Seal Your Record

While driving to the Temple in Vegas we happened upon these wonderful signs. They were so wonderful that I had to get a picture to share. This is almost as great as the signs that you see down in Southern California, you know the ones on the freeway like this one. It made me giggle the first time I saw it 7 years ago and I still giggle at it now. Mostly the kid looks like they are flying because they are being dragged. Call me immature.. it is still hilarious to me!



Here is the new sign that had us giggling. Now we know what to do if we need to seal our criminal record, and heck it isn't even too expensive to do it. If you need to seal it here is the number. Let me know if it works! I love the crazy signs you see around the country. More on Vegas to come. Hopefully tomorrow I will find the time.

Woman to Woman: Infertility and recurrent loss

Woman to Woman: Infertility and recurrent loss

I have never dealt with a miscarriage or any sort of loss of pregnancy. And my heart goes out to all of the many women who have. My Sister-in-law has had several and I have no idea how she has done it and my heart goes out to her. And I am in awe of her strength. I look at her as an example of how to deal with hard trials, I cannot even begin to imagine the pain that those who have miscarried or lost children in utero, and after have felt and have dealt with. I don't think I could handle it.

I did however deal with infertility. We tried for quite a while to get Little Man, and I was on fertility drugs when we did get Little Man. It was hard when we were wanting so badly to have our first child and everywhere I turned someone I knew was pregnant and it was hard to watch. I hated waiting every month to see if I was pregnant. I tried hard to not buy pregnancy tests but I couldn't help it. I knew each month HAD to be the month. And it would pass by and I would cry. And then go on and try the next month. Finally we were at the temple and I had an overwhelming feeling I was pregnant, and a couple of weeks later I found out I was! I was thrilled, and still remember finding Randy while he was on jury duty at the Court House to tell him. We were overjoyed.

Little Miss came 18 months later without any drugs, due to other things in my life with health issues she is what we call our Little Miracle. After complications with both pregnancies and all of my weird health issues we were told we were done having kids. I scoffed at the idea. I was 23, young and "healthy".. okay maybe healthy isn't exactly right.. but I thought I was. And after reading stories of pre-eclampsia, and talking to multiple doctors, friends, people with Lupus, Bishop's, family, researching, praying I finally got an answer I was done. That our family was complete. Last year I had surgery to permanently take the option of childbearing away. It was hard and a heartbreaking choice that has been so eloquently put, My body made a choice before my heart was ready. But I knew I had to do it for my health. And there were times of sheer heartache before and after the surgery. The twangs to my heart when people ask when number 3 is coming, and I tell them we are done. And the assurance that you never know.. to which I reply actually we do. Often it is followed by a sincere apology to which I assure them it is okay no harm done and it isn't like I have a sign printed on my head saying "I'm Fixed!" In someways I have felt like I have went through infertility again.. I wanted more kids but I couldn't and live and be healthy.

This past year my heart finally caught up to my body. I look at small babies and love them. My friends announce their pregnancies and I am thrilled for them. I can't wait to buy them cute outfits or take pictures of their sweet babies. My heart has healed this past year. The sadness comes on occasion but I love the stage I am in. I love to see sweet newborns and snuggle so sweetly with them, and quickly hand them back to their Mom when the diaper needs to be changed, or they start to fuss.

To all who have had infertility my heart goes out to you, I understand the heartache. The Lord has a plan. And to those who have had recurrent loss or any at all I am so very sorry. Your strength and courage is admirable.

Now go participate at Lei and Morning Glory's Blog's. Leave a comment and leave your link.

Vegas!

I am busy trying to make sure I am ready for Vegas. We leave Friday. I have camera batteries charging, memory cards clearing, and gear getting organized. I am picking up my new luggage tomorrow, and getting things squared away. Laundry is almost all done so the kids will have plenty of clean clothes with Grandma and we will be well wardrobed for the 5 days we are playing. Even better my friend Misty and her husband are going with us. Misty and I are shooting a fantastic wedding on Saturday! I can't wait. I always enjoy working with Misty and the fact that we get to do a fun vacation together while were at it makes it even better. I am hoping to get a chance to shoot some fun pictures and capture some of the fun things in Vegas that we didn't see last time. Any out of the ordinary must-sees would be greatly appreciated.

For my Vegas friends.. and blog readers if you are interested in pictures let me know. I have time on Monday, and Tuesday AM, leave me a comment with an email address and I will get back to you!

Something to Live by

This summer I was talking with my friend Monica while we were lounging on her boat and somehow she said something that has been ever so thought provoking. She said,"Lee, you are great! Don't ever apologize for who you are. Be you and be proud of it." It might not be earth shaking for you or even something you would ponder, but I did. And I have thought about it a lot. I have often apologized for doing things just how I do them only to find out people like it done better a different way. Or apologized for just being my goofy self that is oblivious to half of the world. It is so true. I don't need to apologize for just being me. I like myself. I am comfortable with who I am. I am a loud, talk-your-ear-off, goofy, up for anything, silly, passionate, loving, hyper, quirky, screwball kind of girl and I am good with that. I am not the scrapbooker, Martha Stewarty, crafty girl. And I don't even want to pretend to be. I like to be me. I make no apologies for being ME. So Monica.. if you read this thanks for inspiring me, and reinforcing what I already knew but saying it so I could hear it. Hopefully I will teach my children this. To be who they are and be true to themselves and never apologize for who they are. Love yourself. Like who you are, and quit apologizing for being you.

