a whole month...

without posting, what is going on? i lost my blogging mojo. alas, maybe it will return!

highlights of the last month-we are enjoying the warmer weather the last few days. we have gotten over 32 inches of snow in february! we lost power for about 24 hours and then got stuck in the snow on the way to the kellers. we walked the rest of the way. this is the most snow pgh has seen since 1993. crazy!

we got our tax return- hooray! i just bought a whole lot of godiva truffles. and cupcakes from dozen. and pizza. and pepperoni rolls. it was so worth it!

i found my first gray hair. it had to happen at some point. the funny thing is, i just dyed my hair 2 weeks before. i keep trying to dye my hair brown and i feel like it keeps turning red. i hadn't dyed it for almost 1 year.

it is 6:37 am and i can not be accountable for anything i say right now, having worked all night. i should probably end while i am ahead. good day, sir.

bowling festivities

each christmas, gma and gpa kelly rent out the paa bowling alley for a bowling party and dinner. here are some pictures of our wonderful evening. argyll's revenge also played for the occassion!

i hit my head

and jonas was concerned. he drew this for me, in case if i was really hurt, i would remember who i should call. sweet little man!

christmas in rewind

christmas was wonderful. here are pictures. lots of pictures. i took a crazy amount of pictures. but we were busy and had lots of fun. christmas eve we spent with the kellers and then went to aunt betty's for an evening with my side of the family. we also went to my sister cara's house- look at her cute twins!!!! christmas am we were at home and then went to the kellers' again. christmas evening was spent and gma and gpa kelly's home with all our cousins. fun and exhausting.

snow days

and the snow continued. we enjoyed 3 days of 2 hour delays and then a cancellation on friday! we have a small hill in our front yard and did some sledding while portie napped.

happy new year

wishing you and yours a very happy new year! from a very snowy pittsburgh keller family!

4 years ago...

i gave birth to this little man. he since has brightened each of my days. i love you, sweet gryffie. you are the best!









for gryffie's b-day, he wanted to go to rockin' robin and gma and gpa came along. he also insisted on a cake from the oakmont bakery.

birthday celebration

yesterday night, we had a mini b-day celebration. we are blessed to live close to our extended family, but i cherish our time together, just the 5 of us. i slept after church as i am on nights again this week, and my cold came back. so i woke up at 5:30 pm and we had some ice cream cake and played twister. jonas was the referee, and gryffie really wasn't into it, so he just sat on the mat and would occassionally move a foot or hand. porter just rolled all over the mat, which was quite amusing. then we read some stories together. it was a great b-day celebration!

this isn't the best lighting, but i wanted to post a picture of me with my boys.

our christmas miracle

ahh, christmas started off a little rough, but has been altogether lovely. shortly after i wrote my earlier christmas post, re: my b-day dinner and festivities of the season, ben came home and told me that our car's emission light had turned on. the car started jerking and began smelling like burnt clutch. ben sat in the driveway when he got home and read the manual. it said it could be 2 things- one, the gas cap wasn't on all the way, or two, it needed serious help and should not be driven or the warranty would be null and void. well, the gas cap was fine, so, yeah, christmas eve, we had a broken car and of course, our mechanic brunos, and the honda dealership were closed, so no luck there. then we called 2 car rental places and both had no cars available until at least saturday. we were supposed to go to ambridge for the evening to see family as well as ben's family during the day and we had no car. then our home teacher, sam eskelson, stopped by to drop off a gift. ben told him about the car, and about 1/2 hour later, sam brought us his car. one big enough to fit our family and my brother. it was our christmas miracle. we are blessed. after sam's call, we had all the boys come into the living room and said a prayer of thanksgiving. we are so thankful for a good home teacher, a loving heavenly father, our divine saviour, and all those that bless our lives each day. merry christmas to all and to all, a good night.

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas!!!

i love christmas time! it's just so festive! this past week has been wonderful! we had a ton of snow in the pittsburgh area! i wrapped all my christmas gifts for the boys! we had a party at work. we had sunday dinner with great friends and then went to see the beautiful lights at hartwood. also, last weekend, we had a christmas breakfast with santa. this is pre haircuts but alas, my boys are adorable! notice how gryffie will not get close to santa. he would only give santa a high five with much coaxing.



oh, and tonight, i had a wonderful early b-day dinner with 4 of my favorite girls- carrie, marie, rachel, and marrilee! i love you ladies! thanks for celebrating with me!

christmas cookies

each year we decorate cookies together. ben had finals this week, so he missed out on the fun. i think the boys eat more icing than they put on the cookies and i had to cut gryffie off...

pictures- you can see the boys' new do's.

ahh, feeling better

i finally went to the doctor last thursday and found out i had pneumonia. i had been sick for like 3 weeks and now, after antibiotics and an inhaler, i feels so much better. today was my first day back to work. i actually enjoyed being lazy and being home with my boys so much. and i slept, a lot! some random things:

port is a walking machine. i was trying to download a video, but it would not work. i will try later.

we finally went to beth-beth and all three boys got awesome new haircuts. pictures to follow.

