THEY'RE HIS KIDS

MEXICO

2011-04-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

Jared was one of the top salesmen at work and so he won an all inclusive company trip to Mexico in February. It was SO MUCH FUN! We were gone for a week, no kids, no responsibility, and everything was FREE. Can't say enough about how much fun it was. It was horribly hard to leave the kids, but once we were there, um well I forgot I had kids. We ate, and ate, and drank virgin (which got a lot of funny looks) drinks by the pool, slept, and ate, and played, and shopped, and ate, and slept. It was fabulous. I highly recommend it. We celebrated our 10 year anniversary in December and so this came at a perfect time. We used this trip to celebrate. We got matching rings for our right hands so now I have my man doubly ringed. Ha!!! We haven't gone on a vacation like this since our honeymoon. So great to get a way and remember when we first fell in love and realize that we still have as much fun together as we did when we were dating.

WEE

2011-04-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

Grady climbs into the baby swing and yells WEEEEE! It's cute, but really hope he doesn't brake it.

Love, Love, Love

2011-04-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

My sister Jessica made this bow to go with this dress. LOVE IT!

Please Put Me In My Bed!

2011-04-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

In the middle of Jared feeding Jamie she passed out.

Lights

2011-04-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

Yes I know it's April but I'm really behind on updating this blog. We went to see the lights at Temple Square. It was really fun and not as freezing cold as it has been in the past. It was fun to see the kids in awe of all the lights, well almost all the kids, Jamie seemed a little annoyed with the whole thing.

HALLOWEEN

2010-11-01T11:47:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year, watching the kids run around trying to find the perfect pumpkin. So much fun.

Jamie's Blessing

2010-11-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

Baby Blessings are always special days for me. There's just a special spirit that comes into your home on that day. Jamie's blessing ended up being a little more special for a few reasons, but the main one was her dress. Jessica, my sister, and I had baby girls 10 days apart. We were talking about what blessing dresses we were going to get and Jessica suggested that we make the blessing dresses out of our wedding dress. She and I shared the same wedding dress, so our girls would have a little piece of us on their special days. Thanks to a friend, Tiffany Vought, this amazing idea came to life. I couldn't have asked for anything more perfect. It really made me think, here's the dress that started it all, it brought Jared and I together, and our four kids into our family, and now our family is complete and is ending with the same dress. Full circle.

Jamie

2010-11-01T11:20:00.000-07:00

She's just so cute! Love those cheeks. I just can't kiss them enough.

Such a little Man

2010-11-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

I think these pictures speak for themselves. (p.s. we bought onsies so that he can't do this anymore, well at least for the moment.)

Jamie and Charlotte

2010-09-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

Two of my sisters and I were pregnant at the same time this year. Each one of us had difficulty in our pregnancies but Jessica took the cake. She ended up delivering her baby early and only 10 days after I had Jamie. We figure they were so sad that Jackson, my sister Anna's son, got to come 4 months before them that they had to catch up. And when Jamie came that was all Charlotte could handle and she was not going to be left behind. Jamie was 9lbs 1 oz and Charlotte was a wee 4lbs 9oz. Jessica and I could hardly wait to get these to friends side by side to see the difference and this is the result. Aren't they the cutest! They're gonna be the best of friends and the worst of enemies, if they're anything like their mothers! Now we can't wait for Anna to get here with Jackson, who's tipped the scales and created a new growth chart of his own, to come so we can see all these babies together. So much fun.

Pictures

2010-08-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

Here's some more pictures that I liked.

WELCOME JAMIE MIKELL

2010-08-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

Our new addition was added on August 1st. Jamie was born at 3:59pm and was 9lbs 1oz, 20inches long, and absolutely perfect. She's so cute and we couldn't be happier. Everything went great and was the fastest delivery I've ever had by far, only about 3 hours. Woo hoo! Guess that's what 2 months of labor does for you. We're so happy to have her home and our family complete! These pictures were taken by a friend of mine in our ward. She's starting a photography business (allysonbosphotograph.blogspot.com) and did these as practice for us. They're amazing! We really lucked out.

GRADY's TWO

2010-08-15T18:40:00.000-07:00

On July 24th Grady turned 2. We sort of had a birthday party for him, poor kid. I made him a hot wheels cake and he seemed to like that a lot. We had my Mom and Dad, and my sister and her family over for cake and ice cream. Nothing big, but it was fun. He totally gets opening presents now and is so funny to watch. He gets so excited it's really sweet. Love that boy. Can't believe he's two.

BABY JAMIE

2010-07-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

I'm posting this for all those who don't follow my Facebook account, so sorry for the repeat information for those of you who know what's going on. On May 29th, or so, I went into preterm labor. I was only 27ish weeks along so this was not a good thing at all. They gave me meds to stop the labor, shots to boost Jamie's lung development, and a prescription of bed rest to keep her cooking a little longer. I ended up in the hospital 2 more times in labor but they were able to stop it. After almost 2 months of bed rest I am now 36 weeks and things seem to be good, so good that now I have an induction date of Aug 7th if she doesn't come before then. The little stinker is gonna stay put now.

