The Fischer Family News

Hello Ryder!

2012-01-13T16:47:00.000-07:00

So, we got a new puppy, Ryder! He is a Cocker Spaniel, and we picked him up from a farm in Preston, Idaho! He has been super fun, and it is obvious that he is a much healthier puppy as he is very playful! He has been learning things well, and has really done good with potty training, which I was worried about because he had been raised outside. I think he is starting to get used to being an indoor dog, though, and is enjoying it!

As you can see from the pictures, Ammon is in heaven with his new little dog, and the other kids are liking him just a bit too! So, crazy or not, here we go again!!!

Good-bye Flyn

2011-12-20T19:19:00.000-07:00

Dear Flyn,
You were a good puppy that we enjoyed having. You were very cute and fun to have around (Eden). I loved to pet you (Emma). I liked it when you chased the ball (Isaac). Gog (Ammon). While your time with us was cut short, we're glad we got to know you for a while!
Love,
Eden, Isaac, Emma, Ammon
PS-For those who don't know, Flyn passed away in the middle of November. It turns out that he had an enlarged heart and a strangulated testicle. The vet wasn't sure which of the two did it, but one of them did, and possibly a combo of both!

Halloween

2011-11-02T13:19:00.000-06:00

We got to dress up a lot this year for Halloween. We went to a trunk-or-treat at my parent's ward in Sandy with my side of the family. We also went to Rob's sister's church for another trunk-or-treat, and we also dressed up the whole family on Halloween itself to go trick-or-treating! The kids had fun dressing up so much, and it was fun spending time with family!

Random Catchup

2011-11-02T13:11:00.000-06:00

I guess one good thing about getting the flu is I have a lot of down time to catch up on things!! I wanted to post some random pictures from the last couple of months that I just haven't had time to do lately!

We went to Swiss Days in September, and the girls both got these cute tiara's. They wanted to put their hair in curlers, so the next day, which was Sunday, they got all cute for church! I love the picture with all the kids so happy except Isaac! I can't remember why he was upset, but he was!

When we were at Bear Lake with Rob's sister, the condos we stayed at had a swimming pool that the kids had tons of fun playing at! They loved the slide, and going off the diving board. I wish I had taken better pictures, but at least there are a couple!

We have also enjoyed going to the zoo a few times this last year. The kids have fun, and loved riding these wooden horses!

Finally, Ammon has really been growing these last few months! He is turning from a baby to a little boy and thinks he is one of the big kids! One of my favorite new things he says is when you do something he doesn't like, such as change the TV channel, or something like that, he says "Hey", but more in a "Heeeyyyyy" type of way! It's so funny and cute! He will also wave bye to me now when he is leaving to go upstairs! He also likes to follow me around when I have to clean up after the puppy and say "Ka-ka" while I'm doing it! He is so funny, and it has been so fun to see his little personality really showing itself these last couple of months! This is a picture of him eating his very first ice-cream cone!

It's been a fun, busy last few months!

Birthday Catchup

2011-11-02T12:55:00.000-06:00

I have been so far behind on posting lately! I never finished posting about Eden and Emma's birthdays, and then there have been a few others since then, so this is one big birthday post to cover all of those!

These first ones are of the girls up at Bear Lake with Rob's sister and her family.

We also had a part for both of the girls and my mom at our house in August.

We enjoyed spending time out back for the party, and also had a big water slide and a few kiddie pools for the kids to play in!

We also had a pinata that was fun for the kids to do.

Overall, the girls had good birthdays and a lot of fun celebrating with everyone!

Also in August and the beginning of September were my brother's birthday, and my nephew's birthdays. We went to my brother's house to celebrate each of those!

My youngest brother and sister also celebrated their birthdays in October, but I had lost my camera charger until just recently, and so I did not get any pictures from their parties since my camera was dead!:( It was fun celebrating with them, though, and I hope they had good birthdays this year!

Flyn

2011-11-02T11:41:00.001-06:00

Meet Flyn, the newest addition to our family! He was born July 20, 2011 and is half King Charles Cavalier and half Shih-Tzu. He has been a ton of fun to have, and we are happy to have him!

In other news, my part time job has become a little bigger because the lady I was splitting with got a new job and quit, so I now teach Monday thru Thursday! Eden also has gone to school by herself! The timing worked out great. We decided we needed to try something new because we had gotten as far as my being able to leave, but that thought made Eden nervous again and we started going backwards. So, Rob started taking her to school instead of me. The first few times she only stayed half days, and the first day she spent the whole time in the Principle's office (who has been absolutely fabulous in helping us). The second day she went to her own class. Then, she was able to stay a whole day! The first few times she did cry a little, especially at the first, but then she did pretty good. It was a long week (even though it was over UEA, so it was only 3 days!), but by the next week, she was doing great! I found out I would be working more the week after UEA, but she had that whole week to keep getting used to going before I was going to be there. So, now Eden is going on her own just in time for me to start working there 4 days a week till noon! As I mentioned before, it has been a long road, but I'm so grateful everything is finally working out! I really feel like everything happened the way it did for a reason, and I'm grateful we have been able to work through this issue! Eden is having a back-to-school party this Saturday with some of her new school friends now that she has been able to go on her own!

New Job

2011-10-02T13:19:00.000-06:00

So, ever since school started, life has been flying by! I have been going to school with Eden everyday since August 17 when school started, trying to help her overcome her separation anxiety disorder. I am very happy to say that we have come a LONG way since school started, but it's still been very time consuming! Eden's confidence has gone way up, and she is loving her teacher and her class! We are on the last leg of this journey, and I actually spend most of my time outside the classroom, and volunteering for Isaac's class as well.

Just this last week another development has come up, which is that I was hired by the school to be a part time tutor. The tutors help with what the school calls a guided reading program, and they spend an hour with groups of kids from each grade helping them with their reading skills. They work Monday-Thursday from 8:30-12:00. But, I actually am even more part time than that. The tutors had actually all been hired when I expressed an interest in working for the school to the principle, but she ended up having one come up and tell her she wouldn't be able to work Mondays, but could work all the other days. So, I got hired for just Mondays, and to be a general sub for any of the tutors. I am also on the substitute teacher list, so could be doing some substitute teaching as well for the school! I'm actually glad it is only one day a week right now. It has been quite an adjustment having me gone for so long this last month and a half. Thankfully, Rob is home to be Mr. Mom, and I'm grateful I've had the ability to help Eden overcome this problem, since it will help her so much the rest of her life. If Rob wasn't home, there would be no way I could have put this much time in with Eden at school, not with three younger siblings!

So, between being at the school with Eden, trying to catch up on home stuff when I get home, and trying to still do all the work of a full time student, you can see why I haven't been around much lately. Eden really is getting to the point where I'm going to be able to be home more and she'll be able to be on her own, so hopefully sometime in the next couple of weeks I'll be able to finish catching up with pictures!

Summer Doings Part Two: Bear Lake

2011-09-04T23:36:00.001-06:00

First of all, THANK YOU to everyone that shared stories or thoughts about Caydin! I don't think I could even start to put into words how much those things mean to me!

In August, we had the opportunity to go to a condo in Bear Lake owned by Rob's sister's husband's family. They just renovated it this last summer, so it was gorgeous, and we really enjoyed being there and being with family! We were able to celebrate both Eden's and EmmaLee's birthdays while we were there, although I'll be posting pictures from that on my next post!

This is the view of the lake out of the big side bay window on the second floor. The condo is the second and third levels of the unit. The rooms we slept in were all on the third level, while Rob's sister and her family stayed in the rooms on the second level.

This is the view from our balcony in our bedroom. I love how the place has so much grass to play on. We spent some of our evenings out on the grass behind the unit blowing bubbles or playing games! It was also fun to be able to have a short walk to the beach, which has sea shells, which the kids ended up collecting a whole bag of!

This is the room where Rob, Ammon, and I slept, and occasionally one of the other kids!

This room is right next to the room I stayed in. Eden and Isaac slept on the two bottom bunks. They wanted to sleep on the top, but we didn't want anyone falling off in the middle of the night!!

This was the "secret" room that was right next to the bunk bed room. This is where EmmaLee slept. What is nice is that all these rooms are right next to each other, so while we were spread in 3 rooms, they were all really closer than our rooms at home! We ended up staying 3 nights, so it was nice to have some room to spread around in that was just for us! Besides these 3 rooms, there was also a full bathroom upstairs that we used just with our family.

This is a view of the second floor, the level Rob's sister's family stayed in, and where the kitchen was. The door at the end of the hall is bedroom, and the door frame halfway down the hall on the left is another room with double beds as well. There are two full bathrooms on this level. It is a really nice place, and we feel so grateful for the invitation to go up and use it!!

This is a picture of the playground on the property, which the kids loved going to!

One of the nights we were there, a big storm blew through, and wrecked havoc! It was kind of amazing to watch from the window as major winds whipped through the area! We watched this big branch break off and come crashing down right next to the play ground and on top of an out structure! All the fields were strewn with branches and leaves! We also watched a pontoon boat out on the water trying to battle the waves and keep from tipping. I was a bit anxious for it and was grateful when the wind did die down and it was still safe!

The wind did blow down this pine tree, right onto the top of a parked SUV! It was nuts!

The car belonged to the little boy in the orange shirt's family. Probably wasn't on their list of things they wanted to have happen on their vacation!!

I have more pictures to post from Bear Lake, so watch for those!

A Request

2011-08-22T16:58:00.003-06:00

This Sunday is Caydin's Angel Day. It's probably one of the hardest days for me because no matter how hard I try I tend to get hit with waves of bad memories of the accident, starting on the 27th first thing in the morning and all the way through till the 28th around 4:00 when he finally passed away. I try to remember that it was his "graduation day" when he officially passed his test and I think about what an amazing spirit he really is, but it is still hard on these days to not think about "this is what I was doing at this time", or "this is when this happened". Needless to say, it is a very emotional week for me.

And, I guess I have to be honest and say that I might not fight the memories or thoughts as much as I should because in a way, I actually want to have them. It will be 6 years this year since Caydin passed away, and my memories of him seem to get more and more blurry and dreamlike with each passing year. It is a bitter/sweet thing because it is how I am able to cope and survive what has happened, but it hurts to forget so much too.

So, that is where this request is going to come in. I don't get to make new memories with my son at this time, and I feel I have relived and rehashed my own memories over and over. I really would like to have some fresh views this year to remember Caydin with. I would really love and appreciate stories from others about Caydin. And, I don't mind if it's broad enough to even just be lessons learned from hearing about Caydin, or experiences you've had because of either him or knowing about him and his story. Even if it's sad, I WANT to hear it! One of the hardest things about loosing him is just how time seems to stop in regards to him! I don't get to make new memories of him, good or bad, and sometimes I just miss him so much that even the sad stories of him are cherished because they are about HIM! I have also heard stories in the last few months of family members experiences during his accident time that were very enlightening, and were very fascinating to hear! I really do want to hear what others thought or experienced during any time period!

So, please, if you have any thoughts you wouldn't mind sharing with me, please send them! If you would feel more comfortable emailing them to me, that is okay too! My email is nanafischer@hotmail.com.

Summer Doings Part One

2011-08-16T17:00:00.003-06:00

The summer has flown by! School starts tomorrow, so I thought I would try to at least get half of our summer pics up before then! The above picture was taken at Cascade Springs. Look close to see the fish!

Eden celebrated her 7th birthday at the beginning of August! I can't believe how old she is getting! She is such a great sister to her siblings, and I enjoy doing things with her as well! She loves to think deeply about things, and I'm so grateful everyday that I get to be her mother! (There will be more birthday stuff in a later post!)

Eden lost another one of her front teeth, so she has a HUGE gap in her mouth at the moment! I told her she'd better not try to wiggle anymore teeth for a while or we'll have to go get her some fake teeth till her real ones come in!

We've gone lots of places this summer, including the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. EmmaLee had to get a picture of her on the frog!

At the end of July we went to a big family reunion for Rob's Dad's family. You can see the German flag hanging under the hoop. Rob's dad's family had to sneak out of Germany at the end of WWII when Rob's dad was only 5. All of Rob's uncles still have major German accents! It was a fun day, although we sure missed Helmut! He is the first of his siblings to have passed away, even though he was the youngest by several years!

Each of the brother's wore a specific color to the reunion, and Helmut's family color was green. So, our niece, Hailey, made these shirts for our kids and for her little brother who is Ammon's age! I thought they all looked super cute!

This is a picture of all of Shirley and Helmut's grandchildren, except for Brad who is on a mission, Mason who had to work, Jayden, who was being a stinker and hiding in the bathroom, and Caydin who is with Helmut in heaven! It's been several years since this many of the grandkids have been together at the same time!

My sister Laurie spent a couple of days with us, so we went on some adventures! This was at Smith

and Morehouse. The spot we were at had some cool trials and "hideouts" for the kids to play in, which they loved!

Our spot by the lake.

We were also able to get together with my mom's side of the family in July as well. It was fun to see how big our family is getting! The kids on the tramp are my kids, my siblings kids, my cousins kids, and a couple of my youngest cousins and my sister! It doesn't seem like it's been long enough to have so many little kids in the family again!

Isaac was excited to catch some fish with dad on Deer Creek!

We went up to Cottonwood Heights to watch the parade for Pioneer Day with my brother and his kids, and also my mom and my sister. The kids love parades, and they quite enjoyed this one as well! EmmaLee was so funny, too, because every time a float with some kind of royalty winner on it came by, she yelled out "Hello Princess!", and more than once they heard her and waved back! She loved it!

It didn't take the kids long to discover that the louder and more active they were, the more likely they would get candy thrown in their direction!

This isn't the best picture, but this dragon came down the side and stood right behind EmmaLee, who was looking the other way. She turned around and saw him, and kind of jumped and came over to the side, but while I was expecting her to cry, she started laughing and thought it was a great joke!

We were also able to go to the train museum in Ogden this summer. The kids really enjoyed the museums, especially the big trains outside. You can actually climb up on them and all around, which was pretty cool! I was surprised by how big the trains actually were! I don't think I've been up close to a train before, and they are huge!

Climbing on the engine.

This was inside the museum. That's one thing I liked about the museum was that it had a lot of hands on displays for kids to look at, climb on and into to!

Outside on the train again!

Eden barely made it to half of the wheel size!

This is the Upper Provo Falls. It was gorgeous! I didn't realize we had waterfalls like this in Utah that you didn't have to hike to, or look at from a major distance!

This is the lower part of the river just beyond the waterfall. Very beautiful!

Melanie Isaac Photography

2011-07-14T23:36:00.000-06:00

My sister has always been into photography. One of her favorite pastimes with her school buddies was to do numerous photo shoots! Once out of high school, she worked for a little while for Kiddie Kandids. She finally decided to start her own photo studio! Check out her blog at http://melanieisaacphotography.blogspot.com/

Quick Sunday

2011-07-04T10:31:00.000-06:00

We got home from church yesterday, and Eden started asking me when church gets out on a normal day. I told her it gets over at 4:00, and then she asked about yesterday and what time we got home, and I told her 4:00. "No, when does it get out on a normal day?" I told her I didn't understand and she wanted to know when we got out for the "quick" Sunday. Quick Sunday, what did she mean? And then it clicked. It was Fast Sunday. She wanted to know when we got out of church on "fast" Sunday! So, I had to explain that there is two meanings for the word fast. One was quick, and the other was going without food for a certain amount of time! Just thought I'd share!

And the Answer Is. . .

2011-07-01T19:31:00.000-06:00

First picture-Ammon
Second picture-Caydin
Third picture-Isaac
I would say that Isaac and Ammon look the most alike. Caydin had a lot more hair at this age then either of the other two, and it was much more red. When we gave him his first haircut, the hair underneath was blond, which is when he became my first blond kid! But, even with the red hair, there is no doubt these three boys are brothers!!!

Brothers

2011-06-29T12:21:00.000-06:00

So, can you guess which one is Caydin, Isaac, and Ammon?

Isaac's Birthday and Camping

2011-06-25T22:47:00.002-06:00

I have been bad at keeping up lately! Isaac finished T-ball a week ago, which has been fun for him and us to go to! This last game he got to play catcher, so here he is all decked out in his catchers outfit!

Ammon enjoyed going to the games as well, and at this last game he figured out how to climb in and out of our camping chair! He was pretty proud of himself! :)

Isaac turned 5 on the 20th of the month, and of course, he wanted a water party! We had one kiddie pool (the boring plain blue one), but he also got a pool from his Grandma (the green) and an awesome one from his Aunt Bonnie that came with a blow up slide that you slid down into the pool with! The kids LOVE it, and we have used it a few times this last week as well! The neighbor friends came over, and they had a fun, splashy pool party in the back yard!

Rob's still setting up the fun slide pool in this picture, but you can get a feel for the whole set up in it!

Going down the slide! It came with little blow up sliders that they used to slide down on. It was a big hit! If any wants to come over this summer for a fun BBQ and pool party for the kids, let me know! We'd be happy to have you!

We took a break from the pool fun for a little present opening and cake. Isaac got a new bike from his Grandma, which he loves!

We had Isaac's pool party on a Saturday, but his real birthday was on the following Monday. So, we saved our presents for him to give to him on his real birthday. Among his gifts, he got this car from the new Cars 2 movie that just came out. We haven't seen it yet, but it is on our list of movies to see!

I guess I should have posted this picture first, but for his birthday breakfast, Isaac requested blue waffles, which came out more of a green, but he seemed to enjoy them anyway, especially with his "whoop" (aka cream) on them!

We have been wanting to go camping as a family for a while now, and Isaac wanted to go for his birthday, so we decided to go the day after his birthday. We went up to Currant Creek Reservoir, which is just barely northeast from Strawberry Reservoir. We have been camping there one time before, with Caydin when I was pregnant with Eden. So, it was kind of a special place for us to go! We really enjoyed being up in the mountains, and the kids LOVED it! They spent a lot of their time collecting sticks for the fire, or trying to chop down dead trees! EmmaLee kept walking in the little woods by our camp, and when we'd call her, she would say, "I'm just walking in the forest." I thought it was so cute! I liked our spot because it was in the middle part of the camp ground loop, so they couldn't wonder far without hitting a road in any direction. The campground also has a little playground that was just 20 yards down a little path from our site! We didn't let the kids go as often as they wanted because some of the stuff was meant for a bit older kids! We had planned on staying for 3 nights, but we ended up only staying one. Everything was going well, and we even got the kids to go to sleep fairly easily, but then the cold set in. We had unfortunately underestimated how cold the nights were really going to get! We went from an 80 degree day to a 36 degree night!!! Funny enough, Eden, EmmaLee, and Isaac still had decent nights, but poor Ammon was miserable! Initially he went to sleep, but then he woke up crying, and we couldn't calm him down. Rob finally took him to the van and started it to get him warm. He also burped a couple of times, so we think he had a small stomachache as well. They came back to the tent, and I held Ammon with me in my bag to try to keep him warm. The problem was that whatever wasn't touching you got cold, so I would try to pull a blanket up to our faces, but when it touched him, he would get fussy and upset, so he would push it away, which would leave us uncovered and more cold! Needless to say, it was a long night and I was so glad to see the sun come up!

