Happy Birthday our special miracle baby!!

My heart is full of gratitude, love, and emotion as we have celebrated Caleb's birthday today. I can't help but think of the night he was born when he wasn't breathing on his own and was taken to the nursery so quickly for additional support. Minutes after that, a nurse came down to tell me that they were going to life-flight him to Primary Children's Hospital. It was the hardest thing that I have ever been through. The days that followed Caleb's birth were extremely difficult for Shaun and me and our entire family. Amazingly enough, he was able to come home in three and a half weeks time without oxygen, feeding tubes, or any other medication. He is strong and healthy and thriving in every way. He walks around the furniture, and crawls speedy fast. He loves to babble and even says a few little words, like "da da" and "papa" for Grandpa. He is such a content, happy baby and rarely ever cries. He has brought so much love and joy into our lives, and has made our family complete. Every day when I look into those big, beautiful blue eyes, I am reminded of the grace of God, and how blessed we really are. He truly is a miracle. Happy Birthday my special baby!! We love you more than words can say!!

He loved his cake, and just couldn't get enough!! Yum! Yum!!

Having lots of fun with all of the fun new toys that the Grandma's and Grandpa's brought.

Our wonderful families came to celebrate the joyous occasion!! We missed Grandpa "Pooper" (had to fly out on a business trip yesterday morning), and Uncle Kev. and Aunt Marcy.

We love you all!!

Welcome Baby Marshall!

Beautiful baby Marshall Robert Upp was born on Dec. 3rd @6:15 P.M. weighing in at 8 lbs. 4 oz., and 20" long. Congratulations to Kevin and Marcy. We are so happy for them, and overjoyed that this little bundle of joy has finally arrived. They are already such AMAZING parents, and love this little baby so very much. I may be a little biased, but I truly think that he is one of the cutest babies that I have ever seen. Kevin and I have always been so close that I feel such a special bond with this little guy and just wanted to sit and hold him all day long!! I can't wait until he and Caleb get a little older and become best little buddies. Welcome to the family special baby! We love you!!

It's hard to believe that a year ago at this time I was pregnant with this little bundle of joy!! How time flies when you're having fun. Caleb continues to amaze us with his many miraculous milestones each and every day!! Many of you know that we have a wonderful occupational therapist that comes to work with him once a week. She is always so positive, and says how happy she is with his ongoing progress!! I thank Heavenly Father every day for this special gift in my life!!

The Adventures of Caleb

Visit www.moblyng.com to make your own!

Gone are the days of ribbons and bows!!!

Every mother dreams of the day when she will have a beautiful little girl to dress up in fancy clothes, frilly dresses, and last but not least, ribbons and bows. Lucky for me, I was able to do all of the above for quite some time. It was almost like playing dress-up everytime I would buy her a new outfit just to see how darn cute she would look in it. And the shoes.....oh, the shoes! (Especially the boots in every color to match the outfits). Shortly after she was born, I even got a part-time job at "Baby Gap" just to keep her dressed in the latest and greatest styles!! Along with all of the fun clothes and accessories, she ALWAYS had a bow or ribbon in her hair of some sort. (Even when we went camping). She literally has HAD bows in her hair since the day she was born!! (you know those cute little ones that the nurse sticks in with KY, right after their first bath!!) Despite her change in styles and our difference of opinion in her clothes, I was still always able to sneak the ribbons and bows in.....up until that dreadful day last year when we were following our same morning ritual, and I went to tie that perfect bow, just as I had done so many times before, when she looked up at me and said in a very firm voice, "Mom, I am in second grade, and I don't want you to put those dumb bows in my hair anymore. I am the only person in my whole class that wears bows, and I am NOT going to let you put them in anymore!"

I couldn't believe this was happening. I was devastated and thought I had at least another couple of years.....AT LEAST. I quickly told her that it was just part of getting ready for the day, and that she had to have the bows in, and acted as if it wasn't any big deal. Again, she looked up at me and said, "I said NO BOWS," and walked away. That was that, and ever since, I've been hanging onto the fact that MAYBE, just maybe one day she might let me put them in for church, a special occasion, Christmas, or just for fun. So, I guess it's time to depart with all of those ribbons and bows, and say, "So long for now.....it was quite a ride while it lasted!!" I LOVE YOU SYD!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Koos Kids getting ready for a big night of trick-or-treating!! Caleb's FIRST Halloween!!
Caleb had so much fun answering the door with me. Everytime the doorbell rang, he would get really excited and crawl as fast as he could to the door. It was very cute!!

My kid's are growing up.....