Sew Much.

I love wearing new clothes. I love having new clothes. Face it I love clothes, a lot. I decided Saturday afternoon that I needed a new dress for Sunday. I just had to have one. Randy was playing paintball while I sewed myself a new dress. I am pretty darn proud. This one went much faster than my last one. And I am totally digging making my own clothes that are tailored just for me. Long enough sleeves, the bust line doesn't stop half way making me look all saggy. The skirt is long enough and I just feel great in it. That is the way clothes are supposed to fit, and usually for me to find the right fit I spend way too much money on them. My sewing machine is helping me to be cost effective. I get new clothes for a fraction of the price, and they fit me perfectly. Yippee! And now for your viewing pleasure, my newest creation.

On a side note if you would like to see an uber cute family go here and look at the slide show! Happy Monday!!

Secret...

I have a secret. A secret that might have people hunting me down over. Tomatoes might be thrown at me over it.. but don't hate me for being me. My secret...
I can't stand Michael Buble. So not my style. I know it is the latest CRAZE, the hip thing to do or something but I like to do my own thing and well.. he so doesn't do it for me. I so don't get it. Give me Nickelback, Green Day, Blink 182, The Fray, see where my taste are. I even like some country.. but that is not my thing. There it is out. I feel better. Do you? For most women I know probably not. Don't try and change my mind, it won't work.
Do you have a secret?

Halloween 2007!

We started partying for Halloween last Friday night when we had our first Halloween Party, Truck-or-Treat and games. The kids loved it and it got them even more psyched for tonight.

Saturday night Randy and I went to our Annual Halloween Party with some of our best friends. It was a blast. We laughed, we ate non-stop, we danced, we had a great time and we sang some rockin' karaoke. We had them begging for more... yeah we are THAT good. Randy and I dressed up as the Ultimate Outdoors couple, with him a hunter and me the fly fisher. We were pretty smokin'. We partied hard and we were ready to crash by the time we left.

Today Little Man had a Pumpkin Carving Contest at school. Due to issues last night we didn't get any carving done. After talking with Little Man I worked hard and fast all morning and got a Skull Pirate ready to go just in time for judging. Sadly he didn't win. And even sadder when he was carrying it down the hall he dropped it, and it broke into a few pieces and was no longer recognizable. He was so sad. So was I, no picture and all of that work! We came home and I carved our other one quickly in to a scary face. I didn't take a picture of it individually.. but you can see it in the background of some of Little Man's Pictures!

The kids had Trunk-or-Treat tonight and then to a few friends homes for a little bit more. They thoroughly enjoyed it. Little Miss was a Ballerina don't mind the purple jammies under.. she had to stay warm! Little Man was Spiderman. They got tons of candy and are still bouncing off the walls instead of sleeping like they are supposed to be! All in all it was great. We have candy coming out our ears.

Until the next one.

Happy Halloween!

Things I have Sewed!!!

I am in love with my new sewing machine. It makes sewing a breeze. Since purchasing my machine I have finished three projects! And have several more in the works. And now I am going to brag. If you aren't interested in my bragging session, promptly close the window. Otherwise I warned you.

I made Little Miss her ballerina Halloween costume. Leotard and cute tutu. I love it.. so does she. And it is super cute on! I keep forgetting to get pictures of her in it. But you can see them after Halloween they will be up.

I made a table runner for my table. I love it! It was quick easy and fun. And it adds some fall motif to my house.

I made myself a dress. A very cute dress too. It was a lot of work. I sewed things in the wrong places and spent HOURS unpicking them. I am happy with the results. And even happier when I was asked where I got it, and I said I made it that I was informed it didn't look homemade! YAY ME! I feel accomplished.

Now I just have to get started on all of the projects I have on my list.

Tagged!

I have been tagged by Jennifer. Here are the rules.
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I have had 9 surgeries in the 8 years I have been married.. they all occurred before my 7th Anniversary though.

2. It takes a lot to upset me.. but lying to me totally ticks me off.

3. I don't like yelling. I hate to be yelled at or yell at anyone. When I do I have great guilt and immediately apologize.

4. I was a Cheerleader in High School. It was totally fun!

5. I love anything creative I can do as long as it isn't scrap booking or card making or something of that sort. So not my thing. Painting, photography, sewing, and stuff like that totally lights my fire.

6. I did FFA in High School. I still have my cool Navy Jacket and my Black Wranglers.. they still fit. A little snugger but they fit.

I am tagging, Lei, Tiffani, Amber, Misty, Emily, and April.

New Toy!

I got a new toy. I am anxious, and excited about it. I looked at every sewing store here and finally decided on an Elna 6005. It does everything I need and so much more. It was a KILLER deal, so great that I couldn't pass it up.. I was going to wait until Spring. It can do way more than I even get.. but I will get it. I get free classes on how to use it as long as I have it. And with a 20 year warranty it will be a LONG, LONG, LONG time. I am feeling domestic and Super Momish. I am working on a Halloween costume for Little Miss and I can't wait to see it done..and don't worry I will post pictures of my creation. Any great ideas of what I should work on next? Randy informed me I am going to make him a dress shirt. Umm.. okay. I will do it.. but will he wear it? I realized that I have a whole new list of "needs" now that I have a new toy. Christmas is coming.. maybe I should sew all of my gifts this year. Wouldn't you love that! And as I type this and look at this picture I realize it is happening.. I am slowly becoming my Mom. That's okay though, my Mom is freaking RAD!