Despite our lack of sleep, we still managed to make the most of our day there. Rob took Isaac and EmmaLee fishing on the lake in his fishing boat, and Eden, Ammon and I hiked up the trail connected to the campground. Rob and the kids caught 3 fish, and Eden, Ammon and I survived our "easy" 1 mile hike! Now, I have to admit that I haven't been hiking in years, and I have had 5 kids, which has taken a toll on my body, but I still consider myself to be in okay condition, but this hike was kicking my butt! I think part of it was the fact that it was a constant uphill hike to the top of an overlook! Also, every time we stopped to rest, we got swarmed by bugs, which did help to motivate us to keep going! But, even though it was hard, I really enjoyed it, and I was so grateful for the time with Eden. She was such a trooper, and when we got to the top with an absolutely beautiful overlook, she told me, "Mom, hiking is hard, but it is so worth it for this view!" She sounded so grown up, and I'm grateful she learned a lesson on the benefits of hard work! I just wish I had taken my camera so I could have gotten a picture of the beautiful view! So, after meeting back up, we packed up our camp and headed home, since we were NOT going to try to brave another freezing night with a baby! But, even though we had to leave early, I still consider it a very successful camping trip and we are already planning our next trip, but this time it will be somewhere where the nights don't get so cold!!

A shot of our campsite.

Toasting marshmallows for s'mores!

This is a shot of the playground that I took from our campsite! The flushing toilet bathrooms was just to the right of the playground!

Ammon enjoyed camping as well (except for the night anyway), even though he wanted to be down walking a lot more than we let him! Overall, it was so much fun being out in nature, and watching our kids enjoy the experience. Because Caydin's accident happened when we were camping, it has taken Rob and I several years, almost six to be exact, to feel strong enough to take our other kids again. We've gone to cabins, condos, and hotels, but to actually go out in a tent or trailer was a really big mental step for us to take. Rob and I fought paranoia leading up to the trip and almost didn't go, but pushed ourselves because we both want the outdoors and camping to be a part of our children's lives. We don't want them to miss out on it because we were too scared. Nature has actually helped us to often feel closer to Caydin, but thinking of actually camping has brought back our fears and emotions of Caydin's accident. So, this camping trip was more than just a young family of four small children making an attempt to successfully go camping, but to help us to overcome some really deep seeded fears and emotions, and I'm happy to say mission accomplished, or at least a big step has been taken! I think we'll always fight being paranoid about things, but as long as we don't let those feelings stop us from living, I think that's success for us! I think it was kind of special that we went to the same campground that we went when we only had Caydin, and now we visited it again with the rest of his siblings, the youngest of which is within a couple of months of the same age that Caydin was when we took him!

Finally, as a side note that is still significant, I received a call Thursday from Isaac's school saying that Eden's name had come up in the lottery for 2nd grade. It's a story that deserves it's own blog, so I won't go into a ton of detail here, but she has been struggling with Separation Anxiety Disorder. That was the reason we pulled her out of school, and why she was signed up for an online school for next year. Unfortunately, even though her teacher is a good teacher, I don't think she had much experience with problems like Eden's, so she did a few things that actually made the problem worse and really set it off. I got very little cooperation from her school, which is why after a LOT of thought, prayer, and research, we made the decision to pull Eden out of school. Without her teacher's willingness to work with us, I knew we weren't going to be able to conquer this problem. The breaking point affected everything. Eden quit going to her primary class, which she had LOVED before! Rob and I really can't go places together because she gets upset when she is left with ANYONE else. We've managed to go a couple of times when we've left her with Rob's mom, who we live with, but even then it has been difficult. I've talked to counselors from the school, some child development experts, and we've even talked to her pediatrician. Medication has been talked about, but I wanted to avoid it if I could for a while because her problems are not all the time in the sense that it is only when she has to leave us that anything is different. Until then, she is completely normal, and once the threat is gone, she is completely normal. And, from what I've read and have been told about this specific disorder, it has a high success rate of being overcome without medication, but it just takes time. So, that's why we chose to take her out of school and work on things at home for a while, and my hope has been that she would gradually "grow" out of this disorder, just like toddlers when they experience this same type of thing. Most people know that toddlers experience separation anxiety/stranger danger, etc, but when it is experienced by older children who are out of the normal developmental age for this, that is when it becomes a disorder. And, I'm talking more extreme reactions. Eden goes into full anxiety attacks with hyperventilating, physically shaking, feeling that she is going to mess herself and getting sick to her stomach. What's hard about it too is that she WANTS to go, but then this anxiety hits her and it can take us 10 minutes to even start calming her down. So, we've been taking it slow, but I've been getting discouraged because there really didn't seem to be any change, and I wondered if I had made the right decision in pulling her out of school. I knew it would be better for her to work through it and stay in school, but with her teacher not willing to work with us and being a big reason Eden finally snapped, I really felt like it would actually harm Eden even more by forcing her to stay. But, I've been questioning that decision when she has shown very little progress these last few months, and I have been praying for help and guidance in what to do. Finally, the last two Sundays, I have gotten Eden to go to Primary. I have had to sit with her the whole time, but she wasn't even willing to do that before! I think a huge part of that is that our wonderful Primary President, who I haven't talked to at all about what is going on, has made the effort to seek Eden out and talk to her and just get to know her. This last Sunday, Eden was waiting and hoping Sister Gravely would come talk to her, which she did for a few minutes. Afterwards, Eden wanted to walk down to the Primary room, and we eventually made it into the back of the room. I had to sit with her the whole time, both there and in her class, but she told Sister Gravely that maybe someday she would be able to come by herself, which is a huge step! Up till this point, even considering going in the future at anytime got her emotional and she couldn't even entertain the thought that someday she might feel differently! Anyway, this is a lot longer than I had planned on making it, but to get back to the point, when they called on Thursday, I didn't know what to think at first. Two weeks ago if I had even mentioned to Eden the idea of going back to school, I know she would have had an anxiety attack about the whole thing! But, when I finally talked to her about it that night, while she did get a little emotional and panicky, I was able to reassure her enough that she calmed down before going into a full attack, and after talking about all the good things, such as how they focus on art, which she LOVES, she decided she wants to go! I don't believe it was coincidence that she wasn't accepted when Isaac was, and the opportunity is happening now, just after she's finally made some progress! I know she wouldn't have even considered it before now. It's the perfect time! I still think there will be some obstacles to overcome; I had to tell her that I would be willing to come and stay with her if she needed me at first until she felt comfortable, and I am planning on talking with the school's counselor right from the beginning because I know it's going to take the efforts of myself, her teacher, and the counselor to make this work, but I feel really good about it, and I'm so grateful to see Eden finally making some progress!

Father's Day Article

2011-06-17T12:22:00.000-06:00

Here is my latest article talking about the positive role of fathers in their children's lives!

Relationship Tips Article

2011-06-13T10:55:00.000-06:00

I've posted another article that offers a few relationship tips during difficult times (and no, I wasn't writing it specifically to you-you know who I mean!!) Check it out here! I've got some pictures to post, but my kids are begging for food, so I'll have to do a post about that later!

Places to Visit

2011-06-04T14:26:00.000-06:00

I've published another article about a fun place to visit now that summer is almost here! Be sure to check it out!

What You Do When School's Out!

2011-05-25T23:12:00.000-06:00

So, now that school is done for the year, we've been taking the last few weeks to catch up on some fun! This last weekend was bitter/sweet. Rob, Ammon, and I ended up getting a bit sick, but Rob had the worst of it. To give him a bit of a break from crazyness, on Saturday I took my kids and my younger brother and sister for an outing. We had planned on going to the zoo, but when we got there, I couldn't park within about a 3 block radius because it was so crowded! There was a parking lot just across the street, but it turns out it was a parking lot for the This is the Place Heritage Park, which also had a sign saying no zoo parking! So, we decided to change our plans a bit and went there first, and then made it to the zoo for about an hour after that! It was actually a lot of fun! I hadn't been there for years, and I didn't realize how much stuff there was to do! We got to ride on the train all around the whole park, and then the kids went on a pony ride, and there was a petting zoo with baby lambs! They have play places for kids as well, but we didn't make it back to those because we did want to get to the zoo. We saw the baby elephant at the zoo, and they have some fun dinosaur robots scattered around the park for the year that make noise, and one that squirts you! But, like I said, it was super crowded, and we didn't stay for very long, so I never got my camera out!

This is Eden riding her pony. Actually, she would be upset if she knew I called it a pony, because it was a horse!

Doesn't Emma look all natural riding her horse?! I was worried at first about having all the kids ride at the same time because I didn't know how they would do by themselves! But, they all went right on, and loved it!

When the ride was over, the guy who was running it was helping the kids get off. Isaac was the last one to get off, and his horse decided it wasn't stopped where it wanted to be, and pretty much walked another full circle before the guy could catch up! Isaac just giggled the whole time!

All the kids got the chance to feed the baby lambs. I forgot to get my camera out with the first group, which was Laurie, Isaac, and Eden, but I did get a few pictures of Thomas and Emma. We were actually really lucky to get to feed them. They only do it once or twice a day, and we just happened to be there for one of the feedings! The baby lambs were so cute, and it was so much fun petting them!!!

I can never get my pictures in the right order! Here is Laurie getting her turn riding the horse!

We signed Isaac up for T-ball this year, and out of the 4 games so far, 2 have been rained out! This was the first game that wasn't rained out, and he just played his second game today. It is so much fun watching them play! When his team is outfield and the ball gets hit, pretty much the whole team runs to the ball and try to dive on it! It's pretty funny! Isaac's coach taught them how to be ready in the outfield, and I think Isaac looks so cute out there! He's actually one of the few kids that still does this, and he does it the whole time he's outfield!! The only problem right now is that he gets really frustrated with his hitting. This is his first time using a real bat and ball with a tee, and he hasn't figured out how to hit it hard yet, which makes him mad!

So, Ammon is only one, but he has already discovered a new favorite activity! He loves our little slide, and yes, he climbs on it all by himself and goes down all by himself! I have to hide it in the closet because he would spend all day on it, and I worry that he will fall off! He is turning out to be quite the climber. He climbs in and out of his walker all by himself as well! Some of the following picutes are blurry, but I was trying to get a more video feeling of him going down the slide!

Not only is this a cute picture of EmmaLee, but take a look at Ammon's face! He is not happy that someone besides himself is on the slide, and he's trying to push her off!

This is my cute nephew Alexander. He is Rob's sister's baby that is about 2 1/2 weeks younger than Ammon. The next time they come over, I'll have to take a picture of Ammon and Lex next to each other so you can see the height difference. Lex is about 5 inches taller than Ammon! He is so cute, and all my kids love when Lex comes over to play! He's such an easy going baby too!

Today was such a nice day (finally!) that I took the kids to a nearby park for a couple of hours to play. I had Ammon in the stroller with the shade over him, but he still managed to get some sun! The pictures don't show it as well as in person, but we all have pretty red cheeks tonight!

Eden and her pink cheeks!

Okay, so this is a very weird picture, but I think it's kind of funny/amazing too! Eden was taking pictures and took this one of her mouth. I thought it was funny how her tongue looks like a heart! For whatever reason, the picture fascinates me!

New Article

2011-05-24T12:11:00.001-06:00

I'm sure like many of you I have been saddened by the tragedy in Joplin, Missouri this last weekend and that massive tornado! My heart goes out to all those who have been affected! It amazes me how quickly our lives as we know it can change! I am so grateful for the knowledge of the gospel, which helps me to find peace in tragic times. I know that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us more than we can understand! While we might not always know why the things happen that do, we can always have faith and trust in Him that things are as they are meant to be, and that He will help carry us through those difficult times with perfect understanding and love! Besides just the gospel, there are other skills, or knowledge that can help make coping a little easier. I just published an article on examiner that talks about how to help children cope with tragedy, and while it's focused on children, many of the ideas are true for adults too! Find my article here.

Ammon's First Birthday!

2011-05-19T21:53:00.001-06:00

Today is Ammon's first birthday! I cannot believe how fast this last year has gone! He is such a joy to have around! He walks everywhere now, and he also likes to try to whistle, although mostly he just manages to blow spit! He is a mama's boy, and holds his arms out to you know when he wants you to pick him up! He is also my first blanky baby! He loves a couple of his soft blankets, and gets very upset with me when I wash them! He loves to play with balls and to chase his siblings all around the house! He also makes lots of faces, and loves it when Isaac makes faces at him! He is such a sweet boy, and I'm so glad he's a part of our family! Sure love you Ammon boy!

Oh, and my second article is published! You can get to it by clicking on the logo on the side bar!

First Article

2011-05-17T17:29:00.000-06:00

My first article for examiner.com is up! Check it out at http://www.examiner.com/family-parenting-in-salt-lake-city/developmentally-correct. You can actually subscribe to my articles with a link on the page if you want to get emails when I publish new articles. I'm very excited and hope people will enjoy and find my articles interesting and helpful! If you want to share my link with others, I wouldn't mind a bit!:)

The News!

2011-05-16T16:57:00.000-06:00

Guess what?! I'm going to be a paid writer!!! A couple of weeks ago I applied to be a writer for a website called examiner.com. It's kind of a news site for local areas, and they have sites for international places too. It's more of a community site, so the articles are written by local people for their local area. There are a bunch of different categories, including food, entertainment, fashion, and family and parenting, just to name a few! I applied to be a writer for the parenting and family section, and they accepted me! I had to send in a sample article, and I honestly have no idea how hard it is to be accepted by them. For all I know, everyone who applies is accepted, but regardless, I'm excited! I'm planning on becoming a family and marriage educator with my degree, and this will be great experience to go with that goal! I also have to admit that I have no clue how much I will actually get paid. I know it is based on how many hits my article gets, so I'm hoping you all will check out my articles and spread the word! But, regardless of what I make, I'm just excited for the opportunity and experience! I should have my first article up in the next day or two, and I'll be sure to put a link for it on here. I'm officially writing for the Salt Lake City Family and Parenting section at examiner.com! And, hopefully my articles will be a bit more fluid than this post; I'm just excited because I got the official email today!!

New Marriage and Family Blog

2011-05-13T23:17:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I have finally created my new marriage and family blog which can be found here. I don't have much on it yet, but will be adding things soon, and picking up where I left off on communication. I am also very excited about something else that has happened, but I don't want to say too much until I have more solid information to share, so I'm going to leave you in a bit of suspense (since I know everyone is extremely interested in what's going on in my life) for a few more days! :)

Updating with Pictures!

2011-05-07T14:15:00.000-06:00

It's only a couple of weeks late, but here are some Easter pictures!

The Easter bunny came to our house, and left some fun toys and candy! Or, in Eden's case, he also left a new book!

He brought Isaac a Donkey Kong monster truck, which is still a big success!

Don't be fooled by the lack of smile in this picture! EmmaLee loved her new fairy Barbie, but was concerned about me getting a good picture of it!

Ammon got a cool baby ball with lots of buttons, but he also found Isaac's new truck very interesting!

After finding their baskets inside, it was time to go outside to see what the bunny had hid around the yard! The kids liked this part, just a little! :)

Searching for more chocolaty treasure!

So, moving on from Easter, Ammon is turning more and more into a little boy! We have had this musical chair for a few years now, but just recently put in new batteries. He LOVES it!

He likes to sing and dance when it's on, and I think he likes having a chair his size!

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, Ammon is a walker now, which is so cute! But, he's in an awkward size where the 9 month pants are too short for him, but twelve month pants are long on him! I haven't bought him any shoes yet, but he's learned to keep his balance when walking, even with the pants over his feet! He can walk all over now, and even pivots when he wants to turn around. It's so cute to see this tiny, short little person walking around!!

German Pancake

2011-05-07T13:42:00.000-06:00

This is a recipe from The Food Nanny, who can be seen on PBS. I bought her cookbook, and, so far, I have liked the recipes I have made from it! I think this is going to be a new favorite! My husband's father came to the US from Germany right after WWII. He was only 5, and his family had to sneak out. My father-in-law carried all his family's important documents in a toy briefcase as they went by security. They were able to make it, and lived here in Utah the rest of their lives! While this is not a recipe from the family, we made it on my husband's Oma's (grandmother) birthday a couple of weeks ago. It looks a bit funny, but tastes great! Also, I was a bit hesitant to make the sour cream topping, but made it anyway, and I LOVE it! The recipe calls for strawberries, but recommends raspberries as well. I have made both (the picture is with raspberries), and they are both good! Also, because this is more of an egg recipe, some of my kids prefer it plain with ketchup. I like the sweet version myself, but I also like how it is more of a protein dish for the morning because of the eggs. It's really easy to make! Enjoy!

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter (not margarine)
3 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sliced fresh strawberries or half of a 16-ounce package frozen unsweetened whole strawberries, thawed and sliced
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon brown sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put the butter into a 10-inch ovenproof skillet and place it in the oven. (As an alternative to a skillet, use a 9-inch round baking dish.)
2. Meanwhile, mix the eggs, flour, milk, and salt in a blender.
3. When the butter has melted, carefully pull out the oven rack and quickly pour the egg mixture into the skillet. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until the pancake is puffed up and lightly browned. It will flatten slightly after it comes out of the oven.
4. Sweeten the strawberries with the granulated sugar in a small bowl and mix the sour cream with the brown sugar in a separate small bowl.
5. Cut the pancake into wedges and serve on individual plates. Top with the strawberries and sweetened sour cream.

Variations
*Use raspberries instead of strawberries.
*Double the recipe, using a larger skillet or baking dish, such as a 9 x 13-inch pan.

D-O-N-E (for another semester at least!)

2011-05-03T11:36:00.000-06:00

I am officially done with school this semester!!! A whole summer to catch up on everything that has been neglected for the last two semesters! My spring cleaning list is written out, along with other goals and to do lists! One of the top things on that to-do list is that I've decided to create a new blog for the stuff I'm learning in school. Instead of trying to combine the two in this blog, I'm going to keep this one for my personal life, and create a new blog that will focus on marriages and families. It will include anything I find that relates to marriages and families, including religious things. This way I will be able to focus my energy on one thing at a time (amazing concept, I know)! I'm working on getting it set up, so watch for the link soon.

