Happy 5th Anniversary!

This coming Saturday Mark and I will celebrate our 5th Year Wedding Anniversary! It is hard to believe that five whole years have gone by since we made those sacred temple covenants in the Lord's Holy House! What a journey it has been and a wonderful one at that! Even though we have had some ups and downs, especially lately, we have stuck it out and have become closer for it! It is fun to look back and reminisce about how we met and how our love story and our life together came to be. Seven years ago, while we were both attending Dixie State College, we ended up in the same Mythology class together. Mark noticed me and I noticed him but we never said a word to each other and nothing ever came of it. A year later, we ended up again in another class- a Doctrine and Covenants Institute Class. ( I think the Lord was giving us slow movers one more chance to get together!) In fact, that very first day of class, I entered the institute building and Mark was sitting in the foyer. I very coyly checked him out as I walked in. I remembered that he was in my Mythology class a year earlier and remembered his name and everything- it was weird. I thought Mark was so cute! Mark was also watching me enter the building and told me that he remembered me from our mythology class to and said that he silently wished that we would be in the same class together. His wish came true! I was the bold one and went and sat by him that very first day and said hi! It took Mark a month to ask me out while I patiently waited for him to get up the nerve! We dated for a year and the rest is history! How truly grateful I am for my dear Husband. He is such an example to me. I truly believe that the Lord had a hand in getting us together.

Mark, I love you with all my heart and feel so lucky and blessed to have you as my best friend and eternal companion. The last five years have been wonderful and I hope there are many more wonderful years to come! I love you! Love Your Wife- Ashlee

Two thumbs up for Twilight Saga!

Another chapter of my life has come to a close... Sniff! Is that a tear? I finally did it! I read the entire Twilight Series from beginning to end. I finally completed Breaking Dawn last night which is the last book in the series.How appropriate for the Halloween Holiday! It had been awhile since I had read the first three novels so I wanted to read the series from the beginning so I could really enjoy the final book. I know, I know, I am probably one of the last of the Stephanie Meyers fans to complete the task but I have had a few other things that I have had to do since the book made its debut. (Packing up a home, cleaning it, moving over three hundred miles, unpacking, and getting house in order while taking care of two high maintenance kids- Kaleb and Karmindy "your highness" or "Needy Dee Dee"-if you will- that is what she is know as by close family and friends! We love you Dee Dee!) I know excuses, excuses, but hey I finally did it! I really did enjoy the series; although, I don't think I will let Karmindy read them in the near future. These books will be tucked away until she is like ~ 21! Then maybe they will be age appropriate. I really liked the first three novels! I think Twilight and Eclipse will always be my favorites. Breaking Dawn was a little over the top for me but I enjoyed it. Now that I have completed the series, I am really looking forward to seeing the first movie in November! Let the countdown begin . . . .

We listened to a Prophets Voice!

What a wonderful opportunity we had this past weekend to hear from our beloved prophet, Pres. Thomas S. Monson, members from the Quorum of the twelve, members from the seventy and the wonderful women in Primary, Young Women's and Relief Society General Presidencies. I always look forward to conference, it is a time to learn from the Lord's anointed and recommit to things we need to work on to be more like our brother and Savior Jesus Christ. I always receive answers to questions that I am having and receive comfort for a trial I may be going through at the time. There were so many talks on Saturday and Sunday that I loved! It has been hard for me to pick a favorite but I really loved what Pres. Monson talked about and that is to "Adapt to changes, Enjoy the Journey, and to always give thanks!" What great counsel! I know it was wonderful counsel for me especially since our little family has had to endure some big changes over the course of the last few months. It has been very hard not to dwell on the past few months harships and ask, "Why has this happened to us?" I know that we go through tough times in our lives to make us stronger and also to strengthen our faith in the Lord. Pres. Monson talked about being grateful for our journery. I am so grateful for the last few months even though they have been extremely hard and I wasn't really enjoying the journey at the time but I can't help but acknowledge the hand of the Lord in our lives over the course of the last few months and not be grateful for the outcome. Everything has really worked out for the best and our lives have truly been blessed even though we have had some "Big changes" to deal with. I am truly grateful for the blessings in my life, my husband, my children and our families and friends. For our family, and friends have truly been by our sides through this whole experience. They have supported, prayed and fasted in our behalf and we are so eternally grateful for all of our dear family and friends. We love you and are so grateful for the opportunity to enjoy life's journey with you. We love you all!! May we always enjoy the Journey of Life and be grateful for it and express our appreciation to those around us. I know I will strive a little more to enjoy it and to live in the present and not dwell on the past. Life is certainly a gift, that is why it is called the "Present!"

Our little Ghouls. . .

I found the cutest flashing light ghost shirt for Kaleb and a little onesie for Karmindy that says, "Baby's 1st Halloween." They are the cutest little ghouls and I couldn't resist taking some Halloween pictures of them in there festive outfits!

Kaleb and his Laughing Pumpkin Pillow! (Thanks mom!)

Karmindy and the Scarecrow dolly!

(Thanks Laurie for her socks!)

Happy Harvest!

One of my favorite things about this time of year is that we get to decorate for the holidays!! I love the beginning of Fall- it is a precursor of what is to come over the next couple of months. I love Halloween and Thanksgiving, it is certainly a time to celebrate your youth and enjoy the excitement of watching little kids get excited about what they are going to dress up as, trick or treating, getting down and dirty by carving pumpkins and squishing the slimy, sticky mess in your hands, the wonderful smells of holiday baking coming from the kitchen, getting together and spending time with family and also remembering our blessings! Yesterday, Kaleb and I enjoyed decorating the house for Halloween. I love to see how excited he gets! I found his plastic pumpkin that he takes trick or treating. He has been carrying it around the house and constantly asks whether it is Halloween yet. What Fun! Here is Kaleb and his pumpkin bucket and a few of our decorations we put up this year!

