And Then There Was 4

4th of JULY!

2011-07-14T13:24:00.004-06:00

We started off at the Kaysville parade, what other parade could there be? I love going to it every year and watching all the people show up with their water gear. We had fun and then we went to Layton Park and had lunch and walked around. Later that afternoon we went to my parent's for the BBQ and fireworks. We had so much fun. The fourth is really one of my top two holidays. I love the atmosphere and I love that for one day everyone really appreciates the sacrifices of the soldiers and veterans. I got a little carried away with the camera, but I will try to limit the number I put on here.

First things first Parade pics:

BBQ pics next:

Disneyland

2011-07-14T12:50:00.003-06:00

We had a good time at Disneyland. The kids absolutely loved it! I totally forgot that I hadn't done a post on it yet. So here are some pics.

Help Wanted!!

2011-06-25T23:13:00.003-06:00

So remember that adorable dollhouse that I bought for Enza for her birthday? Oh well the help wanted is because there are a million pieces and I have two glued together. I can't figure out where piece 3 fits. I usually can handle anything crafty, but alas I have been majorly stumped. Just a little vent here, because although there have been fleeting thoughts missing the man around here. This is truly the first time that it actually is a need. I need a leftminded man to help me make logical sense of these building plans. So if any of you ladies out there want to come join me for a GNO to build a 3 1/2 foot tall dollhouse please let me know. I will provide plenty of caffiene and treats. HHHHHEEEEELLLLPPPP!!!!!

New Pictures

2011-06-13T21:52:00.004-06:00

These are the headbands for my friend's cute little girlie.

Here is one of the skirts for another friend.

The next few are from Cruze's Preschool Graduation. He was so cute. He knew every word of every song. You could tell by the weird look on his face in some of these that he was embarassed to be up in front of everyone. I loved watching him sing the songs that I had been hearing for months.

These last two are my cute kiddos in their Easter clothes. They just make my heart melt. I am the luckiest mom in the world. Don't ask me what Gauge is doing with his left hand in one of them, I couldn't tell you.

So some of these aren't so new because they are from Easter but hey my SD Port has been broken so I couldn't import my pictures.

SMU - Single Mom Update

2011-06-05T12:44:00.000-06:00

So what is new around here? Well I am looking for a house to buy. When I had looked around, renting a 3 bedroom anything was around $1000-$1400. So I decided that it would be a lot smarter to buy instead. My budget is meager to say the least, but if I can find something in my price range I will only have a mortgage of $600-$700, because the rates are so low. I am really excited and so are the kiddos.
What else is new? I am cleaning people's houses for extra money, not my favorite but I really appreciate the opportunity to earn extra $.
I have some projects that I am working on one being a huge ridiculous dollhouse that I found for $35 for Enza for her birthday. It will not be done in time because there are around 3000 pieces. Clearly in over my head on that one. I have also been making some headbands for a friend's baby. I have another friend who has asked me to help her paint her bedroom furniture. All of these things are great as I am such a project person. It is a major stress relief for me. Thanks guys!

**The best part of all of this is that although I have my really hard-don't-want-to-get-out-of-bed-days. There are days that I still wake up, glue on my smile and tune up my laugh, but there are fewer of those days now then at the beginning. I AM GOOD!!! I feel better and better about life all the time and have really found my strength. I am absolutely amazed at my courage, strength, and optimism. Apparently I am lacking my humility but hopefully I will get it back soon. I never thought I could handle anything like this. When my sister was going through her divorce I secretly thought I was glad it was her and not me, because I wasn't as strong as her. I guess when you are faced with crappy, then you figure out you can sink or swim and I choose to SWIM. How amazing to have so many people come out of the woodwork that "Have my Back". It has been such a blessing and help for me. Heavenly Father has shown me in so many ways that he thinks I am worth it. And after a lot of prayer I feel that I am too.
So here is a Toast to New Beginnings! Cheers!

Update

2011-04-04T15:40:00.000-06:00

SO here is an update on the general stuff:
We had Cruze's kindergarten orientation. He is so excited to go to the big school, me I am torn. It is fun for me to see him so excited about going, but I am scared of what he will learn and also the fact that he is growing up way too fast. He is so funny and is starting to be able to read words while he sounds them out. He is signed up for soccer again and we will see if he will actually play this season because last fall he wouldn't play at all. He is quickly becoming a little man, and making his momma proud. Cruze's smile and beautiful blue eyes are so catchy.

Gauge is getting so tall so fast. I think he will pass Cruze by before too long, how hard for Cruze. He is tough as nails too. He loves tv and would sit there all day if I would let him, but he is also very smart and creative. He is a deep thinker and the things that he puts together shock me. He is athletic and talks so well. He is goofy and funny most of the time. His eyelashes and dimples are so charming.

Enza is so talkative. I have heard that girls generally are, but it is so funny because it is nonstop and rarely do I understand what she wants. She is sassy but funny, and definately my snuggler which I love. She is definately not a baby anymore, and she reminds me of that everyday. It is sad to have your baby grow up so fast. She is very underweight but her loud screams and personality make up for it. Oh yeah, we are finally able to start letting her hair grow back. I can't wait for her cute hair to come back. The curls are gone with the buzz cut, and her hair is already thicker than it was before which is good. I love having a daughter!

I am camp director and secretary in the R.S. I love being able to serve and learn from the women I serve with. I am hoping to open a business refinishing and antiquing furniture, which is really one of my passions. I am also thinking of starting an etsy store. There are a lot of things that I have had people tell me to sell on etsy, so I am thinking that may not be a bad idea either. Bon Jovi was so much fun, I didn't think I could love it more than the last time, but I did. It was the absolute best concert I have ever been to, the seats were amazing. This last week I had to go to the dr.s because I thought I had a blood clot. I turns out that I do and that is goes from my calf to my groin. I have been on bedrest and it is killing me. I hate being down. I have had a ton of people who have been around to help make this easier. To all of you, THANKS so much I have really felt loved and appreciated.

My mom had surgery last Tuesday because they did a scan before they started her radiation and found that she had some tumors that had grown and were cancerous. The surgery went well, it will be a long recovery but at least it is over. They said that they feel like it went well and that they got everything. They will still do radiation after she has healed and get anything that they missed. We are praying that this is the last of the surgeries and that she can have radiation and be done with this. She has been through so much in the last almost year. I love you momma, hang in there.

Cruze Birthday

2011-02-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

Cruze turned 5 on the 6th, which was the Superbowl. I wanted Cruze to be able to have his birthday not be forgotten because of the game. So we just told him his birthday was on Saturday, because that is when we celebrated it. I cannot believe that he is already 5 and this year he will be going into kindergarten. I am so happy, but really sad at the same time. For his birthday we decided to combine with the other 3 of us that have birthdays all within about a week of eachother. So we went to Boondock's and opened presents, ate cake and ice cream, and then we let the little kiddos bowl for a while. Then Cruze wanted to go get pizza for dinner so we went to Pizza Factory and loved it. That is one of my favorite pizza restaurants. We love you Cruze, and we are so glad that you are your very special personality are in our home. You keep us on our toes, but you equally keep us laughing. We gave him a bike, and a semi-trailer that stores his matchbox cars. He also got leapster games, rc car, disc shooter, some adorable chaps and a couple other toys. Thank you to everyone who gave him gifts and participated in us celebrating his day.

Cruze's Cake made with the help of my friend.

Cruze and Preslie with their cakes. It was also Tanelle and my birthdays. IT was a fun night.

Here are some Christmas Pics

2011-02-10T15:59:00.000-07:00

I need to get these on here, so I can move on through December and get to Februaruy where we currently are getting more and more behind. Here is goes,

Gaugey opening his new toothbrush. I know it sounds boring, but her really wanted an electric toothbrush so that is what Santa brought him.

Enza was so confused about her new doll having a pacifier. She kept trying to put it in her own mouth for days.

Ethan opening his PJ pants that I made. I loved the fleece and knew he would too.

Cruze's cute surprise face. He loved opening the gifts.
Enza trying to pur on her PJ pants. She clearly had no idea how, but I loved this picture of her attempts.

This is the best picture I got of all of them Christmas eve after opening their pjs. The ones where all three were smiling, were blurry of course. Anyways here they are.

Christmas Eve FHE

2011-01-18T13:39:00.000-07:00

On Christmas Eve we all normally go over to my parents house and reenact the nativity. This year my mom was supposed to have Chemo on the 23rd, so she decided to have it on the Monday before. We had a nice night my mom got Olive Garden takeout, soup, salad and breadsticks, and I offered to make dessert. We did a chocolate fondue, and a cream cheese chocolate chip dip. It was so much fun and it really makes you think about the different perspectives of the people who are a part of the nativity. Thanks mom and dad for the nice night.

The rest of December!

2011-01-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

We were invited to Pace Mannion's house for the Land Rover 4th quarter event. In case you don't know who Pace Mannion is, he was a professional basketball player,and then he was one of the announcers for the Jazz. His wife is a professional Chef and is from Italy. So she makes the real italian food. It is so simple but so yummy. She put on a cooking demo for us, and I learned a few tricks that I didn't know before that night. We had such a great time and really appreciated being invited, because there were only 10 couples there. Now for those of you that know my husband probably know that yes Ethan did ask Pace to let him give him a quote and Pace said yes. Hopefully he is competitively priced and he can get the account. They talked for quite a while and even went out and drove Pace's new Range Rover. The picture we got was not very clear, so maybe next time.

Forgotten Carols!

2010-12-22T16:12:00.000-07:00

For part of our Christmas from my parents, we were taken to Ruby River Steakhouse, and then The Forgotten Carols. We have gone almost every year. IT is such a great way to bring the Christmas spirit into your heart. The music is amazing and very thought provoking. We had such a wonderful night, thank you so much mom and dad we love you. After it was over I bought the new kids version of this story, and then they all autographed it for me. If you haven't gone, then you need to go next year.
Oh yeah and Merry Christmas!

We are Thankful For...

