just a little light show...

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
'What are you doing?' I asked without fear,
'Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!'

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said 'Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.'
'It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,'
Then he sighed, 'That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.'
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and a ll,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.'

'So go back inside,' he said, 'harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right.'
'But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
'Give you money,' I asked, 'or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son.'
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
'Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.'

Fun facts....

dev's fun facts:

A: Attached or single? attached to my hunky hubby
B: Best Friend? Stephen
C: Cake or Pie? cake
D: Day of choice? any day that Stephen has off...
E: Essential item? car with a dvd player
F: Favorite color? red
G: Gummi Bears or Worms? bears
H: Hometown: Federal Way, Washington
I: Favorite Indulgence? date night
J: January or July? July
K: Kids? four yummy ones.... so far.
L: Life is incomplete without? my family
M: Marriage Date? June 29th 2001
N: Number of Siblings: 2 brothers 1 sister
O: Oranges or Apples? apples
P: Phobias or fears? car accidents, losing a family member
Q: Quote: "Making the decision to have a child is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." --Elizabeth Stone
R: Reason to Smile? my funny kids
S: Season of choice? FALL!!
T: Tag three friends: any of you!
U: Unknown Fact:I have been stranded and rescued from a mountain
V: Favorite Vegetable? Green beans
W: Worst habit: writing thank you's
X: X-Ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound
Y: Your Favorite Food? sticky rice
Z: Zodiac Sign? Gemini

Where I was 10 years ago: Living in Prove, Dating Stephen & working for JcPenney
Where I was 5 years ago: SAHM with a new baby
Where I was 1 year ago: uhhh... same. SAHM, waiting for my baby #4.
What I was doing yesterday: I was tending to my sick kids. rearranging furniture...
5 places I'd rather be: nowhere.... although, I wouldn't pass up a vacation with my hubby
5 treats/snacks I love/like: fudge cycles, almond joy, toast, chocolate milk and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
What I would do with 100 million dollars: SHOP! ;) buy a new house on a huge piece of land. take my whole family on a cruise. invest...
5 TV shows I like/watch: Dancing with the stars, Jon and Kate plus 8, Good things Utah, General Hospital and Scrubs


Stephens fun facts:

A: Attached or single? definitely attached
B: Best Friend? my Devenie
C: Cake or Pie? Pie
D: Day of choice? day with my family
E: Essential item? food
F: Favorite color? green
G: Gummi Bears or Worms? bears
H: Hometown: Mobile, Alabama
I: Favorite Indulgence? watches
J: January or July? January
K: Kids? four
L: Life is incomplete without? my family
M: Marriage Date? June 29th 2001
N: Number of Siblings: 5
O: Oranges or Apples? oranges
P: Phobias or fears? snakes and the dark
Q: Quote: 1 Nephi 4:13 "Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief."
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. "- Edmund Burke
R: Reason to Smile? my kids
S: Season of choice? spring
T: Tag three friends:
U: Unknown Fact:I'm very shy
V: Favorite Vegetable? corn
W: Worst habit: chew my nails
X: X-Ray or Ultrasound? of course Ultrasound
Y: Your Favorite Food? lasagna
Z: Zodiac Sign? sagitarius

Where I was 10 years ago: Dating Dev, working construction
Where I was 5 years ago: Married to Dev, had a little baby, working UTA security, graduated from Police Academy.
Where I was 1 year ago: counting down days to baby #4, working for Helper Police Dept.
What I was doing yesterday: Brad & I had an adventure with a trailer... and I was helping with sick kids.
5 places I’d rather be: there aren't 5 places I'd rather be...
5 treats/snacks I love/like: chocolate covered peanuts, gum, doughnuts ;) reeses peanut butter cups and kettle corn
What I would do with 100 million dollars: Build a bigger house for my wife. Assure my kids college funds. Set our retirement. Help those that have helped us....
5 TV shows I like/watch: Scrubs, Las Vegas, Cops, History channel

lovely L's...

It's really hard to pick just one thing for each letter.... I am really proud to be a LARSEN... i love loVE LOVE being in lOvE!!!.... but my favorite L is ***LABOR***

I know. I know. Most people think I am lying or crazy when I tell them how much I love to be in labor. I would have dozens of kiddos if I could. There is something just magical about giving birth. Don't get me wrong. I am not claiming no pain or all bliss or something crazy like that... I just love the experience. Kendyl was born on her actual due date... 9 hours of labor and an hour of pushing... Brad was 3 weeks early, 8 hours of labor and three pushes... Avery 2 weeks early, 8 hours of labor and came out with one push... Rylin 2 weeks early, a day of labor and one push...
Labor is such an interesting thing to me. I honestly get jealous when people go into labor. I love the sounds of the machines... the ice chips... the warm blankets... uncomfortable~numb bum~ beds... DRUGS... and I love my Doctor. You really never know what your outcome will be but it is a wonderful miracle from God that we get to experience this. Hmmm.... no more babies for a while, but just talking about it makes me hungry for it all again....

other loveley L's... Library, Last minute vacations, Larsen family reunions, Laughter and the Land that I love....

family pics from Thanksgiving...

one thing I am grateful for...

