Brenda's Blog

Sunday Nov 13

2011-11-13T13:09:00.000-08:00

Today is Sunday. Normally I wake up go to church and then come home, take a nap and then it's off to work. Today, I don't have to work. I'm so happy to have this day with my family. I get to spend the evening with my husband and kids which is very rare.
Today I'm thankful for lazy Sunday afternoons at home with my family.

Gideon's Bday

2011-11-13T12:57:00.000-08:00

Today my sweet baby boy turned 5. I can't believe how the time has gone by. We celebrated with our family at chuck e cheese's. It was just our little family. It was nice though we played for a long time and had food and presents and cake. I think he had a good time. He got an electric drum set, a whole bunch of new board games, a rubix cube and a new scooby doo movie. It was so much fun watching him open his presents. Every time he opened a new one he would get so excited even before he knew what it was. It was fun seeing him open them. I have some pretty good pictures of him.

Birthday Cake

First Present

He loves Scooby Doo

Excitment over his presents

More games

His Electric Drums

So, today I have to say that I'm most thankful for my sweet, kind, loving, special most favorite Gideon in the whole wide world.

Giving Thanks

2011-11-07T12:25:00.000-08:00

I'm a slacker. It's so hard to remember to get on here over the weekend. With work and kids and getting stuff done I find myself away from the computer most of the weekend. Having left off on the 4th I have 3 days to make up...

Nov. 5 Saturday was a great day. I was able to have a little alone time at the salon I go to. I got my nails done and had a hair cut. It was very relaxing and a great way to rejuvenate. It's a nice way to recharge the old battery. So, I'm grateful for alone time to be a girly girl.

Nov. 6 Sunday we had church. I just received a new calling, which is nursery leader. I'm trying really hard to have a positive attitude about it. The kids are great. There are 7 little ones right now with I think 2 or three coming in the next couple of weeks. I do like that I can be with Brynwen. So for now, I'm going to push through and be thankful that I'm needed and that I can help.

Nov. 7 Today I'm grateful for sleep. I'm thankful that I have a really comfortable bed that I love.

November 1-4

2011-11-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again. The month of thanks. I truly am thankful for things year round, but feel especially moved to share the things I'm thankful for during this month. I know I'm a few days behind, but I will get caught up and then it's a post a day for the whole month. Here goes...

I'm thankful for my health. I have had the worst cold for the past 3 weeks. I'm just now starting to get better and I'm so glad that the human body can heal itself.
I'm thankful that I have a voice. I lost my voice for 4 days. I have to say that our home was a little bit quieter. I could only speak in a whisper which made others stop and listen. It also had this crazy effect on people. Whenever I spoke, they felt like they had to speak back to me in a whisper too.
I'm so thankful for my husband. Joe is the greatest. I love him so much. He works so hard for our family. He really is a special guy and I don't know what I would do without him.
I'm greatful for learning experiences. No, I'm not going to elaborate.

There you have it my first four of the month. Good reading to everyone. I hope your month of thanks goes well.

Greenbluff and Halloween 2011

2011-10-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

We headed up to Green bluff this year on the last weekend of the apple festival. My sister Bev and nephew Kade came with us. We were a little worried about the weather, but our concerns were proven wrong. The weather was gorgeous! It was sunny and warm and just perfect. There were very few crowds and we just had a great time. We went and did the giant corn maze, did the kiddie "rides" and ate pumpkin donuts and hot apple cider. It was a great day! I of coarse didn't take pictures. I'm so lame when it comes to that.

After Green bluff we came home and got ready for the harvest party at the church. It was a carnival for the kids. We all dressed up and headed out for a fun evening at the church. The kids had a great time. The kids Halloween costumes are pretty cute this year. Cordin is a Ninja, Gabbie a honey bee, Gideon a cowboy, and Brynwen is little red riding hood. I will definitely get pictures of them in there costumes and post them. It was a really nice family weekend.

Brynwen as Little Red Riding Hood

Gideon as a Cowboy

I didn't get Gabbie and Cordin in their costumes but I did get Gabbie in her face paint, we did a butterfly.

Alone Time

2011-10-14T20:52:00.000-07:00

After 12 years of marriage Joe and I took a weekend off. That's right, I said 12 years. All I can say is why didn't we do this before?! For Joe's birthday I arranged a weekend getaway for the two of us. I was going to try to surprise Joe with it by kidnapping him from work with some lame, "I'm taking you to a birthday lunch" and then not going back, but his work and school schedule are so crazy right now I had to make sure he could get the time off on the Friday we went. Thankfully it worked out.

It was so much fun to be somewhere, with my husband, alone. We actually talked and laughed and had a really good time together. We went to some really nice restaurants and had good food and conversation. We spent Saturday in Seattle at the Space and Science Museum. We went up to the top of the space needle and walked around one of the other exhibits. It was such a good day. I had a really nice time and even though I missed the kids, it was worth it! I would definitely do it again sooner rather then later. A weekend away was just what I needed, just what we needed. We were able to reconnect and grow closer together as a couple. I would highly recommend getting away to anyone that asks. We are so much better after our weekend together.

Joe and me at the Space Needle. They did a free photo for us.

New Pictures

2011-09-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

On Monday the 29th I went and got the kids pictures taken. It's been a very long time since all 4 kids were taken together. I also got really nice ones taken of them individually for hanging in the living room. They will all match and look really good in the black frames I have. The last couple of years I've been really disappointed in the school pictures so I thought I'd get some taken that I could approve of before they get printed. I think they turned out really well.

Potty training...

2011-07-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

Potty training. When do you start? How do you go about it? First off I have to admit that I'm a lazy potty trainer. I don't like having to remind and follow and clean up the messes that underwear leaves. I've been very lucky with my kids so far. I've waited until each one was ready and shown interest. This has worked really well for me. My boys were potty trained within a day.

Well, I was planning on starting Brynwen at the end of the summer, but she had other plans. She has decided that she is ready now. So, we are going forward. She has reached the stage where she takes off her own diaper and tries to put a new one one, and all of this she wants to do by herself! (She is very independent). She has been doing a pretty good job so far and doesn't seem to have any issues with either number 1 or 2. She hasn't quite gotten the hang of telling me she has to go. I have to remind and ask, and everytime I ask she will try to go.

We've been using pull-ups that some one gave us. I have mixed feelings about these. On the positive side they are great for accidents. I don't have to worry about following her around with a rag and cleaner, and they're as convenient as pulling underwear up and down. The negative side is they are very much like diapers. Which of course is the whole reason for potty training right?, getting them OUT OF THE DIAPER! They are also expensive. So, I'm torn. Do I buy the pull-ups or do I follow her around. I guess I have to ask whether or not it's worth the cost to save my carpet. The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning toward the pull-ups. ;~) The boys were by far much easier.

In Addition...

2011-07-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

Two posts in just as many days. I'm on a roll! I realized that there were a few things I didn't write about in my last post. In addition to having the fun day at Silverwood, which sadly I don't have pictures of, we also had Kades 3rd birthday that we attended. Bev and Demarco did his party at a jump and play. It was lots of fun. Breanne brought Jace, Josh and Jackson up so they could participate in the fun, and then my kids were there and a few friends from his 'school' came. It was lots of fun. We had the whole bouncy house to ourselves.

Jen and Ava on a Slide.

Joel coming down after Ava.

Brynwen on the big slide.

Kids all over the place.

Demarco

The Birthday Boy...Kade!

All the kids at the party.

The Cake!

Jace or Josh...not sure which one.

Gabbie and Cordin in the big slide.

Gideon

The party was a great success. It's nice that we live close enough to each other so we can all participateed in the family celebrations. I love having my family close.

Another fun activity we did with the kids on Monday was to take them to see Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows part 2. It was really good. I enjoyed it immensely. The producers did a really good job with it. It's sad that they are all over now. I'm glad they did the movies. It's a great series. The movies are good, but the books are better. If you haven't read them yet, you need to. That pretty much sums up the two major things that happened in addition to all the other stuff we did up until now. Maybe I will keep this up after all.

June/July update

2011-07-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

My last post was a long time ago. Two months and so many things have happened. May found us really busy, as I said before it's our month of everything.

The most significant thing that happened in May was the passing of Joe's mom. We got a call on May 23rd saying that Sally was in the hospital. She had found a lump in her throat and was getting it tested. She was admitted to the hospital that night. She was diagnosed with a very aggressive tumor, Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer.

It was VERY aggressive. On Wednesday the 25Th we received a call that mom was getting a tracheotomy done and if we wanted to be with her and hear her speak again, we should get there ASAP. We made a split second decision to go to Utah to be with family. We left that night around 10pm so we could be in Utah before her scheduled surgery of 2pm. We didn't make it. As we were traveling through Montana about 70 miles outside of Missula, our tire blew out. It was 1:00 in the morning I was driving and it was scary. I pulled over and we proceeded to change the tire only to realize that the spare was flat. Then we discovered that the hazard lights had drained our battery and the car wouldn't start. Thankfully a truck driver pulled over and helped us. He was able to give us a jump and we were able to drive on the flat donut tire to the nearest little town and fill it with air. That got us to Missula where we decided that we would get a hotel for a couple of hours and sleep. This whole thing took about 3 of our precious hours. It was rough. We really wanted to be there for Joe's mom. We found out though that we wouldn't have made it regardless because they moved Sally's surgery to 10am.

Joe was able to talk to his mom that morning for a few minutes before she went in for the trach. He had a nice conversation with her but was so tired it didn't last nearly long enough. We ended up sleeping for 5 hours and then getting new tires. What should have been a 13 hour trip ended up taking over 24 hours. Even though it was a long journey down there it was very worth the effort. Joe was able to stay with his mom Friday night. He had a good experience with her and will always remember that night. As I said before, it was very aggressive. Sally passed away one week after her diagnosis. It was hard. I'm so thankful that we had the means to go though. It was nice seeing all of the family. Every brother and sister was able to be there. It had been a long time since that happened.

The circumstances were tragic but being with everyone that we love was a blessing. Mom was surrounded by everyone the day she passed. All 9 kids and many of the grand kids, and even great grand kids. It was a very spiritual experience. Her memorial service was June 4Th and then we had her burial on Monday the 6Th.

After the memorial service we started the journey home. Thankfully it didn't take us as long. Nine hours from Logan Utah where mom was buried. For the most part the kids traveled pretty well. There was minimal fighting and arguing. It's not a trip I want to make again for a long time.

Once we got home life settled into our routine again. The kids had one week of school left. It was a happy/sad week for them. They were glad they didn't miss all of the fun end of school stuff but sad they had to go to school at all. June pretty much went by with out anything significant. We worked and the kids started summer vacation. June quickly turned into July. We decided that we would have to do some small summer fun stuff since Joe and I both used vacation time for Utah. For the 4th we had family over and had dinner and fireworks. Joe went a little crazy with his purchases so we had a pretty good show. We also went to Silverwood for the day on the 9th. That was lots of fun. It wasn't the warmest day but we spent a good 3 hours in the water park and then headed to the carnival rides. It was a good day. We also had a new member of the family join us on the 1st of July. Brent Jameson Woodard was born to Bryan and Rachel. The cutest baby ever! He looks just like his brothers.

That brings us to now, the middle of July. I can't believe how fast this year is going. Before we know it, it will be December again and we will all be posting about Christmas. I will try to do better, but let's face it I probably won't. ;-) This really is more of a journal for me anyway. Hope you all have a good summer.

May Fun!

2011-05-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

With the month of May already half over, which I can't believe, I've been reflecting on all of the stuff that has happened. After spring break the kids went back to school just to start counting the days until their birthdays, at that point it was 23 days, and counting the weeks until school is out, 8 weeks then. As April progress we've had a few excited things happen. First off we bought new carpet and had to get the house packed up and ready for the install. Joe was able to take a few days off to help get it done. Who am I kidding he did most of the work. It was a crazy weekend. We ended up deciding to paint before the new carpet was layed so we painted Gabbie's room from pink to purple...

We painted our room from the white walls that were here originally to blue...

We painted the living room and hallway from chocolate brown to a really pretty light blue/green...

We then had to pack everything into boxes and move it all out of the house. We decided to use this time as a chance to do some major spring cleaning and de-cluttering. It has been so nice to rid ourselves of lots of stuff we never used. We are now ready to have a major yard sale later this summer. The carpet was layed on the 3rd of May so we didn't have a chance to have the kids birthday parties until the 6Th and 7Th. We did have a little family party for each of the kids on their day. Cordin May 1 and Gabbie the 2ND. Gabbie decided that she wanted to take all of her friends to a movie for her birthday. We went and saw Rio which was really cute. We then came home and had cake and presents and a few of her friends were able to sleep over.

Gabbie thought that it would be fun to shove her cupcake into her face...so that's what she did. Then all of her friends thought it was fun so they all followed.

Cordin wanted to have his party at laser quest this year so we did. He invited a few friends and we headed out Saturday morning to play two laser quest games and have presents and brownies with ice cream. It was surprisingly fun and I think the kids had a good time. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me as we kind of rushed out of the house in a hurry, so I don't have any pictures of his party. :( But here are a couple of him at our family party where he was able to open the presents we got him...

After the kids birthdays things have settled down a little, but the next to weeks are going to be full of fun stuff. Joe and I will celebrate 12 years of marriage on the 18Th. For our anniversary this year Joe wanted to get new wedding bands for each of us. He hasn't had a band in almost 8 years and I had to get my original wedding ring cut off my finger when I was pregnant with Gabbie. So, we went to Fred Meyer Jewelers in the mall and I was able to put my old ring toward the purchase of a new one...and this is the ring that we both liked the best...

I love it! I wanted something that was not going to scratch everyone I touch and still had a little bit of a bling factor. This one is perfect! In addition to it being our anniversary gift it will also count as part of my 36Th birthday which will be on the 27Th. I get to spend my birthday night with my sweet sisters. We are going to see the musical Wicked, and then Saturday I get to spend the day with my sweet husband. May has always been our busy month. I love it! I love that so many neat things have been happening and that we are together as a family to do them.