I still need to download a bunch of pictures, but for now, I wanted to mention a few things. Ammon is officially a walker, and has been for almost a week now. He'll still crawl once in a while, and falls a lot still too, but he can stand up without the assistance of people or things, and likes to walk all around the house. Now that he can get around so well, his two sisters have decided to "help" him more, which usually means they pick him up in the middle of a walk and carry him somewhere, much to his irritation! I can just hear his thoughts, "Great, all these months I've haven't been able to go to where I wanted to go, and nobody would help me most of the time, and now that I can finally move and get there myself, NOW they try to help!" In all honesty, Ammon loves his siblings and tries to follow them all around the house. He is getting so big, and he will be turning ONE on the 19th of this month! I can't believe how fast this last year has gone! Oh, and he is also now officially weaned and loves to eat normal foods (as long as they are soft or approved by me, that is)! Because he is a new walker, his head is sporting numerous bruises and bumps, and while he doesn't know it, he is probably very glad to have padded diapers to make such a soft landing so many times a day!

Easter

2011-04-26T10:16:00.000-06:00

Here we are right before leaving for church on Easter! School is almost over for the semester, so I'm in the middle of final papers, final projects, and final tests! I will be almost totally done by the end of this week, and then I will be back! Happy Easter everyone!

St. George

2011-04-10T01:13:00.000-06:00

Okay, so a picture overload is following! I'm finally getting around to posting pictures from our St. George trip. It has been cruel to do so, since it has been pretty much snowing here again for the last two days straight! I want to go back to St. George, but even St. George this week isn't much better than here! So, I'm glad we got to go last week and enjoy 75-80 degree weather while we were there!!

We got there the first night in the evening. So, all we did that day besides drive was go swimming at the hotel's indoor pool. Honestly, the pool was the kids' favorite activity to do while we were down there, and we went every day! But, I didn't get any pictures! Oops!

The second day we went to Zions. We went through the tunnel, which all the kids loved except Ammon! The only hike we went on was to Weeping Rock. This year there was a waterfall there from all the runoff! It was beautiful!

Here are the kids up at the top of the Weeping Rock trail. I have no idea what kind of pose Eden is doing, but it is awesome!

This stream was at the start of the hike to Weeping Rock. The water, like I said, is from runoff, so it was cold!

Isaac's turn to freeze his feet off!

After getting their feet a bit wet, the girls decided it would be fun to make some mud/sand pies! So, we spent about 15 or 20 minutes just playing at the stream!

This is at the visitors center at Zions. And no, Ammon is not standing all by himself back there! Rob has got him, but is well hidden! Also, in the background is my mother-in-law and cute niece, who decided to come down as well when they found out we were going! They had a room in the same hotel as us, just a couple of doors down, and it was fun having them there with us!

I had to include this picture just for fun! Isaac is such a boy and loves to ham it up for the pictures! You can see his big bruise on his forehead. A day or two before we left for St. George, Isaac was walking into our front door, which has tile flooring, and Eden accidentally stepped on the hem of his pants. Isaac went to take a step, and totally face-planted on the tile, resulting with this massive bruise! He actually had a slight black eye from it as well, although you really can't see that part of it in this picture!

EmmaLee getting her picture taken! Notice the beautiful blue sky in the background! We had really beautiful and perfect weather the whole time we were in St. George!

Just some cute pictures of Ammon while trying to get some of the amazing mountains in the background, and the beautiful weather!

Again, have I mentioned how nice the weather was?

I love how Ammon is trying to stick his foot in Rob's mouth in this one!

Eden and another fabulous pose!

On the way back from Zions, we stopped in the town of Grafton, which is an old pioneer town. I think I've heard that they filmed some movie here some years ago, something like "The Sundance Kids", or something like that, but I really don't know for sure what it was called! This was the town hall/school/and church.

This was a house that was there. You couldn't actually go into either this house or the town hall, but there was another, smaller place across from this one that you could go in, but I didn't get any pictures of it! It was a very basic home, though, with only like 3 rooms, and it felt more like a shed!

A closer view of the porch and the cute kiddos on it!

Another day we went to Sand Hollow Reservoir. The first place we tried to set up our stuff, we were almost overrun with gnats! So, we moved 15 feet down the shore, and it was much better! The kids loved playing in the sand and water, and Rob brought his RC car that has sand wheels. It was a fun and relaxing time, although I did get fried on the back of my neck. We had brought sunscreen, and we all put it on, but I had forgotten to get the back of my neck! It ended up as red as this sand!

EmmaLee loved the beach, and in this picture was actually trying to watch some ants she had just discovered in the sand!

This is Isaac up a ways watching Rob and his car. We were the only ones on the beach, so the kids had lots of room to run and explore! There were some stickers in some places, but the kids still had a blast!

Our little spot! The bank actually had a little drop off about a foot high, which is why the kids look a little short; they on on the lake level, but all our stuff is on top of it. We took the playpen so Ammon could move around without trying to eat the sand too much! He loves being outside!

One evening, we drove by the St. George temple, and EmmaLee, Isaac and I decided to go get a couple of up close pictures! It was beautiful, and a great teaching opportunity with a bit of humor thrown in! Isaac was asking about going inside, and I explained that you can only go in on special occasions. Before I could say more he said, "Oh, so you have to have a wedding dress to go inside." Yeah, something like that! I just laughed and tried to explain that you need a recommend, not a wedding dress to get in!

Look close, the kids are still at the door! I had to make sure to tell them to not knock on the door while they were up there, and thankfully, they listened!

Another day we visited the Silver Reef museum. The kids got little Chinese souvenirs; apparently during it's hay day there was a little China town in this settlement! We explored some of the land where the town used to be. Behind Eden is a little cactus tree I thought looked pretty cool!

A bigger view of us exploring.

Some of my pictures got out of order, and weren't cooperating in going back to their right order, so I gave up! This is EmmaLee getting her turn to freeze her feet at the stream in Zions.

This is a picture on the grounds at the Brigham Young Winter house located in St. George. I didn't get a picture of the actual house-one day I'll figure out how to actually take better documenting photos of the places we go!

Finally, again out of order, this is Ammon at Sand Hollow. He really loved the vacation as well, and loved swimming! He also slept pretty good for us while we were down there, which was probably because he was so tired from all the activities we were doing!

So, for the most part, that was our trip! It was fun, and it makes me want to cry now looking at the pictures and remembering how I wore SHORTS, and then thinking about the snow we've had again this week! Spring, oh spring, please come our way!!

I also want to mention that Ammon has started to take several steps at a time! Today he was doing really well, and took as many as 6 or 7 steps! He has been taking one or two for the last couple of days, but didn't really seem to be trying for more. Today it is like it finally clicked what he was doing, and he was so excited to walk! I wish I had gotten it on video, but I was having too much fun helping him to get my camera! I give this boy a week or two before he's totally off and going with full walking! He's growing up WAY too fast!

Finally, because it took me so long to get the pictures downloaded and write about them, I'm going to skip writing about the next communication style for tonight. I will start up again with fight talk next time!

Sunday Thoughts on a Sunday

2011-04-03T23:07:00.000-06:00

Okay, so my title is a little deceiving; this is more of a Sunday joke! We went to my parent's house for the afternoon session of conference today, as did my sister, Melanie, and her family. Melanie wanted to show her husband my dad's early '80's fro, so she was going through some old pictures. She found one of my dad in the early '90's where he had a full beard and mustache. I showed it to EmmaLee and asked her if she knew who it was. She smiled and immediately said "Jesus"! We just laughed! I'll have to scan the picture in and see if you can see the resemblance!

This last week we made an impromptu trip down to St. George, and it was so nice! I'll have to make a post about it later this week with pictures!

The next style of talk I'm going to talk about is control, fight, and spite talk. Through power and control, this style aims at gaining agreement or compliance, or it attempts to resist change. This style strives for a certain outcome, even if it has to be forced. You focus on the other person-not yourself.

Partners try to exert their power using three different ways of talking. The first way-control talk- sends messages intended to be constructive. The other two-fight talk and spite talk-send negative, potentially destructive messages. Noverbals-posture, gestures, tone, pitch, pace and facial expressions-play a prominent role in signaling these messages.

Control Talk

Control talk intends to take charge-communicating a knowing, authoritative stance. This is a style most people use to direct, command, make a presentation, persuade, sell, bargain, supervise, teach, and advocate. The intention is to: establish agreement/compliance; use authority; direct/control/lead; declare; instruct; advise/exhort/persuade; pressure/compel; evaluate; set expectations/limits; and reinforce positively. The intention is to be: proactive; in charge; helpful; efficient; persuasive; and compelling. The mood is: directive, with or without compliance; authoritative, with or without acceptance. Nonverbals include: commanding tone and gestures. Cue words can include: you (spoken or implied); pronouncements; assumptions; imperatives (should, ought, have to); superlatives (always, never, every); and statements phrased as questions.

Typical Control-Talk Behaviors

*Speaking for others-tell others what their experience has been, is, or will be: "You know this is the right decision."
*Directing: "Stop by the cleaners on your way home."
*Advising, prescribing solutions: "Take some vitamin C. It will help you ward off a cold."
*Advocating, persuading: "Just try it once. You will really like it."
*Instructing: "There are three things to consider. The first is . . ."
*Evaluating: "This new software is twice as good as the old program."
*Assuming: "It isn't hard. You can figure it out."
*Setting expectations, establishing boundaries: "Let's get together tomorrow afternoon, just the two of us."
*Cautioning, warning: "Be careful. The roads are slick."
*Closed/directive questions: "Don't you think that...?" "Wouldn't you agree that...?"
*Praising: "You look great in your new blue suit."
*Bragging: "I'm always the one they count on."

Impact of Control Talk

*Shows the situation is under control, when it works.
*Fosters resistance if it is experienced as "boxing in" the other. (Most people like to participate in conversations and decisions that affect them; few like to be ordered around.)
*Sometimes creates misunderstanding, distance, and tension in its commanding tone.
*Can generate a fight or spite talk response, if it is perceived as abrasive or discounting.
*Excessive control talk may indicate mounting pressures.

If control talk goes on constantly with one or both of you, power is a struggle in your relationship.

Somewhat related to this last thought, in my child guidance class this last week, I learned about a theory called Dreiker's Theory. In his theory, Dreiker talks about how everybody has a genuine goal, which is to belong. When this genuine goal is not being met, people often fall to "mistaken" goals, such as attention seeking, power struggles, and withdrawing, to name a few. When people feel insecure or that they do not belong, they often seek for more power over their situation. In children, especially teenagers, this can result in rebellion, or a refusal to listen to their parents. The best way to handle this is to be firm and not get into a power struggle, but to also see if there are other areas where you can give this child more power or control in their lives, such as planning the dinner menu, or some other family activity. This is obviously harder to do in a marriage relationship, but the idea of realizing that if, as the statement above mentions, power is a struggle in your relationship, you may want to take a closer look as to why. Is the genuine goal of feeling you belong not being met for one or the other? Maybe sitting down and trying to come up with a better distinction or distribution of responsibilities between the couple needs to happen. In extreme cases, this might need to be done with the help of a counselor, or someone else who both people in the relationship trust.

I'm going to end the post for tonight, but next time I will talk about the fight/spite talk.

Good News!

2011-03-28T01:35:00.000-06:00

Isaac was accepted into the Syracuse Arts Academy, which is a local charter school, this coming school year when he starts kindergarten! We are very excited about this! We have tried to get Eden into this school since we moved here, but for those of you who don't know, most charter schools have a lottery process, and we haven't been lucky enough to get picked thus far. Even for next year, only Isaac's name was drawn-we put down the option of having our kids individually accepted. Eden is actually registered for the Utah Virtual Academy, another charter school, for next year. This is actually a public school, but online. So, basically I just help her do the work that a real teacher plans and gives her. She actually has a teacher that we stay in contact with, mostly through email. We feel like this is a perfect fit for Eden at this time, and I'm so excited and relieved that all the school pieces are falling into place for us! And, because Isaac will be in the Syracuse Arts Academy next year, the following year, anybody from his family gets first dibs in placement for that year! That means that EmmaLee will be able to go there (she is suppose to start kindergarten that next year), and even Eden will be able to go there if she wants to by then! So, it's a great time to be getting our foot in the door! Who knows if we will actually still be living here by then, but if we are, at least we'll be in!

So, moving on to communication styles. I will first talk about Small/Shop talk. Small/Shop talk are the pleasant ways couples use to connect and to exchange routine information.

Small talk is the light conversation or chit chat about everyday things. While this way of talking may be commonplace, it is exceptionally important for staying connected and confident with each other. The intentions of small talk are to: connect, update, enjoy each other, maintain harmony, and stay in touch. The intention is to be: friendly, pleasant, sociable, playful, and available. The mood is: relaxed, contented, calm, comfortable, and peaceful.

This style:
-Facilitates comfortable "comings" and "goings," connecting and disconnecting.
-Supplies an initial sense (visual and tonal) of how well each partner is doing.
-Allows each person to synchronize, "get up to speed," with the other by reliving the day's activities, events, and challenges.
-Provides a way of simply being together, sharing activities, and enjoying each other.
-Can be used to cover, skirt, deflect, or avoid dealing with an unresolved issue.
-Lessens, (or disappears) when couples experience: Severe or continuous conflict; Extended pressures or stress, for example, from extensive work schedules.

Impact of Small Talk:
-Relaxes and refreshes a relationship.
-Sometimes lightens a tense mood and eases pressure.
-Keeps conversations on an ordinary, surface level.
-Fosters annoyance if the other person wants to go to a more serious or deeper level.

Your Small Talk as a couple demonstrates that you are connecting with and enjoying one another. Without it, as time passes, you grow distant.

Shop Talk is the conversation about tasks and necessary details of living. The intention is to: inform, monitor activities and schedules. It is intended to be: responsible, cooperative, and productive. The mood is: polite and occupied.

Impact of Shop Talk
-Handles routines or informs of changes in the maintenance of your life.

Shop Talk keeps things moving and organized, but if that's all there is for you as a couple, your relationship lacks vitality.

Next time I will talk about Control, Fight, and Spite Talk.

Picture Update

2011-03-13T01:44:00.004-07:00

I haven't really posted a lot of pictures lately, so I thought I would add some!

I love this picture of "Super Ammon"! Doesn't he just win your heart over with his dashing smile?!

Rob and I decided that we wanted to get a zoo membership for the year, so about a month and a half ago, we headed out to the zoo! The kids enjoyed seeing all the animals, and even though it was still a bit cold, it was nice to get out of the house! We are looking forward to many visits to the zoo this year!

The other pass we splurged on this year was a State Parks pass. We are planning on doing a lot of camping this year, and thought it would be fun to visit a lot of the state parks. And, living literally 10 minutes away from Antelope Island, it is fun for us to be able to take little rides over there anytime we feel like it! It's fun to see the animals, and it really does feel miles away from civilization, which can give us a nice break! We went out today, and the kids enjoyed taking a little scenic walk!

If you look at the previous picture, you can see down in the background a stretch of sand and then the Great Salt Lake. This picture was taken down on that stretch of sand.

Check out the chompers! Ammon has been by far our fastest teether. With my other kids, they were lucky to barely be breaking teeth at their first birthdays, but at 9 1/2 months, Ammon already has 10 teeth in, 6 on top (the latest two just broke through two days ago so you can't see them in the picture) and 4 on the bottom (two more bottom teeth broke through today-no wonder we haven't slept for a week with this kid)!! I've said it before, but Ammon and Isaac are going to be "ham" brothers; as soon as Ammon saw me with the camera, he had to give me a "ham" smile!

Finally, we were going to go to St. George this weekend for a little vacation, but Eden got sick at the beginning of the week, and we decided that it wasn't worth the chance of going down and having one of the other kids end up sick! So, we cancelled and instead took the kids to Chuck E Cheese later in the week. Not quite the vacation Rob and I had in mind, but a lot cheaper, and the kids had fun!

For the next few posts at least, I am going to be focusing on communication. The information is mostly from a book called "Couple Communication I: Collaborative Marriage Skills" by Sherod Miller, Phyllis Miller, Elam W. Nunnally, and Daniel B. Wackman. This book is from my Marriage and Family course from USU, and while the book is meant to be used to improve marriage skills, the communication information is good for anybody in any situation!

Because it is so late, I'm only going to share a brief idea about communication. It is just something to think about before I share more detailed information in following posts. When you talk to people, your message contains two parts: What you say-the content and How you say it-the style. Most of us know that how you say something can change the meaning of what you say. To communicate well, we know that you do need the what part, but it is often the how, or style, that determines how good of a communicator you are.

How you talk and listen to someone falls into one of four major communication styles. Each of the talking styles corresponds to a listening style, and every style has typical behaviors-unskilled or skilled-associated with it that have a highly predictable impact upon a conversation. The four styles are small/shop talk, control/fight/spite talk, search talk, and aware talk. Next time, I will begin sharing more detailed information about the different talking styles of communication.

Change and SSS Aproach

2011-03-08T00:41:00.000-07:00

Another new chapter has again come to our lives! This last week Rob and I made the decision to homeschool Eden, at least through the rest of this year. There were some struggles and issues happening at school, and after seeking advice from several sources, we made the decision to homeschool Eden. There are some issues we are working through that mostly just need time, which we won't be able to get at a normal school because of attendance rules. So, we are off on a new adventure! I was a bit weary to attempt homeschooling, mainly because I still have 3 younger children at home, including a nursing baby, and both Rob and I are in school as well with our own homework and assignments to get done every week. But, the more we have gotten into it, the more excited I am! Once we get the basic schedule figured out, I think we will actually be more organized and get everything done in a better way and feel like we are accomplishing more than we were before. We have already gotten some supplies, and besides just teaching Eden, we got some simple things for EmmaLee and Isaac, who have never gone to preschool before. They have really taken to the learning already and are excited for when we sit down for "school"! Also, I somewhat have it easy, at least for the rest of this year because really Eden is right where she needs to be academically and is very smart. The rest of this year is more just continuing to practice what she has already learned to become more and more fluent in all of it.

So, with all this change, learning to find balance is even more important to me! One technique that was taught in the same class as I have previously quoted from is the SSS Approach. The SSS stands for Support, Share, and Strategize.

Support Collaboration is key. Support your spouse or partner on specific household and childcare tasks. Work as a team on certain issues involving your family and home life and delegate certain responsibilities and tasks in a fair manner. Tap into skills/qualities you use in your career to help in your family and home life as well. Discuss work and family life priorities with your spouse/partner and what you both consider these to successfully look like.

