thanks for all the nice comments and words of comfort. Things will get better, I know.
So I've decided to throw myself a birthday party and invite just about anyone who wants to come. I'll send out an evite to all my girly friends with the info, so if you don't get one and feel that you should have gotten one, send me a comment. With everything going on, it might take me a few days to get this out but look for it soon!

Moving

Why is it so hard for me to move? I wish I could see it as a new adventure with new opportunities, but I just feel sad and miss what I'm leaving behind. I always eventually get used to it and then the new place becomes "home" and I'm sad to leave it. When we moved to Boone it took 2 years for me to become my old self. When we moved back to Utah it took months, then longer with the miscarriage and the new baby. I'm finally starting to feel like I'm back to myself and we move again. I'm trying so hard to be positive about this, to embrace the new neighbors and the new ward and the new opportunities. I know that we were supposed to move here and I'm sure there are reasons. But I miss the comfort of my old friends and neighbors. I miss knowing that I could go to the Hardman's any day and any time to borrow something I needed. I miss knowing where the bathrooms at church are located. It breaks my heart to see my kids sad, crying because they miss their friends and their old school. It was nice to have Lance sitting beside me in sacrament meeting. When I left to feed Becca I didn't have to worry about my kids. But I realize too that I didn't have to worry about them much at the old ward. Daddy was on the stand, and there were tons of friends standing by, keeping an eye on them when I was gone. So many new faces. So many names to remember. I'm overwhelmed with the amount of things that I have to do to organize my house and my life. A part of me wants to just hide away in my house, slink down deep inside myself and not get to know anyone because I know this move isn't permanent and I'm going to be hurt again all over.
When I was little we moved into our house in Sandy when I was 3. I left for college from that house. Our Branch in Boone was the next longest place at 5 years and our ward in Provo 2 1/2.
I'm tired of moving. I'm tired of starting over. I just want to buy a house and live there until I die. But in my heart I know that won't happen and that this is one of the trials that I have to learn to overcome. There are people that can bless my life here and people whose lives I can bless. I just pray for the strength to overcome the weakness inside of me so that I don't miss the opportunities ahead of me.

cute kids

Amid the packing, we're still playing!! The photo of Alex's belly is him jumping.

We are moving

So for those who don't know, we are moving to Lehi! We'll be right by Thanksgiving point, so we expect visitors. We've got most everything moved but have the next week to finish moving everything and get everything cleaned up.
I'm really excited, although I'll miss the ward here. I'm hopeful that I'll still be able to keep in contact with my friends here and that I'll still be able to get my kids together with their friends. I'm also excited to have Lance on the bench with me in church!!
Our new ward has 140 primary kids and 40 nursery kids so I'll probably be put in the primary--just about everyone must have a primary calling. That's one thing about moving that I"ll miss--2nd Sunday RS teacher is about the best calling ever!! I'll miss that one for sure!
I'm most excited about having my laundry room on the same floor as the bedrooms, and the washer and dryer will be side by side!!! No more walking across the basement with a basket full of wet clothes. My back is going to be soooooo happy! I will also have a master bathroom again! I'm excited to not be tripping on kid toys when I shower! And my bedroom is HUGE! And my tub has jets in it! I think that I'll be taking a bath every night after I get the kids to bed for weeks!
I'm also excited to have the playroom downstairs! It's an unfinished basement, but there is carpet so that the kids will be able to play down there and as I sit here and write I can hear them running over my head. Since Becca's birth, the upstairs playroom has lost some of it's coolness. Especially during her nap times. We've had a good time here and we'll miss a lot of things, but we're excited for our new adventure as well!!!!!

Merry Christmas 2009

Well another year has come and gone and been great for the Dome family!
Here are some highlights:
Our family was able to take a trip to NC over Thanksgiving to visit friends and family. We stayed with Frank & Melanie Coney, Lance's mom & step dad. Tracy, Ryan, Emmalyn & Mya Call were also able to come to the Coney's for Thanksgiving and we all had a blast hanging out with them. More details and photos below.