Scared..

I like to be scared with a good movie.. or with things that are just sudden and scare you and make you scream. It is strangely fun. Last night we want to the Haunted Corn Maze with friends.. I had an opportunity to be "scared and scream" several times. It was so much fun and had me laughing my head off. We had crazy chainsaw man coming towards us and even though I knew he was there it still made me scream. We laughed so hard we almost peed our pants. Even when you knew someone had to be in the corn and suddenly they jumped out it still made me scream. It was fun and a much needed night of laughter and silliness. I love October and the Haunted Houses and Corn Mazes so if you are close to one go. You will love it. I can't wait to take my kids when they are old enough to not get too scared.. or maybe we will just take them to a non-haunted corn maze.

Growing Up!!

Little man has lost two more teeth. The 2nd being yesterday and the other one last week. Look at how cute he is without those two front teeth. Adorable huh? He has now lost 5 teeth. And I am loving this gummy look.

Conference Weekend

I love General Conference, and I cannot wait for April when we get to hear from our beloved Prophet and other leaders again. I am always sad when Sunday Afternoon session comes. I enjoy every minute of conference. This year was one of the first years we didn't watch it with friends or family at all. It was just our family and it was quiet and nice. There were many talks that stuck out to me. I particularly loved Elder Dallin H. Oaks talk, Good, Better, Best. I gave been contemplating how I am spending my time everyday. Is it good? better? or best? Are there things I can do better? Of course! Last week I had decided to read the Book of Mormon in two months, so about nine pages each day. And I hadn't been doing as great of a job as I would have liked to. I was getting it done but it was feeling more like a burden, I had other things I wanted to do. I quickly realized that I need to change my priorities and that it belongs in the BEST category. And I am going to set aside more time for my personal scripture study and do my best to do the BEST with my time.


I also loved Sister Beck's talk. It helps me to know what I am doing is important. I want to be a Mother that Knows. Being a Mother is the most important thing I can be doing with my time. I have many other things I do with it, but my role as Mom is what really matters and what should always be my first priority. It is nice to hear and to know that being Mom matters more than anything else.


President Hinckley, I seriously love him. I loved hearing him speak about the Book of Mormon and the truthfulness of it. When he speaks the Spirit is so strong and bears witness of the truthfulness of what he says there is no doubt that it is true. I know that as I study it more my testimony will grow stronger of it and I will be able to share what I hold dear to my heart.


President Eyring.. is that weird to hear?? That is who Randy had chosen.. he is so smart! I love him humbleness and the sweetness about him. I loved his talk on the importance of journaling the Hand of God in our life. How often His hands our in our life and we fail to recognize it properly. I will try to do better and make notice of this more. When I take time to notice I see it all around me. From when I had shingles and my Mom coming over so willingly and serving me by taking care of my kids and home. To the sweet note I received from a friend that made me feel like I matter. The Lord inspires us to do good, are we always listening and willing to be His Hands?


President Monson.. I love him. He has been my favorite for years. He reminds me of my Late Grandfather, and has since I was a small child. There is something about him that just draws me to him. I loved the talk about his friend who died in World War II and how he shared the story and this boys mother was listening to General Conference. You never know when or how your life will make a difference to someone else.

Conference was uplifting and wonderful. I always enjoy it and look forward to it. I can't wait for the November Ensign so I can indulge myself in all of the great talks and also for April, when I get to hear them again.

Cookies X 6

While eating lunch today I looked at my Craisin bag and saw a recipe for Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies. I thought it sounded great! And since I purchased a cute cookie jar last week while at Kohl's I thought I should fill it with these wonderful morsels of goodness. I decided I should do a double batch so the cookie jar would be nice and full, and I would feel nice and domestic and Super Mommyish... not sure that is a word.. but I am going with it!


I started and things were going well.. until I realized that I had but 2 tablespoons of baking soda in, not the required 2 teaspoons. I figured it would be okay and proceeded to bake a pan. And put another one in the oven. I tasted my first cookie about 3 minutes into cooking the other pan. Holy nasty. Bitter, soda, salty, nasty cookie. It was awful.

I called my Mom.. she suggested adding the recipe again, making it a triple recipe so I figured it was worth the shot. Yeah.. it didn't work. The dough was yucky. I then called the baking extraordinaire Jeni. Love Jeni, she is great. And not only is she a great person she is the BEST cook I know. Seriously wonderful and the person I knew would know what to do with my situation. I called her and explained I what was going on and she assured me this kind of stuff happens.. and then she said I needed to do the recipe 3Xs more to get it to the right amount for the soda. Yes you read that right 3 times more. So my doubled recipe was now going to be 6Xs the original. That is now 2 pounds of butter. Lots of other ingredients and lots of work. I looked at it and thought about chucking it all and going to the store and filling my cookie jar.. but I couldn't. I am a pretty good cook. And I am always up for a challenge so I decided I could do this.