Share Delineating a responsibility as completely "yours" or "mine" discourages sharing in tasks and it discourages taking over certain responsibilities when it is necessary at times. Share in your family tasks even if you decide on who has primary responsibility over that task. It is necessary for you to make choices and remain flexible each day. It's OK to feel guilty or feel insecure about your performance as a spouse/partner, parent, or employee. Everyone experiences these feelings, and you should accept them. Share your feelings of guilt and stress, as well as your insecurities, with your spouse/partner.

Strategize It's one thing to say you will share in a responsibility; it's another thing to actually do it. Develop strategies or action plans with your spouse/partner on how you will handle certain responsibilities or regular issues that arise. Together, write them down and discuss them as a team like you would prepare for a meeting or presentation.

Take a few minutes now to think about one or two issues that you regularly struggle with, and think of an action plan to involve your spouse/partner using the SSS approach to help you balance these issues more effectively. Then, sit down to discuss it with your spouse, and modify it together as needed.

Updates and Relationship Skills

2011-02-27T00:43:00.001-07:00

I had the opportunity to visit with some old friends this last Tuesday. It was fun visiting with everybody, and I wish it could happen more often! We enjoyed catching up over breakfast at Mimi's Cafe in Sandy, and before we all left, we got a picture of us all.

Isaac has taken up a new love, which is cooking! He watches cooking shows with Rob and I, and he will seriously sit there and watch the whole program! A couple of weeks ago, he came in with his super hero cape, but it was on backwards, covering his front instead of his back. He also had a nifty furry hat on, and when we asked him who he was, he said he was "Super Chef"! I think Rob got a picture of him on his camera, so I will have to post it one of these days, but I thought it was so cute and funny! When I got home from my get together with my friends, he had "created" a surprise for me! It was a pop-tart (already toasted for me, but not so hot anymore) covered with a layer of peanut butter and topped off with Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal! Yum!! Another funny story was that last week I made him fried eggs, which we call flat eggies. I gave him his, and as he started eating it, he told me, "Mom, I love the spices you put on this!" The "spices" consisted of salt. I thought that was too funny!

On a sad note, as I got home from my visit, the kids came out to the garage to greet me. As we were going back up the garage stairs, Eden slipped on the bottom stair and landed face first on the upper step, hitting both of her shins and knocking out her top two front teeth! She hit so hard that it actually knocked her out for a second! She also got a huge fat lip in the fall! Thankfully, both teeth were baby teeth, and one was already loose, so at least we didn't have to go visit the dentist. We did call the doctor because she had been knocked out for a second, but she didn't have any of the signs of a concussion, and was feeling a bit better even a few minutes later. On the up side, the tooth fairy must have known it was a tough way to loose teeth, and she got $3 dollars instead of just two, and in a fun way! She got a dollar bill, a golden dollar, and 4 quarters! She was very excited about that!

I thought that this time around I would include 9 important relationship skills. These skills come from the research done by John Gottman, who is one of the nation's leading researchers on why marriages are successful or unsuccessful. He and his researchers have pinpointed these nine skills and have determined that, if learned, these skills can help to put a relationship on a positive path. There are basically two different categories for these skills: the do's and the don'ts.

The Don'ts

1. Criticism-Attacking someone's personality or character with accusations and blame (for example, "You never think of anyone else," or "How can you be so stupid").

2. Contempt-Intentional insulting, name calling, rolling the eyes, sneering.

3. Defensiveness-Feeling victimized by others in response to contempt, and refusing to take responsibility for personal actions. Being defensive blocks a couple's ability to deal with an issue. Even if one partner feels completely justified in his/her actions, becoming defensive only adds to the couple's problems.

4. Stonewalling-Withdrawing from interactions and refusing to communicate at all. When couples refuse to communicate about their issues, the relationship becomes fragile. (Note: It is completely fair in a relationship to explain to your partner that you are overloaded emotionally and that you need to take a break, call "time out," and calm down before you say something you don't mean.)

The Do's

5. Calm Down-Disengaging from an interaction before something hurtful is said must last for at least 25 minutes for a person to really calm down. Otherwise, it is easy to slip back into an emotionally charged conversation and to say things that are hurtful.

6. Complaint-Bringing up a complaint about a specific issue or behavior is actually one of the healthiest activities a couple can engage in (for example, "When you fail to call me to let me know you are going to be late, it makes me feel like you aren't considering my feelings and the fact that I will worry about you.")

7. Speak Non-Defensively-This kind of language is an art form that usually includes speaking with a soft voice, beginning with "I feel..." statements rather than "You..." statements. Listeners must demonstrate trust in order to communicate effectively without eliciting defensiveness.

8. Validate-To validate another person, one must: Listen by giving full attention, listen to the emotions and needs being expressed, and understand from the other person's point of view.

9. Overlearn Skills-To overlearn means to master the eight other skills in the list so that they remain available even in times of weariness, stress, or anger.

All of these ideas came from the same source as in my last post

One suggestion I would give if you really want to know where your strengths and weaknesses are in these skills is to keep track of them for a week. Write them down on a tally sheet, and then 3 or 4 times a day put a plus or minus sign next to each skill: a plus if you did the skill correctly, or a negative sign if you did not. After the week is up, tally up all your scores and see where you stand. This also helps you to learn the skills better, and think about them more often, which can help you implement them more in your life, which is good! You can also use this same method to track your 8 personal needs to see what areas you are lacking in and need to improve in to help find greater balance and happiness in your life!

Running Fast and 8 Personal Needs

2011-02-20T00:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I wish I was actually physically running fast, but it's more my life that is just running fast! Sometimes almost too fast, to the point of not being able to keep up! I really can't even tell you what has been going on the last month that has been so time consuming that I haven't had time to write! I guess I'll just have to chalk it up to school and taking care of 4 young children!

Oh, one milestone we have reached in the last week is that Ammon has started crawling! He still isn't super fast, but I'm not giving it much time before he is going everywhere! He has started to put EVERYTHING in his mouth, so I spend a lot of time trying to keep the floor clean. It is amazing how much the vacuum can miss!! Of course, the vacuum can't do anything about siblings sharing their OREO cookies with him at any rate! One thing that I am grateful for, knock on wood, is that so far Ammon has been pretty good at not really choking on things. Isaac was the worst, and I swear if anything touched his lips he was choking on it! NOT good for the nerves, especially our nerves!!

I haven't been very good at actually writing about things I'm learning in school, so I decided to include something in this post. In learning to know ourselves better, and in our efforts to balance the different aspects of our lives, we need to know ourselves. Researches have found that there are at least 8 needs that must be met if people are to feel happy, satisfied, and fulfilled.

1. Develop a positive picture of themselves. We all have weaknesses and shortcomings that we want to overcome, but focusing on these weaknesses in an obsessive way only makes us depressed and can lead to untrue thoughts of ourselves. Instead, when you find yourself thinking negative thoughts of yourself, try to replace those thoughts with positive ones, such as "I am a good friend, I can be trusted, I'm kind, I'm spiritual, etc". This kind of talk is called positive self-talk. Inner conversations can have a powerful effect on self-concept, so make a conscious effort to turn negative thoughts into positive ones!

2. Develop close real-love relationships. All people need to have close real-love relationships in order to feel worthwhile and to feel like they belong. Real love and real relationships build; they never destroy. It is kind, giving, unselfish, and sometimes unconditional. Counterfeit love is manipulative, selfish, and conditional upon performance instead of worth as members of the human family.

3. Feel like they belong. Get rid of all conditions you place upon yourself, such as : I won't feel like I belong unless I'm popular, or unless I get a raise at work, wear the nicest clothes, etc. These are mind traps, and you stop them by consciously not allowing yourself to think in this way.

4. Receive the respect of others and themselves. People have a real need to be honored and to be held in high regard, both by themselves and by others. If you have to choose between popularity and self-respect, always choose self-respect. It is miserable to be respected and liked by others, but not like or respect oneself. Be true to who you are and what you know.

5. Feel worthwhile by developing a healthy self-esteem. When you are alone with you, have you ever asked yourself the question, "Do you love me?"

6. Feel competent. We all need to feel that we are good at something. What are you good at? Social and emotional skills such as showing kindness, making good moral decisions, and showing compassion and forgiveness may be less noticeable than other skills, but they are just as critical, and maybe even more so, to feeling competent.

7. To experience growth. Stretch, learn, and climb out of your comfort zone and try something new! Learn a new hobby or skill. Improve your home, or start a collection. Volunteer or work in your yard. Read books or learn how to cook something new!

8. To feel safe and secure. People need to feel some degree of safety and security.

Once you understand how these needs relate to yourself, expand your thinking to realizing that everyone you know has these same needs that need to be met, and recognize how you can help them to reach these needs for themselves. Also, work or other responsibilities also have these needs, and recognizing that can help you to be a better employee/person in how you deal with these responsibilities if you are conscious of meeting these needs for others as well.

This information came mostly from the text book, "Balancing Work and Family in the Real World" written by Victor W. Harris, a professor in Family Life Studies at Utah State University.

Happy 8th Birthday Caydin!

2011-01-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

Eight years ago today, I became a mother. It is the hardest thing I have ever done, and the most heartbreaking, but I wouldn't trade it for anything! Happy birthday Buddies! I miss you like crazy and look forward to the day when I can hold you in my arms again and kiss you, and hug you, and go kick a ball with you! I don't get to see you get baptized, but I get to know you have already passed the test and that there are only bigger and better things left for you to experience! There is one happy memory that for some reason is more vivid than most. It wasn't a special occasion or anything, but just one of those sweet mommy moments that was burned into my subconscious! We were standing in the doorway of the kitchen, and you wanted me to bend down to your level. Once there, you gave me a kiss. That memory is so strong that whenever I think of it, I can still almost literally feel your sweet, cool lips on mine! How I cherish that sweet innocent kiss! I think of that heaven kiss and hope it again reaches heaven tonight!

Five Things you May Not Know About Me

2011-01-15T09:52:00.001-07:00

1. When I was 18, I was escorted out of a casino.

2. When I was born, I had silver hair.

3. I was the youngest child in my family for 8 years, the middle child for 17 years, and became the second oldest child of five kids when I was 20.

4. In the song "Africa", there is a line that says "There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do", and until a few years after I was married, I thought the line was "There's nothing that a hundred men on mars could ever do."

5. I have minor scoliosis.

Challenge: Post your own five unknown facts on your own blog!

Catching Up!

2011-01-11T22:43:00.000-07:00

So it took me longer than I said, but better late than never!

As I said in my last post, I celebrated my 30th birthday in November. It was actually a really low key birthday where we spent the day with our family and just had fun! I don't have any pictures of my birthday, but all these pictures coming up are thanks to my birthday! Yes, I got a new camera for my birthday. My old camera decided to start having "file error" messages on all my pictures, and something was wrong so that I couldn't take a non-blurry picture to save my life! I love my new camera!

This picture was taken right after my birthday after the first real big snow storm of the year. I had to include "Telly" the snowman. We called him that because his nose looks just like Telly's from Sesame Street! Eden had gone into the house to look for a carrot to use for a nose, but being a Sunday, I had used all our carrots for our Sunday roast, so instead she grabbed a potato. What we didn't know until Rob was putting it on the snowman was that it was a baked potato from dinner! It kind of squished into place, and when it was finally on, it was a Telly nose! He got a twig with leaves for a mouth. You might have to click on the picture and make it bigger to really appreciate his face!

Every year Layton City puts on a drive through light show at the park across from the city offices. It isn't terribly long, but I think they do a really good job for what they do, and the best part is that it is FREE! We drive through several times a year, and this year was no exception. What is fun, too, is that if it isn't very crowded, we can usually drive through it 2 or 3 times in one night! I only posted one picture, and this is one of the 'leading up to' lights before you get to the really lighted part. You can also park and walk through the lights as well. We wanted to do that this year, but we got hit by an awful flu bug the beginning of December, and by the time it had cycled through the whole family, it lasted almost the whole month! So, we were never well enough this year to walk through it, but I guess that gives us something to look forward to next year!

On Christmas Eve, the only plans we had were with Rob's mom and oldest brother, who didn't come until dinner. So, during the day we went for a little drive, and we just happened to take that ride right when this Santa and Mrs. Santa (sitting in the back trailer) just happened to be driving past our street! They were a super jolly couple, and I have to admit we kind of Santa stocked them through most of the city! I have better video than pictures of them, but I didn't want to take the time to download it, so you get this poor picture! It was fun for the kids, and gave us a special Christmas Eve treat!

This is the kids Christmas Eve night. They all got to open one present that night, which just happened to be new pajamas! Eden begged us to let her sleep on the couch that night, but finally agreed to have a sleep over with her siblings in one of their rooms! All three of them were so excited for Christmas this year, which made it really fun! This is the first Christmas where all three of them really seemed to understand what was going on, and were really excited! It was super fun!

This is EmmaLee on Christmas Eve, but I actually posted it for a different reason. EmmaLee is now POTTY TRAINED! I only have ONE in diapers now for the first time in over 4 years!!! I talked to my sister-in-law a little before Christmas and she told me how she was training her little girl. It inspired me to try with EmmaLee. The first day was a disaster, at least I thought it was! She didn't make it to the potty once, and what's more, she didn't even try! I didn't get upset at her, so it wasn't a disaster in that side, just in actually feeling like she was getting somewhere! I decided to put it off because I knew with Christmas coming up we were going to be traveling a lot on several different days, and I didn't want to deal with the stress of potty training. So, back into diapers she went. And, like any respectable child, she decided to do the opposite of what I wanted, and started to train herself! At first she would just go pee a couple of times a day, still wearing her diaper in between. Then one day, she said she needed to go, and I was surprised when she actually did the other number! Within a few days, she was in underwear. She had a couple of accidents, but has now been in underwear and accident free (except for two occasions-once when she fell asleep and once when she couldn't get her nylons off after church) for almost a whole week! I would like to thank Mulan II for this accomplishment, since I think a huge factor that motivated EmmaLee to want to wear underwear is the song where the princesses, tired of being princesses and having to follow strict rules, sing a song about what they would like to have freedom to due and sings the line "Dance around in my underwear!" EmmaLee, almost without fail, has been singing that song after most potty uses once she puts her underwear on and before she puts her pants back on!

This picture is kind of blurry (I'm still learning how to use my new camera!), but unfortunately it is the only one I have of the kids Christmas morning seeing their presents for the first time that Santa brought! The kids were pretty happy with Christmas this year! They didn't get a ton of stuff, but they really liked what they got. They each got a pillow pet, which I was very happy to have gotten for $10 a piece! I don't consider myself a very good bargain shopper (which for anybody who knows my mother will wonder if I really am her daughter), and the kids have been asking for pillow pets for almost a year (thanks qubo!), but Eden's school participates in an online program called godealgo.com, which has a daily offer for local businesses. I know they have a Davis County, and a Salt Lake County deal, but I don't know how wide a range they actually cover. Basically local businesses offer great deals, and you can purchase a voucher for the deal, and you mark your child's school (this is optional) when you buy the voucher, and they get a percentage of that sale. It's how Eden's school does their fundraising, which works great because you can buy things you actually want, and they get a piece of it! So, a local Hallmark store offered a $10 for $20 worth of merchandise, and advertised pillow pets. So, I bought 4 vouchers, coming to $40, but was able to get 4 pillow pets, which would have cost me $80, for $40! I was a bit excited since the cheapest I could find them otherwise was $19.98 at Wal-Mart!

This was also Christmas morning. Rob's sister gave Ammon this cute little riding bike, and I thougth he looked so cute sitting on it! He actually can sit up now by himself, but still falls over a lot! He was able to sit on his own on the bike because of the packaging on the back!

The week after Christmas, Rob's sister invited us to stay with them at her husband's mom's condo in Bear Lake. It is an awesome place, with 5 different sleeping quarters, which gave us our own place for our family, which was great! We stayed there for 2 nights and 3 days. It snowed the first night and into the next day, so we bundled up and took the kids tubing. We drove around the area and found no hills we could use, so we ended up back at the condo. Right outside our condo, there was a small little hill that ended up being just right for our kids! It was big enough that they got a thrill out of going down, but small enough that they were able to carry their own stuff back to the top! I don't have a snowsuit for Ammon, so we took an extra pair of 2T snow pants and put those over his warm outfit, then put on a hoodie, and then a wind breaker jacket, and a cute hat! The snow pants went a good 6 inches past his feet, so they were protected, and we put a pair of EmmaLee's gloves over his hands to keep them warm! He looked so cute bundled up, and he seemed to enjoy being out! Rob and I both took him down the hill a couple of times. He didn't last as long as the other kids, and I took him inside after about a half an hour. I thought he looked so cute in his outfit though!

I love this picture!

Eden getting ready to go down on her tube!

Isaac in his outfit with his tube. And, no, that is not my finger in the corner, it's Rob's! He had his big gloves on, and my camera is kind of small, so his finger got in the way!

EmmaLee at the bottom of the hill. The condo we stayed at was the top two floors of the unit right behind EmmaLee. If you click on the picture to make it bigger, you can actually see Bear Lake in the background. It still wasn't frozen!

We had a lot of fun at Bear Lake, but I have to mention this other side of the trip as well. We have not been back to Bear Lake since Caydin passed away, and both Rob and I have made statements in the past that we would never go back there. It just seemed like it would be too difficult, and there was no reason why we would ever "have" to go back. Allen, Bonnie's husband, has had this condo in his family since he was young, and it is part of the reason we were up at Bear Lake when Caydin had his accident. They go up often, and we had actually stayed at this condo with Caydin the summer he passed away, although it wasn't where we were staying when he had his accident. Bonnie and Allen have invited us several times to come up since Caydin passed away, but it wasn't something we were ready for. With the stress of school, and some life changes being made again during the Christmas break (more on that later), we really wanted a vacation, but didn't have money to go anywhere on our own. So, when they invited us up there again, we talked about it, debated over it, and finally decided to give it a try. We could take our own food, and the place was free with our own space, so really it only cost us gas to get there, which is a pretty cheap vacation! It was a bit emotional when we first drove into the valley; our last memories of Caydin alive and well are in that valley. We drove past the park where the night before he died, I took him out to the middle and showed him all the stars and told him that his Heavenly Father had made them all and was somewhere up there watching over us. I didn't realize how soon he would be going back to meet Him. I remember him just gazing up in a very serene way. The condo is actually before the campground he had his accident at, so we didn't have to see it until the day we left. We left on a day of some snow, and for safety reasons, decided to take the route through Evanston home, which meant we had to pass the campground, and which was the route we took in the ambulance. But, it was safer than snowy roads through a very steep, cliffy Logan Canyon! I wasn't sure how I was going to take driving past the campsite, and as we passed it, I did have to curse it, but then I was okay, and it was over, and it can't hold control over me anymore! As for trip to and through Evanston, it wasn't hard at all. I think a couple of things helped with that. One, I didn't recognize hardly a thing! Caydin's accident had been in August, and this was December, so everything was covered in snow. We also drove through patches where it was snowing, or where there was wind blowing the snow, and it was almost a white out. So, we saw mostly just road! The first bit was kind of scary, but after that, it was actually an amazing drive! My camera battery died, so I don't have any pictures, but we got to drive past Wilford Woodruff's house. Because of all the snow, it was amazing landscape. It was overcast, and the clouds and the snow were almost the exact same color, so you almost couldn't tell where earth and hills ended, and where sky began! Going down the Canyon, we saw two different bull elk herds where they had HUGE antlers! I've never seen elk in Utah before, so that was cool! We also saw a moose up on the top of a steep cliff outside our window! I'm not giving the details justice, but I felt like that ride home was a blessing and gift from Caydin. It was like it was his way of saying, "Hey, it was hard for you guys to face this, but remember that I am good, and life is still wonderful and full of beautiful things!" So, overall, I am grateful for that trip to Bear Lake, and that I will never have face Bear Lake for the "first time after" ever again!!