I am sitting here pondering about the several different things I am grateful for. And one thing that pops into my mind... of which I am VERY grateful for is our solders. I am in awe at these men and women that freely give of themselves to serve our country and to help others as well. I have two brothers-in-law that have served in Iraq. One is over there right now. It makes me so proud...

I have found a great GREAT site that I really want to pass along....

Xerox has created a program that is SIMPLE and wonderful. They are sending free cards to soldiers. All you have to do is go to the site--pick a card-- write your name--a message-- and they will send it off for you. So many of the soldiers don't hear from many people and it is easy to feel forgotten... this is a wonderful way to send our thanks. Especially around the holidays. Please pass this along to others...

~~~it's a great FHE activity... we had the WHOLE family do it on Thanksgiving... it was great!~~~

God bless our troops.

Let's Say Thanks.com

my FAVORITE k.....KENDYL DEV

Kendyl Devenie Boyer

I have the cutest 5yr old. I know. I know. I am her mom, naturally, she is the cutest to me... but, seriously, she's yummy. If I had to describe her in one word... it would be... clown. She is a funny little bug. Seriously, she doesn't go more than 5 minutes without doing something funny. She keeps me laughing all day.
I was volunteering in her class the other day and her teacher pulled me aside and started complimenting her. She was amazed at how fast she was picking stuff up. Yesterday, at home she said "mom, I taught myself to say the alphabet backwords..." then she proceeded to do it~ without any help and without missing a letter~ I freaked out. I asked her where she learned it and she said I saw a girl do it on TV and thought she would try it... it is so funny. I can't even do it...

It's so fun to watch her grow~~ but boy do I hate to see it all happen so fast. She is beautiful inside and out. And I am very proud to be her momma. Love you nugget!




Other Krazy K's I love~~ Kisses, KSL.com, my clean Kitchen, Kizoodle.com, skeleton keys and korker bows...

boys will be.... boys..

my sweet B was running around the house and crashed into the fireplace... put a gash in his head all the way to his cranium... I about had a heart attack. It was bleeding like crazy... Stephen was coming home from Provo-- he was about a half hour away. I couldn't do a whole lot besides sitting there with a towel to stop the bleeding. Thank goodness for my Kendyl to help get me stuff... turn off bath water... get my phone... ah, what a good helper.
None of the Doctors would do stitches so we had to take him to the ER. URgggg.
This kind of stuff really freaks me out. I can't stand when any of my bugs get hurt. It makes me sick. And I can't let go of them...
Brad did so good. He was freaking out when it first happened. But we started to talk about pirates, his dad, disneyland and his uncles. Then he was really in a happy place. He couldn't stop talking. Apparently, he has been to disneyland already with his uncles. They went there to pick up his dad and see baby Jesus. Then they stopped to see Jack Sparrow and help him because bad guys burned down the pirate castle... there were a few snowmen and a statue of mom there as well. It was quite the story. I wish I had a recorder... it's funny how people deal with shock. Anyway, I am just glad that he's ok. That it wasn't his eye or something worse. poor buggy. At least he gets to go to the store to pick out a prize for doing good! A new sword will make everything better.... :)

new look....AGAIN!

OK. I was totally unsatisfied with the look of my last green blog. It was cute... just not really what I wanted. So, I changed. And I will surely change again.... sometime in the future. You have to change it up a bit every now and again... right?!

Anyway. It's pink. Really pink. But I love it :)

I got my template from this great site.. it's called Matie Kay Creations
She does really cute FREE stuff... check her out!

bath time...

here are some pics...

Over the last few days I have done a few photo sessions. The pictures turned out so yummy that I thought I would share a couple...

for some reason my posts are blending together... who knows what I did wrong... sorry.

J..J..J....

My favorite J.
Hmm.
I think it's.... jewelry. I go through stages in my life when it comes to jewelry. Before I was married... never left the house without some... (not to mention make up too! ;) I always had at least some earings... a watch... you know. Cute stuff. Then, after a while... got married... had a baby... ahh. Unless I want my earings yanked out... or my daughters taking my necklace and leaving it who know where... I just can't. It's just not possible with babies... and toddlers. And now, after years of neglect, I am getting back into my obsession. It's not quite the same as the pre children days... but I am back into my chunky bracelets... crazy necklaces... and an occasional pair of earings.
I know. I know. It's not a passionate... couldn't live without... J. But, I still love my jewelry. Even if it's only on rare occasions.
check out this AWESOME necklace on ETSY
I love these earings too
other jammin J's: Joseph Smith, Jennifer Weiner, homemade Jam and JcPenney (hello. I worked there forever....)

who can resist taking pics in the FALL!!

on our way home from church today I stopped and took a few pics of the older 3 kiddos. (dad & Ry aren't feeling so hot today...)

YUMMY! i love the fall!! Don't you??