Spring Break

2011-04-05T09:27:00.000-07:00

Here we are...April already. I love the month of April. It means life is starting to awaken and things are going to be green again. We are getting lots of rain. I do mean lots. I love it though. The kids are home for this week, spring break, it's been a little crazy having them here. One of the things I do love about spring break is not having to worry about waking the kids up. I love having the freedom of sleeping in for a little while. It's hard getting up at 7 when you don't get home from work until 11:30 and to bed until sometimes after 1. Who can come home from work and go straight to bed? I can't. In the past Joe has been the one to get the kids up and off to school. He has to leave by 5:30am now so he can work and then go to school then work they school again then work. He started his masters program this quarter and has long days.

We are going to do a couple of fun activities while the kids are home. Cousins are coming to visit for a few days so we are going to go to the Mobius Childrens Museum which should be fun. I haven't been there but Gabbie has gone with her class at school and says that it's lots of fun. We are also going to go to a jump and play which I just found out is in Spokane. It's hard to keep kids entertained and active, but if I don't make them do stuff they just sit at home watching t.v. or playing video games. Which is how I think Cordin would like spend his week if I let him. They will also be cleaning their rooms. This is an on going battle in our home. I realize that it's their room and they should be able to keep it how they want to, but when I start getting their clean laundry back in the dirty laundry to wash again after I just washed it, it's time to clean and put away the tornado stricken rooms. We'll see how this goes. It should be a mostly fun week.

I'm glad that the kids are here, but by the end of the week I'm sure that I'll be ready for them to be back in school. I love spending time with them and Gideon and Brynwen love having them at home. It does pose a problem with our schedule since neither 'little' kid wants to lay down when big brother and sissy are home, but it's only for a week. I think we can manage. Here's to spring break and having big brother and sissy home!

She's TWO!

2011-03-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

Sweet Brynwen Dianne is 2 today. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. It seems like just yesterday I had this sweet baby girl. I'm so happy that she is part of our life and wouldn't change a thing about our family. I'm so blessed to have 4 beautiful kids and to be celebrating one today!

I love this one of her eyes. She is so beautiful!

Trying on Mom's hat.

Say Cheese!

What's that?

Watching something at the park.

Pretty Girl!

And no birthday would be compleat without at least

one embarassing picture in the tub!

Silly Girl!

Life is good!

2011-03-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

My life has been pretty busy with kids and work and husband and home. It's been nice to keep busy. I know it's been a couple of months since my last post. I've been wanting to write for a while but have been putting it off. Other then everyday life happening, I've started a journey at this web site http://www.myfitnesspal.com So far I really like it. It helps you count the calories that you eat daily and gives you a calorie goal. It tracks your exercise for you and there is a great online community for support. It has really helped me stay on track. I've lost four pounds in 2 weeks. I've been exercising 4-5 times a week and I'm happy. This process is going to take some time, but I know that I can do it. I didn't get to where I am overnight and I know that it will take time to get to my health goals.

Some other exciting news...Joe is going back to school finally. He is all registered for classes beginning the end of this month. He is excited about school and a little nerves. His schedule for this quarter is not going to allow for a lot of free time as he has to take 2 classes. We are going to love and support him though. I know that this is something that he has wanted to do for some time.

Also March is the beginning of our birthdays. Brynwen is going to turn 2 tomorrow. Where has the time gone? I will make the effort to post tomorrow for her birthday.

We are all happy and doing well. Life is good.

My Valentine!

2011-02-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

I have to take a few moments to comment on my wonderful husband Joseph. We have been married for almost 12 years now. (I know, where did the time go?) He is such a wonderful man. Since it's technically been 11 years of marriage, here are 11 reasons I love him, in no particular order:

He is thoughtful.

He cleans the bathroom. (awesome right?)

He loves our children.

He supports me in my decisions.

He is a wonderful provider.

He is a hard worker.

He's hot.

He listens to me.

He wrestles and plays with the kids.

He works at being the best he can be.

He has a testimony of Jesus Christ.

He tells me he loves me.

Well, I could keep going. I did add an additional one on there just for good measure. Don't I have the greatest Valentine EVER!

Goodbye 2010...Hello 2011

2011-01-13T15:43:00.000-08:00

It's been about a month since my last post. A lot has happened in that amount of time. There have been a few things that happened that have been good and some not so great. Joe's dad fell in the middle of December and has been in the hospital ever since. He hit his head pretty hard and suffered some brain damage. We also fear that since then he has been having mini-strokes. We just heard that he will be going home and will have in home care from Hospice. We will most likely be making a trip down to Utah in the next month or so to spend some time with his dad before he passes.

Christmas Eve was spent at our dear friends the Holloways. It was fun going there. It had been a few years since we had done this so it was nice to spend time with them. Christmas was fun this year. It was pretty much our family Christmas morning, my dad was there, and then my sister and her husband and Kade came over. It was nice having them join us. We had a lazy day in our PJ's and just ate snacks and watched movies and played games. We had Christmas dinner of prime rib, which was so good. Definitely a new tradition.

I had New Years Eve off so we got pizza and watched movies with the kids. We stayed up until midnight and that was pretty much it. For the New Year I decided that it was time to change some things in my life. We got a Kinect system for our XBox 360 which is awesome. I also purchased the Biggest Loser game and have been exercising with it. That is the change I am making. I am going to get this weight off of my body this year. As an incentive for this Joe and I are planning a trip to Hawaii for 14 days. It will just be the 2 of us. I'm so excited about this I can hardly see straight. Talk about motivation. My goal is to lose 100 pounds over the next year to year and a half. I don't know where I'll be in Aug (that's our tentative date for Hawaii) but I know that I will be closer to my goal then I am now. I'm happy to report that I have exercised everyday (except Sunday). I have lost 6 pounds since I started and I know that I can do this. I'm actually enjoying working out. It makes me feel good about myself and yes I do have more energy. I still struggle with eating completely healthy but I'm working on it. The new year has been good so far. I know that there are some sad times ahead but I will keep strong and work hard.

Christmas Came Early

2010-12-05T10:38:00.000-08:00

We had Christmas yesterday! It was so much fun. Brooke and Evan are visiting from California so everyone decided that it would be fun to do our family Christmas early this year. We were all together, except for Brent who is on his mission. It has been a lot of fun spending time with everyone. We spent all day Saturday together starting with breakfast followed by sledding, while others went shopping. We then had dinner and then our family gift exchange. We each have a sibling that we buy for. It's lots of fun to see what everyone will get. This year we had Breanne. We got her some children's books and a new outfit for when she starts teaching next year. I'm so proud of her and her accomplishments. She will be teaching K-2 I believe. Bev had us this year and she got us the perfect gift...a date night!

Movie tickets, dinner and babysitting! I'm so excited to use it. Date nights are the best. The kids got to open presents from their aunt Brooke and uncle Evan. Then they got to do stockings. It was so nice to sit and talk to my brothers and sisters. I'm glad that we have good relationships with everyone. Family is such a great blessing.

Christmas Day Dec. 25TH
Christmas day was super nice. We had a quiet one with just our little family and my dad in the morning. Bev and Demarco and Kade came a little later in the morning for breakfast. It was nice to be together and spend the day as a family. The kids played with there new stuff, and they got a lot of it. It seems that whenever Joe and I try to do a small Christmas we end up with way more then we thought. Next year we will stick to our guns and not go stir crazy. Yeah right :p
Here are some pics from Christmas morning...

Brynwen and presents.

Joe's Kindel.

Brynwen

Brynwen and her race track.

Prime Rib Dinner...yummy!

Gabbie opening a present.

Cordin opening a present.

Gabbie showing her stuff.

Cordin

My dad.

Christmas tree before.

Kids and the tree.

Brynwen

Gabbie excited.

Cordin excited.

Gideon and his present.

Family at the tree.

Gideon with his movies.

Off!

2010-11-27T10:01:00.000-08:00

I have today off. This doesn't happen very often . Normally I'm at work on Saturdays and only get to have the mornings with my family. Today we get to spend the whole day together. We are going to go shopping for a suit for Joe and then I'm taking Gabbie to see Tangled. I'm so excited to see the movie. I've heard really good things about it and it looks cute. So, I get to be home today and I don't have to stress about going to work. I'm so happy about this. Oh, and I have tomorrow off too!

I'm thankful for work free weekends with my family!

Thanksgiving!

2010-11-26T10:10:00.000-08:00

Our Thanksgiving was nice. We had a small one this year which seems to be a tradition with us. We never have the big numbers that used to happen when everyone lived here. It was my family and my sister Bev and her son Kade, my dad and Joe's niece Kayla and her husband. It was very nice and very small and very good. We went the traditional route and had turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, yams, rolls, mashed potatoes and jello. Like I said very traditional. It was fun having everyone here. We set up the Wii and played some games and watched Toy Story 3. I had to go to work at 5:30 last night. It was really slow and very boring. I was so happy when my shift was over and I got to come home.

I'm thankful for my family and the chance to spend time with them. And, even though I don't like my job, I'm thankful that I have it.

It's COLD!

2010-11-24T08:48:00.000-08:00

We had a blizzard! It snowed pretty much all day Monday and all day Tuesday. We probably got 10-12in of snow in that time period. It's now really cold outside. I woke up today to -6 and it's supposed to stay cold all week. We are also getting more snow over the weekend. So far, it looks like all the predictions are coming true, another bad winter. It's days like this that I love to wear my sweats and sweaters, and don't forget the warm wool socks. Staying cozy and warm in number one on my list of things to do today.

I'm thankful for a home that has a heater!

Snow, snow and more snow!

2010-11-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

It's snowing, and has been for the last 16 hours.

Crazy snow that has accumulated to 10 in.

Snow that has closed the schools for the day.

Which means that all of the kids are home. It has

been a crazy day. My kids are wild and excited that

they get to stay home from school. I have a feeling

though, that this is just the beginning of many

snow days. What will I do with my kids? It's like

summer break but COLD. Even with the crazies,

I love having my family around me. They're great!

I'm thankful for snow days with my kids and husband!

Awww Music!

2010-11-22T09:30:00.001-08:00

I was called into the

Primary as the pianist at the

Beginning of the year. I didn't

Like it at first, but now I am loving

It. I get to play the piano every week.

I get to play music and it

Forces me to practice every week.

It's been a blessing in disguise.

I wanted more time to

Play and now I have it.

I'm thankful for Sundays and I'm

Thankful for the piano!

Peace

2010-11-21T11:03:00.001-08:00

I totally forgot to post yesterday. We were busy all day cleaning out the garage so we can one, park the cars in there and two, move the furniture from downstairs into the garage so we can finish the ceiling. I'm so excited. It will be really nice when it is finished. I then had to go to work last night so it made for a long day. When I got home it was wonderful to just sit and relax for a minute. All of the kids were asleep. Joe and I were able to talk to each other without any interruptions. That doesn't happen very often.

I am thankful for peace and quiet and a small moment to be an adult with my husband.

Harry Potter...the best one so far!

2010-11-19T21:22:00.000-08:00

It really is the best one so far. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part1! Joe and I went to see it tonight and we loved it. The last two movies in the series have been disappointing to say the least. This one however was great. It stayed very true to the book and was so good. I will be taking the 2 older kids to see it now. I think they will really like it.

Today I'm thankful for date nights with my husband, and good movies.

It's gone

2010-11-18T10:24:00.000-08:00

Today I'm thankful that illness

Doesn't last forever. The kids are

Back at school and we are

Almost back to "normal"

Yeah! for the human body

And the way it heals itself!

2010-11-17T11:40:00.000-08:00

We are remodeling. Nothing to major just some stuff that we have been wanting to do for some time now. We are going to remove our false ceiling that is downstairs and put in a nice ceiling with new lighting. It is going to become our movie room. We are also going to open up a wall in our living room upstairs. This will open up the kitchen and living room so they look more spacious. We are also debating between hard wood floors throughout the upstairs and nice new carpet. There are advantages to both. It's a hard choice. We are also going to rip out the floor in the bathroom and re due it with tile, as well as the entryway to the front door. Some new doors on the front and sliding back door, as well as new windows in the house. It's really exciting to do improvements on our home. Can't wait until it's all done.

I'm thankful for my home!

Day 16

2010-11-16T09:14:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for Ibuprofen. It is a life saver when you have to go to work with a really bad headache. Which is what happened to me yesterday.

Today I am thankful for a husband that will get up with a sick child and let me sleep. I really am married to a great man. He is loving and kind and sweet and gentle and sturdy and all of the things that a good man should be. I sure and lucky to have found such a great companion to spend my life with.

Yucky Tummy!

2010-11-14T13:29:00.000-08:00

I woke up today feeling really yucky!

I have a major headache and my stomach

is rolling and doesn't feel good.

I hate feeling this way. I hate that I have

to spend copious amounts of time in the bathroom.

I hate that I have to miss church.

I hate that I still have to go to work tonight

because I don't have any more sick days. And, I hate

that my family will probably get it too.

So, what is there to be thankful for...

...today I'm thankful for Pepto Bismol and Sprite!

New Hairdo

2010-11-13T15:12:00.000-08:00

I was able to go the the salon today. It was so nice to be there by myself. I don't get to do that very often. I was there for 3 hours getting a color and cut. I really like it. I will have to take a picture of it. I didn't really change the style, but the color is a dark chocolate brown with carmel highlights. I'm liking it a lot...so today I'm thankful for a stylist that I like and can trust with my hair, and for an awesome husband that will stay home with 4 crazy kids.