Okay, so totally changing gears! I have had two amazing bargain deals in the last month! First the pillow pets, and then just this week, we were at Costco with Rob's mom when we found this power wheel mustang for an incredible deal! Remember back at the end of last summer when I posted about our trip up to Idaho to my brother's house? My nephew Caleb has this same mustang, and while we were there, my kids and my nephew and niece loved driving around in it. Ever since, my kids have been begging us to get one. But, they are not cheap, so we have told them "someday". We were going to move to Idaho for Rob to finish school, which upset the kids who didn't want to move. So, we promised them that when we moved, we would try to get one of these power wheels as a consolation. But, now we aren't moving to Idaho (again, more later), so we didn't know when we were going to be able to get one of these cars. Going back to this week, we were in Costco, and I wondered down the kitchen gadget section. We saw some toys at the end, so Rob took the kids to look, and he found this mustang on sale there for $99! It had been the floor model, and was the last one there! We got it down to make sure it functioned properly, and when it did, decided we were never going to find this deal again, so we got it! When we got home, we looked it up on the Internet, and they retail for $335!! I know there are deals on them sometimes where you can get them for cheaper than that, but not for $99! So, the kids finally got their power wheel! The bad side is that it is still snowy outside, so they have no where to drive it! That is why it is in Eden's room! They have been driving it forward and then backward in about 15 feet of space! We actually take the battery out most of the time so they aren't running over each other! They are so excited for when they can take it outside!

Isn't this a classic picture?! I thought it was so funny that Ammon loved being in the driver's seat, although I'm not sure EmmaLee liked it as much! When we first put Ammon in it, he didn't know what to think, and I thought for a second he was going to cry! But, it didn't take long for his attitude to change, and then all the kids had to take him for a ride!

Eden driving the car. Also, ignore the blanket pile to the right of the car. It's a tent we set up in Eden's room to help pass these long winter days!

I love this picture! It has been so fun to see the special relationship Isaac and Ammon are developing with each other! Even at 8 months old, Ammon just loves his big brother, and I love seeing them having so much fun together! Eden and EmmaLee have also started to really develop a sister bond with each other! I love that the kids are getting old enough to start really developing into their personalities, and start having a lot of fun with each other!

Finally, as I hinted at earlier, after a lot of stress, prayer, and soul searching, we made the decision for Rob to transfer from BYU-Idaho to USU to an online degree. It's a long, complicated story that I won't go into, but a big issue we were having a hard time overcoming was the ability to move up to the campus. So, again, after a LOT of thought, we made the decision for Rob to switch to an online degree so we could have the flexibility of being able to stay here, and also continue to look for jobs with the flexibility of any hours, and any location since Rob can now finish anywhere! He had to change his major since there isn't an Art degree offered online, but he is very passionate about family life, especially because of what we went through with Caydin, which is why he chose to go into the same degree I am, which is Family Life Studies. He would like to go on and get his Master's as well. We figure we'll just keep doing the best we can, making the best choices we can, and we'll see where life, and the Lord, leads us!

So, I think that should just about catch me up on what I've been neglecting to write! School started yesterday, and Rob was able to get everything transferred in time, so he is going again now too, so hopefully we can organize ourselves well so we can keep up with everything!

First Foods

2011-01-04T00:14:00.002-07:00

So, usually when you first introduce solid foods to your baby, you pull your camera out, and start with something like mashed bananas, or rice cereal. It is a milestone to be documented. Well, by the time you have your fifth baby, sometimes it doesn't always work that way! To be fair, I have tried mashed bananas with Ammon before, and he didn't care for them. So, at 7 1/2 months old, he really hasn't started on anything solid. This morning I was trying to catch up on some laundry after the holidays, and Rob was talking to the school for Spring semester. Ammon was sitting in his high chair, which is where I had put him while I ate my breakfast, and had then left him when I started on laundry because he was happy. A few minutes into my laundry, he started acting a little fussy, so I asked Isaac to help him. Usually that means that they find him one of his baby toys to play with. He stopped whining, so I assumed all was well. A few minutes later when I was done changing the laundry, I walked into the kitchen to find this!

"Look mom, I have a mustache!"

Who needs a bib?

"I would have eaten solids sooner if I knew they could taste like this!"

Apparently when I asked Isaac to help him, Isaac thought that Ammon needed a chocolate covered marshmellow grahm cracker! Thankfully, Ammon didn't actually try to bite the thing, and pretty much just licked all the chocolate off the cracker! It wasn't really what I had in mind as an introduction to solids, but again, I guess after 5 kids, things don't always go the way you'd like them too!

I know I am way behind on posting any kind of events from the last few months, such as my big 3-0 birthday, and all the holidays, but I will be doing a big post covering all this real soon, like before next Monday when school starts again!

Brothers

2010-12-11T00:10:00.001-07:00

Do you think we are going to have some fun times with these two, or what!?!

Jordyn and Festival of Trees

2010-12-04T02:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my younger sister, Melanie, had her first baby, a little girl! Jordyn was born at 10:11 pm and weighed in at 7 lb 1 oz and was 19 inches long! Melanie did really well, and only had to push through about 3 contractions before they called the doctor and she had to stop pushing to wait for the doctor! Once the doctor was there, she only had to push through about 5 contractions before Jordyn joined us! It was a really amazing experience to be a part of her birth, and I am so happy for Melanie and Danny! Jordyn is so cute, and was so alert, even right after she came out! It was so precious to see Melanie and Danny connecting with her, and I know they are going to be a happy and cute family!

I should have posted this a while ago! So, tomorrow is the last day of the Festival of Trees. If you haven't gone yet, you should go! Thanks in huge part to my good friend Emily, we were able to get a big donation for our tree for Caydin from Bear River Mutual Insurance Company. They held a Halloween employee sale where employees either baked, or made something, and then sold it to each other. They donated all the proceeds to us for Caydin's tree! It was Emily's idea to ask them if they would help us out, and her husband, who works there, was kind enough to take in a letter from us. So, here is our Narnia themed tree done in Caydin's honor! Our tree is located in O-05. It was a fun, and emotional journey getting this tree done, and we were so excited when we went to the Festival today to see that it had sold!

Messy Story

2010-11-11T14:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, October went by fast! I can't believe it's already November as well! So, I have some pictures I need to post, but that will have to come in the next post. School has been keeping me, and my family very busy! I have finals at the end of this month and the beginning of December, so it's still going to be a busy month!

I have to share this story, but again, I have to warn that it's a potty story! A couple of nights ago Ammon was fussy because he hadn't been able to poop for 4 days. We finally decided to give him a suppository, which did produce results, but not 4 days worth of results. We went to bed for the night, and when I got up in the morning, I went to change his wet diaper. It was still pretty early, so I had the lights off and was trying to change him quietly. I went to wipe his bum, and 4 days worth of "results" followed right after! I woke up Rob and asked him to turn on the lights and help me figure out how to clean up. Ammon was wearing a one piece pj, and I hadn't taken his arms out to change him since I was going to just put him back in them for a little while longer. Well, when he pooped, it went all over his pj's, so I had to have Rob come and help me somewhat lift Ammon up and get the pj's off him without getting him any messier than he already was. So, as Rob lifted him somewhat up and to the side so I could get his arms out and get his pj's out from under him, Ammon starts peeing all over Rob's upper leg! At that point, we just started laughing! What else can you do? Oh the joys of parenthood!

Sparkling Boy

2010-10-05T18:18:00.001-06:00

We went to Target today as a family, and had stopped to look at something when I hear Isaac singing, fairly loudly, "Get, your, sparkle on!" (from the new Barbie and the Fashion Show movie). A lady standing by us heard him and smiled and said to me, "He must have sisters!" He continued to sing this song, fairly loudly, the rest of the time we were there! If he wasn't such a rough and tumble boy in every other aspect, I might be worried. . .

Here's some more fun, random pictures!

Isaac still loves his little brother, and Ammon is still unsure of what to think! Actually, Ammon loves his siblings and smiles and laughs at them all the time!

Oh, EmmaLee! She has been FULL of attitude lately, can you tell?!

Eden had picture day a couple of weeks ago and chose her outfit and hair due for the day! Luckily, her bangs have grown out enough now that they don't really stand out at all! I can't believe how big she is getting, and she has started helping around the house so much more! She is such a joy and such a big helper!

Isaac wanted to get a picture taken as well, and it is actually a more normal picture of him, mostly!

Ammon discovered his thumb last week! It's so cute, even though I know if it really becomes a habit I won't like it so much later on! I've never had a thumb sucker! What's funny too is that he has the Soothie brand binkys, with the holes in the binky part, and I found him today with his thumb stuck in the hole part, so he was sucking on both his binky and his thumb!

This isn't the clearest picture, but it kind of shows how blue his eyes are. His cousin on Rob's side that is only about 2 weeks younger (but about a pound bigger), has super brown eyes, and Ammon has really blue eyes, so when they get together, both of their eyes stand out! It's so cute! Ammon also started laughing this last week, which is SO cute!!

Marriage Tips

2010-09-25T19:57:00.000-06:00

10 Ways to Daily Improve Any Relationship
Complied by Victor W. Harris, MS

1. Say "I love you"
2. Kiss or hug
3. Give a compliment
4. Mediate for 3 minutes (Why it is wonderful to be married to my partner. . .)
5. Touch "Goodbye"
6. Touch "Hello"
7. Share a personal feeling
8. Perform an Act of Service
9. Keep a Promise (Trust)
10. Provide Surprises

Just a little of what I'm learning in one of my college classes!

Festival of Trees

2010-09-15T19:32:00.003-06:00

We have decided to donate a tree to the Festival of Trees this year in Caydin's name. The title of the tree is "Christmas at Last", and is based on the Chronicles of Narnia. We will be decorating it with Narnia themes, toys, figurines, etc. Of course, the Chronicles of Narnia are a parallel of the gospel, with Aslan representing Christ. We felt this was an appropriate and yet fun theme since it is through our Savior that we will one day be blessed to be with Caydin again. If anyone is interested in donating towards our tree to help pay for the cost of creating it, our mailing information for it can be found here.

In case anyone doesn't know what the Festival of Trees is, it is a fundraiser for Primary Children's hospital, and people donate trees in the name of a loved one who has passed on. The trees are sold, and the proceeds from the trees are donated to Primary's to help patients and families of patients to pay their medical bills. Caydin spent the last 30 hours of his life at Primary's, and I am so grateful that he was at a place where the doctors and nurses are so expert at children's care, and also knowledgeable in how to help families who's child does not survive. Caydin's accident and resulting medical care costs were in the hundred's of thousands of dollars, and that was just for 30 hours! We were blessed at the time to have insurance that covered the cost, but there are many families that don't have that good of insurance, or any insurance at all! And, there are many children who spend MUCH more time in that hospital getting continual treatment than we did, who could really use some help with the bills. Medical cost bills can be even tougher to pay than normal bills because of the emotion behind the care received, especially if the results were of a loved one passing away; it can be a monthly reminder of that heartbreaking time! So, I know that the proceeds from our tree will be greatly appreciated by those who will be receiving it from the hospital!

You Never Know

2010-09-10T11:42:00.001-06:00

Living by an Air Force base, you never know what you are going to see! Earlier this week we were driving down the main street here by our house right after we had picked Eden up from school. Suddenly, flying over our heads was this Stealth bomber! I couldn't get my camera out quick enough to get a decent picture of it because by the time I got a picture, it was behind us and so flat to our view that it is hard to see what it was! But, we noticed the route it was flying, and thought there was a chance it was heading back to the Air Force base, and decided to drive up there to see if we would be able to see it. On our way there, it again passed over us, flying the same route! We got to the base just as it was landing and taking off again, so I was able to get this video of it! We've noticed that planes, especially the bigger transport ones, often fly a circle over the base, landing and then taking off again. I'm guessing that they do this to practice their landings and take offs. Anyway, ironically, after I took this video, it actually changed course and flew off over towards the west desert, which is where the other jets are always flying to, and didn't come back! So, I was glad we got this video! The jets can be noisy, but it is kind of fun living by the base and seeing the F-16's flying over head several times a day! It doesn't really get old to me, and since my kids are used to the noise of them now, it's all good!

Five Years Today

2010-08-28T10:57:00.001-06:00

Five years ago today, Caydin "graduated" this life and went back to his heavenly home to peace and glory. I miss you today, buddy, even more than normal! Thank you for your example, and help me get through all the unknown years ahead so we can all be together again as a WHOLE family! I LOVE YOU!

August Birthdays

2010-08-16T00:38:00.001-06:00

August is Birthday month for both of my girls! I haven't downloaded my pictures for this years celebrations yet, but wanted to post something before it got too late!

Eden's birthday was on August 4th and she turned 6 years old! I can't believe she is already that old! She is my helper, and my little mother, at least in the trying to boss her other siblings around! She is very stubborn, but likes to talk things through. Whenever a problem comes up, if I try to "tell" her how to deal with things, she won't hear it at all! But, if I discuss the issue with her, and give examples from my own experiences, she would talk about it for hours! I love that thinking side of her! She is my sweetheart, and I'm so grateful that I am so blessed as to be her mother!!

This is Eden on her blessing day. She was born with one club foot, and by this time had I believe her second or third cast on, so everyone signed it who came to her blessing! I love that Caydin is talking to her!!

Here is Eden just a week or two before her first birthday.

By her second birthday, she was already wanting to be a little princess, and loved dressing up!

I took this picture of her the morning of her third birthday. It is weird to me to see this picture and compare it to EmmaLee today, since it is EmmaLee's third birthday today!

Eden right after her 4th birthday. I think going from 3 to 4 was a big "growing up" time for Eden when she went from toddler to girl!

Eden right after her 5th birthday.

Eden just a couple of weeks ago at 6! She is getting so much bigger and older now! Sure love this girl!

Like I said earlier, EmmaLee's birthday is today (okay, it is actually the 15th, which it was when I started this post!) and she is now three! I said Eden is stubborn, but EmmaLee is even MORE stubborn! She loves to sing and dance, and if she is comfortable, if you ask her she will sing a song about just about anybody! She loves playing with her older siblings, and is pretty easy going when it comes to playing! She loves to smile and be happy, but she has her little "monster" voice that comes out when you don't respond to her fast enough! She is also so special to me, and I love having my two girls!

This is in the OR right after EmmaLee was born!

Here is EmmaLee at one! Such a cutie!

Emma when she turned two! It is amazing how much faster your later children grow! I think because they have older siblings to learn from, they just seem to catch onto things faster and sooner and get "older" faster!

Emma at three! Happy birthday my little sunshine!

What Kids Say!

2010-08-01T19:36:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a family reunion for my mom's side of the family. We spent the day up at my aunt's clubhouse having a blast! There was a splash park right around the corner that the kids LOVED, and we also went swimming and had fun talking and playing with lots of family! I will have to post pictures of it later this week, but I wanted to write down a couple of things the kids said before I forget!

Just a warning, but this first one is a potty one! Isaac had to go to the bathroom at one point, so Rob took him. After he had finished his business, he looked into the potty before flushing and saw his poop, and told Rob, "It's like a family!"

My sister Melanie was holding and talking to EmmaLee, who loves jewerly. Melanie had on a strand she had gotten after my Grandma Dickey passed away. She told EmmaLee where she had gotten the necklace, and EmmaLee told Melanie, "Someday when I'm a great, great, great Grandpa Dickey, I will die."

Another New Chapter!

2010-07-28T09:43:00.000-06:00

So, I'm excited to say that I am officially now an Aggie, and I am officially going to be working towards a degree in Family Life Studies from USU online! With Rob going to school, we decided that there was no reason I couldn't be going to school too! I love that it is online because that means I can work on it wherever we are, and that there will be lots of flexibility in the time I can do the work! I'm not always going ot be able to go full time, and since I only have about a year of previous college, it could take me more than the three years to complete, but at least I'm working on it!

Finally!

2010-07-25T13:28:00.000-06:00

This is a few weeks late, but I am very happy to say that Isaac is finally potty trained! He was much harder to get trained than Eden was, and has made up for her lack of accidents, but at least it is finally done! And, I must say, it is much quicker to take a boy to the bathroom at a store than a girl (at least in one of the aspects)! Now to work on EmmaLee . . .

Ammon's Blessing and Summer

2010-07-19T00:23:00.000-06:00

On July 4th we blessed Ammon. Blessings are always special, and this one was really fun as well! As I've mentioned in early blogs, my brother and his wife had their baby, Connor, 3 days after Ammon was born. So, when we were trying to plan when we were going to bless each of our babies, the first day that came to both of us was July 4. But, they live in Idaho, which makes it slightly difficult to make it to both blessings! So, after some discussion, we decided to do a double blessing at my parent's ward, which is the ward that both Nick and I spent most of our growing up years!

This is Ammon in his blessing outfit before the blessing.

This is a picture of both Ammon and Conner after the blessing. I felt like it was pretty special and unique for my brother and I to be able to bless both of our babies on the same day, and it was fun to bless them in a ward where I knew so many people who helped shape my life! Aren't they such cute babies! I think they were both wondering why everyone was standing around them looking at them so much!

Ammon is getting better and better at smiling! I never seem to be able to catch him when he is super smiley, but he's cute anyway!

Just another cute picture!

And another!

I liked this one too!

A little bit bigger smile, but not such a great angle! I was trying to take the picture while I was holding him in my arms, and I almost missed him! I also love how blue his eyes look in this picture!