As you can imagine this has been a very scary time for our family. I'm learning a lot about myself and the charity of others! So many people have helped us and I can't thank them enough. It's been extremely humbling and I couldn't be more grateful.

We look forward to having a new addition to our family and hope this ends a whole lot better than we anticipated. We appreciate all the prayers that have been offered in our behalf. Heavenly Father heard and answered them!

Oh, and if you hadn't heard, it's a girl and we're naming her Jamie Mikell.

BIRTHDAY

2010-07-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

So Ethan's birthday is in May as well as Emma's so it's a busy month for us, although it's starting to be a tradition in our family that when you're about to turn 6 you start to lie big time. Well this little character flaw ends up costing you your birthday party. BUMMER! Emma lost her 6th birthday party and Ethan has continued the tradition this year. We'll see if the others encounter the same fate. It was really hard for me to take away his party. I love having birthday parties and seeing them so happy. This year however was especially hard because Ethan was born on Mothers Day and this was the first year since his birth that it ended up on Mothers Day again. It ended up being a special day anyway and I love that he and I can share that day, I wish we shared it every year! (P.S. we're not as cruel as you think, he did get a cake and new bedding. Isn't that every 6 year olds dream?)

BAPTISM

2010-07-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

In May Emma turned 8 and was baptized. It was a very stressful but wonderful day. We're so proud of her and the example she's set for her brothers, and sister on the way. She was so beautiful, and it was pretty emotional for me. Surprise, surprise, surprise! My testimony of 8 being the age of accountability has been strengthened as I've watched her. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she choose to do it. It was really incredible to see. Thank you to everyone who participated and supported Emma on this unforgettable day!

EMMA IN HER ELEMENT

2010-04-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

Got to go to Saint George to see my sisters new baby boy Jackson. SUPER CUTE little guy. Emma was in HEAVEN! I'm surprised anyone else got to hold him after she got her grip on him. What a mom she will make someday, in the very distant future!

BEST CAR RIDE EVER!

2010-04-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

Gave Grady a chocolate bunny that my Mom and Dad had given him for Easter. Ate the chocolate, fell asleep...

Got home and he was in complete bliss! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a great treat!

ETHAN JOINED THE RANKS

2010-04-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

Ethan's lost his first tooth. So fun. He was super brave, not one tear. He asked me "Mom will you pull it because you use to be a dentist?" To which Emma promptly said, "If Mom was a dentist we would be rich, she use to be a dental assistant." Thanks for clearing that up Emma! Gotta love it.

HOW SOON CAN YOU PICK ME UP?

2010-04-30T19:46:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I feel like calling someone to ship me away too.

WISH I COULD SLEEP THIS SOUNDLY

2010-04-30T19:43:00.001-07:00

This is one of my most favorite pictures of Grady. I want to remember all of my kids at this age, and this peaceful. LOVE IT!!!

Ice Skating

2009-12-16T14:17:00.000-08:00

My sister Jessica and her husband put their daughter in ice skating and invited Emma to join. She ended up falling in love with it and really wants to keep going. We're really lucky because we live so close to the Olympic Oval, where obviously the Olympics were held here, and they have amazing teachers. She only went to 3 lessons and past the test to move onto the next level. We're really excited that she found something she loves and hope to start up again in January. (I just wonder why she picked a sport were I get to freeze while she has fun? The sacrifices we make.)

Carving Pumpkins the Lazy Man's Way

2009-12-16T14:08:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it's not really that we're lazy, it's I'm mean and hate the mess carving pumpkins make. I think they turned out cute though. And the kids really loved them. They got to help a lot more than if we were using our sharpest knives to carve them. There was a lot less yelling, don't touch that, and don't poke your sister with that, and don't throw that crap on my carpet! I think this will be our new tradition, plus it takes like 5 minutes (perfect FHE)!

Catch Up

2009-12-16T13:59:00.000-08:00

Okay I'm playing catch up, although this isn't everything I'd like to post it's the most current. Next year I will be much better, well hopefully! I didn't set the standard too high this year so it shouldn't be too difficult to beat it next year right?

We went to a pumpkin patch this year and it was so much fun. As you can see the kids had a blast, well Grady had a blast when he wasn't face down in the dirt. Steady there little man.

I know I never post

2009-04-02T09:54:00.001-07:00

So for all you have been nagging me about posting something here you go. I know it's been a while. I've felt really shut down lately. I'll use my other journal for that entree. Anyway we're doing well and living life. Nothing too exciting has gone on lately.

Jared's doing well at work and we're hoping it's just gonna get better. There's a lot of details that go along with his job, I can hardly keep up, but he's gotten some really good leads and if even half of them come through we'll be doing really well. He's such a hard worker and I'm so glad I married an ambitious man.

Emma spent last weekend with her cousin Kristen. She had so much fun. They love each other so much and I really hope their friendship continues through out their lives.