I already had my Kitchen-Aid mixer maxed out to capacity with the dough I had already mixed up. I got out another bowl and my hand mixer and started in. Slowly it started coming together. Little Miss decided it would be good to turn the mixer on while the mixer was sitting up right and send dough everywhere and there was a big mess. Thankfully after I quickly told her to turn it off I realized she just wanted to help and got down gave her a hug and told her it was okay. And promised to let her help when there was something she could do. I should have taken a picture once all of the dough was mixed.. it was a HUGE pile of dough. I am talking massive and overwhelming. But the dough finally tasted really good. I decided I could bake a batch and see how they turned out.. and to my pleasure they tasted good. So I kept going until I had baked 200 cookies and decided I could freeze the rest. Yes I still had lots of cookie dough left over. Probably the amount I was originally wanting.. so next time I decide to make cookies they are already done! Woo hoo!!

We decided that since it was Monday FHE night that we would deliver cookies to friends of ours. And ended up giving away close to 100 cookies tonight. The kids loved it and we now have a perfectly full cookie jar waiting for little hands to reach in and get their yummy treat. My short baking session turned into hours of baking. But the kids learned it is nice to do things for others and that it made them feel good inside. I don't plan on mixing up that many cookies again. I think I will leave that for Mrs. Fields.

You should look!

At my photo blog.. especially if you are a certain someone.
That's all.

The Truth..

I know why I got shingles. At least I am pretty darn sure I do. They say stress brings them on.. who is "they" you ask, the Dr's, People, Google. Let me explain September. September 1st, I had a wedding to shoot alone.. my first one alone. It was a very busy and fun, long day. And then I had the editing that I had to do. And I got it done and back to the people 5 days later.. yes I am crazy. September 6th, bridal portraits. September 7th, 2 weddings. Yes you read that right. Two weddings, one day. Thankfully Misty came and worked with me all. day. long. And then we stayed up going over who is proofing what and got everything organized. September 11th, family photo shoot, Lupus Support Group Meeting I am in charge of that no one came to.. and the I had HFPE to go to. I went and left shortly after, I was tired and just needed to go home. And the rest of that week I was editing, being Mom, volunteering at Little Man's school, trying to keep up on the house, laundry, cooking, driving kids in the carpool and going every which a way non-stop, and busting my Butt to get the Lupus Walk off of the ground. Friday, the 14th came and I felt something weird on my back but decided to ignore it. Saturday came the 15th and they itched more. I went to my walk had the event go off successfully, came home and showed Randy my bumps. He made me go to the Dr and I was diagnosed with Shingles. I wanted to believe it wasn't really stressed related. But seriously, that much in 15 short days it will give anyone shingles. And I am doing the walk again next year, but not with 5 shoots within two weeks of it. That was insane. That is the truth as to why I ended up with shingles.. I love to be crazy busy. It keeps things exciting. Evidently my body doesn't want me that busy or stressed again.

What's your personality?

I saw this on Kim's Blog, so I joined in. This is what I have tested as everytime I have taken any sort of test. When I was in college and met with a counselor for what to be when I "grow up" they had me do a test and I am an ENFP through and through. So no suprise. And I think it fits me pretty well in some aspects. Others.. not as much lol! Join in and let me know what you are!

You Are An ENFP

The Inspirer You love being around people, and you are deeply committed to your friends.You are also unconventional, irreverent, and unimpressed by authority and rules.Incredibly perceptive, you can usually sense if someone has hidden motives.You use lots of colorful language and expressions. You're quite the storyteller! In love, you are quite the charmer. And you are definitely willing to risk your heart.You often don't follow through with your flirting or professed feelings. And you do break a lot of hearts. At work, you are driven but not a workaholic. You just always seem to enjoy what you do.You would make an excellent entrepreneur, politician, or journalist. How you see yourself: compassionate, unselfish, and understanding When other people don't get you, they see you as: gushy, emotional, and unfocused

What's" Your Personality Type?

Monkey Bar Star!

Little Man is growing up. Faster, and faster. He is learning how to do new things. He is always excited when he accomplishes new things and is racing to tell us about his newest feat. He recently mastered the Monkey Bars while I was out of commission, so Randy being the great Dad captured the moment. Little Man has been wanting to do Monkey Bars since we bought our first swing set over two years ago. He is pleased with his new found ability. I loved Monkey Bars when I was a kid so it is fun to see my kids enjoy things I loved just as much. Good job Little Man!

Woman to Woman: Facing your parenting fears

Woman to Woman: Facing your parenting fears

I remember when I first found out I was pregnant with Little Man, I was ecstatic! Seriously ecstatic. I was going to be a Mom, life was going to be perfect. Then I thought about it more, analyzed it, and I realized I knew nothing. I didn't like to change diapers. I didn't love everyone elses kids. They thought of changing a diaper had me gagging and ready to throw up at any moment. What was I doing? And then there was the whole getting the baby out of me. Holy scary!

He came out and things went quite smoothly. And then in the wee hours of the morning I got to change my first diaper of my son. I took off his diaper, and he peed, and pooped the yucky black meconium. He peed and it hit him in his face, it was a mess. I paged a nurse since I needed new clothes for him and new bedding. I was afraid to tell them he peed in his face because I thought they would tell me what a bad Mom I was. But they asked and I sheepishly told them yes, and they laughed and said oh the joys of a boy! She reassured me things were okay and it was just fine.

I haven't had a lot of fears with raising my kids, besides them growing up in such a wicked world. I want to raise righteous children who love the Lord, who are hard workers, and kind. I pray that I am doing enough to help them and teach them.

