Benj' Go Over There and Be a Man...

"Benj' go over there and be a man!"

WHAT!!??

This is coming from a man who literally threw me to the dogs to protect himself! (Another story for another time! :) Jon will try and deny that he is not deathly afraid of dogs, but I have too many Jon vs. Dog stories to verify and validate that he in fact is MORTIFIED of dogs.  (This personal little detail about Jon makes the following video clip that much funnier!)

(For those of you who might wonder if the kids were in any danger...let me ease your mind.  This dog named Riley is a super kid friendly dog who has been raised around small children.)  

Sticking To My Goal...

I challenged a friend to a post a week with pictures.  Looks like he is not rising to the challenge...what's up Michael Hill!?  Since I can not back down from a challenge I will continue to post despite the lack of interesting events in my current life.

Today, I am sharing some pictures of my little ones.  They are all so very different and I think these pictures show their differences better than I can describe.  So humor me and  take a look at my little bears in all their GLORY!

This is Mia learning to shred on her new Tony Hawk Board.  Kinda scary!

Lil' Lito lookin' like a Ladies Man already!

And yesterday

VivyAnn came upstairs dressed as this beautiful princess.

She said, "Mom, would you like to take a picture of me?"

Who could resist.  Thanks for indulging me guys!

Love,

Mind'

For Those of You Who HAD to See MORE!

A Sensational Six Year Old!

My baby is growing up! 

 

She was born March 13th, 2003 at 1:30 a.m, and from that time forward she has blazed her own trail!  

Without knowing it Mia has helped Jon and I become the kind of parents we want to be.  She keeps us on our toes and challenges our thinking.  In many ways Mia & I are extremely different from one another, but one thing we are exactly alike in is our need to have the last word!  Let's just say it can get interesting between the two of us. :)   Lots to look forward to when we hit TeenageHood!

Here is a list of 10 Things I LoVe about my MiaBia!

1.  She is a deep thinker.

2.  She takes risks, but knows her limits.

3.  She absolutely loves all of her family, immediate and extended.  She is constantly thinking about her Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles and Cousins.  She anticipates their visits more than she does major holidays and her birthday! :)

4.  Mia loves to read!  (Another thing we have in common.)

5.  She takes being a big sister very seriously and she is fantastic at it.

6.  She reveres her Papa Bear.  It is very sweet the way she looks at him.

7.  Mia has amazing Faith in Prayer.

8.  Mia loves to play hard.

9.  She loves to take treats to her friends.

10.  Mia does things according to Mia!

The following pictures are of Mia's Birthday Weekend...done Mia Style!

Friday the 13th turned out to be a great day to turn six.

Mia enjoyed a (before school) breakfast at Kneaders!

She met this little green turtle at Kneaders and could not bare to part with him.

Mia didn't want a traditional Widdowson Birthday Party this year. 

I was a little bummed about this...but tried to be enthusiastic about her choice of party venue.

Nothing like the good ol' bowling alley to celebrate a momentous occasion!

She absolutely loved every minute of it though!

She got an authentic Jack and Jill bowling pin for being the Birthday Girl!

A group of professionals!

(These are just a few pictures of the things we did this weekend.  Please see slideshow if you are dying to see more of the action! )

We had a fantastic time celebrating Mia this weekend!  She brings her entire family immeasurable pleasure!  We love you Meetla Beetla! 

Ok...so it has been awhile!

I haven't blogged for awhile.  What can I say Facebooking is so convenient!   Convenient, but not necessarily as satisfying.  

I miss hearing all of the details about your day to day lives.  I miss your rantings and ravings. I miss your pictures and I miss your sweet kid stories. 

I hope you haven't forgotten about me.  Check in on the Widdowson Bears from time to time.  Can we go back to the way things were before I fell of the blogspot! :)

Love,

Mind'

The First and Maybe the Last

What a magical Christmas we had!!  This is the first year all of our kids are old enough to believe in the magic of Santa Claus and his eight tiny reindeer.  We had a close call with Mia this year though. 

An older cousin decided to share his thoughts with Mia on whether or not there is a jolly ol' man who resides in the North Pole.  Mia came to me and said, " I know that Santa is not real, Mom."  Despite my shock, I replied with a smooth face, "Ooooh, I am sorry honey.  Did you know that once you say that you don't believe in Santa anymore the magic stops for you and he doesn't know how to find you on Christmas Eve."  I rapidly continued on with, "I would believe for as long as I could if I were you."  She had a drastic change of attitude after our little conversation. She was eager to do all of the good things that you would do to stay on Santa's Nice list. :)

I don't know what was more fun, making all the preparations for Santa's arrival on Christmas Eve or actually enjoying the fruits of our labor on Christmas Morning.  It's a toss up!  The kids were actually sparking with excitement!  Which of course means that I was too!!  

Although, on Christmas morning I realized that with little kids like mine, less is more! Benjamin was completely content with the little "Knock-off"Hot Wheels cars he got in his stocking.  We could have just stopped there for him and we would have been completely satisfied!  And it was pretty much the same with the other two.  My Mom advised me to enjoy that while I could, because that will change the older they get.

Soooo anyway, Christmas was everything I hoped for this year!  We had all of the necessary components for a Rockin' Christmas.  We had family, friends, the magic of Santa, and most importantly, we had and HAVE a love for our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We are so grateful for Him and the Love that He gives so freely.

A Testimony Building Experience...

I spent the weekend in California with Jon and his family.   I wish I could say we were just feeling spontaneous and felt like getting away, but we went for a much different and much more important reason.  

Jon's grandmother better known as, Nanny, was admitted to the hospital for the last time.  She is 85 years old and has lived a full and happy life.  She is the kind of woman, I think we all hope to be.  People are drawn to her vivacious way of living and her sparkling personality.  I have only known Nanny for 10 Years, but in that short amount of time I could see for myself that she was truly a rarity!

I am thankful to Jon's family for letting me be a part of those very special last days with their Nanny.  The love was deep and Heaven felt very near.  I know that the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ offers a special comforting peace for those who have a testimony of Eternal Families.   I am thankful for a Father in Heaven who has a perfect plan and has given us a clear understanding of how to return home to Him. 

We love you Nanny.