Ethan has spent a few days playing with his cousin Chloe. They fight and love each other like they're brother and sister. He loves her so much and I'm glad they can hang out so much. The other day Ethan was talking to me about how he doesn't want to hit or be mean to Emma anymore. I've been trying to teach him how boys are to treat girls. He of course has now made a comparison with princesses and how their princes treat them. He told me he was going to treat Chloe like a princess when I dropped him off to play with her. It was so cute. He said he would treat all girls like they were princesses and he was their prince. I told him that he has A LOT of girls in his life that he can treat like princesses and he can be a prince to them all. He was really excited about that and promised he wouldn't hit anymore. So far so good. (I still believe he wishes he could be a princess as well, one day he'll get over that, right?)

Grady is getting big and is about to crawl any day here. He gets on his hands and knees and lunges forward to get where he wants to go. Whatever works I guess. He's eating like crazy and loves bananas. He said Dad about a month or so ago and just said Mom on Tuesday. He says Dad all the time, but only says Mom when he's crying. Huh, why do we teach them to say anything? I'm not sure I'm ready to have someone else yelling, Mom at me. I think I'm gonna change my name. Ha!!!! At least they're really cute. oh, and he claps.

Hope this caught you up a little bit and didn't bore you too much!

GROUNDHOG DAY

2009-04-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

I know it's not really a celebrated holiday, especially since the dang thing saw it's shadow again, does it ever NOT see his shadow? Anyway, Emma and Ethan's best friends Jessica and Ryan came over and we decided to make a cake. It was a lot of fun. They also made paper groundhogs and we used toilet paper rolls for the groundhogs to hid in. Hope this is making sense. Anyway it was cute and they had a ton of fun.

GRADY GRADY GRADY

2009-04-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

So I know kids find ways to play with their binky's, but I've never seen a kid do something like this. Grady is so funny! He makes me laugh everyday.

SCENTSY

2009-02-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with 10% off on Scentsy Warmers and fragrances! Love is in the air – and so are the enticing aromas of Scentsy fragrances. Romantically named Enchanted Mist, Flirtatious, French Kiss, Lucky in Love…these are just a few of the 80 fragrances Scentsy offers. Warm fragrances like Luxe Vanilla, Sandalwood & Cranberries or Redwood & Cedar can be just as romantic, but with an earthy touch. For the whole month of February, they are all offered at a 10 perscent discount.

Pair our scent bars and bricks with Car Candles and Room Sprays to extend the romantic theme to every corner of your home, from the mudroom to the bedroom. No matter how you celebrate Valentine’s Day, Scentsy is always there to warm your heart.
Click on the link to find out what warmers and scents are being discontinued

"To everyone, My sister Jessica is a rep for Scentsy and I am having an online party. Right now is a great time to order becasue they're having a sale. Just go to their website and click on my name and order. It's really easy and this is an awesome product. I love mine. If you have questions just e-mail me."

https://www.scentsy.com/images/photo/Fall08_Discontinued.pdf

It's Been A Year

2009-01-07T13:08:00.000-08:00

A year ago today I found out that one of my mission companions, Kristy, was murdered by her husband. I thought about her a lot yesterday, hoping that her family felt our love for them, and their daughter, sister and friend. I can't believe it's been a year. I look at my kids, especially my boys because she has two boys, and am grateful I'm here to see them grow up. I hope that her boys will know one day what a wonderful mother they had, and I pray that they will be able to have the life she would have given them. She would have been 31 yesterday so happy birthday Kristy and know that we all still think of you and your family.

A NEW YEAR

2009-01-06T17:51:00.000-08:00

I hardly ever do just a journal entry but I don't have any pictures to go with this. We had a great New Years Eve. We went to my sister-in-laws for a family party with Jared's family. We played games and ate, and ate, and ate, and talked, and ate some more. It was so much fun. I actually stayed up to see the new year come in. I am so excited for a new year. As you all know it's been a rough year for us, and I am looking forward to putting all of that behind us and starting over. I don't think I've ever look so forward to a new year like I am this time. I'm grateful for the lessons learned, the trials we overcame, and the strength found that I didn't know we had, but I'll take those lessons, and be happy to leave the struggles behind. I know I'm dreaming if I think this year won't bring it's own challenges, but I'm glad to be out of '08's. I hope this year brings all of us the things we're hoping and dreaming of! Happy New Year!!

CHRISTMAS DAY

2009-01-06T17:41:00.000-08:00

We went to my parents house for Christmas day. It was a lot of fun. We were the only ones there so we got to be all alone with them, that never happens. The kids were happy to have their undivided attention. By that I mean, Emma talked so much to my Dad that he fell asleep in his chair, and I'm not quite sure she even noticed! We played games and ate way too much! Needless to say it was much quieter than the night before.