My biggest fear I have had with my kids involves what other people say about me as a Mother, and about my children. When I hear things that are hurtful and mean said about my parenting, or about my children I fear that somehow it might be true, or will be. And I fight that much harder to keep it from ever being true. But the words haunt me. My biggest fear as a Mother is that they might be true and I don't know it. It crushes me when I hear things said about me or my children. It makes me whole body hurt. And I wonder why things that are hurtful would be said if there wasn't truth. But Randy is great to remind me it isn't true and I am a good mother, and my children are wonderful children of mine. Children who are very much like their Mother and Father. Children who make me laugh, who help me to remember the days when I was little. Children who make me feel complete, and who I would never change, and I love the way they are. The are perfect.

Leave a comment, and join in on the fun! Go to Lei and Morning Glory and leave your link!

Drug Free and Proud to Be!

Today is my first day not on pain pills. I am so glad to be "here" again and not feeling half crazy. I seriously hate the feeling of being out of it, and I have no idea why anyone would EVER do that for fun. YUCK! My shingles are scabbing up nicely. The pain is dulling significantly. I took a couple of Advil today and it kept things at bay. Little Man came home today and said, "Are you better or still sick." I said, "Better!" He got excited and said, "I knew it! You are better, that's great Mom!" Always nice when they are enthused that Mom is back to the land of the living.

So a couple of thank yous. To all of my wonderful friends who called to check in and offered to run errands and help out. Thanks! It made my day to feel so loved. Sorry for the groggy drugged state and anything I might have said that was inappropriate. The filter was OFF. Thanks Randy for being so great and picking up what I wasn't able to do. For being so kind and just your wonderful, awesome self! Seriously it was a great relief to not have to worry about everything. And thanks to my Mom, who is the BEST MOM EVER!!!!! Seriously, even Randy agrees! She came over and cleaned, did laundry, took care of Little Miss, took care of me, and was just wonderful! It is nice to feel loved, and to feel so important.

This week I am laying low.. getting all I need to get done, and just making sure my body is whole and rested. Then next week life will go into full swing and all the craziness I thrive on will be back!

I'm Here..

Alive.. but drugged. Here is my update.
Valtrex- Seems to be working. The shingles look better. It does however upset my stomach, and it is now making me puke. Yippee!
Pain Meds- Working great. They are keeping me nice and tired. In a weird drugged state (which I absolutely hate.. why would anyone want to feel like this on purpose.?? YUCK!) My filter is turned off when I am on them.. so I will keep this short.
Shingles- They hurt. A lot more than I thought they would. They itch too. But I think they are getting better.
Thankfully I have an awesome Mommy who has been helping out.. and a great husband who is encouraging my resting so I am better sooner rather than later.
And.. I learned some new photoshop stuff. I dreamed about it all night. It was weird.
That's all.

A Walker, Dentures, Blue Hair..

And I would be complete. I am feeling old. Really old. What would make me feel so old? Saturday afternoon, after my wonderful Lupus Walk, I went to the Doctor. I had found these weird spots on my back. When Randy looked at them he informed me I was going to the Dr. After waiting for 1 hour to see the Dr, I was diagnosed with Shingles. I wasn't sure what to do, so I said All I need is blue hair, a walker and dentures and I am set. And I started laughing. We had to go through a process of figuring out what to give me and how to adjust my other medicines, but I ended up with Valtrex. I was like ummm.. I have seen the commercials for that drug.. it is for herpes.. those other kind of herpes. I don't have herpes. I learned that Shingles is a form of herpes, so are Chicken Pox. Home I went with my Valtrex. And then I informed my friends that I was going to be home for a while since I was now 80.

Today I called my Rheumy to follow up with him and he said I needed some pain pills. This hurts.. more than I ever thought it would. My Mom and I go to pick up my meds and I get this bottle and I was like this is huge for pain meds. Normally when you get pain meds you get 20-30 pills tops. When I looked at the bottle I started laughing. It is one of the largest prescription bottles I have seen. Guess how many pills I got? 120. Evidently this is supposed to hurt a lot.. and for a while. Sounds like fun huh? I am really hoping to not need them that long. I despise the drugged feeling. But I do enjoy being able to sleep. And Randy will like me having sound sleep and not trying to smother him in my sleep. Evidently I couldn't get comfy and I put my pillow over his face the other night and he woke up gasping for air. Oops!

For the next little bit it looks like I am going to be hanging out at home. Hopefully these blasted things will go away quickly. But if not.. I will enjoy the week of rest after my last two crazy weeks. Enjoy the down time and the chance to catch up on some much needed rest.

Success!!

It has been a long day. A very long day. It started before the sun was even up. It has been a great day though.

I needed to leave by 6:30AM to get everything accomplished today for the Lupus Walk. Thankfully Allison was more than willing to accompany me and we headed off to get Ice and Bagels and go start the set up . I was anxious and praying that there would be more than 20 people there. We were there before Kathy and Bob got there, so we arranged tables, unloaded food, put water on ice, and anything else we could come up with. Bob and Kathy arrived and we got started on more things.. wonderful signs Allison made! Thank you very much. Laying more stuff out and just getting all of the final details readay. My parents arrived and my Dad and I positioned our main sign and managed to get it to hold still despite all the wind. Thank you water bottles!

