January Alas!

Don't be fooled by the peaceful picture of Mitch and Ellie during 'quiet time' last week. Our holiday season was anything but. With 14 little cousins on both Mitch's side and mine every Christmas function we attended was filled with children screaming in joy (and tears) and of course, laughter. I admittedly had to take a few 'time outs' to regain my patience, but don't we all at some point!? The month was hard for me health wise, as I got my tonsils out and seemed to gain a new friend named Perkiset (by the way getting your tonsils out is a very terrible process). Needless to say that left me a little less 'peppy' and in turn broke down my immune system. This resulted in the flu just after Christmas that was then passed on to Ellie, and then to Mitch. So needless to say, I am welcoming January with the hopes of a healthy year. Although, amidst all the bumps in the road there are always good days and moments

that help us remember the blessings we have. Here are a few pictures from our adventurous holiday...

Grandpa "Bike", Ryan and I enjoying the cabin. We had a great time with my sister's in-laws and Ryan's family the first day. My good friends from college, the Pollard's joined us for the next day. We had a great time!

For Christmas we got Ellie a little recliner that is just her size. For some reason she just loves small chairs. She sat in her chair like this for a good 2 minutes without moving, which for her, is very rare!

Grandma and Grandpa Larry spoiled Ellie with this fun new electric car. Ellie does not know how to steer it yet. The day she got it she drove it straight into the Christmas tree. She just kept pushing the throttle as the branches engulfed her. Mitch had to run over and pull her hand off. Unfortunately, we didn't have the camera in hand.

(below) More fun at the cabin. Ellie LOVED sledding until the powder got in her face.

Our Christmas Card!

At this time of year we can't help but be thankful for all the blessings that our Heavenly Father has given to us. This year has been full of happiness, laughter, learning and yes, even a few tears. We recently sent out our Christmas card to all of our friends and family but we thought we would put the family 'update' on our blog. So here we go!

Mitch- Mitch has had a great year. In April he began a new job with a company called Fusion I-O out of Salt Lake. This has been a great blessing to our family as it has provided good insurance, financial security, and an opportunity for daily success for Mitchell. We are also thankful to have Mitch with us today as in August he had a brush with death when a tree top fell on him. This accident gave us the opportunity to see how much love and support we have among our friends, family and ward family. We have also become close friends with our insurance company as they seem to be hearing from us ALOT! Mitch has enjoyed his calling with the 11 year old boyscouts and has become a great role model for the boys in the ward.

Stacie- Stacie has had a liberating fall season as she is FINALLY free from school work. She graduated with her Master's degree from Utah State in Speech and Language Pathology and now works 2 days a week for the School District. Stacie continues to run and has had a great time training for and completing 2 marathons in the past year. She has really enjoyed being home with Ellie and watching her grow.

Ellie- Sweet Ellie is a busy little girl. She is walking, jabbering, and loves exploring everything! She continues to be in the 95th percentile for her height and weight. She loves eating bananas, yogurt, ice-cream, sweet potatoes and come to think of it, I'm not sure there is a food that she does not like! Her parents love watching her learn new things and she greets us everyday with a smile!

At this time of year we can't help but be grateful for all the friends and family that surround us each day. We hope that our friends and family can spend their holidays with those they love and in remembrance of the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas!

ELLIE'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

On December 1st Ellie turned one year old! For the big '1' we decided to have a "Favorite Things" birthday party! The whole day was dedicated to all of Ellie's favorite things. We ate all of Ellie's favorite foods including bananas, grapes, goldfish, cereal, waffles (chocolate cake waffles:)) and of course, ice cream! We gave Ellie her very own Banana Cream pie. At first it frightened her but after a while she got her hands dirty and dug right in! Much to our delight, (not hers) she decided to pick the pie up and lick it, unfortunately,the whole thing slid off right into her face! It was CLASSIC! She makes us so happy!

Ellie opening all of her presents with the help of her cousins and dad!
Ellie right after she tried to take a lick of pie, she doesn't quite understand gravity yet.
The AfTeRMaTh
Ellie playing in a pool with two of her favorite things, cousins and balls!
Ellie doing one of her favorite things...eating!

Here are 10 of Mom and Dad's favorite things about Ellie! 1) Her great big smile she gives you when you come into the room! 2) Her high pitched squeals when you tickle her chubs, 3) Her unbalanced walk with her hands up in the air 4) The amount of food she can consume 5) Her pretty blue eyes 6) Her love for everyone around her 7) The way she sleeps with her bum up in the air 8)Watching her explore and learn new things 9) When she lays her head on your chest to cuddle 10) When she sleeps all the way through the night!
......These are a few of our FAVORITE things! Happy Birthday Els!

Deep in the heart of Texas!