i love glee. i love community. and 30 rock. and the office. and chuck starts in january.

christmas is in only 10 days! crazy! this year has flown. and my birthday...

on the move...

i have been trying to post these videos for a while, but couldn't. my little portie is movin! non-stop! please don't mind my voice... he, he. love this boy! i especially love how he tries to talk back! i can't believe he is 14 months old now!

something's missing...

jomi lost his first tooth today!!!

portie's bad hair cut...

so, i cut baby's hair and haven't had a chance to take him to aunt beth-beth to get it fixed. i thought he looked adorable that day. but then, haha, it is sooo badly cut. see picture #2. poor portie.





and a picture of our finished christmas tree- we still need to move the storage bins out of the way... notice that the ornaments are mostly on the top as we had to move them out of portie's clutches.

more on jonas

he seems to be the topic of numerous blog postings recently. i love that kid. he asked me today if he could marry me. i explained why that would not work, but anyway... we had an awesome dance party in the living room tonight (gryffie was at a sleepover) and ate pizza and wings together.

jonas told me that jenna kissed him today. on the cheek, but still. they held hands the week before thanksgiving and now she is kissing him on the cheek. really? he's 5.

jomi has his first loose tooth. and you can see the other tooth growing in behind it. he was watching noddy tonight after his bath, and i found him laying on the couch, wiggling his little tooth. it won't be long until the tooth fairy makes her first visit! fun times.

o christmas tree

each year we go to lake forest gardens in fombell, pa, to cut down our christmas tree. this is one of my favorite traditions of the year. it's so much fun. and the weather was perfect this year. basically, you pick what type of tree you would like (we usually pick canaan fir as the needles are softer) and you take a hay ride out to that type of tree. they drop you off and the search begins. after finding a tree that is perfect for your family, you cut it down yourselves. so much fun!

this year's choice, not yet decorated completely:



we have some crazy times together- singing christmas carols, trying to take family photos, and this year, the trees kept falling on uncle chris and all the boys! they loved it. we went to the chinese buffet in cranberry after for lunch. here are some more pics of our family fun!

bowling for turkeys

ah, thanksgiving. last weekend, we had dinner with my family out in cranberry to celebrate. my mom does not like turkey, so she made ham. that ham was sooo delish! and the boys were very well-behaved. is it bad that i gauge my enjoyment of an activity/visit/event, etc, on how much my children do/do not drive me crazy?

thanksgiving was a nice day. we went to the joe natoli field for the annual turkey bowl. jonas played for a bit but then suffered an injury and wanted to go back to grandma and grandpa's house. there we had doughnuts, hot cocoa, and watched the parade, as well as hung out with wonderful friends. i heart doughnuts.

pictures of the turkey bowl



then we went home and i slept for a while (i am on night shifts all this week). we headed back over to the kellers' for dinner around 4:30 pm. it was nice and laid back and the food was delicious! then it was time for bed and shortly thereafter, work. work is the bane of my existence, but i am grateful to have a job. nonetheless, it was a good day.

happy thanksgiving!

wishing you all a wonderful thanksgiving! we have had our ups and downs these past few months, but i have so much to be thankful for.

i have an amazing family- a wonderful husband and 3 sweet little guys that rock my world daily. i am grateful for their health and strength, the excitement and love they add to my life.

i have wonderful extended family that offer their love and support to us, while in different ways, in a perfect balance.

i have incredible friends, ones that at times do so much more for me than i do for them. i love you guys.

i am grateful for the understanding i have of the gospel of jesus christ. i make light of it at times, but i am thankful for it. i love our ward despite the high levels of conservatism. but i know this is where we belong.

i love teaching relief society- i teach on the 4th sunday so i get to do the teachings for our time lessons. for that i am grateful.

i am grateful for family traditions- i love this time of year, specifically for all the traditions we have. each year, we go to trax farms, we cut down our tree, we go to the strip on a saturday before christmas. we also have set christmas eve rituals-all surrounded by family.

i am grateful that ben has been able to be doing so well in school. it is wonderful to see him happy and doing something he loves. 1 1/2 more years- it will go by quickly, right?

i am working and ben got a parttime job that is flexible. i am grateful to have steady employment in this time of financial upheavel. things could be so much worse. i am grateful they are not.

and lastly, i love food- chocolate and cherry pepsi, and pizza, and pie. and can't wait to eat turkey today. woo-hoo.

love you all. happy thanksgiving.

jonas' news

so, i called home on my way back from our relief society "make and take" and ben told me that jonas had some news for me when i got home. i heard jonas say, "no, i want to tell her now." jonas got on the phone and said, "mommy, i have a girlfriend now." haha, i knew he liked this little girl, jenna, and she even came trick or treating with us for a little bit, but now he is calling her his girlfriend. so far, no kissing, thank goodness, but he has held her hand.

jonas then went to a birthday party for his friend, shawn, tonight and jenna was there. while we were getting ready for bed, he told me he had more "news" for me. he and jenna are getting married and his friend isaiah is buying the ring for him... what??? my 5 year old is engaged! haha.