Bouncing Baby Boy

2010-11-12T09:11:00.000-08:00

Four years ago today, my beautiful baby boy Gideon was born. We went to the hospital Saturday evening and I was induced. Gideon decided not to come though until Sunday. It wasn't a difficult labor. It was smooth and went without complications. Hard labor didn't start until mid-morning and by that point I was ready for the epidural. I got it around 3 or 4, and by 7 he was ready to come. He was a whopping 10lbs 2oz and 21in. My biggest baby! Cordin and Gabbie were able to be there with their aunt Brooke, I think Breanne was there too, I can't remember. Within 30 min of his birth they were in the room and holding him. It was such a neat experience having them there so soon after the birth of their baby brother. They were very excited and took lots of pictures. It was such a great day welcoming this new addition to our sweet family. I will always be thankful that Heavenly Father has blessed our family with Gideon.

I am thankful for my sweet little 4 year old, Gideon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to my little man!

thankfulness

2010-11-11T09:22:00.000-08:00

I have been a complete slacker when it comes to posting new blogs. I admit that I have been rather lazy about it and am going to work on doing a better job at writing in my "journal".

Seeing as how this month is almost half way through, and that it is the month of giving thanks, I thought I would follow in the foot steps of some of my friends. I am going to give thanks for something everyday. It doesn't matter how big or small. Since I am 11 days short I will get caught up with 11 things today...

1. I am thankful for my sweet little boy Gideon who makes me laugh with the things he says. Example: Gabbie was upset, and once she left for school Gideon turns to me and says, "What is wrong with that child?" Gotta love a 3 year old.

2. I am thankful for my home.

3. I am thankful for a sweet husband that takes care of me when I am hurt.

4. I am thankful for the Internet and the distraction that is can give to crazy kids.

5. I am thankful for prayer and fasting. They do work.

6. I am thankful for 4 beautiful children. They may drive me bonkers at times but I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.

7. I am thankful that families are eternal. I miss my Mom.

8. I am thankful that I have a job, even though I don't like having to work outside my home.

9. I am thankful for a husband that provides not only financially, but also emotionally.

10. I am thankful for good friends. You know who you are.

11. Today, I am thankful for the men and women that sacrifice all they have to keep me safe. Without them where would we be?

There you have it. The beginning of my Thankful November. Now I just need to remember to keep it up.

Grandma Midgley and other stuff.

2010-09-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

September started out on a sad note, my grandma Elaine died on the evening of Aug 31. My sister Bev and I headed out that night at 10pm, to Bellvue, to go and be with our aunt Darlene and to be with grandma. It was hard to be there but it was also a very peaceful and spiritual time as well. I'm thankful to believe what I believe. Knowing that life doesn't end with death has been a great comfort to me. It is hard to loose a loved one, but I know that I will see my grandma again and that she is happy and with those that have gone on before her. I will miss you grandma!

Here is a picture of Grandma and Grandpa Midgley many moons ago.

The kids also started school on the 1st. I was still in Seattle so I missed their first day. I think they had a good time and that all was ok.
Oct 4...
I started this post back in Sept and I thought I would finish it now. The kids still love school, surprising, I know. Cordin has decided to do band this year. He is playing the clarinet which so far he seems to really like. He has learned how to put it together and how to make sound, now all he needs is the notes. Gabbie is loving school. She is such a social child and thrives on being with others. She is supper smart too. Both her and Cordin are. Gideon wants to go to school so badly. We are thinking of putting him in pre-school. I think he would love it. I just need to justify the expense. Brynwen is growing up way to fast. She is 18 months now. She loves to be apart of everything and follows brothers and sister around like their shadow. I can't believe that all of my kids are getting so big.

Joe and I are doing well. We are living life and doing what we do...work and home and work. Joe's birthday is this Friday and we are excited about sharing this with our family and friends. Our good friends Bill, Maggie and Miri are coming to spend 5 days with us, we can't wait. We are so excited to see them. For Joe's bday we are planning to have dinner with all of our fam that is here and with great friends, then it's off to play laser tag. It should be a great night.

That's pretty much all that's going on with us so far. We are happy and healthy and excited for the coming months. I will work on doing better at posting all the fun stuff that is happening to us as this holiday season begins.

Summer in a nutshell

2010-08-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

August is more then half way through and I am sad to see that summer is coming to a close. School starts for us in 1 week. I can't believe this, and have mixed feelings about sending the kids back to school. Cordin is going to be in the 5th grade. Yes really. Gabbie is going into the 3rd grade, and I am feeling like an old mama. Cordin doesn't want to go to school, which is not really all that surprising, and Gabbie is very excited to go, mostly for seeing her friends, not the actual school part. I have liked having them here. They have mostly been really great. We have had our moments of course, but I will miss them when they are gone for most of the day. Gideon is sad that they will be gone, he really likes having them here to play with. Now he has to go back to having just mom to entertain him. What am I going to do? He really wants to go to school and be a big boy like brother and sissy.

Our summer was pretty tame. We had one really big adventure when we went to Utah for 2 weeks. It was a great trip filled with lots of family and fun. We did the Dino museum and went swimming a couple of times up at the reservoirs. The weather was pretty great the whole time we were there. It was so nice to spend time with Joe's family. The kids loved having cousins to play with and hang out with. I really liked renewing relationships with all of the family. We got home in the middle of July and have been swimming and playing here. Like I said it's been pretty tame. We are going to "end" our summer with a camping trip over labor day weekend. We are so excited to spend some time with my brothers and sisters. Everyone but Brooke and Evan will be there. They are coming in the middle of Sept. I can't wait to have some good quality time with my siblings. It's been awhile since we were together.

Face paint at the museum

Cordins dragon

Chandler's Dragon

Justin's Dragon

Gideon's dino

Gideon and Justin on the dino

Justin Cordin and Chandler on the dino.

Gideon and a Turkey.

Cordin on a horse.

Gideon on a horse.

Gabbie on a horse.

Brynwen on a horse.

All the kids in jail.

Kids in jail again.
Well, that's been our summer in a nut shell. I'm looking forward to what this school year will bring. I'm sure that it will be filled with lots of surprises. Hopefully they will all be good.

The fun is about to begin!

2010-06-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is the end on June. I can't believe that it is already the 29th. I know I say it a lot but where does the time go? We have had another busy month. The kids finished school on the 11th. It has been a challenge to come up with things to do to keep them busy. We finally have some nice weather going on so, we have been able to spend time outside. Gideon is an outdoor fanatic. He loves to be outside. We have finally started to put the swing set together, I can't wait for it to be finished. He will be so excited to have his own park.

We are getting ready for our Utah trip. I am so excited! It is going to be so nice to not have to work for 2 weeks. I can't wait to see family. I really love Joe's family and it will be so nice to spend time with them. The kids can't wait to see all of their cousins. They are thrilled to have instant friends to play with. We have some great activities planned for the trip too. We are going to go to the dinosaur museum, which will be Gideon's first time there. In fact it's his first time to Utah. We are also going to go to one of the water parks they have there. There are many to choose from so it should be lots of fun. I can't wait to see everyone. I will take lots of pictures.

I also get the chance to renew some of my old friendships. It will be nice to see people that I haven't seen in a long time. I love spending time with friends that you can just pick up where you left off and if doesn't feel like any time has past. This is going to be a great trip.

Stories from heaven

2010-06-08T00:37:00.000-07:00

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to

Earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there

being so small and helpless?" God replied,

"Your angel will be waiting for you and

will take care of you." The child further inquired,

"But tell me...here in heaven I don't have to

do anything but sing and smile to be happy...

"God said " Your angel will sing for you and

also smile for you, and you will feel

your angels love and be very happy."

Again, the small child asked "And how am I going to

be able to understand when people

talk to me, if I don't know the language?"

God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful

and sweet words you will ever hear,

and with much patience and care,

your angel will teach you how to speak."

The child then said "But what am I

going to do when I want to talk to you?"

God said, "Your angel will place your

hands together, and teach you how to pray."

"Who will protect me?" the baby asked.

God said, "Your angel will defend you, even if

it means risking its own life."

"But I will always be sad cause I will not see you anymore..."

God said, "Your angel will always talk

to you about me, and teach you the

way to come back to me, even though

I will always be next to you."

At that moment, there was much peace in heaven,

but voices from earth could be heard and the child

hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now,

please tell me my angels name!" God replied...

"You will simply call her Mom."

"A mother's nurturing love arouses in children, from their earliest days on earth, an awakening of the memories of love and goodness they experienced in their premortal existence."

-M. Russell Ballard.

Where did May go?

2010-06-05T22:11:00.000-07:00

I missed the month of May. There was way to much happening this month. We had Cordin's 10th birthday on May 1st and Gabbie's 8th birthday on the 2nd. We then proceeded to have Cordin's friend party on the 8th which turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. It was the first year in a long time that we let the kids have their own parties and didn't combine them. Gabbie's party was a slumber party on the 14th and 15th. The boys also had the father, sons camp out that same night so it was all girls here for he party. It was a lot of fun.

The 18th was Joe's and my 11th wedding anniversary. We had planned to go out on a date but weren't able to because of some stuff. We ended up going out on Saturday instead. It was nice to just spend alone time with Joe, it doesn't happen all that often. We went and saw Ironman 2. I thought it was really good. It was fun to just sit and hold hands with Joe.

On May 23rd Gabbie was baptised. Most of my siblings were able to come and lots of Gabbie's little friends from church were there. It was such a special day for her. Joe baptised and confirmed her. Bryan gave a beautiful talk on baptism and Ben gave an equally wonderful talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost, Gabbie picked the program. Breanne sang for us while playing her guitar. It was a really neat day all around. We then had everyone that wanted to come over for dinner. I am so proud of Gabbie. She is growing up way to fast for me. She is such a sweetheart and has a very tender soul. I love her and am so happy with the choice she made to be baptised.

On the 27th it was my birthday. It was pretty low key. We went to dinner as a family at the new Mongolian BBQ that just opened here. It was really good. There was lots of yummy food. The kids even behaved themselves, which was kind of shocking. Like I said May was a crazy month for us. I liked it though. It was nice to have lots of things to keep us busy and things to look forward too. Now we get to look forward to our Utah trip to see Joe's family. It should be lots of fun.

Catching Up

2010-04-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since my last post. A few things have happened since then. Where to begin...February we went down to Tricities to go to the temple with my brother Brent. He was taking out his endowments so he could go on his mission. Joe got really sick that weekend and ended up not going so I took all four kids by myself and headed down there. It wasn't so bad and I'm glad that I went to support Brent. Most of the family made it to Bryan and Rachel's. It was nice to see everyone and spend time together. Family is great!

The Tuesday after we got home, I got a call from my sister telling me that grandma Midgley had a stroke on Monday. It was a stroke that affected her vision on the left side of her body as well as her movement on that side. That was hard news to hear. Grandma has always been really healthy and independent, so hearing that her body wasn't working for her was sad. She has been in a rehab hospital for the past month and a half and we have just found out that she has been accepted into a private home care. We went to Seattle for a weekend in March to help Darlene look at some different medical home options and to visit with grandma. There are so many different options out there but we all felt that having a small private home care facility was the way to go with grandma. I think that she will be very well cared for in her new environment and it's really close to my aunt.

On March 22nd we celebrated Brynwen's 1st Birthday. I can't believe that my baby is 1 already. It was pretty low key. Bev, Demarco and Kade came over for dinner and cake. We sang happy birthday to her and she danced while we sang. We gave her her own cake and just let her go to town. It was fun watching her cover herself in chocolate frosting. She got some new clothes for summer and a fun little toy that she loves to play with. Shortly after she turned 1 she took her first unsteady steps. She is still crawling everywhere but loves to walk along the furniture and to walk holding mine or Joe's hands. What a sweet baby girl.

Cordin and Gabbie are getting ready to celebrate their birthdays. May 1st and 2nd are just around the corner. They are pretty excited because these are big birthdays for both of them. Cordin is leaving the single digits and moving up to doubles, I can't believe that he will be 10. Gabbie will be 8 and is so excited to be baptized. I'm not sure when we will be doing that yet, sometime in May. Gideon is happy, most of the time. He loves to be outside playing and this year we decided that we would buy a swing set for him. We did and are now just waiting for all of the boxes to be here so we can go and pick it up from Walmart. I am so excited for it to get here. I can't wait to have a "park" as Gideon says in our backyard. It will be so convenient to have it right outside our door. I know that both he and Brynwen will have lots of fun with it over the next few years.

Catch up on Brynwen...first birthday!

2010-03-13T16:24:00.000-08:00

Brynwen is very mobile now. She has been crawling for the past month and a half. She is now pulling herself up and walking along the furniture! UGH! I can't say that I am very excited about this. I'm glad that she is learning and expanding her horizons but, I just want her to stay my baby. I know that this is totally selfish and that I should encourage her but, I really want her to stay little, I want my baby to stay a baby. She is pretty cute when she walks. She's very unsteady on her feet still and wobbles and shakes when she is trying to get anywhere. She loves to follow Gideon around and they play hide and seek all the time. Gideon will pop up from somewhere and she will just laugh and laugh. I should get a video of it because it really is very cute.

At the park

on the slide

in the stroller

March 22 was Brynwens first birthday. I can't believe that she is one already. We did a small family party with Bev and Demarco and Kade. We had dinner and then did the whole cake and ice cream thing. She had her own cake and make a huge mess. It was awesome! Here is her cake...

Eating rocks.

Beautiful Baby!

2003-04

2010-03-04T11:42:00.000-08:00

In trying to recall 03-04 I'm having a really hard time remembering what happened. There wasn't anything really significant that stands out in my mind. It was school...school...and more school. I was home with the kids and Joe was going to school and working. It was pretty tame as far as things go. I do believe that these are the years that we started to hang out with Cale and Sharon more. We played games and watched movies and even occasionally went out.

We made a couple of trips to Utah also. I think we even went to Seattle to stay with Bryan and Rachel. I do remember going to Zoo with the kids. I honestly can't really remember what happened in these two years. I did decide to go back to school in the fall of 2004. I started on my bachelors degree in Speech Language Pathology. Cordin started pre-school that same fall. He really loved it. For some reason those years escape me. Oh well, this will have to do. It I can remember anything else I will revise this.