TOO MUCH EGG NOG, i mean the good stuff

2009-01-06T17:36:00.000-08:00

I had to put this picture up, I thought it was so funny

Chirstmas Morning

2009-01-06T17:10:00.001-08:00

Here we all are opening presents in the morning. Santa was very generous, and the kids got everything they could imagine. It was a lot of fun this year. The anticipation bottled up in Ethan and was so much fun to watch him bursting at the seams. It brought the fun back into Christmas. Grady was excited although he wasn't sure why he was. Emma was bursting too, and I've never seen her run to go to bed. I love Christmas Eve. We can always get a great night sleep. We are so grateful we were able to have a wonderful Christmas. It wasn't as big as some years have been, but I was happy to see our kids were grateful for everything they got. They got less stuff this year, and seemed happier. It reminded me of a Christmas I had ad kid where we handmade all of our gifts. It's one of the best Christmas memories I have. I'm thankful it was more about the thought than the gift. Thank you to everyone for your Christmas gifts, cards, and well wishes. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

Christmas Eve

2009-01-06T17:00:00.000-08:00

Jared's family has a Christmas Eve party every year. It's so much fun. Emma and Ethan each have a cousin their age so they have a blast, as you can see in some of the pictures. It's always hard to get them separated when it's time to leave. We wish they lived closer!!! Grady loves hanging out with Grandma Bowers. It's always a ton of fun to be with them, and it always reminds me how quiet my family is. Ha!

Christmas Outfits

2009-01-06T16:53:00.000-08:00

Don't they look so cute in their new outfits. I love Grady's hat!

THANK YOU AUNT KRIS AND UNCLE MIKE

2008-11-20T19:08:00.000-08:00

My Aunt and Uncle gave Grady this outfit. We love it. It looks so cute on him. My Aunt was worried whether or not she got the right sizes, and it looks like twelve months was the perfect fit for my almost 4 month old. Thanks so much for the outfits. We really do love them, they're perfect!!!

ONE REASON FOR SNOW

2008-11-05T17:42:00.000-08:00

The snow made the kids really happy so I guess it's worth it. I don't think I ready just yet for this, but I guess I better get use to it for the next, what, 6 months. I can't believe how much it snowed today. It does always amaze me at how beautiful it is.

TRUE COUCH POTATO

2008-11-05T17:32:00.000-08:00

Grady is taking lessons from Dad on how to relax. I love his belly, guess he needs new PJ's.

for those of you wondering, yes his shirt says, Babes want me. Quite fitting I think!

Now falling asleep watching T.V.

Halloween

2008-11-05T17:23:00.000-08:00

So Emma was suppose to be a queen, and was for the other parties we went to, but as you can see I put curlers in her hair and she looked so much like "Annie", that after I quit laughing at her and making her cry, I convinced her to be "Annie". I know, real good parenting, laughing at your child, but I just couldn't help it. Hopefully that will become a suppressed memory that she can bring up with her therapist latter. Ethan was Yoda, and was very cute, no drama with him.

p.s. my Dad took pictures of Grady, so when we get those from him I'll post them.

LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!!!!

2008-10-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

Poor Emma and Ethan. They love to hold Grady, but he hates it. I can't say I blame the kid! When they're not kissing his skin off they're talking "screaming" in his face to get his attention. Needless to say Grady can sleep through just about anything.

BABYSITTER

2008-10-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

So what makes your baby sit by themselves for at least thirty minutes?

That's right, the Baby Einstein Babysitter. Got to love it!!!

2008-10-05T07:33:00.000-07:00

8 Things Tag

I've been tagged, and since I've never done one of these when I've been tagged I guess I should start.

8 things I am passionate about...

1. gospel
2. family
3. reading
4. friends, even though I'm the worst Friend you could ever have
5. sleeping
6. scrapbooking
7. getting out of debt
8. date nights, would someone please babysit, for free?

8 words or phrases I use often

1. I love you
2. Hey handsome
3. Hey pretty girl
4. Stop wining!
5. Stay where I can see you
6. Stop peeing your pants when you're in the bathroom!!!!!
7. Stop peeing your pants
8. could you not do that

8 things I have learned from my past...

1. Heavenly Father does answer prayers
2. Don't lie to your parents, somehow they always find out!
3. I'm stronger than I thought, and Pain only lasts for a little while (physical that is)
4. It's easier to be good
5. reading is relaxing
6. Laughing can cure anything
7. Your family will always be there for you.
8. your parents know you better than you know yourself

8 places I would love to go see or visit...

1. Alaska
2. New York
3. Florida, back to our mission
4. Washington D.C.
5. Redwoods
6. California, to see family, hi Amanda
7. I'd like to go on the tour of the Mormon Trail
8. Europe

8 things I currently need or want...
1. MONEY
2. MONEY
3. MONEY
4. a nap
5. Ethan to stop peeing in his pants, he's four! Any suggestions?
6. Jessica to move back
7. Amanda to move back
8. Anna to move away, ha Just kidding, she wants to go to Saint George

8 people I tag...
1. Natalie
2. Michelle (FTM)
3. Jessica and Benny
4. Stacy
5. Angie
6. Brian
7. Kelly
8. Paige

THESE ARE FOR JESSICA

2008-09-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

Here you go Jessica, these are for you. They really show off how big Grady's gotten. He's such a chunk. As you can see he likes his bath a little more these days. He had his two month appointment yesterday and he's 14lbs 11oz. I'm thinking he'll make the 20lbs requirement for turning the car seat around when he's a year old. What do you think?