People slowly arrived at 8:45 and from then on. And then a group came from Target. And they said more were coming. I figured they would have 10-15 people, but I was wrong. They had 80 people sign up. Not all of them came but they had at least 50 people. It was amazing. And I am incredibly grateful that they would give of their time and come support our cause!

We had a great DJ, Big B from one of my favorite radio stations. He did great! He was enthused and was a wonderful support and did a great job promoting our walk. He even let me be on the radio a few times! What's not to love about that?

We ended up with 93 people who walked our walk.. a few people didn't walk so I think we had 100 there. Which I am thrilled about. For our first walk, our first event here, that is a true success. Our raffle was great! We had wonderful prizes and I don't think I could have asked for things to go better. We had fun! We earned money for the Lupus Foundation! And we helped to Raise Awareness about a Not-So-Fun Disease. I am proud of the community. Proud of my wonderful friends who came, Tiff, Marianne, Jen, Carrie, Allison, Jenni and many more! Proud of my family and their efforts! Thankful to my family and friends for their great support and willingness to be there! I am looking forward to next year and to having an even bigger success! We can help to find a cure, find new drugs and raise awarness as to what Lupus really is. Thank you to all who donated.

I had to pick her up.. being 10 inches tall it was just too tempting! We had to get more pictures this year to go with last years and all of our other pics of us together. I didn't get pics with my kids or other friends and family.. oops! It was busy!

Lupus Walk Tomorrow!

I am so excited that the Walk is tomorrow! This has been a busy stressful time, but it has all come together. If you haven't donated and would like to please click here. I am excited about the great prizes we have and I am optimistic that we will have a great turn out. I have had great friends and family who have supported me throughout this. Thank you to each of you! I cannot wait to tell all of the details from our success tomorrow. Each dollar donated is so greatly appreciated. It all helps towards finding new medicines for Lupus, and hopefully one day a cure. I am so grateful to each of you who have donated, you have no idea how much I truly appreciate it. Thank you! Have a great day! And I hope to see a few of you there!

Do you Remember?

September 11, 2001.. It started out like a normal day for me. I got up and got ready for work. I was leaving our condo.. going over a speed bump and waving at an elderly guy in our complex and I heard on the radio a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. It was about 6:15 AM here. I thought it was weird but I pictured a little tiny plane, (two seater size). Not a BIG commercial plane. I drove to the lab, where I worked not thinking much about it. Strange things happen. I was six months pregnant with Little Man and he was very active that morning. I got into work and we turned the radio on like always and there was more on.. It wasn't just a small airplane, it was a big one. It wasn't anything like I had originally though it was. And then another plane had hit the other tower. I still didn't grasp the magnitude of it.

That day we were glued to the radio listening to every detail, and asking patients as they came in if they had heard anything knew. We couldn't believe that something like this had happened. That terrorists were so boldly attacking our home.. the land that we loved. I heard about the Pentagon and the flight in Pennsylvania. It shocked me. It terrified me. How could something like this happen. I was off work shortly after 2:00 and I drove to my parents and talked to them. The Mall was closed, schools were closed, people were home watching the TV. I watched for the first time video of the towers falling. A horrific image.. I watched in horror thinking this cannot really be happening. Why would anyone do this? So many innocent people dying. I looked at my stomach.. and wondered about bringing a child into a world like this.

That night I had a prenatal water aerobics class.. I went and the teacher asked us how we were doing. It was the first time I had thought about it. Before that I was just numb and shocked.. and slowly the tears came. I realized I was scared. I had no idea what the future would hold. I was floored that people would do such horrible hurtful things. We talked about the fears we had.. and how we wished this was just a bad dream. My heart hurt for the families who had lost their loved ones.

I watched daily as people were slowly found and rescued. Some families rejoiced while others mourned. It was tragic. It was all I could do to not sit and stare at the TV. It was a bad movie that I just couldn't turn off.. I wanted to know each detail, I wanted people to be safe for great miracles to happen. I wanted it to go away.

9/11 forever changed me. It changed how I view our country, and my patriotism. In 2004 I went to New York City with my family. I saw several firemen and police officers. I told one of them thank you for all he did, and my eyes welled up with tears. What so many of them have done is not forgotten it is not in vain. Many sacrificed their lives to try and save others. They are heroes. Whenever I hear the National Anthem tears come to my eyes, and I truly think of what that great song means. I am proud that I am an American. I am proud to live where I can worship God how I want, where I can have Freedom of Speech, where people have fought for my Freedom. I haven't forgotten those who died on that terrible day. Many families mourn their loved ones today. I mourn with them. And I pray that they have peace and know that their loved ones will forever be remembered.

May we never forget. May we always believe. May we unite and be stronger.

Three Weeks and Counting!

I have posted several times that I am chairing up a Lupus Walk, the Mad Hatter Walk and Roll. We are down to three weeks and a couple of days until the walk. I am so excited.. yet feeling scared and overwhelmed. I have put a lot of time and effort into this and I am praying that is the success I have envisioned. I am going to leave this post at the top of my blog until after the walk. I am hoping to raise at least $1000 for the Lupus Foundation. And I am calling out all of my faithful blog readers for help. Pass the word on to everyone you know, or if you would be so kind blog about it with a link back to my page or my First Giving Site where you can donate safe online it is tax deductible and it goes towards a great cause.
So go here, tell everyone about my page, and if you would like join me in my walk, raise money and come walk September 15th with me!