Rizbey Family Wordles

One of my friends posted a wordle about her son on her family blog and I thought it was darling! I wanted to give it a try for our family. Mark and I made one for each other and then I did some for the kids. It was fun to see what attributes and qualities others think you have and see in you. I am so thankful for my husband and the many wonderful attributes he has and I am so grateful for our little family. It is amazing to me that we are all unique and yet we possess so many similar but different qualities to enrich our family units. Here are our family wordles:

Mark's:

Ashlee's:

Kaleb's:

Karmindy's:

I am so grateful that Families Are Forever!!

Our Lil' Flower Child

I just couldn't resist taking some new pictures of Karmindy with her little sunflower headband! She looks so cute in it. She actually cooperated and I got some really cute pictures of her. It is really rare when she will smile for the camera, so I had to act fast. She is such a sweet little thing and we love to see her smile! She is 4 1/2 months now! Where is the time going?!

We're so glad when Grandpa comes Home...

This past Tuesday and Wednesday, we had the pleasure of having Grandpa Rizbey come and visit us at our new house. Grandpa was up north on a business trip and headed over to our place in the evenings. We were so glad to see him! Each day, I told Kaleb that Grandpa was going to visit after work and he kept asking me every few hours if Grandpa was off of work yet. He was really excited to see him and was thrilled with some of the gifts that Grandpa brought up from him and Grandma. On Tuesday night, Grandpa took us out for a belated birthday dinner for daddy. We went to a local restaurant called Mark Anthony's. It has some Great Italian Food! (I highly recommend the Crab Ravioli in a Alfredo sauce! Yumm-o!) On Wednesday evening, we went and looked at some foreclosures in the area and then afterwards Grandpa took Kaleb to the park. We were so glad we were able to see Grandpa and visit and spend time with him! (Thanks again Bob and Laurie for the nice gifts for the kids!)

Kaleb admiring one of his new cars!

Kaleb displaying his new cars!

Kaleb's New Sled!

The Many Faces of Karmindy!

"Cooking and Scrubbing can wait till tomorrow, but babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow. So go away cobwebs and dust, go to sleep. I'm rocking my baby, for babies don't keep."

My Dearest Karmindy, What a sweetheart you are! I can't believe how fast you are growing up honey! Every time I take pictures of you, you seem to change. Time goes by so fast - I am trying to enjoy you, while you are still my little wee one. I love you so much honey!

Love, Your Mom

Happy Birthday Mark!

Mark celebrated his 29th birthday on Saturday! Wow, You're getting up there honey! Even if you might be approaching the big 3-0, we love you so much and are very grateful to have such a wonderful husband and adoring hands-on father in our lives! You are truly a wonderful example to me and our two kids. We love you!

Love, your Wifey, Kaleb and Karmindy

For Marks birthday this year, we started celebrating on Friday afternoon. The company that Mark works for lets their employees have a half of a day off for their birthdays, which is so cool! Mark got off around 1 and then we spent the rest of the afternoon as a family and Mark had the chance to take an afternoon nap. For dinner we headed to Panda Express. When we got home, Mark wanted to dig into his birthday cake early so we honored the birthday boys wishes (twist our arms). Saturday morning we got up and opened presents and then headed down to the local IHOP for breakfast! Yumm-o! We spent the rest of the day enjoying one anothers company. For Marks birthday dinner he asked me to make him a pot roast with all the fixin's and we had a lime jello salad with pears and then birthday cake for dessert. We hope your day was a good one honey! We love you!

Mark's Birthday Cake!

The birthday boy and his cake!

The Presents!

Mark and Kaleb posing with daddy's gift from Gma & Gpa DeMille!

Kaleb helping his dad open his birthday gift!

Kaleb was just as excited as his dad to receive and open gifts!

What a Big Helper!

Karmindy's Blankie!

Karmindy loves her blanket! Out of all the blankets she has been given, she has taken a liking to a fuzzy, soft blanket that I had left over from when Kaleb was a baby. Kaleb received so many blankets that I decided save some for my next baby. Karmindy has definitely marked it as her own and has it smelling just the way she wants it! Whenever she sees it or if we place it by her she grabs onto it and shoves her head into the smelly goodness! (Pee-yewwww!) I captured some cute pictures of her and her beloved little blanket the other day and thought I would share them.

The Cowboy Kid!

Last Saturday we ventured out as a Family and found the nearest Wal-Mart. After shopping for the things we needed, we strolled over to the Halloween aisles to check out what they had. We found a costume for Karmindy (bunny rabbit) and Kaleb announced again that he wanted to be a cowboy! He has been talking about it for awhile and we thought we would go ahead and get him a cowboy hat to complete the ensemble that he already has at home. He loves cowboy stuff and loves to wear his cowboy boots and toy pistol (his Aunt Kamberee gave them to him) around the house. He has been running around the house lately shooting at things and yelling, "Mom I will protect you!" My little hero! I took the opportunity the other day to "rustle- up" my little cowboy over to the couch for a few pictures. They turned out so cute that I just couldn't resist sharing them with "y'all." Kaleb you are growing up to be such a handsome boy! You are truly such a joy to have around! I love you son!