Last Sunday we took a ride up Ogden canyon by the town of Morgan. We found a little cemetery that has a lot of old pioneer graves just west of Morgan; I can't remember now what it was called for sure, but I think it was like Peterson, or something close to that! It was on a bit of a hill, and it had an amazing view on pretty much every side! So, we took a few pictures of the kids from it! Morgan is basically right behind Eden.

Isaac at the cemetery.

And Emma's turn!

So, besides little road trips, the kids have been swimming a lot to try to keep cool this summer! This is a cute pool Shirley bought that the kids have had fun playing in, at least until the plugs got lost!

Cooling off!

On Friday we took a trip down to the Springville Museum for one of Rob's school class assignments. The museum is in an awesome building (which I didn't think to take any pictures of!) and has a lot of really amazing artwork. They also have a sculpture garden that they just completed last summer that was absolutely gorgeous! I have decided if I ever get to have a nice backyard and I have the money to do so, it will look very similar to this garden! This picture doesn't really show the whole look of the yard, but it was really very, very nice! I love Isaac's "tough" pose, and the girls sweet pose! I had thought about taking Ammon out and holding him above my head like the statue, but he was sleeping and it was hot, so we decided to pass on that, sigh, maybe next time!

So, that has been our summer for the most part. Eden is getting ready to start 1st grade THIS TUESDAY! I can't believe how big she is getting, and I can't believe school is already starting! She is in year round, which is why she is already starting. I'm glad she's on A track, because she's been off since the end of May. If she hadn't been on A, she would have only ended school on July 2! There are some good things about year round, but I do hate how short the summer's feel, even when on a track that either gets out early, or starts later! The summer still feels so short!

June

2010-07-05T22:30:00.000-06:00

So, June has come and gone, and I thought I would post some pictures from the month!

In June, I finally took Eden in to get a professional haircut. For those who have been following this blog, you will remember that Eden had a tendency of cutting her hair when she was 3-4 years old, but hasn't cut it for a good year now. All the butchered spots had finally started growing out longer, but her hair was kind of a wild mess of multilength hair. So I decided it was time for a real style. We went in, and the lady gave Eden some bangs to help with the general flow of hair. She cut the sides so they framed her face, and left it long in the back. It was pretty cute. Well, the problem with bangs is that they grow fast, and get into eyes. So, this was the before shot of Eden, not long after her haircut.

Eden decided one night her bangs were in her eyes too much, so after using the restroom, she decided instead of coming out, she would give herself a quick bangs "trim", and proceded to basically cut her bangs off to the scalp! She came out, and asked me if I noticed anything, to which I simply gasped! Rob and I then tried to tell her that she shouldn't cut her hair, that's why we go to professionals, etc. We brought to her acknowledgement that the only people that have bangs that short are the ones with really short hair, like Isaac. She then got upset because she didn't want to look like a boy. So, I told her we could try curling her hair and then people would not mistake her for a boy. I also pulled some of her hair up, and it actually turned out a lot better than I had though it would! The only down side for me is that now she thinks she has to have her hair curled everyday, so I went out and bought some sponge curlers and most every night now, after her shower, we put her curlers in so she can make sure she looks like a girl!

This last month my kids discovered how fun stairs can be. They had the bottom of a box, and used it as a sled to slide down the stairs! It was fun to watch them and brought back memories of when I was a kid and used all sorts of things to slide down the stairs!

I don't really know what to say about this one besides that it's hilarious!

We also made it to the Dinosaur Museum in Ogden this last month. The kids loved it! They are all roaring in this picture, like a dinosaur!

Layton City has several free concerts during the summer, so we went to this one which had Peter Brienholt singing. It was a beautiful evening, and the kids loved getting out. We didn't quite make it the whole concert before Ammon got a little upset and we had to go, but it was fun while we were there! Also, just as a side note, Isaac pretty much thinks he has to pose for most pictures, so yes, he looks like that on purpose.

This is a shot of the concert. With our kids, we felt we would last longer sitting in the very back where they would have a little bit of room to wiggle!

And that was our month!

Ammon Update

2010-07-02T16:23:00.001-06:00

Ammon is now about a month and a half old. He has become a lot more alert these last few weeks, and has even smiled a couple of times! The kids love him, sometimes almost too much, but I think he's going to be one of the crowd soon, maybe even sooner than I want!

As you can see, his yellow is almost completely gone!

This is Alexander, my sister-in-law, Bonnie's, new baby that was born about 2 weeks after Ammon. He has gotten bigger as well, but I don't have any other pictues of him yet!

I thought this was a cute picture of Isaac and EmmaLee. I love that my kids love each other. Yes, they fight, and a lot sometimes, but you can often hear them telling each other that they are handsome and beautiful, depending on if you are a boy or a girl, and one of my goals as their mother is to help them to love and respect each other. I've talked to them before about how special it is for them to get to be siblings. I know I must have reached at least Eden because a couple of weeks ago I heard her talking to EmmaLee and telling her that even if their friends move away, they always got to be sisters, so they would always be best friends!

So, sometimes the kids get a little silly around Ammon, and I think it's already starting to rub off on him.

"Mom, am I suppose to be as silly as my brother and sisters are?"

"Okay, I'll try! Hey, what are you doing?"

"Let's all make the same silly faces, that will be funny!"

"Say Awwwww"

"I can make that face too, just cleaner"

"I can do that one too!" (If you look really close, or blow the picture up, Ammon actually has his tongue out of his mouth too!!)

Ammom is such a sweet boy, and we are loving having him here with our family!

Isaac's Birthday

2010-07-02T15:23:00.000-06:00

So, I'm finally getting around to posting pictures! I'm going to start with Isaac's birthday, since it was almost two weeks ago! We celebrated his birthday a day early with Rob's family. Rob's mom has a friend who lent us this blow up water slide for the afternoon! The kids loved it!

We didn't know it was going to be there till that day, so it was a very fun surprise for them!

I wish pictures had sound! If you could hear Emma, she would be squealing in delight (and possibly some shock from the cold entry of the pool)!

The birthday boy, who is now 4 years old!!

It wasn't quite as warm on this day as it has been these last few days, but Isaac found his own personal "water" bed that was heated by the sun! He would go lay there when he got too cold and get warmed up!

After all the fun in the sun, we had hot dogs and cake (can you tell?) and then Isaac got to open his presents. This dinosaur was from Grandma Shirley, and he LOVES it! It walks on its own and roars!

The morning of Isaac's real birthday, he wanted blue pancakes. So, I attempted to make blue pancakes, but they turned out a more blue-green, and still cooked brown, so they were, um, interesting. But, they tasted good, and he was happy with them!

Later that day, we went to my parents house for a birthday party. Grandma Dickey bought a fun car pinata for Isaac, which turned out to be pretty tough to break! It did finally break, and everybody got lots of yummy candy!

This is my adorable sister, Melanie, who is pregnant and expecting her first baby, which is a girl! She is so cute with her little tummy!

Here's Isaac opening more fun presents!

It was a fun birthday for him, and I can't believe my little boy is already four years old!

Kids!

2010-06-26T00:38:00.000-06:00

I really am going to post some pictures, but I have to write this down so I don't forget!

Last night we were having family prayer before bed. Isaac ended up falling asleep in the middle of the prayer, which HE was saying! He's too young for this to already be happening to him!

Also, and I'm planning on posting picture, but Eden cut her hair, AGAIN! This time her bangs were the only victims, but she chopped them almost to her scalp! She wouldn't let me take a picture right after she did it, but we went in and curled her hair, and I put some of it up, and it looked better than I would have hoped it would! She doesn't want to let me take her in to a professional to get it fixed because she doesn't want to loose any length in the back, and I honestly don't know what they could do for her anyway! I've never met someone who wants to have long hair so bad, but then can't stop cutting her own hair! I've decided that maybe the best course of action is to try to teach her some basics on how to more properly cut her hair. I tried to help her see that if she is going to cut her bangs, she should still cut them so they are a little longer. When I told her this, she said, "Oh, I see. Next time I could maybe look in a mirror so I can see where they look good." Good to know she didn't even look when she cut! I should clarify, though, that I did not give her permission to cut her hair, but just tried to explain basic principles of what looks good with hair and what would make her hair look like a boys! That way if she does decide to cut her hair again, she might not butcher it so badly! Kids, what can I say?

Not Much

2010-06-17T21:41:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I don't have much to say, but feel compelled to write something! I haven't had time to download any pictures, but I'll try to do so soon. We have been fighting sickness for the last week or so. It started with Eden loosing her voice and getting laryngitis. It's kind of amusing to hear your 5 year old speak in a different voice, especially when she sounds like a 90 year old woman who has been smoking her entire life! Just as she was getting better, Isaac ended up with croup and a nasty cough. A day or two later, EmmaLee had it. I've just been praying and hoping Ammon didn't come down with it, and so far he hasn't! I started to get a bit of a sore throat, but I'm thinking now it is more allergies because it's kind of off and on, and I would think if it was a cold, it would be all the time. Sooo, that's been fun! We did finally get out today and managed to find a park with nobody in it, and we enjoyed being outdoors for a couple of hours! My kids especially enjoyed the freedom! I think they've been feeling a little neglected since Ammon was born, and I noticed a huge difference in their attitude today after being at the park! It was kind of funny, but at the park, they all kept telling us randomly that they loved us, and we were beautiful/handsome, and things like that! Thank heavens the weather is getting better so we can do more outings like today; we all need it! Isaac will be turning 4 on Sunday, which is crazy! I'll take some pictures, so for sure some pictures will be coming soon!

Pictures, a lot of pictures!

2010-06-03T23:07:00.001-06:00

Okay, so here are the promised pictures! This first one is of Ammon at the hospital.

This was also taken that first day at the hospital. Isaac totally loves his new little brother!

I had Ammon at Alta View hospital. They have this new thing where they offer a special dinner for two for one of the meals you are there for in celebration of you new arrival! They brought in this little table, and this fancy meal! It was really nice! They also gave me a really nice, plush robe!

This was Ammon at the hospital when we were ready to go home!

Just a cute shot of Ammon with his eyes open!

Another cute shot of Ammon and me.

I don't know how clear it is in this picture, but this shows how yellow Ammon has been.

So, this is a picture of Ammon on his bili bed. We felt kind of lucky because his bed only had a bottom part, so we didn't have to worry about the glasses over his eyes, and we could also cover him with blankets. He only had to have his back exposed to the bed.

Here is a shot of him on his bili bed at night. With the mobile on, and his bed glowing, it reminded us of a space ship!

Like I said earlier, Isaac totally loves his brother. He kisses him, and gets all cute and mushy (for a 3 year old boy) whenever he sees him!

Here he is kissing him again!

And again! He is such a good brother to him, and I hope they grow up as close buddies!

The kids have handled the changes pretty good. It has been a little crazy trying to adjust, and the kids have been kind of crazy some of the days!

A cute picture of Isaac wearing a "silly" hat!

Again, some craziness has been the order of the last couple of weeks!

More craziness,

mixed in with some cuteness and much happiness!

And some seeking of attention,

and did I mention some craziness?

Good thing they can still be cute too!

And silliness that makes me laugh!

The first Monday after Ammon was born, Eden had a little celebration at school for getting through kindergarten! Her last day was last Friday! I can't believe my little girl is already done with Kindergarten! She gets a couple of months off, and then she will be starting the 1st grade! I can't believe how fast time has gone! Caydin would have just finished 1st grade and would be going into 2nd grade! These realizations make me want to just hold Ammon all day long because I know it will be him finishing Kindergarten way too soon!

Two Weeks Old

2010-06-03T00:50:00.000-06:00

Okay, so technically this is a day late now since it's after midnight, but I haven't gone to bed yet, so I still count it as the same day! Ammon turned 2 weeks old today, on Wednesday. I have pictures, and my goal is to post them tomorrow! We've been a little busy. Ammon's jaundice has been stubborn, and we had him on the bili bed, but were still taking him up to the hospital to get tested everyday for a week straight before his levels finally started to lower. At his test yesterday, he was still at a 14, but it has finally leveled out, so he should be fine now! He's still pretty yellow to look at, and I'll post a picture that helps show how yellow he's been! He's such a good baby, though, and we have loved having him here! Watch for pictures!

Ammon Mark Fischer

2010-05-22T15:58:00.000-06:00

This is going to be a super quick post, but I wanted to get some pictures up! More will follow soon!

Ammon Mark Fischer was born on Wednesday, May 19 at 7:57 in the morning. He weighed 7 lb 9 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. The c-section went really well, and the low placenta wasn't a problem at all! We spent two nights in the hospital, and come home yesterday. We were suppose to stay one more night, but asked if we could go home early because we really wanted to. For some reason, we were not sleeping well at the hospital, and just wanted to be home. Besides lack of sleep, I was doing well, and so was Ammon, so the doctor said we could. Ammon was a little jaundice, so we had to take him in for a test today at a local place. The results just came back an hour or so ago, and he is high, so we will be getting a bed by the end of the day. I'm not looking forward to that, but at least it is something we can do here at home.

Also, about an hour ago, my brother called to say that his wife had just delievered their little boy at around 1:30 this afternoon! So, Ammon and his new cousin will only have birthdays 3 days apart! I'm so happy and excited for them!

Random

2010-05-15T23:45:00.000-06:00

I haven't been very good at posting pictures, so here come a bunch of random ones from this last month!

A couple of months ago, we actually switched up the kids' rooms. Up until then, all three kids were in the same room. We decided that with having this baby, we wanted to make a boy's room and a girl's room, so we cleaned out the "toy" room and moved the girls into it, and then put Isaac and the new baby's stuff in the boy's room. I'm not the best at room arranging, or picture taking, but here are some pictures of the end results. Actually, these were taken just this week, so already some of the decorations on the walls have "disappeared"!

Here is the boy's room (and if anyone even thought about it, the cord for the curtains is on the opposite part of where the crib is).

I love these curtains that I got at Wal-Mart for the girl's room!

The kids have done really well with the changes. We worried most about Isaac because he is by himself now (for the first time in his life), and still will be for a month or two longer since the baby is going to be in our room the first month or two, but he has done really well, and actually started sleeping better! I'm hoping it continues after the baby is here, but we'll take that one when it comes! The girls love having their own room too, and I think we made this change at a good time for everybody! We also didn't really use the "toy" room, except for storage, so making this change has actually made it feel like we've added a whole new room to our place, which is always nice!

I love this picture of EmmaLee! She has become quite the expert at playing games on the computer, which is amazing to me since she is still only two! On this day, she had dressed up first, and then wanted to play on the laptop. I thought it was so cute!

Eden and Emma have really started bonding as sisters lately too. Eden can get so frustrated because Emma follows her around and wants to do everything Eden does, and wants to match Eden in everything too! Most of the time Eden is really good about it, but every once in a while, she gets a little fed up! I love how the girls are friends, and I hope they continue to be close (even with the guarenteed fights that are sure to come) their whole lives!

I had to include a picture of Isaac, our little ham! This is a self portrait he took of himself. He just LOVES to be silly and make everyone laugh! He is a true, rough and tumble little boy, but is so sweet at the same time. He is taking after his dad, and loves fishing! Rob put a fake worm on the end of his fishing pole (without a hook), and he will seriously spend an hour or more just casting it and reeling it in. He is really good at casting now! He just loves it when his dad takes him fishing!

The weather has been crazy this last week, one second being sunny, and the next second it's pouring, just to a few minutes later be back to sunny again! The day we took this was one of those days! We went to the store, and when we got there, this beautiful rainbow was there. We wondered if Target would pay us for the picture!

I'm sure this is what everyone wants to see, but here is my ankle the other night. It's not the best picture, but it's all swollen. For about the last week and a half or so, I've been retaining water a lot, especially in my legs and some in my hands. I have not been comfortable, and I have to admit, I'm REALLY ready to be done with this pregnancy. I've been sleeping even worse than I was before, and it has felt like the last week has been one really long day! But, there is an end in sight! In less than four days, I will have my baby in my arms instead of in my over-stretched stomach! We go in for the c-section early Wednesday morning, so really we've only got tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday to go, and it will be time!!!!

These last pictures are of Eden's ear. Yesterday at school, her class got to go to gym. Their school's gym is right next to a stage that has steps. I guess a girl accidentally bumped Eden, and she fell down and hit her ear and the back of her ear on one of the steps. The pictures aren't the best, but it bruised her earlobe, and then gave her a kind of rug burn on the back of her ear, and also bruised her head above and below the rug burn as well. I felt so bad for her! But, what kind of made me mad, and maybe I'm over reacting a little, but the school never told us about it. We didn't know it had happened until several hours after we'd picked her up from school! She had taken cupcakes to share with her class in celebration of our new baby coming next week, so I said something about it being a good day at school, and she said yes, it had been a good day, except for gym. So, I asked her what had happened in gym, and she told me how she had fell. I was kind of surprised, especially when she said she had hit her head on the stairs. The gym teacher is not her regular teacher, so I don't know her at all. Eden said she cried, and the teacher was nice, but the only thing she really did was tell her to sit on the stairs until she felt better. I'm not sure she even told Eden's regular teacher it had happened. We were driving in the car when this all came out, so it wasn't until later that I actually saw her ear. Her earlobe looks like it was the last thing before actually splitting open, with an already super dark purple bruise, and then to see the rug burn thing on the back of her ear, and the bruises above and below it, it made me kind of mad! I asked Eden if the teacher had even looked at it, and she said no, she just had her sit down. I realize there was no blood, but she really had to of hit her head hard to get it that bruised, and I just feel like the teacher should have taken a little closer look, and that the school should have called us about it. Luckily, Eden is fine, but hitting your head that hard isn't something you want to just blow off, and as her parent, I would have liked to have made the decision if she was all right or not! Obviously accidents happen, so I don't think it is anyone's fault that she hit her head, but I just feel like there should have been a little closer examination. Even if they had felt like she would be fine, I would have appreciated the school telling me it happened, even if it was when I went to pick her up. Like I said, I'm not sure her teacher knew about it, but that's why I'm the most frustrated with the gym teacher. I'm not sure if I should go to the school and talk to her teacher, or the front office about it or not. She is fine, but like I said, it just bugs me that it was more than a slight bump and nobody told me anything about it!

So, that's been our month in a nutshell! Rob has been busy with school, and we have been busy in general making sure everything is ready for this new baby to come! We rearranged our room so we have a little "baby" corner with the bassinet and a rocking chair set up, and now all we need is for the baby to come! Now I just have to not go nuts waiting out the next three days!!!