This is when I wish I had kept a better journal. I guess it's never to late to start.

2002 in review

2010-02-17T10:55:00.000-08:00

The year started off with Joe in his 2nd quarter of school at SFCC. He was doing a full load and he was working for a company in Liberty Lake doing Microsoft support. I know a long drive and busy schedule. I was 6 months pregnant with Gabbie and we still lived in a one bedroom apartment. We wanted to move. In March we became managers for Cheney Real Estate and moved into a 2 bd apt. This was our 6th move in less then 2 years of marriage. Crazy I know. Managing apt was nice and an answer to prayers, but I will never do it again.

We had a lot of snow that year, and we had to shovel all of the side walks before a certain time each day. Most of the time Joe did it, however there were the times that I had to get out there, 8 months pregnant and shovel show. It sucked. I only mention this because I don't recommend shoveling snow when your 8 months pregnant.

Gabbie was born May 2, 2002. My in laws were able to come and stay with Cordin while I was in the hospital and Joe had to work. Her delivery went smoothly. We went in at 10 in the morning and had her at 10 that night. It was a Saturday. She weighed 8lbs 3 oz and was 21in long. She had some issues with jaundice and had to be put on the lights. Thankfully we were able to do it at home. She had to be under them for 3 days. Other then that she was healthy and strong.

Shortly after Gabbie's birth Joe lost his job with Microsoft. We were a little distressed at the time but it ended up being a blessing. Joe was able to get on with the school doing work study in the area he was studying. He was able to add this to his resume which helped him in the long run.

The summer was pretty much a blur. New babies will do that to you. Joe went to school all year round so he didn't really get much of a break. He did pretty well in school. I think he enjoyed it. He had a little bit of an adjustment since he was older then most of the students there. It was a pretty quiet summer. We spent a lot of time at the kiddy pool in Cheney. It was free and we were poor.

The fall meant Joe was starting his second year of school. We had our first "Crunch" time with the apartments, when all the students move in for the new school year, we had to check them in. That was crazy. Long days toting a 4 month old in a pack and a two year old that didn't understand why mommy and daddy couldn't play. Thank heaven we had my brother and sisters to come and help. The Holidays were uneventful. We stayed in Washington again and spent them with my family. That pretty much rounds out the year. I know not very exciting huh?

Recalling 2001

2010-02-03T00:17:00.000-08:00

2001 was kind of a crazy year for us. It started out with Joe joining the Army. I think he signed in February. We were told that he would have to report and be sworn in in March so, we decided that it would be nice to see family before he left. We went to Spokane to see my siblings. That was in early March. We were there for a week and that is when I decided that I would like to move home to be close to them while he was in boot camp and training. We came home from our trip to have enough time to get him ready to go.

He left the second week of March. It left me with a lot to do. We had given notice on our apartment so I had 2 weeks to get us packed and our stuff put into storage. It was hard not having him there with us. Cordin was about 10 months old when Joe left. Cordin had a really hard time. He used to wake up in the morning and sit on the end of the bed waiting for his daddy to come back from the bathroom. When Joe left, he didn't get to say goodbye because he had fallen asleep. Looking back I would have done it differently and woken him up to give Joe a hug and kiss goodbye.

Our plan was to go to Germany. (Boy, that is so not what happened)! I was able to get everything ready with lots of help from Joe's family. My grandma found us a little one bedroom furnished basement apartment in Cheney. It sucked, but it was a place over our heads for the 3 months that we had planned on being there. Everything was going pretty smoothly until Joe called me and said that there was a hiccup in his paper work. He was promised a certain type of job and because of an indiscretion in his past (won't go into that) they were not going to give him said job. They gave him three options, he could rejoin as...1. infantry man...2...calvary scout...3...he could make it so it was like he never joined the Army and could come home. That was easy for me...COME HOME. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do. I talked to his dad and a brother in law and we all fasted and prayed about it and the end result that we all got was that Joe should come home. So he did. It only took the military 4 weeks to send him home. He got home on April 30th which was nice, he was there for Cordins first birthday (May 1st).

The summer was pretty lame. We were now stuck in Cheney. Joe was out of work. We had a little in savings which is what we lived on. We weren't sure what we should do. At the end of the summer we moved into another one bedroom apartment. Joe enrolled in school at SFCC and started on his career path. I was able to be at home with Cordin. I babysat for a friend to earn a little extra income. That helped some. As the fall came I found out I was pregnant with Gabbie.

That fall the terribly sad event of 9/11 occurred. I know that the Lord was watching out for our family. I have no doubt that if Joe had stayed in the Army as a Calvary scout he would have been one of the first soldiers over seas. I am so grateful that Joe was able to come home. I really admire, respect and am eternally grateful for what our military does for us, but it was a blessing that Joe was with us, even if it didn't make sense at the time.

The end of the year was pretty quiet. We spent it with my family. The holidays were nice as I recall. Pretty laid back but very nice. I think that all of my siblings were there. That was the first time in several years that that happened. We were able to be together and make memories. Those first two years of marriage we not a walk in the park. There were some rough patches in there too. I just choose to look back on the more positive stuff.

years Past

2010-01-29T10:57:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Maggie has been reviewing her past decade year by year. I really like the idea so I am going to steal it and do the same. Love you Maggie. Your so smart. Let's see what I can remember.

2000
We were living in SLC Utah. The year started out with me being 5 months pregnant with Cordin. I was also working in a day care center at the time. Joe worked for Marriot vacations or something like that. He was also going to school to get his MCSE certificate. Joe and I had been married for 8 months. We lived in this really nasty basement apartment. It was a missionaries apartment before we moved in. It was infested with ants. I really hated that place. The landlords did nothing to improve it, but it was our first home together so there are good memories.

In March we were given the oportunity to move into a house (renting) that was next door to my sister in law Jeri. It was out in a little town called Cedar Fort. A very far and long drive to get anywhere. I don't know what we were thinking when we did that move. But, it worked out. I stopped working in April to get ready for Cordin's arrival. On May 1, 2000 he was born. It was a real eye opener to have a baby. Joe would say that I suffered from post partum depression. I probably did. That first month after he was born is kindof a blur. We celebrated our 1 year on May 18th. We didn't do anything though because we were both so out of it from sleepless nights. Good Memories!

In June Bryan and Rachel were married and we got to come up for the reception in Cheney. Shortly before that, Joe lost his job and we were looking for work. Thankfully we were able to stay in the house we were in. Joe came home to Utah after the reception to look for work and I was able to stay for 2 more weeks with my family. I remember that it was nice to rest and recooperate. I went home and we had a very hot and miserable summer.

At the end of the summer Joe finally found work for a company that did support for Microsoft. He had finally finished his MCSE at that point. We moved to Springville in October another basement apartment, at least it wasn't bug infested. Our landlords we an older couple. I remember that the day we moved it started to rain and we couldn't afford to get a uhaul so our neices boyfriend at the time had an open trailer that we used. Everything got soaked! It was a crazy experience. I don't know why we didn't cover stuff up with tarps. How stupid were we.

The rest of the year pretty much went without any major hiccups. I remember being happy and thankful that we had a home and that Joe had a job. We spent the holidays with Joe's family. It was pretty low key. That was 2000. Next installment to follow shortly.

Guess what I can do!

2010-01-27T12:32:00.000-08:00

On the 22nd of this month Brynwen turned 10 months old. The day before that she started to crawl. She is still getting the hang of it but she is moving and getting into everything. Her favorite room to crawl to is the bathroom with the kitchen being a close second. It has been fun watching her discover new things. She can now follow her brother down the hall and into the other room. She really likes this. She loves to crawl under the computer desk and sit under it. She is just so darn cute. She talks up a storm and is trying to say small words like dadadada and mamamama. When ever Joe walks into a room she lights up and gets really excited. Her arms start to fly and she bounces up and dowm. She loves her daddy and wants him to hold her all the time. She can also get on her feet and hands which tells me that she will probably want to start walking sooner rather then later. She has been trying to pull herself up but doesn't quite have the upper body strength yet. It's only a matter of time though.

I know I say this a lot, but I can't believe how fast the year has gone. I can't believe that my baby is so close to being 1 already. I wish...well it doesn't really matter what I wish. When it comes to time it always goes way to fast.

On a side note...we got two new kittens on the 23rd. They are really cute and very active. I don't know what I was thinking. Orange and white kittens, they are into everything. They are brother and sister and play together all the time...usually it is in the middle of the night and on my bed. They are really cute. Gideon can't keep his hands off of them.

Raydar

Peck

Gideonism

2010-01-21T11:12:00.000-08:00

I love Gideon. He is so cute and full of energy. He came running out of the bedroom after watching Spongebob and says, "WEEEEE, I love that show it is awesome!" He just cracks me up with all that he does. What a sweet boy I have.

The New Year

2010-01-02T17:10:00.000-08:00

WOW, it's 2010. I can't believe that. Where does the time go? It just seems to fly by. I can't believe that I will have a 10 year old this year and that I will be celebrating my 11Th year of marriage. In a lot of ways it feels like I am still that 18 year old with lots of hopes and dreams still waiting to be fulfilled. Then I look in the mirror and see the 34 year old looking back and my reality sets in.

2009 was a good year. We had lots of neat things happen in our family. We had lots of babies born this year. The major one for us being the addition of Brynwen in March. We had weddings happen. We had lots of family come and visit this year which was great. I think our whole summer was filled with family visits. The kids really liked it when their cousins came and stayed with us. We had some illness but nothing to major. We survived the swine flu. All in all our year was a success. We are all happy and healthy. We are grateful and blessed. I love that we are all together and that we have the opportunity to go through this year together. I hope that everyone has a wonderful 2010.

Tis the Season

2009-12-15T14:20:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited for Christmas. I can't believe that it is only a week and a half away. The time is just flying by. There is so much to do and I don't feel that I have enough time to get it all done. I've been wanting to do some baking, but with little kids and work I don't know if it will get done this year. I've also been trying to get my sisters gift done so I can wrap it. That's another thing that has to happen wrapping all the gifts. I really only have Wednesday and Saturday to try to accomplish all of it. I feel a little overwhelmed. In a good way though.

I just love the atmosphere of Christmas. The lights and sounds. The music. The goodies. It is so much fun. I can't wait until the 23rd. I have until the 28th off of work and it will be nice to just relax a little and have some fun. We are heading down to Tri-Cities on the 23rd to spend the holiday with my brothers and sisters. It is going to be so much fun to have everyone together. It has been quite awhile since we have been able to accomplish this. Nothing says Christmas like good food shared with good people in a good environment. Christmas should be a blast. Hope you all have a great holiday too.

2009-11-30T19:38:00.000-08:00

What better way to start the holiday season then with elf yourself. I think this will be a new tradition in our house. The kids get a real kick out of it, so do I. Just want to wish you all a happy and safe holiday season. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and all that. I don't know if I will have time to post much as the month progresses but I will try. Love to all of you out there!

2009-11-30T19:36:00.001-08:00

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I'm 3!

2009-11-23T08:44:00.000-08:00

Guess who turned 3? GIDEON! I can't believe that my little 'fat' man is 3 already. No, I don't still call him that. It is hard to believe how fast time goes by. It seems like just yesterday we were surprise with me being pregnant, and now here we are.

Gideon is such a great kid. He is mostly happy, we all have bad days. He loves to play with balls and cars. He also really loves to watch cartoons. Mickey and Spongebob are his favorites. He enjoys playing with friends and going with me places. He loves the park and anything that has to do with the outdoors. This is the first year that he actually likes the snow so that has been fun. He LOVES his big brother and sister and wants to do everything with them. He loves to cuddle. I really like this, and when he sucks his thumb and holds his ear he turns back into my sweet little baby. I love him!

Joe and Gideon are trully buddies. When I have to go to work Joe is so great about doing things with him, and Gideon loves that. He loves to play kickity kick ball (Wow Wow Wubbzy), and hit the ball. He and Joe play those a lot. He is such a great blessing to our lives. I will always be so grateful that we are bless to have this sweet little boy in our family. He is growing into such a great person. He has really become the little conversationalist and will talk your ear off if you let him. What a sweet boy! I love you Gideon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Halloween 2009!

2009-11-05T12:35:00.001-08:00

(Cordin as the Scream)

Halloween we pretty fun this year. We did the whole
trick or treating thing with the kids. We all had a
really good time out and about. We headed
over to my sister Bev's neighborhood. The kids
made a pretty good hall.

Here's Gabbie as a witch. Our neighbor was really
nice to give us a bunch of costumes that they
had all grown out of. I didn't want to buy any
this year, so this worked out really well.

Gideon as a Tiger!
He really loved this costume.
He wore it everyday for about a week. It was fun
to see him have so much fun. The kids didn't really
last all that long considering. I can remember going
trick or treating for hours. It was probably because
that was the only candy we really got all year. My mom
didn't buy candy, so when we got the chance
to have some for free we went all out.
Then we would come home and sort through it,
dividing it into the groups of favorite
and not so favorite. And then we would trade it.
Oh the memories. My kids were
pooped out after only half an hour.
They still made off pretty well though.

Here's Brynwen in her little flower costume. I really
like it because she can wear it as a coat too. I think she
had fun, at least for what she was awake for. It was so
much fun to watch them have fun. I really loved it!
Can't wait for next year...

Halloween Fun!

2009-10-23T13:13:00.001-07:00

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Look Who's 6 Months Old!

2009-09-28T17:30:00.000-07:00

Here's Brynwen in her stroller. She loves to be
outside and will settle right down
if she is mad. She is so cute!

She is now 6 months old and exploring
the world around her. My sweet baby can roll
over from her back to her stomach, and just started
rolling from her stomach to here back.
She can only do this on one side though, which is pretty
funny to watch. She can sit up all by herself. She can
also reach for objects that
are around her. She loves to
'eat' fingers and will suck on any
that are available. She loves
to talk to anyone and everyone. She laughs at
her big brother Gideon when he plays with
her and loves it when Cordin and
Gabbie play with her too. She can clap
her hands all by herself but
loves to play patty cake.
She is such a good baby and hardly ever cries.
She is truly a joy to have in our family!