Halloween just wasn't the same around here this year as it has been in years past! Austin came to us a couple of days before Halloween and said that he and his buddies wanted to go "trick-or-treating" by themselves this year and didn't want any mom's or dad's going. At first we were a little hesitant, but after lots of begging, pleading, many "safety" lectures, MORE stranger/danger talks, and tears (from me, of course), we finally gave in and decided to let him go. After we agreed to let Austin go, Syd. thought that she should be able to do the same thing, so luckily, since our kids have such great friends, she went off on our own as well. So sad!!! One step closer to independence!!

Austin and the boys after a long night of trick-or treating!!

Emma and Syd. met up with their cute little friend Shaylee, and had a great time on "their own."

What would we do without Sawyer? Poor Braden kept saying, "Who I am going to go twick-o-tweeting with? Fortunately, he and Shaun caught up to Danny and Sawyer and everything was all better!!

Happy Fall to you all!!

I know I'm a little behind on updating my blog, but I too, like a lot of you love fall. Caramel apples, falling leaves, letting fresh air in through open windows, pumpkin bars, and last, but certainly not least, FOOTBALL!!

Here are some fun family traditions that we have enjoyed during the month.....

We LOVE going to the pumpkin patch with our cousins, Landon, Dallin, and Alex!!

Pumpkin carving at Grandma and Grandpa's is always a favorite!!

Witch's Tea Party 2008

My friend, Jen, threw the FUNNEST tea party for all of us girls!! We had TONS of yummy food, got to cast really great spells (for mine and K.D.'s sake, we really hope Kerrian's spell comes true, hee, hee!! Does size C ring a bell, anyone?), had a cackling contest, and just hung out and had a great time!! Hopefully, this will be the first of many to come, right Jen??!! Thank you for a wonderful time!! We had a blast.

More Birthday Wishes.....

I just wanted to wish my sweet sis.-in-law, Natalie, a very Happy "Be-lated" birthday. She is such an amazing example to me, and I am so grateful to be a part of her family. I have never heard her say a bad thing about anybody, or get mad at anything. She is so carefree and never lets anything bother her. She is also an amazing mom, and does so much for her sweet children. Nat., I love you very much, and hope that you had a WONDERFUL birthday.

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday to ALL!

**Woosh! Sorry this is a little bit of a "lengthy" post....You know me, talk, talk, talk!!

My beautiful princess, and my handsome prince charming!

Happy Birthday to Sydney and Shaun! I just had to post this picture!! Syd. really is "Daddy's princess." It's hard to believe that our little Sydney is growing up so very fast, and is already nine years old, and 2 months into 3rd Grade!! Oh, it's so sad to think that this is her last year in "single" digits!! (That means Shaun and I are getting REALLY old!!) Syd. brings so much love and joy to our family. She is very mature for her age, and has always acted much older than she really is. She is thoughtful, kind, and very affectionate. I love that she just comes up to me and gives me a hug (right out of the blue), and says, "I love you mom!" She LOVES her baby brother very much, and always makes him laugh. She always tells me how darling he is, and tells me to watch what he is doing. It melts my heart. She LOVES spending time with her friends, and feels completely lost if she doesn't have a friend over. She has an amazing ability to make new friends, and keep in touch. It means a lot to her to spend time with friends that she doesn't get to see that often, and makes an effort to always plan "playdates" and "late overs!" She is extremely creative and very artistic, and is always "designing" something or the other!! She LOVES tumbling, and is constantly doing cartwheels, walk-over's, back handsprings, back tucks, etc., etc.....She loves her family very much, and enjoys spending time with all of the Grandma's and Grandpa's and all of her sweet cousins. We feel so blessed to have her in our family. Happy Birthday Syd.!!


Happy Birthday to my amazing, wonderful, dear sweet Shaun!! I'm pretty sure that he has got to be the BEST husband and father in this whole world! I am so blessed to be married to my very best friend!! Thanks for ALWAYS making me laugh, and being my biggest "cheerleader!" Thanks for providing for our family and working so hard everyday to make sure that we have what we need. Thanks for always making me feel important. Thanks for always fixing EVERYTHING, and being the biggest handyman I know. Thanks for teaching our children the importance of the gospel, and being such an amazing example to them. I LOVE YOU so very much, and want to wish you the Happiest birthday ever!!!!

I just wanted to wish all of the special people in my life (who have birthdays in Aug. and Sept.) a VERY Happy Birthday!

Grandpa Upp starts off the "Birthday Craziness" on Aug. 4th! Grandma Upp just celebrated hers on Sept. 23rd! Thank you Mom and Dad for being the BEST parents in the world. I am truly blessed to have been raised by such wonderful people, and feel so grateful for all that you do for me and my little family. You guys are always there for us, and ready and willing to help with whatever we may need. Thank you for being such wonderful Grandparents, and supporting my children in all of their many activities. It means so much to them! I LOVE you both very, very much, and hope that your birthday was filled with joy and happiness!