BLESSING

2008-09-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

Grady's blessing day was wonderful. We had a really great day. We only had one minor problem. Grady didn't fit in his blessing outfit. Oops!! We couldn't button the top button or the jacket. Oh well he looked cute anyway. Jared did a great job and it seems Grady is going to be a great missionary during his life. That's alright with me!!! Thank you to everyone who came and supported us. It was wonderful to have you all there.

FIRST GRADE

2008-09-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

Emma's first day of First grade. I can't believe she's in school all day now. It's wonderful. She loves it. She loves that she gets to eat lunch at school. That's pretty exciting I guess. Ethan misses her tons. It's really sad. He doesn't know what to do with himself. Hope they always love each other this much.

NAP

2008-09-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

I love these pictures. Doesn't Grady look so content. I wish I slept that peacefully. He's so cute.

FIRST BATH AT HOME

2008-09-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

Here is Grady taking his first bath at home. Looks relaxing doesn't it.

BIKE LESSONS (or not)

2008-09-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

Emma taught herself how to ride a two wheeler bike. I watched from the living room as she tried to ride a boy in our neighborhood's bike. She tried and tried and after about an hour she had it down. I was in awe!!! I think it took me longer than one day to learn and she taught herself in an hour. AMAZING! That's totally her personality though. Once she puts her mind to something she does it till she has it down perfectly. It's a wonderful quality. I did feel bad that Jared didn't get to do the Daddy bike riding lesson thing, but I told him it'll take Ethan weeks to learn so that will make up for it. HA!
PS: She did it all in a dress too. That's my Emma.

THEY'RE SO CUTE!!!!

2008-08-19T16:26:00.000-07:00

Thanks Brian for taking these for us!!!

HE'S HERE; and I'm finaly writing about it!

2008-08-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

On July 24th we welcomed Grady Phillip into our family. He was 8lbs 12oz and 20.5 inches long. It was a really terrible delivery and that's why it's taken me a while to write about it. Things were really rough there for a minute, but everything turned out to be okay. Nothing happened with Grady, he was perfect. So I'm very grateful for that. Jared just almost became a single parent, and that wouldn't have been good, cause he doesn't know how to clean the fish tank with out getting fish water everywhere. SICK!!!! I made my sister Anna promise me she would either clean it for him, or make him get rid of the fish. I'm sure that they would be flushed because she has a phobia of fish. Well good thing I'm okay, cause it saved the lives of those fish. I wonder if they appreciate it? Anyway, he's beautiful, and we're so happy to have him in our family. He's a great baby. Other than his hour of grumpy time that all infants have, he's very happy. I have to thank my Mom and Dad for being in the delivery room, and helping to keep me calm even though they were scared to death of things not turning out the way they did. You're always saving me!!!! Thanks to my man for staying calm and cool as well! He never panics. He's just always reassuring. It's just what I always need. Love you all!!!!

2008-07-15T12:43:00.001-07:00

You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?
That was fun. I guess it fits.

BUTTERFLY

2008-07-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

We went to my work party and they had a clown there doing face paintings. Emma was the only brave one out of our group to go up to the clown. I guess I've past my fear of clowns onto Ethan and my niece Chloe. Whoops. Oh well I hate when people are dressed up as anything, but especially clowns, they're just creepy. Anyway, she actually did an amazing job on Emma's face as you can see from the pictures. Emma was upset when we had to wash the makeup off. But really how long can you walk around with a butterfly drawn on your face?

JOB

2008-07-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

So last week ended up being a really good week. On Friday Jared got an offer from England Logistics, and he will start on July 29th. This trial could not have turned out better. He wanted this job really bad. It was his first choice. England Logistics is a sister company of CR England, a trucking company. Jared will be negotiating with truckers on the amount of money they want to move a load. He will be making about the same as he was and then he will get commission on top of that. After the first year he could be making double what he was with his salary and commission. He applied with CR England about a year ago and didn't get the job. Ever since then the disappointment of not getting that job hasn't left his mind. He really wanted to work for them for several reasons, but most of all their cooperate offices are here in Salt Lake. So that makes the potential of long term employment greater. I'm so proud of him. He did everything he was counseled to do. We see all the many blessings that came from this terrifying experience now and understand why things worked out the way they did. If he hadn't gotten laid off he wouldn't have gone to the church's networking group. If he hadn't gone to the networking group he would have never heard of this job because they didn't post it. They send a recruiter to these meetings to find potential employees. So all is well, and we're better off than we ever could have hoped for. Thank you to everyone who cried, prayed, fasted, and begged with us. We can never express how thankful we are for all that support.

Ethans Heart

2008-07-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

We went to the cardiologist for Ethan last Tuesday. She listened and said she thought she heard two murmurs as well. So she had him get an ultrasound. He was so brave and sat still for over 4o minutes. After the ultrasound results came back she came in a told us that everything was okay. He has a murmur but it's an innocent one, which means they don't do anything for it. He could even grow out of it. YEAH!!!! We were so relieved he's totally fine and we have nothing to worry about. She told us that sometimes in little kids they can hear things better than in adults. So his body just transmits sound really well. I love primary children's hospital. They were so good to him. He got a sucker, chips, and tokens to buy some little toys. He had fun, which seems strange for being at a hospital. Thank you for all your prayers, and for the priesthood blessing he was given. I believe that's what made him whole and okay. Also a big thanks to my Mom for coming with us. I wasn't sure I'd be any good at making decisions if it came to that, so she came with us so Jared would have someone who wasn't sobbing to help him. Thanks Mom!!!