Here she is in her jumping chair.
She didn't really like it, she didn't know
what to think of it at first, but now that
she has the hang of it, she loves it.
It's fun to watch her bounce in it.

Here she is attaching the parrot.
She loves to eat his tail feathers.
I can't believe that she is already 6 months old.
I just love her and am so thankful for her.

Fast food has got to go!

2009-09-14T16:39:00.001-07:00

I just got done watching a documentary called Super Size Me. WOW! It was crazy. For those of you that haven't heard about it, it's about this man named Morgan who only ate McDonald's for 30 days. He was trying to prove that eating fast food isn't healthy. He did just that. He went from 185 to 210 pounds in 30 days. His cholesterol jumped severely and his kidney function was in danger. It was an eye opener.

I will never look at fast food the same again. It is something that I have decided needs to be cut down in our diets if not cut out. I can't believe how much our society relies on the fast food industry. We as a country have become the most obese in the world. It is so sad!

I have to decided that I will not be one of those statistics. I am going to reach my goal of becoming healthy and strong. I will teach my kids proper eating and exercising habits and I will help them to make good food choices. I am rededicating myself to loosing the weight and keeping it off!

Anyway, there's my soap box rant for the month. Wouldn't it be cool if we could send some sort of message to the fast food world. I was thinking of starting something...maybe picking a day that everyone bans fast food. I don't know. Just a thought...

Fall is almost here!

2009-09-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

Here it is Sept 12th. How time flies. I can't believe that it is so close to fall. School is in session and the kids are readjusting to getting up in the mornings again, so am I. It has been nice to have some measure of discipline to our lives again. Summer is great but it wreaks havoc on our schedule. We are falling back into our old patterns which is nice.

Cordin is in the 4th grade now and seems to like his teacher this year. I'm happy about this. Last year he had some difficulty with Mr. Curtis. I don't know if it was Cordin just not liking a boy teacher or the work he had to do. This year he has a female teacher again and so far he seems to be doing well.

Gabbie is in 2nd grade. She loves school. She is a very good student and loves to play with her friends. She really likes her teacher this year, even though she didn't get the one she wanted. She does have one of her very close friends in her class, which had made her happy.

Gideon is doing the same. We are home and life goes on without brother and sissy home. Gideon does miss them terribly though when they're gone. He gets very bored with just me. I have been trying to occupy his time with games and activities. We even make it out every now and again. There is a play group that meets once a week that we will be attending starting this week. He wishes that he could go to school with Cordin and Gabbie. Maybe pre-school next year, we'll see.

Brynwen is growing to fast. She is 5 1/2 months old now. She can almost sit by herself and rolls everywhere. She is very inquisitive of everything. She loves her hands. It's fun to sit and watch her concentrate on them. She also loves my hair. She grabs it and puts it in her face tickling herself and then laughs and makes a face, drops it, and starts over again. It's hilarious to watch. She blows raspberries and makes what I can only describe and bird sounds. She absolutely loves her brothers and sister. Whenever they come and play with her she just lights up. She is such a good baby. Growing to big, to fast.

So, life continues to go on. Time just keeps speeding past. I just can't get over that I have a 9 year old already. It seems like just yesterday I was holding Cordin in my arms and now he's all grown up...he thinks he is. Sometimes I wish that time would slow down, or that I could freeze it where it is. Oh well, I guess I will just have to enjoy kids while I can. I just love them. It really is to short of a time that we have them with us. Sometimes I wish they could stay forever. Other times I'm okay with the fact that they will leave the nest. I guess that's just how it is though. Okay, I'm just rambling now...I guess I'll stop.

August is almost gone!

2009-08-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

Here we are the middle of August.
I can't believe how fast this year is going.
Before we know it, it will be winter again.
I have had a wonderful summer so far.
Lots of family have come to visit this year,
which is a first for us, and we have had such a good time
renewing families ties.

Jeri and here kids were here for a week.
It was so much fun having them visit.
We did Silverwood while they were here and it was a blast.
Everyone had a fun filled time in both of the parks.
We were sad to see them go, but life has
to return to 'normal' eventually.

My aunt and cousin have also come to visit.
It has been 10 years
since we have last seen each other.
It's good to renew that relationship also.

I really love family. It's so nice to know
that even if you don't see someone for a long time, the
relationship is still there and you can almost pick up where
you left off.

Family is AWESOME!

Summer Fun

2009-07-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

OK, the time has come once again to go to Silverwood Theme Park! YAY! We are so excited to go this year because Jerilynn, Joe's sister, is coming with her 3 kids to spend a week and go to the park with us. I think that most of my siblings are going to try to come as well so it should be tons of fun. We are trying to get a big group together so that we can do the group discount, so if anyone wants to join us let me know. We are going on Aug 6 and will spend the whole day there. The water park is so much fun, so are the rides but I can't do those anymore without getting sick. Last year we went as just our little family and had a good time, but it is more fun with more people. So join us and have a fun filled day.

Going CRAZY!

2009-07-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

I'm SO ready for school to start! I have got to find something to keep my kidos entertained, they are driving me CRAZY! They are constantly fighting and screaming at each other, Cordin, Gabbie and Gideon. I just need to figure something out that I can have them do that will promote happiness and love and kindness and QUIET! Any suggestions out there? I am willing to try anything!

Catching Up

2009-07-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

It's been some time since my last post. Just a quick catch up.

Joe...is loving work. He is having great success in his job and really likes the people that he works with. He has been spending some time in our yard trying to make it look good and has even had some success. He helped DeMarco and Bev put in their yard a couple of weekends ago and seemed to have fun doing it. He was sore for a couple of days, it was a lot of lifting and bending over to put the sod in.

Me...I started back to work this last weekend, and what can I say, it's work. I wish I didn't have to go back but it's a necessity at this point. I hope that someday I will have the choice of whether I have to work of not. I can only hope.

I had a great time with Maggie while she was here. It was fun to spend time with her and Miriam for those two extra weeks. She was able to stay with us for about a week out of that extra time. I have missed her since they moved. Thanks for spending time with me Maggie! We didn't do a whole lot of 'stuff', but had a good time not doing it.

I have been thinking about what I can do at home to earn some income. Piano lessons seem to be what I have been able to come up with. I'm just not sure yet if that is something that my home life will accommodate at this point. Does anyone have any ideas that don't incluse babysitting that I can do from home?

The kids... Cordin has been going to cub scout day camp for the last 3 days. He seems to be enjoying it and has done a lot of fun activities. His favorites have been fishing and shooting the bebe guns. He's also been enjoying the summer with friends and of course video games. He would probably play them all day everyday if I didn't make him call his friends to play. Gabbie is our little social butterfly. She has her list of friends that she calls everyday hopeing that one of them will be able to play with her. A couple of her friends have pools and so she has been able to go swimming a lot already this summer. She is a little fish. She hurt her foot in one of her friends bike tires but that hasn't slowed her down any. Life for Gideon and Brynwen isn't a whole lot different for them. Big brother and sissy come and go and occationaly play with them in between pit stops at home. Gideon loves the park and would stay there all day if I let him. He wants to be a big boy so badly. He's a pretty fun little kid. Brynwen is growing like mad. She loves to smile now and is trying to roll over and pull herself up when on her stomach. She is such a good baby.

That's it for now have a good one.

Cordinism

2009-06-10T10:44:00.000-07:00

The other day Joe decided to bring the X box upstairs and plug it into our new monitor. (It's a really nice one that he has wanted for a long time). Anyway, Cordin was sitting watching Joe play Force Unleashed, a Star Wars game that has a lot of fighting in it with light sabers and makes all of the Star Wars sounds, when I asked him to hold Brynwen for me so I could get some stuff done. She was a little bit fussy when I handed her to him but as soon as she sat on his lap she calmed down and started to watch the monitor. Cordin turns to me and says, "Mom, she must like the soothing sounds of death." I stopped for a moment because I wasn't sure I heard him right so he repeated it for me and then I just busted up laughing. Only my 9 year old video game addicted son would come up with that.

Weekend fun

2009-06-08T09:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went down to the Tri-Cities for Brent's graduation, Jace's birthday and baby Wade's blessing. It was a fun filled weekend. We stayed at Bryan's house and just had a good time. We got to the graduation just as it was starting and had to sit there for about 2 hours. Brent of course was the 9Th to last name to be called. He had a typical Brent response to his name being called. He ran out on stage and did some muscle man posing. It was pretty funny. We had a BBQ for him after and then just hung out as a family. There was a scary moment after the graduation when Gabbie went running out into the crowds before anyone could stop her and got lost in the thousands of people that were there. It took us about an hour to find her. Thankfully a nice woman found her and took her to the security tent. Worst feeling ever not knowing where your child is. I'm so glad that she was okay. It was not the first time she's done that but hopefully it's the last.

On Saturday we had Jace's birthday. It was fun. Bryan got the water slide out and the kids had a blast on it. We had a nice lunch and a few fun games. The kiddies had a great time.

Sunday we went to Wade's blessing. It was so neat to be there as a family. We headed over to Ben's after the blessing and had another great meal with everyone. We also got to see Ben's new house. It's really nice and will be a great place for wade to grow up. We headed out at about 2:30 and made it home safe and sound. It is so nice to have family close and to be able to spend time together. I really love my brothers and sisters and am grateful that we are friends as well as family.

Weekly update

2009-06-04T15:44:00.000-07:00

Alright I've been a slacker updating everyone on my weight lose adventure. The past week and a half has been really good. I have followed my eating plan and even done some exercising. I lost 6 pounds for the month of May. YEA FOR ME!!! I am so happy with that. I am excited to keep going as I have seen the results when I do what I put my mind to doing. I love that I have been able to stick with my plan (for the most part) there have been a couple of oops moments, but I am doing what I have wanted to do for a long time. I am changing my life style. I will keep on doing it and keep writing about it. This really does help. Anyway, it's good and I will update again soon.

Memorial Day Fun!

2009-05-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

Today we had our (what's turning into a tradition) Memorial day BBQ and birthday party. It was a lot of fun. We celebrate all of the May birthdays in the family and pretty much all of the birthdays for everyone. When all of my siblings are here it is a lot of craziness. Unfortunately Bryan and family couldn't make it, neither did Ben and Tracy, so our numbers were smaller this year. Cordin and Gabbie did have quite a lot of friends show up this year so that made up for it a little. We played water games this year, balloons and water guns, and then we went to the park and did some other playing around. It was good old fashion fun. The kids had a really good time and I think that most of their friends did too. It was a little crazy with all of the extra kids running around and I have to admit that I was extremely glad when it was over and all of the kids went home. I can handle having one or two of their friends here for long periods of time but a whole gaggle of them is something else. I get really rundown and tired. Having this BBQ and birthday party has been a great way to celebrate Memorial Day. Hope that everyone out there had a great day too.

Sunday Update

2009-05-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

I missed my Saturday Tell All, sorry. I did pretty well this week. For the most part my food choices have been good. I did have a few slips this week. It's hard to have chocolate and cookies around without eating them. I am down another 3 pounds. Yeah for me! That's 5 for the month so far. I am pretty excited about this and it looks like I may even reach my goal of 7 pounds for the month of May. I just might raise my goal for next month. It's going well and I am very proud of myself for sticking to something for more then a few days. There have definitely been some ups and downs, but it has been worth it to see some results. There it is, not my typical update but a good one nonetheless. Hope you all have a great Memorial weekend. I know we are.

Happy 10 Years! Brynwen's Blessing Dress

2009-05-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

(Joe and Brynwen after her blessing)
First off I have to say Happy Anniversary to me and Joe.
We have been married for 10 years! I can't believe
that it has been that long. The time goes by way to fast. It seems
like just yesterday we were engaged and planning a wedding.
I really made the absolute best choice when I
decided to marry Joe. He is such a good man, a wonderful father
and a great friend. Did I luck out of what?! Now here we are
10 years and 4 kids later. I just love this man! He is
my best friend and I don't know what I would do without him.
I LOVE YOU JOE!

Here we are after the blessing of Brynwen. I don't know
where the boys were. Probably off playing with
their cousins. It was a beautiful day!

Me, Brynwen and Joe. I really like this picture. I don't
normally like to look at pictures of myself, but I am who I am
and I should learn to love me for me.

Here is Brynwen in her blessing dress. It was actually
my blessing dress when I was a baby. She looks identical
to me in one of my baby pictures. I am wearing the same
dress in my picture too. I just love that baby.
She is just so cute!

I just love this picture of Brynwen. She is so expressive.
I can see that her mind is working and she really looks
like she wants to say something. You can see a little bit more of the
detail of the dress in this picture. What a sweet heart!

New Photos of Gideon and Brynwen

2009-05-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

Gideon the big cheese. I love this picture of him.
He is so charismatic and charming. What a sweetheart.

Brynwen at 6 weeks. She is so cute. I just love
her fat little cheeks, and her puckered lips are so kissable.

This background is one of my favorites. I love how it all blends
and matches her dress.

Here they are together. Aren't they cute?!

This is one of my very favorites. I just love the
look on her face. It's priceless, and Gideon is just the
most handsome 2 year old out there. I sure do love these two.

Saturday Tell All

2009-05-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

Here we are, another Saturday tell all.

Monday...Weighed in and was happy to see that I had kept the pound off over the weekend. I did really well in counting my calories today and hopefully will be able to keep it up. I ate well today and walked 2 miles.

Tuesday...Did well for breakfast today. I missed lunch because the pancakes I had were so filling I was still full. For dinner I was very good. One piece of chicken 1/2 c of pasta salad and 1/2 c of potatoes. I did eat 3 small chocolate chip cookies though. It was better than the candy bar I wanted. Joe and I were able to go to a movie and eating before we went really helped me not want to get popcorn and pop, which I didn't get.