Uncle Matt - Thanks for being such a great brother-in-law and providing lots of good entertainment for us at every family function! We truly appreciate you being such a wonderful example to all of us! We love you! Happy Birthday!

G-pa "Pooper" and Syd. share the same birthday! It is so special to see the sweet bond that they share. It started all of those years ago when we were building our house, and lived with G-ma and G-pa! Syd. instantly became G-pa's best friend, and always wanted him to hold her, and play with her. Sometimes, G-pa was the only person she wanted. (To this day, there are times when he still is the only person she wants.) He is an amazing man, full of so much love for his family and his Grandchildren. He loves them all so much, and would do anything for them. Thank you, Grandpa for all of the many sleepovers, hikes, walks, advice, "special dates", movie nights, and the list goes and on and on! We love you very much, and hope that you had a wonderful birthday!

The best family ever!!

I may be a little bias, but I really think that I have the best family in the whole world. I feel so blessed to have such amazing aunts, uncles, and cousins that I can just "hang out" with and completely and totally be myself whenever we get together. Every year, I look forward to our annual camping trip where we stay up late sitting around the campfire, until all hours of the night, getting caught up on "you know who", laughing so hard it hurts, having relay races, tug-of-wars, tye-die t-shirts, having water fights, having beauty queen pageants every now and then, watching movies on the big screen (thanks Brian), eating more junk food than you can imagine, playing "family jeopordy", floating the river on tubes, roasting smores, and catching up on all the latest happenings. We may be loud, crazy, and right down obnoxious, but we sure do know how to have a good time!! Thanks for your love and support, and for being the best family ever!! I love you all so much!! XOXOXO

Marshall Family Reunion

SOCCER SEASON IS HERE!!

Braden is so excited that Shaun gets to be his coach again this year! Congrats guys on an awesome win...nobody's keeping score, but I would say that 7 to 1 was a pretty great outcome.

Braden and his "best buddy," a.k.a. Sawyer!!

Koos Family Photo Shoot!!

After months of begging and pleading with my children, I was finally able to take a few pictures after church on Sunday. Let's just say it was not as easy as it may appear to be.......40 min. later, sweat-stained clothes from the heat, squintie eyes from the sun, and a few tearful breakdowns, we were FINALLY able to get a a couple of frame-worthy photos.

HOW MANY SHOTS DOES IT TAKE TO GET A GOOD PHOTO????

If you look close, you will see a little baby booger hanging down from Caleb's nose after a big sneeze.

Braden kept saying, "It's too bwight!! I can't see." Caleb just had to look up to see what he was doing.

Who knows what the heck Braden is doing here...just a little head rub for Caleb.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

You get the "PICTURE!" It was quite an adventure!! Ha, Ha, Ha!!!

Heber Valley Camp

We had so much fun spending time with our dear, sweet friends in Heber on Friday night. Tami, thank you so much for organizing and planning such a fun little "quick" get away! We had a total blast, and love you all so much!!

Me and the girls!

Cute little Ellie and Syd.

Yea!! I finally got a pic. of Hunter and Austin

The babies just "chillin'" Caleb is twice as big as Olivia (10 days older- in the middle) and the same size as Brooklyn (6 mos. older - on the far left) Let's just say he's one lucky guy, and will have lots of beautiful girlfriends to choose from. Hee, hee!!

Football's here......Let the games begin!!!

Getting ready to catch the ball!

Austin playing Q.B. Yup, it's true!! Football season is officially here!! After two weeks of try-outs, two gruelling weeks of practice, and one practice game, Austin finally had his first "official" game on Sat. against Highland. We are so proud of how well he played!! He had some really great tackles/sacks?? (whatever that means), and ran several yards when he had the ball!! Way to go Autsin!! Keep up the good work!! We look forward to an awesome season, and hope for another STATE CHAMPIONSHIP!! GO BINGHAM!!

"Open Mouth, Insert ANYTHING!!"

Caleb is starting to chew on everything and anything these days!! Poor guy still doesn't have any teeth, but drewls like crazy!! We're hoping he will get some, at least before his first birthday!! (Hee, hee!) OOOOhhhhh.......don't you just want to kiss and squeeze those cheeks? That's what I do all day long!!! I just love this little guy so much, and enjoy all these special moments with him. Notice how he isn't looking at the camera in either one of these pictures?? That's because Syd. is over in the corner making him laugh. He LOVES his brothers and sisters so much!!

Limberg Family Reunion!!

Caleb finally got to meet his Great -Grandma and Grandpa Koos and his cousin Madden. I think he was a little nervous at first, but warmed up after a few minutes.