Merry Christmas Card...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Tomlinson Christmas letter has been a tradition for years. Each Christmas I carefully plan the content and prepare extensive lists to make sure that everyone is included. This year, I am pooped. I am going to save both time AND money (and who doesn’t need to be saving money right now!) by sending out our first annual E-Christmas card! I hope that receiving this letter via email doesn’t tarnish the sentiment enclosed. It’s just our way of financially (and psychologically) keeping the tradition alive… Enjoy!

What a whirlwind this year has been! The highlight was the birth of our daughter, Rachel Brooke, on June 26th. She is absolutely beautiful and brings such a joy into our home. Rachel’s favorite things are her brother (she ADORES him—truly!), cooing, rolling over, TV (she cranes her head to find the TV anytime it’s on), and growling like a tiger. We feel so incredibly blessed to be her parents and hope that we can protect her from her “loving” big brother before any serious accidents occur.

Daniel is a whirlwind in and of himself! He is 2 ½ years old and keeps both mom and dad constantly on their toes (and in a protective stance—he has a tendency to pounce without any warning… ask John!). He talks up a storm. I don’t know where he learns half of the things that he talks about, which is kind of scary. He sings and jumps and somersaults and dances and flips and dives and then does it all over again. Daniel is one fun kid and lights up our hearts. He loves being a big brother, even though that means he has to give Rachel some “tough love”. They’re quite a pair and I love seeing them together.

John has had a busy year! He went from Channel 2, to DBSI (a commercial real estate company), to the Idaho Transportation Department. He really loves the job—suspending the licenses of drunks. Who wouldn’t love that?? He gets to use his Spanish every once in a while, which is a nice perk as well. He is serving in the Elders’ Quorum Presidency, which has been an incredible blessing for our family. John is an amazing husband and incredible father to the kids. They adore him nearly as much as I.

I get to hang out with my kids every day. How lucky am I? They are my full-time job. My house is usually a mess, and dinner is never gourmet, but I know that I won’t have my babies forever, so I’m soaking it all in. (That’s what I tell myself so that I don’t feel guilty when the house is a disaster and we’re eating spaghetti for the fourth night in a row.) I serve as the Compassionate Service leader in our ward. I love the calling and I’m learning a lot. I feel incredibly blessed to be a mother and to have so many tremendous people in my life.

Happy holidays to each of you! We hope that this Christmas season is full of joy and peace.

Love, the Tomlinsons

Disco Inferno!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

happy hour!

rachel is a happy little girl. i know i blubber about her all the time, but i just adore this sweet baby! she brings so much joy to our home. daniel loves her, johnny loves her, and i adore her. our home is infinitely brighter with her in it. we count our blessings daily to have our sweet children. this post is dedicated to my happy little girl. she's growing up too fast.

My absolute FAVORITE picture of Danny boy!

just ignore the rootbeer can... :) for some reason (namely, JOHN), Daniel absolutely loves soda. he wants it when we're drinking it, he refuses juice or water unless it's added to it-- he's a nut! we started a really bad habit with him when we were on a Coke kick and drank it more often than we should. so, rather than asking for a "soda", D would ask for a "Coke". it didn't matter if it was a sprite, a root beer, or grape soda, it was all a "Coke" to him. we were worried that D would start confessing our sins to his nursery leaders or our friends when he was at play dates, so we abstained. he's done much better and now just asks for "drink" which is the equivalent of a carbonated drink. we were at Grandma and Grandpa's house this past week and the "drinks" were flowing freely, hence this picture.

Congratulations, Derrick!

We are sorry that we couldn't make it to your special day, but we wanted you to know that we were thinking of you. Here is a special message from your two Boise cousins... The message might be difficult to understand, but it was heartfelt. Here-- I'll translate, "HAPPY BAPTISM DAY, DERRICK!! I LOVE YOU!!" Congrats again, what a special day for you. We love you!

"I am a Child of God"

Daniel has been our little entertainer the past couple of months. He learns new words and phrases so quickly that it has been easy for him to pick up music. I love hearing his singing voice because it is so deep. He is the only toddler that I know that seems to have gone through puberty... :) Between his mom and dad's deep voices, he is doomed! Enjoy D's song. Rachel doesn't seem to enjoy it much.

Candyland!

Our Halloween pictures! Yeah, what a fun holiday! I think that if Daniel were president that he would make every day a "trick-or-treating" day. (That's my boy!) We stayed out for over two hours (with Rachel in Snugli or Daddy's arms-- thanks Daddy!) and really scored on the candy. We even got two FULL-SIZED candy bars! Meridian in the "real deal", people!

A big thank you to Lana for Daniel's spider costume. He loved it and it kept him warm! What more does a toddler need??

Daniel threw a tantrum right before we left for trick-or-treating... Can you guess which picture it is?? :) Click on it for a really cute close-up.

Mas fotos de mi familia...