Wednesday...Breakfast, lunch and dinner, I did really well today and even got out and was able to walk. It was around 2 miles. Pretty happy with that. It is not as easy as I thought to count calories, but I will keep going.

Thursday...Breakfast and Dinner were good choices. Unfortunately I chose to get a cheese burger and fries for lunch. Not the greatest choice in the world. I will have to do better. I walked 1 1/2 miles today.

Friday...Today has been the worst day ever. Breakfast was a pretty good choice but after that I have just gone down hill. I have had cookies and pudding and all sorts of things that I shouldn't be eating. My will power just gave out today and I made some rotten choices. I didn't get out and walk although I did walk the wal-mart for about an hour. Still not the best exercise there is to do. It was a hard day for me.

Saturday... I weighed in this morning and was surprise to see that I was down a pound. Shock of my life. I will have to work extra hard this week to keep that pound off. No more binges for me. I have to remember to allow myself a treat now and then so I don't go crazy with the treats when they are in front of me. That and to make good shopping choices when I'm at the store.

Mother's Day!

2009-05-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day was great! We had all of our family here. Joe's parents were here and also one of his brothers and his wife was here from Alaska. All of my siblings were able to come except for Brooke. It was nice to have them come and share this day with us. We blessed Brynwen which was a great way to celebrate Mother's Day. After church we all came back to our house and those that could stay, stayed and we had a nice dinner. I took a bunch of pictures of the baby in her dress and will post them as soon as Joe reinstalls the software. I just wanted to give a little update.

Saturday Tell All

2009-05-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this is my Saturday update.

Monday...I started my week off right and I have been doing pretty good, probably not as well as I should be doing, but good. Today I've eaten pretty well. I had a lot of whole grain foods and healthy snacks. I walked 2.11 miles and I feel really good. One slip, I had a brownie after my lunch.

Tuesday...I followed my eating plan really well. I had a healthy breakfast lunch and dinner and good snacks. I walked 2.5 miles and am feeling really well.

Wednesday...My morning was really good. I had a great breakfast, lunch and dinner, but Joe came home with donuts tonight and I succumbed to temptation and had one and a half of another. I didn't walk today because my in-laws flew in and we spent the evening catching up. I feel bad about that and will have to do better tomorrow.

Thursday...I woke up this morning and had some of dad in law's whole wheat pancakes. They are really good and very filling. I had a good lunch and dinner today and am glad that I am sticking to my eating plan today. I walked 2 miles and feel good.

Friday...I have been doing pretty good today. I have been really good about staying away from junk food. The kids ate all of the donuts so they are no longer a temptation. I had a good lunch. I know that when all of the family comes tonight that we will probably go out to eat after our meeting. (Later) Yes we did go out. We went to Rosa's Pizza. I think I did pretty well, considering, I only had 3 pieces of Hawaiian pizza and then I ate a big salad. For the most part I was pretty happy with my choices. I didn't take the opportunity to walk today though. I will have to do better next week.

Saturday...Breakfast was good. A bowl of cereal and some toast. Lunch was pbandj and apples and I haven't had dinner yet. So far I think that it is going well. I plan to walk tonight. Hopefully with Bev.

I have lost 1lb. I'm am pretty happy with this. I decided that I will weigh myself only twice a week. Once on Monday and again on Saturday. I have been weighing myself everyday a couple times a day and it just makes me feel really anxious. This way I will follow my plan for the week and then see the results at the end of each week. If this doesn't work I will make adjustments as needed. I've done a little research and discovered that I should be eating about 2200 calories since I am breast feeding. This seems like a lot to me but I will try it and see how it goes. Counting calories has never been something that I've done much of before so this will be new for me. Wish me luck!

These are some of the things that I had written in my journaling this week. I will continue to write in my journal. This seems to work pretty well for me. That, and knowing that I have chosen to be accountable to my blog and all those out there that read it. Thanks for your support. I will post on it again next Saturday.

Today's the Day!

2009-05-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

Today is the day! I've decided that today is the day that I am going to start changing my life. It is time to get rid of all of the weight that I have gained over the past 10 years, emotional as well as physical. I know that it won't be easy, but that's o.k. It's going to be a hard struggle to shed these unwanted pounds, but I know that I can do it. I have decided to start walking everyday. I also have a bow flex that I will work out on 3-4 times a week. I am cutting sugar out of my diet and I am going to eat healthy. I know, I know, there will be times that I will fall and make wrong choices. I will not let this deter me though. I will get back on program and continue until I reach my goal. I want to be healthy for my kids. I want to be around for my children. I want to have the energy to run and play with them. I want to grow old with Joseph. I want to see my children grow up and get married and have families of their own. I want to be healthy and strong. I want to do this for me.

I am hoping that I can count on all of you out there for your love and support. I am going to be posting every Saturday what I have done each week. I will be keeping a food journal that I have to share as well as the exercise program that I follow each week. I need to be accountable to someone and I figured that this is as good a place as any. I am also hoping that I might get some advice from you all out there. What are your favorite exercises to do? What kinds of things do you like to eat that are good for you? Do you have any favorite recipes? Any and all help is welcome. So, here I go. I will keep you all updated as things happen.

Gabbie's Turning 7!

2009-04-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

I did a little tribute to Cordin and wanted to do the same
for Gabbie. She is going to 7 on the 2ND of May.
Here are some pictures that I thought were cute.
In this one she is just over 2. She is feeding her cousin Jace.
Even then she loved babies.

Here she is at 2 1/2 gotta love the cheeks!
Those pigtails are pretty cute too.

The spring she turned 3. I just love the rosie cheeks.
She looks like a little imp.

Gabbie almost 4. Again she has her baby.

I'm so thankful to have such a sweet daughter. She is
so fun to have in our family. I will always be grateful that she is
part of my life. She is a blessing to have and such a wonderful
helper. I don't know what I would do with out her sweet spirit.
HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY GABBIE!

Cordin's turning 9!

2009-04-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

Cordin will be 9 on the 1st of May. I can't believe that
so much time has gone by. It seems like yesterday he was my
little boy. I was going through some of the pictures that
I have and wanted to share some of the cute ones of him.
This is when he was 4 (I wish I had baby pictures to show,
I don't know what happened to them).

This is his pre-school graduation. He had just turned 5.
Cordin with his teachers Mr. Frank and Miss Mary

Outside at the playground of our old apartment.

Cordin smiling his big cheesy smile. He is a cute kid.

And here his is last fall. He has grown into quite a remarkable young man
I'm so amazed that he is my son. I love him so much
and am grateful that he is part of our family.
HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY CORDIN!!!

The Past Week

2009-04-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

I haven't written anything for awhile and thought that I would fill you in on our week, not that anything truly exciting has happened. On Saturday the 18Th Joe's niece and her husband were down from Alaska for a conference in Spokane so we met them on their dinner break. Before that we decided that we would go to Riverfront part and hang out with the kids. We weren't planning on doing any of the rides but ended up purchasing day passed for the kids. Gideon loved to ride on the carousel. He wanted to stay and kept getting in line for it. He was free for the day as long as Joe went with him. I think his favorite ride was the airplane ride. He could have stayed on it all day if we let him. Joe and the kids did all of the carnival rides that they have there. They did not like the Farris wheel. As soon as they got on it Gideon and Gabbie started to cry and they wanted off. It was fun to watch them go on all of the rides. I stayed with the baby and kept an eye on the bigger kids as they ran around. All in all it turned out to be a really fun day there. After we had been there for a couple of hours we met up with Mika and Jason. We had a nice dinner at a local pub named the Steelhead. They had pretty good food for reasonable prices and aloud kids to enter before 9. Gideon was so tired by that point in the day that he was having a hard time, but did surprisingly well. It was fun to catch up with family and just sit and talk. That was probably the most excited thing that happened to us this past week. Everyday is fun with the kids but nothing really significant has happened this past week. We are good. Mostly healthy and just waiting for the warm weather to come back so we can spend our day outside in the sunshine. I'm really looking forward to that.

Easter Sunday

2009-04-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday was so nice. Of course I forgot to take pictures of the kids in there new Sunday clothes. I will have to get on that this next week. I had such a nice time in church. All of the lessons were wonderful, at least what I was able to listen to before Brynwen woke up and wanted to eat. I am so grateful for the ability to go to church and refill my cup of spirituality. It is so nice to be able to sit and listen to a teacher talk of Christ. Our sacrament program was amazing. It was filled with beautiful music and a wonderful message. I really enjoyed it. Especially the music part. I am so thankful that we celebrate Easter. It is wonderful to have the knowledge that our Savior lives! He was resurrected and he lives. I know this. I'm grateful to know this. It is so wonderful to know that I am a daughter of God and that my older brother Jesus loved me enough to come to this earth and fulfill my Heavenly Fathers plan. I am so thankful that I can be forgiven for my sins. That I can turn to my Savior when I am in times of trouble and know that I am loved and watched over. I really do love this Gospel and the knowledge that it gives me.

New photos of Brynwen

2009-04-07T14:48:00.001-07:00

Brynwens toes. They are so small. I could just sit and marvel at them all day.

All of the kids together. Joe and I really do make beautiful babies.

Brynwen in her yellow outfit from Aunt Jenny.

Brynwen a few days home from the hospital.

The Story of Brynwen's Birth

2009-04-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have a little time to sit down and catch everyone up on the birth of Brynwen. Joe is holding the baby and the kids are watching a movie, so I have a few minutes to get this done.

It all began Sunday morning early. Joe said that I kept waking him up with sounds like I was in pain. I slept through them for the most part, they were not any different then what I had been experiencing the two weeks prior to that morning. I woke up and was sore and stiff which is normal. We all got breakfast and then ready for church which was our Sunday morning. I had been drinking a lot of water the day and night before so I was using the bathroom a lot. I kept on drinking and emptying my bladder because that's what all the books say to do.

At church I couldn't sit for long periods of time because I was so uncomfortable. I got up a lot to walk around. I just didn't feel quite right but didn't give any thought to it. When Church was over I noticed that on the drive home I was having a few harder contractions but nothing I couldn't handle. When we got home, our home teachers were here and we had a nice visit with them. Nothing really changed for me until they left. Joe was in the kitchen with the kids getting them some lunch/dinner. I had gone into the bathroom again and this time I noticed that I had quite a bit of blood when I was done. That kind of freaked me out a little. At that point it was about 4:45pm and I told Joe that I thought that I would probably have to go in that night. That is when it hit me. All of a sudden I was in a lot pain. I couldn't sit down and all that I could do was walk around the room. I called the doctors office and they paged the on call doctor to call me back he did within about 5 minutes and I explained what was happening. At this point the contractions were right on top of each other. I could still move through them and talk but they were getting harder. The doctor told me to come right in because I also needed an antibiotic during the labor process. I called Bev and told her that we needed to go in. She watched the kids for us during the birth. Joe and the kids finished eating their lunch around 5:30.

We got the kids all packed up and got all of my stuff packed up and headed out. We dropped the kids at Bev's house and then headed to the hospital. On the drive in my contractions got really bad. The drive wasn't really helping either. Every bump was excruciating. We really couldn't get there fast enough. The doctor told me to go straight to labor and delivery. Thankfully I had preregistered so that wasn't a big deal. When we got there, about 6:00pm, I was doubled over with the pain of the contractions. The nurse took me back to see how dialated I was. When she checked me I was already 6 centimeters. I was pretty shocked. I didn't figure that I had made it that far. I thought maybe a 3 or 4. They then took me to the birthing room and started the preparations for delivery. I wanted an epidural very badly. They had to give me and IV first so that they could start the antibiotic. Unfortunately it took them about 8 tries, 25 min, a nurse and an anesthesiologist to get it done. I also had to be hooked up to all of the monitors so they could keep track of me and baby. That is when the first sigh of trouble showed up. The baby was in distress and the doctors didn't know why. That is the last thing that any parent wants to here. Her heart rate was 180 which is very high. A normal heart rate would be between 120 and 140. By this time the pain of the contractions was so intense I thought that I would pass out. Once the IV was in the anesthesiologist was able to do my epidural. I was ready for it. It was hard to sit still and concentrate on not moving during the relentless pain of the contractions. They were right on top of each other and on a scale of 1-10 were an 8. I was very grateful when she finished and had the epidural in place. Within about 10 min I was numb enough to relax a little and not think about the pain so much.

It was now 6:35 pm and this is when the doctor came in and said that if I didn't deliver within the next hour of so I was going to have to have a c-section to get the baby out fast. I was worried and scared and anxious. I asked Joe and one of the doctors, he is in our ward, to give me a blessing. It was very comforting and I was told that everything would be okay. Doctor Hess then decided to check me to see how things were progressing. I was 8 centimeters and he broke my water to make things happen faster. That is when it was discovered that there was maconium(sp?) in the fluid. Baby still hadn't moved down into the birth canal which worried him a little. I was now worried even more. I didn't want her to aspirate it into her lungs. Another worry. By the time all of this was completed it was 7:10pm. I was so ready for the baby to come out. I didn't feel a lot of pain but I could feel the pressure of the contractions and was anxious to have her here and well. That is when I felt her little head engage my cervix. I felt her move down into the birth canal and I was ready to push. The nurse ran and got the doctor and by the time he got there I was a +2 station and she was coming. I started pushing and pushing and pushing. They didn't want me to stop. They wanted her out of there. And, at 7:24pm she was born. I couldn't believe how fast it went.

The NICU nurses had come down to make sure that all was okay with the baby. She was covered in maconium but they didn't think that she had swallowed any. They didn't want to take any chances though, and decided to put her in the NICU for a round of antibiotics and to check her blood for, anything. Joe and a brother from our ward came to the NICU and administered to Brynwen and within an hour of that she was off the oxygen and doing 10x better. Thankfully she never grew any major infection in her blood culture and was able to come home after the 7 day round of antibiotics.