TEETH

2008-07-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

Emma lost her first tooth. We were late to church trying to get the thing out. We finally gave up and then during sacrament Jared got it out. Just the thing the people behind us wanted to see, a bloody mouth. She was really excited and the tooth fairy came. She gave her $2, and left a note letting Emma know that she got so much money because it was her first tooth. Other teeth would not be worth as much. She looks really cute, and now has a slight lisp. She has 5 other loose teeth, so soon she wont be able to eat anything.

OUT OF A JOB

2008-06-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jared and I made one of the biggest faith based decisions I've ever had to make in my entire life. Things have been going down hill at his job, to make a long story short. Yesterday he was laid off. He took a severance package that will last us a little while, but with a baby on the way and Ethan having heart issues, you can imagine the stress we're under as we have now lost our insurance. We amazingly feel at peace with our decision, but we are scared out of our minds. If that makes any sense. Anyway, we could really use all the prayers we can get right now. Thank you to my parents for talking us through this logically, and for my Dad giving us the strength to make this choice. Thank you to everyone else as well for your love and support.

Ethans Doctor Visit

2008-05-18T17:19:00.000-07:00

We took Ethan in for his yearly check up on Friday. I thought it would be just a normal exam, in and out. He seems like a typical healthy little boy to me. As his doctor, Dr. Katie, was listening to his heart she started to get a really funny look on her face. This is sometimes normal for her, if you know our doctor. But this time she continued and then the looks got more serious. She started having Ethan lay down and sit up, and lay down, and sit up, all the while listening to his chest. She was going up into his neck to hear the heart beat and that started to make me well, panic!!! We all now what a calm person I am, even when I'm not pregnant. Anyway she thought years ago that he might have a heart murmur, but that it wasn't a big deal. But this time it sounded a lot different than a murmur. She had another doctor come in and he did the same exam, poor Ethan got his ab workout for the day. He told her he'd have a cardiologist check him out as well. Her concern is that there's something wrong with a valve that's coming from his heart. That's my interpretation. So we got an appointment with the cardiologist at Primary Children's Hospital on July 6th. They will do an echo.(sp), to see what's wrong. Worse case he will need surgery to replace the valve. Hopefully everything will be fine, and this is just another attempt to see if I can keep from going into early labor. Dr. Katie could see my panic, and said, calm down, don't go into labor. There are a lot of good signs that he's fine. His blood pressure is perfect, as well as his coloring. And he doesn't get tired easily. That helped a lot. I am very grateful that my stabilizer, Jared, was with me. He usually doesn't come to these kinds of appointments, but I'm so glad he was with me. He can always calm me down and help me see the reality of the situation. (Love you honey!). I did loose it in the car when I called my Mom, but I got the immediate feeling that, we have the priesthood in our home, so why was I worrying so much. We got to go to the temple that night, for my youngest sister Amanda's first time. That was very special. I'm glad I went, because the entire time I was sitting there all I could hear is, I've given you everything you have, now do you have the faith that I can take care of it. DO YOU HAVE THE FAITH. That seems to be the theme of my life lately. I guess I better just hand it over, and use all the faith I can muster (get it?). Anyway, we could use all the prayers we can get. Thank you for all your love and support.

ETHANS 4th BIRTHDAY

2008-05-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe he's 4!!! If you can't tell from the pictures we had a pirate party. It was a ton of fun. I was surprised at how quiet our house was even with 11 4 and 5 year old's, (some younger than that). If I have any advice to anyone else crazy enough to invite that many kids under 5 to a party, do it at 10am. That seemed to be the trick. Ethan had a lot of fun, and we're grateful to all those who came to celebrate with him. Emma was upset because she was up all night the night before throwing up, so she missed out on the party, but made sure that everyone knew she was still around and just in the other room. Thanks to those of you who showed pity on her and risked sickness to appease to her need to be in the spot light.
(Oh and I made the cake. I know, if you'd like me to make your next event special with such a spectacular creation I'll be waiting by my phone. Ha! It's not ringing!) (it's a treasure chest if you can't tell)

The Jungle Book

2008-05-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

Emma's kindergarten class did "The Jungle Book" as an operetta. Emma was a narrator. She did a really good job. It was really cute. They practiced for months and it was worth it. I was impressed with all of the student's. Some kids had solo singing parts and no one chickened out. It was a lot of fun. Emma was excited to have her Grandma Loulie and Grandpa there. She was excited to see her Aunt Anna come with her cousin Chloe as well. Thanks to your support, it means a lot. (Thanks again Anna for the flowers and candy!!! Love, Emma)

HAIRCUT

2008-05-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

I went to get my hair cut and Emma wanted to get hers done as well. I'm glad she wanted to, I'm sick of the crying and screaming as I brush her hair. She got about 6inches cut off. WOW. She looks really cute. I love it.