2010-11-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

We were able to spend Thanksgiving with my family this year and then drive up to Star Valley and have a second Thanksgiving Dinner with Ethan's family on Saturday. It was fun to be able to see both families this year because usually we trade off.
As we were driving we were talking about things that we were grateful for and as with everyone there were a lot of things, but here are some of them;
*I am thankful for my health and my little familiy's health. After having Cancer hit so close to home you realize how quickly you can lose someone you love.
*I am so thankful for my family both extended and my own little energetic family. I can't imagine not having family close by to see, talk to, and interact with.
*I am so thankful for the gospel and how it extends itself into every aspect of our lives. How although we are not exempt from trials we are handed some tools that help make them so much easier. Watching family that is not active or not members struggle and seeing an easier way out has made me appreciate the gospel and the peace that it brings so much more.
*I am thankful for good books to get lost in, even though my husband can't fathom how I can sit and dissapear into a book for hours and love it.
*I am thankful for crafting and the stress relief that it brings, and the satisfaction of making cute things instead of buying them.
*I am thankful for the people in my life who love me and who are my best friends. Thank you for letting me be myself, a little crazy and silly at times, but myself.
*I am thankful for Dr. Pepper! It is my nemesis, but I love it.
*I am thankful for my calling. I am so greatful that is makes me step outside of myself and my comfort zone and makes me talk to people I don't know yet. I have always really loved interacting with people, but haven't as much as I get to now. I also love the sisters that I work with in our presidency. I learn so much from them all of the time, and appreciate their friendship and wisdom too.
*I am thankful for service and the happiness that it can bring if we will only do it.
*I am thankful for cooking! I love it and I love new recipes.
*I am thankful for cute shoes and chunky jewelry.
*I am thankful for my relationships with my grandparents, the things that I have learned from them, and their legacy they left behind.
*Along with the last one, I am thankful that I am sentimental. I know that not everyone is, and even in my family most of my siblings are not as sentimental as I am. But I was made this way and I am glad. Silly things mean something to me that don't mean anything to other people.
*We are thankful for people supporting Ethan's business. You will never know how much that means to us, having the love and support of those that we care about is such a blessing in our lives. It is the true show of love and kindness to us. So thank you, and we love you!
*I am thankful for the snow. I love the snow! I actually love any kind of weather:rain, wind, snow, sleet, hail, rainbows and sun. I just love the seasons and the way that you never know what to expect with the weather.
*I am thankful for living in a place where most people are mormon, and even if they are not they respect that you are.
*I am thankful for adoption. My mom was adopted, Ashlynn was placed for adoption, I have 1 nephew, and 2 nieces that were adopted. It is something that I will forever be greatful for the effects of it in my life, and something that unless you have experienced it in some manner you will never fully appreciate it. It is truly a sacred process.
*I am thankful for holidays giving us an excuse to get together. I love to celebrate things. My mom has always been one that celebrates things big. Even for Valentines, and St. Patrick's Day she would give us little things. I love birthdays too, even if they are mine and I am getting older.
*Last but not least, I am thankful for Ethan. He is so wonderful and sweet. He is a great dad, provider, priesthood holder, and spouse. He does so many little and big things that make my life easier. Half of which I probably don't say thank you for. Ethan I love you and thank you for loving me and my quirkiness (if that is even a word), you are the best, and "I love you just the way you are".
There are so many other little things that come to mind that I am thankful for, but that will do for now.
Thank you Heavenly Father for all of the many blessings in my life, I know that they come from Thee!

October Fest

2010-11-03T13:16:00.000-06:00

So this month has flown by as usual. We have had so much going on, and most of it was so much fun. We went to a pumpkin patch earlier in the month with Gauge's preschool. There was a mini corn maze for the kiddos, and then they got to go pick out their pumpkin.

Then we had our Halloween Costume Party with my family. We made our own pizzas, and had a few different activities. We decorated cupcakes, and there were two versions of don't eat pete. One for the kids, and one for the adults which included; vienna sausages, artichoke hearts, and beets. There was candy involved, but it was way funnier to watch someone eat the other things. The kids colored pumpkins, and my dad made his famous Homemade Rootbeer. We had a blast.

Then there was preschool party's and Trick or Treating. What a fun time of year.

Hats Hats Everywhere!

2010-10-25T16:39:00.000-06:00

So a few weeks ago we threw a hat party for my mom. We wanted to kick off her chemo with a positive twist. So we had an open house with good food, and fun hats! We told everyone to bring a hat or scarf of some kind so that when my mom loses her hair from chemo she will have choices. There were some really great hats and she will be able to use them sooner than we hoped. They told her that within 2 weeks of her first chemo treatment she would start to lose her hair. We were trying to give her friends and our family a chance to show how much we love her, and to show our support for her at this hard time in her life. It was so nice to get together and everyone including my mom seemed to enjoy themselves.
Since then my mom has had her first chemo treatment, and the first day things seemed to be going okay. Then the second, third, and fourth day hit and I have never seen someone in so much pain. She said that it felt like someone stabbing knives in all of her joints, and then were twisting them back and forth. She moaned and groaned and clearly was in excruciating pain. How hard it is to have to sit by and watch not being able to do anything to ease the pain. I have always known that my mom was strong, but I had no idea the amount of strength that she posseses. I love you mom and you will be in our prayers.

Hair or No Hair? That is the Question.

2010-10-18T11:46:00.000-06:00

Ever since Enza was 9 months old she has pulled her hair out. Strange? Yes, but it gets worse after she pulls it out she eats it. I think part of that is because she is young enough not to know that it is really sick, and that everything goes into her mouth. IT has been sporatic until the last couple weeks and then it has gotten alot worse. I finally called her pediatrician and he was concerned. So we had to buzz Enza's beautiful long, thick and curly hair. She had a bald spot that made her look like Friar Tuck before we even cut it from all of the hair that she pulled out. IT was so sad to see her hair getting cut off. I cried. I know that it is just hair and that it will grow back, but it was hard that my little girl no longer looks like a girl. Her hair is shorter than our boys hair. We did go get her ears pierced and it helps, but only a little. We had to get a blood test to see what the levels of iron, and lead were. There was one other test, I'm sure what it was. IF all goes well which we are hoping it does then she will be fine but we may end up having to do a scope or scan to see how much hair is in there and if there is a good amount then they will have to go in and surgically remove it. The body won't digest it and it can be really dangerous, and can get tangeled up in her intestines.
I know that in the grand scheme of things this is small but right now with everything else that is going on it feels big and scary.

Here she is with no hair, but adorable flower earings. It is starting to grow on me. I find if I put a head band and big flower she looks like she just hasn't grown and hair yet.

Soccer!

2010-10-15T17:26:00.000-06:00

As most of you know I love, love, love soccer. So Cruze was old enough to sign up this year and I was so excited to get him into soccer. AYSO called and asked if Ethan or I could coach and I said sure. I was so excited to coach and be around soccer. Well our little team is cute as can be and I love it. It is so cute to watch the kids run around like chickens with their heads cut off all the while they are tackeling eachother. We have one slight problem and that is that Cruze absolutely will not play. He cries and melts down when I try to get him to play. He is really good at it when we play at home and when we practice but his anxiety is enough that he will not play for the game. I am frusterated and a little angry with him, because he wanted to play too. Ethan has informed me that I just can't be his coach. I still have all of next season to coach this same group, but then I think I will give it a rest and retire.

Bear Lake

2010-10-01T12:24:00.000-06:00

We went to Bear Lake for Labor Day, and yes I do know that this post is a month late. I just wanted to do the post because we have some really great pictures.

This is the cake that I made for Ethan and Gauge's birthdays, it was pretty good.

Ethan opening his birthday cards and hitting the jackpot with some money.

Gauge absolutely loves the toys that he got from everyone. Thanks guys you are the best.

Our manly men, need we say more.

Cruze and Gauge in the ice cave. It is a cave that is open on top but it stays so cold that there is ice year around. The pioneers used to come up here to get ice for their ice boxes.

These were some really pretty berries that I saw and just had to snap a pic.

On the morning that I was in charge of breakfast I couldn't get Ethan out of bed. So Chase and I thought that is would be hilarious to have Chase climb in bed and put his arm around Ethan like it was me. So this is a picture of that and let me just tell you, it was as funny as I thought it would be. Ethan thought it was me and was rolling over to kiss or snuggle me. Hee Hee Hee! Thanks Chase and thanks Ethan for being a good sport.

This is a custom welcome-home-we-think-we-are-funny-so-we-are-going-to-draw-on-your-face and chest picture. We love you Chase and are so happy you are home.

This was a ping pong game called around the world. IT was so much fun.

These next two pictures are of our bracket for our ping ping tournament. Now I know that none of you realized what a force to be reckoned with I am at ping pong, but hey a girls just got to win sometimes. Okay so actually I am surprised as you are. It was fun I hope it is something we can do again.

I don't know if any of you have ever played the card game golf, but it is a family favorite. So this picture is of the losers of the rounds we played. We drew on eachothers faces. The next night, we did it a little different and the winners from each table got to draw on the losers from the opposite table.

The next group of pictures is from the minute to win it games that Danielle and Alan came up with for us to play. It was boys against girls and it was such a blast. I don't think that was the last of that.

The next pictures are from the beach, our favorite part of the lake. IT is so nice, because our kids are at such great ages to just play and not need us walking right by them the whole time.

Jizdani Designer Bags!

2010-09-17T10:30:00.000-06:00

I cannot even tell you how gorgeous these handmade handbags are. My friend is doing a giveaway of this beautiful Handmade Handbag.Go to this link to see what a great bag this is and enter to win. I hope you don't win, because I want this bag, but I guess all is fair in love and war.
http://ptskjohnson.blogspot.com/2010/09/jizdani-designer-bags-giveaway.html

This is the link to her Etsy Shop. You can check out her other bags too. http://www.jizdanidesignerbags.etsy.com/

The Proposal!

2010-09-16T17:25:00.000-06:00

Her She is!

Can you see the heart? It is one of my many favorite things about this ring. I also love the thickness of the gold, and the thick prongs, I will never lose my diamond.
Okay so it was not actually a proposal, but it was close. 18 months ago I lost my wedding ring, for those of you who have one, you can imagine how sad it was to lose it. IT wasn't the monetary issue for me, it was the sentimental aspect of it, and the fact that I absolutely loved, loved, loved my ring. We had had it made just for me. It was so sad, and my dear husband has not let me forget that I lost it and it must not have meant much to me if I lost it so easily. As you can imagine this really ticked me off, because it was actually the opposite and it made me sick that it was gone.
Now that you know what happened 18 months ago we can move on. As many of you know from reading my blog last week it was a rough week. It also happened to be Ethan & Gauge's birthdays. We celebrated with my family in Bear Lake over Labor Day weekend and Gauge's was on Sunday of that weekend so we thought that was good enough. Months ago we had asked my mom to watch our kiddos and I had this great and I mean great date planned for Ethan's birthday. Well after everything the last couple weeks we decided to have Danielle & Alan watch them and go out to Rodizio's on Friday instead. Then after all the emotions all I wanted to do was curl up in my pj's and watch a movie. Ethan would not drop going out to dinner, and he was driving me nuts about it. I told him if he got a babysitter we could go not thinking that anyone was going to be available with an hour notice. Well our sweet niece Loni was available and Ethan went and picked her up and took me to my favorite restaurant Macaroni Grill, after that he drove to Ensign Peak and I was wearing heals and thought he is crazy if he thinks I am hiking in these. I wasn't going to say anything, because it was really sweet that he planned this out of the ordinary date for me, for his birthday. So he turned on the song "Just the Way You Are", by Bruno Mars and asked me to dance (which is something he used to ask me when we were dating). Then at a predetermined part he pulled out MY RING!! Which he had remade for me by the same jeweler that we thought had gone out of business. I actually thought that he had found my ring when I first saw it, because it was the same.
It was so sweet and thoughtful and the most thoughful part was the timing of everything. Thank you Ethan you are the best at everything you do and are, and I love you just the way you are too! XOXOXOOOOOOOOOOX Thanks for being mine and I look forward to the rest of eternity with you. Happy Birthday to ME! I told Ethan that I really don't mind if for his birthday every year he gets to buy me a gift. Not too bad eh!

Where to Begin!