First Day of Preschool!!

Wow, Little Miss is in Preschool. She had her first day today and was absolutely thrilled to go. She could not wait to go to Little Man's old Preschool. She was so excited and just giddy to go. I let her wear part of her new school clothes.. and she is just tickled! So what does this mean for me? It means two days a week I don't have kids with me. It is weird.. it is slightly eerie.. I am not really sure what to think. But I do think that next year, it just might kill me. I am not THAT OLD yet.

The End of Summer!

In honor of my 200th Post on my BLOG I am posting a picture of me in my swimsuit. Yep.. you all get to see me in my swimsuit. Excited? Scared? Nervous? Wondering if I am on crack?

Every summer we swim a lot. And every summer we get pictures of us jumping off of the diving board and doing crazy things. It is tradition. We swam today and I realized I didn't have any of those pictures this year from the pool. We had them from boating, and from camping but no pool pictures. So I decided today was probably my last chance and I had better jump all over it. So here are our latest crazy jump pictures.

I cannot believe that it is September. We have had a busy summer. We played with friends, we camped, we boated, Randy learned to wakeboard, so did I! We had a chance to do some great family things.. we went to Silverwood.. which I have never blogged about. The pictures come to think of it are still on my other camera. Today was our last hoorah for summer.

Ballet!

We have a Ballerina in our midst. Little Miss started her very first day of Ballet today. She is absolutely thrilled. All morning she asked if it was time to go. Finally I told her it was time to get ready.. off she went shrieking and squealing in pure Little Miss fashion. She shrieked in a shrill noise, Ballet, Ballet, I am so excited, Ballet! I love that she is this excited to go. I love her zest for life and new things, it is contagious. She did a great job today at Ballet and cannot wait to go back next week. Little Man went today and was excited to watch her and tell me all about the great things Little Miss was doing. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from today. She is my Diva. Enjoy!

Kindergarten!!

Today was Little Man's first day of school, and not pre-school, real school. Kindergarten. He was so excited and a little nervous to go. It was a short day just introducing him the class room and stuff. And then he will go for a full day. I am not sure what to feel, excitement, or sadness? A little of both I suspect.

He has two teachers one for English and one for Spanish... he is going to a dual language Kindergarten. He is so excited to learn Spanish. I signed up to volunteer in his classroom every week, and I am so excited to have a chance to be involved in what is going on. He is excited that Mom is going to come once a week.. I won't be cool forever might as well enjoy it now! I signed up to be the classroom photographer also.. that was a no brainer for me. And I even signed up for the PTA! I remember my Mom coming into my class when I was a kid, it was one of my favorite things. We have a few days of rest and then Friday we start in full swing. I don't feel old enough to have a Kindergartner. I thought I would be wise by now. Instead I feel like I have many questions about what I am doing.

I can't believe my Little Man has grown so quickly. It seems like just yesterday I was pregnant with him. The days keep getting faster. Enjoy the pictures of Little Man doing his crazy Ninja moves.. being a goof, and being Little Man.

And I Will Cherish You.

For the rest of my life.. I will be your Wife!! Eight years ago I married Prince Charming. The Man of my Dreams. I am the luckiest girl alive. Married to the best man in the UNIVERSE! I was thinking about it and realizing how quickly the time has passed. I still remember the first time I laid eyes on him. I was at a fireside with another guy.. and I met him. I thought he was pretty smokin' hot. And that next week I went to institute and I wasn't sure which class to go to. He showed up and said come with me to D&C and I said sure. And I went. A month later we went to a fireside together and he kissed me that night. And let me tell you.. I went in didn't say a word and thought I could kiss him for the rest of my life. Two months later we were engaged, and 4 months after that we were married. Just seven months after first laying eyes on this man I was his wife. Head over feet in love and thrilled with every minute! And guess what? I still am! We exchanged gifts a couple of weeks ago.. we were both too giddy to show the other one what we bought for them. I sold his old GPS unit and bought him a newer, better GPS unit for all of his geocaching. He has been positively thrilled with it.. or so he says. And he.. well he rocked it. Seriously rocked it. I got a blue bag.. with a blue box inside that was tied with a pretty white ribbon. I opened it and found the most beautiful necklace to go with my beautiful birthday bracelet. You remember that right? Just one more piece of the set.. the earrings and my set will be complete. Any guesses what Christmas might bring! He totally spoiled me. We celebrated on Friday going out and having time to ourselves. He is out of town for business until Wednesday. I miss him. But we get to celebrate everyday all year long.

Okay.. if you don't want to hear me gush anymore.. stop reading now! But if you want to know how I really feel.. continue on.

I love you Randy.. more than yesterday less than tomorrow. You are my world. You make me complete. I am better because of you. I enjoy each day with you.. the laughter and joy you feel my life with. The broken brownie pan we can laugh about, the silly things you do. The help that you are. The compassion you have for me and your willingness to help whenever you see I need it.. and even before I know I need it. The way you have made me laugh more.. even when I don't want to. You have lightened my heart, made my life complete. I love the father you are to our children, and the example you are. The way you know how to make me laugh when I try my hardest not to. You have shown me how to truly love and to give my full self. I am better because I know you, because you are in my life. You support me in all my crazy hair brained ideas, and in my crazy jump in two feet and over commit because I believe I can do it all. You are there when I can't sleep because I realize I am complete overwhelmed and you help me to see the picture and that I can do it.. to step back and look at one thing at a time. I love the way you love me.. the way you show it, and the joy bring into my life. I love you, you are my eternal sweetheart. Happy 8th Anniversary.