Shapes

2010-05-10T18:08:00.000-06:00

We go for a lot of rides in our family. Sometimes we have a hard time figuring out where to go, and end up driving in circles in the area by where we live. Last night we went for another ride, and here was one of our conversations:

Isaac: "Dad, are we driving in circles?"

Rob: "No."

Isaac: "Are we driving in triangles?"

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T18:05:00.000-06:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers I know!

EmmaLee-"Mom, you're my best mommy ever!"

Love it!

Full Term

2010-05-04T18:58:00.000-06:00

Today I am officially full term, 37 weeks! So, if labor were to start, they wouldn't stop it! Not that I think it will start. As uncomfortable as I have been, I don't think my body is trying to actually go into labor. I did think it a little, but I had a check up yesterday, and was only dialated to a 1 and 50% efaced. Like I said, as uncomfortable as I've been, if it was uncomfortableness due to labor coming on, I think I would have been further along. Since I wasn't, all the pain isn't doing anything except to make me uncomfortable, if that makes sense! It's not progressing me. I could be wrong and go into labor tonight, but mentally, I'm planning on making it to the 19th, which is only 2 weeks from tomorrow! Two weeks from today will be my last full day pregnant! YEAH! I'm also hoping I make it to the 19th now because my doctor left this morning on a vacation and won't be getting back till the 18th. So, if I go early at all, even by a day, I will have a different doctor. I know that happens a lot, and I'm sure it would be fine, but it's nice to have the doctor you chose! Hopefully her plane doesn't get delayed or anything! I actually feel more calm after my visit yesterday. The night before my visit, I had 11 contractions in an hour, but they were random, so I figured it was false labor so I didn't call. Sure enough, it died down. I've been worried because since I have c-sections, it's best if I don't labor. I guess a risk to having previous c-sections and then laboring is that the labor can actually cause your scar to tear open, causing internal bleeding, so I've been worried about "catching" labor at the soonest time possible. Anyway, I guess I feel more easy about waiting out the next two weeks, even if it means basically two weeks of insomnia!

Trying to Pass Time

2010-04-30T22:23:00.000-06:00

Just to warn you, I'm going to complain and whine for a minute, so you don't have to listen! I have less than three weeks until I know I will have this baby. My c-section is scheduled for May 19th, and tomorrow is May! I am so excited! Except that thinking of the next almost three weeks feels like forever! I am not sleeping, and walking actually HURTS! It's not just awkward, it hurts! And, to make it worse, I was simply walking across the living room today and tripped on our rug, which is only a half an inch thick, if that, but it is apparently too high for me! Thankfully, I did not fall, but catching myself felt like I was ripping myself wide open! I think I pulled a groin muscle. So, walking was already hard, and now it's even harder! Especially stairs, or anything I have to lift my legs up at all on. And, for the last two nights, and now again tonight, my back is aching on my left side by my kidney. I'm thinking it's just from the extra weight of my stomach making my back hurt, and everything "softening" to get ready for labor (which my body doesn't know I don't have to do), but I can't find a position that helps! I'm retaining water more, so to use a phrase my cousin used, I now have "cankles". So, while I am finally counting down and know I am close to the end, I also feel like these last few weeks are going to take forever, and I'm not sure what to do to pass the time. I have pretty much everything ready for the baby when he gets here, which is good because my ability to actually accomplish a big task right now is pretty much at zero. So, just when I really want time to pass quickly, I've lost my ability to do much to help that happen! Instead, I just sit here a good part of the day, trying to still be somewhat of a mother to my other kids, but all while sitting down and moving as little as possible! Anybody jealous yet?!

Story Time

2010-04-25T16:52:00.000-06:00

I have to write this down while I still remember it!

This afternoon, Rob had the kids all laying down on pillows for a pretend "sleepover". Part of the sleepover was that everyone got to make up a story. Rob tells one, and then Eden, and then it's Isaac's turn. He starts his story something like this, "Once there was a man who was poopy." He said another sentence or two along the same lines, at which point I told him he needed to stop and start over with a nice, clean story. So, this was the beginning of his next story, "Once there was a clean man. He liked to clean everything . . . " Not quite what I meant, but it works!!

Another Tooth for the Toothfairy!

2010-04-23T00:57:00.001-06:00

So, just a couple of months ago, my kids loosing teeth was something I really hadn't thought about at all! Since that time, Eden has lost both of her bottom front teeth, and two days ago, she added a third tooth to her list! This one, unfortunatly, wasn't quite as fun to loose as the other two. She had a dentist appointment to have two cavities filled that we found at a previous dentist appointment like a month and a half ago. This last Tuesday was the soonest they could get Eden in to fix them. She didn't complain about the cavities that whole time, but about 2 days before her appointment, she did tell me her gum next to the one tooth with a cavity was hurting her. Sometimes my gums can get a little sore (maybe gingavitis?), so I figured it was just something like that. Well, we went to the dentist, and it turns out that the bottom molar that had the cavity was infected, and had made her gums by the tooth swell! He explained that at this age, when a tooth gets infected, they usually just pull it because even if they fix it, it has a higher risk of getting infected again, which can sometimes interfer with the permanent tooth underneath and create other problems. So, they pulled it! She actually had another cavity on the other side of her mouth, so they fixed that one first, and then pulled the bad one. She did SO good! I asked her after if she had felt anything, and she said that she didn't even know they were pulling and had pulled a tooth till they were done! I really do like our dentist. It is Ryan Johansen out at Jordan Landing, and he is so good with the kids, and the atmosphere is really kid friendly. He and his staff really try hard to make going to the dentist as easy as possible! Anyway, Eden did great at the office, but once we left, she was in some pain. I think some of it was the medicines wearing off and leaving her feeling "funny" too. It took a couple of hours, but then she started doing really well, and by that night she was doing great! So, her tooth loss total is now up to three! I'm just grateful it went as well as it did!

Besides Eden's fun visit, we've also been busy getting everything ready for the baby. I did finally find at least half of my baby boy clothes, so at least we have something to start with! We also finished setting up a bassinet for our room, and got a small dresser so we can have somewhere to put the baby's clothes! Rob also started BYU-I this week, which has taken up a lot of time! So, things move forward, and I'm down to less than 4 weeks! Yeah!!

All Sorts of Fun Stuff

2010-04-17T20:22:00.004-06:00

So, we took Eden into the doctor on Monday when she woke up with a pretty high fever still, and turns out she had strep throat. Luckily, she has been the only one in the family to get it, so by Wednesday she was finally feeling a lot better, although she didn't make it back to school until Thursday! So, thanks to our couple of weeks of sickness, I have fallen behind on some of the things I wanted to post, so here it all comes!

We did finish our staycation, and one of the places we went was to the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum, which I have to admit was a lot cooler than I thought it would be! I loved the star room, which was a kind of cylinder type room where on all sides, including the floor, the room was black with little lights that looked liked stars coming from everywhere, so when you walked through, it felt like you were waking through space! That's not the best description, but it was fun!

One of the really cool things was this sand pit they had towards the end. I didn't get a great shot of what the whole thing looked like, but it was basically a big circular pit, built like a donut. The inside was raised for smaller kids so they could reach in easier. It was full of sand, and had a small stream flowing down the middle of the sand, which made the sand more shapable. They had these cool aprons the kids could wear, so it was pretty mess free. The kids loved it, and Rob and I could just sit there and watch them! It was awesome!

The other place we went was a cute little pay fishing pond in North Ogden. They have several ponds with different sized fishes, and they have grass surrounding the ponds, and places to picnic. It was nice! This is Eden holding up one of the fish Isaac caught!

If you look close at this picture, you can see the MASS amount of fish in just this one side of the pond. All the dark spots are fish! Towards the top, you can see more green color, which is where there isn't fish! There was no problem catching fish here! In fact, the only problem is that you can catch them too quickly, so you can hit your limit (which is whatever you want to pay) sooner than you might be ready to go!

We also took my brother and sister, Thomas and Laurie, fishing with us, and Thomas decided to try for a fish at the big fish pond. This was one of the fish he caught! It was fun having them there with us!

So, since Easter fell on conference weekend, I dressed the kids up for church the week before. But, I didn't think through it very well, and only took a picture at the last second, planning on actually taking more and better pictures after church. The problem was that I forgot to do it later, so this is the only picture I got of the kids in their Easter dresses, and Isaac was already headed for the car, so I didn't get one of him at all!

Well, I did get this one of Isaac later in the day, but he was already more casual! I wouldn't have even posted it except I think it's so funny how he will almost always make a silly face when he is getting his picture taken! He is such a ham! He loves to make people laugh! I also love Emma's face in this picture. I can't tell if she is worried about what his face looks like, or if she is trying to figure out how to make the same face herself!

We did go to Caydin's grave for Easter as well, and so we took this picture of the kids while we were there (see how Isaac is still posing?!). I'm so grateful for Easter, and what it really means. Because Easter morning happened, I know that someday we will be a whole family again, all together, and I will be able to hold and see all my children at the same time!!!

The kids got to do two Easter egg hunts this year; one at each grandparents' house, but again, I seem to not be able to take decent pictures!! This is one of the only shots I got with all my kids in it at my parent's house, and none of the kids are looking at the camera! I think this pregnancy is really starting to use up my extra brain space, and I don't even realize I don't have great shots till it's over and done with! I don't have any pictures of the hunt at Rob's mom's house, but we did video tape that one. It was a fun Easter, and it was nice seeing family!

Finally, I'm not sure I actually want to post this picture, but thought sometime down the road I would want to see it! I am now 34 weeks and 4 days along, and this is how big I am! I feel huge! And, I still have a month to go, and a month where the baby and I are suppose to still be putting on some of our biggest weight (per week)! I don't mean to sound like a whiner, but I'm very uncomfortable, and I am feeling this pregnancy a lot! I bet my waddle covers a good six inches or more from side to side if I don't make an effort to keep it more under control! Stepping up into our van, which I never thought of as high before, feels like I'm trying to do the splits! I actually decided to try to get one more really good tub washing in before I thought I might be too big to do it a couple of days ago. I thought I was fine, and got the tub part all done, so I started to stand to do the walls, but my lower side started to hurt pretty bad, so I decided to go sit down for a minute. It didn't help, and actually got worse, so I decided to go lay down. I could barely make it into my bed! It felt like after I have c-sections and using any of my stomach muscles just kills! I figured at that point I must have pulled either a muscle or a tendon/ligament, and had Rob bring me Tylenol. After a half an hour of laying down, I still wasn't getting any relief and started worrying I might have done something worse, so I called the nurse. I described to her what was going on, and she said it sounded like round ligament pain, which she said can be quite painful, but isn't serious. She suggested I take a warm bath to help loosen the ligament, and if that didn't help, to call her back. I wasn't convinced it would help, but tried it anyway, and to my surprise, it actually did help! Of course, our tub isn't very big, so half my stomach was sticking out of the tub, but I was grateful it was enough to finally bring some relief! I also thought it was kind of ironic that I had a nice clean tub to bath in after hurting myself cleaning it!! I was still sore the rest of the day, and really couldn't move well at all, but by the next day, I was feeling a lot better! I did invest in a stomach support band after this incident, which has helped a ton too! So, I'm glad I only have a month left! Our crib that we have used for all of our other four kids got broken when we moved from Springville, so this week, we had to go buy a new one. We were able to find one on KSL that also had a matching changing table, and all for less than half the price of even a cheap new crib, so we were excited about that! After cleaning it and all our bedding for it, Rob and I set it up in Isaac's room, so at least now we have someplace to put the baby! Now I just have to go through all our storage and find and then wash all the little boy clothes, no easy task for someone that feels like my body has been harded into a super inflexible whale! But, on the bright side, it is finally feeling like it is getting closer, and I'm getting excited to hold him when he gets here!!

Sickness

2010-04-11T21:28:00.000-06:00

This week my family has been taking turns being sick; not the flu, luckily, but running fevers, tummy aches, and half of them getting pretty good colds with runny noses. Nobody has really been sick at the same time, so it has felt like a long week because as soon as one gets better, the next one starts into it! So far I think I have been lucky enough to either only catch it very mildly, or not get it at all. I can't tell for sure because I have enough pregnancy ailments that I can't tell if I have a cold, or if my nose is stuffy from being pregnant! My body aches, but it's been aching for a long time now, and I'm only getting bigger! I have to admit that I like coming to my blog now and seeing less than 40 days left on my baby ticker! I'm really hitting that uncomfortable stage in my pregnancy that lets me know we're almost there, although that doesn't always make the days easier to get through! So, hopefully we all get healthy, and the weather turns nice and warm so we can have some nice distractions this last month to get me through! I have taken up my crocheting again to try to keep myself somewhat busy since my ability to move around is becoming more and more limited! So, if anyone needs any washcloths, I should have a nice little stack in the next few weeks!

It's Official!

2010-04-05T15:56:00.000-06:00

My c-section is scheduled for May 19, so unless something happens to change that date, that is officially when I am planning on having this baby! I'm excited because having a for sure date makes it feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel! It always helps when the date is sooner rather than later as well!!

Goodbye Sleep

2010-04-01T09:53:00.001-06:00

Sung to the music of "Hello My Friends" by Neil Diamond

Goodbye my sleep, goodbye
It's been nice to have a while
I'll think about you now and then
When it's getting late
And I'm still awake
Goodbye

I'm not sleeping much these days, and somehow I don't think it's going to be getting a whole lot better for a while even once the baby does come. Sigh. Good thing babies are cute, right?!

Good News

2010-03-29T23:37:00.003-06:00

So, I had another ultrasound today to see if my placenta had moved up or not, and it has, by a whole inch or two! The baby is sitting really low, which had me more worried this last month, but the placenta itself is attached in a place where it shouldn't cause a problem with the c-section! It's funny because the baby was so low that the tech couldn't see something she was looking for because the baby was sitting so low and wouldn't move his head. The doctor had to come in, they had to lay me back and slightly upside down, and the doctor had to push (through my stomach) the baby's head down so they could try to get a measurement! The baby has felt so low compared to all my other pregnancies, especially this many weeks still out from my due date, and now I know I haven't just been imagining it! I don't think I will "drop" towards the end this pregnancy because there isn't anywhere lower to go!! I didn't get any cute pictures at this ultrasound because he's getting big enough that he's pretty cramped in there, and he was face down, and even after all the prodding and pushing, he refused to turn or look up! He is head down, and like I said, sitting pretty much as close to where my hip connects with my leg as you can go! So, it was a huge relief to find out that his position won't complicate the delivery, and now I just have to wait roughly 7 1/2 weeks and I will get to meet this little guy! Now if we could just decide on a name!!

March

2010-03-26T11:49:00.005-06:00

March is flying by!
To start with, EmmaLee got a new haircut the beginning of this month, by me, the poor thing! She has a horrible habit of twisting her hair when she is tired or nervous, and as a result, she has literally pulled a lot of her hair out of her back, left side of her head. So, she was looking like she was going bald. It didn't help her look that the other side had nice, long, lush hair, so it made the left side stand out even more! So, I finally had had enough, and I got the scissors out and cut her hair! Not the best job, but it looks so much better than it did!

Another event this last month was that Eden lost her 2nd tooth! It was her other bottom front tooth, so now she can do all sorts of amazing things, like stick a straw through her mouth when it is shut, etc! Apparently the tooth fairy was deceived when she came and Eden was still awake and saw her shawdow on the wall. At first, she thought it was mom, but after talking about it, it was determined that the shawdow was of a taller, skinnier person, who wasn't pregnant! I guess the tooth fairy had better come much later from now on! Even though I didn't much care for "The Toothfairy" with Dwayne Johnson, it sure came in helpful trying to talk through this event!!

St. Patrick's Day has never been a big event either one of our families have celebrated, but this year, Rob and I wanted to do something fun for the kids. So, we went and bought a few big balloons filled with helium, got a fruit bowl, and got our fishing poles out. What any of this had to do with St. Patrick's Day, I don't know, but the kids had fun! We had a little picnic in the backyard, and then attached the balloons to the end of the fishing poles. Then the kids took turns casting their balloons into the sky, and then reeled them back in! We did loose one balloon that came off, but the kids had a good time!

This last week we have been doing a "staycation" as well. First we went to the zoo, which was fun to see the new baby elephant! The next day we went to the Clark Planetarium and watched a 3-D movie about animals under the sea, and when that got over, we went to the Living Aquarium, where we got to see many of the animals live that we had just seen on the big screen! We are having to postpone some of our activities now till next week due to the weather, but we are still planning on going to the Dinosaur museum, and a train museum, as well as go fishing at a fishing pond! So, that about covers our month so far!

A Good Cause

2010-03-19T09:03:00.008-06:00

In the years since Caydin passed away, I have been able to meet a lot of other people who have also lost a child, in different ways. One of the ladies I have met is named Molly. I have felt particularly close to her because she lost her little daughter at about the same age, and to choking. They were leaving church when her little girl choked on a bit of apple literally the size of a pea. She had to be life flighted to Primary's, and they actually had to do surgery to get the apple out. She was on life support for a few days before she returned to Heaven. Molly is an amazing person, and she has started a website called A Good Grief, www.agoodgrief.com. This website is not just for those who have lost children, but for anyone who has had to go through grief of any sort, including divorce, unemployment, loss of a loved one, etc. Just a few weeks ago, she was featured on Good Day Utah (I think-it was one of the Utah morning shows!). Along with her website, she has set up a charity to help pay for headstones for families that can't afford them. Because her website is only a few months old, she has already received more requests for assistance than she has funds for. That is why I am writing this post, to ask any who might have even just a little to spare to consider donating to her fund. When Caydin passed away, my whole life changed in an instant. I don't even know how to describe the emotional condition I was in for the weeks following his death. The shock that was there that first week made the whole rest of the world feel alien. On top of all the emotions of just trying to deal with what had happened and get through a funeral and learning to live the rest of my life here without my sweet boy were by far the most difficult thing I've ever been through, or hope to ever go through. On top of all that was the shocking realization of how EXPENSIVE the funeral costs were. For those who don't know, here is an estimate of some of the costs: $350 for the obituary; $2000 for the casket; $1500 for the mortuary costs (and that was a discounted price because he was a child); $850 for a cheap, small headstone; $350 to have the headstone put in the ground; $50 for burial clothes; $500 for basic flowers for the funeral; and the list can go on, including any medical bills for whatever happened before the death! It is overwhelming to have to deal with loosing your loved one, and then to have such a financial burden added to that is hard, especially for the death of children, which is almost always unexpected, and happens to young couples who usually aren't really well established financially at that time in their lives. With Caydin, we were so blessed to receive so many kind donations from friends and family, and were even able to receive help from our church. Not everyone has that option. Even with help, it took us 10 months to get Caydin's headstone in. In the months where he didn't have one, I felt so bad; it felt as if he was forgotten. I often thought of the pioneers who had to bury their loved ones on a trail, and never got to go back and visit. I have an ancestor on my dad's side of the family who, while sailing to America, lost first one child that had to be buried at sea, and then just a few days before reaching America, lost a second child. She couldn't stand to bury him at sea as well, so she hid his body till they reached land, and then took him ashore and buried him there. I know death is not the end, and this frail human body is not where we end our journey. The spirits of those who have gone on continue to live, and their bodies are mere shells. But, as a mother who has lost her child, it is so difficult to completely let go of that body, especially when it is all you have left of that loved one! To honor that person where you can feels so important! One of my biggest fears, and I think a lot of people's biggest fears who have lost loved ones, is that they will be forgotten. So, when you have the opportunity of being able to bury your loved one at a cemetery, that spot becomes sacred ground. I am no longer even closely haunted by cemeteries. But, to go there and not even have a marker recognizing the spot of the final resting place of your loved one is very sad! No, it is not necessary, but emotionally it is so meaningful and healing to the people who loved that person. It is their way of honoring and remember their loved ones. So, you can see why this topic is close to my heart, and that is again, why I am asking anyone who can afford even just a little, to donate to Molly's charity so she can help families to have this comfort in a time where there is very little comfort for them. You can read more about Molly and her experience and her charity by going to her website, which again, is www.agoodgrief.com. And again, I do know her personally, and I know every dime donated goes directly to her charity to pay for the headstones. Thanks for listening to my long post!