Brynwen has been home now for 5 days and we just love having her here. She is such a good natured baby and I am so happy that she is healthy and strong. I know that we have been blessed to be able to bring her home so soon. It was hard to spend that week in the NICU. I will always be grateful that it was for only a week. Thank you to all of you out there that sent your prayers and thoughts our way. We will be forever grateful for you love and support.

SHE'S COMING HOME!

2009-03-28T14:37:00.000-07:00

It's official. Brynwen is coming home tomorrow mid afternoon. I am so excited to have her home with us. The kids can't wait to see her for the first time. She is doing so well. I am so grateful that she is healthy and strong. I will keep you all posted as time goes on.

Welcome Brynwen!

2009-03-25T13:19:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that we had the baby. Brynwen Dianne Kearns was born on Sunday the 22ND at 7:24pm. She weighed in at 9lbs 9oz and is 22in long. She has lots of long brown hair on her head and looks really cute. There were some complications during the labor process which I will write about later. I am home but because of the complications Brynwen has to stay in the NICU for 7-10 days. Don't panic...she will be okay. The doctors have her on a course of antibiotics that should take care of all that is going on in her little body. I wanted to let you all know that we are both well. Here are a couple of pictures to tide you over until I can really sit down and write some more.

NO BABY!

2009-03-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor this morning and surprise surprise there are no changes. I am so disappointed that my body is not doing what it is supposed to do. I just want this baby out! The doc said that I am still 2 cm but my cervix is still closed and baby is still really high. He is making me go another week before my next visit unless I go into labor. I highly doubt that I will. He wants me to have another ultrasound on the 25TH to see how big she will be. Come on we already now that she is at least 9 lbs. Isn't that big enough. Just GET HER OUT!!! I have been walking and doing all of the home remedies that I can think of and nothing is working. I guess she doesn't feel ready. I am though. I am so done being pregnant that I am even considering having my tubs tied. I want to have this over with.

Lacking baby

2009-03-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

A quick update. No, there is no baby yet. I have decided that my body just doesn't want to give up this baby. I go into the doctor in the morning and will find our more. I think if he doesn't let me have this baby this weekend I just may have to hold him hostage until he agrees. I am sooo ready to be done. I just want baby here and healthy. I can't wait to be able to breath again, and to not have a 10 pound weight on my bladder. Yes, that's right, she will probably weigh 10 pounds if not more. Another reason to have her now. There is a lot more pressure in my pelvis so I am hoping that she has dropped some more and engaged the cervix. At least then they can give the necessary meds to really start labor. I will find out tomorrow so expect another update then.

On a side note...Brooke is getting married this weekend. I am excited for her but sad that I won't be there. All of the family is going for it but mine. Oh well, I'm sure that it will be a wonderful time for them. I wish her love and happiness. She's gonna need it. Married life will be quite an awakening for her. Good luck Brooke and Evan.

Baby news and other stuff

2009-03-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

This past couple of weeks have been really good. I completely forgot to write about the wonderful sister that I have. Bev threw me a baby shower on the 28Th of Feb. She is such a great sister. It turned out to be a really nice time. Not that I expected it to go any other way. We had it at her house. About 10 ladies came which was great. We had a small lunch and then played some games and opened presents. I received some really nice things that will come in handy when this little one decides to come out. It was a lot of fun to see some people that I haven't seen in a while. We had a great time.

This past weekend I was feeling a little bit under the weather. I was having some dizziness and shortness of breath so I have to take it easy. I really wanted to get my house clean for when the baby comes and was feeling really overwhelmed so I called on my wonderful family to come and help, and they did. Bryan and Rachel came on Friday with Brent and Breanne to start the cleaning process. We worked on getting the kids rooms in order and cleaning the downstairs completely. It was amazing what they were able to accomplish in that evening. Then on Saturday everyone came, all of my siblings, we caught up the laundry and cleaned the bathrooms and the kitchen and pretty much everywhere else. It was so wonderful to know that they love me enough to come and help me clean my house. I have such a great family. I think that we are going to make it an annual thing where we rotate through the year to each house and clean it from top to bottom. It goes so much faster when there are more helping hands to get the job done. I will always be grateful to my amazing family. They really are a great bunch of people. I am truly blessed to have them.

Yesterday I had another doctors appointment. I went in a 9 for an ultrasound so they could get an idea of how big baby is. They did a bunch of measurements and they came back that she is around 9lbs now. Which means that she will be closer to 10 by the time she is born. The technician also said that it looked like she has about an inch of hair on her head. I am so excited to meet her. When the doctor checked me he said that I am dialated to 2cm but baby hasn't engaged yet so there is still some time before I have her. He did say that once the process really starts it probably won't take very long. He thinks that I will go sometime this nest week. I hope that he is right. I really don't want to have a 12 pound baby. I go in again on Thursday the 19Th. If I haven't had her by then we will probably induce since I am due the 23rd. Hopefully a baby will be here in the next 10 days. After my appointment I decided that I was done working so Dr. Barrong wrote me a note saying that I needed to go on maternity leave now. I took it into Wal-mart and filled out all the necessary paper work to change my date and am now officially on leave. I am so grateful to not have to work. It was getting really hard. Now I can work on completing that last little details before baby comes. I feel much less stress now that I don't have to worry about having a baby at wal-mart.

We're playing tag!

2009-03-06T08:47:00.000-08:00

My sister tagged me so I thought that I would do it,
so here goes!

8 Favorite TV shows:

Lost
Biggest Loser
Law and Order SVU
John and Kate plus 8
House Hunters
Grey's Anatomy
Smallville
Ace of Cakes

8 Things I did yesterday

Went to the hospital to pre-register
Went to Target to buy some nursing bras
Ate lunch with Gideon at Target
Took a nap
Cleaned up the living room (which was destroyed when I got home)
Did Laundry
Went through baby clothes
Went to work

8 Things I'm looking forward to

Having this baby!
Organizing/cleaning my house, with the help of my awesome fam
Sisters Wedding even though I can't go
Having my laundry caught up
Picking out a name for the baby
Going to Utah this summer
Being on maternity leave
Starting my weight loss program

8 Favorite restaurants

Olive Garden
Red Lobster
TGIFridays
Outback Steak House
Chili's
Subway
Panda Express
Tomato Street

8 Things on my wish list

To loose all of the baby weight that I have gained
To have an organized and peaceful home all the time
To be financially burden free
To be able to travel wherever I want
To go back to school and finish my degree
To control my temper, especially with my kids
To win the lottery, even though we don't play it
To never be sick again

5 People I tag

Maggie
Sharon
Rachel B
Shanda
Michelle P

that's everyone of course if you want to do it feel free!

Count down

2009-03-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

Nothing really all that new to report. I'm still having contractions, but they are mild and don't seem to be going anywhere. I sure wish that she would come already. Joe was in a meeting the other day at work, they were discussing their monthly plan and what needs to get done, when someone said that Joe will be taking a week off when the baby is born. Harold, his boss, told him that it would be most convenient if I had the baby this week (March 2-6). I would be the hero of the development department. I guess they have some big projects due the week that baby is due, and they need Joe to be there. I told Joe that I would be happy to oblige, but it's up to her when she will come. I keep trying the old remedies, eating spicy foods (which only gives me heart burn) going for long walks, which does seem to stimulate the contractions but as soon as I stop moving they stop. We've tried a few others but nothing seems to work. I refuse to do the caster oil. I guess she is just stubborn and will come when she's ready. The sooner the better I say. As much as I like being pregnant I'm ready to be done. I miss sleeping on my back, and being able to breath. I can't wait to be able to take a deep breath. Another little tidbit of info...Gideon is potty training himself. He loves to be a big boy like his dad and brother so he goes in the bathroom and takes off his diaper and pees in the toilet. He is so cute when he does it. I haven't really started the whole thing yet but if he wants to do it I let him. Just thought you would want to know the news.

Baby Update

2009-02-27T08:11:00.000-08:00

I went to the doctor yesterday and had to have my strep test done. The doctor says that everything looks really good and that I don't have to go in next week, so I will be going in on the 12Th for my ultra sound and next doctors visit. He did say that I am dialated 1 centimeter already and that everything is starting along. He said that if I go in to labor before my next appointment they will just let it happen and not try to stop it. I was measuring a bit big yesterday so he's a little concerned about her size as she will continue to gain all that baby weight in these last couple of weeks. He doesn't want me to have a 12 pound baby. More then likely if they feel that she is to big when they do the ultrasound the may induce me shortly after the 12Th. I will keep you all posted!

Almost There

2009-02-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited! In just over 2 weeks I get to go on maternity leave from work and don't have to go back for 12 weeks. Financially it will be a bit of a burden but I can't wait to spend the time with baby girl Kearns. No, we still haven't picked out a name. I'm having such a hard time choosing a name for this little one. There are so many out there that I like. The ones that I am leaning toward are Lucy Mae Dianne, Brynwen Dianne, and Molly Jane. Joe still likes Branwyn Dianne but I just can't get over the Bran part. It sounds to much like breakfast cereal to me. I just don't know what to do. I can't believe that I am down to my weekly visits with the doctor already. I go in for another ultrasound next week because they want to measure and guesstimate at her size and weight. It will be interesting to see what they think she will weigh. I think that she will be my smallest. I'm measuring exactly where I should be and even though I'm big (everyone says I'm huge and they think I'm carrying twins) I'm smaller then I was with any of my other pregnancies. I just can't wait to meet this little one and hold her in my arms. What a precious gift we are being given. I'm so grateful that my Heavenly father loves me and is intrusting me with one of His spirit children. I just can't imagine what life would be like without my kids. As much as I complain about them I really do love them and am so happy to be their mom.

Messes, messes and more messes

2009-02-11T11:16:00.000-08:00

What is it about kids and messes. I feel like I can't get ahead of all the things that my kids mess up. I went into my room this morning and Gideon had taken some trail mix and dumped it on the floor he then striped my bed of all the pillows and blankets. Yesterday he dumped moon sand all over the living room. The night before that he went into the bathroom and got out one of my smelly lotions and dumped it all over the floor. He then proceeded to slip in it and roll around in it. When Joe finally found him he was covered from head to foot in Love spell lotion. And, all of this has happened since Monday. I can't imagine what will take place in the coming week. I often wonder what he is thinking when he decides to do something. "I wonder what will happen if I turn this over? Will stuff come out? Can I play with it if it does?" What is it about? Is it just a learning process or does he really just want to make a mess that someone else has to clean up. I guess I'll never know.

A day trip

2009-02-02T08:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we took a day trip to the Tri-Cities. Richland to be exact. We went down to see my brother Bryan and his family. Jackson, who was born at the beginning of Jan, was blessed. It was really neat to be able to be there and share the experience with my family. All of my siblings were there which was also nice because we don't all get to be together that often. The trip down was pretty uneventful. The kids watched a movie and ate the whole time. We did stop at the Chocolate Store and picked up a treat. Gideon was very happy to be out of the car and ran around like a crazy person. It was the first time that I had been in there. We arrived just in time to change into church clothes and get to the church. After church we headed back to Bryan and Rachel's to change and then it was off to her dads house to have a scrumptious dinner. The kids had lots of fun playing at Papus house (that's what they call their grandpa). Jace and Josh got mustangs from papu for Christmas, so the kids pretty much drove around in those all afternoon. There was one moment that was excitingly gross. Gideon comes strolling into the house and says "Mom i'n poopy". I thought no big deal I'll just change his diaper and that will be the end of it. NO it was all down his legs and up his back. He hasn't had one of those in a very long time. We had to strip him down and hose him off. It was quite comical really. I found out that my sister Brooke is engaged to be married. Apparently over Christmas Evan and Brooke decided that they wanted to get married and made arrangements to do so. He hasn't officially proposed yet, but she is going to see him for Valentines day and is expecting to come home with a ring. She wasn't going to tell us this until after she already had the ring but, Tracy (sister-in-law) got it out of her at dinner yesterday. I have mixed feelings about it. We haven't met him yet which makes me a little nervous, and we won't get to until the wedding which is supposed to take place in April. I know, fast engagement. The only things that I know about him are that he is 26, a marine, and stationed in California, which means Brooke will be moving there. That is fine, however I have a sneaking suspicion that once she is gone, we won't see her again. That makes me sad. All in all though, it was a really fun day to spend time with my siblings, eat lots of good food and enjoy just being together.

The Scare of My Life!!!

2009-01-22T16:29:00.000-08:00

Today is Thursday the 23rd and my daughter about gave me a heart attack. Cordin and Gabbie were a little late coming home today from school so I was starting to get a little worried. When I heard the door, I was relieved that they were here until the first thing out of Cordin's mouth was "MOM! Gabbie got into someones car and drove off with them." My heart stopped. "What do you mean she got into someones car?!"She said they were going to the community center." I was irate! "Why didn't you stop her?" was my next question. He said that he tried and she wouldn't listen to him. So, I jumped into my car and ran down to the center, but no Gabbie. Now I am worried. I didn't know who's car she had gotten into. Cordin didn't know either. Tons of awful images were going through my head. What if she was stupid enough to get into a strangers car. I've told her time and time again NOT to get into any ones car that I don't know. (Just goes to show how much she listens to me). Now what do I do? By this time I am in tears and tiring to call all of her friends that I can think of. She is no where, then I call Joe who is the voice of reason. "She's probably with a friend." But how can I assume that, right? How do I know that she's with a friend? I have of course by this time jumped to every awful conclusion. Someone has taken her. They have her and I'm not going to get her back. By this time an hour has gone by of me crying and imagining all the horrid things that could have happened to her. Just as I am about to call the police a car pulls into the driveway and out comes Gabbie. I was flooded with emotion. Relief that she is okay, anger that she would do something so stupid (especially since I told her to come home directly from school), but mostly relief. I never want to go through something like that again. And how could another parent be so irresponsible. I would never take another persons child home without their consent. It blew my mind that she/he would do something like that. Needless to say, Gabbie is grounded, and I will have to pick her up from school now until I can trust her again. Hopefully she has learned her lesson and will not make that type of decision again. I think that when she walked into the house and saw that I was in tears she realized just what she had done. I can only hope.