Photography.. it makes me better.

One of the many reasons I am a better Mother, and Wife because of my camera.

This was supposed to be dessert. Yummy gooey brownies fresh out of the oven.. and dropped on my floor. My freshly clean floor that you could eat off of.. and I would if glass wasn't through out it. I grabbed my camera asked Randy to jump in, but he kindly declined. He burned his hand and dropped them.. it is okay. It happens. No one was hurt.. and well I don't have to run tonight. So it is all good.

Nice Matters Award!

Angela has awarded me the Nice Matters Award! Thanks for such a sweet, kind and well NICE award! Angela has such a nice upbeat blog and it is always full of encouragement. You need to check it out!

I appreciate all of my MOF's and IRL friends that stop by my blog and check out what is going on. Leave a comment when you are here so I know you stopped by!

Here are my Choices for the Nice Matters Award.

Display this on your blog and sidebar with honor!

Emily- EmLousia

Alicia- Growing Spuds---No Small Potatoes

Shelah- Hitting the Ground Running

Sara- Sara is always right

Alli- Raising Boys

Marianne- The Bloxham Bunch

Randy- Random Rantings of Randy

Misty- My Inner Aria

Now go pick some people you think deserve it!

Home!

I had a quick and very fun trip to Las Vegas this week.. and I went all by myself. I was able to see some great friends, and had some terrific photo shoots... the reason behind the trip. I will get pictures up in the next week on the other blog.



I hung out with Charlotte and her fiance and sweet little boy. We visited caught up and just had a great time! And I got to meet Elizabeth and she was just so much fun! Nothing like getting to visit with good girlfriends and catch up on life. It was just great!



I was able to shop.. and eat good food. I went with my friend Jenni to the Luxor.. I wanted to go up the Inclinator.. (Elevator that goes at an angle). But you had to have a room key. I kindly asked someone to hole the elevator and jumped on with them. Jenni and I went up the Inclinator.. and got off at the top. And neither one wanted to get back on. We were sick. Motion sick. The view was awesome... but then we had to get back on... I wasn't looking forward to it at all. We went down and I decided I am content to never stay there because I never want to go on the Inclinator again.



I was able to relax and enjoy great company and just have a nice time. I was excited to get back home to see my kids.. and go to their Soccer Game just in time. I missed Randy and was so excited to be with him again. I did enjoy my trip and look forward to going back to Vegas in November for the wedding!

4th Of July.. the Camping Trip

For the 4th of July my siblings and their families flew in.. drove and we all got together for a week of camping. For some it was a not as nice hotel.. for others a lodge, motorhome, and for the brave a tent. We were amongst the brave.. we camped for 5 nights at the gorgeous Wallowa Lake. I would highly recommend this to anyone. I have been meaning to blog this because it was truly a wonderful family reunion/vacation. We were able to do things together as a family, and also have time for each family to have their own time.

We played in the lake daily. We took our labs, Sage and Izzy and they were wonderful! They loved swimming in the lake and the kids all had fun getting to play with them. We rode the Tram to the top of Mt. Howard and hiked up there. We rode horses, go-carts, bumper boats. We ate ice-cream and yummy snacks. We played games. We petted deer, and chipmunks, and other friendly rodents. We rented peddle boats, and motor boats. The kids rode bikes and enjoyed being covered in dirt 24/7. I enjoyed getting to see my brothers who I don't get to see that often. I enjoyed the time with my wonderful Sister-in-Laws, who are wonderful talented women. We didn't have cell phone, TV, computers, or anything that normally distracts us from our family. It was wonderful to have time to just spend as a family. To enjoy one another's company without all of the distractions of everyday life. Randy and I decided this is something we should do more often. It was one of my most favorite family vacations I have ever had. We were able to spend time together and have a wonderful time!

Here are a few of my favorite of hundreds of pictures. For some reason it starts in the middle.. I have no clue why. Scroll to the top to see all of the pictures. You don't want to miss one! lol.

Click to play Make your own Smilebox

4:45 AM

For the last 3 years we have not had a next door neighbor on both sides of us. We have consistently had a vacant lot next door, in the previous house and in this one. We actually really like it. Last week though.. that all began to change. The broke ground on the lot next door. And construction has begun. We were under the impression that you couldn't start being noisy doing it all until 7:00 AM.. early but manageable. 4:45 AM we heard noise. I thought it was a bad dream.. but then realized it was the workers on the house next door. The concrete truck pouring cement for the foundation. What is wrong with people? Seriously. Do they not get that we need to sleep. They were off to a new job by 7:15 AM. I know they are busy.. but we need our sleep. My kids don't need to be woke up at that insane time. They need there sleep even more than I do. I need them to have their sleep. There has got to be a law against this. It just seems wrong.

My advice for the day.. if you are going to do noisy projects in the AM, do it after 7.. mowing your lawn before then will certainly tick your neighbors off.. along with hammering anything. Hopefully this was a great error on their part.. It was dark.. maybe they couldn't tell what time it really was.