Lance was called as 1st counselor in the Bishopric and has done a wonderful job serving the members of our ward. He finished his coursework for his PhD during the summer and has been working on the requirements to finish up his dissertation so he can graduate in August. He started up a private practice in Provo and has enjoyed being self employed. You can check out his website at lancedome.com. He also took a part time job with Ascend Recovery in Highland. He works 10-15 hours a week there and LOVES it. When we were in NC, he and Frank went on a motorcycle ride together. They had a blast! We were also able to visit with Mimi, Lance's only living grandma. It was wonderful to spend some time with her.





Shiree stopped teaching Sunday School at the beginning of the year and focused on getting ready for baby #4. We welcomed Rebecca Calais Dome into our family on mother's day and have been enjoying her ever since. Shiree started teaching in Relief Society and loves it. This year she also decided to get back into shape and so she participated in the Curves Challenge at the local Curves and won a 6 month membership for being one of the biggest losers. She enjoys her workouts and is slowly getting her curves back into the right places. In NC she was able to see her friend Annie Gorringe Bowen, who was a missionary companion and college roommate. Annie married an Asheville native too and it was great to catch up after 8 years! She also saw Laura Dickenson, Jen Williams and many of her friends from the old Boone Branch. It was an amazing trip!



Jenny finished out 2nd grade with honors and started third grade in September. In June she turned eight and was baptized by her daddy. She started going to activity days and loves spending time with her friends and learning new things. She enjoys reading and writing and is very creative. Some of her favorite book series are the Secrets of Droon and Melvin Beederman.
Last month she pierced her ears and has done an excellent job taking care of them. She is a big help with Becca and she plays really well with Daniel and Alex. She is quick to notice when someone is not happy and does her best to help them feel better. She is a joy to have in our family. Jenny loved our visit to NC. It was fun to see her friend Erin and to play with Jet & Pal. She loved riding in the airplane. Her favorite part was the takeoff. She wishes she could fly all the time.






Alex loved his Kindergarten class and was really excited to start 1st grade. His favorite things? Lunch and recess!! He turned 6 in May and lost his first 2 teeth this year. Alex loves to read, ride his bike and make books. He and Jenny wrote a series of books called Super Cat and hope to publish them someday. He has almost finished the Magic Tree House series and also loves to read Junie B Jones books. He is brilliant at math and his mom loves to see his brain working. He loves to play with his siblings and is great at helping with Becca. He is a sensitive boy with a good heart and we are so glad he is a part of our family. When we were in NC he had a lot of fun with Brady. He also loved playing with Jet & Pal and seeing all our east coast family.




Daniel turned 3 in May and is still as active and coordinated as ever! He took off the training wheels on his bike for 10 minutes and could ride just fine without them. He loves to jump and run and play ball. He loves being outside and playing with his friends. His favorite books are Clifford, Blue's Clues and Fly Guy. In one week he'll graduate from Nursery into Primary and he is very excited about that! He loves to build and play with playdough. He is a very big helper around the house and loves to spray windex and wipe it up. Shiree is very glad that he's home with her all day and enjoys his smiles and kindness. We love having such a sweet, big boy in our family! When we were in NC he really enjoyed seeing everyone and especially loved spending time with Tory Jensen (below). He asks to go back to their house to play at least once a day and wants to live by them now. We love our sweet boy!





Becca is 7 months old now and just started crawling on the 16th. She is finally over the colic and she is sleeping through the night, although she doesn't go to sleep until 10:30pm. She is sweet and cuddly sometimes and is crabby and cranky other times. Often she only wants her mommy, which makes life a bit difficult. We love her though, and are grateful to have her in our family.



We have been very blessed this year and are thankful to have good health and each other.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous 2010!
Love,
The Domes

trip

our trip was awesome! i'll post pictures and info later.

sick and stuff

So we've been sick on and off for 3 weeks. we're finally mostly better. we dumped the home phone, so if you need us, call our cell phones. if you need that number, email me. :)

Alex is a doll!

This morning he walked upstairs and said, "Mom do we need some more honey?" I started to answer and he added, "not the kid kind of honey or the husband kind of honey. The kind that we eat." Now he's walking around showing the honey the house. What a doll!