Perfect Angels...NOT!

2009-01-19T18:24:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a three day weekend for the kids. Meaning they were home from school today(Monday). Let me tell you...as much as I love my kids and I do love them, I love it when they have school. The constant nagging and crying and begging can get on my nerves. I know they don't act that way at school because their teachers both say that they are so well behaved and polite. Why aren't they like that for me? I'm the one that truly deserves a little respect and kindness, don't I? I'm only the one that gave them life after all. I just don't get it. They used to be so kind when they were little. Always loving and cuddly, perfect little angels. And then they grew into little monsters with attitude. I just don't know how to change it. For example, Gabbie's favorite thing to do is say the exact opposite of whatever we tell her. She doesn't even think about what it is we've asked, she's just on auto pilot. "Gabbie pick up your toy so the dog doesn't eat it. NO!" First thing out of her mouth. It makes me want to pull my hair out. I'm so frustrated. I know that I can't be the only one out there with this problem. Maybe I am though. Any suggestions?

The Good, The Bad and The...

2009-01-07T11:50:00.000-08:00

First I have to start off by saying that I am so grateful to be pregnant. I love that we are adding another beautiful baby to our family. However, I have about 2 1/2 months left of this pregnancy and I don't know if I can make it! I am already so big that people keep asking me if I'm due any day. I feel like I can't catch my breath and sleeping is almost non-existent. It doesn't help that we are still weening Gideon from our bed. (We are going to buy a King size bed before this baby is born). He loves to creep in at night and climb up on the bed and squeeze in between Joe and me. Then he kicks and squirms until morning. I just don't have the energy to move him though. I've also been trying to kick a cold that I've had for almost 2 months now. A cough and stuffy nose that just won't go away. Any suggestions? (I think I'll have to talk to my doc about that). The cough is what is killing me. Every time I cough I get this horrible pain in my neck and shoulders. Oh the things we put our bodies through. At least in the end we get to have a baby to show for all that we've been through. Most of the time I really enjoy being pregnant. I guess the lack of sleep this past week has taken it's toll on me. I just had to vent a little.

The newest addition

2009-01-06T07:57:00.000-08:00

Here he is my sweet adorable little nephew Jackson. He is so cute and so small. I'm pretty sure that he is the smallest that Rachel and Bryan have had. He weighed in a 7 lbs 15 oz and 20 in long. He resembles Joshua when he was born but I can't honestly remember so, I will have to take everyone's word for it. He is pretty darn cute though. Just a wonderful blessing from heaven. Rachel is doing well and slowly recuperating from a C-section. Congrats you guys on bringing another beautiful baby into our family.

Celebrating Christmas

2009-01-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas is over. I'm very sad about this because if you haven't guessed yet, it's my favorite time of year. Although I have to say that putting up the tree and trimmings the day after Thanksgiving does make it a little easier to take it all down by the New year. I figured that once the trees needles start to get all over the floor it's time to take the stuff down. It was a nice tree this year (I will have pictures posted shortly). Our tree this year started out all nicely decorated and then slowly over the coarse of the month we pretty much moved all of the ornaments to the top where little Gideon fingers couldn't reach them. He loved the ornaments. I couldn't believe how much he wanted to touch them and hold them, and break them. This year I got wise though and bought some shatter proof ornaments on clearance for next year. Hopefully they will live up to their name. So, I think that I will give a run down on what our holiday was like...hope you enjoy.

Christmas eve was really nice. We started the day off by making cookies which I pretty much ended up doing. We then just kind of hung out with our little family until everyone got here. All of my siblings came for Christmas this year which was really great. We ended up at Bev's house this year for our 3rd annual Woodard(Kearns, Adderley) Christmas Extravaganza. It was a lot of fun. We ate some good Italian food and had lots of treats. We then went into the talent show. That's right I said talent show. Every family was able to share a talent with everyone else. My kids shared there beautiful singing voices, Brent did some interpretive dance for Bryan's fam, Bev and Demarco read the Christmas story, and Ben did a pretty good magic show. We then had our family gift exchange. We all have one other sibling that we buy for. We rotate down the line so this year we had Ben and Tracy. They are expecting their first baby in April so we got them baby stuff of coarse. It was a lot of fun to watch everyone open their presents and to just be together.

Christmas day we woke up to more snow...surprise surprise. I was watching the news and it said that we have gotten 92" of snow in the month of Nov/Dec...CRAZY. We opened our presents which was a mad house. The kids went wild. I will post video of it shortly. They got a lot this year, so much for sticking to our plan, one big gift and two smaller ones. We had fun watching them open it all though. After presents the kids went sledding with their uncles and cousins. They had fun but didn't last all that long. We then ended up back at Bevs to eat a Christmas lunch before everyone had to leave to make it to other commitments. All in all we had a really great Christmas this year. It is always good to spend time with family and to be able to reflect on the time that we are celebrating. My kids said something that was pretty cool..."you know mom, this isn't really when Jesus was born, we just get to celebrate his birth and remember why he came to earth." It really is about remembering isn't it. I thought that was pretty insightful for an 8 and 6 year old. I hope that you all had a really great Christmas season.

Oh, a little side note. My brother Bryan and his wife Rachel had their baby today. A little boy. This makes their 3rd boy. He is 7 lbs, 15 oz and 20 in long. They don't have a name picked out yet but I think they've narrowed it down to two possibilities. Jackson Benjamin or Jacob Benjamin or some variation of them. Of coarse they could throw something completely different into the mix. You never know with them. Congratulation Bryan and Rachel! So, I went to see them in the hospital today and they have picked a name.....Jackson Bryan Woodard. Cute huh!

Some Pictures

2008-12-21T13:26:00.000-08:00

Christmas is almost here. I can't believe that it is only 3 days until Christmas eve. I am so excited to see family and friends that I can hardly wait. This really is my favorite time of year. We finally installed all of the pictures from our camera and I thought that I would share some of our highlights with you all. Here are a few of my favorites. All the family that made it to Cordins baptism, Cordin in the botanical gardens in Alaska, Gabbie in the gardens, a beautiful waterfall in the same gardens, Gideon being Gideon, and one of the only family pictures that we have also from Alaska. Hope you all enjoy. Have a happy and safe Christmas and New Year. We love you!

This year has been a blast!

2008-11-24T10:34:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that we are already to the end on November. This year is going by way to fast. I thought that I would share some of the highlights that have happened to our family in the past year. There have been some really great things that have happened to us.

In Jan we started off a great year in our house and have loved being here. Not much happened in Feb and Mar. In April I got transferred to the Walmart that is only 5 min from home instead on 30. In May Joe received a great compliment from work... they love what he does so they give him a big fat raise. We celebrated kids birthdays and our anniversary all in May. In June I got pregnant but didn't know that I was. In July we went to Silverwood and had a wonderful family day at the amusement park, we also welcomed a new addition to the family our nephew Kade. Joe decided that he is ready for a change in his life and quits smoking. YEAH! We also start saying our family prayers on a regular basis and studying the scriptures as a family more consistently. It's neat to see the difference in the way our family acts toward each other. In Aug wasn't feeling all that great took a pregnancy test and yep, we're going to have another baby. We also got to go and spend 10 days in Alaska with half of Joe's siblings. Sept school starts YEAH! Mom gets to have quiet time, well a little quiet time. Cordin takes soccer and discovers that he actually likes it, and is pretty good too. Gabbie loves school and accelerates at everything that she is doing. Joe finds out the his job is pretty secure...phew. In Oct Joe turns 35. In Nov we celebrate Gideons 2ND birthday and find out the same day that we are having another girl. Cordin is baptised by his dad which is really cool. All of my siblings are able to make it except for Ben who was playing in the Apple Cup, which they won in overtime. Baby starts moving a lot. She is very active. I'm sure that Dec will bring lots of fun too.

Thinking back through the year I have realized just how blessed we have been. With everything that is going on in the world we have really been watched out for and taken care of. I am so grateful for the blessings that I have and that my family have been given. I don't know where we would be if we didn't have a loving Heavenly Father that watches over us and protects us. I would truly be ungrateful if I didn't acknowledge that all I have has come from Him. I hope that we will all take the time to thank those that need our thanks, and love those that need our love. I love you all and wish you a happy and safe holiday season.

What IS she having?

2008-11-12T12:35:00.000-08:00

First I have to start off by saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Gideon. I can't believe that my little boy is 2 already. The time has flown by and I wish it would slow down. We're taking the fam to chuck-e-cheese tonight to celebrate. It should be a lot of fun, he is at the age where he loves to go and do. (This is him covered in flour).

I went to the doctors office today for my ultra sound. It was pretty cool to see the baby and watch it move around in there. The technician was able to get some pretty good pictures of the baby but if wasn't very cooperative when it came to seeing the face and the spine so she said that I will probably have to go back in a couple of weeks to have another one. Which frankly I'm okay with. The baby was pretty much all tucked into a ball and would move constantly. We did see a pretty cute pose of the baby playing with it's toes. The tech was really nice. She pointed all of the things out to us that she was looking at so we didn't have to guess what blob was up on the screen. It was cool to see. Joe was able to come and watch with me which was nice. I think that it made it more real for him to see the baby. You're probably wondering whether we were able to see what the sex was. The tech was 99% sure that we are having a (drum role please) GIRL! That's right, I said a girl. We are pretty excited to add this little one to our family.

That brings me to names. For the longest time we have said that we were going to name a girl Khloe Jane we are now not that certain that that is what we want to name her. We have tried to name our kids with mostly unique names, something not so common. Well, when we liked Khloe it wasn't all that common of a name. Now it is in the top 10 girl names in the country. needless to say we are rethinking our decision. So, here are the top 3 options that we are thinking of...

1. Branwynn Dianne

2. Braewyn Dianne (bray-win)

3. Khloe Jane

I was hoping to get your opinion of what you like. I know you're probably thinking "why does my opinion matter you'll just name her what you want to in the end". You're right we probably will, but I'd still like to know what you think of our selections. This is our happy news, and I just wanted to share it with all of you, another beautiful little girl is joining our family.

Baby update

2008-11-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that I am already half way through this pregnancy. The time is going by really fast. I had a doctors appt. yesterday and everything is going well. I go in on the 12the of Nov for my ultrasound. I'm excited to find out what we are having, and to make sure that the baby is okay. I'm starting to set bigger which is good, at least people will see that I'm pregnant and not just getting fat(er).

We are all doing well. Keeping busy. We're excited for the weekend as Cale and Sharon are going to come and visit. It will be nice to hang out with them again. I haven't had to chance to often since I'm normally at work when they come. It will be fun to spend time with another couple again. We miss you Bill and Maggie! That's my life right now work, work, family, and more work.

CHRISTMAS!

2008-10-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

I know that it's a little early, but I just love Christmas! I love the way the season feels and the decorations and well, just everything. So, I have already put my christmas music on my blog. As soon as halloween is through I will be putting on the christmas background. You probably think that I'm crazy, but I can't help myself...it's an addiction.

Greenbluff 2008

2008-10-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

We had an exceptionally fun time this year at greenbluff. It was so nice to spend time with Bill and Maggie before they went off on their adventure to Georgia. WE MISS YOU! It was Apple festival the weekend that we went, which we didn't realize at the time, but what fun! There were lots of things to do. They had an area dedicated to the entertainment of the kiddies. A hay maze, a couple of jump houses, a "haunted" house (which was really an inflated tunnel), and a pumpkin patch. There were lots of different booths to check out, and of coarse food stations of every kind. The best part though was the pumpkin doughnuts and the apple cider. My two favorite things. There were a couple of mishaps, but nothing to major. We had a great time and will definitely do it again next year.

I've been tagged!

2008-10-09T10:26:00.000-07:00

Here are the answers to the tag I got from Sharon enjoy

1. Two names I go by... Brenda, Bren

2. Two things I'm wearing right now...capris and a tee shirt

3. two things I ate today... milk and cereal

4. two things I did last night...went to dinner and walked around the mall

5. Two things I want badly at this moment...my van fixed and a healthy baby

6. last two people I spoke to...Joseph and a man I might babysit for

7. two things I'm doing tomorrow...clean my house and go to work

8. two longest car rides... Utah and Seattle

9. Two favorite beverages... Milk and Water

Anyone else want to do it feel free!

Josephs Birthday

2008-10-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since my last post. Still working on getting the pictures from Alaska on here. It's just taking me awhile. Joe just celebrated his 35Th birthday on the 8Th. That's right I said 35. I think he had a good day. You know how it is, birthdays aren't as important the older you get. We had a good time with our friends Bill and Maggie though. We went to dinner at Red Robin and then walked around the valley mall for a bit. It was nice to spend time with them because they are leaving us to go to Georgia for Bills work. YEA for them sad for us. We will miss them terribly as they are pretty much the only other couple that we ever do anything with. I guess this will force us to get out of our shells and meet new people...or not. They have been great friends and we will miss them. On Saturday the 11Th we are going up to Greenbluff. I have been looking forward to this for several weeks now. I even took the day off of work so that we don't have to rush. I love it up there, the pumpkin doughnuts and fresh apple cider. Not the mention the corn maze and other fun activities they have for kids. It should be a lot of fun.

The Amazing Cordin

2008-09-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

Cordin had his first soccer game today. He did such a great job. It was fun to go and see him play with a team and do well. It was at the park right by our house so that was nice, in fact I think all but one game is here in Airway Heights. I'm really glad that he has decided to participate in a sport that teaches sportsmanship. His coach is great and the kids seem to all get along. Gabbie and Gideon even liked going, although I think they just liked that it was at the park where the play ground is. I don't think that his team one, but like Cordin send "it's just for fun mom, my coach said that we're playing for fun". That is defiantly the right idea.