Dinner Conversations

2010-03-17T21:26:00.002-06:00

Kids say the funniest things! We had just sat down together as a family for dinner. I was busy helping dish out food to the kids when Isaac out of the blue asks me, "Mom, can I touch your hotness?" Startled, I looked at him to see what he meant, and noticed he was staring at my plate of food, which still had steam coming off of it and realized he wanted to touch my food!

What are they REALLY trying to find out?

2010-03-12T13:59:00.003-07:00

Here is a list of questions from an actual employment quiz Rob just completed today. This is not the first time he has had to take quizzes like this. We've always thought they are kind of funny, and a bit ridiculous, and thought that this time we would share! With these questions, you were suppose to answer with a Strongly Agree, Agree, Uncertain, Disagree, or Strongly Disagree. We never get through them without laughing out loud! And, this is a very small portion of the quiz. They ask several of the questions with slightly different wording many times! Hope you enjoy like we did!

Selling illegal drugs to your co-workers is okay as long as they can afford to buy them.

There are many things about people that really annoy me.

There is nothing wrong with using illegal drugs on the job if it helps you to relax and do a better job.

I have never been angry with anyone.

As long as you don't get greedy, it's okay to take small amounts of money and/or merchandise from your company without permission.

Anyone who says they have never used illegal drugs while at work is lying.

It doesn't hurt to steal company property if the company has lots of money.

Failure is something that I've never experienced.

Giving illegal drugs to your co-workers is not as bad as selling illegal drugs to them.

It is okay to give or sell illegal drugs to your co-workers as long as it isn't taken to the extreme.

When I hear a person who claims they have never stolen anything, I don't believe them.

It is only fair to steal from your employer to make up for low wages.

I am basically suspicious of people in positions of authority.

I have never driven faster than the legal speed limit.

I firmly believe in taking advantage of others before they take advantage of me.

I have a tendency to do things I regret later.

Happy Birthday Helmut!

2010-03-11T19:14:00.002-07:00

Today is my father-in-law's, Helmut Fischer's, birthday. I miss him.

This picture was taken on a trip we took with Rob's parents 2 months before Caydin passed away. Caydin and his Papa were very close, as were Isaac and Papa. All the kids loved him, and he was so patient good with them; taking them on little walks outside, watching them play in the sandbox, and letting them find his "teeth" (partial dentures) in his front pocket, to name just a few things they did together!

These last two pictures were taken just a few weeks before Helmut passed away. We had gone on a drive up to Silver Lake with Rob's parents and walked around with them. It was a peaceful and enjoyable day!

I miss him, and I know all his family miss him and his gentle, kind way of keeping things in perspective! Happy Birthday Helmut, we love and miss you!

A Week Late!

2010-03-08T08:37:00.003-07:00

So, this come a week late, but on March 1st, it was Rob and my's 8 year anniversary! We were actually out celebrating when I got the call about my Grandma Dickey which is why it's taken extra time to finally post this!

I am so grateful for my sweet husband! We have been through a lot together, and I understand how people can say they are more in love now than before! He is my best friend! He is so sweet to me and takes such wonderful care of me. I'm so grateful that we are able to be completely honest in everything with each other; I trust him completely! We are able to share our dreams and fears, sorrows and joys, and are able to work together in everything we do. He supports me and I support him in all of life's challenges. We make our decisions together, with understanding of how the other feels. Neither one of us are perfect, but I know we can and will be able to overcome and get through anything! We've already done so much together, and I'm so grateful that he will be at my side as we still have so much to accomplish! I love you Rob!

Grandma Dickey

2010-02-27T09:09:00.004-07:00

I found out late last night that my Grandma Dickey had passed away. She was a sweet, wonderful woman, and she is going to be greatly missed by all her posterity, which is a lot! She was 88 years old, and she had lived in the same house my entire life, and my dad's entire life as well! I'm really going to miss visiting her. She was always so kind and caring, and you never went hungry when you went to visit Grandma! She was simple, but had so much to her! Here are some of my favorite memories of her!

One time when I was in my early teens, my parents went out of town for a few days, so Grandma came to stay with us. We were watching a Jazz game. It was when Jeff Hornesack was on the team, and after he'd made a shot and they'd shown him on TV, she turned to us and told us that she thought he was just so cute! I thought that was so funny!

Another time, we were up visiting her as a family in Nick's old Bronco. My dad decided it would be fun to go off roading up one of the canyons up there in Cache Valley, and he talked Grandma into coming with us. It wasn't too bad of a road, but did have some pretty big dips and bumps, so there was a lot of ups and downs and drops. Every time we would either dip down, or rise up, Grandma would exclaim, "Oh! Oh!" This went on the whole ride! The Bronco had no air conditioning, so we'd left the windows down, and by the time we got back, we were all layered in a coat of dust, including Grandma, except where her glasses were. I remember looking at her after we'd gotten out of the car, and she looked so cute with her huge white circles around her eyes and covered in dust, especially after her exciting ride! It was the most girlish I'd ever seen her!

I'm going to miss going to her house and getting fruit leather, ice cream cones, apples, and glazed apple cookies! I loved exploring her shed out back, and playing on the rope swing over the canal! I'm going to miss her sweet steadiness! Even though I didn't get to see her as often, I always knew she cared about me and my family, and really was everything you'd want in a Grandma! She was thrilled to get your family picture, and proudly displayed her pictures in her front room. I never really ever heard her get upset (although my dad assures me she had plenty of fire in her), and I hope she knows just how much she was truly loved and admired by her family. She was a wonderful example of how I want to become, so much so that we even gave EmmaLee the middle name of Lucinda, my Grandma's first name, in honor of her. I love you Grandma!

(Lesa, I totally stole your picture!)

More Changes

2010-02-25T15:25:00.006-07:00

Thanks everyone for liking my hair! I did the typical and woke up the next morning and had a moment of panic as I realized just how much of my hair was actually gone! I haven't done that in years!! But, I do still like it, especially at how easy it is to wash, comb through, and then style! Change is good, right?! I hope so because another change happened this week. My last day at work was Monday! That's right, I quit my job! It just started to get too hard for me, simply because I'm pregnant. We got our tax return back, so we are good for a bit, and then Rob is all signed up and ready to start at BYU-Idaho online in April, and we can get student loans with that. Not the course we preferred, but at least it's there to fall back on! Life sure is a journey, isn't it?! Just when you think you've figured things out, something else comes along! I love the quote from Transformers 2 from Optimus Prime "Fate rarely calls on us in a time of our choosing." The story of my life! So, here's to yet another new chapter of my life!

Sometimes we have to be made of steel to get through life!

A Little Change

2010-02-17T20:52:00.002-07:00

I guess I hit that point in my pregnancy where I feel like everything is getting bigger, I'm uncomfortable, and I wanted some kind of a change that I wanted! So, what did I do, I got a haircut of course! And, I did the pregnancy thing where I cut it a lot shorter! I'm hoping it will help me feel cooler as my inner heater is completely up and running now, and quicker since I get uncomfortable just doing my hair these days! So, here's the result!

When I first got home, my hubby and all my kids said they loved it. After about an hour, Isaac started bawling and saying that "I don't like your hair like that!", which I'm hoping came because he was tired! Hopefully it will look better to him in the morning! But, no matter what he thinks, I'm liking it! It's weird to not feel my hair everywhere, but I'm excited for the change! My hair grows so fast and is so thick, especially in pregnancy that I'm sure it won't take me too long to grow back out if I decide after a little bit that I'm tired of short! For now, here's to change!

Isaac Update

2010-02-12T20:35:00.003-07:00

It has been a long day, but all considered, not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be! Isaac had his dental work done today. Because of a mistake at our dentist office in giving the surgical center our wrong number, it took them a long time to get a hold of us yesterday to tell us what time Isaac's surgery would be at today. As a result, they had to push him to the end of the schedule, making him the last surgery (for our dentist) of the day, which was at 1:30. They don't usually schedule kids as young as Isaac this late because it is rough on them. He wasn't allowed to eat anything after 11:00 last night, and could only have clear liquids till 3:00 in the morning (not very helpful). So imagine trying to help a 3 year old fast all morning and then taking them in to get dental work done at 1:30 in the afternoon. Yeah, not good. But, his teeth have been hurting him so much that we didn't want to delay the surgery, and rescheduling would have resulted in having to wait at least 3 more weeks, unless a cancellation came up sooner, but that's not guaranteed. So, we planned to distract him like crazy! First, we actually tried to keep him up as late as possible, making sure to give him a good meal right at 11. We managed to keep him awake till about 12:30, but then he crashed. He actually had a great night, but still only slept till 9:00 (we really hoped he'd sleep a lot more of the morning, making the wait time till surgery shorter). So, when he first got up, we let him play video games as much as he wanted to. We all got ready, and when he lost interest in the games, about 1 1/2 hours later, we took him to the store to buy a toy. We had to get diapers and a few other things, so by the time we were done at the store, it was 12:00. We took the girls back to our house to have Rob's mom watch them, and Rob, Isaac and I headed towards Salt Lake. His surgery wasn't actually at 1:30, but that was the time we were suppose to be at the surgical center, and the surgery was suppose to be after we were there and checked in, etc. We got to the area a little early, but luckily, Isaac had fallen asleep on the way there. Right before he fell asleep, he finally said he was hungry and cried for about 1 minute and then fell asleep. By this time, we felt pretty lucky that he hadn't mentioned it till then! We drove around for about a half an hour, and then he woke up about 10 minutes before we got to the center. This was the most crying time he had. He did cry most of that time about being hungry, and we tried to explain that he would be able to eat after the dentist fixed his teeth. Luckily, once we got to the center, the new surroundings distracted him enough that he quit crying, which was good because the dentist ended up running over an hour behind!! Isaac finally went back at about 2:40! He was SUCH a trooper the whole time and didn't cry once we got there! The surgery took about an hour, and then he was in the back recovery room for about a half an hour, and then in a recovery room with us for another 30 minutes or so. We finally left at about 4:20. He had some huge cavities on his back molars, and even had to have one of his molars pulled because of an infection. He now has a spacer in that spot to help hold the spot for his adult tooth that won't come in for several years. The rest of his molars all had to be capped. The saddest thing was how swollen his lips and cheeks were after the surgery! He looked like he'd been hit in the mouth! But, tonight he is doing pretty good, and has eaten a bunch of jello and pudding, and is acting more and more like himself! We feel so blessed that everything went as well as it did, especially with how long he ended up having to go without food! I'm sure he is still going to be a little miserable the rest of tonight and tomorrow, but we are so glad to be on this side of everything!

A New Milestone!

2010-02-03T13:13:00.004-07:00

So, we've had a couple of teeth filled days! On the downside, Isaac has been up for about 4 nights with his teeth hurting. When we looked, we could see several cavities on his back molars, so we made an appointment with the dentist for this morning. Sure enough, he has several cavities that have to be fixed, so a week from this Friday, we get to do the whole dental surgery procedure with him again! On the up side, we found out that it is covered with our insurance, so we can actually afford to take him in and get them fixed, and we are hoping after they get fixed, Isaac will start sleeping better at night! So, we aren't looking forward to it, but at the same time we are grateful to be able to take care of it, since in needs to be done! So, about 1 1/2 hours after we first called the dentist and found out they accept our insurance and actually made our appointment for this morning (this happened yesterday, Tuesday, morning), Eden was upstairs with my mother-in-law, and she was trying to open an ice cream tub with her teeth when her bottom tooth popped out!! At first I kind of panicked because she hasn't had loose teeth or anything, so I thought it was early for her to be loosing teeth and worried that it might be bad that she had lost it, or that her tooth might have broken off and some of it might still be in her mouth. But, the tooth looked healthy and whole, and we didn't see anything in her mouth, so we decided to just ask the dentist about it this morning at Isaac's appointment. He said that 5 years old is a normal age for kids to start loosing their teeth and to not worry about it! So, my new milestone as a mother is that I've had a child loose a tooth for the first time! The tooth fairy hasn't come yet because we wanted to show it to the dentist to make sure it looked normal, but Eden is excited for the visit tonight!

Eden was so worried at first that she was going to look ugly without her tooth, but I told her that everyone looses their teeth, and that the kids at school will think it is cool that she lost her tooth!

So, besides teeth issues, here's what else we've been up to this last month!

Isaac went on his first boys only fishing trip with his dad and cousin Brad last weekend! He was so excited for it that for about 3 days before they went, he was even praying about it in his prayers at night! They went ice fishing up at Pineview, and it was so cold that they only stayed a couple of hours and didn't catch a fish! But, Isaac still really loved being a part of the boys, and I thought he looked so cute in his fishing gear! I took this right after they got home, and his cheeks are actually pink from the heater in the car!

Okay, so here is a recent pregnancy shot of me. It is actually already a week old, and yes, a week makes a difference right now! But, the good side is that the bigger I get, the closer I am to being done with being pregnant, and I do feel the baby moving a lot now, which is fun and makes it feel more real! I'm having more troubles with my hips and lower back, mostly in the evening and during the night, but again, I keep reminding myself that it will be worth it!

I had to post this of Emma. Eden had found our chocolate syrup and made herself some chocolate milk, but then left the syrup on the table. I was in doing laundry, and when I came out, this was what I found! What makes it even sadder was that I had just washed her coat the day before! I thought it kind of looked like she had facial hair, which was funny! Good thing I was still doing laundry that day I guess!

I can't remember which day it was now for sure, but on one of the days I wasn't working, we took a family ride towards Salt Lake and on a whim, decided to stop at Temple Square and take the kids to the visitors center, which I don't think we've ever taken Isaac or Emma to! It was pretty fun! The kids loved seeing all the displays, and since it was only early evening on a weekday, it wasn't very crowded! A sister missionary was more than happy to take this picture of us in front of the Christ statue. When we were leaving temple square, a fog had rolled in, and it made the temple and all the grounds incredible! We didn't really good pictures that really showed the feeling, but it was a pretty cool experience to walk around and look at the temple in the fog. It felt so surreal!

This was a picture we got of the temple, and it's not bad considering we took it in the car as we were driving away! Like I said, it doesn't really show what it was like, but at least it's an idea!

The other piece of news we have is that Rob was accepted to BYU-Idaho about a week and a half ago! Rob has been planning on going back to school to continue his education to pass the time until he is able to get a job. He is planning on starting some online classes in April, and then in August, if we still don't have a job, we are thinking about actually moving up there so he can attend on campus. We didn't want to go up until after the baby is born, since we really like our doctor down here, and I have my job down here right now, but I'm not planning on going back after I have the baby, so this gives us somewhere to focus on! We still would have to get a job up there to make it work, so it's not guaranteed, but at least he can be working on it online until we are able to get a job, there or anywhere! And, by taking the online classes, it will make the transition smoother if we do move up there because all the credits will be from there!

I guess that's about it for now!!

Caydin Slideshow

2010-01-23T10:20:00.003-07:00

I posted this slideshow a couple of years ago for Caydin's birthday, but wanted to post it again this year!

Caydin's Birthday

2010-01-22T20:55:00.003-07:00

This is a few hours early, but tomorrow is Caydin's birthday. He would have been 7! I can't believe he would be that old! It's hard for me to write things because most of what I am thinking about is what "would" or "could" have been, and I don't want to do that because it only makes me sad! I am so grateful Caydin was born 7 years ago, and became a part of our family. I am so grateful for his laid back personality, and for his curiosity. I am so grateful for all he taught me while he was here, and for what he is still teaching me by being where he is now. Happy birthday Caydin; I will always be so grateful for the day you came into my life!

It's a . . . .

2010-01-13T12:25:00.002-07:00

BOY! And, the baby looks completely healthy with no signs of club feet or any other deformities! There is one area of concern that we will be watching, but it has to do with me, not the baby. Because I have had 4 previous c-sections, I have some built up scar tissue on my uterus. When the placenta attaches to the uterus, it does so in one spot. If that spot is by the scarred tissue, it can cause some complications at delivery. And, my placenta is attached pretty low, pretty close to my scar. What can happen is that if the placenta actually attaches to the scar tissue itself, it can create the placenta to remain attached to the uterus at delivery, causing me to bleed. Worse case scenario means that if it does do this, they will have to give me a hysterectomy during the c-section or I will bleed to death. Other less serious complications could be that they would actually have to cut into the placenta to get the baby out, which still causes me to bleed more, and just general extra bleeding during the surgery. Most of the risks are minimal as long as they know that's what they are dealing with because they take the precautions for it in the first place. Having said all that, the doctor today wasn't sure if I actually have this or not. He thinks there is a pretty good chance that as the baby grows and my uterus gets bigger, it might pull the placenta up and away from my scar. So, he said that what I'll have to do is have another ultrasound at 32 weeks to see where everything is sitting. They will also be checking the flow of blood through the blood vessels at that time to make sure it doesn't look like it has grown into my uterus. So, I guess it's something still to be determined. I'm not too worried at this point because it sounds like I'm most likely not going to have this problem. My doctor has actually talked to me about this possibility in my previous pregnancies as well, so it wasn't such a shocking thing to hear because I've known it could happen. It doesn't create any problems during the pregnancy, which is nice, only during delivery. So, that's how it all went!