EASTER

2008-05-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

So I really need to catch up on my blogging. I know I'm not really good. But here's some pics from Easter.

We're Having A?????

2008-03-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

It's a BOY! Yeah. We're really excited. I will post pictures latter. Everything is going really well. He looks great and we're both healthy. The ultrasound date says August 3rd, but my doctor said that it's so close to her due date of July 31st that she's not going to change it. I'm sure those few days make a difference? NOT!!! All I'm seeing is HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT. I never wanted to have a baby in the summer, but I'll take it. We're planing on naming him Grady. Emma's excited, and Ethan's getting use to the idea. We had to pull him out from under the bed in the ultrasound room because he was pouting back there. He really wanted another Emma. I'm sure he'll get over it, either by choice or necessity.

BABY ON THE WAY

2008-01-17T08:58:00.000-08:00

Most of you know already but we're expecting another baby. I'm due July 24th. We're really excited. The kids are excited as long as it's a girl. Hope they're not too disappointed if it's a boy. We've tried to explain that we don't get to choose, but that's not flying with Ethan. He's demanding it's a girl. He says he wants another Emma. CUTE! They are helping pick out names like pumpkin head, blanket head, cell phone head, and Jackson. Emma chooses names like Cody, Cameron, and Jake. You need to know though that these are names of boys in her kindergarten class. I think we wont take their advice. I am three months along and hopefully out of the nauseous can't do anything stage. My house has never been this dirty. It's driving me crazy. If anyone wants to come scrub floors or toilet's you're welcome to. Thanks to all who kept us in their prayers and helped us pray this baby here. We love you all, and are grateful for your support.

Kristy Palizzi Ragsdale

2008-01-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

I found out last night that one of my mission companions, Kristy Palizzi, was murdered yesterday by her husband in her church parking lot. I had the privilege of serving together with Kirsty twice. Once was only for six weeks and then she was my companion again for the last month of my mission. I am in shock that something like this could happen to such an amazing girl. She was the most determined and goal oriented companion I had. She knew who she was, and she knew what she wanted out of life, and nothing was going to stop her from getting it. I loved her, and am grateful I was able to know her. Please join me in praying for her family especially her two boys she left behind.

THANKSGIVING

2007-12-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My sister and her family came in from New York, and I can't describe how happy I was to see them. We were also lucky enough to have my Grandma come in from California as well. It's been too long since we've seen her, and it was wonderful to have her here. We had almost our whole family together again, and that never happens. We missed my sister Amanda (she's in California). One day I hope we can all be together. My brother was nice enough to take our family pictures for us. We haven't done that since Ethan was about 4 months old. It was cold, but I think they turned out pretty good. Thanks Brian. And thanks to all our family for sharing such a great thanksgiving with us. I think thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

Halloween

2007-11-07T06:24:00.000-08:00

We had a Halloween party for Jared's family. It was a lot of fun. We decorated pumpkins, played games, and ate. Emma was a Queen, so watch out if you call her a pretty princess, I thought she was going to kill people with the looks she was giving them after they mistook her for a princess. Ethan was Yoda. You can't tell in these pictures because he wouldn't ware the ears. Anyway he looked really cute, and Emma was really pretty.

2007-11-06T20:02:00.000-08:00

So I see I've been tagged on a couple of other people's blogs. I will do them. I'm just trying to figure out what I want to share, and what I'll keep to myself. Hang in there a minute for me.

Who needs their toes?

2007-11-06T19:44:00.000-08:00

Okay so this happened I guess about a month ago, but as you can see it takes me forever to update my blog. I thought I might be good at this, but not so much. Anyway, we were at my Mom's and the kids were in the backyard playing. We heard a blood curtailing scream, and thought UGH, I wish they'd just get along. Well they were getting along, just not with the brick that Ethan dropped on his foot. OUCH! I ran outside and all I saw was blood, so I screamed, yes I stay very calm in these situations, for what? My Mom. That's right. I'm 29 and still screaming for my Mom. Ethan had gone into shock by now, and that was very scary. I couldn't get him calmed down. We tried putting him in a bath to see how bad it was, but he just couldn't calm down. I thought he had broken his foot. My Mom and I took him to instacare and Jared met us there. Luckily it was broken just filleted. YUCK! He got to pick the color of his bandage. He of course out of all the bright blues, and greens opted for yes, pink. Oh well, what ever makes him happy. He said as we left the doctors, Emma's gonna love it. Kids are funny. I'm so glad that he's okay and I'm grateful for codeine!