2010-09-10T00:33:00.000-06:00

It's not really that late tonight, but I can't sleep. My mind is racing with thoughts of how do we do this, what can we help with, and what will the outcome be? A week ago last Tuesday we found out that my mom has Uteran Cancer. She has been sick in and out of the hospital, and doctors appointments for the last 4 months. They thought that it was a thousand things but none of the medicine helped with her pain. They finally did a biopsy during one of her surgeries and found CANCER. They did a complete hysterectomy on Tuesday and took out 20 lymphnodes. They biopsied those and found out that 5 of them are cancerous. Because she got diagnosed with uteran cancer first, and then it was found in her lymphnodes it means that she has both kinds. in a month after she is healed and strong enough they will start Chemo and Radiation. My poor sweet mom, doesn't deserve this. She came home yesterday and then had to go right back up there really early today. She was throwing up and her heart was racing like crazy and wouldn't slow down. So she is now in the Cardiac ICU. They found a spot on her lung, her blood enzymes are high and one of her heart valves is enlarged. Unfortunately the news just keeps getting worse and worse.
To top all of this garbage with my mom, my grandma that we live with/take care of fell on Tuesday night and cut her head open. I had to take her to the E.R. and they had to put staples in her head. She came home that night not stable on her feet anymore and so we had to take stations at the end of her bed all night long. We have decided that we can not give her the 24 hour care that she needs anymore. IT is truly breaking my heart at the prospect that tomorrow we will take her to an Assisted living home and leave her there alone. I can't even fathom how any of us are going to walk away, knowing that with grandma's Alzheimers she will be so lost and so much more confused. I know that this post probably sounds pretty negative, and I don't mean to be a downer, but I need to write it to get it out of my head. Whenever I try to voice this it still doesn't feel any better, I don't know what to say.
I guess I am just mad that you always just feel like your mom will always be there. Then when there are major issues with them that you can't help and have no control over you feel like you have wasted so much time. I feel like I have totally under-appreciated my mom. She is such a wonderful example and teacher of so many things. She is kind and patient, and serves everyone around her. She has such a calm temperament, and just lets things go instead of picking a fight with people, because she would rather not upset people. She is wise and she has such a great testimony, and knowledge of the scriptures. I just hope that we get to have her here for a lot longer. We still need you mom. I love you more than words can say. XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

P.S. Thank you so much for all of the kind and caring people who have watched my kids, brought us dinner, prayed for my mom, called to check on me, cried with me, and understood that I just needed a listening ear and shoulder to cry on. And of course Red Mango, thanks Amanda. I have never felt so loved and blessed to live in our ward and have the friends that I have. I love you guys you are the best!

The Lion King!!

2010-09-02T13:56:00.000-06:00

SO we got to go see the Lion King last night at Capitol Theatre with my family. It was absolutely amazing. You always hear how great the costumes are, but until you see them for yourself you have no idea how truly incredible they are. We went out to eat at the Olive Garden before which of course is a tradition for my family whenever we go see something at Capitol Theatre. Thank you Mom and Dad for an amazing night and for always making sure that our lives were balanced with sports, music, family, service, culture and laughing. You are such wonderful parents and I am so happy that you are mine. I Love You!!

Cutest Headbands Ever!!

2010-09-01T13:29:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine from Jr. High and High School has just barely started selling these adorable headbands on Etsy. You should go check out her blog to see some pics, and if you love them, then buy a few. Good luck Tonii!

http://ptskjohnson.blogspot.com/

Weekly Thought!

2010-08-23T09:11:00.000-06:00

The weekly thought is about self worth. I think is is something that as women and moms we struggle with. There is definately times that it would be nice to get a few more thank you's from those we love.

"I am certain our Heavenly Father is displeased when we refer to ourselves as a "nobody". How fair are we when we classify ourselves as unimportant? How fair are we to our families? How fair are we to our God? We do ourselves a great injustice when we allow ourselves, through tragedy, misfortune, challenge, discouragement, or whatever the earthly situation, to so identify ourselves. No matter how or where we find ourselves, we cannot with any justification label ourselves a "nobody." As children of God we are somebody. He will build us, mold us, and magnify us if we will but hold our heads up, our arms out, and walk with him." Marvin J. Ashton, "In His Strength," Ensign, July 1973, 24

Have a great week and remember we are all important and have many different things to offer to those around us.

Oh Brother Where Art Thou!

2010-08-16T17:19:00.000-06:00

My little/big brother got home from his mission on Friday. It was so exciting to see him. Two years seems like an eternity. It went by fast and slow just like everything else in life. He has been serving in the Nova Scotia/Newfoundland mission. We are all so happy that he is home. For about the whole first year he was gone Cruze kept telling me that he wanted uncle Chase to snuggle him. The kids love him so much, as do the rest of us.

Weekly Thoughts!

2010-08-12T21:52:00.000-06:00

Many of you may know that I am the secretary in the Relief Society Presidency. I love my calling, the presidency I am so lucky to get to work with, and I love the sisters in our ward. This calling has been so great for me to be able to get to know so many more sisters than the ones that I previously worked with in YW and Primary.
So I am now doing weekly thoughts and/or quotes through our email and I have decided that because they are uplifting I am going to put them on my blog. Some of them have questions and I would love it if you added your two cents on my comments.

This quote is about the unity in our home and the effect that the mom's attitude towards her family can have. After you have read the quote ask yourself, How can I increase unity in my family?

"May I suggest that we give more of ourselves...It might be something as simple as smiling more in our homes. What would you think of speaking more cheerfully? Trying more often to say please and thank you? What would you think of finding an opportunity for one sincere compliment for each person each day and then watching them respond? What if you decided to be cheerful tonight at the dinner table and at bedtime, and in spite of what others do or say, hold to your course. " H.Burke Peterson Conference Report Oct. 1972

What a challenge, good luck!!

Star Valley

2010-07-27T21:49:00.000-06:00

Enza playing on the blanket waiting for the fireworks to start.

Gauge playing at the park

Cruze going up the ladder on the slide. The kids played at the park as well and had so much fun. Poor Enza had to hang with me instead, because there was no sand just little choking sized rocks.

Earlier that day we were outside playing on the dirt bike and exploring grandma and grandpa's yard. Star Valley truly is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

We went to Ethan's old stomping ground and had the boys race around the track. For those of you who don't know Ethan was an amazing track star in junior high and high school. He placed at state and could have got a variety of scholarships but chose to work and save money for his mission instead. I would like to say that he was blessed with me for his efforts. He is still a very impressive runner. I wish I had that problem.

Every year over the 24th we go up to Star Valley Wyoming to be with Ethan's family for pioneer day. They have mountains, fields, and the ultimate Candy Drop. In case you do not know what a candy drop is you are truly missing out. It is when a small airplane flies overhead and drops candy to all the waiting kiddos. They love it and rush to find candy, however my kids were so enamored with the big airplane that was flying low that they didn't get much candy. I kept prompting Ethan to go and grab some candy for them. Either way they loved it and keep talking about it.

All in all we had a very nice trip and the drive wasn't too bad. Bless the portable DVD player.

ENZA'S ONE!!

2010-07-12T16:07:00.000-06:00

This is Enza on her birthday after waking up. We were all singing Happy Birthday to her, and she loved it.

This is Enza playing with one of her toys. Isn't she sweet?

This is Enza opening more presents at my parent's house later. As you can tell she was not a happy camper at this point. She was way too over tired. The gifts were adorable. My parents gave her a toy she can ride on or push. Alan, Danielle & girls gave her an adorable little toy phone. Every girl needs a cell phone! Mechelle and kids gave her the cutest shoes I have ever seen. Thanks everyone for the gifts. We really appreciate it.

These are her birthday cake. They are cupcake topiarys. I think they turned out pretty cute. I was amazed at how well they turned out, because I was a little nervous. Thanks to my cute friend Amanda who came over to my parent's house and helped me frost them. She is my baker, froster, creative friend and I love her for it. Hers is the cuter of the two. Thanks again I owe you big time. She is also the one who turned me onto using gel food coloring to get the funky bright colors. If you know anything about me you will know that I love funky and color.

I loved this picture of Enza eating one of the cupcakes. We had a ton of pics and it was hard to choose just one to put on here, but this one made me laugh.

I can not believe how fast the time goes. MY baby is one, and I have very mixed emotions about it. I know that one is not very old, but when you feel like you are done every milestone is happy and sad. I hope I will be able to convey to not just her but all three of my kids how much they mean to Ethan and I. There is not a night that goes by that we don't relate funny things that were said or done by the kids throughout the day while we are laying in bed. We are usually laughing even sometimes when they were naughty. There is so much more of everything when there is kids in the mix; laughing,crying, smiling, yelling and all the other sounds and emotions that come with having kids. Enza you are so special to us and we are so happy that you are a part of our family. We couldn't ask for a better, sweeter, and snugglier daughter. Thanks for coming to our home and being ours. WE LOVE YOU!!

Long Weekend!

2010-07-09T12:20:00.000-06:00

Ethan getting it all ready to go.

There was a design flaw, because as Ethan was pulling on the rip cord, the whole dang thing kept tipping over. So apparently we need some kind of weight on the end. Since we didn't have one, Ethan kindly volunteered to lay down and hold it while the rest of us pulled the cord. He kept getting soaked. He even had me try it. It was fun and the kids loved it too. Good job on the gift me!

I am not complaining about it being a long holiday weekend. Ethan did work on Monday so it wasn't the same for us as most of you, however we did have a picnic on Monday night. For Father's Day the boys & I bought Ethan a Bottle Launcher. I thought it would be fun for him and the boys to do together. I was right! We brought it to play with after our picnic. Here are a couple pics, we mostly took video of it. It was a blast.

4th of JULY!!

2010-07-07T11:41:00.000-06:00

I absolutely love the 4th, it is one of my very favorite holidays. My family usually does a lot of things based on tradition for this holiday. I love it! Every year we go to Kaysville's parade. It is so much fun, this year was a bit crazy, because there were so many teenagers there that they were crowding out the little ones and taking candy they were picking up. That was a bit frustrating for all of us. Cruze ended up with 4 pieces of candy before his sweet cousin Abigale gave him some of hers. Gauge quit after 3. The water part of the parade is always the funnest, but when you have kids that don't care to be soaked by someone else's hand, then you have to sacrifice and go to Grandma's house. Then we went home for naps and then we had a BBQ at my parent's house and then fireworks. We had so much fun as usual.

My boys love motorcycles more than a lot of things in this world. My dad happens to have one, but Cruze refuses to ride on it. Gauge on the other hand really wanted a ride. The problem is it wouldn't start. Maybe next time.

Gauge & Gabe riding on the tire swing. They were having so much fun. It took me a while to get my camera out for this, so I missed the other kiddos.

The kids getting ready for the water fight, because they were bored of the parade they couldn't see. They were squirting people that were walking past. It was pretty funny.

Daddy & Enza. My sisters and I made tutus for our girls to wear on the 4th. They all turned out so cute.

Enza was crawling around going through everyone's stuff. She didn't get the point of the fireworks and couldn't see them, so instead she went exploring.

This is our little family waiting for the fireworks to start.

Cruze with is sparkler

Gauge with his sparkler. Both of my boys indulge me with my camera. I am always taking pictures of them, and they will patiently stop and smile for the camera. I love you boys, more than you will ever know.

Enza smiling for the camera looking cute as ever.

Cruze's Nemesis'!

2010-07-02T13:59:00.000-06:00

We found out 2 summers ago that Cruze was allergic to mosquito bites. I don't know if any of you have anyone you know that is allergic to them (I didn't), but it is brutal. We found out when we were in Star Valley to see Ethan's family and we left the window open all night. There was a hole in the screen and Cruze got about 24 bites overnight. When he woke up the next morning he was covered in bumps that were equal to the size of half of a golf ball. He was having a hard time breathing and I was totally freaked out. Anyway we went into town and got Benadryl oral and gel. Anyways we have been able to keep it in check with a ton of repellant, but the other day he got a bite and it got to be between the size of half of a golf ball and half of a baseball. It was so sad. Here are some pics, they are not awesome, because when I would take pics of it, it didn't look like anything in the pic.

THE LOVE OF MY LIFE, MY WIFE!!!!

2010-06-23T12:40:00.000-06:00

My sweet wife Chantel, gave me a hint or two on how to get on here and add my two cents to this spectacular computer journal of hers. I love Chantel more than anyone or even she will ever know. When we first met, I learned more and more about how great she was. She would make me laugh, cry(dead arm contest, punching that special spot on the shoulder), think about her when she was not around, and I missed her hugs, kisses and just plain her. She was a knockout then and now. I am talking she is the kind of girl that most men dream about being with. Sorry guys, I am the lucky one! No one gets me quite like she does. She is the most beautiful woman I know and I would be a complete putz without her in my life. Its funny, when you think you know someone, you end up finding out even more dirt later on. This is what I am talking about: After a lengthy courtship of like 4 months, we got married! And to this day her personality, and humor and fun side continue to blossom; that is why I refer to it as dirt, ya know, blossoming.(nevermind)Anyways, there isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't crack me up. She is so patient with me. I love my job and it is demanding especially on the tuesday, wednesday, and thursday nights. But she is very supportive of my work and loves to see me succeed. I love being able to get to know new people and I am thankful for the friendships that I am building. I appreciate her for allowing me that opportunity. She is the best mother and wife a guy could have in his life. I love you Chantel.

Thanks babe, you are the best. I love you like crazy too, and am so lucky to have you as mine. XOXOXOXOXOXOXO Chanty

New Hair Cut!

2010-06-13T19:27:00.001-06:00

Now some of you may have seen Cruze's new haircut. Needless to say it is CRAZY!! My verdict is out. Of course I think he looks cute, he is mine, but seriously it gives me mixed emotions. I wanted to cry when I walked into the bathroom and saw half of his head shaved. Ethan & Cruze have wanted to give him a mohawk for quite some time now. I have vetoed it every time. Well today I got got. Ethan gave Cruze a full fledged, bald on the sides, long on the top mohawk. So here is the big reveal for those of you who have yet to see it.

And the BACK!

P.S. When Cruze just saw this he said, "Wow mom, isn't that cool?"

I guess enough said. Weigh in and let me know what you think of our new addition.

Memorial Day Pics!

2010-06-09T17:25:00.001-06:00

Shelby being shy for the camera!

Abigale making a silly face. I wonder where whe gets that from?

Gabe playing and climbing like a pro.

Enza having help from daddy to walk. They are so cute together.

Preslie may be little, but she plays like she's a big kid.

Cruze refusing to smile for me. This is the best I could get. Still adorable.

Gauge climbing like his cousins. Isn't he cute!
So on Memorial Day my family and I went to the park and had a picnic and played. It was so nice and relaxing. All the kiddos played good and had fun. So here are some pics of all of the kids playing.

An amazing Sacrifice!

2010-06-01T16:21:00.000-06:00

What memorial day is truly about. Both of my grandpa's were in the military, and growing up it was always all about putting flowers on family member's graves. Watching my Grandpa Strand's patriotism was how I learned what it meant to be patriotic. I have never felt so much emotion involved in this until it was his funeral services a few years ago. It was so amazing to see the respect and love that these men of the military showed for him, and they had never even met him. He was an amazing man but they didn't know that. But they did know that because they new that he was a Lt. Col. in the Air Force. That was all they needed to love him and show his the proper respect. The only other time I have felt so much love and patriotism was when I had heard about Dave.

I have a friend named Dave Lyon who enlisted as a Marine a few years ago. He has been fighting valiantly for our country over in Afganistan. He got hit by an explosive earlier this month and sustained very serious life threatening injuries.
His dad has set up a blog for him so that people can follow his progress. Below is a clip from his blog. I think it is truly a miracle that he is alive and doing as well as he is doing. The Lord truly does watch over his faithful people. I hope that God continues to watch over and bless him and his family.

"David has been hit by an expolsive designed to destroy vehicles and anything else coming near it, knowing that his left leg is now amputated about 4" below his groin, that his right leg is amputated about 4" above the knee, that his right arm, as described by the trama surgeon in Landstuhl, Germany, looked like it had taken a direct hit from a hand grenade, with the meaty area of the thumb - the meaty area of the palm, the meaty area and tendon on the inside of the arm just below the elbow all being gone. Knowing that the pinky finger and ring finger of his right hand may end up with only limited use, knowing that his pinky finger and his thumb near the wrist, and his pointer finger, and his elbow had all been badly broken and would probably need screws. Knowing that he had a contraption screwed into both hips holding several bars that crossed like KNEXs across the outside of his pelvis to hold it together, and knowing that his pelvis was badly broken and would need to be screwed together in an upcoming surgery, knowing that his abdomen was left open so they could continue to monitor an arterial bleed that needed repair, and knowing that the wounds to his legs were still open wounds so they could heal from the inside out with the fact that wyith every surgery they may cut another fraction of a milimeter of his leg bone off - and on top of all that knowing that the function of his kidneys was still not where it should be, requiring dialysis every few days to clean his blood, and knowing that his breathing has to be regulated by a machine, that he had feeding tubes and sucking tubes going in an out of him with a repaired hole in his lung."

Please when you see a member of any branch of the miltary thank them and let them know that you appreciate and recognize the sacrifice that they are making, but also that you know the risks involved with them being members of our miltary. What amazing men and women we have in our country that are willing to do the thing that means the most to all of us, or it should. They put their life on the line for all of us everyday. Please keep David in your thoughts and prayers, I know we will. Thanks Dave We love you!

http://themarinedavidlyon.blogspot.com

Danielle's Birthday!

2010-06-01T16:12:00.000-06:00

So Mechelle had the best idea for Danielle's 30th birthday. Danielle was very adament that we not throw her a party, because THAT would be embarassing. So instead Mechelle thought it would nice and not embarassing to decorate Danielle's yard for her big day. So we snuck over there at midnight the night before her b-day and had some fun. Here it is:

It looked a lot cooler that night, it could have been because it was ridiculously late. We love you Dan.

Girl's Night Out!

2010-05-24T12:42:00.000-06:00

Can I just say that if you don't have a GNO and you are a girl, then get one together. I have a group of friends that gets together every 3rd Saturday of the month, andwe ave a blast. Last Saturday we had a game night and it was a blast. We missed of few of our ladies, but we laughed so hard all night. I went home with a cough from laughing so much. We played Snorta, now this will start any night with all inhibitions out the window. You have an animal that you pick out of a bag, and that is your animal, and you go around the table and make your animal noises, then hide your animal in it's barn. You go around with cards and lay them down in turn, and if there is a match you have a battle of noises. You have to make that person's animal noise before they make yours, and the loser takes the pile of cards. Anyway HILARIOUS! Then we played In a Pickle this a little bit more difficult to explain, but basically you have cards and the items named on the cards have to fit into or have something on another card fit into it. For Example: The item on the card is Castle, so you can either find something that the castle can fit into, or something can fit into a castle. It is so funny, because they can be unconventional, you just have to be able to justify your explanation. Anyways tons of fun. I love you girls, thanks for fun and friendship.

Boondocks!

2010-05-19T19:28:00.000-06:00

For FHE my parents took us all to Boondocks in West Kaysville. It was so much fun. My parents gave us each a card with money on it. Then we raced go-karts, played on the bumper boats, bowled, and played video games. Mechelle brought some delicious cupcakes to finish off the night. It was all around a blast, and all the littlest ones behaved wonderfully even though they were in their strollers a lot. So I totally brought our camera, but my SD card was still in my computer, so I will put some up later from Ethan's phone. If you haven't gone to Boondocks then go.

New Projects!

2010-05-14T14:32:00.001-06:00

This is the fabric for the quilt I am making for Enza for her birthday. I bought it in a quilt shop in Nauvoo a couple years ago, but wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. Now I know, and am so excited to get it done.

Here is the main fabric of the skirt, and a blury pic of the skirt. It is super cute. I am going have an orange be the bottom layer,a nd the strip all the way around be navy blue. Hopefully mine will be as cute as the pattern.

Here is the cream pearl necklace for my friend, I still need to finish and attach the flower.

Here is the black pearl, it is similar to the cream, but she wanted a certain style.

This last necklace is from some beads that she gave me and said make me something out of this. So hopefull she likes it.

So as many of you know I am a project person. I always have a few going, some work, some don't. I just finished making some necklaces for a friend, have a quilt going, I am doing a refinish on a kitchen hutch for my sister for her birthday, and I just bought some fabric and a pattern for a little girls skirt. So I will be getting some pics of the finished projects up in a while, but in the meantime I will put the pics of the necklaces, and the pics of the fabric and pattern. Projects are the best, they are truly what keep me sane. Thanks for indulging me.

Mother's Day!

2010-05-14T14:27:00.000-06:00

I am going to make this short now that it is a week late. Mother's Day this year was the best to date. My husband did some very thoughtful things for me that meant so much. He made me breakfast in bed, let me read for about an hour uninterupted (those of you that know me well, know how much that means), He ran me a bubble bath, bought me the new book The remarkable soul of a woman, by Elder Uchtdorf. He bought me a willow tree statue that I love, and bought me Burnt Almond Fudge ice cream which is my favorite, but I haven't been able to find it for a few years. Thank you so much, I love you like crazy and I hope that I am at least half as good to you, as you are to me. XOXOXOXO

My Man!

2010-05-03T10:17:00.000-06:00

I have sat down to finish this about 5 times. So children beware. You are on your own for a little while. So here it goes.

What a lucky lady I am! We just celebrated our Anniversary on April 30th. We have been married for 6 years. It seems like we have been together forever, but at the same time seems like the last 6 years have flown by. Ethan is such an amazing husband and dad. He is always teaching the kids new things whether it be riding a bike, shooting hoops, throwing a football, or eating a popsicle with Cruze & Gauge to helping Enza stand and try to walk, to helping her wave and fly. He always makes sure to make things a teaching moment. He reads to the kids and gives them piggybacks, or horsey rides. He's always up for playing outside with them or coloring with them. He really does everything as a dad. I love him so much for all of those things. I couldn't ask for more.
When it comes to him as a husband I can't think of thing that is missing. He is always giving me a back massage or tickle without me even asking. He works so hard to provide for our little family. He is building his business and doesn't hesitate to talk to people. He is so friendly and charming. He makes me laugh all the time, and we can finish eachothers thoughts. He is passionate and very driven. When he does anything in life he does it 110%. He is kind, loving and he is my best friend. What a blessing he constantly is in my life. I am so glad that he takes his priesthood seriously and am so blessed to have that always be in our home. He has a wonderful testimony which helps me feel motivated to build on mine whenever I hear his. I am so grateful for him being my partner for all the eternities and am so happy to call him mine. I love you more than you will ever know Ethan. XOXOXOXO

Cute Kids I Kidnapped From Heaven!!

2010-04-28T14:52:00.000-06:00

Here are some of my favorites, as you can tell there are a ton. There are a bunch more, but I can't put all of them on here. Thank you so much Emily you did a great job! Emily is so cute and patient with little kids, and at the end of our session Cruze looked at me and said "Mom I want to go play with Emily some other time Okay?" If you want to see her blog or get her info to get pics taken it is emilybaileyphotography.blogspot.com

I told you I kidnapped cute kids from Heaven!!

RUNNERS NEEDED!!

2010-04-28T14:33:00.000-06:00

Need motivation to get in shape or stay in shape? Well I have the solution for you, join our team for the Red Rock Relay this September. IT is patterned after the Ragnar Relay. There are 12 runners per team and everyone runs 3 legs of the race. IT is going to be awesome, and we need more people to join our team. The link for their website is www.redrockrelay.com So if you are interested email me @ chantel.clinger@gmail.com. Thanks, and don't be shy!!

Making the Old New Again!

2010-04-14T14:03:00.000-06:00

My sister was in need of a dresser, and there was one in my grandma's storage room that was in pretty good condition. It has just sat there for at least 15 years. So I nominated it to go to her. I wanted it to match her comforter, so I bought some spray paint and some embellishments. It was plain cream. I always forget to do before and after pics, so I almost rememered this time. I got pics after I had sprayed the drawers but before I had totally painted the main body of the dresser. I had so much fun with this project. I love a project and a challenge. She has a few more storage dressers that we are going to do as well. This time I really will get the before and afters. The lighting in my garage really stinks so try to look past that. Here it is!

Nickel Jars

2010-04-13T13:32:00.000-06:00

So we have been having some big issues with our boys sassing. I mean teenage extra rude sass. They also are extremely aggressive with eachother. I have heard that with boys especially that is normal. But seriously? I had been doing time out and all that, but it didn't seem to matter. They really didn't care when they got in trouble, they would laugh or smile the whole time. Which would of course just make me that much madder. Then when they got out they would do the same things again. I was at a loss of what to do, so I rememberd that when we were younger we could earn nickels and get them put into our own nickel jar.

So we had a family home evening and taught them about money, and saving. Then we decided to start the nickel jars. I had decorated them earlier in the day, and then we explained that everytime they were nice to their brother or sister, shared their things, or said okay mom without arguing, they would earn a nickel. However, if they were rude to us or one of their siblings, took toys, sassed, or told us no, then they would get them taken away. So we then proceeded to explain that they could save their nickels, or wait until the end of the month and they could pick out a toy to buy with their money. Cruze informed us that he was going to save up his money for a motorcycle. I said,"Oh a toy motorcycle?" He said, "No mom a big one like Grandpa's." Then further on into the night he said, "Oh and a big boat too, I'll even let you and dad have a ride on it."

We have been doing it for a week now, and it is working like a charm. There are random "Okay mom's" when I am not even talking to them, and they help let me know when the other one said okay and I didn't hear it. Overall it is a success so far. Just a thought on something new to try. We are loving it!!

Easter & Conference

2010-04-12T16:56:00.000-06:00

I have been waiting for my husband to help me get his pics off of his phone, so I could include them in a couple blogs, so I have been putting off blogging, but I can wait no more. So I decided to write about easter and conference weekend. What a wonderful thing for us to be blessed with Easter falling on General Conference. When I was in school, and having to write reports on conference talks, I never realized how lucky we are to be able to have a modern Prophet with Apostles who talk to us. I love being able to wear my P.J's to listen to some of the neatest council we will ever be given. It does always make me so sad when I hear that last talk of the weekend. I love conference and am always so grateful for the talks and the spirit that comes with it.

For Easter we went to my parent's house on Saturday morning for an Easter egg hunt, for both kids and adults(they were seperate hunts.)

For the adult hunt there was only oneegg per person. So my theory was that if I got down there first I may be able to find the best one, boy was I wrong. Mechelle and I were the first down there, and the last two to find our eggs with the help of our brother in law. Thanks Alan!! Then we dyed Easter eggs and went to lunch at Tasty's. It was so fun to be together as a family. Then on Easter we just hung out at our house.

Here is a picture of our kids the next Sunday in their Easter clothes. I do have to add that I made Enza's shawl. I was so excited that it turned out so cute, because I haven't crocheted anything besides a couple of flowers that my sister Tanelle was kind enough to walk me through, and a couple pairs of fingerless gloves my friend Rachel was nice enough to come and teach me how to make. So needless to say this was a much bigger project than the other things. I was glad to have it finished. Yeah!

Sickies!

2010-04-01T21:11:00.000-06:00

So it seems like my kids are always sick with something. We just get better and then we get something else. About three weeks ago my boys had Bronchitis, and Enza had RSV or something similar to it, it took forever to be all better from that. We have been better for maybe five days, and last night I was up with Cruze until 5:45 this morning. He went to sleep with barely a runny nose, and about a half hour later he was bawling and super upset. So needless to say I took him in and he has double ear infections, a ruptured eardrum, and strep throat. Seriously he is by far the one who gets the sickest, but I feel so bad that he has so much going on. It makes complete sense why he was so upset and in so much pain last night, but man, oh man! Enza wakes up from her afternoon nap and has pooped and leaked through everything. She was covered from her armpits to her knees, and then it is always laughable to try to get the clothes up and over their heads without covering them in it even further. So I finally get her undressed and bathed. I put my boys to bed, and then I am feeding her baby food before bed and we are just about done and literally the entire thing comes right back up. (As a little side note Enza eats a ton before bed. She usually eats 3 jars of baby food, mixed with 3/4 C. of rice ceral.) There was so much of it that I had to bath her again, and there was a puddle in her bouncer. Anyway, I am looking forward to warm weather so that most of the sick germs are outta here. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Our New Niece!

2010-03-31T10:11:00.000-06:00

My sister Danielle and her husband adopted a sweet little girl a little over a week ago. It was last minute, which it seems is how it always happens with the adoptions that have taken place in my family. They found out on Wednesday that the couple wanted to place with them, and the left on Friday, and the placement happened on Saturday morning. It is amazing and quite the adjustment to have a baby so suddenly. They are so happy and excited to have her in their family. They have named her Adalynn. Abigale and Preslie are so excited too. What an amazing thing that the mom and dad have done for them, they are great people and I hope that they have a lot of happiness and no regrets. They have chosen to place her with an amazing and loving family. CONGRATS!! Here are a few pics of her. The photograper who did these is a friend of Danielle's and she offered to come and take these for them. Her link is emilybaileyphotography.blogspot.com and is just getting her business going so if you are looking for a photographer check her out.

Hello are you out there??

2010-03-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

So here's the thing. I have recently added a map to see where people are visiting my blog from, and I didn't know that more than my sister Danielle and my SIL Julie even looked at my blog. So I am excited to see that friends, family, or strangers there ARE people who check it out once in a while. So I am going to ask a favor of anyone who looks at my blog. Please leave me a comment as to where you are from, if I know you or not and how. I am so curious as to how my blog reaches so many people. Alabama who are you, Tennessee? Twin Falls ID? California? Herriman? You get the idea. SO if you could say hi, even if you don't know me I would really love it. Come on you know you want to do it, it really would make my day. Thanks, and a double thanks to those of you who choose to participate.
Thanks, Chantel

I NEED SLEEP!

2010-03-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

Here she is on her sweet days which really is most of the time these days. I absolutely love it. She brings so much joy to our home. It is fun having a little girl now. They are so different from boys.

So I know that one night of no sleep shouldn't be that big of a deal, but last night it really was. Our sweet little Enza is teething and it just won't hurry and break through. So I was up with her until 5:30 last night. I actually at 4 ended up going and driving with her, because she had successfully woke up the boys and my grandma. So we were out driving and I actually was able to find some really cute houses for sale that could be possibilities when we are ready to move. So I guess it actually was not a complete bust. IF I would have really been on the ball, I could have got my grocery shopping done, but my menu was not complete hence my list was not made. Dang it! That would have been so nice to get that done with only one child instead of three. It was just not meant to be.

Here is Enza sleeping off our all-nighter. I wish I could sleep it off too. I'll definately be in bed early tonight. She is such a cute little stinker.

Potty Training is a Disease

2010-03-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

*WARNING* This post is about poop again. So if you really don't want to read about poop yet again on my blog you had better stop reading now.*

There are few things in life that I hate more than potty training. For the last 18 months we have been trying to potty train Cruze. It has been one of those things that well has made me feel angry, sad, excited and at times happy. Our problem has been that Cruze can go without accidents, he just doesn't want to. He will wait until we put a pull up or diaper on him for bed and he will poop. Every night without fail this has for at least the last 9 months. He is one of the most stubborn kids I know. He is very smart and he knows what mom can and can't handle. Every time I would ask our Pediatrician he would say don't worry about it until he is 4. So I have been biding my time. My sister who has the same dr. asked him the other day about it, because we have not been in for Cruze's 4 year appt. yet. He said that you need to put them in underwear period. And not just put him in undies but if he has an accident he has to clean it up too. He is 4! I don't want him cleaning it up, then there will just be a bigger mess for me. I was thinking we already have done that. He does okay, but he meant at night too. What? I mean why if he isn't completely potty trained while he is awake would I put undies on him for bed. I would have to be stupid. IS he actually certifiably crazy? He has to be, I absolutely do not want to be cleaning up poop, pee and bedding in the middle of the night, or in the morning every morning. I wanted to cry and have a panic attack all at the same time. But I also know that nothing else has worked and as long as Cruze gets a pull up at night he will poop in it. So we started last Friday. He has not had any accidents at night. He does just fine. He has pooped in his undies from Friday until yesterday. My mom had the idea to bribe him with going to eat at Arctic circle and playing on the toys. Between that and the threat that if he pooped in his pants again he would lose his special blanket for the night he pooped 2 times in the potty since yesterday. So as of right now we are winning the power struggle that is our life with him right now. I'm glad he can't read, because if he knew I was winning he would poop his pants again. Thanks for listening as our battle rages on.

Seriously??

2010-03-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

So this morning my boys were up at 6:00 am, and my boys were into everything. I woke up to hear Cruze on the monitor say, "Hurry and get the wipes." So I bolted out of bed because the wipes are in Enza's room and they wake her up every morning. SO I ran down there and Gauge had taken off his poopy diaper and Cruze was trying to get the wipes to help him clean it up. So there was poop all over in my bathroom. There was chewed up gum in my bathtub and all over my bathroom rug, a whole packs worth. The toilet was flooded with too much toilet paper. All of their toys were everywhere, not a single toy was in it's place. There was 1 or 2 whole pediasure's spilled on my kitchen floor, and crackers were smashed all over my living room. Where were we, well fast alseep, but how did we sleep through all of this. I really don't know!! Usually they come in and wake us up when they wake up, but no, they were on a rampage. I think they woke up and decided that today was the day to make mom realize that hey you can't stop us if you don't know we are awake. HEE HEE HEE!!
The kicker is they must have been up at like 5 or 5:30 to make that big of a mess by 6 am.

Just Love My Kiddos!

2010-02-23T16:40:00.000-07:00

Today we went outside in the afternoon to play for a little while, and my boys had some basketballs outside. It was so fun to see them so happy and running around. I want SPRING! I love all 4 of the seasons, but seriously need SPRING to be here so that we can just go play outside everyday. Cruze saw something on Curious George about crickets, so he was looking for some today. He couldn't find any, but he asked me, "Are all of these leaves the cricket's blankets?" It was so cute so of course I said, "yes I think they must be." It just made me smile.

Cute Random pics of our Family!

2010-02-20T13:15:00.001-07:00

Enza's adorable smile that we love.

Enza somehow finding Cruze's water bottle and figuring out how to drink out of it. I was floored that at 6 months she knew what to do with it. It even has a straw to suck out of. Love It!

Gauge has decided since Crize won't take a nap that he won't either and then it catches up to him and if he sits for more than five minutes which is really rare, he will do this. It is so funny that he won't just go lay down in his bed.

After a few weeks of really hard days and nights, the boys were asleep and I guess Enza and I fell asleep too. It's a pretty cute pic.

Daddy making cookies with the boys, something that they love to be involved in. It doesn't happen enough at our house, but when it does, the boys are all in.

Daddy was taking a nap on the couch and then Cruze fell asleep too. It was so cute, then Gauge was feeling left out so he decided to climb up there and pretend to sleep with the boys. It was pretty cute.

Gauge absolutely loves to ride on dad's shoulders so here is one of that too.

Cruze's Party!

2010-02-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

Abigale helping Cruze open one of his presents.

Gabe dressed up with balloons as a pirate.

Savannah getting made into a fairy.

Preslie decorating her cupcake.

Maverick decorating his cupcake.

And the birthday boy opening his big legos that he loves.

Cruze turns 4. So I am a little late on this, but here it is. We had so much fun. It was a bit crazy but it seemed like everyone had a good time. So here are some pictures. We actually hired the Balloon Guy, and he was great. We were so pleased with him. Happy birthday Cruze you are growing way to fast. We love you!

Superbowl, Poop and My Birthday!

2010-02-07T21:08:00.000-07:00

You may be asking yourself what all of these things have in common, and trust me I know they sound like a crazy combo. Well let me tell you! First of all today is Super Bowl Sunday, so that is for starters. Second my birthday is tomorrow. For the last month or so Cruze has been asking me what I want for my birthday, because I had been asking him the same thing. His birthday is two days before mine. So I have been telling him that all I want is for him to go poop on the potty. He has been potty trained for about 4 months now. Except with the poop factor. He will wait until I put a diaper on him for bed. It has been so frusterating to try to fight him for so long. So tonight we were at my parents house and he needed to go but when I sat him on the potty he just bawled. I have continuously thought if he would just go, I think then he would see it is no big deal. So he cried some more tonight and then he came to me and said., "Mom, uh mom, " he was hunched over and I could tell he needed to poop. So I carried him into the bathroom and put him on the toilet again. He sat there and immediately pooped and he yelled so loud when he did. He was so excited. He told me to wait to he could show dad, and then he said, "Mom I feel so much better and now my bum is happy." I was elated. I know it sounds silly to be elated about poop, but I truly was. For so many reasons, but I was so happy to see that proud look on Cruze's face, knowing that he did what he didn't think he could do. So he told me that he pooped on the potty for my birthday, and I can't think of a better present he could have given me. Ethan would like to add that, Cruze has single-handedly taken the Browns to the Superbowl. Yeah!

Overnight Getaway!

2010-02-07T20:59:00.000-07:00

On Friday, February 5th Ethan's boss Shawn put all of us up in the downtown Marriott in really nice rooms. Then for dinner he paid for everyone to eat at Rodizio's and then he did a presentation, and awards ceremony. Then the rest of the night was ours. We hung out with Mike & Jackie (Ethan's friend from growing up and his wife) We went to see When in Rome. It was so-so. I wouldn't see it again. We are extremely picky about what we see and this was the first movie we have gone to see since before I was pregnant with Cruze. I know it's been forever. Then we went to Red Mango (which is the best thing ever) and ate Frozen Yogurt and talked. It was so much fun. It was such a great night away. Thanks so much Nate & Liz, and Thanks so much Shawn & Teresa. They are so generous.

MY WONDERFUL HUSBAND!

2010-01-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

For Christmas (a few days late) Ethan made me a coupon book. It was the sweetest gift he has almost ever given me (except my kids and materialistically my engagement ring, which is lost), he has only ever made me a couple other things for example: my entertainment center which I love, and my kitchen table top which is also great. None of which have been anything like this. So here are the things that are in it:

1 Free 30 Min, Hair playing with session ( I have already used this one)
Free fold the Laundry coupon (I am going to wait for a big week) hee hee
1 hour of uninterupted bath time (what an uninterupted bath, I don't even know what that means, but I think I might like it)
1 Free 20 min. back massage (that sounds great, I love back massages)
Free clean out the Fridge coupon (This is a must, I love it)
1 Free manicure (I love a good manicure, ahh beautiful nails)
Free clean the bathroom coupon (Let's be honest the mess is 51% his, and 48 1/2% my kids, and 1/2% mine)Do I exagerate, mostly no!
1 Free 20 min. hand massage coupon (He gives the best hand massages)
1 Free eyebrow waxing (seriously if you knew how bad I need this and how often you would appreciate it a ton too)
1 Free 20 min. leg massage coupon (he is the best at this too, you truly can not even imagine unless you have been treated to one of his leg massages. I'm sorry that it won't ever happen for you)
Free wash the dishes coupon (I am the dish washer at my house, so this offer of a load off is great, and much appreciated.)
Free wash the kitchen floor coupon (I didn't even know that he knew how to do this until a couple months ago, when he just busted out a floor cleaning, and I watched in absolute amazement, with my jaw hanging down)
Free vacuum the house coupon (he actually will do this for me every once in a while, and I love, it, because that is one less thing to have to do.)
Free make a dessert coupon (He is pretty good in the kitchen, and so this is nice, that I can get a free dessert)
1 hour of uninterupted reading (there are few things in my life that I cherish when it comes to hobbies and time to do them and this is a big one.) thanks sweetie!
Free make whatever you want for dinner coupon (now I love this, because well because it is a free dinner in the sense that I don't have to do anything for it. I do love being in the kitchen but it is nice to have a break sometimes)
20 min. back tickle (I already used this one too, and loved every minute of it. I actually think that you still owe me 4 minutes. hee, hee)

Overall this is the most thoughtful thing he has ever done for me and I love it.

This is a little tribute to him, here is goes. He is such a great husband and father. He makes sure that he plays with the boys and is teaching them boy stuff. He will hold Enza from the minute he gets home until she is in bed for the night. (for those of you who know how fussy and hard my girl has been you would understand the sweetness behind this.)
He works so hard to provide for our family, and works long hours. He is so inovative when it comes to marketing ideas at work. He will come up with things out of nowhere to generate business. If anyone can make his own business work it is him. He has such a great work ethic and I am so thankful that he works so hard so I can stay home with my kiddos. I love him and thank him for that. Even though he is gone a lot at night, he makes sure that if the kids are still awake, or just got in bed he always goes in and reads to them or tells them a story. That means so much to me and to them. They love him so much and so do I. He always is asking me what he can do to help make it easier on me when he works late. I appreciate that he knows it is hard, and wants to do something nice for me. He jumps right in and insitgates FHE which I appreciate. One of us does the lesson and the other does the treat. It is nice to feel like we are in a partnership.
Also, he always lets me be creative and compliments me on the endless things I create. He knows that crafting, sewing and reading are my ways to have a little break. He also has put aside his morning workout time so that I can make sure and have a set time every morning. I love him for all of the many ways that he loves me and our kids. It means everything to me. I love you more than you will ever know Ethan!!! ~ Love, Me

Ethan sells insurance, and he would love to give you a quote so check out his website and you can call to set up an appointment. He can almost always save you money! http://ethanclinger.fbfs.com

New Year!

2010-01-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

Well I think it is time to put my resolutions on my blog. Maybe that will remind me better than in my journal. So here it goes.

First I want to make sure that I enjoy my little minutes with my kids. All I ever wanted to be growing up was a mom, and now that I am I find myself wishing some of my days away. SO I am going to write in my journal each night something that happened that day that was positive with each member of my family. I know one thing doesn't sound like that much, but I really want to be making an effort to interact kindly and positively with my family.

Second I want to be able to train to do a triathalon in a year. That may not sound like a big deal to some of you, but it is to me. Next year we may try to get a team together for the Wasatch Back Relay too. So if you want o be a part of our team, let me know. Ethan got an invite to be on a team this year, but we are going to be out of town that weekend, so he couldn't do it.

Third I want to make sure that I am dead on with all of the little things that make up the big picture when it comes to spirituality. I find that I do good for a while, and then something small knocks me off the track, so I am going to make a real concerted effort to not get knocked off. And if I do, then I will leap back on instead of letting it go for a while.

Those are the main ones, and I think that will be a good start for this year. I have other smaller ones, but I will keep some of those to myself.

Christmas Weekend in Star Valley

2009-12-31T14:59:00.000-07:00

Last post of the day. I can't believe I have had peace and quiet for this long in one day. On Christmas day we went up to Star Valley to visit with Ethan's parents and his Brother Nathaniel and his wife Julie and their two kids who were also up there. It was so fun being with his family. They live in one of the prettiest places I have ever seen. It is so peaceful and quiet up there. So we got there and Renae and Melvin needed to open their gifts from us. We had gone in on a gift for Renae so they waited for us to get there for her to open it. We got her a digital camera (Julie's idea) you are all welcome Clingers out there. Now maybe there might be some decent pictures of people because she can see what they look like before she prints them. (we love you Renae, just not always your photography.) That was fun having her play with it all weekend.
We went sledding on the hill across from their house with the kiddos. Melvin and Renae kept an eye on Enza so we could both go out with the boys. That is the first time that we have both been able to go out and do something up there with the kids. (I am usually pregnant, or have a new little baby and there are too many kids around to just leave.) It was so fun.
Later that day we went for a drive to go to the Elk observatories, but there wasn't enough snow so they were all too far away to see. It was such a nice drive though, and it gave our kids a chance to get a nap. Yeah! We took a bunch of pics of the canyon on the way up the canyon towards Jackson Hole. It was overall relaxing and nice to spend time with Ethan's family, because it doesn't happen often enough.

Enza's first set of pigtails! Thanks to Julie who did them for me, because I have been too nervous to do them myself. I didn't want to hurt her. They were so adorable. And yes, I did try them when I got home and yes I did hurt her by pulling her hair. So I had reason to fear.

Ethan and I on the side of the road above the Snake River. It was pretty and as usual our pictures didn't do it justice.

Ethan and I in front of his parent's house.

Our little family out sledding. (which if I may interject Cruze hated the whole time)

Renae snuggling Enza after she fell asleep while we were sledding.

Gauge on his sled lovin it, he is so laid back and fun. He goes along with whatever.

Cruze lovin it too, while we were on the flat part. He is so funny!

Cruze, Spencer, Jaicee, and Gauge on Grandma's lounger in the TV room.

Last but not least Melvin holding Enza so we could eat some warm dinner. Thanks Melvin!

Christmas Morning

2009-12-31T14:33:00.000-07:00

Okay so as I was trying to find pictures to put on my blog of Christmas morning I am realizing that my husband got most of it on the video camera. SO I am going to post what little I do have and note that we had a great day and am so thankful for this time of year.

Santa brought my boys a Doug & Melissa train set. My boys loved it, and so did Ethan & I. We had so much fun setting it up. Hee-Hee

Here is one of the bean bags (without one of my kids in it)that I made for my kids for Christmas. I make my kids something every year for Christmas. I think it is fun, and meaningful. It was a lot of fun, and they actually are quite comfy. They do take up a ton of the space in my living room though, but other than Enza rolling everywhere and needing some space, it's no big deal.

Gauge in his bean bag with his new pillow pet (Mr. Moose). Yes I got suckered itno buying a pillow pet off of Qubo, because my boys saw them and loved them. So I gave in, because I thought they were adorable. Gauge also got a dump truck, a new ball (always a hit with him) a firetruck garage, a big remote control car, books, a light bright(I think I may have had more fun than he did) and clothes.

Cruze with his monkey pillow pet and his bean bag. It was so nice to have my kids love what I made this year. Cruze also got an art easel, clothes, a big remote control car, Curious George jack in the box & books.

And last but not least Enza in her bean bag with her pillow pet the Ladybug. She got some clothes, books, and a couple musical toys.
As a family we also got some more books, and a few family games, and a new Curious George movie. Ethan and I got snow boots, pants, coats, my mom made each of us girls a quilt. They are awesome. She picked a pattern and some fabric that she thought would go with each of us, and then made it for us. That was so special to me, because she usually gets us things that are store bought (and also appreciated), but I am sentimental so this really meant a lot to me.

Hansen Family Party!

2009-12-31T11:17:00.000-07:00

Every year we have a Hansen Family Christmas Party on my dad's side of the family. It has been something that we have done ever since I can remember. It has always been so much fun, but over the years with our family growing so much we have not all fit at my Grandma's house. We are practically sitting laps, and not to mention that when you get up it is musical chairs, because everyone is looking for somewhere to sit. So after years of people suggesting that we have it somewhere else, this year my parents planned it at their church. Thank you for that! It was so nice to have a place where the kids could run around and play and not have to worry too much about them getting into anything. We had dinner, read stories, played bingo, and of course Santa Claus came and gave the kids presents (gifts that of course we have bought our own children and Santa gets all the credit again.) j/k It was fun!

Poor Cruze was so distraught, because his and Gauge's presents were the very last in the bag and he was getting more and more upset with each kid that went up there. He hung in there and was very excited that Santa brought him a motorcycle , but also that Santa knew his name. It was cute and interesting to me that over everything else that is what mattered to him, is that Santa knew who he was. It was so cute.(I couldn't help but think of how we all will feel when we realize that the Lord really does know each of us by our name.)

Gauge on the other hand could have done without Santa, he was scared to death. He was trying to sneak up there when his name was called and get his gift and get out of there. But of course everyone knows that you have to sit on Santa's lap to get a present from him. SO at the very beginning of being on his lap all was so-so, then all of the sudden he got really upset. As soon as he was off of the lap then he was just fine.

Enza, well she could have cared less. To her it was just someone else to hold her. Funny how Santa affects different kids and ages differently. It really is crazy, we tell our kids over and over again don't talk to strangers. Then we shove them on Santa's (stranger) lap while we smile and take pictures. What a great message to send to our kids. Don't talk to strangers unless they are dressed up and look happy. Oh well, at least we are always around when Santa is, so hopefully that will sink in too. Merry Christmas!

Other Cute Pics!

2009-12-16T22:17:00.001-07:00

My boys snuggling with Grandma Hansen

Precious Enza

Hanging with Cousins Abigale & Preslie

Trimming the Tree!

2009-12-16T21:52:00.000-07:00

My adorable boys by the tree!

I asked my boys to put an ornament by their face so I could get a picture, and these are the ones I got instead. Interesting, but still cute!

This year we were supposed to go to WY last weekend, and then there was a change of plans. We were waiting to get our tree because the permit costs $5 and it is fun to find a tree and cut it down yourself. So instead of spending $50 for a so-so tree for two weeks of enjoyment we decided to get a smaller tree so that we would still have one. We let the kids decorate to their hearts content (with the plastic ornaments of course) Then we just put it on the table so you can actually see it out of our window. (It looks pretty redneck, but hey my husband is from WY. j/k)

First Time in the Snow!

2009-12-16T21:46:00.000-07:00

Yeah my kids were so excited to play in the snow. I am always so excited to play in the snow too. There are few things that I love more than playing outside in all of the different seasons. I do love that you can make things out of the snow. When I was little my Grandpa Strand used to make snow animals in his front yard. When I say animals I mean huge, taller than we were. There was an elephant one year that was literally life-size. I remember taking pictures up on top of it. One day when all of my kids are old enough I will blog about the super cool elephant, or monkey that I made out of snow. For now we will just stick to snowmen.

Gingerbread Builders

2009-12-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

My mom bought all of us girls gingerbread house kits this year. We had fun, and the kids thought it was great! I am not sure how much of the candy ended up on the house, and if it did I think most of it was sucked on first. When I went in to make sure my kids were all tucked in and covered for the night, I found that they each had their little candy bowl full of candy by their beds. It was pretty sweet!

Halloween Costume Party!

2009-11-17T13:56:00.001-07:00

So here is a grundle of pictures for your viewing pleasure! I actually put our Halloween party and halloween night on the same post.

Cruze with his personally designed pumpkin pizza

Enza on Halloween Night, she was Little red riding hood

Cruze & Abigale with their Carmel Apples!

Ethan & Enza, Ethan was a blind ref for Halloween, not a Footlocker Employee!

Gauge was a Tiger who couldn't see, and Cruze was a monkey for the second year in a row, he absolutely loves monkeys what can you do. It saved us money. Aren't they adorable, I just love them so much. Holidays are so much fun with kids.

Here are all the cousins minus Enza, I didn't see any likely candidates that I thought could hold her while all 20 cameras were flashing.

I laugh so hard every time I see this picture, it is Gauge trying to catch his donut 9yeah it's the one that is behind him at this point) while we were playing the eatingyourdonutwithouttouchingitwithyourhands game. I was surprised that he got the concept (better than some of the adults, you know who you are cheaters), he chased it around for quite some time. It was absolutley hilarious.

Gabe & his carmel apple!

See if you can guess who is who! That's right Sandy is on the end, the African-American man is my dad, and the Gringo is my Mom, that's right my mother has a goatee.

Now this is Gauge's creation on his pizza, yeah, there is a face on there somewhere. Don't you just love his smile? It is adorable, I hope it becomes a little more refined before he starts dating, otherwise he may scare off some of the girls. I just love it though. It makes me laugh, and it is truly amazing how long he will hold it for.

We put on a Halloween Party at our house this year, and it was so much fun. I was so excited I could hardly stand it. We had chili (Danielle) and chicken noodle soup (me). We ate it in pumpkin bread bowls (Mom), with a spooky salad (Mech), homemade rootbeer (Dad), Eyeballs (Sandy), and spiderweb pie (Tanelle). We had Pumpkin Bowling by Alan & Danielle, Face Painting with Tanelle & Ben, Carmel Apples with Mechelle & Jon, and Donuts on a String with my parents. We had so much fun, and want to thank everyone for coming and bringing food and games.

November is National Adoption Month

2009-11-17T13:21:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, November is National Adoption Month. For some of you that may not mean anything at all, but for others it means a great deal. I am one of those people that it means a lot to. Five, almost six years ago now on December 26th I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl that was named Ashlyn Bailey Cantrell. I placed her for adoption on December 29 with a couple named Steve and Julie Cantrell. They were living in New York, and now they live in Ohio, and have been able to have three of their own after getting Ashlyn. What a blessing, they just needed her so they could start their family.

My mom was adopted, my sister Danielle has adopted Preslie, and my sister Mechelle has adopted Gabe, I also have an aunt and uncle who were adopted. Adoption has touched me in so many ways, and has changed my life. There has never been a harder experience in my life than placing Ashlyn for adoption, but there also has never been a decision in my life that has had such a far reaching effect on some one else. What a neat thing to have available to make families whole. I can't imagine a world that would be created where people just couldn't have children and that was that. The Lord is very mindful of couples who have that righteous desire, and I truly know that children get to the families that they were meant to be with. I know that birthmoms are used as tools to get those children where they need to be. And although the choices that usually get birthmoms where they are when they find themselves pregnant are not good, I know that the Lord watches out for them, and blesses them in many ways, both while they are pregnant and afterwards.

I want to thank a lot of people that have to do with adoption, for starters I want to thank my grandmas & grandpas for both adopting and giving me an open mind about adoption. I want to thank my sisters & their husbands for adopting Preslie and Gabe and giving them great lives. If all girls who were pregnant could place their children with people that were as good as my sisters & their husbands, more girls would place and feel satisfied with their decision. I want to also thank my parents for helping me and being loving and supportive while I was pregnant. I want to thank Steve and Julie for being such amazing parents, and for giving Ashlyn what I couldn't at that time. I also want to give a big thanks to my sweet husband who knew when he took me on our first date that I had placed a child for adoption. He took me out anyways. I truly love him for being so accepting of me and my past choices. Thank you, I love you so much.

My sister Danielle and her husband Alan are in the process of trying to adopt another child. I am attaching a link to their adoption profile. If you know anyone who is trying to find a family to place their child with, please send them to look at their profile. They are wonderful parents, and have such a happy, fun and loving environment in their home. https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/23078349/ourMessage.jsf

Fall Fun!

2009-11-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

Ethan chowing down on his pie, I think it was a tie, but that is just me!

The kids and I on the hay ride, my kids couldn't get enough of this!

WARD CARNIVAL!

Our ward put on a wonderful fall carnival this year. They had games, pie eating contest, hayride, line dancing, cookie decorating, and yummy chili. So I took some pics, and yes Ethan entered the pie eating contest. (he was wishing there was more than a piece of pie.)

2009-10-25T18:18:00.000-06:00

WICKED!

Wicked, need I say more? Gregory Maguire and the musical adaptation Wicked by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman really are amazing and creative. I have always enjoyed musicals to some extent, but this play was absolutely amazing. I saw it will some of my family members last spring while it was here, and I immediately wanted to see it again, this time with Ethan. I thought I would give this a tribute, because this time of year is about witches, but also because I borrowed my mom's CD of it and fell in love all over again. I especially love the songs, "Popular", "Defying Gravity", and "For Good" If you haven't been to see it, please when you get the chance GO SEE IT. You will love it, and will be shocked at how clever Gregory Maguire is. The story that he created is so magical, and will make you love Elphaba, the bad witch. And really for most of the show not love Glinda very much. I really can't wait until they do a movie of it, and hopefully they will do it justice. We are going to see The Lion King when it comes next year, so at that time there will be an update.

A TRIBUTE TO BILL

2009-10-22T11:09:00.000-06:00

We have had the pleasure over the last five years to know the Dain family, and come to love them. We have grown so much closer over the last 10 months, as we have watched Bill and Sandy suffer through Bill's cancer. We love you both so much and will miss Bill like crazy. He had a way of making everyone around him feel loved and appreciated. Sandy is one of the most patient and caring people I have ever met. She would not leave Bill even long enough to go to lunch with a friend, because she didn't want him to need her and her not be there. Hang in there and know that you are loved. Here is the link to our other blog for them. http://thebillandsandydainfund.blogspot.com/

William Michael Dain (June 29, 1947 - October 11, 2009)

William Michael Dain returned to his Heavenly Father at his home in Layton, Utah on October 11, 2009 after a two-year battle with cancer.
Bill was born in Canoga Park, California, second oldest in a family of seven.
Bill was the general manager for many different companies in the printed circuit board industry. Bill’s employment took his family to Arizona, back to California and finally to Utah where Bill lived the remainder of his life.
Everywhere Bill went, people were attracted to him because of his cheerful personality, optimism and genuine kindness. Bill was honest and hardworking, and passed these traits to his children.
Bill was married to Sandra Lynn Schommer on June 11, 1977 and they were sealed in the Mesa, Arizona Temple on the same day three years later. Bill shared 32 years with his eternal companion Sandra. Bill loved his wife. Everything he did was to impress her and make her happy. She was the love of his life. Bill was a dedicated father who loved his children with all his heart. He showed this love for his children every day by continuing to care for his severely disabled son (Jason), until his final days upon the earth.
Bill enjoyed baseball, hunting, fishing, camping, water skiing, and barbequing. Bill’s real passion was for classic and muscle cars.
Bill was a dedicated and faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was converted to the church in 1977 and continued faithful to the end. Bill held many different callings, but above all he was a dedicated home teacher.
Bill is survived by his loving wife Sandra Dain, and his children Christine O’Sullivan, William Dain, Patricia Turner, Jonathan Bailey, Jeffery Bailey, Jason Dain, Jared Dain, 14 grandchildren and his mother Helen Dain.
Funeral services will be held Friday, October 16, 2009 at 2 p.m. at Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 No. Fairfield Road. Friends and family may call Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Friday from 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. at the mortuary. Interment, Lindquist’s Memorial Park at Layton, 1867 No. Fairfield Road.

2009-10-13T13:36:00.000-06:00

GAUGEY'S NEW OUCHIE!

BEFORE

AFTER

We were at my parent's house on Sunday for dinner and Gauge was playing over by the front door and there is a table that has some decorations on it. We are still not entirely sure what happened, but it fell over and landed on him. Some of the decorations were pretty heavy, and it got him good. His poor nose was swollen for a couple days. He is a tough guy, and is back to playing with Cruze, but it was so sad.

HEADBANDS!!

2009-10-13T13:07:00.000-06:00

All of us modeling our headbands right before heading for home at midnight!

Joann modeling one of Jessica's scarf belts as an actual scarf. She really truly loved it, and thought it was cute! It was such a good thing that Jessica brought her array of them so that we could have some entertainment from them.

Here is cute Jessica holding her headband she was working on.

Amanda making an adorable face.

And Stace too making a great face! She is cutting out her fabric, and what cute fabric it is too!

Some friends and I had a girl's night Saturday night, and a few of them decided that we should make these super cute headbands that Amanda had bought one of. So we got together and had such a great time! Now some of you that attended may not appreciate me putting some of these pics on my blog, but I didn't take them so don't be mad. Besides it shows your cute personalties. They were just so fun, and showed how great the night was! Thanks, guys! Nice scarf belt Amanda!

2009-10-13T12:54:00.000-06:00

CANNING GRAPES ANYONE!

I thought that the grapes were so beautiful when they were cooking. I just had to take a picture of it. And to be honest with you, it seemed that I took one of almost every batch, and they usually looked pretty much the same as the last one. So here is one of them.

This was the finished product! We ended up with about 74 after some had broke and I gave away a coule of them. Needless to say I think we will be drinking grape juice for quite some time. Yeah for food storage!

Isn't that color great! They really should make a crayon named after this color. It could be called cookedandbottledgrapejuice. It is just lovely. Once again, I couldn't get over how pretty it is.

My sister Danielle and I picked grapes from Lori Morgan's house and ended up with 5 laundry baskets total counting the grapes I had already picked. By Friday I decided that Mech might want to bottle grape juice, since she is the one who started that and it is her juicer. Thank heavens that she did. By Saturday I was graped out. For about a week my house has been covered from top to bottom in grapes, grape juice, and smashed grapes and dried grape juice. How wonderful it is to get my house back and not be sticking to my kitchen floor. Thanks Danny & Mech!

Never Suppress a Generous Thought

2009-09-29T21:04:00.000-06:00

Okay so this picture is a little old, like 2-3 years ago old, but this is one of the last pics I have of all of us together. Looks like I know what picture needs to be taken next!

My mom, sisters, and I went down to the conference center last Saturday for the R.S. Broadcast. What a wonderful experience! My older sister Danielle, was singing in the choir, and my other sister, (Mech) was able to get us tickets to actually go down there. It was a night full of chaos, but it was still so great. First My dear husband Ethan had an appointment that ran long, and so I missed the pick-up for dinner. So I got there late, which in all reality wasn't that big of a deal. Then when we got down there, my mom dropped off Mechelle and I , while her and Tanelle parked the car. We were supposed to save seats for the four of us. No big deal right? Wrong. When Mech and I got in the building we asked one of the ushers where our seats were, and he pointed us in the direction and said that they were good seats. So we saved four and waited. We waited and we waited and they were no where to be seen. We got there at 5:00 so by 5:45 they still weren't there and we had tried a million times to call Tanelle's phone, because they were no where to be found. No Answer! Mech decided to go ask the nearest usher if we were in the right spot, and it turns out that no, we weren't. Keep in mind that I had previously said, "What do we got to do to score tickets down there?" Pointing to the bottom floor. Well it turns out that that is where our tickets were for, is the bottom level. So I walked down there to try to find them to at least let them know that we were good and would meet them after it was over. I never did find them though, so we just sat there and listened and enjoyed. So afterwards we were supposed to meet Danielle out front, so we figured that we would just go out and wait for one or hopefully all of our family to come out there. We waited and watched and waited some more, it took so long that we were joking about walking down to Trax and riding that home. Finally My mom and Tanelle came out and then we were waiting for Danielle. My mom said, "Chantel go and see if you see her, and if the Choir is coming out yet." SO I did and I decided to walk down to where they were supposed to come out so I wouldn't miss her. Well I got down there and she was nowhere to be found. SO I started walking back up to where my mom and sisters were waiting, and she was there, but Mech wasn't she was looking for me. This is really making us sound like we are not the sharpest tools in the shed, but we really are very smart. Anyway finally Mech came back and we were all laughing most of the way home about the events of the evening. It was pretty great!
A little bit about the conference itself, I loved the phrase in Sister Beck's talk about never suppressing a generous thought. In our Y.W. training that we had a few years ago now, she had used that same phrase, and it has really stuck with me over the years. I love it because if we all acted upon every thought that came to our minds about doing a service for other people, we would all be happier for serving, but also for having service done for us. What a great life motto and rule to live by. Now I challenge all of you to try like I am to NEVER SUPPRESS A GENEROUS THOUGHT!
How lucky I am to have such wonderful sisters and a mom too. We have so much fun together, and I hope you all know how grateful I am to have you in my life. You are all so special to me. Also, while I am giving shout outs, I'll give one to Ethan and tell him thank you for being so kind to let me go for hours at a time to hang with my mom and sisters. Love ya!

FALL FUN

2009-09-19T23:54:00.001-06:00

Cruze Playing the Drums

Preslie, Cruze, Abigale, Gauge, & Gabe

Gauge, Me, & Cruze

Uncle Ben & Gauge on Train

Cruze riding the train

The bigger of the white slides. These were so much fun!

We went to the Black Island Corn Maze on Saturday with my whole family. Awesome! There is no other word to describe how much fun we had. There was numerous slides, toys, a little train and other fun things for kids and adults alike to enjoy. We played in the kids courtyard for a few hours. We are actually thinking about going again, because Ethan had to work and totally missed out. It was a very bumpy ride for the strollers, but what do you do? I just love this time of year, and all the fun things you can do.

It's about time!

2009-09-18T07:45:00.000-06:00

I know, I know, I know, it's about time that I started a blog. I have a few people who have been waiting for this so here it goes.(Mech, Wendy, Paige, Danielle & Stacie) I can't promise anything spectacular, but I can promise that my posts will be filled with mayhem, and cuteness. (I've got three kids, need I say more?) Bear with me as I try to figure out how to be a blogger. I love blogs, and I think they are so ingenius, so here is the first attempt.
First I will talk about my kids.

Cruze Ethan is the oldest, and he is 3 1/2 years old. I cannot believe how fast time flies. It seems like I was just pregnant with him, and here we are. It is definately sad. I seriously can't be old enough to have a 3 year old.
A little bit about Cruze: he is sweet as can be, silly, creative (the dress up king), shy, loves to sing, dance and play the guitar (a popper like toy from Ikea), loves to shoot hoops and play golf, build anything out of giant lego blocks, picky eater, a little bit anxious and very particular. He is so cute with his little sister who is only 2 months old. He is always asking her "did you sleep good Enzie Girl (his sweet little nickname for her), and he will rock her bouncer if she is crying. Whenever either of his siblings have a dirty diaper he tells them, "You gotta stop poopin' girl", or " Gaugey you've gotta stop poopin." However, it is somehow miraculous that he doesn't have to stop, and when asked why he says, "I just gotta go sometimes." That doesn't seem to apply to his siblings somehow.

Gauge Edwin: He just turned 2. He is my snuggler, he will sit on my lap for 20 minutes at a time sometimes. I love it. Cruze could care less about sitting anywhere for more than 20 seconds. So I was so excited that I got a snuggler. He is sweet, and very quick to smile. He too loves to sing and dance. He loves any kind of sport, if there is a ball somewhere (even if it is not actually a ball, but only roundish) it is BALL! BALL! MOMMY BALL! Observatory towers on the top of Farmington canyon BALL! A pumpkin BALL! Hot air balloon BALL! You get the picture. He will do this until the object is no longer in his sight. He eats pretty good, loves cars, and building blocks. It doesn't matter to him much what he is doing as long as Cruze is doing something similar. Cruze has started preschool a few weeks ago, and we have major meltdown whenever Cruze goes, because Gauge doesn't want him to leave. It really breaks my heart that he is so upset by it. So about 45 minutes of our 2 hours is spent calming and distracting. I am trying to make the most out of our time together. It is really the first time that he has gotten 1 on 1 attention for that long.

Enza Marina: She is 9 weeks today! She is so sweet too. I am very blessed in that with all of my kids. She is sleeping through the night (I honestly don't know how I lucked out, but I'm not complaining) She is starting to smile, and I can't get enough of it. She is getting long really fast, which means she won't be my little baby anymore. She seems like she will be a little more laid back, similar to Gauge.
What a blessing our kids are to us. I can't imagine my life without them, "They are my song, and my Joy" I will try to get pictures of all of them up so you can see their cuteness for yourselves.