We decided to take a little break from the cold weather and visit Mitch's brothers family in Texas. The weather was perfect, 80 degree's, humid....AMAZING! We had so much fun and they, as always, were terrific hosts! Here are a few pictures from our amazing adventure! It began with a trip to San Antonio where we visited the Alamo and the famous Riverwalk!
The next day we traveled to Fossil Rim park for an African Safari! This was a 1700 acre Texan wildlife preserve turned Africa!! We took two cars because we could not all fit into the one, which was perfect because Ellie slept in the SUV for most of the excitement. We spent 2 hours driving through the park and enjoying all the wild animals. The good news is, the animals LOVED US TOO!We don't have any animals like this in Utah, They are right, everything in Texas is better (at least it was that weekend!)

Confessions of a 'Wax-aholic'

My name is Stacie Dorius and I AM A WAXAHOLIC. It's true I have a secret love for waxing. I have to admit that this is not something that I necessarily brought on by myself. It really has to do with a little syndrome I have called 'Murry-ism'. Please let me define it for you...

MURRAY-ISM: ThE AcT Of bEinG bOrN iNTo tHe MuRraY BlOoD LinE

To put it in less complex words, if you are a Murray you are hairy.
So here is my story, my name is Stacie, I am a Murray, I am Hairy, therefore I am a WAXAHOLIC. It's not that I sit up at night thinking 'ooo I just can't wait to wax again'. It's more of a fear induced obsession. Please read on...

It started when I was in highschool and became more terrible when I went to college. It was not until I imagined myself introducing myself to my future husband using the words, "Hi, I'm Stacie and I am a hairy ape" that I decided to do something about it. So I did. I began to wax. I wax my arms so children don't come up to me and pet them (this has happened before), I wax my eyebrows so I don't have to part them to see out of my eyes, and I admit, I WAX THE UPPER LIP!....shocking, i know, who admits that! Well I'm stepping out. I'm putting it all out there for future generations, so they know that there is no shame in what we do!

The day came when I finally got married, and I felt like I had to do my waxing in secret. As the nair strip ripped across my lip and a slight squeal came out from underneath the shut and LOCKED door, there was a small knock followed by a, "honey, you okay in there?" "Just Peachy!" I respond. It was not long after that I walked out of the bathroom with that identifying red upper lip, and eyebrows. My sweet husband just looked at me with wide eyes. I simply respond, "beauty is my duty!"

There was even a summer that I worked extra hard to afford electrolysis, and laser hair removal in college. At the time I was dating Mitch and I took extra precautions to make sure he did not know my little secret. I simply "had to run an errand in layton and would not be back for a few hours" However, I avoided him for the rest of the day so he did not see my 'battle wounds'. A few years later the secret got out. He must have been feeling extra brave one day when he asked "so where did you get laser done?". For a moment I froze, then I responded, "some secrets with women are so precious, not even a husband can know" a short silence. Then I responded in a much more snappy tone, "and I will never tell you that!" He never asked again.

Then I had a baby and the whole summer of laser was wasted. So I continued my waxing. Nair waxing strips were the product of choice. Affordable, quick, clean, and easy. I have to admit I'm a bit of a professional at the procedure now. Even family parties have turned into 'waxing parties' in which we rid ourselves of our extra fur. But I was not always this good. For example, I have waxed off my eyebrows entirely, I have missed huge patches of arm hair, I have bled, and I have waxed off the top layer of skin above my lip which caused an embarrassing scab there (BEWARE: this happens if you wax while you are on your period). Skills like mine don't come without some abuse.

I proudly admit that it is the Lifferth girls who keep NAIR in business. Because now we walk without fear of that sneaky little hair coming out in just the right light, or having small children wonder why a gorilla lives at that house. So I am admitting, for all those future generations of hairy girls, that I Stacie, am a WAXAHOLIC! So if you are ever in need of a good wax, come on over and I'll get rid of those nasty little hairs for you! No girl should be embarrassed because of their hairy blood lines!! :)

El-No respecter of persons.

One of my favorite things about El is she is definitely NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS! She does not care who you are, what you look like, how old you are, or if your her mom or not! She will undoubtedly smile, accept and LOVE YOU!

Here is my favorite picture that clearly demonstrates how she really is no respecter of persons but in a different way! My Dad was taking a nap on the floor today when Ellie backed up and sat on his head to look at a few DVD's. Man, she just cracks me up!

Love you Grandpa Lifferth!

Fall Family Pictures!

Mitch and I took the in-laws Ranger out for a fall picnic. We drove up to Peterson (by Morgan) onto some family property and enjoyed a fun ride. The fall colors were amazing! While we were there we decided to take some family pics. Unfortunately for us we didn't have a photographer so we used the timer on our camera. We took over 200 pics because that's how long it takes to get a few good ones when you are trying to push the button, run back to the rest of the family, get in a 'natural' pose, and get your 10 m old to smile! Indy also joined in on the adventure. The poor thing is starting to answer to the name of 'dumb dog' as he either ran into the pictures he was not supposed to be in, or kept looking the wrong way for the pictures for the ones we wanted him in. The point of it all is that we had a whole lot of ridiculous Dorius fun!

I love this picture of Ellie.

Our sweet ride. Indy rode in the back and loved every second of it!