The Zoo

2007-10-03T15:07:00.001-07:00

Well I just wanted to give an update on Emma and Kindergarten. She had her first Field trip and I got to go with her. We went to the zoo. I wish I had pictures, but the batteries died. I couldn't bring myself to buy batteries that must have super powers because of the way they're priced. I won't rant and rave about the ridiculously priced products at our local ZOO, cause I'm sure you've all experienced that bureaucracy. Anyway we were spit up into groups and my group of 2, yes 2, Emma and the "worse" kid in the class. You know you'll never sign up for one of these things again when all the parents come up to you and wish you luck, and they've never met the kid. We've all just been informed by our kids how he behaves. Then when the teacher hands you her cell phone number and tells you to call her if there's any problems. I've been to the Zoo, and it's not that great even if I did get in for only $5.oo. I wanted to go home. Why do I do these kinds of things to myself? Emma gave "naughty" a talking to on the bus ride up, warning him that he'd better be good for her mommy. (SHE KNOWS)! Well he was just fine. I only lost him once, and threatened time out. Not too bad I must say. It was fun. Ask me if I'm signing on for the next one........ probably. I did love how when I did buy a stuffed animal for Ethan, sorry he could come purchase, that the girl at the register asked if I wanted to donate my .32 cents in change to the Zoo. WHAT!!! Don't I already pay taxes, give me my change. (okay, I gave it to the zoo. wonder if that's a write off? HA!)
Oh, and good news, Emma's bear is holding up just fine and is the most decorated of the the class (that's my girl). Also, the mean girl is nice now. That's always a good thing.

scrap-n-scribe

2007-09-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

Well we finally did it! My sister Anna and I have talked about starting a business for a long time. We tossed ideas around with our sister Jessica and our parents. Everyone would always get excited and then we wouldn't do anything about it. I think Jared got sick of hearing about my "great" ideas and never thought it would really happen. Well it's happened. On kind of a whim we were hanging out at my parents house and talking about our ambitions and now I'm the CEO of scrap-n-scribe, and Anna is the COO. My parents also got on board and my Mom is our CFO and my Dad is our CIO. Jessica lives in New York now and has a lot on her plate there. But when she moves back!, we have a place for her too. scrap-n-scribe is a .com business and is a combination of all of our talents. We love scrap booking and card making and so we decided why not try to make a living doing something that we all love. In addition to cards and scrapbook pages we make brag books, journals, and bath gift sets (they're really cute). We've had a lot of fun getting everything started and are really optimistic about the whole adventure. Just recently we added my brother, Brian, to the group as well. He's an amazing photographer and is going to be selling his prints on the site. He's awesome at finding the perfect flower or sunset and getting incredible shots. So we're really excited to add his talent with ours. Go check out the web site, scrapnscribe.com, (there's a link from my blog). My Dad has done an amazing job, and we couldn't have done anything with out him. Thanks to all who have supported us and believe in our dreams!!!! (husbands included).

Kindergarten

2007-08-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

EMMA STARTED KINDERGARTEN!!! Can't believe that we have a kindergartner. After sleepless nights and throwing up in anticipation to starting school she's finally here. Emma was so afraid that she wasn't smart enough for kindergarten and was really nervous. After meeting her teacher and seeing other kids who were just as scared as her, she felt a lot better about going. Grandma and Grandpa came to see her off for the first day and that meant a lot to all of us. Lot's of phone calls of encouragement and hearing how her day was, were really appreciated. She was excited to tell any one who would listen all about her first day. There's a mean girl and a Miranda. Always a mean girl right? I'm just wondering why there were no calls to the MOM. It's hard to send your baby out, hence the sun glasses. I'm very proud of myself though, I held it together until she was in the building and we were on our way home. The ride home was all tears.

Emma's first homework assignment was to decorate a paper bear. She really took this and ran with it. I think she a little like her father and Grandpa in the overachieving department. The bear "Nelli" weighs in at about 5 pounds. I was a little nervous her teacher, Miss Van den Akker, would have trouble hanging it up. Emma was really happy with how the whole thing turned out. She said, "I'm a decorator". I'm just glad I was able to meet the demands of her imagination.

T Ball

2007-06-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures of T Ball. Brian, my brother, took them. He does a better job at picture taking than I do. Isn't our little man so cute!

2007-06-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

Here's Emma playing her first game of T Ball. She's on the team with her friend Jessica. They have a ton of fun together. The best thing about this is, all of their shirts are like dresses. One size fits all, right? It's so cute.

2007-06-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

We started T Ball tonight. As you can see Ethan liked kicking the dirt more than playing the game. His shoes are filthy!! He said he had fun, so that's what matters. He's playing with his cousin, Mckayla (she's in the other picture) and his two friends James, and Ryan. It's a lot of fun to have friends on the same team. The only thing I don't like about T Ball is, it's HOT!!!! outside.

2007-06-26T07:56:00.000-07:00

On the bench are all the kids that came. James, Emma, Lea, Ethan and Chloe. I love that shot. I also love the other pictures. Kids are so dang CUTE!

2007-06-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

Here's Ethan, Chloe, and Emma feeding the ducks. They're huge and come right up to you. The kids liked the ones behind the fence.

2007-06-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

Hello to all. Welcome to our first attempt at a blog. Hopefully someone out there will enjoy it. Here are some pics of the kids my friend did. We went to Wheeler Historic Farm. Don't forget the "Historic" part or your navigation system will send you on a 500 mile journey. The kids had a ton of fun. Emma is 5 now and Ethan is 3. Growing up way too fast!!!!