Do you like how I switched the title up with some spanish? Yeah, I'm just sick and tired of trying to be creative when really, all that I am doing is adding more pictures to show my family and friends. Sometimes I feel creative, most of the time, I don't. :) So, here is the translation-- "more pictures of my family". Sorry to leave you in suspense.

I always forget to put captions with my pictures, so I'm sorry. Essentially, this bunch of pictures need no captions. Enjoy!

Fall pictures... (and a Bumbo)

I love Fall. Without a doubt, it is my favorite season. Here are some obligatory leaf raking pictures. Daniel loves when we do anything outside, and Rachel seems to be following suit. So, although it was quite nippy we had a great time raking and playing. John was a tad bit grossed out by the idea of swimming in leaves, but it started to grow on him. I love my family. And I love the simple things in life...

Johnny comes home tomorrow-- Hooray!

We can't wait for you to come home, babe. Here are some pictures just to make you miss us more. I thought that the video was cute. A little bit of a headache but cute... :) See you in 20 hours!

Ward Halloween Party!

Some shots courtesy of Vanesa... THANK YOU! Everyone had a blast!




What a handsome dude with my little Rachel! "Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match..."

We miss you, babe!

Just a little video to help you feel like you're not missing anything. We have such an incredible little family... We'll try to hang in there until you get back.

I love you.

Martineau Cousins...

Some pictures of my parents' grandkids. It helps that we live less than 10 miles away from each other. On John's side there are (I'm counting in my head, and I hope that I'm counting everyone...) 21 and 1/2?? Unfortunately, we're spread out in four states and it's tough to get everyone together. When we do, I'll post them as well. I love family!

Love this shot!

I told them to do "silly faces". Hmmm...

I stole this one from Lana's blog. Love it!

Happy times!

Hopefully John doesn't notice that I post this picture... :) I love him as "Lion Daddy".

Gosh, isn't that a great title? I wish that I had something equally exciting to elaborate upon, but alas, the happiest that I feel is from what you see in these pictures-- happy kids and big, fat grins. There is nothing like a big slobbery smile to warm your heart.

I can't believe how quickly Rachel has grown. She is nearly rolling over both ways, loves to sit up (although we still have to help her-- she's got a Martineau head you know), and adores her big brother (and I think that she's kind of fond of me as well-- I am her food source!)

Daniel is also loving his little sister. Each morning he'll ask, "Where did Rachel go now?" even when he knows very well that Rachel is in our bedroom-- ASLEEP! He is still talking up a storm and anxious to be into everything. He now uses his indoor riding toy as a stepping stool to get into a whole new world of mischief. I'm glad that we have a small home-- it's much easier to keep tabs on him!

Enjoy the pics!







Also celebrated Johnny's birthday... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABE!

Family Night at the Temple!

Daniel is obsessed with temples. We have a picture of the San Diego Temple in our bedroom (the temple that we were married/sealed in) and he talks about it whenever he's in our room. We took him to the Boise temple when he was just a week or two old, and we try to take him back often, even though he doesn't get to go inside quite yet. His favorite part of the temple is the water fountain. (Do all temples have water fountains on the grounds? I don't think that I've ever been to one that doesn't...)

For Family Night we went to the temple and we enjoyed the grounds once again. It was a beautiful day and we all had a great time. There is such a peace at the temple, even when you're just meandering through the landscaping. It was a nice way to spend an evening with my little family. Enjoy the pictures! (I went a little picture happy...)

My little sumos...

Daniel at nearly four months...


Rachel at 11 weeks...

I love big fat babies! There is nothing like cuddling with rolls and rolls of flesh! (How often do you get to say something like that?) I have two naked pics of my kids-- aren't they adorable?? It's amazing how much they look alike. Daniel has Rachel beat on the rolls, but he is over a month older than her at the time of the photo. I miss all of Daniel's rolls. He's just really buff now! But it looks like Rachel might be a pretty formidable opponent before long! You go, girl! :) Gosh, I love them to pieces...

Then I thought that I'd add a couple more shots of the kids. I have to remember that my mom "Mima" and brother, Chey, check this often and they'll get sad if I don't update the pics... Enjoy!


one happy girl...


what exactly is he doing, you ask? nothing says love like a soft head butt...

Sweet little girl...

Rachel is such a doll. She started smiling a couple of weeks ago (but of course, she'll never smile for the camera) and I finally snapped a shot. Isn't she a cutie?? Note: five minutes after the picture was taken, Daniel accidentally threw a book at her face-- needless to say, the shot wouldn't have been nearly as pretty with the blue welt.

BTW, I realized that I haven't updated the blog on John's work situation. He got a job working for the State of Idaho, specifically the Idaho Transportation Department. Yeah! He's working in the Suspension unit (which John loves-- suspending licenses because of DUI's gives him quite the rush!) and is really enjoying the job. We're grateful to have a steady income once again. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers.